What a Release!

Eric has been released as the second counselor in the bishopric in the Kingsborough Park Ward.

This happened yesterday, June 29th. It all started the Sunday before that, the 22nd, we received a call from the stake requesting us to come in and visit with them. Right when Eric told me, I felt a weird pain in my stomach and thought, "no, it's not time yet." Eric knew, after asking the bishop who he should have speak in sacrament meeting and being told that the bishop would take care of it, that something was up. After the phone call, he knew that he would be released.

We visited with President Fleming, who I love. We talked about our feelings and experiences we've had during the last four years that Eric has served as second counselor. We had originally planned to move 4 years ago, and after talking with Pres Fleming (who has been Eric's scout leader and bishop), we felt that we should stay where we were and broke the contract for the new house. Shortly after that, Eric was put in the bishopric with Bishop Judd. After two years Bishop Judd was released (and Eric) and Eric was called again to be a counselor to Bishop Johnson.

Having Eric serve where he has served has been one of the most difficult things I have done and been through. But with "trials" we are blessed. We have been blessed immensely by his service. Both our testimonies have been strengthened.

As part of Eric's calling, he has worked closely with the Scouting program. He built great relationships with the boys he worked with. It was hard at times to see how much work and effort he put into the boys (and not be jealous), but it has been amazing that he could be such a good influence for them. There have been issues with some of the scout outings, some where we've thought they were all lost (they were never lost; they knew where they were), helicopter rescues (two, one of the times Eric was the one who was severely hurt and in critical condition), and other minor issues. I've spent many sleepless nights while they would be gone on outings, hoping and praying for their safety. As a result, my testimony of prayer has grown incredibly.

It has been a very hard week for us, knowing about Eric's release. Eric had to get up and speak yesterday during sacrament meeting. It was very difficult for him. He did a fantastic job sharing his testimony and experiences. I am grateful for Eric's worthiness and being willing to serve (even though he was scared of doing so). It's been quite a blessing to our family.

Cub Scout Day Camp

Spencer went to Cub Scout Day Camp on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. They called it Twilight camp because part of it was during the evening. It started at 3:00 (the hottest time of the day) and ended at 9:30.

His days were filled with all kinds of activities. Eric went with on the first day, that's where the smudged pictures came from. There were 5 boys who went from the combined packs (we don't have enough boys in our ward for a decent-sized pack, so we combine with another ward).

Spencer spent his time at camp participating in:

• playing marbles


• bb shooting (4 bulls-eyes without aiming, 1 bulls-eye with aiming)


• mud soccer


• obstacle course (so muddy, "it was just so cool")


• swimming


• archery (favorite activity because he got water balloons when he hit the target)


• gold searching - he found a piece about 2"


• rock wall


• water balloon fights


• arts and crafts (painted a car)


• kickball

His group had the best den flag. They kept cool with spray bottles. He came home exhausted and even took a nap before he left one of the days.

Rock and Roll All Night

We took Spencer to his first concert on Friday. We saw Styx and Boston. Spencer and I enjoyed Styx. It was fun to see Spencer's reactions to the musicians - the Styx pianist playing upside down and standing on the keyboard. Spencer decided that he wants to play the drums now.

Eric grew up on this music, so he really enjoyed it. The music was like nothing I grew up on. I also couldn't get past the facts that one of the singers from Styx looked like a guy in our ward, on drugs. In Boston, only one of the six band members actually looked like band members. One of the lead singers looked like a truck driver or a Home Depot employee (wearing jeans, a sleeveless hooded shirt, and a mustache - imagine that!). While in high school, I was totally into country music, with Reba being my favorite singer. When I was a teenager, the following groups were popular: Nirvana, Blind Melon, Goo Goo Dolls, Celine Dion, Live, Janet Jackson, Alanis Morissette, Boys II Men. Today I still like Live and some Goo Goo Dolls, with my favorite group being Bon Jovi.

When Eric and I were dating and during our first years of marriage, we went to many concerts. We have seen the following groups in concerts:

• Rush
• Styx
• Kansas
• REM
• Gin Blossoms
• Blue Man Group
• Blast
• Michael McLean
• Bon Jovi
• Van Halen
• Def Leppard
• Goo Goo DollsTransiberian Orchestra
• Live
• Tesla (which was the most evil concert I've been too. I swear the singer was possessed.)

Tagged

I'm not sure how tagging works, but I've been tagged (a while ago). Since I'm on a roll with blogging today, I'll give it a shot.

I seemed to have been tagged by Tammy.
ATTACHED OR SINGLE? Attached, for 12.5 yrs
BEST FRIEND? Eric. I've got other wonderful friends, some are family, one from high school, some from my ward
CAKE OR PIE? Cake
DAY OF CHOICE? Monday or Wednesday (pilates class)
ESSENTIAL ITEMS? lip gloss
FAVORITE COLORS? Red, purple
GUMMY BEARS OR WORMS? Bears
HOMETOWN? Murry, Utah
INDULGENCE? anything sweet
JANUARY OR JULY? Depends where I am. January - Arizona, July - anywhere but Arizona
KIDS? 4
LIFE ISN'T COMPLETE WITHOUT? vacation
MARRIAGE DATE? Jan. 5
NUMBER OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS? 3
ORANGES OR APPLES? Apples
PHOBIAS OR FEARS? snakes, deep water
QUOTE: Check my blog,I try to update every couple of weeks
REASON TO SMILE: All of my blessings - family being #1
SUPERMAN OR WONDER WOMAN? Wonderman
TAG 3 PEOPLE: Jessica, Kammi, Tami
UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME: I designed our current house
VEGETABLES? peas
WORST HABIT? succumbing to sweets
X-RAY OR ULTRASOUND? Ultrasound but NOT because I am pregnant!
YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? Peaches
ZODIAC SIGN? Taurus

Father's Day

I realized as I was going through pictures, that I did not post anything for Father's Day. I feel bad, because I have great fathers in my life.

Eric is a great dad. He is a good playmate and friend for our kids (I guess because he's a kid-at-heart). I made Eric cinnamon rolls on Saturday since I would have had to wake up way too early on Sunday to get them done before his early morning bishopric meeting. The kids went shopping and helped pick out presents for him. They picked out puzzles (which are done already), candy, camping equipment, and socks. I also made a mini book for him.

I have the best dad in the world. He is a great friend to me. My dad loves to travel (that's where I must have gotten it from). As a child, our family would go on lots of family trips. My dad would spend hours planning these trips, often dragging out the chalkboard to discuss our proposed itinerary. We went to Disneyland every year, usually at Spring Break. Every summer we went to Utah, often extending the trip to Yellowstone.

In November, my dad had to have heart surgery - a quadruple bypass. It was quite a shock and an eye-opener. It helped me realize how fragile life is. My dad has done remarkably well recovering from the surgery, but it was definitely a scary experience (especially seeing him in ICU just after his surgery). During this experience, we were all strengthened as a family. My testimony of prayer and fasting grew immeasurably. When I prayed about my dad I had a strong feeling that he would be ok. Then, when the doctor discovered that surgery was needed, I didn't understand. But now, months later, I realize that my prayer was totally answered and my dad is ok, it just wasn't my preferred method. I am so thankful that Heavenly Father guided my dad's doctors and prolonged my dad's life. Dad, if you do ever read this, I love you so much and am so glad you're my dad and that you're a part of my life.

Independent

With Kaylen now sleeping in a bed she can get out of at 5:00 in the morning (which she was doing), I had to do something. I thought maybe the light from the sun was waking her up (I'm sure it did before, but she went back to sleep since she couldn't climb out of her crib). I went to good old Wally's and found some cute purple curtains, a rod, and some butterfly side-dealies. I hung the rod and the side holders. On the top part of the curtains I put little netty butterflies (that's the theme of her room). This has been a good solution. Kaylen hasn't gotten out of bed earlier than 7:00 since the curtains have been up - a terrific improvement!

Sunset

Yesterday afternoon it started to get cloudy, monsoon-like, so that combined with the sunset, resulted in these photos. Unfortunately in the first photo, I got a neighbor's antenna. I went in the backyard and climbed up the stairs to the deck. In that short amount of time, the sun had dramatically changed positions, resulting in the second photo.

Sunrises and sunsets are so beautiful. Each time I see one I am reminded of how much my Heavenly Father loves me.

Two Years Ago - Florence

On one of the days we took a train from Rome to Florence. We were with Eric's work, so we travelled in first class. We also had a bodyguard with us. We went to the museum where Michelangelo's David is. That was quite impressive.

It was a wonderful experience to visit all of these amazing places that I've blogged about. Even though we did this two years ago, I wanted to blog them so they'd be entries in my "journal." By the end of the trip, I was missing the kids,my baby Kaylen especially. I got homesick and was physically sick. I was not able to go out of the hotel room on the last day. I missed seeing the Coliseum up close (I'd seen it from buses before). Eric and Scott gave me a blessing, so I was able to make it to the closing dinner that was at a palace that night. I thoroughly enjoyed all that I experienced, but I was very grateful to return home (so glad in fact that I wanted to kiss the ground once we got back to Philadelphia).

Two Years Ago - Rome

We explored Rome on our own and with private tours. We were with Eric's work while in Rome and Florence, so we were treated wonderfully. We had a bodyguard with us at all times. We had tour guides when we went to museums. They would speak into a "microphone" that would transmit to headsets we would wear.

View of Rome from a rooftop palace we ate at

Spanish Steps

This is a living statue that would move and respond when tips were given.

View of ceiling in the Sistine Chapel. I got strongly reprimanded for taking this photo.

Trevii Fountain

Isn't it a cute car?

Two Years Ago - Venice to Rome

After the cruise, we spent few hours in Venice. We ate and did some shopping. We then took a train (loved it!) to Rome, travelling through Tuscany. We took a taxi to our hotel, the Westin Excelsior.

Two Years Ago - Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik, Croatia was fabulous! This was my favorite port. We hired a private guide for our group and saw some amazing things. The city is made of white bricks with red tile roofs - it's quite a site.

Our guide first took us to a seaside village where we sat next to the ocean and ate ice cream. He then took us to a little village in a beautiful green area.

This is Eric posing right outside of the village.

We walked through this beautiful wooded area, with a creek running next to the path.

This is a street area, in between buildings - very narrow.

Eric managed to find many ice cream and gelato shops.

He had ice cream twice while we were in Dubrovnik.

I loved Dubrovnik, and if I had the chance to go back there, I would.

Two Years Ago - Istanbul

Istanbul, Turkey was amazing!! This was Eric's favorite place we visited. We hired a private guide for our group - us and two other couples. Our guide took us around to all the popular spots. We saw the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia - which are quite popular. Before disembarking the boat, they had told us that if we planned to visit these places we needed to wear closed-toe shoes and pants to show respect.


Istanbul was not quite what I expected. It was a large, bustling city. We learned a lot about history and culture. We went to the Grand Bazaar, which we would still be lost in if we didn't have our guide. We ate traditional food, which was very good. We went to a rug making place. Janie, Eric's work partner, purchased a rug from there. Oh yeah, Istanbul is in Asia, so now I've been to three continents! As modernized as this city was, I was shocked when I went to a public restroom and found that it was literally a hole in the ground! I would have taken a picture if it didn't stink so bad.

A picture with some of their writing - which I love.

This is a fountain where people could wash up before entering the mosque

This is the best picture! This is Janie. We decided we wanted to buy some cherries from this nice old man. We bought them, then I asked them to stand by the cart so I could take a picture. Just as I take the picture, the guy pinches Janie's butt. Look how shocked Janie is and how happy the "nice old man" is.

Blue Mosque

Our Group - Monty, Julia, me, Eric, Ed, and Janie

Two Years Ago - Ismir

The next Port of Call was Ismir, Turkey. On our excursion, we took a bus ride to Ephesus, about an hour away. There were ruins there that we explored.

This was the coolest part of the city. This is the ampitheater where Paul, the apostle, preached to the Ephesians. In newer sets of scriptures that have pictures, you can find this exact picture!We were there!

Two Years Ago - Katakalon

At the entrance to where the Olympic Games were held 3,000 years ago

The second Port of Call was Katakalon (Olympia), Greece. Our excursion took us by bus to Olympia where the first Olympics took place almost 3,000 years ago. We got to see the ruins of the Temple of Zeus. Our tour guide droned on and on, so we ditched her. We looked at the rest of the ruins ourselves and explored the little city's shops. We took a bus back to the port where we ate at a Greek restaurant and watched some Greek dancing. I didn't care for the food. Eric, of course, managed to find some meat he liked.