Going to the Temple

A few months ago during the 5th Sunday lesson, our new bishop gave the lesson. He asked us to list all the blessings that come from temple attendance. The list was quite long, with at least 25 things listed, ranging from increased testimony to peace at home to prayers answered. How I wish I had written all of these things down! The bishop then asked, "Is it worth 30 minutes of sleep to miss out on all of these promised blessings?" The obvious answer is heck no! That point totally hit home and helped me to realize that I totally need to boost my temple attendance, even it it means that I would have to wake up early and maybe miss 30 minutes to an hour of sleep. Did I do anything with that wonderful knowledge? Unfortunately, I only kept it in the back of my mind and continued my same, crazy lifestyle, rationalizing that I am too busy.

A few months later, I was listening to a conference talk given by Jeffrey R. Holland, which brought tears to my eyes. He was speaking of how grateful he is for all the members of the church who are so willing to serve and give of themselves. He said, "I am grateful for...osteoporotic couples who trundle off to the temple at 5:00 in the morning with little suitcases now bigger than they are." For some reason this also made an impact on my view of temple attendance. The elderly people in the church seem to be so willing to serve in the temple despite the myriad of health problems they might have. My health is fine and I don't use it to serve in the temple, like I should.

Between the two different thoughts, the one from my bishop, and the one from Elder Holland, I set a goal in December to go to the temple three times that month because 1. I am completely capable of going and don't have any health limitations to prevent me from going 2. if the elderly can go to the temple so early in the morning, so can I and 3. I need all the blessings I can get.

I am happy to say that I accomplished my goal. I went to a 7:30 am session one Saturday, and a 7:00 am session another week. On the last day of the month, not that I procrastinated, but I wanted to go with Eric, so we went together to a 9:30 session. It is a joy to serve in the temple. It is such a peaceful place. So, for the new year, I set another temple attendance goal. I will go to the temple two times each month.

Yesterday I made it for the first time this month. It was so good to go, even if it means waking up at 5:30 to get there (I forgot to set my alarm, but automatically woke up at 5:32. Usually I wake up at 6:00 on my own). It always seems that when I go, I see someone that I know. In December, I saw a dear friend, my sweet sister, and our wonderful old stake president. How I love to sit in the celestial room, after the session, and watch the early morning sun coming in through the beautiful windows, reflecting off the sparkling chandeliers, casting such a beautiful light in the whole room. I am excited to go again, to feel the peace, and to serve.

Burned

I alluded to getting burned in the Halloween post, but didn't finish.

So we were at our ward's trunk-or-treat. I had brought boiling hot soup (I didn't realize how stinkin' hot it was until it got spilled). I was trying to maneuver a stroller, a plate, and a hot bowl of soup through a grassy field. I tipped the bowl and the soup spilled on my wrist. (I am soooooo glad it didn't spill on Colton in the stroller.) I tried to wipe the soup off, after the initial shock of the spill. For the rest of the night, I walked around with an ice cold napkin on my wrist, trying to ease the pain. It throbbed the whole night. I didn't want to leave the kids; I wanted to watch them with their trick-or-treating. We also would have had a very difficult time getting the car out of the crowd of people.

Once I got home, I went to the hospital. I could have gone to urgent care, but didn't want to wait. So, instead I went to a hospital that advertised "door to doc in 30." They took care of me in an incredibly timely manner (which I dearly ended up paying for with the bill). I had first and second degree burns on my wrist on an area measuring about 2 x 3 inches. The burn was cleaned and slathered with ointment. I was given two prescriptions. One for silvedine and one for vicadyn. The burn got worse looking over the next two days, but then started getting better. My pain was very minimal. I took tylenol at night; I didn't want to risk losing my beloved sleep. Each morning and night I cleaned the burn, reapplied the cream, and rebandaged my wrist. About a week after the burn, I was cleaning out the garage. It was the first day I had unbandaged my wrist. Big mistake. A box tore open the burn. That was worse than the actual burning. I nearly passed out and threw up. After about an hour of trying to calm down after that, I bandaged up my wrist again and vowed to keep it covered until it was healed. The cream that was prescribed was a complete miracle. It healed my burn amazingly. Each day the burn grew smaller. There really is no scar. I can see where it happened, but no one else would be able to tell where I got burned.

Temple Groundbreaking

We are so excited! A temple is going to be built 1/2 mile away from us!!!

Today we (Eric, Lindsey, Spencer, Logan, and me) went to the groundbreaking for the new temple. Our seats weren't very good and we couldn't see much of anything, even the actual groundbreaking. It was still very exciting to see that the process is finally starting.

An Embarrassment

How could this have happened so suddenly, so quickly, so soon?

I have turned into an embarrassing parent. I never thought that I would become that. I was going to be the cool mom. I guess it all started one morning as I was trying to be the super-cool mom, packing my kids unique lunches for school. I found some brightly colored insulated containers that I could pack hot things in for the kids' lunches to add variety. Well, this morning, as it turned out, we were slightly hurried. I still wanted to pack them some parmesan noodles to eat. I made the noodles, and threw their lunchboxes together, and sent the kids on their way.

Only after the bus had picked them up, did I discover that the flavoring and sauce packet for the noodles was laying on my countertop unopened. I could not stand the thought of my kids eating noodles cooked in milk, water, and butter. I thought they would not eat the noodles and starve. I hopped into the car, sauce packet in hand. I followed the kids' bus (which was easy to catch up to), and hopped out of the car. I walked (ever so cooly) over to the kids, and showed them the unopened sauce packet. I caught Logan's eye, and he stopped. Lindsey also joined us. Spencer, however, would barely make eye contact, shook his head no ever so slightly, and kept on walking.

I opened Logan's lunchbox and sprinkled some of the oh-so-desirable sauce mix on the noodles. I folded the packet, handing the remaining mix over to Lindsey.

It really doesn't sound that bad, does it? Lindsey and Spencer were so embarrassed by it all. Logan, thankfully, hasn't hit that stage yet. I really don't know how it could have been so horrible for them. I was showered. I had my hair and makeup done. I even had on some decent clothes, because I had places to go today. I could have been in non-matching pajamas with bunny slippers. I could have been shouting and waving hysterically at them. I could have started singing, or better yet, dancing. I could have given them a huge hug and kiss. However, just my mere appearance at the school, sauce packet in hand, was not cool for them.

Me, however, it totally makes me laugh and I spend hours upon hours thinking of ways to further embarrass my lovely children.

Weekend Getaway: Las Vegas

In the middle of the summer, in the midst of kids fighting and toys strewn about the house, I decided that it was time for a Kim and Eric Break. Eric's favorite band is Rush. The last time they came to the valley, Eric didn't go. With their tour this time around, they skipped us all together. However, they were stopping in Vegas. So, I quietly planned our Rush Vegas trip. It was so hard to keep it all a secret and to make all the trip decisions myself, but I did it. Friday morning I showed up at Eric's work, just under the premise that I was stopping by to say hi. I tried to talk Eric into leaving work early, but he couldn't because he had appointments. I then had to ask him what would he do if I told him the appointments weren't real, that I had some help scheduling those "appointments" from his assistant, to keep his schedule open for us to leave in the afternoon for our getaway.

Eric was able to wrap things up and leave the office in pretty good time. We hit the road. We made great time getting to Vegas. We had enough time, that we were actually able to catch a show Friday night. Do I dare admit that we saw Carrot Top at the Luxor? He was very funny (after I tuned out the not-so-nice things he said). After the show, we went to Aria, our hotel. This was one of those tricky decisions that I had to make by myself. I wanted to stay in a nice hotel, but I had to keep the price down. I ended up doing a you-pay-this-price-without-knowing-the-hotel-name deal. We ended up getting a suite at Vdara. REALLY COOL! It is the only hotel on the strip that does not have a casino and is non-smoking. It was a great place to stay. The room was awesome, and we had a lake view and could watch the Bellagio's fountain show with the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

We found a yummy buffet for breakfast, at the hotel next door. We walked around the strip. Eric has always loved playing the games at Excalibur, so we headed there. Eric won some stuffed animals for the kids. We headed to CSI: The Experience at MGM. We used to watch CSI, and so I thought it would be fun to experience it. I liked it, even though it was kinda cheesy. Eric just thought it was cheesy. However, I do have a CSI diploma to show for my hard work (it's in Spanish though - I clicked on the wrong button).


After CSI, we headed over to ph to "Meet and Greet" Tori Spelling who was in town for HSN for her jewelry show. When we finally found her (after being misdirected by a dumb lady at the hotel), I stood in line, only to be told like 5 minutes later by a little man that I was too late and the line was closed. I tried for the next 15 minutes to convince little man (he wasn't an actual little person, he was just shorter than me and incredibly irritating) to let me join the line or at least wait in case Tori finished early. He wouldn't have any of it. I was so mad I wanted to kick him in the shins and pull out his stupid hi-tech "security" earpiece! So, I ended up being 10 feet away from Tori, and not able to meet her. I did, however, get to stand one foot away from Mehran (her jewelry co-designer), and didn't realize it until after I left. I felt so bummed about it all. I wasn't like some super-crazy obsessed fan, but I liked her. I grew up watching her on 90210, and have since followed her on her reality show. It would have been super cool to meet an actual movie star. Oh well.

We went to a Brazilian restaurant for dinner, which ended up being quite disappointing. Eric loves Brazilian restaurants and is always willing to eat at one. This one wasn't so good. Maybe we ticked off the server by using a coupon and not ordering drinks?! It was quite exciting, getting to the concert, zipping through Vegas in a taxi. It's been quite a while since I've been to a concert, that I actually enjoyed feeling the drums beat in my chest. At first. Then it got a little loud. The concert was good. I think Eric enjoyed it (he better have!) I still couldn't believe that the guys next to me and in front of me were smoking pot, though. Yuck!

Sunday morning, we ate at the best buffet ever (Rio), Eric decided. We started to head home. Just before we got to the dam, the traffic was backed up, so we decided to turn around and go a different way (through Laughlin). Shortly after venturing the other way, I got sick. We had to stop and take care of things. We continued driving along. A couple hours down the road, we were greeted by signs warning of an accident ahead. We ended up stuck in traffic that wasn't moving. We sat there, in the desert, for 1.5 hours. We watched people walk and play ball. We watched the sun set (it was gorgeous). We had found out from a trucker there had been a fatal head-on collision down the road and that the road was completely closed. When the road finally opened up, as we drove past the completely totalled cars, I couldn't believe it. The cars were mangled, and torn apart. There was absolutely no way that anyone walked away from that. I sat there, as we drove, for the next two hours in complete shock. I really feel that we were protected from being in that accident. I think we should have stayed on the road to go on the dam, and we would have totally avoided the accident. But we didn't. We went a way that would have gotten us to the accident area quicker. So, since that didn't slow us down, I got sick and we had to stop, which slowed us down enough so that we weren't in that mangled mess of metal. This just totally strengthened my testimony that Heavenly Father is completely and fully aware of each of us and will protect us and guide us.

I Survived!!

Yay! I am SO excited. I completed 2 sessions of boot camp!!!

When I was first contemplating boot camp, I wanted to do it, but was just too afraid to. I didn't think I could. Then Eric voiced his thoughts over the matter (that he too thought I couldn't do it), so I immediately registered for it. It was a fun thing to do. EVERY day, I was sore, sometimes for days after the workout, and over the weekend. It always amazed me how the instructor, Joan, found so many different ways to torture us. I do, however, have to say, that I greatly improved my arms. They are toned, and I have bicep bumps!

I think the thing that got me through class (besides the clock) was what Joan would say. I could go through class with a smile on my face because of her comments. I decided that I would note some of them on my phone right after class, and then I would share them once I completed the class. The following things are from Joan's mouth (warning: she did curse so I "censored" them):

"That was insane!... We're going to do it again."

"Chris (when Joan thought my name was Chris), you're going to work off that weekend!"

After completing a set, starting into another set: "You knew it was coming."

To me: "You're looking really lean."

"If it hurts like h**, you're doing it right."

At the beginning of class: "I'm going to kick your a**!"

"I promise, it really hurts me too."

"Do you wish you hadn't come?"

"Don't think we're not going to do it again."

"This is going to hurt like h** tomorrow."

"Look at how skinny you are Kim. Your legs!" - my favorite comment!!

It was a good experience and I would love to do it again, but now it's a babysitting issue. It was so nice to have Lindsey and Spencer watch the kids so I could complete one thing on my mental bucket list.

"We are not sissy girls!"

This is what my boot camp instructor said today, the third day of boot camp. She then proceeded to have us do extra reps with heavy weights while we side lunged.

I have to admit that since having Colton, my regular exercising schedule went haywire. I'd walk here and there, but it wasn't anywhere as consistent as it used to be before Colton was born (walking 2 miles daily, up to the day before he was born). I decided that I needed a jumpstart to get back into regular exercising. I found a boot camp at the community rec center and debated about doing it. When I talked to Eric about it, he laughed at me and told me that he didn't think I could do it. That solidified my mind and I immediately signed up for it.

My greatest fear was that my trainer would be a Jillian Michaels. I've always struggled with running great distances, so I was afraid that I'd be forced to run or do really hard things. When I got to class on the first day and met my teacher (who swears), my fears lessened - I can block out swearing. She didn't look tough or mean, so I followed her instructions and completed the workout, going lightly on the weights. I loved that I was able to complete it, and that I wasn't like one of the ladies who got sick during it and had to stop. That evening, I felt the soreness creep in. When I woke in the morning I was sore EVERYWHERE! I couldn't pick up Colton, bend down, or move without wincing. Things gradually got better. Before class on Monday, I told Eric that I was barely recovered (from the workout 4 days ago) and that I wasn't sure if I was ready for another day.

I went to class on Monday and made it through another workout (there was another person who also got sick this time). I even upped the size of the weights I used. I decided that I love the instructor's sense of humor. It will definitely get me through the classes. (She likened one of the squatting stances to an idle nail technician - loved it!) I was definitely sore the following day, mainly my butt and thighs.

I went to class today. I made it through just fine. But I can already feel my arms are going to be majorly sore over the next few days.

Good things about boot camp include:

- I'm finally getting back to consistent exercising

- recharge for the day before dealing with kids

- hopefully I'll get more toned

- I'm proving Eric wrong!!

What she said in class today about us not being sissy girls will become my temporary motto as I try to get through summer and the happenings involved with it, along with my new exercise motto.

Speaking

I do not like getting up in front of people in church whether it's to read a scripture, say a prayer, help a child with a Primary talk, share a testimony, or give a talk. It has always been a huge hurdle for me. I would always get very nervous about it. My hands would sweat, my voice would quiver, and my knees would shake. In all of my married life at our old house I gave a talk two times. The first time was when we moved in, and the second time was when the boundaries were realigned and we were put with a new ward. Since then, I developed a huge aversion to speaking. I would not and flat-out refused to speak in church. Two bishoprics knew that I do not speak in church. They knew not to ask because it just wouldn't happen. Even the stake presidency knew that I don't speak in church.

About 3 years ago my attitude shifted ever so slightly. It started when I first attended Women's Conference at BYU. My testimony was so incredibly strengthened that I felt that I needed to share it, and that I did. It was difficult and my legs shook and tears flowed. The following year, I put off sharing my testimony after Women's Conference. Instead I got up the Sunday we blessed Colton and bore my testimony. My whole family was there so I wanted to get up because I don't think any of them have ever heard my testimony. I did it and survived. Then, just before Women's Conference and our move, I got up and bore my testimony. The thing that got me up there that time was that my institute teacher, Sis. Gardener, had spoken about testimony bearing and that it only takes 30 seconds to bear your testimony. That stuck with me and I convinced myself that I could get up there for 1 minute and share my testimony.

The neat thing about each experience is that every time I got up, my testimony was strengthened. It was uncomfortable, but I did it.

So, once we moved in to our new house, sure enough, we were asked to speak in church. I didn't want to. I was able to get it pushed back a couple of weeks, but was not able to get out of it.

Throughout the week, I listened to the conference talk (which I was asked to speak about) about 5 times and read it just as many. I procrastinated slightly and couldn't start writing the talk. So, for our date night, after Eric and I hadn't been able to write our talks, we went to dinner and then to a park where we worked on our talks. The weather was nice and the park was beautiful. I found many distractions, but was finally able to get a good outline of the talk written. I typed it up Saturday and made a few changes Sunday morning.

Through it all, I wasn't worried (except for the brief stomachache Sunday morning). Eric kept on trying to give me a hard time about it all. I brushed his comments off because I felt unusually calm about it all. I got up and gave my talk. I felt really good about it all and did a lot better than I could have hoped for.

I'm not quite sure why I have done a complete 180 with regards to speaking in church, but it is so strange and amazing! I really do think that it came from me realizing that every time I have gotten up to bear my testimony, that it has been strengthened. I also believe that I have learned that my testimony can get me through anything. It's a very weird attitude change and scary too (considering I don't have a calling yet).

Good-bye House

The Hampton "big house" all started with me being bored and intrigued one day. I had the thought, "what if we add a second level to our house?" So, I sat down with paper and started sketching. Our then-current house was a decent size, but there were aspects that just weren't functional for our family, mainly the family room/living room/kitchen areas. I ended up making house plans for a remodel, adding a second level, and re-arranging the ground level. I showed it to Eric, and we tweaked it a bit. We were quite interested in the prosepect of the new house, and thus it all began. A long story short, we "remodeled" our house. It ended up being quite more than our architect and engineer were aware of. We had to re-do the foundation, and we figured that while doing so, let's rip it all up, and add a basement. So our 2400 square foot house became a 6000 square foot house. It was our baby, all completed within 6 months from the time demo began. Eric made daily trips to the building site. I made daily choices about the interior. We tailored everything about the house to our wants, needs, and likes. It was our dream house.

We never imagined that less than three years from completion, that we would be moved out. It came as quite a hard decision to make to move. We had put our heart and soul into the house, but it was time to move on for our family. Thus, a new adventure began. This post is about the memories I have of the Hampton house and building it.

Kaylen's bedroom

I fell in love with the wainscotting and yellow paint.

The master bathroom - two sinks, a walk-in shower, and jacuzzi tub

The size was so much better than our previous 4' x 8' bathroom with one sink and no bathtub. We loved having the separate areas and not having to share sinks and cabinets.

Our movie room and game room

This was Eric's area. It was decorated Ohio State-style, with a red and gray walls. We had a football mural painted to go along with the other football decor. The game room became a popular place for big sports games. We had some parties where we watched the games on the big screen (that was on the gray wall). The air hockey and pool tables were enjoyed by many people.

My kitchen

Double oven, huge island, many cabinets. I love it! We got lots of compliments about the lights above the island - they were pretty cool. I loved the clear cabinet doors; it allowed for display of plates that I've collected when I've traveled. It was a pain getting all the cabinets right, though.

The backyard

This pine tree had been there since Eric was a kid. The kids enjoyed playing outside on the trampoline and artificial grass. It was good to get away from the psycho neighbor.

The library

This was a perfect room to kick back and relax in. My dad and I built the shelves, before we moved in, and before the power was turned on, 100 degree+ heat.

My workroom

I had designed the cabinet layout in here. There was a place for everything.

The front door

I had to have this door. Eric questioned spending the money on the door and sidelights, but allowed me to get them. They were beautiful.

The staircase

I picked out every aspect of the railing. We had difficulty getting the wood stained, it took about 3 months to actually get it how I wanted it.

The wood floor

I got samples of the wood floor, but still wasn't sure about color. So, when I drove to Utah, I visited the flooring store in Cedar City and picked out the color (taking the tile and carpet samples with me).



The house is still ours, but after having someone else live in it, I'm not sure I want to go back - it just won't be the same. I'm glad I'll have the memories of building it and the good times we had as a family there.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was fairly low-key. Eric and the kids were great to fix my meals. There was a surprise delivery from Edible Arrangements (fruit cut like flowers) which we were able to enjoy also. The balloon Colton is holding came from the arrangement.

On being a mom:

- it's tough. There's always a disagreement to resolve or some other issue that has to get tackled.

- it's rewarding. There is nothing sweeter than seeing one of my kids' faces light up when they see me.

- there's nothing I'd rather do more. Eventhough I need to get away and take a break every now and then, I am always eager to get back to the kids.

- my kids are my life. Everything I do revolves around them.

- I feel so blessed to be able to raise 5 precious children.

Santa Monica & Venice Beach

On our free day with Eric's work, Logan and I signed up for the Santa Monica and Venice Beach Excursion. I had a great time with just Logan. We did a little shopping on the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. I found a LUSH store (yummy!) and a Quiksilver store where I bought a couple of things. We went to the pier and walked around there. Logan really didn't like being out on the pier, over the ocean. He was a little tense the whole time we were over the water. We also grabbed some lunch on the pier. Unfortunately the rides were not open, which was a big disappointment. We then hopped on the bus and went to Venice Beach. There were some weird hippie shops and I didn't want to walk around there for two hours, so we rented bikes. We rode about 4 miles along the beach, with only one wipeout on Logan's part. He was distracted by the beach and people and wasn't watching the sandy sidewalk and slid. The coolest part about the ride was a guy we found to the side of us who was building a pretty cool sand castle. Afterwards, we found some shaved ice and then headed back to the hotel.

My Birthday

Another year older, another birthday cake.

This year my birthday fell on a Sunday, so we went out to dinner on Saturday night.

On Sunday, things were pretty low-key. Eric fixed me breakfast. Eric and Char planned a birthday dinner for Tyler and me (Tyler and I share the same birthday). Both Eric and Char worked really hard to put together a yummy meal. For dessert, we had Eric's favorite cake - a cookies 'n cream ice cream cake. I guess if I have to celebrate another year of being older, this was a great way to do it.

Women's Conference (plus one man)

I can't even begin to describe how much I love Women's Conference. I love it! Shortly after registration opened up for Women's Conference, I was registered. I was eager to go, not only for the spiritual experiences, but also just for a break. The timing of it was pretty chaotic, just after we moved, but I still wanted to go. My mom had said in years past that she wished she would have gone, so she (finally) decided that she wanted to go too. For some reason, my dad also decided to go. I'm not sure if he just wanted an excuse to travel, or if he was hesitant to send my mom and me on our own, even though traveling alone is not new for me. This year we stayed at Wyview, an apartment complex on the BYU campus. I think Provo is probably my favorite city in Utah because it's so pretty. The pictures I took are just pretty pictures of BYU. It was the coldest it has ever been. It snowed every day!

We flew in to Salt Lake, and headed downtown to eat at Hires Big H. It's one of those restaurants that we have to eat at when we're in Utah. We drove down to Provo and got our first taste of the BYU mint brownie after checking in to our accomodations. My dad actually registered for the first day of classes. I'm not sure how he felt in the sea of thousands of women, but it was a little weird for me at first. He went to all the classes that my mom went to, because I wanted to go to different classes that sounded interesting to me. After the second day, my dad paid for the additional day of classes and he and my mom stuck together. One fabulous thing about my dad going was that on Friday, he skipped the general morning session and went and stood in line for THE class I wanted to go to. When we made it to the building for the class, we were told it was full. My mom was able to sneak us into the room where my dad was waiting with saved seats for us (which we weren't supposed to do, oops). I'm so glad that he did that, because we were able to listen to Katherine Nelson, who played Emma Smith in Legacy and Emma Smith: My Story. She was amazing. We were also able to listen to her sing - beautiful!

The classes that I went to were fantastic. I love going to Women's Conference, being edified and uplifted so much. Growing up I knew that my dad loved my mom. He always was by her side, siding with her, eager to be there for her. Through our trip together, I once again saw the huge amount of love that he has for her. He slept on the floor on a mattress (instead of climbing up on the bunk bed, which I would have done, but he wanted to be in the same room as my mom). He battled all the women there, which can be overwhelming. He went to the classes my mom wanted. While my mom and I went clothes shopping, he patiently waited while we tried on clothes, never looking for anything to buy himself. Not only is my dad a great dad, but he is an extraordinary husband.

Friday night after the conference ended, we headed downtown where we met up with my only two uncles - Uncle Cliff and Mike, along with Aunt Jackie. It was good to see them again. Uncle Mike is hilarious with the faces he makes (too bad I couldn't catch any with the camera).

Our Moving Story

Back in December, Eric got an email from a realtor listing houses. Eric usually gets these emails and sends them to the delete file, without even opening. However, with this foreclosed listing, he actually opened it. It sounded interesting, so just for the heck of it, we went and looked at the house.

When I drove through the neighborhood for the first time, I thought, "Wow, this looks like a mini-Muirfield (the awesome neighborhood where Eric's grandparents live)." The house was a little bigger than our current house, but it had been gutted, which would leave us with a lot of work to do. The lot is over an acre, and had a lake for a swimming pool, complete with ducks. We looked through the house and noted all that we would have to repair (appliances, lights, plumbing fixtures, carpet, toilets, paint, electrical, baseboards). We also noticed that there had been some water damage in the basement. We later realized that the grading on the property was such that any water drained into the basement. This led to more repairs (ripping up the driveway, moving palm trees, re-grading the property, adding drains, repairing wallboard).

We thought, prayed, went to the temple, and fasted to help us with the decision. We had just remodeled/rebuilt our current house less than 3 years ago. It had absolutely everything we wanted, all to our design. How could we leave it to renters (there was no way we could sell it with the current market situation)? We liked the convenience of our neighborhood. We had good friends within our ward. We were within walking distance of my parents' house. There was so much to consider. The school system was stinking big time. Spencer and Logan were getting bullied in school. There were not very many kids in the ward for Lindsey and Spencer. There was so much to consider. With all this, plus all the work which would have to be done, we still decided to place an offer on the house. Our offer was accepted within 24 hours.

We had many hoops to jump through for the bank and the loan. It eventually all got pulled together and we signed on the house in March. The repairs started. We worked on repairing the house for a month before we moved in. To meet the bank's approval, we had to have all 7 of the bathrooms working, in addition to the kitchen working with appliances. Eric was eager to move so we could get the other house rented, so we decided to move the beginning of April, in the middle of all the fix-ups. We brought things and stored them in the garage, all through the month of March. This meant that everything was coated in a fine layer of sawdust/paint. It was a lovely mess.

Moving day came, and it was crazy. I had tried to pack up all that I could during the prior months, but there was still a lot to do. My dad had made many trips to the house with his little truck loaded up. We managed to get about 70% of everything on Saturday. It was still a pretty hard day, but I didn't think much about it. I just thought about having beds made and church clothes located. Then on Monday, when I went back to the house to get all the rest of the stuff, it hit me, and I collapsed in a friend's arms. I really felt like there were so few people who helped us. As it had gotten closer to moving day, my mom took care of the kids, which was really helpful. A handful of people from the ward had come over and helped for a couple of hours, but I was very disappointed that the people who I've known for 14 years didn't show more support. I will say, though, that I learned from it. I learned that I should never assume somebody else is going to do it. I'm sure that a lot of people in the ward would have helped, but maybe they didn't because they thought other people would be helping. So, now I need to never assume that someone is going to help another person in need. When I hear of someone needing help, whether it be a meal or moving or childcare, I'm not going to assume that someone else will do it and I will step up and help out.

For the first couple of weeks of living at the new house, I felt like I was on vacation and that I'd be going back home. Every day I drove by our old house. However, I hated going into our old house, seeing all that I was leaving and thinking of the new house in the repair-state that it was in. I couldn't call our new house home or say that, "I'm going home." There were still workers at the house, and little did I know, they would still be there all the way into July. I had the basic things found, but there were some things I needed that were still piled in the garage in the myriad of stacked boxes. The school schedule was insane! I felt like I was in the car for half the day, and only had an hour each day to work on unpacking and organizing. Thankfully, I was able to take Kaylen to my parents' house in the morning and they put her on the afternoon bus for school. Otherwise I would have had to make another trip into M for school.

Our ward was very welcoming. It was also really exciting to see a friend from high school in the ward. There are so many couples in the ward close to our ages, with 4-6 kids. We're really excited to get to know everyone and become part of the ward family. We do, however, dearly miss certain people in our old ward. I really miss working with the ladies in Primary.

I hated leaving our old house. We interviewed lots of renters. Some seemed nice, others I thought, no way. The people who I really wanted to have it, didn't put an offer in. Another young girl did, and we accepted it, but my gut kept on aching. I'm not sure if we had made a bad choice, or if I was just reluctant to leave. So, we canceled on her. Another family came along, and I realized that nobody is going to be perfect for me, and that I needed to choose someone, so I chose them. I wanted to check-in with them often and see if things were going ok (read: see if they were trashing the house), but I didn't. I'm eager for the quarterly inspection, to see how things look on the inside of the house. I just wish I could do the inspection, but I can't. Hopefully things are good, since that house was my baby.

We've only moved 13 minutes away from our childhood, but we feel like we've moved across the country. If I would have known it would have felt like this, I would have tried harder to convince Eric to move to Utah. Actually, I'm not sure if I would have gone that far, but I would have felt the same. It's all kinda crazy. I'm writing this in July, and it's just starting to feel like I'm home. I guess it all takes time, just ask my unpacked office. : )

A Knock at the Door

As I was preparing to leave for Women's Conference, there was a knock on the door. I opened it thinking it was the babysitter, but there stood two guys from a different church. I usually don't open the door when these people come around, mainly because I know they're well-versed in the Bible and I don't feel as though I am. I told the guy I only had a couple of minutes, but a 10 minute conversation was already in the making. The guy started talking about Jesus and, basically, the 2nd coming. Just as he asked me, "Do you think Jesus will come to the earth?" the 10th Article of Faith popped into my mind and I was able to answer him, "Yes, I believe that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory." This was another testimony builder for me. I believe that the Holy Ghost was there for me to help me with this uncomfortable situation.

Salt Lake

Eric, Colton, and I travelled to Salt Lake for the Utah Office's annual meetings and awards banquet. Because Colton is still "attached" to me, he got to join in the fun. We stayed at our usual hotel - The Little America, with its yummy breakfast buffet and spacious rooms. Eric left on Wednesday to meet with some clients. I left on Thursday. It was kind of interesting flying with Colton alone. At least I had Josh and Joan, from Eric's office, help me on and off the plane. (Josh is a new agent with Eric's office. I hadn't met him or his wife, but they picked me up from home and we rode to the airport together. When it came time to get on the plane, we got separated and sat apart. But I had a lovely conversation with the lady next to me about polygamy.)

Eric arranged for a sitter the two nights that we had dinner with our group and then during the awards banquet, so we did get a break from baby C.

We had Friday afternoon open, so we hung out downtown. I've always been in awe over the outside of the Salt Lake City and County Building, so I talked Eric into going there. The coolest thing about the building was all of the exterior detail. There wasn't much to look at inside, though.

Outside the city and county building - a makeshift slide for Colton

Our next adventure was off to the Sale Lake City Cemetery. I was determined to find President Hinckley's grave. We drove all around, trying to follow directions that I found on the internet. Eric was ready to give up, but somehow we managed to find it (prayer). The cemetery was very quiet. The headstone was modest, yet perfect. We also found two other prophet's headstones.

Our final adventure was to Hatch Family Chocolates with Josh and Joan. I had seen the premiere of Little Chocolatiers (aka Hatch Family Chocolates) on TLC, and was watching closely the surroundings on the show. The mountains looked like the beautiful Utah mountains, so I did some research, and sure enough, Hatch Family Chocolates was located in the Avenues in SLC. We made a trip there, only to be stopped outside the door by a TLC employee wanting us to sign a waiver to be taped. We eagerly signed away and entered the shop. We ordered our chocolates, ate our sweet treat - Eric a milkshake, and me a raspberry Italian soda, and tried desperately to get filmed. Josh and Joan were so cute, feeding each other their sweets. Eric, thought that it was the perfect time for Colton, 7 months old, to eat his first chocolate. I mildly protested, and found that Colton loved his chocolate shake, Colton and Eric even got filmed during the milkshake incident. We're anxious to see if we make it on the air.

It was a fun trip. I love Utah, and am always eager to go there. It was especially fun because we got to celebrate Eric's hard work for last year. Way to go Eric, you did it again!

Dalhousie Castle

In honor of Halloween, I'll make my best attempt to re-tell my ghostly experience....

Eric's brother decided for the ultimate fairly tale wedding. They planned for years to get married in Scotland, sending out 'save the date' cards to everyone. We marked it on our calendar, thinking that it would be a long shot to make it all the way to Scotland for their wedding in a castle. As time came nearer, it appeared that we would be able to join them in Scotland for their wedding. We decided that we would take two weeks and make a fabulous vacation out of it. Eric's grandparents and mom joined us. I planned all the details of the trip, from the multiple plane trips, to the hotels, to the private tours. We were all very excited and really looking forward to the experiences we'd have in Ireland and Scotland.

We spent the first week exploring Southern Ireland. It was a beautiful country, probably my favorite country I've been to.

We flew to Scotland and checked in at Dalhousie Castle in Bonnyrigg Scotland, just outside Edinburgh. Dalhousie Castle is a 13th century fortress. I didn't know quite what to expect of a castle, but it was quite awesome. Each of our rooms were different. Our room was a warm orange color. There was a bathroom and a bed area. There was also a sitting area. Some castles have round turrets at the corners. Our room was a corner room, so it had the round area which had been turned into a sitting area. This area used to house a spiral staircase, providing access to all floors of the castle.

The wedding was beautiful, kilts and everything. On the wedding night we went to Edinburgh, skipping out on a ghost tour that the rest of the wedding party was participating in (I'm not a fan of scary things at all). We hoped to do laundry, but didn't find an open laundromat. We went back to the castle, and joined the wedding party (whose ghost tour didn't work out). Ryan, Eric's brother, had talked with Peter, one of the employees. Peter arranged to give us a tour of the castle. The tour started out in the library, where Peter shared some of the castle history. The castle is supposed to be haunted by Lady Catherine who starved herself, among other people and animals.

We all followed each other around the castle, as Peter points out differnet secret passages. We each take a turn going halfway down some secret basement stairs. I've never said that I believe in ghosts. I've also never said that I don't believe in ghosts. I just don't want to mess with that type of stuff because it scares me. So, throughout the tour, I just kind of brush off any hauting stories that Peter shares, thinking it's all made up. The history of the castle is one of war and bloodshed.

As the tour winds down, Eric and I climb the massive crooked stairs to our room. We were tired after a long day, and went to sleep. During the middle of the night, I awoke suddenly. Something didn't feel right in the room. I'm afraid to open my eyes. Over in the corner of the room, near the sitting area, I feel that there is something over there. It was not a pleasant feeling at all. I wake up Eric, panicking. I was terrified. I felt something evil and I was scared. Eric just laughed at me and told me that I was thinking of the tour and that I was imagining things. I opened my eyes, expecting to see two red eyes looking back at me. I didn't see anything through the darkness. I still felt something, something that to this day gives me chills and makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck any time I think of it. Eric puts his arm around me, trying to comfort me. I started crying. I really felt something in that room and was incredibly afraid. Somehow I managed to go back to sleep. In the morning I refused to go to that area of the room. I had left some of my toiletries in that area and did not want to get them. I made Eric get them out of the room so we could pack up and leave the castle, which I was eager to do.

I never saw or heard anything ghost-like at the castle. There were times that I felt like I wasn't alone eventhough there wasn't anyone around (when I was getting a massage at the spa and when I was in the bathroom). When I got home I did some research regarding the castle. There are many haunting accounts. There was one lady who described an experience quite similar to mine. A website wrote of how there are accounts of a ghost who would wander the turrets. I will always believe that I felt one of the ghosts of Dalhousie Castle.