Do You See What I See?

Do you see it?

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Look closely

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Do you know what that is?

It's PROGRESS!

Ill-Prepared

So is it a bad thing if I came away from tonight's preparedness enrichment meeting and all I can think is, "Boy! I am not prepared!" Some of these ladies were so on the ball. 72-hour kits, 3-month supply, 1-year supply! I mean come on! I have already burned through half of the food storage my in-laws gave us for Christmas this year. Now I'm feeling a little guilty. I just don't know where to start. I got the food portion of my 72-hour kits today and I'm actually feelin' pretty good about that. I've got the pamphlets and the printouts on how to get going, why can't I do it? Any tips?

Blog Jar: Tell a courtship story about you and your spouse.
Hmm... okay. A little known fact about Ryan and I is that we met on the Internet. I know, I know. I'm cringing putting this out there for the world to read. The funny thing is that it was 10 years ago when the Internet really wasn't what it was today. I don't even think there was such a thing as Internet dating. But it is what it is. So... I had just graduated from high school and I had a boyfriend at the time that I really wasn't loving so much. I thought maybe I was done with him, but we had been dating for 2 years and he was talking about marriage and that was scary, but breaking up would be a big change and I was only 18 and really dumb. My parents did not love this boyfriend either. In fact, they had a very strict curfew in place with him. I had to be home by 10:00 every night. This left me with a lot of free time on my hands, so I surfed the Internet. (I think that was when chat rooms were a huge thing and not nearly as scary as they are now) Anyway... one night I got this random IM from some crazy guy I had never met. I believe his opening line was, "My friend and I rented Jumping Jack Flash, do you want to come over and watch it?" Stellar! We chatted for a while and he had me rolling. I remember even calling my sister Lauri into the room so she could join in on the fun. A few days later when I signed online again, he IM'd me again and was as funny as ever. We chatted online for a few weeks and then moved onto phone calls. At some point during all of this I told my boyfriend that I definitely needed to date other people if I was going to even consider thinking of marriage. His response to that was, "If you go out with some guy, we're through." My thoughts were, "OK... kinda sad, but bye." And off I went on a date with Ryan. He wooed me, charmed me, smoothed out some of my rough edges, and well... the rest is history.

Seven Canyons

About once or twice a year we make the journey up to the Seven Canyons. The kids always have a blast and it's nice and cool for us adults to sit and chat. This year my girls were at the perfect age. They were old enough to wander off a little and test out their growing independence, but they were still young enough to have a whole lotta fun.

Kaden Khursten
Tanner
Nicole
Weston
Audrey Lucy

Kangaroo Zoo

Right by the entrance to our neighborhood there's this cute little place called Kangaroo Zoo. We noticed it the first time we saw our new house, and Ryan promised the girls that he'd take them there to celebrate our move. We finally had a chance to go yesterday. The girls had a blast bouncing and jumping all over the place. They have bounce houses that are 3 stories high. I was scared to death when Audrey decided she was big enough to climb up the huge slide and go down it all by herself. She did it though. My baby's sure growing up. Khursten had fun learning how to do flips and tricks and then performing them for us. We barely saw Nicole, but when we did, she was usually running past us in a blur. Hooray for the Kangaroo Zoo. Blog Jar: What callings have you had in the church? Which were your favorite? Which were the most difficult for you?

I thought this was an appropriate topic for today. Last night I said a prayer to please let me meet people in our new ward and start making friends. This morning I was called into the Bishop's office and asked to serve in the Relief Society presidency as the R.S. secretary. Hmm... talk about being in a position to meet people )or at least learn their names). Be careful what you ask for, I guess. I had been a teacher in the R.S. in my past ward for a couple of years and was really comfortable in that position. I enjoyed doing it, and I felt that in my own small little way, I was making a difference. I was really hoping I'd get that calling again, but I guess that's not where I was needed. I have actually served as the R.S. secretary before about 8 years ago. It proved to be the most difficult calling that I have ever had, and to be honest, I was not very happy. It actually took me a few years to really understand the lessons I was being taught. So now I'm both nervous and excited to try this again. I know that I have grown a lot in both spirituality and maturity and I am feeling more prepared to accept this calling. Wish me luck. And to my new ward... please be patient with me, and I promise to try my hardest! :)

Do You Remember...

Do you remember these cute little fellas?

Target had these videos on sale for $5.50 and I couldn't resist buying a couple for my girls. They're bringing back some memories for sure! "Dance your cares away! Worry's for another day! Let the music play, down at Fraggle Rock!"

The Grass is Always Greener

What do they always say?... You don't know what you've got until it's gone? I'm finding that to be too true. Today I'm having an "I miss my back yard so bad it hurts" day. My poor girls. This summer's a hot, dry, miserable one with no lush, green grass to run through and no wading pools to splash in. Here's how they're forced to spend their days.

p.s. Do you love the scrambled faces? I wasn't sure of the protocol. I don't know these girls moms very well and I wasn't sure they'd love having their kids posted on my blog. Now their identities will remain safe. :)

Blog Jar: What do you like to wear? What don't you like to wear?

I'm a jeans & a T-shirt gal all the way. I hate socks and shoes so the second the snow melts, it's flip-flops every day. I have a pair in every color. I see those super cute girls in their coordinated ensembles, matching jewelry, and corduroy hats, and I'm a little jealous. But the truth is, that will just never be me. I will always be the jeans & a T-shirt gal.

So I Guess I Can't Dance

I don't know about the rest of you out there, but as soon as I turn off my TV on Wednesday nights after watching So You Think You Can Dance, I immediately start dancing. I'm so riled up that this is definitely the time when my best moves come out. I think I'm 16-years-old all over again. It's a pity really that there aren't more people there to share this moment with me. Ryan doesn't seem to fully appreciate it's amazingness. Anyway... I was in the middle of tonight's very awesome dancing escapade doing all of my usual moves when I found myself mid-air in an attempt to do a toe touch. As I was ascending I thought to myself, "Oh no! What did I just do?" You see... I haven't done a toe touch in many, many years. I knew the outcome could not be good. It was like in the movies when everything goes in super slow motion when something bad's about to happen. I reached the peak of my fabulous move (which I happened to do in front of my full-length mirror so I could make sure to witness my own greatness) I yelped as I reached the mid-air splits and sharp stabbing pains ran through my legs. Would that noise be classified as a crack or a pop? The way back down was actually okay. I was able to once again get my feet underneath myself in preparation for the landing. But oh the landing! Not pretty. Any of you who have had 3 kids may know what I'm talking about. Let's just say that tonight's little charade left me with a firm belief that I no longer think I can dance. Sad day for Sarah, indeed.

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Blog Jar: What is the most wonderful thing that ever happened to you?

Umm... talk about hard! I don't really know. Some of my best things were of course meeting Ryan and being blessed with three wonderful little girls. I also think that making the decision to go back to church and getting sealed to Ryan and Khursten is right up there at the top of my list. Ryan calls this type of answer "cloud answers". (Don't ask me how he came up with that name) It's the type of answer you give at church when you really don't know the right answer. You know the type of answer I'm talking about. "say my prayers," read my scriptures." "go to church." You're usually safe when you go with one of those. But I actually feel like quite a few good things have happened in my life within the past little while. Getting my surgery, getting our new house, making some awesome friends (but not having them move away. that was lame), Ryan's promotion. That's not one definite answer, but it will have to do for now. :)