Merrry Christmas 2011

As the year wraps up and I reflect on all our adventures I'm reminded once again how I need to take more pictures!  Without pictures I struggle to remember all the good times and since pictures are more interesting than words this review may be limited.

We celebrated our first anniversary near the end of 2010 a week late in order to celebrate Thanksgiving with family. We began with a trip to Provo to check out the Carl Bloch exhibit at BYU.  Then we drove up to Midway, where we had spent our anniversary, to have a picnic and eat our cake top.  We had intended to hike Memorial Hill, but it was covered in snow and cold outside, so we instead opted for a picnic in the car.  I'm afraid every anniversary may be blessed with snow.

In January I got called as the Young Women President in our ward.  We had about eight girls on record, but only three ever came to activities.  After just a month my counselors and I managed to get six to activities regularly, and after three months we had one coming to church regularly.  By the time I was released in September we had about two or three coming to church each week and three of them had been to the temple to do Baptisms.  We loved those girls, and had a really good experience getting to know them and spending time with them.  Bret enjoyed my calling far more than he did his own (Executive Secretary).

Before spring we managed to celebrate the end of winter by joining a group of friends in the canyon for a BBQ.  Normally this annual event is blessed with blue skies and warm weather, but we weren't as lucky this year.

 

In March we took a trip to Washington state to visit Bret's brother Troy and his family.  It was an easy drive and relaxing vacation.  We got to go on a field trip with the kids to see a dentist's office.  The kids were more interested in the cartoon playing on the TV on the ceiling than they were in good oral hygiene.

We also got to help build a tree house, or at least dig a hole for one of the posts. You can see the post just behind Troy's left shoulder.

On the way home from Washington we stopped in Boise to visit with Bret's aunt and uncle.  I was pleased to learn of their involvement in their Neighborhood Watch organization as I have played a key role in ours for the last couple of years.  I put together the monthly newsletter and help organize the annual street party.  Of course, that means Bret is involved as well.  We've made some great friends through the Neighborhood Watch.

A lot of our free time is filled with friends, old and new.  In April we helped our good friend and neighbor, Danielle (upper right corner) run a 5K fundraiser for Mothers Without Borders.  Besides seeing friends run, we enjoyed spending the day with other friends who helped with set up and registration.

In May I got to go on my annual road trip with two good friends.  This year we went to Kodachrome State Park,  just south and east of Bryce National Park.  I loved it there and highly recommend everyone check it out if you ever head that way.  While I was gone Bret spent the weekend with his parents.  We love having our parents so close and only wish we had more time to spend with them.

In the summer we joined some friends in having a yard sale.  We didn't make much more than $100 and took more to Deseret Industries than we managed to sell, but we enjoyed sitting outside with good friends.  And as you can see, we did our part to avoid getting sunburned.

I spent a lot of my summer sleeping on an air mattress.  In July I went to Girls Camp for a week.  Bret joined us for the last day, and it was fun seeing the girls get excited when he showed up.  It was really neat to hear the girls' testimonies, and see their excitement for life as we hiked and canoed.  Since our stake has so few youth we actually do Girls Camp on the stake level and still we only had about 20 in attendance and a few of them weren't even in the stake, but cousins of girls in the stake.

And of course, played games.  Bret was able to spend one night up there as a token priesthood leader.

The week after Girls' Camp we headed to California to spend time with some of my siblings.  My sister Laurie and her family, in Sacramento, were our first stop.  Then we all met up with my brothers Stephen and Marshall to celebrate the Fourth of July in San Mateo with a picnic.  Bret and I made the drive back and forth a couple times, in order to spend as much time as possible with the various family members.

Summer was a busy traveling time for nearly every one of my siblings.  While we were gone to California my brother Ron decided to move from Utah to Texas and my sister Andrea decided to move to Utah from Texas.  In August, right near my birthday, my sister Risa managed to visit, calling for a big family dinner.  We had a birthday cake, but didn't bother getting the right numbered candles, allowing me to feel at least a decade younger.

In August we spent a week in Orem with Bret's parents, attending BYU's Education Week.  We loved our time there and came home feeling very motivated and excited about life.  One of the outcomes was creating a new morning schedule for ourselves where we get up earlier to exercise together and have personal study time.  We're pleased to report that even in the cold we manage to keep going.  We plan to attend again next year and are grateful to have a place to stay so close to campus.

We failed to take any photos while we were at BYU, but we do visit Bret's parents each month for a family dinner.  Luckily I had my camera handy one afternoon when Bret was helping in the kitchen.

In the fall I decided to take some classes.  Renewing my teaching license required some professional development and the easiest way to do that was taking college level courses.  There's a branch of Salt Lake Community College a few blocks away so I enrolled in some basic classes.  I really enjoyed taking my first math class in over 20 years.  I was surprised to find one of my past students in there and was grateful to have a friend.  Bret was happy to help me with Math and Economics.  Having homework inspired me to host a weekly homework party with the young women.  They all got higher grades that term than they ever had before, so I felt it was a success.

I was released from my calling in the Young Women in October, only to be put in as a counselor in the Stake Young Women.  I'm grateful our stake has such a small group of Young Women, necessitating that we do a lot of activities on the stake level, allowing me to still see and interact with the girls. 

Speaking of callings.... Bret has a new one, but it won't be announced until January, so if you're curious feel free to ask in January!

Those are the highlights of our year, and truthfully, we've had few if any low-lights.  We find ourselves feeling truly blessed day after day and we know that happiness comes from the source of all happiness, our Savior Jesus Christ.  We wish you a beautiful new year as you remember your divine nature and look to your Heavenly Father for continued guidance.

Until, next year,