"WELL DONE!" ISAAC and JONAH

There aren't many things I like better than driving up to the house and seeing beautiful grass. Taking care of the yard has just not been high on our "To Do" list these days. With dialysis and blood transfusions we have just been too preoccupied. So when Jeff and Brooke offer up their adorable boys, we are VERY grateful. Isaac and Jonah have been mowing the lawn and weeding for us. What a highlight it is for us. First of all it is fun to have them over to hang out, and second of all the yard looks great! THANKS Guys!! YOU ARE WONDERFUL!!

Happy 24th Everyone!

Happy 24th! We celebrated by going to the Bountiful Handcart Days Parade. This was a first for me. We had a great time. Liz and Josh were nice enough to save some seats for us so we had a front row view. Josh said we shouldn't judge the parade by this year. It was not the best he has seen. So we are not sure if this will become a tradition. Nevertheless it was fun to watch the boys chase candy. We took Isaac, Jonah, and Noah. After the parade we came back here for a movie/sleepover night. We watched "Looney Tunes", "Superman Returns" (Noah's choice because he was the birthday boy) and "Second Hand Lions". The boys ate two pounds of bacon and 1 1/2 batches of waffles. It was a fun time. As you can see by the pictures, Ally was really enjoying Jonah's quilt. She was snuggling up to him all night. We spent the afternoon at the pool with Kelsey and the boys. Barbeque and fireworks tonight with Liz and Josh. Hope all of you are remembering the pioneers today. Thank you John Jacob Zundel!

Newport Beach

I want to say that Newport Beach is one of my favorite places to visit. There are even things about it that I like better than Maui. I believe it to be an almost perfect vacation spot for families. I LOVE the ocean. I really, really love it. We always manage to luck out on the weather and have quite a bit of sun. I love the little shops. I really like discovering something new each time we go that we want to do again. I even enjoy being at Disneyland, as long as there are grandchildren there. I love all of the things that we do every time, like Ruby's and Fashion Island, and the beautiful Newport Temple.

Having a vacation with one's children and their families is just a little piece of Heaven. It is so much fun to watch you all do your wonderful "parenting" thing. It is nice to be together when EVERYONE is on vacation. You guys are great!

Thanks everyone, for making the effort to be there. Thanks for putting your best foot forward and making it a very, very memorable trip.

P.S. By the way......LOVED the schedule. Going to do that again, only MORE.... and those that don't like it, which is totally fine, can just ignore it.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINDSAY ZUNDEL LEWIS MATHIE!!

We love you Lindsay, and we are so grateful you are part of our family. You are a great example to all of us. Thanks for all that you do for our family!

L stands for LIVELY! Always ready to go shopping.

I stands for INTERESTING! Always ready to learn something new.

N stands for NEVER EVER late! On time ALWAYS!!

D stands for DETERMINED! Always doing your best.

S stands for SASSY! Not afraid to speak your mind.

A stands for AMAZING! You get more done by 9 than I do in a day.

Y stands for YOUTH! You look like you are 17!

Hope your day is a fun one!! We will celebrate again when you get up here!

Party at Jenn's new place!!

LOVEYOUTONSANDTONSMOM

Mom

I don't feel like I want to make this a tribute to my mom. I feel like my tribute to Mom was done at the funeral. I would just like to share a few of the things that I learned throughout the process.

The greatest lesson is that nothing in our earthly experience is as important as how we treat others. "Relationships are more important than any task at hand". This does not mean that we over look or ignore our feelings. Quite to the contrary. We owe it to ourselves and others to express those feelings in an appropriate way. There is nothing so over as death. We don't get a second chance. Easy to say. I know it gets said all of the time. I believe that until you experience losing someone close to you, it is hard to have a clue what it means.

I knew that Mom was getting close to leaving us. I knew that we would all be comforted. What I had NO CLUE about is how much I would need that comfort. I had no idea that it would be so hard. Comfort comes from believing that she is so pleased with the funeral and all of the arrangements. I have never felt such approval for anything as I have felt from that. The greatest comfort comes from knowing how happy she is now. She learned and she taught whatever it was that was necessary for her to pass to that better place.

I am grateful, more than I can express, that I got to be there at the end. I am grateful because she was not alone and it was peaceful. The Spirit that I felt that night was so strong. I will never understand the blessing that was mine, but truly, I will never forget it. Heavenly Father loves us, even when we don't feel we deserve it, and he answers our prayers. Love you all.

June 2009 The month I will never forget.

I have had a hard time facing a new post. I have learned so many lessons and had so many incredible spiritual experiences. I have struggled figuring out how to incorporate it all into a post that does justice to all that I have felt. I finally figured it out. It will take more than one post. I have a lot to cover, and I don't want any of it to get shortchanged. More to come......

I love to see the Temple

Congrats to Liz on her beautiful wedding day! Mom, you throw a great party and it was so fun to be together in the temple! (Maybe we should do this one time when no one is getting married- that'd be a good idea!)

Just a sample of the pictures to come! WE LOVE YOU!!!!!