Thanksgiving 2015

Thanksgiving is always a fun day. There's nothing better than gathering the whole family together around a nice, big, delicious meal.  This year we celebrated up at Heber Valley Camp with my missionary parents.

It had snowed the night before, and the fresh snow was perfect for playing in. 

After the feasting and waking up from our turkey-induced comas, we (when I say we, I mean everyone except for me) went sledding. 

Everyone took turns sliding down the hill and then being pulled back up by the side-by-sides.

(That's my kind of sledding -where there's little to no effort involved.)

It was one of the most fun Thanksgivings yet.

Au revoir

My parents have been serving as Service Missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the Church owned camp, Heber Valley Camp.

They recently completed their second year there.  We all thought they were done, but they were asked to stay on throughout the winter and for another summer as well.  

Mom will be working as a "camp secretary" of sorts, and Dad is the second in command over the entire camp.  Everyone loves them because they love and serve with all their might and heart.

They were able to come home for a short two weeks, and are needed back up on the mountain tomorrow!  We are grateful for the times we are able to see them.  We really miss them!

Where Justice, Love, and Mercy Meet

Where Justice, Love, and Mercy Meet

by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

This talk begins with the suspenseful story of 14 year old Jimmy and his 19 year old brother, John. My entire house was quiet and everyone's attention was fixed on the TV while Elder Holland was telling this story. 

 Two boys were rock climbing in Snow Canyon State Park.  Why they weren't wearing any safety gear (harnesses, safety ropes, etc) is beyond me, but they weren't.  Near the top of their climb they discovered a protruding ledge that denied them access to the top.  There wasn't a way to get over it.  The older boy, John, was somehow able to boost his little brother, Jimmy, on top of the ledge.  But there was no way to lift himself up.  Soon, his muscles began to fatigue.  He decided that his only option was to try to jump and try to catch hold of the ledge, hoping to have enough strength left to pull himself up on top of the ledge to safety.

He knows this is risky.  Not wanting his younger brother to see him if he should fail and fall to his death below, he asks him to go find a branch he can lower down to him.  Giving his brother enough time to be gone, John leaps.  He catches the ledge, but there was nothing to hang on to and his fingers slowly began to slip on the sandy surface.  There was no way he going to be able to hold on.  Suddenly, out of nowhere, two hands grabbed his wrists and pulled him up to safety.  

"[His} faithful little brother had not gone looking for any fictitious branch.  Guessing exactly what [John] was planning to do, he had never moved an inch.  He had simply waited - silently, almost breathlessly- knowing full well [John] would be foolish enough to try to make that jump. When [he] did, [Jimmy] grabbed [him], held [him], and refused to let [him] fall.  Those strong brotherly arms saved [his] life that day as [he] dangled helplessly above what would surely have been certain death."

This story reminded me of an activity my family did last summer (you can read more about it here).  Each one of us had to reach the top of a 12 foot wall- an almost impossible task.  Luckily, just like in the story of Jimmy and John, someone from the top was able to reach down and grab the climber pulling him or her to safety.

We all make mistakes.  We all fall and find ourselves desperately trying hang on over a high cliff.

Fortunately, we have a Savior who is there to grab us, hold us, and who refuses to let us fall.

image source

"Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, suffered, died, and rose from death in order that He could, like, lightning in a summer storm, grasp us as we fall, hold us with His might, and through our obedience to His commandments, lift us to eternal life."

I am so grateful for a Savior who suffered, bled, and died for me that Easter weekend over 2000 years ago.  I know that if I had been the only one who needed the Atonement, He still would have completed it.  He loves me and is always there to catch me when I fall.

Zip-Line = Flat-line

We spent last Saturday and Sunday up at Heber Valley Camp (HVC).  It is heavenly up there.  I just bask in the quiet, peaceful, serene, beautiful atmosphere of it all.  

 I get to be with my family.  I get to see my mom and dad.

What could be better?

 We are allowed two "visits" per year.  Since my parents served there last year, this was our 4th stay.

Each visit includes a challenge course (there are 5 different ones to choose from), boating on the lake, and an over-night stay in one of their awesome cabins. 

 Mom and Dad choose the challenge course for us, and this time they chose the zip-line, or Challenge Course #2. 

I have a love-hate relationship with the Zip-line.  I don't mind climbing the 20 foot pole up to the top, but the moment I have to step on the horizontal pole and make the walk across to the actual zip-line, my fear of heights sets in and really scares the bejeebers out of me.

 

Finally after I get my knees to stop shaking and I make it to the zip-line platform, my heart finally starts to slow-down, and I can breathe again.  The worker hooks you up, gives you a pep-talk, and then it's time to jump to your death.  (Okay not really, but it feels that way.)  It takes a serious amount of trust to leap off that super high platform.  Once you do and the initial rush is over.  It becomes so fun, you almost -almost- want to do it again.

 (I chose this picture because I look really tan in it. - That is all.)

 Every time we go, Clint and I mention how fun it would be to have a family reunion up here with his family.  Who knows. . . one day, we might actually do it!

 At each challenge course and also the lake they have a sandbox for the children to play in. (Whoever thought of this idea must have been a mom with little kids.  Bravo Lady!) 

After the challenge course, we canoed on the lake where I had the cutest view.

There's just something awesome about having fun with your family outdoors.

I can't wait to go back!  (Next time, I'm forcing #1 to call in sick to work . . .Insert Evil Laugh. . .)

Weekend Festivities

This past weekend was full of good times.

(We were pretty much singing "Nah Nah Nah We're Gonna Have a Good Time- Hey Hey Hey!" all weekend long.)

Friday Night, Mr. Collins took me on a date to Cubby's.  The food is good, and by good I mean not only delicious but also good for your body. It was a win-win for us both.  We'll be back - really soon, I hope!

 Saturday was the kick-off of our small town's "Days".  Every city in Utah has a week or weekend they celebrate what makes them unique.  This week is "Our" week!

Here we are watching the Mud Volleyball event.  Bodies were slipping and mud was flying everywhere.

 These two were smart and stood way back out of mud's reach.

Later Saturday night, we headed up to HVC.  It was our last turn this year, to visit our missionaries up there, but more about that later. 

The best thing about the weekend was that this boy finished his last day of work and is home!  I had no idea how much not only I but everyone would miss him.  We're so glad he's home for good.

The 4th at HVC

After the parade, we headed to the mountains of Heber Valley Camp (HVC).

It was our turn to visit my parents on their mission.  We met, as we always do, at the park in Heber City where we ate an early dinner, had ice cream from Dairy Keen, and then headed up the mountain to HVC.

We began on the lake.

 Everyone chose to canoe, except for us.  We decided to be different 

 and take out a paddle boat instead.  They might be slow, but hey! they're a great workout for your legs.

 When my legs were screaming they'd had enough, we went and played on the beach.

Clint schooled the boys in a little game of horseshoe before it was time to for our appointment with the 'swing of death'.

 Okay that's not what it's really called, but I do think it has a nice ring to it.  Don't you?

 After harnessing up 

you step up on this ladder where you're hooked up to a giant rope

pulled by these handsome men, and yours truly.

These amazingly strong and good looking rope pullers pull you up to that black square on the tree.

Then, when your trust is in order, your good-byes have been said, and you've crossed yourself at least 3 times, you let go of the rope and plunge down to the ground below.

Once the ride is over, praises of gratitude to God for sparing your life have been spoken, and your eyes have stopped watering from the major-wedgie you've just experienced, you're done -Ride's Over, and you get in line to do it again!

Farewell FHE

Today, my parents are officially Elder and Sister again.

They are returning for their second year as service missionaries at Heber Valley Camp (HVC)- a camp created by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for young women, families, and church groups.  It is a beautiful, peaceful, and really fun place. (More Posts about HVC HERE)

 

Last week, we had a family FHE hosted by my sister, Kimberlee.

My dad taught a lesson on family unity which reminded me of this Vietnamese folktale.  (He used toothpicks instead of chopsticks.)  

CHOPSTICKS

Once there was an old man who lived with his three young sons in a small village in Vietnam. Though they all loved each other very much, the boys seemed to always be fighting and quarreling.

One day the father called them to him. “My sons,” he said, “I want each of you to bring me a chopstick.”

“Yes, Father,” they said, and each ran to get a chopstick.

When they stood before him again, he said to his oldest son, Ta, “Can you break your chopstick?”

“Yes, Father. That’s easy.” He snapped his chopstick in two.

The father asked his middle son, Hai, “Can you break your chopstick?”

“Yes, Father. That’s easy.” Hai snapped his chopstick in two.

“Can you break your chopstick?” the father asked his youngest son, Thu.

“Yes, Father. That’s easy.” It was harder for him, but he was able to break his chopstick in two.

“Now,” the father said to his youngest son, “bring me three unbroken chopsticks.”

Thu ran to get them.

“When you hold them together, can you break them?” asked the father.

Thu tried as hard as he could, but he could not break the three together. Hai also tried, but he couldn’t break them.

Ta, being the oldest, thought he might break the three, but try as he would, he could not do it.

“I hope you have learned from the chopsticks,” said their father.

One day soon after that, Thu was taking his new ball to a friend’s house to play. At the end of his street, a bully, much bigger than Thu, jumped out and took the ball away from him.

“Please give it back,” Thu begged. But the bully would not. Thu went home and told his brothers what had happened.

Ta and Hai looked at each other. “Chopsticks?” they said, and they went to find the bully. “What are you doing with our brother’s ball?” they asked.

“Aw, I just borrowed it,” said the bully, looking nervously at the brothers. He gave it back at once and didn’t borrow it again.

Some time later, Hai got sick and had to stay in bed for a while. He became cross and restless. “My sons,” said the father. “Have you noticed that Hai is getting very tired of having to stay in bed day and night? I wonder what can be done about that.”

“Chopsticks,” said Ta and Thu, and they began bringing things to their brother and entertaining him while he was sick. Soon he was feeling much better.

Years passed, and the boys had grown into fine young men. Each had a farm and a family of his own.

One spring a terrible rain lasted so long that the river flooded. Hai and Thu lived on high ground, but Ta lived near the river, and his entire rice field was swept away by the flood.

Hai and Thu got together to talk about their brother’s loss.

“Chopsticks?” asked Hai.

“Chopsticks,” answered Thu. And until the next rice harvest, a bag of rice appeared on Ta’s doorstep every week so that he and his family never went hungry.

When the old father, who was very old by this time, heard of it, he was sitting in front of his house in the sun. “Chopsticks,” he said, and he smiled a very happy smile.

The moral of the lesson being that if we all stick together as a family, we will be stronger and unbreakable.

  We also sang songs, had treats, and played games.

Clint and I were in charge of games.  We played Boo-lah, which is basically a fancy way of playing the Hot and Cold game (No idea where the name came from.  This is something Clint played with his family growing up).  One person leaves the room while another hides a designated object.  Once the "It" person returns, you says Boo-lah loudly or softly to lead them to the object.  The closer they are, the loud you get.

During the lesson, this little girl (#6) got the back-scratch of a lifetime by Gram.  She was in heaven!  

Life

1.  As of last Thursday (September 18th) the padres (parents) are home from their service mission to Heber Valley Camp (aka HVC).  At least for a bit.  They will return for another year of service in the spring.

We really missed having them around and are super excited to have them home and to be able to see them more than just a handful of times.

Although I'm not so sure how excited they are to be back seeing as they are leaving today for Vegas.   Then from Vegas to San Francisco where they'll leave on a 17 day cruise to The Panama and Caribbean.  Their last port will be in Florida where they will then spend 2 weeks visiting my brother and his family before flying back to CA and meandering their way back home.

Ahhh- such is the life a the retired!  Have a fun trip Mom and Dad.

 2.  Speaking of parents, we had a brief visit from Clint's parents last Sunday.  They brought us a bug zapper which has gotten a lot of use.  THANKS!!!!  It's been great entertainment for the kids.

 3.  #6 had a great 6th birthday!

 

She insisted on decorating her cake by herself.  I 'helped' her frost she did the rest.

 It turned out pretty cute.  She was thrilled with it. 

(Rapunzel you look gorgeous girl!)

4.  On Saturday, Number Two had a great time with her date at her high school's Sadie Hawkin's Dance.  Pictures to come soon.

5.  Also on Saturday, #1 "Pimped Out His Ride" with LED lights under the seats. 

They flash to the beat of the bass, which makes for one Totally wiki-wiki-WICKED, Phat ride!