2018- Week 12(Mar 19- Mar 25)

Marilyn and I were in charge of lunch for DUP this month. We also had to decorate the tables. We chose to do a St. Patrick's Day theme. We served ham, potato salad and pasta salad. I made cupcakes for dessert.

At work I have gotten to teach in the real school building this week. It is so big and beautiful.

This week Ashtyn left on her much anticipated choir tour to San Fransisco. She had to leave at 3:30 AM on Thursday morning and they came back at 12:30 PM Sunday night. She sent us cute texts of all the fun things they were doing and it made me so jealous. I'm so glad she got to go. They got to sing in Stanford memorial church and tour the Stanford campus. They went on a dinner cruise. They visited Alcatraz and Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39. They had dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. They went to the Ballet and got to see the Music Man. They visited Henry Cowell State Park and saw the giant redwood trees. They went to Santa Cruz boardwalk and China town. I'd say it was a pretty amazing trip and she loved every minute. 

 Ash and her besties Rylee, Sydney and Baylee

While Ashtyn was in Cali Jeff and the other kids went to youth conference. They stayed in our neighbors two large cabins- or mansions as some call them because they are over 9000 sq feet. They got to do an escape room, listen to a comedy troop, go snow shoeing and sledding and hear a refugee from Nepal speak. She is a woman who had to overcome great trials and who eventually ended up homeless and later joined the church. They also had a testimony meeting. I helped convince our cute neighbor Ayvri to go. She has had a rough year and I knew this would help her so much. The first night she got scared and was texting her mom at 3 AM that she wanted to come home. Her mom called me to get the number of other leaders so she could go pick her up. After I hung up with her I texted Jeff to have every leader start to pray that she would want to stay and I prayed and prayed and she ended up being ok and staying. At testimony meeting Jeff told me she bore her testimony on the power of prayer and how it has helped her. I have a strong testimony of it too and know it's why she was able to stay and to feel the spirit. I am so glad my kids and Jeff got to go and have these experiences.

I was home all alone so I went to Provo to finish designing our entertainment center. I also cleaned and cleaned so the kids wouldn't have to when they got home.

This is a drawing Ashtyn had to do for school. Her artistic ability astounds me. 

We also set up minor bank accounts for the girls this week. They are just like a checking account and come with a debit card- the only difference is that my name is also on the account and there is no over draft so they can't take out more than they have. They have been begging for debit cards for a long time and if I had realized these accounts exist we would have done it sooner because it's so much easier for me to just transfer them money if I need to instead of taking out cash. 

This will also be a good learning experience I hope.

We were planning a trip to St. George next week until this arrived in the mail for me- BOO!

2018- Week 11(Mar 12- Mar 18)

Now that I am 40 my doctor told me it was time to start getting mammograms. I'd been wanting to get one for several years but 40 is the standard and so I waited. The reason I wanted one was because my cousin Dyan died from breast cancer at the age of 31. When she first went to the doctor he told her women under 40 don't get breast cancer and sent her home. By the time anyone would take her seriously it was too late. I have known so many women who have had breast cancer. I have neighbors, friends and relatives that have all had it and all of them before they turned 40. So it baffles me that we are still told to wait until 40. 1 out of every 8 women will get breast cancer. That is huge. So if you are a woman and you are reading this- go get a mammogram. It was really easy and took less than 20 minutes. It didn't hurt at all. Get one.

I got to help with activity days this week and it was so fun- I just love this age. They are so sweet and a little bit mischievous, but so so cute.

My mom had a doctors appointment and then had to go downtown for her shift at the church office building for her mission so I drove her so she could just hop on tracks afterward.

When I got home I had a play date with my cute little neighbor Aleah. She is three and ever since I babysat her a while back she has been begging her mom to have a play date with "Sister Shaw". I didn't mind at all but I thought she might have more fun with a friend so I invited Brooklyn to come over too. We had a tea party with red Koolaid tea served in the tea set Daisy gave us when she visited from China. Then we played games and I showed them where the new kiddie cave will be.

Construction is coming along great. They have now put the texture on the walls. Next week will be, tile, laminate, paint and finish work.

Saturday I had a training for work. We were split up into groups and visited different buildings on the property where we were taught about things to help us be better employees. The kept referring to our job as a huge stage and each day we put on the performance of a lifetime so that our guests will feel transported back to the 1860's. I love that analogy. It's right up my ally.

My nephew Ben and his girlfriend Dasia came to town on their way back from California. We haven't seen him in so long. He is such a great boy. We'd never met Dasia and she is gorgeous and so nice. She is currently living in New Mexico going to school to become a podiatrist. Ben lives and works in Texas so they have had a long distance relationship for a while. It was so good to see him. Of course I didn't take any pictures so I had to still this one off his FB page so I could show how 

beautiful they are.

Our TV had a little mishap- but I thought it was so cool that there was this digital shatter mark- it's not glass but completely electronic

Look at this double strawberry

Sunday we had invited Julia over for dinner, then Tom and Sharon called and invited us so we all went over there and had french dip sandwiches. I found the portrait setting on Jeff's phone so we experimented with a few pictures.

On the way home we took Julia by the cemetery so she could say hello to Grandpa. It has been a year since his passing. She still misses him so much.

2018- Week 10(Mar 5- Mar 11)

For FHE we decided to write messages of love and inspiration to fill the walls of the basement. I'd seen a friend do this when they were building their home and I loved the meaning behind it. So we took turns writing our favorite scriptures and quotes any place we could on the exposed
wood and walls.

We get to design the bathroom vanity and entertainment center and they came to our house this week to start the process. I know I want something simple with shaker style doors. I learned all about the different wood types and we got everything measured out. They are going to produce renderings for our approval. Can't wait to see what they design.

Ethan had his last court of honor before he moves on to teachers. He conducted one last time. He also received a few merit badges. He is getting really close to getting his Eagle.

They put up all the dry wall this week and now the space really looks like a basement. There was a ton of dust as you can see in this picture of Daisy's paw prints on my pants.

We took my mom and Liz to lunch for their birthdays this week at Village Inn.

I had a doctors appointment at the IMC Hospital and boy was the parking lot full. Not a spot in site. After driving around for ten minutes I finally found one on the complete opposite end from where I needed to go. I had chosen to wear my new sparkly and favorite shoe- pretty much the worst shoe you could pick to have to walk in. Good thing I love hiking- ha ha. My feet were killing me at the end- but they sure did look cute.

The girls went on a YCL retreat in preparation for girls camp up at the Heber Valley Camp so I took Ethan on his monthly date. He just wanted to get a shake from In-N-Out and Chick-Fil-A and then watch Mission Impossible. He'd never seen it and we've always told him that the character Ethan Hunt was when we fell in love with his name. I love movies as much as the next guy but I'm hoping that we can expand our horizons a little more on these dates in the future and try some new things.

Saturday was really busy with errands. We are trying to figure out the TV we need, speakers, carpet, paint, flooring and lighting for the basement.

Saturday night was the adult session for Stake Conference. This is always one of my very favorite meetings and I always learn so much. This time they talked a lot about Joseph Smith and his contribution to our salvation. There is a growing trend, especially where we live of people getting caught up in all of the negative things written about him online. We have had several friends fall away from the church in the last few years because of things they read about Joseph Smith. It is so disheartening. You will always be able to find what you are looking for online and if you are looking to discredit him you'll find a lot- but that doesn't change the man he was. It doesn't change what he did for the church- without him there would be no gospel as we know it now. We wouldn't have all of the ordinances we need to allow us to be saved. In fact like D&C 135:3 states "Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it." Why would anyone give up their very life, risk death, put his family in danger, be beaten and bitterly hated if what he was doing wasn't absolutely true. It just reaffirmed my testimony of him.

2018- Week 9(Feb 26- Mar 4)

I taught the lesson in DUP this week and I was so nervous. One because all of those ladies know way more about pioneers than me and two because my life has been so busy lately that I haven't had time to study like I would have liked. So I had to rely on my ability to be animated when I speak and make things sound exciting. My lesson was all about pioneers who headed East instead of West- most heading to Australia first and then to America. The stories were harrowing and exciting so I just played up that part. The time flew by and I didn't even have time to get through all the lesson. It turned out to be really fun, but I'm glad I don't have to do another one this year.

I worked another day this month. They had three people come and shadow me to learn how to do it. I was in the actual school house and it really through me off my game because I didn't know where anything was and it's very big so you have to speak loudly. Hopefully I didn't forget too many things ha ha.

Monday night several of my friends that I adore and who also have February birthdays went to dinner at the Dodo. It was fun to see all of them. Some are from a different ward now and some have moved away. I had that quiche and it was amazing and then we got pie to share and wow oh wow was the banana cream delicious.

Ashtyn took the ACT this week. We won't find out her score for two months. She really studied hard for this test so hopefully her effort paid off.

I went to lunch at Village Baker with my neighbor and friend Trenda who is another February sister. Her little girl Aleah came too and she is the cutest. She's always asking if she can come to my house. 

Ethan job shadowed Trenda's husband Craig at his work. I like that they have the 8th graders do this and see what working is like. Craig is an optometrist and owns his own practice in West Jordan. He is the Bishopric member over the scouts so Ethan knows him well. I think Ethan had fun. Maybe this will spark his interest and lead him to a future career.

Ethans school participated in a Chinese culture night with several other schools. He had a group and they put together a presentation on Bian Lian- which is the art of face changing- think quick change but with masks. They had to make a poster and present their information all in Chinese. They did a really great job. Then there was a music and dance performance with the traditional dragon dance that was really cool. It is a tradition to throw red envelopes into the dragons mouth and then he eats a head of lettuce and spits it back up and if you get a piece you get good luck all year.

 Ethan's group- Grace, Jesse, Chase, Ethan and Ayvri

Saturday was our Stake Baptism and we were in charge. I love love the baptisms. We had two kids from our ward in it this time.

Sunday was Shaw dinner. They served roast. It is so so good. I can never make it as good as them. Always fun hanging out with them. Kellie and I were looking at pictures on our phones of my basement choices and a few other things and Tom got upset that we were sitting there on our phones. I have a love hate relationship with phones. We weren't using them the way he thought we were but I can see how he perceived that. We are going to be making some big changes with our phones after my friend and I watched the movie Connect by Kirk Cameron this week. It was so good. I hope they put it out on DVD because everyone should see it. He shared the scripture Proverbs 4:23 that talks about how we need to guard our hearts because everything we do flows from them. He said we are the guardians of our kids hearts and decide what gets let in from the outside world- especially when they are young and we have control over what they see. In the movie he interviewed Dr. Koch about how technology affects kids. I was shocked and stunned that the very behavior I have been trying to weed out of my kids I had been fostering by how we use technology and TV in our home. It is so much more of a big problem than I had thought. She talked about the five lies that technology teaches and she was spot on. They are as follows:

The first lie: I am the center of my own universe. “Whether it’s caller ID, on-demand streaming music, or HBO television, modern young people seldom have to wait for someone else to broadcast the entertainment or information they want. They set their own schedule. And that, believes Koch, has created the false impression that reality revolves around them.”

The second lie: I deserve to be happy all the time. Technology tends to foster in young minds is that we all deserve to be constantly happy. “[Kids] can multitask,” explains Koch. “They can avoid something that’s boring or too hard, because there’s always something different they can do. We live in a culture now where everything is instant, everything is new.” 

The third lie:  I must have choice. I deserve Choice. Constant access to technology teaches teens is that they must always have choices. “Our young people’s brains are being wired to expect choice because everything they play with has a dropdown menu,” explains Koch. “You can think of TV, cable, your DVR, email, Facebook, other social media applications, your cell phones—there’s this list of options. So their brains are actually wired to expect choice…”

The fourth lie: I am my own authority. Technology often teaches teens that they’re autonomous authorities. “Behind the keyboard or the touch-screen, it often feels like we’re the ones in charge.  This false confidence in self-determination makes submitting to outside authorities like parents, professors, employers, and pastors more difficult. And it doesn’t just afflict teens. Modern parents, as well, often have difficulty accepting orders. So overcoming this lie means a lot more than unplugging devices. It means modeling obedience and submission to teens.”

The fifth lie: Information is all I need, not teachers. If we have questions we use to go to our parents or teachers or books, but now you can get the answer to anything at the touch of a button- but the problem is that the answer is not always right with all of the false things out there and also there is no wisdom in it. You can only get wisdom from God and from learning from others.

I found another interview she did online and shared it with Jeff and I  have been sending the link to everyone we know with kids because we feel like it is so so important. I just wish so much I had heard all of this ten years ago. We are definitely going to be making some big changes.

Having a hard time choosing a bathroom floor tile because the one I love is over our budget by $150 so we are going to have to compromise. I found a pretty black slate that I think may work. Next week they will start to dry wall.