Christmas came Early

Wednesday the 16th of December I woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep so I got up and did some organizing and put things away that I hadn't gotten around to. Put the clean dishes away and got a lot accomplished in the extra hour and a half that I had. I got my lunch and dinner prepared because I work in the Temple on the 3rd Wednesday to help with the Spanish session. I get to work and I talk to my manager about a college in Poplar Montana. They wanted the vendors to come and do a site survey of the campus and talk to them about our system we provide. It wasn't mandatory that we go but my manager thought it would be good to go (which I was hoping she would). I looked up tickets to see what days I could get the better deal on and in what airport I would have to fly in and out of. There is an airport in Willinston ND that is about 70 miles from the school. I looked at tickets there and it was going to cost $1500 way to much money. I found a ticket for leaving at 3:00pm on that same day flying into Billings and then I would drive 6 hours to Poplar. I asked my manager if I would be able to stay through Sunday and see my family while I am there and she said that was fine. So I flew into Billings about 11:00pm and I drove to my cousin Anna's house and I stayed the night there. My mom was already planning on going to Billings that day for a funeral and so I asked her if she would be willing to drive with me to and from Poplar. Anna and I stayed up till 1:30am talking and catching up on life. (Which is really 3:30am my time) We got up and got on the road by 9:00am. On our way there it was amazing to see all of the geese that were flying all over the area. I think there was hundred of thousands of geese. It looked like the sky was filled with millions of black spots. I don't think I have ever seen so many birds at one time. We had a nice drive and arrived around 3:00. We meet up with my Jack who is from the College and we did part of the site survey on Thursday. As he was driving us around the area he was telling us about all the scary parts of town and where to stay away from. He told us of a Navy Seal who was murdered at the Water Hole (which is a bar) a year or so ago. He said there is a lot of scary people and things that happen in the area. He was very kind and told us we could call him at any time if we felt we were in any kind of danger anywhere and needed some back up. The next morning Mom and I both woke up around 4:30 and couldn't go back to sleep. Around 5:30 I wispered over to mom to see if she had gone back to sleep yet and she said no. I told her well I am getting up and going to do something then. So I got up and started working on my computer and we were both ready way before the time we were even planning on getting up. We had a good walk through with Jack and then we headed back towards Billings. I was really grateful for my mom in meeting up with me and driving to and from Poplur with me. It was nice to have the company and to spend time with my mom. My Aunt Connie and Norma and Uncle Rex all come up to Billings to see me for a little bit. It was fun to see everyone. Saturday Dad, Elizabeth and Kaden came and picked mom and I up from Aunt Nan's and we headed to Aunt Eunices to visit with Grandma and Aunt Rose who showed up a few days ago to surprise Aunt Eunice who is 88 years old. We visited for a while at Aunt Eunices house and then we headed to lunch. After lunch we took Grandma Holloway and Aunt Rose to Walmart to pick up their eggs that they had left there the day before. I really enjoyed the time I had to spend with my Grandma and Aunt Rose who live in Alaska. Dad had to get back to work so they dropped Elizabeth, Kaden, and I off at Rebecca's house and then they headed home. Anna came over and picked up Elizabeth and Kaden and took them back to her house so they could ride home with Connie. I spent the evening with Rebecca and her husband Mark. I had a good time spending it with Rebecca and Mark. This was the first time to see their home. They have it decorated very nicely for Christmas and the house is very cute. I really like the way they have painted and decorated their home. I met their two dogs Porche and Mercadies. They are very gentle dogs and friendly. Sunday morning very early like 3:30am I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep so I finally decided to just get up. I got ready and at 4:30 Rebecca took me to the airport for me to get on my plane and head home. On the way to Denver the flight attendent said they have been cancelling all the flights that go north of Baltimore. I started praying hard that the flight wouldn't be cancelled due to the aggresive snow storm that has hit the northeast. I was glad when I got to Denver and looked at the flight board and my flight said it was on time I was so grateful. This has been the perfect weekend. I love the way Heavenly Father works out little miracles in our lifes. Things worked out perfectly with having a work trip to Montana and not being able to get a flight in closer to where my appointment would need to be so I had to stop in at Billings. That it happened to be a time that Grandma Holloway and Aunt Rose were visiting from Alaska, and that my Dad happen to be on a shift that would allow him time to come and visit me. I was glad that Rebecca and Mark were in town so I could see them this trip since I missed them on the last one. It was fun to see Elizabeth and Kaden again. That little Kaden is such a cute little man. He is starting to talk a little bit and has a very stong little personality. Thank you everyone for spending time with me and taking time out of your lives to come and visit me in Billings. Thank you for bringing me an early Christmas. I am so grateful for miracles! It was so nice to see everyone!

Thankful for the gift of SIGHT!

Wednesday afternoon I got on a plane to head to Montana to conduct a site survey for a college campus in northeastern Montana in a town called Poplar and Wolf Point. Not long into my trip and it was dark. As we were flying I was looking out the window and I was amazed at how clear of a night it was. There wasn't a cloud in site. I could so clearly see the starts and the beautifully lighted cities below. I have flown a lot in the last few months and it seemed like every time I fly there is a lot of clouds. It was such a wonderful sight to see the towns so brightly lit up. I know it was just the street lights and all but looking down on the entire city all at once was a breath taking site. I wish I would have had my camera readily accessible so I could have taken a picture of the site to share. Maybe on my way home I in a few day the sky will be clear and I can try and take a picture and if I do I will add it for you to see. As I was looking down at the lighted world below me I was thankful for the gift of sight. I feel so lucky that I know the difference between light and dark, to be able to see colors. There were many things that day that made me very grateful for my vision. While I was sitting in the airport waiting for my next connecting flight I was watching a sweet old couple across from me. The wife went and got them ice creams to each while they waited. I watched as they talked about their ice cream and the flavors and how yummy it was. I could see the gratitude in her husband’s eyes for such a sweet treat. They tenderly talked to each other about past experiences and about the time they will be sharing with their grandchildren over the Christmas holiday. They are looking forward the fun activities of making ginger bread houses with the little ones and reading stories and sharing quality time. I watched a mother who was traveling with two young children her son of 4 and daughter who was almost two. Her little girl had braided pig tails and looked so adorable. The little girl was a little nervous about this whole flying thing. Her big brother so tender to her in comforting her and taking her hand to let her know she would be fine. He let her watch his DVD with him and they colored together. Again I was grateful for my sight to be able to see. What is sight is it just the ability to be able to open our eyes and to see what is in front of us. I think Heavenly Father gave us the gift of sight so we could see all the beauties of the earth but also to see when someone is struggling and can use our help. How often so we see someone with arms full and wrestling with a child or someone who is in need of a little assistance and when we see this to we utilize our sight and offer the help they need or do we pass by. What a glorious gift we have to be able to see different shapes, to be able to see the rippling waters or the snow covered ground. How amazing to see all the different creations that Jesus Christ made, so many animals and to so the uniqueness in face and body characteristics of each individual person. So many beauties of the world do we take the time to enjoy them or do we rush past them. We have been given so much to see in this life and I hope we take the time to see them. I think looking deep into the scene and really seeing what is there is why we were given the gift of sight. We need to look deeper than just passing by and glancing. Enjoy life and it's beauties and amazements for we never know when it will be our last for life is so short to rush through it. This experience brought my mind to our Savior's life. He spent his life really looking deep into what was around him, as others would walk past he would find someone trying to reach him and he would extend his hand and heal them. He was taking the time to see what was there rather than just passing by to get to the final destination. I pray that we all may take the time to see what is really there and to use the Sight we have been given.

My First 5K

Some of you may think me crazy because I planned to run my first 5K on my Birthday this year. When I moved here to New England I started running. It was a lot of work to get my knees use to the idea and I slowly but surely got there. As the time passed and I felt like I was making some great progress I had the brilliant idea that I would find a 5K and run it on my birthday as my gift to myself. I thought what better gift could I give then the satisfaction of such a great accomplishment.

I had finally worked my time down to 35 minutes a few weeks before my run. Then I had friends come in from out of town and life got crazy busy. I ran two days in two weeks before my race. One day was at the start of the two weeks and the second day was two days before my run. Needless to say I was a little worried that I wasn't going to be able to even do it in my 35 minutes. The day of the race I was praying to be able to make it under 40 minutes but as close as possible to 35. But I would be completely happy with anything under 40 minutes. The day of the race got here on October 3, I woke up very early in the morning to the sound of rain. I didn't have to get up yet because it was like 2am so I went back to sleep. I must have been excited because I woke up before my alarm went off. I got up got dressed ate breakfast and got ready to walk out the door. I had about an hour drive ahead of me and the rain was pouring down.

I don't mind running in the rain if it isn't pouring. The part I dislike the most is having wet feet. But I have these nifty socks that don't ever make my feet feel wet. If I step in a puddle I can feel it at first but after a few minutes it doesn't really feel wet anymore. I kept on praying that the rain would let up in time for the race because I thought if it is raining and the wind blowing it is going to be cold and it might make it harder for me to make my time. I got to Foxboro, MA about an hour early so I could register and scope out where I would be running.

Me in the rain before the race started Look at that big grin!

My friends Barbara, Jim, and Jake came to support me in the race and cheer me on and take pictures of me. Thanks so much for coming and for your support and encouragement.

Me and Barbara Peterson

The rain let up just a few minutes before the race started. It was still raining some but not as much of a down pour. I am so grateful for answered prayers. I started out in the massive group of people there sure was a lot of adrenaline as I started and wanting to run as fast as I could. After a few steps and keeping up with the other runners I realized if I kept this up I would be dead before my first mile. So I decided to find a comfortable pace. Then I dropped back from the group pretty quickly. There was comfort knowing there were still people behind me through out the entire race and that I wasn't last.

Where is Martha (Waldo) can you find me?

We were running on a bank complex that had a pretty big area and so we were to loop it twice which would be our 3.1 miles. As I was coming up close where I would make my first loop it was up hill. The Petersons were there cheering me on and other racers as they were passing because they already made the loop were cheering me on telling me I am half way. About half way is when I had to start talking to myself (in my head) and telling myself I know I can do it, I know I can do it, keep going your doing great, You are half way there. The talking really started to get intense when I was making my way up the hill for the second time. I had to say a lot of encouraging and motivating words to myself to keep my legs moving.

This part of the race the rain was coming down pretty good. I think this is one of the points I was getting really tired. I look tired anyways!

Here I come

I made it up the hill and around the barrel and I was heading down the hill and then I picked up my second wind and dashed for the finish line. I dashed so quickly that Brother Peterson told me he almost missed taking my picture because he saw me coming then I was there.

and There I go, that Lady didn't know what passed her with that gust of wind

He tried to get the picture of me coming with my time as I passed

the finish line but I snuck up on him.

It was amazing the burst of energy I had in the final moments of the race. I have always felt pretty tired and dead by the end of my runs and it was very invigorating to find this extra energy. I felt so free and I didn't even feel my legs being tired any longer. It was amazing. I cross the finish line and I was ecstatic with excitement because I finished in 32 minutes and 28 seconds. I was right this was the best birthday gift I could have given myself. It was an amazing feeling and makes me excited for the next race I do. The great thing for me is that I am not really racing against other people's time I just want to race against my time and with each race I run I want to have a better time.

Never in a million years would I have imagined myself running a race because I choose to. I remember in PE in high school that I dreaded the mile run because I knew I couldn't run and I hated to run. Life is interesting how things that you hate at one point in time of your life change to be something that you really enjoy. Even though something seems really hard to do and we don't think we can do it, when we put our minds to it and we call on help from Heavenly Father he can help me accomplish anything good and find enjoyment through it.

When I first moved to New England running was my escape from life. My move here was a really hard one and getting out in nature and running a few times a week really did me good from going crazy and falling into a deep depression. I am really glad that Heavenly Father helped me come up with the crazy idea to start running and giving me the motivation I needed to get out there every day. We will see how the winter goes with running. I really like running outside but I am going to try running in a gym while it is cold. Especially since it will be dark when I leave for work in the mornings and will be dark by the time I get home at night. I guess the best thing to do is run indoors in the light. It doesn't matter where I am running as long as I am running. If anyone wants to start running give me a call I can give you all kinds of good advice and give you encouragement. If I can do it anyone can do it. Good luck and try new things! It may amaze you in what you find enjoyment in doing!!!

Sports Train

Here in Boston i have had to get use to riding the train or "T" as it is referred to here. I do not like riding the T but if I am going into the city I would rather ride the T than drive. I don't like the T because of all the people. It isn't so bad when it isn't really busy but when it gets busy I feel very claustrophobic. I really don't like riding the T by myself because I always feel very anxious with all these people I don't know and I feel a bit uncomfortable being crammed into a train car with all of these strangers. I am still getting use to the system and it still confuses me for which train to get on to go to the right place. All in time. So I think I will take you on a train ride with me through my life of sports.

First Stop:History

As many of you know, I have no brothers therefore sports and me don't really mix. However thanks to some great friends I am becoming more sports oriented and cultured in the sporting world. In High School I went to the games as a social aspect not to actually watch the games. I never knew what has really happening because they were never explained to me. My dad played sports in High School but never followed it past that. I never saw my dad watching a sporting event on TV. I didn't really have a reason to learn about sports. I never did any type of sport at all in High School. Outside of what was required for P.E. I didn't participate. When I graduated high school I felt very uncoordinated.

Next Stop:Volleyball

My love and appreciation for sports all started my first year in College. I made friends with Ginger Lueken an avid volleyball player. She had a tremendous amount of patience in teaching me how to play the game. How to hold my hands correctly and how to hit the ball. She taught me enough about the rules that I could understand and enjoy playing. I am sure there is a lot i still don't know but I probably understand Volleyball the most since I have been playing it now for 9 years. I don't play as often as I did when I use to play with Ginger but I love playing it. I have received a few injuries while playing volleyball but they have only made the experiences more memorable.

Next stop: Tennis

I played Tennis once on my mission and I really did bad. A few years ago ok probably 5 years ago my friend Ramon took it upon himself to teach me tennis. We played for a few times the first year and then it was a while again before I got to play. Then my co-worker Amy Giles and Chris Peterson began teaching me more about Tennis and technique. I gained a love for tennis. Last year I had the privilege of playing tennis every week for months with my friend Nathan. He helped me a lot in fine tuning my technique and learning some tricks. However I still am not very good. Out of all of the months that we played every week together I only beat him one night, two matches in a row. I was so excited it was such a victory. Those are the only two matches I have ever won in my time in playing.

Next Stop: Ultimate Frisbee

Yes Ultimate Frisbee is a sport. Not one you probably hear a lot about but it is really fun. The summer I played tennis with Nathan he also taught me how to better control the Frisbee. He even taught me how to throw the Frisbee under my leg. I did it a couple of times but haven't done it for a while so I can't remember really how to do it any more. But his lessons in how to control the Frisbee (which I haven't totally mastered yet) have come in handy in playing Ultimate Frisbee. There is quit the challenge of trying to catch the Frisbee and throw the Frisbee and getting it to your team mates and not letting your opponents knock it out of your hand. Anyone who has played Volleyball or Ultimate Frisbee with me knows I am not afraid to sacrifice myself for the good of the team. It makes the game more fun to really get involved. I will dive and jump and leap and do whatever is necessary to catch the Frisbee. It helps provide an adrenaline rush.

Next Stop: Running

My entire life I have hated running for two reasons, first and most of all because it would kill my knees and second because I probably, alright, no probably about it I was not in the best of shape. When I moved to Boston I was really lonely and didn't have any friends yet and didn't live close to people in my ward. I would go to work and come home from work and sit at my house. Talk about getting depressed. The one thing that got me through that dark period of my life was running. I decided that I was going to train my knees into running. I got a book on running and talked with my good friend Lindsay Arnett about running because I knew she had been doing it and she had trained for some runs so I got some great advice from her. This was probably the best thing I could have done. My knees were super sore when I first started for the first few months, gradually they started feeling better and eventually it got to the point that I didn't need to wear my knee braces or ice my knees after my runs. I was so excited when I got to the point of running and not having pain afterwards. Before my knees were so bad that I couldn't go up very many stairs without them aching. This was a great break through. Talk about excitement. Running is what got me out of the house every day and to enjoy nature around me. I am fortunate enough to live in an area that is surrounded by ponds and a forest, so it makes me not feel like I am in the city as much more like I am in Wyoming in open spaces. :) I am still running after 6 months and I have just registered for my first 5K. I am excited for it. I will be running in the 5K on October 3, my birthday. I couldn't think of a better way to start off my birthday than to complete a great accomplishment that has taken me 6 months to prepare for. And on top of that I feel great physically. Yahoooo for running.

Next Stop: Baseball

Red Sox vs Yankee at Fenway
(sorry the picture isn't any better. Joanna got some good close ups but they were all of the Yankee players and that would give her to much of a thrill to post one of those pictures)

As a kid I remember playing baseball in the back yard. Oh alright, it wasn't really baseball it was Indian baseball or we would throw the ball up ourselves and see if we could get it to the other side of the yard. Which sometimes I did and that was always exciting. We have huge back yard so if we could hit it from the garage past the ditch it was an accomplishment. I have always enjoyed hitting the ball but that is all the more I really knew about baseball besides the fact there are 3 bases and you have to pass each one and make it home to score, and 3 strikes and your out! That was the extent of my knowledge. I have never followed a sporting team in my entire life. I don't know where one team ranks up against another. But New Englanders are fanatics about their sports. So it is kind of hard not to get involved. Last year I went to my first MLB game in Baltimore, I saw the Oriels play and I enjoyed it. Most of all I enjoyed the amazingly delicious hot-dog. Best hot-dogs ever at the Camden Yards, have had some since at other stadiums and they don't compare. The baseball team here is the Boston Red Sox and their biggest rival is the New York Yankees. My friend Joanna is a die hard Yankee fan and she decided she was going to come and see me here in Boston even though it is Red Sox country which she hates. Part of her deciding to come was that the Red Sox and Yankees were playing each other that week here in Boston. We decided to get tickets and go to the game. I had about a month to prepare for this game. At the beginning of the season the Red Sox were doing really good. They were knocking the socks off of the Yankees. It was fun to follow the Red Sox and see the battle between them and the Yankees. I learned a lot about baseball from friends and co-workers helping me prepare for the game. I wanted to go knowing somewhat about baseball and the Red Sox. Knowing how much Joanna loves the Yankees I knew I had to give her a run for her money. I didn't realize how lucky we were to get tickets to such a game till I was talking with my friend Jake who told me I was the luckiest person to be in Boston less than 6 months and already going to a Red Sox/Yankee game. I did an alright job in harassing Joanna about how bad the Yankees were doing before this particular game but Jake did a much better job than I did. He came with us and he and Joanna had a constant battle with each other. It was quit entertaining. Joanna said it was one of the best games she has ever been to because Jake gave her a run for her money in harassing her about the Yankees. She told me that she could have said the same things to me and I wouldn't have cared as much. Jake, thanks for making it such a great game. Joanna wore her Yankee shirt and the Red Sox fans were kind to her probably because we won. We all had a great time, and what I learned from this experience is that the fun of the game is having a team to cheer for. Sorry Joanna but I am cheering for the Red Sox.

Jake, Martha, Joanna

Next Stop: Football

Patriots vs Giants at Gillette Stadium (Pre-Season)

When I lived in Utah I went to a few BYU games and I enjoyed them. But I never once paid for the tickets they were always given to me. One time my landlord gave me some tickets to go when they played Wyoming and another time my friend Ramon (different from the one who I played Tennis with) took me to a game with him, and I won some tickets from one of my Jobs. I brother-in-law Steve was super excited when I came home from work saying I won tickets to the game the following night. He said such sort notice you probably can't find someone to go with you to the game so he thought I should take him with me. Part of the catch to me taking those tickets was I had to be the one to go otherwise I would have given them to my sister Sarah and Steve and I would have stayed home to watch the kids. I remember sitting in the game and having a real good time but then something would happen and I wasn't sure and I would ask Steve and more times than not he didn't know what had happened either. This is almost as bad as the blind leading the blind. But none the less it was a great time. I realized I can have a good time and be completely clueless. I decided I wanted to go to a Patriots game a professional football game, but this time I wasn't going to go with the blind. I asked Jake to come with me who knows everything there is to know about football, he use to play on the BYU football team for 3 years. This sport is not as easy as baseball to research and become knowledgeable on. There is a lot more involved with football. I had prior conversations with Jake about different parts of football but this is something that really isn't sinking in. I think it is going to take me a while and many games down the road to understand better. While we were watching the game Jake would explain to me what was happening and what each of the different players are suppose to do. I asked a lot and he was very patient with answering my questions and re-explaining what he had just explained because it flew way over my head. Just to give you an idea to know what Jake had to work with is my prior knowledge of football consisted of knowing a touch down is 6 points and a they could get an extra point by kicking it and making it through the goal posts. I now know that there are other ways to make points there is field goal that is worth 3 points. They will attempt a field goal usually on a fourth down rather than a punt. Especially if there isn't enough time left on the clock or they are really close to the opponent's goal line. They can also get 2 points but I can't remember how or what it is called. I think that is about all the information I retained. Poor Jake, he was so kind to help me understand and I walked away with not remembering to much but thanks anyways for making it more enjoyable by understanding in the moment. I promise it wasn't a waste of his time maybe if I was watching a game it might come back to me. Julie and Pete also joined us for the game we didn't end up getting any pictures of the four of us so two separate ones will have to do.

Martha and Jake

Pete and Julie

In my own opinion I prefer to watch college football rather than professional football. I do need to remember that this was a pre-season game but I think the college football is more entertaining. The conclusion I have come to for this reason is because the guys playing college football are playing with their hearts and have a true love of the sport. That is why they play or I would think that is why they play. Professional players already have the pay check and it didn't seem like they played as hard as the college football players. I may be wrong but that is the only thing I could come up with. Maybe I will spend time watching college football this year to help me retain this information that is somewhere in my brain I just have to find it. It has been placed there and I just need to find a spot for it.

Last Stop: Enjoyment

I have really enjoyed learning about sports and participating in them. I never knew how much I was missing out of them and I never thought I would have actually been the one to buy a sporting event ticket. But I am really glad that I have tried something new that I wouldn't have before. I have enjoyed becoming a Red Sox and Patriots fan. Who knows maybe I will even make it to a Celtics and Bruins game. I am always up for a new adventure and I am finding many new adventures here in my life in New England. I look forward to continuing my quest in learning more about sports. Thanks for riding my sports train with me please exit the train and remember to take all of your personal belongings with you.

Grandma Ruth Olsen

Grandma Olsen was a wonderful Grandma. She taught many lessons and made many memories with me over the years. She is a great example of enduring to the end. Grandma's life was not easy it was filled with a lot of trials and struggles with her health. When she was 39 years old she got rheumatoid arthritis. This enabled Grandma from doing a lot of things on her own. Simple things in life that we all take for granted. I can't recall a time when Grandma asked "Why me" no matter the lot she was handed she took it on knowing things would work out. She went through a lot especially in the past few years. I remember about two years ago when she got pneumonia the doctors told the family that they may want to make a trip to come and see her because he didn't know if she would make it or not. But then he said knowing Ruth and her history she will most likely pull through because she is a fighter. Anyone else I wouldn't expect them to. And she did. We still made a special trip to come and see her just in case and to just remind her how much we love her.

Grandma was a great example of service. She provided many people the opportunity to serve. She taught her family the importance of working and not complaining about it. That is something that I think we all could have done better. There were times especially when we were younger and didn't totally understand how hard it was for Grandma to have to rely on others to live, to help her with a helping smile. I think the trials she went through was a very humbling experience for her to always have to ask someone for help. We all like to be independent and do our own things but she couldn't. Not only did she provide us with opportunities to serve her but she was also provided us with services. When I was getting ready to go on my mission my parents and I talked about what they would cover and what I would cover and I had the money for my part, but when I went to give it to my parents so they would have it to for each month they told me that Grandma covered my part so I could save my money to help me pay for school for when I came home. While I was on my mission she wrote me very faithfully every week. The gospel was an important part of Grandma's life and she loved the missionary work. She couldn't serve a mission because of her physical limitations so helping to pay for our missions was her way of helping us serve missions. These are just a few services that she did but probably the ones that made the biggest impact on my life.

Grandma always had a project going on. She couldn't do the majority part of the project but she would always volunteer her children and grand-kids to do the parts she couldn't. It seemed like growing up there was always a craft that she and Grandpa were doing, then after Grandpa died she kept up with the crafts. She gave away the things they made to family and friends. I remember the butterflies Grandma and Grandpa made for everyone in 1988. There were so many and it seemed like there wasn't a one that was the same. Each one was painted different. A lot of hard work went into these butterflies. Here is a picture of my butterfly on my living room wall. Thank you Grandma for many decorations.
I remember painting the wall in the back yard a few times I love painting. I also remember painting the fire hydrant Grandma liked to be creative. I wish I had pictures of the different ways she had us paint the hydrant. I don't think the hydrant in their yard was ever the traditional red for very long. A few of the hydrant colors were polka dots, checkers, blue, red and white, and a soldier. I am sure there were more but those are the only ones I can remember. She kept it painted up till the last 3 years when the town redid the roads they also put in new hydrants and said they have to stay red.

One of my favorite things to do when I was younger was freezing corn. I remember we would fill up Grandpa's black truck full of corn some years we would husk the corn on the farm of where we got it from and leave the husks for the farmers pigs or we would take it all back to Grandma's house and back the truck up to the carport and get to work. Some of us would be husking the corn; some would be washing the corn, and then came the messy and fun part cutting the corn off the cob. We all got so sticky during the freezing the corn day it was so much fun. Not only would we cut the corn off the cob but you also had to scrap down the cob with your knife to get the last bit of corn and the juices of the corn. (That is what made us all so sticky because it would get every where.) If I ever cut my corn off the cob just to eat it I still have to scrap down the cob to get the rest of it something just stick with you forever. We would all have cookie sheets or cake pans on our laps that we would cut the corn into once our pans got full someone would come and collect the corn, it would then be cooked. Once it got cooked we would put it into freezer baggies and the baggies would get the date written on them. Then the corn took a trip out to the wheelbarrow where we have the hose running cold water to cool off the hot corn. Once the corn was cool we would put it in the freezer. After it was all done everyone would take the corn their family would need for the year. To this day homemade frozen corn is still my favorite. I looked forward to the assembly line of freezing corn every year.

Another memory I have is every year for Christmas when we were little we would have to wait for dad to get home from work. Once he got home and cleaned up we would call Grandma, Connie, and Norma to come down. They would watch us open our presents and then we in turn would go down to Grandma's house and watch them open their presents. Sometimes Grandma even let us help her open her presents how nice of her to share her gifts. Aunt Connie is the one who would take foreeever in opening her presents. I think she wanted to save every piece of wrapping paper. But boy did it make fond memories. I remember staying for breakfast and having orange pancakes and orange syrup at least once if not a few times but that tradition didn't
stick because not too many of us liked the orange pancakes. I really liked them. yummmmm!

Grandma was a great example in her testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. She was always studying her lesson and she was always prepared for the lessons on Sunday. At the first of the year when we would get a new manual for Relief Society before we would get through with a few lessons Grandma would have already read the whole book. She had a great love for her Savior and her greatest desire is to have us all be together as a family again. I was talking to her on the phone when she was in the hospital a little over a month ago. As she was talking to me she was saying to as she was laying there in the bed she was trying to remember the things we say along with our covenants we make in the Temple. She said she was having a hard time remembering it and she wanted to be able to go to the Temple one more time. She had planned on going with Connie and Norma that week but since she got sick she had to stay in the hospital till the following week so she wasn't going to be able to make it with them. But she was able to go the week before she died. When she went she knew it would be her last time there. The Temple reminds me of another service she did for me. When I went through to receive my endowments she was not able to make it. She did however buy all of the things I needed to go through the Temple so I could have my own things from the start.

Grandma loved the mountains. We would go and have picnics or go fishing up on the Big Horns and Grandma always came. While we did the fishing she would sit in the car and wait for us. After she died my Mom, Connie, Nan, Norma, and Randy were talking about how good a fisher she was. To me it sounded like she could hold her own in casting her line and catching a fish.

Cleaning the China Cabinet was another fond memory of my childhood with Grandma. She would have us come down and take everything out wash it and wash down the shelves and clean the glass. As far as I remember we never used any of the things in the China Cabinet but Grandma always made sure they were clean. She has a lot of things in there and it would take us hours upon hours to clean it.

When Grandma got the news that she had squeamish cell carcinoma I wanted to make it back to see her. When I was booking my flight I was trying to decide upon the 26th of August through the 31st or the 2nd of September through the 8th so I could take advantage of the holiday. But when I was getting ready to book it I had a strong impression the September dates would be to late. The morning I was flying out my mom went to Grandma's and reminded her that I was coming to see her. My flight arrived at into Cody at 10:30 my mom and I arrive at Grandma's at 11:30pm. Aunt Nan said she went to bed around 4:00pm and has slept since. We went into her room and I talked with her, we tried to wake her up but she was in a deep sleep. I talked to her about my trip and my flight home. I gave her a hug and told her that I love her. I could tell she was struggling to breathe. Her chin would quiver with each breath she took. And a short 6 hours later around 5:30am on the 27th of August she passed in her sleep. Even though she wasn't awake to tell me back that she loved me I know that she does and I could feel it the following morning when we went to see her after she was gone. My mom, Elizabeth and I went to Grandma's shortly after we got the phone call that she had died. As we were standing in her room I could feel her love for us all.

Not long after we all arrived we had a family prayer and we all gathered around Grandma. Not to make light of the situation but this event reminded me of a time I was sleeping over at Grandma's house. Connie, Norma and I all gathered in Grandma's room to have prayer before she went to sleep. She was lying in bed as we were all kneeling around her I started laughing. Connie and Norma asked me what was so funny. I said I feel like we are praying over the Dead. We all got a good little chuckle out of it even Grandma laughed about it. Now that event was very real as we prayed and thanked Heavenly Father for sending such a wonderful women to be a mother and grandmother to us. Thanking him for her great example and the many lessons she taught us all.

She looked so peaceful lying there; I was holding her hand and crying, my mom was also holding her hand as she was holding me too. We talked about how grateful we are to know that her spirit is perfect and she has straight fingers and straight legs and feet. She could walk off with Grandpa and not need help from anybody. I am so grateful to know that death is not the end it is just the next step in life. I am also very grateful that she held on for me to make it to see her while she was still alive. That was such a great blessing to be able to be there with her. I am grateful that Heavenly Father prompted me to go when I did rather than waiting for the next week. Grandma you are loved and always will be. We will all miss you but I know that you will be here with me through the important events in my life. You may not be in a physical body but your spirit with be in attendance. I can only imagine the excitement she had to finally be with Grandpa again after missing him for nearly 17 years. I am sure there was a mass of people waiting to see her. I think there was a great amount of Joy she felt while she got to greet them one by one giving each an embrace. That is how I imagine it will be like when we pass to the other side. True Joy and True Love will be shared amongst those we love. I look forward to the day I will be able to greet my family with open arms, once again.

CRAZIEST and SCARIEST night of my life!

A few weeks ago I was really having a hard time sleeping. To the point that I was so physically exhausted that I think it was stopping me from sleeping, I would go to bed by ten (so tired that my eyes would burn) but once I actually got to bed I would end up laying there for hours till way past midnight. Then I would sleep for a few hours and I would wake up and be awake for an hour or more. By the time my alarm went off in the mornings I maybe got somewhere between 4-5 hours of sleep. I normally get close to 8 hours of sleep so this was killing me. This was carrying on for a couple of weeks and I finally hit rock bottom. On July 25th I had made plans to go visit a friend in Connecticut which was about 3 hours from my house. I got up early to head that direction, good thing I had a book on CD to listen to, which helps so much to keep me awake. On my way back it took me an hour to go 10 miles because of an accident on the freeway. So what should have been a 6 hour round trip ended up being 7 hours. I had told some of my friends about the waterfire events in Providence and we had made plans to go that night. However once I got home that evening I was so tired that I knew I would not be able to make it through the evening till midnight when it gets over and to drive another 2 hours round trip. 9 hours in the car in one day is a lot. At this point I had a history of being so tired but not being able to sleep I decided I was going to try and do something about that. My doctor back in Utah has prescribed me with some sleeping pills (because I was having trouble sleeping then too) but I had not used them yet. This was going to be my first time. I took one and decided I was going to jump in the shower and then go to bed. I thought it would take it a little while to kick in. Boy I was I ever wrong. I had just finished shaving my legs, thank goodness, and the tub started moving. I felt like I was on a boat that was in very rough waters. Nothing stood still. It was a challenged to get showered and getting dressed was even harder. I had no idea what was going on. All I knew is this can't be normal. (I had been reading two books Ink Spell and Fablehaven Important info for the next event.) Not only was my bathroom moving I had no sense of balance but I also started to see things. I started to see the characters from the books I was reading. I am so grateful I only saw the good characters and not the scary ones I would have been toast. I saw fairies, brownies (little furry creatures or so I imagined) and the forest areas my house had all of a sudden transformed.

This is the brownie

Here are the fairies

The forest that was now my house.

The forest floor that was now my bathroom floor.
I was so scared because I didn't know what was happening to me that I thought I needed to call someone to get a blessing. When I opened my phone I couldn't really see anything so I called my friend Jake who was at the top of my most recent call to see if he could come give me a blessing, I got his voicemail so I tried to leave a message but wasn't sure if I actually spoke or not. I couldn't tell if the words were only in my mind or if I had really voiced them. Then I started to feel sick to my stomach so I sat on the bathroom floor with my head over the toilet dry heaving. I hate throwing up so I am so glad I didn't actual throw up. I think I feel asleep for a little while with my head dangling over the toilet. Then I thought maybe I should try sending a text message because that doesn't require any words. So I tried to send a text message but I couldn't see very well my vision was all blurred for the real things I wanted to see but clear as day for the hallucinations. I had to concentrate so hard to keep my focus on what I was trying to write.

Because I was still feeling sick I thought it would be a good idea to eat a yogurt something simple and easy to get to since things were still moving or I still couldn't balance which ever way you want to look at it. I sat on the couch in the livingroom and tried to eat my yogurt. I remember looking at the spoon and trying to get it to come to my mouth and having a hard time finding my mouth. And then I don't remember to much after that.

At 11:30 a friend of mine from Utah sent me a text message it woke me up and I saw that I was in my bed and the lamp was on. I don't remember getting to my bed or finishing my yogurt. I turned off the lamp because things were still not normal and I feel asleep again. About 4:00am I was wide awake and couldn't go back to sleep. I felt much better well my stomach didn't hurt and I was not seeing things that shouldn't have been there and my house stopped moving.

A little after 7:00am still awake hadn't been able to fall back asleep my phone starts ringing. Jake was calling me back, he asked me if I was alright? I said yes I am much better now. He said his phone died and didn't charge so he didn't get the message till this morning when he plugged it into his car charger. He said my text message didn't make any sense at all. But once my voicemail came through he understood what I needed. I was totally shocked that I had really left a message. I asked him what I said in the message. He told me I said Jake blessing help please (something to that effect) I said well I got the most important words out. I recounted what happened and then it dawned on me that it was probably the sleeping pill I took that was the culprit of the prior nights events. If I had realized that before I would have gone to bed sooner but I was so scared I was afraid to fall asleep. Not knowing what was going to happen to me. As I started to look back at the events that took place the time log between the phone call and the text had a big gap and this is why I think I must have fallen asleep in the bathroom, but I really don't know. I don't remember hanging out in there that long. In my memories I felt like I had dry heaved a couple times and then I got up to eat the yogurt but the phone call and text message beg to differ.

Needless to say I will not be taking another one of those sleeping pills. Especially since they didn't even really help me sleep that long. I still woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. That trip was one I do not have a desire to take again. However I do think I know what it might feel like to be drunk and high on drugs all at the same time.

The good news is I think I was so physically whipped that I totally crashed. I went to bed at 8:30 Sunday night and feel right asleep and didn't wake up till 6:30 the next morning. Same thing Monday night slept from 8:30 to 6:30 and I have been sleeping much better since.

This may have been scary in the moment but I get a good laugh out of it now. I was talking with my Dad about this and he said something to me that I didn't put it on my blog yet so Dad here you go now you can always relive this experience with me. Or when you need a good laugh you can read about how crazy I am.

Tall Ships in July

The tall ships were docked here in Boston for about a week or so. There were ships from all over the world. There were ships owned by different Government's from around the world as well as privately owned ships. I had the opportunity to go on two different days. The first day I went with my friend Rachel Anderson. We went down to the pier and toured two different ships. One was the American Eagle, a United States government ship

It was amazing to see the size of everything on these ships. The size of the ropes were huge and there were so many of them.
This is one of the "steering wheels" on the ship.
Oh yup that is Rachel steering clear of any ships we might run into out on our voyage.
These are the other three wheels used to steer the ship. This is the only ship I saw that had more than one wheel.
Rachel and Me on the American Eagle.
If you look close at the chain you can see how large the eyelet of the chain is.
Again look at the size of these ropes.
The men manning the ship were all so young. Rachel asked them how long they had been on the ship and he said that he just started and he is in his sophomore year I think but most of them are still in High School.
I don't know what this really is. I don't know if it really does house explosives or just did at some point and time. As you can see in the picture it has grass growing on the top and back side of it.
This is one of the crew members on a smaller ship that is privately owned. I talked with one of the crew members and he said they will pack up enough things to use and stay on this ship for about 6 months. They have a bunk and they store all of their personal items there at their bunk.
I am on La Amistad which at one point was a slave ship not a very big ship at that but crazy the number of slaves they would pack into this ship.
La Amistad was captured off the coast of Long Island in 1839 and it was taken by 53 captives. Word of the La Amistad's arrival in New London quickly spread and rallied Black and White abolitionists then fighting slavery in America; the abolitionists proved the captives had been illegally kidnapped in Africa and won the first anti-slavery decision before the U.S. Supreme Court. The case arguable turned the tide against slavery itself. The schooner La Amistad was transformed from a ship of enslavement to a symbol of home and monument to the pursuit of universal human freedom.

Between 1998 and 2000 artisans built a recreation of the La Amistad, using traditional skills and construction techniques common to wooden schooners built in the 19th centruy, but using modern materials and engines. They christened Freedom Schooner Amistad. The modern-day Amistad is not an exact replica of La Amistad, as the ship is slightly longer and has higher freeboard. There were no old blueprints of the original.

The second day that I went to the ships I went with my friends Julie Tracy and Katie Smith. This is one of the anchors on the Argentine ship.

I am so grateful to Julie for going with me the second day. I do not spend much time in the city, therefore I do not know my way around the city at all. Julie and I had talked about going to see the tall ships and so when I called her to meet up with her she said she was tired and wasn't going to go. She told me she would give me Katie's number so I could call her and meet up with her. I told her, I am not telling you this to make you go because if you don't want to go no big deal. But I do not know anything in the city, not to familiar with the T or the city. So I didn't think I would be able to make it to meet up with Katie without getting lost. So Julie being such a wonderful friend said she would go so I wouldn't miss out on the opportunity of seeing more of the ships. So is such a great friend and I am so glad that she went with me. Even though she was extremely tired she is so much fun to hang out with and such a joy to be around. She really made a great sacrifice to spend another day at the tall ships with me. Thanks Julie.

Julie Tracy, Katie Smith, Me
Me and Katie Smith
Me at the wheel of another ship. I think I am getting the hang of this whole ship thing. :)
That is Katie's hand and a big, huge knot. It was totally random so we had to take a picture. The rope was just hanging there.


This is the interior of one of the foreign ships. It was the nicest that I saw and it was so immaculate.We all had to make a pit stop before we headed back home so we stopped by a hotel next to the ship yard and these guys were all dressed up and so I took their picture because I thought it was so cool.

This is a fire ship. This actually is docked near where I work. I take a walk at lunch every day around the harbor and I walk past this ship. I have never seen it spraying water out like this and I thought it was really neat and wanted to share it with you all.

Unwelcomed Guest

The other night I was walking from the livingroom to the kitchen and the lights were off. Then I needed something that required me to turn the light on. Boy was I glad I did. As I was walking back into the livingroom I happened to glance down at the wall and I found a very large spidery kind of thing. It was about 4 inches long or maybe longer and had a ton of legs. I don't know if it is some sort of centipede but I have never seen one like this before. I am glad I found him because that is one dude I don't want creeping around my house at night in the dark. Not sure where he came from but my guess would be the basement. I think my basement is the home of many creatures I don't want to run into. The picture is not the greatest. I couldn't get my camera to focus well and I wasn't sure how fast this little "big" guy could go with all those legs and I didn't want to lose him. So I settled for a blurry picture so I could exterminate him. As a for warning, beware of the dark corners you may find something unexpected. Now you all know what to look forward to when you come to visit me. But you are all welcomed guests unlike my unwelcomed, now dead friend below.

Wonderful Friends

Last week had some challenges and I have such a sweet friends Amy, who sent me beautiful flowers. They arrived on a perfect day. I had just arrived home from getting a flat tire replaced. At lunch that day I walked out to my car and noticed that the back tire was flat. I examined my tire a realized that there was a crack in the rubber so I would have to replace it not just repair it. I called around to get quotes and find someplace close to me that could give me a new tire. I had plans on driving 3 hours to Connecticut the following morning and couldn't take that trip on a donut so I needed a new tire now. As I called place after place they asked what kind of a tire I have and no one carried that tire. Most places said they wouldn't put something else on either that it should be the same tire to replace it. Finally after a lot of work I found a place who said they will match the tread and put it on the back of the car and all would be well. So that is what I did. My manager was so kind to let me leave work an hour and a half early so I could get my tire situation fixed. After all that as I was driving home I saw a vase of flowers on my front step. I thought what are those from they must have left it on the wrong door step. I didn't think they were really for me, because I haven't received flowers very much in my life and just didn't expect it. But when I went and got them off the front porch it really had my name on it. This is what the note said. "Friends are Angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly. I hope this brightens your day and reminds you how much you are loved!!" It brought tears to my eyes and did brighten my day. Thanks Amy they are beautiful and they still look great and I am enjoying them.

I also had a friend from Utah come and Visit me. Eugene Peterson is a construction consultant and he was out here in Boston doing a seminar and he called and let me know he was coming and so we made plans to meet up. He took me to dinner to America's Oldest Restaurant called Union Oyster House. We had swordfish and scrod. They were both very yummy. It was my first time for both and they were delicious. We had a great time chatting and catching up on each other's lives. I am so blessed to have friends remember that I am here and take time to come and visit with me. Thanks for the company and the wonderful dinner Eugene. After wee were done eating we walked a bit around Faneuil Hall and we both got our pictures taken in the rain in front of the famous Cheers bar.

My friend Maria Peluso is from Connecticut and she was in my ward back in Utah. We tried to make plans to meet up while she was here and my schedule never allowed it. So I told her that I would come and see here which is about 3 hours south west from where I live. This is why I needed to get the new tire on Friday so when I went to see Maria on Saturday I wasn't going to have to cancel because she was leaving and going back to Utah the following Wednesday. It also was her birthday a few weeks earlier so when I got to her house I picked her up and I took her out to Breakfast. We had a good time chatting and eating a very yummy breakfast. I was so full afterwards I felt sick. But it was sooooo good. I stayed for a few hours and then I needed to head back to Massachusetts because I had other arrangements for my afternoon. However, I think Connecticut really liked my company because it kept me there for an hour longer not by my choice. The traffic was as thick as molasses and was going so slow. About an hour later I found out why. I had traveled a whole whoppin 10 miles in one hour because there was an accident. It involved a semi that was hauling a bunch of cars and probably about 4 other cars. But it wasn't on my side of the freeway. The traffic was so slow because people had to slow down and look at the accident. That was just a bit frustrating. Haven't these people ever heard of the saying there is a time and place for everything. The freeway is not the place for gawkers! Hate to break it to you!

Here goes nothing (dedicated to Austin)

Well I have had many people tell me that I should write a bog. Ok so Sarah has encouraged me on multiple occasions to keep a blog and I kept telling her what am I going to blog about. Then I was talking to my friend Austin this last weekend who told me I should blog and I told him the same thing that I am boring I don't have fun things to blog about. Then he so kindly reminded me of things that have happened that I can make into very entertaining blogs. So I am going to give it a shot and see how it turns out. I have a few things that have happened already this summer that I will do back posts for. So stay tuned for my marvelous memoirs. :)