2008 Pioneer Trek

I finally got a few minutes to post about our Stake Pioneer Trek. We only had two young women, and four young men along with 5 leaders from our ward. We were the smallest group- but I loved it. We only had one handcart to pull and it made us seem more like a family. We left on Thursday, July 24th. That day we walked 12 miles to our camp. It was a long, hot day. There were many youth from other wards that suffered from exhaustion and dehydration. We had a few young men get sick the first day and night. One ended up going home in the middle of the night. We felt bad he couldn't continue with us.

We were trying to do a serious pioneer look. :-)

We walked about 8 miles and then stopped for lunch. After our break we filled our water jugs and started our journey again. We were stopped by "military men" with orders that the Mormon men were to leave to help fight in the Mexican war. This was a re-enactment of the Mormon Battalion. So all of the men left. Our stake leaders talked about how the women must have felt at this time and how they were left to continue the trek into Utah. They were left with children and elderly people. We then had to pull our handcart up a HUGE hill. All of this was done in silence so we could feel the Spirit and think of how it must have been for those women. Since we were small in numbers it was extremely difficult to get that handcart up the hill. It probably weighed about 275 pounds. I broke down in tears halfway up the hill- along with all the other girls. Partly because of the physical difficulty of it, and because I couldn't imagine having the faith to do this back then. Then I tried imagining if my kids were with me and how they would struggle and be hot and tired. The pioneers didn't have good shoes, multiple fresh water and bathroom stops and lots of food, etc. They truly suffered and sacrificed. Once we were almost up the hill, the men returned, removed their hats out of respect, and walked in silence beside us. They were not allowed to help us yet. This was emotionally trying on them. It is in their nature to help- especially when girls are crying and are in desperation. I was relieved when they took our load from us. It was a powerful and moving experience. I will never forget it and am so thankful for it. It made me extremely grateful for all that I have.

Yes- I did actually help pull the handcart every once in awhile!

Our "studly" pioneer men. Trevor and Austin (plaid shirts) were so awesome! They pulled that cart the entire time without a complaint. You guys ROCK!


Jasper and Jen ("Ma" and "Pa") and Chelesa taking a break under the cart. Jen was always showing off her bloomers. I asked her if she was trying out for Pioneer Playboy. :-)

My friend Coby and one of the young men- Trevor, taking a break.

On Friday we walked for 8 miles. My muscles ached a little bit from the day before. We didn't get much sleep the night before either because we had some noisy girls camped by us and because one of our young men got sick in the night. That night we had a big dance. They had line dancing, square dancing, bunny hop and of course the hokey pokey! Good old fashioned fun!

Coby, Me and Casey (Aren't those bonnets just stylin?)

Chelesa trying to get a handle on the blisters. (Which I got NONE! Yippee!)

Saturday we only had four miles to walk. It was an easy day except for my killer headache. Three days without a Diet Pepsi was VERY challenging for me. I was anxious to get home and see my family too. I missed them while I was gone. They all started laughing when they picked me up and saw how dirty I was. I don't think Logan and Claire knew what to think. And that cold Diet Pepsi my hubby brought me was truly heaven on earth. :-) I was brought back to earth though when I stepped on the scale at home and had actually gained a pound! How can someone walk 20 miles, drink all water and no soda, barely snack and gain weight! It is truly hopeless for me. It just proved that exercise will do be no good, so why start????

Idols on Stage

Monday night I went to the American Idols concert! I have never been to one before so didn't quite know what to expect. My mother-in-law took me, along with a niece and nephew to the concert. The top ten contestants performed. They each sang three songs except for David Archuleta who performed four songs, and David Cook performed five songs. Let me just tell you how loud it was in there when David Archuleta was on stage! It was hard to even hear him sing with all of the screaming fans. I didn't lose control like some of the fans since my neck has been tweeked out. He did so good and he was so cute. He is so humble and very appreciative of his hometown fans. He had tears in his eyes at the end. He definitely has an amazing voice and at only 17 has a huge career in singing ahead of him. (Just my opinion...) David Cook did well too and I felt bad that he had to perform after Archuleta. :-) Here are some pics from the concert....

Kristy

Tattoo Girl

Jason

David Archuleta

David Cook

Almost all of the Idols commented on how loud the Utah fans were. Makes me wonder if they say that to everyone or if it is true. Anyhow, I had a good time. It was kind of nice listening to several people instead of just the same person at a concert. Thanks for taking me Sue!

This and That

My New Nephew

My sister had her baby early Thursday morning. He was 3 weeks early and weighed in at 6lbs 15 ozs and only 16 1/2 inches long. He was small! His name is Jackson. Logan, Claire and I went to Ogden to see him at the hospital. Claire was in heaven! She loves babies so much so she held him the entire time we were there.

Strawberry Jam and Salsa

Friday I made strawberry jam. I bought strawberries from Tera (thanks!) and didn't know how many to get. Well, I only ended up using 5 little plastic containers of them to fill the containers that I had used last year. So now I have lots of strawberries left! I guess I'll have to go buy more containers to make more jam or just freeze the strawberries. If anyone has any good strawberry recipes- send them my way!

Here's what is left!

Then for lunch I made some fresh salsa and treated myself to my favorite lunch- nachos. Loaded with salsa, sour cream and guacamole. Mmmm... It's no wonder my thighs are as big as they are eating like this!

It just doesn't get any better than this.....

Picnic Time!

Friday's picnic for the kids I surprised them. I used muffin tins and had an assortment of food for them. Their lunch consisted of pineapple/strawberries, cheese, ham and turkey cubes, goldfish crackers, animal cookies, and yogurt covered raisins. They loved it. Thanks for the tip Tip Junkie!

I bought the muffin tins from the dollar store. What a great price!

Tea Party!

Friday night Claire and I went to Macy's tea party. It was father and sons campout in our ward, so the girls got together for dinner and lemonade "tea." The little girls played outside and had fun while the big girls (moms) had fun with the big girl talk. I had so much fun socializing with my neighbor friends. We had some great laughs. Thank you so much Emily for hosting this! (I took my camera but of course didn't take any pictures...)

Fourth of July Fun

This year for America's Birthday we went to Glenwood, Utah to stay at my grandparents' home. They were out of town, but my aunt Karen and her family lives there also. (Glenwood is about 10 miles from Richfield, Utah.) My grandparents live in the home that my great great grandpa built. It was built in 1904. My grandpa grew up in that house and has worked for many years to restore it. It is a beautiful old home.

We started out Friday by going to the big Richfield parade. It cracks us up because people from the town line up their chairs the night before and tie ropes through them. My aunt and I have always wanted to take a bobcat in the middle of the night and scoop them all up in a big pile- or rearrange everyone's chairs. We die laughing because it's not the big Maceys parade! But, I guess in small towns, that's the most excitement you get. :-)

Anxiously awaiting for the candy!

Logan's favorite parade entry.

My Aunt Karen and me.

Daddy's little princess!

After the parade we headed over to the park for the annual "Fish Catch." There is a fish hatchery in Glenwood and every July 4th they bring over a bunch of trout for the kids to try and catch. Let me just tell you- TOTAL CHAOS! Picture hundreds of kids running around and screaming in a little man-made swimming pool loaded with fish swimming around. Spence said most of the fish probably died of a heart attack or shock! Logan actually caught one. He was so excited. His first fish- and caught with his bare hands.

Can you find Logan? It's like a "Where's Waldo" picture. :-)

Logan with the Catch of the Day and with his cousin, Nick.
Nathan, Logan and Austin (cousin) with their fish.

The first day when we arrived, Karen asked the smaller kids if they wanted to go into the chicken coop and see if there were any eggs. Logan said "What's that?" Guess he didn't know what fresh eggs were. Then Claire came running up so we asked if she wanted to go help find some eggs. She said "Well, I don't have a basket!" My kids are definitely city kids! They had a blast gathering the eggs each morning and feeding the chickens.

Claire and Belle (cousin)

Logan and Claire- just a "one" egg morning!
Logan making sure the horses don't go hungry.

Logan barebacking it on Hemi.

Sunday dinner consisted of barbequed chicken wings. Mmmm - looks good Nick and Belle!

We came home on Monday. The kids had such a good time. They want us to move down there. I told them no way. I would miss my shopping, movies and going out to dinner too much!

Who needs Wheeler Farm when you have grandma and grandpa's house?!

The Jailman

I was in the backyard yesterday and Claire came running out.

"Mom! The jailman just came."
"What? What is the jailman?"
"You know, the man that takes people to jail."
"Well, why was he at our house?"
"I don't know. Maybe cuz of all the fighting going on inside."
"Are the kids fighting?"
"Yes, and the jailman took them away."
Laughing "Oh, okay Claire."
"Ah...I'm just kidding mom!"

Where does she come up with this stuff?

Marital Rating Scale

I was on Tip Junkie, and they had this Marital Rating Scale on there. Check out the copyright date. So I thought I'd print it out and see how I do. Click here to see the husband's chart. I'm laughing!