Happy Halloween!

Well, this has been a fun Halloween day and evening. Not such a fun day for Richard since he had to have four cavities filled! He's still at work and Steven is at the MTC greeting the new missionaries (six new elders and four new sisters) tonight. After I dropped Rich off in AF this afternoon, I went to Papa Murphey's in PG to pick up a couple of Jack-o-lantern pizzas for dinner. It was pretty wild and crazy there--lots of people had the same idea, and I couldn't order ahead because they weren't answering the phone. I guess they had enough business without taking phone orders! While waiting for the pizzas, I talked to Sarah on the phone. It's sounds like they had fun taking Eliza around the department today. Joel was at his night class and Sarah had had no trick-or-treaters as of that time. I finally got my two pizzas and took them over to the Barretts. I started baking them while Lindy and the girls were over at Grandpa and Grandma Barrett's house. They came home the same time as Nate, so we all had some Jack-o-lantern pizza for dinner. The girls looked cute in their costumes--Camden was a beautiful princess with glow-in-the dark earrings and pink hair, Riley was Snow White with real Snow White (dark) hair, and Sidney was a witch with purple spikey hair. We had cookies that the girls had decorated for our treat. Then they went trick-or-treating. I went with them and Nate for a few houses, then Lindy went with them while I passed out treats, then she and Sidney came home and we passed out some more treats. I talked to Tiff on the phone for a minute and she had just gotten back from their "cemetery tour." It sounded like she was having fun. (We were remembering that last Halloween she and I went to The Myrtles [the most haunted house in America] in St. Francisville, La. The night before Halloween we stayed at Linden in Natchez, MS. We think it is definitely haunted also.)When the little girls got home they had lots of treats! Camden's earrings were glowing in the dark! While there I got to see Eliza on the Agate blog in her lobster costume. What a cute little lobster she was! After it got dark I came home in time to pass out some treats to the neighborhood kids. It's a nice evening to be out--not too cold and it didn't get dark too early since we haven't gone off daylight savings time yet. Well, it seems like the trick-or-treating has slowed down a bit. I think I'll do a couple of things and then head to AF. Steven should be home by the time Rich and I get back. Happy Halloween everyone!

An Evening with Elder and Sister Bednar

Tonight at the MTC we got to hear from Elder and Sister Bednar! The missionaries were thrilled to be able to hear from an apostle. Two of the missionaries who are leaving tomorrow for the Dominican Republic were especially thrilled. Elder Smith said, "I was hoping and praying that I could hear an apostle speak before I left." Several of the missionaries mentioned that they appreciated hearing Elder Bednar say, "You can do this." He spoke about the Articles of Faith and how in sequence and content they explain the doctrine of the Church. He said, "The Articles of Faith can answer any religious question." He also told about receiving an e-mail today that reminded him of where he was exactly 35 years ago tonight at 7:00 p.m. He was baptising a young German man who has now been a faithful member of the Church for 35 years. The German man e-mailed Elder Bednar to remind him. Sis. Bednar spoke about the importance of missionary service and encouraged the missionaries to be "the kind of missionary your mother thinks you are." Afterwards, several of the elders mentioned that they wanted to be that kind of missionary. It was a very nice evening. I especially like hearing the comments from the missionaries afterward. Before the devotional we had dinner in the cafeteria with our friends, Rick and Yevon Romney, who are in another Spanish-speaking branch presidency. It was good to visit with them. Rick made us laugh with his funny food combinations. For example: french fries, saurkraut and turkey followed by two bowls of vegetable beef soup, a banana, ice cream bar and chocolate dessert.

Today has been a good day. I went for a nice fall walk at the track and got some things done here around home before leaving for AF and then the MTC. I'm looking forward to being with the little Barrett girls tomorrow for Halloween. Richard will be at work and Steven will be at the MTC greeting the new missionaries who come tomorrow. So I'm going to pick up a Jack-o-Lantern pizza at Papa Murphey's and take it to the Barretts for dinner. It will be fun to see the little girls in their costumes. We're looking forward to hearing about Tiff's Halloween adventures and seeing pictures of Eliza in her costume. Happy Halloween Eve everyone!

Back from St. George

Karalie and I got back from St. George yesterday about 6:00. We had quite the weekend in St. George! While there, I tried to do a post from the FT's computer, but it wouldn't let me do it. So I realized I'd have to wait until I got home. The weather was just beautiful all weekend. Karalie and I had a good trip down to St. George on Friday. We left about 10:45 and stopped for lunch in Fillmore at the drive-in cafe and had tasty rueben sandwiches. Then we stopped at the cheese factory in Beaver for ice cream, of course. Oops! I just remembered that I left my cheese curd in the fridge at the FT's! We got to St. George about 3:00. Kevin and Wendy were already there. Kevin had brought down a nice TV table from Shopko for the new TV that Grandma wanted to get, so he started putting that together. Grandma announced at some point that the new TV would be Dick's since she had decided to "give" it to him. That explains why he was so adamant about what kind of TV they would get. Grandpa wanted the 32" Sylvania from K-Mart and Kevin wanted to get a 37" Vizio from Costco for $20 more. Grandpa was insisting on the Sylvania because he didn't want some "no-name" TV in the house! Needless to say, things were a little tense around there on Friday night. I went and picked up some pizza and salad from the Pizza Factory for dinner (a margarita pizza) and everyone seemed to enjoy that. Later, while I was talking to Mom as she lay in bed, I asked why she thought she had to "give" the TV to Dick since she was the one who wanted to get a new TV in the first place and she was buying it with her money. She said she thought that if she "gave" it to Dick then he would feel better about her buying it. I told her that it was just complicating everything, that if she wanted a new TV she could get one and as long as Kevin was doing all the labor, then it should be her TV and go with the house; and, of course, it would be for the use of both her and Dick, but she didn't have to "give" it to him. I could just see his kids coming to "claim" their Dad's TV at some future date. Not a pretty sight. Mom said I was "scolding" her and that she could give the TV to Dick if she wanted to. So I just thought "whatever." I got up the next morning and went for a nice fall walk and enjoyed the cool, crisp, fresh morning air of St. George. I let out a few "grrrrrrs" and giant sighs while I was walking along, but I was thinking it's really none of my business what Mom wants to do. When I got back to the house, everyone was sitting around eating breakfast, wondering where I had gone. The first thing Mom said was, "After breakfast, Kevin is going to go to Costco to get a 37" VIZIO for ME." I just said, "That's great," and wondered what brought about her change of mind. I could only imagine what Mom told Dick I said to her. Karalie later told me that Mom told her I had "scolded" her, and Karalie had said to Mom, "Actually, what Diane said is right. You can buy yourself a TV and have it here for both of you to use without having to 'give' it to Dick." So Kevin and Dick went to pick up the TV. Actually, Kevin went with Dick to get a board for their bed and Kevin said they'd get the TV while they were out. So, they got the board and the TV and Kevin got everything set up before we went to Auntie Reah's party at 1:00. The party was wonderful. That's really what we went to St. George for anyway. Auntie Reah looked beautiful and there were lots of people there. It was fun to see all the cousins and aunts and uncles. Plus, there were a lot of people there from Uncle Bill's (Reah's second husband) family. A lot of the condo people came, too, so there were probably about 100 people there in the clubhouse. "The girls" had fixed sandwiches and veggies to eat, plus there were two yummy birthday cakes. Everyone sat around and visited and had a good time. Lots of people said how nice Mom looked with her hair done and wearing her pretty new top. I had tried to get her to walk over to the clubhouse on such a nice day, and she said, "Don't you try to talk me out of riding in my wheelchair!" That's when I decided it's probably a good thing that Mom and I don't live any closer because she would think that I was always on her case about something. After the party, I went and did a little grocery shopping and picked up some beef pies from Croshaw's for dinner. When I got back, Mom was in the living room watching TV with Kara and Wendy. Dick was in their room on the bed, watching the TV in there. They had switched places! Mom seemed to be enjoying the new TV. So that evening, we ate the meat pies for dinner (they were soooooooo good), then Kevin and I went over to Reah's to visit with her and Cousin Susie for awhile. Then we came home, and Kara and I watched the World Series on the new TV before going to bed. (Alas! The Rockies just didn't do well in the World Series! They ended up getting swept by the Red Sox last night.) The next morning, Kevin and I went to the 9:00 church at the Morningside 1st Ward. (A big Polynesian man who bore his testimony talked about having their little grandson there with them for awhile. He said his grandson was trying his patience. He said, "When I was growing up in Hawaii, we didn't have 'time out,' we had 'knock out'.") After Church, Kevin and I went back to the FT's to get ready to leave. Just as I thought we were about ready to leave, we got involved in some rearranging for Mom and Dick there in the living room. Dick seemed to finally be warming up to the idea of the TV even though it wasn't "his" and not the one he wanted; or, maybe he was just glad that we were going to be on our way. Anyway, he was being nice when we left. We got away a little later than we thought we were going to, that's why we didn't arrive in Orem until 6:00. Steven and Richard and Lindy and the girls were all enjoying a nice dinner which Lindy had prepared and brought over. Thank you Lindy! The little girls were eating their dinner and being so cute. Sidney gave Karalie a good growl as she went out the door to go home to SLC. I ate my dinner and then talked to Sarah and Tiffany on the phone. We were glad to hear that all was well with the Agates in South Caroline and that things had gone well for Tiff with her Dudley presentation and that she had had fun in Springfield with Greg on Saturday. It was quite the weekend for everyone!

Another Beautiful Fall Day!

It was another beautiful fall day here in Orem. You couldn't ask for nicer weather. Today was my hairdo day and a day for laundry. I also went to Curves again because I won't be able to go tomorrow. (I usually go every other day.) I also had time for a nice walk at the track this afternoon. While there I saw Cheree Marcov and her two cute little boys. She said to say "hi to the girls" (she saw Richard while there at the track). On my way back from AF I stopped by Lindy's and played with the little girls while Lindy finished a big sanding project on the Barbie house which she has been trying to get to forever. The girls and I had fun in the playroom--Camden and Riley fixed lots of good food for Sidney and me. Sidney quite enjoyed all the things they gave her to "eat." Then tonight Bro. Sanders came for a home teaching visit and talked to us about conference. Now we're on our way over to AF to get Rich and to make a stop by Macey's. Tomorrow I'm heading down to St. George with Karalie so we can attend Auntie Reah's 90th birthday party on Saturday. Steven and Richard will hold the fort down here, and then I'll be back Sunday in time for dinner, which Lindy was nice enough to say she would fix. Steven's hoping that the Rockies will do better tonight than last night when they lost to the Red Sox 13-1! Adios for now.

A Most Beautiful Day for a Walk

I think Sidney and I had the best walk ever this morning. It was such a gorgeous day! While Lindy was doing pre-school, I got Sidney bundled up in her warm gear and we took off for a walk. It actually wasn't cold, just kind of cool with a slight breeze. The sun was shining and the sky was bright blue without a cloud in sight. Then with the fall leaves and the cool, crisp air it was a perfect fall day for a walk. Sidney was enjoying it and just relaxing in her stroller. Then she went to sleep, she was so cozy. We ended up walking for an hour and a half! It was so fun!She woke up when Camden arrived home on the school bus. Riley had a good day at pre-school. Lindy said she was the best student in the class. So what a fun fall day! I just got back from Curves and now it's time to run to AF then to Macey's for a minute. I'm looking forward to a nice evening here with Steven home. He's glad that the World Series starts tonight and he can be here to watch it. He's rooting for Colorado.

An Evening at the "Empty Sea"

Steven and I had a nice evening at the "Empty Sea" (MTC) last night. We had beef soup and mandarin chicken salad for dinner (pretty good, actually) and visited with Bro. and Sis. Rampton while we ate (he used to be one of Steven's counselors in the branch presidency). Then we went to the devotional where Sis. Cheryl C. Lant, Primary general president, was the featured speaker. Her husband, Pres. John Lant (president of Branch 3 at the MTC), also spoke. He spoke about how we should not only read the Book of Mormon, but we should know the Book of Mormon. He told of a missionary in their branch who was having trouble with the language and Pres. Lant asked him if he had read the Book of Mormon. The elder said he hadn't. So Pres. Lant challenged him to read the Book of Mormon, which he did. And it changed his life. Pres. Lant said the Holy Ghost descended upon him; he became more obedient, the language came more easily--he was a changed missionary. He said, "The Book of Mormon will change your heart." Sis. Lant spoke to the missionaries about using the scriptures in their teaching. She said, "The scriptures give validity and authority to what you are teaching." She also encouraged the missionaries to involve the children of the families they are teaching because children can receive a witness to the truth for themselves. She reminded them that many times, children will lead the way for their families.

After the devotional, Dad and I met with the elders in District C in their district meeting to hear their testimonies and their thoughts about the devotional. Elder Pulu told about how when he was a young boy he didn't talk very much. He stuttered and couldn't use very many words. Then his mother gave him a Book of Mormon and asked him to read it. He didn't want to at first; but he did, eventually, and it helped him be able to speak better. I like being in the district meetings and feeling the spirit that is there with the missionaries. I left a bit early to go to American Fork, so I didn't get to hear from all of them.

I had a fun time over at Nate and Lindy's in the afternoon with Riley and Sidney while Camden and Lindy went to the dentist. Camden had on her red polka dot skirt and looked so cute. Sidney was asleep and Riley was at her friend's house but came home before too long. We read Halloween stories and played a matching card game until Sidney woke up. Sidney always acts surprised to see Gramma when she wakes up, but she was so cute and we had fun until Lindy and Camden came home. Camden had three cavities. Oh. Oh.

Well, it's about time to head over to Lindy's to help with Sidney while she has Riley's pre-school this morning. Maybe Sid and I will go for a walk if it's not too cold. That's always fun. Then this afternoon I'll go to Curves before heading to AF with Rich. Steven isn't getting new missionaries tonight so he gets to be home this evening. That will be nice.

I hope things go well for Tiffany's presentation in her Museum class today and that Sarah and Joel and Eliza have a nice day in South Carolina

Gramma Tries Something New

Today I thought I'd like to try something new--create a blog! I said to myself, "If the girls can do it, so can I." (But maybe not as well.) I'll have to find out from them how to put pictures on and things like that. Activities for today include: Send Steven off to work, read everyone's blogs, have breakfast, go to the store, get other things done (laundry, walking etc.), go to Lindy's to stay with Riley and Sid while Lindy and Camden visit the dentist, go to American Fork with Richard, meet Steven at the MTC, have dinner, listen to the speaker at the devotional (who will it be?), meet with the missionaries in district meeting, pick Rich up in AF, home again. Sounds like it should be a pretty good day. Actually, Tuesday is one of my favorite days.