Father's Day (a little late)

I've been thinking about all the great men in my life and thought I'd jot down a few of the things they exemplify or things I've learned from them.

Brian is my best friend (I know it sounds cliche, but oh well). He loves me at my best and worst times and all the times in between. He is such a great provider. He works hard and doesn't complain even though I know he wishes he could be home more. Brian is such a cute dad. I love seeing Matthew with him. Brian is so energetic and happy about life. I love him to pieces!

My daddy . . . . hmmm, where to start. My dad is a hard worker. He taught us to be hard workers although I need to do better. When I was a teenager I remember him saying "Common sense is all too uncommon." He is very logical and gives great advice for making decisions. He has such amazing knowledge. He keeps his word and fulfills his obligations, always putting himself last. My dad is a busy busy man, but he made it to all of my concerts in grade school and most of them when I was in college (away at at college, I might add). I have never doubted that he is always in my corner and he will do everything in his power to help me. I've heard it said that the most important thing a man can do is love his wife and dad does. He's also a great joke/story teller! Love you dad!

Rob is also a very hard worker. He is one of the most generous people I know. He is a great father who loves his children (and their spouses) no matter what. He's one of those people who has a great testimony of the gospel and who shows it by his actions. He doesn't draw attention to himself, but will get right to work. Rob loves his wife so much! It's so fun to see them always holding hands and him holding the door open for her. He has set a great example for his sons. He and Mary are also setting a good example for our family by serving a mission in Italy. We miss you lots, but are so thankful for your influence.

My two grandfathers Wayne and Jim. Jim passed away six years ago next month. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago. Both of my grandfathers were also very hard workers. Grandpa Jim had quite a few children and worked to support them. Grandpa Wayne worked two jobs for many years to make ends meet. They lived in a world that is so different from the one we live in now. I am so thankful for their perseverence in all they did. When so many things were stacked against them they chose to keep going. Grandpa Jim's family is large (I think I'm up to about 65 cousins and counting), but whenever I got to see Grandpa I truly felt that he was interested and concerned about me. He was a man who lived his convinctions no matter what the outside world did. He was a man of integrity and I'm grateful for the things he taught my dad who has in turn taught me. Grandpa Wayne is so much fun and is a great Easter basket hider. He has lived a quiet life, but he is devoted to his family. I have been working on Grandpa Wayne's life story and every time I talk to him I am humbled by the choices he has made and therefore the person he has become.

So if you made it all the way to the end, thanks for reading about the men who are so close to my heart. Happy Father's Day!

Progress?

Our conversation at breakfast this morning- (I have been prompting please and thank you a lot with him lately)

Me: Will you please learn to talk nice?
Matthew: No thank you.

Tornado and the aftermath

First my apologies to everyone who ends up reading a dozen blogs about tornadoes.

At about 1:45 this afternoon we were told there was a tornado and we needed to move to the center of the building. We moved into the bathroom, stayed there for a few minutes then into the cultural hall and chapel. It was so weird because I didn't think it looked like it was going to rain when we got to church. It was interesting to see how people reacted. I wasn't too nervous. If anything had happened I naturally would have wished Brian to be with me, but I found safety in being in a house of God with other brothers and sisters of the gospel.

Here are the pictures I took. It's crazy how just a few miles made such a big difference in what damage occurred.

My poor garden! Look how sad the basil is :(

The tomato plants and oregano did pretty well. My peppers didn't fair as well; I hope they will recover.

Sorry about the focus in this picture. Marble size was the biggest I could find in our yard.

I drove to my uncle's house, going past Southlands Mall on the way there. I heard they were hit fairly hard, but I don't know the extent. So this is a light by the mall, you can see the traffic lights are not pointing the right direction.

This picture was difficult to take because I had to be a safe driver (gosh!). The power lines had several wires that were dangling on the ground and this one has debris tangled on it. Notice the hooks that should have wires on them, but don't.

Garden

We finally got our garden in and even though it's not much to look at I took pictures anyway.
This box has a row of zucchini seeds in the back, the pepper plants in the middle, and two rows of carrots up front.

This box has two tomato plants in the back, another row of carrots, that huge oregano plant that came back from last year, and basil in the right corner.

Strawberries.

Raspberries.

More Utah

I made a pineapple upside down cake for our movie nights, we watched North and South. I think I got all of them addicted!

We watched the elders quorum play baseball and win :) Here's my baby brother batting. He was upset because he almost had a home run, but it went foul.

Here's daddy batting. He used to play baseball all the time. It's how he broke his two front teeth. He also has a sign hanging in their garage that says "We interrupt this marriage to bring you baseball season."

Matthew enjoying the orange julius grandma made.

The girls folding pot stickers.

Grandpa entertaining Matthew while we made pot stickers. It was super cute because he made voices and sounds. Matthew was having a blast.