What a great month!

Rob and I have some friends we home teach that are Disney World maniacs. They take their family almost every year. They convinced us it is truly the happiest place on earth, so last Christmas we gave all the kids and grandkids a trip to Orlando to see if it was true. After lots of scheduling problems we went September 9th to the 16th. We stayed on Disney property and used the buses to get around. We also got the free Disney Dining which was fun and saved us money.

We played so hard that every night we were absolutely exhausted. I would wake up every morning and could still feel how tired my legs were from walking and walking and walking. One of the highlights of the trip didn't even have anything to do with Disney. It was raining one morning so instead of heading right for the parks, we all huddled in one room and played a game Scott and Amy brought. It was from the Jelly Belly factory but I can't remember the exact name. Each color of jelly beans had two flavors. One flavor was good and one was totally disgusting i.e. the brown one could be chocolate or dog food. The player would spin, it would land on a color and the player would choose a bean the appropriate hue. Then we all got to watch as they ate it to see if it was a good one or the yucky one. It was really funny to watch the little kids. They would think it was delicious and then we would smell their breath and discover they eaten a terrible one. (FYI the worst flavor was rotten eggs.)

My favorite grandma quotes from the trip were from Avery and Lucas. After riding on Mount Everest in the Animal Kingdom I complained that the ride had made me sick. Avery asked, "Why did it make you sick? Is it because you are old?' The other was as were were waiting for our connecting flight on the way home. I was trying to amuse Lucas by holding up random Disney character toys and asking him their names. Every time I held up Alice in Wonderland he would say, "Child of God." We finally realized it was because her hands were folded in such a way that it looked like she was praying.

My most precious moments are the ones spent with my kids and grandkids. I am so very blessed that they are close by and those wonderful moments can happen often. This trip was a great time to do nothing but be with the people I love the most. It was definitely worth the time, money, and trouble. My friends think that Disney World is the happiest place on earth. I think the happiest place on earth is wherever I can be with my family.

Eventful Week!

Why is it that we can go about our lives with nothing much happening for days and even weeks, then all of a sudden things explode! Well, I guess inferring that my life has just erupted in chaos is a gross exaggeration, but somethings worth noting did happen this last week.

Monday, the 24th was my mom's birthday. We had a party for her out in our backyard because of the fire hazard of the 98 candles on her cake. My sister, Carol, and all of her family (except Paul who lives in Arizona) as well as all my kids and grandchildren came. We swam, ate, and then had a little program about grandma's life. Each family was assigned a specific event of grandma's life to tell us about. We found out that when grandma and grandpa met there was a lot of kissing, that grandma thought grandpa was a spoiled brat when she first met him, that grandpa was hard to find when it was time for grandma to have a baby, and lots more. Mom seemed to enjoy the trip down memory lane and added her share of comments.

Wednesday, I mentioned to my friend and neighbor, Kathy, that I needed more to do. She warned me not to talk like that or the church would find me more to do. That evening we got a call from a woman at the Jordan River Temple. She said our names had been suggested to be workers there. We went for an interview Saturday and came home set apart ordinance workers. I have been practicing my smiling and directing traffic skills. I'm a little apprehensive about it, but I'm also excited. The man who set me apart promised me some special experiences in the temple.

Friday morning we attended the wedding of a close friend's daughter. After, I helped stuff rolls with chicken salad for the reception. That evening I helped with serving the food. I have never seen so much pasta salad in my life. They had mixed it in a garbage bag in a picnic cooler because that was the only thing big enough. Needless to say there was enough left to feed a room full of starving teenage boys.

Along with these special events were the everyday things that we usually do around here. The girls came with their kids to swim almost everyday. I tended. I did whatever it is I do!