April 2008 Cruise

I went on a cruise in April with my friend Tenesa. We flew the red eye to Miami and then boarded the Carnival Inspiration. Our first port was in Key West, Florida. We didn't do any exertions there. Just walked around the island. We saw the southern most point in the US. It was fun. The next day we were in Cozumel, Mexico. We did some shopping then went on an exertion. We went snorkeling and then they took us to a private beach where we did some kayaking and laid in hamacks. Beautiful water and beach. That night we went to eat at Senor Frogs, but there was only a bar there, so we found another great restaurant to eat at instead. This was a great day! The next day we were at sea all day long. Tenesa didn't like this very much, but I did. Very relaxing day. When we got back to Miami, we spent the day at South Beach. It was pretty run down, but the water was gorgeous.

The trip was a great vacation. I loved just laying on the boat and reading (I read most of the Twilight series). The Caribbean sun was warm and the water was a deep blue. Cruises are great vacations. Good food, good fun. Always plenty of relaxation time. Always sad to get back to reality, but the memories last a lifetime.




April 2008 Cruise #2



April 2008 Cruise #3

Grammy Memories

Monday I was up in Shumway going through all my grandmother's earthly possessions. She was an amazing woman. One of her joys in life was decorating her home each month with a different theme. Jan-Snowmen, Feb-Valentines, Mar-St. Patty's Day, Apr-Easter, May-Mother's, graduation, June-Father's, Summer fun, July-Patriotic, Aug-back to school, watermelon, picinini's, Sept-Fall football, Oct-Halloween, Nov-Thanksgiving, and Dec-Christmas. I would go help change the decorations each month while I was in high school. We had it down to a science. It was to the point that I knew just by looking at the box what was in it and where the items went in her home.

Grammy passed away 2 years ago. Most of her decorations have been up in my Aunt Kim's attic. The job needed to be done to go through all these boxes and throw out the things no one wanted. This was a lot harder for me than I thought it would be. As we were sifting through the boxes, it brought on a flood of memories of my grandmother and how she loved these decorations. I don't share the same passion for decorating that she did. As a matter of fact I'm lucky if I put some Christmas decorations up. However, I didn't want to throw hers out. I wanted to get the job done, yet wanted to save stuff. My mind won out most of the time knowing that I'd never use the decorations and nobody else wanted them either. We threw away thousands of dollars of decorations and a lifetime of collecting.

There were some other boxes of her memories and journals that we also found. I just couldn't throw away the journals of hers. She wrote faithfully everyday. It is her history of her thoughts and feelings. My aunts wanted them in the garbage, but I just couldn't. I managed to keep some of them out, but I know many did get thrown away.

This whole experience was tough for me, but I knew it needed to be done. After we finished, Nicole had bought some new flowers for my grandparents graves. I went to the Taylor cemetery and put them on it. I came to the realization that earthly possessions aren't important. Some day my children will be cleaning out my possessions and taking them to the dump. What is important is the way we live so that we can be together in the eternities. Nothing goes with our spirits when we die except the memories and the knowledge we have gained through our earthly experience. I'm sure Grammy was aware of what we were doing. Hopefully she has a different perspective from the other side and won't be mad when I am again reunited with her about us taking her cherished decorations to the dump.

I've posted a slide show of pictures from the ride up, Shumway, Snowflake Temple, and then of my grandparents grave. Hannah took most of the pictures. Enjoy!



Memorial Day 2008

Memorial Day Weekend

I had a great Memorial Day weekend. It started off with me picking up my parents at the airport Thursday night. They came and saw my home. I call it a home now because my father dedicated my home while he was here. The power of the priesthood is amazing. Nicole came with 4 of her kids and picked my parents up a little later. I then went out to dinner with one of my favorite mission companions, Betsy. It was so fun to get caught up and to see how our lives have changed, yet still feels like just yesterday since we were tracting together in Ocean Springs, MS.

Friday night we had a BBQ at Aunt Myrna's house. It was a little too cold to swim thanks to the weather not cooperating with our original plans. However, Uncle Bill still fired up the BBQ and we had some great food.

Saturday was Brookly's baptism. It was great to see all the family together and celebrate this big step in Brookly's life. Nicole put on a wonderful dinner with great food and fresh fruit. That night I went with Hannah (roommate) and Tenesa (friend) to watch Indiana Jones. I have always been a huge fan of Indiana Jones. This one was good, not great. I didn't like the whole alien aspect to it. Sunday I drove out after church to Nicole's and then drove mom and dad to the airport. Sunday night Hannah and I drove up to Snowflake to help Aunt Kim and Uncle James clean out the attic of all Grammy's stuff which we did all day Monday. We drove back to Phoenix Monday night. It was quite a long and exhausting weekend. But it was a lot of fun.

Chester

As many of you know, I got a puppy in November and his name is Chester. He is a cocker spaniel and the main man in my life. We definitely had some great times together and some not so great times. Let's just say he likes to chew my things. He's so cute though. It is hard to stay mad at him for very long. He's now 7 months old. Here's some pictures after his first haircut.
He's now ready for another haircut. I can't believe how fast his hair grows. He did have his little neuter surgery and didn't like wearing the cone very long. He was very embarrassed to have to wear it to training class with all the other dogs. But no worries. He graduated from training and we had a little ceremony with him. Oh how fun it is to have a dog.

Women's Conference 2008

So two weeks ago I went to Women's Conference with my sisters/sister-in-law at BYU. It was a lot of fun. I was very exhausted from lack of sleep, but I was able to enjoy the spirit of the talks and bond with my sisters. We went to a concert one night and saw Eclipse. We were able to sit on the floor. It was great! We laughed and ooed and awed with the other 20,000 women . We even lifted our cell phones to Michael McClean (and Eclipse). The end of the two days was topped off by listening to our Prophet, Pres. Monson speak. What a wonderful experience to listen to a Prophet of God speak in person. Definitely the highlight of the experience for me.

After we went to the two days of enrichment, we went home to spend some time with mom and the men. We went to the Jordan River Temple Saturday morning


and then to the new movie Emma. I believe it made us all feel grateful for the sacrifice of that great woman. Mom took us to Desert Book and bought us an Eclipse CD so we can remember the great concert! It was a great afternoon. That evening we played the infamous game of pictionary and let's just say Camie, Jeff, and I were unstoppable! Sunday we celebrated Mother's Day ( a week early) with enchiladas and gifts for mom. It was a great weekend for sure. Before I flew back Monday I was able to catch up with a high school friend Lisa. It is great to stay in contact with friends through the years. It's amazing how our lives are change and are different than what we plan when we are in high school.

Welcome Me to Blogging

So it's been a few years since I've blogged. My sisters have inspired me to try again. So welcome me! Yeah! I'm going to play around now and see what I can to to make this the best looking blog on blogspot!