The valley of the cache

Tuesday - Rick and I attended the wedding dinner at the Joseph Smith building in SLC of Camille W. one of my former student employees. She is such a great young lady and she finally found a great young man. Hip-hip-hooray for Camille! Rick drove me to met Carol, Mom and Taylor at the Layton mall afterward and we headed to the valley of the cache. Enjoyed visiting in route.

Wednesday - got up late. Went on a walk with Mom. She now lives in the same town where she grew up. She's come full circle. We walked past her childhood home, school and church. I love to hear her memories. I later walked past Jamie's house to visit - no one home. Visited with David. Went shopping for something special to give to Carol. Went over to Carol's house and made apricot jam. Stopped at Macey's to get a few things and saw Jamie. Enjoyed a lovely meal on the patio back at Mom and David's home. Carol and I went to the Utah Festival Opera with Mom and David and attended an evening program entitled: An Evening of Rodgers and Hammerstein Classics with the best selections from the King and I, Carousel, South Pacific, The Sound of Music and Oklahoma. Amazing. Loved the music. Saw Rick's Uncle John and Aunt Cherie. Not one sour note sung by the soloists and the orchestra was so professional. Saw cousin Scott F. and his girlfriend Carol. Visited with them eating Aggie ice cream afterward with Mom and David, Nancy and brother Gary, the managing director of UFO.

Thursday - got up late. Started reading ESCAPE about a woman who escaped with her 8 children from the FLDS culture. Hooked immediately. Also reading Harry Potter volume 7. Never tried reading two books at the same time, but since they're so different from one another, it's working out quite well. Met all my sisters with Mom at IHOP for breakfast. Returned to Mom's for visiting and a family meeting. Went shopping at Old Navy with Claire's friends & family 30% off coupon with Carol, Taylor and Janet. All got some good deals. We saved $130 between us.... Enjoyed hamburgers on the grill with Janet, Carol and family, Mom and David. Games afterwards. Spent the night at Carol's home in her guest room. Walked for about four miles with Carol and Janet and had a great chat at dusk.

Friday - walked with Carol and chatted. Went and picked up Mom and Janet and went to visit Aunt Rhonda and Uncle Bill. Continued on to visit Uncle Clair and Aunt Marilyn (who were headed out the door and couldn't visit long.) Edna and Rex not home. Visited Aunt Lorna. Ate lunch at the new Beehive Grill. Took Mom and Carol back to the families and Janet and I returned to visit Uncle Rex and Aunt Edna. We had lovely visits with all the relatives and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Learned much about our cousins and what they are doing. I love my aunts and uncles and enjoyed visiting with them. All of us enjoyed a LOVELY dinner at Carol's. Recipes to follow. Rick came from SLC where he was attending a day conference and he devoured Carol's food as well. Carol, Jan, Rick and I headed to Utah Festival Opera to learn our duties so that we could man the refreshment booth at intermission. Attended Camelot and loved it. More on that later. Headed back to Mom and David's to sleep. Janet to Carol's home.

Saturday - walked around Mom's old stomping grounds again. Rick ran up and down the "bear guts hill" two times. Mom and David live in a lovely town. Uncle Clair and Aunt Marilyn came over to visit more since we didn't get to visit with them on Friday. Enjoy a good long visit. Ran and got an Arby's sandwich before heading back to UFO to attend the matinee production of Carmen. Loved it. It's our 5th year attending a serious opera production. Some we have like better than others. This was a good one. The music was superb and easily recognizable. Saw Rick's Aunt Anne and Uncle George. Said goodbye to Gary and wished him well. Said goodbye to Mom and David. Appreciated their hospitality and love. Headed home. Stopped by to visit Dave and Courtney. Got home in time for bed. A great time was had by all, especially me. It was an easy going vacation which I thoroughly enjoyed! I love Cache Valley and I'm not alone. It's high on culture and low on stress and a great place to live the simple life.

1 year blog anniversary

It's been one year since I started my blog.
It's been interesting to find that I have a lot to share (more than I would have supposed.)
It's been enlightening for me to think through my opinions and to try and put them into words.
It's been fun to think of ideas and things I wanted to share.
It's been great to know that I have faithful supporters. I don't think Rick has missed commenting on a post and he says he looks forward to seeing what I'll write about.
It's ominous to think that this blog is out there for all time and that anyone can read it. I guess my grand kids can read it in the future.
It's been amazing to find that I can journal some of my activities and ideas since I'm not a regular journal writer. I'm keeping a paper copy for that very reason.
It's been a great way to keep in touch with our family who live far and near.
It's been a way for friends and family to get to know me better. Some have said that they had no idea that I do what I do. I've enjoyed reading the blogs of my family and friends as well. It's been fun to share with each other.
It's truly been somewhere for me to deposit my random thoughts, and honey, I have a lot of them!
It's been a fun ride. I'm going on vacation, so I'll be back next week.
I can't help but be curious though... who reads this stuff? Please reveal yourselves!

Girls camp

Preparing for girls camp was a major part of my summer activities for 17 years. Camp Mia Shalom is a girls camp owned by many of the stakes in the area. It is an hour and a half bus ride from here and it is located in a beautiful canyon. The first year I attended, I was 7 months pregnant with Dave. Thereafter, they didn't allow pregnant women to attend camp, so the year I was expecting Andy I could only attend the testimony meeting at the end of the week. I pretty much went to girls camp every year since 1984 and I learned many skills and camping abilities. I served in just about every ward and stake calling possible during those years and I loved my association with the adult leaders and with the young women. Every now and then I'll run into a YW in a store around town and she will say that she remembers "thus and such" from girls camp. We shared some great experiences and some wonderful adventures. We went for five days on our assigned week, which began the first week in June and went through the summer until late August, with four stakes attending each week. We went in all kinds of weather and learned how to cope in the outdoors in unheated cabins, with cold water and no electricity. The luxury was that we had flush toilets. I got to attend all six years that my girls were involved and we shared some great experiences backpacking and fine tuning our camping skills. Rick went on more than one occasion to help me and provide some brute strength when needed.
During almost all of those years, I got to serve with a wonderful friend named Kathleen. We became close friends and we have remained close through the years after serving together. We decided to go back to girls camp after about 10 years of not attending and see what is going on there. We packed a lunch and drove up for the day a couple of weeks ago. We enjoyed reminiscing and chatting about the many experiences and people we knew from those years. We found that it is pretty much the same. A tree beetle has eaten away many of the pines, but the spirit of camaraderie can be felt and it was good to visit. YW camp had a major impact on my life and hopefully we did some good and influenced some girls for the better. Maybe in the future I'll tell more about some of the things we did there, but for now, I'll close just remembering those good times share in the mountains building our faith. The goals of YW camp were:

• Draw closer to Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ
• Feel the influence of the Spirit.
• Serve others.
• Build friendships and unity
• Learn skills.
• Appreciate God's creations.
• Have fun!

Pioneers

I have great admiration for people who choose to do hard things and follow their beliefs. I admire people who put their own desires and needs aside for the good of others or for a cause greater than themselves. Today we celebrate the Mormon pioneers who first entered the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. Over the next 22 years, 70,000 pioneers crossed the plains and settled in a new area where they hoped to be free from religious persecution. Our own ancestors were among them. As a 5th generation Latter-day Saint, my life is better because of the sacrifices made by my ancestors. I salute them and pay tribute to them for the sacrifices they made.
We human beings are fascinated by journeys. Perhaps that's because we see our lives as a quest. Each morning we rise, rinse off and set out for a new day of discovery and striving. We go searching for fulfillment. I love to read their stories and to learn from their examples. Blessed honored pioneers!

freezer jam

Summer just wouldn't be summer without making a fresh batch of freezer jam using fresh raspberries and strawberries. There is nothing better than eating freezer jam on hot bread or rolls. It's easy to make and tastes so much better than store bought jam. The recipe is included in the package of pectin.