alive!

Yes, I am alive and well. Just needed to take a hiatus. And now I am back to an occassional blog. My G tells me I really do need to update, "How else do I know wh

at is in your head?" I suppose he could actually talk to me! But, since we don't have time for that, I guess I better write! So, it is going to take me a bit to get you all up to date on the happenings at the K home. No, no order, just random as usual. So let's start with some recent senior pictures of B. She tells me we still need to do the straight hair take, but for now...curly. Enjoy!

Good things:

1. someone who cares what is in my head

2. some sort of journal for my posterity

3. pictures

P.S. I am having some technical issues...

Whew!

Things have been a bit crazy for me, but I think I can take a quick breather before soccer starts. Let me start with Young Women's Camp. ( Yes, I am STILL in the stake young women's)
In April, the camp director had knee surgery, but would have plenty of time to recover to attend camp. Then she got blood clots, and the medication made her sooo sick, all the time. Then her knee wasn't working properly, and I didn't think she could traipse all over the uneven ground, so I told her I didn't think she should come. I know she really wanted to be there, and didn't really like the idea of not going, but she needed to take care of herself. I felt so bad for her, but couldn't make her well. That was about 1-2 weeks before. The week before one counselor had an outpatient surgery, and the other took a son to the MTC and became a Grandma. I currently do not have a secretary. So I did what I could. Because of the really wet winter, the camp was still under 5 feet of snow on Memorial day, so we were a little unsure if we would be able to get in at all. At this point, I knew that somehow, it would all work out to how it needed to be. The Saturday before (June 25) the priesthood went in and shoveled out the amphitheater, and it was determined we were a go for the next week. I went up and Monday, and it was beautiful. It was beautiful on Tuesday morning...And then the rain came, and came, and came. Because of the snow melting from the rain, we had streams everywhere! We decided about noon to send everyone back home. (3 hours) I, of course left my rain gear home, and resorted to a big garbage bag. At one point, I could wring water out of my sleeves, and with a cap on my head, water was running down my back. When we were finally packed, and everyone out of the camp, I got in my car, about 2ish, and it was 46 degrees...Needless to say, my hands were frozen. Once into cell range it was decided to go home and let me meet with my counselors so we could regroup. We came up with a new plan that would enable us to accomplish what was needed, and redo the schedule with rotations for classes, etc. Two wards went to Fort Churchill that night, where the plan was to meet the next morning and continue camp. At 6:15 on Wednesday morning, I got a call from a ward who spent the night, and it was pouring rain, the clouds looked to be settled in, and the weather looked like rain until evening. So after many more phone calls, everyone was set to meet at the church nearby and we would "play it by ear!" Since I was scheduled to teach a workshop, my good counselors put me in a room, and took care of everything. And I do mean everything. They were able to get everyone situationed AND get the 4th year girls of on a hike that they came up with out of the blue. It was pretty chaotic, but they had it all under control. By dinner, it had cleared up, so we moved to camp after dinner, and the evening went according to plan. The next day we were able to go on hikes, okay, maybe they were just walks, but we still went. That evening we had testimony meeting, and things ended well. I think.
The most interesting thing about all of this is that I knew it would all be okay. Yes, I was stressed, and probably more that a little bit crazy, but I knew it would be what Heavenly
Father wanted it to be. I don't know why all of this happened, but it did, and it must have been a lesson that I needed to learn. Even with all of my control issues, I learned that I can only prepare and do so much, and whatever is going to happen will, with or without me. Maybe if we would have followed my original plan, we would have not had the experience that we needed to have. Will I still feel the need to control every little detail....probably, but if it doesn't happen, it will still be okay.
I just have to mention, that everyone was so incredibly flexible and understanding, and really went the extra mile to help out in whatever way they could. I work with amazing women and am so grateful for there goodness. I could not have done it without them! Okay, the stake presidency and our high councilman were really great too. I am so blessed to work with such great people, who put up with me.

Stay tuned for youth conference!

Good Things:
1. Knowing it will all be okay
2. Amazing people to work with
3. Not letting the camp director come...She would have for sure fallen and hurt herself in the muddy mess.

Lots of udating...

Although I am really far behind on things, lack of updates has not entirely been my doing. There for awhile, I was unable to get into my blog. Not really sure what happened, but I was finally able to merge a few accounts and email addresses, and now I am back!
A few of the highlights in the last month:
I got the garden planted about 10th of May to ensure a better garden than last years June planting. Went on vacation, to come back to all plants I set out frozen black! The seed all did fine, and the plants are now planted again, with the hope of survival. It has been cold and windy for a very long time. I usually try to go without the air conditioner until after Memorial day. This year, I turned the heat back on for the third time the Saturday before Memorial day. But the weather changed quick, and the air came on Sunday.
G and I went to Phoenix to witness his brother graduate with a master's degree. All the siblings were there. We decided to extend the vacation and celebrate 21 years of marriage! We had a nice relaxing time. We stayed at a fun Hilton that had a great little water park included in the price. One of our favorite things was floating the lazy river. We were pretty lazy ourselves. We read, listened to music, slept, went to a baseball game, did a little shopping, enjoyed the warm weather and sunshine, and ate some yummy food. Why does it always come down to food for me?!
The next weekend we went to the state track meet in Las Vegas. B, who is a first year tracker, qualified in two events. Her relay team took 2nd, but ran their best time all season, and was very very close to beating the school record. She also qualified in pole vault, being seated 4th, but she did not end up making height once there. She was very frustrated, but did great. She was the first to ever qualify for pole vault in the high school, and tied the school record. She is looking forward to beating it next year. While we were in Vegas, we visited our friends the Brummets and had a great time.
I never wrote about it, but D was selected to go to All State Middle school choir! So I went with him in early april. It really is amazing the sound the directors can get to come out of a bunch of jr. high students. He really enjoyed it, and they sounded great. Unfortunately, G couldn't be at the concert because he was at a school board conference in Washington DC. D also played 6 on 6 soccer with the big boys this year. 7-12 grade. Wow, what a difference that what he was used to. But he did well with his team getting 2nd place, and learning from the older kids.
Memorial Day weekend was a perfect weekend! K (and our friend Cory) came home for the weekend on the spur of a moment, and we just enjoyed being together. B had a recital on Friday night, and she sang "Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera beautifully! We slept in, had a late breakfast, did not much of anything, and then played games and went to dinner. Sunday we did church, and went to visit Brett and family. Monday we got K off and enjoyed a day at the park playing, visiting, and eating with friends. Came home, and then enjoyed more family with a campfire and smores. I think this was the first soccer or track free Saturday since March!
This last weekend, we spent with more family. This time from my side. My nephew just got home from his mission in Chile. I saw everyone in my family but 2 brothers. That is pretty good for us. But I still missed them. It was fun to hear of his mission experiences and testimony. We also got to hear more of what Mom and Dad are doing on their mission. They seem to be enjoying it, but both said it is hard work! That says alot...because they are some of the hardest working people I know.
I am so blessed to have such great family and friends. I would be so sad without these relationships, because they really are what matters most!

Good things:
1. 21 years of marriage...how can I really be old enough for that?
2. knowing that relationships with those you love can last forever
3. recognizing people make me happy

Good Things

1. Visiting family
2. Visiting friends who have become family
3. Sunshine...finally

Self Evaluation

I wanted to label this post, "What I learned about myself." but I already have that post, so maybe I am getting a little wiser after all. Anyway, this whole competition has been very interesting to me, and I really have learned about myself. So if you care to know what is inside my head, keep reading, otherwise, save yourself now!

I have a comfort zone that is really quite small. I do lots of things sufficently, but very few things well. If I don't feel sufficient or good at something, I just quit, or don't do it at all. There is proof in many areas of my life such as guitar, voice, and piano lessons to name a few. I am afraid of rejection, so I don't put myself in positions where I may be rejected. (not trying out for sports, or things of that nature.) I live my life very safely. I am not a risk taker by any stretch of the imagination. I live a comfortable, relatively easy life compared to others who struggle each day with various challenges. (of which I am thankful, and truly feel blessed.) Never putting myself out - there! The point I am trying to make is that I have never really worked hard for something. Never felt I needed to prove myself. Just been content to be... never reaching, stretching, or going to unfamiliar areas of "my world."

I went into this little "contest" at the persuasion of a friend, with no real intent to win. But I found as I worked hard that I felt a sense of accomplishment that I had never really felt before. At each training session I found myself sweating, pushing, and working through things I had no idea my body could actually do. Occasionally my partner and I would both show up wearing our "Got Courage" t-shirts, and I would smile to myself and think about a talk given by Sister Dalton of the General Young Womens program. In this talk she was telling the young women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that there will be difficult times when they will have to stand up for what they know to be true and that it will be difficult to be different than those around them, but that it is okay because, "We can do hard things." That thought continued to come into my mind all through this contest as I pushed myself in a way I never had. I have always chosen the easy way, the comfortable way, the safe way. But I learned, "I can do hard things."

That small box is still pretty small, and I am not stepping out of it, but I am making it a little bigger. What I have learned has been on a physical level, but I hope I can apply it to other areas of my life as well. It is those hard things we are faced with (whether we choose them, or they choose us) that will strengthen us physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

So I say to you, "We can do hard things." Go out and conquer whatever it is that will push you to your limit and then over the edge to your own personal victory! See what it is you learn about yourself.

Good Things:
1. Pushing yourself over the edge
2. Friends who cheer you on
3. Learning about yourself

The Results are In

As many of you know, I was in a contest! I know, kind of out of my box. Actually, just expanding my box as I like to say. Anyway here are the final results of the 12 week muscle gain competition:
By the way, I did poorly in the muscle gain category, but I like the look of the results I got.
Total fat loss - 14lbs
Total muscle gain - 4lbs
My body fat went from 27% to 19.3%
I now have 105 lbs of lean muscle

Now, to continue with the knowledge I have gained!

Good things:
1. satisfaction with my hard work
2. G saying I look good
3. Feeling good from healthy eating

Who inspires you?

I just read this quote...
"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, then you are a leader." John Quincy Adams
This statement got me thinking about who my leader and inspiration is. The obvious answer here would be Jesus Christ. Especially at this time of year when we are are a little more prone to think of all he has done for us, and all he would have us do to become like him. And although I expect each of you to have that as your top answer, I want you to leave a comment about who else inspires you to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more. It doesn't have to be anyone I know, but tell me who, and why.
I could probably choose one person each day for the next month, if not more. I have so many wonderful people in my life who inspire me in so many different ways it is difficult to choose just one. What a blessing to be surrounded with such great people. But for now, I will choose just one.
Amy has been my most recent inspiration. As I have gotten to know her better, I am amazed at what she can get done in one day, what she learns and can remember about nutrition, all she does for others, and how she is patient with her children, and how she is constantly teaching them the gospel in fun ways. She is filled with wisdom, spunk, and determination. Thanks, Amy, You are a leader and an inspiration. Thank you!
Don't forget to leave a comment...

Good Things:
1. Inspirational people in my life
2. Knowing you can be and do better
3. Having a Savior to make up the difference