April 2011 - May 2011 update

Once again, because I am so woefully behind, here is a quick and dirty summary of what happened in April and May of 2011. Please pardon me if I have forgotten something significant to you and yours.

• In April we celebrated the birthdays of Wyatt, Alison, and Brooke. I can't believe that Wyatt, the first of our "triplets" is now five and will be starting kindergarten in the fall.
• On the second Sunday of April my entire ward was invited to a meeting that included all the single adults (ages 21-31) in Provo and Orem. They renamed all the wards, created single adult only stakes (3 were created,) and then explained that the boundaries and age limits were going to be pretty strict. They encouraged us not to ward hop (not really a problem for me) and that if we were over a certain age that we should go to a home ward or mid-singles ward. As a woman of that age, I've decided to go to a mid-singles ward in Provo as opposed to going to a home ward where there would be a lot less people my age. Our ward has at least 25 people over 30 who will need to find new wards by September 1st. It's been hard but I am sure that we will all eventually be better for it.
• After much deliberation amongst members of our Board of Directors at work, it was decided that our current CEO would step down and into the role of CTO. A new CEO was brought in on April 19th. It was a shock to most of the company. I now have 4 bosses: the CEO (or Boss R,) the President (or Boss M,) the CTO (or Boss D,) and VP of Strategy and Operations (or Boss L.) Luckily I had two admins assisting me (but more to come on that later.)
• In May we celebrated the birthdays of Caleb, Dad, and Britnie.
  
• My work had their big yearly conference where people from all over the country came to Provo. It was held at the Provo Marriott and I had a heck of a time keeping the schedules for all four of my bosses straight. It was 3 days of non-stop work but we managed to get through it. The event coordinator was 7 months pregnant so a few of us pitched in to do some leg work for her.
• The next weekend I received a Facebook invite for a friend of mine I hadn't seen in almost 10 years. We lost track of each other when she went on a mission and her parents moved away from Kaysville. Katie and I emailed back and forth and then ended up going to dinner. It was so much fun to catch up (even if we only got through about 5% of what had happened to us.) She, like me, is a biblioholic and loves music and art.
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• I went with a few friends to see Seussical the Musical at the Hale Center Theater. Our friend, Melissa Lindsey, was in the cast and did a wonderful job.
• Boss D went to Alaska for a week in May which cut down on my workload a little.
• May 21st was supposed to be the day of The Rapture according to Harold Camping. This American Christian radio broadcaster predicted that May 21st would be the day that Christ would return to the Earth, the righteous would fly up to Heaven, and the wicked would be left on Earth to suffer until October. Clearly this didn't happen. He is still living in his same house and now predicts the end of the world to be October 21, 2011. The saddest part of this whole thing is that many of his followers quit their jobs, sold their homes, and spent all their money in preparation for The Rapture and were pretty shocked on May 22nd when they had to continue on with their lives with no job, house, or money.
  
• On May 23rd the ward came over to my house to watch Pixar shorts and have treats. We projected the dvd onto the north wall of the living room and covered the windows with blankets and sheets. It had a movie theater feel to it. A lot of people showed up and several of us ended up downstairs talking instead of watching the dvd. It was a lot of fun.
• The Center Ward had a May 30th BBQ at Rob's house to celebrate Memorial Day. It was a lot of fun and Rob, Lindsey, Patrick and I ended up shooting hoops and talking.
• This May was the second wettest May in Provo in the past 30 years. The temperature never got above 81 degrees Fahrenheit.
  

January 2011-March 2011 update

For those of you not in the know, it has been a while since I've posted on my blog. Here's a brief update of what happened in the beginning of 2011 (please excuse me if I forget anything important):

January 2011

• I managed to catch the flu and get an ear infection in January. I was very unhappy and couldn't hear out of one ear for a week
• January was my wards month to clean the church so my co-chair and I organized our ward to do two cleanings a week for the entire month. We were also in charge of snow removal.
• Work was not as busy in January although we did have a big Board of Directors meeting.
• Aaron had his birthday

February 2011

• Tanner had his birthday
• I started walking a dog for a friend of mine due to his crazy schedule (he's an accountant/auditor.) Although it was cold, I had a lot of fun and would continue to walk Bodie at least once a week until April.
• A few friends and I went to Porter's for dinner one night. At the end of our meal the power went out. As the building was old and we were upstairs, there were no windows or other source of light for us to get downstairs by. The food was good and the almost tumble down some stairs was interesting. The outage was city wide and was caused by an insanely large thunder storm.
• I went to the Springville and BYU museum with John, Jen, Lauren, Emily, Mom, and Dad. It was a lot of fun. In the bottom of the BYU museum was an interactive light exhibit that the girls had a lot of fun with. Check out the video I made of their reaction.
• I gave a talk in church on The Holy Ghost and revelation. I think it went well

March 2011

• One of my bosses went to China on a business trip.
  
• Brooke announced that she was pregnant and due at the end of August. We are all very excited. This already loved child will be the 11th grandchild. As there are already five boys (Caleb, Wyatt, Isaac, Tanner, Aaron) and five girls (Sidney, Lauren, Ava, Emily, and Clara) it will be interesting to see what side this newest child will tip the scales toward.
• There was a baby shower for my cousin Megan.
• I attended a Jon Bon Jovi concert at the Energy Solutions Center with Angie L and Sarah. It was a lot of fun. Angie bought our tickets in 2010 and then we paid her back.
  

I know, I know; it's been a long time

I'm not sure why I got out of the habit of posting on my blog. I think life and all its business just got away from me. As it will be too difficult to go back and post each event individually, here's a run down of the past 8 months (what a horrifyingly long time):

October 2010

• Worked on getting a Visa for one an employee of my company to move to Singapore for two years. It was a painful process and took me over a month.
• Had a Halloween party at my house (I dressed as a witch this year to balance the angel I dress as last year.)
  
• Celebrated Ava's birthday.

November 2010

• Saw The Scarlet Pimpernel at the Hale Center Theater. My good friend, Melissa, was a member of the cast. It was awesome.
• Was called to be a co-chair of the Service Committee in my ward.
• Helped organize my company's attendance at SuperComputing 2010. Two of my bosses attended.
• Attended the Sara Bareilles concert in Salt Lake with Matt and Emily Smith. It was amazing. Afterwards we ended up at Marie Callendars and had pie.
  
• Thanksgiving at my parent's new house. We were all able to eat in the same huge room. Grandma Roberts brought down some albums which I looked through and decided to scan photos from over the next few months.
• One of my bosses went on a trip to Angola which causes me a lot of heartburn (knowing that he could have been kidnapped or that he might have stepped on a landmine.)
• Celebrated Emily's birthday as well as my own
• Got a new driver's license (after a two hour ordeal at the DMV.)
  

December 2010

• Attended my ward Christmas, which included a white elephant gift exchange.
• Attended my company Christmas party, which all 3 of my bosses were late to. I ended up throwing my Christmas bonus (cash in $20 bills) in the trash and didn't realize it until I was on my way home. I returned immediately and was let in by one of the cleaning crew. The bonus was no where to be found but he let me search through bags of garbage that hadn't been taken to the dumpster. While searching I said a prayer that I would be able to find it. After a lot of searching it was found (although the envelope had quite a bit of food on it.) I decided to use the money for a good cause and spent it spreading Christmas cheer.
• Organized a Sub for Santa event for my ward where we raised a couple hundred dollars. We went shopping in groups for an FHE activity and then my Service Committee co-chair and I delivered the gifts to our family. Afterwards so many people gave us more money that we asked for another family (more about this later.)
• Christmas with the family. All the kids were so cute and we were all blessed with many presents. Two of note were a wonderful pillow that Alison made to match my quilt from Brooke and an amazing necklace from my parents.
• A New Years Eve party at my house

So there are the updates from 2010. I will soon post a few updates from the first 6 months of 2011. It's nice to be back in the world of blogging.

Clara's blessing

My newest niece, Clara Jean, was blessed by her father on October 10^th. Clara, whose pictures is above, is a charming girl who entered the world on July 21^st at 4:59am MT. (The picture was taken by her “Poppy” on another day.) Her brothers seem to like her, especially Isaac. Her blessing was lovely. I drove up north and found their church about 20 minutes before their Sacrament meeting started. Jen and her family drove up soon after I did and so Lauren and I walked around and talked. Alison handed me Clara while the prelude was being played by Jordan. (Aaron had a bloody nose and needed to be taken out.) Clara slept through the opening hymn and prayer and all of the announcements and woke up a little just in time for her father to come and fetch her. For those who are unaware, a baby blessing is a wonderful event that welcomes a new baby into the church with a name and a blessing (see here for more information.) Jordan did a wonderful job and Clara didn’t make a peep (at least not one that the congregation could hear.) My dad mentioned that Clara grabbed his thumb and held on during the blessing. Afterwards this sweet girl was deposited back into my arms as Alison had Aaron on her lap. I was able to hold this sweet baby during Sacrament meeting and even took her out to change a diaper, returning just in time to hear her father bear his testimony.

After wards the family adjourned to her parent’s home for an excellent lunch spread. I gave her parents the bowl that I had made for her (as one of my goals is to make a gift for each of my nieces and nephews.) It turned out well I think. I ate outside with the kids and then watched over them as they ran around and played on the patio. It was a lot of fun to see all the kids interact together. I managed to make it home before 7:30pm.

As a side note, the birth of Clara evens up the grandchildren with 5 girls and 5 boys. :)

A slacker (sort of)

It has come to my attention that I have been a bit of a slacker during the past two weeks. It has been pretty busy in my life and I haven't been sharing all the fun. :) The following things have happened since I made my last blog post:

• Went to my company party in Provo Canyon
• Sent my boss on a business trip to New York City
• Arranged an onsite meeting with some big-wigs (including rooms at Sundance, dinner at the Tree Room, etc)
• Went to Las Vegas with three friends for a weekend
• Saw Phantom of the Opera in Vegas
• Went to a Jack Johnson concert
• Had two roommates move out (one to Salt Lake and the other bought a house in American Fork)
• Helped my roommates move and clean
  
• Had two roommates move in (the accountant and the teacher - so far so good)
• Moved my bedroom from the small upstairs one to the master bedroom
• Bought a baby shower gift
• Visited my parents and siblings to celebrate August birthdays
• Bought a new bookcase (this officially makes 5 in my bedroom)
• Made a bowl for Sidney's birthday
• Sent a package to baby Clara
• Started planning a trip to Hawaii for 8 people (no, I don't get to go)
• Attended church and FHE
• Attended a goodbye party for Cami
• Attended a party for Meg
• Helped a friend trim rosebushes and gave advice on doing yardwork and watering
• Bought a bedside table
• Worked 40 hours each week
• Gave blood to the Red Cross
• Had a doctor's appointment
• Went out to dinner with my Wednesday dinner group a few times
• and ran many errands and slept a few hours
  

Waiting for the NyQuil

As I wait for the NyQuil to kick in, I feel like I should update the world on my life. This past weekend was General Conference (for those of you who don't know of what I speak, please visit The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints link on my homepage.) Saturday was filled with spiritual goodness along with french toast goodness provided by my roommate R. I took a quick shower and then listened to the afternoon session. As soon as it was over I was off to my parents house where I ate dinner with them, helped fix my mom's blog, made an ice cream run, and basically wasted time on the computer. I went to bed too late (after 2am) and was awakened by a beautiful bouncing three-year-old. I dressed and went down to help welcome my siblings and their children (minus Alison who was out of state due to a funeral.) Wonderful food was made by my parents and I tried my best to corral the kids so that their parents could actually listen to conference. We played downstairs quite a bit. I was exhausted but I figured that was just my usual fatigue. I also had a cough but I excused it due to the fact that I had forgotten to bring any allergy medication with me. I stayed until dinnertime and then realized that if I didn't head home soon I would be too tired to drive home safely. I bid farewell to my parents, brother, and his children and headed home.
As soon as I arrived home I headed for the shower because I was cold. My throat was starting to hurt and I wanted to head off any sickness that was coming my way. I was in bed and asleep by 9pm. (I hope you didn't hurt yourself falling off you chair as you read this. I can't remember a night in the past six months when I fell asleep before 11pm.) I awoke Monday morning with a bad cough, aches, a fever, and congestion. I decided to not go into work. Luckily the other Executive Assistant and the Staff Accountant were able assist my boss, MJ. I canceled FHE that night due to the fact that my co-chair was at work and it was supposed to be at my house. Due to the wonder of modern technology all but three people got the message (isn't e-mail, Facebook, and text messaging a marvel?) On Monday I slept in until 11am and then took a nap from 2-5pm. I was in bed and asleep early that night.
I slept until noon today and then got up to eat breakfast. Right now I have no fever or aches but still have some congestion. If I am feeling ok tomorrow I will go to work. Through the magic of the Internet I have discovered that the most contagious time of a cold is the first 2-3 days. I figure I started on Sunday so I should be ok. Just to be sure I will be avoiding touching common items and washing my hands as if my life depended on it. (I know my boss with the new baby will appreciate my caution.)
Thus ends the update. I hope I am feeling great tomorrow. I wish you all a good night as I can feel the NyQuil start to kick in.

Camping

I haven't been camping in quite a while. Oh course, I don't know if I can really call this camping. We slept in cabins with bunk beds and glass windows, there were flush toilets and running water (including showers,) and we ate food prepared in a kitchen by the pavilion. We stayed at the Heber Valley Girls camp. Despite the lack of tents and non-flushing toilets, it was good. Two other singles wards were invited besides mine.
I left work early on Friday to get ready. I bought a sleeping bag on Thursday, which worked really well. I also bought a sleeping pad, which didn't work as well as I'd like. Anyway, I ended up at the church at 5:30pm with roommate M. Even though she had hurt her back, she still wanted to go. We ended up taking Natalie, a girl from the ward, as well. It was a nice drive up. The first thing I noticed is that it was about 10 degrees cooler in the mountains. As the night went on, it became windy and colder. We had a potato bar for dinner and then listened to a speaker. After the speaker there were skits, which I didn't participate in. I went down to the fire pit, where most of our ward ended up (we all decided that we are the old grumpy singles ward.) We didn't have marshmallows but some people toasted Mambas, Starburst, and Red Vines. We talked and joked around. By 11:30 I was tired and cold and ready for bed. I tried to blow up my mattress but it didn't seem to work properly. (Let this be a lesson to everyone about testing camping equipment before taking it camping.) The cabin was pretty cold since it had cement floors and not a whole lot of insulation. It was still really nice though.
Lights were out by 1am but I tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable until almost 4 am. I was awaken at 7:30 by some girls packing up. I left my warm sleeping bag and took a trip to the bathroom. Breakfast was at 9am, by which my entire cabin was packed up and cleaned, and consisted of pancakes, eggs, sausage, and hot chocolate. It was still windy and looked like rain. Roommate M's back was killing her so we decided to leave early. All in all, it was fun. My favorite part was sitting around the campfire and tables talking to people in my ward. There is something about food that makes people talk and share things they might not when just sitting around. I didn't end up taking many pictures, but I've included a few.

Warning: a religious post

In regards to the title, I thought I should give a warning to any blog readers that have no desire to read about religion. This is about what happened at church today. In Sacrament Meeting, Jerica talked about making sacrifices for the Lord. It was an interesting talk since I watched the movie Legacy last night. While I am not asked to cross a prairie like the main character in Legacy, I am asked to have a contrite spirit and obey the Lord's commandments. I have to wonder which is harder, to physically endure or to resist temptation and choose the right in this modern age. There was a beautiful flute/piano duet, followed by a member of the high counsel who spoke on testimonies.

In Sunday school, our class had a discussion about the Millennium. For those who are unaware, the Millennium is the period of time after Christ returns to the Earth. It can be hard to discuss something that is going to happen in the future. The general idea is there, but the specifics are not. For example, we are taught that once the Millennium begins, disease will not plague the human race. Does this mean that those who are suffering from disease, even terminal ones, will be automatically cured when Christ comes? Also, in Doctrine and Covenants 101:29, it says that we will have no sorrow. But we are taught that without sorrow, we can't really experience joy. Hmm; it's an interesting dilemma. Luckily, I don't have to worry about the details of Millennium. I know that once I die, my questions can be answered.

Anyway, the Relief Society lesson was a hard one. It was #14 in the Joseph Smith manual which is entitled "Words of hope and consolation at the time of death." I was ok until the teacher began talking about children who have died. I couldn't sit and listen with memories of Caleb pressing against my skull. While the pain lessens through the years, I don't think I will every be able to hear a lesson like that without feeling a little pain. I took a little walk to clear my head and then returned to Relief Society.

All in all, I really like going to church. When I was younger, I will admit that I went because my parents took me. But I go now for myself. Even when Sarah isn't here and no one would judge me, I still go because it make me feel good. What I learn at church makes me a better person. Thus ends my little soapbox sermon for the day. I wish you all a good Sunday.

A lesson

I taught in Relief Society today. All week I have been looking over the three talks that I was supposed to speak on and then mulling over how to tie them together. Last night I got an idea for an object lesson. I brought a blown-up balloon, a bottle of water, and some crackers to church with me. The comparison came when I compared prayer to air, the scriptures to water, and obeying the commandments to food. It went something like this:

How long can you go without air? A few minutes; maybe 10 if you've trained for a long time? Since we are supposed to have a prayer in our hearts all the time, it can be like air. We should always want to be communicating with our Heavenly Father. How long can you go without water? You might be able to do it for a week before you died. Usually, people don't go an entire day without something to drink. It should be the same with the scriptures. You shouldn't be able to go a day without at least reading one verse. How long can you go without food? I don't know that you can more than a month; I personally wouldn't want to go more than a day or two. That is how often you should make sure you are obeying the commandments of God.

Anyway, all week I've been praying that my lesson would help at least one person. I learned a lot but I hoped that in some small way I could benefit someone else. On Sunday morning, my ideas didn't seem to be gelling or connecting to each other. I ended the lesson a few minutes early and felt horrible. I felt like I had failed in my objective of helping another member of my Relief Society. After my lesson, a member of the Relief Society came up to me and said "that was exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you so much." I was shocked and so glad that I had been praying all week. Knowing that I had helped her made me so grateful that the Lord listens to prayers. In the parking lot another woman said almost the same thing. I almost teared up. Anyway, I don't normally get into spiritual things but I just wanted to share that experience with everyone.

In over my head

On Monday night I got a phone call from a member of the Relief Society of my ward. She asked me to substitute for the teacher on Sunday. My lesson was based on three talks: Concern for the One by Elder Wirthlin, Opening Our Hearts by Bro. Lund, and And Who Is My Neighbor? by Bishop Burton. I, of course, didn't get through all of the talks. I especially liked Brother Lund's talk and his analogy of the fences. Right before I taught, a counselor of the bishopric pulled me aside and asked me to teach on a permanent basis. To say I feel overwhelmed and inadequate is an understatment. I can't say I'm particularly spiritual and I have been known to say more than one inappropriate thing in church. I can only hope that my unique persepective on life can assist in my teaching instead in hindering it. I have never had a teaching position so I would welcome any suggestions.

General Relief Society Session

I attended the General Relief Society Session on Saturday night. Granted, most people wouldn't find it the coolest way to spend a Saturday night, but I thought it was great. Sister Beck, the President, spoke first. She discussed being strong in our faith, our family, and providing relief to others. After a song, the 2nd counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency spoke about the two reasons the Relief Society was founded: to relieve the poor and to save souls. One way we can do this is through visiting teaching. I must admit that I do not always do my visiting teaching, but I am recommitting to 100% for October. Barbara Thompson, the 2nd counselor, was especially helpful for me. As a single woman in the church, Sister Thompson discussed how we can support families despite not having children of our own. The final speaker of the night was Pres. Thomas S. Monson. He honored the women of the church and discussed three goals: studying diligently, praying earnestly, and serving willingly. One thing that Pres. Monson said that really stuck with me is this: "pray for the abilities equal to your tasks instead of tasks that are equal to your abilities."
After the session, our stake provided a light dinner and we walked around looking at the art. A few weeks before the session, the Stake RS presidency asked for us to bring art to share. Sarah took some paintings and I took two skirts, a book I had made, and a box I had painted. I love Sarah's paintings. She decided to take her swirly painting, her brown, green, and white striped painting, and her streaked painting. One of the coolest pieces of art there was made by a member of my singles ward. Amy Pectol had drawn a wonderful picture of Mary and Christ. I have included a picture of it in this blog entry.

Grrrr! Sunday can be hard.

On Sunday morning, I awoke to a slight chill in the air. After my morning ritual of face washing, I went downstairs to get the paper and eat breakfast. As I came down the stairs I noticed that the front door was open two feet. I thought that perhaps Camille had stepped out to retrieve the newspaper. I stuck my head out and called for her but she wasn't outside. I went upstairs to ask her why she left the door open and found her asleep. As near as we can tell, when Dave left he didn't close the door tightly enough. The deadbolt wasn't used so the door slowly opened. It was open for at least six hours. Luckily nothing was taken, and as far as we can tell, no one entered. The computer, tv, dvds, etc. had remained in their respective spots. I was unhappy about the situation, to say the least. I guess I should be happy that neither of us were molested in our beds or robbed in the wee hours of the morning. After getting over the shock of the open door, we both got ready for church.
I took all the my visual aides and quotes and mentally prepared myself to face a room of nice, but not well known people. Before Relief Society started, I approached one of the counselors in the RS presidency. She was confused when I said that I would be filling in for Sarah, especially since Sarah wasn't supposed to teach until next week. I was dismayed knowing that I had prepared a lesson that I would never teach. At first I was mad, but then I saw it as a growing experience. I learned a lot while I preparing the lesson. Elder Holland's talk is amazing. The idea that harsh words can cut as badly as a whip can be a startling revelation. Plus, I will always have Sarah double check the date of a lesson when she asks me to fill in for her.
It was so cold when Camille and I got home from church, I finally turned on the furnace. I went visiting teaching to see Cassie and then came home to make dinner. At 8:30 I went to ward prayer while Camille went over to Dave's house. Ward prayer was fun. Keri, Jake, and I spent over a half an hour talking about life and the possibility of people from the ward getting together for a trip to the Shakespearean Festival. By the end of Sunday, I was exhausted. I was in bed early to prepare for my early Monday shift at work. Because of new employee orientation, I went to work early to help my boss set up.
Thus ends this blog. I am exhausted after a long day of work, grocery shopping, going to the library, writing blog entries, and going to Family Home Evening. Goodnight dear readers.

Home Evening

Family Home Evening is always fun in a singles ward. This week we met at the Barney house. After the lesson, we played in the basement. The fun included fuzeball, an arcade game, billiards, a dart board, plenty of popcorn and candy.

It was a lot of fun. I think the picture of Cassie, Angela, and Sarah is very cute.

Conference and Ice Cream

General Conference was this weekend.

(For any readers unfamiliar, this is when the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints get together and give talks to the church as a whole on doctrine and other important things.) Saturday morning I watched the session with Camille and Sarah. I especially liked the talk by Elder Holland on speaking kind words to other people. After the morning session, we went to get some ice cream at Leatherby's, an ice cream parlour that I haven't been to in years. We were met by Aunt Diane, Amy, Heather, Taylor, and Easton. Most people had real food while I had fries and an amazing ice cream sundae with melted peanut butter and chocolate on top. For the afternoon session, I was driving up to my parent's house. President Hinckley dedicated the refurbished Tabernacle. I then watched and listened to the Sunday sessions up in Kaysville.
Other than Elder Hollands talk, two other talks have immediately struck me. They are Pres. Faust's talk on forgiveness which mentioned the Amish, and Pres. Hinckley's testimony. I enjoyed all the talks and look forward to reading all of them in the next issue of the Ensign.

Cold feet on the Sabbath

On Saturday I had the opportunity to babysit Lauren. I was up in Salt Lake by 12:15 pm to meet Jen, John, Mom and Dad. We ate lunch at the Citrus Grill. While the rest of the group went to see a play, Lauren and I sat on the grass of her front yard. First we watched cars, then the neighbors had their lawn aerated. This was a fascinating event. She held onto a piece of grass and watched with barely a blink of her long eyelashes. The postman commented on her adorable face while handing off the mail. At long last, Lauren and I both decided that it was time for her nap. After a diaper change and a quick story, I put her to bed. Two cries later, she couldn't have been awakened by the four horsemen armed with thunderbolts. I read, watched tv for five minutes, and then decided on a quick nap. I was awakened by my family returning from the play. Apparently, it had some bad language and a mean grandma. I headed home, stopping at the video store along the way. I ended up with episodes of CSI: NY. My foot, the sprained one, was throbbing. I came home to find Sarah hanging pictures and dusting and Camille asleep. After having a dinner of pizza, I worked on my journal and pictures.
Saturday morning began with me leaving early for church. As ward librarian, I have to go early so I can print off the program for Sacrament meeting. Sarah joined my for the rest of church. One of the most interesting parts of church was the Relief Society lesson. The lesson was on the life of Pres. Hinckley and pioneers. At one point, the teacher asked us to all write our names on a piece of paper. She collected them, then invited two elders and one sister into the room. She had them stick their feet in a buckets of water filled with ice. They were really cold. As we all stood, she would read off three names for every thirty seconds the two men and one woman kept their feet completely submerged in the buckets of ice water. After five minutes, you could really tell that they were getting really cold and their feet hurt. As the names were read off, we were saved on our trek through life. The cold feet in ice were to represent the three young men who carried saints across the Sweetwater River. It was a very good lesson. After Sarah and I came home, I made a double batch of cornbread to take to Break the Fast. It was fun to get together and eat with ward members. Jake, Melissa, and Keri sat by us and were very entertaining. Afterwards, Sarah went on a walk while I worked on my blanket. Thus ends the Sabbath Day.

Isaac, Hillary Hahn, Ryan, and church

On Friday morning, Jordan and Alison dropped Isaac off at my apartment. It was my job to watch and play with him while Jordan and Alison went to the viewing and funeral of her grandfather. For over two hours, we talked, laughed, and played. He especially liked to talk to, and about, some plastic dinosaurs that we keep at the apartment for just such occasions. We also had fun getting the mail out of the mailbox. It made a lot of noise when Isaac repeatedly hit it. Jordan came and picked him up at about 12:30. I then took a shower, did some housework, and wrote part of a short story. At 4:30 pm I picked up Camille from work and we both got ready to go into Salt Lake City. Camille had found out about a concert at Symphony Hall. Hillary Hahn is a thirty-something violinist who has an amazing talent. Along with the orchestra led by Keith Lockhart, Ms. Hahn played music composed by Jean Sibelius. The music was dark, moving, and passionate. It was a great evening, and Camille's brother drove down from BYU-Idaho to join us. Even after stopping to shop on our way home, we still beat Sarah home.
On Saturday, I took Camille to the mall to get her ears pierced. Afterwards we went to the library, then home to watch a video based on a book by L.M. Montgomery titled Jane of Lantern Hill. I started a new blanket while we watched. At night, Ryan came down from Davis County and we went to dinner and hung out for a while. It was nice to see him since it had been a couple of weeks since we had seen each other. He didn't stay too long though; I had a headache and he was tired.
On Sunday morning, Camille and I got up and ate breakfast. As I was getting ready I happened to look at my cell phone. While my alarm clock read 10:15 am, my cell phone read 11:15 am. That's right, we both forgot about the time change for daylight savings. This means that I was late to church (which starts at 11 am.) Camille stayed home because she wasn't feeling well. Sarah left this morning for a business trip to Las Vegas. It will be strange to have her gone for a week. The part of church I was there for was excellent. I received a new calling: ward librarian. The Relief Society lesson was about repentance and forgiveness. After church, one of our home teachers came over to give Camille a blessing. The three of us ended up talking for almost two hours. Joe is a nice, well-spoken man who I can see becoming a good friend to both Camille and I.
Thus ends my weekend update. I hope all who read this update are doing well. Another week stretches out in front of me. Who knows what interesting things will happened this week.