Heber Valley Girls' Camp

My parents are serving a mission at the Girls' Camp in Heber.  We tease them that it is more a vacation than a mission and I think they would probably agree.  My parents are assigned to help run the Rope Courses there and on Saturday evenings, the missionaries are allowed to invite their families to visit and try out the rope courses.  I am not one for high adventure, so I didn't plan to do anything.  But with a little encouragement, even I managed to scale a telephone pole, walk the tightrope (while being fully harnessed of course) and then go down the zip-line.  It was probably one of the scariest things I have ever done, but it was fun.  I did wimp out on the swing and I would only go half way up before they released me. The whole family, besides Nathan did the swing and the tightrope/zip-line.  Eric, Erin, and Zachary loved it.  Apparently my mom is adventurous because all the other missionaries tell me how she climbs and zip-lines all the time.  The most shocking part was when the men tell me that she goes four-wheeling with the men on all the more rugged trails while all the other women stay back at camp.  Not only does she go, but she keeps up with all of them too.  

Pure Terror

Utah Highlights

Besides dealing with the stress of my van breaking down, we had a really good time in Utah.  I chose a condo in Park City because it was cheap but also because it was close to my parents in Heber.  We were able to see them everyday except Friday.  So being in Park City worked out really well.  The one thing that surprised me was how much I liked Utah.  I always said I would never want to live there.  But after visiting this time, I could see myself being very happy there especially if my kids all go to BYU.

It was so much fun to see our good friends Rachelle Acosta, Jon and Lisa Trawick, and my cousin Tim and his family.  We had a really good visit with everyone.   One of the highlights was seeing President Utchdorf in the burger/ice cream shop in Heber.  He lives in Heber so apparently he's a regular in that place.  Unfortunately we didn't talk to him or ask him for any pics.  We heard that he often gets mobbed there.

Heber Valley Girls Camp

Tucson Youth at EFY

BYU dorm

Museum of Natural History SLC

This is the Place with Jesse Trawick

 Cousin Tim and Wendy's Shed

 Bountiful Temple

Park City Ski Lift

I Killed the Van

We are all settled in Nebraska now, but our trip here was quite adventurous.  We had planned to spend a week in Utah while Eric attended EFY. Mario was to fly in late Thursday night and then we planned to drive out Saturday evening with visits to Martin's Cove and Mt. Rushmore on the way to Omaha.  Well, as we found out, things to always turn out the way you plan.

We were having a great time in Utah.  Saturday evening, my parents came up to Park City and brought us dinner.  Then Sunday morning, we all went in to Salt Lake to watch the Tabernacle Choir perform for the Spoken Word.  We met the Trawick family and my cousin Tim McCreary's family at Temple Square.  We enjoyed visiting and seeing the visitor centers.  Then Monday we dropped Eric off at BYU and my parents and I visited Tim's family at their home in West Jordan.  The kids had so much fun with these cousins that they had never met, they begged to go back on Tuesday.  So after going to a museum and "This is the Place" in SLC, we headed back to cousin Tim's home.  Tim was building a shed so I offered to help while his wife, Wendy, made dinner.  I was having so much fun building the shed, that we didn't end up leaving till after 9 when it was getting dark.  On the way home, just after getting on a busy highway, my engine light came on.  That had never happened in my van but it seemed to be running fine so I figured I would just take it to the mechanic the next day.  Well, then I noticed that the thermostat was all the way on cold.  I figured that was better than being on hot and kept driving.  Then I got into the canyon going towards Park City and the van started making strange sounds.  I didn't know what to do because it was late at night and the highway was busy and windy and I was a little nervous about pulling over.  So I kept driving until it was obvious that my van was not going to make it any longer.  I had to call a tow truck.  My parents drove in from Heber to rescue us and take us back to our condo in Park City.

We had the van towed to Toyota thinking they would be the best and fastest to repair it.  It took them until Friday before they even knew the engine was destroyed.  It was a bit frustrating.  Mario had changed his ticket to Thursday early afternoon and he immediately began looking for a new vehicle for me. I didn't and still don't want a new vehicle.  I LOVE my Sienna.  I've driven it for the past 8 1/2 years and it has been a wonderful van and I have done all the preventive maintenance through the years. So it is puzzling to me why it had engine trouble.  The mechanic told another employee that he thinks the last mechanic didn't properly remove the air pockets when he changed out all the fluids.  But they can't prove that and so apparently we don't qualify for any warranty work since they can't be 100% sure.  It has been very frustrating.  We ended up buying plane tickets to get us to Omaha and we flew home late Sunday night.

So now it is Friday of the following week and we still don't really have any info on the van. But it is supposed to be fixed by Monday and then it will be shipped to us here in Omaha.  I hope the repairs go as planned and I can get my van back soon.  I have missed it.  Fortunately Mario has a 7 passenger SUV for us to drive here in Omaha, but its not near as good for the family as my beloved van.  Plus Mario and I aren't very good at sharing a vehicle.

Leaving Tucson

Our family finally left Tucson yesterday. It's been really sad saying our goodbyes. I started the tears Sunday when the primary sang a song for us. Then on Wednesday morning, the Parks had us over for a large breakfast of waffles, eggs, and bacon. They have been so wonderful to our family the last 3 years. I will miss them. Then yesterday I cried saying goodbye to the school librarian who I have come to love over the last 2 years and the twin's teachers. What a baby! I always cried saying goodbye to my own teachers when I was in elementary school but never dreamed of getting sad over my kids' teachers. But they were so sweet an going on and on how much they appreciated all I have done for their class this year. Then I had to say goodbye to Ming. What a great friend. It was an emotional day for me and the big kids.

We left right after Eric got out of class yesterday. We drove to just south of Hoover Dam and stayed the night. We woke early this morning and took a tour of the dam.

Next, we drove the Vegas Strip and had lunch at McDonalds. I would go on vacation there, but I don't think I'd ever talk Mario into it. We left the strip and headed for Vegas Temple. The architecture was different than what I'm used to, so it wasn't my favorite Temple, but still beautiful.

Next we headed for St. George. We visited Brigham Young's winter home, the Tabernacle, Temple, and visitor center. I loved St. George. If I had to live in Utah, I think I would choose this area.

This evening we traveled up to Cedar City and stopped for a hotel. The twins braved the cold wind and actually swam for awhile in the pool.

Tomorrow we will head to Park City to check into our condo. We will visit with my parents, cousin Tim, and the Trawicks this weekend. I drop Eric and Cameron off at BYU Monday morning. They are very excited.Then I hope to see Rachelle Acosta next week and Mario flies in late Thursday night. We were planning to go to a water park but it will probably be too cold. We left Tucson with temperatures in the 100's. We came to Utah and we may see snow. We are not prepared.

Mario got our household goods on Monday. So he has been busy getting our house all ready for us. I'm so anxious to get there and see our new home.

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Ming, Hsin-Yu, and CJ

Erin met Hsin-Yu the first day she went to school here in Tucson 3 years ago. She was such a sweet girl and she invited Erin to her birthday party at the Melting Pot like a week or two after meeting her. They have been friends ever since. They only lived 1 short block away so I quickly became friends with her mom, Ming. The twins became friends with the younger brother CJ.
Ming has been so sweet to our family. She has taught Erin how to make Asian food, invited us over many times for lunch or dinner and to swim. When Ming quit working full time, she and I started walking, riding bikes, and going to the gym together.
As going away gifts, Ming made the twins blankets with their favorite things and the big kids pillows to use in the car. Then her husband took our two families to an Asian restaurant for lunch last Saturday. We had Dim Sum which was like bite size popular Asian dishes. So we got to try lots of different Asian foods that we had never had before. Eric, Erin, and Zach did a great job trying all the food. Nathan would only eat the sweet rolls that were filled with a custard like cream. I think he ate 4 or 5 of those.
Ming has been a great friend. She's the type of person that you could ask any favor and she would never say no. She's one of the people I will miss most from Tucson.

Mary Poppins

Last night we finished off our Broadway season tickets. Erin, her friend, Hailey, and I enjoyed Mary Poppins. It was a fantastic show.

Now I'm excited to check out shows in Omaha. Lion King and Beauty and the Beast are two that I may try to get tickets to see.

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We Moved Out

We moved out of our house last week and are now living on base in the TLF. Mario flew in for the week to help with the movers and to give our house back to the landlord. I was so glad to have him back. It was a stressful week. The movers left Friday at 5 and Mario turned the house over to Larry at 7 that evening and then flew back to Omaha with Buzz at 6:45 Saturday morning. I cried for Buzz. He was so scared to be in that kennel that he hasn't used in 7 years. Mario called to tell me that he thinks Buzz is going deaf. That would explain why he doesn't always bark at the doorbell anymore. He is getting so old. How depressing, he had been part of our family for almost 12 years.

We are enjoying TLF and not having to clean other than the dishes. What a nice break. My kids think I stay home all day and watch tv while they are at school. I wish. I still try to volunteer at school and help out friends.

We leave for our vacation to Utah in about 10 days. I'm really excited to finally leave Tucson and be reunited with Mario. I feel bad when people just assume I'm sad about leaving. I couldn't be more excited! But I don't want I offend them by telling them 3 years in the desert is long enough for me. I don't know how people can live here their whole lives. Do they not know that there is so much better out there? But then again, many people think Mario and I are crazy for wanting to retire in Florida. To each his own, I guess.