resolution check-up

Three months into the new year and time for a check-up on my goals.

Lose weight - Doing great on this one. I've been eating much healthier and much less and I am losing weight. I had 3 sizes of clothing in my closet. As of last Friday, NOTHING fit. It was all falling off me! I had to go buy a new pair of jeans so I have something to wear. That was really exciting!

Earn YW Medallion - Progressing well here. Working hard on one of my projects. I have 2 projects and 3 achievements left to finish.

Write my grandma's life history - I have spent several hours working on this during the month. Yeah! I am making progress.

Do major projects early
CPE - I did 8 hours this month bringing my total for year to 20 hours.
Christmas cards - I have come up with the idea for the card. (Slow progress but the idea is often half the battle.)
nieces and nephews birthday presents - FINISHED!
Christmas gifts - I finished one.

Write a book - Haven't done a darn thing!

Get 7 hours of sleep per night - Week one I had 2 nights with at least 7 hours of sleep. Week two I had THREE nights and felt so incredible! It really gave me a burst of energy. Week three was horrible and I didn't manage 7 hours even once. So tired! Week four was back to 2 nights. So, I would have to rate my progress on this goal as so-so. I am going to shoot for 3 nights per week for the next month and see if that is do-able.


Conclusion: Other than the book and the sleep, I am happy with my progress. It has really helped reporting it this way each month. I feel accountable and really focus on my goals more.

where there's a will

I am competitive. Sometimes I am too competitive. I have tried toning it down and keeping it under control. I try not to be ultra-competitive but I know I still need more work.

I am afraid that at least most of my children have inherited this particular characteristic. (or is it a learned behavior?)

Every once in a while, though, that comptetive gene pays off!

Last week Chandler had a sheet of multiplication tables. He was being timed to see how fast he could complete them. I believe the standard was that if you could complete them in less than 5 minutes, you earned a bronze medal. If you could do it in less that 4 minutes, you earned a silver medal. If you could do it in less than 3 minutes, you earned a gold medal.

Chandler was taking longer than 6 1/2 minutes and usually getting at least 4 or 5 of the problems wrong. He was frustrated and a little whiny. I gave him a nice pep talk and encouraged him to keep practicing.

The next thing I knew, the competitive genes had kicked in and he was practicing like a madman. He had me time him. He had Shanley time him. He had McKayla time him. He had Kevin time him. He was making extra copies of his practice sheets and practicing like crazy.

Only 5 days from his 6 1/2 minute score, he took the test at school. AMAZING! He got them 100% correct in 2 minutes and 21 seconds!

Wow! He shaved over 4 minutes off his time.

Sometimes competition can be a good thing. Now if I could mine only for good!

Brakston and rain

Brakston finally sent me the memory card for his camera and I had to laugh when it included this video clip here.


Brakston always did like to play in the rain. The video is pure Brakston in all of his animated, make-me-laugh, energetic, slightly quirky self. It made me laugh and seeing it was the next best thing to having him home!

I laughed even more at the fact that you can't actually SEE the rain that he's showing us. However, if you have the sound turned on, you can at least HEAR that it's raining.

YW General Broadcast

Last night I got to take "my" Young Women to the YW General Broadcast at the Conference Center. It was a long (5 hr) evening but so worth it! I have the most beautiful YW!
Krystina, Shalynn, Gensen, JeChelle, Atalie, Shanley, McKayla, Kaitlyn, and Makenna

And let's not forget my very own, special, favorite YW! (I'll admit it - I play favorites!)
(and yes, McKayla is taller than me but in this photo she is also wearing high heels)

The talks were wonderful and uplifting and who could help but love President Uchdorf? He was funny and charming! He was so sweet in some of his remarks that he actually had the entire audience cooing! Love him!

I really loved the advice from one of the YW. "When you're in the hallways at school, you might glimpse something out of the corner of your eye. You will be tempted to look. Don't ever look! Keep your focus straight ahead!" Great advice!

every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man!

Alec went to Prom last night.

Things have changed since I went to Prom. Now it is an all-day affair. The girls picked up Alec in the morning for the day activity.Sam, Alec, Tanner, and Alex (like how they are all boys' names?)

Their day activity was eating lunch and tie-dyeing t-shirts.


I think Alec looks great in his tuxedo!








I know that I got a little carried away with all the pictures but this is an event that I NEVER dreamed would happen when Alec was diagnosed with Down syndrome, so it makes it all the more special to me! He had a great time!

comfort food?

This has not been a banner week for me as a mother.

Where do I even start? Let's see. First, I had something going every single night from when the kids came home from school until late. Thus, I couldn't help kids with homework until the early morning before school. Second, I lost Brakston's camera memory card with ALL of his pictures from his mission thus far (after a frantic search, rooting through garbage, and a very sleepless night I am happy to report it was found - on the floor in front of the fish tank?!?). Third, I got so busy doing homework before school I forgot to send sack lunches with my kids to school. Fourth, I forgot it was Wednesday and didn't email Brakston. (He's been gone 61 weeks and it's the first week I've missed but I still feel rotten and want to cry every time I think about not writing him!) Then, the clincher! Last night McKayla went to a soccer team party. It was supposed to go until 11:00 pm or so (no school today). I have been running on 5 hours of sleep per night so I was exhausted. I told her there was no way I could stay awake but I would put both the home phone and my cell phone by the bed so she could call when the party was over and I would wake up and come get her. Instead, she wakes me up at 11:45 pm upset because she'd been trying to call and neither phone was working so she'd had to find another parent to bring her home. (Yes, we have problem phones and I didn't think to double-check them before I fell asleep).

I am not beating myself up too badly because we all have bad weeks. However, I did feel the need for some "comfort food". Mind you, it wasn't for me to eat since I'm trying to lose weight and don't need to feel guilty about anything else this week! It wasn't even a traditional "comfort food" for my children. Instead, it was food meant to make me feel better about my mothering skills. Food intended to prove that I am a good mom and I do care about my children.

Hence, strawberry crepes!

Isn't it marvelous what the right food can do for you?

(Now if only I was allowing myself chocolate - I could really use a piece right now!)

worn out

Sometimes I just get worn out by how much help my children need with their homework. The funny thing is that it's not my older children who need help so much as my elementary school children.

I seem to spend hours reading with them, giving them practice spelling tests, timing their multiplication tables, correcting mountain math and mountain language, giving practice vocabulary tests, tutoring in math, etc.

My mom always says she never had to help any of us with our homework. Is school harder now or were we just "smarter than the average bear"?

challenge

When I was setting my goals for the coming year I wanted a great fitness challenge but couldn't come up with one. I have pondered it many times over the past 3 months and still haven't come up with anything.

I have run a marathon before and I want something new so another marathon is out.

I have toyed with the idea of a triathlon for several years. I have discussed it with my friend, Jen, who has done a few. I have helped McKayla do a couple. However, a tri doesn't seem right for me because I don't like to swim. I mean, I really hate putting my face in the water. Jen has tried to convince me I could just do the back stroke and I probably could do that, but that brings me to my next problem. I don't really like to bike either. My mind likes the idea of biking. My legs like the actually biking. My tush DETESTS it!

I have read a few books on climbing Mount Everest and it sounds challenging and fascinating. FOR OTHER PEOPLE. I cannot see myself taking such a risk. Even scaling smaller mountains just doesn't seem to be my thing.

I have requested information on the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk for the Cure. It is 60 miles in 3 days. I love the idea of that but I am a little scared off by the fund-raising aspect. The average person raises $3000 from supporters. I am leery of asking people for money.

So, what is my thing? What can I challenge myself with? What would bring the sense of accomplishment that running a marathon did bring to me?

Any suggestions?

Easter countdown

One of the blogs I like to check in on once in a while is Tip Junkie. I saw a cute and super easy idea for an Easter countdown calendar and thought it would be the perfect thing for my children so I made one.

Each egg contains an activity we will do as a family (dye Easter eggs, make and decorate sugar cookies, watch The Testaments, etc)

It was easy (which I love) and my kids are excited about it (which I also love).

For instructions on how to make one go here.

67

No, it's not how old I am (not EVEN close!)

It's not the amount of money in my wallet.

It's not part of the code to open my garage door.


It is, however, my absolute favorite temperature!

Yes, I like it a little on the cooler side. I admit it. I am a complete and total heat wimp. I melt when the temperature gets over 75. Heat zaps my energy and leaves me feeling listless. My most unproductive season is summer.

However, I live in Utah where extreme temperatures are the norm. It is 30 degrees one day and 60 the next.

And, maybe it's just me but it seems like winter and 20 degree temperatures last 6 months, summer and it's 90+ degree temperatures last 5 1/2 months. Spring and it's beautiful 60's weather lasts exactly 1 week and my very favorite season, fall, lasts for 3 days.

We are quickly approaching spring and our one week of beautiful weather. I am gearing up. When it hits, I will have 7 days in which to do wondrous spring activities such as jogging, biking, hiking, gardening, weeding, planting flowers, picnicking, etc.

What temperature do you look forward to?

"waste of a Friday night"

My girls may be the only teenagers in the U.S. that are not die-hard Twilight fans. In fact, they are not fans at all. McKayla tried to read Twilight but said it was boring and she couldn't get passed the first 50 pages. (Shanley hasn't even tried to read it.)

That didn't stop McKayla from attending the Twilight DVD release party where she got a picture of the actress that played Victoria. She hadn't even seen the movie at that time but her friends were really excited about it so she went.

Fast forward to Friday night's New Moon release party. Again, McKayla has not seen the movie and hasn't really wanted to but her friends were super excited about the party so she got in line with them at 6 pm. The rumor was that Taylor Lauttner was the actor who would show up. She thinks he is cute, so she decided to endure the whole release party thing again. Shanley went this time as well with a bunch of her friends (all sisters of McKayla's friends).

Over 5000 people showed up! Shanley and a friend got bored of standing in line and decided they didn't care if they saw anyone from the movie so they left and wandered through WalMart. McKayla was one of 300 who got to buy an autographed copy of the movie and got to meet the 3 "stars" who showed up.


As you can see, none of them are Taylor Lauttner. She wasn't overly thrilled and called the night the "biggest waste of her Friday night ever".

I wonder how long that autographed copy of New Moon will sit unopened?

calling all couch potatoes

This is the kind of week where I wish my children were couch potatoes!

Seriously.

My car and I became so intimately acquainted this week that I need to keep a crow bar handy to pry my rear end out of the seat. We've become so intimately acquainted that for the first time in my ENTIRE life I have every single available radio preset actually programmed to a station (okay, still only the 18 FM presets but still...) My car and I have become so intimately acquainted that I actually noticed that the brake pads are going out (me. the person who knows absolutely nothing about cars except how to put gas and oil in.)

Between soccer practices, softball practices, school car pools, driving children to various friends' houses, track practices, track meets, soccer games, dance practices...

You get the picture .

I almost feel like I climb in my car at 2:45 pm and don't get out until 9:30 pm.

Where are the days when I could leave my chldren happily parked in front of a TV screen for hours?

Oh. Wait. That was never me. (or I should say, that was never my children.)


--scrappinsoccermama truly is glad to have active kids. I just wish one of them could DRIVE!!!

ladies' man

Woo hoo!

Alec got asked to Prom yesterday! Wow - that is two major dances in a row!

He is really excited!

old dogs and new tricks

Last night was Alec's first high school track meet. He had an absolute blast!

He ran the 100m and the 800m. I know. One's a sprint and one's a distance run - what IS he doing?

The answer is "pretty much whatever he wants."

Here he is (in the back on the left wearing a purple tee and warm-ups) starting his 800m. Here he is finishing his 800m. Gotta love his form! He is all about technique. lol

I love that no matter how long it takes him to run and regardless of the fact that he finished a good 200m behind the last runner, he thinks he won! He comes across the finish line giving it all he's got and getting cheered by EVERYONE in attendance, and he thinks he is king of the world! Yes, he even came home and told Kevin that he'd won!

I spent the entire evening (all 4 1/2 hours hours worth) being a timer for lane 2. I have never done that before (thus the new trick title) but found it was fairly simple. (1) Use your index finger not your thumb to start and stop the watch. (2) Start with the smoke from the gun and not the sound. Got it. I did get some time off (for good behavior, of course) from stopwatch duty during the distance races when I had the all-important (snicker, snicker) job of holding the tape for the runner's chute so we could keep the runners in the order of their finish.

I think I managed to complete my duties without screwing up so I guess it was a successful evening for Alec and me!

no good deed goes unpunished

Monday night our family delivered boxes of food for the Utah Food Bank. We delivered canned and frozen food, resource manuals, red potatoes, and laundry soap to 6 senior citizens.

It was actually quite enjoyable because the people were so happy to see us and to see what we'd brought.

On the other hand, it was a little sad as well because they need they food packages so much and they only get them once a month and there's not much there.

I truly hope this experience made our children more grateful for all that they've got!

I had to laugh because when we were done delivering the boxes Alec said, "We forgot to deliver to Grandma and Grandpa." I guess he figured if we were delivering to old people that we should deliver to them as well.

All I know is that as the song from Wicked says "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished". I woke up that night and spent a couple hours throwing up. I guess that's my reward!

books I've read in the past month

Here's the list of books I've read in the past month. I've ** the ones I highly recommend.

Woman Strangled - News at Ten by Laurie Moore
Asta in the Wings by Jan Elizabeth Watson
**My Louisiana Sky by Kimberly Willis Holt
**The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum
Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes
The Marriage Bureau for Rich People by Farahad Zama
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1) by Rick Riordan
**Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box by Arbinger Institute

What are you reading right now?

a treasure hunt

We had a wonderful Stake Conference this weekend. I feel spiritually nourished.

One thing that really resonated with me was Pres. Clarke saying we need to "find joy in the journey." He stressed that the emphasis should be on the word FIND. We don't just sometimes enjoy the journey. We hunt for joy. We search for it. We discover it.

Today I find joy in listening to McKayla practice playing the hymns on the piano. I find joy in Alec staying in his seat the entire 2-hour conference (without insisting on getting up to use the restroom). I find joy in the family being home together. I find joy in the fact that due to Stake Conference, I don't have to start church at 1 pm and, thus, I can enjoy an afternoon nap. I find joy in knowing Brakston will be receiving his care package. I find joy in my plans to watch "West Side Story" with my children today (give them a little more culture). I find joy in my slightly sore quad muscles which are a little tight from my run the other day.

What do you find joy in today?

a few of his favorite things

Late Thursday night Kevin and I got a call from Brakston's mission trainer. He has been home (in Odgen, UT) since July. He is spending his Spring Break back in his mission and called to see if we wanted to send a package with him for Brakston.

Of course.

I was so excited! A package without worrying about the weight of it or postage or whatever.

I spent the entire day baking some of Brakston's favorite treats.Cinnamon rolls.

Mint chocolate cookies.

Poppyseed bread.

I also made homemade rolls and caramel brownies and black and white cookies.

Add some Swedish fish, a couple bottles of pina colada Sobe drinks, some appropriate underclothing, and a letter from each member of the family and you've got a few of Brakston's favorite things.

And, don't worry, I sent some of everything for the driver too!

fingerprints

"Our fingerprints remain on the lives we touch." That is a quote from the movie trailer of Remember Me.

I love that sentiment and agree wholeheartedly.

I can't always remember a person's name but I can remember the influence they had on my life.

Earlier this week my brother, Todd, and I were discussing teachers from Cody High School and Cody Jr. High School who had big impacts on our lives. Neither one of us could remember many names but we both fondly recalled our civics teacher and our 8th grade science teacher. We remembered their teaching style and their care and concerrn. We remember the time they put in to teach us.

Todd and I are 6 years apart so these teachers were obviously influential for a span of many years.

I had a Merrie Miss Primary teacher who truly magnified her church calling. She spent countless hours on my behalf. I don't remember her name but I remember attending her funeral and thinking what a wonderful person she was.

I have taught Young Women who grew up to be incredible women and taught me by example. I still remember most of their names but what I remember most is Jamie spending most of her summer at a camp for children with cancer trying to spread love and joy there. I remember Emily reaching out to make other feel included.

There are so many people who have touched me. And I would definitely say their prints are still on my life.

Whose fingerprints do you bear?

a magical place

I spent Tuesday in the most magical place on earth.

No, I am not talking about Disneyland (although don't get me wrong - I LOVE it there!)

I am talking about the temple.

I had the wondrous opportunity to spend all day Tuesday in the temple - over 10 hours worth of joy and peace!

The Celestial Room is somewhere I never want to leave. It's not like being on vacation (even in a tropical paradise) and saying you want to stay there forever. I know eventually I'd get bored of laying by the ocean with a breeze cooling me off feeling the sun on my face lying in soft sand (I know - hard to believe anyone could tire of that!).

This is different. It is a real, true "I feel completely at home and at peace here" kind of feeling. I feel like I belong in that room. That room was created just for me.

It is truly "heavenly"!

passover

Monday evening our family had an incredible opportunity to participate in a Feast of the Passover. Daniel Rona (nee Rosenthal), a Mormon convert but a Jew by birth taught for 3 1/2 hours. He has such an incredible knowledge. He is currently the only licensed tour guide in Israel who is LDS. I learned so much and was so fascinated by what he had to say.The feast was actually held by my parents' branch which consists of missionaries in the Church Headquarters Mission. We were lucky enough to get an invite because Daniel Rona needed youth ages 8-14 to demonstrate some of the feast traditions. My parents' branch president knew they had grandchildren living in the area so my family and Jolyn's family were able to participate. Between the two of us, we have 6 children that are between 8 and 14. (Poor McKayla was really sick and having a difficult time being there.)
The tradition is that the eldest, and therefore wisest, person sits in the 2nd chair. The youngest boy who can read sits in the first chair. That lot fell to Chandler. The "eldest" (without actually performing an age check) was deemed to be the Mission President (President Simmons).
Chandler was really put on the spot. He had to answer several questions and do some reading. He also had to give the closing prayer.
All of the children had to open the doors for Elijah and to hunt for the passover bread. Josh, Alec, Jake, and Chandler also had to pretend to stomp the grapes for wine.

I wish I could remember everything he taught us. There was one thing in particular that really stood out to me. The Jewish people have a tradition of placing their prayer shawl/robe/cloth over one shoulder for some prayers and then they switch it to the other shoulder for the remaining prayers.

The feast included such things as bitter herbs dipped in salt water (yuk!), a leg of lamb and an egg (symbolizing death and life), the unleavened bread, unfermented wine (grape juice), and a sweetly-spiced apple nut mixture.

The whole experience only intensified my desire to visit the Holy Lands.

keeping track

My friend, Tami, introduced me to a website last year that I absolutely love! It has proved invaluable to me.

I love to read and there are always a lot of books on my to-read list. However, I was often losing my to-read list (by virtue of the fact that the list happened to be various pieces of paper jotted wherever I heard about or saw a book I wanted to read).

Very disorganized.

Then, thanks to Tami, I discovered this site. It lets me keep track of what books I've read, what I'm currently reading, and what I want to read. In addition, I can see what rating a book has received from other readers (helping me weed out clunkers). I can find recommendations, etc.

I currently have about 100 books on my to-read list. Sometimes I think I add them faster than I read them. Still, at least I have a list and I do love lists!

Now, I just need to find me a site like that for movies.

more on sportsmanship

This past Saturday I got to see another demonstration of good sportsmanship.

Alec played basketball with the Priests from our ward in a Regional playoff game. Unfortuately, one of our players got a badly sprained ankle in the first half. One of the boys from the other team helped him off the court. (good sportsmanship)

The injury meant Alec got to play most of the game. That is good for him but bad for the team. However, the opposing team was great! Not only did they let Alec shoot unopposed but they also gave him the ball back to reshoot when he missed! Then they cheered for him when he celebrated his score by galloping (in Alec fashion) down the court.

I was pretty impressed!

And, of course, it made Alec's day.

pride goeth before the fall

I pride myself on doing something every day to exercise my brain. (I am not-so-secretly terrified of Alzheimer's). So, I try to mentally challenge myself with something every day.

Yesterday I received a wake-up call and discovered just how out of shape my brain is! I tried to tutor a neighbor in Algebra II. At first all went well. I felt we were making progress. After an hour or so, my brain couldn't keep up. It started tiring and feeling sluggish. Then I started making stupid errors. By the third hour I couldn't think anymore and couldn't figure out simple problems.

Yikes! My brain has no endurance anymore! My daily brain sprints have not prepared me for a brain marathon! It was embarrassing how I've let my brain go!

There was a time in life when I could attend 4-6 hours of classes, work, and still spend hours studying or writing papers. Oh, those glory days might be gone forever!

What are you unable to do today that you could do 10 or 20 years ago?

tenths

Last night I took a couple children and my parents to a gymnastics meet. The Utes won by over half a point. My mom remarked that they didn't win by much. I disagreed. In gymnastics, half a point is HUGE. My mom then said, "I guess that's true. Just look how many of the recent Olympic events were decided by tenths or even hundredths."

It's so true. Such a small margin as a couple hundredths can be the difference between going home with a medal or just going home.

In our church, we donate a tenth of our income. That tenth could be the difference between a temple recommend or being shut out from the blessings of temple attendance.

How many other times do tenths count? Missing a bus or train by a few seconds? Not being involved in an accident because you were running late? The game-winning basket shot a few tenths of a second before the game clock expires and the buzzer sounds? Those few extra seconds it takes to hug your children/husband before they walk out the door?

What does a tenth mean to you?

cute photos

I truly love Alec's dance photos!

church callings

Ever notice how some people keep getting the same church callings?

My mom has almost always been either in Primary or Relief Society. I think she was in Young Women's twice and she's never taught Sunday School. My friend, Jill, has been in Primary FOREVER (and she's amazing at it).

I have mostly worked with the youth.

First year of college - I don't remember
Second year - Relief Society presidency
Third year - secretary to Stake President/ Primary teacher
Fourth year - Young Women's presidency
1990 - I don't remember
1991 - Merrie Miss teacher
1992 - I don't remember
1993 - asst YW camp director and cub scout den leader
1994 - Young Women president
1995 - Young Women president
1996 - Young Women president
1997 - Young Women president
1998 - cub scout den leader
1999 - 17/18 Sunday School teacher
2000 - 17/18 Sunday School teacher/asst camp director
2001 - 17/18 Sunday School teacher/asst camp director
2001 - 17/18 Sunday School teacher
2002 - Compassionate Service leader
2003 - Enrichment leader/Stake youth conference food chair
2004 - Enrichment leader
2005 - Enrichment leader/camp director/stake youth conference food chair
2006 - 17/18 Sunday School teacher/camp director
2007 - 17/18 Sunday School teacher/camp director
2008 - 17/18 Sunday School teacher/camp director
2009 - Young Women presidency/ camp director
2010 - Young Women presidency


Either it means the Lord knows I'm NO good with young children or He thinks I still have a LOT to learn about the youth. It could go either way...

copycat

Alec played basketball with the Priests' quorum on Saturday.

A couple times during the game, Alec pulled the ref aside and yelled, "That boy hit me! He hurt my ankle!"

It was weird. Alec doesn't usually do that. He is usually just happy to play. He generally saves his complaining for me on the way home and it is usually a complaint that the boys don't give him the ball EVERY time down the court.

Then, I realized that the other boys on Alec's team were complaining to the refs about the calls (or lack thereof). Alec was just following suit. Even the ref (who refs every game) told Kevin and I that he realized Alec was aping his teammates' behavior.

It just shows how strong our need is to "fit in".

Resolutions

Two months into the new year and time for a check-up on my goals.

Lose weight - Doing great on this one. I've been eating much healthier and much less and I am losing weight. I feel better and am down a size or two in clothing.

Earn YW Medallion - Progressing well here. Accomplished a few achievements this past month and finished a project.

Write my grandma's life history - Haven't done a darn thing except recover (from a crashed laptop) what I'd already started. I know it's a stretch but it feels like progress.

Do major projects early
CPE - I did 4 hours this month.
Christmas cards - I haven't given them a thought.
nieces and nephews birthday presents - FINISHED!
Christmas gifts - I started them this month.

Write a book - Haven't done a darn thing!

Get 7 hours of sleep per night - FAILURE! I have managed 7-8 hours on most Friday and Saturday nights (I am such a party animal - lol) but weeknights are still about 6 hours. On the rare occassion that I get to bed early, I seem to wake up extra early. I think my body is used to 6 hours. I have to break that bad habit!


Conclusion: My progress is slow but there is progress in most areas. I've got to focus on the book and my grandma's life history in March.

my Olympic event

I didn't see much of the Olympics this year - just bits and pieces here and there. And I never had Olympic dreams growing up. Of course, since I grew up without a TV, it is quite possible I never even realized there were Olympics until I was in college!

However, if I had to chose any winter Olympic sport to compete in I would have to choose the 50K cross-country ski race.

I love to cross-country ski. Also, I am much more about endurance than danger. Yep. Thirty miles of slogging it out sounds much more my speed than doing aerial flips, twists, and turns with skis or snowboards clipped to my boots. I'm not much of a daredevil.

If you had to choose a winter Olympic sport to compete in, what would you choose?

and Sundays we go to Church?

As our family headed over to the church on Saturday for Alec's basketball game, I remarked that I had been there every day of that week except Monday.

Yep. Saturday for Alec's basketball game. Sunday for church. Tuesday for a Youth Conference meeting. Wednesday for Young Women's. Thursday for Shanley's basketball game. Friday for the Blue and Gold Banquet. Saturday for Alec's basketball game. Sunday for church again. Eight out of nine days.

My kids thought that was pretty funny.

I think it's the reason why most of my social life revolves around members of my ward. It probably also explains why when a friend moves out of the ward, they may as well be dead for as much as I ever see them again. Such is the phenomena of church membership.