A year ago tomorrow - - -

I was sitting on a plane - for 15 hours,

acting all Emo after the prolonged sitting messed with my mind - - - but still excited

to see the majesty that is Italy

and hang out with the coolest people I know:) - - - Celeste, Cristina, Lisa, I miss you like crazy! I wish I was boarding another plane tomorrow and starting another fun adventure - - -

Lately -

Leslie took Ethan out for his first ride

while I stayed my safe distance away, horses and I - - -don't mix!

But I think Ethan took to them better than well

and decided to become a cowboy!

We've also been hanging out at concerts

and having the GREATEST time!

Not to mention our many fun evenings together,

enjoying the porch and

playing the bowl game - boo ya!

Samuel can't take the tension:)

One of the best of all, however, was welcoming little Alexander

and seeing Ethan become a big brother:)

Nothing can be better

than a moment like this!

Then we got to help wonderful people celebrate a great wedding day

and try to add what we could through decorations

and flowers.

And lately, I've felt loved by those I love who helped me celebrate

a fun

and crazy Birthday!

I get to make a wish!

Tomorrow is my birthday.

I get to make a wish.

I wish I could tell this girl to hold on. Things will get a little rocky before they get good. I would tell her to hold on to those that love her and not let go, life has much to offer and happiness is around every corner - - just look harder for it:)

. . . . one day . . . she will know . . .

. . . that life is good, even when its not perfect - - - I wish for a good sixty years to try and figure some more of it out!

April in July - - - for you Ariel:)

So . . . I never really talked about out great trip to visit Mario and Wendy in Indiana. It was amazing! It feels like a lifetime ago, especially with them spending the summer here in Utah and all of us getting used to having them around. It will be awful to say goodbye when Sept rolls around.
One neat thing about that trip was that I was able to go back for the first time since 2003 to

Nauvoo!!! It was bittersweet and lots of fun but . . . first things first - - - -

We mainly went to see this amazing kid! I mean, really, who wouldn't?! But we also went because -



(above photo taken by Ethan himself - this kids got skills!)
his fabulous father was having a reading, the final reading of his Masters program! It was such a wonderful night for us to be there with him and share his many hours of work and dedication.





Here we have mom and all star Ethan at the reading - he was the hit of the night, decked out in jeans and rockin' a tie

and here - - is the only family picture that was taken that night (I think, no . . . I'm sure:) Mario, you are such an example to me and I am more than thrilled I got to share that night with you and Wendy . . . gorgeous as usual!


After that neat experience, we also go to share in the adventure of going to Nauvoo. No one else had been there and I have to say, even though it rained most of the time, it was an unbelievable experience. The spirit is strong and testifies of the lives lived there so many years ago and the sacrifices made for the good of many, including me.

Mario, Ethan and I took a little stroll one morning while we waited for everyone else.

Love this picture!

Ethan was having to much fun using my jacket as a cape to be bothered to take a picture - we did try, however :)

Mario in front of the statue of Joseph and Hyrum. I was there when they put that statue in, so cool to me to be a part of that experience.

We were also able to make it to Carthage. Amazing.

Here is the room where Joseph and company were staying when the mob came through and there is the window that Joseph fell out of.

Dad and Ethan

our model couple, Wendy and Mario, walking the Trail of Tears

on the banks of the beautiful Mississippi -

It was such a wonderful trip that I seem to have become a peg leg - standing in front of the Red Brick storehouse - what a great way to end our trip to Nauvoo!





We came back to Indiana and still had a few days left and were fortunate enough to see one of Ethan's favorite things - story time!

On out last day there Mario and Wendy took us to see Prophet's Rock! It was great to get that chance!

Mom and E!

and don't worry, I still have both of my eyes - yikes, what is with me and pictures?!

It was such a fun time and I am grateful that we got to share such wonderful experiences. I can't wait to come out to San Fran and experience that world with my favorite Chard #3's!

until next time!

Lost.

"All children mythologize their birth. It is a universal trait. You want to know someone? Heart, mind and soul? Ask him to tell you about when he was born. What you get won't be the truth; it will be a story. And nothing is more telling than a story."

Vida Winter - The Thirteenth Tale

I've been lost lately. Lost to a world of books and wonderings that bring me to my own past.

Have you ever lived life from a distance. A figure on the outside looking in on the day to day happenings, wondering if what you are really seeing is the life you live passing in slow motion?What does it all mean? Where does that sense of detachment come from and what do you gain from it?

Lost in thought. Lost in action. Hope is on the horizon, however; someday I'll figure it all out.

The Job

I got a new job. I have worked there for the last two weeks and it has been an adventure for sure. I have felt for a while that I needed a change in my life and wanted to start by heading to Salt Lake. I have looked and applied with many different companies in the Salt Lake area but nothing was coming of it. I applied for a Human Resource job with the LDS church on a whim and was excited to get a call back for an interview. Now, over the last few months I have gotten my hopes up after interviews only to have them dashed when I didn't get the job, so I didn't want to get my hopes us this time. A week and a half after the interview I got a call and this time I got an offer. I know this is where I need to be right now. I am working with the Human Resource department and have been assigned to work with the Welfare program, mainly all of the over 50 D.I.'s. It has been great so far. It is definitely like any other job with the things you love and the things that can be a challenge but I am grateful for it all.



I thought I would bring you along one day and give you a tiny peak into where I go and what I do - - -

After my first week and the not so lovely gas bill I decided to ride the bus - love it - here I am waiting to merge onto the freeway.

Getting dropped off in the morning, they call the Church Office Building "the COB", kinda weird, right?



Here is my desk - - need to personalize it more:) I have two screens because the programs we use have us going back and forth between two of them often.

I love the view when I get to take a lunch break - I usually sit between the SLC Temple and -

the Church Office Building. The grounds are truly amazing!

Then it's time to ride the bus home and stand in line with people watching me and wondering who in the world takes pictures of themselves at the bus stop:)

Goodbye SLC, sooooo time to go home -

Thanks for coming along for a small part in a day at my new job - - -