Happy Birthday Josh

My Nephew Josh shares the same Birthday as his father Ed.  They both celebrated their Birthday last Sunday.  Happy Late Birthday Josh!  I loved making this video and seeing all the pictures of the boy cousins together through the years.  I love that they are all so close in age and have the same interests and have so much fun when they are together.  Zac and Josh are the only boys in their families and I love that through their cousins they are able to have brothers.

Click here to see the whole slew of Birthday Videos.

Happy Birthday Ed

Last Sunday was my Brother-in-Law Ed's Birthday.  Happy way super late Birthday Ed.  Thank you for all your sacrifice in service to our country.  And thank you for always making us laugh.

To see all my Birthday Videos, click here.

Book of Mormon 30 Day Challenge Update: Christ Visits the American Continent

So on August 1st, I challenged my family to read the Book of Mormon in 30 days.  You can read about that here.  Almost 10 days into it, I was pleasantly surprised with how well we were all doing- you can read about that here.  Well, here we are with only 3 days left!  And I think we might all just make it!  One of us will finish today.  One of us a bit behind but is trying really hard to catch up.  And the rest of us are a little behind but catching up more and more every day.  By the end of the day today we should be through Ether Ch. 7.  I'm just happy I'm only one chapter away from starting the Book of Ether right now.  That should be some good listening right there, as those are some pretty messed up people.

In the last week, I have read/listened to some of my favorite parts of the Book of Mormon- mainly the last half of Alma through 3rd Nephi.  I love it!  The parallels of their society and our society excite and scare me both at the same time.

Yesterday as I was on my morning walk, I listened to the part in 3rd Nephi when Christ visits America.  It is just after He is crucified and there is great destruction in all the land followed by 3 days of darkness, which the prophets had prophesied would be the sign of the death of Jesus Christ.  During the three days of darkness, the people hear the voice of Christ speaking to them  (3 Nephi Ch. 8-10).  And then finally, in Chapter 11, after the darkness is over, the people gather at the Temple and Christ appears to the people of Nephi on the American Continent and teaches them.  They are able to feel the prints in his hands and feet and also feel the wound in his side.

3 Nephi 11:15 And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.

 He sets up his church, teaches them how to baptize, administer the sacrament and many other great things.  He also calls and ordains 12 disciples in that land to minister to the people (3 Nephi Ch.11-26 tells of his visit with them).  After his visits (it says he visited with them oft) the people lived in peace for 200 years.  And then all heck breaks loose and they are totally destroyed- it all starts with pride as the people are greatly blessed and prospered by the Lord in the land...

Doesn't it make sense that Christ would not just visit the people in one little part of the world?  If he loves everyone, and wants everyone to have his gospel, wouldn't he visit others too?  And teach them?  John 10:16  says

And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

And as he is teaching the people in America he says in 3 Nephi 15:21-24

 21 And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
 22 And they understood me not, for they supposed it had been the Gentiles; for they understood not that the Gentiles should be converted through their preaching.
 23 And they understood me not that I said they shall hear my voice; and they understood me not that the Gentiles should not at any time hear my voice—that I should not manifest myself unto them save it were by the Holy Ghost.
 24 But behold, ye have both heard my voice, and seen me; and ye are my sheep, and ye are numbered among those whom the Father hath given me.

 Last October (2012) Steve and I were able to take my mom and sister and Aubrey and Addy to the Latino Cultural Celebration in the Conference Center.  They only had one set of headphones left to translate it into English, so my  mom listened to it while we watched.  It was wonderful to see.  She told us that for each culture represented they talked about their cultures legends of the "White God" who visited and taught them.  The show ended with the appearance of Christ to the Nephites in America.  Here is a short video clip of the event.

It's almost like I waited a whole year to do this post just so I could use these pictures for it....

If you would like to learn more about Christ's visit to the people on the American continent you can request a free copy of the Book of Mormon by clicking here, or you can ask me and I will send you one.  Or you can read or listen to it online here.  You can also listen to other scriptures such as the New and Old Testament at that same link.  Or you can download the app here.

Happy Birthday Grandma

Saturday August 24th was my Grandmother's Birthday.  I'm the oldest grandchild on my mother's side of the family and I spent a lot of time with my Grandma and Papa Tolman when I was growing up.  I loved going to work with my Grandma at Tolman Building Maintenance and playing "office".   Wow!  That was back in the day!  Grandma, I love you and hope you had a fantastic Birthday.  Here is your Birthday Video from me:

                                      To see all my Birthday videos, click here.

Happy Birthday Samantha

My niece, Samantha, had a Birthday on August 12th.  Samantha was just a baby when I joined the family.  I have watched her grow into a beautiful woman.  Happy Birthday Samantha!

Click here to see all the Birthday Videos.

Happy Birthday Mom!

August 7th was my Mother's Birthday.  Happy way super late Birthday mom!  We were going to have her over for dinner that day but she was sick and I was sick.  So instead we took cupcakes to her house and cleaned out and washed her van for her.  Sorry this video is SO late.  Happy Birthday Mom!  I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my mommy you'll be!  

                                                   Can't see the video?  Click here.                                                  (It probably won't help though.)

Please Read This Post To Find Out How Imperfectly Perfect Our 30 Day Challenge Is Going

We are 9 days into our 30 day challenge of reading the Book of Mormon.  I bet some of you are wondering how that's goin' for us.  Well, the answer to that would be....GREAT!  Like really honestly, knock on wood, GREAT!

If you want to read about this challenge and why we are doing it, click here.  Otherwise, read on!

I LOVE the Book of Mormon.  It is by far my most favorite book ever.  I LOVE, love it.  There is just something about it.  It is perfect in every way.  It is entertaining.  It is easy to read.  It is full of so much gospel.  Every page speaks of Christ and strengthens my testimony in Him.  It is full of teaching moments for my children as we follow the story line.  It is so easy to apply the teachings to every day life.  It is the story of this land that I love, the American continent and its earliest civilizations.  It is full of promises to those of us who live in this land.  It is full of examples of how blessed we can be if we keep the commandments.  I LOVE it!

Our family is always reading the Book of Mormon.  We read it every day during our family scripture and prayer time.  When we finish it, we start over the next day.  So it is usually always a part of our lives.  This year though, we decided to read the Doctrine and Covenants since that is what we are learning in Sunday School.  I have enjoyed reading it, but I must admit, I have missed the Book of Mormon terribly.  

So when we started reading it on August first, it felt so good.  We read together the first three days because we were on a trip that occupied almost every minute of our day.  It was really hard not to stop every few verses to discuss what we were reading with my kids.  When you are trying to read an average of 20 pages a day, there isn't a lot of time for discussion.  

We arrived home from our trip and on Aug 4th, 4 days into our challenge, I turned the reading over to individuals.  It was up to everyone on their own now on to keep caught up.  I can't even believe it, but for the most part, we are all on track for finishing it in 30 days.

This is the thing though.  It hasn't been perfect.  It by far has not been perfect.  

First of all, there really isn't a lot of actual reading going on.  Listening.  There is a lot of listening going on. On phones, ipods and computers, anything that will read the text to us.

The first day we were home from our trip, Emily asked if she could listen to the Book on the computer while she was on Pintrest.  My first reaction was to say, "Uh, NO!  What are you going to get out of it by listening to it while you are looking at stuff on Pintrest?"  But thankfully I ran that through my head before I uttered it out loud.  A little voice inside my head said, "Really?  Are you really about to tell your daughter no.  She can't listen to the scriptures?  Because if you do, what will she listen to while she is on Pintrest instead?"

So this is how it is.  We are keeping caught up, everyone on his or her own time.  But like I said, it isn't perfect.  We still get a lot of Pintrest listening done.  Addy and Aubrey listen to it together while they color or play.  There is a lot of multi-tasking going on while we are staying caught up.  Sometimes, in the mornings, when we are all at the same spot starting out the day, I will play it in the kitchen while we are eating breakfast.  Sometimes people leave the room to go get something.  Sometimes we have conversations right over the top of the reading.  Sometimes people are a few chapters behind when we start in the morning and listen together.  Sometimes people fall asleep while listening.  But this is what I have learned from it....

So what?  

Would we get more out of it if we sat and actually read the text on the page?  Yes.  Would we get more out of it if we were not listening to it while browsing the internet for awesome cool ideas of how to decorate our bedrooms?  Yes.  Would me get more out of it if we didn't have people holding conversations right over the top of the dialogue?  Yes.  Of course we would.  Would we be able to finish the book in 30 days if we did it perfectly?  Absolutely not.  

This is what I have come to realize in the last 9 days. 

IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE PERFECT!  

This is what is going on at my house right now.  For 30 days, the Book of Mormon is the background noise of EVERYTHING we do.  It is being listened to at almost every hour of the day in some part of my house by someone.  I have yet to brush my teeth in the last 9 days without listening to it.  I haven't driven my van anywhere in the last 9 days without listening to it.  My children have not surfed the internet (do people even still use that expression?) in the last 9 days without listening to it.  They have not drawn or colored a picture or eaten lunch or played with dolls or gone to sleep in the last 9 days without listening to it.

Last night, at 11:30 PM as I was making my usual rounds to make sure everything was all tucked away in my house before I went to bed, I could see a light on under Zac's bedroom door and I could hear talking.  I was so mad because I had ordered my children to bed an hour earlier.  I opened the door ready to yell at people and tell them to go to sleep.  What did I find when I opened the door?  Zac sitting at his desk working on his latest wood carving project.  Emily was sitting in his chair with the computer on her lap.  And the talking I heard?  That was the Book of Mormon playing on the computer.  And instead of yelling, I said a little pray of gratitude in my heart.

So if you were to ask me how our 30 challenge is going, I would have to say it is going Imperfectly PERFECT!

To read or listen to the Book of Mormon online click here.

To download the free app, click here.

The request a free copy click here.  Or you can ask me and I will send you one.

To find out more about the book click here.

Flat Tires, Lightning Storms, ATVS, Mines, People Friendly Deer, Waterfalls, Graffiti, Photo Bombing and Fun!

July 26th and 27th, we went camping in Fremont Indian State Park which is in the vicinity of Beaver.  We started the trip off with a lovely flat tire on the trailer.  Our spare is missing, so we were kinda stuck outta luck.  We had to call the next town over and have them bring us a new wheel and tire on the side of the freeway.  After that, the rest of the trip was absolutely smooth sailing.  Except for the time we were on top of the mountain on our ATVs and it was lightening and we thought we were going to die.

After we set up camp we took a little ATV ride to the museum.  The whole area down there is set up for offroaders.  There was even an ATV trail from our camp site to the museum that went up over the mountain instead of around it on the main road.

We left the museum and road over to a trail then hiked to the "Cave of 100 Hands".  It sounded pretty cool.

Ummmm...it wasn't that cool.  First off, there were not 100 hand prints.  Secondly it wasn't really a cave, more like a sheltered indentation along a mountain wall.  And some idiots had totally destroyed it with graffiti before they put bars up so you couldn't touch it.  I think they should rename it "Indentation of 35 hand prints that have been graffitied over by a bunch of idiots".  Because that is a far more accurate description and it was a pretty long walk to get there to see this:

Back at camp we had dinner and played games.

The next morning we woke up and got ready for a full day of riding.  Addys lower lip was quivering when she told me Annie was scared to stay at camp all day by herself.  So I asked Steve to make Annie a seat belt so she could come along for the ride.  He made her a lovely bungee cord seat belt.  I have a feeling Annie will be accompanying us on all our rides from now on.

The area we were riding in used to be a huge mining area.  There are abandoned mines and miner cabins and mining equipment all over the place.  Here are the kids in the entrance to an old mine.  We saw so many neat things like this all along the ride.

It was a beautiful place to ride.

I was trying to take a picture of the scenic beauty and Zac rode up and yelled, "PHOTO BOMB!"

The remnants of an old fireplace

Squiggly Aspen trees

From here it seemed like we could see at least 3 states over.

This cabin belonged to a mining couple and they lived on the bottom floor with their 8 kids and their mining employees lived on the top floor.

"No wonder my shoe was bothering me, there is a huge nail stuck in it the bottom of it!"

The opening to the mine.

Zac rode up next to me and said, "Hey mom, ride like this!  This is how all the cool kids are riding now!"

We stopped to eat lunch by a place called "Miners Park".  We ate near a lovely stream.  While we were sitting eating our lunch we noticed a deer watching us.  She walked around the fence and came down by our table.  I tried to feed here but she didn't want anything I had to offer.  You can see the video of her coming up and sniffing the food in my hand by clicking here.

I first offered her carrots.  Then lettuce.  Both of which she refused.  It looked like she needed a little meat on her body so in the picture above I'm offering her some turkey.  Which she also refused.  And Zac looked at me like I was stupid and said, "MOM!  Deer don't eat meat!"  My bad.  So then I said something like maybe she was used to people feeding her GOOD human food and suggested maybe what she was really wanting were some of our cherry sours.  So here is a picture of Addy offering her a cherry sour.  It kind of looks like she might want it.

The kids had fun playing in the stream.

Aubrey and Zac were panning for gold and silver.  We literally had to DRAG them out of the stream when it was time to go, they were sure they were going to find a fortune.  They did find a few very tiny flakes of silver.

Then we explored Miners Park.  It is a little old miners town with abandoned equipment and cabins.

Then we decided to drive over and hike to a water fall.

We hiked quite a ways and got to the overlook where we could see the water fall.  But of course the kids wanted to get closer.  So we hiked over some pretty treacherous ground.  Addy has been taught well by her father how to climb down steep obstacles so she gave me instructions the whole way down.  She did a great job ascending down this steep rocky cliff.  Despite her good instructions, my graceful genes kicked in and I slid half way down this and was stopped rather abruptly when my left cheek hit a rock.  It was very painful to sit for several days after that.

Yay!  We made it to the second, much closer over look!

And then we looked down to find half of our children actually down at the water fall.  More steep climbing!  But it was worth it.

By the time we got down where the kids were they were half way up this slick mossy wall.  Emily was obedient and got down when her father told her to.  Zac made me take a picture first.

Making our way back to the wheelers

It was getting pretty late and we still had to get back and pack up camp and load the wheelers and make the long drive home.  We were making our way along pretty fast when all of the sudden it started raining.  And thundering.  And lightening.  We were way up on top of the mountain and the lighting was right in front of us so close.  See that mountain in the distance?  That is the way we came and that is the mountain we were on when we took the picture where we thought we could see 3 states over (I know, that was like 100 pictures ago).  The lightning was hitting right on that mountain.  The kids and I were a little nervous to say the least.  Then Steve informed us we were going back a different way.

It was freezing and raining.  Thankfully we came prepared.

Steve making a few minor adjustments to my helmet.

We made it safely back to camp.  We cleaned up and packed up in a hurry since it was raining (except for the time Steve and Zac stopped to talk to the camp host for 30 minutes while the girls and I loaded everything)(Good thing it wasn't like 8 PM and we weren't starving because we hadn't eaten dinner and it wasn't cold or raining or anything!)  We drove to the nearest town and graced the Pizza Hut with our stinky dirty presence.  After we were all full we started our journey home.  It wasn't long before the kids were completely out.