Hard to forget.~

Brian and I at Lisa's graveside service. My dear friend died March 5th of this year. I miss her very much and am pleased to have so many fond memories and the gospel of Jesus Christ to give me comfort.

Modified Traditions~

I was thinking a lot yesterday about how I grew up, and the traditions we had in my family of origin and things I learned from that order. One was Every Saturday we cleaned and did yard work. WE did deep cleaning. And usually the outside yard work included my Dad trimming all the bushes and trees in site and my sister in I following behind him with trash bags to pick up any fallen foliage. My Dad would tell us he had some needlework for us, which we assumed meant sewing, however, it was in fact picking up all the dried pine needles that accumulated in the front yard due to our big Pine tree. After all our rooms were clean Kitchen scoured and yard impeccable, we went swimming and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and evening with BBQ, or activities with out friends. Work before play. It made it nice and fairly easy to have a peaceful Sabbath day the following day. On the Sabbath, after church, we could read our scriptures, write in our journals, visit the sick or elderly,or do anything that would be considered worship and rest. Everyone is different and every family dynamic is different. because of our sweet but monkey kids we cannot do hours of peaceful quiet on Sunday or hard labor on Saturday hehe.

I love my family and am very happy to have different perspectives from each of my family members. Each of us learn in a different way, and have different needs. That teaches us patience, tolerance, and empathy for one anothers differences.



Saturday's Activity this last week: VTing for Mom, Primary family history activity for Joe, Ride and shopping for Brian and other three kiddos, Bowling at Kennedy Jenks summer party with Mom, Dad, Joseph, and Emelie. Also, shopping at Walmart with all four of the kiddos and they did great! We came home and used Mom's new Swifter Vac!

Sunday Activities; Attending church, Very good lessons about the importance of the Temple, wii entertainment for Celia, Spencer and Brian visiting Rah Rah and Papa, photo framing for Mom, and Quiet/nap time so we can all ponder, think and just have some peace and quiet.:)

Date Night~

Each Tuesday night we have Date night with a kid or two. Its time alone with mom and dad. Its amazing how happy the kids get when its their turn. Last week, we were going to go to the Rivercats game, Brian's work has season passes, but It was a morning game! So we took Emelie and Joseph to see Star Trek. That is a fantastic movie! It has action, drama, and some really funny parts. Definitely not the nerdy Star Trek episodes i remember as a kid.:) Bri and I also get to go out just the two of us on Friday Nights. Sometimes we'll take tuesday nights as an us only night too lol. Last night we went to the temple. What a beautiful temple we have here in Sacramento. Its so serene and peaceful there. Everybody needs a time out to think and ponder, I'm grateful for the opportunity to do that in such a wonderful place!

1 Best Date night Place: Sacramento Temple
2 Best Movie of the Month: Star Trek
3. Favorite Date night resturants: El Torrito, Costa Vida, Johnny Carinos
4. Turn for Tuesday: Emelie and her band Concert.

Roseview Park with the Family~

This is Celia's dance around the ball dance. When she got the ball she ran with it! She knew she was to be a moving target though and kept those feet going.~

Emelie & Willow Davis~

What lovely young women who spent most of the time at the park tossing back and forth a football.:)

Memorial Day Activities~

I'm really grateful for my family that has participated in conflicts to protect Justice and Peace. We are very fortunate to know so many that have fought and stood up for Truth, but have lived to tell about it. Each July that we visit The San Luis Valley, we always make a point to drive by and look at the Horray for Grandad Davis monument. I'm happy to have memories of Poppi singing or participating in the Mormon Batallion marching bands. We're Glad he was also able to be in the Navy and participate in WWII. Grandpa Holmes was involved in WWII as well. Even Abuleito Mejia particpated and stood up for the true and right in his Country of Honduras. How blessed our Children are to have such great examples in their grandparents. Our grandfathers may not have died in battle but their contributions were needed and they did make a difference.

Emelie especially seems to be very patriotic. She loves the flag. She knows an awful lot about American History and tends to have a great sense of appreciation and reverence for our freedom. Its Wonderful! She is ready to celebrate and theres no way I had to remind her to wear a flag shirt today! Family and spending time together is our highest priority and so it only fits that we meet and play at the park with the cousins!:) We are excited to see Rah Rah and share together thoughts and memories of yesteryear~

We Made it through Church!

A typical Sunday would consist of Brian and Spencer sitting with the family on our strategically placed seats in the back for about 10-15 mins. Spence loves to give out little squeals or laugh out loud or sing. This can be very distrupting, and I think he knows this so he does it to not have to stay in the room much. Today though Brian was speaking in church. After Sacrament and a few trips around the building with Brian, the switching of the guard commenced and there I was with all four of my wild indians. Yes, I had prepared for this mission. Among other distracting yet appropriate devices I had my bag of skittle and starbursts hehe. I was able to hear and understand Brian's talk. He did a great job. I felt happy to have the whole family there and all the kids get to hear their dad talk about important things and what I thought was thought provoking wisdom. Phew, It may not seem like much but it was a big deal, we made it through one hour and 15 mins of a meeting. How much they got from it remains to be seen, but I feel our prayers and efforts paid off!

We go for Car Rides~

Okay, So I am New at this, but I'm excited to share some fun thoughts and memories on here. Especially if I don't get around to journaling or scrapbooking as much as I want to.:)

Today is Saturday. We went for a ride. Its what we do. Its almost an art. We start getting ready to go and someones shouting instructions and time limits and giving 3 minutes warnings. Usually, Bri will wait at his desk until he is sure its a go, then will come out to the car and off we go! First stop, 7 11 or somewhere like it to get drinks. We can't have thirsty campers, especially Dad while enjoying the views. I asked everyone who was happy? I got all sorts of raised hands and yelps and horrays. We travel all over town. Today we went to downtown Sacramento and got new Scouting shirts for Brian and Joseph. Joseph also got a wolf hat. Its soo cute how into cub scouts he is. I am always trying to slow him down on his working on achievements or we'd be just doing that 24/7.

Sacramento area is so green and some areas I would just plain call Lush! We traveled down many trees lined streets and usually pass over at least one river, stream, or body of water. We can't go into many stores because Celia and Spencer don't tolerate crowds much. However, we take turns going in. So after a yummy Raleys chicken family meal and a quick stop by Deseret Book, we were on our way home happy, fed, and explored out for a least a few hours.