One Amazing Man

Jerry Washburn

If you read Facebook, you've already maybe seen me comment about this but he has been on my mind so much today. This is my mission president. He presided over a few hundred missionaries in Southern California from 1993-96. I have so many memories of time spent listening to him counsel, speak, and teach. He sat with me privately on several occasions and counseled with me and helped me keep things in perspective. He taught with the scriptures - he compared them to our lives and helped us relate them to what we were doing. My scriptures have his name written in them over and over referencing times he spoke. When my cousin was killed in a car accident, he came personally and found me at a meeting I was attending. He was so kind and so compassionate in such a difficult time.
I love this man. I have never met a better person. Ever.
Til we meet again Prez...

Fall is Good

D-Man has developed some serious ball skills over the summer. Now if we can just get him to PASS the ball occasionally, we'll be in business.
If you know me, you know I'm a summer girl through and through. I like it HOT (preferably on a beach somewhere but either way...) But, definitely next in line is FALL. Love soccer season (even when my team is getting it's collective you-know-whats kicked by a bunch of 20-year-olds). Love college football.  Love Halloween.  Love Thanksgiving.  Love the color...

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Mariano es Numero UNO!

Late Night, End of Summer, Day-Before-Survivor-Premier Ramblings...

I know I turned over a new leaf back in April in which I committed to blog weekly.  It lasted until June.  Yep - I still suck at follow through.  BUT, as I've blog surfed a bit tonight, I realize some people whose names rhyme with "Smastian" haven't blogged since 2008.  I know, they've had a new baby... or two... whatever.
Quite a bit has happened since I last posted.  Some of it life changing.  For real.  But that's not what I'm blogging about, mostly...

TREK

BB and I got the privelege of being 'Ma' and 'Pa' to eight of the most amazing kids we could ever hope for (one of them is not pictured - he got there late).  I concluded that our stake leaders had NO confidence that we could deal with problem kids because they gave us a dream family :)

Last day dirt - that was the best shower EVER...

We got home from Trek and literally dropped our stuff and repacked to leave the next morning for Northern Cal... Again.  Definitely starting to feel like home. D-Man taught some guys on the beach how to really play football

The kids braved 'real' Chinese food in Chinatown and found out it wasn't half bad...

Once we arrived back home, D-man partied with his soccer team

Anushka started sewing lessons. She made this skirt on her first try. It's especially miraculous because it took her mother not one, not two, but TWELVE tries to make a flippin' book cover. No lie.

School started up way too soon (July 25)

Anushka with her buddy Emily on their way to school

D-man with a couple of his good pals Isaac and Sophia...Yep - they're eating doughnuts.

Gotta tell ya, I'm liking the 'burbs.  Growing up downtown, we never had neighborhood 'first-day-of-school-doughnut-breakfasts'... I do remember getting my lunch money stolen from some big kid in the neighborhood.

I love this pic of the parade of kids and parents on their way to the first day. 

We also did a little camping up in the Uintahs with BB's, parents, big sis and her family.  We had a great time hiking Bald Mountain

That's D-man up there in the cowboy hat

Love this state we live in.

They didn't catch anything but found a couple dead ones that made the day exciting

Last time we were here, Anushka was about 18 months old so she wouldn't pose in the hollowed out tree...

GO DAWN!!

(Photo courtesy of NBC's site where I ripped it off)

So the reason 'Survivor' is in my title is because my friend Dawn is a contestant this season.  She was already a rock star in our neck of the woods and now everyone will understand why...  She's smart, energetic, hilarious and you should see her flex those guns (I hope she does it on tv). 

OK good night now...

D-Man is no longer a K-Man

His first year of soccer is finished...

His last game, he kicked the ball about 25 times... which was about the total of all the other games combined... So progress!

His zoo program is complete.  He was a coyote from the desert.  BB made that cool coyote hat.  His besties were lady bugs and a lion...
If this picture were more accurate, D-man's teacher would have a halo abover her head instead of a cactus.  I seriously don't know how any other teacher is going to measure up... We are SO grateful!

Happy Birthday BB

Happy birthday to the coolest guy I know...
He's lived on three continents and speaks 3 languages
He can snow board, ski, rock climb AND make killer stir fry
He is freakin' smart - 99th percentile on the GMAT baby...
He's a food daredevil and will seriously try anything
I have never met a kinder person.  Ever.

If it weren't for him, I'd probably never:
-Climb Angel's Landing
-Have a goal to visit all 50 states (and be only 3 away)
-Embrace winter sports
-Sing the song 'I love my bed'
-Been the mother of Anushka and D-man (duh)

His kids like him because he:
-Keeps them safe
-Signs them up for soccer (he got credit for something I actually did)
-Plays with them
-Reads with them
-Is funny

Here are my 3 favorite people in my favorite place on earth.

ps - I really like that he wears all kinds of hats...

Huntin' Eggs and Climbin' Rocks

OK - it is May 17 and it is COLD. Like barely out of the 30s cold. Easter has come and gone and I'm feeling like a big whiner because I am SO sick of needing blankets and fuzzy socks and the heater on in the house. Nevertheless, there has been some fun to be had...

The kids had some Easter fun with the cousins...

Proof that, despite being much more of a fashionista than me, Anushka truly is my daughter:

Last night the kids did their first outdoor rock climbing.  Along with cousin Matt, the kids donned helmets and harnesses and scaled a pretty good wall: