Re: Session

“Although times are tough, if people love to ski they will find the means to do it.”

That was one of my favorite quotes from a movie we saw last night, Re: Session. It’s a ski movie. An awesome ski movie. With great music (don't they all). 

Gordon’s work had a family ski movie night last night where they showed this movie in their sweet auditorium. Yummy flavored popcorn (I mixed the caramel and white chocolate flavors together…delightful), drinks, and prizes make for a marvelous free evening, especially when both of us won a prize (I got a super cute coin purse and Gordon won the grand prize – a gift card for dinner and a sweet ice-scraper).

Have I mention that I love his new job?!

hiking in the snow? that's crazy talk.

I really want to be an “outdoors person”. When I’m older I can see myself in funny eco-friendly shoes, sweaters, khakis, wearing little to no make-up, going on hikes everyday, sitting on my porch every morning looking at the beautiful mountain views and drinking my herbal teas…things of that sort.

Well I’ve come to realize that this sort of mentality and living isn’t going to happen overnight. So I’ve been practicing a few things. I’ve got the make-up thing down, I drink herbal teas daily, I look at the beautiful mountain views outside my window each morning…and right now I’m working on the hiking thing. Gordon and I went on hikes just about everyday this past summer. We didn’t have an excuse not to. The trails are too accessible not to take advantage of. But as soon as the snow came, I stopped. No one hikes in the winter time right? Wrong. My father-in-law hikes everyday. In the snow. While it’s snowing. Some call this snowshoeing.

I haven’t been snowshoeing since 5th grade. In 5th grade my class went to a place called The Environmental Center for an overnight field trip where we did different outdoor activities such as cross country skiing, hiking, and snowshoeing. I loved all the activities but snowshoeing. Walking with big plastic tennis rackets on my feet was not my idea of fun. My feet kept slipping out of them, I fell a lot, I was real slow...so I took them off halfway through and thought to myself “that’s the end of that”.

Well, we went snowshoeing this weekend with our ward. I was really nervous that my experience would be a lot like the one I had in 5th grade. But it wasn’t. Not at all. I had a blast. It was even snowing during some parts of the hike and I loved it. I told Gordon I want snowshoes so we can go hiking during the wintertime. He agreed. He usually does when it comes to outdoor activities. He is my mountain man after all.

yeah she's eleven and we wear the same size clothes...

It seems to be the week for birthdays in my family.

My sweet niece, Jade, has a birthday today.

Here are 5 reasons I love Jade.

1. She is one tough cookie. She has had to experience things in her life that no little kid should have to go through. But she’s a strong girl. And I’m proud of her.

2. She is smart. She loves to learn. She reads all the time. Her grades are fabulous. Her future will be bright.

3. She loves to shop. Hello, that’s one of my favorite things too!

4. She is pretty.  Watch out boys!

5. She is my favorite (and only) niece. It’s been fun to have a younger girl in the family to talk "girl talk" and do girl stuff with.

Happy Birthday Jade! I love you very much!

guess who's fourteen today and much taller than me?

My dear "little" nephew Skyler.

Here are 5 (okay 6) reasons I love Sklyer.

1. He is down right hilarious. He has us laughing to tears at Sunday dinners. He comes up with the best comebacks, phrases, one-liners…he’s a regular comedian (some say it runs in the family...)!

2. He is growing up to be quite the handsome youngman. Flawless olive skin, big brown eyes with eyelashes that make every girl jealous, beautiful smile (with naturally straight teeth), always smells good (which says a lot since most teenage boys are stinky), great style…the list goes on and on.  Awkward stage...what's that?

3. He keeps me young and hip. Don’t know who sings that song? He does. Need to know the latest phrase for ‘cool’? He’ll tell ya. Don’t know how to play any X-Box games but the car ones? He’ll teach ya.

4. He has good manners. I don’t know another fourteen year old that puts his dishes in the dishwasher immediately after he’s done with them, or wipes down the kitchen countertop if he’s made a mess, or keeps his room clean without being asked because he likes that way, or does his chores without whining, says please and thank you to everyone, and is pleasant to be around.

5. He’s not a quitter. When he first started playing football he wasn’t the best on his team. But he practiced hard, even while on vacation, and now, seven years later, he is pretty dang good.  One of the best on his team. And snowboarding…let’s just say he’s only been doing it for a year and he’s way better than me. Jumps and all.

6. He is my favorite (fourteen year old) nephew. We are very close. And the older he gets the more fun we have together. He’s not too cool to hang out with his aunt Jessie and uncle Gordon (yet)…he’ll still have the occasional sleep over too and those are my favorite.

Happy Birthday Skyler! I love you very much. And I can’t believe you’re fourteen!

we officially have a gaming system

The d.i. is quickly becoming my new favorite store. Like the old saying goes “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure” or something along those lines. We are finding that to be the case with the small treasures we have found at our local d.i. Take our latest find: Namco Original Arcade TV Games Video Game System. Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Mappy, Pole-Position and Xevious. Yes, these are the original games I remember playing at Peter Piper Pizza at all the kids birthday parties growing up. Now they are in the convenience of my home and are giving us (well mostly Gordon) hours of entertainment. Thank you d.i.

this makes me less bitter

I mentioned in an earlier post that Gordon gets a lot of sweet perks with his new job and that I was a little bitter about it.

If you can’t tell from these pictures, I’m not that bitter anymore. Gordon ordered me some sweet new exercise clothes and snowboarding helmet from his company to help reduce my bitter feelings (yes, I do get to take advantage of a very generous discount on apparel from his company). It appears to be working. He knows my weakness for new clothes, especially workout attire. I do kind of feel funny decked out in the same brand. But I’ll get over that pretty quickly I’m sure.

our valentine's

We celebrated all weekend long. Dinners at our favorite restaurants. Surprise breakfast on Valentine’s day from my husband. Adorable puppy card from the dogs (and Gordon). Got a full nights rest because Gordon took the dogs out instead of me. Yummy red Valentine’s dinner with chocolate molten cake for dessert at Gordon’s parents. And chocolate fondue for dinner another night.

I think I gained 5 pounds this weekend. But it was worth it.

I think Valentine's is becoming one of my favorite holidays.  I love LOVE.

cafe ville bella

I love food. Good food. And new restaurants.

I love enjoying good food in a new restaurant in the company of fantastic people.

I love these girls (yes we’re missing one very important girl, Keri, who couldn’t make it. Please keep her in your prayers…her grandpa, who is like a father to her, is very sick).

We talked a lot, laughed a lot, got caught up on each others lives, and made plans to not go so long without seeing each other again.

So until next time ladies.

we heart ogden.

4 feet of snow covered the streets of downtown Ogden this weekend. All in the name of Winterfest. Ski racing, snowboarding and rails, snow mobile racing, human bowling, snow sculpting, cross country skiing and snow shoeing, human dog sled races, fireworks, dog costume contest (no we didn’t enter our pooches…they need a hair cut bad) and much more were going on right on the streets of our city.

We have been super excited for this event since we heard about it a couple of months ago. It definitely was a sight to see and even greater sight to experience. Although neither of us participated in any of the events ourselves (Gordon tried… skijouring was full, and he got kicked off his work’s Human Dog Sled team because they found out there was a cash money prize and they were in it to win it - Gord is okay, he knew it might happen), we enjoyed the spectators view.

skijouring: being pulled behind a horse on skis/snowboard catching air on the jumps they flew over

The company Gordon works for sponsored a few events…even one they may not be so proud to sponsor anymore - Human Dog Sled Race. Well they didn’t exactly sponsor this event. They more or less sponsored one of the teams (the runners -their employees - got free shoes…probably to make them run faster...). We went to support them, being Gordon’s work friends and all. They almost won.

One of them fell in the final race causing their team to finish last.

Felt bad for them, well mostly felt badly for the guy that fell.

At least they had the look down with their matching shoes.  Professional right?

us at dinner one of the nights...i love the restaurants on 25th street.  delicious!

i love you more than...

i love you more than yoga.

i love you more than frozen yogurt with fruit on top.

i love you more than sleeping in on weekends.

i love you more than fancy warm beverages.

i love you more than breakfast for dinner.

i love you more than my favorite mustard yellow cardigan.

i love you more than the dogs.

i love you more than my favorite tv shows.

i love you more than fashion.

i love you more than good hair days.

i love you more than summer vacations.

i love you more than my favorite song.

i love you more than shopping.

i love you more than blogs.

i love you more than I did yesterday.

happy valentine’s day weekend my love.

four years later and i’m a snowboarder

With Gordon’s new job he gets many perks. Skiing and snowboarding for free is one of them (no I don’t get to take advantage of this perk; it’s just for him, like just about every other perk is…yes I’m bitter). He has taken full advantage of this perk. He is challenging himself to become a better snowboarder each time he goes. I didn’t think he really needed to be better. He’s my mentor and if he gets better that means I have to get better too.

Well I am. I can carve – continuously.

Four years later (going only two maybe three times a year mind you) and I can officially call myself a snowboarder.

I’ve just got to work on making it look effortless and smooth…and increase my speed. “Point the board straight down the hill” is what I hear Gordon saying to me on the mountain as he passes me by.

I’m working on it.

easy

I am beginning to not like the word 'easy'.  Would the meaningful things in life be as meaningful if they were easy? 

I want to know for myself that certain aspects of my church and gospel are true.  That takes a lot of work.  Work that is not easy.  Work that I know once I indulge myself in might become easier, but never completely easy.  Baring my testimony, going to institute, reading and understanding the scriptures, sharing comments in church, saying my personal prayers morning and night, being charitable...all of these things are not easy for me.

I want to do and have all of these things so I can know truth.  Wanting is a good start, but I've wanted these things for along time now.  Now it's time to do the work.  Work that is not easy.  Work that I can easily talk myself out of doing (and more frequently I do).

So I'm setting goals for myself.  And praying for myself that I will do these things better.  I know that I have a strong support system who is there for me, helping me, and being examples to me: my Heavenly Father, my Savior, my husband, my family, my friends.

I had another amazing lesson in Relief Society today.  It was on charity.  That's one of the things I need to work on.  Charity encompasses so many things.  With one attribute comes many more.

Sister West, who gave our lesson today, gave us two great quotes that I want to always remember and refer back to when I'm struggling gaining my own virtue of charity.

Charity is, perhaps, in many ways a misunderstood word.  We often equate charity with visiting the sick, taking in casseroles to those in need, or sharing our excess with those who are less fortunate.  But really, charity is much, much more.

Real charity is not something you give away; it is something that you acquire and make a part of yourself.  And when the virtue of charity becomes implanted in your heart, you are never the same again.

Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don't judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet.  Charity is accepting someone's differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings, having patience with someone who has let us down, or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn't handle something the way we might have hoped.  Charity is refusing to take advantage of another's weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us.  Charity is expecting the best of each other.

Marvin J. Ashton

In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something...The gospel of Jesus Christ is the plan by which we can become what children of God are supposed to become...Charity is something one becomes.

Dallin H. Oaks

I am grateful for the challenge I have to become something.  I know it won't be easy, and I'm grateful that it's not.  But I know it will be worth it.

My dear sweet husband is being an example to me, like always,

right now as he shows charity to one of our ward members who needed some help with his car today. 

On the way home from church he said to me that he was happy that this person felt like he could ask him for help.

Charity has been implanted in his heart. 

He doesn't think twice when someone asks him for help. 

I love him dearly.

sundance film festival twentyten

I went to my first Sundance movie last weekend with my sister and our friend Mandy. The movie ticket was real fancy looking. All shiny and had my name printed on it. Besides the crackling sound (I love old theaters like Peery’s Egyptian Theater, but sometimes the quality isn't all there) the movie was good (the main reason we saw The Romantics was because I have a small crush on Adam Brody…his role was small but great).

The food beforehand was better. I love gourmet food like mac and cheese and hamburgers. Oh wait, I love gourmet restaurants that serve foods like mac and cheese and hamburgers.  And their desserts are always fabulous.

To make the night even better it snowed. I love the snow.

We’re not big sports fans, but we played like we were Friday night

I don’t think we have ever had a basketball game, football game, golf tournament, tennis match, or any other televised sport on in our house. Gordon and I aren’t big sports fans. We do like to watch snow sports like skiing and snowboarding, but those are rarely on free public TV so we don’t watch those much either. But you wouldn’t have known that Friday night.

Friday night we were Utah Jazz fans. Shoot, I would dare say we were basketball fans Friday night. Gordon’s Mom gave us free tickets. The big seller wasn’t that the game was supposed to be a good one (and it was…Jazz won) but that there was free dinner before the game and free snacks during the game. Can’t pass up a deal like that.