This Month is Such a Special One . . .

This month is such a special one,
it's birthday time for you . . .

We'd really like to celebrate
this happy day with you!

So zippity ay and heigh dee ho
there's something we can do . . .

We'll sing a song that we all know
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!


That's me, singing my favorite birthday song to a couple of the favorite men in my life.

Today is Norm's birthday, he's one past the big one today. I know sometimes he wondered if he'd ever last this long. Thankfully for me, I finally think he's outgrown the motorcycle riding, the skydiving and the holding your breath under water in a bucket game.

(a very old photo I dug up from 1977 when Norm used to jump out of airplanes with his best friend Scott)

Tuesday - it was the birthday of my first born. An experience that never fails to fill a parent with wonder, somehow just one notch above the wonderment of each proceeding childbirth experience. Dustin and Cami celebrated all by their lonesomes in Raleigh North Carolina. I don't know if they missed us (I understand they made homemade ice cream!) but we celebrated and we certainly missed them. I love that Cami blogged about it! (Happy Birthday - Dustin) Now if I can just figure out this webcam thing and the skype thing . . .

(Another birthday, a very long time ago . . . like 25 years ago)

And so . . . best wishes for these two special men in my life.

Happy Birthday to you!

And may you accomplish all your greatest desires for this upcoming new year.

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Our Parable of the Peach Trees

Every year at this time of year the dilemma of how to prune the fruit trees comes upon my husband and I. It's always been my husbands job, not exactly officially, but he's always been the one to haul the ladder out, climb up to the top of the trees with the loppers and prune away. I always have an opinion, but do I climb up to the top of the trees with the loppers? No way! So I just have to be the supportive one and say, "looks lovely dear", "once again, you've done a wonderful job"!

(wild untrimmed tree on left - vs - pruned tree on right)

But frequently I'm really asking myself, "I don't think that's exactly how the trees are SUPPOSED to look". So this year, I took an active role . . . I volunteered the husband to go to a tree pruning workshop in our community at Thanksgiving Point. A wonderfully marvelous garden nearby our home that teaches fantastic gardening classes each Spring. What could be better? Let's just find out how you really ARE supposed to prune those fruit trees!

And to be a supportive wife, I signed myself up to attend the class with him. Mostly, just to have a chance to go do something together, and maybe two heads would actually be better than one.

Oh no! Come the day of the class the husband had a conflict with another important meeting . . . I would have to go to the class by myself or lose the tuition. Bummer! (I don't really WANT to learn how to prune fruit trees - awwwh!) But I went. And it was actually a really good class.

My favorite tidbit of knowledge gleaned was, " you really can't ruin the fruit tree with bad pruning". Oh thank goodness! I was really worried after last year! It wasn't our best year for fruit tree pruning. And I came home with some really helpful information about the suggested way to prune a tree.

So the next week, there I am, out on the ladder, loppers in hand trying to prune the ______ fruit trees! It was harder than I thought! Our trees didn't look anything like the ones in the videos or the handouts. Pretty soon I'm taking out branches here and branches there, trying to follow the guidelines I'd been given. But ouch! It was kind of painful! These were hard decisions. I was tempted to just forget the whole thing . . . I mean what happens if you don't prune at all? I remembered the master gardener saying that it actually protects the tree, and gives the tree the opportunity to produce greater fruit and really reach it's full potential. If you leave ALL the branches on the tree, the tree can become overwhelmed with poor fruit, break apart in places, and maybe in reality lose the WHOLE tree!

(this is my first tree that I pruned - so proud)

While I'm standing on the top of this ladder, my head amidst the branches, I'm starting to see a parallel here . . . this must be how Heavenly Father feels when he sees us overloading our lives down here on earth. Over scheduling each minute of the day. Trying to be involved in so many . . . TOO many good things. He must be whispering, "wait, that's not an important branch there", that one isn't going to do you any good REALLY!", "wait, that branch is going to interfere with the most important branch over there that really provides the strength of your tree!"

Have we received counsel to "prune our branches"? And just like pruning the fruit trees, it CAN be painful! Cutting branches here and cutting branches there, how to decide? Which one do you leave and which one do you take out? And just like the counsel of the master gardener we have received some guidance about which ones to leave and which ones to take.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks "Good, Better, Best" talk comes to mind as one of the best!

"We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families."

If you haven't reviewed that talk recently, maybe now would be a good time. I know that's what I'm going to do right now.

After all - I need all the help with pruning I can get. . .

I must admit, my husband did come along after I did three of our seven fruit trees and rescue me. That's why you see a photo of him up in the trees with the loppers. After all, I am the picture taker . . .

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Four Dates . . . . Nine Days

In an extremely rare circumstance, which I'm quite sure hasn't occured in the last 28 years of our marriage, my husband and I discovered that we've actually been on

four dates together in the last nine days

Usually - we try to reserve Friday nights as our "Date Night" out. But usually, even that is kind of hit and miss. So I don't know what exactly got into us this last week but we've actually had a lot of together time.

Day 1 started off with a little weekend get-away provided by a company my husband does some volunteer work for, and they were providing educational workshops for the volunteers at a beautiful hotel downtown in Salt Lake City. That was a lovely way to start things off and we hated to leave and come back to the real world back home.


Day 6 - we had some friends we don't get to see often call and invite to come join them for dinner. They live in a canyon just east of Springville, Utah - and we had a beautiful drive to travel there, and enjoyed all the signs that spring is perhaps arriving at last.




Day 8 - Alpine City's Time Out for Family - Guest speaker, and dinner at the Blue Lemon, a lovely little new bisto located in the heart of downtown Highland, Utah! We couldn't make up our minds what to order so we tried several things and can vouch for all of them . . . the sweet potato french fries, the tomato bisque soup, the oriental chicken salad and the fish tacos! Can't go wrong with any of them!

Day 9 - The Phantom at Hale Center Theatre. We have long been fans of the Hale Center Theatre and have enjoyed taking our family there over the years. Their production of Phantom was so enjoyable. A very unique story in contast to the Andrew Lloyd Webber version - it was also a beautiful musical with some great tremendous talent.


Lest you think we were neglecting our parental duties - we gathered all the little children up, handed out water bottles and granola bars before locking them in the bathroom :) (evil laugh - ah hhhhhaaaa!)

(Actually - no, Kelsie was enjoying a spring break down in St. George with her cousins and grandparents. Which is another adventure I'll be blogging about soon.

Let's just say - it's a good thing she called AFTER the hike to Angels Landing.

(don't you think that I am just Blissfulllllyyyyy Dommmmestic!)

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Still . . . Head Over Heels

Valentines day
was wonderful!



How can you go wrong with a day set aside to express your love to all those you love the most? So in honor of the day - here is a tribute to the one I love the most!



(who spoils me - and I love it!)

What I Like About You -

You bring me hot cocoa with whip cream in bed every morning.
You make wicked caramel popcorn.


You let me snuggle up to you at night with freezing fingers and toes.
You squeegee down the shower!
Your side of the closet is so neat and orderly.
You love to have friends and family over to the house.
You are handsome.
You let me have TWO dogs and TWO cats.
You make fantastic omelets.
You buy me MOOSE TRACKS ice cream.
You always serve with all your heart, might, mind and strength.
I love your gorgeous blue eyes.
You are a fantastic houseboat capitan at Lake Powell.

I seldom do dishes.
You still scoop the doggie doo even though I say I'm going to do it . . .
I always find the cubbie in my car full of quarters.
You never complain about the birdseed all over the tidy backyard.
You look dashing with gray hair.
Our children have the best good example of a husband and father there could ever be.
You're concerned about being healthy.
You've really saved us so much money over the years.
(not to be confused with all the money I SAVE by buying STUFF on sale)
You bought me a MacBook Pro and yourself a Dell.
You teach gospel principals in everything you do.
You love Paris almost as much as I do.

I'm so glad you've been my VALENTINE these last 28 1/6 years.

Love you!

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