Traveling Companion

Ode To My Bag…

This bag pictured above is one of my most prized possessions.

I have had it now for 7 years.

S-E-V-E-N years.

That is correct.

And the most amazing thing is I have never, ever had a problem with it.

Not once has it broken on me.

The handles are ridiculously durable.

And don’t even get me started on the pockets.

There is one on the side that is open…so easily accessible.

There is a zipper one on the other side for things I need to keep safe.

And of course the big one right smack down the middle that has been

zipped open and closed possibly hundreds of times.

And the handles…

It has a big strap if I need to carry it on my shoulder.

But it also has the two little ones if you want

to carry it like a duffle bag.

It is glorious.

But it has traveled with me almost everywhere I go.

It has been a constant, loyal, dependable, traveling companion.

1.    Flagstaff, Arizona

2.    Salt Lake City, Utah

3.    Palmyra, New York

4.    Harmony, Pennsylvania

5.    Kirtland, Ohio

6.    Chicago, Illinois

7.    Baltimore, Maryland

8.    Provo, Utah

9.    Ontario, California

10. Niagra Falls, Canada

11. Los Angeles, California

12. Fish Lake, Utah

13. Heber, Arizona

14. Ensenada, Mexico

15. Fruita, Colorado

It may be fair to say that I may never part from this bag.

And yes I am proud (kind of) to admit it is my

cheer bag from good ol’ MHS. 

Bandwagon

Well I have officially jumped on the

IPod touch bandwagon,

and I am here to say…

I am loving every minute of it.

Thank you Apple people.

I Am Like A Star

We had our stake Achievement Day activity this past Saturday and it was a lot of fun.  The theme was, “I Am a Daughter of  a King” and they gave each girl a tiara and explained in different classes about the importance of the scriptures, the Holy Ghost, purity and modesty, the temple, eating healthy and keeping our bodies clean.  It was so fun and during the opening exercises our stake president spoke and I thought to myself, “I am a daughter of a king.”  It was funny.  Well not funny, but I was really moved by the things he said and how these special girls need to feel special and loved because they are daughters of our Heavenly Father.  The eight girls that I have are so fun and have quite the personalities and I enjoy working with them.  I am still getting use to them calling me Sister Parker.  It makes me feel old.

For our little dance we sang to “I am Like a Star” and did a little dance.  It was super simple but cute and they were such good sports.  I was so excited about their star headbands.  The shirts didn’t turn out the way I pictured but it worked out just fine. 

Roxy, Ashton, Bailee, Emily, Karson

I will most likely be moving out in a couple of months so I will be sad to be released.  So for now, I am just going to keep enjoying them.  Our next activity is neighborhood cleanup.  Isn’t that so exciting???!!!  I will need to come up with a fun craft and snack to go along with it. 

Weekend With the Fam

It was a great weekend with the family. We started with Dallin's football game as they demolished Dobson 42-6. It was great and Dallin did awesome! I am afraid my cheering side only comes out stronger when I have a brother playing.

Me and Rachel...sorry about the blurry picture.

I think this picture is so funny because I look so fixed on my texting conversation with Jake.

It must have been important....

Score at halftime...

And then we headed to Heber Saturday morning and I just had to take a picture of this gas pump. It is the oldest pump I have ever seen. When we pulled up, I was expecting an "out of order" sign but it totally worked!

It ended up just being my parents, me, Rachel and the boys since Alan and Danny had hw and Dallin had football. But we still had a lot of fun. It is so nice and pretty up there and so relaxing. It was great to get away.

On our way to the park...or should I say the death park! Oh my goodness. This park was SCREAMING liability and breakage of bones. The next few pictures will explain it all.

But first...you know those things that you sit on and spin around and around and around

and all you want to do is throw up? Well...don't you worry. It was there and I was so nauseated just looking at. But Kaden enjoyed it...until he went flying off and started to cry. Poor guy.

Ok display #1...are you kidding me?

Display #2...this slide was like 2 feet off the ground. You come sliding down and flying off. What child in their right mind would want to slide down this thing? Or more like...what mother would let them? I was even scared. JK.

My sister and I thought it was the craziest thing.

Display #3...Kaden is one of the most stubborn little boys I know and here he is trying to attempt the

impossible by himself at 3 years old, so obviously I had to step in. He was pretty nervous at this point in the decision.

And Display #4...are you really kidding me? If Kaden does it then Jack HAS to do it too. This is Kaden but the next couple are of Jack. I was laughing so hard by the end because Jack was so

bound and determined to complete this task. I mean seriously...check it out below...

Look at that determined faced! No fear!

And then to end on a light, safe note (sort of)...swings!

And we drove the quads. They were

OBSESSED with the bikes.

And then we came back this to the hot weather and headed to Olive Garden. Rachel and I dropped the kids off with Alan for a girl's day. We went to go see "All About Steven" and ended up walking out within the first 10 minutes. It was horrible! Do not go see it! But then we went and got some yogurt and did a little shopping.

It was a great weekend and this week is going to be good too. We have our Stake Achievement Day this weekend and my girls are going to be so cute in our dance. I am just super excited about their outfits. I got some more hours with SAVVY SPEECH and my substitute teaching certificate came in the mail. And...I signed up for the GRE! Say some extra prayers on October 28th. I will breathe a huge sigh of relief when that is over.

Oh and I just have to mention how proud I am to be a BYU Cougar. BYU beat Oklahoma 14-13 Saturday night. I am so proud!! It was awesome. It is going to be a good season. Sure wish I had my student tickets now.

Happy New Week!

A Matter Of Great Faith

A post like this makes me think I should go private but I also feel that maybe somewhere out there in cyperspace...someone needs to hear this too.

I didn't get much sleep last night. I woke up every hour on the clock and finally at about 5:45am I couldn't take it anymore and so I went for a run. And then I came home and went straight to the temple to clear my head and comtemplate my feelings.

Now I am not tooting my own horn here by saying I am going to the temple but just to give a little insight into why I needed some spiritual uplifting.

Steven and I broke up last night. I won't disclose the reasons of course but it is just not working for now or ever. Who knows? But I just need to keep having faith. He promises to always take care of us.

When I was a laurel I had gone to the temple to do baptisms. So as I was waiting outside the baptristy for my Laurel Class, I was watching a bride and groom take pictures. I wasn't thinking of much and especially not of getting married, but an older gentlement who had just left the temple noticed me watching this couple and he turned to me and said something I will never forget:

"It is all a matter of great faith!"

That simple statement has really carried me through my past relationships. I didn't think much of it at the time and wondered why he was telling me this, but I realize now why he was insprired to tell me with it being so difficult for me to find the person I want to spend my life with and marry.

Steven is one of the most incredible guys I have ever known. He wants to do the right thing and honors his Priesthood and takes it very seriously. He works so hard and his work ethic is one of the reasons I was so attracted to him. He is funny and we laugh all the time. Constantly.

And I will miss him!

"Be Not Afraid...but Believing"

But life is still good. I am working part time for a Speech Pathologist and loving every minute. I was born to be Mom, Wife, and a Speech Pathologist. I swear it is in my blood:) I work with a girl now with Asperger's disease which is a high functioning form of Autism and it is so wonderful. She is a hoot to work with and we have a lot of fun together. And I work with a few speech impediments and administer speech and language screenings. I am also substitute teaching and working for my parent's business manager. I take the GRE in October and it has been different trying to get back in the groove of studying. All the schools I plan to apply to are back east so that should be fun. If I don't get in for this next Fall, I will just keep doing my best.

My sister is due November 2nd, Dallin is expected to play a lot in this next game on Friday, and Spencer hit his one year mark a week ago.

So life is good. If there is one thing I have learned in my lifetime it is that we can never appreciate the sweet if we don't experience the bitter.

May we all be faithful and trusting in His All-Knowing Hand!

A Post Dedicated To....

CHEESE

I have never been a huge fan of cheese. In fact, I hardly ever

ate it growing up. I can not even begine to tell you how many times I have

said, "Hold the cheese please"

Well not actually the please part, but everywhere I go:

"I will have a turkey sandwhich with no cheese."

"Can I have a vegetarian pizza with no cheese."

(I actually take the cheese off of any kind of pizza..so silly)

"I am going to have the Veggie Burrito with no cheese."

"Um...can I have the ceasar salad with no cheese."

And on, and on and on...

My friends have been amazing tolerators of this thing I have about no cheese.

Kelli even makes separate dishes for me without cheese. When she makes her amazing chicken dip, she makes a separate bowl for me. Or those amazing southwestern thingies...she makes a few without cheese. Code does the same exact thing with her spinach artichoke dip.

And then after the chemo, my stomach wasn't able to tolerate dairy

and sugar for the longest time and it just put me more into

the habit of not eating cheese.

Well when I moved home a few months ago, my Mom made these incredible

cheese sandwhiches one day after church, and I have had a MAJOR

BREAK THROUGH.

I can not believe that I have been missing out on this fantastic piece

of amazingness for so long. I have had cheese on my

sandwhiches for the last 4 days and

it adds SO MUCH to a sandwhich. All this time

I have been eating just plain meat, on plain bread

with freakin spray butter nonetheless.

I even put cheese in my taco soup last week and

cheese on my hamburger.

Now I am aware of the fat content in cheese

and I have always been a little crazy about all that stuff

(as much as I hate to admit that)

but for now, I think I will continue

to eat cheese sparingly versus none at all.

But the other day at Rubios, I asked for my veggie burrito with

out cheese and my brother gave me a hard time.

Why? Because I told him about my new revelation concerning cheese.

But lets not get carried away. One menu item at a time.

Lena and Sifa's Wedding

Lena and Sifa were married this past Saturday in the Mesa temple and it was such a beautiful day (HOT, HOT but beautiful). Lena was absolutely stunning and Sifa looked so sharp in his BLACK tux. He was insistent on wearing a white one but succomed to Lena's wishes....thank heavens:)

They looked so happy and it was so wonderful to see these two FINALLY tie the knot. After living with Lena for a year and seeing Sifa on a daily basis, I have seen their relationship develop and it has only strengthened my belief in selfless love...and overlooking things that really don't matter.

Love you both!!

Precious....

I just love this picture for some reason. Having Sifa and Lena sitting in those 2 chairs makes

me feel like I am in living in the 19th century or something...anyone picking

up what I am throwing down???

Lena Marie Latu...has a great ring to it.

I just love this girl so much and she has been such an incredible blessing in my life.

There have been moments where I just think to myself, "I don't know

what I would have done without my sweet, wonderful, pure in heart Lena."