Independence Day 2017

July Forth was was definitely different than any other year yet.  Bo was in Alaska and we were in Declo.

After my surgery Gini and Dan were so nice to drive over and take the kids back to their house in Declo so I could rest up and give my knee a break.  We went over on Sunday morning.  Bo dropped my off and headed to Boise to catch his flight.  Carley came over too since Myles was with Bo.  We spent a few more days there and we headed back home. It was a fun weekend.

Rupert did not disappoint.  They had an awesome parade with lots of nicely decorated floats.  Declo had some fun fireworks too.

Thanks so much for all the help we got from Gini and Dan watching the kids.  And from my Mom bringing me treats. :)

We got a few fireworks to do during the day.  Classics like snakes and tanks.

 Treats after the parade

 The parade

Waiting for the fireworks

 The kids were also able to float the canal a couple of times.  They loved it and I had fun watching!

I'm Getting Old Much Earlier than I Thought I Would

Back when we were in Hawaii I remember squatting down to either put away laundry or tuck Caleb in and I though, "ouch" that hurt!  My knee has never healed.

In January, I decided to start running again with my Mom a couple of times a week (she works out daily and I was going to tag along with her). We started and my knee didn't like it.  I tried to just walk on it instead and do some weight lifting to see if that would help strengthen it but  that made it worse. I decided to stop and just baby my knee throughout the day and to see if it would get better.  Nope. I decided I'd better go get it checked out and the Dr. sent me to get an MRI done because he was pretty sure I had a torn meniscus.

Sure enough my meniscus was torn and I had a flap of cartilage hanging out behind me knee too. That doesn't repair itself and unless I had surgery it was just going to get worse over time. So, I had knee surgery on June 28.  I found out later I had two small tears in my meniscus, the flap removed, and my knee cap was kind of a mess.  He fixed all of those problems and now I'm just recovering.  It really hasn't been bad after the first 4 days or so.

10 days post op.  I had two small cuts and that was it. Pretty amazing they can do all that with two small cuts.

I can walk normal but I still can't bend my knee back as far as I could before.  It also gets a bit sore if I walk a lot. It will take about another month for all of the swelling to go down and to feel better.
We are so lucky to live in a time that surgery takes place while we sleep and doctors have noninvasive ways to do many surgeries.

Idaho Falls Temple Open House and Dedication

I have anxiously awaited the open house of the Idaho Falls Temple.  I couldn't wait to see the changes and most of all have what I call "my temple" open again.  We went through with some friends and then took the kids through.  It was so beautiful, of course.  The kids thought it was cool but haven't quite learned how blessed we truly are to have a nearby temple.  It was also nice to have all of us in the temple together.

The highlight of it all was when Bo and I were able to do and eight hour shift at the open house.  We had a nice spiritual meeting in the church by the temple before and they said it doesn't matter where you serve, you'll feel the spirit and it would be an amazing experience.  We thought we'd be in the break room, but as they replaced people throughout Bo and I ended up in the Celestial Room.

I never would have expected we'd end up there (and I know they said it didn't matter where we served) but it was such an amazing experience to spend so much time in the Celestial Room and welcome everyone in and see their faces as they entered and saw the beautiful room. People were amazed at the chandelier hanging from the ceiling and the beauty of it all.

Toward the end the groups got bigger and it was harder for the leaders to keep them moving along. They lingered longer and longer in the Celestial Room to the point that a security guard had to come up and keep them moving.  Even though the temple hadn't been dedicated it was very peaceful and the spirit was there.  Many felt it and I think that's why they were lingering.  I'm so grateful we were able to participate and serve in the Lord's House.

Celestial Room

Here are some of the pictures the church put out for us to use:

Creation Room

Garden Room

Telestial Room

Terestrial Room

A Sealing room

Baptismal Font 

Sunday, June 4, 2017 The Idaho Falls Temple was dedicated.  Five of the seven of our family were able to go.  I was so happy to be able to share the experience with them.

I love the temple.  Every time I go whether it's for knowledge, peace, or just to serve I leave feeling lighter and grateful.  Grateful to have been in such a sacred place away from the stresses and weight of life, grateful to have peace in my heart, grateful for my Savior and all he has done and continues to do for me, and grateful to be a part of Heavenly Father's Family and have an eternal family. This gospel is so perfect.  The more I learn and live it, the more I realize how perfect it really is.

Sheri Dew wrote a book called "No One Can Take Your Place" and in it she talked about the power we can receive from going to the temple.  She talked about the scripture D&C 109:22.  I had felt a change in my life as I tried to go to the temple as often as I could, but I didn't realize the help we received from the other side until I read this scripture:

Heavenly Father sure does love us!  His Plan of Happiness truly is the way to happiness in this life and in the world to come.

Idaho Falls Cultural Celebration

Hailey was able to participate in the cultural celebration for the Idaho Falls Temple.  Many hours of practice went into this production. It was spectacular!!! It was the same weekend as the reunion and we were told that we wouldn't be able to be there live so we made other plans.  It ended up that could have went, but we had the reunion the same weekend so we ended up watching online.  Hailey stayed at a friends house and we picked her up after it was over.

I couldn't believe how many kids got to participate.  Over 12,000 youth stood in the Holt Arena to celebrate.  They danced and sang.  It was an amazing performance.  Hailey had a great time but was EXHAUSTED.  They had two really full days.  Saturday morning they left around six AM and got home at eleven PM.

She stayed with a friend so I wasn't able to get a picture of her but here is a link to a cool song and a pic I was able to find.

It was pretty much impossible to see an individual person in that crowd.  Hailey was in the yellow group.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzmKc55zauE

Hailey- we are so proud of you and all the work you put in to participate in the show.  It took many hours and lots of energy.  You can do hard things and this is proof!

Bo's Family Reunion

The first week in June we had a family reunion with Bo's side.  We went to Island Park.  It was fun to  spend time with family and get to know Dan's kids better.  The boys fished a lot and the girls hung out and walked through Harriman State Park.  It was really neat.  When we were all together the kids had a great time making survival bracelets and watching movies.  I think everyone went home with at least seven.

I didn't take many picutres and I always regret it when I get lazy but,  here are the few I took.

Thanks Gini and Dan for all the planning and food!  You put a lot of work into everything and we had a great time!!