Photos of Moi

Jenna was standing on her bed and took this photo of me. I had just done my make up, and I liked how it turned out. I don't like photos of me. I have gained a ton of weight (no pun intended) these past few years, and I usually look like Jabba The Hut more than myself. So this was a fun one. It reminded me that I was once pretty and possibly still could be if I lost some weight. Looking up is always a good angle. It hides the chin. Haha.

Mother's Day

Shout out to my man who made me a delicious Shepherd's Pie for dinner. He was up early with a horrid headache, but he prepped food, set up a delicious spread for our church sisters, cleaned it up and continued serving when he came home. He made a delicious meal and he did the dishes! He's a on-of-a-kind, outstanding man. Love you Kelly! Thank you for making my Mother's Day special.

Concert Night!

Comic Con International 2015 San Diego, CA

Heather and I made a quick dash to San Diego for Comic Con International 2015. Girls Camp at Kolob was the next day, but we were able to squeeze in one day (our friend Jennifer Holmstrom got the tickets for us back in February when we were in the mountains for Youth Conference and unable to get on-line). Oh did we have fun.

We stayed at a B&B on Coronado Island, and I figured out how to take the bus system over to the convention center so we didn't have to worry about parking. That was all a little stressful as are most things I do for the first time (I'd rather know exactly what to expect), but we did it. The venue was SO crowded, and I worried that I wouldn't be able to help facilitate a great experience for Heather. We had fun walking the exhibit floor for a long time, and when we were ready for a break, we decided to go to Ballroom 20 a couple of hours early. This was where Steven Moffat and the BBC Sherlock panel was going to be. We figured we'd get to the line early and sit awhile since it would be popular and we were tired anyway. We didn't expect to have the experience we did.

There was no line, and the attendants gave us a ticket right away to walk in and sit. We sat about midway back from the panels who were up. It was CBS which we don't watch much of, but we were able to be entertained while resting our feet. We saw Hallie Berry (from XMen) and Billy Burke (from Twilight). Then Bradley Cooper did a video intro for Limitless which we watched the first episode of. That was fun because we'd seen the movie a couple of years before. I noticed that after each CBS segment (there were 5 shows paneling), people would get up and move or leave. So I left Heather in our not too bad seats to go look and see if we could get closer. I made friends with a couple sitting about 10 rows from the front and found out they were leaving at the end of CBS, so I asked if they minded if we took their seats when they were done. They were fine with that, so we met them up front when CBS was done. This was such a great find because it's so much more fun to see the actors up close than on the jumbotron (if you can). We were able to see great. But there's more...

The actor who plays Moriarty was schedule to appear but could not. He was working on Spectre which was a bit of a secret at the time. He gave a great video presentation and even brought Benedict Cumberatch and Mark Gatis in on the call. It was pretty funny. Then at the end, he went into Moriarty and said, "Miss me?"  The whole room screamed.  It was awesome.  But there's still more...

Steven Moffat was hilarious and Rupert (Inspector LeStrad) was pretty great too. When the question and answer session came up, Heather jumped up and ran back to the line. They ended up cutting the line off just after her, so she was able to step up and ask Steven Moffat a question (see pics of her smiling self and then on the jumbotron). The boy in front of her asked the question she had prepared, so she had to QUICK come up with another one or they wouldn't let her up there. She did, brilliantly, come up with one that Steven Moffat enjoyed.  She asked if it was true that they almost didn't cast Benedict Cumberbatch because he wasn't good looking enough. Rumor denied, and they talked for a minute about his appeal to the audience.  So proud of my girl.

Mission accomplished! She had an epic experience at her first ComicCon. We got a bonus when later we were allowed in the BBC merchandise line that was closed (we'd tried two other times that day and the line was capped). The guy who let us in was very kind when he saw our faces and learned it was our only day there. We must have looked dazed as we walked away because he called us back while we were still standing close by wondering where to go next. It was awesome. We were able to get our Sherlock zipper hoodies and Heather got some more sherlock and Dr. Who merch.

We figured out how to take the ferry back to the island to get our car and headed home. We may not be able to do this ComicCon again, but we now have memories to last a lifetime.

Mother Daughter Relief Society Night

 It was Mother-Daughter Relief Society Meeting night! It was so nice to have all the Young Women there with their mommas. The Peterson gals participated in the cookie icing project. Sister Hinkson is the master icing guru (she is the one who has made the gorgeous cookies for us at Christmas!), and it was fun to try doing this ourselves. It will take more practice, but we have her recipes for cookies and icing now which will be a treasure.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day included Shepherd's Pie and a beautiful cake. The girls chose the meal which Kelly cooked, and they decorated the cake too. It was all delicious! We hung out the rest of the night. Kelly and Jenna played Battleship while Sariah watched. It was cute. Feeling the love today.

Selling the Play Set

It is time. We've had to come to terms with the fact that although beautiful, our play set has been sitting vacant in our back yard for quite some time. Gone are the years of activity when neighbors, family and sisters escaped to the swings or the fort. Gone are the hours of water play, swinging and climbing. The girls are adult-size now, and it's hard for them to even fit through the openings in and out of the structure. I've held onto it longer than I should because a little piece of my heart is out there in the backyard, tied to the play set.  Thank goodness for pictures.  

We invited our closest neighbors over to say good-bye. Here they are years ago and then now. Time has flown.  No kidding.

The morning the new family was to come and remove it, I went outside to take pictures. I took pictures from every angle blinking through tears. I wanted to remember every moment, every giggle, every smile and squeal of joy. Oh my heart. I'm still teary typing this. After I said good-bye, we went off to church. When we came home, it was half gone. And then gone for good. The yard is empty now, but we will always have our memories. We hope the new family (cute little boy and girl whose mommy is from Scotland where the parents met) will enjoy it just as much as we have.

Watching Jenna Grow

Watching Jenna grow into a young woman has been kind of fun.  Heather and I have had the same passion for reading books, watching movies and hanging out with our friends.  Jenna doesn't care much for books or movies.  She likes spending time with friends, and she is really, really, artistic and creative.  She loves hairstyles and nail styles.  She recently purchased a stand for her nail polishes that she's collecting, and she's saving her money for some other supplies.  She frequently asks if she can try braiding my hair, and she does a great job.  She is wearing a little make up, and it's great to see her caring about her appearance.  Her friends are a big part of her life, and our photo stream is often filled with selfies and friend pictures.  Jenna will be mortified that I have written this post, but by the time she reads it, I'm hoping she'll let me have my indulgence in posting about my amazing daughter and the young woman she is becoming.  When she's older and away from home, I'll be happy to have documented these moments.  Besides, none of her friends read my blog, so there is no chance of me damaging her social life, right?

Jenna's Last Day of Freedom

On Jenna's last day of freedom, we went and had mani-pedis.  Jenna picked some cool colors, and the girls at the salon put flowers on for free.  We also spent some time shopping for accessories and last minute school clothes and supplies.  She picked up some fun accessories for her outfits.  It was great to have one last mother-daughter outing before school starts tomorrow.  Jenna is super fun to shop with too.

Patriotic Concert

Heather and I attended OCMCO's patriotic concert tonight.  It was the best of the two concerts I've seen as an audience member.  I miss singing in the choir, but it was a treat to hear the beautiful music and see what they did with the lighting this time around.  Glenn Beck narrated, and there was some interesting history revealed in-between the great musical selections.  Brandon played the piano which was simply amazing.  There isn't really a good enough adjective to describe what it's like to watch and hear him play.  We were so happy that he was playing at this concert.  It was so fun to be with my girl who enjoys music with me.  She was a supportive friend to her Concert Choir friends tonight, and a great date who appreciated all the aspects of the concert that I did.

A High School Early Release Day!

You might be wondering why this title was posted with such exuberance? Well, we've discovered that early release days and lunches with mom are a thing of the past when one enters high school.  Over the years during elementary and middle school, the girls and I have enjoyed lunches out now and then.  Heather gets a late start morning on Mondays now, but it doesn't mean much because she still gets up for Seminary at 5:45 a.m.  So, when there was an unexpected early release on Friday after finals, we took full advantage!  Lunch at Corner Bakery and then some shopping at T.J.Maxx.  What more could we ask for?  Especially when Heather scored some great boots!  I love this girl and loved spending some silly time with her in the middle of her hectic and stressful school life.  Can't wait for the next time we get to do this!

The Little Things

•  Sunday afternoon...Heather reading and Jenna sewing
•  The card Jenna was sewing on...a 'thank you' for me for all I do
•  Finished off the last of the lunch box notes

We are enjoying 9:00 a.m. church.  The afternoons are relaxing, and I was loving the girls' choices on Sunday.  Jenna learned how to sew with embroidery floss on card stock at her teacher craft day.  She loves creating!  The lunchbox notes have been super fun all year.  I found them via Pinterest, and there have been a variety of jokes based on seasons.  These last few were generic.  I don't know how cool it is to have these notes in the lunches, but the girls have never asked me to stop putting them in there.  They secretly love it, right?  I loved doing it and hope that it will add to the fun memories of mom when they're older and looking back on their childhoods.

Mother's Day

A lovely breakfast, treats at church, and a yummy dinner were enjoyed today.  I even got my own box of See's truffles.  I felt loved.  Our little birds are growing up out in the nest, and their momma seemed to be off today.  Just goes to show you that the babies will eventually grow up and leave the nest.  I'm okay that we humans take more time with the process and get to enjoy mothering our babies just a little bit longer.