Grandparents day at school......

We were lucky that while we were in Utah over Thanksgiving, they were having Grandparents Day at our grandson's, Derek, school. It was fun to visit in his class room and go to the different stations with him and see how smart he is, surely the smartest in the class. We went to the reading station and he read "Hop on Pop" to us. We went the the math station and played Math Facts Bingo, and them we went to the Art center and made Thanksgiving cards. It was plain to see that Derek is not only the smartest in his 1st grade class, but also the most handsome, probably because he has such good looking grandparents. I think he just might be a brilliant scientist when he grows up.

Happiness in Hilton Head

We had a great time last week in Hilton Head South Carolina. We went because we have always heard about Hilton Head and now seemed like a great time to go. We had a great time and it is a fun place to go if you like golf and the beach.

Our first day at Hilton Head was of course golfing. We golfed at Royal Plantation, it had trees everywhere. Pines and big oak trees lined the course with moss hanging down from the trees. You had to watch out where the ball landed. Craig was the only one willing to get close to the alligator. We rode bikes on the beach, the tide was coming in on the way back so we had to ride fast. Craig and Nicole left for Minnesota after four days, so we took them to Savannah and spent the day touring the city. I fell in love with Savannah! It is a beautiful old city, the only city that General Sherman didn't burn in Georgia during the Civil War. It has beautiful old houses and fountains and we had lunch in an old cotton warehouse turned into a restaurant on the water front. The streets are still paved with cobblestones and bricks.

"Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try."

Book Club read for November

I just finished having book club here, it is always insightful and interesting to see if anyone likes the book that you have picked. It is also a great excuse to try out new recipes on my friends.
Everyone liked the book and the food. I liked this book because it makes you realize that, yes, one person can make a difference. That if anyone put their heart and soul into working for a cause that they truly loved, you can make a change. After reading this book I wanted to find someone/something I could do to help make this world a little better place, still looking for that.If you are looking for a good book, give it a try, the writing isn't the best but the story is great, it makes you think.

I also made up these little tiles, with help from my niece Joy(http://www.fullofjoyvinylstickers.blogspot.com) to pass out to a ladies who were there.

Whenever I think of this saying, I remember my dad singing this song, usually on Sunday afternoon when I was laying around doing nothing, trying to sleep before church again in the afternoon (yes I'm that old) I hated it. Now I sing it in my mind all the time, darn those parents.

Time waits for no man...or woman

Just when you think that $25 jar of wrinkle cream is working, someone, or some little kid, comes along and sees more wrinkles than you ever see in the mirror. Here is my story:

Steve and I walk every morning, almost. While we were walking the other day, we saw two little boys from church riding their bikes to school in front of us. One of the boys, Micah, fell off his bike and was laying on the ground in some kins of trouble and appeared to be upset over something. When we reached the boys we found that Micah had gotten his scarf wrapped around the inside of the peddle sprocket. He still had his scarf around his neck and couldn't get it off the pedal or his neck. Steve and I stopped and helped him, I took the scarf off his neck and Steve turned his bike upside down and unwound it from the bike. It didn't take long and wasn't that hard to do and soon Micah was on his way to school.

I saw Micah's dad a few days later and told him the story. The next morning Micah's mom, Kelly, called me and this is Micah's side of the story after Kelly asked him about it:

Yes, he did have some trouble with his scarf and bike and two old people stopped to help him. Kelli asked how he knew they were old, Micah replied: They had white hair and wrinkles. His brother then said he didn't think they were that old, he thought they were from church.

So there you have it. Steve and I are now the old people from church with white hair and wrinkles! Excuse me while I go eat a pan of rice crispy squares. :>(

P.S. I still trying to figure out why he was wearning a scarf when it was 80 degrees that day.

He's Back........

Scott is now home! It is wonderful to have him back, still the same kid who left, but in so many other ways, a very different young man. He seems a bit thinner, but that will change soon if I keep making a different dessert every night. I'm saving the triffle for next Sunday, when everyone comes to hear him talk in Sacrament meeting. He sometimes wonders around the house just looking at things, it is funny when he takes a shower you can hear him really enjoying it; like he hasn't taken a real shower in two years! His English is pretty good but he sometimes struggles to find the right word to say. He did a good job Saturday night at Stake conference. You could see him trying to find the right English word for his testimony. One reason it took so long to make this blog, I now am sharing my computer with him, I had to kick him off to write this.
He has grown into a fine young man and had a good mission experience. We are lucky to have him for our son.

Only 1 more day.........

Only 2 more days....

We are getting ready for Scott to come home, his closet is cleaned out, I'm going shopping today to buy him a few clothes so he has something to wear. I looked at the clothes he had saved, and they really look out of style, not that I know what is in style for kids today. I'll just head over to Old Navy and pick up a few things. Our list of things for him to do is getting longer, like trimming the bushes, cutting the vines from the neighbor's plants that have grown over our fence, cleaning out the gutters, cleaning out the garage, fun stuff like that.

The count down continues....... 3 days to go

In only 3 days Scott will be home from Brazil.

In his last letter home , Scott gave a list of all the foods he hasn't eaten in 2 years, it looks like I'll be busy cooking for a while. But he couldn't just pin down one thing to have on Friday night, seems like I will have to decide. I hate that, just tell me what you want!

The count down begins....... 4 days to go

In only 4 days Scott will be home from Brazil. It sometimes seems to have gone by fast, but at other times, it feels like it has been a very long time since we have seen him. We can hardly wait to see the young man that our awkward teenager has grown into. His letters don't begin to tell this story, we just have gotten glances into this wonderful young man. So, we will soon find out in only 4 days! He already has 2 speaking assignments, one on Saturday and the other in Sacrament meeting on October 26, 12:30, see you there! He lands at 12:00 noon in Fresno.

Last Monday in Brazil

In his last letter home today, Scott gave a list of all the foods he hasn't eaten in 2 years, it looks like I'll be busy cooking for a while. But he couldn't just pin down one thing to have on Friday night.

Sometimes you just have to take a stand... literally

A lot of us would rather hang upside down than be political. All those years of says the Young Women's motto of taking a stand, the test is now. Will I "stand as witness of God at all times and in all things, and in all places"? Prop 8 (www.protectmarriage.com) has sure made us all think about that. To find out what the church's stand is and what they expect of the members, go to: http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/. This morning, with members of the ward and Clovis 3rd ward we took a stand on the corners of Shaw & Willow. Luckily we didn't get any things thrown at us. And it wasn't hard to hold up a sign for an hour. Hope everyone is doing their part to make sure this prop is passed. Where do you stand? Are you registered to vote? Are you doing all you can to help keep marriage as the Lord intended it to be.

Fall tripping

Somewhere in time....walking through history

We started out in Springfield Illinois, land of Lincoln. We went to the Lincoln museum, the Old State house, Lincoln's law office, Lincoln's house, Lincoln's church, Lincoln's tomb. It was great.

After going through everything, I had such a feeling of compassion for all the things this wonderful man suffered. It was a look into history, to understand who this man was. The Museum was wonderful, as was everything Lincoln we saw that day. We were only there one day so we saw as much as we could.

Next stop was Carthage Illinois. It was very sobering to be here, where Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed.

We spent two and 1/2 days in Nauvoo. We went to the temple and visited all the spots

Next up was a drive across Iowa to Winter Quarters Nebraska, Council Bluffs Iowa. It took us just 5 hours, the saints 4 months.


On to Missouri, Adam-ondi-Ahman, Far West, Haun's Mill,Liberty Jail & Independence.

I can't begin to write about everything we saw, it was sometimes funny, sometimes sobering, sometimes moving us to tears. It was a trip that made you think about all you have been blessed with because of the suffering and perseverance of others. Because of others willingness to follow and obey, give up the luxuries they enjoyed, I am here, where I am today because of them. It makes me think, what am I willing to give up, to do without, to suffer because of the things I believe in.

The last day we didn't fly out until 3:00, so we went to the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. The ride to the top was like a ride a Disneyland. You sat in little pods that titled with the arch. There are windows at the very top. It is one of those things you have to do, but don't really want to. When you look out the windows at the top, you are looking straight down, it was a really eary feeling. We didn't stay up there too long. I kept thinking that the arch was going to fall over, how does that things stay up?

Falling into sewing....

From this ......I wanted a table runner to go with my fall decor but couldn't find anything I liked. I was at my friends, Rebecca Sorenson, and of course she had one that she had quilted. She got me started on the right tract and I spent the week making one. It was fun sewing again, I just don't like lugging out the sewing machine from the closet. But the finished project turned out pretty good. I happy with it. Now I just have to get into the fall spirit (it is kind of hard when it is still warm out. Hopefully on our trip to Nauvoo and various church history sites this week, the weather will be cool.

To this

Yosemite through anothers eyes....

It is always good when we can get to Yosemite anytime during the year. We were able to go last Monday for the day. We had the sister missionaries for dinner about three weeks ago and in talking with them they had never seen Yosemite. Steve just couldn't stand for this, so he told them we would take them. Their P-Day was Monday and we picked them up at 6:30 a.m. (not so early for them, but it was early for me). It is so fun to see the reaction of people when they first see "our favorite place on earth". We went up to Glacier Point first. Of course the view, as always, was perfect. They really like it, then it was down to the valley. Unfortunately there wasn't much water in the falls, zero in Yosemite, a trickle in Bridalveil. We took the shuttle up to Happy Isles and walked around a bit, pointed out the rock fall, how the big flood had washed out the bridges and such. We walked back along the river and had a snack, then walked over to the Ahwahnee, it is such a beautiful old hotel. They both wanted to come back and stay there. We had lunch in the village enjoying the outdoors and people watching. I don't think anyone went by without the sister saying hi to.
They had to be home by 5:45 so capped off the day with a stop at El Cap meadow, they were so impressed that we could pick out the climbers on the wall. It was a wonderful day, thanks Sister Needs and Sister Dreschell.

Scott's turning 21!

Here are 21 reasons why we love Scott

1. What's not to love ................ 2.He's cute


4.Looked good in a bathing suite 5.A great goalie

6.Liked soccer..................... 7. He used to smile

8.Loved baseball....................... 9.Had fun everywhere


10. Looks great in a tux......... 11. Liked going to church


12. Liked hiking with his brother......13. Loved Yosemite


14. Liked fishing with 15. Kind of liked piano lessons
his brother-in-law

16. Likes Lake Powell............17. Wanted to be a missionary


18. Still a great kicker......19. An example to all on the team


20. He loves life.....................21. He loves Brazil
Scott turns 21 on Sunday, I know he would love to hear from you, send him a birthday greeting he reads his mail on Monday, his P-Day.
saunders@myldsmail.net