Utah trip Pictures Part 2

After dropping Spencer off, we took off to Orem to stay with Amanda and Kevin for a week! We had loads of fun and adventures!

We got one more day with mom before she finally got to head home to Arkansas. May 28th til August 6th! I hope that she knows how much her sacrifice of time, home, and husband meant to so many people. As her daughter, I'm extremely proud of her. She has taught me service my entire life and this is just another example of serving those we love. Thank you , Mom!
While together in Orem, we celebrated my birthday. Mom, Ian and Katelyn made me a delicious Chocolate Zuchinni Cake. We went out to one of my favorite places the "Training Table" for dinner and then went to the $1 Movie Theatre to see "Prince Caspian". It was a fun evening and really great to be with my mom and sis!

I took my mom to the airport and was able to spend the day up in Salt Lake visiting some dear friends from our ward in West Valley City, Leslie Benson and Tonya Von Trotha. They were very sweet and even remembered my birthday, too! :)
After lunch, the kids and I went over to "Jungle Jims"!! Only one of our most favorite places to go EVER! (that is from the kids!) Jungle Jims is basically all of the kiddie rides from an amusement park: carousel, swings, bumper cars, airplanes, roller coaster, etc... The best thing is that it is INSIDE and AIR CONDITIONED!!! You buy a wrist band and the kids can ride as many times as they want! It was lots of fun!
We made it back to Orem and Amanda had made the most DELICIOUS Pork Loin,real mashed potatoes, fruit salad all for my birthday! YUM! YUM! She spoiled us so BAD! (THANKS, Manda!)
The rest of the visit was great, too, just eventful! We had the best time at the Scera Pool, with water slides and pools perfect in depth for my crew! The older girls and I also went shopping with Manda and found some great deals on school clothes! It was fun to have the "girlie time". The negatives were that the car had to be in the shop twice for a gas leak and Ian picked up something from the Scera Pool that had him vomiting and having diarrhea for a good week or so. (One night his fever actually got up to 104.5 and scared me half to death!)
I'm so grateful we were in a place where I could focus on him and the girls were content and happy and I had another mom to Help me try to figure out what to do!

The kids had such a fun time with their cousins! I loved every minute with my sister! And we hope that Kevin enjoyed a little "Boy time" with Ian! :)

Utah trip Pictures Part 1

Here are the pictures from our trip out to Utah and of the funeral.

We had a great drive down. We made it to Farr West in about 14 1/2 hours. I was really proud of the kids for being sooo good! We actually got started at about 7:15am which is a miracle in and of itself! We are NOT early risers and tend to go very SLOWLY first thing! As always with getting going so early, we had a few girls car sick on the drive through the Cascades. But we didn't let that slow us down!

We got to stay with my cousin, Kami Smith, and her boys that first night! What a blessing! They were so sweet and took such good care of us! Ian and cousin Bowen became fast friends and we "older kids" had fun playing games and chatting. We only missed David, who works in Alaska. Saturday, we got to go to my Uncle Tom's house where they put on quite a spread! My mom was there-Sweet reunion- and we got to see MY Grandpa Moline, cousins Tana and Brady and their children. It was lots of fun and we really appreciated all of their efforts!

We left with my mom and stayed with her that night at my Aunt Conda's house. We went shopping and got KFC and watched "Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory", the old one of course! It was so fun to watch my kids with their Grandma. Back at Toms, Ian, in a very no-nonsense tone informed his cousin that he COULD NOT sit next to him as that chair was for HIS Grandma. (Hard to teach manners when they are so dang cute being rude!) The girls very quickly snuggled up to Grandma and pretty much stayed there!

Sunday, we went to Sacrament Meeting and then headed out to find a hotel. Very Good one in Bountiful called "Country Inn and Suites". They even gave us a discount on our second room because we were visiting for a funeral. I was very surprised as nobody does that anymore! Airlines in the past have shrugged and said, "Its still $750.00". They were very kind and we were very comfortable! We went down to Salt Lake and visited our dear, dear friends, the Mocks. Robyn was in Chicago with their oldest, Britayne, but Shannon and the rest were home. Shannon made us an amazing meal, as always, and we loved visiting and seeing the kids pick up their friendships and make new ones! It is wonderful to have friends that no matter how time passes, the love and caring is still there!

We headed back up to Bountiful for the viewing. We were amazed at the line of people! My aunt was dearly loved! We waited in line for almost 40 minutes, with different cousins cutting in to hug and see us. Finally, I said "Heck, we are family" and we just cut through to see everyone! We definately are the type of family where, you may not see or talk for 15 years, but you are there for weddings and funerals. It was very interesting to see my kids react to Karen. I didn't have to remind or scold. They were all very reverent, especially Ian. He stood in front of her casket for probably 10 minutes or so. Just reverently watching her. I thought he might be in the way. But he was so good! He asked me later if Aunt Karen was going to wake up tomorrow at the funeral. Good questions that always inspire good discussions. It was interesting to hear his big sisters answer him," No, but we'll see her when we die." & "She's gone to live with Heavenly Father."
Simple and true!

Spence and my bro-in-law, Kevin, took the kiddos back to the hotel and they went swimming. Fun!Fun! It was so helpful to Manda and I to be able to visit and then to practice our songs before the next day. When we got to the hotel, the kids had eaten tons of snacks for "dinner" and were ready for a sleepover! We tried to get them to watch a movie and fall asleep so we could play Canasta. We got one or two hands in, but it was time for bed!

The funeral the next day was beautiful! We got through the singing and the talks were very special. It was so good to be surrounded by family. I was going to say that it is "Family" that gets you through. But that isn't really true. It's the Gospel centered Family that gets you through. So, that when you are struggling and in the dark, others bring knowledge and faith to your remembrance. Then, you can feel that truth and see a bit of light.

Later, we had a good visit with Conda, Scott, Mike and Lindsay and then took Spence to the airport. :( Stay tuned for Part 2 of our vacation.

My Dear Aunt Karen

Karen Kinsey Call

Many of you know about my sweet Aunt Karen, my mom's oldest sister. She passed away on July 28th from a cancer called Multiple Mylenoma. This was the main reason for our recent trip to Utah. I'm very grateful we could attend her viewing and funeral services. I had the privelege of singing and though I barely made it through, it helped me feel like I expressed something very special for her. I had found a song last Spring by Sally DeFord that is actually a Mothers Day song. It reminded me immediately of Karen.

Both while in High School and when I was engaged to Spencer, Karen shared her feelings about what is important in life. Karen told me how when she was married to her 1st husband, Steve, she was very well off financially. She had the perfect house and all the wonderful things money could buy. But the one thing she couldn't have was children. Because of scar tissue from a ruptured appendix as a child, she couldn't bear children, and Steve didn't want children. She shared how with my Uncle Larry how yes, they had struggled financially a bit, but he gave her children and a wonderful family to love! When she married him she became an instant mother and Grandmother! Then they worked very hard and were able to bring Ben, Andy, Camille, and Cassadee to our family through adoption. She told me the joy she felt with Larry and her family was immeasurable from what the worldly happiness she had had in the past.

The song I sang was called "The Riches of my soul" by Sally DeFord.

It goes:

Bedtime stories; whispered prayers;

Goodnight kisses; dreams to share

Hands to hold; hearts to mold; faces full of wonder

Innocence and eager eyes;

Gentle laughter; lullabies;

Warmth and peace and memories; these will be my treasures

These are the riches of my soul

This is my bright celestial gold

Precious things my heart will always hold

Dearer than the wealth of all the world

Hymns that ring with joyful praise;

Words of truth that light our days;

Parables; miracles: messages from heaven

Hearts that bear the Savior's name

Kindled by the Spirit's flame

All aglow with faith that grows and love that lasts forever

These are the riches of my soul

This is my bright celestial gold

Precious things my heart will always hold

Dearer than the wealth of all the world

Twilight walks and quiet talk of childhood's hopes and fears

Extra miles and "thank you" smiles I'll cherish through the years

Temple walls and mission calls and silent, grateful tears

These are all the world to me

Treasures I can keep

These are the riches of my soul

This is my bright celestial gold

Precious things my heart will always hold

Dearer than the wealth of all the world

Her family was her treasure and she was a wonderful example to me! I love her dearly and am so grateful that we will still be family when we see each other again!