May 29, 2012

S.P.E.T.H.

These were all taken at different spots around Temple Square when JD & I went to City Creek.

The Speth surname is dervied from the Middle High German word "spath," meaning "late;" thus it is supposed it may have evolved from a nickname for a tardy person.

First found in Bavaria, where the name Spaeth was anciently associated with tribal conflicts of the area. They declared allegiances to many nobles and princes in early history, lending their influence in struggles for power and status within the region.  Their contributions were sought by many leaders in their search for power.

May 28, 2012

Memorial Weekend

 

 
We escaped up to Bear Lake this weekend.  Crazy weather best describes our experience.  It was very rainy the drive up but sunshiney at Bear Lake.  The next day it seriously snowed all day long.  The only time it may have stopped was when we were in church because the rest of the day definately consisted of snow, and very muddy roads.  Then today was another beautiful day of sunshine and warm weather.  I even went out and read some Sherlock Holmes on the porch.  It was fun being up there with my cousins, JD, and relaxing.

May 26, 2012

Whooosh

So we were driving home after a lovely Mabey-Miner family session of sealings at the Jordan River Temple last night when an unexpected event occurred.....I heard a thump sound followed by a PssssssssssssssSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSsssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss sound and then the car started bouncing a bit.  We found ourselves on the side of I-15 right before North Salt Lake, at 11:30 at night, with a shredded tire.  A couple of months ago the tire on our Civic was punctured pretty bad and we received valuable experience in changing that tire with JD's dad.  I am so grateful for parents who teach us important things.  We had that spare on pretty quickly and were on our way back home without any further incidents.  What an exciting (and soon to be expensive) temple night!

***Also, super grateful for the nice guy who pulled over to see if we needed any help.***

May 23, 2012

City Creek

JD & I made it down to City Creek today and just had a nice time walking around looking at the fish in the pond, the creek, the fountains, and Temple Square. I had fun finding shapes that spelled out our name, but I will have to share that another time.

May 19, 2012

Ogden Half Marathon

What a blast!  I can scratch off a Half Marathon off my wish list as of today.  I loved participating in the Ogden Half Marathon.  It was seriously so much fun.  I liked the whole course....except the last 7 blocks on Grant with the Finish line glaring at me in the distance.  Utah blocks aren't short and that part just wasn't much fun, though the crowd was great.  I couldn't have asked for a better race buddy.  Erin was fantastic too and it was fun to have that experience together.
 
 
 
 

May 17, 2012

2 1/2 Hours

If you don't have about 3 hours available.....DO NOT go into the war surplus section of Smith & Edwards with your sisters.

May 16, 2012

Brigham

We stopped by the Brigham Temple to see how it was coming along today, I love it, and I am so sad that I won't even be around for when they open it.  I liked how the pictures turned out though-they look almost as if they were computer generated to me, only instead of people in church attire, there are little construction men.

May 15, 2012

Applications

I have started to apply for jobs up in the Portland area, and can I just say how tired of it I am already and it has been less than 24 hours!  There is something not fun in inputting the same information over and over and over again, tweaking your resume to fit the position, and submitting.  Hopefully some good comes of it.  In the mean time, I will keep submitting away-as my brain continues to melt.

May 13, 2012

Mum's Day

The Girl in a Whirl by ‘Dr. Sue’ (a.k.a. Vickie Gunther)
Look at me, look at me, look at me now!
You could do what I do
If you only knew how.
I study the scriptures one hour each day;
I bake,
I upholster,
I scrub,
and I pray.
I always keep all the commandments completely;
I speak to my little ones gently and sweetly.
I help in their classrooms!
I sew all they wear!
I drive them to practice!
I cut all their hair!
I memorize names of the General Authorities;
I focus on things to be done by priorities.
I play the piano!
I bless with my talents!
My toilets all sparkle!
My checkbooks all balance!
Each week every child gets a one-on-one date;
I attend all my meetings (on time! Never late!)
I’m taking a class on the teachings of Paul,
But that is not all! Oh, no. That is not all .
I track my bad habits ’til each is abolished;
Our t-shirts are ironed!
My toenails are polished!
Our family home evenings are always delightful;
The lessons I give are both fun and insightful.
I do genealogy faithfully, too.
It’s easy to do all the things that I do!
I rise each day early, refreshed and awake;
I know all the names of each youth in my stake!
I read to my children!
I help all my neighbors!
I bless the community, too, with my labors.
I exercise and I cook menus gourmet;
My visiting teaching is done the first day!
(I also go do it for someone who missed hers.
It’s the least I can do for my cherished ward sisters.)
I chart resolutions and check off each goal;
I seek each “lost lamb” on my Primary roll.
I can home-grown produce each summer and fall.
But that is not all! Oh, no. That is not all .
I write in my journal!
I sing in the choir!
Each day, I write “thank you’s” to those I admire.
My sons were all Eagles when they were fourteen!
My kids get straight A’s!
And their bedrooms are clean!
I have a home business to help make some money;
I always look beautifully groomed for my honey.
I go to the temple at least once a week;
I change the car’s tires!
I fix the sink’s leak!
I grind my own wheat and I bake all our bread;
I have all our meals planned out six months ahead.
I make sure I rotate our two-years’ supply;
My shopping for Christmas is done by July!
These things are not hard;
’tis good if you do them;
You can if you try!
Just set goals and pursue them!
It’s easy to do all the things that I do!
If you plan and work smart, you can do them all, too!
It’s easy!” she said
and then she dropped dead.
I know, kind of a goofy poem, but I like it.  And while not all of these things were done all the time growing up (which was the point of the poem in the first place, that no one can do it all), it is amazing to see how amazing moms are at doing so much.  I am grateful for my mom and all the sacrifices she has made for me and for the example she has been to me of service, of a job well done, and being kind to those around me.  She is amazing to say the least. Happy mother's day!

May 12, 2012

Sunscreen

My grandparents have always been sun people.  As soon as the weather is warm enough to get something accomplished outside, and the sun is out long enough to finish a project they will be outside all day long.  This can be working on things at the cabin, working in my grandma's beautiful garden and yard, or just sitting outside to soak it in.  We had a BBQ outside for mothers day today and I could tell I was starting to burn, so I asked my grandma if she had any sunscreen.  I got a look of concern as she replied, "I think I do".  Several minutes later she came out with sunscreen.  My grandpa saw it and said, "I have something much better, I have to use it almost every day and it works great."  What he brought out was After Sun Moisturizer, to help sooth sunburns and prevent peeling.  Grandparents are pretty fun, even if they don't really believe in sunscreen.

May 9, 2012

Wednesdays

This summer JD and I get the same day off-Wednesday.  I am pretty excited about this because instead of stressing and rushing to the temple as soon as we get off work, we now can go in the middle of the day.  We can go to movies-like the Avengers.  We can use gift cards for dinner.  We can be out in the sunshine together.  If you can't tell, the first Wednesday this summer was pretty neat.

May 7, 2012

Piglet

When I was growing up my mom would always call us piglets when we had made a mess.  This was not necessarily a term of endearment, but rather one of exasperation.  This expression would come from projects being left out, socks left in the living room, dishes left in the sink after a cooking experiment etc.  This week I have been a 100 billion percent piglet.  The key part of being a piglet is that you don't really notice what you have done, you make your messes and over time they build up into what could be referred to as a pig sty. My projects that have culminated into such a mess include:
  • Assembling my new bike
  • Creating an amazing card for Erin's graduation
  • Experimental enchiladas
  • Primary lesson
  • Remnants from our trip
  • Redoing my Summer blocks
  • To do pile
I am not proud of this mess, but the first step in piglet recovery is to observe the individual projects on a whole and come to the conclusion that it is indeed a mess.  Now I am trying to wrap everything up as quick as I can to get this mess out of sight so that full remission can be obtained. In the mean time: I am a piglet.

May 5, 2012

USA Cycling

video
I volunteered at the US Collegiate Cycling National Championships today in Ogden.  My job was to make sure no one walked into a guy or gal riding their bikes, since that would probably hurt....a lot.  It was crazy cool watching the cyclists who were incredibly fast, zooming around downtown Ogden.  They were out on Antelope Island yesterday and will be in the valley going through Hunstville and Liberty tomorrow.  Pretty cool stuff!

May 2, 2012

Camino Rio


Sometimes random river parkway walks with one of my best friends are just what I need.

April 29, 2012

Last Day

Today was JD's birthday and we had a great time at church and at the ocean.  We also spent a last bit of quality time with Gordon, the Clarke family dog.  It is not going to be very much fun going back home tomorrow.

Happy Birthday JD!

April 28, 2012

Beach Day

Relax day!  We slept in, didn't have to be anywhere or do anything and it was so nice.  JD got a bit fried on our Anacapa adventure thanks to his hatred of suncscreen so it was probably a good thing that we didn't have any set plans.  We drove down to one of my favorite places in the world: Oceanside.  We ate at Ruby's Diner and walked the pier.  While we were waiting for our table to be called we watched dolphins surfing the huge waves there which was super cool.  Thanks to how burnt JD was, he spent most of the beach time on under a towel to stay away from the sun, whom he isn't on good terms with at the moment.  On our way back to the Clarke's we stopped at the Mission Viejo mall to see the Lego Store, and bought some cheesecake from the Cheesecake factory.  It was a nice, chillaxing day.  One more left before we make the long drive back home.

April 27, 2012

Channel Islands National Park

We went to Anacapa Island yesterday, the smallest of the Channel Islands National Park chain.  It was amazing.  We rode on a boat out of the Channel Islands Harbor to Anacapa.  On our way there we had some dolphins swim along side us, and right before we reached the island, a humpback whale surfaced near our boat, so we followed it for a while.  It was hatching season on the island which means a lot of nervous momma birds on their nests, everywhere.  We hiked around the island for some beautiful views on a sunshiny day.  We could see sea lions swimming through kelp forests and sunbathing, and there were flowers everywhere.  On our way back to the harbor our boat went through a pod of dolphins somewhere in the range of 1,000 according to the captain.  It was crazy cool having hundreds of dolphins swimming all around the boat and jumping along and in the wake.  If I can get the footage I took to work, I will post what I got, though, as usual, photos and film just don't do it justice.  We are looking forward to a couple of relaxing beach days, and celebrating JD's birthday on Sunday before heading back to Utah.

April 26, 2012

Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks

It was a super wet and rainy day today while we were up in the mountains admiring giant trees.  It was kind of strange driving through clouds and having them wisp about the trees as we hiked around.  The park was amazing though, we saw General Grant: 3rd largest tree in the world, and General Sherman: largest tree in the world.  That is by volume, not height.  We walked inside fallen down sequoias, and groves full of them too.  Upon reaching the other side of the park we saw the sun peak out as we scaled down the mountain, giving us a beautiful drive to Oxnard, we went past a ton of farms again, and they smelled divine, especially the orange groves. Channel Islands tomorrow!