Happy 51st!

Happy Birthday Mark! Yes, he's 51 years old! He's such a great husband, dad, grandpa, uncle, brother, son, friend, teacher, fix-it guy, snake getter, boot fixer, scriptorian, cowboy, etc. The list could go on and on. He's such a great guy and I love him alot.

He has worked at La Z Boy for the past 28 years. They are closing so his last days are counting down. He's looking forward to expanding his own boot repair business that he's done for a few years now. He's such a hard worker so I'm sure he will be successful. (A few prayers couldn't hurt!)

Below is what the kids gave us for our birthdays, Mother's and Father's Day. I love the picture of the Savior (his cousin is the artist) and Mark wrote the poem next to it. "Riding for the Brand". I'll have to post it so you can all read it. (See Shara's or Katie's blog) Thanks kids - we love them!

Fantastic Fireside

This week was our ward conference. We had a leadership meeting on Thursday with the Stake leaders, a temple session Saturday morning (I went by myself while Mark went to a Nicholas reunion), Church meetings today (which the stake YW taught our lessons) and a fireside tonight.
The fireside was sparce in numbers but very worthwhile. Brother and Sister Reese (which he happens to be Tawnya's very favorite seminary teacher ever!) were the speakers. They were wonderful speakers. Very dynamic. She spoke about Unity in the family and wards. They've raised 9 children (I'd say they have some experience in that area!). He talked about a study done at BYU. There are 4 things we can do that will not only bless our immediate families but also our grandchilren.
1. - Pray together
2. - Study together
3. - Fast for a common purpose together
4. -This is a biggie - ATTEND CHURCH WHEN YOU'RE ON VACATION! (Hard to do when you're traveling sometimes - so we'll try to do better!)

Melissa (our niece) played a piano solo - "Onward Christian Soldiers" that was gorgeous. She's an awesome pianist.

Anne and Roy skyped me this morning! It's always so fun to talk to them and hear about what they're doing and what's happening on their mission. Read their blog to see some great pictures!

Fifty, Nifty, United States.....

Yeah! I finally have a "quarter keeper". (Not sure of the correct term). Tawnya and Landon (and Reese) gave it to me for my birthday - thank you very much. I've been saving them since they started in 1999 in my Mickey Mouse cup. There are only 4 states left to go.
We went to see our Utah Valley kids this weekend since it was General Conference. We had a great time playing with the grandkids and enjoying General Conference. We hadn't seen them for a long time! Thanks for the good time! When we got home Shara skyped us so we got to see our little Abby too! (What a wonderful invention!)