Check...check...check...and check

I completed my list of things to do on my extra day. I even went to the CougarEat on campus and found a girl who was getting ready to buy a salad and water for lunch and gave her money to pay for lunch. She asked why and I told her it's because it was Leap Day and I was gonna buy lunch for someone who had picked a healthy lunch. I also re-connected with some of my soccer mom friends from last year, when I was really involved with the AFHS soccer program. It was a really fun day.

Happy Birthday and Happy Driving, Allie!

So, Allie turned 16 today. Hard to believe! We went straight to get her license after driving the junior high carpool. While she knew she'd be driving our black Hyundai Accent, she did have one request. She wanted a big bow on the car on her birthday. Good thing I used to work with car salesmen and know people in "the biz." My neighbor, Cathy Voorhees, came through with a super cute bow. We put it on the car last night and put Allie's birthstone ring on the dashboard. When she walked into the garage this morning, the first thing she said was, "Oh, you got a big bow!" Thanks, Cath!

Allie then drove herself to school and spent all afternoon doing fun stuff with her new-found independence. She met a friend for a shake, then went to Orem to go shopping, then after dinner, she and Mel went to Target and Ross here in town. Allie is a great girl and brings joy to my heart. I love her.

What if you had one extra day?

Tomorrow is Wednesday, February 29, 2012. We all officially get one extra day in the year. Disneyland is staying open for the entire day and their gimmick for the hours revolves around what you would do if you had one more day. They're hoping I'd spend it at Disneyland. While I would love nothing more, I must be at work tomorrow. However, it still makes me think...hmmmm...what will I do with my extra day. Here's what I plan to do tomorrow:

Read an Ensign and New Era article
Send an email to a friend
Text a friend
Take a picture of my girls on their extra day
Inspire others to make the day special
Smile
Serve a stranger

So, let's see how I do.

I can't believe it's February already!

Haven't written in a couple of weeks. Can't believe Allie gets her license at the end of the month. It's less than 3 weeks away. Keenan and I were just talking about what to do for Valentine's Day. Kamiko can start on mission papers soon. Wow, the kids are growing up. Even Melia will be a Mia Maid soon. My baby will be 14. Wow. Oh, there has been virtually no snow this winter in the valleys. I am not complaining. I think Keenan has shoveled snow once. Now that is unusual. Poor people who got ski passes for Christmas! I, on the other hand, have thoroughly enjoyed the running tights and shirts I got for Christmas. Let's hear it for snow staying in the mountains and not being in my yard or on my roads!

More Wise Words

The New Era, church magazine for youth, this month has a great article about sexual purity. It talks about a huge and beautiful blow hole in Tonga. People would get dangerously close and some even got swept away. So, the government build a guard rail. We, likewise, have guard rails to keep us from sexual sin. We have the scriptures, prophets, strength of youth booklet, local leaders and parents. The article mentioned that it's never a good idea to see how far over the guard rail one can lean. So true...not a good idea to see how far one can go before "getting into trouble." Stay on the safe side of the spiritual guard rails.

Mosquitoes

So, I've been reading a book by D. Kelly Ogden and his wife. They served in the Guatemala MTC. The book is a collection of their journal entries. One journal entry really struck me and I shared it with my lecture recently. A mosquito is annoying. They bite and leave a red, itchy mark. They also buzz around your yard or campground at night. Annoying. They can also carry deadly diseases, like malaria, dengue fever, etc. Sin is similar. Something might just seem little, but it could be potentially spiritually life-threatening. Stay away even from the little wrong things. They could get you big.