Pictures from My Boy Always Make Me Smile

So happy to get some pics in the last couple of emails. Kamiko is serving in the office now, so I think writing and sending photos is much easier. Yeah! He's still loving the mission. 

I have no idea where this is, but it's an astronaut with a USA suit

Elder Adcock, the horse whisperer

As AP, Elder Adcock is travelling. Here he is with Elder Conde

With his BFF/Man Crush, Elder Porter

Reunited with Elder Tibbitts

Sending Elder Chamorro back home to Argentina

The Elders who serve in the office

It's Been a BUSY, BUSY June

I finished the term.
I went to YW camp at Zion National Park.
I helped with stake youth conference.
I taught a cooking class at my home.

I'm ready to rest in July.

At work, we love spring term. Parking is great. The weather is beautiful. The students are the creme de la creme. We can leave our messes because I'm the only one teaching. It was a good term with great students. One day at the end of the term, Becky and Erin (my TA's) and I decided to take a walk. We were so tired that we decided to just rest in the shade of a tree instead. We had a nice rest until it was time to get back to the lab for the next group.

Work Selfie

Girls camp was actually before the term ended. I had my students work on a home assignment while I was at camp from June 9-11. We took the YW to Zion Ponderosa, a nice place to camp, right near Zion National Park. It was a long drive there. I was kinda nervous about it. I don't like to drive. I asked Keenan for a blessing the night before and my driving to and from went just fine. Camp didn't quite go as planned because of rain Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

Tuesday: We drove to Kanab and visited an animal shelter. That was fun. It's the largest no-kill shelter in the U.S. We got to meet some animals and make some animal toys. We then headed to camp. It was a great facility with a pool, hot tub, showers and bathrooms. Sadly, we were in tents and we got a lot of rain Tuesday night. We roasted hot dogs in the drizzle. The girls went to their tents around 8:00 pm. They played games and stayed dry.

Wednesday: We woke up and had to make alternate plans. We were gonna have most girls go rappelling, but flash flood warnings made that a bad idea. We ended up going into Zion Park and most of us hiked to Angel's Landing. Some went part-way, but I did it! I'm afraid of heights, but was determined to do it. I'm sad Mel didn't join me, but it's ok. Those who didn't take the Angel's Landing trail did another very easy hike and went back to camp. We got dumped on that night. One tent got rained out. I was relegated to my van. That ended up being a good thing. I like sleeping in the van. I was quite comfy.

My crew as we hiked from Scout's Lookout to Angel's Landing: Kloie Pellegrini, JoAnne Diaz, Melanie Rosa, and Natalie James

Me at the TOP

Me and me on our way to Scout's Lookout

YW on the hike

Thursday: It was a dry day ALL DAY. The girls who wanted to rappel got to go with the help of awesome dads/priesthood holders that came with us. The rest of us went back into Zion National Park and did an alternate hike. It was quite hot, but fun. Beautiful views. It stayed dry. We were able to have a testimony meeting and had a nice, dry night. I slept in the van again. I like that spot.

Mallow buddies. Stefanie Nebeker and Mel made the best roasted mallows.

Me and Mel at a lookout on Thursday's hike.

Cute girls enjoying the lack of rain: Anna Vargason, Brianna Stewart, and Ellie Vargason

Friday: Packed up camp and went into Zion Park to hike to Emerald Pools. I stayed behind with Karil and Jodie Sweetwood and Mariellen Tuckett. We went on part of the hike, but not all the way to the middle pool, as the YW did. We just hung out under the shade of a tree for everyone. We finally got on the road home around 2:00. We got home just after 6:00.

Used Scout Troop's kitchen set-up. It was SWEET!

Zion Park is Beautiful!

Overall, things went well. Thanks to Christina Stewart we ate great food. She was worn out, though. The girls got to try hard hikes and hard rappels. Some even swam in spite of the rain.

Youth Conference was June 18-20. The youth had fun activities here in American Fork/Pleasant Grove and went to Heber Valley Camp to spend some time in nature, too. I got a great assignment. Quite by mistake, too. I hadn't volunteered for it, but got an email as if I had. I didn't have the heart to tell them I had signed up for a service project, too. I figured I could do both. Well, my assignment was to drive a van for our ward's relay team for a race the morning the first day of youth conference. We had a blast! It was the most fun I'd had in a long time. We won our heat and were ahead of other runners by a long way. We came in 5th overall. I got to know some kids I didn't know before. Really a great time. When it was time for my service project, they ended up not needing me, so I went home and made a dress to wear to church for Father's Day. I had a dress in my head that I wanted, but couldn't find fabric anywhere. So, I splurged and ordered from Mood Fabrics. The dress turned out great and youth conference was great, too. To finish off my duties for youth conference, I drove a van-load of girls up to Heber Valley Camp on Friday. I couldn't pick up on Saturday because we had Portia Bryner's baptism in SLC. It was a great afternoon with family and friends. Always nice to spend time with Ben's extended family. Kelly and Ben brought the whole family from Michigan to have Portia baptized where Ben's grandpa could be present.

Part of the team: Hafen Stevenson, Parker Hoopes, Meghan James, Victoria Smith and Brittany Palmer

The Team

Family Selfie: Allie, Mel, Eve, Me, Kelly, Erica & Allie Dietz

On Father's Day, we had more family stuff as Andrew spoke in his ward. He'll be leaving for his mission to Montreal Canada on July 8. Yes, it's been a busy time.

On Monday, the 22nd, I opened my doors to 8 girls ages 10-13 and taught them how to cook Monday through Friday from 10:00 am til noon. We talked about knives, meal planning, eggs, yeast doughs, nutrition, etc. It was tiring each day, but very rewarding. I had a blast and earned some money. I think I'll do another one in July or August.

Today is the first morning I woke up in a LONG time without something on my schedule. Tomorrow is the same and so is Wednesday and Thursday. I'm looking forward to some reading, temple time, and rest.

My Friend Dave Chalk Died Yesterday

He was 29 years and 4 days old.

"I'm sad today because my student/friend/foodie is gone for now. I remember meeting you the first day of cooking class at BYU and you told me that you travel for food. Throughout the semester you shared your travel/food adventures and gave me excellent recommendations. I'm glad we kept in touch since then. Your infectious personality and inability to give in to illness were your gift to me and my family. My girls were sad to hear of your passing. Do good things up there and watch over my son on his mission, please. Thanks!" (written on Dave's facebook page today)

Oh, and Dave had impeccable taste in soda. I loved this guy. We talked about restaurants, food, life, his Make-A-Wish trip to the Barrier Reef as a teenager, and his love of baseball. He told me about a quick trip he took to Philly, just to try multiple cheesesteak sandwiches. He thought Keenan was the coolest guy ever for proposing at an A's game. Dave and I kept in touch via email and facebook. He would occasionally visit the lab, too. He worked on a graduate program. Was doing his studies on "Couch Surfing," a very non-traditional way of travel where you just crash at pre-arranged locales. He was going to work in the lab as a TA in the fall of 2011, but his cancer came back and his treatments took too much out of him, so Kamiko was hired to take his place. With or without cancer, Dave will stand out as one of my most memorable students OF ALL TIME. In spite of cancer, this guy:

graduated from high school

served a mission

graduated from BYU

served as a youth counselor for HEFY (Humanitarian Experience for Youth)

went to graduate school

worked for Property Solutions in Lehi

travelled and ate good food

came to my house for dinner

loved everyone

I LOVE THIS GUY!

The following is from Dave's blog post in April of 2011:

Food Brings People Together

During this current semester I have been enrolled in "Cooking Class" here at BYU. I decided to take this class for two reasons (1) I consider myself a foodie (which means I LOVE everything about food) (2) I needed extra classes to fill my schedule because a student must earn at least 120 credits at BYU to graduate regardless of how long or short their major is. I will be graduating (in two weeks from today) with exactly 120 credits. (I am proud of this because it means that I did waste any time during college. I came, I took classes, and I conquered.)

Throughout the duration of the semester this class has become one of my favorite classes that I have ever taked during my time as a BYU Cougar.

I mean who would not like to have a three hour lab every Thursday morning that ends with the class eating together and talking about food! (I never had to eat breakfast on Thursdays because I knew that I would be getting a pretty good meal for lunch!)

The greater reason I loved this class is because of the professor. Her name is Mrs. Dana Adcock and she has become one of my favorite professors at BYU. During the first week of lab she went around and talked to everyone individually to get to know them. During my "interview" I told her about me being a foodie and that my travels are centered around restaurants and food rather than the landmarks and city. we hit it off from there talking about good restaurants each week.

Yesterday was the final lab day. It was the lab that the whole semester builds up to where your group creates their own menu and meal. (My health has not allow for me to attend classes as much as I would like to.)

However, Professor Adcock and my two cooking partner came and visited me at home and delivered my a plate of food. It was a fabulous! I enjoyed the food, but appreciated the visit more. (When you are going through chemo treatments you never feel that great. This prevent you from leaving your home often because you are weak, tired, or in pain, and therefore, you do not have much human interaction)

After handing me the plate of food my professor handed me a yellow gift sack. (This was greatly unexpected.) I opened it and to my surprise it contained a HOMEMADE apron that THE WONDERFUL Dana Adcock had made herself. I was super surprise and touched by the sincere care and thought that went into it. I almost had a tear come to my eye. (But my manly side fought it back) It is an amazing apron!

I Got to Go Back to the Bay Area

My niece Sarah East got married to Cameron Christesen in the Oakland Temple on May 30. I was able to fly out there - all by myself - and enjoy a weekend with family and friends. I even had my rental car to myself. Trust me, this was a big deal and whenever I told anyone about my trip, I mentioned the car thing a lot. This was going to be a real treat.

The only downside was that Keenan had to drop me off at the airport 4 hours before my flight, but I still made the best of it. I took an hour walk around the various terminals and then took a nap. I was really tired. On my walk, I noticed a couple napping in the perfect spot. As one walks down the terminal, there are windows on either side of the corridor. On the left side, there are potted plants about 4 feet away from the wall of windows. No one walks there. I saw a couple sleeping there and decided to do the same. I found the same set-up in another terminal and took a nice little hour-long nap. I really needed the nap to be rested for my day. You see, I got in to San Jose at 1:30 and I wanted to enjoy my day.

Made it. When we deplaned in San Jose, I was walking to my rental car and was walking by a man who said "it's nice to be home, isn't it? I agreed with him. As I thought about it, I came to the conclusion that I would feel the same arriving in Utah. So, I guess I have TWO homes - Utah and California.

I love the bustle of downtown, probably because I don't live and work there. This was during rush hour, so it was especially busy.

 So, I got to San Jose and drove into San Francisco. I was the only family member to arrive on Thursday. I planned to spend a few hours in the city, then head to Maria Trump's house, where I was staying for Thursday and Friday nights. I went to a museum and got done around 5:30. I decided to brave the traffic and just head to the east bay. It would just get me to my destination sooner. Mel was very proud of me for using Google Maps on my phone. I plugged in every destination and made to each location like a boss.

The one thing I really wanted to do was go to the Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio. It was a nicely done museum. Here is a replica of Disneyland. I didn't really learn anything new since I've read a biography of Disney, but it was nice to walk around. I wore my cute California t-shirt that I got from my student. The employee at the museum commented on it. I told him I was on vacation ALL BY MYSELF. He told me to enjoy myself. 

I saw both the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz from the museum. The weather was absolutely gorgeous!

Me, with my California shirt, in my car.

So, basically, I spent Thursday flying, in SF, at Kristen's house, then staying up way late, talking with Maria. We had plans to spend Friday together as a family at Kristen and Doug's house. They were even hosting us for a BBQ. I cannot express how much I love Doug. He is a fabulous brother-in-law. If I call and Kris isn't home, Doug and I have a rather nice conversation. He acts like he loves it when I visit. I don't know if it's true, but I feel like he does.

Allison East DeVuyst, the shoe diva, admires her new pair that arrived just in time.

DIY manicures and pedicures - Debbie and Karen

Jen, Deb, Sarah and Karen

Allison, Dad, Mom, Hunter and James

Ok, I love this one. Allison and Karen went to get their eyrbrows threaded. James drove and Jen and I went along for the ride. James is a very good sport. 

Kristen even had a special treat waiting for me. Maria Trump commented she was happy I wore my shirt so I could find my way. I had actually not planned to go to Kristen's house until Friday, but stopped in on Thursday on my way to Manteca for a couple of hours. We had a fun visit and she fed me yummy stir-fry.

And...This is what waited for me at the Trump Hotel (aka John and Maria Trump's house). Hand-dipped chocolates made by their friend Alice. I had a blast staying with Maria. Yeah, we stayed up until almost midnight on Thursday and Friday, just talking. I got a leisurely start on Friday, which was nice. We went for a walk and just visited until I had to head to the East's. You see, the rest of the family wasn't gonna be around until around noon anyway, so there was no hurry.

The wedding was early on Saturday morning at the Oakland Temple. Dad performed the sealing and did a great job. His counsel was that we can only take our family, our character, and our covenants with us. Something to think about. It was fun to see all of Doug's family. We enjoy being with the Easts.

Saturday morning. Girls at the temple. Karen, me, Debbie, Allison, Carolyn, mom and Jen

Val and Carolyn came from Halcyon

I wouldn't let Kris keep all the flowers from the centerpieces. They were beautiful, but the stems were so short, there was really nothing to do with them, so I promised I'd take a picture of a centerpiece. Isn't it pretty?

Debbie, Jen, Karen, me, Kris and mom. Hunter in the back. Wasn't Kris a lovely mother of the bride?

mom and dad were just talking. I thought it was so cute, so I snapped some pictures.

My favorite - Hunter and grandma. This is currently Hunter's profile pic on facebook. He's so cute. 

When pictures were done, we went to a boathouse on Lake Merritt for a really nice lunch. I had delicious chicken. It was just fun to sit and talk. We left around 4:00 and headed to Kristen's house. At Kris' house, we recovered. Well, Kris and Doug recovered. We ordered pizza for dinner and just chilled and took awful mom selfies.

When the whole day was over, I went to Kim Rose Cassetti's house where I was spending the night. Jen came too. We stayed up WAY TOO LATE talking. I think we went to bed around 1:30 am. Kim woke me at 9:00 and we continued our talk until 11:00 when I absolutely had to get in the shower and on the road to catch my flight. Kim is a dear friend. We never skip a beat. We get together and just pick up where we left off. She's struggling with the normal stuff of raising kids, keeping her house running, etc. She's an excellent mom. I really admire her dedication to her family.

My Baby is 17!!!!!!!

Mel turned 17 on May 7. I begged her to let us have a party or something, but she didn't want anything. We finally did end up ordering pizza for her and all of her friends to eat at lunch. They came home and downed a couple of Little Caesar's pizzas. The kids made a cute birthday video for her. She has a great bunch of friends. About a week later, she proudly completed one year of accident- and ticket-free driving. 

Melia is creative and happy. She loves to take naps and watch YouTube videos on her phone. She follows bloggers and youtubers. She loves to sew and is good at creating cute items. She can also tweak things she buys to make them exactly the way she wants them. She is a good friend and an especially great sister. I'm so grateful she and Allie get along well. I think she's gonna do great things once she figures out what she wants to do besides nap.

Back row: Makei, Kaleb, Parker, Levi
Front row: Ani, Mel, Kobi, Brooke

We took a trip to see the Payson Temple before it was dedicated. It is absolutely beautiful...inside and out. Sarah and Nicholas Smart joined us. It rained and Mel's umbrella didn't work very well. We got a good laugh out of it.