Dear Old AF High

And....drum roll, please...Allie graduated from High School WITH HONORS. Graduation was on Friday, May 31, at 7:30 pm in the Marriott Center on BYU campus. It was a really good graduation. The speakers nailed it. They gave short talks on the theme "In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure." (Bill Cosby). I even wrote down a quote that the President of the Alpine Board of Education shared. It's from the first blind person to summit Mt Everest. It says: "I think what's inside of us is stronger than what's in our way."

So, we ate dinner around 4:30. Allie had requested chicken enchiladas. Kobi Watkins and Makei Tupou joined us. Then we drove to Grandma and Grandpa Hunter's house to take pics. Because of dad's recent knee replacement surgery, they couldn't come to graduation. We then headed to BYU campus to get Allie there 1 hour early. She found a lot of friends and we got some pictures. Then we waited for it to all start. It was only a little over an hour and a half long. Perfect. Then we stopped at McDonald's for drinks. Everyone was thirsty. We got home around 10:45 and Allie left at 11:15 for her all night grad party at Boondocks. She said she had a lot of fun.

It was a great day to recognize her accomplishments. Not only did she graduate, but she contributed to the school by working on yearbook staff (2 years as an editor), working on HOPE Squad, and just being a fun kid. I'm happy for her and proud of her. Way to go, Al! Big things await in Arkansas. Woo Pig Sooie!

Melia, Allie and Kobi (my three girls) being silly before dinner

Our awesome centerpiece from the dollar store

Makei, Allie, Melia and Kobi...ready for food and graduation ceremony

These cute girls of mine! I'm so glad they have each other and even more glad that they love each other.

I love these 4 kids!

Aarl and Ann Hunter, Allie, Melia, me and Keenan

grandpa was being silly getting ready for pictures. He wouldn't cooperate and stand where grandma wanted him to stand.

Allie and her friend Jake Miller

Allie and Rilee Crump, friends since kindergarten at Cedar Ridge Elementary. Their teacher was Mrs. Richey.

Esther Chang, Kelton Burns and Allie

Alyssa Simpson and Kaden Porter...more friends from elementary school days

Alyssa, Allie, Kiana Wong and Kaden

Chandler Winter and Allie after graduation

gangstas coming up steps after graduation. I love these kiddos. They'll be graduating together in 2 years.

Before graduation, the last week of school was full of fun activities. Cavestock, an outdoor event where students showcase musical talent, was one. Allie also got to go to Lagoon Amusement Park in Layton with the other seniors.

Allie and Mel in their Cavestock shirts. They said it was really fun!

Happy Happy Birthday, Baby Mel!

Wow, Melia is 16 today! She's my only kid who's not going straight to get her license on her birthday. She's still finishing up some drivers ed stuff this week. She was really bummed to hear the driver's license division isn't open on Saturday. She'll have to wait until Monday. Since she went to Hawaii with Keenan and they took Kobi, her birthday didn't include many presents today. She got some shoes from Allie and a Mickey Mouse birthstone necklace from me and Keenan. We also gave her some Mickey socks and a copy of a house key and Subaru key.

Mel at 2 years old! 

Mel is smart, funny and loyal. She loves naps, pizza, soccer, fashion, kitties and youtubers. She really has a fun sense of style and is very creative. She's been asked to be an editor for yearbook next year. She is a good friend and chooses good friends, for which I'm super grateful. She also has a great relationship with both her brother and sister. She and Kamiko have a great time together and are really funny together. The both like soccer and have similar taste in music. Melia and Allie have a great sister bond. I'm so happy they get along as well as they do. They love to shop, go out to eat, and just hang out together. I love that girl. Can't imagine our family without her.

Melia with Otto and Kobi on her 16th Birthday

AFHS Prom 2014

Allie went to Prom with Kelton Burns, also a senior at AFHS. They had a great time. We found her dress on clearance at Dillard's. It was a $180 Calvin Klein dress on sale for $65. We just had to add straps/sleeves. Prom was at the U in SLC, so the group took some beautiful pictures on Temple Square. It had rained all day, but cleared up in time for pictures.

Even Otto matched the cute couple!

How cute are these kids? What a great backdrop!

R.I.P Honu...Meet Otto

Honu died while Mel was on her trip to Hawaii. It was sad to call her and let her know, but I thought she might want to bring a trinket home to put on his grave. It appears that he was hit by a car on Thursday, April 17, sometime between 2:30 and 3:30 pm. His body was right on 9th East, between our street and Murdoch Ave. Sad. I know the timeline because I had gone walking that afternoon and passed the spot around 2:30, then ran errands and he was there when I returned.

No, he's not dead. This was the last picture of Honu, taken on conference Sunday

I was alone, as Allie was at work and Keenan and Mel were in Hawaii. I called Sandy and she came and helped me. Patrick Smart, our home teacher, was home. He and his son Josh put honu in a bag and a box. Josh carried him to the house. I then began the job of digging a 2-foot deep hole in the back flower bed to lay our buddy to rest. Boy, that took a while. Mel brought home a little green glass turtle that's now on top of the grave.

I told everyone we weren't getting a new cat. That had been the deal all along. Well, a cat is sitting on my foot as I write this blog. Otto came along about a week after Mel got home from Hawaii. Some friends of Kobi had accepted 3 kittens. They got rid of two of them, but needed to find a home for the 3rd. The dad was going to kill it if it didn't go. Kobi took him in, but Burke is allergic to cats. He was out of town and told Kobi to find it a home before he got back. So, she brought a cute tiny gray kitty to our house for a Saturday. That's all it took. I left for California, the girls got feedback from Kamiko on a name and he's Otto. I usually call him O. He is really cute, but a rowdy kitten now. At first he was really skinny and tiny. He was young. He still only eats kitty formula out of a bowl, but will graduate to food soon. We love him already.

Taken on Easter Sunday. Look at my beautiful girls and their new brother.

Mel Loves kitties!

Fabulous California!!!!! I love home!

Since I had a two-week break from work and a $50 credit with Allegiant Air, I decided to go to the Bay Area and visit Kris, Kim and Maria. I don't know why I thought Mon-Fri would be enough. I should have really stayed a whole week. We had a blast. We didn't do much of anything. That's probably why we had a blast.

I flew from Provo to Oakland with Morgan Rogers. She was surprising Sierra Trump. Kris picked us up at the airport around 3:30. Traffic was horrible and it took us forever to get home. Poor Morgan. She was so excited to see Sierra and she doesn't know our traffic. We finally got to Kris' where Maria and Sierra were waiting. Maria told Sierra they were picking me up. The girls squealed, then just hugged and cried. It was so cute. Maria left with the girls, then Kris and I got on with our sister vacation.

We just visited while fixing dinner. Doug got home and gave me a big welcome hug and filled the spa for us. We watched TV. I got introduced to a show they like called "Naked and Afraid." It's a crazy premise. They drop two strangers off, a man and a woman, naked, in a jungle or on an island. They need to find food, water and shelter and get by for 21 days. We just chilled and made plans for the rest of the week.

Tuesday was the day with Kim. We got to her place around 9:00 am. We walked their dog, Lucy, then went to the mall for lunch after freshening up a bit. We had a great time, just catching up. Kim is a great friend. It's like no time passes at all when we get together. We walked around the mall a bit because Kris had some returns to take care of. The funniest part was that Kim, who is 5'11", decided to wear platform sandals that day. While walking in the mall, with her between us two shrimps, I asked "Did you REALLY have to wear THOSE shoes today?" We got a good laugh out of it. She's elegance, class, refinement, old-fashioned values and kindness all rolled into one. I love that girl. Then it was time to go pick up her kids from school, so we went with her. We also drove by our old houses. It was a great day. Kris and I got home and worked on dinner and chilled. She had some Relief Society stuff to work on, too. We went at night to see the movie "Heaven is for Real." It's a great movie about a kid who had a near-death experience at the age of 3. The family wrote it into a book and now it's a movie.

1870 Tanglewood Way. My bedroom was the one on the top left

I love the good things her ward does. It's the gospel in action. There's a lady, who isn't a member, but uses the resources at the Bishop's Storehouse, including the employment center. Thanks to the workers at that center, this lady has a new job as a manager at McDonald's. They catered lessons to her and helped he in mock interviews. A brother in Kris' ward, who serves at the storehouse, would give this lady rides whenever he went. Kris' RS presidency also goes early in the morning every Friday to get day-old bread from Panera Bakery. They then deliver the bread to families in need or to families who just need a "thank you." They make up to 30 deliveries every Friday. Wow, what service! It was great to hear what they're up to.

On Wednesday, we went on a long 6-mile walk. It was beautiful. We had a great time and followed it up with donuts and donut holes at Donut Wheel, Kamiko's favorite. Then I got my haircut. It had been driving me nuts. I met Kris' Sandy. I have Sandy that cuts my hair and Kris has a Sandy. It was a nice afternoon. We finally got in the spa that Doug had filled just for us (not really, but he wanted us to think that). After a yummy dinner of steak salad, Kris and Doug took me to ice cream at Loards on the way out of town to go meet up with Maria in Tracy. I spent Wednesday night and Thursday with Maria and the girls. Of course, I saw John, but he's not a girl, so he doesn't really count.

We're old, but we've still got it. Actually, it was really hard for us to climb these and Kris kinda hurt her shoulder. We're old.

Maria and I went out Thursday morning to take Abby to school and to pick up some delicious strawberries. She gets them right by her home in Manteca, at a field where they're picked daily. I ate them right in the car. Not all of them, but a lot. We went on a quick walk, then got cleaned up for a day in Old Sacramento with the girls. I'd never been to Old Sacramento. It was really fun. It's right on the waterfront and has lots of cute shops. A candy shop, a sock shop, souvenir shops, etc. We also had lunch at Farrell's ice cream place. I was too full for ice cream, but they sang to Morgan, complete with sirens, lights and drums. It was great. I got a delicious cheese and garlic stuffed sourdough loaf to take home to Kris and Doug's for dinner. We met up with them in Tracy again.

THE sandwich. Oh, this is only half. Maria and I shared.

Syd, Morgan, Sierra and Maria

Yes, these were sitting in my lap!

Thursday night we had fish, veggies and BREAD. I then introduced Kris and Doug to my TV find, "Call the Midwife." It's a show based on a midwife's diaries. She worked in the East side of London in the late 1950's. I really enjoy the show. It's got strong female characters, since it's mostly about nuns, midwives and women giving birth. Oh, and we went to Loard's Ice Cream again because I needed to try a second flavor. I need to move to Livermore, because Kris and Doug go to Loard's every Friday for date night.

Friday morning Kris went off to work and Maria and Morgan came to get me. We headed to the airport and came back home. When I got home, Melia asked me "What's for dinner." THE OFFICIAL END OF MY VACATION!

Can Work Get Any Better? Probably Not!!!!

We have had a great time at work lately. Jenny Fosdick, our food buyer, had to take another job with more hours and more pay. It was sad to lose her. She had done an excellent job and had really streamlined the purchasing and dividing of food. Judy Sumsion was hired a couple of months ago. She is great. She has fit in well. I really like her. She's a mom of 5 girls. One is on a mission and another has her mission call. They live in Springville and she is friends with Starlyn. That's not how she got the job, though. She was the best fit of all the applicants.

Mat, our only male TA, has been applying for jobs. He graduates in April. He had to miss some shifts and sometimes had to leave shifts for a bit to have interviews, either in person or via phone. He was really networking and working hard to find a job. He finally got a job offer and it's in TEXAS, his home state. He and his wife, Kat, are so excited. She's from Texas, too. In fact, Kat is a 6th generation Texan. She is so excited that their kids will be born in Texas. To celebrate and thank us, Kat and Mat insisted on taking us all to Tucano's for dinner. We told them that it was too much, but they wouldn't take no. It was a blast. There were 15 of us. Kat and Mat, me and Keenan, Starlyn and Lee Hjorth, Judy and Grant Sumsion, Ali and Steve, Ann Hardman and her husband, Nikki Sue Larkin and her husband, and Annie. After eating, a bunch of us went back to the lab to play games. It was so much fun. We met at 2:00 for lunch/dinner and didn't finish games until after 7:00. I love my co-workers.

Starlyn and Me, playing the Dutch game Sjoelback

The Tucano's crew...Steve and Ali, Annie, me and Keenan, Judy and Grant, Lee and Starlyn, Mat and Kat, Ann and Jay, The Larkins

We had also gone earlier in the month to do sealings on a Friday night with dad as our sealer. Ali and Steve, Judy and Grant, me and Keenan and Starlyn and Lee were there. Annie had her mission call, but hadn't gone through the temple yet. Mat and Kat were gonna come, but Kat had a last minute emergency at work that she had to attend to. By the way, Annie has now gone through the temple. In fact, Keenan and I were able to go to the session last Wednesday. She just beamed. A lot of young adults, going through the temple for the first time seem overwhelmed, including myself. Annie was just in her element. That girl is awesome! It was great to be there with her. I realized the last time I had gone to an endowment session was with Ali, who had gotten married at the end of December and was hesitant to go back alone, so I went with her. What a blessing to be able to share church stuff with work associates. I think that's why we love each other so much.

Last Friday we had a bit of a celebration for Annie, whose birthday is coming up, and for Mat. Both of them are leaving us. Since Annie loves donuts and regularly celebrates Donut Friday, we made a donut cake. Basically, we stacked a bunch of donuts and topped them with a cupcake, another of Annie's favorite treats. I had made a pillowcase for her to take on her mission and we all signed it. I also got Dean Ogles, the dean of the college, to sign it. He's her stake president and she really admires him. Then we got the crazy idea to see if President Samuelson would sign it. Starlyn took it over there and he wrote a note and signed it! It was awesome to see Annie's reaction. We also had a favorite student sign it. I had made Mat a BYU apron (with a Texas touch) for him to take with him back to Texas. He can wear it when he bbq's. We enjoyed pizza, salad and donuts, all while still helping the lab that was going on and dividing food for this week's labs.

The LAST time for these crazy kids (Ali Clarkson, Annie Christensen and Mat Williams) to pick up the Macey's delivery at the dock together. Thankfully Ali is not leaving us. 

Former TA, Jessica Lewis, and her son Jack came to help celebrate! Note the donut cake in the background!

I'm blessed to work where I do with the people I work with!

At our last party before Winter 2014 ended. Our food lab babies, Jack Lewis, Lincoln and Lydia Byrd

The gang! Front: Julia, Lincoln, Lydia, Me, Jack, Jessica. Back: Jenny, Judy, Ali, Annie, Mat, Starlyn, Charity

April General Conference

All is quiet at the house. Keenan and Melia left yesterday for a spring break in Hawaii and Allie is working all week all day at Hapari. She's the only one at work that didn't go on a trip for spring break. I'm at home, enjoying the quiet and my time. I went on a walk, had visiting teachers over, took a nap, read and worked on some work stuff. I also heard from Kamiko. He got transferred and is really excited about it. He says he was ready for a change. He's a good boy.

General Conference weekend did not disappoint. Great talks. I had done something mom suggested - which was to read my patriarchal blessing before conference, then watch and listen for things pertaining to it. That was a great exercise. I loved having that in mind. I had written the following words in my journal from impressions from my blessing:

patience
fore-bearance: I had to look this one up. I thought I knew what it meant. Here's the definition:
patient self-control; restraint and tolerance.

"forbearance from taking action"

synonyms:

tolerance, patience, resignation, endurance, fortitude, stoicism

understanding
teacher
leader
priesthood
set example for family
joy
happiness

The last two almost didn't make the list. I was reading and saw them at the end, then thought "oh, those get covered by the above words." But then, I decided to add them afterall. Well, the talks that really hit me were the ones about joy and happiness. We can have both in the midst of trials. It's possible and makes life good. We learn that way. Glad I put them on the list.

Saturday Morning:

Elder Holland gave a talk about defending your faith with courage and courtesy. I thought of Allie, who's going to Arkansas. She'll have opportunities to do that. She will be able to follow Elder Holland's counsel to love others. Pure love can change the world. He gave a powerful testimony of the priesthood and priesthood ordinances.

Sister Reeves, of the Relief Society Presidency, spoke on pornography. I wrote "WOW!!!" next to my notes. She talked about counseling with our children and having a proactive family plan. The Lord can heal you and make you clean again. She also said the best filter is the internal filter with a testimony of Christ. She told the youth to take responsibility for their virtue, walk out of movies, pray for help, turn off the phone, study the strength of youth, confide in parents and get help if needed. She promised that prayer and the Book of Mormon can strengthen families. She doesn't know how, but they do. Kamiko mentioned in his letter that he loved this talk.

Elder Andersen warned us that the world won't glide calmly toward the 2nd coming. There will be spiritual whirlwinds. Sometimes we won't notice we've been moved. BUT God made our spirits strong. He was especially addressing the youth. Trust the prophets and the Book of Mormon is protection from the whirlwinds of life. Christ will not leave us comfortless.

President Eyring's talk started off with some of my recipe for happiness: Happiness comes from eternal family bonds. Don't give up. Don't quit. The Savior doesn't. Follow Lehi's example...wait patiently with faith. Have FHE, family prayer and scripture study. Things will work out.

Saturday Afternoon:

Elder Nelson reminded us that our faith will be tested. Faith is the opposite of fear. We need to have faith in Jesus Christ. He asked if we are securely tied to God? What am I tied to? The scriptures tell us how to find the course and stay on course. Prayers of faith will lead to inspiration. Then, one of my favorite lines:

"EVEN IF EVERYONE IS DOING IT, WRONG WILL NEVER BE RIGHT."

Elder Scott's talk was also one that Kamiko mentioned. His was a reminder to love those we want to help. To focus on basic principles of the plan and that we all grow line upon line. To keep gospel teaching simple.

Elder Hales spoke on obedience. Be careful who you follow. We don't always understand, but we must always follow the prophet. Just like kids don't always understand their parent's rules. Do what is right and let the consequence follow. The Savior obeyed to the end.

Elder Zwick is the twin brother of Connie Allen Williams in our ward. His was a talk about communication in marriage and that it often doesn't matter who is right. We need to listen to each other. Cultivate respect for each other. Ask "what are you thinking?"

Elder Cook talked about family history work. The family history center is now in our home. Well, I'm gonna need to work on that one. Ugh...it's a topic that's haunting me. Time to get going. He does say that the blessings are almost beyond comprehension. I could use that!

Sunday Morning:

President Uchtdorf talked on how to make life joyful. There it is again! Happiness and joy. The words almost left off of my list. The key: BE GRATEFUL! Trade a bottle of bitterness for the goblet of gratitude. Be grateful IN our circumstances. That is an act of faith in God.

Elder Ballard followed up from his previous talks on using the proper name of the church in our conversation and in doing missionary work. He said that a lack of follow up is like buying a ticket, but not going to the event. I need to study preach my gospel and share my studies with Kamiko. That's a great idea. I've kinda been wondering what to include in letters. Now I know.

Sister Stevens reminded us to follow direction from the spirit and that God watches over us. We are not alone. We are not forgotten. No all prayers are answered quickly, but God does answer prayers...one prayer at a time...one person at a time.

Bishop Stevenson gave one of my favorite talks, too. He spoke of the LDS Olympians in the winter games. They won or lost in 4-minute runs. He liked our life on earth to these 4-minute runs. Our performance will determine our win. Run the race that you may obtain the prize. Self-discipline, prayer, church, scriptures and obedience are all key parts of our training.

Elder Bednar always has a hook. This one was the load on a truck. He told of a friend who took out his new 4-wheel truck to show his wife what a great purchase it was. He went to get firewood in the snow. Well, he got stuck. HOWEVER, when he put the load in the bed of the truck, he had enough traction to get back on the road. Loads provide us traction to get on the road. Is my load providing spiritual traction?

HAPPINESS IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF A LOAD (again...Happiness)

Come unto me, all ye that labor. My yoke is easy and my burden is light. The Savior has suffered for our fears, frustrations, despair, inequities, etc. There is nothing the Savior hasn't experienced. Study and ponder the atonement in assessing my load.

President Monson asked us to love our neighbors. Love is the essence of the gospel. Christ is our examplar. Show loving kindness. Love should be the heart of the family. We should treat each other with love and respect.

Sunday Afternoon:

Elder Packer is getting old and difficult to understand. He admonished us to work to receive our own testimony. He ended with ONE GREAT TRUTH: Jesus lives. He is the Christ; the Son of God. He created the world. He said "I am His witness." It was a memorable testimony.

Elder Walker asked us to find out our family church history. Who was the first person to join the church and why? I found out that on the Hunter side, it was John Davidson Hunter, who joined the church in Scotland. We should learn and teach our righteous heritage.

Elder Corbridge spoke of the opposition Joseph Smith faced. Truth will ALWAYS be opposed. What we do in this life matters and the family is the pattern of heaven. Truth! We will know we've found it when there is opposition to it.

Elder Teh talked about seeking the spiritual instead of the temporal. To recognize when we have enough. That's a great reminder. To obtain treasures in heaven: faith, hope, humility, charity, strengthen family relationships. serve others and strengthen our testimony.

Elder Aidukaitis reminded us to carefully decide where we spend our time, especially on the internet. Don't roam through garbage. The spirit of Christ is given to every man to discern good from evil. "By their fruits, ye shall know them."

Elder Christofferson gave a great talk about Jesus' resurrection, which was timely since yesterday was April 6 and Easter is coming up. He asked us to believe the testimonies in the New Testament of the risen Lord and to believe in the testimonies in the Book of Mormon. We also have the testimony of Joseph Smith.

Finally, President Monson urged us to listen to the talks and read them and study them. Do a little better. Be kind to those who don't share our believes. Heavenly Father will see us through our difficulties. Be found doing the work of the Lord.

A.M.E.N.

Selfie of Allie and me, watching conference. Keenan and Mel were on the road to Vegas to catch their flight to Hawaii.

Honu didn't want to watch. He just wanted to sleep.