Cruise is on!...were pretty sure anyway.

I have a pretty funny little tale to tell. So, Cat and I were really feeling blue about the cruise cancellation and just couldn't get excited about the whole Yellowstone thing. We've been there done that and weren't looking forward to leaving A.F.'s cool spring weather for some even colder weather up North. So we hatched up a little plan. We decided to give a full blown presentation to our husbands as to why we should still go on the cruise, hoping that they would see through our efforts how much we really wanted to go. It was complete with pineapple and mango hours devours, Pina Colada's (non alcoholic of course), leis, blow up palm trees and other island decor and a white board to display our outline for the evening. We made folders for the guys with their names on them and a lovely island scene. The folders contained such things as climate comparisons for the Caribbean vs Island Park, price comparisons (we've chosen a shorter cruise and there fore a cheaper one), fun facts, pro's & cons lists and a statement indicating that we would refrain from frivolous purchases until the cruise. James was pretty much sold the moment he walked in the door and we said "Welcome to Paradise!, would you like a Pina Colada?" He was a bit bummed about our decision not to go as well so it didn't take us long to convince him that we deserve this after planning it for 10 blooming months! Chad was a bit harder to convince but he liked that it was cheaper and shorter and so assuming all goes well, he's pretty much sold on the idea. YAY!

Wo, wo, wo, is Me!

So what happens when your friend and fellow traveling companion breaks her leg a couple of weeks before your scheduled cruise? You cry, and you cry, and you sing praises that you purchased travel insurance that covers "traveling companions" of said injured folks and then you cry some more knowing that you are stuck in this cold and snowy land. Then you plan to reschedule, then you worry when you should reschedule, then you worry whether you should go at all this year, then you consider doing something that does not remotely measure up to a Caribbean cruise, like going to Yellowstone. So for Valentines, James and I were supposed to be sipping fruity juices and being pampered to high heaven. But alas, we were here in our beloved snow covered Utah. We did have a nice Valentines day though. We went on a date to the temple. My parents went too. Then we went out for ice cream, came home and paid our babysitter an arm and a leg for watching our 3,000.00 children.

Liza, Liza, Liza...

I promise that Eliza is not my special little pet or anything like that, it's just that she seems to be the one to always come up with funny, strange, or witty things to say.

For Christmas my dad and I built shelves in James' office as a surprise for him. They are not yet stained and I have not done so because we have yet to decide on a stain color. Yesterday I had an idea regarding the shelving. James and I, along with Eliza, who was coloring I think, were all sitting at the table. I was explaining the idea to James and the dialogue went something like this...

Me: Hey! I have an idea of what I think we should do for the shelf color. What if we did an antiquing of sorts. We could stain the shelves with a lighter colored stain and then go in with a darker colored stain on the edges.

James: Would you then want to sand it a bit too to make it look old?

Me: No, I don't want it to look country antique. I'm thinking more of an old world antique.

Eliza: Like daddy's suit pants!

James and I both looked at Eliza and then at each other. Needless to say, we busted up laughing.

Praise to the Man!

Gordon B. Hinckley has been the prophet for much of my life. I have loved him, tried to do my best to listen to and follow him, admired his humble love and kindness in leading this church and building relations with the world. But upon his passing, I realized in a greater measure who he was and is. For some reason, It came to me strongly how really great he was and what made him great. He had a power in him that is terribly lacking and extremely underrated in this world. Kindness, self control, patience, and love. I think, could we see him now as he truly is we would shake in our boots. He was so full of love and in that lies enormous power; The power to do good, to change the world. And he did. Gordon B. Hinckley changed the world.