02/26/23 What a week!

 Hey! It's Sunday afternoon - Feb 26.  Dad's birthday is Wednesday...he'll be 57 years old! WOW!!! right?!  I think we'll do birthday dinner with his sibs on Wednesday and then Thursday we're talking about doing shooting over at Rowdy's Range or something fun. We'll see!  I haven't gotten any presents yet...it's hard to buy for a guy that has everything!

Well let's see...this week has been different! In a good way mostly, haha. 

Monday was a holiday for me (as you know! since I got to talk to you lots!!!) Dad had to work all day. It's always nice to have an extra weekend day! I went to a wedding shower for Darby Riley. It was really fun to see Sister Bulow, Sister Turner, the Riley Twins & Morgan, Sister Porter, Sister Whitney, Sister Beckstand and her daughter Shayne. Lots of the 8th warders. A surprise was seeing Sister Myrna Stout there from our current ward. Apparently, she is the groom's Aunt!  Super cool.  

The shower was great and she got some nice stuff. We played music jeopardy -- which you know I am the worst at guessing song names and artists...the worst!  But I figured out a way to cheat! I buzzed in really fast. Said something ridiculous...my opponent didn't get it either and then my TEAM got it!  Oh yeah!  Figuring out ways to work around my weaknesses! Our team won! 

Then we played a game where we marked off who did what first...like who talked about marriage first, him or her. Somehow I scored PERFECTLY!!! And so I won two packs of chocolate-covered cherries.  bleh. Not my favorite. On the bright side...not tempted to try it! 

Tuesday was a quick day at work - department head meeting, and just catching up on all the work from a long weekend. My back/neck have been bothering me so I finished off the day with a trip to the chiropractor. 

Wednesday I worked half a day and then Dad and I made the trek to Logan. It was very nerve-wracking as they were announcing a really bad storm and schools all up and down the state were closing down and doing virtual learning. And what do we do? Go out in it! All day long! I took picture after picture of slide-offs and wrecks. The road got worse and worse the further north we went. We had a two track through Sardine canyon ... which just means we were driving on snow with a track in the middle in the dark. It was very treacherous and scary driving. For 24 miles. And then we finally arrived safely in Logan. 

The first games he covered were Thursday morning at 9 a.m. I came with and took pictures and enjoyed two games of basketball (between four St George teams!!) (I still can't believe they made those kids travel the whole length of the state to play each other!!!). But it was really fun and two great games. I had my work computer and did work while at the game so bonus!   Then we had all afternoon to do whatever we wanted...We went out to eat and drove around Logan a little. It looks NOTHING like I remember it! Nothing. It is so strange!

At some point we drove past our two houses and looked for our old work buildings (um...couldn't find them! )

Friday dad didn't have games until evening but he had work to do -- he still has to write stories He also took a nap.  So I worked Friday morning from the hotel room and then we went out to eat and checked out some stores in town. They have so many great stores in Logan!!! Hobby Lobby (didn't go but they have it), a really big Boomer's type store...like HUGE!!! with great deals!!!, Sam's Club, Winco, Costco, Big Lots. Like...what the heck?!) And restaurants too...TONS of them!!!

Friday night I dropped dad off for his games and drove to Smithfield to meet Jen, a girl I went to seminary with back in high school. We decided we've seen each other only once since high school and it was when AJ was a baby...so like 1992. WOW, huh?!  It was fun to see her and catch up. She has 2 dogs and 3 cats so that visit didn't last too long!. Which was perfect...it was just right!

Saturday dad's game was at 5 p.m. so we had all morning and afternoon to chill.  Dad got another nap -- which is good it made it so he could drive all night!  We made to classic blunder...pulled up to WINCO and realized we had NO CASH or DEBIT cards or kids! We went to the old cheese factory and bought cheese and ice cream. We used to do that back in the day! Yum!

We paid for a room Saturday night so we were able to hang out as needed throughout the day. 

I was going to go to the game with dad but when we got up there we could not find a parking spot ANYWHERE.  Like even a block or two away...all full. So I dropped dad off and went to the hotel and watched a movie and hung out alone. It was fun!

Of course, the weather prediction was ugly so we were trying to figure out when to get out of there. Dad said, I trust your decision -- you decide. So I packed us all up and picked him up as soon as the game ended. There was a storm predicted to start as early as 10 p.m. down in our neck of the woods and up as far north as Beaver.  So we were going to get to Bryce's house and then decide. Turns out Thatcher's were staying at Bryce's and we were feeling pretty good and making good time so we decided to keep going. 

Heavenly angels cleared the path for us and we were able to get all the way home and only see a few raindrops and snow flurries. We left logan at 7:18 p.m. and arrived in St. George at 1 p.m.  Amazing. We even stopped for gas and a pizza in there as well as at Bryce's place. So much easier than the trip up. 

I think the kids were sad we didn't visit but it just didn't work out. I don't know why they live up there in the frozen tundra! I just really don't enjoy driving in that crap!

Today we zoomed sacrament meeting and then I went over to YW. It's been so nice to be home and not on the road. There were storms predicted for the whole state again today. 

I've been reading a book called Signs the secret language of the universe by Laura Lynne Jackson - it talks about how we have heavenly angels watching out for us and how those that die will communicate with us after they leave. It talks about listening to the spirit for guidance. And how we often have dreams that will guide us in life. She is not LDS but a lot of her thoughts I agree with. She talks about how we can have different things that will make us feel someone...like for you it's ducks. (And I know you aren't dead but I still feel like you are loving me from far away). So every time I hear the ducks in the pond I think of you and I smile and say, ah Katie!!! 

She talks about how to be happy -- fill your pot!!!

1. Smile at 10 people or more every day starting immediately.  Your happy energy will come back to you and will lift others in ways you won't even realize. Be more patient in driving...waive people in instead of flipping them off, hold the door for someone...kindness spreads. 

2. Write what you are grateful for everyday. (She says if you take an Eyore and make them do this for 21 days they will be tiggers instead ... ok those are my words, not hers!)

3. Everyday say...Today is a beautiful day.  Say it! Mean it! Make it happen!

Be mindful of your negative voice and take the time to shift it when you notice it. 

Another thought she had was that we can manifest things. 

1. Say what you want as if you already have it. For example, "Thank you for making me a New York Times Best Selling Author or better by October 2023 or sooner." (she says always say or better and or sooner) So she actually did this and it worked!!!!

2. Tell a friend

3. Let it go. Put it away and stop worrying about it. (So she wrote it on a piece of paper, put it in an envelope in her kitchen drawer, and forgot about it)

Visualize - Write it down - Thank the universe - Trust the universe.  (Universe is the non-LDS word for prayer if you ask me!)

She also says we should do "smudging." K, I never heard of that. But my best description is it's getting rid of negative energy.  Ways to do that -- joyful movement: dance, yoga, run/walk, nature hike, listen to nature, listen to the water.  After she described it I realized I do that but never called it that.  I need to do it more.  I just LOVE working outside. I think the pool is my smudging place. I can feel the weight of the world lifting off of me when I do certain activities. Find those activities and allow yourself to expel negative energy!

Pay attention to what you are eating and how it makes you feel. Be more conscious - eat less processed food and more nurturing foods (fruits, veggies, plant-based meals). Express gratitude for your meals. 

Sleep 7-9 hours per night. Recharge your soul. Gateway to heavenly powers - drams and impressions often come during sleep, dreams, when we are quiet. (I will 100% agree with this. When I was RS president I always felt like HF talked to me at 4 a.m. It was like "our" time!!!)

Pray

Ok...so I know this is long so if you've made it this far...good on ya mate!

We had a combined YM/YW meeting today and we had some good speakers. They talked about righteous judgment and how we need to not just disregard people based on first impressions. About how when you are on a mission you are actually working with all the people that here you might just write off. But we need to get past the bad habits or language or whatever and love the people beneath the judgment. We are all children of God. And we are all loveable.  (That being said they said sometimes you'll come across people that you'll still need to get away from!!! Listen to the spirit!)

So the overlying message - Always be friendly - Be a good influence on others - with the help of the holy ghost you can use your judgment and move forward with friendships. Love others. 

I'm gonna wrap it up here!!! I LOVE you! I hope you had a great week. I'm so proud of you for working through hard things and serving the Lord. You are brave. You are wonderful. I am so impressed with you. I can't imagine doing what you are doing when I was your age. 

We're on our way to E&D's house. Love you lots! Talk to you tomorrow! xoxo mom (and dad!!!)