Birthday Joys: Feeding the Heart, Soul, and Body

(This is written by the birthday girl herself)
My day turned out pretty well, with it being a weekday. It started out pretty normal, with me getting some cleaning out of the way (I wanted a semi clean house, so I could be more relaxed). I dropped off Connor at school, and then went to North Orem to do an errand, and then right back to Provo to pick Dean up from school. Dean then dropped me off at the Provo temple so I could do a session there. It was a nice gift for me to be there on my own and have that time to serve, while enjoying the peace and love that being inside the temple can bring. My soul was uplifted!
During the day I got a lot of well wishes from family members. It was nice to hear from them and know that I am loved and cared for. My heart was touched!

"One Cannot Think Well, Love Well, Sleep Well, If One Has Not Dined Well."
-Virginia Woolf, 1929

This quote was on the dessert menu of The Chef's Table, where Dean took me out for dinner. It sums up feelings that this restaurant brings. This was a fine dinning experience with excellent food, service, and atmosphere which in turn, made for a much needed romantic night out with Dean. My body was richly nourished!





I blew out the candles on my chocolate cake when we got home from dinner, signaling the end of a wonderful day.

Once There Was a Snowman . . .

This month, especially at the beginning, has been a very snowy one. It was tough to come back from our warm AZ vacation, to cold temperatures and snow. However, with all that snow we could not let it go to waste, so we managed to have some fun doing snow activities. Most of our activities included building various types of snowmen.


Dean helped Connor build our "jolly snowman"


Connor made a Snowboy in his school class ...


And built his own little snowman resembling the Pilsbury Dough Boy


And Bryce just taking everything all in as he plays in the snow

NW Arkansas First Timers

After Christmas, all four of us flew to Northwest Arkansas to roam the countryside and explore what type of area we would be living in. We were pretty excited, since we had never been there before. We knew that the major cities and surrounding areas are not as developed as Phoenix, and Salt Lake (the two states we have lived in), but we were still amazed when we got there how open and quiet everything seemed to be.

As we traveled around the main cities, we met a lot of nice people. In one pizza place, the waitress came to realize that Dean drinks a lot, so she brought him the "Big"glass. Now that is southern hospitality for you! Edie also got treated while we were out and about. As we were in a store talking to an employee, the topic came up that we were going to be moving there. He then proceeded to give Edie a free accent lesson, as we were "fixen" to go.




Our trip had to include seeing the Wal-Mart corporate office, as this will be Dean's home away from home starting late spring. We found out that Wal-Mart has a big influence in the community, and employs people from all over the country. It pretty much is a melting pot.

We then drove a few miles to downtown Bentonville, and saw where the first store that Sam Walton owned. It is amazing that one small store, in a small southern town has grown to be the largest retail store. We feel very blessed right now, especially during these hard economic times, to have this job opportunity waiting for us.




Two out of the four days we were there, we went around with a realtor and saw a lot of houses. We wanted to get a feel of the communities, and what the houses were like. We were really impressed with the areas, and could see ourselves living there. We are getting really excited about our move now, and are very thankful that we had this opportunity to visit NW Arkansas.

Fun Times in Arizona

As soon as Dean and Connor were done with school for the semester, we packed up the car and headed south to sunny Arizona. We filled our days with family, friends, and good times. We had lots of fun! Here are some pictures of our time in AZ.




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Dean was able to go on a police ride along with our cousin who works for the Gilbert PD. He had a fun time playing police officer for the night.


Playing the Wii was almost a daily activity.



Connor and Bryce loved playing and being with some of their aunts and an uncle.




Boys will be boys. Wrestling and having fun.


Connor and Bryce paling around with cousin Kyle



Edie got to visit with good long time friends

Christmas in Arizona

Constructing a Gingerbread House

Hanging Ornaments

Helping to Wrap Presents

Helping Grandma put up the Main Tree

Visiting the Mesa Temple Lights

Participating in the Christmas Story

What a Handsome Joseph

The Traditional Family Line UP

Opening gifts

Looking in Stockings


What a fun Christmas we had! We enjoyed being with family as we celebrated this holiday with them.