Monday, August 8, 2011

Where did our summer go?

I just realized I haven't posted for over 2 months--this summer has been just crazy busy!

June
Jill went to the cabin for the 9th year with her girlfriends.

Dan had his gallbladder out on June 14th which is also Cole & Kelsey's birthday. He feels much better now after being sick for a couple of weeks.

Dan had 12 semester hours this summer and tons of papers, posts, classes, and assignments.

We had 2 foster boys with us for 8 days. We learned a ton!

July
Attended Stadium of Fire with Brad Paisley and then stayed overnight in Provo, so we didn't have to mess with parking and the traffic jam to get home. Awesome event!

Nickell Family Reunion in the Uintas during the 24th of July weekend was really fun and a lot of hard work. Dad & Mom were able to come home from their mission for 6 days, since they were in charge of the reunion. Lot's of good food, games, activities, and good weather were present. It was good to see immediate as well as extended family.

We were able to finally buy our townhome--yahoo! From the start of the process to the day we closed was less than 2 weeks. We had an awesome mortgage guy at Republic Home Loans named Dustin, and we had an awesome real estate agent named Kathy at Prudential. It feels good for it to be officially ours---even though it has felt that way for the last several months but we knew it wasn't because we were paying rent.

Dan finished up his classes at the end of July which is early since the semester doesn't end until Aug 9. We'll take a trip to the cabin to celebrate being done with his summer classes. Now he is busy getting his classroom ready for school to start.


Tuesday, May 24, 2011

May Showers...rain and snow

April was wet....

May has been, too, so far.

The grass is green, the flowers are pretty, there's tons of snow on Mt. Timpanogos, and lots of water saturated in the ground.

Where will all that water go in the next couple of weeks as it warms up?

We shall see how extensive the flooding is this year.

We're ready for summer--and no more rain!

Monday, March 21, 2011

March Madness

Dan and I love college basketball---especially cheering on our BYU Cougars! If you haven't seen the Jimmer Show, you need to watch, and you can because every game is broadcasted this year.

We both filled out brackets and will see how the teams do.

BYU is in the Sweet 16 again after a 30 year absence.

Jimmer and Coach Rose are up for National Player and Coach of the year.

Go Cougars!

Friday, January 21, 2011

The Best Christmas Present Ever!

We got into our own townhome in Pleasant Grove a couple of days after Christmas. So now, we are unpacking, unpacking, and unpacking; and trying to find a place for everything.

It is so nice to have so much room and more than 1 bathroom. We are finding all kinds of treasures that we forgot we had, as they were in boxes for the last couple of years. We appreciate all the help we had in moving.

We are loving it!

Monday, November 15, 2010

August, September, and October

I have no idea where the last 3 months have gone! But we have been busy like everyone else. Some of the things that happened are:
August
The icemaker stopped working but the water was still on and so I woke up to(Dan was out of town) with water on the kitchen wood floor, and tons of water that soaked 10 shelves of food storage in the fruit room in the basement. I was a nervous wreck, but I called our home teachers after talking with Dan and before church and they came over and helped right then for the next 3 hours til we got it all cleaned up. They then turned on the fans to get it dried out. They were huge blessings in disguise. I was just sick about all the food we had to throw away, especially all of the sugar---but it all is just material things and can be replaced.
Dan started his masters
Dan got called to Primary and teaches the 8 year olds.
Had major car problems, but we were blessed in the way that it happened and that no one got hurt. Jill listened to the Holy Ghost's promptings and we were blessed.
Got Dan's classroom ready
Attended John Michael Montgomery concert and sat 5 rows from the stage. It was awesome!

September
Jill had her birthday on the first
Went to the family cabin over Labor Day weekend! We love getting there any chance we can.
Attended stake and regional conference. There were some awesome messages.
Jill's been working on family history and helping others with theirs
Jill put together an inexpensive Christmas gift table of ideas for Super Saturday and is on the RS activities committee.
Jill and a few women in the ward received tickets to the general R.S. meeting in SLC which they enjoyed immensely. We were very close to the front. We enjoyed eating at The Pantry before the meeting.
Dan and I have been getting ready for my parents to get home from their mission in October.

October
General Conference was wonderful! What a blessing it is to be able to watch it on TV.
Jill's parents got home!
Usborne Christmas parties
Took 2 nieces, 1 nephew, and 1 neighbor boy; and did 40+ family baptisms/confirmations at the temple and enjoyed dinner out afterwards. We are working on the other temple ordinances with the help of family, friends, and ward members.
Cornbelly's corn maze
Dan and my Dad went out on the opening of the deer hunt, but came home drenched and empty handed.
I was put in charge of a RS new family search activity to be held in November, so I have started to plan for it.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Mini Family Reunion

After we got back from our road trip, we had a mini family reunion.

Dan's brother Larry drove over from Northern California, Dan's brother Dave and his family drove over on Tuesday from Arvada, CO to put Ian into the MTC to go to Guatemala on his mission, and Dan's mom was still here.

Tuesday night we had a family BBQ of steaks, chicken and all of the fixings. Our nephew, John, also joined us for dinner. After a yummy breakfast the next morning and family pictures, Dave and family dropped off Ian and drove home.

Larry stayed around until Thursday. It was good to enjoy each other's company.

Dan took his Mom back to Tennessee on Saturday, and while he was there he was able to see his brother John and his family. We wished that we could have gotten together with Dan's sister, Debbie and her family.

THE ROAD TRIP

Mid-July, Dan's Mom, Edna who is 82, came for a visit from Tennessee. After a few days of rest, we embarked on The Road Trip to see family. Here are the places we traveled to and who we saw:

Kaysville, Utah- Sharon and Dorla, Edna's nieces. (Dorla had flown in from Portland, OR)

Boise, Idaho-Bobby, Edna's nephew. Also this is where Dan's mom was raised.

La Grande, Oregon- Heather and her family, our niece and Edna's grand-daughter and great-grandaughter.

Twin Falls, Idaho- was our resting spot one night. We were too tired to drive to Pocatello that night but drove past it the next day, driving the scenic US 30 through the rest of Idaho and into Wyoming. We didn't realize it was a 2 lane road, though.

Little America, Wyoming- is where we stopped for lunch--and we made sure we got a 50 cent icecream cone.

Rawlins, Wyoming- was where we slept for 2 nights but we actually went to-------
Martin's Cove, Wyoming- where Jill's parents are serving their 4th mission. We experienced the spirit of the cove and the sacrifices of the handcart pioneers. We enjoyed hearing the stories and seeing the land where it all took place. It was neat to see the different sites and to see where mom and dad reside. Thanks for the rover ride, we'll have to come back and pull the handcarts next time.

Laramie, Wyoming- we stayed with Jill's sister Keri and her family. It was nice to rest, relax, shop, eat, and see family.

Arvada, Colorado-we stayed with Dan's brother Dave and his family. We enjoyed the get-together for Ian on Saturday night(we've never seen so many people in 1 house before), hearing his talk in church the next day, enjoying a family meal and just being together. That was Jill's first visit to their house. We left for Utah on Monday morning, coming home on I-70 and then through US 6.

Our trip lasted 8 days, we went over 2300 miles(Dan actually traveled 700 more miles in picking up and taking his mom home after they flew back to Nashville). Luckily, there was the 2 of us driving. We had a great time seeing family and the great beauties of the west.

We realized that wherever you go there will always be road construction and it will take longer to get to your destination, that in Oregon you don't pump your own gas, it will rain sometime on your trip, and that it is really steep coming down the mountains in Colorado.

Thanks for all of the birthday cards and calls for Dan's 40th!

Dan was surprised the week of his birthday, as he received over 40 birthday cards, calls, and goodies helping him to celebrate his 40th birthday.

THANKS!

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Happy 4th of July!

America, America Land that I Love

I love this great country imperfections and all. I have a greater appreciation for it, since living outside of it during my mission to Argentina and vacationing in other countries.

I'm especially grateful for ALL of the freedoms that we enjoy.

I love the the following things that represent or signify the celebration of this holiday:

Fireworks-the little ones done at home, and the huge ones in the sky in Provo.
Sparklers
Snaps
City Celebrations
Colors-Red, White, Blue
BBQ's-Yummy, Yummy Food
Family Activities
Patriotic Music and Hymns
The flags placed in front of each house, waving in the breeze. It's an awesome sight!

America, America Home Sweet Home

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Father's Day Weekend at the Cabin

Dan and I spent Father's Day weekend at the family cabin.

Everything was beautiful! The mountains are green, the sky was blue, the lake is full of water, and wildflowers abound in the meadows.

Inside the cabin it was quiet and relaxing. No cell phones ringing, no computer to be on. Only enjoying one anothers company talking, playing games, watching movies, reading, and eating. What a wonderful life!

We enjoyed going to church in the cute, little Scofield Branch on Sunday. Happy Father's Day to all. I know Dan will be an awesome father when that day arrives in our lives. Hopefully, it will be sooner than later.

We came home on Monday afternoon because we had to be back ---but not because we wanted to. We could stay up there indefinately.