July 13th

I've been gone this week to Girl's Camp. I don't really LOVE camping but I LOVE Girl's Camp. Things happen at girl’s camp that don’t happen any other time so I want to be there to see it (i.e. testimony meeting). I had a good time teaching orienteering. It was fun to see the light go on when they “got it”. I came home and taught Holly how to do it and even she gets it now. HOW COOL IS THAT! But it was pretty tough up there. I was out in the sun most of the day and I got pretty burned. I am allergic to sun screen on my face so that was bad but it is okay now. I just worry about all the sun damage.

The house was TRASHED when I got home. Dilbert was babysitting for my brother while I was gone. I volunteered him and he was so good to do it. He had two little girl cousins here overnight. Not much was done while I was gone except he took them to the AWESOME Farmington Festival Days parade. He fixed his old metal detector and they were all outside, tearing up the back yard looking for lost pennies. I think we have made a profit now of about 12 cents. But how can one measure the joy of finding lost money and time spent with Dad digging holes in the lawn? I will take that over a load of dishes any day. I'm glad he did that. I often find myself making those same sorts of decisions. That explains my disheveled house. But at least I have memories with my kids.

I had a fabulous sharing time today. Pardon my ad nauseum detailed report... I started it late last night and it just wasn’t right. Both of my councilors were out of town so I asked the new stake Primary President to come help keep reigns on the kids. She brought a counselor with her (which was a good thing because we had a teacher not show up). So I was pretty stressed about it. Then, at the last minute, I found some awesome situations to use and it all came together. Anyway, the lesson was on how being obedient and faithful helps us prepare now to be a missionary. I had them memorize the monthly scripture (And if it so be that you should bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be thy joy D&C 18:15) by dividing the children into three sections and having them repeat it in sections then read some situations where children had to make a choice of being obedient… For example, one girl was at a movie with her friends and it started using language she knew she shouldn’t be hearing. I asked what her choices were and the kids were so cute! They could only think of ways to not hear the language and couldn’t come up with the option of just staying there and listening to it (the obviously WRONG choice). That was heartening. Anyway, when we came up with all her options, I asked, “which choice shows she has faith?” And the kids were so excited to choose the RIGHT choice. It is fun when they get excited and get really involved. Then I shared the quote from Preach My Gospel on Obedience (pg. 122), “As a missionary, you are expected to keep the commandments willingly, to obey mission rules, and to follow the counsel of your leaders. Obedience is the first law of heaven. It is an act of faith. You may sometimes be required to do things you do not completely understand. As you obey, you increase in faith, knowledge, wisdom, testimony, protection, and freedom. Strive to be obedient to the Lord, the living prophet, and your mission president.” We talked about how we are expected to obey the commandments willingly NOW, not just when we are on a mission. Our homes are like a mission. We have home rules about the kinds of music we listen to, the kinds of entertainment we view, the clothes we wear, etc… and that is just like missionaries. We follow the counsel of our leaders (parents) and sometimes we are given direction we don’t understand but we still are expected to follow it because it is for our own good…. It was so cool to see their eyes light up as they saw their lives now preparing them to be missionaries later. Then we talked about what they can do now to be a good missionary. All in all, it turned out pretty good. I don’t get that many “good” sharing times so I get pretty psyched when it is knocked out of the park. Of course it wasn’t me doing the knocking… It all depends on the “mood” of the children and they were ready for it today.

Frank Zigmunt has started a new job delivering newspapers at 4 a.m. He’s pretty tired. It takes him until 7 or even later to do a small fraction of the route but he is making $900 a month so that is 2 months worth of mission payments! But since he is working at the Pizza Place until 10:30 or later, it is going to create a nice sleep deficit pretty quickly.

Scout has horseback riding camp all this week so she is pretty excited, besides she gets to miss Summer Strings. And N has Summer Strings. The concert is next Tuesday night at the Ogden Amphitheater. BNL_FAN is glad to be done with Beauty and the Beast. She really enjoyed it but it was taxing being there every night late and it was extremely hot in the orchestra pit. We enjoyed seeing Aaron (my cousin) in it. He stole his scenes.

Tomorrow I am taking Frank Zigmunt shopping. We’ve got to start getting his suits and stuff. I can’t believe he’s going to the temple on Tuesday! I'm grateful my parents will be here to witness it. Dilbert's dad isn't going to make it. He's having some swelling in his leg that is causing some discomfort and a bit of concern. He's getting around pretty well, though. Dilbert's mom will be there, thankfully.

A lot

A lot has been happening here...

Last weekend Frank Zigmunt was made an Elder. It was very nice to have both sets of grandparents in attendance. Dilbert read the line of authority to Frank before he ordained him which was very cool to Frank. Dilbert's dad was able to be there, despite having had so many complications during his hip replacement surgery. I am happy to report he is doing very well now and is getting around much better. Frank is now preparing to go through the temple. I am so excited! I hope he gets his recommend in time to do it before my parents leave on their mission.

Primary this month is focusing on missionary work so it has been very fun to talk about Frank and his preparations. Yesterday we talked about how the children could prepare now to be missionaries. Next week we will talk about great missionaries from the scriptures. The third week is on how to be a missionary now... all great topics!

BNLFAN_1 is playing the cello in the Kaysville community theater production of Beauty and the Beast. She's having a blast doing it. We are going to it tonight.

Scout and N are doing Summer Strings, a string orchestra class at Weber State. Their concert is in two weeks.

Dilbert just got a bonus for all his hard work and travel over the last year. Whoo hoo, Dilbert! And the best news is he is actually spending some of it on himself. He's been buying coins and stamps on ebay and is looking for a high-end metal detector so we can go be geeks at old ghost towns in Central Utah. I'm so excited! I love the whole idea of rock hunting and stuff. I may change my mind when I am out on the desert in 110 weather...

And lastly, this week is girl's camp. I get to go teach orienteering. I told them I would do anything if they would just let me go. I love going to camp and with three daughters going, I am just so psyched! It's going to be fun fun fun!

New Era

Did anyone notice this article in this month's New Era? Look closely at the pictures on page 26 and you will see my DD. This was the most amazing Youth Conference EVER... I was privileged to cook one night's dinner and Dilbert helped manage a home site. Frank Zigmunt's band played at the kickoff dinner the first night (mentioned in the article as "a band"--sheesh! no respect!)

Happy 19th Birthday, Frank Zigmunt!

Happy Birthday, Frank Zigmunt!

19 years ago, I was the happiest Mom in the whole world. Despite coming into the world 3 weeks early and upsetting my last day of teacher inservice, I wouldn't have changed a thing.

Here you are, a day old...

and today:

Happy Anniversary!

I was married 20 years ago today. Wow, that's a long time. I have been married half of my life. Funny thing is, it doesn't feel like it could have been 20 years. The time has just flown by.

The best part is, I am looking forward to another 20 years.

Twlight scene

Ok, all you Twilight fans out there... Yeah, YOU. You know who I'm talking to. Here's a little something to tease you into a frenzy. Or, perhaps it will bore you.

Twilight - First Completed Scene - Ballet Studio

Obla dee or Oh blah, Dee

There has been so much going on that I haven't had time to post in ages.

We had a fabulous vacation to Newport, OR last week. We took a ton of pictures, most of which are entertaining only to ourselves but I will post them anyway. But not today. I am still swamped.

It has felt like I've had to move double-time to make up for the week we took off. We've had a ton of doctor appointments, softball games, orthodontist visits and especially health stresses.

First, my baby sis' health has been deteriorating over the past year. My parents were supposed to leave for Spain on their mission, but her health has deteriorated so much they have postponed it at least another week. It culminated with a series of seizures yesterday. I pray her suffering ends quickly. Her quality of life is not good and I feel her mission on earth is nearing an end. It will be difficult to see her go but I am confident she will be much happier. On the up side, since her last seizure, she is much more vocal than she has been for a long time and her limbs seem more limber. She's eating well and drinking well

My FIL had hip replacement surgery on Monday. His hip was the worst one his very experienced dr. had ever seen. Everything seemed fine but he has had one complication after another and is now in the ICU. Part of the problem has been due to the hospital's medicating him with narcotics which had been determined were slowing his heart and lowering his respiration to the point he was nearly loosing consciousness. They gave him something to counteract the narcotics and he improved. But then, even after they had determined the meds were bad, they gave him two more doses the next morning. Then he had trouble with his potassium levels, he wasn't eating anything, etc... So now, three days later, we're pretty worried about him. But he's a fighter and he's going to be fine. Dilbert's such a good son... He's having a hard time staying at work because he wants to be there with his Dad. He goes straight there after work and sits with him until 11 at night then comes home and crashes until 6 a.m. when he gets up and goes back to work, only to repeat it all again.