Basketball Girl

Here are some pix of Heather during a recent game taken by Jan Day. This game was with the American Fork JV team and SHS JV lost by 24. However, the Varsity squad, that features two players (one of which is only a junior) who have signed with BYU and Fresno St., beat their 5A opponent by 2! Go Lady Red Devils

Trick or Treat?

Dad and I tried to make a surprise trip back to Missouri. Our intent was to get there in time to "trick or treat" Jen's family before they headed out for the evening. We left Springville at 7 am on a Friday and made it to Rock Springs, WY without any problems but because of snow and high winds between Laramie and Cheyenne, I-80 was closed. The weather was OK in Rock Springs so we were a bit frustrated by the delay but "hung out" for 3 hours, eating lunch, trying to find a battery for dad's cell phone and checking in with the "information center" for a possible re-opening of the road. No chance, so our choices were to spend the night in Rock Springs and see how it was in the morning (that would put us WAY behind schedule) get down to I-70 and keep going or turn around and go home. Well, it was "Luke and Issac's or Bust" so we headed south toward Vernal, east into Colorado, over Rabbit Ears Pass (snowy, windy and scary fish-tailing), through Dillon (skipping Berthod--switch-backs that have an in-famous place in the White family history), hitting I-70 just before the Eisenhower Tunnel (still snowing) and slowly on down the front-range of the Rockies into Denver and (because we didn't want to be too far behind schedule) on to the border with Kansas to spend the night in Burlington, CO. It was 1 AM before we got to bed! Halloween was bright and clear so we sailed through Kansas and Missouri but didn't get to Arnold until the Bat and Bolt were out in another neighborhood trick or treating. We visited their new Wal-mart (our comfort zone where ever we are), had dinner and waited until they got home. Jen, being Jen, had a feeling we were coming out but the look on Luke and Issac's faces was well worth the trip. Here are some pictures of our visit.

November Notes

Finished Projects

Here are the results of HOURS of hard work...well at least the quilt took hours. I should have kept track of the hours I spent cutting out the pieces, piecing them together, adding the strips to make it the right size, quilting by hand the whole thing (minimum of 42 hours) and then binding the thing. But no matter, that was the point. My intent was to create by my own hand an heirloom for my posterity...some grand or great-grand might want to have a piece of the past...the quilt that was on Grandma and Papa's bed for as long as they can remember. Treat it well.



Thanks to Jen, I now have a "vinyl" decoration on my wall. It only took 3 hours to get it up there...dad would have had a cow if he would have seen me on top of a picnic bench on top of the picnic table. No worries, I said a prayer before getting up and just went slow.

October's Project

So this is the quilt that I've been working on for over a year. I'm not sure when I started cutting out the pieces but after I got the 56 starflower squares pieced together I took a break. As you can see it takes up almost half of the great room. On the 21st of November we are having the annual YM/YW planning meeting/breakfast at our house--in this room--so I have until then to get it done. Should be easy if I quilt 2 or 3 squares a day but if not, I'm doing the outside squares first so I can take it off and put it back on without much trouble. I'm doing this as a "heirloom" quilt (so the grand kids will have something to vie for when I'm gone) but it will go on our bed and I'm also using it as a Value Project for YW---Knowledge--because I had to learn how to do this every step of the way! It's been fun but one per lifetime is good enough for me!

More...

Here is some more pictures of Heather's Homecoming activities. The JV and Varsity volleyball teams are technically "Varsity" so she rated a sign.












They played Uinta and beat them soundly. Look familar?



















No idea what this was for. Steve Brown in back row right.














Apparently, most of the Uinta football team has had the swine flu so the SHS fans all wore mask. Cute but not very nice!

September Stories

Heather's date to Homecoming this year was Steve Brown--6"4" so she was able to wear her 5 inch heels and not worry about being too tall. Nice boy. He also comes with additional credentials--his little sister and little brother were both in mom's pre-school so his mom is a friend. She got in at 11:47 p.m. and Dad only said his "be good, be safe and then have fun" line (well...ok...maybe he did mention a baseball bat).





Isn't she so cute. The dress was sooo expensive. I'm for all the girls buying one dress a year and then switch with each other and rest of year...they are all the same size right?
















She's getting pretty good at pinning on the boo-ton-near! And she is still way shorter than he is...

















Ashley talked her friends into cheering on Heather at one of her home Volley Ball game. Coach Jarvis let them in for free.

Fall Harvest

So, this week as a little busy. I canned 21 quarts of tomato juice and 21 quarts of fresh tomatoes. I wasn't sure I could do it on my new glass top stove. The suggestion is that the normal-type canner is not flat and it's too large for the burner--which runs the risk of cracking the stove top...so with help of the internet and pure genius on my part (tongue in cheek)... I remembered that my mom had a "steam canner" that I happen to "inherit". It's flat on the bottom and small enough to fit the burner. It worked beautifully but the most enjoyable part of the whole process was the time I was able to think of my mom and dad. I used to take you kids with me to their house for the day and can tomatoes with mom. Dad would help pick the tomatoes from his garden ,and I'm sure entertain you all while we went to work and canned all day. I think she held up better than I did but the exhaustion was worth the sight of all those bottles lined up on the counter. I have mom's juicer as well and although it is an older type, it did the job. I think my dad would be proud of me as well because I had to do a "Joe McGee" to get it put together and I dare say he couldn't have done a better job himself---it probably wouldn't have taken him as long but it worked! Let's not let home canning be a lost art!

Another thought for August--I've been applying for part-time jobs since February with not a lot of hope or results. I pretty much gave up when a friend told me about an opening in an alternative high school as a teacher assistance in the daycare--for young girls with babies and for the faulty/staff's children. It seems almost the perfect job (and I was actually qualified for it) but I was so wishy-washy! Some times I really wanted the job and other times I didn't want the job. I, of course, made it a matter of prayer and finally decided that it's not the right time for me to go back to work. I decided even before I went to the temple but felt at peace there about the decision. I knew that IF I was offered the job, that I could and would politely say no thank you. As it turned out, they offered the job to another person but I feel it was important for me to make that decision on my own. Some day the time will be right for me to work but in my heart of hearts I know that my place is here at home. I'm grateful that I have had the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom.

The Journey's continue in July

It has almost been a month since our Alaskan Cruise began so I thought I'd better get some pictures posted. July went by even faster than most months; we were getting ready to leave the first week, gone the next, recuperating the next week, down with a sore back the week after that, and then gone again the last week. But it was fun! We took a lot of picture in Alaska but here are a few:

Heather and I went to Heber Valley Girls Camp last week. We had a wonderful time! Even though I had a "legit" reason for not going (back injury) I was determined to go...and thanks to some muscle relaxers and tender mercies I didn't have any troubles. I've learned over the years that when we are fulfilling our callings, the Lord blesses you and He did me this past week. I didn't feel confident on the first day to do any of the challenge courses so I just took a lot of pictures of those that did do it. Tuesday was a relaxing day although I did rescue a chipmunk out of very warm, soapy dishwater! Wednesday we went on a sunrise hike and had a very spiritual experience there, had breakfast then went down to the waterfront and I paddle boated--Heather was in a canoe and they tipped over at the end...she says it wasn't on purpose...then we had to hike back up to the campsite which was a killer! While on the sunrise hike I was "inspired" to do the challenge course--climb a pole, walk (slide) across a wire then go down the zip line. Some leaders and I went down to do it that day (those who didn't get a chance on Monday) but they were done for the day and I'll admit that I was relieved because it had already been a hard day for this 56 year old, but we went down of Thursday morning and I DID IT!!! Instead of a special speaker, the few single ward sisters put on a play about the 10 Virgins that was excellent and then of course the testimony meeting. Your dad did great as usual to start off the meeting and Heather's testimony was great too. It was good to get back though and my back is hurting again! So I'll get to Physical Therapy this week. While I was away, Dan took the call and tomorrow I have an interview at Westside Elementary for a Title I Tech position in their preschool....along with a gazillion other applicants....but it's an interview. We'll see.

Welcome to Camp D.I.V.A. a.k.a. Divine Indiviuals (who are) Virtuous Always

June journey

Just some insights gathered on the second day of the Hobble Creek Youth Conference 2009. We drove up to Sundance Ski Resort and rode the chair lift to the top of the mountain. The day was cool and overcast but the view from the lift was beautiful! Everything green, everywhere you looked. There wasn’t an ugly spot anywhere on this vast mountain and I was looking forward to riding the tram down the mountain as well, not just because hiking down wasn’t all that appealing to this 56 year old Mia Maid Advisor but because I wanted to see the other side of the valley without twisting and turning in the chair (vertigo!). We were put into two large groups to play unity-building games, work on a craft, etc. After our second rotation, rain began to fall. Many took cover under trees; the group who had “first” lunch huddled over their plates and a few from our ward found me and shared my umbrella. My first thought (after the rain lingered longed than we thought was necessary), was to suggest that “we should pray so the rain will go away.” But before I could say anything, a second thought came to me: “No, there is a reason for the rain.” Well, it stopped for a spell; long enough for the rest of us to eat lunch and gather to our next rotations. And then the rain started again. Then lightning and thunder (VERY close on its heels) put an end to the activities and we were told to walk down the mountain. When there is lightning in the area, the chair lifts are shut down, for obvious reasons, so we really had no other choice. One girl in our group was very unhappy about this change of plans and let her feeling be known to all around. I decided that it was my responsibility to encourage her so for every complaint she made, I pointed out the positives…”Think of it as an adventure!” It worked! Even on me! Remember, I had planned on using “leader privileges” to ride down myself. Oh what a tender mercy it was to have the opportunity to journey down the side of the mountain and feel and experience the things that I did! It rained for quiet a bit even as we were going down and the path was wet and slippery and in some places quiet treacherous! There were tree roots to trip us up, rocks in the way and low hanging branches to whip us in the face. There were also small trees, placed just so, to hold on to and “heroes and angels” to help us across the many rain-swollen creeks. Many almost fell, some did trip and a few fell big time! But we all got up and continued onward. We came at last to the paved road serving the residences of the canyon so we had an easier time of it. Too easy it seemed! We either weren’t paying attention or just ignored the marker pointing the way but as a voice from above called to us we realized that we had to go back the way we came to find the right path. A few who weren’t very excited about retracing their steps, took a “short-cut” to the right path by climbing almost vertical up the side of the hill, holding on to tree roots to prevent them from siding downward. But we all made it quickly and safely “home” at the base of the mountain. I thought about that experience all the next morning before Fast and Testimony Meeting and decided to share it in Church. During the Sacrament, I had another thought come to me, “Go ahead and share it, but the experience was for you.” So gratefully (and tearfully) I did. This life is a journey, with many obstacles and unplanned-for events as we make our way to our final destination. When we fall, we just have to pick ourselves up and continue on our way. There will be heroes and angels and tender mercies to help us and we are never alone. When we lose our way, we back up and start again. There are no “short-cuts” to repentance, it only makes it harder. We do our best and keep going, having faith that we will make it to our journey’s end. These principles are basic and simple and I’ve known them for many years but I needed to be reminded of them once more…and I was, on the side of a beautiful mountain.

May Madness

May is always busy with end-of-year activities at school--Last Chance Dance and club basketball for Heather kept us on the run. She had a "tripped over the foul line" moment and broke the baby toe of her right foot so she is on the side-lines for 4 weeks. She cried for two days, not from pain but because she has to sit out, but now she has decided that it was a blessing in disguise--she has 4 weeks to let her tendonitis and other various injuries heal! May also included a combined YM/YW activity that mom was in charge of--humanitarian service project and YW sleepover at our house! We were able to tie 4 crib-size blankets, 13 fleece blankets (we cut and tied the ends) and are still working on a dozen or so knifty-knit hats. The hats will be an on-going project. Mom's siblings have been going through all of Grandma White's "stuff" and can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. Having a few of her pocessions (OK, more than a few) close at hand lets my mind explore long forgotten memories and my heart soar to new heights in gratitude that I can forever call her "mom." Mother's Day wasn't as hard as I thought it would be--the first without her--but Memorial Day (today) at the grave site may be. Our 5th Seminary graduation (Bishop and wife gets to hand out the certificates), and 4 weddings (all grooms from our ward), and other stake and ward activities round out the month. June is just around to corner with Youth Conference, EFY for Heather etc, etc, etc....but no more school! Sorry but no pictures this time... Love to you all!

April milestones

April is always busy and fun with General Conference, Easter and mom's birthday but this April was also Ashley's long awaited graduation from BYU--actually is feels like it has flown by!

And Heather went to her first Prom at Springville High School. She is only a sophomore so mom made her wear one of her sisters formals but isn't are baby so cute! Her date is Hunter Booth.

More memories

While we were in Missouri, Heather had her first date--the Sweethearts Dance at SHS with some dude named Colton. But we made Ash and Dan take pictures for us. Isn't our baby cute?!!


Here's some more pix of your oh-so cute grandsons:

February's Visits

We are half-way through March but we can't skip February's fun. Dad and Mom flew out to Missouri to see Jen's family then they flew back out here with us to Utah for Tyler's brothers wedding. Dan was glad to have the boys to hang with.







Luke couldn't wait for Isaac to wake up. He printed some "cards" off of the internet (all by himself!) and colored them for Isaac.


























More pictures:

Issac's Spider Man Birthday cake...Mommy decorated it! Nice job!














Isaac had two birthday parties. One with his friends on his Birthday and one the next day when Poppa and Grandma could be there.

new job, puzzle, running, etc.

Thanks to everyone for their fasting and prayers on our behalf.  I know that was the main reason I was able to find a job so quickly.  It has been nice to have time over the past couple weeks to just relax and spend time with Jen and the boys.  I think losing my job was really a blessing because now I have a better job, I'm getting paid more, and I spent a lot of time with my family.  Heavenly Father knows what's best for us - better than what we think is best.  

On New Year's Eve we decided to go to Wal-Mart to buy a puzzle.  It took me 17 hours to finish it.  I think I was up until 2:00 a.m. on New Year's Eve and then I finally finished it around midnight on New Year's day.  Here's the final product.  

I was so proud of it, that I didn't put it away until last week.  I think Jen was glad when I finally did.  I know she didn't want to ruin my masterpiece!

As you may have seen, I decided to start training to run a 5k.  Initially I wanted to run a marathon this year, but after I did a little research, I decided that I probably needed to work up to the point where I could run a marathon.  I am quite the novice when it comes to running - I don't think I even knew how long a marathon was (if you didn't know either, it's a little over 26 miles). Everything I read suggested that you run for at least a year before attempting to train for a marathon.  I thought I could be superman, but Jen talked some sense into me and I decided to start with a smaller goal first.  I really don't care about running that much - this is more my way of shedding some pounds.  

Other than that, I started another semester at school.

I'll see everyone in a couple weeks!

January in St. Louis

Well, obviously the biggest thing that happened here was Tyler getting a job offer.  He officially starts Monday and we are very excited! It is a great opportunity for him and a great company.  We definitely feel as though our prayers have been answered and I am so grateful for Tyler and his optimism and hard work.  I know that is why he was able to find something so quickly in such a hard job market.  

The boys are doing great.  Luke is excited to be back at preschool after a long Christmas break.  He is learning how to recognize and write his last name right now.  He had his Kindergarten screening on  Monday.  He did great, esp. with the numbers and letters.  He didn't do so well in the body part section, which surprised me, until I realized they were asking him things like were his jaw was.  I was trying to explain where it is, and he kept telling me that jaw isn't a word! But he will be great in Kindergarten. I can't believe we are talking about him starting kindergarten. KG is full day here, and I can't imagine a whole day without Luke here! Isaac is as cute and funny as ever.  He is really into Spider-man and wants a spider man cake for his birthday.  He is excited about that too.  I can't believe he is almost 3! He likes to play spider man with Dad. Isaac plays spider man and Daddy is the lizard from the movie that their Aunt Emily gave the boys for Christmas. He is like Tyler in more that just looks.  He is a pretty big tease.  He is the one teasing Luke the most, instead of the normal big brother teasing the little brother.  

We are really excited to see Mom and Dad in 11 days and the rest of you a week later!  

See ya soon,

The St. Louis Erickson's 

Mom's January 2009 in review:

The first half of the month was a little foggy—figuratively and literally. I know there were Heather’s basketball games, Young Women lessons and activities, a hair cut, trying to eat healthier and some sneezing. By mid-month the sneezing turned into a full-blown allergy attack but I only got temporary relief with some prescribed Prednisone. The “red burn” air-quality is most likely the source of my misery. My nose doc is out on vacation this week (of course) but the storm that produced at least 12 inches of fresh snow this weekend pushed the inversion (and haze) out of the valley and today I’m not so miserable. Daniel came home from his mission last week and life is good except for insurance frustrations. Frustrations, anticipations, long-sufferings, roller-coaster emotions, anxiety, good news and bad have all been crammed inside this fading month. But my faith is stronger and my hopes are still high. Life is for learning and becoming our best and getting there is sometimes tough. But thankfully, God is patient and loving and forgiving. So whether the weather is foggy or just our memories, life marches on--illuminated by faith, hope and patience.

PS I could post a red-nosed picture but I think not. Actually, my vacationing doctor got the message and called in another dose of Prednisone!

January 2009 for Kim...

I started school which as been interesting/fun. I just got done writing a fable for my History of Children's Literature class. The picture you are looking at is a sample of what some of my classmates are capable of artistically. Paul said he just whipped this up over the weekend. Gee whiz!

Lucky for me, we had the option to either draw our own illustrations or use someone else's for our fable. I used some of Beatrix Potter's illustrations. The assignment was to take an Aesop fable that we remember from our youth and combine it with one that we had never heard of before...this is harder than it sounds. At least I thought so :) If anyone is interested, I can send you a copy of it.

It is definitely interesting balancing full-time work with school but I think I am staying on top of my homework. I admire Tyler for being able to balance a family along with everything else! He's pretty much amazing! :)