Lake Tahoe

We went to go visit Grandpa Rick for Labor Day Weekend. It was done in typical Grandpa Rick fashion where we played enough for two weeks in two days. After our trip I went through all of the things that we did and then asked my boy what his favorite part of the trip was. “Was is going to Applebee’s, or was it your movie party with Grandpa that night. Was it hanging out at his house in the morning and getting to play piano and do Soduko with Grandpa? Was is the picnic and going to the American River to swim? Was is going to Old Sacramento for Gold Rush days? Was is going out to Chevy’s for fajitas? Was is going to Baskin Robbins afterwards and getting to eat ice cream on the rocks? Was it driving around Penryn and seeing where I grew up or the cemetery where my mom and brother were buried? Was it going to stay at a hotel in Lake Tahoe and seeing Rachel wake-up excitedly saying, ‘It’s a forest!’ Was is going out to a breakfast with eggs, bacon, toast, potatoes, and orange juice? Was it going to the store getting Lake Tahoe magnets and having Grandpa Rick buy you and Rachel your own sand toys? Was it making your own crawdad fishing pole and filling your bucket with bacon-loving crawdads? Was it swimming in the lake? Was it building a sand castle on the beach?”

He thought about it all and then said, “Wow! The stuff that we did at the beginning feels like it was a month ago.” Then he continued, “Definitely Lake Tahoe!”

Lake Tahoe has become something that Little Miss R has talked about everyday since we returned. When she gets sad she cries and asks for what she knows will bring her comfort, “I wana go to Lake Tahooooe.” She says that she will let me use here shovel and bucket. She tells me where she will sit in the car, that I will sit by her, that Grandpa and Daddy will be in the front, and that her big brother will be in the back. She tells me that we will swim and play in the sand and catch crawdads and see the forest. Then she demands that we go now. It is so cute that sometimes I have to ask her if she is going to take me to Tahooooooe so that I can hear her talk about it. It is almost like she gets offended that I would question that promise that she has already made to me because she adamantly says, “I AM!” Sometimes she excitedly bursts out, “I have an idea! Let’s go to Lake Tahooooe and we’ll be so happy!”

I honestly cannot think of a better vacation spot for our family. The forest and mountains provide amazing hiking and backpacking, but it is also the perfect place to simply relax. There can’t be a more ideal setting to watch children have fun. The scenery of the blue water surrounded by green trees is so beautiful. Hearing the cool water lap against the warm shores of the softest sand in the world is so relaxing. The water in this part of Tahoe has such a shallow beach that the water is warm enough to be refreshing not so cold that you can’t enjoy it. The kids love to make sand castles. What is it with that sand anyway? Does it have glue in it? That stuff makes awesome sand castles.

Extraordinary Determination

Father and son conquered Mt. Timpanogos

I got to experience it all vicariously. The day before the hike Master I kept saying, "I can't believe I get to do this hike!" Our son woke us both up at 4 am saying he was ready to go. I was on pins and needles all day hoping that they would make it to the top. I was scared that one of them would slip or get hurt, so I called them all day long. I called every five minutes when they were trying to make it to the top. Master I was discouraged and didn't want to go any further. He told his dad that 99% of him wanted to quit, but only 1% of him wanted to finish. He was only 1/4 of a mile away. I told him that I would pay him 20 dollars if he would finish. That motivated him to keep going. I was elated when he made it to the top. I was even happier when he came home and I got to see his exhaustion and his glowing happiness. They left befor 5 am and got home after 10 pm. He fell asleep on the couch on the way upstairs. I had to wake him up to get him in bed. But, once I woke him up you couldn't wipe the smile off of his face. He didn't want to go to bed because he wanted to talk about it. He said, "I can't believe I did it! It was harder than 10 Mt. Olympus hikes." The seventeen mile seven year old.

All of this just makes me want to hike every trail in Northern America. Master I feels the same way. I asked him what one he wanted to do next. "Maybe Half Dome," he said.

"It is More Blessed to Give Than to Receive"

I remember when I grew out of Halloween. I was a teenager. I still wanted it to be magical and fun, but parents began to look at me with suspicion when I went trick-or-treating and dressing-up was an afterthought-throw on your cheerleading uniform. I never thought that Halloween could return to being truly fun and that it could actually be even more magical than when I was young.

That perspective changed 7 years ago at my son's first Halloween. He was 10 months old and thought that getting dressed up was hillarious. We went to a little parade outside our student housing where a band was doing a show for the kids. He as so excited. His face was beaming and he was clapping his hands. I couldn't help it...I started to cry. I was so happy to see his happiness. I was so grateful that people would make his day special. The happiness of my first Halloweenas a mother far exceeded any happines that I felt as a child. I marveled at it and then remembered a scripture, "Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive."

I felt the same joy this month when my sister-in-law's family took us fishing. My boy was beside himself that he got to go on a boat and fish! Seeing his excitement, thrill, and gratitude was too much for me to bear and I started to cry. I brushed the tears away hoping no one would see because how could I explain? I don't even understand why I cry in those moments. I just felt gratitude for those that gave my son something that I couldn't give him that he really wanted. And I felt joy in helping to give my son something that he loved.

That fishing trip was more joyful than any such trip that I had when I was growing up. That amazes me because my parents knew how to have a party! We had a lot of fun growing up. There were always vacations to amusement parks, Hawaii, National Parks, camping, Giants game at Candlestick Park, day trips to Bridgeport, Pajaro Dunes, and you name it. We either were partying together or working together.

My thirty seven year old sister told me that this summer has been the funnest summer of her life. A sane person might ask how driving back and forth from Tennesse to Utah, living out of a suitcase for two months, going off of no sleep, mothering 5 kids without husband and home to make it easier could possibly feel that way. The answer was because it was so joyful to see her children so happy and having fun.

"Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive." And so, life just keeps getting better.

Grandpa and Grandma's Spa and Resort

We played with cousins

We went through Grandma's old clothes and cut them up to sew a new outfit for Rachel

We got spoiled by love from Grandma and even got to go garage saling with her





We swam everyday except Sunday

Miss R loved the pool!

A tea party with Grandma

Daddy's girl just became Grandpa's girl. She always went up to him, hopped on his lap, and assumed she would be fully enjoyed by him.

4th of July

Playing in the dream back yard.

A celebration with holiday cookies and Sparkling Apple Cider.



Watching the fireworks

Turned 35 and the Birthdays Just Get Better!

Grandma's special pancakes for my 35th birthday.

I believe every birthday should have:
1. a wrapped present


2. a birthday cake with candles and the singing of the birthday song


3. hopefully some special activity done together


4. decorations


I think that this must have been my happiest birthday yet. It was even more fun that the elaborate celebrations my parents gave me growing up. My family knew how to party. I think what made this particular birthday so special was to give this fun day to my kids. I wasn't waiting for anyone to throw a party for me because I was visiting grandparents while my husband was working long hours.

What made my day specail was to feel love for and from my kids. I think the love that I felt for my children was because most of what I did to celebrate was to give them an opportunity to give their love to me. Like taking them to the dollar store so they could buy me a present. The day was constant fun for them and they kept wanting to make it special for me. They loved baking the cake with me and decorating it. I bought decorations at the dollar store so that my son could decorate the house with Grandma. When little Miss R woke up and saw the decorations she gasped with delight and said, "Mommy! It's your birthday!" Unlike birthdays growing up, there was no material present that I longed for. But there was something that I did want. It was more of a feeling . And I got it. To love and to be loved, what could be better than this?

Women and the Priesthood

Women and the Priesthood

Recently some families members who are not of my faith attended a wedding luncheon with me in a local chapel. Because it was there first time in an LDS building I offered to take them for a tour. As we were walking they shared with me some concerns they had with their religion. One concern that came out was how they believed that women should be able to be ministers if they wanted.
I have thought many times about that conversation since, mostly because it revealed to me how different my religion is than others. I don’t remember them asking the question, “Are women ministers in your church?” But, if they would have I don’t know how I could answer them honestly. What is a minister? I would assume that it is the leader of a religious group that is paid to manage, teach, pray for, and minister to the individuals of the congregation.
I guess the first answer is that we are a lay-ministry. In other words, the minister isn’t paid, male or female.
But do women manage the Church? There are 5 organizations within the Church: the men, the women’s group, the youth groups (girls and boys), and primary (the children’s group). Women run the women’s group, the girls youth group, and the primary. Yes, we manage the Church along side of the men.
Do women teach? There are three different meetings that make up our Sunday services. The first hour families are together and men and women of the congregation are asked to give sermons or talks. The second hour is Sunday School and men and women are asked to teach the class. The third hour is divided into the men and women’s groups where each teach their own classes. In addition women serve as full-time missionaries along with men. I was blessed to be one of those women.
Women pray in Church as much as the men.
Do we minister to individuals? Women are assigned women that they are asked specifically to minister to by visiting them in their homes. They serve these women spiritually by teaching them the word of God in a monthly message. A visiting teacher tries to minister to each woman temporally and spiritually. Men are asked to do basically the same thing through the home teaching program.
So how would I answer the question, “Are women ministers in your Church?” I think I would have to say, “Not only are they allowed to, it is expected of them. Or more accurately, it is a promise that they make to God when they are baptized. We do it and we do it powerfully. And everyone of us does it.”
It is has not been my experience to see that the women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints feel under-whelmed with influence or responsibility in the Church. On the contrary, we keenly feel how critical the work we do is with our own children. And then when the call comes to stretch ourselves and serve in Church in a ministerial sort of way, we wonder if we can. I have never heard anyone complain that they are not asked to give enough talks in our meetings. The idea is laughable to anyone who has been immersed in LDS culture.
As a woman of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I am not sad that I don’t have the priesthood. I am grateful that I am blessed by the priesthood equally to a man. As a member of the Church I have been surprised by the many things that I have been asked to do that I have felt were beyond my capabilities. I have found it to be a richly-rewarding and stretching experience.

Pionner Day Weekend

An Independent Spirit

I had a funny conversation with my boy this week.

Master I was reading a Calvin and Hobbs comic book and felt like he could identify with one of the comics he read where Calvin asserts his independence. This is how the conversations went.

Master I off-handedly says, "I feel that same way Mom."

I don't know what on Earth he is referring to so I say, "What way?"

Master I then reads to me what Calvin says to Hobbs, "For your information I don't have to do anything I don't want to do."

Then he explains to me how that applies to hims by saying, "Because I don't have to do things...I could just run away."

Grandkids Get Together

Stoddard Family Dinner




A day in the water.

Red Robin. Big Appetites after a day of play.

"What would you like Lucas?"
"A triple scoop of vanilla."
"Are you sure?"
"YES!"


With Grandpa no dinner is complete without dessert.


Too bushed to boogie. They were great friends. It was fun to see.

Happy 4th of July

Dad has begun to work very intense hours again. You see him here with his kids absoultely doting over him. Master I created this present for him in the past couple of days. It was a 4th of July present for his dad. It contained crafts he made, his favorite rocks from Zion's National Park, many drawings, a new toothbrush from the bathroom (He really bragged about this one, saying that he found it in the cupboard in a package, totally unused!), 2 homemade Happy 4th of July cards, an adventure journal from REI, a junior ranger manual from Zion's, and all of Master I's favorite books from the book shelf.


While Master I was presenting his treasures to his dad, Little Miss R explained what was in the box--acting like it was from her as well.

A conversation between Litte Miss R and her Dad

Miss R: "You came back to me! I want to go with you."

Dad: "Where do you want to go?"

Miss R: "To the hospital...where you live."

What was Daddy's reaction? A quick laugh followed with a look of deep sadness. Living the Dream!

Family Update