Covenant Daughters

Tonight I had the privilege to go with my wonderful Mom and with my Ally girl to the General Women's Conference broadcast at our Stake Center. 

It was wonderful and I really enjoyed having my Ally girl come with me for the first time. She is so wonderful and such a blessing to our family. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family.

I really felt like a high-tower. I was even wearing flats and my Mom was wearing little wedges. hah!

I felt the spirit so strong throughout the broadcast and I know that Elder Eyring's talk was written just for me. So much of what he said I needed to hear and it touched my heart deeply. 

"...those feelings are placed deep in the heart's of all of Heavenly Father's daughters. That is part of your divine heritage from Him. You were tutored by him before you came into this life. He helped you understand and accept that you would have trials, tests and opportunities perfectly chosen just for you. You learned that our Father had a Plan of Happiness to get you safely through those trials and that you would help bring others safely through theirs. This Plan is marked by covenants with God. It is our choice whether we make and keep those covenants. Only a few of His daughters have the opportunity in this life to even learn of those covenants. You are one of the favored few. You, dear sisters, each of you, is a daughter in the covenant. Heavenly Father taught you before you were born about the experiences you would have as you left Him and came to Earth. You were taught that the way back home to Him would not be easy. He knew that it would be too hard for you to make the journey without help. You have been blessed not only to find the way to make those covenants in this life, but to be surrounded by others who will help--who, like you, are covenant daughters of Heavenly Father." 

Cub of the Year 2014

Tonight we had the pleasure of going to the Cub of the Year Banquet Dinner for 2014.

Ryland was nominated for Cub of the Year and went through 

an interview process last week for it.

There were about 30 Cubs interviewed. Tonight they presented the Wolf, Bear and Webelos Cub of the Year Awards. 

There was one boy chosen from each rank to be Cub of the Year for the entire district. The other boy's were selected to be

in the Honor Guard for the District and get to be in the Peach Days parade this September. They are also Cub of the Year for their packs.

Ryland did a great job during the interview. 

They asked him to recite the Boy Scout Oath and the Scout Law. They were impressed by how well he knew it already, especially for being such a young Webelo.

 They also asked him how he shows Scout Spirit in his family, school and community. He said you show Scout Spirit by inviting your family to pack meeting but I think honestly my sisters come for the treats at the end. That made them all laugh pretty good. 

They asked him if he was wearing Scout socks that night, he told them he was wearing red and blue socks. They asked him to show them and laughed when they realized he had on mismatched socks.

They said Ryland did a great job and had a fun sense of humor.

Ryland received a neat certificate as well as this cool neckerchief.

Proud Mom and Dad

Love my Scouters! So proud of them!

Lunch Date!

Today's lunch was awesome! Not so much because of the food but because of the awesome people I got to eat it with.

It was super fun to get together with my Mom, my Grandpa Sargent and my sister, Jen for a quick lunch during Jen's lunch break. 

Grandpa was super sweet and insisted on buying and he also gave us each a Valentine's box of chocolates. Best date ever! It has been so much fun getting to know him in a different way since my Grandma passed away. I know he misses her terribly but he seems so much more carefree since then. A lot of worry lifted off of his mind. 

It was a great day! 

A New Adventure

Very few people know that I actually started a job back in December. I am an online chat "expert" (rolls eyes, haha) for Lead Anywhere. I work with their clients on their websites.

 I haven't really spoken about it because I have been adjusting to the change myself first. It has been 14 years since I have had a "job".

 I can't really say that I have fully adjusted but I am coming along. 

It has actually been perfect for our family, as it is part-time and I get to work from home. It has been an adjustment for all of us though, even the kids. 

Nothing has been quite the adjustment for us like this last week has been. The main client that I work with is a large Agricultural company. They manufacture tractors and implements, like rakes, loaders, tillers, etc. They had their annual product training event for their dealers this week down in Phoenix. I was selected to head down with my team to get some product training on the new models and to get some "stick" time. 

Me, driving my first tractor, a wind rower

It was an enlightening experience to say the least. We spent the days, from 7 am to 5:30 pm, hanging out in fields learning about engines, trannies, guidance systems, implements, fuel consumption, etc. To say it was information overload would be an understatement.

At night we still had things going on with the client so it made for very long days and not much of my time was my own.

 To say it was a long week would again be an understatement.

The Wind rower I drove 

I definitely learned a lot but I have forgotten much more than I learned! Good thing I took so many notes that my hands were literally cramping! haha

I drove this Wind rower too

Mostly it was just helpful being around all of the machines and the dealers that sell them. It helped me to be more familiar with "shop talk" since the people that I chat with are the people on  that are ultimately buying these things. 

I could take the picture because the Tractor was driving itself.

 Kinda trippy, not gonna lie!

All I gotta say is the idea that these guys are "just farmers" is way off. I swear you have to be a NASA scientist to drive one of these things! They are HUGE and have so many buttons and features it is mind boggling. Most of these cost more than my entire home! Did you know these bad boys can actually drive themselves now? Seriously trippy experience.

Fendt

This particular model (above) is the Mercedes Benz of tractors. It's around $350,000 and I swear the cab is just as nice as a Benz. Or at least what I would imagine the inside of a Benz would be like. haha It has a fridge, a sunroof, the seat suspension and features would blow your mind. Among other things....like the auto driving system. It is insane. Not to mention the back tires were taller than most of the men there. It was great getting behind the stick on this bad boy. Yes, you read that right, they let ME drive one of those things. I seriously trust their judgement after that one. ;)

Unfortunately I didn't get to have any stick time on our track tractors. They are ginormous as well. Again, wheels taller than most men. I wanted to see what it felt like to basically be driving a tank. haha

Like I said, it was an eye opening experience in MANY ways! It was a long, dusty, mind boggling, week but I had a great time as well. I am just so glad to be back home. Wish me luck on my chats with my new found knowledge. Hopefully it will make them go even better than before. But don't hold your breath for a while. Still a long learning curve. 

Bear Lake Getaway

We always love our mid winter getaway! It is so nice to have it to look forward to after the Holidays are over.

Every Presidents Day weekend we run away to either Bear Lake or to Midway.

The kids had a great time swimming. 

The family enjoyed playing the part of the 'Shoulder Angel' from Studio C during the weekend. 

We went to the sinks to go sledding. What an adventure that turned out to be. We were all exhausted after that one. 

It was a great getaway! 

Blue and Gold 2014

Tonight was our Blue and Gold Banquet. 

It was super fun and lively for our Scouts.

Nate recently bought his Grandpa Lundberg's old Indian Chief headdress. He was able to put it to good use tonight

when Ethan and the other Order of the Arrow boys came to help with a Arrow of Light during the Blue and Gold dinner. 

But first Ryland and Evelyn had a go of wearing it.

Ethan, Kaden and Dakota Mote

I love seeing Ethan all done up to help with an Arrow of Light ceremony. 

Ryland and Nate are sure enjoying being in Webelos together. 

Tonight when Ryland was earning his Readyman pin they had a great time. You can tell their bond is growing stronger and stronger through their time together there. I love seeing Nate be so involved in Scouting with our boys. 

She Seems a Little Fishy

Evelyn and her GINORMOUS mermaid tale her older brother "Dedan" kindly helped her into. :)