Four years ago...

I can't believe it's been four years. Most of us can look back and recall a day that has changed your life. Our family has faced a few. Four years ago today, Tanner was racing for the Brighton Ski Team and he was training that evening. Taylor also had a season pass and went snowboarding that evening. Jason had just switched employment to Protel and was picking up the boys from the mountain. Usually the boys ride the bus home but that even Jason offered to pick them up at the lodge. When he arrived the boys weren't ready so he decided to take a run down the slopes. It was a clear, crispy cold night. As he snowboard down the mountain, he hit a few ruts and felt his leg break (multiple times). The boys got the message from ski patrol and met Jason at Brighton's medical office. Jason called me in a very calm voice that he couldn't drive home and needed help getting home. I wasn't worried until I saw the ambulance ready to transport Jason. Well, long story short, he broke his leg in over 8 places, had 9 surgeries and a nasty infection that would not leave him alone. Even though our family faced such difficult challenges with his leg, it also brought us incredible opportunities and blessings. Since he spent so many days in the hospital with various surgeries, I would have Jordan skate in SLC. This is where she met her coach. In September the following year with a leg refusing to mend, it forced us to sell our house and move to SLC. We live in a wonderful neighborhood and a kind,loving ward. None of this would have happened if he didn't break his leg. Moving to SLC was the best change for our family. So here is to four years...what an adventure and I look forward to many more. The photos were taken of his last attempt to save his leg. A fixator was placed on his lower leg for 5 months. I have other graphic photos but Jason would not be happy with me if I posted those. THANK YOU to all those who made a difference and got us through a very difficult time in our lives...and Jason thank you for being an amazing person. I can never comprehend the level of pain your experienced.

Christmas Video...

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Christmas Photos

First Photo: Missy trying to keep me quiet!

Second Photo: Lady Coach, Foxy Lady and Sister Coach! Missy, Meagan and I have named our purses over the past few months!

Oh Mom...always planning, cleaning, organizing and making sure we are all having fun. I like the photo of her cooking and the kitchen that Dad painted in the background. The second photo is mom telling us, "Just one more thing to do...."

Missing Dad

My dad had MANY hats. We each took one to wear.

Last night we spent the evening going through Dad's "treasures". My mom did an AMAZING job organizing his "treasures" the past 6 weeks. She put so much time figuring out what would be important to us and helping us go through his things. We all gathered around his room and went through bins and bins of his "treasures"...I couldn't believe how much work my mom and Cubby have done. My dad collected everything and anything he could find. We had a fun evening. I even made dinner and it wasn't bad!!! That is what I have missed the most, the smell of his cooking.

Trip to San Francisco and Seeing Santa

Jason took the kids to San Francisco and met Uncle Tom and his family. Taylor took many photos and here are a few I liked.

First Photo: Taylor took this photo from the reflection of a Christmas Bulb.

Second Photo: Cable Car filling up...imagine that gas bill!!!

Third Photo: Uncle Tom and his son Roy.

Great photos of Tom and Jason. I love being around Tom and Jason when they are silly. We have terrific memories over the past ten years together. We miss Uncle Tom!!!

Trip to California

We finally left Utah after shoveling 4 inches of snow and watching more snow coming fast! Our first hour was tricky but we carefully drove and it took us a few hours just to get on the freeway. Once we hit Wendover it was very clear. Jason drove the WHOLE distance and through the night. Missy was a terrific co captian and kept Jason awake talking about business and singing for 10 hours.

Making a Difference

I was tagged with the following questions:

1. In your opinion, what does it mean to make a difference?

A person who is honest, sincere and compassionate makes a difference for me. You can see their character in their eyes and it's something you can feel and someone you always want to be around. Money, of course can make a difference but not everyone has it but meeting someone that shows compassion and is sincere and tries to be honest can really make a difference to their family, friends and strangers.

2. What is an example of a unique way to make a difference?

SMILE - We all face different challenges and trials that can weigh us down but what a difference a smile makes. Someone told me once you take care of yourself, you can then take care of others. Not that you put yourself first every minute but instead strengthen your values and your beliefs...you become a better person and in return you have the strength and desire to strengthen others.

3. Who has made a difference in YOUR life this week?

Where to begin??? I never realized the difference my Dad made until I went to his work and his funeral. It was overwhelming witnessing how many lives he touched. Now that he is not here, everyday I realize what a difference he made to me. Of course, Mom...she is constantly showing me her strength, determination and love getting us through the past few months. She is always an anchor for me. We arrived in California Friday morning and came home to the Christmas tree with all it's light and decorations. It really made a difference for me yet I know it was hard to do without Dad and my mom returning back to work. Eating dinner together - this past week all the kids helped to have dinner together then spend the evening at the Zoo. That made me smile! I also spent last weekend with two of my old young women leaders (Kathy and Gail). They made a difference in my life!

4. If I didn’t have a blog, would you still be making a difference.

I don't know if my blog makes a difference for others??? It gives me an opportunity to organize my photos and capture moments to share with family and friends. I enjoy letting my kids read about how much I care for them. It also provided a way to communicate and show information and photos of my Dad with others who couldn't make it but yet can still feel connected.

5. What is your favorite thing about the internet?

The information and finding ways to reconnect with friends throughout the country...however, I have also seen it used for wrong resources and destroy families, making life challenging for others. Sometimes I spend too much time on the internet and less time communicating with my family.

Go to the Zoo for Christmas Spirit...

Oh, we had a great evening spending it at the zoo. We live down the street from the zoo (literally) and this year they added a new attraction called Zoo Lights. After my adventure of lights in St. George, I thought it couldn't be any worse! We had a blast...the most incredible neon lights that covered nearly every tree. Snow was on the ground and most of the animals were sleeping but I am sure they enjoyed the Christmas music playing throughout the zoo. We purchased these terrific glasses that make all the lights into snowmen. I saved them to share with Mom when we see her on Friday. It was a perfect start to get into the Christmas mood. It was the first time I started to feel "cheery" about Christmas. Tanner was in a bad mood because we received his midterm report card...he has a lot of explaining to do! I am confident he will fix his situation but it at least explains his sour look in some of the photos. It reminded me when we took him to the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Paralympics in SLC. He did not like the loud sounds or all the lights. He was moody the whole evening. Dad wasn't far from our thoughts, he would have loved this and I knew he was near when I started to hear "Feliz Navidad" playing in the background!

Happy Birthday Kathy!

I had a wonderful time this weekend in St. George!!! It was Kathy Olson's birthday and we celebrated with movies, movies, games, movies, junk food, movies, junk food and more games. We even went for a Christmas light drive...not much to see in St. George as far as the lights go, especially comparing to Salt Lake City. I was also in the very back seat with LOUD Christmas music and Gail driving wild but I wouldn't want any other company...I just won't ever eat another pistachio...(I got a little sick Saturday night.) I love spending time with Kathy. It was also much fun to join Gail Horne (my young women leader from San Rafael 1st Ward) and my new friend Tammy. Now the best part was hearing the news that Ian's wife gave birth to not one but two sweet little boys on Kathy's birthday. Ian and I grew up together and is Kathy's son. Imagine that having your two grandsons born on your birthday! The photo is Tammy, Kathy, Gail and I celebrating at Texas Roadhouse!

Baby, It's Cold Outside...

Jason and Jordan...

We had another weekend of over 14 inches of snow. It's just beautiful. It was a big storm, the snow plowers were plowing our street at 12:30 am. We were shoveling at least 7 inches at midnight. It's one of my favorite things to do. It's so quiet outside (this is before the snow plowers arrived) and you can't see the pavement. It's also very light outside having the blanket of white snow on the ground. The next morning, Jason and Jordan played outside. Many homes lost power, however we didn't. Church was cancelled because our building lost power...(Taylor must of been praying!)

The Dining Room Table

First Photo: Chair Unfinished
Second Photo: Chair with first coat of Brick Red Paint

During the summer our dining room turned into the office, while Taylor used the office as a bedroom. We recently moved Taylor back in the basement, it's a nice huge room and I regained my office and dining room back. It was my sister that missed eating around the table the most and the rest of the family agreed, we love gathering around and eating a meal together. However, we were down to three chairs and often used the foot stool and patio chairs for all of us to eat around the table. Missy had a smashing idea to purchase a chair for everyone to decorate. Of course, the ideas went wild and I had my fake smile with visions of how each chair would look. Tanner wanted a Lazy Boy and Taylor suggested a camping chair! We settled to have the same style chair but each family member would decorate it differently. (Still a little worried.) Mom loved the idea and wanted to buy the chairs as a Christmas gift for our family. PERFECT!!! While she was in Utah during Jr. Nationals we searched various stores but didn't find anything we liked. After she left, I searched the internet and found a local wood store called "Four Chairs" in Orem. During that same week, Missy had business in Orem and found the same store. Jason, Missy and I drove out on Saturday and fell in love with this store. It has great prices, incredible quality and terrific ideas. We found the chair we liked and Mom purchased 6 chairs. THANK YOU MOM. As we roamed the store, we noticed colors that we loved and now wanted all the chairs to match and have everyone decorate just the back of the chair. I had a blast sanding, painting, making marks and staining the chairs. Jason helped and we were so proud of the results. (We still need to apply three coats of clear Top Coat.) BUT NOW, we are stuck...do I let the kids still decorate the back? What if it looks tacky? We thought maybe we decopage photos on the back of each family member. We also thought just having their name and favorite saying on the back of the chair. We are stuck and don't know what to do! Give us any ideas...

First Photo: Chair with black stain and finished except for Clear Top Coat

Second Photo: The bare area is left for each person to decorate.

This final photo is the dinner I prepared last week. Missy wanted me to share it with others. Don't worry no one ate it but you have an idea how I try and how much I miss my Dad and his cooking!!! It was suppose to be Chicken Enchiladas...

Well, there is more to this story of the Chicken Enchiladas. My mom did take a bite and told me it was really hot, as I told her what I used she clearly pointed out I misread the receipe. I thought Green Chile's were the same as Jalapeno's...the small jar looked the same. So I had added a whole jar of hot Jalapeno's instead of Green Chile's. That's why no one ate my casserole.

Amazing

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The past two days haven't been easy for our family. Now that Jr. Nationals and the whirlwind of events with my dad are over, the reality is starting to sink in. Everyone is trying to have things back in order but we keep stumbling over our emotions. I did force myself to pull out the Christmas decorations. I decorated a little bit around the house. We all can't wait to leave for California and be with Mom, Cubby and Meagan. Sleeping has been a bit tricky, so one night I found this link to make videos. IT IS SO EASY AND FUN!!! I wanted to send a little message to my kids...

Jr. Nationals Competitors Party

After waking up to a beautiful thick layer of snow (over 10 inches but Mom swears it was 20), we shoveled and returned back to the ice rink!!! We finished watching the final rounds and helped clean up. The competitors had a party at the Smith Fieldhouse filled with dancing, bouncy inflatable activities and food. It's really nice to watch the skaters be silly, run around and make new friends. Their seasons are officially over and the stress is gone! It was a terrific facility to house over 250 youth!!! Taylor was also scheduled to work and supervisor the facility. Tanner hung out with his friends and went sledding, while Mom and I attended the ProTel Christmas Party with Missy and Jason. We left early to check out the competitor's party and found Taylor painted as Spiderman. I love the photo of Taylor and Grandma! Taylor worked HARD, shoveling more snow. The sidewalk was long with many stairs leading to the party. He is awesome!!!

My friend, Stephanie decorated the Awards Ceremony and "Kiss and Cry" areas. She has amazing talent!!! All the awards took place Saturday evening.

Our First SNOWFALL!!!

EVERY TIME MOM VISITS, IT SNOWS!!!

U.S. Junior Figure Skating Championships

Click on photos for a larger view...

First Photo: View of the first ice rink. Jordan competed on the other ice sheet.

Second Photo: Registration area. (photo taken from above)

Third Photo: Action shots of all the competitors were hanging up on the blue paper.

The competition is now over and what a fun week!!! It was a terrific experience participating in the planning for many, many months and finally seeing it come together. After Jordan competed we spent the past few days watching many events and incredible skaters competing in the final round. Mom targeted her favorites and we had a fun time keeping score and eating junk food. It was a great success!!! My mom is a perfect companion for skating competitions. Missy and Jason went to the movies instead of sitting through HOURS of competitions!


First Photo: Camera Crew filming during the events

Second Photo: Hard to see but it's Nancy Kerrigan (famous skater) who was commentating for Ice Networks.

Third Photo: Zam during events and if you look real close, Jason is in the photo. He was announcing the official practice ice.

First Photo: My dear friend, Bonnie and I

Second Photo: Grandma with Jordan and Tanner. We stayed and watched the Intermediate Men and Pairs. It inspired Tanner!!! (Look below)

Third Photo: Mom and I by the results wall in our volunteer vests.

First Photo: The "Future Pairs" team!!! Tanner and Jordan trying to do a lift.

Second Photo: Tanner and Jordan having a RARE, kind, tender moment together. Even Jihyun (Jordan's friend is surprised)