Marching Along 2019

Grayson is upset because he wanted to eat at McDonalds;)

The three olders enjoyed being unattended while the rest of us were in Branson. 

The girls texted all kinds of questions in regards to making such a simple dish as Hawaiian haystacks for Sunday dinner. 

When I asked how they turned out, I got this picture back. 

I'm not sure if it was Ava's sauce concoction that boiled over or Mallerie's "rice." She had it boiling for two hours, Giuseppe finally checked it and said, "Mallerie, you are boiling WHEAT." Oh my....

I couldn't help but send a photo to them of my Hawaiian haystacks a few weeks later, "Is this what you were going for??"

I asked Mallerie how she and her companions managed cooking while on the mission. She said, "We didn't. We tried to boil eggs once but we caught the hot pad on fire because we turned on the wrong burner."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SHOWERS OF LOVE

The following Saturday we attended a baby BOY shower in Orem for cousin Rachel and baby Wesley. Ironically the kids watched "The Princess Bride" just the night before while I sewed a Ghee Ghee. 

Grandma Donna looked so nice I just had to get a photo with her.  How I love this lady. As usual we were giggling away in no time.

All of the girl cousins were together (except for Anela) so I insisted on a photo. Look at little Callie with all her old cousins;)

Carly really went all out on this shower! Mallerie and Callie attempted to guess at the candy-bar diaper game. The pile of gifts was insane. They have a lot of love and support that is for sure.

It was a miracle that Mallerie had the day off. She and I attended a Stake Relief Society breakfast earlier that morning. I woke up with some sort of sugar headache or something. My head felt like it was 100 lbs. I made Hello Dolly bars the night before and true to their name...they were too much!

It was a day of parties in churches!

THE ABBINGTON ASSISTED LIVING CENTER

It is so fun that Ava also got a job as a server at the Abbington Assisted Living center. Actually, the girls would probably say, "I wouldn't go right to fun." Their boss was a nightmare who they simply called CHEF. He did not appreciate the manna that had come to his understaffed rescue. How could you not love these hardworking girls. That is a statement not a question. Chef was actually upset that Mal would work instead of stand around and point. "You are a supervisor that isn't your job." But things needed to be done so she got to work. Mal doesn't like to stand around. After Mal's last day in April she told me, "If Ava gets fired, trust me, it isn't her fault." Sure enough Ava's name quit appearing on the schedule after a few weeks.  The turnover is out of control because of this dude.

I will miss hearing them laugh their heads off as they recounted stories of work and the sweet elderly people. No matter how many times she was corrected, Mallerie continued to call Barbara, Beverly.

STAKE STANDARDS NIGHT

Ava was one of the speakers at Stake Standards night the following Wed, March 13th. I would have been terrified out of my mind at that age to speak to my peers. Ava wasn't all that nervous though she said. She did a really good job. She has really enjoyed being part of the dynamic youth committee. As Stake Young Men's president, Matt also breathed a sigh of relief after standards night was over. 

Below is our ward having a fireside at a member of the Stake Presidency's home. I am sitting in the back chatting with my counselors.

March 14 PIE/POE DAY

I guess we have had this gal four years now!

Below is Poe's Pose. Also, the neighbors got a cat that freakishly looked like Poe did four years ago. Poe did not like it one bit when Bugera even came onto our property. She would sit at the window and growl in the most unusual way. One day Bugera got hit by a car, so that was the end of that. 

MMM...homemade apple pie!

How did we choose to spend any time the girls had off? SHOPPING.

A DOUBLE BABY SHOWER

 In the center of this photo is Angela, cousin Rudy's wife. She is expecting TWINS, a boy and a girl. We also got to meet Mieken's new addition, little Harvey. Ghee Ghee's for all!

 My aunt JoAnna's house is just as daaaarling as can be. The shower felt so intimate in her home. She had a lovely spread, which consisted of a salmon salad and fresh fruit. I love this photo for how intently everyone is visiting with one another....not exactly paying attention to the mother-to-be but....

How quickly time flies, three grown girls I now have! XOXO

ST PATTY'S

Grandma and Grandpa came over for a green dinner which consisted of green bean casserole, creamed broccoli, spinach salad, potluck roast and Irish potatoes.

After dinner we adjourned to the living room where we all participated in Come, Follow Me. The next week in Ward Council a member of the Stake Presidency was visiting and he asked me, "Sis. Bocanegra can you share how this new program has blessed your family?" I thought back to St. Patricks Day. I never would have asked Matt's dad to share his testimony out of the blue but the platform was there for him to share his thoughts. As his dad ages his mind is failing him, but for a brief moment he was as articulate as can be as he expressed love for our Savior and His restored church.

Later that afternoon we all took a walk and then I made lime sugar cookies. The evening ended with a Sunday night movie downstairs. Looking back on the day Matt said, "It was a perfect day." 

A perfect St. Patty's.

For the ward Relief Society Birthday party, I made cupcakes with coconut extract and then used the same frosting. Oh myyyy.

ARCHES Saturday March 23, 2019

You may or may not remember the hot horror we experienced last Youth Conference hiking to the Arch in Moab. Quick refresher: started hiking in late afternoon in 104° weather...I didn't make it....

Anyway, I have wanted to go back with Matt. We found a Saturday that Mal didn't work (because she is all about a hike to an arch) and brought the babes along too. I was so bummed A and Gray couldn't get work off but this way we could take Matt's car. Lunching was much more pleasant this time around.

Boy, what a difference it was hiking on a mild-weather day compared to a hot June day like last summer. The arch really isn't that far at all!

It sure does take your breath away when you first round the corner and see it.

For the fourth-grade program the students submit a picture of them having fun outdoors in Utah. This shot will be perfect for Callie's program in May.

We walked around Moab for a bit afterwards and found a place to eat outside. It was such a lovely day.

We passed the time on the way home by playing requested songs. I requested Megan Trainor, "Life is better when I'm dancing" though it was difficult to dance while sitting down.

Mallerie asked to be dropped off at Classic Skating in Orem to meet up with pals. It was 10 o'clock at night and she was the first one there! As we drove away, I wondered aloud, "Why would anyone feel like going to Classic Skating right now?"

The following Monday when I went to my 6 am workout class my friend Sally asked what I did that weekend, I couldn't remember one thing. My brain does not wake up that early.

WASATCH WARRIORS

Graham, with his sparkly eyes, put together an air-soft club for his buddies called the Wasatch Warriors. He did his research online and put together an order form for those interested in getting matching gear. The verdict seemed to be that none of them had the desired money in their wallets...

He has a pal who lives by a big field where they would go shooting after school sometimes. It was fun while it lasted. The main thing was, though air soft is not my thing at aaaall, listening to Graham's passion about it made me happy for him.

PERSONAL PROGRESS

It's probably the same passion I have when I talk about my cute Young Women. My counselor put together a quarterly Personal Progress activity. 

I'd give more details but it's personal...

Callie is anxiously awaiting the time she does not have to sit in the waiting room while the rest of us perform temple work.

We got to visit with Granny for a spell outside the temple. It is not hard to run into her there. The baptistry wait time has gotten rather lengthy. After I was finished in Initiatory's I look Callie to get some lunch. We got back to the temple just as the others were finishing up. We had In and Out burgers for the ravenous, grateful family. The downfall of my generous idea? Even though we cleared out all the trash the van smelled like a fast food joint for a full 24-hours.

Oh Honey!

This doesn't have much to do with anything but whenever the kids are using waaaay too much honey I always say, "The bees work sooo hard." I was happy to come across this article in a waiting room to back me up.

We were down in Orem after said appointment when I told the kids I needed to run in to Deseret Industries. No one wanted me to do this. I said, "Something is calling to me and I need to go find out what it is." As I browsed around, an 8-foot long shelf caught my eye. Ava was aghast, "That?" I told her to picture it painted with a cool plant and art on top. She could see the vision. I bought it. The problem was that the shelf wouldn't fit in the van with the kids so I was going to have to come back with Matt. Since it was Temple Tuesday I knew we would be back later in the day anyway. Boy, we barely fit that thing in the van. The only way to make it fit was for the passenger seat to be slid all the way forward leaving me having to sit behind the driver seat. As the worker watched me climb in, he asked, "You want to sit there?" I said, "Well I don't want to...."

The shelf was a beast to unload. Once I found a place for it and filled it with my treasures it felt like it was always supposed to be exactly where I placed it. Ava asked, "Aren't you going to paint it? "Nope, I changed my mind for now." I kept adding things to it all day.

Now that the blog and vacation books are visible, the kids are constantly reading them. They pass many a Sunday afternoon curled up giggling at their past selves. And I love that everything on the shelf has a story.

That left me having to find room for the table that was there, and then I had to move another...I know I have too much going on in my living space but for some reason I just like it all exposed right now.

Much like this blog...my schtuff tells my story.

Feb 28th-Mar 4th 2019 - ROAD TRIP!!!

The plan was to leave bright and early on Thursday morning February 28th. However, I kept getting texts from my friend who has driven cross country many times about  how faaaaaar of a drive I had ahead of me. As I was visiting my 95-year-old lady that afternoon and told her of our plans to take our 12-year-old birthday boy to Branson, she seemed tickled, "When do you leave?" she asked. I answered, "I am thinking maybe we should leave this evening." Her eyes widened, "You are leaving today???" I briefed Matt on our new itinerary and luckily he was game. Still, considering other obligations we had, we didn't get on the road till around 7 pm. We made it as far as Rawlins, WY before midnight. Though the calendar was pushing spring, the air was frigid and the sides of the roads were piled with snow. I could't help but think of the pioneers traveling in that harsh weather. I was so grateful to have a warm room waiting for us. The room was too warm in fact. I woke up sweating in the night. That is the worst. There was a nice breakfast the next morning for us. I remember only one other family in the dining room with us. It was good we showed up because there was a ton of food. An employee in the dining area had a suggestion for everything we did. I too have a good/better/best way of doing things in my own kitchen so I gladly followed his suggestions. Matt however, was not glad.

The TV was on in the dining room and the weather reports were of an arctic freeze across the mid-east, right where we were headed. We agreed that we were past the point of no return, so we wiped the syrup off our faces and pressed on! 

Callie asked if she could work on my word search for a while. She was having a hard time finding the last word; the word was EASY.

In Sydney Nebraska resides Cabela's headquarters...and not much else. Still, I figured it would be at least as grand, if not grander than the Cabelas in Lehi so we took a pit stop to go inside. 

Take a gander at their aquarium:/

I have heard good things about the cafe at Cabelas and it was in fact lunchtime so we stood at the food counter. A gal came out (or was it a guy...) anyhoo, we ordered some food, which was...not good. I think this place could use some tips from the breakfast man at the Best Western in Rawlins. Make that Beeeest Weeeeestern, as the kids pronounced it.

The drive across Nebraska and even a smidge of Iowa consisted of a whole lot of nuthin!

Platte River

I did find it interesting, very interesting that the road crossed over the Platte River. I had to text my dad, "I took a photo as we passed over the Platte River in honor of Alma Platte Spilsbury!" He is my great-great-grandfather 1850-1920. I share his miraculous story every time I am asked to tell a pioneer story. I will have to type it up on this blog sometime. Alma is my great-great-grandfather on both my grandmother AND grandfather's side. When I log on to Family Search it thinks there is a problem, "Reoccurring person" it states. No, no mistake.

We stopped for the night just outside of Lincoln Nebraska. When Shafer and Lindsey lived in New Jersey we went out multiple times to visit but not a-once while they lived in Nebraska. I texted Lindsey, "We are trying to remember which city you lived in in Nebraska, we are in Lincoln now." I learned from her texted that they had actually lived in Columbus, but she said, "There is a cool aerospace museum in Lincoln." I responded, "Well unless one of the space shuttles sunk to the bottom of the ocean, we have no interest." (wink wink)

 Missouri Welcomed Us! 

Finally, on Friday evening (since leaving on Wednesday evening), we arrived in Missouri! On our last visit it was just me and Matt and we flew into Kansas City. This time we stopped for lunch at the very same Cracker Barrel restaurant. Actually, I can't be 100% on that, the mid-east is chalk-full of Cracker Barrels. We poked around the quaint gift shop and I found a "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" water mug. I said, "That sounds like me," so I bought it.

I like to think that is the Platte River between the double S.

 We were so thrilled to be back in BRANSON! Who would have guessed we'd be back so soon???

Last Visit: November 2015

 The Marriott Vacation Club in Branson is the best one of all, I think. 

Check out Graham and Callie's suite!

Better than Kevin at the Plaza I tell ya!

We drove to the grocery store after getting settled. We couldn't quite figure out what we wanted to get for dinner. Nothing sounded good. All the travel/snacking left us out of sorts. My friend kept texting that we just HAD to try Casey's Pizza in Branson but it was at the other end of town and we were SO done with driving. Twenty Hours! We ended up eating Reece's Puff cereal for our dinner. BAD idea (I solemnly swear that I am up to no good). The kids agreed, "Lets never do that again."

We were gaga for the Rec Room, which we had to ourselves. Matt taught the kids to play pool so we ended each day with a game or two by switching up teams. The kids are pretty good!

March 2, 2019

The next day was our much-anticipated Titanic Museum adventure. In addition, 

Callie compiled a list of possible things we could fill our day with on Graham's birthday.

I was so happy the gift shop at Cracker Barrel was able to hook me up with some sweet gifts, bags and all.

The museum is a sight to behold when you drive up to it. Anyone who doesn't do a double take should be arrested for drowsy driving. 

The TITANIC Museum - Branson, MO

                                         

We each wore a headset, which helped us learn about each display. Graham had more information than the recording so we kept asking him additional questions. He didn't like that!

We were all a little melancholy by the time we got to the end of the tour. Something I will always remember is when we felt what the water temperature was like in the Atlantic Ocean the night the ship went down. We tried to see who could keep their hand in the water the longest. I think I lost; the water was too cold and the experiment was not worth losing the use of my hand over.

Because cameras are not allowed inside the museum, I am only able to post the one taken in the gift shop and by the staff member. I had us all do our best Jack and Rose pose but the photographer instructed us how he wanted us to stand, which was the only one he printed off.

We drove around afterwards to see some of the unusual sights that we definitely wouldn't see in Heebs.

Again, how could you not do a double take?

FUN MOUNTAIN at Big Cedar Lodge

After making lunch at the Villa we drove up a beautiful pass to FUN MOUNTAIN. While we waited for our time slot to play laser tag the kids goofed off in the arcade. I seem to not be able to find a bench fast enough at places like that.

 I was texting with the older kids and missed Callie's finest moment on the CLAW.

If someone saw me on my phone while my daughter was winning a big purple bouncy ball and thought, "That mom is missing out on what is happening in front of her," they'd be spot on :(

I don't know how Callie managed it! Later on at the Villa I used the ball to show how we do exercises in my aerobics class. 

The wooded area at Big Cedar was so amazing. If we weren't staying at the Villa's I think one of the tucked away cabins in the woods would be the way to go.

Next we headed to another favorite spot:

TOP OF THE ROCK

When you only have one full day spend in Branson, you don't stop! When I look back on all that we did that one day I am amazed that we were really only there for such a short amount of time.  One thing that we didn't do last time was the cave tour at Top of the Rock. This time we bundled up and headed over!

This turned out to be an absolutely delightful outing. The scenery was lovely, and the company superb.

Waterfalls, caves, and bears, OH MY!

From Top of the Rock we hightailed it over to the main part of Branson to Grand Country for Go-Karts. Boy, what a different crowd from the crowd at Big Cedar:/

The fact that I couldn't get anyone to slow down long enough for a photo tells you that we had a great time.

When we were finished it was time for dinner, however, we did not want to squeeze into the throngs of people holding limp pizza so we found another place to dine.  We drove to Outback....not the chain that is in Utah but still yummers.

The kid's meals were served on frisbees, which they didn't notice till we were done eating (looky, looky, a little keepsake). Graham was insistent that the staff not be notified about his birthday, else they might sing to him. They only brought out ice-cream so he was relieved.

After dinner we drove down to the waterfront. We didn't want to get out and walk due to the cold, though if we were going to get out and walk, I know exactly which store we would have gone into:

Instead of birthday cake Graham chose between several donut shop options then settled on Krispy Kreme. How could he pass it up when the hot donut sign was on?

What were we thinking getting a dozen?!

This made his tummy both happy and sad.

We were much too full for S'mores that evening but did enjoy a stint by the fire, which was already roaring and waiting just for us. We truly did it all that day. 

March 2, 2019 is what Graham would call, "The best day of my life!"

It's always hard to say good-bye. Branson treated us well. It would be fun to come back sometime in the summer.  Too bad it's so far away!

The cold! I handed Graham some Chapstick while explaining that it was the cold air drying out his lips. He said, "I am not getting married in the winter then."

We came out to a fresh blanket of snow on Sunday morning. The guy scraping his car next to ours could not believe what a long journey we had ahead of us. UTAH?

We took a different route home. Even though the GPS said that to go through Colorado was longer, I didn't think I could stare at the blank planes of Nebraska and Wyoming again. Instead we drove through Kansas...which is about the same haha. If we had timed it better, we could have stopped off and seen my bestie Missy and her family in Manhattan KS but it would have put is in too late.

We are still trying to remember what I needed so desperately out of the trunk that we pulled over on the freeway for while snow whipped around us. It seemed like the door was going to blow off when I opened it, the icy air nearly swept Callie's purple ball away. Still racking my brain as to what all that trouble was for...

As the sun set, the temperatures dipped to -11 in Aurora CO. It was getting late and I started to panic when I pictured how awful it would be to break down or get in a wreck with it so cold outside. We found a place for the night. I couldn't believe that even though it was so cold and late the kids wanted to swim...again!  Matt was stretched out on the bed like he couldn't move so I put on my suit. We had the pool to ourselves.

When I was getting dressed the next morning, I found a twenty dollar bill in my pants pocket!! Not a five, not a ten, a twenty!

As we checked out the next morning a news story caught my attention as I walked through the lobby. A stranded motorist had been rescued in Oregon after surviving on Taco Bell hot sauce packets for five days. Five dayzzzzz. We, on the other hand, had so many snacks in the car that if we were to become stranded, we would have actually gained weight.

We stopped for lunch at Wendy's where there was a great map of the United States on the wall. Matt showed the kids where we had been, where we were headed and where we currently were. I enjoyed a fish sandwich.

Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and Utah!

We saw some cool things along our journey like a bald eagle and driving over the continental divide. The kids always find it interesting to be in a different time zone.

The drive throughVail Colorado was a bit dicey but so gorgeous! We stopped for a pit stop. If it wasn't for the exit sign we might have missed it all together. The snow was up to the roof! The longer drive was definitely worth it.

After Vail's treacherous drive we had just gotten into the clear when we saw a sign, "rock slide ahead" I clapped my hands, "Yaaaaaay," as Matt laughed. I wanted to see a little bit of everything and this drive did not disappoint.

How would you feel if your exit was called, "No Name?"

Finally we were back in Utah! We came home through Vernal...home of the dinos.

This caused us to remember all the phases Graham has gone through: Indy, Dino's, Trains, Police...and now RMS Titanic.

If there is ever an opportunity to see this boys' eyes sparkle I will make it happen even if it means driving over 2,500 miles.

Just like a Monarch Butterfly.