Summer Fun 2016

 Camping at Vernon Reservoir:

Hailstorm that just about killed our garden!

 St George Vacation with the Tree's:

 Birthday Fun:

Boston took me to go see Finding Dory

 Petersen Family Reunion:

 4th of July:

 Bear Lake Trip with the Roberts Family":

 Camping at Uncle Matt's House:

Disneyland 2016

August 2016: Some pictures of our Disneyland trip....This made up for all the anniversary's Jeff was at state wrestling tournaments :) We had a great time! Even though it was the busiest I'd ever seen it,  and the fireworks were cancelled every night, we still had a blast.

We only got the front one time. We don't mind the back!

We loved the play!

Running out of funny things to do on the ride...

Tuacahn: Hunchback of Notre Dame. SO GOOD!

Matterhorn

Ruby's Diner 

Never had so much salt water go up my nose as I did this day...

Last meal before leaving California :-(

Cars Ride: Seriously though....my face hahaha

He finally put his hands up

Eating a giant turkey leg

I don't think you got enough sunscreen, Jeff

Beach Day!

Creepin

California Screamin

Waiting for the fireworks...they were cancelled every night :-(

The ride we rode the most....goodbye tower of terror!

Goodbye Dustin!

Dustin's setting apart

Last hug goodbye

Last hug Goodbye

Car ride to the MTC

We decided to eat our emotions.....

"Rough" Camp

Jeff getting a facemask

Snipe hunting

We thought the hike was over....we were only halfway

Jeff's manicure

Right before we left

Hike that just about killed us all

My Laurels!!

I had a really hard time at girls camp this year. I learned a lot of lessons, had a lot of meltdowns and grew a lot in these 5 days. This was the first time that "rough" camp was actually ROUGH for me. We all spoke in church today so instead of writing all the terrible things that happened, i'll just share the talk I gave so I can remember the lesson's I learned instead.

Failing Perfectly:
As much fun as girls camp was this year, when Brother Rojas asked me to speak on my girls camp experience, my mind immediately went to everything that went wrong at girls camp this year.

For starters, I mis-counted the girls - no idea how it happened, but I was positive we had 15 girls coming to camp this year. When we all got up to camp and we all of a sudden had 16 girls, I was so confused. And while I had hoodies and supplies for all 16 girls, I never heard the end of it all week. You’re welcome for the comedic relief, girls. In my defense, when you marry a math teacher, you don’t need to know how to count. 

We also had almost all of our food freeze. If you want to find an amazing cooler, ask Sister Doyle, because we could not seem to get our food thawed. We fed the whole stake on the first night, and when our sour cream finally thawed, it was liquid. Lesson learned from this: don’t freeze your sour cream. It was pretty humorous watching girls pour sour cream on their taco’s as if they were pouring milk on cold cereal. 

Sometimes, not just at girls camp or in my calling, but in my life, I feel completely lost. Like I have no idea what i’m doing. There isn’t a manual for parents on how to be the perfect parent, there isn’t a manual for husbands or wives on how to be the perfect spouse, and there surely isn’t a manual for kids or teenagers on how to be the perfect son or daughter, and I’m pretty sure even if there was, not one of them would look at it. The more I thought about what I should talk about, the more I thought I should stick with my girls camp experience and relate some of my experiences to our lives. How do we overcome these times in our lives when we feel we have failed, or just can’t seem to do anything right. I came up with a few steps on how to deal with our everyday imperfections. 

#1: Realize that Failure is Essential

I was reminded of a family home evening that my dad had given my family just a few months ago on the BYU address given by Kevin J. Worthen entitled: Successfully Failing. This address is literally the story of my life.

He begins his address by stating the mission of BYU which is: “to assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life.” Failing is an essential part of the mortal phase of our quest for perfection. We don’t often think of it that way, but that is only because we tend to focus too much on the word perfection and not enough on the word quest. 

Failure is essential in our journey back to Heavenly Father.

When we realize that failure is essential, it will be easier to accept the outcome. And we need to accept that we will all fail, more than once, every day. And its ok. 

#2: Realize that Everyone Makes Mistakes. 

Nephi is a great example of this. When he was given the assignment to obtain the brass plates from Laban, his first two efforts failed. He persisted and ultimately succeeded. In the process he discovered the power of being “led by the Spirit,” a critical lesson that he may not have learned if the first effort to persuade Laban to release the plates had been successful. Nephi’s life was forever changed in a positive way because he failed twice—and, more important, because of the way he responded to those failures.

On a particularly difficult day at camp I remember praying to my Heavenly Father asking why everything was going wrong. Throughout the day I kept getting the same thought, that it was important for the girls to see me fail. Its important for them to know that its OK to make mistakes. We all make them, our parents, leaders, prophets, etc. We came to earth to be tested, and to prove ourselves. The more I thought about that, the more I realized at home with my kids, how many times do I react to a mistake and my reaction is less that pleasant. I get angry with myself, and in turn am ornery with my kids and husband, taking my frustration out on them. It is important to be an example of positive failure, reacting to your mistakes positively, to show our children that its ok, that its not the end of the world. Even when after 2 hours of work, you discover you accidentally put salt instead of sugar in your cinnamon roll filling.

#3: Be Patient With Yourself

Dieter F. Uchtdorf gives an address that I love entitled Forget Me Not. In this talk, he says:

God is fully aware that you and I are not perfect.

God is also fully aware that the people you think are perfect are not.

And yet we spend so much time and energy comparing ourselves to others—usually comparing our weaknesses to their strengths. This drives us to create expectations for ourselves that are impossible to meet. As a result, we never celebrate our good efforts because they seem to be less than what someone else does.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses.

God wants to help us to eventually turn all of our weaknesses into strengths,1 but He knows that this is a long-term goal. He wants us to become perfect,2 and if we stay on the path of discipleship, one day we will. It’s OK that you’re not quite there yet. Keep working on it, but stop punishing yourself.

Social Media plays a huge part in me setting unrealistic expectations for myself. People post pictures of their accomplishments and their new purchases and I immediately compare myself to them, wondering why I have not accomplished or achieved the same thing. My social media weakness, and much to my husbands dismay, is Pinterest. I am guilty of spending way too much time looking for new recipes, new crafts, and new projects to add to his honey-do list. I can see the disgust in his eyes when I tell him I want to attempt to reuse our toilet paper rolls to make some piece of home decor. I feel like whenever I am faced with a task I am unsure of what to do, I go to Pinterest. While it is a good tool when used sparingly, it is an easy way to set ourselves up for failure. I attempt a project, and when fail, I immediately belittle myself. Its important to be patient with ourselves, we aren’t going to do everything right the first time we attempt or even the second. If you need a good laugh, research Pinterest fails.  It always makes me feel better about myself.

President Uchdtorf goes on to say: Be thankful for all the small successes in your home, your family relationships, your education and livelihood, your Church participation and personal improvement. Like the forget-me-not flower, these successes may seem tiny to you and they may go unnoticed by others, but God notices them and they are not small to Him. If you consider success to be only the most perfect rose or dazzling orchid, you may miss some of life’s sweetest experiences.

For example, insisting that you have a picture-perfect family home evening each week—even though doing so makes you and everyone around you miserable—may not be the best choice. Instead, ask yourself, “What could we do as a family that would be enjoyable and spiritual and bring us closer together?” That family home evening—though it may be modest in scope and execution—may have far more positive long-term results.

#4: Learn From Your Experience

Going back to the BYU address, he says: I believe there are certain things, some of them essential to our exaltation, that we can learn only through experience. We could not have remained in our premortal condition, memorized all the attributes of godhood, and then, after passing a written exam, become like our heavenly parents. We came to earth to “prove” ourselves, to learn from our own experiences how to know good from evil and other important lessons we could learn only by our own experience. And one of the best ways we can fully learn those essential lessons is by failing in our efforts. And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.

My very first experience working in a dental office taught me a valuable lesson. In order to graduate schooling for my dental assisting program, we were assigned to get an internship job at an office for 3 months. Its not easy getting one, most offices cringe at the thought of having to teach and train a temp. But after about 100 phone calls to different offices, I was starting my internship. My very first day on the job, they walked me back to the operatory, informed me that the dentist was performing a root canal and said “Good Luck.” In that moment I forgot everything I had studied and learned throughout the year and just froze. I couldn’t even remember how to sit in the chair correctly. I couldn’t remember the names of the instruments, and multiple times remember getting the suction stuck to the outside of the patient’s cheek. I believe we call this in modern terms: an EPIC fail. I went home that day discouraged and embarrassed, and wanted to quit. Knowing that my grade depended on this, I sucked it up and went back.

Throughout the following weeks and months this internship taught me a valuable lesson about failing. Even with all the book study and lectures I had received over the greater part of my schooling, it was that initial trial by fire and failed dental procedure that taught me how to learn from my mistakes. Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement, or in other words, failure. Success often lies at the other side of failure. Because I had the courage to get up the next morning and face the dental office again, I overcame those fears and made small improvements each day.  The dentist ended up offering me a job at the end of my 3 months, and now 10 years later, I can say with confidence that I never suctioned a patients face again.

#5: Remember Always That You Are Special

Our camp theme this year was “You are Special.” Its important to remember that no  matter what happens, our Heavenly Father loves us and we are special to him. 

One thing I remember from my childhood, that I will never forget was that when i was in trouble (which happened quite often) and I was being lectured, my parents would always say: “Even when we’re angry with you, we still love you.” This is exactly how our Heavenly Father feels. Even when we we make mistakes, or feel like failures, he still loves us, and we are still special to him. 

Going back to President Uchtdorf’s address, he says: As a child, when I would look at the little forget-me-nots, I sometimes felt a little like that flower—small and insignificant. I wondered if I would be forgotten by my family or by my Heavenly Father.

Years later I can look back on that young boy with tenderness and compassion. And I do know now—I was never forgotten. He loves you because you are His child. He loves you even though at times you may feel lonely or make mistakes.

The love of God and the power of the restored gospel are redemptive and saving. If you will only allow His divine love into your life, it can dress any wound, heal any hurt, and soften any sorrow.

On the last day of camp we celebrated some birthday’s at camp. We made brownies to celebrate at the end of the day, and after freezing and burning food all week, I was adamant that they would be perfect. While they cooked, I remained at the side of the dutch ovens to make sure they didn’t burn. Low and behold, 30 minutes later I was picking out burned chunks to try and salvage the sad looking brownies. Bracing myself for the complaints that would no doubt follow after serving them, instead, I overheard several of the girls saying it was the best brownie they’d ever had. Standing there with my jaw on the floor, I was then greeted by the birthday girl with a hug, thanking me for the best birthday she’d ever had. No matter how much I thought I had messed up that night and that whole week, that was not the case in her eyes. I will never forget that moment after eating a crappy brownie how grateful she was for me. She made me realize what was important. The seemingly huge mistakes made at camp weren’t what was important or what would be remembered. It was the experience we all had and shared and the spirit that we felt while at camp. 

I’m so grateful for my calling. I’ve now proved in more ways than one that I am no where near perfect at it, but I do know I will continue to try my best and continue to improve. I love your girls. I love being able to see them each week. I feel pain when they feel pain and I find myself missing  them when they skip an activity or Sunday lesson. I pray for them often and hope they know just how much their leaders and I love them. 

Orange Soda and Skinny Jeans

Have you ever had one of those really awful, terrible days that turn into really awful, terrible WEEKS? It doesn't happen often for me....but boy did it happen to me last month. Want to hear a few examples? Go get your popcorn.

MONDAY:
I decided to take the kids to Old Navy to return some jeans that I had gotten the wrong size in. Leaving the house is one of my least favorite things in the world. Just the "getting in the car" part. Asking Boston to put on his shoes, while fighting Ellie to get ready, then 5 minutes later, Boston still does not have his shoes, asking him again and again, until I'm ready to blow is not my favorite thing in the world....
Finally getting them both in the car, I drive to Old Navy, park, and realize I don't even have the pants I came to return. I wasn't even mad, believe it or not, i chose to have a good attitude, and simply started driving home to get the pants. When turning onto my street, I had to slam on my breaks, because the lady that lives across the street from us is walking in the middle of the road. (She is constantly walking the neighborhood almost all morning because she has arthritis really bad and it helps her to be moving) She was very shaken up, and I of course feel TERRIBLE, but she was nice, and understanding, and kept saying she was glad to still be alive. I kept apologizing for almost hitting her, even though she shouldn't be walking in the middle of the street???? But what if I had actually killed this person? Ugh, the guilt. I pull into the garage and go to get the kids out, because I really don't want to go out anymore. Boston begins to cry, because of course he has his heart set on going to Old Navy....Changing any kind of plans on Boston is pretty much the end of the world. I get back in, slam the door, and head out again, only to get halfway there and realize I still do not have the pants. Are you kidding me smalls??? End of story. No more Old Navy.
(Update: This lady has since moved out of her house....it was like 2 weeks after this happened haha!)

As we get inside, Boston starts coughing pretty hard. I just keep thinking, I cannot handle this right now! I call the doctor, and leave a message, since Boston has only been over his pneumonia about a week. The kids get lunch, go down for a nap, and the doctors office calls back telling me to bring him in ASAP. I drag the kids from their naps back out and to the doctors for more chest x-rays, and they give us a new prescription for the pneumonia. We are then sent to Riverton Hospital for additional respiratory tests and further evaluation. The doctor at the hospital took a long (about 10 inches) thin flexible swab and stuck the whole thing up Boston's nose. He freaked. He has an angry scream that doesn't come out very often, but his whole little body shakes and his face gets really red, and his scream is halfway between a yell and a scream. He let the doctor have it. And then of course, Ellie starts screaming because she is a sympathetic cryer. The doctor just walks out haha. Thanks buddy.


TUESDAY:
I receive a call from the doctor first thing in the morning with the results from the hospital tests(which I later found out cost us $1000 ) Boston has tested positive for: RHINOVIRUS. Which, guess what? Is absolutely nothing. A small cold. I was then instructed to throw away the prescription we just paid $40 for. Deep breaths, deep breaths. I start cleaning the house because my Young Women were coming over for mutual that night. Sometime while i'm cleaning the basement, Boston finds some orange soda, and sits it on the edge of the computer desk. Ellie walks over, and proceeds to dump the soda all over the carpet. Trying to stay calm, I tell Boston to make sure his soda is out of Ellie's reach. I attempt to scrub out the stain that seems to be quickly eating up the carpet. Doesn't work. As I'm bent over scrubbing my brains out, Boston walks up to me and tells me he spilled. My blood is boiling. What? Where?! He points to the sectional and I see a giant orange smear all over the couch. I start pulling off the couch cushions so I can throw them in the laundry and turn around to see his cup of remaining soda tipped over dumping the remainder of the can in a different spot. I CAN'T HANDLE MY LIFE. Time outs for everyone. Boston was banned from Orange Soda for the rest of his life that day.

SATURDAY:
I had been planning on going to the temple with my YW presidency today. We have tried and tried to make this happen, and everytime we plan it, something happens and we end up rescheduling. So finally, the day had arrived. I woke up at 7 that morning, because I kept feeling like I needed to make sure I knew where my recommend was. My recommend is always in the same place so I DON'T lose it. Today, of course, it was not in that place. I tore the house apart looking in all the places I thought it could be. I cried, I prayed... we CAN'T cancel this trip because of me this time.... As a last resort, I had our bishop call the temple and speak to the temple recorder and they got it all worked out. PHEW.
I then get a text from a counselor who had a family emergency and couldn't make it. Seriously? Ugh. I debate about rescheduling. I have been feeling strongly like everyone should be there, but what if it just doesn't happen?? Deciding to keep the trip, right as I'm leaving to go pick everyone up, I get another call, as someone else backs out. I'm in tears right now. It shouldn't be this hard, should it? I remember back when Jeff and I were engaged. I remember our two biggest fights were the night before I went through the temple for the first time, and the night before our wedding. I remember my mom telling me that Satan did not want me to go to the temple, and he REALLY didn't want Jeff and I to be married. His whole purpose is to destroy the family, and this was his attempt to keep us from going. Well, it didn't work that time, and I certainly wasn't going to cancel this trip because of him either. I picked up the two remaining women, and we headed to the Draper temple. Even upon arriving at 9:40, we found out they couldn't get us in until the 11am session. I swear, one thing after another, after another. The ladies I were with had to call babysitters and make sure they were ok to stay. Thankfully, we were all able to stay.
I remember searching for something at the temple that day. I'm not really sure what I was searching for after my awful week, maybe just some sort of reassurance that everything was going to be ok, or even that I was cared about.

Totally didn't happen.

Of course I felt at peace in the temple, its always a positive experience, I just still didn't feel great about my week. I remember standing in the celestial room after the session, just gazing up at the beautiful chandelier, and wondering how in the world they clean it. There had to be thousands of tiny little crystals that made up the chandelier....but maybe things don't get dirty in the temple....it is however, the temple ;) I really didn't want to go home.

SUNDAY:
Usually on the 4th Sunday, we head up to Heber to the Tree's home for FHE and family dinner together. This time was different, the Tree's had a flood in their basement, and they asked us if we would host the dinner. I really didn't want to make the drive that week, so this worked out really well.

In Young Women's, we announced a fireside which was to be held that evening. Every quarter the stake holds a youth fireside, always on a 4th Sunday. I wasn't really planning on going, because I knew we would have family here. As we ate dinner, and went through the lesson, I just kept getting small urges to go to this fireside. I pushed the thoughts back, it's just too way too much. Plus, how rude would it be to leave?  Finally, about 3 minutes before it started, I turned to Jeff and said, I really think I need to go to this fireside. I excused myself, and got to the fireside in the middle of the opening song. I found out shortly after, that the the main speaker, a football coach from Kearns High, Coach Ballard, hadn't even shown up. I just shook my head thinking, I left family night for a fireside where the speaker didn't even show up for?? A member of the stake presidency spoke for a few minutes in his place, until Coach Ballard eventually showed up, apologizing, because he thought the fireside started at 7 and not 6:30. He spoke on the mutual theme for this year 2 Nephi 31:20 - Press forward with a steadfastness in Christ. He spoke about "pressing forward" through all his trials growing up, losing his mom being his hardest. It really made me realize how silly and dumb these problems I faced over the week sounded. I'm sure there are tons of people who would gladly trade my problems for theirs. I needed to hear this guy speak. He ended with one last story that he almost didn't have time for.

He spoke about the time he was assigned to clean a large chandelier that hung in the Celestial room of the temple.

He went into detail describing the process. The chandelier is lowered almost to the floor, so that each crystal can be removed, and then passed down an assembly line of people, who pass the crystals through cleaning solutions to ensue that the crystals shine their brightest, and then can be hung again. He said the process of cleaning just the chandelier can take a good week.

Such a silly thing, really, to cry over a temple chandelier, but I knew my Heavenly Father was mindful of me. He heard my thoughts in the temple the day before, and this was an answer to my prayers. Really, no problem that we face each day is too small to our Heavenly Father. They seem small to me now, and even smaller as time passes, but he took the time to let me know that He is mindful of me. This is something that I KNOW. I knew it before, I just needed a reminder. We don't always get the answers we want, when we want them. We're all here to be tested, and I needed to be tested that day. Now, everytime I look at either of the bright orange stains that are on my basement carpet, I won't think about how angry I was when it happened... I'll remember the temple chandelier that ended my week, and know that my Heavenly Father loves me!

Hadley Jenny Roberts

Our new Niece/Cousin Hadley was born to Tyler and Jessica, on April 15th weighing 8.13 lbs and 21 inches long. She is so sweet! This makes grand baby #6 for the Roberts family.