My Dad

This is a day late, just like the card and the small gift I sent my Dad this year. It takes an entire week for mail to travel from Sherwood to St. Johns and I'm not always on-the-ball enough to make that happen. Sorry again Dad.

Looking though my photo albums this morning, I found these great shots of my Dad and I. There were more than I thought there would be considering that I'm the oldest of 6 and there were usually several more kids hanging around for pictures. I have always admired my Dad so much. He has always been an amazing example of hard work and dedication in everything he did. Dad has given countless hours of service in the Church. He loves to garden and has turned his 5-acre plot of land in the desert into somewhat of an oasis through A LOT of work. (I'm only just beginning to understand just how much work a nice yard really requires.) Despite being very busy with work, Church callings and the yard, Dad still always makes time for his family. I have great memories of evening bike rides, camping trips and running with my Dad.








My Dad was the one who encouraged me to start running. I didn't think I could ever run a marathon, but Dad's encouragement gave me the confidence to try. We ran the St. George Marathon together in 2002. It was his 2nd marathon and my first. We've done two other marathons together since then. It's been about 4 years since I've done one and have no immediate plans to do one again, but he's training for St. George again in October. I'm not sure what number this is for him. 12 or 13 maybe?




I can't say enough how grateful I am for parents who raised me in the Gospel and gave me a start on developing my own testimony. Without that, I wouldn't have been married in the temple and wouldn't have the blessing of being sealed to my family for eternity. I wouldn't have such incredible peace and direction in my life despite things not always going as planned. And, most importantly, I wouldn't know My Savior and that there is a way back to Him. There is nothing more important they could have done for me. I love this picture because it's a little silly and that's my Dad's genuine smile.



I couldn't have asked for a better Dad! I hope you had a wonderful day!

Love,
Kristin

Missing pictures

Blogging just isn't as fun without pictures to put with it. I feel like I've missed lots of great photo ops lately, but it's probably mostly the grass-is-always-greener-on-the-other-side syndrome. I probably wouldn't have taken that many pictures if I had a working camera at the moment. (I finally did decide on a new one, but it was back-ordered and won't be here until next Thursday.)

So... you'll just have to use your imagination in this post.

We went strawberry picking with our lovely friends Nicole, Hailee and James this morning. Great u-pick berry farms are one of the best things about Oregon. The kids kept each other entertained while Nicole and I picked and visited away. Spencer gorged himself on sticky sweetness and his face and clothes were a sight to behold by the time we finished. His clothes are now soaking in a sink full of Tide and I have about 15 lbs of strawberries waiting to be made into jam and strawberry-rhubarb crisp and just frozen for smoothies later. Ahhhh. Raspberries are next week.

We finally got our garden area tilled and planted last weekend. We got a little carried away when we went shopping for seeds and starts and I hope we didn't crowd things too much. Corn, beets, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow squash, zucchini, basil, cantaloupe, and a pumpkin. I will be in heaven in a couple of months if everything comes up.

Alan started tilling up the dead grass in our front yard last night and will hopefully finish tonight. Then we'll plant grass seed tomorrow. Right now our yard is one huge mud pit with all the rain we've still be getting. Spencer still has fun playing out there of course, but the fun turns to torture for both of us when it's time to come in and get cleaned up. My best buddy is definitely a two-year-old now and is requiring greater patience that I possess most days. Thank heavens he is still adorable and still loves to cuddle and read stories with me. I love being a mom!

Camera Reviews

To avoid a fight, I didn't take my camera away from Spencer when he grabbed it last night as I was washing the dishes. I distinctly thought, "I should take that away from him before he breaks it." But then my second thought was, "I do really need a new camera, though. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if it got broken." Can you guess where this is going? Not 10 seconds later, Spencer dropped the camera on the laminate kitchen floor and broke the lens. It's a good thing my birthday's this week. :)

So...I need your help. I would like a good point and shoot, but don't even know where to start. There are so many of them out there. What should I be looking for? Do you have a camera you really like and why?

Thanks for any advice you have. I guess won't be posting any new pictures for awhile.

Lucky Number 7

Alan and I celebrated our 7th anniversary with dinner and a movie last weekend. (I know that doesn't sound like much of a celebration, but it was for us since going on a date is a very rare occurrence these days.)

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to get to be married to Alan. One of the main things that attracted me to him when we first met was that he made me feel really special by the way he treated me. I always knew I was right near the top of his priority list.

Here are a few of the things I love about Alan:

*He is so selfless with his time*
*He knows who he is and has his priorities straight*
*He has a strong testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ*
*He is very dedicated to the things that are important in his life*
*He works hard to make himself better*
*He is a great listener*
*He is never grouchy (much unlike me)*
*He is taller and stronger than me*
*His laid-back personality balances me out a little*
*He's really smart in math and is a great speller*
*He's not a slob*
*He is a great dad and Spencer's hero*
*He knows how to have fun*
*He picked me!*

Like I said, I'm the luckiest girl in the world. Not that luck really had a whole lot to do with us getting together. I'm grateful to Alan for the amazing man and friend he is to me. I love you so much, honey. Here's to MANY more wonderful years to come!

P.S.: I'm only wearing glasses because I started getting a headache during dinner. Taking out my contacts often helps with those. Thank heavens I have new glasses with two ear pieces now! :)