to our dearest mother...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!
HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY!!! (:
WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!

beau, the newest rebel fan

beau made his debut at the thomas and mack last saturday evening! mostly in his sleep, he cheered the rebels on to a VICTORY!





the bunker's and gardineer's have been true rebel supporters this past week. we are excited to have tod home with us, to join us this weekend in our rebel fever! they are off to a good start! 4 wins - 0 losses.

an early birthday surprise!

my very cute husband was trying to plan a fun birthday surprise, and decided he wanted to take me to a "little big town" (LBT) concert. after researching, he found them opening for carrie underwood in salt lake city on november 19. after he had secured the tickets it became apparent that he wouldn't be able to go with me...so sad!

side note: (how we got turned on to LBT!)
jon has never listened to a lyric of country western music. even enduring faith hill was absolute torture for him. so when he tuned into a "crossroads" show he dvr'ed from the cmt channel (791), to get my opinion about this band that was playing with lindsey buckingham, of the late fleetwood mac, i was pretty shocked! i had never heard of LBT, but we enjoyed listening to their interviews, and loved the sound of the music the band and lindsey were playing together. then we purchased a couple of cd's and he converted (a very little) to the dark side of country western music :). we were trying to get the kids converted and they moaned all summer long, whenever we jammed to LBT on vacations and such.


back to the story:
so, when he pulled me into his den tuesday morning, and told me he had a present for me, but i needed to have a friend with me to go, i was quite confused. finally he explained what was going on, and it was VERY short notice, and i didn't know what to do. i was pretty sure none of my children would want to go (except i was wrong, they all like carrie underwood), but he told me tod would go with me and take me to a nice dinner before if that sounded all right. i must say, having tod be my FRIEND for the evening was the best part of the whole present!


i loved spending the night with him. he is a great companion, and he made me feel like he was enjoying the whole evening, even if country isn't exactly his first choice! he treated me like a queen, and it was just so great to have some good conversation with him, one on one! even when your children get older, it's good to have a little mother-son/mother-daughter date i think. concentrating on the one! good lesson for me to remember:)

the concert was GREAT! LBT didn't let me down, they were great live, and carrie underwood, is amazingly talented and beautiful! one of my favorite songs that she did was "all american girl", and she called this 14 year old up on stage with her to help her sing, and she NAILED it! it was a great night, and i just want to thank mr. tod again, for being a wonderful and fun son. i loved being with you!


the girls are a couple of his "friends" :). they're pretty aren't they?

and thank you jon for the great birthday gift idea. i just wish you could have been there too, since you would have loved it in person, instead of through pictures and play by play. love you both SO MUCH!

prop 8 and president-elect obama

i think, for journal purposes, that it would be a good idea for me to comment a little about the recent election and not ignore that it happened all together.

monday night i found myself unable to sleep, and while i think there were many factors that contributed to my problem (probably some medication that i took), a few issues were on my mind. for family home evening that night, jon gathered the family together and we discussed the "economy" - what the "economy" is and what is going on in the world around us! also we discussed "proposition 8" and what was happening in california and around the country as the gay rights advocates protest against the mormons. we had a very interesting and enlightening discussion with the girls, they have been hearing a lot about what is going on, but i believe it was very important to talk to them about it all from our point of view, and what it all means to us as individuals and in our family.

my mind was very troubled because tuesday morning (the next day) i had an appointment to get my hair done, and the man who does hair in the chair next to my girl, is gay. i was pretty sure he would bring prop 8 up, and i was pretty sure he would have strong opinions about it! we have had discussions over the years about what i believe and why, about several topics. i'm not sure i have ever done a very good job of explaining the answers to his questions, but i have tried! so, i was trying to get my head straight about how i would respond to his accusation's. i had some great conversations in my head :).

in the most recent articles that i have read, it seemed the protestors were angry with the mormon leadership. the thought that kept coming to my mind was how wrong they were about these loving, kind, Christlike men. i knew i wanted to defend their integrity and our belief in the laws of God. unbelievably, the topic never came up during my two hours in the chair. i am very grateful though for a sleepless night, where i could get my head together about why we, as a church, became very active about trying to pass a law that stated marriage could only be defined as between a man and a woman. i am grateful to know where i stand and why.


president-elect obama. i have had such a mixture of feelings over the past year. with hilary clinton and mitt romney being in the mix for awhile, and then as things got narrowed down to the two, obama and mccain. let me just say this. i pretty much distrusted every candidate by the time we voted. if my opinions were to come only from watching tv commercials and listening to the powers that be on the tv news, i would have been very depressed. maybe america could ban commercials that have anything to do with politics. as it stands, with a new president elected, I HOPE HE IS SUCCESSFUL! i am praying for his success. i worry a lot about those he seems to surround himself with for advise, even more than i worry about him. but i hope the fact that america was able to elect a black president (and it didn't even seem like his race was really an issue), should help every black person in america feel like they can do and be anything they desire to. i like that he is a family man (maybe he reminds me of bill cosby:). he seems to be happily married and he is being a father to his children. he is an example of education, a great smile, and a willingness to work, for all people who live in our great country. i am hoping we will all see the light, and become hard-working americans again, who don't expect the government to take care of us, and make everything fair, but to take our lives in our own hands and make the most of every opportunity we get.

and that is all i have to say about that...for now.

great news minute...

1- megan bunker has completed her personal progress!!! whoop! whoop!
last wednesday at our young women in excellence program they honored miss megan and her wonderful leader, hair dresser and friend, michelle garrett who also earned her medallion.


in our ward they have traditionally done a dvd with pictures of the girl throughout her life with some words from her parents about how wonderful she is :). also janae runyon, a wonderful photographer, has taken them to the temple for a photo shoot, and they use some of those photos on the dvd as well. janae thought the light would be perfect early in the morning, so she, michelle, and megan, met at her house at 5 am, i believe, in order to get to the temple with the perfect, soft light. thanks janae and michelle, the pictures are beautiful!




i am so very happy for megan to have accomplished all of these goals and projects! we got to work on it together a lot when she was a beehive. i'm so glad she had fun working with michelle in these later years! way to go megs!!! no more nagging on sundays about getting out your little blue book :)! i'm pretty sure that disappoints you, right?

2- jon and i just got back from spending a few days at pebble beach with the marlon's, the green's, and the soon to be giancursio's! can i just say the weather was unbelievably gorgeous? warm and sunny. no wind, no fog, no rain...just blue skies and sunshine! how lucky since we were there the second week of november. i didn't even need a jacket in the evenings! oh well, enough bragging...but i must document that jon had LOW golf scores, i got to take beautiful walks, read, relax, shop and eat really tasty food. we both commented that this is living "the dream"! probably the end of "the dream", but we tried to appreciate it while we were there!


pebble beach c.c. on a summer day in november!


"the boys" tony, don, lou and jon


"the girls" susan, judith, renee and dina

3- lauren lucy has the re-bels cheer down! isn't she just the cutest?

isisdei.com - product recommendation

last weekend when tod and ian were in town, i was introduced to isis dei, and i am absolutely in love with the products i have seen. they have sleeves (or covers) for mac and pc laptops (filled with memory foam- the perfect combination for safety and cuddly), and most items on the website are under $30. tod is the proud owner of "the hyde" as seen below :).


they have "fun" girl looking sleeves and "cool" man looking sleeves. definitely a much better selection than neon pink, green and black at the mac store!

i was just thinking it might be a very fun christmas gift for any of your loved ones with laptops:). ian even told me they have a holiday special, online only, of 15% off all orders over $50! YES! go take a peek...you'll like what you see, i promise!

the three amigos...

a few nights ago jessica worthen came over. she is a UNLV cheerleader. sadie and hailey learned the fight song from her. i decided it was worth recording for posterity sake. megan was a quick study, and after watching a couple of times, she said she was ready. she added a few extra twists as she felt them during the routine. her attention span was totally struggling though, asking about ice cream and burping...UNBELIEVABLE!

here are the cheerleading talents from the bunkers. GO REBELS!!!

good news minute!

we had a pretty fun weekend!

1- FINALLY, uncle tod was able to come home and meet little beau. i could tell they really liked each other:)!


2-
tod had also organized a "first ever" bunker cup golf tournament! i'm not sure if it will expand over the years, but let me assure you, the trash talking that took place before the big day was second to none. i'm not sure if tod realized that his father has the ability, when any stakes are involved (whether it be lots of cash or a $2.00 cup that tod won for having the best costume at a halloween party this year), if something is on the line, his game improves tremendously! tod and ian really thought they had a chance, but jon and chad came away with the win. i am told, the cup sits in a special place on chad's mantel, special lighting and all!


3- saturday night, megan's final year of dancing with bunker dance center began. well, actually it began back in august, but saturday they did their first dancing for judges. they were attending "the pulse" at the hilton hotel. this is the convention where the choreographers mia michaels, dave scott, shane sparks, chris judd, laurieann gibson and tyce diorio were teaching. saturday evening megan got to do two of their new dances, "composition of me" and "seated in thought". they were fifth to go on with "composition of me" and when they were finished, the judges were on their feet, giving the girls a standing ovation. the first and last standing ovation of the evening! "seated in thought" was second to last and it is one they got to do because they had won "the best choreography" award last year for their "teacup" dance. Just the four seniors are in "seated" and it was incredible! it was the first time i have watched either of these numbers, and i need to see them again!

at the end of the night, each of the choreographers critiques the dances. really, bunker was far and away the best group on stage, but the compliments were amazing. laurieann gibson told the "muffins" that they were beautiful and amazing. dave scott had one word "DAMN!". mia told the seniors that they were the most stunning dancers on the stage tonight. chris judd started talking about one other number that stuck out to him (which was the teacups), and then he found out that that was bunker last year, and he said "by far, those were the best two pieces he has ever seen!" PRETTY COOL! they all told them they could be an opening number for "so you think you can dance", or "dancing with the stars" or the other shows they are involved with. (i secretly wish they would ask them, you know, when i cross a train track and put my hand on the ceiling of my car:). anyway, i don't think it could have been a better ending, to a stressful week of pressure and rehearsal!

just to make the story better, i have to add one detail. as jon and i left the ranch a week early, with megan in the back seat, to take her to the airport, megan was anything but happy! we found out the week before, while we were at the beach, that they would be starting these two numbers before school started (the only time peter would be in town to teach), and if she wanted to be in them, she would have to cut her ranch vacation short. not happy! but as we were driving, and she finally got cell service, she had many messages about girls quitting the team, and she wasn't even sure who would be there the next day to learn these numbers. many tears later, she had decided to go with a good attitude and try to make the best out of a crazy situation! i know in her wildest dreams, she never imagined hearing compliments and encouraging words from these judges this year, as we drove to salt lake. they were pretty certain that they wouldn't be very good, especially with just four girls left from her team. look what a positive attitude and some GREAT choreography can do!!! way to go MEGS!!! YOU ARE A BEAUTIFUL DANCER!

4- we are looking forward to REBEL BASKETBALL tuesday evening! RE-BELS! RE-BELS! RE-BELS!

i've been to the north pole...ho ho ho!

Keri and I, spur of the moment, took our annual trip to Provo/Salt Lake before Christmas, this week. We found ourselves in the middle of a blizzard most of the day Wednesday. Much to my amazement, I am uncomfortable driving around in the snow:(. When the sun finally came out around 4:00, I was a very happy girl!

I feel a need to record what our annual trip consists of; you know, for my future lack of memory:).

I would say these are our favorite top three places to shop:




But, seriously, our trip is probably more about the food. Must eats:

1- Rumbi's
2- Los Hermanos
3- Hires Big H


4- Red Butte Cafe (thanks for joining us Tod:)! )


We are creatures of habit! We laugh a lot, try to solve some of the world's problems (at least in our own world), catch up on life, stay up late visiting, and feel the sisterhood again! Thanks Keri for a fun get-away! Even the north pole can be a fun place with you...and seat warmers:)!

IT IS 5 PM!!!

this is a picture of my street today/tonight at 5.
it is purely dark.
in another month, it will be dark at 4:30.
that does something to a person's brain!
the kids think it is dinner time.
they have to wait another hour and a half.
the theory of getting another hour of sleep...blows.
my body just wakes up, and the clock tells me it is an hour earlier, so i feel like i haven't slept in.
i get exhausted an hour earlier, so it is harder to do the things i love to do late at night.

LAS VEGAS SHOULD NOT CHANGE TIMES!!!
is it written in the constitution or something?
can't we do anything to change this mistake?

ps. sorry for the whining!

my gratitude journal

a very special gratitude journal fairy stopped by my house today! it was such a NICE surprise! we got to see her infectious smile, hear her happy laugh, love all the sweet things she had to say about baby beau, and catch up a tiny bit with life. if that wasn't good enough though, her real reason for stopping by, was to give me my very own gratitude journal. for the month of november, i get to write every day about something i am grateful for. i am very excited to do this!

today, november 1st, i am going to share what i am writing about in my special journal. my twenty-nine nieces! blood or married in, i love them all. i have twenty from my stewart side and nine from my bunker side. how lucky am i? i really honestly feel like i know each one of them, except whitney, and i am hoping to spend some time with her at our bunker girls retreat in june.




being able to read and see a little about most of their lives, through their blogs, or thru vacations, or from being at the ranch together, or the beach, or wherever and whenever we are together, i am amazed at what wonderful women are in my family. they are fun, they are unique, they are beautiful, they are smart, they are sensitive, they are great mothers, they have strength in their testimonies, they serve valiantly...i guess my list could go on and on. i know i admire each one for very different things. i am so proud to be able to stand with them in our fight to DO what is right. they are each one a light to the world and i know i am grateful that i am close enough to have a little strength and uplifting from each of them during my days! thanks girls for inspiring an older woman to try and be better. and thanks journal fairy for a fun way to feel gratitude all month long...loves to you all!



aunt susan :)