tuesday - hour by hour

***disclaimer. this is not what my life is like every day. but this was a good day. i want to remember it.

6:30 - alarm goes off. (jon is already out of bed. i'm afraid he didn't sleep much last night.)
7:55 - headed to davis, ca. (i am going to see each missionary apartment this summer. today i begin that task. i have chosen to visit four sisters apartments today. i think i need to start off in a good place.)
9:40 - arrive at sister bytheway and sister green's apartment. pray that i will know what i am looking for and pray that i will be able to "feel" whatever i need to "feel".
10:30 - attend district meeting in davis. my missionaries always inspire me. they are very. good. and i love them. even the naughty ones. i can't help it.
12:15 - go to lunch with the sisters serving in woodland. this is the closest thing i have had to a girls lunch in a year. they are good company. there is no gossiping (president asked). and i love my food. we discuss the changes that need to be made in the suggested wardrobe for the sisters. i am so grateful for their input!
2:00 - drive to woodland. see sister haslam and wardell's house and sister beardsley and sister t's apartment! i am so impressed with all of their homes. they are clean, uncluttered and very peaceful. there are good feelings all around.
3:00 - get some gas and a soda and start for home (santa rosa). along the highway i stop to take pictures of anything that looks interesting to me for the dvd we show the new missionaries. stop in fairfield to drop off some garments to sister davuke. stop at goodwill to drop off a chair the sisters wanted out of their home.
5:30 - arrive home. greet my husband. talk a little about the day. he goes to get some exercise. i eat a power bar for dinner. (remember i had a big lunch). check my emails.
6:45 - leave for lesson with sisters in rohnert park. take a picture of sonoma state university.
7:20 - pick up sisters. feel the anticipation and excitement of what we are about to do.
7:30 - meet daniel, his wife jackie, eric their 16 year old, and their two younger children and neighbor that pretty much lives with them. the two year old is asleep. they are a sweet, beautiful family. daniel has a desire to be able to bless his children like jacob did in the bible. we talk about the priesthood. how my father, my husband and my son have all been blessed by holding the priesthood, but more importantly, how they have blessed others (including me) by it's power. the spirit is present. they want to be baptised. i am grateful i could be there tonight!
8:40 - take sisters home. come in to see their apartment. again, it is great. there is a special feeling there. they give me some extra bedding items that have been accumulating in their apartment. we walk out to the car. the elders living in the same complex arrive home on their bikes. we go visit with them. the spanish elders are outside as well. they don't want me to check out their apartments with out fair notice. there is a good feeling amongst these missionaries in rohnert park. it is because they are obedient and hard working. i am happy to see them all.
9:50 - return home. bring in all of the bedding that is now mine to wash and pass out again. get ready for bed. crawl in next to my companion. report on my day. kiss him good-night.

can you imagine a better day as a mission president's wife? me neither!

having a wee bit of a hard time...

yesterday while i was at the gym, it occurred to me that lauren would be dancing soon (in a few hours) in her first bunker dance recital. with that realization came many emotions. i usually try to ignore those feelings or quickly turn my thoughts to something else, but yesterday i let myself think..and feel...too much. (this weekend i missed many things. adam's return home, watching dance all day and night long, giving hugs and flowers...and then i started missing my father, my mother, and my kids, one by one, my friends, virginia, carole - my hair dresser...you name it, i thought about it and shed a tear or two over it.)

i am grateful to have this weekend over. i am grateful to have a busy week ahead. i am grateful to be feeling less emotional.

getting my man "away"

When Tod was unable to come for a visit this weekend, I was very glad that Jon decided to keep his tee time and let me tag along. We got out there about four and played until eight! It was beautiful and peaceful and brought back some old memories. I was grateful that after the first few holes, he got a few things worked out and we quit losing balls. :) Here is living proof that he can still swing a golf club. He was not very proud of how his swing looked (he is so critical), but I thought he looked very fluid for an older, stiffer man. :)

I had to post about the Laker win tonight before I could go to bed! I was a little nervous about what to say on my mission blog so I asked Jon for his advise. He said, "There are a lot of Laker haters on this mission with us. Tell them to eat sh-- and die!" There you have it, a quote from the President. :)

some on sunday

i don't even know where to begin...i have been gone for too long!

1) hailey on her last day of school, just before dropping her off at work!


she ended the year with 3 A-'s in english, spanish, and humanities; a B+ in honors biology and no grade in geometry. (a job i now have, to get that straightened out.) oh well, she had an awesome year. she worked really hard and stuck with it, even when she was sure she was failing in everything. you did good miss hailey!


the sunday after school was out, she dumped all of these papers from 9th grade. she was ready to be done with these subjects!


the monday after school was out, memorial day, may 31, she left for las vegas. she will be in and out of town as she attends girls camp, efy, goes to the ranch, heads to the outerbanks, goes to newport, maybe back to the ranch, and then home to santa rosa just before school begins again. She has already been on her 4th year canoe trip down the colorado river. she had a blast! so far so good on her days away from her parents! :)

2) we had some very fun visitors on memorial day! michele and mary (jon's sisters) and melanie (our niece who is just finished with her first year in law school, helping judge jones for the summer). it was a really sweet visit! we laughed, we talked, we shared, we skyped (grandpa wayne and margie), we filled bottles with consecrated oil for zone conference...we did as much as we could in a very few hours! it was great to be with them! these are a couple of my favorite pictures!



3) we got the coolest gift from one of our missionaries and his father. our very own CSR branding iron! now i've got to think of something i can brand and give to all of them. any ideas?


4) sadie was here for about a week (almost). i didn't really take any good pictures of her while she was here. bummer. we had a lot of fun with her though! she got me to the gym (i have totally been slacking), we went for a hike/walk, we saw a couple of movies, we tried a new hamburger place (pretty yummy!), we checked out some more scenery in sonoma county, we talked, we laughed and we made some more santa rosa memories! she attended our first leadership meeting the morning before she left. as jon was teaching the doctrine of christ (2 Nephi 31 & 3 Nephi 11), i wondered if the sprirt would be working in her about becoming a missionary herself. her answer, "i don't think so!", "there is so much to do." her eyes are definitely more open than they were a year ago. she is making a difference in her role as a member missionary i would say! that is important!
these are the photos i have...


introducing sadie to the redwoods!



our chipmunk friend...so cute because he was tiny!


as we were traveling from guerneville, ca toward bodega bay, we followed the russian river. sadie couldn't resist this photo of this vacation paradise. she thought it reminded her of cancun. :) (with trailers)

5) since sadie left on wednesday evening, jon and i have been empty nesters. we are ok together. don't worry about us! :) my cute husband keeps exploring new ways to exercise ALL day on saturday. he spends several (more than two) hours doing cardio, lifting weights and sitting in the steamer, at the gym. about a month ago he added swimming laps. yesterday he added riding his bike. no wonder by the time he crawled in bed last night his head was pounding. luckily, he very rarely gets a full saturday to have his p-day. usually he has meetings saturday afternoon and evening. we'll see how his new program works out for him!


6) tod is coming on thursday! i look forward to his visit! i have missed his face and his sense of humor. it will be a fun father's day weekend!