Do You Dream????

Lately, I've been asking myself this question. It all started when I picked up a book to read titled "Twenty Wishes". Although the book is goofy, it did make me think about personal wishes or dreams. The main characters of the book each make a list of 20 personal wishes. Not goals or to do lists, but wishes. Things that may not be practical but things that make them dream.

I must admit over the last 11 years my wishes and dreams have been centered around my children and husband. Those things that would I hope for in the future for our family. But very, very few have centered on me. With the few being placed in the "one day" category. What would I wish for? What do I dream of? These questions have lead to a few interesting moments of thought.

Yesterday I received an e-mail from my father with a video from YouTube. His comment was not to judge a book by it's cover, but as I watched it I was given hope that it was never too late for your wishes or dreams to happen. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk

(Sorry, I tried to put the video up but the embedding has been disabled. Do yourself a favor and follow the link. It's worth the time.)

Home Is Where the Air Force Sends Us....

And they are sending us to Texas.

San Antonio to be exact.

Although this was ranked number 24 on our list of 36, we are looking forward to the new adventure. The boys were so excited about the move that they immediately pulled out their atlas to look up where we were going. Once they found out that Sea World and Six Flags both have parks there it was decided that we could live there.

We have heard nothing but positive things about the area, the only downside is that the dental clinic is so big there (98+ dentists). Doug may not get the opportunity to do some of the procedures that he has been trained in. On the plus side, this may mean that my husband comes home every evening at a decent hour to be with his family. (Never a bad thing.)

Details about the move are slim right now. Doug will "out-process" the first week in August. (Translation: Doug will say goodbye to everyone. You know finance office, medical records, commanders, etc.) The boys will also be finishing up school that week. So it looks like a move close to the second week in August. Maybe. At this point who knows.

Easter

This year I feel like I did Easter right. Eggs were colored, baskets were made up, boys had new Easter shirts to wear to church (thanks Nana), Easter dinner was enjoyed, and we even had an Easter egg hunt.

We were lucky to celebrate part of Easter with Nana and Papa. But with all the trimmings I hope that I got across to my boys that Easter isn't about the baskets, eggs, or food.

Easter is a reminder and celebration of the Resurrection. That through His sacrifice we may all live again. We will be able to be together even after this life.

I hope that got through.

Spring in the Desert

I love Spring. I love the colors, the smells, and being able to go outside without a hundred layers of clothing on. Spring is to be looked forward to with more anticipation than Christmas presents or a day off, at least when you live in the snow and the cold. This year we had the opportunity to get back to our desert "roots". There was no snow or cold to curtail our outdoor fun. But I must admit, without it you loose the anticipation of spring. And when you live in the driest place on Earth (despite the misconception that it is somewhere in Chile), you really wonder.....is anything going to bloom?

Nana & Papa's Adventures in Las Vegas

Nana and Papa were able to make the trip to the those of us living in the north. Of course when you're from Mesa, Arizona everything is north of you (maybe not everything but the good things are). First, they made the journey up to visit Kate and Spencer in Rexburg over Conference weekend plus a few days more. Then they drove down to visit it us in Las Vegas. Over their five day stay I think we did every family friendly thing in Las Vegas.

First, was breakfast at the Original Pancake House. The boys were excited to take Papa on their traditional breakfast somewhere other than IHOP. Next, we drove out to Red Rock (Yes, we do take everyone there. It's cool!!!) Nana even braved the hike to see a pretty pitiful waterfall. In the process I aggravated my broken toe and Nana hit her knee. Maybe hiking was not such a great idea.

The Scout Shop was next on our list. Now I know what you think, the scout shop is not an exciting vacation destination. But then again you're not a Smith. (Or maybe you are and you still don't get it).

After the scout shop we headed over to Ethel M. Chocolate's. For the past three years the boys and I have gone to a local chocolate factory around Easter for a special Easter treat. I couldn't break the tradition. We were able to see the workers in the factory and visit the M&M store (great alternative to going to the strip).

Since we were on that side of town we visited the Las Vegas Temple. Papa told the boys stories about attending the Open House with the family in 1989.

Friday we tried to visit the Thunderbird Museum. Tried being the operative word as it was closed for the holiday weekend. (Must be government run.) Doug was able to take us around the dental clinic and show Papa how much Air Force dentistry has changed. Lunch with Doug was next and then home to recuperate from the previous day.

Saturday we went to Boulder to ride on the Southern Nevada Railway. It was a short and kinda goofy ride but much enjoyed. We were able to ride in restored railway cars, some dating back to 1911.

Back home for Easter egg dieing and to prepare an early Easter dinner.

On Easter Sunday, we waited for Nana and Papa to join us to look through Easter baskets and then it was off to church. After Sacrament Meeting, Nana and Papa said their goodbyes. As you can see we sure pack a lot into a few days.

So who wants to visit???

The Map Poject Revisited

I have repaid my debt. Long story short.....I'm a procrastinator from way back. All the way back to the fifth grade. That year in school the class was assigned to make a map of the United States. This included drawing in geological features, major cities, and writing important facts on each state. We were given a month to complete the project and of course I put it off. I had plenty of time....until the day before it was due. I had maybe 1/3 rd of the project done. Mom came to the rescue. She even allowed me to stay home the next day to finish the project. Long hours were put in and every extra credit point was done. At the end of work, the only thing Mom said was that I got one project that she would do for me and this was it. Oh, and I had to do the same thing for my kids.

I am happy to report that I have "Paid it Forward" with Matt. He was assigned a famous American report. He was given the same month that I had been and he was as unprepared as I was when it came due. So mom sweeps in to the rescue. Luckily, he and I had already done the research together. So all that needed to happen was the presentation board, written report, oral report, and costume for the living museum. Matt worked on the reports while I put together his presentation board.

Then it was time to make Matt a football player in baseball season. I visited every sporting goods store I could find until I came up with a practice jersey. In white of course. After some die and fabric paint we had a #42 Sun Devils jersey. (Thanks to Doug's ability to put numbers on a jersey with a ton of wholes)

Matt did great on his oral report and his living museum. A lot of kids and adults stopped to hear his presentation on Pat Tillman. The only thing I had to say to him was he has used up his one project that Mom does and he has to "Pay it Forward" to his kids.