Savior of the World

Our Stake put on the First Act of Savior of the World that's written by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The first act depicts the events that lead to our Saviors Birth.

Being part of this wonderful production was a huge blessing to me and I really appreciate Matt, Laura and my Father In-Law for stepping in and helping with the boys so I could. It really set the tone for this Christmas Season. I was worried I wouldn't feel the Christmas Spirit because the Anniversary of Mom's passing is drawing near. I also loved that I got to do this with my great friends from the ward and make new friends from the Stake.
I was an Angel or a towns person.



Here is a clip of the scene "There Are Rules"


"Come, Lord Jesus, to the manger;
May we see Thy tender face?
Great Creator, here a stranger,
Infant in this humble place.
Darkness scatter, morning swell;
Come, dear Lord Immanuel.
Come, Lord Jesus, to the manger;
Come, Lord Jesus, come."

The Many Wonders of Utah

Hot Pots!!

For those that follow our Blog regularly, you will know that we visit the Fifth Water Hot Springs up Diamond Fork Canyon at least once a year but this year has been different. I personally been up there a handful of times but Matt has been up there more often for exercise. It's beautiful up there and we found more springs then the usual one we go too.
This one is the first one you can go to but as far as we know, no one knows about it because it's above the trail and is hidden by a big dead cedar tree. It's in the shape of a heart and it's just big enough for two. The temperature is cooler then luke warm.
These two are the first ones you see as you hike. The top pool is warm and the bottom is cooler then luke warm like the heart shaped pool.
The pool in this picture is to the right and it's the biggest of them all. It's a shallow pool but one of the warmest.
This pool is one of the most visited because of this waterfall just a few feet from it.
To the right of the falls is a very small pool that is extremely hot. The very cold water from the falls mixes with the very hot water to make it tolerable in one small area. There's also a little cave behind the falls.
These two pools are our favorites and not many people know about these. These are above the falls and a little ways down and across the river. Whoever designed these did an excellent job because you can control the temp of the water to how hot or cool you want it. There's a bench to sit on and hooks to hang your bags. It looks like someones back patio.
Over the Thanksgiving weekend we looked up other Hot Springs in Utah that are near by. After our Thanksgiving meal we drove towards Ogden to look for the springs just off of the road in Ogden Canyon. There's a total of three pools.
We also visited The Meadows Hot Springs south of Fillmore. The three pools that are there are on private property but the owner allows the public to use them.

This one is my favorite because it's the warmest one and just look at the colors! It's also very deep. People can scuba dive in the black hole. I love the rope in the middle of it.



This is another that has a bigger open area that's deep on one end and shallow on the other like a swimming pool.


The third pool is as big as a pond but the coldest one so a lot of plant life grows in it. Not one I would swim in.
Anyone that wants to go to these fun places let us know! We are always up for an excuse to go.

October!

October is one of my favorite months of the year. It's when it cools down and the festivities begin!
This year it was extra fun because the weather cooperated and stayed warm and cool instead of going straight to winter. I love winter but I love fall more! We were able to play outside longer and we did some fun things.
My SD card was shot so I wasn't able to capture our activities on camera but our favorite things we did this month were playing at the park, watching Halloween movies, going to a corn maze, Halloween Parties and Trick or Treating!
Alex has no fear going down the slides. He goes to the tallest one and would slide on his own but he scares me doing it. I have to be by his side so I can catch him if slides down wrong. He's done that a few times. He's too fearless! I like that Evan is more cautious but still is willing to try and do everything.
When we went through the corn maze, Evan thought it was "so cool!" being in the corn stalks. We could tell he enjoyed it so much and he guided us out of the maze all on his own. It didn't take him too long either.
I did purchase a new SD card in time for Halloween so I got pictures of the boys in their costumes.
Saturday before Halloween we had fun at a Halloween Party. A lot of people from our ward were there and it was so enjoyable being able to chat with everyone and be more on the goofy side. The boys had fun with all of the kids as well.

For Halloween we did what we always do. We spent the evening with both families and trick or treated together.

Alex was the cutest monster I ever seen that wouldn't hold still long enough to get a great picture.

Evan had fun being Lightning McQueen. He can't get enough of him.

Trick or Treat!


Another special thing about October is that it's Elaine's Birthday on the 15th. In honor of her birthday we released pink and yellow balloons.

Scary Evening

Alex LOVES to jump! He does it whenever he can, especially around different people. My sister in-law and I were talking in our common stairwell and Alex climbed down the two stairs from our kitchen to the landing and decided he wanted to jump for Elizabeth. As soon as he got into his jump position I knew it was a bad idea but I couldn't get to him soon enough. He tumbled down the 10 steps that led to the basement. These stairs aren't carpeted so he took a very bad fall.
We picked him up and he was screaming. Luckily Matt was home and I yelled for him to help. I didn't know what to do but just hold him and look at the damage. He had a large scrap next to his left eye, his lip was bloody and a little blood in his nose. Matt was the one that told me to get in the car. Alex calmed down as soon as we got in the car but we still rushed him to his pediatrician. We were lucky to catch them before they closed. They took him right in and we started answering the the questions we were given. These accidents make me so nervous because how do they know it was an accident? He was also seen 3 weeks ago after he hit his head pretty hard on our recliner and the hardwood floor. Both times I had witnesses but it till worries me. I only took him in the first time because there was blood in his ear the next day but he was cleared.
The same doctor saw him last night. She's really getting to know Alex :). She knows he's a very active kid and very determined so no questions asked by her. She evaluated him and everything on her end checked out but she was concerned about his balance so a cat scan was ordered. Since he's so active we would need to be sedated. She went to make some phone calls but when she came back she let us know that the sedation team went home for the evening. If we were to go through with it he would need to go through the ER. She told us he was border line and didn't think the cost of the procedure is worth it so we decided to just watch him. There was no concussion so she let us go about our normal nightly routine and put him to bed but we woke him up three times last night to make sure he would respond to us and he did.
He's his normal happy self but still a little wobbly. His leg could be bothering him but we'll see if thats why over the weekend. His nose is still swollen so there's no way of knowing he has a broken nose. Even if it's not swollen I wouldn't know what a broken nose looked like. I wish he could talk so he could tell us whats going on in his little body. I'm just glad he's ok.
These pictures were taken before he went to bed.

4 Months Later...

I finally got Alex's 1 year pictures done and got them back today! He's such a cutie and we love him to death!
These are my favorites....

It's official!

I can't forget to tell the world that Matt and I finally have a nephew!!

Elai Guy Thompson
August 25, 2011
8lbs 5oz and 20ins
Isn't he just adorable?

The South's Warmest Welcome

Matt served his mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Mississippi Jackson Mission. He's been wanting to take me back there and after he's been away for six years, he's finally returned with me at his side. Josh Bennett, mission companion, and his wife Melody joined us as well and we all had an amazing time! Matt and Josh felt right at home and it was a lot of fun seeing where they served. I can see why Matt and Josh loved the area because the people were so hospitable.
Matt jumped on the opportunity when he heard that BYU was playing Ole Miss in Oxford. He didn't need to talk to me into it and the same with Josh. We were on board and started our plans. Matt and I flew out of the Provo Airport on Sept 1st and flew into New Orleans. It was so nice flying out of Provo because we didn't need to be there till 15 mins before takeoff and it's only 10 minutes from our house. It was also a very nice change of scenery seeing the Y Mountain and flying over beautiful Utah Valley. The best way to fly!
After landing in New Orleans, picking up our car rental and checking into our hotel, we headed to Bourbon Street for dinner.

We were hopping to find a place that we couldn't eat back home but we ventured away from the tourist crowd and settled at a clean and safe known place called Hard Rock Cafe.

The Next morning we had breakfast and checked out of our hotel and drove to Jackson to pick up Josh and Melody. They flew stand by and got stuck in Memphis because so many BYU Fans were doing the same thing. They ended up taking the Greyhound, right into the heart of West Jackson. West Jackson is the Ghetto and a very dangerous area. It was Matt's first area and his most favorite place to serve. He took us around the place and I kid you not, most homes looked like this.

The guy in the picture with Matt lived in this house above. He rented out one small room that could only fit a twin size mattress. His name is Jack, a crazy drunk that would always say to Matt, "Let me hug your belly."

Josh wanted to see this mural and as we drove to it we drove by a drug deal. CRAZY! Josh was brave enough and got out of the car to take a picture next to it and I asked Matt if he wanted to do the same thing. He said "No! The driver doesn't get out of the car in this part of town because we wouldn't ever see you again." Duh Elise!

After our little adventure in West Jackson we went downtown for lunch. Matt's been looking forward to eating at this place called The Edison Walthall Hotel but it was no longer serving lunch.

We left our car since we already paid the meter and started walking to another place. We walked to the State Capitol and the Governor’s Mansion to take pictures.

For lunch we ate at a place called Keifer's. They make the best Gyros ever!

We then drove to the Mission Home.

After touring the area more we checked into our hotel and visited The Hansen's. Matt was close too Ryan and Stacy while he served in their area. I heard so much about them so it was great meeting them. After our visit we went looking for a BBQ place for dinner. We ate at The Hickory Pit. YUM!
The next morning we woke up and headed to Oxford after breakfast. We met up with one of Matt's Uncles and Aunts on the Thompson side. They drove from Wisconsin to see the game with us. It was only appropriate to take a family photo in front of the Thompson House.

We had lunch at The Rib Cage. Pretty good food but I had better ribs and their baked beans weren't original. I can get Bushes Baked Beans anywhere.
We found this funny newspaper there.
We had time before the game to make a Wal-Mart stop to buy supplies to make a poster to hold up.

Does the sign look familiar? It was on ESPN twice :).
Josh is holding the sign and you can see Melody to the right and you will see Matt's hat after a while on his left.

The sign is in the left hand corner and you will see all of us. Matt is next to Josh and you can see half of my face to the left of Matt.






The game was amazing! It was boring at first but the last quarter made up for it! We were all amazed at how well we were treated by the Ole Miss fans. They welcomed us and wished us good luck before the game. Even when they had a heart breaking loss they told us we played a great game and told us to have a safe flight/drive home. They were all so nice. We also heard that a lot of BYU fans were invited to join their tailgate parties.
With it being a two hour drive back to the hotel we got back late and crashed. We went to church the next morning at the Jackson Branch for Sacrament meeting and then to a ward that Matt attended for the last hour of church. We also got to attend a baptism afterwards. We then went back to The Hansen's to have Ryan and Stacy's famous ribs. They were very delicious and all of us were very grateful that they opened their home for us again and fed us.
We then made our way down to Meridian to Josh's friends. They were having a get together and they were serving Gumbo. Yes I did try it even though it had fish in it. I honestly thought it had great flavor behind the fish but I could still taste the shrimp. I can't knock it till I try it right?
We then made our way down to Biloxi. We stayed there the remainder of our time. Both Matt and Josh served there so we did more site seeing had more great food and just enjoyed our time on the beach. Josh and Melody ended up staying one night and left Monday. Matt and I enjoyed the Beach one more day and it was great because the Sun finally showed its face and the sky was completely cloudless. Tropical Storm Lee made it's why through Mississippi while we were there but we were lucky to avoid it till we got into Biloxi. It rained throughout our whole stay but it was worse on the coast. We had times when it wasn't rainy but it was still dreary.



Our last day was gorgeous! The day after a storm is always the best!
This lighthouse survived two Hurricanes, Camille and Katrina

Katrina Hit two weeks after Matt left his mission. He was interested in seeing the destruction. It was sad seeing all the driveways on Beach Blvd that led to nowhere. A lot of things weren't rebuilt.
This one is of a neighborhood that wasn't on the beach but still got wiped out.

This one is on the beach front. It used to be full of business and homes.

We ended up flying home Sept 6th into Provo again. With Provo Airport being as small as it is the boys got to see us off the plane like the good old days. This was Alex's first time away from me for more than a day and he did amazing! We missed the boys like crazy but we did enjoy our time without them. We wouldn't have been able to do this without my Parents and Matt's dad so we owe them big time!
We plan to visit Mississippi again in 2015 when BYU plays Southern Miss.