Wee on the Wii!

When I was a kid my family owned the original Nintendo system. After many years of mastering the original Mario Brothers games and the famous Duck Hunt game my parents bought us kids the Nintendo 64, which challenged our Nintendo playing skills. We eventually mastered those games as well. By that time the three older kids had moved on from playing the Nintendo while Ben was still young and addicted as we once were.

Over the years I have looked back at our Nintendo playing years and realized how addicting the Nintendo really is and how much of a waste of time it was. In college I studied as well as wrote a few reports on the effect of video games on children, which only furthered my resolve to never own a Nintendo system. There was a lot of hype when the Nintendo Wii came out, but it never even once perked my interest in the least degree. I had no desire whatsoever to play or even be associated with the Nintendo Wii.

One of the first things that I did upon arriving at my brother and sister-in-law’s house (DJ & Adria) was play the Nintendo Wii. I must admit that I was not too thrilled or had the desire to play at all. I was looking forward to going to bed somewhat early that night because I had just finished my three-day 12-hour work weekend. I was tired. Four hours later I finally made it to bed. But those four hours were filled with side-aching, tear-streaming laughter as my family played one another in several different games. We got the most laughter while playing against each other in Mario Kart, especially when my parents were playing.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Nintendo Wii, it is different than other Nintendo systems in that it is an active inter-active Nintendo system. Sounds kind of redundant, but all Nintendo games are inter-active. The Wii is more than just plain inter-active. You are actually acting as if you were actually playing those games in real life. For instance, the first game I played was Tennis.















As you can see from the picture my dad and I acted as if we were playing tennis – having to stand up, serve, and swing at the ball like in real life. Other games like these included bowling, baseball, soccer, hoola-hoop, tight rope walking (which was a personal favorite) to name a few. All of these games we physically active games. Even Mario Kart is inter-active as you act like you are driving the go-kart with a steering wheel. Playing the Nintendo Wii was a whole new experience for me as it was completely different than any other Nintendo system I had ever played before. Although I am still set on not ever purchasing one myself, I did thoroughly enjoy playing the Wii with my family.

Getting my mom to participate in activities like this is always a treat. She has become a lot more open and willing to join in these types of activities in recent years which have provided lots of entertainment and great lasting fun memories. As my mom sat down and took one of the steering wheels in her hands to play Mario-Kart against me I took advantage of her ignorance in knowing how to play the game. In addition to explaining to her that Mario-Kart was just like driving, I mentioned that when a jump came in the course you had to jump as well – just using your arms. The following video shows it all…

What this video clip doesn’t show is me being unable to continue to race because I was rolling on the floor in laughter with tears streaming down my face from seeing my mom jump. It also doesn’t show my mom slugging me in the arm when I told her that you really didn’t have to jump to make your go-kart jump. It was hilarious!

We played quite a bit of Wii over the course of the week and each time was so much fun and filled with tons of laughter, but nothing beats that first night when my mom and dad played. That was pure entertainment. Thanks Mom and Dad!! :o)

Full-time Servant of the Lord

Dropping Ben off at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) seemed to come and go too fast and it all felt surreal. It still does. As I think about Ben throughout the day and imagine him in the MTC I still find it hard to believe he’s there, but then a smile grows on my face and warmth fills my heart because I know that he is dedicating every moment of his time to the Lord’s work.

The day Ben entered the MTC – October 8th – began with me getting a running start and jumping on Ben to wake him up early that morning. It was the last time I could do that for quite a while and so I took full advantage of the opportunity to wake him up and have one last“annoying hour” with him. What are big sisters for? :o) The morning was busy with everybody getting ready for the big day. We left for the MTC at 9:45am in order to give us enough time to arrive on time for Ben’s setting apart 11:00am. After Ben officially became a missionary we had about and hour before he had to report to the front desk to check in.

Being at the MTC brought back floods of memories for my older brother DJ and my dad when they had been there. We walked around and both DJ and my dad took all of us down memory lane as they showed us what buildings they had stayed in, special places they would sit to write in the their journal or read their scriptures, or different experiences they had had while there. It was fun to listen to them and then having the excitement of soon hearing Ben’s stories and experiences as he is there now.

We were also able to have some time to take a few family pictures as well as individual pictures with Ben. I was grateful for this because it has been a long time since our last family picture and it will be a long time before another family picture will be taken. I love my family!


At noon Ben checked in at the front desk of the MTC, along with many other arriving missionaries, and received his “dork dot” – a bright orange sticker they place on the new missionaries’ name tag to signify that they are brand new missionaries (as well as a way to say “help me! I’m lost!”). We took a few pictures of him with his official name tag on before we went into the chapel where we would hear from the MTC Presidency, watch the famous missionary movie, and then say our goodbyes. The MTC President proposed a good theory about saying goodbye. My sister in law quoted him well on her blog, “As the time grows near to the final goodbye I would like to propose the Band-Aid Theory...The quicker it is the less painful it will be for you and your Missionary.”

When it came time to say goodbye we all stood up and Ben gave each of us a hug one by one. Emotion filled each of us as we watched one another embrace Ben and as we ourselves were embraced by Ben one last time. We all watched as he walked away before we turned and walked out the opposite door. It wasn’t as hard as anticipated because the Comforter filled our hearts with love and peace as we gave him to the Lord for the next two years.

I couldn’t be happier and more proud of Ben for the life he has lead and the decisions he has made, especially the one to dedicate two years of his life to the Lord. He is an example to me and one of my greatest heroes!

City of Parks!

I spent the last day and a half of my Utah trip with my old roommate and wonderful friend Marliett. She lives in the Avenues in downtown Salt Lake City, just a few blocks away from Temple Square. We didn’t have a whole lot of time with each other because I had to be back for work on Friday night, but we spent every moment to the max!

Thursday evening upon meeting up we went to her Enrichment meeting. (That’s what happens when your friend is in the Relief Society Presidency). It was an enjoyable Enrichment to say the least. Afterwards, we hit up Marly’s favorite Thai restaurant for a late dinner. With full bellies we went back to Marly’s house and then got all bundled up to walk a few blocks down the street to a little chocolate shop. I wasn’t too thrilled about walking in the cold but it ended up being WELL worth it. The chocolate shop didn’t have what Marly was looking for so we each settled on a truffle instead. I got dark chocolate filled with caramel (yes, I really did get dark chocolate) and Marly got milk chocolate filled with caramel with a pecan on top. They were SO delicious! Being really full we decided to go home and ‘fat dog’ it – meaning sprawling out and vegging because you are too full to do anything else. We put in the movie ‘Cool Runnings’ to entertain us in our fat dogging. It was wonderful.

Thursday night I had a very strange dream. I dreamt that I was with a group of people and we had to decide what we were going to make this really important person for breakfast the next day. (I don’t remember the people in my dream or who the important person was). We were in the grocery store trying to decide when I got the genius idea to make pancakes! I pointed my finger down the isle we were standing in to where the pancake mix was for somebody to run down and retrieve it. Then the idea came into my mind, that I expressed with the others, “We won’t just make pancakes…we’ll make chocolate chip pancakes!” With that I was off running around the store looking for a bag of miniature chocolate chips.

Not long after this dream I was awaken by Marly coming into the bedroom to let me know that breakfast was ready. I crawled out of bed and walked into the kitchen where I saw a plate of stacked chocolate chip pancakes. I turned to Marly with disbelieve written all over my face and exclaimed how I had just had a dream about having chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Dreams do come true, even if they are completely random.

After Marly’s chiropractor’s appointment – where I took full advantage of the massage chair they had in the office – we started our adventures for the day. Surprisingly with the short amount of time we had before my departure we did quite a bit. Our first stop was Ensign Peak.

Ensign Peak is where Brigham Young looked over the Salt Lake valley and decided that this was where they were going to build up an “Ensign.” The jaunt up to the memorial at the top of Ensign Peak took about 20 minutes. The wind was blowing making it quite chilly. After sitting and overlooking the valley – noting its beauty and amazed by its transformation from desert to richness – we headed back down so we could be off on our next adventure. It really was amazing to look over the valley and imagine what it must have been like when the pioneers first arrived and settled there compared to the sky-rise buildings, freeways, and roads that now cover the valley.

Marliett and I at the beginning of Ensign Peak trail and park

The plaque about the historical significance of Ensign Peak

Ensign Peak memorial

Overlooking the Salt Lake City valley (North view)
Look at those clouds!

The thing that amazed me the most about being in Salt Lake City is that they have parks everywhere! The first park that I saw in Utah was when my family was driving back to SLC from Provo. I recognized something out of the corner of my eye was we drove passed it on the freeway. I quickly glanced back and discovered that what I recognized was a park that I had played at a little over a year ago with my best friend and her niece and nephews. A flood of good memories came back to me as I remembered the fun adventures we had and the great laughs we shared. She has super fun nieces and nephews! I spent a little bit of time at Liberty Park Thursday evening and was amazed by how huge it was (a whole city block) and all the things that were in the park! My favorite part of that park was the duck pond.

Marly took me to her favorite park in downtown Salt Lake City for our next adventure – Memory Park. In the back end of the park there is a trail that takes you up a small little canyon that has a stream running down it. This trail is engulfed by trees that were changing colors and the path was littered with fallen leaves. It was absolutely gorgeous! There were a few man-made waterfalls that I played and climbed around on. The water was freezing and my feet and toes went numb, but my sense of adventure exceeded my discomfort with the cold. (That says a lot!). I loved this park because walking on this trail made you feel like you were a world away from any city, but in fact you were right in the middle of one. I thought to myself, “If I could change something about this world it would be to put in parks like this in every city.”

Memory Park

The waterfall that I played around on. It was quite the slippery adventure getting to those rocks I am squatting on. I spared you those pictures...

Here I am standing on the flat cement slab where the water shoots out onto at the base of the man-made waterfall. The water was sooo cold, but it was sooo fun to play in!

Marly sitting on the edge watching me play in the water

This picture doesn't do the beauty of the trail justice...

One of the memorials at the Park - this memorial was dedicated to all those from Utah who served in one of the wars

A rose from one of the rose gardens they had planted in front of the memorials. The smell of these roses were intoxicating!

After walking up this trail for about a mile or so we decided to head back in order to get back in time for me to pack up and head home. There was a cement pathway on the other side of the stream that we crossed over to and ran most of the way back to the main area of the park. We took a quick tour of the many memorials they have there as we headed back to the car. Hiking Ensign Peak and Memory Park was really filling for me – it was what my spirit needed!

We tried our luck again at the chocolate shop on the way back to Marly’s apartment to see if they had the chocolates that are Marly’s favorite (I’m sorry I don’t remember the name of it). They hadn’t made them yet so we settled on a Wild Huckleberry shake instead, which was very delicious. What a great way to finish up a fun-filled week in Utah!

Marly enjoying her delicious Wild Huckleberry shake!

I made it back into Rexburg half an hour before I needed to be at work – just enough time to unload my truck and change into my work clothes. There was a huge difference in temperature between SLC and Rexburg! When I hopped out of my truck after arriving in Rexburg winter hit me full force! The air felt and smelled like winter. I realized again how sorely I am not ready for cold weather again.

I had a fantastic week in Utah and am so grateful I was able to spend some good quality time with people I love! It wouldn’t have been so incredible without them.

Missionary Gift Suggestions!

This is kind of a late call for help, but I am looking for some suggestions. My brother Ben is going into the MTC this coming Wednesday and I would like to give him a gift. I don't want to give him something that he is just going to have to haul around his mission or eventually send home. I would like to give him something that is practical and that he will find great use in throughout his mission, but not having been on a mission I don't know what missionaries are in need of. He is going to Guadalajara Mexico if that makes a difference in the suggestions.

I am leaving tomorrow, Monday between 12:00-2:00pm, but will have internet connection in Utah for late coming suggestions. If you could give any suggestions or ideas I would GREATLY GREATLY appreciate it!! Thanks so much!

Buckling Down....

...or Slave Drivers?

Pardon me, but I am going to take a moment to vent a little bit. You have my permission to skip right on by this post if you so desire. Reader’s discretion is advised.

I have, over the last couple of weeks, come to develop quite the sour taste in my mouth towards the style of managing at the Homestead. Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to make this a bashing session, there are just a couple of things about work that rub me wrong way (as well as several other co-workers that I have talked to). I am also not trying to gather allies or seek justification. Just simply vent.

In all of the jobs that I have ever had in the past I have received some sort of break, whether that be an extended lunch break or two small breaks with a smaller lunch – the kind of break doesn’t matter, but the fact that I was given breaks does. The Homestead doesn’t provide or even encourage its employees to take breaks. With the majority of their employees working 10-12 hour shifts (being on their feet the entire time) it is unreal to me that they condone breaks saying, “Well, if you really need to take a break then take 5 or 10 minutes to sit with one of the residents but make sure that when visitors/families come in you get back to work. And if you’re not happy with that then maybe this job isn’t for you.” Did they really say that? I understand that this business is to serve and assist others in their daily life activities and daily life never takes a break, but a 5 or 10 minute break for 10-12 hours of working? Come on! There’s something wrong with that.

What about the night shift people – like me? How are we supposed to go “sit with a resident” on a break when they are all in bed sleeping? This is was even more unreal to me. We were told that we didn’t need breaks but that the list of duties required of us to accomplish at night should take up the entire night. Well, what if we get done early? Their response, “There is always something that you can find to do or we can make the duty list longer.” Oh yes! Please make the list longer! Pretty please!?! Right. In talking with a friend about this we concluded that in any other job working the same 10-12 hour shift one would be provided with a total of about an hour and fifteen minute break – split various ways over the shift depending. And it is up to the employee what they want to do on their break – that is their time.

I don’t know how many of you have worked 12-hour night shifts before, but they are quite difficult at times (almost every night) to stay awake the entire time because simply you’re body naturally isn’t programmed like that. And even when altered it is still difficult. Combine the natural body’s tendency to want to sleep at night with the exhausting duties of work and you have one extremely difficult battle of staying awake. Did I emphasize extremely difficult? Yes, it is possible but fighting against nature is never an easy feat. It’s bound to happen. And are we cut any slack? You tell me.

That brings me to my next point. You might be thinking, “Well, how do they know if you accidentally fall asleep for a short period of time?” The Homestead has what they like to call ‘Big Brother’. Yup, you guessed it – a camera. Don’t get me wrong, I am not against cameras especially when it’s for the protection of both the residents and the employees. I have heard horror stories of things some people do to the elderly when nobody’s watching. It is the manner in which they use the cameras that make the difference. The employees at the Homestead have on more than one occasion received memos with nice little comforting reminders that read, “Remember Big Brother is watching you!” Oh, how comforting! They are watching my every move. I feel so trusted! How did they know I like threats? They must have read the fine print on my resume. They’re good.

I can take positive criticism. I grew up with it. No biggie…until that is the only thing you hear without any recognition of the good you are doing. “You need to do this better…You’re not doing that right…You messed up doing that…How did that happen?...Make sure you do this….Don’t do that…” The Managers have learned to call the building phone when I am working because they know I’ll answer it – I have to. (It doesn’t have caller ID). I have learned not to answer their calls on my cell phone because I always need a little prep time to be in the right state of mind to take what they have to dish out. It’s hard coming to a job when your every move is being watched, you’ve been threatened, and you feel like you’re not trusted and a crappy employee. OH, Pick me! Pick me! Where do I sign up? Ooh, wait…I already did.

The Managers aren’t the only ones that help me to love my job so much, but some of the co-workers jumped on the band wagon as well and started tooting their horn. Literally. This type of job attracts women. (I think there is one male employee, not including the owner and his son-in-law, who is the head Manager). And following the stereotypical women, the majority enjoy gossiping or tattle-telling. Another perk of this job! I bet you’re dying to apply. Maybe working with the elderly has some kind of age-defying effect because I thought tattle-telling was an elementary school phase. Correct me if I’m wrong on that. In addition to the “positive criticism” phone calls, my favorites are the calls that begin like, “So-and-so told me she saw you doing this…” Who does that? I guess they are taking the counsel to become child-like to the extreme.

To make working conditions a little bit more pleasant I would bring my laptop so I could listen to a variety of my own music while accomplishing the many duties of work. Music has the powerful effect of making you work faster – maybe it’s the beat of the music, I don’t know. Music also helps things to be less stressful; it has a calming effect. Singing along to the music distracts the mind from what you are doing, not hindering your performance by any means, but helps the mind get off the one-track focus of the task at hand. All in all, it helps. After accomplishing all my duties at work I also would use my computer to work on any homework that I didn’t finish during the week or work on work stuff for the Internet Marketing job I have. I always put my Homestead duties first and foremost and when called upon throughout the night from the residents I immediately responded without hesitating or taking those few extra seconds or minutes to finish up what I was doing. But the day came where I got that call from the manager telling me they were watching me on the camera and saw me “messing around on my computer” and told me that I am no longer allowed to bring my laptop to work. (I let this call go to voicemail and so I didn’t get the opportunity to explain that I wasn’t “messing” or playing around on my computer). So now I bring my iPod to listen to my music on and bring my text books to read from after all my duties are completed. I wouldn’t be surprised if I got another call from the managers prohibiting me from bringing those things to work as well. After that it’ll probably be my Chaco sandals and fleece jacket.

Ok, I know you can cut my sarcasm with a knife it is so thick and you probably think this is the worst job on the face of the earth and wondering why I am still working there. Every job has its downside and I probably overly embellished them a little. I have been tempted to quit a couple of times recently, but have resisted that unwise temptation. The job is rewarding and it is the residents that keep me coming back. If it weren’t for them I would have been long gone. Working with the elderly or just being around them was a very scary and intimidating thing for me before this job. By having this job I have stepped outside of my comfort zone and truly grown in many ways, but mostly grown to greatly love the elderly. In a frustrating moment a week ago I mentioned to one of the residents that I was tempted to quit. Tears swelled up in her eyes and she said, “Oh, please don’t quit! We need you. You help us so much and bring us so much happiness.” Her husband standing nearby also gave a similar plea. My heart melted! Who could resist such a cry? Or when getting up another resident each morning she always tells me, “I still like you a lot.” And even though I am not there for any of the meals the residents eat during the weekend they still take a moment to compliment me on how good a dish or meal was that I cooked the previous night. The residents make up and exceed what the manager’s lack in compliments and small recognitions which are important to have in any type of job.

So, despite the disagreements and frustrations I may have or the nit-pickiness and threats of management I still enjoy my job. It’s not an easy job for sure, but seeing the smiles and hearing the laughter of the residents is what it is all about. That makes it all worth it. I just needed to take a moment to release some built up tension. Thanks for listening. Phew! I feel much better now. Now I’m ready to go back to work tonight with a big smile on my face and seek to help the residents have big smiles and some good laughs too.

A Real Garage...

This is what a REAL garage looks like. Period.