Gordon B. Hinckley

For those of you who haven't heard ... Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley died tonight. More to come but right now things are pretty crazy here at work ...

So the night is over and the paper is out. Below is the video that I put together for the website {http://www.standard.net}. As I was gathering photos and quotes I really started thinking about all that has been accomplished by Pres. Hinckley and the growth that the church has seen in the last thirteen years. The amount of temples alone is astounding.

So here's my memory, the one event that I will always remember ...

There was a church on main street in Springville. This was the first church I went to when our family first moved to Springville when I was two. This was also the same church that I had my wedding reception in almost four years ago. Just over ten years ago the church had a major renovation due to asbestos. When the renovations were completed President Gordon B. Hinckley came and re-dedicated the building. My family was lucky enough to be in attendance that day. He is a great man and taught not only members of the church a lot but the whole world. He will be missed, but that is the great thing about this church ... we keep records so the things that he taught can be reviewed and passed on. We also have the knowledge that he is now with his wife and many other loved ones. It is refreshing to live in a time where the gospel is growing at such a rapid pace. I think the words Pres. Hinckley spoke in the April 2004 General Conference are perfect ...

'There is much more yet to be done, but what has been accomplished is truly phenomenal."

To view a larger version click here

onesies are a must

Some friends in our ward added a baby girl to their cute little family. I know that onesies are a must and so I decided to make them a little less plain. Here is what I ended up with ...

They were very simple to make and a lot of fun. Then I found this clear paint can at Xpedx and I added some paper, ribbon and a tag. It turned out to be the perfect container for wrapping the onesies.

I think this might be my baby present of 2008 so if a baby is in your future just act surprised when I show up with a decorated paint can as a gift.

time to upgrade

I decided it's finally time to upgrade ... not Brad but our tv and bed
Friday night my fabulous husband wanted to take me out to eat because I had just cleaned the kitchen and I think he enjoyed seeing it cleaned as much as I did. We headed to the Olive Garden and the line was quite long so we decided to go look at some appliances for our someday new kitchen. Well we looked at ovens, cooktops, fridges and then we had to make the rounds to the other departments. Of course televisions was a stop just like it had been the previous hundred times {maybe not quite that many} we had gone there. However this time was different because we actually agreed on what to get and the price was good so we finally bought a new tv. Brad was very excited to get it home and I was happy that we don't have to look anymore {this looking thing had been going on for over two years}. When we took it out of the box we both just stared at it because it looked a lot bigger in our family room than we thought it would. However, I think we'll get used to it.
After the tv department we decided to look at beds {which we had also been doing for over two years}. We were yet again successful in that department. I am glad to say that we have finally graduated from a full to a queen.
After making our big purchases we decided against Olive Garden and went to eat at Rumbi Island Grill instead. Saturday was spent moving beds and a very heaving entertainment center. I must stay that we worked really well together and this was the first time a heavy object was moved up the stairs peacefully. Overall we had an exciting and eventful weekend and today we got to return to work and snow {neither of which I would call exciting}.

riding off into the sunset

Well our winter fun has finally begun. Yesterday Brad came home early and we packed up the snowmobiles and headed for the hills. We got to Monte Cristo about 4:15 and got in a good hour and half ride. The weather was nice, the snow was great and the feeling of riding off into the sunset was definitely memorable. We headed back to the truck just as it started to get dark and Brad decided to go for one more quick ride. Well the 'ride' was quick because he got stuck {that's what happens when you go through 3 feet of unpacked snow ... you sink}. In the meantime I thought I was going to be good and load my own sled on the trailer. Well my plan didn't work out too well and after giving up I realized Brad wasn't back yet. I went to find him just as he was getting himself unstuck {which took a good 20 minutes} and we finally called it a night. We had a great time on our first ride of the season and we will be feeling the effects of it for the next few days. But like always, it was well worth it. I almost forgot ... on our way home we followed a moose down part of the mountain. It was just walking down the middle of the road. I tried to take a picture that didn't turn out due to the darkness and the fact that we didn't dare get very close. It was quite exciting.

thirteen inch comforter

Last night/early this morning when I was driving home from work the snow had started to fall and there was about two or three inches on the ground. It was just enough to put a light blanket of white over everything and I thought "this is really beautiful, I love the snow". When I woke up this afternoon and looked out the window that light blanket had turned into a thirteen inch comforter! I knew it would take me a while to clear the snow from the driveway, so I bundled up and headed outside. After ten minutes my coat came off and I realized that it was going to take me longer than I thought to shovel all this snow. Once I was halfway done I no longer felt guilty about not going to the gym this morning. Lucky for me, our house has the longest driveway on our street so I got a good workout. I'm sure I will be feeling a few muscles in the morning that I didn't know I had. I paused for a minute to snap a few photos and then an hour and a half later I was finished just in time to shower and go to work. Needless to say my day seemed a little wasted but all this snow is going to make for one fun day in the mountains on Saturday!

double surprise

My {Kera} younger brother Alex aka Elder Ranna {I guess that Ranna is easier for Cambodians to say than Erickson} came home to his new home of Washington on New Years Eve. A few weeks before Christmas Brad and I found a good deal on airfare and decided to surprise him at the airport. Well we actually pulled a double surprise because we didn't tell my parents we were coming either. We flew in about three and a half hours before Alex and just hung out in the Portland airport. We headed over to his arriving gate just before he got there and when he saw me he just stood there. His face didn't even change. He just pointed and said "what are you doing here?" Clearly I was there to see him but I think the fact that my hair was about 10 inches longer than when he left distracted him. Brad video taped the whole thing but I've decided that both of us are better with a camera in our hands and we should leave the video camera thing to others. Once he recovered we headed down to baggage claim. We let him go ahead of us so he could get the proper welcome home from my parents. A few minutes later, while my parents and Kelsey {younger sister} were surrounding Alex, we just walked up and I asked "can we get a ride home?" My mom gave a little more reaction then Alex did but it was sure fun.

After a late night, seeing that it was New Years Eve, Brad and I woke up early to go take some photos at a pier on the Columbia River in Washougal {where my parents live}. Here are a few of the many photos we took. Getting up before the sun didn't prepare me for the best photos but Brad did a good job finding a pretty background to distract from the lack of makeup on my face.

Later that day we went on a tour of the towns. Mainly Vancouver and Portland. These are some photos we took at one of the may bridges along the Columbia River. This one goes from Vancouver to Portland and was built 1917. The wind was blowing and it was cold but there wasn't any rain which we were grateful for. If interested here's some more info abou this bridge ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Bridge

It was short visit because we flew out the following morning {Wednesday} but we had such a good time and we will definitely be going back. It was good to see Alex and in a way get to know him again. I think Kelsey was really glad to have him home as well because when she talks about music and bands {with crazy band names} he knows what she is talking about. While I spent a lot of time with my mom just talking or creating things {both we can do for hours on end} Brad and my dad got to spend some nice peaceful time watching football.

Christmas review ...

So it's been a while and we've been quite busy.

Here's a Christmas review ...

Sat. December 22 {Burton Christmas Party} We headed to Providence for the annual Christmas party with my mom's side of the family. We had to miss the Erickson party {my dad's side} on Friday night because of work. However we had a lot of fun at the Burton party. There was lots of food, family, fun and of course chocolates! My Grandma really went all out this year, even adding a new addition to the mix of dark chocolate mints ... they were really yummy like always. My youngest cousins aren't that young anymore, which I think means I'm getting older, but there were still a lot of babies to pass around thanks to the older cousins. Apparently when Brad and I were walking to the door some people were saying "there's Brad and Kera" and my 9 year old cousin Camilla said "ya, but they don't have a baby". So I guess until we decide to jump on that wagon we won't be getting a warm welcome at the upcoming family events. Well once we had enough fun for the day we headed home.

Mon. December 24 {G & G Rudd's} We woke up, or I should say Brad woke up since I never actually went to bed after I got home from work Sunday night, bright and early to go to Grace Idaho and spend the day with Momma Molly {Brad's mom} and family. We had a good time just relaxing and visiting with Grandma and Grandpa Rudd, Ginny and Rich {aunt . uncle} and Elizabeth {in picture below} definitely was the life of the party. She probably made a hundred different faces through out the day and I was lucky enough to catch a few. We opened gifts and then went south to Providence once again but this time the destination was Scott's house {Brad's dad}.

Tues. December 25 {Scott & Glenda's} We spent Christmas eve night playing the Wii with Sean and Scott, which I acutally thought was quite fun but I became not so fun around 10 when my body finally realized that I might need some sleep. Christmas morning was filled with the usually activities of opening gifts and eating breakfast. It has snowed about a foot the night before so Brad and his dad escaped the house and went out side to clear a few driveways. It was a beautiful day, that would have been great for snowmobiling, but it was nice to spend it with family. The day passed by too quick and before we knew it we had to head home so I could go to work.