Playing Catch Up

It has been a very long time since I have had a chance to post anything. Needless to say our lives have been full! Here is a little to catch you up. In the last post Dawson was working with Dave to complete his pinewood derby car. Well after all that hard work and excitement Dawson came in 3rd place overall. We were so proud of him!After placing at the pinewood derby Dawson had the opportunity to get baptized. This was a great day! We were lucky enough to have some of Dave's family attend. We even had Kim (Sharon's new husband) give the talk on the holy ghost. My parents were not able to attend this time however we had a real treat when my grandfather was able to attend and be one of the witnesses. On November 5th Alissa flipped off a swing at school and broke her arm. She did such a great job that we had to go the Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City because they really thought that she was going to need surgery to have pins placed in her wrist. However the Lord was watching over us and as it turned out all she needed was to be in a cast for 4 weeks. WHEW!! We dodged a HUGE bullet with that one. For those of you who know Alissa, she REALLY hates needles! On November 6th Dave and I had the opportunity to attend the sealing of my Grandfather to his second wife Merline in the Mt. Timpanogas Temple. What a great day that was! Not only did I get to attend the wedding of my grandfather (how often does someone get to say that!) but I was able to spend some time getting to know my uncles. Boy do they have some CRAZY stories!!! For Dave it was like hanging out with older brothers. We were laughing so hard that by the end my cheeks hurt and I had tears running down my face. On November 19th I took Haley, Nicole and one of Haley's friends to a prescreening of "New Moon". We had so much fun giggling as we stood in line to try and get decent seats in a sold out theater.
Well, we have finally arrived to Thanksgiving where the Dave McConkie family did a first! We attended TWO Thanksgiving dinners!!! We attended the McConkie/ Sanderson dinner first where we enjoyed YUMMY food and GREAT company. Then it was off to the Lindow family dinner where again we enjoyed YUMMY food and GREAT company!! After we had recovered a little Dave and I started to make our plan for the Black Friday shopping. We usually try to stay away but with Dave still being out of work we really needed to get some great deals! We started at 9:00 pm on Thanksgiving night when one of the local malls opened up and preceded to pull an all nighter. We finished all of our shopping at about 9:30 on Friday morning and decided to to grab some breakfast before heading home to get the kids up for the day. I enjoyed spending that time with Dave fighting the crowds but I don't think I will pull an all nighter again!
Overall we are doing well. Dave and I are enjoying teasing our kids when they ask for hints of what their gifts are. Our response is typically "lots of socks and underwear!" and they usually respond "UGH! the wait is KILLING me!". Well kiddos, you have less than two weeks left and the excitement is building!

Off to the Races!!!

With Dawson turning 8 he is now a cub scout and with that comes the PINEWOOD DERBY!!!!! I don't know who was more excited to find out that Dawson just squeezed in under the deadline to enter this years derby...Dawson or David. After finding out that they had one week to put a car together they were off and running to make "the best car EVER!" First was the design...it couldn't just be a square block of wood with wheels, it had to be something worthy of Dawson's love of cars.

Next Dawson watched as Dave cut out the intricate design on the scroll saw that was borrowed from Grandma Sanderson (THANK YOU GRANDMA!)

Dawson thought it was really cool how the saw worked and it was even cooler when he saw the shape of his car coming together.

After they cut it out, glued a couple of pieces on, and sanded it really good it was time for a coat of paint. When we asked Dawson what color he wanted he did not hesitate to say "RED, nothing but RED!" So Dave hunted down the perfect red with a little "flare". I don't know if you can tell but it has "sparkles" in the paint.

They still have quite a bit of work to do on it but I have 2 very excited boys who can hardly wait to get this car on the track. I have to keep reminding both of them that regardless if they win or not it is the fun that they had together creating this "masterpiece". I will let you all know how it goes next week!

In LOVE...

With FALL!! It has been amazing the last week and a half to watch the trees along the side of the mountains change colors. From the valley it looks like beautiful streaks of red and gold running up the side of the mountains. A cold front moved in taking our high temperatures from mid to upper 80's to 50's overnight. With that came that feeling I wait for each year when the season changes from summer to fall. The cool fresh air in the morning, the sunsets that let you know that everything will be alright, the smell of fresh bread or baked goods, and oh yes the taste of hot soup on a chilly day! Today Dave made the best homemade chicken noodle soup. Maybe I can convince him to make a big pot of chili tomorrow if I promise him I will make bread bowls to go along with it. I don't think it will take much arm twisting it I make the bread bowls. Well I am off to enjoy movie night with Dave and the kids!

We Are Alive!!

I haven't posted in sooo long! Most of you know that we moved the 1st of September to Utah and things have been a whirlwind ever since. The day after we moved I enrolled the kids in school and off we went! Haley has really blossomed especially in the last few months. We had parent teacher conference last week for her. As a parent you are always ready to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly. Well it was defiantly a parent reward day because ALL of her teachers said what delight she is! They also said that she is a great leader amongst her peers. I don't know who came out with a bigger head...her or me! Alissa and Dawson too have adjusted really well. After the first day of school they both had made all kinds of friends. Dave continues to look for a job. This Thursday he has and interview so keep you fingers crossed. I have started my new job and am trying to be patient as I clean up the mess that was handed to me. I will need to do the clean up quickly because two manager gave their 2 week notice last Friday and I will be taking on more communities.

Our new ward is so happy that we are here...especially since we have a youth age child. There are not many youth in our ward and as Haley puts it...NO CUTE BOYS!!! Which is perfectly okay with her Mom and Dad. We love the area, we have incredible sunsets and views out our windows. The kids love watching the para gliders jump off the point of the mountain, I don't think I can get enough of watching that either. It fascinates me, not that I would ever actually do any paragliding but it certainly is fun to watch! Well until I can catch another few minutes...Take Care!

Taking it all in!

Not only did we get to attend the wedding this weekend but we also took the kids to Temple Square and Thanksgiving Point. Here is Haley, Alissa, and Dawson just before the family dinner the night before the wedding at Thanksgiving Point.

Dawson loved trying out the podium. Just a few more inches Dawson!

These are the door handles from the Salt Lake Temple...boy did it bring back memories to walk on the temple grounds again!

The kids had sooo much fun taking in everything Temple Square had to offer as well as the stories that Mom and Dad had to share!

Wedding Weekend!

This weekend we had the privilage to attend Mom and Kim's wedding. It was fun to have the entire family together again. It isn't very often that the McConkie kids are all able to get together so when we do it is extra special.
This is Mom and Kim just after they married in the Bountiful Temple for time only.Taking in the AMAZING view from the temple!

Kim and Mom with all of Paul's siblings and their spouses!

Mom's bouquet that we were able to pull together at the last minute. It turned out really well if I may say so myself!

We are sooooo happy for Mom and Kim to be able to find each other! I can only image all the good times you two will have together. Just remember to check the wet suits to make sure they are the right side out first! HA! HA! Just Kidding!!!

Words Are Not Enough

This is what I looked like this weekend after we had loaded Mom up and moved all of our stuff over to her house. I want to give the brothers and sisters in our ward who helped with the move a huge pat on the back along with the biggest "THANK YOU!!!" ever! After working tirelessly (in 95-100^+ heat) on Thursday to load Mom's things and then get ours into the house. They came back on Friday night just as I was at my complete melt down breaking point to help take in the remaining boxes and furniture that did not make it in the night before. They also moved some of Mom's heavy pieces of furniture that couldn't fit in the truck out of the house into the garage. They will never know what that meant to me and my children! It was also a testimony builder for Haley who just minutes before one of the brethren showed up on Friday had been praying for someone to come and help because her mom did not have any strength or energy left to move in the necessary boxes/ furniture. She later told me that she was so amazed that her prayers were actually answered!

Again, words cannot express my gratitude for those who helped the McConkie families move!

Still Alive! Still Packing!

I promised that I would check in when I got a chance. I was able to go over to Mom's (Dave's mom) and help get a few things packed. Through all of the laughs we were able to accomplish quite a bit. It is hard to believe that in two weeks from tomorrow they will be headed to Utah permanently.

There really isn't a whole lot else going on. Dave did have a phone interview on Wednesday but we haven't heard anything back yet. We will keep you posted as things change. Dave and Dawson are on their first father and sons camp out. I've had several random phone calls since they left...I think it is their way of letting me know that they love and miss me. I must say that I have a great husband and the best son EVER!!!!

Guess What?!!

You guessed it! We are moving!

No, Dave did not get a job. Sharon is moving in 3 weeks and has been very concerned with leaving her house empty until it is sold. So, we will be packing our boxes and loading up to move into mom's house to help with the upkeep on it while it is on the market as well as relieve a some stress.


I will update everyone on our new contact information as soon as I have a minute to breath. Say tuned for more updates!!

Just testing my new signature! What do you think?