Another year older and wiser too!

Wow - who ever thought that I would turn 40? Not me! I remember when I was a kid and I thought 30 was old. I certainly do not feel old! I actually am looking forward to really enjoying my 40's. I think that we will have a great time with our kids during the next 10+ years.

      -Zach of course will be almost 28 and I could possibly be a grandma in 10 years! Wow - how weird is that? Last night I literally drug Zach to a CES fireside about attending church schools. Melissa came along willingly. I have never done this college thing before with a child and I want to be prepared. I secretly am hoping that he chooses BYU-I. Any secrets on getting in Don? I do know that applications submitted before Dec. 1st are mostly accepted. I think that he would have a great time there. He kind of has pushed college football out of his mind right now - I do think that if the opportunity did present itself he would play. I hear that the inter mural sports at BYU-I are fabulous - how fun would that be? I really think that being around all those Mormons' would be great too. Plus, he would have some family he could turn to if needed up there! We will see. We have agreed to help out our children with their education with one tiny stipulation - if you get a scholarship you can go anywhere you want to go and if not then you better plan on looking around in Idaho - out of state tuition is outrageous!
     They showed a short video about President Irying speaking to the BYU-I students at the CES broadcast last night. He prophesied that those that attend this university will be successful in their lives and that employers will wonder where they learned to do what they do so well. The spirit bore witness to me that what he was saying was true! I have thought about all the wonderful employees the business has now that have been graduates of BYU-I! Cream of the crop baby!
     -Melissa will almost be 26 in 10 years and could very well have a family. Too weird! She is loving the game of volleyball right now but she hates all the drama associated with it. She has a couple of teammates who think that they know everything and can never make a mistake. She is doing well in school and going to the broadcast last night was very helpful for her to know what colleges look for when considering applications - it is not just all academics!
Melissa has been driving our Jetta the last month and there were a few growing pains for all of us as she tried to learn how to drive a stick-shift. It really is a great car for a teenager and Alan got the headliner fixed in it so that it doesn't look like a large mountain lion was left inside it for a night. Teaching Melissa to drive stick has been interesting. I don't remember having such difficulties when I was a kid - but then I was driving stick since I was 8 out on the farm. While teaching her to drive the Jetta we had some pretty fun experiences. I was beginning to think that maybe this is something that she just could not get - a first for Melissa. I took her out driving on the road for the first time. (Here first experience was in the church parking lot with her dad.) We started out on country roads heading north and south - lots of stop signs and lots of chances to start and stop. She actually did quite well at this, it was a little jerky but really not too bad. Then we got to a major stop sign. She stopped and tried to go again and the engine would kill and finally after about 5 times we were off and running. At this point emotions are a little bit excited but not that bad. We drove some more through the country and she seems to be getting the hang of it. I now felt that she was ready for a stop light. Wrong!!! We approach the light at 100 S just fine. We wait for the light to turn green and once it did Melissa kills the engine - we continue to do this through the whole light cycle. O.k. - at least no one is behind us yet and no one came through from the other direction. Our emotions are now rising a bit. The second time the light turns green she does the same thing! Except this time I am waving people through who are turning left. I can't for the life of me figure out why she keeps killing the engine! She was crying at this point and yes my voice was a little excited but I was not yelling. She tells me to stop yelling at her and I proceed to tell her in a very loud voice what it would sound like if I was yelling at her. Then we both start laughing. At this point I am wondering to myself if she really can do this. The third light cycle comes and she starts and kills the engine again! She is crying and shoves the gear shift saying "is this in the right gear?!" After that we finally zoom through the intersection (After much reflection Alan and I do think that she was trying to start the car in 3rd gear.) We get to the church parking lot and she turns off the car and jumps out refusing to drive home. I am telling her that she is going to drive home with our without me (I felt that she needed to have a positive experience back through the light). After about 5 minutes she jumps back in and is mad now. I am grateful that we sailed through the light and all the way home with no problems. (I said a few prayers.) She refused to drive the Jetta for about a week after that and then she was informed by her dad that there were no other options that the Jetta WAS the only option. I am happy to report that she is driving the Jetta solo now. She still doesn't like it, but it gets her where she needs to be when she needs to be there! Wow - who knew!

     Hannah in 10 years will almost be 23 and could be finishing up a mission, married or in school. She is winding up a long season of volleyball and will be done next week and she can't wait for it to be over. It has not been a very positive year for her. She is ready to move on to something else. Volleyball is not out of the picture for her in the future but she is looking forward to having a different coach.  She spent the night at Amber Bingham's house last night. The Wayment's are leaving Jerome and moving to Boise to take care of her parents and so they were having a final sleepover with Jessica before she leaves today. We will miss the Wayment's in our ward - they are a really stalwart family and a great asset. Hannah will be the big 13 in less than a month from now. Crazy.
     Rachel will be 20 and probably entering her 3rd year of college in 10 years. She is having a great 5th grade year and really enjoys her teacher. What a blessing it is to have good teachers. She is a great writer and is very organized. She is the number one babysitter around here now. She is a very obedient girl and really is the best at doing the kitchen when it is her turn. She is happy most of the time but we do try and get her to smile more often.
      Abigail will be 17 in ten years and will be a senior in high school. She is such a delight to have around. Allison and I really miss her when she is at school. She is one of the top readers in her class and is excellent at math. I know that I have said this before but she really is Allison's best friend. They play together every day. She is in her first year of piano and I think that she has a real knack for it.
     Allison in ten years will be 14 and will be in her first year of high school. Allison is really a good little buddy to me here at home and is my constant shadow. She is my number one shopper and loves to be out and about. We have a great time together. She goes to preschool for two hours on Tuesday and Thursday. I have barely enough time to do a little cleaning and shower and get ready for the day before I have to go and pick her up again. She is a sweetheart.
     Last night I had a epiphany as I was sitting out in the hot tub talking to my best buddy Alan who is in Madison, Wisconson right now for World Dairy Expo. Every teacher of Melissa, Hannah, Rachel and Abigail's has commented on what excellent students they were. (Zach too - he just doesn't put himself out there like the girls do - which is fine - everybody is different.) How they are polite and organized and how mature they are in their thinking - that they think outside of the box. I really must say that we don't sit around the table having deep discussions about world topics very often. I mean we talk a lot, but it is mostly about how everyone's day went and what news they have, etc... I really think that raising our children in the gospel has helped encourage this "outside the box" thinking. In the church, at a young age we have them in classrooms teaching them about the scriptures and how can they apply them to their lives. We start having them give talks when they are three. We encourage classroom participation whether they want to or not. These are all really great skills that not many youth outside the church have experience with until they are much older. I think that raising children in the gospel not only helps bring them closer to Christ and to our Heavenly Father but it helps teach them life skills that they will use forever.
     Alan treated me to a night at a theme bed and breakfast inn in Pocatello for my birthday. We spent Friday in Idaho Falls and he went to a movie (at my suggestion) while I did some shopping. I got a couple of new shirts and a dress coat. The inn was nice but the road noise was terrible and I was frustrated that I forgot my fan.

On my birthday we arrived home and the girls had balloons and signs up inside the house and out. They gave me some simple and thoughtful gifts. I love how they always get me some hot tamales and bath stuff. They know me quite well. My friend Dawn (who I went with to "A New You") gave me some "Melwenna" glasses among other things. The glasses were great and I wore them to dinner that night. (o.k. I just wore them in to dinner.) You would not believe the stares that I got as people looked up at me and down at their hands, then they looked up at me again and then you could see that they really didn't know where to look. Kind of funny and memorable for a 40th birthday dinner!

      I have really been blessed this last year and I am so grateful for my sweet family. I am so grateful for a wise Heavenly Father who loves me in spite of all my short-comings and knows who I am. I am grateful to be a mom and to have such great kids. Life is good.
      We are looking forward to spending general conference with my mom and dad this weekend and as a bonus Bryan, Laura and Don! Zach and Melissa have games in Pocatello Friday and Saturday. I am also excited for the change in the weather (except the wind can blow elsewhere). Ready to be done with the outside stuff. Hope you are all having a great day!