Elder Nelson

Well, I blogged out again.  I need to be more consistent in recording the events of my life.  It has been an eventful year, to say the least.  I will have to add many entries to get caught up.  But for now, I will post about another life highlight.  Last fall we had the amazing opportunity to have Elder Russell M. Nelson come to our stake conference.  During the adult evening session, I was asked to accompany a friend for the musical number.  Elder Nelson sat right in front of the piano!!!  Super exciting.  His talk that night was fabulous.  He seemed so kind and gentle, and very witty!

At the end of that session, we went to shake his hand.  Kwin had been in priesthood leadership meetings with him earlier that day (super jealous of him) and had played the piano for that session.  Elder Nelson called him "Bishop" and then shook my hand and commented that we must be a musical family.  His hands are the softest hands I think I have ever felt!  I guess that's not surprising--I'm sure he had to take extra good care of his hands as a heart surgeon.  Ha ha!  That was a very neat experience.

The next day, we had our general session.  It was at the Camplex in Gillette.  We sat on folding chairs and he was up on a little make-shift stage.  Again, his talk was excellent.  My favorite part was when he had all of the primary children stand up and sing "I Am a Child of God" to him.  I got so emotional as Mason stood on my lap and sang his little heart out!  What an awesome experience.  As we left the conference, we again had the opportunity to shake his hand.  It was so special for the boys to have that experience.  He thanked all of us for being the bishop's family.

Meeting two Apostles in the same year......AMAZING!!!!  As I watched General Conference in April of this year, I couldn't help but reflect on those 2 experiences.  Elder Nelson's talk "Thanks Be to God" was one that touched my heart immensely.  I have a special place in my heart for this amazing man!

Primary Pioneers!

This year we had our annual Primary Pioneer Day Celebration.  It was extra special this year because July 24th was on Sunday.  For the past few years our ward has had a tradition of having Primary outside and doing pioneer activities, like handcart rides, etc.  This year we did a special program on temples and how the early pioneers sacrificed to build them.  Here are a few collages of the pictures I took that day.  Our missionaries were such good sports to give the kids handcart rides.  It was a warm day and they were troopers!

Some cute kids!

Our pioneers!

Handcart rides!  Thanks, Elders!

Youth Conference, Storybook Island, and a Life Highlight!

Wow, we had an amazing weekend.  Tyler attended a Tri-Stake Youth Conference at Mallo Camp (outside of Newcastle).  It was called "The Journey" and was a Book of Mormon adventure.  He went up with our ward on Thursday.  We joined them on Friday--I guess it's a perk of being the bishop's family--they let us all come.  We had a lovely drive up there and despite getting a wee bit lost, we found the camp.  It was so beautiful--nestled in the Black Hills.  We got there just in time for lunch.  They had a big lodge and some smaller cabins that housed the youth.  We had burgers, chips, and carrots for lunch, then 5 groups performed skits about stories from the Book of Mormon (BOM).  Very cute and creative.  We then split into our "tribes" and did various workshops.  Our first stop was BOM jeopardy.  Then it was on to spear throwing, sword making, and the last station was geo compassing (which we skipped so we could check into our room at the Mallo Motel).  We went back and finished up the workshop and had dinner.  After dinner we had 5 more skits and then it was time to go to our room.  Pretty bare bones--a bed and a sink and toilet.  They did have a community room with a TV, so we went and watched a little TV (mostly baseball) before bed.  We slept well and then Brady and I got up at 5:15 and took a lovely 30 minute walk in the Black Hills.

Our Youth Conference Group!

Our Mantra!

Before breakfast, we had a special visitor--Mormon came and told us about his life.  It was inspiring and touched my heart.  We had breakfast and then it was time for the big culmination of the Final Battle of the BOM.  The kids took their swords and they had a battle on the hillside.  Tyler enjoyed Youth Conference a lot and I hope it touched his heart as it did mine!

The Final Batle:  O, ye fair ones!

We left a little before his group did so we could go on to Rapid City, SD.  Kwin had a special training meeting for bishops with 2 general authorities--an apostle and a Seventy.  He was asked to play the organ for the meeting.  It stressed him out and he wanted me to go with him to get the organ set up, etc.  We got to the church and started heading for the door when a man in a suit came and told us that the building was off limits (security for the apostle, I assume).  We explained why we were there and he agreed to let us inside to set up the organ and so Kwin could practice a few times.  We then left and had lunch.

The kids and I dropped Kwin off at the church, did a little shopping, and then headed to Storybook Island, which they had been dying to see.  Keep in mind that Tyler was on his way home to Sheridan with his youth group and so it was just me, Brady, and Mason.  We spent about 2.5 hours at Storybook Island walking around and enjoying the different characters.  Mason rode the train twice.  We stopped for an ice cream cone along the way.  It was a fun afternoon.

All Aboard!

Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O!

Mason's favorite nursery rhyme is "There was an old woman who lived in a shoe."  I think he especially likes the part about her "spanking them all soundly!"

My cute little firemen!

Ahoy!

Crazy Driver!

Such cute kids!

Dear Santa, I can explain!

While we were doing our activities, Kwin texted me and said that the apostle was Jeffrey R. Holland and the Seventy was Elder Costa.  Ever since we found out about this training meeting, I had hoped that it would be Holland.  He is my hero and one of my very favorite apostles (we probably shouldn't have a favorite, but I do).  When the meeting was over, we went into the building to use the restroom and to try to catch a glimpse of him, but he wasn't there.  I was disappointed, but so excited that Kwin had just spent 4 hours with him.  We were getting into our car and getting situated when he came out the door right by where I had parked.  We got out and got to meet him!  He shook all of our hands and talked with the boys for a minute.  As he left, he put his hand on my cheek and told me that he loved me.  He then shook Kwin's hand and told him that he loved him as well.  It was such an incredible experience.  As we were driving away, I was getting verclempt just thinking about what had just happened.  I didn't get a picture of us with him, unfortunately, but it was such a wonderful moment.  I told Brady I may never wash my face again!  Brady was very excited and kept asking questions about Elder Holland, etc.  What a wonderful way to start our summer vacation.  I left with a renewed resolve to do and be better!

General Conference!

I am really excited for this weekend and our church's General Conference.  And not just because I get to stay home and watch church on TV!  LOL!  As I look back through the last few years, I can find a talk in every conference that I felt was just for me.  I look forward to having that experience again this weekend.

Do you have favorite speakers?  I definitely have my favorites.  I have always felt a strong connection to Elder Holland.  He has had a profound impact on my life over and over again.  I can't wait to hear his talk!  Recently, Elder Wirthlin and Elder Cook have had messages that I felt were exactly what I needed to hear.  And I always love President Monson's remarks.  I love that man!

And then there is the Priesthood Session on Saturday night.  Tyler now goes with Kwin and it will be just 3 more conferences until Brady joins them.  It is exciting for me to see father and son bonding through that experience!  I'm taking Brady and Mason to the movies tomorrow night while Kwin and Tyler go to the men's potluck dinner and then the session.  It will be a fun night for all of us!

Here's to an uplifting weekend!

I Blogged Out!

Well, it has been about 16 months since my last post and I am ashamed of myself!  I guess I got overwhelmed with life and had to "blog out" for a while.  My hope is to get back to some sort of a regular posting schedule, just for my own enjoyment.  A lot has happened.  The boys are growing up!  Kwin is still the bishop and now I am the primary president (almost a year into the calling--maybe that is what put me over the edge!).  I know what you're thinking--it's illegal for the bishop's wife to be the primary president.  I agree!  I do love my calling, however, and I adore the kids (most weeks--LOL!).  We just try to serve the best way we know how.  Maybe I'll post some pics from our primary activities sometime in the near future.  Life is good and it's good to be back. Pictures coming in the next post!

Holy November, Batman!

I can't believe November is already here! Here is our October in review:

I celebrated my birthday and our family went to Denver for a long weekend. We stayed with my sister and had a fabulous time. The highlight was that Kwin and I went and saw Wicked! Loved it again--it was fabulous!!

We had a very early snowfall that took down a lot of my tree branches. We basically had no autumn colors this year because of that lovely storm. Everything just died and fell. Very depressing, since autumn is my favorite time of year!

The boys and I left Kwin at home and we made a fun trip to Saratoga. While we were there, Dad recruited us to help rake their leaves. Mason really got into it and had his own kid-sized rake!

I got a new bathroom floor. Here is the nasty 70's before photo:

And after:

Halloween!!! Mason found a pair of old cowboy boots at my mom's house, so his costume was sealed at that moment. He will hardly take those boots off! He loves the noise they make on the floor.

Tyler, the rock star. He has the attitude to go with the costume! HA HA. He really is a good kid and is usually a happy teenager, but he does have his moments. :)

And Brady, the mummy. His costume turned out to be a bit of a train wreck. We used sheets torn into strips. Toilet paper would have worked better. I took a stapler to the parties we went to and repaired his costume all night. He loved it, though, and especially the makeup and hair paint!

And here are my 3 goblins altogether! It was a fun night--trick-or-treating at Brady's school, then a Halloween carnival and trunk-or-treating at the church.

Tyler's 15th birthday is on Friday the 13th (just 9 days away)! Hopefully we can come up with a fun activity.

Happy fall, y'all!!!

Bartlett Reunion

I have been such a slacker, so here is a little catching up. Over Labor Day Weekend, we had a big Bartlett Reunion in Saratoga to celebrate my Grandpa's 90th birthday. All of his living children except one was there, all of his grandchildren, and all of his great-grandchildren. It was such a fun weekend. Here are some pictures:

This is Mason helping Grandma water her bushes in preparation for the big birthday dinner in her yard. He was a big helper!

Here is Mason on a huge round bale of hay. We went out and watched Grandpa and Greg in the hayfield.

A beautiful shot of the North Platte River!

Sunday afternoon we went to the mountains where my great-grandpa built a cabin for the Forest Service. This picture of Kwin and me was taken right in front of his cabin. The view was breathtaking!

We were able to go and take a tour of our old family ranch. This is Grandpa with 7 of his 8 granddaughters in front of his old house. It was a very emotional time for us to be there, especially since this is where I grew up!

Here is the old ranch house where my grandparents lived and where I spent a lot of time! So many memories here!

Another part of the ranch--this is where we would swim as kids. Our own private swimming hole!

At the end of the weekend, while we were on the ranch, we all gathered around Grandpa and he gave us a history of how our family came to be in the Platte Valley and how we got the ranch. He talked about how he and Grammy met and how much he misses her. It was a pricesless experience!

We had an absolutely fabulous time celebrating his 90th birthday! Family is everything!