November.......how did that happen????

Welp, as I write this I realize that our missionary has been out almost 11 months! All I can say is the time has flown by! A note on him, he is doing Great! In fact we just received this picture from a family that had Elder Allred and Elder Snyder over for dinner! (We just love when members from the mission send us pictures and/or e-mails!

Other family news.....Steven is busily trying to find a house to buy. He has been approved for a loan, but hasn't found the right house in his budget yet. Pretty exciting for him! It is interesting, even though he "lives" here at home, he doesn't spend much time here day or night! The ambulance barn or the fire station is his home most of the time. We'll see if that continues once he gets his own home.

As for Michael's family, they are doing great! We went to visit them at the end of September/first of October. It was so much fun to spend time with them. We just love playing with Sage and Dallin and were lucky to get to have them while their mom and dad went on a date! Dallin is Scott's little buddy! His face just lights up when Scott enters the room! So fun to see. We took them to a pumpkin patch, the Kangaroo Jump and just played with them. We were suppose to go to Montana, too, so Scott could go fishing, but the weather had a major turn where it was a blustery storm, so we ended up staying in Utah longer.

Then, we spent a couple of days in Nevada. Scott got to go fishing at Pyramid Lake with my dad. I enjoyed the day sitting on the beach and reading a book. The weather was beautiful. We got back to Cloverdale a day early and so Scott and I just enjoyed being back home and not having to be at work! A low key day to get us ready for going back to work!

Also during the month of October, we took our Scout troop to the Capital March in Sacramento. It was a celebration in honor of Boy Scouts turning 100 years old next year. It was a fun day of marching with approx. 7,000 scouters to the capital from Raley Field. They also had a lot of activities after the march. We all had a great time!

We ended the month with going to cheer for our friend Megan and her parents who participated in the "Wine Country 1/2 Marathon". It was a brisk morning, but beautiful to watch the sunrise over the vineyards. We truly live in a beautiful place! Afterwards, we decided to get some things accomplished around the yard. A quick trip to Home Depot to get some retaining wall blocks and soon we had 90 blocks put into place! (Okay, maybe it wasn't as quick as that since each block weighs 23 lbs.! I would've never guessed!) Afterwards, we cleaned the patio and put hooks up to hang all the bikes! Alot was accomplished on Halloween Day, especially before 2:00 p.m.! We also got to see pictures of our grandbabies in their Halloween attire! So much fun!

Okay...so there you have a recap of OCTOBER...in a nutshell....or in a black cauldron....however you like to think of it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MINDY!

Today is a special persons birthday! It's MINDY!

You may not know her, but she deserves to have a great day today!

(If you want wish her a Happy Birthday, too in the comments!)

Mindy, we hope that you have a wonderfully, pink filled day,

We hope it is full of fun and lot of polka dots, too!

Enjoy time with your family, your nephews, and your BFF's!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MINDY!

A date in time that I will never forget...

September 11th......Just the mention of that calendar day makes me feel so many different emotions. So much happened in our country on that day. I feel sad, and disbelief for those who perished on that day. Yet, I also feel gratitude and respect for those who risked their lives not only that day but every day. It is a day that brought a lot of patriotism back to our country. Flags began to be flown again. It was a day when we forgot the unimportant things and started to reevaluate and prioritize what really is important-

Our faith in God,

Our families,

and the gift of living in the United States of America.

It definately is a day that I will never forget!

I hope others feel the same way, too.

So much to tell.....but not enough time to tell it!

So...Summer ended! School Started! How did it happen so quickly?

Fortunately, we had a great summer filled with lots of things.

So...here's a quick list that finished our summer, with brief detail!

(Sorry, but I've got to get this blog caught up!)

In July, Rachel made a quick trip to Nevada for her dad's 81st birthday!

It was fun to surprise him by just showing up! He had his annual birthday party in his backyard with icecream and cake served to all the guests. A lot of work he goes into preparing for his own birthday party! I am always amazed at what he is able to do! I hope that when I'm 81, I'll be able to do 1/2 of what he accomplishes.

It was also nice to go and visit with him the next day. I was able to visit with him and help him get his yard back in order. I love precious moments like that with my dad! He is an incredible man! I also was able to take him to lunch, although, when the bill came he wouldn't let me pay for it! :(

A couple of weeks later, I made my last summer trip to Utah! I just had to see the grandbabies one more time before school started! It was the best trip ever! I took a dear friend with me and we had the best time driving across Nevada, and back, too! We talked the whole way about everything and anything! It was so much fun! The time flew by quickly as we drove and drove and drove! (Thanks, Megan, for going with me!)

While in Utah, I had a lot of fun visiting Michael's family. That time flew by, too!

I had dates with Sage where we went to the pet store, the park and then of course, she fixed my hair! Yes, you'd be surprised at how many barrettes you can get into my hair! So much fun! We also spent one day at the Scera Swimming Pool in Orem. What a fun place! We also went to a place called "Jump On It"! Sage loved it! It is filled with trampolines and bouncey things! What a great place for kids! And 3 and under are free! You can't beat that!

I have to say, it was sad to leave Utah when it was time to go! Fortunately, I had my buddy to drive with me back to Cali! We also made a quick stop in Nevada and visited with my dad. He is always good for a fun joke and he was able to show Megan his beautiful yard! We were even blessed with the gift of walking sticks that he made! (Thanks, Dad! We love them! Now, we just need to go hiking!)

After coming back from Nevada, Scott and I celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary on August 9th! We keep it very low key by just going to dinner, but it is always great to know that after all these years, we wouldn't change a thing and eternity is going to be so great!

(I'll obviously have to insert a picture here later! :)

The next weekend, we made a quick trip to Oregon to see my sister Linda's son Cory. He returned with honor from a mission to the Czech Republic. He gave a great talk in church! Awesome young man! We also got to see her other son, Jacob, receive his Eagle Scout award. He is the 11th of 11 grandsons of my dad's who received their Eagle! During the evening Jacob presented "Grandpa Kay" with the "mentor" pin and also a picture frame with pictures of all the 11 grandsons and their Eagle badges. It was a great moment! Plus, it was pretty exciting, considering my dad only had daughters! lol Also of note is that all 5 of his granddaughters received their Young Women Medallions! We are so proud of them!

It's already July????

Well, another month flew by and I didn't post! What's with that??

So...here's what happened around our house-

We started the month by looking for places for our stakes Young Men Duty to God Camp to be held. Scott had his heart set on a campsite at Lake Mendocino and kept waiting for them to open the reservations for it. In the meantime, we kept looking at different places in case it didn't come through. Well it didn't come through...They never opened reservations because they are waiting to see if they are going to get stimulus money from the state....Yep...the state of California with no money! Hmmmmm Anyway..with the camp time coming quickly, and no place for it, it was crunch time to find one! We went from Cloverdale to Willits to Fort Bragg and everywhere in between trying to find the perfect spot! We found camping places that I never knew existed, nor do I care to see them again! Plus, winding roads and me don't get a long too well! Anyway, after searching and searching to no avail, Scott decided to go back to where they went 2 years ago, only to find that it was already reserved, so he talked to some camp hosts and took a different spot-Pogie Point @ Lake Pillsbury, that isn't suppose to be reservable! Fortunately, seeing they could fill most of their campsites, which don't usually happen, they chose to let Scott reserve it!

With that accomplished we then spent time working with the Boy Scouts on the Archery Merit badge....Yes, I now can help scouts build an arrow! I am now really good at helping putting on feathers aka "fletchings"! (I think I can now put that on a resume! :)
The next fun activity was going to the temple with Scott! He is a temple worker every Friday. So, we leave our house at 3:30 a.m., so he can be at the temple by 6:00. Of course it doesn't take that long, but if we leave early we won't hit traffic and he gets an hour nap in the car before needing to go in! It was a great day in the temple! When he works, I get to do 2 sessions!

The next ADVENTURE was a youth boating activity at ClearLake! It ended up being more of an adventure than what we had planned, as one of the boats (from our ward) chose to go to the bottom of the lake instead of staying on top! Yes, you read that right! This is not your cheap boat either, as with all the extras on it, it is about $70,000! Let's just say, the owner is really glad that it was in a shallow lake, there were people willing to help drag it out, and it is now back at the factory getting fixed! Made for an exciting day!

The top of the boat as it is being towed.

You can now see the knee board as it is pulled at the dock.

The boat being put on the trailer.

(They had to tie the trailer to the truck with webbing, and put the trailer deep into the water, so the boat could be put on!)

The next week, Scott, Michael and Steven headed down to Pahrump, Nevada to go to FRONTSIGHT Handgun training. They had 5 full days of male bonding and playing with guns...okay...not playing, being educated on self-defense, gun handling, etc. They all came home pretty excited after that adventure!

While they were there, I got to spend a few days with Kim and the grandbabies as she came to our house on her way back to Utah! Then, I drove with her to Utah, as Michael flew back to Utah from Las Vegas. The babies were great on the 13 hour drive! I was so impressed! Although, Sage really wanted to see "Wader" going across Nevada! She would ask every few minutes to see "Wader" and she wanted in it....We started looking for boats on trailers, etc. to appease her! She then wanted to see "fire"! Yep...another unfulfilled wish! She finally asked to see "Cycle Michael's" aka motorcycles! YEA!!! We were able to find those! It was a great trip and I loved spending a few days with them before flying back to Cali.

Who's in there? LOOK CLOSELY!

She emerges!

All the way up!

When I got back to Cali, it was time to help get Scott ready for his Duty to God Camp. I made 4 batches of Rice Krispy treats, 6 batches of brownies and sloppy joe mix for 150 servings! Yep...boys eat a lot! We also shopped for a lot of food that the cooks would prepare for the 3 day camp. Scott went off to camp with most of the food-I drove up later with cake and icecream for the first night, and other perishables that needed to stay cold as long as possible. From all reports, the camp was a success!

And then, we were off to getting ready for Scott's next adventure-Boy Scout Camp, that our troop does on its own and he is the Scoutmaster for! Of course, I'll tell you about that later, as that is where he is now!

Okay....maybe in the month of July...I'll be better at posting on my blog! No promises!

Yes....I've been away! Time to catch up!

A CHANCE TO CATCH UP....the busy month of May!
So...the month of May FLEW by so quickly! (Plus, I'm still behind from Easter!)

So, I will try to catch up on all the details of our life for the month!
We started the month (May 1st) with a Father/Son campout that Scott was in charge of.

After lots of planning, food bought, porta potties in place, etc. The weather decided to rain, and it wasn't a little! Needless to say, it had to be cancelled at the last minute! Almost everyone got notified in time, except for Fort Bragg....(Sorry Bishop Richardson! But, you had fun anyway improvising at your dad's, right?) As for us, it ended up being a great blessing for us to be home because a dear friend passed away that night at home and the family needed us to go and sit with them as they waited for hospice and the mortuary. The next week was very busy helping the family. All good things!

MOTHER'S DAY-May 10

On May 10th, Mother's Day! Being a missionary mom, one of the BEST things about Mother's Day is being able to speak to your missionary son or daughter! It was so good to talk to "Elder Allred". It was great to hear his voice. He sounded happy and loves being a missionary. He is currently serving in Cheney, WA. and he and his companion don't have a car, so his bike is getting a lot of use! It's a good thing! Besides spiritual exercise, he is getting physical exercise! We are really proud of him! He's doing GREAT!

POLICE OFFICER OF THE YEAR AWARD! May 16th

During the month, Scott was voted by his peers to be the "Police Officer of the Year" for 2008-2009! Way to go, Scott! He totally deserved it! He is hardworking, dependable, honorable, faithful, reliable, a team player, he has your back.....the list could continue on and on. He was also honored with May 18th being designated as "Scott Allred Day"! (Although, he still had to work, so I'm not quite sure why they chose that day!)

He was given his recognition and a plaque during the "Police Officer Memorial" dedication. We are all so proud of him!

A SWEET SURPRISE! (May 13-17) To surprise Scott, I flew Michael, Kim and the grandbabies home, so they could see him receive his award! It was a lot of fun having them here, even if it was a quick last minute trip! It was so worth it!

Scott totally enjoyed playing with the kids while I was at school! They had a lot of fun!

We both agree it is the best being grandparents!

On one of the days that I was working, they went for a walk and then Scott took them to police department. The dispatchers fell in love with the babies! One dispatcher wanted to keep Dallin! They then went next door to the fire department so they could see Uncle Steven! They had a great time! I even had them come to school one day to meet the kids in the class I work in. The kids loved them! It was fun! One day we went bowling in Windsor. Sage beat Grandpa! She was quite the bowler! Of course they let her use a rack to roll the ball from, but no bumpers! I don't think she ever got a gutter ball! Afterwards we went to "Powell's Sweet Shoppe" in Windsor for some gelato! YUM, YUM, YUM! It is the best! If you haven't been there, you need to go! (Although, with children it's a hard place to get out of because the whole place is candy!)

We had a great time with Michael and Kim and the babies! We definately are trying really hard to see them every couple of months!

Another part of a busy month....

A PIONEER TREK...May 22-25th
Scott is the Stake YM's president, so this year they put on a 4 day pioneer trek for the youth. I was able to help him behind the scenes with moving porta-potties, water containers, people, shelters, hay bails, etc. It is amazing to see what the logistic team has to do for a trek to be successful. I have to say, this trek was very successful! The youth and the "Ma's and Pa's" had a very spiritual, uplifting experience! What a great blessing it was to be a part of it! My favorite day of the trek is Sunday because they have "pioneer style church". I love seeing the boys all dressed in their white shirts and passing the sacrament. I also love hearing the youth bear their testimonies. Testimonies were found on the Trek! Some youth had been searching for them for a while, and they finally found them. What a great blessing it was to hear them express their feelings about it. The trek takes a lot of work on many peoples parts to make it successful. The stake YM/YW leaders were blessed to have great people supporting them. The theme of the trek was "United We Trek" and the youth and adults definately united together and became a group of zion!

I was so blessed to be able to be a part of it all. Besides doing behind the scenes things, I was able to teach a lesson on the "endowment" to the Laurels on Sunday, help with games, and help with the big breakfast at the end! (There were happy kids when they saw all the food!)

Here are a few pics.....

For more pictures, go to http://ukiahtrek.blogspot.com/

and http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=dwandy.anderson&target=ALBUM&id=5340345924706013793&authkey=Gv1sRgCM2rs-OJy6bT2wE&feat=email

Oh and btw.....on this trek.....a mountain lion came through their camp, and a wild pig was attacked and killed by a dog in front of the whole party. So...it was pretty realistic to the pioneer days!

YIPPEEEEEEEEE....SCHOOLS OUT!!!!! May 28

WE ended the moth with school getting out on the 28th! It was amazing how quickly this year flew by. I couldn't believe the year was over! (Although, there were times during the year that I didn't think I'd make it to the end :) But, I did! A couple of days after school got out, we had seminary graduation! (May 31st). I am the stake seminary supervisor, so I was very busy getting everything into place and making sure everything was ready. Needles to say, some of the cleaning up stuff from the trek had to wait.....it just stayed in the middle of the living room!

Oh, and I almost forgot....on May 30th.....I went to San Francisco and saw, "Wicked" with my best buddy, Chris and her sisters! It was an AMAZING show! I recommend it to anyone!

Great scenery, music, visual effects....it definately keeps your attention!

All I can say is May was a busy month! Also, June is started out pretty exciting, too!!! These youth definately keep us busy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STEVEN!

Today, Steven is 26! It is amazing to me how fast the time has flown by!
Who would've known that the 2 month premature baby boy, weighing a whopping 4 lbs. 2 oz and 17 inches long, that had to be in the hospital for 2 months and then come home on a breathing monitor (because he would stop breathing!) would grow into such an amazing man!
We sure are grateful for him and who he has become!

Steven is very kind hearted and loves to serve others!
(I guess that's why he is an EMT for an ambulance company, a volunteer firefighter for the fire department, and a volunteer dispatcher for the police dept!)
Thanks for all of your service and for who you are, Steven!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STEVEN! WE LOVE YOU!

PONDERING...

This past month has been of much pondering, reflection and perspective as I had different times to just be alone. (Scott was away to Idaho and Montana on a fishing trip with his brother. btw...He had a great time during "Big Fish Week"....arms were sore from those BIG fish. (He even was spotlighted in a local published article for being a Californian who had a great time fishing in Idaho!) Scott has also had lots of meetings for his Stake Young Men's calling. Therefore, our house has been really quiet and I have had time for life reflection!


Because of Scott's profession, I thought a lot about the 4 Police Officers that were killed in Oakland, CA by a parolee. I have especially thought about their families and their department. (What started as a routine traffic stop ended with 4 officers dead and the parolee, too, as well as officers injured.) Through all the time Scott has been an police officer, I have often had people ask me, "How do you handle Scott being a cop?" I have always answered that I have to rely on my faith in the Savior, that he will be protected. I have truly felt that way, and still do. But, with the situation in Oakland, and then the situation in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania of other officers being killed, it has made me think more about it because you never know when someone is going to decide to take an officer down. We definately live in a strange world!

During this past month I have also been thinking of how life can change so quickly! Things might be going great, but challenges and trials come upon us. My brother-in-law, a man looking in great health and feeling good, went in for a check-up a couple of weeks ago, only to get admitted into the hospital and had open heart, triple bypass surgery 2 days later. This is a man who was out walking his dog 3+ miles a day. No indication that the stents that had been put in 10 years earlier were having any problem. Thankfully, the Lord was watching out for him and his family. He is doing incredibly well!

As I have thought of these things, I am truly grateful for the gospel in my life! I'm grateful to konw that I have a Savior that watches over me and my family. I know that life comes with trials. But I also know that with the Savior, nothing is impossible to get through! We chose to come down to earth, knowing it wouldn't be easy. But, we also knew that we could do it!
What a blessing the gospel and the knowledge of the Savior is to me!

This made my day!

Ever had one of those days when you just needed to smile and someone came along and helped you? We can make a difference in others lives by what we do, say, or how we act toward them.

May we each make someone elses day better!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao