A garden story

We moved to Orem in 2011. In our rental, there was a beautiful garden! Everything was all ready to go, so we took advantage of it!

It was so much fun! And we got lots out of it!

These pictures are from our first harvest. During our 2nd year living there, we decided to plant turnips, just to see if they would grow. They, in fact, did grow. We were so happy with our turnips! Then Chris tried to make turnip soup. It was awful. After the first bite, we both decided that turnips were definitely not something we would try ever again.
So, in our minds, this gardening thing was no big deal! If you just plant things and water them, they grow, and then you harvest and eat and it's fabulous!
Then we moved to Idaho Falls, and were very sad to find that our yard had a lot of shade during the day, making it difficult to plant a garden. I tried doing a window sill garden for my herbs. It didn't work that well. But then, the city of Idaho Falls came to our door and said that we needed to have our apple trees trimmed in order to make way for the power line. I asked them to trim really far, because I hated that apple tree. I'm not sure if it was one apple tree or two, but at any rate, it had two trunks and looked terrible. They asked if they should remove it. So, low and behold, part of our yard now gets sun!!

Chris took a day off of school to make us a garden.

And Chris and his helpers made this:

And then we started planting! We thought that it would be fabulous like our last garden in Orem. However, we had a water problem last year. This happened basically because we have no experience in actually making a garden, and my parents were on their mission in Cincinnati, so they couldn't help. Thus, we were on our own!

However, the "expert" has helped (A TON!!) and, after I worked for about 7 hours this past weekend, along with some boys down the street (because of this) and now our garden now looks like this:

I never thought I would be so excited about dirt! Yay! So my dad will come help with our finishing touches next week, and we will plant! Davis is very excited and really really wants to plant cherry tomatoes, because he thinks it's so fun to eat them off the vine! I can't disagree with that!
Anyway, I have learned that, although gardening is hard an tiring, it is a lot of fun, especially when you have kids to do it with you. I also think it's a wonderful thing to teach kids how to do! We're excited for our harvest!

Spring Break 2018

One of the major benefits of having a spouse in public education is . . . he gets a lot of breaks! And they're usually the same as breaks for the kids! This year, his spring break was the same time as spring break for the preschool, so we decided to go to California and spend time with Grandma and Grandpa Rusch, who are serving in the Fresno mission!
We had so much fun!
Chris said to me before we left that we should check conditions at the mountain pass. "Nah," I thought. "It's spring! No big deal!" Boy, was I wrong . . .
We left a day early so we could spend time in the Bay area, with my friend from college and a few other friends who live out there. But, I-80, over the mountains, closed. So, instead, we spent the day in Reno, Nevada.

These are pictures of Circus, Circus in Reno. We were sad to miss out on friends, but tried to make lemonade out of our lemons!
The next day, we had to take the back route to get to California. I was grateful that I have a husband who loves (obsesses over?) the Western States 100 race, because he knew which way to take when we got to a place that I didn't know. (Note to self: take an atlas in the future. At times, a map on the phone is not useful!)
We reached Fresno and had so much fun playing with Chris's parents! They were so happy to have kids running when they knocked on the door in the hotel room! Their ward is very friendly and it was great to be able to go to church with them. There were so many people who said how much they loved their missionaries!

Chris's parents live in backwoods, CA. They actually live in Prather, CA, which is 40 minutes away from any hotel, and a very remote location to get to. They showed us around their ward boundaries, and the area that they cover in their missionary efforts. It was so fun to see!
On Monday, we drove to Yosemite National Park. This has been on my bucket list for a long time, and it was so fun to see in person! The weather on Monday was great, so we were able to see El Capitan beautifully.

 Davis decided that he was a photographer, and took lots of pictures that are . . . maybe not the best. But, I think this one is actually pretty funny:

Chris's dad got us some great accommodations in Yosemite:

We had so much fun in the three-bedroom cabin that we stayed in! We just wish the weather would have been better for the occasion, but the company was great, so we can't complain!

Seeing El Capitan with the fog around it was pretty breathtaking though.

The trip back was basically uneventful. We stayed at Circus Circus in Reno again after making the pass over the mountains. It was cute to see Davis pulling some luggage in the hotel.

On the way back, we stopped through a place where Chris served his mission. This was a landmark for him, so we took a picture of it:

It was pretty fun to do a road trip. We were a little nervous to start, but it ended up being a ton of fun. The kids did great in the car, because we had DVDs, treats, and lots to do!

It was a fabulous trip! We learned a lot, such as:

• A road atlas would be a good idea
• Our kids are great on the road, especially if they have adequate entertainment!
• Davis was pretty much the ruler of his own little universe! He thought it was pretty cool to be able to reach the treats, toys, and everything his heart desired from his seat!
• Getting a room with two queen-sized beds actually works really well for our little family!
• There are adjustments that need to be made, but if we basically have a good time, it is a success! And we need to be very flexible!
• We love each other and are grateful for these opportunities!

Also, have you ever seen a WORSE misspelling of Chris's name?

Thanks, Arby's!

Grandma Davis

My Grandma, Devona Juen Stephenson Davis, died on February 2, 2018. Words cannot describe how much we miss her! She was such a wonderful woman, and we miss her a lot, but are so grateful for the knowledge that we have that we can be together forever. Here are some pictures from her life and the services:

Here is her obituary:
Devona moved to the great quilting club in heaven on February 2, 2018, perhaps because they have an eternal supply of fabric and patterns in the spirit world.  She was born July 8, 1933 in Pocatello, Idaho to Clarence and Iriminda Taylor Stephenson, the youngest of six children.  She graduated from Pocatello High School and Idaho State College, after which she taught home economics.  She married Hal Walter Davis on August 24, 1955 in the Idaho Falls Temple.

            The newlyweds married during Hal’s medical education and lived in France after Hal volunteered for the Air Force.  They saved up leave time and wages to travel and tent camp across much of Europe, and continued this family camping tradition for many decades.  Redfish Lake was the family favorite.

            Devona had seven children: Stephen (Jan), Kent (Sonja), Doran (Chris), Joni (Boyd Phillips), Monty (Shelli), Leslie (Earl Fields), and Ruth (Kevin Pickens).  All were her favorites, and each was loved and treasured.  She currently has 30 grandchildren, 32 great-grandchildren and at least three more will join her family this spring.  She labored diligently to tie baby quilts for each new child.  Each grandchild chose quilting fabric and the quilt pattern of their choice for wedding gifts.  In reality, she used love as fabric, dedication as thread, and the gospel of Jesus Christ as the pattern.  These quilts will be eternally treasured.

            Devona was completely dedicated to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and served diligently in many callings including ward and stake relief society president, primary president, and ordinance worker in the Idaho Falls Temple.  She was ward organist for six decades, and passed her musical passion on to all of her children.  Her favorite church calling was Cub Scout den leader, and her cubs are all still her boys.

            Devona has always been a dedicated missionary and was very successful as a district missionary in France.  She spent a total of five years on full-time missions with Hal, including Durban, South Africa, Vietnam, and Boston, Massachusetts.  Not long before her death she gave a personalized set of LDS scriptures to her neighbor.

            She loved her time with the Patchwork Quilt Club, the Idaho Falls Music Club, the Idaho Falls Medical Auxiliary, and many PTAs.  She “adopted” many needy souls and lovingly served them however she could.  Valentine’s Day will never be the same without her individualized cards, each with a crisp, new $2 bill.             

She was preceded in death by her parents, siblings Eldred, Delbert, Melvin, and Donna, leaving only her sister, Margie Clark, behind.

Devona’s funeral will be on Wednesday, February 7, 2018 at 11 AM in the Idaho Falls Stake Center, 1155 First St., in Idaho Falls.  Viewing will be from 6 to 8 PM Tuesday evening, February 6^th at Coltrin Mortuary and from 10:00-10:45 AM preceding the funeral at the church.  Interment will be at Fielding Memorial Park Cemetery in Idaho Falls.    

We love and miss our sweet grandma!

December birthdays

We are doing this all as one post, because it's December, and life is crazy! So, here we go!
First, it was Daddy's birthday on December 8th! Yayyy! We sure do love him and he works very hard for all of us!

 We knew that he would be working late on the day of his birthday, so we had a small party the Sunday before. Here he is blowing out his candles. He's OLD!! 38!!

Here he is on his birthday opening presents, with the help of Davis and Reagan. They are great helpers, especially with present-opening!

He got some shoes, which is a BIG surprise. Davis wanted to try them on!

On the day of his birthday, I made buttermilk pie for dessert. He had been telling me about how delicious it was for many weeks, so I tried it out. And yes, it was delicious!

Reagan's birthday is December 11th!

She cracks me up, because she KNEW that it was her birthday, and told pretty much everyone at church that it was her birthday, and that she was a princess. Both of these things are true.

We got together with my parents and grandparents and the Meservy family for the celebration.

 As you can tell, she LOVES her new snow hat!

The kids enjoying cake.

MY birthday is December 16th. . . by the time we finish Reagan's birthday, I am done and would like to cancel my birthday. Especially this year, because December 16th was when my little brother decided to get married. So here's how the day went:

• We went to bed late the night before, because it was Casey and Hilary's reception, at which the kids got food ALL OVER themselves and thus needed to take baths before going to bed.
• At 4:00, I woke up to use the bathroom. At 4:30, I realized that I had left my temple recommend at home, which is not good when there is a wedding happening in 4 hours. I woke up Chris. He texted a member of our Stake Presidency, and then said that he could not go back to sleep, and went to exercise in the hotel.
• I made it into the temple with a temporary recommend. Phew!
• After the wedding, the kids came with Whitney's sister to the temple, which was fun. It was cold, but beautiful!
• On our way back to the hotel, Reagan fell asleep in the stroller. So, we waited until the last possible second to go to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for the luncheon.
• We knew that we would have a parking pass to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, but the parking lot was full. So we parked in City Creek, and then found out that even though those parking lots are connected, you can't go through them. We didn't take coats, and it started to hail. Hard. We frantically ran to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, and by the time we got there, looked like wet dogs.
• It was awful weather during the luncheon, but we were inside. Oh, and my brothers and I chose a time when the elevators were out of order to work on decorating their car. So we ran down 12 flights of stairs to get the job done.
• After the luncheon, we searched for our car for an hour. We forgot where we had put it, because we were so frantic at the time. But, we saw old friends, and old students in City Creek, so that was fun!
• We finally got to our car, changed our clothes, and started on our way. Of course, the other cars going to Idaho Falls were quite a bit ahead of us.
• We pulled over at the truck stop in Downey, Idaho, and called my parents to ask if we should keep going. My mom said, "NO!!" Roads were terrible, visibility was bad, and there were a bunch of slide-offs. So, we decided to stay the night in Downey. The motel there is run by the truck stop. We actually had a somewhat decent meal at the truck stop, and then climbed in bed, which was great.
• The next morning, roads weren't fabulous. We were glad that we weren't on them during the night and in the storm.
• But when we got back, there was a surprise waiting for me:

• Chris had collaborated with my friend to leave cheesecake and flowers for me at my house. Isn't he the best? That night, we went to dinner and Star Wars with my parents, which was fun.

•  And, two days later, I opened up a small gift from my parents. Oh, the day before, I also opened up some other presents. So, all was not lost. 

Anyway, happy birthday to us!!