Ike Taylor's Funeral

I was able to head up to Ike Taylor's Funeral with Liz and my dad after Women's Conference.  It was nice to be able to see some people I had not seen in a very long time.  I got to visit with many people who I had interacted with when I was attending BYU.   It was great to actually go to the funeral.  I did have a special spot in my heart for Ike.  I had visited a lot with him when I lived in Utah.  My parents would come and visit and we would go and visit Ike and Dorothy's home.  

My dad appreciated the effort that Liz and I made to meet up with him for the funeral.  Dad loved Ike and it was nice that he could come out for the funeral.  Mom stayed home so dad was grateful that Liz and I could go with him.  He couldn't stop telling us how much fun he was having with us there.  He really was glad to be with us.  It made it a very special day for all of us.  I have learned it is always worth making that extra effort to make someone happy.  The benefits are wonderful.  

Larry, Karyn and Ruby at Ike's Funeral.

It was nice to see Ruby again.  She is my grandmother's sister.  She is finally slowing down a little.  She was very helpful to me when I had Mackynzie and was working at WordPerfect.  She was my backup babysitter if I ever needed one.  

I remember when Uncle Rex died, I sat with her in the hospital room for a few hours after his death.  She was waiting for some of her kids to arrive.  Mom came up for that funeral.  It was sad to watch Ruby go on without Rex.  But she was a trooper and she really benefited the lives of her grandchildren.  They are all grown up now and some have children of their own.  I have to say that seeing her grandchildren at the funeral was a highlight.  They are darling kids and seem very focused on the gospel.  She is a great example of a loving individual.  I know my grandmommie loved her to pieces.  Ruby was always so great to all the kids who came up to college at BYU.  I remember many Sunday dinners at her house. 

 Sean was so kind to Ruby after Rex died.  He would go and cut the rose bushes, clean up the garden and rake up the yard.  A beautiful yard was always Rex's speciality and it was nice of Sean to help Ruby out a few times with his service to her.

We were able to drive over and see our old Salt Lake City house. 

Dad and Karyn

Liz and Dad

I had made plans for us to meet up with Doug Parry for dinner before we flew out.  It was a quick dinner, but we all really enjoyed his stories and time he spent with us.  He shared the story of losing Andrew while they were hunting for arrow heads when Andrew was just three.  He got kind of emotional and it was a nice experience with him.  Doug expressed to us that God loves each of us as individuals.  He told us that Andrew's experience was life changing for him.  That is when Doug had learned that God knew who he was.  It was a special moment with him.  It was nice for Liz and my dad to get to know Doug better.

All in all it was a great way to end my Women's Conference experience.  I love my dad and Doug.  Also, I appreciate that Liz was so willing to spend the day with dad and then go to lunch with my father-in-law.  She is truly another example of someone going the extra mile to do meaningful things for others.  That was a great way to spend a day - the only other thing we were going to do was shop.  So this was way more meaningful.

Women's Conference 2009

Some of all the wonderful women that attended.  

This year was a bit different.  People were not sure if they could come this year and some decided to go with family.  It was a real mix this year.  We missed having Jillene and Erin attend, but they were off doing some important family stuff.  All the ladies that went were awesome.  I am glad some of them decided last minute to come.  I got to stay with some of my good ward friends and Liz.  I met up with some of Lisa's friends.  It was a great trip this year.  I felt the spirit each day.

It is always fun to get around other women and learn more about them.  I am surrounded by a bunch of great examples.  It is so fulfilling to attend the different classes.  Liz and I ran to all the classes we wanted to attend together.  We were only detoured once when a lady was selling fresh brownies.  Even with the stop, we made it to the class we wanted to attend.  Every class but one we hit was awesome.  We felt very blessed to hear the different speakers.  I was truly blessed by the things that were said.  I felt assured that I am making great progress in life.  

SMILE!!!

Michele Clifford is the best for always letting me come and hang at her condo.  We have such a fun time staying up way too late talking and laughing.  It has been so many years that we have been going together.  I love all the girls from my home town.  They make living in California fun and exciting.  It is so important to have good friends who are there for each other.  Thanks Michele for letting us have these great experiences all together.  

On Friday Krissy Macdonald came and spent the day with us.  It was awesome to have her come.  I love Krissy.  We roomed together for a few years in college and we have been great cousins forever.  She is a big blessing and I am SO glad she called and stayed with us that day.

We were able to took up with Lisa and her friends.  She was staying at a different place and had a great time with her friends.  They are a nice bunch of ladies.  I am grateful for the entire experience.

A Day in Coronado

We decided we wanted to spend the day together doing something fun in this gorgeous sunny weather.  Sean loaded the beach cruisers on the Tahoe and we were off for the day.  We headed down to ride around Coronado, it is one of our favorite places.  I think we would all move there in a minute if it didn't cost an arm and a leg to buy anything.   You would have to sell your soul to get a house there, even with the market as bad as it is.  There is NO affording a place in Coronado.  So, we do the next best thing and drive over for the day.  

Mackynzie wanted to get a little sun in before Hawaii, which is just around the corner.  Mack thought it was just wrong how white she is compare to Kayla.  Kayla can be in the sun for about 1 hour and be darker than Mack would be after all summer.  We do like being in the sun, but we lather up in the sunscreen for protection.  Everyone is pretty good about that.  I even got Sean to put the sunscreen on before the bike ride.  He fights me the worse on that but he is getting better. 


Mackynzie got to pick the restaurant to eat at.  It was a little diner on the main strip.  It was definitely not our favorite food experience, but we had a good spot in the sun and we had fun being together.




It was a great day together.  We had to be back home for the Young Woman's Broadcast that evening.  So, we didn't get to stay and play around at the beach.  That will have to happen next time.  

 

Supporting the Team

Mackynzie Parry

Mackynzie had a great season this year playing ball.  It took a lot of time and energy to play varsity basketball this year.  Mack had a busy schedule with two AP classes, one honors class and all her required classes.  She maintained her straight A average, which kept her up late many nights.  Mackynzie was the only team member who had all A's without the weighted grades.  Coach Dicarlo honored her for that one day at practice.  She has a 4.33 GPA and was ranked 1 out of 522.  It has been a demanding schedule and she is pretty much ready for a little breathing room now that basketball season is over.  For her basketball was awesome!  It definitely had some ups and downs with the coach and pulling together as a team.  But overall the experience was great and she loved being out on the court giving it her all.

Sean and I lovingly supported the San Marcos High School Girl's Basketball team.  We did it all for Mack.  We loved watching her play and take control of the ball.  She loves the game and you could tell when she was having a fun time and working at it.  Basketball has been a big commitment and we were happy to support her. This was her second year of playing on the varsity team.  She played a lot and was a starter this year.  It was great to watch her get so much more playing time this year.  She is talented and fun to watch.

Kayla was a trooper to come to Mackynzie's games.  There were a lot and she came to most of them.  Sometimes she had to stay back to get homework done or go to bed because they were far away games.  Sometimes she would bring friends to watch, but most of the time she just came to cheer Mack on.  Kayla loved to go and support Mackynzie playing basketball.  She loves her big sister and is proud of her.  Kayla loved to get the camera out and take pictures of Mack playing the game.  Thanks Kayla for supporting your sister!  Mackynzie really appreciated your support and love.

Hurray to another great season!

The Children's Museum

We decided to go downtown to the Children's Museum in San Diego with the Gardner family on Valentine's Day.   It was something different to do.  We thought the girls would have fun.  There was a teen room in the museum, but it was closed for renovation.  So Mack got to hang with the rest of us and do all the little things that ended up being so fun.  On our way to the museum we stopped at Mack's new favorite pizza place.  We grabbed a pizza for a picnic in front of the museum.  Meredith Gardner had spent the night at our house and so she was with us for the drive down to meet her parents.  Mackynzie had spent the night at Emily's house.  They all had stayed up pretty late and were ready to eat some yummy pizza by the time we arrived at the park downtown.

Mackynzie had asked what dad had done for Valentine's Day.  It was strange, because not everyone was home for the morning so our surprises were going to have to wait until the afternoon, when we could all be together at home.

Inside the Children's Museum

The Paint Gallery - Bug Style

The Giant Chalk Board

Notice the "I HEART Karyn" from Sean, that was my special Valentine's!

The Climbing Wall

The Pillow Fight Room

What a way to spend Valentine's Day! It was awesome.