Traveling
- St. George - I made it to St. George three times this year - President's Day weekend, Labor Day weekend, and Christmas. It's always nice to spend time with Mom and Dad and it's starting to feel more like a place I know and really quite like.
- Idaho - Cari and I went on our second annual sisters' trip in May. We had a great time visiting two new temples - Star Valley and Idaho Falls. I think I could for sure live in Star Valley. I can see myself retiring to a little mountain town like that someday. We also had a chance to spend a few hours in Rexburg where Cari had a fun time reminiscing.
- Washington - I spent a few days with Mom and Dad as they drove up to visit Josh and Kirsten in Washington in July. We stopped in the Tri-Cities area, went to the Columbia River Temple and explored the paths and sunset along the Columbia River. We had a couple of days in Seattle to see Josh and Kirsten's favorite places and then several days together on the Olympic Peninsula. Some of the highlights were the Sequim lavender fields, Port Angeles, Lake Crescent, sunset at Salt Creek looking across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Victoria, hiking Hurricane Hill, Sol Duc Falls, Marymere Falls, Rialto Beach, Second Beach, and Ruby Beach. I flew home via Boise to make a stop at the Boise and Meridian temples on Pioneer Day. It was a wonderful way to celebrate!
- Sundance - We spent a fun few days together with the whole family at a house in the mountains near Sundance in August. It was wonderful to be together for talking, hiking, games, memories, and celebrating mom and dad's 40th anniversary (a little early).
- New York City / Washington, DC - It was a treat to spend a few days with Matt and Megan and their family in Manhattan in November, while Josh and Kirsten were also visiting. We had a fun two days exploring the city--walking many miles together from the Brooklyn Bridge to Chinatown, Madison Square Park, Midtown, and all corners of Central Park and Riverside Park, listening to Josh quote lots of movies, enjoying the fall leaves and the Upper West Side. Then I took the bus/train to/from Washington, D.C. for a couple of days. It was wonderful to be back there, see some friends, spend time with Sarah and meet her darling twins, and walk around the Mall in the fall. Highlight!
This year I read the Book of Mormon twice. The first time through I studied about truth. It's full of truth!!! In a world that wonders where we can find truth this book is such a blessing! The second time through I renewed my study of Jesus Christ, His names/titles, His words, His characteristics, and His mission (as President Nelson invited us to do by the end of the year), but I also focused on knowing the Lord's will for me. I found a lot of direction and joy. It was a great blessing to study these words. I'm grateful for the power of the Book of Mormon in helping me draw closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ. I'm looking forward to starting again. I'm still working my way through the Old Testament, and look forward to jumping into the New Testament. Just today I finished reading all of the General Conference talks since the year I was born (a project that I've been working on for about three years or so now... this year I read about 1,000 talks from 2001 to 2018). I'm grateful for chances to learn and study. I'm grateful for prophets in the land (anciently and this very day)! Their words help me to focus on what's most important. Here is a list of some of my favorites (that I intend to continue to add to).
In addition to this study, I read 75 books this year. Here were some of my favorites (in no particular order):
- The Standard of Truth by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Teachings of President Russell M. Nelson
- Refugee by Alan Gratz
- A Proper Pursuit by Lynn Austin
- The Zookeeper's Secret by Jeffrey A. Thompson
- The Read-Aloud Family by Sarah Mackenzie
- Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker
- Left Neglected by Lisa Genova
- Boundaries by Henry Cloud
- Reading People by Anne Bogel
- I'd Rather be Reading by Anne Bogel
- Everybody Always by Bob Goff
- Love Lives Here by Maria Goff
- As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner
- Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
- Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist
- Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall
- Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
- How Not to Die by Michael Greger
- The Thing with Feathers by McCall Hoyle
- A Christ-Centered Christmas by Emily Freeman
- Temples - This year (in addition to weekly temple visits here in the Salt Lake valley) I attended five new temples - Star Valley Wyoming, Idaho Falls Idaho, Columbia River Washington, Boise Idaho, and Meridian Idaho. I'm grateful for the blessings of the temple in my life!
- Service - I was a hostess again at the Festival of Trees in November. I found a few causes to support for Christmas and look forward to dedicating more time to community service in 2019.
- Church - I was involved in my ward and participated in a lot of ministering visits this year. I have a testimony of the importance of reaching out and loving others. I also had the chance the last few months to teach Sunday School. It has been a great blessing to learn more about the Old Testament and share my testimony of the truth on a regular basis. I love the scriptures and the covenants and promises that our Heavenly Father has made with His children since the beginning. It's clear to me that we're living at a time that many prophets have seen and foretold. I'm grateful to be here now and hope I'm doing my part. I also enjoyed being part of our ward and stake choir.
- Fitness and Nature - I ran the Mount Nebo Half Marathon in August (just a month before much of that beautiful canyon was destroyed by a huge fire). I also spent a good amount of time hiking, which always does my body and mind good. Some of this year's favorites included the Bell Canyon Waterfall, Desolation Lake, Snowbird Tram, Albion Basin, the Draper trails, Stewart Falls, Lake Blanche, Willow Heights Lake (multiple, many times with a variety of friends and family), and (what's becoming somewhat of a Christmas Eve tradition) Observation Point.
- Relationships - This was something I tried to focused on this year, but it's hard to measure or see progress. I don't know how successful I've been, but I'm grateful for relationships, people--family and friends--that give life meaning. I was able to spend time with all of my immediate family on multiple occasions this year, which was a great blessing. I've tried to get to know new people. I've spent more focused time on my relationship with Heavenly Father and the Savior. I hope that each of these relationships can grow further in 2019.
- Other Events - It was fun to celebrate Paul Dean's wedding with the Loto Taha crew in July. The rest of us that are here in Utah got together again in August. What a great group of people, dear friends! Sarah was cute and gathered some other great MPA friends in DC in November. One of my favorite ways to talk and be with people this year was hiking. I invited quite a few people to join me this year, where I'd usually go by myself, and had a great time! The beautiful world, exercise, and good people--there's not much better. I also tried to support and be a part of the lives of those I care about...funerals, sporting events, inspirational events, birthdays, etc.
I'm grateful for another year. Life is great!
