Work Blessings

I've had some important work deadlines in the last couple of weeks. I'm so glad that I was able to make all my deadlines and be proud of the courses delivered to our clients. So far, the clients have been really pleased too. I enjoy the challenges of my work, but it's a tricky balance between good stress and bad stress. I feel like one of the greatest blessings to me at work is one of my co-workers and friends. She used to be in my ward 8 mo. ago and I heard she was looking for a job. I told her we were hiring at my work. She applied, interviewed, and got herself hired. She was assigned to a very big parenting curriculum project that I was leading and I helped trained her. Although I hardly knew her when I told her about the job, she has since become a trusted and valued friend and co-worker. Her creative and thorough work has helped lift my work burdens on more than one occasion. I'm so grateful for her help and friendship.

Vacation/Reunion Highlights

Sat. July 16th

• Flew to Houston, TX at 6:00am and finished some last minute work assignments in the Denver Airport in between flights
• Greeted by a humid heat wave at the airport doors in Texas followed by a niece and two nephews who were totally excited to see us and mostly importantly, show us their bedrooms. 3-yr-old Will talked non-stop on our hour-long car ride home. :)
• Played front room basketball, Piggie and the Cookie (a type of tag), and swam in Tim and Lisa's pool

Sun. July 17th (Happy 3rd Anniversary to us!)

• Attended Tim and Lisa's ward in Kingwood
• Drove 3 1/2 hrs to New Branfels to meet the rest of the Burninghams at the T Bar M Resort. We needed two cars, so Jason drove Tim's Corola and we took Cali with us. She enjoyed looking at pictures and playing with my new iPad
• All the Burninghams stayed in a two 3-bedroom condos. Jason and I had our own room with a connected bathroom which was really nice--others weren't as lucky. Despite the tight quarters, we had a good time in the condos

Mon. July 18th

• Rented a boat at Canyons Lake 30 min. away. It was really, really hot! Jason and I went tubing one time. Lake Temp. was probably 72 degrees. We had Drew and Grant with us on the boat and poor Drew was scared to death we were going to sink, run out of gas, crash, drown, etc. He was worried the entire time and kept asking to go back after the first 2 minutes!
• Played some on the beach after the boat, washed off the sunscreen and accidentally got fried in the sun
  
• Met up with many of the Richards family for dinner at the Resort. After dinner we talked and lots of us watched Tangled outdoors on a big screen and ate popcorn provided by the resort.
• Stayed up late talking and playing Scum and Bananagrams with Mom and Dad B., Steve and Kirsten, and Andy and Kimra.

Tues. July 19th

• Floated down 1 mile of the Guadalupe River with the Richards. It was going so slowly that we had to paddle ourselves with our arms. We all enjoyed the three short sections of "rapids" where is was so shallow we were almost dragging on the ground. I was glad to see that even 84-year-old Grandpa Richards floated down the river with us.
• Stayed up late and played Habla Chancho and the Signs game

Wed. July 20th

• Went to Schlitterbaun with some of the Richards cousins--mainly Nate and Andrea and Whitney and Cody. It's the world's largest water park and likely also the world's most crowded water park. We went on three rides in 6 1/2 hours and spent about 4 1/2 hours waiting in lines. I would not recommend it to anyone else. We did like the lazy river attraction and flowed 10 times faster than the Guadalupe River.
• Enjoyed a nice BBQ beef and chicken dinner with the Richards family and watched a cool slideshow of all the families. Afterwards we took pictures and played games in the game room.

Thurs. July 21st

• Drove an hour to Sea World in San Antonio. It was really hot but not as crowded as Schlitterbaun. We went to all the main shows and the 5 main rides there. We didn't wait more than 30 minutes for a ride, and most of the lines were fairly short. No one thought the shows were as cool as they used to be. With some recent animal/trainer accidents, the trainers didn't even get into the water with the Killer Whales or Dolphins and the animals didn't do anything super cool in the water.
• I like the Journey to Atlantis ride. We got 12 of us into one of the rafts and went down the big hill into the water and it was a lot of fun with all of us there. The other rides were pretty fun too.
• Both children and adults were hot, tired, and hungry and we all left by 6:30pm to go eat dinner outside the park and go to our hotel room.

Fri. July 22nd

• Toured San Antonio by visiting the Alamo, Tower of the Americas, and the Riverwalk. We ate dinner along the Riverwalk and then watched a Latino dance/singing show called Fiesta Noche del Rio. It was well done although I'm not a big fan of Mariachi music
• It was so hot that I thought I was going to die at certain times. I felt bad for the parents that were constantly having to carry their hot children around as well.

Sat. July 23rd

• Attended a temple session at the San Antonio Temple with half of the adults
• Ate lunch afterward at a nearby park before splitting up to head home via car or airplane
• Arrived at the SLC airport about 9:20pm only to find they lost Jason's luggage. We didn't get home to our apartment until close to 11:00pm.

Overall we had a great time. We're grateful to everyone who came and helped out and especially to Tim and Lisa B. and Susan W. for planning all of the activities, food, and accommodations. I don't know if it's bigger and better in Texas, but it's definitely hotter!

Summer Days

I must admit that it has been a little more difficult for me to have to work full-time during the summer than I anticipated. Having been a teacher or student for the last several years has allowed me a flexible schedule to enjoy the good weather and summer activities. This year I continue to work 8:00-5:00. Work, work, work, that's all I do. It's hard to believe we're already half-way through July. What happened to first half of the year?

Fortunately I can still do some things in the evenings and weekends. For example, Friday we went to Provo to hang out with some friends from our married student ward that are moving in a month. We ate Brick Oven Pizza and played some Frisbee golf before coming home for Root Beer floats and a few games. We wish them luck in Texas!

Saturday we attended the temple in the morning, visited Grandpa Burningham, took care of some errands, and then had a delicious dinner at Jason's parents' home before going to Alpine Community Theater's performance of Cinderella with Steve and Kirsten (here visiting for a couple of weeks), Chelsey and Mike, and Jason's parents. The play was a Rodgers and Hammerstein version and showcased some talented actors and singers that made it a fun evening.

Another activity we had this week included babysitting our neighbor's three girls for an evening. We ate pizza for dinner, cleaned up the house a little, and played three games--one selected by each of the three girls--before putting them to bed. While playing the game of Life the 4-year-old asked me if Jason and I were married. When I answered that yes we were she asked, "Where are your kids?" I told her they were still in heaven. That must have satisfied her because she just said "Oh" and turned back to the game.

Wednesday we went to institute and listened to Joseph Grenny speak about agency and our power to change. He related a social science laboratory study to related gospel principles and how they affect our ability to make wise decisions. It was well-done and helped me think about agency in a new way.

4th of July Activities

Can I just say that I love the 4th of July! I love the warm weather, the summer family activities, the fireworks, the patriotic music and decorations, and I love living in this country--as imperfect as its government leaders may be. I feel that God has been watching over and preparing this country so that He could bring forth the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I've been reading a series about the American Revolution recently and have been so impressed by the sacrifices of men, women, and children that fight, live, and die for the freedoms and liberties we now enjoy. These brave and dedicated men and women didn't do it on their own either. They had divine intervention on numerous occasions that were not just coincidence. I'm grateful for good books that help me better appreciate the sacrifices of others and the many blessing we have today because of those who have gone before. I hope that I contribute to a better future for my children and grandchildren through the choices I make as well.

Here are some of the things we've been up to this week.

Monday: At the last minute we decided to go to a free concert at Taylorsville Dayzz where the Utah Symphony performed. We were all spread out on the lawn of a park listening to these amazing and talented musicians. They played the theme from Stars Wars, "Jupiter" by Gustav Holst, and a variety of patriotic classics. They ended with the War of 1812 complete with a group of "cannoneers" that shot off real cannons at the appropriate times during the song. It was pretty cool. After wards they had a great fireworks show that we both really enjoyed.

Thursday: We went to the Thanksgiving Point Gardens with Jason's parents and it was gorgeous! I love gardens. The nice thing is that for some reason it was almost completely empty and it was as if we had the gardens to ourselves. We enjoyed walking around them for a couple of hours and talking about all kinds of things. My experience was only dampened by those inconsiderate mosquitoes that got me a few times right as the sun was setting. After the gardens we went to Cold Stone for ice cream. Mmmmm. Yummy!

Saturday: We hiked to Bell Canyon Falls with Jason's parents. I think it was an 8 mi. hike round trip and took us about 4 hours. It was such a beautiful trip. I love being out in nature. The reservoir and surrounding rivers were more full than I've ever seen them. The Falls were must bigger than when we went on Labor Day last year and we couldn't get very close to them to get very good pictures.

That night we were invited over to another couple's house (Seth and Cassie) in our stake for dinner and games. We've gotten together several times before and really enjoy playing games with them. I actually know the husband from my master's program and we both just happened to move to the same stake in Sandy. They don't have any children yet either and it's been nice to have some friends in the same stage of life as us.

Sunday: Today we went to a double baby blessing for my cousins' babies. They both live really close and it was fun to see their family again.

Monday: Even though it hasn't happened yet, tomorrow we're going to the West Jordan parade with my parents and sister's family. We'll eat together and watch the Sugar House fireworks. I excited to spend time with family and especially happy to have a day off of work!













































This is a picture of us at Sugar House Park just before the fireworks began. We went with Kristilyn and Mark and their two boys. I walked with Kristilyn at least a half mile each way--She was a trooper with all that walking at 7 1/2 mo. pregnant with twins.

Some People Learn the Hard Way

I thought I already posted this, but apparently I didn't. This is from last week.

Today Jason is very relieved. He just survived his first Scout Camp. It has been a quite the learning experience for him. He had to learn a lot of things about Scout Camp and it seemed that people didn't have the answers. He had to do his homework on the subject, but he now knows where the scout camp is, what forms the boys need, how to sign the boys up for merit badges, what camping equipment our ward has, how to plan a week of meals, how much food five 12- and 13-year-olds can eat, and how to coordinate with the scout leaders and fathers.

He only actually went up to the camp Friday night. He left in the early afternoon for Camp Tomahawk at East Fork of the Bear. Because the roads are pretty bad from the snow, he had to go a longer way through Evanston, WY. After the first hour and a half, he ran over something that he never saw, but everything seemed to be okay so he kept going. An hour later (25 mi. past Evanston) his car started shaking and smelling really bad.

He was able to safely pull over to the side of the road. He was pretty shaken up and worried that something had blown up, half expecting smoke to be billowing out of his hood. He tried to call his dad, but he didn't get any phone service. He figured out how to lift the hood of the car and looked around but didn't see anything glaringly wrong. He opened a couple fluid caps but decided he couldn't see anything wrong in there. He started walking around the car and looked under it to see if there were any fluids leaking. When he got around to the other side of the car he noticed one of his tires had blown out. (I smile to think that he didn't know that the bad smell was burning rubber. :)

So now that he knew what was wrong with the car, all he had to do was change the tire, right? Wrong. He didn't know how to change a tire--in fact, he didn't even know where the spare tire was located! I guess he missed the auto mechanics day in scouts when he was a boy. Well, he finally got out his tire and a wrench and then he tried to call his dad again. He must have looked pretty worried because a logger driving past him turned around and came to find out if he was okay. The logger just got right to work and quickly got the tired switched out. Jason just sat back and asked lots of questions. :) He then drove 25 mi. back to Evanston to get another tire and then turned around and drove all the way to the camp. Actually finding the camp on the poor excuse for a road is a story for another day. Hopefully he learned enough to do change a tire again if he has to. If not, we'll be sure to have similar adventures later on.

Father's Day and Business Trips

I am so grateful for good fathers, and in particular my father. He is such a good, kind, honest, hard working, and loving father. Not everyone is blessed with a father like mine, but I'm so grateful to have had that example growing up so that I would know how important it was to marry a good man like him. I know Jason will be a great father too some day.

I flew to a project kickoff in Milwaukee on Thursday. We had a day-long meeting Friday most of which I was responsible for. I needed to get a lot of information from them to create a design document for their project. I had lots of questions for us to discuss, but I learned very quickly that what I thought to be simple questions with simple answers were not very simple and they had a hard time giving me direct answers. We ended up talking around the points I needed to get, so I hope I'll have enough info. to create a solid design. They are paying a lot of money for this project and I have the heavy responsibility in most respects of making sure they get what they paid for. Our flights were delayed coming home so I didn't get home until 2:00 in the morning.

Here are a few pros and cons of business trips:
Pros:

• Eating out a lot and having the company pay for the food
• Visiting new places
• Sleeping in nice hotels with very comfortable beds
• Having other people make your bed and clean up the room
• Time to read good books on the plane
  

Cons:

• Not getting to come home at night and consequently having to work longer hours per day
• Delayed flights and long hours of travel
  
• Not having as much time to do what I want to in the evenings
• Not being with Jason
• More stress at being in charge of meetings with VIPs in the company and needing to make a good impression
  

An Eventful Saturday!

Wednesday Jason and I got new cell phones. My phone has slowly progressed from a little broken to a lot broken. When my screen wouldn't work today so that I could find someone's number in my address book, I decided it was time for a new phone. My old one was over 2 1/2 years old, so I could get a new one for free if I signed up for another 2 years. Jason wanted to be on the same contract schedule, so he ended up getting a new phone for free too. Now we can have his old one as a back up in case anything happens to one of our phones. It's kind of fun to have a new gadget to figure out. My phone has a touch screen with a keyboard that I can slide out for easier texting. Jason's isn't a touch screen, but it does have a slide out keyboard as well.



Saturday morning we had a Stake Family Fun Day. Our stake put on a pretty cool carnival complete with pancake breakfast, game booths, cotton candy, snow cones, and popcorn. They had a 5K run in the morning. Jason decided to run in it when he found out that not enough people showed up to play basketball. He took first place in his division and 3rd place over all--a couple minutes behind some high school guys that run cross country at Jordan High School. He even jogged over to the Stake Center before the race and jogged home afterward. I wish I had his energy!

That afternoon we went boating on Utah Lake with Jeff and Sally and their four kids and Jason's parents. Jeff and Sally just bought a boat several months ago and invited us all out on the lake to celebrate Jason's mom's birthday and Father's Day. It was a great day to go boating. Jason and I went tubing and Jason tried some surfing, but I wasn't brave enough to try any type of skiing yet--hopefully next time.

Afterward we all went to Jeff and Sally's home for a delicious BBQ. At the BBQ Jason started getting an ear ache. It kept getting worse. We tried several ways to try to get the water out of his ear without much success. We called Dr. Mark and he told us Jason had a case of swimmer's ear, a condition where water left in the ear causes it to swell and hurt. Fortunately he had some ear drops for it. We drove to their house at 10:00pm and picked it up. It worked amazingly well and he felt fine again in the morning. Thanks Kristilyn and Mark!!