Memorial Day 2010

This year I made the Memorial Day trek by myself. John (as you may remember from last year) is in charge of the Lindon City Memorial Day program so we had to part ways this year.

I left Sunday morning and drove to McGill, Nevada to Doris & Lester's home for a lunch. The rest of the day was spent just hanging out with the extended family. Monday morning we drove to Lund, where my grandpa is buried.
I love the cemetery in Lund. It's in the middle of nowhere but well attended and decorated.Here are a few of the Oxborrow relatives. We're a fun bunch of people.

Good peeps in my life!

When I left my job as a principal, I wasn't sure what would happen. I accepted a job as an Instructional Coach. It has really been a dream job for me. I got my summers back. I have MUCH LESS stress. AND, I get to work with great people.

Wouldn't you want to work with these fun girls? Sadly, next year there will only be 7 of us from this group. My supervisor Michelle is going to be a principal and she'll do a great job. Three are going back to the classroom. Lastly, my dearest friend Natalie is going to stay home with her 2 cute boys. I will really miss her help, but luckily she's only a phone call away.
John & I had another great get-together with our friends Brandon & Debbie. It's crazy to think Deb & I were roommates over 15 years ago. She made me laugh then and she still cracks me up! I'm grateful we still get together.
I am grateful for good friends!

Hiking to the Y

May 26
We took the YW to hike to the Y. It was perfect weather.
This was the group shot before we started:
Jyson came with us as well. He loved it. He was all over the trail.
I wish I had half his energy.
This was my hiking buddy. She wasn't sure she was going to make it but we plowed on... (Great view of Provo.)
When we got to the Y, Jyson was a little bummed to find out it was really bumpy rock. He was hoping to slide down it. We just climbed around on it instead.
Coming down the Y. It looks like it should be snow.
Everyone made it to the top. Good job girls & Jy!
Next up for YW: Girls Camp.

Friends & Fun

May 14-15
A few weeks ago we went back to St. George.
It's becoming a monthly trip. :)

We got there Friday night. Saturday morning we went on a bike ride (37 miles) with our neighbor Steve. While he & Lynnette went shopping, John & I drove to Mesquite to visit G'ma O and Mom & Dad. It's always great to visit them!

We drove back to St. George to meet Steve & Lynnette for dinner and then off to the Tuacahn to see Brian Regan.
He is so dang funny!!! It was a fun weekend.

Women's Conference, an increasingly favorite tradition

April 29-30, 2010

Each year, tens of thousands of women converge upon the Marriott Center at BYU for the annual Women's Conference. It is a fantastic sight.I think this is the 4th time my mom, sisters, and I have attended. Yes, the breakout sessions are great. Yes, the opening and closing general sessions are great. But, the best part is just hanging out with the girls.

This year we attended the Thursday night Evening of Service. (Jill caught up with us later.) We tied fleece blankets. I don't know how many were tied, but there were LOTS!
Next, we moved on to help out in the humanitarian area. We stuffed school kits into boxes to be shipped out to needy countries. I have to say the church's humanitarian efforts ROCK!!
That night we had a sleepover at my house. This was by far the HIGHLIGHT of the weekend for me. We "skyped" with my other sister Alicia for over an hour. (That was my first experience with Skype - pretty cool stuff!)

We stayed up late talking and laughing our heads off. (Everything's funnier after midnight!) Have you ever played with PhotoBooth on a MAC computer? You can take super funny distorted photos of you. This is my sister Tanya. (Sorry T, I had to do it.) We were crying, we were laughing so hard! This is the stuff memories are made of.The next day we attended the actual conference. Great sessions. Good uplift for the soul. And of course, the day would not be complete without the traditional group photo.
After the conference, we went to dinner at Zupa's (my FAVORITE restaurant at the moment) and then shopping at Walmart. We checked out most of the aisles in the store at a leisurely pace. How often do you get to do that? (Especially if you're Jill, with 6 kids, or Tanya, with 4 kids)

I was sad to see everyone leave on Saturday. Let's do it again next year! Love you girls!

My mum & mothers everywhere...

Today I opened the mail and there was a card from my mum that brought me to tears. Gosh I love this lady!My mum is a saint. Really. I mean how did she raise 8 children who are all great, productive members of society, while working full-time?

Every stinkin' night at 6:00, dinner was on the table.

There were several years when she got up in the wee hours of the morning to do a paper route and then still take care of all of us, and was still nice about it.She taught me how to work.

She shared with us her love of music. She sang to us, played the piano for us, and inspired me to learn to play the piano.

She's a great cook. Her homemade bread can't be matched.
She's smart, well-read, and expected us kids to do well in school and college.

Her love for her children is unconditional and we all know it.

She has a tender heart and has passed on her loose tear ducts to me as well.

She has a strong testimony of the gospel which has been an anchor in her life, as well as mine.How blessed I am to have my mum as my mother.

And while I'm at it, I'm so grateful to John's mom Joy, for her generous, welcoming, loving heart. She raised an incredible son, for which I will always be grateful.I can't forget to mention my sisters and sisters-in-law. I love to see all of them with their children. They inspire me.Happy Mother's Day to mothers everywhere!

Yum, YUM, yummers, yummy, Yum.

Aren't these beautiful? I was at Costco yesterday and saw these HUGE strawberries. I had to have some.
And since I can't eat them fast enough...time for jam. For me there is really only one kind of jam: homemade strawberry jam. It's so easy to make and it tastes SOOO good. Why wouldn't it? It's 2 cups of mashed strawberries and 4 cups of sugar.
I finished these about midnight last night. Now I just need some of my mom's homemade bread...