It's Great To Be A Madison Bobcat

I loved High School, is that weird? I'm not saying it was perfect, but I feel like Madison High School class of '95 was about as perfect as a high school experience can be. I had such a great group of friends and I still cherish so many memories. 

Here's my Top 10 List of things I loved about being a Madison Bobcat: 

10. Taking Drivers Ed with two of my best friends and driving past the houses to all the boys we liked. I was a terrible driving (still one of my weaknesses), but we had so much fun and never stopped laughing. 

9. Powder Puff Football- all four years. Our Motto: "Pain is Temporary Pride is Forever." However, I don't think we won as many games as we would have liked. Surely, the other teams must have cheated. 

8. Pushing the car down the road when we would sneak out at night. This only happened a few times and I'm sure our parents knew. We really wouldn't go anywhere.... except the night we drove to Utah! 

7. Spying on boys- all the time. Hiding in cars, houses, under decks, etc.... 

6. Dances: however, I didn't date until I was 16 and I was one of the youngest in my graduating class so I couldn't even go to Homecoming my Jr. year. 

5. Assemblies. The planning and the participating. 

6. Making Posters- I think I missed 25% of my regular classes because I was always in the library making posters to decorate the gym/ school. 

5. Jr. Miss pageant. I didn't win, but had a great time with all 37 other girls. 

4. Sleeping over on the football field the day before the first day of school my senior year. (or was it the day before our last day of school....?) 

3. Seminary. How lucky to grow up in Rexburg and be able to participate in Religious study during the school day. Seminary certainly helped me to learn the gospel and grow my testimony. 

2. Cheerleading. So many of my memories are focused on cheerleading and I am forever grateful for the opportunity I had to cheer for a school that I was so proud to attend. (this a whole other blog post). 

1. The Friends. I literally had 20 best friends and will be eternally grateful for their influence. I am still  in awe of these amazing women I am friends with and their strong influence in my life. I hope for my daughter to have the same examples in her life.  

Mud football at the dry farms- coldest day of my life.  

Mandy and I at powder puff football. 

Helping to sand the bleachers when they were redone. 

Decorating for the Sweetheart Ball (until 2:00 a.m.), after a basketball game. 

Cheering at a football game during an Idaho winter. 

One of the MANY posters in the halls. 

105 foot bonfire- complete with road signs, pallets, posters, and Rob Frisby's old shed. 

Cheer camp in Pocatello 1994. Thunderbird Hotel- worse hotel ever! 

After the last home football game- win over Hillcrest. 

The Friends. That's a lot of denim, and bangs! 

Graduation Day.

One of our assembly routines, Homecoming 1994. 

Lagoon Trip at the end of high school, too bad it rained all day.  

These were the good old days when my toe touches looked like that.

I Found a Lump

     I don't know the easiest way to share my feelings right now and a blog seems so impersonal- and quite frankly, it feels a bit uncomfortable to write about. But, I am just going to give the details and answer questions as they come. 

     Two weeks ago I discovered a lump on my breast that is about the size of a large marble. I went to the doctor last week to have it "checked out." The doctor was hoping that it was a cyst and tried to drain it.... unfortunately it was not cystic and had no fluid. 

     So- I am having surgery on March 3rd to have it removed. I am nervous and anxious about surgery, but am calm and relaxed about the way I feel about the outcome. As I've talked to friends and family the first concern I hear from others is Breast Cancer. Luckily, there is no history of cancer in my family, I am only 32, and I show no other symptoms of cancer. The doctor who I visited with the second time also put my fears at ease by letting me know that he has seen nearly 1000 breast lumps like mine, and only 2 have resulted in cancer (and the two that did have cancer were treated and cleared). 

     I have blood tests currently "in the works", and results will be back from those soon. After the surgery a biopsy will be done and then (hopefully) all fears will be put to rest. The recovery after surgery should be fairly quick- a few days of "rest" and then just a week or two of some tenderness. 

    Thank you to those of you who have given me so much support and encouragement this week. My family and friends have been amazing and I can't believe I am so blessed. 

I Can't Wait Until I'm 8

Wyatt has been looking forward to his 8th birthday for many years. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, children are baptized after they are eight years old. Wyatt has always been such a leader and has always had a strong testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel. He reads his Book of Mormon on a regular basis and knows that Jesus Christ died for him and that Joseph Smith was a true prophet. After being interviewed by the bishop and making his own decision he was prepared to enter the waters of baptism.

The day of his baptism was a very special day indeed. Wyatt was awake before 6:00 a.m. getting on his suit. However, we couldn't find his white shirt so Kirk ran to the store to buy him a new one. As the bishop was giving last minute instruction he said that Wyatt would be baptized first.... with that being said, Wyatt was out of his seat and we heard a SPLASH. He was in the water before the curtain was even opened! I have never seen a child so excited and anxious to partake of the blessings of baptism. I hope that Wyatt always has that energy and zest for life. Kirk did a great job baptizing him and confirming upon him the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

Here's the invitation we sent our for family and friends:
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Discover the Oasis

For the past five years I have been able to earn a FREE trip courtesy of Heritage Makers. I work my business all year long and love what I do, but Kirk really loves that I am able to take us on a luxury vacation every January. Just as it starts to get unbearably cold in Rexburg, we get to pack up and take off for a week in the sun. This year we cruised on the Oasis of the Seas- the largest and best cruise liner on the ocean. The cruise line was amazing: two flow-riders, a zip line, 14 restaurants, swimming pools, a carousel, a Broadway production of Hairspray, dancing, kareoke, entertainment, room service, mini golf course, a rock climbing wall, and SO MUCH MORE. And, although the "extras" are nice, by far the best part about the trip is being surrounded with friends. Here's some of the highlights:

The best part of the trip was during our first stop. It was Sunday morning and we stopped in the Bahamas on the island of Naussau. We only had a few hours on the island and a few Heritage Makers wanted to attend church. We taxied to the LDS church and were able to visit with the amazing saints in that area before the meeting started. After sacrament meeting most people went to Sunday School- Nancy Hopkin, Darby, and I wanted to go to Primary.  When we went into the room the Primary President asked if we could help with Sharing Time. We were excited to be able to work with the sweet children in that room. Nancy and Darby (who have taught music for as a career), took over teaching primary songs. The kids learned them so quickly and the leaders were so incredibly grateful for the talents of my dear friends. I on the other hand, have no musical ability: BUT I did have a bag of swedish fish in my bag so the children still loved me. As we were leaving we received hugs and kisses from the children. The church is true all over the world, and I am so grateful for the experience of that Sunday.

I grew up with Heidi (Erikson) Arave and now I am so glad to be able to work with her. Our husbands get along great and we spend a lot of time with them on the cruise. Every year Heritage Makers has a game card and points are awarded for attending shows, winning games, participating in activities, etc... Kirk decided to play hard this year. He won mini golf and won overall highest points of all the spouses. He earned $100 cash and 200 TAC points for next year. I was so proud of him!                                                                    


Our next stop was the Island of St. Thomas. It was an absolutely perfect weather day so Heidi, Darby, Nancy, Penny, and I (along with our husbands), went by bus to the beautiful beach of Megan's Bay! It was the most perfect day. Walking through the white sands, floating on a mat in the ocean, and getting a tan in the middle of January!

This year the theme for our HM costume night was TV characters. Kirk and I dressed up with Tod and Darby as Justice League heroes. We didn't even win a prize that night, but there were certainly some amazing costumes. We got stopped a few times from our rooms to the event by teenagers asking if they could have their pictures taken with us! Wonder Women was played by Tami Vega. 

As our week came to an end we were sad to be leaving by anxious to get back to our families and our "real life"..... only 11.5 more months until we are back on the Liberty Of The Seas!