the Graham Cracker House

<3


Another getaway weekend for the Grahams!  I am very lucky to get to spend a weekend with just me and my husband. Of course this wasn't spontaneous- I'm way too much of a planner for that.  We had a hotel in Saint George and also tried to see the Grand Canyon, but spent most of our time in Zion National Park.

our first stop was a hike down the road and into the river off a scenic overlook

not a real trail

the end of "watchman" hike

my hot husband

celebratory jump on completing the hike

obedient as always

a real town just outside of Zion's Park

Zion's was very different from what I remembered of my last visit 15+ years ago. They have become very eco-friendly.  Which I guess, is a good thing.  They don't allow bottled water to be sold in the park, they have free "water bottle filling stations" the water of which has been naturally purified by 400 feet of sandstone (*read* a little bit of grit in the water).  They also don't allow cars into the upper half of the park during the spring/summer and instead have a system of busses that run on propane to take tourists around.

the waterfalls of emerald pools

the vibrant green of this algae caught my attention

Bjorn was very sad to not be able to hike the narrows.  It's pretty obvious why the trail was closed.

this is the rock where a waterfall WAS moments before we took the picture

tired feet.... happy to have a sandal tan!!

I love General Conference for two reasons.  A)  getting to hear from our wonderful prophet and the great counsel and stories and advice and ideas and inspiration from many many general authorities. B) getting to eat crepes with my hubby and hang out with my family (well, those in Utah) all weekend long.

For the past 2 General Conferences we've had my sister come play in SLC with us, attend a session, and have a sleepover. This year I even got a girls only shopping trip to the Park city outlets during Priesthood session!  it was amazing.  

Showing off the necklace I made at the children's section of the church history museum

 "Women by divine nature have the greater gift and responsibility for home and children and nurturing there and in other settings....Sisters have key roles in the Church, in family life, and as individuals that are essential in Heavenly Father’s plan. Many of these responsibilities do not provide economic compensation but do provide satisfaction and are eternally significant."  -Elder Cook 

i love these new sandals:)

my husband just likes to take pictures of me...

 "The most important attribute of Heavenly Father and of His Beloved Son that we should desire and seek to possess within our lives is the gift of charity, “the pure love of Christ” (Moroni 7:47). From this gift springs our capacity to love and to serve others as the Savior did."  -Elder Ballard 

Since Bjorn and I are living in SLC, but don't plan to be here forever, we make a point to at least go to Temple Square, if not one of the sessions, every April and October.  It is wonderful to see so many LDS people all together in one place, and just bask in the spirit of conference. I also love watching it in PJ's from the comfort of our own home.   Good thing there are several sessions- we generally watch it somewhere different for each one!

.......is April, in case you didn't know.  
In honor of this great not-oft-celebrated "holiday", I'll share with you lucky readers some of my favorite poems.  


I have loved Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ever since hearing quotes of his as a teen.  I read a biography of Longfellow last year and stuck an "artist spotlight" into our family night that week.  That is when I came across this great poem,  a tribute to Florence Nightingale and nurses everywhere.

How much I love teaching Sunday school? Not just any Sunday school class- but MY Sunday school class.  I get to teach the beloved youth of the Miller ward (all ages, 12-17) every Sunday. 


Basically, I love teaching.  I love teaching the gospel, and, I have found,  I love teaching teenagers.  I'll admit, it has always been my dream to be a seminary teacher.  Since I haven't gone through CES training, this is more likely to be an "early-morning" type of seminary calling than "released-time".  Yes, I have thought this through, yes I am still willing to do it.   


I learn much from preparing the lessons, and enjoy the challenge of coming up with creative ideas to teach them, interesting tid-bits, testimony building experiences, and attention grabbing openers.  Since it's a smaller class, we get to eat homemade bread when learning about Christ being the bread of life, we play games with church pamphlets and candy, we have lessons outside on picnic blanket when it's warm, we sing songs to memorize scriptures. (see the seminary teacher coming out already?).  We make gospel learning fun. 


Some of my favorite lessons recently have involved a young recent convert in our ward.  He is an awesome 12 year old, wide open to learning.  Since he doesn't have a bible I give him my old one to use during class.  This book of scripture has been nicknamed "the one with all the answers"  because I used it during seminary.  He'll answer a question and say "I knew it because you wrote it right here" oh yeah. woops.  Or when I ask him to read a verse he'll say "can I just read the underlined parts?"  Since I've forgotten what the underlined parts are- the answer is usually no.  These students keep me on my toes!  And I love it. 

What a privilege to enjoy yet another trip to Washington to witness the marriage of Molly and Quinn in the Seattle Temple.   Since I am a LIST person, I will attempt to describe our trip in a series of lists.

THINGS I MADE:  a wedding bouquet (this I was very proud of.... I've never "done" flowers before,  with Molly's help she and I  came up with a custom bouquet- very lovely), a "toss" bouquet (which- ironically, didn't get tosssed), two boutineirs, endless of amounts of white bean dip, spinach dip,  and creamy berry spread, and meatball glaze,  and I like to think I helped contribute to des-stressing my mother-in-law and creating a calm environment.

ADVICE WE GAVE:  conserve water, shower together!! (an all time favorite).  Actually, I was asked to e-mail some advice for Molly's bridal shower a month ago.  After long amounts of thought (I've only been married 18 months myself) I came up with what I believe to be an important groundwork for all married couples. Communication is cruicial, listening is lovely, bear in mind the basics (FHE, prayer, etc.), savor sticky notes, and goals are great!  Cheesy, perhaps, but a nice starting point for many conversations and explanations.

FOOD WE ATE: marshmellows, bananas, cookies, and rice crispy treats dipped in a chocolate fountain; crostini and breadsticks dipped in a variety of dippity dips for dipping, peach punch, quiche, sausage balls (my new fav.), meatballs, fast food only once, some great home cooked meals, a male-made breakfast, a wedding brunch, and most all of the orange and red m&m's

WASHINGTON TRADITIONS:  Bjorn and I managed time to get our favorite (non-caffinated) treats from crusin' coffee one evening.  Yummmm.  tastes like home.  And a tiny, windy, trip to tugboat park

FAMILY MEMBER WHO HAS GROWN THE MOST:  Brookelyn of course!  She is 9 months old and so big!  not chubby big, but just bigger than last time we saw her.  She is a very pleasant baby and full of smiles (though you do have to work for them) and loves to eat.  Bjorn helped her try the chocolate fountain, and then ice cream the next night! Should I be worried for our future children?

DECORATIVE ITEMS USED:  branches, beads, m&m's (only the ones in the color scheme of course), flowers (red carnations, white roses, and more), vases, water dyed blue, lights strung around the entire place, greenery, white fabric with subtle designs, and the mirror on the mantle wins the prize for best decorative decision.  

notice the wedding bouquet?

AMOUNT OF TIME I SPENT DRIVING:  too much!  We got a rental car this time, but  I was the only driver on it (chepaer that way).  Which meant I  got to drive everywhere.  This included a couple trips to and from Seattle, and more than a couple trips to and from Anacortes.  I'm thankful for the backseat drivers for making these trips adventerous! And I am truly grateful for the family for thinking of us, and helping make our trip more convenient.

This may be a bit belated... but I don't know if I can adequately describe how amazingly perfect our  week-after- Christmas was!  My parents Christmas gift to us kids was for everyone to spend a week staying at a condo near Snow Basin, UT and skiing at the resort.

this is how we spent our lunch breaks- exausted!

 The Condo itself was a treasure!  It had enough room (comfortably) for ALL 11 of us.  (don't ask to hear KC's side of the story, she might tell you differently).  There was beautiful rustic wood furniture, and yummy smelling fancy soaps, not to mention, everything we needed in the kitchen!  It was a great place to relax, play games (the ipads were in constant use), we got wi-fi, and of course the HOT TUB.

Erin and Madeline

Snow Basin itself really is the hidden gem of utah.  With three gondolas, and a high speed quad, the lifts were pretty great (expect for the super slow Porcupine lift that froze my bum off and ripped the backpack... but we won't talk about that).  The lodges were exceptional.  Elegant carpet, fluffy dinning chairs, huge wood tables, and a large fireplace in the center of every lodge.  Most ski resorts have a nice main lodge, and tiny second-rate lodges for the others.  Snow basin had three incredibly perfect lodges.  Only one was a wee bit crowded, so we just shied away from that.  Since we didn't even know how great they were- we ate our lunch in the car the first day. Sad.  But after that we packed the food in backpacks and met up for lunch at the one of the upper lodges.

One reason this resort has been updated more than other resorts we've been to lately was because of the Olympics in 2002. This spot was chosen for the Men's and Women's downhill ski event, so they were given a ton of money to make it nice. Which they did.  Being the brave souls we are, we SKIED the downhill track. It is extremely steep to begin with, but a whole lot of fun to speed down after that.

Spending time with the FAM was delightful. Bjorn (and the other in-laws) faired fairly well.  We had classics like a charades night, semi-old traditions of monopoly on New Years Eve, and a new traditions of "share what you've learned". I love our family!

Twas Fantastic.  We're hoping to do it again someday.