"Ketchup" and Mustard on my Utah Trip

These are the last pictures I wanted to post from our Utah trip in June/July.

When we were in Utah, I found out my very best friend from Alaska, Emily, was also there at the same time! We were talking and I told her I was at the BYU Bookstore and so was she!! Emma was at Volleyball camp, so Emily didn't get to see her, but she saw my other kids! I was so thrilled to see how much her girls Aubrey and Jasmine had grown, since I saw them last summer in Alaska. My kids hadn't met Jasmine yet, and they loved her right away.

We met up to swim in Lehi, but I didn't take pictures of that. Another day we met to eat out and go to a warehouse full of Bounce Houses. On that outing, we also met up with our former Babysitter, Kristy Yamaguchi Swendson and her new baby, Andrew (pictured together on the far right). It was so fun.

Josh was busy with his friend, Drake, from our hometown, but the girls had a great time! Drake came with us to Utah, to attend the BYU Basketball camp with Josh and then his mom came to pick him up.

This is Emily with her darling daughter, Jasmine. Emily is blessed with two ADORABLE, SMART, DARLING girls and I sure wish we could see them more often. I just love them.

Rachel, Aubrey and Katrina having a ball!

"I'n the king of the WORLD!!" Yes, he really says, I'n instead of I'm. It's cute. And Jock-lat instead of Chocolate, Crampa instead of Grandpa, Wiff instead of With. I love this kid.

These two really hit it off. They're the same age and had a blast together. They were all sweaty from running and playing so hard and doused themselves in the drinking fountain.

Here's a close up of the cuties!

We went back for a final farewell, Emily was heading to Disneyland and the California/Oregon Coast before driving back to Alaska. Until next time, my dear friend!

I NEED ONE!

I Love U2

I've loved the band U2 since my best friend in Middle & High School, Emily Mauldin's big brother introduced them to me in 1987. I own every album and I know almost every song by heart. It's been a dream of mine to see them in concert and Damian surprised me with tickets to their show in Las Vegas last Friday. We had a wonderful time, LOVED the concert and then spent the weekend with my family in St. George. It was great.

When I was 2 years old, U2 formed in Dublin in the autumn of 1976 after 14-year-old Larry Mullen, Jr. posted a note on the bulletin board at his school seeking musicians for a new band. From the group of hopefuls that showed up at Mullen's home that first day, a band formed, with Dave Evans or "The Edge" (on the left) on guitar, Adam Clayton (with the dark glasses) on bass, Paul Hewson or "Bono" (with non-tinted glasses) on vocals and Larry Mullen, Jr. (on the right) on drums. All 4 went to school together. They were all between 14-16 years old when they formed the band.

U2 received a recording contract for their first record (Boy) in 1980. They were all 20 years old or younger I've included the cover from my all-time favorite album, "The Joshua Tree," released a few years later. They just released their 15th album this year, "No Line on the Horizon." Their careers have spanned 33 years!

I've enjoyed "researching" U2 for my "piece." I've always wondered where the nickname "Bono" came from. . . "Bono Vox" is an alteration of Bonavox, a Latin phrase which translates to "good voice" given to him as a teenager. He didn't really like it, until he learned it's meaning. He's been known as "Bono" since the late seventies. Although he uses Bono as his stage name, close family and friends also refer to him as Bono, including his wife and fellow band members. I still don't know where the name "U2" came from. . .

Something else that interests me are the band's families. Bono married his secondary school sweetheart, Alison "Ali" Stewart, who is a year younger than him. They've known each other since they were 12/13 and married when they were 21/22. Ali went to the first try-out session when the band was formed, even! She doesn't much care for their music, though, preferring Frank Sinatra. They've been married for 27 years. They have 4 kids, two daughters (Jordan and Eve) that are 20 and 18 and two sons (Elijah and John) that are 10 and 8. They both are hugely active in helping the plights faced in Africa.

Ali's best friend is U2's drummer's 30 year girlfriend, Ann Acheson. Larry Mullen, Jr. and Ann have 3 children together: Aaron (14), Ava (11) and Ezra (8).

Bono's best man was fellow band member, Adam Clayton. Adam is the only band member without a serious relationship and has no children. He was dating Naomi Campbell for awhile.

Bono owns 4 homes: Ireland, England, NYC and the villa he shares in Southern France with "The Edge." They also own a 5 star hotel in Dublin together. The Edge married his high school sweetheart the year after Bono and Ali were married. They have 3 daughters: Hollie (25), Arran (24) and Blue Angel (20). Those two divorced and The Edge remarried a professional dancer employed by the band. They have two children together: Sian (12) and Levi (10).

I know, I know, I'm writing like I actually know these people, but I DID SEE THEM IN CONCERT. That's practically like we're best friends. Now if I can get them to invite me to their villa in the South of France, I'll be SOO Excited!

New Leaf

I would really like to loose weight. I hate to exercise and I love to eat. I can't afford surgery. What can I do? Oh, and I have NO SELF CONTROL.

I'd like to turn over a new leaf and be a totally different person in these ways: I'd like to ENJOY exercise. I'd like to be able to say, "No Thanks!" and not even START the whole bag of potato chips, not even BUY the ice cream. Either that, or I'd like to have the money to get some lipo.

Just wishing.

On a side note, Damian surprised me with a weekend trip to Las Vegas. OK, he told me about the suprise months ago, but when he first told me, it was a surprise! I'll write more about the trip when I get home (I'm there right now!)

Josh is ELEVEN

At Josh's last pack meeting he finished earning everything Webelos. He earned all 22 pins, with the help of his wonderful scout leader and his dad.

He and his family walked across a bridge that symbolized the fact that he's bridged to Boy Scouts from Cub Scouts. His new 11 year old scoutleader is his dad and they do something together with a few other boys every Sat. morning. Josh has a binder with all his future scout stuff planned out. He and his dad have planned the Eagle Scout project that he'll do in 3 years. They're going to get a ton of baseball mitts donated, have the scouts and volunteers clean and oil them. They'll ask the Major League teams to donate autographed balls.

But here's the best part. . . after he's finished his Eagle Scout Project, Josh and his parents will go to South America to donate all the equipment to underpriviledged children. Yay for me!

Damian and I are so very proud of Josh and his accomplishments. He's a wonderful young man and I'm so thankful for this day that Josh was born, eleven years ago. Happy Birthday to my sweet little (big) boy!

October Bdays

We Idiarts have 3 birthdays to celebrate in October: Elise on the 15th and Josh and Christine were BOTH born on the 22nd! We all came home from church to have a big family party and Grandma and Grandpa Idiart were visiting from their mission! What a fun surprise!

Josh went shopping with Aunt Allison and showed her everything under the sun that he wanted. Then, she took orders from all the aunts/grandmas and went later and picked things out for him. He was really excited opening his presents, knowing before hand that he'd get an assortment of things he really wanted. Pretty good system! She's such a nice Auntie!

I loved how ALL 13 of the grandkids crowded all around Josh. He loved all the attention, too!

Next, it was Little Elise's turn for presents. She's already had a cute bday party, earlier in the week, with her baby friends. It was a polka-dot tea-party, and her polka-dot skirt matched all the party decorations! Her mamma is so creative and Elise is a little darling.

This particular present was the highlight of the night. Allison made a special frame for Christine. All the adults knew about it and gathered round to see her reaction. She was so happy and brought to tears with the emotional feelings that came with the gift.

The top photo is of Christine Elise, as a toddler with Donna Gardner, her mom. Donna passed away when Christine was young. Christine really misses her mom and loves her very much. The bottom photo is of Christine with her little Elise Donna. What a sweet gift.

Here are the 3 October Bday cuties. And here is a little tribute to each of them.

Josh is a light in my life. He's 11 now and what a wonderful boy. He's so smart, talented and athletic. He's got a great sense of humor and he's very fun to be around. He's a natural leader and he tries to help others do the right thing. I am very proud of the young man he is. I loved him from the first minute I held him in my arms and will love him forever. Josh, you are a joy and I am having a great time being your mom!

Christine is one of my favorite people in the world. She's my sister and a dear, dear friend. I look up to her, I enjoy being with her, she makes me laugh and I love her. She's beautiful inside and out. She's a wonderful woman, wife and mother. Happy Birthday you young thing! I really wish she and Jared were going with Damian and I to Las Vegas this weekend. She loves U2 ALMOST as much as me and she's really fun to travel with. Darn it!

Elise, or Leesie, is such a gem. She is a little piece of growly heaven. I adore the chunky little angel. I love to watch her, she's so interesting. As she unwrapped her present, she crinkled up each little scrap she tore off, then waddled over to place it in a special pile. It took about all the other cousin's concentration not to "help" her. She just cracks me up. And her blue eyes and grand smile are SOOO cute! I love all of you Octobers! You're the BEST!

"Ketchup" on our Utah Trip!

I never finished posting about our 3 week trip to Utah. Click Here to read the first week highlights. Stay tuned for 2 more posts to finish out the "series."

Emma went to a BYU Volleyball Camp and stayed in the dorms for almost a whole week. I snapped this right before we took her home. She's with her "counselor." She had a great time and learned a lot. I attribute the fact that she made 7th Gr. Varsity to her time at BYU.

These are the girls Emma shared a bathroom with. She roomed with a girl from home, but hung out with these girls her age from Highland, Utah. I think we're related to the one in the pink shirt, Rachel Asay. I need to talk to her parents and find out. They're all still good friends and Emma hopes to go to camp with them next year! They text each other a few times a week.

While Emma was busy, we played with our Davies cousins. Damian's dad's cousin Valerie is just a few years younger than us. Her 4 kids are the same ages as ours. We love them, they're such great kids. We had a few sleepovers and day trips and truly enjoyed them. In this picture are the boys: Spencer, Benjamin, Tanner and Josh.

I took the kids to a great community pool/water park in Lehi to meet up with my BF from High School, Emily, and her girls. I'm including pictures of her family in my LAST Utah post! Ben enjoyed being silly with this Frog. Reminds me of a pictures of myself . . . taken 17 years ago!

After a fun day at the pool and Chuck E. Cheese's, we went back to Grandma Ashton's for a camp-out. Aren't these girls so cute together? Katrina enjoyed swapping clothes with Jordan, the first cousin she's met that's HER AGE! She was in heaven! In this photo, they could be twins. They really do look a lot alike!

The boys camped outside and I couldn't resist moving Josh's fingers 2 mm to pose his hand with Tanner's. They didn't really "hold hands" while sleeping, but they are VERY good friends, so maybe next time??

The girls chickened out and came inside to sleep. McKenzie and Rachel looked so cute in all their blonde splendor, I had to take a pic.

The next morning, we met their mom and hiked the Y. Val had never done it, if I remember right and I hadn't done it since '93! It was much harder than I thought and luckily, we started pretty early, so we missed hiking in the HEAT.

Josh, Rachel, McKenzie and Katrina on the Y.

Ben, on the Y, enjoying the view of Utah Valley.

Katrina looking at BYU campus from the Y.

These boys, Spencer, Tanner and Josh are CRAZY! I just couldn't watch them too closely, for fear that they'd fall off the mountain. Boys will be boys!

Here we all are together! Right before Damian and I married, I was roommates with Val for a few months. She took good care of me . . . she cooked, she cleaned, she helped me address my wedding invites. She was a good friend and a good "mother" to me. I love being around her, I count her as one of my dearest friends and wish we could be neighbors! We've known each other for 13 years and have 9 kids, combined! WOW!

The next morning, we met with the Davies again and went to Seven Peaks Water Park. It was a blast! My parents and sister Briana and brother Eric drove up to go with us, too. The kids had a great time hanging out with my family. Grandpa is CRAZY on the waterslides!

Emma got to go two afternoons to the Water Park. Once with her volleyball camp and once with us. She enjoyed it a bunch! What a cutie!


After a full day of sun (notice Rachel's burn line!) the kids are tired out. We left to come home to Oregon soon after this. We sure had a good time!

Emma, the Setter

This little cutie is EMMA! She made the Varsity 7th grade Volleyball Team.

Her team is undefeated and her last game is next week. We are confident that the Scenic Spartans will RULE THE VOLLEYBALL WORLD!!

Who cares if she's GOOD? Doesn't she look cute in her knee-hi socks?

Aunt B & Uncle Sem

My only sister, Briana came to visit. She's been in the states for a few months, working. Her husband, Sem, came to visit her for 3 weeks, to celebrate their 1 year anniversary and they took a weekend trip to Oregon! The kids LOVE Briana and enjoyed getting to know Sem.

Briana and Sem enjoy fine foods, just like Damian and I. We had a great time taking them to all our favorite restaurants, including "Chateulin" in Ashland.

The morning that the littler kids had a Primary Program Practice, we went to my favorite breakfast place, Morning Glory, also in Ashland. After breakfast we shopped in cute stores. Emma bought herself a scarf, she was so inspired by Briana and Sem's love of scarfs!

Damian and Emma had never been to Morning Glory and they loved it!

Aren't we SOOO cute? After Breakfast and shopping, we picked up the other kids and toured Jacksonville. We enjoyed the toy store and the Italian Gelato store! I'll be visiting for Gelato, whenever I miss Briana and Sem!

Briana picked up a darling hat on our shopping trip. After all the excitement, we came home to relax. I loved how Briana brings out the "Silly" in Katrina!

While Sem made his amazing quiches, using fresh ingredients from the Ashland Farmer's Market, Briana and I played games with the kids. We started with "Quip It!" and then moved to "Curses!" It was a fun afternoon!

We miss Briana and Sem already, and hope to see them again, soon!

Primary Program

Today was the kid's Primary Program in Church. The Primary Program Sunday is when the whole first congregational hour is devoted to letting the children perform and speak about what they've learned all year. This year's church wide theme for the children was "My Family can be Together Forever." The speaking parts were cute and the songs were beautiful.

These are all the Idiart "men" that participated: Ashton, Josh, Marcus and Ben. It was Marcus's first year and he was the first speaker of the morning. He giggled at the mike and was so cute. I think he was very proud of himself. Ashton performed in all seriousness. Josh sang in a quartet. The other 3 performers sang soprano, so his tenor part stood out. I had no idea he had such a nice voice. I was very proud. He also wrote his own talk. He did great. Ben participated, but wouldn't look out at the audience. Cute. He sang sometimes and watched other kids/zoned out at other times. But he was reverent up in the choir seats, so I was glad.

Here are the Idiart Ladies that performed: Katrina, Annie, Rachel and Eliza. Emma is officially too old to be part of primary and she was so thrilled! All these girls did a great job with their parts. Eliza and Rachel gave talks they wrote. It was so fun.

This is Josh's talk:

I remember Jesus when I partake of the sacrament by reading scriptures about Jesus’ life.

Sometimes I read about his death, and sometimes I read about the atonement. Every time that there is sacrament, I read, Moroni 4:3, and Moroni 5:2. These scriptures are the sacrament prayers.

O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it; that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen

The prayer for the water is almost exactly the same. Even though it says to sanctify this water to the souls of all those who drink of it.

I’d like to bare my testimony, that I know Jesus Christ did die for us. He did shed his blood for us, and gave us the sacrement, so that we can renew our baptizimal covonent.

And I say these things, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

This is Rachel's talk:

Family history and temple work bless all the generations of my family. Joseph Smith taught, "The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead."

When I am 12 years I will go to the temple to be baptized for people who did not get a chance to listen to the missionaries and accept their own baptism. I know that I must live righteously now to be worthy of that important work. I hope that some of the people I will be baptized for will be members of my own family that have never heard the gospel.

Many years ago my mom went to the temple and performed the temple work of my great great grandmother Elizabet Etchart. My mom told me that when she was in the temple she felt the Holy Ghost, which was like a warm feeling that came over her, letting her know that the work she was doing was important. She felt very close to Elizabet and knew that she was accepting the baptism. My mom gave my younger sister Katrina Elizabet as her middle name in honor of that great woman.

I was able to go to the Oquirh Mountain Temple open house and see the beautiful baptismal font. It made me think of how fun it will be to go to the temple with all my friends and help other people. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.