Newest Additions to the Family!

Meet my beautiful new sister, Chelsea Nelson!

Welcome Olive Thalman!

We've been waiting for this beautiful girl :)

Born July 18th at 7:11AM

6 pounds 9 oz 

20 inches

The Nelson Side...:)

Testimony -Book of Remembrance

I decided to bear my testimony on the Gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, on the Savior of the world, on my Heavenly Father, His plan, His mercy, His love, His glory. My first semester at Brigham Young University-Idaho taught me things I couldn't imagine of learning. I understand who Jesus Christ in a brighter light now! I know now that Heavenly Father is so much more glorious than I could comprehend. I believe in the atonement of Jesus Christ because it has saved me and continues to do so. I now the bible is true and the Book of Mormon completes the messages more fully, so that we can know of a surety what we need to do, why we are here and where we will go. I love God and Jesus Christ. They love me. They love me so infinitely. I know this because Jesus Christ and My Heavenly Father have carried my through the hardest of times, and when I have betrayed God, he forgives me. I ask myself why sometimes, but in my heart I know it is because he sees me for a lot more than how I see myself. I am one of his masterpieces. My hair may not be perfect and I still get red bumps on my face, but he does not look at me the way the world does. He turns to my heart, and there is where my beauty is determind. He has a plan for me. He sent my brother to die for me, to take the pains of my sins so that I am able to cast them at his feet. I say these things from my heart, in the name of Jesus Christ, my Savior, amen.

Pedigree Chart

Book of Remembrance- Personal History

July 17, 2013

1 to 6 years old

                I don’t remember a whole lot from these years in my life, but I do have a few memories. I remember the house that we lived on, and how beautiful I thought it was. At that time in my life, I remember Alissa and Tyler the most when I was growing up. Alissa and I shared a room with bunk beds and built in shelves in the wall. When you first walk into the house, the living room is the first thing you see on the left. On the right was the hallway to where the three bedrooms were. If you walk past the living room towards the back of the house, you would see the kitchen and the sliding glass door to the back yard. We had an underground trampoline and a slide on the right side of the back yard. Towards the left of the yard we had a big grassy area. Near the brick walls is where mom would plant her flowers, grape vines, sweet peas, carrots, apricots, lemon trees and just anything pretty.

 Mom built a big garden of flowers, fruits and vegetables in the front and back yard. I loved being outside with her when she would garden. I loved catching butterflies, lady bugs, rollie pollies, but most of all I loved to catch caterpillars.  Almost every caterpillar I would catch I named Flick (because of a bugs life). Mom used to have a journal that she would keep of me as a child and she wrote about a particular time that I caught a caterpillar, named it Flick and made a comfortable home in a plastic bag for my little friend.  I had zipped that bag closed tight right before bed. When I woke up the next morning, my sweet little friend, so warm and friendly just hours before, was now stiff,white, dull and just as dead as a caterpillar can get. My heart was broken and I cried and cried and cried. I was either in kindergarten or preschool, but that day I just couldn’t handle it. I just could not go. Mom let me stay home from school and drove me to the pet store. She let me look at all the animals in the store to try and make me feel a little better. It had been a very hard day.

 I loved animals and nature. Mom says that she would look out the window and see me in the back yard, with all my clothes lying in on the ground, and see me just rolling in the mud naked. She said that I would feel the dirt and close my eyes, and just be so happy. Nature and I had a strong relationship, which is probably why I looked forward to my camping trips with Dad. It was normally just Dad and the kids and I had the time of my life swimming in the lake, trying to catch ducks, learning how to fish, eating red licorice and beef jerky, roasting marshmallows, hotdogs, catching lizards and frogs, sleeping under billions of stars, and playing with my brothers and sisters. There was a camping trip that I remember in particular with the cousins. Brookie and I were learning how to fish and I had gotten mud all over my pink and white sneakers. I set them close to the fire so that they could dry. They were so melted that I couldn’t wear them much of anywhere afterwards.

                Every child has their weird quarks about them, and boy did I have some. I used to wear swimming suits under all my clothes, all year round. I wore them to church under my dresses, to bed, to my friends houses, and I even wore them when it would snow. I also used to write my letters backwards. For instance, the E in Eryn would look like a three. My N’s would also be backwards. I remember this because I remember practicing writing my name one day. Grandma Anderson had a big pomegranate tree in her back yard and we would pick tons of them when they were ready to eat. Mom was making jam or jelly out of pomegranate’s in the kitchen that day and I propped myself right on the floor with paper and crayons in front of me. I remember having a bowl of pomegranate seeds for me to munch on, and practicing writing my name with my red stained fingers while mom was busy in the kitchen.

                I always loved animals. I loved my dog, Coco, and I thought that she was the best dog anyone could ever have. This beautiful chocolate Labrador was given to my Dad as a gift before I was born. She never harmed anyone (except a girl that came over to my house to play one time who used to be mean to Coco). I used to sit on her back and have her walk me around the house. I remember trapping her in laundry baskets and pretending that she had a turtle shell. Coco had about three litters of puppies, and as a little kid it was the most exciting thing in the whole world. I remember sneaking into the shed to play with the brown miniature dogs.

                One day when I returned home from school, my mom greeted us kids at the door. She told us that they had to get rid of Coco and had done that very thing this morning when we were gone. I was so upset. Talk about heart break. I remember running in my room and tears just pouring out of my six year old eyes. I didn’t want to speak to Mom or Dad because I was so hurt. For years I would complain to them and get after them for doing that to us. Looking back now, I can see that it was hard on Mom and Dad to see me so upset. Mom doesn’t like to talk about it, because it either broke her heart that Coco was gone, or it broke her heart to see me so torn up about it.

7 to 12 years old

                I loved going to school and always looked forward to the first day of every grade.  Well I was in the third grade and attending Cozine Elementary school. My teacher was a lady in our ward who would home school Tyler and Alissa when they were in middle school. The third grade was interesting to me because It was the year we moved, the year I had my first crush, and the year I met my friend Sara. 

Tyler had a friend that he liked to ride bikes with. They were both into motorcycles and building jumps. This boy (I don’t even know his name) lived down the street from us. He was in my grade and sometimes we would have art or music class together. I don’t remember why I liked him, or if I even knew what it meant to like a boy, but one day we were sitting in our art class and all of us were in a circle. There was an Asian girl who was very skinny and would wear gold bracelets every day. The boy that I had a crush on, liked this girl and I remember feeling a little bit jealous of that girl. I wanted that boy to like me so bad, so I came up with a plan. I decided to try and be like the Asian girl and squint my eyes anytime I would see him. There was one day in particular that I remember standing in line for the restroom against the wall. We had our fingers to our lips, meaning that we all needed to be silent. Well his class was walking past us, so I got my eyes ready, and starred him down until I couldn’t see him anymore. After that he would avoid me and always look at me funny. I would even bring Tyler’’s dirt bike book outside when they were playing and pretend that I was reading it right in front of him. I thought that outta impress him for sure.

Well that boy was out of my life when one day Mom came into my room and sat down on the bed and she told me that she was pregnant! I was out of this world excited. I remember looking at houses with mom and packing up our old one. I walked out of the house the day we were leaving, with a box of stuff in my tiny arms, when an orange and black butterfly landed on my bare skin and just stood there for a while. I thought it was so cool! We rented a house not too far from our home on Quinton Avenue. I think we were only in this house for about a year when Mom and Dad found one that they wanted to buy. We packed our stuff up again and moved into 6116 Sandstone Mesa Drive, still in Las Vegas, Nevada. I loved this house because it was so much bigger than our other one, and we had stairs to play on. We started out with green carpet throughout the house, and in some rooms we had speckled blue carpet. The house wasn’t very pretty yet, but the backyard was! We had so many plants and big trees and a giant vine growing under the balcony and up on the side of the house. The Tadds helped us move in and the first night we stayed there I didn’t have a bed set up yet. Amanda and I put a tiny T.V. in the living room and slept on the ground that night. Amanda and I used to have tons of fun together. Her family would take me boating with them almost every summer and we would have sleep overs all the time.  We used to practice piano, play with her dog Ace, color, eat, chase the bunnies in the backyard and just be silly. She was my best friend.

                Once I moved, Amanda and I didn’t play with each other very often anymore, but I met a girl named Sara Isley who lived right across the street from my house. She had long light brown hair, freckles and pretty greenish blue eyes. Her family ate fast food all the time and I loved eating over there. They would always take us out to eat to eat at Denys a lot. Sara and I were always there for each other when we were heartbroken, confused or just bored. I remember the day that Sister Isley had to put their dog, Samson, to sleep. Sara was so angry and sad and we just sat in her room and cried. I hated seeing her so sad and it lasted for a long time.

13 to 19 years old

                Dad drove me to my first day of junior high at Lied Middle School. I was a little bit nervous as he walked me into the school. “Do you know where all your classes are?” He asked me before leaving to go to work. When I told him I knew where I was going, we hugged and he told me he loved me and left.  This was so much more different the elementary school. Middle school was a confusing time for kids my age and nobody really knows that they are lost and confused, but they are.

                I remember the school used to sell Smoothie King smoothies every Tuesday (?) for three dollars. If we got enough people to buy a smoothie, the vice principle would dance on the tables for us, so my friends and I became pretty good at advertising. It was the best when we got to see him hop on the table and dance like crazy!

                I always looked up to my sister, but especially at this time in my life. I wanted to be just like her. I wore her clothes, tried to hang out with her and since she had short hair, I wanted to chop my long beautiful, blonde hair off to look just like her cute shoulder length hairstyle. Well, Alissa was in hair school at the time, so she cut it for me. She cut about ten our twelve inches off and when I looked In the mirror, I cried. I ended up trying to grow my hair out for forever!

                I made a lot of new friends in middle school and I hung out mainly with people in our ward. Danielle Dinino was one of my closest friends. I loved going over to her house and going swimming or eating Cathy’s delicious dinners with them. Tara Howlette was another great friend of mine. We all used to sleep in Tara’s RV in her front yard and eat French bread with a Jones Sodas. Tara and I started doing ballet together in the eighth grade. I loved doing dance! We went every Thursday together and we were the oldest girls in our class. After dance class we used to walk over to Villa Pizza and grab some of the butterscotch and cinnamon candies they had out for grabs sitting on the counter.

                I met Allecia Olave in middle school as well. She was a couple years older than me and started to befriend me at church. Her and I would write long notes to each other about the most random things. I’m so glad I met Allecia because she is my ultimate best friend. I’ve never had a friend care for me as much as she has. I loved going over to her house and spending the night. We used to watch movies and eat tator tots with ketchup. When we had sleep overs we would talk and talk for forever. We would cry and laugh all the time. I fell in love with her family and spent a lot of time at her house.

                Jarom (Allecia’s older brother) and Celeste were getting married and the Olaves asked me to watch over the kids. I went to their house as they were getting ready to leave and I met Allecia’s friend named Chelsea, who was going to the wedding with them. After the wedding I started to hang out with them more and more. We would all three have sleep overs together all the of the time. The two of them became my very best friends and are in most of my memories from then on.

                Well Chelsea met my brother in high school and those two started to date, so I saw Chelsea at my house a ton, which I loved. Once I started high school my brother was graduated and getting ready to serve a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Allecia and Chelsea were seniors and I was a freshman. Chelsea would pick me up for early morning seminary at about 5:50am every day before school. We always rocked out in her purple truck in the parking lot at Shadow Ridge High School, where we all went to school.

                We used to play guitar hero and make bean and cheese burritos almost every weekend at my house. Preston Simper, Tyler, Chelsea, Jake Dinino, and Allecia would come over all of the time. I loved hanging out with Tyler and his friends! Well once they graduated I started to hang out with friends my age more often. My junior year in high school was when I started to hang out with Quinn Skouson a lot. Quinn and I grew up in the same ward and he supposedly had a crush on me. He told me that when I would go over to his house for piano lessons from his older sister, Mikayla, he would just sit there and watch me play. My young womens leader, Sister Eliason told me that he said he wanted to marry me. Well as I spent more time with Quinn I started to like him a little more. Him and I would spend a lot of time together and I loved talking to him. When we became friends I was going through a hard time in my life. Quinn never knew that I was having a hard time, but he made things a lot better for me.

               Senior year snuck up on me and little did I know that it would be the best year of all. I went to homecoming with Wade Wilson that year and I even played powder puff football. It was the year that I turned eighteen years old and got voted ‘most likely to become a Disney princess’. I was having a blast! I got out of school at 10am every day. I was living the life. I think it was sometime in November when my friend Brandon Fisher had been texting me again. Him and I met freshman year. We had a lot of the same friends and had a P.E. class together freshman year.  

I was out front one day, gardening and listening to Kina Grannis on my ipod. Brandon was texting me and then told me that he had a crush on me. This sort of came as a surprise to me because I was completely oblivious to all of the times he tried to dance with me at the church dances, or when he would try and talk to me on facebook or text me all througout high school. The Sadie Hawkins dance was coming up and I had decided to ask him. It was 80’s themed and I made him wear a mullet and giant glasses. That day was so much fun! We went to crystal palace and rollerbladed and then we went to the dance and then ate in my backyard around a fire with our group. Then we topped the night with a movie and root beer­ floats at Jessica McCinnes house. We started spending more time together and going out on dates almost every weekend. I was falling hard for this boy and he didn’t even know it. We went to Senior prom together and then we had stopped dating afterwards because he was getting ready to serve a two year mission in Tampa, Florida.

                After school ended I got my dream job. I was workng at Gilcrease Orchard doing elementary school field trip tours, being a cashier and bottling apple cidar. I was in love with this job! I started working their in September or August until it closed down for the year in November. The best time was when It was halloween and I would help the kids pick their pumpkins, eat apple cidar doughnuts and go on hay rides with them. The little kids used to come up to me with their handouts and have me autograph them. Little girls used to run up to me and tell me I look like a princess and then run away. I absolutely loved working with the kids! I also continued to work at FlipnOut as an assistant manager. I loved this job because of the people. I have so many memories working here!

                Well I worked until December and then headed off to BYU-Idaho to attend school. I had no idea who my roommates were, and they’ve ended up becoming some of my greatest friends! Tara Spears, Mikayla Holliday, Brooklyn Wease, and Jenifer Higareda have packed my college life with so many memories and laughter. We used to stay up until four or five in the morning, just talking or dancing or eating or doing homework, you name it. One day, Brooklyn and I stayed up all night on a  Saturday just talking and drawing faces on our roommates eggs.  I remember when I was craving mashed potatoes and Mikayla voluntarily made them for me a two in the morning. College life is so much fun!

Book of Remembrance (Bringhurst Family)

I can recall the sunflower field, the trees, the houses, and the flowers as we drove through California. I remember walking towards the door of their house towards the end of the road, canopied by the thick California trees.  The inside of the house was adorned with little glass, plastic and fabric strawberries everywhere you went. Great Grandpa Bringhurst was lying in his room, tucked nice and snug in blankets. He looked peaceful, as if he had no idea there were a bunch of people watching him. He had Cannon D cooing in the background. Great Grandpa Bringhurst was dying and this would be my last memory of him, but it feels as though he is here, and I still getting to know him.

He was born on December 27^th, 1918 in Salt Lake County, Utah and was the fifth child out of seven to be born to Florence Elizabeth Smith and John Tripp Bringhurst. Grandpa attended Granite High School and graduated in 1937 and then completed two years at Utah State College afterward. He served a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Spanish-American mission from November of 1939 and returned in May of 1942. A few weeks after he returned from the mission he married his high school sweetheart, Pearl Davidson, in the Salt lake City Temple.

           

Grandma Pearl was born January 6^th, 1919  and Died April 9^th 2013 . Just like Royce, she was also born in Salt Lake City. They both lived  in extraordinary times in the history of the world. Both were born during the devastating flu epidemic of 1918 to 1919 and the Great Depression. Pearl and Royce, both graduated from the same high school and were married at the outbreak of World War II. Great Grandma Pearl also received an education, and earned a bachelor’s degree from UC Davis at the age of fifty-seven. Pearl raised six children, moving and supporting her husband while he served in the United States Air Force during the war. He flew sixty-five combat missions in B-25 bombers over Italy, France and Germany as a radioman, bombardier, photographer and navigator.

“I remember worrying that dad would start having nightmares again because he was watching war coverage.” -Marla

            After serving in the war, Royce decided to continue in furthering his education. After a six year absents from college, he received a bachelors in agronomy in Utah State University in 1947.

 “By 1950, he had completed master’s and doctorate degrees in agronomy and genetics from the University of Wisconsin. He took a faculty position at UCLA in 1950 as an avocado geneticist, and subsequently moved to UC Davis (California) in 1953 to become a strawberry geneticist.”

My Great Grandpa ended up developing about thirty different strawberry varieties which produces more than seventy-five percent of the nations strawberries. This is why their house was covered in strawberry décor while I was visiting and since I found that out, I have always thought my grandpa is the coolest. Every time I take a bite of a delicious red strawberry I can’t help but think of him, and talk about him to those around me. Even though I haven’t gotten to know grandpa very well on Earth, this fact makes me feel a little closer to him since I love plants and want to work with them someday.

Royce didn’t start out with strawberries, and came a long way until he had much success. He had an avocado orchard.

“Dad used to bring crates of avocados home.  I hated them.  Mother used to make avocado tacos--we could get tortillas in Los Angeles.  I'm not sure what happened, but one day I decided I loved avocados, and have done so ever since.  Of course the crates of avocados disappeared when we moved to Davis.” –Marla  (Daughter)

“Dad's avocado orchard was nearby. When I was working at UCLA medical center his orchard was the parking lot (double decker) that I parked in.  There were still about 4 avocado trees left on the edge of it.    I will never forget the day mom made avocado ice cream.  I think she only did that one time and froze it in the ice cube trays.  It is really amazing that we all love avocados…” –Marla

            Royce and Pearl had my grandmother, Jean, first. Florence, Marla, Ann, John and Margaret came afterwards. 

“ I remember my birthday was not all about me for the first time in 6 years because everyone was coming to see mom and the baby.  When mom was pregnant with John, I promised God that if he would give us a boy, I would make sure that Ann was not treated as badly as I was when she was born.  Mom had had at least 2 miscarriages between me and Ann and I remember going with her and dad to the Dr. many times when we lived in LA.  I always waited outside in the waiting room.  It seemed to me that I spent lots of time waiting.” (Marla)

“We lived in badger village.  The living room and kitchen was mom and dad's bedroom.  The house had one bedroom and the bed took up the whole room. We girls were in there with a small dresser.”

They had an ice box where the ice man would come by and deliver ice and put it in the top of the box. It would melt into a tray on the bottom of the ice box and had to be emptied regularly. When the ice man would come the kids would climb on his truck and get ice chips to suck on. He delivered the ice with large forceps. Milk was also delivered in glass bottles and cardboard caps and sat in a metal box by their front door. When the weather was cold, the milk would freeze and rise above the tops of the bottles, making it look as though it had a large neck sticking out of the top of the bottle with a cap on its head. They would leave the empty bottles outside in order for them to get refilled. The house also had a stove where a coal man would come once a week and send coal down the coal shoot, because that was how the house was heated.

The Wisconsin’s game would ring throughout the house followed by the kids singing.

            If you want to be a badger

            Just come along with me. 

                        Opera and the Wisconsin’s game was something that would play in the house every Saturday.

            “We listened football games and opera on Saturday, but we also listened to baseball games.  I think dad always liked to have some kind of mental diversion (he also loved the music).  I still do not really enjoy an entire opera but I do love parts and have been to many when I lived in LA and San Francisco.  I think it was just always on so loud that it bothered me.”

“An eclectic array of listening materials.” –Florence

Royce and Pearl were extremely poor, but the kids hadn’t a clue. Royce was pretty good about finding things to bring home for the family from the university that they could eat.

“Remember the live turkey he brought home that laid an egg for us? I don’t actually remember eating that turkey because we named it and we thought it was a pet. One Sunday we had nothing for super but bread and water - literally. Dad assured us that he had eaten it all the time growing up which was probably true.  He and mom were both quite thin in those years.”

            There were times in their little family where sicknesses would enter into the lives of their kids. Florence had scarlet fever and her Dad wasn’t allowed to come home for a little while.

“Dad would buy groceries and leave them on the doorstep.  Mom would come out and pick them up after he left.  I had a sore throat for forever.  I would lay in bed and watch the neighborhood children play.” –Jean

“I had polio when I was three and I remember Dad lining us up and holding his hand up for us to kick it.  I am sure this is one reason I never had problems with my legs, which seem to have been the only part of me affected.  He also had us touch our toes to the floor.  I got so I could put my palms flat on the floor…I brought home mumps and it went through Jean and Marla as well.  Dad joked about fat cheeks. ” – Florence­­­­

“As we each came down with the mumps, mom and dad would diagnose it by giving us something sour to eat like a dill pickle to see if it hurt our glands.  It hurt!” -Marla

            The house at 530 E Street in Davis, California was ‘The scene of some important events’. They had a yard and an orange tree in the backyard. “We ate and orange a day every day they were available. I remember them as being mostly sour, as I think we ate them from the time they first turned orange. Dad brought home field crates of cherries, apricots, peaches and pears, which Mother canned (and we girls helped).”

            Mom made great pie crust.  Do you remember when we would come away from potluck dinners at the church and Dad would tell us "They forgot to take the paper plate off that one" about the pie he had eaten.

“Remember the chicken barbecues we had in Cecils' grove by Putah Creek?  We caught tadpoles in the creek and ate the best chicken--at least as I remember it.  That was such a nice place. We visited the Cecils one New Years Day, and Jean, Marla and I got to ride on the horse--bareback.  We were holding on to each other, and I guess Jean had the horse's mane.  We were fine until the horse turned around and headed for the barn at a trot.  Marla and I fell off.  Marla was knocked out completely, and Jean and I went screaming for Mom and Dad.  I never told them about the huge bruise I had on my right side.  I may have broken or cracked a rib or two.” (Marla)

            “When we moved to Davis it was one of the hottest days in the summer - well over 100.  Our furniture did not arrive the day we did so we stayed (at least some of us) at the Brown's around the corner (I was so enamored of Dolly Brown's name that I remembered them well and visited her a few years ago with mom in Davis at that same house).  The Browns remained good friends of mom and dad the rest of their lives I think because they were so kind to us then. The first place we stayed was in the apartment on 10th street?  That place was tiny and I do not have good memories of it.  We were only there a few months and then moved to the Stebbins home on Miller Drive.  That was a great house for us to play in but scared me so much at night.  We did not stay there a year because the Stebbins came home early from their sabbatical leave (they were getting a divorce).  I found out about that when I was an adult.  I just knew we suddenly had to find a new place to live in a hurry and somehow mom and dad knew the Styles and we rented their house on E street.  I have pictures of all the houses we lived in in Davis that Jean and I took ones while she was visiting about 10 years ago.” (Marla)

            That house had caught on fire three times. One of them was a Sunday and Pearl had been canning jam or jelly, using paraffin wax to seal the jars. The girls loved to sneak pieces of the wax to chew, because chewing gum was forbidden at the Bringhurst home. Royce was dead set against it, and Pearl used to tell the kids that Aunt June “went bad” because she was a gum chewer.  Royce stayed home from church that day and a piece of wax that had been left on the stove caught on fire. He beat it out with a rolled up newspaper and threw the paper into the garbage can under the sink. Later on that day, he smelled smoke and the cupboard under the sink was set in flames. He managed to put that fire out, but had he gone to church with the rest of the family they would have had to kiss the house 530 E Street goodbye.

            The second fire happened when Royce was out of town. Pearl ran to her kids and said, “ Kids get out, the house is on fire.” They trooped to the front lawn and watched the fire trucks arrive. It was caused by the ivy around and over the chimney, and was minor. The neighbors brought blankets to keep the family warm as they waited outside for the firemen to put it out.

            The third fire was the worst of them all. The family had been moving the last load to 738 Mullberry Lane. Florence looked back and saw a small circle. Jean and Florence shouted to their Dad in panic, “The house is on fire!”.

            “He ran to the phone, dialed 0, and said, “There’s a fire at 530 E Street!”

            It had taken a while for the fire trucks to find them because Royce forget to mention that it was in Davis, so he ended up putting the fire out with a hose. It was the same day the John got his finger cut off.  Ann had slammed the door of the new bedroom in the new house on him to keep him from her toys. Next thing you know, Royce and Pearl were rushing John to the doctor to get his finger sewn back on. Ann didn’t really want to damage John, but she had the misfortune about a year later of shutting the front door on his leg and breaking it.

            These are just a few of their memories and adventures, mainly in Davis, California. Marla, Florence and Jean are the ones helping Great Grandpa Bringhurst come alive to me. Grandpa has a love for plants and gardening and so does my Mom. I remember growing up gardening with her, and my love for plants developed because of those times. That is something I think we get from Great Grandpa, and I love it!

Pedigree Chart

https://familysearch.org/tree/#view=tree&section=pedigree

The Paper Kites-Bloom

Today I heard a song and as its soft acoustic melody wrapped around my imagination, my mind started running wild. A whirlwind of ideas came to me and I started to think. I pictured a world at dusk with dancing lights and flickering fireflies racing past me as I sat in the cool grass just completely embraced in wonderment.  There was a hill to the right of me, blanketed with flowers and dandelions.  The fragrance was sweet and enveloped me when the flowing breeze kissed my cheeks. On the left there was a gigantic tree canopied with lanterns, ablaze with soft glowing, twinkling flames resting inside of them.

I saw people dancing barefoot under the blazing stars in the distance, laughing as they spun each other in cotton sundresses  and button up shirts. This song, this entanglement of enchanting sounds gently wafted threw the cool air, reminding me of everything beautiful in my crazy "midterm" filled world. Hearing this song just might have been the best thing about my day. Thank you music, for making my world that much better.

Slave...

 

           

I'm sitting on my bed trying really hard to figure out what to say about this article. I've tried over and over and over but nothing good comes to me. My goodness. I know that Albert Yeganeh has an extreme passion about soup and that's just something I just can't seem to pour my whole heart over! As I've thought it over, I decided to figure out what food I really love and compare it to Albert and his soups...
        Potatoes. I am in love with potatoes. Anytime I go to a restaurant or any fast food place, I usually end up buying French fries over any other side. I also get way to excited whenever my mom would make mashed potatoes on Sundays. Every time we have a family get-together, my Aunt Renee always brings scalloped or half baked potatoes because she knows how much I love them. Right now, It's one in the morning and I even have my roommate Mikayla making me her funeral potatoes because I told her how much I love them. So I guess, in a way I can kind of compare myself to Albert and his obsession to soups.
       Albert owns a soup shop in New York city, selling over 80 different kinds of soups. It's incredible. This guy is so passionate about what he does. Every soup has to be absolutely perfect or he isn't satisfied.
 

PTIC:

Purpose- I think that the point of the story is just to understand Albert and what kind of a person he is. He's definitely a perfectionist, clean freak and a lover of good food.

Theme- The purpose is about Albert. He owns a soup shop in New York city, selling over 80 different kinds of soups. It's incredible. This guy is so passionate about what he does and  every soup has to be absolutely perfect or he isn't satisfied.
"The customer is always wrong and I’m always right. I raised my prices to try to get rid of some of these people, but it didn’t work."

Issue- Albert can't stand working with the public and he isn't afraid to show it. This is an issue for Albert because he gets so upset when people hold up lines or get in the way. He likes to get things done fast and most customers don't like that.
 
"The customer is always wrong and I’m always right. I raised
my prices to try to get rid of some of these people, but it didn’t work."

Conclusion- Albert is a slave with his business because he has to have everything "just right" in order for him to be happy. He fired a worker just because he forgot to pick up the mushroom that had fallen. He's feels as though everything has to be perfect because he's the one selling.
"He’s downright rude," said a blond woman in a blue coat. "Even abusive. But you can’t
deny it, his soup is the best."

The Chase...

It’s that time when Chelsea and I trespassed on private property or those times when Emma and I would drop what we’re doing, and pretend to be ninja's on the trampoline.  When I hiked my favorite hike, mile upon mile, in the pouring rain. The thrill that I get every time I win a game of Canasta or when I played truth or dare with Allecia, Chelsea and Andrea. It was when mom and I kidnapped Eris on a Sunday afternoon and the time when I jumped into a Floyd Lamb pond with Nate Waggoner. The exhilarating moment when I reached the end of Colob Lake on a paddle board or when I turned the car around, parked at Quinn's house, and jumped straight into his pool. It was the time when Brandon and I ran to the car hand in hand, from the Logan dale fair, with the cold rain dancing on our skin. The experience isn’t the point, but rather the passion. I have a passion of being free, not in a bohemian flower child kind of free, but 'Eryn' free. I feel the most free when its pouring rain and I run. I feel free when I let go of all my stress and play with my little sister for a while, because when I'm around her I feel like I'm 11 again. I feel free when I'm driving and a song I've never heard before wraps it's magical  trance around me, with the windows rolled down, my hair completely undone,  at those teasing moments at the end of the day when the Vegas sun gleams those brilliant pinks, yellows and oranges for a quick minute  before disappearing. Passion. That’s what it’s all about. Moments of pure magic and indefinite energy.

As I read The Chase, these were the memories I thought of. These experiences are the things that stick with me. They remind me of the way I felt when I did them and how they make me smile.  I love when Annie talks about how she kept running and running, even when she felt she was choking for air. This was Annie's adventure, and after all these years she hasn't forgotten the feeling she felt when It was happening.

Theme -"... It was an immense discovery, pounding into my hot head with every sliding, joyous step, that this ordinary adult evidently knew what I thought only children who trained at football knew: That you have to fling yourself at what you're doing, you have to point yourself, forget yourself, aim, dive."

Purpose- "The point was that he had chased us passionately without giving up, and so he caught us." The skinny, red headed business man showed  Annie that he was passionate, even as a grown adult.

Issue- Obviously, part of the issue is that Annie and her friends got themselves into trouble and could have had to suffer harsher consequences. Another issue is that Annie could have given up, and so could the skinny business man. There wouldn't have been any experience from this if that would have been the case. Annie wouldn't have felt the sense of freedom, that seems to still affect her after all these years, had they just given up.

Conclusion- " I would have died happy, for nothing has required so much of me..." 

Annie was satisfied that she tried her hardest along with the furious man. It was a moment when she felt a sense of satisfaction that she can still look back and appreciate even after all these years.

Can You Here Me now?

Every April my favorite day of the year comes around. I love the silliness of that day, the laughter and fun of that day. The county fair held every year in Logan Dale, Nevada.  It's always rainy, windy and completely exhilarating to me. I can't help but feel completely free when having to run through the rain each year, or when the chilly wind is blowing and your completely awake. It's my favorite day because of all the memories. It's the live music, the funnel cakes, laughter, dancing, and memories. It was the year when I fell in love with ferris wheels as the daylight was dripping through scattered clouds Or the year when we danced around the tent to listen to Gloriana, or when I tripped on that a hose spout in front of the cute boy that was asking me to each lunch with him, or last year when I couldn't stop my stomach from feeling the butterflies, my favorite feeling in the world. It's that time we all ran under the rain, chilled to the bone. The year my best friend and her sweetheart fell even more in love, not even knowing they'd be married one day. To me, this is the place where love grows wild. This is the time to be fearlessly goofy. To me, the Logan Dale fair is completely enchanting.

Allecia & Seth 2011

Sherry Turkle  shares her concerns in her article Can You Here Me Now? about our second life. A life where Logan dale county fair memories don't exist. Everyone is wrapped up in their cell phones, laptops, and iPods, that it takes up a lot of our time. "Are we taking the time to take our time on the things that matter?... These days it's easier for people without technical expertise to blend their real and virtual lives." It's become a world of second life. 
A lot of us don't take the time to really talk to someone. God gave us a voice and we should use it to speak to people rather than with our fingers on keyboards and cell phones.
Right before I started writing this post, I was talking on the phone to my friend Brooklyn. I love being able to talk to someone over the phone. Really talk. She's a person that isn't intimidated to call you on the phone and her  conversations are probably going to be the ones I will remember more than when I text.
I believe that it's more intimidating to call someone rather than text them because you can't prepare yourself before answering questions or when talking about what's going on in your life. Phone calls and visits are prone to be more honest in my case.
 I remember a time when my good friend, Chelsea and I, ran through a giant, muddy puddle. We laughed and laughed the whole time! Real laughter. Not "LOL" or "HAHA". It was real laughter, with real voices, and real smiley faces.

It's becoming a habit to just text or email.  After reading Sherry's article, I've been reminded that its more important to make phone calls to family members, to visit a sick relative and a heartbroken friend, rather than shoot a text to see if they're okay. This is something I really want to work on now, because I've been guilty of taking the easy and fast way out. I want to look into someones eyes more often and and say I love you, learn how to wink without a semi-colon, and have the courage to just slow down...

This I Believe...

I picture the suns warmth bathing my face and my toes sinking in the cool mud. I live somewhere warm. It's a beautifully warm place, with dew on fresh leaves, vibrant green grass and pink blossom trees. today is one of those enlivening mornings. It's a Monday morning to be particular, and I sit on my front porch with my sweethearts arms wrapped firmly around me as he kisses my nose and tells me he love me,the way he does before he leaves for work every morning. The sunrise is as if it's Gods very own canvas. His brush is smooth across the sky with radiant yellows and vibrant shades of pink. Those sweet 10 minutes of just my sweet husband and I before the still of the morning breaks, and our days work begins. Those rich mornings where we take a second to breath.

I can't help but smile when I hear my  messy, brown haired, freckle faced, two year old flop her wobbly feet onto the front porch, fresh out of bed. She has a look of bewilderment, as she rubs her green eyes, trying to squint past the pains of the morning light. The two others will be waking up shortly, which means it's  almost time to fill our stomachs with hot, buttered toast and eggs, scrambled because that's the way our picky five year old Lily prefers them. I whip up our traditional waffle batter recipe, and listen to the adventures that my wild eyed seven year old Jack, conveys to me from his dreams that night...

I have precious dreams filled with motherhood, family, love, nature and laughter. I can imagine my mother, old and gray, but still just as beautiful, gardening with me in my front yard, teaching me all she knows. I can see my brothers and sisters married, with a handfuls of kids, meeting up for Sunday dinners. My Dad teases the kids and patiently listens to what each one has to say, before tickling them to the point of uncontrollable laughter. I don't doubt that my mother and father will still be in love. They still dance in the kitchen with the songs Mom loves like, Ain't Love Something, or Blue Moon sung by Rod Stewart. These are a few of my dreams. They're Simple, but significant, and I love them.

Your Governing Values Are The Foundation of Personal Fulfillment

A couple days ago, I walked into the library like normal. Took my normal seat in my normal spot on the first floor. I worked through my assignments like it was just a normal afternoon of school. When it came time for me to read an article called Your Governing Values Are The Foundations of Personal Fulfillment by Hyrum Smith, my eyes were basically touching the screen of the library computer. This wasn't normal. I was intrigued, mesmerized and focused at the same time. I wanted more and more of the stories and analogies that, for some reason, had the power to captivate me. It was as if a gust of this rich and enchanting magic spell  rushed through my heart, gently, but powerfully saying, "Listen carefully Eryn, You need this. This is another clue at finding out who you are and what you want to be. It is important because you are important. Let me teach you, then you may learn, and then you may grow." I heard a woman once call moments like these, tapping moments. It's when something powerful taps your heart, reminding you why you mortally exist. This was a tapping moment for me.

Well first let me tell you what the purpose of this article is, since you're probably wondering. The title basically says it all. Your governing values, things that are most important to you, are the foundations of personal fulfillment. What are your governing values? What would you risk your life for? These aren't questions that you can answer, simply because you think you're supposed to say them. These are things that you ponder about, things that would be devastating to lose or not have. Maybe for some it really is your family, your integrity, your relationship with God, or your desire to be a better mother or father. The range is endless. Some are shallow for people, but most aren't. When you dig deep into your heart and mind it might be like opening the secret back door of a closet to find a snowy, mystical fairytale life that you never knew existed until now. Open the door even if it's tough. The handle may be stuck, or the key to the lock may be lost right now, but there is always another way in. Discover your potential (Theme).

The Issue, according to Hyrum Smith, is trying to find those values. What is it that will ring the imaginary bell inside of your head once discovering something you never knew before.
" When people have those kinds of emotions about identifying what really matters to them, something happens inside. And when they realize how important certain values are to them, suddenly they experience a sense of urgency that wasn't there before."

To conclude, Hyrum constructs a personal constitution. This is just like the Constitution of the United States, except they're your own.

Hyrum Smiths personal constitution:

1. I love God with all my heart, mind and strength
2. I love my neighbor as myself.
3. I obey all the commandments of God.
4. I am humble..
5. I am an outstanding husband and father.
6. I honor the memory of my father and mother.
7. I foster intellectual growth.
8. I am honest in all things.
9. I use excellent speech.
10. I maintain a strong and healthy body.
11. I value my time.
12. I am financially independent..
13. I have a period of solitude daily.
14. I change people’s lives.
15. I listen well.
16. I have order in my life at all times.

Learning to Love Learning...

I Wake up at 7am, walk to the bathroom, flip the light switch, squint my groggy eyes, hop in the shower, and my lovely morning has now begun. I make the egg and ham sandwiches Dad used to make, hoping that they will taste almost as good. This reminds me of home and is a great way to start my morning. I'm now finished getting ready for a new day, and I begin to pull on a coat, gloves and scarf.
Time to get to work...

What I love about BYU Idaho, is that all my teachers apply The Gospel of Jesus Christ into our everyday lessons. The spirit is strong here and I can feel it most as I see the sculptures and paintings when walking to classes, smiles, devotional, singing, class lessons that mainly focus on our goals as Latter Day Saints to become people of Christ. It's simply easy to love learning when your in a place such as this. The only problem is that you can't stay at BYU-I forever...

How do we learn to love learning? To continue to progress even after graduation? And to simply appreciate the knowledge we gain throughout our lives, young and old? Elder Bednar helps us in his "Learning to Love Learning" talk to make these things important to us.

Purpose:
The purpose of Elder Bednars talk, "Learning to Love Learning" is to help us understand, even eternal benefits of learning and educating ourselves throughout life. His talk is to motivate us and help us appreciate the opportunities we have.

Theme
"Learning to love learning is central to the gospel of Jesus Christ, is vital to our ongoing
spiritual and personal development, and is an absolute necessity in the world in which we do now
and will yet live, serve, and work" -Bednar

Issue
I think that the issue is that a lot of people resent learning. We don't like to do the work most of the time, or take the time to do it. I learned a lot from this talk actually. It's powerful, and it opened my mind to understand what my goals should be, especially at this point in my life. Bednar knows how to straighten me up!
-"Because vast amounts of information are so readily available and sophisticated
technologies make possible widespread and even global collaboration, we may be prone to put
our "trust in the arm of flesh" (2 Nephi 4:34; see also 28:31) as we grapple with complex
challenges and problems."

Conclusion
"Learning to love learning equips us for an ever-changing and unpredictable future.
Knowing how to learn prepares us to discern and act upon opportunities that others may not
readily recognize. I am confident we will pass the test of learning what to do when we do not
know what to do or how to proceed. "

What I understood from this talk was that Heavenly Father wants this jouney to be more enjoyable for us. He wants us to be prepared and to help others gain knowledge as well. Knowledge makes you feel like your apart of something great. We  are all apart of something great, but sometimes we forget how great it really is. Learning to love learning will make life beautiful and when we see life as something beautiful and hopeful, we're happier.