Back in 2019, we went snowmobiling in Island Park. It was our first time ever. It was not too cold and we had fun so we decided to do it again this year. We drove up to my sister's house in Rexburg and stayed with them for Saturday and Sunday night.  On Saturday evening, Scott and I and my sister and her husband went cross-country skiing at the local golf course which I really enjoyed and we saw a beautiful sunset too. Then we went out to eat. That was a lot of fun. I also enjoyed attending their ward on Sunday and having a big family dinner when the college students arrived. Then on Monday we drove up to Island Park and rented a couple of snowmobiles. It was unfortunately MUCH colder this time around--below zero with the wind chill. When you're on the sled going 30+mph, you definitely feel it. Fortunately we had something this time that we didn't have last time--a warming hut. That morning, before we got there, I was worried about where we would hang out when we weren...

"Move Forward Together With a Common Vision" Note:  Tammy Hill, one of the teachers, is a big believer in Living Your Why. She does a podcast on this:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/live-your-why/id1549927114 . She  has an Instagram page: tammy_hill_lmft. She also has a worksheet on figuring out what your "why" is:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1do1tdLsRCBwMjW1TdNmptfEyqoxnA627/view Principles of Week 2: 1.  Scaling.  Scaling is a concise way to figure out where you and your partner are at. For example, when trying to decide on an activity, you ask your partner, How much does this matter to you on a scale of 1 to 10? 1 is "not at all" and 10 is "it's imperative." For example, how much do you want to go on a walk? One person might say 3 and the other person might say 8.  When you're really far apart on an activity, then maybe one person will do it alone and the other won't. But if you want to spend time together, then maybe ...

 A week ago, Scott and I started a weekly online class offered through BYU, given by Jeff and Tammy Hill. They call it, "Marital Teamwork: It Takes Flint and Steele to Make a Fire." I'm not sure why they spell steel with an e on the end--maybe it's intentional or maybe it's just a typo! Jeff and Tammy Hill were both widowed and this is their second marriage. They have a combined total of 12 children and they freely admit that it has been very challenging. They are both open about their challenges and shortcomings--personally I would find it difficult to be so vulnerable. They are also professionals in the field of marriage and family with Tammy being a licensed marriage and family therapist and teaching marriage enrichment and prep classes at BYU. Jeff has been teaching at the School of Family Life at BYU for a long time and is the associate chair. Their goal is to give us more tools to strengthen our marriages and do it in a fun way.  They are both quite engaging...

 About 5-6 years ago, I made a goal to visit 50 temples by the time I turned 50. Sadly, I did not make it. It was an overly ambitious goal for that time in my life. But I kept plugging away. And then COVID hit and I couldn't go to any temple at all for well over a year. But this last fall, I decided to go for it. In November, Scott and I went to Colorado to visit two temples there. Then last week, we went to Arizona to visit 4 temples in 2 days. That gave me my 50! It has been interesting to think about how my temple experience has changed over the years and become much more meaningful to me. I so appreciate my husband coming with me--that made it even better. Because he sometimes stayed with our children instead of going into the temple with me, he has only been in 46. But soon we'll get his 50. It was an amazing trip. I enjoyed it so much. Here are some pictures of the temples we visited and the beautiful gardens around them. I loved seeing the landscapes created around the t...