April 11, 1999 (Paula) Today David's new glasses broke when someone stepped on them. Yesterday we bought a "reconditioned" Bosch mixer for $100. When we came home I made 4 loaves of bread. It was very easy to use and I look forward to using it more. We also bought a mattress for Lincoln to use in a week after Scott's sister Cindy sleeps on it. She is staying over Friday and Saturday. Scott's going to NIST tomorrow until Friday. We worked on David and Jan's Great Brain presentations for next week. Last week we bought a trampoline. The kids have really enjoyed playing on it. David turned 9 last Sunday. He got lots of clothes, Legos, a watch and an insect book. His grandpa gave him a $25 gift certificate to a bookstore. So he bought a Garfield comic book and a Matt Christopher book. We had the Hansens over for Easter dinner. JoEllen brought her boyfriend [Mark] and Craig brought his girlfriend. We had a big trifle for Grandma Hansen turning 79, Bruce turning 27 ...

Today I'm grateful for the opportunity to choose. I get to choose so many things in my life:  how to spend my money, my time, my opinions, my thoughts, my attitudes, my beliefs, my work, my friends, and so much more. Sure, I have responsibilities and things I really should and need to do, but ultimately I get to choose. Here are a few choices I'm happy to have. To serve a mission To have children To grow peach trees To exercise and get stronger To try new things like raise chickens, even if it ends badly  To grow vegetables in my garden To go to the temple To get married To spend time with grandchildren And attend important events in my grandchildren's and my children's lives To play the violin and help my children learn to play musical instruments To learn to play the organ To visit with friends To learn about and do family history I'm grateful for so many choices!

Post by Scott: I went canyoneering with several of my adult children in early November. (Paula was the hero and babysat the grandchildren.) We camped at Sandthrax, a primitive camp near the junction of UT-95 and UT-276, outside of Hanksville.  While I made our steak fajitas, everyone else warmed up on the nearby practice wall. Except for the 5 guys who showed in a nearby site at 10 pm and started making dinner somewhat noisily when we were trying to sleep, it was a pretty good camp. It was a little chilly, but the fire helped with that. After Everett's luxury breakfast Saturday morning, we checked out Blarney Canyon. The approach wasn't very long... ... and soon we were at the first rappel. Right near the beginning of the canyon, you have to downclimb underneath a chockstone... ... and then you are in the narrow canyon slot.  David and Stephanie made a great lunch of smoked pulled pork, chips, and salad. We broke camp  and drove to Angel Slot. Most of our group had been t...