The show must go on

Our last night in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic we splurged and bought some tickets to Cirque du Soleli. It was a fun show.  We have never seen the show and it was fabulous.  (Not as fabulous as watch Briggs perform, but a close 2nd 😉)

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Adam has the wonderful opportunity to take an amazing trip with one of his construction suppliers each year at the most inconvenient times possible for me.  I know, I can’t complain.  It is always such an awesome trip! But the past few years it has been at the worst time possible! 

This year was no different.  Due to this trip i would miss almost all of Briggs performances! 

I told Adam the only way I would go on the trip was if he would pay extra money and delay the trip at least 24 hours so that I could see opening night for Briggs show.  By delaying the trip I get to see both opening and closing nights for Briggs.  

(Confession, I did go to every rehearsal before the show even opened. But I can never get enough of watching him perform)

Anyway, after a busy month (the past several posts) and helping with rehearsals. (This means I was at the practices, feeding 35 kids several times leading up to the show, taking photos, etc) Adam and I left at midnight after opening night.  It was great to see Briggs perform! 

We had 14 inches of snow on Monday with bad weather expected all week (this is Avrams first week of driving in really bad weather🙄).

Briggs has his worst week of the year with 6am ballroom rehearsals- school- and then the show until 8:30pm. 

Thankfully I could cancel almost everything for Ila drop her off with Crystal and she could handle ila for the week!😅

All the way up until 9 pm Monday night I thought we were going to have to cancel our trip...but I knew Adam needed to get away, it was a free trip to the Dominican Republic,  and I was on the verge of a complete mental break down.  So, I got on the plane nearly in tears.  

We flew out at midnight and arrived in the DR at 5:30pm on Tuesday.  Sadly Adam spent a lot of time waiting for me to sleep.  I never really caught up nor did i adjust to the time in the DR but it was energizing to feel the sun again.  









I don’t think Adam would consider this his favorite trip away because I was constantly checking in with the boys, arranging rides and making sure things were running smoothly at home.  

To add to the stress Avram ended up with the stomach flu, 24 hour bug, and Briggs got a really bad sore throat.  But we made it.  And the trip was very needed! I went from anxiety, stress and a near melt down to actually having a few hours of relief each day and getting to sleep. 


We are currently on our way home.  We will get back at midnight Sunday night.  I had time to plan out my up coming week which starts bright and early Monday because as soon as I get the kids off to school I need to start cooking. I’m feeding the cast of 35 tomorrow afternoon.  

Ilas class is having one of their biggest activities of the year this week (I will show you that in another post).

Briggs has a 5 page research paper due, which means he and I together have a research paper due.  And Avram has PTC this week along with some massive school projects due.  

My kids bless me with the opportunity to be extremely involved in their schooling because it isn’t a strength for any of them yet. (We are working on that😖)

High school musical

This is Briggs 3rd and final year in Advance Musical Theater.  Very few kids get the opportunity to be in this group for three years.  Typically the director only takes 8-9 grade kids.  I don’t get emotional often but I can’t watch Briggs perform on stage without crying a little.  

Channel 4

Yes. We are still in the month of January and still having amazing experiences and a lot of fun.  Briggs school/ cast was invited to be on Good Things Utah, channel 4.  

I went helped carpool kids to the studio.  It was so much fun to see the set and meet the hosts.  

Briggs told me afterward he was so nervous when he was performing that his legs were shaking and he felt like they were going to collapse.  🤣. I never could have done what he did! 

https://www.abc4.com/gtu/students-rock-were-all-in-this-together/

Tad Calister

Tad Calister happens to be in the same ward as Briggs seminary teacher.  She decided to ask him to come talk to his class.  The teacher invited parents to attend the class as well.  Both Adam and I scheduled it and went to the class.  It was so cool hearing him talk about the Book of Mormon! He shared so many cool facts and research about the “proof” of the Book of Mormon.  I just feel bad I didn’t take Avram.

The gray circle on this map basically shows the amount of information they have been able to uncover (the civilizations and history) comparatively to the information and history contained in the Book of Mormon.  He talked about the anachronisms that have been found and continue to be found which reaffirm the validity of the Book of Mormon.  He also talked about those that fall away because  they allow something so little come between the truth of the Book of Mormon and the lack of data we currently have to “prove” that the Book of Mormon is true.  Ie. the debate about wheat being grown in the Americas and the time in which it was actually introduced in the Americas.  Which has now been proven and is no longer a question that it existed during the time it is mentioned in the Book of Mormon.




Adam and I left the class and we were discussing the fascinating Information shared and we both, at about the same time, said despite all that cool info it does not change our belief and testimony of the Book of Mormon.  

The facts are wonderful but the testifying power of of the Holy Ghost is what seals our commitment and love for the Book of Mormon. 

Getting to know me

Over Black Friday i found a great deal on the 23 and me ancestory and Heath DNA kit.  I have really wanted to try out the test so I splurged.  

I go the info back with some basic results but then I sent the data off to another company that breaks down the results further and explains in more detail the dna combinations.  

Although there wasn’t anything life changing in the results it was fascinating to learn different strengths and weaknesses that are in my DNA.  

Some Information was a given.  My mother always told me to watch my weight and be careful because diabetes runs in the family.  I was floored to see how strong the dna combinations are for type 2 diabetes in my genes.  

I was surprised to see that my dna has a bacteria that causes more cavities.  Finally a reason why I have so many root canals.  Despite flossing and brushing daily I always have cavities! Not fair! But now I know it’s not because I don’t take care of my teeth.  

I loved learning about vitamins my body may lack or need.  

I loved seeing that I have been blessed with the longevity gene (so I better take care of myself so I’m not living a long miserable life😝)

My very favorite Info was a gene that gives me a greater tolerance to intense exercise and Other dna that explains why my passion was sports.  

I loved seeing so many things explained So I could understand why certain things seem easier/ harder for me. Knowing these things helps me understand that i do need to work harder to excel in certain aspects of my life and other things I can do to help me feel better or help my body function more efficiently.  

I posted a few of the results below.  

I know this is a break down of the dna and that there are many other factors that make up who we are, how our health is affected and what we become.  This makes me want to research my children’s dna so maybe I can help them become more successful.  

Nothing less than the best

Briggs had his first BIG ballroom competition of the year this past month.  He and his team walked away with 4 first place wins out of 4 dances 








Ok,  Time for a laugh.  You may or may not remember me posting about loosing my Apple Watch in the ocean last year while we were in Hawaii. 

If not, here is my blast in the past.  We were in Hawaii playing in the ocean.  My watch fell off and dropped 40-50 feet down in the ocean.  It was too deep to find the watch but we were hanging out with some friends that were Hawaiian locals.  Our friends said he would have his brother bring his scuba tank and they would try to find the watch.  24 hours later they went out to the spot we were swimming and ended up finding the watch...and it still worked! 

For Christmas Adam and I upgraded our watches and gave the boys our old watches.  Briggs ended up with mine.  At the ballroom competition Briggs had his watch stolen.  We were able to track that the watch was still at the event but we couldn’t pin point the exact location.  We kept an eye on the watch and watched it “land” at an address in west valley.  We felt fortunate that whoever took the watch had been with a local school and not an out of state team.  

We were worried that the watch would end up in someone else’s hands if we waited to track it down so we met up with the west valley policy late Sunday evening so we could go to the house and ask for the watch back.  

It was late on Sunday because we had spent the afternoon at the Slocum.  We had attended a wonderful fireside their stake had about the Book of Mormon.  Two cop cars met up with us a couple of blocks away from the house and they followed us to the address. 

Adam walked up to the door with the cops.  I would imagine opening the door to Adam and a few police officers would be very intimidating.  The door opened and it took and a few seconds to place the face he was looking at.  It was Briggs ballroom coach.  Apparently the watch had been picked up with a pile of stuff and shoved into one of the many bags that the coach had in his car.  

The cops left quickly after realizing there was no threat and the rest of us jumped out of the car and had a a good laugh with Briggs coach.  

This watch is on miracle #2 for returning to us. 

Thankful to be busy and blessed

After many years of struggles and trials I can’t post on my blog without feeling extreme gratitude to be able to write that we are healthy, happy and very busy.  Although life feels overwhelming and chaotic, I wouldn’t want it any other way.  

Time doesn’t stand still and neither do any of my children.  I never imagined being a parent to teenagers could be so rewarding and fun.  Again, I know that I am beyond blessed to have such great kids and a wonderful hard working husband.  

Avram is loving his new found freedom with his drivers license.  He wants to be more independent then he is ready for and sometimes he learns that the hard way but he is learning.  

He has had 3 or 4 different college recruiters drop by his football class and have shown a lot of interest in Avram.  He said the last one that came by actually filmed him lifting.  The bad part is that all the colleges have been from California so I’m hoping we start seeing some U of U or BYU recruiters start popping in.  

Briggs is loving his last year in junior high.  He is super busy right now with all of his extra activities.  His big play, High School Musical, is playing along with Competing in ballroom competitions. I will talk more about this in later posts.

Ila is preparing for her upcoming play, Annie. Ilas most important focus in life right now is socializing.  

We are so thankful to have the Adams so close so Ila can be with her cousins lots. 

One of the young women that I taught several years ago has since returned from a mission and is now getting married.  I ended up throwing her a wedding shower this past month.