Birthday fun!

It was a great birthday!  Nathan took the day off and we went to the Museum of Flight.  It was so fun hanging out with him all day.   I am so grateful for him and all he does for me.  He loves planes so he was in his element.  

He also made the best cake which was different from from the usual German chocolate.  I love the combo of chocolate and peanut butter and it was so good.  

 

Valentine's Day

This Valentine's day we ended up having the Spanish speaking elders come at last minute.  They are getting transferred this week and wanted to say goodbye.  We fed them taco soup with apple crisp for dessert.  I was thankful we could have them over at such short notice.  After they left I get this text from AZ (see below).  I love love love getting these but I felt kind of lame for what we did for our elders.  I didn't think of doing anything special.  I continue to be grateful for those members who are taking care of my missionary.  

"Hi there! My name is Sister Stephens. I had your cute boy over for a Valentine dinner tonight. Thank you for raising an amazing son. We loved having him over."

 

Pictures of random stuff

We have a problem when the carts are out in the middle of the driving isle in a place that is already hard to maneuver. I know this was some employee error but come on people go put the cart at the front of the store.  It really won't hurt you to help out a little.  I noticed this as I was leaving so I guess I could have helped by parking again and moving them all. 

Elijah can get the longest toe nails ever until I finally tell him they need trimmed.  

It has been a long time coming but we finally ditched the trampoline.  Its been a fun thing to have but when it starts turning green, springs are coming off and nobody jumping on it for a few years its time to say goodbye.  Jarom is always so good to help with anything.  

Another item we said goodbye to was the Subaru (Bo as Sadie called him).  It has been a great car but we upgraded Sadie. We also had  too many vehicles around here.  Although Nathan would say otherwise.  Our fleet of cars have kept him pretty busy lately.   I saw the Subaru in the high school parking lot the other day.  I hope it continues to run very well for the family who bought it from us.  

Posting this because its cute of Sadie.  She is full on into school now at BYU Idaho and is loving it. 

Sadie's car had issues as soon as she showed up to school.  Our cars love to do this because Nathan isn't near by to fix them.  (It happened with the Subaru when she went to USU before her mission)  She replaced the battery in hopes that it was the problem but she ended up being able to take it to the school's auto repair shop, which only cost us in parts.  We were grateful for that.  One new alternator later and Red is up and running again.  

We had some excitement last week when a branch that had been hanging decided to fall on the power line pole.  Its a good thing it wasn't an emergency because the whole tree might have burned down by the time the power company came to take care of it.  

Sadie made a big purchase the other day and got a banjo on craigslist.  It seems to be a very good one.  She started to play one that we borrowed from Nathan's brother when she was home but didn't want to take it with her since it didn't belong to us.  She is happy she can keep practicing.  

 

finger surgery

I had this same surgery last year and the bump came back.  I am still not sure what it is because the doctor said what she thought but it looks nothing like it in pictures.  So who knows it could come back again.

The lovely bump that keeps getting bumped on things.

The wonderful bandage I wore for a few days

It looks kind of gnarly but its nice to not wear the bandage anymore. 

The stitches are out.

 

youth sledding trip

The annual youth sledding trip.  Great group of kids.

 

Josiah meets a familiar face

This familiar face isn't known to Josiah but she is a friend I grew up with that lives in Arizona.  Our families have been friends forever and we used to to do all sorts of things together when we were younger.  She knew Josiah was there and it was fun to get a message from Mindi today that she had spotted Josiah in an In and Out burger.  She says when she saw him that he looked like a Wood and must be him so approached him.  Josiah was a bit shocked that this random lady wanted his picture but she did explain how she knows me.  I love all of the connections that are being made.  

 

She is gone again

I drove with Sadie this week to Rexburg where she will be attending BYU Idaho.  I didn't take one stinkin' picture of her on this little road trip.  I have loved having Sadie here for the last several months.  She is a big blessing to our family.  I love talking about gospel topics with her.  She is amazing and I don't mean that lightly.  She is a great friend, confident, missionary (even after her mission), smart, beautiful and can do anything she puts her mind to.  She has recently been learning to play the banjo and I have loved listening to her play the piano.  She is so fun to be with and talk to.  It is hard to say goodbye again but I know she needs to make her own place in this world with all her talents and abilities.  

This was an earlier picture she had taken while visiting family in Utah and Idaho.

This was the one picture taken while driving to Rexburg.  This was in Idaho Falls and I was astounded at the price of gas.  I wanted to take some home.  

She will be mad that I posted this one but she will be 21 this week.  Crazy!  I love my Sadie girl.