February 28, 2026

Lizzi came to visit. We went to the temple, JCW’s, and a live podcast recording of Standards of Truth. 

February 27, 2026

Happy birthday to a dog gone good dog. You can count on the family text thread to come through.

I went sledding with the ladies this morning and once we found a good spot it was so much fun! It was my perfect kind of sledding. 

February 26, 2026

Went on a hike this morning with Lorien. It wasn’t that fun trudging up the slushy muddy road while sinking through a bit but it was nice to get some mountain air. It was tiring and we were thankful when we could follow someone’s previous tracks. Something about if someone has gone before they can make it easier for those that come after. Be that person who helps others along after you have experience. 

PS. Believe it or not I didn’t take a single picture. And the mountains were kinda pretty with snow and sun. Here's a pic from game night with Mason and Rachael where I found the zeros.

February 24, 2026

A few fun photo finds from today. 

Summer 1981 - my dad and me:

Summer 1980 - I loved these roller skates:

Summer 1975 - Grandma and Grandpa Christensen, Cris, my dad, my mom, me, Denise and Rux at Accord Lakes:

Christmas 1974 - Cris, my mom, me:

February 23, 2026

Darren bought a slide scanner so we can go through my parents slides. We looked at a few tonight and they are awesome. The photos below are me during the summer 1982 (9 years old). 

We spent a lot of summer weekends at Lake Powell. The Christensen brothers had boats so it was a family thing to go. I remember jumping off rocks and eating jello jigglers (we would drive into a cove and all have lunch on the boats, passing food back and forth). 

Ready for church and not happy about having to wear church clothes. I probably just came inside from shooting hoops in the backyard. 

February 22, 2026

Sunday evening at the Randalls for dinner and meeting Lola. She’s a fluffy squishy cute puppy. We played Perudo (which we haven’t played in a long time) and watched some Olympic mountaineer relay. 

February 21, 2026

Snow cabin time! Our 2026 cabin night is complete. Such a great tradition! Mary taught us to play Canasta so we felt really old.  :) It was great chatting and playing. We also made breakfast, munched on tons of snacks, and took a walk. Lots of laughs and Patty randomly pulled a banana from her pocket. So so thankful for these friends. 

February 17, 2026

Back to work today at PG High School but thinking about our great weekend (2/12):

Porters breakfast - best eggs ever. Sitting on a rock overlooking Zion eating PB M&Ms. Oscar’s burger and sweet potato fries with caramel (ask for the caramel). Patio at our hotel. Walter’s wiggles and Sally’s switchbacks :). Sandee’s lemon bars. Bumbleberry Inn (it gets all the stars, it was great, although I might take a tip of a star off because of the new carpet smell). Finally hiking Watchman Trail. The views from Watchman (we should hike this again but in the morning). West Rim Trail (of course we hiked this trail - we love it). Kyle from New Zealand chatting with us after he hiked up to our snack spot. Sunrise at Court of the Patriarchs. Those Zion cliffs as a backdrop to a weekend away with Darren. 

February 16, 2026

We finished up our long weekend with Clayton and Sandee in Beaver Dam. Church, dinner, and games yesterday. Today we drove home with a stop in Richfield. We threw away a few more things and brought home some slides and projector because as I was debating what to do with them, I pulled out a slide and looked at it to find this gem. 

(Cris and me with my Gma C reading us a book.)

Also this slide is classic my dad. You can see his handwriting and I’m sure this was his idea to ski down the backyard little hill. 

February 15, 2026

Those Zion cliffs are amazing. So gorgeous. Zion cannot be captured in pictures. You really need to see it. And the more time I spend here the more I see the beauty. Seems like there’s a gospel analogy with that. Like the more time I spend with God the more I see Him. 

Pic from my sunrise watching at Court of the Patriarchs yesterday. 

February 14, 2026

Darren + hiking + red rock + snack spot with chocolate = best Valentines ever

 

February 12, 2026

Mason and Rachael came over for a bit tonight and since I was the only one home, the three of us played SkyJo and Dr Mario. Baylie wanted to join. 

February 9, 2026

Lorien and I hiked to Lake Blanche today. I try to do this hike every so often in the winter because I love seeing Sundial Peak in the snow. Can you see it? Yeah - me neither. But it was still a lovely hike and it snowed on us which hasn’t happened much this winter. It was freezing at the top so we ate a cookie and headed back down. 

February 8, 2026

Had all the kids tonight for a Cole birthday Sunday dinner. The sound of kids chatting and playing games is great. 

Yesterday I went to Richfield to see my sisters.  Mason and Rachael came with. The Richfield house is a mess - one thing after another.  But we had some good chatting about my parents.

February 6, 2026

Today was a quick hike to Willow Lake on a day off of testing. The lack of snow is sad and concerning. I came home and my yearly journal books had been delivered. 

February 3, 2026

Darren loves that he can now watch hockey in the evening. I remember hockey enjoying Darren from 1994. 

Also, it’s do a puzzle and listen to an audiobook season. 

Also, the girls were singing by along to the Hannah Montana soundtrack. 

Also, it was a pink shirt day with Sadie. Although hers was her pajamas. 

February 2, 2026

Happy Groundhog Day! Oh how I miss my parents on a day like today. The girls were talking about it last night and how Gma and Gpa would take them to Build-a-Bear. I remember going bowling. Mason mentioned celebrating at IHOP. Good times. Sadie celebrated today by getting her ears pierced.