Judy "Is through to Hollywood!"

Excuse the title but we are a little "AI" obsessed around here this time of year! Something that has out-weighed our obsession for AI is our concern for our SIL Judy (our Dimond idol) who received a rather grim diagnosis of bile buct cancer almost 2 weeks ago! She received great news today after waiting almost a week before being able to have more tests done! Her cancer has NOT spread to her lymph nodes and there is high hope for a successful surgery! Thank you Heavenly Father for listening to the thousands of prayers offered in her behalf! This is way better than ever going to Hollywood:) We love you JUDY!

The Draper Temple Open House

This past Saturday, all of the Gus's were able to go see the new Draper Temple before it is dedicated. I loved it and thought it was beautiful! We will be making a few trips up that way in the future! This is the "reception" area after you see the temple. Thank goodness for the cookies and water bottles they provided as we were all starving:)
Our little family.

The temple has limited parking and so they shuttle you in. Of course I had to steal little Aidan as nobody can get enough of this guy! We were all shocked to see him blonde! His hair has changed since our last get-together! He is the sweetest little guy!

Gus's together...you know there are going to be pictures (except all of the ones I had to delete as they were way too blurry--I really need to get new batteries or a new camera:)?

Ju-lay refusing the photo-op!

Matt and Kimi welcoming the invite to smooch for the picture:) We went at 4:00 p.m. so we had a little west sun exposure going on!

Pop & Mee-kewl (as Kennedy would say).

Grandma was on crutches and we pushed her in a wheelchair through the temple as she was recovering from a foot fracture/injury...OUCH!

Grandpa, Tanner, & Christian ready to re-board the buses to get back for the dinner and b-day celebration at G&G Gus's house! It was so fun to share this experience as we never know how long we all have on this earth together! Being in the sealing room was emotional for me as I want my parents to be there when my kids get married but we just never know the Lord's plan and timing of everything! We love being in each other's company and hearing each other's take on things. Whether it be funny (like Alex saying look at that Hot Tub--while checking out the baptismal font), or serious (like having my Dad tell us he has "low batteries" in his pacemaker/defibrillator, but not to worry:), we cherish every loud and quiet moment together!

Out of all of the thousands of visitors to the temple and all of the different days/weeks/months it is open, I thought it was so wild that my friend and co-worker Melissa was there at the exact same time as we were! She is not a member yet, but she says her church is closing (Sconecutter is closing on Sundays now I guess:). Hopefully she felt the spirit there and will join the church and have her sweet little Avery sealed to her and her hubby forever! We love the blessings of the temple!

The Name Dropping Continues...

I think I forgot to mention that BYU Quarterback MAX HALL was the speaker and guest of honor at tonight's "Blue & White" (instead of blue & gold) scout pack meeting/banquet. He was very inspiring, humble, and gave the scouts great advice about succeeding in scouts, sports, and life. We all gave each other the jab/wink/laugh as he told about persevering in things like piano as well! (I couldn't take the contention in the home with arguments over practicing so the kids quit piano in December). He did a great job.
Of course you know what they say...behind every good man is a good woman, so I had to snap a picture of his lovely wife (it's OK--she told me she has a blog too and so she understands me:) Oww babe-uh! Remind me to wear this outfit when I don't have 5 muffin-tops!
The Bishop getting in some good holding time with a few of the youngest in the ward:)

We also had the "back-up" QB there to sign autographs and speak! He did a great job as well.

Our ward rocks with people like former BYU kicker Jared McLaughlin!

The boys were thrilled to have their shirts signed...

footballs signed...

more signing!

A fun night for the boys and the whole family with yummy pulled BBQ pork sandwiches and salads followed by cake for dessert.

They had jerseys there to take some pics. Max was pretty swamped or we would have grabbed him for another picture here! Good job boys on earning your basketball pins!

Did I mention that LDS artist JENNY PHILLIPS is coming to our ward for a fireside in 2 weeks? If not, I was just dropping that name as well. I think that's it...unless you didn't know that I was married to "THE" Steve Dimond:)

Mikelle Scores!

Mikelle had her last indoor soccer game last Saturday! We all knew this was it! She had made so many close attempts but was SO bummed that she hadn't made a goal for her team in the previous games. Her unlucky streak came to an end! Not only did she make a goal...she made two in one game (2 of the 4 points). She has improved so much and I think did really well for never playing on an organized team before (except at recess:). We were all SO happy! Hopefully she can go to a BYU soccer camp or something to continue to improve as she seems to love it!
Her friend's Dad was the coach. We were so appreciative that we had to make a candy bar thank-you!

She gave all of the girls a pack of the mini Milky Way candy bars that said "Way" to go Crazy 8's! It was such a fun (and intense at times) experience!

New Beginnings

Last Wednesday was our Ward's "New Beginnings" Program. Since it was held in the chapel, I obviously didn't get pictures during it but here are a few pics afterward. The girls did a wonderful job highlighting not only the "basics" of the YW program but also the new value that was just added..."VIRTUE!"
Supportive Dads!

A Daddy-daughter moment.

My partner (adviser) in Beehive crime.

What happens after in the halls...stays in the halls:)

Cute sisters!

The new value color for virtue is GOLD! (Yummy treats and all color co-ordinated:)

We have awesome YW. Their testimonies and values are so strong! It has been a blessing to work with these girls for the last few months! I am looking forward to many more great experiences together.

We Love You Judy!

Our sister-in-law Judy just found out she has Bile duct Cancer! My jaw just dropped as I was just telling Steve how especially RADIANT she has looked the past 2 times we have been together! She just had a sudden onset of pruitis (itching) and jaundice--this is all so fast! We fasted for her today as she meets with the doctor this week to discuss surgical and/or transplant options! We love you Judy and are praying for you!
You will never meet a more service-oriented, hard-working, and Christlike person!...not to mention her fabulous mouth-watering rolls at practically every family gathering!

Dave, Judy and family...we love you!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a great Valentine's weekend complete with class parties and tons of treats! We were even "heart-attacked" with treats and hearts at our door which was fun! (I think I know who you are Parkers:) Steve was so sweet to "bring it" with roses! They were beautiful and every girl appreciates flowers! After sweet cards to each other and a dancing "I'm too sexy for my shirt" plush dog, along with chocolates and a t-shirt that reads: "Trophy Husband," our love is re-affirmed for one more year!
We have done the "out-to eat" thing before on V-day and it is not even fun fighting the crowds...so Steve was the chef again and whipped up a quick steak and lobster platter for us!

The boys did not appreciate the efforts at the "Dimond Market Street Grill," so we let them have their way on the special day!

Steve cooking away on the stove after we ran out of propane outside!

Mikelle watching over the steaks before she ran baby-sitting!

It was fun to sit down and enjoy a relaxing dinner together:)

Just two hours before being the Iron Chef, Steve had to go to two YM Basketball games as our ward had the assignment to provide referees for the 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. games. After 2 emails to the whole ward and no takers, he and the bishop went to fulfill the call of duty to keep our undefeated boys in the running. Steve was so grateful that he was able to do the scoreboard as he doesn't play BB and helpful hints on what calls to make from my vast YW BB experience would not have been enough this time:) Christian was able to stay with him for the second game as he is the sports man at our house!

Thanks Bishop!

It has been a great weekend and now we just have to face the treadmill in the morning! XOXO

Utah Flash!

We took a family night out on Feb. 6th to go watch a Utah Flash game at UVU. Our seats were right behind the team which was fun.
Cameron's karate school demo team was performing at half time and we wanted to check out that opportunity in case it was something Cameron wanted to do in the future.

Here is the owner/teacher, Justus Lawrence and the crew warming up. He is amazing and is so fun to watch with all of his black belt moves, flying kicks, and back tucks etc. A true Urban ninja!

Thank goodness the mascot gave a little flack to the L.A. fans sitting a few rows behind us. They were SO loud and obnoxious! It was a close game but the victory was a sweet! We will have to go again as the Flash had some great moves (without the expensive ticket price:).

Don't you just hate when people name drop??

Don't you hate it when people think they are so cool and drop famous people's names in their blogs etc.? Well anyway...what was I saying..oh ya.. last Saturday night, our ward had a fireside at one of "Mitt's" homes in Park City. Of course I had to have the grand tour! Here is the garage area fully stocked with cars, snow shoes, boots, etc. so they can just be ready to play when they get a chance to come to Utah!
Their family members are in our ward and arranged the details. Here is Mitt's niece, Karyn giving us the tour. What an awesome coffee table!

Downstairs was the hot tub and work out room. The pictures never do it justice!

The view was spectacular! Steve was such a good sport to go even though he didn't feel well!

The speaker was Michael Wilcox (who is also a popular speaker at Education week etc). He stood in this corner and there were almost 100 people listening from the couches and various chairs/sitting areas.

The front door!

It is hard to capture the complete Park-city-esque feel in the pictures but it was so fun to see.

Hopefully I'm not giving out too much private info, but I figure I was a small contributor (auto monthly withdrawal) to the campaign--so it's not like I am a total outsider:)! I love how they have their home fully stocked with their clothes and make-up so they can just fly in when it is convenient and not have to pack etc.

More pics!

One of the many hallways leading to lots of bedrooms (each with its own bathroom attached) etc. I loved the built-in floor lighting! Many cool stories learned; one of which was that a garage was left open by a worker and a mountain lion had pulled a deer in the house to eat in one of the hallways. (Carpet had to be bleached). I should have taken a picture of the wall of Christmas cards received. I don't know about you-but I didn't receive my card from Al Gore's family, so it was fun to see Christmas cards taken up a notch! We had a yummy lasagna dinner up there. It was such a fun night for our ward! Thanks Mitt & family!