Scrooge

Last night we took the whole family to see the play "A Christmas Carol" at the Hale Center Theater. Coleman & Katelyn were a little afraid of the spirits. I spent most of the evening whispering to them what was going on and that it was "just a guy in a costume." After EVERY scene, when the audience would clap, they both would ask me, "Is that the end? Is it over?"

This painting was done by my aunt, Susan Comish. She used my uncle for her model and she couldn't have picked someone more suitable to be Scrooge. I love the message of this story! It puts life in perspective. When Scrooge tells Marley's spirit that he did well in business, Marley rebukes him and tells him that "humanity was my business" and that he had failed in life. He had made his chain "link by link." At the end, when Scrooge had done many good acts of charity, he wondered, "Why am I so happy? Why do I feel so much joy? I don't deserve it." I re-learned that finding JOY in life comes from following the Savior by serving humanity.

Merry Christmas! May we all find joy in the true meaning of Christmas this year. "God bless us, everyone."

Go Cougs!!!

Dan & I are now in our 15th year of going to the BYU football games together. I really enjoy going with him and sharing his passion for BYU sports. However, rivalry week brings some intense emotions. One year Dan even "lost his lunch" before the game.

Last year Dan went to the game up at the U. Well . . . we lost. But worse than the loss was the behavior of the utah fans. He was disgusted. So in our house, utah fans are the lowest of the low. Scum of the Earth. This brings me to my amusing anecdote: last week, Coleman was mad at me. I had sent him to his room for something. Then he comes up and hands me a letter. I unfold it with him standing by and begin to read what he has written. (I've corrected the spelling.) "I hate you mom. You are mean. You are a U fan." He knew there was nothing worse he could call me. No more hurtful insult. He probably wasn't expecting me to laugh though.

This is a picture of the kids as we drove along I-15 and noticed the U on the mountain. Even though the kids started it, Dan didn't hesitate joining right in.

Here's hoping for a great game tomorrow -- so I can enjoy the rest of the weekend! A happy Finch home is BYU beating utah. Go Cougs!

Our sad, sad day

Last Friday night (Nov 6), our cute little dog, Kelty Cosmo Finch, got hit by a car and died. We are all sooo sad. We only had her for 3 months, but I'm surprised how much we bonded with her and how she was already such an important part of our family.

This is us picking her up on August 9th. We went to Meridian, Idaho to get her and stayed with Sarah and Cody. We were so excited.

Right after the accident, Katelyn said, "Look, Mom, I spelled heaven." I have some thanksgiving blocks that spell "give thanks" and she rearranged them to spell "hevin" because that's where Kelty is now.

This is Kelty camping. She came on three camping trips with us.

Getting some love from the kids. Morgan said, "who am I going to tell all my secrets too, now?" She wrote 7 pages in her journal all about Kelty. Jamison still cries now and then.

Jamison would wake up early for school so he could play with her. And when he got home, he went straight out to play some more. He taught her how to shake and she would pull him on his ripstick.

This picture was taken the day she died. We are all pretty devastated; however, we feel happy that we had her for as long as we did.

Building kids

Dan said, "Let's go for a hike to Upper Falls for family night!" I have to admit I didn't share his enthusiasm. All I could think about was the work I had to get done at home, it was a school night, it will be getting dark, etc. I was full of excuses. But, we're building kids after all, and at times you have to seize the day! I'm glad I drug myself out, because we had a fun time together. I need to seize as many moments as I can because they're growing up too fast. (Morgan, Katelyn, and Kelty - our new puppy)

For some reason we can't keep flashlight's around our house. We had one crank flashlight to help us see on our way down. My arm was dead by the time we reached the van from "cranking" it.

Coleman and Jamison helping Grandpa fix our fence, so Kelty won't attack the neighbors cat!

Thanks, Dad, for helping build my boys . . . and the fence!

Happy 4th of July

We went to Sundance for the 4th and rode the ski lift up the mountain, hiked around, ate some snacks, and rode the ski lift back down. It was cool, relaxing and fun (except for some complaining from the kids - but that cannot be avoided!). Here's Katelyn making a wish.

Dan and the kids at the top.

The Finch girls :)

Morgan and Jamison on the way down.

Pioneer Trek

Dan and I trecked along with the YM and YW in June. It was a unique experience that made me feel a deep reverence for those pioneers who died and those that nearly died. This picture was "before" - - I don't have an "after", but we ended up covered in mud. It had rained the day before and we did plenty of slopping through the mud. We blindly followed our leaders, who lead us down a wrong turn. To get back on the trail, we did our own "seventh-crossing" of the sweetwater. It turned out to be the best part of the trek. When we crossed the real Sweetwater river, it was so high we pulled our handcarts across the bridge, and crossed with a rope. I nearly got swept downstream! The current was stronger than I thought it was and that stupid long skirt acted like a sail. I finally got my footings, but I was pretty freaked out. By the way, we've got some amazing youth in our ward. I was impressed with their good attitudes, hard work, and testimonies.

Dan & me in San Francisco

Giants Game

On the trolley car

Tour to Alcatraz


Seeing "Wicked" with the Myers

Well, we seem to have done a lot of traveling lately. Dan had a conference for work in San Francisco, and I tagged along. We also went with a co-worker and his wife - Mark and Debbie Myers. We had a great time. Aside from the wierd people, San Francisco is quite a charming city. We met Kevin and Kim at the Giants game. The stadium right there on the bay was picturesque. I enjoyed being with them - it was a fun night. We saw "wicked" which was probably my favorite part of the whole trip. We ate wonderful food! At the House of Nanking in Chinatown, the owner "took care of us" all right! Debbie and I ate at the Cheesecake Factory and did lots of Shopping for cheap T-shirts in Chinatown. We walked along the warf and ate at Scoma's (Clam chowder and sourdough bread - yum!) Then it was to Ghirradehli Square for a hot fudge sundae. The last day we spent on a tour to Alcatraz which was very interesting. I almost forgot - I got breakfast served to me in bed for two mornings by Dan! His conference covered breakfast for him, so he loaded up a plate and a glass of juice and brought it up to me. Then he went and got his own. Is he great or what? I thouroughly enjoyed it since it probably won't happen again for several years. I owe Rachelle and Craig a ton for staying with the kids so I could go and have such a nice break.

Jungle Gardens - Florida

We spent quite a while at Jungle Gardens in Sarasota. Coleman has a parrot webkinz and is a parrot fanatic. He loved the parrot show - they rode a unicycle across a high wire, rode a scooter, guessed (and actually knew) which cup the ball was under, etc. We had fun talking to them, and a few times they talked back. We saw a reptile show that was kind of lame. But, the kids got to hold a 5-year-old alligator -- don't worry, his mouth was taped shut. We also had fun feeding fish and feeding some flamingos.

Siesta Key, Florida

We just got back from our family vacation in Florida. We went to Siesta Key in Sarasota and just hung out at the beach and RELAXED! Morgan liked relaxing with me, reading her book, collecting sea shells and trying out the boogie board. Jamison and Dan really got into the snorkeling. One morning they saw a huge sea turtle that had died and washed up on the beach. Coleman had so much determination to ride that boogie board. He got frustrated at times, but wouldn't give up - and it paid off. He ended-up having a blast with it. Katelyn's best friend was her "floatie". She loved playing the waves, and building sand "castles" with Coleman. They also took turns going out in the Kayak. Morgan and Dan saw a dolphin right next to their kayak. We had a wonderful time. My favorite time was taking a walk in the evening down the beach with Dan.

Bridal Veil Falls

I thought I'd try out this blogging thing. Soccer season just ended earlier today - so I figure I have about 10 more hours each week now.