More Suisse Pics

Hello Everyone!
We got a package from Jared and he sent home a photo card ( along with gifts for everyone and the world's best chocolate ) and I thought that I would post some pictures. I haven't done that in awhile, and these are just gorgeous. Enjoy !

So Long Elder Spence! It's been nice serving with you! I'll miss you~

I know that this is something of the church but I'm not sure what the sign says.

Jared standing on the edge of the castle. The drop is far down and he's so afraid of heights. But a dang good photo for sure!

Jared said this is one of his favorite places to shop... It's prounced Mee-grows.

Jared on one of his P Days touring a castle. They had gone hiking that day and his pants were really dirty!

Elder Man to the rescue!!!

One of the beautiful cathedrals in Switzerland!

Hiking up Moleson mountain. It's a real feat for Jared as he is afraid of heights like his mom. He did a great job setting up this shot!

Beautiful Garden area of Gruyere Castle.

Another garden shot.

And yet another garden shot.

I wish my yard looks like this with all of the beautiful flower gardens!

A front shot of the castle where the gardens are.

So there you have it. It's so beautiful over there. I can't wait to go and see all of this when we are able to pick him up in 2011. I will leave you with a funny picture. He's taken a bunch of photos of cows... I guess they are big over there with all of the cheese you know! I have a scrapbook page all ready in the works. I just need to find the right 'cow' paper... The title will be ... Real Switzerland Cheese... Happy Cows Come From Switzerland!!

Until next post my friends! Love to you all!

Colleen

Two Of My Favorite Guys!

Two of My Most Favorite Guys In the Whole World!!!

I just wanted to post about 2 of my all time favorite guys... It would be my husband Gary and my son Justin. I haven't posted anything about them for awhile (or ever maybe? Man... I'm a rotten wife and mom!!! ) Anyway, I just wanted to list a few of my favorite things about these two. First off, they are such good friends. They love to spend time together with each other and they will do anything for anyone ( they so have that in common!!! ) They have amazingly contagious laughs and you just can't help but be in a good mood around either of them.

I want to write a minute about my husband. He standing in front of a Veteran's memorial in Las Vegas here. He served for 6 years in the US Navy and is very proud to be a veteran. He honored his Dad by joining and serving in the same branch of the military that Jack did. He is very proud that he fought for our country. He even just got new license plates that stated that he was a Navy vet. He is also very patriotic and a wonderful Dad and a great husband. I've always said that I am so grateful to be married to my best friend and it's still so true today. I love you Gary!

Next comes my Justin. What can I say about him? He is the most unselfish person that I have ever met in my whole life. He is always there if you need him whether you are his friend, his family or even a stranger on the street. He helps everyone all of the time. He has the most kind heart... he has since he was a little guy... and cares so much about everyone. He spoils his sister just rotten and will give her anything that she asks for. He will drop everything to help out someone in need and even cancel the plans that he had for the day if need be. I am grateful that he is my son. His most recent act of selflessness is that he moved back home in order to help support Jared on his mission. Jared doesn't know that he did this for him but he will when he comes home. I am so very blessed to have him as my son. I hope that he will find the right girl for him soon. I love you very much Justin!

Random Questions

My sweet niece, Stephanie, in St. George has this tag on her blog, and I was one of the lucky recipiants to be tagged. If you know Steph, you know how awesome she is. I love her very much and am very grateful to have her as a member of our family. So... here are my random ???'s.

MY RANDOM QUESTIONS:

What is your current obsession?
I would have to say trying to stay on top of Jared's scrapbook. I've gotten almost all of the photos that he has sent us along with his letters in his book. I have only a few more to be completed, and then the last letter stated that he has 200+ more photos. I love seeing him in the pictures and seeing how he is growing and progressing. I surely know that my Jared won't be a little boy when he returns from his Switzerland Mission, but more over, a man with an even stronger testimony.

What do you hate the most that everybody else seems to love?
I would have to say seafood. I really can't stand it and everyone just loves fish and shrimp and crab, etc. Give me a good old chicken breast any day... and leave the fish in the ocean!!! :)

What are you wearing today?
White shirt, black capris and white sandals. Comfort before style is my motto!

What would you eat for your last meal?
I agree with Steph. I would wish that I could have anything made by my mom or my sweet mother in law. They added wonderful ingriedients and even though I seem to do the same thing, it never turns out the same. Also, for dessert, I would ask for Melb's cinnamon rolls. They were ... in her words.... DELISH!

What's the last thing you bought?
More scrapbook supplies for world travel for Jared's mission book.

What are you listening to right now?
Actually, me just typing. Nothing else really.

What do you think of the person who tagged you?
My niece, Steph??? I love her immensely. She was just a baby when I joined the Walch clan, and I've watched her blossom from a tiny little girl ( who was the biggest Tom Boy that you ever saw) to such a beautiful young wife and mother. I am very proud of who she has become. I know her mom is so proud of her and so are we. We LOVE YOU Stephie Ree!!!!

If you could have a house, fully paid for, and totally furnished anywhere in the world, where would it be?
So, while I might enjoy the warmth of St George or Arizona, or some exotic place like Hawaii or Tahaiti, or even some romantic place like Rome or Paris, I would still want to be close to my family... my kids. I don't think that I could be happy living far away from them. I don't know how my Dad ever survived me moving far away from home as it would kill me to be away from them. They are my life and there is no where that I would rather be than close to them. I don't even have grandbabies yet... I don't even know what I'll do then!!!! :)

What is one of your hobbies?
Of course, anyone who knows me know that I love crafts and scrapbooking. However, my Yaya Chris is an amazing photographer. I have learned from watching her some different techniques and I would like to think of myself as a budding photog. I even did a family reunion of my neighbor when all of her family was here. I took about 200 photos and got such great shots. They were so happy. I just copied things I have seen done before, and I think that I really want to learn more. I drool each time I see a nice camera with a big zoom lens. I can't wait until I can have one of those play toys to experiment with. I want a rapid speed shutter so that I can take several shots in just a couple of seconds.

What are 3 things that annoy you most?
1) Spend all day cleaning your house and then by the next morning, it's back to it's original state. It happens most often with my scrapbook room. I get it all neat and tidy and then everything that my family doesn't know where to put, ends up in there with the door closed. From Jenna's shoes to Gary's tools and everything else in between. They always leave a mess of food and garbage by my computer too. AARRGGHH !
2) Wastefulness... if there is such a word. Leaving the lights on when leaving a room, leaving the water on while brushing your teeth, the air conditioning on all day when no one is home, the car idling forever, stuff like that.
3) Annoying sounds, like nose whistles or snoring, random tapping, pen clicking, etc.. drives me absolutely crazy.

What is your favorite color?
Love green, all shades! Ditto Steph..... I concur!

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your wardrobe?
I would have to say my pj's and my robe for comfort... While I like to look nice, my motto as stated in Question #3 still stands!

What are you most looking forward to?
I guess I should say a Christmas phone call from Jared, but really, it is to give him a hug. In church on Sunday, we had a newly returned missionary and his mom was just beaming. I asked her if I could hug him because I couldn't hug my missionary! I know that he probably thought that I was nuts, but he complied and even hugged me back!

What is your dream job?
I would have to concur with Steph on this one too. I would love to get paid to make scrapbook pages, or cards etc for someone. That would make me so happy to be able to create some place to store their memories.

What is for dinner tonight?
Well, since Jenna is gone for girls camp, we may go out to dinner, or just have left overs. Gary grilled a bunch of chicken breasts last night and they were so yummy and we still have a bunch in the fridge. I guess I'm leaning towards the latter, with maybe a salad.

Describe your personal style...
I would say comfy and cozy. Homey... and casual. I like to decorate with items that remind me of people or memories that are close to my heart. I love to have photos of my family around me. Makes me so happy!

What are you going to do after this?
We just bought a new sectional for our family room downstairs and since our carpet has been cleaned, I'd say move the furniture down there and try it out! We've been rearranging our rooms and moving furniture from one to the other. I can't wait to have my new stuff downstairs. I'll post pics when we are done.

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
My all time favorite is boring chocolate chip. I like others but if I could choose, this would be the one.

Who was the last person you kissed?
I guess since Jenna is out of town, it would have to be my best friend, my husband, Gary.

What are you currently reading?
I just got finished reading 3 books, but I am now re-reading My Sister's Keeper. I want to finish the book again before I see the movie. I am a slacker at reading my scriptures, but I try.

By what criteria do you judge a person?
Honesty. I want others to be real around me and not try to be 'what they think I'd like them to be'... that really drives me crazy when you act one way around one person and then a totally different way around another one. Just be who you are and be okay with that. I have friends from all walks of life, some church members and some not, and I respect them for the kind of people that they are.

What is on your agenda for tomorrow?
We have been taking advantage of an empty house by cleaning our carpets and rearranging furniture. I'd say, starting to put everything back in it's place. I've got to get into Jenna's closet before she comes back from camp... that girl is a pack rat and doesn't get rid of anything even if it's 2 sizes too small!

What delighted you most today?
When I told a patient at work that she no longer had a bill with us. That I had pulled in some favors and got it taken care of. She started to cry and told me that I was an angel. Made me feel so wonderful!

What inspires you?
I would truly say unconditional love. I can't express how I feel when I hear the prophet speak (or my favorite, President Hinckley). I miss how Gary's Dad used to tease me until he made me scream and then laugh and hug me so hard. I love it when I see my kids do things for other people without expecting material gain of any sort. Jared serving our Heavenly Father for 2 years of his life is truly unconditional love. Justin giving anything he can to anyone who needs it, be it money or effort or friendship. Jenna seeing that her little neighbor friends who aren't as blessed as her and sharing her clothes that she 'no longer likes or that really doesn't fit her that well'. My sweet mother in law whose only wish is to go home to be with her family again, she inspires me tremendously. I love it when I see my friends at work do things for others just because it will make them happy. That's why we are here I truly believe and that is what inspires me the most.

The rules: Respond and rework; answer the questions on your blog, replace one question you dislike with a question of your invention, add one more question of your own.

Tag eight other people! Ashlee, Jill, Stephanie L, Lisa G, Kami E, Deb Brown, Becky and Tyma!

HAVE FUN!!!!!

Annual Girls Camp "Do"

So, it's that time again! Girls camp for Jenna!!!!! She so looks forward to this experience and so do I as she grows so much each year. This is her 4th year and her last year to certify, and then next year, she will be able to be a Junior Leader. She leaves today and is very excited. However, there is one part of girls camp that we both dread with a passion. I thought that we were safe when she said that she just wanted me to French braid her hair... Yes! I thought.... Well, sadly I was mistaken. All of the other girls have now followed her lead and have decided to braid their hair. Doesn't sound so bad, right? Well, after 3 hours we were done!!!! First photo after one hour.First hour progress... 21 braids down. Notice the Teddy Grahams... as she needed a snack to sit there that long!

Hour 2 progress. 37 braids, and now we have moved on the Gator Aide to add to the Teddy Grahams!

And finally, the finished product. 63 braids in all! We are done after 3 hours of braiding! It's so easy for her to have her hair like this for camp . Too bad she has started a tradition that all of the other girls have followed, but I have to admit that she does look cute in them! Have a safe girls camp Jenna. I will miss my girl a ton! I love you soooo much!