Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day, all!! I love Earth Day and I'm starting to feel like I'm not a fraud by celebrating it. I've always been pretty good at turning off the lights when I leave the room, and not littering, of course, but Mikey and I have started recycling this year! (I know I'm late getting on the band wagon.) I've always recycled when there's been a recycling bin close, but our apartment doesn't have recycling service, so it's never been right there at home. But that doesn't stop us now! I found the recycling center near my school, so every couple weeks after work I drop off our recycling from home. Wow! It adds up! Honestly, it's a bit of a pain, but it's so rewarding to see how much less garbage we throw away now.

At school today I'm celebrating Earth Day with my third graders. They are so cute and excited about it. Yesterday we made Earth Day posters and hung them up around the school. One of my students who cracks me up all the time made a poster that said, "NO HOMEWORK--IT KILLS TREES!" I had to laugh. But today we had our math lesson in the dark to save energy (luckily we have big windows in our classroom) and this afternoon we're going on an Earth Day walk to pick up garbage.

So today I challenge you to find one way to be a little greener. Replace one old light bulb with an energy efficient light bulb. Pick up garbage. Turn off the TV. Fix a leaky faucet. Use a reusable bag at the grocery store. Just something. I by no mean do all of these all the time, but I'm starting to get better and better.

HAPPY EARTH DAY, EVERYONE!

TFA

Thanks to Mikey, I was aware that the rock band Spinal Tap could rock, but they always seemed shallow to me. However, now that I see they're involved in such an important organization as TFA, of which I'm a member, I've gained a little more respect for them. WATCH THIS short video and consider making it a part of your life.

Headed to the Coast!

I'm so excited! Mikey and I just finished planning a vacation to the Long Beach Peninsula in Washington . . . and we're leaving tomorrow! The condo we're staying at is right on the Coast. What a great Spring Break. I don't think it will be any warmer than home, but it will be a fun, refreshing, and welcome change. Neither of us have ever been there, so it will be an adventure. We love adventures! Hip hip!

Ahh . . . I needed that

I love General Conference weekend! Isn't it always so rejuvenating? I love that if we listen with soft hearts, we will always hear what we need to from the leaders of the Church. I just want to record that I know the gospel is true. I know that we are here because we accepted the Plan of Happiness. This life has some tough twists and turns, but the ride is beautiful. I needed to hear so many things that were said in this conference. Just a few quick highlights that touched me:

• "This is the Lord's true church in which we are, with Him, lifting each other and are being blessed to succor the fellow sufferers He places in our way." --President Henry B. Eyring
  
• "Choose to live by faith and not by fear." --Elder Kevin W. Pearson
• "The future is as bright as your faith." --President Thomas S. Monson

In addition to being buoyed up by the talks given during Conference, another thing I love about Conference Weekend is our traditional Family Pizza Party. My Grandma Verda started this tradition years ago. While the men are at Priesthood Meeting on Saturday night, the girls all get together and make homemade pizza and hang out. We'll usually do some sort of craft--make jewelry, stamp homemade greeting cards, etc.--and just enjoy each other's company. Then when the Priesthood Meeting is over, the guys come home and we enjoy the yummy pizza we made. It's so fun! I look forward to it every Conference.

Great Music

Mikey's updated his music blog--check it out!
http://mikeyandkarie.wordpress.com/Mikey!

My Parents Received Their Mission Call!!

Last Wednesday night I got a call from my mom, Carol, telling me that she and my dad, Richard, received a piece of very important mail from the Church! Luckily, most of my family that was in town was able to gather together later that evening to watch my parents open their call. Those who weren't there physically were on the phone or webcam with us so they could be in on this important moment. It was so exciting!
Anxiously my parents opened their calls (they each had their own) which read, "You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are called to the Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission. Your primary assignment is to labor with Welfare Services in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia as country director. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months. You should report to the Missionary Training Center at Provo, Utah on Monday, 20 July 2009." That one was my dad's, and my mom's read the same, except her assignment is "assistant to the country director."
Wow! What a shock!! Before they opened their call, my dad kept saying that he wanted a high adventure mission so he could really feel like he was on a mission. Um, I think he got it! As soon as they opened it, of course everyone went wild! My dad hurried and pulled out his globe, because frankly, we knew Mongolia was no where near us, but none of us knew exactly where it was. We do now! It's sandwiched between Russia and China. We quickly found out a lot of information about Mongolia--Ulaanbaatar is the coldest capital city in the world, 30% of Mongolians are nomads, 6% of Mongolians are Christian, there are about 6,000 members of the Church in Mongolia, etc.

I'm so excited for and proud of my parents. They are already the best missionaries and they haven't even left. I'll miss them TERRIBLY, but I'm excited to support them in their sacrifice to serve the Lord.

My mom's already started a mission blog, so please check it out at
makingmemoriesinmongolia.blogspot.com

Happy supporters!

Memory Lane

Mikey and I don't have a lot to report lately, so in effort to not lose touch with the blogging world, I'm taking the easy way out . . . a short little game called "Memory Lane." Here's how to play:

1. Add a comment on our blog leaving one memory that you and I and/or Mikey had together. It doesn't matter if you know us a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. If you want to play again, re-post these instructions on your blog and take a stroll down memory lane, too. Enjoy!

P.S. I'll post on yours if you post on ours! ;) (Nothing wrong with a little peer pressure, which I always thought was actually called "pure pressure" when I was little. I was so confused why people gave it a bad rap. Why was it so bad if it was pure?)

Happy 4th Anniversary, Sweetheart!

January 26, 2005

Butterflies are Forever

I love you!

Our wedding video, edited by my awesome brother, Russ Lasson.