TUBING IN TAHOE

At the end of January, we were able to take some youth from church up to Tahoe for a day of snow tubing and sledding! We ended up at Soda Springs in Truckee, and it was a beautiful day! The sun was shining, it wasn't too cold, and the hills were empty! After a few hours of riding the hill down, we took a break for lunch, and then headed back out in the late afternoon for a few final races. The youth had a wonderful time, and as a leader, I was enjoying it as much as them! We raced down, and up, trying to beat the magic carpet, and chose the fastest lanes for our final runs down. It was such a wonderful way to spend a Saturday, and I was definitely sore the next day, after spending hours lugging my tube up the hill! Derek & I will be coming here for a day of fun in the near future!

VALENTINE'S DAY SALMON

I have always, always, ALWAYS, loved Valentine's Day. There is something about pink glittery hearts that just make my heart pitter-patter! Besides decorating my home, I enjoy cooking a yummy and fancier dinner each year for Derek and I. This year, I wanted to incorporate salmon, because it's pink (duh!), and something we love, but don't eat quite enough. I oven roasted this salmon and served with grilled asparagus & crispy fingerling potatoes, for a yummy and light dinner. We kept the meal fairly light and simple, as to not interfere with our dark and rich dessert of Sees candy, and fresh berries with whipped cream. We enjoyed a wonderful Sunday together, and although Derek's pager was the third wheel (he was on-call all weekend), it tended to stay fairly quiet! We ended the night on the couch, cozied under blankets, a crackling fire, and "The Walking Dead". It was a wonderful low-key and lovely night!

NEW BEGINNINGS: PRESSING FORWARD WITH A STEADFASTNESS IN CHRIST

I have been serving in the YW organization at church for about six months. I love, love, LOVE the ladies I work with, and more importantly, these young women! They are truly remarkable. We have extremely talented girls, ranging from music & theater, to cheerleading & water polo. They are all extremely good students, and a few work part time at local businesses as well. To say we are lucky is a major understatement! For your New Beginnings, to welcome the incoming Beehives (young women who will turn 12 during the year), we wanted to focus on the 2016 Mutual Theme: Press Forward with a Steadfastness in Christ. We focused on an airline theme; staging the room like an airplane, serving in-flight snacks, and even dressing as flight attendants. The young women all participated in a skit, written by Alysha, about baggage. We all have baggage, ranging from gossiping to struggling with our testimonies. Each of the girls introduced a piece of baggage, and then focused on how a Young Women Value could help ease the burden of heavy baggage. It was a major hit! To end the night, the girls sang this gorgeous song (even better than this version!), and a delicious spread of treats. My friend Janelle, bakes & decorates the cutest sugar cookies, so we had her help us with the cookies for this event, and she pulled out all the stops!