Night at the Movies - Outdoors for Friends of the Library

Owen was so excited to have us go with him to the once a month outdoor movie showing at the library lawn. The movie was The Point. It is an animated flick done about the same time as Yellow Submarine and it had the same look and feel. For a couple of the scenes and the music to go with, we all looked at each other and shook our heads.....yep 70's and drugs :)

It was freezing cold (Greg probably wouldn't agree with that assessment). Next month is a Laurel and Hardy fest....though it is fun to go to an outdoor movie, I told Owen not to ask me to go to that. Not a real fan.

Pinewood Derby & LOST

Owen is a Cub Scout den leader and Cami is the Cubmaster. She is new to the post but is doing a great job. Tonight was the Pinewood Derby. This is a big event for these cubs. They all did a great job with their cars. Cami did a wonderful job organizing, decorating, etc. The kids had to check in their cars, weigh in, etc. Owen and Greg helped with that and Cami had asked that Greg and I judge the races. I was very tired because I worked late everyday this week, but I stopped by the church on the way home to see if she still needed me to judge. She did but she was willing to let me go home. I didn't want to bail on her so I stayed and I was so glad I did. Those cute kids and the excitement they had for the races really gave me some energy. Also, my favorite chocolate dipped shortbread cookies from Raley's didn't hurt at all.

Following the Pinewood Derby, I left early to grab some dinner, then we followed our tradition of meeting at the Loveridges to view LOST. It is all quite fun. I love how traditions start. Always small and insignificant at first, then they build into great memories. The Loveridges make popcorn with real butter and Koolaid. Everyone else brings stuff if they have it and there you go, instant party. Barrett is a tyrant about LOST, no noise is allowed during the actual scenes because he has to take every moment in. He is the biggest LOST nerd I know. He has theories for everything. I know there are more out there but Barrett refuses to view anyone else's opinions on the subject because he doesn't want anything to influence his own theories.

In attendance for this episode was Rick, Alicia, Porter (with Owen in this picture), Barrett, Brandon, Spencer, me, Owen, Greg, Carrie and Tacy.

Side note: Owen got Porter to sleep which was cute to see, but the sound from the commercials being so much louder than the episode (have you noticed that?) startled him out of his slumber.

American River Institute 40th Anniversary

So way back when, in 1980, Owen was the President of the ARC Institute. This was before Student Wards so everything happened at the Institute. He loved his time there! So all four of us went to the celebration. It was very fun and touching to see the directors from the 1960's to today.

David Whitmer was the director when Owen first went to ARC and Dean Thompson was the advisor to the council. They had wonderful stories to tell. Bro. Thompson told the story of when a White Supremest Group started on campus and targeted the African Americans on campus. The LDSSA wrote up a resolution to be adopted on campus that there can be no group and/or charter that targeted, discriminated or had any hate language of another group. Owen was the person who wrote the resolution and read it to the Student Council on campus that was adopted. Barrett and Gregory were very impressed that their father would do that. I think the boys were really surprised with their dad....generally they are really surprised that we were ever under the age of 40!

Bro. Mike Howell, who is the current Director of the Institute, put together a nice program. All the directors spoke about how they saw the Savior touch the lives of students at the Institute. Then they had students from each decade bear their testimonies. We saw Dean Thompson as we entered the building and he jokingly told Owen that he was on the program to speak. They got a good laugh out of it, but once Bro. Howell realized that he was from the 80's he asked him to speak. Prior to this he had found someone to speak from every other decade but could not located an 80's person. Worked out. He shared a nice testimony of the Change of Heart he saw happen over and over at the Institute. Discovering or building testimonies. It was really a nice evening.

Here is Owen with Bro. David Whitmer. After Owen and I were married and moved down here. Bro. Whitmer was the director of the Sac State Institute. He gave us wise counsel.

Owen with Bro. Dean Thompson. He is enthusiastic. Always has been. Owen worked cleaning the ARC Institute when we returned to Sacramento while Owen was finishing as Sac State. That is were I got to know him. Presently Owen is a temple patron and Bro. Thompson is a worker during the scheduled time Owen goes, so they see each other every week. Cool.

Life on the Farm

We really don't have a farm, but sometimes it feels like it. It certainly isn't suburbia with a little house on a cul-de-sac with sidewalks. With the holiday, it was a day to get things done. The boys pulled out a tree that was falling towards the shed. I wasn't around so I didn't get a picture.
When I got home, I found Owen in the workshop sanding down a dresser. He is rebuilding his old dresser and painting it for Greg's room.

I took the time while I was out to take pictures of the 'girls', our pigmy goats. Above is our newest addition, Lucy. Below is our older goat, Lilly.

Birthday dinner at Spaghetti Factory

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Okay, well Owen's birthday is really Sunday, January 11th, but Spaghetti Factory had a 40th Anniversary celebration and offered their food at the prices of 40 years ago....how could we pass that up!?! Anyway, we thought it would be fun to join the masses and see if we could get in. It wasn't too bad. We got in at the first seating and I only arrived 40 minutes before the place opened. I got to meet a few new friends and and took a good book (okay, not everyone will agree, it is Influencer, a business book, but it really is good :))