Finally, someone decided to go to the Malad City Welsh Festival with Grandpa and tell me about it :)  My Grandpa, Guy Elden Wilson, grew up in Malad City.  There have been a few times that people have gone up with Grandpa to see where he lived and hear stories and whatnot.  I have never been informed beforehand.  This year, my Aunt Koreen told me she was planning on going up for the Welsh Festival, and she was taking Grandpa.  I, of course, said we would go too.  Granny, Grumpy, Koreen, Steven, Elisabeth, and Ryker woke up way too early to head up on Friday, June 27th.  We actually slept in and had a lazy (sort of) morning before heading out on the road.  Matt made pancakes and we finished packing while Matt took Mocha to his mom's house.  (Thanks for watching her for us!)  We left around 12:15pm, I think.  

We had a pretty uneventful drive up, with rain off and on.  Henlie took a nap and woke up pleasant.  We weren't even sure she had woken up until I peeked in the back seat to check on her.  We got to Malad sometime between 2:30pm and 3pm.  We drove around a bit lost because we didn't know where we were supposed to go, and Elisabeth really wasn't that helpful in finding them :)  We found the festival and met up with the family in the LDS church where they were holding various presentations about Wales and things Welsh.  Henlie was fine until we tried to walk in the door, then she did not want to let go of her Daddy.  I did eventually get her to come to me so I could go change her, and she warmed up a little bit.  

Once everyone congregated, we headed back to the park and Henlie had a blast playing on the playground.  Her first order of business?  "Swings!" said with a point and an excited face.  How could you not let her swing after that? :)  But seriously, Malad has one of the best playgrounds I've seen.  Things that most people would probably remove and replace in the name of "safety."  However, they also had some of the best little kid slides I've seen, too.  Henlie's first highlight of the trip was definitely the playground.


Matt and I didn't really care much about the festival.  It seemed pretty boring on paper, not gonna lie.  Since everyone else had been there all day, we packed up and headed to the Ranch House at Downata Hot Springs after letting Henlie play and Matt and I getting some Navajo Tacos for lunch. (Fun side note - the Navajo tacos were part of the Malad High School Baseball team's fundraiser.  A) They were out of Wild Cherry Pepsi cans.  B) In digging through the cutlery box for knives for us, I got a #10 can full of chili landed on my foot.  It HURT! And the chick who did it didn't even notice she'd knocked the can off the box, much less that it landed on me......) 

We got everyone unloaded and had some down time.  I should have taken a picture of the stairs to the basement - treacherous!  And that is where they put the foozeball table and the kid toys... I made a smart move and grabbed the music toy and Curious George book to take upstairs and then we didn't go down again until it was time to put stuff away before we left :)  Karen, Mike, and Kristine were also heading up, so Koreen texted them a shopping list for dinner and breakfast items.  I'd like to point out that I totally was decisive and made a group decision for dinner, because decision making is apparently not a Wilson family trait.  (Frozen lasagnas - totally a good call, I might add, considering the ease of baking, lack of dishes used, and the amount of people to feed. :))

Lots of down time at the house.  Koreen really wanted people to go swimming at the pools, so much so, that she offered to buy/rent us swimming suits and pay for our admittance to go.  Yeah, they rent swimming suits and have some women's suits for sale.  Plus side? I got a new swimming suit!  Down side? It's a little snug at the under arms.  It's a racing suit that they got a super good deal on, so they were able to sell an $82 suit for $22.  We also rented Matt and Henlie swimming suits.


I had opted not to bring swimming things since I didn't want to pack extra stuff for showering or my straightening iron.  However, they had a splash pad, and I knew Henlie would love that.  When Koreen offered to pay the entrance fee (when did pools get expensive?), I consented.  They didn't have a 24 month baby suit, but we found one that worked, thanks to a hair elastic of Koreen's :)

It was pretty chilly, so we didn't last too long at the splash pad, instead opting for submersion at the pool.  We didn't pay the extra money for the hot pools, but the regular pool was nice and warm.  I wish the condo pool was that warm!  They also had some pool noodles and balls, along with basket balls and a hoop.  They also have various water slides, which Elisabeth, Koreen, and Ryker took advantage of.  Oh, and it rained.  At one point, it rained really heavy drops that hurt if they hit you, but they made little bubbles in the pool when they hit :)  Thanks to the rain and the balls splashing me, my bangs eventually got wet to the point I said, "Screw it," and submerged my head.  I was able to somewhat rectify my bangs with the blow dryer in the Ranch House.  I'm really glad we went swimming, even if we hadn't been planning on it.  The warm pool made it comfy, and we had lots of fun.  Oh, and I totally made a basket on my first shot. (Not on my second, but I did on my first! lol)  

After swimming, we eventually had some dinner and then it was long past Henlie's bed time.  Fortunately, the master bedroom that we were sleeping in had a rocking chair.  Not a very comfortable one, but a rocking chair, nonetheless.  Henlie did relatively well for going to bed late and in a new place, especially with my loud family just outside.  She practically fell asleep in my arms.  Then I had to get out of the chair, haha.  We rocked on the bed and sang some more songs, and I was finally able to put her in the pack and paly with her toys, and she stayed asleep!  She did wake after we eventually were in bed, multiple times.  She finally ended up in bed with us, and even then, she had a hard time calming down.  I don't know what her issue was.  

It was a successful first day of our trip.  Day two will be coming soon. :)

Camile and I decided to have a water party on Thursday, June 26th at Grandma's house because Melody's kids were down there, too.  The day ended up being still warm, but cloudy and a bit muggy, so we didn't actually play with any water.  Melody and some of her kids were gone picking up Harmony after girl's camp, and the boys went with McKade to his swimming lesson.  For the first little bit, Camile, Jennifer, and I watched Henlie and Charlie as they played with the balloons from Ian's birthday party.  They love to play together.  It's so fun to see them be such good cousin friends.  The girls also got Aunt Jenn to play some piano for them, and they ate some leftover strawberries and pancakes before needing to go play outside on the swing set.

While we were swinging, Melody and the kids came back.  Then, later, Mom and the boys came home.  The kids had a grand time playing inside and out.  Leia climbed up to the play deck and hung out.  Henlie wanted to follow her, so I stood behind her while she figured out the ladder.  She made it all on her own!  After playing with the telescope and wheel for awhile, Charlie joined and the girls thought they needed to go down the slide.  This slide is relatively steep and kind of high of the ground at the end, so you'll go flying if you're not careful.  I was on top making sure the girls got started okay, and Camile caught them at the bottom.  Leia wanted to go again and again and again.

Everyone had lots of fun inside and out.  We left at about 12:30pm since Henlie was already late for her nap.  Fortunately, she napped rather well :)

Today, Henlie and I were watching some TV when she passed quite a bit of gas.  Thinking she may actually need to potty, I sat her on the potty, and we hung out there for quite awhile.  I'd bought her some panties awhile back for when we really start getting serious about potty training and I thought, why not? We can give panties a go for a few hours.

So, we'd just been sitting on the potty for I don't even know how long....I finally let her get off after nothing has happened, and I put her in some panties.  I set a timer for 15 minutes to try again, and I let her go play while I do some laundry.  Seriously not even two minutes later, I hear Henlie start freaking out and saying, "Oh no! Oh no!"  Yeah, she totally peed in her panties.  Fortunately, I found her exclamation hilarious.  Also, so true about them realizing what is happening when they aren't in a diaper.

We go sit on the potty some more, in case there is any more.  I clean her up.  Nothing happens, we go get new panties.  I go back to laundry until the 15 minute timer goes off.  We go sit on the potty for five minutes, and Henlie is in a crazy "monster" mood, growling and being silly.  Well, somehow she launches herself from the toilet.  However, we have the dog's kennel there, so she its that, hurts her leg, sends the (nice, comfy, expensive Charmin) toilet paper that was sitting on the kennel straight into the dog's water.  She was fine.  She was concerned because the TP fell in the water.  Anyway, she didn't go potty then, either.  It killed me that it was the expensive TP when we have cheaper stuff in that bathroom, and it was nearly a full roll.... but it's okay. (Also, we didn't have the TP on the holder because she loves to play with TP.  She always asks for some if we're on the potty, saying, "Nose?" She's a silly.)

With two minutes to go on the next timer, I noticed Henlie had wet her pants again.  I go to pause her show or something (she was out on the balcony anyway....), and she freaks out again, "Oh no! Oh no!"  She totally peed more outside, enough that she noticed it again.  hahaha

After I got her cleaned up again, we put on a diaper.  That was enough potty training for one day.  I'll need a heck of a lot more panties to really devote to training :)

So, I really want to discuss some things happening in the world with the Church lately, but I don't feel it really appropriate for Facebook.  Maybe I shouldn't even be blogging about it or talking about it at all, but then I think, that's how minorities end up ruling the world.  The majority doesn't speak up.  We've been given the gift of the Internet to help spread the gospel and facilitate discussions.  

So I'm gonna be real here for a minute.  A minute I should have just gone to bed already, but this weighs too heavily on my mind since I saw the news.

I'm pretty sure anyone who actually reads my blog has heard about Ordain Women and their founder, Kate Kelly.  I'm sure you knew she had a church disciplinary council occur, and you've probably heard by now that she has been excommunicated.

I'll tell you right now that in following the flood of news stories surrounding Sister Kelly, I have gotten pretty upset.  She just frustrates me.  But then I think, how not Christlike of me.  So instead of getting mad about it, I try to still love her and understand where she is at and just feel sad.  Folks, this situation is sad on lots of levels.

Let's get the more selfish level out of the way - the Church's image.  For someone who claims to love being a Mormon and has happily let that fact define her, she has done a lot to injure the Church in the eyes of the world.  Those not of our faith and not understanding the delicacies of the situation may find the church outdated and sexist (which apparently is what OW thinks anyway. Win for them.)  Some may be interested in the church and talking with the missionaries, but then decide to stop those discussions because of all of the negative press.  That is one of the reasons Sister Kelly was excommunicated, for leading others away, however unintentional it may be.

I have appreciated reading comments from non-members who watch or read interviews with Sister Kelly and have realized the errors in her logic or have agreed that she is making a spectacle in order to make a spectacle and gain some attention.  Hopefully most will realize that she truly is a minority voice.  Even others who question why women are not ordained have not agreed with OW's tactics or outspokenness. 

I have been impressed with the Church's responses and outreach.  The Church doesn't often enter the public forum in these manners because they don't feel the need to defend things, necessarily.  However, I have never before seen a spokesperson conduct a live interview over such a hot topic as has happened regarding Sister Kelly's (then) pending disciplinary council.  I don't think it was maybe as effective as it could have been, but I was proud to know that the Church realized there was a greater need to speak up and appear in the public eye as doing something.  Heaven knows they do lots behind the scenes.  However, this is another point that just made me sad.  One woman's public demands for a change in church doctrine and practices has pushed the church into this arena that they normally don't need to delve into.  Between this and all of the LGBTQ (btw, when they heck did we decide we needed a Q on the end of that?) stuff going on, I feel the Second Coming may be nearer than I originally thought.  That's off topic, though :) But really, if the church has to keep issuing statements to defend themselves and correct errors in your presentation of matters, I think you're pushing a bit too far. Don't you?

Then there is Sister Kelly herself.  Her whole situation just saddens me (when I remember to let go of my anger, anyway).  Sister Kelly is a feminist in the way you think of feminists being.  Outspoken for unnecessary sameness in the name of equality.  In some arenas, sameness is the only way to achieve equality.  The Priesthood and the Church are not among those.  She makes me sad because she doesn't see it, and she is so busy trying to tear it down that she won't be able to see it.  Then, of course, there's the matter of bringing a whole lotta other souls down with her.  But, I digress.

Sister Kelly is very pro-woman in all things, from what I've seen and read.  Upon reading the letter she submitted to the disciplinary council, I realized that she opted not to take her husband's name when she married.  Sure, lots of people don't.  Really, it's not a big deal to most people.  But that was sort of the straw that broke the do-I-publicly-discuss-this camel's back.  I admit when I was younger I questioned if I would take my husband's name.  I was going to be a psychiatrist, and I thought Dr. Erdmann sounded pretty good.  If my husband's name wasn't as good, I thought I'd just leave it for him to keep ;)  However, what about my children?  Would they all take their father's name? Would the girls follow me and the boys follow him?  For me personally, it was a symbol of truly accepting and giving myself to him, by taking his name.  (Just like we do when we take the name of Christ upon us - we are His and associate ourselves with Him.)  For me to fully submit to my husband, I had to be willing to take his name.  (To clarify, when I say submit myself, I mean this definition of "submit:" to offer.  I offered him myself, as he did to me when we were married.  Sound equal? ;))  Anyway, having that symbology behind taking my husband's name, I was saddened to see Sister Kelly did not become Sister Ransom at her sealing in 2006.

Then let's talk about her views on the disciplinary council and excommunication.  I know some people feel it rude or punitive.  Clearly Sister Kelly felt that way, as she called it such in various interviews and in her letter to the council.  Let me tell you, it is not.  I know it is not.  Someone dear to me went through a disciplinary council and was subsequently excommunicated.  To my knowledge (we don't keep in touch now), he has never been rebaptized.  That is also sad because he, like Sister Kelly, didn't realize it is a step in the repentance process.

I'm sorry, Sister Kelly, but I have a testimony that backs up the Church's statement on disciplinary councils.  They are not punitive beyond being the consequence of your actions.  I understand you may feel it unjustified and are hurt, but the men, who are acting with the authority of the Priesthood you covet, have your best, eternal interests at heart.  They have been ordained to act in this capacity and are lead by the Spirit to reach this conclusion.  Excommunication isn't meant to shun you or cast you out of your congregation and community, as you seem to feel.  Excommunication is to, as in the word of a friend, reset your life.  Prior to your excommunication you were endowed in the temple.  With that endowment comes greater covenants and responsibilities.  Excommunication removes those obligations from you so that the eternal consequences of your disobedience are less than they would be otherwise.

Luke 12: 47-48
47 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 

Thursday, June 19th, we planned a girl's day, but it ended up just being a play date.  Jennifer ended up going up to Camp Big Springs to help out, Michelle was in Arizona for EFY, and Kayla ended up getting sick.  So, Camile and I met up and let the girls play in the splash pad in Springville.  It is a really nice setup.

We parked in the City Offices parking lot and played on the playground for a few minutes before changing the girls into their swimming suits to play in the water.

They had such a good time.  I really loved the setup of the playground (although Charlie did want to play on the big kid side of the playground.....), splash pad, and river.  So fun.  We may need to have some more splash pad play dates soon :)








We got some Little Caesar's pizza and crazy bread for lunch, and Henlie played right through her nap time.  We played on the swings for a little bit when they were done, and then it was time to go home and get a nap in!

Henlie and I have been practicing the song Daddy's Homecoming for months in preparation of Father's Day.  Unfortunately, the closer Father's Day got, the less she wanted to sing it.  Thankfully, the morning of Father's Day, she did sing it...somewhat, anyway.  At least she wasn't saying, "No, no, no!"

We also gave Daddy a picture frame with pictures of Henlie in it that my friend, Leah of L. Albright Photography, took at ward playgroup the Tuesday before.  Matt loved them, until Henlie tried to stand up on the bed with the frame still in her hands.  She landed the edge of the frame on Matt's forehead.  Oops.

At church, Matt got a Snickers candy bar.  He mentioned, "I noticed they didn't say they had extras of the candy bars like they did flowers for Mother's Day."  haha.  At least Snickers is his favorite :)

Henlie also made him a tie in nursery.  It was a pretty cute idea - D.I. ties with stickers :)


That afternoon, we headed to Matt's parents' like we always do and had dinner and watched some World Cup.  We told Dad Happy Father's Day, but that was about it.  After we came home, we called my dad to wish him a Happy Father's Day as well.  We're super good children, can you tell? :D  We did get Henlie to say "Happy Daddy" on the phone at least. :)

But really, we love and appreciate our dads and grandpas.  They are all great men and wonderful influences in our lives.  Henlie also loves her Daddy, and is super lucky to have him. :)

Saturday evening, we headed back to Mapleton for a family BBQ.  Matt's aunt and uncle just moved back to Utah and were down, so Grandma and Grandpa Christiansen had everyone over for dinner.  Dinner was supposed to start at 6pm, which is when closing massed bands was supposed to start, so we went without Matt. (All of their bands took first in their events, though!)

We were a bit late since we had to go grocery shopping first, but it worked out since most people were late it seemed.  Henlie had a blast.  Ryan and Emily's girls loved on Henlie and Charlie and helped them play on the swing set. Henlie also loved getting to play with Charlie.  They're such good cousin friends.  

Not only that, but there were otter pops!  Henlie shared with Uncle Devan.  She'd suck the juice out, and he'd bite off the flavorless ice haha.  

She also loved on Matt's uncle, Darryl.  Darryl's poor grandson, Tayce, got a bit jealous that Grandpa was holding someone else!  Poor Kassidy had to cart Tayce wherever Darryl and Henlie went.  Henlie wouldn't even go to her Grandma Carrie or me!  Well, she did come to me once I picked up a plate to get food. :)  

Mostly, we had a fun night chatting.  It was fun to see Ryan and Emily again.  I can't believe how big their kids have gotten since they were last in Utah!  It will be fun to have them close enough to hopefully see more of them at family functions :)