Braegger Reunion Sept.22, 2012

Even though I had already been home in September once I was able to go back. I got a REALLY good deal on airfare so I went home for the weekend. It was so great to be able to be there. I flew in on Friday night and on Saturday we had our 1st Annual Braegger family reunion. This is the first get together since my grandma passed away. I thought it was a great success! We were able to get the girl's home in Mantua and it was so beautiful with the leaves changing. We had a dutch oven dinner and I cooked the chicken and potatoes. I thought the potatoes turned out but the chicken was disappointing. I over cooked it so it was dry and needed some sauce or marinade. Anyway we played games the kids did a craft. We talked and laughed and the kids did a pinata. My niece Ivy has inherited my sweet tooth and she was army crawling in to get some candy. It was hilarious to watch and she even threw a piece in her mouth wrapper and all so she could eat it! I think everyone had a great time and I look forward to the one next year. I have reserved the date so hopefully with that much notice everyone can come. I was also able to go to the Brigham City temple dedication and it was so neat. President Packer spoke and said he pleaded to the lord to let him live to see the temple finished. It was such a blessing the lord preserved his life long enough to do so.Since him and his wife both grew up in Brigham they let him do the dedication. It was a fun weekend but really busy! I am looking forward to going home for Christmas.I love the holidays!!

whirlwind weekend 8/30-9/3

My sister Lisa and I decided we wanted to go down to Utah to the Brigham City temple open house. Since my dad's 60th birthday was that weekend we thought why not we can do it all! So after work on Thursday I drove up to Lisa's house to stay overnight so we could leave early Friday. We packed the car that night and we were all set to leave first thing. We woke up and we were on the road by 4:20! It was going to be a long day and we wanted a good start. It was a pretty good drive lots of junk food and music and talking. I think my favorite was playing this game where we asked questions about different subjects. We were going strong till we only had 2 hours left then we just wanted to be there. Lisa's car has a feature on it that tells you how many miles you can go before you need gas. We were going to get gas in Snowville but the problem was it was 48 more miles and the range said we only 53! Since this was the first big trip for Lisa's car we decided we better not risk it. The problem was we were in the middle of no where and there was only 1 gas station. We pulled in and they were selling gas for a ridiculous amount. We were both so mad I told her I was only going to put 20 dollars in so we could make it to Snowville. I was only able to get 4 1/2 gallons with that money isn't that crazy! Anyway we finally pulled into our parent's house around 5:45pm. We were so tired we went to bed at 9. We got up early and went down to the open house at the temple. It was such a beautiful temple they really did a great job on the details. After that we decided we wanted to can peaches so we went and bought a 1/2 bushel. My mom had to give a lesson in church the next day so Lisa and I decided to do them. It was fun and brought back lots of memories growing up helping. We had planned to go to the box elder campground for a dutch oven dinner but, it rained really good instead. So I decided to make the dutch oven in the regular oven. We had Mark and his family come and we had a little party for my dad. We made peach cobbler and it was really good! The rest of the weekend went fast and the next thing we knew we were back in the car. It was a lot longer trip home because the traffic was awful. We were so glad to get out of the car! I stayed overnight and went home the next day it was a fun but very fast trip! I have more pictures of the temple but they are all on Lisa's phone so I will have to wait for her to email me. hint hint if you are reading Lee!

Do you ever see weird things when you are driving? I saw this giant pig when I was going up to Lisa's and had to take the picture!

Princess Ivy

heading down to jump in the hay at the barn

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lighting the candles

blowing out the candles

fixing Ivy's hair in a ponytail

Brigham City Temple

Lincoln City Aug.5-8

Its been a busy summer with work and my family all came to visit!We rented a beach house in Lincoln city and it was pretty nice. Sometimes the pictures they put online do not match the real thing. We had a few issues with the fact they said it would sleep 14 but it really only slept 11. Besides that we had a good time playing games, doing a craft, eating way too much good food! We went to the Aquarium that I got tickets for at half price! We saw a few lighthouses and then of course ate at Mo's my dad's all time favorite place for Clam chowder. The grand kids just wanted to play in the water everywhere we went. Any of you who are familiar with the Oregon coast its not a warm place to be! They didn't care till they were frozen then it wasn't as fun. I planned a party for my parents. They both turned 60 this year so I wanted to do something special.I made up a poster of the number 60 in pictures of their life I thought it turned out cute and some of the pictures they had never seen! I got a few from their siblings so that was fun for them. Then I had made up a trivia game of things about them with multiple choice answers.I had everyone try and guess the favorites. I was surprised by a few of the answers that I thought for sure I would get right. We also were there for my birthday and my mom surprised me with a quilt that she whipped up a week before they got there. It was a lot of work and I can't wait for it to be cold so I can use it! We had a great time and I look forward to the next adventure.There are lots of pictures thanks to my sister in law Stacie for sharing. Some of them didn't stay in order so I hope they all make sense.

Relay for Life part 2

This year for relay was really rainy! We got to the school track around 12 and not even kidding as soon as we had our canopy's up it started to rain. We lucked out that we got there when we did. It rained non stop up until midnight and then we had a few hours that is was just a mist. Talk about being cold and wet but it didn't dampen our spirits! We still had a great time and cried and laughed together. The next morning after we had our closing ceremony the sun came out!! It was really hot and muggy after that. I was just glad I was going home to go to bed and didn't have to walk in that weather. I am looking forward to next year already!

This is our team minus a couple of people that hadn't got there yet. The girl with the dark hair on the end and I were co team captains. It was a lot of work for me this year because she ended up moving 45 minutes away. I went to all the meetings for us but she helped in other ways. She isn't going to be on the team next year and I am going to really miss her!

These 2 are such an inspiration! This little boy was diagnosed with bone cancer and not even 2 weeks later his mom found out she had Hodgkin’s lymphoma. They were both out walking the track in the rain.

This is an emotional part of the event. All of the survivors line up and walk around the track and we cheer for them. Some of them have no hair, some are in wheelchairs, some are missing limbs.

Some of them cry the whole time around the track its emotional for them too.

This is our tent site with all the stuff we have for sale. We had a mini bake sale, recipe books, shirts, wooden signs and massages. Our theme for Relay was the magic of Relay dream it hope it cure it. We went with a Disney twist and found some cute decorations.

This is Trish helping put up a tarp to keep the rain out. This is the food booth I did for my fundraiser. I was worried nobody would buy anything since it was really rainy. I had some pretty cute signs that said Mickey's diner. I served Chicken salad crossiants,chips, lemonade and homemade oreo's in the shape of Mickey's head. I sold more then I thought I would and the Mickey oreo's were a big hit!

Trish decided to cut her hair off! All of the sudden she said I am going to cut my hair. They cut 8 inches off and she had 4 ponytails because her hair is so thick! It looks really cute short. I cut mine last year so by next year it will be ready to go!

This is Satina the one I am co captains with. Our team did so awesome this year! WE are at the gold level which means we raised more then 5,000! As of today we are close to 8,000 with what we made at Relay. We also did all of the requirements to be a team pacesetter.

This is another emotional part of relay the luminaria bags. In a couple of pictures back you can see all of our bags stuffed under the table waiting to go out. We sold over 250 bags! We line them up around the track and put sand and a candle in them. They all look so awesome and make you cry when you read some of them.

This is our ceremony we had. They have someone come up and tell their story then we all walk around the track together. They play some pretty emotional songs like wind beneath my wings, hero, survivor. It is very cool to have a chance to remember so many and hope for the best for others.

This is me trying to get warm around 2am. It was so cold and rainy and I was just freezing! It was actually better to be walking around the track cuz at least that got the blood pumping!

This was our last lap around the track. We are suppose to carry our team sign and walk together. We were missing a few people but it was fun to be with those still there. It was an awesome event and I am truly blessed to be apart of it!

Relay for Life 2012 part one

I have a new passion in life and that is to raise as much money as I can to fight cancer. As you know I have lost way too many people to this horrible disease. Just as awful I have watched family and friends struggle through and survive. I got involved with a program called Relay for life.I thought I would tell you a little bit about it since sometimes people don't really know what it is.The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is a life-changing event that gives everyone in communities across the globe a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease. At Relay, teams of people camp out at a local high school, park, or fairground and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event. Cancer never sleeps so neither do we. Relays are overnight events up to 24 hours in length. One person can make a difference and one person did his name is Gordy Klatt. Relay For Life started in the mid-1980s in Tacoma, Washington when Gordy Klatt, a colorectal surgeon, wanted to enhance the income of his local American Cancer Society. He decided to personally raise money for the fight by doing something he enjoyed — running marathons. In the spring of 1985, Klatt spent 24 hours going around a local track –more than 83 miles – and throughout the night, nearly 300 people paid money to run or walk at intervals with him. He raised $27,000, and the experience led to his vision of 24-hour relay teams that raise money for cancer research. Months later he pulled together a small committee to plan the first team relay event known as the City of Destiny Classic 24-Hour Run Against Cancer. In 1986, 19 teams took part in the first team relay event on the track at the colorful, historical Stadium Bowl and raised $33,000. An indescribable spirit prevailed at the track and in the tents that dotted the infield. Klatt’s vision turned into an annual program which has raised more than $4.8 billion, and has been an inspiration for millions of cancer survivors, caregivers and communities across the globe. Just a few weeks ago Dr. Klatt was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He has stayed so positive telling everyone to work their hardest at this years events. I hope we will be able to pull in more money then ever to honor him. I know as our team we did the best we ever thought we could. I will tell more about it in the next post.

Walking with Angels 5k

I know its been a long time since I blogged but I have good reason. I have been really busy with Relay for life. Its an event for the American Cancer Society. I will explain more about that in the next post. Basically we have to do fundraisers and raise money for Cancer. Our team decided to do a 5k for our big fundraiser. It was such a big undertaking and at some points it was a huge headache. After all the stress and craziness the event turned out so great! We had 140 people sign up to do it and it ended up being a big family event. I put together goodie bags to give all the participants and was in charge of doing a bake sale. I thought it turned out pretty nice looking.I wanted it set up like an old fashioned bakery where everything is on nice platters. Some of the members of the team helped me by making things for the sale and I think we did great.The picture of the little boy is Casey and he is the son of a mom on our team. His mom has just hit her 1 year mark of being cancer free. She battled breast cancer and it sure took a toll on her. A couple of weeks ago they received horrible news that he has cancer. He had his tumor taken out and just started his chemo this last week. I feel so sad for them what a horrible thing to have 2 family members deal with cancer. It makes me work even harder to make more money to fight Cancer!