¡Hola!

Veo abajo en mi Feedjit mapa que hay algunas personas de Sur América que han visto mi blog. Entonces, hoy hago mi carta en español por mis amigos allá. Por seguro están pregutandose, ¿Como es que ella habla español? Bueno, sirví una mision por la iglesia de Jesucristo de los santos de los últimos días en Louisiana y allí aprendía esta idioma.

Déjame introducirme. Me llamo Chelsea y vivo en Utah de los Estados Unidos. Trabajo en Salt Lake City al centro de conferencias.

Como dije anteriormente, soy miembro de la iglesia de Jesucristo de los santos de los últimos días; también nos llaman Mormónes. Nací en esta religion pero por los años aprendía por mi mismo que ésta es la iglesia verdadera de Jesucristo. En 1820, un joven José Smith oró por consejo en cuanto a las religiónes. Por su gran fe vió el a Padre Celestial y su hijo Jesucristo. Ellos hablaron a José y por éste joven restauraron el evangelio al mundo

Porque Dios tanto nos ama a nosotros sus hijos, nos ha dado en hoy día un profeta, tal como Moisés o Abraham en los tiempos antiguos. Por el profeta sabemos la voluntad de Dios, sabemos cuál senda debemos caminar para regresar a nuestro Padre Celestial, sabemos como vivir y ser como Jesucristo. Tenemos también otra escritura, El Libro de Mormón que cuenta la historia del pueblo de las Américas. Aunque ésta libro se escritó hace miles de años, nos ayuda en nuestras vidas ahorita a saber la verdad y escojer lo bueno.

Pido que tomas algunos minutos para leer las páginas aquí. Sé que tienen el poder para cambiar tu vida por el mejor.

The Sheetrock Is In

As of Sunday my townhouse has actual walls.


Front Room


Master Bedroom


Staircase


Staircase looking down


Garage



It's really taking shape now!

Little Kids

Hanging out with the little kids the other day I couldn't resist pulling out my camera for some choice photos.

Me & Vera


Colette


Jamison

And all I had to do was ask Jamison to show me a little dance. Here's his version of hip hop.

Progress Report

Things are clipping right along on my townhouse. I had a framing walk-thru last week and gave them the go-ahead to move on to the next stage: insulation and sheet rock.

Laundry Room


Kitchen


Master Bathroom


Shingled Roof


Front Upstairs Bedroom


Great Room


Garage

It's getting closer and closer to being finished. And, I may have found a roommate or two. Exciting!

'Tis the Season

I'll give you three (3) chances to guess what these fine, blue-clad specimens are doing in this picture.

1. Pruning the trees, you say?
NO!

2. Picking cherries?
WRONG!

3. Creating a topiary?
SORRY!

I'm walking through Temple Square on Tuesday, August 5th and I run into these tree swingers who are not checking for harmful fungus but hanging Christmas lights. Yes, that's right, Christmas lights! Mind you, the actual holiday is more than 4 months away and it will be at least 3 months until they can be on display. Oh, I know, it takes that long to get the million-plus lights hung in time. But, please, Christmas lights in 95+ degree weather? They just don't go together.

Staycationing in Utah

Have you ever been on a Staycation? I took one just this past week, right here in Utah. We did all of the fun things you would and could do on a vacation: site-seeing, shopping, swimming, amusement parks, etc. Sometimes it's amazing to realize what you have in your own backyard to keep you entertained.

The first destination on our staycation was to Park City where me and the sisters spent several hours combing through the shops of the Tanger Outlet mall to find the best deals. I must say that we came away with some very good buys.

Next I did a little site-seeing alone on Temple Square in Salt Lake City and enjoyed a session at the temple...where after the session I saw the best site of all -- the very cute and available security guard I've had an eye on for months. We chatted for a while and I made him late for his session (oops!).

No Utah Staycation would be complete without a trip to Farmington's Lagoon with the family. I understand this amusement park hasn't been quite as busy as in years past so lines at the rides are short. However, you must beware of slow-moving ride operators who shuffle from one person to the next, checking and double-checking safety restraints. Reassuring but annoying.

On day 4 of my staycation I accompanied the parents for more site-seeing and shopping and a visit with some very special people. We began at Cabelas in Lehi where we stopped to feed the fish and ran into deer, elk, bears, moose, a variety of African mammals, and even a stuffed man in the big game section. From there we moved on to Ikea of Draper where we dined and learned how to decorate the house on a budget. I took the opportunity to fill a bag full of things for my new townhouse and paid only $20.76. A bargain! Later we spent the evening with our brand new twin nephews. They made their first trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house on their 1-month birthday. It was a momentous occasion that Beijing was kind enough to celebrate with a grand pageant and fireworks display. How thoughtful!

It is an unwritten law that any type of vacation involve swimming so the final stop of the week's whirlwind staycation was to Layton Surf-n-Swim with the nieces and nephew. It's been a while since I was last surfing but we caught some great waves and I only fell over twice.

After a week of hitting so many attractions I am exhausted but thoroughly enriched and I can hardly wait for the next staycation to come along!

Oh-Eight, Oh-Eight, Oh-Eight

On such a fortuitous day as 08/08/08 I had to get a blog post in, no matter what the hour. And yes, I admit I watched most of the Olympic Opening Ceremonies. That pageant was pretty amazing! Good Job, Beijing!

Yesterday was our stake Lagoon day and so I took advantage of the offer and went for the first time in over 5 years. The park has changed some during my half-decade absence but most things are still the same. We invited Jennie and the kids along and had a grand time at Lagoon: It's What FUN Is!


Jamison and I rode together on The OdySea but he wouldn't let me touch the controls that moved our fish up and down. When I did try to take over he threw a fit so I let him have at it.


You can see that he knew just where to position the car to ensure that I got wet and he stayed dry.


Later, Colette and I rode tandem on the Swings. (Sorry about the bad quality of the cell phone picture.) I also took her on the white rollercoaster--the one made of wood. Jennie's family has season passes to Lagoon and Colette has been dying to go on the white rollercoaster but her parents won't take her--I think they're afraid of the whole thing coming apart under their feet. Well, Colette loved it and the structure is still in-tact!


Megan and the parents used the stake passes to get into the park for free. They watched us from the sidelines and kept Vera entertained while we played.

It was a fun afternoon and evening at Lagoon but perhaps in the next year or two we'll save our pennies and go to Disneyland instead. Stay tuned for pictures of that adventure!

An Unusual Visitor

I stopped by my townhouse with Jennie and her kids tonight and found a very unusual visitor in the front room.



A bramble bush had found its way into the house and was just chillin’, taking a break from the oppressive heat of the day, no doubt.

Not much has been accomplished this week. The bathtubs are installed but the shower for the master bathroom is still standing in the garage.

garden tub in master bathroom


upstairs west bedroom

through the wall into the master bedroom
nice view of the neighbors, don't you think?

They are digging the foundation for the townhouses across the street and Jamison couldn't resist the mountain of dirt.

good and dirty