Signs of Summer

A friend of mine told me that she uses her blog for a journal. I used to use my missionary emails for my journal, but since I'm between missionaries I decided to try and blog more. It is a fun way to save history with pictures. I've even printed my blogs and put a copy in my journal. Thanks Karri for the idea.

I'm so glad that spring/summer is finally here. (I hope there isn't snow tomorrow because I said that) The trees are leafing out and flowers blooming. Doug has planted the garden. I'm glad he takes on that project. It is a lot of work for him, but we really do enjoy the fresh vegetables. My work starts later when the picking and canning time starts. I always like to see the bottles of food filling the shelves. It's a secure feeling.

Scott helped me get the patio furniture out and arranged. We'll be getting the pond and waterfall going soon. Doug placed the bird feeder by the deck this year and I've had fun watching the little finches. The other day there were three yellow finches and one red perched on the railing and feeder. I wished I could have gotten a picture of them. Now we just need more time to go out and enjoy!

This time of year also means the end of the school year. I've enjoyed teaching 6th grade and the time has gone by so quickly. Still I'm ready for a break and my "summer to do list" grows longer every day. I'll have to add "get a missionary ready" to that list. Daren's mission call should be coming sometime this week. I'm excited and anxious to see where he will be going. Then I'll be back to missionary emails.

Mother's Day

Even though Mother's Day isn't my favorite holiday, I enjoy spending it with my family. This year we had dinner with Doug's parents and then Rod & Stephaine dutch ovened dinner for both families that evening. It was a great day! It also gives me a chance to reflect on the greatest part of being a mother - my kids.

Reed Douglas Rockwood was born on January 29, 1985. He was a terrific baby and spoiled his parents. He rarely cried and was sleeping through the night at 3 months old. He has always been a good example of a big brother.

Rod Warren Rockwood was born on April 6, 1987. There was much excitement to welcome another boy into the family. From the start he was very determined to get what he wanted. This may have been one reason that he started moving in an untraditional way, scooting on his bottom, at 5 months old.

Daren John Rockwood joined the family on July 25, 1990. He was named to have the same initials as his father, "DJ" and had many nicknames. He was known as "Little DJ", Dare Bear, Bear, and Dare. He was the cutest little curly headed boy and always on the go. Maybe that prompted his early desire to walk at 9 months old.

Scott made the family complete on June 30, 1993. He was Mom's little sweetheart and was good as gold as long as Mom was in the room. He's always followed after his brothers wanting to do everything they do. He has also loved the farm and at an early age accompanied his dad to work and has been a big help there.

It's also a good opportunity to tell my mothers how much I love them!

A Day With My Honey

On Friday I decided to take a much needed break from everything and just get away. I took a day off of work and Doug skipped a day of farming. We decided to go for a ride to Twin Falls. The weather was beautiful, which is the exception this spring. First we visited Shoshone Falls, also known as the Niagra of the West. We have been there a couple times before but it has always been too late in the year and only a small trickle has been going over the falls. This time it was perfect! It was a spectacular view. As we exited the car we saw people donning jackets and hats because the mist was just like rain. We were dressed to go to the Temple without jackets, but we enjoyed the scenery anyway.




After grabbing a bite to eat, we went to the Temple in Twin Falls. It was beautiful inside and out. We had a great time together. On the way home we stopped in Pocatello and met Daren at Cosco. It was fun to spend a few minutes with him and buy him a couple goodies for his trip to Canada. It was a good day with good company! Thanks Doug, I love ya! I think I'm rejuvenate and can get back in the swing of things.

THE BIG DAY

We have experienced our first wedding and reception. Our feet were sore and bruised, our bodies ached, but our hearts were filled with happiness. We feel so blessed to have wonderful friends and family who support us through all of life's journeys.

Rod Warren Rockwood and Stephanie Lynn Pettingill were married in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple for Time and All Eternity on April 25, 2009. The weather had been predicted to be stormy, but the sun was shining and NO WIND. It was beautiful for pictures outside the Temple. The atmosphere inside the Temple was also perfect. The bride and groom were beaming. They would have brightened up even a gloomy day. Brother Bruce Eckersell sealed them and his words were inspiring to all of us. I wish I could remember everything that he said.

The luncheon turned out really nice. I had worried about uncooked food, burnt food, and not enough food. My prayers were answered and it all came together. I think the only problem was too much food which I can live with. We used centerpieces from Natalie Jenkin's daughters wedding reception and the room was so springy and bright. All of our friends and family pitched in to help with cooking, serving, and cleaning up. I seriously don't know how it could be done without all of them.

I could have never imagined the turnout for the reception. There was a huge crowd of friends and relatives. It was good to see everyone of them and I wish we would have had more time to visit and catch up on all of the news. We are so fortunate to live in a close-knit community of where your neighbors spread for miles all around. At the end we were exhausted but we wouldn't have changed a thing...and it feels good to have a daughter.

The happy couple are now living in Iona and setting up house. We love when they call or drop in to say hi or have a bite to eat. It's a little different not having Rod at home, but it feels right.

Rod & Steph

As you've probably noticed I'm a horrible blogger. After working all day and then taking care of home, RS, and more school work I'm ready to sit and chill or even better yet go to bed. However, we have some good news to pass along.

On February 7th Rod took Stephanie for a snowmobile ride. They rode to our farm and then stopped to build a fire and roast hot dogs. He made the excuse that he needed to go gather firewood but really he went to paint a message with red spray paint in the snow. It read "Marry Me". Then he returned for Steph and said he needed her help. He took her to the top of the hill and looked down on the message. Then getting on one knee he asked her and showed her the ring. They decided not to try it on until they were free of gloves and deep snow. I was impressed at how romantic he can be.

They are going to be married on April 25th in the Idaho Falls Temple. We are really excited for both of them. Stephanie has been part of the family for quite a while. Now we are busy making plans. I have been putting together a video of all their pictures. What a fun trip down memory lane. It's been fun to be reminded of all the little things Rod used to do. Also, thanks to Steph for including me in all of the fun wedding stuff like dress shopping, pictures, and such. Since I don't have a daughter to enjoy those things she's a good sport to invite me along.

Chihuahua, Mexico

On September 13th Doug and I flew to El Paso and rented a car for a trip into Mexico. We were going to get Rod from his mission. It was a trip filled with joy, beautiful scenery, wonderful people, a few disappointments, and some anxious moments.

We entered Mexico and thought we had everything that we needed (car insurance, permission paper, passports). I'm not sure we were totally prepared for the sights and experiences we met. First the minute we crossed the border people were walking between the cars selling their trinkets, flags, papers, popsicles, flowers, toys, and almost anything else you could imagine. Some would stand in front of the cars and stop lights and do juggling acts. Driving was an act of faith as there were no lines on the road and few signs to follow. Horns were constantly honking as drivers turned whenever and where ever they wanted.

The next shock was the sight of uniformed soldiers with machine guns at the border and along the roads at several military checkpoints. We only had to get out of the car and have it searched once. Luckily Rod was with us then so he knew what was going on.

About 20 miles into Mexico we went through customs and were stopped because we didn't have a car permit. We weren't sure what they wanted and kept showing them all of the papers in our possession. Finally, someone who spoke a little English directed us to where we needed to purchase the "permit". That delayed us about an hour...but we finally reached Chihuahua. It is a big city and we had no idea where to go. It was 10:00 pm so, we decided to just stop at a grocery store pay phone and call the mission offices. They asked where we were and I gave them the name of the store. They laughed because there are only 40-50 of them throughout the city. I grabbed an old guy with no teeth standing there and handed him the phone. He told the missionaries where we were and after about an hour the mission president's wife and son found us and took us to the mission home. This was our reward on Sunday......

ours is the one that isn't so brown.

It was nice to have Rod as a travel guide and translator for the rest of the trip. There isn't enough time to tell it all, but we visited with many of his converts, investigators, and friends. Everyone was so kind and loved our son almost as much as we do.

We spent three nights with the President and Sister Flores and their two sons, Marcos and Cesar.



The Familia Felix welcomed us into their home giving up their own bed for us to sleep in. We became fast friends and Gorgina and I practiced our English/Spanish on each other. They have a son on a mission in Provo.



Bishop's Family in Juarez Investigator (Rod baptized her daughter)

These are some of the beautiful sights we saw. Sunsets over the mountains, waterfalls (Basaseachi is the tallest in Mexico - 750 feet), and Copper Canyon (the Grand Canyon of Mexico)




We had planned to attend the Temples while we were there, but we picked the wrong days and times. That was a little disappointing, but we did get to see the beautiful buildings and Temple grounds.

Colonial Juarez Temple Ciudad Juarez Temple

It was a great trip but we were so glad to get back into the good old USA. We are truly blessed to live in this country and enjoy the freedoms that we have. I also realized how blessed we areand YES! SPOILED. What really matters is our family. We arrived home at 1:00 am on Sunday morning and the other boys were waiting up. Oh how good it was to have them ALL together again.

Daren's Graduation

DAREN IS GRADUATIONG FROM HIGH SCHOOL! It's hard to believe that he is already there. We attended seminary graduation and baccalaureate on Sunday and next Tuesday is Bonneville High School Graduation. We are very proud of his hard work and accomplishments. He is planning on working for the summer and then in the Fall he is off to ISU in Pocatello. As soon as school is out we've got to get started on housing and such. It will be really different around the house with only Scott at home, however Daren has been working so much this year I think he has been trying to prepare us. I'm glad it's just Pocatello for awhile to get me ready to send another missionary. We love you Dare!