Hero

A hero is such an interesting thing because it could be so many different people depending on a person's outlook.  A hero could be a literal hero, someone who saved you from something.  It could also mean someone who you looked up to and was a huge influence in your life.  It could be someone who has accomplished a lot despite excruciating circumstances.  It could also be someone you idolize.  I have a hero in all of these different areas but the one that stands out is my mom.  I know I mentioned this before but she truly is the most Christ-Like person I know.  She loves and loves and was the best mom ever and thankfully still is.  I'm so thankful for her and I try every day to be more and more like her.  She is truly my hero and the wind beneath my wings! 

Favorite Sport/Team

I LOVE SPORTS!  I have loved them my whole life.  I think my first love was basketball.  We had a basketball banker at home that I would shoot hoops on for hours with my siblings.  I also had an older brother who was a great basketball player in high school and I loved to watch him play.  When I was in 5th grade, my town's high school football went to the state championship game.  My mom patiently took the time to explain football to me and I began loving football.  We ended up winning the State Championship that year.  It was so fun!!  I played basketball around that time and then in 7th grade my basketball coach started coaching a volleyball team.  I did not go to tryouts because I did not know anything about volleyball.  She asked why I didn't try out and I told her because I didn't play volleyball.  She told me to come play and put me on the team.  I LOVED IT!  Volleyball became my favorite sport to play.  I love everything about it (especially that I didn't have to run)!  I stopped playing basketball in high school but continued volleyball.  I played the my freshman, sophomore and junior season.  We even took 2nd in state my Junior year.  It was a devastating loss but 2nd in state is not bad!  Unfortunately, the first home game of my senior season I went up to spike the ball and came down and injured my left knee.  It wasn't very bad at first, just a strain but I continued to try to play on it during the next few practices and I kept injuring it until I eventually tore my ACL as well as lateral and medial meniscus.  It was devastating.  I was so sad to miss my senior season but such is life.  I had surgery in November to repair it.  I couldn't walk on it for 2 weeks then had rehab the next couple of months.  I could not play any sports until 6 months after.  It was an extremely hard time in my life during my senior year of high school but my mom was an angel and took great care of me.  To this day, I still play volleyball at least once a week and love it.  I also love to watch it, especially beach volleyball. 

I played softball for a season but realized that was not my sport.  I do love the feel of swinging the bat and solidly connecting with a softball though!  I  remember going with my siblings to play tennis and quickly realized I was much better at connecting a volleyball with my hand than using a racket to hit a tennis ball.  More recently, my husband started playing golf and asked me to joint him.  I realized I love to play best ball with my sister and her husband.  The Olympics are heaven to me.  I record them all and watch them for months.  I love to watch people work hard and accomplish their goals.

The two sports teams I love are BYU and the Jazz.  My parents met at BYU so we have always loved BYU sports.  The Jazz is the only NBA team in Utah so I learned to love them from a young age (probably also because I played Jr. Jazz basketball).  This season (2018) of the Jazz has especially been fun to watch with Donovan Mitchell on our team.  I have enjoyed it so much and love watching every game.  My heart still races if it is a close game and we have to have a buzzer beater to win.

Mike likes the University of Utah.  He was a BYU fan when we married and still likes BYU but since then, he has attended and graduated with a Bachelor's from the U and just finished with his MBA as well from there.  We now proudly hang a House Divided sign for BYU/Utah games.  Our oldest Loves BYU and wants more than anything to attend college there and our youngest loves Utah.  We have a lot of fun with these games and love having family and friends join us for the big game.

Favorite book YA/adult

Mike:  My favorite book depends on the day.  I generally like fantasy books.  Probably one of my all time favorite books is the Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.  I like this book because it tells the story from a different point of view and it is beautifully written.  It is like a piece of art.  I also like most books from Brandon Sanderson but specifically the original Mistborn Series  and The Way of Kings.  Those are probably my two favorite of his.  He knows how to tell a good story. 

Sharene:  I love to read.  (I believe my dad instilled this in me and all of my siblings.  He always has a book is reading.  He is very, very well read and loves books about history).  Unfortunately with my schedule, I do not get to sit down and read a lot but I do listen to books a lot at this point in my life which I also love.  Some of my favorite books to date include:  Harry Potter (I have always loved magic.  I wished I was magic when I was little so I could twitch my nose and my room would be clean), Tuesdays with Morrie and The Last Lecture (which are about men who are dying and what they wished their family knew, just beautiful books), Nothing to Envy (about life in North Korea and how extremely hard it is), A Long Way Home and The Orphan Keeper (both books about Indian boys who were adopted and their journeys) and Unbroken (about a WWII survivor).  I have just recently realized how much I love reading books about people who have had hard lives and have persevered and come out on top.  Those stories captivate me and make me want me to improve myself and at the same time humble me and make me so very grateful for the trials I have.  I also really love the Book of Mormon.  It has changed my life in many ways and has brought me closer to my Savior than any other book. 

Favorite musician

Mike:   Music is a very important part of my life.  I love to sing and play guitar.  Ever since I was a little kid, I have always loved music.  I like many things from classical to hard rock.  I remember at the age of 4 singing in front of large groups of people.  Some of my favorite bands include the Police, Sting, Dave Matthews Band, Imagine Dragons, Owl City, Cold Play, Shiny Toy Guns, Peter Gabriel and Fall Out Boy.  I love classical chamber choir music such as Bruckner and Rachmaninoff.  I also love musicals like Les Mis, Phantom of the Opera, Matilda and The Greatest Showman.  My favorite piano artists are David Lanz and George Winston.  I'm also a sucker for a good guitar rift whether it be electric or classical. 

Sharene:  I don't know that I have a favorite musician.  I love many kinds of music.  I really love piano music, especially The Piano Guys.  I had the chance to meet them recently and they are as kind as they portray.  I also really like U2, Imagine Dragons, The Police, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.  My two favorite musicals are Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera although I think The Greatest Showman has now crept into my favorite songs of all time.  Music is an essential part of my life.  I teach the primary children in my ward, play the organ, participate in the choir either singing or playing and teach piano lessons.  A lot of my life revolves around music.  When I was younger and was sad, I would sit down at the piano to play and sing.  It was a great stress relief and I always felt better afterward.  I think that is why it is so important to me that my kids learn to not only play the piano but love it.  It has blessed my life so much.  I also really love my husband's singing voice.  It is beautiful and pure and touching to listen to.  I keep asking him to sing to me every night to sleep.  I'm not sure why he doesn't.  😀

Guilty pleasure

I hate to admit this but my guilty pleasure is The Bachelor.  😬  I understand this show is very polarizing but for me I realized I loved it because I love watching people fall in love.  It is so fun to fall in love and it is fun to relive those feelings and memories of me falling in love with my husband.  Maybe it is sappy but that is my guilty pleasure. 

Favorite Fast Food Chain

Mike's favorite is In and Out. 

Sharene:   I think my favorite is Iceberg, although that may be just a Utah one.  I have a huge sweet tooth and I love their shakes so that is probably my favorite!  Plus my grandma used to take us for shakes when she would come visit us and she loved the grasshopper shake so that one has become my favorite.   I love the memories I have with her.  I miss her.  She had a great laugh and beautiful smile.   

Makes me laugh

I love to laugh so I surround myself with people who make me laugh.  I love Brian Reagan.  He is one of the funniest/cleanest comedians I have ever seen.  He makes me laugh.  Also my husband, sister and good friend are always making me laugh.  I believe one of the most important qualities in a husband is someone who can make you laugh.  I advise my girls to find a man who can make them laugh.  Life can be very difficult and it is imperative to find someone who does not take themselves too seriously and can laugh along this journey we call life. 

Job

My most important job is that of Mother.  There is no other job on earth that can compare to motherhood.  There is no other job so rewarding, hard, tiring, loving, exhausting, happy, joyful, angering, funny and fulfilling as a mother.  My girls are my entire world.  When I was a teenager, I thought I would easily have 4 to 6 kids.  I have always wanted to be a mother and knew I would never work outside the home when I had my own children so I could be there every step of the way.  I have loved children my whole life.  I remember as a 5-year old, all I wanted to do was hold babies and that desire has never left.  To this day, I seek moms who need a break during church and hold their babies for them.  I wanted a lot of kids and knew I could love them so easily.  My life has not turned out the way I thought it would.  I am so grateful for my biological girls but I know through adoption there are more children out there for me.  I don't know why Heavenly Father has decided this is the best route for me but I fully trust in Him and am trying to follow what He has asked me to do.  Adoption was not even on my radar until the last few years when I knew I couldn't have any more children naturally.  I had a very spiritual experience where I KNEW I was supposed to adopt.  It is a very scary decision for me but I know it is the right one for me and my family.  I know it will change my life for the better and am grateful for this. 

Favorite Breakfast Food/Cereal

Mike:  He really loves breakfast casserole or breakfast pizza (which is a pizza crust, marinara sauce topped with hash browns, eggs, sausage, bacon and cheese) cut up like a pizza.  Of course he douses it in ketchup.  I usually make this for him on our anniversary and on his birthday.  Mmmm.. I love this breakfast food too. 

Sharene:  I love breakfast foods!  I could eat them all day long.  Some of my favorites are waffles/crepes (which is actually pronounced crep, with a short E sound as I found out per my husband who speaks French.  I grew up saying it crapes with a long A sound.  Apparently, this is incorrect).  I love eating it with Nutella, fruit and whipping cream.  I also love parfaits with yogurt, granola and fruit.  I love the sweet and crunchy mix. 

Brooklyn:  Her favorite breakfast food is Crepes with Nutella, fruit and whipping cream.  She also loves Pop Tarts which I don't let her have very often. 

Brielle:  Her favorite breakfast food is breakfast casserole which she asks for constantly.  It is a tradition in our family to have this dish on Christmas morning. 

Favorite Vacation

Who doesn't love to go on vacation?!?!  We love to vacation and each of them are special.  My favorite vacation growing up was going to Lake Powell with my family.  The wind, waves, early morning glassy water ski runs, salty water, playing games with family, skiing with 11 other family members at the same time, frolicking on wave runners, basking in the hot sun and eating a lot of yummy food.  What is not to love?

Since being married, we have been on many fun vacations including Hawaii

Yellowstone

Arches

Bryce Canyon

Mt. Rushmore

Cancun

Disneyland

Seattle

Branson Missouri

The best part of all of these trips are spending them with family.  Family is the most precious gift we have in this life.  I'm so blessed and thankful to have them.  

Favorite card/board game

This one is extremely difficult for us.  We LOVE LOVE LOVE games!  We played tons of games as often as we can with family and friends.  It is so fun that the girls are getting old enough to learn new games.  Here are some of our favorites:

- Splendor                       - Dominion 

- Risk                               - Monopoly 

- King of Tokyo               - Life

- Uno                                - Istanbul  

- 7 Wonders                     - Wizard

- Five Tribes                    - Wacky Six

- Clue                               - Carcassonne 

- Spades                           - Concept

- Tsuro                             - Times Up

My perfect weekend consists of eating good food and playing games with family and friends.  I have made so many good memories and laughed so hard I cried playing games.  That is the reason I love it so much!  

Favorite Home Cooked Meal

- Mike:  Loves Kraft Mac and Cheese when he is not feeling well.  His favorite homemade meal is ribs which he make every year for our 4th of July Barbecue for family and friends. 

- Sharene:  I obviously love food.  I have many favorites.  My mom was a great cook and Mike is a great cook so I have had a lot of good food in my life.  I would say when I am not feeling great, I still crave my mom's orange potatoes (I know what you are thinking, orange potatoes??!?!?!).  Growing up, my older sister did not like carrots so in order to get her to eat them, they would mix carrots and potatoes together so all growing up I ate orange potatoes with homemade ranch dressing (since one of my parents did not like gravy).  My husband thinks it is strange but that is still one of my favorite things to eat.  I also love anything Mike makes.  He is an excellent cook, especially with cooking meat.  Ummm, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. 

- Brielle:  Dad's homemade spaghetti, french dip and Steak Gorgonzola.

- Brooklyn:  Homemade Mac and Cheese.

Real Life

This quote is my favorite because sometimes life is hard and the daily grind can be exhausting but I'm so eternally grateful for all that I have.  I have truly been blessed.

Biggest fear

As most people do, I have a lot of fears.  I would say of course my biggest fear is to lose one of my children or my spouse.  I cannot imagine how people cope when that happens.  I also have a huge fear of spiders.  It may be because I watched arachnophobia when I was younger and have been very afraid ever since.  I know it is irrational but even as an adult, I don't like them at all.  When other people post pictures of spiders on Facebook, I generally have nightmares about them that night.  EWWW!   So obviously I don't want to post a picture of a spider on my blog;  therefore, there will be no picture with this post :) 

Best Gift Ever Given

I think the best give I ever gave with an enormous help from family members (especially my  sisters who are willing to go along with my crazy ideas) and friends was a surprise 70th birthday party for my angel mother.  She is the most Christ-like person I know and I wanted to show her in small part thanks for all she has done for me.  The best part was my brother and his family flew in from Minnesota surprising all of us.  It was one of the best days of my life.   I asked many people for things they loved about my mom and a picture of their family.  After the party, I took all of the pictures on the large cardboard 70 and put them into books for my mom along with all of the kind things people said about her.  I can never repay my mom for everything she has done for me but I loved doing this for her to show her in small part thanks for all she does for me.  She is the best mother and grandmother anyone could ever ask for.  I love that my kids have a special relationship with her as well.  She is the best!

Talents

Music is something that is near and dear to my heart.  My parents payed for piano lessons for me for years and I loved learning to play.  I had many opportunities to play growing up including for Young Women's, seminary, accompanying friends and family while they sang and more recently playing in primary and playing the organ.  It is something I work hard to do well because I believe that music can bring the Spirit into our lives and help us through hard trials.  I married someone who sings beautifully and I love that we have music in our home constantly.  I now teach piano to other students including my daughter and hope they learn to love it as much as I do.  It is such a gift to me and my family.  

Favorite Color

I have many favorite colors depending on my mood: 

I love Green and Maroon because I love Christmas Colors!

I love Teal and Orange because they are happy!

I love Purple because I didn't love pink and I had baby girls so I dressed them in purple a lot.  Their room was purple and I loved it!

Siblings

My siblings are truly my best friends.  They are such smart, amazing, kind, talented, funny, loving, giving, friendly and wonderful people.  I feel truly blessed to have them as siblings.  I know many people who don't love getting together for family parties/events because there is fighting and arguing.  This just does not happy with my siblings.  We love each other fiercely and always have an amazing time when we are together.  It makes me tear up thinking about how much I love them and miss them when they are not around.  Heavenly Father truly blessed me in the family department.  They are the best aunts and uncles to my kids. 

Mike's Siblings

Mike has no full siblings but has two half brothers and one half sister from his dad and step mom and one brother from his mother and step father.  He grew up mainly with his step brother (top) from his mom and step dad.   Unfortunately, he lives in Maryland now so we do not see him as much.  Now we have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with his other step brothers and step sister (bottom) and have built an amazing relationship with them.  We love spending time with them and always have a good laugh.  They are also a very musical family so you will hear us singing songs when we get together including Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, hymns and many other songs.  Playing the baby grand and listening to them sing is one of my happy places.  

Our View Outside Our Door

The best part of the view out our front door is at certain times of the day, you can see three LDS temples from our property:  The Oquirrh Mountain Temple, the Jordan River Temple and the Draper Temple.  I also really love the snow.  It makes everything so white, pure and beautiful!