The Army of Helaman

What an amazing thing to read the entire story of the stripling warriors in two days.

For anyone not familiar with the Book of Mormon, the stripling warriors was a group of 2,060 young men who took up arms to fight for their people so that their parents would not have to break a covenant they had made with God to never go to battle again. This group of people known as the Anti-Lehi-Nephites or the people of Ammon had been blood-thirsty and murderous before being taught the truth by Ammon, Aaron, Omni, and Himner. They were willing to lay down their lives rather than kill another person. However, when the people protecting them are attacked, they feel compelled to break their oath with God to help keep the land free from the Lamanites. But instead, their sons, who had been too young to make the covenant, fight. From the scriptures, we can estimate their ages to be early to late teens. They had never fought or used weapons, but they were all miraculously protected in battle, because of their faith and the faith of their mothers. That is the type of mother I would like to be.

Next up: Samuel the Lamanite high on the city wall.

All the Days of Game Boy's 15th Birthday

Game Boy celebrated his 15th birthday this month, and boy did he celebrate. A couple of days before, he went to dinner and a hockey game with his mom and sisters. Then on his birthday, he was with us, which was a nice change for Mr. Perfect. Because the kids are with their mom the majority of the time, their birthdays rarely fall on a day that is with their dad. Game Boy picked out the dinner (pizza, Dr. Pepper, and Barqs Root Beer [specifically Barqs]) and we watched many, many episodes of The Big Bang Theory. (It's a fun show, but like so much of what's on T.V. right now, has way too much sex in it. *sigh*)

Then he had a party with his mom's family the day after and dinner at Most Happy Girl's parents the following Sunday. Not a bad way to stretch out the time when everyone is focused on you.

Book of Mormon Challenge update

We're still reading, and we're still on track. Whew! We are now fully into the Nephite/Lamanite wars. Captain Moroni has just raised the Standard of Liberty. What a wonderful thing.

"In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children." (Alma 46:12)

If only all people would follow this crede.

"Yea, verily, verily I say unto, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men." (Alma 48:17)

Wordless Wednesday

Percy and Harry go to the Theatre

Percy and Harry had so much fun at the Carl Bloch exhibit that we thought they might enjoy a spot of live theatre. We were excited to see The Nerd at the Historic Empress Theatre where we will be doing Man of La Mancha. The Nerd is a fun comedy by the same playwright as The Foreigner, Larry Shue, who tragically died in the 1985 at the very young age of 39. I highly recommend seeing both if you get the chance.

Game Boy was also up for the fun and adventure, so we made a Family Night of it (You can't really call it Family HOME Evening if you're not staying home for the activity). After the play, we also stayed for the improve show, the Jesters Royale.

A fun time was had by all.

Percy and Harry checking out the set.

Taking a stroll down Magna's historic Main Street.

Game Boy waiting for the Jesters Royale to start.

Percy and Harry go see Carl Bloch

We decided it was time for Percy and Harry to have another adventure, so we got tickets to the Carl Bloch exhibit at Brigham Young University. Once the tickets were ordered, we realized that because they are stuffed animals and therefore not real or alive, Percy and Harry didn't require their own tickets. What do to with the extras? We quickly called up Little Big Sis and Painter Extraordinaire to see if they were available for dinner and the exhibit. They were.

We had a lovely dinner at Mimi's Cafe and headed over to the Museum of Art. Can I just say that the work of Carl Bloch is amazing. No photography was allowed in the exhibit (understandable), so these images are from the BYU MoA's website for the exhibit. We had a wonderful time.

The museum rented out iPads with a very indepth, interactive presentation on the paintings, with detailed information about Bloch's life and the places in Europe (mostly Scandinavia) where the paintings live. I now understand why people are rather addicted to iPads, but they are really just a great, big iPhone you can't make calls on.

Mr. Perfect wondered how he would look inside on of the pictures. What do you think?

Wordless Wednesday

Book of Mormon Reading Challenge Day #10

>Day 10 in the Book of Mormon Reading Challenge brought us to Abinadi and King Noah. It has been so interesting reading through with a focus on God's direct dealings with His children. There are entire chapters, such as the prophecies and teaching of Abinadi, that are fully marked. And then there are chapters, like the one about the Lamanites attacking Noah's people, where nothing is marked.

We knew that the writings from the Small Plates would be highly marked. We thought that once we reached Mosiah that it we'd be marking a lot less, but the truth is that the scriptures are a history of God's dealings with his children. This time through, most of the book will be marked. It has helped me to see how much God loves us and how hopeful He is that we will turn to Him that He may bless us with everything He has to give.

And If we turn to Him, all things will be ours through Him and His Son. What an amazing truth.

Okay, on a lighter side note: Why is Abinadi always depicted in pictures as being an old man? There is nothing in the writings to suggest that he is older than dirt. Though Friberg has painted him as a rather buff, fit old man. Just wondering.

Book of Mormon reading challenge

At our December Stake Conference (click here for information on what members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe), we were challenged to read the Book of Mormon three times in three months. To do this, you need to read at least 18 pages a day. While reading, we are to focus on and highlight one thing each time through:

• 1st time: God dealing/interacting directly with His children
• 2nd time: Each time Christ is mentioned
• 3rd time: Anything that is directly applicable to you

Mr. Perfect and Most Happy Girl started the challenge Sunday morning. Yes, we know that if we'd started when the challenge was given that we'd be almost through the first time by now. Nothing we can do about that; we'll just have to move forward from here (from The Procrastinator's creed).

Mr. Perfect went to the Distribution Center for lunch one day and picked up several "missionary" editions (you know, the soft, small, blue paperback ones) for us to mark. He also got some really fun Crayola® colored pencils. LOVE THEM! So far, my copy is looking very orange (the color I went with first).

I love reading the Book of Mormon. I love the spirit I feel as I read it. I love the feeling in our home as we read together. It amazes me how much the love of God flows through these pages. To know that He loves all of His children enough to speak to them. I'm grateful to Joseph Smith for his acceptance of his calling so we can have more of God's word. I am grateful to the people of the Book of Mormon and all that they went through, and their willingness to write it down so we may have it. And I am most of all grateful to my Savior, Jesus Christ, for His willing sacrifice that carries with it all of God's love.

Wordless Wednesday

The next theatre outing

Mr. Perfect and Most Happy Girl have been cast in the Empress Theatre's production of Man of la Mancha. Performances are Fridays, Saturdays, and Mondays March 4-26, 2011.

Any and all who can make it, it should be a great show. Mr. Perfect will be intimidating as Captain of the Inquisition and a random Muleteer. Most Happy Girl will be whiny and nagging as Maria, the Innkeeper's wife. A good time will be had by all.

We had our first meeting last night, and rehearsals start in earnest Saturday.

Black Friday shopping

Mr. Perfect and I had a fun time shopping on Black Friday this year. We took pictures and everything, and I forgot to blog about it, so this post for "Activities of Shopping Past".

We don't normally shop on Black Friday (you know, the Friday after Thanksgiving -- the biggest shopping day of the year in America). Mostly, we've just holed up in our house and been snarky about other people braving the crowds and craziness.

This year, we actually found a few things we really, really wanted that were only available for amazing deals on Black Friday. Plus, we needed to cancel our then internet service before they charged us for another month. So out into the dreaded insanity we went.

First stop was the CAL Ranch store for a double-burner camp chef. We have a great dutch oven from our wedding, we love to camp, and we love to cook good food while we camp. It was inevitable that at some point in time we would buy a camp chef. And they had one we wanted at a good price.

It was a really big box. Most Happy Girl stood in the check-out line while Mr. Perfect scouted out other deals, like a new snow shovel.

Here's the one we bought. It works great.

We also stopped by R.C. Willey's to price freezers (which we are still looking for)...

...and check out the sofas.

We did contemplate a new Blu-ray player because the one we currently have was purchased before the last ice age (a.k.a. before we got married) and takes forever to load. We didn't buy one, but did have a fun time sitting on sofas.

Last stop (no picture, sorry) was the cable company to cancel the internet service. Then it was home. No blood was spilled. No slapping fights over iPods at ridiculous prices. Just a couple of jun stops. This is my idea of shopping on Black Friday.

A few more pictures from the cabin trip

I came across a couple more pictures from our adventures with Percy and Harry at the cabin and thought I should share them with you all. Enjoy!

I'd never seen the Jordanelle Reservoir partial frozen before. It was beautiful.

Percy and Harry discovering the fun of the woodpile.

Wordless Wednesday

Happy New Year!

We had so much fun last night at Big Brother Bishop's house. Good food, great company, fun games. What more can you ask? I definitely ate way too much of that good food.

Today, Mr. Perfect and I started a new (though not so new for me) New Year's Day tradition of staking out a megaplex movie theater, selecting 3-4 movies we want to see, and then just going from movie to movie for the whole day. I used to do this every year with Crazy Writer Chick back when I was single, so it was great fun to revive it with the hubby.

We saw:
True Grit (the favorite of both of us)

The Social Network (very good, but a bit disturbing how much sex, under-aged drinking, and drugs it contained)

Tron: Legacy (good, but didn't live up to all its hype)