a decade

Scott and Melissa Bishop

August 22, 2002

Salt Lake Temple

 

We've been married for 10 years today. So much has happened over the years so rather than gush about my hubby (which I could) I'll just reminisce on some of the things we've done together over the years.



Visiting the Alamo in November 2002 as newlyweds on our trip to see Scott's sister in San Antonio for Thanksgiving.

Summer of 2003 we spent several days in Dominican Republic.



2004 (says my computer but the date may be wrong), Scott gets his end of the engagement deal. I got an ring, he got a bike.



Fall of 2005. I rented "The King and I" costumes for a work costume ball. He will never forgive me for making him dress up. We were still young in our marriage and he must have been willing to be uncomfortable in the name of love.

2006 begins our annual Moab Easter Jeep Safari Tradition

June of 2006 we attend the wedding of Scott's Brother Jeff to our new sister-in-law Chantiel

We buy a house September 2006

Halloween October 2006

2007 we go on a business trip to Maui

 

June 2007 My baby sister Rachel gets married

Moab Jeep Week Spring 2008

 

 Real Salt Lake soccer game summer 2008

 We got dogs.

Strutt Your Mutt summer 2008

We had a baby!

Scott Loran Bishop and Madelyn Loran Bishop, March 2 2009

July 2009 at Jordanelle Reservoir

We go fishing in CO September 2009 and I catch, gut, cook and eat my first fish

October 2009 we see "Love" the Beatles show in Las Vegas

 

December 2009 visiting temple square (above) and Benihana (below)

June 2011 at the Sacramento temple where Scott's little brother Cody married Hayley.

Moab Jeep Week 2012

The happy family June 2012 - well I'm sure they are smiling on the inside.

my big little girl

It's amazing to me how much a little person can change in a year. Here's Madelyn at the park August 2011. Does it only look like a huge change to me or do you see it too?

Last night we were snuggling in bed singing songs and I marveled at what a big little girl I have.

The time certainly does fly.

Cherry Hill

On the 24th of July, we joined Sarah and her girls at Cherry Hill in Kaysville. Sarah has season passes and has for years but this was the first time that Maddy and I ever joined them. What a fun place!

The lazy river surrounds a great lounging place and a small old timey town gives it a charming feel. There is even a stage where they do evening performances. Sarah and her singing group performed there this past month. They have a toddler area with a pirate theme, lots of fountains and water squirting, a little slide, and even a big ship to crawl around in. There are also several waterslides for the bigger kids and a normal swimming pool.

We had a wonderful time until right near the end. Maddy started to really get cranky - crying over everything - she felt hot, and we decided that we were done. We drove to Katie's house for a family bbq and fireworks. Unfortunately that evening, after she woke up from a nap, I discovered that the hotness was actually fever. We left before the fireworks and she threw up on the drive home and then again about an hour later. I was worried that I'd let her get heat exhaustion.

The next morning she woke up still with a fever. And then again, the next day. I figured at this point, it wasn't heat exhaustion but something else (maybe a bit of both) so we headed to her doctor. No ear infection (though they had to blast her ears with water to be able to see her ear drum past all the wax - not maddy's favorite thing), no bladder infection, no strep. Must be a virus. We were told to return on Monday (it was Thursday) if the fever persisted through the weekend.We nearly made it to that follow up visit.

For 5 straight days Maddy's little body fought something as indicated by the 103 fever that kept returning every time medicine would wear off. She didn't eat hardly anything, and wouldn't drink much. Her nose would not stop running (I think we went through 4 boxes of tissue). She was pretty miserable. Sunday afternoon, I realized that the medicine should have worn off but she wasn't listless as usual. I checked her and - blessed day - NO FEVER! Monday morning, fever free, we kept her home from school one more day but were pleased to see her eating, being more cheerful, and acting generally well. Whatever it was, it seems to be gone with no lasting consequences other than my time off at work has been severely depleted. I'm glad to have her feeling better and she is glad to be released from her 6 day prison to be able to play with other kids.

a laundry becomes a pantry

When we bought our house, there was a little closet in the kitchen with hookups for the washer and dryer. There were no doors and I was anxious to have that closed off. Scott was anxious with ideas of floods ruining his wood floor he installed. So, we moved the laundry to the basement (I've mixed feelings about that) and I was thrilled with the idea of a pantry!!

for awhile we lived with a big opening but some shelves inside to hold food. It was also nice to have a place to hang our coats.

In the last year or so, Scott enclosed the space and created a built in "mud room" that juts into the pantry. We decided there was plenty of space inside and this would give us a landing zone when we came in from outside. Once it is all painted we will put hooks for coats and it has a nice bench that I envision Maddy sitting on while I put on her snow boots and hat and gloves.

In the past months, Scott fixed sheetrock, mudded and taped and then installed wonderful shelving. It was my job then to caulk, putty nail holes and get to the priming and painting.

Maddy so desperately wanted to help. I let her paint a bit of the wall figuring that is was all white and wouldn't be noticeable. However, the best solution I found was to invite Jackson over for Saturday afternoon so that Maddy had someone to entertain her. They had a wonderful time together two weekends in a row, once at my house and once at Katie's house. What a blessing that free time was for me!

I didn't want to paint my shelves with multiple coats and I was worried about them getting all scratched up so Scott suggested I line them. What a great idea. I wanted something fun so went with a bright green. of course, once you fill the shelves you can't see the liners as well. I got a few baskets and containers to help organize things.

And, after years of thinking and slowly working, we have a pantry and the shelves full of food are no longer sitting in the main kitchen eating area. I'm amazed at how much bigger the kitchen feels without the clutter for the eyes to land of.

My favorite part? Funny thing is, it's this little basket. There is a small wall just inside the door that where the "mud room" juts into the pantry. I had thought about putting up small wire baskets (like you'd use in your drawers to organize utensils. I found two of these little wire baskets that were supposed to be for recipe cards. I brought them home, held them on the wall, and didn't like how they didn't lay flush on the wall, they kind of tilt forward.

So, I put some napkins in them (hey, a perfect fit) and thought, well they can sit on the shelf. Then I thought "wouldn't it be nice to have it right close so in case I need a quick napkin I can get to it fast, and wouldn't it be nice if I could also then bring it to the table at meals?" I hung a command hook on the wall (took too much time preparing those walls, couldn't stomach putting a nail hole in them) and hung up the napkins. They are handy just inside the door if I just need one and are also removable to put on the table! I know, it's not that ingenious but  for some reason, it just really makes me happy.

So there you have it, progress in our house. I am so, so pleased having the food all put away behind the door. Sometimes I find myself standing in the doorway just to look at our work.

Hansen Family Reunion

photos by my nephew Eli

At the very end of June we had a Hansen Family Reunion. This is Scott's maternal grandparents descendants. All of Scott's siblings and their kids joined us in Heber at the Heber Valley Girls Camp. They came from Washington and Idaho and Oregon. What a treat to have us all there. Scott and I helped on the committee and it was good for me to meet some of his cousins and get a better feel for that side of his family. Being a boy (or maybe just being Scott) he doesn't have a lot of contact with them so I've never really gotten to know them. I'm sure part of that is because Scott and his siblings are some of the youngest of the cousins so many of the cousins were quite a bit older than him.

The camp has been dedicated and the animals come right into the camp. We came upon this deer SITTING right in front of us. After I got within 10 feet I guess it had decided that was close enough and trotted off. Truly a remarkable place.

We drove to the camp on Friday afternoon and got settled into our cabins then met as a whole group for some instruction from the camp hosts, a couple who were serving a mission at the camp that summer. We then put on our family colored t-shirts and met at the amphitheater for a big family picture.

I ran down to help set up dinner for the big crowd and then after dinner there was a wonderful program. Dad spoke a bit about the United States flag and showed he great love for this flag and the country it represents. Melinda and I were the color guard that posted the colors. It was a privilege to help especially considering how deeply patriotic dad is.  Several cousins were then asked to share stories of grandma and grandpa Hansen. Scott was included in that group and he said later that he was grateful for the opportunity because so many memories of spending time with them came back that he had forgotten or not thought about for years. One of the cousins had prepared a short film showing old pictures from the early years and then they showed another contaning group pictures of all the children of grandma and grandpa Hansen and their children and grandchildren. It was extremely well done and I though extremely nice to have for our genealogy records.

That night we all bunked in our cabin (we had 20 people and an brand new baby all in one room. Crazy) and boy were those top bunks HOT! I had just been camping with the young women the week before and so I packed for it to be really cold like it was before. I didn't anticipate that in a cabin with that many people it would be just the opposite.

Uncle Cody on the rope swing, Maddy waits her turn.

The next day we woke up and did a the ropes course and then spent some time on the lake. At the ropes course Maddy was invited to participate in each challenge. One challenge we had to walk all of us along a wire without touching the ground and with very little to hold onto but each other. All the family in our group (these were Scott's cousins and their kids) helped Maddy along the wire too. We had to swing on a rope swing and get passed through a spider's web and with each challenge, Maddy was part of the family. I have to admit, all anyone has to do to get on my good side is to be sweet to my daughter. I feel great love for anyone extending love towards her.

At the last challenge before the big "rope ladder/swinging bridge/zip line" activity, we were blindfolded and our hand put on a rope and then we walked. (I should mention that at the finish of each of these challenges the sister missionary who was leading our group had a spiritual parallel to share with us). I was blind folded and I held Maddy on my left hip while holding on to the rope with my right hand. As we were walking along Maddy was quiet in the beginning but at one point, there was a fork in the road and Maddy said "go that way mom" and guided me a bit. I suppose she could see other people. At another spot along the line Maddy wanted to hold on and she was getting wiggly. I had to tell her, "you just hold on to me and I'll hold onto the line". Once we all got back, the Sister asked us how we felt while we walked or if we had any insights. I mentioned that when Maddy was trying to hold the line and I said "you just hold on to me and I'll hold onto the line" I thought about how much that is what parents do, we ask our children to just cling to us and to let us make the decisions for them for awhile, we let them cling to our testimonies and our beliefs until they grow up and are old enough to walk along the iron rod themselves. It was actually a powerful "mommy" moment. The Sister said that she was impressed when Maddy was telling me where to go. She said that sometimes as parents, we get tied up in all the stress and craziness of the world and it takes our innocent children to remind us to do the simple things that keep us on the path.

I was surprised at how nervous this made me.

At the lake that afternoon Scott, Maddy and I shared a canoe and Maddy had a great time paddling with my big paddle. We returned to the cabin to pack up and check out. We said goodbye to Amy and Miles and their family as they were heading straight to Idaho. The rest of us drove down to Provo and stopped at a great Mexican restaurant for dinner together before Cody and Hayley drove home.

Uncle Jeff and Marley

Scott and Maddy and I drove to Payson for the night because the next day, Jeff and Chantiel were blessing new baby Marley Mae at mom and dad's house. It was a lovely ordinance and we were joined by Chantiel's family who were also in town. Mom had us sing "I am a Child of God" before the blessing to bring the proper Spirit to the house. It was a wonderful thought and really helped settle everyone into the proper frame of mind. Jeff said some really nice words to everyone and Dad gave Marley a name and a blessing. Afterwards we sat around in the backyard and ate sloppy joes and salads and had ice cream while the kids played. It was a nice, lazy ending to a hectic weekend.

Mom and Dad

My loves - Scott and Madelyn

Eli, Isaac, Uncle Marcus, Aunt Melinda, and Zoe

(sadly, missing a picture of Amy and her family!)

Aunt Chantiel, Khloe, Uncle Jeff, and Marley

Uncle Cody and Aunt Hayley

Isaac practices his twisting flip

As I hear so many people talk badly about their spouse's family I always feel such gratitude that I have wonderful in-laws. I love Scott's parents and siblings and their spouses. I feel a great deal of connection to them and it actually really cemented when Maddy was born and they loved her and for some reason it amazed me that they did! Mentally I knew that she was part of them, she is their blood, but I guess I just felt that distance because I was not. However, through her, I have felt adopted in to the Bishop family. As I said before, the way to my affections is to love my baby and that has surely happened. It was a truly great weekend.