Hearst Castle...Wow!

Our anniversary weekend adventure included Moonstone Beach...loved it! the boardwalk all along the beach is wonderful! the weather was great, the scenery beautiful and the company perfect! I LOVE Moonstone beach! But alas, found no moonstones! :) We took the "beginner" tour of Hearst Castle. Very fun! We got to see the outdoor pool, ONE of the 3 guest houses, ornate patios, the 1st floor of the castle, the tennis courts and the indoor pool...
This is the indoor pool at Hearst Castle...it was amazing. Hard to tell, but there are millions of little tiles encompassing the whole room and pool! And gold ones to make the designs...very ornate! It is a beautiful room!

The "high dive" in this magnificent room...I wish you could see all the tiles! And the beautiful designs in the bottom of the pool...

I think this pool was my favorite thing to see! Above the indoor pool are tennis courts with the old hollywood style lights so they can play at night and right under the nets are glass skylights which let light into the pool room.

This is the great hall or basically the main room when you come in from the front door...tapestries, huge fireplace and art of all kinds. An art lovers paradise...

In the dining hall...look at the size of those candlesticks!! And the cute guy next to them! :)

The ornate carved ceiling in the great hall...different picture in every square...there are a LOT of these!!

Outside looking up at the bell towers...we were there at noon when they chimed! They only chime once a day...good timing eh? The statue to the left is an egyptian statue and I believe he said it was from the time of Moses...I'll have to check into that! Maybe I misunderstood (very likely!). The patios and outdoor statues were all amazaing as well. Marble everywhere and of course we can't touch anything!!! (an no flash photography!!)

This is the outdoor pool. Equally amazing in size and beauty. The white statues and fountains all around make it look so pretty. This is the third pool in this spot- it increased in size 3 different times. I guess the builders got paid well! It was a very fun place to visit and I would like to go back sometime to take the other tours and see the other rooms! The history of this place is very interesting too and the most interesting to me was that it was a lady architecht! Back in those days that was rare! We had a fun day touring, beachwalking, and walking the main street of Cambria. We had a picnic on the beach and we did it all in one day and on less than one tank of gas!

27 years ago...

...I was blessed with this!


















I am grateful to be married to this wonderful man for eternity! (Sorry honey, you're stuck with me!). He is patient, loving, fun, handsome, and I cannot imagine my life without him. I am so blessed to have him in my life! Can't believe it's been 27 years and that's just a drop in the bucket! And 5 wonderful children have blessed our lives...now an inlaw and a grandbaby...we are sooooo blessed!!! I look forward to the rest of our years together...forever!




Wow...we were young and skinny!
Sept. 25, 1982, Mesa, Arizona

I hope they call me on a mission...

Dave and I have started a 6 week mission - we are serving as ward missionaries! We get to work with our awesome ward missionary leader (Dave Swinney) and two of the greatest sister missionaries...Sis. Johnson and Sis. Herzig. We are also serving with fellow ward missionaries Caleen Beatty and Sandi Done. We feel it an honor to work with all of these people, to attend the Gospel Principles class, and to see how the gospel is changing peoples' lives. I'm a little nervous about the day we get to TEACH the class (I think we get two turns in our 6 week time-frame) but there is a great group of people in there and they all have wonderful contributions to make. I look foward to my "extra" study time and how much I will learn and grow in these next 6 weeks. I also look forward to serving with my wonderful and faithful companion...Dave. :)

"He had changed the affairs of the kingdom"

I was reading in Mosiah 11 in the Book of Mormon...and was totally struck at how the actions of the wicked King Noah sounded so much like our government of today. And that line, "he had changed the affairs of the kingdom" really hit me. It speaks of his taxations, putting down the priests that had been consecrated by his father and putting new ones in their stead that were lifted up in pride...they spoke vain and flattering words....etc. etc. Noah truly did not "walk in the ways of his father" who was a righteous man. My thoughts turned to our forefathers who set up a good form of government and yes, our new president is bringing about "change" but I fear for the kind of change it is. Thankfully I can find peace as a I study the scriptures and truly know of Heavenly Father's plan of happiness and KNOWING that I have the Savior in my life who is the Prince of Peace. Who died for me that I might live, that I can repent of my sins and if I continue on the straight and narrow path, I may return to heaven one day to live with Him. For this I am especially grateful today!

Sept. 5th is a special day...

Today is my sister Lori's birthday. She would be 49 today. This is a picture of her 2nd birthday. I am not in the picture because I was born two months later! She passed away almost 8 months after this picture was taken. I was not quite 6 months old when she died. I look forward to the day when I can meet her again and get to know her. I love knowing I have a sister! And I love knowing that my parents are with her again and enjoying their time together. Happy Birthday Lori!
Today is also my parents' anniversary. 57 years ago these two young people tied the knot. I am grateful for their temple sealing and that we are a forever family. I feel blessed to be their daughter and to have known them for all my life! I am grateful for the knowledge I have that they are together now, and I am sure they are celebrating this day in a very special way. Love you Mom and Dad. Happy Anniversary!!

McKinney-Miller Club....

Okay, so the evening book club has not been as full as we were hoping!! Everyone says they want to come, but then when it rolls around, it's just me and Donna! We missed you all, but we still have a really great time talking about books...and other topics of interest. :) So Donna and I will be meeting the first thursday of October to talk about "The Undaunted" by Gerald Lund. If any of you want to join us...please do!!! Everyone is welcome! Oh, and Donna made the most yummy Texas Chocolate cake! See what you missed??? Oh, we will also probably talk about "The Great and Terrible" series because I have just finished it and Donna is about to...it is a great series and will get you thinking SERIOUSLY about your food and water storage...as well as preparation for emergencies. It gives you a lot to think about, in the whole Satan and his followers and what they are doing here on the earth...can I just say...WOW. Food for thought!!Hope someone will join us...think about it please!! We are excited to talk about these wonderful books we have been reading. I also want to follow Donna's example and post a blog about the books I have read this summer...am working on that for another post. Right now, I need to go read a few chapters. :) happy weeekend!!

Need used car ASAP

The McKinneys are in need of a reliable used car in the 1500-2000 range. If anyone knows of one or has one to sell, please let us know! Thanks!!!!