March Madness and a Regan Visit

We've been having a pretty good time with March Madness at our house. When the madness first began, Troy had the entire family fill out brackets, Jackson included. It was pretty humorous, and quite the long process. See the video below... I love how Jackson seems more interested in eating the crayons than answering questions. ;)

Thus far I am in third place out of 3 places in our family bracket. Yep, even Jackson is ahead of me. Ha! Although, after BYU's loss our interest in keeping score has waned a bit. Our poor cougars. We were sure hoping they would make the elite eight. Too bad.

On a much lighter and happier note, part of our March Madness celebrations included a visit from Regan last week. He was in the Phoenix area for his spring break and drove an hour to visit us for dinner one night. We had a great time watching the cougs play and eating pizza. Jackson loves Regan, so they had a good time playing together. Jackson preferred to be pantless while they played as you can see below and he was very fascinated with Regan's hat.

Which led us to pull out the Yankee T-shirt Regan bought the little man last year when he came into town. It's still a little too big, but you can see how awesome he will look when it fits.

Thanks for coming by to visit Regan! We always love seeing you. :)
(Oh, and I'll update with our bracket winner in due time, don't worry.)

Phoenix Temple Update

I thought it was about time for an update on the temple construction here in Phoenix.  (P.S. No idea while this is in all caps... I did everything I could think of to fix it and to no avail. Weird.) I think I've mentioned before, the temple will be in our stake boundaries once it is constructed. However, the neighbors here continue to disrupt the construction process by protesting, submitting statements to the local press, and appealing everything under the sun. The temple was announced in the April 2008 General Conference, and the temple site has yet to see any changes. It's hard for me to understand why the neighbors are so against this process. Are Mormon temples really that scary? I guess they are. It's interesting to hear my young womens' experiences at school and work trying to explain the temple. One of my cute girls was at work and overheard a few co-workers discussing the temple. Apparently they were under the impression that pet cats and dogs would be sacrificed in our temple.... really? Wow. I had no idea those kind of rumors were circulating. And where do a bunch of teenagers get these ideas? Most likely from their adult parents. Unbelievable.

A couple months ago there was an article in the Arizona Republic about the phoenix temple, specifically the "Phoenix Property Rights Coalition" which is so strongly opposing the temple's construction. I was disappointed with the way the church was portrayed in the article as the side of the Coalition seemed to be the only one discussed. In the article the president of the Coalition had a list of specific grievances against the church, all of which seemed over-the-top to me. 

Also a couple of months ago.  I met a mom at park near our house. I told her I was from Utah and it came up that I was Mormon. She immediately said, "Oh yeah, you had that new temple going up north of here don't you?" I was trying to explain the difference between our church houses and our temples when she said. "I don't understand why everyone is so upset about that. No one complained when that mosque went in a few years ago." Interesting, right?

 Early this year our Stake President visited our ward to give us an update. Apparently minor changes to traffic lights and parking were in the works at that time after which construction would be able to begin. They even relocated one of the wards in the church building directly adjacent to the temple site to prepare for construction. Although no groundbreaking has yet been set, last week they put up a "construction fence" which the temple website said was "in anticipation of preliminary site work." A sign indicating construction was also put in place. I was driving in that area last week and when I saw it I beamed. Something is actually happening!  A couple weeks ago, Troy showed me the following letter from the Phoenix Arizona Temple Website. It. is. Awesome. It addresses the Coalition complaints I read about in the Arizona Republic. I love how the Church can so diplomatically state the facts. It makes me smile. Although this process has been unbelievably slow and extremely frustrating, we know there isn't anything anyone can do to prevent this from happening. Eventually, we'll have our temple. 

 

(The letter and all pictures were obtained from the Phoenix Temple Websites: http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/phoenix/  and http://www.phoenixmormontemple.com )

27 December 2010: A Letter to Our Neighbors

Dear Neighbors,
Recently you may have read a letter from the “Phoenix Property Rights Coalition” representing views of the LDS temple development on 5220 West Pinnacle Peak Road.
We recognize and respect the right of others to disagree and have their opinion. However, it is disappointing that the Church’s actions have been characterized as “spiteful,” and that so many factual misrepresentations have been made. The Church has many decades of experience in building temples of all sizes and of working with neighborhoods in a spirit of goodwill, and we would like you to understand the facts. We invite you to contact us or city staff directly if you have additional questions after reading these responses to the recent circular from the Phoenix Property Rights Coalition.

• “Our neighborhood wrote hundreds of letters to the LDS Church”Fact: We have received precisely 6 letters and fewer than 60 e-mails. We carefully read and considered each one.
• “The spire is taller.”Fact: When we redesigned the temple to fully comply with city-mandated zoning and building codes and without requesting any exceptions, the roof line of the temple was reduced by approximately nine feet, and the resulting total overall height, including the spire, has been reduced by nine feet.
• “The lighting is to be left on longer.” Fact: Careful and thoughtful attention has been given to designing lighting levels that are measurably below city code requirements. The exterior lighting will be reduced and/or shut off after all patrons, cleaners, and employees have vacated the temple. By contrast, the temple lighting will not be on as late as the nearby water park or ball fields nor will the light be anywhere as bright.
• “They do not have enough property left for parking spaces.”Fact: The Church has vast experience in gauging traffic and parking at its temples. Multiple consultations have been held with project parking consultants and Phoenix city staff. The temple is not open on Sundays or Mondays. Neither can this temple be compared with much larger temples such as that at Mesa, which has a visitors’ center and which holds special public events at Christmas and Easter. The amount of parking proposed is in excess of the parking required by the City code. An option, which we hope to avoid, would be an above-ground parking structure. By experience we know that temple neighbors have preferred to see meticulously cared-for landscaping rather than extra parking which would stand vacant.
• “They doubled the size of the temple, essentially doubling the traffic.”Fact: The original multi-storey temple was redrawn to its current lower height, and the “footprint” of the building as a whole was expanded accordingly. The seating capacity of the two instructional rooms was increased from 50 to 70, and to accommodate this we increased the locker rooms, corridors, rest rooms and other common areas. Current zoning guidelines would have allowed for a temple of more than twice the current size with a much larger capacity. The actual temple will have a footprint of 27,423 square feet, with a full basement, much of which is dedicated to storage.
• “It is another opportunity for them to look for a more appropriate site.”Fact: The Church has spent many months and a great deal of money in the preparatory work for this beautiful building, and complied with or exceeded every City zoning ordinance. Construction will begin in the New Year. Based on our experience with dozens of other neighborhoods, we are confident that the temple and grounds will be a beautiful and integrated asset to the community.

We invite you to check periodically on our website at www.phoenixmormontemple.com for further background information on temples generally and this one in particular. Also, please feel free to contact the Public Affairs Department of the Church directly, or respond through the Feedback mechanism on the website.
Sincerely
Mark N. Tuttle
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Public Affairs Department

Isn't it great? I love the fact that they'd received precisely six letters and the part about the water park. There is a huge water park just down the road from the temple site. It's not close enough to mess with the temple at all, but I think it's funny that the neighbors are so concerned about the lights of the temple when they have a water park with tons of lights and lots of screaming children just down the way. Ha!

Bushman Family Feature #6: Ashley Barneck

My little sister Ashley turns 17 today. That sort of makes me feel old. I remember going to the hospital to meet Ashley. Lindsay and I were sooooooo excited to finally have a baby at our house. I prayed and prayed and prayed that we would have a little brother or sister come. The doctors said it wouldn't happen. As the story goes, I prayed by myself for a while and then acknowledged to the rest of the family that I wasn't getting much help, at which point other members started joining it. Ha! Mom calls Ashley "Miracle Baby #1" (Jer is Miracle Baby #2 ;) and I really can't imagine our family without her. Here are three of the many reasons why we love Miss Ashley.

March 17, 1994

Meeting Ashley. I'm on the left, Lindsay is on the right. Can you see how we can hardly contain our excitement? :) Love this picture.

1. Music Expert.
I consider Ashley the music expert in my life. When I hear a song I like, I ask her who its by so I can order it off itunes. You see, although I love music, I'm not good at remembering any facts about it-- (names, composers, artist,) That's where having a sister like Ashley comes in handy. She can tell you who sings just about anything. In fact, when she very occasionally says "I don't know," I am shocked!  I usually reply with "Really? Are you sure you don't know?" because it's such an uncommon occurrence. Ashley helps me make awesome mixes when I visit Utah. She told me once she was on a mission to make me like ghetto music. That makes me laugh. Ashley has music on her phone and often plays it so Jackson can dance. She has music playing while she showers, while she sleeps, and of course while she drives. She also is a very talented pianist. She is also the go-to person if you're wanting to find free sheet music online. When I think of someone who loves Music, I think of Ashley. It's just too bad we don't live closer so we could be American Idol buddies. :(

April 2010 Sahuaro Ranch Park in AZ

2. Chillest of the Chill
In this way, Ashley and I just might be polar opposites. Ashley is soooo chill about everything. Example: "Wow, it's already 9 and I haven't started studying for my human anatomy test tomorrow. Maybe I should do that." And she says it like she's talking about what she had for lunch. If I were in her position I would be running around like a basket-case. But this is why Ashley is so great. She doesn't get upset or uptight about much. She is perfectly happy to go with the flow and let things turn out how they will. She said something once about how she thought she wasn't very laid back. My mom and I both stopped what we were doing and stared at her. Mom said, "Ashley, what would make you think you weren't laid back?" Haha! She's incredibly laid back and because of this, she enjoys everything she does to the fullest. I love that about her. She gets so excited about the little things, like her new Justin Beiber T-shirt. Lol. And she is just happy go-lucky about the things that make the average person get overwhelmed and uptight. I would guess she has quite the yellow personality, which leads me to my final point...

 July 2010- Pineview Reservoir

Perfect example of Ashley chilling. She has been known to take naps in the tube on various boating trips. She's a really good beach babe :)

3. Fun, funny, funnest.
Ashley's sense of humor kills me. She's always telling me about some funny new artifact that has "changed her life" like a sock-monkey or the aforementioned Justin Bieber T-shirt, (or Michael Jackson, or Taylor Swift, Ashley really likes her concert Tees.) When I look at her like, "Are you serious?" She laughs and tells me she most definitely is. Ashley is really good at having fun. She's always game for a good activity. Sometimes she suggests watching "The Princess and the Frog" three nights in a row and falls asleep during the first ten minutes each time :) Other times she thinks maybe it would be a good idea if we all sat around and watched the kid history videos. Have you seen them? They're on youtube. When she told me I should watch them and that they would change my life I thought, okay whatever, I'll do it to please her and then I was laughing so hard I had tears streaming down my face. Hadn't laughed that hard in a really long time. When I returned to AZ and watched them with Troy... they weren't funny at all. Haha! I think Ashley is what made them so funny. I love that Ashley loves to have fun so much. It makes her the funnest person to be around. (Yes it is a word.) She is so fun-loving that fun just finds her and for that reason it's always good to have her close by.

 December 2010 Christmas Shopping at the Gateway In SLC

I feel like I could go on and on with funny Ashley stories. She seriously cracks me up. I love you Ash. Happy Birthday! I hope it's a great day for you. I am so grateful that Miracle Baby #1 arrived 17 years ago today. I feel so blessed to have you as my sister and friend. Love you forever!

Our Spring Break

My oh my did we have a nice spring break. Troy had the entire first week of March off and it was fabulous. I must say it all ended too soon. The week flew by. But we sure enjoyed ourselves while it lasted. Here is a recap of our activities.

{First Day's Activities}

On the first day of Troy's break we.... cleaned our carpets. Very exciting I know. :) The Wahlstroms let us borrow their carpet cleaner, so so nice. They were absolutely filthy. Like disgusting. Whoever decided to put beige carpet in apartments was not mentally sound. The kind in our apartment is super cheap. Even water stains it, very lame. It took us three hours of trading off with the cleaner and scrub scrubbing, but they finally came clean. They look awesome. It's amazing how much of a difference having nice clean carpet makes. Love!

{Celebration BBQ}

The Petersons invited us over for a BBQ on day one of the break. It was really fun to visit with everyone. (The boys are so much more social when not burdened with studying schedules and upcoming tests.) Amanda and Kindi are the cutest and collaborated on treats for me as the next day was my birthday. Pink lemonade cupcakes and delicious caramel brownies. Yum! Maybe I should tell them my birthday is coming up again next week ;)

{My Birthday}

We celebrated my birthday on the second day of the break. There's a whole post about that. It was a lovely day and I'm still feeling pretty lucky to have my birthday fall during Midwestern's break. The stars sure aligned for that tender mercy!

{Temple Trade}

On the 3rd and 4th days of the break we did a babysitting trade with the Teftellers so we could go to the temple. It was so great and I hope we can do it again soon. With the temple being at least 45 minutes away, this is easily a 5 hour babysitting drive. We feel like the Teftellers most certainly got the raw end of the deal as Emma is an angel child and Jackson is kind of crazy. Despite this, they said he was good and even listened to them. Wow! That's great. I can't tell you how wonderful it was to do a session and then sit in the Celestial room. It never ceases to amaze me how much peace the temple brings into my life. I went in with all sorts of concerns and left with all sorts of perspective. It was perfect. After our temple visit we went to lunch at Cafe Rio. Mmmmm. Greatest date ever! :)

{Spring Training}

The 5th and 6th days of the break were spent at Spring Training practices. We went to see the Dodgers at Camelback stadium one day and they had a late game so they weren't there. So we went home and cleaned out our closet instead. It looks loads better. :) (Troy also helped me with his scrapbook. I'm very close to having everything printed and organized and I'm ecstatic about it!) We went back the next day and were able to get our feel of Dodgers/White Sox time. There's a whole post about that as well, so that's all I'll say.

{Last-First-Day Breakfast}

Yesterday morning before Troy headed off to school, we had a "Last-First-Day-of-School" breakfast of blueberry muffins and scrambled eggs. This is Troy's last quarter of book work, (thus the last first day) and I can hardly believe it. I didn't know if the end would ever come and it looks quite plausible that it will now! Hooray! Reason to celebrate for sure.

It was a lovely break. I sure love spending lots and lots of time with my boys. Thanks for being so wonderful my Bushman men. xoxo.

Spring Training 2011

For those of you who didn't know, March is Spring Training month in Phoenix. And it. is. awesome. You can show up and any of ten practice stadiums around the valley pretty much any morning and watch baseball stars practice for free. It's super fun, and guess what? It's free. :) Free parking, free entrance. Love it! They do charge a little bit for the games, but usually you can find some pretty good deals.

{FanFest}

We went to Fan Fest this year and it was amazing. Hosted by the Peoria Sports Complex, Fan Fest is a kick-off to the Spring Training season. We arrived at the stadium and upon entering through the gate, Jackson was gifted a backpack with a MLB Baseball, pack of baseball cards, and autograph marker inside. How cute is that?! Jackson was very excited, and, I must add, so was Troy, because it was a real deal baseball :) Jackson thought all this baseball stuff was fun. He carried his little mitt with him everywhere we went and he loved running along the grass bordering the outfield fence. It was quite fun to be outside and to watch all sorts of cute little boys be very excited about meeting their favorite players. I had lots of fun watching how excited Jackson and Troy were as well. Troy was totally soaking it up.

Me playing with the zoom feature on our camera. (I took this one from the outfield :) Yay! I love zooming.

Jackson was beyond excited for the Wahlstroms to join us at Fanfest. He sure loves his little friends. The little boys had a ball running down the hill and peeking through the fence. The outfielders were nice and even gave Jack W. a ball. So cute! When Jackson threw his backpack ball over the fence onto the field, one of the outfielders was kind enough to toss it back. After the boys had been running around for a good twenty minutes or so, Jack W. said, "I've had enough of watching these football guys." Haha! Troy told Jack he couldn't leave until he knew what sport we were watching :) That kid cracks me up. After we'd watched our fill of practice we headed behind the stadium for the kid games. They had all sorts of stuff back there. Examples: blow up toy, a mini field to run the bases on, and some picture ops. I took one picture and my camera died :( But I think I still got some goodies.

Fan Fest was great! Mental note to make sure we go back again next year.

{Dodgers and White Sox Practice}

We headed to Camelback Ranch Stadium another day to see the Dodgers and White Sox practice. We went to this same stadium last year with Troy's family to see a game. The weather was lovely and warm. We stopped at QT on the way to get some yummy watermelon slushies. Jackson became instantly addicted, so we had to throw it away when he wasn't looking... let's be honest, Jackson doesn't need anything extra to give him more energy. :) There was a pretty big crowd at the practice, it being a Saturday. We saw LOTS of Dodgers fans and even got a free Dodgers T-shirt.

The cool thing about this stadium is that you are very close to the players. You can see how they are completely gigantic. We were playing along the fence watching batting practice when a White Sox pitcher, Kyle Cofield, strolled over to the fence and handed Jackson a baseball. Jackson was so excited and said "Thank you!" The player laughed and said "Your welcome!" We stayed and watched batting practice for a while, by the time we were done, Troy had gotten a couple balls. (He was very excited to add 4 major league balls to his stash after this year's Spring Training events. Seriously, you should have seen him grin!)

Jackson with his new ball from Kyle Cofield.

We had a great time. Troy and I are going to try to sneak in a night game sometime in the next few weeks. Hooray for baseball and sun. Anyone want to come visit??? ;)