October Summary

So here's what's gone on this past month:
September 26 to October 1 - I flew to California to see my sister and her family. I had so much fun with Jill and her girls and it was a great break from Utah! Poor Holly had broken her leg the week before but she was a trooper and did most everything, even on crutches, AND she gave up her bed for me! I LOVE this girl! Then there's Rissa Roo, who is always busy dancing and singing and playing games. She loves playing "Find Me", a simpler version of Hide n Seek, watering the plants on the deck, swinging/playing outside and eating gogurts and M&M's! She's fully potty trained at just 26 months and a very independent little girl, which reminds me of an incident where she had gone to the potty ALL BY HERSELF! Scene 1: She is found in the bathroom flushing and flushing the toilet, which was of course clogged and starting to overflow... Her clues to us were 1)wipes, 2)hand and 3)ball (Oh NO!) Scene 2: After plunging and plunging and trying to unclog it every other way the toilet had to be removed finally. Scene 3: In the neck of the toilet there was a giant, and I mean GIANT, wad of toilet paper rolled into a, what else, Ball! So she had been telling us the truth: she had made a giant ball of the TP by wrapping it around her hand several (like hundreds) of times for the purpose of wiping. Oh, we (at least I)laugh now, but at the time it was pretty late and it had been a long hard day for both John and Jill and it wasn't a welcome little diversion. Kids! Pretty cute!!
Also while I was there Jill and I had some good time to talk and laugh and yes, sometimes just plain ol vent about life. I helped her put together some pages for the Baby Shower Scrapbook she was making for Angelique and also got to go help at Holly's school's "Bulldog Trek" with her. Then late Thursday night we got their vehicle all packed up and John drove us through the night back here to Utah where they spent a little over a week here with us.
10/2-10/14 - It was conference weekend. Mom and Dad came down Friday night after their mission reunion and spent Saturday with us all. Matt and Angelique and Alli and Jon spent a lot of the weekend with us too. It was a crazy madhouse but fun, fun, fun! Tyler made his yummalicious Dutch Oven BBQ Ribs on Monday so everyone came back for that too. We had some good Nertz games and played some Bananagrams too. It was back to work for me during the days, but non-stop shopping, playing, eating, and planning for Angelique's baby shower the rest of the time. The shower was on Saturday Oct. 13th and it went really well. She had lots of friends come and Great-Grandma Judy even came back down from Idaho just to help and be there.


10/15 on - Back to normal life, whatever that is! The house was sure quiet and meals became much easier and simpler. Hurray! Jill has this thing about needing dessert every day when you are on vacation, so we had altogether too much yummy stuff around to munch on while they were here! Dixie, a friend from work, and I had been thinking about joining Weight Watchers for awhile but the week after Jill and Family left I knew it was truly time! I also got a terrible cold that week, must have been all the late hours and then the letdown of having them leave. The H1N1 virus has been rampant around Utah and has definitely hit our neighborhood and ward and also many on BYU campus have been out very sick so I was grateful it was just a cold.
Rick and I were able to get some needed "fall cleanup" done in the yard and then take a nice long drive up into the Uintas and see the colors change the next weekend. It was just in time I think because we've had some frosty nights and even a little snow in the valley this last week. Fall is definitely here and maybe even on it's way out soon it seems. Hopefully we'll get some great November days before ol man Winter really comes!
The best thing about November coming is we are expecting our first grandchild then. She is due Nov. 18th but Angelique would be oh so happy to have her any day now. AND we have a 2nd grandchild on the way! I've known for quite a while, but since Allison is 19 weeks along now I think it's safe to announce to blogland. (see her blog here) I am SO EXCITED!! She has an ultrasound scheduled in early Nov. and hopes the baby cooperates and will let them see him or her so we'll know better who to plan for!
And since today is Oct. 30th, that's about all for this month. I don't do much for Halloween, but next year should have some really cute pictures of grandchildren dressed up!

Labor Day weekend trip

We went on a trip to Victorville, CA area to visit with Rick's sister and husband, RaNea and Barry. We also saw his brother Randy and girlfriend Sue and his cousin Debi and Mark and their grandkids, Evie and Logan. It was a great trip and Rick loved driving his fast sporty car!

We visited some cemeteries and found Rick's grandparents graves. Here is Rick with RaNea and Randy. We're just missing Rob, who lives in the far away country of New Jersey!
At Debi's house in Riverside I got to swim and play Barbies with 5 year old Evie. She is begging, fenagling and manipulating her grandma, Debi, to take her on a plane next summer to come see me in Utah! And I think it'll happen. :)

I got a camera!

I got my very own digital camera so now my excuses are all gone for not posting regularly. Do ya think I'll think of a few more excuses? Well, all I can say is It Could Happen! Just to post this I had to go thru the hoops of resetting my password. So now I just need to remember how to get pictures on here! Ahh, the joys of halfzeimers!

Blocks and Friendships

Way back in February I did a post titled Pay it Forward. Well, sadly, no one played along with me but I had done so with my friend Patti (Nana's News). 2 weeks ago we were able to get together and she gave me these super cute blocks as my present. Thanks Patti! It was a long overdue visit for sure. I got a tour of her new house, we went out to eat and visited for hours. You know how sometimes you have a friend that no matter how long it's been since you've gotten together you pick right up where you ended and totally fall right back into your friendship like you were never states and years apart... Well, that's how it is with us. It was so fun to spend the evening with her. I'm so grateful for her and other friends like her in my life. Do you have friends like that? I sure hope so! And aren't these blocks just ca-ute?

BEST NEWS EVER!!

Yes, it's a baby on the way... I'm going to be a Grandma!! It'll be our first grandchild. My son Matt and his wife Angelique are due to have HER Nov. 18th. We've known for a few months now but I wasn't keeping up this blog, so this is still catch up news sort of, but still the very BEST news. So I've definitely got "pink" and "girly" and baby things on my mind lately. Fun and Cute stuff out there--so many choices nowadays for new parents. I have a few projects in mind to make and get ready for a new little one so if I seem a little over the top on baby things now, you'll know why! I am totally excited for this new phase in life and am feeling blessed that they don't live too far away (in Saratoga Springs) so we'll be able to see this grandchild so easily. The last few weeks I have been able to spend some time with Angelique and it's been a good bonding time with us I think. We did some crib and stroller shopping and found a few cute outfits to start with. She's going to be a great mommy and Matt will be a super daddy. They have waited 4 years for this one to come join their family and are just thrilled that it's finally happening. And I am too--I get to be a Grandma!!

Paint and Vegas (No, we didn't literally paint the town...)

In the previous post I had said we repainted the living room, so here's a few pictures so you can envision the colors better. Don't mind the furniture too much please, and nothing is up on the walls yet, so you'll have to wait for another reveal on that. We did get our new sofa tho so it's coming along... New carpet and the Parchment color paint on the walls
Love my Red Red Wine wall! (not the old entertainment center so much tho.)

The last week of June we drove down to Las Vegas and met my sis and BIL John, as they were there for a work-related conference, for 4 days. We stayed at a great place called The Tuscany. They were having some awesome just-can't-pass-up room rates too that made it even more enjoyable. I have a brother (Dave and family) who live in Henderson so we spent three evenings with them also. We took a tour at Hoover Dam and saw the huge very (and I really mean very) high up new bridge they are building. We saw the Lion Exhibit at the MGM Grand. I just love kitties of all sizes! We went into the Bellagio and saw the current garden exhibit and also a few of the dancing water shows. I took a video of one of them but it doesn't seem to want to load on here. I'll work on it cause it was awesome to see! The last night we met for dinner at Memphis BBQ. We tried taking a family photo (3 out of 4 of us anyway)but the flash wouldn't work so it's a bit dark. Turns out it was me having it on the wrong setting, not the camera's fault--ugh!! All in all we had a nice relaxing time there. It was as hot as we expected but I enjoyed the pool at the hotel and Dave's house and finally got my tan started! Yeah, I love the sun! So here's some pics from our trip to Las Vegas:
Jill and I in Paris! (well, in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, errrr, I mean Las Vegas)
The Lion Exhibit in the MGM Grand.
One was playful and one not so much.
What big paws you have kitty!
Looking thru the glass enclosure from the walkway that goes underneath.

Such a cute ladybug!
The Secret Garden exhibit inside the Bellagio Hotel. Gorgeous stuff!
So colorful!
I loved this snail!

Here is the bridge they are building over Hoover Dam so that the new highway can bypass going over the top of the dam. It's Way UP there! When they finish the arch they can complete the road over the top and then they will take down the upper supports with the wires you can see now. Amazing!

This is my favorite sister, not to mention my only sister, Jill. HA HA!! Who's taking whose picture here really? Gotcha!

And here is the 6 of us after stuffing ourselves and having a great time visiting!Too bad I messed up the camera and it's so dark, looks like it might have been a pretty fair picture of us.

AND I am still working on the most exciting news post I promised... It shouldn't be too much longer... I'm hoping for tomorrow even...

I've been challenged...

Yes, I've been away for a long time... not really away, just away from my blog. I don't have a camera readily available to me (that's one of my sorry excuses) and I was feeling like I didn't have much to tell about anyways.. But two days ago I was chatting with an old friend, (not that she's old really--just one teeny tiny year older than me--but from way back when--you know what I mean, right?)... Anyways, we were chatting online and in catching up with her I'd say something and she'd say "I didn't know that. You should have blogged about it..." (or something very close to those words). She gave me lots of encouragement (thanks Patti!) and then challenged me to blog at least once a week for 4 weeks and see how it went. Then after I'd accepted her challenge to me I wasn't even sure I remembered my password. But my old brain didn't completely desert me today and I figured it out and so here I am doing my first blog in quite awhile..
So here are a few of the things that have happened over the last few months that I should have blogged about probably:
In April we had our 30th anniversary! We couldn't go in April but went the first weekend in May to our timeshare in Park City for a few days and enjoyed some time together alone. It rained almost the whole time we were there so it was kinda gloomy out, but one of the days we went up to the Olympic Park where they had the ski and bobsled/luge races. There is a nice little museum about the SLC Olympics there that we enjoyed too. Also in May we got a new car! We traded in our Camry for an 08 Nissan Altima. It's a little sportier (tho still a 4 door) and definitely has more engine power (which Rick LOVES and is the main reason he wanted it). I was a tough sell on it (truthfully I just about had a breakdown but we won't go into that..) cause I didn't want bigger payments (who does, right?) But he won and is like a little boy with his new shiny car still, especially when he gets to race it a little. He "smoked" an Audi one day and came home all excited; He also took it up to 140 mph for just a few minutes and I hardly noticed because it was so smooth. I did notice when he slowed back down to 75-80 and it seemed like we were just crawling tho. LOL
I had been saving and planning and plotting for quite awhile (most of the winter) to get the living room repainted and recarpeted, so probably to appease me and help keep the peace Rick finally took an active interest in this project and gave me the "OK, I'll help you with it" sign. So hooray, we painted and painted.. the walls are now a tan color (Behr "Parchment") with a focus wall being RED (Ralph Lauren "Red Red Wine"). And the new carpet is in! It's a tan color too, but oh, it's so cushy and soft and comfy to walk on. We love it! The new furniture is still waiting to happen. I have his Okay on it, just I haven't found the perfect sofa yet and I have an aversion to spending so much money all at once I guess.. Sometimes it really is a curse to be so practical and frugal!
We got the garden planted the first part of June... Kinda late but since our weather was so unusually wet and cool most of May and June too it didn't really seem to matter. We got a few vinyl grow boxes and are trying some square foot gardening this year. It's finally starting to really grow the last 2 weeks since it's warmed up into the 80's and 90's. We also picked what seemed like TONS of strawberries from our strawberry patch. We enjoyed lots of them just fresh, made lots of smoothie drinks, froze some and I made 4 batches of strawberry jam. Yummmmmmy!
I have a few pictures from some of the above happenings, just they are on my daughter's camera and won't download onto my computer so I haven't got them at my disposal yet, so hopefully I'll get them next week when she gets home from her vacation and be able to get a few on here... And then I have one more GREAT piece of news (I've saved the VERY BEST for last you see.) But I am tired and it's getting very late and so you'll have to just wait another day or two to find out. But it'll be worth it I promise!

Just because

I had a GREAT surprise last week and now that I have a picture to post I'll tell you about it. Rick had gotten me these beautiful roses! Ooooh pretty, thanks honey! At first I thought, Wo, had I forgotten something? It is March 4th, not April 4th, right? (April 4th is our anniversary) Nope, I didn't forget anything. He had gotten them JUST BECAUSE. How sweet! I do love my husband and wow, he really can be pretty nice. Him getting me flowers doesn't happen too often, but it's always a welcome suprise to know he thinks about me and loves me still. Ahhhh :)

Congratulations Cougars!

The BYU Men’s basketball team has won the MWC regular season title for the 3rd straight year! And tonight I just found out they have broken into the AP’s Top 25 poll. Woohoo!! So now on to the MWC tournament in Las Vegas. Go BYU!
Here's one of my favorite players, Lee Cummard. Today he and teammate Jimmer Fredette were both named to the Mountain West's All Conference First Team. Congratulations Cougars!!

Pay it Forward

No, I'm not talking about the movie, but it is the same idea. It sounded like a fun, good thing to do, so do you want to play too? Here's how it works:

The Rules

1. Be one of the first Three (3) bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me.

2. Winners, you must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first 3 bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your three Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Counts!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love (if someone knows how to do that, let me know, because I'm not entirely sure)! If you are not one of the 1st Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Post it on your blog; start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!

I have some questions though. What if no one comments on my blog? Or only one person? Will I still get the handmade gift from Patti?

Perhaps you'd be more likely to sign up if you knew what you would be getting, however, that is a surprise. Oh, come on! Just do it, you know you want to! It will be fun! Sign up already! On your mark, get set, GO!

Happy Valentine's Day

Today is Feb. 14th, Valentine's Day! It was a snowy day all day today, so I stayed home and got things done around the house (started painting the hall bathroom too.) For Valentine's Rick got me some pink tulips in a pot. I love them! I can enjoy a bit of spring now and then plant them outside to bloom in the coming years. :) We got some Costa Vida pork burritos to go for dinner (no cooking--yeah!) and watched the BYU basketball game on TV together. Nothing too spectacular, but that's how we usually are, pretty plain/boring/lazy... I was instructed to NOT bake or buy anything like cookies or a cake this year. We're both trying not to snack so much and eat less and maybe (hopefully) begin to lose a few pounds. I've been sooo good, I haven't bought any Valentine's candy at all. Zero, nada, NONE. And that's quite an accomplishment for me because I love candy and especially chocolate! So I hope you all felt lots of love in your lives and had a really nice Valentine's Day today too.

Just Catching Up

Ok, I'm back. I was all motivated to blog fairly often and then the motivation just disappeared. I don't know why, but I'll try again. So here's a quick rundown of what's happened since I last posted.
December: Very busy with Christmas and all. It was a good Christmas. My parents came down to stay with us for a few days over the holidays, and we made a very quick trip to Idaho Falls one weekend (in a snowstorm so it really was 2 hours longer than the normal drive, so actually not so quick come to think of it). I did get a SWEET sewing machine for Christmas and have done a little sewing with it. Made a pillow for the sofa and some rice bags, that's all. But it sews so nice and smooth and quiet. Makes it seem so easy--I should have gotten a new one years ago I think.
January: Snow, snow, snow and more snow. Jan. 14th Rick and I made a trip to Riverside, CA for a cousin's funeral on the 16th (Danny Cloutier). It was nice to spend some time with family, mainly Rick's brother, Randy, and his cousin Debi and her husband Mark. The weather was warm and beautiful and we loved it! It was hard to come back home knowing it was so very cold here, plus we were in an inversion here that week so it was foggy and ugly too. We also spent one night with my brother David in Henderson, NV on our way back home. Got to see all his kids and his cute grand-daughter Brooke too. I started having some problems with my left foot and have decided it is plantar fasciitis (a heel spur). It's still there but is better with exercises to stretch the tendon, lots of ice, and rest (haha). I also got a new pair of boots with better support to wear to work.
February: More snow, some rain, then more snow... Early in the month we had a problem with the freezer in the garage and thought it had gone kaput, but alas it was just that the breaker had tripped. But since it was about halfway defrosted by then I went ahead and got it all defrosted and cleaned out. Hooray! It really needed it. But it's never a fun job to do, especially when it's so cold out there already. My foot is improving, the new boots have helped a lot! I don't moan and groan and walk all gimpy until the end of the day now usually.