Sunday, August 30, 2009

More of Sunday dinner.

These cute married kids came early and made me happy just by being there. There was a lot of yummy food and they ate it.
These same two want two of my chairs painted cute for their cute little apartment. What fun!
This little dog didn't bark much when Britni had her on a leash and walked with her.
This cute little cat wanted part of the action.
When I looked up in the sky and saw this sight, I gasped loudly with delight. I am glad I had my camera in my hands! Perfect!

Sunday dinner.

I have two older sisters and two younger sisters (and one younger brother). One of my cute younger sisters and her husband (and two girls and a boy fetus) is moving away from Utah and back to Tuscon, Arizona. So, today we had Sunday dinner in their honor to say good bye.
My parents came (they live just a few miles away).
My husband had grill duty. He also helped me clean the house and set up tables, chairs and a canopy (if you say that fast it sounds like... can of pea or pee).
These little cousins had fun together (well one is my niece and the rest are actual cousins (daughters and a son of two of MY nieces). Adorable.
This little one is quite the mama's girl. Very cute.
This one wasn't smiling but I got a hint of a smile and a great shot of a cute little girl.
This one likes to pose.
Most of us ate outside and some of us ate inside.
This one is a darling baby (third girl) of one of my nieces.
Chris and Amanda are cute and adorable.
Dinner turned out great and I'm glad so many of the family came over.
I need to remember I don't need to clean up as much as I do.
We will miss my sister and her cute little family.

Friday, August 28, 2009

A work in progress...

We moved this cute little dresser into Sheyla's room. We have been playing musical beds and furniture, much to Jeff's chagrin. Remember this here?
I'm done with the shelf. Here is the before.
Here is the after.
I'm still in the process of finishing the room. I've only spent money on paint and about $20 for Britni to fix the frame and glass of a large picture (she did an amazing job). Everything else we already had and/or I've just re-purposed it. I'm going to try my hand at abstract art to get some color in here. It will be an experiment. Davis seems pleased with his room so far, although he hasn't said anything. Occasionally, he will just smile when I show him something new in his room. That's enough for me.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Lunch with Jeff.

Yesterday, I went to lunch with Jeff. We don't get to go together very often so it really was a treat! Jeff was craving Pizzeria 712. So, we went and it was good!
He is silly and makes me laugh everyday. He is handsome, strong and very kind. He is a good, present, and patient father. He is a good, loving and patient husband. He is truly, my best friend.
I have been listening to and loving Billy Joel lately. I love the beautiful and sweet song "And So It Goes". I could sing that song to Jeff, if I could sing. But if I were to choose an anthem for me today, it would be "This Is The Time" because I have been thinking much lately about how fast the time has gone by already. We have been married nearly 24 years, the kids are growing up so fast and it nearly takes my breath away by the speed of things. I want to savor every precious moment!
"This is the time to remember
Cause it will not last forever
These are the days
To hold on to
But we won't
Although we'll want to
This is the time..."

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

City Celebration Views.

These are from Saturday. It's easy to be grateful with views like this. I AM grateful to live in such a beautiful place.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

My hero.

The car that Chris uses, broke down Sunday night and was left on the side of a road twenty minutes away. I had to pick him up at his girlfriends house. I let him use my car after I had a meeting during the day that I had to cut short, and later, I took him to work 35 minutes away. Jeff picked him up after work.
After dinner, Jeff got his tools and we headed for the car (without Chris because he just got up and left, right before we had dinner). Jeff checked the battery and took it out and we went to an automotive store and had them check the battery. Sure enough that was the problem but it took twenty minutes for them to charge the battery.
Then he cleaned some connections, got the battery connected and immediately the car started. Jeff is not a mechanic but does surprise me in what he can fix, at times.
I don't use the car but I would have to share mine so it was a very nice thing and more than convenient for the both of us that Jeff was able to fix the car.
He even brought me dried mangoes, just because I like them. That's hero enough for me.

Monday, August 24, 2009

The education of a son and a mom.

Davis painted one cuff on Friday. I painted many (too many).
Davis did help get some things ready for Saturday.
It was a very hot but beautiful day. It was our city's celebration day that just happened to have a craft faire. We only sold five cuffs. Luckily the booth was free.
It made Davis happy for part of the day. It was a long hot day.

Jeff was a great help. Davis learned a lot and so did I (and it wasn't all good). But we did have some fun hanging out together. We had a yummy lunch (the best philly steak sandwiches). Grandparents came to visit. We got to talk to and meet lots of nice people. We learned a new craft and now we can give leather cuffs as gifts for a long time.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Craft Faire tomorrow.

Davis comes up with ideas of new inventions or new money making plans nearly everyday and usually it's about 20 new ideas each day. So, it was with some excitement when he saw Christopher's girlfriend sell some leather cuffs at a farmer's market. But this time I thought there was some possibility for Davis to sell something he could make (it is very cost prohibitive and technically impossible to sell solar panel cars or backpacks or tents when you don't have cheap access to the supplies nor the knowledge to make such items).
So he has been practicing putting snaps on pieces of cut, vintage leather belts. Our town is having a craft faire tomorrow and the booths are FREE so I thought that would also be the perfect reason for Davis to try his hand in selling something. But he has had some frustration with the snaps. We ordered some on line from the Tandy Leather Company but it's not so easy for this 15 year old kid to get the hang of putting on these snaps. So, yesterday I drove all the way up to Salt Lake City to the Tandy Leather Company to buy some more snaps and see if I could learn how to do it myself (Davis was in school). I went up there and the people at the store were very nice and super helpful. I got a great lesson in putting on the snaps and stamping raw leather and now, I feel I can help Davis with the cuffs.
We only have a few pre-made cuffs because if you wait till the fair then you can custom make them for the individual and they can pick the piece they want. It's quite brilliant, but it's not our idea.
I made the sign for the booth. I thought I was quite clever with the name and the colorful banner (I borrowed the frame from my sister). Don't look too closely. It'll do.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Letter Day!

Today's letter was one of the best letters ever!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Letter to the football coaches.

Here is the letter I sent to the coaches of the High School Football team:

Dear Coaches,

Thank you for allowing Davis to try out and practice with the team. He has wanted to try out for football for so long and Monday he was determined that he would go out for football. On Monday when we registered for school there was a very kind and helpful woman that asked him about sports and when she heard that he wanted to sign up for football she was very helpful to get him the paperwork and introduce him to the coach. Thank you for letting him try for much of the day on Tuesday.
Davis realized that it was too hard for him to play with the team and "resigned" from playing football for the school. He is fine with his effort and he's glad that he tried.
But that is only part of the story.
Davis started hearing voices when he was just ten years old and it went on for at least a year and a half and now he rarely hears voices but has other personal challenges. There is no one-word diagnosis that describes Davis. He isn't Autistic, doesn't have Aspergers or isn't Schizophrenic but he has some characteristics from all three. So, it was one of the bravest things I've ever seen him do, to try out for football. Yes, we would have loved to see him succeed and be able to play for the team, but the courage it took him to even try is astounding and more than touching.
Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for treating him like any other boy that just wanted to play football.

Sincerely,

Cheryl and Jeff


Tuesday, August 18, 2009

First day of football.

Davis has wanted to play football for a long time. We thought it was too late for him to sign up for school football. We went to the school to register yesterday and Davis told someone that he wanted to play football. Well, she was the right one to tell because she then got him the paperwork and told us he'd have to get a sports physical to practice today. She also took him to meet with the coach.
We went to the InstaCare yesterday but they said insurance won't cover sports physicals. But the front desk got Davis an appointment with his primary care physician for 8:15 this morning. He was to be at the school by 9:30. We were there by 9:00. Davis took the paperwork to the coach, by himself, who told him he needed to take it to the office and get a receipt. So we did. Davis then took the receipt to the coach, by himself, and then about 10 minutes later he came out a side door dressed in a uniform and walked out to the field. For Davis, this is a huge task. We talked to him about how hard it's going to be and that he may only get to play in practice. He said he didn't care and that he really wanted to play football. Today on the way to the school, he said, "I will be so happy if I can play football."
We are going to encourage and help Davis play football as much as we can. The rest is up to him and he's already come a long way just by walking across the field and sitting with the team.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Leaves are starting to turn...

Yesterday I noticed on the mountains, very small areas where the leaves are starting to turn colors. I have noticed in the nine years we have lived here, that mid-August is when the first signs of fall begin to appear. It always makes me a little sad. I do love fall but I love summer more and it means that it's getting closer till it snows.
I am done with two of the four chairs. I originally got the chairs for Britni. She said she wanted to help me with the redo but was always very busy (understandably). Just a week before they got married and days before they moved their stuff in their apartment she told me they needed a small square table because their kitchen is so small (it is very, very cute). Instead of redoing these chairs for Britni, we got them a small square table from Ikea with two cool chairs. I thought I'd put these two chairs in Davis's room in case he has a friend over that needs a chair too. So far for Davis's new room, I have only spent money on paint.
I do like how the chairs turned out. I even used left over material from Ikea from years ago.
Davis had a real cool teacher in the 8th grade. He had a long, long ponytail. He was so good with the kids in the class and a really good teacher. He gave Davis that dream catcher. It will be an eclectic and cool room for an eclectic and cool kid.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Guitar left on the floor.

My boys leave things lying around all the time and it nearly drives me nuts! Yesterday when I first saw the guitar I was thinking, "Can't they put anything away?" Then, I looked at it more closely and it struck me how beautiful it was sitting there against the white painted chest. I thought it looked like a piece of art right there in my entryway. I also thought about when Jeff plays the guitar and how happy it makes me to hear him play. I thought of Chris and how he makes up the cutest songs that really could be played on the radio. I thought of Davis who has struggled with the guitar and has taken lessons for the last two years. He is playing better and trying to make up his own songs. All that within just seconds and it made me smile.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Working on Davis's room.

On Monday (my birthday) I finished painting Davis's new room (Britni's old room). It's tan, I know (it was purple, so I HAD to paint it for Davis), but it is more grown up and neutral. I also finished painting this desk on Wednesday night. I got it from DI for $15 years ago (it was in Britni's closet) and I'm just getting around to painting it. I should have taken a before picture because this is a transformation, I assure you.
These shelves I have yet to paint for his room. This IS the before picture. These shelves (which were originally dark stained) are the first furniture purchase we made together as a young married couple. Not the best but it went well with our hand-me-down plaid sofa and orange recliner. It's true. I painted these shelves for Davis when his room was blue with a touch of orange. At the time I thought it was cute. Now I think it is atrocious!
For now we have a twin bed in the room because our Nephew is staying with us for several days before he moves into his new apartment. He is using the full bed, in Sheyla's room. He is about 6 feet 5 inches. So even the full bed is too small for him but not as small as a twin bed. The twin bed is too small for Davis who is 6 feet 1 inches but he's shorter than his cousin. I have many creative plans for this room. Now, I just need to work on them! School starts on Wednesday!
We have many yummy tomatoes and only a few cucumbers from our garden! Yum!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Letter Day!

Sheyla is sounding much better. She is getting pretty feisty and I think that is a good thing. Boy, do I really miss that girl.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Even more Yellowstone pictures.

There was wildlife everywhere in Yellowstone. We didn't get to see a moose, however, and that makes me a little sad.

That is an American Bald Eagle.
This is just a lovely shot after a nice day. There is some sort of bird in that bare tree.
I tried three times to post the picture that I took of a little bear. The bear is in the bushes and you can only see the top of his head and cute little ears. My camera isn't very fast and when we ran down the street to see what everyone was looking at I didn't want to get too close but I wanted a picture of a bear! When a truck drove by the bear, he looked up with the cutest face and turned and ran. I wish I had reflexes of a Puma.