Friday, July 31, 2009.

I got a DVD from my friend Susan in the mail today. It has Sheyla on there singing with a small choir when she was in the fourth grade. So tenderly sweet, slightly awkward and singing her heart out. It makes me miss her even more. Britni performed the same night, a song from Anastasia that she skipped around, fully costumed and perfectly lip synced. She was in the first grade. Full of promise, true grit and spunk! Davis was at Susan's daughters birthday party looking adorable but very whiny. So young, wide eyed and eager. I don't know where Chris was through it all but he didn't like to perform so he was probably hiding or walking around meeting people. Full of energy, stubbornness and determination. It is precious to see the kids so young. It is amazing how fast the time flew! Where did the time go? It makes me nervous about how fast the next 13 years will be! I want to hold onto it and not waste a single minute of it! There is so much that can happen in that amount of time besides just getting older!
Jeff is going to figure out how to put just a portion of the video on here. I wouldn't know a thing about it! What a great gift this is!
We are leaving tomorrow for our vacation! I'm very excited for a new adventure!
Have a fantastic weekend!

Letter Day!

Sheyla is doing much much better.
She complained today that I mention how much longer she has. She says it makes her trunky. I thought I was being encouraging. In the last month alone, I heard from her twice, one week apart, because she was having such a hard time. I know she has struggled. I have tried to send encouraging letters because she has had such a hard time and I think she can make it. I thought it would make it seem like she COULD make it because she has such a short time left. Oh well. I am the mom so by definition it seems like no matter what I say it could be wrong. I won't mention it again because she has such a short time left!

The Sweet Tooth Fairy Bake Shop and leather cuffs (bracelets but more manly).

Davis and I went on a few errands today. The main reason to go out was to purchase leather belts at DI for Davis to make leather cuffs (Chris helped a friend last Saturday sell leather cuffs that someone made with belts from DI so now Davis is obsessed with cuffs and any kind of bracelets because he wants to sell them and make money).
After lunch we stopped by this darling bakery (I had heard about it awhile ago from a cute blog and have since been wanting to check it out). Davis got a large peanut butter cookie. I got a yummy strawberry shortcake cupcake! It IS really, really good! The Bakery is in South Provo right next to Hogi Yogi. Wow, dangerous.
We then went to find the supplies to make said cuffs. But since we have been home, frustratingly enough, the snaps don't work on thick leather. So I checked online with the Tandy Leather Company and ordered snaps specific for leather. We will try again later.
We also went to Home Depot to get some tan paint for Davis's new room. Britni's old room is the most beautiful shade of purple but Davis does not need nor want purple. I am using the same black curtains. I am going to use an old Target quilt from years ago. I am going to paint an old desk that's been in the closet (another project for another day). Davis is going to have a new room and vintage leather cuffs, soon.

Rooster Dumpling and Noodle Bar.

Friday, Jeff handed me Thursdays newspaper with a tiny blurb about this restaurant. He said, "I want to go here". So we did, for dinner. I was a bit nervous about the word dumpling. Well, I needn't be. Dumplings are just like potstickers. Davis wolfed down Shrimp dumplings. He also had most of the dessert. A chocolate lava cake. Jeff and I had only small hot spoonfuls. Wow! So yummy!
So today I met my friend, Susan, at Rooster Dumpling and Noodle Bar. We shared 6 Pork and 6 Beef dumplings and grilled vegetables. We also shared the lava cake. YUMMY! We talked and talked.
I met my friend Susan in Florida about 16 years ago. We had a couple of our kids that were the same age. She was pregnant with her youngest and I was pregnant with my youngest. We had kids in Joy School (a co-op like preschool), although in two different groups but occasionally the two would meet. We only lived in Florida that first time for 6 months. We were fast friends. When we moved back to Florida the second time we had kids in the same Joy School. This time, we only stayed in Florida one year. But it was the third time we lived in Florida, this time for 3 1/2 years, that we became very good friends. We again did Joy School, this time with our youngest. Then, the next year, three moms taught and were paid and three other moms just paid the money for preschool for a total of six kids. I was one of the moms that paid and she was one of the moms that taught. She is an amazing teacher, mother and person.
Her daughter and my son ended up in the same kindergarten class. We had fun going to the beach together, going to an opening of a local mall, going to movies together and talking together. Our families went camping together (maybe once in Florida and once in Utah). Our families swam together and played together. She has five children and I have four. She is just a few years older, but much more wiser than me. Years ago, we moved back to Utah and just about a year later their family moved back to Utah. We live on opposite sides of the valley. Her husband worked for a time with my husband. Her two daughters-in-law used to work with my husband and now her son-in-law works with my husband. Our lives may be forever linked in unique ways but I will always be grateful for this dear friend that accepted and embraced me and my family at a time when I desperately needed friends and today, shared a chocolate lava cake!

Adam and Britni's Wedding Day pictures!

This is one of my favorite pictures!
This one too. I love the spontaneity and laughter. Priceless!
This one too. This one shows how much in love they are!
This one too! Britni found the photographer on line. The photographer leaves next month for a church mission to Russia. Britni was lucky to have found her and lucky to get so many amazing pictures. Lucky but not surprising. They are absolutely adorable together!

Snowbird.

We visited some friends from Florida that were up here at a time share at Snowbird (their son-in-law has the timeshare). Wow, it's beautiful up there!
We had fun walking around, hanging out and talking. Mr. K previously has been in the Army National Guard, Navy and Marines (a retired Major). Chris asked him tons of questions and got great advice. Jeff and Mr. K were great friends in Florida. They talk to each other every so often. Mr and Mrs. K are great people and funny! As the older daughter was telling us how strict her father was when she was young and telling us how laid back he seems to be with the younger kids (we already knew that), Mrs. K. straight faced and kidding, replied, "That's because we liked them best!" I couldn't help but laugh!

What a beautiful great day!

Silly boys and Pizzeria 712

We had a few errands today. So for lunch we went to Pizzeria Seven Twelve. Wow! Yummy Pizza! Jeff and I both have heard great things about it so we took the plunge. He works with someone that tried the pizza somewhere yesterday at Taste of Utah Valley (I think it's called that). I heard about it on a cute blog. It really is great pizza! We got the plain pizza (there is nothing plain about the taste and it's not really named that). We also got the pizza with the corn on it. I've never had pizza with corn on it, but WOW it was good! It probably had a lot to do with the bacon on it (it did have other yummy things on there too)!
There is a huge real brick oven.
We asked the waiter, "Why is the name 712?" He matter-of-factly replied, "Because that is the temperature it takes to make the pizzas."
Really, you must go.
Jeff ordered a Coca-Cola that is bottled in Mexico (he said he got the same ones in Guatemala, years ago on his mission). After a few minutes he smiled and said, "I love that feeling of warm goodness!" There was ice in his cup so I know it wasn't warm when he drank it, but he explained that it gave him a warm feeling inside. I thought that was cute!
320 South State Street #185 Orem.

It really is THAT good!

Happy Pioneer Day!

These pictures are from the Pioneer Trek that I went on last year. I was on the medical team. There were about 157 adults helping with hundreds and hundreds of youth, ages 14 to 18.
For many reasons, many people participate in reenactments of the pioneer trek. I do know this: I would NOT have made a good pioneer. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. It was over four days and a total of 27 miles. I rode in a van with a "patient" for about 3 of those miles. So I did get a really good taste of what this trek was all about. But, we also had to help kids and adults that were hurt, sick, or just having a hard time. I know the trek was only a small example of what those real pioneers went through. I admire and appreciate them more now than ever.
I think of this trek occasionally and I have thought that it is a metaphor of life. Boy, life is hard sometimes. There were many people that cheered us on and that really helped us as we walked, pushed or pulled those carts. It really helps to have people close to us to help us make it through life. Sometimes things are so hard and we still have to go on, no matter how tired we are. Sometimes in life, we can have fun and enjoy life! We must appreciate those precious moments. Mostly, I know I can do hard things. I also really appreciate indoor plumbing and hot showers!

Fishing at Payson Lake.

We got Chris and Davis their fishing license. I don't want or need to fish.
It was a beautiful warm day but it was about 10 degrees cooler up there than down here. So it really WAS nice!
Davis gets bored easily. We moved to two different fishing spots. We also walked around the lake.
There were a few families of Momma ducks with babies, adorable!
I started my next book club book. The Count of Monte Cristo. Wow, it's a big book! The movie is actually very good. My girls loved it and made me watch it. I liked it more than I thought I would.
Anyway. I only got a few pages read. Oh well. Not a bad way to spend the day!

Letter Day!

We got a great letter from Sheyla today. What a difference a week makes. We heard from her just last Thursday because she was having such a hard time. Today she sounded so much better!
Saturday is her 13 month anniversary. She only has a little more than 4 months left!
Look at that picture! She is glowing!

Randomness of Wednesday.

These are the sweetest little flowers. They are just blooming and they took my breath away when I saw them last night. I know, small things make me happy.
Look how our garden is growing! I saw an orange tomato today!
We have this white shelf in the downstairs bathroom. It's been empty. So I went to the dollar store to buy things to put some color on the shelf. The dollar store.
We have been moving some things out of Britni's room to eventually put Davis in there. She has a lot of things still in her old room. After all, it hasn't been THAT long since she's been married. Although, she moved out of the house last year. So we moved this desk into the tv room to make way for the dressing table.
That is fabric (that I got at Ikea) stapled onto a large frame. I love how it turned out.
Davis doesn't need a dressing table in his room and Britni doesn't have the room in her apartment. So we put it in the hallway. I love that dressing table. I used it as a teenager. For now it can hold our older computer and hello kitty phone.

"Swearing in" the Marines.

Chris did it. He was sworn in as a Marine! He won't report to boot camp until February.
"Courage is fear holding on a minute longer." ---General George Patton Jr.

"Moral courage is the most valuable and usually the most absent characteristic in men." ---General George S. Patton, Jr.
"I have just returned from visiting the MARINES at the front, and there is not a finer fighting organization in the world!"---General Douglas MacArthur
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing"---Edmund Burke
"Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy." ---Winston Churchill

"From now until the end of the world, we and it shall be remembered. We few, we Band of Brothers. For he who sheds his blood with me shall be my brother." ---William Shakespeare

Semper Fi.

Chris is in the Salt Lake Valley right now getting his physical and blood work and other things that I can only imagine, to get him ready to join the Marines. He will be swearing in today and we are going to go and watch that happen.
Chris is one of the most friendly, kindest, hardest working and handsomest people you can ever meet.
When we moved to a new neighborhood he would go to EVERY single house to see if there were "friends" there to play. If they weren't his own age, he would talk with them anyway. He made friends with many families and one in particular that the kids were almost all grown and he was only 11. He has spent many New Years Eve and other times with that family. He helped them with a wedding reception in their yard. He is friends with all their (now) married kids.
He has all the older people up here in love with him because he has always talked with them and helped them with yard work or anything else they might ask of him.
He has always had a gift to talk with anyone. We lived in Florida for five years. We would frequently go to parks and the beach. I remember one time at a park, in Florida, Chris was about seven. I was trying to corral the kids and keep track of all of them and Chris went to a picnic area close by that had all these old people that were having fun, talking and eating. Chris started talking to a bunch of them. They fell in love with him instantly. They told me what a special kid he was then, but I already knew.
After we moved back to Utah, one summer I took all four kids to Payson Lake. I had to use the bathroom in the worst way when we first arrived, so I told my kids to stay close by and when I came out, Chris was already fishing with someone else's fishing pole. He had made a friend in the shortest time possible.
That is how he is still.
But now, he is mostly grown up and has decided that the Marines is the place for him. I'm mostly convinced. He will have so much discipline that I think he may yet learn how to keep his room clean and balance his checkbook. He will be very active and he isn't happy unless he is active helping with bales of hay or throwing rolls of something onto roofs of St. George. He will be able to learn about engines, whether that is Diesel or airplane and helicopter. But with all of this comes the possibility of serving on the front lines of a war and that is what I worry about the most.
I remember many years ago listening to Dr. Laura and a mom called in a near panic and said that her son had joined the military and asked what can she do about it. Dr. Laura said wisely, "If not your son, then whose son". I believe that. Or else, I'd tie him up and demand he never join.
I will support him. I am very proud of him as he makes tough decisions to do something very noble, brave and praiseworthy. Just like he's always been.
Semper Fi means "always faithful" and I think he has it in him already.

Just a Friday.

I had to take Davis to school. He doesn't go to school in Spanish Fork but we have to drive through Spanish Fork to get to his school. Did you know there is a wind farm at the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon? It fascinates me every time I drive past those spinning turbines. There are nine very large windmills that have a diameter of 350 feet and the tower is 410 feet tall. They are massive. The strange thing is that it doesn't even provide electricity to Spanish Fork. It would be too expensive. They cost $23,000,000 each to build. EACH.
Today, I had book club at my house. I have belonged to this group for the last several years. We only meet every other month and there are only about 10 women in our group. There were only four of us today. Which is all right by me. I picked out "Dewey The small-town library cat who touched the world". It's such a sweet book. A true story about a sweet library cat that touched so many peoples lives.
I know of a woman that is in a book club that only reads literary masterpieces. That is not our group. The women are sweet, kind and refreshing. We get to talk about interesting books that we may never have chosen on our own and about dealing with adversity, about families, about the good and the bad. I feel lucky to be a part of it.
This is a plant that I grew from a cutting of a large plant my mother-in-law gave me years ago. I noticed these amazing almost-flowers.
Britni and Adam opened up a TON of presents last night. Wow! They looked blissfully happy.
The cutting (umbilical) is complete. Britni was born just over 19 years ago. I have planned on this her whole life but it doesn't make it any easier. I have a friend whose daughter recently got married and she said that she cried for almost the whole next week. I don't think I'm about to cry for now, but I can understand the pain. Yes, she is still and always will be my daughter and now I have an adorable son-in-law to love and in the future grandchildren, but the relationship that we had will never be the same. I'll get over it and adjust. It's just part of life. How can I be too sad when she is such a darling and good girl? It's possible that things will even be better! I'll hope and work for that!

Letter Day!

Sheyla has been struggling some more. Boy, missions are hard. She is persevering and hanging in there.
In relation to this picture, she wrote, "Here's me and my gecko friend I found while I was tracting. He was BRIGHT ORANGE!!! Neat-o! Don't worry, I let him go back into the wild!"

Neat-o is one of the many cute little words that IS Sheyla.

By the way: I passed my motorcylce riding test. I do have some bragging rights in the fact that it took Jeff two times to pass. I must add in his defense, that my scooter is smaller than his scooter and therefore makes it easier to pass. Still, I passed!

And. Britni called yesterday saying that they just landed in Salt Lake City safely. They had an amazing time in Costa Rico (did I mention he bought plane tickets BEFORE she had a ring)! They will be coming over for dinner tonight and opening presents! Fun!

And. Chris is attending a volley ball/BBQ with the Marines and possibly turning in his papers. Yikes!

And. Jeff is having a hard time getting into the groove at work after having the whole week off last week. Poor guy. He was a huge support to me and I know I'm a lucky girl!

And. Davis is done with Summer school tomorrow.

And. We made reservations (Davis and Chris will be coming) for a hotel in August to go to Yellowstone (not much of a camper). I am so excited. I've never been and have wanted to go for ages! After all, I'm 43.

And. It's a beautiful and hot day and I have a ton of things to do today!

Randomness of Wednesday.

Look what we pulled from our garden! We are going to have a plethora of zucchini!
I know my house isn't as cute as the cute and stylish homes I see in magazines and the ones I see on many of the blogs I like to follow. But I love my home anyway. In our basement the previous owner had a very large wood workshop. We didn't have the money to finish it but we wanted to use it as a family room. So, we painted the cement walls and floor and many years ago, my husband put up corrugated metal sheets on the ceiling (I was trying to come up with an idea that was different and cheap and since then, I have seen the same thing a few places on tv). This is just one corner of our basement. There is only a window in the door in the family room. I found an old window and shutters. My husband secured it onto the concrete wall. I want to get that piece of mirror (leaning against the wall in the corner) cut and put it into the window. I like it!
This is the little hallway just off the stairs in the basement. To the right is the family room, to the left the bedrooms and bathroom, and straight ahead is the walk out to the messy area of our garden.
Last night Ellie, the cat proudly brought us a beautiful bird to the door, it was alive but barely (maybe she thought Sunny got away and she was bringing our errant bird back to us).
Britni and Adam get back from their honeymoon today. I hope they had an amazing, marvelous, and wonderful time! We probably won't hear from them till Sunday. Britni said she was turning off her phone till then.
Today I am going to take my motorcycle riding test (finally). Really, it's just a small scooter. I can't extend my permit any longer. Wish me luck!
I did say it was Random.

Life moves on....

Davis was a trooper throughout the wedding day: Wearing a handsome suit, all day, on a hot day, hanging out with people he didn't know while waiting for everyone to get out of the temple, cooperating for pictures, cooperating for a family luncheon, meeting many people at the reception, helping take many presents to the car and then helping take presents to Britni's room.
Jeff's dad gave Davis some used golf clubs this weekend. Davis has been wanting to try them out at the driving range. So, to somewhat bribe him to not complain about school and bribe him to cooperate about going to school and to reward him for a job well done; I told him yesterday, I would take him to the driving range so he can hit some golf balls. So, I did and he did.
A large bucket of balls is $6. Davis was happy. He hit at least one ball 225 yards.
I got him a drink at the grill.
He told people about someone who has the longest ever golf drive: Michael Austin who hit a 515 yard ball. He loves to find out lots of different information and share it with whomever will listen. He loves to ask questions. He has a very curious mind and it never stops. He keeps me on my toes. I love and adore him too.