Kelbee loses her 1st tooth!

It was really loose at our house the day before, and we tried to pull it out, but it just wouldn't come, and we didn't want to make it miserable for her. The tooth fairy brought her $5 for the first tooth (Uncle Dan set a precedent for that one!) - she won't be so lucky on the next ones! I can't remember exactly since it's been so long ago but I think I only got a quarter - and that was a lot of money back then!!

Tell me it ain't true!!

Can it really be that our youngest has graduated high school and is now a freshman in college? Holy smokes - where in the heck did the time go? After 24 years of having at least one child in the public school system we're done with all that. It sure seems weird. We're very proud of Brie and wish her the best as she starts her college career. She was a Sterling Scholar at PG High and earned a full tuition scholarship at UVU. She will live at home this year - saves on the old pocketbook! - and will also work part-time as an aide at the pre-school at the rec center 3 afternoons a week. Oh yeah - one other thing about Brie. She and another girl from PG took 2nd place in a national competition for interior design this summer in Florida. You go girl!

Thanksgiving Gardens

Thanksgiving Point near Lehi, UT had $2 Tuesdays in the month of August. I decided I'd take advantage of that the last Tuesday in August. I grabbed my camera and headed to the gardens. The flowers were absolutely gorgeous, and I was glad I had my camera with me to not only capture the beauty but I decided it was a good idea to have it with me in case I saw flowers I didn't know the name of but would like to add to my own garden. By taking pictures, I am now able to either look the flower up in a book or take the picture to the nursery and find out what the name is. I took about 50 pictures - everything was SO pretty. I really felt like I'd died and gone to heaven for awhile as I walked the paths and admired the flowers. My dream is to someday have a wonderful flower garden - similar, but on a much smaller scale! My first order of business will be to get good dirt! I have a really good variety of perennials in my beds now, but this summer they didn't fare so well. I worked mornings and by the time I got off work it was too hot to weed, so the weeds kind of took over. After going to Thanksgiving Point, I made time to weed my flower beds and they look much better. We're going to take a good look at the sprinkler system soon to see what flowers I need to move around for next year so the tall ones near the sprinkler heads won't get all the water and keep the others from getting the necessary watering. I do enjoy gardening, and it is relaxing for me to weed and then admire the result of my hard work (and sweat - I hate to sweat!!)

Thank goodness they're over!

I don't know about you, but I'm glad the Olympics are over so I can get some sleep at night!! I love gymnastics - always have. Little-known fact I'll bet that most of you didn't know. I won a gold medal when 8 years old for a state-wide AAU competition for floor exercise. We didn't have the beam, uneven bars, or vault available to us back then, but the big city clubs were expecting to win all the medals so when this little upstart from the northwoods won the gold they weren't very happy!! Today these Olympic athletes - both male and female - from all sports should be applauded. They are very talented and have spent many, many hours of practicing and have experienced successes and failures. I loved watching the gymnastics - the girls are so graceful and the guys - ooh, what bods!! Is there anything any of us can say about Michael Phelps? I was a fan of his in 2004, and even more of a fan this year. He really gave us something to cheer about. I also enjoyed watching the beach volleyball and the diving. Some sports I wasn't even interested in but watched anyway - these are the best of the best!

Football Moms

Front - Sally Gerun, Jechelle Secretan.

Back - Lena Frampton, Barb Clarine, Sue Brady, Shelly Weber, Suzanne Keetch.

Our sons played football together and were very, very good friends in high school. While watching and cheering our boys on, we moms became very good friends also. When the football season ended their senior year, we moms were at a loss. We didn't want to let our friendship slip away, so our solution - get together once a month and go to eat somewhere and visit and laugh and commiserate. Our sons are all on missions now for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Sally's son Ben is in Seattle, Washington; Jechelle's Tabor is in Cordoba, Argentina; Lena's Braden is in Berlin, Germany; my Mitch is in Halifx, Nova Scotia; Sue's Zach is in Riverside, California; Shelly's Tyson is going to Los Angeles, California (Spanish-speaking - he's in the Missionary Training Center right now); and Suzanne's Tyson is in Joao Pessoa, Brazil.
We've gone to a different restaurant each month, but this month we went to Suzanne's home. She fell a few weeks before our scheduled get-together and broke her kneecap. (She hit the corner of the cement step in her garage on her way to the car and broke the kneecap into 4 pieces - OUCH!!) She's laid up for several weeks, so - we decided to get take-out from The Pizza Factory and eat at her house. We have such a good time when we're together, and sometimes we laugh so much our cheeks hurt. Time flies by so fast that before you know it, it's really late. I am so thankful for each one of these special ladies and for our sons bringing us together. These women are truly a blessing in my life and I love each and every one of them.

Clarine Family Reunion

The main reason for our trip to Minnie was to get together with Dave's brothers and their families. 5 out of the 6 boys were there, and each of the 6 were represented. Here they are - the bros, their aunt, and 2 cousins.
Front row l-r: Steve, Elaine, Colleen, Dan
Back row l-r: Joel, Dave, Tim, Pete

Not to be outdone, the younger generation of cousins decided to have a picture taken also. What a good-looking group of younguns! (We're even missing some of the younger ones in this picture.)
Front row: Joe (Pete), Josh (Dan), Brie (Dave), Amanda (Pete)
Back row: Dallas (Steve), Eric (Pete), Justin (Steve), JR (Steve), Krysta (Dave), Britlyn (Paul), Missy (Dave), Tonya (Dave), Preston (Paul)
Not pictured: Emma (Pete), Brenna and Sadie (Joel), Megan and Zach (Dan)

We left for Minnesota on July 30 and returned on August 3, so it was a quick trip. We were met at the airport by Dave's brother Joel and he took us to Pete and Beth's. We rode to Breezy Point with them, so we had a wonderful chance to catch up on things with them. Everyone was at the lake at Fritz and Pam Mertens (Jim's old business partner). After saying hello to everyone and visiting for awhile, we headed over to the resort for dinner and an evening of "hand and foot". We had 3 cabins that the 39 of us gathered at.
There were plenty of activities for all while together. The guys went golfing Saturday afternoon, we played at the beach - in the water, on the water tramp, swimming, playing in the sand, jetskiing, or visiting. Lizzy even "caught" a fish that had a special way of swimming - upside down! We had a talent show Friday night with most of the kids participating (our friends from Pine River - Doug, Diane, and Hannah Zaske came to share dinner and the show with us), a dinner Saturday night which included aunt Elaine and cousins Tim and his wife Lori and Colleen and her husband Michael along with some members of our old ward in Brainerd (Cliff and Helen Carlson, Darlene Howard, LaMar and Marilyn French, Lynne Howard), and Fritz and Pam Mertens. We also had a birthday party afterwards and celebrated both Lizzy's 4th and Kelbee's 6th birthdays.
This was my first opportunity to use my JetBlue perks. Dave and I flew stand-by to Minneapolis and back. We were able to get on the flight to Mpls that we wanted, but we weren't so lucky on the return. We weren't able to get on the 1st flight we'd planned to take, but after a prayer we were able to get on the second one and arrived back in Salt Lake around 7:30 Sunday evening.
The weather treated us wonderfully - the temperatures were perfect, the mosquitoes stayed away for the most part, and it didn't rain until after we had packed everything up, said a prayer, and went our different directions. We had such a nice time visiting with so many loved ones - family and friends. We are so truly blessed.

Visit to Mom's

The Crew

Front: Lizzy, Branson, Krysta

Middle: Jeff, Missy (with Taylor), Dave, Tonya (with Abby) Ruth, Barb, Brie

Back: Brad
Mom and I. We spent the second night in Minnesota at Mom's in Bemidji and had a very nice visit. While we were there, the kids went to the North Shore of Lake Superior (Goosberry Falls and Split Rock Lighthouse)with their aunts and uncles and cousins. Friday we met at The Hungry Moose outside of Walker, MN for lunch. We were so glad we did because about a week after we got back, Mom got pancreatitis and had to have her gall bladder removed. She ended up in intensive care for 6 days but is home and doing well now.
The Girls

(L-R: Tonya, Brie, Ruth, Barb, Krysta, Missy)

We took advantage of the photo op for another "sisters" picture. (Whenever the girls are together someplace special or different they like to get a picture of the 4 of them together.)

Looking at Mom's house (look close at the top of the hill) from the lake. She took us for a ride on the pontoon around Grant Lake. It was a wonderful day - slight breeze, but comfortable as far as temperature. We actually got pretty warm and ended up swimming farther down the shoreline. I can't stand weeds, and the bottom where we went swimming had weeds on it, and the only way I would get in is if I could use her crocs and not have to actually step on a weed. I know, I'm a baby, but I've always been that way. I'm not exactly a "water baby" so for me to even get in was a big deal! I'd much rather sit and soak up the rays, but those rays eventually made me hot enough to jump in. Besides, the horseflies and deerflies were really annoying, and weren't as bothersome when we were in the water.

I love the sound of the loon, so I was very happy (and surprised) when on our trip around the lake we spotted these loons. It was amazing that they let us get as close to them as we did.

Our first home

Imagine our surprise when we discovered that the cabins we stayed in when at Breezy Point during our trip to Minnesota was about a half block down the same street that our first house was on. It brought back a lot of memories when we saw it, and it sure hasn't changed much in the 30 years since we sold it. We kicked ourselves a couple of times while looking at it - what a sweet vacation spot it would be today!!

Mitch Passes 1 Year!

We can hardly believe that on July 25 we reached the one year mark! In all honesty, I have to say it's gone by really fast. I know the 2nd year goes even faster, but right now it still seems a long ways away before we'll all be together again.

Our plan is to go to Nova Scotia next summer to pick him up and to tour the areas he's been in. Right now he's still in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and is a zone leader. From pictures he's sent home, the area is absolutely beautiful. However, it's quite far from the mission home in Halifax, NS, so we're not sure if it's an area we'll be able to travel to or not. I'm hoping that before he's done he will end up on Prince Edward Island so we can go to Anne of Green Gables house. Even if he doesn't serve there, we will plan to visit there. The house really does exist, and since that is one of my very favorite TV shows, I'd love to be able to visit it. I work with a gal who's son is serving in the same mission and is currently on PEI, and he sent her a picture of the house.

Brian's trip to NYC

Yup, here I am!
While Brian was in the rest room he ran into the brother of a friend of his that used to live in Pleasant Grove (they now live in Arizona). He was at the game with his dad and brother. What a small world! (No, that's not a beer he's holding!) Brian enjoyed visiting with the Geddes' (James, pictured, lived with us for a short time after graduation.)

Manhattan LDS Temple

Central Park
Brian used a JetBlue perk by using a buddy pass to fly a red-eye flight to NYC on July 20. He had bought tickets on E-Bay for a Yankees/Twins game in the old Yankee Stadium before it was torn down. (The Twins lost 12-4 - oh well, he had fun!) He was flying standby, and when we left for church there were 105 out of 150 seats sold. When we got home 3 hours later there were 115 out of 150 sold. I started to sweat it - what if he didn't get on. I could list him 4 hours before the flight was to leave and he would get a stand-by number. When we checked just before the 4 hours, there were 120 out of 150 seats sold. Only 30 seats left, and there were more than 30 people listed stand-by. I finally got through to a JetBlue reservationist and was given a standby number - 30. Ohmigosh - talk about stressful. We took him to the airport and dropped him off, and then left for home, expecting to have to turn around to go pick him back up. However, he called about 11:00 to tell us he'd gotten on the flight and was headed onto the plane. Relief! The next morning he called to tell us to record Good Morning America around 8:00 because he thought he might be on. Sure enough, there he is - just to the right of the pink sign, behind the girl in orange and the woman in stripes. (These pictures were taken off the TV recording!) He also went to NBC Studios, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Times Square, M&M World, and Manhattan temple. Before he left he'd decided to buy a confirmed flight back on Frontier, and it's a dang good thing he did because he got back on Tuesday afternoon. His plans originally had been to return on JetBlue Wednesday, again flying stand-by. New York City got slammed by a thunderstorm and flights were cancelled, delayed, etc. There's no way he would have gotten on the stand-by flight he'd wanted. He probably would have been stuck there a couple of days more.

Krysta and Todd's New Abode

Todd and Krysta bought a 3 bedroom/2 and 1/2 bath townhouse in Lehi and moved in right before our trip to Minnesota. While Todd was in nursing school they lived with his parents for 19 months. As grateful as they are to the Knudsens for their generosity, they're glad to finally have their own place to call home. It’s located off the 12th north exit in Lehi – near the stone place you can see to the right of the freeway as you head to Salt Lake. It’s really cute, and it has a primo location. You walk out the back door and the playground area is right there as is the clubhouse. It’s not too far from Kelbee's school either. Each bedroom has a ceiling light fan, as does the family room. Their master bath has a jetted tub and 3 cute smaller windows instead of one big one like everyone else, and their entry door has a little arched window with 3 panes of glass whereas everyone else’s is plain. It’s really a cute place - very suitable for their needs - and I'm so glad they were able to get it.

My Favorite Things

We got the idea for My Favorite Things from my friend Terry. She and her daughters got together once a year to exchange something that was their favorite from the year - it could be homemade or store-bought. I loved the idea and the girls and I incorporated it into our lives. We originally started doing it at Christmastime, but this year we did it when Tonya and Brad were here in June, and that worked out very nicely. We didn't have the Christmas crunch to contend with (or the Christmas money or time squeeze). Tonya gave us fabric totes with our name embroidered on it, Krysta made us each a pint of homemade hot fudge, Brie gave us all the DVD "Little Women", and Missy and I went together and put money towards FitFlops for each of us. We love getting together - just the girls (although this year we had grandkids along too) - and we look forward to what the favorite thing will be for this year.

Lavendar Days 5K

Tonya, Krysta, Brie, and I all decided to run the Lavendar Days 5K at Young Living Farm near Mona, UT at the end of June (Missy decided she'd rather sleep in than spend her time running!!) We had Brylee and Abby with us too. It was a perfect morning - not too hot, not too cold, the sun was shining, and the course was FLAT! The girls all thought I was being helpful by pushing the stroller. Heck no - the darn thing was keeping me standing up!!! Look at those fields of lavendar - so beautiful.
Ha - we made it! Since I had the stroller with the babies - and Tonya and Krysta's numbers - they couldn't finish until I caught up with them. This was not my fastest run this summer (I did the Run for Ryan on Memorial Day and the PG Strawberry Days run - came in 2nd in my age group in that one). The 2 gals that had run near us most of the race kicked it in high gear right before the finish line because they didn't want "the grandma with the babies finishing before them"!! (That's because they were much younger and prettier than me!)


Since this was a celebration of sorts they had different activities - boutique, pony rides, food, and this big slide. Tonya, Krysta, and Brie couldn't resist! Ah, they're still young at heart! You don't see any pictures of this big chicken - well come on, someone had to stay with the babies!!
We plan to run this one again next year - we really liked the way it was organized and run - but we're going to make sure Missy joins us, and - the dads, too, so they can take care of the kids while we run. Guess that means I won't be able to use the stroller as a crutch!!

Oh yeah - on the way home we (I, since I was the one driving) decided to drive through the polygamist colony near Mona. Very interesting! Several of the homes were one dwelling with 2 2-car garages in the middle and the house part on the outside (the wives/families were separated by the garages!) Other homes were huge and had more bedrooms than some motels!

Todd's Pinning

Todd's pinning ceremony was held at the Provo Library ballroom on Saturday, July 5. They had a yummy luncheon before the ceremony.

Wild Cow Milking Mayhem

Injured in the madness! Brad was kicked by the cow when it came out of the gate. Looks like a broken nose for him. His doctor brother said he'd be OK!

You have to be a little crazy to chase a cow, wrestle her to the ground, milk her while she's down, and then run the precious milk to the judges! L-R Ted, Glen, Brad

Ted's busy milking the cow while Brad and Glen hold her down.
Don't mess with Glen! If he can wrestle this cow to the ground, think of what he can do to you!! The boys took first Wednesday night in the cow-milking, and were in the finals Saturday night. They came in second in that - and were disappointed because even though they won $ each, they didn't win what they really wanted - the coveted BELT BUCKLE! This is always a highlight during the Strawberry Days Rodeo in Pleasant Grove. Brian videoed this and you can watch the Wednesday night mayhem by going to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBJD1myJca8