Spring is coming!!

Spring is just around the corner. The tulips are starting to push through the ground, we still have an occasional snowstorm but the snow is off the ground, and is burger-grillin time! (We actually grill year round because we like grilled burgers and don't mind going out in the winter to do so.)

Don't mess with these women!!

Football Moms got together tonight at Marley's Cafe - in the Harley-Davidson shop in Orem. We decided to add a little spice to our dinner out. We dressed in leather and do-rags! (I didn't even know how to tie one - Jechelle tied it for me!!) We were about the only ones in there, and when we went to have our picture taken by the waiter, Jechelle noticed 2 guys - heavily tatooed - sitting at a nearby table and HAD to have her picture taken with them. One opted out before we could get that picture, but the other one was more than happy to oblige.

The food was good - I'd recommend trying it out - but the company was even better. I love these ladies and our times out are so enjoyable.

Celine Dion - finally!

I love the song "The Prayer" with Andrea Bocelli. He wasn't with her, but they'd obviously taped him performing, and it was just as beautiful as if he'd been there in person.

The story behind this picture was pretty funny. I asked her friends to take the picture below of Dave and I, and a little while later her friends asked us to take a picture of them. I said sure, but this woman refused. They and us thought it was rather strange until we discovered she "didn't know us and didn't want to be in a picture with us!!" She had totally misunderstood that we were going to take a picture of her with her friends, not her with us! We all laughed until we were crying, and I thought the couple sitting next to us was going to lose it they were laughing so hard! I'm so glad there is such a variety of people to make life so interesting!! I had to snap a picture of her, but I didn't want her to know I was getting one of her so I had to kind of take it over my shoulder unbeknownst to her!

This kind of shows how far from the stage we were!

I have been looking forward to this concert since Christmas 2007 when Brian gave me the CD Taking Chances and the tickets to this concert. It was originally scheduled for November 2008 but was postponed due to her being ill. It was a big disappointment when it was postponed, but certainly worth the wait. I have several of her CD's and love her voice and her enthusiasm. She definitely has stage presence and "attitude". Another thing - how is it that she's so flexible? She could get down so low it may me hurt just looking at her! She was fabulous. Our seats were way up high, which only gave us a good overall look at the stage!! Thank you Brian for the wonderful gift.

Brie at work

I was on my way back from a JetBlue meeting and decided to stop in at SouthTowne and surprise Brie. As you can tell by the picture, it worked - she was very surprised!! I love her so much - she's such a good kid. And, she really appreciated the surprise visit today.

Trip to Bemidji

Ready to go (and no, I didn't go First Class!!)
The REAL Paul and Babe

The house I grew up in (it wasn't that cute when we lived there - no shutters, boring white, not gray, different front door.) Everything else is the same.

Looking east to the lake

West - overlooking the field

Diane Zaske came from Pine River and spent the night Friday night

Good ole Tippy

The bald eagle and it's nest. I'd just mentioned how I hadn't seen it and I looked out towards the lake and saw a male and a female flying

She's doing really well

Taking out a missed staple. The knee was the whole reason for my trip.

Me and Mom the morning I left. She told me not to put it on my blog, but how could I not?

Lake Bemidji from the air, and the city named after it

Beth came and picked me up during my layover and we went to TGIFridays for lunch. It's become something of a tradition when I have a couple hour layover. Doesn't she look great - cancer-free and her own hair!

Mom had knee surgery January 27, and I had plans to stay with her February 11-18. She fell while in the hospital and ended up in intensive care for 3-4 days which set back her recovery. My sister Sherri was there while Mom was in the hospital, then my brother David came for a few days. He brought her home from the hospital Tuesday February 10 and left Wednesday before I got there as he had a doctor's appointment in Minneapolis he had to get to. I was really glad I went to help out. She actually did pretty good most of the time, although she had one night that was really bad. Other than that, she started to get her appetite back by the time I left and she was getting around (using her walker) quite well by the time I left.

This was fairly relaxing - she lives in a beautiful spot overlooking a lake to the east, fields and creek to the west, and woods on both the north and south sides. She didn't get up until 9:00, laid down to read or sleep from about 1-3, and often went up to her bed around 8:00 or so to watch TV or read. I made her meals, washed some clothes, and straightened up, but other than that (which wasn't much at all) I could do pretty much what I wanted to. I slept in, went through 15 scrapbook magazines, watched TV, did some blogging, and generally - had little stress. I didn't have to work or worry about work. That was really nice!! I slipped away for a little shopping trip to town and visited the store I always shop at when I go there. I even found a skirt on sale for about $8, normally $45 - hooray!!

It was hard to say good-bye to Mom - you never know anymore at her age if it will be the last time you'll see her alive or not. She's 77, although she's pretty fiesty so she'll probably last quite a long time!!

Our favorites!!

Um-um-good!!

Dave received a pound of chocolates from See's for Christmas, and we decided to splurge and use it now. I'm starting the 100-Day Heart Challenge soon, so that kind of stuff will be taboo! I picked out our favorites so we could have one last hurrah for awhile!! Dave likes the marzipan, I like the polar bear paws, raspberry creme, the cashew brittle or whatever it's called, and the brown sugar thingie (I can't remember their names offhand, but I sure recognize what they look like when I'm at the store!!!)

And he's off

Ty and his mom Kellye
Ty and Brie

As long as we've lived in Utah we've known the Flynns. They were our next door neighbors when we first moved to Provo. They now live in Orem, but we've stayed friends for over 20 years - even when they moved back to Texas for a time. Ty is going to Mexico on his mission and today was his farewell. He has a big family and they came from Texas and Vegas to support him. He will be a wonderful missionary - he's been preparing for this for quite a while, and is following in his brother Shane's footsteps. He enters the MTC Feb 11.

Flat Stanley

Flat Stanley and a picture of Mitch with Flat Stanley near the bridge that goes to Prince Edward Island

I can remember when the kids were little (I think Brie was in 3rd grade) and they read the book Flat Stanley and then they were each given their own little Flat Stanley and asked to send it to someone and then have them take a picture of them with Flat Stanley and where he went and what he did. Brie sent hers to Dave's brother Steve in Minnesota and it just so happened that they were going to the Carribean. So, they took Flat Stanley with them and "let" him do all kinds of fun things. The kids get all their Flat Stanleys back and then mark on a map all the different places he visited. They have a lot of fun with it.

Imagine my surprise this year when we got in the mail Flat Stanley from Mitch. Kelbee's class did the very same thing and she sent hers to Mitch. How fun! I found out later that Branson's class also did the same thing (in Ohio). He sent his to Krysta and family. They took him to St. George (he got a "broken arm" and had to have a "cast") and even went rock climbing. It's so interesting to see the same thing that happened with your children now happen with your grandchildren.

Donating blood

Each time they ask for volunteers to donate blood I try to go (I even donated one time with other family members when we were in Denver visiting Dave's brother!) Dave can't give blood because of his rheumatoid arthritis and the medication he's on, so it's one way I feel like I can help and give to others. I'm a fast bleeder, or so they tell me, so it doesn't take long. All the paperwork and stuff leading up to the blood donation takes longer than the actual giving of blood. I once had a race with one of the elders - I donated my pint in 4 minutes 19 seconds!!

Who's that lurking behind those machines?

A few years ago Brie was hit just below the left eye with a chain from a swingset. She has to have her eyesight tested every year to make sure glaucoma doesn't show up and just to make sure everything is OK. The eye doctor considered it a major injury at the time. Some things - like glaucoma - can show up 15 years later and if not checked every year could cause permanent damage.

Sean's mission call

Sean letting us know where he's going
The Moms - l-r: Sally Gerun, Patty (Sean's mom), Sean, me, Lena Frampton, Sue Brady, Suzanne Keetch

Mitch's friend Sean received his mission call - finally!! The other boys have been gone over a year by the time he leaves, but that's OK (Mitch and Zach will be home about the time he leaves for the mission field.) However, he will be an EXCELLENT missionary - he's ready and raring to go and he'll do an awesome job. He's going to the Lisbon Portugal mission and goes into the MTC June 3. We're so excited and happy for him.

Super Bowl weekend in Colorado

This is what it was all about - family.
Watching the 3D ad at the end of the 2nd quarter. Beth picked up about 30 pair of the glasses when she was in Target in Denver.

Our turn to fix dinner - Michelle, Beth, and me

Amanda, Beth, Pete, Eric - our new elder!

Wood Butts

Branson referred to the elk as wood butts. I couldn't figure out why until he explained to me that their rear ends looked like a piece of wood that had been cut!! Out of the mouths of babes!

Snowshoeing: Brian, Dave, Paul (Pete took the picture)

What do you think - should I get it? I did end up buying it.

Lizzy and I on "Fun"

Shopping - L-R back: Michelle, Brie, Amanda, Beth, Missy. Front: Krysta, Tonya

The "cabin" in Estes Park (9 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms)

The View from the back door.

We'd planned since November or so to go to Denver (Dave's brother Dan and family live there) for the Super Bowl weekend. There's been a get-together for this weekend for years. For many of those years it was just the guys - Dave, Brian, and Mitch would drive over there. Then for some of the years Jeff and Todd joined them. Last year I went for the first time - my sister-in-law Beth (from the Minneapolis area) convinced me I should go too and we'd celebrate the end of her chemotherapy for breast cancer. One thing we did while there was get a pedicure at a local mall - that's a pretty good "girlie" way to celebrate a milestone like that. We flew last year rather than drive. An hour flight sounded so much better - and safer - than an 8 hour drive through Wyoming in the winter.
This year the flights were at $49 each way - we couldn't pass that up so Dave, me, Jeff, and Todd bought tickets on Southwest. Brian decided to go too after his cousin Juice (Justin) told him he was going to go. Dan called Krysta and told her he'd pay for her to rent a car and drive over if they wanted to come for the weekend. I told her to call him back and tell him that the flights were so cheap - it would cost as much to rent a car as it would to pay for she and her girls, Missy, and Brie to fly over. Plus, then I wouldn't have to worry about 3 women and 4 kids driving through Wyoming and maybe getting stuck in a snowstorm. So, unbeknownst to the guys, we made reservations for the girls to be on a flight to Denver 1 earlier than what we were taking. Then, we out and out lied to them and told them that they were going to Park City for the weekend since the guys were going to be gone!
We arrived between 7:30 and 8:00. Dave's nephew Eric picked us up at the airport and we were on our way (with a pitstop for gas and food for breakfast the next morning) to the house in Estes Park that Dan had rented for the weekend.
When we got to the "cabin" Dan wanted to show us the master suite first. We didn't know that that's where all the kids (including Tonya and her kids - minus Brad - that had flown in and surprised all of us) were hiding. It was so fun to watch the faces of the guys as the kids and grandkids came out of hiding and yelled "SURPRISE"!! Oh, it was only the beginning to a great weekend.
I'll try to recap briefly what we did over the next 4 days:
Friday - Dave, Dan, and Steve went goose hunting at 4:00 a.m. The girls - old and young - (and Eric) went shopping in town. We met some really rude people there - on the street and in the grocery store. I wonder if they realize that much of their income comes from us tourists! Some went hiking that afternoon, the older boys - including Brian, Jeff, Todd, Justin, and JR - went to a Denver Nuggets basketball game in Denver, and the adults went to the movie "Taken" in town. Saturday - 4 went skiing at Vail, Dave made his famous carmel rolls, about 20 of us went horseback riding for an hour in the mountains (Kelbee and Branson each had their own horse, although Branson's decided right at the beginning to take a different route than the rest of us! Lizzy rode with me), more shopping, 4 went snowshoing, visiting with family.
Sunday - church in Denver - Eric (Dave's brother Pete's oldest son) was ordained an elder afterwards, watched youngest kids put on a play - it was so well-received by everyone that they did a couple more, watched the Super Bowl, more visiting. Of course, each day we ate and ate and ate!!
We split up meal responsibilities which made it so nice - noone had to worry about fixing every meal, and we all helped clean up. There were at least 39 family members that came - 5 out of the 6 brothers came and the kids of the missing brother were there so every family was represented. It was a blast - it certainly reminded us all of what family is all about. We're already looking forward to next year!!