Almost time to Head Home

The past two weeks have gone by so quickly--seems like I just got here, but the variety of photos taken shows that we've done a lot, and been a lot of different directions. Kristen has been mucho busy with the rehearsals and then three performances of the stake production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and she was both relieved and disappointed to have it be over. The timing for all the busy-est part of this was (of course) right during the stressful part of midterms for Aaron, which is why Chase invited me to come in the first place, and it was (I think) helpful for me to have been here. I don't think I have spent so much time on the floor sitting and crawling and playing, as lately. Also hurdling baby gates and barriers, and wrestling with a slippery FAST, twisty feisty little guy (who remembers what you just put out of his reach and goes after it the second he gets another chance...) I will miss him, and even though we'll be seeing them all again at Christmas, I wonder if he'll remember me. We've had a conversation of sorts on several occasions, and those are sweet memories I'll replay again and again.

I can see why my mother was always exhausted and a little relieved to see family visitors leave with our little noisy messy ones, but she always saved a few sticky handprints on sliding glass doors and mirrors for a few days, just to keep us there a bit longer. It will be fun to see how big Chase will be the next time we see him--officially one year old.

Boo-tiful Day for a Drive

After church and a quick lunch we drove (for more than an hour, so Grammy sorta snoozed) to Letchworth State Park. It was the perfect day to see the leaves, close to 80 degrees, no wind, and SUNNY. Lots of other folks thought so too, and it was a little tricky finding a place to park. We got to enjoy some of the beauties of Nature. I'll never understand how some people can claim that there is no Creator when we see waterfalls and how gorgeous Fall leaves look with a backdrop of BLUE SKY. (Of course the blue can't compare to the colors we REGULARLY see back in Colorado, but it happens so rarely here that we truly APPRECIATED it!!!)

I felt a little guilty being so enthused about our weather here, because at HOME they were getting the first measurable SNOW of the season, and the cold wind to go with it. I figure there will be more about the time I go back just before Halloween, because Colorado ALWAYS seems to be cold and rainy or snowy for trick-or-treaters. (Chase is going to be one of the BEST because he's got the cutest costume, but that's for another post)

Going to put some of the pix on from our drive, then get ready to go watch the little fishy at swimming class...

Back to Buff I go

Well actually I'm already here, and worn out from crawling around for four days. We've been busy doing all the things moms and baby get to do, and it's quite a challenge climbing over baby gates to get into the kitchen or bathroom, because little one wants to be where all the action is, and little hands can get into big messes in no time!!

There are lots of barricades to go around and frustrate little bodies, and most everything goes into the mouth to be tasted. I am amused and awed at the same time at all the "work" babies do and make. Seems like they go through a LOT of laundry and food time--then diapers, so it's a constant round of stuff to do or catch up on. Such is the life of a mom, and I'm glad I had my turn with the tinies when I had more energy and agility. (I went to bed early last night because this gramma was a pooped person)

I arrived on Saturday afternoon, and we all got reacquainted, which was good, because Chase and Grandma got to hang out together at church while Mama went to Primary and Daddy taught sunday school then went to priesthood meeting. After lunch and a short nap we took a drive to see fall leaves (which haven't really seriously changed yet) and a nearby ski resort (which has a dinky little hill, bit it was well groomed--hey, people here are easily impressed with what there is nearby, but it isn't exactly Breckenridge or Keystone.)

We went to swimming class on Monday and again today, and it was a lot of fun, except the water could have been a few degrees warmer, but once Chase was in he was pretty happy to be there. He sure wants to go after things, and his little legs are constantly moving. The getting in and out, and the drying off and dressing are all an adventure not to be missed. One mom just has her year-old guy sit naked while she gets herself dressed because otherwise she is trying to keep him from getting wet all over again on the dressing room floor. Kristen learned after the first class to come in with an umbrella stroller to lock her little guy in so he's off the floor and safely restrained so she can dry off and change. Lots of work for a 30 minute "lesson" but it makes for some fun pictures!

One Last Day of September

Wow, okay, I guess that Fall is really here, and the first of October clinches it...No MORE SUMMER until next year. Kids are back in the school mode, parents are on their semi-alert status instead of full-alert during the lo-o-ong summer weeks when "there's nothing" to DO (except for the kitchen cleanup,bathroom patrol,laundry that never ends,yard stuff that also never ends, and let's not leave out the trash that could be taken out, as well as the grocery and supply runs that likewise never end...) it's almost time to get serious about Christmas gifts and projects. The stores are already starting to put out Christmas stuff, and it's not even Halloween MONTH yet. So where did Fall go if we're already talking WINTER???

Book Club stuff

One of the enrichment group interests in our ward is a book group. We have a few loyal members and some that attend sporadically (that looks funny, maybe it is misspelled---and so does THAT) anyway, I digress...we are trying to read and suggest "good" books. (At least none of the members who attend are like some of the ones in Kristen's old group in Roxborough, who dissed the choices of others as being inappropriate, or violent, or too physical, but we are mostly reading non-controversial books, anyway.)

This month we are reading 1776 by David McCollough, and I haven't finished it yet even though we had all summer to do the deed. The discussion is tomorrow night, and I'll get it finished sooner or later, (obviously later), and then next month we are reading Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Burns. Kristen has gotten her dental wives' group together to read the Kite Runner, which she swiped from me. Someday I'll get around to that too.

The problem seems to be that I can read a book just fine if it's my speed and my idea, but as soon as it gets "assigned" I seem to have a disinclination to get to it. AND maybe I would just rather read mindless twaddle from time to time...

Oh yeah, K invited me to become her "friend" on a discussion web site where people talk about books they enjoy, and it is a great reminder of all the good stuff there is to read...I just wonder how many of the contributors "censor" the list of books they read, so we look more erudite and highbrow than we really are....Last Sunday's paper had the PERFECT comic strip for what I'm talking about, although I'll never tell everything I read...

BECAUSE I SAID SO: Adventures in Grocery Shopping#links

Kristen sent me a link to an ebay ad with a hilarious story of just why the Pokemon cards were for sale. I checked out the blog of the mother of six who had listed the ad, and it is a hilarious read--I even made a comment on her blog. (mom2my6pack)

I don't know if anyone read this, or tried to get to the funny lady's blog, but it makes my computer freeze, so I disappeared the link. She gets like a bazillion hits a day to her blog, and the ether is full...so I'll try to refrain from going there myself. besides, most of the readers are saying how funny she is, blah blah, and she doesn't have time to be a regular person now that she's famous.

It is much more fun to relive the hilarity from a distance, that way I don't have to have the sometimes agony as well. Other items she talks about are the common joys of motherhood, mixed in with stuff her very NORMAL kids do. ah, memories

birthday week

ever notice how fast the years start going as soon as you get over that hill? I certainly have, and this is kind of a nostalgic week for me. My mom's birthday and my dad's, as well as my own "somethingth" have all occurred, and I realize how much I miss them. Mom has been gone for 10 years and Dad has been gone for 13, and there are days when I would like to speak to both of them. Sometimes I think about calling Mom up to ask her advice, or for one of her recipes, and whenever I think of making comfort food I think of her kitchen, or of her sewing room. I think of my dad when I look at the bookcase that is in my bedroom filled with "church" books. I wish that I had spent more time with them than I did. I wish that my three children had known them better. I appreciate their sacrifices for their seven children as I reflect on my childhood, and I admire them for the lives they lived.

The older I get (and I speak this as the youngest of the seven) the more I realize how great my life has been because of the heritage I received from my parents. I hope that I can be remembered as well-loved as my Mom.

Summer Cometh

This is pretty embarassing to see how long it goes between posts on our blog. I spend a fair amount of time at the computer, but you would never know I ever look at blogs by this. (So for all of you blog-stalkers out there...here are some of my favorite family pix and events of the past month or so.) In May B and I had an enjoyable trip to Williamsburg Virginia/ Washington DC. We spent the week playing tourist around Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown, and learned a lot of previously unknown (to us anyway) history. Our one day in DC was not sufficient to see everything we wanted, but we did a quickie tour of some of the Smithsonian exhibits, and walked (and walked, and WALKED) to see some of the main tourist attractions, like Washington Monument, the WWII memorial, the Lincoln memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, and the White House, as well as the Ronald Reagan building (where we parked.) Don't know how many miles we logged on our shoes that day, but the memorials are best available on foot. It is so amazing to see the green in Virginia. The woods reminded us of our time in Clifton Park. It was a great taste of our nations's history, and we'll go back again to see it again. Our trip to Jamestown was just one week after the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. Pretty cool. We went to President's Park, a really nifty statue exhibit of 18-foot tall busts of all the POTUSes, and were told that Geo Bush I was coming "next week" to see his newly renovated statue. It figures, always a week before or after...

We had an eventful June, with three birthdays and Father's Day, plus the departure of Phil to New Zealand, and the arrival of the Buffalonians. For Brian's b-day we saw Wicked at the Buell Theater. Wow, what an amazingly clever story of how the WW of the W became wicked-out. K and C Wads joined us in the place of K and A (who did not arrive until midmonth and thus missed out), and we had a great time. Phil flew halfway around the world just a few days later, and assures us that NZ is a great place to be for the best part of a year away. We hope that he has found gainful employment by now and is pursuing his dreams of movie production. He calls every few weeks or so. Michelle's b-day is always right around Father's Day, and soon after that K/A/C flew "home" for a month, and then it was Kristen's b-day, which was also the day that Michelle received her asociates degree in massage therapy...and then before we knew it we hit July, and the Fourth has already come and gone. Wow, time goes by fast. We have had a great time watching the progress and development of Chase. He is almost 7 months now, and of course is the brightest, most beautiful, and bestest child. Something new to enjoy every minute we spend with him (and parents...)

Spring Done Sprung

I've been bad about updating this--even have some pictures downloaded and ready to add, but didn't get around to doing the deed until now. The wedding in southern Cal went off wonderfully, and the Women's Conference was awesome, and in between those two events was a great week with Kristen and Chase, and lots of running around. Life then calmed a bit, and now B and I are about to head off to the east coast for a little r and r. That man literally has to go way out of town to get a break from finding stuff to do at the office. We are heading to the airport on Thursday, and he'll likely fall asleep as soon as his head hits the back of the seat on the plane. If you don't get any more updates for a while at least you will know what's planned...

Ides of April are Upon Us

It takes me a long time to think of anything to put in this blog. Things are going on all around but I don't add them when I first think of it, and then the moment passes. We keep getting pieces of winter thrown in with the warm sunny days of spring, and cold stuff makes us feel grinchy. Brian says that Tucson looks better and better, although maybe not for REAL until next winter hits and stays. We are looking forward to next week, after which Kristen and Chase are coming out for ten days while Aaron slogs through finals. K is so consistent about updating their blog, and I enjoy reading all the goings on of her friends that she links to...makes it easy to spend a lot of time at the computer. I just have to put a few of the recent pictures Kristen has posted of Chase. He is already FOUR months, and looking like quite the ladies' man. I love the sunglasses, especially!


On Friday I am flying to SanDiego for my nephew's wedding on Saturday, then traveling with family to the reception in Corona. I fly back home on Sunday (our THIRTY anniversary), and then get to drive back to the airport the next day to pick up the Buffalonians. We have lots of stuff to try to do in the ten days K and C will be here, before I leave the day before they do, as I head to the Womens Conference at BYU. I'm really excited about getting a chance to be with more sibs during these two events. Life goes in ebbs and spurts, sometimes it sems like nothing is happening, and then it's like, whoa, somebody slow the train. Before long I'll be fifty-SOMETHING, and that is a little daunting.

Baby Fun is over for a while--Back to Buffalo

We had a lot of fun while the week lasted, but then they went home. Sure seems like a bigger house when it is just two of us rattling around. They come, and then we want them to come again after we recover...

I took some pictures off of K's blog because she picked some good ones, and swiping is so much faster than finding them for myself. Chase doesn't pose yet, so some pix are really funny because everyone else is looking toward the camera and he does what he does.

We already miss the little guy and his parents.

Addendum

Update, and wanted to put on the latest pix before kristen put some on her blog--I wanted to get something on before she beats me to it! What a grown up little man, and because he was just fed he was very cooperative for the whole blessing business.

Fun Spring Break--and we didn't go anywhere!

We had a great green day yesterday, and it was so warm and sunny. Went for a walk around Clement Park with Kristen and Chase. He didn't enjoy having the sun in his eyes, so it wasn't long before he was in the baby bjorn, and happy to sleep as K and I walked along, and I pushed the empty stroller. This week is going to go by FAST, as they are here for spring break only until Saturday. Baby Chase is going to be blessed today at the H's in Arvada, and we are all excited for the occasion. He has a special outfit to wear; I'll take a picture later today, because he'll get it put on just before the blessing.

Happy B-Day Phil

So now he's a quarter of a century, and almost half my age. We'll be geriatrics together some day...For once we had a mild weekend weather-wise, and the snow is going fast. The weather forecast is for maybe snow this weekend, so we'll see what develops.

I'm going to add some photos of our quick trip to Las Vegas. We saw the Hoover Dam and drove around Red Rock Canyon. For shows we went to performances of the Blue Man Group and Cirque du Soleil "Love" (tribute to the Beatles.) They were both very good, and we used our earplugs at BMG, so we could hear later... It was great to enjoy blue sky and sunshine! (The sun was shining today, so it was great in Colorado too!) Amazing how we appreciate the sun, especially when we haven't seen or felt it lately.
For Phil's birthday dinner we went to Hacienda Colorado for some yummy Mexican food. We thought of you Kristen, but didn't save any...If you clicked on the link I tried to add it took you to the Hoover Dam site instead of Cirque du Soleil...Every time I have tried to add links to this post the words go into cyberspace...if you are interested, we saw the BMG at the Venetian, and the Beatles tribute at the Mirage...Las Vegas casinos are amazing, wear your walking shoes...

It Snowed Again, must be leaving town...

This is a quick insert, if anyone is even reading this, to say that we left town for a few days of R&R, and of COURSE it was SNOWING as my friends drove me out to the airport...same old same old...we are doing a quiet version of Las Vegas, no Celine Dion for this girl, because we didn't check the schedule, and she's on VACATION after tonight for a month, so oh well, maybe we'll check out something else. For sure a trip to Hoover Dam, and a walk around the casinos to see all the funny people who play to lose.
We don't anticipate adding much to the economy down here...and we have no email access at the time share we are staying at (if you are wondering how I can do this it is because I came early to the airport for this very reason) I am picking up B after his seminar trip to Phoenix ended today and he is flying in so we can do the tourist bit for a few days.) We will get back home on Friday (ANOTHER STORM is in the forecast, so what else is new)

anyone want to make a bet? we're in the right place for it...this airport is a happening place, I don't think it is ever quiet around here.

More Snow, even Tucson got Hit!

This has truly been an interesting winter. We have a circular driveway in front of our house but it has about three feet of packed snow, so there is a little path from the street to the front door for the paper to get delivered, and a shoveled driveway to the garage. This makes it a LITTLE tricky to park cars when we try to come and go, as there are four drivers and only room to place three vehicles without blocking someone. At the moment my car is parked in Michelle's garage at her condo, and she and I are using her little car which was actually CLEAN for half a day on Saturday, then more new snow hit overnight, and Phil drove her car because she has decent studded snow tires, and he needed to get to work so he could sell snowblowers to OTHER PEOPLE. We were only supposed to get a few inches, but the weathernen were a little mistaken about the total.

White is getting a little too bright. At least the sun is supposed to be out for the next week and we should get some serious melting. Pretty soon people will be complaining about the flooding from all the snow melting too fast. We always need to have an excuse to complain. Talking to my sister last night, they were getting a few inches of snow in Tucson. I guess El Nino is for real this year.

Kristen has some great ice pix on her blog, they are getting snow finally, winter is here for real. We are ready for some warmer weather. I sure appreciate days over 50 degrees when we get them. That seems really warm right now.

New Year, New Stuff

Well I had great intentions of getting our holiday epistle written early and sent out in a timely manner, as well as the handmade gifts (which will be great next year, provided I get started on them soon while the ideas are fresh in my memory banks) The birth of our wonderful grandbaby changed a lot of my plans, as well as the delay in getting home because of the snow in Denver. Everybody was saving the put-up-the-tree and decorations for me to do when I got home, so we looked like the Grinch house, no tree, no lights outside, no foo-foo dust catchers, although Brian did snatch a tree from his office decorations, and they set up an olive wood nativity. Even without decorating for it, Christmas came anyway, and we had a great time; best of all was the fantastic meal prepared for us by Debbie and Jeff --they give the BEST Christmas gift I can think of each year when they make Christmas dinner for our family. This year it was doubly appreciated, as I didn't even get home until 4pm on Christmas Day, so the welcoming aromas and delicious food were even better than usual.

The day after Christmas was very educational and somewhat traumatic, as we found out that Michelle has Type 1 Diabetes, and spent four hours in the ER after learning that her blood sugar and ketones were at toxic levels. The two weeks since then have been filled with nutrition data/blood glucose monitoring/insulin training/ pharmacy runs/ and grocery shopping. We all have a lot of information overload to deal with, and doctor visits/ dosage management training/ low blood sugar scares, etc etc. (I used to look at nutrition labels just for calories and fat grams; then for sodium and cholesterol bad stuff; now we are focusing on carbs, carbs vs fiber, and protein, as well, so we are pretty much looking at the whole label, which makes for a slow go at the grocery store.)

Last weekend I was able to attend my nephew David B's wedding in Corona CA. It was great to get together with some of my sibs, and see several nephews and nieces and their kids. The trip out there was filled with adventure, as Denver has been afflicted with even more snow, not the nice mild winters we are used to, but blizzardy storms, round 1 was just before Christmas, 2 hit just before New Years, 3 was in full swing as Brian drove me toward the airport (it took us 90 minutes to make the 45 minute trip at 4am, and my plane had to be de-iced before we could take off, then we sat for over 30 minutes before we could leave---I missed my connection in Phoenix, and had a two+ hour layover before the windy, rocky trip to Ontario) The trip back on Sunday was pretty smooth, except for the drive home in GROUND BLIZZARDS and gale-force winds that were category 1-3 hurricane force, and caused many accidents because of drifts. Round 4 is coming this weekend with sub-zero temperatures. So much for the drought around here, at least that is one blessing from the snow. (Brian suggested that I should look for a house in Phoenix during my unexpected layover, and he was only partially kidding...)

Despite maybe sounding like a DebbieDowner, we feel greatly blessed. We are all looking forward to having good things happen in 2007. Chase is already a month old (today) and brings joy to my heart every time I see a picture of him. Also, we have a wonderful family and friends right here to enjoy, and loved ones all across the country. Life is truly good. Plus, I have a great craft project to make in my spare moments, courtesy of my sister Deb.