a great loss, a deep scratch and a surprise visit

Since the kids had no school, everyone slept in and took it easy all morning, except Zeej, who volunteered to help with putting up flags in the neighborhood to celebrate the holiday. Carol texted, "Coke time?" and we raced off to Sonic for our morning coke.  We made a quick stop on the way home at Bath and Body Works for their last day of the "Biggest Sale of the Year" (until their next Biggest Sale of the Year, we realize).  Carol treated me to a "Beautiful Day" candle, which was sweet of her and has made my house smell a bit springy all day!


The girls and I dropped Quayd off and went into my not favorite store to make a return.  Which reminds me... last week, I went in to go to the bank.  Sadly, since our move, the closest branch is inside of Walmart, which means I have to go in on occasion.  Ugh.  So, I'm walking past this man who's got a machine all opened and putting things inside it.  I said, "Hey?  Is this the machine that makes the cute little tags with your pet's name on it?"  He said, "Yes, it is!  And you can also write dirty things on it."  EEEEWWWWWWW!   I said, "Um, OR NOT" and walked away.  Some people!

The girls and I played a few games of Tenzi and Pit for a bit before Doug got home from work.  Just after dinner, I walked past the computer and saw a big picture of Glenn Frey, one of the Eagles, and immediately opened it to discover that he had passed away at the young age of 67.  My heart literally ached.  The Eagles have always been my favorite band.  There's not a day in this home that we don't listen to the Eagles on one playlist or another.  My mind can go back to the 70s and 80s in one note, listening to their beautiful harmonizing voices. Back when we actually played our music on CDs, I ended up buying a third set of The Bery Best of the Eagles because I wore the first two out.

In high school, my bestie, Kevin, and I had serious driving rules for the Eagles music.  If  "Best of my Love" was playing, no one was allowed to speak in the car.  We would literally pull over and air drum with them to "Take it to the Limit".  "Lying Eyes" was always played on Full blast!  But, my most favorite memory of the Eagles was being at a company party with Doug when they played the most popular remake Live Version of "Hotel California", which had always been a favorite.  In 1990ish,  The beginning little guitar piece had never been heard before.  We were on the dance floor and this "slow dance" began.  We continued to dance from the song before and when the audience on the album and  the 500 people in the room realized that this was Hotel California, everyone cheered!  Best Eagles Moment ever and probably my most favorite date night moment ever!  

Last night, I opted to stay home and just rock out very loudly to the Eagles for the rest of the night while Doug went to the YSA Stake Ski Party.  He opted not to ski, but I think that deep down, he really wanted to.  It's been 25 years since he did any downhill skiing and he truly loved it.  Deepdown, I'd have liked to see him do it too.  But, he said that he'd just go for a few hours and then come back about the same time that Quayd got off work.

Back to Glenn Frey... this is really a strange beginning to a new year.  We are less than three weeks into the year and already, Glenn Frey, David Bowie (I have never been a fan), Grizzley Adams, Celine Dion's beloved husband, Rene and her older brother.  Most of them were younger than 70.  This is really sad.  Doug commented, that's young!  It seems like a lot of death for such a short period of time.  And listening to the Eagles now feels different...sadness.  I'm not loving watching so many people who've brought us so much happiness leaving us, but I imagine that the next few years will continue to bring the ends of lives to many of the people who have entertained us for generations...hopefully more will be in their 90s, not their late 60s!

 At about 8:15, our doorbell rang and we had a surprise visit from our grandson, Jason and his family!  Dave and Katie were in town to pick up their new SUV.  SO nice!  We visited until almost ten.  The kids were downstairs playing on the Wii while we visited by the fire in the den.  I've done a little furniture rearranging in the den.  More furniture but cozier feel, in my opinion.  I could happily never leave this room!  We never get enough time with Dave and Katie, so it was such a treat to catch up with them on life!

I've moved the furniture around and added a standing lamp and distressed coffee table. My mother took one look at this table a few years ago and was immediately turned off.  I happen to love distressed furniture!  Mom, not so much.  I've decided that having kids means having distressed furniture whether you buy it that way or not!  My new living room coffeetable is not distressed.  I went in to dust a bit ago and discovered a seven inch scratch on the top of it.  (It looks like someone sat on it with riveted jeans.)  Mr. Nobody did it, of course.  Yep, should have just bought a distressed one in the first place and I wouldn't have been traumatized by the scratch.  It was one of those days that I had to tell myself over and over, "People are more important than things."  Yep... I prefer the casual and distressed den over any room in our home!  Life is good even with scratched brand new furniture!  And I can still listen to Glenn Frey and the Eagles, even after the thrill is gone.

Don't sweat the small stuff.  It's all small stuff.

busy sunday

The kids have been practicing for weeks, to perform a song in our Ward Conference, with all of the youth of the ward.  Yesterday was ward conference.  Oh my.  It was the best ward conference meeting that I ever remember attending.  Our Bishop and our Stake President spoke.  The youth sang in between their two talks.  There was barely a dry eye in the building.  They sang an arrangement of "We are daughters of God/As Sisters in Zion/Army of Helaman" and it was so beautiful!  I loved it!  Everyone loved it!  The Bishop spoke about the youth and how wonderful they are and how they follow our example.  He encouraged the parents and leaders to lead by example.  President Burns shared a story from his mission to Taiwan forty years ago that was incredible.  Just a wonderful meeting!

As Doug said, our Sunday was anything but a day of rest this week!  We got the kids out the door for practice.  Doug was already out and about doing his calling at 9ish.  I attended our Sacrament Meeting then raced home to cook the rice for the YSA Ward Linger Longer.  (Once a month, there is a meal after church, so that the kids get at least a couple of home cooked meals while away from home.)  Taco Salads with Cilantro Rice was served.  Very tasty!  The kids always enjoy spending time getting to know the students.  This was at the church, so they were also there to help clean up afterward.  I appreciate watching Quayd volunteer his muscles.  He's pretty good about that!

We raced from the Linger Longer and headed to Smithfield to the B's for Miki's birthday.  She is six years old!  Hard to imagine that time has flown by so quickly.  She had invited Zaylee to come, as well.  Zaylee was there when we got there.  I'm so thankful that Zaylee's family and Miki's family both want the girls to have a relationship.  They get along amazingly well.  Doug and I are just mind-blown about that!  Their personalities couldn't be any more different.  Miki is soft-spoken and Zaylee is loud!  Miki is very delicate and feminine in her movements.  Zaylee is bold and all over the place.  Yet, they are very alike.  They make a lot of the same facial expressions. They have a lot of the same likes.  They both love the attention and like to share their talents.  It's fascinating to watch the two together.  Again, we're so thankful that they can be together!

Ironically, Liza and Buddy facetimed right as we were lighting the candles on Miki's cake, so they sang happy birthday and said goodbye. 

 Miki requested a tinkerbell strawberry birthday cake and rainbow sherbet for dessert.

 Zaylee reminded me that she and Zee are the two ZJs.

 This pic depicts their personalities for sure!  I had to laugh, however, becauseI see Dale's daughter, Willow, in that silly face Zaylee is making.  She likes to ham it up for the camera, as well.

 Honestly, as Miki grows, I see more and more of Kelly in her, making her and Zaylee look a bit more alike, as well.  Adoption has so many tender mercies on it's own!

We visited with the B's while the kids all played together for just an hour and had to race back to Logan to get the kids to our Bishop's home for his monthly fireside, which is always a good experience for them.  The girls were horrified that they might even be late for it, but they got there just in time.  I'm so thankful for a ward full of kids who have accepted and welcome our kids into its so easily!

Speaking of which, it occurred to me during Ward Conference that this Sunday last year was our last Sunday in our old Smithfield ward.  It seems hard to imagine that a year has flown by.   Yet, on the other hand, it feels like we've been gone forever.  I'm still in touch regularly with a few close friends from the ward, but it's definitely feeling like that was another life already.  We drove past our old home on our way home last night and I said to Doug, "I literally feel no attachment to that home anymore. Although I do miss that beautiful yellow paint in the kitchen!" It's because I am soooooo happy in this home. I reminisced about my last Sunday in the Smithfield ward with such mixed emotions last night as I was trying to fall asleep. I am happy that life has brought us to where we are today. I've never been happier!  Life is good!

Mormon Manners Game

We were introduced to this game by our Mennonite friends, the Lehmans, in Goshen Indiana 22 years ago.  It's since been renamed Mormon Manners at our house.  It should be just called NO manners.  Susan asked and I've been meaning to post the rules for two weeks.  Here ya go...

You will need:  a piece of paper for each player.  ONE Pen.  ONLY ONE.  Two dice.  A table. Everyone stands around the table.  Much easier than sitting. (and you'll end up standing anyway before the game is over.)

Round ONE:  The host rolls One Die. Whatever they roll is the number you will roll for this round.  Say it's a five.  SO.  The first player rolls.  IF they roll a five, they grab the pen out of the middle of the table and start writing on their paper.  1 2 3 4 5 6.... In the meantime, the next player rolls.  and the next.  and the next.  The players continue to go around the table, QUICKLY taking turns rolling the die.  The first player who rolls a five, grabs the pen from the person who is writing their numbers (1-100) and begins writing their own list 1 2 3 4 .... until the next person rolls a five, then they grab and start.  If the pen was grabbed from you and you were at 34, but only had the 3 written, when you get the pen, you complete writing 34 and continue on toward 100.  Sometimes, you will barely get the pen and the person next to you rolls a five too, so you won't even get to write a number.  As the game gets further, and people's list of 1-100 is getting closer to 100, the game gets louder, people grab harder, write faster, get sloppier, and manners are out the window!  The first person who completes their list of 1 - 100 wins.  They don't have to be neat, legible, but they do have to list EVERY number 1-100.

ROUND TWO:  First, Roll TWO dice to determine the numbers you will roll for.  This time, if either of the TWO numbers are on the dice, you can grab the pen and begin writing.  Start over on your list at 1 each round.  Same rules.  First person to 100 on their list, wins.

 

 

It's so much fun to play, except when Doug plays!  He doesn't hurry.  He doesn't grab.  He offers the pen.  He's far too polite for this game and during this game, he gets yelled at a lot by everyone at the table, because everyone else takes it very seriously and wants to win!  Sadly, when Doug plays, the person seated to play just before Doug has a 99.9% chance of winning!  Yagottaluvhim!

home again. life again.

Coming home after a trip to Liza's is always a reality check for me.  The kids do well, but not.  Doug does well, but not. Doug said before we went to bed, "We are glad that you got to go, we always are, but we need you, so, we're always glad when you come home."  It's true.  I realize it. We all do. The house is always clean.  Schedules are always kept.  But, things are never the same for any of them while I'm away. I always feel a certain amount of guilt because I do feel like I need to be here, but on the other hand, I am Liza's mom and Aylabelle's gram and they need me at times too.  And I want to be with them!  I guess that it's just part of the package that comes with raising two sets of kids.  No complaints, just the facts.  It is good to be needed.

So, when we woke up on Saturday morning, I was more than happy to spend the day with the kids.  Doug had to work overtime, (always a blessing) and was gone until later in the afternoon.  Zee and I made blueberry pancakes and visited all morning.

Perfect timing... Zee was downstairs doing something in her room when Carol called, so we made a quick run to Sonic for a coke.  Right as we were at the delivery window, Grace called and said that she was ready for a ride home from her Bella Retreat!  We were half way there to Smithfield!  So, we ran up to the high school and grabbed Grace.  She had a wonderful time at the retreat and was very happy to be with her mom again!  Carol dropped us off, she put her things away and we were immediately busy learning to play Tenzi together and talking about the week.

While playing Tenzi, we were playing the round where you close one eye and yell "Argh!" out loud with each roll.  ZJ came back upstairs and stared at us like we'd lost our minds.  A few minutes later, Quayd came up wondering what all the fuss was about.  We all decided to hot tub together for a while.  It was still snowing and we love hottubbing when it snows, so we had a great visit about the week together.  While in the hot tub, I was offering to make homemade pizza and the kids suggested that we all go out and use Nana's gift card to Chuckarama for dinner.

No sooner than we were out, Doug called to say that he was on his way home.  He was good with going out for dinner as a fun beginning to a family night.  It is so rare that all three kids are home on a Saturday night!  We had dinner, where the kids discovered that if you mix the vanilla icecream with blue slurpees, it tastes like Gelato.  I said, "$14 a piece and all they really wanted was slurpees?"  Oh well, Merry Christmas from Nana Ruby, they were happy!

We came home, all got our jammies on and I taught Doug how to play Tenzi while the kids were doing their thing for an hour before we all watched The Martian together, then all of the extras.  That was my "souvenier" from this trip... I always bring home something.  They were excited to see it again.  And actually, the extras are as fun as the movie. Doug and Tenzi... hmmm... he isn't competitive enough for a game like Tenzi.  I will always win.  (wink-wink)

We were in bed pretty early, 11:ish and again, it felt good to be in my own bed.  I'm glad to be home. Laundry is calling.  Church obligations are demanding.  Tax prep is screaming!  I'm dreading the early morning school runs on Monday morning. BUT, I'm GLAD to be home!  It hit me while in St. George, I really do not enjoy getting up and making that run every morning.  Life would be much easier on me if they all went to the Logan schools.  BUT, Quayd and Grace will finish up, so I have one more year with Grace and I'll be done with the early morning runs to get them to Smithfield.  But, that also means that Grace will have graduated.  I'm not ready for that either!    Times moving too quickly!

A week or two ago, on her birthday, Grace got a new smart phone.  She's been using her original phone from her fourteenth birthday which had no capabilities other than texting.  She has been so happy to have Facebook on her phone.  Her Bella teacher challenged the girls to look for the good in every day.  It's an official "happiness" challenge where they post on FB every single day their happy thought for the day.  Here was Grace's on Saturday.  I love that she's embracing family so!  Almost every day, there is some mention of family.  Not every moment is bliss, that's for certain!  Three teens in the house means that there are some days where I want to just sit down and cry.  But, for the most part, these kids value family!  That makes me happy!  This post brings tears to my eyes:

Day 11: so my mom is back!!!!!! It was so great to see her.  I love her sooooo much, and she and I had so much to talk about. Honestly nothing makes me more happy than my family being together....  so for the remainder of the day we played a game called tenzee which I seriously recommend you buy. And watched martian. Its great. But yep having my mom home makes me so happy! ‪#‎happy100days‬ ‪#‎bella

Life is good!  So are road trips with your bestie to see your daughter and her family!  So is coming home to the rest of your family and laundry and reality.

Road trip, prayers answered!

Carol and I were awakened to the chirping of the smoke alarm. It chirped for about fifteen minutes, then, we heard Buddy getting up on a ladder to change the battery.  We needed to get up anyway to get on the road!  We checked the weather aps and tried to figure which window of the day would be the best time for us to try to head home.  We were looking at the bigger locations between Logan and St. George, trying to see which hour the snow looked to be the lightest in each and if there were a perfect time to travel.  Liza was listening to us from Aylabelle's room and came into ours, "You two sound like a combination of Rainman and What about Bob?  Baby Steps to 2:00."  Har-har!

We got ready, loaded the car and said our goodbyes, not knowing what to expect on the road ahead of us.  The weather promised to be 90% chance of snow the entire way.  Saying goodbye was a little easier because our focus was so much on the road conditions and trying to beat it and not so much on the fact that I won't see my girls for a couple of months.  I always cry, but this time, only a block or two, not half way home!

We hit Sonic in St. George for our morning cokes and were on the freeway by 10:45.  We hadn't gone ten miles when the snow began.  It was just beginning, so the roads were not even wet yet.

 We knew that the worst of the trip would be the next 100 miles past Beaver, UT.  The apps told us that Fillmore was going to have non-stop snow all day long, so that basically meant the bottom half of the trip.  Then the further north we came, we just expected lots and lots of snow.  We were told by friends that it was snowing pretty hard in Logan, so ugh.... we dreaded the 400 mile drive.  HOWEVER....

one of the summits... Cove Fort... blue skies

The more we drove, the more we were continually saying, "We are blessed!  This isn't at all what the Weather Channel promised!"  And it wasn't.  We hit a few snow flurries that didn't last ten miles each.  There were huge patches of bright and beautiful blue skies here and there throughout most of the day.

 Fillmore... what was supposedly going to be the worst of the storm...

 The absolute worst of the travel was entering Sardine Canyon, just before you come into Cache Valley.  And even the canyon wasn't bad.  We came into the valley and saw the most snow that we'd seen all day long and my street was the only snow covered road that we saw all day long!  We were truly blessed with great weather/road conditions, especially considering what we'd been looking at on the Weather Channel. It was pretty amazing to, literally, watch the app change from "Snow" to "partly cloudy" symbols as we drove!  Prayers answered!

Even stopping for dinner on our way home, I was unloaded and alone at home by 6.  We even made great time! OH!  And some really exciting news!  As Carol and I were driving, we were talking about that delicious sandwich at Even Stevens and decided to see if there was one on the way home that we could stop at for dinner.  What we discovered was that there is one opening in LOGAN very soon!  The address was posted and we drove right past it on Main Street!  Woohooo!  Can't wait!

When we pulled in, I was literally alone.  No one was home!  Quayd was working, ZJ was at a school function and Doug had just dropped Grace off at a Bella Retreat, so I came in and unpacked before he even got back. I could not wait to get into the hot tub.  My foot missed the hot tub immensely!  So, that's what I did! I took my Sonic refill and headed out to the patio.  Doug and Quayd came home an hour or so later and as soon as Zeej got home, we all went to bed.  It had been a long day and I couldn't wait to sleep in my own bed.

Everytime that I visit Liza in her home, I'm happier and happier for her.  I sometimes worry about her being home alone with Aylabelle all day every day, but she absolutely loves it.  She arranges little play dates and has really reached out to the gals in her new ward.  She loves the social time but loves being there with Aylabelle.  She is very happy in her marriage and motherhood and really fine without living near her mother!  It's her mother who isn't fine living far from her!  But, what a gift to know that she is happy in the life choices that she has made!  I can only hope that my younger girls can find such joy in life!

And my friendship with Carol... it just gets better with age.  We're already talking about our next roadtrip!  I am blessed!

Life is good!

St. George Roadtrip...day 3

EI must admit that we played Tenzi until our hands hurt!  What a fun fun game!  When everyone woke up on Thursday morning, we played some more! We played until we had to shower and start getting ready to meet Mom and Buddy for lunch.  Aylabelle sat at the table rolling her own dice much of the time.

Tenzi is a game where you each roll ten dice and try to get different patterns, sets and groups of whatever the card tells you to.  The first person who gets it wins that round.  Liza and Buddy have the "77 ways to play Tenzi" pack, which adds even more fun to it.  Aylabelle wasn't quite sure what to think of her mom, Gram and Aunt Carol as we would roll then clap between each roll OR call out a line from a movie, or sing a song or make animal noises between each roll.  She sat back looking at us and announce, "Grammie, you're silly!"  This made it even more fun, knowing that we were entertaining her!

As soon as we were ready (and we played until the very last minute we possibly could), we met my mom and Buddy in town at Even Stevens, a new sandwich shop.  Liza had raved about this sandwich, so I told her to just order whatever she wanted to me, while I took Aylabelle to the table to visit with Mom and Buddy, who arrived just before us.  We had a fun lunch, talking and laughing and watching Aylabelle. I took some cute pix there and was thankful that I did because we really didn't get many photo opportunities all together.

Aylabelle really loves my mother.  I'm so glad!  Mom is all alone right now and I really feel like Liza and Buddy being there right now, just after Boyd's death is a blessing for her.  They don't see her often, but they see her enough that it's given Mom something to look forward to.  I love how she says "Nana Ruby" because Buddy's mom is also "nana".

Lunch was DE.LISH!!!!  This sandwich... potroasted turkey in beef au jus with jalepeno jelly and sauteed onions.  OH MY!  We tried to figure a way to fit in an extra meal before we left just so that we could have it again!  Sadly, we didn't have the time.

 Aylabelle was showing me her glasses like Grammie's.

 

I think that this is one of my favorite pictures ever of Liza and Buddy.  He's growing a beard, which I LOVE!!!  They are truly one happy little family.  For this, I'm VERY thankful!  What a good man he is...husband and father.  And he's even a pretty good son-in-law.  I tell him that he's my favorite and he always reminds me that this isn't a hard thing to be!  He's my only!

I convinced Carol to sit long enough for a picture of us together.  She's not a fan of selfies!  But, she's so cute!  Why not!?

 

I'm not sure what Mom was in such deep thought about.  It's rare that she's not telling a story of her life and making us laugh.  But, I love this!

 

There he is, my favorite son-in-law again!  Is that a great beard or what?!

After a fun little lunch, we told Buddy goodbye, knowing that it would be midnight before we saw him again and told Mom that we'd have dinner with her at her home later that evening.  Carol wanted to buy Liza a little hostess something-something.  Last trip down, I'd bought Liza this large "thing", for a cute little nook in her home.  Carol wanted to complete the nook.  So, off to St. George Taipan, we went for an hour of fun looking and shopping.  We could hardly wait to get home and put our findings into the nook.  Liza was thrilled!  Carol was happy that she was!  So cute!

Liza got Aylabelle right down for a nap and I decided that I'd lay down for a bit too while they went for a walk. I put my head on the pillow and checked the clock.  Exactly four minutes later, Aylabelle was awake, so we played and read books together until they returned.  As soon as they were freshened up, we headed over to my mother's house for a yummy meatloaf dinner.  After dinner, we were excited to teach my mother how to play Tenzi. Oh my.  That was a fun two hours...because Mom wasn't quite sure what we were doing all the time, but she was a good sport.

She also had these very large dice in a jar and gave them to Aylabelle to play with.  She "mooed" and yelled and stacked them along with us the whole time.  Very fun!  It was a good visit with my mom.  I realized, this trip, just how much she is alone.  She really appreciated the time with us, it was obvious.

 

She did a pretty good job!  The best part was that she'd put her hands up in the air and cheer for herself and say, "Tenzi!!" whenever she was done!  She watched our every move.

Have I mentioned that I adore this child!?

Just as we were leaving, I asked Carol to snap a picture of Mom and I.  We don't get enough of them.

We said our goodbyes, headed back to Liza's and got Aylabelle to sleep before playing more games and visiting until Buddy came home.  The best surprise of the day was that he came in at 10:30, not midnight, as we'd expected, so we were able to play for a couple more hours with Buddy!  Good times!

Before we could get to sleep, Carol and I were checking the weather aps to see what the drive home was going to offer us.  It didn't look good.  We actually even considered leaving right then and getting a room on the way home to beat the storm, but the snow was already falling.  So, we went to bed, hoping for a good day of driving, but also considering staying one more if it looked more promising.  We laughed ourselves to sleep, muffling our faces, several times.  How do we do that... spend so much time together and always laugh so hard like it's been forever!?  That's friendship!  I heart her!

Good times!  Life is good!

St. George Road Trip Day 2

After very  little sleep, worrying about Aylabelle, we were thrilled to see her wake up feeling great and saying "Me's all better."  For the most part, other than being tired from being up all night long at the hospital, she was a delight.  We had breakfast and visited a bit, all of us feeling quite tired in the morning, but glad to just chill and visit.  Liza told us all the details of her little Emergency Room experience, where she said that Aylabelle just kept telling everyone thank you for everything they'd do to her and her least favorite part was having the little oxygen thingee clipped on her toe.  That bothered her more than wearing the mask for the breathing treatment.   Liza did not want to take her out into the world, however, so Carol and I left them at home, hoping they would both get some rest, and headed to town for lunch at Applebees with my mother.

Mom looked great.  We spent over two hours at lunch and I never even thought to take one single picture.  Mom told us lots of stories of her life.  She was, very obviously, happy for the company.  We had a nice visit and will probably go out to her home to see her sometime today for a bit.  If not, she'll come to see us at Liza's.

Before we came home, we made a stop at Target to pick up some juice for Aylabelle and since Pier One was next door, we had to stop there! I love just soaking in the decorating ideas there!  And we had to run to Sonic on our way home because it's what we do. Happy moment!

When we came home, Aylabelle was awake and feeling great.  Liza and Carol took a serious walk together. I can't keep up with either of them because of my foot, so, Aylabelle and I took a short walk around the block where she showed me all of the fun things in her neighborhood.  "I love rocks, Grammie!"  She lives in the right place for rocks!  St. George, like Phoenix, is filled with rock yards instead of grass because of the extreme summer heat.  Speaking of which, it's been in the upper 40s here and it was 1 degree in Logan yesterday.  Hard to imagine that 6 hours can make such a difference in temperatures!  Our walk was short and sweet, but I loved every second of it!

Buddy has sporting events at the university, so he will be working late tonight.  Because of his work schedule, we made last night our Game Night.  As soon as he came in from work, we had such a delicious dinner and I learned that Aylabelle loves, and I mean, loves sour cream.  Like Ice Cream, she loves it!  She was hoping for a sour cream fajita minus anything else.  And she showed me how to do it!  (You can see in her little eyes that she's still not feeling 100%.  Sadness.)

 After our yummy fajita dinner, and Aylabelle was in bed for the night, we sat down and played Fruit Salad, then Like Minds, then Zero, then Tenzi.  Oh my heck!  Another new fun and exciting game!  We LOVED Tenzi!  Liza and Buddy had bought it for Christmas.  This was a game that I literally held and got up to the register to pay, then changed my mind, last summer in Idaho with Carol.  We've been missing out!  There's a set of cards called, "77 ways to play Tenzi" that they also bought.  We played until almost 2 in the morning and didn't want to stop then!  We weren't even thinking straight after our all-nighter the night before, but no one wanted to stop! We kept saying, "One more.  One more!" 

Then, Carol and I got into bed and talked for almost half an hour.  We were laughing so hard that we had to muffle our faces.  I commented about how much we laugh when we are together.  It's great to have friends to laugh with!

My favorite thing of the day, however, was that Doug texted me, over and over, all day. This is a first and I'm loving it!  He's not a texter, but he made me laugh.  Then, late last night, at 10:17, he texted six in a row...

TV was on (meaning that's all they did last night...LOL)

Love you

Red script (read scriptures)

Pray'd

Buenos noches

I responded in the middle of our game playing "Love You"

He wrote back: U2zZzzz snore...

We had talked several times, as well, but the fact that he's getting better texting makes me happy!  The YSA kids text him all the time, so he's had to learn how!  Another blessing from his fun calling!  ;)

This morning, everyone is still sleeping.  I'm up and can't even think about going back to bed. I'm ready to get moving!  Doing what, I'm not sure, but I'm ready!  There was the other news this morning:

• Actor Alan Rickman passed away of cancer.  We loved him!  What a sad loss to the acting world.  ZJ texted already that she wants to cry. They loved him in Harry Potter.  Doug and I loved him long ago in Quigley Down Under and Robin Hood. 
• Apparently, someone won 1.4 billion dollars playing the lottery last night.  We didn't win.  Wait, we didn't buy a ticket.  We couldn't win.  Never have, never will.  But, congrats to whoever did and I hope that they do much good with their new found gains.

We will be heading home tomorrow.  The kids need their mom at home.  It's hard being wife to Doug, mom to bigs and babes and gram all at the same time!  And there's that friend factor in there too.  I'm blessed with so many wonderful people in my world!  And thankful that everyone allows me to wear all of my hats when I need to!  Life is good!

road trip and a surprise trip

I got the kids off to school and Carol and I were on the road bright and early.  We stopped at Sonic in Brigham City,  Zupas for our favorite bbq chicken salad in Spanish Fork, and once for diet cokes and other than that, we had a very uneventful trip, which is exactly what we prayed for before leaving!  The weather was perfect, the roads were safe.  A perfect trip! 

Aylabelle had just awaken from her nap and was very excited to see us!  I'd facetimed with her a bit in the morning before leaving and she excitedly told me, "Grammie!  You coming to me's house with Aunt Carol today!?"  As we walked in, she said, "Grammie!!!  Aunt Cawol!" 

We visited for about an hour and Liza was excited to take us to dinner at a BBQ place that she and Buddy discovered.  She couldn't wait for me to try the hushpuppies, which were so divine.  Dinner was so nummy and I promised her an icecream from McD's on the way home. When we got home from dinner, we waited for Buddy.  Aylabelle was so buzzed from the sugar of the candies I'd brought her and her ice cream.  She was running around me while I sat on the floor.  She'd pass me and I'd grab her and hug her over and over again.  She was totally fine...feeling wonderful and as happy as could be!  

Buddy had gone straight from work to Young Mens Activity in their ward.He barely walked in and we left to go to a show.  Liza has only left Aylabelle a few times since she was born and has not been to a movie, so we said hello and goodbye to Buddy in two minutes and were out the door for a Girls Night Out to the theater.  We raced to town, parked in the middle of nowhere, ran into the theater and asked for tickets to see "The 33". The girl looked at us like "Huh?"   Liza showed her phone to the gal and asked, "Is this where we are?" We were at the wrong theater!  

So, we ran back to the car, raced to the other theater in town and then into the theater, asking, "Has The 33 started?!"  The gal said it had but I asked if I could check.  It was still in previews!  We paid, sat and the movie literally started as we took a deep breath!  The movie was so so good! I remembered watching the men come up out of that cave in that tube on tv live.  What an incredible story.  It is a must see movie!

After the movie, we visited with Buddy for a bit and were all in bed by 11:40.  At about five after midnight, we heard Aylabelle making the worst noise I've ever heard.  Liza came upstairs and said, "Is that her!?"  Within five minutes, she and Buddy were walking out the door to the emergency room with Aylabelle! It was a long night, but they were home at 3 this morning.  Aylabelle has croup!  HOW do you go from running in circles and happy as can be to having croup in four hours?  She had a breathing treatment and steroids and sent her home.  It was a long long night! 

This morning, she woke up feeling great.  Aside from a runny nose, you'd never know she was sick.  She is contagious, which means that we will not be able to spend time with my mom because Mom, since her cancer, avoids all sickness as much as possible.  But, she's got on her cowgirl hat and singing "Yeehaw!"

So, Carol and I are going to have lunch with Mom today while Aylabelle and Liza try to catch up on a little sleep.  What an insane surprise!  Sadness!  But, we'll make the most of things without going out on the town while we are here.

We've already played UNO, which is Aylabelle's favorite game and yes, she plays UNO. It's most humourous to think that we're playing cards with a two year old!  I kind of like this baby girl!  And her mom!  So glad to be here, in sickness and in health!

Life is good...germs and all!

a good time!

It was a crazy busy day.  I had a hard time sleeping because I knew that I had so much to do, so it was after 2:15 when I settled down.  Then it took me forever to fall asleep.  When the alarm rang at 5:55, I was not amused!  But, we were up and running.  I ran the kids to school then started getting ready for A.  YSA Home Evening dinner and B. My trip to visit Liza! 

Last week, I'd gotten a group text from my lunch bunch friends, who were having lunch on Tuesday.  I apologized that I'd be missing out again because I was heading south to St. George.  An hour later, there was another text saying, "Let's do Monday instead!"  So, on this super busy Monday, I took 90 minutes to visit with some of my dearest friends at El Toro over tasty lunch, lots of Diet Coke and some good fun talk.  Tina brought a "dessert" for us to try... little mini brownie bites that she'd made and filled with salted caramel and cream cheese frosting.  Oh my!  I believe there was coconut involved too.  They were delish, but I was so full!  SO FULL that I didn't eat a bite the rest of the night!

I got back to work immediately when I came home.  I made my new potato soup recipe times six for dinner, along with five loaves of homemade bread, a tasty strawberry salad and thankfully, Grace made dessert for me.  My foot was throbbing and by 4PM, I needed to elevate and rest it for an hour.  So, she made a big batch of my friend Amy's Chocolate Chip oatmeal cookies, which is the favorite cookie in our home.  I figured cookies on a plate at each table would be a great dessert for college kids. 

EVERY time since last summer, that we've hosted the kids for dinner, I have been overprepared.  Each group has about fifty kids.  I cook for about 40 just in case.  We were told to count on about half of them coming.  This group C has about 55 kids in it.  Last time, there were 21, plus Doug and I.  I've set an extra table, set for 30-32 and kept it "closed" unless we needed it, but had it ready if we did.  This time, I decided to just set two tables - one for 12 and the round for 9.  So, I was prepared for 21.  At six, they started coming in. And they kept coming.  And coming.  And we ended up with 31!  I was so ticked at myself for second guessing.  So, at the last minute, we set up a card table in the middle and pulled in a few extra chairs.  We had kids at every seat and on the sofa and standing in the kitchen!  I'll never do that again!  32 it is!

 

We had a ball though!  I had plenty of food.  Running out of food at the Corbridges is something that never will happen because it's a sin, in my book.  So, everyone ate to their hearts content. Then we cleared things up, moved out the extra tables and sat in a huge circle in the den and played a game that I'd prepared (part of why I was up so late last night).  The game, I called,"Stand Up" and I had typed up fifty questions that everyone would have to answer.  So, they would "stand up IF"...  About every fifth question was asked to allow for discussion.  Have you ever traveled outside of the country aside from serving your mission?  Where?  Some of the questions brought lots of laughs and some brought lots of raised eyebrows.  The helicopter question had five people who said yes, including Doug.  I asked each where to... Mexico, the valley, Montana, Hawaii, life flight!  That had never even entered my mind when I typed up my list!  We all felt like we knew a little more about each other when we were done.  Good times!


Here's the list of questions:

Stand Up If:

You have been on a mission… where?

Breakfast is your favorite meal?

You were born outside of Utah…where

You prefer physical sports over board games

If you’ve ever eaten froglegs, tarantula or calamari?

You prefer spring more than fall?

You have ridden a horse

If you’ve hugged someone today?

You prefer chocolate dessert over fruit dessert

You have a dog… what kind and it’s name

You prefer morning more than night

You were named after a relative…what and who?

You like to sing

If you bought your own first car?

You’ve flown in a helicopter?  To where?

You consider yourself a “techie” (you have to have the latest gadgets)

You have participated in a race of any kind

You speak another language…what

You prefer mountains more than beach

You like to cook

You prefer summer more than winter

Read the entire Old Testament Cover to Cover?

You’ve ever broken a bone?

You’ve ever watched an entire season of a show in a day or two?

If you would ever own a house pig?

If you have done an extreme sport (parachuting, parasailing, hanggliding)

You have 4 or more siblings

You know how to snowboard?

If you prefer reading the book over watching the movie

If you made your bed today?

Play an instrument… what instrument?

You’ve can quote more than five lines from Princess Bride?

You have played on any teams?

If you’ve read your scriptures in the last 24 hours?

You prefer dark chocolate more than white Chocolate

You have traveled out of the country, aside from your mission.  Where?

You reading the assignment over listening to the lecture

You consider yourself a “neat freak”

If you prefer country music over pop rock music

If you consider yourself more right brained (creative) than left brained (analytical)

You can name the capitals of all fifty states?

You belonged to a club in High School

You could tell us the names of the First Presidency’s wives are? (Frances, Kathleen, Harriet)

If you’ve ever laughed so hard you spewed a beverage out your nose?

You have a relative that lived to be 100?

If you are more of a social butterfly or a wallflower

If you’d rather watch a Disney movie over an action flick

If you’ve ever met a famous person?

If you plan to graduate before you are 24?

Group C is amazing. They clean up everything and leave me nothing to do when they are gone.  I am so impressed with these kids!  And every time, I am moreso!  They are incredible, spiritual, fun and dedicated kids!  AND SO RESPECTFUL and polite!  Love that!  What a gift to serve them in any way possible!  We feel humbled and blessed at this opportunity!

The last ones left by 8PM and I immediately did a little more packing for our roadtrip (things I'd thought of while we had a houseful!) and then got into the hottub! My body was screaming for it, especially my foot!  I'm so thankful that Carol is driving because if she were not, I think I'd need another day off the foot before I could make the drive alone, even with cruise control!

We're off for a few fun days with Liza and her family and my mother, who was supposed to be having eye surgery on Wednesday, but who rescheduled it.  So, this went from a "service" trip to a total fun trip!  No complaints from us... more time for loving on Aylabelle, playing with my girl and her hubby and then, there's time with Carol, which for the two of us is never dull.  Now, if the weather will co-operate, it will be perfection!  After the holidays and all of the cooking and prepping and cleaning and entertaining, I'm looking forward to Liza's pampering!  She always is such a great hostess when I visit!  Woohooo!  Happiness!  I love my girl!


I am blessed!  Blessed with a good husband who understands my need to be mom to bigs and babes (and that it's difficult at times to do both), who loves my besties as much as I do, who holds down the fort very well while I'm away!  Life is good!