My Birthday

Yesterday was my 46th birthday.  Man time goes by fast. Eddie told Shaylin to take me out to lunch but I could not think of anything that sounded good to eat.  Then I thought “Popcorn, now that sounds good!” So we hurried over to the theater to see Julie and Julia.  I have to admit I was more excited about the popcorn than the movie, but I really ended up enjoying the movie.  i think it is one of my favorites.  It made me motivated to come up with some silly goal to fill my empty time because something may come from it in the end.  So now I have to think of something.  When we got home Shaylin went to take a nap but after about a half hour she came down saying all she could dream about was Julia Childs.  she had decided to make me a birthday cake after all.  She went to the store and spent $42 on ingredients.  (To be fair some we have left over in the cupboard for next time we want to bake. ) So Eddie and i went to dinner at Chili’s while she made a mess.

When we came home I opened presents.  I got a new Disney Globe.  They picked “Up” because now that I’m really over the hill it is time to start my next adventure.

Now for the true test…the cake was ready…how would it be???

YUM!!!!!  It was more than good.  I finally had a dessert that had me leave a bite or two on my plate at the end and had me laying on the couch afterwards not being able to move.  I finally had some chocolate that could fill me up until I was ready to explode!!!  SUCCESS!!!!!!!!

A Day on the Farm

We had the chance to stop by Grandpa Roy’s farm on the way to Disney World last week.  I felt like I had just stepped out of a movie.  One of those where the kid get to go stay on Grandpa’s farm all summer and help out with the chores.

We had a great lunch and then got to work.  We got to feed the horses….

We got to feed the fish…

We got to see the bugs….

And even try on new clothes….

The highlight of the day was driving the little green gator.  Barbara was very patient in teaching the new drivers, even when the brakes were screeching.  We even got a ride with the new drivers.  We were glad Barbara was in the front to serve us away from the tree we almost hit. 

The kids had sooo much fun they did not want to go to Disney they wanted to spend the week on the farm.  It was a great family day!!!!

Matty

Our dog Matty passed away yesterday. He has lived with us for nearly 15 years. We got him from the Parkins. He was one of Nena's dog's pups. We lived in Colorado at the time. When we picked him up they had him cut like a lion with a big mane and short hair every where else. He was really pretty silly looking!!!! Once we got rid of the mane he was a cutie. Eddie always called him Sweetie. He loved to lick. I hate being licked, but Eddie and Shaylin loved it. Especially Shaylin she would lay on the couch and just let him lick her all night long. When she was young she even used to dress him up. He was very patient with her. If you were every sick or feeling down Matty was a loyal companion. He would follow you everywhere and never leave your side. He went blind when he was about 7. His eyes swelled up HUGE!!! He looked like a monster. They finally exploded...Nichelle was in the line of fire and got sprayed with blood. I know it sounds sick but he was never in pain. His eyes then marbleized. He was a very smart dog and learned his way around even though we kept moving him. He loved to go for walks. He totally trusted us and would lead the way on the leash knowing we would pull him back if there was any danger. He loved to play with Derby. He would stand in the middle of the room and bark and bark. The louder he barked the faster Derby ran, the faster Derby ran the louder he barked. We could have never asked for a better dog!!!! He will always be with us!!!!

Kiel’s Wedding

Last weekend I went to California for Kiel and Emily’s wedding.  It was a perfect weekend.  The first night I got there we went to Mimi’s for dinner.  It was good to see the family again and to finally meet Emily.  She gets my approval.

The next morning we went through the LA Temple for Emily’s endowments.  It was a wonderful day being with family.  Carol and I got there a little early so we were able to do some initiatory for some family names.  We were then able to take a couple of those family names through the session.  They move rooms during the endowment sessions and the rooms were huge!  It is a very pretty temple.  It is cool how the city of LA just comes right up to the fence of the Temple grounds.  It reminded me of our lives..being in the world but not of the world.  We can not let the craziness and evils of the world cross over into our lives or fences.

 

That afternoon Mike and Nichelle arrived in town.  There was a wedding dinner that night at a BBQ place.  It was very yummy!!  I sat by the Page’s and can not believe how grown up the girls are getting. 

The next morning was the wedding.  Everything went perfect.  It was sooo nice being in the sealing room with them and the family.  The blessing of being sealed together as a family for eternity is the one of the greatest gifts.

Afterwards we took pictures and ate Tito’s Taco’s.  Way yummy is all I can say!!!! 

I then took Nichelle and Mike to the beach.  The surf was HUGE.  They only have waves that big about once every 5 years.  It was hard to capture in pictures the size of the waves.  The noise they made was amazing.  I wish I could put into words the shear beauty.

 

We attended the reception that night.  It was in a great backyard and once again had very yummy food!!

On Sunday I went to watch Kiel and Emily open their gifts and to see Jon and Jamie’s house.  It was good to be in their home.  I ended up driving Kiel and Emily to the airport which was a great treat.  I got to know Emily better.  They are a very cute couple.  I’m glad they are part of my family.

In N Out Burger

 

We went through the Temple with Emily to get her endowments out.  It was a wonderful morning and the LA temple is beautiful inside. After Carol wanted to hurry back to the Hotel so they could go to the beach.  But since it was lunch time she thought we should just hurry and drive through a In N Out Burger because I had never had one.  So she looked it up on the handy dandy GPS.  It took us awhile to find it.  We finally had to call Jamie to see how to spell it.  We finally got it programmed in and we were set to go.  (We needed to do this quick so we could get back to Jim and the kids.)  So the GPS sent us north on the 405 and then took us west on the 101.  It then had us get off the exit on the 101 only to put us back on the 101 going east.  It then sent us back on the 405 going south.  This is starting to look familiar.  Remember we are in LA traffic.  It sent us down about 5 miles (or 20 minutes in LA) and had us get off the exit.  You’ll never guess what happened next…yes it turned us around and sent us back north on the 405.  AAAHHHH!!!!  It then finally sent us east on the 101..hey didn’t we just get off the 101 and weren’t we already going east???  Finally we found the In N Out Burger.  The drive through was a block long so we decided since we were in a hurry (yeah right!!) we would go in.  By time we got our food all of the tables were taken so we had to go out side to eat.  However, it was very hot so our butts started on fire and we had to finally stand up to eat.  That is the end of this Loony story!!!!

California here I come!

Today I leave for California to go to Kiel and Emily's wedding. I am most looking forward to being in the Temple with my family. There is no greater place on earth. I'm glad Nichelle and Mike will be there. They are having an all white wedding which doesn't happen very often anymore so I am excited. They are always soo pretty. Families are forever!!!

More at the Drake

I love Chicago!!! This is a view from our hotel room. We went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. I had a very yummy cheesecake mixed with carrot cake. It was sooo yummy!!! We than went for a long walk down the beach to the Navy Pier. It was a beautiful night with perfect weather. we fantasized about buying a condo over looking the Lake. Then we realized that the weather is only perfect like this in Chicago for a short time period. winter is terrible and it would get awfully cold walking to buy groceries. We got back under the beautiful lights of Chicago. It was a wonderful get away.

Great day, great night, great food, great hotel and the best company. I love Eddie!!!!