It Wasn't Just Another Sunday...

Not with Abigail, Tiffany and Shawn visiting us. It was fantastic to have them at church with us. It was fun to show off our daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter. Don't doubt us when we say that the High Council speakers did an outstanding job. Everyone thought Abigail was so cute. So did we.

We had Dustin, Larah, Cassidy and Parker over for supper that afternoon. Here we smile between bites of Larah's spice cake. We thought it was fabulous and couldn't keep from slicing another piece or two on the sly. No one was fooled and Larah went home with almost an empty pan.

The kids headed straight for the costume trunk. It must have been a PURPLE DAY.

After dinner, Tiffany, Abigail & I loaded into the pickup truck and headed north for Idaho. We thought we would try to help out Heather while Aaron was out of town, and we wanted Abigail to have a chance to play with her cousins. It was a busy, crazy day on Monday and at least Heather got to take a shower. The cousins had fun. We visited, did laundry, baked cookies and helped out with a flat tire emergency. All in a day's work.

Elsie happily models Heather's dress shoes.

Anna orchestrated a tea party for Abigail and Elsie.

Here I attempt to comfort Quinn. Sometimes I was quite successful--especially when I had a bottle of Heather's pumped milk. He'll take it fresh or refrigerated. It's nice that he is flexible about that.

For a brief moment Heather got to sit down to dinner. It took three adults just to keep up with the pace of the current household. We were all busy all day and we still didn't get the house picked up or cleaned. When we left early Tuesday morning, we didn't know how Heather would manage but somehow she does. She's amazing!

Two + Year Olds Are So Entertaining !

Abigail just loved helping us pull weeds and plant flowers. Here she is helping Steve water the newly planted flowers.

Abigail licking the frosting off a cookie at the Naborhood Bakery in Gardner Village. It was yummy.

Shawn standing nearby as Abigail road on Prince at Gardner Village. Grandpa Bill's mother was raised in a home that overlooked this spot. We wish we had taken a picture before it was torn down.

Tiffany and Abigail blowing bubbles off our back porch. It was a perfect day-sunny, bright and not too hot.

Shawn had to come to Utah as part of a certification team for an air flight medical company. He will be working here for the next 2-3 days. Tif and Abigail joined him and they will all vacation here for the remainder of the week. We're so happy that they chose to vacation in Utah so we can join in some of the fun. We're also happy to have room for visitors in our new place! Hooray!!!

Steve's Attention to Detail

In spite of a painful week of gout in the toe, Steve has persevered. He didn't take any sick days from work, although he canceled his trip to Idaho. And in between computer work, telephone calls, and foot soaks, he changed hinges and doorknobs on a lot of the doors throughout the house. He also helped the HOA project manager remove the railing on our front porch. It was rather oddly installed and made using the porch impossible. It really looks much better and several of the neighbors have made positive comments. The neighbors were just happy that I was finally out front pulling grass out of the flower beds and planting flowers in my pots. Hooray for spring and a little time to enjoy it!

Steve finally went to the Dr. today in his slippers. He was doing better but got discouraged with the constant pain. The drug prescribed has really worked on the pain but now he has an upset stomach. I expect that "This too shall pass" as my grandmother used to say.

Ah! Mother's Day!

I miss the opportunity to thank my mother, Aloha, and Steve's mother, June, and tell them just how wonderful they are and how much we appreciate all that they did for us. I feel so fortunate to be a mother and so blessed to have such amazing kids and grandkids. I thank you all for your cards and phone calls. You all made my day! Since Hilary lives close enough to visit, she and Adam were very thoughtful and invited us to come up for dinner. Britton, Jenna and Korinne looked so nice all dressed up for church that we had to get a picture.

Adam did a great job cooking dinner and I bet all of you wished you could have been with us to eat some of his home made rolls. They were super delicious and he made enough for Britton and the rest of us too.

It was a rough weekend for Steve. Our original plans included a trip to Idaho to see some grandkids' programs. Then we were going to come back through Logan. Well Steve got an excruciatingly painful gout attack so Saturday was most unpleasant for him and we were both disappointed that we missed the performances. He was a bit better by Sunday so he endured the drive up to Hilary's and back. Thank heavens for those rolls!

Thanks, Steve, for enduring the painful ride so I could spend the day with one of our kids! It meant a lot to me. What a kind husband I have.

Today he is doing much better but his foot is still painful, needs soaking and soda water drinks and he still can't wear a shoe. However, he worked on the phone today and tonight he even got out his power screw driver to install our bathroom door and hardware. I couldn't figure out what the loud noise was that was coming from the bathroom. There he was in his birthday suit with his power tools. I guess he felt he needed to create some privacy before getting in the tub to soak his foot.

Wednesday Was a Good Day...

It started out with an early morning temple visit. When I came out the sun was shining brightly. It was so nice to have warm sunshine. Everything is green and the flowers are fresh because of all our recent rain.

Two other very good things happened that day. Kenzie and Taylor's new home was recorded into their name - 2 days early thanks to Adam's efforts. Here is Kenzie with her darling little Will in front of their new home. It's so cute from the outside. I can't wait to see the inside when they get it all fixed up. Good luck Kenzie & Taylor!

Here are Kenzie, Taylor & Will signing their lives away on Monday. It's been so fun working with them. I know that they will return this home to a state of complete charm.

The other great thing that happened was that we received a cash offer on a horse property that I have had listed for awhile...We were able to negotiate a deal that made both parties very happy so soon my sellers will be loading their truck and heading to California. I love it when I can help people realize their dreams. I'm grateful for such a good day!

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

Isn't Quinn adorable? I think this was his first outing with his mother. They went to her clinic for checkups. You can really see the family features. I think he looks like Aaron's brother Brandon. Elsie is fluctuating between babyhood and big sisterhood. Here she is in the baby mode. Anna looks smugly at the situation.

The root canal, Airborne and Halls Defense have done their magic. I worked a 16 hr. day on Saturday. I am a little low on the energy side and I sound kind of congested, but all in all I'm back.

Today we went to our new ward for the whole set of meetings. People were very nice and there was an abundance of the Spirit. It was good to meet some more of our neighbors. We have a young, energetic Bishop and two mature counselors. There were plenty of children so it's a good mix. I'm glad it's not just a bunch of old people. I think that it is the right place for us at this time. It will be okay.

Yesterday while I worked, Steve painted some of the interior doors and hung up hooks, etc. Paint is a wonderful miracle. It makes such a difference. Tonight we hung up some more of our pictures so it's starting to feel more like home around here. Everyday we get things a little more organized.

I have so much to be grateful for.

What's More Fun Than a Root Canal?

Tending my Idaho grandkids after the birth of a new baby brother is lots more fun than a root canal. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were full of music lessons, gymnastics, Tavaci practices, homework, cooking, LAUNDRY, (lots of laundry) holding a precious baby, hugging Elsie, baking cookies and lots of fun.

I left at 5:30 a.m. Thursday to travel through Logan to give Hilary supplies for our mailer and then back to Salt Lake for the Brusch twins memorial service. I was enjoying the scenery of the beautiful drive through Idaho's farm country, the sunrise and the quiet reflective time until I stopped at a school crosswalk in Smithfield. I thought it was interesting that there were 2 crossings guards. One had a daughter and a baby in a stroller waiting on the sidewalk. I thought that must have been a challenge in the winter. The other had a boy friend mooning around on the other sidewalk. It had to be a boyfriend because husbands don't do that. Anyway, as I drove on down the street I noticed a flashing red light behind me so I dutifully pulled over. So did the police car behind me. I was flabergasted and couldn't think what I had done to deserve this attention. He approached my car and told me that I hadn't waited until both guards were on the sidewalk and had dropped their arms and signs down. He was enjoying every minute of giving me a ticket and then he said that the insurance on the vehicle wasn't registered in his data base even though I had a card stating it was insured. So he gave me a ticket for that too. This whole experience didn't give me any warm fuzzies. In fact it totally annoyed me and I found myself quite grumpy.

After putting together the real estate mailer with Hilary and receiving hugs from Korinne and Jenna , I headed out again so that I could get home in time for the twins' funeral. Steve and I thought it was a very nice service. Both grandfather's spoke and gave very appropriate and comforting remarks. Randy Brusch did an excellent job. I wish I had a copy of his remarks. They were so well stated.

Steve and I then went over to the title company to sign the documents to refinance our home at 4.67%. Thanks to Adam, we will retire the loan on our other rental property that has a 6 or 7% interest rate.

By the time I got home from Book Club last night, I was pooped. On top of all that I felt I was coming down with a cold and I had a throbbing toothache. Before I went to bed I drank Airborne, gargled with salt water and tried to soak in the tub, but the water wasn't very hot. Hope we're not having water heater problems.

The night was a long, uncomfortable one until Steve finally got up and got an ibuprofen for my toothache. It really did help and I was able to sleep after that. I felt much better this a.m. as the cold didn't fully develop. I'm still drinking fizzies and taken vitiamin C, zinc, etc. I was so grateful when Joe Meier's office called me back and said they had a cancellation and to come right over. The root canal wasn't fun but it was appreciated. Thank you Dr. Meier & staff!