The Trip Post

O'Malley

So I got back from my trip out west to help my parents with my Dad's surgery. It all went relatively well and now he is just back to having to take it slow and recover. He had a epidural this time around and I think that helped out quite a bit with the pain management.

Dad kept my busy reading his life history. Literally, he had 3 three inch binders with pictures and journal entries. I mainly cruised over the pictures because otherwise I wouldn't have made it through it all. He has lived quite an interesting life. He has kept everything! Mom, Sheila and I joked that his life history is what he's had in all those filing cabinets all these years!

I got to meet O'Malley, my Mom's cat. He actually looks a bit like Jess our cat.

I was able to see my younger brothers starting with Paul, the youngest. He is happy in love with his wife Nicole and it was nice to touch bases with him. He has quite a personality! Sadly I forgot to take my camera when we went to see him.

Kathryn, John, Luke, Mark, Melissa

My older brother John was able to come visit on Saturday and I was got to met his girlfriend. I can't believe I didn't get a picture of them! We went out to visit my 2 other brothers in Cedar City. Mark and Melissa were first with their 2 children, Luke and Maddy. I hadn't met Luke before so that was fun. They were so cute. Little Luke was just a big ole butterball and Maddy changed into her Snow White costume just for us. She refused to take a picture with us when she discovered we were planning on leaving.

Maddie (AKA Snow White)

David and Sally and their 4 boys live in the same city as Mark and Melissa and they were the last ones on that leg of the journey. It was fun to see all the little guys and read several books with the youngest one Will who liked to bring me book after book to look at the pictures. He was always smiling. Alex the next to oldest, was quite the talker just like his Dad, Noah the eldest added important facts Alex left out and little blond Jake was very shy and mysterious.

Sally was a sweetie, she made us oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. YUM!

Sally, Kathryn, Noah, David, Will, Alex, Jake

Sheila came on Sunday during a snow storm and she and I had a good time catching up. It's such a nice feeling to know your not only family but dear friends as well. She successfully got us all into the Olympic spirit and had us watching them by Monday night. When you're with family it seems like there's never enough time! I'm so grateful that I feel this way. I love all my brothers and sisters and I wish we lived closer to one another.

It was so nice to see my parents. They are such good people and the older I become the more I realize how blessed I have been to be their daughter. It seems that I have more in common with them now as well. That's a nice revelation.

Sadly my revelation that I had one bad rechargeable battery didn't come until I needed to take pictures with my parents and Sheila. Oh well.

Emil met me at the airport late on Tuesday night and he was a sight for sore eyes. It was so good to be home again. Even with the 4 loads of laundry that needed folding, the one load in the wash an one in the dryer. Other than that the house looked pretty good. I made dinner on Wednesday and they all said "A home cooked meal!" like it was their last meal on Survivor.

It's good to feel appreciated too.

Noah was asked to be an olympic official for his school. On Thursday and Friday they had 2 days of games for the preschoolers that attend at his school. He was so cute and took his job very seriously.

I came for the Opening Ceremony on the first day but the second day I had to go to a funeral for a family friend, John Kynaston. He died of a sudden heart attack on Monday. It was very sad to come back home to that. He was only in his 50's. His family is taking it as well as can be expected and strengthening each other. They are members at our church.

Love your families. In the end faith and family are what matter the most.

It's all about the Hair

Just a little over a week after her birthday ....

where she got hot rollers for her birthday.....

Kirstin decided to cut her hair for Locks of Love. Something I did myself a few years back. It's a great cause. So this weekend we went out and she got a new do!

It looks so cute on her. I think it makes her look older. There were a few tears at first as it didn't look anything like the style she had picked out but we did some retail therapy and came home with a new pair of shoes and some other goodies and she washed it and styled it herself and now I think she likes it. (It doesn't hurt that she'll be able to have the style she wanted in a month or so as fast as her hair grows.)

(this is a picture of me and my Dad in 1991 I think.

I loved those pants!)

Tuesday I leave for my trip to Ut for my Dad's surgery. I'm excited and nervous for him. I hope all goes just as expected and he can come home soon. I'm really looking forward to seeing my family too. It's been since Kai's funeral since I've seen them and it will be so nice to visit again. Plus I have my new little nephew Luke to meet! Say a prayer for Emil as he'll be holding down the fort here without me. He'll do fine. I'll take lots of pictures while I'm gone and let you all know how the trip was when I get back.

Snow Day!

This past Saturday we got about 5 inches of snow. Now I know for your westerners that's no big deal but here in the east, where every chance we have at snow always ends up as rain, we were pretty darn excited. We missed church on Sunday, school on Monday and a two hour delay on Tuesday. Today the schools already had a half day planned. The kids are in hog heaven!

The wind was just a whipping!

Here is our house looking so pretty covered in white. Blaze is on the left side in her green sweater from hiking.

Kirstin just happened to have 3 friends spending the night for her birthday so they had a blast! Her birthday is tomorrow and somehow she manages to stretch it out over several weeks. Imagine that! Here she is eating her snowball. She is such a pill!

Since her list of friends to spend the night is so large we usually do a church sleepover (all girls from church) then the next weekend she has her other friends from school sleepover. There was lots of hair braiding and movie watching but thankfully no drama. They are a good group of girls.

Since church was canceled on Sunday we were able to have a little service here in our home. While we were doing that there was such a sweet spirit. I'm so thankful for our little family and each of our children and their distinct personalities. Each so different and unique in their own way. After our service we went out to Kai's grave and made a snowman for the top of his gravestone. His was the only gravestone with a snowman. Kai rocks!

In the afternoon we took a walk down to the club house and went ice skating in the parking lot where the standing water had frozen. Emil M. took a spill early on and hiked it back home. He's not one for being wet. Blaze had fun spinning across the ice in pursuit of her ball.

I love this picture of the sea oats and the snow. This earth is so amazing in it's beauty! I think that God must be an incredible artist.

Last night Kirstin was chosen to help with the 6th & 7th graders that were inducted into the Junior Beta Club of which she is a member. (A bit more serious.)

Emil did get to go on his Manly Hike. They left last Tuesday but came back early when the storm moved across the state. They arrived back on Friday night but weren't really due until Saturday night. I'm glad they came home early. I'd show you some pictures but I can't get them from Emil's computer. They're being held hostage. They had a great time. He said it was the hardest trail he's hiked. One of the other guys runs marathons and said every day he felt like he had run a full marathon. Why you would want to do that and in the cold is beyond me so I am so happy that he had friends that wanted to go with him!