A look at September

As so often happens, I get behind on my blog, and have to settle for a few favorite pictures to document exactly what has been taking up my time that I intend to use for blogging.  

This month has been no exception, and I give you a condensed version of September, 2015...

What would Autumn be like without soccer?  I really couldn't tell you, as I have been going to soccer games in the Fall for longer than I can remember!!  Sadly, the light at the end of that tunnel is growing brighter by the year!  The LHS girl's soccer team just celebrated the Seniors as part of their last home game on Saturday.  Seven girls who have played together for at least 4 years, and in the case of a few of them, most of their young lives.  

Ashley, Kristin, Allison and Miranda, Soccer Storm - circa 2004
(Be still my heart!!  How cute are these little girls?)  This year, these girls played teams consisting of several of their current LHS teammates.  How fun would it be to have taken pictures of all of them back then??  One more note - Kristin loved this blue uniform and wore it A LOT!!  She was such a funny duck back then about clothes!!

Kristin, Rylee and Ashley, LHS Soccer Team - 2015
A trio of beautiful girls

Michael, Kian, Ashley and Kristin, Soccer Storm - circa 2008
Hard to believe these kids are all graduating this year!!

Just one of this girl's many talents!!

Beautiful!!

They can't wait to graduate!!!

 More on soccer in a minute, but let's take a break to catch up on more September happenings...

Ashley and Chelsie came to visit and brought their 4 little guys with them!  It was great, and although it went by really fast, it was an unexpected treat to have them come!!  

We...

...went to the park and played...

...rode scooters on the pump track...

...rode scooters on the walking path...

(Carter even got in on that action)

...cheered on Trev at his soccer game...

...felt protected by our resident Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle... 

...and spent a rainy afternoon indoors, which included playing in the teepee the girls played with as children.  I couldn't help snapping a photo of the kids doing the exact thing their moms used to do...

I know I am missing T2 but he chose not to participate

We didn't do too many exciting things, but also managed to have a pizza night, watch the real-life Cinderella movie, find a house for next summer's vacation, and have a few nice chats to boot.  The girls also took advantage of a little nap here and there.  An added perk when Nonna is around. :)  The only bad part about the trip was the fact that Trevor and Kristin were both so busy with soccer, they didn't get to spend much time with our visitors.  Kristin actually skipped school one morning because she had two away games while they were here, and literally only got to spend a few hours with them.  There wasn't much we could do about that, just the way it was.  :(

Elder Dallin H. Oaks came to our Stake Conference this month!  Kristin had the opportunity to help give him his lunch for the trip back up to Spokane!  She came in the house after she got home and said..."Best. Day. Ever!".  That is music to this mama's ear!!  I'm grateful she knows the importance of modern day apostles and prophets, and what a blessing it is to have been in the presence of Elder Oaks!!

Of course, there are a few other things that have been going on this month, unfortunately, no pictures are available, but they are happening nonetheless...

Seminary is in full swing.  I'm getting to know my class, and loving it!  We are studying the Old Testament this year!!  Yikes!  I'm just taking it one day at a time.  And yes, it is still relentless, but I'm also grateful for the calling!!  It is amazing!!

Yoga is still happening, although I took an unintended break in August!  Too much going on.  It feels so good to be back at it!!

And just life in general has been moving along at a pretty fast clip!  I thought it would slow down a bit after school started, but I should have known better!  Silly me.

Kristin had a great final home game.  She assisted on both goals scored by LHS!  She has loved her time as a Lady Bengal!!

Trevor in his game against Moscow.

Another stroll down memory lane...Hayden, Cassidy, Kristin and Alyssa.  Boys and Girls Club soccer, 2006
Especially poignant as Hayden was involved in a fatal helicopter crash this summer.  A tragedy too great for words.

I made posters for each of the Senior girls.  There is glitter from one end of my house to the other, and much in between!  :)

So there is the Reader's Digest version of September.  As you can see, it was a great month!!

My trip in pictures

Last month, Allison and Ryan graduated from BYU!  Woo Hoo!!  Allison got a Bachelor's in Interdisciplinary Humanities and Ryan in Advertising.  They are still waiting to hear about final offers on jobs and internships, so we are staying tuned for that.    (This is my 2nd time in Utah this month.  The visit I DID NOT trip over my suitcase and get a gnarly black eye!  Doing that once is quite enough, thank you!) This is where I got to go to 2 graduation parties; see my daughters' in-laws; help Ashley and Brandon with a little yard work, and have dinner with John's sisters, Valerie and Joni and Joni's daughter, Kami at Olive Garden.  (No pictures available for any of that fun stuff.) 

Here is a photo journal of the rest of the stuff I captured on my phone...

While I was staying at Alli and Ryan's, we packed up most of her kitchen on Friday morning. Since the kitchen was packed by lunch time, we had to make an alternate plan.  Luckily, Costa Vida isn't far away, and they take orders over the internet, so we were able to go to the front of the very long line and pick up our yummy food!   

Right after graduation, there was a huge rain storm, but we managed to snap a picture or two before the downpour.   I'm so proud of these two for working hard to achieve this goal!  (I know this picture is a little blurry, but it is really good of the 3 of us.  Just overlook the fuzziness)

Since Allison and Ryan are married, they got to walk in the same commencement in the DeJong Concert Hall.  Much smaller than the Marriot Center where Allison was originally going to walk.  The size of the room got the better of us though.  We didn't get there soon enough to get into the actual room, so we had to go to an overflow hall.  We watched graduation on a video screen.  It was all good until right before Allison's name was called.  Carter filled his pants, and needed to be taken out very badly.  While Chelsie was taking care of that, it was Alli's turn.  Just as they called her name and she started across the stage, the woman directly in front of me stood up to leave, totally blocking my view!  I couldn't believe it!!!  I darted back and forth, trying to see, and wasn't very successful.  Luckily, one of their friend's family member caught a good picture of her receiving her diploma!  What luck I seem to have!!  And poor Chelsie missed the whole thing.

On Thursday, Carter and Chelsie picked me up from the airport, and before we headed down to Provo, we hung out in Salt Lake for a few hours until Dallin got off work.  We spent a little of that time at the park around the corner from Chelsie's house.  How cool is it that they have trucks in the sandpit just waiting for little ones to come play with them.  Carter, of course, loves it.

After graduation, we went back to Alli's and met up with the Peay boys.  Ashley and Brandon went to a wedding dinner south of Provo, so instead of putting the boys through the torture of sitting through that, we kept them and fed them dinner and had a movie party.  We watched UP, which had the very same effect on me the 2nd time as the first time I watched it - tears.  Tears for Carl and Ellie and their sweet relationship, and tears for Russell, who just wants to find a place to belong, and someone to belong to.  It is very fun to have all 4 boys together!  They have a good time with each other.  I love Carter's expression in this picture!!  He looks a little bewildered with the whole photo process and the cheesey smiles it brings out in the other boys.  His day will come, to be sure!

It was purely coincidental, but we were the denim girls at graduation.  I'm sure one of us would have changed into something different, but we were both dressing out of our suitcases, and didn't have a lot of choices.

I played a game of basketball with T2 and then T1.  T2 doesn't dribble and wouldn't let me block him.  T1 practices a LOT and also tends to make up a rule or two as the game progresses.  Suffice to say, this grandma didn't have a chance.   I am CC in both pictures, which stands for Cleveland Caveliers.   Just to be sure I knew that, they both were quick to tell me I was not very good at this game! Don't you worry, though,  I got my revenge at Chutes and Ladders.

Between him not feeling well as my black eye on my last visit, this guy didn't have much to do with me.  This trip told a different story, and we were great buds.   But I didn't have to tell you that, you can see it in the picture!  He even called me "grandma"!

It is VERY difficult to get just a regular picture with these boys.  As you can see, they have a few tricks up their sleeves when the camera comes out.

I don't think I got one picture of Ashley last trip, so I warned her that I wanted at least one this time.  We almost didn't get it done, but risked getting in trouble at the airport curb to snap this selfie.  (John asked me if I wore anything else on the trip but my jean jacket and gold sweater.  I assured him I did, despite zero pictures to back up my claim.  I do tend to pack a little lightly most of the time.)


This was a crazy, busy trip, but I loved every minute of it!  I'm so glad I got to be at graduation, despite the malfunction at the ceremony, and love that I got to spend time with all 3 girls and their families.  There is never enough time to get it all done, but I gave it my best shot!  I am not disappointed with the way it turned out!  Can't wait for the next one!!!

The BIG fall

I always knew it was in my future.  About every woman I know over 50 suffers a big fall.  It usually involves her head, and there is usually much bruising involved.  Once, in 2011, I joked with Dawn as I stumbled getting onto an escalator at the airport, that I was not having my big fall before I was 50.  "Does everyone have to have a big fall?" she wondered.  I assured her that, yes, every woman does.

 Well, I didn't waste much time after turning 50 to check it off my list.  

Last week, while we were on Spring Break, we went to Utah to see the girls.  We were excited!!  Kristin and Trev went on Monday with some friends, and we followed on Wed.  Grandpa, aka John, was so excited he woke up before 4 am that morning and we were out the door by a little after 4:30!  :)  Just like a kid at Christmas.  

When we got there, Kristin wasn't feeling great, so we tried to figure out what was wrong with her.  After a good nap, a lot of blankets and some gatorade, she seemed to be doing better.  Trev and John went with Brandon and Talmage to a Jazz game.  The vacation had begun!

After the game, Trev was not feeling great.  We attributed it to a very large ice cream cone at the game, and figured after he threw up that was probably the end of it.  

Sadly, this was not the case.  He continued to get sick throughout the night, all night!!  

As I got up to help him during one of his bouts of vomiting, I got turned around (it was dark, I was in an unfamiliar bedroom) and tripped over the suitcase and CRASHED into the closet door which happened to be open and hit my head on the corner of said door!  I was in so much pain!!!  I crouched on the floor, simulaneously crying and laughing because it hurt so bad, but at the same time was so funny to replay in my head.  (It took most of the rest of the night to not burst out in giggles when I thought about it, even though it still REALLY hurt!  John got me some ice (in a bag with a hole in it, unbeknownst to him, more humor!) and I spent the night propped up on the couch after I decided I probably shouldn't be laying down with a head injury.  Did I have a concussion?  I did wonder about that, but didn't have any signs of confusion, nausea or any other symptoms.  (Thank you high school sports meetings for helping me learn WAY more about concussions than I care to know.)  Luckily I didn't need stitches, as I probably would have had to drive myself, as Trev continued to be sick all night, and needed one of us there to help him!  ;)

So, there you have it...the story of my BIG fall!  You can see by the picture diary the progression of my injury!  Not pretty!  My sister predicted that people who don't know me (i.e. store clerks) wouldn't make eye contact with me once they saw my eye, and she was right.  Some were pretty darn uncomfortable to have to wait on me.  My Seminary students were equally grossed out and impressed when I showed up Monday looking like I had been in a fight.  Not easy to impress 17 year olds, but I think I will not try to do that again.  

A sad byproduct of this whole affair is that Benson, who hadn't been the most social person while we were there, decided at one point to be my friend and came and we were getting along swimmingly until he saw my eye, then he was done! :(  Easy come, easy go!)  Carter was also very skeptical of me, and Talmage couldn't decide if he should be sad for me, or if I was telling the truth that my eye didn't really hurt.  Tanner seemed to be the only one who took it in stride!  :)

And if you are wondering why I have a black eye when the lump from the fall is on my forehead, one of my students said its because the skin is so close to the skull and there is nowhere for the blood to go so it pools around the eye.  There is your anatomy lesson for the day.

I suspect by the middle of next week my face will be back to normal, but for now, I will continue to track its progression and document my BIG fall.

The day after it happened

4 days later

10 days later (see, its getting better)

Au revoir, 2014...

Just a quick post about 2014.  The good, the bad and the ugly.  (Since it will be quick, it will probably be incomplete, but oh well.)

The good - Where to start?
-A new grandson - pictures here
-Sister Rietz serving in the California Rancho Cucamonga Mission.  She's 7 months in and going strong.  You can follow her adventure at her blog
-Teaching Seminary.  Who knew I would love it so much?  And love it I do.  I have a great class who show up, stay awake and are a joy to meet with 5 mornings a week - see this post
-Thanksgiving with the family.  see this post
-The first Roommate Rendevous  - see this post
-Many good books - Non-fiction seemed to be my genre this year - here is one I really enjoyed
-Watching my family continue to grow and seeing the great people they are becoming - you'll have to peruse the blog to find examples.  I'm sure I included plenty!  :)

This is just a sample of the good.  So many things to remember and to be grateful for.  I hope I appreciated and will continue to appreciate them enough.

The bad - Luckily not the longest list, but still long enough...
-Too many people we know passed away too soon - here is one story
-We didn't go to Australia - I could list this under "ugly" because it makes me very sad, and the regret       I feel about this is something I have to let go, because I can't change anything.  Lesson learned             though - take the matter into my own hands if I want something badly enough.
-Not enough blog posts, quilting, hiking or bike riding...no posts, just 3 resolutions for 2015!

The ugly - okay, there really isn't anything to put here unless you want to see a picture of my varicose veins, and really, who wants to see that?  ;)  My life is great, and my family and I are richly blessed.  Sure we have ups and downs, but isn't that what life is all about?

I'm excited to have a new year ahead of me.  I just saw a quote today about how we have 365 pages of a new book to write on.  I'm looking forward to seeing how our story unfolds in 2015.

Happy New Year!!

I give Thanks for...

FAMILY!!

Hands down, the greatest gift a girl could have.  

Here are a few pictures from our weekend in Utah, and a few things that happened that we don't have pictures for.  Just let me say, it was a wild and crazy weekend, we came home ready for a nap, and the drive home was long, but...we wouldn't have done it any different!!  It was a perfect trip spent with people we love.  

(The pictures are out of order, but if I spent time rearranging them, I would decide I don't have time to finish this post, so take it or leave it.)

Saturday evening, we ended up at Temple Square, but really only got to glimpse the Christmas Lights.  This is a good picture though, no?  Four beautiful girls, two cute little boys and the Salt Lake Temple in the background.  We don't even need lights to make this a pretty picture.  (Okay, we could have done with a little better photography, but it is what it is.)  We met up with one of the families Amber has gotten close with on her mission and we got to hear all about her, and what a good missionary she is.  This mama's heart is full!!  

There was a suprise activity for just the girls on Saturday morning.  Can you guess from the picture?  Yep, pedicures at a VERY calming spa!  My birthday/Christmas present!!  It was a treat for sure. My toes have NEVER looked this good!!  Let's hear it for "Bright Lights, Big Color" OPI nail polish.  Although, get a load of that bunion!  Not so good!!

We all went bowling Saturday afternoon.  You can't tell from this picture, but Carter spent the majority of the time VERY sad.  It was loud and chaotic for him, and he DID NOT LIKE IT!!  He finally got a little into the spirit of things after the noisy group next to us left.  He did feel a little better about things if he was in the arcade.  (Go figure:)  

Talmage used the rack to bowl for a while, but then got his groove on, and rolled the ball just like a pro.  It was a happy moment when he got a strike!

Tanner and Benson both benefitted from help.  Benson and Grandpa also got a strike at one point, and there were hugs all around from Benson.  He was a very happy boy and wanted to share the love.  Tanner, as you can see, is very intent about the whole affair.

Ryan, Chelsie and Brandon.  Can you see the football game in the upper left screen?  BYU was playing and we had some distracted bowlers!  :)

Dinner on Saturday night was compliments of Ashley and Brandon.  Tucano's was delicious!  I could have just eaten the from the Salad bar and been satisfied, but the meat was pretty darn good as well!!  Mmm, I can still taste the Garlic Beef.  Carter didn't find much to complain about either!  

Another beautiful shot from the outskirts of Temple Square

Benson loves Nutella for breakfast.  He is also a champ at saying cheese when it is time for a picture!  He doesn't disappoint.

I warned everyone ahead of time that there would be a family picture at some point in the weekend.  We finally snuck one it before Chelsie and Dallin had to leave.  It isn't the perfect set-up, but the people in it are just right, and that is all that counts!!

Dinner prep

Grandpa and the boys with their birthday presents from us.  Note that everyone is calm, and still...

...a few minutes later.  Lesson learned.  They are only good for one picture!  :)

We had two Thanksgivings, the second with the Cleggs at their cabin.  Here is a pick up basketball game after dinner.  Not pictured - John who took a tumble and crashed his head into one of those fence rails.  He took a break after that.  (He was okay, thank goodness)  Also, Talmage was able to get into the action a little after this picture.

Grandpa Clegg kept a few boys busy on the (what is this called?  Four-wheeler?)  It doesn't matter, they loved it!!

There has to bee football on TV after Thanksgiving, preferably while you are eating pie.

These boys knew where the good stuff was!  :)

A few more things that happened that weekend...

-We had our first Thanksgiving dinner with Valerie and Bruce and their family.  It was great to see everyone, and it was nice they were all there together.

- We went to the Museum of Art at BYU and saw an exhibit of costumes from Period movies that was SO COOL!!  Many of my favorite movies were represented - Little Dorritt, Miss Potter, Sense and Sensibility, The Phantom of the Opera, just to name a few.  It was stunning to see the detail and although I got reprimanded, nicely, of course, for taking pictures, I would have snuck a few more if I wasn't afraid of getting reprimanded again.  There was also a quilt display of Pakistani quilts!  Not my style, too much applique, but stunning, none the less!  Really intricate and colorful!  It was a nice bonus.

-We got to see Ryan's parents at his aunt and uncle's house.  It was nice to catch up with the Inkley's even for just a little while.  They had a lot of family in town also, so I think it worked out well for everyone.

-We also visited with Alli and Ryan's second family, Ben and Kelli.  They also welcomed us, fed us, entertained us, and made us feel like family.  Such a nice family.  (I will partner with Kelli any day for Nertz!!:)

-We got to stay with Chelsie and Dallin in their basement apartment for a few nights.  John and Chelsie went to DI and found some chairs for their "new" table.  It was fun to be in their home.

- John and I went to the Bountiful Temple with Ashley and Brandon.  It is always good to be at the temple with your family.  On the way home, we drove by their new home and saw where Brandon will be working.  Its all so good!!

- We had a surprise visit from Joni, Valerie, Alice, and Aunt Susie on Sunday afternoon.  I'm glad Ashley got to see her grandma, and that Grandma got to see the boys.

- The boys got to go to a BYU Basketball game on Saturday night.  They had a great time.  Lucky for Tanner, not so lucky for Dallin, Dallin got called in to the hospital right before dinner, so he not only missed dinner, but also missed the game.  Tanner did get to go, and showed his Cougar spirit by trash talking the other team the whole way out of the Marriott Center!  :)  Dallin hung out with us girls and actually was okay with that, as he was fighting a sinus infection all weekend, and was able to just lay low.

- It was a great weekend!!  I hated to see it end.