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!!!

Roommate Rendezvous 2014

Roommate Rendezvous 2014  - Sun Valley, Idaho

That was then...

...this is now!!

Talk about a blast from the past!!!  I just spent a few days in Sun Valley, Idaho with my roommates from my Freshman year at BYU!! We all spent part or all of our Freshman year living in Heritage Halls, E. Richards #2110.  Some of us went on to live with each other in other apartments for one or two more years.   

Here is the Cast of Characters (not including me)

Stephanie Reid Nielson - bottom middle, both pictures - We lived in E. Richards, Monterey Apts. and Clover Haus.  She and I were room-roommates in Monterey and Clover Haus.  She left us to get married to her guy, Kirk, in December of that third year.  She now lives in Colorado with her husband and youngest daughter.  Her 4 other children (2 boys, 2 girls) are scattered around the country, including some cute grandchildren.

Salinda Holleman Riebow - bottom right, second picture.  You may be wondering why Salinda isn't in the picture from E. Richards.  Salinda lived with Janette in a different apt. in E. Richards their first semester, then moved into ours for the Winter Semester.  Her RM boyfriend, Mark, came to Provo to take Salinda to Preference and talked her into going back to Florida and to get married!  We only had her for a roomie for one block!!  She, Mark and her youngest daughter live in Florida.  She also has 2 more boys and 2 more girls who are older who live hither and yon, with some of those children also making Salinda a Grandma of some also, very cute, grandkids.  

Boonseon Song Gudmundsen - when you are a teeny little thing, you always get to be on the top of the pyramid.  Of course, in the second picture, we didn't have a very top, so you see her on the top left, because she is still a teeny little thing.  Boonseon was my room-roommate our Freshman year.  She came to BYU fresh from Korea, and as well as having to have me as a roommate, had to learn many new things about her new life in Provo, Utah - a far cry from Taegu, Korea.  Boonseon lived with us the next year in Monterey Apts.   She got a new roommate the next summer when she married her sweetheart, Kevin.  They now are empty-nesters in California.  Her 2 sons and one daughter live in Utah and Texas, including a very cute granddaughter.  (Are you sensing a theme with the grandkids?:)

Janette Wells Lewis (the rendezvous organizer, and provider of our lodging for the weekend.  Thanks, Janette)  - Middle row, right side both pictures.  Janette was with me until I got married.  The last semester in Clover Haus, she and I finally shared a room in the apartment.  Janette went on to serve a mission in Thailand before settling (that is a loose term with her) down in Utah with her husband, David.  Janette still has one daughter at home, and her other 3 girls live in Utah.  She is looking forward to being a grandma some day, to, no doubt, cute grandkids.:)

You may notice the other two girls in the original picture.  Penny Shaner Broderick, second row, next to Janette, was like our mother.  She was a little older than some of us, and seemed to have wisdom beyond her years.  I hoped to find her before the reunion, as I knew where she had lived for many years before college, but my efforts came to naught.  Boonseon put her brain on it after she got home from Sun Valley and found her just like that!  We look forward to meeting up with Penny soon!!!  Michelle Cooper is on the bottom row, left side, and we have no idea where to even begin looking for her.  It would seem our apt. door was a revolving one, as we had 3 other roommates in our first semester in E. Richards as well.  Cindy Fullmer, Jeri (I can't remember her name) and Melvina - aka, I keep my produce under my bed  (I'm not kidding about that.  She was in my room, and we had fruit flies for a few days until she moved to a different place) - all lived with us, but were gone by the end of Fall Semester.

So, back to the weekend.  (That background took a while, sorry about that)

Most of us spent from Saturday afternoon to Tuesday morning together.  Boonseon couldn't come until Sunday evening, and she, Janette, and Salinda all stayed until Wednesday.  That meant that we had all day Monday together, and we packed it in.

Redfish Lake was a beautiful place to spend our precious day together.  We headed out, and took advantage of every minute we had to chat and catch up with each other.  I'm not sure I heard one silent moment on either the hour long drive to the lake or back.  (We know how to use our time efficiently! :)

We hiked, we talked,  we laughed, we ate, we talked, we laughed, we relaxed on a boat ride, still had plenty to say and laughed some more.  And then, after we got back to Ketchum to do a little shopping and eat some yummy gelato, we still weren't done talking or laughing.  And, yes, you guessed it, even during our late dinner (can you say Chicken Cordon Bleu at about 9:30 pm?) and a little roommate trivia game, we still laughed, and talked.  (I would just like to apologize one more time to Salinda for not letting her get a word in edgewise more than a few times that day.  I think Steph would second that with me.)  

There are a few observations I made during the reunion and since I have gotten home.  

 - These girls are still the same people I knew 30+ years ago, only better versions of themselves.  Boonseon made a similar observation. She commented that she heard our same voices from all those years ago, but with an added layer of something (maturity may be a stretch for some of us, but maybe she heard they have been added to with our life experiences)

-We have not breezed through these many years apart.  Serious illness?  Yep, breast cancer among other things.  Kids giving us fits?  Yep, at least a few of us have been through that.  Marital stuff - check. Financial troubles including unemployment - check again.  Miscarriages, parents' deaths, other troubles with parents, minor illness? - Yes, yes, yes and yes.  I think its safe to say most of the trial and adversity bases are covered between us.

-Despite the above experiences, we are all still strong in the Gospel.  I realized after I got home, I felt a little like when Ammon and company met Alma the younger while they were out teaching the Lamanites.  Alma 27:16 - 19.  It was a joyful meeting, and he was swallowed up in joy even to exhausting his strength.  I, too, was exhausted with joy (and all that laughing) after being with my long ago friends.  We are all married in the temple, we have tried to raise our kids in righteousness, we all hold temple recommends, and we all are contributing to our wards.  (Two RS Presidents, one RS Counselor, a Sunday School teacher/Temple Worker, and one Seminary Teacher.)  I felt strength from being among these girls and buoyed up by their faith and examples.

-A person cannot make up for stupid mistakes, but they can be grateful for friends with forgiving hearts who still accept the stupid mistake-making person, love said person, and let her move forward with them in rekindling friendships that will surely last many years to come. 

And, yes Janette, I know - Spain.  Just give me a little more time. :)

It was a fantastic few days, worth every second I spent on the road getting there and home.  I love these girls, and being with them reminded me why I love them, and the great influence they were in my life all those years ago.

This is a really long blog post for just one or two days of activities, but like I said, we packed our time, and we had A LOT of catching up to do.  Next time there will only be a year or two to fill each other in on.

We did decide a Roommate book club is a good idea, that the majority of us are Downton Abbey fans, that we need to get together more often, that 30+ years is way to long to have let go by before we got together, but that 30+ years has only enhanced our experience together.  So I say, "Long live E.Richards Rm 2110.  (Ironically, the dorm building we lived in has been razed and replaced with something bigger and better, but the original will always stay in our hearts.)

The following pictures are a little photo diary of the weekend, with more than a few editorial comments and not necessarily in chronological order. 

Enjoy...

Killing time preparing dinner until Boonseon got there.  

You can't appreciate this picture until you think about how big this chair is, and how young we are NOT!  :)

The autumn color was beautiful on the way to Redfish Lake

Notice the matching t-shirts?  Salinda surprised us with a gift bag with these shirts, some orange blossom honey and strawberry preserves from Florida.  They have our names on them, as well as the logo of the school that brought us all together, complete with little cougar paws!  So cute!!

I couldn't resist snapping this.  Something about a stream...I can't stop myself.

Stephanie treated us to lunch at Redfish Lake Lodge.  Yummy food and good company. (you will notice there are two people without pink t-shirts.  Some of Janette's family came up for a few days, and Jael and Brent stayed after everyone else went back to SLC.  They really earned their spots when we needed a group picture.  It would have been too much to ask to set a timer on the camera AND try to get into position.  Someone would have gotten hurt.

The lodge where, in the parking lot, the miracle of the car bumper occurred!   We're pretty sure we heard angels singing!! 

Mt. Heyburn which happens to be named after an Idaho state congressman whose interest did not lie in conserving animals, land, you name it.  We all thought that was a great way to "honor" his legacy!  :)

The weather wasn't conducive to using these, but I loved the color they provided in this shot.

The sun was in the wrong part of the sky to truly get a good shot of the "Gates of Heaven" but you get a general idea.  Beautiful!!  Thanks to Boonseon for treating us to the guided boat tour.

Love the reflection

I didn't get an actual picture of the entrance to the lake.  This will have to do.

Yummy gelato!!  You will notice there are more than one set of legs stretched out.  We went hard all day!  We were ready for a little rest.

Yellowstone take 2

 In 2011, John and I went to Yellowstone National Park to snowmobile with the Vision Source group from Southern Idaho.  They have adopted us, and invite us each year, so we left Thursday and made our way to West Yellowstone, Montana to begin this year's adventure.  Here are a few pictures to document our weekend.  The weather was perfect the day we went snowmobiling.  It was also pretty nice the day we went into the park - not freezing but just cold enough to remind a person why there is still snow on the ground.

On top of the mountain.  When I saw this picture, I caught a glimpse of my little girl self in my face.  That was kind of a weird moment.

I love this picture of the snow giants.  See that brilliant blue sky?  Beautiful!!  When I see this picture, the phrase "I think to myself, what a wonderful world" immediately comes to mind.

This was the picture hanging above our bed in the hotel.  It cracked me up!  The caption reads, "Always willing to help".  I'm so glad I didn't have to wear hose and a hat to see the attractions of Yellowstone!!

We saw more than our share of bison.  It is really hard to believe they were so close to being wiped out at one point.  Its also hard to imagine them covering the plains prior to their near-extinction.  

This coyote had his chance to have goose for dinner, but seemed more interested in just exploring the land.  The geese were pretty worried though.

Our destination was Old Faithful.  We pulled into the parking lot of the visitor's center about 10 minutes before it was supposed to erupt.  It kept us guessing and was even a few minutes past its 10 minute +/- time frame.  I got a kick out of the snowmen welcoming us to the geyser.  I only thought of the "song" (you know which one I mean) for a few minutes and was grateful it didn't stick in my head.  

Our guide told us it usually tops out at about 135 feet, and the eruption we saw went up to 140 feet.  I guess that extra time helped build up the pressure.

I think my favorite part of the tour was seeing the geothermic features. Part of our tour included the Fountain Paint Pot tour.   This picture is of Silex Spring.  Its beautiful color is a result of the minerals found in the spring, namely Silica.

Red Spouter is a bubbling mud pot.  

The Fountain Paint Pots

The Firehole River Falls.  This was another favorite spot.  The river never freezes because of the hot water from the geothermal features that feed it.

John and I took advantage of a popular photo spot in front of the falls.  (Here is a funny thing.  As you can see from the other Yellowstone blog post John and I are wearing the same coats in it!  I guess we both really like our winter coats!!)

And because we seldom take a really good picture together, I included this one.  Not the best picture, but look how much fun we are having!!  ;)

In other family news, congrats to Kristin who qualified for Deca Nationals this weekend.  She has decided she won't go this year, but what a great thing to qualify your first year!  Congrats to her!!

December top ten or fifteen or twenty

Christmas came, Christmas went.  Amber, Allison and Ryan came then they went too.

There were MANY things going on during the holidays, and I didn't take time to blog.  I was having too much fun with my family.

Here is a quick rundown in picture form since it will be nigh unto impossible to catch up any other way.  (It is taking me forever to get them in order, so I'm just going with how they are.  Sorry for any confusion that may cause)
So here goes...

The kids in their matching Christmas Eve jammies.  Kristin was good to demonstrate the flap in the back!  :)

Welcom to the world, Carter Joseph Dance.  Born on January 5th.  Here he is the floor model for the the quilt I made him (top) and the one Grandma Sollenbarger made (bottom) Such a cutie!!

Google hangout waiting for Amber to open her mission call.  I love that all the girls, near and far were able to participate!  Technology is wonderful!!!  Couldn't have done it without Ashley.  She knew just how to get it done.  She received her call on January 15th.  Just 11 days after she turned in her papers.

Last year, John and the kids had fun putting together a puzzle.  This was John's Christmas present from Chelsie and Dallin.  A very fun puzzle!!  It went together pretty quickly, so John and a few of the kids went out and bought another one to work on.

Amber's first day home was a SNOW DAY!!  The kids made a VERY tall snowman, Tiki style, you may notice.  So good to have her home.

If you are wondering where Amber is going, here is the answer.  California, Rancho Cucamonga Mission, reporting May 21st.  She will speak English.  She is excited and we are thrilled for her!!  (Here is a funny RC side story...As you may or may not know, Payton Manning calls out "Omaha" many times during a football game.  The other day, John saw an interview with him about that subject.  To paraphrase, Manning alluded to the fact that Omaha is a lot easier to say than Walla Walla or Rancho Cucamonga!  Two cities that are very meaningful to our family!)

I promised Trev I would take him to the walking path today so he could take his bike on the jumps out there.  Kristin came and ran the trail, I walked.  It was good to get out even though it was cold, and as you can see, foggy.  Sadly, Trev's jumping experience was cut short when his rear tire came apart from the frame.  He had to walk his muddy bike all the way back to the car.  :(  A happy thing - as we were walking back, we saw this Christmas ornament hanging on one of the trees with a dedication stone at the base.  It is not very clear on the picture, but there were little bits of ice hanging from the star.  It was COLD!!!

We took a quick trip to Seattle the day after Christmas.  We went to the Seattle Center and spent a long time looking at this train village!  It was very pretty and Trev especially loved it as the train is the same kind as the one Grandpa Rietz handed down to him a few years ago.  

You would not believe how many times I had to re-take this to get everyone jumping at the same time!  I'm sure people walking thought we were a little weird!! I think Alli and Ryan won the highest jump award, and Chelsie gets high marks for effort as she was a day over her due date!!!

We are on the steps of the Experience Music Project.  As I was getting ready to snap this picture, a woman asked me if I wanted to be in the picture, so I jumped at the chance.  John and I get the boring award.  No one told us we were supposed to pose!!!

This is one of my favorite places to take a family shot in Seattle.  I love the water and the island in the background.  A very nice man with an English accent offered to take this for me.  He didn't know how to change the focus on my camera and was pretty much shooting blind. :)

This was Ryan's first trip to Seattle, so of course, we had to take him to Pike's Place Market.  He is clearly amazed by the gum wall!  :)  It was our first experience with the gum wall as well.  Not sure we need to go back!!  Disgusting!!

This has to be a favorite shot of Carter.  He is reminiscent of a sloth, hanging off his dad's arm like he is!  Look at that head of hair!!  I thought that Carter favored Dallin when I first saw him, but that was confirmed to me when Chelsie showed me a picture of Dallin as a baby!  Except for the nose, he is the spitting image of his dad!!!

One evening while I was in Seattle after Carter was born, his other Grandma, Julienne, came to visit.  Chelsie took advantage of a photo-op and snapped a few pictures with both of us, Carter, and the quilts we made for him!  What a great moment!

A quick picture with Carter the day I was going home!  It didn't take long for me to wish I could turn around and head back!!

Their first family picture!  Sadly the quality is not very good.  Totally my fault because I don't know how to use my iPhone camera very well yet!!!

The winners of the New Year's ping pong tournament!  Amber attributed her success to that fuzzy cape!  :)  

Another shot by the water in Seattle.

We loved this building in the Train Village.  Especially appropo with a future dentist in our family!!

Of course, I love this picture because Chelsie and Dallin are in it, but I also love the fishermen on the top of the restaurant.  I find them enchanting, well maybe not enchanting, but fascinating.

It was a busy, fun Christmas break.  Some of the other things we did that aren't represented by a picture were...
-Frozen at the movie theater.  Do you wanna build a snowman?
-Gym time at the church to burn off some extra energy.
-Grandma and Grandpa Rietz visiting right before everyone left.
-Ryan getting to Skype with his missionary brother from Peru on Christmas day.
-Yummy authentic Mexican food made by Allison and Ryan.
-Several family movie nights - Despicable Me 2, Ephraim's Rescue, Man of Steel, The Great Gatsby
-Our now traditional Aloha Chicken Quesadillas while we watched BYU get beat in their bowl game
-Allison and I worked to make a dent in the thank you notes from their wedding.  I think they still have miles to go.

 Of course, we missed our Aussie family a lot and if it weren't for them having some great experiences themselves, we might feel really bad!!  
-Ashley and Brandon spent a few days before Christmas on a holiday a few hours south of Perth.  They had a great time.
-Talmage celebrated his 5th birthday at an animal park in Perth, complete with koalas and all animals Australian.  A more perfect day couldn't have been had for an animal lover like him.
-Ashley and Brandon are wrapping up a weekend in Melbourne after attending the Australian Open.  They were able to watch Serena live!  An opportunity of a lifetime.
We can't begrudge them for not being with us.  

And now everyone is back in school, I am home from Seattle, and we are back to real life. I did have to remind myself of Dr. Suess's quote about smiling because it happened, not crying because its over.  I was pretty sorry to see everyone go back to school.  Carter was a very good distraction!!!
But of course, all in all, Life is good!!!