A New Adventure

So here we are in St. George, Utah. Our friend, Cathy Wilson, is the event photographer for the Huntsman World Senior Games. We are helping her with the logistics and the "business" part of the adventure.

The sky is beautiful, the clouds fluffy, the weather is great! The people are friendly and so helpful - hmmm, a little different than So Ca??

Well, off to do some more stuff - by the way, the Wilson's are a great family! Cathy and I have known each other since we were 12/13 , you know just a few years! Here's to good friends

My Bookends

I have been very, very blessed by Heavenly Father. Along with so many joys of life, He has sent me a wonderful set of "bookends"- the oldest and the youngest of all our children.

They make me laugh, cry, wonder, worry, and enjoy life. They have taught me how important prayer is and how our prayers really are answered. They make me smile!

We were able to meet up in June for a few short days in Utah and attended the dedication of the Oquirrh Mountain temple, ate at Cafe Rio and Sonic (cherry limeades - yay!) and just spent time visiting, playing games and visiting some more.

I love being a mother! I really do have the greatest children - and the most fantastic, darling, amazing grandchildren.

Viva Las Vegas!

Cordell and I went to Las Vegas for a tax and trust seminar - I know sounds pretty exciting!!!

One of our highlights was meeting up with Ryan, Stephanie, Todd and Ben for dinner at Cafe Rio (yummy, yummy, yummy!). I love these guys!

And Happy Birthday this week, Ryan!

Blogger Slacker?

Okay, so I have been properly "reminded" that I have not updated my blog for, oh, 3 months. So Sorry :(



So to start the update, I will share this darling picture of my dog, Miya. She was told to go and get her toy for bedtime and she brought back her destuffed, gutted, pheasant, cuddled up with it and feel sound asleep. So cute!






(My children will be rolling their eyes right about now.)



She is now 5 years old and we adore her and spoil her rotten! She has the funniest expressions and she is the sweetest little thing.



Yes, I know, she is the child we never had...

You Just Need A Hug, Katey!

On Tuesday, February 24, Katey had been given some bad news and was having a really rough time when she called me that morning in tears. I asked her if she needed a hug from her mommy and she, in a very teary voice, assured me that she really, really needed a hug from me. Well, I told her that I had a surprise for her and maybe that would make her feel better. Then I suggested she go and get a pedicure, since that is The cure for so many things.

Bonnie and I decided that for our road trip. THE person we needed to cheer up was Katey. We left Tuesday about 11 am, stopped at Leilani’s to visit, stopped at the store, stopped at Barstow to go potty, stopped at, stopped at, stopped at - you get the picture. It took us quite a bit of time to make it to St. George.

We (make that I) then drove like the wind to make it up to Provo by noon. We had arranged with Daniel for him to call Katey and tell her to meet him at J. Dawg’s for lunch on Wednesday.

(Cue Mission Impossible theme music now!) With precise coordination via cell phone we were ready to play. Daniel brought Katey over to the south side of the hut with her eyes closed with the pretense of a surprise he had waiting for her. By the way, in the photos, notice the grin on Daniel's face!

When she opened her eyes and saw us, she was shocked and then burst into tears. As I held my sweet daughter in my arms she sobbed. Mom did, too! As she was crying on my shoulder, she said, “Oh, Mom! I needed you so much! I really wanted a hug from you today! This is just what I need!” She earned lots of brownie points that day!

On The Road Again with Bonnie and Janette

Bonnie and Janette (or as Cordell and the Border Patrol Guy called us, “Thelma and Louise”) went on another road trip. Last time we did this we ended up in Nashville!

We wanted to “make someone’s day” and we knew just where to head. But that will be for the next post…..

We had a wonderful time as we went to Salt Lake City and attended a session at the temple.

We stayed at Blair and Sylvia Andersen’s home in Sandy, Utah and had a great time visiting with them. I love them so much! No one could ever have better friends than I do!

We went to J. Dawg’s in Provo – muy delicioso! And I even tried the sauerkraut. This place is the bomb!

On our way home we were in St. George where we met up with one of our great friends from Riverside, Cathy Coles Wilson. We have all known each other for almost 40 years. It was fun to get out the old Girls Camp photos and try to remember everyone. Please note there IS EVIDENCE that I was once young, skinny and had hair (without any gray) down to my waist!

We visited the Brigham Young Winter Home and then went to some of the hiking areas and natural wonders of St. George.

We decided to take a jaunt out to Colorado City since I had never seen a polygamist compound. Oh, my! I had no idea that it was like this. No one had any finished homes (that way they don’t pay taxes) or landscaped yards – it was all red dirt- and the properties were filled with bikes and cars and junk. Nothing looked like it was taken care of or appreciated. I don’t understand it.

The children were beautiful, clean and polite. The women’s hair amazed me. The braiding and plaiting was so intricate. There were so many different ways for them to express themselves with their hair and stay within the community’s restrictions.
Mostly, I just don’t understand why a woman would settle for that lifestyle. And why a husband would want so many wives – Cordell, for some reason, has assured me that he would NEVER take more than one wife, since he can’t handle the one he has!!!

Road trips with a girlfriend - they are GGGRRRREEEAAATTT!!

Spaghetti, Chocolate Cake and Grandchildren…Oh My!

Leilani and the urchins came over for dinner the other night. We were having spaghetti and since Jake doesn’t like it and he was at work…well, you get the picture!

And speaking of pictures, these say it all. As evidence shows, Landon loved, loved his food and our little Miss Kira was such a grown up lady and ate so neatly. She is such an angel!

January Happenings

Well, the holidays are past and January is here. Still no news on the job front - the market is awful right now - but we keep trying and hoping that something will pop soon. Keep us in your prayers!

Thinking that the contract for Cordell was going to happen immediately for his new job we made some fun plans for January - you know, get those few days of vacation living in before we have to work again! (And the contract has been delayed for several months, so we are back to square one - Dang!) Well, so much for the best laid plans of mice and men....

Southern California has had exceptionally wonderful weather this year. Sunshine, 70'2 to 80's, blue skies, bits of wind, just perfect. Reminding us of why we live here! So we headed to Catalina for a few days of diving, relaxing and sunshine. Cordell's brother and sister in law, Steve and Sandy, were talked into going with us. Believe me, with this weather, it didn't take too much talking!

Steve and Sandy are so fun to be with - we played games in the evening and loved our ocean view rooms!

We had a great time feeding the pigeons on the Green Pier - till someone came by and told us they were covered with lice and we probably shouldn't let them touch us! Ewww!

And if there was ever any question as to why people pay higher prices to live here, this is the answer! It was wonderful!

And since it was so beautiful in California, Janette decided to go and visit Katey in snowy, cold, freezing Utah! Why does she always want to go in January????? This could be a total study of contrasts.

This sign says it all!

We laughed at this picture - no Janette hasn't fluffed her hair like the locals! The slight wind and static electricity in the air did wonders for the look, though! What do you think - shall I make a change to "The Look?"

We made sure we did the "culinary tour" of the Provo area. We visited and did our fine dining at places like Cafe Rio (steak salad - yum!), Sonic (cherry limeade), J. Dawg's (the best hot dogs ever!), Zupo's (great soup and sandwiches) and Happy Sumo - where I actually enjoyed the sushi, chicken of course, no raw seafood for this one!

It was so fun to be with Katey and Daniel. I love these guys. They are such good people - and way cute, too!

So, back to reality for us. In spite of everything going on, the challenges we are facing, etc., I realize that I have so much to be grateful for in my life. I am surrounded by a great family, friends, church members, and am amazed at how many blessings have been showered upon us.

Christmas Present is Now Past

My, oh, my, how do we describe this past month? It has been wonderful!

We made sure that almost all preparations (shopping, wrapping, Christmas cards, homemade candy, etc.) were finished by Thanksgiving weekend and are sooo glad that it was done! Since on December 10, Cordell was informed that his position had been eliminated at the hospital due to a $35M budget cut and he was now unemployed. Merry Christmas to us!

It actually has been a blessing so far. The stress from his horrendous boss, the commute, everything (!) being alleviated has made him feel and look 10 years younger. Of course it leads to another set of challenges, such as, oh, income, health benefits, etc. All "minor" worries! Yikes!

But....the kids came home, except for Mike and Stevie who weren't able to leave RI at this time. We gathered, we ate, we played, we visited, we ate, we watched movies, we ate, we played on ther Wii, we went for walks, and then ate some more. Amazing how much stuff I used to have in the freezer! Also amazing how much trash was generated, how many times the dishwasher needed to be run and how busy the washer and dryer seemed to be.

So a pictorial glimpse of the holidays from our home to yours....

We went to Thoroughbred Lane in Alta Loma to see the most amazing displays of Christmas lights!

(l to r) Daniel, Katey, Kyle, Jamie, Janette, Cordell and Miya

Stefani, Janette, Katey and Jamie









Stefani with Kira and Landon

Leilani with Landon, Jake, Katey, Daniel, Ian
Jamie, Kira, Melissa, Kyle, Stefani and Miya

Our early Christmas dinner (Monday before Christmas) filling ourselves with enchiladas, tamales, arroz, frijoles, and lots of other good stuff! we loved having Uncle Adolph and Ruth here with us! Cousins - remember the chile rellanos when we were kids???

Big, bad Guitar Hero fiends!

Grandma loves her Kira Bear!

As we said goodbye to 2008, we lifted our glasses filled with sparkling cider and toasted each other with wishes of a fantastic 2009. Remembering, of course, that we were in So. CA at midnight in our bathing suits in the spa and watching the images at Times Square where it was 17 degrees!!!!


Ahhh, our life is good! Happy New Year and wishing you all a prosperous and joyous 2009!