The Big Day

Tomorrow is the Big Day - the day our missionary returns from the Paraguay Asuncion North Mission after completing 18 months of service!

Meranda has had an incredible experience. She has learned a new language, lived in a new country, taught a variety of people, eaten strange food, served with companions from Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Arizona. She has see people accept the gospel and change their lives. She has grown to love the people. Her testimony of the gospel has been strengthened. She has learned to be a leader and example to the other missionaries serving in her mission. She has been able to travel the mission and return to prior areas and visit with the people she taught. I'm thinking that her beautiful red hair and blue eyes and wonderful spirit will be missed in Paraguay.

Monday's have been a day to look forward to because of the opportunity to hear from her and the experiences of the week. I know it is hard to leave all of that beind. So much work yet to do. So many people yet to teach.

But as she said this week in her email...

"I will miss the mission, but I know there is another phase of my life waiting to begin. At every end there is another beginning."

I am so proud of her. I am so excited for her to return to us. I am anxious to see her continue to grow and start the next phase of her life!

Weekend in the Mile High City

Evan has always been a Denver Bronco Fan. I am a football fan. We are both Alex Smith fans. So a few months ago, in celebration of Evan's birthday this month, I bought tickets to the Broncos/Chiefs game - with the thought that it could be a really big game. It did not disappoint. It was a huge game. Third largest crowd in Bronco History - over 77,000 people.

We had great seats - on the 50 yard line.
The weather was cold - but no snow or rain.
There was a lot of alcohol consumption (not by us).
We got a pass to get on the field after the game (which is a whole other story).
Peyton Manning and Knowshawn Marino walked by us.
I caught site of John Elway walking about 10 feet in front of us.

The day after the game, we took a tour of Mile High Stadium. Again getting on the field - seeing the press box (that holds 400 people) - going in the visitors locker room - seeing the "keg" room, the luxury suites, etc. etc.

Halloween 2013



I think this picture says it all......



It was like hitting a brick wall.......

Life is full of surprises. The days go by quickly and usually uneventful. We get caught up with the same routine. Sometimes something good will happen that is out of the ordinary and sometimes something bad will happen...but the good things definitely out number the bad. Thursday night was one of those bad times.

I don't know how many times I have driven I-15 - probably hundreds. I have never felt in danger. Well that all changed on Thursday night. The day had been a good one. We went to the funeral of Evan's Uncle Emmett Clark in Torrey, Utah. The funeral was a wonderful tribute to him. Relationships were rekindled with Evan's cousins, aunts and uncles. The Wood Family is a great family. They might not have always seen eye to eye, but they have always treated me (and Evan) with nothing but kindness and love. Aunt Veola and her children invited us to the dinner at the church. It was important for us to go and I'm glad we did.

We stopped in Lyman to load up with the final things from Grandma and Grandpa Wood's house and then headed for West Valley. Evan drove from Lyman to Scipio - there were tons of dear on the road - and then I took over in Scipio. It is always a relief when you finally reach the freeway - no more deer to be worried about. We stopped at the Flying J - refilled our Diet Cokes - and headed for the final leg home. Evan was busy checking his emails/texts and just as we got on the freeway he said "Oh I better put on my seat belt".

Two miles north of Scipio, going the speed limit of 80 mph, the Elk was suddenly in front of us. No time to react...we hit the animal...it was like hitting a brick wall. The Durango came to a stop - we couldn't see out the window - didn't know where the animal was - but we were physically okay. Evan got out of the car and realized we were still part way on the freeway. Somehow the car started and we "lurched" forward and pulled off and called 911.

Events continued to happen - cars hitting the elk - debris flying all over - it seemed like an eternity until the Highway patrol came.

In the end, we realized how blessed we were. The Elk did not come through the windshield. The airbags did not deploy. There were no cars behind us when it happened. I had tears in my eyes all the way home and for most of the weekend as I thought about what could have happened. I thought about the phone call that could have been made to my children. I thought about Meranda on her mission. I thought about my Dad. I thought about my Mom. I thought about my sisters and brothers.

Yes life is full of surprises.We were being watched over. It kind of put life in perspective!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO PSW.....

Today is Parker's birthday - 17 years old - my how the time has flown.

He is a great young man.
He has a kind heart.
He is a good friend.
He makes me crazy sometimes...but makes me happy most of the time.
He has so much ahead of him...good times...not so good times...tough decisions...a great future!

Thank you Parker for letting me be your crazy Mom. Letting me embarrass you occasionally. Letting me be there for you.

A room full of CPA's

Sitting in the last session of a CPE seminar....the room is full of mainly men....with a few women.

I attend this seminar every year. It reminds me how women are still a minority in my profession and how most of them still dress like they did in the 80's...I hope I don't!

Two sessions were on the affordable care act...aka Obamacare...it gave me a headache and stressed me out.  I'm not sure that anyone fully understands all that is involved..I know I had a few questions answered but that evolved into additional questions!

Another session was about dashboards and KPI'S (key performance indicators) taught by a guy I went to the U with.  He thought he was pretty cool and he looked a lot older than me!

It's a long day but they provide plenty of diet coke...

Another 8 hours earned towards the required 80 hours of CPE....

Grandma Wood

Sunday, September 1, 2013, Grandma Wood passed away. It was a hard few days. She had been down before and had always bounced back. But looking back over the last few months, she had really started to slow down. She no longer wanted to crochet and she had stopped reading.

Saturday night we knew her time was short. As I said goodbye I thanked her for raising such a good son and told her to give my Mom a hug when she saw her.

The viewing in Richfield on Friday night was well attended - a pretty steady crowd - a lot of relatives and family friends.

Saturday's funeral was a tribute to her and her life. Her grandchildren all participated in some way and their talks/tributes were "spot on". They loved their grandma and she had an effect on each of their lives.

The flowers were pretty, the weather was perfect, the valley was as green as I have ever seen it.

I have some wonderful pictures - but for some reason can't get them to post.....maybe later.

Weirdness in the Air

When you really listen and look at people around you - there are some weird ducks out there.....

Yesterday on our way to the Utah/USU football game, we decided to take Trax. We met at my office in City Creek and headed to the game. We had to change trains at the Courthouse stop to get on the "Red" line (why there isn't a direct line from downtown I'll never understand). Anyway - we got off to make our transfer and there was this interesting young woman who looked like she had a major botox accident on the lips and she asked "Is there a game tonight?" "Where at?" "Do you need a ticket?" "I'm an alum of the U". Can I just say "weirdo"!!!!

Then of course people riding the Trax - let's just leave it at that.

At the game we had some random people sitting behind us - the voice of the woman sounded like she was older (40's) and the guy sounded a bit younger (of course I didn't look back to see). I don't think they were there to watch the game and their conversation was major WEIRD....from travelling to Costa Rica (they have the best surfing) to a Gay/Lesbian discussion about people they know to dating...WEIRD...they ended up leaving after halftime at which time I got a good look at them - MAJOR WEIRD!!!!!

Maybe it was the heat (it was major hot) - maybe it was because the summer is almost over - maybe it's just because people are WEIRD!!!!!

Junior Year

Wednesday, August 21st, was the first day of school for Parker. I can't believe he is a Junior!

As he left the house, I realized that this is the first year since 1993 that I haven't actually taken one of my children to school.

I'm feeling kind of empty and really old!

Summer Lovin

Today is July 31st - school starts three weeks from today - August 21st - where has the summer gone?????

When I was younger, I remember summers were pretty laid back. My Mom made sure we went and did something pretty much on a weekly basis - or at least it seemed like it. I remember spending a lot of time on the front lawn looking for four-leaf clovers - having our own "beauty pagents" - playing Barbies - going to the Great Salt Lake - laying out in the back yard lathered in baby oil - playing tennis in the street - going to Liberty Park - going to the Zoo - and the best part of all - school shopping downtown - picking out three outfits - and having lunch in Auerbach's basement - burgers, fries and cherry limeades. I loved summer.

Well - being a working Mom makes summers a little different for my kids. I've tried to make them special - we've usually gone on some sort of vacation - I've taken days off to do try and do some kind of a field trip - but it's just not the same as when I was growing up. It just doesn't seem as relaxed as the "olden days". When they were younger, their Aunts would involve them in activities with their kids and other cousins and there was a lot of swimming at Grandmas!

Well summer is almost over and it feels like we haven't really done much. We went on our vacation in March - we haven't been to the Zoo or Liberty Park (nor will we go) - I can't really play tennis any more - but I guarantee we will go school shopping and we will do lunch. In fact me and Parker have done lunch several times this summer (he loves coming downtown).

We've spent every Tuesday night at Cottonwood Complex with Fastpitch softball and dinner afterwards - we go on a lot of rides - we visit Ab's on a regular basis - we do yard work - we watch movies in our remodeled basement. Parker has done some fun things with friends (he is my most social child) - he got his Wisdom Teeth taken out - and he and Evan are at Lake Powell this week for Scout Camp.

Life is different in 2013 than it was in the 1960-70's - but I think that is okay.

Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary

Well - the 20th of June came and went and I didn't post a shout out to my favorite daughter on her birthday - so HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MERANDA!

This week marks the one week anniversary of her leaving for her mission in the Paraguay, Asuncion North Mission.  The year has flown by on my end.  A day doesn't go by that I don't think about MKW.  Her emails make Monday's something to look forward to. 

When she left on her mission, she was the first missionary in 18 months to leave from our Ward, which was quite unusual as we have always had a "bunch".  Now it seems like every week, someone else has received their call.  I would like to think that she was a good example to follow.

Meranda has never been one to "toot her horn".  Most the time you have to literally pull information out of her and even then you don't always get the whole story.  So her being thousands of miles away makes it even harder to find out what's going on.  But, she is having a great mission.  She has had some great companions and some not so great companions.  She had not seen a "North American Hermana" until last week.  Her spelling has gotten worse - which I'm guessing means her Spanish is really good.  She is down to one pair of shoes (a new pair is on the way). She misses carpet and vegetables.  She loves what she is doing. 

Some Monday's I get to do a little "email" exchange back and forth with her today's exchange when something like this....

Momma Bear - "Did you get your package?"
MK - "No...i'm waiting..maybe this week..did you send me shoes?"
Momma Bear - "Yes I did - I hope you get them."
MK - "Did you guys watch the little training thing yesterday that was broadcasted? In the cyber that I'm in the man running the place is cutting his fingernails...it is kinda gross..but what do you do!!!!"
Momma Bear - "We didn't make it to the training - it was when Grandpa came for dinner and he didn't want to go".
MK - "We could have watched it in the house of member if they invited us but noboday invited us so we didn't see it".

Then she was gone until next week.

This is last July in the CCM in Buenos Aires - the Hermana with the short hair is her companion now - as "Sister Training Leaders".

This is her just a few weeks ago - they love her hair and blue eyes. 

The School Year in Review

Another school year comes to a close as Parker finishes his Sophomore year at HHS.
The year was filled with ups and downs, good times and not so good times, but we did survive.

As always, the year started with great anticipation and excitement hoping for good things. Parker is my most social child and he did not disappoint. He can basically talk to anyone, which is both good and bad.  He turned 16 and went on his first date - Sadies - with a Senior and then finished the year at Senior ball.

As a member of the Swim team we hosted the team Halloween Costume party at our house.  Parker's costume as "Momma June" will go down in swim team history.  Just after the season started, he came up with a sore shoulder and had to take it easy for a while - kind of.  The swim coach decided that if he couldn't swim, he could run and run and run until he could get back in the water.  Having Cousin Emily on the coaching staff helped him get through the season and his times did improve.

He was once again invited to Chula Vista to work out with the USA 19-Under National Fastpitch team - it rained the whole time and he spent his time in a crappy indoor practice facility - but he did great at the camp!

Tennis started in March and he was named to the Varsity #2 doubles team.  He got to go to St. George with the team and he and his doubles partner, Easton Batt had a good season.  But then came the fall....and missing region....and state.....definitely a downer!

His favorite class was AP World History taught by Mr. Newman.  His least favorite class was a tossup - Honors English (the teacher reminded him of the secretary in Monster's Inc.); Chemistry (where the teacher was amped up on caffiene most the time and always lost his assignments) or Seminary (he says he had the two worst teachers in the whole seminary and won't have to have them again).

He learned how to deal with disappointment.  I learned what a "ginger" is.  He learned to always be honest and kind to others.  I learned more patience. 

A Bump in the Road

Life is a continual challenge.  There are ups and downs...highs and lows...and bumps in the road.

A couple of Friday's ago, Parker was met with a bump in the road.  He was at tennis practice and through a freak accident, ended up rolling his left ankle, falling and catching himself with his right hand.  The coach gave me a call and there was a sound of concern in his voice.  I left work and went and picked him up and headed to Instacare. 

Good news - no broken bones - bad news - something could be wrong with his hand.

Major bad news - it would probably mean Parker not competing in the upcoming region and state tennis meets.  Something he had worked for all year!  Something he was so excited about!

Ice, ibuprophen, taking it easy was how the weekend was spent.  A blessing was given - and he tried to play on Tuesday.  Again a call from the coach, he was going to pull Parker from the match.  He said Parker is a gutsy kid, but he could see there was a lot of pain.

On Friday, we went to see a hand orthopedic specialist.  The news was that no broken bones - however, there was a severe sprain between two small bones in his hand.  The only way to let it heal was complete immobilization - aka a cast...for up to 8 weeks.  Another bump in the road.

Parker's passion is fastpitch softball.  He has been on the radar of the US 19-under national team for the last two years - and has attended the last two winter pitching clinics in Chula Vista.  The summer camp is July 8th in Michigan - he is a pitcher - and he uses his right hand!  Major bump in the road!!!!!

When making the decision of whether to cast or not, the consequences of chronic hand pain and early onset of arthritis, it seemed like a no brainer.  The possibility of missing the summer camp in Michigan, made the decision difficult.  In the end, the main concern is fixing his hand.

In the eternal perspective of life, this is just a bump in the road.  I doubt we will ever know the reason for the injury.  I've always said that trials in life are to help build character.  I know that we aren't given anything that we can't handle.  I know this will make Parker a stronger person.  I know things will be all right. 

I know he will get over this little "bump in the road"!!!!

Happy Birthday to Preston.....

I can't believe how the last 25 years has literally flown by!  It was a beautiful spring day - much like today.  We ended the day with our first baby and two days later we went home in a blizzard....

Preston is a great son.  He has a great wife in Katie, and as his Aunt Judy says...."she is his eternal cheerleader".  They have been married almost 3 years and will be moving into their first home this weekend.

They have many great adventures ahead of them as they set down some roots and finish school and take the next steps in the natural progression of life! 

Preston has always had a strong testimony, has been obedient in keeping the commandments, and is a worthy priesthood holder.

As I was sitting in Nursery yesterday - I told the two Moms that were struggling to get their kids to stay -- before you know it your kids will be 25 years old!  Enjoy them!!!!!

Retail Training

Last night we went to get Parker's tennis racket strings replaced and had about an hour to wait so we visited the Red Zone, Nike, Pier 1, Bed Bath & Beyond and the Dress Barn.  Retail people are a unique group.  They apparently all take the same training course "Let me know if I can help you".

By the time we got to the Dress Barn - we had been in and out of the car and my hair was a total mess and I probably looked stressed out.  After looking for about 5 minutes - in the "fat lady section" a cute young girl came up to me and said "Is there anything I can help you with".  I responded "No, I'm just looking".  She stood there for a few seconds when she finally said "I really like your hair"......

I should have said - YES -- you can help me...

"Help me lose 20 pounds" -

"Help me look 10 years younger" - and finally -

"You've got to be kidding....my hair is a mess!" 

I got out to the car - told Parker - and we had a good laugh!!!!!

Vacation and a Field Trip - two posts in one.

The Vacation.........

Last month we took a little vacation to the happiest place on earth - aka - Disneyland.  We love going there.  It was a little different without Preston/Katie and Meranda but we tagged along with the Petersen clan and had a good time.  The weather was great, the crowds weren't too bad, the hotel was good and the churros and Diet Cokes were awesome. 

We had a day to do some sight seeing - went to Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and then headed to find the UCLA campus.  Well - while at UCLA we also found the softball field - actually we were in a maintenance area behind the softball field - and they were having a game - so we decided to change our plans and watched a softball game.  It was a great end to our vacation - we are softball fanatics!

The flight to LAX included a layover in Phoenix - I know - why a layover - well the flight was cheaper.  The flight crew from Phoenix to LAX was hillarious - obviously they tried to make the best of a mundane job.  The flight back was eventful - we boarded the plane which only had about 50-55 passengers - and then we sat and waited.  The last time we flew was in January to San Diego and we boarded and sat and waited experiencing an ice storm, etc. (which was reported in a previous post).  Well there we sit in the plane in LA - a balmy 60 degrees outside - and they had the nerve to come on and say that they were "de-icing the plane".  I leaned over my chair and said the flight attendants "You've got to be freaking kidding me"!!!!!  Some lame story from the pilot - and then a couple of passengers boarded and we were off.  Whatever!!!!


The Field Trip.....

Yesterday, April 16th was the 108th birthday of my Grandmother - Fern Elizabeth Jones Eccles.  Each birthday my Mom would make the effort to visit her grave and decorate it with flowers.  Well, since Mom has been gone, Dad has taken over the visiting and decorating.  So since Tuesday is our day for dinner with Dad, he asked me on Sunday if I would help get him to the cemetary and then also go visit Mom's grave.  So after the tennis match - we went and picked Dad up and headed to Elisian Gardens.  It was freezing cold!  We made the trek over the ups and downs of the cemetary and the cold just about did us in.  After making a bathroom stop at Wendys we headed to Wasatch.  Luckily Mom's grave is closer to the road - but the little hill up can be a bit of a challenge.  It was still freezing - surprise, surprise......and after the visit headed to Crown Burgers.  It was a good night and a bit exhausting and I was happy to be there.

Last night I started to think about my Grandma - I was only 7 years old when she died - but I do remember different things.  I remember going to her house and picking up walnuts off the ground from her Walnut Tree.  I remember that her kitchen was pretty big and that they had a screened in porch.  I remember when she got sick she came to our house one night in her pajamas - no sweats in 1964.  I remember going to the hospital and waving at her through the window - kids weren't allowed in the hospital.  I remember some parts of her funeral and that there were a lot of people there. It's hard to believe that Mom was only 33 years old when she died and I know that she missed her alot. 

It was many years later at my Grandpa's funeral that I actually heard someone talk about my Grandma - it was my great aunts - Pearl, Hazel and Ellen - they said how my grandma was like a mother to them.  That she was a lot of fun and had spunk and that she could keep Grandpa in check!!!!

The field trip ended up being a trip down memory lane.  I know that even though my Grandma died when I was just a little girl, she had an effect on my life because my Mom was the person she was because of her!  I love my Grandma because my Mom loved her!!!!!

Mom & Dad's Anniversary

62 years ago today Mom and Dad were married in the Salt Lake Temple.  Their wedding reception was at the Garden Park Ward - the happening place at that time.

Mom's dress was beautiful - Dad was handsome in his Tux.  My grandparents looked amazing.  The entire wedding party looked wonderful!

They had eight great kids....and now have a posterity totalling almost 60 with many more to come.  They taught us right from wrong  - they knew when to push and when to hold back - they held their tongue when they needed to.  Dad would always send Mom roses on their anniversary.  On her birthday, he would go to the Tall Shop (yes she was tall) and the women there would help him choose the latest fashions for her.  Mom made sure they looked good when they went out - usually with coordinated outfits. 

Mom and Dad are a great story....Today if you were to talk to Dad about Mom he would get tears in her eyes - he loves and misses her so much.  They were a couple! 

Even though Mom left us two years ago, we are together forever as a family! 

Tennis Groupies

Parker had his first two tennis matches this week. 

He is playing Varsity #2 doubles.

They lost to Skyline and beat Cottonwood.

Tennis is a sport that doesn't have a huge following and not much cheering goes on.

UNLESS

you are Parker Wood and...

Your "groupies" come watch and cheer - or drive by the courts - and shout your name!

February is in the Books

February 2013 is now in the books.  So what happened?

**Meranda celebrated eight months in the mish.  Only 10 more Fast Sundays and she will be home.

**Winter was still here during February...cold and snowy most of the month.

**Short day trip to St. George to watch softball and Parker's future wife...Ivy Renfroe pitcher for Tennessee.  Trip down was good - games were cold - watched BYU vs. Tennessee, Utah vs. Seattle, Weber vs. Arkansas.  Trip back was not so good - snow most of the way and we finally arrived home at 2:00 A.M. 

**Booked trip to Disneyland - will be there the end of March!

**Hired contractor to start on Phase 1 of basement project - finish room in basement and add additional storage.

**HHS Parent Teacher Conference - always a fun time....

**Spoke (Evan and Cindy) in Sacrament meeting  - topic of personal/family/ward history.  Sometimes I am good at this..sometimes I'm not.

**Followed HHS Basketball team - Region  2 Champs - going undefeated!  Willie is the enforcer! The team is really fun to watch.  I have never seen so many dunks in high school games!

**Got a new ward calling - NURSERY LEADERS............

**Went to Weber State to watch HHS Basketball in State Tourney (me, Geneil, Parker) - they lost....

**Went to Allen Rasmussen's funeral - Dad spoke and gave an amazing talk.  Allen was a good person - I think I've known him almost my whole life.....

**Got backed into by some ditsy girl in Smith's parking lot. 

**Parker started Tennis - well actually they started snow removal to get the tennis courts ready.

So there you go!!!!!

Parker and his Women

Parker has this thing for pretty women and kind of gets into their lives... 

Maria Shariapova is his favorite tennis player.  He watches reruns of her matches when she isn't playing live. He knows when her birthday is, was devastated when she got engaged and was thrilled when she broke it off!

Ivy Renfroe and Tori Almond are his favorite softball players.  They are both pitchers and are tall and cute.  He follows them well enough to know their stats.  We even went to St. George a few weeks ago to watch them play. A couple of years ago, we went to Las Vegas to watch games (and see Meranda who was traveling with USU) and Ivy was just a few feet away from us.  I thought he was going to die.....

He also follows the Kardashians.  He knows all their names, knows what kinds of cars they drive and where they live.  We were at Olive Garden the other night and he got so caught up in telling us something about them that he was talking VERY LOUD and we had to back him down and tell him to breathe deep.  It was only this last weekend that I found out that he had been blocked from following Kim Kardashian on Twitter.....I guess by Kim herself!

Oh my - I guess it's kind of like when I was in love with the Osmonds, Bjorn Borg, and Clayton Leavitt!!!

Camilla Yamada - new facebook friend

No - I do not have a facebook account - but Parker does and I "monitor" it to make sure the content is acceptable - which kind of ticks him off.....Oh Well.

So last week, Parker got a request from a Camilla Yamada - he thought maybe she was someone at his school - so he accepted her as a friend.  Come to find out - she is in Pedro Juan - and is in the Branch that Meranda is assigned to.

And then the pictures started to post....apparently Camilla likes hanging out with the missionaries and likes to post pictures. 

So - on Friday - we saw a picture of the baptism.
Saturday - we saw a picture of MKW at someplace where they were making pizzas.
Sunday - we saw her in a rain storm with a skirt on that I did not recognize (apparently people give her things including random skirts).

So thanks to Camilla we are seeing pictures of Hermana Wood.  Check it out on Parker's facebook page. 

Pretty Awesome!!!!!

Another January is in the Books!

January is not my favorite month.  My birthday is in January.  I remember shopping as a teenager with Mom for a birthday present.  Everything was picked over and left over from Christmas.  It was too cold to think about Spring.  Just kind of a BLAH month!  But Mom did a good job of always getting me something special.  I remember a cute white cardigan and red pleated skirt.  I remember getting an Organ one year - YES an Organ.  I remember the year I finally passed the CPA exam - a cute new outfit celebrating the test results and my birthday!

Each year I really don't want to remember my birthday - I just keep getting older.  The things in the store are still picked over and left over from Christmas.  The January inversion lingers longer and the older I get the less I like Winter!

So a few days after my birthday, we headed out to "sunny" San Diego.  The trip was a disaster from the get go.  We got caught in the freezing rain storm - six hour delay leaving SLC.....
Waited for a crew from Boise - delayed the flight an hour.
Got a new crew - boarded the plane - waited in line for de-icing.  As the pilot announced "We need to turn this popsicle into an Airplane." Waited for a runway. The airport got shut down. We re-boarded the plane - waited in line for fuel - waited in line for de-icing - waited for takeoff. 
Finally arrived in San Diego - weather felt good - we headed to Old Town for some Mexican food - it was good!
Headed to our hotel in Chula Vista - which was about 3 miles from the Mexican border.
Found Parker and his team - at the La Quinta in Chula Vista - they had been able to practice at the Olympic training center on Thursday afternoon (his plane took off on time)!
It started to rain.  The rest of the weekend practices were in an "Indoor facility" - fake grass - buzzing lights - cold and dingy.
I started to get sick.....ended up full force "sick" by Saturday.
Too rainy to head downtown to San Diego on Friday - ended up eating at a CPK (California Pizza Kitchen) in Otay, CA.
Saturday went shopping at the Las Americanas mall - right on the border - didn't really find anything.
Headed back to Chula - then ventured downtown for some seafood.
Found an out of the way Restaurant "Mitch's seafood" - a little dive - but the food was good!
Sunday headed for home - our flight left on time.  We arrived in SLC at about 1:00 and then....it started to snow.
Parker's flight was to get in at 4:15 - so we headed to the airport waiting in the Park & Wait lot.  His plane indicated "pickup".  We did not hear from him....which was quite unusual.  Waited for another 40 minutes - then Evan went in to find out what was going on.  No planes were landing - and the Information Booth Lady (who Evan said was chugging on something other than water from her water jug) - couldn't believe we would trust the sign!  Did you know that the Park & Wait lot is totally bogus - it is not correct - Parker's plane was being rerouted to Las Vegas!!!!!
We finally heard from him - they had gotten all the way to SLC and then could not land.  Circled the airport three times - quite turbulent - he said he had his barf bag ready.  They got to Las Vegas - gave them an estimated departure time - they made them get off the plane because there was something wrong with the airplane.  They waited for another plane to get to Vegas from Phoenix and finally landed at SLC at 10:51 p.m. and did not get off the plane until about 11:30.......

So like I say - January is not my favorite month - but another one is now in the Books!!!!!

A Big Milestone!

Today at approximately 10:00 a.m. Parker got his DRIVERS LICENSE!!!!!

He has had an eventful week and what a way to finish.

Tuesday he won his first ever high school swim race - placing 1st in the 100 back.

Thursday he swam the same race - this time loosing his goggles and not winning the race.

Thursday he made his debut at HHS with his "Bigfoot" howl at the Winter Sports Assembly.  President (cousin) Willie called him up to do his thing.  Apparently he was laughing so hard he didn't have his best performance - and he said his voice kind of squeaked!

Today was the last day of early morning swim for the season!!!!!

Now - the fun starts - he just barely called - 1 1/2 hours after getting his license asking if he can drive to the Petersons to go to lunch with them.......

HOLD ON - PARKER'S DRIVING!!!!!

Happy New Year

This year we kind of got the vision of being "empty nesters".  Parker went with Willie and others for a night out - ending up at the Petersen's! 

Me and Evan - the "old farts" - went to Buffalo Wild Wings.  We ordered mild, medium and hot...about burned my lips off with the one HOT wing I ate.  It was fun - loud and crazy!  Went to visit Dad - then went home and tried to watch the New Years programs from NYC - they were AWFUL!!!!!!

Waited until Parker got home shortly before 1:00 a.m.......just a glimpse of life without kids at home....sure am glad I still have one chillin at home!!!!!

Hello, this is your Daughter

Sunday afternoon, December 23rd - who would have thought.  MKW trying to call us to arrange a time to SKYPE on Monday.  We hung up twice - thought it was one of those annoying auto dial marketing calls.  The third time was the charm. 

I answered.  "Hello, this is your daughter".

Me "You must have the wrong number.

Caller "No, this is your daughter".

Me "Again, you must have the wrong number"

Caller "MOM, this is Meranda".

Me "MERANDA........."
Much happiness, much phone passing, talked to Me, Dad, Parker and Grandpa!

AWESOME!!!!!