September in Utah

A couple weeks ago Scott had work meetings in SLC so we decided to make a weekend of it.  Well, Scott made a weekend of it, I made a week of it!  Although we arrived in the middle of an intense storm which made our flight something we don't want to ever experience again, it ended up being a beautiful week to be there and it was so nice seeing everyone again.

There were several highlights, not the least of which was quality time with the two cutest grandkids ever.

It was fun spending time with Batman.

They couldn't get enough stories.

Camden even reads to his little brother!

Loved riding on the horsey.

The Lego room is a favorite.

More stories.

A new Lego man!! No, I don't remember the name, but Camden can tell you who it is, I'm sure.

They got their own table for Sunday dinner!

We were able to see David while we were there and meet his wife, Hannah.  We had lunch at the Olive Garden and got caught up on their lives.  They are so happy and doing great. 

The women's broadcast was that weekend so I was able to go with several of the ladies in my family, so fun.  Wish I could do that every time!  Then we gathered at Becky's house for food and visiting.  It also happened to be Abbey's birthday so I got to help her celebrate.  Such a fun evening everyone, thanks!

Cutest girls ever!

Love these ladies!

Becky made this for us and I can't wait to get it here someday!!

I also got the chance to meet up with my BYU roomies.  We went to the MOA and saw the Minerva Teichert exhibit which was awesome.  Then we went to lunch at Brick Oven, yum.

I told you it was beautiful.

I love snow covered mountains against a bright blue sky.

Friends since 1981!

Staying a few extra days allowed me to go down to St. George and see Mom and Marlowe for the first time in 15 months!  It was Mom's birthday so I got to celebrate that with her too. So fun to spend that time with them.  Here's to a healthier year for both of us!!

Birthday dinner at Brick Oven! How did I get so lucky?

Happy birthday, Mom! So glad I got to see you!

I haven't been feeling well since radiation so Gary and Ellen drove me down to St. George and Cheryl joined in the fun too by taking me back to Cedar City the next day.  I have the most amazing friends!!!

Applebee's for lunch before heading back.

I spent my last night in Bountiful with Jo Ann and we had just enough time before my flight to go to SLC to see the three new segments of Meet the Mormons at the JSMB and then have lunch.

Our view at lunch.  Gotta love it.

So many pictures at restaurants eating, hmmmm.

Riley would say hi but she spends most of her life sleeping nowadays.

So happy to have spent that time with family and friends.  We love being with all of you.  We are also grateful to be living a somewhat "normal" life again. Here's to a new normal! We're looking forward to our anniversary trip later this month and to the holidays coming up. Stay tuned!

Summer 2016

It has been one crazy summer full of ups and downs but in the middle of all the craziness we've been doing some fun things.

We had tickets to Newsies at Gammage for about a year and then wasn't sure if we would make it with my chemo schedule right around that time, but we must have been inspired with the date because it happened right as I recovered from my last chemo treatment. It was a great show and worth the wait!

The kids were in the pool early again this year, they just can't stand waiting for it to be quite warm enough.

Yes, they are freezing.

Scott even got in a time or two with them, good sport!

The after swim warm up.

We have two new pets in the neighborhood.  The Robinson's got a cat, Zombie, and the Benesch's got a dog, Peanut.  Their goal is to get Riley to love them and play with them.  They have been introduced on a couple of occasions.  It didn't end up being the disaster that I thought it would, but I don't think there is any motivation on either side to make friends.

Staring contest.

Yep, just staring.

Riley's favorite spot.  Peace at last.

The Robinson's like to surprise Riley with a pig's ear once in a while and she goes nuts....

....until I take it away so she won't eat the whole thing at once.

The neighborhood kids spent a lot of their time over here this summer which was fun for me. 

Twister is always done in an interesting way.

They love baking things....

....and eating them!

They like doing "late nights" at the Klundt's.....

Homemade pizza and pudding pops are always a big hit.

And games, games, games....

My BYU roomie and best bud, Ellen and her husband Gary came down over Labor Day weekend to watch the BYU game.  It was so fun spending time with them since it doesn't happen nearly enough!

Friday night at The Spaghetti Factory.

Sunday at our house complete with ping pong...

...and games, of course.

It was Ellen's birthday!

The following weekend we headed up to Prescott to celebrate Ashley's birthday.  It turned out that Cori and Jordan both happened to have the day off work and so they were able to come with us which was so fun. We went out for lunch, did some antique shopping, played games, and celebrated.

Super yummy choice for lunch Ashley!

Opening gifts...

Pretty serious game playing.....

Ok, not that serious.

Happy birthday Ash!!

Oreo cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory....does it get any better?

I never was a big puzzle lover but have found lately that 300 piece puzzles are just my cup of tea and Scott and I have been enjoying putting some together.  It can be done in one sitting!

We finally made arrangements at the beginning of the summer to have our pool deck replaced.  They gave us a discount if we waited until the end of the summer so they finally came a couple weeks ago.  Although what was suppose to be a one day job turned into a two day job spaced two weeks apart, it is finally done almost....they have to come back in a couple weeks to paint the edge and finish up but it looks great.

This is how it was left after Day 1 when they decided they weren't going to finish.

They finally came back and got it all cleaned out.

 

The kids were fascinated.  They watched for about an hour.

Our nice new deck. 

I have been feeling very grateful that I am on this side of the cancer.  It's been a long and difficult year that we weren't expecting but one filled with lots of blessings, mostly in the form of family, friends and love.  I am still getting over radiation side effects that came up after the radiation ended, but that is normal and not that bad considering. I'm just glad radiation is over.  It was emotionally draining going in every day.  So grateful for Scott and his love and support...and a chain that gave me a smile every day of radiation...

Pulling the last one off....best thing ever!

We are looking forward to a wonderful end to this year! We have planned a really fun anniversary trip and a few other things besides.  Until next time...