Where did May go?

The older I get, the faster time flies! Here we are on the LAST day of May already!

  BTW - Happy Birthday Christi & Olivia today! 

Christi, one of our beautiful DILs, has such an amazing smile - it can cheer anyone up! We are so glad Ty found her & she agreed to become part of our crazy family.  We love her!  Happy Birthday Christi!

photo by Jill Holyoak

Today is also Olivia's 5th birthday!  It is difficult to believe that all our babies are turning 5 this year!  Remember in 2008?  That was our "year of the babies!"  Our children blessed us with 6 grandchildren (3 with in the same week!)...a record year!

December 2008

Now here they all are turning 5!  We feel so very blessed!  Happy Birthday to our 5 year olds!

Carson, Kaden, Keira, Olivia, Lucie, & Penelope

Meanwhile...May happened.  Here is a little bit of the fun we've had...


Billy Elliot

Paul had to go down south for a business meeting & I stayed behind to see the musical Billy Elliot with Mike & Vicky.  I wanted to stay & see Jeff Pew, who was starring as Tony in the play.  Jeff grew up with Terri & Nicole both at church & at Castillero Middle School.  They are still good friends today.  He met us before the show & asked us to stay for a few minutes afterward, too.  It was fun to visit & see old friends.  Jeff was fabulous in the play, too!

I even got to see Mrs. Earl!  She taught Cindi, Leah, Nicole, Terri, AND Ty in choir & showstoppers.  She retired after Ty left Castillero & spends her time traveling the world with her husband & enjoying her grandchildren...Best. Job. Ever!

San Francisco Tourist

We have been to San Francisco many times, but I have NEVER taken an official "tour" of the city.  So when Paul had a business meeting in SF, I joined him & played "tourist."  I put on my Audrey Hepburn disguise & hopped on the famous Double Decker Red Bus for a city highlights tour...FYI, I could have given the tour AND done a better job!  They picked me up & dropped me off at the Wharf, we drove throughout the City, across the Golden Gate, more of the City, then back to the Wharf.  Then I walked around Pier 39 - by then it was time to pick Paul up & we enjoyed a nice dinner at Scoma's...I didn't take a lot of pix, but here are a few...

I love the flowers & fresh fruit stands everywhere!

Youth Leadership Conference

Since Paul is the Bishop, one of his jobs is to work closely with the youth of our ward.  We hosted a Youth Leadership Training Conference where he & his counselors led some discussions on what it means to be a good leader.  They did some team building activities, ate lunch, & took a little river float.  We have a great group of teens in our ward!

Even though today is the LAST day of May...I still need to post about our New Orleans trip, a surprise trip to Disneyland, & the wedding reception we are hosting today...oh wait, that's tomorrow & tomorrow is already June!  I'm not as far behind as I thought, but sometimes even I can't believe what we can pack into 31 days!

2013 Women's Conference

BYU hosts a Women's Conference every year following their graduation when there are fewer students on campus & they can accommodate the thousands of women who come from all over to be inspired & uplifted.

As much as I love Women's Conference, I love the chance to see our Utah kids & grandkids even more!  Leah picked me up from the airport the afternoon before the conference so I could spend a little time with her family before we were tied up in classes all day long.

The girls are very helpful in the kitchen...

Lexi put on a show for me...this girl is hilarious!  I loved her little animals all lined up - they were part of her audience...

These are actually the only pictures I took of the girls.  Of course, I have at least a dozen of this little one...
I have to admit, Cooper is one cute little guy!  His face lights up when he smiles & he has such a calm personality...& the fact that he smiled at me every time he saw me just melted my heart!

Terri couldn't make it on Thursday, so Leah & I headed over for Day 1 of the conference...

It is easy to get discouraged on our journey through life & it was nice to be reminded that we are not alone...in fact, it is overwhelming to see the number of sweet sisters who come from all over the place to "fill their own cup."

In the past, more of my girls were able to make it to WC but as their families grow it becomes more difficult for them to get away.  Leah & I enjoyed the opening remarks & I loved listening to her re-cap what she had learned in her favorite class when we met up again later.  It brings me great joy to see my children find happiness in seeking after good things...

We met up with Terri for dinner, along with Aunt Linda, Cousin Rebecca, Paul's cousin Pat, & her daughter Sara.  It was fun to visit & catch up with what everyone was doing.

Leah couldn't come to the conference on Friday, but Terri joined me for Day 2 after she dropped Olivia off at school.  We skipped the 1st class & browsed through the BYU bookstore...

I decided to take Terri over to visit an old high school friend, Steve Sorenson, who works at BYUtv.  Steve  gave us a quick run down of what he does for BYUtv & it was fun to visit & catch up with what his family is doing.  Steve's dad was my very 1st Bishop after I joined the church in 1974.  I danced & cheered with his sisters for years.  I have fond memories of Steve & his family.

We met up with cousins for the closing session & said goodbye to the conference till next year.

I went home with Terri that evening to spend a couple of nights with her, but the next day I made arrangements to spend the day & hike the Y with my old college BFF, roommate, & gymnastics teammate.

Here we are with the rest of the 1974-75 BYU gymnastics team...

The Y is a giant concrete letter that is painted on the mountain overlooking the BYU campus.  It is tradition for students to hike the Y & repaint it every Fall.  It is actually a popular hike for people all year long.  We never hiked the Y when we were students at BYU - quite frankly, I couldn't understand why anyone would even want to hike it...it's straight uphill!  Ugh!  Kiki was a good sport to go with me, especially considering she had shattered her ankle several months back from a climbing fall - Kiki is an avid rock climber.  For some reason, I felt compelled to "climb this mountain" & Kiki got a green light from her doctor & physical therapist to take the hike with me.

I was so excited to see her!  It had been 30 years since we saw each other last.

It was a very warm day & I had to stop several times to catch my breath.  I didn't anticipate the difficulty I would have with the altitude in Utah & it was a difficult hike for this old lady!  The view was pretty amazing!

This photo gives you a pretty good idea of how big this Y is...

We made it & enjoyed chit-chatting & remembering good times.  We laughed & cried & remembered why we grew to be such good friends...

The campus looks so tiny from way up there & Utah Lake looks huge!

When I set the goal to hike the Y, I knew I wanted Kiki to be there with me.  I can't think of my experiences at BYU without thinking of her & it was only fitting that she should do this crazy thing with me.  Life can be difficult & we all have mountains to climb.  It's nice to have good friends to help you along the way.

That evening we were going to meet Leah & family for dinner but we had a couple of hours to kill so we ended up at Hee Haw Farms.  There was a small petting zoo, a pony ride, an animal train, a slide, & a hay ride...not as big as Cornbelly's, but it was fun.  Even though I had my camera with me, I don't think I took one picture!  I'm so glad Terri is into pix or I wouldn't have any to remember my visit - I stole all of these from her!

These goats were aggressive!

We ate at Tepanyaki's - Jude was NOT a fan of the noise & the big flames, but he was fine once the show was over...

Such cuties!

After church the next day we took a long walk before heading to the airport.  I got to take my picture on the "picture rock" & the kids made me feel special & loved...

It is difficult to be so far away from family, but makes it a little easier to see them so happy & doing such a great job with their own families.  I feel so blessed to be a mom & G'ma.

April's End

The tail end of April has come & gone so quickly & we are over half way through May already!  We are blessed with many opportunities & try to take advantage of every second!

Gold Rush Days 

The past few years, our daughter-in-law, Amy, has arranged for her home school group to gather at our place to experience a little California history. Paul & I have a great time presenting Gold Rush Days for their group. We dress a little silly, split the group in half & Paul takes one group while I take the other, then we switch.

Paul gets the kids involved in the telling of the story using the kids as the characters...

 I try to give the kids a little gold fever by singing about California Gold...I love when the adults get into it, too!

After our presentations, we walk the kids over to Marshall Gold Discovery Park & let them actually pan for gold...

We give the kids a walking tour of the park & Paul tells them about the highlights, including Sutter's Mill...

Then we walk back to the house for lunch & play time.  The kids are always so nice & well behaved.  We really enjoy participating in such a fun way.



Ward Activity

Our activities committee set up a fun night of Line Dancing & cowboy fun for April...

They had a photo spot set up &  Paul was being silly & staring at me while they took our picture.  The photographer was cracking up & I couldn't figure out why?  I'm glad Paul knows how to make me laugh...I love him!

Great activities for the kids, too...

I didn't get a good photo of the entire group, there were tons more people dancing than it seems in my pix...

It was a great activity & quite a workout!



Mormon Helping Hands

The next day was our day of community service all over the state of California (& many other states), Mormon Helping Hands.  Although our worldwide humanitarian projects are ongoing, we make arrangements with our local communities/governments for service projects that they recommend (projects they would like to see done) to beautify or improve the areas we live in.  A handful of us cleaned up the grounds at Marshall Gold Discovery Park & repaired some picnic benches...

Happy Bday G'pa Fudge

Paul's Dad recently celebrated his 82nd Bday.  They took their annual Father/Son date to San Francisco for lunch on Fisherman's Wharf & Ghiradelli's...

A few days later, we took him & G'ma Jeanne to a Brazilian steakhouse...

They had all my favorites...Antarctica Guarana (drink) & poa de queijo (cheese bread)!

They brought around about 15 different meats & they were delicious!  They keep coming by until you tell them to stop...

They even sang Happy Birthday for G'pa...

...& that wraps up our April.

Things haven't slowed down any around here...May has been just as busy with no end in sight.  We are doing our best to make "every second count."