Staying busy in Winter

At the Aquarium of the Pacific Ric skiiing

Suzan and Skip at Balboa Coronado Island

Harold and I kayaking

I have been keeping busy with skiing and a trip to San Diego. I took off at the pleas of sister to come hang out with her in California. Her husband, Skip, is doing consulting down there and they are staying in a condo on the beach in Del Mar. Suzan hated being on her own so I drove down for some tourist fun. We did a nature cruise out to the Coronado Islands to see whale, sea lions and dolphins. We went to the Aquarium of the Pacific with my brother Brent's family and stopped in at the Orange County swap meet. We shopped, had lunch at a real mexican food restaurant with my sister in law Marisa and walked on the beach. I even got to go kayaking with my good paddling buddy Harold who taught me how to kayak. Skip, Suzan and I went to Balboa Park and went to the art museum, natural history museum and science museum. We had a great lunch there and the trees were actually blooming. Suzan and I visited our aunt and saw a little of Fallbrooke. It was great to be with my sister who is an amazing person even if driving in California freaks her out. (I was the Chauffeur while there.) While driving there and back, I was able to stop and visit my other brother Brian in Vegas. Becky, his wife, is a wonderful friend as well as sister in law and we had a nice lunch and shopping trip. It was nice to have a break from the snow, but this winter has been good so I am not sad to be home. Friday I went skiing with Justin my super son in law (Ashley had to get kids off to a birthday party) and Saturday I skiied with Ric. It was a beautiful sunny day with some great runs. Not a bad month!!

Christmas and the New Year

Christmas was the best. I loved having all the kids and grandkids here. It was wonderful chaos and noise and absolutely great. I had been planning costumes since April's trip to Israel and I loved the grandkids in the nativity. The snow made the backyard a playground for sledding and snowmobiling. We didn't need to go anywhere which was good since the weather was pretty blizzardy. Lots of eating and playing games and now I am 5 lbs heavier. We found time to go to the Body World exhibit which was facinating.

The New Year was exciting to me because I didn't like half of 2008 when Ric was injured. So I am looking forward to a new year and it is starting out really well with Kelsey finding a job and not only that but one close to us. She will be staying with us until Logan finishes up some work in Rexburg and sells the house. I am looking forward to her getting me organized and on top of things. She is the best motivator I know. She already found the yogurt in the fridge that dated Oct 2008 and let me know that wasn't ok. Luckily last night I found the mac and cheese box that was dated 2005....a remnant from cleaning out the cabin pantry. Yes 2009 is going to be good.... I am going to get my cupboards clean, lose weight, train for my triathalon, run rivers and have lots of kids and grandkids drop in. It is going to be great!

Nate's Family visits from Boise

Just before Thanksgiving, Staci came for a short visit with the Boys (Dallin, Parker, and Landon). We enjoyed getting to play with them. The chaos was so fun when Ashley brought her children. The grandkids put on a show( their own idea and production) and had us laughing like crazy people. What a bunch of hams! and Makayla is a natural at directing everyone. I wonder if Nate taught Dallin his GQ poses. (Video)

New Grandchild arrives

Clay and Brittany had a beautiful baby boy on Nov 19th. He made an exciting entrance with an emergency c-section but he is healthy and Brittany is doing well. We are thrilled to have him safely here. It is fun to watch your children become parents. Clay said,"It just feels so right!" when we asked him how it felt to have a baby.

Conference Weekend

One of my favorite weekends is Conference Weekend. This year we went to the cabin to watch the conference sessions on TV. It was beautiful up there. Ashley with her family and Kelsey and Logan joined us. We missed Clay and Nate with their families but still had a great time. We drove the ATV's, took walks and had a cardmaking session for the girls. It was fun to get away from it all and be together.

On the Mend

It has been about 14 weeks since my bike accident and I thought an update was is order. Last Tuesday I went for my most recent checkup. The Doc said that the bone is healing well with very little evidence of the break still apparent. And since the break was more crush than a clean break the femoral neck(that's the bone I broke) has compressed a bit. The result of that is a slightly shorter right leg. With all that said my recovery is going well. In fact we are going to St. George this weekend for the Tour of St. George Century ride. I wanted one good ride before the season ends and winter sets in. Speaking of winter, the Doc said I can ski this year. Yee Haa!!!! It's all about muscle strength now. I am thankful for all of you who have prayed for me and sent your good vibes. You helped more than you know.