In the News(paper)

Garrett's band, j.wride made the news. Here's a fun article about them in the BYU newspaper.

A Little Less Wisdom

Enjoyed a weekend in Utah with the college kids and so appreciated my husband's willingness to run the household in my absence. Unfortunately for him, my airplane was hours late, putting us home at 2 am. He had to turn around at 7 am and travel himself. In my absence Nathan tried out for and made the JV Singles Tennis team. Yea for Nate!

Agenda Item #1: Matt's wisdom teeth removal. Poor kid...the dentist did not put him out for the procedure, and NO PAIN MEDS afterwards, only ibuprofen. He's tough and weathered it in classic Matthew style. Agenda Item #2: We (Matt and I) (in an hour while the ibuprofen was working) rolled up our sleeves and tackled his kitchen, laundry, and shopping. That kitchen never looked so good, and probably only lasted an hour if we were lucky.

Agenda Item #3: Time with kids. In Brandon and Julie's new homey apt I made 6 freezer meals for them (and two for Garrett/Matt). Brandon was the most accurate laser-tag shooter (wasted all of us....notice Matt's cheeks). Attending church w/Garrett, Saryn and Matt brought back a variety of emotions. A family Sunday dinner followed at B & J's. Nice long chats about life, children and parenting.

It felt great to be in full-blown mother mode again!!!

Agenda Item #4: Wedding. The initial motivator that took me to Utah was a nephew's wedding in
the SLC temple.

Despite chalking up another "Quote of the Week" (UGH!) to my name, it was wonderful to spend a day, catching up with my extended family.

Not on the agenda but enjoyed just as much: BYU, Jamba Juice, Subway, The Sister Missionary Store, The Wedding Dress Fashion Show, grocery shopping. Whew!

Hair style

While watching the Olympics last night, I realized to my horror that I recognized the hair style of the Russian skater, Evgeni Plushenko....it was the same one my sister, Kathleen, gave me when I was in 3rd grade. How embarrassing. Mom, did Kathleen have your permission to cut my hair?!

30,000 Feet Up

A crummy way to spend your birthday, but no choice of his own, that's where Todd is bright and early this morning....30,000 feet up enroute to Rapid City, SD, a most exciting birthday celebration locale!

Sorry, hun. But I hope it's somehow "special" anyway! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Full of Surprises

Twenty-four years ago on Feb 5th we welcomed our first son into our home. Surprise... he wasn't due for another three months, on my birthday, April 28th. Brandon made his grand entrance 11 weeks early weighing in at a whopping 2 lb. 12 oz (actually surprising the doctors who predicted a 1 pound baby). It was a long road traveled for a young married couple, still going to school. We were blessed with relatively few complications in comparison and were able to bring him home two months later, at 4 lbs 9 oz on March 29th.

And he's still surprising us! He and Julie flew in for a visit for Brandon's birthday. We have so enjoyed spending the last few days with them--sightseeing, shopping, videos, competitive ping pong games... What a great surprises this boy is full of!

Julie looks great, 6+ month pregnant (and Brandon looks great, too).
Good luck charms is what they are as they were in attendance to watch Nathan's final basketball game in which they pulled off an unexpected win against a team that has only lost one game all season.

The KC Public Library is unique...

The Fairy Princess Interactive display at the Crown Center...Brandon and Julie get a feel for what Goldilock experienced in the Three Bear's House...

The weather was a little snowy but not too cold. Didn't stop the KC fountains from flowing.

It was a wonderful visit! Thank you, Julie, for giving Brandon such an awesome birthday present! I have a feeling we are not done with Brandon Surprises. Life is good.

So Happy Together

Garrett and Saryn had engagement pictures taken by a friend who's an awesome photographer while home for the holidays. Here's a sneak peek:

No school is getting OLD School

Tuesday, Jan 5th was the first day back to school after Christmas break. Our school district, Lee's Summit R7, was the ONLY district that didn't cancel Tuesday....I was so proud of them! My joy was short lived. They canceled the rest of the week because of "inclement weather." Yes, it's cold here (one degree as a high today) and yes, we have snow (more than some years in ND), but good heavens! Life does go on in cold, snowy climates.