Memorial Day '09

At the beginning of the week, Larry and I thought there would just be the two of us and Bryson at home for Memorial Day, so Larry planned to get a few projects done around the house.

As the week went on and week talked with the kids, inviting them one by one to come over for a BBQ, we found they were all available. Yay!

It turned out to be quite a productive day.

Larry went to a local nursery and bought plants and flowers for our gardens.

Christopher got the oil changed in their car while Bri was able to finish up some homework.

Niki and John (Niki's friend) went with us to Sam's Club to get food for the grill. While we were there, John volunteered to grill salmon for us - a new experience since most of us had never had salmon, and none of knew how to grill it.


Chris and Bri started the flower planting in the front yard. Then Dustin came along and pointed out the huge spider - complete with egg sack. That made everyone stand back for a second and watch where it went.











I loved finding these summer colors on the front porch!






While the front flower garden was taking shape, Larry, John, Niki, Dustin and Bryson were also planting the vegetables in the back garden.









Then the grillin' started! Yum! Besides the salmon we also had steak and chicken.












But it was the company of loved ones that brought the most joy of all!

Happy 27th Anniversary to Us!

27 years...a long time for some. Barely half way for others.

What an adventure it has been.

And the best adventures are those you take with your best friend, for which we are both very grateful!

We're even more grateful, however, to know that 27 years is just the beginning of eternity!


Celebrating the anniversary of our wedding day - May 14th, 1982 - at Madeline's Steak House.

Mother's Day 2009

Mother's Day was perfect this year! I couldn't have asked for anything more (except that Niki, who had to work, could have joined us).

Larry, Bryson and I spent time together before church doing our family council and weekly calendaring session. Larry also gave me a mini pedicure. Normally this isn't something we would do on a Sunday, but it was a sweet treat today!

Church was lovely, the Spirit was present. Sacrament meeting was packed because David Guzman was giving his last talk prior to leaving on his mission. The Bishopric gave all the sisters in the ward some chocolate turtles - absolutely delicious!!

After church Dustin, Chris and Bri and, of course, Larry, Bryson and I, spent the evening together. We barbequed pork chops, steak and halibut for me. It was the first time Larry had ever bbq'd halibut, and he got it exactly right! He also made me a beautiful and yummy fresh fruit salsa to go over it. He ended up making a 2nd batch because the red pepper flakes in the first batch made it just a bit too spicy for me (as in flames were shooting from my ears - hahaha). The 2nd batch was just right! We also bbq'd fresh pineapple. (I wish we had taken a picture! I've lost my camera (so sad about that) and so I don't think about pictures as readily now.)

The weather was sunny and calm. We ate on the deck with the umbrella up. What a treat!

Afterwards we opened gifts - a dozen red roses (wish I had a picture again - sigh), a gift card to Deseret Book and a dvd "Phantom of the Opera".

For Home Evening, we asked Chris and Bri to choose a question from the journal jar, and we took turns answering it. The question was, "When, where and how did you learn to drive? Share any driving related stories you might have." That was a lot of fun.

Then we played "Ticket to Ride", a board game, and ate New York cheesecake with fresh strawberries and sauce. I had the longest train in the game, but Larry completed the most trips, so he won.

Spending time together was the best gift of all. I love my talented, beautiful family! Thanks for creating the "Perfect Mother's Day" for me!