December So Far

Our angel Krissy Lou turned 28 on Saturday, and her sweet hubby Sterling planned a surprise birthday lunch for her at Taifoon. I didn't get a picture of her when she came in, but it was pretty funny ... she really didn't register anything for like 30 seconds, in spite of all of us shouting "Surprise!" She said she looked at Steph and wondered what she was doing there, before she took in the other dozen or so guests. Her dad even managed to make it, in spite of it being his busiest time of year right now. I know that meant a lot to her, as did copies of his two cookbooks. Steph & Mickel and the kids were there, along with Sterling's mom and dad, Kris' friend Amy, and one of her former Ames students, Gavin. Sterling also took her to get a massage, and to the Nutcracker that night. He's such a blessing in her life, and we love him for the love he has brought to her.

Mel, and brothers Alex and Nick

Kaiya with Aunt Kris

Our Teagie

Kris reminded me of the story about her name. Some of you may not know that she was originally meant to be named Holly. We wanted a name to reflect the season, and Holly Harward sounded pretty cute together. However (and this may seem petty now, but please don't judge me), there was a character on the Dallas TV show at the time that was not only named Holly, but, in fact, Holly Harward. And she was EVIL. So I just couldn't bring myself to do it. So Kris got "Christan" (we later amended the spelling) and years later gave the name Holly to her cat. I think she's still a little miffed about the whole thing. Baby girl, as I say every year, you were the best Christmas present I ever got! And it was the only year I was ready for Christmas early. Happy Birthday!

Earlier this month I took what I call my "Medallion Trip." It turned out that I lacked 105 miles to maintain my Delta Medallion status, so there definitely needed to be a trip somewhere before the year ended. So, Arizona it was. First I stayed with my sister Karen and family for a couple of days in Phoenix. The weather was great (not necessarily by their standards, but definitely by Utah standards, especially since we were in that deep freeze at the time). It's so wonderful to just spend time with them. Karen and Mike and I did go to the local improv comedy club, which was a hoot! I'd share the jokes, except that I don't remember them of course.

Hunter with Stitch, who looks ferocious and like he's not having any fun, but he is (Stitch, that is, not Hunter).

Mike, Karen and Brandon.

On Saturday, Mike was kind enough to give me a ride down to Tucson, where I spent a couple of days with my good friends Tim and Mark. Even if we're just hanging out, Tim always sets up various dinners and cocktail parties, so it's never boring there! We also went to a local street fair, and Mark and I took a trip on the "tram" (ground, not aerial) up a local canyon. By that time, the weather down there had taken a turn for the worse, so it wasn't very busy. The only other people with us were a couple of ladies with a couple of kids. None of them really had any kind of substantial jacket, and one of the ladies had on short shorts. But in spite of the weather, or really, because of it, it was hauntingly beautiful. Also, by the time I came back to Utah the weather had warmed up substantially - still cold, but not bitterly so. So ... good trip!

Thanksgiving Weekend

This Thanksgiving weekend has been a just-about-right mix of family and fun, work and relaxing. Stephanie was once again our hostess (I like to joke that I've managed to go from going to my mom's for Thanksgiving dinner to going to Steph's - skipping right over me), and Kris and Sterling were able to join us as well (their second dinner - I remember those days!).

Kaiya made everyone a name card, mostly by herself - and a tiny bit of help from Mom. She is really moving along in her letters and can sound out most words and write most letters. She's already half-way through her kindergarten work book that I got her for her birthday ... and it's a big one! When we asked her what she wanted for Christmas, she said "a real computer, like Mommy and Daddy's." And don't think she wouldn't notice if it was one of those kid computers!

For some reason, she was having a real love-fest with the napkins. :)

The next morning I went over to watch the kids while Mom and Dad went to play flag football. First we played with playdoh. This is Bluebell, although the only thing blue on her was her eyes.

Alas, Bluebell met a rather violent end.

Teagie sure loves the playdoh too!

Later that night we went on TRAX (me, all the way from West Jordan) to go see the Christmas lights in Temple Square, along with everyone else in the Salt Lake valley. Mickel's dad and stepmom, Dennis and Jaime, also went with us. It was a mild night and a lot of fun. Teagie didn't seem to be feeling well, and was sucking on the inside of his cheeks and drooling a lot. It turns out that he probably has foot and mouth disease. But all in all he was a pretty good sport.

This Thanksgiving holiday, I have much to be thankful for. Especially for my two wonderful daughters. They have each added to my life in immeasurable and unique ways, and I truly believe that I must have done something pretty spectacular in the pre-existence to deserve them in this life! I love you more than words can say, "Annie" and "Rissy." You are the light of my life. And of course I'm thankful for Mickel and Sterling - I couldn't have made better choices for my baby girls. They are both kind and good men. And it goes without saying (because I say it so much anyway), I am thankful for my darling Kaiya and Teague and my angel in heaven, Kade. I am thankful for all my family, who always love and support me unconditionally. I am thankful for all my friends, near and far, who do the same. I am grateful to have a job that is not only a good one, but an inspiring and enriching one. I have a good life, and if I forget to say it, I always know it. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

A Long Month

As mentioned previously, I had two bouts of the (thankfully) fast-moving stomach flu, so I thought perhaps I was done with my share after that. Wrong! Towards the end of October, I came down with what I think was probably H1N1 (didn't get tested or treated, as I'd heard that they weren't doing much on either score). It was unlike any flu I've ever had. The usual symptoms, but also a mental fuzziness that was really the most disconcerting symptom of all. And it just wouldn't let go. To add to the general fun, I had the General Managers meeting fast approaching, so I couldn't afford the fuzziness (thank goodness for Gayle being on my team now, is all I can say). I spent two weekends in a row flat out in bed - including missing Halloween with the kids - but I was still sick when I headed out for the meeting. Thankfully, a couple of days into the meeting I began to feel better. The meetings turned out well, which is amazing given my mental state in the preparation stage. We went out for a lovely dinner at the Capital Grille, and also to the Miami Heat vs. Cleveland Cavaliers basketball game. Unfortunately, the Heat lost the game that night, but it was a good game and it was fun to see Shaq and LeBron play. The announcer even welcomed our group.


Mercy, our Country Manager in El Salvador. We're both having fun being "abuelitas" (grandmas).

The day after those meetings were over, Gayle and I went on a site visit on the MSC Poesia, in preparation for a group sailing on that ship in April, although the itinerary we went on is different than what the group will do. It's no secret that the site visits are the best part of my awesome job, since I'm not taking care of a group, and it's me that's being wined and dined. But - and I know I will get absolutely no sympathy on this point - it's also a bit disconcerting. I'm not really on a vacation, so I feel that I should be working every minute. Which, of course, I don't. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to deal with it!

My cabin had a balcony - always a nice feature on a cruise.

The main swimming area on board - deserted because we were at port in Jamaica. Neither Gayle or I really wanted to go in, as we have both been before. And the high pressure the vendors use there is really not fun at all. But here's a couple of shots from the ship.

The smoke is from one of numerous bonfires made by the residents, I guess for cooking.

Here's a shot of the Poesia as we're going in to Grand Caymen for a little bit of shopping and lunch.

A couple of iguanas in the shopping center.

Grand Caymen port (Georgetown)

The cruise was interesting in that there were 1,300 rock group members and fans aboard in a group called "Shiprocked" (I wasn't clear how the group operates, but their cruise last year was the "Motley Cruise" so I guess it's an annual event that gets a new theme every year). They didn't really share their schedule with the other passengers, but there were several shows. The group sported a LOT of tatoos and long hair, but were very nice and friendly.

At any rate, I am SO glad to be through with being sick and with traveling (except for a small trip coming up to Phoenix and Tucson - in order to keep my Medallion status!). It's almost always sweet to come home. Almost always - I didn't want to leave Maui. :-)

The Playhouse is DONE!

Many years ago, Kristen had a boyfriend who bought her a canvas swing. Most people hang these from a metal stand built for the purpose, but he - wanting to impress her I guess - asked my permission to build what we later came to call the "swing house." I had no idea of the monstrosity he had in mind until it was well under way. Then, before the swing house could be properly finished, the relationship ended. For years, the swing house sat half finished. I stored things in it for winter and it became kind of a catch-all for junk.

Eventually, I decided that it either had to come down, or remade into something else. Since the grandkids were on the scene by then, and not knowing quite what I was getting into, I decided to have it remade into a playhouse. Many dollars and man-hours later (BIG shoutout to Paul the handyman, Sterling, and to Steph and Mickel for their help in painting), the playhouse is officially finished.

New Patio

I had come to realize that I wasn't getting as much enjoyment as I should from my backyard (well, technically it's mostly my side yard). The patio that was there was small, and the very small amount of lawn had not been installed correctly and was lumpy and ugly. One of the lilac bushes had died, and the other made the yard feel even smaller because of it's placement. So I decided to get a much larger patio done, and xeriascape the rest of the backyard. The xeriscaping is yet to be done, but the new patio looks great!


New patio, sans landscaping and the rock wall in the back right corner still needs to be done (you can see the form for it in this picture).

Grammie's Great Babysitting Adventure

Steph and Mickel went to a medical conference in New Orleans, so I took a few days off to stay with my favorite munchkins. After seeing Mom and Dad off at the airport, our adventure was ready to begin!

The next day we went to Lagoon and spent a few hours in Kiddieland. The kids went on a few rides before Kaiya discovered the "Moonraker" and then all selection was over. She loved that ride! And Teague seemed pretty content to go along with her. We would have stayed later but Teagie spilled water all over his pants and it was getting dark and cold, so that was the end of Lagoon day.


Moonraker actually went pretty fast for a kiddie ride, but neither of them seemed fazed by it.

Our busy little bee!

On Sunday night Kaiya came down with a bad case of the stomach flu. Luckily, it was the fast-moving variety, so by Tuesday she felt well enough to go to the Discovery Museum (or Children's Museum, as I still call it). This is such a fantastic place for little ones, with all kinds of imagination-driven activities. Kaiya especially loves the store, and Teagie - of course! - the water feature. Kaiya most definitely did NOT want to leave!

Unfortunately, by Tuesday evening, both Teague and I also came down with the oh-so-icky stomach flu, and that was pretty much the end of the fun part of the whole thing. I was pretty glad to be relieved of duty on Wednesday. You really do forget how much work young children can be. I'm sorry to say that a few days after their return home, Steph and Mickel also fell victim to the flu.

Soccer

For the past three weeks or so, Kaiya has been on a soccer team. So Grammie has been going every Tuesday evening and Saturday morning to her games. She does a great job as goalie, and runs and kicks the ball really good ...

... but sometimes loses track of the fact that there's a game going on ...

Teagie and Mom are always there to cheer her on! Sometimes Daddy is able to make it, and Grandma Linda and Grandpa Mel.

Here's a picture Teagie took of his mom ... it turned out pretty well!

Here's the team picture. Unfortunately, Kaiya refused to get in the picture.