Bob Jones The Bear

In February I went to Idaho Falls for business training.  It was very intense, but fun.  My business partner, Karen, was there of course, as well as two consultants we've been working with - Heather and Kristen - and Karen's sister Laura.  We found a great house to share, and though it didn't look like much on the outside, it had been completely remodeled on the inside.   We found this bear in a hallway at the place we were meeting, so we named him Bob Jones.  Bob Jones the Bear. 

Kaiya and Teague's Newest Sports

The latest sports that Kaiya and Teague have tried are basketball, which, if you know our family, is their mom's game of choice through her school years (through college), and skiing.  As usual, they are both doing great! 

I'll have to get some pictures and/or video from Steph for the skiing.  Kaiya in particular has taken to it like a duck to water, and really loves it.

So, the other day Kaiya told me that she now wants to learn to ice skate.  I jokingly asked her if there is anything in this world that she does NOT want to learn.  She thought it about it very seriously, and came up with this list: she does not want to learn to: 1) build a house; 2) fight a fire; or 3) fight in a war (and die, she always adds).  I guess everything else in the world is possibly on her to do list. 

California Trip

Kris and Sterling gave me a trip to Disneyland for Christmas, so on New Year's Eve (technically, since we got going after midnight, New Year's Day), we began the long drive to California.  Driving mostly during the night made the trip a bit easier on Atty, although I'm not sure how many more times I'm going to make that trip by car.  I told Kris I think I'm flying next time whether she does or not.

Also, unfortunately, we were all sick to varying degrees with some sort of stomach flu - with Sterling and Atty probably having the worst cases.  Fortunately, by the time we arrived in California that morning, the worst seemed to have passed. 

We stayed at a great condo in Oceanside, which was just a short walk to the beach.  It had a full kitchen, two bedrooms and two bathrooms, so it was plenty roomy. 

Atty was pretty happy to have room to run around and play.  We spent some time at the beach, and Atty really loved the water and the sand.  And the birds. 

The next morning Kris and Sterling went to Magic Mountain and Atty and I hung out at the condo and at the beach.  We had lunch at a place that sold the most amazing fish and chips, and played with the ball on the beach. 

The next day we went to Disneyland.  Now, the major reason that we scheduled this trip when we did was that it was (we thought) after the Christmas break, and theoretically should have been during one of the slowest times.  Wrong!  It was more crowded than I have ever seen it before.  I guess that with the good weather, the Rose Bowl featuring teams from fairly close by, the weak American dollar, and holidays falling on the weekend this season, it all converged into a perfect storm of PEOPLE.  You could hardly walk anywhere, and I think we only went on a half dozen rides or so in two days, plus a couple of shows.  It was hard to judge Atty's response to his first trip to Disneyland, because he was always a bit cranky about waiting in line so long by the time we went on anything.  But I still enjoyed D-land, and Atty seemed to really love the Haunted Mansion.  Unfortunately, Kris pulled a muscle or something (lifting and/or holding Atty), so she was in a lot of pain.  The next morning she dropped us off at the park and then went to an instacare place.  It helped, though she was still in pain through the rest of the trip. 

I failed to get very many pictures at the park, but here's a few ...

 

The last one (black with white streaks) is my phone camera's attempt to capture the snowfall they do during the season. 

After our two days at Disneyland, we were going to spend some time in San Diego, and then come back up to the L.A. area to spend a couple more nights.  But since we didn't really have any specific plans for L.A., and Kris was still in a bit of pain, we decided to head down to San Diego for the day, and then drive home that night (thanks anyway for the offer of accommodation, Annette!).  We ended up stopping for lunch and beach time in Ocean Beach, which had a very hippy-kind of vibe, and where they didn't seem to like little kids all that much and where the homeless seem to camp out.  But it was a good lunch (after a bit of a concerted effort to find a place that seemed appropriate; i.e., that would let Atty in the door), and we had some more fun beach time. 

 

 Thanks, Parker's, for the great trip and memories!

Christmas 2011

We've had a fun Christmas season.  Even though I have struggled to find the Christmas spirit this year, having Kris and family here for the holidays definitely helped get me motivated to at least put a tree up!  So, here's a brief summary of what we've been up to ...

Kaiya has been taking violin lessons, in addition to piano.  She is doing really well in both, though she now says that she would rather do the cello than the violin.  Mom says she'll need to stick it out for a few more months, especially now that she's really starting to get the hang of it!  Here she is performing in a recital recently.  P.s. the boy she is playing the duet with is 12 years old!  Kaiya performed in three numbers.

Kaiya and Steph and I were able to go to the Nutcracker this year, and that was really special.  I don't think I've been since Kris was performing in it, and that's been a long while.  The costumes and scenery have all been updated.  I asked Kris to come along as well, but she thought Sterling might be surprising her with it, so she didn't.  He ended up taking her to Las Vegas for second row seats at the Phantom of the Opera instead!  Well, we'll just have to go to the Nutcracker again next year so Kris can go with us. 

So, as I said, Kris celebrated her birthday this month - her 30th!  Having my "baby" be that old certainly does make me feel old!  But I told her (and in total sincerity), I think the best decade is the 30s.  You've figured out stuff, and you're still young.  Since Mickel also has a birthday two days before Kris, we did a joint birthday dinner at Little America (a favorite with Kris at least).  Mel and his other kids were also able to join us, and it was a lot of fun. 

Somehow my artificial tree got buried somewhere when Kris and Sterling moved in (at the back of the stair closet, I think), so I was kind of forced to get a cut tree this year.  Kris and Sterling were kind enough to buy it ... those things are expensive these days!  So we went to a tree lot on the corner of State Street and 90th South.  Now this tree lot is unique in that they had real live reindeer AND Santa AND they were selling hot tubs and frozen halibut.  Very strange. 

Atty wasn't too impressed with Santa ...

These reindeer were trying to eat out of the trough, but their antlers kept getting tangled together.  Neither of them was about to give an inch, so they just butted heads back and forth.  It was pretty amusing to watch. 

We went up to the Zoolights at Hogle Zoo this year (me and the Sharps and Mel).  I haven't been to this before, and it was actually pretty amazing.  I didn't get any pictures (too dark and cold), but here's a commercial version ... (no, I don't know who the people in the pictures are)

The kids came to my house on Christmas Eve, after a day spent visiting Grandma Pyne and Grandma Harward.  Sterling played and sang "Hallelujah" for us, which was a special treat ... as were Kaiya's violin numbers.  Hey, we're edging ever closer to the Pyne tradition of having a full-blown Christmas Eve program.  When I was a kid, we all had to do some kind of talent before we could open one present each on Christmas Eve. 

It was so much fun to have a child around on Christmas morning, even though Atty didn't really wake up until about 10:00 am.  He's a little young yet to get what's going on, but he was sure tickled about all the presents he got!  His favorites, I think, are his shopping cart and his blue basketball. 

Another special treat for me this Christmas was having my good friends Tim and Mark in town.  We went over to Mark's niece Shannon's house on Christmas Day.  It was quite a houseful!  I made a couple of new friends, was entertained by some very soap opera-type stories, had WAY too much good food, and had a chance to catch up with Shannon and her cute girls. 

This is Mark on the left, and Tim on the right.  They have been good, good friends to me over the years.

This darling little girl is Sophia (and her grandma Cory, Mark's niece).  Everyone wanted to steal her and her brother Dominique.  Even Tim.

Tim and Mark stayed with me that night, so we were able to hang out the next day.  We got up late, had a great breakfast, went shopping, and had a great lunch (did I mention that I have eaten entirely too much this month?).  Then yesterday we all (meaning me and my girls and their kids - plus Sterling - Shannon and her girls, and Tim and Mark's friend Mike) met for lunch at Zupas.  I'm sad to see them go so soon, and look forward to a visit in Tucson soon.

The Parkers Move In

Kris and Sterling were blessed to be able to sell their house in Layton.  They both work in the South Jordan area, and that commute was getting a bit old (times 2!).  They won't be getting into another house for a few months, so they're bunking with me in the meantime. 

Moving out ...

And - with most things in storage - moving in ...

From time to time I have thought that perhaps I should sell my place and get something a bit smaller.  Not that my house is huge ... far from it ... but I haven't used the basement in years.  Since the last time one of the girls moved in, as a matter of fact.  It is nice to have the space when the chickees come back home.  Plus, it forced me to clean out the basement! 

More Fun with the Grandkids

I didn't get to see Atticus on Halloween, but his mom brought him dressed in his costume the next day.  What a darling "newsie" don't you think?  Sterling took him out trick-or-treating, and said that Atty was pretty impressed with the whole idea.  Free candy, just for being cute?  No problem!

I went with Steph, Kaiya and Teague to the new Utah Museum of Natural History.  It's quite a place!  There's some "hands-on" types of things for kids, and lots of interesting stuff to look at.  I'd love to go again and really take the time to read everything!

Out on the deck, enjoying the expansive view of the valley (the museum is at Red Butte Gardens).  We left our coats in the car so we wouldn't have to cart them around ... if you can't tell, it was pretty cold!

Here's the kids in a dinosaur track, although it's a little hard to tell.