Man, What a Week!!

Okay, so I hate to complain cause everybody has a crazy life, but sometimes you just have to sit back and say "Why us?!" So for your enjoyment and amusement, and because I need some enjoyment and amusement and I figure if Lynn's sister Connie sees these pictures Blake is dead, I am posting these pictures of the 3 rooms our guests have been staying in. Now those of you who know me well will understand how hard it has been for me to just close the doors and not go in and make beds and clean the rooms up, but I have done it. The guys have had fun and on Wednesday the Laurels came over to tie blankets and boy, were they excited to see 6 young men here from Utah. In fact tonight they all went to the beach for a bonfire and are on the way here to get in the spa. So, tomorrow they leave, I'll fumigate the rooms, and life will get back to normal!

More Wedding Plans!

Just a quick post before I leave for the office- Lynn was awarded three jobs yesterday- two in Arizona, one in Colorado- and is bidding I think three more this week, so everything is hurry, hurry! These pictures are from last week when we went to the caterers to taste food. I know it looks like Whit and Ryan are drinking wine, but it's a great sangria nonalcoholic punch. The food was really good and keeping with the Tommy Bahama theme they decided on island chicken, tri-tip with bbq sauce, Mediterranean grilled vegetables, and garlic mashed potatoes. We are having assorted fruits and vegetables along with a bunch of different tray passed hors douerves(sp?). We all really like the caterer Andy and he seems to understand us which is quite a miracle! Ryan's mom Karen was there but I didn't get any pictures of them with her. Today Whit and I are meeting a lighting guy at the arborteum so we can over what we want where. I met with the dress maker on Saturday so the bridesmaid dresses are going- they are hopefully going to be very cute and summery- they are a pretty apple green with cap sleeve, fitted top, full skirt and a satin sash. The invitations are all ordered, flowers started, cake finished, all in all I think we're pretty on top of stuff. So I hope that Chelsea, Mandy, Aunt Debbie, Aunt Marcia, and my friend Karen are all a little less anxious that I'm not getting organized- I even have lists and a whole book dedicated to the wedding! Gotta go and yes, the boys are all still here!

Our Crazy Life!

So life has been out of control as usual! Lynn seems to be doing okay- he flew up to the bay area on Tuesday and I think he's been struggling to feel 100% since then. He's still coughing and wheezing and exhausted, but hopefully he can get a little more rest this week. The stores got finished and everyone survived- BARELY!!

Lindsey flew home Thursday with her roommate Michele- she told her teachers her dad was really sick and she felt that she needed to go home to see him. I kept wondering today how she explained to her teachers today her sunglass tan, but I'm sure she had a great story. Whit and Ryan spent the weekent here to so it was pretty fun to have them all around. I bought Lindsey and Whitney a cookbook about cupcakes for Christmas so the two of them decided to make their dad some- Ultimate Crumb and Butterscotch Banana. It was cute to see the two of them working away together and the finished products were really good.

We dropped them off at the airport about 6 on Sunday night and arrived home just in time to meet Lynn's nephew Blake from Utah who was waiting at our gate with 5 (yes 5) of his friends to spend the week with us. The house is bursting at the seams, will share more later. I'm getting a little panicked everytime I open my blog and see those countdowns on the top of my page-EEK!!

My New Shoes!

When I was up in Utah Lindsey and I went shopping (what a surprise!) and I bought these shoes. I love wearing them- the other day I wore them and was looking down as I was walking watching them and I almost tripped! Then when I got in the car the other night to go somewhere with Lynn I was so busy admiring them I forgot to do my safety belt! I'm worried that I've become obsessed with them

TWISTIES AND TURNIES

Thanks Mandy for the great countdowns- I have to admit it's made me a little stressed though when I see how quick everythings going to be happening!

This is Whitney and her friend Sydney watching TV last night, they've been friends since they met in elementary school in 6th grade. They've been through LOTS and LOTS of adventures together and it's been so fun since Whit has been home from school that we get to see Sydney more. They used to spend hours in the pool planning productions they would do for Jon called "Twisties and Turnies". When Jon and Mandy started dating they were both 12 and I think they had little crushes on him. I think he just enjoyed having little sisters to tease! It was so sweet to me last night when I went downstairs and they were cuddled on the couch together, eating peanut butter M & M's- it made me sad too cause I relized how soon Whitney will be marrying Ryan and won't be in the bedroom around the corner from ours! It's really starting to sink in for Lynn that his baby is leaving- he said yesterday as sad as he is that she's getting married he'd been even sadder if Ryan wasn't in her life. It's what you hope for, pray for, and work for with your children- that they grow and mature and find someone to share their lives with, but I have to tell you that there are nights we wish we could open her bedroom door and see our little girl with her pixie haircut tucked into bed!

An Even WORSE Sunday!

So, after I kept telling Lynn to buck up and that his temperature would eventually go down, it started to go up an hour after taking three tylenol. So when it reached 102.8 and his chest was making very strange noises- kinda like an alien- we decided it might be a good idea to take him to the er. Of course by then it was 11 at night so you know what the hospital was like- crazy!! They got him right in and took a chest x-ray and of course it was pneumonia. It kinda reminded me of when I didn't take Whitney to the hospital when she broke her arm cause I thought she could shake it off- okay, that might have been a bad mom moment but she never lets me forget it. Anyways, they gave him a breathing treatment and when that didn't work they put him on a continuous treatment with a face mask. Was I worried about how he was doing? No, all I could think about was that I didn't have my camara and what a great picture it would have made on my blog. Does that make me a bad wife? So after a few hours we got to leave, stop at the all night pharmacy at 3 in the morning- kinda scary- for his 5 prescriptions, and get him home in bed. He's doing much better and next time I'll listen better when he says he thinks he's dying.

Crummy Saturday

Poor Lynn- he went from just a cold to the horrible awful virus that Whit had. His temperature has been 101.4 since last night and he can't seem to get it to break. At about two this morning he started to cough and I started to think maybe he has that type of pneumonia that Jim Hensen died from in like 24 hours- that's me, always rushing right to panic!! So while Ryan, Whitney and I got lunch and went to Cooper's baseball game- he didn't play, but it was still fun- Lynn stayed home and layed on the bed with Trixie, who I think might be having sympathy pains. I've covered him up with the sick sheet, called and told them he won't be there to give the prayer at the Stake Leadership Meeting, and now we're all in the bedroom keeping him company- Ryan's working on the computer, Whit's doing puzzles, and I'm going to watch the BYU-UNLV basketball game. Hopefully by tomorrow he'll be feeling much better!

Walking with Trixie

This morning Lynn was getting ready to go work out and I was getting to go to my all girl gym when I said why don't we just go for a walk instead? The weather is amazing (sorry all you people that live in the yuck) and Lynn is getting this nasty cough-cold-sore throat thing so I knew he shouldn't push himself so off we went. At this point Trixie figured out we were going somewhere together- she started doing her circles, always counterclockwise of course- and we decided to take her along. Now girls, before you start saying what about Emmie, we knew she wouldn't be able to make it down the street, so daddy smuggled Trixie out of the house while I gave Emmie a dog cookie. She was happy laying in the backyard crunching away. It was such a nice morning in the midst of the craziness of work right now- poor Lynn is trying to turn over two stores in the Fremont this week and it's been phone calls till midnight the past several days. We love our neighborhood with it's walking trails and scented dog poo bags- who ever thought of that?! Of course no walk would be complete without me stepping off the path wrong and falling all the way to the ground- Lynn helped me up and his only comment was "You and Mandy, brother". I was so sad though cause I took my camera to take pictures and my battery was dead! So sorry, these are old pics of the dogs. After we got home he even took the time to sit in the backyard with me so we could enjoy a bowl of Special K with strawberries- it is seriously the best cereal- and the dogs got to have the cereal milk. All in all a wonderful, great, awesome Thursday morning. So Lynn's off to the office, I'm doing a couple of things here at home then I'm heading to the office, but it was fun for a bit to pretend the world wasn't beating down our door. Isn't it funny that a little thing like a walk and a shared bowl of cereal could make a day so great!!

Yummy Cake Tasting!

So tonight was our night to go to the bakery and taste the different kinds of cakes, frostings, and fillings for Whit and Ryan's wedding cake. Ryan and his mom Karen drove up from San Clemente and Whit's friend Sydney came. Dad was excited cause he actually got to go- not to help pick out, but to taste all the different kinds! We tried lemon, marble, and chocolate cakes with lots and lots of fillings. They picked out a great style that's very Whitney with lots of yummy flavors- marble, chocolate, with bavarian creme, ganache, raspberries, and german chocolate fillings (not all together, of course!). One more thing down, lots more to plan!

Our Daughter- the Sunday School Teacher

So, I felt like this part of our weekend needed it's own post. Lynn and I had the chance to go to church with Lindsey this weekend and see her teach her Sunday school class- Gospel Doctrine. We love going to church in Provo- Lynn always says it's like swimming through hormones when you have to walk through all the kids! Lizzy's lesson was about the Sermon on the Mount and she did a great job- very articulate and poised. We loved when she used an object lesson to explain Moses' law from a family home evening lesson and the young man she had help her must have been 6'4"- he was not supposed to be able to step up on a table without help from a chair- of course he could with his long legs! It was pretty funny, but she handled it well and just said it probably would have been more effective done by little kids! Towards the end of the lesson the young man sitting next to me leaned over and told me Lindsey was the best teacher they had and was always so animated and had the best stories. It was great seeing her share her love of the gospel and especially the scriptures- she really used them well and often. It was an awesome part of the weekend and one we're so glad we got to experience!

A Great Weekend!

We had such a fun weekend! We went to Utah for our friend's Kim and Gaye Brown's son Clayton's wedding. It was great to see how happy he is and his bride Amanda seems like she has been a great influence on him. I love going to weddings and seeing the joy and excitement the new couple have as they start their life together- I wish I could feel that way everyday! It was great to catch up on old friends too- I still love our old neighbors and miss that part of our life.

So, we find out while we are there that our friend Kim's "little surgery" was really triple bypass! Lynn and are are so happy that he's doing well and pray that he continues to get strong and healthy. And next time Gaye better call me and go into a little better detail when something like this happens!

I love this picture- how great it was to see Pat and Gaye! They have always been such sweet examples to me of how to live my life and I'm grateful to have had the chance to know them. Talking to Lynn on the way home we were both saying how the relationships we had with families was so different when we lived in Utah than the relationships we've had with families here in California- maybe it was the time in our life or just the difference between places, but it was great to see them again.

Off We Go!

So, we're getting ready to fly to Utah today for the weekend and I'm feeling really bad about going- Whitney came down with the ugly virus that's going around is pretty sure she's going to die or at least come really close! This picture is of when she got her wisdom teeth out, but it pretty much sums up how she feels and looks. When we were at the doctor yesterday she was sitting in a chair and he looked over at her and realized she was starting to faint so he made me get off the table (more later on why I was there) so she could lay down- pretty sad. So I'm leaving my physically sick child home to visit my emotionally bankrupt child- okay maybe that's extreme about Lizzy, but I couldn't resist. AND Chelsea called last night and she's overwhelmed with school and work and needs her closets cleaned and everyone knows it is the one thing in my life I am truly amazing at- having clean closets- that I feel bad not going there. AND Mandy is big and pregnant and could use some packing help and what am I doing? Running off to play with their dad for the weekend- oh and go to Gaye's son's wedding!

SO, about my trip to the doctor too- I've had these bites all over my body for the last week or so that are starting to meld into a rash kinda thing. It's pretty itchy, not to mention annoying so Lynn made an appointment for me to see Dr. B when Whit did- he knew I never would. So, turns out they might be flea bites but no animals in the house currently have fleas so I'm pretty sure I have the horrible purple rash my friend Karen had a couple of years ago. It was the most awful rash I've ever seen- it kinda looked like that flesh eating thing- and I've seen my share of rashes having four children! This is her and I on our trip to the South Pacific when we ran away and left our families. These were some young men that tried to convince us to stay and live with them in a grass hut on the beach, but in the end our guilt called us back. She survived the purple rash, I hope I do too!!

Our Emma

So, I think I showed great restraint by not talking about Emma until my fourth entry. I'm not just saying this cause I'm the Grammie, but really, honestly, she is AMAZING!! I never thought you could love a child more than you love your own children, but sorry girls, you kinda love your grandchildren more. Maybe in a sort of hmmm, let me think how to put it- you are more in awe of how great childhood is when you don't have to correct, discipline or force your grandchild to do anything. You realize how precious every little thing is about it- it's like when you're in the midst of raising your own children that joy somehow gets lost in the everyday confusion of life. It's not that I didn't find great joy in my children- let's face, I pretty much had the time of my life each and everyday with the girls (except for certain times that I've sorta blocked out- like when you have shock therapy and you can't remember the bad), but maybe with Emma it's a little sweeter cause we realize how quickly it all goes by. So, I'm feeling a little wistful tonight that my own children can't climb up on my lap all warm in their jammies and smelling like baby lotion with their blanket and favorite book for me to read to them, but grateful beyond belief that I have an Emma that can!