Black Lung, Hantavirus, Hyperglycemia & Summer Fever

Even though I am probably dying,
I'm not going to miss out on RaNDoM THouGHT TueSDaY!
Thank heavens Stacy is carrying on where Keely left off.

Read. Comment.  And then go give Stacy some love!

* So........the New York trip.........
Now THAT was a trip!
I'll have to give you all the details later.
But I will tell you that I'm pretty sure I have the Black Lung because I must have sucked up at least 3 packs a day worth of second hand smoke.
LaGuardia is NOT an airport you would like to spend SEVEN hours in.
And if you ever need to know where a good bakery is, I can HOOK YOU UP!


* Memorial Day!
How did you celebrate?
Hike?
Picnic?
Barbecue?
Go to the pool?


Us? Now, we know how to party!
We cleaned out our shed. 
For some reason, the boys thought that just opening the door and setting whatever they were sent to the shed with, down on the floor was a good idea....all winter long!
Thus, we could not open the door.
However, every wild animal in the state must have been able to get in the door and evidently chose to spend the winter there.
I will not gross you out, but I probably have Hantavirus!


*While celebrating Memorial Day,
I rolled up my sleeves (to get to work of course!)


Brian: "I didn't know you had shoulders."
Huh?  Wait....I'm just now getting it.

Parker: "Ahhh....sun's out, gun's out!"
Yep that's it!


* We did celebrate the Memorial Day Weekend with grad parties.
My cute niece graduated!

There was a surprise visit by our neighbors - Elizabeth & Armie.

No, this is not how they came to the party.
They were in town for a wedding.


* Armie is getting ready to film Snow White.
He will play Prince Charming.
Julia Roberts will play the Evil Queen.


But wait.......after that he will play the Lone Ranger with Johnny Depp as Tonto.
Really!


* I probably have Hyperglycemia from hanging out at the Candy Bar and overindulging in Sugar Cookies at my niece's party. 


As if that weren't enough,
Brian whipped up a batch of Blonde Brownies AND a batch of Homemade Brownies last night.
If I die, I will die happy!


* We have Summer Fever here!
It's the LAST week of school.
Finals are Thursday, Friday and Monday.
Parker is so set on getting done, he's arranged to take his Monday finals early.
He refuses to go back after the weekend.
Yippee for Summer!

Garrett's First Letter Home

Last week, we took Garrett (now Elder Cox) to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT.  He will spend the next 9 weeks learning Romanian and then he will take off to Romania for the remainder of his two year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He was excited and nervous when we took him.  Who wouldn't be?
I knew he was nervous and didn't know what to expect.  I knew he was worried about that he wouldn't be able to learn the language.
Since we dropped him off,
I have been praying that he would be comfortable there and be at peace.
Yes, I could pray that the language would be EASY.
But that wouldn't be fair to him.  I don't want to take any learning experiences away from him.

Here's his his first letter -

                  

RaNDoM Thoughts - It's the LEAST I can do!

Do we still do RaNDoM around here?
Is Keely still on hiatus?  Is Stacy still picking up the slack?
We'll see!


* Right now, I am on an airplane headed to NYC.
It's a little last minute trip.
I'm not a last minute person.
We have NO idea what we are going to do while there.
THIS should be interesting.
Should we see Wicked, Lion King or Jersey Boys?
Am I the ONLY one in the free world who has NO interest in Wicked?

* We received our FIRST letter from Garrett since dropping him off at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah last week.  Normally, the missionaries email once a week, but they have them WRITE <- does anybody DO that anymore? a letter home the first night telling their parents that they are safe and sound.

I'll share that later this week!

* Not a week goes by that Brian and I don't look at each other and ask
"Is Justin still dead?"
(It's only been two months.  Maybe we'll eventually process it and get it into our heads.)

But GOOD NEWS!
He's evidently NOT dead!!!
We got this email from his email account on Sunday.

"Hi! How are you getting on? I’m fine. I have rid of my problems due to this on-line pharmacy.... http://www.stadcopolyproducts.com/friends_links.php?bampage=50i0"

Wow!  Those are some drugs!!!  They bring people back from the dead!  Amazing........
and ironic!

* My mom is doing SO well with her chemotherapy that they have moved her Bone Marrow Transplant up a couple of months.  I know.  That doesn't sound like good news but it means that after just a few months of chemo, her test results are looking so good, she can move on to the next phase of treatment.
Look how cute she is -

* I have to admit.  I'm a little bit disappointed that the whole Rapture thing didn't work out.  I was debating paying the American Express billl.  Good thing I went ahead and paid.

WHERE Have I Been?

Holy Cow!
I haven't blogged in a LONG time.  Where have I been?  Mostly right here!
And it's not that I haven't had a lot to say! 
The time has just gotten away from me and there was so much to do.........blogging had to take a backseat. 
In fact, cupcake eating took a backseat.  THAT'S how busy it's been!

So.......what have I been doing?
Well, I helped Garrett get ready for his mission.
There's a two page list of things to purchase.
Some lines just list a single item like
Two Suits.........or
10-12 White Shirts.
Check!

But then some lines say
Medical supplies- including bandaids, antibiotic cream, anti itch cream, anti diarrhea medication, vitamin C, Tylenol, an ace bandage, fiber pills, on and on and on.
No lie!  All those things were listed in one little category.
Do you know how many trips we made to WalMart?

So it took awhile to collect the flashlight, umbrella, 13 pairs of socks, nail clippers, scissors, pens and stationery, stamps, journal, travel alarm clock, batteries, exercise clothes,
and get the Typhoid shot and one last trip to the dentist.
Phew!!!

Oh and while that was going on, Brian and I were still planning the Pioneer Trek for 500 and I was staving off a coup.  Really.
I have been BEGGING for SOMEONE to step up and replace me as the Lacrosse Booster Club President for FIVE years.  This year, I announced that it was my LAST year at every meeting.
Then, I found someone to replace me and I was planning on attending my last meeting a couple of weeks ago and..............someone came forward saying that THEY wanted to be the President and they had a recruited several others to serve in various positions.

When I told her that we already had someone to be President, but that we would love for her to be Vice President, she stated that it was "all or nothing."  What about your friends?  Would they like to serve in open positions?  Nope!  "They only want to work with me."
So my quick and easy meeting turned into full fledged election.
Guess what?
President #1 won and the "All or Nothing Lady" decided to take the VP position.
She'll be great at it.

Anyway.......I'm babbling.
I'm back and I'll try to post more regularly....and I'll try to get by and catch up on what is going on with all of you!
But I'm leaving tomorrow for a few days.
Figures!

Happy Mother's Day!

This is a must see video!
I've shared it before, but it still makes me laugh until I cry.
If you are a mom of boys, or a mom, or are an aunt or help parent boys or know any kids at all, it will make you laugh.
It's in true Mother's Day fashion!

Garrett's SUPER FUN Weekend

Well, well, well, I have sooooooooo much to talk about!
Hmmm......mission preparations? Mother's Day?  the Post Office?  Garrett & Megan's super fun weekend?

Last weekend was a whirlwind of FUNNESS!

Garrett's friend Megan came to town to say, "Goodbye" before he leaves on his mission.
Megan's parents were kind enough to let her fly over from Provo.
Garrett had everything all planned out.  He even arranged for Megan to stay at my brother's house (two doors away) to relieve any parental anxiety.

I have never seen anyone pack so much fun into 72 hours!

Thursday afternoon, as soon as Megan arrived, Garrett wanted to go to a craft store and buy Megan a princess crown and decorate it.  He wanted her to wear it all weekend.  She said, "No."

So, they decided to make cookies

 I helped!

 We made these BLOWOUT COOKIES from Simply So Good, Garrett's friend's mom's recipe blog.

 We all made a delicious grilled dinner and then they built a fire in the firepit.  They were too full for the S'mores.

Friday, they took a picnic and decided to hike up Red Rocks.

They went by Grandma Carol's house to visit her and introduce Megan to her.
Then they came home and went to the Rockies game.  It was freezing and the Rockies got killed.  Look how disappointed these two were.

 They are obviously miserable.  Saturday, they went to Build-A-Bear.

Then they came to Parker's last lacrosse game.

 We all went to Mt. Fuji for some teppanyaki cooking.  Parker's is "enthralled."

 Megan finally put on the crown..........and a mustache.  Isn't she darling.........and a good sport?

 They went on a group date to a skating rink in the ghetto.

Oh!  Look who took a date! (besides Garrett)

And then Sunday came too quickly.  We all went to church and Garrett took Megan back to the airport.
A good time was had by all.
Tears were shed.

I know!  I haven't been posting as regularly.
Things around here are beyond CRaZY!
I DO have a lot to say.........I just don't have the time.

But who doesn't have time to kick it with a little Wee Bit of Me Wednesday?
Go on over to My Leigh Ashley and link up!

{one} when was the last time you used a pay phone (if ever)?

Wow!  I don't remember but back in the day.........22 years ago.......we used to go to dinner and a movie for "date night."  We would leave the phone number for the restaurant and the theater for the babysitter.  When we got to the movie theater, I would have Brian call home (from a pay phone) and check in with the babysitter.  I never wanted to make the call because I didn't want to hear Trammell crying (if he was.)

{two} did you ever fail a subject in school?

I didn't fail but I did horribly in Geometry.  I was doing so poorly that the teacher thought I was cheating.  Wait, if I was cheating, wouldn't I be doing well?  Anyway, I NEVER took math after that.  In college, I tested out of math........I guess I must have known enough math to test out.

{three} where do you go to get your favorite hamburger/cheeseburger?

Hmmm......I don't have a favorite.

{four} have you ever served jury duty?

Several years ago, I received a jury summons.  Coincidentally, so did my BFF and the secretary at the middle school!  We all had to go in at the same time on the same day.  Because we ran volunteered at the middle schoolso much, the principal said that the first one kicked out had to come back to the school and answer the phones.  He knew all of us really well and knew NO ONE would want us on their jury.

{five} how old were you when you moved out of your parents’ house?

I guess when I went to college.  Sure, I came back for the summers, but I was basically gone.  Oh, and after graduation and marriage, because we moved around to all kinds of hideous places, I came back for the summers WITH MY CHILDREN!  Thanks mom and dad!

{six} what is your favorite color to wear?

I don't have a favorite color to wear, but I like bright colors like turquoise and hot pink.

{seven} do you have a pair of shoes that you wear all the time?

Not really.
I do like my Ed Hardy tennis shoes.
Look what I am wearing today -

{eight} do you enjoy talk radio?

Nope.  Not at all.

{nine} if you could turn one unhealthy food into a healthy one, what food would it be?

Cupcakes, bacon and potato chips with Coke ARE healthy.........aren't they?

{ten} who is the best speaker you’ve ever heard in person?

Tough one.  We have a lot of great speakers at church.  I loved to listen to Gordon B. Hinckley.

I love Thomas S. Monson's stories about helping widows.

And Dieter Uchtdorf is very inspiring!

Well, that's all I got!
Have a great day!