Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Pun'kin Carving Time

Last night Devan and I talked Ksenia into carving pumpkins with us. This was her very first time carving pumpkins. She was being so cute. We showed her how to cut open the top wide enough to fit her hand in for cleaning. When she finally got the top off she didn't like all the guts inside that you have to clean out. Unfortunately for her, she happened to pick out an especially juicy pumpkin. She had pumpkin guts all over her hand. Devan carved a little Kitty. I carved a little boy and a little girl. And Ksenia carved a silly face.



Sunday, October 26, 2008

A Simple Life

I love it when I get a chance to enjoy the simple things in life, such as spending time with friends and family. As most people in Utah know, right now "The Hunt" is going on. I'm lucky enough to see my dad twice while he was down here hunting. When it comes to family, the things I enjoy the most are the simple things. Sitting on the couch watching TV together or driving around and talking top the list of great things to do with my dad. Last weekend I was able to spend some time with Massiel, Sarah & Megan while the boys were hunting. We all went out to eat and them came home a watched a movie. After the movie we all went to sleep. Sarah slept with me and we spent 2 hours talking. I hope Sarah knows how much I appreciate her listening to me. She knows so much about me...and has for so long. I enjoy listening to the things going on her life. It is good to have such a great friend.

Like I said before, the boys were up hunting. Devan, Garald, Sam, Price, Lance and Zeb all went up Friday night and camped towards the top of Lone Peak. What a wonderful thing to be able to spending time with friends & family, enjoy the outdoors and being able to provide for your family all at the same time. In such turbulent times as this, it is great to know that we are able to provide for ourselves. Sam was able to shoot a deer. Now he and Massiel will have ground meat for a good portion of the next year. What a wonderful source for food storage.


Normally I try to keep my blogging to what's going on in my life. However, while I'm sitting here blogging about the simple things that I enjoy, I feel compelled to also write about my opinions. I AM SO SICK OF ALL THE STUPID, DUMB, ASININE POLITICS OUR COUNTRY IS GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW!!! What ever happened to simple things in our country. *Getting into houses we can reasonably afford. *Only loaning money to people who can reasonably afford them. *Standing for a marriage being between man and woman. *BEING GOOD PEOPLE. I look at the 2 candidates running for President and I can not relate to either of them. Neither of them represent what is best for America, they both represent what is best for themselves and their party. The government is stepping in to bail out lending institutions that gave out loans that they never should have given out. I think this bailout is exactly what is wrong with politics today. I agree that it should have been done...but they had to attach how many ridiculous "add-ons" in order to get people to vote for it? Here is an idea, vote yes or no based on what you honestly think is best for the country, not because they added on giving money to a certain organization that maybe you lobby for. We need politicians that believe in the same things our grandparents believed in...the same morals and beliefs that our founding fathers believed in.
Here is my idea...vote Ginny Gregory for President. Here is my platform: Reward the middle class for all their hard work with tax breaks, rewards big and small businesses and major corporations for how well they pay their employees and whether or not they provide them with health insurance. Arrest the CEO's and all those getting filthy rich off our high oil prices simply because they are bad people. Enforce a "do unto others as you would have them do to you" rule. Oh ya...and we definitely would start having siestas. Everyone needs a good nap once in a while. Hee Hee.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Alaska The Beautiful

At the end of August my wonderful family all went on an Alaskan cruise. Devan parents made it a retirement goal to take all of their kids and their kids spouses on an Alaskan cruise. And thank goodness for that goal!!! I was also fortunate enough to be able to talk my parents into coming. The lovely ladies down the road, Loe & Evelyn,(long time friends with the Gregory's were also able to come. The total count for our cruise party was 20 people. We were a sight where ever we went. We all met at the Salt Lake Airport at 4:30 am on Saturday, August 23rd. We met up with my parents in the Vancouver, Canada airport. We cruised on the Sapphire Princess boat...it was huge and beautiful. We all had rooms with balconies...all lined up in a row. We opened up the dividers and had one long balcony in which we could roam free. This proved to awesome except for early in the morning when people would come and knock on our window to wake us up to tell us that we had finally come in to port.

Instead of trying to post all of the pictures on this blog...click on my Flickr link and see them all lined up. We did so many great things on our vacation. The scenery was gorgeous. I thought that maybe it would look a lot like Oregon. I could not have been more wrong. I have seen the the shoreline of the Pacific coast, and I have seen the high, snowy mountain tops of Utah. But nothing could ever compare to the rugged, majestic, and picturesque beauty of Alaska. It truly is a sight that I think everyone should see at least once.

The trip was amazing. It was a much needed rest from normal life. I think it was exactly was my parent's, Devan, and myself all needed. The scenery was wonderful, the food was delicious, but the company was as great as it could have possibly been. I am blessed to have such a wonderful family. After 8 days and 7 nights, we all still got along. No one was yelling at each other.
Thank you Garald and Nyla for taking us on the vacation of a life time. The memories created will stick with us for the rest of our lives.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Life After Death

I haven't been in much a "blogging" mood lately. However, I feel that I need to write something happier. I wrote my last blog while I was back in Oregon, only a few days after Charlie died. It was somber, sad, and devastating...but understandably so. But I need to tell everyone that I am not sad all the time...Yes, I do cry a lot still...but we are trying to make good memories so that the days go by a little easier. Right now I am in my basement dwelling watching the BYU football game with family and friends, who might as well be family.

The grandest thing we have done since "The Incident" was go to Alaska. However, I will blog about it next. That is a story all in itself. We have been busy lately trying to get our house ready to build, working, and rock climbing. Devan and Price have been to trying to do more mountain biking and are usually accompanied by either Russ or Callie.

Russ also spent one Saturday utilizing Devan's welding expertise. Last year Russ rolled his four-wheeler and scrunched it into a ball of plastic and steel. After much work, it is starting to resemble an ATV again.

My parents are doing as well as can be expected. Becky and kids are living with them for time being until she can get into her own place. It is weird to think that life goes on. We all still want to stay home and pay respect to Charlie by thinking only of him...24/7. But we can't!!! There is life after death. We have gone back to work...back to the hum drum of our every day lives. It is a weird feeling that I wish I could express. We all continue to progress here in our earthly state...being tested...sometimes by things that we think there is no way we can handle them. I try to think of all the great things in my life that I should be thankful for. I have a wonderful husband and a great family. My friends are wonderful and very near and dear to my heart. I still have a job...and let's face it...in this economy, that is a miracle all in itself. I have many things to make me happy...and so I try to focus on them. This picture for example makes me laugh out loud.

I think my cat is yawning, but I prefer to think that she is sticking her tongue out at that camera.
Some words of advise to end this hopefully happier blog. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS tell those that you love that you "love them." Both my parents and myself were fortunate in that the last words we all ever said to Charlie were "I Love You." REMEMBER HUGS. The last physical contact I had with Charlie was a hug. I gave him a huge hug when he was leaving to go back home to Oregon. Those 2 things give me great peace of mind. I am blessed to have those memories of him just as much as I was blessed to get to live with him and know him for 24 years.