November 27, 2010: A Belated Birthday

For John's birthday, I wasn't able to get him what I had wanted--and what I thought HE wanted. So a few weeks later, my favorite spa had a special, so I was finally able to get John what he had always wanted: a massage! But even better, it was buy one, get one free, so I got one too! I also scheduled pedicures.

It was the day before the big surprise and he said to me, "I'm okay with whatever it might be, as long as it's not a massage." What??? The whole time we've been married, he has always said that he wanted one. And now, when I finally have this great surprise ready, he said he doesn't want one? I assured him that he would love it and that there was also going to be a pedicure, hoping that would lessen the anxiety.

He was relieved to find that we were in the same room, and that since it was only 30 minutes, they would only work back and shoulders. It was no gen-teel massage. In fact, both of us were pretty sore for a few days. Next was the pedicure, which he really enjoyed. In fact, I think if there's another BOGO on them, we'll go back.

After our spa day, I took him to one of my favorite restaurants: Spark. It was a great way to spend the day.

October 15, 2010: John's Birthday Celebration

Today is my sweetheart's 44th birthday. Rather than celebrate with a birthday cake, it's a birthday pie (banana cream) and a pot roast in the crock pot. I'm gaining a little more confidence in my pie-making skills, so I was impressed that it actually tasted good! (The same is true of my bread and roll-making skills.)

Happy birthday, dear! Thank you for all you do for our family every day: sacrificing your time and energy to support us financially; sacrificing the time when you'd rather be relaxing after a hard day's work going to a concert, or presentation, or some other child-related event; and sacrificing peace and quiet for a wife that's a social butterfly. I love you very, very much.

Excellence in Education Volunteer Recipient

Each year, a teacher is chosen to receive what was formerly "The Golden Apple" award and a luncheon is held recognizing all the recipients in the Orem area. This year, I guess the award was changed to the "Excellence in Education" award and they also recognize a Volunteer of the Year. I was selected as the representative from Westmore Elementary.

So John, the teacher recipient (Cherise Burke) and her guest, PTA president (and former YW president) Marchele Oldham, PTA president-elect Brooke Price, and principal Barry Beckstrand joined us for the luncheon and awards presentation. The volunteers were called up and given a tile with the words, "Live to Serve, Serve to Live" on it and given a round of applause. (John thought maybe it should be a doormat instead of a tile since we probably all get walked on and over all the time.)

A True Milestone

Twenty years ago today, I was sealed for time and all eternity to my beloved husband, John. Twenty years flew by. I had a bit of a freak-out when it was my 20th high school reunion. I felt old. (Next year is my 25th.) But I don't feel like I've been married for 20 years! I realize that I have a 19-year-old, but somehow I don't relate that to me.

That morning, Mom took John and I over to the Washington DC temple. We were there a little before 5 if I remember correctly. I can't guarantee that I remember much of anything correctly these days, so.... I remember Chris and Kim filming us getting ready. I was grumpy and a bit rude to everyone around me. If nothing else, I've grown up a little. It was a cold day and we were the first of 89 sealings that day. I was rushed from room to room, and since I wasn't changing into a wedding dress, I was not given the opportunity to go into the Bride's Dressing Room. Now, if you know me, you know I'm still a little bitter about it. When the temple was open for touring before it was dedicated, I remember Mom and I walking into it and she whispered into my year, "Someday, you'll get to get dressed in this very room." Well, I didn't. I should probably build a bridge and get over it, but it still smarts. (Maybe I haven't grown up that much.)

What have I learned? Well, I wear a lot less makeup than I used to. I look horrible with bangs. I've gained 10 pounds and have a different shape. I still can't say, "No," but I am learning slowly and quietly how to share my opinion. I straighten my hair or wear it naturally curly, depending on how the day is going. I get my eyebrows waxed and periodically, will color my hair. I still hate to exercise, but still love to dance.

After all these years, we still laugh a lot, but now we include our children. We know each other well enough to know what one or the other of us will or won't want to do. We've been through sorrow, loss, success, joy, and contentment. And it has flown by. By the time our 40th rolls around, I'll be 62. I wonder how much will have changed by then?

The Winter Solstice Viking Feast (a few days early)

You may remember that Ian was invited to attend my nephew's summer Viking Feast. This time, John, Maggie and Ian were invited for the winter feast. I stayed home with Griffin and tended to the annual 1200 piece mailing I do each Christmas while Griffin finally got to watch his shows on the downstairs television. (He'd been denied access to all the TVs while we were all doing different things. Ellie was at a birthday party.)

Here are a few pictures.

Joseph and His Coat (November 12-13)

It has been a month (really?) since my last post. Our ward has been involved in a production of "Joseph and His Coat" since October and it has taken up a majority of our time. (I did stall on posting about it because I was waiting for pictures. I wish there were some of Griffin who did the robot during the dance portion and also gave the big "Broadway finish" that everyone was looking for.) Griffin and Ellie were in the kids' chorus, Maggie was one of the wives/dancers, Ian was the technical director, and I was one of the narrators. John provided emotional support as needed and came to both of our performances.

I was thrilled to have Chris Hopkins in attendance at our Saturday performance, as well as John's parents, 2 of his sisters and their families, and a niece who is attending the Y. As thrilled as I was to be one of the narrators, the time, energy, and brain space was a bit overwhelming. It was a great experience for everyone, but I think we're all glad that it's over.

Here are the pictures. This was performed in a church cultural hall and I think we all know that the lighting in there always wreaks havoc with the quality, but I think these turned out fairly well.

Birthdays

Since Griffin's birthday is mid-week and John's is while we are in PA, I decided that today was the day to celebrate them both. Griffin had his party between conference sessions. It was a "Bakugan vs. Star Wars" party with my friend, Cherise, once again decorating the cake. She truly is gifted! Although she will say it was a team effort, I only baked the cake and filled and frosted it. She handpainted it with the characters and molded the fondant on top into Darth Vader.(Okay, Blogger and I are having a tug-of-war uploading pictures, so they are all in the wrong order.)

John was taking pictures of the cake with my camera and I just couldn't resist the opportunity to give him his first present: a Canon Rebel. He started snapping his own pictures around the house while I coralled the kids in and outside and then prepped the cake for candles.

He'll get his second present tonight after I pick it up from Salt Lake. Here's hoping he likes his second one as much as the first!

From Early Morning til Late at Night

At 4 o'clock Friday morning, John started throwing up violently. At 5, we were off to the hospital. I was sure it was appendicitis, although I knew he didn't have a fever, but he was in such pain! Upon our arrival and his initial review, the doctor told the nurse he would bet his stethescope that it was kidney stones. Now this is our first encounter with a little calcified enemy. It wasn't pleasant. By 5:30, the pain meds kicked in, he was off to a CAT scan and found that it had made it into the bladder. They let us know that the worst was over and that he would probably pass it that day. By 7:30, we were home.

We had gotten tickets to tour the Oquirrh Mountain Temple in South Jordan. Since John wasn't going and Ian was staying home in case John needed to go back to the ER, I grabbed a friend and the rest of the kids and off we went. It was lovely (although have you ever heard someone say, "Wow, that temple was such a disappointment). I guess everyone else in the valley decided to go on the same day. We waited in line about an hour before going in, but when we came out, it looked like people would be waiting a couple of hours. So another silver lining: it was cooler while we were in line and we were covered most of the time. And the kids got a kick out of posing in the Free Speech area.



Finally, that night we had tickets for our local baseball team, the Orem Owlz. They were planning a fireworks show at the end since they would be on the road for the 4th. We got there early so Griffin and Ellie could enjoy the playground before the game. It was a perfect evening, although the game was more than disappointing (we lost 11-2). We did have a scout for the Phillies sitting in front of us as well as a bunch of our neighbors at the ballpark! The highlight? John passed his stone around the bottom of the 8th inning! The fireworks were quite good and we were home by 10:15. A great evening, in a small American town.