my week of winter

I just spent a week in Denver.  It hadn't been that cold there in 26 years.  The day I arrived it was -10, but felt like -24 according to the weather website.  I had never been in weather in the negatives before and I spent most of my time indoors.

When I walked out of the airport and into the awaiting car, it was so cold it was hard to breathe. When it wasn't too cold, it was snowing.  It snowed enough that church was canceled.

Donovan was excited to show me his Indiana Jones outfit:

He was a good help in shoveling the walks.

Sarah, Donovan, Gemma and I met my sister, Cheryl and her daughter, Lisa and baby Aaron for brunch one morning.
 
The food was delicious.  Cheryl got Sticky Buns French Toast which was beautiful AND tasted good.

For Super Bowl Sunday, Sarah made S'mores Pie.  Everything she makes is yummy.

We went sledding.  Well, they went sledding and I took pictures

Gemma actually liked the sledding although it doesn't look like it!

We played a game for family home evening and then the kids had S'mores done with giant marshmallows in the microwave.

Gemma won!

Then I decided that I needed a picture with each of them.  I wanted to be sure that they have a picture with just them and their Grandma.  When I look back through my pictures, I don't have many with just one child and their grandparent.

It was fun to be in Denver because I just love those kids, but it is nice to be back where it is green and sunny!

for the record

Part of the reason I blog is because it is a kind of journal for me.  So the rest of this blog post is not for anyone else but me.  I'm not trying to brag, just record.

Last week marked the 2 year anniversary of getting my training G*armin.  It is a wristwatch type thing that records my heart rate, distance, and elevation gain of my bike rides.  In the last two years, I have ridden over 9,500 miles!  To me that is amazing. I mean, if you had told me that at 55 I would start riding a bike that much, I would have thought you were crazy.  But the fact is, I couldn't have done it when I was younger.  There simply wasn't time.  Now, instead of endless vacuuming, endless laundry, and endless kid activities, I have time to explore my interests. I put in 34 years of being a full-time mom and this is my reward!

That got me to thinking about doing things you don't think you can do and starting new challenges.  At the age of 40 I started teaching music in the schools as a volunteer which I did for 10 years.  It was the most rewarding experience I have had in teaching.  But that was not something I would have even thought about or imagined when I was in my 30s. The thing is, there are a lot of things out there to do, talents to develop, weaknesses to overcome.  And there is a season for everything.

Life is not over when you are in your late 50s.  Save something to try at every stage.  I'm looking forward to my next challenge.

A Jolly Season

It has been a week since the last one left.  The house is quiet and clean.  No more squeals of 5 grandchildren running (or crawling) through the rooms. No more jumble of humanity playing video games, laughing, talking, hugging, eating, watching movies, going out to movies.  No more sounds of remote control helicopters buzzing over my head.  Loads of sheets and towels have been washed, folded, and put away. The decorations and lights have been taken down, put away into their plastic bins, and stacked neatly in the corner of a cleaned and swept garage. It was a glorious season.

The kids and grandchildren trickled in starting Dec. 16 with David coming home after a triumphant first semester at BYUI, then Allison and Dave and their crew on Dec. 21,

Laura and Rebecca (at two different airports) on Dec. 22,

Sarah and Joel and their crew on Dec. 25.

And then they trickled away beginning Dec. 31 until Jan. 4.  We had 14 bodies living under the same roof for a week with Jeff and Jess dropping by frequently.

On Christmas Eve, we had 19 people here for dinner.

Our friends, the Obers, make Christmas Eve with us their tradition and we are so glad they do!

There were pajamas (of course)

And a crying present....

Mark had purchased remote control helicopters for the men, and they were a huge hit.

Jeff and David challenged each other to various feats with the helicopters, the ultimate one was landing on the slanted blade of the ceiling fan.  Everyone had fun playing with them and the girls were a little miffed that they didn't get one.

The day after Christmas, Jess' mom (and Jeff's future mother-in-law) cooked us up Thai food (she IS Thai, so that made it even better!)

Cooking for this many people can be daunting, but she was a champ and the kids had fun helping out with the won tons.  All of the food was soooo delicious.

One day, we went into SF and walked on the bridge and went to the Exploratorium.

In between, we lunched at Jeff and Jess' apartment and were served delicious Ruben sandwiches made by Jess.  The day was spectacular and the views marvelous.

It was Annabelle's birthday on New Year's Eve, so we had another reason to celebrate.

                          

It is always fun when the whole family gets together.  It's crazy and noisy and hard work.  But I love it.