Photos From Day 2 and 3

From Jaime's phone. I did not have access to these photos when I originally posted.  The first four are from Rush

Famous Daves

Jai with Aunt Julie

Target with two neices

you get a coat

and you get a coat

Mod's pizza

Day 3: Games, Aunt Julie and Alex

 Richard’s initial plan was to spend a day or two with each boy.  However we had Tony drive up from Salt Lake over Saturday and Sunday as both off for the weekend. Both work graveyard jobs and would rather spend two days with us together than just one day with each boy.  Biff and Tony are the oldest of the three.

We slept in finally.  Called the boys and asked them to meet us for lunch. Before they arrived Jai and I walked from the food parking lot to an adjoining that had a Ross.  It was cold and had started to snow.  I bought a few items for myself but we did not find anything of interest to Jaime.

 We went to MOD pizza – which I had never heard of before.  Jai told us it was almost identical as to going Subway in which there are a variety of choices on display and the customer can choose what will go into it.  I chose a miniature pizza with white sauce, spinach and bacon.  It was divine.

Biff was the first to arrive – but had not brought Claire or Ally as Ally was not feeling well.  In the excitement of having the grandparents and Aunt Jaime come, Ally’s medication had been forgotten and she is suppose to have shots twice a day.

Tony was not dressed appropriately for the weather.  He had on shorts dressed like he’d be going to the gym.  None of them were wearing coats even though Rochelle had said that it had been raining in Salt Lake. There was a Target across the street from the complex that housed Mod and so after we finished eating we all went across the street and Richard bought coats for almost everyone.  (Neither Jai nor I found a coat to our liking - we both already had coats anyway; I had mine on when we had gone to Ross)

We all met back at the hotel and played games in the breakfast serving area and played one game in the lobby. Tony had brought a bunch of Disney theme games and an interactive card game called Happy Salmon that reminded Jenna of Pit - but with physical interaction.   

While we were playing games when Aunt Julie dropped by for just a few minutes.  She is the sister of the boys biological mother.  She did not stay for very long but it was fun to see her and a surprise for the majority of the family because they did not know I had invited her over.

Richard had told Tony that we would drive down to Salt Lake and take them to Olive Garden, but Rochelle thought it would be more practical to eat in Layton.  Surely they would have an Olive Garden closer than the drive back to Salt Lake.  Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Rochelle.  So after we had finished playing games, Biff returned home to check on Claire and Ally and the rest of us drove to Olive Garden where Biff later met up with us.

After the boys had gone, Jai and I dressed for the pool which was very cold and the Jacuzzi was quite crowed.  We sat at the table where we had played games and ran lines for a while.  After we finished several pages and stood up to leave, we heard a comment from the desk, “Now I will never know how it ends”

Jai and I decided to go upstairs to change and returned to the lobby so that our “fan” could hear more of the play.  The play she is doing is called “Saving Grace” One of the character’s name is Alex – which was also the name of the clerk behind the desk. He clapped after we had finished reading. That is when he told us his name. Jai and I left to turn in for the night.  We were impressed with Alex’s mannerism. 

Day 2: RUSHing Headache

I believe we went to Rush Funplex directly after eating at IHOP.  Ally was so excited. I rode with her and Biff and had Claire ride with Richard and Jaime – just in case we separated.  Tony was pretty much on his own. Three kids in car seats. 

When Ally saw me in the front she asked if I would ride with them.  She said she was glad I was with them because she likes me. Biff zigzagged his way to the fun center where eight of us had never been.  I don’t know how many pictures Jai had taken.  I know I took a couple with her phone, but not on my own.  This is pretty much how Rush made me feel:

NOT taken at Rush but shows same trippiness feel

And that’s only the visual.  I think it was the loud noise that contributed most to my headache.  I was already disoriented.  Each time we passed a sign or anything indicating the BYU logo I would think, “That is the same sign as BYU.  Wow.  Didn’t think I would ever see that in Oregon . . . oh, I’m not in Oregon.”

Same with Seagull Books.  It took me longer to process information than usual. It was as though my mind and body had separated.  For the most part I didn’t even know where I was. RUSH just made it worse.  Jai and I left for a bit to go out to the car for a breather.  We ran lines from a scene and returned. 

When I learned that Rochelle had taken the youngest to the car I returned to the parking lot to visit with her.  Rochelle felt just as tripped as I was.  She is the one daughter-in-law with whom I share the most in common with.

We then took the gang out to Famous Dave’s for dinner.  All four of the grandchildren ordered mac and cheese and Jaime ordered from the children’s menu also.  The rest of us had our food served to us in a garbage can lid.  We all enjoyed samples of ribs, pulled pork, chicken, potato wedges, coleslaw, muffins, corn on the cob and baked beans.   

For more info about Rush, see here. 

Day 1: Leaving Bonnie

 Richard has been wanting to see each of the boys and families for some time.  I had told him to take a few weeks in April but he would have to go by himself as Jaime is still in school.  Hopefully the mornings would be light enough for me to drive her.  If not, I think we’d be able to arrange something. 

When he learned that Jaime would have a week off for spring break in addition to the weekends that surround it, he decided that we could both accompany him

We were unable to find a dog sitter for Bonnie; those who were willing to take her already had dogs and after having my thumb and fingers mutilated due to her pulling away from her leash, I wasn’t willing to drop her off to anyone who seemed even remotely fragile – for I didn’t wish for her aggressiveness to become their problem.  We ended up taking her to a kennel in Winston. 

We had to go north to the kennel but had to return south to go to the high school for Jai’s parent teacher conference – though I think we would have been okay not going as she excels.  We spent more time with her first instructor than the other four put together.  Her teacher made the comment that she couldn’t always post upcoming assignments right away because of Jai – who will finish them ASAP – sometimes without the proper instruction.

 Our 240 trip started after that.   We hit several patches of fog.  I laughed when we passed the sign that said "Sunny Valley" because it wasn't even close to being sunny.

We went by way of Winnemucca instead of Boise.  While riding through the Fremont-Winema National Forest we  saw Lake of the Woods. We stopped in several cities along the way - usually to gas up or eat.  But there were also the many bathroom stops because I always drink more than my bladder can seem to hold.

We arrived in Salt Lake before midnight.  I had not made reservations for lodging as I didn’t know where we would be when Richard became tired.  He insisted on a hotel and not a motel.  I just wanted to sleep and did not have a preference.  Places were booked and we were turned away.  Finally we found lodging in Layton.  I remember looking at the clock before I fell asleep.  It said 4:30 a.m.  What????  And why did we get up early the next morning?

All of our boys used to be early risers.  But two now work graveyard and take advantage of sleeping in.  It was almost like pulling teeth to get them to meet us at the I-HOP the following morning.  And they got more sleep!  But they did both show with their families.  It was good to see all of them. 

After we dropped Jaime off at the church this morning we went to the library. I returned all the audio books we had checked out.  We arrived at the kennel before it opened and decided to get breakfast.  Bonnie was very hyper when we picked her up.  Jai has missed her and will be excited about her return.

240 hours

Ten days have pass

since I have last written

lots of driving 

in the car

a lot of miles

a lot of time.

Spring Break

in the car

10 days to

visit three sons

and three sibs

in the car

Lots of driving

We'd gone north 

to drop off Bonnie 

and then the high school

for parent teacher conference 

and then our way 

out of town

First to Layton

to see Biff and

his wife and

daughter

We ask Tony to

bring his family

as well

 

They drive up from

Salt Lake and we

eat breakfast

11 in all

 

And then we go to Rush –

a family fun center with

overpowering loud music and

neon lights 

bowling, bouncy houses,

lazer tag, arcades, rides,

did I mention LOUD

 

I think it is called RUSH because

you are getting the same kind of rush

that you might get from drugs – or

so I assume. 

I have never done drugs. 

No desire.

I was already disoriented from

being in the car. 

I don’t need further add to the cause

 

Did we have dinner?

Or did we part after Rush? 

I can’t remember. 

I didn’t write it down. 

 

More driving.  Pizza. 

Back to hotel for playing games.

I think that was my favorite day.

Taking over the lobby.

Surprise visit from Aunt Julie.

Monday’s drive to Salt Lake

Trolley Square

Valley Fair Mall

Roland likes to shop

Jai and I would have

liked to ride the train

however we did not.

 

We did reminisce at

West Valley Library

before we got back

into the car and drove to

Su Casa.

My sibs had already

reserved a table.

 

I don’t remember Patrick

having been so tall. 

He’s always been tall,

but not that tall. 

Maybe I shrunk.

 

Jenna is freaking that

Kayla’s kids have grown and

are getting taller still. 

She asked them lots of    

questions as Roland and I

continued to visit with

Patrick, Sunny and Kayla. 

 

When Bill arrived I asked

Roland to trade places

with me so I could more

easily visit with my sibs

while he visited with Bill  - 

who separated his boys.

 

That was our entire

activity in Salt Lake before

we went back to the car  

to spend more time

on the road driving

to St. George.

 

We stayed with Randy and

his family for four nights  

On Tuesday Randy took us

to Pioneer Park. 

We climbed rocks. 

It wore me out.

We then went to

Brigham Young’s Winter home.

 

Randy drove us in the

company truck. 

Roland fixed breakfast three

mornings we were there.

We spent a lot of

time in the car or

the truck on the roads to

go out to eat or

shop or explore

It was dry.  Not hot

but dry

 

Jenna had a nose bleed

I don’t know how I lucked out

The air was not very nice

to either one of us.

Jenna and I had cold

cereal on Friday and

Randy and Roland had

hot cereal. 

We left shortly after that.

 

Next on the agenda

was Las Vegas. 

Normal drive is 1.5 – 2 hours

but longer during construction. 

It took us 3.5 hours!

 

We arrived at Corey and

Joh’s who said

we could spend the night.

After we brought everything in

we went back to the car and

drove on the strip to find and

to explore Coca-Cola and

M&M world

 

We drove some more

as we had tickets to

the Omega Mart

Las Vegas is NOT

a fun place to drive

Omega Mart was trippy

 

Drove back to Corey and Joh’s

Jenna stayed up and

talked with Joh while

Roland and I went to bed.

Corey and Joh wished to

sleep in the following day

Roland, Jenna and I

played a few rounds of spades

before we called them

on the phone as we

(well, mostly Roland)

wanted to load up

the car so that we

could be ready to go

after taking them to IHOP

Our final visit

 

 

More drive

We hit every tiny

town in Nevada on

the way home 

in the car mostly

for nearly 2020 miles

2020?

That sounds familiar,

Doesn’t it?

Black Clouds and Blue Skies

 

         So many times I have heard people say “If you don’t like the weather in ______ stick around for five minutes and it will change.”  And it does.

 

         I was having lunch with some friends on Saturday.  We chose to eat outside as the air felt nice and warm enough to enjoy.  Carol and I both noticed black clouds hanging to one side, and yet the skies were blue with moving white clouds to the other.  Seems like the blackness pushed its way into the blue which caused a gray –

And OH . . .

So much wind.

Without warning, the wind blew debris over us.  It looked like it was black hail falling upon us – and twigs in our food.  We decided to move indoors right before it started to rain!

I remember feeling hot that very morning.

 

So we really have had warm and cold experiences within the matter of minutes.  I find myself dressing in shorts and sweat shirts figuring at least half of me will be protected.

Two Years

        Yesterday, while checking out my facebook memories, I was reminded that one of my nephews had been scheduled for baptism two years ago.  I thought it was strange that it would be two weeks into the month instead of at the beginning – but for whatever reason it was changed.  Gary’s baptism had been moved to the 7th and my oldest granddaughter were both baptized at the same time but in different wards.  I posted that it must have been changed due to revelation as that was the last baptism to be held for quite a while in 2020 due to the pandemic.

        My sister left a comment about the craziness of it all and I asked if she had read our brother’s post about his mention of a cat they call “Milagro” and about his late mother-in-law who had gone into the hospital with COVID.  Yesterday he posted many of the details about the next six to eight weeks – the devastation felt, the passing, the funeral.  He mentioned the memories both positive and negative and used the real names of his husband’s family. 

        2021 went by rather quickly – at least I thought it did.  But 2020 was soooo looongg as each month felt like a year.  Each month introduced a new set of problems.  Steven left facebook for a while.  He and his spouse went to Australia before the voting results.  I told him that he should just stay in Australia.  But they returned before Christmas – before a new wave of COVID invaded Australia.  Trump was still in office – never having been much of a president.

        COVID might be over, but we still have a new set of problems.  A possible World War III – thank you so much for that Vladimir Adolf Putin.  I thought it would be Trump that would have sent us in that same direction that you have chosen to go.  Did you guys learn nothing about history?  Why hurt the citizens – not just in Ukraine but your own country as well.  At least COVID was something that we were all fighting together.

Curiosity

 

Bonnie is barking

Wants to go outside

To bark at the neighbors’ dog

She sensed them

Or so she thought

Where are they? 

That’s not a dog.

She had seen the pigs before.

Gosh they’re getting fat.

Bonnie is intrigued.

Where are the dogs?

Wait a minute. Is that a . . .

What the heck is that?

Very unlike any dog that

I’ve ever seen. 

What kind of a dog is that?

Do I even know if it is male

Or female

 

Bonnie wants to play

Where Can I Turn for Peace?

          We have been trying to find a dog sitter to care for Bonnie at the end of this month.  Roland has been wanting to see the boys and had planned to do so by himself but Jai (aka Jenna) has spring break coming up and so thought we could all go.  But that would only give us a week.  Perhaps it would be better for Roland to go by himself?

         Taking Bonnie for walks lately has been quite bothersome on my part.  I do not have Jenna’s strength.  She’s broken from her leash/collar four times now – the last two were very hurtful.  I sliced my middle finger on my left hand when she tore out of her collar to bark at the dogs on the corner.  And then on Valentine’s Day my right thumb got damaged when she tore loose (this time in a harness) and chased a dog into somebody’s house.  Needless to say the tenant was NOT happy – and I don’t blame her.  The middle finger has healed but my thumb is still sore.

         Roland had suggested some ward members who have two larger dogs.  I told him I didn’t think it would work.  He called them anyway.  I walked Bonnie over and was correct about Roland’s suggestion is NOT going to work.  They happen to live next door to the house where Bonnie had gone inside.  Currently they have furniture all over their lawn and it is now raining spoiling what appeared to be nice furniture.  I think there is a domestic dispute – and not just with them.  Bonnie and I walked by at least three houses with obvious problems.

         Just as we arrived at the ward member’s yard, Bonnie took a dump while a brave cat approached her, but then the cat stiffened and hissed when Bonnie was done and took off. With the fence between the member’s dog and Bonnie, they were both tearing into each other. I still had hold of Bonnie’s leash when another cat approached and jumped Bonnie. Bonnie bit the cat.  She appeared to have feathers in her mouth, but it could have been fur.  It had come from the tenants yard.

         Okay.  I wasn’t about to cross by her yard again.  We went the long way home.  Now there are two circles to our west.  The outside circle overall seems full of unkempt yards whereas the inner circle for the most part has quite attractive yards that have been tended to.  We completed the outer circle and moved to the inner circle.  Five houses before we would cross the street and head towards home, we spotted a couple walking their dog.  I quickly turned Bonnie around and retraced the inner circle and returned home the alternate way.  I was quite worn out. 

         I was upset about Bonnie who really is a sweet dog with people but does not play nice with other animals.  I was also concerned with the houses I had passed in which a woman was crying at one, unnecessary language and raised voices at two more.  My emotions were “I’d like to help but I cannot let go of Bonnie” equal to “I don’t wish to get involved” – which is sad because it certainly is not what Christ would have done. 

         The more I walked the louder I hummed “Where Can I Turn for Peace?”  I really need to memorize the words.  I don’t know why I haven’t.

The Machine Does All the Work

 

        I don’t mind doing laundry as a whole. 

Sorting is no big deal.  Adjusting the knobs

and dials on the machine is also no big deal. 

Even the folding part I can tolerate. 

Returning the clean laundry to its rightful

place is the most unpleasant part of the

whole ordeal.  Still, I prefer it to

putting dishes away. 

Reminiscing my former West Valley Ward

 

Before moving to Oregon, the last ward (church boundary) I had attended was in West Valley.  As I think about it there were always activities – primary activities on both ward and stake levels, youth activities, adult activities, family activities, holidays such as Halloween, Easter, and 4^th of July breakfast. 

         There have been youth activities and dances on both ward and stake level – no primary activities that I recall – and I was in primary FOREVER thus you would think I would have noticed.  My last ward is the only ward I had been in where I hadn’t served in the primary for the duration.

         I miss introducing others through said activities.  In this ward we have some activities and LOTS of meetings – mostly on a stake level.  Each meeting I have attended has been less motivating than the one before.  I don’t think I’ll be attending anymore.  That’s a long drive which has normally cut into my bedtime I’ll have you know.   

What?????

 Last week when Roland left the house, it was always below freezing.  This week it will be in the low 50's.  Are you kidding me?  I am going to die come summer.  If I look at 40s and 50s as "no coat" weather, how am I going to survive 90 and triple digits.  I'm not.  My posts are dwindling as it is.  When they cease to exist (probably in the summer) than chances are looking good that I will too. (Well, I will exist, just not in an earthly form;  I am okay with leaving my body behind)