Hallowe'en

This year, I was pleasantly surprised to NOT see Hallowe'en decorations (indoor or outdoor) until Oct. 1st. And after some initial grinchiness on my part and having been the recipient of a very sweet memory of the late, great Rachel Carr (whose favorite day was Halloween), I decided I had to quit being negative about sugary candy, greedy kids begging and being surrounded by gore, and get into the "spirit" of things. So I bought three giant bags of candy at Sam's and looked up some costume ideas online (the cheap, simple kind).

And voila,

I am a salt shaker. Actually after this picture was taken, my co-worker and friend Rick made me a battery necklace so I could be a salt and battery. He is clever. Here is his costume.

He DOES go all out.

Hopefully I can add more costume pics later.

Hope you have a safe, fun Halloween.

Don't forget to brush!

Happy Fall

Or, what did the 2/3 say to the 1/3 when they chose the wrong....

Fall is perfect. Perfectly colorful as in leaves. Perfect temperatures for outdoor activities like football watching and playing, running, walking the dog, etc. Cool mornings make you want to eat soup, but warm afternoons make you glad you still have your shorts and T-shirts in your dresser. It also means the best apples all year long--macintosh if you can find them, mutsu, the delicious (red and gold), empire, gala.

Fall means school and papers and tests and grades and new backpacks and sharp pencils and peanut butter sandwiches. It's new friends, leaf piles, riding your bikes after school instead of doing your homework. Til you get busted.

Fall used to mean great new TV shows like Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, One Day at a Time, Mork & Mindy, LA Law, Hill Street Blues, Cheers, ER, Friends, etc. And Howard Cosell on Monday Night Football. I am so out of the current TV scene, I don't know what I'm missing.

Fall in NY means a certain fresh scent is in the air. Some tree or bush that smells like air and school and nature and a new beginning, all wrapped up into a few deep breaths. Ahhh...

Hope your Fall is going great!

Deuce Bowling Party

On 8-18 we went bowling for David's birthday. We represented pretty well. It was lots of fun with cousins and candy. We also helped Shelly celebrate her birthday. She's 29! Kate and Becky are having fun playing soccer.

More Pictures Worth Sharing

Here are a few other pictures from July's many happenings...

Yankees, here I come!

Karyn partaking of health food...


















Right before the tongues came out.


















Sorry, Sara. I know you won't love this one.
















Cutie Pie Elina poses.




















Sophie stopped for 10 seconds and smiled for me!

Troy's Wedding BBQ. It was hot out!

Brad paying homage to Liz (fingernails)

Madison and Bumblebee


















Philly and Amy


















Happy Bowler!

















What style, what form! What are you doing using the kiddie ramp?





















Me and "Fane"

New York Summer = Green and Sticky

We recently took a trip to my home in New York state. It was very green and humid there. We helped my dad with a few projects--hard work, but fun. We also met up with some cousins from Texas who met us there. Other than the LONG car ride both ways and maybe a few skeeter bites, we all are no worse for the wear.


Dad and Jim dressed up like pioneers and played the parts of Parley P. Pratt and Jacob Hamblin respectively at a stake pioneer day event. Talk about sticky. Some of our kids hid in the church to escape the oppressive humidity. We enjoyed a quick trip to an L.L. Bean store (well, the huge boot outside). Smirks at the Sacred Grove, ice cream at Chill & Grill (before the downpour), and other historical sites.

In Loving Memory

My niece Liz Harris (Lizzie, Eliza, Lizabeth) lost her battle with melanoma Saturday. A beautiful and talented girl, Liz fought hard. Now she can rest free from pain, and continue her journey on the other side. I'm so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and a knowledge of resurrection and forever families.

Liz opening gifts at a bridal luncheon June 9.











Liz and her dad visiting our house on Memorial Day, watching the dog do tricks.





Liz with cousins Afton and Maddy late Aug. 2009, right before school started.

Fummer Sun

"Somewhere... over the rainbow... (nervous laughter)"

That's what former Chief Inspector Dreyfus sings when he is going mad and disappearing at the end of The Pink Panther Strikes Again. I'm not crazy. But life sure can get busy.

Lately we've enjoyed:
the end of school
Kenny's graduation from high school
a Memorial Day mini hike (with dog) at Bridal Veil Falls and time with Harrises

job hunting
tennis
tennis elbow (Jim) --not really enjoyable
landscaping projects
a local 5K (5 of us ran and we all finished and nearly met our goals)
a fun bridal luncheon with Liz Harris and relatives
youth conference, complete with rappelling
Jon getting ordained a priest
swim lessons
and more.

I thought it was called "summer break," but it seems to be "summer full speed ahead."

We look forward to seeing lots of relatives in July and continuing to be busy with work, yard projects, running, football camp, staying cool, road trips and more!

Sauron Says...

Yesterday I found a website that goes into more depth about the eye surgery I had, and it had several posts from people who have had the surgery done and how their recovery has gone. I have to say I feel blessed that mine has gone quite well so far. I only missed six days of work and only went 12 days without driving (no long hauls, just short stuff). Some people have been out four weeks for both of these, have had lots of pain, bruising, irritation with their buckle, double vision, etc. Not me. Nopey.

I'll still be sporting my oh-so-lovely glasses for several weeks before I can wear contacts again. I don't love the look or feel of "six eyes" when I'm wearing sunglasses on top of my glasses. But it's better than being blinded by sunlight. And I haven't really minded not wearing makeup. My eye is still red, though more white is showing now, and it has a pink bump that's hard to see around. Ok, it's impossible. Do not approach me on my right side or we might collide. ha ha. But I feel good and will continue to try to be patient in getting better vision back in that eye. We meet with the surgeon again in two days and will ask a few questions and hopefully get more good news.

I did do some vacuuming on Saturday and I went running with Jim. We were both slow but we did fine. No falling or tripping. And I can use my awesome electric toothbrush again. (I missed it.) :)

On another (random) note, yesterday my second grader told me that she was just going to go to college long enough to get married. "When I find a boy I like, we'll get married, and then I'll stop going to college." I have no idea where this came from. But I told her I thought she should plan to stay in college and finish, since that's a good goal. And people who finish college usually earn more money than people who don't. We'll see how this works out in 12-14 years....

Winkin', Blinkin' and Bored

Shhh... Don't tell the doctor, but I've snuck onto the computer just for a minute. Been grounded for a week now with eye surgery. Somehow I tore my retina up pretty well. Just lucky (or unlucky) I guess. But my surgeon fixed me up, and I've been resting it quite well (no reading, computers, running, 4-wheeling, electric toothbrush, lawn mowing, cooking, vacuuming, etc. etc.). And no work. Not the kind of vacation most people would sign up for (and if I'm paying for it, I'd like some scenic photos to show for it!).

I had a vitrectomy and scleral buckle. Jim and Shelly said there's a youtube video out there that shows the procedure, but it's pretty icky.

4 days after surgery. No shiner. Looks normal if I keep my eye shut.

But I am happy that I feel pretty good and am on the mend.

6 days after surgery I can open my eye more. It's very red...

I'm grateful for:

a good eye

many great friends and neighbors who are so kind and generous to me!!!

the beauties of this earth

medical technology that prevents blindness in this case

a kind surgeon and anesthesiologist and nurses who tried to quell my fears

other senses

good music and uplifting talks on CD

a priesthood blessing

the option of sleeping on more than one side

clean washcloths

the ability and permission to walk!

phone calls

Nurse Jim and Nurse Shelly for all of their help and pampering

We should have started a list of nicknames before the whole thing happened. My metal eye protector (post surgery and worn at night for the first week) was like something from the Terminator or a Star Trek Borg. I know... cool.

Here's winking at you.

A Few Pictures

A few pictures from our activities of late: Eagle Scout night, squirting the dog (he LOVES water!), winter sunset, Campbells visit the Harrises, and Jimenezes in Moab. Good times!