Gone

It was a glorious week.

which makes our nearly empty house feel

oh so hollow.

our Christmas decorations are making me feel

melancholoy

now that so many of the people I love have left.

so I'll give myself tonight to cry

and then tomorrow I'll remember how blessed i am

just to have loved ones

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVEN

What?!? Steven really joined our family only 15 months ago?

Seems like you've belonged to us forever, Steve. We weren't complete without you.

Here are some of the things we love about you:

You'll wear a lime-green shirt all day just because we ask you to

Your sense of competition rivals all of ours put together :)

It's fun to beat you

You've made our family yours and make what's important to us important to you

You understand and take care of our Brookie

You fit right in.

WE LOVE YOU

Happy Birthday Steve!

blaaauuugh!

... thankfully it was only 24 hours long...

THE STOMACH FLU

Ick!!!

Coke syrup almost always works for me -

when the kids have had the stomach flu

and I start to feel queezy, I down a spoonful

of coke syrup and although i don't feel great

I can usually keep from throwing up.

Not this time.

I was SO SICK for 1 full day

but, JOY OF JOYS! it only lasted a day!

I feel like, well - I was going to say million bucks

but actually, I feel more like about 200,000 bucks today.

Fever's gone

no chills

no vomiting

the only complaint I have is a band of sore muscles

from the violent sickness.

(But at least I got my exercise in for the day!)

here's hoping no one else get's it!

why i love my life

Isn't it amazing how the live's we're handed

are SO MUCH better

than what we would choose for ourselves?

Example:

I would NEVER have chosen

to be a full-time babysitter

at age 50.

But with the life I've been handed,

I now have 3 adorable,

precious children

who make me smile

everytime I hear them holler:

"Denaweeeeeee!!!"

I love these kids.

Added blessing:

with these kids comes 2 incredible adults

I'm happy to call my friends.

Reason #2 that I love my life:

Brad and the kids

have totally stepped up to the plate.

Between shoulder massages

and offers to help out with my work

everyone is watching out for me.

Reason #3:

I have the MOST PRECIOUS

grown kids, kids-in-law and grandkids

in the entire universe!!!!

I love my life.

Girl Trip 2009

When Azure was a baby we started new tradition.

the boys had been going on annual Frostbite Challenge trips

and we thought it was time for some girl adventures.

Our first girl trip

we took the ferry to Juneau for some real shopping

(they have a "mall" and had a K-Mart)

One year we went to their cousin, Christy's wedding in Arizona.

Anyway ... we have had to miss one here & there ...

but as a rule, the GIRL TRIP is sacred time -

not to be messed with!

This year we all met in Provo for Halloween weekend.

Why do we include a picture with Brad, you ask?

We were supposed to be on the road by noon ... but I had to stop in at the production office, and as fate would have it, Brad was on 215 the same time we were, just a mile or so behind us.

So we slowed down to a ridiculous speed (for us) and waited for him to catch up so we could wave. That was a thrill :)

By the time we got out of the studio, Brad was headed our way, so we met at a gas station for a quick kiss good-bye.

Brooke wasn't supposed to arrive till a day after we did, but her sweet hubby talked her into an early departure. This meant we got to start of our GIRL TRIP right! We had all been saving money for this trip for a while - everyone secretly popped some cash into a container and Friday morning we divied it up for a fun shopping game.

We each had the exact same amount of money with which to get the BEST DEALS.

We began the day at NAME DROPPERS an incredible consignment store

in SLC. They only have top-of-the-line name brands

(thanks for introducing us, Yayoi!)

We were all supposed to be shopping for ourselves to get the very best deal of all, but Brooke and Sierra morphed the game and started picking out amazing (sometimes outlandish) outfits for each other to try on. The boutique lady was very accomodating with our giggles and picture taking. After all, we did spend a good chunk of our allotment there!

Hard to say who won during that shopping trip:

Caci got an AMAZING pair of Theory gray slacks for just $20

Azure got that darling jacket you see in one of the pics above

Sierra got a very cute white puffy vest

(Brooke just shopped like crazy for Sierra)

and me?

Well ... actually, I think I won.

I got a black wool, fully lined, J. Crew coat.

Originally over $300 for just $37.

AM I A SENSIBLE SHOPPER, OR WHAT?!

Next stop:

IKEA

My grown kids have been telling me for years that I need to go to Ikea. If you've never been, it's worth the trip!

We were all STARVING when we arrived, so we stopped 1st at their food court.

SO YUMMY.

We had SO MUCH fun there!

I think Ikea ranks right up there with Disneyland.

(definitely better than Lagoon or the Adventure Dome)

We got some great deals there - all of us.

But winner:

Brooke got a rocking chair!!!!

Also during the GIRL TRIP:

facials

games

and

HALLOWEEN

We were a group of

cute

but DEAD

dolls.

Can't wait to see what we do next year of our GIRL TRIP.

THANKS GIRLS!