Bangs McCoy

BET-TY!

Today I made myself a new skirt, based on a pattern for a tiered one in this book my mom gave me. I changed it a little - I did three tiers (the example had five), used one fabric (the example used five), and I stitched the ruffles on inside-out, leaving raw edges on the outside. I also added a muslin lining - I like more fabric between me and the world (it must come from being such a jeans girl). It turned out really well, I am happy about it.

Bryan hooked up the TV antenna today to his new TV. He is excited to have everything finally hooked up (he also bought this and he got this for Christmas last year). Now we need to install a mantle shelf and try to clean up the cables and stuff a bit.

We went out with Jeff & Cashell to see The Incredible Hulk tonight. It was okay. I thought that they skipped over all of the interesting stuff (in a flashback at the beginning) and then dwelled on a simple chase story for two hours. I liked the actors, but couldn’t really get emotionally involved in two CGI hulks fighting each other. I liked Iron Man better. And of course, nothing touches Batman Begins. Can’t wait for The Dark Knight (we’ll be there on opening night).

After the movie we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Sampan, in Sugarhouse. Mmmmm. Bob babysat for us while we were out, and the kids had fun playing with him. What a guy. We got him a vanilla frosty, Coke, and chicken nuggets as payment.

1 comment July 5th, 2008

Oooooh! Ahhhhhh!

We spent the evening tonight with Bob at the Eaglewood Golf Course by their house in NSL. Bob staked out a spot early and we showed up a few hours later. He also saved us a parking spot and brought snacks for us. We ate, played around, relaxed, and listened to the assorted cover bands that were playing. The boys liked the parachutes and just running around.

When the fireworks were about to start, Rees started to get nervous, saying that he wanted to go home. He said he didn’t like fireworks and he was afraid they would be too loud. But once they started, he was excited. Both boys loved the fireworks and were doing lots of “oooohs” and “ahhhhs”.

Thanks to Bob for hanging out with us and being such a nice host. Fun times.

Add comment July 3rd, 2008

Things are looking up

Bryan got up early with Rees and made sourdough pancakes for everyone for breakfast. They were excellent as usual. The kids and I watched a movie in the car while Bryan visited with Grandma. Today she has more energy and is more alert. She is still very much herself. She told Bryan she would kill him if he damaged her sourdough starter (it’s been alive for many decades). We were talking about the possibility of her being able to swallow, when she said, “I could swallow if they would just give me something to swallow!”

We had lunch at Fiesta Vallarta in “downtown” Delta. I have to admit that I love this kind of Americanized Mexican food (much like Los Hermanos in Utah Valley). The food was yummy but the portions were enormous.

We picked up our stuff from the ranch and went back to the hospital for our last visit this trip. Grandma was still sleepy, but talking well. Still no movement on her right side. The doctors were hoping for more improvement by now. Tomorrow a speech therapist will visit to determine what she is able to swallow. Maryanne has effectively moved to Cedaredge to care for Grandma for as long as it takes, so we said our goodbyes to her for now as well.

The drive back to SLC was uneventful and nice.

Add comment June 29th, 2008

Delta

We got started later than we planned (shocking!) and thus did not arrive in Colorado until late afternoon. The kids were great during the drive.

The hospital in Delta is small, but very nice - it looks pretty new. We were the first family members to arrive, but Grandma had plenty of company. Her many friends had been keeping a constant watch over her since her arrival at the hospital. She was groggy and unable to move her right side. It was very sad to see her like that. When Bryan’s parents and aunt arrived, the kids were getting a little rambunctious for the ICU, so I took them out for dinner and to a park in Delta to play.

Afterward we picked up Bryan and went to the ranch. Bob stayed at the hospital with Grandma K and sent Maryanne and Anadeane to the ranch with us to get some sleep. Bryan’s cousin Ben also arrived with his little boy William. The mood is definitely somber. Being at the ranch without Grandma just doesn’t make sense.

Add comment June 28th, 2008

Grandma K

Today was a pretty busy day for us. In the morning we went to the park to feed the ducks (there are ducklings now too), which is Jamie’s favorite activity. He frequently asks if we can go feed ducks. Then we picked up Berkeley from Kairos. He got to drive the robot while there, and told me, “I only crashed it twice!!!” I don’t think there was any real crashing involved.

We then swam at the Murray Pool for a couple of hours. This is our favorite pool for a couple of reasons. It has a zero-depth entry, which is nice for little kids and babies. It also has nice lawn areas to lay out your stuff. And it has one pretty big slide, which Rees loves. Jamie barely tolerates going down the slide with me. Rees is brave and goes down the slide all by himself (I often just wait at the bottom to help catch him). Berkeley was temporarily banned from the slide for some reason - we never figured it out. He also enjoyed jumping off the diving board a lot. Keeping track of three kids at the pool was more difficult than I expected!

After the pool we had lunch while the kids played at McDonalds, and then we took Berkeley back to Grandma & Grandpa B’s. We went home, got cleaned up, picked up Bryan and went to Orem for dinner with my family. Michael (and Maddie) had birthdays in June, my Grandma Hansen is in town, and my dad just returned from a month in Uganda. So we had plenty to celebrate. Rees presented my dad with his Father’s Day gift - tie-dye socks he made himself. They’re groovy!

While having dinner in Orem, we learned that Grandma K (Bryan’s maternal grandmother) suffered a serious stroke in Colorado tonight. The circumstances around the stroke were actually very fortunate - she was not driving and got fast medical attention. We will be driving to Colorado tomorrow morning, along with Bryan’s parents and Aunt Anadeane.

Add comment June 27th, 2008

Slip-sliding

It’s been a cousin extravaganza around here lately. Today the boys went to Grandma & Grandpa B’s to play on the slip & slide (again) with Amanda, Tyler, and Brielle, and Berkeley. They enjoyed watermelon and played with some neighbor kids before having lunch and playing more inside.

Add comment June 26th, 2008

The golden egg

Today is Easter Sunday. We had our Easter lessons in Primary, and the boys enjoyed playing with their bunny ears and wore new Easter clothes. We didn’t do any kind of Easter baskets or gifts for them, since Bryan’s parents have an egg hunt planned for later today. I don’t really want to overload the kids with secular junk on this holiday. That makes me sound kind of like a religious freak, which I’m not. I just get annoyed when the commercial industry tries to take over religious celebrations and convince people that they need to buy a bunch of junk for yet another holiday. Cynical, no?

After church, we went to the Berretts for their famous Easter egg hunt. The kids are each assigned a color and size of egg (they each get four), and the eggs are hidden with appropriate difficulty for each child’s age. There are lots of boulders with great nooks and crannies for hiding eggs, so it can be tough. Bob also hides one egg for each daughter-in-law, and he goes all-out. One year, he was so clever that he forgot where he hid Shantell’s egg, and nobody else could find it either. It remained hidden for years.

My egg this year was metallic gold, and was the last to be found. After much searching by all, it was finally located by Brent in the water fountain near the front door. The egg was first placed in a zipper-seal sandwich bag. This bag was then placed in a gallon-size zipper-seal bag with a large rock (to hold it underwater), which was placed in the fountain and covered with a decorative frog statue from the garden. Classic Bob.

The kids had so much fun with the hunt, and eating all the candy afterward. It’s a really fun tradition.

Add comment March 23rd, 2008