Picnic in the canyon

Ahhhh... retirement !! Today Roger said, just out of the blue... "Let's jump in the Porsche and go for a picnic up in the canyon." And so we did! How fun !

It was absolutely gorgeous! I am a real LOVER of fall, so all the beautiful fall colors were breathtaking. We went up into American Fork Canyon, which is only about a 20 minute drive, and stopped at a picnic area. It was cool enough for a jacket, but sunny enough to keep it enjoyable. The leaves were raining down in the breeze & we were right beside the river.

of course, since this was SUPPOSED to be a work day, and the idea had been just spur of the moment, I didn't have any makeup on or hair done... so while Roger looks GREAT... I look like

the Hag of the Woods! Nevertheless, Roger HAD to take my picture too.. ugh... just quickly scroll down....

It was such a fun day! Just a few hours out of the middle of the day & all the gorgeous fall colors to make us truly thankful to be here during the fall. How blessed we are!
It's on days like this that I wish I had those wonderful, big cameras of Brooke's or Lindsay's.

They would have captured all the color so much better, but alas.. my small one will have to do.

I LOVE FALL ! I LOVE FALL !!!! I LOVE FALL !!!! I LOVE FALL !!!

We are getting there...

Well... Lindsay (my personal interior designer and organization guru) has left now. I feel like she helped sooooo much! She cracked the whip and got me almost totally unpacked, organized, decorated, and generally feeling like this is truly turning into my home. Thanks so much Lindsay for helping us get so far and with all your great ideas & help! (I LOVE grown-up kids!)

The great room/family room is finally finished:

The entertainment center is all decked out:

The crazy 2 foot deep niche above the fireplace & mantle is finally decorated:

The metal wall art was hung so masterfully (and nervously) by Lindsay above the stairway:

The dreaded Media Room where everything that didn't have an immediate home got shoved is now beautifully organized and everything is up on a shelf. (no we are NOT using it as a media room because just 20 steps away is our huge 65" TV in the FR of the basement- so we're using it as a storage room)

In the kitchen the drapes and pictures are hung & the decor has been added to above the cabinets. One side is an homage to Roger's mission - the french Eiffel Tower and on the other is our remembrance of an old family motto: No Empty Chairs.

We put this vinyl lettering on the wall just to left of the refrigerator. It's a small wall & it kind of sums up how we feel: Our master bedroom we did similar to the Antioch home. This time we used beadboard and more moulding in white -with navy blue paint above. They aren't in this picture, but we now also have navy blue drapes on the sliding door & a matching valance over the window

The basement isn't quite finished, we've hung a few drapes, but not all. And a few pictures & clocks, but not all. It's a work in progress. Roger & I still have a few things left to do in our individual offices, but Lindsay helped us get incredibly organized there as well... converting the closets into shelved storage areas. All those pictures will be later in coming...(just as they'll be later in getting done! ha!) Still.... we're getting there!

The Lord giveth & the Lord taketh away....

A year ago Roger was offered a promotion and the new job meant a move to Utah. Everything fell into place so smoothly that we KNEW we were supposed to take the job & move. We hunted and hunted for a home in Utah. Then about 6 months later, we found out why we were prompted to take the new job. Novartis had a small down-sizing and eliminated Roger's old job.
What a blessing we had been given - to escape being out of a job! Then in April of this year we
finally found a home in Cedar Hills. Many things happened in quick succession - My mom passed away in May, we moved in June, had many visitors and family in July & August, I had double knee surgery in Sept and then came another interesting phone call from Novartis. After moving us to Utah, and having been on the job only one year, they decided to eliminate this new job! About 15 people in the same job all over the US lost their jobs as well. We're guessing that the Lord must have REALLY wanted us here... to eliminate TWO of our jobs !! SHEESH!! So, now... after much prayer & thought, Roger has decided to just retire. The company offered a very good severance package & so we decided to take it. He hasn't quite decided whether he wants to still work part time or in a consulting capacity for awhile, or if we should just put our papers in & go on a mission... so, we'll see what happens! But, for now.... just consider us ......

Been a little "KNEE"-dy lately...

Sorry it's been so long between posts... but I have a GREAT excuse! I just had surgery on BOTH knees! AAGGHHH!!! Friday, Sept. 17 I had bilateral arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus on both knees! The right knee also had to have some extra work done, since it was in worse shape.

Since I would have both knees wrapped & they would be swollen & huge, Roger & Lindsay bought me these lovely 2 XL scrub pants so they would fit over the bandaging! SHEESH! So, I was like the dry cleaning- - in by 7 am out by noon. Everything went very well. Roger could not resist snapping a photo while in the surgery center... (and my family thinks I am the worst one for always taking pictures!! )

The Dr. sent me home with no crutches, no nothing... just the advice to start walking on those knees! So, I did. (However, I did alot of sitting in my lounging love seat too!- snuggling with Colby made it much more bearable!)

Misty flew out & helped Lindsay & Roger be great nurses for me. She brought a wonderful little machine that her roommate Shelli had used after her knee surgery! (THANKS SOOOOO MUCH SHELLI ). It's like a small cooler that you put ice & water in, then the tube connects from the cooler to a wrap that goes around your knee & gives your knee constant cold water circulating around it. The next day we found out that Roger's sister Rhonda had one too so we got it & the rest of the time I had both knees surrounded in ice water! FANTASTIC!

So, I'm doing great now. I've been shopping at JC Penneys and even got on the stationary bike this morning to start more rehabing. Thanks to Lindsay, Colby, Misty & Roger for great nursing! Thanks to Aaron, Layne, Mason, Zach & Arie for great get-well treats! Thanks to Debbie Davis for outing me on Facebook - thus giving me LOTS more get-well wishes than I might normally have had. And thanks to my RS Pres. Deanna Hildebrandt - for the homemade Wheat bread to help in my recouperating!

GO COUGARS!!!

Parking- $10.00, Bottled Water- $3.00, 3 hot dogs & 3 rootbeers- $23.00, getting to go to BYU football games all season..... PRICELESS !!!

Today was a wonderful day!!! The first BYU football game of the 2010 season! All of our children

and I went together to buy season tickets for Roger's birthday present. (great present since I get to

tag along too! ) BYU played Washington in the opening game at home. We had great seats -(even though we got them so late in the year!) We sit on the "Alumni" side (which is the same side as the press box - the kids would call it the "Old People Side"... but, whatever!) It was great because it was a late afternoon game & our side was already in the shade! WAHOO! that was especially good since it was in the high 90's all day!) Our seats are right on the goal line... but, hey... we're not in the endzone... and not in front of the band.... and didn't have to pay a gazillion dollars to join Cougar Club & get the seats right across the aisle from us! ha! And, as the kids next to us said...

"We have a great view of the entire field from here!" ha! There's a glass half-full attitude. We are on the 22nd row (and there are only 36 !) Since Lindsay & Colby are here visiting, Lindsay came too!

We loved watching the marching band form the "Y" (while they played the Alma Mater song which I don't think I've ever heard in all my years of either attending BYU or coming to visit! sheesh!)

Then they spell out the word COUGARS - which is hard to make out because of our angle.- But at least we knew the song they played this time... It was the Cougar fight song ! (or, as my kids know it - the get out of bed song mom always sang to us in the mornings... "Rise & Shout..... )

And see the band & everyone line up for the team to run onto the field thru the pathway they make.

Since this first game was one where they were honoring past All-American Quarterbacks and

LaVell Edwards as their coach - Jim McMahon ran out the big white BYU flag in front of the team.

At half time (not HAFF TIME.... hee-hee) the 8 all-american quarterbacks (Virgil Carter, Marc Wilson, Robbie Bosco, Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Gifford Nielsen, Ty Detmer, and Steve Sarkisian - (the coach of Washington - but he was in the locker room with his team) were all presented , along with their Coach -LaVell Edwards & told us that they, along with other donors,

were starting the Y Quarterback Endowment Fund & they had raised $1 million dollars this weekend to start it off.

Of course we HAD to insert a picture of us driving to the game with our BYU window-flag - given to us by Layne & Aaron & family for our anniversary! And the best part.....???????

BYU WON !!! 23-17 . Thanks again to all the family for the present of season tickets! We love it!

Happy 39 years !!!

I woke up this morning to a pleasant surprise... This vase of red roses (my favorite) on the counter wishing me a Happy Anniversary. This is surprising...not because I'm amazed that Roger would give me flowers... because he does that all the time & I LOVE IT ! But I was surprised because he is in New Jersey and I am here in Utah. I'm guessing he enlisted the help of an elf named Lindsay to go & purchase them for me & have them here when I woke up. During the move I bent one of the prongs on my ring pretty badly - so we went to where our nephew Todd Benning works - Morgan Jewelers - & he fixed it for me. In the mean time he also re-did the black antique-ing (is that a word?) on both of our rings and re-did the florentine on both. They look almost as good as they did when we took a similar picture 39 years ago.

I am married to the most wonderful man in the world. He does everything - works, serves in his calling righteously, uses his priesthood to bless me and the whole family, cooks, helps me clean & do any amount of housework, tells me he loves me, dances in the kitchen with me... (and sometimes alone!) and makes me constantly wonder what I did to deserve such a wonderful man! Thank you for 39 wonderful years of marriage! I love you forever, Roger !

Fancy Salad

We had a Relief Society "Summer Salad Social" last night. Everyone was supposed to bring

a salad. They had decorated the back yard of one sister's home really cute with the tables having a red & white checked tablecloth and xeroxed black ants on top. The serving table had ants on it made from black styrofoam balls and pipe cleaner legs... I had signed up to do a fruit salad. So, I thought I'd give a try to something fun & decorative:

I filled the watermelon basket with green grapes, blueberries, watermelon balls, & orange-flesh melon. (no, not cantaloupe -- it looks like a honeydew melon on the outside, but has orange flesh like a cantaloupe - who knew? ) It was a fun, different way to take a fruit salad.