Memorial Day in Kearney, NE?---BFF

Yep! That's right! We spent a great Memorial Day Weekend in Kearney, NE---the middle of nowhere! :) But, this was a halfway point for our friends from Colorado, the Davis and Lewis families, and us to meet up for some fun. And fun we had! The kids had a great time swimming in the hotel swimming pool, of course, and the dads were great sports to get in with them and have some fun throwing them around. I think we over-powered the pool with our 10 kids! :) We then found an amazing fun park that had two playgrounds with a water feature area in between, paddle boats, look out tower (over 100 steps!), maze, and garden area. We laughed pretty hard while on the boats because there was a real swan that kept trying to bite at our boats or us. They also had a stage, and so the girls did a little "American Idol"--and the judges were--Sam--Randy, Hailey--Paula, and Zac--Simon. I sure wish we had a great park like that here. We also found the local Fun Center. The kids chose the fun play area with foam balls to shoot and the go-carts. I'm sure glad they picked the go-carts! We had a blast driving those. Everyone got a ride and then the moms and Dave all got to go together and we got a little extra long ride because the attendant decided to get on the track and race us too! Some pretty good laughs! The other fun thing we did at the Fun Center was play the video game, "DEAL OR NO DEAL"! What a hoot! Tom started it off and got a ton of tickets, so that attracted the rest of us. We all had to try it. I think Sam was the big winner, then Wendy and I followed second. Some had great luck and some didn't. But, we all had a great time cheering each other on. While we were all playing the "Deal or No Deal", Matt was spending his tokens on a sure thing---Candy! He found a game that he played quite well and it spit out candy instead of tickets. He kept coming over to me to hold his loot. So cute! We also got to go to an original Cabela's and to see the animals and fish. At the hotel we had a good time chatting in the halls and the kids had a good time arm wrestling and eating treats! Everyone seemed to have a great time. It was so cute watching little Lilly and little Brett interact. They held hands and hugged, I don't know how many times. :) It was a little strange for Tom and I because when we lived in Colorado, we were the ones with the baby. Now it's reversed. Our three families did a lot together when we lived in Colorado and it is always so fun to get together and hang out. It is perfect that all the spouses get along. It doesn't really matter where we go together---we know we'll have some good times and some good laughs!

I have to say that I think Shelby and Kelsey might have had the most fun! They are so cute together! When we moved to Colorado, they became instant friends. We met them within the first day or so as we were walking home from the park, and they were on their corner selling hot chocolate. :) I remember how comforting it was right away to have another mormon family with kids just around the corner!(little did I know, there were about 6!)Shelby and Kelsey probably saw each other every day. I think Kelsey is one of those girls that fills the void of sisterhood for Shelby. Shelby even has Kelsey as part of her login to "Webkinz"! On the trip they just couldn't get enough of each other. They had to sit by each other at meals, ride next to each other in the car, hold hands, sleep by each other, etc. Precious! They are BFF! (I just couldn't resist putting together a little slide show of them--pictures from the trip and a few from the past.)

We made some good memories and had a great time, so thanks Davis' and Lewis' for making the drive! And thanks to Wendy for having the great idea and organizing it!! :) Until next time....

Keep praying for baby Gracie

If you've ever read "The Gledhill Family" blog, little Gracie Girl has probably stolen your heart. She has surely stolen ours! When I was in Utah for my dad's funeral, I was able to make a quick, very quick visit to Primary's to see Michele and baby Gracie. I got to hold Gracie's hand for a bit and what a special experience that was. She has such a sweet, special spirit about her. She still needs all our prayers! She is a little over 2 months old now. Things are looking up and she may be able to go home next week?! I'm sure the whole Gledhill family could use our prayers as they begin to learn how to care for Gracie on their own and transition to life with Gracie at home. Keep fighting Gracie! (I just love this picture!)

He's Got It!

That's right! Matt has the whole 2 wheel bike thing down! Last Friday night we were all outside hanging out and Matt told Tom that he wanted to ride the little bike with no training wheels. We were planning on working on this in a week or so, but Tom decided that he better do it right then since Matt asked. Tom took a little time to show him, but within about 5 minutes he got it! I think riding his scooter and also using the little bike so he can touch the ground helped. He rode all night and has ridden every day since. He was out tonight racing the neighbor on her motorized scooter! His little legs were just agoin'! He doesn't always wear his bike helmet--instead he wears his batting helmet. But, that is what Sam used to do. So, I guess any helmet is better than no helmet, right?! :) He's pretty darn proud of himself! He's got the biggest grin on his face! Way to go Matt!

(the first video is his 1st night, and the second one is his second day--racing Tom)

Chicago get away!

Yes! Tom had to go to Chicago over a weekend for work, so I decided I would tag along. We were able to find a college gal, and her great parents, from the ward to take care of the kids for the weekend. They were in good hands, so no worries! :)
We flew in on Friday morning and dropped our luggage off at the hotel and immediately hopped on the train to Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs play a day game. It was perfect weather and so much fun to be at Wrigley and eating our "dogs"! Something special if your baseball fans! :) Then we went to a pizza place for "Chicago Pizza". The next day we slept in a bit and took our time getting ready. Then we headed out to walk and see the city. We walked about 5 hours! And, I'm sure we didn't even see some things. But, we were tired and I had a couple of blisters and Tom was a little burned! We got to walk along the water, go to the Navy Pier, shop, see the park, and see the great architecture of the buildings. We found a Lego store and had to pick up a couple things for the boys since they are Lego freaks! We found the American Girl Doll store and I was a bit emotional watching all these girls with their dolls shopping with their moms. Shelby and I are going to hit the store in Dallas when we go in a couple of weeks. And, I had one of my "moments" missing my dad. How he would have loved to be at Wrigley to see a game! Well, after the long day of walking, Tom's boss took us out with two of his co-workers to a VERY NICE, EXPENSIVE dinner! I wasn't quite sure what I was ordering, but everything was so yummy. Everything was brought out on neat dishes and the presentation was amazing. I wanted to take pictures of our meals--but, not really appropriate for this type of place! :) After dinner I headed back to the hotel while the others went to their work party. --no spouses aloud :(-- I was pretty bummed because Cheap Trick was their entertainment for the night. Tom said it was pretty awesome. Sunday we woke up and watched a movie and just hung out. We walked around the city a little more and went to the "Rosebud" for our Italian lunch. Then it was off to the airport and back to REALITY!! :) Chicago is definitely a "must see"! This was my second time and I just loved it! There is a "feel" there and the buzz of the city is just cool. We did miss the kids and saw things they would have enjoyed, but we couldn't have seen what we did with kids in toe! :) Plus, it was so nice to have some time alone! Thanks Tom for a fun get-away!

Last month of school!

Well, I will try to get caught up as to our happenings this past month. So much has gone on with the end of school and some fun vacations.
Matt had a fun field trip to DeAnna Rose farm. His favorite thing was hanging out with his friends and feeding the goats. He had a great time at field day also. When Tom picked him up on his last day of school, he said, "Dad, I get to go to kindergarten tomorrow!" He was pretty sad for a couple of days when he was told he had to wait until after summer. Pretty crazy that we have paid our last preschool payment!! Wow! Time flies! Matt can't wait to go to school with Sam and Shelby. Since we have had the nicer weather, all Matt wants to do is play baseball and shoot hoops! He just loves it and wants to just keep practicing. So fun to watch!
Shelby's biggest news and excitement this past month is that she finally lost her first tooth! At school she got to be in a Earth Day performance with the whole 1st grade. They each had a speaking part and sang some songs with actions and dance moves. Pretty cute! She got to make a boat to race at the annual 1st grade boat regatta and won some races so she was pretty happy. She also got a special award the last day of school. She also tried out and made the talent show at school. She sang a song while playing the piano. It was something she learned in her music class. She did a great job! We were proud of her. She did it last year too, so I think she had some confidence because she is a bit shy. The last day of school she came home with an award--Citizenship Honor Roll. She was all smiles!
Sam has had a busy last month also. He started baseball. It is so fun to see him out there with his "uni" on. I guess he is taking after me because he has played 1st and catcher. Pretty fun to watch! I sure miss playing! The last couple of weeks Sam has been learning how to mow the lawn a bit. He really does a pretty good job. At school all the different 2nd grade classes painted a t-shirt to wear for their fieldtrip to the zoo. Sam's class was Tigers. Sam had a great day at the zoo hanging with his best friend Blake. Sam also made the talent show. He wanted to do something with Blake and so he and I taught Blake the left hand to Sam's favorite song from music class. Sam played the right hand and Blake the left. They also sang while they played. I guess Blakes mom was so happy that Sam got Blake to do something because he is so shy in front of people. Well, leave it up to Sam to make someone feel comfortable! :) Sam was pretty proud of his end of the year Ben Franklin report. I thought he looked pretty cute in his costume. Sam's end of the year award from his teacher was "Social Busy Bee" for being a friend to many. How fitting! He is very social and loves to make new friends no matter where we are. :)
Sorry for the long post! :)

YUMMY!!!

Ok, just have to give my good friend in Utah, Rachel Smith, props to her most amazing cookies. She has been making and selling these cookies for a couple of years now and sells them in a gift basket and also at Nordstrom. I hadn't had them in forever---until one day after my dad died, a package with a cute basket full of them came by mail! Tom and I were salivating!!!! We hid them from the kids--because they are not kid worthy! :) They are gourmet cookies with different candy bar and such toppings on them. So, the next time you want to give yourself or someone else a yummy gift---order one of her baskets! Check out her website -- http://www.overthetopcookies.com/

THANKS RACHEL!!! WE LOVED THEM!!! :)

Finally!

Ok, I've been abscent from the whole blogging thing for a while. (not the checking on everyone else, just mine!) First of all, after my dad died and I got home, I just couldn't find the right moment to sit and tell about his funeral and such. I guess that was due to being too painful. So, I thought maybe I would just go on, but then thought that was a little strange!
Thus, my lack of posting!
So, I don't know what to say...I truly love my dad and everything that he stood for. There is no question that he died, having lived a righteous life. What a wonderful gift he gave to all of us at his passing. Of course I have had hard times and miss him a lot. However, like I have said before, now he doesn't have to suffer anymore. There have been so many "moments" when I have wanted to share something with him--an email, joke, experience or whatever. And I can't. It has been hard not to be able to share those "moments".
Things were crazy when I finally got to Utah. There was so much to do! There isn't really much time to morn. We had a lot of fun talking and remembering the fun times and silly things about dad. It was so fun to find old pictures and remember the good 'ol times. One special thing is that my good friend Corissa made a video for us to show at the viewing. She spent HOURS on such short, short notice working on it. I wanted to help---but I was of no help! :) So, thanks again Corissa for helping us to document some of our dad's life. We had so many comments from people about the video. It was really neat! It was so amazing to me to see the love that people had for my dad. Of course, in my mind, he was an awesome man--but to see what he meant to others was really special. He really helped a lot of people. He loved people and his associations with them. Many people traveling long distances to be at the funeral.
The whole viewing and funeral thing is very bitter-sweet. It was so fun to see so many family and friends that I don't normally get to see. However, you never want to say goodbye to your dad! He was our friend, and father, the one we all went to with questions, needing advice, etc. There were so many people from our years living in CA. It felt like a Sunnyvale reunion at times. It was also like a huge family reunion too. We have a large extended family and so that was fun to see everyone. We also managed to get a family photo taken, and will doctor up the photo to put the three missing family members, dad-Ben on a mission-Rich in medical school. Pretty crazy trying to get all of our family to be at one place and be still! :) I think there are 32 grandchildren (including the marrieds), one great grandchild, 6 siblings --6 in-laws, and mom. (and there are 2 babies to be born this year) So fun to have such a large family. Something is always going on.
I can't believe what effort people took to be to the viewing and funeral. It meant so much to us as a family. Wow! And, so many hugs, nice cards, meals, and gifts I was given. They were all so thoughtful. I don't think I better start mentioning them because I might forget one! :)
Thanks to all of you who helped me throught this tough time with your kind words and gestures! It is so nice to have those little "comforts"! :)
Well, I think I have rambled on enough! (Maybe now I can get caught up on all the postings I've wanted to share.)