Halloween 2016

Halloween continues to be my very best holiday.  It does get less and less work as my family gets older.  I had only one at the Halloween parade at School.  Jack was a life guard.  He wore Abi's Seven Peaks uniform from the summertime and had a whistle.  It was a great idea.  The rest of them are on their own for costumes.  Nick was a football player, Abi was also a life guard since she went to the Halloween dance at the school, and Andrew borrowed Brooke's cow costume.  Not sure she would appreciate it.

I love handing out candy.  We have soo many trick or treaters that I sit out on the front stairs so the kids don't have to walk up all the stairs to the front door.  I think we had over 300.  I bought about 350 pieces and I bet we ate like 50 pieces before that.  The wierd thing is that parents trick or treat too.  Usually mexican parents.  Its soo much harder to trick or treat than just go and buy some candy.  They don't even dress up, just hold out their hand.   We only had about 10 of those.  It was a super fun night!

Andrew and me on the porch passing out candy

Nick's CCR and golf

It was the last day of the term.  Nick has to have an CCR appt with the school counselors.  All 7th graders meet with the counselors to plan their future and decide what careers they are interested in.  So, I took the day off to do that, and go to the Halloween Parade at the Elementary.  After the parade and the appt, Nick and I decided to go and play.  We went to Texas Roadhouse for Lunch, then we went and played a round of golf at the West Bountiful Golf Course.  Complete with a cart.  Soo Much fun.  We had a great time.  It is good for the soul to miss work.

Nick ate all the butter on his rolls...I could just get some more...nice.

I think he had more fun driving the cart than playing golf.  He was a pretty good driver.  

Such skill here

Sad News ....my friend Linda

This is my friend Linda.  She has been my friend for a while.  She has children my age.  And I love her.  She comes lobstering with us and gets shrimp.  She is the smartest, kindest, knowledgable, God fearing person.  She sent us a disheartening email...it says in part:

I have stage 4 lung cancer, also in the adrenal glands and with a broken rib and some lesions on the spine and hips.  It is terminal, inoperable, and I have about 4 months to live.

This was on Oct 15 about.  My heart stopped.  I couldn't imagine Linda, the picture perfect individual (other than wearing slacks to camp....however, we got her to wear jeans the next time around) who was planning on going on a mission with my friend Lynne in a few year, who takes care of her entire family...there are about 12 children and a herd of grandchildren...and serves in the church wherever she is asked or might even be needed....is going to die.  Yes.  that is true.

I am sooo sad!  I will miss her.  She just keeps things in perspective and is soo funny when we lobster.  Lobstering won't be the same.  I hate to even think about what she is going to go through in the next 4 months.  I also wonder like what she is doing right now, knowing that in 4 months she will be dead.  Is she praying, sleeping, reading scripures, repenting.?  She probably doesn't need to repent...but what does a person do when confronted with this situation?  Because whatever is appropriate, she would be doing that for sure.

I read the email at about midnight.  This is how I was coping with her news about 2:00 in the am.  I'm surprised I wasn't eating an entire bag of peanut butter M & Ms...but i didn't have any.  And if I did, they would have already been eaten by then......

One good thing about it, is that she has two children that have passed on.  So she can be with them.  She could also see Melanie (who she doesn't even know) and she can visit our other lobster bud who died, Gerilynn.  No one will want to lobster with us again since two of our lobster buds are not doing well. One dead, and the other nearly dead.  So depressing.  Soo unfair!

On another note....some of my friends decided years ago that we would be chemo buddies.  That means if you need someone to drive you to chemotherapy (since you can't drive yourself home...at least we thought so) we would do it for each other.  Chemo buddies.  Well, one of our chemo buddies died already...gerilyn.  She was the youngest.  fyi.  So here is the email exchange we had with Linda about chemo buds...

This to Linda

We promised to be chemo buddies so if you need a chemo driver I am experienced -- ready with pillows, blanket, barf bag and all.

Actually I am serious. If you do need someone with you I will be there for you.
XOXOXO

Lynne

Then I said

THANKS so much for the update!  serious.  I'm a good chemo bud too.  I can sit in the back with you and tell Lynne how to drive.  We could even skip the trailer park trip on the way home if you are not feeling up to the extra few minutes.  Hopefully you will be feeling up to a frosty....

We could always shrimp at 10:00 am.   

Super triple LOVE to you!  

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo (ha more than Lynne had)

Maureen

Then Janet said:

And by the way, I determined over the weekend that unlike both of you, I would be a TERRIBLE chemo driver. Why? Picking Lindar up in the work truck: "Oh, SORRY, Linda! Sorry you got fertilizer all over the bottom of you from what spilled on the passenger side seat! Hope you don't have some chemical reaction during chemo...Oh...and sorry for the little flag metal prong that poked you from lawn flags shoved on the truck floor and out of the way. Hope you can find a comfortable spot on the way home in between the empty Coke bottles and sprinkler parts that are taking up the other half of the floor. Don't worry! I'll get you back home soon. You feel like you are going to throw up? NO PROBLEM! There are two garbage bags down on the floor that you can just grab... HANDY, huh!"

Yes... I will leave the driving up to y'all :-) LOVE YOU GUYS! Please let me know what I can do or how I can help out with things on Friday. 
Hmmm...there's always the idea of pink flamingoes somehow too... in a way that isn't too messy or bothersome to clean up. 


Oh we think we are soo funny...


UPDATE:  Linda did pass on in July of 2017.  She was in the hospital for about a week and did make it to most of her functions.  I think the only reason she was still here on earth this long was because she hung with us.  That was the most evil thing she ever did I am sure...well besides the three cigarettes she smoked when she was 20.

Funny videos I found on my IPad

This a video of Nick and Jack that I found on my IPad.  Not sure when they took it....

This is another one.

Concert Season

It is fall Concert season.

Andrew had his fall Choir concert.  It was about 90 minutes.  It was really good.  This is Andrew's first year in Choir.  He did a nice job.

Abi and her boyfriend Boon...

Andrew thought we needed a picture of just Boon

Nick also had his first Orchestra concert as a 7th grader.  He did a good job.  He has switched to the cello instead of the Bass.  I think it was a good switch. Nick isn't that tall to carry a bass.  A cello is more his speed!!  We did have to get him some black pants for the concert.  I had to buy 5 because I had to make sure that they fit.  Yep of the 5, we found one that fit.  He looked very nice.  

makes you wonder how many pictures you are in of other people...this guy in the green, i have no idea who he is

UEA 2016

UEA break started off uneventful.  Got Andrew off on a backpacking trip with his boyfriends Boon and Easton.  We had to borrow a backpack from Marti and a sleeping bag.  Somehow we have lost our sleeping bag.  It was a good one too.  Someone just left it because they couldn't be bothered to remember to bring it home from their trip.

Then Jack, Abi and Maureen went to UEA convention.  Uneventful.  I only took about 4 pictures.  Our favorite part was the Shoot a basket to get a free book.  The Jazz bear came and that was fun...silly string everywhere..The only picture I took is of the guy in charge to send it to Michelle, since it is her friend and Bishop.  Here he is.

.Abi also got offered a job to come to work at Scout camp as a lifeguard in the Summer by the Boy Scout people.

The convention really doesn't have anything of value for me.  I am not interested in their teacher classes...I'm sure they are good but I have never gone since I have not had childcare for these days in the past.  And so I have just walked around at the booths.  There was a few good places, but no jewelry or clothes or crafts...But it is fun to see what they have and shoot a basket for a book.

We did stop at the Utah State booth to take a pic of the Aggie for Brooke.  They gave us some water bottles...



Then Michelle and I went to our favorite store, Van Heusen.  It is friends and family so there is an extra 25% off...Now thats right up our alley.  Michelle talked me into these pants that are stretchy and pull on...talk about grandma pants.  However, she talked me into FOUR pair!  FOUR pair of GMA pants....!  They are pull on and stretch.  Can't wait to wear them!  We had fun.  Always a fun time.  Michelle spent over 45 minutes returning her other stuff at Vanheusen.  She has a sickness for sure...

The next day we went to Snowbird to ride the tram.  We had to bring 3 cans of food for the foodbank and we got one free tram ride.  We wanted to hike down, but they recomended against hiking down.  Ok...so we just looked around and rode down.  We made it to Chik Fil A after.

Abi, Nick and McKenna

Playing on the park at Snowbird

Chik Fil A

McKenna asleep, and Nick enjoying his ice cream cone