Thank Heaven for Grandma!

As I am sure you can understand, I have had my Mom on my mind quite a bit lately.

Today is her sixth and final chemo treatment, and I am so relieved that this phase will soon be behind us!!!  Watching your Mom suffer through chemo has a way of changing you forever.  It has helped me to see her with renewed gratitude and I cherish her in a way I don't think I really ever did before.

My Mom...she is so amazing!

She is sick, she is in pain, she is exhausted and nauseated, but you wouldn't know it by talking to her.  She is SO incredibly strong and is smiling her way through all of this ugliness.
She is more beautiful to me than she ever has been before...beautiful bald head and all!

She has always been one of my heroes, but watching the strength and determination she has built up to fight off this cancer, has shown me how truly blessed I am to have such an amazing woman for my Mother!

I love you so much Mama!!!

This situation has changed me as well.  I have realized that I used to be a "passive" daughter.  I have always loved my Mom and loved spending time with her, but the time we spend together now has changed.  I cherish every minute of it.  I now understand that I really am blessed to have her here with me, and I need to take advantage of that.  I have tried to spend as much time with her as I can, and I have made it a point not to take any of that time together for granted. I talk to her, I listen to her, and just bask in the love that being with her offers me.

I am also extremely aware and grateful that my Ian is getting time to know and fall in love with his Grandma ~ and believe me, he LOVES his Grandma!! He loves going to her house, and it is the only place where he doesn't even offer a wave or a glance in our direction if we leave him there for a little while.

I was always worried that the longer it took for us to become parents, the less time my kids would have to get to know my Mom and Dad.  I lost my own wonderful Grandma B.
at 21 years old, and I miss her terribly.

I don't feel like I had enough time with her, and I desperately wanted more time than that for my kids with their own grandparents.  Of course, none of us know how much time we will get, but I do know that we have to enjoy every minute of it.

Grandma's can be a wonderful and vital part of a child's life - I know that was true for me.  My Grandma spoiled us relentlessly and we never questioned her love for us.  She always loved having us around, and never passed up a chance to be with us.  She supported our every sporting event or dance recital and Sunday dinners at her house were the best!!!  I knew I was a very important person in my Grandma's eyes.  My memories of sleepovers at her house, and all the many times she was at our house, are some of my most cherished childhood memories.  Grandma's truly are beautiful creatures.
And luckily, Ian has several.

He is well loved by them all, and I am grateful that he has this time to be with them.

Grandma Bonnie

Grandma Betty

Grandma Dawna

Grandma Dawna and Great-Grandma Helen

Thank Heaven for Grandma's!!!

Summer Storms and Yummy Homemade Food

We have been experiencing a summer of amazing and wild thunderstorms here in our neck of the woods.  We have had some loud cracks of thunder that have shaken our house and even caused our smoke detector to go off.  It has been awesome to watch, but even more fun to play in=)

A couple of nights ago, I was feeling particularly domestic, so I made the most scrumptious homemade dinner.  Mike pulled into the garage just as the storm rolled in, so we put dinner on hold, I grabbed the camera, and we all ran outside to play.  Well, Ferris and I stayed up where we could stay dry and I took pictures of Daddy and Ian playing in the warm, summer rains.

It was really incredible how much rain came down in such a short amount of time.  Being boys, of course they had to take advantage of that, and even got out the rubber ducky to join in their fun.

The neighbors even came out when they saw how much fun these two were having!

This little downpour created the most beautiful double-rainbow.  Even though you really can't see the second arch in this picture, believe me, it was gorgeous!

After a little drying off...

...we went back inside to enjoy our delicious meal of homemade Cream of Asparagus soup and wheat bread,

and our dessert of fresh peach pie a la mode.  Mmmmmm!!!

Ian enjoyed the bread so much...

that he had to call everyone and tell them what a good cook his Mama is=)

A summer storm and a delicious dinner = one pretty great night!!

Pet Peeve

Do any of you have a pet peeve that you decided was better to just keep to yourself because you didn't want to offend the people who were the cause of said pet peeve?

I do.

I decided that I wasn't going to say anything though, and I was going to try to just ignore it and let it go. It was something that I didn't encounter all that often, so I figured I would just deal with it. That was until I came across it THREE times in as many days! That, and the fact that one of the offenders was none other than my dear, sweet hubby=)

He caught his typo and fixed it fairly quickly, but I figured that I wouldn't offend him by saying anything, so here was my chance to air my dirty laundry and put it out there once and for all. You will probably think this is dumb, and I admit, it is. But it really bugs me, so here it is...

Loose = free or released from fastening or attachment; not bound together.

Lose = to come to be without (something in one's possession or care), through accident, theft, etc., so that there is little or no prospect of recovery.

If you LOSE something, please don't say LOOSE, or I will LOSE my mind!!.

Thank you.

That is all=)

Living Planet Aquarium

When I was young, I wanted to be a marine biologist.  Dolphins and whales were my favorites, and I couldn't think of a better job than getting to spend my days "playing" amongst them.  

Then when I was 7 years old, my love for marine life grew immensely when, during a visit to Sea World, I got to feed Shamu.  I remember the amazement and awe that I felt being so close to such a majestic animal.  I was hooked!

Since then, I have unfortunately discovered a huge fear that I have - in fact, it might just be the only fear I have that is strong enough to possibly be considered a phobia.  It is the fear of deep, open water.  I remember feeling anxiety when swimming in Lake Powell as a child, but my first inkling that this might be more serious was during a snorkeling trip in Hawaii.  I had a full blown panic attack and had to get out of the water.  Since then, it has been hard for me to swim in any body of water, other than a swimming pool, where I cannot touch the bottom.

So much for marine biology=)

I still love marine animals though, and I have always loved going to aquariums. It is an ideal way for me to view the animals that captivate me, but still get to keep my feet on solid ground!  In fact, whenever I go on vacation to a new city, the aquariums are one of the first places I like to check out, and I have been to many great ones.  Some of my favorites have been the ones in Hawaii, Seattle, and Baltimore.

So when I heard that we were getting an aquarium of our own here in Utah, imagine my excitement!  However, as others visited and I heard less than stellar reviews, I was very hesitant to go myself.  I didn't want to be disappointed, so I just never got around to going.

Not until recently, that is.  I was feeling bad for my son because he had an unpleasant day coming up, so the day before, I decided it was time to spoil him a little and we went to the aquarium.

We really had a good time. It certainly wasn't the greatest aquarium I have ever been to, but it was still a fun morning.   

See for yourselves...here is a photo journey of our fun, summer adventure at the...

This is the green sea turtle that the aquarium recently adopted from The Turtle Hospital in Florida.  This turtle had been bitten by a shark, and hit by a boat's motor.  It's injuries have made it hard for the turtle to fully submerge so it can no longer live in the wild.  It was really beautiful!  (The aquarium's adoption of this turtle opened up much needed space in Florida for The Turtle Hospital there to help with the many turtles affected by the BP oil spill).

And this is my brave boy petting the manta ray's...

He loves all animals and isn't afraid to get right up close and touch them.  

This last picture is my favorite - a beautiful memento of a wonderful day at the aquarium with my favorite little man.

Cowabunga Dude!

A couple of weeks ago, my sister Jamie and I took our families and we spent the day at a local waterslide park, Cowabunga Bay.

As kids, we went to parks like this a lot.  Our Dad loves waterslides, and we would go every chance we got.  Getting to spend a day like this again with my sister, took me back to our days as little girls going up and down slides all day long.

This time was just a little different - but still, so much fun!!

We had such a great time that we already can't wait for the next time we can go splash around together! 

Cowabunga Dudes!!