Old Friends and a Few In-Between Things

 Have you noticed that it's been pretty nonstop around here for the last couple months?  Yeah, me too.  With kids at home, my life used to be pretty nonstop all the time, but as the kids have left the house one by one, the pace has slowed down a bit.  There have even been times in the last few years when I worry that I'm missing something, because life is so NOT busy.   I've thought long and hard about finding a job, but just haven't felt like that was the right thing yet, so I am sometimes floundering a little as I search for the most effective/meaningful way to spend my time.   But then I have periods of time like the last couple months have been and I am grateful a million times over that I have the incredible privilege of choosing to stay unemployed at this stage of my life, because I can't imagine one more thing to do on my already long list.  Plus I really, really love being flexible enough to be available for the grandkids' calls and visits and I think our new BYU callings would be very challenging if I worked full-time too.  

So, I finally have a few minutes and, here I am, blogging about a couple of the in-between things that I missed mentioning here on the blog, because they happened amongst the myriad of other "bigger" things (like  our busy new callings, Emma's graduation, the work conference in Saint George,  our trip to Alabama, and Emma's injury/surgery).  

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I am not convinced that Utah will ever truly feel like home  to me, but I'm coming around to the idea that it's certainly not a bad place to live.  Besides the epic scenery, I love that old friends actually come to visit (or move here too).    If we moved away from our community here in Utah tomorrow, I am 99.99% convinced that not a single person we've met here in Utah would ever come visit us, no matter where we lived (even if it were a mile away), so the fact that I have friends that  call when they come to visit sometimes, makes me incredibly happy!   

  Heather and Kelly are two of those good friends.  Heather recently moved nearby and is now a part of my book group, which I love.  Kelly is so good at keeping in touch, something I'm not the greatest at, so I extra appreciate her efforts and I loved seeing her, along with Heather, when she came to town for her daughter's recent graduation from BYU.  

Speaking of graduation, when we were out celebrating Emma's, I  randomly ran into this cousin of my sister-in-law, Karey,  who recognized me from my blog.  Haha!  I am fully aware that she was a regular blog reader from way back when I actually attempted humor and had a lot more funny stories to share, but it did make me feel cool to be recognized all these years later!   If you ever meet / see me in the real world, please come talk to me and make my day!   

The day after all the excitement from Emma's graduation, we celebrated my 52nd birthday!   Emma made an AMAZING cake (gluten free of course)...

which was as delicious as it was cool looking!  

I'll do a catch-up post for every member of the family soon, since there's a lot happening in most of their lives, but I think I'll finish this blogpost up with a few more pictures of some Virginia friends that recently came to town.  Kim's son was performing in a BYU production of High School Musical, which provided the perfect, last minute excuse for a trek to Provo to gather with old friends!  

All of these women are dear friends, but, besides running RAGNAR together nearly 14 years ago (see photo below), I feel like I have a special connection with each of them.    Amy is a fellow grandma to Lucie and Oliver, Kim is the mom of one of Adam's best friends growing up, and Heather is a fellow Minnesotan with whom I have a lot of shared experiences.    Finding  this old picture of us was a blast from the past and brought back a lot of carefree memories from the couple of months right before Spencer was diagnosed with leukemia and our world was forever rocked!   These women were right by my side during that challenging time!  

RAGNAR, September 2011 {l-r:  Cat, Me, Amy, Kim, Paige, Heather}

 We had to get a photo with just us and the B family, since we're practically related now that our kids have been married to each other for 7 years!    

It made my whole week to see them all again...💗

And now I need to get back to my long list of things to do again.  Thanks for tuning in today and stay tuned for more updates coming soon!   

A Change of Plans

Emma has spent the last several months training for an upcoming triathlon later this month.   She was working hard and getting her mileage to where it needed to be, when about 10 days ago, we received a phone call from Emma while we were on our morning walk.   She very calmly explained that she  had gotten in a bike crash about half-way between our home and Provo and that she needed medical attention.  We knew it was something because she's not one to ask for help often, but she was so calm, we honestly didn't think it was that bad.   We were about a mile and a half from home when the phone call came in, so we immediately turned around and booked it as fast as we could back to home.   Once there, we grabbed the car keys and took off for Pleasant Grove, where we frustratingly hit road construction along the way.    

We felt badly about how long it took us to get there (probably 45ish minutes from the time she called), and, looking back, we wish we had asked a friend to come pick us up from our walk, so we could have at least gotten home faster, but that's only in hindsight we thought of that.   When we finally arrived to the site of the crash, we were grateful to find a kind lady, that had happened across her on the trail, had waited with her until we arrived.  She had even gotten a blanket for Emma when she had started shivering...I think at least  partially from shock. 

Long story short, I took her to the hospital where we learned that she had broken her collarbone in two places!   They called it a Z shaped displaced fracture, which means that the two ends were displaced  with a small fragment of bone lying loose in between.

They don't operate on collarbones very often, but Emma's break was severe enough that they recommended surgery for a (likely) quicker and less complicated healing process.  In the meantime, they put her in a sling, with orders to wear it day and night, only taking it off to bathe. 

Thankfully, other than the banged up collarbone and a few minor scrapes, she was totally fine.  Her collarbone bruise, though, was pretty epic as far as bruises go. 

She stayed at home with us for a couple days while she figured out how to live one-armed.  Some of the most difficult tasks included getting dressed, putting her hair up, and taking her sling on and off, but, with practice and a few adjustments, she figured out how to do everything other than putting her hair up on her own.   She is also not allowed to drive.   After she was a bit more independent, we brought her back to her apartment, so she could be more active in the social life of her ward.   

 

 Her surgery was scheduled for Wednesday, so Tuesday night, we headed to Provo to pick her up after she finished up a temple trip with her ward. 

 

But because she can't drive and they picked the Payson Temple to attend, rather than the Provo City Center, we ended up waiting longer than we expected for her.   So we made sure to impress all the young students as thoroughly as possible, and walked around BYU campus at 10:30pm in our pajamas!   Yes, we are cool like that. 

Eventually her and her friends returned to Provo, then we headed home and got some fitful sleep, then we brought her in for surgery on Wednesday morning...

During pre-op, the anesthesiologist commented on her red hair and said he'd take that into account when administering the anesthesia.   We laughed, because, while we still think of her as  having "reddish" hair, it's much less red than it was when she was young!   

Wasn't she the cutest?!

We had always heard about redheads possibly needing more anesthesia during surgery, but didn't know that was something actually backed by research and science until the anesthesiologist mentioned it.   We were impressed at the anesthesiologist's attention to detail and were only disappointed that we didn't hear a report back as to whether she actually did require more than a non-redhead of her size would have required. 

The surgeon said the surgery went smoothly and she now pretty much has a bionic shoulder.   I have no idea what kind of imaging this is, since it doesn't seem to show bone, but this is what the surgeon showed me when reporting to me about how it had gone.   He said that the plate goes along the top of the clavicle and the screws are holding the two displaced pieces in  place.  The area in the center of the plate without screws is where the loose bone fragment is.  It was too small for screws, so that's wrapped into place with some kind of surgical string (if I understood that correctly). 

She still wears the sling full-time for two weeks, but she should regain her mobility more quickly with the surgery and she already has pretty significantly reduced pain than when everything was all disjointed in there.    She stayed at home with us for a few days, which is something we (and the dogs) very much enjoyed...

And now (five days post-surgery), she is in California!   It is a graduation trip she planned with her friends long before this accident happened.   We were a little unsure as to whether the doctor would clear her for air travel so soon after surgery, but he gave it the thumb's up!   I probably warned her a few too many times about how she needs to take it easy, not push things, and to listen to her body, but I have confidence that it will be the fun celebratory experience she helped plan.    She's a little sad that her trip, especially her day at Disneyland will be a much different day than she'd envisioned, but she is happy to be there!   And that's a gift she's embracing-- all things considered. 

Maybe I can talk her into doing a write-up on her trip when she gets back!    Have a great week, friends!

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All In A Few Days

You may have noticed that between our new callings, Emma's graduation, the work conference in Saint George, and our trip to Alabama, it's been pretty go go go around here the last several weeks.    I had hopeful visions that things would calm down a bit once we returned from Alabama, but that has not been the case yet.    

I arrived back home on a Wednesday night to an empty refrigerator, boatloads of laundry to do, and a somewhat messy house after being gone for 2 weeks (4 days in Saint George, then 10 days in Alabama).    I also had a funeral program to design (see below) and print by Thursday and book group to get ready for hosting on Thursday night, plus a busy weekend ahead, which pretty much meant there was not a moment of downtime before I had to go go go again. 

BOOK GROUP
 I LOVE my book group!   They are fantastic people that I am lucky to call my friends, so I totally don't mind hosting every month, even if sometimes it feels like a lot.    Luckily I was able to talk Emma into coming up for a couple hours to help me clean and make refreshments, which took the edge off of this crazy day. 

BACK ROW L-R:  Julie D, Nancy G, Kelly D, Emily G, Mary J, Heather P, Andrea C
FRONT ROW L-R:  Susan T, Me, Carrie W, K'Lynn W

A FUNERAL
My Aunt Valerie passed away while we were in Alabama.  She never married, so it was her sisters (including my Mom) helping to plan the funeral.   I was asked to make the funeral programs...something I was happy to do!  

The funeral was on Friday, so I needed to finish designing and printing them by Thursday, so they'd be ready for Friday.   Luckily I have found a good local printer that was able to do them same-day.  I ran to the grocery store to do a quick restock of the fridge while I was out picking up the programs.

  The funeral went great, except that I forgot to tell Glen that he was giving the family prayer.  I had been asked about it while I was still in Alabama and just plain didn't thoroughly read the text they sent  and then couldn't communicate to Glen something I skipped over.  It was a bit embarrassing as everyone was waiting for him and it was 100% my fault.   😳 Oops.  Besides giving the family prayer, Glen also led the music.  Emma gave the life sketch.   This was us at the funeral. 

  My Mom and 3 of her remaining sisters (one was too sick to come) immediately went to Star Valley after the funeral for the burial.  

 

MY SISTER AND NEPHEW

Speaking of sisters...my sister, Kristina, town for the funeral too. 

She also brought Jesus, who decided he wants to be called J  now. Denali was LOVING all the extra attention J  was giving her...

And J was LOVING all the one on one attention he was getting here without any of his siblings to compete with.   We read lots of books and let him pick the movies  (Frozen and Pete the Cat), which his brothers would never let him watch. 

I'll be honest...I was also quite LOVING the bonus time with this sweet little guy, since I was in serious Lucie and Oliver withdrawals  at that point! 

WEDDING RECEPTION
On Saturday night, after a busy day of doing all of our Saturday things,  we went to the wedding reception of a friend of Emma's from PA. Emma didn't live in PA for very long, but Katie left on her mission within a few weeks of  Ems and both got reassigned to SLC missions during COVID, so they connected that way.  I grew to really love Katie's Mom, Elizabeth, who was one of our bright spots from PA, after the very awkward social experience we had in the first ward we lived in while we were there.   We didn't take any pics at the reception and we actually didn't get a chance to talk to the L family for very long, since they were a bit distracted with lots of wedding stuff, but it was great to see their happy faces and celebrate with them. 

A VERY LONG SUNDAY
One Sunday a month, we wake up extra early and head to stake meetings that start at 7:30am.   But since it's about 35 minutes to get there and we have to find parking on campus, we have to leave around 6:50am and we don't get home until about 3:00pm.   The Sunday after we got home from Alabama was one of those long days, but luckily  Kristina was leaving from the Provo airport, so she dropped by right after our ward ended to say goodbye!   It was fun for Kristina to see a glimpse of what we're doing in the YSA ward now and it was fun that Emma could run over and greet Kristina as well.  I laughed when I offered to pick J up for the picture and he immediately flopped over in my arms like a baby!  Silly boy!     

A BUSY WEEK
By the time you'll read this post, we'll have prepared talks for this Sunday, had a kid break a bone in two places (a post for another day),  and been down to BYU FOUR  separate times  for various ward activities (it actually ended up 6/7 days).  

 

And, yet, here I am blogging, because, you know, priorities...

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My Last (?) Trek to Alabama

We didn't like Alabama much when we first visited as a family back in 2017.   We were touring the Deep South as part of our quest to get to all 50 states and the part of Alabama we explored was kind of sketchy, so when Cami and Garrett got matched to the University of Alabama - Birmingham  for G's internal medicine residency,  we  were honestly a little nervous for them!   It  turns out, though, that we had nothing to worry about!  Birmingham is a far cry from Mobile, and it's turned out to be  quite a lovely and interesting place to live. 

The weather in Birmingham is mild (without the propensity for big storms that plagues much of the South), the landscape is green and hilly and reminds us of Virginia, the people are the very epitome of Southern hospitality, the shopping near them is way better than what we have here in Utah, there is a temple nearby, the traffic isn't terrible, and the church network is good.   Honestly, I would totally live there without hesitation if we had family nearby. 
 
Now Cami and Garrett are moving to Rhode Island this summer for his three year long hematology-oncology fellowship, and we were a little sad to realize that this most recent trek to Alabama was likely going to be our last.   

So we seized the day and tried to enjoy every moment!  

The main reason for our visit was to babysit the kiddos while C & G headed to Rhode Island for a house-hunting quest.  That meant we only had a little time all together at the beginning of our time there:  

And after a quick shopping trip and some adjustment time for the kids, C & G took off for RI.

 

 As I mentioned here, Glen had a bit more of a misadventure getting here than he'd hoped and he started his time in AL quite exhausted...

But he didn't mind a bit!  We still  had a lot of wedding dance parties, read a lot of books, went to the park...

Did some exploring in the stream during Oliver's nap-time.  

Had a lot of kitchen adventures and misadventures...and had to admit that I had forgotten how crazy it is to cook with littles around. Yes, plain butter was consumed...😂

I had also forgotten how crazy it is to shop with a very verbal 3-year-old who could articulately explain why almost everything in the store was on our shopping list that day!  And, no, I did not buy her any cereal, but I did spoil her a bit, since I am Gigi and that's my job! 

We took a trek to the McWane Science Museum in downtown B-ham...

I found A LOT of Lucie selfies on my phone...

And we definitely had some bedtime battles, grumpy afternoons, and early mornings...

But it was worth every minute to be here with them (and their parents when they got home a few days later)...

After C & G got home, I was excited to knock an Alabama bucket-list item off my list...Kelly Ingram Park, which is park filled with some pretty emotionally charged statues and monuments commemorating many of the Civil Rights struggles that took place in Birmingham.   It's crazy that all these horrific events took place in the decade before my birth.

We also visited Sloss National Historical Landmark.  We went too close to closing to really explore, but it was an interesting place.

 I left even more tired than I'd been when I'd come, but it was a great final (?) visit to Alabama...

And I'm already looking forward to next time...
 

I LOVE THESE SWEETIES!  💗💗💗

Lots of Stuff

We've had A LOT on our calendar lately and this post is all about a few days we took for a work conference in Saint George in the middle of all that.     Glen works for a cool company that supports dentists in a unique and innovative way and this event was technically considered a retreat.  The word "retreat" sounds it should have been nice and relaxing, and it was for the dentists, and for me and for the other employees' spouses, but it definitely was anything but retreat-like for Glen and his colleagues who worked their tails off to make this event happen, which is why I am referring to it as a work conference for him.    

There were fun events scheduled, but mostly it was a time for the dentists to interact with each other and for Glen's team to meet, coordinate, and problem solve together.   We met A LOT of new people (especially me) over the few days of the conference and I am about tapped out on small talk for the next year, but poor Glen had to be ON ON the whole time and it was especially exhausting for him.  

While Glen was in meetings, I hiked to Scout Cave in Snow Canyon with Katie, who is the wife of Glen's boss.  We knew them back in VA, so it was fun to catch up.  

The weather wasn't too bad yet and the scenery was pretty grand!

 We spent a lot of time small talking around the pool....

We had a cookie decorating class, which I very much enjoyed...

I thought I was quite hilarious when I washed my hair the next day and realized that I matched my cookie.   

And I was quite excited to bring that cookie with me to Alabama to share with Lucie, who appreciated my artistic attempts by immediately gobbling it up!   Haha!  

On Saturday, we had the opportunity to ride e-bikes through Snow Canyon.  I'd never ridden an e-bike before and I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would.  

Even though I'd hiked in Snow Canyon just a day or two before, I'd forgotten how incredibly beautiful it is in the depths of the canyon, which we did not get to on our hike.  

It truly was a delightful experience for both of us and I am already concocting a plan to get Emma and Adam down there for a similar trek sometime!  

The conference technically ended around 8:30pm on Saturday, which meant that most people stayed overnight and went home on Sunday morning.   But we had a YSA ward to attend and a plane to catch...so we headed home that night.  WE got home a little before 1:00am, where I then packed for Alabama (including dirty clothes I didn't have time to wash), and eventually crashed into bed.  We were off to church meetings at 8:20am, then left straight for SLC from Provo after church.   We made a quick pit-stop at a hotel in SLC to visit our long-lost friend, Terri, we hadn't seen in 25ish years, who was in town with  her husband for a  business trip.  Sadly, her husband was in meetings and couldn't meet with us, but it was fun to catch up after all these years.   They had been our neighbors in Baltimore and have kids the same ages as Spencer and Cami, which meant we had a lot of play dates back in the day!     

After arriving to the airport, my flight was delayed, which meant I had yet another long night in front of me, though not as long as Glen's proved to be the very next night.   His flight to Alabama ended up getting totally canceled after arriving to the airport and rather than missing another day of work for the rescheduled flight the next day, he opted to take a red-eye to Atlanta, where he rented a car, then drove here to Birmingham (about a 2 hour drive), and arrived here early on Tuesday morning.   But it was worth it for this...

Lucie is OBSESSED with Glen!   

Glen is trying to keep working while he's here, but he's eating up this time with them...

As am I.   

And now you know not to judge how completely and totally exhausted we look...because we were...and it was worth it a million times over to be here with them!  

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PS  Don't worry, there will be at least one whole blogpost  dedicated to our time here in Alabama, so consider this just a little teaser.   😁
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