TEMPLE(S) DAY

At the beginning of summer Rick and I talked about taking a couple of days and going to some of the temples in UT that we had never been to. Well, let's just say that it got shortened to 1 day. Tuesday night I met Rick at his office later than intended. (he was running behind too) We were hoping to get to the SL temple that night but we were both tired and hungry so we didn't make it. We did, though, stop at PF Chang's for dinner.

Can you say lettuce wrap?That night we stayed at Ellerbeck Mansion (again.....thank goodness for trade) up in the avenues. After a yummy breakfast we headed toward the Mt. Timpanogas Temple. I have never served in this temple before.

WOW! It's beautiful.
Next we were hoping to get down to the Provo temple because I have never served there either. We knew we wouldn't have enough time so we had a quick bite at a darling Bistro and Boutique called Dear Lizzie. (really, really cute) So we drove back into the valley and went to the Draper temple.


After we finished there we were hoping to get to The Oquirrh Mtn. Temple but they were closed for cleaning so we headed over to our old standby (The Jordan River). This used to be our temple when we lived in West Valley so we have lots of fun memories there.

All in all it was a great (but tiring) day. It's amazing that we have FIVE temples within 45 minutes of our house. We are truly blessed!

Top This....

This is totally a random blog today but here goes.

I was just upstairs doing laundry when I opened my sock drawer. It was so stuffed with socks that I could barely open it. After finding a few matches I decided to count what was left over. Can you believe that I had 43 socks that were missing their mates? FORTY-THREE! I hate the thought of having to throw away perfectly good socks because there's only one. I just KNOW that the sock's mate is SOMEWHERE in my house. Anyway, instead of searching for the lost mates ......I threw them in the trash.......yes I did. I will say that I could not bring myself to throw Rick's dress socks out........they are just too darned expensive. I'm just curious.......how full are your sock drawers? Can anyone top 43?

PS One of my boys.......I'll not mention any names (except that he has red hair and is on a mission:) used to love to wear mismatched socks. I thought it was a little strange but it didn't seem to bother him at all. In fact, I think he relished in the fact that he was carefree and didn't have to worry about 'the little things'. Crazy Kid!

Under the Knife.....Again

Today was yet another surgery for Gary. For 12 years now (since his accident when he was 5) he has had trouble breathing through his nose. At the time, he had severe trauma to his face and believe me he's got the scars to prove it. I took him in last month for an evaluation to see what could be done and the doc said he was 85 % clogged.

The poor boy hasn't been able to smell for years.

Here he is in his hospital gown. He's ready to go!The surgery took about an hour and a half. After he started coming out of the anesthetic they let me back to see him. I don't know if any of you have experienced seeing your kids drugged up but it is kinda scary. I must be getting used to it 'cause I didn't feel too freaked out seeing his eyes glazed over. It was actually quite humerous.

Kids say the darndest things when they're out ot it.

I know Gary has felt bad about how he treated me (and the nurses I might add) in his last hospital experience. (He was a BEAR)! I know this because he apologized 5 months later in my Mother's Day card. I believe he set himself a goal this time to be as nice as possible. The minute I walked into his recovery room he opened his eyes. This was our conversation. (remember he is still very drugged and slurring)

Gary: "mom, come here. (except it sounded like commeer)

The nurse was talking to me so he thought I didn't hear him.

Gary: (a little louder) COMMEER.

I walked to the side of his bed.

Gary: "I wanna hug."

I hugged him.

Gary: "See I'm nicer this time. I don't want to be mean................. I feel sooo good"!

Me: "You are Gary. Your last surgery was a little harder so I can understand. I don't blame you. Your a good boy....I love you."

Gary: "I love you too.......... I feel sooo good.

Then he fell back asleep. After 2 minutes he woke up saying....

Gary: "I want my mom"

I smiled at that and I said, "What"

Gary: "I love you"

Me: " I love you too, bud.

Gary: (druggily) "I feel GREAT.

A little later I was sitting at the foot of his bed and he jolted awake and said,

Gary: "I don't want you to leave." Another smile. (Last time he said to the nurse...."I told you not to let her in here!" Yes, he really said that.)

Gary: I can't believe how good I feel.

The nurse walks in.

Gary: I wasn't nice to my mom last time.

Nurse: "What do you mean last time"

Gary: "My last surgery."

Me: "Yes, but he's doing much better this time."

(I did not realize that he was so worried about being nice this time around. I am glad of it for sure. This was definitely a better experience than last time. He slept the whole way home and a few hours after. Here he is playing on Kendra's computer.

He'll have some teflon splints in his nose until Monday and then it will take a couple of weeks to fully recuperate. I can't believe how wonderful he has been. Really kind AND patient. So different than the last time. Maybe he is really growing up:-)

He gets his wisdom teeth out next month so that'll be another adventure:)

Trip to the Black Hills

Last week Rick, Kaitlyn and I took off on a road trip. Our destination was to see Mt. Rushmore in the Black Hills. Although I was excited for the trip I certainly did not know what a great time was in store. We began our trip Monday evening after Rick got home from work. We drove as far as Rock Springs and overnighted there. The next morning we headed up the middle of Wyoming. Martin's Cove was right on our way so we stopped for a few hours and took the hike into the cove. (no handcarts) It was a long hot walk but it sure gave us an appreciation for all the handcart pioneers who suffered so greatly in this place. There were missionaries along the way to give us actual accounts of the pioneers' experiences.

There was a very peaceful feeling in the cove. That night we drove the rest of the way into South Dakota. We stayed in Custer that night and headed out the next morning. Our first stop was to the Crazy Horse Monument. It was very impressive. It has been in the works for 50 years. It is completely privately funded so it is taking quite a long time. With the invention of modern equipment the process has been speeded up through the last 10 years. There is still a long way to go.
This is the actual model of what the mt. will look like when it is completed. I love the comparison of the model to the real thing.

Our next stop just a few miles down the road was the reason for our trip in the first place. Neither Rick nor I have ever seen Mt. Rushmore (except in pictures of course) so we thought we would make the trek to see it. Long Drive. But totally worth it!

A close up. So MAGNIFICENT!

That night we made reservations for a chuck wagon dinner and show.

We ate at the Circle B Ranch.

Rick and Kaitlyn were brave and tried the buffalo that was on the menu. I played it safe with chicken and beef. Afterwards we were entertained by some cowboy singing.

The next morning we headed back to the Circle B for a trail ride. Rick looks quite dapper as a cowboy don't you think?

Later that day we traveled up to Deadwood city. We started our tour at Mt Moriah cemetary (otherwise known as Boot Hill) We saw many infamous graves including "Wild" Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. Truly, throughout the whole trip we caught ourselves humming "Take me back to the Black Hills, the Black Hills of Dakota" (ya know, the song that Doris Day sings as she plays the part of Calamity Jane......a true classic) One thing I was not expecting on this trip was the sheer beauty of those Black Hills. So incredible!

Having fun on main street.

We left Deadwood at 1:00 and drove all the way to Jackson Hole. Nine Loooong hours. This is the part I did NOT like about the trip. I can't stand being in the car for that long. The good thing though was we counted over a hundred antelope, almost a hundred buffalo, about 50 elk, lots of deer and 1 moose. I'll tell you though, there is a lot of desolate country in WY!

This is our cute little cabin in Jackson.

Our first day in Jackson we went on a river rafting trip. Can I just say...........totally worth that 9 hour drive. Those rapids are soooo much fun!

Afterwards we did a little shopping and bought a few souvenirs.

Before we left Saturday morning we had to stop at the Snow King Resort and take a ride down the Alpine Slide. Here comes Ricky!

Overall we put over 1700 miles on our suburban! I'm not much of a get in the car and drive kinda girl (my husband is totally into this) but I must say this was truly an unforgettable trip. It will be looked upon in many years to come as a wonderful memory:-)