:: scott's birthday wish ::

Scott was reading the AAA magazine where they listed cool things to do this summer, and the only thing listed in Utah was the July 6th Moonlight Bike Ride on Antelope Island. Immediately he said, "That's what I want to do for my birthday." 

So we did. Becky, Pitt and Emmett joined us - first for dinner at McGrath's. 

Becky made the card for Scott, so now you know how YOUNG he is.

 
Then we took off for the Great Salt Lake. Little did we know that there'd be 1500 riders and tons of traffic on the road and causeway to Antelope Island. It got later and later and darker and darker. It was my first 'bike event,' and I felt nervous to be doing my first bike ride in the dark on a road I'd never been on even in the daylight. But everything is "no big deal" to Scott and he refused to let me fret. (Welcome to my life.)

We finally got parked and set to go...with Emmett in a bike trailer behind Pitt. It was Emmett's first time in a bike trailer. He was perfect! No issues - just dealt with it. He's a 2 1/2-year-old trooper.

We set off at 10:45 pm. It was dark but the stars were bright and the moon was just rising. We had headlamps on our helmets which cast a surprising amount of light and headlights on the bikes. (Petzl headlamps for Beck and Pitt, of course, because Pitt works at Petzl in sales and marketing.) 

 As usual I was Mrs. Cautious wearing long pants and long sleeves because of the "bugs" and insisting that Scott do the same. It was hot. And it was embarrassing to be "so dressed" among those 1500 real-life cyclists and their multi-colored spandex shorts and zip-front tops. Oh well, it was dark. 

It was also embarrassing to be on a cruiser bike. I was the only "upright" cyclist that I saw. But I'll tell you this: I was very comfortable on my tractor seat, my gears worked like a dream, I only got a bit of a backache, and I enjoyed the ride without fear of falling. So, go cruiser and go being old and not caring. Again, I'm glad it was dark.

At mile 7 (out of 22) I turned around and went back. We had just cruised down a long wonderful hill and I was loving it - then IT HIT ME! I have to go back up this hill and any others. I realized I was tired and holding the others back. So I headed back to the car and felt fine about it. 

Here are Becky and Scott at the halfway point - mile 11. There was food and celebrating. Becky rode the whole way - never stopped and walked. She's in GOOD SHAPE! I'm proud of her. Scott and Pitt did too!

A typical group of "true cyclists" having a blast at the party. 

Emmett was a champ! He slept in the trailer and woke up happy and proud of Grandpa when it was all over. 

NEXT YEAR - you're all going to join us. We're going to get Spandex outfits and form a team. Start training now - 22 miles is your goal. 

* pretty patriotic *

 F
Finally, I got myself into the sewing room and made something! This is my cute 4th of July tablerunner ...almost finished. I enjoyed every minute making this project. Well, almost every minute. When I realized I had cut the navy dot fabric ALL WRONG (in my haste), I was pretty mad at myself. Me, of all people, a writer of sewing instructions, should know better than to start cutting without carefully checking the cutting guide. But I improvised by sewing the mis-cut pieces back together and got enough inches to make the flags. I couldn't sew the cute pinwheels though (see original pattern below), so I ended up with the stripe block in the middle. It took me about four hours last night including stress-eating of Cheetos and diet root beer. It still needs to be quilted and bound, but I'll ask Carol to quilt it later and then it'll be even CUTER! 

 
I bought this as a kit at My Girlfriend's Quilt Shop. It was designed by Kim of Kimberbell Designs. Kim designs quilts and is the owner of  the website You Can Make This.com and also a machine embroidery website called SWAKembroidery.com. Kim and her twin sister Kris are the fabulous creators of the DIY Dish website and videos. Kris is also the owner of the quilt shop. They are two amazingly creative women. 

Here's the original design all quilted and bound. Notice the pinwheel block. Next time, I'll think before I cut. 

You can buy the pattern as a downloadable PDF here youcanmakethis.com. It's called the Americana Kitchen Tablerunner and Tea Towel Set. I love the instant gratification of PDF downloads. If I want a pattern at 11 pm, I just have to find it, pay, and print. 

- two weeks -

We survived two weeks of tending grandkids! It was just a coincidence that a chain of watching the kiddies happened over the past two weeks. Some parents were here part of the time, and we all managed to work together to get the job done. Everyone stayed quite happy.


Carter is content with trucks and blocks.

Claire is cute and fine about everything.

Emmett arrived and grandpa took the boys for a bike ride on their little Strider balance bikes. 

We met up at Becky's when Aaron and Aimee and the big girls got home and got this precious photo of all six of the grands.

The little nine-month-old cousins that we love so much. 

Of course, we're shoppers and we had to shop. This little girl is excited and well trained. 

So fun to have these two. However, baby got sick and will probably not look back on Logan with fondness. 

This little guy is a bundle of energy. 

And love. 

And then it was time to say goodbye to the last kid. 

Grammy is, well, HAPPY TO BE FREE!!! (No offense, kids.)

iNspirRed by...

6 Fool Proof Ways to Make A Difference

                                                        

I like these suggestions from life coach and blogger Jennifer Louden. I follow her blog because I like her writing and her lively voice. I find that her approach is "not the usual," and she simply inspires me. She's always realistic about the fact that we WANT to serve and make a difference but sometimes don't have the ability to take on HUGE projects. Her ideas below are filled with small but meaningful things everyone can accomplish. Here are six great ways to serve: 

One

Acknowledge that you want to. Feel into the ache in your heart or the tug in your belly.  Bow to your desire.
Maybe your desire is to educate girls, end under-earning, heal veterans, open a dialogue between warring neighbors, stop bullying in your kid’s school, get people dancing…. whatever it is, embrace your longing.
Here’s the secret that will set you free: the longing doesn’t go away. Ever. It’s  your fuel. And your compass. Listen to its insistent whispers. Learn to live with the itch.

Two

Stand up to any voice – internal or external – that says you can’t make a difference. Or at least not the way you really want to.  Give those voices a cup of tea – or a shot of tequila – and say, “I know you’re afraid I’ll get hurt, look like a fool, lose my shirt, break my heart, get burned out. I understand. I’ll do my best to take care of me and here I go.”
We are all afraid. We’ve got that going for us.

Three

Step away from the idea that changing the world = big. The world is changed one relationship at a time. One story. One handshake. One hug.
It has nothing to do with bigness. This is hard for our egos. Oh well, what isn’t?

Four

Stop thinking changing the world means you have to be someone different than you are right now or learn something new or take another course in discovering your life purpose. 

Five

Instead, notice what you can’t help but do and go offer that to someone today.  Love to write? Go help the kid who lives on the corner with his college application. Too much? Write someone an actual note telling them something they do that makes a difference.
Believe in the power of raw food to heal? Make a raw food meal for a friend or two without telling them it’s raw or making a big deal out of it.
Love to love? Ride the subway at rush hour and direct loving kindness at each person.
Have no time for any of this? Cool, why not concentrate on shrinking your carbon footprint? Doing so can save you time, energy and money so hot diggity dog. Plus if we all did it, wow-wee!

Six

Exult in the truth we are all one. Savor & serve. Self-care & world-care. Breathe in, breathe out. No separation.

6-12-12 birthday

 

 

 

 

 

We went to Cafe Sabor for my birthday - me, Scott, my mom and dad, my son Mike and Sierra (cute girlfriend),and my brother Doug and sister-in-law Kimberly. We sat on the patio and enjoyed the warm evening temperature. Scott brought little flowering cactus plants that he bought just for me - for centerpieces. He almost brought a SpongeBob SquarePants Pinata - but said having to fill it with candy made him think again. But the cactus plants were cute as can be. The quesadilla and chimichanga were lovely and yummy. We ate way too many chips and salsa. Fried ice cream served with a  birthday song by our waiters was the perfect ending.

And for my birthday, I wore white pants...something I haven't done in years. I'm the black pants girl, you know. I don't do white. But a few days ago, while shopping, I bought some. Bonnie talked me into it...she even sent me a text last week, "Got those white pants yet?"  I do and goodness sake, they go with everything! Happy Birthday to me. 

+ pots planted yippee +

I guess you could call it my hobby. I enjoy buying flowers and planting them in pots for my front porch and yard. I've spent the past week (off and on) finding flowers I like and getting them planted. I only lost one plant - you can see the wilted mint plant in the box behind me. It needed to go in the ground a lot sooner. The other flowers are beautiful...I love the bright colors. The geraniums were just gorgeous this year.

Scott has figured out an easy way to haul the heavy pots from the backyard to the front. He spent the whole evening cleaning leaves out of our shrubs and bushes. Bags and bags of leaves. We always have a huge leaf cleanup in the spring because our ornamental pear trees don't drop their leaves until January or February. 

This is my favorite flower pot of all. I planted it with all pink flowers in honor of the arrival of two little granddaughters in the past year. Baby Claire and Baby Lizzie are as pretty as the pink flowers I chose and planted. And they bring so much joy to their families and to us. Each time I water these flowers, I'll think of those precious babies and say a prayer of gratitude.  

 

- just thinking -

Today is June first. Summer has arrived and I'm loving the blue skies and warmer temperatures. And it smells so good outside. Right now, I'm sitting beside an open window and breathing in air that smells sort of grassy and flower-y and fresh. It's good for me to be taking deep breaths of the fragrant night air. (Good for anybody - I think we all have a tendency toward shallow breathing.)

I've been working in my yard and getting some good exercise while pulling weeds and digging in dirt. It's amazing how "out of shape" I feel after three months of pretty much not exercising except for a bit of walking. Today I bought the last of the flowers I'll be planting - not so many this year because the perennials I've planted over the past couple of summers are finally starting to fill up the flower garden - exactly as I planned so I won't have to spend so much time and money planting annuals in my back yard.

We went to a wedding reception this evening, and it was so fun and creative and charming. I love that couples are putting so much personality into their wedding celebrations. I love the sharing that goes on on the internet. I feel it fuels creativity and generates ideas.

* mom's day *

We celebrated a lovely Mother's Day at Aaron and Aimee's house. Aimee fixed a wonderful dinner. As always, she had fresh flowers on the table with her pretty china and serving dishes. She's a very busy mom of four and deserved the day off instead of cooking for extras. Thanks Aimee - we appreciated everything and we love you. The day got even better when Becky, Pitt and Emmett walked in. Becky is also a busy mom to little Emmett. We're so proud of her. Suzie and Winston couldn't come, but we talked to them on Facetime and expressed our gratitude for their little baby girl and the miracle of her birth and it being Suzie's first Mother's Day. 

 
We had a little photo session with me and my kids - including Suzie's face on the iPad held by Brookie. 

We played a few rounds of the thimble-with-water-in-it guessing game. What's more fun...the anticipation of getting water splashed on you or being the one that pours it on?

Here are three of my favorite moms:

Mike's USU graduation

Wow - the last kid is done! Mike graduated from Utah State University on Saturday, May 5. We were thrilled as he walked in the processional with the other graduates. His degree was a                          Bachelors of Science in Business with a minor in Japanese.

Mike is wearing the rope that represents honors from the Japanese National Honor Society for outstanding achievement at the post-secondary level of Japanese language studies.

Mike with good (best) friends Thomas Williams and Ty Mortensen. These guys spent many hours filling our house with music as they had band practice in our basement over the past few years. 

Mike's name is read as he walks across the stage with other graduates from the MIS Department of the Huntsman School of Business. (Management Information Systems.)

I love this shot that Scott took of Mike walking to his seat holding up his diploma.

Ever supportive and proud grandparents - my mom and dad, Evan and Jean Stevenson.

The girls that love him - his sister Becky, his happy mom, and his cutie girlfriend Sierra Larsen.           Becky's hubby Pitt is in the background trying to figure out just how long this program is going to take. 

We had a yummy lunch at a Japanese grill restaurant called Kibuki. Joining us were Sierra's parents       Bryce and Leslie Larsen from Cedar Hills. It was wonderful that they could join us for our lunch celebration.