The Cousins who can't get enough of each other....

When my son Tyler and his wife Karen finished their visit here last week, our grandkids, Austin and Kylie, followed behind them in another car....the entire 12 hours...which actually turned into 16 hours....you can read about that on Karen's blog if you want.

Anyway, Austin and Kylie went to up to Logan, Utah to attend EFY (Especially For Youth) with our granddaughter Jessica (Kris and Mike's daughter). Hope you could follow that.


EFY is over, but Austin and Kylie are STILL at Jessica's house...apparently they are having a hard time saying Goodbye. Monday Kris and Mike took all the kids to Lagoon. Gotta show these pictures, but especially the short video clip at the end. Scary stuff if you ask me, but then I'm a Grandma, so what do I know....

Kylie, Austin, Jessica




Love this one too....of the soon to be Brigham City Temple!
Isn't it already GORGEOUS!
Jacob, Austin, Kylie, Jessica!

Could it be the Green Smoothies??

Dennis went to see his Dr today for a routine blood pressure check. He has struggled with high blood pressure for years, and has been on medication for the past 8 years. 

So before he actually sees the Dr, the nurse weighs him in and takes his blood pressure and temp....all routine. 

The medical assistant then asks, "What are you here for today?" 

Den responds, "Blood pressure check."


The assistant looks at his BP reading, and then at Dennis, and asks him, "Is it too low, or too high?"

"Too high," he says.

What the assistant said next put a smile on my husband's face, "Wow! Your blood pressure is really great today....104 over 71. She reminded him that normal BP is 120 over 80. 


Good news. Especially considering he took it upon himself to cut his dose of blood pressure medicine in half nearly a week ago! Once the Dr came in, Den explained that to her, and she said to continue at this lower dose because he is doing so well. She also said if he continues doing so well he should consider stopping the blood pressure meds all together. Yah!!! 

The only thing that has really changed in his life are the Green Smoothies. He has been making one daily since our trip to Bakersfield 5 weeks ago. He even made them for me those 2 weeks I couldn't cook.

The Green Smoothie Girl warned us that this could happen. Apparently she is right. Time will tell.


Dennis' father died of diabetes/heart disease/high blood pressure problems at age 62...the same age Den is now.


Cooking before take off...!!

This absolutely astounds me. When I heard this I was nearly breathless. Well okay, I was still breathing, but just in awe. Total awe.


My son's McKay's wife, McKenna, flew away to Virginia for her niece's baptism, and to visit with family. He couldn't go with her because he is teaching calculus every weekday. She didn't like leaving McKay alone, fending for himself while she would be gone for 9 days......SO.... the day before she left, McKenna made NINE DINNERS FOR McKay!  Seriously. 

When she told me yesterday she was going to make some meals up for McKay I was thinking one or two. But McKay told me today she made NINE. All yesterday too!


Here are the meals all ready and waiting for McKay:


Stuffed pork chops and potatoes
Fajitas and fruit
Spanish Chicken and Rice
Hot sandwiches
Baked Ziti
Shepherd Pie
Mollie's Chicken
Spaghetti
Chicken Rice Bake


McKay says she left instructions with each meal, telling him when to take it out to thaw, and how to warm it up. Have you ever heard of a wife doing this for her husband??? I sure haven't. Not for this many days. Not in my lifetime.


And while I'm at it, take a look at this small video clip taken last Sunday.


Life is good again

I have a bad habit of venting on my blog about what I am physically going through at the time...and then things get better, life returns back to normal, and I don't mention  it again.

So just so no one will think I am still sitting in my pajamas doing nothing all day....as I had to do for nearly 2 weeks!...that is behind me. I love my home, but I had quite the fill of it for that week or so. I'm in Physical Therapy and it has done WONDERS  for me. I've been having laser treatments done on my shoulder, zapping those calcium deposits...I had no idea there was such a thing. My PT is amazed at my progress. He told me after looking at my xray the first time, that it would take months for me to get where I am now (just a week later!)

The pain is pretty much gone...that HORRIBLE pain....is GONE...probably the worst of my life.  I still have a long ways to go, but I'm getting better.

I've been told, especially by those older than me, "Better get use to these challenges because they are only going to get bigger from here on out."  

The sad part is this all happened during the 10 days Tyler and Karen were here for a visit. I only get to see them about twice a year so I was SO disappointed I couldn't cook for them, or take them places. We had a few things planned but they had to fall by the wayside. I wish they could turn around and come back and we could do this visit over, but I know that isn't possible with their schedules, etc.

I am so grateful to my family and friends who were patient and kind and so helpful. I appreciate it more than I can express. And I do mean YOU, and your comments of support.

Two weeks of pain are a drop in the bucket to what many people experience. But I was once again reminded to be compassionate to those who suffer. To reach out more as so many have reached out to me. And I remember a quote I heard during a Relief Society lesson many years ago, "

"Be Kind; Everyone You Meet is Fighting a Hard Battle."


 On another note...
This morning I got to visit a friend who has moved about 45 minutes from here. We spent the morning catching up on our lives which is My kind of fun. On the way back I had to take a look at this corner:
 
The shop is gone now, but this is where my first husband was killed 14 years ago. It was actually good to see his store gone. I never liked that place and I really have no desire to see it again. But an empty lot is fine.





Last night after our baking adventure with the Young Women, I drove over to check on Jonas since he had been running a fever of 105'. The twins are so rarely sick....I think I've seen one runny nose and one fever and they are over 2 years old! Rare, I know.
 The End, for now.
Tomorrow I have a happy little video to show.

Carly's appetizers


I forgot to ask my niece Carly, if this was all her idea but I suspect it was.
These were SO GOOD, and look how cute and easy they look:
(although I'm not sure how easy it was with her 4 little helpers.)


She just puts pieces of red onion, olive slice, half cherry tomato, piece of cucumber, and cheese on a toothpick. Then she drizzled them all with balsamic vinaigrette.


My sister Peggy will be back in Visalia in a few short weeks when Carly has her 5th baby.

And while I'm at it, here's pictures of the food that went along with Carly's appetizers.
We were celebrating Nick's homecoming plus Father's Day.
We have the best potlucks!

 Suzanne had chicken, pork, and beef going in 3 crockpots.



Since it was Father's Day, the men in the family got served first, 
for a change.

These family potlucks are never lacking in desserts!

People people everywhere!
The more the merrier, for sure.
 John and Suzanne had just hosted a wedding reception in their backyard the night before, so they kept some tables and flowers up for us.

You can see the aftermath of that wedding reception, to the side.

 I fell in love with this quilt....all done with authentic fabrics from the 1940s and 50s.

Thank you Suzanne and John for sharing your beautiful home with us yesterday!

And Welcome Home Nick!

He feels very loved.

and he obviously is!
While he loves the gifts, what he appreciates most are the cards and letters. 
He keeps them forever. 
And I do mean forever. 


Nick's arrival!

Either a baby, or a mission return. 
The emotions are similar. 
Excitement and anticipation.


While waiting for Nick, we see some familiar looking people.
They are waiting for a missionary too...their 6th son, Conrad.

Everyone tries to keep busy.
Dad and my niece Julie compare stomachs.

Grandma Su Su is loving on baby Clara

Then it's time.
The Grandpa (my Dad) and the Dad (my brother John)
...waiting and watching.
Good thing the Dad brought along his comfort food.

The Dad and the Mom (in blue, my SIL, Suzanne) won't take their eyes off the in coming passengers. 
Looking for their son, the one they dropped off here 2 years ago.

I'm going to interrupt this post for a second....see the boy above in the red shirt?
That's my nephew Tanner, the son of my brother Scott and his wife Kim.
Well today I was looking at old photos and came across this one of my Dad (he's the baby)
and his father and siblings back in 1931....
Doesn't Tanner look so much like my Dad's brother Irving in the picture below?
Irving is the oldest son in this picture:

Okay, back to my story...

The family hug in the distance. I didn't want to disturb them...


Nick meeting his niece Clara for the first time.

Grandpa so happy to see him,
and reflecting on all the past missionaries that have come and gone in our family.


The family back together again!

Tomorrow is Nick's talk at Sacrament meeting and a Family Potluck/Father's Day celebration!!

Hot time at Red Robin with the fam

They all looked a bit bored at first.
And we were SO sad Cami got sick, so we missed her and Erin and Violet!    :(

I knew Elora would livin' things up. 



The twins decided they would take advantage of the nearby section with no customers.  
(There's a reason I made early reservations.)
 May as well try out all the booths.


Hey Sissy, do you think we could try climbing all the way up there?

Or how about that horse on the wall?


I gotta check my hair first.

Just as they decide to make a run for it...

Elora comes to corral them back to the family table.

It was wonderful having Great Grandma Heasley with us.

As always, my Dad keeps Susan laughing.


And some just need to have a little of Daddy's juice.
Where is Grandma Honey, you ask?
If you had to wear your jammies everywhere you went, 
you wouldn't want your picture taken either. 
It was soooooooooo wonderful getting out with my family. 
Only one thing better, if they ALL could have been with us. 
Someday.

My Girlfriend's Quilt Shoppe

We asked Kris to give us a tour of her and Mike's brand-new-just-opened-for-business Quilt Shoppe, and she sent us this! Watching it, I think I went into shock thinking...HOW did she decorate every corner and wall...in such a short amount of time??


The kitchen quilt near the very end (about 9:00) is my favorite. I've never seen anything like it! I also like the little piece of framed fabric hung right next to their matching quilts. Hard for me to explain but that comes on about 5:10.


If you are ever in Logan, Utah, go check it out and then let me know, okay?



A link you don't want to miss

If you don't have time to read my blog today, that's okay, but DO go here. It's written by a young mom whose husband has brain cancer and suddenly takes a turn for the worst. It is one of the sweetest posts I have ever read.


It puts life in perspective, up close and personal.


And makes me, once again, realize most problems in life are "small potatoes" in comparison, as my cousin Yolanda would say.


If you aren't totally bored with my little challenge here's my latest update:
I overdosed on TV last weekend, and I don't even like TV. It was all I could do. Even holding a book hurt. I've been in an 'enduring' mode, even during the baby shower. I've decided that pain sucks the joy out of life.




HOWEVER, I am doing so much better now, and do you know why? Since my PT does not begin until tomorrow, last Saturday night a very kind and good friend, who is also a Physical Therapist came over and helped me tremendously. He stretched my arm out, gave me some exercises to do 5xs a day, and he has me wearing a pillow under that bad arm to stretch it out. What an incredible difference this has made to the pain.


I still have poor range of motion and can't lift that arm above my waist, so it's not functional yet, but having
the pain down has been heavenly. I can actually enjoy talking to my family again...which is a good thing since Tyler and Karen will only be here til Saturday.


On a side note: Several friends have suggested I take Advil or Ibuprofen. I wish I could but they both make my throat close up. I asked the orthopedic Dr about a cortisone shot but he warns I can only have 3...forgot to ask if that is 3 per injury? 3 per joint? or 3 per lifetime? Not sure...I will ask next time. He seemed hesitant, like I better save it up for desperate times?


So every 3 days Dennis takes me somewhere to get my hair washed and styled, since I only have one arm that works right now. I say "somewhere" because it changes every 3 days. Interesting the different hair styles I've been coming home with. I just let them do it anyway they want. As long as it's clean, I don't care. I'm also looking for a housekeeper to come in every other week. The ortho says these kind of injuries can take months to heal, so I'm just trying to face the music.


And no more aerobics, which got me in this in the first place.


Don't forget, go read that blog.
The real definition of love.

A Double Baby Shower?

 Thank you Dennis for typing this up for me!

The plan was that Karen and McKenna would both be here for a visit this week.  So, we thought it would be great to give them a double shower since they are both expecting boys this September.

However, McKenna couldn't make it.
So Karen and Tyler will bring her gifts home to her.
And since I hurt my shoulder, Erin and Amy created all this beautiful food.  My sister Robin made the disappearing layer salad.



Amy made the decorations from Kim and Kris's appearance on the Rachel Ray Show.
 The picture below doesn't even do it justice. 
They were beautiful, and now Erin wants to make some for Violet's nursery.

Love this shot of my nieces.
Lindsay, Ashley, Brooke, Whitney, and Carly.

We were able to Skype Karen's Mom in from Texas. She was right there with us throughout the shower, making comments and asking questions. It was so cool.
Karen announced the baby will be named Rich, which is her maiden name. Love it!


See those two little buckets? Wasn't that a creative way to wrap a gift for a little boy!

And Carly made her own wrapping paper. Are you kidding me?! 
She is expecting her FIFTH baby in four weeks.


Karen showing a few of the handmade gifts.

I don't want to show too many of the gifts or I will spoil the surprise for McKenna.


Fun my Dad popped in. But Susan had already left so he couldn't take her home.I don't think I got that story quite right.

Also, it was fun to see the new husband, Gard.  My niece, Lindsay, had just gotten married last week.
Along with him came Bret, Whitney's husband. Aren't they CUTE!

The 2 hour separation for these honeymooners must have felt like torture.

Rivka and Hosanna were a little over the top about the balloons.

So they decided to take a few home.
I told Carly she may need to let a few out the window in order to see the road.

Amy does love this punch.
Don't worry, she didn't do this until after the guests left.
And, furthermore, please know that she gave me permission to post this picture.


We missed McKenna !!!  
We would have loved to have her, and her little "baby bump" with us.

Also A BIG THANK YOU to Amy and Erin for working so hard to make this gathering so special.

There were many who attended who I purposely did not take pictures of...only because I'm trying to be less annoying with my camera.

Look what happened last night

  Just a little pre-graduating gathering for our DIL Amy.... Not everyday a Mom of 7 and a Grandma of 7, graduates from college. It was not ...