today i walked down memory lane

in the immortal words of michael mclean ...

"well, it's hard to say good bye and let go

and it's hard to see it end

when the mem'ries we've just made

may never happen again.
but it's harder for time to ever erase

the together times we've shared.

so, when we're apart remember

all the love we shared together
and for all that love,

thank the Lord above

who showed us the way

that we can be together, forever someday"

i had the opportunity to attend the memorial for Danny Romero today. it was a wonderful service and tribute to his life. there were many funny stories told (he was quite a rascal in his younger days - shoot he was a kick-in-the-pants his whole life), memories shared and so many people in attendance. i know there were several more that weren't able to make it (and we missed you!). he was an exceptional person - to know him was to love him. i am blessed to have been able to associate with him and will miss him dearly. i know that he is with our heavenly father now and i'm sure he's not 'resting' very much - he's not one to just sit around! his son, chip, is one of my best friends from 'back in the day' - i called these guys 'my boys' (see pic below) ... it was SO great to be together again to talk, laugh and cry together. it's hard to believe that it's been so long - but you know that you're good friends when you can pick right up where you left off without a blip or awkward silence. when i walked into the church this afternoon and saw that mikey had flown in my heart jumped for joy! (kelly - thank you for holding down the fort so that he could!) it's too bad that it had to be under these circumstances ... but we were all there! we all love Dan and his darling sweetheart Dawn - and were certainly there to support our friend as well.

we haven't changed much (we're older and wiser now ... riiight) just standing there with them took me back. it was hard to leave - not a big surprise ... if you know me well, you know that i'm always the last person to go to sleep at a slumber party and the last one to say goodbye cuz i don't want to miss anything! i know that we'll be friends forever and longer.

it's funny - the memorial was held in the building where we grew up attending church, early morning seminary and activities most of our wednesday nights as youth. one day we ALL need to get together and have a little walk down memory lane. we're all spread across the country right now ... chip, pj and i still live at 'homebase' so we need to coordinate and persuade the rest of you (liisa, heidi, tara, kathleen, angie and ben) to come for a visit all at the same time!

i love you all and count you as some of my greatest blessings!

not taken for granted

if ever there was a person enormously grateful for good friends - it would be me. my last post and the comments left, gave me a unique opportunity to have my substantial ego stroked a little. i don't really mean to solicit praise but i have noticed in the recent past that i have needed it for one reason or another. in short, THANK YOU ...

i have been pondering about how to post my gratitude for the outpouring of love i have just received. i contemplated singling out my friends and telling them all the great things that i love so much about them - right here. but then i thought - "what if i forget someone!? that'll be embarrassing!" so instead, i leave this ...

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle,

when 24 hours in a day are not enough,

remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of hot chocolate.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."
The professor then produced two cups of hot chocolate from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--God, your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions--and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else--the small stuff."
"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.
"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first--the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the hot chocolate represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,

there's always room for a couple of cups of hot chocolate with a friend."

Thank you for always making room for me, friends!

{ps. just read a cool quote that i'm going start using... "i'm drinking from my saucer - because my cup is overflowing!" good one, huh!}

is there anything better than good friends!?

I have been waiting to have pictures to post this blog ... but I just can't wait any longer!!
April 19th was Thursday, the day we eat dinner at my in-laws. While I was helping get dinner on the table I noticed "watch Andy's kids 3:30" written on the 20th ... I went upstairs and asked Andy what he was planning. The sneaky look on his face gave him away! He said something to the effect of 'dang-that-calendar-and-my-mom-for-writing-everything-down!!' and then told me that I couldn't ask any questions. The rest of the day I speculated about what he was up to ...
Friday morning my curiosity was overflowing when he told me to get stuff ready for Easton and myself for the weekend. "Do I need to pack stuff for you too?"
"No Questions!"
"OK but do you need stuff?"
"Sure that would be great ..."
Then he said to be at his mom's house at 3:30.
I could not stop myself from thinking about the weekend and how romantic it was that he was surprising me! I dressed, fed, and drove the girls to school ... floated around the house getting things ready and reflecting on how wonderful he is. Alicia called and we chatted (I didn't tell her that I had this surprise coming ... I didn't want to gloat) then Nicki called and wanted to make plans for the weekend ... I spilled to her and she wondered if Trav knew the secret ... I told her to call Andy and find out more details! She said that she wouldn't ruin the surprise! I told her that I'd call her when I found out what he had planned!
I collected the girls from school, fed them lunch ... quiet time was a wash ... I was too excited! Finally it was 3:00, I threw my stuff in the van and headed to Grandma Shaw's house. When we arrived the girls and Ammon jumped out ... Marie asked where we were going ... (she obviously hadn't been filled in either. ) Andy came out of the house with a blindfold, he told his mom he'd be in touch, we got in the car, he blindfolded me. He told me to relax and enjoy the ride - 'it's gonna be kinda long, do you want to lay down in the back?'
We were off ... I held his hand and we laughed about what other people must be thinking seeing me blindfolded and about talking to Nicki, he asked me if I'd talked to Jenny lately and what I heard from Tiff - just general small talk. My phone rang, Andy said it was Alicia and I could call her back later.
I'm pretty good with directions and thought that I knew where we were going ... south on I-5 then onto south 405 ... then south 267? I was lost when we got off the freeway. We drove for a while and then he stopped the car, and helped me out. He guided me up a few steps and I recognized the smell ... it smelled like ... I know that smell ... he started to take off the blindfold and SURPRISE!! We were in Nicki's kitchen (I knew I recognized that scent). From behind the island popped Alicia, Nicki, Tiffany and JENNY!!
This was NOT a romantic getaway with the BestHusbandOfTheYear. The girls had planned a weekend getaway for my birthday!! (They had enlisted Andy's help and he was obliged to since he hadn't planned anything!)
We had "Wright House Melting Pot" for dinner and talked and ate and laughed and watched 'The Bachelor' and talked and laughed and talked and ate! Saturday we shopped and talked and ate and laughed some more!
I was so happy to see Jenny - she flew in from Idaho!! Tiff drove 4 hours from Long Beach!! Alicia and Nicki planned the whole thing and kept it from me for more than 2 months! They are SO sneaky!! I told Alicia 'truth be told, I was getting a little jealous of all the time you were spending with Nicki ...' They admitted to role playing what to say if I called to tell them ... and when I didn't tell Alicia she was worried the plan was falling apart and practically forced Nicki to call me! (I guess Nicki's no good at lying and was nervous to call me!) I have NEVER been so surprised! It was the BEST!!


I almost forgot to mention the Man/SuperDad that made it all possible ... Trav. He volunteered to take his little brood of boys on a mini 'FathersAndSons' overnight camping trip to free up the house for our gaggle of girls retreat! ThankYouThankYouThankYou