What Is Glenda Up to Now?

Crazy Weather!

2010-03-13T20:18:00.002-07:00

Where oh where has our good weather gone? We have had such a wet Spring so far...rain every weekend. Today was no different. In fact the wind and the hail took it to a new level!

I have been cooking fun new recipes for Henrik. I have such a beautiful kitchen, I can't help but be inspired to cook. I have finally satisfied my craving for Thai food and am now drawn to fun spices like Saffron and Tamarind. Who would have thunk it!! I love watching the Food Network and am finally brave enough to take items from my pantry and make things up. Henrik is so easy to please...he will eat anything I cook and he will tell me it is delicious. I'm not so sure he is is an objective judge!

I hope there is no rain tomorrow...I want to go for a short hike and then I have to come home and do my weekend cleaning.

I haven't seen Stella and her parents since last weekend! I miss them!

Later!

I love Friday's!

2010-03-12T20:44:00.002-07:00

Well the good news for the day is that it is Friday! I also heard from Henrik that he MIGHT be here next Wednesday, but I have t wait until Monday to find out for sure. I want to let myself be excited but then if he doesnt make it I'll be so disappointed. He will only be here for 3 weeks this time, but I'll take what I can get.

I'm trying to decide if a long weekend in Maine will work out. The week I wanted to go, my good friend Kathy will be in France...I was hoping to stay with her so I don't know whether to try to stay with Patrick or so find another date. I also really want to spend time in Denmark with Henrik again. I love visiting him there.

My job is barely hanging on right now so with those uncertainties, I can't even begin to plan a vacation. It's so depressing. I need something to hang onto and to plan for.

The weather should be good this weekend so I can get some work done outside. I hope we have a weekend without rain for a change.

Love you all,
Later!

Green Green Grass of Home!

2010-03-09T20:03:00.002-07:00

Last December Cortney and Henrik put new sod down in our front yard. Jason and Cort have been taking care of it for us and it is the most beautiful lawn in the neighborhood!

Thank you!

Soon it will be time to plant the flowers and make the entire yard more beautiful. I hope when Henrik comes we can buy some beautiful large pots to place all around.

Playing in the BathTub

2010-03-09T19:53:00.002-07:00

Wearing a shower cap to protect her ears after surgery little Miss Stella plays in the bathtub.

Tindy the cat just can't stay away from Stella when she's here...

Always filling something up...

Cooking Thai

2010-03-09T19:43:00.002-07:00

I have had so much fun expanding both my eating and cooking horizons! I have been cooking all kinds of noodles and veggie combinations. Sunday Tawni, Jason, and Stella came over for their first experience with Pad Thai. Stella loved the noodles as did Tawni. Jason said he liked it and then when he learned there was fish sauce added all he said he could taste was fish. He's such a pain in my *ss sometimes! HaHa

The Lost Months...

2010-02-20T20:59:00.003-07:00

Here are some random pictures for you to enjoy!

What a loser blogger I am...my life got so complicated and the first thing to go was my blog! If I can figure out how to get things up and going here again, I will. I miss all of you!

Grammie Night at Grammie's New House

2009-10-07T22:13:00.005-06:00

Stella has adjusted nicely to Grammie and Henrik's new house. She has her own playroom now and it is full of her favorite toys from the old house. She really has adjusted well to the change so this Friday we are going to have a sleepover here. Should be fun!

Short on time as usual, but wanted you all to see how big she is getting. Love and hugs!

Our New Home

2009-09-28T20:51:00.006-06:00

We're in! FINALLY!! Some of the pictures we are still putting things away, but as of today, we are in good shape thanks to everyone who helped! Jody, Kevin, Cortney, Michelle...you guys all helped so much Henrik and I can't thank you enough. Email me for my new address!
Out of time now, but will post more later...

Why I love staying at my Grammie's house!

2009-08-23T21:39:00.006-06:00

My Grammie Let's Me:
-Jump on the bed!
-Sleep until 10:00 o'clock in the morning!
-Sit in my own special chair and watch Baby Einstein while I eat breakfast!
-Ride in my stroller for an hour-long walk!
-Smile for the camera and then shows me my picture on the display. I love to see myself
-Play and play and play in the bathtub
-play in my travel bed and then on her big bed with the BIG FISH!
-dress like a ghost and kick the ball all around
-lay next to her and make funny faces

I love my Grammie and she loves me!

Goo-goo-googally eyes!

2009-08-19T22:00:00.002-06:00

Weekend Get-Away With Friends!

2009-08-16T20:16:00.016-06:00

Debbie Andersen, Muah and Jody Hill. All from the Wheeler Machinery days. I love you girls!
Scott and Debbie Andersen, another marriage made in heaven at Wheeler Machinery Co!
When I sold Real Estate in Salt Lake, I helped Scott and Deb sell some property they had in Park City. Scott Wilson was actually the person who hired Scott Andersen at Wheeler 18 years ago! Way to go Scott!
The reason for my trip to Salt Lake? To spend some time with my Dad on his 78th Birthday! Happy Bday Dad! I love you so much and wish I could be even half of the person you are!

Rocky racing past me near the end of our road rally. He was headed to Salt Lake from St. George for a family reunion and decided I needed an escort.It made the trip go by so fast getting cell phone calls from him to give me updates all along the way. You rock Rocky!

My best friends ever...Jody and Kevin. Thank you for taking such good care of me when I am there. I love you both SO MUCH!

It was a whirlwind trip for sure, but fun as usual. Kevin BBQ'd pork chops for us on Friday night then we sat around visiting until 1:30 in the morning, all the while enjoying our favorite Rum and Coke beverages. Saturday Jody and I went shopping and then Saturday Night we went to Texas Roadhouse for a family get together for Kevin's family. I didn't originally plan to go with them, but they twisted my arm and I was so glad I did! I had forgotten that Scott Andersen was a friend of Kevin's practically since birth so they were there at the family gathering. It was so good to see them! Afterwards we went back to Jody and Kevin and chatted again until Jody and I drove Kevin to his bed with "girl-talk" Ha Ha. He is such a good sport about stuff like that! Sunday I woke up to Henrik's morning wake up call and then I was off to my Dads. It is always so nice to be near my Dad, he is an amazingly kind and gentle man. We had lunch and then I hit the road to come home around 2:00 pm. I actually made the 4 hour drive in 3 hrs and 20 minutes! I'm certain there had to be a tail wind! Anyway, I'm home now, getting ready for the work week, lots going on.

I hope you all had as nice of a weekend as I did and I hope you have friends that are as loving and caring as I do! I have to pinch myself sometimes!
Love to all!

Saying Goodbye to Stella before I go to Salt Lake For the Weekend!

2009-08-13T21:34:00.005-06:00

Cuddling with her blanket

The never ending Blue Eyes!

It's finally here! My big weekend to go see my friends in Salt Lake. I have needed a change of scenery especially having so many restrictions for the last couple of months with my blood clots. Lot's of plans already that are in the works and a few other tentative plans I will figure out when I get there. Because I won't see Stella for a few days, I watched her for a few hours tonight and enjoyed her so much. Our evening started out with pork chops and mushroom gravy I put in the crock pot early this morning. She loves to eat anything that comes out of Grammie's crockpot. When she comes in the house and see's it on the counter she point and grunts at it. I was at the dollar store the other day and found a little pink flashlight with Tinkerbell and Cinderella on it for .99 cents. After we got home from our walk around the golf course it was almost dark. We went in the house, turned off the lights and played with the flashlight on the walls and ceiling. She was so excited!!! It was so cute to watch her. We also held her special music box I brought her from Bavaria of the Neunschwanstein Castle and made up stories about Stella living in the castle. You can see in the photos how fixated she is with it. We played outside for a while running around on the grass..something I am really going to miss when I move to my apartment next month. BUT, I will find a way to do other things that will be fun and enjoyable with Stella. Okay, I am off to bed so I can get up early and hit the highway headed North first thing. And before you say anything, yes, I will stop freguently and walk around...preventing any more blood clotting problems! I hope you all have a good weekend!

Love Ya!

2009-08-09T18:31:00.008-06:00

Today was a bitter sweet day while I hiked to the Emerald Pools in Zions. As I departed the shuttle bus that takes you up to the trailheads, an announcement came across the bus drivers radio that they were closing the Angels Landing Trail for a search and rescue operation. That hike is the one I hope to be able to do in a few weeks. It is one of the most dangerous hikes in the canyon and each year, someone falls from along that trail to their death. Today, a 55 year old woman from Los Angeles fell from the top...over 1000 feet. She was hiking with her husband and two adult children and had done the hike before. I happened to meet a woman who was right behind them on the trail and she saw the woman fall. She just mis-stepped and went over the edge. It does make me think more about hiking by myself, but usually Zions is busy enough that people would witness an accident. Anyway, my hike was fabulous to the pools. It was only 67 degrees in the park when I arrived at 8:30 a.m. in fact, it was a little cold! As soon as I crossed the bridge going over the Virgin River the sun came out and hit me and it was a perfect day after that. The hike is about 3 miles and it took about 2-hours. Although the waterfalls were small, the mist spraying off of them looked so beautiful in the sunlight. There were Monarch butterflies, hummingbirds and plenty of chipmunks along the trail.

When I go to the Park I usually find myself a minority as it seems most of the visitors there are French, German or Asian. Mostly French and German. They are also so polite and say such nice things about MY park! They are also so amazed to find out that I live so close. It really makes me appreciate where I live even more.

As I walked to the Upper Pool I really started to sweat so out came the red headband to keep the sweat from my eyes. As I drove down the canyon after the hike it was about 83 degrees. I rolled down all four windows in my Altima, turned the radio up REALLY LOUD and cruised down the canyon towards home listening to Creedence on the radio. I was home by noon! What a great way to spend a Sunday morning.

The rest of my day I did tons of ironing, printed pictures of Stella to take to my Dad in Salt Lake this coming weekend and enjoyed some Pork Roast I put in the crockpot before I left. Now that I'm moving in September, I am trying to eat up everything in the refrigerator and cupboards so I don't have to move them! I was doing a lot of computer work as well today so I watched the Hitchcock movie "Notorious" while I was clicking on the keys. That is such a classic movie!

The hummingbirds just flew up to my window and were looking in at me. I am really going to miss them! Today, there were 5 hummers out there at once! I guess our little homesteaders told their friends about my great sugar treat. In addition, the canaries think it's for them. As I was leaving for my hike this morning a HUGE black raven landed on the roof of the house next door and watching all the activity in the yard. I certainly hope that Ravens don't eat hummingbirds!

Cort and Michelle went to Ron and Kathy's house Friday night to work on the sprinkler system and landscaping that Ron needs done. They were there pretty late, but got alot done and got to eat dinner there. Kathy always makes such good food!

Henrik is back in Denmark, picking up where he left off taking care of his gardens and enjoying BBQ with his neighbors. He took some Carne Asada home with him, Yes, in his suitcase wrapped in newspaper...to share with his friends. He sent me a picture of it cooking on the grill...

Enjoy the pictures of Zions...every time I am there enjoying a hike, I always wish I was sharing the experience with some of my friends. What are you waiting for??

My Summer At A Glance

2009-08-08T22:04:00.021-06:00

What a busy summer. Henrik was here for almost the entire month of July. We enjoyed getting up in the mornings on the weekend and driving the Harley somewhere for breakfast. We enjoyed breakfast in Pine Valley, Zions, Mesquite and New Harmony. I love riding on the back of the Harley, especially with the views in this area that I can enjoy while Henrik was busy driving us safely to our destinations.

Gail and Kip were here for a long weekend following my Mom's funeral in Salt Lake. It was so great to see them both and for them to get to see the kids and Stella. We went up to Oscar's at Springdale in the mouth of Zions. It was a perfect day to eat out on the patio and then we went up to tour Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. Gail and Kip are fans of Dogtown on the National Geographic Channel so they were excited to see what a great place it is. We drove by the Vicktory pit bulls, but most were inside because of the heat. We spent alot of time visiting cats in several of the cat buildings and then drove over to Angels Rest so we could put more beautiful polished stones on Madison's grave.

While Henrik was here, he bought a hummingbird feeder for the hummers that were born in the bush in my backyard. In no time, they started to enjoy the feeder. One night we were sitting having dinner on the patio when one of the babies flew right into the flower on the table, not 10" inches from us. He was there for several minutes drawing nectar from the flowers without any fear from us at all. Today I went out to get the feeder to clean and refill it. When I was taking it down, one of the hummers actually landed on my arm! It was so awesome.

Our weather has been fabulous. A cold front has moved in so our temps have only been in the 90's. This morning it was 67 degrees outside which felt so nice. It's a little early for this type of temps so we aren't turning the furnace on yet!

I just heard that Van Morrison is going to be in concert in Las Vegas so I went to see when the concert is...of course, my luck...it's the weekend I'm going to be moving! I would have liked to go to that concert, especially after having listened to his music while Henrik and I was cruising thru Liechtenstein and the Austrian country roads. Every day I am reminded of something from my European trip, I am so greatful to Henrik for taking me on this amazing trip.

So, about my moving. I have rented a 1-bedroom apartment on the 3rd floor of an apartment complex. I have convinced myself that this small place will be like living in a flat in New York City. My favorite things about it are the view from the patio, the gas stove, and that it is closer to my work. The things I will miss? Walking with Stella on the golf course, the adorable hummingbirds I have learned to love, and alot of really great memories in this house.

Tomorrow I plan to hike the Emerald Pools in Zions. I hope to make it to all three pools, we will see. Next Friday I head to Salt Lake. I am staying with Jody and Kevin, am meeting Lana for lunch on Saturday, and taking my Dad to lunch on Sunday for his birthday. Saturday night I have a few options but nothing firmed up yet.

I am improving everyday from my leg problems. I am still trying to get my blood to cooperate, but the numbness in my foot and toes is going away which I am VERY happy for. I am back to working 9-10 hours per day which I wish I didn't have to do. I am walking now with almost no pain and I am able to pick up the pace more and more.

Well, it's almost midnight and time for me to go to bed. I love you all and based on the responses to my question about keeping my blog going it sounds like many of you want me to continue. So, I will continue to post here, at least for a little while longer.

I love you all and I am grateful for everyone I have in my life. :-)

Precious Moments....

2009-08-06T21:21:00.011-06:00

Here are some more pictures of Stella in her little white dress. I copied these off of Tawni's blog they were so precious!

Story time on Grandpa Olson's lap.

Our dainty little lady...

Sitting in her toy box in her bedroom

It's official... I'm moving! I signed the papers today for a new place. Sadly it's not in Coral Canyon which brings tears to my eyes, but it's what I need to do. I'm REALLY down sizing into a one bedroom apartment in a nice complex. As most of you know, I am a minimalist so I don't have a lot of crap to find a place for. I still have the option to take a 2 bedroom if one becomes available on Sept 1st, but I'm thinking I'm going to give the 1-bedroom a try. In some ways I feel like I am regressing going from a home to an apartment but, in reality, it will fit into my current single lifestyle and financially it's a win-win! There is a clubhouse with a pool and fitness center and I took a 3rd floor unit with a view from the patio. I have had the most fabulous views for last year and a half, but, life goes on! It's closer to work and close to everything in St George so I'm sure I will adjust to the location. The boys are NOT happy about moving all of my heavy furniture up 3 flights of stairs, but they will do it for their MOM :0). I will email new contact information out once I'm closer to moving time. If your bored and you want to help me pack and move, let me know and I'll buy the beer and pizza for everyone who helps! Patrick, don't let the 1-bedroom thing change your vacation plans! My couch is VERY comfortable!

I went to dinner with my girlfriend Christa at Red Robin tonight. She is adorable and so much fun. Christa was in Europe at the same time I was! We have not had a chance to get together and compare notes since we both returned. She loves Europe as much as I do so of course we day dreamed about a group of us getting together next year and doing a girls trip abroad. How cool would that be!

Cort is doing some yard work for Ron and Kathy up in New Harmony and he and Michelle are going up Friday night to do some measuring and planning for parts. I think I'm going to join them and probably have a sleepover. I also can take Stella for the evening while Jason and Tawni go to the Temple....So many choices!! Sunday I want to go back up to Zions, this time remembering my camera! I might take the same trail so I can capture what I missed last Sunday. If you want to join me, let me know! I'll head out about 8 am Sunday morning...also check my Facebook for updates.

Have a great weekend, do fun things and keep smiling!

Changing it Up!

2009-08-04T22:00:00.006-06:00

Nice!

Much, much better...

Cort and Stella

I'm already surprised by the number of you that have responded and asked for me to keep doing my blog. I'm still not sure what I want to do about keeping up with it. It was alot of fun while it lasted, which was over a year and a half ago! I can't believe it has been so long. I decided to start to blog my blog on a Monday and Stella was born 3 days later. It then became the Chronicles of Stella for all to read and to follow. It was for certain the biggest reason people visited the blog and even still today, people check in just to see how well she is doing.

I'm making a lot of changes in my life right now. I'm looking for another place to live now that Cort and Michelle have moved in together. They have a cute house that is decorated so wonderfully! I don't need this much space and I could certainly use the reduction in rent! I will hate not living in Coral Canyon so near all the things I love so much, but, I'm sure I will adjust to where ever I live.

I'm looking for another part-time job now that my leg has improved. I'm not sure what, but need to find something in the next couple of weeks.

I'm going to Salt Lake in a couple of weeks and already have lined up alot of fun things with old and new friends. I'm really looking forward to seeing my Dad as well.

Patrick, my friend from Maine emailed and wants to meet me in Vegas and then come to St. George and spend the rest of his vacation hanging out with me and the family. We had such a great time when he was here last November. He'll be here sometime mid-September and we are all looking forward to it (especially Tawni!)

Congrats to Brad and Tina who will be getting married on the 23rd of the month in Maine. I am so sorry I couldn't be there as planned, but I still have some travel restrictions until my leg is free of bloodclots. Love to you, and wishes for a wonderful married life together!

Amber, get your butt back here to St. George. I miss you terribly! Christa, I can't wait until this Thursday when we get to share our mutual trips to Europe! Treena, get your butt out of Maine and back here to St. George, NOW! Rocky, keep those cards, phone calls and drive-bys coming, you are the best! Michelle, Heidi, Lori, Heather, Kristen, and Kam Marie...it's time for another GNO at my house. Craig, when is the 2nd Poker Night at Glenda's scheduled for? We better do it before I move...last time we had about 20 people here! Vicki, Tom, Kathy and Ron...I love ya!

Have a good week everyone, big hugs and kisses. MUAH!

Question for You!

2009-08-03T12:54:00.003-06:00

I am trying to decide whether to continue updating my blog. Some of you I am in contact with thru Facebook and others, well I'm just not sure how many people are still following me and my ever changing life! If you still follow my Blog and want me to continue it, please email me at emailgwilson@gmail.com and reply "update" or "forget-about-it"!

Thanks
Glenda

Almost Back To Normal!

2009-08-02T21:22:00.007-06:00

Today was the best I have felt since I first developed blood clots in my leg. I can't beleive it was almost 2 months ago! I went for my first "hike" in Zions. I don't think you can really call it a hike, it's a paved, gradual uphill walk thru the Temple of Sinawava along the Virgin River to the mouth of The Narrows. I made it in the same amount of time as I used to do it pre-injury. It's nice to be back in the outdoor world again!

It felt so good I even made dinner for the family, including Dave, Sharyl and Jared. Now I'm kicking back resting after a very fullfilling day.

Miss Stella came to dinner in her little white church dress and no shoes. She looked so adorable!

I promise to get more photos posted soon, but now I have to get ready for the big work-week. I have so many pictures to share from Henrik's visit. We enjoyed several really great rides on the Harley and of course I took a zillion photos. Henrik is now back in Denmark (rain and in the 70's). He is most likely going to return to St. George the middle of September.

Gotta go! More later!

So so sorry!

2009-07-16T21:29:00.002-06:00

I am so sorry that I haven't been keeping up on my blog! I've gotten emails and phone calls from several of you worried me! I love that you care and I feel bad that I have at least put up a blurb here. I'm still recovering from my blood clots, improving each day. My mom passed away on July 2nd, and then my sister and her husband came down to St. George for a few days after the services so it has been one thing after another. And of course, Henrik is here. I have tons a pics to share but it will have to wait until I have a little more time.

I love you all, thanks for being patient until I get my life back in order!

Big Hugs

Hanging with the girls in the backyard

2009-06-24T21:25:00.003-06:00

While I've been recouperating, Tawni and Stella come down to hang out....

Look at that hair! Those Pig-tails are killing me!

Stella with my garden gloves on...my hands really aren't that big! She's just so little!

Happy girl at her little table...

Grammie pulls out the the squirt guns and Stella likes me to shoot the water into her mouth.

Totally Random Continued...

2009-06-20T19:27:00.013-06:00

I don't know about you, but when I'm not feeling well, I try to focus on special moments or memories that make me smile. Fortunately, I have so much to reminisce about with my trip so that is what I have been spending the last 10 days doing. My leg is improving, but the doctors aren't doing very well at getting my blood under control. It's been frustrating to say the least and sometimes it really gets me down. But, I'm still fighting to get strong again and back to my very active life. Here are so more random pictures for you to enjoy....

Oh and the new classical editions on my playlist were inspired by our visit to Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wofgang Almadeus Mozart and also, our room in Venice at the Tribute to Music Inn was the Johann Sebastian Bach room. No, there wasn't a town, hotel or special place in Europe named Johnny Cash, I just remembered how much I liked this song so I added it!
Luv Ya!

Are you kidding me? Look at those two little pig-tails on top of her head!!

Stella looks like "Maggie" from The Simpsons, especially when she had her binky in her mouth.

The beautiful pathway through Henriks forests to his neighbor Niels' house. It is such a cozy walk and the trees smell so good as you walk along. Henrik planted and grew all of these trees, grooming this path along the way..

One of the small country roads we traveled on. Some of the roads were wide enough for one car only. This one was in Austria shortly after leaving Liectenstein.

A view of the alps and a mountain lake from inside the Neuenswanstein Castle, Bavaria

Stepping into the Courtyard of the Neuenswanstein Castle

A fish market along the winding streets of Venice...

Diving through Densenazo Del Garda, Italy

Cort and Michelle's new adopted dog Enterprise. He's a cutie!

My wheelchair escort! Rocky has been my taxi driver this week, taking me into the office for the few hours I have been able to work and picking me up when I've had enough. Again, I have the best friends on this earth!

Totally Random stuff...

2009-06-16T14:03:00.009-06:00

Miss Smarty Pants checking out her new garden furniture at Grammies house

Michelle and Stella sharing rice. Don't you love how we have to open our mouths when we are feeding children? We all do it!

Stella stands up against the arm of the chair, because like her Daddy was, she always has to be ready for a quick get away.

Hummingbird in the bushes

For sure one of the baby hummingbirds

I'm a big girl now! I FINALLY weigh enough to be placed in a front facing car seat! She was still so light legally she had to stay in her infant seat which always faces backward. Her long little legs were so crunched up and she was so ready for mental stimulation looking forward. Stella and Tawni's life both improved drastically when we picked this up this week. Originally I had offered to buy it for her 1 year birthday. Instead I bought it on her 17th month birthday! HaHa. She looks so grown up!

Even though I didn't catch it in this photo, when Stella is without shoes, she ALWAYS walks on her toes. This doesn't surprise us because it's exactly what her Dad did. But he would curl his toes under and then run from carpet to linoleum and then back to the carpet! She has dancers legs already!

Not so sure why Grammie LaLa wasn't up running around being the normal crazy Grammie that she is. Stella came and laid her little head on the pillow where I've been resting my leg. If that isn't good medicine, nothing is!

Learning to climb in my chair.

A Sugar Smack party sitting up to my new table. She thinks she is such an adult!

I'm feeling better today and have actually managed to bathe, wash my hair, drive my car and do some laundry all by my little self. Now, I am wiped out and have resumed the laying down position that I have been doing for 7 days now.

I have some pictures that were on my camera card and I also took a short walk into my backyard today and took some photos of some baby hummingbirds that just learned to fly from the nest. Cort and Michelle have been watching the nest since I was in Europe. It's in a small bush in the backyard. The nest is barely 2 inches across. It's been amazing to watch them grow and now to see them flying. Funny, Funny story today. As most of you know I am petrified of birds. Absolutely petrified, even if they are hummingbirds. Well I'm out back with Momma and two babies buzzing around me and they would stop and look at me and then fly to another bush or tree. They make the strangest little chattering sound to each other. So I'm figuring they are as afraid of me and I am of them right? I happened to catch one of the flying about 4 feet away from me about 8 feet in the air so I hit the zoom then find the bird in my lens and get a fun picture. I took the camera down from my face and the little B**tard was 1 foot in front of my face hovering looking right at me!!! I screamed, crouched down and limped as fast as I could limp away. He scared the S*hit out of me!

Stella, well, this little angel has helped so much with my not feeling well. Tawni has been so good to take me to get blood tests on almost a daily basis and being able to be with Stella and see her smiles have made it so much better. Tawni takes her out of her car seat and tells her to go take my finger to help me walk. Stella does the funniest little gimpy walk like she's imitating my limp. It is so funny to watch. Let me tell you, when Stella walks into a room. All eyes are on her. Not only is she so adorable people are drawn to her, but she just has a command of her presence that says "okay folks, I'm here, the fun can now begin". Does that remind you of any one that any of you know?? HaHa... She does need some more Learning To Play Well With Others Training and Tawni is really working on that. She is so good at recognizing when Stella needs some special attention and she is so good to give it to her.

Muah!

2009-06-13T21:05:00.006-06:00

Dinner at Niels home with Peter, Astrid, Henrik and myself.

Careful or you'll miss the entrance to the country house!

The Neushwanstein Castle in Fussen Bavaria, Germany. This is the castle inspired Walt Disneys castle for Tinkerbell and the Logo of all the Disney properties. It's actually a Schloss not a castle. Castle had a military connection. a scloss was a residence. We walked through a beautiful forest tp to the top of this hill and toured the Schloss. I bought Stella a very special music box from here.

Another view of the Schloss

A very old church that was actually in Denmark. The grounds surrounding it were amazing.

Hugs and kisses and many thanks for the calls, emails, flowers! and prayers this week. Some of you may not be aware that blood clots were discovered earlier this week in my right leg. I have not had a occurence of these for at least 15 years so what a shock it was. Right now I am at home taking daily injections in the stomach to thin my blood along with Coumadin which will be the medicine I will be using for the rest of my life. The kids have been great taking care of my every need. I should know more on Monday about how long I might be out of work.

I am anxiously awaiting Henriks arrival again. He says 3 weeks sooner if he can. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

I'm adding a few more pics mostly for me to see again!

Love, ME

Reality Bites!

2009-06-06T21:50:00.004-06:00

I love this picture! It reminds me of all the good things on our trip. It was so relaxing for me, as Henrik did all of the driving. I sat in the passenger seat, window down and feet hanging out. This picture was taken outside of our hotel in Telfs, Austria at the Greek sidewalk cafe where we had drinks and dinner.

Most of the following pictures were taken in Northern Italy as we headed from Venice towards Trento, Italy and into Austria. The landscape here was full of vineyards and olive trees. Shortly after crossing the Austrian border we came to Innsbruck which is situated so beautifully in the Alps.

Every chance we got, we ate and drank outdoors at fun little places. Some were neighborhood bars, others were modern located in the center of town.

Have you noticed my complete transformation from perfect hair and makeup to the shower and jump in the car with wet hair and drive with the window down look???

Oh, and check out my beautiful Venetian Glass bracelet from Henrik.

Another little roadside watering hole in Italy!

On approach into Innsbruck, Austria

More of the Austrian countryside

A beautiful vineyard in the Italian Alps.

Lake Garda is Italy's biggest lake. It took us over 3 hours to drive from the southern point to the top along the eastern shoreline.

Back home in Tindbaek, Denmark. the beautiful brick wall that protects the courtyard of the farmhouse.

There is so much to tell and show, and I'll try to put some slideshows together at some point. I seriously had to pinch myself to make certain I wasn't dreaming the whole thing. Henrik drove us around for 10 days and about 2000 miles. The final list of countries that we visited was Denmark, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Italy and Leichtenstein. What a treat. In the beginning I told Henrik that after being locked in a car together for 10 days, that we would either kill one another or share a wonderful experience. Other than a couple of "intense negotiations", no one died and we discovered that we have even more in common than what we knew before.

So, it's back to reality...the good and the bad. Of course it was great to see my family again and to see little Stella get so excited to see me after almost 3 weeks. She is growing so fast, she's a toddler now, not a baby. It's just about time for another one if you ask me!

Love,

Glenda

Headed Home to Denmark

2009-05-27T14:48:00.004-06:00

Along the Grand Canal arriving in Venice!

A Gondola race from our window

yeah...good food, good wine, good view...glazed eyes!

The famouse Rialto Bridge

Italy was so beautiful. I can honestly say that our stay in Venice was one of the best locations I have ever been. Our little balcony overlooking the port was amazing. If we could have we would have stayed in that spot forever. We have done a lot more traveling since then, but today, we left Leichtenstein and started heading north again to Denmark. I'm so sorry to see it all start to come to a close!! Here are a few quick glances since the last pictures I sent...

Austria, Slovenia and ITALY!

2009-05-22T13:49:00.006-06:00

The ride down from the castle in Werfen, Austria

Across from our hotel in Werfen

My wonderful Austrian meal!

okay, who invited the cat to dinner?

My first dining experience in ITALIA!!

Henriks first big challenge...train, small streets, and then oncoming cars! He did so well!

Pictures, pictures, pictures... thats all I have time for today. Our day started in Werfen, Austria which is where several films where made including "Where Eagles Soar" with Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood as well as The Sound of Music. The Castle which is called Hohewerfen was an amazing tour along with a show that included falcons, american eagles and hawks. Those of you who know how afraid I am of birds would appreciate how well I stood still while these monster birds were flying above me. We left Austria, which is my opinion was one of the beautiful places I have ever seen to go to Slovenia. It wasn't nearly as beautiful as the other countries we have visited, but still, just knowing I had been there was amazing.

We arrived in Trieste, Italy around 5:00 pm this evening. Found a very cozy room after a brief encounter with Italian drivers in the side streets of Italy. Henrik was amazingly calm although releived once we got out of that area. My first meal in Italy of course consisted of Caprese Salad....never again will I experience Mozeralla cheese like I did tonight...the restaurant was so good and the food even better. The wine, the food and the people speaking Italian...please, somebody pinch me. Tomorrow we are headed to Venice which is about 2 hours from here. I can't tell you what a wonderful experience this has been for me and how wonderful Henrik has been on this trip. I am so lucky!
More later, when I get an iternet opportunity again!

And before I forget....the pictures of me holding my nose was in order for me to drink the 2nd scnappes Henrik ordered...then he ordered Jager Tea...didn't happen...I could not even gag it down! So, he got to enjoy them both!

Love to all!!

View from Hohewerfen Castle. AMAZING!

SALZBURG, AUSTRIA?? YES, I WAS THERE!

Henrik enjoying Spagetti, real Italian style

Our view from the outdoor restaurant in Werfen of the Alps. It was like our very own mountain and our very own restaurant.

Yuk! Jager????

So much to tell , so little time!

2009-05-20T13:31:00.007-06:00

Here are some various pictures we have taken since Monday of this week. We are currently in Berchtesgarten Bavaria which is undoubtable one of the most beautiful places on earth. It is in the Alps about 120 miles southeast of Munich or Muenchen as it called here. This is also called Eagles Nest which is where Hilter met with his top officers. It is amazing that this place could be built like is was. We have been staying is the coziest places i could ever imagine, drinking wine each evening until it is dark and then walking back to our Zimmer Frie or Bed/Breakfast. Last night and tonight we are staying in a hotel called St Georg if you can imagine it and it is so perfect. We walked to a neighborhood restuarant for dinner. Henrik has the Snitzel which looks so good and I have been serviving on Wurster, or saussage, or as we call them in America, HOT DOGS! Haha. I am in search of the a nice Bratwurst though. These pictures actually begin in northern Germany and then I have shown you the first images I had of the alps. They are breathtaking to say the least. Tomorrow we will visit Salzburg, Austria and then go to Slovenia or Slovakia...i never remember which it is and then down to Italy. Time is going so fast. It's been wonderful. I will update again when I can...internet has been a little challenging.

Love you all!

Farvel!

Hej Hej from Denmark!

2009-05-17T10:26:00.009-06:00

An evening with friends

Walking into the village of Tindbaek

Henrik in his forest hat picking up Nils to walk to friends.

Some of Henriks land across the street from the farm

Walking thru the middle of the village

Breakfast of champions! I loved the Danish cheese with caraways seeds.

Astrid and Peter

She is actually from Oslo, Norway so she speaks Norwegian, Danish and English and so does her dog Rocky

Way too much fun!

The beginning of Henriks forest from his back gardens

More of the natural gardens growing in the back of the house

I am enjoying the trip of lifetime. I can not even begin to tell you how beautiful this country is. All of the roads are little lanes that wind down through farms and acreage that are meticulously cared for. All of the bounderies of the properties are marked by big trees of one variety or another. The only fences I have seen are keeping livestock in.

My internet connection as well as my phone service has been rather sketchy while we are at the farm. Today we are in Langaa where Henrik owns several office buildings, houses, and apartments. He takes care of the grounds as know one else would do it as well I am sure. I am sitting in one of the business now using their internet, haha.

We have spent these first days in Tindbaek which is the village where Henrik's farm is. It is about 200 acres with views and vistas that are mesmerizing. Last night we were invited to another home in the village for dinner and drinks. Peter and Astrid invited us and another neighbor Nils Andersen over to their amazingly cozy home. If you were taller than 6 ft 2 inches tall you could not stand upright in this home. The kitchens here are very IKEA like...small, modern with a drawer or cupboard for everything. We had a wonderful dinner and then drank, sang, and laughed until 4:30 this morning! It was my job to get Henrik and Nils back to our own homes as they were both just a little tipsy. I wished I would have had it on camera. One of them on each arm, both of them talking in Danish of which I had no understanding and each of them wanting to go a different direction. It was such a good time.

Tomorrow we will be leaving to go south. We haven't even begun to discuss where we are going to start, but I'm sure it will be fabulous.

I'm going to try to post some pictures here but I am using Henriks Danish/Swedish computer and I can't read the keys!! There are also additional letters in their language so if you see an errant æ or ø or Ø or Å you will know my fingers are on the wrong keys yet again!

I miss you, I am having a wonderful time, and I will try to continue to Blog when we get to Germany.

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T22:04:00.006-06:00

Another Mother's Day and another day full of wonderful memories. It all started yesterday actually when Cortney and Michelle brought me a beautiful pot full of flowers for my patio. They BBQ Tri-tip steaks and they hung out with me all evening. Today we got up early and went to church. Yes! Cort too! We all met at Dave and Sharyl for photos then over to the church we went. Although I am not a big church going person, it was a nice feeling sitting in church with Jason and Cortney sitting next to each other and the two of them entertaining Stella during Sacrament Meeting.

After church with Jason and Tawni, I did my favorite thing to do with Cortney. We went for a Harley ride over to Snow Canyon and back. It was about 94 degrees out and a perfect day for a motorcycle ride. I even left my helmet at home I was so excited to have the wind blowing in my hair again!

We got home just in time for everyone to show up to my house for dinner. Dave, Sharyl, Andrea, Jason, Tawni, Stella and I had dinner together and later Jared showed up after a weekend in Vegas.

After dinner Sharyl and I opened our presents from Jason and Tawni. I got a gift card for a Spa Pedicure and Sharyl and I both got this adorable black and white picture of Little Stella's little derrier' waiting to get into the bath. It is such an adorable little photograph!

After dinner an ddessert we played a rousing game of Scrabble. Tawni kicked butt. When Henrik was here last we played International Scrabble so he could put a Danish word on the board, but tonight it was just plain old American Scrabble.

Everyone left around 9:00 pm. and I am crashing after a long and wonderful day. Now, the focus becomes the trip again...Henrik and I won't talk to each until I land in Billund, DK on Friday of this week as he is working in Sweden until Thursday, returning to DK on Friday early a.m.. I am so excited to see him again and start our fabulous drive through South Europe.

I love you all, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

The Other Stella!

2009-05-09T22:09:00.003-06:00

So, Tawni stopped by with Stella today looking all cute in her little green skirt and white shirt. Cort and Michelle decided to turn on the back sprinklers and run through them with Stella. We didn't have a swimming suit or a hat for her so I took my Kasey Kahne scarf and we made a Do-Rag hat for her to protect her head from burning. Before we took her outside, we dressed her up with all my old Kasey Kahne NASCAR stuff just to make her dad mad, after-all, he's a Jeff Gordon/Jimmy Johnson fan! She loved the little red die-cast Kasey Kahne car and would push it along making a car noise like an engine revving! Once outside, she played on the ghetto lawn chair, removed everything she could from the patio to the lawn, including the bag of mesquite BBQ chips you'll see her handing to her daddy. Cort taught her how to use the squirt bottle as a weapon which she loved. Before it was over, she was covered in grass, had mud between her toes, and my backyard looked like a train wreck! She had so much fun!

Already Missing This Perfect Little Face

2009-05-06T21:16:00.003-06:00

It was Grammie night tonight. We changed from Thursdays to Wednesday's so I could give my undivided attention to the people I love most in my life! She and I walked down to a ladies house who lives in Coral Canyon and does some alterations and clothing repairs. On our way back, we stopped at the little "pocket park" and played on the playground. All dressed in yellow, she looked so summer like. We had so much fun and then it hit me...I am going to be gone for almost 3-weeks! I will miss you so much Stella! I know I will have a wonderful time in Europe and Henrik and I have been apart more than 2 months so I'm very excited to see him, but, my heart will miss this little house mouse so much!

So much fun...

2009-05-04T21:49:00.000-06:00

Insanity has taken over...

2009-05-03T21:35:00.009-06:00

I have never been so busy in my life. Moving across the country seemed more calm and organized than my life has been the last few months! Don't get me wrong, I love every minute of it! However, keeping up with my Blog and Facebook seem to be falling by the wayside...I had a HUGE, GINORMOUS, GARGANTUA slide show that was downloading so I could share with you all that has been going on and POOF! It's somewhere in the black hole of lost Internet data...I'll try again another night but here are some highlights:
Craig, Mei, and Kaden came over Wednesday while I was watching Stella so the kids could play together. When Jason and Tawni came to get her, we all just hung out with the kids.

I had Stella again on Friday night and she and I went on a little nature walk in the neighborhood. She is so dang cute, cars were stopping to watch her march along the sidewalk like a little Diva checking out the flowers. Check out the picture where she's wearing my old glasses..Ha!

Saturday was Andrea's Post College Graduation celebration. They had it at the Coral Canyon club house so it was nice and close. Right now she is staying with Dave and Sharyl and she'll be heading to Salt Lake in a few weeks to hopefully get her first job as a real Teacher!

Today I went for a fabulous hike at the Chuckwalla Trailhead. The desert flowers were in bloom and so pretty. There were rock climbers, big lizards, an aerial dog-fight between a Raven and a Hawk which was amazing (the Raven won), and squirrels. It was the first time I had hiked that trail and wasn't disappointed at all. After the hike in the desert, I drove up to Silver Reef which is just North of where I live to check out a camp ground called Oak Grove. It was 9 miles on a dirt road...you should see my car!!

I got alot of things done today to prepare for my trip. Trying to make sure I have all the necessary electrical components for my laptop, Blackberry and hair appliances has bordered on hysterical. Thanks Scott for helping me sort through all of the pieces, parts, and gadgets that we had accumulated over the years but wasn't sure what all of them went too! I'm in good shape now, and happy I don't have a thing I have to buy!

So here's at least some of pics from the last week. They actually start from today and work backwards...another sign that I'm losing it! I'll try to stop in here to say goodbye before I leave on May 14th...
Love you all!

Girlfriends, Family and 85 Degrees This Weekend!

2009-04-19T20:44:00.007-06:00

Sunday was such a gorgeous summer day! It was Jarod's Birthday (Tawni's brother) so everyone went to Dave and Sharyl's for dinner and pie. We all sat around the pool watching Jason drive Stella around in her little car that Santa left at Grammie LaLa's house last Christmas. She was laughing so hard and having so much fun. And, just in case you hadn't heard, Michelle and Cort are now seeing each other! Jason's favorite joke is that if they hit if off and there's a wedding I'll be both the Mother of the Groom and the Maid Of Honor, HaHa. Thanks again Sharyl for serving such a great meal and including us in the festivities.

Saturday it was a GNO Sleepover at my house! Michelle, Heidi and Heather came with pillows, pj's, movies, margaritas, pedicure/manicure kits and TONS of food. We laughed, talked, watched 3 movies and painted toenails. Heather and I were the last ones awake and at 3:30 a.m. we finally went to bed!! Heidi made the BEST artichoke dip I have ever had and I HATE ARTICHOKES!! It was too die for. I made baked potato skins and we had shrimp, chips and cookies! We were filling our faces until all hours of the morning. We definately will be doing this again.

Last Friday Night Tawni and her neighbor/girlfriend Joelle planned a GNO for the two of them, me and Joelle's Mom Karen. We went to Karens amazingly beautiful home and enjoyed snacks and a 4 hour game of Phase 10. I am so lucky to now have two more wonderful ladies I can add to my list of friends here in St. George. We all had so much fun together and can't wait to do it again soon. Jason watched Stella so Tawni had the night off...We didn't get home until 1:30 in the morning. It was awesome, thanks Tawni!!

Easter Sunday 2009

2009-04-12T21:21:00.003-06:00

Man, what a day! Everything from church to egg hunts to dinner to softball! It was as perfect as it could get, well almost... Henrik sends his Easter wishes from West Sweden. Sharyl made a wonderful dinner for all of us after church today. It was Fast Sunday which means that the members who chose to do so stand up and say what they are grateful for. It's always nice when I go to church with the kids when one of them stands up and bears their testimony. Jason did that today, and of course Tawni and I sit there with tears rolling down our cheeks when he tells the members how important is wife, his miracle daughter and his proud Mom are to him in his life.

After the formalities of church are over, it's off with the church clothes and on with the fun clothes! Bishop Dave, Sharyl, Jason, Tawni, Stella, Jared, Andrea, Cort and myself had a terrific Lasagne dinner. Sharyl even prepared one seperate pan of lasagne for me that was Gluten Free. She is so awesome. As soon as we finished dinner, we had an Easter Egg Hunt for Stella in the Courtyard. She was so dang cute! She marched around there finding those eggs like a pro. She was amazing all of us with her egg-fetching capabilities, LOL. As soon as that was over, we all took off to the park here in Coral Canyon for a family game of softball. I will tell you that considering both Jason and Cort are outstanding ball players, Jared and the girls gave them a run for their money! Tawni and Andrea were kicking some butt and even Mom put some in the outfield, Haha. We laughed and played until the sun went down and now everyone is talking about a regular weekly family softball game. That will be all well and good until it starts to reach 115 degrees outside!

Anyway, enjoy the slideshow and Stella's cute little Easter outfit.

Pre Easter Fun

2009-04-12T09:24:00.003-06:00

The Saturday morning Sylarus hike was beautiful. Threat of rain chased all but 3 of us away and the only rain we encountered was during lunch at Oscars after the hike! Of course being the overachiever that I am, was dressed as if I was hiking the North Pole and had to start peeling back the layers almost immediatley upon beginning the hike. The storms were all around us but where we were the sun was shining and the views of the monoliths with clouds of that nature were awe-inspiring. The sun is almost always shining in Zion National park so to experience a day like yesterday, well, those who wimped out missed a real treat...

After the hike, we had a Pre Easter BBQ at Jason and Tawni's house and had a great time. I took some little bags with some new summer clothes in them for Stella and she was so cute opening them up. She loved her little dresses and held them up in front of her like she knew exactly what to do with them. Then we had a fashion show with her modeling them. She would come around the corner and down the hall with this ginormous smile on her face and of course we were all cheering and laughing at her. She loved it. Thanks Tawni and Jason for hosting the party and thanks Cort for tearing up the grill with your awesome hamburgers!

I'm off to get ready for church. More pictures later of Easter Sunday.

Happy Easter!

Things....

2009-04-10T19:15:00.005-06:00

I have a new hiking coach...S-T-E-L-L-A! I've told you about Mt. Everest aka Cardiac Arrest? Well Thursday night Stella coached me up that bad-boy hike pushing her stroller!! We were doing great until near the top I realized that somewhere between my gasping for air and closing my eyes to pray we reached the top soon Stella launched her binky (pacifier) out of the stroller. Not seeing her do this, you can only imagine my panic, when near the top of the hill, she decided she wanted it. Needless to say, there was no coaching necessary for me to descend Mt Everest at record speed looking for her binky all the while. We successfully located it on the sidewalk down in the subdivision. Wow, was that ever close!

The challenge:

Hairstyle by Stella: apply yogurt, lotion and some of your mom's contact lens solution to dry hair for this fabulous look!

The top half of the hike! Ooi!

Going down....

Tomorrow we are hiking in Zions with a group from Sylarus where I work. They are forecasting rain showers so only those of us that are die hard hiking enthusiasts are still planning to go but we are pysched about it for sure. We are planning to hike to the Lower Emerald Pools and Weeping Rock. After the hike we are planning a post-hike celebration lunch and beer at my favorite place to eat in Springdale/Zions, Oscars! There's nothing more motivating during a hike in Zions that knowing you are going to pound down a Murder Burger at Oscars afterwards.

Tomorrow night is a pre-Easter egg hunt and BBQ at Jason and Tawni's house for the family. Easter Sunday I'll be going to church with the family and then Sharyl is making Easter dinner for everyone at her and Dave's house. It's always so nice to spend the holidays together as a family, this one will be no exception.

Jason and Tawni continue to do well. JJ's Lawn Care is picking up nicely and from now until next October Jason and Cortney will be working every night after work taking care of customer lawns. Jason has a church calling working with the boy scouts...I think it's the 13 year olds, and Tawni has been called to serve in the Relief Society Presidency. We keep bugging them about when our next little house mouse is planned and so far we only hear "maybe next year". We'll see!

Cortney has been taking guitar lessons, has become "friends" my friend Michelle, is camping, fishing, skeet shooting and is thrilled that Harley riding season is back! He can't wait until Henrik is back in St George so he has someone to ride with.

Speaking of Henrik...here are some FAQ's and their answers that seem to keep coming from everyone:

He's Danish...which would make him from Denmark (a small country in Scandinavia for those of you who can't remember where the hell Denmark is Ha Ha, as if Scandinavia will help some of you :-)
Yes, he speaks English quite well, but has a charming accent. I've been adding some Danish words to my vocabulary like Goddag and Hej (Hello) and Farvel (farewell)! He tells me most Danish people speak English except for the older people. The word he says the most in English? "goddammitglendawilson" (all one word) LOL
No, we didn't meet online, we met in Zion National Park last October on a day that Cortney took me on a Harley ride. Cortney met him first, I came upon the two of them talking and comparing their Harley's.
Yes, he lives in a country house on many acres in a very small village in Denmark.
His work is in Sweden at a Nuclear Power Plant and is basically project oriented Each project lasts between 4-8 weeks. When he's not in Sweden or spending weekends in Denmark, he's here in St George.
Yes, I am staying with Henrik at his country house when I visit Europe, but we are going to be on the road for most of the trip. He laughed hysterically when I told him all the places I was planning on visiting while there...He says Europeans think Americans are so stupid to try and see Europe in 2 weeks. Instead of the 15 city/country tour I was envisioning, we are going to spend most of our time in Germany and Northern Italy, with a brief excursion to Bavaria. Either way, my plans to see Venice, Italy is definitely going to happen AND he promised that I will be able to drive on the Autobahn. The plan is to take back roads through the villages in South Europe, but how can I visit Germany and not drive a car as fast as the car will go without fear of a ticket!! Yes!
Yes, he has 3 children of his own...two sons and a daughter. He gets along famously with Stella and is very patient with my obsession with her, LOL.
Yes, it is very hard being in a long distance relationship, but we are learning how to deal with it. It will be like this for a few years and then we hope he will be living here most of the time. Ideally, our future together would include living in both places for some portion of each year. We'll see.
Yes, this means I'm "off the market", so quit asking! LMAO

Okay, that answers most of the questions that I can answer without risk of embarassing Henrik any further.

I hope all of you have a Happy Easter and that you get to spend it with those you love, doing what you love to do on Easter Sunday.

Big Hugs and Lots of Love,

A Sunny Sunday Afternoon

2009-04-05T20:34:00.005-06:00

Tawni giving Stella a horsey ride

Sychronized food faces
Tawni, Andrea, Me and Miss Stella

Heading to Steve and Sandy's house for dessert

Cortney's cartwheel
Yes, this is supposed to be Jason's Cartwheel! Stella couldn't watch!

Jason giving me crap about my $10 Walmart plastic chair from the '70's!
Hey it was on sale!!
Nothing more needs to be said
The beautiful Smith girls!

If you have ever watched that movie JackAss, you'll know what kind of stuff goes on around here when Jason and Cort are left to entertain themselves. It was such a beautiful day we had dinner sitting outside on chairs and blankets on the grass. The boys had us laughing so loud I was waiting for a complaint from the neighbors. Stella played and played and played. Jason was giving me such a hard time about my $10 Walmart chair, he sat on it just to see if he could break it. I only needed something to layout on and it was perfect for that! Watching those two grown men doing acrobatic moves is hysterical! Neither of them is the least bit flexible so it's like watching stick men do the tricks. Tawni stuck the landing on hers and Andrea, well, poor Andrea went home with a sore wrist. She said she could never do Cartwheels, and she was telling the truth! Of course I had to take my turn and to see the shear horror on their faces...Jason was going to pre-dial 911 on his cell phone LOL. To their surprise, Mom stuck the landing as well!!

After we ate and played in the back yard we walked over to Steve and Sandy's house for cake and ice-cream. Trevors birthday is tomorrow so everyone gets together to celebrate.

Earlier today I took the Mount Everest hike again. That is such a tough hill! The view from the top is amazing. Ikeep telling myself I need to take my camera with me but I do not want to carry a single ounce more on me when I do that trail! I got home around 3:00 then sat outside in the backyard soaking up the sun for about an hour before coming in and finishing up dinner for the family. I have some nice red checks and a very red nose!

It was a really good weekend for sure. The next several weekends things get crazy and I just got a call from Richi who said she and Jack may be coming out to visit me from Arkansas in the next month or so WHOO-HOO!

Have a great week everyone, hugs to all and I love ya!

Busy Being Grammie LaLa This Week

2009-04-03T21:16:00.003-06:00

Saidee, Me and Stella

Cuddling with the bear and Grammie at KayDee"s house. We both look ready for a nap!

KayDee and Saidee

Me and Stella and Tawni

Little Miss Fancy Pants Busy as usual

Playing with Grammie JUMPING ON THE COUCH! Cort caught us with the camera!

Grammie LaLa roughs me up like I'm a little boy sometimes and I LOVE IT!

Peek-A-Boo with Uncle Cort

Tawni, Stella and I joined KayDee and Saidee for GNO (Girls Night Out) on Wednesday at KayDee and Chris beautiful house in Santa Clara. KayDee does both mine and Tawni's hair, although in these pic's one would think I hadn't combed my hair for a month! I was having to much fun playing with the babies to worry about such stuff! Saidee is about 7 months old and you can see that she is almost as big as Stella! It's not that Saidee is big, it's that Stella is still so small. We had a great time watching the babies play and visiting with KayDee's husband Chris who got a taste of what GNO is all about...he was engaged in quite the detailed conversation with Tawni about Birth Control! Ha! Stella of course was her Diva self, she is so full of it! She makes us all laugh so hard.

Both Thursday and Friday I got to babysit her while her parents had some other things going on. She is into dancing now and it is hysterical to watch her bust a groove to the music. The best part these days and that she reaches for Grammie LaLa the minute she see's me. She gets so excited and wants me to hold her. It is so wonderful to have someone love you like that! It's one thing when your the parent but to be a Grammie and have them recognize a Grandmothers love, well, nothing I have experienced beats it!

Cort went to the Julianne Hough (Dancing With The Stars) concert last night and got to go to the autograph session afterwards. Yep, he's in love! She is from Utah originally and had performed on the Tuchan stage when she was 8. He said he had a great time.

My weekend is not overbooked, I have no plans to look at houses this weekend, and my house is pretty much clean so I guess I can do just about anything I want this weekend! Whoo-hoo!

Hey It's Your Birthday...We're Gonna Have A Good Time!!

2009-03-30T18:37:00.009-06:00

Oh my gosh, if only Heidi could have a Birthday every day!! We had so much fun last Friday. Heidi, Michelle and Heather (yes another one of their sista's) met up with Cortney and Wes for dinner at the Texas Roadhouse. When it's your birthday they roll this S-T-U-P-I-D saddle on wheels up to your table, make you sit on it and they sing Happy Birthday with a Hee-Haw flare. It has got to be the most embarrasing thing ever! Well, let me tell you about Heidi. She is what the term "light-weight" was originally referring to when she drinks. Half a Margarita down and so is Heidi! Well, the saddle rolled up after she a finished her Margarita and low and behold! Heidi saddles up! Of course we couldn't let the evening end there so off we went to the Firehouse Bar. We ran into some other friends there and continued to have a great time. I had to work the morning at 8:00 so I bugged out around 1:00 a.m. The rest of them closed the place down then went to Randy's house and played Guitar Hero until after 3 in the morning. They are all such bad influences on me! The only one missing was Amber...she was on child sitting duty. We missed you Amber! Anyway, it was a good time for sure.

Saturday I stayed home! After a late night at the Charlie Daniels concert Thursday night and then the birthday party, I planned to just kick back at home and relax. It worked out perfectly cause Tawni bathed Stella, put her cute little jammies on her and they came down and played for the evening. It was so nice. I love it that we live so close that it's not a big deal to end up spending the evening with my family without a big production.

Sunday I spent almost the entire day looking for houses for sale. Henrik finds the ones he thinks he's interested in buying and then I get all the fun in going to look at them for him while he's in Europe. I've seen some amazing houses! One of them was 5,700 square feet! For just a brief moment, I allowed myself the simple pleasure of dreaming about living in in a house with amenities that verbose! Not only was there 2 kitchens, but there was 2 full size laundry rooms! Ha Ha! Henrik brought me back to my senses though. When he mentioned the energy bills in the summer here in the red rock desert, it made me choke and I quickly returned to reality! It was fun while it lasted. Tee Hee A bizarre coincidence at one of the houses Henrik sent me too. It is a beautiful brand new spec or model home that was in the Parade of Homes. Sadly though, you have to drive thru the ghetto part of town to get to this georgeous new subdivision with spectacular views. In addition to the ghetto drive, there is a ginormous water tank sitting just off to the side of the subdivision making a terrible eyesore. I emailed Henrik from my Blackberry that it was a great house but bad, bad location. So, today, Rocky from Wheeler Machinery stops into my work. I didn't stop into the Maverick convenience store this morning and that always makes them worry about me so he stopped in to see if everything was okay. Anyway I'm telling him about the houses I was looking at and told him about how beautiful that home was but how crappy the location was. Well...guess who just bought the lot RIGHT next door to that house! There I was trashing the neighborhood where he is planning on building a house! I felt so stupid. We both actually started laughing about it. He said he didn't give a crap about the ghetto below, that he could sit in his beautiful backyard, drinking beer enjoying the far-away vistas and when he was done, he could throw the beer bottle over the fence, down into the ghetto neigbors yard and they wouldn't notice a thing. You know, I think he's on to something there.

Yet another jammed packed week..tomorrow night after my hair appt. I'm meeting a friend Tami for drinks, Wednesday Tawni and Stella along with Kaydee and Saidee and myself are having a Girls Night Out...don't know what that is yet, but it's gonna be fun! Thursday is my regular Grammie night with Stella and then I'm also watching her Friday night as it's ward Temple night for Jason and Tawni. She is so much fun now that she is walking, we have busy, busy little feet and we just keep them moving!

Enjoy the pics from the Birthday Bash! Wish you could have all been there!
Hugs

Wes and Forrest Gump?

Heidi, Wes, Michelle, Cort, Heather and Me at the Firehouse celebrating Heidi's Birthday!

Michelle and Cortney arguing over whose beer was whose!
Do we look sweet and innocent or what! Do not believe it for one minute!
Heidi gets on the Birthday Saddle at Texas Roadhouse. I could not believe she actually did it!

Cort and his friend Wes joined us as well. He LOVES my friends and we all have a great time together!

Me, The Girls, and Charlie Daniels!

2009-03-27T07:05:00.004-06:00

Okay, there are some people who would NEVER consider going to see The Charlie Daniels Band play. Well, not us. We will listen to just about anybody play, especially if it is at Tuachan. Tuachan is an outdoor ampitheater in a red rock canyon here in St George that is mesmerizing. We had a great time and Charlie, although he is almost 100 years old it seems was great. We were most likely the youngest group there...you do the math on that one...which was hilarious. The biggest hazzard of the night was triping over canes that blocked our access to the aisles! A few pre-show Margaritas and then Amber, the bad influence that she is, brought an Aquafina bottle FULL of Crown Royal with her. We rocked the house along with Charlie. After the concert when we were leaving, an older couple sitting behind us said "we wanted some of what you guys had in those Pepsi's!" It was too funny.

So, great friends, liquid heat, and good music all under the starry skies! Try to beat that!

Michelle and Heidi at dinner
Helping Heidi finish off her Margarita!! What are friends for?
A Blurry Charlie Daniels!
Me and Amber at the Concert

Mt Everest Trail aka Cardiac Arrest - CONQUERED!

2009-03-24T20:15:00.002-06:00

Ha! Henrik asked me if I had done the Mt. Everest Trail here in Coral Canyon and I told him I had not. For obvious reasons, I never attempted this amazingly steep, paved hiking trail that traverses the hill south of where I live UNTIL TONIGHT. During his daily runs, he would successfully take on this challenge. I am perfectly satisfied that I could WALK the damn thing without stopping to catch my breath! I found motivation in the rabbits that were running up the trail in front of me, LOL. So, up I went and it was great! Once to the top I continued along celebrating my accomplishment, HaHa. The best part was knowing it was down hill all the way home! I gained 7 lbs while Henrik was here so I'm working SUPER hard to burn it back off. Mt Everest aka Cardiac Arrest just may be my secret weapon.

Cort's week didn't start off so good. After seeing the doctor for an infected bug bite yesterday, Cort returned to work and while there, a blood vessel in the area of the wound burst open! According to Jason, blood was squirting out EVERYWHERE! There's a EMT that works with them who instructed Cort to lay down and started to do first aid. They took him for Emergency treatment and they fixed him back up. He's feeling much better tonight. He is so accident prone!!

Big plans with the girls this week...Amber, Michelle, Heidi and I are going to see The Charlie Daniels Band at Tuachan, an outdoor amphitheater, Thursday night. Amber and Michelle both claim they know every word to the song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" so Heidi and I will be witness to a live sing-off that night. We all have such a fun time together, Thursday will be no different.

Tawni took Stella to Las Vegas today and they will be back tomorrow. Tawni's friend Courtney from California is there staying at her Dad's home so Tawni took the baby to go and see her, even if just for a short visit. They came by last night to visit and to check on Cort so we got to play with Stella for a little while.

I work Friday night and Saturday at The Summit Athletic Club. I haven't worked there for a few weeks so it will be nice to see everyone again. There's also a Harley ride on Saturday that some of my friends are going on, Cort may not be able to go now, but if he feels up to it, I'm hoping we can go.

We're planning a company wide hike for Sylarus the 2nd weekend in April. The plans are to hike Watchmans in Zions and take a picnic along with us. It is still in the planning process, but everyone is getting excited to get out in the beautiful weather and to enjoy the beauty of the park.

Well, that's it for my upcoming week! Thanks for the texts, messages on Facebook and emails! I love hearing from all of you!
Hugs and Kisses!

Sunday Afternoon

2009-03-22T21:32:00.004-06:00

Jody and Kevin left early this morning to be back in time for a baby shower at noon. I slept in a few more hours after they left then got up and cleaned house and worked on my computer. I had told Jason and Tawni I would watch Stella today while they watched the dedication of the new LDS Temple in Draper, Utah via satellite at their church. It was just too long for Miss Stella to have to spend in church for one day (me too!) so they brought her by. Cort was here so we just played with her and laughed at all of her cute little antics.

My tickets are purchased for my trip to Europe! I leave on May 14th and arrive there on May 15th and will stay for about 2 weeks. After acclimating to the time change in Denmark for the first few days, Henrik and I are taking a roadtrip. He has made me in charge of choosing what I want to see while I'm there and I'm so overwhelmed I don't even know where to start. What I do know is that one of our destinations for certain is Venice, Italy! The route we are taking to Northern Italy includes Germany, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland, with Bavaria and Austria as options if we choose to do so. Our plan is just to take it as it comes and not to overbook our time or our plans. Just one day at a time. I keep pinching myself to make sure I'm not dreaming! I am looking forward to visiting the village where he lives, staying in the farm house and walking in the forest on his land. Meeting his family, his neighbor Nils, and the mailman Frank are first on my list!

Its back to the work week tomorrow! Big Hugs!!

Kevin and Jody Come To Town!

2009-03-22T20:29:00.004-06:00

We had a great time with Jody and Kevin. It was a short visit for them as they had to get back to Salt Lake for another obligation. Kevin put his motorcycle on a trailer and pulled it behind their brand new beautiful truck. He and Cort rode to Zions and then all of us met up at Oscars in the mouth of the park for lunch, including Jason, Tawni and Stella. It was beautiful in Springdale so we walked around the little petting zoo with Stella. She was worn right out after all the exitement. I love you both and can't wait until you come back again!!

Lunch with Miss Stella and Tawni

2009-03-22T20:20:00.003-06:00

An Evening Walk With Stella

2009-03-18T20:58:00.002-06:00

We are having such beautiful weather right now that minutes after I get home from work, I am out walking in the neighborhood. Last Monday Sharyl went with me and tonight Stella and Tawni joined me. We were out for almost 2 hours. Stella was A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E! She was laughing so hard she had Tawni and I tore-back with laughter. In this slideshow, you will also see how beautiful the sunsets are here, Jason driving up the street I was walking home on, and views of the silouette of Zions National Park. I love living where it is so beautiful and where my little granddaughter is a short walk away....

Poker Night!

2009-03-15T13:27:00.002-06:00

As if I don't already have enough going on, we had poker night here last night. Friends from both Sylarus and The Summit were here as well as other friends I've met along the way! Michelle, Heidi and Kammi came along and brought Sierra with them, Amber came and brought her friends Bobbie and Kinsey, Craig and Mei were here with Kaden, Cory and Daisha came with a co-worker Judy, visiting here from Reno, NV. When Cort and Wes heard there were single, hot babes here, they were here in a New York minute. Poker ended about 1:00 a.m. and somehow the rest of us ended up in my my room piled on the bed! It was so cozy!! LOL. The last of gang left about 3:00 a.m. Cortney won the Poker game. It was so much fun. My friends are awesome and it's cool that Cort and his friends want to hang out with us!

Cort LOVES his Deuce...

2009-03-15T13:19:00.005-06:00

Riding along side of Cortney on our Harley ride to Mesquite. His bike is beatiful and he looks awesome on it!! The bike Henrik and I are on is a Heritage. It's bigger and alot more comfortable for two people.

Our Busy Little Toddler

2009-03-15T13:09:00.002-06:00

She is so busy!! Just like her Dad, she never stops. Here are some pics from the last few weeks. You can see now mobile she is now that she can walk. Don't you just love those little legs in her corduroy skirt!! One night Henrik and I watched her and while I made dinner, I put Stella in the sink next to me. We had our first cooking experience together. She was so cute! I'm also including a video that Tawni took of Stella's first time down a slide. She went down with no fear and had perfect balance! She acted like she had done it a million times.

Time with Henrik

2009-03-13T19:24:00.004-06:00

As you can see in the slideshow, Henrik and I kept very busy while he was here for a month. Everything from family dinners, babysitting Stella, hikes in Zions and riding the Harleys on several rides, the longest one being to Laughlin, NV. We had such a great time!

Some of the highlights included International Scrabble, a made up version so Henrik could add Danish words to the board; dinner at Kathy and Rons where Henrik got overheated by Ron's oversized man-garage full of man-toys. I was concerned he would pack his bags from home and move to their place in New Harmony to play with Ron all day! Our longest Harley ride was from St. George to the shoreroad of Lake Mead all the way to the Hoover Dam and then south to Laughlin which is almost in California. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride although it did get a little cold the last 30 minutes into Laughlin because the sun went down. I was surprised how comfortable I was even after 5 hours on the back of the bike. Multiple trips to Zions to both hike and drive through on the way to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary were great. Other Harley rides with both Dave (Tawni's Dad) and Cortney were awesome. Both Henrik and Patrick made good use of my bicycle while they were here. Henrik probably put over 700 miles on it! Between running daily and riding the bike 15-20+ miles per day, he freaked the boys right out.

Now he has returned to Denmark and we miss him terribly. We will see each other again most likely in May when he returns here or I go to Denmark. Still waiting on that one.

Other things going on are Jody and Kevin will be here the weekend of the 20th and I can't wait to see them. The last time they were here was to help me move into this house. I can't beleive a year has gone by already!

I hope to be able to add another slideshow for you tonight or tomorrow of our little Stella. She is so amazing. Every day now there is something new from her. I can't begin to express to you what light she brings into our lives. I knew I would love being a grandma but I didn't quite realize how it would differ from being a parent. How lucky I am to experience her so much in my life.

Lastly, after prodding from many of you, I am up and going on Facebook so look for me under Glenda Wilson, St George, UT. I'm amazed at how many of you I've connected with there as well.

Tomorrow is poker night at my house....more AFTER the event!!
Love Ya

Look Whose Walking Now!!!

2009-03-08T11:21:00.007-06:00

Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the blog and pause the music to hear her sweet little feet smacking the floor while she's walking...

Still so much going on, I will update more later this week. Henrik leaves Tuesday and I will have PLENTY of time on my hands to get things updated. I have lots of videos and pictures to share!

We are heading up to Zions for a hike and then to New Harmony near Cedar City to have dinner with Kathy and Ron. They are getting snow today so we are going up to play in it for a while.

Love to all!

Checking In!

2009-02-19T20:57:00.005-07:00

Stella LOVES her books!
LaLa LOVES her Stella! Henrik and Jason

So so busy! Having fun with Henrik, my international man of mystery! The weather has been a little cool so we haven't been able to ride as much on the Harleys as we had hoped but maybe this weekend. All the kids were here tonight for dinner and I got a few pictures to update you. This weekend we are hoping to ride again but don't know where we are going yet.

Rocky came by my work again today and told me about several other Wheeler employees who now live in St George that have Harleys and are looking for a group to ride with. Dick Charles and John Hoonaker are both here in St. George now. Can you say "reunion"!!

Quick updates: My niece Karli is engaged, Cort is taking guitar lessons, Patrick and my friend Michelle are hitting it off so well that he's returning to St George from Maine in March to meet her, Yay!!!, and Stella is walking a few steps at a time now!!!

More later, hope your all well!
Love Ya!

The Sista's Take It To the Limit!

2009-02-08T08:43:00.027-07:00

Heidi, Michelle, and Me getting ready at the salon

I have so much fun with these Sista's! As I've mentioned before, Michelle, Heidi and Lori are 3 of about 6 sisters and they've adopted me! They are stunningly beautiful ladies inside and out. Talk about head-turners! Together, we are a force to be reckoned with, HaHa!

I have been so excited for this concert. It has been a long, long time since I've been to a concert, and the last rock concert I went to was Def Leppard more than 15 years ago. I learned 3 things:

1) no longer does everyone hold up lighters above their heads, they hold up their lit cell phones!

2) camera's and video equipment is no longer a big deal because the bands love the fact they are put on YouTube, Facebook, or MySpace so the fact I ditched my camera in the truck before we went in really pissed me off!

3) Rock and roll lives on, even in St George Utah!

I have loved Hinders songs for awhile now, and I've been listening to Theory of a Deadman on Sirius radio and REALLY like them as well. Hinders album, Take It To The Limit is playing in my car 24-7! The opening band called The VeerUnion was even good! We did not sit down the entire time, burning off all of the food we ate at the Brazilian Restaurant, lol

The pre-concert extravaganza was mostly poor Heidi doing hair, makeup and waxing for Michelle and I. It was so fun, but she worked so hard. Michelle did Heidi's hair and did a fabulous job considering she's not a trained professional, LOL!

After the concert we went to Lori's house to burn copies of all of the CD's from all 3 bands and have some post-party adult beverages. When I left them at 2:00 a.m. they were still going strong!

So, the big event for this week is behind us and I now get to plan for the big event of next week...Henrik's arrival from Denmark.

Thanks everyone for being here and checking in on me. As you can see, I am living life to the fullest and loving every friggen minute of it. In a way, I feel like I am catching up on things I've missed, and I'm checking things off of the bucket list like a heat-seeking missile.

Love Ya!

Michelle and Lori at the Brazilian Restaurant

Me and Heidi after she did my hair

Whoa Baby!

After the concert!

Michelle

Myself and Heidi at the restuarant
Heidi in her naughty Hinder T-shirt!

Hinder:

Theory of a Deadman:

Peek A Boo!

2009-02-07T11:59:00.005-07:00

Friday night was ward Temple night for Jason and Tawni so I watched Stella. My friends Craig and May came over with Kaden so the kids could have some playtime together. When Jason and Tawni got done at the temple they came over and hung out for awhile. The kids were so cute together! May made her famous spring rolls and spring roll salad for us. She goes to great lengths to make it Gluten Free for me which is so nice! It was dee-lish as always!

The other highlight of my week was getting a new Harley Davidson jacket for our rides! Henrik will be here from Denmark next week and we have several rides we are planning. Rocky from Wheeler Machinery, Cortney, Henrik and I are doing a Valentine's Poker Run on Saturday the 14th so I needed a REAL riding jacket...what do you think?
I love it! I'm all set with my helmut, boots, gloves and now a hot new leather jacket, lol! Henrik will be here for about 5 weeks so we hope to go to Salt Lake (by car, not by HD...it's way to cold up North) and Moab, UT and/or Laughlin, NV one of the other weekends on the bike. Cort wants in on those rides as well. He enjoys having someone to ride with. Dave, Tawni's Dad is selling his HD :-( and was hoping Henrik would buy it because he is looking for an additional bike to add to his HD collection of 3 (2 in Denmark, 1 in my garage). Unfortunately, he is looking for a black Deuce, the same style as Cortney and Dave's isn't black. His Heritage is great for long distance trips but the Deuce is nice for shorter day trips...at least that's the explanation I get!

Tonight is the big Hinder / Theory of a Deadman concert so I have to go get my stuff to take to the salon for the pre-concert girls makeup/hair party at Heidi's salon! If you haven't heard of them and are listening to the music that plays on my blog, the first song is one of Theory of a Deadmans. Hinder is also on there...check it out!

Pictures/videos later!!

Love you all!

A little of Everything...

2009-01-29T20:54:00.010-07:00

She's such a little girl now!!

What a crazy busy week! Jason, Cort and I have been working out at the gym at night and it's been great. Tonight I stayed home with Stella so Tawni could go. Of course with Cort and Jason it's all about who can do it the longest, fastest and hardest and I'm just happily texting away while on the treadmill and bikes. When Jason and Tawni stopped by to pickup Stella, Cort was watching Jeopardy! By some amazing twist of fate, Jason knew the answer to one of the questions that happened to be identifying the rock band Warrant. Jason leaps up shouting Warrant! What is Warrant!! and he immediatley busts out singing "She's my Cherry Pie!!" all the while playing air guitar. Little Stella looked up at him with the funniest look on her face. Then she looked at her Mom and I like "is he for real? Of course Cort was singing along as well which made it sound like a really bad rock concert. Today Cort went skiing with a customer from his work up at Brianhead and had a blast. Skiing one hour north of us and no snow here...can you say perfect world!

Last night my friend Tammi (Stepp) had me over for dinner. Her husband Bill who is the VP of Operations where I work was out of town on business, so Tammi and I got together. She made a fabulous Grilled Chicken Salad and we sat sipping wine and chit chatting much longer than I intended to stay. It was so much fun, thanks Tammi!

A week from Saturday Michelle, Heidi, Lori and I are going to see Hinder and Theory of a Dead Man in concert. Remember when I went to Denver back in August to see my friend Kelly? Well her fiance' Josh is an amazing guitar player and he used to play with Theory of a Dead Man! So it's girls night at a rock concert next weekend!

I was working away at the office today when my old friend Rocky Forman from Wheeler Machinery stopped by to see me. Each time he stops by I'm either in meetings or out of the building, but today was his lucky day and I was available! We sat in my office for over an hour talking about all of our friends at Wheeler and what had happened to everyone. He said they just celebrated Don Wheeler's 80th Birthday with a big celebration in Salt Lake. I wished I would have known, I would have tried to be there. All of us who met and worked at Wheeler Machinery have a special bond. In the 80's it was like a huge family all working together and many friendships, marriages and divorces were made there, haha. I wouldn't have my best friend Jody Hill nor would I have had my life with Scott if we all hadn't worked there. I will always love and appreciate the time I worked with that group of people.

Tomorrow night I work at the fitness club. Afterwards I'm meeting Michelle and Company at Jazzy Java for some funky music entertainment. It's a fun little eclectic place to hang out. I've had a couple offers for Super Bowl Sunday, but haven't decided what I want to do for sure. A superbowl without the Patriots, well...it's just not as much fun!!

Happy and Safe SuperBowl Weekend...Be Safe Out There!
xoxox

Jasons BDay Dinner

2009-01-25T21:45:00.006-07:00

Being the all american boy that he is, Jason's choice for his birthday dinner was BBQ hamburgers so I decided to have a July 4th BBQ in January. Cort did the grill as he always does and he kicks serious butt when it comes to grilling. We had a burger-topping-bar with everything from tomatoes, onions and lettuce to bleu cheese crumbles, bacon, and sauteed mushrooms! Lots of salads, pickles, peppercini peppers and olives. It was awesome! Great idea Jason! Jason enjoyed all of his gifts. Dave, Sharyl, Jason, Tawni, Stella, Andrea (Kory's girlfriend), Cort and I were all here. Kory lives in Salt Lake now and Jared was in California so they both missed out on the bomb dinner as the boys called it.

Earlier today I went to breakfast with with my cousins Kathy, Ron, and Vicky to say goodbye to Durrell and Duran, the ones who were visiting here from San Diego. After having breakfast at St. Helens local dive-but great-food-restuarant, Vicky and I terrorized Costco. It felt like I was running all day and now I finally get to kick back and update you all on the fun I've had.

It time to get ready for a busy day at work; visitors from China and the CEO and President of the company will be flying in from Denver this week so who knows what lies ahead!

Love you all

LaLa Time with Stella

2009-01-24T17:57:00.006-07:00

Today is Jason's 32nd birthday, how can that be? Tawni took him out for the afternoon so Stella and I had playtime. She was such a good girl. We played, read books, crawled around on the floor (she's super fast at crawling) and then after all the fun, she fell asleep in my arms. I love that! She is usually so busy shakin' and movin' that to hold her and rock her to sleep is usually not an option. Today was the exception. I enjoy holding her so much that I didn't lay her down, I just held her little bundle and relaxed in my big overstuffed chair and took my own little nap. It was awesome. We'll be doing Jason's BDay celebration here tomorrow.

Yesterday was an insane day at work so some of us headed to Texas Roadhouse for a Margarita fix. I received a call from my Aunt Kathy that her son Durrell and his wife Duran (sounds like a rockband right?) were here from San Diego and would I have time to see them while they were here. I said "heck yeah, I'm on my way"! They live in New Harmony which is about 30 minutes North of Washington, where I live. I stopped at my house long enough to grab my toothbrush and a change of clothes and hit the road. We had a great time visiting until all hours of the night. This morning, Durrell made breakfast for everyone which was awesome. I stayed until time to come home to watch Stella. Tonight I'm just kicking back relaxing at home with a glass of wine, good music and you! More pics tomorrow from Jason BDay dinner!

Take 2 aspirin and a ZPak and get some rest!

2009-01-22T21:22:00.004-07:00

Yep, thats what the doctor said. Sinus, ear and lung infections suck! Especially all at the same time! I finally conceded and went to the doc today because of a sore throat that never would go away. Well, there was a reason for that, LOL. I started on the horse pills and I already feel better 11 hours later.

My workout at the gym tonight was more exciting than usual! I was texting with Patrick, Tawni, Sierra and Michelle all the same time while run/walking on the treadmill. I had it all under control until Henrik called in the middle of all of my texts and I completely lost my concentration and went flying off of the back of the treadmill! Fortunatley, some super power beyond my own capabilities kept me upright and in-tact upon landing after the launch. Thank GOD I was the only person working out in that area at the time. Even an East German judge would have given me a perfect 10 on that friggen dismount!! The moral of the story? Don't answer the phone, just keep run/walking and texting!!

I'm still helping Henrik look for homes for sale here in St. George there are some amazing homes for sale at even more amazing prices. He will be leaving Denmark for St George again in early February and will be here for almost a month. Then, I'm going to Denmark!! I'm not leaving until May but will be gone for over 2 weeks so I have alot of things at work to get positioned so I can go for that long. I'm so excited to see the Scandanavian countries and the weather at that time of year is supposed to be the best. If for some reason the weather there isn't as good as we hope, we'll go south to Germany and Italy. I am so excited to go back to Europe! It's been a long time since I was there. What I'm not looking forward to is the 18-hour flight! Anyway, I'll share more of that as it develops.

I've cut back my hours at the Summit Athletic Club and Kays Jewelers. I need a little break from so much work. That will leave more time for my family, and especially precious little Stella. Jason's birthday weekend is my next focus, it will be fun to have everyone here.

Lastly, thanks to Jessica for another fabulous facelift on my Blog. You rock and I appreciate what you do so much!

Hugs and kisses!

Not the best week...

2009-01-17T21:16:00.004-07:00

They can't all be good I've decided. This week presented some real challenges for me. Challenges unlike anything I've had to deal with before. Without going into details, Michelle, your the best! Thank you for giving of yourself to give me the time I needed away from work. Everyone should have the friends that I have surrounding me.

The week wasn't an entire loss, Tawni and Jason had Cort and I over for Taco Night last Thursday, I had a blast with my Maine friends, Patrick Lyons and Dave Nelson during a 4-hour text-a-thon with them today. It was some of the funniest stuff I have ever taken part in! I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes, while laying in the middle of the living room floor and my thumbs were so sore from jamming on the Blackberry, LOL. Henrik is working in Sweden right now where the weather is worse than my friends in Maine are dealing with if you can imagine such a thing, and the weather here is in the high 60's! After being invited by a gazillion people, I finally got my facebook up and going and heard from so many people I have missed over the years!

Tawni, Stella and I went to lunch at Olive Garden on Thursday. Stella had flung her bread and pasta all over the floor while she was eating. She started getting ansy from sitting there so I put her down on her feet to stand for a minute at the table. When she saw the mess on the floor she said "Uh-oh"! It was the cutest little voice ever! She says Momma and Dadda when she feels like it. I'm sure she will soon follow in her Mother and Grandma LaLa's footsteps and start talking non-stop soon enough!

Next week we're planning on a huge improvement. Jason's birthday is on the 24th, for those of you who need a reminder and we'll be having his birthday dinner here at my house so there will be lots of pictures to share. I am still helping Henrik look at homes for sale here in St. George. He should be back in town the middle of February which is just in time for the Parade of Homes which is a big deal here in St George. KayDee thanks for keeping the listings coming!

Hugs!

Happy Birthday Stella!

2009-01-11T21:52:00.003-07:00

Can you believe it was one year ago today that this little angel came into our lives? As a reminder, Stella was 10 weeks premature and only weighed 2 lbs 4 oz. She was ever so tiny, but a fighter from the moment she arrived. I will never forget when they first let us see her when she was only an hour old that I put my finger up to her little hand and she grasped it and held on to it. I know that most of you have seen the pictures, but to actually see how small she was and to feel the strenght she had in that little tiny hand was amazing. It was such a scary time for all of us and I can tell you there was a lot of prayers happening from family and friends all across the country.

How blessed we are that we can look back now at all of the fears and concerns we had then and know that Stella's special spirit and determination has brought her full circle to her first Birthday.

We started the day by going to church. Tawni was speaking at Sacrament Meeting so it was a special day for me to be there. Afterwards we had a Birthday Dinner at Dave and Sharyl's and then the rest of the family showed up for cake and ice cream. The big plans for her tearing into her cake dwindled somewhat she was so dainty and only poked at it. Jason then picked her up and put her face very near the cake which really pissed her off as you can see in the pictures. She is all girl and couldn't wait to get all the yucky stuff off of her face, arms and hands.

Thanks to those of you who sent birthday wishes to her, it was so cool that you remebered!

Hugs to all!

It's All So Random!

2009-01-11T09:07:00.004-07:00

Yes, I did drop off the face of the earth, but I'm back now and ready to share! I can't even remember what I've already told you so if I repeat myself, you'll know why. The slide show is a plethora of things including a few more pictures from Christmas and New Years Eve. I've also included pictures from some road trips and hikes that I went on during the days off that I had. Henrik was here from Denmark for almost 3 weeks so we did a lot of running around. He and Cortney went on a couple of Harley rides as the temperatures were perfect for a day on the Hawgs. It was still a little to cool for me, I have to toughen up a bit I guess. One of the days Dave, Tawni's dad joined them and they rode out to Gunlock reservoir. Our hike in Snow Canyon was the first hike for me 2009 and it was fabulous. I couldn't believe I was overdressed with a turtleneck and sweater on. A couple of days later we drove up to Brianhead Ski Resort which is a little more than an hour from where I live. It was so fun seeing the snow, playing in the snow and LEAVING the snow behind! Henrik left to return home to Denmark to take care of business and to work on a project in Sweden. He'll be back in a month or so and hopes to buy a home here in the next few months. The temps in St George are now averaging in the 50's during the days so we are loving it. It only gets better from here! I loved that I could wear my sandals on New Years Day!

I took the weekend off from the second job to get some rest and instead, I played with friends and looked at houses for Henrik the entire time! It was so fun! Friday night Michelle, Sierra and I went to the Olive Garden for dinner. We all realized that we had our swim suits in our cars so we headed over to the Summit Fitness Club where we all work and went hot tubbing. Last night a whole bunch of us went to Kim and Larrys house and had our Tarot Cards read by Larry. It was great. My reading said that I have a new beginning waiting for me, but that I need to "slay some dragons" before I can begin. Hmmmmm.... The other thing he said was that I have an amazing support group that surrounds me which is so true! The downside was that he said I also have people who I trust that I shouldn't Hmmmm.... After the reading we all went to Dennys!! Yes, I said Dennys, where I had the All American Grand Slam breakfast at 11:00 at night! Ha!

The best thing about today is that it is Stella's One Year Birthday!!! I wanted to get all of this stuff posted so that after her party today I could dedicate a post just to her. It is so hard to believe one year ago today she entered our lives with a Bang! Check back soon!

I love you all, thanks for checking in on me!

Happy 2009 Everyone!

2009-01-01T09:51:00.003-07:00

1 Blonde, 1 RedHead and 2 Brunettes makes Glen's Day!

From the top! Sisters Heidi, Lori (Blonde), and Michelle are the funnest group ever to hang out with. We started with dinner at Iggy's then went to a private party at Kim and Larry's beautiful home overlooking the city and positioned directly under, I mean DIRECTLY UNDER the fireworks display off of the red cliffs on Skyline Drive. Kim is a hairdresser that works with Heidi. Immediately upon walking into their fabulous home I spotted some Angela Adams pillows on their couch! For those of you who don't know, Angela is an amazing designer from Portland who has an incredible line of rugs, purses, linens, and well, everything! After seeing Angela's pillows I knew the rest of their place would be amazing and it was. There were about 50 people there and one special guest, a Border Collie named Chip! He was the highlight of the party. He is carmel in color, the only one in the litter that color...the rest were black and white's like Madison and Jefferson. Anyway, he was entertaining everyone.
Today we have several after party parties to go to so I will update you with more later!

Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T16:31:00.013-07:00

What a perfect Christmas having a little one around again to enjoy. Stella loved her presents but I think Jason and Tawni were the most excited. The pink/purple Unicorn was a huge hit! Dave cooked everyone brunch which was so great, then we all laid around watching old James Bond movies, stealing away a nap here and there.

The rest of the weekend should be relaxing. An acquaintance is in town from Denmark and we're planning on meeting for lunch tomorrow. It's back to work on Saturday at the Fitness Club as I resume my daily schedule!

Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T22:17:00.007-07:00

In what has now become a tradition, Christmas Eve is spent having dinner at Dave and Sharyls and then its off to a movie. Stella opened her first present tonight which of course, like most of us, was her Christmas PJ's! Sharyl makes a fabulous Lasagne and she even made one pan of Gluten Free Lasagne just for me! We took some fun pictures, ate dinner then ran off to the movie "Yes Man". Although there were some funny lines in the movie, I don't think any of us would recommend it. The funnest part as usual is the car ride to and from the movies. It is one big long laugh all the way. Tomorrow is Christmas morning and Jason and Tawni will be here around 9:00 am with Stella. I have set her stuff all out under the tree and can't wait to watch her on her 1st Christmas morning. I hope you all enjoy your Christmas's with your families/friends. Lots of hugs to each and every one of you!

Santa Meets Our Special Stella!

2008-12-21T19:47:00.029-07:00

The last several weeks have passed at light-speed! For the first time in my adult life my Christmas Tree wasn't up until a little more than a week before Christmas! Cortney picked out the real tree and brought it home and he, Jason and Tawni decorated it, while Craig and Kaden stopped by to join in the fun. I played with Stella while they did all the work. It was great!! Stellas first Christmas is so special and to think that her one year birthday is almost here amazes all of us. She met Santa for the first time, and when Tawni put on her new shiny black shoes, she was so focused on them, we couldn't get her to look up for the cameras! We had to take them off to get a picture. She had no issue whatsoever with Santa.

From Our House to Yours!

Snow in St George, Utah!!

A Quiet Week...

2008-12-06T21:12:00.012-07:00

It's literally been quiet around here, after a bronchial infection, I am now speechless with Laryngitis! Because I've been under the weather, there hasn't been alot of action this week!

Jason, Tawni and Cortney are in Salt Lake this weekend for their company Christmas party. Last night Jason, Tawni and Stella went to the Jazz game. Jason has some friends that give him their tickets quite often. They are courtside, 2nd row. I've seen them on tv while watching the Jazz play before, but its usually just the back of Jason's head now and again. Last night though one of the Jazz players crashed into the crowd right next to them. When the camera zoomed in on Kirilenko, the Jazz player, you could see Jason right there and then Tawni with Stella standing on her lap! I happened to be texting with Patrick while we were watching the game on ESPN and he said, "I just saw Jason when Kirilenko went down". I thought yeah, sure! I replayed it, sure enough there they were! It was pretty cool that someone so far away from Utah saw and recognized them. Stella's first Jazz game and she's on her Dads favorite tv show, ESPN! HA!

So, that's the highlight of my week. I was supposed to go to the shooting range with some friends from work tomorrow, but due to my being sick, I doubt I will be able to go. Bummer, I was looking forward to it.

I hope you all have a great week! Love Ya

Jason and Stella

Stella and I at Sharyls 50th BDay Celebration

Cortney feeding Stella her Yogurt!

I can't get enough of her smile!

Jason, Cort Jarod and Dave

Giving Thanks on Thanksgiving Day 2008

2008-11-27T07:02:00.011-07:00

I woke up very early this Thanksgiving morning and instead of rolling over and snuggling back into a peaceful sleep, I found myself reflecting on my life. What a difference a year makes! This time last year, my heart was so injured I didn't know if I would ever survive the pain. In contrast, this year my heart is so full thanks to so many of you. Each of you in some way has blessed my life.

Jason - I am so proud of you! Watching you with your daughter is the best feeling a Mom could have. Your eyes light up when you see her and her eyes smile and her arms and legs kick like crazy when she sees you. You are a good provider, working multiple jobs with long hours to support your family comfortably allowing Tawni to be at home with Stella instead of working outside of the home. I admire your conviction and dedication to your church and I appreciate the spirit and direction it brings into your life.

Cortney - Our lives changed drastically when you decided to return to Utah with me almost 2 years ago. You assumed the role of making sure Mom was okay, sometimes missing out on your own opportunities in life. You have such a huge heart and you are always there for people, even strangers. Last Thanksgiving when you took the turkey that you received from work out to the homeless family living in a tent in the desert, I was so proud. Your kindness to others is what makes you such a special man.

Tawni - Jason could not have found a better partner in life. You are amazingly smart, creative, fun and beautiful. In just a few short months, you have shown what an amazing Mom you are to our precious little Stella. She adores you and the patience and commitment you show to her is simply amazing. If you are this good in the first few months of parenthood, I can only imagine what the future holds for Stella and any other little ones you and Jason bring into this world. Thank you for all you do for me as well.

Stella - My little magical house mouse. I can't find the words to describe what you do to me! You radiate happiness, love and innocence. You started out with so many challenges that you have overcome. Although many, many people have been apart of your little success story, your spirit is what has brought you through this. God knew that we needed you in our lives and he sent you to us as a special blessing. I am so glad I get to be your Grandma LaLa. I love you baby.

Dave, Sharyl, LJ, Kory and Andrea - My second family! You have embraced me in every way possible. You go out of your way to make me comfortable and anyone that I happen to bring along with me. Sharyl and Dave, your home is warm, inviting and always full of love.

Steve and Sandy and Fam, you also have taken me in and counted me as a member of your family. You guys are amazing and so are your daughters and their families.

Kathy-Ron and Vickey-Tom - My irreverent Woodard relatives! I am so glad you are living back here instead of California! Football, BBQ's, sleepovers, day-trips to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. You are the best, and, you are always here for me. Kathy, Ron and Vickey have known me since the day I was born...I have worshiped them ever since.

Gail, Kip, Dan, Brandon, Cameron, and Karli and KODI BEAR - I wished you didn't live so far away. Life is so busy and the distance between us makes it hard to be as close as I would like to be, but the times that we are together are great! I love you Sissy.

My Dad and Hazel - Although not Bloggers, LOL, I would be remiss in not mentioning how important my Dad is in this post. It's so hard watching my Dad get older physically, but his heart is still as young as ever. I know I have said it before in my blog, but my Dad is the most gentle, most loving Dad any daughter could have. He is my inspiration. His wife Hazel is his rock and together they make a good team. If she would only stop stealing silverware and dishes from restaurants! LOL

My list of friends grows every year and amazingly, very few of them fall away. Yes, communication slows down a bit, but still, I know they are still my friends and they know I am still here for them. I have made many new friends here in St George and what a diverse group! Some of my new friends are those I have made while working 3 jobs! Several of you know of the trials and tribulations I have been thru and your shoulders have carried alot on my behalf. I can't thank you enough! New friends are always a blessing in life, but then there are the friends that go back FOREVER! Jody - You are such a special girlfriend. We always seem to be there just in time to catch each other. Although many miles separated us for many years, our connection goes too deep to allow that to change our friendship. I am so glad I am living closer to you and that you and Kevin are so good to me. Richi and Jack, you too have been there for me at just the right times. Again, many, many miles separate us, but we know that all we need to do is call and we are there for each other. Maggie and Fredith, you never forget to send me your beautiful hand-written notes, cards and photos from Arkansas. It means so much. Dinah, dare I say how long we have been friends? I'm going to go out on a limb and say greater than 40 years!!! OMG can it really be? Some of you have been faced with challenges of your own this year...Olivia, you have been through so much yet you remain amazingly strong. I admire your positive attitude and ability to take it one day at a time. Diana and Kurt, Walker's sudden tragic illness made us all realize how fragile life is, but it sounds like he's stabilized and as you said, you can now look to the future to help him adjust to his new way of life. Doug, I just hope you can get it figured out buddy.

To each of you that keep the emails, phone calls and text messages coming...you have no idea how much life you bring to me. And, for those of you who take time out of your lives to come to see me, I can't tell you how that makes me feel, other than uber-blessed. My music horizons have been expanded by some of you who have shared some amazing artists with me. Allen, introducing me to Eva Cassidy's extraordinary voice; Somewhere Over the Rainbow is stunning just as you said. Jody, I know you will love hearing it as a lover of all things OZ, and Tawni, you have chosen that same song, although a different artist as the music on your Dainty Dumplings Blog. How serendipitous is that! Michelle, Nina's CD is Kick-A! LOL. Some random notes of thanks; KayDee, I get compliments almost daily from perfect strangers on my hair - you have been a huge part of my physical transformation! More importantly, you are not only my hair stylist, but another friend I have gained here in St. George and you are always willing to listen to my amazing stories! Amber, I loved our trip to Denver and you hooking me up with rooms in Vegas was, well, above and beyond. Thank you. Tami, Treena, Chris - girls nights out have never been more fun than with you!
Grant, your all-things-Gluten Free lifestyle has been so helpful to me. I love it when you pop into my office with a new GF goodie ready to taste! Jean, I can't believe you moved away! I miss you! Thanks for the opportunity to work with you at Kays Jewelers. It was therapy for me believe it or not! Kelly in Denver, Death Cab for Cutie is by far my favorite CD to listen too when getting ready for a night on the town! Lana, we need to get you out of Salt Lake and down here to St George for a visit soon! Brad, Jason and Clark - inviting me to participate in all of the online Fantasy Leagues has been so much fun and entertaining too! Stuart, on the day my world crashed around me, you accidently stepped on a landmine by asking me if I was okay, LOL and you've been there ever since. I owe you BIG TIME! Last but not least Patrick, a renewed friendship that has had a huge impact on me. I admire the person you are, and am so glad that I am able to have influences like you in my life!

Scott, you were right...time is healing the hurt, but it wasn't just time, it was all of these people I have surrounding me. I'm sure you are experiencing many things that are bringing you happiness as well.

The ginormous ham is in the oven, a 20 pounder! We'll be eating on it for weeks. I'll send pics of the family later. Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and once again from the very bottom of my heart, thank you for being a part of my life! I love you all so much.
Glenda

Thanksgiving Eve 2008

2008-11-26T21:27:00.002-07:00

Thanksgiving Dinner at Dave and Sharyl's house tonight was fabulous. Cortney and Jason were spot-on with their ad-lib comedy routines which kept everyone entertained. Stella was sporting her Thanksgiving Holiday outfit and was cute as ever. She doesn't stay still for one second any more. Most of the pictures I take of her are blurry because she is always moving!

Tomorrow will be another day with the family, food, and of course football! Stay tuned!

Love,
G

Vacationing in St George

2008-11-23T08:44:00.023-07:00

What a great time we had while Patrick was here from Maine. In a nano-second he became part of the family, especially when the boys realized he is as nuts about sports as they are.

The slideshow is most likely the longest in history, but it's really only a portion of the pictures we took. The fun started when he arrived in St. George half starved so we went for Sushi and Thai food at Benja. Ummmmmm good. Starving Patrick seemed to be the theme while he was here...I forget to eat therefore I forget that others need to eat. It didn't take him long to figure it out though so he quickly learned how to grab a snack every chance he could just in case.

Sunday morning we ran some errands and when we got back, Cortney had his 4-wheeler loaded on the trailer and was ready to take Patrick to the desert to ride and target practice. We rode the 4-wheeler out to see the Petroglyphs which was about a 4-5 mile ride. When we got back, Cort had set up some targets and we were ready to shoot his 243 rifle. In addition to starving Patrick, he's convinced we also tried to deafen him with the rifle. Cortney and I don't hear a thing when we are shooting, HONESTLY and therefore we don't think about having ear protection for others. Hours later Patrick said his ears were still ringing LOL. Patrick and Cortney are both good shots, but, I reigned supreme when I took out the Heineken beer bottle hung in a bush. If you could have seen their faces. Ha!! After fun in the desert sun, we had the whole family over for a BBQ and Sunday Night Football. On Monday, Jason and Cortney took the afternoon off from work and we golfed 18 holes at Coral Canyon. Once again, it was a beautiful day. Patrick birdied the hardest hole on the course, and you would have thought Jason did it himself. He got more excited than Patrick! We got to the 18th hole just as the sun set. It was perfect. After golf, we all went to Cafe Rio for dinner. All 6 of us, including Stella in her car seat rode in Jason and Tawni's Honda Pilot together. As we were driving home Stella got a little fussy so Tawni turned the volume up on a Baby Einstein CD and the adults broke into a rousing rendition of Old McDonald Had a Farm. I wasn't sure what Patrick's thoughts were at that exact moment, but from my position in the way-back seat of the Pilot, it was hysterical to listen to.

I returned to work on Tuesday and Wednesday, leaving my car with Patrick during the days for him to cruise around. I know he visited the Arts Village of Kayenta which is way cool out in the desert. He also took my bike out for a ride in the hills around where I live and on the hiking/biking trails that wind their way through the community. I worked Tuesday night at the gym so while I was working Patrick came over to work out and to enjoy a massage. Coincidently, my boss from Denver had arrived in town that night and just happened to be at the gym working out. I looked into the basketball court and there was my friend Patrick and my boss Scott shooting hoops together. It was actually pretty surreal.

Wednesday night after I got off of work we went out to dinner at The Texas Roadhouse and then went over to Dave and Sharyls to hang out. Sharyl had dessert waiting for us and we hung out watching the Jazz game and eating pie. Thursday we got up and headed up to Zions National Park. We first started by driving up Kolob Terraces where Patrick started seeing some of the beautiful wildlife we have here. Although we didn't get a photo, there was a huge hawk sitting in a tree right off of the road. A few miles up the road we came upon two deer just to the side of the road. One was a beautiful 4-point buck, the other a doe. They were the first two of over 100 deer we would see that day. At least 10 of them were big bucks with large antlers. We went back down towards Springdale and stopped at the Gem and Rock Trading Post where I had Patrick pick out a soveneir rock. Each of my friends that have gone there with me have selected one of many, many types of ores or rocks that come from this area. I always get one to take to Madison's little grave at Best Friends when I stop there. So Patrick chooses a chunk of Iron Pyrite (Fools Gold) and off we go to find the Watchman Trailhead to begin our hike. Zions Park is one of the most beautiful places on the planet, and these pictures prove it! Our hike took us to an overlook of the canyon which was filled with the yellow colors of Fall. The hike was about an hour in with a vertical climb of about 400 feet. Just right actually. We came upon huge gardens of wild cactus, a fern grotto back under some rocks, and some ginormous rock formations. Once on top, we hung out for awhile just admiring the beauty of it all. From there we drove up through the tunnels and out the East Entrance of the park. That's where Patrick encountered the 7ft long, 4000 lb buffalo. "The Big One" as they call him was scratching his head on some guidewires used for power. He was rubbing so hard that the wires were swaying to and fro clear across the highway to the other side! He was a monster! Our next stop (other than those for photos) was Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. Patrick has seen the show Dogtown on the National Geographic Channel and wanted to visit there. We were able to see several of the Michael Vick dogs and he recognized several of the areas that were on the tv show. Of course we made a stop at Angels Rest so I could leave Madison's new rock on her marker. As it was almost sunset, we headed back down to Zions to enjoy the views. Of course we weren't disappointed at all. By the time we got to Springdale it was dark. We decided to eat at Oscars (of course) and as we were getting out of the car to go into the restaurant 6-7 deer came walking right up the road! One of them was another huge buck. They were just saundering along munching as they passed. Cars were stopping to take pictures and the deer could have cared less that the people were all around them. It was so cool! It was an awesome day all the way around.

Friday morning we got up and packed for our trip to Las Vegas. We met Jason, Tawni, Cort and Stella for lunch at Mongolian BBQ. Patrick had never seen anything like it! You load up, seriously, LOAD UP a bowl of veggies/meats/noodles/sauces and give to the cooks who put it on a giant revolving grill, all the while they are stirring it with big sticks. They then return it to you all cooked and ready to eat. It tastes fabulous. Of course I can't have the noodles, so I go for mine over rice. It was a perfect send off for Patrick and it gave the kids a chance to all say goodbye. We arrived in Vegas around 4:00 pm, and rode the monorail directly to Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville. We people watched the crazies going up and down the strip which was very entertaining. From there we started walking the strip, going over to The Bellagio watching the amazing water show then winding our way over to Caesars Palace. A chance meeting with some Tequila leaves my recollection of the rest of our stroll a bit hazy, but I do know that Patrick was able to sneak in some food when we returned back to Margaritaville...something like a Cheeseburger in Paradise? Saturday morning, Patrick headed to the airport to return to Maine and I drove back to St. George. Even though it was his vacation, I felt like it was mine too. I hope we didn't wear him out too much with all of the running around. We all enjoyed his stay so much, and he's already talking about coming back to see more. The next time he comes, he wants to rent a Harley to really be able to enjoy the outdoors here. We are all ready when you are Patrick!

So its back to work for me tomorrow with Thanksgiving right at our door. Sharyl has to work on Thanksgiving so she is going to do dinner on Wednesday night. The kids still would like to have the family get together so they will all be here for ham dinner on Thanksgiving Day and anyone who wants to join us is welcome!

My visit to Happy Valley

2008-11-12T12:48:00.002-07:00

Its lunch time here in Provo at the conference I'm attending so I thought I would send you all an update. There's SNOW up here! I will admit it is pretty, but dang it cold! My conference is on a Project Management software package that is very detailed and complex so I've been grateful for some extra-curricular activities while I've been here.

I'm actually staying at the Marriott at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi. I can't believe how much everything has changed since I moved away to Maine. Jody and Kevin picked me up at the hotel and we went to dinner at Applebees in Lehi/American Fork. I gave Jody an early birthday present just because I couldn't wait until February! Jody LOVES anything to do with the Wizard of Oz and she has an extensive collection of items related to the movie. She holds me responsible for this mass collection because I gave her the first piece over 20 years ago; a plate for her wall with Dorothy and Toto on it. Now, she practically has a room dedicated to everything Oz! Anyway, I came across the cutest door stop that is the Wicked Witch of The West with the Ruby Slippers on...but its just her black and white stripped stockings and the ruby red shoes. When you put it up against the door, it looks like her feet are sticking out under it. Jody loved it of course! Last night Allen, another friend had me over to his place for dinner. He lives up near the University of Utah, actually it's almost on the campus, right across from Kingsbury Hall and the Rice Eccles Football stadium. The lights of Salt Lake were so beautiful and it was nice to be able to see them again from that vantage point. When I visit the Salt Lake area, I am so conflicted...there are so many memories from childhood to adulthood here, and at times free flowing tears and sadness as I drive around. But, I am making new friends, having new experiences and always enjoying the love and support of my friends and family who are ALWAYS here for me.

The conference will end today and I have a 4-hour drive back to St. George tonight. The drive is a little dangerous as the deer are migrating right now and the interstate goes directly through the migration areas. It's a little stressful, especially in the dark, but I'm sure I will get home safely.

Patrick will be here in 3-days...whoo-hoo. He offered to bring Lobster, we will see! I doubt I'll be posting again before he arrives, so staytuned for fun pics of his visit.

Love to you all,
G

S-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d Thin!

2008-11-08T22:31:00.003-07:00

Never did I ever think that my single life in St George, Utah would keep me so busy, but it's so true! My trip to Austin was fabulous and now this week I'm headed to Provo, Utah for a 3-day business seminar. I'll arrive Monday evening and have plans to go to dinner with Jody and Kevin when I arrive. Tuesday night I'm meeting another friend for dinner, then Wednesday I head back down to St. George which is about a 4-hour drive. Saturday Patrick will arrive from Portland and our list of fun so far includes hiking in Zions, horse-back riding in Snow Canyon, taking the 4-wheeler out to the Arizona strip to check out petroglyphs, and his final weekend we'll be in Vegas. The next week is Thanksgiving and I'm having dinner at my house this year. I'm so excited! Sharyl is going to do a dinner on Wednesday because she has to work on Thanksgiving day unfortunately and then I'm having dinner on Thursday for everyone. When all of that is done, we're into the Christmas season!

Our little Stella is doing fabulously. She will be 10-months old next week. It's so hard to believe. Cortney, Jason, Stella and I went to dinner the other night when Tawni was attending a bookclub. The boys were busy eating all-you-can eat wings while watching the U of U play football on the overhead televisions at Wingers. Stella and I just played while the boys cheered at the game. The video is of Stella going after her "cheerios". She has the hand-mouth coordination down like no other. She is such an adorable little girl that we can't take her anywhere without people commenting on her beautiful eyes or her adorable face. Although she is still very small, she is doing so well. Tawni puts in alot of time and effort with her, helping her to advance and overcome any challenges she may have due to being so premature. She is catching up to the normal percentile nicely.

Cortney spends most of his spare time hanging out with friends and although still a bachelor, he's eyeing a few babes. He's considering buying a new mountain bike right now. Both of our bikes are in the shop getting tuned up and ready to ride. This is the perfect time of year for riding in this area.

My friend Henrik from Denmark plans to come back to visit sometime after Christmas. He is considering purchasing a home here in the U.S., specifically in St George. Cortney is all about a trip to Denmark, mostly because Henrik tells him the beer in Denmark is even better than the beer in Germany! I have been learning to speak some Danish...and I thought French was hard!

Now that you know how busy I am, I hope you'll understand any long stretches between my posts. Everyone is good, everyone is happy, and everyone is healthy. LFISGR8!

Love Ya

More Halloween Fun in Texas

2008-11-08T21:10:00.003-07:00

Not only was it Halloween, but it was my sister Gail's 50th birthday celebration. We had a costume party on both Friday and Saturday nights. The pictures are of my sister Gail, her husband Kip, my other brother-in-law Dan, my nieces and nephews; Brandon, Cameron, Karli and Kodi, Doc the Black Lab and then lots of friends.

It was a lot of fun, including some fun Texas sized Karaoke!

A scary Halloween night in Austin...

2008-11-01T12:10:00.004-06:00

2008-10-28T16:08:00.003-06:00

I'm on my way to Austin, waiting for a connection in Salt Lake and am already missing Stella! I brought my computer along and now that I've got internet connection anywhere I have cell service I thought I'd give it whirl! SWEET!

Here's a video from the other night. I was trying to get Stella to do her fake cough when I made myself cough. She started laughing so cute, so I kept filming while I was choking! LOL.

Georgeous Fall Day

2008-10-26T22:14:00.003-06:00

The advantage to being the Mom is the sometimes special treatment you can get. Today was one of those days. Cortney agreed to take me on a Harley ride up to Zions National Park. We left around noon with the sun shining bright but a chill of Fall in air. We had our scarfs, gloves, levi jackets, long pants, and face shields on when we first took off, but by the time we got to Oscars for lunch in the mouth of of the Park we were peeling the stuff back. The smells of burning leaves, woodstoves and pine filled our noses as we rode up the canyon. We ate our favorite Garlic Burgers then walked up to the candy shop for some snacks. After lunch we rode into the park and through the huge tunnel that is cut thru the rock mountain. For many years there has been an annual Harley Davidson ride called "Thunder Tunnel" held here because the noise in tunnel is unbelievable when the motorcycles go through it. Today was our day and it was really cool. We went up near the top of the Park, took a short break then headed back down the canyon. During one stop we met a tourist from Denmark named Henrik. He had just bought a new Harley and was admiring Cortney's. We rode down the canyon with Henrik and he offered to buy us an refreshing adult beverage in Springdale. We sat on the patio at Amigos Mexican restaurant enjoying the views and a tasty brew. We exchanged contact info with Henrik and off we went. Nice guy, this was his 3rd Harley...his other two are in Denmark and this one he plans to leave with a friend in St George so when he visits he has a ride. Wouldn't THAT be nice. I was so disappointed to find that when I went to take some photos, I had left my memory card in my computer at home, UGH!!!

After we got home we headed over to Dave & Sharyls for Tacos, Pumpkin Carving and Root Beer Floats. It was fun enjoying the evening with everyone there.

Tuesday of this week I head to Austin Texas to see my sister Gail and to celebrate her Halloween 50th Bday. WHOO-HOO! I will have lots of pics to share when I return. If you have a chance, go to the link to Tawni and Jasons blog and check out Jason & Tawni's costumes at their Halloween Party. HYSTERICAL! Jason is such a DORK.

When I return from Austin, I'm home for a few days then off to Provo, Utah for a 2-day business convention. I'm not sure if I'll stay in Salt Lake (Hi Jody & Kevin!) or near the convention in Provo. Two days after I get home from there, my friend Patrick will be here from Maine. And for those of you who haved asked, Patrick is a wine salesman that I worked with at National Distributors. I got to know Patrick a little better after he hurt his back on the job and I spent the evening with him at the Emergency Room of Mercy Hospital. I handled all the comp injuries at work and I knew that he didn't have any family in Portland so did what I could to help. Since then he has been my friend. He and Scott share a passion for good Scotch and they used to make recommendations to each other when they found something worth sharing. I guess he figured I wasn't coming back to Maine so if he wanted to see me ever again, he would need to come here! I have a list of things for us to do while he's here, most of which will be in the outdoors hiking, biking, and driving to cool places. I am so excited for his visit, not just because he's a nice friend, but because he's a part of a group of people I love and miss a lot.

Enjoy the slideshow. I love you all...

2008-10-26T22:12:00.002-06:00

Dog Tales

2008-10-14T21:24:00.003-06:00

You know the drill...turn down the music so you can hear the video!

So, Stella was supposed to have a night with Grandma LaLa tonight but after having a rather "clingy" day with her Mom, it was obvious that if Tawni left she would not be a happy little Diva. Instead, they stayed at my house and Jason came down for dinner when he finished mowing his lawns. Stella and I were reading when Jason and Brody, their black lab, got to playing chase. Stella was laughing so cute at them and at one point Brody almost ran over the top of us!

Cort was out on his Harley visiting a friend who lives in Hurricane so he missed all the fun. He is still loving his bike.

It's been unseasonably cold for the last couple of days and Tawni forgot to put socks on Stella when they left to come down the hill to my house. I found a pair of mine and we put them on her to warm up her little toes. She looks like she has baby Ugs!on.

I went to dinner last night with my friend Tami at Scaldoni's and the night before I went out with Amber, the friend I went to Denver with. I was telling Amber about Patrick coming to visit me from Maine and that we are thinking of spending at least one night in Vegas. She's a Sales Manager for Hilton hotels and is hooking me up with her Friends and Family rate at one of the hotels there. You have no idea how much that will help! Once again, I have to pinch myself that I have such great friends.

I was looking at the calendar earlier and realized it was 12 years ago today that we left Utah and headed East to Maine. Two years ago today I decided to return to Utah, and one year ago this weekend, I placed Madison, our Border Collie's ashes in her special grave at Angel's Rest in the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. This year, there is closure and spending the evening with my family was the best I could have ever wished for.

Love,
G

It's a Good Day When...

2008-10-08T20:54:00.002-06:00

I get to have dinner with my sons. Tawni and Stella are in Salt Lake so Jason, Cort and I went to dinner at Buffalo's tonight. They can both be so funny, the comic relief puts a smile on my face for days.

It's a Good Day When...My friend Patrick from Maine emails to say he's trying to plan a trip to see me here in St. George SOON! I am so excited to see him and to play tour guide for his first trip to this part of the country. There's so many things to do and see here I just know he will have a great time.

It's a Good Day When...I turn out the lights at night and know that I have done something nice for someone without them even knowing I did it!

It's a Good Day When...I talk to my Dad on the phone and I know that I am just a few hours away from him if he needs me.

It's a Good Day When...I think about my friends and how lucky I am to have each and every one of you.

Love,
Glenda

If you missed The Green Flower on Tawni's Blog, get ready to laugh! Turn down the music first, and listen for the "Toot"!

2008-10-05T00:09:00.004-06:00

Happy Girl

2008-10-04T22:51:00.005-06:00

Catching Up!

2008-10-04T22:17:00.008-06:00

I hope you like the Slideshow, it covers a whole bunch of fun that we've had over the last month or so.

Cortney's 29th Birthday

2008-09-21T21:12:00.018-06:00

Cortney and our Stella Baby

Whose more excited over the HD Skull hoodie, Dave or Cort?

Stella LOVES her books! If you look close you can see her cute curls come in on top of her round little head.

Kory and Andrea

Dave, Jason, Sharyl, Cort, Tawni and Baby Stella

The whole family got together for Corts birthday today for dinner, ice cream and presents! Although he looks more like the Grim Reaper, Corts jacket is a Harley Davidson hoodie with skulls all over it. Between Scott, Jason & Tawni and Dave & Sharyl, Cort OWNS the Zions Harley Davidson Store with Gift Certificates. We no longer have to wonder what to get him for presents. It was a georgeous day today so after completely stuffing ourselves with a build-your-own burrito bar, we through a blanket down out on the lawn and kicked back.

One Tough Sum-Buck in Washington, Utah

2008-09-08T20:17:00.004-06:00

Cortney is the proud new owner of a Harley Davidson Deuce. He is so excited he can hardly stand it. The weather in this part of the country allows you to ride ALMOST year round, but you do need leathers in the colder months if your traveling to far. Tawni's Dad Dave and Dave's brother in law Steve who also live in Coral Canyon ride with a group called the Coral Canyon Riders (CCR). Steve got a new Harley this year and sold his to Cort. Steve is fanatical about his stuff, especially his bikes. He has put alot of custom work into the bike and he threw in a bunch of accessories he had made for this bike. Cort looks awesome on it don't you think!

I'm a big girl now!

2008-08-25T19:10:00.005-06:00

SCROLL DOWN AND PAUSE THE MUSIC PLAYER! See me sit up and watch my Baby Einstein video!

The Sweetest Sound EVER!

2008-08-20T22:02:00.002-06:00

BE SURE TO SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG AND PAUSE THE MUSIC PLAYER SO YOU CAN HEAR OUR HAPPY LITTLE GIRL. TURN UP THE COMPUTER VOLUME!

People, Places and Things...

2008-08-20T20:41:00.020-06:00

Once again I find that I have so much to share and so little time! I have had such a busy couple of weeks! Everything from casual walks with Stella in the neighborhood, to a weekend in Denver. I need to say to Olivia, my last HR Assistant while in Maine, CONGRATULATIONS for working so hard and showing how much you learned and how valuable you are to National Distributors! The person hired as my replacement, didn't work out and Jeff, the President is giving Olivia the opportunity to show him she can do the job. I know you can do it Liv! I'm here if you need anything!

Tonight I went for a walk along the golf course cart path and as I was coming back out to Coral Canyon Blvd I saw Jason driving by. He stopped and said he was taking Brody the dog to the park. I asked if I could go and I jumped in the passenger seat. I started telling him about this sweet email I got from Tawni today and as I was going on and on about what she said, he laughed and pointed to the back seat. There sat Tawni and Stella just laughing. It was too funny. Although we all lead our own lives here, living as close as we do, we often run into each other driving in and out of the subdivision. I love it.

Out for an evening stroll...

This is my friend Kelly Lennon that I stayed with in Denver. We had such a great time! We went to downtown Denver and visited some of the really fun places that people go on a Saturday night. My favorite was called Lime! which has the best Margaritas in Colorado! We then went to this neighborhood bikers bar called the The Emerald Isle to meet some of Kelly friends. It was a great weekend getaway and I can't wait to go back!

This is my friend Amber who lives here in St George. She is the Sales Manager for Hilton Garden Inn and I met her through work. She and I flew from Las Vegas to Denver together.

Stella's Grandpa Olson is now Bishop Olson!

2008-08-03T21:14:00.003-06:00

What a special day it was today for all of us as we attended church together to see the announcement to the congregation that Tawni's Dad Dave was going to be their new Bishop. Dave is a great person and will be a wonderful Bishop for the church. Now that I live in Coral Canyon, he's actually my Bishop so he's already teasing me about finding my old church records and getting me to attend more often. Congrats Dave and Sharyl!

Jason and Tawni are on their special getaway weekend to Las Vegas and Stella is staying with Dave and Sharyl. They needed to go to a meeting tonight at church so they dropped Stella by to play with us. Her and her Uncle Cortney adore each other!

I just love to kiss her precious little feet!

Spinning, Stella, Old Friends Week

2008-08-01T21:06:00.002-06:00

What a fun week it's been. I went to my first "Spin" class at the gym after alot of prompting from the girls I work with there. I have NEVER understood why people would subject themselves to it, but after doing it, I can see why. Although sidelined by a cramp in the ball of my right foot near the end, I held my own. I was told that because I tend to point my toes down instead of forward I got the cramp, so next time I'll focus on that. The lights were off in the room except for the blue light effect, the music was LOUD AC/CD, Def Leppard, etc, which really made you want to keep up to the music. The best part was I didn't fall off the bike or pass out, so I guess I'm headed back next week.

On Thursday night Tawni was at a church function and Jason and Stella were spending the evening together. He decided to invited Cortney and I to go over to watch a movie. Of course, I was much more interested in Stella than the movie so she and I hung out. We went for a walk outside and went around the block. Instead of putting her in her stroller, I carried her. We stopped and put our bare feet on the lawns we passed, she put her feet on the top of a fire hydrant and giggled, and we stopped and looked at every blooming flower along the way. She is so into sensory stimulation right now that it is a blast showing her new things. When we got back to her house, I sat her on my lap and she crashed, sound asleep and stayed that way until the movie ended and it was time for her Daddy to give her bath. It was so cute watching Jason get her all ready for her bath, even Cortney enjoyed watching it.

Today (Friday) I ran to meet the boys for lunch at the Mongolian BBQ, which, by the way, is an awesome place to eat, and when I got back to the office there was a Wheeler Machinery truck in the parking lot. For those of you who don't know, I worked for Wheeler in Salt Lake for about 9 years and Scott worked for them even longer. Many of the people there feel like extended family to us. Anyway, I entered the lobby and there stood Rocky Forman. Rocky was a salesman when we worked at Wheeler and an all around nice guy. He looked at me and said "I heard you were in town, but I had to see it with my own eyes"! We sat and visited for about an hour just catching up. He is now the General Manager of all of Southern Utah which includes Cedar City, Salina, Moab and St. George. We made plans to get together again and do more catching up. Rocky has always been a real nice guy and I am really excited that he took the time to look me up.

No big plans for the weekend, which is nice. I'll be watching Stella for about an hour Sunday afternoon. Jason and Tawni are going away on a special getaway for their anniversary starting Sunday and Sharyl is going to watch the baby. Dave, Tawni's Dad has recieved a new "calling" in their church and this Sunday, they make it official with the powers that be. Sharyl will be going with him so I'm watching Stella. Congrats Dave on your new position, you deserve it!

Lastly, an update on Cortney's arm. He says it feels like it is never going stop hurting, but I can tell by the way he carries himself that he is doing better. It's more frustrating than anything to him that he can't "just be normal" again.

Sorry, no new photos this week, but I'm sure I'll have something soon.

Love Ya!

Birthday Fun!

2008-07-27T19:38:00.005-06:00

Me and my wonderful Dad on my Birthday

Stella communicating with her great grandpa. It was so cute how
she was moving her little mouth and talking to him. It brought tears
to my eyes!

Here's a good portion of the BDay party, missing are Andrea, Tawni
(taking the pic), Dave, Sharyl and Baby Stella!

Jason kicking back on the couch while Tawni feeds Stella her
carrots on the floor!

It was my birthday this week and it was one of the best I've ever had. My Dad and Hazel came down from Salt Lake on the shuttle and stayed from Wednesday until today (Sunday). It was the first time I've spent my birthday with my Dad and many, many years. To make it even better, my Dad got to meet his first Great-Grand child on this visit. He and Stella hit it off. She made some of the cutest little faces to him, just like she knew what a wonderful, gentle man he is.

On Thursday which was actually the day of my birthday, we had a huge BBQ with over 14 people here. Cort grilled Tri-Tip steaks and chicken for the entire gang. Everyone brought something to share for the BBQ and we had tons of food. My Dad played his guitar much to my delight. Kathy, Ron, Vicki and Tom were so excited to hear him play again as they had heard him so many years ago when they all used to hang and out party together. Tawni's parents Dave and Sharyl and her brother Kory and girlfriend Andrea were also here. David who is a friend of Kathy and Rons also came down with his girlfriend who lives in Cedar City. It was a house full for sure.

Thank you for the birthday cards, presents, texts and other birthday wishes. You have no idea how much it means to me that all of you think of me. I love each and everyone of you!

If this isn't an Angel...

2008-07-12T23:17:00.003-06:00

The Morning After

2008-07-12T07:35:00.003-06:00

The storm is over but some of the clouds remain. It smells amazing outside after the rain. Everything is clean and fresh again and much cooler! The temps have been hovering at 107 degrees but today we should be down into the high nineties with some humidity.
Taco Night at Jason & Tawni's
Toquerville Falls

A New Look!

2008-07-11T21:51:00.008-06:00

Thanks to Jessica, my Blog has a new face lift. And, with subject matter like Stella, it's very easy to choose the designs and images. Some of you may not know but Jessica Orchard has been doing all of my blog designing for me and I have never met her! I won't be able to say that in a few weeks when she comes to St. George to visit. Jessica's sister KayDee Smith does my hair. KayDee is responsible for my entire hair makeover and her sister Jessica does my Blog makeovers! How lucky am I? KayDee is expecting and Jess will be here from Virginia (I think) for her baby shower. Jessica like many of you has gotten to know Stella through the blog and will finally have a chance to meet her in person. I am so excited to actually meet the person who has helped me get my blog out to all of you.

At this exact moment I am sitting out on my back porch in the dark watching the lightening storm of the century. Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE thunder and lightening and that I LOVE sitting outside to enjoy it. It is the beginning of the monsoon season here in the desert which brings some of the most amazing weather. We get limited rain here so when the monsoons begin it's awesome. The downside is that the lightening causes major fires. With the view of Zions National Park from my backyard, I can see the lightening bolts illuminating the sillouette of the Park. The lightening is striking directly down to the ground as well as ribbon-like horizontal streamers in the sky. It's georgeous! To my friends Jody and Cris...I know that thunder and lightening is your least favorite thing in the world, so if you come to visit, DO NOT COME DURING THE MONSOONS! Here we go! The power just went out! I'm sitting here typing in the darkness of the desert with the sounds of rain pounding against the windows and God bowling in the skies. Oops, the trash can and a lawn chair just took flight, narrowly missing my computer, I guess it's time to go inside. The lights are back on which was surprisely soon.

Cort has not had a good week. He fell on his back/shoulder while stream fishing and possibly cracked a vertabrae. They did some ct scans today but he has to wait until next week for results. He has alot of discomfort and is realizing that growing older takes a toll on your body!

Last night Jason and Tawni hosted "Taco Night", which has been a tradition for them for awhile. Tawni fixed up quite a spread for us and we enjoyed the evening with them. Cort got a new cell phone, his other was trashed, and Tawni helped him get it all set up. Stella and I played and Jason, well, he just walks around causing trouble. JK, LOL. He is a one-man entertainment committee. Watching he and Tawni with Stella is so heart warming. Tawni is a natural with Stella and is doing great as a Mom. Jason is so cute with Stella and you can see that she is his special girl. When he gets right down in her little face and makes noises, tickles her, and gives her rasberries, she just lights up. Cort and I rode Corts 4-wheeler up to their house. I drove, and Cort held on for dear life. How cool is that...a 1 mile 4 wheeler ride away from the kids. Cool beans.

Last weekend Cort got stuck with entertaining Mom so he took me out on a 4 wheel drive backroad to Toquerville Falls. From home it is about an hour away, but 45 minutes of it is on a really bumpy, but fun dirt road. After just short of 6 miles you come upon the falls which are pretty cool considering you are in the middle of NOWHERE!! The falls run off the cliffs into ponds that you can swim in. It was really cool.

Everything else is good. My Dad and his wife Hazel will be coming down from Salt Lake July 22 through July 27th. Theres a shuttle that drives back and forth from Salt Lake to St George every day and they are going to come down on it. Harry that owns the business actually picks my parents up at their house instead of the usual pickup location. He's awesome. Once here, they will spend most of their time indoors because of the heat. They haven't met Stella yet, so this will be a great time for all of us to get together and take pictures of the 4 generations.

I'm trying to plan a trip to Denver with a friend of mine to meet up with some other friends that I have there. That will probably be in mid-August. Then, I'm hoping to be in Austin TX for my sisters 50th birthday party in October. Cortney may be going with me for that trip, that is if he can't pay his own way!

I have a lot of pictures to share and will do so after the next couple of days. It's time to go lay in bed and watch the remainder of the storm.

If I haven't told you recently, I appreciate and love you and am so glad I have each and everyone of you!

Love,
Glenda

Did you think we would ever return?

2008-06-29T17:11:00.013-06:00

I myself can't believe how busy I have been since I last updated my blog. I don't know where to begin. Probably the most bizarre but interesting experience I've had was meeting my first Shaman here in St George Utah. Shamans are considered by some to be spiritual beings with the ability to heal, work with energies and 'see' visions. The essential characteristics of shaman are mastery of energy and fire as a medium of transformation. My curiosity was peaked, mostly by the fire ceremony that was held in a Red Rock Canyon natural ampitheater sitting high above the city of St. George. Coincidently, it was also a full moon that night. It was a most unusual experience to say the least and I now have yet another experience to add to my list.

I've been taking advantage of the gift certificate that Jason and Tawni gave me on Mothers Day to The Getaway Spa for a pedicure and of the free massage that all of the staff at the Summit Fitness Club got. My pedicure was fabulous and I left with my toenails painted black. I know it sounds bizarre, but they're georgeous!! That same night I had to bolt over to candle party that Tawni's Aunt Sandy was having at her house.

Earlier that week, we had a BBQ at Steve and Sandy's house as a going away celebration for their daughter Holly who was chosen to participate in an exclusive 6 week dance school in New York City. She is extremely talented and we are all so excited for her.

Two nights last week I went to dinner with friends. One was Tami Stepp whose husband is our new VP of Operations. They relocated here from Allentown, PA. Tami and I went to Scaldoni's a wonderful Italian restuarant here in St. George. They have a great Chicken Caeser Salad and they carry one of my favorite hard to find wines by the glass! Cheers to the Gewertziminers!

Last night I hosted a "Casual Mingle" with all of the management team from my work and their significant others. There were about 15 people here for beverages and appetizers. We had a great time and they all loved my new place and especially the views. It felt really nice to entertain a group of friends like that again.

On the nights that I wasn't attending fire ceremonies or hanging out at spa's I was busy working at the Fitness Club. I love the people there, both the staff and the members. It's really not like going to a job at all. My full time job is going well but there are a lot of changes going on.

Today was the first day that I really have not had anything demanding in quite awhile. I turned on the NASCAR race only to realize that it was NHIS at Louden New Hampshire, where I attended my first and several other NASCAR races. It made me think of all my National Distributors friends who were there in the grandstands and of each of the trips I had made there, most often with Cort. Of course, the race ended due to rain, which quickly diminished any longing I had to be there. I looked out at the beatiful blue sky and puffy white clouds here in St George and just smiled.

My little Stella is becoming quite the big girl. Tawni always has her dressed up to the hilt, in fact Tawni's dad Dave was laughing and telling me that Stella is like an accessory for Tawni! Her smile melts my heart and I can't get enough of her.

My latest read, called "The Shack" has been a real page turner. In fact, I'm ending now so that I can spend the evening reading the rest of the book. Enjoy the pics and know that I love each and every one of you!

A MidSummer's Night Dream

2008-06-17T21:55:00.004-06:00

This picture was taken only a few minutes ago from my front porch. I worked at the Fitness Club until 8:00 pm tonight and while driving home I called Cortney to see if he wanted to walk the golf course with me tonight. He was up for it so when I pulled in the driveway he was there with two 5 irons and a pocket full of range balls. We walked a few streets over to the 11th hole and starting to hit balls from the fairway, dodging the rainbirds that were shooting water as if out of a canon. We were having a great time when we saw a truck stop on Coral Canyon Blvd, just a few feet away. We thought we were busted for sure. Instead, it was Jason, returning from his golf league with his buddies. He spotted Cort and I out on the course and jumped out to join us, his full set of golf clubs in tow. We shot around a bit and all of us were hitting Jason's amazing Ping driver. I watch in amazement at how good Jason is at golf. Cort is also good but he doesn't get to play as often as Jason. Anyway, when we finished we all walked home. Cort was giving Jason a ride up to his house as it is a little to far for Jason to walk carrying his club. When I turned around to wave goodnight to Jason, the moon was absolutely breathtaking so I ran inside and grabbed the camera.

What a wonderful evening I had with my sons. I loved the spontenaiety and how, without any planning, we all ended up at the same place hanging out together. Will someone please pinch me??

Girls Night and Fathers Day

2008-06-16T20:07:00.003-06:00

Stella turned 5 months old this week. We can hardly believe it.

Jason, Tawni and Stella enjoy Jason's first Father Day.

Everyone came over for a big lasagne dinner for Fathers Day. After dinner and dessert we played several rounds of a new game that Jason and Tawni brought over.

It was a fun week. Girls night turned out to be so much fun. The group of women that I went with are so interesting and diverse in their backgrounds. They range from Realtors, to Interior Designers to Bookstore owners. We laughed so hard that we found other patrons of the restarant a little put out with us. We are all reading the book The Shack and are going to be having a "Shack Party" to discuss it.

Jason and Cort are right in the thick of the mowing season. It was 106 degrees today and they mowed 16 or so lawns after they finished their full time jobs at Electric Wholesale Supply. Jason has about 60 clients in Coral Canyon so they are really busy. The lawn at my new house was left in pretty rough condition but it looks 100 times better since the boys have been taking care of it.

I have another busy week but I get to have a free massage at the fitness club that I work at. They are giving all the employees 1 free hour massage. Now THATS a benefit!

Love to all!
Glenda

Best Friends and Family

2008-06-08T17:34:00.010-06:00

What a great week! We're still getting settled but found time for fun. Jason and Stella came over Saturday night while Tawni was busy with a Youth Conference activity at church. It was so awesome just hanging out with them. We hung out watching television and played with Stella. You can see in these pictures her new fascination with sucking her fingers. She smiles all the time now. Around 8:00 pm Jason and I took Brody the dog and Stella out for a walk around the neighborhood. It was an excellent night!

Today my friend Jean Thomasson, the manager of the Kay Jewelers store in the mall went with me to Best Friends to volunteer. We arrived in Kanab around 9:00 a.m. and immediately went to Dogtown to sign up for walking dogs. We walked 6 dogs; Charlie Brown, Kira, Prunella, Molly, Del Monty and Trap. It was a spectacular weather day, tons of sunshine, nice breeze and 85 degrees. After walking the dogs we went to the Clubhouse Octogon to see some of the Michael Vick dogs. They are doing great! Some of them are even wearing green collars which mean they are almost ready to be worked with by volunteers! Best Friends has does excellent work with these dogs and I can't wait until I have a chance to help them as well. After finishing our work at Dogtown we drove around the rest of the sanctuary so Jean could see how amazingly large it is. We went to Cat Headquarters and socialized with several of the cats then went down to Pottbellied Pig Way and checked in on them. Brittany, a very old PPP who has special priveledges sleeps in the office there. They are next to the big horse pastures and also near the main center. We finished our tour by going to Angel Rest and checking in on Madison. Everthing is just how I left it when I was there in March, but someone has added an extra polished stone to her collection. Odd, huh?

We decided to come home through Zions Park which is always a treat. We stopped in Springdale to eat at Oscars of course. I wished I didn't like Oscars so much...it keeps me from trying any of the other great eateries in town. I of course had my favorite Garlic Burger...The Murder Burger with a house salad with Lime-Chipotle Vinegarette Dressing. Ummm, Good! We sat on the outside deck and once again the weather was delightful. After lunch we enjoyed a walk along the streets in Springdale visiting the galleries. It's a great little place.

Now I'm back home getting ready for a busy week. I work every day and night this week up to and including Saturday with the exception of Wednesday night. That night a group of friends and I are getting together for dinner at a wonderful restaurant called the Painted Pony. My friend Treena Garrisson spends every summer in Maine at their cottage. She is leaving on the 21st of June so we are all getting together to see her off. She was one of the first people I met here in St. George. How amazing is it that she's from Maine!

Have a good week everyone!

Love Ya

Our First Week In Coral Canyon

2008-06-06T21:53:00.002-06:00

What a great week it has been. The highlight was last night when I stopped by Jason and Tawni's to drop off the extra car seat that we use for Stella. It was late, around 9:00 p.m. when I went over and Stella was having her bath. She LOVES her baths but I hadn't actually been able to watch her. She was so cute, she kicks a flails her arms and is in Seventh Heaven naked in her little tub. Unlike the old hard plastic baby bath tubs, Stellas has a "hamock" like net in her tub which suspends her in the water. Tawni lays a little wash cloth on her very full little belly and Stella goes to town. She plays so cute for awhile and then goes to bed. She is sleeping through the night most of the time now which is so nice for the kids.

Cort went up to Salt Lake with Kory this weekend. Tawni is busy with church functions this weekend so Jason is coming over tomorrow night to hang out with me. On Sunday, I'm heading to Best Friends with a good friend of mine to volunteer and take a hike with one of the dogs. As usual its a very busy weekend.

For the most part we are settled in our new house and it is absolutely fantastic here. The views in the morning of the sun coming up over Zions National Park is breathtaking and there is no better way to start my day.

Sorry no pic's with this post, but will hopefully have some by the end of the weekend.

Love to all,
Glenda

Settling In...

2008-06-02T20:05:00.002-06:00

Here are some photos from around the house and Coral Canyon's Clubhouse. There is still work to do as you will see with some of the boxes laying around and bare walls.Cortney got home from work and headed down the street on his 4-wheeler to go swimming with Jason and Tawni. The last I heard he was driving up to Jason house to pick Tawni up on the 4-wheeler and drive to the pool.

I went to the clubhouse for a few hours this afternoon and sat by the pool. It was 97 degrees outside and the pool was so refreshing. It sounds so-so hot, but it really is very nice. This morning I sat on the back patio drinking my coffee watching a lizard sun himself on the block wall that surrounds my back yard. There was a great breeze keeping it very pleasant. Jody, Kevin and I sat out there yesterday morning and watched what might have been the very same lizard!

I hope you all have a great week. Love Ya!

Moving Weekend!

2008-06-02T09:03:00.003-06:00

We're here and we love it! We had so much help from friends, family and new neighbors it was amazing. As I had mentioned before my best friend Jody and her husband Kevin drove down from Salt Lake to help us move. Kevin and Cortney tore it up when it came to hanging, fixing, and installing things at the new house. When we pulled up to Black Stone Circle and started unloading the moving van, neighbors from all around us started pitching in and unloading. It was awesome! On Saturday night we had a big BBQ for everyone who helped. Cortney manned the BBQ, Tawni made an excellent pasta salad and we threw in some baked potatoes and corn. We were all so hungry it hit the spot!

Jody crocheted a handmade blanket for Stella which is beautiful. Tawni just loved it and Stella used it for her morning exercises as you will see in the slideshow. Jody and Kevin stayed until mid afternoon on Sunday and then they headed back to Salt Lake. I love you both and thank you so much for your help! I can't wait until you come back so we can have a weekend of playing not working!

We've already reaped the benefits of living near Jason, Tawni and Stella. Saturday morning they all showed up to visit while we were unpacking. We got to see Stella in her "morning mood" which is so sweet. Then last night Jason and Tawni grabbed Cortney and they walked over to the golf course after it closed to find golf balls. I guess they take their irons with them and when they find a crappy golf ball they play it, if its a good ball they keep it. Cort said they walked about 2 miles.

Today is Monday and it's my final day off. I'm wrapping up a few things and then head back to my crazy schedule tomorrow. I've really enjoyed my quiet calm morning at my new house. It is everything I had hoped and more.

In a few days I'll post some more inside pictures of our place. Now we have even more room for all of you when you come to visit!

Thanks again to all who helped. I love you!

Stella says "HI"

2008-05-26T21:53:00.001-06:00