Mother's Day 2012

The best things about Mother's Day this year:

1. I got brown sugar/cinnamon pop tarts from Keenan for breakfast

2. We have 1:00 church, so I got to sleep in

3. I got to be the mom, not the hostess for dinner

4. All my kids were home and were so kind to me and to each other

5. I got to eat Nasi for dinner

6. Derek, Rachel and Rosie came over to see and enjoy dinner with "Grandma Dana" 

7. I got to wear the dress I had just finished sewing

It really was a great day, I can't lie. It was just fun to be with Keenan and the kids, then enjoy a visit from the Hunters. Mom and dad had gone to Las Vegas, so there was no large Hunter Family thing going on. Kamiko apologized for not being able to buy me anything since he was broke. I told him I just wanted him to be nice. He's always nice, so that wasn't difficult. Again, a great day.

After church with Kamiko, Allie and Melia. Aren't my kids the best!?

Memorial Day

It was a great Memorial Day weekend. Not only did I finish my marathon, but I got to spend time with family. Dad organized a little trip to Holden to put flowers on graves. Here in Utah, people like to visit cemeteries on Memorial Day and decorate graves, not just of military heroes, but of family members. I've gone with mom and dad a few times and really enjoy it. Holden holds a lot of memories for me, since we spent a lot of time visiting grandma and grandpa Hunter there. We would walk to Wood's Market and buy soda and penny candy. We would explore around grandma and grandpa's property. We would ride Brog, their horse. We also played the Cootie Game a lot. I think it's the only game they had.

Sidney Teeples, rescuer of Martin Handcart Company and Nicholaus Gourley Teeples, member of same company.

My grandma and grandpa, Allie and Otto 

Kamiko and Mel enjoyed the swings at the park...until Kamiko got sick to his stomach.

How could you not enjoy a road trip with these cute faces? Allison East DeVuyst, Melia, Allie and Kamiko

I offered a dollar to whoever found dad's grandparent's grave. Dad found it and I paid up!

Me, Debbie, Dad, Mom, Allison, Kamiko, Allie and Melia in front of Allie and Otto's grave

mom wants a grave marker like this one. It is lovely

Just cute Allie in the cemetery

Kamiko, Allie, Melia and Allison East DeVuyst came in my van. Mom and dad and Debbie and Mark Amundson were in another car. We had soda, candy and chips and talked and listened to music. We had a great drive. In Holden, we put flowers on graves and told the kids stories. We then went to the pavilion near the church to eat lunch. The scouts were just cleaning up from a fundraiser. They gave us some cupcakes, chicken and potato salad. We, of course, made a donation. I asked the lady who brought us the food if she knew my grandparents. She did. Her family had moved her there from Mapleton when she was 16. Now, that would be a challenge. It's a town of about 500 people. She has since returned with her husband after college and they raised their kids there. Her husband is a dentist in town. She commented that you can't buy gas or milk in town, but you can get a root canal. I introduced her to my Allie, who was named after my grandma and the lady asked if my Allie was ever going to have blue hair like my grandma. Grandma used to go to the "beauty operator" every week for bluing that they put on her hair. My grandma had great dimples, too. The lady from Holden also remembered that grandma used to file her fingernails to a point. It was so nice to talk to her. What a great place to have ties to. We headed home and got ice cream in Nephi on the way back to grandma and grandpa's, where we had bbq hamburgers to finish the day. It was awesome!

Marathon...CHECK!

I did it! I ran my marathon. I actually had planned to do it on June 16th. I went out on Saturday for a 20-mile run and it was perfect running weather...cloudy, cool, etc. I was feeling great after mile 14, so I decided to just go for it. There were too many reasons to finish it that I had to give it a try. I could start walking with Sandy and Sherie again. We solve the world's problems on our walks, after all. I wouldn't have to schedule and map out runs while on our upcoming vacation to Nauvoo, Illinois. I would be done buying shot blocks, sports beans, and other energy boosters for consumption during running. I could let the blister on my left foot heal, once and for all. So, I did it. Here is photographic proof! Oh, it took me a little over 5 1/2 hours. No official time, but I don't care. Something to think about..."Athletes run...others just play games."

Near the end. I swear, I was running, even though both feet are on the ground.

Dad, me, mom, Allie, Melia and Keenan (Kamiko was at work)

Maria Trump came to congratulate - I finished by Panda Express in Pleasant Grove

Me and dad. Thanks, mom and dad, for the balloons

After the marathon, my sister Kris brought me this sticker from California. I'm official now!

Yes, I am Superwoman and the 26.2 sticker should prove it.

Pretty Spring Flowers

Mom will be out of town tomorrow for Mother's Day, so the two of us went to breakfast yesterday. We had yummy french toast with strawberries, bananas, whipped cream and decadent syrup. It was great. Afterwards, I stopped by the house and dad cut me some lilacs and iris for my house. Don't they look great?! I wish they would last forever. The lilacs are in our bathroom and make the whole room smell so good. Ahhhh!

Take care of splinters right away

I heard a great analogy in Primary on Sunday:

A girl got a splinter in her finger. She told her dad, who used a pocket knife to get it out. It hurt a bit to get it out, as can happen.

Next time she got a splinter, she didn't tell her dad, because she knew it would hurt to get it out. The splinter festered and her finger was swollen and tender.

When she finally asked her dad for help, it hurt quite a bit and took more effort to remove than the first splinter. But, they got it out!

The moral of the story...take care of transgressions and sins sooner than later. It just gets worse if you wait. Our Eternal Father can help. It might hurt a bit, but it is worse if we hide the splinter and hope it goes away on it's own.

Other things in my life

I get to teach 6 year old kids in primary. They are a cute bunch. We are working on a Mother's Day project. Each kid answered questions about his/her mom and we took pictures to make a little gift that includes their thoughts and a picture. Here's a picture of the entire class in front of the temple. Some of my favorite responses to the questions were:

I love my mom more than bubbles (another child said rolly pollies)

My mom is afraid of nothing

If I had a lot of money, I would buy mom mom cleaning stuff (another kid would buy his mom a car...I want that kid, not the cleaning supplies kid)

If my mom had a ton of money, she would buy popsicles (another mom would buy magazines)

My mom is as pretty as a rainbow 

Aren't they the cutest? Taryn Wendel, Gage Nebeker, Joseph Gibson, Rachel Rose, Elise Livingston

Here is a picture of Honu, our kitty. He sure is growing. He likes to be outside. We tried to keep him an "inside cat," but we just can't do it. He begs at the door to go outside. On the plus side, Mel hardly ever has to clean the litter box. Honu takes care of business outside now.

Melia is 14! What a Cute Birthday Girl!

Isn't she just so cute. I love that little nose.

Sporting a new outfit from previous day's shopping trip

make a wish!

The girls dressed and ready to go to City Creek

Melia turned 14 on Monday. We celebrated early by going to City Creek Mall in Salt Lake. She wanted to go shopping. We really had a great time. The weather was beautiful and the mall is really nice. Keenan, Allie, Melia and I went. Kamiko was working and didn't really want to go anyway. Melia bought some really cute clothes...skirt, jeans, capris, shirts. We then had dinner at Rumbi, which serves rice and noodle bowls. It was a great day. The girls are so much fun. Mom and dad came over on Sunday to enjoy chocolate chip pound cake and ice cream. On Mel's actual birthday, she had a soccer game. Her team lost, which was a total bummer...especially for the birthday girlie!

I'm officially training for a marathon!

I am no athlete. I stink at all sports. I can run, though. I run slowly, but I can do it. In fact, I just read a funny quote that went something like this: "no matter how slow you're running, you are still lapping the person sitting on the couch." I've run two half marathons and have always secretly wanted to run a marathon. Well, I decided that this spring is a great time to train. I started running when I was 40, thanks to my sister, Karen, and would like to accomplish this lofty goal while I'm still 45. Mondays I do my long runs while everyone is at school and work. I think I'm just gonna chart my own 26.2 mile course and recruit friends and family to run 3-mile stretches with me. I ran 16 miles on Monday, while doing 3 loads of laundry. That's how a mom trains for a marathon. I ran 6 miles, change laundry loads, ran another 6 miles, changed laundry again, then ran 3 miles. It took me about 3 hours. I will do 12 miles this Monday, then 18 the following. I'm getting closer to the actual run. I'm very excited about it. This is me, today, after finishing a short, 4-mile run.

Cars are Running...For Now

So, the windshield people came to replace the van window and brought the wrong window. I got to drive around with natural air conditioning for an additional 2 days.

Keenan got the lock unstuck on the Kev, the Kia.

We found out, during the oil check, that the van needed a repair (something about manifold gaskets).

Kev died on the way to a soccer game. Push started it. Needed a new battery.

Kev also got two new tires when Keenan recently took it in to get tires balanced.

And...with that...I hope we are done for a while...

Oh, I forgot...the driver's side window of Kev got stuck. We did get it situated correctly, but, for now, no rolling that window down!