It's Been a Long Time: October, November, and December

I didn't realize it's been more than 2 months since I last wrote. I finished the semester, celebrated Halloween, Thanksgiving, Sinterklaas, and Santa Lucia and Christmas is Sunday. We elected a new president and I made a wedding dress with Starlyn. I'm pretty bad.

For our Halloween Book Club, we dressed up and I went as the bee Snapchat filter. Snapchat is an app on the phone that changes your face and/or voice for sending messages. I love the bee filter. Erin, my TA, did my makeup and I looked pretty good. I was gonna be Ken Bone. He's a big guy that wore a big red sweater to a presidential debate and made quite a splash with his question and appearance.

Of course I wore my sweatshirt to work 

We had 2 Thanksgiving dinners and I was pretty wiped out by the end. We had a family get-together at the Sykes on Friday, complete with Derek and Rachel and family in town. But, my kids wanted Thanksgiving on Thursday and wanted leftovers, so I did the whole thing on Thursday, then repeated pies, rolls, and green beans on Friday. We also took a spinach artichoke dip on Friday. Yep, I was a bit cranky by Friday night. It was sure fun to see the Hunters visiting from California. Mom commented that we didn't take a single picture. Derek said we have the memories.

Our former TA Elaina is getting married soon. She kinda had a falling out with her mom and as a result, her mom pulled her financial support. Elaina was beside herself, trying to figure out how she could get a dress. When Starlyn and I saw what she wanted, we realized we could make it. It was a bit tricky since Elaina is in Texas. But, we got her measurements and picked out fabric via skype. I quickly made up a mock top and sent it to her for a fitting. She wanted a few tweaks. I was then able to make the top. Starlyn and I made the skirt. Some co-workers contributed some money, which helped. It turned out great. When I mentioned the project in Relief Society, a visitor came up to me later and told me she is a photographer and wanted to take pictures for Elaina, free of charge. It was so nice of her. Elaina came in town the first part of November and the dress fit like a glove. She and her mom made up and that was great. I hope all goes well. I'm sure it will be a beautiful wedding. Wish I could be there. Erin will go and represent the foods lab. I must admit. It felt really nice to help with something so important. I love these TA's and I loved working with Starlyn. At one point, Star called me in tears. She was struggling with the skirt. I went down to her house and we got it figured out and got it done.

This dress was $300

Erin, Elaina, me, Starlyn. I think we did pretty good for less than $150.

We had a Presidential election. It looked like Hilary Clinton was a shoe-in. The media put out every bad story about Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, and gave excuses for any indiscretion (or illegal act) Hilary had. Election night was crazy. I was actually sewing with Starlyn and told her husband, Lee, to put on the election returns. States were being called for Trump. WHAT?! We got the skirt done with time for me to get home to watch final election returns. Mel was home and all her friends came over. We stayed up pretty late. Nothing was final by the time I went to bed, but it looked like Trump would win and he did. Since he won, we've had tons of liberals complaining and whining. They have said they feel unsafe, threatened, etc. College students are saying they can't live any longer. They don't know what to do. Are you kidding me? Welcome to losing. Deal with it. You'll be fine.

Levi Patterson, Keenan, Parker Shelby, Brooke Walker, Meghan Winward, Kobi Watkins, Allie, and Melia

Kamiko went to California and brought me an excellent belated birthday gift. Disneyland's California Adventure is closing one of our favorite rides for a while. They're changing the Twilight Zone's Tower of Terror to Guardians of the Galaxy. I'm not excited about it at all. BIG MISTAKE. I remember when they changed the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse to Tarzan. It's never been the same. Well, Kamiko brought me this awesome shirt. I love it. In fact, I'm wearing it right now. My boy knows his mom.

Ugh. I look especially old without eye makeup

Oh, another great thing Kamiko did was to invite me to be his "plus one" at his work Christmas party. It was a nice dinner up at Sundance Ski Resort. We had a great time. I borrowed a dress from Mel. When we walked in, we each got to pick 2 gifts. I chose a necklace and earrings. I kept them for me. For a split second, I thought of getting stuff the girls would like, but then I decided I wanted mementoes from the party, so I chose stuff for me. We had a lot of fun. Great food. They also did a drawing and every employee won something. Kamiko got a $100 Costco gift card which I bought from him. He also got a bonus and a nice jacket. The downside of the jacket is that it says the name of his work across the back and all over the lining. Hahahah

Speaking of jackets, all Adcocks are now proud owners of Columbia jackets. Allie had one. I had one. Kamiko and Mel needed jackets so we bought them each one for Christmas and they picked out Columbia. I know Keenan has one somewhere, too.

So, Christmas approaches. I have all my kids at home. And all their junk, too, because they're all in between apartments. Kamiko has bought someone's contract in Provo and will move in later in December. Allie bought a contract in Provo, too. She has moved some of her stuff, but stays here at the house because nobody is in Provo. Mel is changing dorms. She's moving from Stover Hall to Hinckley Hall, so she had to bring all her stuff home. Wow. Kamiko's mission buddy Mark Rice was also here for about 3 weeks with all of his stuff. He's also in between apartments. It's a regular hotel. It was fun having Mark here. He seemed to enjoy the Sinterklaas festivities of chocolate and nerf guns. 

I'm watching all the Hallmark Christmas movies I can. The shopping is done. Mel got her wisdom teeth out. She was very weepy on the meds right after the procedure. Her top teeth were rough. She's been swollen and unable to eat much for 5 days now. She just graduated to grilled cheese sandwiches. She's hoping to fully enjoy Chinese food at Fong's on Saturday (Christmas Eve). I had my first colonoscopy and survived. Things are just fine.

Annual gingerbread house making. We cheat and buy the kits. It's so fun.

Mel's friend Larissa joined us. She'd never done gingerbread houses before.

Fun Fall Day and Free Ice Cream

Drew Blankenship, a former student from Arkansas, came to town one day. She came to the lab with Annie Christensen, the TA who introduced us, and Mel dropped by. We all went on an adventure to get free ice cream. UCCU was celebrating 60 years by giving out certificates for free half gallons from the BYU Creamery. We went to UCCU by BYU and they were out of certificates. So, we went to the branch in Riverwoods and scored certificates and ice cream scoops. Success!!!!!! Notice I'm wearing my BYU t-shirt. I'm loving football season. It's a great excuse to do casual Friday. I get to wear jeans and a t-shirt. It looks like team spirit, but it's purely for comfort for me.

Bonus: We talked about life. I asked the question I've been thinking about a lot lately: "How do you turn your problems to the Lord?" Annie had a great idea. For quite a while, she's been using what she calls "His Box." When she's ready to give up a burden or grudge or sorrow, like really ready, she prays about it, writes it down on a paper, and leaves it in "His Box." She doesn't look at what's in the box once it's in there. These young adults are geniuses! It's no wonder I love my job. I get to hang out with the BEST people in the history of all time.

Mel, Annie, Drew, and me

I'm 50!

Bugles, the delicious corn snack, and I were both born in 1966

I had a fantastic birthday and, as usual, I'm celebrating til Halloween. That's my official birthday cut-off. I got everything done on my 50 year bucket list and enjoyed time with friends and family.

Deb came to take me to lunch on October 1. It was conference Saturday. Mom and I met her at Cravings Bistro in PG for grilled cheese sandwiches. It was so yummy. When we were leaving, we noticed a bunch of people dressed like superheroes across the street. I just had to get a picture. We almost left without one, but I told mom "I only turn 50 once, let's get a picture!" So we got Deb out of her car and went across the street for a picture. I just love it. I don't think I would have done that if it weren't for my bucket list. It's had me doing crazy, fun stuff all year.

I worked on my birthday. As I went to get in my van, it was obvious that Keenan had been there. It was FILLED with black and orange balloons and 50 signs. There were also pop tarts and diet Dr. Pepper. I finally got that all cleaned out and headed to campus. My students sang to me in lecture. When I entered the dispensary, there were balloons and a candy bar card from Starlyn. Everyone was so good to me. Marci gave me a really pretty bracelet that her neighbor made especially for my tiny wrist.

Section 6, Wednesdays from 2:00-4:50 pm

I finished the LAST thing on my list by going to JDawgs with my friends after work. About 20 people showed up, including Keenan and the kids. Kim and Kris had flown in from California. It was so much fun to be there with my good friends. I was very grateful that they took time to come celebrate with me. Keenan brought a bakery cake and mom brought balloons.

Back row: Starlyn Hjorth, Adrienne Murray, Cathy Newton, Cathy Voorhees, Danelle Prince, Amy Christensen, Carrie Gibson. Middle Row: Jamie Wigington, Jenny Fosdick, Annie Christensen, Jenny Sykes, Kristen East, Me, mom, Kim Blight, Kim Cassetti. Front Row: Kamiko, Kobi Watkins, Allie, Keenan, Mel

From there, Kris, Jen, Kim, and I went to mom and dad's to visit with them for a while. We then went to Midway. Jenny had gotten us a timeshare condo for the 3 nights that the girls were in town. Jen had decorated the place with balloons and signs just for me.

We went into Park City on Thursday after taking a nice walk and eating butternut squash soup. Kim hadn't ever been there and we knew she would like it. She did. We went downtown and just walked and looked in shops and galleries. We had yummy ravioli back at the condo for dinner and just stayed up late talking. Kim had brought each of us matching pj's and some lotion and lipstick. It was so thoughtful of her. She also gave me a beautiful clutch. Kim is really in the know about fashion and I love the purse. I would never buy such a nice thing for myself and I feel so spoiled using it.

Jen and Me

Kris, Kim, and me

Our cute pj's

THE purse

First time for my purse at church

I had work on Friday. The girls eventually came to Provo and took a tour of campus. Then they went to the Museum of Art on campus to see an exhibit of Minerva Teichert paintings of the Book of Mormon. I took Mel to a quick doctor's appointment and then I was off with the girls again. We went to Cravings for dinner, then to SLC for a wedding reception. Kris, Jen, and I have been friends with Ginger White Hyde since we were in college. Way back when, Kris and I were roommates with Ginger at Pineview in Provo. Jen lived next door. We've kept in touch all these years. Ginger and Garrick's son got married, so we surprised Ginger by going to the reception. She seemed really touched that we went. It was lovely. From there, we headed back to Midway.

Our place in Midway was so great. It had 2 bedrooms. Kris and Kim shared the room with the 2 twin beds. They had their own bathroom. Jen and I had the master room with a king bed. Jen and I are perfect bed-mates because we normally sleep on opposite sides of the bed. So, we just go to our respective sides. We had our own bathroom. We also had a nice kitchen and living area and patio. It was so thoughtful of Jen to get this for us. We truly got a nice vacation.

Saturday we got a slow start and went into SLC. We met up with mom, Deb, and Allie at City Creek Mall. It's a beautiful mall in downtown that the church built. We had lunch and walked around. I got a cute sweater at Anthropologie on super sale. We went over to Temple Square a bit, too. Then it was time to get Kris and Kim to the airport. We sure had a great time. Whenever we've spent time with Kim, it's been for a few hours or so. I did spend the night at her house one time I went to California and had such a great time. This time was equally memorable: just mom time. No kids. No worries. In fact, Kim joked that she was the husband on the trip. She brought no food and just went where we told her to go.

A side note: shortly after arriving at the condo, Kim got a text from her husband saying that they were out of butter. We moms just had to laugh about it. Kim opened the fridge in our condo and coincidently pulled out butter. "We found the butter!" She texted a picture to Rob. He later reported that he went to the drive-thru dairy and got butter. On Saturday when we were cleaning up to check out, I found a bit of butter in a dish and asked if anyone wanted it (wondering if anyone still wanted toast or something). Kim's repsonse: "Rob does."

A week later, Keenan and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. We finally got around to going out to dinner on Saturday. Wednesday was our actual anniversary, but we had mutual. Thursday didn't work. I knew I'd be too tired on a Friday after work, so we went out on Saturday. It had been a while since we went to Fong's and it was delicious. We then came home and Keenan watched a Mark Ruffalo movie with me. Isn't he nice?

My Baby is in College

We moved Mel into her dorm on Wednesday, August 24. She had a lot of stuff. It's pretty exciting to move into your dorm and start college. I'm so excited for her. We got to Helaman Halls and there is no nearby parking. Like I said, she had a lot of stuff. When I looked at it, I realized I should get help from our JFSB custodians. I drove up there and asked if we could borrow a flat bed dolly. Yeah! They said yes. I got back to Helaman and we had everything in her dorm in 2 trips instead of a million.

Then I had a meeting at 1:00 on campus. Before going to my meeting, Mel and I went to grab lunch. I still wanted to try Mountain West Burrito for my 50th Bucket List, so we went there. The service was great, but the burritos were just OK. I don't think I'll go back. Wasn't awful, but wasn't great.

When I was done around 4:00, I headed back to Mel's dorm. By that time, Allie was there and they were hanging things on the wall, etc. We went to Hobby Lobby to look for a couple of items to fill some gaps that the girls felt were glaring at them. It was a fun day. I actually didn't make it to Young Women's because I was still my with favorite Young Women.

Look! She brought her sewing machine!

We got Mel settled in and headed home. She had orientation on Thursday and Friday. She called me Thursday night and said orientation was boring. She wondered if I would come on Friday and show her where her classes are so she could skip orientation. So, we spent some time on Friday finding her classes and just being together.

She has really missed home the couple of weeks she's been gone. She says she's sad that when she wakes up from a nap, she can't walk upstairs and get food like she did at home. It's hard that when she wants a change of scenery from her bed, the only alternative is her desk. Desk to bed. Bed to desk. I imagine it's quite confining. Allie gave her good advice to get out and just talk to girls on the floor and ask them if they want to hang out.

We joke that she may have peaked in high school. The best years of best friends may be over. Gee, I sure hope not. I think she's blue because the boys are all gone on missions now. Makei left Tuesday. Levi gets his call soon and leaves and that's it. None of her squad went to BYU, so she's alone there until Scotty and Makei get back from missions and join her. Poor thing. It's good, though.

All three of my kids are in college. How did this happen? I'm so proud of them.

Taken at Razorback stadium. The three of them visited Arkansas together and road tripped home.

THE EPIC TRIP 2016

Oh my friends/co-workers are so good to me. They knew how much I wanted to go to Mt. Rushmore before turning 50. I get a text from Jenny a while back.

Jenny: "How about a girls' trip?"
Me: "Kids or no kids?" (she has 4 little kids)
Jenny: "No kids."
Me: "YES!"

So we got with Starlyn and Erin our TA and started planning. We included tons of fun things; things that were bit odd, but we were happy to do because one or two of us wanted to do them. Starlyn made a binder with maps, information, etc. We were set. Here's how the trip went:

Epic Trip Early Start on Tuesday:

Since we were leaving early on Wednesday morning, Jenny and Erin came to sleep over at our house on Tuesday night. Starlyn stayed at her house and joined us in a parking lot.

Epic Trip 2016 Day #1 Wednesday: WYOMING

Jenny, Erin, Starlyn, and me

July 27, Jenny's 33rd birthday. I bought a birthday girl crown for her to wear and I got party horns for us to blow. I also put a battery-powered string of lights that read "Happy Birthday" in the van. We got an early start: 6:30 am. We headed to Martin's Cove in Wyoming. Each of us brought a sack lunch for our first stop there. We also had pioneer stories printed out to read. I shared the story of Ellison Jap Gourley and Nicholus Gourley and Sidney Teeples. Starlyn had a couple of pioneer stories from her ancestors. It was a nice drive.

We had a really nice sister missionary that gave us a nice tour of the visitor's center. I found names of the Gourley family and I found Sidney Teeples' name on plaques. I didn't realize it's a 5-mile loop to the actual cove and back. We didn't do that. We got there around noon and had to be on the road by 2:00 to make it to Kaycee, Wyoming. It was enough to just be there where a big part of my family's pioneer story took place.

We had lunch and noted how hot and dry it was. We saw kids starting their trek and felt kinda bad for them. They were all smiles and they were clean. It was obviously the beginning of 3 days in heat. Good for them.

We drove 2 hours to Kaycee, Wyoming, home of Chris LeDoux, country singer and rodeo star. This was a place Starlyn requested be added to the itinerary. Sure thing! In preparation, she played Chris LeDoux songs and read us stories from his biography that she was reading. Basically, he was a rodeo bare back bronc rider. He worked and worked to earn the gold buckle - to win the national title. He did it! Rodeo life was hard on him. After a few years, he decided to focus on his music. Nashville didn't want him because he was just a rodeo rider. But with his family's help, they got records/tapes out and he made it pretty big in music.

Anyway, Kaycee has a small museum of the west and they have a park to memorialize Chris. He died in 2005 at about 55 years old from cancer. His son Ned, who used to play drums in his dad's band has since taken over the band and plays his dad's and his own songs at big rodeos and big county and state fairs. Starlyn is a big fan so this was a big deal. We were happy to go to Kaycee. The museum wasn't much of anything, but we found out at the museum that the LeDoux boys run the store next to the museum. Star beelined over there and found Ned and another LeDoux boy working. A band member of Ned's was also there. Star was in heaven. She could have gone home happy at that point. We stayed in the store for about a half hour, just talking. Star bought pictures, t-shirts, hats, etc. She also got pictures. It was great. We couldn't believe she actually got to meet Ned. Wow!

We then drove a couple of hours to Gillette, Wyoming, where we stayed at the Fairfield Inn. It had a water park that was free for Marriott Rewards Members. Starlyn had signed up, so we got to enjoy that. It was a blast. We played water basketball. Us old ladies almost beat the young girls. We went down the slides and enjoyed the hot tub. Then we went to bed. A big day ahead for Thursday.

Epic Trip 2016 Day #2 Thursday: RUSHMORE and more and more

We got an early start after eating the complimentary breakfast at the hotel. I was still doing whole30, so I had eggs, sausage, and fruit. I snacked on cherries, carrots, snap peas, cashews, and raisins on the road. Not my usual road trip food, but I felt great! We first went to Deadwood, a small western town where Wild Bill Hickok was shot dead and buried. Calamity Jane is also buried there. Sadly, we didn't see the cemetery because it was raining quite a bit. We did walk downtown and saw the saloon where Wild Bill was shot. I got some Harley Davidson stuff for dad's neighbor. It was really a cute and quaint town. It's pretty much built on western lore, Native American casinos, bars, and t-shirt shops. We loved it thought. Then we went to Sturgis, the home of the giant annual motorcycle rally. Wow, that place is NOTHING. If it weren't for the rally, there would be nothing there. We all agreed it was pretty much a dump.

Near Harley Davidson St. Notice Sturgis on the mtn behind us.

Wild Bill shot dead here.

Inside Saloon #10

Sturgis is a dump, but this shirt was cute. My souvie from the trip.

We went to Bear Country, a wildlife preserve that has lots of animals, including bear. You drive through the park and take pictures. At the end of the park, there's a gift shop and there are baby animals, including bear cubs. It was really fun. We all enjoyed it. It's a good thing Starlyn has hunting experience, because she pointed out and identified animals for us. The bears were easy to spot, though. Then we headed to RUSHMORE.

Good thing Erin had her selfie stick

I was so excited. I had to get a picture at the sign. I needed a picture of me driving to Mt. Rushmore. As I was driving up the road to the park, I saw a head and I shouted, "I just saw George Washington's head!!!" I loved every minute of that place. The weather was great. Not too hot. We took lots of pictures and just had a great time. Now I could go home happy. I had seen Rushmore. A lot of people had told me it could be disappointing, that it wasn't very big. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? It was everything I expected and more!

On the road to the park

Great re-enactment of the monument

I'm seriously so happy

Me, driving to Mt. Rushmore

We stayed in Rapid City. We got to our room and rested a bit then went into town. On Thursday nights, they close some streets and have live bands playing and lots of food vendors. It was great to enjoy the nice weather and watch people dancing in the streets, especially the special needs young adults that were dancing. They were so funny. It was my last day of whole30. I got a Jimmy John's sandwich lettuce wrapped and it was delicious. Again, to bed at a decent time because we had a long drive to Denver the next day.

Epic Trip 2016 Day #3: CAVE and DENVER

Got to end whole30. Chose to have a Diet DP. Yeah, it wasn't that great.

Early start to get to a cave. Sadly, not early enough. Thursday night when discussing plans for Friday, Starlyn suggested we leave early to get to the ticket office of Jewel Cave at 8:00 am. Jenny said she couldn't get up that early. Since it was Jenny who really wanted to go to a cave, we deferred to her. Well, by the time we drove 90 min to Jewel Cave and got through the line and to the ticket office, all tours for the morning that we wanted were sold out. Dang. Oh well. We looked around the gift shop and got on the road to Denver. By the way, Jenny loves gift shops. I'm glad she let us know. An important rule of traveling with friends is to set up expectations early.

Hey, we had fun seeing if we could fit through the tight squeeze required for one tour. No thank you.

Yeah, I'm not paying to repair a rearview mirror on a van that's over 10 years old. Gorilla Tape.

hmmmm. Who should get this little gem I saw at a gift shop?

7 hour drive to Denver. Jenny really wanted to go to a museum. Because of traffic, we would arrive in Denver with only 1 1/2 hours to spend in the museum before we met up with Crocketts for ice cream. We decided to just split up and do what we wanted. I didn't really want to pay $13 to see a museum for only 90 min. Neither did Star or Erin. So, we dropped Jenny off to enjoy her culture and we went off to cause trouble in Denver. We tried to see an observation deck on top of a building, but it was off limits to the public. Erin and Star got as close as they could. In the same building, I got a video of Erin running and setting off the automatic revolving doors. We enjoyed ourselves. Jenny enjoyed her art, too. We then went to Little Man Ice Cream to meet with Crocketts. It wasn't only Karen and Alan, but also Shauna and Mary Ann and kids. The ice cream place is quite popular. There was a long line, but we had fun visiting and enjoyed the ice cream. I was off whole30, so I got a cone. I got 2 in fact, because they gave me the wrong flavor in my first cone. I only ate one, though. One of the kids ate the rest of my 2nd one.

Just some cool BIG art outside museum

Crockett cousins enjoyed looking for Pokemon with Jenny

Can you believe we saw Jenny and she saw us?

Yep, I'm done with Whole30 in a big way

Went to Karen's house and got settled in. Starlyn, Jenny, and Erin all agreed that Karen, Alan, and family are pretty great. We got to sleep in the basement. We crashed and slept very well.

Epic Trip 2016 Day #4: THE SPRINGS and CHECK ENGINE LIGHT

July 30. Happy Chris LeDoux Day! Got up and headed to Colorado Springs to see the Air Force Academy and the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame. Also thought about what to do about the check engine light that came on in the van. DANG.

When we knew we would have a day in Denver, I suggested we go to Colorado Springs. The chapel at the Air Force Academy is very unique, with separate worship areas for Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and Buddhist cadets. They really liked it. After that, Jenny and I dropped Star and Erin at the Rodeo Hall of Fame and we went to get the van diagnosed. It was a spark plug issue. Karen reached out to friends and found a mechanic that was open and could help us. We got the van dropped off around 1:00 pm. Karen got us and we went to the Savory Spice Shop in Littleton, where I bought 6 bottles of yummy herb and spice blends. We then went to the memorial near Columbine High School, where the first mass school shooting took place. I'd been there before. Everyone enjoyed it. It's a somber place, but very nice. We went back to Karen's house and played cards with Shauna and Mary Ann. We just chilled.

Killing time at McDonald's until Karen gets us. 

We wore out the little one, Erin

Karen and I went and picked up the van. $200 for spark plugs and wires. We got pizza for everyone. We then watched a movie. It was nice to just chill. It was also fun to find some sister time with just Karen, getting the van and pizza and later running to the grocery store.

Epic Trip 2016 Day #5: CHURCH and HOME

I'm glad we had decided to go to church with Crocketts before heading home. After spending a couple of days with Karen, Erin decided she had a new aunt and Star and Jenny had a new sister. After church we changed into comfy clothes for the ride home and drove 8 hours home. Right outside of Vail, there was a 5-mile line of cars waiting to head east. Thankfully, we were heading west. It was due to a car wreck. We felt so bad for all the folks tied up in traffic for who knows how long. The drive home was uneventful. Got home around 7:00 pm. I'm so glad we went. We didn't get sick of each other. We really had fun.