Out of This World!

Mark had a brilliant plan that we should go Cosmic Bowling last weekend. We decided to meet there at 9:30 PM so we could put our names on the list for a lane. Mark decided to grace me with his presence around 10 PM. I put our names on the list and they told us it would be an hour wait for a lane. We didn't mind waiting. Just after Mark got his tokens from the machine to play some arcade games, they called our names for our lane. It was definitely not an hour wait. It was more like a 10 minute wait! Anyway, Mark and I have decided that based on our performance, we will not be trying out for a league anytime soon. We could try out for the Gutterball Goonies, since that was where our bowling balls spent most of the night. Mark did get a few strikes and spares. I managed a few spares of my own. All in all we had a great time! We just realized that we are definitely not high schoolers anymore and we are more than happy to leave Cosmic Bowling to the next generation. Here are some pictures of our humiliation. Enjoy at our expense.

The Long Awaited Cabela's Pictures

Well, here they are. The long awaited pictures from Cabela's. I am blaming the full moon for me being able to get these pictures. Enjoy!

I decided to go gangsta'

Innocent aquarium watching

The infamous feeding of the fish. This video is rated PG-13. Caution: Contains violence.

My reenaction of the fish feeding

I would advise not to get between a woman and her gun

Me and Mark preparing for the Uintas

Adventures at Cabela's

I really wanted to wait to post this until I had some pictures. I highly doubt I will be getting any pictures from Mark so I will just give you the word version. You will have to use your imaginations (what's that?) for the pictures. Sorry!

One day after Mark got off work, we decided to have an adventurous outing. We went to Cabela's. I would liken it to a poor man's Disneyland. It even has a Matterhorn (sort of)!! Since we were a poor man (and woman), we figured this place was for us. Even though it was free to go there, we both left some of our wallets there.

We got there at 5:45 PM so we were just in time to watch the feeding of the fish in the aquarium. My friend who had already been there told me, "You have to see the feeding of the fish." The only problem was finding the aquarium. We sort of gave up (even though we really never started looking), when an employee came up to us and asked if we had seen the feeding of the fish. We both replied we hadn't. He directed us to the fish. The aquarium was already being scoped out by a Boy Scout troop. Mark and I watched the feeding of the fish. I really didn't find it appropriate for anyone under the age of 14 years old. It was very graphic and a bit disturbing. Mark and I just kept looking at the fish and then looking at each other and then back at the fish. We didn't know what to think. We just kept saying, "This is sick and wrong....Yet it is so entertaining!"

After the horrifically entertaining fish feeding, we set our sights to the rest of the store. Cabela's has everything you would ever need for the outdoors and everything you didn't think you would need. I am an indoor girl myself but hanging out with Mark over these past two years has "encouraged" me to explore my outdoor self.

We (read here Mark) found the shooting range in the store. He loaded his pockets up with tokens and had a shoot em up good time. It was mildly entertaining for me to watch as dinky little things happened when he hit the target-a bottle falling over, a light turning on, you know the drill). After much coaxing, Mark talked me into shooting a round or two. At first I had no idea what I was doing. (At least that was what I lead him to believe. Hee-hee!) We finally decided on a friendly shooting competition. When all the shots had been taken, let's just say that I ate dinner for free that evening! 'nough said!

Mark and I both have sweet teeth that can't be ignored. When our teeth and stomachs led us to the fudge shop, we couldn't resist. We came out a little poorer and our taste buds much happier!

Then it was on to the camping gear. Mark and I are planning a little camping trip to the Uintas this summer (because we waited too long to go last summer) so Mark enjoyed pointing out all the necessities-tent, sleeping bags, lanterns, etc. I pointed out all the necessities we would need as well-portable shower with hot water, portable potty, air mattress, microwave, etc. I think me and Mark have a slightly different idea of "camping".

Our last stop was in the gun department. Can I just say, "Wow, there are a lot of guns to choose from!" We saw BB guns for hundreds of dollars! I agree with Mark. He said, "If you're going to spend that much on a gun, you might as well get a real gun!" Well said.

Cabela's is a very fun place to go. I highly recommend it to anyone that wants a cheap night out (granted you don't buy anything).

Our next adventures will be taking place at...IKEA! I can't wait!

Sunny San Diego...or NOT!

As my mom told me this morning, "It's not Valentine's Day anymore! Update your blog!" Since I am such an obedient daughter (the most obedient daughter she has), I thought I would update my blog. I will tell you all about my fun-filled (?) trip to San Diego, CA.

I flew to San Diego on a Thursday night (the night before my dad's big surgery). I arrived in a bit of rain. My mom picked me up at the airport since my dad was undergoing the process of "preparing" for the surgery (i.e. clearing out the old digestive system). My mom and I enjoyed clam chowder in a bread bowl from Boudin's. (I don't think we could have been more California than that!) We enjoyed catching up. Then we all went to bed early since the next day would start before the sun woke up.

Friday morning arrived very early with two different alarm clocks going off around 4:45 AM (I think). My parents got ready for the day while I moved from sleeping on the couch to an actual bed. My parents left for the hospital and I received a few more hours of much needed beauty sleep! While my dad's surgery was delayed a few hours, I helped myself to the hotel's breakfast buffet and then repented for an hour on the treadmill! :) My mom finally came back to the hotel for me around 11 AM after my dad had finally been wheeled into surgery. We packed up our "activity bag" and headed to the hospital.

What do you do for eight and a half hours in the hospital when you are not the one being operated on? Oh the possibilities are endless. One of my favorite activities was watching people try go into a bathroom whose door was locked. I then enjoyed watching about three different maintenance people try to find a key that would unlock it. My guess was that there was a patient that fell off the toilet in there just waiting to be rescued. (I have had experience falling off a toilet and being locked in a bathroom but I will have to save those stories for another time.) After quite a while, the door to the bathroom was finally opened and much to my disappointment there wasn't anyone stuck in there. It was empty. Another activity I enjoyed while waiting in the hospital was watching people in scrubs carry walkers around the hospital. These were not patients walking with the walkers, mind you. It was personnel CARRYING walkers. If I got paid for every person I saw carrying a walker, I could have paid for my dad's surgery. (I later found out that the people carrying the walkers were physical therapists. THe PTs were taking the walkers to patients so they could get up and walking after their surgeries.) My time was also spent reading, knitting, and checking my email.

My dad was a real trooper and made it through the surgery. Most of the cancer was removed along with some organs that he didn't really need (spleen, appendix, and 2 feet of the colon). No need to carry around extra weight, I always say! He lost about 40 pounds just from all that was removed from his body (mucous, fat). He has lost another 10 pounds since the surgery since he's not really eating that much. (He lost the equivalent of a whole Melodie!) He received 9 units of California's best Grade A blood. He is a true Californian now. If he starts talking like a surfer dude, we will know why. The doctor was very pleased with how the surgery went. If the doctor is pleased, then we are pleased.

Saturday morning my mom and I slept in. (But if you talk to my dad, we were there bright and early as soon as they would allow visitors in the room. He was heavily medicated so he doesn't really remember anything.) He was quite groggy and talked really quietly. I kept saying, "What? Speak up! I can't hear you!" As a result of him talking so softly, I think my mom and I overcompensated by yelling back to him. Oh well! He kept asking anyone and everyone for a popsicle. He wasn't allowed to have a popsicle because the digestive system (that had been recently manhandled) couldn't handle anything in it for a while. He couldn't have anything to eat until he farted! That didn't stop him from asking nurses, doctors, me and mom, the guy sweeping the floor, etc for a popsicle.

We ditched dad for a little while and performed a session at the San Diego Temple. We got in a Spanish session so we had to use the gift of tongues (the headset) so we could understand what was going on. It was very entertaining for me! The San Diego Temple is so BEAUTIFUL inside and out (just like me!)!! The only word that describes it is WOW!!! I wanted to go back a ton more times. (Too bad they were closed the remaining days I was there-Sunday and Monday.)

We went back and visited Dad that afternoon at the hospital. We broke some rules and were kindly rebuked by the nurse. I enjoyed watching the monitor of dad's blood pressure and heartbeat. It was like watching TV. Nothing like saying something to someone and immediately see their inner reaction!

Sunday was spent visiting with Dad. We bailed on him for a little over an hour and went to church. Sunday evening Mom and I drove to San CLemente (about halfway between LA and San Diego) to meet my friend Matt. Matt lives in LA and we have done the Christmas Spectacular together in Nashville for the past three years. It was great to spend a few hours talking with him. He is one of my favorite people to just hang out with.

We drove back to the hospital and spent a short amount of time with dad. We asked if we could turn on the TV in his room and he told us no and to go home. So we did. We wondered who the man was that had taken over my dad's body. Usually it's us asking him to turn off the TV! He is the king of TV at our house.

Monday morning my mom and I got up bright and early and headed to the hospital. I had a 10 AM flight to catch so I had to say our goodbyes before we were all fully awake. When I left San Diego, it was blue sky, warm, and sunny. My mom said that as soon as I left the rain departed with me. The sun came out and it has been beautiful ever since (just about).

I am enjoying my last few days of absolute freedom before my parents return. I am actually looking forward to having someone to talk to (but don't tell them). I can only talk to myself for so long and it so one-sided. Not a lot of "discussion" going on. Anyway, Thanks to all of you for your kind thoughts, love, support, prayers, and friendship. Like a good friend told me at the beginning of this "Dad has cancer" journey, you certainly find out who your friends are when you got through something difficult! Thanks for taking the journey with me!

Happy Valentine's Day...in Lehi!

Well, I know this is a day late but Happy Valentine's Day! I was planning on having a pretty low key Valentine's Day. I didn't have very much planned for the day. The few plans I had were changed because of inclimate weather.

This story all starts on Wednesday (the day before Valentine's Day). I made plans to go to Lehi for the afternoon to spend time with my friend Hilary and her family. I knew it was going to snow but being in Utah for the past month and a half, I thought, "What else is new?" I was tired of trying to plan my life around the usual snowfall. I just wanted to get to Lehi before the snow began to fall. I did! I got to Lehi about an hour and a half to two hours before the snow began to fall. Yea!

I visited with Hilary for a few hours before her daughters came home from school. We had a great visit. We got snacks ready for the girls when they returned from school. As soon as the girls came in, they started asking for me. (They were tipped off by my car sitting in their driveway!) We ate snacks and they told me all about their lives since I had been to their house last (which was probably in September or October last year).

Since it was the day before Valentine's Day, we worked on their Valentine's for their classmates. Then we played fast food drive through and anything else we imagined. At one point, I was sitting in an oversized chair along with three of the girls. We were a close bunch! At one point, the three year old told me, "Yeah baby! Stop buggin'!" That seriously cracked me up! The snow continued to fall and blow. As dinner was ready, we received a call from Hilary's husband. who was stuck on the freeway. He was literally sitting in his car on the freeway going nowhere. He decided to wait out the storm (once he could finally get off the freeway) at a family member's house. That didn't look good for me to get home. I decided to wait a few more hours for the roads to be cleared of the snow and all the commuters to go home.

I enjoyed a mini concert from Hilary in her living room. She shared two of the songs she was working on with me. They were beautiful! I helped the girls clean their rooms. We ate ice cream and watched American Idol. (That's a great combination!) We watched the early news at 9 and that's when we received the news that I probably would not be returning home that evening. The road that leads from Hilary's house to the freeway was closed because of snow drifts. The freeway was still a parking lot. Hilary's husband had still not returned home yet. Hilary invited me to stay at their house for the night and I accepted her offer. The girls were ecstatic! (Even though they spent a lot of time persuading me to stay the night.) Hilary's husband finally arrived home at 10 PM. Wow! A five hour commute from Sandy to Lehi is a bit excessive!

Valentine's Day began with cartoons and art projects with the girls. (The girls' school was delayed until 10 AM because of the snow.) We ate a DELICIOUS breakfast of waffles, strawberries, syrup, whip cream, eggs (with and without cheese), and bacon! Wow, what a feast!! Hilary is an excellent cook!

Even though the road from Hilary's house to the freeway was still closed, I still headed home on the backroads about 10 AM. Wow! That was a trip! A huge thanks to the Weeks' family for putting me up (and putting up with me) for the night! I had a blast with you! You made my Valentine's Day.

The rest of Valentine's Day was pretty much like any other day. I enjoyed being in the temple. Oh yeah, as I was walking into the temple, I ran into my mission president and his wife. That was another fun surprise for the day. It was great to see them! I hadn't seen both of them for a long time. They work in the Jordan River Temple. My mission president is a sealer in the Jordan River Temple.

I was going to watch a movie that night, but I was so tired that I crashed about 10 PM. Pretty exciting, huh?! That was my exciting story for the week. HUGE THANKS to the Weeks' Family! (I promise I won't come visit for quite awhile. I will wait until there is no threat of being snowed in again. At this rate, it might be August!)

The Weeks Family on Halloween (Sorry, it's the only picture I have of you!)

In Memory of a True Leader

To say I was shocked when I found out President Gordon B Hinckley passed away would be an understatement. Granted he was 97 1/2 years old so it shouldn't have been totally unexpected. I guess I was just hoping the day wouldn't come when we wouldn't see the unfailing smile on his face.

President Hinckley is a wonderful example of eternal optimism. He knew that life had its difficult moments but he was always smiling. My favorite idea President Hinckley spread was that we don't need to worry so much about things in our life because things always work out. The sadness and despair we sometimes feel doesn't last forever. There is a plan for our lives. If we get to worrying too much or meddling too much in our lives, then we might miss out on some wonderful opportunities.

It just brings a HUGE smile to my face to know that these two lovebirds are together again never to be separated. I can't even imagine the joy these two felt when they were reunited again. They were truly not complete when they were apart.

President Hinckley is a great example of faith, fun, wit, and wisdom. I am grateful to have lived during the time when President Hinckley was the prophet on the earth. President Hinckley helped to build and strengthen my testimony by his testimony and example.

Rather go to the Dentist!

Last week, I finally summoned enough courage to get my annual haircut. I absolutely hate getting my haircut. It always is very traumatic and often leaves me in tears. I have decided for long hair because I hate getting my haircut. The "stylists" never seem to get it right. They must not understand me because what I end up with is never what I ask for.

So last Tuesday was the big day. I drove to the hair stylists and got right in. She asked me what I wanted. I told her, "I just want my hair trimmed. Even up my hair and make sure that it is straight when you are done. Take a little bit off the ends so I don't have any more split ends." Those were the directions, but that was not what I ended up with. The girl got done cutting my hair. Then she showed me the mirror so I could see the back which looked fine. I drove home thinking that was pretty painless and went relatively well.

I come in the door and announce to my parents that I had gotten my haircut. My mom took a look at the back and asked me if I had told them to cut all of my hairs or just specific sections. She took me to the bathroom and pointed out many clumps of hair that did not get cut. I looked like I had given scissors to a 2 year old and told them to go at it! It was horrible! I asked my mom if she would go back with me so she could point out the horrible job they did. She didn't have time that day but she would go with me the next morning. Luckily, I didn't have to leave my house the rest of the day.

The next morning, my mom and I showed up at the hair cutters bright and early when they opened. My mom barely had to show the girl all the places that were missed the day before because she could see it right away. Luckily I got a different girl that actually knew how to cut hair. By the time I left my hair was about two inches shorter than when I had started the day before but at least I didn't look like my hair dresser was a toddler! See how traumatic it is to get a haircut! That is why I would much rather go to the dentist and have a cavity filled than get my hair cut!