100 THINGS THAT I LOVE!
100 THINGS THAT I LOVE...1)Donnie Mack 2)My kids and their spouses 3)My Grandkids! 4)the gospel 5)having the Priesthood in my Home. 6)mashed potatoes 7)soft vanilla ice cream 8)the warmth of the Sunshine! 9)The Temple 10)new fallen snow 11) babies giggling 12)watching little children play 13)soft potato rolls 14)Feeling Good! 15)Great Friends 16)Our Camping Trailer 17)sitting around the campfire with my family and friends 18)looking up at the stars 19)My Sisters 20)the sound of rain 21)that my kids all live close 22)Thanksgiving 23)Christmas 24)4-wheeling on GOOD trails 25)Family 26)playing with my grandkids 27)a Warm home in the Winter 28)a Cool home in the Summer 29)having lunch with my sisters 30)watching wildlife 31)the Mountains 32)Our lot on Skyline Mountain 33)time with my family 34)working with good people 35)washing machines 36)and dryers! 37)running water 38)electricity 39)Coconut Cream Pie 40)Chinese Food 41)fresh tomatoes on bread 42)digging in the dirt 43)planting flowers 44)vacations 45)when I feel the Spirit 46)Spring time 47)Early morning walks - when I can get my butt out of bed! 48)Girls Camp 49)the sound of laughter 50)Calls from the Grandkids 51)the sound of a newborn cry 2)having a project to work on 53)HGtv 54)Simplicity 5)getting a call at 7:30 am from my 23 year old telling me to be careful on my way to work, because the roads are slick! 56)"I LOVE YOU"s 57)Good music 58)GOOD hair days! 59)living in Highland 60)to meet new people 61)digital cameras 62)My house to be clean 63)When I remember important dates - sorry I missed your birthday LaDawn! 64)Banana Cream ANYTHING! 65)When Don cooks 66)Trips with Don ANYWHERE 67)My Bed 68)clothes that actually fit 69)Sweatshirts 70)walking barefoot thru the grass, or sand, or whatever 71)the excitement on the Grandkids faces when they see me 72)Chicken strips and fries 73)pictures of the Grandkids 74)Being a Gramma 75)The feeling I get when I am serving my Heavenly Father 76)when the laundry is DONE- it does happen sometimes! 77)Days off - ?@#* what's that? 78)how I feel when I read the Scriptures 79) Date Nights with Donnie 80)when I finish a project - I have finished 2 rugs in the past few months 81)When my kids are happy 82) being "Silly" 83)my new vacuum - it looks like "Buzz Lightyear" 84)When Donnie says "Have I told you lately that I love you? 85)making "pinky packs" with good friends -Karen and LaDawn, I won't ever forget! 86)My Father and Mother in-law - they are GREAT 87)memories of my childhood at Grandma Dodge's house 88)to go for long rides, anywhere 89)being a MOM 90)Being a Wife 91)Diet Pepsi 92)German Chocolate Cake 93)when my kids call just to see what's up? 94)the smell after it rains 95)the colors of the leaves changing in the Fall 96)crossing 'tasks' off of my 'to do' list 97)getting to have Don sit by me in church - it's only happened a few times in the past 12 years. 98)saltine crackers, mashed up, with cold milk on them 99)eating out and #100)Did I mention being a Gramma?!

Flashback Friday

Today is Friday and Haley always does a Flashback, so I thought that I'd copy her. So here goes. Today, Cheyne and I went down to Home Depot to pick up some sheet rock. While I was checking out, Cole Peck walked in. Cole is the little (younger, I should say) brother, of one of my very best friends in the world - Lari Peck Downs. He told me that Lari's daughter Dallas had just had preemie twins and that his Mother - Janis, is down in St George helping Dallas. You see, Lari passed away with breast cancer a little over two years ago. Just before we turned 50. She told me she never wanted to be 50, and she died in January, 2 months before her 50th birthday. I have been thinking about her alot this past few weeks, and what I would have done, had she not been the person she was, seeing that I desperately needed a friend, and 'acted upon it'.
Lari and I met during my Freshman year of High School.
I had just moved up to Utah during the summer and had lived in Pleasant Grove in my Grandparents (Dodge) home. I had met friends in P.G. and then my mom decided that she wanted to move to Lehi. So... I had to start all over. It's not that I hadn't moved before, but this was an extra hard move, because of my age. I was tall and skinny (believe it or not), my parents were divorced, my Mom was on state welfare, my Dad had spent half of the summer in jail for drunk driving, we had nothing tangible (we didn't even have a car for awhile) and I didn't have a whole lot of self confidence anymore. Lari was born and raised in Lehi and had a ton of friends. She was popular, not necessarily because she was gorgeous, but because of her friendly and sweet personality.

this is actually a picture of Lari and her Sister Vicki in 1974

when they were both Varsity Cheerleaders.
She was a J.V. Cheerleader at the time, and one day out of the blue, asked me if I wanted to stay and watch the J.V. football game with her. After that, it seemed like we were inseparable. We were alot alike in some ways and not so in others. One thing that we did have in common was natural curly hair. We both hated it and did everything in our reach to straighten it. We ironed it ( NO flatirons, then) with a regular iron on the ironing board, used metal baby juice cans that were huge, as rollers with 'Dippity do' and hair tape, put perm on it, without the curlers of course, and anything else we could think of to make it straight. Lari was about 5'4" and I was 5'8". My waist hit her at the armpit. So we looked kind of like 'Mutt and Jeff'. We both loved sports and played every sport that (G)irls.(A)thletic.(A)ssociation. provided for us back in the good ol' days.- We played volleyball, softball, soccer, badminton, and basketball. Lari also ran track, but that was one sport I have never been good in. She was fast! She could beat almost every boy in the school in the 50 yard dash.
We spent alot of nights sleeping at each others homes. We would watch scary movies and then be scared to death the rest of the night. We walked from her house on East Main Street in Lehi up to my house, that was on 860 N. State in Lehi, sometimes 5 or 6 times a day (or night). It was probably 2 1/2 miles. It didn't matter if it was snowing, raining, or hot as hot! Neither one of us had a bike or a car to drive when we turned 16. Alot of times we walked it bare foot, because we both hated shoes.
We slept out alot in the summer time and did alot of toilet papering and soaping houses. I started working at the Lehi Cafe and then Lari got on too. Her sister Vicki, who was a year younger than us, worked with us, too. We had alot of fun times together. I loved being in the Peck home. I always wanted to have a close family like them. The best part was, I always felt like I WAS part of their family! I married Don just before High School Graduation and had 2 kids before Lari married Drew Downs. She always said that I was alot older than her because I had 3 kids before she had Dallas. Although, we were both born in March of 1956. My birthday is the 8th and hers was the 18th. We tried to stay close, but now we didn't have a whole lot in common anymore, so it was harder. Drew and Lari had six beautiful children, Dallas, Dixon, Darci, Destry, Dalton and Dillyn. Four of them are girls - funny, Lari (Larry) always hated that she had a boys name.
I am grateful for Lari and the whole Peck family - Tony, Janis, Lari, Vicki, Cole, Clay, Liz and Megan -for what they gave me and the great example of what a family should be. Lari's funeral was unbelievable. Obviously I wasn't the only person that she made feel special! Lari, I will always Love you! Thanks for helping me see who I could be!

Twoday is Twosday !

These are our 5 'darling' grandchildren after their Easter Egg hunt on Sunday, downstairs in Papa's basement (it's warmer down there. Not much, but a little warmer than outside right now). Next year, we were told that there will be an addition to our numbers. YES! Melanie and George are expecting. Siona says she is going to have a brother and a sister. We'll see. Could be, Guys. We have all been waiting and praying for this, for quite awhile, so we are all excited!

Kamryn just turned 5 and Kendyl, Siona, and Hunter are all 2 (for now). Ryker is 8 months old. They are the joy of our lives! It is fun to watch them do the things that our kids did ....and be able to laugh this time. Hunter and Siona came up missing. When we finally noticed that they were gone, we found them in Papa and Grammas bedroom having a grand ol' time with the monies they found in the bottle. I am still finding 'monies' in every hiding place they could find.

Ryker was in the mood to pose for pictures. He is trying to get around as fast as the other kids, but just can't figure out how to move those chubby little arms and legs.

I Hate Sleepless Nights!

Okay, It is 6:57 am and I have been awake almost all night!
Just when I thought that I might be able to go to sleep (because Don had gone to work and his alarm wasn't going to be blasting every 9 minutes and I don't have to work today), the phone rings. It's 6:15 AM ! It is Brackus and Grandma fell about 5:30 this morning, cut her hand and maybe posibly broke her arm (it is all swollen). Anyway, after a few calls, I got ahold of the Hospice nurse and she said that she would go take a look at it. So, I guess I better go get ready for the day, because if she needs to be taken to the doctor or hospital, I will have to take her.
I guess, I need to get some laundry done and clean, since I haven't all week. So much for my day off! Except... I am going to lunch with my sisters, today, Virginia and Marci. I love that they live so close. We don't see each other as much as I would like, but we do get together every now and then.
Well, I just got a call from Lacey. She said that the nurse doesn't think Grandma's arm is broken and she bandaged up her cut, so I guess I don't have to go down. Maybe I will try to get something done around here before I go enjoy the rest of the afternoon with my Sisters. TA! TA!