The Grand Canyon

Over the 4th of July weekend we went to the Grand Canyon for our 2008 Family Reunion. Each of the children is assigned to take a turn and host. This is a new plan. It will be held every-other-year. Because Jared is first born, he and Adrienne took on 2008. They did a great job.

It's beautiful at the Grand Canyon. Almost so beautiful that it looks unreal. We took in the IMAX movie and it actually made me teary-eyed as I contemplated the wonderful world we live in.
We camped at the Ten-X campground close to the park in a group area with new facilities all to ourselves. There was some rain which dropped the temperatures and so we were very comfortable.

How could we not have a marvelous time visiting one of the 7 Wonders of the World with our family?


YES! We flew in a helicopter over the canyon! Janice & Spencer


Amanda


Bob


Jared & Adrienne & Children


Sara & Dan & Children


Beth & Jeremy


Kim had a "firecracker" hair style in honor of the 4th!


California Condor (Reintroduced to the park)


The Watchtower


Junior Rangers! The grandkids who were old enough completed their assignments so they could get their Junior Ranger Badges. You can see the badges pinned to their shirts. Here they are with Ranger Brian. He did a thorough job quizzing them and looking through their books. This is serious business, folks!

Happy Birthday! (To Us)

Today is my birthday. But is is also Beth's birthday. I actually wanted to go to the movies on that date those many moons ago. Plus, my OB was out of town. So much for birthday plans and it turned out to be pretty fun to share "my" day.
When Beth was little I used to tease her about it NOT being her birthday, it was MY birthday. As we both got older I gave it to her for her own and celebrated on another day. Then for a little while we both tried to be the first one to say "Happy Birthday!"
It is kind of special to share the day. I think that if you shared your birthday with a holiday it would be harder. A lot of people would be celebrating sort of for themselves. This is just the two of you. (Or maybe more?)
But then Susan Hayward and Lena Horne had it before either of us.
My mom said that she called the doctor and told him that she was in labor and he said to come in. So she waited for my dad to come home and then she also shaved her legs. :) When they finally got to the hospital the doctor said that he thought maybe she had changed her mind because it took so long for them to arrive.
I was born at 1130 p.m. on June 30th. 8 lbs 4 oz. I think 20 inches long. My Uncle Sherrill's reported comment was, "A girl! Send her back!" He was a 17 year old teenager. I am glad they decided not to take his advise.
When I realized I was truly in labor with Beth I was disappointed because as I have already stated, I wanted to go to the movies and my doctor was out of town. I actually went into labor on June 29th and delivered at 5 + a.m. on June 30th. My desire to celebrate my birthday in a way that didn't include labor pains didn't stop her. The doctor had originally said that she was a boy because of her size. She was actually my biggest baby at 8 lbs 12 oz. I think also 20 inches long. Jared had been a bigger baby and the next two girls were smaller babies. This was a big baby. Her name was going to be Seth. (On this original post I was incorrect and said Ryan, but Sara was going to be Ryan.) I think the Beth ended up being Beth because I liked the name Seth and when he turned out to be a she then I got the closest name.
Anyway, out she came and I have not regretted it at all, of course. I used to tell her that she was my gift because she came on my birthday.
Happy Birthday, Beth! Happy Birthday to me, too!

Hotel California

Guess what I found out? My sister has a blog! I never knew. Over the last little while I have been trying to blog a little more. Several of my children have blogs. It has been fun to see pictures and read about their lives, interests, children, experiences, etc. My blog has been turning more and more into a family history type blog with older pictures and memories.

So I did the Father's Day blog and got a couple of responses. One was anonymous. I knew it had to be either my sister or brother. I didn't think that my brother read blogs or spent much time on the computer. My sister loves the computer. But still....

Well, she wrote to me about reading my blog. She had found it through reading my daughter-in-law's blog. You know how you start reading a blog and then read the blogs that they read and then read the blogs that they read.... so on and so on.
THEN she confessed that she had a blog too. I think that is fun. But she also confessed that reading my blog mad her sad some times. Well, I would NEVER want to make her sad. So I told her not to read it if it makes her sad. BUT I really would like her to read it. :)

My sister is a wonderful and giving woman. I enjoy her so much and her sense of humor. She makes me laugh more than any other person. Maybe it is the life ties that we have as sisters and growing up together? We just sort of "get" it? It is rather hard to make me laugh these days so I appreciate her ability. It's just the way she phrases and explains things. And she is very talented and has a houseful of kids (well, a lot have grown up now) who keep her running around and she works in the schools, etc.

So, I googled her and found her blog. It is called Hotel California. I had to read a while to find out why. But it has great pictures of people and now I can keep in contact with her life even more AND especially since we live so far apart.

While on a trip we stayed at the Hotel California. It was so funny because we definitely were NOT in California. I have been there and I know it wasn't California. Does California mean something in Spanish? I HAD to take a picture of the sign. And all the time we were there I kept singing out loud and in my head the "Hotel California" song. The song is sort of creepy in parts and while the hotel is not creepy, it is different from a Marriot for sure.

My sister and I both lived in California, she living there Much longer than I. But we both love the song and this is a great picture. (If you want me to send you a copy of it, I can, R.)

So Happy Friday! It's been a long week. Happy Summer! Did you know today is the first day of Summer?
I love my sister!

Engagement Picture

Now I regress a little bit.

As I have been going through pictures to organize, use for projects, facebook, and this blog I am practically living in the past. Not a bad past either, if I do say so myself.

I have been doing family "portraits" through the years and trying to do them in order. But I came across this photo and I just love it. As couples get engaged and send out wedding announcements today, they usually send a picture or two along. I really enjoy it because I like to see the couples. This month we have received a plethora of announcements and pictures. So when I found this picture it was really fun. We didn't send pictures with our announcement. And if we had this might not have been the one we sent. But actually this is probably the only picture we have of us as an engaged and not married couple.

When I look at this picture I almost don't recognize us. We really were young!

This picture was taken as we sat on the love seat in Jim and Susan's living room in South Sacramento, CA. It was 1972. Once again I remember those clothes. Wish I had those jeans now. Our colors match too and we didn't even plan it.

Family Picture 1975

In 1975 Robert and I packed up our little car and moved from California to Illinois. The reason we were moving was a transfer for Robert from working on a flight line on KC-135s and B-52s at Castle Air Force Base to teaching airframe repair in a class room at Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, IL. We spent a few months less than three years in Illinois in the middle of bean fields. It was good time.
Jared was 18 months old and Amanda was three months old when we moved. Amanda had a really nice car seat which I had hoped would help her sleep all the way across the country. From our experience when Jared got in his car seat he usually fell asleep if we drove for any length of time. I thought this would work the same way for Amanda. Little did I know that she was born an independent sleeper and she didn't sleep much if any during the three day drive in the car. She still doesn't sleep much. She nursed most of the way across the country on that trip. I was her human pacifier.
(I know! This was not safe, but it is what we did.)
Since Rantoul is only a couple of hours away from my grandparents in Terre Haute, IN, we would go down a few times each year. It was a great time for me to get to know them as an adult. I had not lived by my grandparents for almost 10 years.
This picture shows us with my Grandad, Royce Reel, at his home on Second Avenue in Terre Haute. I really cherish the thought that my grandparents held my children and talked to them. Even if the kids don't remember it, I do.
As this historical blogging goes forward I can share a few thoughts about it all.
The things I notice in this picture are: Proof that Jared sucked those two fingers. Robert's original wedding ring. He lost at least one playing softball, maybe two. My Grandad had a BIG ring. I didn't even notice it when we were visiting. I look so young with no wrinkles. Robert is so skinny. Interesting T, too, Janice. Amanda didn't have much hair and that is about as cute as clothes got for little boys in 1975.

Second Family Picture

This is 1974 and our second family picture. I think we had a little 110 pocket camera then. I do not know who took the picture for us. But I actually remember having the picture taken. And I remember that sweater! It was so stretched out, but it was so comfortable.
Isn't Jared cute? He was such a pretty baby. I began to worry right before he was born that the baby (we didn't know what gender) would be ugly. He was perfect though as all the babies were. Perfect little round heads. Perfect skin. Perfect, perfect. Up until Jared was about 2 years old people would mistake him for a girl if he had the hood up on his coat.
This picture was taken in Merced, CA in front of the little, old duplex where we lived at the time. I wish I had a picture of our side. It was a little white framed duplex located at the back of a big lot. You can see the front two houses in the background of the picture. The duplex was painted white with green trim too. Our side was the biggest with one main bedroom and a bedroom on one end that was added later. It was probably built in the 1940s or 50s. When we moved there I was pregnant and we were at our first duty assignment at Castle Air Force Base. There were lots of bugs and the landlord was not into killing things with pesticides. But I couldn't go to the bathroom in the night by myself because of the bugs. And pregnant people HAVE to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night! I was not used to apartment living and having bugs was not something I was used to either. Finally the landlord had the place bug-bombed and we were pretty much fine after that.
We also brought Jared home from the hospital (can you say Air Force Clinic) after he was born to this home. We had an old green scratchy couch and chair. They were gigantic but comfortable. I just threw a quilt over it sometimes. My mom and dad got them at Goodwill. Our television was a gold 13 inch black and white which we set on my hope chest. The kitchen was so tiny that we couldn't eat in there even though we managed to squeeze a table with both drop leaves dropped into it. The refrigerator was from the 50s I am sure. The stove was a four burner, but it was half the size of a regular stove.
Our bed sagged really bad in the middle so we just put the box springs and mattress on the floor. We had a dresser that was there from the landlord, a chest of drawers which we painted yellow for the baby, and an old oak dresser that I think my folks also got at Good Will. The only new thing in the place was the crib that my mom bought for us for Jared and my hope chest.
But you know what? We didn't mind at all. We had a place to live that we could afford on an airman's salary. We had the gospel and great visiting teachers. We were having a baby. And we were in love. What more did we need?
Don't we look happy? I think so.

P.S. I used the crib for all my babies. PLUS... we still have the dresser from the landlord. We traded the curtains we put up in the place for the dresser! Actually, Leslie has the dresser now. Many years later Robert refinished it and we put cute rose painted china knobs on it. It is great dresser. Everyone in the family has had their clothes in it except Spencer. When we got it outside to refinish we could read in the bright sunlight the words, "I hate mom" scratched inside one drawer. I guess I pushed someone too far one day. :) I also still have my hope chest.

Father's Day

Father's Day is this Sunday. This is what I read about the original Father's Day.
The idea for an official Father’s Day celebration came to a married daughter, seated in a church in Spokane, Washington, attentive to a Sunday sermon on Mother’s Day in 1910-two years after the first Mother’s Day observance in West Virginia.
The daughter was Mrs. Sonora Smart Dodd. During the sermon, which extolled maternal sacrifices made for children, Mrs. Dodd realized that in her own family it had been her father, William Jackson Smart, a Civil War veteran, who had sacrificed-raising herself and five sons alone, following the early death of his wife in childbirth. For Mrs. Dodd, the hardships her father had endured on their eastern Washington farm called to mind the unsung feats of fathers everywhere.

Her proposed local Father’s Day celebration received strong support from the town’s ministers and members of the Spokane YMCA. The date suggested for the festivities, June 5, Mrs. Dodd’s father’s birthday was three weeks away-had to be moved back to the nineteenth when ministers claimed they need extra time to prepare sermons on such a new subject as Father.

Newspapers across the country, already endorsing the need for a national Mother’s Day, carried stories about the unique Spokane observance. Interest in Father’s Day increased. Among the first notables to support Mrs. Dodd’s idea nationally was the orator and political leader William Jennings Bryan, who also backed Mother’s Day. Believing that fathers must not be slighted, he wrote to Mrs. Dodd, "too much emphasis cannot be placed upon the relation between parent and child."

Father’s Day, however, was not so quickly accepted as Mother’s Day. Members of the all-male Congress felt that a move to proclaim the day official might be interpreted as a self-congratulatory pat on the back.

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson and his family personally observed the day. And in 1924, President Calvin Coolidge recommended that states, if they wished, should hold their own Father’s Day observances. He wrote to the nation’s governors that "the widespread observance of this occasion is calculated to establish more intimate relations between fathers and their children, and also to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations."

Many people attempted to secure official recognition for Father’s Day. One of the most notable efforts was made in 1957, by Senator Margaret Chase Smith, who wrote forcefully to Congress that "Either we honor both our parents, mother and father, or let us desist from honoring either one. But to single out just one of our two parents and omit the other is the most grievous insult imaginable."

Eventually, in 1972-sixty-two years after it was proposed-Father’s Day was permanently established by President Richard Nixon. Historians seeking an ancient precedent for an official Father’s Day observance have come up with only one: The Romans, every February, honored fathers-but only those deceased.

In America today, Father’s Day is the fifth-largest card-sending occasion, with about 85 million greeting cards exchanged.

I was thinking about Father's Day this morning. Robert wants to go buy some new shirts for work. He also is probably going to buy himself a new flat screen television for the bedroom. The old TV in the bedroom is going out. The vertical hold is not working and it takes a long time to stop spinning as it warms up.
I always recognize him for being the father of my children. I try to treat him and make the day nice for him. He usually doesn't make a big deal of the day, but as he is getting older I think he worries more about what kind of a father he has been and would like to hear about it from his children.
As for my own father...this year it is very poignant to me that he has passed on. I would really like to honor him this year, even more than last year which was the year he passed away. Maybe the newness of his passing had rather numbed me in 2007.
When I was in California in May I purchased some silk flowers to put on his grave. I will add a picture when I get access to a copy. I arranged them myself. What do you think?
Anyway, I miss my dad and wish he was here to call me, tease me, and send me two cards for my birthday! :(
Make sure you tell your Dad, husband, sons, sons-in-laws, co-workers, brothers, uncles, grandfathers Happy Father's Day while you can. You will feel good about it, they will feel good about it, and it makes the day nicer for everyone.

First Family Picture

A while ago I talked about showing family pictures through the years. I hope no one minds that I do. I read a blog where the lady took all of her pictures off if they had other people in them. She said some thing about it being about privacy or people being shy about having pictures on the internet. I guess someone could "stalk" you by tracing you down through pictures? I don't know.
But I still want to do this "Family Pictures Through the Years." If do it all in one blog there will be 35 of them if I have one for every year. But I think I will do them one at a time and see if I have any memories of circumstances around the picture being taken.

This is the first Robert B. Ottley Family picture.
Taken 30 November 1972 at the door of the Oakland California Temple.
We had just been sealed for time and all eternity. It was all a pretty big whirl and I had strep throat. I do remember feeling rather overwhelmed that now I was married and hoping that I had done the right thing in marrying this man. 35 years later I don't have to ask anymore.




Look at how young!!!

Meet My Ride

With gas prices soaring we are trying to conserve cash, cars, & helping with environment along with having a little fun at the same time.
We used to drive separately even though we work for the same company and on the same street, although not in the same buildings. We have a 20 mile round trip each day.
It costs me about $60 (probably more now) each week. Bob was that much when he drove an automobile.
The MDX gets about 19.3 MPG. The Dodge Diesel Pickup gets about 19 MPG. The Jeep gets about 17 MPG.
We are now riding together as much as possible. When Robert is out of town, of course, I drive. If we have appointments offsite we will drive separately. But over all we drive together. But now that the weather is nice most of the time we are getting 50 MPG.
Here's the reason why:



People are not so surprised that Robert is riding a motorcycle. Me, on the other hand? I AM a surprise. When I walk in with my helmet (yes, we are safety conscious) and my red Sprocket jacket, I get second looks and comments. I guess I project a different image usually.

Maybe it is in my genes?



My Dad's motorcycle in the 1940s. My mom said she could not tell me that I couldn't get on the back of a motorcycle with a guy because she did the same thing.

My Own "Little House On the Prairie"

When I was born we lived in this house. No, I was not born in the house. I was born in a regular hospital -- Union Hospital.
The last time I saw the house it was being used as a storage barn for hay. That seems such a historical waste. Despite the fact that me moved from this house when I was 5 years old, I have quite a few memories of the house and surrounding area.
One thing I remember was that when my dad was taking out an old useless fireplace he found a union cap and rusted gun. Wish he had kept them.
We had dogs, cats, chickens, and pigs. My dad worked as a warehouseman during the day and farmed at night. The well was either dry or the water was not drinkable. We had bottles of water. One night I was really thirsty and could not get the cap off of the bottle to get a drink. I played outside and made mudpies to bake in the sun.
I learned to ride a two-wheeled bike out front on that hill. The Christmas I got the bike it did not snow. What a bonus for me.
Maybe I should write my own "Little House at Prairie Creek" tales for my grandchildren. Hmmm.... that would be fun for all. Maybe Dan could draw pictures?

As a side note, Robert's family lived in a log cabin when he was born. His mom went to the big city, SLC, to stay with her mother until he was born.

Oh for the good old days!

Memorial Day

I just wanted to honor those who have honorably served in the military and those who currently serve honorably in the military. Thank you for your sacrifice for the United States of America.
I wore this bracelet during high school. John Foley was killed in action and his body was never recovered. He was 20 years old. I didn't know him. But keeping this bracelet means I will not forget him and that he touched my life with his life's sacrifice.



My father served in the Navy during the time of the Korean War. He passed away in 2007.





And here are the three who have served this country and us from this generation from our family. Left to right, my brother, Walter, my brother-in-law, James, and my husband, Robert. Army, Navy, Air Force.




I wish I had something more profound to say. All I really can say to every one is Thank You. So Much. You are not forgotten.

They are growing up!

Wow! Where did the time go? These two little guys are not so little any more. Overall, they are still young, but THEY ARE TURNING 7 YEARS OLD IN 2008! Today is Taylor's 7th birthday.
And you know what it means if Taylor is turning seven, right? It means that in 6 weeks Jayme will be 7! And right on down the line they are all getting old.
Unfortunately my children are getting old too. They are getting gray hair, widow's peaks, balding, aches and pains. Did I notice a few wrinkles? Bob says all the time that he is getting old. Am I the only one staying the same age?
I have an idea to do a blog with pictures of our family down through the years and I have been collecting the pictures. Very interesting. I guess I look a little bit different.
Well, better sign off, but have a good day all you old people! Love ya.

72 Hour Kits

Lots of places are encouraging folks to put together kits to help them get through at least a three day period in times of disaster. We used our kit several times when living in Louisiana for hurricanes. Haven't so much here in Colorado, but we have been stranded at home when there have been a couple of big storms. Other people were digging their way out to the grocery store and hoping that they had TP and milk, etc.
We stayed home and played games and watched movies because we were prepared. It's a lot less stressful that way.

I found this site at Frog Pond.

Do You Want A Doughnut?

I understand that this is a true story. I don't know, but it teaches a powerful lesson.

There was a boy by the name of Steve who was attending Seminary . In
this Seminary, classes are held during school hours. Brother
Christianson taught Seminary at this particular school. He had an
open-door policy and would take in any student that had been thrown
out of another class as long as they would abide by his rules. Steve
had been kicked out of his sixth period and no other teacher wanted
him, so he went into Brother Christianson's Seminary class.

Steve was told that he could not be late, so he arrived just seconds
before the bell rang and he would sit in the very back of the room. He
would also be the first to leave after the class was over.

One day, Brother Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he
could talk with him. After class, Bro. Christianson pulled Steve aside and said, "You think you're pretty tough, don't you?"

Steve's answer was, "Yeah, I do."

Then Brother Christianson asked, "How many push-ups can you do?"

Steve said, "I do about 200 every night."

"200? That's pretty good, Steve," Brother Christianson said. "Do you think you could do 300?"

Steve replied, "I don't know... I've never done 300 at a time."

"Do you think you could?" Again asked Brother Christianson.

"Well, I can try," said Steve.

"Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I need you to do 300 in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it," Brother Christianson said. Steve said, "Well... I think I can... yeah, I can do it."

Brother Christianson said, "Good! I need you to do this on Friday."

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, Brother Christianson pulled out a big box of donuts. Now these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited-it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend.

Bro. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want a donut?"

Cynthia said, "Yes."

Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?"

Steve said, "Sure," and jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten.

Then Steve again sat in his desk. Bro. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk.

Bro. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe do you want a donut?"

Joe said, "Yes." Bro. Christianson asked, "Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?" Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut.

And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten pushups for every person before they got their donut. And down the second aisle, till Bro. Christianson came to Scott.

Scott was captain of the football team and center of the basketball team. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. Then Bro. Christianson asked, "Scott do you want a donut?"

Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own pushups?"

Bro. Christianson said, "No, Steve has to do them."

Then Scott said, "Well, I don't want one then."

Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?"

Steve started to do ten pushups. Scott said, "HEY! I said I didn't want one!"

Bro. Christianson said, "Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it." And he put a donut on Scott's desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. Bro. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry.

Bro. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?"

Jenny said, "No."

Then Bro. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?" Steve did ten, Jenny got a donut.

By now, the students were beginning to say "No" and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve was also having to really put forth a lot of effort to get these pushups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.

Bro. Christianson asked Robert to watch Steve to make sure he did ten pushups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. So Robert began to watch Steve closely. Bro. Christianson started down the fourth row.

During his class, however, some students had wandered in and sat along the heaters along the sides of the room. When Bro. Christianson realized this; he did a quick count and saw 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.

Bro. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.

Steve asked Bro. Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?"

Bro. Christianson thought for a moment, "Well, they're your pushups. You can do them any way that you want." And Bro. Christianson went on.

A few moments later, Jason came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled, "NO! Don't come in! Stay out!"

Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, "No, let him come."

Bro. Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten pushups for him."

Steve said, "Yes, let him come in."

Bro. Christianson said, "Okay, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?"

"Yes."

"Steve, will you do ten pushups so that Jason can have a donut?" Steve did ten pushups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.

Bro. Christianson finished the fourth row, then started on those seated on the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each pushup in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. Sweat was dropping off of his face and, by this time, there was not a dry eye in the room.

The very last two girls in the room were cheerleaders and very popular. Bro. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?

Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you."

Bro. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?"

Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow pushups for Linda. Then Bro. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a donut?"

Susan, with tears flowing down her face, asked, "Bro. Christianson , can I help him?"

Bro. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, he has to do it alone, Steve, would you do ten pushups so Susan can have a donut?"

As Steve very slowly finished his last pushup, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Brother Christianson turned to the room and said. "And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, plead to the Father, "Into thy hands I commend my spirit." With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, he collapsed on the cross and died. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten."

When everyone in the classroom heard what the teacher meant by it and realized everything. Steve smiled on the ground where he laid in his own sweat and began to cry.

Puppy Size

'Danielle keeps repeating it over and over again. We've been back to this animal shelter at least five times. It has been weeks now since we started all of this,' the mother told the volunteer.

'What is it she keeps asking for?' the volunteer asked.

'Puppy size!' replied the mother.

'Well, we have plenty of puppies, if that's what she's looking for.'

'I know...we have seen most of them,' the mom said in frustration...

Just then Danielle came walking into the office

'Well, did you find one?' asked her mom. 'No, not this time,' Danielle said with sadness in her voice. 'Can we come back on the weekend?'

The two women looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed.

'You never know when we will get more dogs. Unfortunately, there's always a supply,' the volunteer said.

Danielle took her mother by the hand and headed to the door. 'Don't worry, I'll find one this weekend,' she said.

Over the next few days both mom and dad had long conversations with her. They both felt she was being too particular. 'It's this weekend or we're not looking anymore,' Dad finally said in frustration.

'We don't want to hear anything more about puppy size either,' Mom added.

Sure enough, they were the first ones in the shelter on Saturday morning. By now Danielle knew her way a round, so she ran right for the section that housed the smaller dogs.

Tired of the routine, mom sat in the small waiting room at the end of the first row of cages. There was an observation window so you could see the animals during times when visitors weren't permitted.

Danielle walked slowly from cage to cage, kneeling periodically to take a closer look One by one the dogs were brought out and she held each one.

One by one she said, 'Sorry, you're not the one.'

It was the last cage on this last day in search of the perfect pup.

The volunteer opened the cage door and the child care fully picked up the dog and held it closely. This time she took a little longer.

'Mom, that's it! ?I found the right puppy! He's the one! I know it!' she screamed with joy. 'It's the puppy size!'

'But it's the same size as all the other puppies you held over the last few weeks,' Mom said.

'No not size... the sighs. When I held him in my arms, he sighed,' she said.

'Don't you remember? When I asked you one day what love is, you told me love depends on the sighs of your heart. The more you love, the bigger the sigh!'

The two women looked at each other for a moment. Mom didn't know whether to laugh or cry. As she stooped down to hug the child, she did a little of both.

'Mom, every time you hold me, I sigh. When you and Daddy come home from work and hug each other, you both sigh. I knew I would find the right puppy if it sighed when I held it in my arms,' she said.

Then holding the puppy up close to her face she said, 'Mom, he loves me. I heard the sighs of his heart!'

Close your eyes for a moment and think about the love that makes you sigh. I not only find it in the arms of my loved ones, but in the caress of a sunset, the kiss of the moonlight and the gentle brush of cool air on a hot day.

Mt. Rushmore

We went to Mt. Rushmore last weekend with our son, Jared's family. It was really nice and actually relaxing even with 6 children 6 and under. The roads were good, the weather was great.












I had been here before but when I was little, like 3 years old. I don't remember it at all like I remember the Royal Gorge. I think the Gorge must have terrified me.

Our weekend was lovely. Robert and I want to go back and ride our motorcycle there. The roads are great! Plus there is more history to see.

Growing Family

The Robert B. Ottley family - December 2007


Every year since about 2001 we have tried to get a current family picture that will last for more than a couple of months. So far we have gotten pictures but no success in having the picture stay current for any length of time. This picture is from December 2007. With no professional photographer we were still able to take a pretty good picture, I think. Aren't they all beautiful? Leslie's husband is not in the picture as he couldn't make it to Utah and Beth, who is obviously pregnant didn't have Jeremy yet. I will see if I can get a picture for each year since 2001 and add them along with some random ones from years past. You will see what I mean about staying current when you see them. This should be fun to look at and interesting to track how our family has changed. But I think I will make it another blog so that it is in the correct time frame of when I did the blog.

A People Place

A People Place

If this is not a place where tears are understood,
Where do I go to cry?
If this is not a place where my spirit can take wing,
Where do I go to fly?
If this is not a place where my questions can be asked,
Where do I go to seek?
If this is not a place where my feelings can be heard,
Where do I go to speak?
If this is not a place where you’ll accept me as I am,
Where can I go to be?
If this is not a place where I can try to learn and grow,
Where can I be just me?

William J Crockett

Whole Soul Month

Our Bishop spoke in Sacrament Meeting on Easter Sunday. He has challenged the whole ward to something he calls "Whole Soul Month." He would like all of us to do more, strive more, improve ourselves more.

He referenced Omni 1:26

26 "And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved."

It feels pretty exciting to have this challenge. We should all be doing this anyway, but it has seemed to be a LONG winter and with Spring arriving it feels like a new start. The challenge is quite appropriate for Easter -- a resurrection, sort of.

I do not know exactly what I will do more of. That is still in the planning. Taking a look at what I am doing now is first and I am doing that. It is easy to get too comfortable and not improve myself. For a while I have wanted to increase my temple attendance. That is one thing I can add to the list for my personal soul.

Activities!

I was thinking about the activities I pursue. It is pretty varied. The "lady" things I pursue like crocheting, sewing, reading, walking, shopping, growing flowers, movies, playing with grandchildren,going to museums, and plays, etc. are of course, on the list. But then I started thinking about things I do because Robert wanted to do them first.

For instance:

Jeeping!



Motorcycles!



Snowmobiling
















Skiing




















I often feel sheer terror participating in these activities. But if I want to be with Robert, and I do, I am going to be in the Jeep, on the slopes, renting my own snowmobile, and sitting on the back of the motorcycle.

AND, I get to see things like this:

Arch in Moab















Convergence of the Green and Colorado Rivers
















An abandoned mine in Colorado.
















Ride for Emily (Over 5000 bikes!)















One of the kids on a jump!




I never would have done these things on my own and see what I would have missed!
It is a beautiful world.

I have STOLEN my daughter's house slippers!

My daughter, Leslie, and her family are living with us for a while. She couldn't find her house slippers after the move. Then last week or so she found them in a box that was packed. One day she left them downstairs and I needed to have some foot wear of any kind. So I slipped them on and my feet said, "AHHH!" Since then I haven't given them back. I have kept them in my room. Of course, that is where I take them off and put them on, right. They are not prisoners or anything like that!
The other day she said, "So, you like my slippers?"
I just smiled. Then I said, "I have stolen them."
She said, "Do you remember that you bought them for me?"
I barely did.
Then she said, "So you think you are taking them back?"
My response was, "No, I stole them."
Her response was, "Don't worry, I am going to get them back."
We will see. I wonder if she can be bought off.

Now why would anyone want to wear these:

















Or These:

















When they can wear these: (They are cute, warm, and cozy!)

Starting over OR Beginning again?

I am either starting over or beginning again to post. A couple of days ago I started a Facebook page. If I can't keep up on a blog it is interesting that I would start something new. Well, actually I have started a new blog and also the Facebook page. The Facebook page is pretty fun and I think that I can link my blog entries to it and that maybe will give me one sort of "portal" or at least a reminder to post on a blog.
1. Random Thoughts is just that. I started a blog before that called "Thinking Out Loud." I lost that one and it is still there I have discovered, but I don't post there.
2. Grandma's House is a blog for an enrichment group. I have not given them the link yet. I have several tabs and hope to populate them so that people can just go there to look for grandparenting ideas (fun ones) and we won't have to meet.
3. Facebook. I started this mainly so that I can see more of what my children are doing. Amanda only posts on facebook. Leslie and Sara post on facebook. Spencer posts on facebook. Jared has a blog. Beth has a blog. They are both on facebook too.
I have a tickler that pops up on my computer at work each day telling me to blog. I usually ignore it lately. But I am thinking that I want to think of some things to blog here that are more fun. Not necessarily for any reader's entertainment but for my own. That should inspire me to blog more, right? Right.....

New Grandson

Parker Forrest Ottley was born on December 2nd about 135 p.m. He and his mom almost didn't make it. Adrienne's uterus ruptured and Parker was just in her abdominal cavity.
They are truly blessed and after Adrienne had several blood transfusions she was able to come home from the hospital on Tuesday night. Parker was transported to a hospital with an NICU and is still there but he is doing pretty well. Jaundice and not digesting food as well as they would like.
That makes 6 children for Jared and Adrienne: Taylor, Andrew, Cameron, Olivia, Sawyer, and Parker.
Parker's middle name, Forrest, is for my father who passed away this year in January.

Reindeer or Penguin

There is a group of ladies from work that I go to dinner with about once a month or so. We are all administrative assistants at the same company. It is an interesting thing to do.
Cynthia: Single, 60s, twice divorced, three adult children, three grandchildren, loud, caring, but don't cross her.
Connie: Single, 50, divorced, one adult son who lives at home. (I believe he is in college.) Connie dates alot, going to college herself, works at Mile High Stadium during football season, also caring, also do not cross her.
Susie: Married to Pat who also works at our company and travels alot. Two adult children, one grandson, knits, quilts, attends church regularly, 50s, funny, caring also. Maybe you could cross her and she would forgive you, but it wouldn't be nice.
Then there's me.
Last night we met at Cynthia's house and had dinner. I didn't mention that Cynthia is a great cook. She made this stew with butternut squash and it was SO good. Then usually we just talk. They talk more than I do. I mainly just listen. It sort of gives me a headache sometimes. I am trying to do some missionary work and be a good influence on them. I know they do some other things together. Connie and Cynthia go out sometimes to a concert or something as they are both single.
Anyway, we also exchange gifts at Christmas time. This is really all about the gift that Susie gave me.
So, I opened the gift and it was a jar filled with chocolate chips, sugar and flour, etc to make brownies. The jar was shaped like an animal. At first I thought it was a bear. Then I thought it was a penguin. So I asked Connie what she thought it was, bear or penguin. She decided that it was a penguin. But then Susie piped up and said, "No, it is a reindeer." We all just stopped talking at looked at her. Then I said to Connie and Cynthia, "Does this look like a penguin to you?" We all just started laughing except Susie who said, "Isn't it a reindeer? I thought it was a reindeer." This was hysterical. It is definitely NOT a penguin.
This morning at work we started emailing eachother and got on the topic of the "reindeer." Susie tried to change the subject but we brought it back to the fact that she thought the Bear or Penguin was a reindeer.
I told her I was going to take a picture of it and put it on my blog and ask my kids and any other readers what they thought it was.
I showed the jar to Leslie and Amanda tonight and told them it was a reindeer. Here is their reaction.
Leslie: Are you sure that's a reindeer?
Amanda: Where are its antlers?
Leslie: What are you smoking? We are just trying not to hurt your feelings.
Amanda: I think it's a bear. It's not a penguin.
Leslie: Let me look at that again.
Wait till I tell Susie that they thought she was smoking something. I think she might need to go take the drug test for work again.
What do you think?

I got my very FIRST comment!

Wow. I got a comment. How honored am I that someone commented. It was Jared. :) He suggested that I add the blogs that I like to read. I added a few. My only and still frustration is that everything is at the bottom. Whereas I could figure out how to add the links I couldn't figure out how to move where they show up.
But...WOW! I got a comment!

Giving Thanks

At October 2007 General Conference President Eyring gave a wonderful talk (when has he not?) entitled "O Remember, O Remember." He said:
"...find ways to recognize and remember God’s kindness. It will build our testimonies. You may not keep a journal. You may not share whatever record you keep with those you love and serve. But you and they will be blessed as you remember what the Lord has done."
I have always tried to keep a journal. At some times I have been better than at others. For many years I wrote every Fast Sunday. It is really fun to go back and read. Over the past 7 years that we have been in Colorado I have barely journaled at all. AND SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED IN OUR LIVES SINCE WE MOVED HERE! What a shame and loss to not capture those moments as they happened instead of in retrospect.
Writing on this blog is more writing than I have done in all that time. Earlier this year I wanted to start seriously journaling again and I wanted to find a nice smaller journal that I could carry around with me. So I paid $10 for a book size journal and have barely written on 4 pages, if that much. I am thinking that I do not like that size. But I could still use it for note taking at conference or other meetings worthy of remembering.
While in Guatemala in 2006 I kept a travel journal. I think that will be valuable in the future. I also had a journal to take notes in when Elder Ballard was here in our Stake Conference. He gave two awesome talks which I will eventually transcribe as the journal is falling apart.
My calling in Relief Society is to lead the Teachings For Our Times lesson. The Bishop or Stake Presidency chose the talks from the most recent conference for the lessons. I was SO excited that the lesson for November is President Eyring's talk. But guess what? We will be on vacation and so I will not get to teach it. But you better believe I will read it over many times. I think that I will add a copy to my journal.
I very much have a testimony of journaling for many reasons: Remembering experiences, sharing testimonies with future generations, mental health, etc. I like the Blog, but somehow it does not do the same thing for me. But it is a real time way to share thoughts with my family.
Anyway, I began this whole entry today wanting to share what I was thankful for. President Erying's talk supports my desire to "remember."
He said at the end of his talk:
"Tonight, and tomorrow night, you might pray and ponder, asking the questions: Did God send a message that was just for me? Did I see His hand in my life or the lives of my children? I will do that. And then I will find a way to preserve that memory for the day that I, and those that I love, will need to remember how much God loves us and how much we need Him."
Just a start on what I am grateful for on November 1st 2007.
1. My testimony of Jesus Christ as Savior and Redeemer of the World.
2. My membership in the true and living Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
3. My family
4. A reliable, trustworthy, hardworking husband who loves me.
5. The Book of Mormon.
6. Books in general.
7. Spring and Autumn
8. Music
9. Animals, Millie and Nikki in particular
10. Modern medicine
11. Airplanes
12. Sunrises and sunsets in Colorado
13. Cesar salad
14. Chocolate
15. Ice cream
16. Skiing (yes, there, I have admitted it.)
17. Sewing machines
18. DVD players
19. IPods
20. Email
21. Hawaii

That is a start for today. As the month goes on I will think of more.
What are you thankful for? You don't have to tell me. Just think about it.

Robert

Robert gave me an "I love you" card this morning. For no reason, except that he loves me. How sweet is that?

What did I do?

I did something to the format of my blog. I don't know what it was. I was editing a blog entry and I deleted something I shouldn't have. I am sure that is what happened. Past entries were completely unreadable. I am sad. I should go to bed and leave things well enough alone.

The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew

By Margaret Sidney

"The little old kitchen had quieted down from the bustle and confusion of midday, and now, with its afternoon manners on, presented a holiday aspect that, as the principal room in the brown house, it was eminently proper it should have. It was just on the edge of the twilight, and the little Peppers, all except Ben, the oldest of the flock, were enjoying a breathing spell, as their mother called it, which meant some quiet work suitable for the hour. All the breathing spell they could remember, however, poor things, for times were always hard with them nowadays; and since the father died when Phronsie was a baby, Mrs. Pepper had had hard work to scrape together money enough to put bread into her children's mouths and to pay the rent of the little brown house. But she had met life too bravely to be beaten down now. So with a stout heart and a cheery face, she had worked away day after day at making coats and tailoring and mending of all descriptions; and she had seen with pride that couldn't be concealed her noisy, happy brood growing up around her and filling her heart with comfort, and making the little brown house fairly ring with jollity and fun."

When I was in 6th grade we had a Christmas party in Mr. Bolger's class. Everyone had drawn a name to exchange gifts. I don't know that I remember who gave me my present. But I remember that it was wrapped in kleenex type paper with a ribbon. I wonder now what the circumstances were of the child who gave me the gift. I loved that book. It just struck a cord in me. I still have it around the house somewhere.

Reading has been such a huge part of my life. I know there are people who do not enjoy reading. Where would the world be without the majesty, mystery, and fantasy of books?

While in 1st grade I went to live with my paternal grandparents for a while as my brother was very sick. Any germs I would bring home from school were a threat to his life. In fact, I did contract the chicken pox and that could have been fatal to him. Anyway, my Grandma Dayhoff would read to me at bedtime. My father liked reading. He liked Zane Grey and Louis L'Amour. I know that my mother enjoys reading non-fiction history.

In high school with easy access to the library on campus I could read a book a day. When homework got done, I do not know. My social life was actually pretty good and I taught primary and cooked dinner but reading books was my obsession. Overall I may not have absorbedeverything that I read. But I sure enjoyed it. Reading has been my refuge many times.
Thank you little Peppers one and all. You helped me learn to love reading and what a blessing that has been in my life.

Rocktober!
The Colorado Rockies are in the World Series opposing the Boston Red Sox. So far they aren't doing too well with 0-2. They have played the first two games at Fenway Park in Boston.
We don't usually get too far into sports although when a local team does well we enjoy the fun and comradery that goes along with the game.
Our little Ottley grandsons, Taylor, Andrew, and Cameron, are convinced that the Red Sox will win the series. And they may be correct! It is fun to hear them over the phone be excited about the games and to tease them about who the winning team will be. Of course, we in Colorado want the Colorado Rockies to win! But if they don't it will all be fun to us. Maybe not to every fan, but to us.
I found that I don't really even have any purple clothes to wear to support the team. But I did go "sox-less" for two days. Get it? "No Red Sox"
Our other little grandson, Jayme, broke his arm a couple of weeks ago jumping off of a trampoline. When he finally got a cast on it he chose a blue one. Then he drew a big "Y" on it for..... BYU. He and his brother, Kyle are big sports fans and they are just little guys.
A little competition is good so long as we don't let it rule our lives.

What does this scripture mean to you?

1 Corinthians 9: 24
"Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. "

"What would you do if you knew you could not fail?" Robert Schuller

Words are very powerful. They can hurt, motivate, uplift, teach, inspire. Sarah Twiss from Church has the quote above on her emails. Quite an interesting question to ponder.

The possibilities are mind-boggling.

What do you think you would do? I know many people who have a "List of Things To Do". (One thing I need to do is find out if the punctuation goes inside the quotes or not. :)

I have been pondering making a list. As usual, I have thought of several different ways to do this. But the main type of list would be the types of things that pertain to the "what if you could not fail category." Now these are all things for my adult self, not from the beginning of my life. The goals from early in my life, I have met except two I can think of. Maybe I had better not go there. I might think of too many that I have not accomplished.

Temple marriage (check)
Children (check)



1. Learn to ski (check)
2. Live in Colorado (check)
3. Travel to England (check)
4. Write a book or so.
5. Earn a college degree. (I have not but some of my children have. Hurray!)
6. Travel to Hawaii (check. In fact, I have traveled a few places I did not plan on. For instance, I have traveled to Guatemala and Mexico. They were not on my list.)
7. Travel to Australia
8. Have some kind of sewing business; bags, children's clothing, children's quilts.
9. Retire :)
10. Go on several missions
11. Live close to my children and grandchildren
12. Read Jesus the Christ
13. Sing with the MoTab
14. Be skinny
15. Cruise to Alaska
16. Organize my family history
17. Road trip after road trip with Robert

There are probably more. Time to put on my thinking cap. These are do-able.

Oh. And why the Halloween Doggies? I love doggies and I love Halloween.

BOO!

P.S. Funny Halloween story. I was making a Halloween bib for one of my grandchildren. I wanted to embroider some Halloween words around the edge with my embroidery machine. I thought it would be cute to put the word "Boo" on the edge. I practiced at first for size and set up. As the machine was sewing I noticed that the boo words were too close together and it looked like a continuous string of the words boob.

I laughed till I cried. :)

I read this post on a blog called: Taniwa

It truly humbled me and gave words to a feeling I have had for a long time and also needed to remember.

A Long Walk

"I remember hearing a story about a missionary who lived in Central America for many years and when she was getting ready to return to America, the missions board sent out an announcement to all the churches she had ministered to that she was leaving. One day an old man arrived at her door carrying two coconuts as a thank you gift for her time with them. She was very touched by the gift but she was more concerned about the man whom she knew had had a four day walk from his village just to give her the coconuts. "Thank you so much for your gift, but what a long walk you had to have!" The old man replied, 'Long walk part of gift.'"

I have felt this message as I have lived my life. Sewing for my family, making gifts, searching for something special, cleaning house, cooking meals, doing laundry, going on a date with my husband, preparing a lesson for Church, cooking a meal for a family with a new baby or sickness, even in my employment which I didn't plan to do, but chose to do to help my husband and family. Even as I have had the feeling of importance to what I would do, I did not know how to put it into words. This story provides the words so profoundly.

I don't think I can ever look at a gift, a visit, a phone call, a letter, the same again. And I don't mean just on my part, but on the part of every person who comes through my life.

And on further contemplation, how does the Lord look at the time we take out of our so busy lives to "talk" to Him, to read His words, to serve others and thereby serve Him?

Taniwa continues...

"I say, yeah to all of us who give our time to the people around us. It is the most valuable possession we have even if no one can see it. Next time you're making something for someone and wonder why, when you have so many other things to do, remember, 'Long walk part of gift.'"

Powerful.

I am a worrier. I don't remember when I started worrying. Maybe I have worried all my life?
As a child I remember worrying that my parents would be gone when I got home from school. Totally gone.
Another childhood worry: forgetting my homework. I remember when I got over that one. I was in 11th grade and didn't have my English homework. A feeling came completely over me that was a real eye-opener. "What would the teacher do to me if I didn't have it? Fail me? Embarrass me? Send me to jail?" It wasn't like I was in the habit of forgetting my homework. (National Honor Society)
In junior highschool and highschool I worried that no one would like me. And sometimes they didn't. Highschool probably scarred me for life. :(
Once I started having kids I worried about teaching my children, keeping them safe spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Overall I had no training or education to help me do that. That worried me too. I always clung to a statement I heard once, "I know I will make lots of mistakes but overall I want my children to know that I have always loved them." I also clung to having Family Home Evening as a way to keep my children where they needed to be.
With no "Church" background to train me it was something I worried about a lot then as I continue to do now. At least now I have my own background to sustain me having developed my own testimony and experiences.
Now I worry about adult children. I realize that I cannot "own" their problems, issues, etc. I worry about their spouses and their children. I worry about their jobs. I worry about car accidents. I worry about health. I worry about their finances. I worry if they are reading their scriptures.
Other worries: Testimonies, Robert's health, my health, my mother's health, skiing, 4 wheeling, money, travel, a clean house, broken things, ALL THAT MATERIAL IN THE BASEMENT!
Do you think I need counseling? Sometimes I think I do. Other times I just tell myself to GROW UP. What is that scripture in Nephi? Lehi says something to Laman and Lemuel like, "stand up my sons, and be men."
"Men (and women) are that they might have joy." Time to look for the joy, Janice.

I just took a quiz: Which Austen heroine are you?


: A N N E ::

You are Anne Elliot of Persuasion! Let's face it, you're easily persuaded, especially when faced with choices that are or aren't 'the Elliot way.' But this doesn't mean that you don't have conviction. Actually, your sense of duty is overwhelming. And though you won't stick your neck out too often, you have learned to speak up when it counts. To boot, you know how to handle sticky situations. You love deeply and constantly.


HURRAY! Because I love Anne Elliott.

What am I doing awake at 2:00 a.m.?

Robert & I were invited to go to Puerto Vallarta with Bonnie and Kent Fairchild.
Originally I was excited, then scared, then excited. Excited to go on a trip...Pleased to be invited....Scared because we don't speak Spanish....Scared because I always get scared...Excited because after the Fairchilds arrived the day before us they sent an email with directions and then I knew it would be fun.
And it was!
No problem with Spanish as all the service people spoke alot more English than we speak Spanish.
Let's see, what other great things?
2 bedroom condo at Paradise Village was great!! Clean, cool, quiet, close to everything, modern, new.
Beach was clean, nice water (not blue) good waves for boogie boards, covered umbrellas to sit and watch the ocean and read, etc.
Beautiful settings.
Friendly people.
Church found easily and met Pres. and Sister Watkins from the Guadalajara Mission. They took us for a tour on Sunday afternoon while they were in town for meetings.
Talked ALOT about couple missions. Not just about the Guadalajara Mission, but the Ottley and Fairchild missions. (Coming up soon for both!)
Canopy tour was so fun this time! In Guatemala I was scared to death. (After giving it thought, maybe too tired, raining, heights) But this time I went on my own and it was soooo FUN!
Ate dinner in the jungle on the property where John Huston, the director, used to live. Didn't see his house. That was disappointing but the jungle at night with candles and torches was so neat.
Bonnie and Kent Fairchild, the friends we were invited by are great and we enjoyed the fabulous time together.
The pools at the resort were fun. All kinds: hot tub, lap pool, salt water pool, regular pool. Two huge crocodile slides which were accessed by a climb up a tower and across a swinging bridge.
There are always some down sides to things, but overall we really enjoyed ourselves. The trip went very smoothly. AND I got a great tan!

I received this story from a friend this morning. While I do not have a daughter named Rachel and no one has ever given me a week at a gym for my birthday, and I am not 60 years old yet, I identify with the story and laughed so hard that I cried and all of my make up is gone.

Dear Diary,

For my sixtieth birthday this year, my daughter Rachel (the
dear) purchased a week of personal training at the local health club for
me. Although I am still in great shape since being a high school
football cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try.

I called the club and made my reservations with a personal
trainer named Belinda, who identified herself as a 26-year-old aerobics
instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear. My daughter
seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me
to keep a diary to chart my progress.

MONDAY :

Started my day at 6:00 a.m. Tough to get out of bed, but found
it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Belinda
waiting for me. She is something of a Greek goddess - with blond hair,
dancing eyes and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!! Belinda gave me a
tour and showed me the machines. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in
which she conducted her aerobics class after my workout today. Very
inspiring! Belinda was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut
was already aching from holding it in the whole time she was around.
This is going to be a FANTASTIC week-!!

TUESDAY :

I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the
door. Belinda made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the
air -- then she put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the
treadmill, but I made the full mile. Belinda's rewarding smile made it
all worthwhile. I feel GREAT-!! It's a whole new life for me.

WEDNESDAY :

The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on
the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have
a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to
steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot.

Belinda was impatient with me, insisting that my screams
bothered other club members. Her voice is a little too perky for early
in the morning and when she scolds, she gets this nasally whine that is
VERY annoying. My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Belinda put
me on the stair 'monster'. Why would anyone invent a machine to
simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Belinda told me it
would help me get in shape and enjoy life. She said some other words
too.

THURSDAY :

Belinda was waiting for me with her vampire-like teeth exposed
as her thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't
help being a half an hour late, it took me that long to tie my shoes.
Belinda took me to work out with dumbbells. When she was not looking, I
ran and hid in the restroom. She sent another skinny instructor to find
me. Then, as punishment, she put me on the rowing machine -- which I
sank.

FRIDAY :

I hate that Belinda more than any human being has ever hated
any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny,
anemic, anorexic little cheerleader. If there was a part of my body I
could move without unbearable pain, I would beat her with it.

Belinda wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any
triceps! And if you don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the
barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich. The treadmill
flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why
couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir
director?

SATURDAY:

Belinda left a message on my answering machine in her grating,
shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing her
made me want to smash the machine with my planner. However, I lacked the
strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight
hours of the Weather Channel.

SUNDAY :

I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can
go and give thanks that this week is over. I will also pray that next year
my daughter Rachel , will choose a gift for me that is fun -- like a
root canal or a hysterectomy.