Four Day Weekend!

It's finally here, our two days of State In-Service. I look forward to these days all September long. We came to Utah to spend some time with Adam and Brittany and their girls.

They are growing so fast, it's just not fair. We miss out on a lot of the fun living so far away. They are such sweethearts and I love them very, very much.

Yesterday Andie was noticing that all the other houses had pumpkins but their house had none so we decided to go find some pumpkins. Andie got all dressed up in her scarf and her "cool" boots and was so ready to go.

We went to the Pumpkin Farm to find some pumpkins we could carve into Jack-o-Lanterns for Halloween.

I couldn't help but laugh when Andie found her own little pumpkin. She was so happy she wouldn't put it in the wheel barrow. She carried it all over the field and it was a huge field.

We found four pumpkins that would be great for carving and I paid for them while Andie and Elsie took turns sitting on the old tractors. They loved it.

Then Andie found her own wheel barrow and tried to push Elsie around in it but all she managed to do was tip it over and send Elsie to the ground crying. She didn't cry long, all it took was the friendly black cat they found laying lazily on the bales of hay by the entrance. The girls loved the cat and everything was suddenly all better.

After we had found our pumpkins and had all the fun we could have at the Pumpkin Farm Adam drove us up around where a fire had burned the whole hillside above South Jordan. What a disaster. It was a miracle that only three houses were lost. I'm sure many more have smoke damage but those people are extremely lucky.

We spent the evening in Draper and when it was time for Andie and Elsie to go to bed we headed south to visit Bob's parents and sister.

This morning I went into Provo to visit an old high school friend. I had a great time reminiscing and I realized how much I've missed over the years. It was nice to renew our friendship and talk about all that has transpired over the past thirty-five years since high school. It was just such a great afternoon.

Tomorrow we're headed back to Draper to Adam and Brittany's. I'm not sure if we'll go to church with them or head home when they leave for church on Sunday. Adam wants us to stay for the football games but that puts us home awfully late.

It's late now and Bob's been snoring for more than an hour so I guess I'll try and get some sleep too. We'll see what the rest of the weekend brings. All I know for sure is that I love having these four day weekends.

Lots to Say!

Well, it's been an eventful two weeks around here. The fair came and went and as usual we went in once just to look around. I worked with Kelley and Darcy again feeding the entertainment. I really love those two women. Kelley and I have been great friends for so long now and Darcy, well, Darcy is family. They both are and that's all there is to it. This year we fed Foreigner on Thursday night and then Kenny Rodgers with The Oakridge Boys on Friday night. I made the rolls at home on Thursday and had them in there by 2:00. Everything went off without a hitch. I was tired when I got home but not any more tired than I have been the past year.

Friday I got up and mixed up three double batches of rolls and was about to start rolling them out when Kelley called and told me I had to be across the tracks by 11:00 because they were closing it off for the horse races. I grabbed the rolls, leaving a huge mess in my kitchen, and headed in to the fair.

I got there just three minutes too late and they wouldn't let me drive across. I told them I was going to have roll dough all over my car but they wouldn't budge. I even offered to bring them some but they said they had their orders. I called Kelley and she sent Cody up to the gate to help me carry the rolls across the track and then drive me back to the kitchen. I rolled them all out in less than an hour and it was nice to have the smell of them baking in there. Some of the entertainers even stole one as they came out of the oven. I know they're good, but they're especially good right out of the oven.

I didn't stay to listen to the concerts, I was just too tired. Friday night I was especially tired and told Kelley I would do the clean up and then I was going to go home after that. She told me that would be great and to go when I needed to. Her husband was there to help her pack stuff up and take home. I had told Bob that I would clean up my mess in the kitchen when I got home but when I got home I was just so tired. I told him I'd clean it up in the morning. It was such a mess, the Bosch was still soaking in the sink, there was flour out and all over the cupboard but I was just so tired I didn't care.

I got in the shower and that's about the last thing I remember. We were supposed to be in Idaho Falls at 9:00 Saturday morning for a bone marrow drive for Trevor, Krystal's two year old son. Krystal is my niece who lives in Michigan. Her little boy has some rare disease and without a bone marrow transplant, he won't make it to Christmas. it's a very sad situation. Bob woke me up at 8:00 and said he was getting in the shower and told me that I needed to get up and get ready. He knew I'd showered the night before so it wouldn't take me long to be ready to go.

I was so tired, I just wanted to sleep. I laid my head forward on the bed, begging him to let me sleep. Then I started to shake. I was convulsing and out of it but I kept telling him and Amy to let me sleep. Bob asked me what my name was and I told him Dori, but I didn't know the rest. Then he asked me when my birthday was and I didn't know. He asked me to name my grandkids and I couldn't. I kept getting mixed up. He told me to get dressed because he was taking me to the doctor. He thought that I was having a stroke.

Amy was standing at the end of the bed crying and saying that she couldn't do this again. Still all I wanted to do was sleep. Bob got me my clothes and I tried to put them on but I couldn't even do up my bra or button my shirt. I put on odd shoes but thankfully they fixed that for me too. He and Amy put me in the car and took me to the hospital. I vaguely remember getting to the emergency room because they took me in and put me in the same room Shay had been in. All I remember was thinking that this was the same bed that Shay had died in and then I don't remember anything. The next thing I remember was Bob helping me into a gown. I thought I was on my way home but it was almost 6:00 and I was in the ICU. Bob made the comment that my garment top was dirty on the sleeve but I knew it wasn't because I had put clean ones on the night before after I had showered.

When I was finally coherent enough to understand what was going on, they told me I had a severe case of pneumonia. It was then that I finally noticed what they had done to me, I had three IV's in my right arm and two in my left arm. I had a catheter, which I was not pleased about in the least. They didn't want me out of bed at all but once I convinced the nurse that I had a bladder the size of Texas and only had to go two to three times a day, she called the doctor and he okayed taking it out. What a relief!

I was also on oxygen at 6 liters. That's a lot of oxygen. Amy couldn't stay, it was just too hard on her but Bob was there with me and actually looked a little concerned from time to time. He never left, even while I slept. For a minute, I think Bob thought that I had taken too many of my pain pills but I hadn't taken any. They did some blood test in the ER to see if there was any hydrocodien in my system but there wasn't. For some reason they did another test to test for the same thing so at least Bob knew that wasn't it. Dr. Call said that when the O2 level in the body gets that low, 72% when it should be closer to 100%, that the CO2 takes over and poisons the body and sometimes they never get the patient back. Scared Bob pretty good I think. I was out most of the day and only remember bits and pieces of what happened. I have to go with what Bob told me happened.

I spent two days in ICU and then two days upstairs on the Med/Surg floor. Both Dr. Poulter and Dr. Davis came to see if there was anything they could do. I had a really nice visit with Dr. Poulter, I'm so glad I changed pain doctors. Then Dr. Davis came and withdrew the saline from my lap band and told me to come and see him in two weeks and we'd start out again slow.

I finally came home on Tuesday and was home from school that week and most of the next. I had to come home on oxygen and I hated that. Finally on Sunday, I was tired of it and just took it off and went outside to clean up the patio and back yard. I'd let it go and the kids had made a bit of a mess. My blood pressure was also very high when I left the hospital, 200 over 111. They added another blood pressure pill and put a patch on my back that continually gave me medication to lower it. By Monday when I saw Dr. McKinlay my O2 level was 93 without the oxygen and my blood pressure was 140 over 86. Much better for me. I just hated using up all of my sick leave the first month of school but I guess with what they pay me, I can afford to take a few days without pay if I have to. I still have my personal days set in stone in March for Hawaii with Cyndi and Kevin.

I guess I'm lucky to be alive. If Bob had not woke me when he did and made me get up I probably would have laid there and died in my sleep. I had also asperated in my sleep which could have killed me as well. That was what was on my garment sleeve that Bob noticed in the hospital. I didn't know that until I got home and checked my nightgown. As I think more and more about it, it really is a wake up call. I need to simplify my life, remove as much stress as I can. I've been doing some reminiscing with an old friend who was very special to me. It has helped me ponder my life and the things that are important to me. The only side effect that I have from the pneumonia besides not being able to finish a sentence because of shortness of breath, is a case of dejavu. I'm a little light headed and dizzy most of the time and I really don't like it. Hopefully it will pass as the pneumonia clears completely up.

New School Year 2010-2011

Well, it's official . . . summer is over and school is back in session. We had a great summer with lots of visits to family and friends that were both rewarding and heart warming. As the school year begins I am somewhat concerned about the direction that education is headed in. No one seems to care how well our children learn or what quality of education they are receiving. It's so frustrating to me. I love my job but with all the budget cuts in special programs, I don't know how long I will be able to continue to work with these kids the way I have for the past fourteen years. With having to see students at least three class periods each day and for a minimum of one hundred and twenty minutes each day, scheduling has become a nightmare and we have classes with twenty students in them and classes with only one student in them. It's so crazy and totally frustrating.

After lunch today I mentioned to one of our lunch ladies that I wished I was back in kindergarten when we got to take our blankies and lay on the floor while our teacher read us a story. Some of us would fall asleep and others would just listen and relax to her soothing voice. She told me she remembered having those little flower shaped cookies way back in the 50's. I asked her if they were shortbread cookies and she said they were. I told her she wasn't that much older than I was and that I went to kindergarten in 1962 so I remember those little shortbread cookies too. Such a silly thing to remember!

We had a little chuckle and as I wandered back to my classroom I recalled my kindergarten and first grade years. Thanks to Shelley Burt I have a great class picture from kindergarten. She brought it to our class reunion this summer but it was too late to put in the video I had made. I didn't even remember having the picture taken but I love it.

If we could only return to those simpler days. The days when no one worried about letting your kids walk home from school or if they were a little bit late getting home. It just meant that they had stopped off somewhere along the way to kick a rock along the curb or pick some innocent gardener's beautiful flowers. Now days, we give our kids cell phones so that we can always know where they are and track them if they are late, or heaven forbid, get lost.

We've come along way in the past fifty years or so. Technology has made things easier but also more complicated. Politicians have only seemed to blur the issues or destroyed them completely. It makes a person wonder where or when these things will ever be resolved but we all just keep on doing what we're doing and doing it the best we know how.

I'm going to make this year count. I want the students I work with to know that I care about their education and about them as a person. Some days that's not easy, but it will be written in my daily lesson plan from now on. Better input equals better output, right? I sure hope so!

High School 35 Year Class Reunion

Our class reunion was so much fun, Cheryl Harker Carrier was in charge of it and she did an awesome job. We met on Friday night and decorated the float we would be riding in the parade on Saturday morning. It was like time had stood still as classmates arrived at the meeting place. Then we all drove out to the Draper farm and laughed together until we cried.

I had all of my school pictures grades one thru six and that brought back lots of memories.

One of the highlights for me was when Jenny, my best friend in high school, arrived. We hugged and hugged and didn't want to let go and as we talked it was as if we had only been apart for twenty minutes rather than twenty years.

That night we had a really nice dinner at the high school where we got to visit some more. We had a great dinner and then watched the forty-five minute video I had made of old high school memories. It was a lot of work but so worth it in the end. I made one for each one of the graduates, it was just a really rewarding night all around.

Leaving that night, Jenny and I promised to stay in touch and told each other how much we loved our memories and appreciated the friendship, the strength and the support we had been to each other throughout our high school years. It was a very heart warming weekend. As you can tell we had a great time!

School's Out for Summer!

May finally ended and since school got out on the last day of May, Bob and I headed to Canada on June 1st just the two of us.




Pam was planning a joint Missionary Homecoming for Josh and a Missionary Farewell for Jonathon the first Sunday in June so that gave us a great reason to travel north for a week or so.


Bob and I left around noon and headed for Missoula, Montana. Not the usual way we go north but we decided to take our time and enjoy the trip. We headed up to Salmon, Idaho and over the Lost Trail Pass. It was a beautiful drive and as neither of us had ever been that way before, we had a really enjoyable ride. It was a warm sunny day until we reached the top of the pass, then we ran into a little rain.

We had discussed stopping and soaking in the hot pools along the way but when we pulled in to the one we had picked out, it was raining and the place looked pretty run down. We decided the hotel we were staying at in Missoula had a hot tub so we kept on going and arrived there around 5:00.

We checked in to the Hawthorn Suites Hotel and went down to sit in the hot tub. We were the only ones there and had a great time just relaxing and enjoying each others company. When we were totally comfortable we went upstairs to our room, showered and got ready to go find something to eat.

Since there was a basketball play-off game on we decided to get our meal to go and went back to our room and ate while we watched the game. It was so nice to do what we wanted, when we wanted to without any time schedule to have to keep up with. The next morning we got up and went down and soaked in the hot tub again and again, we were the only ones there. Then we went upstairs, showered, got all ready and went downstairs for breakfast. The hotel served a great little buffet breakfast and then since we didn't have to check out until 11:00 we went back upstairs where I had a nap while Bob watched some old movie. We checked out, picked up some KFC to have dinner with my dad and headed to Cardston to see my parents.

It was only about a five hour drive and we got there in good time. We ate dinner and visited with dad and then left to go to the Care Center to visit with my mom.

It was hard to see her the way she was. She has fallen several times and so for her safety, they have put her in a wheel chair. She gets around pretty good in it but my dad says she'll probably never come home again since she is so reliant on that chair.

You could tell that it saddens him somewhat. He knows that she will never live at home again but I could tell he didn't like having the option of taking her out for the day taken away from him. It's so hard to watch your parents grow older. Actually, not so much my dad but definitely true of my mom. My dad looks better than I have seen him look in ages. I think the responsibility of caring for mom and administering her medications for her was a lot for him to handle. He seems much more relaxed and looks years younger than he did last summer. He even keeps the house up as well, if not better, than mom ever did. It's always such a joy to visit the home I grew up in. (Although sleeping in the same bed I grew up in and on the same mattress I slept on is not always a joy. It makes my back hurt!)

Mom kept the conversation light. I think she's learned what generic questions she needs to ask to make it seem like she remembers more than she does. Bless her heart, it has got to be so hard for her. When we went to see her again the next day, she had forgotten that we had been there the day before. She thought we had just arrived, it's almost easier to agree with her than try to explain it all to her again. I just love and admire her so much.

We stayed overnight with dad Sunday night and on Monday, after visiting with mom again, we headed up to Calgary to spend the week with Cyndi and Kevin. On our way through Fort McCloud we decided to stop at the Provincial Park, Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump.








All the years we've been going to Calgary, we've never taken the time to stop there. It was AMAZING! We started out in the museum with a 15 minute video about the history behind the jump. Then we went up to the 6th floor and started the tour down to the 1st floor again.

We were only going to be there for a half an hour or so, at least that's what we had planned on and that was what I told Cyndi. Little did we know!









After what seemed like 30 or 40 minutes, Bob turned to me and asked me if I knew what time it was. I had no idea. He said we had been there for three hours and it was almost 5:00. I felt terrible because when Cyndi asked us if we could be there in time for supper we had told her we would be. Since Fort McCloud is a good two hours from Calgary, it was certain we wouldn't be.









When we finally arrived at Cyndi and Kevin's we found that they had been holding supper for us and had grilled steaks and ribs. We felt terrible but the food was still amazing as always. Cyndi is an awesome cook!

We so enjoyed just hanging out and relaxing with them and their family for the rest of the week. I know they always worry that we're going to get bored or something but I'm telling you, staying with them in their beautiful new home and with Cyndi's amazing meals, it's better than a 5 star resort, and the company is so much better too. We had an incredible time.

Sunday was a beautiful day and Pam and Ryan had to be so very proud of their boys as they both did amazing jobs in sacrament meeting. We had dinner and a little open house at the McKenzie Lake Clubhouse. It was so nice and we had a great time visiting with all of our extended family as well.

Monday morning came and we had to head for home. It's always sad to see a vacation end but it's also great to be home again. I missed our kids and our grandkids. They are so much fun and I love spending time with them.

I finally talked Bob into buying a Water Slide. We found it at Toys R Us and it's 10 ft. high and 18 ft. long with a little pool at the bottom that the kids slide into. We set it up last week and the kids had a blast in it. I'll post some picture of them in it as soon as I get a chance to.

What Can I Say?

Okay, so it's the 7th of July and I haven't written anything since March. I don't even have a good excuse. I am having a fabulous summer though so with all due respect, I need to post some of the things I've been up to.

First of all, I'd better go back to February 2nd. The day our sweet little Elsie Lane was born.

Brittany was due the end of January and although I'm sure it seemed hard for her to go past her due date, she didn't gain very much and was so tiny with little Elsie that it didn't seem like she was over at all.

Bob and I went down to Salt Lake after school one night and as we were pulling into the parking lot of their apartment complex Brittany called to see where we were. I told her we were just pulling in and when we were finally inside, visiting on the couch, I noticed that she would be quiet every so often. I asked her if she was okay and confronted her on the fact that I thought she was having labor pains. She admitted that she was and that she had been having them pretty much all day long. She said she was glad we were there because she felt certain that when Adam got home from work they would be on their way to the hospital. She said she was so glad that we came when we did instead of waiting another day or two. I was certainly glad too.

Adam got home and they got ready and headed to the hospital. Andie had warmed up to Bob and me nicely and didn't seem to mind staying with us when her parents left. I gave them strict instructions to keep us posted on how things were progressing and Adam promised he would call when they knew anything.

He called around 9:00 and said that she was dilating and progressing nicely so we should go to bed and he would call us in the morning if not sooner. So we did. Andie was a jewel and went right to sleep and slept in until around 9:00. Since Adam had called us earlier in the morning with the news of a beautiful baby girl born in the early hours of the morning, we got ready before Andie woke up so we were ready to go to the hospital when Andie was awake and fed.

True to his word, Adam was holding his beautiful baby girl when we got there. Because of all the threat of the H1N1 flu virus, little Andie wasn't allowed to go in to see her mom or her new baby sister so we didn't stay very long. We went and took Andie to have some lunch and then took her home for a nap. Adam came home to shower and spend some time with Andie so Bob and I went back to the hospital for a quick visit and a chance to hold little Elsie Lane.

Even Papa Bob got in on the baby holding action and didn't look so pained when he got to hold her. He actually looked like he was enjoying himself, which he later admitted.

Brittany's folks arrived the next day and Bob and I headed home. We both had to go to work on Monday so even though it was hard to leave, we promised to return as soon as possible.

Elsie looked just like Andie when she was born but as she has grown she has developed her own beautiful look. I have to admit that she looks more like Adam and the rest of my babies did when they were born. She is such a sweetheart and Andie just loves her. I don't know what I'd do without my Utah girls. They hold a special place in Gramma Dori's heart, as all my grandkiddies do!

Said I Would . . . but I Didn't!

I said I was going to update my blog today but unfortunately I ran out of time again. I really am so far behind here that I've got to take some time to post a few things. Being that it's St. Patrick's Day, Amy has gone out with some friends so I had Alie tonight and she wasn't very happy about getting left home so I took her and went out to visit Brooke and Kennedy while Treyson and Kade were at wrestling practice. Now she's in bed asleep and I'm exhausted. I promise to write tomorrow . . . I have so much to catch up on. Later!

Christmas Cookies

It's been a great holiday season and as it is slowly coming to a close it's fun to look back and reminisce about the fun things that we were able to do as a family. One of the things that we did was make Christmas cookies. Of course it was supposed to be all of the grandchildren coming to decorate gingerbread men and sugar cookies, but Brooke and Kade and their kids were late. Not just a few minutes late but try about three hours late. Oh well, that's Brooke!










Cyndi and Jamon's kids arrived on time and we had so much fun. Lauren and Camryn set right in to decorating the gingermen and the stars and everything else we had made. I think even little Griffen had a blast.

Alie was so much fun and thoroughly enjoyed herself while consuming spoonful after spoonful of frosting. I even have the pictures to prove it. You can tell, because she still had the frosting on her face when I took them. We had so much fun all together! Even the mess was fun to clean up . . . Now you know that we truly did have a great time!

Treyson and Kennedy got there a little, rather a lot, later but we still had an incredible time. They took right to frosting and decorating and I have to admit that they turned out awesome.

I also wanted to have them all over to make a Christmas present for their parents but we just ran out of time before Christmas Eve. I had seen these cute little picture frames that looked easy enough but none of us could find enough time to get them done. I guess we'll save that project for next year.

Merry Christmas

Where has the year gone? 2010 is fast approaching and Christmas will be here, ready or not, in just more than a week. Again we are thankful for the blessings that have been ours and the love that has been shown to us. A special thank you to those of you who have influenced us and touched our hearts this past year. We love you guys!

Brooke and Kade and their family are doing well. Kade has taken over running the farm for his dad and loves it. Brooke continues to substitute teach and take care of their family. We are blessed that they live close enough to enjoy them and their beautiful children on a regular basis. They are such a blessing in our lives.

Cyndi and Jamon are still in Blackfoot and doing well. Cyndi continues to work at The Villa doing nails which she enjoys. Jamon graduated from Idaho State University this past spring and continues to put a lot of time into his job at the radio station on campus. We are very proud of them and their beautiful family. It's always a joy to have them around.

Adam and Brittany are still living in Salt Lake with Adam attending the Art Institute of Salt Lake City. He's doing incredibly well and should graduate within the next year. He also works full time at AT&T Mobile so Brittany can stay home and take care of little Andie Mae. They are going to have a new baby girl the end of January and we are all very excited about that. Although we don't get to see them very often, we love the time we get to spend with them.

Amy and Alie are still living with us and we love having them close. Amy is doing well and substitute teaches to fill her time. Alie is as incredible as ever. She goes to preschool at the elementary school two mornings a week and to Hippo Therapy three afternoons a week. She is making good progress with her cochlear implant but is still not crazy about it. She makes more and more progress everyday. We are grateful for all of those who work so diligently with her and love her like we do. It is a challenge but we love it and we've learned to just take things one day at a time.

Bob and I are doing great. Bob is still at the site and as busy as ever. I'm still teaching 6th grade at the Blackfoot 6th Grade School and loving what I do. The older we get the more we seem to enjoy spending time together. It's a little crazy but totally awesome!

At this holiday season we feel blessed to have you, our friends and family, in our lives and want you all to know how much we love and appreciate you and your examples. We pray that this Christmas season will be joyous and your New Year filled with love and peace. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!