These sisters dropped by tonight

Guests (of honor)

My cousin's son Tyler is working in Boston this summer and he and his mom are due here any minute! They have driven across the country (Denver -> Boston) in three (long) days. I haven't seen Tyler since he was about one so I'm looking forward to reconnecting and having family in town for a few months. I plan to show him some of my favorite things in New England; I hope he likes a good road trip!

Late night...

Kai'ava the rock star

This little girl just turned one. She is the most traveled one year old I think I've ever known. Everybody loves her and she's got a great little personality. I told her uncle I'd photograph him with her the next time he visited and I took these photos today during Sunday School (sorry for sluffing). Kai'ava is going to Hawaii in a few weeks for her BIG first birthday celebration. She's a rock star!

The branding of John Deere

I know John Deere makes tractors but I didn't know you could buy John Deere fabric until I was on vacation recently in the wild, wild west. This is a re-cap of a conversation I had in Wal*Mart as the young woman was cutting some pink and white striped John Deere fabric I bought to make something for a friend in Boston (who incidentally loves John Deere--and cowboys).

Me: I don't get it -- why all the John Deere fabric (there was quite a selection)?

Sales lady: Oh, people just love John Deere. My sister-in-law loves John Deere. Well, she's not really my sister-in-law but she's been with my brother for five years. She says she wants to ride down the aisle at her wedding on a John Deere tractor.

Me: [Speechless...]

Tonight I made this drawstring bag and two napkins for my dear friend who loves John Deere.

I just got back from getting some groceries. I sometimes buy People Magazine when I'm out-and-about, especially if the cover interests me. So I looked over at the magazine rack while my groceries were being rung up and the cover story was "Inside the [FLDS] cult". I grabbed a copy and tossed it on the belt with the rest of my groceries. The woman bagging my groceries was older and may have had some special needs. She looked at my magazine, looked at me, and said loudly and in the thickest Boston accent you've ever heard, "They're weird."

Darian smiles

Jodi had to earn this smile!

After a long winter...

...this is what I saw on the way to work this morning. Spring has sprung!

Lena and the Marathon

Remember my friend Lena?

She's amazing. Read her account of competing in the Salt Lake Marathon as a handcyclist last Saturday. I have high hopes that I'll be cheering for her at the Boston Marathon some day.

Way to go Lena! You are an inspiration!!

My brother's birthday

Today is also my youngest brother's birthday! I found this cute picture I took of him with his birthday cake on his 9th birthday but I can't find the power cord to my scanner so here is a recent picture of him.

Happy Birthday, Chuck!!! (The scanner is working...that's Chuck on his 9th b-day!)

Happy Birthday to two of my faithful blog readers Kristen and Rachel!!! I hope you've had fun birthdays!

My wart story

When I was 14 I had probably a dozen or so warts on my hands. One was right near the edge of my fingernail. One was on the underside of my hand near my wrist. One was in the middle of my palm. They were unsightly and I hated them. My brother Robes had some warts too (not as many as me) and he had gone to the dermatologist to have them removed. I remember him talking about the painful surgery and I remember all the treatment he had to do after (filing them down, putting medicine on them, yuck!). That summer my next door neighbors took me on vacation with them for a week in Manhattan Beach to help watch their little boy. My mom drove to Manhattan Beach and picked me up that Friday and took me to the dermatologist. The doctor looked at my hands and started to get his tools ready to do surgery to remove some of my wards. I flipped out!!! I thought he was just going to look at my warts and talk about a plan for removing them. I never expected that he'd want to do surgery that day. I remember telling my mom that I wasn't "emotionally ready" to have them removed by surgery that day. Well...Nan was furious. I even remember her saying that she had driven all the way to get me for that appointment so the doctor could treat my warts but I wouldn't budge. I insisted that I was not prepared for any kind of surgery and refused to let him do anything or touch my hands. We left the doctor's office and I remember my mom was so ticked driving home that she wouldn't even look at me or talk to me (and I think she shed some tears). When we got home she recounted the whole experience with my dad. I felt bad but I guess not bad enough to let the doctor start removing the warts that day. And then all the warts disappeared within a few months and I've never had another wart since. It was the miracle of the warts!

Kimballs

I got a strawberry kiwi sorbet kiddie cone and then asked a total stranger if I could photograph his sundae! Kimballs was a perfect ending to a perfect day. Now I need to catch up on my sleep...

Run, Geneva, Run!!!

That's my friend Geneva, behind the guy in black in the middle of the picture wearing black running pants and a red shirt. My camera crapped out (Error 99) so I only got a few far-away photos of her. I missed getting one of her dumping the diet Coke on herself that I gave her! She's a great friend and I'm so proud of her. She raised money for Mass. Eye & Ear. It was fun watching for her and cheering her on!!!

The Boston Marathon

What a great day!!! The weather was perfect (a bit better for spectators than the runners since it was sunny and warm) and there were 25,000 runners! I watched for Lance Armstrong and Katie Holmes but they were too fast and got by us without any fanfare. I waited for Davi, the wife of my former boss at MGH. She's amazing. It was so much fun and I bet there were close to 100 friends at our spot near Mile 19! [The 4th picture is my friend Emily who is an "elite runner". She is injured this year so was on the side line with us so we cheered for her brother with the blue mohawk!]

The re-enactment

My alarm went off at 4:00am and thanks to my Minuteman neighbor getting me a V.I.P. pass I had a great spot to watch the re-enactment!!

Patriot's Day -- Boston's Best Day!

Which season is this?!

This was for sale at a store in Utah...

This little girl got baptized today

It was so nice to be there to see my friend Maddie be baptized into the church. She used to live in the condo that I live in now! I got kind of teary looking around at all the good friends that were there to support Maddie and her family on this special day. I love my church community.

24/7

I think it's a good thing that not too many stores in New England are open 24/7 (L.L. Bean is a whole different story!). It adds to the charm. However, it is nice to be able to find groceries after midnight and while on vacation I was glad that Smiths was open 24/7 so I could get the ingredients for ice cream sundaes!