California

Hey everyone!

It's been a year since I've posted anything, almost. Not that nothing has happened -- I just am so lame at doing this blogging thing.

So, Lori, me and her two little girls drove to California last weekend kind of on the spur of the moment to see Natalie. It was so fun! I successfully drove the whole way, with Lori to keep me awake and on the right road. She had the hard job of keeping Brooklyn and Savannah happy with treats and movies and whatever it took for many hours in the car. But, we made it!!

We went to the beach, briefly, and to downtown LA and to the beautiful, historic, Mission Inn in Riverside. Mostly, we just hung out with Natalie. It was so nice to have a short break from winter and be warm again!!

Way to go Runners!!

I'm so proud of Greg and Heidi! They ran the Salt Lake Half Marathon today and both finished very well, at 2 hours or just under. We don't have the official race results yet, but they enjoyed the race and met their goals. The race finished at the Gateway, with tons of people cheering on the runners, wheelchair racers, marathoners and even a little kids' 1K. It was a fun atmosphere. I hope to be ready to run it next year.... any takers? Kaitlyn and Michael were there with Steve to cheer for Heidi and Greg. Seeing the first marathon runner turn the corner onto the last straightaway at 2 hours and 15 minutes was exciting. He was flying! It was a super fun morning!

WAY TO GO HEIDI AND GREG!!!

I'm so LAME!!

OK. I am the world's lamest blogger. Really. This post is in response to my niece Stephanie's urging to just "blog it, Lorraine!" So, here goes... an update!!

2009 has gotten off to a good start. We celebrated my mom's 80th birthday with a wonderful family temple session at the St. George Temple where mom and dad serve as ordinance workers. They are great examples of faithful service and love. I love them both so much and I'm so grateful to have them as my parents. We had a family dinner that evening at Chuck-a-Rama in St. George. I really enjoyed being in the temple with Jon and Greg and my siblings and showing Jon where we were married nearly 32 years ago.

Happy 80th Birthday Mom!

We welcomed a new, sweet grandchild, Savannah Berrett to our family in December, and celebrated her blessing in February. She is such a darling baby!

Brooklyn is only two years old, and is already pretty much as good with a digital camera as I am! She loves to snap pictures and most of them are good!! She is definately not intimidated by electronics. Wonder where she gets that from?!!

I've been TAGGED! 8 Things....

I've been tagged... (by my niece, Andrea Hatch)
So here goes - 8 Things -

8 Favorite TV shows:

The Biggest Loser

About any college football game, but especially BYU

Antiques Roadshow

So You think you can Dance

Rachel Ray, sometimes.

The Office, sometimes.

That's about it.. I'm not much of a TV watcher

8 Favorite Restaurants:

Bajio

Subway

Olive Garden

Costa Vida

Wendy's

Sweet Tomatoes

Mimi's

LaCosta (any Mexican)

8 things that happened yesterday:

I ran five miles - without dying!

I bottled grape juice

I cleaned up the mess from the grape juice

I went to the BYU-UNM homecoming football game

I didn't freeze at the game, due to 4 layers of clothing!

BYU won their game

I visited a fun new produce store in Orem, Sunflower Market, (thanks Lori)

I loved being outside on a crisp fall day

8 Things I Am Looking Forward To:

Going to Las Vegas with Greg in a week for a seminar

Watching Brooklyn while Lori and Todd go out of town

Spending time reading

Any time playing with my grandchildren

Stabilization of the Stock Market, the elections to be over, and Prop. 8 in California to pass

Getting some flowers planted in my yard - maybe next spring?

Trying out new recipes

Lori and Todd's baby coming in December

8 People I am Tagging: (how about 4)

Natalie

Ashley

Lori

Rhea

That's all I can think of right now..

Here's a plug for a new multi-series TV show that I found interesting: Real Famlies, Real Answers on Sunday nights, 6:30 for the next six weeks or so. I watched the second one and it was good.. It will run as a PBS special nation wide in January I think. Right now it's on KBYU, channel 11 in Utah.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JON, MICHAEL AND NATALIE

We celebrated Jon and Michael's 20th birthdays on Sunday with the family over for dinner. Natalie's 23rd birthday was this week also, but she celebrated in Idaho with her roommates. We missed her and Michael and hope that someone in Argentina wished Michael a "happy birthday". It's been a time of reflection for me, bringing back lots of happy memories of the birth of each one of our children. We are so blessed and I feel grateful for the opportunity to be a mother and now a grandmother. There is nothing like the joy that can be felt in the family. We wish Jon, Natalie and Michael a very successful and happy year.

With the assault on the traditional family, I feel especially grateful for the teachings of the gospel and the teachings of my parents. I encourage everyone who reads this to take some time to read and discuss "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" given by the First Presidency of the Church thirteen years ago. The truths stated there are more vital now than when it was given and seem to me to be critical for the success of our nation. With all the challenges that every family has, trying to model our families on this pattern is a real safeguard against forces of evil in the world.

Steve, Heidi, Michael and Kaitlyn enjoyed some lounging time.

Brooklyn found some safety glasses in her explorations of Michael's bedroom and wanted us all to wear them. So, here we are, ready for a game of racquet ball, or whatever. Shortly after we took the picture, Brooklyn walked into the wall.... good thing she had her safety glasses on!

Micheal is learning to fly! "Swing me Uncle Jon!!"

We love having the family get together whenever possible.

Go COUGARS!!

Greg and I went to the BYU-UCLA game last weekend. What a game! It seemed like every play was something not to be missed. The Cougars have a bright future this year. We will definately be keeping our hopes up for an outstanding season. I especially like the attitude of teamwork and preparation that the coaches and players emphasize. It's paying off. I am also impressed that around 40 of the players come to the player run fireside they hold the night before each game and participate in a spiritually uplifting evening. The night before the Washington game, over 1500 people were in attendance. This is a great opportunity for many young people throughout the country to get a feeling for what the mission of BYU is all about. ( not just football).. So, I'm poud to be a BYU alum. And, by the way, I don't feel bad that we beat UCLA 59-0. Good luck against Wyoming this week.

I've been to Heaven...

1. I few weeks ago we bought a used Chevy Malibu for Natalie to take to school. Todd nick-named it the "Nalibu".. It's a pretty nice little car, but was missing a hub cap. Before she left for school I wanted to find a used hubcap for it so I looked on the internet and saw lots of options, most of which were way too much money. Then I saw it. . . "Hubcap Heaven". I called them and they told me that in fact, they had three Chevy Malibu hubcaps in stock. I hoped in the Nalibu and drove to 3300 South and 1275 West, very close to where we went to test drive another old car a few weeks ago. I pulled up in front of the store, and as I walked in to their shiny showroom filled with lots of chrome wheels, the nice man behind the counter said, "he went to pull your hubcap"... not, "Hello, can I help you", or "good morning".

I asked him how he knew what I needed, and he answered, "This is Heaven!" Little did I know! Right here in south Salt Lake!

2. So, we settled Natalie, with the Nalibu, in Pocatello for her last year of graduate school at ISU. As we drove into town through the campus, we were comforted to see that nothing has changed. . . the large block "I" on the hillside is still there, looking like it's going to slide off at the first big rainstorm. Fortunately it doesn't rain often. No, seriously, Natalie was kind of excited to return to school and we even met one of her friends from her speech pathology program at Walmart with her parents. Natalie's new apartment is sweet! We never had it so nice!! We wish her the best of experiences in this school year. We will miss her here at home.

This is the clubhouse gathering room, with a small kitchen, a workout room, a tv room, and a piano practice room.

The grounds between the buildings...

Saying goodbye..

Now what do we do?

There's always laundry.. washer and dryer combo right in the apartment!!