Room With a View and a Very Warm Welcome

Pack your bags! Have we got the weekend getaway destination for you! More fun and excitement than you'll know what to do with.

First, directions:

Drive up the hill to our street. Head south until you see this sign:

Ignore the Detour and drive right on by, as you aren't going all the way thru, just part way.

If you're coming between the hours of 7:00 am and 5:00pm, keep driving until you see this sign:

(There are actually 2 signs. I just didn't get out to take a picture until after 5:00, so they'd been moved off the road already.)

This time there will not be a "Detour" sign, but the road will now be officially closed. Ignore the sign and drive around it.

You're almost there when you see this on your left:

If you are coming after 5:00 pm and before 7:00 am, look for this sign and stay to your right:

Chances are, you won't be able to see much on your left because it will be dark most of those hours. The orange pylons are your friends. Follow them unless you want to extend your stay with a visit to the local hospital (it's very good, by the way) as well as drive either a new car or a badly damaged one home from your fun weekend. Optional towing services are available, but are not covered by this package.

Depending on the actual placement of the last 2 signs, you will most likely need to drive past a couple more houses to get to your destination. We'll try and move the company cars up as close as we can to the establishment so you can fit in the driveway because this sign is sitting right out front:

Don't ignore this sign. We haven't actually seen anyone towed, but they have come around asking if we know who owns vehicles left on the street. Also, there are several signs just like this on the street. Make sure you have the right sign in front of the right destination.

Once you are here, we have a nice comfy bed waiting for you:

It's nothing fancy, but it's warm inside and has a second bed hidden away underneath. That means you can bring a friend. This gets better by the minute! We'll do our best to make the company entertaining.


In case you're looking for a quiet, alone time, there are other activities that are sure to meet your every whim. Some of the decor has been provided by the natives- made by hand and everything:

(Good job, Steven! Not bad for a 6th grader, eh?!)

When you get tired of looking at the artwork, you may feel free to turn around and take in the view out your window:

If you hurry, there will still be snow to see as well. No guarantees after tonight, though. However, since it's after 5:00 on Friday, I can guarantee the large equipment until Monday morning at 7:00. It might even serve as your complimentary wake-up call if you choose to sleep in that late.

FYI, it's a much better view than yesterday. This bad boy was right across the street from your window until this very morning:


If you're feeling very adventurous, you can go explore the canyons that are just across the street:

Unfortunately, at this time, there are no tours or other activities allowed in the canyons. They are as deep as the long arm on the backhoe. We have mountains that are much taller than the canyons are deep just a little way beyond. As I mentioned, there may even be snow on the them to look at/enjoy in person if you hurry.

Once you're all tired out, you are welcome to return and take a luxurious nap lulled either awake or asleep by the gentle rattling motions created here:

The canyons are being created right before our very eyes. The head of that large backhoe crashes delightfully on top of those posts to drive them into the ground and create the walls of the natural wonder just outside your window. What an opportunity. It is not to be missed. (The only phenomenon we've found to be better was living in NH and they had to use dynamite when redoing the road outside of that house. Quite fun!) The canyons extend a good way south from here and are slowly working their way northwards. Their creation makes this delightful getaway pretty much inaccessible from the south, so make sure you come in from the north.

All of this can be yours for the very low (right!) price of the gas it takes to get here. Everything else is included at no extra charge to you. This is a first come/first served invitation, so don't delay. Operators are standing by.

Miracle Worker

Last fall I ran into an old friend of mine. Justine and I were friends from 4th-7th grade in northern Michigan. We lived in different towns, but were in the same small branch of the Church. Her family moved to southern Michigan and mine moved a year later to Arizona. We saw each other a couple of times while we both attended BYU, but lost contact after that. Last fall she happened to be standing in front of me in line at Parent/Teacher conferences at the middle school. We have sons the same age and in several of the same classes. I had no idea she lived in the same state, much less the same school boundaries.

We've gotten our families together twice, now. The second time being last night. My parents are visiting us, her parents live in UT, and we all got together to have dinner and catch up. It was lots of fun. It wasn't until this morning, though, that I realized she'd worked a couple of miracles last night.

The first involved Joseph. For most of Joseph's life, he has been a bit of a social enigma to me. He hated play groups and going to the park. He never wanted to go visit anyone. He was just happy to be at home doing his thing and he could make life kind of miserable for the rest of us when we did go out. I worried that he'd never have friends. To my surprise, he's been a very social and out going kid. He has lots of friends and has a couple he spends as much time with as he can. He still hates to go places and visit people, though. He'll tolerate the drive over, about 5 minutes there and then he's ready to leave. Often he's not very discreet about it , either. It's lots of fun for the rest of us.

This morning I realized that not once last night did he say anything about wanting to go home. In fact, he didn't even come upstairs from playing except to grab another cookie. I can't remember the last time that happened. He is friends with Justine's oldest son at school. I hope they hang out more often. I might actually get a chance to visit with one of my friends occasionally.

The second miracle involved me. My friend is involved with a small magazine called Segullah. It publishes essays, poems, and artwork by LDS women about twice a year. I'd never heard of it before, but I read through some of the articles this morning and enjoyed myself. I have no grand aspirations when it comes to writing, but our conversation last night reminded me that I hadn't written anything besides a family newsletter in months. I realized I missed it. That's saying something because I hated writing in high school. Somewhere along the way I've picked up the idea that writing can be fun and my brain was missing it. I've sat down to post something to the blog several times in the last couple of months, but nothing came to mind that seemed worth writing about. I blamed it on being busy or tired. This morning my head was flooded with ideas and I'm still busy and tired. Maybe it was some sort of writer's block. Maybe I was just too tired and busy from all the holiday stuff going on. Either way, it was gone this morning. Too bad I didn't sit down and write while all the ideas were flooding, because you might have something a little more interesting to read at this point. At least the ideas made an appearance. That felt nice. Maybe they'll trickle back in and I'll put them into words here. That would feel nice, too.

So thanks, Justine, for dinner, conversation, fun, and reopening a door I hadn't noticed swinging shut. I needed all four.

Love One Another

"In the enriching of marriage, the big things are the little things."

James E. Faust

I might add that little saying applies to any relationship. A smile, a hug, a sincere "How are you today?" go farther in building and maintaining relationships than anything else. Validate that someone is important and you'll change their world. Thanks to all those who make a difference for me!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Birthday, Debbie (Wherever You Are)

My mental calendar is telling me it is Debbie DeBoer's birthday. Who is Debbie DeBoer, you ask? She was my neighbor and friend in Michigan from 4th-8th grade. She was the youngest of two, which was worlds away from my being the oldest of eight. We used to have sleepovers at her house- because it was less congested there. Her mom and dad would let us set up shop in the room under the stairs,which was cool even way before Harry Potter lived in a cupboard under the stairs. I remember Debbie and I listening to Weird Al Yankovich and "doing" the Rubiks Cube by taking off all the stickers and putting them back on in order. She got to wear make-up way before I could. We ran on the track team together in Jr. High. She ran very low to the ground and was faster than I ever was. She had a "Xanadu" album and even got a little black and white tv in her very own room right before I moved away. Every time I see a box of Little Debbie's snack cakes I think of her. She was obviously one of my coolest friends!

This is one of those times I wish my mental calendar wasn't so on top of random dates. The last time I even talked to Debbie was 1984-ish. I have absolutely no idea where she is now. I tried looking her up on Facebook, but I couldn't find her. As far as I know, there is no need to remember Debbie's birthday any longer. If I had her email I would send her a note. If I had her address I would send a card, a phone number and I'd totally give her a call. I've heard that we're only six steps/links away from knowing every person in the world. So, if you know Debbie, or know someone who knows someone who knows someone, etc, who knows Debbie, tell her "Hi" for me and have her leave a comment here so I can find a better use for remembering her every April 9th. What good is remembering a friends birthday, if you don't have the friend to go along with it?!

Let's Hear it for Spontaneity

Today, out of the blue, I had a call from a friend I haven't seen in something like 5 years. She and her family lived on the street behind me in the Lehi 7th ward in Mesa. We served in Relief Society together, our kids (my sons, her daughters) were in Primary together, and Steven and M even attended Joy School together. She introduced me to Flylady and helped me gain some semblance of control in the crazy life of a young mom with young kiddos, though you wouldn't know it to see the house at this particular moment. Their family lives in UT now, as well, about 1-1/2 hours from our house. We've kept up through Christmas cards and the occasional email over the years, but haven't managed to be able to do much more than that.

So, this morning N called. Their kiddos had the day off like ours and she wondered if we minded if they drove down to see us for the day. Why not?! I had already gone visiting teaching and was contemplating giving the boys haircuts, though not really up to the "encouragement" that would be required for such a project. Her timing was perfect to save the boys from a perceived fate worse than death and me from the frustration involved. She and her kiddos arrived in the early afternoon. The kids didn't remember each other at all, but they watched a little tv and played the Wii and DS while N and I visited. It was such a nice afternoon. I'm so glad she called and was willing to make the drive. There is just something about a good friend that can make all the distance and years evaporate like the fog in the morning. Why don't we do this sort of thing more often?