No Time Traveling Today

Sorry I missed posting for a couple of weeks. The Master and I went to Los Angeles for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Swimming and Diving championships. It was a lovely week of record high temperatures for the LA area and I ate it up! Mornings working out in the hotel gym (I was so proud of Me!) and mid-mornings of lounging by the pool reading were my agenda. I'd wait for the coaches to bring the athletes back from the morning's prelims and then my cute husband and I would go for a lunch date every day! We drove around a bit and looked at local neighborhoods, houses are a favorite pass-time of mine, and we shopped at the local mall. At the end of the week our men won the conferences championships once again and all of the coaches went into the pool to celebrate! That last night, Dee started coughing. It was a rough night. We had to be up and out at 8:00 am to drive to the Long Beach Airport. On the drive there I noticed that my throat was a bit sore. By the time our flight landed in Salt Lake I just wanted to crawl into bed. Dee and I coughed, didn't sleep, and were miserable for the next week. He got it worse than I, as he tends to have things like bronchitis turn into pneumonia. The second week in, he was still coughing so hard he pulled muscles in his rib cage. I was blessed to recover and be able to take care of him but I was still so weary. Late in the second week Dee's parents arrived at our home with a moving van pulling a large trailer and all of their earthly possessions. They have moved from their home of 24 years, Puyallup, WA, and returned to Utah Valley where they once lived. It's been an ordeal for them as my Mom-in-law says, "people in their 80's should never move!" They are now nicely settled into an apartment and will look for a home in the coming months. I wish we had felt better and could have done more for them, but the kids helped and so did new neighbors. We have already enjoyed fun outings and Sunday dinners with Granni and Papa, who we haven't lived near since the year 2000.

We have been through a pretty rough last weekend. My dear brother-in-law Steve has been layed-off from yet another job. I have lost count over the years. I don't even think he and my sister know anymore. He is so skilled at what he does, and is at the point where employers would rather hire someone younger who wouldn't require as much salary. It's an economy driven job, and he got caught in a cycle of being hired, layed-off, over and over. Now he can only find contract work. It pays very well but there are no benefits. Sometimes those contracts last for months, sometimes not. He has even lived away from home for months at a time just to be able to work. The stress and worry are about to kill both of them. I don't know what to say to them anymore except that I love them and I know God does too. Through all of these unstable years they've never gone hungry or lost their home. He has always been there for them. Some health insurance and retirement would be nice though.

My 92 year old mother lives in their home. This last Saturday she suffered another mini-stroke and spent the night in the hospital. Mortality and reality have a way of smacking me in the face lately. I worry for her health and I don't want to think about life without her. She's home and happy but it sure takes a lot out of her. We have varying troubles in our own little family, among my children, ranging from need for employment or direction in life, to unfulfilled dreams and expectations. I have prayed and poured my heart out to the Lord in the last few days. They have been prayers for miracles and mercy and peace. I couldn't sleep last night. I cried a lot. I  dozed for awhile and awoke way too early with a killer headache, but I fully intended to sit down and type out another Time Travel Tuesday for my family. Then I saw what I'd be typing next in my Grandma's story and I don't need that sorrow right now. I'll save it for a Tuesday coming up.

Until then, please know that I KNOW that God lives. He knows each one of us intimately. It seems like prayers aren't heard or answered quite often lately. I cannot pretend to know why certain of us have certain trials, and why they last for years. All I know is that He is there to comfort and lift us up. The Savior bore it all for us and can calm our hearts with his perfect empathy. Don't ever give up the good fight! "The Son of Man hath descended below the all. Art thou greater than he?...There fore fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever."  Doctrine & Covenants 122:8-9

I'm holding tight to that promise

World Record Part 2.1

I finally got the photos of of my iPhone from our scavenging day!

Here are the throngs of people registering for the event that morning.

This was early-on, a few hours before start-time.

 Here is an shot of the crowd gathering outside of the Utah Valley Convention Center.

 It only got larger from here.

This is a panoramic shot I took (which explains why it is in the margins of the blog!).

It shows people just getting ready for Mayor John Curtis to give us the start signal.

One of our first tasks was to buy a can of food to donate from Smith's grocery store. Sodalicious is just down the block a bit. We sampled a yummy new soda concoction and (Rachel says she named it...I don't know...)we suggested a name for it and Instgramed to picture as required. See Mayor Curtis' head behind us? We got bonus points for every giant Curtis head we found and photographed ourselves with.

We found the Provo Fire Dept. truck on University Avenue. Click!

The next stop going south on University Ave. was the music club Velour where we performed a lip sync on stage. Glad there's no video of that! This is the amazing old pressed tin ceiling under the awning. The shelves inside are a strange mish-mash of weird stuff! I spy Joseph Smith and Brother Brigham in an amongst the pop cans and Catholic candles!

 We found a Mayor Curtis head inside too!

Rachel was our "Task Master/Passport Keeper" and kept us on track!

I sneaked a quick photo of the old Provo Tabernacle which  totally burned out in December of 2012.

It is now being lovingly restored and will become the new Provo City Center Temple in 2015!!

Blessings rising out of the ashes!

We visited the interiors of many downtown businesses. This was a funky antique store called "Cat's Cradle"

where the young ones ran up the old stairs in search of our item. I don't remember what it was!

 I want to go back to this little store and it's neighbor on West Center St. called Man in the Moon".

Shopping Centers and Malls have spoiled us.

 I urge you all to get out and explore you old downtown areas. They are full of treasures!

You read in my last post about the smashing success of the event! We will be in the next Guinness Book of World Records Folks!!

About a week later I got a message on Instagram informing me that the name we chose
 for Sodalicious' new drink was chosen as the winner!

Our prize was $100  worth of gift certificates from Sodalicious! It's a good thing they are in Provo and I am about 20 minutes away or I might have used them up already!!

I give credit to Rachel who came up with the name, I was the one who Instagramed the picture so they tagged me as the winner. I share my spoils with Team Footloose every chance I get!

                                     They have yummy sugar cookies and BIG Krispie Treats too!

Thanks Sodalicious!

Next time I post, I will tell you all about my stupid accident and strange injury I am dealing with now.

I also want to get back into the Time Travel machine and get us all caught up 

on my Granny Hamblin's life story. 

See you soon!

LA Roundup and a Championship!

When last I left you in Los Angeles, I had just tended my grandson for the evening. How lovely is it to take a trip far from home and have it be in a place where your married children can come see you?
After Diana, Nick, and Lucas went back to San Diego I spent the next few days at the swim meet with my husband. One afternoon I sat and took splits for him as his distance swimmers raced in the 1650 Freestyle. That's 1,650 yards folks. These kids are hard core! They swam it in an average of 15 minutes. I was in awe.

 One morning I read by the pool some more and sunned my poor white legs. By the week's end they were a rosier shade of white!

 

 We had a lovely lunch one day out on the back patio and watched the golfers go by.

 Coach Dee was naughty and fed the squirrels!

Then it was back to the pool every evening for finals. I was so proud of our BYU kids. The sportsmanship, team spirit, dignity, and modesty shown by them was so good to see! On the last night Diana & Nick came back up to  LA to watch finals. Lucas was a riot! We taught him how to cheer the swimmers on just like his Pa does! Fluttering arms means kick harder!

 Then Lucas wandered down the observation deck and flirted with some 

cute UC Santa Barbara blondes. They let him wear their Gauchos hat!

 

I borrowed this photo from Haley Bertoldo on Facebook.

It shows the many styles of coaching a swimmer on to go faster! From left, John and Yolanda do the flutter your arms (kick harder) move, while Tamber, Sherry, and Dee point and lean forward as if by doing so the athlete will be magically propelled onward. I asked Coach Dee once if the kids can actually see their coaches jerking and undulating on the sidelines

 and he said, having been a former swimmer himself, "Yes!"

There is always a break between the evenings' main events and the final relays so that the relays can warm up. sometimes coaches get a little giddy after a week long meet and let their guard down a bit!

 That's our little Cougar in his Gaucho hat. Good thing Pa was busy coaching and didn't see!

 There's always time for a Gramma/Lucas selfie!

 Here are the final scores before the last relays were added in. The places stayed the same though.
Our Cougars Men won the MPSF Championship!

 Our Lady Cougars took third! (We are not sure if the grandson wearing 

the Santa Barbara hat made a difference here!)

 Here are our Seniors being recognized.

It's always sad each season when we get to the last meet and we have to say goodbye to the Seniors who have worked so hard. The coaches really come to love them.

 

It's tradition for the winning team to leap into the pool after being receiving their trophy, and to pull their coaches in as well! Dee is so superstitious about this. He will not bring the extra clothes into the pool area until all is said and done. They have to stay locked up in the trunk of the car. It's a sad, soggy coach who forgets a change of clothing and has to ride back to the hotel all wet. Someone forgot dry underwear this year. I won't say who, but it wasn't Coach Dee this time!

There's my Sweetie on the far left.

The next morning we were up before the sun to get to the Long Beach Airport. After a 90 minute fight we were back in chilly Utah! At least this year we didn't come home to a fresh foot of new snow! I am looking forward to next year.It should be a good one!