Bye Bye Bugs...We'll miss you...

On Friday, Bugsy bit Grandma Jo (Mom) again and this time we had to take her to the shelter and have her put to sleep. I should say, I did. The boys were gone (good thing) and Scott was at work, so I had to do it. It's the second time I've had to do something like this and it is heart-wrenching. (I had to take our Boxer, Auggie, when we lived in San Diego.) I sobbed like a baby when I brought her back to the holding area and into her cage. She wasn't herself. She hasn't been herself for a few days, so it was a little easier I guess. I tried to get her to give me kisses and say goodbye but she was figit-y and disinterested. I told Scott after leaving that I can't have another pet, I hurts too much. We still have Louie and Chappy, who think life is grand now that the have the house to themselves. I think they know that something is different. We will remember Bugsy for the fun, sweet and loveable dog that she was and all the good times we had. Bye, Bugs.

I'm back!...

It has been a long time since I've blogged. I'm not sure exactly why, although I do know that I have been spending alot of time on Facebook, which I thoroughly enjoy and was considering no longer maintaining my blog. But until then (if at all),...

I am so excited for General Conference! I love to watch and listen and I always feel so sad when it is over! I love being able to "hunker down" as a friend mentioned and just hang with my family. I love seeing the guys all get dressed and go to Priesthood Session together and come home discussing the talks they've heard and "yeah, he's awesome" or "it was such a good talk"! (Although when they are gone, the house feels really empty!) I love listening to the hymns that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sings, two of my favorites being "Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing"and "Consider The Lillies" (which they usually sing in spring, so maybe they'll sing it?!) I have it blaring from every TV, Computer and radio (that I can sync) in all corners of the house. I love it! I am looking forward to being spiritually fed this weekend and am always sad, even tearful, when it is over. With that being said, sometimes there are things that come up on a Saturday that are out of our control and we have to rely on reading it in the paper or Ensign, which at least is an option, but not near the experience. So, tomorrow we will catch what we can, when we can, until the guys go to Priesthood and then full on Sunday. Oh, if only the big screen were working!...Yeah, bad timing to need a part that won't be in until Tuesday! UGH!

The boys have been participating in a great once-in-a-lifetime experience. A youth temple celebration called "Come Up To The Temple Of The Lord". Because we are living in a region where 2 new temples are being built (Draper and Oquirrh Mountain temples), a youth celebration has been planned for the end of May which includes all the youth in this region (approx. 20,000!). The youth are either singing or dancing and will perform in the Conference Center for the Prophet and church leaders in a Celebration of the opening of the these temples. (The first time it has occured since the opening of the Salt Lake Temple, amazing!) Since I'm in the Stake Young Women's Presidency, I have been able to be a part of the process of getting this HUGE undertaking in action. And it's amazing. We have groups of our Stake that are singing and dancing and meet at different building each week for practice. There will be a time closer to mid-May when we will then combine with a nearby Stake and get all the kids together for practice. Then, the dress rehearsals before the performance. I can't wait! It's going to be phenominal. And surprise, the boys (Cole and Kai) picked DANCING! Wow! (Those are my boys!) I really thought they'd go for singing (both were in school choir) but they wanted to be active, so they chose dancing. I have been able to attend each practice (as Stake YW Presidency member) and Scott (he's in the Bishopric) and it's fun to watch them. They are doing well, too. All of the kids are doing SUCH a great job, the dance is fantastic (ours is a pioneer one, although my boys wanted the HAKA!) and it's cute seeing them dancing with the girls. Ü I'll keep up on this one as it progresses.

Some things I'm looking forward to (some in the distant future and not necessarily in this order:

Seeing the Fuzzins!

Warm and dry weather

The boys outdoor sports activities (Track and Football)

A VACATION!

Being out of debt

Being shapely again...

The big screen TV working again

Trying sushi (can you believe it? I've decided to give it a shot! And am looking forward to it.)

Riding a rollercoaster (either Lagoon, Magic Mountain or Disneyland, preferably the latter two!)

Taking Scott and the boys to Philly

Attending an NFL game

Finishing the Book of Mormon by Easter

Getting our basement finished

.........

I was talking with a friend the other night and discussing our favorite movies. I LOVE movies, I just can't remember alot of details unless I've seen it a million times! We decided to break it up into decades. So, here are my faves:

1980's - "The Breakfast Club"

1990's - "Cool Runnings" (I know, I'm not really cerebral, I just enjoy good entertainment!)

2000's - I can't think of my favorite...so help me out!

What are your favorites?

"Young @ Heart" - a MUST see!

Happy New Year everyone! Yes, the **CRAB FEST** was awesome as always although we missed having several family member "regulars" there this year, it was still so fun! We played a new game this year called "Things...in a box" and it was hilarious. I highly recommend it. I think the first round was the trial run, and you have to set some group "rules" as we did, but after the first round, we got going and laughed until we were red in the face! So, if you like games, give it a try!

Last night, I started watching a movie called "Young @ Heart" that was recommended to me by my brother, Ralph. I have had it (Netflix) for about 2 weeks and had wanted the rest of the family to watch it with me, but got tired of waiting for them (Scott and Kai playing NCAA '09 and Cole checking his Facebook page) so I went ahead. Within 30 minutes, all three were watching with me. Needless to say, it was captivating, touching, sweet, sad, hilarious and will have you cheering! I couldn't help but see my mom, dad and grandparents in many of these sweet seniors and I think you will too.

The premise of the movie is this (from the jacket): "Coldplay, the Clash and Jimi Hendrix will never sound the same once you've heard the Young @ Heart chorus, a group of Massachusetts senior citizens who thrill audiences worldwide with thier unusual - - and unusually poignant - - covers of rock songs. Steven Walker's humane and heartwarming documentary, which premiered at Sundance in 2008, follows the elderly ensemble as they prepare for their new show. "

Don't let Coldplay, the Clash and Jimi Hendrix throw you off, this is a wonderful, WONDERFUL family movie and a MUST see for everyone! I'd love to hear what you think after you have seen it, so let me know!

* S n O w *

Holy cow! We haven't had much snow at all this winter, until Christmas Eve and then we got blasted! Christmas morning we had quite a bit (Scott and the boys spent a good part of the day snowblowing and shoveling neighbors driveways) and then we got MORE snow last night! (BTW, the news interviewed our neighbor, turns out that we have the most snow here than anywhere in the Valley! UGH!...it's after me! LOL!)

Here are some photos from about 10 am this morning and some random shots.


Wow! This is the step from my back french doors to the patio, you can barely see that there is a step there.
BBQ anyone?
Our front steps (taken from inside at my front window of course! BRRRRR!!!!)

Cole is snow-blowing the driveway. It took him an hour and a half JUST to do the driveway! (And he still wasn't able to get all the snow that the plows had left at the end of our driveway.)

Bugsy out in the snow.

Chappy is so mellow, he looks so cute here. I tried to get him with his eyes open but he seems to not have time for that!

Louie looks like a sleeping baby! He has one paw under his cheek...so cute!

"Did someone say the word *GO*?!" Bugsy is always ready to GO! ...potty, ...for a ride, ...play with the boys... Go is her favorite word! LOL!

I'm the Mom!...

You may have seen this. This song is HILARIOUS and remembered I had it on my computer, so I'm sharing it with you. ENJOY!

I received this survey from a friend and it made me think of my Grandpa Pieri. So, I've included a picture of him. He was the most well liked person I've ever known. He was so sweet and thoughtful, and kind and happy all the time. It's my Mom's dad, so those of you who know my Mom will know alot of her personality is from Grandpa. His name is Arturo Guiseppe Pieri, he went by Arthur, but many people called him Artie. I remember as a young girl, he would make Italian cookies called Pizzelles, they were little waffle type cookies and sell them to a local bakery. I made his pizzelles once and they were so good, I'll have to make them again. All my life I remember having pizzelles around, and wish I would have done the same for my family.

So, here is the survey. Let me know what YOU think when you read these questions, what is your Christmastime like?

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I like both..wrapping can be very theraputic...but gift bags are nice and easy when you're in a rush.

2. Real tree or Artificial? I love real trees...the smell, the look...but we have a fake tree....it's easy. My Dad ALWAYS had a real tree, it's as if it is against family tradition to have an artificial tree, I wish I were more patient with the mess!

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually the day after Thanksgiving or sometime over that weekend.

4. Do you like eggnog? I used to LOVE it as a kid, but I can only handle a sip or two now.

5. Favorite gift received as a child? I remember one year getting this great doll, she was almost as big as me. I didn't see her leaning up against the wall on the side of the tree, so Orin had to point her out to me. I was SOOOO excited! I don't think I noticed any other gifts that year!

6. Hardest person to buy for? idk

7. Easiest person to buy for? idk

8. Do you have a nativity scene? I have several. I've thought about collecting them, and keep saying I'll start next year, so maybe next year! LOL!

9. Mail or email Christmas cards? Both

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? hmmmm....is there a bad gift? I mean, hello, someone is giving you something!!

11. Favorite Christmas Movie? The original kid's Christmas movies like "How The Grinch Stole Christmas", "Rudolph", "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" (which one has the Heat Miser and Cold Miser? I love those guys! LOL!

12. When do you start shopping? Whenever

13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No

14. Favorite thing to eat at lunch on Christmas? We usually have finger foods out to snack on through the day

15. Lights on the tree? Yes, but hopefully I'll get a new tree that is pre-lit!

16. Favorite Christmas song? My favorite Christmas album is Donny Osmond's Christmas CD (I think it's out of print now, but it is SOOO good!), I love Bing Crosby and David Bowie's "Little Drummer Boy", that is a classic! I love singing the Christmas hymns at church.

17.Travel at Christmas or stay home? Home. We've talked about going away for Christmas several times, but haven't seemed to do it. We did spend one Christmas in San Diego when we lived there, Christmas Eve we spent at the beach with our friends, it was awesome, but definitely NOT our typical Utah Christmas!.

18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? "You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen..."Duh! I know the song by HEART!

19. Angel on the tree top or a star? This year it's a star.

20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? On Christmas eve (pajamas only) and the rest in the morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The commercialization of Christmas, the fact that it starts in October and the greed. (I can't believe a man was killed at WalMart because of it!) I'm sure it won't be long before it all starts after Valentine's Day!

21. Favorite ornament theme or color? Hm, that's tough. I always like the sparkly things. (Surprised?!)

22. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Just about anything, but I have to admit that having authentic Italian dishes such as Gnocchis and Chicken Cacciatore hand made by my Grandpa Pieri can't be beat! (Oh and his homemade Pizzelles and Cannolis were to DIE for!)

23. What do you want for Christmas this year? I want everyone to be happy and healthy. (That sounds trite, but it's true!)

"Twilight" Premiere!...

Ok, I HAD to take the photo off. The other girls look sooo cute, but me, that's another story. In fact, after seeing that picture, I changed my hair. Anyway, just a disclaimer.


Here we are at the Premiere, the first showing (midnight) at The District. Myself, Sandy Greenwood, Bonnie Wright and Rashelle Tolley. (I LOVE your sweatshirt Bonnie!) It was a fun evening! I was surprised at how calm it was, I thought there would be women and young girls everywhere and lots of screaming and crowds. I was pleasantly surprised that there was a nice, calm atmosphere, although you could feel the anticipation in the air! There were actually a few men there too, brave souls! I enjoyed the movie, it was very entertaining, however it wasn't as good as I had hoped. I REALLY wanted to LOOOOVE this movie. Here are my opinions, many based on my perseption from reading the book and images in my head:

*I think... well, just go see it. Decide for yourself. It was entertaining and it was great to see the book made into a movie.

Oh, and just a little statistic: for just the Midnight showing alone, the movie has grossed 7 MILLION in sales!...for JUST the MIDNIGHT showing alone! Wow!

# 29 In Action!...

Some great photos of Cole in action this football season. (Thanks Mr. Asay!)

TOUCHDOWN!

Cole and Daniel Fernandez with Cole's former teammate, Sealver Siliga who now plays for the University of Utah! This was taken after the UofU vs. Oregon State game after everyone rushed the field. Cole said it was awesome!

What a GAME!

Yes! They finally did it! Kai's team played in the Jag Bowl this season, and ended the season with a great game on Saturday. When we arrived, the coach told a few parents that there were some changes to the brackets and we were playing for either 1st or 2nd place! ("Wildcard"?) At first, it didn't really hit me, I thought "Wow, that's great. We're playing Cottonwood, so 2nd will be nice". We started off the game with a kick off return caught by our player and the Colts thought they had tackled him. He was still standing and had gotten out and ran for a touchdown! Great first play! The game continued to get better! Kai had a great game! He had an amazing 40+ yard run for a touchdown. He stripped the ball from an opponent and got 10+ yards and had an interception toward the end of the game that kept Cottonwood from scoring. By about the 3rd quarter, I realized, these boys are going to take 1st place! And they did! They won the game 21-19! It was amazing! We are so thrilled! And to add to that, the weather was perfect football weather. The air was crisp but not cold, the sun was shining and there were beautiful leaves on the ground. It was a perfect day! We are so happy and finally get to enjoy the feeling of taking 1st place in football!

Colors...

Thinking pink when I'm feeling blue

It's not very often that me, a yellow person, will feel blue but right now, I think I really do. So much sickness, sadness and sorrow.


BLUE:
Recently, my brother-in-law Carl had surgery for a benign brain tumor and had recovered well and was back in St. George in a rehab facility. Saturday night, we received a phone call that he had bleeding on the brain and they were Life Flight-ing him in that evening. They arrived at midnight and we spent hours comforting Paula and waiting to hear what the next step is. They decided that the bleeding was causing the brain to swell and causing him to be tired all the time and not very responsive. They have had him in Neuro Critical Care and have been monitoring him.


Last week I excitedly answered and invitation to join a friend's Facebook page. Upon doing so, she directed me to her blog, which the first post was titled "The Beginning of My Breast Cancer Journey". My heart sunk. This beautiful, 34 year old, happy, athletic young mother of 4 was now battling the beast. Over the last two weeks, she has gone from feeling a tiny lump, to finding out she had several malignant tumors, resulting in bi-lateral modified radical mastectomy (total removal of both breasts) surgery coming up on the 12th.


Other sad notes are; a former mission companion's husband passed away leaving 3 young daughters, a misunderstanding with a friend that makes my heart hurt, the election, it SNOWED yesterday (UGH!) and on and on...



PINK:
My dear friend with cancer is fighting with all she has. Her husband, family, friends and neighbors have all had a fast for her and many thoughts and prayers are being said on her behalf. It was proposed that the day she has her surgery; Nov. 12th, that we wear pink for her. So, if you see me in pink, you'll know why!

YELLOW:
So, for the bright side of things;
Carl is getting better. They have given him meds to reduce the swelling and he actually had therapy yesterday and is responding well. He even wiggled his toes a bit on his left leg! They sent him by ambulance back to St. George today, to the rehab center and are optimistic about his recovery. Paula is in better spirits as well, optimistic about how things are going.

Scott and I have new callings that we are VERY excited about. Scott is the Assistant Varsity Coach, which means he'll work with the 14-16 year old boys. He'll have Cole for another 18 days (Wow! I can't believe he'll be *16* in 18 days!) and Kai will come in after his 14th birthday in June (another wow!). I was called as the 2nd Counselor in the Stake Young Women's Presidency. I'm so excited! We have a wonderful Presidency and I have already felt the Spirit so strong in my setting apart and in our Presidency meetings.

Although I am generally happy and always look at the bright side, these "blue" moments are good for me to reflect. I am so blessed to have a wonderful family; my brothers and sisters and their spouses are wonderful and I am so glad that we are all close. It's pretty amazing to see a family of 6 siblings living in Philadelphia, St. George and throughout the Salt Lake Valley and with an age difference of up to 19 years, that we can all be so close and love each other as we do. We don't live really close to each other, we don't all have the same religious beliefs or the same political views, but we all respect each other and love each other and are close dispite those things. And we love and respect our parents. I don't think there are many families with those dynamics that can say those things. We are very blessed. I still have my wonderful mother with us to enjoy and 83 years old, she is still quite the character and fun to be with! I have a great husband and wonderful sons. We all are healthy and happy. I have the gospel so I know that in these upcoming years as our government changes, I can know that I have a solid rock, a foundation for my security, things that will never change. I have so many things to be thankful for that these little things that might get me down are just that; little things and they will pass.

So, on I go. This has made me feel much better. There is still sickness and sorrow but there is also HOPE! As President Monson said in our last General Conference; "Enjoy the Journey". (So, I'd better go put that laundry away so my family can enjoy their journey too! LOL!)

Halloween 2008

My handsome boy! He decided to get a mullet wig for Halloween to attend a "Fear Factor" Costume Party with his friends. As he put on the mullet, the costume started evolving..., so he went from this:

To THIS!...

(This could be a Jeff Foxworthy joke! LOL! "You might be a Redneck!"...)

It doesn't even look like KAI! We laughed so hard! Scott did a great job drawing on his tattoo, it says "MOM" with a heart and arrow. He has a Pedro mustache, eyebrows and sideburns and zits. Too funny. I should have gotten a closeup shot.

These are the party boys; A Military guy, Judge Judy, a Ninja and Redneck Joe. They had a blast!

Yeah Phillies!...

I forgot how much I liked baseball since my life has been immersed in football. (Am I a mother of boys or what?!) I remember growing up, Ralph & Orin were Phillies fans and Saturday mornings the background noise was a baseball game either on TV or on the radio. I remember once going to a Phillies game too, althought I think I was too young to understand what was going on, I just remember it was a big stadium and it was fun. Having grown up in Philly (I was almost 8 when we moved to Utah) and with Sandy & Bob still there, I still feel a connection to it. It was really great to watch. Scott turned on the TV last night, it was the top of the 8th inning. By the time I cleaned up dinner and sat down, it was the top of the nineth. It didn't take long to get back into the emotion of baseball. When it was over I wished I had watched the whole series. Oh, and by the way, Mom was thrilled! You can take the girl out of Philly, but you can't take Philly out of the girl!

We *LOVE* Brian Regan!

He is the funniest comedian we have heard and it's nothing to hear one of us break into a line or two, especially Kai who just happens to know his skits VERBATIM! Here are a few of our favorites!

Cole in action!

I love this photo. It looks so professional. (Of course, *I* didn't take it so I can't take the credit!)

Family

Kai's 8th Grade picture, isn't he handsome?
Cole before a game.

June 2008 Kai and Louie - BFF!

July 4th, 2008 - The girls; Me, Sandra & Paula (me and my sisters). I am the youngest of 6 and I love my siblings (and their spouses, of course!). In order, it is Sandra; Paula, Norman, Ralph, Orin and me. I used to think it was awful being the youngest and how much my brothers (Ralph & Orin) teased on me, but now I love it. I always have great people to look up that I love and respect and all the teasing the boys did only made me more thick skinned and I'm sure prepared me to have boys! Many times the would have me flex my arm and then they would punch me and want me to do the same to them. Like I could even make them flinch! LOL! Good times!

July 4th, 2008. Sandra, Cole, Kai and Me. Sandra came from Philadelphia to visit Paula in St. George. The boys and I drove down for the weekend to hang out (and MELT! It was SOOOOO HOT!)

Sept. 27, 2008 - Orin & Janet's boy, (my nephew) Jarin, the Rockstar! He's so cute! He has a play butterfly catcher net on his head and was jumping around slamming on his keyboard! He's a riot!

Sept. 27, 2008 Orin & Janet's baby, (my brother and sister-in-law's youngest) Jaden. He's so cute and mellow! Isn't this an adorable pic?!

Sept 27, 2008 - Cole, Scott, Me, Kai and Mom. We had just taken Mom out to dinner for her 83rd birthday at Olive Garden, her favorite. "Mange!"

July 2008 - Paula and Carl (my sister and brother-in-law). Carl just had brain surgery to remove a benign tumor in his brain. (Oct. 08). He's back in St. George and in rehab and on the mend.

Here's Mom in July 08. Nice photo, but she's always smiling, so why she didn't smile in this picture I don't know!