Mail, Mail, and Some Good Mail!

The one thing I dread about coming home from a vacation is having to face all of the mail that has piled up during our absence, most of it being junk mail! It doesn't take long before our mailbox gets completely full, meaning that we always expect to come home to this...


After a few days of the mail sitting in the mailbox piling up and our mailman realizing that we're not home, he collects it all back up and takes it to the post office for safe keeping. We automatically know when we get home that we'll need to make a trip to the post office the next day to collect the mail, and it always ends up coming home in the big box!

Again, the box was heaping full but it had lot of treats in it for me. Lots of good mail from special blogging friends!

Jenn sent me some adorable 4th of July decorations. I love 4th of July and love all of the red, white, and blue decorations that go along with it. As a matter of fact, we went to a potluck get together yesterday and so many people commented on my festive dishes and such. Ohhhh, if they only knew! Have I mentioned before that I'm a holiday decorations junkie!?!


I received thank you cards from Natasha and Andrea, and a sweet card from Kim Sue...


And last but not least, I received a special good mail package from Cheri. It was very sweet and special because she knows 2 things about me...that I love sweet tarts and that I adore dish towels!


Thank you girls for making the painful job of sorting through 2 weeks worth of mail not so painful! It was truly appreciated!

A Wish Come True

Do you have blogging friends that you feel you are destined to meet one day? I don't know about you, but I have made friends through blogging that truly feel like family to me now. Incredible relationships have been made and it's something I think only bloggers can understand. It's hard for non-bloggers to imagine the connection that blogging brings to others, but it most certainly does. I wouldn't trade my blogging friends for anything and they truly are my friends. They are sisters of the heart!

I have one such sister of the heart that I have dreamed of meeting and I knew one day it would eventually happen. Janiece and I have been blogging friends for over a year now, meeting through her sister Darlene. Darlene and I have been able to get together a few times during my trips to Phoenix, but being that Janiece lives in Idaho, I knew this would be a little tricky and would have to be orchestrated.

In May, Janiece had a heart transplant in Salt Lake City and has been staying in Utah with her brother and his family. I knew this would be my chance to finally meet her so we drove a different route home from Colorado, going through Salt Lake City this time. When we arrived in SLC, I read a message from Darlene on Facebook saying they were now back in Idaho! Oh my gosh, my heart sank!

We decided to stay in SLC for a few days anyway, taking in some sights and even meeting up with a dear friend from CA for dinner. I was bummed to say the least about Janiece but then I got the best message ever. As it turned out, Janiece had to be back in SLC for a doctor's appointment on Thursday. It looked like we were going to be able to meet in person after all! We made plans to meet for lunch!

On our drive to the restaurant, I remember thinking how I wasn't nervous at all. Here I was meeting someone I had never met before, yet I cared and knew so much about. I was meeting a sister of the heart!

Meeting Janiece was everything and more than I had imagined, plus, I even got to meet and visit with her daughter Kira and SIL Sergio who are here from Argentina. I've seen so many photos and read about Kira and Sergio so this was a hugh treat for me. And if that weren't enough, my sweet sister of the heart Darlene was there also with her adorable little son. I tell you I hit the jackpot! I can't even begin to tell you the joy I felt being with these incredible people. It was a dream come true and I will carry around these memories for a long time to come!

In true blogging fashion, pictures had to be taken! Here is a picture of myself with my sisters of the heart, Darlene and Janiece. In front of Cafe Rio no less, another wish come true!


Not the best picture of myself but a treasure just the same. I have to ask though, what is up with all that wind in Utah!? You might as well just not brush your hair at all in the morning!


This is a picture of the beautiful newlyweds, Kira and Sergio, with Darlene's son Ham in the background...


Thank you Janiece, Darlene, Ham, Kira, and Sergio for wonderful time spent. It was a wish come true!

Photo Resolution 2010

25/52:


26/52:


27/52:


Temple Square was breathtaking. I'm so glad we took the time to see it up close and personal for ourselves. What an incredible and memorable experience!

Seeing Places We've Never Seen Before

Sadly, we left Colorado yesterday for home but we're taking our time on the road and we took another route home this time around. We've never been to Salt Lake City so we decided to drive that route and to also meet up with a few friends at the same time.

I fully intended on getting together with 2 very dear blogging friends, Janiece and Darlene (they're sisters), but I just learned they are in Idaho right now. Talk about disappointing! Janiece recently had a heart transplant and has been staying with her brother and his family here in SLC where her surgery was performed. Her sister Darlene from AZ is here visiting all of them and I was hoping to meet up with them both. Darlene and I have gotten together a few times when I've been in AZ but I've never had the chance to met Janiece. I really thought this was going to be the time but it looks like they've gone to Idaho for a few days where Janiece lives. We we're so close Janiece!

We were able to get together for dinner tonight with one of our very good camping club buddies, Donna. Donna is an attorney and took a job here in February. Her sons are in college and don't want to move, plus they would lose alot of money if they were to sell their home in CA right now. Donna's husband and sons stayed behind in CA while she is working here in SLC. They moved their RV here and she is living in it for the time being. Donna flies home every other weekend to be with the family and granted, it's not the perfect scenario, but it's working for them right now.

We went to a neat place for dinner, the Red Iguana. When we drove up, I realized it's a place I've read about in blogland and was thrilled to be able to try it out for myself. The food was delicious, but more importantly, the company was awesome!


If you've read my blog for very long you know that I am a devout Christian and am very true to my faith. I am happy to say though that today I got a glimpse of something that is very near and dear to many of my blogging friend's hearts. I got a glimpse of Temple Square! I love my LDS blogging friends dearly and I've come to love their religion because I love them! I love learning about other people's faiths and I cannot wait to visit Temple Square for myself. It's on my SLC "must do" list and hopefully tomorrow is the day! By the way, eating at Cafe Rio also made the list!

Columbine Memorial - Part II

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post Part II from the Columbine Memorial but not only am I on vacation, but I haven't felt like blogging at all. It's just one of those blogging ruts that we all go through.

As I mentioned earlier, in addition to the middle circular area where each of the 13 victims (heroes as I like to call them) were memorialized, they developed a back wall with sayings from students/parents regarding that horrific day...


Here are some amazing examples of what people said and remember about the Columbine tragedy...









You cannot leave this memorial site without feeling overwhelmed, asking yourself how something like this could have happened. We drive past this school daily and each time I imagine the horror of the day. Truthfully, it's a bit unnerving.

I'm so happy that enough money was raised to errect such a beautiful memorial in honor of those killed. The victims, their families, the school, the students, the teachers, the community...they deserve to be honored, and remembered!

Columbine Memorial - Part I

My parents live only a few miles from Columbine High School, the high school where 2 students shot and killed 12 other students and one teacher, and injured many many more on April 20, 1999. A memorial was set up on the school grounds a few years ago and each time we come to Littleton we say we want to see the memorial but never do. Today that changed, and my heart will forever be changed from seeing it.

Tucked away in the back of the school, beyond the baseball fields, and uphill a bit, is one of the most beautiful, touching, and well done memorials you will ever see.




I know the 2nd picture is difficult to read as unfortunately many of them are. Hopefully you will be able to double click on the photos to enlarge them. The picture above is of the soothing water feature that is off to your left just as you enter the memorial site.

In the center of the memorial, forming a circle, are the names of each of the 12 students and teacher that were killed that day. A marble memorial for each, with something written about them by their family, engraved in stone. A lasting tribute to each one of these heroes. Again, I'm sorry that you may not be able to read these very well but at least you will be able to see their names clearly.















As you can see in some of the photos, in addition to the individual memorials, there is a large stone back wall with markings on it. Please come back tomorrow and I'll share Part II with you.

Greetings From Colorado!

We haven't even been in Colorado for 24 hours yet we've been to Urgent Care twice already. Once for me and once for my mom.

I was sick the whole drive to Colorado and spotted an Urgent Care only a few miles away from my parent's house when we arrived. Once we dropped off Jake I headed out to see a doctor. I really enjoy the drive from CA to CO but I was so miserable I didn't enjoy any of it. We spent Sunday night in a small city in Utah and we stopped at the local medical center on the way out of town. I walked in asking for treatment and they said they couldn't fit me in. I was so upset I cried all the way back to the car. They held my ability to feel better in their hands and they turned me away. I was crushed. I knew I just needed a z-pak (Zithromycin) for an upper respiratory infection and thankfully, I got the prescription for it at the urgent Care in Colorado and already feel much improved.

We wanted to go out to lunch today and as we were headed out to the car, I watched as my mom took a spill in her driveway so off again we went to Urgent Care. As it turns out, she broke her foot and is now in the big black boot and using crutches. It brings back all too familiar and recent memories for me!

On a happy note, I had my daughter pick a number today for my 500th post giveaway. She picked #22 since today is the 22nd (and my 30th wedding anniversary by the way!), so congratulations to my fellow nurse Tauna! I'll get the monogrammed plate sent out to you Tauna as soon as we return home.

Thank you all for joining in on the giveaway fun!