Liberty and Freedom~July 4th Weekend!

Taken at Church today!
Happy Liberty and Independence Weekend!

Reflecting back on our whirlwind trip to Utah it was really pretty awesome in every possible way.  The only thing that would have made it better was if Laura's family had been there too.  They were traveling in NY at the exact same time so we got lots of texts and pictures from them so it was almost like being with them too.

The drive, well you know how that is if you have ever been to Nevada.  Nevada has produced some of our most favorite people like Lee and Dave!  But that highway 80 leaves a lot to be desired where scenery is concerned.  But we need those kinds of contrasts to help us appreciate beauty when we see it.

The most interesting thing we saw was the new 80 miles per hours signs in Utah.  The jury is out on whether this is a good idea. Personally it seems it will just give license to driving even faster than 80 so I am not a fan.  We saw this right before getting to SLC.  So the 12 hours drive was only interesting and fun from the inside of the car where we talked and napped and listened to a book on tape and some music and made some plans. The best part...just being together and alone.  It is not what I would necessarily choose for my birthday activity (Nevada desert) but the carrot dangling at the end of it was our family...so it was good.

We are happy that Jen and Lowell have moved to SLC because it cut an hour off the trip. Woohoo. We arrived by design...right before dinner!  Jen had such a nice dinner prepared, balloons and our little tiny Hazie sitting on the stoop waiting for us.  Her beautiful eyes lit up when we pulled in and it was a Happy Birthday gift like no other.  I love how little kids get so excited about birthday parties.  Jen is such a great host.  She just had it all dialed in.  It was a delicious dinner and cherry pie for dessert which she knows is my favorite.

They have this amazingly wide porch so we ate out there and watched the world go by at the park near them.  It was sweet I'm telling ya, you'd love that porch.

Yep, that's me all right! (Looking like I've been in the desert for 12 hours with the "Ugly Bug" that accompanies us on car trips.  Laura and I have discussed the phenomenon for years now.  You get ready for your day like you always do.  Jump in a car and just sit there all day.  By the first stop you look like the other word for heck.)  But it is amazing what you will do for your grandkids.  I am not a hat fan which includes headbands and anything but hair on my head actually.  But the little sisters where quite excited about me wearing this so OK then.  Hazie informed me that I looked like The Statue of Liberty.  Hmm...better than a penguin, right?  But then I wasn't walking either.

Chloe lighting the candle on the pie! 
Noise makers and party toys all around.
Chloe gave me a beautiful angel wings necklace.
It has little rhinestones on the wings.
Gramma likes a little bling.
They know I love angel's wings because 
they are Hazie's transportation. 

Hazie getting ready to watch me open my present from her.  
She was pretty excited about this gift.
Her enthusiasm is always contagious.

The present from Hazie was full of lip gloss, 
peppermint and peppermint chocolate and another flavor.
She wanted to try them out!  
Have you ever played with an angel?  It is heavenly!

Publicity shots!

For "Call Your Girlfriend"

The cups are the boxes.

See the Lennon and Maisy's 

Youtube video of this song.

After dinner we had a whole lot of partying going on.  The middle girls...our very own Lennon and Maisy look alikes and sound alikes, sang me some songs from the Nashville series.  It was so tender because I love Lennon and Maisy's voices and our precious impersonators. We recorded it and it was great.  However we are waiting for our family reunion to do it up right before sharing.  The big sisters sang some songs while I toured their bedroom with all its Beyond 5 and One Direction posters, their incredible art work and other fun teen girls' treasures. 

 Piper and Julia both play the guitar but Piper accompanied Julia some while she sang.  Piper is really good on the guitar and seems so at ease with it.  She has been writing some songs.  She is shy about singing in front of people (I relate) and doesn't like a lot of pictures (ditto on relating...I've only gotten over it since I started doing family history again four years ago.)  So I am adding one picture of her in from last year that I love.  

They are so much fun and I thought to myself how generous Heavenly Father has been to give me two daughters, one daughter-in-law and five granddaughters to fill in for the sisters I never had.  

To top it all off, Julia gave me a lengthy foot massage which has been her specialty since she was 5 and had her own company called "Julia's Happy Feet Day Spa."  She has made my feet happy for years.  She just keeps getting better at it too.  When all the adults went to bed the girls and I stayed up a while longer and just spent time together.  Cherished birthday memories for me that's for sure. I felt wrapped in a hug all day long.  (Facebook friends thank you for overwhelming me all day long with your kindness.)  

Precious girls!

Julia, Chloe Piper and Little Piper~Miss Hazie Jo

The sweetest girls, I love them all to the moon and back.

Thank you Jen and Lowell for always welcoming us with open arms and making it special to be with you.  We love you all.  Glad we are coming back for more soon.  You are so generous. Loved my Williams and Sonoma bag and my party.  Grazie and Ciao for a few weeks.

Take Me Out to The Ball Game

http://youtu.be/qscED3psy_U

Tuesday was the San Francisco Giant's Baseball Game extravaganza when the kids were here.  During the morning we all just relaxed and played and enjoyed each other.  The main event was a night game but the family was taking BART (the train) into San Francisco.  So that meant leaving around 4:30 PM. 

I was planning on going to work around 2:00 as I was doing a lesson and I didn't feel comfortable being gone for many many hours on public transportation with my b/p acting up.  Jim's mom was able to go with them so that was nice for the family. 

So we all headed out in different directions in the afternoon.  Here is our true confession.  Our family is not really that into sports.  It has been decades since Jim and I went to a Giants game.  We use to love to go to Candlestick Park when we lived in San Francisco as newlyweds.  I think we went on my birthday for the first few years, huddled under a blanket and ate hots dogs.  It was a fun event then and we usually also went out to dinner before the game at a place called Tad's Steak House downtown.  Living in SF was thrilling all the time.  I'd go back there in a minute to a flat if we could keep our cottage as an alternate country home.  Now that is dreaming big!

At the ball game in the old days, you chatted with those around you and enjoyed the experience.  We knew all the players and had the sense they were "Our Team"  That was back in the Willie Mays days.  Since then we kind of lost track of all of that in the mix of life.  So Jim was excited to go back again.  Of course now there is the new ATandT stadium.

 Google Image

I  have not been inside the stadium but Jim relayed it is very nice.  I think I would just love to be able to sit out there in the middle of San Francisco like that.  I love how they have incorporated it right into the hub and heart The City by demolishing old structures and making the space useful again.  In a few generations it will seem like it was always there like many of the other professional sports arenas and stadiums throughout the country.

The family taking BART to the game.  It was not crowded going over but coming home they had to stand most of the way.  BART is fun to ride on if you don't linger on the idea that it tunnels under a mountain and passes underwater across the bay in a  tube from Oakland to San Francisco.  It is less expensive than driving and parking and more convenient and no traffic jams.  So hey, it all good!  They have replaced the old seats recently and it looks nicer than it use to so that is great to see.

These giant sculptures are SF's take on cool art and my brother assures me they are pretty spectacular as I sit here trying to write this post alone in the house, about a place I have never been and an event I didn't attend.  Steve reports that these are out near a really nice play area that have constructed for kids.  He said the coke bottle is undoubtedly a sponsorship contribution and the mitt is just old looking and funky and makes the park that much better.  They can be seen from everywhere in the park.  And if you are seated in the bleaches they are behind you. 

Here are the eager spectators, early and ready for the festivities.  Baseball games are not just baseball games anymore but multimedia extravaganzas.  A lot of time and money goes into making sure there is never a dull moment as there often can be if you are just left dependent upon the game itself.  You know the routine...three up three down at the top and bottom of many innings.

This game was not won by the Giants but Jim assured me there were some very exciting moments.  They were playing the Mets and there has always been some natural rivalry with them because the San Fransisco Giants use to be NewYork Giants back in the day.  But alas, they didn't play like the World Champions they are currently....so they lost!

Chris and Missy just two of the 41,000

 in attendance which is considered a sell out crowd.

I think they were happy they had

 selected this activity for their vacation.

They all seemed to have had a great time and didn't

 arrive back home until way past midnight.  

There was one really historic thing that happened in this game which you can see in the video link below.

The Giants have a brand new Japanese rookie on the team and that night was his first ever game in the big leagues.  That night is one he will never forget for a lot of reasons...check it out...After the moment in the video he got up to bat and got a hit his first time up.  He got a standing ovation from the crowd!  You don't see that very often...41,000 people unified in thought and honoring one individual for an exemplary first game in the major leagues.

This is all about Kensuke Tanaka, an up and coming baseball phenomenon it seems from day one!  Just listening to and watching this 31 second video clip brings back so many memories of my Dad who loved baseball and often listened to it on the radio and on TV.

The sounds of baseball never changes even though most of the other things have.  It is not just peanuts and popcorn and Cracker Jacks and beer anymore.  There are gourmet restaurants and concessions and even the hot dogs got fancy with a price tag of $7:00!

But if I had been there I would have gotten one because the only place hot dogs rock is in a ball park at a night game!  Then they are worth every cent of whatever they charge.  Somethings are just so American, Mom and Apple Pie and all the rest of it...and that is simply one of them!  See if this 31 seconds brings you back to the good ole days!  Be patient it takes awhile to load...enjoy!

http://youtu.be/aRchwB2qarU

86 Degrees Downtown Today...

One day it's pouring and the fireplace is blazing, the next it's 86 degrees. Gotta love the unpredictability! Today was divine!

One time when Laura was living in Mississippi, a stone's throw from the Gulf, she commented that she finally understood why people 'talked about the weather' because it can really affect you. It was 2005 the year of Katrina...so, yes it surely can!

The funny part about that is that we live in such a fantastic climate that we rarely even think about the weather, let alone talk about it. We have no snow, no tornadoes or hurricanes, no summer rain, and usually no more than 3 hot days in a row before the ocean fog rolls in and cools everything off. It is a paradise really in the weather department. Our weather can be summed up in a few sentences. Sunny and nice most of the time with very little bothersome humidity. Rainy during the winter 3 month off and on with moderate temperatures and a little damp when it does get cold. Cold for us is the low 40s high 30s. That's it. Not much to incite a conversation.

But this year it has been the topic of conversation everywhere you go. It has been six months of very unpredictable rain with odd bits of sun now and then.

But the one thing that is not unpredictable is that in just one month, I will be looking forward to some great, little, thoughtful surprises from my hubby. As an example, he prepared the yummy lunch in the photo above for us today. It consisted of white grape juice, asiago and cheddar cheese. Lightly toasted, garlic and cheese, sourdough bread, fresh strawberries and Trader Joe's bruschetta (this means HEAVEN in Italian!!) He has a cute flair for putting it all out too. Note his presentation with the bruschetta container and the fancy stemware! I love it!

Here is my TJ's commercial for all of you that are lucky enough to have one in your neck of the woods. The garlic cheese bread is baked with those ingredients to flavor it. Therefore you do not need to add anything, you can eat it dry and add the bruschetta. Seriously, you have just died and left the earth as you know it! And between us and Connie and Torrey this stuff flies off the shelves lickity split, so help yourself if you stop by TJ's.... but don't take ours!

So it is my prediction that it is going to be a very fun summer over here! And I better be coming up with some surprises myself to make it more fun for him! He is much more creative in that department than me!