TRAVELS

This has been the year for traveling. We have been down to Arizona a few times and we even went to Rocky Point in Mexico but I prefer to call it Peurto Penasco, because it sounds more Mexican.
 Graeme and I went to Europe in August/Sept for 5 weeks. We visited our son Steven in Finland for a week and then went to Stockholm, Sweden, Prague, Munich, Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber, Koblenz, Strasbourg, Colmar, Rennes, Dinan, St Malo, Bayeux, The Normandy Beaches, Mont St Michel, Concale and Dinard. It was a fabulous holiday. We were on the "Go"the whole time and I didnt rest until we returned home to Salt Lake City. It felt good to be home but not for long.........we drove down to Arizona again for a week because Crystal and family were going there for a holiday and I wanted to see the little boys. We had such a good tim. It is amazing to see just how much the boys have grown in the past 4 months since they left Utah to l ive in Colorado.
Now it is November 2nd and guess where we are?  Well we are back in Australia visiting Kelsey. We plan on going to Tasmania for about 12 days and I want to go up to Moore Park to visit my sister Jill and her family for a few days as well. All told we will be here for 6 weeks.
When we return to Utah, it will be almost Christmas! We will only be there for about 4 weeks before we move permanently down to Arizona. In March next year we are going to Hawaii and maybe to Australia later in the year

Arizona

I have been staying in our home in Arizona for the past 10 days. It has been wonderful to be here again close to the boys and their families. I spent the first few days unpacking boxes that have been sitting in the garage for the past several months and then trying to sort through what is left and trying to decide what to do with it all. I have many pieces of furniture that I no longer want and so I started by advertising on Craigs List but after one full week I still havent sold anything. I will probably end up giving it away.
Today Graeme and I spent the morning swimming and then watering the garden and washing down the back patio. We then drove into Mesa and did some shopping for Fathers Day (tomorrow) and then we went to San Tan Mall for lunch at Paradise Bakery. Salad and a sandwich was very refreshing. On our way home we decided to call out to Queen Creek to see if Glenda and Darwin were home. Luckily they were and so we had a nice time catching up on what our children are all up too. Nicole called and wanted us to meet her and Mike for dinner. We enjoyed a nice meal together and then we came home to a messy backyard due to a nice big dust storm that rolled through this afternoon! So all our work of cleaning this morning was useless as it is just as bad now after the storm!
I have spent the past few hours going through a box of memorabilia and reliving events of years past gone. It is amazing at how much I have forgotten over the years and it is so good to read about them and gradually have these memories come back to my mind. Some good and some not so good. Like the time I few back to Australia from Portand Oregon (where we were living at the time) with 3 young children. A 9 month old baby, a 2 year old and a 4 year old and me, by myself. In those days the fight went from Portand, to San Francisco, to Honolulu, to Fiji, to Sydney, to the Gold Coast. During this flight I had a 10 hour layover in Honolulu! as well as a coupe of hours in San Francisco and Sydney! I wanted to go home so badly to see my mother who was in hospital after suffering a stroke, that I was prepared to do anything. Any wonder that my family in Australia thought I looked worn out and exhausted when I finally arrived!
Gee, it is late. I have spent several hours going through the boxes and lost track of time. Off to bed for now.

CHANGES

Who would have thought I would ever get back onto this blog? I have a private Evans Family blog that I contribute too and so this one got put on the back burner. So much has changed over the past 3 years that it will take way too long to give an update. So I will try to just start from now and see if I can incorporate the family changes as I go.
The most exciting thing to happen is that my youngest child graduated from high school and Graeme and I are officially "empty nesters" YEAH!!! Now I love my kids but after having kids in the house for 42 years and getting kids through school for the past 37 years, I am ready to enjoy the next phase of our lives. Our youngest, Emily, will be starting college but for all intent and purposes she is really on her own. She is going to be living on campus and I wont be around to hound her to get up for classes or tidy her room etc. Also our second youngest, Kelsey has been living in Australia for the past 3 years. She studied for her beauty diploma and has been working as a beauty therapist for the past 18 months but she is now ready to go back to school and study some type of social work. (So technically, we still have 2 in school)
Graeme and I are planning on doing some traveling over the next 6 months so I will hopefully give updates on where and when we do that. One place we will be going to is Finland where our son Steven and his family are now living. They moved to Helsinki 7 months ago and will be there for a total of 3 years before moving back to the USA.
Right now we have 3 sons in Arizona, one daughter in Colorado, one daughter in Utah, one daughter in Australia and one son in Finland. So you might guess we have some interesting trips planned in the coming 6 months or so.
We also have a big move coming up. After living in Utah for the past 6 1/2 years, we have decided to move back to Arizona. We sold our house in North Salt Lake and for the past 6 months have been living in an apartment in downtown SLC. When the lease is up at the end of the year we will move back to our home in the desert in Arizona. I am so excited. I love our home in Arizona. It is so quiet and peaceful and beautiful.
Now I dont want to "overdo" this post so I will close here and get back to it tomorrow ( well we shall see!)

The Beginning and the End.

Look at the date of this entry. Now look at the date of the last entry. I wrote on this blog in January 2009 and today is December 21, 2009. Where did the year go? So much happened in my family this year yet I failed to write about it. So with the new year fast approaching I hope to start afresh and document the important events in my life and my family.

But right now I need to recap a few of the exciting things that happened in 2009.

Crystal gave birth to her first child in March. A dear little boy who they named, Van Alisdair.

He is now crawling, has two teeth, has the cutest smile and is a darling cuddly little guy.

Crystal and Kyle moved to a small apartment in Park City after Kyle's father sold the house. They were ready to move on and wanted to live in a smaller place.

In May Kelsey went to her senior prom and then in June she graduated from high school. She also graduated from 4 years of seminary. In July she travelled to Australia with Graeme, Emily and myself and stayed there. She now has been over there for 5 months and is loving it. She lived with Tim and Jenny up in Townsville for 4 months and in November she moved down to the Gold Coast to live with Juanita in an apartment. She is enrolled in a beauty school and starts school in January.

Graeme and I made an emergency trip to Australia in May to be at Nana's bedside as she passed on to a better place. This trip was very sad but filled with some of the most special times I have ever experienced. We were able to arouse her from a deep sleep just long enough for her to realize we were there and she was able to touch Graeme's face and kiss him and say some very tender sweet things to each other. Glenda was with us as well and she also had these special moments. Graeme and Darryl gave her a blessing and the next morning with her sons, Graeme and Geoff, daughter, Glenda, and daughter in laws, Judy and Sharon, at her side she quietly and slowly passed away. I am grateful for her wonderful, humble life and the example she was to me. I spoke at her funeral and was strengthened to do so without becoming too emotional.

Michael got engaged and then married in July. He married a high school sweetheart who had been married before , ironically, to Glenda and Darwin's nephew. She had 2 adorable children who Mike has totally accepted as his own and is a wonderful father to them. Nicole Smith had dated Mike in high school for several months in his senior year and then drifted apart as Mike went on a mission. They are so happy and have recently announced their pregnancy with the baby due in July next year. Mike has also started an internet company with his friend, Cody, which is slowly growing and giving them hopes of becoming very successful over the coming years.

Steven and his family moved to Kennesaw, Georgia, in March. Action Steel Detailing closed the Utah office in April. Steve knew it was coming and had the hindsight to apply for a job with the software company, Tekla. Even though they are a long way away from us we are so grateful that he has a good job and a steady income. Lexie got baptized in March also just before they left. His family continues to grow with their announcement of a baby BOY to be delivered in February next year. We are so happy for them. Graeme, Emily and I flew over to spend a long weekend with them in September and we had a great time. The girls are just so sweet and happy.

Jason and Lara also added to their family with the arrival of Andrew Graeme on November 1st. He was a big boy, coming in at 10 pounds even. He is a dear "little" boy and so happy and content. Jason, Lara and Lillian came to Australia with us in July. We actually stayed for 4 weeks and Jason and family came over for the last 2 weeks. we had a wonderful time catching up with family and just enjoying being in Australia.

Damien, Chellie and their 3 children flew to Australia in September. They stayed with my sister, Maree and then with my niece, Leonie. They had a wonderful, busy time and they loved it so much, especially the hospitality of their hosts.

Crystal, Kyle and Van came to Australia with Graeme and I in November. We had originally planned this trip to coincide with Nana's 90th birthday, which unfortunately she didn't quite stay on earth to celebrate. We did share very fond memories of her and her life during this trip. The weather in November was hot and sunny and we were able to spend every day on the beach for walks and swims.

Emily started high school at Woods Cross and is doing exceptionally well. She turned 16 in December and got her drivers licence. She now drives around in the Subaru and I am always nervous about it. She is having fun with her friends, who are wonderful, and it is a joy to see them together.

I continue to have a love hate relationship with the scales, mostly hate! I just can't seem to stay away from candy and sweets of every kind and I can't keep up with any type of exercise, so what can I expect. I do plan to make some changes starting in January. I am going to start to run again. Yes, at age 58, nearly 59, I am going to start running. I think I will begin by jogging on the treadmill for very short distances and gradually build it up and then get outside as the weather improves. Do you think I can do a half marathon by December?? That's my goal!! Big one....yes, but I need to be motivated. Crystal might do it with me.

Graeme diligently travels to Arizona every week when we are not travelling. He loves the house in Arizona in its peaceful serene setting. Unfortunately, the business is not doing very well in this terrible down economy. But Graeme is always hopeful and tries to be as positive as he can.

He celebrated his 60th birthday in December. We also celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary in December with a trip to Las Vegas for 4 days. We had a great time. We went to 2 shows, a Cirque du Soleil show, KA and then to an Andre Bocelli concert. It was amazing.

So that is a recap of the major family events of the year. Of course there were many other smaller day to day achievements by all the children and grandchildren too numerous to write here in my belated notes.

Another so called resolution for the new year will be to keep this blog updated!!

Winter in Utah

Sometimes I wonder why we are living up here in Utah. The winter is especially miserable at times but then we have sunsets like this view from our back patio and delicate snow forming a real winter wonderland like this along the streets around our neighborhood. I just sigh and thank God for the beauty of nature all around us and say how grateful I am to be able to see scenes like this.

Well as you can see the candy cupboard is still here. I have been pretty good the last 2 days. Just a few red licorice and 2 See's chocolates.  The cupboard below this one is full of chips, crackers, cookies and cereal. Oprah and Dr Oz would die if they saw this!

The New Year

I love the holiday season with all the wonderful food and treats. It starts at halloween really. I always buy too much candy to give out and it seems that I now tend to buy the bigger candy bars that I love. I have come to realize that I do this because I know there will be candy left over and I want to be able to eat it. I hate those little runts and skittles etc. So I managed to have a whole bowl of candy bars left and enjoyed eating one, ok, two, a day for several weeks. Then came Thanksgiving with all the desserts. This year we had Christmas right on top of that. So I had a cupboard full of chocolates, candy, cookies of every variety, chips, licorice, cakes, and a refrigerator full of frozen desserts, cheeses, eggnog etc, you get the picture. I ate way too much as usual and put on more pounds than usual. I think it must be an age thing. The older I get, the more the pounds seems to want to stick around. 

I am terrible at organizing as you may have read in a previous post. But I thought it would be easy to just open the cupboard and throw out most of the sweets, besides, I am the main person who eats them and I had made up my mind. But.........It was harder than I thought. Once again, I just transfered candy from one jar to another smaller jar making the cupboard look like it was cleaned out. I thought I was pretty clever.

So I decided to start the new year off by not eating sweets of any kind. By the end of day 2 I was doing well but started to develop a headache which wouldn't go away. On day three, today, I opened the banned cupboard and I couldn't help myself, yes, you guessed it, I hungrily devoured a chocolate bar! It tasted so good but then I felt terrible. How could I be so weak?

The only consolation I have is that I have gone 3 days with walking on the treadmill and pumping some weights. 

Today I have talked myself into thinking that moderation in all things is the way to go. I just love chocolate, but if I can cut down from 2 bars a day to 1 or sometimes not even one, then I'm good with that. I just hope I can keep up with the walking in the hopes that I can loose some pounds over a few months.

So that's how my new years resolutions have gone so far this year.