Todd's birthday weekend

Todd and I went to Orange County this past weekend. It was his 42nd birthday on Thursday. That makes 20 birthday's I have celebrated with him now. (Wow! it sounds so harsh when I say it that way.) Thursday when we arrived we went to the pier and stumbled upon a pelican there. I hadn't seen a pelican so close before. It was very large. Todd wanted me to take a pitcture with it...I got as close as I dared. Todd kept saying get closer I don't know maybe he was hoping I would drape my arm around it's back or something... I was too afraid to get closer. I was quite positive he would peck me.

Friday we sat in chairs on the sand at the beach and just listened to the waves and read. I love the ocean. I love hearing the waves and the seagulls. It is such a peaceful place, all your troubles seems to melt away. We never did get our feet wet...I am sure it was pretty cold. Newport beach had a lot of pretty shells along the sand so I picked some up for the kids.

Saturday we went and saw a stage of the Tour of California, it was a mountain stage just north of Pasadena. Todd had us get up at 5:15 a.m. and left the condo by 6:00. We drove two hours and found a prime parking spot just before the summit. There were about 5 other cars on the mountain at that time of the morning. We definately got there early enough. The cyclists didn't ride by us until about 2:00 p.m. So we had plenty of time to sit and sit and sit some more...some of the time I slept in the back seat of the van. Todd was too excited to sit he wandered up and down the street (I'm not sure but think he might have been pacing...) He wrote a giant message with yellow chalk on the street. The worst part of the day was that I had to go into the biff two times since we were there so long. The first time I was dry heaving non-stop, I ran out of there like a bat out of well...you know. I am quite certain there in no worse smell in the universe than a ripe biff. The second time I got smart and never unplugged my nose the whole time I was in there. It was very exciting when the race went by us. I just took as many pictures as I could and happened to get a shot of Lance Armstrong he is the second in line on the shot where Todd's back is to me, you have to zoom way in to see it was him. Todd was very happy with the picture I got of him with the pelaton (main group of riders) right behind him. I was just thankful it was centered and in focus. The pressure for me to get one good photo of Todd and the cyclists as they flew by, was huge... It was a fun day. We met Bighair superfan...not quite sure who he is...but he had really big hair and a really sweet cape. We also got a kick out of this yellow boy that we nicknamed "yellow guy." The kids did a good job taking care of each other while we were away.

Aaron's Webelos Badge

We went to Aaron's cub scout blue and gold banquet this week. He has earned his Webelos badge. We are very proud of him. He is on track to earn his arrow of light in the next few weeks. For all you scouts out there you know that is the highest award in the cub scouts and the one award he can wear on his boy scout uniform. We are very proud of his hard work. Way to go Aaron! Here are some photos from the banquet. The picture with the fighter pilot was a uniform inspection of the scouts. The pilot was very forgiving of the cub scouts uniforms during his inspection. They all passed.

Megan's Campaign

Megan campaigned hard but lost the election in the end. We are so proud of her for running and for the courage it took for her to go up and talk to people she didn't know and ask for their vote. She was awesome!! She also looked so cute in the custom made shirt she wore during campaign days. I am so glad that she didn't let fear stop her from trying something hard. Good job Meg!!

February 2009

I haven't blogged much lately. I have gone through some challenges that have forced me to do a lot of soul searching and contemplating about this thing we call life. Life is hard, at times it is harder than you can imagine...but everyday is a new day... a chance to improve yourself, a chance to choose to be happy, to serve others, and move ahead the best you can. Life is an enigma but it is what it is and you have to do your best with what you have in front of you, even when you don't understand it.

A few weeks ago I transferred my real estate license to another brokerage. I was sad to leave Keller Williams and my friends there, but felt the move would be the best thing for me right now and for my business. My license is now at The Baird Group Real Estate Services... in our office there is Steve (I have known him for about 12 years), his son, Corey....and me. Small group. I am doing all the showings for their "buying" clients. I am also working my own business and clients when they have any real estate needs. I have been very busy since making the change.

On Tuesday I drove 90 miles round trip to show two houses to some new clients. We would have seen three but the keys were missing from the lock box at the last property, and the listing agent hadn't bothered to put a new set in yet. I love the "professionalism" of the Las Vegas REALTORS. I sat in a real estate law class from 1 to 4. Then I drove with Ariel across town to a meeting she had to attend. I was too nervous to let her drive alone due to the fact that she would be driving on two different freeways in rush hour traffic to a high school in a questionable part of town, so I tagged along and sat in the car from 4:30 to 7:45. On the way home a friend's daughter called me and was very sick and her parents were gone to a game. I got to her house just as the paramedics had finished their assessment. They told me I could transport her to the ER...I was very glad to help. It had been a very long day by the time I got home at 10:30.

Wednesday I missed my 3 hour contracts class for my continuing education, because my (I mean Aaron's) science fair project was not done yet. I spent all Wednesday doing that....I hope we get a good grade on it. Then I got ready for the Mia maid class to come over. I had 12 girls here all helping to prepare a meal and eat it. It turned out really good. Linguine Alfredo, salad, bread sticks and ice-cream sundaes for dessert. We ate every last bit.

Thursday I met some clients from New Jersey at the office at 9:15 and dropped them back off at 3:15p.m. We drove 90 miles and looked at 12 different houses. I have decided I don't like showing property in the very farthest northwest corner of the valley. It is far, far away. I have to go back out there on Saturday. Luckily Aaron said we didn't have to attend the science fair although I was sad to miss our projects big debut. Oh well.

I am glad today is Friday and I got to stay home today. I was very tired. I have done some laundry and made some banana bread because the bananas on the counter were starting to melt. I caught up on all the missed American Idol shows I had recorded and the Office episodes I had missed. I am now "current" with the two shows I watch on TV. I might ride my bike in the morning if it is not too windy or cold. It has been a long time since I rode my bike. Tomorrow I AM going to Aaron's basketball game. I have missed the last two Saturday's games because of work and I won't miss it tomorrow. By the way...Happy Valentine's Day.

Anyway...these are a few of my activities and thoughts for the week...for what they're worth.

Vote for Megan

Here is Meg's campaign photo for sophomore class president. Her slogan in HENDRIX Rocks the Vote! Something like that. Elections are next week. Good luck Megan!!

New Year's Eve

This year New Year's Eve was a little different. Megan and Aaron went to Bozeman. Todd and Ariel were in Las Vegas, and I was in Utah. We all had a good time in our separate places. I went to the Freebairn Family New Year's Eve party. It was at the Barnett's house this year. We had a lot of fun playing games and eating lots of good food. We had a lot of laughs. I also got to be in Utah for Lily and Michael's birthdays. That was lucky for me. I helped cut the baseboards for the upstairs at my parents house. I enjoyed watching my mom do a few cuts on the chop saw, she insisted when she saw how much fun I was having. I made her wear the safety goggles though. I couldn't wear them, they didn't look as cool on me as they did on her.

I had the best time in Utah. I got to visit some wonderful people. I went to Provo and took pictures of the apartment I lived in at BYU, and the apartment we lived in when Ariel was born and the church she was blessed in. I drove past my old home, the Traffic Office, which has been torn down...that made me sad. It was a wonderful day of memories from the past. A very special day. The time I had to spend with family and friends was wonderful and I hated to see the week end.