Where Has March Gone??

I seriously can't believe that March is nearly half over. We have had a busy month!

March 6-10
We had my mom fly out so that we could both participate in the Summit Weekend. The event started Friday evening. It was very nice to be able to be out late with other adults. We met some new people and were able to spend time with Mike and Nayri, Jeff and Beth, and Hollis and Jewels.

Saturday I signed up for snowshoeing. It was so much fun. And it was a perfect day - sunny and perfectly clear. While I was doing that, Ben went cat skiing. After lunch at the Skylodge, we headed back to shower and change for the evening. We went to the Lake House to cook with Summit Chefs. We had wanted to do this last year, but the waiting list was always a mile long. Our first assignment was to extract the seeds from a bunch of pomegranates. And by a bunch, I really mean an entire crate full. We were cooking for 200, after all. Sam showed us what to do and we got to it. We were almost done when Chef Haru came in and said we were doing it wrong. He picked one up and started to jam while pounding out the seeds. It was pretty funny. Chef Renee had Ben help him make a dressing. He was explaining why you want it acidic when using bitter greens. Very informative.

Before dinner there was a talk from a lead conversationalist. I almost didn't go because I was afraid it would be a little too much for me. But I am glad we went! He just finished filming a documentary that explores humans and nature. He was able to share with us a few clips. Very entertaining. I'm sworn to secrecy. Next year I can write more about it.

Dinner was fabulous. Maybe because we helped? After dinner there was a comedian. He was pretty funny. After that was a musical guest. And by that time, I was done. I was tired. I was uncomfortable. I was sore. So, Ben and I headed home.

Sunday was a chill day. Brunch at the Skylodge. Ben went skiing. I hung out with Nayri. Then it was time to head to Timberline Lodge for a Wailers concert. I do think it's kind of funny that in December and again in March I attended a semi-private concerts for two big reggae stars and I'm not really a reggae fan. Nikki and Damien came into town for the concert too. After the concert, we went out to dinner.

Monday my mom went with the kids and me to the library. Then it was time to take her to the airport. We were all sad to see her go.

The rest of March to be continued....
  

Getting Into A Utah Groove

We've been in Utah for over a month now. Crazy! We just had to move houses on Wednesday, so we're getting settled into our new place.

February seemed to fly by. We had house guests the first week. Neither Ben nor I had ever met them before. Ben only knew them a teeny tiny bit from a group that he is in. Turns out - they were great guys. Peter and Nick are from NYC. They are good friends and they love skiing. So they spent the week skiing with Ben while the kids and I kept busy. We went on daily "adventures" being "all snow-geared up." We had a lot of fun playing in the snow.

We also discovered the local library. Every week they have "Discovery Time." I jokingly told Ben that it was like Little Gym but without the gym part. But they do have an opening song. Then the librarian reads a few books related to the day's letter or theme. More songs. Then bubble time (see? It's like Little Gym!). Then after you get stamps (sound familiar?) you can go into the other room for crafts and snacks. We've been having fun doing that.

After we got back from MN, we had 3 more house guests. These ones had me stressing out. Ben had told me that he thought they were strict Paleo dieters. We kind of eat that way. But our daily eggs couldn't be cooked in butter. We couldn't have chili because it has beans. So, yeah. I was trying to find new recipes that I could make. Turns out... Ben was wrong. They eat Paleo-ish. Basically like us. But, I did find two yummy muffin recipes. Mike, Abel and Allison were a lot of fun. At night we played games. Allison was great with the kids. They really felt like old friends to me. I like that feeling. I was very sad to see them go.

And now it's March. My mom is up this weekend to watch the kids so I can participate in the Summit Weekend with a bunch of our friends. I am excited to get out a bit more. Next weekend Ben's parents come into town. Followed by a couple of our friends. Followed by my parents and brother. Then - poof! The month will be over.

Carrot Banana Muffins I found that this makes 15 muffins. I used golden raisins instead of dates, and I didn't add the nuts.

Zucchini Berry Muffins This one made 18 muffins. I used only almond flour (2 cups). Golden raisins instead of dates again, and again, no nuts.

Good Grief!

Monday, February 10, was a difficult day for me. The first bit of sad news was that my grandma passed away. Hours later I found out that a great and dear friend's cancer is back and doctors aren't giving him much hope.

The Wednesday before, I had gotten a text from my mom saying that my grandma wasn't doing too well and that she was put under 24 hour hospice care. The hospice workers thought that Friday would be the day. Friday was pure torture! Every time my phone made a noise I jumped, thinking it was news of my grandma passing. But she kept hanging on. It wasn't until Monday morning that she peacefully passed away.

Of course I was sad. I cried. Part of it was that I feel like I haven't been the best granddaughter. She was basically deaf, so I couldn't call. She had dementia, so she didn't know who I was. These are the excuses that I told myself when I would feel bad about my lack of communication with her. But who doesn't like to get mail? I would occasionally send her a card. I just feel like I could have done more to help her feel loved and joy in her last years.

Her funeral was the following week in New Ulm. We all flew to MN for that. It was nice to see my cousins and their kids. It was nice to see my parents and brother. But it was also hard.

A few years back we met Jordan. He was an awesome fun guy. Less than a year later he was diagnosed with skin cancer. This was weird, because he so didn't fit the "profile." He had some chemo. He changed his eating habits (basically vegan with no salt or sugar). He retired. He took experimental drugs. And it seemed to be working! But a few weeks back, the tumors started growing again. He is eligible for another study and different drugs. But the doctors had originally told him that if it came back, this particular cancer type had a recovery/remission rate of less than 5%. Of course, we're all hoping and praying he's in the 5%. But this cancer really seems to like him. The awesome and amazing thing is that it doesn't seem to get Jordan down. He is still happy, calm, and at peace. He is handling everything with such grace. And his wife, Paola too. I would be a complete basket case.

We're back in Utah now. We're really enjoying it here. More on that later. I have a library date with the kids!

Balboa Park

We are in sunny San Diego! Ben is here for Traffic and Conversion conference. It's HUGE! It's about 2000 people. He said he knows more people at this event than were at our wedding. And I believe it. He has been very busy juggling the conference, additional sessions, meeting with people he hasn't seen and spending time with us. Needless to say, we have had a lot of time on our hands while he has been out.

Yesterday the kids and I went to Balboa Park. We started off at the playground. Adelyn went right to playing. Odin... well, for some reason he wanted to observe for a long time before playing. I have no clue why. When we got there, there were only a few people there. But anyway, he soon discovered the joys of throwing wood chips in his hair. Then both kids went to work on making "snow" angels in the wood chips. I do have a picture. I need to figure out how to get it off my phone and onto here.

After the playground we headed to another portion of the park. We got to the old church tower just as they were starting the noon bell performance. It was prerecorded, but it was still very cool. It would be very neat to watch them do the recordings.

At that point we decided we were hungry. We made our way to the hot dog stand (the only food we had seen up to that point). Adelyn had money in her pocket and she insisted that she pay. So she proudly handed the guy a coin. From Singapore. He was amused and she was happy. The kids love to throw things away. In fact, some times there are fights as to who gets to throw things away. After we were done eating, I divided our garbage so they would each have a few items to throw. There was a foreign couple sitting next to us. Every time Odin or Adelyn threw something away, they cheered. This made the kids even more excited to throw things away!

After lunch we wandered to the fountains and flower gardens. As we were walking back, I told Adelyn it was time to go back to the hotel for Odin's nap. Her response? "But mom! We haven't been to the museum yet!" How could I resist? So we walked through a portion of the free art museum before heading home.

On our way out, we passed the hot dog guy again. Adelyn asked to get some popcorn. I would have said no, but figured it was a good way to keep Odin awake in the car. So I gave Adelyn the money and she went up and bought the popcorn all by herself! Such a big girl.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

We had a very long Christmas season this year. My sister and her family came to town (by town I do mean Minnesota) the 13-15. We had family Christmas and celebrated my brother's birthday. Then on the 19, we headed up to the lake to celebrate with Ben's parents. While there, Ben decided he wanted to drive his convertible to Vegas. We're going to try and sell it and figured we could do that sooner there than in MN. The weather looked clear, so we scrambled to get our affairs in order.

Ben left Sunday evening and headed to Des Moines and stayed with our friends, Chuck and Michelle. Monday was his long day. He drove about 15 hours. Tuesday was the rest of the way to Vegas. He got there mid-afternoon.

Meanwhile, I was packing the kids and myself into one suitcase. I needed to fit stuff for Vegas (50-60 degrees), Utah (10-30 degrees) and Florida and a cruise (70+ degrees, plus a dress for every night).  For the three of us. Did I mention one suitcase? Yeah... one because that's all the room we have in the car. Especially since we were adding ski gear too. I made it.

The kids and I had an easy flight to Vegas. Before takeoff the kids were singing and laughing. They were being a little loud, so I shushed them. The flight attendant looked up and said, "Don't shush them! It's Christmas Eve and that's the most beautiful sound in the world!" Let's hope the rest of the passengers agreed. :)

Ben picked us up from the airport and brought us back to the Platinum. After getting us in the room and putting the kids to work decorating a foam tree, Ben went to pick up Chinese take-out. It was pretty good, but it wasn't China Star.

After the kids went to bed, Ben brought out some presents for them that he not only bought, but also wrapped all by himself. I had no idea he was going to do that. It was so sweet! We set the presents out and I put the stockings out (yes, I sacrificed clothes for stockings). We went to sleep.

The next morning Adelyn was so excited that Santa came. We opened presents, had orange rolls and just relaxed. It was the perfect Christmas.

Done? Done?

Last Sunday the kids and I went to church with Grandma and Grandpa Obert (Ben had a work emergency). Grandma and Grandpa read the scriptures for the Advent wreath. Because of that we were sitting near the front. The kids were doing great with the singing and everything. Then came the sermon. I ended up taking Odin out and Adelyn wanted to come with. So the three of us went to check out the Sunday School Class.

After the service was over, the Pastor chatted with us. He said that my kids had been so well behaved and there wasn't a reason for me to rush them out. It's then that I told him that Odin kept pointing to him and saying (loudly), "Done? Done?" That is when I thought we should leave. We all had a great laugh. 

No Problems, Only Adventures

Shortly after arriving in Jamaica, we were told, "There are no problems in Jamaica - only adventures. That is why we say 'No problem' here." We were told this by the Delta employee that was helping us find our missing bags. Turns out, they never left Minnesota. The soonest our bags would arrive was the next day in the afternoon.

After our arrival to the Half Moon Resort, we drove a golf cart over to the "shopping" area. We found the gift shop and bought the things we needed: swimsuits, flip flops, t-shirt for Ben, dress for me. $200 later, we had what we needed for the next 24 hours. Ben was decked out in Jamaica gear... his shirt was the right colors and said "Jamaica", his swim trunks were the right colors and said "Jamaica", his flip flops had the Jamaican flag on them. He so looked like a tourist!

So those were our "uniforms" for the beach party the first night, the business session for the first day, the trip to Chris Blackwell's farm, the pool party with Pato Banton... needless to say, we were happy when we returned to our villa to find our luggage.