A big ole slice of LIFE....

Yeah, I know it's been quite a while since I've posted...we moved out of our Washington house and into a hotel, and then across 3 states to the Idaho beautiful but boonies, and then into Don's Salt Lake City downtown apartment and then finally into our new digs in South Jordan. But somehow it wasn't that simple...let's just say that a picture is worth a bunch of words....

Reality smacks you in the face when the big orange truck pulls up to the curb....

leaving Washington in the rear view mirror was NOT easy....Stacey and I boo hooed for quite awhile....then Idaho came into view-We made some new friends....they loved the carrots we brought. All the rain in the Lost River Valley made it beautiful and green. It was wonderful to see water in the river.... We made a day trip to see the "National Craters of the Moon"....some things never change. Then it was back in the truck for more moving....to Don's apartment in the city. Goodbye, Idaho and visiting the City Library for our internet fix....Here is home...at last. (Check out that NICE lawn...)
I also had to make a street sign so everyone could find us....including the ambulance-See those "pods"? There were 4 truckloads with 4 of them on each. YIKES..man, Don has lots of stuff. And then there was the "sink" incident.....way to welcome us in. Grass day was a real upper....
We are now in....and trying this new life. It is a challenge...stay posted.

We don't have to LIKE it....

It's been tough week around here. Way TOO quiet, no giggling, no goof troop.

If you want to know what we were feeling , check out the sad sister in the green shirt. She really is losing her best friend.
That pretty much sums it up.We had Rachel 's wisdom teeth taken out. Did all kinds of kitchen shopping and then it was time-

Rachel and my money and my Mustang went off to BYU.

Growing up and out is not for sissies. And I know it is a great thing...

but I don't have to like it.

The spirit remembers much better than the body.

Wahoo! Let's hear it for volleyball! Let's hear it for Thursday evenings from 9 pm until late (try 11 pm and after!) Let's hear it for getting a real kick out of playing again after (ahem) 34 years.


Our stake has organized womens volleyball and boy, has it taken off. The first time I went there were barely enough for 4 teams. Last week we had double the number and we were getting ticked off because we came to play, not to sit on the sidelines.... (we are not getting any younger!)

But we have a GREAT time! There are all sorts of women there, young and tall, short and fat, and everything in between. We cheer for everything. And we laugh a lot. And we are pretty darn good too. Especially when we don't keep score...

Oh, yeah, we come home with a few bumps and bruises. And I stock up on Aleve before and after I go....and wish I could do that overhand serve that about takes someone's head off...so cool. I just keep doing it the old 1970's version and it still works pretty good. And I can hardly wait until Thursday.

Now you see it, now you don't-

I have been asking our realtors from day one if I needed to paint my kitchen a different color than red. No they would say. It's fine. RIGHT. 52 visits and six months later, I asked our newest realtor what she thought and she stammered and said that maybe it would be a good idea to get it to a more neutral color. DONE.....

And many might agree that it is calmer and more neutral and all that. But to me it is very sad. It is so not me. Hopefully someone out there will think it looks more like them. WE are praying that SOMEONE will!

Up, Up and Away

Every mom needs some down time. This mom did. So far the cleaning my house for 50 or so realtor visits thing has got me nowhere.....so southern CA seemed like a great plan.

How about Anaheim and the CHA (for all you scrapbookers, that is the symbol for paper and doo-dad heaven). But I mostly went to be with my favorite married daughter.....and best friend.

SHE is one hard working girl!! She must have tracked 500 miles back and forth looking at all the stuff and deciding what their company would want to buy. (She is a VERY important person there at ROBERT's)!

I followed her around for a day and my toesies finally starting barking at me so I sat down and read a novel and did some major people watching....

And then I spied these fancy shoes....little gems attached all over them! HMMMM!

These babies made my feet hurt just looking at them. But they were fancy! Too soon it was time to leave the sun (what I saw of it) and the birds of paradise... And jam all of our free samples and goodies into our suitcases and head to the airport....my SUPER daughter was able to get them all in the trunk! Woman, hear us roar!

Hey, leesh, thanks for letting me be a "ROBERT's buyer" and hanging with the gang. It was a real treat. It was a bit of mothers day for me. And I didn't have to clean a thing......

Drip, drip.

Man, what a difference a day or two can make.

Here is Christmas eve....

then came the chinook winds from the south....

And then it was drip, drip....all gone. This is Sunday morning...yeah, only 3 days later! It feels like March and I am wondering if I need to go out and tell my tulips to go back to sleep....

Christmas comes but once a year!

Oh, the weather outside was "frightful". And who ever was singing that song, kept repeating the chorus over and over and over and over..."let it snow, let it snow" and it snowed!!!
It was a "White Christmas" for sure. To kill a little time on Christmas eve, we took the kids and livestock to the famous "Carmichael sledding hill". We had a blast.



Then we came home and decorated cookies. TRADITION!!
(Gotta keep momma outta the frosting!) Here's Emma writing to Santa with a few minor corrections and additions.
We read the traditional "Twas the night before..." and even had a phone to phone connection to a homesick daughter in Minneapolis...
Thank heavens for cell phones....

In the still of the night, there was a reflection of the moon over the snow....gee I need to get to bed before Santa arrives...

We were brave. We complained a lot. But we did it and we had a great morning.

Yes, Christmas came to the Sleight house with no older siblings dropping in.

It was a great day.