Another weekend come and gone

Since we moved here to Utah, one of the biggest inconveniences to adjust to has been how far away and how long it takes to get to the nearest grocery store. We used to live .7 miles away from Safeway. If you needed milk or bread for the next day, you just popped in your car and went. Here Super Walmart is the closest grocery store at 5.8 miles. Doesn't sound that far, but it's like 15 minutes to drive there. You only go when you need to. 

Two years and nine months later, a new Lins Market opens up.

3.2 miles away - about 8 minutes to get there.

Added Bonus: Dairy Queen is inside.

So happy about this new store. I'm totally transferring my prescriptions here also.

Hate Walmart's pharmacy. Hate the crowds of people and the overall feeling of the store.

I won't miss buying groceries there and hopefully not picking up prescriptions there.

I may still have to go to get other things, but it will not be on a regular basis. 

Lins's Market grand opening is today. Fred got to go and buy fun stuff and get free stuff.

 Saturday night we went to a concert at Tuachan outdoor theatre.

It was advertised as BYU Vocal Point (men's group), but we got two for one.

BYU Noteworthy (women's group) also performed.

These are two a cappella groups.

I took our token selfie. I don't know why I always feel kind of embarrassed to do this.

People right in front of us were taking a selfie. I need to get over it. Maybe then I could get a better picture.

This picture actually isn't the current guys. But it gives you the idea of how many.

I thought the girl who does the beatboxing was better than the guy.

Just sayin....but she did come across as a little butch and not as lady like or feminine as the other girls. Maybe that comes with the type of "music" she is performing??

You have probably seen the video clip on Facebook of Amazing Grace that they perform.

If you haven't, here is a link.

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=amazing+grace+noteworthy

On Sunday all the wards in Utah did not hold their regular block of meetings.

Salt Lake broadcast the Provo City Center Temple dedication.

What's with the special treatment in Utah? Why not broadcast it church wide?

Safety Vests

Mima and Buddy walk to their mailbox with Brian to pick up the mail.

IKEA provided the perfect safety vests for them.

Aren't they cute?

I told Shannon that she didn't have any babies anymore.

Look how grown up they look!

I'm always so thrilled to receive new pictures. 

It helps the distance not seem so far.

Denver Days

Fred and I flew to see Shannon and her family.

Originally we were going to help her after her scheduled C Section, but then she delivered early and we got to use the week to just play. 

My assigned seat in the car was in the middle next to Mima.

Buddy and Mima are happy helpers.

The first three days, Buddy had preschool in the morning so we ran errands with Mima.

It worked out on this day that we got to pick up Brian from work and go to Freddy's for lunch.

Fred's assigned seat was way in the back with Buddy. 

After school one of the days, we went to this park. 

They have parks everywhere and the kids know which one is which and make their requests.

As usual, Fred came prepared with something special to play with at the park.

This is a little balsa wood glider.

Mima allowed Granpa to help her walk around the wall.

They keep this BIG box in the living room to store the toys in.

This is how Mima goes digging for what she wants.

We drove about 50 miles to Colorado Springs to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

It was windy at this elevation, but it was a pretty nice zoo.

Brian was at work. He got to choose which activity to save for Saturday so he could come along.

This zoo is set up pretty neat. The public can feed the giraffes. 

Mima is getting a kiss here.

On Friday morning was parent teacher conference for Buddy.

This is a slide on their playground. 

Some new design for a teeter totter.

After parent conference, we drove to Greeley Colorado to the Colorado Train Museum.

They have miniature trains and scenery filling the museum. 

This is a small scene that the children can push buttons to activate lights, run trains etc.

Mima is working on the lights and moving the carousel. 

After the museum, we stopped for lunch at Carls Jr. Shannon packed their lunch in case we couldn't find a place to eat that they liked. 

Buddy was not really cooperative for this picture.

Maybe that's why I take more pictures of Mima????

After our big day at the museum, we went to Monkey Bizness. It is filled with bounce houses and stuff for little ones 2-5. Mima is looking the part.

Saturday we drove to Golden Colorado for another train museum.

This one is full size really old trains. Some you can walk inside and look around.

This is a train that use to deliver mail. 

Here is an engine.

Better view at the top.

Going back to the cars.

Happy Family!

Here is our Granma/Granpa pose.

Sunday morning it was gorgeous outside. Shannon sent the kids out to play.

Church wasn't until 12:30 so we had lots of time.

The kids have lots of really great outdoor toys.

They played together really nicely.

Granpa came out for a look.

Shannon & Brian said another family from church said they had their kids jump on the trampoline before church for an hour. By the time church started the kids were so tired that they sat quietly.

So Shannon & Brian decided to try it out. I brought sticker/coloring books for the kids, but I'm too not sure it really helped keep them quiet. 

This missionary greeted us as we went into the chapel. I looked at his name tag and it said "Elder Merkley". Well I totally knew he was from the Merkley family in Bremerton. He looks just like his Dad did when we knew them 20 years ago. After Sacrament meeting, I went up to ask him where he was from. I over heard him tell the people he was talking to that he was from Seattle. So I knew it! Sure enough we confirmed he was that Merkley family. His parents were Shannon's primary teachers AND she used to babysit this Elder and his older brother. So then I got on Facebook and found his Mom and sent her a message and included this picture.

THAT WAS SO FUN!

We had a really nice time with Shannon, Brian and the babies.

The babies fell asleep on the way to the airport. I did say goodbye to Mima before she feel asleep.

Shannon called and said that Mima was pretty distraught when she woke up and I was gone.

That's just what a granma wants to hear!

I have the greatest doctor

Actually Stacy is a Nurse Practitioner, but whatever her qualifications she is fantastic.

I had my annual physical this morning and arrived with my list of ailments/frustrations.

First and foremost, I haven't slept good for pretty much going on two years. It started in March of 2014 when I started taking weight-loss meds. The side affects for me were dry mouth, constipation and interrupted, fitful sleep. After I had lost about 35 pounds and felt really in control, I went off the meds mostly because I couldn't stand the side affects anymore. Now the benefits of the weight loss was I got off my high blood pressure meds and my anti depressants and overall felt happy because when you lose lots of weight, you find your real self again.

As time passed, I think my sleep did improve some but I continued waking usually around 4:30 in the morning on a regular basis. I've tried several different over the counter sleep aids like Melatonin, Mid Nite and lately an Equate brand of ZZZ Quil. I fall asleep a lot sooner with the Z Quil, but I still wake at the early hours and it is very fitful sleep after that. 

Being over weight is always an issue for me, but honestly I have made great efforts and changes in my eating and exercise with no success. I just hover around the same 2 or 3 pounds. It's more frustrating than in the past because being sleepy takes it toll. I'm too tired to get out of bed most mornings to do my morning work out. Then I sit at a desk all day and pretty much read to get through my day. Well reading makes me sleepy and since it's kind of boring too then I think - oh I'll get something to eat. Whether the snack is junky or healthy it is still additional calories that I wouldn't eat if I didn't feel tired. 

My lab results were really good news. I was in the prediabetic range from my blood screening though our insurance company at the end of last year. Well my numbers are back in the normal range. So that was a relief. I also take a low dose of thyroid medication and my numbers have doubled so she is going to up my dosage. When I first started the thyroid medication in Feb of 2014, I lost six pounds right off. So I think perhaps my thyroid has been the block to my weightloss efforts. 

She is prescribing a non narcotic, non habit forming sleep aid for me that should give me a continuous feed to keep me asleep. Now if I would only stop breathing through my mouth I think that should work. Being over weight also contributes to sleep apnea which I have a mild form of so I get to sleep in my darth vadar mask. It's lovely. Anyway, when I breath through my mouth the air coming in the tube dries out my mouth so bad that I wake up and I have to get out of bed and rinse out my mouth and drink. I don't know why all of the sudden I am breathing through my mouth AND from reading on my computer screen at work for the last 6 months all day, I have developed Computer Vision Syndrome, also referred to as Digital Eye Strain, describes a group of eye and vision-related problems that result from prolonged computer, tablet, e-reader and cell phone use. Many individuals experience eye discomfort and vision problems when viewing digital screens for extended periods. The level of discomfort appears to increase with the amount of digital screen use.So I wake up and my mouth is dry and my eyes are dry and so uncomfortable that I have put in eye drops. So I'm a mess. 

I even bought the new updated cpap machine that has a heated tube that is supposed to get me more moisture or something like that. Well Our insurance covers the machine, but not the new fancy tube until June. So I think I'm going to see how much it would cost just to buy it. I can't wait that long to see if that will help my dry mouth problem. 

So going into my appointment this morning I was feeling so discouraged and pretty depressed and walked out feeling empowered and like there is hope.

Stacy listens and hears your concerns and she always provides options and answers. She is one of the greatest blessings from moving here. 

So my post today is kind of out there, but I need to document all of this so I can remember it.

Stuff we did this weekend

On Friday after work we went to Red Robin for dinner. We shared their new Marco Polo chicken sandwich. When it came time to pay our bill, we had earned a free burger. So our meal cost us $6.00 including the tip.

After that, we met our neighbors at the St. George Tabernacle to listen to T.C. Christensen speak. Here is a little info on him.

T. C. Christensen
Born	1953 Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
Alma mater	Brigham Young University
Occupation	Filmmaker
Years active	1973–present
Notable work	Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration Emma Smith: My Story 17 Miracles Ephraim's Rescue The Cokeville Miracle

We didn't really expect to enjoy it much, but he only spoke about 45 minutes. He had four clips from a couple of his movies and then talked about some of the back ground of those clips. It was really good. After that we tried out a new burger/ice cream joint - Iceberg. It was good.

Saturday was chores and then we did a little shopping. I finally made prints of Scott & Jess's updated family picture for our entry. Also printed off one from Disneyland of Corinne's family. All our photos are out of date. We never did hang any from Christmas of last year because they were such a HUGE disappointment. So for now this is still our only family portrait display. 

Saturday night we stayed home and watched Valentine's Day on VidAngel. Sunday was church and choir. After choir, I went to Judy's house for a lesson on cookie decorating. Thank goodness they turned out pretty. It was an ugly process outlining for the icing. She used this really cool rolling pin. I might need to buy one. She had already taken off the one end of discs when I took this picture. The dics make the rolling pin roll your cookie dough at an exact measurement. I thought it was pretty amazing. 

Here are my cookies.

After cookie decorating, she started preparing for our Valentine's Dinner. Judy and Shan have us over for dinner a lot. Their son and his fiance' and their daughter and her husband are usually always there too. We are kind of family now. It's nice. Judy is a party planner. Dinner for a holiday or birthday are pretty jazzy. She bought everyone gifts and candy. 

Always a fun time, but I eat way too much. 

Oh and everyone and their brother is in St George this weekend. 

The ward following us had David Bednar, his wife and three other general authorities visiting. 

The message between he and his wife was:

Grandparents, leave your families and go on a mission. They will get along without you. Your families will be far more blessed with your service than you being at every event. 

AND

We have always lived in hard times. Be positive and faithful. 

The prophets of old saw our day and rejoiced. 

I LOVE WEEKENDS!

I love my friends

Our party animal friends hosted Super Bowl Sunday 

The consensus was - Boring game.

We do know that true Bronco fans most likely did not have that sentiment.

But this crowd did - minus Jerry - the guy in the hat in the front. 

 While the guys sat and watched the game, the ladies of the house gathered round the table, ate, talked, played on our phones and laptops.

 We did eat, but this was after we were all filled to the gills.

 Obviously, I was the only one taking pictures so I wanted to get in on the action.

Judy B is always good for a enthusiastic pose. She's the real party animal.

Then there is my bestest friend Fred. Sometimes I have to stop and remind myself how blessed I am. We had one of those talks, instigated by me and in the midst of it I thought to myself
"Man - he is so easy to please. Get your head on straight Gayle and enjoy it".

The Big Day came Early

Shannon has been having a really good experience being a surrogate for this lovely family.

Pregnancy has been going great and she has been feeling good. 

The last few weeks she has finally been feeling like she would like to be done.

Chasing Buddy has become impossible so he has been kind of having a hey day.

Shannon checks her Blood Pressure every so often when Brian checks his.

Her's was kind of high on Friday. If I remember some of the facts correctly,

Saturday morning her limbs began to feel tingly.

By Sunday her doctor said to go to the ER and be checked out.

She was admitted with Preeclampsia.

Brian brought the kids in Sunday night with chocolate cookies. 

Little Orphan Annie here.

I believe Monday Buddy had a little mishap at Preschool.

No one saw what happened, but he knocked out his front tooth.

Now he will be toothless on the upper and bottom in the exact same place.

He knocked out his baby tooth on the bottom when it was barely coming in. 

Shannon and baby Kiwi were closely monitored Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and both were doing good so Shannon enjoyed a few days of Hospital Spa treatment. Wednesday night her blood pressure spiked so it was time to deliver the baby.

Meet Baby Kiwi. 

Born Jan 27th at 10:02 PM

4 lbs 15 oz

Her Apgar number was 9

Her original scheduled C Section was Feb 26th. 

Shannon is feeling much better today - Friday. Thursday was rough with side affects from all the medications that were administered to bring down her blood pressure. She thinks she will be ready to go home on Sunday. She doesn't know yet when baby will go home with her family.