Puerto Rico-I Miss You!

Well, after an amazing trip celebrating 20 wonderful years of marriage (yes, it was our 29th anniversary) I'm back and ready to face 2012 head on! I love the New Year, new beginnings. So much to ponder and I love making lists and plans. True...I regularly lose the journal that houses these plans and goals, but I enjoy it for awhile!

Quick synopsis of our trip. We visited Puerto Rico a few years ago with our girls and loved it so much we knew we'd someday return! The culture and nature of the Puerto Ricans is that of a pleasing, hospitable spirit and a relaxed lifestyle. Opposite of the lifestyle we embrace here. Who isn't joyful in a world of 75 degree temperatures?

This was a great beach~Seven Seas Beach!! And our favorite restaurant in Old San Juan, Toro Saleo! Great place to people-watch. We followed a path (they called it the "secret path") to the beach. It was a fun hike through the jungle!

A fun lighthouse that still is working in Puerto Rico. You could see the beacon from miles away!

A beautiful day at the beach with my favorite guy!

In 29 years of marriage, this was the first time we'd ever gone away for two weeks and just done everything just the way we wanted. No plans, no agendas, just a boy and a girl, 2 backpacks and a rental car!

Still Have Some Mommy Influence!

You know, we were super involved with our girls growing up. Like, so involved we were most definitely irritating! Between homeschooling, constant soccer games and requiring the girls-along with their current boyfriends to attend "Family Nights," we were a pretty tight knit group! But, as they've grown up and moved away it doesn't seem they need us as much....don't get me wrong! I don't want a 24 year old still living at home and I do love the freedom of a "no kid" life, if you know what I mean. But sometimes I really do miss those days of Mommy Influence!

Driving home after a wonderful Thanksgiving, we were listening to Taylor Swift and she started sing some sweet song about never growing up. Yeah, it brought tears and sniffles to both of us. We really, REALLY, loved raising our little girlies. I started feeling sad and only essential to my crazy Poppy puppy. I went to sleep feeling a little melancholy. Typical.

But today I got to use my Mommy Influence and it was delightful!

First off...Casey was impressed enough about the lotion bar that I gave her, that she's decided to make some for Christmas gifts for her friends. Score 1 for a good idea!

Second...Dear Dannon texted me for the infamous blog recipe of Chicken Pot Pie and shared it with some girlfriends and it was a success. Score 2 for a Betty Crocker Recipe!

Third...(a little humbling yet realistic) Shelby accidentally ruined a table at a house she was housesitting and figured I'd done the same thing at some point in my life so she called to get some quick advice. Yes, indeed I have discovered that some very fine sand paper is essential if you own any wood furniture valued over $100....Score 3 for my ability to fix my predictable blunders!

And later, we received this very sweet tweet!

So, you know, it's all okay. Really...I'm glad you're all grown up, and happy. And that's a season of our lives that we cherish more than any other gift God could have ever given us.

Why I Love My Yard!

I love my yard. We've lived in this house for 18 years and every year we get more joy out of the our back yard. Even tho we are on the edge of a busy street, we also have a wonderful bit of wildlife. My Cooper is an awesome hunter that brings us treats to show his love!








This was a little scrumptious frozen treat from my Cooper. He just couldn't understand why I wouldn't let him inside the house to enjoy it. Hmmm.....











We rescued this little guy from the death jaws of Cooper. He survived the night and we took him to the Wildlife Reserve the following day.












I woke up one wintery morning to see this out my bedroom window. Cooper was scoping this baby dear out and finally decided to give chase. He started spatting at the deer and ended up actually chasing the deer out of the yard. You just wonder what goes through is head at times like this!







Every couple of years we have a momma hummingbird decide to build a nest on our front porch. It's fun to watch but kind of a pain. She doesn't like it when we use our front door, and the babies get pretty messy!










We did put a mirror up so we could keep an eye on the egg. The babies are so cute when they're born. Once again, pretty messy tho!!












This afternoon was funny. We were outside with the camera and this Monarch butterfly landed right on Ches' head. It would fly around and then return again and again. Happy summer evenings.












Ah...we had our very own "Charlotte's Web". We grew to love this spider. She would weave a tremendous web every evening and then in the morning it would be all wrapped up. She was so fun to watch and keep track of each day. As the story goes, she had a sac of eggs and then one day, late in the summer, she was gone. I was "Wilbur Weepy.





We're planning on moving before summer this year. I will miss all of the fun adventures we've had over the years, but I won't miss this creepy guy!!

When you begin to enter into the "Empty Nest" time of life, you have more time to sit back and remember Thanksgiving pasts.

The earliest Thanksgiving I remember was at my Grandmother's house. I'm sure I was younger than 5. I remember pieces of sitting at the kids table in the kitchen and all of my cousins and aunts and uncles were there. I remember vague things like carrot raisin salad...ick! And foreign things like cheesecake and carrot cake which I thought sounded equally disgusting and wouldn't try any of it. Silly me! I remember my aunts and uncles playing dominos, which I never could understand and my Aunt Vonciele would play Yatzee with me. Knowing the family dynamics now, I'm sure there was lots of fighting and bickering but at the time I thought we all loved each other and had a great time.

I don't specifically remember too many Thanksgivings through the rest of my growing up years here in Colorado. I remember a couple of Thanksgivings alone when my mom went down to Farmington and I stayed home because of my job. Not fun.

Fast forward to 1982! I met Ches and we decided sometime around November 20th that we would get married December 19th. Mind you, we'd known each other for 4 months and we were 18, of course we knew what we were doing!! Well, we happily broke the news to his family first on Thanksgiving Day: picture a beautifully set table at Brad and Debbie's house. The table FILLED with all of Ches' Italian Uncles drinking wine and telling "risque" jokes! I specifically remember Uncle Frank...I think he was the only person to say congratulations. The rest of them looked a bit worried. My mom just cried and wondered if we were pregnant. Nope, just impulsive.

I had a horrible Thanksgiving the next year. Took Christopher and went out to Thanksgiving Dinner at a local restaurant. That year sucked. Nothing else to say.

Since then every year has been special and wonderful. 1986 I prepared the Thanksgiving meal. I had just had Casey and was pregnant with Dannon but didn't know it yet. Maybe that's why I cried the whole day. Plus, I thought I'd make an improvement on the traditional Thanksgiving meal and have Turkey Tetrazzini and Strawberry Crepes instead of boring Turkey and Stuffing and Mashed Potatos. Ches' family is so sweet and patient. Gary sweetly went to buy more noodles when I undercooked them, Shannon just smiled and held Casey, Grandma Marion patiently held her tongue and Grandpa Selby just brought a bag of Snickers for us to snack on.

Since then, I've hosted Thanksgiving's where I made everyone eat Pumpkin Soup and, the year I became a vegetarian, we all had some fake turkey stuff and all the side dishes were free of any animal products. Once again, I marvel at the patience of Grandpa Gary!













Memories I hope my girls take from our Thanksgivings are: Aunt Shannon coming over and bringing a box of wine. She didn't drink that much but she couldn't cook and that was her contribution to every holiday. She often said she wanted to build a custom home with no kitchen in it as that would make her feel even less guilty.




































I hope they remember all those years that we had to write down what we were thankful for. I know they think it was corny, but I love to go back and re-read their thankfulness for their family and their relationship with God. Just gives me warm fuzzies! And waiting to eat at Grandma Marion's until we were all about to fall over with starvation. Aunt Shannon always wanting to sit at the kids table. And the DiDonato's playing poker all evening!















I hope they remember the Thanksgiving Spirit we shared when we served breakfast at the park on Thanksgiving Morning or brought home random homeless guys to spend the day with us. That's all part of who we are.














....And....this is also who we are! The introduction of boys to my family! Yes, they had their very own turkey!


Well, this year I had the pleasure of passing on the "Hostess Mantle" to Casey. Who promptly handed it over to Michael.














It's amazing how little I had to buy this year! That was nice! Not like the usual 17 bags of groceries!
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Michael did a marvelous job!! He prepared everything with the help of Paula Deene and other famous chefs. Notice the laptop in the background!!















Casey critiqued my cooking abilities. Looks like Ches didn't have much to say, tho. Good boy!




Casey and Shelby were a great help in the kitchen....
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The table was beautiful. Michael and Casey did a wonderful job. We ended the night with an infamous "Friend's Thanksgiving Episode" and then Ches and I took a few plates of leftovers home.














I'm so thankful for my family. For families to take care of my Mike and Dannon. For having grown girls that can carry on family traditions and begin their own. It's fun to look back at where we've been, and more fun to anticipate what's to come.