Look Who Showed Up!!

October turned out to be a very eventful month... actually an amazing month. I spent the first two weeks on pins and needles waiting for the birth of my first grandson. It's so cool how God shows up even for the minor things.... I prayed that my daughter, Lenzi would not be "started" into labor (they are very "pro" let's start you today!! in Vegas) she was getting pretty upset.

I also prayed that God would get me through one more week at work, my replacement was so crazy busy & I knew she needed one more week to wrap up her work, so I prayed to finish out the week. I prayed for God's perfect timing in my daughter going into labor, me getting to Vegas in time (and alive!!) and a wonderful delivery.

Our work weeks are four 10 hour days, monday thru thursday. I finished work thursday, went grocery shopping, fixed dinner, ate... got "the call" and headed to Vegas at 8 pm that night!! I drove (fast!!) & arrived in Vegas (in one piece) at 2:00 am. In the meantime, Ben took Lenzi to the hospital. Lenzi was dialated to a 3 and they sent her home to "get further along" & told her that she may go through these pains for a couple of days. (pretty interesting when they were so "pro" let's start you NOW )Ugh.

I watched my daughter go through her labor pains for about an hour (now I know how the "dad's" feel.... helpless! There is nothing you can say or do to help! "Breathe" is about the best anyone can do... =0) She decided to take a bath to see if the labor pains would subside (thinking this may be "false labor") They came stronger. At about 4 am we were off to the hospital. She said she didn't care what they say this time, she was NOT leaving!! ha ha.

When we arrived at the hospital, they immediately checked her to see if they could admit her. She was dialated to an 8!!! They asked her if she was trying to go "natural". She gave them "the LOOK" and they immediately got her an epidural.

After the wonders of modern medicine kicked in, she texted a few people and then it was time to push. She pushed for about 20 minutes and had the most amazing delivery I have ever seen. It was flawless and almost effortless. She was so amazing and I couldn't believe that was my daughter. I was so proud of her. She was so beautiful.

My grandson came into the world with brown hair (all my daughter asked of him in the "looks" dept.!) and a good set of lungs!! I fell in love the second I saw him. I knew I was a gonner... My life would never be the same. I always heard that you love your kids but you LOVE your grandkids... it's true!!

I thanked God for all my blessings & answered prayers... (You always show up when I need you!) He is so kind to me & I don't deserve it. Grace- God's Riches At Christ's Expense. Thank you Lord, Your hand was in every aspect of this birth & I praise You!

Happy Birthday Bret!!

Today is Bret's 24th birthday!!! I can't believe how time flies!! Time to celebrate my Bretski!!

He is an amazing artist, he has been asked to draw for other people. He is truly talented. He has drawn all of his own tattoo's (except for one) and they are all very well done.

He has a knack for electronics and anything with a motor!! If I need anything put together or figured out, I call Bret!! He comes to my rescue. When he was a little boy, we seriously considered going to the D.I. for a used toaster and a set of screwdrivers for his 3rd Christmas!! He would get a remote control car and have it torn apart within 24 hours. It was hilarious!! He is very independent and is doing great on his own. He loves to be active by riding his bike, his 4 wheeler, camping, fishing and working hard. I remember when he was just a young lad, he would jump off everything. If it had any kind of incline, he would walk up it and jump off. We had to take him to the dr. because every night he would cry in pain that his "heels" hurt. We found out that his heel plate was separating from his foot due to all his stunts!!! The dr. suggested that he wear cowboy boots to put more pressure on the ball of his foot & take the pressure off his heels. He did not want to wear cowboy boots. Cowboy boots were for weirdo's!! Needless to say, he jumped off the roof onto the grass... it hurt and he got in trouble!! We could not keep him on the ground!! ha ha

He is beautiful!! He was and is such a beautiful boy. We got complimented on him every where we went. He even won "The Most Beautiful Baby" contest when he was 3 months old.

I remember he and Aaron Perry would terrorize the neighborhood. They would sneak off to the train tracks by our neighborhood (so off limits!!) and we would have everyone looking for them, terrified of the worst! Only to see them coming back later, looking at us like... "what?"...

Funny, I still get that look even today... and the occasional, "what?"

Happy Birthday Son!!! I love you tons!!

Love, Mom

Kids say the darn'dest things

I got to spend the holiday weekend with Lenzi, Ben and my grandkids. While they were here in Utah, we made dental appointments for the family since Dr. Nelson is worth driving from Las Vegas to have him do all their dental work. (little plug, but TRUE!!) Going to work was a vacation from my busy weekend, needless to say, I threw on make up and put a barrette in my hair to get me through my MONDAY...
Ben and Lenzi brought Trey to this appointment so early in the morning... He was sitting in our beautiful reception area in between Ben and Lenzi, half awake. I walked in so happy to see them!
He sat there looking at me while I greeted everyone... I was telling him that he could play X-box or the Wii after his appointment down in the kids game room.
He then asks me, "Grandma Cindy, do you have a "Bump it"?
I thought, I don't know if we have a bump it ... is that a game for the Wii?
Ben and Lenzi are laughing so hard they can't breathe.... I don't get it.
After a few ackward moments of me not knowing what he was talking about... Lenzi, in between gasps, said "it's the hair thing on infomercials".
I HAD seen it!! I NOW KNEW what he was talking about... horrified, I looked in the mirror... It wasn't that HIGH!! I saw the small "bang" bump it... MY hair did not go up THAT HIGH!! ha ha!! I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe... I am contiplating cutting my bangs short, never to be pulled back into a barrette again.

Needless to say, all day I randomly would giggle when I thought of the BUMP IT. I am seriously hoping I get one for my birthday (J/K)!! HA HA

Park City for the 4th of July

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Dear Ol' Dad

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Here are a few pictures of us getting together for a late Father's Day celebration. Had a great time getting together and having a fun ol' fashion BBQ.

(pause blog music before you push play!) =0)

Don't judge too quickly

This is so funny!! Don't judge too quickly...

Princess Abby Ga-Ga

On June 25th we got to wish our Princess Abby (Lady Ga Ga) a Happy 21st Birthday!! In the midst of all the excitement of her 21st birthday finally being here... we all get the sad news that Farrah Fawcett has passed away from cancer. We knew it was coming, just not on our Abby's birthday.


Then as the day of fun & celebrating progressed... shocking news of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson dies too! ... again, not on our Abby's birthday!

So.... needless to say, we will always remember when & where we were when these two celebrities passed away.





Back to Celebrating Abby!!

Here is just a little taste of what having Abby as a daughter has been like over the years:


Sweet as pie- this sweetheart has never ever been mean to anyone. She is always the peace maker and would do anything to make things easier for anyone. She would give the shirt off her back to help someone in need.

Smart as a whip- we are so proud of her. She know's what she wants and she is going for it. She is on her way to getting into the Masters program at BYU in accounting.


Suzie Homemaker- she is an amazing cook. Her specialty is desserts, salads and her home made bread. It wouldn't be a get together without having Abby's home made bread.

She has a 'Great Personality' - no, she's not fat and has a "sweet spirit" =0) ha ha ... she is truly a blast to be around & has a fabulous sense of humor. She is up on the 'one liners' our family uses from funny shows & we can dialogue for hours just on silly one liners...she is a crack up!!

Hard Working- she is always working and going to school. When she takes time off, she is traveling & seeing the world before she settles down someday (SMART- *see Smart as a whip!!) She works hard & plays hard. She is dependable, loyal & honest. She is always the one to offer help at a party or family get together. She is such a blessing to us.

Best Friend- she will take time out of her crazy schedule to go to Jordan or Hayden's games, programs or whatever they ask her to come to. She has taken each of them snowboarding & spent the whole day with each one of them individually. How many 20 year olds do you know that would do that? She is so sweet and such a good example of how to treat your family & be self-less. (wow! I am getting teary....)

Pretty as a princess- yes, Abby is beautiful!! She is as pretty on the inside as she is on the outside. What you see is what you get with Abby. She is the all around perfect package. Some lucky guy is going to be in heaven when he gets to spend the rest of his life with this truly amazing young woman.

Happy Birthday Princess!!

Love, Dad and Cindy
(pause blog music before opening Smile Box)

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Stuck In A Rut

Doug & I took our kids, Jake, Abby, Jordan & Hayden to the Widow Maker hill climb today to watch VP of Smith's, Kenny Kimball, make it up over this enormous mountain. I never thought I would enjoy watching a bunch of crazy guys try to climb a ridiculously straight up & down mountain on dirt bikes, but I did!! Every time one of them would start, you would tense up, in hopes that he would make it to the top. I even felt myself rocking a bit, trying to help them up & over... A few of them ended with motorcycle & rider tumbling down the mountain but most of them got 'stuck in the rut'.

Every time a rider would go up the mountain, they would spin out at a certain point & could not go any further... ending the race for that rider and causing a deep rut for the next rider. The next rider would go up & get caught in the same rut... and so on & so forth.
As I sat there watching rider after rider try to go around the rut & end up making another rut further up the mountain, I pondered.... there in the hot scorching sun, I pondered...

We ALL get stuck in a rut... we try to go around it & get a little further ahead, then make another rut further up our mountain of so-called "life". Sometimes we try so hard to get further ahead & we tumble down the mountain, shamelessly dust ourselves off & try again to get out of the rut we've placed ourselves in. I've never really seen what getting "stuck in a rut" looked like until today. I was ever so enlightened! ha ha

Needless to say, several crazy riders got over the top and it was fascinating to watch. We all had a great time and it was fun to spend time with Jake and Abby.

Waking up every morning with "Squidward"

Yes, you are probably wondering, "what is she talking about?" Well, we live on a dead end road and there is a "farm" next to our house that is facing my bedroom. I wake to the most gawd aweful sound every morning... BAAAAAA BAAAAA (in the deepest most annoying voice ever... think of Squidward on Sponge Bob Squarepants, the one that looks like he has man-junk for a nose... ;0)

As I lay there and ponder whether to get up or not, I drift off into deep thought, I wonder if that is what I sound like to God when I whine? We are known as His sheep and we hear His voice, the Shepherd.... the visual is "lambs". He hears our prayers and let's be honest... we whine sometimes. BAAAA BAAAAAA.... and then, as I am pulling myself out of my deep thought process, I remember, He loves every living thing... especially me, 'cuz I'm His little girl! (even if I WHINE, HE LOVES ME!!) YEAH!!! .... =0)

Hawaii Trip- Cross one off the ol' Bucket List!!

Larilyn gave us all a warm Hawaiian welcome... we all got a lei

Beautiful Hawaii.... Aloha!!


Dr. Nelson & his wife Amy took all his staff to Hawaii

Signature Smiles Staff at Polynesian Cultural Center

Brittney and Cindy at the PCC


Dinner at Haleiwa Joe's for crab & lobster with Dr & Amy

Golfed the world class course at Turtle Bay


Dr. Nelson and Doug golfing Turtle Bay

Saw actual Sea Turtles on the North Shore at Turtle Bay!!

North Shore on O'ahu


Giovanni's Shrimp truck for lunch!!

Shrimp Scampi platter... to die for


Brittney & Rikki fulfilling their dream...

Brittney & Rikki's dream of reliving a moment on "Friends" where they buried Joey in the sand. Dr. Nelson helped make that dream come true for them!

Amy and her Mer-MAN!!


getting ready to hike up Diamond Head!!

at the top of Diamond Head

Hamaena Bay, getting ready to go snorkel


got to witness Rikki's first Tiffany purchase!!

Doug and Cindy at Pearl Harbor


The wall of those who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor

a beautiful Hawaiian sunset....

Thank you to Dr. Nelson and Amy for making my Hawaiian dream come true! We had the best time. We also went parasailing, but I don't have the pictures yet... they are on someone else's camera. I now have the bug to go deep sea diving....

What an amazing world underwater!! God is so creative and awesome!! I just got a little taste of what the ocean holds. It fascinates me... so, I think I will add scuba diving to the ol' bucket list and go get certified.... look out world, here I come... =0)