Our James Family Blog

Day 12: Sorrento & Pompeii...

2010-03-06T15:30:00.000-07:00

We were very sad to check out of our great hotel. Before doing so that morning, we had some time to sit out on the balconies and admire the beautiful view.

This is the view from our room when we woke up this morning. I am taking the picture while sitting on the bed. Gorgeous!

Nathan was a bit worried that Mt. Vesuvius might blow again!

We loved seeing the lemon & orange orchards below our hotel.

The kids, trying to spot the ships sailing the sea.

How about this for the most stunning view from your hotel parking spot? (Please ignore Andrew who was sitting in the back without a seat-belt. It saved $1,000. I feel bad, but I am cheap. We all lived without seatbelts, right?)

We decided to go back into the downtown area of Sorrento to see if the shops were open (a lot of them were closed when we arrived late the night before).

I love walking by fruit stands and seeing these yummy lemons. There is just something about lemons that I love.

Janessa got to meet Jasmine. She is the owner of the jewelry box store where I purchased her wooden jewelry box when I visited last time. Jasmine is a wonderful, sweet lady that owns the shop. Every box is hand-made upstairs. They use tiny strips of colored wood to make designs on the boxes. Everything is hand-laid to make the design (although they look like they are painted). It is an art that Sorrento is known for.

Jasmine sells to all of the missionaries and has for years. Her favorite thing is when the missionaries come to purchase a jewelry box from her for their "future wives." They might not even have someone at home, but when they do find that right girl, they want to have a special gift for her. She says she always loves it when they come back to visit, to introduce their wives to her. This is just what we did with Janessa, we wanted her to see the shop where her box was made and see for herself how sweet Jasmine is.

Nathan was enamored by these tiny little trucks we saw all over Italy. He thought that maybe he was big enough to drive one!

We drove to Pompeii after our shopping trip in Sorrento. While driving along the roads, we were able to see so much beauty around us. Including these orange trees that line the streets of the city (even in January!).

Pompeii was fabulous. It is truly one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in my life. I am in awe of everything in Pompeii. I will just post these pictures without explanation. If you want to see more pictures of Pompeii, look at my post from 2008. I am trying to pretend I'm not sad about "misplacing" some of our Pompeii pictures. I have faith that they will show up on a card sometime and if they do, I will post them.

Day 11: Sorrento & Amalfi Coast...

2010-03-06T01:28:00.001-07:00

Early Monday morning we woke up and headed South. The weather was beautiful and we were excited for another adventure in Italy. We got to Sorrento at lunch time and checked into our hotel. A few years ago, my brother-in-law Bruce (who travels more than anyone I know) taught me about tripadvisor. I swear by this website. All kinds of travelers go on this site and evaluate hotels all over the world. You are able to enter the city you are visiting and it will tell you the rankings of all the hotels in that city, no matter the price of the hotel. There are reviews with descriptions, pictures and everything. The trick is to pick the highest rated hotel that has the cheapest price. The Il Nido Hotel Sorrento ranked #2 and was one of the cheapest hotels by far. That's the one I chose and it was a true winner! We absolutely loved everything about it!

One of the things we read on tripadvisor was that the hotel was a family business and that the restaurant had the most incredible food that was all hand-made by the mama in the family. Everyone said that you HAVE to eat there. We were worried about the timing of our dinner both nights, so we asked if they were open for lunch. It was a very slow time of the year and they were not usually open during lunch, but the brothers talked it over and decided they could "whip something up for us."

We went up to check into our rooms and this is what we found! The most amazing view in the world. Honestly, it was stunning. We had two rooms and they both had balconies looking over the ocean, the city of Sorrento, lemon and orange orchards and the best (what Nathan had been looking forward to seeing for months) was the view of Mt. Vesuvius, although the clouds were covering it briefly.

After getting settled, we went down to the restaurant to eat. The kids were starving and we were so excited. The views from the tables were even better than from our rooms.

We were the only ones in the restaurant. To say they catered to our every need would be an understatement. It was unbelievable how we were treated. We let the children order anything they wanted. Warning: The images you will see may be disturbing. Honestly, any diet you currently are on will be out the window after seeing them. All I can think of after posting them is pasta. I am now starving. (Jill... don't complain that I didn't warn you this time.)

First were the antipasti plates. Our family LOVES seafood and the sort. Harrison loves it, but is allergic, which is just so sad for him.

We ordered a couple of plates of antipasti, including calamari, shrimp, bruchetta, and lots of meats, cheeses and breads.

Andrew was in heaven, there are no words to describe the joy he felt.

Rick orders gnocchi at every Italian restaurant we go to. He had it on his mission in Argentina and it is his favorite food. This was amazing and was made fresh in the kitchen after we ordered it, lathered in home-made sauce and baked in the oven.

This was my ravioli. Wow. Amazing. I want to eat it right now. Darn pictures.

Harrison ordered "Whole Fish" off the menu. We had said they could have anything they wanted, so we didn't question the choice.

When it arrived, he said, "Oh my gosh, it's a WHOLE fish! I didn't know it was going to be a WHOLE fish!" We laughed and laughed. It was pretty self-explanatory on the English menu!

Nathan started on his spaghetti with Bolognese sauce before I could even take a photo! And, I didn't even catch what Janessa & Andrew ordered, because by the time I took the other photos, I no more will-power and I was devouring my ravioli.

After lunch we headed up the hill and started on our way to the famous Amalfi Coast. We stopped a couple of places along the way and Nathan kept jumping in the front seat of the car. Yeah, good luck with that, I thought. There was no way I was giving up that front seat on a super curvy, windy, sometimes off the edge of the cliff road. I get so carsick!

The view was beautiful, despite a few clouds. The colors weren't nearly as pretty as they were in the summer, but it had its own kind of beauty & a feeling of serenity.

Rick scaring Nathan, as usual.

As we were driving along the coast (which was completely empty compared to the traffic jams I witnessed in July), we saw this. An elaborate village scene along the road, nestled in the cliffs. It totally caught us off guard.

We pulled to the side of the very dangerous road (even more dangerous than most roads in Italy) to get a better look. It was so cool! An entire city, all lit up.

They had a nativity (precipe) in a cave above the city. It really took our breath away.

It got dark so fast, which we weren't really prepared for. We didn't get as many pictures as I had hoped before the sun went down. We stopped in the town of Amalfi. I hadn't stopped there on our trip before (literally, it is so crowded in the summertime that it probably isn't even possible). I'm so glad we stopped and walked into the town.

Their cathedral is tucked in right in the middle of narrow streets.

While walking down the little narrow streets, we came upon a group of singers/dancers who were parading down the street. They were so animated as they sang, played their instruments and pulled others in to dance.

It was so crazy, when cars would come, everyone would just squeeze along the buildings and shops to let them by. Then as soon as they drove off, the party started up again. I was so glad we happened upon this. I still have no idea what it was (being a village with out many tourists during the holiday season, not many spoke English), but we loved it.

We stopped in a few little shops, including this one where we purchased some pasta & spices.

The shop had these lemons in a basket in front of their door. This southern part of Italy is known for their amazing lemons. Look at how big they are, as big as Nathan's head! And they tasted so great!

We found some yummy local granitas like Karen & I fell in love with on my last visit.

The Amalfi Coast was very different for me this time. Much less colorful and busy as the last time I visited. I liked the holiday touches and it was nice to see a little more of the local side.

As we drove back to Sorrento, we saw so many lit up decorations for the holidays. I thought they were all so classy, no Santa Claus or snowmen to be found anywhere! There were stars and nativities everywhere. It was beautiful!

We got back to Sorrento in time to walk around that town and have some dinner at a yummy pizza place. Again, we walked through some of the less "touristy" parts of the town.

The streets were empty, so quiet and peaceful.

At one point we walked past some type of archways that had the most beautiful frescoes. I think it's fun to find treasures like this in the middle of these streets.

Sorrento was one of my favorite cities that we visited on my last trip, and I love it even more after this winter trip.

Day 10: Nemi...

2010-03-03T08:43:00.008-07:00

Sunday we went to church in the Rome 3 ward. It was a very fun experience for us. We went to all three hours and we all had a great time. After church, Karen was preparing for an open house at the mission home. They had invited members & missionaries to bring investigators and they invited the neighbors to come. We decided it might be a good time for a drive to Nemi, so we'd be out of the way (mostly so the boys would be out of the way) while they got the house ready.

We drove to Nemi, about an hour away. Ever since I visited Nemi with Karen in 2008, I have wanted to go back. It is the sweetest little town perched up on a hill above a crater lake. The family loved it.

The only problem with visiting on a Sunday was that we couldn't buy one of the yummy strawberry tarts. We hadn't thought that out too well!

We just walked all around the town and explored. It was a great evening, warm and beautiful. The sunset was so pretty, we were happy we picked this time to visit.

The kids enjoyed drinking from Medusa's fountain!

When we were ready to go, we couldn't find Janessa. She was hiding in a phone booth... trying to make calls to her friends to tell them all about her fun trip! Life without a cell phone is really rough on teenagers!

By the time we arrived back at the mission home, they were ready for visitors. It was all so festive and nice. They had set out refreshments, had a church Christmas presentation showing and had nativities set up all over.

The missionaries sang Christmas songs outside, they were really amazing. Mark accompanied them on the violin.

President with Rick and Andrew, the next missionary in our family! It was a great missionary experience for all of us. I am so proud of what Jeff & Karen have done on their mission. They are amazing examples to us as they share the gospel with others in Italy.

Day 9: Rome...

2010-02-17T15:47:00.001-07:00

The weather today was not as great as it had been the day before on Christmas day. I think the kids were disappointed that had not ventured out into the city with us the day before! But, we still had a great time. We split up; Rick took Andrew & Harrison to the Coliseum to tour the inside and the Roman Forum. I took Janessa & Nathan to the Borghese Park and the Zoo located in the park.

These monkeys were so cute, we could have stayed and watched them all day long. The babies would run and climb on their parents' backs and tease them. They would chase each other around and around. Parents would get territorial of their babies. It was so much fun to watch their little world.

After the zoo we walked through the Borghese park. It is so beautiful there. We had fun playing hide and seek in the trees and running around everywhere.

We took the subway over to the coliseum to meet up with the Rick, the boys, and Mark & Aersta.

Mark & Aersta are the cutest couple! I caught them kissing along a little tourist stand.

We walked all through Rome in the pouring rain. By the time we made it to the Trevi Fountain, the kids were done. We snapped a quick picture (not a good one) and ran into a restaurant to get some pizza. Despite the rain, it was a very productive day in the city of Rome.

Max the miracle dog...

2010-02-16T11:23:00.006-07:00

If you are friends with me on Facebook, you already know part of the story of Max, our newly found German Shepherd that we had fallen in love with over the weekend. Here is the rest of the story...

Rick had taken me to Salt Lake Saturday night as a surprise for Valentine's Day. It was the first time we had ever left the kids home alone for the night. We had a great time and we were heading back home around 11:00 Sunday morning to get everyone ready for church. As we were turning off of Highland Highway to Cedar Hills (right at the mouth of the American Fork Canyon), there was a dog in the middle of the road. Not just any dog, but a gorgeous German Shepherd. I told Rick to hurry and stop and I ran and grabbed it so it wouldn't get hit by a car. I brought it over to the side of the road and saw that it didn't have a collar on. The dog didn't wait a second before he jumped right into Rick's car, in the front seat! He started panting and licking Rick. Like he was saying, "OK, I'm ready to go whenever you are."

Rick looked at me and I gave him that look. You know the look that Sandra Bullock gave her husband in the Blindside? I give Rick that look a lot. He didn't even have a prayer at that point. Stray dog in the middle of the road, AND the fact that it was a German Shepherd? I grew up with German Shepherds, sometimes up to four at a time. We bred them. I love them more than anything. So, we took him home of course!

We told the kids to hurry upstairs that we had a surprise. They were beside their selves with joy, screaming and yelling. They love dogs but we have never known if we would be able to have one. We have a small yard and the boys are allergic to some dogs. But, they adore them. We got some cat food and water and put the bowls on our wood entry floor. He went wild. He seriously ate half of a Costco bag of cat food and drank about 2 gallons of water. (Well, really about a gallon's worth dripped on the floor out of his mouth, so he probably only drank one.) Nathan immediately wanted to know if it was a boy or a girl. Once it was determined that he was a boy, Nathan declared his name to be "Max!"

I let the kids have some fun with him while I tried to call animal control. They were closed until Tuesday morning, due to the President's Day weekend. Their recording said to contact the local police if you have found a dog, so I did. The cute girl who answered the phone said that they could have someone come and pick it up. I told her no, that we wanted to keep him and we would take him in ourselves Tuesday morning. I was not about to let a pure-bred German Shepherd spend a weekend in the pound! I left my name and phone number in case anyone called missing him.

It was like pulling teeth to get the kids ready for church. They wanted to just play with the dog the entire day! I really don't think Nathan ever got his hair combed or teeth brushed. I already was stressed that morning working on my first sharing time and trying to get the cupcakes I made the day before ready for a teacher in service. (I had no idea I wasn't going to be home Sunday morning... aren't husbands so sweet & thoughtful?) While working on all of that, I made a few phone calls around the ward. I got a large dog carrier from Heidi Goodrich and we put the dog in that while we went to church. Nathan was so sad the whole time, he kept saying, "But he is crying, he will miss us so much. Maybe I should just stay home with him!"

He did well in the carrier and was so excited to see the kids when we got home. They waisted no time getting him out and started rolling around (in their church clothes) with him!

We had the most fun all weekend. The boys were supposed to go to Sundance on Monday to ski/snowboard, but nobody wanted to leave the dog! Nathan spent a lot of the morning showing him any movie with dogs in it. He had put him in the theater room and he was sprawled out on the Love Sac!

Rick took the kids on a trip to Wal-Mart to buy some things for him. I told him to get a collar and chain so we could put him outside a little (he had already chewed up a drumstick, a cup and a DVD case). The kids bought every snack and toy they could find and we got a big bag of dog food, thinking maybe the cat food wasn't filling enough. They came home and put some thing in the middle of the grass and got some of the rope left over from trek to tie to his collar. Rick called me while I was out and said that by the time he got the rope tied to the thing in the lawn, he had chewed his way through the rope... it was in five pieces! I thought that was so funny, Rick had no idea the power of a German Shepherd! So, I stopped by Petco and bought a 30 ft. cable and of course more snacks and toys for him! By the time I was home with it, Rick had fallen in love with him and said that we could keep him if we couldn't find his owners!

We tried putting him outside last night, but he barked and whimpered, so we put him in his carrier for the night. When I got up this morning, Nathan had put a cardboard sign on the top that said, "Max. My dog." We adored him and he was really fitting into our family. We read scriptures with him this morning as he sat in the corner and chewed on his bone that my sister's family brought him last night for Family Home Evening (they love German Shepherds too). In our family prayer this morning, like all the others that weekend, we asked Heavenly Father that if Max's family was looking for him we would find them. But if not, that he could be our dog. The kids all said "goodbye" and hugged him before heading off to school, just in case he wasn't home when they got home. (Andrew and Janessa were texting all morning, "Did you find his home, do we get to keep him, etc." What happened to no texting at school?)

Right around 9:00 this morning I took him to the animal shelter, not sure how it would go. I told the lady that I had found a dog over the weekend and I wanted to see if he had a chip or if someone was looking for him. She told me to fill out these papers and take him around to the back. I said, "No, you don't understand. I am NOT leaving him here. If he has owners that are looking for him, I will find them. But if not, we are keeping him." She explained that it was against the law to harbor a stray (seriously?) and that they would have to take him and keep him for five days and if he wasn't claimed by then, we could have him. I was not at all going to have that. I asked how they knew for sure that the right owners came? What if some Cruella DeVille came by looking for a gorgeous German Shepherd and said he was hers? She said that they ask a lot of questions to make sure it was the right owner. I still wasn't satisfied. I said, "Well, do you want to at least check to see if he has a chip before I take him then?" She could tell I wasn't going to budge, so she called a lady to come and check. In the meantime, she was looking in the book of lost dogs for a German Shepherd. "Nope, no chip in that dog," the lady came back in saying. I was so excited, we were getting closer. She had looked in the book all the way back for at least two weeks. No missing German Shepherds.

I thought I was almost in the clear to take Max home with me, where he belonged. And then the phone rang. "Hello. OK. What kind of dog? What city do you live in? What color is it? Boy or girl?" And then she looked up at me. Until then I thought it was just a normal everyday call. She said, "Is your dog a boy?" That was it. We had found the owner. The animal shelter lady knew me well enough at that point to hand the phone over. The lady on the other line seemed as sweet as could be, but I still had to know for sure Max was her dog. She told me all about him, including his slightly bent tail. As I looked out the window at Max, wagging his slightly crooked tail, I couldn't help myself but start to cry. I told her that we had her dog and I would bring him home. I took her number down so that I could call her from my cell phone (I had no more use of animal shelter lady).

I talked to her most of the drive, choking back my tears as I was thinking of telling my kids. She was so sweet and told me how her kids were just devastated. The dog had escaped on Friday and they had been searching all weekend for him. They had put posters up all over Highland/Alpine and had posted it on Facebook (obviously we don't have any friends in common). Her husband had even looked all day Saturday for him. He and his kids took horses all over the neighborhood and up the mountains calling for him. He even took his 3 year old German Shepherd up the mountain, hoping she would
would track him (he said he watched too many Lassie episodes). She led him up to the top of the mountain in his snowshoes. When the snow was so deep it was to the dog's neck, he decided she was not on the right track. Their teenagers were so sad all weekend and had been praying for him. They were so worried that he still had his collar and part of the cable on and that he was caught somewhere, suffering. They even had a special family fast on Sunday, the day we found him, that somebody would find him. The best part of the story is this. At one point when she was talking about her dog, she said, "Max!" I said, "What is his name? Is it really Max?" Yes. His name is Max. That little 7 year old Nathan is more inspired than we can even understand.

On my way I stopped home and grabbed his food and a few of his toys (most of the bones were buried various places). The Murdoch family lives in Alpine in a beautiful home that backs up to the hills. The perfect dwelling for a dog. We will miss Max, but we are so thankful that he found us and we could love and take care of him until his family was able to find him. We will never forget him. I am taking the kids to see him at his home today after school, and they have promised to call us if they ever go on vacation. They also said they are talking about breeding their dogs. There isn't anything more adorable in the world than a German Shepherd puppy. I hope they hurry, we can't wait. We even have most of the supplies we would need already!

UPDATE...

Here is a quick shot of the kids visiting Max today (and his friend Mia) at his house. The kids took him the rest of his treats (we seriously had enough to last a year), his bones and his ball. They had fun playing with him and Mia. They are feeling much better now that they know he went to a good home and a very sweet family. Max did try to get in our van when we were leaving. He lives outside at the Murdoch's house. I think he liked the Love Sac and all the salami he got from the kids! We told him he could visit anytime he wanted.

Day 8: Christmas in Rome

2010-02-10T11:05:00.000-07:00

The kids actually slept in! First Christmas that has happened in a LONG time. Boy, life with older kids is great! We had to wake them up and bring them downstairs. Of course, we did make them pose on the stairs before they could open presents.

We all sat in the living room, with cameras ready, waiting for them to enter. I love that part, making them wait outside the door until the paparazzi are in place.

The kids were so late that even Aersta had time to get a bite to eat!

Andrew loved his new Italian watch.

Harrison & Andrew got season passes to Sundance from Santa, Nathan got Legos and Janessa got a new purse & wallet with euro in it!

Karen got a beautiful Christmas plate, perfect to serve her tea ring on. Eating tea rings for breakfast is a long tradition in our family.

Karen made a fabulous Christmas dinner! I really love her cooking. I've missed her for lots of reasons, but her cooking is one of the top things on the list!

Rick and I decided that since it was about 65 degrees outside, we would run into the city for a walk. The kids protested and wanted to stay in their pajamas all day long playing games. So, we went without them. We walked through the Villa Borghese and saw these two nuns walking along with this gorgeous sunset. My white balance was still set to indoors, so the picture is blue. But, I still love the memory of them. It was so peaceful in Rome that afternoon.

We were considering taking public transportation, but decided to drive just in case they were off for the holiday. Sure enough, here was an abandoned bus we saw that wished everyone a "Merry Christmas" in Italian.

We hurried through the Borghese, as I tried to remember how to get to the spot that had a gorgeous view of Piazza del Popolo and the Vatican. The sunset was beautiful and I was so worried we weren't going to find it in time!

But we did, and oh, what a view. It was one of the prettiest things I have ever seen!

We really don't look that great (ok, Rick looks fine, it's me that doesn't look great), but I wanted to post at least one picture of us in front of this gorgeous view. This is the only one we asked someone to take for us. The rest were horrible attempts at self-portraits where we would hold the camera as far out as we could. Really, as bad as this one is, be so glad you don't have to see the others!

After enjoying every last second of the sunset, we walked down to the Piazza del Popolo and saw a few things there. They had all of these cool lights being projected onto the buildings, in preparation for their big New Year's Eve party (which we went to later on). There was a cool countdown and everything!

We went on a gorgeous walk through the streets of Rome in the moonlight. This statue was just something we happened upon, but I thought it was gorgeous.

We went to the Spanish Steps.

We also got to see the Trevi Fountain. This was Rick's first venture into the heart of Rome (we only saw the Vatican before we headed north for a week). He really loved it and it was so fun on Christmas day to wander around the city with him. We had a magical evening. And, since the trip to Italy was our Christmas present (and maybe the next 10 years worth of Christmas presents) to each other, this was the perfect way to say "Merry Christmas" to each other. (Thanks to Karen for entertaining our children while we were on our "date night" in Rome!)

Days 7: Christmas Eve in Rome

2010-02-05T10:21:00.018-07:00

Most of the early hours of Christmas Eve were spent sleeping in at the mission home. At least the teenagers anyway. Rick and I took a little venture down to the market and did some last minute shopping. We do the same thing every year, worry about one particular child, thinking he/she doesn't have as much as the others. So, we focus on that child and then on Christmas Eve when we lay everything out, it is a completely different child that doesn't have as much. This was the case with Andrew. We had forgotten that we really wanted to get him a nice watch. We were left to find one in the quaint little neighborhood shops. We finally found a very nice jewelry store and bought a perfect Italian watch for him. Once our shopping was done we headed back to the mission home.

This is what we found when we arrived. In true "Cozzens family tradition" everyone was working on a "project" on Christmas Eve. (My dad once had all the sons & son-in-laws pouring concrete ON Thanksgiving Day!) Andrew, Mark & Aersta (with no help from Nathan & Harrison who were making messes with the packing materials) decided to set up a large cabinet that the church had sent. They did a great job of it, although I totally forgot to take a picture of the finished project!

And, also keeping with another family tradition, Karen was making tea rings. My mom has done this for years and years. We drop them off to neighbors and friends. (Sorry to all of my current neighbors who haven't ever received these from me... there's always next year!) Karen is so great at keeping this tradition alive. She and I had a great time delivering these everywhere. We even took one to this adorable Catholic nun at the kids' school. She was so sweet.

Nathan fell in love with Stephanie's bunny while we were there. They will have to correct me, but I think his name is Chico, which means "chubby." Nathan snuggled with the bunny during the Christmas Eve festivities (and every other chance he got).

We had a nice Christmas Eve program where we watched a little church video, read from Luke and sang Christmas songs.

Aunt Karen made some yummy Tuscan Tomato soup for us before we went to bed.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care (ok... no chimney, but this was the closest thing we had).

The children were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads. Mmmm... something tells me these kids are faking! And, they are in our bed! As soon as we finally got them up to their beds, we finished up wrapping things up (literally) and got to bed ourselves. A wonderful Christmas Eve!

Day 6, part 3: Pisa...

2010-02-01T10:02:00.006-07:00

My sister Karen said, earlier in the week, "You should see the Leaning Tower of Pisa at night, it is really gorgeous all lit up." So, we didn't worry too much about time after we left the Cinque Terre and La Spezia. Even though we had a pretty long drive home to Rome, we thought it would be fine to take our time a little and visit Pisa in the dark.

Karen forgot to mention that they turned off the lights in December to save money (she actually denies knowing about that). Tourists (except for us) usually don't visit in the winter. So funny. Taking these pictures took every single camera setting I could think of. They still don't look great, but considering it was pitch black, it wasn't bad.

After visiting the Tower of Pisa, we went to a pizza place right there to eat outside (finally warm enough). We thought it would be fun eating pizza in Pisa, with a view of the tower. We had a good time, despite the fact that the pizza was terrible! Very touristy place. The kids didn't seem to mind. It was a great view.

After dinner, we drove back home to Rome. We hit an accident and major traffic in Florence, so it took us a very long time. We got home about 1:30 a.m. We were so proud with how much we had accomplished in one day and we really enjoyed our week up north!

Day 6, part 2: Cinque Terre & La Spezia...

2010-01-24T17:02:00.016-07:00

The Cinque Terre is one of my favorite places in Italy. Ever since I went in 2008, I've wanted to come back and bring Rick.

Cinque Terre means "five lands" in Italian. It is located on the western coast of Italy, what is considered the Italian Riviera. It is made up of five fishing villages that are all connected by a hiking trails, as well as a train. There are no roads that link the five villages.

The most famous trail connects Riomaggiore to Manarola and is called the Via Dell'Amore, or "Lover's Walk". It's a fun train that is high up on the cliffs above the sea. The kids had a great time hiking it.

The pathway has so many tunnels and cute little spots.

There is graffiti everywhere you walk, but this is where the Italian graffiti doesn't bother me. They are love notes and I think it's actually sweet. People find the most creative places to express their love!

A lot of these photos were taken by Karen too.

We had such a blast spending two weeks with Mark & Aersta. Even though we live so close, we never get to see them. Aren't they just the cutest couple? So photogenic!

Along the trail there is a famous bench with a railing full of locks. Legend says that there were two lovers, from two different towns that met there and they left a padlock to symbolize their love. They threw the key into the ocean. Now it is a local tradition to do the same with locsk. Some are engraved, written on with Sharpies, and some are just plain little locks.

I had purchased a lock back at home and had a local jeweler engrave it with our names and wedding date. I gave it to Rick on our anniversary. We were so excited to leave a symbol of our love there at the Cinque Terre. We hope that we will someday be able to make it back to see it!

We put ours just to the right of the bench.

And then we each threw a key into the ocean. (Nathan was mad because he wanted to throw something into the ocean, so afterward we had to find him a rock to throw.)

We have lasted 18 years, and we are hoping this little stunt will help insure a few more happy years!

Then Rick got frisky again. Sorry about this picture, but I thought it was really funny!

After our fun hike our family stayed and had a picnic lunch. The best part of being there at the Cinque Terre in December was the fact that there were no crowds at all! We were all alone most of the time on the trails and even sitting and having lunch, we only saw a couple of people. It was such a perfect day!

We had to wait a bit for a train to come and take us back to La Spezia, where our car was. The kids were pretty wild while waiting for the train to arrive. (Notice Nathan's forehead with red pen marks from his brothers.)

Harrison giving Andrew a piggy-back ride.

And then there is Janessa, as sweet as can be!

The kids all loved riding the train.

La Spezia is a coastal town that has really great shopping. We only parked here to take the train to the Cinque Terre, and we had to leave pretty quickly to get to Pisa and then home to Rome. It's really too bad, because it is a fun city to spend some time in. These are just a few pictures the kids wanted me to take as we walked through the town to our car.

Day 6, part 1: Florence...

2010-01-19T14:48:00.011-07:00

There are so many wonderful parts to Day 6, it was one of my favorite days, so I thought I would pay tribute separately as to not take away from any event. Here is part one, Florence. (Please click on the photos to enlarge.)

This morning we woke up and left Florence. We were really sad to leave, it really is a gorgeous city. On our way out, we stopped at the Piazzale Michelangelo to see the view. It is something I missed somehow on my last trip. It was breathtaking, really. When we drove up the hill and went around the corner, it took my breath away, literally. I don't know if I have ever seen a more dramatic, stunning view.

I wanted a picture of each of the kids with this view in the background. We really could have done without the Denver Broncos shirts. It takes away from the beautiful scenery!

Rick kept getting "frisky" that day, everywhere we went! I think he was trying to pretend today was our anniversary instead of that tow truck day! Thanks to Andrew for capturing a fun shot!

Day 5: Florence & Pistoia...

2010-01-13T16:32:00.015-07:00

We arrived in Florence late Monday night. We had yet one more big complication, and that was no briefcase upon checking in. Our passports were in them. It was pure panic for about 15 minutes until we found them at our previous hotel in Bologna. The people at that Bolonga hotel were saints to deal with us (they were the ones who ultimately helped us the most with the tow truck situation). They spoke perfect english and were good enough to stop everything to find our briefcase. Luckily the managers of the Firenze Suites know Karen and were ok to wait for our passports until the next morning (we did give them copies of them that night).

**This picture is one that I took last time I was in Florence. I used a tripod and I was there on the bridge for hours trying to get the best shots. The pictures were much better from my last trip, but the company was more fun on this one!

Once we finally got the stressful situation under control, we went with the kids to see the room. We had just picked up my sister Karen at her hotel, The Sheraton and the kids were a little disappointed we weren't staying there. I promised them this was better and they were a little worried when we pulled up.

The outside is nothing to write home about. It is tucked away right in the heart of Florence, just a couple of blocks from the Duomo. When the kids opened the doors, they were so excited! They got their own room and Rick and I finally had some piece and quiet in our own room. This hotel is one I had stayed at before and I felt very comfortable with the kids staying by themselves, while we were just down the hall.

They only have about a dozen rooms and they are all decorated like you wouldn't believe! They are huge and beautiful, with a little entrance to a courtyard ouside. If you are ever in Florence, you have to call me to get the information, this hotel is really the best!

After checking out the rooms, we went for a walk around the city. We saw the Ponte Vechio bridge, the Duomo, the Baptistry (with the brass doors), the Medici palace (with a replica of David in front of it) and everything we could see at night. We also stopped and got gelato and waffles. It was a really fun walk.

Tuesday (day 5) was supposed to be Cinque Terre with the Acersons, but since Rick's anniversary present (a lock for the Cinque Terre) was in his briefcase, amongst many other valuables, he decided to drive back to Bologna to retrieve it. The kids and I went and grabbed Marianne and Stephanie and we hung out in Florence all day long. We shopped at the markets and had a blast! Well, everyone but Harrison and Nathan had a blast.

Andrew went crazy over the selection of ties. If you see him sporting a new tie every Sunday, now you know why!

The kids saw this lady making aprons that were personalized at the market. They were dying to get one for Baba (Grandma James). So, we did. We took a picture of her sewing Baba's name on it.

Janessa & Andrew got to buy a lot of presents for their friends. It was raining pretty hard that day, so we did our shopping, a little stop at the Duomo for some sightseeing, stopped for pizza and then headed back to our hotel to relax.

The kids played some card games for hours, while Nathan had a long hot bath in my room and laid down for a nap. I enjoyed some BBC tv and some great computer time (which was rare for the trip). Sometimes, even if you are in the heart of one of the greatest cities in the world, relaxing is a perfect way to spend the day!

When Rick arrived back from a VERY long drive up north (should have take about 2 1/2 hours, but took him 5 becuase the roads were closed from all the snow), we went to the Accadamy where the David is displayed. That was a highlight from my trip before, but since it was 10 euros to see it again (about $15), I decided to wait outside while the family saw it. The kids really loved it. While I was waiting I saw this book store across the street and thought it was charming. Again, not a great picture because it was with the point and shoot, but you get the idea. There are no pictures allowed in the Accadamy, which makes me sad. No pictures of David.

This is the little street in front of our hotel and the second car up is where Rick parked. When we came out to leave, we saw this truck passing and almost hit the car. It is a pretty interesting place to drive, to say the least!

After seeing the David, we got ready and headed to Pistoia for dinner. The teenagers wanted to ride the train and Rick and I drove with the boys. We had been starving ourselves for hours and hours because we knew how much food would be there!

We were invited by the DeRobertis family. Nino, Betty and Annalisa are the most amazing hosts I have ever met. I had the privilage of visiting their home for dinner last time I went to Italy and I was so hoping that my family would have the chance to meet them. They really are fabulous people!

The missionaries always eat dinner at their house and when I visited before they gave some advise: NEVER let your plate be completely empty and NEVER sit next to Nino. He will give you TONS of food and just keep piling it on. Well, Andrew had heard about this and wanted to sit by Nino. When we explained to Nino the situation, he laughed and really piled it on. Andrew did very well, and ate everything he was served!

Betty really is the best cook in the world! We had so many yummy courses with anti-pasto, breads, pastas, meat & potatoes, dulce, etc. They were all amazing.

Karen brought the dulce (sweets). This cake is called a panettone and is a traditional Italian Christmas cake. You see them everywhere and they are always wrapped so pretty.

She also brought these darling candies that the kids loved.

Nino loves to feed the gelato to President (and I don't think President minds eating it).

The Italians also have fruit with their dessert. Harrison still had room in his stomach for a couple of oranges and pears!

Nino makes paper and is an amazing artist. He made this entire nativity scene (called a presepi) with his hands (all except for the figures). Nathan was so intrigued by it, he really loved it!

We have hours and hours of video that Nathan took of the presepi.

Karen brought a Christmas gift for Betty, a beautiful pasta bowl.

Annalisa has the cutest boyfriend that we got to meet (and interigate). Now I am sad to admit that I have forgotten his name, but he was really a great guy!

We stayed quite late and I think Marianne took a little nap. We had a great time and loved the hospitality of the DeRobertis family in Pistoia.

Day 4: Venice...

2010-01-13T14:24:00.010-07:00

We finally made it to Venice. We arranged a few things and cut a few cities out of the itinerary, knowing that Venice was something we had to see, especially when we were that close.

It was snowing there, which seemed to be a pretty big surprise to most of the people who lived and worked there. Because of the humidity, it was very cold, but we still had a great time! (If anyone out there has Al Gore's email, please pass it on... I would love to give him a piece of my mind about Global Warming.)

Venice is a fun place to just walk and get lost in all the allyways. There were always signs that pointed you in the direction to St. Mark's, which made it easy to wander around a little.

The shops were filled with masks, venetian glass trinkets, hats and lots of fun holiday dolce (sweets). Janessa loved shopping and bought a very cute hat!

Janessa looked at every shop in Venice until she found the perfect mask for her room.

When we finally got so cold we couldn't stand it anymore, we decided to stop and eat somewhere. Unfortunately for us, that place was pretty fancy & expensive. But, we were freezing cold and tired of the long walks, so we stayed and lived it up!

Janessa always ordered the craziest things to eat out of everyone. It usually involved seafood of some sort. This time she simply told the waiter she loved seafood and was willing to try anything. This is what he brought her! She loved it. The rest of us had boring pasta, but it was super good!

If you have ever seen Mr. Bean's Holiday, this might remind you one of the scenes. If you have not ever seen Mr. Bean's Holiday, come and borrow it from us immediately... one of our famiy favorites!

At the restaurant, I told the kids to save all the crackers and breadsticks for later. Having been to Venice, I had remembered all the pigeons in St. Mark's Square and I was hoping they would be there for the kids to feed.

Luckily, they were. Droves of them. At first the kids were a little scared, but they quickly got over it and loved feeding the pigeons. We have a great video of them, which I will post as soon as I figure out how!

While going through some pictures, I have concluded that I have TONS of pictures of Janessa from this trip. I thought I should explain a little. Janessa likes to have her picture taken. The boys DO NOT like to have their picture taken, especially Andrew & Nathan. It is sometimes like pulling teeth. And, when I do finally get in a photo, they usually will not smile on purpose. Darn boys... at least I have one girl that is willing to model for me! Speaking of photos, this day wasn't my best work. The batery on my fancy camera died the second we got there, so I was using a point and shoot. Not too bad, but not as crystal clear as I like.

Everywhere we went in Italy, the boys would find a dog to play with. This one was outside a shop and they were so worried that it was too cold for it. So, they stayed with it until the owner came out to leave.

We considered a gondola ride, but once we did the math, we decided that we would rather eat the rest of the trip. So, we took a ride on a water taxi around the Grand Canal, which was a gorgeous view. I think the kids loved it just as much and it was about $300 cheaper!

Venice was beautiful. Cold and snowing, but very pretty. The kids had a wonderful experience seeing it. We are just glad we finally made it.

Day 3: Padova, Almost to Venice, & Vicenza...

2010-01-09T18:18:00.010-07:00

This was for sure the most interesting day of our trip. I'm a planner. I've planned this trip for months. Really, months. Every single detail. I don't mind if a few things go wrong, if we have to make a few little adjustments here and there. But, today was our 18th wedding anniversary, and even though we were with our kids, I wanted to spend it in the most romantic place in the world... Venice. I wanted it to be perfect.

The day did start out perfect. We got up early and went down to eat the delicious breakfast the hotel provided. The breakfasts there are so much yummier than ours, with meats, cheeses and breads to make sandwiches. They had lots of chocolate-hazelnuts pastries, yogurt and cereals. The best was the fresh-squeezed juices, and at this hotel they had fresh-squeezed blood orange juice. The most divine thing in all of Italy, in my humble opinion! Anyway, onto the crazy day...

We got our church clothes on, packed a bag of casual clothes for later, left the hotel, and drove to Padova (about an hour north). We arrived just in time to attend Sacrament Meeting there, which they had last. The ward couldn't be nicer, they hurried and grabbed us song books and made sure we had enough seats. The meeting was all in Italian and it was beautiful. We were planning on leaving right when church was over, so we could go quickly to Venice (about 30 minutes away). But, everyone started coming up to us and inviting us to stay for their ward Christmas party. It had snowed so much the night before, when it had been originally planned, that they postponed it until today after church. How could we turn down the offer? We figured it was noon and we had to eat anyway, so we thought we would stay for about an hour and then get on our way to Venice.

Someone came and asked us our names and then rushed off. The place turned from a chapel to a cultural hall within minutes and tables with cloths and name tags were quickly erected. Then we saw our table, complete with name places and everything, right in the center of the room!

We thought it was so funny that a couple of the tables had "The Simpsons" tablecloths on them.

The hospitality in that ward was like none we had ever witnessed. They were so kind and sweet to make us feel welcome and like such important guests! Nathan played soccer with some boys and loved it. They didn't speak English and he didn't speak Italian, but it didn't seem to matter at all. He came back at one point, panting and said, "I was just playing (saying while making air quotes) 'football' with my new Italian friends!" We fell in love with the members, especially this darling baby. We wanted to take her home with us!

The food was amazing. They had yummy sodas & waters on the table (their orange sodas have real juice in them and taste so much better than ours). They first served breads and anti-pasto (meats and cheeses) and then brought us a plate of food that had lasagne and some rice dish I thought Andrew was going to die, he was so happy. He said it was the best lasagne he had ever had. We ate everything on our plates and were pretty satisfied, thinking it was one of the best ward party meals we had ever had.

After we were finished, a few people started going around the room serving up different kinds of pastas, then some risotto... it was crazy! There were Nigerians in the ward and they brought around some meat and rice from their country. As we were pretty sure they were done serving, we cleaned off our plates, stacked them up and took them to the garbage. We were just about to say thank you and good bye, when we were served the next course! They brought plates filled with two kids of meats, veal and some meatloaf kind of thing, mashed potatoes and carrots! We thought we were going to die. It was honestly the best meal we had ever had, but it took everything we had to finish it. Finally, we did say thank you and goodbye to everyone, apologizing for leaving early. It was now 2:00 p.m., we had been there for 2 hours and the cheese course and fruit/dessert courses were still to come! We had to get out of there and on our way to Venice.

We went out to the car and I asked Rick to grab the bag with the clothes in it so we could quickly change in the bathrooms. It wasn't in the car. He said he thought I had grabbed it. Naturally I thought he had. So, we were going to go to Venice in our church clothes! We got in the car and drove off.

There were a few snow flurries and we had run out of windshield fluid the day before, so Rick decided to stop at one of the gas stations right off the side of the autostrade to see about filling it up. We stopped within about 5 minutes of Venice. He thought he might as well put some gas in the tank, since it was only 1/4 full. We hadn't purchased gas yet. Rick went to pump the gas and saw the black pump, the yellow pump and the green pump. All the words were in Italian, but he just assumed that the green was diesel, like in the US, and filled our diesel car up with that one. When he went to pay for it, he realized it wasn't diesel, but unleaded. That was a problem, it would ruin the engine. We weren't quite sure what to do at that point, we knew we needed to get the gas pumped out before starting the engine. The gas station attendants only spoke Italian and were not helpful at all. Luckily we had a cell phone that Karen had given us to use in an emergency. We had to make a LOT of phone calls, trying to get a hold of someone that could help us. We finally got a tow truck, but we had to wait in the freezing cold car for about an hour and a half for it to come.

When the tow truck finally arrived, Rick went out and spoke to the driver and then got back in the car. I asked if he was just going to pump out the gas right then. He said that he couldn't do it there, he would have to take it back to the tow company and do it there, about an hour away. Well, I thought that would be fine, but I started to realize we were not going to make it to Venice after all, and I was really sad. I started to think about the scenario of how it was all going to work right as the tow truck driver hooked a cable to the front of our car. I looked at Rick with a very confused look and he had a very guilty look on his face. "Wait, how are we going to get back to the tow company, or are we just going to stay in this gas station and wait for a few hours? We can’t all fit in the tow truck cab, can we?" As I'm saying the words, the machine kicks in and the car starts to get pulled up. "We are riding in the car." Rick says. "What?? ON the tow truck?? You are kidding, right??" I really, honestly, thought he was joking. As the car went up and up and up, I realized he was not kidding, not at all (although he was laughing under his breath). I opened the door (while the car was six feet off the ground) and said, "Excuse me, but NO, we are NOT riding up here!" I was making the universal sign for NO. The man who only spoke Italian laughed, similar to Rick's laugh, and gave me the universal "OK" signal. I think I may have then uttered something about "Heck NO I am riding on this tow truck." My kids claim I didn't say "heck", but they have no proof because Andrew started the video camera too late. I also mentioned something about this not being legal in America. The funny thing was that Rick knew, for an hour and a half that we were going to have to do that, and he was VERY smart not to tell me until that moment.

My favorite part of the drive was when we pulled back onto the autostrade, while riding on TOP of the tow truck, and our GPS kept giving us directions. "Take the next exit to VENICE." We did. We took the exit and then turned around and headed the other direction on the autostrade. Goodbye Venice. "Turn around when possible." We drove 90 mph down the autostrade, Italian style (which is scary enough driving on the road), to the town of Vicenza. There we spent another hour and a half in a freezing cold warehouse getting the gas pumped out.

The best part of the day was the fact that it was our 18th wedding anniversary, did I mention that? Rick said it was the best one ever, he had always dreamed of riding on a tow truck. The boys agreed, they had the time of their lives! And, everyone seemed to enjoy mom screaming and yelling while being put up on a tow truck!

After it was over the owners of the tow company had us follow them into the cute town to show us the best pizza place. They really were so sweet. We had some of the yummiest pizza of trip and then went out for gelato afterward. We got to see a really cute city that wasn't on the schedule. What a day, and it was only officially day 3!

Day 2: Orvieto, Maranello & Bologna...

2010-01-09T09:34:00.012-07:00

Saturday morning we jumped in the car early and took off up north. The drive was really fun, we drove through the Umbria and Tuscany regions and saw so many wonderful little towns perched up on the cliffs.

Rick loved driving on the autostrade! He was a very good driver the entire trip and even drove just like a true Italian by the end of the 18 days! We were actually a little worried about him coming back home.

We stopped along the way in an ancient hill town called Orvieto. It is situated on top of vertical cliff walls and is breathtaking. It is one of the cities that I fell in love with when I went to Italy. We stopped in the cathedral, looked over the edges of the cliffs at the views of the Umbria countryside and grabbed some pizza. Then we jumped back on the road to head further north.

The weather was a little chilly, but gorgeous and it started snowing when we reached Florence. It was so pretty.

The next stop was hands-down Andrew's favorite part of the entire trip to Italy. Everyone else enjoyed it (well, those of the male gender at least), but nobody cried actual tears like Andrew!

The Galleria Ferrari is located in Maranello, near Modena. It is a company museum that is right next door to the Ferrari Factory. We tried as hard as we could to get a tour of the Ferrari Factory set up before we go, but it was quite expensive... you had to either own a Ferrari or have a receipt for a recently purchased one. We decided the museum would do just fine.

The workers said that we could take pictures of the cars as much as we would like, but the only rule is that we could NOT touch the cars. The first one that brought tears to Andrew's eyes was the 458 Italia, the newest Ferrari that Andrew had only seen a concept photo of. To say he was thrilled was an understatement. When I came up to the car, I saw him softly caressing the back of the car. I said, "Andrew, they said you can NOT touch the cars!" Rick was standing right there, looking sheepish. He decided to admit his transgressions as well, "I did too!" As I walked around the corner a minute later, I saw Nathan kissing one! Boys will be boys, I guess.

Janessa and I both liked the California Ferrari. We decided that if someone was going to give us a free one, this is the one we would take.

The workers at the museum said that we were very lucky to be there that day. The snow was pretty bad (over a foot outside) and it kept everyone inside for the most part. They were not used to that much snow at all in that area. They said that on Saturdays there were usually so many people that it was hard to even photograph the cars. We did not have any problems, the boys photographed every angle of every car! We marked this down as a lucky day, which was rare later on in the trip!

Nathan has decided that this is his chosen occupation. He thinks the uniform is pretty darn cool.

These chips were at the Ferrari cafe. Who wouldn't want a bite out of a Teenager potato chip? I thought that was pretty funny!

After a little longer than I would have liked, and about 1,000 pictures later, we headed to Bologna to check into our hotel. The kids crashed during the short drive, but quickly revived once we got there.

The hotel was fun and the staff was amazing. They sent us to a perfect restaurant in the city that had very good, traditional bolognese food. I had lasagne with meat sauce (bolognese sauce is a hearty meat sauce named for this region) and it was wonderful. I forgot to take pictures.

In the city we had a very hard time finding a place to park. The snow had covered the cars and motorino with so much snow, we think the drivers were stuck there and too worried about moving them! The people there said that they had lived there so many years and had never seen snow like that. Lucky us!

Day 1: Rome & The Vatican...

2010-01-08T10:39:00.010-07:00

We arrived in Rome bright and early Friday morning. Aunt Karen met us and drove the kids and luggage back to the mission home while Rick and I rented the car (the monster white mission van is in the background).

When they got to the villa, the girls (Marianne & Stephanie) took the kids down to the neighborhood market and to Duvis' place for some pizza. Andrew took these pictures of their first little adventure in the big city...

When Rick and I got back with the car, we went down to the Vatican to see the museum and St. Peter's Cathedral. We needed to do everything we could to keep the kids awake.

Janessa couldn't wait to drink out of all of the fountains in Italy!

Janessa tried so hard to look the other way when there were naked statues! :)

Nathan thought the Egypgian mummies were pretty mesmorising!

The Royal Guards letting a nun into the restricted area.

Janessa wishes she had a bath like this one at home!

Michelangelo's Pieta

The kids in front of St. Peter's Square.

The Christmas Tree was so beautiful!

Jet lag hit them hard during the museum visit!

This was my favorite tapestry last time, I just had to get another picture of it.

After leaving the Vatican, we went out for our first gelato. The kids had a goal of eating it every day of our trip (we made it most days).

At the end of the night we met the Acersons at the church and attended their ward Christmas party. We got to see our great friends the Montagnolis, who moved there for a year. It was so fun to see them before they came home for the holidays. (I forgot to get a picture of them, just got one of Lucia and Santa is all.)

Harrison was hesitant to go and visit Santa (who happened to be our friend Artan), until he saw that he gave Nathan Kinder eggs and then he ran up and left all inhibitions behind. It was a great, fun-filled first day in Rome and everyone went to bed exhausted!

On our way: Salt Lake City & Chicago...

2010-01-08T10:03:00.005-07:00

We left for our trip early Thursday morning. Rick's dad drove us to the Salt Lake airport at 5:00 a.m. and our flight to Chicago left at 7:00 a.m. Our days, weeks and even months leading up to our trip were the most hectic of our lives, so we considered it a true miracle to be on our way to Italy. There were some of us (I think maybe only me) that thought it might never really happen. But, here we are in the airport, ready to check in.

The kids were excited to reach Chicago. They recognized the decorations from Home Alone. We were hoping we didn't leave anyone behind on this trip.

Our layover was a few hours long, thank heavens for modern entertainment.

The kids were so excited to see our plane, Alitalia, pull up to our gate!

We boarded our plane and headed off to Rome.

After drinking all the blood orange juice possible, the kids were drugged up and we slept most of the flight (Rome was 8 hours later so we had to try and adjust to the time there).

Dear Santa...

2009-12-17T00:39:00.004-07:00

Nathan is going through that in-between stage of not knowing if Santa is real or not. About a month ago he told me he thought it was the parents doing all the work. I didn't say too much, in case he was testing me. Today he panicked that we hadn't had time to go and visit Santa. I told him that he could always write a letter and mail it to the North Pole. So, he got right to work on his letter, put it in an envelope, addressed it to Santa Claus in the North Pole, put a stamp on it and mailed it off. I hope Santa & his reindeer know how to get to Italy!

(You may have to click on the picture to see it better.)

Saying goodbye...

2009-12-16T09:00:00.012-07:00

Debbie's funeral was last Friday in Moab. It was bitter cold last week, the town experienced the most snowfall in one day since 1973... the year I was born. We thought that after 51 years of teasing Debbie, she had finally paid us back.

It was hard saying goodbye, but even harder was seeing the house without her in it. She had always been there, my whole life, just sitting in her chair. Whenever we would come and visit, she would wait by the window for hours. Mom would actually try hard to hide the fact that we were coming into town, because she would get so excited and it was hard to wait that long. We would always honk the horn really loud when we drove up and then a ritual, as we came into the house, of spanking kids and making lots of mischief. It was sad to go home for her funeral because the house just wasn't the same without her in it.

The morning after we arrived home, we went with Paul & Mary to the mortuary. Paul made Debbie's casket and Mary made the lining inside. It was so beautiful, they did the most amazing job. What a sweet service to do for Debbie.

Elaine and I brought a couple of our favorite pictures of Debbie and we displayed them with the flowers and programs outside the chapel.

The service was beautiful. Harrison & Nathan cried the entire time, they had a really hard time with it. They were pallbearers and Harrison said it was the hardest thing he'd ever done in his life.

Karen was not able to come home from Italy, but she wrote these sweet words to read at the funeral:

Debra Kay Cozzens, born March 13, 1958, passed peacefully from her home on earth on December 7, 2009.

When Debbie was born, her father rejoiced – she was the first girl born in a long line of Cozzens boys! It didn’t matter to him when they diagnosed her with cerebral palsy – he just adjusted life to fit her needs. He built a box for her to stand in, helped her ride a horse, float on Lake Warner in a canoe, and made sure she took part in--or was at least was able to see--as many things as possible.

Debbie didn’t like motorcycles, loud noises, snow, football, Santa Claus, or anything else she thought was fake. But the things she loved were many – and simple: she loved balloons, ice cream, root beer, cats, dogs, collecting cups and containers, high adventure television shows, baths, and babies. She loved kids who played where she could see them and kids who got into trouble! She loved bumpy rides in her little red wagon when she was little, and bumpy rides in the car when she grew up. We will never forget her big smile as she looked to the door and shook her hand indicating it was past time to give her a ride!

She will be missed by her dear angel mother who took such good care of her – feeding, bathing, changing, turning, and entertaining her around the clock, day and night. She will be missed by her beloved father – her knight in shining armor, her partner in crime, her entertainment director, and her constant companion. These three together taught us by example how to have pure love, charity, compassion, kindness, empathy, and patience. And, even though she could not speak, she taught us all great lessons that we could not learn from anyone else. Thanks Debbie, because of you, we are all better people.

Debbie, we will miss your smile and your laughter. We will miss giving you rides, stealing your socks, and making you laugh. However, because of the knowledge of the atonement of Jesus Christ and the teachings of the gospel that we have, we know you are in a much better place now, rejoicing with grandparents who adore you. We know you can now run, skip, play, and dance. We know you will be one of our guardian angels, helping us from the other side with missionary work – and helping us be better people so that we can all rejoice with you again after this life.

Elaine's son Jason just got married and we were able to meet his cute new wife Sara. We really welcomed her into the family by making her sing a sad song with us sisters & nieces for Debbie. She was so sweet to oblige.

After the service we went up to the cemetery above our house. We even had police escorts that blocked off all of the streets (I don't see them do that anymore, at least up north where we live).

Harrison and Nathan were great pallbearers, even through the tears.

All the younger nephews were pallbearers. My brother Dave gave a beautiful dedicatory prayer.

Debbie loved balloons, so Elaine ordered 51 balloons to let off after the prayer. It was a perfect thing to do for Debbie.

Nathan had been crying a lot during the service and at the cemetery, but nothing like the sobbing that he was letting out during the prayer. Finally I figured out that his fingers had been smashed underneath the casket when they set it down. Talk about adding insult to injury. Poor little boy!

Debbie will be missed dearly by her brothers, sisters, parents and all of the family.

Jennifer & Randy put together the programs. They did a nice job. This was the poem they included, "To Those I Love" written by Isa Paschal Richardson...

If I should ever leave you
Whom I love
To go along the Silent Way,
Grieve not.
Nor speak of me with tears,
But laugh and talk
Of me as if I were
Beside you there.
(I’d come—I’d come
Could I but find a way!
But would not tears and grief
Be barriers?)
And when you hear a song
Or see a bird
I loved, please do not let
The thought of me
Be sad, for I am
Loving you just as
I always have.
You were so good to me!
There are so many things
To say to you.
Remember that I
Did not fear—it was
Just leaving you
That was so hard to face.
We cannot see Beyond.
But this I know:
I loved you so—‘twas heaven
Here with you.

Missing Debbie today...

2009-12-07T19:22:00.003-07:00

My heart is aching as my sister Debbie passed away around noon today. She was one of the most special people in the entire world. She will be missed more than anyone can imagine.

Debra Kay Cozzens was born March 13, 1958. She was born with cerebral palsy, a very severe case. She wasn't diagnosed until she was old enough where it was obvious she wasn't developing normally. Once it was realized how severe she was, the doctors told my parents to put her in a home. They said that she would live a very short life, probably never to see her teens. She never walked or talked, but had a personality that was bigger than life and believe me... she knew what she wanted and knew how to get it.

When I was born in 1973, Debbie was 15 years old. I was the youngest of 7 children and there was a huge gap between me and Jennifer, my closest sibling (9 years). As our family grew up, Debbie and I were home alone for most of the years. She sat and watched as I got ready for dances, went to school and had friends over. She would get so excited about the most simple things. I remember feeling so bad for her that she couldn't do the things that I could, but she seemed to have a very happy and full life.

My dad has always doted on Debbie. He suffered a rare illness the year I was born that left him in the University Hospital for months. My mom actually went through my entire pregnancy and gave birth to me with only a friend by her side. When dad came home from the hospital, Debbie and I became his reason to live. We all had a very special relationship. I think my dad was able to understand a little more what Debbie went through, as he was now trapped in his paralyzed body, unable to move and had a very hard time communicating to others. He and Debbie bonded more and more over the years. The last few years it seems my dad has lived to make Debbie happy. Every morning he would drive his wheelchair into her room with a ton of her boxes piled high on his desk. He would run into Debbie and they would all fall, she would laugh and laugh!

Debbie enjoyed her 51st birthday last spring. She was around 40 years older than what the doctors predicted. The reason, in my opinion? Love, pure love. She had the love of all of her family. She was treated just like one of us (actually much better... as she didn't ever have to do any work!). When she screamed and yelled and acted like a brat, we told her to "shut-up", which I'm sure outsiders thought was appalling, but that was just life. We gave her rides all of the time and she loved it more when the brother-in-laws pretended to almost wreck, or go really fast. She would giggle and shake her arm like crazy, looking toward the window. That meant she wanted a ride. She wasn't denied much. She loved balloons, a lot. We always sent her balloons on all occasions and would always bring her one when we visited. She had a ton of Mylar balloons that we would take to the store once in a while and have filled back up with helium. I still think the people at the store think we are insane, bringing in these old, random balloons to fill up!

Mom took the best care of Debbie, and has become the most Christlike person I have ever known. Taking care of Debbie was similar to caring for an infant. She would change her diapers all day, bathe her, get up sometimes 3 times a night (when Debbie cried) to turn her or give her a drink. My mom had to grind up her food and spoon feed her, give her medicine and brush her teeth. This process every day took nearly an hour for each meal. She combed her hair beautiful each day. Mom never accepted any help from anyone to take care of dad or Debbie. She has always done it on her own and never complains (I didn't inherit that quality from her, unfortunately).

Debbie loved her entire family, but I think she and I had a wonderful bond. Mostly I think it is because when I was home growing up, most everyone else was out of the house. It was pretty quiet and we got a lot of time to spend together. She knows lots of my secrets! After I got married and would move away, I would call to talk to mom every few days (and still do) Debbie always knew it was me on the other line (just from the tone of my mom's voice) and would scream and yell and giggle until my mom would let her talk to me. She would usually laugh so hard that she couldn't even hear what I was saying. The conversation usually went like this, "Hi Debbie. What are you doing? Are you being a good girl for mom today, or do you need a spanking (she loved violence of any kind, especially spankings)? Debbie, Nathan was bad today. He spilled his cereal all over the kitchen and we had to spank him (again with the violence, and sometimes lots of lying, making up things the kids have done while trying to make her laugh). Well, you be good for mom. Love you." Those were great conversations. I am trying to think of the last time I talked to her, I think on Friday or Saturday while walking in a store. People usually give me interesting looks when I talk the way I do! But, I loved every minute of it.

My sister Karen sent a message reminding me of the game I used to play with Debbie's socks. It started when I lived at home and we would be bored. Mom would either be out running errands or in the other room. I would pull off Debbie's socks and hide them somewhere. Mom would come in and get mad and try to find them. Debbie would just laugh her head off, because she would know where they were but couldn't tell. She would laugh harder when mom got closer, kind of like her version of "hot and cold." When I moved away from home, I would continue the tradition every time we visited. I would hide her sock right before leaving. Sometimes it would take mom days to find it. I didn't do it the last few years, as her feet were so crippled and sore and I was afraid of hurting them. But, that was a very fun game we played!

She also got away with a lot when I visited. My mom has the most beautiful old china cabinet and it is filled with precious antiques that should really never be touched. Debbie loves to "collect" things and acquire items of interest to her. She loves boxes, pitchers, cups, etc. She actually started looking like a bag lady at the end, with crazy piles of stuff in her room. When I would arrive for a visit she would always point to the china cabinet and laugh. I would give her beautiful antique vases and cups and then mom would get mad. She thought this was a wonderful game.

Going back to the fact that she loves violence, she loved it when people dropped things. She always would laugh and demand that people spank the culprit. She would watch intently when we did dishes and just wait for something to drop on the floor (which happened a LOT because it made her so happy). We always teased her for not helping us work. I was there for Thanksgiving a few weeks ago and we kept yelling at her for not even helping us cook and clean. She would just smile smugly.

She loved watching t.v. shows, although her taste changed through the years as she aged. She used to love the "A-Team", and other action-packed shows. She slowly moved into more mellow stuff that didn't scare her, like "Little House on the Prairie." She hated football, but would tolerate the Utah Jazz basketball team. My mom is obsessed with the Jazz and would usually feed her during the games. She may have thrown a fit a time or two, but maybe gave up after realizing mom would never turn the channel. Likewise, she hated news, but knew that dad would never change the channel when listening to Fox News.

The kids took the news hard today, they loved her more than anything else. Nathan and I had picked out a stuffed kitty for her for Christmas, one that meowed and moved when it sensed motion. We wrapped it up and put it under the tree for her. Every so often it meowed and we all blamed it on the kids, or whoever was closest to the box. She would laugh so hard. When Nathan found out today, he was very sad. He got this sad look and tears started rolling down his face. He said, "She will never get to see her kitty!"

Our kids are better people because of Debbie being a part of their lives, as all of are. She taught us invaluable lessons that will stay with us for a lifetime. They lived to spank Debbie, fight in front of her and make her laugh by doing anything they could think of. She taught them pure, Christlike love.

The world is a much sadder place today with out her sweet spirit. She will be missed more than I can even say in words. I loved her with all of my heart and I will miss her every day for the rest of my life. My only hope is that she is dancing and singing in heaven today. Today I have a testimony and believe in The Plan of Salvation. I am so grateful I will someday be able to be with her again and see her in her perfect body and let her say all of the things she has always wanted to say to me. I only hope she will never tell all of my secrets.

Exploring Indiana...

2009-11-16T11:11:00.007-07:00

I will post something about the marching band, eventually, but to make a long story short... I ended up coming to Indianapolis to watch the band compete with only a few days’ notice. Rick was so sweet to use some company frequent flier miles in order to get me here. However, there were no flights out Sunday, when everyone else was flying out. So, I have had 2 days here by myself. After a very intense week completely immersed in marching band activities, it was a nice break to have a few days to myself.

On Sunday morning, my roommate (another band mom) left at 4 a.m. and drive to Chicago to catch her flight home. Rick rented a car for me so that I could go to church and drive around a little. The Indianapolis 3rd ward was so nice to me! I had a dozen people come and visit with me and one lady came over and got me during the opening song and said I shouldn't sit alone. I went over and sat by her and her mom. So sweet. The speaker told a story about Moab even, how ironic is that?

I hadn't ever been to Indiana (except for the airport, which I don't count) and I wanted to explore a little. So, after church I asked a few people where I could drive that would be pretty. I wanted to take a few fun pictures (I was getting so tired of taking pictures of marching band members!). They all told me Brown County was where I should go. After I got a great map, I headed out to explore the countryside. It was gorgeous! Here are a few pictures I took along the way...

I have a thing for a countryside with fields of corn, farms and old barns.

I took a little side road to find a covered bridge (I hadn't ever seen one before). This was an area I fell in love with and wanted to stay for a while!

I love running across old cemetaries.

One of the many covered bridges in the area.

I even got to drive across them.

And then, along the road I saw this antique shop. I'm a sucker for antique shops, especially when they have gorgeous old quilts hanging in front! I stopped and talked to the nicest man who ran the store out of his garage. I asked how much the blue and white Texas Star quilt was (hand stitched and in perfect condition)... $30! Sold.

His store was really cute. They really had great taste and a great eye to put things together.

Here are my purchases, the quilt and a $3 pair of old earrings I couldn't resist. (I didn't buy the gorgeous stool... I couldn't figure out how to get it on the airplane!)

Nashville is an old artist colony. It's very charming and has lots of little shops, Inns and charming places to eat. It is right outside of Brown County State Park, which has a gorgeous double covered bridge.

After dark, I headed back up to Indianapolis, taking my time until the Colts game started, so I wouldn't hit traffic.

There were a few times I had considered getting a scalped ticket (I figured I could get one single ticket fairly easily), but wasn't sure how I felt about going to an NFL game on a Sunday. I actually LOVE football lately, it's getting more and more fun to watch all the time. I also was hesitant because we had spent the past 48 hours in the Lucas Stadium for the Band of American competition. I didn't know if I wanted to have to park and spend all night in there again! :)

Even though I didn't have a team to cheer for, I thought I would go for the Colts since I was a guest in their town. The Colts ended up beating their HUGE rivals, the Patriots, in the last 4 minutes of the game. It probably will go down in history as one of the greatest rivalry games ever played. I can't believe I didn't go, but it was fun to be outside of the stadium and see the city all lit up in blue horseshoes. I went back to my hotel and watched the exciting game on t.v.

Every time we were downtown the past few nights, I didn't have my camera. I was happy to drive around and take a few photos at night, while everyone else in Indy was at the game!

Indiana is a gorgeous state and Indianapolis is a great city, especially at night. It isn't intimidating at all and the people are just so friendly. I have had a great trip. It was so nice to be here to watch Andrew perform in that stadium and was happy to be here for their last performance of this incredible year. Now I need to check out of my hotel room and head to the airport. I can't wait to see Rick & the kids tonight!

The underestimated popularity of The Pioneer Woman...

2009-11-05T09:10:00.005-07:00

For my birthday this year my best friends Tracey and Stephanie gave me The Pioneer Woman's new cookbook! They actually pre-ordered it so that I received it in the mail the day it was released! They know how much I love her, which was so sweet of them. It's a great cookbook and I've already tried out a bunch of the recipes.

Part of the gift included Tracey taking me to the book signing in Salt Lake.(Stephanie lives in California and isn't a good enough friend to fly out for such an event.) Well, Tracey and I were busy yesterday with our crazy lives and we got off a little later than planned. Ree was going to be signing at the King's English book store in Sugarhouse. She was planning on starting at 7:00 p.m. Now, I've been to book signings, even when it is a very popular author. I know how they usually work. Well, we totally underestimated the popularity of The Pioneer Woman! We weren't able to get there until 7:20 p.m., and this is what we saw...

HUNDREDS of people all around the bookstore and down the block. Ooops. We really messed up. So, we went and asked two cute girls for the story. They said that people started lining up at 3:00 p.m. and by about 6:00 p.m. they had handed out 500 letters (groups of 20 for each letter) and they were long gone. When your letter group was called, it was your turn to enter the store. Our friends had the letter "H" and were waiting for their turn. We took a couple of pictures (really bad ones, sadly... why we look so dang happy is beyond me) and figured we might as well go and drown our sorrows in some molten chocolate cake and creme brulee across the street at our very favorite restaurant, The Paris.

The restaurant was full of women that were waiting for their turn to meet Ree. As we visited with some of the ladies, we got an idea. We asked if you were only allowed to have one book signed with your letter card. They said you could only have one person enter with that card, but could have more than one book signed. After we finished our dessert, we went outside to find our new "best friends" in line. We didn't see them anywhere, then we found out the "H" group was already inside! I lied my way into the store, telling the girl at the door that my friend Kirsten was in there with the letter "H" and she needed this book. I told her that I just needed to hand it to her and I promised to come right back out. With a lot of debating, she finally agreed and I went through the line yelling her name. When I finally found her, I shoved the book (that had my address and $10 in case she needed to ship it back to me) into her hands and said, "Here is the book you needed!" And then I walked out!

We decided to wait for them to come out and they were so darling when they did. She was laughing and thought we were pretty funny. So, I got my book signed but never got to lay eyes on PW. It was a blast though, even getting out of the house!

UPDATE... Kirsten just graciously sent me some photos of PW so that I could be jealous of them. Just kidding, I actually asked her to send them. I planned on Photo-shopping myself & Tracey in the photos. But, now that the story is already out that we DID NOT meet Ree, I will just post this cute picture of our new friends while they were getting my book signed! Thanks girls!

Ameircan Fork Marching Band pays tribute...

2009-10-14T09:32:00.011-06:00

It all started as a very routine Saturday. The American Fork Marching Band left that morning to Pocatello, Idaho to compete in a band competition. A trip that they have made many times before. They performed, swept in all areas, ate dinner and started on their way home. We had a crazy day here at home with two big football games for the boys, football pictures, a temple trip and a dance for Janessa. At about 7:30 p.m. my phone rang. It was Andrew. My heart actually sunk when I saw it was him. I'm always worried about my kids when they are away. Andrew doesn't normally call to "chat" or tell me how he's done in a competition. I have to call him. When I answered I even said, "What's wrong bud? Everything OK?" He said, "Mom, there has been an accident. I am OK. The bus in front of us has rolled on the freeway. But, I just want you to know that our bus is OK. I'm OK." He went on to say that he could see people getting out of the bus and that he thought they were all alright. He said that he would call me with further information in about 15 minutes.

I called Rick and let him know what was going on. At that point I wasn't too worried because Andrew sounded so calm. Rick was nervous and did a search for him on the internet (we have a family locator on our phones for just this type of situation). He saw his location, somewhere in Idaho on I-15. He searched the internet for any news or information. He called KSL to see if they knew anything. They said they had received many calls in the last few minutes and wanted to send reporters there, but they had no idea where the accident was. Rick said, "I know where they are." He explained the GPS locator and told them the location of the accident. They asked if they could call Andrew if they needed and Rick didn't think much of it and gave them his cell number.

We continued to check on things, mostly by texting Andrew and talking to the couple of moms I know. We kept comparing information and trying desperately to find out details and to figure out if we needed to head that direction. We honestly thought everyone on that bus was OK, we kept hearing things like maybe broken bones, girls upset, etc. But then the news came. My friend Marianne called me and told me, just as Rick saw it on the internet and was calling on the other line. One confirmed fatality. My heart sank and I couldn't catch my breath. In that one second it turned into a tragedy, a horrible realization that this was a really bad accident. A few minutes later we learned that it was a teacher. Heather Christensen, the woodwind instructor. A beautiful young teacher had been killed in the accident.

I had Rick come and get me (I had been at a friend's house). We went home and just paced and paced, waiting to hear more. To make matters worse, Nathan started vomiting about that time and we had to deal with that on top of everything else. The night was stressful and unsettling. We watched the internet for as much news as we could get. They told us not to come to Idaho, that they would get the kids out of there as soon as possible.

We turned on the KSL news at 10 p.m. to get an update and we hoped that a reporter was there by then to give us more details. To our surprise, the breaking news report began with photos of the accident by 'Andrew James'. He has always wanted to be a photographer, now he was able to have his photos on the news (granted they were from his cell phone looking out a bus window, so not his best work). Then the newscaster said that he was able to contact one of the students and interview him. I stopped breathing as I realized it was Andrew. I just kept thinking, "Please, don't say anything stupid..." Not that he would, but you never know about a 16 year old being interviewed on the news, anything could happen. He was wonderful though and talked about how they had prayed the minute they realized what had happened. He gave a very accurate report of what was happening and his observations. (Later on, Rick's dad asked, "How in the world did they get him to slow down his speech? He is always talking so fast nobody can understand a word he says!”) His interview was also broadcast as 'breaking news' on KSL radio during the BYU game. He had reported that when they heard that Heather had been killed, they all started singing hymns. His words and reports comforted me, as a parent, that the rest of the band was OK and it warmed my heart that they were in tune with the spirit during this tragic event.

They sat on their buses for about 2 hours and then got onto a UTA bus that transported them to Brigham City where they caught another bus home to American Fork. I went over to the school about 1:00 a.m. to wait for him. There were many, many people there showing their love and support for the band. I would have to guess at least 1,000. It was really amazing to see that kind of concern. Once we got Andrew home, I felt like I could breath again. I don’t know if I have ever been that excited to see a teenager! We talked a lot about the experience. He said the sweetest thing, "I feel so bad for all the girls on that bus. It was mostly flutes and clarinets and I'm sure they were very shaken up and scared. I just keep thinking that I wish it had been our bus instead of theirs (his was the percussion/drumline bus with mostly boys)." Andrew showed some wonderful compassion and character that night that I will never forget.

After we got Andrew to sleep, I called the doctor about Nathan. He had vomited every 20 minutes the entire night. He couldn't keep anything down. She suggested I take him in the Emergency Room, which I did. We were there for a few hours and I had time to just sit next to his bed, while he slept, and think. I thought a lot about Heather. We had learned later in the night that she had jumped up to grab the wheel of the bus when the driver blacked-out. Andrew had said that just a few feet away was a ditch/covert that if the bus would have hit would have been fatal for many in the bus. I thought about how if she hadn't made that courageous move, maybe the bus wouldn't have gone off into the sagebrush, but would've wrecked on I-15, causing many other accidents. Including the bus behind them that carried my son. I thought about how, because she was standing up when the bus rolled, she was thrown from the window and killed. She gave her life for those kids, students that she loved. She didn't have to be on that bus that night. Most of the other leaders drove on their own. She didn't want to leave her students. I thought about what a hero she was and how much I appreciated her. I thought about the family she left behind and how they must be grieving. My tears finally came and I couldn't make them stop. The nurses were really concerned for me as they kept getting glances through the curtains. Finally they came and told me that Nathan would be OK. I told them the situation and that I had just had a bad night. They were sweet to sit and talk to me and let me cry.

I got home at 6:30 a.m. Andrew (who had a very bad cough all night), Nathan and I stayed home from church and slept most of the day. It was a nice, peaceful day for healing. Andrew went to the high school at 6:30 p.m. for a meeting with the band. John Miller (the most amazing band director in the world) and Heather's parents talked to the kids. They told them how much Heather loved them. They told them that everyone that was on the bus is going to be OK. There were a few injuries, but that the last few were released that day, and one more would be released Monday. They had considered not performing at the BYU competition, but realized that Heather would be so mad at them, she would want them to compete. It was a nice healing moment for the kids. Then they had a memorial service with the school and community, with a candlelight vigil that followed. They made plans to dedicate the show to Heather. They also had dog tags for their show, one with their name and one with a relative’s name that had served in the military who they wanted to dedicate their show to. They decided to add Heather’s dog tag to their chains for the rest of the season.

We got to go to their performance at BYU last night. It was better than amazing. It sent chills down my spine. It comforted everyone who was there. Every single band member (of bands all over Utah) wore a red or black ribbon (their school colors). Many schools in Utah had dressed up in red, black and white that day to pay respect to American Fork. The performances were great and there was a wonderful spirit there. I was so excited to see American Fork get there and warm-up. I just couldn't wait to see them play. When they took the stage, it was magical. Everything was perfect and they played and marched better than I have ever seen. Their show honors war heroes from the past. It has WWII music with beautiful photos behind the band. At the end of the performance, the color guard (who had been dressed as Rosie the Riveter) changed into all white costumes and went out into the field with the band. They were equally spaced while the band members slowly went behind them. The pictures turned to reveal old photos of war heroes, mostly relatives of the band members. The last picture was of their fallen teacher, their hero, Heather Christensen. Then, they slowly put their arms out, as to create white crosses, or graves of the fallen soldiers. It was really moving. Then, they added an ending that left no dry eye in the audience. One color guard girl in the middle of the field had a white scarf. She danced over to Heather's picture and placed the scarf and a rose at the base. After the applause, they asked for a moment of silence to remember her. It was really one of those moments you never want to forget.

The BYU Marching Band performed after American Fork. After their performance, they paid tribute to AF and to Heather by playing "Amazing Grace." It was beautiful and very moving. They held up banners that said "Hope" and "Peace" and brought out a lovely arrangement of flowers for the band.

American Fork swept the awards, getting first place. Afterwards, family, friends and other bands joined AF in the parking lot for a fun tradition. They always play their piece, one more time (without marching), before they load up to go. They also sing a song about friends. It was a very healing night for all of those kids, their leaders and I'm sure the family of Heather. It was a wonderful tribute to her and the life that she gave for her students. It couldn't have been said better than a scripture from John 15, along her picture on the field, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

(I'm sorry, but I have run out of time. For now, the pictures will just be located below. I will try and put them in order later.)

Visiting the ZOO babies...

2009-09-11T17:21:00.004-06:00

Look what we got when we entered the zoo! A pink chocolate elephant to celebrate the new arrival of the zoo's baby elephant.

We had planned on going to the zoo anyway on the boys' day off school, but this was icing on the cake!

There was a ton of press taking lots of pictures of "baby" elephant. I was very jealous of their cameras!

A close-up of the chocolate elephant. I was just so impressed. We tried to save one for Janessa, but it was just a melted pink blob by the time we got home.

Nathan didn't waste any time eating his elephant!

The baby elephant was a little quiet and sleepy when we arrived first thing in the morning. We thought it would be a "zoo" when we arrived, but there weren't many people there other than the press.

We ran over to the Asian Highlands to see the action over there. I think this leopard wanted to eat the boys!

The new baby snow leopard snuggling with his mom. I think this is the same position they were in when we visited last month. Lazy leopards!

The mother giraffe was trying to eat the "Do not feed animals" sign!

She was trying to get the boys to feed her something good!

The baby giraffe (that we happened to see the day she was born last month) was really playful and cute!

These were the three new baby tigers... not very active!

We ventured back to say goodbye to the baby. She was much more active and playful. KSL News interviewed the boys about visiting her. The boys got to vote on her new name. Such a fun day!

Janessa's SURPRISE 14th Birthday party...

2009-08-30T17:12:00.007-06:00

We threw a HUGE surprise party for Janessa's 14th Birthday! It was the first year that her birthday didn't land smack-dab in the middle of the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, so we felt it was a perfect time to celebrate!

Her good friend Lizzie helped me arrange the whole thing and so many friends showed up (even more after the pictures were taken!). They all came to our park across the street and played games, ate cake & ice cream and watched "The Princess Bride." Well, "watched" is being used very loosely in this case. (Since boys were invited, there was a lot of throwing grass during the movie!)

I think it was worth it... last night her Facebook status read, "Janessa had the best birthday ever!"

We took her out to dinner first and then as we drove up, all of her friends came up from the park, screaming and yelling!

This was an attempt at trying to take a picture of Janessa and some of the boys!

Finally, a little free time...

2009-08-24T12:58:00.010-06:00

Summer went by faster than it ever has. The kids were swamped, as were Rick and I. There wasn't a second to blog or work on my Project 365.

The kids have finally all started school... Janessa & Andrew started last Thursday and Harrison & Nathan started today. Although I don't love being all alone during the day, I have to admit that the peace and quiet is nice for a change. I have a million things to get caught up on (the majority of it being housework and laundry), but I'm hoping blogging can be a top priority. Today is a new day and to celebrate I am posting the "Back to School" photos.

At American Heritage, the kids all gather around the front of the school on the first day for a flag ceremony. The flag is raised, the kids all sing the Star Spangled Banner and a cannon (that belongs to Harrison's new teacher, Mr. Cornell) is shot off at the end. It is a fun tradition that I have loved attending for years.

Darling kittens need a home...

2009-08-03T23:37:00.004-06:00

Nathan's kitten Sally had a batch of kittens almost 8 weeks ago. We were planning on having her "fixed" right away, but Nathan (and the other kids) begged and begged to let her have just one batch of kittens. Having grown up with baby animals, I think it's a very wonderful experience to enjoy. So, we said "yes" to the begging, crying kids... with ONE CONDITION. They could NOT keep any of the kittens and could NOT cry about giving them away. It is a very hard thing to do, but the kittens are now litter box trained, eating dry cat food, used to the great outdoors and ready for good homes. They have been loved and cared for 24/7 by Sally and a lot of help from the kids. They are playful, cuddly, and really adorable. These pictures don't even do them justice... so come by and see them in person and you will be hooked!

Happy 50th Birthday Karen...

2009-07-18T00:01:00.000-06:00

I know that I am VERY behind on blogging (thanks for the reminder that it is no longer Mother's Day, Kenny)... However, this is a very important occasion today that I can't let slip by. It is my amazing sister Karen's 50th birthday today! So, before I go to sleep tonight and hopefully as she is waking up in Italy in a few minutes, I want to wish her the happiest birthday yet.

Karen is an amazing sister and I don't know what I would do without her in my life (I am SO glad that she has less than a year left of her mission in Italy, I miss her like crazy!). Here are a few fun photos I took of her on my trip to visit her in last year. And, as her birthday present, I'm only posting the ones she would approve of (which there aren't very many of those)...

(She might not approve of this one for certain reasons, but I don't think anyone will notice and she looks super cute with her sister missionaries.)

Mother's Day...

2009-05-10T23:14:00.000-06:00

We had dinner at Rick's Mom's house for Mother's Day. Since most of the family was there (Bruce was travelling for work), Jane wanted to take a couple of pictures. It was interesting, trying to set up the camera and then run back into place, hoping all the kids remained looking at the lens. I was shocked to see that one of the three attempts actually looked perfect. Every child is looking at the camera, holding still and smiling. It must have been fate... a Mother's Day gift for Baba!

The picture with all the kids wasn't as perfect, but cute. Those kids sure have a lot of wiggles.

Jane even got to wear a crown (until the little girls stole it). It was a perfect Mother's Day for all of us.

Hiking the 'Y'...

2009-05-09T14:26:00.002-06:00

We hiked the 'Y' on Saturday. We have been trying to get in as many hikes as possible on Mondays and Saturdays, in preparation for Trek at the end of June. We want to be in shape to make it to the end, pulling those hand-carts! I had never hiked the 'Y', neither had most of the kids. Rick used to hike it all the time while at BYU and he took the Young Men and Andrew once. It was a great hike, very steep, but really fun. The kids loved seeing it close up, especially Nathan. We all loved the view from the top. There were even two parachutes that took off from above the 'Y'. It was fun to sit and watch them. After our hike, we rewarded ourselves at our favorite hot dog stand, J-Dawgs.

Guys & Dolls...

2009-05-03T16:02:00.000-06:00

Janessa was in the Mt. Ridge Jr. High School's production of Guys & Dolls. She had so much fun, even though it took every second of her free time for a couple of weeks. I took a ton of pictures for the play and Rick & I created a slide show/video for the kids. It isn't perfect, but it is fun and captures a bit from the play.

Guys & Dolls from Ellen James on Vimeo.

Andrew's Prom...

2009-04-25T10:01:00.001-06:00

Andrew took a darling girl named Whitney McLelland to prom.

They had such a great time.

He went with three of his best friends and their dates.

Lonnie & Shae.

Cameron & Beth.

Aaron & Cheyenne (one of my favorite Young Women).

They went on a day date to Trafalga and then went home to get ready.

The night started off with dinner at my friend, Christine Nieporte's house. Andrea Walters and Heidi Alldredge, two of the moms, helped me make dinner.

Cameron's little sister helped serve and did such a cute job.

We had shrimp cocktail and appetizers made with brie cheese & blackberry jam baked in puff pastry. We served tomato basil soup and Caesar salad with edible flowers (the kids even ate them).

We had a lemon sorbet to "cleanse the palette" before the main course. We served chicken cordon blue, made with prosciutto, garlic mashed potatoes and veggies.

For dessert, my friend Cindy Fisher and her girls came over the night before to help make crème brulee.

We had a couple of chocolate dipped strawberries and a mint cup.

The kids had a great time in their private dining room. After dinner they went to the dance and had a really fun night.

Spring Break in Moab...

2009-04-20T11:16:00.001-06:00

We spent a couple of days in Moab for Spring Break. We had a great time while staying with my family and tried to take advantage of some hiking opportunities. We brought my parents back to our house to spend a few days while my mom had surgery. We loved having them around for the week.

This is one of my favorite views from my house in Moab. The sunset as we pulled up on Easter Sunday was gorgeous.

Mom's geraniums, she really knows how to take care of plants (I wish that would have been passed down to me).

My nephew Drew took us to Cable Arch. you have to climb up this hill using a metal cable. It was much, much scarier than it looks from here, but the view was well worth the terror.

Cable Arch is to the right, the cable to climb up is on the left.

Once we were on top, Rick checked his email. I love how he can do his work out in the middle of nowhere.

The view of the La Sal mountains off in the distance was stunning.

The boys.

The neverending hunt for lizzards.

A single cactus in the desert.

Harrison loved hiking around and climbing on everything.

We also hiked in the Devil's Garden area of the arches. This is Tunnel Arch.

Landscape Arch.

This is where Wall Arch used to be, it fell last summer.

Pine Tree Arch.

Rick & Nathan playing hide and seek while hiking through Devil's Garden.

The kids trying to hide and pretend they were sleeping.

Navajo Arch.

The view of the sunset in Devil's Garden.

When we came home, this was our big surprise.

My Dad wanted to listen to Rush Limbaugh, but I didn't. Andrew was kind enough to let Grandpa use his Skull Candy headphones. Everyone was happy.

My sister Debbie. She was really happy at our house, until Mom left for her surgery, then Debbie wouldn't even look at me. Little brat!

The Nelsons came over for Sunday dinner before Mom & Dad went home. It was finally nice enough weather that the kids ate outside.

A fun day in Cedar City...

2009-03-23T10:56:00.004-06:00

We spent a very quick, but fun day in Cedar City yesterday. We got up early and drove 3 hours to Cedar City for my nephew Brian's mission homecoming. He just got back from serving in Tallahassee Florida (was actually in Alabama a lot). He was a fantastic missionary and we loved listening to his talk yesterday. Wow! He is a very good speaker and he grew so much during his mission. Andrew has to speak next Sunday in the Stake Priesthood session. He's not thrilled about it at all, terrified actually. I told him that there are two good things: 1, there are not any girls invited and 2, it's so early in the morning that most of the men are asleep, they won't remember a word he says. I thought it might be a good idea to ask Brian to write his talk for him!

This photo is of Brian & Brennan (my other nephew that came home recently from France). This is the one picture I took with my camera before the battery died. I knew that I didn't have much juice when we left early that morning, but I didn't have any time to charge it. I took Andrew's point-and-shoot camera with me. My niece, Jill, teases me all the time about the one comment on my blog, ages ago, about a guy using a point-and-shoot at a concert. It just made me laugh that he kept trying and trying to get a picture. So, she thinks I am critical of people who use point-and-shoots. I'm really not at all. I'm just so used to my camera. Which is why none of the pictures I took with Andrew's camera yesterday worked at all. I guess I should have used a flash, I'm just not used to doing that. I feel bad because I wanted to post some pictures of the day for my family that couldn't make it... sorry Mom, Dad, Debbie, Karen & Elaine. I have failed all of you.

Before we headed home we stopped by my nephew Kyle's house. He and his wife Michelle just had a new baby boy. He is adorable! His name is Bridger, he is so tiny! The pictures of him didn't even come close to turning out! The room was too dark. So, I am actually stealing this photo from Michelle's site. Go and look at her post about him, it's darling. (I'm sorry Michelle!)

We skipped the Draper temple dedication, a little too worried about leaving too late with the storm coming. The storm was pretty bad in a couple of spots, but we got home just fine. It was a very nice day spent with the family.

More from Project 365...

2009-03-14T16:26:00.002-06:00

March 8, 2009...I snapped a quick photo of Janessa in front of the Timpanogos Temple today. She was on her way to a Jenny Phillips fireside.

March 10, 2009...This was the view from our front door as the kids left for school this morning. I had to hurry and get the camera, as the moon was quickly disappearing. I'm sure the neighbors all loved seeing me in my pink furry bathrobe while on their way to work. I love seeing the temple out our front windows, what a great reminder of who we ought to be.

March 11, 2009...Janessa sang a solo tonight in her Mountain Ridge Jr. High choir concert. They really put on a great show. Rick and I took the boys (Andrew had lacrosse) and Baba & Grandpa came as well. We were really proud of her. She has a great singing voice and a lot of confidence to sing in front of an auditorium full of people!

March 14, 2009...Nathan loves to plant (and eat) peas. We did lots and lots of yard work today. The kids helped out so much, I was proud of them!

Sweet 16...

2009-03-14T15:25:00.003-06:00

There has been a lot of focus and attention on Andrew these days. But, you only turn 16 once in your life, so I guess it is justified.

He got his driver's licence at 8:00 a.m. the morning of his birthday (March 9th). Lucky for him, it was a weekday and school was out. Otherwise, we would have heard nothing but complaining. I scheduled the earliest time possible. The woman who gave him the test said that he passed with "flying colors." She said he was one of the best 16 year old drivers she has ever seen. That gave us a lot of confidence in him. He drove a lot during the day and that night Rick and I let him drive home on his own from dinner in Orem. We followed close behind. He made about 50 mistakes, some that could have been fatal. That really worries us that he is the best they have seen. Scary what is out on the road right now.

Rick bought a new car at the end of this week (Andrew was not happy about how long the process took). Now Andrew gets to "use" the Camaro, with certain restrictions that involve grades, attitude, etc. We have made it very clear to him that he gets to share this car with Janessa in 2 and a half years. This is the first day he got to drive it officially. He was on his way to his lacrosse game (40 degrees) and put the top down! The next day when he went to school with it, he came home beaming (again, with the top down). He said, "Man, I love that car." I asked if the kids thought he was pretty cool. He said, "I think I am pretty cool." I guess that is all that matters!

He went on his very first date to Sadie Hawkins with Kirstin Montgomery. She is a darling girl that lives across the street. They are in the marching band together and they were friends before she moved to our neighborhood. They had a great time on their date. They went to her house and made pizza, played games and then went to the dance.

Andrew's 16th Birthday party...

2009-03-08T12:58:00.006-06:00

Andrew had a really fun birthday party last night! A bunch of friends came over to the house. They played Rock Band in the family room, Wii in the theater room and they played REAL rock band in Andrew's room (with his drums and friends' guitars). They watched "I am Legend" and played a funny game. We had Maggie Moos cakes (Andrew's request). I actually love it when my house is filled with the noise of kids having a good time!

Days 2, 3, 4 & 5...

2009-03-06T16:29:00.004-07:00

These are the photos from my Project 365 this week...

March 2, 2009... Andrew was asked to Sadie Hawkins today by Kirstin Montgomery. She left the first clue in this envelope on his door. The rest were hidden around the house. They were under the dining room table, in his favorite scripture, taped onto the Boston CD, underneath his snare drum and behind his framed portrait. It will be his first date.

March 3, 2009... We attended the Blue and Gold Banquet at our church tonight. Harrison was awarded his aquanaut pin for Webelos. We had a wonderful color guard that came to present the colors. The boys were so impressed with their guns. The theme was "America."

March 4, 2009... Amy Cook, my pilates teacher, wanted to make a necklace today. She and Dianne (pilates friend) came over and we had a great time visiting & beading!

March 5, 2009... Harrison has been complaining about not being able to see the white board at school. Today we took him to the eye doctor. He got contacts to wear most of the time, and glasses as a backup. We wish we would have done it sooner. Hopefully this will help with his headaches he has had lately.

March 6, 2009... We went to Harrison's 4th grade devotional today at his school, it was wonderful! They talked about the values that are placed on the building, around the school. He did a great job on his part and the songs were so beautiful! They were dressed as pioneers.

Project 365...

2009-03-02T09:47:00.003-07:00

I got this idea during a really late "girls night out" Friday night. My friend Mindy is creating an amazing book, it is called Project 365. She takes a picture every single day and adds journaling. After the year is complete, she will print it as a book.

I know that this project is something that should be started in January. I really wish I would have found out about it last winter. However, with my personality, I had better not wait to start it. If I put it off until January of 2010, it will be long forgotten.

My project 365 started with yesterday's date, March 1, 2009. I am creating the book online and I might post some of the entries here. I love the simplicity of the idea, just one photo (which is very hard for me) and very simple journaling. Here is my entry from yesterday:

Today the James Family celebrated St. David's Day. Rick's family is Welsh (as is most of mine) and they have a tradition of celebrating the holiday. We had wonderful Welsh foods and enjoyed each other's company. I made two things I had never tried. Welsh bread (not my favorite) and Sticky Toffee Pudding (out of this world). Rick's cousin Bruce, wife Vickie and son Jake were able to join us. We celebrated Andrew & Nathan's birthdays and discussed our 2010 church history tour. As we left the house, Leslie gave each of us a daffodil (the national flower of Wales).

Loving Lasik...

2009-02-25T14:08:00.004-07:00

Well, I finally did it. I have wanted it for years and on Monday I went through with it. I had Lasik. I now have perfect vision, almost. I still have a hard time seeing up close and bright lights at night have a bit of an aura around them, but all of that is normal and will be gone soon. I have been enjoying the beauty of the mountains, sunsets, and the view of the lake from our house. It's nice not to have to switch back and forth between glasses and sunglasses. My friends won't even be able to make fun of me anymore for wearing sunglasses to the movies!

I went through Hoopes in Sandy, Utah. They were great... expensive, but great. They even recorded the procedure for me and we watched it last night. I was considering putting it on the blog, but it isn't for the faint at heart (or those considering Lasik in the future). It really only takes seconds and the Valium they give you helps to calm your nerves, for the most part (I kept asking Rick to go and get another one for me, but he wouldn't!).

I am very happy with the results and I love seeing everything so crystal clear!

A gorgeous day for skiing...

2009-02-22T15:04:00.006-07:00

Rick loves to ski. He grew up in Colorado. I went skiing a couple of times in high school. My first trip I jumped off of the ski lift, afraid to continue up the steep mountain (I was too scared to get off the lift at mid-way with my friends). I have done much better since then, but I really don't enjoy it. I would pretend to like it to impress Rick once in a while, or go with him when our kids were young to help out.

This year I have decided to stop pretending I like it. Rick took the family skiing yesterday at Brighton, and I stayed home. I was tempted to go at the last minute, since half of what I hate is the cold weather (it was a gorgeous sunny day). But, the pure expense of skiing is the other thing that gets to me (oh, and the fact that everyone is always trying to force me down a black diamond). I decided I would save the money and stay home.

They had a great time. Andrew even tried snowboarding this time. He is very good at skiing, but learned quickly that snowboarding is WAY different. He is very sore today!

Harrison has been with his friend, Ben, a couple of times this season. They go to Sundance whenever there is a day off of school. They take lessons half of the day and ski the remainder. Harrison has loved it this year. This photo was taken by Bonnie McMillan (Ben's mom) at Sundance a couple of weeks ago.

My Valentine...

2009-02-19T10:52:00.005-07:00

As I said before, this was a special Valentine's Day for Rick and I. February 14, 2009 was the date that I had been with Rick longer than I had been without him (based on the day we met at WordPerfect). An important date for him, which is cute. He usually forgets Valentine's Day, Anniversaries and Birthdays. So, for him, this was quite the occasion!

With the stay in Williamsburg, we really had a great day. Rick gave me a beautiful set of pearls before we headed out. We took a carriage ride, toured around the town, went to an amazing Valentine's dinner at our hotel (arranged for by Sharon, it had been sold out for quite sometime), and attended "Cry Witch" at the historic Capitol.

The entire day we tried getting a picture of the two of us for documentation of this important day. It actually started getting quite humorous. I know that I am a perfectionist and I like good pictures. I really need to stop asking strangers to use my complicated camera. However, I always set the picture up for them so that all they have to do is push the button. They do get a bit confused when I tell them that they have to push the button half-way down first, to focus. Here are some of the attempts at pictures (keep in mind they are all taken by different people)...

Palace in focus, we are not...

Palace grounds in focus, we are not...

Could we not move the camera up a little more to get more of the roof than the road?...

Again, just up and over a hair...

This was my favorite. It was before our Valentine dinner at the hotel. Our bell man took this one. We originally were standing in front of the "Williamsburg Inn" awning, then he moved over so there wasn't a good background and he kept backing up further and further! We were trying so hard not to laugh at this point!

This one isn't too bad, but we don't look great... I hate using a flash. This was after our dinner at the hotel. It was an amazing dinner & they had incredible dessert. We even got to dance a little bit to the live piano music!

After being frustrated, I decided to take on the task myself. On our way home from "Cry Witch," at about midnight, I decided to take a few pictures, holding my 100 pound camera out in front of us (I'm sure this method is much easier with a smaller point and shoot camera). And, then Rick started making faces. Isn't he so funny? If it's not the photographer, it's the subject. I give up...

P.S. I forgot one other picture of us. I fell in love with one of Edwin Green's paintings of a red bridge. It is called the Crim Dell Bridge and it is located on the College of William & Mary campus (right in Williamsburg). It is rumored that if two lovers cross the bridge together and kiss at the crest of it, they will be together forever. If that couple separates at any point thereafter, however, the lady must throw her ex-lover off of the bridge and into the water to break the curse of being forever single. I just had to buy the painting and we found the bridge on our way out of town Sunday morning. For Rick's sake, I hope we never separate.

Colonial Williamsburg...

2009-02-18T15:36:00.013-07:00

Colonial Williamsburg exceeded my expectations, to say the least. Here are a couple of pictures I snapped while we toured around the town. This is the Fifes and Drums performing group as they paraded down the street Saturday morning.

Some of the homes and buildings were the originals, and some were restored to their original design.

We loved going to the courthouse to see trials in action. We also got to go to a witch trial, "Cry Witch," Saturday night. That was very entertaining.

One of the many things that Sharon had planned for us was a carriage ride. It was so much fun! This carriage we rode in was over 150 years old! Tommy was our driver, he is a former jockey. We met lots of people like Tommy & Edwin Green (a painter, I fell in love with his artwork but forgot to take a picture) who have had an amazing life and have retired here in Williamsburg. What a great retirement!

This is the Governor's Palace, one of my favorite buildings. Seven Royal Governors lived here, including Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry.

I loved the interior of the palace. I especially loved the colors they used, like this bright green.

In the back of the palace, in one of the outbuildings, they had a cooking demonstration. They taught what kinds of foods they prepared at that time and the methods used. Rick was disappointed that he didn't get to try all the food they were making!

This was Rick's favorite building, the Magazine. He seriously spent 30 minutes in there, looking at all the guns!

I loved this pair of scissors in the dress shop window.

This wig was in one of the rooms. I learned that a lot of the phrases we use nowadays are from colonial times. For instance, the more wealthy/powerful you were the bigger wig you had on your head. That is where the phrase "Big Wig" comes from.

The Williamsburg Inn...

2009-02-18T12:15:00.012-07:00

The hotel in Williamsburg, that Sharon set us up at, was so fantastic, I thought it deserved its own post! The Williamsburg Inn is right in the heart of Colonial Williamsburg, which makes it really fun becuase you are immersed in the old-fashioned feel of everything.

Sharon gave us her "Friends & Family" discount, even though I am a new friend (she's actually now my best friend). They upgraded our room for us and it was better than I even imagined! It was HUGE with a beautiful bed and furniture.

It had a really large, gorgeous bathroom, that was the entire length of the room!

The best was the package that was waiting for us. It was all done up with ribbons and looked so cute I didn't want to unwrap it! Inside the package were books about Williamsburg, a cookbook, cards, CDs of the Williamsburg Storytelling Festivals, chocolates, etc. It had a hand-written note from Sharon saying that she hoped we enjoyed our romantic weekend.

There was a box of heart-shaped Godiva chocolate cookies and lots of sparkling cider (she must know that we don't drink champagne... how thoughtful).

The artwork in the room was stunning. There were probably about a dozen gorgeous pieces of art.

I loved this one that was a design of the bed in the room.

While I was going all over oohing and awing, Rick was looking at the map, deciding which tavern he wanted to eat at.

We did finally leave the room to go and explore the town and eat, but not until I sat down and had a glass of that yummy Williamsburg cider!

We walked to Shields Tavern to eat, it was really great food. They use recipes from the 1700's. They even used plates that were replicas of the ones found while excavating around the tavern. After dinner, we walked around the quiet streets. They were so dark, only lit by candlelight. Walking around was beautiful. We had parked the car with the valet and walked everywhere the whole weekend (no cars are allowed to drive on the streets). It was nice to leave the modern world behind.

When we came back to our room after dinner, the bed was turned down, the curtains had been closed and there was beautiful music on the stereo. They left this tray with laundry/shoe shine bags and this great daily report of happenings & weather for the next day.

They also left chocolates on the bed with a different quote each night.

We loved staying at The Williamsburg Inn. I'm so grateful to Sharon for finding this romantic room for us, even when the whole place was sold out!