School Started and I'm off again

My mom called me Tuesday to let me know that my Grandma Gorringe had passed away. She has been sick with Alzheimers for awhile now so it was not a suprise to receive this call.

Wednesday, the kids went back to school. Cassidy began 1st grade and Ryan began 4th grade. They were both up early and ready for school 20 minutes before they needed to leave. (If only that would last all year.) They walked to school with some of the neighbors.
Thursday morning after getting the kids off to school, I flew to Salt Lake City for my Grandma's funeral to be held on Friday. One of my brothers and my sister were already there. That night we watched old home videos. I laughed until I cried. My brother said, "Do you think if I took this to my therapist it would help him understand why I am the way I am." We laughed so hard and decided that would probably explain alot!!!
We got up early the next morning to drive to Burley, Idaho for the funeral. I was able to see all of my cousins, with the exception of one. Some of my cousins I haven't seen in almost 10 years. The funeral was very nice and my counsin's wife Joelle put together a beautiful DVD depicting my Grandma's life.


My grandma was known for her Raspberry jam. Anytime you visited her house she gave you Homemade bread with raspberry jam. She was always trying to feed us. We had a full spread for every meal three times a day. When we were little she would tell us to "wash your patties" before we could eat. When we would leave her house she would always say, "Grandma sure does love those kids." She always had snapdragons and bleeding hearts growing in the planters outside her house. Grandpa had his garden and Grandma had her flowers. I'm so thankful that I have so many happy memories of my Grandma and I'm glad that she is home in heaven and out of her sick body. Grandma, I love you.

Call me Martha...

I've been baking lately. I tried a new recipe for cinnamon rolls. They are supposed to be like cinnabons and I have to say they were pretty darn close. My kids loved them!! I took the picture before frosting them. There was yummy frosting too.




I also baked a cake for a friend of Nathan's.

I Need Some Sleep!!

I don't know what my problem is, but I can't get to sleep at night. Last night I fell asleep around 2:00, the night before it was 3:00 and the night before that, 2:00. I don't know what the deal is. I am tired but I just can't get comfortable and fall asleep. I'm beginning to feel like my mom!! AHHH - HELP!!

You're Gonna Miss This

I heard this song on the radio the other day and it made me cry.  (It's not hard to do!)  I can't believe I'm to a place in my life where I will have no children at home with me once school starts!!  Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about this - It's the day I've been waiting for for 9 years, but it still makes me a little sad.  Anyway, I thought I'd share the song and lyrics with you.

She was staring out the window of their SUV
Complaning, saying "I can't wait to turn 18"
She said "I'll make my own money, and I'll make my own rules"
Mamma put the car in park out there in front of the school
Then she kissed her head and said "I was just like you"

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this

Before she knows it she's a brand new bride
In a one-bedroom apartment, and her daddy stops by
He tells her "It's a nice place"
She says "It'll do for now"
Starts talking about babies and buying a house
Daddy shakes his head and says "Baby, just slow down"

Cause you're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this

Five years later there's a plumber workin' on the water heater
Dog's barkin', phone's ringin'
One kid's cryin', one kid's screamin'
And she keeps apologizin'
He says "They don't bother me.
I've got 2 babies of my own.
One's 36, one's 23.
Huh, it's hard to believe, but...

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this"

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My kids used to make me laugh all the time with the things they would say. Now that they are getting older, it doesn't happen as often. But, last night Cassidy was waiting for the bathtub to fill up with water. I peeked in on her to see if she was okay. She told me, "I'm just waiting for the bathtub to finish loading."

If I can make it THERE I'll make it ANYWHERE

Our hotel was only 4 blocks from Times Square so we got up the next morning and attempted to see Miley Cyrus on the Today show. We didn't even get close!! We heard people were there at 5 in the morning waiting. We did a lot of walking and a lot of shopping. We were able to get tickets to see Chicago on Broadway. It was really good, better than I expected. We quickly learned that we were not going to be able to "do New York" in a day but we did quite a bit in a short time. Annette was a trooper too. She had had knee surgery 8 weeks earlier, but it didn't slow her down! The next day we rented a car and drove from Manhattan to Long Island. I was so nervous but after a few cabs cut me off I got the feel for how to drive in NY.

Here are my top three rules for driving in NY.

1. Those lines on road are more of a lane suggestion than a rule.
2. If someone stops in front of you, either honk or go around
3. When in doubt - HONK - HONK - HONK!!!!

Laurie's wedding was so nice. Laurie looked beautiful. It was so fun to see her again. The reception was so nice and must have cost a fortune!!! I wish I had pictures but unfortunately my camara stopped working on this day. During the recpetion I was also able to catch up with another high school friend. We had lost touch and she had moved during that time, so it was great to reconnect. The next morning we were up for a 6 AM flight home. Why such early flights, you wonder? Nathan had miles for us to use but it meant that we had early flights. It's amazing what you'll do for a free flight.

So now I'm home and after a week, I feel like I'm caught up....And now so are you!

New York....I mean Chicago?

Once we got home I washed clothes and repacked for a quick trip to NYC for my friend, from high school, Laurie's wedding. My neighbor, Annette, was able to go with me. It turned out to be more of an adventure than we counted on. Our flight left Thursday at 5:40 AM... yes, that was AM... We arrived in Chicago at 7:15 and had a layover until 9:00. We grabbed a bite for breakfast and went to sit by our gate. As we sat down everyone got up and left. We went to see what was going on figuring there was a gate change and learned that our flight had been canceled. After some searching we learned that the next flight we could get on was 6:00 PM!! So, we made the best of it. We got a cab and went to the "Miracle Mile". We walked all over downtown Chicago. We visited Macy's, Nordstrom Rack, Old Navy, GAP, and had some Chicago style Pizza. (Oprah recommended) We saw some beautiful architecture and some REALLY tall buildings. We were even brave enough to find the right train and take it back to the airport. (The picture is a self portrait taken on the train.)

WOW - What a Month!!!

Our month began with a trip to Utah. We had a family reunion based in Provo. It began with a lunch honoring my great-grandfather John Franklin Shelley. There is a reception center in the Hinckley Alumni building at BYU that was named for John Franklin Shelley. It was very inspiring to hear about his life.

While we were in Utah we stayed with my parents in their NEW house. It was so nice. All of my siblings stayed there. Everyone had their own room/bathroom. It was nice to see everyone and to have a little space too. The kids loved the playroom and the theatre room. To see pictures of my parents' house go to http://www.kshelley.com/ Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on the "Parade of home pictures" links.

Our time in Utah was too short. We had so many people to see. It seemed like every visit was so rushed. Maybe one day we'll be able to move back, then no one will want to see us anymore.