Memory Monday's - Daddy!

For Father's Day, AJ and I wrote up a bunch of memories of our dad and made him a book of them to read while he's stuck in D.C. It was fun to think of these memories and get them down on paper. I also put together a cd of Dad songs and other songs that reminded us of him.

Just some of my memories:

Growing up, I always had friends who liked being around my family more than actually being friends with me. Mostly, it was kids who thought mom was “cool” and just liked being at our house because it was comfortable, safe and happy. But I know of one friend, Jennifer Taylor, “Blondie”, who loved being around you. Her dad had died when she was just little, so she didn’t have any father figures around. She loved teasing with you, calling you “Baldy” and just getting the attention you gave to her. Even when we started growing apart, I know she thought about you and missed your attention more than anything she ever had with me. I liked sharing you with her because I knew what a great dad you were and couldn’t imagine what she was missing out on.

I remember going to your work one time. I think we got cookies. And I got to see your office. I remember the Santa Claus picture I had drawn for you was hanging on the wall. It was the only time I actually got to see what it was you did every day and where you spent so much of your time. I remember talking to people in the office. They obviously knew who we were, so you must have been telling them about us. I love that you talk about us at work.

When Royce and I first started dating, he came to a baseball game with us. I think it was probably his first official baseball game. He didn’t know too much about the game, except what he learned in little league. I remember everyone kind of eyeing him. They were my surrogate family and were a little protective of me. But you were even worse, of course. You and mom decided to leave when there were 3 outs to go. Royce thought there was another inning. As you were leaving, he said something about bringing me home after the next inning and you turned around and sternly said “Young man, the game ends in 3 outs. I will be listening on my radio. It takes 17 minutes to get to our house, if you hit all the stop lights.” Royce must have turned white! When the game ended, everyone in section E yelled “Get that girl home, boy!” And cleared the aisles so Royce and I could get home in less than 17 minutes!

Memory Mondays - Contact List "C"

CACTUS ID- My teacher ID... put it in my phone in case I forget it!

Candice Chugg - Candice and I were best friends in 8th grade, us and Barbara Cain. We re-connected this year via Facebook. I have some really special memories of Candice. But something I remember best about her is when we would go to the Jr. High dances. Of course, when you're in Jr High, you go stag. But she was always so distraught if she didn't dance with someone, or if the boy she liked danced with someone else. A fraction of every dance was spent in the bathroom with her sobbing about it. Sounds like she's found her dance partner though, since she is happily married and living a great life as a teacher and a wife!

car- Bob Quintana (and Karen) - I have people entered under "Car" so I remember that they are people I see at the car shows and rarely anywhere else. Bob is a sweet guy who likes to catch me taking pictures. He always prints these pictures off and gives them to me. He knows that I'm not in many pictures, since I'm always on the other side of the lens. Ever think there's a reason for that? ;)

car- Breierly's - Steve and Carolyn are great people that we see at the car shows. In fact, it's Steve's car that we're in in our picture here on this blog. A gray '32 Ford. They also have a purple '39 Ford. Steve seems to be an awnry old man, but he has a soft spot for us kids. I think. Anyways, he sure let's AJ get away with teasing him!

car- Heather McCollar - Rich and Heather. These are some of our "Mustang buddies." They have a sweet '69, bright red with a huge motor. They are happily-ever-after newly weds. Even though they are going through some really tough times with Rich's ex-wife over custody of sweet 6-year-old Madison. Love that girl!!

car- Marc & Ruth - These are the folks that keep us up all night playing cards!!! We sure have fun when we all get together. One of my favorite memories of them is hanging out in front of their motorhome at Cache Valley Cruise-In, listening to the 3 Dog Night concert and playing Yahtzee.

car- Tina (and Barte) Hess - More fun car folks! They are so perfect together. They put on a great show in October, Furry Friends. All proceeds go to Utah Animal Adoption.

Codey Draper- AJ's friend. He used to come over with Nick and Blake and play cards, play pool, or shoot air soft guns. Been awhile though. Now he's married to Danika and has 2 adorable little boys. Royce likes to tease Codey about this one time, I think it was New Year's, when everyone came to our house, drank a lot and Codey and Royce's sister, Sarah, slept together on the bottom bunk of my old bunkbed. They insist nothing happened, but we got some pretty incriminating pictures. ;)

Cricket Broadband- my wireless internet connection.

Memory Mondays- Contact List "B"

Barbara Weller- Babs! Barbara was my very best friend in 8th grade. She was a big band geek. I liked going to the football games with her to watch her play the flute. We grew apart in 9th grade and didn't see much of each other through high school. But, when I helped chaperone AJ's graduation party, I ran in to her sisters who were his age and they helped me reconnect with her. And now it's like nothing ever happened. It's so easy to just visit with her every couple of months! It doesn't feel like any time has gone by. It isn't awkward or uncomfortable. We've slipped right back into that easy friendship we always had. And her family is awesome! Just neat, neat folk. I always feel like part of the family with them. When we first got back in touch, Barbara was pregnant with her now 6 year old daughter, Celedonia, and lived in Colorado. She came to town for a family baby shower and invited me. Of course I went and had an absolute blast! We always say "let's do lunch" but we never do. We just run into each other around town, or send silly text messages, or occassionally have a quick get-together with other people. But it's just a nice friendship. Easy. Drama-free. And I know she'd be there for me if I ever needed her... 'cuz I'm always here for her!

Beck's Home- When I was a teenager, I had this number memorized by heart. Still do. Don't really know why it's actually in phone. My in-laws never really used their home phone anyways.

Bekah- Awww, Bekah. I haven't talked to Bekah much since her partner, and my friend, Meredith, was killed in an awful traffic accident about a year and a half. Both gals were students at University of Phoenix. At Christmas time, Meredith would bring me cookies they had made. Just because I haven't talked to Bekah doesn't mean I don't think about her often. I hope she is doing well. I hope their family is doing well. Hopefully I will see them again this car show season, (their son, Justin, has an old Tempest he's restoring.)

Blake Bolton- Blakey-poo! He was AJ's best friend in high school. When Royce and I moved out on our own, Blake and AJ would come over a lot to play pool or air-soft guns. I have some great memories of Blake- he is such a funny guy! One time, we all went to the fireworks at West Haven City Days and as we were leaving, he wrapped himself up in a blanket and started running wildly around the park. Then he jumped on a car that was pulling out of the parking lot and started shouting gibberish! It was hilarious! Dangerous and ridiculous, but that's what Blake did... Another time, we were getting some pizzas from Little Ceasar's in Roy, which just happens to be next to the Quizno's sandwich shop. This was around the time Quizno's had their stupid critter advertisements. Blake stuck his head into Quizno's and started singing their high-pitched slogan, then quickly left. He's a funny, funny boy! But, he's all grown up now. Married and everything. So we don't hear from him anymore... unless he needs something. Guess that's life!

Blogger- So I can update my blog from my phone! Not that I ever do. But I could if I wanted to!

Bob Beck- my father-in-law. Unfortunately, the only me-and-Bob memory I have is a negative one. I was working the night shift at UOP, so I was off during the days. One day, I took Sadie for a walk up our road. At the top of the street, she started playing with another dog that was out in it's yard. Everything was fine, they were having a good old time. Until the other dog that lived at that house came out and got protective. It attacked Sadie and bit her good on her hind quarters. The owner-lady came out as I was screaming and got her dogs away. I got Sadie home quick as I could, practically bawling, and knew she'd need to see a vet. But I wanted the owners to be responsible and pay for it. So I had to confront them. But I didn't want to do it alone. So I called Royce. He was too busy at work. I called Mom. She was at work too. Last option was Bob. He was retired. He told me he'd come over. I explained what happened and what I wanted to say to the owners. He was pretty upset about it all. Understandable... I was too. But when we knocked on the door and the owner-man came out, I explained what had happened and told him I thought he should be responsible for the vet costs. He agreed instantly and told me was sorry about what happened. He was very reasonable and understanding. Bob, however, wasn't. Bob got up in his face and was argumentative. It was ridiculous! The owner told him he was not welcome in the home, but invited me in. I felt comfortable with his reaction to me and told Bob to wait in the truck. I was so embarrassed!! Anyways, we got everything taken care of. Sadie was fine and didn't need stitches or anything. She still has a scar though. And other than that one horrible incident, my father-in-law and I get along fine. And we've since had some good times together. He'll come out to a car show once in awhile, or just call us and ask us out to dinner, which is pretty cool.

Brian Kidd- actually, Brian used to work at the building next to Royce. He had my number because Royce mistakenly gave him my number instead of his own. I had to save the number in my Contacts because Brian sends holiday greetings and occassional friendly text messages and I kept replying with "Thanks! But... who is this?" :)

Bryce Clark- Royce's boss. Just in case. You'd think Royce would be easy enough to get ahold of at work, considering he has his personal and work cell phones, but that isn't always the case. Bryce is a nice guy. He helps us host the Truly Classic/Advanced Door car show each July. He's a pretty good boss.

Buckle Up- I keep this one in my phone so I can dial it if I ever see kids on laps while driving or kids just bouncing around in the car. Some parents are SO STUPID!!!

Memory Mondays: My contact list A

I've run out of ideas for my memories posts. So, I've decided to go through my contact list on my cell phone and write a little bit about the people I call... or don't call often enough, but carry their # around, "just in case"...

Adam Carver-
Adam Carver is the son of one of my dad's best childhood friends. He became a big part of my life sometime around my 6th grade year. He was living here in Utah and didn't have much family around, so he kind of adopted my family. He'd come over most nights and just hang out with us. We'd eat dinner together, watch TV and just goof around. On weekends, he'd stay later, even to the point of everyone else going to bed. He must have just liked having family around. He is about 10 years older than me, and we grew to think of each other as brother/sister... even though I did have a silly school-girl crush on him. One of my best memories of him is him giving me the "big brother" talk. Royce and I were getting pretty serious and Adam was concerned, and wanted to warn me about boys and safe sex, and all that good stuff. I can't even remember where or when it took place, I'm thinking maybe we went for a drive or something?, but I remember the feeling I had afterwards. By this time, Adam had been with a gal for a couple of years and had a kid of his own. It wasn't planned, no. And it wasn't an ideal situation by any means, yet here he is, giving me safe-sex tips! Haha! I had to smirk at the irony of the situation. But I was also impressed. His intentions were noble. And his words came from the heart. He had regrets, and didn't want me to have them too.

Next is AJ... you've all heard enough about AJ, right? I love that kid. He'll always be my baby brother and best friend! Sure, we fought when we were kids, but it was never to the point where anyone would have believed we didn't like each other. Growing up, (and probably still to this day,) AJ was always cooler than me. He just has this charisma and personality that you have to love! I was always jealous of him. But, luckily, he was a nice guy. A good guy. And he must have had some pity for me, 'cuz he always let me tag along. Shouldn't the little sibling be the tag-along?!? I remember hanging out with him and his best childhood friends, Cody and Nick. Cody Brown and Nick Arrasatte (sp?). Then Cody and Nick both moved the year that AJ started high school. I think he felt a little alone. And I was terribly alone, at school anyways. It was my senior year, and I had no school friends. I was happily dating Royce, but in school, I was a total loser. So, AJ and I grew even closer. We even shared a locker. We ate lunch together. But it didn't take him long to make new friends... who he shared with me. Another Cody and Nick. And Blake. Today, 8 years later, AJ and I are still best friends. I'm a pathetically protective sister... but he's a little protective too. Royce and AJ get along great... for the most part. Of course there are disagreements, and early-morning grumpiness between the two of them at car shows, and I typically take my little brother's side. I know it. I'm sorry, Royce! It's ingrained in me to protect him.

Angela Metcalfe- Angela is my very first friend. "Fubba." I don't know why I called her that, but I did. We were neighbors from the time I was a baby all the way to high school. Our parents are still neighbors. I loved (and still do!) my Fubba-roonie! We would play House or just use our imaginations together. We also loved playing outside. My house had the best hill, so we would roll down it, or set up the waterslide. Or set the sprinkler under the trampoline. I even went to church for a little while with her, even to girl's camp! I reconnected with Angela via Facebook this year. I have her phone number, even if I never use it!

Angie Cox- Angie was in my BSED program with me at UOP. She was a fellow kindergarten teacher. I never ever call her, but I like having her number... just in case! I think it might come in handy when I have my very own classroom! We bonded well in the classes, even though we never actually worked together. It was nice having another Kinder to back me up. We were also the only two in the class without kiddos.

Arlene Beck- My mother-in-law. Unfortunately, I don't call her often enough, or ever, really. I just don't know what to talk about with her. I don't feel comfortable just calling and telling her about my day. I'd love to have this relationship with her... maybe some day. For now, it's baby steps. We both gave a valiant effort on Mother's Day and hopefully there will be more of these! I do have some nice memories of us though. A few years ago, we took a couple quilting classes together. Neither of us accomplished much, but we sure had fun learning! Maybe it's time to dig out all the scrap material I've bought over the years and start a project...

Also in my A's in my contact list are: Advanced Door (Royce's work), Allstate (home and car insurance), America First Speech Access (banking), and Asthma Control. I have no memories for these these numbers, but am happy to have them in my cell phone! :)

Memory Mondays: The Drive to Lake Powell!

Our trip to Lake Powell was wonderful, as usual! Every year, we make so many memories on this trip!

Unfortunately, not all of them are great... for example, the side trip through Kanosh to find diesel gas, or the 2 flat tires in the desert, or the time dad forgot his underpants (thank goodness that was just Mom and Dad's trip!!), or Mom losing her glasses at the gas station, or, 2010's memory to be looked back upon and laughed at, the speeding ticket for "81 in a 65 zone!" (wrote it for 74). JackA cop! Seriously a power-hungry egotistical jerk, we're all surprised he wrote it for 74. I know I wasn't going 81. 74, maybe. He probably knew he couldn't prove 81 so he wrote what he actually scanned me at. I can laugh about it now, but dammit, I thought it would ruin my whole damn vacation!

It's a 7 hour drive. Royce, AJ and I ride in my Escape, (I do most of the driving, so the boys can look at the junkyards in the little towns), and follow Mom and Dad and the dogs in the truck. It's an interesting drive. Well, we make it interesting... from the sights we see to the games we play, we entertain ourselves! One year, we counted the churches between Lehi and Pleasant Grove, another year we counted WalMarts we could see from the freeway, and this year, we looked for out-of-state license plates.

Getting ready to go @ 6am- notice AJ's coffee!

Royce took this... as a reminder to his beloved, perhaps?

Another new sight for 2010, the FLDS sister-wives... and their little boy, Opie!

Never noticed this before either- a petting zoo at one of the gas stations. $2.00 to pet a lamb?!?

The afore-mentioned KANOSH.

The snub-nose truck Royce always says "That's so cool!" about. Always.

At the rest stop we always stop at past Panguitch.

The tour bus at the Shell station where all the Japanese (or Chinese?) tourists stop

The Thunderbird Restaurant- we ate here once.

I always remember it and know we're getting closer!

The fake Sherrif's truck outside of Ordersville!

There's a mannequin with a cop uniform and sunglasses on driving. Gotta have the sunglasses!
Each of the small towns has at least 3 rock shops. Nothing else. But rock shops galore! AJ and I have always joked about moving to one of the little towns and opening our very own rock shop.

One of the many junkyards along the way

The high-centered golf cart. I don't know the significance of them, but they're there.

Obviously, Royce and I love this little cafe... even though we've never eaten there...

Paunsaugunt Cliffs- "where Mitch did his elk hunt."

Royce points it out to me every time we pass it!

The town with the wagons. There's also a town with quilts.

The metal giraffes. Royce didn't get the super-tall one in the picture. :(

The highly-controversial crosses in rememberance of the Highway troopers.

And the little Mexican place in Nephi we always eat at.

We're there!!!

Sorry, the photo's aren't in order of the drive- some were taken on the way there, others on the way home.

Memory Monday... on Friday!

Won't be able to post on Monday, but I don't want to break my Memory Monday tradition, so here goes!

Today's memory is about my Doc Martens. Yes, shoes. I've never been a big brand-namer. As kid, I got twice as many new school clothes as my brother because I was fine with cheapy brands... he, of course, had to have the brand names emblazened on them so his friends knew how cool he was. But, when I was in 8th grade, I was dieing to own a pair of Doc Martens. My parents wouldn't buy them for me, as they cost $200. I worked my butt off, earning the money for them. When the day finally came, I remember going to the mall with my mom, Arlene and Sarah. It was a big day! We went into the JMR's in the Ogden City Mall and I tried on several pairs. I left the store with probably the most boring pair!

like these, but brown

I treasured these shoes. I had shoe polish and would polish them regularly. I told everyone how I had earned the money to buy them. $200!!!

And, I still have them.

Wore them the other day.

They really need to be polished.

They aren't so treasured anymore.

But, I can't bring myself to toss them.

They aren't in bad shape, necessarily, just old. Really old. Like, 12 years old.

But I can't toss them. I remember working for the money. Using my report card money and doing extra chores. I remember planning the shopping day with my mom and my future in-laws. Way before I even had a crush on my one-day hubby. Way back when I didn't even think he was cute, just annoying. Way back when I was more than happy to spend the day with just my mom, Sarah and Arlene. I remember us girls making a day of it. Doing lunch and everything. I don't think Sarah understood the importance of the day for me. She hadn't had to buy her own Doc Martens. She had all the "cool" clothes... just like she had the China Blue tea set! Lucky, lucky girl!

The China set I never had.

Another silly thing I can't let go. Now-a-days, it's all jokingly, but once upon a time, I was seriously scourned. How can a little girl grow up normal without a proper tea set?!? My poor mother will never hear the end of it. I had every other thing a kid could ask for, but not a tea set. I can only imagine the tea sets to come if I ever have a daughter!!

Memory Monday: Lake Powell!

After about 7 hours of driving, (if we're lucky and don't stop in Kanosh for gas!!!) we arrive at Lake Powell. Here, we load the boat with all the camping and fishing supplies, the 5 of us and (this year) 3 dogs on a 22-foot fishing boat. Hopefully, it will all fit in one trip, otherwise, me, mom and the dogs and some coolers will stay behind. Nah, it's not comfortable, and yes, by this time we're all a little grumpy and anxious to just get settled. But, it always takes a while to find a nice camping spot, somewhere tucked away from the main reservoir. Then, we have to pitch 2 tents. And if we didn't eat in Page, by now we're all starving. So we might have to get dinner ready. This first day is always Hellacious. No one likes no one. The poor dogs get yelled at for every little thing, because no one wants to deal with them.

But, the next day is usually glorious! We're all excited to be anywhere but work and we don't have our Lake Powell sunburn yet, so life is good. We set out to fish, hoping for Stripers. I plan on getting some major reading done!

Yay! A Striper!! Lily loves fishing!

If fishing doesn't pan out, we'll venture down the alleyways. This is my favorite part! Our (mom and dad's) boat is just big enough for us, but it's still small enough to tuck back into these parts with some fancy navigation. It's always a little cooler down these canyons, and so beautiful! Sometimes we even see owls. And it's so quiet! The bigger boats don't fit, so they miss out on all this!

Back at camp, we'll make dinner and everyone else does some fishing from the shore.

Royce helps Kramer find Lizards.

And, without a doubt, Royce will make his annual sandcastle.

Then, when it's dark or getting chilly, we'll set up the sides on the boat and crowd aboard for a game of cards. Everyone gets comfy!

And how can you not LOVE waking up to this?

I'M SO EXCITED!!! WE LEAVE NEXT WEEK!!!

Memory Mondays

Today's "Memory" is not a memory. It's a reminder. A reminder for when I am a mommy. I've been keeping a list of things I want to do or don't want to do when I am a mommy.

The first things are things I actually would love to start now... but don't dare. I'm afraid of the reminders if I were to start and never have an opportunity to finish. They are things I want to do or get for the nursery. I will convert my playroom into a nursery. I will leave the light teal carpet that it has and will have to keep my clothes in there, along with the baby stuff. I will paint the walls. On one wall, (at least!), I want a mural. I want a Yellow Submarine mural with bright bright colors and maybe even an Octopus' Garden mural. It will be an under the water/Beatles theme. I want lots of bright colors.

I guess it's not as original as I thought, but mine will definitely be cuter than this one!

Brighter, like this, but, hopefully, with more Beatle-esque murals:

LOVE the wall bubbles! and bright colors!

And the rocking chair!!! Do I have any super-creative friends?!?

I like this for the Octopus' garden mural, but with even brighter colors and more floral-looking designs:

a porthole aquarium to put as the Submarine windows-

I won't put actual fish in it, too messy, but the colors, lights and water will make a great nightlight!

I want this! Reminds me of the doctors office, when I used to go with Dad to get his asthma shots, way back when!

http://www.supplycloud.com/product.php?productid=16530&cat=0&page=1

And, of course, to rock the little one to sleep:

Then there are just some ideas that I've seen other mommies do:

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  Mommy-made books, done on either blank board books with sticky paper, or through Shutterfly. Books that teach lessons, or are personalized to the child.
  
  






• 
  
  T'was the Night Before Christmas Book Basket tradition- wrap up 25 books, put them in a basket under the Christmas tree. Each night in December, the child gets to open a book and have Mom and Dad read it to them. The last book is opened on Christmas eve, (wrap differently than rest) and is a version of T'was the Night Before Christmas.








• 
  
  Obviously, I want books to play a big part in my kids' lives. I want them to have a big bookshelf, full of books.


• To help my kids learn to read all these books, I will turn Closed Captioning on on my television whenever the kids are watching TV... even though it drives Royce nuts!!
• 
  
• I also want to be consistent with my kids. I know, who doesn't, right? But I'm going to make a conscience effort of it. I'm going to follow through on punishments. I'm going to set expectations. My kids will have chores as soon as they can handle them. They will be expected to clean up after themselves. They will know manners and expected behavior. They will face consequences for unexpected, inappropriate behavior. Sure, I'll have to be the bad guy, 'cuz Royce just doesn't have it in him, but I'd rather be the bad guy sometimes than have a bad kid always!


• With treats, I want my kids to have them. I want them to experience sugar and sweetness. I want them to be readily available, so that they don't feel a need to sneak around to get them, but I also want them to learn rationing and know when enough is enough. I won't stock caffeinated drinks, since I stopped drinking them!, but I won't freak out if they have them elsewhere either.


• My kids will have birthday parties and sleepovers. I want to be the cool house to hang out at, so I will make my house kid-friendly and make an effort to meet each friend's parents.

I don't plan on being a perfect parent, but I do have expectations for myself and for my kids.

Memory Mondays: Birthdays!

I've always been one to count down my birthdays. Especially since my childhood best friend had a birthday exactly 4 weeks before mine... really, that's when it all started! "Yay, Nancy, it's your birthday!.... AND MINE IS IN 4 WEEKS!!!" I love birthdays. My Dad always blared The Beatles' Yer Birthday through the house at 6:00 on our birthdays. I was usually awake by 5:00, waiting and waiting for the music. My parents always took us to dinner wherever we wanted. And we always got a birthday party. Some birthday parties or events I remember:

• My 8th birthday party- originally planned to be a rollerskating party... until I broke my leg and had to re-schedule it for my house! Funny thing is, Nancy wasn't invited to the first party, but she was to the re-scheduled one.
• I have one birthday party on video somewhere. We are playing party games in the driveway, something like digging through a pile of sugar for a dime or something, and one of our "weird" neighbors is just hanging around, waiting for an invite or something.
• My brother always got to invite one friend to my parties and I always got to invite one to his.
• A lot of my birthday sleepovers were outside on the trampoline.
• I always loved when my locker got decorated for my birthday!
• In Jr. High, (8th grade, I think), I had a bunch of friends over for my birthday. And they gathered around the bathtub, while I sat in it, in my swimsuit, soaking my legs that were covered in sore lumps and petechiae rash.
• My 18th birthday was spent at QuickWits with my mom, dad, Royce, Royce's parents and siblings, AJ, Liz and Dan. It was sooo much fun! My favorite improv actor, Adam, sang me a song about being a teacher who made kids jump through firey hoops! And... he gave me a yellow rose (purchased by my Daddy!)
• Last year, my co-worker Shanda got me a fun light-up butterfly tiara and balloons for my desk.
• On November 3, 2009, my co-worker Jenni made me a half-birthday cake and reminded me that I only had 6 months until my birthday!

Memory Mondays: Good Old Fashioned Family Fun

Speaking of Good Old Fashioned Fun, these are some of my favorite memories of Good Old Fashioned Fun. Cheap, easy, accessible entertainment:

• Camping with the family. Our Lake Powell trip is coming up... can't wait!!! Plus, Royce's dad gave us the Airstream trailer last fall and I can't wait to use it! Gonna take it out to some over-night car shows.


• Game nights. With family or friends, it doesn't matter!


• Parks. I love playing at the park! Taking the dogs for walks, or just playing on the playground during a car show, I love it! Especially the swings!!


• Rivers, lakes, reservoirs. I love 'em all! I so want a boat, but realize that they cost a lot and are only usable 3 months of the year. But even just walking in the river, or playing on a beach, just thrills me! One of mine and Royce's best dates was walking in the Morgan River.


• Bike Rides. Royce fixed my tire this weekend, so my bike is ready to go! Any takers? Let's start off easy, with quick trips around the block, but I'd love to be a trail rider! My bike's nothing fancy, just my 10-gear from my childhood, but it works!


• Car shows. Go figure, huh? Some are cheaper than others, but they're all a lot of fun!


• Rec team games. Watching or playing. I'd love to throw around a softball again, if even just for fun! But I also just found out my nephew is playing baseball again this year, so I'm excited to go watch him and cheer him on!


• Barbecues and picnics. I'm dying to pull out the croquet!
• Bubbles. I love, love bubbles! Just this weekend, I was blowing bubbles at the car show.
  

So, to sum it up, who wants to ride their bike over to the park with me, where we will play croquet and softball until the hamburgers are done, then we can play on the swings!!?!!