Obsession

So, do you ever pay attention to these stickers?  Only when you get that nasty bill in the mail that its time to renew – right?

9 months – the license plates on the van expire in 9 months (just in case you were wondering).

Chase is OBSESSED with these stickers!  The kid likes numbers, a lot.  I really think sometimes he has his own language, in numbers, that runs through his head. 

Parking lots – “Mom, 3 months.  2 months past due!  This month. 7 months”  Me - “Chase, what are you talking about?!”  Chase - “The cars, the stickers and when the expire”.

Driving down the road - “Mom, that one says 7-11, like the store.  Ohh, that one is going to get in trouble if a cop drives by, his expired 6 months ago”.

Everywhere we go, he looks at the stickers and counts the months (and quickly I might add).  I don’t know if I should be worried or plan on taking him to Vegas to count cards.

Gary

To me, he was Uncle Gary. More importantly he was son to Keith & Marilyn, brother to Craig & KerryLynn (and Sheila), Husband to Debbie, Dad, Grandpa and Friend.

Gary Williamson left this world on Friday evening. Cancer took its toll on his body but not his spirit. Click Here for the Obituary.

Gary is my Dad’s younger brother and I don’t think I ever saw him without a smile on his face. He had a way of making you feel at ease. I remember one time, in particular – my Dad was in the hospital and had been for several days. I had been at the hospital with Dad for hours, I had event spent the night. I remember Gary walking into visit Dad the next day and I was relieved – I knew everything was going to be OK – Gary was there. My Dad had a special bond with Gary and I know that bond grew stronger over the past several years.

I am better for knowing him and feel lucky that he was a part of my life.

Gary, we will take care of your grieving family while we too mourn the loss of such an amazing man. Until we meet again…

Boys of Summer

Before this summer started, I vowed, to myself that we would do some fun things with the kids while they are out of school.  Yesterday was one of those days!  I decided to take my boys on a little adventure (Emma will get her turn, she spent the day with friends at day care splashing in the water).

I decided to take them on the FrontRunner Commuter Train from downtown Salt Lake City and travel North to see what we could find.  I did a tiny bit of research to make sure that once we got off the train in Ogden, we would at least have a place to go to lunch and then maybe just take the train back to SLC.

First of all, this was my first experience on the FrontRunner train, it was great!  Someday, hopefully soon, the public transportation system will have something similar traveling to the South!  It is a large train, two floors, air conditioned and restrooms!

The boys were really excited to try the train and we were all curious as to what we would find once we got to Ogden.  Once we got off the train, we walked to 25th street.  Lots of shops and restaurants.  We had some lunch at Roosters and then made our way over to the Salomon Center.  The     boys spent an hour or so rock climbing at iRock – it was awesome.  There are other things to do there like surf (yes, I said surf) and an indoor sky diving simulator – we will go back another day and try that.

 

 

 

 

 

All in all it was a great day with my boys – the boys of summer.  I can’t wait until our next adventure!

 

Fathers

I’m a day late in posting but wanted to be sure to acknowledge all of the Dad’s out there with a very Happy Fathers Day.

Kelly is a great Dad to our kids.  He is a great teacher, mentor and friend.  This is one of my most favorite pictures.

Yesterday morning, we were able to join the family for breakfast with Grandpa Dennis (Kelly’s Dad) and Grandpa Dolar (Dennis’ Dad).  Grandpa Dolar is 95 (almost 96) and we are really blessed to be able to celebrate another Father’s Day with him!

Later in the afternoon we went to Grandpa Willie’s (my Dad) house to help him get some of the plants in the ground of his garden.  We planted 48 (yes, 48) tomato plants and about 20 pepper plants.  We gave up about 7 and went to dinner with my Dax, Megan, Ian and Gracie.

The best part of the day was the break we took and Grandpa Willie helped Emma paint her toe nails (so glad I had my camera).

I wish we could have spent the entire day with all of the Dads and Grandpas in our life.  Thanks for helping shape who we are today!

I also want to recognize another Dad, my Uncle Gary.  Although he’s not my Dad he is a part of my life and a man that I look up to.  Gary is fighting cancer right now and he is staying strong and we need him to kick cancers a$$!!

Grateful

Today, and everyday, I am grateful for Grandparents.  For the Grandparents in my life and the parents that are the Grandparents for our kids.

I remember when I was younger, people would tell me how lucky I was that all of my Grandparents were a part of my life and that many of my Great-Grandparents were living.  Looking back, yes – I am VERY lucky.

These past two weeks have reminded me of how lucky I am to have grandparents in my life.  Not only my own grandparents but for Kelly’s grandparents too (that I really consider as mine!) 

Grandma & Grandpa Dolar have been through a lot these past two days but they are strong and with a family that loves them, they will be just fine.

A few memories from all of the Grandparents in my life.  Some of you that read this will probably know exactly who I’m talking about:

• Fresh Lilacs on the kitchen table
• Raisin filled cookies (the most amazing ever made)
• Quilts & wooden thread spools used as blocks
• Tire swing in the backyard
• Sleepovers with homemade pancakes with fruit in them for breakfast
• Camping at Rockport
• The best damn brown gravy
• Pinky wave
• Iron Blossom Lodge at Snowbird

As for our parents – Thank You for creating memories with our kids and for being the “cool” ones that our kids go to when Kelly and I aren’t so cool.

A Girl Named Gracie

We are IN LOVE with a tiny little girl named Gracie Mae McDonald.  My beautiful sister, Megan, gave birth to this little peanut on Monday, May 24th.  Meg and Ian decided not to find out the gender of the baby so we couldn’t wait for the little one to arrive to find out if we were shopping for Pink or Blue.

The Dolar children are very excited to have a new little cousin and Ms. Emma Jane is over the moon that she is a girl!

I can’t describe the feelings that I have now that my sister is a Mother.  I’m so excited to be a part of this journey with her.  She is going to be a great Mom!!!

Gracie was born at 11:30am and is a mere 5lbs 2oz, 18.5 inches long.  She was born only a week earlier than her due date, she’ll probably be a petite girl!

Gracie has long fingers, a cute little nose and likes to stick her tongue out.  She is a calm, sweet soul and I want to be around her all the time.  She has amazing parents that love her dearly.

Here are a few pictures.

I’m sure I will get in trouble for this last picture of Megan.  That tattered yellow blank by her head is her baby blanket that she brought to the hospital with her.  She was sleeping for a bit after the epidural kicked in.

Road Trip

This past week, I was in Baltimore for work. Kelly and the kids were in Denver the same days I was gone. Our Niece Mareia graduated from High School in Denver and Kelly decided to take all 3 kids and drive to Colorado to be there for her big day.

I’ll admit it, I was a little worried about Kelly driving such a long distance with all 3 kids by himself but he did great! I just grabbed the camera out of the car and found the following pictures (just a small sampling). Bet you can’t guess who the “ham” is in our family?! At least the camera kept them entertained for a bit.