How different our bodies are

I couldn't help but laugh when we were hiking in Arches this weekend. Roger and Jake were in front of me walking and to see the difference in their calve muscles and legs. The Pynes are notorious for their skinny legs. Troy happened to get Rogers skinny legs and Jareds are just normal. Jake happened to be blessed with huge calves that my boys are jealous of. When Shana was dating she happened to go out with a guy that worked at 24 Hr. Fitness and then when Jake came over and she introduced him to us and Jared saw Jakes calves he asked him if he was the one who worked there and he said "no". Jared was kind of embarrassed but we assumed it was since they were so huge. We are never happy with our bodies are we? There is always someone who we are jealous of but then there are times when we can go to a water park and look around and see bodies that are much more worse than ours. I guess we just have to be thankful for what we have and not complain. ( it's hard though). Anyway, I love Rogers skinny little legs even though he doesn't like them.

Our Family Moab Trip

For the past 3 years Roger and I have done a trip to Moab in May and we've always gone alone. This year the kids wanted to join us so we made our reservations for the KOA campground and headed on down there. The weather cooperated even though it was over 90 degrees. Thank goodness for an airconditioned RV.
Some of the things we got to do was ride the bikes, the guys golfed, we swam, we went to Arches and enjoyed the beautiful creations there and we went shopping and out to dinner a couple of times. Makinley scrapped up her knees every couple of hours, Daxton learned to hold onto his new pilot bike and Brayden loved trying to catch lizards. We missed having Troy and Kori there of course and hopefully they can join us next year. I love getting our family together for these adventures. I'm so glad they still love to camp and that they are passing that tradition onto their children. I look forward to going many more times with our family and enjoying each others company. Here are a few pictures of our fun trip.

Mothers Day

My family has known that Mothers Day is always a hard holiday for me. Every year I write in my journal about not having my mom here to honor her. And how hard it is to look over all the mothers day cards in the store and wishing I could pick out that special card just for her.
One year I was having such a hard time trying to prepare myself for this day. I actually went to the store and picked out that "perfect" mothers day card just for my mom. I felt in my heart that she knew I was having a hard time and I also felt she knew that by me writing in it and taking it up to her grave and laying it on her headstone that it would somehow make me feel better. I'll never forget that because it really did help me to do that. I'm sure whoever picked it up when cleaning up the cemetery laughed at it but truly it made me feel better. I was able to tell her how much I loved her. How much I missed her and what a wonderful mom she had been.
After 26 years you would think that this holiday would get easier. But the emptiness still is there. The envy that others still have their moms and how lucky they are.
I remember my moms last Mothers Day. She was in the University of Utah hospital which would inevitably be her last visit there. She had been in so much pain that the doctors had given her a ton of medicine. As most of you know when taken in large quantities it can make you hallucinate and do things that you would never remember doing. Roger and I and Jared drove up to the hospital to give her her gift and card and when we got there she told me that she had tried to escape from the hospital. I thought she was joking until I read her chart. The nurses had noted that she had tried running down the hall to escape and she fell and hurt her hip. They had to take her to be xrayed to determine if there was a fracture. As I read the chart I cried becaue I knew this was not my mom. This was the drugs making my mom behave that way. We had always told here that we would never put her in a rest home to die and that's what she thought we had done. We reassured her that she would be coming home with us. She did come home a few days later and then passed away on July 6th, 1981. So today, on Mothers Day, I again want my mom to know how much I loved her, how beautiful she was and how I want to be just like her. I am in the sense that she loved to dance, and was full of energy and loved to be active and be outdoors. She missed out on seeing me as a grandma now and seeing my 3 children grow up and have kids of their own. I hope that she would be proud of me and the choices that I have made.
As for me being a mom...There is no greater calling in the world than that of being called "mother". I remember when my children were little and as soon as they came home from someplace the first thing they did was yell at the front door "Hi Mom!!" I was always glad that I could be home to hear them say that. I love being a mom even as old as my kids are now. It still thrills me when one of them walks up to me and puts their arm around me. I've done my best trying to teach them right from wrong as they were growing up. And now I look at them and I'm so proud of them and the choices they have made. Sure we have had our rough times and we had challenges as parents but they've turned out to be great kids. I pray that they will know that I cherish them and would do anything in the world to help them.
So on this Mothers Day I wish to tell everyone a Happy Mothers Day and to remind those who still have their moms to cherish the times they have, to appreciate being able to call them on the phone and say hi, and to remember to tell them that you love them.

My Daughter the Dental Assistant

You know what? I HATE going to the dentist but for some reason today when I got there I was more at ease. Shana wasn't scheduled to work today but she unknowingly to me made arangements to come in and help Dr. Brown on my teeth. So what a nice surprise it was to see her smiling face waiting for me. That's the reason why I felt more comfortable. I want her to know how impressed I was with how she understood all the dental terms, equipment, etc. because I didn't know a thing what he was saying. I never realized how hard it was to be a dental assistant. Dr. Brown is always complimenting her on what a good job she does and now I know why.
Thanks Shana for helping me feel more comfortable and also taking the time on your day off to come in and work on my teeth. You are an awesome dental assistant and I'm very proud of you

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Troy and Kori will be leaving us again in two days. Their plane flys out around 1pm on Tues. afternoon for Florida. It's always hard as a parent to have your kids leave you but I know right now that it's only until the end of August. Thank goodness. I can't imagine having any of them move out of state for good. I"m so lucky to have them all so close by and that we can get together all the time.
Troy is going to be working for Apex Home Alarm Systems again. This is his third summer now and the last two have been spent in Florida. I pray that he will be watched over and that no harm will come to him. I know there have been several instances where someone has been jumped, beat up, harrassed etc. And the areas they knock doors on are not always the best of neighborhoods. Kori will be out there basking in the sun and then waiting for Troy to come home at the end of the day. I"m so glad he has her support. Last year he made some pretty good money so that's why these young men keep going back. He made a lot more in 4 months than I did in a whole year. He was able to live on the money from Aug. to April and go to school full time.
So farewell Troy and Kori...I will miss you so much. It's been mine and dads pleasure to have you in our home for a few days before you leave.

Our Family Easter Egg Hunt

Oh what fun we had!! As you can tell we are laughing so hard. Everyone is running around trying to tell the kids where the eggs are. Kori is walking around wondering what to do. Troy is really into finding the eggs for himself. Jared is determined that Makinley is going to find the most eggs. And i'm determined to get video pictures of them with my new camera video phone. The wind was blowing too so our hair is all messed up. The good Lord had it rain in the morning so that we could have our little easter egg in the afternoon. It was such a fun time. Afterwards, we had Kentucky Fried Chicken and salads, beans, rolls and dessert. I just love this time of year when we can remember the ressurection of our Savior, we see the beautiful spring flowers come up, the buds on the trees and my sweet little grandchildren running around so happy. I'm so thankful to my Heavenly Father for this beautiful world we live in. For my wonderful children that live so close by and that I can see them almost daily. And for a husband who is the best papa in the world. His devotion to them is so obvious. They love him so much. I hope the rest of the world was able to have such a fun Easter as my family did.

Happy Easter

These are the happiest times for a Grandma. I love to spend time with my grandkids making memories.
I had all the grandkids come over to decorate Easter Eggs today. Gentry isn't quite old enough but I tried to include her as much as I could. I was trying to have her put an egg in the bowl but then when I took my hand away to grab the camera she was grabbing for the bowl full of dye. Makinley made the biggest mess of all of them. She loved to swoosh the egg around so that would cause the dye to spill out of the bowl. Daxton was coloring his whole hand by dipping it all the way in. And Brayden was really into making the eggs look nice. We had such a fun time. Afterwards we went outside and played Duck, Duck, Goose, Freeze tag, and London Bridges. We had lunch and then it was time for the parents to come pick them up.
I remember as a young girl spending time with my Grandma Fry. She was an angel in my eyes. Never had an enemy in her life. Lived her life to the fullest. Enjoyed so many things. I remember staying with her in her little house. Many times I could hear her on her knees saying her prayers at night. I remember my grandma had a distinctive smell about her. We used to love playing cards, bingo, and taking her little cart up to the store to buy some maplenut ice cream. We used to watch Lawrence Welk together on Saturday nights. She loved to crochet and do needlepoint and she made all of the grandkids a beautiful rug for graduation from high school. I remember the day she died. It was December 24, 1974. What a sad Christmas Eve for us. She had rarely been sick a day in her life but all of a sudden had congestive heart failure and was in the hospital with difficulty breathing. I remember mom coming home and telling us she had passed away and my dad cried and cried. That was just one of the two times in my whole life I had ever seen him cry. He always loved to tease Lizzy..that's what he called her. Her name was Elizabeth Westoby Fry. She had the most beautiful gray hair and a round little belly. Your typical grandmother in those days. I will always cherish my memories of my Grandma Fry. They're forever embedded in my mind.
I hope my grandkids will always love coming to our home and that we can create many fun, happy moments together too. I know there will come a time when they're too busy and more grown up but this is the best time to enjoy these fun little times together. I love you Brayden, Daxton, Makinley and Gentry!! I can't wait to add more names to that list.