Jenny, Kristy, and 5 dogs.... oh my!

My bestest friend, Jenny, and her sister, Kristy, stayed over Friday night on their drive from New Jersey to Georgia. Jenny and Kristy are "animal lovers". I grew up with Jenny taking care of all the lost, sick and maimed wild life. At any time she would be rehabilitating squirrels, owls, baby deer, rabbits,and ducks. Her sister Kristy volunteered for the Humane Society which might have been a mistake. She has adopted all the dogs. Two of which have diabetes (dogabetes) and need daily insulin shots. One is even blind. Our little apartment survived a night with 5 dogs. Good thing they were all small, pretty sweet, and entertaining. The entertainment came from Maggie (the blind one) banging into walls (we are evil). It was totally worth it to see Jenny and Kristy, but I dont think we will be getting any dogs soon.
Can you find all 5 in the picture? Maggie, Indiana, Buddy, Gizmo, and Kalem

Bulls and Biking in Durham

We had a couple fun activities in Durham this past Friday and Saturday evening.

Friday:


A group from work met for a night at the Durham Bulls, the triple A minor league team in our area. I work with wonderful people that are supportive and fun. I enjoyed meeting my co-workers significant others and seeing everybody relaxed outside of work It was such a pleasant evening. We spent most of the time visiting. The Bulls did win 10-5. Being at a baseball game on a warm summer night is such a treat.

Whenever a home run was hit the Bull in the outfield's eyes would turn red and he would spew steam out of his nostrils like this:

After the game they had Fireworks:




Saturday:

We took off on our bicycles on The American Tobacco Trail. They converted an old train line into a paved trail. There are tall trees and Kudzu on both of the sides along most of the trail. The segment we went on was about six miles each way. It started by the freeway and ended at the Stadium. It was a wonderful evening and it was great to get some exercise. We are going to try other segments of the trail another time.

Things I Love About Utah # 2

The mountains in Utah are amazing. This past Friday and Saturday I had a chance to be up Millcreek, Big Cottonwood and Little Cottonwood with family. Here are a few of my favorite pictures. The wildflowers are in bloom when you get deep into the canyons.

Things I Love About Utah # 1

Utah has great bowling. Every time I am there I love to go bowl a couple games. My favorite bowling alleys are the Ritz Classic and Olympus Hills lanes. Here are Four reasons why bowling is great in Utah:

1. Utah is a clear air act state so you don't have to worry about smoke bugging you and getting you off on your game.

2. The floors are well oiled and the bowling balls are great. In Raleigh, at the bowling alley by my house, the balls are so chipped that you feel like you are bowling an asteroid. And you can never find the right size.

3. So cheap. Under three bucks a game in the daytime per game per person. Also Ritz classic had special all you can bowl deals some days.

4. Usualy there are not a lot of people there so you have your space.

Last Friday my brother Jeff, My Mom, and I went bowling. And here emerges the primary reason I am posting:


I am R and the previous loss to my Mom in May has been avenged. This is my all time high and has been documented and provided for you internet viewing pleasure. If this social work thing doesn't work out for me, I may be on my way to a new career.


PS Here is a video my brother sent me from bowling where I'm already talking smack.

Goodbye Grandpa

On July 11th my Grandfather Keith Webb passed away. It was a shock to have him all of the sudden gone. I will miss him. He was a pretty distinct guy with a good sense of humor. He was a genius at computers, an altruistic man and helper with his family and the Church. I'll miss his calls and forwards. I'll miss arguing about politics with him. I hope to see him on the other side, with Grandma who passed away two and a half years previously. Here is a picture of him when he was in Alaska last year.




I flew into Utah from the 15-20 for the funeral. All of us kids left our spouses/most of their kids back home and had an impromptu family reunion. It was fun for us kids to revert about 10-20 years each when we were around each other. Mostly it was just good to see each other. In tough times I am refreshed to have such a supportive and great family, even if we're all a bit of a stubborn lot.

Love Letter

I am going to share some intimacies from our marriage but first I need to give you a little back ground knowledge. When I went to Las Vegas for a long weekend, I was a little apprehensive to leave Ryan and wanted to make sure he knew I would miss him. I wrote him a sweet note explaining how much he meant to me, put pillows under a made bed (to act as my body), drew a picture my face with my eyes closed and put it at the top (so he wouldn't miss me). I also bought him a present he has been coveting since camping Memorial Day weekend.... a Bocce ball set.

So, Ryan has left for SLC this last week and felt he needed to return the favor. Right before he left he got out a piece of paper and pen and asked ME to help HIM write HIS love note to ME.

Ryan: How should I start it?
Me: With all my nicknames
(he made up new nicknames for me on the spot like Monkey Head and Sleepy Girl)
Ryan: Then what?
Me: Tell me that you dont want to be away from me and that you will miss me.
(Ryan writes exactly that)
Ryan: Then what?
Me: Tell me you will buy me things when you are gone and that you have enclosed money.
Ryan: Oh, it is coming to me now...
(At this point Sarah McLaughlin's Will You Remember Me is playing in the background)

Yep, you guessed it. He wrote out the lyrics-
"I will remember you. Dont let your life pass you by. I'm so tired, I cant sleep. I will remember you."

He ended the love note with a P.S. I have enclosed 1000 imaginary dollars.

Gosh, I love that guy. He knows just when and how to make me laugh.

80's night

While in Vegas, we had an 80's night complete with costumes and dance competition. It made me reminisce about the days of Cindy Lauper, tight rolls, and crimped hair. What a great decade with great movies (Ferris Bueller, Top Gun, Dirty Dancing) and music (Journey, Smiths, and Bangles). I actually wasn't allowed to watch Dirty Dancing in the 80's (because it was rated PG-13 and I was 12 in 1989) but when I finally saw it (my freshman year of college), I loved it. My favorite part is when Baby says to Swayze "You're Wild!" in the car before doing lifts in the river.

I went to 3 different Goodwills looking for an 80's prom dress with big puffy sleeves, gawdy bows and a heart shaped neck line. No luck. I ended up with a neon ACDC shirt, jean vest (with buttons) and leggings. Too bad I couldn't find leg warmers or lace gloves.

Me doing the Roger Rabbit. We also busted out the cabbage patch, running man, robot, and go-go dance.



If I only had bangs, I could have won the big hair award. It was pretty fun dressing up. Now I have my halloween costume ready.

Las Vegas with the Henriksens

I recently went to Vegas for the 4th of July weekend to visit some friends. Steve, aka Elder Henriksen, was a missionary in Bainbridge way back in the day. Shortly after his mission, he married the greatest girl from Australia. Their courtship story is amazing. They met on line; he flew out to Australia on Friday, engaged on Saturday, married on Sunday.

They are so generous. They actually bought my ticket for a fun get-a-way weekend. We had a great time . I especially loved the Bellagio fountains.