THANKS FOR BEING BORN HOLLY DOLLY

This week was "Holly Dolly's" Birthday....the day after Thanksgiving.
Here are some of my favorite pictures of Holly:

Holly was born in Hawaii in 1973. That makes her 35.

Happy Birthday Holly!!!!!

Holly and Doug in Hawaii. She was a cutie-tootie baby!!

Holly's Senior Picture

We gave Holly a list of 35 reasons why we love her. It was hard to write down only 35 because we had so many. My favorite ones were about how she is always there for me and helps clean up Sunday dinner until the ennnnnnndddddd. She also has a wonderful singing voice and is beautiful inside and out. We love you so much!!!! and thanks for the Fun day at Gardner Village.

We have a tradition every year of going to Gardner Village to celebrate Holly's birthday. We really missed Priscila this year. We had such a great time. Here are a few pics from our adventurous day:

Archibald's Restaurant

Robin, Nikki, Carly, Holly, and me.....That's-a-my girls!

[minus Priscila...wahhh]

Here's my girls in front of one of my favorite stores the

"Village Christmas Shoppe"

I love the glass birds they sell that are made in Germany. Every year I pick up a few or two..or three..... See below:

OK....... look really close. Oops....on the way out I saw a sign that said,

"No Cameras or Camcorders allowed"

Ouch...I guess that makes me a rebel!!

My other favorite store..... "Sweet Aftons". Carly found her sour punch straws, I found my Jelly Belly's, Holly found fudge, Robin abstained....and nobody found Nikki. That was the theme for the day.... "Where's Nikki"? If you have ever been shopping with Nikki, you know it takes her 2X as long to shop as the rest of us. She likes to look at EVERYTHING!!! That's my Nik. We really had a fun day and I scored some gifts for my "Maddox Friends".

Fun day..... Thanks for being born Holly!!!!!

THANKSGIVING.................IT'S NOT ABOUT THE FOOD.

This is the first year that Doug and I have been "home alone" for Thanksgiving. Mac and Priscila have always been here even when everyone else is at their in-laws. But as you know, Mac and Priscila are "home alone" as well.....in New Jersey. So Doug and I decided that we would try something "new" and go out for dinner. We chose the "Little America" brunch. We used to go there for Sunday brunch when we stayed over there so we had visions of "crepes" and "Waffles" and other delish breakfast foods along with the "Thanksgiving" food as well. NOT!!! It was strictly a

"Thanksgiving Feast" .

It's not that the food wasn't great......... Turkey, Ham, Pork, Duck, Prime Rib, Salmon, Halibut, all the Shrimp you could eat. Stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, yams, vegetables, 4 kinds of salads, fruit galore, bread galore [everything from croissants to sweet rolls]. More desserts than you could eat. [Pumpkin pie, Apple pie, Chocolate cake, while cake, carrot cake, ice cream, mousse in two different flavors, ice cream, chocolate covered strawberries, and cookies and truffles....you name it and they had it.

But.............I missed Doug's deep fried turkey, and my homemade yams made from apples, and yams, and pineapple. And I missed Holly's goo. And I missed Nikki's Apple pies, and Pineapple pie made from John's recipe, and stuffing from a Box, and Pumpkin Pies with real whipping cream [seriously they did not have whipping cream for their pumpkin pies].

But most of all....................I missed my Family cause after all That is what "Thanksgiving is all about. And next year we will be together again, and it will be crazy with all those little grandchildren running around, and chaotic with every one in the kitchen on top of each other and Football and tons of dishes, and spills on the carpet, and fingers in the whipping cream.

But...................................................................

I WILL LOVE EVERY SECOND OF IT!!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone. Hope yours was a good one!

Some things I am grateful for:

• My husband Doug....that he is alive.....he is amazing....and takes good care of our family.
• My children......all of them.........I learn so much from them every day. They are the reason I get up in the morning.
• My grand children........they are so loving.......they keep me young......I Love them sooooooooooo much.
• The Gospel of Jesus Christ. It keeps me grounded and reminds me who I am.
• My friends. My "Maddox Friends" [CBC's] you know who you are. Forever Friends who mean the world to me....and their husbands who will sleep on a gravel pit in Idaho.
• My hiking friends who share God's nature with me and who I hike with and talk with and share deep thoughts with [I really do have them....deep thoughts] and who I pee in the wilderness with.
• My High School friends whom I also love dearly and whom I share many memories and fun times with and remind me of earlier days when life was carefree [we thought]. It is comforting to have friends you can be yourself around and they don't judge you....they just love you....I love them.
• My job. In this day and age it is so good to have a job. I love the friends I work with and laugh with and cry with. They are pretty awesome. It is good to be there......and it is good to go home.
• Rich.......the guy who does my hair. He takes about 10 years off my life with his magic. He keeps wanting to snip snip snip..[Hair dressers are like that you know] But I am not ready yet.
• My mother in law LouJean. [Remember these are not in any particular order] She is the only mother I have here on earth. She is the most giving, hardworking, kind, compassionate, loving person I know. She is 79 years old but looks 65, and acts like she is even younger! She gardens, paints, [walls in her house] she walks everyday with friends and rides a shiny red bicycle down the road. She bakes wonderful bread. She is amazing and I love her.
• My sisters Carolyn and Rosalie. I love having them close. It is crazy when we are together. They are both "hard of hearing" and we yell a lot at each other, but only cause we love each other. I am grateful my hearing is just fine....what's that you say....ha? what?
• My brother Ray who I am glad is alive this year as well. I can thank him for buffalo meat.....a half of a buffalo.......I hope we like it....
• My home. It is unfinished and cluttered [not my fault].....I will leave that for another blog. The cupboards are old and stained and still have glass knobs on them. I still have solarium on my kitchen floor cracked and puckered. I hang blankets over the windows to keep the sun out because the wood is not finished so I can't hang blinds. The bathroom walls still have holes from when we built on 20+ years ago and we have no furnace as we heat with wood. But I would not want to live anywhere else. We live in this house and it is a comfortable place to be.........it is home.
• Good health. FOY food and well the truth is, I am thankful for sweets as well....lots and lots of sweets.....and the fact that I can still get myself out of bed and take a 2 mile run...... so I can eat sweets.

Well, that is my thankful list [in no particular order] for this year.

Random stuff of meaningless nothingness.....

I thought that I would post a few random things I have been doing and thinking about lately.........

• I did NOT fix Sunday Dinner today. Missed the kids but not the dishes.
• Carly had left over Pizza for Sunday Dinner. I had two pieces of LouJeans de-lish homemade bread as toast with real butter, later Crystal light and almonds, later a protein bar, later a root beer float with English toffee ice cream [don't try it] and after Chordettes... popcorn and fruit treats.....what happened to the diet???
• Went to Perry to hear Emma and Lindsey say their parts and sing in their Primary Program. They were a hit!!!!
• Remembered how much I love the song "If the Savior stood beside me".
• They both wrote me notes [again] .. thanking me for the Princess Party. [How am I going to one up that one?]
• Doug and I went to a movie this weekend......Bond......James Bond... Mr. Blue eyes...hmmm I like this "James" he is believable and easy on the eyes.
• We went to RC Willey's afterwards to look at TVs. Doug thinks he wants one in the exercise room. [Will it help his heart? I kind of think he needs his "Air dyne" bike in there before he needs a TV.]
• Watched the BYU game with Mason. Watching BYU has to be the most frustrating thing....I leave the room a lot.....I can't bear to watch.....but then I love to watch......but then I hate to watch. Last year I had season tickets. But if you have tickets, you can't leave the room....but the Polish Dogs are good.
• Doug was nice and bought Pizza last night. There were 5 of us here when he bought the Pizza's, Robin, Nate, Carly, myself and Doug. We ate 6 pieces.... and had two pieces and a whole pizza left over....... he always thinks big.......left overs I guess.
• Got my eyes tattooed. Really....not kidding....they call it "permanent eye make-up" so you don't have to repent, but in all actuality......it is a tattoo. It hurt...it is true. But I was brave. Saves time when you get ready in the morning...especially since I can't see my eyes without a super duper magnifying mirror. The jury is still out. When you look in my magnifying mirror you can see all the flaws. But it looks OK from far away. I guess...if I could see it......
• Last week I went to a movie at the Megaplex by myself. I went to the 2:45PM matinee. I wanted to see "The Secret life of Bee's" and I could not get any one to go see it with me. So I went by myself. There was just one other person in the theater and I had picked a seat 4 seats from that person. I bet she was thinking "The whole theater is empty and this lady decides to sit next to me." Well it was dark in there but as I got closer, I said to myself.......That looks like my friend Vickie!!!! So I went up to her and said "Vickie?" and she said "Diana?". It was sort of anti climatic.........cause she did not recognize me in the dark. [You see I have this other self called Diana Dunkley....you can see her in the movie "Charlie". She is Charlie's husbands mother in the movie. Anyway, at least once a month I am mistaken for Diana. Seriously, I walked in Bahama Bronze two weeks ago and the girl working there says to me..."You look just like my best friends mother." And I said, "Her name wouldn't be Diana would it?" And she said, "How did you know?" ] Any way, getting back to the movie, I moved over to the seat next to Vickie and we watched the movie.....a really great movie by the way!We decided that when we wanted to see a movie and our husbands did not want to go, then we would go together. By the way, Vickie told me she was thinking.... as I walked in to sit down 4 seats next to her, "The whole theater is empty and this lady decides to sit next to me." Funny ha? PS....I wonder if Diana Dunkley ever gets mistaken for me? Probably not, I am not famous, never been in a movie, but I have been in a production....who can ever forget "I'd be a Woman again" [You had to be there.]
• I am missing hiking. When the air is crisp, and the sun is shining, I want to be in those mountains. I am missing my hiking friends as well. Maybe we should meet at the movie.
• Got to save the date Dec. 5th......Christmas Box Luncheon....... missing my High School friends as well.
• Seeing lots of signs of the times... Second Coming.......will I see it? Will my kids see it? Will my grand kids see it? Better prepare. Better have a "faith" check. The opposite of Faith is Fear.
• Farrah's favorite thing to say "I hungry" . Carly goes thru the list....Cereal? Soup? Toast? Milk? Fishes? ...........
• Luke came for a visit on Saturday......cutest little red head ever!!!!! Loves cars. Cutest smile. Why didn't I take pictures?
• Chordette Concert Dates Dec. 14th and 15th at the Hearthside. Favorite Song this year? "Breath of Heaven". I don't make Doug go.... it is way too painful for him. [He missed the lesson on sometimes you go just to make your wife think you like it]. I'm not as charitable with my kids....Hey......there is cookies afterwards.....
• That's all for now.................it is a good life.

Reminder: This is Vickie...

Four out of Seven and counting.............

I can't believe it........I've got four of my seven fake Christmas trees up. Hold on now, don't freak!! I don't decorate them until after Thanksgiving, and I have cut back from nine , so give me a break. I start early and it helps to use the weekends to get a head start. I just love the lights and the holidays. Here is a little preview:

This one is temporarily on the landing before you go upstairs but will land in the Dining room after Thanks giving. Colored lights. I decorate it with all the hodge podge of homeade decorations from when the kids were little including mirrors with their cute little faces in the middle, shrink art, pipe cleaners wreaths, and Relief Society Santa's.

Trivia: Did you know that pipe cleaners really were used to clean pipes [smoking pipes that is]. My mom used to use them to clean the tubes in her hearing aids.....and you thought they were just for crafts!

This is actually two trees. You just can't see the little one next to it. This one has white lights and I decorate it with my really cool ornaments. These are a collection of Santa's , snowmen, and birds. Every year for Holly's Birthday we go to Gardner Village for lunch [Archibalds] and I go to the Christmas shop there where they have really great glass birds that clip on the tree. They are pretty pricey, but I get two or three a year. The tree does not look like much now, but it looks really fab when it is all docorated. I will have to do a before and after.....notice the cute little shadow in these pictures? That is Farrah. We used the flash for the next photo so you could see her. She really dolls up a tree doesn't she. I think we'll keep her.........

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTIAN!!!!

Saturday November 8th was Christians Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday Christian!!!!!!!!

Christian is 3.

Nikki and Aaron had the Grandparents up for cake and Ice Cream.

It was a wild party. Emma and Lindsay helped him open his gifts.

We gave him a lawn mower. He loved it. It blows bubble's.

I love Christian. He is so adorable. He used to pull the funniest face when he was two. We called it the "Big Eyes" look. I wish I had a picture to show you. But that was before I bought my camera. Did I tell you that I forgot to take my camera to the Birthday Party?

Bummer................

So I will have to just post one of the adorable pictures that Veronica took of Christian.

Nikki gave him a "home-made" Birthday. This is what she made him:

A green Snake

A Tractor Bag

A Quilt for his bed

2 pillows with a tractor

embroidered on one of them.

Nikki is an Awesome mom.

ALWAYS... PATSY CLINE

Theater....You either Love it or you Hate it....well maybe not........................



I have to do a "Post" about our evening with the Pincomb's, Russell and Sally.
What a blast! Sally had told me about this two woman show that comes every year to the "Grand Theater" called "Always... Patsy Cline". Now Doug has gone to a few Melodrama's on our little group trips to Jackson or West Yellowstone, and even made it thru them with a smile on his face but still....not his favorite thing. However, when Sally and I were on our hiking trip this summer and she told me about the Patsy Cline play, I thought Doug might enjoy it because he really likes Patsy Cline's songs. For those of you who don't know, Patsy rose to stardom with her hits songs like "Crazy", "I Fall to Pieces", "Walkin after midnight", "Sweet Dreams", " Three Cigarettes in An Ashtray" [OK I admit, I had never heard of that one before]. She performed at the Grand Ole Opry, American Bandstand, and on the Johnny Cash show. Her career was cut short when she was killed in a fatal Plane crash in 1963. Her songs however live on as does her story. To see a clip and short picture bio of the real Patsy Cline click here: In 1985 her life was the subject of the feature film "Sweet Dreams" starring Jessica Lang.

This play was amazing. The story line, the music, the actresses, the band, everything was just perfect. Russell saw to it that we had front and center seats which were just fabulous!!! I loved the evening even more as I could see that Doug was really enjoying it.

Doug and I do not go out with people very much other than to group parties, so I was a little worried about it. I told Sally I did not have a clue what to expect. Sally said "no worries... Russ and I are entertainers". And that... they were, Doug could not have gotten a word in edge wise if he would have had something to say as Sally and Russ true to her word kept us entertained.
We had many firsts that night.

• 1st double date in probably 15 years or more!
• 1st time sitting in back seat of a car on a date.
• 1st time to use valet service
• 1st time to eat together at "Macaroni Grill"
• 1st time in a long time my sides hurt from laughing [at Russ and Sally]

Hopefully it won't be the last time we do something with the Pincomb's. They are great people and we had a fantastic time.

However, Russ, we'll pass on the "Messiah" Christmas sing along at the Baptist Church in SLC.

It sounds great, but I just can't visualize Doug there. He has to worry about his heart now you know. Sounds like a little too wild for us. But thanks for trying to convince us to go! Love you guys!!!

Reminder: This is Sally

A Haunting we will go....a Haunting we will go....

Hi Ho the Dario....a Haunting we will GO.....

Halloween at McKay is always a treat..........."Trick or Treat " that is. At 10:00 in the morning on Halloween there is a parade for preschoolers including relatives of employee's and those that attend the Hospital day care. It was CRAZY this year. I talked Holly, Robin, and Carly into bringing Luke, Campbell and Farrah. It was amazing. I have never seen so many preschoolers in one place. They start on the North end of the first floor and walk to the Cafeteria on the south end. By the time they have reached the south end their buckets are full!!!! Here are a few snaps:

Farrah as Little Red Riding Hood heads for starting line.

Campbell as Little Lamb

Luke as Pooh Bear

Farrah and Carly pass the Radiology Crew

Robin takes Campbell Haunting

Anita treats Pooh Bear