Ramblings of a Very Spotty Blogger

Lessons
A few weeks ago I found myself quoting to my 9 year old, "it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all." When I started my sentence and said, Ethan, there's a quote..." Chad interrups, "What? All dogs go to heaven?"

For some reason the very thought of Tito getting lost or dying was pushing Ethan into a tailspin. He just got so sad one night at the very thought of it. That's when I had to go back in my memory bank and pull out that very poignant quote. Not bad eh?
Visit from Grandma
Chad's mom came for a visit the end of April which is always a treat. Whenever she visits we have certain traditions.

1. A visit to the temple with my mom and then lunch at Great Harvest afterwards (didn't do the temple thing cause it's closed and didn't get to do lunch but did buy some yummy bread from there which is also a tradition).
2. A trip to the mall to visit her favorite store Christopher and Banks. This time my mom came and we tried to help her find a new dress for her to wear to my nephew's weddding. My mom couldn't be any pickier on what she buys for herself. But that's a whole other post.
3. Grandma Judy happily stays with the kids while I do an errand or two. So convenient.
4. She and I spend most the time just hanging out and chatting.
Role Reversal
I'm just going to come out with it, my parents are getting old. I've especially watched my dad age even more so the last couple of years. He is 77 so I don't blame him. It has been interesting to watch because I always thought he'd live forever unless for some reason he choked on a bunch of vitamins. My dad's a health nut and that was always the family joke. A little cynical I know. We found out pretty recently that he has Parkinsons and he's got Prostate Cancer for which he's receiving radiation right now. He's a homebody and tends to want to stay pretty close to home. He doesn't like to drive far and has my mom drive most places. He also tries not to drive at night. He has his shows he doesn't want to miss. Etc, etc. So that leads me to this story:

On a Friday night a month or two ago Chad and I and the kids were going to stop by and visit them. It was around 6pm. We called and there was no answer. Called a little bit later and there was still no answer. I called them Saturday morning for some reason and there was still no answer, which I thought was kind of odd because usually at least one of them would be home. Then it became a challenge for me and I called them a couple more times thoughout the day. No answer. Around 7pm that night I wasn't too far from their house and I called again. No answer. I decided to go check their place out. It was all dark, no car. I was a little relieved the car wasn't there because I was having visions of finding a dark house, with the car, which in my mind meant carbon monoxide poisoning. (I know sometimes, my mind skips to the worst). Even with the car gone I was still getting worried. Where were they? It was now 24 hours and I couldn't get ahold of them. Keep in mind my dad's a real homebody and being gone all day is really out of character. I call my sister in law to see if they'd seen or talked to mom and dad. She said she hadn't. By then she took the reins and called my other siblings to see if they'd seen or talked to them. No one had. Around 9 my brother and sister in law went to my parents house. Checked the computer and saw they hadn't been on it since the day before, saw that their mail was still in the mail box. Very odd for them. They checked the calendar and saw that they had "Bogus Basin" on it for Friday. Bogus Basin is the ski mountain 45 minutes away. When they called me and told me, my first thought was 'Oh crap, they drove off the mountain.' My second thought was, 'But, there's no way they would have driven up that mountain.' By then they'd gotten the Bishop involved and he said there was a singles event for church at a church nearby (my dad's calling is with the singles - weird, I know, for a 77 year married man, but oh well). My brother and his wife and their 12 year old headed over to that church. Apparently there was a singles dance going on. They walk into the gym and see my dad out on the dance floor. Don't worry, my mom was nearby. By this time it was 10pm. They didn't leave the dance that night until 12 midnight. My dad was so proud of himself. Apparently his new Parkinson's medication was taking affect. After it was all said and done it was pretty humorous, but at the time we were pretty worried about them. Good to know my dad's still got it. He's always prided himself on being a great dancer. And don't worry, they got a big lecture about not telling us where they were.

BTW, GOOD NEWS and total sidenote: My mom just found out last week she is still cancer free!! Woohoo!
Fashion Statement

Off the shoulder pajamas for baby.
Bed Head

If only you could see the bed head in all it's glory. But you get the jist. This was after a 3 hour nap. Aren't I lucky?
Easter

Annual Easter egg hunt with cousins.

Precious.