A "Smashing" Friday

Brad got in a car wreck on Friday morning.  You know the saying, "most accidents occur within a mile or two of home" . . . well, it's true.  Ryan had missed school earlier in the week from being sick.  He still had a bad cough hanging on that we knew would be aggravated by riding his bike to school.  So, my loving husband drove him to school.  He was in the neighborhood and almost home, when a lady came flying through the intersection and didn't quite make her turn.  Well, I guess flying is not really the right word.  They were both boing around 25 mph - but they say two cars at 25 makes 50 mph.  Anyway, both cars were damaged more than you would think from a collision like that.  They both had to be towed away.  It was quite distressing, as accidents usually are - but I am so thankful that it wasn't worse.  Both of them were shaken up and already hurting, but that was to be expected.

Later in the day, Brad was hurting enough that we went to the doctor just to be safe.  He was acting a little funny and was really fuzzy and hurting.  They gave him a shot, some muscle relaxants, pain pills and instructions to watch for more signs of concussion.  He is bounding back faster than I expected. :)

We have a rental car and have heard from both insurance companies.  It was the other person's fault, so no worry there.  Now we are just crossing our fingers that they won't say our car is "totaled".  It is an 8 year old car that is paid for.  If they decided the cost to fix it outweighs what it's worth, then we have a problem.  We can't afford a car payment right now and that car has been such a good car.  So . . . we are waiting and hoping, and giving thanks that no one was hurt more than they were.

Our good old Suburban.  It has treated us well!

Canada Continued

The next day after lunch, we got back on the ferry.  I was kind of sad to leave this lovely little island but was looking forward to the rest of the adventure.  After we got back to Vancouver, we made a detour to find the temple.  It was kind of out in the country.  I was surprised how little was around it.  It was refreshing and very peaceful.  It was one of the smaller temples, but just as beautiful.  It was a Monday, so nobody was there.

After our pit stop, we were headed to Whistler.  There is a famous drive called "Sea to Sky" highway - and boy was that breathtaking.  I felt bad for Brad because he was driving and couldn't soak it all in like I could.  It was fascinating how the color of the ocean turned from a dark blue to a greenish color along the way.  I'm not sure, but I think the change is due to glacier water being introduced.  It was gorgeous but I didn't get any of my own pictures because we didn't stop.  I got the following pic off of "images" on my browser and it kind of gives you the idea.

We stopped at a beautiful waterfall along the way, but none of my pictures of it are good.  We got to Whistler in the evening and checked into our beautiful hotel tucked in by a little lake.  The view was gorgeous.  We spent the rest of our time sitting on our porch, and in Whistler Village.  It was so quaint and beautiful.  It was really fun seeing the Olympic rings and stage, etc.  We did a lot of reading and Brad pushed me around the lake in the wheelchair.  I know . . . Whistler is for being active outdoors.  Believe me - we saw a ton of people doing that.  But since it wasn't really possible for us, we took advantage of the relaxations and it was wonderful!  Here are the pics from Whistler Village:

And here are the pictures taken at Nita Lake Lodge:

Thanks goes to Emily for making it possible for us to leave for a few days and not have any worries!  It was so nice to have her home with us for a month.  And, here's to my amazing, wonderful husband of 27 years!  I love him with all my heart and soul and truly can't imagine where I would be without him.  He spoils me rotten and I realize how lucky and blessed I am to get him for forever!  I love you Brad!

Vancouver & Victoria Island!

Brad surprises me almost every year for our anniversary . . . and my birthday.  The funny thing is, that I am truly surprised EVERY time.  I don't know if I'm just dumb or what!  I just always think he can't keep it up every year.  This year for our anniversary in July, he surprised me and said that we were going to Canada!  Which was a shock to me, considering I had broken my big toe and sprained my foot earlier in the month.  I wondered out loud if it would be worth it since I couldn't walk so well.  He said that he had it all planned out.  He was gonna push me through the airport in a wheelchair, and then we would do a lot of "driving" sightseeing and just plain old relaxing.  The airport on the way there was quite an adventure, as in really difficult - but the rest of the trim was fantastic!  The first day we flew to Vancouver Canada and spent the night there.

The next day we had a lunch at a great little place recommended by Guy Fierri :) and then drove to the ferry to Victoria Island.  We had never been on huge ferry like that.  I couldn't believe how many cars were on it!  We had always wondered how a ferry could sink so fast and so many people could die . . .  like the horrible stories you see in the news from other countries.  Well, after seeing how many cars were on that thing, we could understand a little better.  It was a lovely day and we sat outside.  It took something like 2 1/2 hours and it was beautiful!

It was getting later on in the day, so we drove through Victoria to the little town of Oak Bay that we were going to stay in. The town was adorable.  It was really quaint and there were pots of flowers hanging all down their main street!   Our hotel and the view was spectacular.  Brad did good!  We ate at a dinner at a cute little pub that night.

The next day, we were planning to drive over to the famous Butchart Gardens.  On the way there, we took a detour to a little farmer's market and bought some crabapple jelly!  It reminds me of growing up so much!  Grandpa and Grandma Patterson had 2 crabapple trees growing next to the swimming pool and the apples would fall into the water and we ate so many of them.  I would always help my Mom make crabapple jelly.  It is really hard to find now, so we are excited!

My manly man rented a wheelchair for me and off we went.  Thank heavens, because as beautiful as it was, there was noooo way I could have walked that thing.  Brad's muscles sure got a workout though.  The gardens were breathtaking.  I am going to post a LOT of pictures that won't do it justice, but oh well - it's for my "family history" book for MY family, so who cares!  When we walked through the part called the "Sunken Gardens", Brad and I couldn't imagine even the Garden of Eden being more beautiful.

These 3 pics are of the front and back of the old Butchart home

Here are some of my favorites of the Sunken Gardens and the rest of the place:

These Tiger Lilly's remind me so much much of home and my sweet Mom :) 

The Sunken Gardens were built in an old limestone quarry.  It's so amazing 

to me that they could turn something so ugly into something so beautiful! 

After a day of all that beauty, we drove around the city of Victoria for a while.  I loved the capitol building.  It reminded me of Paris.  We didn't get our of the car because of my foot, so these pictures are taken while we were driving.

 I read that this is the 2nd largest Chinese community in North America - 2nd to San Francisco

Stay tuned for the rest of the trip!

Emily's African Quilt

We were so lucky and got to spend a WHOLE month with Emily this summer.  That hasn't happened since she came home for the summer after her first year at BYU.  We usually feel lucky if she gets to spend a whole week with us.  Can I just say . . . it's sooooo nice to have another girl in the house!  Don't get me wrong.  I adore my boys, but there is just a difference that we feel when Emily (and now Mallory too) is here.  It just brings a sort of balance to our home.  We all seem to be happier and nicer and there is so much laughter in the home.  I LOVE it!  She was a great helper while she was here and she was Ryan's best friend.  Ryan was only 4 years old when she left for college and so it was so nice for them to spend so much time together and build their relationship.

Back at Christmas, we gave Emily a sewing machine.  She brought it home with her, determined to learn how to really use it and she had a goal to take the fabric she brought home from her time in Africa, to make a quilt to go with her new bed in her new condo.  She had very specific ideas on what she wanted to do.  We got to spend a lot of time together sewing and it was awesome!  I loved spending that time with her.  I am so proud of her vision and determination.  She pretty much made up how she wanted it and even made pillow shams and a throw pillow!

 Isn't it beautiful?!  All the patterned fabrics are the ones from Africa.  I am going to add a picture of the finished product on her bed as soon as I get it.

I just got it!  Here is the finished product!

Mallory got a sewing machine for Christmas too, so one day we had a sewing party and it was so much fun!  I loved spending time with the girls!  Here is the pillow that Mallory made.

Emily held down the fort for a week while Brad and I were able to get away to Canada for our anniversary.  All too soon, it was time for her to pack up and go back to Provo.  Man, was that hard.  We were having a serious time with tears over here.  We love her and miss her so much, but are proud of her and know that she needs to be where she is.  We are sure thankful for the time that we get!

Back to School Traditions

Well . . . I just counted, and this is our 21st year of getting our kids to school!  That is soooo crazy!  Emily started Kindergarten back in August of 1993 and now we are down to two at home and we are still at it.  It is very apparent at our "Back to School" open houses, that we are some of the oldest parents around.  Every year my eyes can't believe how young the moms and dads look.  That being said, I am really sad that this was our last year of elementary open house.  Ryan is in the 6th grade this year.  I love that even though we are all separated, the big kids still send me pictures of one of our enduring traditions:  laying out "the man" the night before school.  So, even though Emily forgot to lay out her "girl" (and she is a teacher herself), and Alex is on his mission - we got some fun "Back to School" pictures.

 Breakfast at Kneaders the day before school started

Here is "the man".  For as long as I can remember, the kids have been laying out their 1st day outfit on the ground to look like it is them.  Ryan even thought to use his glasses this year!

 Murphy is gonna be one sad doggy without his friends here and only mom to keep him company.

Here he is - Ryan off to 6th grade:  His and our last year of elementary school.

 Here is Danny's man, and we only have two years left with him here :(

 I can't believe Dan is a Junior already!

 Danny was telling me how much he loved pie - so I made them a cherry pie for when they came home that day.  For some reason, they don't look too excited.

I had to put Ryan's new shoes in here.  Gotta have new shoes for the first day of school!

 I had to put this pic in of Alex.  He isn't in school right now, but he sure is a great missionary in Argentina!

 I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED that Taylor did this and sent it to us early this morning!  He is married and today was his first day at ASU (after completing) junior college.  I loved starting my day with a smile because of this picture. :)

 Emily is our "very own" teacher!  She is following in the footsteps of her maternal great-grandmother Alma Patterson and her maternal grandparents, Earl and LaVelta Patterson who all spent their lives in education.  She graduated from BYU a few years ago with a degree in English and minors in Editing and Music.  She spent a year working in Salt Lake for the church and then decided that Editing was the wrong choice of a career for her.  The next year, she went back to BYU and earned her certificate to teach Junior High English.  She interned last year at Springville Junior High, and after a lot of stress of wondering if a job would be available, she was hired again and she is thrilled!  I am so proud of her for following her dreams - and I bet Papa and Nana are pretty proud too.

It's been kind of a tough kick-off to school for me.  It was a year ago that my sweet mom had a massive stroke on the first day of school.  I look back at that time, and it was such a period of pain and growth for me.  I miss her so much, but I am so grateful for the time I was able to spend with her - especially those last 4 1/2 months of her life after the stroke.  I am so thankful for families.  What would we do without them?  I love all my kiddos (and of course my husband) so much and I am so proud of them.  They are turning out to be pretty amazing human beings.  Here's to another year of school!