We were lucky enough to get to spend half of the day yesterday with Uncle Chad! Benjamin loved every minute of his visit because most of the time he had him in his service as a reader of dinosaur books or a dinosaur playmate. We also took Chad duckpin bowling with us since we were going to celebrate a friend's birthday, and we had a good time. Jacob kept trying to skooch himself onto the bowling lanes-- he was thrilled by all of the balls. Chad may not like all of the travelling that he does, but we like it because we've had two visits from him so far!
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I just bought 4 boogie board off of ebay for a great deal. But alas, there are only 2 of us (who are able to use them). I am re-extending an invitation to one and all to come to california; bring your friends (of every gender) and enjoy a free place to stay, free food, free beaches, and no boogie board rental fees. We now have bedding for 6 (9 if you count the air mattres and the couch). Come one, come all.
I learned two lessons today. First, never try to install a washing machine quickly, and second, if there is a leaking red kool-aide packet throw it away promptly. Yes, our garage floor is extra sparkling clean since I quickly hooked up our washer in the garage so I could wash Kiera's sheets before her next nap. The washer works fine-- but I forgot to hook up the drain so it drained all over our garage floor. So I went out to see my car parked on a lake of suds and bubbles. Also on the garage floor was our christmas tree. So, I learned the hard way. Second lesson learned: don't mess with red kool-aide. I bought about 30 packets of kooladie today since they were on sale. One was apparently open and leaking and the store clerk took it out for me but the powder was on the other packets a bit. Of course, it is powder so it is easily spread over everything and when it gets wet is turns bright red and as we all know it stains. I should have left everything that was covered in...
Oh YUCK. I brought a sickness home from BrainShare. One of my SysOps was sick the last couple of days of BrainShare and now many of us that were around her are sick......and your mom has caught it from me. I'd suggest no kids come home in the next few days because this is a nasty one...cough/headache/head stuffed with pudding.....etc. My ribs hurt now when I cough. The SysOp that had it last Thursday still has it pretty bad so I'm not holding out for getting better tomorrow. So.....you medical people.....what's the best thing to do for a viral infection like this? Watch movies and wait for it to pass? (I already know what to do if it's bacterial)
The Chad Report - How long 'till the weekend? - So, I'm on a trip to the east Coast. It's been a bit unpleasant so far, but I've had at least one new experience - I rode in a cab for the first time. My trip I'm on this week was chaotic from the get-go. I dunno if things were just really hard to get, but my travel planner lady gave me a fairly messed up itinerary. It's all correct, but nothing is what I'd expect. Long story short: One week, two customer sites, five airports (NOT counting layovers), three airlines, three hotels. How does that happen? I finished up with NYC this morning. I spent two hours on the NYC subways or walking in the streets above trying to get to various stations, because they had all sorts of random closings today, and I took the wrong train. And it was at least 80 degrees. When I got to the airport, there was a thermometer that said it was 90 degrees, but it was in the sun. I arrived in D.C. this evening, and it's war...
Grandpa Groneman has moved. Today I moved Grandpa Groneman from the Trinity Mission rehab center to the Veteran's Administration Nursing Home in Salt Lake City. To get there from Provo, take Eastbound I-215 to Foothill Blvd. On Foothill Blvd, go to Wasatch Drive (about 600 South) and turn left at the light. Go a couple of blocks and you'll see the nursing center on the left. Here's a map. The nursing center building is the one at the bottom of the screen that looks like two connected arcs......where the little stub road goes off to the right. We made the move because if he needs to stay longer than the 100 days medicare pays for, it's only half the cost as anywhere else. It's also nicer than the facility he was in. He wasn't excited to have to move, or to be anywhere really, but I think he'll get used to it. Hopefully he can get well enough to come home soon. He's able to stand from his bed with his walker and walk a bit. He likes visitors...
I am such a tricky mommy. I tried once again to get Kiera to eat something from a spoon today. Like always, she made a funny face and spit it out. However, I got the idea to turn on one of her little shows we borrowed from the dastrups and I let her watch it while shoveling rice cereal into her mouth. She was so entranced by her show that she didn't even notice when I put the food in ther mouth. She would hold it in her mouth for about 20 seconds and then swallow it. Like I said, I'm a tricky mommy. Kiera is such a couch-tater-tot!
Because of Provo City laws and restrictions on who can sell alcohol to people, I have to do a lot of the alcohol sales at Macey's. I've seen a good deal of things that people try to use as an ID. And I've had to turn down a bunch of people because they didn't have a valid U.S. Government issued ID that we could use. Yesterday, I got a new one though. The person was from some Asian country, and just kind of looked like they could just barely get by with the English that they knew. I asked for ID for the two cans of beer she was trying to buy. I never expected to have someone hand me their BYU identification card so that they can buy beer. But that's what happened. I'm hoping that I can get someone to hand me their temple recommend for their ID.
This is a picture of Benjamin and me. I'm brown. Benjamin is purple . Isn't this great?!? He sent me this for my birthday. It was a great birthday spread over a few days. I decided that's the way to have a birthday.....all kids can't come at the same time so we spread it out over 3 days. :-) 3 day party. Well...BrainShare is over. HORRAY!!!. It was a busy week and I hated having to go while Cambrie and Kiera were here, but I didn't have a choice. Yes, I brought home lots of goodies but there weren't any kids to get excited about them. :-( I'm kind of under the weather today. I think it's just being worn out from a week of go-go-go when I'm not used to that sort of thing. FYI we're working on getting Grandpa G transferred to the VA care center in SLC since that's covered by his VA benefits. We'll keep you informed. "I looked out the window and what did I see.....Popcorn popping on the apricot tree......" My ...
So on my date with Derek on wen, we were discussing some of the more.....serious mysteries of life....and we discovered the answers! Firstly, we wondered why in the navy, their bases are called "naval bases" when our belly buttons are also called navals. It took a lot of pondering but we eventually came out with the answer. And here it is: What is the purpose of our belly buttons? To collect belly button lint. And what color is the lint usually?? Blue! So in the navy there are all these little men running around in their blue suits and their blue hats, driving around their little blue boats in the blue ocean and they all collect in at the Naval base! So that's why they call them Naval bases! because they are sort of like our belly buttons! We also uncovered the government conspiracy of crossbreeding buffalos and chickens to make the chickens have nuggets and the buffalos to have wings! And they've even stopped being discreet about it by making buffalo chic...
It's good to be back in CA with my husband. Kiera hasn't adjusted to the change again yet, but she will. So this probably isn't exciting to ya'll but there is someone in steve's parents ward who is moving getting rid of furniture so we are going to inherit the following: a sofa, piano, christmas tree, desk, bike, bbq, patio furniture, coffee table, end tables, bookshelf, really nice china cabinet, an oak file cabinet, a large freezer, and lots of various small items. I am so excited about it. I feel like I've won the lottery or something. I'm going to have a well-furnished house!!!! The bad thing about it is that we have to rent another uhaul and spend the day moving on saturday again. oh well
So I'm typing this as my Tilapia (it's a fish) is cooking in olive oil and garlic salt. And I add that bit of info in there to let you all know how jealous of my cooking skills you should be, and how jealous of my cuisine you should be. Mostly the latter. Anyhow, Breanna and I went to the Goo Goo Dolls concert last night. I knew roughly half of the stuff they played. I liked the slower stuff the best. It was fun. We missed the food, as Breanna's guy was extremely slow and extremely late -- which is why single dates are much better. I don't have to wait for other people and their tardiness (as they always are) and have it interrupt my plans (as it always does). But even with that tardiness, my plans of being there around 7:00 only got pushed back to getting there about 7:45, and they opened the doors at 7:50, so we made it there in time to get in and get good seats. So we just missed out on food somewhere. The funny man was funny. I guess that's why they ...
This morning Jacob discovered the toilet and all the joys it brings to a water-loving individual. He waited until I was busy holding a vomiting Benjamin over the sink, and then stealthily made his way down the hall and into the bathroom. He even closed the door most of the way after himself. After taking care of Benjamin, I went searching for Jacob and found him splashing quietly and very happily in an unflushed toilet. He was apprehended quickly, though not without protest, and given a real bath. Some days parenthood is more appealing than others!
BOO_HOO!!! Cambrie took my darling little Kiera home today! We had so much fun playing babies! Kiera is such a delightful baby. And Cambrie loves dressing her up, so everyone really notices what a pretty baby she is. It is fun to have her close, but my fun is over for 1 month, until I have all 3 of my darling grandkids at once! YEAHHHH!!! For those of you who don't know, we are going to be able to rent the apt of the Dastrups upstairs neighbors (who are in Florida) for the time that we are there. COOL! Freedom to come and go, and not have it be a pain!!! That is awesome!) So, this is weird. I have the house, completely to myself until Kim comes home on Friday night. Well, he is coming home in time to fall into bed and then leave at 6 am the next AM. But that gives me about 15 minutes of time with him. I will stay busy to make the time go faster. We got a call from the VA Hospital in SLC. They have an opening...possibly for Grandpa. They asked us to send all his inf...
For the first time in my life, I got bumped from a flight. Actually I kind of volunteered, but it would have been mandatory had I not. The plane was pretty much boarded and there were still several people who were standing around waiting for a seat assignment (myself included). The airline people had been calling for volunteers to go on another flight for at least the past 45 minutes. With the plane pretty much boarded, I decided I'd "volunteer" so I wouldn't have to stand in line forever to figure out what I was going to do. Turned out to be a good plan. The other flights back to SLC for the day were completely full, so I'm staying the night in Portland. They gave me a hotel voucher, two meal vouchers (worth 7 bucks each, which isn't a lot, but work pays for it anyway), and a $400 travel voucher. I don't know how I'll use it. I could come see some nephews / neice, or I could apply it to a trip to Hawaii or something. Hmmmm....
Kiera Here's some photos from yesterday. If you have Picasa , (hint hint to all you stubborn snapfishers out there) you can download all these to your computer fairly easily. Either way, isn't it nice that you can look at the pictures without having to log in and keep your credit card on file too look at the pictures . . . unlike, say, Snapfish? There's a lot more of my pictures from the past here if you care to browse through them. Google should put me on their payroll.
I definitely experienced one of the tender mercies of the Lord yesterday evening in an experience that still has me freaked out. As I was going to bed last night I was looking forward to having a few minutes to read before going to sleep. As I sat down on the bed, I thought, "I really should change these sheets." Then the little devil on my shoulder said, "No, don't do that! You'll use up all your reading time and will have to go to bed without reading at all!" This battle raged in my head for a minute, but eventually the angel won, and I decided to change the sheets. As I was taking off the fitted sheet, an enormous black spider crawled out from the head of the bed right onto where my pillow would have been. I screamed for Brigham (who came running, thinking that Jacob had stopped breathing or something), and he heroically chased down the nasty arachnid and destroyed it. But just think-- if I hadn't had the thought to change the sheets, that sp...
Kiera has arrived! - And she brought her mom. Cute little thing. She just looks around. She gave me the biggest, longest smile when I held her for the first time. The little peanut wouldn't be laid down though....she wanted to sit up! We've messed up her schedule. First Daylight Saving Time put her an hour off then Utah put her another hour off. Cambrie couldn't get her down until 9pm last night...but then realized that's 7pm Kiera time.
Now that the weather is turning nice, I've got my bike out and I'm riding up Provo Canyon again. Very pleasant, other than the bugs. No, there's no black widows running across the trail (but my roommate Kirk did catch a Tarantula on the trail a couple years ago), but there's swarms of little flies. As I go through them, it feels like it's raining flies on me. On Sunday my apartment decided to go geocaching up Provo Canyon. One of the points we ended up at an old ruined fort. It was used by the Mormons to watch for U.S. troops that might come through Provo Canyon. I had no idea it was there. It's across from Bridal Veil Falls, on the top of a hill. You can't really see it from the road - If you're looking, you can see a little red flag that marks the area, but you can't see the fort. I'm still somewhat looking for a different job, but I'm kind of holding off to see what might become available with a development job with my old manag...
Take a second and think to yourself: what would be the worst type of bug infestation?...... got it yet? Well we have what I think is the worst: Black widow spiders. We have killed 7 of them in the past 2 days (I did 6 of the 7) and I get the worst case of the heebie jeebies whenever I see them or think about them. I don't like spiders anyway, but I've taken care of one too many patients who have been bit by them and get massive wounds and things. So, the day after I get back from Utah I'm paying $115 to have pest control spray. The bad news is that they have to be directly sprayed in order for them to die so they recommend spraying monthly. Bla. Christa, you no longer have to be jelous that we are living in a house.
It is Kim's Birthday this week! That means we are gonna have a birthday bash! But we need to do it Thursday, because Cambrie and Steve won't be here on Saturday, they will be in Idaho. And Kim may be gone into the night on Friday (setting up for Brainshare) Cambrie arrives on Wednesday, Steve comes Thursday at dinnertime, so really the only day that we can do it is Friday. But we may have to wait on Kim to come home from setting up for Brainshare (but he thinks he will be home at normal time). So lets say we will eat dinner Fri at 6 pm. Does that work for everyone? I hope so, as I cannot see any alternatives. Please let me know ASAP. Hopefully, we will feel like celebrating because of the Dastrups match...if not, we may have to bury Kim because his grief finished him off!!!
Living in our new place is great. It has been way fun to have so much space and be able to decorate and such. Kiera doesn't seem to like it much though-- she has a hard time sleeping there. So now we have enough space for the whole fam to come and visit .... so you are all invited to come anytime and to bring friends/roommates, etc.. It is wonderful to wake up to the sound of birds instead of trucks and motercycles. The place is as filthy as can be so we've been disinfecting it, but it's getting there. HERE'S A SHOT OF OUR NEW PLACE
Grandpa is in the process right now of being transferred to his new residence. It is in So Provo, at a place called Trinity Mission Rehabilitation/Nursing Center. ( about 1020 S 1000 W Provo, Room 218 ) Looks like they get alot of volunteerism from the community, which is great. It is a nice place. Not like the Charleston, but the Charleston doesn't do rehabilitation, so it is not an option. You can check it out: http://www.volunteersolutions.org/byu/org/1416169.html . Looks like BYU has something to do with it too. And an old neighbor of ours runs the place. Not that we expect any perks out of the deal. I was just surprised to see his name on there ( Dodd Greer). Brigham sure called it right when he said that we could expect lots of up days, then down days, one right after the other. Today was a down day. He was pretty miserable. I wouldn't even begin to try and predict right now if he is going to recover enough to come home, or even if he will live out the next...
Goo Goo Dolls - I can get free tickets to a comedian Don Friesen, followed by the Goo Goo Dolls concert for 4 people if you would like to go. It's part of our BrainShare party and it will be at the MeltDown...er....Energy Solutions Arena on Wednesday, March 21st from 6:30 - 10pm There is always all the food you can eat. I have to know by this Friday. Personally, it's not my cup of tea, but I figure it may be a cheap date for someone younger. Wanna go? PLEASE RSVP (Chad/Brett/Buff that means you're supposed to say yea or nay)
Benjamin enjoyed getting a letter from Grandpa on Saturday and was very excited about the stickers in it. This morning while examining the picture that Grandpa drew of the two of them playing dinosaurs together,however, Benjamin asked me, " Why didn't he draw any shirts on us? " So all should be warned: Benjamin does not approve of nude stick figures.
I just came from the hospital from spending an hour an 1/2 with Jack. When I got there, he really wasn't doing well. He just kept saying, "Enough is Enough!!!" again and again and again. He really doesn't think that he has anything left to live forand he doesn't want to be here. I told him he does. I said that he has unfinished business to complete and that is the reason he is still here. He wanted to know what his unfinished business is. I told him that I feel very strongly that Heavenly Father loves him so very much, and that he is very pleased with his progress that he has made in coming back to church with us. Yesterday, all day, I kept trying to work on my Sunday School lesson, and all I could think about was Grandpa Jack. I just couldn't get him off of my mind. And then last night when I said my prayers of course, I was planning on asking the Lord to remember the cause of my fast, but as I prayed, again, all I could think about was Jack. I su...
March in Utah This picture is out our bedroom window this morning. We had a blizzard like I haven't seen in a while. We had about 4-5" of snow when it was done. But as soon as it was done, the sun came out and we have blue sky as far as you can see now. A truly Jekle & Hyde day. Oh...and have I said before how much nicer Picasa is than other picture sites like Snapfish?
Chad Update: I've decided not to take the job in Maryland. Dad pointed out that the job description they sent me didn't match my impresssion of what the job was, and when I asked them about it they were very vague. Also, I noticed that they always wanted to talk to me after regular business hours. All my phone interviews were at like 8PM their time. I'm not looking to work for a company that wants to own me. I've been there, done that. In other news, I finally acquired my Wii a couple of days ago. It's a blast. I haven't spent too much time on it though - each of my roommates have more time on it than I do. Kirk stayed up 'till 1 or 2 AM playing it the first night, last night my other roommate was playing it still at 12:30 when I woke up. When I got home yesterday they were both playing it (I have two controllers for it, and a couple of multi-player games. I need to get a third controller so we can all play!). It's definitely geared for multi-...
Brainbashers: Common Answers for February I beat Cambrie! Wahoo! Chad is the most common among us this month. Buff, you've improved! 48 Chad Groneman 64 Christa Dastrup 123 Steve Nelson 230 Breanna Groneman 1083 Kim Groneman 1095 Cambrie Nelson Be sure to enter the March competition: http://www.brainbashers.com/common.asp
We are all waiting for news from Chad. Is he taking the job or not? If he does, when will he move? Is he even reading this blog to realize that some of us would like to know what he is thinking???!!! Stay TUNED!!! Hopefully, eventually we will get more information from the man himself! Do you realize that if Chad does take that job, and BJ is in California this summer, then I will have only 1 kid here in the valley with me? We are talking a MAJOR pity party!!! It exists even now! But maybe if the Lord will have mercy on us pitiful people the Dastrups will move back here! Hey, ya gotta have SOMETHING to look forward to. Actually right now, we are looking forward to the Nelsons coming in 2 weeks!!! So punkin, I am a little fuzzy...are you going to be here on Dads birthday, in the evening when we usually celebrate birthdays? I think that is the day you are going to Idaho. Let me know so we can plan a bash when you are gonna be here. Grandpa Groneman: What can I say. He is seeming...
