Trip to Utah

We are back from our Utah trip. Is always nice to be back home, but I sure miss Tristan and Sandy, Marty and Osi, the new family addition. I wish we had had more time to get to play with her!

We did some fun things while in Utah, especially the Thanksgiving Gardens, it was so awesome, I loved it! I also enjoyed Taggart Grill in Morgan. great food and beautiful surroundings. And of course having my first pastry at Madeleine's yummy. I also enjoyed all the restaurants we went to and the meals we had there and at home. I love food!!!! Sandy also bought 2 books and let me read them first, I enjoyed them both very much, ones was Julia Julie by Julie Powell and the other Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner.

I had a couple problems while I was there too, first THE HEAT! as Sandy said, I am getting older pfffft and can't stand the heat as much, which is true, then I had a huge pain in my big toe, I thought it was gout but maybe arthritis, but let me tell you, it was painful! luckily it only lasted 2-3 days. I also got bitten by something while I was outside in the porch, a bite in the arm, a bite in the lip, go figure, Marvin spent a lot of time in the porch and nothing bothered him lol. Also because of the heat, my dry eyes grot drier, sometimes they were terribly blurry. Last but not least, I bumped my leg while getting on the bathtub, I kid you not, I got a dent. It hurt. In a word, I am klutzy!

In the way to Sandy's home, we stopped in Beaver, that's where the inventor of TV was born and also Butch Cassidy was born there. We stayed in the crappiest Motel ever. Tristan didn't like it at all and neither did we.

In the way back, we made reservations to a new hotel casino in Las Vegas. Beautiful hotel, great big room and bathroom, beautiful amenities but......horrible pillows lol. I couldn't fall sleep. Marvin says I am like the Princess and the Pea ;)

So we got home in La Mirada, and after 100+ degrees days in Utah and Las Vegas, I was looking forward cooler temperatures , and guess what? it was 100 here too!!!!!

Thanks Marvin for a nice trip, you are a great driver!

A day in the beach

We decided to go to Huntington Beach today. We are going to Utah in a couple of days so I figured he needed to see the ocean before we left. He growled a little because he just loves to play Nintendo while watching TV or being in the computer while looking at a movie. But I said no excuses, beach here we come!
Once we got there, he really enjoyed himself looking for shells and jumping the waves. I think he was pretty glad we went. The weather was nice, the water was cool, we had fun!

The picture

For some reason, it didn't show in the previous post.

...and Family

Last weekend we had the great and rare pleasure of getting together at home with our 2 daughters and grandson. The girls wrote about it and I don't have a lot to add other than we had a very enjoyable time together :)
I am very proud of my daughters and my grandson. Tristan is staying with us for a few days before we take him back to Utah for the beginning of his school, 6th grade already!
Toda we went to see the new Harry Potter movie. We got there early anticipating big lines, but we chose the best matinee time and we just got in without waiting. Once inside we read our books until the movie started. The movie was long, 2 1/2 hours, but quite entertaining. I am not a big fan of Harry Potter but I enjoyed the movie although I was a tad lost. Tristan made up for me since he is obssessed (his words) about Harry!
It is such a pleasure for us to hang out with Tristan!!! :)

Friends

I was thinking about some of the friends I've had that have meant something to me at different times of my life...
I am talking about non blood related friendships.
As a teen, my best friend was Isabel (yes, Lizzie was named after her). We went to school together, we double dated, we talked on the phone for hours. We both liked "foreigners" more than Spaniards for dating, especially we liked American, and coincidentally, we both married guys from Oklahoma. We kept in touch while we both lived in the US, and we both had 2 children (2 boys in her case).
Unfortunately our friendship came to a close for unknown reasons.
Another long lasting friendship of sorts, is Lolin. We have known each other for over 50 years. It's more of one sided friendship, her life is fraught with drama, her family is very dysfunctional, but I seem to be a calming influence on her, so it endures.
Once I got married, my best friend was Sue. She was a friend when I first came to the States and we had fun together, she was married to one of Marvin's best friends Larry. In Idaho, my best friends friends were Araceli (a Spaniard-Argentinian), Myrta and Rosa, we all went to Idaho State together to become teachers. We had many fun times, especially when we spent a crazy Summer in Pocatello!
In California, my best friend in school is Jennifer. In spite of our age difference, we enjoy each other a lot .
But my all time best friend is Norbert. We met at Idaho State University 28 years ago today. We have been best friends ever since. He moved to California from Idaho, and some years late so did I. Through the years we have helped each other in many different ways, we can depend on each other. We enjoy each other's company. I know we'll always be friends :)

...and now, my MJ turn

I watched the spectacle that was the Michael Jackson Memorial. It actually was not as gaudy as I thought it would be. Some pretty emotional moments, some of the speakers seemed to speak from the heart, and singers sang with feeling. I was not too crazy about all the civil liberties/political speeches, I am not a fan of Al Sharpton, et al, but I guess it was to be expected. Even our esteemed President had his say, and Maya Angelou wrote a poem for the occasion...

Now, I am one of the few that think he was not a child molester. There is not enough room or time to discuss it here, but I have my own opinion about it.

He was a troubled and talented man, I still have some LP's of him, his music lives on. And so does the myth.

Happy Independence Day