MEANWHILE...MY LIST IS WAITING

stiff, scratchy laundry

and piles waiting their turn

well...it did not take much convincing

to help rick carry the dryer back up the stairs

until...

it fell down on me

then i was a wee bit shakey

i made a promise to my parents

so quickly i shook off my shakes

and returned to the LIST

i wondered if the dryer mishap

was a strong message

"go to the distribution center"

the temple and flowers looked spectacular

given it had been some time

i quickly LISTED a session

as i left the temple doors

the trickling of water

the sunbathing duck

the waving flag

told me it was not to be an inside day

i could feel the procrastination coming on...

there were still errands to do

from jordan landing

to the district

to draper

a whiff of great harvest bread...

i still needed to pay south valley sewer

which took me into this neighborhood

another LIST...

photos

CAMELBACK RESORT

what went to vegas,

did not stay in vegas

noah is staying at one of my ultimate, favorite, hot spots

MARRIOTT'S 

CAMELBACK INN.

grandpa is a saint for sending me pics.

naturally,

a beautiful basket of goodies were waiting in the room

salad by the pool

golf with gramps

CAMELBACK MOUNTAIN in the background

texting and updating his parents...

NEXT STOP, VEGAS

a brief phone call from noah

to inform us that they had arrived in VEGAS

noah seemed excited about all the lights

and told his father

"i'm going to see a replica of the eiffel tower !"

(from the hotel room)

IF THE CHAIR FITS...BRICK OVEN IS CALLING

i had returned to the spring break list

when i received an awesome photo via text message

beaver, utah's big CHAIR

a few hours later

dinner at the BRICK OVEN in st. george, utah
on the road again...

REALLY???

so here's the deal

it was early in the morning

i was hustling about trying to get noah off on an adventure

gather Easter treats

and prepare snacks for the road.

the target parking lot had maybe a total of five cars.

i quickly parked

ran inside

("minute to win it" type shopping)

and then out to the car

my mind was going a million miles a minute

i was very careful not to bump my door on the car to the left

i had a shopping cart stall directly in front of me

i was going to jet out of my parking spot

when...pause

i don't know why...just pause

i look to my right

REALLY???

are you kidding me????

let's just say it took me a long time to get out of this parking space

forward. back. forward. back. 

get out.

get in.

forward. back.

get out. get in.

it was so crazy, i couldn't resist pulling out the camera

OFF IN THE HARTMOBILE

 after dropping noah off for a half day of school

a diversion from the spring break list was a must

the happy hurry set in

hurry to the the store for a taste of easter

hurry to another for superhero treats

hurry to gather the basket and eggs

hurry to put treats bags together

hurry to get superboy packed

hurry to fold dry laundry

hurry to pick up noah

the golden words

"MOM...they are here

after a brief tour guide of the prepared contents

pictures and hugs

the adventure was about to begin

the boxes and luggage, meticulously loaded

noah, hooked into his dvd player

all with gihugous smiles on their faces

and a wave of the hand

drove away  

 in the white pearl HARTMOBILE...

TO THE RESCUE

well, my eighty plus piles of laundry

are not melting

(some of them shrinking, and not according to plan)

the drier is in-op

and so i have clothes hanging to dry throughout the home

not a whole lot of fun for noah

who would like to have friends come play

and not be exposed to the family's underclothing

oh my heavy heart...

i've heard it said

that SUPERHEROES

are able to leap tall buildings in a single bound
(mmm...i wonder if that includes mountains of laundry)
according to sesame street,
able to reach
 capital "T"...
is it a bird?
is it a plane?
 out of the bright, blue sky

appeared
superman and wonderwoman 
TO THE RESCUE

could it be?
was it true?
noah's grandparents
 had come with a special invitation
for our SUPERBOY

to join them in an adventure of a lifetime
the destination
a trip to see his SUPERCOUSINS
in arizona
at the camelback resort
the answer
a resounding yes

he will be packed and ready for the mission of fun
to be continued in the next post...

SPRING BREAK

SPRING BREAK 2013

march 22-april 1

 SPRING BREAK has arrived...the weather may say otherwise,

for now, the temptation to go outside has ceased

which means:

perfect weather for listmaking 

SPRING cleaning

empty boxes

correspondence, blog, photo, pinterest updates

finish the big garage

sort

sort

sort

personal projects

bring the family map current

take the sticks of winter

to prepare for the blooms of SPRING

continue "throw away, give away or put away"

SIMPLIFY

there would be no vacating

this is my SPRING of productivity

noah, now home for weeks on end

due to the infamous "A-TRACK" schedule

 meant

a whole new list 

caretakers

activities

playdates

eegads
how will i ever get it done...?

no, really?
to be continued in the next post...

WELCOME SPRING

a few years ago

i featured a day in utah

within the day

snow

rain

wind

sun

clouds

sunset

the moment of SPRING

and nature

has to have it's last hoorah

WELCOME SPRING

A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION OF WOMEN

 i was invited by three generation

 of WOMEN

to celebrate one of the most amazing

societies of WOMEN

on march 16, 2013

at 10:00 am-noon

the three generations
 of WOMEN

grandma maxine garff

mother joanne garff hart

and sister michelle hart bodine

This free collage made with Smilebox

the celebration

the BIRTHDAY of the relief society

an organization for WOMEN

where 

charity never faileth

the speaker

sheri dew
as in
"dew as i'm dewing"
recognize the value of
WOMANHOOD
uplifting

edifying

reminders

that we are daughters

of heavenly father

who loves us
while challenging the world's beliefs
*that WOMEN of our faith are oppressed

there was a beautiful musical

if i could hie to kolob

played by lovely WOMEN

on stringed instruments

colorful cupcakes

delicately frosted

by the hands

of a 16 year old WOMAN

made for a delightful

table decoration

and a delicious refreshement

(fun tablecloth pattern)

i am so grateful that i attended.

happy BIRTHDAYrelief society

then off to grandma's lovely home

where family photographs rest
in every room

the dining room's
beautiful centerpiece
from
john and angie marriott


i was intrigued by the simple glass vase
that carefully embrace the delicate flowers


debbie and ron harrison's bulbs at christmas
have come into bloom
for grandma's march BIRTHDAY

grandma's garden room
filled with life
and femininity



emphasizes a WOMAN'S love for intrinsic beauty


and finally
grandma's library
where a brightly colored bouquet
of unique and interesting flowers
adorn the study desk

in the distance my eye takes hold
 of a well organized library of books

a pink slip of paper here

a pink slip of paper there

as grandma's christmas gift

to her

children

and 

grandchildren

michelle and myself find

the browsing

of so many handsome books

classics

gospel oriented

personal improvement

historical

famous speeches

to be addicting

as well as endearinng

what a treat!
tomorrow

is

grandma garff's 96th birthday

born on ST. PATRICK'S DAY

as a subtle reminder of how blessed

i am to know her

and have her to call

friend and grandmother

can you think of a better way to celebrate

such an amazing WOMAN?

i couldn't either

happy BIRTHDAY

grandma

*oppressed
as a child-spoke in church, talks in primary, pray on primary,
as a young woman-secretary, seminary council, spoke in church, sang in church, prayed in church, young women's recognition award, led the singing, played the piano, temple recommend, temple work, geneology work, youth conference committee,visiting teacher, secret granddaughter, relief socity instructor, homemaking leader, sunday school teacher, family home evening coordinator, young women guest speaker, primary 2nd counselor, primary president, primary choristor, young women advisor, young women teacher, gospel doctrine teacher, nursery leader, homemaking and enrichment, primary teacher, young women's camp director, young women's secretary,
 primary teacher, mother, wife, college graduate, master of education degree, continuing education, third grade educator, sixth grade educator, flight attendant for delta, special education assistant, room mom, temple patron, and witness of christ
oppressed, hardly