2009 in Pictures

"cliff"diving in Kauai ( on our level that is )

the 50th birthday was a good one

Kelly green on the 17th

Harrison loves the ocean

cutest towels I got on Balboa Island and had each girls name put on it

the helicopter tour of Kauai was Amazing !!

most people go to the beach in Hawaii, Kevin looks at properties..which is ok if he ends up buying one !

I Love the chickens and roosters that wander all over the island of Kauai..when we flew in and they were strutting around the airport it brought tears to my eyes..like I was home.

Preston and Porter loving the hotel pool in Kauai

waterfall relief at the end of a hike

same hike..before the dip !

Preston with his great grandma Glena in Paonia memorial week-end

Porter and Harrison got matching swimsuits for the San Diego trip..how darling are they ?!

one of my favorite pics of Kevin..we are down in Huntington Beach and this is how he conducts his work calls for the day !!

a rare moment and picture of just the two of us

Sea World in San Diego feels awesome in March

this is the "backyard" of our san diego rental..unbelievable..we stayed "home" quite a bit

the Wortons are so darling !!

this family loves the beach and Preston is no exception

oh, how I LOVE this spot on the earth..Bali Hai

Dalboy sporting Preston's baby swimhat

Oakland temple 25 years later - the anniversary year

Sather Gate,about 30 years later,still looks great

100's of sea lions ( this was only a small portion ) in San Francisco

Awesome Dallas Cowboys stadium where we witnessed BYU beat Oaklahoma

Chicago White Sox vs the Cubs down at spring training, we made a wish come true for Bo

Preston dressed up in a sombrero and some old person's reading glasses

Kerriann truly gets into our costco runs !!

3 ninjas..Kelly apparently couldn't get off the ground ! goofing around at my elem.school in Woodside

Back at the BYU/Oklahoma game..blue shirts were outnumbered about 1,000-1

It drives you crazy trying to stay warm at the Provo stadium

Another wish-come-true for Bo , being in the cowboys new stadium.so he ran around and collected used cups to take home to use in his "media" room.I believe he washed them well.

Books

Tamra Back asked on her incredibly popular facebook site, for her readers to make a list of the top 15 books that influenced their life. I must first comment that I don't do well on facebook, the blog is much more my style. Facebook is too brief..one liners are not my style. Apparently I am a rambler. Don't even ask me what I think of "twittering"..just odd. But the book question really got me thinking. Or rather,trying to think. Seems I not only have a hard time remembering the name of a book or it's author, let alone what books I have really,really loved. Hmmmm, both pathetic and sad. If you can help out this brain-deficient woman and remember any books that you know of that I thought were great - will you tell me and I will reread them!!

This is what I came up with.
1. "The Thornbirds" I remember it as the first saga that I could not put down. Father Ralph was an original hottie.
2."The World According to Garp" Red Flags all over the place ..but despite his love of swear words ,John Irving is one creative writer and I laugh and stand in awe of all his books that I have read.
3. "Seedfolks" a sweet little book that is So right on the mark!
4. "Esperanza Rising" wow and clever.
5. "Life and Death in Shanghai" no, I am not copying Tamra, we both read it for book club and claimed it a favorite.
6. " 1776" amazing - you go George!!
7. " Life of Pi" one of those in the,what-the-heck category that I love. Bonus points for being in Pondicherry,India.
8. "Under the Tuscan Sun" the book NOT the movie ( what a butchering of a beautiful,descriptive story ) I will move to Italy any day.
9. "The Secret Life of Bees"- Healing. Makes me want to run out and rub warm, honey all over wooden statues..it is That good.
10. "My Life in France" my latest favorite. Julia ,you nailed it. That book took me to France in 1950. A book I forced myself to read slower so that it would last longer. What a character, a hoot..and I love that she hails from Pasadena!!

I am not going to end this post..I am just going to add more as they come to me. Or, if like I requested , anyone can think of something I loved, please tell me.

The Chameleon

Do other people play the,"what would it be like to live in ______." game? It is rather addicting,and I have been playing it for Years!! It becomes even more intense and more frequently played when you are married to a rabid fan of the game. It can become an expensive hobby when you actually start traveling to places to check them out.But it is a Great boredom buster, and I like to think keeps one young and flexible. The thing is, I have come to realize after years of searching for this elusive golden ring, the joy truly is in the journey. It is not like I hate where I live and have to escape. I could tick off a list of things I love about Utah (albeit a short list..) but it is just the "wouldn't it be cool to live in ______" that keeps me wondering! Way back when we got into this we actually Did move to various places..and it was tons of fun, seriously! Our situation is such that we Can do that,and that knowledge alone keeps one looking.Kevin calls me "antsy"" ( among other things )but come on, it is just really addictive. Plus you get to analyze who you are. My tastes change like a chameleon.. and I realize that is ok too.When I am in Oregon I love the craftsman homes. Japanese homes even look uber cool there, and I don't like that style anywhere else ( except Japan of course.) I can picture us living in California in a ranch house surrounded by oak trees or a sleek modern number with an endless view of the ocean. Wouldn't it be neat to live in Austin Texas and wear jean skirts and cowboy boots, and shop at the flagship whole foods-that we biked to !! Oh, I better not begin to "dress" the chameleon ( an entirely separate entry!)..and stick to the homes.Our austin home would sit on a little rolling knoll and also be surrounded by oak trees. But I am not a tree-snob..equally I can see us in a very open,veranda style casa with a bunch of palm trees swaying in the Hawaiian breeze. Then I can start blending areas and languages..not everyone would have a "casa" in Hawaii,but I could.Kevin doesn't believe me but I could even do a barn-like house in Maine (notice the only snow area..perhaps it should be just a summer home.)For lack of space I am not going to explore the international chameleon-it would be HUGE. Lately we have been toying with the Arizona idea.Maybe it is too hot, the water issue bothers me..the desert moi?!!! Then I go down there and fall in love with the designs down there. The crepe myrtle and palo verde trees are darling...and those saguaro cacti..well, they are enough of a reason to move alone!! I adore those exposed beams and free-standing adobe fireplaces and verandas with slow moving fans and a gorgeous pool that is the center of it all. I am ready for a pool of our own. Daddy, I want a pool!! With salt cleaners instead of chlorine. And the ability to GLIDE through water when I want.Wow, it sounds so fickle to the craftsman house in Oregon. But, that is my point..I like it all,perhaps I even want it all..so I continue to play the game..Kevin is playing it too.

balm of Berkeley

Last year Courtney married Joel out in No Cal. This year Megan married Matt. We decided to all go this time. About 20 hours before we were to leave Dallin came home from the MTC. Emotionally pale and shaking, we bundled him up in our family weave and took him along. I questioned the sanity of this idea ( we offered to just stay home with him ) but it turned out to be incredibly healing. Such a Good visit. His color,appetite,and smile all came back. We all exhaled.It felt wonderful to be together, to be in California. For all of the states faults ( San Andreas being #1...oh, that one is for you Bobo!) there is equally a tangible magic. I loved it, we all did. The weather...PERFECT. The scent of drying eucalyptus leaves made me want to cry..good tears. I had a wonderful time showing everyone Woodside, but I also knew that nothing was going to be able to outdo last year's experience of walking through the Laning house. Another blessing,another "moment"..this time across the bay. After a truly great trip and wedding with the extended family Kevin ended the itinerary with a day a Berkeley. He wasn't that into it himself, in fact he was on business calls on his cell phone the whole time we walked around campus. But he knew how Much it would mean to me and that was very sweet of him. As we pulled off the freeway exit,drove past the Claremont hotel and entered the campus I was truly fighting back tears. And again, good tears, for this is a rare place. It started to rain, "and I was all" oh,come on...could it get any more perfect?!!! In the past(nearly) 30 years I have stopped twice,Very briefly..this time was real. Obviously not long enough,but I was there this time. There were some new buildings,but So much was the same.I am going to go way out on a limb here and truly get in touch with my bezerkeley roots..but I LOVED seeing all my old favorite trees-and they were still just the same ( yes, all those word choices were intentional.) And, yes Porter, I did refrain from hugging them. Sproul Hall was deliciously kooky and one group were dancing to "Ji-ho"-which was a lovely tie in between the past and present. We had our farewell meal at Fentons in Oakland. And on such an ideal day as this,those darn little crab sandwhiches tasted just as fabuluos as they always did. The rain continued to pour down..I honestly couldn't have scripted it any better. PS..I am going back ...and I Will have a thousand hours to spend and walk every inch of my memory,shop at their amazing card stores until I drop with exhaustion,and take a million pictures of the campanille. This may be a bit too bohemian...but I think she was happy to see me back as well.

oink..oink..tagged by the dreaded swine flu. honestly, it isn't that bad. famous last words..now I will be felled by a complication and end up, well, you know..dead. eh, it has been a good reason to law around and do nothing ( like I need an excuse!) no,the rest has been great for me. I needed it.

KUDOS to MOI....I didn't scream,"No,don't go!!" at the MTC

A Knife in the heart

(our happy place..Hanalei)

A few days before Dallin was born I had a very,very vivid dream. It was so clear that I had to wonder if it wasn't real. It had a long,hard pregnancy with an exhausting move at the end. I dreamed kevin and I were in a hospital room with our brand new baby in our arms. Suddenly my grandmother ( Minnie Dahl ) and her husband Hugh were in the room with us. I had never met my grandfather as he had died back when my own mother was a child. But I knew it was him. We had planned on giving the name Hugh to Dallin as a middle name. They were now holding Dallin and making over him. I looked at kevin as if to say, isn't this great....but Kevin was white as a sheet and very scared. He couldn't see them and he realized that I was dying and slipping across the veil. He was shaking me and screaming to have me come back now. It was if I was going in and out of consciousness. It wasn't the best delivery but I didn't die. The feeling of that dream comes back now. Although Kevin isn't reaching out to me this time... this time he is crumpled on the floor crying himself and he doesn't hear me. This time I am going in and out of consciousness again, but I really am awake..and I really am feeling the pain. Too melodramatic?!! I think not...have you ever sent a son away on a mission?! Last night we had the extended Ordo clan over for dinner and to say good-bye to Dal. Koki was sitting next to us. Sean was coming home from serving two years in Washington within the next 12 hours, and we are sending Dallin out in practically the same time frame. Oue emotions were polar..kevin said this morning ,I wish I was Koki right now. There is always a coming and going in sacrifice. This one is a whopper. It is so overwhelmingly selfish of me..but I can't stop it.