Kevin's 40th Birthday

Kevin's "Old As Dirt" birthday milestone turned out to be "the best birthday I've ever had" --- direct quote from the old man himself. After a SUPER-DELICIOUS breakfast of Croque Madame's (grilled breakfast sandwiches with ham and swiss cheese, topped with a fried egg and a lightly Dijon-flavored bechamel sauce -- and yes, I can forward you the recipe), we met our friends Almond and Gary at "The Quarry" in Orem to do a little rock climbing. Almond and Gary (and Gary's brother Jeff) are AMAZING climbers...so strong and agile! They showed us the ropes (no pun intended) and we were off! After getting over a case of the jitters, I was able to get more comfortable on the wall and completed 4 different climbs. Kevin was more adventurous than I was and he scaled some of the more complex routes up the wall. I was so proud of him --- you know, being 40 and everything. I thought he might fall off and break a hip, but he managed to come out at the end of the day with no broken bones.

Next, it was off the Mainspring Day Spa for a couples massage :) After the climbing, the one-hour massage was WONDERFUL! I, for one, was surprised at how strong the little lady giving my massage was. WOW! She eats her Wheaties in the morning! She worked me over from head to toe....no muscle was left unattended. Kevin's masseuse was incredible, too. We both left there feeling rejuvenated and pampered.

When we got home, Kevin was met at the door with Micalyn saying, "Dad! Come outside! We found another snake!" (yes, ANOTHER....but that's a different story). Kevin followed her to the backyard where he was COMPLETELY SURPRISED to see many of our friends, neighbors and family members there for a surprise party!! I can't believe I pulled it off! I must give credit here to my amazing friends, Almond and Gary, who did all of the work of setting up for the party while Kevin and I were getting our massages. Almond also supplied the food since she is the owner of the best sandwich shops around...SENSUOUS SANDWICH!!! Everyone ate and chatted and enjoyed the "Old As Dirt"-themed party...even down to the sugar cookies branded with the party theme :)

We were both so happy that our friends and relatives celebrated the day with us. We are so blessed to have such loving, caring, and fun people in our lives.

So - I'm married to an old man now, but I still love him --- gray hairs and all!

24th of July on the Lake!

Take a 100+ degree day, throw in a boat and some Subway sandwiches and you've got yourself a WINNER, folks! Spending the day on Utah lake with our friends (and neighbors), the Coon's, turned out to be the perfect way to celebrate Pioneer Day! Everyone had a chance to literally "LEAP IN THE LAKE" and swim :) Parker was especially fond of catching air before he hit the water. Micalyn proved to be the best darn knee-boarder of the Wiscombe family, gleefully gliding over the wake and enjoying every bump along the way. In between dips in the lake, mom, dad and Jocelyn enjoyed the ride and the warm air rushing through our hair (okay...only Jocelyn and I enjoyed the air hair-rushing). Kevin must have just felt the air gliding over his nearly-shaved head ;) Not to be left in the boat as a bystander, Parker took a few exhilarating rides on the tube with his friends. We came...we saw....we jumped in and touched the bottom at some spots. Viva water-sports!

FOOD! FUN! and FRIENDS!

FOOD! FUN! and FRIENDS! All three of those elements were plentiful last Monday night at the Cheesecake Factory. I was thrilled to be able to spend time chatting and reminiscing with 5 of my friends from high school. The conversation ranged from us talking about our silly and care-free days growing up together to us sharing stories about our families, children and plans for the future. At times I found myself feeling like we were all 16 again...ditching school to go grab lunch and gab :) At other times I looked around the table and saw us as our current selves: the beautiful bishop's wife, the independent single mom, the spazzy scout leader, the energetic YW president, the amazing mother of 5, and the happy stay-at-home mom. As different as we had all become since the glory days of the 80's, we had also stayed much the same as we remembered each other. One constant among us was our love for our families and our concern as we watch our children grow and experience life. With one of us getting ready to send her eldest off to college, others just getting adjusted to "teen-aged" kids, and still others with children only in elementary school; it was great to hear advice and stories across the board. More than once it was said, "I hope our kids don't ever do some of the crazy things we did". Sprouting from those comments came talk of how the world now is so different from the world at the time that we were growing up. i.e. not allowing our kids to have sleep-overs at friend's houses, our children not being able to skip classes as easily as we did, the threats of pornography and other addictions (gaming, texting, etc.) that did not exist in our era. Our banter ran the gambit from giggles about playing "nasty" barbies to solemn seriousness on the issue of child abuse. It was an eye-opening discussion and one that left us laughing one minute and then sitting in stunned silence the next. All in all, it was a wonderful night and one I won't soon forget. Thank you, my friends, for being just that --- my friends.

Hike to the Falls

Today was the perfect day for a hike! Not too sunny, not too cloudy --- but just right :) My friend (and next door neighbor) Kari and I decided to take our kids on the same hike that I went on last week with my scouts. When we reached our destination (the waterfalls) the kids played in the water and we all watched a family of rock climbers do their thing. It was a great way to spend the morning!

More Pics from Heber

I had to post a few more pics from our Heber Valley Fun-Fest!

Heber Valley Camp

Here I am....in BLOG-World! This is my first lowly post, so I decided to be low key and just post some pics from our recent venture up to the Heber Valley Camp last weekend. Kevin's parents are serving a mission there and they invited their whole family to come up for dinner and fun on the lake. The scenery was beautiful, the lake was peaceful, and we were able to see some deer and ducks up-close and personal. Kevin and I did most of the work pedaling the pedal boats and paddling the canoes (although our muscle-challenged offspring gave it their best shot). All in all, it was a lovely adventure!