April was a busy month for travel. April 1st, Steve and Avian drove to Lynchburg for Aleena's birthday party. Steve got to meet the group of friends and enjoy the ride with Avian. They did some antique window shopping and had a great time.
Back at the home front - Nick and I did the grocery shopping. He likes to come with me to add different flavors to the family repertoire. Jeremy has decided he really wants to try growing mushrooms. He is doing the research so he can be a good mushroom daddy.
It was day two of the Silverbration and both Nick and I did our hour on the track. Nick also found out that he has been promoted to flat rate mechanic. This means a possibility for more money and more weekends off. He is really excited.
April 2nd they announced that a temple was going to be built in Charlotte, NC!!! YAY!!! We don't know where yet, but hopefully it will be closer.
April 7th I worked in the morning and then went to Kohls to get a new bathing suit for Avian. They are going to the beach with the Licastris for spring break and needed an update to their beachwear. Back at home I fixed some Mongolian beef for lunch and then headed to the airport for my trip to visit Mom and my sisters. It was weird being in the airport by myself again. I am so used to having the kids with me when I travel. I had a window seat for the flight to Utah. Watching the clouds was fun. I also could see the Ogden and Bountiful temples as we flew in. Mark and Laura picked me up at the airport and dropped my off at Mom's house. It was so good to see her again.
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| The clouds from the top this time. |
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Chasing the sunset. It was great to watch!
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April 8th we were up early and ate breakfast. Since we were going to dinner at Shaun and Kathy's for Easter Sunday and it was Shaun's birthday, we made a batch of Grandma Hansen's Red Sauce to take as a birthday present. It is one of Shaun's favorite things. Mom didn't have any pickling spices so I ran to the store to find some. The Smith's closest to Mom is an interesting place. There is a clothing section and I just browsed through to see what the fashion was in Utah. To my surprise, I found a rack of University of Utah t-shirts! Of course I got one. Back at home, while the red sauce was pickling, Mom and I cleaned up my Family Tree files. I had two files on Dad and wanted to make sure everything was accurate. By the mid-afternoon, Mom was exhausted and so it was nap time. I read and did a puzzle to get my head refocused on life while Mom slept. When Mom woke up we finished a few to-do items, had dinner and them went to Scoops (drive thru) for some ice cream. It was a great first day in Utah.
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| The fruits of our labors. YUMMY! |
Back in North Carolina, Steve and the kids wend to Mr. Tokyo for dinner. The four of them consumed 75 pieces of sushi, 21 fried gyoza, two plates of chicken/steak teriyaki, 2 chicken katsu and 2 miso soups. Mr. Tokyo is going to start closing down when they see our family coming. It also rained a ton. Steve sent me the picture below as documentation as to how much it was raining.
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Sunday, April 9th, we went to church. Since it was Easter Sunday the talks were all focused on Christ's last week, His crucifixion and His resurrection. The brother that talked about the last week of Christ's life was fabulous. He brought that week alive for me. I loved seeing how Mom's ward members take care of her. We left right after sacrament meeting as Mom didn't feel she could stay for the full two hours. I worked on a puzzle while Mom took a nap. Mark and Laura came over shortly after Mom woke up. They had been out delivering Easter treats to some of the families in their ward that have adopted Mark as the fun uncle. It was good to see them. Shortly after they left, we drove out to Shaun and Kathy's for dinner. It was fun to see David, Jalisa and the girls as well. Shaun loved the red sauce. That is one thing I really miss about living around the corner from Shaun and Kathy. I would cook/bake and bring things to them. I also did this with Mom and Dad. The dinner was perfect and Mom and I loved spending time with everyone. Right after dessert, Mom started to get tired so I got her home where she could relax and get ready for bed. You know you have had a good time when you forgot to take any pictures. Thank goodness for Kathy and Jalisa. They sent me pictures of our fun day.
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| Kathy always sets the most beautiful table. |
Avian sent me pictures all day long documenting their trip to the beach and finally arriving. I am so glad they got to go to the beach with the Licastris.
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| Arriving at Holden Beach |
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| Sunset from their porch. |
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| Another sunset picture |
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| Good morning, beach! |
April 10th, Mom and I picked Kathy up and headed to Eden to spend the day with Amanda. I always love spending time at Amanda's. They have been doing a lot of decorating and it is gorgeous! The new barn is really nice as well. Now Sam has a place to store his company trucks out of the weather. They have gotten A LOT of snow this year (see picture below). I couldn't come to Utah and not have my hair cut by the hair whisperer. There is no one I trust more than Amanda to help me make a style change. She is a natural for doing hair. I set an appointment for Mom as well.
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| There is a truck under all that snow. |
After chatting for a bit and getting a tour of the changes they have made to the house, we got down to business. Amanda and I decided that it would be best to cut my hair shorter. This would accomplish getting my hair healthy again and also cut out all the color I haven't redone for years. I didn't want to have to keep getting the color redone (since it wouldn't be by Amanda). It was time to embrace the wisdom highlights (aka gray hair) I was not nervous at all. Amanda had a vision of what she wanted and I knew it would turn out FABULOUS!!
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Before
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| During |
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| After - I LOVE it! |
While Amanda was cutting my hair, Kathy and Mom went to pick BreElle up from school. She has grown so much. I got to have a good talk with her while Amanda finished up my hair. We then had some lunch and I got to hear all about their family trip to California over their spring break. The way they talked about the Redwood Forest made me want to plan my own trip there. I am glad they had such a good tme.
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| Yup, I love it! |
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| The lunch gang. |
After lunch it was Grandma's turn in the chair. Kathy and I went to pick up Waylan, George and Carol. When we got back, Amanda was curling Grandma's hair. It looked really pretty.
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| Mom getting the fully luxury treatment in Amanda's newly finished salon. |
When everyone was done getting hair done, we gathered the kids in the living room and handed out their Grandpa pillows. I loved getting to provide them with a tangible piece of the grandpa they loved fiercely.
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| Carol giving Grandma some cuddles. They were both soaking it up. |
It was an incredible day and we enjoyed every minute of it.
April 11th Mom and I went to visit Dad's grave. Mom wanted to talk to someone about the headstone and getting it engraved and installed. They office was closed when we got there, but we did get to spend some time with Dad.
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| It is still a little hard to believe. |
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The best part about Celestial marriage is that I know that this is not a permanent separation. We will all see my dad again someday. Mom tells me all the time that she can feel him near. I don't doubt that for a minute.
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After visiting Dad's grave we stopped at Seagull Book and Tape so I could get another copy of a book I lent out and wanted the person to be able to keep. While we were there, I popped over to the clothing side of the store. It is not often I am in a place where everything in the store is designed to cover temple garments. I found a dress I loved and Mom asked if she could buy it for me as a thank you for coming to visit.
After the book store we went to several fabric stores to find the fabric I needed to make a memory quilt for Mom. We had some amazing finds. I am so excited to get working on this quilt.
Seagull Book and Tape to get a copy of a book - found a dress as well. Fabric stores to find special fabrics for Dad's quilt. Took Mom home so she could rest. Shaun and Kathy came for dinner. Mom not sleeping well - hopefully we wore her out enough today.
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| These are perfect for the quilt - Snoopy on the 4th of July, beehives, bikes, duck feet, Western, U of U, fishing, chemistry, constellations, BBQ, stamps and flowers. These will go perfectly with what I already have waiting back at home. |
Back in North Carolina Steve was busy with work. Jeremy was busy with school. Nick was working hard. Avian was having a good time at the beach.
April 12th we had a small breakfast so we would be hungry for lunch with Laura, Kathy and Jenny. Afterwards, Mom asked me to go up in the attic and get some things down for her. She wanted to start going through some of the boxes that were stored up there.
Laura, Jenny and Kathy arrived a short time afterwards and we left to drive downtown. Mom had made reservations at a place called Red Lotus. She wanted to continue the tradition of Chinese food for lunch. The food was amazing and we had a good time catching up on what has been going on.
Afterwards, we went back to Laura's house to visit with Ruby. Mark was babysitting for the day so Laura could be with us. Ruby is the cutest little girl and her smile is so contagious. Also, it is fun to watch Mark and Laura as grandparents.
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| She loves her great-grandma |
After visiting with Ruby for a bit, we went back to Mom's house to go through some memories, hand out the Dad pillows, get a last gift from Dad and watch Julie Andrews in the role of Cinderella.
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| Giving my sisters their pillows and the pillows for their families. |
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| After Dad got really good at painting nature, he wanted to master people. His chosen project was painting his girls. He picked a favorite picture and painted one for each of us. He finished Laura and Jenny, but was having a difficult time finishing me and Kathy. He died before he could finish them. Mom asked Avian to finish them for their grandpa. I love that my picture will be a merging of Dad's and Avian's talents. |
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| Laura (top left), Kathy (top right), Me (bottom left), Jenny (bottom right) |
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| Mom also divided out some of Dad's pharmacy memorabilia. We each got one of Dad's tiles and a mortar and pestle. |
It was an amazing day with some healing conversation and lots of memories and laughs. I am so glad I was able to come and spend time with them.
The puzzles I did while staying with Mom. I had forgotten how relaxing puzzle are. They really help your mind work things out while your hands are busy.
April 13th was travel day. Mom and I got up, had our usual breakfast and made sure everything I needed to transport home was packed and ready to go. Mark and Laura came shortly after that and we headed to the airport. It was just starting to snow and I was both fascinated by it and worried that I wouldn't get out of Salt Lake. I always hate saying goodbye. It is the worst part about coming home to visit. As much as I like getting back to my own house, I really miss being with family.
Once past security, I had some time to wander around. I found a place by the window and just watched it snow. It was really coming down by now.
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| You can barely see the planes through all the snow. |
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| It is a weird sensation to miss and not miss something at the same time. I feel that way about snow. |
My plane boarded right on time and we pulled away from the gate right on time, but we did not leave Salt Lake City right on time. We had to stop and get the plane de-iced first and that put us an hour behind schedule. I wasn't complaining too much because the flight was not cancelled.
The weather was beautiful back in Chartlotte. Steve ordered pizza for dinner so no one had to worry about fixing it. Jeremy and I took a nice walk and he caught me up on what happened while I was gone. I am really glad I was able to go to Utah to be with Mom for her birthday!
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| The weather in Charlotte was a lot different than what I experienced in Utah. I love living in the South. |
April 14th I spent the morning cleaning the kids' bathroom. The tub drain was a little slow so I set out the find the culprit and clear it up. The culprit ended up being a major hair clog. I took a picture, but it was grossing me out as I was typing and so I spared you all the gagging, you are welcome! I was so inspired by the kids' clean bathroom that I cleaned ours as well. It was MUCH easier. I had enough energy left over to do a little weeding in the garden before heading to the fabric store to hunt for a few more fabrics for dad's quilt. While I was there, I also found the perfect fabric for the back of the quilt. You will have to wait and see the final product.
Back at home, Avian called and said they wanted to come home a day early so they had some prep time before heading back to school. Spring Break was way too short!
April 15th, Mom and Dad would have been married 63 years today! Happy Anniversary! Steve and I headed out first thing in the morning for Holden Beach. We arrived by noon and had some time to explore the beach, talk with Jill and see the beach house before we headed back home again. Snow in Utah one day and on the beach a couple of days later. It is crazy.
April 21st, Avian and I ducked out of school a little early and headed into uptown Charlotte to get another set of fingerprints done for the FBI. They said the first set was not clear enough. We will keep jumping through hoops until we get this name change taken care of. Wish us luck.
Later that night we went suit shopping for prom. Avian had an idea of what they wanted for prom and we went to several stores before we found the perfect look. All we needed was the shirt to go with the suit.
Back at home, Jeremy told me all about his idea for ecofriendly gardening in our yard. He is really excited about it.
April 22nd it was pouring rain when we woke up. Avian had to get to the school to take a mock AP test. The teacher wanted them to be prepared for the big day. Nick went to work. Eventually the rain stopped. Jeremy and I took advantage of the soft ground to transplant the rosemary bush into the back year. It needed a bigger spot to grow. The yard is looking really nice with Jeremy's help.
After the mock AP test, Steve and Avian went out looking for the perfect prom shirt. Mission accomplished!
April 23rd Avian's team had a really great game. They won but it took all five games to do it. This was the perfect way to end the season.
April 25th was the final band concert of the year. It has been a rough year with a new band teacher, but in the end they sounded really good.
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| Fun corn holders Steve found! |
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| Jeremy's hair kept getting in the way during dinner and the bunny ears were the first thing he saw! Silly Boy! |
April 26th and 27th we got three inches of rain. !!!!!!!!
April 28th PROM!! Avian and Rose decided to go together since neither one of them had a date.
Rose and Jill came over for dinner. Jill and I had a great time catching up while Avian and Rose got themselves ready upstairs. Pictures with these two is always an adventure. You never know what they are going to do. The theme was Great Gatsby and I think they nailed it.
After our picture session, Jill drove them uptown to the Mint Museum. Steve and I got to pick them up. As luck would have it, we found a great spot just outside the venue and got to see everyone leaving. They all looked amazing in their fancy outfits. Avian and Rose told us all about it on the drive home. They said it was really fun and the decorations and refreshments were amazing.
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