Our Last Hurrah - Bernie In Sedona

This is kind of a sad one for me to post. Last spring I took my parents and the kids to Sedona. Kimball stayed behind for school, he wasn't too thrilled that he had to stay home, but looking back I'm so glad we made the choice to go anyway. My parents were here for almost three weeks, and I thought an overnight trip would break it up a bit and that they'd enjoy the beautiful scenery in Sedona. 

We also took a drive about ten miles to Slide Rock. It was SO beautiful and fun. The water was FREEZING, but Kade was brave enough to jump in and jump back out.

We went shopping for a split second on the main street of Sedona. My mom got tired after two or three stores and had to sit on a bench, so we just called it quits and went to lunch. It makes sense now, she passed away just a few months later. Who knew she had pancreatic cancer, and advanced Alzheimer's (OK, that one was pretty obvious) but still...I wish I'd known how sick she was.

My mom displayed some other strange behavior on the trip, barking at my dad over Diet Coke, shot gun and then there was the whole two a.m. incident. Strange. Poor mom.

The park was covered with beautiful apple blossoms. I'm so glad I stopped and took a moment to capture their beauty. It is a great reminder of what a lovely trip we had with my parents. The last one I'd ever take with my sweet mom.

I remember when my parents left to go back home, I cried and cried when I'd hang up from talking to my mom. She didn't seem to remember me even though she'd just been here for three weeks. It was so sad. :( Each year she was forgetting more and more and having a harder time trying to hide it. By now it was to the point she was totally confused when I'd call. She was embarrassed. I kept trying to convince her to come back to Arizona so I could take care of her and spend more time with her, but she didn't have the confidence to leave without my dad. Clearly she wasn't feeling well either, we just didn't know it yet. 

Heavy topics like this make me want to curl up in the covers and sob...but I suppose it's time I get it out. 

Miss you mom.

xo,

Blissdom Remembered {Wrap-Up}

{The Hotel}

The Opryland Hotel was enormous and so beautiful!!

{My Roommate}

I couldn't have hand picked a better roommate. Patty from Finding Serendipty is not only beautiful, she's  "hate me" in shape, warm, so kind hearted, patient, friendly, fun, smart, humble, makes you feel at ease and has more talent than she realizes. She's a licensed physical therapist turned stay at home mom/fitness instructor/photographer & writer...in other words, she's not an axe-murderer. :) We had so many great tickle fights ha! I mean talks...I'm going through withdrawls!!

{Our Room}

The rooms were nice, and the view from our balcony was serene.

{The Perks}

To my surprise, at every turn there was some sort of fabulous giveaway. The lovelies on the right are adorable handouts from other bloggers such as necklaces, flower pins, book thongs, handmade rose earrings and homemade fudge. 

Fabulous keynote speakers: Scott Stratten and Brene Brown

Authors of: Unmarketing & The Gifts of Imperfection

{Long Time Favorites Bloggers}

Center : Edie from Life In Grace

I've been following the blogs of these talented ladies since 2008. You all know how much I love Edie, so I'll start with her...thank you so much for your friendship! Surprising me at the airport because you knew how nervous I was (in true Edie fashion). You are smart, gracious, classy, selfless, unique, brave, gifted with words and so beautiful inside and out. Thanks for incouraging me to stretch myself and step out
of my comfort zone.

 The Nester and Emily (if you don't already know), are sisters. The Nester inspires me to make my home beautiful and cozy by 'shopping the house' first as to not break the family budget.

 I relate with Emily in that she's an introvert but has her extrovert moments. She writes beautifully and incourages women to find their inner beauty and God given talents. Thank you both for being so sweet and friendly!!

{Forever Friends}

Ruthanne, Ruth, Brooke, Melissa S., Patty, Polly, Melissa M , Deanna, Shannan and Edie.



If I haven't convinced you to go to Blissdom 2012...

that's because I saved the best for last.

I had such anxiety about going, "What the heck were you thinking!?!?" went through my head more times than I can tell you. Having never met any of these bloggers in real life, I had all sorts of worries and insecurities. Besides that, I prefer to be in small groups not rooms full of five hundred plus women.

The night before I even cried out to my mommy on facebook, (which did me no good)

...she was half-way around the world!

When I got to the airport, rather than going through security, I found myself eating, shopping & wandering, 

in other words...

stalling!!

 My heart was beating out of my chest, my nose was sweating (as it does when I'm nervous), but I soon  realized, the stress eating, sleepless nights and self doubt were all for nothing!!

Most of the women there felt the exact same way,
and if they didn't,

they remembered those feelings and reached out with their motherly souls;

 calming my fears, boosting my confidence and making my
Blissdom experience unforgettable!

What I learned from Blissdom?

• Vulnerability is the key to loving with your whole heart
• When we exercise vulnerability we are courageous and brave
• Never let anybody steal your voice
• I am enough
• I can do hard things

Thank you friends for a fabulous weekend.

xoxo,

Blissdom Remembered {The Concert}

My first time at Blissdom was so blissful I'm going to have to break it down for you throughout the week, today I'll start with the
{Mat Kearney Concert}
because let's face it, that deserves a post of its own.

Blissdom was awesome, everything about it...but this was by FAR the best event. Mat Kearney (my FAVORITE songwriter/musician) and Michelle Branch (who I also really like).

I was determined to get a good seat so I pulled the old 'front row sit on the floor' trick...best seat in the house. ;)

Photo credit: Life In Grace

Apparently Edie and I not only share a love for 'all things Favre', but 'all things Kearney' too!!

It was sad really....squealing like school girls.

SO FUN!

Oh and don't think we didn't get a picture with him...cuz we did! {insert three squeals} 

Mat did not dissapoint, with lyrics like this how could he? He was funny as all get out, and SO SO nice. I think we have a date next time he's in Phoenix...

'for the singing'!!

(inside joke...I know right!!?!?!!!?). :)

*********

If all that wasn't blissful enough, I got to come home to these four lovey doves!

Stay tuned for the next Blissdom Remembered post

where I'll show you all the amazing women I met.

And because I heart you all so much and I want you to heart Mat Kearney (if you don't already), I posted a playlist of

'All Things Kearney' below.

xoxo

linking up with Snapshot Sunday and Mussings of a Housewife

Spreading My Wings...

Sophia wheeled this thing around all day.

I finally had to break it to her...

she wasn't coming to Blissdom,

new luggage and all.

So I promised when she's "this tall"

we'll make it a girls trip.

Since then she's talked about growing up non-stop,

and Kade's "stressed" about me going.

At least I know they'll miss me.

Then there's my tween Jaxon,

he's got BIG plans of staying up way too late,

playing all kinds of Xbox,

eating loads of sugar cereal, sushi and Flaming Hot Cheetos,

all in the name of

'Mom's out of town!'

*****

I feel extremely lucky to have an awesome husband

who lets me try new things

flips the bill for said 'new things',

so I can venture out

and spread my wings.

Thank you Big Papa!!

XOXO

Minnesota Trip 2010

This is the third year we've gone to Minnesota to visit our friends and see a Vikings game however, mother nature had some other plans causing this...

It was crazy, the worst storm they've had since like 1984 and we happened to pick that week. I have to admit though, I was way excited to see all the snow considering we live in Arizona. Don't mind Kimball in this ladies coat...desperate times call for desperate measures.

After having been snowed in the first few days and temps dropping to 40 below at night, this sunshine was a welcomed site! We eventually made our way out of the house for dinner and a movie and we went to the girls piano recital.

As always we had a fabulous time and are thankful to Tammy and Darrell for having us. Sophia loved all the hand-me-downs she got...it's been a dialy fashion show ever since.

Back at home, my parents were busy shuffeling the boys back and forth to their performances and enjoying Arizona's 80 degree weather! Is it just me or are the leaves unusually colorful this year? I've been here for ten years and I've never seen so many beautiful fall leaves, I feel like I'm back in Utah...love it!

New York Trip

Kimball and I finally took a big trip together to New York. He served there for two years on his mission back in 1995-97. He'd been wanting to get back ever since and I'd never been so I surprised him with a trip over fall break.

The picture above is a view from the Brooklyn Bridge, it's one of my favorite's.

Brooklyn Bridge



Top of the Immigration Station...I love all the old architecture in New York, I couldn't take enough photos!

Inside the Immigration Station on Ellis Island



I was SO excited to FINALLY see the Statue of Liberty.

Another one of my favorite pics ever!

View of Manhatten from Liberty Park





Our hotel was near the Empire State Building. I was surprised at how windy it was up there...amazing view though. The sea of buildings is such an incredible site! Pictures don't do it justice.

View from the Empire State Building

The Vikings happened to be playing the Jets while we were there so we HAD to go...such a blast. The game was delayed due to major rain and lightening but it made it that much more fun.

Adrian Peterson...need I say more!?!

We went to two Broadway shows. Promises, Promises and our favorite Jersey Boys. The music was so great and I was amazed at how good the actors were. Next time we'll get tickets in advance though because some of our top choices were sold out.

Times Square was crazy!

The Metropolitan Art Museum was fabulous, one of my highlights. I wish we'd had another day there because we didn't even scratch the surface. Really, you'd need a week or so to see and appreciate everything. The building was beautiful and SO HUGE!

Kimball conducting business while I shopped in Little Italy

We had a delicious, authentic Italian lunch in Little Italy, we also ran into Cliff Clavin from Cheers (I'd recognize his voice anywhere. Ha! We also went to China Town but we were disappointed at the high prices (we expected some bargains)...not the case! It was also way too crowded! Loved Little Italy though!

The Natural History Museum

St. Paul's Chapel

Located just across the street from Ground Zero.

Geoge Washington attended this church.

It served as a refuge for the volunteer workers of 9-11.

Kimball's little brother Shane is currently serving the exact same mission Kimball did. We just had to pop in and say hello. He looked great and was rather happy to see us. He didn't stop smiling the entire time.

View of Manhatten from the ferry.

I still can't get over how crowded and busy this place was. It was a total culture shock to me but it was pretty neat! I have to say I went home feeling like we lived in the middle of no where.

Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum

We rented a car and drove out to Montauk Point (the eastern most point on Long Island). It was beautiful and for a few seconds I pretended like I was high class and visiting my summer home in the Hampton's. :)

We saw so much, but there's still a handful of things I want to see...next time I guess.

When I got back, Carly and I took the kids to Ghost Town. We went on a tour of what used to be a working gold mine....not such a great idea considering at that very hour they were still rescuing trapped miners in Chile AND I'm totally claustraphobic! We also had fun on the gravity tour, had lunch and got the kids ice cream.

Thanks to my niece Carly for flying in from Utah with her three year old Gavin, to babysit for the week.

Not only did she cook, clean and take car of them, she took them to parks and museums, making sure they too had a fun fall break. Thanks a bunch Carly!!