MY LITTLE GIRL ISN'T LITTLE ANY MORE

We are on the count down of school getting out and it only seems a tid crazy at our home.  Ashley will be graduating from high school in a week and a half.  Not only are we trying to get school finished up but trying to help her decide what she really wants to do with her life.  She is planning on heading to St. George soon after she graduates.  She is looking for a dental assisting job and going to live with Grandma and Grandpa Turek for the summer. She attended a Dixie college enrollment seminar (whatever you want to call it.)  Mike went with her and found out the professor that represented Dixie wasn't too impressive.  We have questioned if it is a good idea for Ash to attend this fall.  We sat down and chatted with Ashley about what her purpose of going to school is.  Well, we found out that she would like us to fork out 2 grand so she can socialize.  Hmmm not to sure that's a good reason.  So for now we know she is heading south and we will play it by ear of whether or not she begins school in the fall.  Thought I would add her graduation announcement.  She wasn't so sure about her mom being the photographer and designer of her graduation announcements, but I think they turned out pretty good!!!  Good Luck Ash.... LOVE YA

The BIG 20th Anniversary

I finally got Mike to take me some where to celebrate our marriage. Not just dinner or a movie but really going somewhere. I knew he would never go for Hawaii or some romantic beach. I figured if we were going to go somewhere it would have to be something he loved. He suggested that we could go to a professional tennis tournament in California. I was game for that. He then tried to back out and suggested we go to some place local. Unless your a snow skier , Northern Utah is not the place to go to do something fun. I finally convinced him this tennis tournament could be something fun to do. He hates to travel so the thought of airplanes, crowds, finding our way through California, hotels, etc didn't seem quite worth the hastle. He finally agreed and we purchased the tennis tickets and airline tickets. It was then up to me to find the rental, hotel, etc. Never being in this town it was hard to decide how far a hotel would be from the tournament. I finally found the closest one that was worth the money to spend. For the next few weeks the excitement grew. I was a little nervous leaving Ashley in charge of the other 4 kids but we figured she needs to learn how to be responsible. Well, I can honestly say we loved it!! The airline was on time and wonderful. I would recommend Jet Blue any day over American airline. (that's the airline we used to go to Disneyland a few months ago.) We flew into Long Beach....Talk about a small airport with little hastle. So much better than LAX. We walked across the street to get our car that we had rented. So off to Indian Wells we went. Of course we stopped for lunch before continuing our 2 hour drive. It always amazes me of the amount of traffic in California. It took a little longer to drive but we arrived in Palm Springs safe and sound. (this is where our hotel was.) We checked in and relaxed for a while and then headed to Indian Wells. What a beautiful place.

It was so fun to see these professional tennis players play. You see them on TV all the time but here they are right in front of your face.

(Fish and Rodick)

Andy Murray was practicing on the practice courts and a few times he walked right up to where I was standing. Mike had walked off to watch some other players warm up so I was by myself when Murray came close to me. He looked up but I just smiled at him. Mike asked why I didn't say hi or say hey Andy say hi Trudi. I told him I didn't want to bother him and I was afraid I would get kicked out. He just laughed. This picture proves how close he was to me. I didn't take the really close ones cuz it just seemed weird so at least I can say I smiled at him.:) We spent Thursday- Saturday there. We didn't go watch any tennis on Saturday. We packed up and headed back to the airport on Saturday. I kept saying to Mike, "I wish we could stay a couple more days. I'm not ready to go home". Home is where we went though. The only tragedy was Mildred our cat got hit and was dead on the side of the road. The kids called Thursday to say they thought it was her on the side of the road. They did a check and sure enough it was her. Ashley and Jase scooped her up in a garbage bag and put her by the fence for Mike to bury when we got home. They were a little grossed out by her eye ball that was popped out. Sorry for the graphic details. It was hard to be back home but, you gotta get back to reality some time. I hope next year we can go again and stay a little longer. Just have to say I love being with my husband. To hold hands, laugh and talk together. I can honestly say he always makes me laugh. I hope there are many more years of laughter with him.

Valentines Day:)

So Valentines day is to be about love. There are lots of things that I love. Some of those things are my FAMILY and my young women. To show my love... I started the day off with the famous heart shaped pancakes with sausage. (looks gross .)

Mandy reminded me of a year when I came to the kids school and brought them a little gift. She told me how awesome that was. I figured shoot this is Ashley's last year, I can do it again. I bought them things that they love to eat and a little balloon to embarras them. Ashley was at seminary. Her seminary principal took care of embarrasing her. Mandy was called up to the attendance office. Suzanne insisted that we take a picture so here is the only picture with my kids and their gifts. (Mandy of course got Oreos. Ash chocolate covered pretzels and swedish fish. Jase oreos, Ellie hershey bars, Brook got skittles) They loved it. I gave the kids' teachers, my ladies I visit teach and my counselors shovels with candy. It said, "I Dig YOU".
My young women got M & M's and a container with sweet hearts and some popcorn.

I spent the night with my young women decorating cookies and cutting out tons of hearts to heart attack the bishop and the girls who weren't there. They had so much fun decorating and then knocking and running to the get away car.
Of course I didn't forget about my man:) He got a bunch of goodies and a yummy cafe rio homemade dinner. Lame I know but that's our life around here. Hope everyone had a "LOVEly" valentines day!

Miracles Do Exist

I know it has been well over a year since my last words have been written. I had pretty much decided that I wouldn't ever be writing in this blog again. So why the change of mind..... Great question!!! I read Misti's blog which I try to do every week and then some others. I thought what the heck I'll read my last blog. There are so many things I had forgotten about my shoulder surgery. This made me think.... Wow if I hadn't written this down, I would have forgotten many things that occured at that time. So if anything, I should blog to keep a record of life since I do a poor job in my journal. So here is my attempt to blog again:) So forgive me those who truly blog well. I will be doing this more as a journal. Sorry I know it's lame. Since Christmas and a couple of trips to St. George, life is calming back down into a routine. Ellie and Jase are playing Jr. Jazz basketball. Mandy is starting club volleyball and preparing for softball tryouts. (sorry no pictures yet) I am still the young women's president so this keeps me going too:)In the next few weeks, I'll be redoing my bathroom and my office. I'm looking forward to some building. (mostly for my office.)

So I didn't get this posted but I am almost done with my bathroom. I'll add the before pictures now and when it's decorated I'll do the finishing touches. So here goes the bright bathroom. So I want to share some things that happened with redoing the bathroom. You will see that I went with a boring tan. It makes so I don't paint for a while. The mirror needed to be moved to be able to do the trim and change the lights. As Celeste and I were pulling, the mirror broke. Not good. So in order to have it done we ran to Tooele to find a mirror. Thank goodness Home Depot had a mirror that was 3X5. We finished putting the mirror up in time. Mike still doesn't know about the breakage. The next day we built the shelves. The one closest to my sink I wanted left open for easy access but I might be changing my mind. Now I need to touch some things up and decorate. But this is close. Not easy though:)

I am ALIVE! (barely)

Well, it has been 3 weeks and 4 days since my shoulder surgery. I'm finally feeling up to working on the computer and using both hands to type this. I'm not suppose to be out of my sling, but I figured that if I have started physical therapy, what better therapy could I have than computer work. I had shoulder surgery on October 21st. I ended going to the hospital later than I was suppose to, so I ended up spending the night at the hospital. When I finally came out of it, and got to my room, it was 8 at night. When Mike told me that they ended up doing my rota tor cuff, I almost bawled. Then when I found out that I had to share a room with someone else, I finally caved and started crying. Mike was sweet and asked what was hurting. I told him nothing, I just need to cry. I'm sure he left the hospital shaking his head. My instincts where correct about sharing a room with someone else. I had a long night, cuz the lady I shared it with, had problems with her IV. Also, during the night I moved and felt really sick. I grabbed the bucket just in time and threw up and threw up. That was the only time I was glad to have a roommate. She called the nurse who helped me feel better. It was a long night to say the least. I only got 2 hours of sleep. I called Mike early and told him to get to the hospital asap. He arrived around 10:30 and helped me get dress. Not an easy thing and still isn't, but getting easier. I started physical therapy last Friday and boy am I stiff. I figured I better try keeping out of the sling so it can loosen up. I have realized how grateful I am that I have 2 hands. You have no idea what you do everyday using both hands. I am also that I have a patient husband and children who for the most part have picked up the slack. Also, a wonderful friend who has picked up my house, washed and curled my hair, and has done my calling. She has made my life better. I plan on taking pictures of the suture areas, but Celeste has my camera. Those will come later. If this story is written crazy, blame it on the drugs!

Swimming like freakn fish

Okay, not a nice title, but I took it from Ellie's swimming teacher. The last two weeks, we have lived at Deseret Peak for swimming lessons. Brooke was in the beginners class, Ellie is level 3 and Jase level 5. Jase has spent the last 2 weeks swimming laps. I am amazed he passed. He was suppose to be in level 4 but the class was full so they bumped him to level 5. He can swim good, just not as fast with some of the strokes as the others that are in his class. Ellie according to her teacher can swim like a freakn fish. She can swim quite well. When it comes to diving, she has no fear. She can even do a back flip off of the diving board. (not that it is required in swimming lessons.) Then there is Brooke. Before swimming lessons, she practiced in the shower with me shooting the water at her face. She would blow the air out and not plug her nose. She worked on it at swimming lessons and was able to go under the water without plugging her nose. When we would stay after, she would walk around the water and dive under the water. It was hard keeping track of that girl. Most of the time I would spot her behind before her face cuz she was always under the water. I enjoy swimming lessons cuz it makes me get out in the sun and get some sun. I am as tan as Mandy. She can't believe it. She thinks I am more red than tan. We will see in a week or so.

This weekend has brought another softball game. Ellie's team played in the Riverton tournament. They are one of those teams that can beat all the bad teams but fall apart against the great teams. Some of those girls are bigger than Mandy. (and have boobs) Ellie especially struggles. When her team starts getting beat her emotions get the best of her and so does the pressure. The throws are off and when she screws up the tears come. I am glad that she is so competitive but she is to the extreme. I am sure that it doesn't help that she has to change how she throws in order to play third. Her arm is meant to be a short stop or second baseman. She has to release higher in order to make the throw. Hopefully she will learn to just have fun and not stress about the game so much. I just want her to do her best.

The summer keeps moving...Tell it to slow down!

Since I last blogged, so much has happened. Ellie was baptized on June 19th. She was a little bumbed that more cousins weren't there but she did have a few come. Tanner came and Morgan Wilson, Max and Macey. She was so funny when she was baptized. We went into the dressing room after being baptized and she giggled and giggled. I couldn't figure if it was because she was embarrassed cuz I was seeing her undress or because she was so happy to be baptized. We had a little luncheon afterwards and then we went and watched Mandy finish her softball tournament. She played pretty good and grandma and grandpa Turek were impressed that it was such good quality ball. Mandy's team ended up taking 3rd place. I think she was happy with that. The team who took first had been beaten by Mandy's team in pool play. They were some big girls. The next week I spent getting ready to go to the summer games. I went back to the orthopedic surgeon and had a cortisone shot. I was hoping to be able to survive the weekend without dying. I survived but my body was exhausted. We played on Friday and Saturday. I was able to watch Ellie's first game and then I had to leave for the summer games in Cedar. It was a lot of fun. I loved spending time with those girls and ladies. We ended up in the Gold bracket and took the bronze medal. The team who took us out of championship game gave us a run for our money. We were pretty well matched and they ended up beating us in 3. By The time we were finished, we were spent. We were lucky to beat the last team to take the bronze medal. The next couple of days I had the sorest muscles. I haven't hurt that bad since college days. On Monday I woke up not feeling so hot. I just got sicker and sicker. It took me the rest of the week to recover from puking and pooping. The next weekend was the Wilson reunion and the 4th of July weekend. I decided to help me recover, it was best to stay home. So Brooke and I stayed while the others went to Cedar. I was just glad that it wasn't me who had to host the reunion this year. Celeste took Brooke on Saturday to the parade and then kept her all day. I came over to their house that night for a BBQ and fireworks. It was a nice day to have peace and quiet. The family came home Sunday night so no more peace and quiet. They came home cuz Jase has been taking tennis lessons and the kids started swimming lessons. We have spent the week at the pool. Brooke has no fear which is good and bad. Jase is in level 5 so he spends it swimming laps. Ellie is just content to do whatever. Just don't get her giggling. I told Mike today that the next 5 weekends would be spent at the softball fields in various parts of Salt Lake and Davis and Provo county. He thinks that is crazy I say it is a lot of nervousness that this mom has to go through. So the summer keeps moving and it is not slowing down. Before I know it, school will be back in session.