Family and Friends Visit Park City

Had a great time with my family and friends this past week. My mom, dad, brother and good friend, Jim Martin stayed with us for a week. We walked around town a bit, hiked, biked, relaxed, played games, had several ping-pong matches, watched a few concerts, had great food and drinks, and had an all-around great time.

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We also celebrated Independence Day with the Wilsons. Tim and Jeannette Wilson were here with their boys, too. We got up early to get a good spot for the parade, then went to the city park for a picnic and concert. Tim stayed at the concert with the kids and I went back to our place with my family for a quick nap and a bite to eat. We had "Shabu Shabu," which is Japanese "pot-style" cuisine. It was quite delicious!

After dinner, we went to Tim and Jeannette Wilson's condo and watched Fireworks from the golf course. It was quite cold on the golf course and we were all snuggled in blankets. The fireworks were spectacular! And, they were followed by a personal set of fireworks that went off right above our heads...crazy!!! I've never seen them that close before and it was quite the experience. Earlier in the evening people were setting off fireworks all over the golf course. Turner had a few ground fireworks that he showed off, too. Personal fireworks are illegal in AZ; so it was cool to see people's personal displays here in PC.

You can check out our 4th of July celebrations below. Be sure to see Turner's pie eating contest!

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Trip to Cali

My youngest sister, Erika, graduated from Cal State Long Beach May 26th. My parents (Jim and Linda), my Grandma Martha (Jim's mom), my brother John and my other sister Erin all went to Cali to celebrate and have some fun!

I flew in Tuesday and the rest of my family drove and get there Tuesday night. The grad ceremony was Wednesday and we were up till like 2am celebrating.

We stayed in a house in San Clemente. It was a lovely little home with a nice back yard and ping-ping table. We played more ping-pong than I have in my entire life! And, I have a ping-pong table!

Spent some time on the beach, went to a Polynesian Festival, walked around town, ate out, ate in, had ice cream (yum), watched movies (saw "Blind Side" finally) and just had a fantastic time.

The only down side was that Tim and the kids had to stay home. The kids didn't get out of school until June 3rd and we didn't want to take them out of school not knowing what the consequences of that would be. I missed them; but had a fantastic time!

Click below to see the photos.

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Update - May 3, 2010

We are all doing well, and have a few things to report.

~Rocky has adjusted well after Sheba’s death. He actually stopped running away. He just hangs out with us outside now, without darting off. It's rather bizarre, really, because he's been a runner since we got him almost five years ago. We think he feels more part of OUR “pack” now that Sheba is gone. Or, he may sense that something bad will happen if he leaves, since that's what happened to Sheba. In any case, we sure are glad that bad habit has been extinguished!

~Although the tragedy of Sheba's accident will be forever etched in our minds, we have all adjusted rather well and things seem to be back to a new state of "normal."

~Turner made a miraculous change for the better, too. He came back from spring vacation with a new lease on life her in Utah. The first week back was a little rough. But after that, everything seemed to change. He no longer tells me he wants to move back and has made some great friendships with a few boys here that he now plays with regularly. Thank the Lord!!! :)

~Em and I signed up with an agent to be "extras" for movies here in Utah. We're not intending on making a career out of this or anything. It's just an easy way to pick up some quick cash. Nevertheless, we're still attending acting classes in case we want to audition of any minor speaking parts. They're shooting for "John Carter of Mars" with Willem Defoe this weekend; but we'd have to drive to Lake Powell and they're not compensating for transportation for extras because they went over budget. Em and I would each get $300; but we'd also have to camp or pay to stay in a hotel. So, I think we might have to pass this one up. There are several other films coming up, though, including High School Musical 4, which Emily will have a chance to be in. Hopefully we'll have some exciting news to share later in the month. :)

~Tim's loving working from home and has adjusted well. He's still been traveling, though, which is not appealing. But, he'll be home for a couple of weeks before traveling again.

~Things are going okay with my business. I'm finding clients in the SLC area; but not in PC. I'm now redirecting my efforts toward my next book. No ideas about when I'll get it done, though, as it's MUCH larger than the last. I'm actually considering trying to find a publisher for this one.

Anyway, that's the scoop for now. We sure do miss our AZ friends and family and are feeling a little "cabin fever" with all the cold weather. But, we know the tides will change and are optimistic for our future here. Please drop us a note if you get a chance. We'd love to hear from you, too! :)

Love and Blessings,
Gina

SNOW!!!

I find it so fascinating that it can be warm and sunny one day and snowing like the dickens the next! Almost all our snow was melted and now everything is covered by a thick, white blanket. It hasn't stopped snowing all day and we have at least a foot of accumulation. In light of Tuesday's tragedy, the snow is a welcome diversion. I thought I'd share these beautiful (and funny) photos...


































Turner went out to measure the snow. He is in his boxers, my boots and his dad's jacket. Rocky went out to "play" with him. In his playfulness, Rocky jumped up on Turner...















knocked him over and began to lick him. The really funny thing was that Turner had his arms inside his jacket and couldn't move. He was laughing...I was laughing. It was hilarious!!!















The lighter photo on the left was taken from my office window (you can see the reflection). There is a beautiful blue hue saturating the air...so peaceful. It's like something from a movie. The darker photo was taken outside our front door, looking out at the snow falling. It's so beautiful! :)



I

Tragedy

We lost our beloved dog Sheba today. She was on the side yard with Turner, heard the UPS truck coming and darted out to "attack" it. She lunged at the truck and was struck. Turner, unfortunately, witnessed the accident. We all immediately ran out; but, it was too late. We think she died instantly...we hope so, anyway. It is such a tragedy and she will be dearly missed. We are all in shock and it will take time to heal our broken hearts.

We respectfully ask that you do NOT personally call us to express condolences. We are all in a very fragile state and just need time to heal. We loved her so very much.

We hope you enjoy the photos below of Sheba's life with us.

Love and Blessings,
Tim, Gina, Emily and Turner



The day we chose Sheba at the dog shelter. She was about 9 months old and very malnourished.

She was an Australian Cattle Dog and had beautiful markings. You'll see her beautiful eyes in some of the photos. One of her eyes had blond eye lashes and the other had black with this distinctive black liner around the eye. She looked Egyptian.





Rocky and Sheba with Emily and Turner, shortly after we got both of them (Rocky was rescued by some neighbors in the New Mexico mountains when he was about 4 months old).












Emily with Sheba and Rocky in 2008.

She loved to be with the kids. While they were at school, she would typically be in my office with me and Rocky.










Turner with Sheba in 2009.

She was a very sweet dog; but also protective. She didn't like anyone messing around with the kids.










Rocky and Sheba loved to play. The would wrestle around all the time. She was an alpha female; so both were always trying to see who the "top dog" was.











This last one was taken just yesterday. She would sit like a cat on the top of the fence. I'm still not sure how should could balance on only a couple of inches like that.

We have so many fond memories of her and will miss her so very much.

Good bye our furry little friend. We love you!

Freak Accident

It's interesting how life's biggest "accidents" seem to come out of nowhere. Last week, after a day of skiing, I was moseying down a catwalk (a relatively flat ski run that gets you from one run to another). I wasn't going particularly fast or doing anything fancy. I was in my "happy place" simply skiing along. Out of the blue, I caught an edge and veered off the run into a tree. It happened so quickly that I barely had time to respond. I put my left arm up ( the one I hurt the week prior tumbling down a double-black run) to try and cushion the blow and luckily got my skis shifted to the right a bit before plowing into the tree (two trees, actually).

After crashing into the tree, I popped upwards and fell onto my back into an almost fetal-like position. I was now wedged between the tree and the mountain and could move nothing but my arms.

Several people rushed over to help. I could see faces peering over the side while two guys immediately hurried down the steep slope to assist me. People were shouting, "Are you okay? Do you need a medic?" All I could say was, "I don't know." Finally, I said, "Just give me a minute. I can tell my head is fine. No issues with a concussion or anything. But, my back...I feel a lot of pain and can't move. Can someone help me move?" Everyone refused to move me for fear of paralyzing me. I said, "I can feel pain. I just can't move because I'm stuck. I really need help moving from this position."

After some effort, the two guys who had climbed down to help were able to clip me out of my skis. I was then able to use the tree limbs above to pull myself upward so that I could shift my hips back. Once I got to a somewhat sitting position, I was able to move my legs. I said, "I'm in a lot of pain; but think I'm okay." They guys asked for permission to help move me and the two of them (one up hill and one down) were able to get me up the mountain slope. It was probably about an 8-foot drop; so it took some effort.

Once on the run again, I was able to clip back in my skis and gingerly get myself down the rest of the run. Tim was in Vegas, so he wasn't available to help. I had been skiing with our friend, Theresa Hoyt (a colleague of Tim's), and she was waiting for me at the bottom wondering what had happened. On the gondola ride down (and still in shock), I shared the story.

Three days later, I am still in a lot of pain and have a nasty bruise. However, I am getting better. Where I couldn't even walk the evening after the accident, I am able to get around pretty well now. The doc took xrays and it's not broken...thankfully. However, I have very deep muscle bruising that will take time to heal.

To the right, you'll see two photos. The first was taken a few hours after the accident. The second photo was taken two days after the accident. I have bruising on about half of my outer, left thigh (a little toward the back). However, there was muscle damage all over the leg, including my upper quad, making it difficult to move around.

Some of you may wonder if I will ski again after such a terrifying experience. The answer is "absolutely yes!!!" Considering I could walk out my front door, trip, fall, hit my head and die, I think I'll take my chances skiing. At least I'm having a great time!!! :)

Visit from Brinkmans

We had a wonderful 10 days with my parents! They came to visit the 10th-20th and we had a blast! Didn't want to let them go home. :(

We hung out, played games and watched the Olympics in our cozy living room. It was nice to relax a bit.

My dad and I went to yoga twice a week and Mom tried it out a couple of times, too.

My dad and I also went skiing I think the only day it was sunny outside. It was really fun!


Throughout the ten days we walked around downtown, did a little window shopping, and enjoyed the sites. We stopped in a shop that had HUGE mountain dogs. I snapped a photo of the kids sitting with two of them. There were "4" total sprawled out in a very small space.









To the left is a picture of my mom with OUR dogs...certainly dwarfed by the huge dogs to the right. Our dogs think they're "lap dogs", as you can tell by the photo. But, my mom enjoyed snuggling with them. They're just too sweet to resist. '-)


We celebrated my parents anniversary on the 13th at Bistro Toujours (a pre-Valentines' Day for Tim and I).

The restaurant was quite a ways away from our house and the snow conditions were worsening as we headed into the mountains toward Deer Valley. The snow was amazing! We made it safely and had a spectacular dinner.






We also had the pleasure of celebrating my dad's birthday on the 19th at our house. Tim made ribs, which was quite the treat for everyone but Emily and I (we don't eat ribs).

Quite the festivities!






Our last "hoorah" was a farewell at the "No Name Saloon" (my dad's favorite place). We enjoyed some drinks and appetizers (and a little snow) before taking my parents to the airport for a tearful departure back to Arizona.