Naki and Lindsay

It was so much fun to have Naki and Lindsay visit.  We were able to get to know Lindsay and we are so happy that Naki is marrying such a wonderful girl.  They were able to do some sight seeing and came back to the apartment every night to play Skip Bo.  Of course they are pros and I didn't stand a chance.  One day they came to the ranch to visit me and look around.  They picked oranges and lemons and enjoyed the sights.  They also went fishing with Dad and got to see how they stock the lake with fish.  That night we went to the buffet at Valley View Casino for dinner.  These are pictures of them sitting high up on the parking garage.

Naki was very taken by the pool far below.

Thanks for coming to visit!!  It was fun to have you and we look forward to coming to your wedding.

January in California

Okay, so I figured I needed to get my blog updated.  After all it has been at least a month.  Christmas was great in Utah, but I had to come back too soon.  Don, Marie and Beth came down to visit for New Year's and mine and Marie's birthday.  We had a great time even though it rained a good deal of the time they were here.  We played Tonk or Quibbler at night and laughed until we cried and our sides ached.

Don't you just love our card table.

We put together a puzzle of Bear Lake, well Garden City actually complete with Le Beau's, Bear Lake Pizza, and the Bear Lake Monster.

Sunday after church Kamden, Stefanie, Kylee, George, and the twins came for dinner.  It was great to get together with everyone and catch up.  It's been a long time since I have seen them and I have never seen the twins.  They are very cute.

The very next Sunday Sione and Lorien brought Tevita down to stay with me.  Sione and Lorien were able to go visit friends and enjoy three good days here.  Thank you so much for bringing Dad here to be with me.  It has been wonderful to finally have my husband here with me.  The only time in our marriage that we have ever been just the two of us is between the time we were married and when Ela was born.  We are learning how to be companions to each other after 31 years and I have to say it is going well.  Of course, it kind of helps that he doesn't know any other Tongans here yet to hang out with instead of me.

On the 15th we went fishing at the Oceanside Pier where Dad caught two little fish.  Then we went to the Oceanside Harbor were we had a great dinner of Mahi Mahi for Dad and salad for me.  Today, the 22nd we went fishing at Lake Poway.  It was a gorgeous day in the low 70's.  Dad fished all day but didn't catch anything.  The people next to us caught 3 huge trout.  Dad is anxious to go back next Saturday and beat them to the spot where they were so he can catch the fish next week.  After fishing we went to Dad's new favorite Chinese buffet in San Marcos.  They have practically a whole steam table of nothing but fish. 

Lake Poway was really pretty, small by Utah standards and crowded with fishermen.  I went for a hike up this hill.

The trail goes all around the lake and even over to Lake Ramona.  Next time we go Dad wants to rent a boat.  It's only $16 per day for a little fishing boat.  I plan on hiking all around the lake 2.7 miles.  We miss the family, but it is nice getting to know each other all over again.  Love to everyone.

Christmas at the Ranch

So every since the last football game when we got snowed on, my camera has been a little fuzzy.  I'm sure that I have either ruined it, or gotten it out of focus.  I have taken pictures with my phone also, but can't find the cord to download them to my computer, so I'm in a pickle.  Hopefully when I come home for Christmas, one of my children who is tech savy will rescue me.  Until then, you will have to see slightly fuzzy pictures on my blog. 

Dr. Young is a Christmas decoration fanatic.  Christmas decorations are his hobby and we start putting them up the end of October every year.  He says that putting together the village scenes is his therapy and he does an amazing job of it.  I would like to take you on a tour of the village starting with the front door.

After you enter the door, you encounter the main Christmas tree and the Christmas village.

As you can see, it is too big to fit in one picture.  Next comes smaller pictures of the village.

I wish you could see all the moving parts on the houses and all the little details on the streets.  There are even 2 boats on the water.  There are little people dancing and ice skating.

The hills are actually the sofas in the living room covered in quilt batting.

The train tracks go around the entire display and the train runs either as fast or as slow as you want.  My personal favorite is the little sleighing hill with sleigh riders going down continually.  I don't have a good picture that you can make this out.  Also by the village is a life-size Santa.

All I could think was how much the grandkids would like to see this.  The pictures are too fuzzy, but there is a Christmas tree in every room along with an incredible Santa collection.  One of these years, we will have to have Christmas down here in California so all of you can see this.  The outside lights are pretty amazing too, but again my camera is having issues.

Merry Christmas everyone, can't wait to see all of you.

November Good Times

You know the saying "How time flies when you're having fun."  Well, November flew by and was lots of fun.  We had lots of great family times, like tailgating before the Hawaii game.

Then, of course, the skies opened up during the game and rained and rained.  We all got very wet and cold.  Sione was the hero with his tarps and Ela had lots of rain ponchos for everyone.  All in all, good family times.

November also brought contrasts in temperature for me.  One weekend, I'm laying out by the pool, soaking up the sun.

The next weekend, I'm sitting in snow for a football game and white knuckle driving through the snow and rain home to Provo. 

We had wonderfully spiritual and family times with Clayton's blessing.  Scott did a beautiful job with the blessing and Fia and Scott did a great job with the family get together afterwards.  Thanks Fia and Scott for the family day.

Then, of course, November brings Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday.  It was a good day to stay inside, be warm, and eat.  Everyone contributed to the meal and it was enjoyed by all. 

Last of all was the annual Christmas parade on Center Street.  We started out with dinner at Brick Oven and then proceeded to Center Street.  The parade was sporadic, but culminated with Santa coming to Provo.  Tre was most excited to see Darth Vadar and the Star Wars group and couldn't wait for Santa.  All in all a good month with a great family. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Happy Halloween everyone.  Yes, this is a Halloween Tree in the office with all sorts of little halloween decorations and witches.  I know I'm technolocally impaired and can't figure out how to rotate the picture, so look at it with your head bent to the side.

Dr. Young is a huge fan of the holidays, so we have a Halloween Tree, Thanksgiving Tree, and about 15 Christmas Trees.  I will get pictures of the other trees as the holidays approach.

There are also a lot of witches and a wizard.

Also a very spooky Halloween Village.

Hope everyone has a great Halloween.  Wish I could be there to see all the little ones trick or treat.  I bought full size candy bars just in case any of the kids in the apartment complex come here.  If no one comes, guess I'll be bringing them home for the next game.

Braveheart Women's Event

Okay, so all of you who know me know that I am not the best event planner in the world.  Holidays and family dinner are about all I can manage.  You also know how badly I stress over these simple events.  Normally I am not a huge worrier, but events that I have to be in charge of stress me out.  I worry about whether the venue is okay, there will be enough food, what food to serve, how everyone is going to like it, etc.  If there is something to worry about, I will worry about it.  That's why you will laugh when you see that I was in charge of setting up an event for 60 women at the ranch.  I can't claim to have done this myself and if I would have been left with the previous kitchen staff, we probably couldn't have managed this great event.  In the end, it turned out beautifully.

The women were all from the Braveheart Group lead by Ellie Drake.  If you want to check it out go to http://www.braveheartwomen.com/.  It is a networking site for women who want to make a difference in their families and communities.  The name of the event was RESTORE and was designed to teach the women about alkalizing and how it can bring them to better health.

The staff I have at the ranch are amazing and helped me get everything set up on Saturday so we would be ready bright and early Monday morning when the buses arrived.  We had three venues; the pool for the majority of food and cooking demonstrations,

The classroom at the office where Dr. Young and Shelley both spoke, and then our own Palm Grove.  This is a gorgeous area down further on the property that involved some transportation issues, but ultimately was worth it.

I can't say that everything went without a hitch, but it did go well and I was exhausted after setting everything up on Saturday and then coordinating events on Monday.  It was a great experience though and I'm so glad that I had the opportunity. 

During the event Dr. Young talked about "The Box".  This box contains everything you need to gain health.  It also comes complete with a one day retreat to the ranch where you can learn the program, experience the atmosphere first hand, and sample our great alkaline food.  The women were very taken with "The Box" and it was a hit.

Sorry, I can't figure out how to rotate "The Box" so you can view it properly.

This is Rainbow Salad, one of the yummy foods the ladies were served.  We also had delicious wraps, veggie pizza, 2 different pates on seed crackers, soy pudding, seed pancakes, and vegan chili.  The food was delicious and Shelley and the kitchen staff were amazing.

All in all it was a great day.  Who wouldn't be restored when you can spend the day learning about how to be healthy, enjoying good food, good service, and good company.  Of course, the view helped too.