Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad’s 70th...umm...I mean...uh...today is my Dad's 29th birthday. I was invited to go with him to lunch at Ruby River, yum!

Counterclockwise around the table starting with Kent: Kent, Me holding Kent III, my Uncle Charles (Dad’s brother who also works at my parents shop), my sister Melinda, my Dad, my Mom, Jose’ (he works at my parents shop and his birthday is also March 19th so he was invited to lunch), and last but not least my nephew Matt (Melinda’s son who also works at my parents shop):



It was very tasty and I was grateful to be able to share in celebrating a very special man's very special day.

Happy Birthday Dad!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

May the Irish Hills caress you
May Her lakes and rivers bless you
May the Luck of the Irish enfold you
May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you

I think St. Patrick's Day is a very underrated holiday. Obviously I don't participate in the drinking of green beer or trying to get people to kiss me because I am Irish (if the time ever comes that I need to try to get my husband to kiss me, I will don a shirt with the appropriate logo) but despite the normal shenanigans associated with this holiday, most people don't even acknowledge it. In the past there hasn't been much I thought we could do to celebrate the holiday, I always wore green and encouraged those around me to do the same (pinches can have a great effect on people and what they wear) but didn't do much else until this year when I was inspired by my sister Rachel's blog. In an archived post she mentioned how when she was young her family used to eat green eggs and ham on St. Patrick's Day and read the book by Dr. Seuss. I felt this was a great idea but instead of green eggs and ham, I decided to plan a dinner where everything was green (even if not naturally so).

Below is a picture of our St. Patrick's Day feast, not pictured are the mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches we had for dessert.

12:00 - 1:30: Brussels sprouts (if you like Brussels sprouts you would love the way Kent prepares them, if you don't like Brussels sprouts you would love the way Kent prepares them)
3:00 - 5:00: Chicken (dyed green with food coloring) covered in sautéed green peppers
6:00 - 8:00: Corn bread (dyed green with food coloring)
9:00: Green beans
All served on a green plate of course. :)



(If most of this information is a repeat from a previous post, forgive me and skip ahead.) Monday is the day we have scheduled for the reading tutor that is helping Samantha. Usually the reading tutor, Pam, only sees students in her home; however she made an exception to a good friend and was willing to drive to the friend's house in another city to teach her children. Meanwhile my sister Sallie needed a tutor for her son, Donovan, and asked her good friend who lives nearby (the same good friend of Pam's) about her children's tutor and was recommended she call Pam. Because Pam was already in the other city once a week she agreed to meet with Donovan at his home rather than hers. And then Samantha needed a tutor and I was recommended Pam. Because we live north of the city she meets in with the other three students and Pam's home town would be quite a drive for us she agreed to meet with us in the middle of the two towns at my parent’s house (which is in the same city as my sister and her friend). So, on Mondays we usually hang out at my parent’s house between 4:00 - 5:00 while Samantha has her lesson. To save Pam time and energy Sallie also meets at my parent’s house instead of her own since Donovan's lesson is right after Samantha's.

OK, now to the real part of the story. As a thank you to my parents for opening up their home to us each week I usually make my parents dinner on Monday nights. But, today was no ordinary day, it was St. Patrick's Day!, so they also got an all green meal. :) (Instead of green beans though, they got broccoli.) The kids and I usually leave my parents house around 5:15ish, sometimes before or slightly after my parents get home from work. Today they didn't get home until after 6:00 so I asked my sister to put the cornbread in and start the broccoli steaming around 5:50.

About the time I imagined my parents would be sitting down to dinner I got a phone call from my Mom. :) She was giggling and asked if they dared eat the green chicken. :) (Savannah had actually commented to me when I was dying it, "Don't you think Grandma is going to think that chicken is bad?!" It did look pretty bad but I knew the food coloring wouldn't change the taste so I just finished preparing their chicken and stuck it in the oven.) I smiled happily while on the phone and said, "Happy St. Patrick's Day!". My Mom admitted they had already started eating and that the food was really good, despite it's unappealing color. I told her I had forgotten to tell her I had gotten them dessert too, it was in the freezer, but not to worry, it was green too. :) This sent her into more laughter.

When we got off the phone a few seconds later I got a call from my Dad who, between laughter, said I should know he was the bravest Dad in the whole universe because he was willing to eat his daughter's green chicken. :) He said it was really good though (another of Kent's wonderful recipes) and thanked me for a meal he would never forget. :) My Dad even commented that Sallie, as she was leaving, told him to enjoy his green meal. My Dad thought she meant it was an eco-friendly meal, maybe made with organic ingredients or something but was finally able to make sense of her comment when my Mom started pulling green things out of the oven. :)

My parents are a lot of fun and I appreciate the wonderful sense of humor and love of laughter they helped instill in me. :) I was excited to share a little silliness with them today.

So, a new, fun, silly tradition is born in our family, one I hope will continue on through the generations.

Before I sign off I wanted to share with you the following cute St. Patrick's Day graphics I found while perusing the internet:

Does it show that I am a child of the 80's?!



Just brought a smile to my lips...



I hope you had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day!!

Grandpa Hinkson

Kenneth Royal Hinkson
December 4th, 1928 - March 15th, 2008

Grandpa Hinkson passed away this afternoon surrounded by family and his sweetheart of 51 years.

I feel kind of numb and things don't seem clear to me, like I am walking in a haze. I can't seem to concentrate on anything or stay focused. I know he is in a good place, free of the pain and restrictions his body has burdened him with the past few years and that I will see him again but it is still very hard for me.

All my grandfathers passed away before I was born or when I was very young so I never really had any memories of a grandpa. Grandpa Hinkson happily jumped right in to fill that roll for me and was everything I ever thought a Grandpa should be.

Grandpa Hinkson is a great man. He is full of love and laughter. He was always kind to me, accepted me as his granddaughter and was thrilled to have Savannah and Samantha as his very first great grandchildren. He never treated us as anything less than family.

The first memories I have of Grandpa Hinkson are of him picking up Kent and I at our hotel while we were on our honeymoon to drive us to his house to have dinner with Grandma and him. The whole ride there he told jokes non-stop. The sillier the better. Ones that would make other people groan and smile always made Grandpa laugh heartily. And if it was a blonde joke, all the better! And no one appreciated Grandpa's jokes more than Grandpa. He was usually the one laughing the hardest, even if it was the umpteenth time he was telling it. He and I shared the same kind of sense of humor, I was always an eager audience to hear his jokes and laughed almost as much as he did.

He leaves behind generations that have been influenced and loved by him. I only had the privilege of knowing Grandpa Hinkson a little over 6 years but his example and love will stay fresh with me until I see him again.

Grandpa Hinkson will be remembered lovingly and often, especially when I hear an extra silly joke.

I sure love you Grandpa Hinkson!!

Saturday

This morning Kent and I decided to check out a few yard sales that had been advertised. Only in Utah would people hold a yard sale on a day forecasted to have snow. :) (It never snowed by the way. :() There wasn't anything too special, I got a few kids books and some jammies and bed linens for Kent III.

Kent then took me to breakfast at Golden Corral. I love their breakfast! So many tasty choices! I love, love, love their chipped beef on toast and they are one of the few places you can still get grits.

After breakfast we came home and I cleaned while Kent worked on the dresser he is making for our bedroom. By early afternoon I was so tired I could barely stand up so I went in and took a nap for over 2 hours! Kent was very kind and took care of Kent III while I was sleeping as well as finished getting the house ready for our friends coming over.

Peach went home with his new owners so now we are down to Red, Maroon and Purple (who we are keeping). Red and Maroon will be going home on Monday.

We had our friends over for a night of gaming. Even though I was still tired it was a lot of fun, I really enjoy hanging out with those people. They are witty, intelligent and just a lot of fun.

I saved this for last, not because it happened last in the day but because I wanted to put off writing about it as long as possible. The phone rang at 10:15 p.m., it was Dad H. He called to tell us Grandpa Hinkson was not doing well and was not expected to live very much longer. Dad is planning on driving to California tonight or taking a flight tomorrow morning. So now I guess we just wait...one of the worst parts...

Hosannas for Hannah!

This morning a bit after waking up I got a call from Mom H. asking if I had heard from Julie (Kent's brother Ralph's wife). I could only assume that question would lead into that she had had her baby. She had! Hannah Jean Hinkson was born today, March 7th at 6:19 a.m. weighing in at 8 lbs 2 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long. Congratulations Ralph and Julie!!

Apparently Julie had gone in for a stress test yesterday and her blood pressure was high while the baby's was low so they wanted to admit her for monitoring. Her water broke around 1:30 a.m. and Hannah was born about five hours later. This delivery was faster and easier than Julie's older daughter (she was in labor for 40+ hours with Amber, Julie is quite the woman!) so Julie was feeling great when I talked with her. Understandably by the time Kent III and I got ready for the day Julie was tired and wanted a nap so we put off going to visit her until later in the day.

While I did some cleaning I got a call from the PTA President at the girls' school. Today was the maturation program for the 5th and 6th graders and the PTA usually got some cookies for the kids and parents. Unfortunately, no one had volunteered to help gather refreshments and she had forgotten about it until that morning. She asked if I would be willing to pick up some cookies then she would do the same on her lunch break and between the two of us it should be covered. I told her I would be happy to do so and told her I got a Costco card for my birthday (thanks again Mom H.!) so would pick the cookies up there if it was ok. She told me she didn't have a card so I offered to just pick up all the cookies since I would be there anyway then she wouldn't have to take time during her lunch break and the local grocery store would probably be a lot more expensive. She agreed to let me get all the cookies and told me she had called on me because I am always willing to help and good in a pinch. That made me feel extra special as lately I have been feeling less than dependable and reliable.

Yesterday was my sister Melinda's birthday but her co-workers wanted to take her out to lunch yesterday so my parents opted to take her to lunch today. They kindly invited me to go along. So on my way to Ruby River I stopped at Costco and picked up the cookies. For 11 in the morning there sure were a lot of people there! The lines were very long! I was going to be about 10 minutes late to lunch and I had forgotten my cell phone at home. Doh! I tried to hurry and was worried until I pulled into the parking lot right in front of Melinda. You can't be late to a birthday lunch if the birthday girl isn't there yet, right? :)

Below is a picture of us at the restaurant. Left side front to back: My Mom, my nephew Matt (Melinda's son who works at my parent's shop) and my Dad. Right side front to back: Kent, Kent III, Me and Melinda



After lunch I had just enough time to stop at my house for some platters to put the cookies on and then get to the school to set up. The maturation program for the 6th grade girls was about health, exercise and body image. (Ironic they had cookies after, don't you think? :)) Alas sweet Kent III is getting too old to have at such things and I spent half the time with him in the hallway. It was ok with Savannah though, she didn't need my support and presence like she did last year when they talked about their periods and bodies.

The cookies seemed to be a big hit as several of the 6th grade boys took 3-4. The PTA President thought we would be ok though until the 5th graders walked in to the lunchroom looking for their treat. She had forgotten to add in the 5th grade classes when she asked me to pick up the cookies. Oopsie! Oh well...she said she would take them all a treat later.

After the maturation program I had to go pick up puppies from the vet. I pondered long and hard on how I was going to get six post surgery puppies home with only two carriers. They really shouldn't be together because they can aggravate the healing process. I finally realized the only way I could do it was picking up two at a time. The first run went smoothly and I was back at the vets in no time (they are only about 5 minutes from our house) but the second time the waiting room was jam-packed so I had to wait over 40 minutes before any techs were available to get two more puppies for me. That put a little time constraint damper on my schedule. (I still needed to finish straightening up the living room and make the birth certificate for the new owners coming at 5.) Kent was also late getting home from work because a costumer cornered him right before he was leaving work so when I got home I finished getting ready for the new owners before I went back for the last set of puppies. Luckily it didn't take too long but I hate feeling rushed and unprepared. Kent got home and that helped me relax a little and not feel so rushed. Kent stayed with Kent III while I went to get the last puppies. The last run was like the first and I was out of there in less than 5 minutes (the waiting area was completely empty). And then the new owners called to say they were stuck in traffic and would be late. Woot! That gave us time to eat dinner before they showed up. Shortly after Multi went home with his new owner, Fawn's owners arrived. They stayed and talked for a bit and when they left we got a call from Julie.

I had called her earlier in the day to let her know I had a crazy schedule and probably wouldn't be able to visit until the evening. She was wondering if we still planned on coming by. We told her we would love to if she was up for the visit. She graciously allowed us to come over even though it was almost 9. We quickly jumped in the car and headed to the hospital only to realize a few blocks away that we had forgotten the flowers we had for her and the roses Ralph had us get for her. A quick turn around and a trip into the house and we were back on our way.

Julie looked great and Hannah is adorable! You forget how very tiny they are when they first arrive. It was great to see Julie and to meet Hannah when she was only 15 hours old (I wasn't able to visit Amber in the hospital because I was sick). Kent III kept trying to grab the baby so we just let him walk around the room. He enjoyed exploring, pushing buttons and trying to open and close drawers and cabinets. Julie said Amber did most of the exact same things when she was there earlier in the day. I guess those cousins do have things in common. :) We tried not to stay too long because it was late and Julie deserved some rest and because it was late and Kent III was getting cranky since it was after his bedtime. It was great to visit with Julie and to hold and cuddle Hannah. I am very excited for her and Ralph and know Ralph is on pins and needles until he visits from Iraq in April.

Adorable Hannah



Radiant Julie and adorable Hannah



Tonight after we got home from visiting Hannah and Julie I posted a few pictures of Hannah on our family website. Kent then commented that I had told Julie I wouldn't. I thought I had agreed not to post pictures of Hannah's diaper change but then got really worried so quickly had Kent take down the pictures of Hannah I had put up. After I thought about it for a moment I realized how wrong I was to post those pictures before Julie had a chance to do it herself. Of course it is the right of the mother or father to post pictures of their baby on a family website before anybody else does. Which I respect and agree with, I don't know what I was thinking. I just get so upset with myself when I do stupid things like that. I just got caught up and didn't think and could have potentially damaged relationships with people I care about and respect a great deal. Luckily I have a husband who has it together and helps me stay on the right path. Julie gets home on Sunday so look for pictures on our family website the beginning of next week and as soon as pictures are posted there I will post one here just so you can see how radiant Julie is and how very cute Hannah is.

Outrageous!

/rant on

We went to court this morning, Kent was testifying against the guy who hit him while Kent was crossing the street. We showed up and while we were getting out of the car Kent said, "There's the truck that hit me." as a big white truck pulled into the parking lot. As the guy got out Kent said, "And there's the guy that was driving." We went into the courthouse and waited in the foyer. We never saw the guy come into the courthouse so are not quite sure what happened to him. After about 15 minutes a man and a police officer came up to Kent and asked who he was. After he introduced himself to us as the city attorney assigned to the case (Kent recognized the officer as the one who took his statement after the incident) he told Kent unfortunately he didn't feel there was enough evidence to go forward with the case so they were going to dismiss it and they didn't need Kent to testify. Kent was upset and asked how that could be, didn't it matter that he could identify the truck? The attorney said no because people can lend their vehicles to others, the guy had never confessed and they didn't have a 100% identification of the guy driving. Kent asked if the guy had said he had loaned it out and the attorney said no, but that didn't matter. He offered to sign Kent's summons so Kent could receive his $15 witness fee, to which Kent said, "Do whatever you need to but I am not going to turn this in to get money I didn't earn."

Flashback: About three weeks after the incident Kent called the city attorney's office to found out what was going to happen with the case. He still had friends there from when he worked as a process server. The secretary/friend told him that they hadn't received anything about the incident yet and she would send an e-mail to the office asking about his report. Another month goes by and Kent hasn't heard anything so he calls back and is told they still don't have a report so she will send another e-mail to the officer ccing his supervisor. A month and a half goes by and Kent is finally summoned to testify. The day before the court hearing I called like I was supposed to, to make sure the case was still on and hadn't been dismissed or settled; it was still going forward.

So this is what I think happened: The officer didn't care much about the case because Kent was an older guy who really didn't get hurt so put off filing the report until his supervisor was made aware of it. The attorney didn't even read the case file until the morning of the hearing so never took the initiative to bring Kent in for a line-up or go over the details Kent so readily remembered, hence why the case was still on the day before when I called and why they didn't have enough evidence to go forward (if he had read the case file before today they could have gathered the necessary evidence). Both the police officer and the attorney didn't do their jobs and now the guy who almost ran down Kent is free without so much as a slap on the wrist.

I have a lot of faith in the Judicial system but I am outraged at what has happened here today. Our city does not have a high violent crime rate so the officers are not overtaxed taking care of murders, drug dealers and rapists. Why couldn't they take the time to look into this? If Kent had been elderly, he would be dead. If Kent had been deaf, he would be dead. If Kent had been a child, he would be dead. And that is my biggest concern, that this guy is going to think he got away with something, continue to speed down streets and one day hit and kill someone. I feel the officer and attorney dropped the ball and now something much more serious is going to have to happen for them to care and take this guy seriously.

I am just really upset. Kent hopes at least the guy got an attorney so is out some money.

/rant off

After leaving the court house I asked Kent if we could go to the grocery store, Mom H. was watching Kent III and I wanted to be able to just run in and out with what I needed. (It never ceases to amaze me how much extra time errands take when you take along 'lil ones. And as guilty as I feel sometimes, it is nice to go to the store alone.) Kent III did pretty good while with Mom H. He was fine up until about 15 minutes before we showed up and then started getting tired so started getting cranky. And about 5 minutes before we showed up he started getting really cranky. :) He was asleep before we got home. :)

For the first time in a long time I felt prepared for Scouts. I had all the things I needed ready and waiting. I didn't feel rushed or panicked and the Den Meeting went smoothly. Hopefully I will continue to have things together and be prepared prior to 5 minutes before Scouts starts. :)

Argh Matey! Today we be findin' buried treasure!

Hooray for teacher prep days and no school! The girls and I took the day easy, cleaned a little and played Pirate's Cove while eating Chinese food for lunch. :) The girls love that game so much they played it several times today. Savannah even played it all by herself! :) What a nut!

And when we went to my parents house for Samantha's reading tutor I found my lost keys! God sure loves me!

Apparently the guy across the street had found them near a tree in his yard where a big snow pile had been and called my Dad to ask if they had lost any keys. Hazzuh! (They must have fallen off my pocket when I went to help Jerry's dog three weeks ago. I was actually going to look for my keys today since all the snow had finally melted and then I didn't have to! Double Hazzuh!) He left them near my parents back door and I just happen to find them before my parents got home. (My Dad forgot to call me to let me know that John was going to leave them for me. It was a fun surprise though!)

I was really impressed and grateful John would take the time to try and track down the owners of the keys. (I got him some cookies and wrote him a thank you note). They are a little rusty but otherwise everything is intact. The little led flashlight I have on the keychain even still works! Triple Hazzuh!

Fun and Games

This morning Kent decided to take us to McDonalds for breakfast. Yum! I don't normally like McDonalds food except at breakfast. He told the girls to go get their shoes and coats on but wouldn't tell them where we were going. They were confused as to where we would be going in pajamas but did as they were told. They were excited when we pulled into McDonalds and Kent told them we were going to eat breakfast at home while playing Pirate's Cove. On the way back home we passed a ward building with members of Kent's Deacons Quorum going inside. Kent then realized they had a basketball game that morning so he dropped us off and then went back to the building to support the boys. (Alas the boys lost something like 48 to 16.)

While he was gone, Savannah decided to play Pirate's Cove she needed to dress up as a pirate. :) She wanted to surprise Kent when he got home so tried to quickly get ready. When he got home she jumped out of the hallway and in her best pirate accent said, "We been waitin' for ye to play Pirate's Cove!" :) She is just too much fun! We had a few things to do before we could start the game so Samantha dressed up too.

Those girls sure are a lot of fun and add so much joy and laughter to ours lives! I am so blessed to be their Mom and be a part of their life!