Happy New Year~

Joe and I decided to fly South for the winter storm. We had enough snow, and couldn't seem to drive North to see Josh and KayCee and their family with the storms, so we flip flopped our plans and are in Sunny California! We were driving Mason to get "chicken nuggets" from McDonald's and noticed the temperature in the car read 77 degrees. WOW.... Coming from 24 degrees the day we left it was a major heat wave. We are enjoying the nice weather and short sleeves while taking walks, riding bikes and enjoying what we won't have again next week.

Thanks Zach and Sara for letting us visit and enjoy Mason and all the wonderful Sunshine....

UTAH... BEST SNOW ON EARTH. Unless you're shoveling it!

The weather man was right!

The snow storm to go down in the record books did hit after all!

Christmas Day was a wonderful day. We enjoyed our gift exchange, a nice breakfast followed by a visit from Cory. He joined us to go visit Joe's Mom in SLC, since she was just moved to a new care center from St. George. We had planned to get on the road after that to stay with Josh and his family in Idaho Falls, but with the late start and the snow drifts that Josh said they were having, not to mention our impending snow storm; we decided to wait until morning when things were better and we were fresh to drive. HA! Um, we are still digging out. And have been since 1am... (Needless to say it's been a long or short night depending on how you look at it)

Here are some of the pictures that show the snow we received. Hmmmm, not sure when we'll get to Idaho now with the road conditions. YIKES~

It's beautiful and white...all the roads unplowed

The deck this morning.....Oh that hurts my back just looking it. (Manual Labor yuk)

Just keeps snowing....and snowing...

A few hours after the first snow blower run of the drive-way. Another 8" or so...

Blanket of snow when we opened the garage this morning...

White Christmas

( Picture taken off our deck looking out. AND...It's been snowing ever since'...)

It is definitely looking like a "White Christmas" at our place. I can't say I love the white stuff that is surrounding our house mainly because snow is cold, and not fun to drive in, shovel or step in while in stocking feet after the dogs tracked it in and you don't realize it! UGH.

However, it will make it a beautiful White Christmas for sure. Joe is out helping the UPS cause during their busy time, I'm home and have been out several times today trying to keep up with the snow until the snow blower pooped out on me. (I think I flooded it?! Too much heavy snow?) Our neighbor came to my rescue to finish the driveway at least, and Joe will have to help with all the walks, porch, deck and patio later. SORRY BABE, I TRIED! The weather man predicted at least 10" on this storm, followed by another. I think so far he is right. I do believe we have at least 8" of new snow so far.

Funny thing is that Ashley and I went to Las Vegas this week with Joe to get out of the snow and then....lo and behold it snowed there! It has been since 1974 that they had seen snow. We stayed in Henderson and they received 8". Funniest part was that nobody down there seemed to know what to do. The snow was all over the parking lots, etc... I guess they don't have snow shovels ready, or ice melt or snow plows! LOL. But, it did make for an interesting trip. Sadly enough it also caused me more anxiety and stress than usual driving in a big city with the road closures, and bumper to bumper traffic. All in all it only took me 2 1/2 hours to go 8 miles~ sigh.... OH WELL, we did get in a lot of great shopping, and hit the casino to let Ashley pull the handle now that she is 21. She said it is over-rated, and wasn't worth the money. (Good Girl!)

We also had few adventures finding an aquarium, and places to eat when the GPS was not giving us the best directions. Crazy and chaotic, but it was fun to have some girly time. Ü And we all made it home eventually despite the airport closures and delays. Yippee...No place like home!

Here is a picture of the hotel pool the next morning with snow on the lounge chairs.

(taken by cell phone, so excuse the poor quality)

Looking Back at 2008

Joe hates those long letters that come with Christmas cards that update you about their family, so rather than send one, I'll post one. LOL. For those that care about us, you'll see our blog and might even read it. And, for those that don't care about us, you'd just toss it away anyhow; it would be a waste of paper and postage.... And, you probably don't even care to read our blog.

SO.... Here it goes. Looking back at 2008 Blog Style:

This last year has been full of challenges, grief, joy and change. But whatever comes our way, Joe and I are, and have been in this together. We will be celebrating our 30th anniversary next week! Not bad for a couple of young kids that everyone said wouldn't make it huh?! ÜWe looked so young! Joe and I back in 1978 on our Wedding Day, and a surprise visit from Santa to let us sit on his lap one last time.

We have had each other whether it be to console, celebrate or contemplate life. It is so awesome to be married to your best friend! We look forward to many more years of our journey. We realize we are getting old now, and laugh at where we are compared to where we were. Reading glasses, aches and pains, and wearing pajamas before 8pm. Oh well...

Joe is still working at UPS. He has only 8 years to go to retire! Woo Hoo! His job has kept him out of town about 3 weeks a month on average this last year. It has been hard to have him gone so much, especially if there is a snow storm! (hint) Or things that require a man's strength or expertise. There are perks that come with the job though, he earns air travel, hotel stays, and rental cars that we frequently use when we go visit our out of state children. Joe has been running marathons the last few years and ran one in San Diego this year; the "Rock and Roll" marathon. He has plans to run the New York City Marathon in 2009. (I go to cheer him on and try to keep up with the course to find him, to cheer him on. That is MY marathon while he runs his- ugh) Joe has been busy when he is home doing plenty of honey-do's. (Sorry Babe)We've remodeled our downstairs this year and yard. He is AWESOME at construction stuff and manual labor. lol. When he has time to sit and veg, he enjoys watching the UFC fights and some of the reality TV that I got him hooked on.

Stephanie left her job of 13+ years working for Delta Air Lines in June of 2008. With my MS acting up and the opportunity to leave the company with something in hand in case I didn't make it to retirement age, we decided we couldn't pass it up. So, now I am home wondering how in the heck did I work? I can't seem to find time to do half the stuff I'm doing now! I have been very busy since leaving Delta helping family, visiting grand kids, and overseeing the remodel that we did. Joe will tell you that I shop, but that is not entirely true. I was looking for stuff to make our house cute after the remodel. Ü Besides, I can't help it that pants my size were on clearance! The only complaint I have in being un-employed is that I have a full time job tending dogs. Our 2 standard poodles think that they have to be with me 24/7. It is rather annoying actually. My health has improved big time since leaving Delta, I was having several problems this year and I will testify that the work stress removal has helped me out immensely! I've stayed busy setting up a website for a former co-worker, and updating this blog to keep my computer skills up. Who knows.... I may go back to work part time after the new year, but for now..... I'm just enjoying the moments. I might even write a book now that I have more time!

Josh (and KayCee) live in Shelly Idaho. They have been hoping for a baby for a few years, and this year KayCee gave birth to twins in September. Unfortunately, their son Ryken only lived about 90 minutes. We don't think we've ever seen a time that was truly mixed with grief and joy. We were so lucky to have participated in such a sweet experience as we were able to be there. We literally landed on a plane about an hour or so before they were born. (KayCee was flown by medic plane to U of U to deliver since she went into labor prematurely, and Joe and I were in California to celebrate Mason's birthday when we got the call that KayCee was sent to Utah. YIKES! ) We made it though, and were so happy that Josh and KayCee allowed us to share the time our grandson was here with them, and also be there to see the miracle of our beautiful grand baby girl PresLee. Josh is contemplating a career change that will allow KayCee to be home. We are keeping our fingers crossed that it all works out! We hate that we are so far away from that baby girl, not to mention her parents... Ü

Cory lived with us for the first part of the year after returning from his adventures in Idaho to get back on his feet. He moved back out in May to an apartment located in Bountiful. where he is close to both of his jobs. He is currently working both at Starbucks and Royal India in Bountiful. Some of the family frequent both places, and we are lucky enough to get an update from them once in a while on how he is doing. Ü Cory is so busy he rarely comes home and we have to live vicariously through our updates! LOL. Thanks family for keeping us up to speed. We did get him to join us for Thanksgiving dinner, and got some family pictures a few weeks back, which was awesome!

Zachary (and Sara) live in Murrieta California. Zach is a Sargent in the US Marines, and is currently stationed at Miramar Air Base. They have a wonderful home there and we try to visit as often as we can to get away from the Utah weather, and....of course to see our darling grandson Mason. Mason just turned 2 in September, the day after Josh and KayCee had the twins actually. Zach and Sara are going to be adding another son to their family in early April. If he is even half as cute as Mason, he'll also have us wrapped around his fingers as well. That is if Mason will let him. LOL Sara is working from home as a medical transcriptionist, which is wonderful so that she doesn't have to have a sitter and can help with extra expenses that seem to keep coming up like a house flood. (Long story) Zach is also going to school and hopes to finish his law degree in Utah when he is done with the Marines in 3yrs.

Ashley is going to school and working full time. Busy, Busy Girl... She moved back home a few months back, and we have LOVED having her home again. Our baby girl turned 21 this year, she's now a responsible adult that helps around the house and is constantly looking out for us. Imagine that... Funny how they grow up and become adults and turn into your best friends! With Joe gone so much, it has been a joy to have someone here to hang out with when we can, that is if she is not already spoken for on her social calendar. Ashley isn't home much actually, she's busy pulling a A average at school and working full time at Little America's front desk. We keep hoping that she will find a handsome man that sweeps her off her feet so we can have more grand babies, but she assures us that she is NOT getting married until she has a degree and has lived life to it's fullest. (Her latest idea is to live this summer in Europe backpacking...yikes!)

There you have it... Denning's 2008 in a nutshell. I left out the really interesting things that will be in my book. You'll just have to wait until it comes out and read it. Seriously.... It will be better than the stuff on the Jerry Springer show!
Happy Holiday's and God Bless Everyone...

Free Entertainment Denning Style

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

More Family Fun....

We had so much fun when all our family was all in town. Just noticed that I forgot to post these pictures, and thought it might be fun to show some of the moments behind the scenes at the Denning house. (Zach and Sara were here for a week, and Josh and KayCee were here for the Thanksgiving weekend)

It was so fun getting the cousins acquainted and enjoying the adult kids just having fun with each other. The only difference is the chaos is not our kids anymore, so we can just sit and enjoy it while their parents have to deal with it. HA HA.... But, we had so much fun with the noise and the mess, that it seems so lonely and quiet now that they are all gone.

Mason trying to decide if he will let me hold PresLee. Mason was pretty possessive over his "Munga" time. (He calls me Munga, and Joe Bucca) In the picture are Zach, Mason, Stephanie, Sara holding PresLee, and Josh. The top of the dog head is Rawley. In the background is Joe eating one of his pudding snacks that he can't seem to resist.

Josh, Stephanie and Sara all admiring little PresLee

Zach and Joe just chillin' and watching some football, while the girls all chat...

Zach practicing for the big event coming up in their lives as baby #2 is getting closer...

Stephanie sharing time with both Mason and PresLee. Mason was happy to replace her Binky.

'Munga' holding both of the kids, Mason was not going to let me just hold PresLee. Ü

Have you ever wondered where Mason gets that cheesy smile? Now you know!

Ashley brought Mason home a "goody" bag from work. He was thrilled with all the trinkets that were in the bag. Here is Mason and Ashley with the blow up balloon thing on a string.

(Don't remember the official name for those) He was also sporting his candy necklace!

Family Fun

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with all the family this year. It wasn't long ago that we only had a baby, now we have all our babies having babies! We decided to get a family picture done while everyone was in town, and so Josh helped us by taking some family pictures while we were at home since we can't take little PresLee around the public yet. The pictures turned our really great! We thought we'd share some of the fun ones we were able to capture while trying to get the gang to sit still, pose and SMILE. Time flies when you are having fun, and the weekend went too fast!

Cousins get to meet for the first time! (PresLee and Mason)

Memories are the best part of life, and we were able to create a few new ones this year

FINALLY~ We get a few that turn out...

Left to Right:

Zach, Sara (baby in tow), Cory, Ashley, KayCee, PresLee, Josh and in front

Stephanie, Mason and Joe

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Here it is...already November 27th and time for the annual stuff your face day. We are very thankful this year to have all our children here this year. Josh and KayCee are coming down from Idaho Falls with PresLee, and Zach and Sara arrived from California with Mason to spend time with those already in Utah. Cory and Ashley are already in town and so we will have our big family once again. We are planning to enjoy the big feast today with the "Hughes" side of the clan, and then spend time with our immediate family while we have the chance. Hopefully the tree and decor' will be done today and we can just look forward to the next several weeks during this holiday season. It has been fun so far, a little chaos is good right!??

This is Phoebe and Rawley all ready for the holiday season... Josh took these photo's for us when we were up visiting them last week. (Thanks Josh!) Hopefully we can get some 'real' family photo's while the gang is all here and post them soon. Ü

Love to all...we count our blessings to have our family, friends and all the privileges that we take for granted. HAPPY THANKSGIVING! GOBBLE GOBBLE

A well needed "PresLee" fix...

Joe and I just returned from Idaho Falls. I was able to tag along with Joe on a work trip and take advantage of some time with our darling grand baby PresLee. I had a nice day with Josh on Thursday, and then a day with KayCee on Friday. Of course both days I had the privilege of seeing PresLee! Joe had to work both days, but he was able to join in the fun when he got done. We had such a nice visit and thanks to KayCee and Josh's wonderful camera skills we were able to get some wonderful "Kodak moments". Thanks again for having us, we had a great time!



Preslee at 9wks. She is so much more bright eyed than last time we saw her.

Isn't she cute?!

PresLee got a lesson in 'patty-cake, patty-cake' from Grandma.

It was so cute to make her smile and coo.

As you can tell I think PresLee liked the game too. Ü Grandpa Joe was able to get her to smile too! PresLee loved the way he held her up so high. Since he is 6'2", it was like going on the Sky Ride. LOL

She was pretty intrigued in this shot.

Grandpa Joe also got to feed her the first night there,

he was getting a kick out of that. You can see how tiny she still is by the comparison to Grandpa Joe's hands!

(Either that or his hands are just massive) LOL It was so much fun feeding her, I was also able to take several turns.
Of course she eats every 3 hours, so it made it easy to get a turn in here and there. Ü


Grandma Stephanie just enjoying the simple moments and realizing what life is all about...

We can't get enough of her... Can you tell? We loved every minute of it.

The best part is that PresLee is coming with her Mommy and Daddy to Utah for Thanksgiving, and so we will get to see her again very soon! PresLee will also get to meet her cousin Mason, and some of her aunts and uncles for the first time. We are excited for family photos this year!

Joe's fun night...

Last night we took Joe out to dinner for his birthday. Ashley and I took him to the new restaurant, "Texas Roadhouse". It was really good, but what a zoo! I had told the waitress it was Joe's birthday which would of made for a much better pic than this, but Joe was not willing to participate in my fun. Texas Roadhouse has the birthday person sit on a saddle while they yell out to the whole restaurant that it is your birthday, and the whole restaurant replies with an astounding..........Yaaaaaaaaaa Hoooooooooooo! Yiiiiippppppeeeeeeeee! Eeeeee Haaaa! Well, a table near ours had a birthday also, and the gal that had to sit on the saddle ruined the surprise I was hoping for when it was Joe's turn. Oh well. We did get a restaurant wide holler in his honor however, and though Joe did not ride the saddle, he was slightly embarrassed and it was fun. I snapped a pic of him afterward, but unfortunately you can't see the restaurant staff at the table doing the cattle call for his b-day. We then came home to a pumpkin pie (Joe's favorite) and had a nice evening. Hopefully Joe had a nice birthday. Ü

Happy Birthday Joe!!

Today is Joe's birthday. He is now 48! Joe didn't want much of a "to-do" for his special day, but because he is special to me I am posting a Happy Birthday Blog Message. This is a tribute to my lifetime friend and soul mate. These are ten things you may not know about Joe...

• Joe loves to run


• Joe loves chocolate...especially brownies, chocolate reisen candies, and chocolate milk


• Joe cuddles to Phoebe (our female poodle) every night instead of his wife. lol.


• Joe can fix anything! He is a genius at woodworking, and fixing stuff....except cars that is.


• Joe has a bad habit of leaving the water running...but his wife is trying to cure him of that.


• Joe loves reality TV.... Amazing Race, Survivor, Biggest Loser


• Joe loves to watch UFC fighting more than football I think


• Joe NEVER gets sick. Really! We all have a party if he gets a cold, which is very seldom


• Joe is the 7th of 9 children. He has 2 sisters and 6 brothers


• Joe looses stuff alot. He leaves things behind on most trips by accident. Just ask Zach...

Joe is a wonderful husband, father and best friend...I have had the priviledge of having him in my life for the last 30 years. Happy Birthday Joe!! May your day be the best ever.... I love you!

Joe...This one's for you

Since Joe travels so much, he is missing his "puppy kids", and he asked that I put a picture on our blog. Not that anyone else cares, but this is Phoebe (left) and Rawley (right). It will be a whole month that Joe hasn't seen them by the time he gets home on Friday. As for me, I was really enjoying the dog free days while I was gone. Ü

Ashley is our only real "kid" left at home now. And although she may kill me for using this picture, (sorry Ashley...it was the only one I could find with just you in it) I thought I'd post a picture of our cute baby girl who is now 21. She was a huge help in taking care of the house while we were gone. Ashley is always having fun, so this pic is appropriate.

Bucca and Munga Time

Joe and I (aka...Bucca and Munga) were able to spend the weekend with Mason while Zach and Sara went to the annual Marine Corp Ball. We had so much fun at SeaWorld riding rides and seeing the sharks and touching the manta rays. We also went to Chucky Cheese and had fun (or at least Mason had fun at Chucky Cheese) lol. Mason has kept us busy playing cars, and our little game of hiding from the wicked witch. He would play that for hours... Today we watched Mason while Mommy and Daddy had an ultrasound to find out whether or not Mason gets a baby brother or sister. AND.......the answer is...
Mason gets to be a big brother to a brother... Ü

Halloween in California

Joe and I flew to California to spend the week and Halloween. However, Joe ended up having to fly back to Utah for a last minute business change, so I stayed with Zach and Sara and Mason this week. We had lots of fun carving pumpkins, and walking the neighborhoods to see "witches, monsters and goblins". Joe flew back on Halloween day and we all enjoyed Sara's homemade chili and trick or treating. Mason loved it! He was dressed up as Mike Wazowski from Monster's Inc. We are off to Vegas next week and back to California next weekend for the Marine Corp Ball to watch Mason while Zach and Sara attend.

I'm Stuck! Help....

Have you ever been stuck in a situation that you really needed help? Well, last night we decided to pull the washer and dryer forward to vacuum it out & get an item that fell behind it. However, in doing so... we knocked off the dryer vent hose from the floor attachment by accident. That became a problem since the washer and dryer are the new high profile kind on a stand which makes them about 5 ft tall. Joe could not get back there to re-attach the hose, so I was nominated to fit in the little hole.

I climbed up and over through a very small space to lower myself down, and even got stuck on the decent, (that should of been a clue! Duh) but what was worse is that after cleaning and re-attaching the hose, I COULDN'T get out! We tried everything. I was not tall enough to hoist myself up, and we finally got a garbage can to stand on, but that wasn't enough. Joe was laughing so hard at my predicament. Finally against my plea, he called our neighbors to help me get out. It was quite a sight watching an old lady try to be as flexible as she used to be to maneuver through the tiny space. Joe caught it on his cell phone, so I decided to give you all a laugh. Needless to say, my ribs are a bit sore this morning. Ü

MORAL of the story is: don't climb behind major appliances.

YUCK it SNOWED!

Nothing like waking up to a bunch of snow. Yesterday we had over 8" of snow, luckily it is melting off, but still have a lot in the yard. So much for finishing the project on Tuesday! Hopefully we can still get it done soon though, but at least we have our concrete and rocks done...

Changes, Changes!

Nothing ever stays the same at the Denning household. Not even our hair!

I had my hair changed (due to a little subtle hinting from Joe that I needed to) and ended up with this new 'do. I am not sure what to think yet, but I didn't dare go as short as the 'posh' style that Victoria Beckham has, even though I was SOOOO tempted. (You'll have to excuse the photo since it is from my cell phone taken by me, of myself -ha ha). I had the most bizarre thing happen when I decided to get it cut. I went in for my regular 4wk appointment, and apparently the whole staff had walked out on Tuesday, leaving only 3 people. I ended up having the manager of both Aveda Salons do my hair at a discount for the inconvenience, and luckily I was pleased with her. I am very curious to find out what happened there to make the whole group leave and go AWOL at the same time! Hmmmmm? Does make you wonder! Oh well, I got my hair done and that is what mattered right? Ü

We also have a few new updates on our parking project. The cement was poured today, and it looks awesome so far! Now all we need are the final touches, landscape elements to make it complete. Maybe next week...? (Hopefully we can show that off soon). The crew we hired to make the changes have been wonderful, and are working very fast to get it done before the snow flies. YEAH! Parking will be much appreciated when we are not playing musical cars in the wee hours of the morning this winter. Ü Stay tuned...More changes to come, you can bet on that.

Gotta Love Renovations!

Joe and I decided to splurge and make a 3rd car parking area. What a great idea huh?!

Except that we now have our side yard ripped up and spread out everywhere to make room for the large boulders that will encase our new parking area and terraced yard. The end result will be worth it! However, sounds of heavy machinery along with the vibrations and shaking of our house while the boulders are being moved outside is enough to make you wonder if the 2nd Coming is here, or if we are under attack. We've also realized how fortunate we were to have cable TV, Phone and Internet during our service disruption the last 5 days, can you say BORED STIFF? Man, it was like being back in the dark ages for us. Hooray for HGTV and DVR's! We should have the project done within about another week, but have to wait 2 weeks to drive on it. At least Ashley will have somewhere to park this winter. Ü

Hopefully we'll have the "after" pictures soon to show! Here's the current stage...