The Josh Denning Family Visit

This past weekend we were able to have Josh and his family come for a visit. Josh, his wife KayCee and their daughter PresLee as well as their dog Able came to Utah. We had so much fun playing with PresLee, having a Wii competition, watching movies and just eating and hanging out. We also were lucky enough to get some great family photo's with PresLee's great grandparents, as well as great, great grandmother. YES 5 generations! Not many people can say they had a 5 generation photo! Thank you for coming down Josh and family and for letting us enjoy PresLee while you went to run errands. We totally enjoyed every minute of it!

Josh, PresLee, Luana (Joe's Mom) and Joe ...4 generations

Luana enjoying meeting PresLee and holding her

Aunt Ashley having fun making PresLee Coo and Smile

How many guys does it take to feed a baby? YUP, 2 of them. LOL

Grandma, "Munga" taking a turn without any help. Ü

Grandpa, "Bucca" showing PresLee what it looks like from his height.
Cool up there huh?

Getting more smiles and laughs....

PresLee and the paparazzi... She can't even bathe without a Kodak Moment

Bucca playing with PresLee while Munga is always
there to snap a shot on the cell phone.

Ah, PresLee found out that jewelry is really cool.
She liked Munga's necklaces...A LOT!

But she also let Munga take in a few sweet moments
between playing with her jewelry

KayCee and PresLee... a sweet Mother & Daughter picture

A visit by Grandma Judeen and Grandpa Bill.
Judeen fascinated by how much she has grown.

Grandma Judeen and Grandpa Bill showing
PresLee a close up of Bucca's dogs

The 5 generations of just "Girls".
Carma, Judeen, Stephanie holding PresLee and KayCee

Grandpa Bill and Grandma Judeen holding little PresLee

Grandpa Bill, Josh, Grandma Judeen holding PresLee, KayCee and Able..

A cute family photo...The Josh Denning Family. Josh, KayCee and PresLee

Munga and Bucca with our little PresLee Kate

And Great, Great Grandma Carma Helmcamp holding PresLee

5 generations...Rare moments in life.
Carma, Judeen, Stephanie, Joshua and PresLee Kate.

Bucca rocking PresLee after the pictures.
She was pooped and wanted a nap.

Bumper Sticker

This is what happens when you can't sleep. You design bumper stickers....LOL
At least I did something worthwhile and creative huh? YUP, I couldn't sleep and was bored and Wa..LAAAA I made something really cool. ha ha. Are ya jealous?

You Have What???

M.S. I Thought I'd educate those interested, since I have been asked a lot of questions about this topic due to my recent ongoing relapse. AND...No, MS does not stand for Micro Soft. Ü

It stands for Multiple Sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a potentially debilitating disease in which your body's immune system eats away at the protective sheath that covers your nerves. This interferes with the communication between your brain and the rest of your body. Ultimately, this may result in deterioration of the nerves themselves, a process that's not reversible.

So, now that you know what it is, you ask what does it feel like? Why don't you look like you have a disease? Well...Signs and symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis vary, depending on the location of affected nerve fibers. MS signs and symptoms include:

• Numbness or weakness in one or more limbs, which typically occurs on one side of your body at a time or the bottom half of your body
• Partial or complete loss of vision, usually in one eye at a time, often with pain during eye movement (optic neuritis)
• Double vision or blurring of vision
• Tingling or pain in parts of your body
• Electric-shock sensations that occur with certain head movements
• Tremor, lack of coordination or unsteady gait
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
  
• Spasms (muscles that tighten up and won't release)
  

Yeah, I've had it all. The worse part is the dizziness and the spasms, and daily I live with fatigue and headaches. However, it is not as bad as you may think. I do get a really cool parking spot and I don't have to work anymore! Honestly.... Don't feel bad for me. I am doing great overall. The relapses come and go, and then I bounce back to myself once again. Most people you meet with MS don't "look" like they have MS because the symptoms are usually something you can't physically see. Did you know that several famous people also have MS? YUP! How cool is that that I have something in common with famous celebrities eh?
(Annette Funicello, Montel Williams, Clay Walker, Terri Garr, Alan Osmond to name a few)

I have a WONDERFUL husband and family that help me when I have my challenges and life is good! Thank you for all the concern and most especially for the LOVE. I am doing OK, and will be back to my "on the go" self very soon. Ü

Up, Up and Away to Atlanta on Another Adventure

Mid Life Crisis is so much fun! BECAUSE...
Being daring resulted in an incredible adventure!

Joe was working in Atlanta this past week, and so we decided to take advantage of the fact that one of the tickets was paid for and make a weekend trip to spend some time with our friends Greg and Valerie Gillis who live outside of Atlanta. I flew in on Thursday and spent the night with Valerie and Greg. We went to his parents for dinner and then stayed up until O'dark hundred just talking and catching up. The next day Greg flew me on his private plane to go pick up Joe who was staying in Peach Tree City. (A half hour flight away) So.... We drove to the regional airport and I was able to experience something that I have always wanted to do. FLY!
That was definitely the most surreal feeling in the world. And, because our good friend Greg is a "PRO", I felt totally safe. Pictured are:
Greg's Plane and "Greg the Pilot"
Greg pulled out his Piper from the hanger, and we boarded. It sure is a lot easier to bypass security and hop right on... Not to mention the view is SO much better from the cockpit!
Here I am flying "Co-Pilot" on our way to pick up Joe. The ride was a bit bumpy, but only because it was extremely windy outside. Not because of the pilot or co-pilot! We were doing a fine job keeping that bird in the air.


Ready for Take Off-










Going down the runway...Up, Up and Away...

At least I got a chance first hand to see the pilot check the aircraft out and make sure it was safe to fly. Ü

(Greg checking the instruments before he pulls back and goes airborne)








Whoa! We are flying! It didn't take much to get us in the air. The take off was quick and painless. It was amazing how smooth that plane was.

Ahhhh, the views were spectacular. We had a wonderful view of the valley, lakes and even the Nascar track. Definitely an arial tour of the greater Atlanta area. (Flying about 3000 ft above the ground, to stay out of the Atlanta Airport air space)




See what I mean? B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L




So serene and majestic from this point of view.
Look at the wing....
Notice how steady it was!









Then we then landed at Falcon Field in Peach Tree City where Greg and I went to look at aviation equipment while we were waiting for Joe. Once Joe was done with his conference we boarded again, and were off for the return flight.
Joe then had his chance to be the "co-pilot". He didn't fit as well as I did in the cock pit though. LOL. He was a bit more cramped up in front. ( It was a sight to see from the back seat, two big guys with no room to spare.... ha ha) Notice Joe still had a smile on his face though.

It was fun despite the really, really bumpy ride on the return. The winds had picked up even more. Joe even hit his head a few times on some of the bumps; Greg would just chuckle because he could see that it scared Joe a bit. Joe was only somewhat green when we landed however.

After our adventure we went to dinner and the movies that night. We saw the movie "Taken", and we would definitely recommend it. Very suspenseful! We later went out for dessert and stayed up late again just talking and talking.

The next day was the Super Bowl. Gillis's invited several friends over to have dinner and snacks and watch the game. So, needless to say....I fixed a "Yankee" style dinner for everyone (all 16 of us) and everyone of those Southerners' even liked it! We had so much fun eating, eating, hanging out, more eating while watching the game and playing games later that evening.

THEN......We we drove to Asheville, North Carolina to see the Biltmore Estate House. (Owned by the Vanderbilt's) What a place. I can't imagine that much money or the fact that they only had 1 child and needed/wanted such a HUGE home, not to mention the grounds and adjacent buildings! It is something that everyone should see in their lifetime. Can you imagine having 43 bathrooms to clean? Hmmm....No Thanks!

The outside of the Estate when we pulled up. This photo was taken quite a distance from the front door. You can't even imagine how massive this house really is.










Joe and Stephanie posing before the tour as well as our friends- Valerie and Greg.
After the Tour, we went to the Winery there. UH, can't say that we like wine though... Ewww. But the tour was fun and even though it started storming we couldn't help enjoy the moment.









A cute little Gargoyle that was at the Estate. I adopted him for my own. Ü

I haven't named him yet though. Any suggestions? (Thinking that he would be WAY easier than owning dogs?!)
Notice he already knows how to sit~ha ha.

We really enjoyed our tour, a yummy dinner, and lovely drive back. It is just too bad that all good things come to an end. It was absolutely an incredible weekend filled with friends and fun.

Thank You Gillis's for having us, and for being such wonderful friends these past 10 years!