Abe's Ski Trip, Costco Entertainment, Weinermobile, Visits to Hospital

Abe came to town for a work ski trip at Park City the weekend right after Lincoln was born. He recruited Ben to be his ski buddy those days, so off they went to brave the cold and snow--wearing shorts.

Once the big boys had gone, I took the little boys to run errands. They each picked one toy to take with them in the car.

They were very good at Costco. Their favorite thing was going in the refrigerated rooms, which happens to be my least favorite thing to do at Costco.

Eli loved going through the car wash while Carson had a look of terror on his face as we got deeper and deeper into the tunnel.

We played games together.

And before the boys knew it--their mommy was released from the hospital. She was pretending to drink straight from the fancy apple juice bottle the hospital had given them. She said it had been a tough couple of days for her...

The toughness would continue as Jeff and Sarah made countless trips back and forth to the hospital to see their little preemie baby who ended up spending 18 days in the NICU.

Meanwhile, Glen and I spent a fun Saturday with our grandsons while their parents were making visits to the hospital. We saw the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile on display in the parking lot of Smith's.

The attendants gave them some stickers and an Oscar Mayer whistle which they blew and blew and blew whenever we were driving around in the car.

We shopped at Smith's.

We needed a few things at Costco and decided to feed the boys lunch there.

Glen was a good sport while running errands, but it wore him right out. That poor shoulder of his...

Abe and Ben cut their skiing trip a little short so they could be home on Sunday. Abe got in a little visit with Lincoln at the hospital in the middle of the day.

 He was also loving on Madison.

Later in the day, the grandchildren got their favorite popcorn treat.

Rebecca and I got a treat as well when we escaped for a little while to make our own run to the hospital to meet Lincoln for the first time. What a beautiful baby boy.

A week later we took Eli and Carson to see their baby brother for the first time through a glass window.

First Excell family photo with all three sons.

Glen Update, Photo Update, January Family Dinner, Baby Born, Brooke's To Do List

With Glen traveling every week, it's always such a treat when the weekend rolls around so we can spend time together. One of my favorite restaurants these days is La Jolla Groves. Love the salad with all the fruity stuff in it.

 The main dishes are yummy as well.

In case anyone is wondering how Glen's shoulder is doing, let's just say it has been a very slow process of recovery! He goes to physical therapy if he is in town on Fridays. There he learns new exercises which he works on throughout the week. This was an interesting one where he got on the table and flapped his arms like he was trying to fly or something.

He is almost 12 weeks into his recovery and he is still experiencing a lot of pain and tenderness. After having been given hope he would be pain-free at 8 to 10 weeks, he has been a little discouraged he's not there yet.

It was a happy day when I got Jacob and Laurie's new family photos. Thanks all of you for posing so beautifully for your picture to be taken!!

I got the grandchildren photos all updated--except now Lincoln needs to be added. And in another 5 weeks Abe and Klarissa will have a new addition as well.

I absolutely LOVE having up-to-date photos of our children and their families. It's how I show my family to my friends.

We had the January family birthday dinner at Mom and Dad's.

Who would have guessed three nights later Sarah's water would break, meaning Lincoln Blair Excell would soon be making his appearance into the world 5 weeks early.

In a previous post, I told about being awakened in the wee hours of the morning on January 28, 2015, and driving to Jeff and Sarah's house to tend their sleeping boys so they could go to the hospital to have the baby.

At exactly 7 a.m. I heard little boy voices as their bodies emerged from the bedroom upon awakening from their night's sleep. Eli immediately insisted he needed to "show me something" whereupon he clicked on the t.v., grabbed the controller and proceeded to play whatever game this is under the guise of "showing me something."

Next on our agenda was breakfast. Mmmm!!

We then migrated from their house to our house where Eli and Carson happily played cars together.

Watching a movie while eating popcorn was another favorite activity.

Eli and Carson really loved it when Spencer came to play with them.

Brooke had an agenda when she arrived that particular day. She was on a quest to earn money. She had made up a list of things she could do and get paid for it. She had already gotten paid for one thing on her checklist.

Rebecca told her I used to have my kids dust the artificial plant leaves to earn money and Brooke thought that was a wonderful idea! She collected all the plants and began the dusting process. The other children even wanted to join in with their own dust rags.

Brooke had her treasure bear with her. There is a zipper on the front of the bear which Brooke carefully unzips to deposit the money she earns into the belly pouch of the bear.

Well look at her! She earned $1.50 for dusting the "leafs."

 She's well on her way to becoming a wealthy woman.

Quotes of the Week

"If I were asked to give what I consider the single most useful bit of advice for all humanity, it would be this: Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life, and when it comes, hold your head high. Look it squarely in the eye, and say, 'I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me.'" 

 -- Ann Landers 

"Some things don't matter much. Like the color of a house. How big is that in the overall scheme of life? But lifting a person's heart -- now, that matters. The whole problem with people is they know what matters, but they don't choose it. The hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters."  

-- Sue Monk Kidd 

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined." 

 -- Henry David Thoreau 

"If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much." 

-- Jim Rohn 

Quotes of the Week

"To wish you were someone else is to waste the person you are." 

 -- Sven Goran Eriksson 

"We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly." 

 -- Sam Keen

"Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and focus on what could go right." 

 -- Author Unknown 

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." 

 -- Eleanor Roosevelt