Food, Friends and The Little River Band!

Last night we had a great time with friends. We went to PF Changs for dinner and then to a concert at the Scera Shell to see The Little River Band...takin' us back to the 70's and early 80's! Bob was completely in his element, harmonizing to every song...unbelievably he knew all the words to all the songs! It had been raining all day so I was a little bit worried about sitting outside for a concert, but luckily it didn't rain on us...we just about froze half to death...it was a fun time anyway.

Traci, Me, Gigi

These are friends from our ward. Brian and Traci Church moved here from California as well as Jim and Gigi Hollister. William's best buddy, Trevor, is Brian and Traci's son.

A Yummy Favorite!

One of my favorite things to eat for actually lunch or dinner or a snack is a bagel with swiss cheese, tomatoes and Spike...remember these from the bagel shop in Poway? What was the name of the bagel place next to Ralphs across the street from the church? This is where we discovered this and they had the most delicious bagels!



Anyway...I make this in my little convection/toaster oven.

1. lightly toast bagel (onion, plain, garlic-not chocolate chip!)

2. place a slice of swiss cheese on each half (I like the Boar's Head lacey swiss)

3. broil for a bit until it's melted

4. add a couple slices of tomatoes-in the summer with garden tomatoes...oh my!

5. add another slice of swiss cheese

6. broil until top layer of cheese is super melted and bubbly

7. add Spike seasonsing (I've seen it in the healthy living section of Harmon's)

Be careful because it's really hot when you take it out of the oven...oh so delicious!

18 Years!

Bob and I have been married for 18 years today! It has been a wonderful 18 years with lots of memories. We met when we were both 18 years old, freshmen at BYU living in the dorms. We were in the same ward, but I never remember seeing Bob at church. He teases me it was because I never went-haha. (I'm pretty sure it was the other way around-he's not perfect you know.) We became really good friends at the end of the year and then Bob left on his mission to England. I remember going home at the end of the school year and telling my mom I had found the guy I was going to marry-Bobby Cluff! She told me I was ridiculous...I'd never even been on a date with him!

Well, I was right-of course! Although, proposing took Bob forever. If he hadn't of done it when he did...his time was up!

Bob came and visited me in San Diego during the Christmas break and on December 30, 1992, he asked me to marry him. We'd gone out to dinner at the University Club in downtown San Diego. We each had our own waiter-it was really nice! At the end of the dinner, my waiter came out with another plate for me. He lifted off the silver cover, and sitting there on the plate was a ring box! Bob got down on one knee and proposed in front of everyone in the restaurant. It was so romantic and he was so nervous! He had written me a poem but had completely forgotten it. My parents and grandmother were there and we all cried and I said "yes".

We were married May 5, 1993 in the Salt Lake Temple and had a reception in California and in New Mexico---too crazy.

We've made some wonderful memories these past 22 years:

..suprising Bob in NM before he left on his mission..
..BYU football and basketball games..
..spending the summer together in California before he proposed..
..our first apartment next to our friends Ron and Dawn (good times)..
..camping with Ron and Dawn-skunk eating our food :)..
..our first calling together serving as Nursery Leaders to 40 little children-NOT!..
..our first San Francisco trip in 1991..
..our trip with Kinko's to Hawaii..
..our trip to Orlando with our good friends Darryl and Nannette..
..our second and third trip to San Francisco with my parents..
..buying our first home in 1993..
..rides in the Miata with the top down..
..serving as ward YM and YW president together..
..numerous trips to San Diego..
..our trip to France with George and Candace in 1997..
..the birth of Maddie in 1998..
..leaving Kinko's and starting our own business in 2000-scary but rewarding..
..our first trip to New York together-staying on Times Square and discovering the best city in the world..
..the birth of William in 2003..
..another trip to NYC with Kevin and Kellie in 2006..
..suprising Maddie and Wills with a trip to Disneyland and the beach in 2006..
..our weekend getaway to Jackson Hole last summer-AWESOME and AMAZING-we even saw a bear! (this was probably one of our favorite getaways ever)..

Bob is a wonderful husband and father. He is so patient and humble. He has a sincere testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is an example to everyone he meets. I am constantly inspired by his obedience to all he is told to do. Happy Anniversary Honey! Here's to another 18 years of bliss! :)

These pictures are really poor quality because I didn't have time to scan them...maybe later!

a Pi Delta Gamma Winter Formal at Sundance 1988

camping with our friends Ron and Dawn

at Lagoon with our friends Danny and Jennifer Humphrey-married one week

our first home-630 North Monterey Drive

our engagement photo 1990

A Father's Love

About a month ago, Bob gave a Bishop's Youth Fireside for all the youth in the ward. I thought I would go to support him and also to listen to him speak because he is a wonderful speaker...inspiring. The youth really seem to relate to him. He showed this video about the father and son team, the Hoyt's. The son has cerebral palsy. At a young age, the family discovered his love for the water and for running-he was unable to do anything for himself. He conveyed to his dad that he felt "alive" and "normal" when he was running and in the water. The father decided to run a marathon pushing him in a wheelchair. He began participating in triathlons, and has competed in several Iron Man ones. His love for his son was endless and had no boundaries. I don't believe this kind of love has adequate words.

Bob talked about the love our Heavenly Father has for each of us...how can we put that into words?




I can only imagine what it will be like for these men...

Intruder!

This morning at about 5 am, while still sound asleep in bed...I heard someone walking around in my house! Someone walked upstairs, downstairs, all through the main floor, opening doors and turning on lights!

Okay, so at first, I thought I was hearing things because the other night I could have sworn I heard someone pounding on the front door...Bob got up to check and of course it was no one (I was dreaming). He then had a hard time going back to sleep. So I chose to ignore this person walking around my house.

About what seemed like a half-hour later, actually a couple of minutes, Bob finally sat up and I said, "Can you hear that?" He said he had heard it a little earlier but thought it was our brother- in-law Ben who was sleeping here and that he was just getting up early to get ready to leave for his early morning class (at 5:00 AM!).

Right then, the light at the top of the stairs turns on and the front door shuts LOUDLY! Bob ran downstairs and it wasn't Ben!

I got out of bed and looked out of our bedroom window. A girl was then running up our front steps. Apparently, she had been trying to "kidnap" the high school girl next door because she made the choir! She said to Bob, "I'm trying to kidnap Simone ______ do you know where she lives?" Uh...hello?? You might want to find that information out BEFORE you enter someones house in the middle of the night!

This girl had walked through our entire house, including the kid's rooms. If Maddie or Will had woken up...they would have been terrified! And if Ben hadn't been staying with us, Bob would have been up much sooner and who knows what he would have done to this girl. I mean it was dark and he would have done anything to protect his family. And what if it would have been someone with a gun? Not a good situation!

I called the school in the morning to let them know what had happened. I wasn't angry, I just wanted them to know that maybe the students shouldn't be allowed to just walk into a person's home. They should let the parents know ahead of time and then in the morning knock and wait for someone to answer.

p.s. don't ask why my front door wasn't locked!

Bedtime

"Be there for your children. Sit on the bed and enjoy the late-night talks -- try to stay awake! Pray for the Lord to inspire you. Forgive often. Choose your battles. Testify frequently of Jesus Christ and of His goodness and of the Restoration. And most of all, let them know of your trust in the Lord." ~Bonnie D. Parkin

Bob has gone to the Jazz game tonight and I am home alone with Maddie and Wills. We got in our jammies at about 7:00 and have been just spending time on our bed playing games, watching t.v., talking about friends., eating strawberries and raspberries, and telling stories. This has been an enjoyable night at home with them-I am grateful for these special moments.

I have had friends talk to me about their late-night talks with their teenagers and to be honest, I'm looking forward to those special times with Maddie...talking about boys, friends, clothes and taking every opportunity to testify of Jesus Christ and His love for her. I believe that if a daughter knows and believes in her divine nature, she will be able to better understand and deal with the ups and downs of her days as a young woman.