March 18, 2013

 Dear Children,

I still have the music from Seussical the Musical in my head!  Rebekah and Jenna were darling in their school play as fish and circus performers. Their school is in a partnership with the South Jordan Community Theater so the set looked professional. It was all so cute and a real blessing to be able to travel to watch them participate.

It was great to be in Utah this past weekend. We realized that we were there last St. Patrick's Day also and were able to celebrate some of our family's March birthdays: Dad, Bill, Adrianne and Rebekah. Heidi and Bill made an incredible Sunday dinner AND luscious German chocolate cake but she burst our bubble when she told us it wasn't really a German tradition.

Saturday and Sunday was extra fun as we took Ainsley home with us after the matinee on Saturday. She was SO excited to be going to Grandma B's place. She loved playing in the yard and getting all the attention from the grandparents and Aunt Adrianne. She loves to laugh. On Sunday after church Ainsley enjoyed playing with Natalie's children before back home for our family dinner. She was thrilled to be included in the Robertson’s leprechaun tradition of having candy treats left for each of the children.

At the Brady's we were entertained by William's new army crawl and Jenna's violin playing. We almost got to hear Rebekah on the piano but the Brady family had some fun gifts that they wanted to see get opened before we left for the airport. They (well, Bill) got Dad a whole box of clay pigeons and ammunition for a shot gun so that Dad would go play with him next time we are in Utah! Heidi provided Dad with lots of bike riding and traveling treats. We could have sat around all evening watching the children and talking with the adults but we had to fly home on Sunday evening for Monday work.

Arriving in Utah on Friday morning allowed visiting time  in Orem with Grandma and Jerry before running down to the Spanish Grove Costco to see an old college roommate, Shannon Smurthwaite, at a book signing for her new book, Mormon Momma's Italian Cookbook. That evening we went to a Mexican restaurant to which I would LOVE to return, Maria Bonita. Their food was very tasty and provided dinner for the next evening!

Saturday morning we went to the Hoofbeats to Healing barn in Saratoga Springs and then onto the Brady's play. Hoofbeats relocated there to a nice facility. We saw the stallion that Adrianne will be showing the day before Easter. Adrianne assures us that this stallion is well behaved! The owner is certainly lucky to have Adrianne available to volunteer more that she is working part time as Shelf Reliance's Marketing Project Manager. She is enjoying her new position except the part where she is training her replacement. Really? Who is going to work as hard as Adrianne.

Interestingly, at the play, I ran into a friend from my Spain Study Abroad program that I had not seen in almost 40 years. She acted and talked the same; it was amazing and fun to she her.

In between our trip to Utah and our cruise we have still been basking in the glow of the incredible vacation that the cruise gave us. Dad has been lucky to get more work. We were joking that he worked a whole day last week! The sun is starting to peek out here and there so homeowners are beginning to think about home improvements. Plus, dad just received work from his Facebook business page that we are trying to get going again. If you haven’t already liked it, do so please! We will try to start putting more content on it.

I had a great event, the Portland Women's Expo, with SendOutCards the Saturday following our arrival home that gave myself and my newest team member over 200 good leads. The beauty of my service is that I was able to use the product to do my follow-up from the event.  All those ladies that attended and entered any drawings at this event (from over 1000 booths) are receiving emails, newsletters and phone calls from all the other vendors. Within days they received a real card in the mail from me and this week, I am following that up with a phone call. I am standing out from those businesses that even bother to follow up.  When I call this week, instead of them treating me like just another caller from the many that must be following up, they say, “Oh yeah, I liked your card!” I LOVE SendOutCards and feel so lucky to have it!

Besides being Bryson, Klaire and Bill's birthday this week, Dad's birthday is this Friday. He wants to do an "indoor" triathlon at 24 Hour Fitness for his birthday. I would like to join him but am hoping the weather is good enough to do the biking and walking outside. I don’t really enjoy exercising in a stinky gym. If Katie is still working for Southwest in May, we are planning to be in Clovis on May 18 for a 35 mile bike ride with the Toblers on one of their freeways (part of the ride) down there. Well, I think Dad and Scott are doing a longer ride. My goal this year was to ride 40 miles comfortably. There is a nice bike trail from Banks to Vernonia that I want to do. Since I haven't written much this year, many of you may not know that I finally bought my bike so I need to get riding.

Speaking of May plans, Grandma Maldonado is going on an Alaskan cruise with one of the ladies from Hayward First Ward, Marge Simard, May 12-19. We are jealous but shouldn't be. Someday we want to go on that cruise. We are now cruise convinced! We also want to see the Panama Canal by cruise; now that is a family history must since that is how the Maldonado family heard about the US when Jose Maldonado worked on the canal. We also learned that Adrianne and Blake's fall Hawaii trip is moved up to May. They are going about the 17th and ending their trip for one day on Oahu to be at Pearl Harbor on Memorial Day. Isn't that cool?

Most of the rest of the month we will have grandchildren visiting. Kyre and the children come this Saturday and Sunhee and Meeja come on Wednesday. Everyone is gone by the Saturday evening before Easter.

I know that I still owe a family news from Christmas and January; I will get that done one of these days!  I love you, Mom