Les Miserables at Tuacahn!!!

Rick and I went to see Les Miserables at Tuacahn with Janika and Brandon. It was incredible!! The last time Tuacahn did Les Miserables at Tuacahn was back in 2008 when Rick and Janika were in it! You can read those posts HERE and HERE!! It was probably surreal for Janika actually watching the show insteads of being it! Jaiden and Jason ended up coming too because his work gave him some free tickets! All of Brandon's family came to see it as well. Audrey Williams babysat Everett and Callan and Jenna babysat Janika and Brandon's nieces and nephew at their condo. 

Happy Anniversary!!

Today was our 31st Wedding Anniversary!! It was lovely! We checked in at The Inn on the Cliff which is a hotel that overlooks the whole city. The Cliffside Restaurant is a nice restaurant connected with the Inn. We enjoy that restaurant but decided to go to Sakura for dinner instead. We checked in at 3:00 so that we could enjoy some time in the hotel and then had a lovely dinner of chicken and salmon, cooked hibachi style. Then we went back to the hotel for some romcoms! Sakura brought us some free cheesecake for our Anniversary and so did the Inn on the Cliff! So fun! 

The next morning we went for a walk and learned that "The Stairs on Tech Ridge" (333 stairs, 630 feet long) was right across the street from where we are staying. I had heard of it, but never seen them. So we went for a little hike and tried out the stairs! That was a great workout and definitely left us sore the next day. I should bring Jenna and Jaiden over to try them out sometime. Then I went to the pool to swim laps for a half hour or so and then relaxed in the hot tub! We finished the morning off with another movie. It was the perfect little get-away! 

Robbie and Deb Robinson!!

Rick has wanted to go visit Robbie Robinson for a long time and meet his new wife. Rick has always been really good friends with Rob and Michelle Robinson, ever since he met them on his mission. Some time after Michelle passed away, Rob met and married Deb. Since we were going to be in Vegas this weekend, Rick thought it would be a good idea to stay overnight at a hotel and then catch a flight to California go visit Rob and Deb. So that is what we did! We flew to California and rented a car and drove it to Upper Lake, which was quite a ways away. We met them at their trailer home and then went to a nearby diner for lunch and had a nice visit! Then we went back to their home and Rick felt prompted to offer to give them priesthood blessings. They accepted and were extremely touched. It was a neat, spiritual experience! On the way back Rick thought it would be fun to stop by the Cannings home to surprise them. I tend to think it is always better to call or text first, but Rick is a "drop in" kind of guy. Well, unfortunately they weren't home. That is why it is a good idea to ask first! Rick took a picture of us in front of their home and sent it to them. We stayed overnight at a hotel and then flew back to Vegas and drove home Sunday night. (Hopefully I have all of my facts straight. I am writing up this post several months after it happened.)

Josh Groban Concert

Rick and I went to Las Vegas for dinner and the Josh Groban concert with our friends, Laurie and Kyle  Larsen. Laurie was in Sunburst Singers with Rick in college. The live in Henderson and so we thought of them when booking our tickets and asked if they would want to join us! 

After dinner we were just chatting it up at the restaurant thinking we had plenty of time (we had checked the distance from the restaurant to the concert and it was just a few minutes). But we didn't take into consideration that we were walking, not driving!! So then we were booking it, walking as fast as we could, to get there on time! We barely made it into our seats just before the concert started! 

Josh Groban has such a beautiful voice and we love his music! We enjoyed the show, except we didn't enjoy Josh Groban's language! There were times when he threw in swear words that I felt was totally inappropriate for a nice concert! So we probably won't go again because of that. But other than that it was a fun getaway and double date! 

1940's Style Hangar Dance

Tonight Rick and I had the opportunity to go to a 1940's style dance with a live band. It was a lot of fun! Jenna went with Ethan Allred. It was "kind-of" a date -- and we have a "no-dating until 16" rule. But I let this slide since Ethan's whole family was attending the dance and Rick and I were attending the dance also. Some of Ethan's friends also came to the dance. Ethan's family is in our ward. His mom is the Young Women's President and his sister used to be one of our carolers years ago. 

Jenna went over to Ethan's house for a few "swing dancing lessons" prior to the dance. Ethan's parents are really good at swing dancing and gave Jenna and Ethan a few lessons. She had a lot of fun! (The only down side is that she injured herself during one of the practice sessions last week and I ended up taking her to the Chiropractor for a few visits. The chiropractor said that her ribs had popped out and she would need a few adjustments.)

 Anyway, she seemed fine tonight and had a great time! Jenna mostly danced with Ethan, but she also danced with one of the other guys in the group, and also danced with her dad a few times. Jenna and Ethan even taught us some of dance moves they had learned! Ethan also danced with his little sister and his mom. It was fun to go dress up and go dancing -- we don't get to do that very often!  

After the dance the group of teenagers went hot-tubbing at one of the girls' houses! 

Surprise Date!!

A couple of days before Christmas Rick brought in an envelope and there was a letter for Wendy Jensen from "Magic Hands Massage." Inside there was a flyer saying that I had been recommended by a friend for a free dinner and massage seminar that was to be held at the Cliffside Inn on December 30th. The Cliffside Inn is a really nice restaurant with delicious food and an incredible view of the city. It was advertised as more than a simple massage seminar though -- it sounded pretty sketchy. Plus the flyer was only for one person -- not a couple.  I asked Rick if I should just throw it away, after all, it didn't sound very "appropriate" for a woman to go to something questionable like this. 

Rick said that he thought I should go -- it was a free dinner and maybe I could learn something. I just didn't feel comfortable with the whole idea -- besides, how did this business even get my name and number? He said to show it to Jase and Ellen. Jase said, "You were chosen? We were at a restaurant and they asked for names and addresses of people we thought would be interested in this and we put down a whole bunch of people. We were hoping that Ellen would get it!" Then Ellen said that her sister went to one of these seminars and that it was really fun. She said, "Don't worry, it wasn't anything crazy." Well, that all made me feel a little better about the whole thing, but I still wasn't sure I felt comfortable showing up to something like this by myself.  I wondered what to do, because I could tell that Rick really wanted me to go. The whole thing seemed rather strange. 

Anyway, I was totally stressed about what to do. The flyer asked for a RSVP and included a phone number. We headed up North and I put off the decision for a few days. After we got home I thought I had better make a decision since it was the next day. So I pulled out the flyer and texted the number on the flyer and when I typed up the number two contacts popped up in my phone -- one was "Family Story Podcast," and one was "Rick's Laptop." I started laughing and felt incredibly relieved! Rick was behind this whole thing!! I called up Rick and said that I went to RSVP for the dinner/seminar and guess whose number came up!! He acted all innocent like he had no idea what I was talking about. He had no idea that this secondary number of his was in my contacts! I went ahead and texted the number to RSVP and this message came up: 

"Thank you for your response. Because you have responded within the 24-hour deadline, you are eligible for a free one night stay at the Best Western Inn. It is here that your massage therapist, Rick E. Romance, will demonstrate some of the techniques discussed during the workshop. Please respond by texting 1 to accept the invitation, or 2 to decline the invitation." 

So needless to say I accepted! So the plan was for me to show up to the restaurant and ask for the seminar and then Rick would be waiting for me wearing a wig. (This is one of the wigs he was thinking about getting, ha ha!) But since I knew it was him we were able to go together (which I much preferred anyway!!) From the moment we arrived Rick was "in character." He spoke in an Australian accent and pretended to be a single guy who made a career in massage therapy. He even brought his laptop that did indeed include an entire power point on the benefits of "this type" of massage therapy. It was so funny! I was worried that the waiter might ask where he was from, but thankfully he didn't, ha ha!

After dinner we went to the hotel where I enjoyed a very nice full body massage from my own personal massage therapist! It was awesome!! I feel fortunate to be married to someone who is so creative and fun who makes our marriage interesting to say the least!! 

BFF Romantic Corner: Candlelight Dinner

Tonight Jenna (age 11), asked if she and her friend, Clarissa, could fix Rick and I a special candlelight dinner for our date tonight! We wholeheartedly agreed! They did such a fabulous job! They dressed up as cute little fancy waitresses, decorated the stairs and basement with candles, played soft music, and served us a delicious meal of tacos, followed by dessert. First they called their "restaurant" JC's Romantic Corner (J for Jenna and C for Clarissa). But before the end of the night they switched the name to BFF Romantic Corner. After the meal they cleaned up the kitchen so that we could watch a movie. It was the perfect date! Love these cute girls!!

We tipped them $10.00 ($5.00 for each of them). They were really happy with that!! Here is the Facebook Post with comments! 

Cross Country, Soccer, Work, and Parties!!

Josh joined the high school Cross Country team. I am really happy about that! It was quite a bit more expensive than I remembered though! They train every morning at 6:00 so Josh has to get up at 5:30 in order to ride his bike to the school for practice. I am proud of him for being disciplined enough to get up on his own and get there. I went to the parent meeting and was so impressed with all of the coaches and the overall feeling of the team. In fact, the meeting was so motivational that I decided to start running again too! (Just not at 6:00 a.m.!)

Josh also tried out for club soccer again. Both teams (05 and 06) offered him a position on their team but he decided on the 06 team instead of "playing up." They suggested that he double roster on both teams but I was worried about him being too busy -- especially if he is also doing Cross Country and maybe track. He usually C-passes on the 05 games anyway.

Josh had a belated birthday party (Pickleball party) Friday at 9:00 a.m. He made it early so that it wouldn't be too hot. Jared agreed to supervise, so I didn't even have to go, ha ha! They then swam at our house and then went to one of the other boy's houses to continue the fun. So they partied all day long and well into the evening! These boys are all the same age -- as you can see Josh is the smallest one in the group. What he lacks in height he makes up in speed and agility! Hopefully he has a growth spurt within the next couple of years! 

Jaiden went to Mariposa's birthday party -- swimming at her cousin's house. They then watched a movie Friday night.

Jenna had TWO birthday parties today. Her friend, Clarissa, and her friend, Lindsey, share a birthday and so they always have to coordinate their parties every year so that they aren't at the same time! Lindsey's party was a High School Musical Party in the afternoon and Clarissa's was a glow stick party in the evening.

Rick and I went on a date -- dinner at Pizza Pie Cafe, some errands, and then watched a movie together. It was really good -- "Mao's Last Dancer." Josh and Jenna might find it interesting because of the Chinese language and culture.

Other events: Jared got a job at Caption Call (even though we had some reservations -- some like it, but others hate it). Jared is so social and so good with people that this type of work (monotonous and behind a screen) might not be the best fit for him, but at least he can start earning money and then later he can look for something else when the economy has recovered somewhat. Janelle has been working a lot at Papa Murphy's and Jaiden applied for a couple of jobs.

I started back up at one of my jobs -- just a few hours a week. This quarantine has really hit the deaf and interpreting community hard and there has been almost no work available. So I am grateful that one of my jobs started up again and that it will be continuing throughout the summer. I had trouble finding a "communicator mask" with a clear plastic window so that the deaf person can see my lips, and so I was grateful that Janika connected me with someone she knew who could make some masks for me. Thankfully it does the trick -- although I hate wearing a mask! Wearing a normal mask is annoying enough -- wearing one with plastic is even worse! But at least I am able to work a few hours a week!  

The neighbor boys are loving having Jared around again to play with them! 

Wendy's Birthday

Today was my birthday (52) and it was a GREAT day!! I felt very loved! Rick left me a Facebook birthday message with a few pictures through the years and a sweet little note which brought loads of sweet messages from so many people! Grandma and Grandpa Gubler (my ministering sister) in our ward dropped off a bag of gluten free popcorn and some cute, fancy soap and a sweet card. Kaci dropped off a cute little gift of bath salts yesterday and the RS presidency dropped off a little gift of a note pad, pen, and chocolates. Allison brought over some home-made gluten-free monster cookie bars, which I love, and we had a nice visit! My mom gave me a special gift early. Mom Jensen sent me a nice card and money. I really appreciate everyone's thoughtfulness!

Rick brought my car in to Costco to get the tires rotated -- something that has been on my to-do list for a couple of weeks now. He also brought Josh to the Dermatologist for me so that I could take a nap! He arranged to get my computer fixed and has been working on our home videos -- I love that! I am so grateful for him! Janika and Jase and Ellen sent a nice text this morning and my mom sent a nice e-mail (she already gave me an amazing gift early) and several people texted me to wish me a Happy Birthday!

Rick brought me out for take out from Apollo Burger (my choice because I love their salads so much). We went to a pretty park in Washington to eat it and then stopped at Walmart to pick up a couple of things I wanted for my birthday and then grabbed some of my favorite ice-cream from Albertsons. When we came home there was a rose and package of mini recess peanut butter cups from Jase and Ellen (my favorite candy) and Jaiden and Jenna had made a gluten free chocolate cake from scratch! We all had cake and ice-cream and sang "Happy Birthday." So all in all I had a happy day!