B-Boo - It's a Vivas Thing!

Jun 10 2013

Skydiving

When our oldest turned 18, we decided to take him skydiving. So..we loaded up and headed out…got on a plane…tried not to die of a heart attack…

and then jumped.

OUT.

OF.

AN.

AIRPLANE.

And LOVED it! So much so, that I was caught screaming, “From now on, on everyone’s 18th birthday, we jump out of a plane!”

And so, when the next one turned 18, his older brother took him up in a plane, while his father and I watched from below.

As they jumped out of an airplane.

Bboo, on the other hand, said she would not. She mentioned shark diving instead.

But this weekend, she kept with family tradition.

Her oldest brother again, went up in an airplane with her….

and jumped out. I sooooo wanted to go each time, but….at least I get to watch them.

I will say, though…when we get to the youngest…we will ALL JUMP OUT OF AN AIRPLANE TOGETHER…well, two planes…cause we’re a rather large family.

My honey put together this video to capture what we’ve been up to…and to celebrate Bboo’s graduation.

Three down…four more to go!

May 25 2013

William

This morning I woke up with the dreaded thought of going to Costco. Lately, every time I go, it is CRAZY busy. As in, you-can’t-walk-in-the-aisle-busy.

So I pondered renewing my membership at Sam’s Club.

Plus..there are things I like to get at Sams…and things I like at Costco.

So I went back and forth and back and forth.

And finally, I was like, “Fine…I’ll go to Sams!”

And it was great…because Bboo woke up and so she got the privilege of going with me. Cause I’m just nice like that!

We made it thru and the lines were so nice and short…and so I decided to reward her with pizza and a slurpee.

Cause I’m just nice like that!

And as we were sitting there talking, I noticed an older gentleman desperately trying to grasp his cart and and the cart next to him.

I jumped up and ran over to try and catch him as he fell to the ground. By that time, another woman had come over and helped me help him up and get him sitting down. We got him some water and Bboo and I sat next to him talking with him while he tried to re-gain his composure.

I asked him if he had anyone to drive him home and he replied that he was driving himself; so I asked him where he lived and it turned out it was just down the street from us.

So, Bboo and I helped him out, loaded up our groceries, and she followed me while I drove him home in his van. (and a very nice van, I might add!)

William moved here in 1989 with his wife. They were married for 52 years and raised three daughters together before she passed away this past year.

“I miss her,” he said, as tears welled up in his eyes. (Mine, too.)

His grandson lives near. He was in the Navy and married a women from Japan. They have three very smart girls and now his wife wants to move back to Japan.

His niece is supposed to move here at the end of June.

We talked about my crew as we drove to his house; him asking me several times if my daughter was still following behind us and was she a good driver. 🙂

We finally made it to his home and brought his groceries in and put them away. Such a sweet man. Lonely.

And then we drove home…and Bboo let hubby know right away that I’d drove a strange man to his house while she followed behind us. She was going to call him earlier, but figured he’d be better off finding out after her calling and saying,

“Dad, mom’s driving a strange man home while I follow behind…um, no…we don’t know where we’re going, but we’ll be ok.”

I’m glad we decided to go to Sams’. And I’m glad I got to meet William.

May 22 2013

We’ll Miss You, Leah!

Tonight we said “See you later!” to a dear friend…no, family member, as she moved across the states. We like to tease her and make her cry and remind her how tough we are…that we are not criers like she is.

But the truth is, not knowing when we will see her again breaks my heart.

Leah has been there for our family through the past eight years. For me, it started out as a choir teacher who loved my kid. The moment I watched the Drama Queen run up to the stage and bounce into Leah’s arms as she kept singing without a beat….wow. Someone who got my kid!

Leah brought out the best in her. DQ is such a free spirit and Leah got that. She worked with her and taught her so much about singing. I had so much fun teaching children’s choir with her even though I can’t carry a tune…but together, we had some fun years!

Throw Bboo in the mix and we had even more fun!

But the best was just knowing she was there putting a dent in my couch on Sunday afternoons. Or knowing any of us could call or text and she’d be there; whether it was to sit next to one of us in the hospital or take one out for a movie or shopping spree….or well…whatever was needed.

Sunday was the last time the DQ and Leah sang together before Leah went home to be with her *real* family. Three services…and by the last one, she could barely hang on. Fitting…but hard to watch.

We love you, Leah…and we’ll miss you terribly.

As we say goodbye….

Where they started…..

Jan 27 2013

What happened?

Apparently I need to update my blog!

In the past year, we gained two new children and had many changes in our family.

And there are many more to come!

It amazes me that in just a few short weeks, the Good Looking One will be married to this angel!

And that these two are turning 20 and 13 this year!

The Talented One is almost half-way through college studying music….and she’s half way thru middle school!

(And the Drama, oh the Drama!)

And then, there’s the Smart One and Bboo….the Smart One almost finishing his first year of HIGH SCHOOL and Bboo…sniff sniff…finishing up high school forever. She’ll be 18 in just a few days…and he’ll be 16 this year!

I wrote my first blog, four years ago this past week, Whatever in the Whole Wide World. As I sat and read it this morning, I was taken back. It’s amazing how time flies by so fast you can barely keep up. It seems it wasn’t so long ago that I was the one preparing for my wedding to the love of my life, and now we’re getting ready for our son’s wedding. Where did the time go? What happened? I’m not sure, but I do know that it is true; the older you get the more you remember the past. The Smart One and I sat at lunch the other day and talked about, “Remember When?” I realize I did most of the remembering, but we had some great laughs.

Don’t get me wrong! I am so looking forward to the memories to come. I love the new relationships that we continue to build and look forward to where we are going. I just can’t believe how fast we are getting there!

Jun 27 2012

Chipotle and Sister Wives

So it started out ….

So seriously, after a long day of preparing for my son’s engagement party tomorrow, I was conned into taking certain girls to Chipotle for a late dinner on the way home. We were having a lively conversation, when it somehow turned into “Sister Wives”…

And the next thing I know…totally NOT making this up…they all walk into the restaurant! As I try to calm the three girls down, they are about to bounce out of their seats.

“Can we ask them for a picture?”

“Can we ask to take a picture with them?”

They could barely contain themselves as I replied,

“No! They are here to eat, not be bothered with pictures.”

“No, leave them alone, don’t bother them.”

And then, one of them, Christine, walked over ever so friendly and states,

“We’d love to take a picture with them! And they didn’t ask…I was eavesdropping and offered!”

The next few moments were spent with the girls googling the poor wives as they scarfed down their food in anticipation of a photo moment with the Sister Wives! And then, Kody walked by and sat right down at the next table. Poor man was trying to eat his burrito and my children were about to jump out of their seats!

Finally, Christine told him that she’d told the girls they could have their picture taken. They were very nice and all stopped eating their dinner to take a picture with the girls. I tried to bow out gracefully, but was told to join in the picture.