A New Attitude

It is amazing what a new hair style can do for your attitude. I was fed up with my too long, bleached out hair. I went to see Ashley at Dollar Cuts and now I've got a new look!

A Difficult Week

Sometimes you just have to wonder why difficult life moments all seem to come at once. Maybe it is similar to the fact that once you have a cold and your defenses are low, you tend to pick up every bug that comes around. It just seems that there is an awful lot of trouble swirling around right now. Here's a representation of this week's tough events:

• a good friend's mom is battling for her life, and seems to be losing
• that same friend's sister may have cancer
• my son's friend's little sister died
• my "fourth" son fell and fractured his skull and will have a very quiet spring
• my brother had some polyps removed
• my sister-in-law's cancer is back for the third time
• a good friend found a lump in her breast- hopefully a benign cyst

I guess the old saying of "When it rains, it pours" has been proven right this week. But, I live in Utah where it hardly ever rains or pours, so I am determined to look on the bright side of things.

• Dalton may have to be still, but he's OK and now we will have time to have P,R, and D crank through some merit badges.
• There are worse things than death. It is hard for those left behind, but a sweet release for those who return to their maker.
• Medical science has made dramatic strides and our lives are generally enhanced by the treatments available and the early detection of illnesses.
• Spring is spinging and the crocuses are blooming. The robins are taking over my back yard and the breezes are getting warmer.
• Having the Gospel in my life certainly helps keep things in perspective. I am so grateful about that!

So, despite the week that has been, I am looking forward to the week to come with excitement and anticipation. I hope you are, too.

Our Mexican Riviera Cruise

We had a wonderful time on our Mexican Riviera cruise! It was probably the most relaxing vacation that we have ever taken. Especially for Ed since his electronic devices were out of range!!!

Our first port of call was Cabo San Lucas. We took a glass bottom boat ride out to Los Arcos which was beautiful. It was so cool to see all the fish under the boat. We swam and learned to snorkel in one of the coves adjacent to Lover's Beach. The fish were amazing! I wish I had had an underwater camera with me.

Parker has a love affair with coats and sweatshirts, so he had to have one of these traditional Mexican jackets. We laughed about him wearing it around since it was about 85 degrees out!

Our nxt stop was Mazatlan. We took a cab to the El Cid resort where we relaxed on the beach. Or tried to relax- the vendors are quite persistent. Reed and Parker went parasailing. It is wild to see your child flying so high above the water (about 150 feet) but they loved it.

We didn't get to see much of Puerto Vallarta because we took a long excursion, but it was a beautiful city and I would love to go back.

As part of our day in Puerto Vallarta, we boarded this pirate ship and for about 7 hours we were treated to pirate shows and great food. We were tendered into a lovely beach in a private cove. It was a slice of paradise. Our only complaint? We wanted to stay longer.
Colby met a couple of lovely ladies named Katie and Courtney and they had a great time hanging out and talking. All the kids had a great time.

Adios, Mexico! We hope to return someday soon!

Colby's New Look

After 2 1/2 years of torment, Colby got his braces off this week! I couldn't believe how quickly they had them off, buffed the teeth, took impressions, and had us on our way! Colby looks so handsome with his bright new smile- maybe we will get to see it more often. He's been a little self-conscious in that department. BTW, can you guess what Colby's favorite color is from these photos????

Oh, Deer!

Last Sunday/ Monday we were down at the cabin. It was absolutely gorgeous down there because there was no nasty inversion. Ed, Colby, and Brayden R. were hanging out on the deck with no jackets. We noticed that we had some deer that kept appearing in the back driveway, so I started watching for them. It turns out that there was a four point buck and two does. I noticed one of the does eating some of the spilled birdseed off the surface of the snow. Then the buck climbed the two or three stairs to get on the other side of the feeder. He started nudging the feeder so that he could eat the bird seed. He even spilled some for the ladies! I took this picture from inside the kitchen, but it tell the tale. No wonder we are going through so much bird seed!!!

Reed was really excited that he got to have a friend at the cabin. This is Reed with Brayden C. hanging out watching TV!

Hope and Fear

This morning I had to do something that I have been putting off for several weeks. I needed to go to WalMart. I used to love WalMart, but it is so crowded and I buy so much stuff that I don't really need that I have been practicing avoidance. Today the streak had to end. I drove through the fog of the inversion to WalMart where the parking lot was surprisingly empty. As I easily navigated the store, I was struck by the fact that there was almost no one shopping. One lady commented to me about how quiet it was and I remarked that it was "scary quiet."

Our family is suffering the effects of a slow economy- complete with a pay cut. I know that many families across the country and in my own neighborhood are being affected by job loss. As a news junkie, I realize that the economy is in bad shape. But fear overcame me this morning when I realized the scope of the problem- as evidenced by a WalMart that was eerily empty. If the daddy of all big box stores is suffering to that extent, how will the smaller stores survive? How can it be turned around?

As I am generally a positive-minded person, hope resurfaced in short order. What a wonderful thing it was to watch as the Presidency of our great nation was handed over with grace and peace. This was the 44th time that we have had a peaceful transfer of power. How amazing! And how much more amazing that this time, the new President is African-American? It was not that long ago that blacks were enslaved as property and even more recent that they were harrassed and terrorized for wanting equal rights. I have hope that if we can change that much as a nation, we can do what it takes to come out of this recession. It is a new day and I hope that America is ready for change. I know that I am.

The Lost Years

Edward M. Collins (Ed's dad) in the mid 1940's

As an avid digital scrapbooker who is pretty much caught up with present photos, I have been looking for heritage projects to do. Ed thinks I should make book about the boys' grandparents- especially since they have all died and that's a little hard on our kids. We were talking about how to format the project when I realized that we have no photographs of Ed's dad before he was 27 or so. This is one of those times when a simple project turns into a nightmare.

I started looking for some of Ed's relatives (not a close family) in hopes that they might have boxes of old photographs tucked away somewhere. Genealogical research is tricky anyway, but it is really hard when the people are living or have died in the fairly recent past. There are laws that protect our information, so I haven't been too successful. But, I will keep looking. In the mean time, I guess that I will just have to start from the end and work backwards!

So, if anyone has earlier photos of Edward Michael Collins (1913-1994), please let me know!

Pet Peeve for Today: Almost every piece of information has a price tag attached to it! Aarrrggh. I remember the good old days when you could join Ancestry.com for three months at a time.