Ok, ok..... I'll update!!!

Now I'm feeling guilty! And oh boy..... I've got a lot to put up on here.
We left our tale of the Santini duo at the packing of our Tucson home. It's funny how I couldn't believe we were actually moving that I started snapping pictures. Now that we've been gone for a few months, it's a distant memory.


Simon overseeing the operation.


Our moving van- we had scheduled the ward to help us move and there was a monsoon at precisely the very hour we planned on getting help. People were so great to help anyway.


Our empty house.


Crazy.


Then we made the spontaneous decision to go down to Mexico. We had planned to head out right away but we were so exhausted that we didn't think we'd make the 12 hour drive to San Antonio without sleeping in. So we decided- why not sleep in, go see Mexico, and then leave the next day? So we did.




We came directly from packing and cleaning. Can you tell?!?




Here's the wall that gets all the attention in the news. It was crazy to actually see it.


We then delayed our trip even more by this NASTY project of replacing a bent towel rod for our renters. Easy, right? Not for us. I was about to take a hammer to the wall out of frustration, but luckily thought through that little plan.


The subject of such grief. Seems so innocent.


On our way out! This picture makes me feel a little sick. I can't say I loved living in Tucson. The people were great, but it was the right thing to move. I did absolutely LOVE our house. To drive away was much more difficult than I thought. Is it possible to get emotionally attached to a house?


So we thought we were finally on our way but then quickly discovered that Simon was not ok with the travel arrangements. We thought we'd just let him wander around the car and sleep on the front seat like Nina did, but oh no. He about clawed me to bits. I almost got in an accident in about a block. We had to stop and I had to send JD to Walmart to pick up a carrier. The cat one was out of stock so Simon got some roomy digs.


When we planned our trek across the country, we decided that if we have to drive the whole way anyway, we might as well stop at cool places along the way. We got to spend a wonderful couple of days in San Antonio with aunt Loralynn, Liana, and family. I sure miss how we all used to get together when they lived in Utah. It was so much fun and they showed us around.


We got to go see the Alamo.




And peek into one of those Ripley's Believe It or Not museum lobbies. It was a stretch to reach this guy's elbow.


JD next to the fattest documented person.




Then we visited The Riverwalk. So beautiful.








Texas is a great state. Mostly because the Rammells and Risenmays are there, but I was surprised at how much I liked it.

Not in the Mood

I just really haven't been in the mood to blog. And now there's too much to catch up on. So I did what I always do- the fun cutesy stuff. Maybe I'll get to updating. Maybe I'll do it later.....

A Recipe for the Back Pocket

Check out this recipe for Quick Doughnuts!

My Home's in Montana, I Wear a Bandanna....

This summer JD and I went home to Montana for a week. The rest of the fam was supposed to come as well, but unfortunately, things came up and Allen, Cait, Benjamin and Paige were not able to make it. It's getting so hard to get together now that we are scattered all over.


We had a blast which would have only been better if everyone could have been there. We went to the Missoula Osprey game with Grandma and Grandpa Recht and the Recht crew. I kept wanting to pinch myself over and over because it's only been a recent blessing to be able to go somewhere together with both Mom AND Dad. Usually our family has to split up so someone is home with Brooke. I never really saw it as a big deal- just the way things have to be- but the opportunity to do things away from the house together was a huge blessing and a lot of fun.


When we snapped this picture, the lady behind us said "I hope you know you have a big fat woman in the background of your picture!" What do you say to that?


Go Osprey!!


We also got to go to the Big Hole Battlefield. This is where the Nez Percé were massacred by Colonel Gibbon and his men. It's not a happy place, there was a lot of misunderstanding at that time.






Dad and JD listening to our tour guide.


These frames represent where the camp was set up when the attack began.




After the Big Hole, we stopped at Fetty's for buffalo burgers. You gotta go if you are in the area.








If you look at the black and white and compare to this picture, you can see that the only thing that has changed through the years are the cars!


On the way home we came upon this traffic light. In the middle of NOWHERE. No cars, no life of any kind. And we sat. And sat. And sat. I was beginning to think we were on Candid Camera. We literally sat for over a half hour. FINALLY, a little construction vehicle came plodding along. I think the construction workers were bored and decided to play a prank or something. When we drove through the "construction zone" I don't recall seeing anything except for a random cone or two.


We also went to Lunch in the Park in Missoula. Been a while since I've had Thia food. Yum!


Shaved ice!


Yup. This is outside our window. My parents live in paradise
.

"Hey human! Got any flower boxes to munch on?! I'm hungry!"

We had Grandma and Grandpa over for dinner one night and Grandma made homemade corn tortillas with her tortilla press. Best corn tortillas I've ever had!


An evening of golf




Isn't my mom so cute!?!


We then went to Lewis and Clark Caverns. This is the view from the mouth of the caverns.


Isn't my husband so cute!?




Isn't my dad so cute?!?






Can't go home without take out from Noodles Express. Love that ginger sauce! I remember in high school going to the mall with friends. Did I buy new shoes? No. Did I buy a new outfit? No. Makeup? No. A quart of ginger sauce from Noodles Express? Oh yeah!!!


Riding lawn mover races


JD maneuvering backward around the garbage cans.


Yeah, yeah. Dad won but he's had more practice.


I got second place. Ha!

A Tribute to a Special Pet

It's amazing how a pet becomes so much a part of your family that it's a tremendous loss when s/he goes. I don't think I really understood her impact until she was gone. I knew it would be hard- Nina was special.

When JD and I got married we almost immediately started looking for a pet. A nesting instinct? Probably. We both love dogs but our living situation made a dog impossible. I started looking online for a cat that needed to be adopted. Nina's picture online didn't do her justice. I didn't think she was that cute and I did NOT want a long hair cat. But I kept coming back to her. Nina was supposed to be in our home. There was no getting around it. The prompting that I felt was real.


Nina was not an ordinary cat. She thought she was a dog. She licked like a dog, crawled in your lap like a dog, and followed you around the house like a dog. She couldn't stand not being where the action was and sitting quietly on your lap was not enough. She would crawl up to your face, purring like a machine, and lick your nose. She wasn't happy unless she was two inches from your face.

She was also very tolerant. JD used to grab her paws and stand her up and make her dance. She was pretty good at hip hop. When young kids were around, they would grab Nina and Nina would submit to the pokes and prods of young curious fingers. She never tried to get away, even though it wasn't her favorite thing. She didn't want to hurt anyone.

She'd even let us bathe her. There were a few times when she got into things that required a bath and we'd fill the tub up with warm water and she would let us lather her up. She didn't try to get away. She didn't scratch. She knew we were trying to take care of her.

She even taught JD how to do laundry......


She would also communicate to us. She would come wandering in the room (running if she heard the can opener) and start meowing. We talked to her and she would respond back. The exchange went back and forth and we got such a kick out of it.

She also didn't get the hint that we were done petting her. She thought there was no POSSIBLE way that ANYONE could get sick of her. We'd put her down and she'd climb back up. She would do this literally 15 plus times in a row. Seriously!


She determined that new places to curl up were designed just for her. JD got this Redskins chair for a birthday and Nina was the first to enjoy it.

She also sensed sorrow. When I was sad, Nina always crawled onto my lap to give me comfort. She was there when I found out I was going to miscarry, there when JD was out of town and I was really sick, there to bring comfort to JD after his stroke. She knew when she was needed.

She wasn't too thrilled of the idea of a bringing a new addition to the Santini fold, but warmed up to him and was comforted by him during the last few hours of her life.


It is said that Joseph Smith expects that his favorite horse will be with him in the next life. I think I agree. It may seem silly to write a tribute to a cat, but I believe pets have special purposes. They were lovingly created by our Heavenly Father to teach us how to love. They love unconditionally. Everything the Lord created point us to Him. If we look around we can see how the earth and all it holds remind us of the Savior and of God's plan.

"Every animal or plant, in filling the measure of its creation, praises God. We must, by fulfilling our creation, do the same." Anselm Spring

Nina- we miss you and our home isn't the same without you.