Michael Buble'-A Night out with my Hubby

As soon as I heard Michael Buble' was coming in concert in SLC I wanted tickets! I knew Greg would love it too...he loves music of all types, but we both find his music so relaxing and wonderful. Tickets to his concert were sold out so I am glad we got them early! It was a fantastic concert. I was very impressed with the opening act Naturally 7. They are a group that accompanies themselves with instrument sounds that they make vocally. I think it is called "vocal play". I'm sure they have a youtube video. We had a great time. MB is a fantastic performer and singer. The technical displays were amazing. It was a night I will remember for a long time! Thanks for the great date!( Concert was 3/31/10 at the E Center)

Spring--Please Stay---We NEED YOU

It is just time for Spring to come and stay! We cleaned the garage today...okay Greg did most of the cleaning of the garage, but I am really appreciative of it! It makes me feel like I want to get the rest of the winter messes cleaned up...The yard, the storage rooms, the shed, the closets....Spring must be coming because I am feeling like Spring Cleaning:) The problem with my projects is that it requires much help from my family, which also means that I either get willing help which is nice, or have to beg and plead for help, which makes me a bit grouchy. Everyone likes to have things cleaned up, but no one really enjoys doing it.

So what has been going on at the Romero's for the past month or so? Greg and I had a great trip to Las Vegas for Valentines. We stayed at the Bellagio and then at the South Point. We got to go to a few shows...The Blue Man Group and Lion King. They were great! I was totally impressed with the costumes in Lion King. We had so much fun that we just booked a week there for a family vacation in June. We are staying at the Grand Desert, which is part of our Wyndham time share. I know it is kind of a slimmy place for a family vacation, but off the strip I think we will enjoy the warm weather, great pools, fun shows and great food!(Chocolate Fountain at Bellagio)


Panda's for Chinese New Year at the Bellagio

My work has been CRAZY. Primary Children's has been it busiest ever. Our unit, not usually effected by seasonal illnesses because it is a Newborn ICU has had very sick babies, and because the rest of the hospital has been so busy has had a few "boarders" from other units, and a shortage of nurses. To top that off I have been very sick the past two weeks. I aspirated my own spit!!! Isn't that disgusting? Don't try it at home, you can really get quite sick.Greg and Milo have been in a dog training class. The ultimate goal is to get Milo trained to be a therapy dog. He has a long way to go, but Greg has really been working hard with him and he has come a long way. You can actually come into our house now without him knocking you over! He is getting good at "sitting" and "waiting"....and even "leave it" which is hard for him when her wants to steal food off the counter, or take off with a sock on the floor! I have hope for their "Therapy Dog" future.

Cameron and Lindz are plugging along. Check out their blog for their latest info. Lindsey does at great job at keeping it updated. Lindz and I are counting down the days until we get to pick up our new I-pads. Of course Cam is getting one too....It is a new Apple product after all. I had fun this week having Cameron visit the NICU. I am so excited for him to start his career in nursing. It will be interesting to see what he decides to do with his degree...Where he will work and what he will be doing. I know he will do great!

Matt is living at home now. Sharlene is working in Salt Lake, and it just made more sense for him to live closer to where she was so that they could date and make plans for the future. Sharlene is an assistant event planner for the Salt Palace. She gets to be involved in many exciting events that take place there. Matt is still commuting to Lindon with his job at TAM. He is hoping to find something in Salt Lake. I am hoping he will get back in school soon. Waiting to decide when they will get married, but they are thinking about August.

Taylor is still at UVU. He is an avid Jazz fan and has been to lots of games this season. He is trying to get along with his psycho roomate, and is learning lots of life's lessons at this point in his life. School is challenging and a little stressful. He is a smart kid, it just takes a lot of getting organized and buckling down to get the grades. I have lots of faith in him.

Ryan is full of life and excitement! Had a great fancy date to Junior Prom. Isn't he a handsome guy? He just informed me that he is going to run for SBO. He already has a pretty busy year planned for next year...but it will be his last year of high school so I say...Live it Up. If you don't get involved in school it is hard to stay motivated to go your last year.


Ryan and his date Lenyx
Lauren is enjoying Young Womens. She has also been selling Girl Scout cookies for Girl Scouts. They are sooo good. She is crafting up all kinds of things with her Cricut paper cutter and is doing great in school. This year has been a little challenging for her. She is learning that many kids aren't "nice" and not every teacher loves her....and even if they don't she still has to grin and bear it. It is much more fun when everyone is nice and your teacher loves you!

Bye Bye January...one month closer to SPRING!!!

I don't especially like winter. I don't hate it because there are some great things about it, but about this time of the winter I start looking forward to Spring. What do I like about winter...New snow on the trees and how it still looks light outside even when it is dark. I like the smell of wood burning fireplaces. I like seeing my kids get excited for snowboarding. I used to love to ski...hope to again when I get rid of more of this fat...hope I don't break something, but I am going to do it again. I love Christmas. I love getting together with family. I love Greg making his shopping lists and making sure we don't forget anyone. He is so good at that. I love hot chocolate and oh yes, the christmas lights! We have our favorite places to go to see them. One year we took all the kids on a carriage ride after visiting Temple Square. The streets were packed with snow, and it was bright outside, even though it was dark...just the way I like it. We went to Memory Grove in the carriages, and it was spectacular. It was the perfect night for taking a carriage ride. I don't think any of us will ever forget that night.
What I don't like about winter, at least here in Salt Lake is the inversion. Salt Lake has about the worst air quality in the nation. I remember bringing Doris here when she was frail with lung cancer. She had lived in Port Angeles with cloudy skies, but clean fresh air. I felt like I was poisoning Doris a bit, and it was quite embarrassing to have such horrible air. The entire family is fighting upper respiratory infections right now. We'd all get better sooner if the air would clear out! I don't like dirty lawns, that have junk on them the wind blows around, but it is too cold to clean them up. I don't like the mud. I don't like freezing hands, nose or toes. I don't like huge heating bills!
I keep seeing geese and ducks flying along the river...NORTH, and sticking around like they may be nesting...and that means that spring is coming.
I like Spring because...well first of all winter is over! Also because of the new flowers, baby animals, new beginnings, clean starts, motivation to clean the house and longer daylight.

The End of Decade...Welcome 2010

It always feels weird to see a decade pass away. Ten years ago I still had little kids at home for Christmas, and Santa was anxiously anticipated by a few of them! Most of the boys still thought girls had fleas, and Lauren only knew how to smear lipstick from one end of her body to the other, no concept of making herself more attractive by applying it. Greg had his gadgets, but his phone just had voice mail and call waiting, nothing like the I-phone!I was still teaching preschool and volunteering at the elementary school. We could go to dinner as a family and order from the kids menus, and I drove a mini van. Time changes so many things. Cameron is married, Matt is engaged, and Taylor and Ryan definitely understand that girls don't have fleas, and for some hormonal and instinctive reason are drawn to beautiful young ladies! Lauren knows all about the Mac counter at Nordstrom and is quite the makeup artist. None of the kids believe in Santa, and in fact are beginning to understand that Christmas is much more than Santa....that being Santa is much more exciting than getting from Santa. I don't miss the mini-van, and I loved teaching preschool, but I am so thankful for my job in the PCMC NICU as an RN.

Here are some pictures from then and now...kind of fun for me. It seems like just a few days or maybe even a year or two ago,....but alas it has been ten!

This was then......

Taylor and Gramee decorating for Christmas 1999
Lauren the bowling queen 1999Greg and Karine at the "Great Wall" China
Karine, Matt and Cam at the Empire State building...just after 9-11
Taylor, Ryan and Lauren... This was the first day of school. Taylor in 4th grade, Ryan in second

Lauren's second birthday...those were the days I actually made the cake! Costco is such a better deal....but it was fun.Ryan with his beloved Game Boy
Taylor and Greg on a golf trip...That is when Greg won...Last year of pre-school

This is now...2009

Cameron and Lindsey Christmas Eve cutting the mouthwatering Brisket...Lindsey is better than Rachel Ray!





Ryan and Taylor in New York on a trip with Greg for Taylor's High School Graduation
Taylor and Katie Peil at the San Diego Zoo

Ryan and Kristin Kimball...no fleas!
Matt and Mom in Rio this summer. Matt was just going to be released from his mission
Lauren at Six Flags and below with a new hair do for the beginning of 6th GradeLauren's new hair-do Greg, Karine and Matt in BrazilGreg and Karine in San Fransisco

San Fransico--2009 A great little get away

On top of Macy's at Cheesecake Factory
Out to dinner Ray and Shaunna
Dinner at Pier 39
Sea Lions at Pier 39
Greg Karine and the very noisy sea lions
Oakland temple lit up in the dark
Oakland temple in the daylight

Fall Trips...

I think the most memorable vacations Greg and I have taken have been in the Fall. We have been fortunate enough in our life together to have traveled many places. I count it one of my greatest blessings. I remember when Greg and I were talking about getting married, one of the things I really worried about was that he had not traveled much, and at the time was terrified of flying. He assured me that even though he had not been on many family vacations, or traveled much, he hoped to in the future. Little did I know he would graduate and a get a job with IBM. IBM has extensive training, requiring him to fly back and forth to Atlanta and New York quite a few times. He later had a job with Franklin Covey, where he traveled a couple of times a month. He was able to take me along sometimes, and that began our love of traveling together. He has also taken each of the boys on some memorable trips when he traveled for work....Lauren is patiently waiting her turn.
At any rate... as it is the season of being thankful, I am thankful for many things, but tonight I am thinking about all the great Fall trips we have been on. Most recently to San Fransisco. Whenever I go to San Fransisco I think of my oldest son Cameron. He fell in love with that city as a young boy. Greg grew up just outside of the city in Livermore, and we visited San Fransisco often. When Cameron was in Junior High we went with him to a Junior High career counseling session and he told us that he greatest aspiration was to have an apartment in San Fransisco and be a businessman there. He planned to stay single until he was 30, get rich there and enjoy life as a bachelor in SF. We were a little worried, but thought he was a young dreamer, so we would go with it. He married young, still loves San Fransisco, but probably won't ever live there....

Greg had a seminar in SF this October. It was one of the best times I have ever spent in San Fransisco. His meetings were at the Fairmont Hotel located at the very top of Nob Hill. To save money for the company he works for, he opted to stay at a boutique hotel a few blocks away. Each morning he would get up and walk to the conference. Each evening he would complain of his shins hurting. He explained to me that he had to climb a steep hill to get to the hotel, and he thought that was what was making his legs hurt. On the final day of the conference, I decided to meet him at the Fairmont, take in the views and see some of the great architecture of the hotel. I walked a little ways and got the the St. Francis hotel and asked the bell man how to get to the Fairmont. He said, see that hill, just keep climbing up! It was a very steep hill, and as I climbed the trolley passed me a couple of times. I kept wondering how I could get on that trolley! Never did figure that out, but I knew Greg would know, and we could ride it back down the hill. I finally arrived at the Hotel, tired and impressed with myself for making it to the top! Greg showed me around the hotel. It was magnificent. There were pictures in the hallway of the hotel before the earthquake and fire in 1906, as well as many Presidents and celebrities who had made speeches or performed in the Venetian Room. It is quite a place, not to mention a spectacular view from the top of the hill.
We were able to spend some great times together. We attended a concert at the Oakland temple grounds. A Livermore friend of Greg's, Raymond Lee played the cello. It was beautiful and relaxing. We were able to go out to dinner with him and his wife Shaunna at a Thai restaurant later in the week. We really enjoyed getting to know them better. They have a passel of handsome boys, reminded me of when our children were younger.
We stayed in a cute hotel. It was an old Boutique hotel called the "Triton". It looked like it had been decorated by Dr. Suess. I think every guy that worked there was in touch with their feminine side, but very friendly and helpful. There was a cute little card shop next to the hotel that I enjoyed browsing through. The lady that worked behind the counter was awful. She was rude and unkind to the customers. It seemed ironic to me that such a bitter woman would work at a Hallmark card shop. I asked her if they sold stamps, instead of saying "no" she pointed to a sign hooked to the cash register that said, "We don't sell stamps...the post office is located"...with the address following.
We spent time doing things we have done many times, and a few we hadn't experienced before. We saw the sea lions at Pier 39. They are a noisy bunch, each one has a story to tell and they want to be heard! We shopped at Union Square--I shopped while he was in classes. One day the rain started while I was in Macy's. I had no choice but to run through the rain back to the hotel. The roads were like small rivers. I was literally soaked to the bones. I hung up my clothes to dry over the shower door, and they never did dry out all the way! We ate at Cheesecake Factory on top of Macy's. The view was spectacular, and a band was playing in Union Square making the night even more memorable. We had eaten there before with all of the kids, and a couple of their friends when we went to California on a vacation a few years earlier. I sure liked the price of the meal this time compared to the last visit there with nine people!
Enough rambling....but Fall vacations are a must. So are vacations to somewhere warm, in the winter when it is freezing in Utah. Something about the sunshine in the winter that warms the soul and helps one make it through the chill of Utah!

Matt's Getting Married!

Matt had Sharlene's Sorority Sisters stage a "Prom" (because he had promised to take her to one in High School and never did.) She thought she was going to a fund raiser of some sort....Surprise!
Matthew Romero and Sharlene Witt...officially engaged.
The ring....

Time goes by way to quick and before you know it the house starts emptying out...and the family gets bigger! Matt and Sharlene Witt will be married on January 16, 2009. I felt all kinds of emotions about this. How is a mom to know if her child is ready for such a big step as marriage? I worry, I get excited, I worry, I get excited. I have a lot of faith in both of them. Sharlene has been a friend of Matt's for years and years, and we have known and loved her for a long time. She will be graduating from SUU (Southern Utah University ) in Business Management with and emphasis in Marketing. Matt will be continuing on with his education, and working at TAM Solutions as a computer repair tech. It will be a busy few months with the holidays and then a wedding. Lauren is excited to be a bridesmaid, and all the fun that comes along with a wedding.

New Era for the Romeros

Matt came home from his mission and stayed for such a short time...only a few days, and then he and Taylor headed down to Orem to live and attend the Utah Valley University. They are living at Wolverine Crossing. It looks like a fun place to live, and is much better than the "cave" we dropped Matt off at when he first went to college a few years ago. He wanted a private room, and that is all he had, a room, more like a closet in a hall. It was horrible, and I felt sad leaving him there. This is a much better gig! We haven't seen much of him since school started. He had a lot of quick adjustments to making getting back to "real" life. He had his homecoming at church, school, a move, buying a car (which was a small nightmare in and of itself), starting a computer repair business and dating again. Taylor has popped in and out a bit. He called me the other day to tell me that the new laundry softener I bought, which he used when doing his laundry at home, "Changed his life"...I think he likes it. Maybe the good smells will remind him of home!
It is strange and more peaceful having just two kids at home now. Can't say the house is cleaner because it is torn to pieces trying to get the basement fixed from a flood. New carpet, tile, paint, baseboards..the works.
Ryan and Lauren are both doing great in school. Ryan has 3 college classes because he is in a program to get his associates while in high school. Lauren is adjusting to 6th grade. The girls are meaner and the boys are becoming more and more attractive to her! Lots of time spent texting and on the computer!
Greg, Taylor, Matt and I are joining a fantasy football league and the draft is today. I am excited! Greg has done the league for a couple of years now and we all got into seeing how his team was doing. We thought we'd all get a piece of the action this year!
Cameron and Lindsey are busy as ever. Cameron just started the nursing program at SLCC. He discovered he has high blood pressure. The nursing program does that to lots of people! I am way excited for him, and know it is a very stressful time in his life--but it will be worth it. Lindsey is getting started with a new year of teaching Kindergarten. I think the beginning of the year is always taxing and busy. They are enjoying a new apartment in West Jordan ( I think that is the city) It is by Gardner Village. Good Luck Cam and Lindz!