some fun in Utah...

Despite the sad circumstances of why I went to Utah,
we still managed to have a little bit of fun and
relax some which helped tremendously
with the crying headaches and stress.
=o)

First of all there was snow the ground when I got there
but it all melted the second day when it warmed up to 70.

You know you're in UT when you see this!!!
haha

hanging out one morning in our pj's

McKinley wanted to get her ear pierced,
(with a little cohearsing from me & Tracy)
one side had grown up....
but she would only do it if she sat on my lap.

she was soo brave until the impact....
and then she cried!

like the shutter shades?!?!
did we not play with these when we were little????
I can't believe crap like this is back in style!
seriously.

here we go....some with bling!!

Tracy's friend Jenn flew in from Nebraska
and it was sooo fun getting to know her.
We pretty much played 'beauty shop' every morning
with all three of us in Tracy's bathroom getting ready at the same time.

Jenn is a hair stylist and did a great job on Tracy's hair!


one of the funny things that I was really
aggravated about was that I had a reservation
for an economy sized car......
but when I got there they didn't have any.
they also didn't have any mid-sized cars
so guess what I ended up with........

yep....a good ole' mini van!!!
(not just any mini-van...a Dodge Grand Caravan!!)
Now if any of you know my husband....
he refuses to ever own a mini van so therefore I've never driven one!
So you can imagine I'm thinking.....
'I'm on a trip with NO kids or husband and
I have to drive a MINI VAN?!?!?!!'
What the heck!

But just so you know....
it ended up being a blessing to have that van....
we all fit in it...including her mom & dad who flew into town and
it was a blessing that we all got to ride in the same car every where we had to go.
So yes....I did repent and count it as a blessing!!

poor Jenn squeezed in the very back the first time!

then we switched things around
and Tracy got back there


On Monday after the funeral.....
some of Keven's Polynesian friends came over to hang out

and 'Mix'.....Kava!

Kava is a root (ground up into powder)
that they mix up to drink.
Supposed to help you 'relax' and it is only done is a social setting.
Apparently you have to be 'invited' to drink this stuff......

Jenn, Senga, & Ben

Ben showing me a few chords on the Ukulele

Senga & Frank
this cracks me up.....
they got a hold of my camera and started snapping away!

Ben here is married to a beautiful lady
and they have SEVEN kids!!!

Tracy's Dad......
he was enjoying all the musical talent with us!

Senga, Frank and Shane
all four of these guys could play and sing
beautifully!! It was so peaceful listening to them sing.

they kept making fun of my accent
so my nickname for the night became 'Texas'.
Here I am about to try this kava.......

taking deep breath to prepare for it........

gulp....gulp....

blahhhhhh......that stuff is NASTY!!
it literally tastes like dirty water!

funny thing is that it makes your tongue
tingle and then go numb

Tracy's turn!!
haha.....doesn't the look on her face say it all?!?!

The Three Amigos

Jenn dubbed these boys 'Trouble' earlier that day so here's
Frank's cup declaring he is 'Trouble Free'....hahaha.

the view from Tracy's back porch as the sun was going down

singing and chatting

Frank the kava disher-uper

this is me trying to show the boys the 'war dance' I've seen
Sione and Filipe on 'The Biggest Loser' do......hahaha!
(somebody had to be the life of the party I guess!)
just kiddin!!

I was wanting them to get up and show
me a real authentic war dance....
they were all pretty shy about it!!
They finally taught us a few moves but we didn't get any pics of that.
(thank goodness!!)
hahaha

It was such a fun night to hang out, sing, laugh, and talk.
Keven used to do this with these guys all the time and
it felt like they/we were paying tribute to him one last time......
we truly felt like he was there with us.