~ Belated Happy 50th Dean ~

Oh my..... it's kind of a blur. I would have posted this on the 4th of July when our neighbor and good friend Dean turned 50. It was one of those Fridays where things fly by and best intentions for blogging are put aside. There was a fun family BBQ at a friend's house and the usual 4th of July fun. We were hoping to swim and BBQ Sunday night at home with Dean and Vicki.

On July 5th Dean had his heart attack. By the 9th he was having triple bypass surgery. As I'm sitting here and looking at the calendar, I can't believe that it's the 17th and I'm still speechless and even blogless. There has been a coming together of neighbors and friends that is humbling. And there have been many prayers from many denominations of religion. Thankfully he is home now, but it's going to be a long road back. It's so hard to see anyone go through this. Thank God he is still here.

On a positive note, there is this giant ripple affect. Everyone is not only humbled, but looking inward. Suddenly cholesterol numbers are being discussed and carbohydrate counts and food points and protein versus carbs, etc. It almost makes you want to scream!!! And yes... I've fallen into it to. ARGH!!!! We'll see where this little journey takes all of us....

Merely a month ago you were dancing with your beautiful daughter Julie at her wedding..... as you will be in a few years for Hayden and Jeni.

We Love You Dean!! We're all looking to be fit at 50 with you!!!

~ Laugh Often ~ Love Much ~ Live Well ~

We did all of these this weekend! My face hurts and my sides are sore from the laughter!

Thank you Classmates.com.
We've been looking for Judy for years :)

Kaye Ashcroft Black, Trudy Jones Wood, Judy Woodside,
and Terri Aylward Leach

Dinner at Buddy's- Mmmm!
Terri, Judy, Monty and Kaye, Bob Prestwich and daughter, and Trudy

Kaye Black - Judy Woodside - Terri Leach - Trudy Wood

This is the year we all turned or are turning (sounds a lil' fruity.... ) 50 years old. As a special surprise to Terri from her awesome husband Randy we all met in Salt Lake. I drove to Pocatello Friday morning to pick up Kaye. We got to Salt Lake that afternoon as Judy was getting off of the plane from Phoenix, Arizona. Then Terri's plane came in 15 minutes later from Corvallis, Oregon. We have not been together in at least 28 years. Yup.... there was lots of screaming and laughing and hugging!!! We drove back through Lava and had dinner for old times sake, then on to Pocatello. Judy and Terri haven't been in Pocatello in 29 years.

What a blast we had this weekend!!! Kaye showed us all of the old sites. We ate at Buddy's. We dragged Yellowstone. We laughed until our sides hurt. We were as wild and crazy as we dared to be for our age. It was all good!

This is in tribute to the one who made it happen... I guess you can figure out which toes are which? Or not....

Well I guess some of us did things that may have been a little out of character for their normal selves. There's supposed to be a treble cleff in there.... Yikes!!

Yellow Roses are nice anywhere, anytime...

OK so..... not all of us. This one is a tatoo wannabe. Oh well.

We hugged Kaye and Monty goodbye.... and drove back to Boise for Terri and Judy's flights home on Monday back to Corvallis and Phoenix. It was all over too fast.... and we vowed to do this again. Maybe without the ink though... LOL!!

Friends Forever

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This is a good summary of the weekend...... these 3 plaques are hanging in my kitchen and I came across them today with fresh eyes:

Love Much
Love as if each day might be your last.
Let love be your foundation for life.
Love without conditions or expectations...
Listen to your heart.

Laugh Often
Go through your days with a smile in your heart
Let you cheeks ache from laughter.
Let your belly tickle from the joy of good chuckle.

Live Well
Live your life knowing that you are writing a story,
one the when retold, will be full of laughter and love.
The story of a life lived well.

Keri Lyn Shosted

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I couldn't have said it better myself.
Amen!