Blogger Illiterate!

Wow! I've been trying for months now how to get this slideshow on my blog. It took forever to get all the pictures together and labeled and then I couldn't get it to the blog. Thanks to my friend, Heather, I think I got it, however, any time I try to type anything in the Panama Canal Cruise post, it deletes the slideshow. So, I finally gave up! I am blogger illiterate! I just decided to do this separate post and leave the slideshow alone. Here are some of the pictures of our cruise to the Panama Canal. It was a FABULOUS vacation! We left Sunday, October 26th out of Los Angeles on Royal Caribbean's Splendor of the Seas and went to Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco, and Huatulco, Mexico, then to Costa Rica, Panama, through the locks and over to Aruba, then to Puerto Rico where we got off the boat on November 8th and stayed in Puerto Rico for two more days. We went with our good friends, Steve and Bobbie Ostler and Jerry and Sandy Moon. I can't even begin to tell you how much fun we had...it was non stop. We haven't laughed that much or played that hard for months. We've decided two weeks is the only way to go for cruising. It was the first cruise we didn't feel rushed on! We did not want to come home. We've been on lots of vacations at all different times of the year, but this one was really hard to come home from because when we left the weather was nice, the trees still had leaves on them and the sun stayed up until seven or seven thirty. We came home to cold weather, naked trees and because of daylight savings time, early nights. No good. Oh well, we'll just have to live on the memories! It was GOOD times!

Panama Canal Cruise

Breezy's Having A Baby!!!

Our youngest daughter, Bree, and her husband, Andy have been married for three years. During that time, we have occasionally asked if they were going to have children...only to just about get our heads bitten off. So, needless to say, we gave up asking. We had just returned from a 16 day cruise to the Panama Canal (the pictures are coming--this was more important!) and it was a Sunday. We were all watching football and suddenly Bree drops these two photos in my lap. I assumed she had a friend who was pregnant and had some questions about the ultrasound, so I asked, "Who's are these?" To which she replied, "Mine." Then I figured she must have gotten out her baby book and pulled her ultrasound pictures out. I turned to look at her and just then it hit me. She had tears in her eyes and I started screaming, "You're pregnant?" We were all (Chris and Andy were there, too!) jumping up and down and crying tears of joy. Suddenly it hit me that they were moving to Georgia in January and my tears of joy turned to tears of sobbing sorrow. I said, "Oh no, but you're moving to Georgia." Bree said, "Well, that's Part 2: We're not going to Georgia any more! Now that I'm pregnant, we feel it would be best to stay here with family." And Part 3 is: Can we live with you a little longer until we find a place to live? I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Christmas came early for us! So, she followed the advice of a baby book which told her that you shouldn't announce that you're pregnant until your second trimester. Stupid book...that author never had a daughter. Anyway, she's due May 27th! Yahoo! I can't wait. I hope none of their houses that they own can be vacated for at least another 6 or 7 months! We love having them live with us!


This one shows it's little heartbeat...



...and this one is the little guy--or gal!

More About New York...

I spent 10 days in New York City and I could have spent another month! The first 5 days were with Chris, and then I took him to the airport and picked up my sister, Jeanie ! Between the two of them, I got to see 6 Broadway plays! Chris and I saw The Lion King and Young Frankenstein. Then Jeanie and I saw Title of Show, The Jersey Boys (my favorite!), Gypsy Rose and South Pacific. They were awesome! Title of Show wasn't great, but it was interesting! Here are some pictures of other things we did. The first is a sneak preview of the new Yankee Stadium. Then one of me after the Yankee game on the street in Times Square. Next is the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It is so amazing to me that on out of four Americans can trace their ancestry back to an immigrant that came through Ellis Island. The stories were heard while there were incredible. I can't even imagine the things our ancestors went through to be able to come to America! One day Lou (another name for my sis, Jeanie), and I went up to the Bronx to take pictures of the new Yankee Stadium, then took the subway through four of the five burroughs and ended up in Coney Island. We had always heard of this place, but had never been there, so we checked it out. It was mostly deserted because it's Fall, but we still went to the famous Nathan's for a Coney Island hot dog. We found out a Coney Island dog is just a hot dog with sauerkraut and onions. Truth is, Lou had a regular hot dog and I had a steak sandwich. But hey, we can say we've been to Coney Island!

New York, New York! We love New York!

So, Chris' birthday and Father's Day are always within a day or two of each other, which makes gift finding really hard. Well, this year, for Father's Day, I gave him a trip to New York. He'd been there for a few hours on the way home from his mission, but hadn't REALLY seen New York! I had gone with my sister, Jeanie, a few years ago, and absolutely fell in LOVE with the city...everything about it...the subways (yeah!), the people, the Broadway plays, the food, the landmarks, EVERYTHING! Chris has been an avid Yankee fan since the Mickey Mantle days, but has never been to a game in Yankee stadium. As most of you know, they are tearing it down even as I write. I was able to get some fantastic tickets to the second to the last game (or the last Saturday night game) before they tore the stadium down. Chris was excited when he opened them and I told him we were going, but NOTHING compared to what I witnessed when we got there. We arrived at the stadium a few hours prior to the game because we had special passes to get into the Stadium Club. This was supposed to give us an advantage and guarantee that we would be able to see Monument Park--where all the retired players numbers and plaques are--but when we got there, we found out that since it was the next to the last game, they were going to allow the first 200 people in line only to visit Monument Park. I was sick. We were about 600 people back. We talked to one of the police officers guarding the stadium and explained our situation and he saved us! He allowed us a five minute head start through the Stadium Club (which is on the opposite side of the stadium from Monument Park) and we literally ran through the stadium. We were almost to the entrance to Monument Park when they let the rest of the public into the stadium. What chaos! Luckily, another guy that worked at the stadium blocked the raging crowd off and let us in to Monument Park. I was so relieved! I knew that was one of Chris' "bucket list" items, so I am eternally grateful to Officer Manuela and the guy inside the stadium for letting a couple of Utah punks into the Park. When we got there, it was boiling hot outside, but I looked at Chris and he had goose bumps on his arms. He was SO excited to be there! His dream had come true! We took tons of pictures! The grin never left his face for the next 5 hours. He loved every minute of it. In 30 years of marriage, he has never thanked me so much for something. I think I did good on this one!

Jackson's Baptism

On Saturday, the 6th of September, our first grandson--Tierney's oldest child, Jackson, was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. His biological father, John Beck--Tierney's first husband-- baptized him, and then his dad, Vinny Rowe, confirmed him. It was a great day! Jackson had so many friends and family there. He was the only one from his ward baptized that day and the whole room was full! He had three sets of grandparents there (one good thing about divorce!), one set of great grandparents, lots of aunts and uncles and cousins and tons of friends. His mom played the piano for all the songs, two of his grandpas gave talks, one of his friends, Julia (aka Huba to those of us who love her best) sang "One Clear Voice" and Tierney bore her testimony. It was fantastic! Thanks to everyone who came and helped us celebrate this great occasion...and helped with the luncheon afterward. Jackson looked so handsome and we are so proud of him! I can't believe we have a grandchild that old! Yikes, the years are slipping up on us!

The Eck Women Reunited!

Last Saturday night, my cute nephew (okay, so they are all cute!), Justin and his new bride, Christiana had a reception in Provo. They actually got married in the Sacramento temple on August 22nd, but they have lots of friends and family here in Utah, so they had a reception here, too! My sister, Lou (she goes by Jeanie to most people, but her given name is Lou Jean, so those of us that love her most call her Lou) did a great job of pulling it all together from 700 miles away. It was a great night...lots of family I hadn't seen for awhile, and what's better than getting together with the fam? Here's a pic of me, my sisters, Joette and Jeanie, and my mom. That's the female side of the Joe Eck family!

Jackson Tage turns 8 years old!

September 3rd was Jackson's eighth birthday. We can't believe we could possibly have a grandchild that old! He is such a sweet boy and so smart! For his birthday, he told Tierney he just wanted a big, fat, juicy steak for dinner and then to go to Boondocks. So, that's exactly what we did. Vinny barbequed some HUGE steaks and Tierney made all the fixin's to go with them. Then we had cupcakes (another request of Jack's), opened presents, and went to Boondocks and played miniature golf. It was a great night! Happy Birthday, Jackson! Oh, and congratulations on getting the first hole-in-one of the night! Good work! I'm not quite sure if Jack's playing his golf club like a flute, or pondering his next shot! He looks pretty serious!

Home Away From Home...

Okay, lots of you have asked about our house in St. George. I tell you, it is just small and simple, but we LOVE it! It is our home away from home. We have some great friends right next door that feel like family and when we leave the Salt Lake Valley to go south, this is where we go! I was down here last week getting the lawns mowed and decorating some more. I don't usually like to be alone, but when I'm down here, it doesn't bother me at all...though I did take my guard dog, Tucker, all nine pounds of him, with me!

Laila Belle is 3 years old!

Laila's birthday was the same day we had the Fantasy Football draft and golf tournament, so we went from one party to the other. Good times! Lucky for us the second party was at our house--a swim/pizza party! Laila loves to swim and as it turns out, we have a pool, so she chooses to come here a lot! Yea!

Tierney made some great cookies for her cake, which I thought was a fabulous idea, since kids don't usually eat cake a lot. We actually had to heat the pool since the cover was broken and it didn't keep the heat in at night. Can't wait to get our gas bill this month!? Laila thinks she is a princess (well, she is, isn't she?) so she got some "princess accessories", a laptop, and just to make sure she's grounded and doesn't let this "cincess" (and she says it) stuff get to her head, Mommy and Daddy got her a putter for golfing, complete, of course, with Barbie golf balls. Too cute! I wish all the grand kids lived close so that we could celebrate all their birthdays with them! Happy Birthday, Laila!

Fantasy Football Draft and Golf Tournament!

Every year about this time, we have our annual Fantasy Football Draft and Golf Tournament. If any of you don't know what Fantasy Football is, you're really missing out! I ignored it for years until Sky went on his mission, then decided to draft a team so that he could manage it when he got home in December.

Well, I got hooked and by the time he got home, I was winning in our league and there was no way he was taking over. Now I LOVE the football season! Here's kind of a bad picture, but this is the gang after the tournament--minus Moonie who was holding down our reservation at the restaurant so we could have the draft. I'm not too sure about my team this year, but we'll see if Big Momma's House can dominate once again! I do hold the Back-to-Back wins award, but that was many moons ago!


Managers of the Golden Ass Corral

More Stuff Going on...

The first weekend in August, Sky and Andy invited us up to a cabin that Andrea's dad built in Star Valley, Wyoming. We took our two four wheelers and had a fantastic time. The weather was CRAZY! Boiling hot one minute, then sheets of rain pouring down on us the next! We hit a hailstorm driving into town one day and it was so deafeningly (is that a word?) loud as it hit the car that I had to plug my ears. We were yelling to talk to each other inside the car. We had to pull to the side of the road because it was coming down so hard. It actually put dents in our car! The hail balls were the size of ping pong balls. I was sure the windshield or the sun roof was going to break at any moment. When the weather was cooperative, we golfed, swam and just hung out on the patio of the cabin. The first day, Chris and I, Sky, Andrea, Cole and Carson all went golfing. What a crack up! The little boys would see our balls lying on the golf course and run up to get them screaming, " I found it!" Too cute. Needless to say, we didn't keep score on that round! But it was one of my best memories of golfing. The cabin has a bridge over a dry creek bed that Andy's mom wasn't pleased to have had to put in because the creek never had any water in it. Well, if she would have

been with us, she would have been glad that the bridge was there. The "dry" bed turned into a muddy river rushing down from the mountains. Sky couldn't resist getting in...there's still a bit of little boy that likes to play in the mud inside that grown man!! Thanks, Sky and Andy...and Bev and Rand...for the good times!

Family from Albuquerque in Town!

August has been a crazy month...we have been so busy that I haven't posted much, but here are some of the highlights of the month! Family in town is always great and we've been lucky to have lots of them this month! Yea! This is my sis-in-law, Kouthie, and her daughter, Kristen, with her husband, Chris and their "baby" Ryan. And of course, we are at a restaurant eating!!! Gotta love Olive Garden...mmmmm!!!

My Hog...

So, I guess you could say that the rising gas cost really got the best of me! I just can't stand filling up the Tahoe or the Corvette and spending $100 or $75. I'm cheap through and through and I can admit it! Given that background, I decided to join the nerd world and buy a scooter. I searched for months--probably not a wise thing to do given the fact that I won't be able to ride it for many more months, but I finally found the one for me! I actually saw it on KSL.com but we had a crazy two weeks after that and I didn't get around to calling on it until it was too late. It was brand new, but the guy bought it for his wife who was only 5 feet tall and she couldn't reach the ground, so he had to sell it. I was in mourning for awhile when I realized it was sold, but got back to shopping and found the exact same scooter for sale again! This guy bought it for his wife and it was too big for her, too! Yahoo! Guess who got it? That's right-ME! With only 40 miles on it and several hundred dollars less than the original owner paid for it a month ago! It just cracks me up to ride it. What's really funny, is that there is this unwritten rule that two wheeled vehicles honk at each other whenever you pass. The first time it happened to me, I almost wrecked! Now I really laugh. I've got to get a different helmet, though. The one it came with is too big and I look like a human mushroom. Also, big time thanks go to my pal who took me up to look at it and escorted me home (since I didn't have a motorcycle license) and also my sis-in-law, Kouthie who held my hand at the DMV for an hour or more while I took my test. What would I do without great friends and family?

Family Night at Jordanelle

Jackson kneeboarding



Vinny wakeboarding



Andy wakeboarding

It seems like this summer has been so busy that we just can't get together for a trip to Lake Powell with the whole family, so we had to settle for a family night with all but Sky's family. We went up to Jordanelle Dam on Monday night and played our little hearts out. Everyone either kneeboarded, skied, or wakeboarded...even little Laila and Jackson! It was another beautiful night and we played until the sun went down and we could barely see to load the boat. Jack was probably exhausted for school the next day, but I'm sure he thought it was worth it. When they first got to the lake, Jack said, "Grandma, I was so excited to go boating today that I couldn't even concentrate at school today!" Too cute! We all had a really great time--and we'll be doing it again soon. Can't let this summer slip away without a lot more play

in it!

Captain Critty at the helm Tenito getting ready to ski

Breezy helping Laila get ready to kneeboard

Oh What A Night!

Last Wednesday night, Bree (gotta love that the kid loves to go to concerts with her Ma and Pa still), Critty and I went to the Joe Cocker/Steve Miller concert out at the Usana Amphitheater. It was incredible! The night was absolutely perfect and the bands really rocked! I can't believe that they still sound fantastic! Good grief, they are each 64 years old and they've still got it. And Norton Buffalo with the Steve Miller Band is a true geriatric rocker! I love that guy...been with them from the beginning. My favorite, though, was a new guy that they've recruited. His same is Sunny and the dude was dancing all night long! He's got some moves! Plus, he was hilarious! Can't wait until their new album comes out...it's got some blues songs on it that they played and they were really good.

My Mom and Dementia

A few of you that I sent my blog address to have asked about my mom. Well, she is doing great! She's outlived two husbands, and is married to a third man named Wendell Chapman. He is a great man and we are all quite fond of him. Mom had some physical difficulties earlier this year, but she has overcome those and now her only struggle is her dementia. Some days she is perfectly lucid and other days I just have to laugh with her or I cry. Some of the things she comes up with are great. A few months ago when I went to visit her, I noticed that her hair wasn't quite up to par. I asked her if she'd combed her hair that day and she replied, "Yes." I asked if she'd curled it, or what and she answered, rather indignantly, "I did it in the microwave." This one caught me a little off guard, so I questioned her a little further, "How did you do that?" She replied, acting a little disgusted at my stupidity, "I pushed the buttons!" So, there you have it. Microwave hair do's. Who'd have known? Obviously, she did NOT do her hair in the microwave, but for that brief moment, she thought she did. Bless her heart. She's a sweetheart and I'm just glad she's close by so I can go see her 4-5 times a week. Here's a picture of her and another of her and Wendell. Not bad for 84 and 91 years old! Don't you just love that hat on Wendell?

Journey/Heart/Cheap Trick

On Friday night, we headed out to the Usana Amphitheather and saw three old groups in concert. Cheap Trick was first, followed by Heart, who was fabulous and then Journey. It was a gorgeous night--perfect weather. We had a great time. I couldn't believe that the Wilson sisters still had such great voices! Journey didn't have Steve Perry as their lead singer, but the guy that they did pick up was great. If you didn't look at him, the group SOUNDED just like the original Journey. But then to see this Philipino dude jumping all over the stage was a little different. He was great, don't get me wrong--and he had all the energy that Steve Perry used to have, but it was just different to see. But it was fabulous. The only bad thing was that some dudes behind us were smokin' some doobies and it was BAD! It made me sick! I'm sure I was second hand high and my body just can't handle that. That definitely brought back memories of growing up in California. Back then I used to think the state "flower" was marijuana! Those were the days. UGH!

"Steffy Luck" Temporarily Suspended

Any of you who know us well, know that the Steffys live with a cloud of bad luck hovering over their heads. If something bad is going to happen, it's going to happen to us. Keeping us humble, I guess. Anyway, here is one of the few times that we got lucky!

Over Memorial Day weekend, we went to Lake Powell with our friends, the Andys and the Ossies (okay, more code names--Andys are the Andersons--Geno, Meli, Roonie, Brando and Camperoonie, and Ossies are the Ostlers--Shtovey, BobaLou, Rach-A-Roonie, and TySone. There are more Ossies, but these are the ones that came on this trip). The place where we bought our boat, Wasatch Marine, hosts a big shin dig every year at this time called Boats and Bogeys. Well, on Friday, they had a two man scramble at the Lake Powell National Golf Course. Critty and I paired up, though Meli and I rode in the same cart--you know, girls just have more fun together, but since she and I usually don't take our golf seriously, we opted to not be partners. Anyway, somehow, I actually golfed well that day. I got the women's longest drive and the closest to the hole. Shock! With these little strokes of luck, and Critty's naturally good golfing, we managed to take 3rd place in the tournament! We couldn't believe it! Anyway, they presented us with a Visa card for $250 that Critty let me buy new clubs with to leave at our St. George house, a gift certificate for $1000 off our next boat (now that's good marketing!), and told us we could choose from an electric cooler or a wakeboard. Well, in my mind, I was thinking, "An electric cooler? Isn't that the same thing as a refrigerator?" Anyway, since we have two wakeboards, we decided on the cooler. What a great decision! The cooler turned out to be a Cruzin'Cooler which is an ice chest mounted on a three wheeled scooter. It is hysterical! It goes 15 MPH! We love it! So does everyone else! Check out the pictures! And come try it out! Too funny. For this time, the "Steffy Luck" was negated! Thanks Wasatch Marine!

Secret Codes

I just realized that some of you may get really confused reading our posts if I don't give you some "secret codes." Chris and I have a habit of nicknaming everyone that we really like. So, you'll probably run into a lot of names that don't make any sense to you. Here is a brief synopsis of some of the "code" names. Chris is also known as Critty, Christopher Robin, Philly, Cletus, and Clifford. Melanie is known as Mel, MelJano, Melbie, Meli, Cletus and Philly. As you've noticed, Philly and Cletus are shared names, and may also be used to refer to other friends as well! Our kids and grandkids are as follows: Tierney is T, Tier, Tenito, Teasler, or Princess. Skyleur is Sky, Scooby, SkyMan, Lubie (usually only referred to this by Bree) , or Handsome. Brianna is Bree, Breezy, Breebop, BreezyLou or Ghetto (usually only referred to this by Sky) and Princess. The grandkids: Jackson is Jack, Jacksoney, Zoney or Zoney Bamboney. Colton is Cole, Coley or Coley Oley. Laila is Laila Belle, Laila Bella, Yay-Ya, Baby or more commonly know as the "Cincess". Carson is Cars or Carsey. In laws: Tierney's husband, Brian, we know only as Vinny or Vin--though there is nothing in his given name hinting to this. It was a name he had long before we met him. Skyleur's wife is Andrea, who we call Andie. And Brianna's husband Andrew, we call Andy. Whew! That's the family. You'll just have to catch on the the friend's nicknames as we go on. Now I can "talk" normal....
P.S. Here's a few more...Jaci, one of my friends at work, is Jeter (cuz she's a Yankee fan, and she IS going to marry Derek Jeter), Jac-a-roonie, and as of just this week after a really crazy dream that Chris had about her and a Yankee game where she couldn't get a ticket so she just jumped on his back and they had to share a seat, she is now known as "spider monkey!" If you want a good laugh, you'll have to ask Critty about the dream!

Ready or Not, Here I Come!!!

Wow! I'm really not sure what I'm doing in this Blog world, but I'm trying to figure it all out and see if I can make any sense of it. I have so much fun reading everyone's blogs that I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm sure I'll be asking Tierney a million questions and she'll wish her mom hadn't ever tried to overcome her technological handicaps, but, hey, I've got to at least TRY to keep up with the times! What's that saying about an teaching an old dog new tricks? So, here's to a new experience...hang in there with me. I just might get good at this someday!