Mary Holmstead Dean Obituary: View Mary Dean's Obituary by Salt Lake Tribune

Mary Holmstead Dean Obituary: View Mary Dean's Obituary by Salt Lake Tribune

Jack Sparrow and Harry Potter

Prague, Munich, Salzburg

Todd had a work conference in Prague. He allowed me to join him. My friend, Natalie, met us in Prague. Her husband also attended the same conference with Todd. Natalie and I drove back to Munich with her children after our weekend in Prague. We also drove to Salzburg, Austria and toured a castle. Natalie lives near the Dachau concentration camp. We spent a day there. I have seen it depicted in movies and books. It was strange to be there. Coincidentally, I was reading "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom about her experience at the Ravensbruck concentration camp while I was in Germany. I extended my return flight layover in Raleigh, NC and also visited a south Florida friend of mine (Melinda) who recently moved there. I had so much fun having some girl time. I missed my boys, but really enjoyed the break.
I definitely ate too much apple strudel in Germany. (And chocolate, pretzels, bratwurst, and sauerkraut) Then I came home and have been devouring my children's Halloween candy. It is time to start walking again! I haven't been doing that much since I walked into an alligator last July. I'm such a chicken.
It was a great trip. We're thankful to Todd's mother for flying out and taking care of our Florida boys. Brandon lost his first tooth while I was gone. The tooth fairy gave him $5! He's gonna be shocked when he finds out the tooth fairy is not always so generous later on.

Later Gator!

Gator #1. Stacie went back later and took this picture, but by then he had moved. He was in the bushes when we stumbled upon him!

Gator #2.

So, I had an eventful walk with my friend, Stacie, this morning. We were walking and talking. All of the sudden, I saw a large gator head sticking out of a bush about 5 feet in front of me. It was a large, adult gator head--definitely not a baby. I instantly grabbed Stacie and pulled her back away from the gator. If we had taken 3 more steps we would have been right in its face. It was so scary!!! Stacie didn't know what I was doing at first. Apparently, I accidentally clawed into her skin with my fingernails. Sorry, Stacie! All I know, is that I didn't want to be chomped on by a gator--or my friend. It had to be a 9-10 foot gator. There were a lot of women out biking and walking. We warned them about the gator. We also called the front gate and they sent someone out to take care of it. Then we walked home and found ANOTHER gator sitting on the grass, a smaller gator. That one was only two blocks from my house. Supposedly, it is mating season or something. People have been sighting them a lot more frequently. I am very sad. I love walking in my neighborhood. I felt safe because it is a gated community. But now I don't feel safe. The gates can't keep the gators out! Maybe we should rethink this whole living right next to the Everglades thing. Eek! Seriously. The neighborhood is so nicely landscaped with palm trees everywhere and lots of plants. But I think I might use a treadmill at the gym for a while!

Todd is in LA this week for work. His parent drove from AZ to spend time with him. My friend Amy decided to drive down from St. Augustine with her boys, Will and Connor, to spend time with us! The boys had a great time being together again--and so did Amy and I! We took the boys to the theater to see "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" for the free/$1 summer movies. We also enjoyed swimming at the pool a couple times and a perfect day at the beach. Amy and I hired a babysitter last night and went to the final Harry Potter movie. It was awesome, except for the lady behind us who decided to bring her babbling two year old! Amy spoke up and we scored four free movie tickets. Oh, I almost forgot to write about the most exciting part of our week together: we had a close call with lightning! It was crazy. Amy and I were in the kitchen talking while the boys were watching TV nearby. All of the sudden, this LOUD thunderous noise interrupted us. It was so close. It must've been right outside our house. Our TV shut off. Thank goodness Todd bought surge protectors. It was scary. Austin started crying. We were all shaking. I'm glad we weren't outside!

New York

We just returned from an exciting trip to New Jersey/New York to visit my brother Luke and his family. We arrived to celebrate the 4th of July. We had a nice BBQ at Luke's home in NJ. Then, we watched fireworks that evening in NYC. We spent the 5th visiting the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, Wall Street, Times Square, and Central Park. That evening, Todd and I watched Spiderman on Broadway. We had seats in the second row! It was great. There was only one mishap--one of the wires got stuck on the scenery. We had to wait 10 minutes while they fixed it. July 7th: Luke and I took my boys and his oldest two girls to the Met. Then we took a taxi to FAO Schwartz so our boys could dance on the piano in the movie "Big". July 8: We drove to the Sacred Grove in Palmyra, NY. That evening we attended the Hill Cumorah Pageant and ran into our cousin, Elder Tyler Robinson, serving a mission in Rochester, NY. July 9: Drove back to Luke's place and chilled out! July 10: Flew back to Florida with the boys! They were so good on the trip. We had a really great time.

Happy Father's Day and Birthday to You!

We had fun celebrating Todd's birthday and Father's Day together, a day earlier than usual, because Todd had to travel today for work. He enjoyed his favorite "birthday cake"--Grasshopper Pie. Todd does not like to eat cake, cookies, or brownies. Grasshopper Pie is easy enough to make: chocolate graham cracker crust, mint chocolate chip ice-cream, home-made hot fudge, and real whip cream. I like that I can make it weeks in advance and leave it in the freezer! We are good at doing things in advance in our home! Todd bought his present, an ipad, two months in advance. He loves it!! He now plays with his ipad, Windows phone, and watches TV all at the same time. It has become an additional appendage to his body.

Todd went to the driving range/golf with the boys in the morning while I went to the Ft. Lauderdale Temple groundbreaking satellite broadcast at our chapel. Then we had lunch together as a family and went swimming.

Todd and I went to dinner and a movie. We ate at a Thai restaurant, Todd's choice. He always orders Pad Thai. I ordered it too, it was delicious. Our waitress was from south China and spoke Cantonese with me.

I'm getting hungry now. I just ate my pad thai leftovers. I think I'll enjoy another slice of pie!