Beautiful Grandma Annie

I am grateful to have been with my grandmother in her home at the time of her passing. What a tender moment that was. Words cannot describe the beautiful experience that event can be. No one really talks about it, but I want everyone to know although dying is horrible, death itself is a miracle and can be beautiful and sweet. We just can't see the beauty with the limits of our mortal eyes.

I love you, Annie.




Ann Clark Green 1934 ~ 2008
Ann Clark Green, our angel wife, mother, sister, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed from mortality to immortality on December 4, 2008, in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the presence of her family, a victim of the ravages of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Ann was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, May 29, 1934, to Louise Spence Clark and Sherman O. Clark. She married her sweetheart Paul Hap Green on December 6, 1954, in the Salt Lake Temple. Devoted to each other in every facet of their lives, they lovingly enjoyed the fullness and goodness of 54 years together. Their union was blessed with five children: Cynthia (Kim) Steadman, Julianne (Brent) Bawden, Michael (Holly) Green, Susan Green and Adam (Melannie) Green.

She attended West High School and the University of Utah. Ann created a home based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. She placed her family above all, taught her family by personal example the importance of faith, prayer, compassion and love. She had a deep and abiding testimony of the Lord's Plan of Salvation and the eternal nature of families. She was a true disciple of Christ whose life was a reflection of Him and what He taught. A faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she served faithfully in many callings. When Hap was called to preside over the Argentina Buenos Aires North Mission from 1986-1989, she served faithfully at his side, welcoming countless missionaries as her own sons and daughters with her special love and devotion; establishing life-long relationships with many.

Ann was a proud descendant of noble ancestry. A great granddaughter of Brigham Young, she honored her heritage by the way she lived her life and her unfailing dedication and commitment to her family and forbears.

Affectionately called "Annie" by her grandchildren, she took special interest in their lives and accomplishments. She had a unique, special bond with each one of them and they adored their Grandma Annie.

Ann was a gifted and accomplished vocalist. As a child she loved to sing. She spent her entire life developing and sharing her beautiful voice in countless venues. Most notably, she sang supporting roles as well as in the chorus of the Utah Opera Company. She also performed with Promusica, and presented countless solo recitals and performances. She was a patron of the arts and gave of her time and talents in numerous community service organizations. Most recently she served as President of both the Utah Symphony Guild and the Utah Opera Guild.

Everything that Ann touched was beautiful. She had an amazing aura of dignity and grace that lifted all those with whom she associated. She was warm, generous and kind. People were drawn to her by her genuine interest in them. She always considered the needs of others above her own. Ann was a pillar of strength, virtue, courage, and wisdom. She was a refined woman of elegance while firmly rooted in all things spiritual. Annie will be missed by all who knew and loved her. She leaves a legacy that will live eternally in her family and friends.

Ann is survived by her husband and children; her brother, S. Spence (Jill) Clark of Salt Lake City; and sister, Linda C. Bock, Newtown, PA. She also is survived by 17 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, and a grandson, Maximus Paul Green. The family extends their deepest appreciation and gratitude to the caregivers at Huntsman Cancer Hospital and Institute and Millcreek Home Health and Hospice. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions be made in Ann's name to Huntsman Cancer Institute. A public memorial service will be held at 12 noon on Tuesday, December 9, 2008, at the Monument Park North Stake Center, 1320 S. Wasatch Drive, Salt Lake City. The family will receive friends and extended family members at the stake center prior to the services on Tuesday from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. A private family burial service and interment at Larkin Sunset Lawn was held prior to Tuesday's memorial service. Online condolences at www.larkincares.com

Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a great Thanksgiving with my family. Dinner was at my mom's parents' house as usual. This year my grandmother was in the hospital, so it was very different eating at her house and not having her there. But we got to visit her later, which was such a treat. Even in her weakened condition, she was able to stay awake for about 30 min to allow everyone a few minutes with her. We had to wear masks, so as not to pass any germs. Hence the sexy Dr. masks.





It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without passing out on the couch in front of a football game after dinner!





Then one of my good friends from High School who I haven't seen in 5 years came in town from Vegas and we had a baby shower for her. It was so great to see and be with everyone and see their kids/babies. It seems like all of them have kids or are expecting. I've got a lot of catching up to do!

Twelve and OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH

Congrats to our Utes for an amazing season! BCS bowl here we come! As a tribute to their perfect season, here are some pictures:


Some friends of our family started a new business doing logos and asked my parents if they could do some advertising on their lawn. When they said it was going to be a U of U logo, of course they said YES!!! It was awesome, and huge!!!

The family getting ready to watch the holy war! All utes and one little BYU fan.



The TCU blackout game



With the Swensons



Some of the girls from work and I dcorated my boss' office door when he was at lunch (he is obviously a BYU fan), and we just had to document it!



Go UTES!!!

Overdue Halloween Pics

This year for halloween we had a blast at the Swenson's big Halloween bash! We planned our costumes way in advance this year, but then that morning at the last minute we changed our minds. And we won a prize for the most creative cotume! Here are some pics - sorry for the blurry spot - our lens had a smudge on it that we didn't notice until after the party was over! Oh well, I won't tell you wich ones we are, maybe you can guess.















The last two are work pictures when I was the un-original Sarah Palin. Oh well. It was fun!

No Soliciting!

So some of you have already heard this story, but I felt it was blogworthy, so for those of you who haven't, here goes:

I love Costco. I love the deals. I love the samples. I love the crazy moms with 2 full carts of just stuff that they must be taking to some sort of bomb shelter cuz no one can possibly have that many people to feed!

I especially love the gas prices - last time I filled up it was $2.02. Pretty sure its even lower now. But I think I may be rethinking filling up there, because

I HATE THE SOLICITORS!!!!

Has anyone else experienced these cocky, argumentative, loud-mouths in florescent yellow/green vests with their trusty clipboard who won't leave you the crap alone when all you want to do is just fill up your car in peace!?!

They try to get you to sign up for one of their Costco American Express Cards and they do this by trapping you while you fill up your car. There is no way out!!! Everyone knows you aren't supposed to get back in your car after you put the pump in because static could blow your car up, and you aren't supposed to be on the phone because that will also cause static which could once again blow up your car.

So you just sit there by the pump, totally unsuspecting vulnerable prey while they move in on you!

I have dealt with these guys politely for about, mmmm 4 months, but I am done being polite. A few weeks ago, one such solicitor decided, when I didn't want to sign up for the card, that he would harass me. Here's how it went down:

I get out of the car trying to look like a bee-otch, you know, unapproachable so they leave me alone. Nope.

This bald, 30-year-old-guy (I tell you he's balding so you can watch out for him and run in the other direction) waits for me to use my Amex Skymiles card and as soon as he sees what card I used, he pulls out his script for the Skymiles Card and starts his spiel:

Guy (in a flirty sing-song voice): "Uh-Oh. You are in trouble.
Me (pissed already): Why am I in trouble?
Guy: Because you are supposed to use the Coscto Amex Gas Card to fill up here.
Me: No I'm not. I'm supposed to use whatever card I want here.
Guy: Well, have you heard of our card?
Me: Yes I have about 20 times and I am not interested. Thank you.

-So by now he should understand that I AM NOT INTERESTED, right? Right. He is no dummy. Now he just wants to argue.-

Guy (flirty voice gone): Why are you using that Skymiles Card? There is an annual fee. Our card doesn't have an annual fee.
Me (couldn't come up with a good enough comeback so I just spit out): I like my annual fee. (I like my annual fee? Whatever.)
Guy: Well, what's the point of even having that card when you can't use your skymiles during holidays? They have all these blackout dates where you can't use your miles.
Me: No they don't.
Guy: Yes they do. I even did my research. I called Delta Skymiles and that's what they told me.
Me: You did research? Hahaha. Well then you better check to make sure you are calling the right number because whomever you talked to was feeding you a bunch of crap. If there are all these blackout dates during the holidays then how come I am flying during Christmas and not paying a cent?
Guy: Uh...well you can get up to $800 a year back if you sign up for this card.
Me (done filling up so I am walking away from him and heading back into my car): My tickets cost $2,000 buddy, plus I get free companion tickets and a 24/7 concierge (Ok, I don't really use that one, but I could if I wanted to. I'm just not that important of a person to need 24/7 service - or any concierge service for that matter)
Guy: (Inaudible arguing)
Me: Good luck with all that!

Man that guy got under my skin! After I left, I quickly came up with a solution that I put into place the next time I gassed up at Costco.

I made a large sign that said, "NO SOLICITING" and taped it right on my back while I pumped my gas.

And it worked!!! I recommend to all.

New Home Before

So most of you know what our place looks like because you have been over. Unfortunatley my family lives across the US so sorry everyone this is more for my family who live in VA than anyone else. Love you guys can't wait to see you!!!!

-Justin

Just me n' Archie

In order to regain the dwindling number of our blog followers (due to the self-admitted un-interesting-ness of our lives), I decided it was time to take drastic measures!

So to all of our 4 readers (mom, dad, and Justin's mom and dad), here is a picture of me and David Archuleta!:




Yes, I am towering over him with all my 5'5"-ness!

So the story goes: Our friends, the Woods, invited us to the Operation Kids Gala at the Grand America for a black tie event that honored John Walsh from America's Most Wanted. There were a few celebs there, including Justin's favorite - President Palmer from the first season of 24 (most people know him as the Allstate guy). He hosted the event and Colin Raye was the musical headliner with Jim Brickman and some other musical guests. Even though were were all dressed up in our stuffy clothes, we had a blast! The food was good, the music was awesome, and it was a fun date night for us.

However, the room was a little chilly and I checked my coat, so after dinner I went outside the ballroom to get my coat and there was Archie standing all by himself in the hall just hanging out in his jeans and hoodie! Now, let's make something VERY clear here, I am a David Archuleta fan, but not psychotic or anything. I just liked watching him on American Idol. Besides, I felt like such a motard asking some kid 10 years younger than me for his picture! But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get my picture with him and have a great story to tell! So I ran back in the ballroom, borrowed our friends' camera since we left ours in the car and went back out in the hall to get my picture with David. Justin is so sweet, he followed me out to take the pic, just laughing at how excited I was that I had run into David Archuletta.

He is just as shy and small in person as he is on TV but a nice kid. Here is a pic of me and my hubby, too.