Last night the Good Things Ladies and I had a chance to Dance with the Utah Stars at Thanksgiving Point to benefit the American Heart Association.  The night was magical and the turnout was amazing.  Nicea, Reagan, Angie and I had all been paired last fall for our first attempt at ballroom dancing just like the show Dancing with the Stars.  We each had professional partners work with us and we discovered how much work it really is to dance and how much of a great work out it can be.  We danced on the show in November and had a wonderful time. And a few weeks ago, we were put back into action rehearsing for a charity event. 

     I have never been to a dance class in my life, so I was a little afraid of putting on those dancing shoes and learning something so foreign to me.  But, I had a great partner and teacher who was very patient with me.  So after countless hours of practice and sore feet, we danced the night away for a good cause last night.  And in the end, I learned something about myself, it's good to go outside your comfort level to try something new, who knows, you may end up having a great time like I did.  Would I do it again?  ABSOLUTELY!!!!!

    My family and I just spent 7 fabulous days in Scotland.  We went to my niece's wedding that took place in a castle in the Scottish countryside.  It was a fairytale like wedding.  About 90% of the men wore kilts and the women came in incredible hats and hair decorations called fascinators. It was fascinating!!!  

    While it is fun to go on vacation, it is always so nice to come home to your own house and sleep in your own bed.  It is also great to be back to work.  I was driving to my first work assignment today and I thought to myself while I was driving down the interstate...I LOVE going to work. I feel fortunate to have a job that I love with people I love to work with everyday.

    So, it's nice to be back in Utah, to be home and to be back to work again.

     It has been interesting to see the sky the last few nights.  It seems like I have plenty of time to see the sky at night, because I am STUCK IN TRAFFIC!!!!!!!!!   I leave ABC 4  each night after our 10pm news and attempt to travel home on the I-15.  Our road crews have to work long hours making our roads smooth and safe.  But I have been in this TRAFFIC so many nights with SO many unfriendly other drivers who are also hitting these closures and detours.    I ask....how hard is it to let someone in to your lane when their lane is closed?!!!!!  If someone is trying to get in ahead of my car....no problem.....not others.....many drivers are not so nice.   There are nights when I wish I had a flashing sign in my car to let other drivers know they are not sharing the road, not being nice and to please let people in while lanes are being closed off.  Okay, enough of my traffic woes (maybe I should blame all of this on Mike McKay our traffic guy!!!!)

     Now to our gorgeous night time skies.  There will be a celestial showcase the next few nights as Venus and Saturn will be converging.  The will actually be the closest on the 30th of June.  So, when you look in the sky tonight, the brightest object is Venus and look right next to it, you will see a beautiful yellow light and that is Saturn. 

I LOVE my dog Radar.  He has the greatest personality and he is quite an amusing animal.  Radar is a soft coated wheaten terrier who turned 12 years old last weekend. His favorite snack is Lucky Charms, although I take the marshmellows out, so he just eats the cereal out of his special breakfast cereal bowl.

       Radar and I have not always been on good terms.  He was really high strung when we got him, most terriers are that way.  I had been bitten by a dog when I was four, which required a trip to the emergency room and stitches, so I have always had a fear of dogs, any size, any breed.   Radar stayed by my side after I had surgery a few years ago, and I think that was the point that he became my little buddy, and now because I spoil him, I am his favorite friend.

      This month is Adopt a Cat month.  There are so many cats and kittens that need good families and good homes.  We had a sweet kitten on Good Things Utah this week named Creamsicle.  He was orange and white and had the sweetest blue eyes.  The shelters are also full of dogs and puppies that would add so much joy to your life.  With all of the extra time that your kids are home over the summer months, now is the perfect time to bond with a friend they will cherish for the rest of their lives.

    Do you remember when you got your driver's license when you turned 16?  It brought freedom and a way to get around without having to ask for a ride.  Soon after I got my driver's license, I backed my dad's big white Oldsmobile out of the garage and took a huge chunk out of the side of the garage.  Yes, my driving skills needed perfecting.

     Tomorrow, my baby, my son, turns 16.  He is the youngest in our family, so this event is like turning another chapter in our lives.  Now there is no need to drive him to school or his golf tournaments or the mall or the movies.  But with the driver's license and the car, comes added jittery nerves for me... mom.  I will worry each time he leaves the house and wait for that call to know he gets to where he is going.  My daughter has been driving for 4 years and I still have those unsettled feelings each time she gets behind the wheel. 

    And I thought sending them off to kindergarten was hard,!!!! I cried the first two weeks I stepped inside the school to drop them off or pick them up.  I hyperventilated for 4 hours on the drive home after dropping my daughter off at college.  So, now here is another page turning in a chapter of our family life.  . 

   As of today, I have a new friend, although I think he has been a fan of weather for a long time. 

   Several weeks ago I received an e-mail telling me about a young autistic boy who loves watching my weather, his family even TIVO's it, and after watching the weather he makes charts and weather symbols of his own.  So, I invited this young man to come in to the TV station and see our weather center and watch one of our newscasts. 

     Today my new friend Garen ,who is 11 years old ,came to visit ABC 4 with his aunt and grandmother.  He was so excited to see the station. I showed him how we put our maps together in the forecast center then I put my headphones on him and sat him in front of the big microphone where I do my radio weathercasts each afternoon.  His aunt took some great pictures of him around the station.  It was then on to the studio to see a live show.  I think Garen liked seeing how I do the weather in front of a giant green chroma key wall.

     When he left with an ABC 4 hat on his head and a smile on his face, I knew I had a new friend who is a very special young man.

    Memorial Day weekend is usually considered the first hurrah of summer.  While the calendar says that summer officially arrives on June 21, the day of the summer solstice, for most of us, when Memorial Day weekend arrives, that is the unofficial start to summer.

     I remember when I was young we would always finish school before Memorial Day and that is when it felt like summer had arrived.  Most of my summers were spent at the Concordia Language Villages Norwegian camp.  I started going there as a camper when I was 10 years old. I became a counselor in training at 16 and then a counselor thru high school and part of college.  I have great memories of summer camp, swimming in an ice cold lake in Northern Minnesota, singing Norwegian songs, learning to speak the language, building campfires and making life long friends. 

     Now as an adult and parent, summers have a whole new meaning. It's nice to have the kids out of school, my daughter is home from college and my son will have the summer off of school, but defintately not off of golf. It's also a chance to reconnect as a family, having everyone in one state for a few months, going on summer trips and enjoying the great outdoors.

     So as Memorial Day weekend comes and goes, here comes summer!   I hope it is a good for you!