Sept. 12, 2008 - Happy Birthday TJ!

Well, September has come and gone (and yes, I'm still in Utah), but here are a couple highlights from the month: Tj's Bday weekend in Provo & Labor Day Weekend in Denver (scroll down to the next post...but you probably knew that).

This post may seem cheesy to some, but I haven't written about my brother in a while and I was thinking about him a lot around his Bday. It is amazing how time flies. He passed away over three years ago. Yet I still have times of missing him, as I'm sure many of you do too. I don't mind those times. I don't ever want to stop missing him. These moments give me a chance to break away from silly distractions and ponder about more important things in life. I know he is still very much apart of our lives. Truly a remarkable blessing that we have angels in our midst. I see miracles great and small that are definitely not of my own doing. Just need to pay attention to the fact that we are never alone:-)

I happened to visit some friends in Provo during the weekend of Tj's Bday. Many good memories of my brother come from there. He loved BYU and Provo. Looking back, it was a blessing to live so close to each other and spend so much time together.

I hiked the Y on Saturday morning with my friend Jackie. Tj only hiked it once or twice, but whenever I hike it I remember his description of the Y. "It looks like moldy oatmeal". Ah yes, moldy oatmeal. Leave it to him to come up with such a lovely portrayal.

For those of you that don't have a clue what I'm talking about, there is a big white letter Y on a mountain just east of BYU. You take a gentle, vertical hike to get up to the Y. Some think it's strenuous, others consider it a walk in the park.

See! If I'm running, it's got to be an easy hike :-) Okay, so I usually walk, run, walk, run . . . walk, walk, walk.

Sunflowers are often a reminder of my brother's outgoing, positive, bright nature. They were in full bloom on the trail to the Y.

Jovina and I had lunch at Jason's Deli and ate strawberry shortcake. I remember Tj ordering strawberry shortcake at Jason's Deli when we were kids (Yes, the little deli was around then, at least in Denver). Tj's absolute favorite dessert would be a fruit or chocolate trifle, but "Jason" said he could only offer the shorter-cake stuff. (Sort of a funny picture. I was messing around with the colors and accidently saved it.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAT! (That's brother in Russian. I always enjoyed calling him that. If you're wondering the Russian word for sister, it's sistra. Nothing related to a spoiled nature. Sisters are sweet afterall:-)