The Babbling Brooks

Back From NOLA...

I got back from New Orleans late Monday night after a great week with my sisters and some geneology hunting in Arkansas on the way home. Here's a sneak peak!

We're back......

in Oklahoma. John's leave of absence of over and he goes back to work on Monday. I've got a ton of photos and stories to share, not only from July...but also from spring! We had a great time with kids and grandkids all month long. We'll recover in a few days :)

Sneak Peak!

We've been in Montana since July 12th. We picked Legend up on July 1 at his other grandmas, stayed a day in St. George and then went to Washington. We spent a week there visiting Ocean Shores, seeing my sisters, and going to the Hansen brothers summer birthday party. Brad, Legend, and Trevor came to Montana with us and Wendy, Brian, Zachary, and Jacob followed a week later. We've had lots of fun and I've got a ton of photos to share. Here's a sneak peak of some of the pictures I've taken of our five grandsons...Trevor (9), Legend (6), Zachary (4), Jacob (2), and Lennox (9 months).

      

John goes back to work in Oklahoma August 3rd, so we'll be headed that way in a few days! 

I Heart Faces

  Check out this week's entries at I HEART FACES! Here 's my entry...Zachary and Trevor. I took this photo at the playground in the park in downtown Eureka!

I Heart Faces

Another week! Another face! This week's theme...pouting. I don't have many pouting shots as we don't seem to have a lot of pouting going on with the grandsons. But this one...I love this one! Here's Zachary tired and unhappy at Cafe Jax. The shirt says it all!

 

Want to see more little ones at their best? Click HERE or on the I Heart Faces button! 

Happy Birthday(s)!

     

Happy Birthday to two very special people in my life...my dear friend, Gigi, who lives in California (wearing her signature red visor)...and my dear sister, Corki, who is celebrating a "milestone" birthday this year. We love you both! 

A Star is Born

Today we had Christmas with Wendy, Brian, and the boys. Afterward we took Trevor to lunch and a movie. When we returned we were treated to an afternoon of entertainment by Zachary. Wendy had suggested we get him a drum for Christmas (Yes...Mom actually made that request!) He sat right down and started drumming. He also got a small keyboard with a microphone for singing. He sang while Daddy played. He'll be quite a star before long! Enjoy the show! (PS: Scroll down and you can turn the blog music off on the right sidebar!)

Happy Birthday, Susan!

Today is my sister's birthday! I hope you have a wonderful day that's full of surprises. See you next week. Love you!

Zion National Park

 

Southern Utah has some of the prettiest geography in the country. I think we've visited all (or at least most) of the national parks, national monuments, and national recreation areas in Utah. Zion National Park is only an hour from St. George. It has beautiful red rock canyons, lots of green or gold depending on the season and lots of hiking. On our last day this trip Roger and Shayla took us to the park and we made the short hike to Emerald Pool.

                         

After our hike Roger and Shayla treated us to a yummy lunch with an appropriate wine in the lodge. It was a perfect day to be in the park!  

Santa Visit!

Did you notice that Santa showed up in the malls before Thanksgiving this year? Maybe it's due to the expanding world population...takes longer to see all those kids? I was dreading having to go to the mall after Thanksgiving to see Santa, so even though I don't like to see the Christmas trappings before Thanksgiving I guess it saved us some time and frustration. Apparently the rest of the world didn't know that Santa had already arrived...or maybe they were just at work. We took Legend to the mall to see if Santa was there. The plan was that Shayla would bring Lennox if he was. We found Santa sitting in his big red velvet chair, so we made the call and she came and met us for photos. Santa's helper told Legend he could go talk to Santa while we waited, so up on the knee he went and ended up getting to talk to him twice. While we were waiting for Shayla and Lennox we went shopping. Each year I've gotten some sort of outfit for Legend to wear for Santa photos. I thought he might like to help pick out something now that he's older. I have to admit that the Christmas things we found were pretty lame...and Legend wasn't thrilled with them either. But...we did find a great zippered sweatshirt with pirates and guitars! Score!

         

Update: With a little help from Grandma, Santa was able to find the coveted gift of the year :) 

Birthday Week

We had a fun filled ten days in St. George for Legend's birthday and Thanksgiving. We did way too many fun things to tell you about all of it! So...here's some random photos that you can enjoy along with us.

                    

(Do you think maybe someone loves his Papa John????)

                                                                     

The Baby Brother....

Most of you know by now that Legend has a new baby brother, Lennox, who was born in October. It's easy to see how much he loves him. He decided while we were there to take a try at diaper changing. He disappeared into the bedroom with Mom and Lennox. The next thing I heard was "Grandma, Grandma, Grandma...come here! (That's the way he usually calls me when he wants me to come where he is or look at something he's doing :) He wanted me to watch him do the changing :) Lennox is adorable as you can see from the photos!!

                       

Grandma Cindy Went Pajama Shopping...

Brothers...and Bears

Legend adores his little brother. Today we went to The Bear Mill. He picked out a bear and made it for Lennox, naming it Sam. 

        

Legend has had his "Mr. Bear" since the day he was born and now Lennox has his "Sam" :)   

Dadadadadadadadadadadada...

    

BATMAN! Each Halloween Nana (Grandma Denise) makes a costume for Legend. I've posted Superman and Spiderman in previous years. This year we have Batman. Too cute!!

Look Who's Six!

Another birthday! Legend really looks forward to his day. He loves the presents and the cake, but I think he just likes being older. Each year on November 23rd I start a new scrapbook for him and use a birthday photo as the first page. We also took his Mr. Bear photo today which we do every six months now. We started by doing it every week when he was a newborn and have gradually decreased the frequency, eventually we'll just do it on his birthday. He loves to eat at Red Lobster and has always wanted to choose a lobster from the tank to eat (his usual order is snow crab from the kids menu). We'd promised him that if we were here on his birthday we would take him out for that lobster. So, we did that for lunch yesterday. We started today with a pizza lunch, opening presents, and birthday cake with everyone coming up to the Worldmark. We have a ground floor unit this time and were able to have the party outdoors. Papa, Mom, and I took him to Fiesta Fun Center after the party. You know I have tons of photos to share :) Look for those in the next few days! Happy Birthday, Sweetie! We Love You!

Pin!

We're here...in St. George! We made a point to get here last night (Friday) in time to watch Legend's last wrestling tournament of the season. It was fun watching those little guys :) Legend did great and got his first pin of the season in his first match of the tournament. Afterward, we all watched the instant replay courtesy of Papa John...

         

His next two matches were a little tougher. He scored a lot of points in the second one, but the other kid scored a couple more. On his third match he was pinned. He is a good sport and really enjoys just being around the other kids and being part of the competition. He came in third in the tournament so he got a medal and was beaming at the results. (He has two others he's won this season, a first place and a second place.)

                

We're all proud of his sportsmanship and willingness to try new things. He had his own cheering section at this one...Papa John, Papa Willie, Mom (Shayla), and me! 

Happy Anniversary...

to Chris and Yvette! Wish we could be there to help you celebrate...we love you!

Say "Hello" to Lennox! (Born October 21st)

        

Welcome to the world, Lennox! Legend is so happy to be your big brother :) Congratulations to Shayla and Roger! We're looking forward to meeting Lennox next month!

Happy Anniversary to Us :)

It seems like yesterday that we were married!  It's been 15 years! We had our anniversary dinner at Mambo Italiano in Whitefish last night and shared it with Elaine who is here visiting with us. Today we are headed up to Canada for a scenic drive and lunch in Cranbrook. Perfect way to spend the day...I'd marry you all over again!

Kindergarten...

I talked to Legend on the phone tonight and asked him about school and kindergarten. It went like this:

• Grandma: What's your favorite thing in school?
• Legend: Riding the bus!
• Grandma: What's your favorite thing when you get to school?

• Legend: Recess!
• Grandma: What's your favorite thing to do when you are in your classroom?
• Legend: Get a drink of water from the water fountain!

Minnie Mouse

I've been at the scrapping table again :) Legend was so excited about having breakfast with Minnie and her friends he could hardly stand it!

 

 

Run, Jump, Splash....

Legend loves to play in the pool. He'll run and jump in over and over and over. I took this photo in July when we were at Ocean Shores in Washington. I took a lot of pool pictures, but this is my favorite!

He's in Kindergarten!

Finally! Legend has been so excited about starting Kindergarten, especially riding the school bus. Because his birthday is near the end of November he had to wait an extra year. He kept asking when he was going to get to ride the school bus and last spring while I was at his pre-school with him he asked me if his school would have hallways. I guess that was important to him:)Shayla and Roger took him to school the first day where the teacher had the kids do some activities so she could get an idea of their skill level. But, the next day there he was getting on that school bus. When I asked him about the ride he told me he "walks for 20 minutes, then rides the bus for 1 minute to get to school". As we suspected, it's really the other way around!

          

It's Shayla's Birthday!

Hope you've had a wonderful day. We love you and miss you! Happy Birthday!

PSAAC at Bull Hill

The Puget Sound Antique Airplane Club held the biannual summer fly-in at Bull Hill Guest Ranch in northeastern Washington (in alternate years we do the Air Tour which lasts 5-7 days with several stops). John took off in the Champ early in the morning to beat the heat (this was in August!) so he could fly a direct route over the Purcell Mountains to the west of us. I left later in the Beetle to meet the group at the ranch. John landed first at Colville to meet Lynn and Arthur. Arthur flew the Mooney and couldn't land on the short grass airstrip at the ranch. Everyone arrived safely and had a great time at the ranch. There were horseback rides, hiking, skeet shooting, and all food and drink you could possibly want. While at the ranch they took us to the Crown Creek Saloon...a private saloon and party place on the neighbor's place. Some rode horses, some rode in trucks. I took the latter having already ridden earlier in the day. The Crown Creek was quite a place! Besides the saloon, they had a game room and a beautiful private theatre. It can be rented for private parties and there's plenty for kids to do while the adults entertain themselves in the saloon area.

                                        

The ranch sits high above the Columbia River and the airstrip is down near the water. I decided to walk out over the hills so I could get a photo of all the airplanes parked on the field. As I walked out, there was a group of horses grazing out across one of the fields. I stopped to photograph them. Notice how that white one is looking at me? He kept watching me as though he was really interested in what I was doing there. I took a few shots and went on about my business to find where I'd be able to see the airstrip. I found it, took some photos and admired the view out over the river. When I turned around to head back to the cookhouse, I nearly jumped out of my skin. There was that white horse standing right behind me. I guess he really was interested because he snuck up right behind me without a noise!!

      

When we left instead of heading home to Montana, we headed west to Puyallup to pick up Trevor. We left the Champ at the Davenport Airport and headed over the Cascades in the Beetle. We couldn't pick up Trevor for a couple of days as they had some other family things going on. So we took the opportunity to visit with friends, shop at The Container Store and eat at The Cheesecake Factory (my favorite!)  

Back to August! Trevor was here!

Trevor came to visit in August. We visited another watchtower, this one at Garver Mountain. It was a little harder to get to than the one we visited in July with Legend. The road was a little rougher and stopped a quarter mile from the tower, where you had to hike the rest of the way. We figured it wasn't very far, no problem. The description did say the trail was steep for a short distance. Are you kidding??? It was steep for the whole quarter mile. I guess the first section where you had to clamour almost straight up would be the part the Forest Service considers steep. I went to the top and stayed there till the next day when it was time to leave. John and Trevor returned to the Explorer for the second load of gear. It was another fun experience, but we probably won't be going to that one again :)

            

When we were driving down the mountain the next morning, we were lucky! A buck and two does were standing right on the road. We stopped and they gave us a good look. We slowly followed as they made the bend in the road. Now they were getting worried, but the buck had a plan to protect them. He sent the 2 does into the woods on the left and he started into the woods on the right thinking we would follow him. When he realized we were still there and not giving chase he quickly turned around and bounded onto the road in front of us, then headed down the road so we'd give chase and leave his women alone. What a treat to see! 

         

Here's Trevor at the Fair...

Trevor was here during the Lincoln County fair. They have a lot of things geared towards kids...a ride in the Lincoln Electric cherry picker, kids games, a petting zoo...

                                     

Trevor and Grandpa...

had some fun of their own. Here's the pics! (The boating and horseback riding were in Glacier Park. I had to stay in town that day to pick up my photography from the fair at the appointed time.)

        

Happy Birthday!

  It's my sweetie's birthday! Hope you have a terrific day...I love you so much!

There's no doubt that Legend is too cute...

Here's the proof!

Our Legend Summer (Montana Edition: The Baker)

Legend and I made chocolate chip cookies while he was here. He did all the measuring and stirring with the only mishap being the brown sugar container upside down on the kitchen floor :) Later in the day he decided we should make a cake and he had his own recipe...

2 teaspoons powder
8 chocolate chips
12 scoops of butter
2 scoops of baking soda
10 scoops of flour
2 scoops of sugar

"Put it in the oven and bake it for as long as you bake a cake. Put whipped cream on it after you bake it." I convinced him that a recipe with 12 scoops of butter and 10 scoops of flour would make a lot of cake, so we used a cake mix instead and made cupcakes. Then later he made sure I knew you could use 2 scoops of butter or 5 scoops of butter or however many you want, just not more than 12!

 

 

Our Legend Summer (Montana Edition: At the Rodeo)

Yippee Ki Yay! The Tobacco Valley Rodeo was held while Legend was here. He had a good time watching the bull riders, calf roping, barrel racing, and the rest. Since this was our first time at the event we didn't know that the Boot Race would be held. When we heard the announcer say that kids could come into the arena, John and Legend were off like a flash. I think the explanation started a little before Legend got into the arena, so he followed what all the other kids were doing. The idea was to take off your boots and put them in a pile. The pile was mixed up while the kids ran over to the other side of the arena. At the signal they ran back to find their shoes and get them on. Prizes were given to the first three kids in each age group to finish. Legend ran as fast as he could and when he found his shoes took them over to John on the sidelines to help him put them on :) He was too cute. My favorite part was when they returned to the stands and Legend declared with a huge smile..."Grandma! That kid out there that fell down...that was ME!"

   

We also didn't know about the "Mutton Bustin'" for kids 6 and under at the beginning of the rodeo. When Legend saw that he really wanted to do it, but you have to sign up in advance. Next time we'll know! I'll have photos of that event in another post.

Our Legend Summer (Montana Edition: Flying With Papa)

Legend loves flying in the Champ and this time was no exception. He helped John (aka Papa) roll the plane out, watched him do the pre-flight and then enthusiastically hopped in. Papa let him do some of the flying while they were at altitude and Legend is proud of that! He told John that when he grows up he's going to "be a pilot just like you, Papa!"

               

And then there's Warbirds...Legend asked John if he could play, so he sat him down and gave him some pointers. By the end of Legend's visit he was flying and landing...and shooting the guns in combat!

    

Our Legend Summer (Montana Edition: Bubbles)

I'll just let these speak for themselves...

     

Our Legend Summer (Montana Edition: The Artist)

       

Legend thought my studio was pretty great...who wouldn't? There's lots of fun stuff in there. He spotted the paint brushes in my paint supplies and decided he wanted to paint. Once again the scrap stash came to our rescue. White cardstock was a perfect canvas. Paints? Hmmm, I didn't think my oils or watercolors would be a great idea. I got the acrylic paints out and they were perfect for a 5 year old. He painted Superman first, then Mickey Mouse, then a spaceship. I was most impressed with the portrait of Mickey. He didn't have a picture of the Mouse to look at and he still remembered the white buttons and the yellow shoes.

   

Our Legend Summer (Montana Edition: Let's Pretend!)

Five year olds love to pretend and Legend is no exception. It started at the beach in Washington when we found pirate gear at the $2 store and he became "Captain Legend". (He also has pirate gear from his 5th birthday, but it was home in St. George.)

 

At the fair in Washington we went to the crafts tent. They had paper masks and Legend colored one for himself and one for Mr. Bear. (For those of you that have not met Mr. Bear...he is the stuffed bear that John and I got for him when he was born. We took pictures of Legend with Mr. Bear every week for the first year, then monthly, and now we do them every six months. Mr. Bear is the fuzzy one, the other one is Brer Bear and belonged to Brad when he was a kid. Brer Bear now belongs to Legend.) Legend tied the red side of his Spiderman pajama top around his shoulders and declared himself the new super hero "Flaugh", "like laugh with an F". You may have noticed that pajama top in some of the other photos, now you know what it's all about.

   

When we got home to Montana, he decided he needed to learn 500 jokes. I asked why and he said he wanted to be a clown. (He's working on those jokes...ask him about it!) I remembered that I still had one of the clown costumes I'd made for my boys when they were little. We went upstairs to the storage room and found it. There was no clown nose or clown hair. He made a red paper nose, but later we took him to The Dollar Thing in Eureka and found a foam nose. We had to improvise for the hair. Grandmas craft supplies came to the rescue again and we fashioned clown hair from red paper. Meet "Clownie"...

       

The fun continued when he found two feathers at the park in Kalispell and became "Legend White Feather". I didn't happen to have an Indian costume, so we made one...from paper bags and a head dress (or as Legend calls it, a "head thing") from those aforementioned craft supplies.

   

Don't you wish you still had that kind of imagination???   

 

 

 

 

Our Legend Summer (Montana Edition: Big Creek Baldy Watch Tower)

When we left Washington with Legend in tow, we had several days left to enjoy him. One of the things on John's To Do list was to stay overnight in a watch tower. Legend loves to be outdoors and to camp. John found a list of fire watch towers that have been decommissioned and are rented out to the public and we decided we'd take Legend to one. We stayed at the Big Creek Baldy Watch Tower about 30 miles northwest of Libby in the Yaak. We were able to drive to the base of this tower, but we were glad we now have a 4-wheel drive vehicle cause we wouldn't have made it up the last bit without it. We hauled our gear 41 feet to the top and found a propane stove, 2 propane lights, 2 chairs, a table with a bench, a double bed, and a single bed (no bedding, you bring your own...we brought sleeping bags.) We had a 360 degree view here, even from the ground. The old cabin next to the base of the tower is where the watch keeper slept long ago before the quarters at the top were enlarged.  

We hiked around for a bit to enjoy the views, then built a fire and roasted hot dogs for dinner (with smore's for desert, of course!) Last year Legend told me that roasting marshmallows was his favorite part of camping.

        

John had gotten a slingshot and given Legend a lesson a few days earlier, so they brought it and Legend got in a little practice...

   

We watched a gorgeous sunset and settled in for the night. The next morning John and Legend made entries in the log book and Legend got a lesson in calling in a fire and determining it's position.

         

The next morning we gathered up our gear and got ready to leave. While we were packing the Explorer, we noticed some Mountain Bluebirds going in and out of the nesting box that was at the bottom of the stairs to the watch tower. I got my long lens and waited patiently for them to get brave enough to go to the box with me standing there. My patience was rewarded!

 

Being the hardy campers that we are we loaded into the Explorer and stopped at the Libby Cafe for breakfast on the way home. We had a great time staying at the tower and are planning to do it again next summer for a longer time. We also stayed at one when Trevor was here in August...watch for that later.

Stay tuned for more Legend stories.....

 

 

   

Our Legend Summer! (Washington Edition)

We had a great summer visit with Legend, full of fun! When we left St. George we went first to Washington to visit with Brad. Along the way we stopped at the top of Chinook Pass. Some kids were there sledding and let Legend use their snow saucer. I think that must have been his first time sledding in July!

 

We spent a couple of days at Ocean Shores playing pirate on the beach, roasting hot dogs and making s'mores.

Legend and Brad also had a great time playing in the pools, indoor and outdoor, at the hotel!

Legend wanted to see a baseball game so we spent a Sunday afternoon at Cheney Stadium watching the Tacoma Rainiers (No, I do not do Seattle and the Mariners). The part he really liked was the face painting!

The King County Fair happened to be running while we were there. And it was convenient cause we were staying in Enumclaw where the fairgrounds are. We weren't sure what we'd find at the fairgrounds. We read about it in the newspaper and found that there were no amusement rides or games as in the past. They'd changed the fair to put the emphasis back on the 4-H animals, crafts, etc. We figured we could at least go to see the animals and, what the heck, there was no admission! It turned out to be one of the best fairs we've been to. They'd really put the emphasis on kids learning and having fun. They did have a climbing wall and a bungee ride. Legend did both. While he was waiting for the bungee ride, John asked him if he wanted to do a flip. He said "yes", so John gave him some pointers and told him to ask the lady that was running the ride how to do it, too. He was a natural and he loved it. He bounced all the way to the top and flipped over and over. He even let go with his hands when he was flipping. The lady said she'd never seen a kid do that before. She was amazed...and so were we!

 

Next we went over to the craft area for kids. Next door a western show was about to start. They were using kids for actors and Legend REALLY wanted to be in the show. But all the parts were filled, so we told him we'd come for the next show which was in an hour and a half. At the craft area he made a bear mask, a super hero mask (more on that later), and a bracelet for Mom with beads and foam farm shapes. Perfect for Mom to wear to work :)

 

 

And then it was on to the show! We were there 45 minutes before they started handing out the costumes, but there was no way Legend was going to be left out. He sat right in the seats where the kids were supposed to gather and he was not moving till he got a costume. The women doing the show saw him there and made sure he got first choice. He wanted to be the cowboy, but the costume was way too big so he decided to be a cow and was happy with that. The show required a male adult, too. They couldn't get anyone sitting in the stands to do it, so I told them to go ask the big guy sitting in the shade. John donned the duds to become Railroad Roland and the show started.

Legend had a great time in the show. Maybe there's a star in the making! Stay tuned for the Montana edition...coming soon!

 

 

The Wedding Reception...

Shayla and Roger were married in April in St.George. It was a small wedding for family and from the photos I can see it was beautiful. We went to St. George for the reception on July 12th. It was a fun time with loads of family and friends there. The kids all had a great time dancing and singing and keeping the rest of us entertained! Legend was worn out by the end of the party, but I know he had a good time celebrating with Mom and all his new family members.

                            

 

The Pool at St. George...

Legend loves to play in a swimming pool and he loves to stay with us at the Worldmark in St.George. We were able to stay there when we traveled to St.George for Shayla and Roger's wedding reception in July. It was HOT, over 110 degrees. Legend's cousins, Shayla, and Roger all joined us over the course of 3 days in the pool. Legend had a good time with Charlie and Chloe, his cousins from Washington, and with Isiah who is related to Roger.

       

We all appreciated the cool water and the fun!     

What's Up???

Lots! Legend has been with us in Montana for the last week and in Washington the week before. I'll be taking him home to Utah later this week. There's a lot to catch up on and I'll do it "soon" :)

No Time for Blogging!

Sorry I haven't had time to catch up! When we left home on the 8th we detoured through Glacier Park as the Going-To-The-Sun Road had just opened. It made for a long day as we traveled all the way to Provo that night and arrived just after midnight. Of course, there was a reason we did this...Archivers has opened a store there and I wanted to poke around inside:) We've had a great time with Legend...swimming and playing in 100+ degrees in St. George. We visited quite a bit with his new step-grandparents, Lydia and Willie, they are very nice people and make us feel right at home. The wedding reception on the 12th happened without a hitch although there were some doubts about arrangements that afternoon...more on that later. We arrived in Washington on Monday evening and have spent the last couple of days at Ocean Shores playing pirates, digging for treasure in the sand, and making S'mores. Brad has to be back at work tomorrow afternoon, so we'll be going back to Enumclaw for the rest of the week and home to Montana on Monday. More later!

Happy Birthday, Trevor!

Trevor is eight years old today! Hope you have a great day!

Sisters Visit!

My sisters were here for their first visit to Mountain Dreams last week!We could have used a little better weather, but we were lucky to get some sun breaks during our adventures. We spent Friday visiting Glacier National Park. The Going-To-The-Sun road was only open as far as Avalanche, but that's far enough to enjoy some great mountain and lake views. When we first arrived at McDonald Lake we could see it was raining on the opposite side. As we got out of the car and walked to the shore we saw lightning strike the shore and the east end. Although the sky and water were very gray, it was gorgeous. I was able to get a photo of the lake and some brightly colored rental boats. It'll make a great subject for our painting classes...John, get out your gray scale!We headed north towards Polebridge first, one of the less traveled roads in the park. We stopped at a small parking area and were treated to a great view of the mountain peaks, then headed back towards Apgar and on up to Avalanche. WE ended the day back in Eureka. Corki requested that we eat dinner in town, so we had a great meal at Jax By Night (Cafe Jax morphs into Jax By Night 4 nights per week).

 

There was more rain on Saturday and we stuck closer to home. We went to visit Deep Creek Quilts and the Antler Gift Emporium (formerly The Antler Inn...Corki was sorry to learn the restaurant was gone, it was a great place for dinner!) Afterward, we came home and Corki baked a raisin pie for me! Yum, it's one of my favorites that our Mom use to make and I am not a good pie maker. I leave that duty to Corki. They started home Sunday morning, carefully watching for wildlife on the road. It wasn't until they reached North Bend, WA that they saw a black bear crossing the road. Go figure!

My Uncle John...

This is my Uncle John. He passed away on April 19th. He was a good and gentle man with a strong faith in God from which he never wavered. I have good memories of Uncle John from all the family holidays we celebrated together and the visits we'd have at their house or ours. He had an infectious sense of humor. My sisters and I were laughing this weekend because we all had the same thought when Uncle John came to mind. My Dad was also a jokester and a home movie taker. One year he took a video of Uncle John eating birthday cake. Uncle John was very neat about it. He would cut a bite off with his fork and then push it around the plate to catch all the crumbs so they wouldn't spill. Then he'd open wide and put it in. We would all get together to watch family movies and slides. The first time and every time we watched this particular shot of Uncle John, Dad would stop and run it backward in slow motion. The cake would come out of his mouth on the fork and we'd see him carefully put that bite back onto the whole piece. Dad would run it over and over until we were all pleading for him to stop! We all knew it was coming every time and Uncle John was such a good sport about it and would vow to get back at him. We were in Washington yesterday for Uncle John's memorial service. He was well loved by anyone who knew him. It was good to see my Aunt Jean (my Dad's sister married to Uncle John), my cousin Jeanell (their daughter) and my Aunt Evelyn (also my Dad's sister), too.

Here's my sisters and I with our aunts (Me, Susan, Corki in the back...Aunt Jean and Aunt Evelyn in front). And this is my cousin, Jeanell. No, she is not as short as the rest of us...I'm standing on a step :) She has a wonderful voice and sang at the memorial service. It must have been very difficult to sing at a service for your father, but she did a beautiful job.

A Wedding!

Congratulations to Shayla and Roger who were married Saturday, April 26th in St. George. We love you and wish you much love and happiness!

Two Weeks Later....

We have been busy, busy, busy and there's a lot to catch up on! We spent most of last week in Washington. We needed to return for our rescheduled dentist appointments. This time we stayed with Elaine and had a nice visit. Her little doggies and the kitty keep us entertained, too! The first night we were there my laptop blinked to the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). It did it several more times over the next couple of days. Elaine found an HP laptop on sale at Office Depot and it had a $200 rebate. John and I stopped in to look at it. It didn't quite fit my needs (loads of memory and a huge hard drive), but I did spot a nice little Sony. It was on sale and because it was the demo model, it was knocked down another $150. So I now have a very girly little pink notebook computer. So far, I love it!

Huge thanks go to Elaine for teaching me how to share files across a network! With her help I was able to move all my photos and files over to the new machine without transferring them to a billion disks. And my old laptop? I've been expecting it to go, it's over 4 years old and I was really overtasking it with all my photos and editing. But, I've now had it plugged in and running for almost 48 hours without seeing the BSOD. I think the secret is to not overload it. I took most of the files and programs off of it and am hoping that I can use it for cutting to my Wishblade.

Brad celebrated his 26th birthday on April 22nd and we were able to take him to lunch and give him his gift in person. He'd asked for a Jack LaLanne power juicer and that's what he got :)

We decided to stay an extra day to travel to the Skagit Valley to see the tulips. They usually bloom earlier in the month, but the weather in western Washington has been colder than usual, so the end of April was perfect for enjoying the flowers!

Back at home it looks like we are getting some new neighbors. There is an organization here that counts and cares for bluebirds. There are hundreds of bluebird boxes all around the valley. We now have three. One of them can be seen from my studio and I noticed one going in and out of it a couple days ago. I also saw a pair of bluebirds on the tree outside our bathroom window. They were there a long time and kept flying up near the window into the theater. I went upstairs to investigate and discovered that they were trying to get in...that pesky glass in the window was keeping them out. Anyway, they are beautiful birds. The ones I've seen around the house are Western Bluebirds. We've also seen Eastern Bluebirds in the area that are a brilliant blue. I'm hoping I can catch a photo of one, but those things are fast!

Every Two Year Old Needs A Shirt Like This!

First Visitors to Mountain Dreams!

We were so happy to have Wendy, Brian, Trevor, Zachary, and Jacob come visit us during their spring break last week. They were the first to use the guest facilities!

They made the drive from Washington after Brian got off work on Wednesday and arrived at 5:00 in the morning. Over the next 3 days we made cookies, did a little hiking, played at the park, patched a pot hole in the road, shot the BB gun and played in the snow when we all went to Whitefish for the Pond Skimming competition (see below).

     

It was fun having them here. Hope it's not too long till the next visit!