What's so funny??

Is it the way I decorated it? Is it all the kids' school-made ornaments? All the mis-matched ornaments?...

Or is it the fact that it is IN a playpen? I don't know, but I sure am getting a lot of comments ~ and giggles ~ about our tree.

Happy Birthday Oakland!

Wednesday was Oakie's 1st birthday, and today was her party. I'm such a lucky grandma to have the 2 cutest granddaughters in the whole world! We are the best of friends, and I hope that never changes!!

Wednesday Cali took all the kids to South Towne Mall and went on about 50 carousel rides. OK. Maybe it was only 3 or 4, but the lady let the rides be extra long because Oakland was loving it! Screaming that happy girl squeal all the way around! Today, the whole family - great grandparents, grandparents and a few aunts and uncles with a spattering of cousins- met at Jungle Jim's Playland and rode rides, ate pizza, ice cream and cake and just had a good time! So much fun being with everyone!

I'm a wimpy grandma. I didn't buy either of my girls fancy clothes, or cool toys. I bought the balloons and decor, and some pop rock candy. Sounds stupid when I put it down in writing, but balloons can be expensive and I would rather their parents buy toys or items they need, and me get the extras. And the pop rocks candy is just the special educator coming out in me.

Which by the way, what was up with you not liking your hands dirty, Oakland? We'll have to work on that!!

Nanny loves you!!

What a RUSH!!

Thanks to my good friend Penney for the whats and wheres, along with a bunch of coupons for a great deal!!

I bought 5 bottles of Pam cooking spray for $1.50 each, 5 bottles of Wesson cooking oil for $1.50 each and I bought 40 packages of batteries - yes, 40 packages - for ~ ~~ wait for it.... ~~
64 cents!!! TOTAL!! So I spent $10. 95 when my bill was $110.35!! A whopping savings of $100!

Whew! That's always good news when you don't have money coming in, isn't it?

Keep it comin', Penney! Now I know why you like this so much!

The latest funny at our house

TAYLOR : "Alex! Stop picking your nose!"

ALEX: "I'm itching my brain cause it's huge!!"

WOW!!

That's a lot of snow!! This is a view of our back yard....

This shows you how thick the snow was. I was scraping the snow off our shed and HAD to take a picture. I should have measured it!

A different view of the back yard...

I didn't have time to scrape driveways before church, but I did go out and sweep off all my neighbor's cars. This is one of the neighbor boys' car. LOOK at how much snow there is. The green is the hood of the car where I have actually gotten the snow off, and then there's this huge pile of snow! And it's not drifted snow. This much actually fell. I was lucky ~ when I got home from church my neighbor had already done our driveway. I have the best neighbors! We kind of look after each other. He may have done mine today, but he knows I'll take my turn doing his!! Thanks, Cliff!

Well. That sucks!

George just got laid off.

It's been a long week, especially the last 2 days. He is the manager over distribution and was told by the boss that he (Mike) needed to cut back employees. Mike's department is already very small. What once had 87 employees is whittled down to 13, and they wanted it cut even more. Obviously the "do not call list" as well as the new ways of getting DVD's has negatively affected this company. So Mike thought and prayed and agonized over who he needed to let go.

Yesterday, a co-worker / good friend of the family called ME, asked if I was home and started crying when she said we needed to talk. I knew. I think I've known throughout this whole ordeal. I don't know why, things just seemed weird to me. So the first thing I said to her as she walked in was, "They're letting Mike go, huh?" After talking a while, we called Mike and told him to come home. He took it as well as could be expected.

We are both worried about this co-worker because she will now have to deal with the boss and he's not a very nice guy. I guess I shouldn't say that. He is a nice guy if you are a female and sleeping with him. He'll even be nice to the whole family if you let your wife sleep with him. Not only is this wrong, it is gross on every level. If you ever met this man your first thought would be, "EWWW!" He is paying two house payments (million dollar homes) of a prostitute friend of his, and another woman who he sleeps with, both her and her husband drive company cars and their mortgage is paid for by him, even though neither of them work for the company. See. Nice guy, huh?

I'll never forget the first company Christmas party we went to. Very impressive. Big group, beautiful setting, fantastic food and fun. He was handing money out like it was candy! Then there was the lap dance. Yeah. A wife of another employee stood up and did a full on lap dance on the boss' lap with her husband and his wife sitting at the same table. Aww. The memories!

So today. The boss sent a henchman, of course. Can't do the dirty deed himself. Told Mike they needed to let him go and they will give him a 2 WEEK severance pay, "Oh, and can you come and work next week?"

Yeah. They did!

So basically a 1 week severance pay when in the past they have given people a week per year they have worked for the company. Ten weeks would sure be a lot different than 2 (actually 1).

I know I sound bitter. I'm not. Angry maybe just because of how this went down. But I'm so glad Mike is out of there. This is supposed to be a family business but the morals of the leaders is non-existent. I don't like Mike having to deal with that kind of person on a day to day basis. And I feel like we will be OK. I don't know how! We certainly don't have a 2 year food supply or a savings, but I am calm when I think about it. And the constant outpouring of love and concern is almost overwhelming! So many people have said they will keep us in their prayers... what an honor. And what a blessing to know that our Father in Heaven knows how Mike is feeling, knows what we are supposed to learn from this, and if we are listening, will tell us what we are supposed to do.

Thank you for any prayers you say on our behalf. Mike has a hard time 'letting things go'. That's been the toughest thing for him as bishop is he internalizes everything. I know I will not only be praying for him to find a job, but I will be asking that he can get some sleep! The man needs a good night sleep!!

It's been a while....

No reason. Just not much to say. But then again, there's a lot to say.

We have all recovered from the death of Angel. We won't forget her, but at least we aren't looking for her as we open the door expecting her to run out and bark at nothing, or throw leftover food into her bowl - which is no longer there so it just splats on the floor. The babies even took a while to stop looking for her to throw food down to from their high chairs. The tears are dried up and life goes on.

Not long after Angel died, one of my best friend's grandpas died, and I realized how fragile life is. And what a miracle it is. Another one of my friend's dad died last night. He had been very sick for a long time, which with our knowledge it makes it easier knowing he is in a much better place, with people that love him and that he loves, and he's no longer in pain. But that doesn't take the hole out of our hearts as we miss them.

So whether it be a pet, a baby, a friend or an aged family member it hurts. And I don't think the hurt ever goes away. I know every time I hear of a death, or a birth, I think of Mac. I don't cry as easily, but that ache deep inside twinges. It almost feels like something is missing. Which I guess it actually is.

Then I'll notice I have a little grin on my face. Odd. But the memories are still there. Will always be there. Some of those memories are more like nightmares than dreams, but I will always remember these sweet people and pets. Always love them. And I can't wait till I get the chance to see them and be with them again. And I know I will have that chance if I live my life the way I should. That sure is good motivation! Mmmmm. Should I lie or do I want to be with my grandson in the hereafter? Makes the choice seem a little easier, doesn't it.

ANGEL 5 / 01 - 10 / 10

Angel Girl. Devil Woman. No matter what you called her, she loved you!

Our sweet dog died on Saturday. We noticed about a week before that she wasn't eating, and she went very quickly from there. The vet said she probably had cancer. At the end she was having trouble breathing, she was constantly throwing up, she couldn't walk on her own, and she even stopped drinking.

Even though this is a little blurry, this is one of my favorite pics of Angel. She LOVED the snow. She would go out with me when I shoveled and just bury her face then throw the snow up in the air with her nose. She then would find the deepest point and just lay there until she was completely covered. Saturday night, as Mike and I were reminiscing - OK. bawling - we both brought up how much she loved snow and that we loved this picture.

We woke up at 3 am to snow!! Angel's doing? We like to think so.

She was fantastic with the kids. Here she is helping Oakland one of the first times Oak had solid foods. She NEVER nipped or growled at them, even near the end.

Now my angel grandson has a puppy to play with. An Angel.

Dog-sitting a horse!

What do you do when you're little, playing in a sandbox on a beautiful, autumn day and a big dog comes nearby?


You share!!!

We got to dog-sit my brother's Great Dane Ellee this past week and had so much fun. My parents watched her when they were home (evenings and weekends) and we had her during the day. The girls learned to just walk around with their hands up by their heads so Ellee's tail wouldn't wipe them out when she wagged it! She was so good with the kids, and really well behaved.

I didn't know such a big dog could cuddle into such a small area!

I know Elle is in the foreground, and Angel is in the background, but it still shows there is a big difference in their sizes. But they were really good together. Angel wasn't feeling well, and Ellee sensed that and just left her alone. Now the cat on the other hand.... Ellee wasn't too sure what to do with Moose! She wanted to play, but was afraid of him. It was funny to watch!

Ellee, you are welcome at our house ANYTIME!!

Time for a new family photo!

I'm sure you're thinking, "What? You just had your family picture taken!"

Yeah, but that was before Taylor got engaged!! Whoo-hoo! We are so glad to add Brandon to the family! No date has been set, yet, but I'll let you know when they set it!

Gardener Village Fun

We went on an adventure today. It's hard going out and doing things with all the kids, but it was such a nice day I couldn't resist! And the kids were all at their best, so I certainly can't complain. First we stopped by a few witches to take some pics. Alex was surprisingly nervous around them, so this first pic is as close as he got. He was trying to get Oak's attention for me, but she was much more interested in that funny looking witch!
This lady, who claims she is a good witch, gave the kids suckers~ which will play a part in a later picture.... notice no Alex!

I thought this was funny with the two girls looking at the witch, and the witch looking their direction.

Alex and Brendon got to go on a pony ride. Alex's pony was named Prince, and Brendon's pony was named George. Brendon picked that on purpose because he wanted to sit on George. (For those who don't know, George is Mike's nick-name!)

Then we went over to their little petting zoo. This little goat pictured below is a thief!!!

As soon as we walked into the petting zoo , this hooligan walked right up to the stroller, put his head in the part underneath where you store things - such as suckers a certain witch just gave the kids - and ate them sticks and all! This isn't a very good picture, but it shows how we just stood and watched him in awe. When he wasn't chewing I was wrestling him to stay out of the bottom of the stroller. So I moved the stroller over to the corner and then this tiny goat (below) decided he wanted us to fall in love with him. He was so cute, and just cried and cried and followed us around for the next few minutes.

Then I look over and that darn juvenile delinquent is eating the tags on our stroller!

Mo was much more interested in the waterfall they had in the petting zoo than of the animals. She LOVES water.

I thought this picture below turned out so cute! I sat Oak next to this sheep, and she turned and the sheep put his forehead up against her forehead. They sat there for a good minute just leaning on each other. I'll bet 4 other people that were there took this picture, too. It was just too cute to pass up.

While Mo and Oak were 'moo'-ing at this cow, Alex and Brendon were laughing at the turtle behind it eating the cow's poop. Awwww. Nature at it's finest!

Alex was a busy guy with all these animals so I didn't get too many pics of him. He would run from one animal to another and ask their names. Not what kind of animals they were, but their actual names. And if you know Alex, you know he won't give up until you give him a name. I've gotten pretty good at coming up with names in an instant, and he has never questioned how I know every body's and every thing's names! This certain goat's name was Walter.

Then there was the pig. Cute little thing, and Mo and Oak couldn't get enough of him. I had two very angry babies when I took them out and put them in the stroller.

A beautiful autumn day with witches and animals!

What I did this summer~

~I kept off the 35 lbs I lost in the spring!!

For those with a weird sense of humor who asked for before and after pictures, here you go!

I went from a size 16 to a size 8 and have kept it off for 5 months now! But even better than that, I feel so much healthier and happier about myself. I still have some to lose, but if I can continue to maintain this loss, I'll be so happy and proud of myself!! I know I'll never be a size 2, but now that I've lost some weight, it's time to take better care of myself and exercise regularly!

LOVE YOUR BODY!!

I went on an adventure, yesterday. I participated in a 6k walk / run for women only at Thanksgiving Point! I figured that was a safe one to start off with - and so did 1800 other women! It was a lot of fun, a beautiful walk and great exercise.

Here I am, all alone before the race began. I invited some of the girls in my life, but none of them could come. I was lonely. Sad. Next year I am inviting ALL the women in my life and hopefully someone can come! (Yes, this is supposed to make you feel guilty for not coming!)

I did find some friends, though. Out of 1800 women I found our good family friends Julie and Lindsey! They let me wait for the start with them, but I didn't want to them to feel stuck with me (Julie and I used to go to the gym together. I know how tough she can be!) so we finished separately. Way to go, girls! And thanks for letting me stick with you!

This picture doesn't really do the crowd justice, but it's the best one I took. Let me put it to you this way; 3 different buildings with restrooms (men's and women's being used by women) and about a dozen port-a-potties and you still had to wait in line for a bathroom!

At 8:30 the 10k run began. Way out of my league! But we all stood off to the side and cheered them on. Mostly out of admiration, but also because we were freaking cold and it helped warm up our hands. Then we lined up for the 6k walk / run. I walked but then ran across the finish line. I also cried at the finish line.

This is a picture of me after the race. I don't look too worse for the wear, although you can tell I have been crying. Let me tell you why.

It was inspiring to be surrounded by so many women with such different reasons to be there, and at varying skill levels. Watching those take off for the 10k and all I could think was, "Never in a million years could I do that!" But why not? I did 6k - more than 1/2 way! Maybe someday I can. And as we were waiting for the walk to begin, we all talked amongst ourselves. Where else but in a group of a bunch of women could you talk candidly and openly with each other? I heard women talking about their husbands, their health, and even their friends that convinced them to sign up, but then didn't come. It was weird to feel comfortable around and have a connection with so many strangers!

As the walk progressed, my first thought was, "I need to pee!" (I shouldn't have drank so much water BEFORE !) After a pit stop, I just put one foot in front of the other. I did try to make a 'race' out of it, but just by eyeing the person ahead of me and trying to pace myself so that I could pass them. Then I would find the next person ahead of me and try to pass them. As I passed them I noticed how different we all were. There was every age group, every size and shape, some alone some in big groups. When the 10k women started lapping us, I looked at them, again in awe, and noticed that they, too were every age, size and shape and even ability. Some very hard-core, strong women, and some who were pushing themselves to continue to the next step. But we were all as beautiful as the gardens around us because we matter. We are daughters of a Heavenly Father who loves us....!

About 3/4 of the way through I noticed I was sticking with the same group of women. We were all going the same pace and didn't pass or get behind each other. In this group was a runner who weighed probably 2 time more than I do. Yes, she was running. Only at the same pace as us walkers, but she was running! She would every once in a while blurt out very loudly, "Oh, come on!" "You're OK!" or "You've made it this far. Keep going!" I realized she was talking to herself. She had her eyes closed and was obviously visualizing the finish line. She had her headphones on, and I don't know if she could hear me but I found myself giving her cheers and kudos, too. It then seemed to be she was cheering me on and I was cheering her on.

Near the finish line there stood my neighbors - Julie and Lindsey's families - with posters and cheering us on. (They even held up the "Way to go Grandma" sign even though it was meant for Julie. It still made me feel good!)

Then there was a small group of friends in my new group of walking buddies who were alternating between running and walking. There were 3 of them; one pushing a stroller, one in a wheelchair, and the other pushing the wheelchair. The woman in the wheelchair had Cerebral Palsy. Her friends loved her very much, you could tell. They would run when she was in the chair, but then she would get out of it, hold onto the wheelchair and walk for a ways. They talked a lot about how cool this was and how much each of them appreciated the experience; obviously the woman IN the chair was very grateful to her friends because there would be no way she could do it without their help, but her friends were just as grateful, and I would say honored, to be able to be a part of this experience with her. At one point we had to cross an island in the middle of the road, which was tricky with the stroller and wheelchair since it was gravel. I grabbed the stroller so that both friends could help with the wheelchair. Once across, we all had tears in our eyes. Sounds stupid, I know. But, again. Where else but with a bunch of women would something as simple as crossing a road mean so much? Then we were off again. Them running, me walking. About 100 yards from the finish line I passed them as the woman in the wheelchair was getting out. I crossed the line, then waited for my new-found friends. Tears came full force when I realized they had ditched the wheelchair off to the side of the road and the woman with CP was making her way down the home stretch with no help from anyone or anything. It was difficult, and it was not very graceful, but she did it!! I walked up to her and gave her a big hug, which turned into a doggie-pile since her friends ran up and group hugged her with me. I didn't want to intrude on such a personal, private success, but I couldn't let the chance pass me by to congratulate someone who truly deserved it.

So that was it. We got an orange and a banana, a water bottle, a goody bag from Harmon's and the privilege to say, "I did it!!"

I REALLY did it!

Hockey season has started again!

Yesterday we also went to the first hockey practice of the season. This will be Alex's 3rd year to play for The Grizzlies Special Needs team (formerly called The Renegades) He was on the injured-reserved list last year and had to sit the year out, or he'd be a 4 year veteran. You would never know he hadn't skated in a few years, though. He did fantastic!! A little nervous and hesitant, but a true hockey player. I am so proud of how well he does on those thin, little blades. Especially with all the poundage he wears in the way of padding - as well as the poundage he's packed on since his surgery!

Those kneeling down are the players (the one in the dark jersey standing on the far right is also a player) and all the men standing are coaches. (Alex is next to the boy in white on the far left. The little, tiny guy) There are a few men who have been with the team from the very beginning and they love this team and the team loves them! Coach Don, Coach Rich, Coach / President(?) Mike work hard to teach the kids hockey skills, how to play as a team and have fun doing it! There are a lot of junior coaches - who happen to be players from high school teams - that are taking their valuable, very busy time to be with our kids and give them a little competition if that's what skill level they are on, or help them learn to stand up when they fall down if that's the level they are. Alex's skills are kind of middle ground for the team. He can skate fairly well, knows how to stand up by himself if he falls (which isn't too often), and his speed is getting better and better, but he's still learning how to play the game and utilize the whole team. He thinks he's their Center, and everyone goes along with it. But as soon as the puck is in play, he books it to their net and waits for someone else to bring it down the ice so he can score. Yup! He's a cherry picker! Because of this we've had plenty of 'hat tricks' (3 or more scores so the parents throw their hat on the ice. This year one of us better remember to wear a hat!)

They will play a game every other week, with practices on the off weeks. They play against high school and league hockey teams. Go Grizzlies!!

And, yes, his name is spelled wrong on his jersey! Oh, well. It's not the first time, it won't be the last!

Three Men and a Lady

You'll notice on my sidebar I have added a new button to a blog. It's actually Cali's sister-in-law's blog and I am in awe.

Let me just go off on a tangent first; Can I just say the Hinckley's are an amazing family? Every one of them are their own kind of special to us. From the first time we met them we have felt like family, and I know that doesn't happen usually with in-laws. They are down to earth, and yet incredible in so many ways I couldn't write them all down. We truly love the Hinckley family!

But about this blog... WOW! This woman is all kinds of talented. I look at her pictures and I think, " !!! " Literally, my brain just goes berserk and I'm so amazed that someone I know, someone I have actually spoken to, someone I have eaten meals with, someone I have cried tears with has a house so beautiful I don't feel worthy to be viewing the photographs. And if you were to meet her, she makes you feel important and loved. She's even been to my house and - now this is amazing - she didn't sneer when she walked into my well-loved, well-worn out house.

So when you have a few hours to browse, check out her blog and be prepared to be in awe.

Check out this sweet, old lady! And a few more pics...

Meet Grandma FlaMingo. This is Mike's grandmother. His mom's mom. She turns 91 next month, but is still full of a lot of energy. We spent this last weekend with her and had so much fun!! We got there early Saturday afternoon and spent a few hours with her before checking into the hotel. Then we shipped the men off to the priesthood session of conference while us womenfolk went to dinner. (If you ever get the chance, go to The Upper Crust. Good food!!)

Then Mike and I spent Sunday morning with Grandma watching conference, while the others watched conference at the hotel. After the morning session, we all met up at JB's for lunch. Then everyone else had to head home, but Mike, Alex, and I got to watch the afternoon session of conference with her. It was a very nice, relaxing weekend!

Mo giving grandma a kiss...

Oak giving grandma a kiss...

... a five generation picture. Yes. Five. Mike's mom's photograph is in the background!!

Another five generation pic.

Colby's family with grandma.

Cali's family with grandma.

Alex and Grandma FlaMingo. He's the one that came up with the nickname, but the funny thing is I think he really thought that was her name for a while.

Grandma only has 1 arm. She got the other one amputated after falling into a potato harvester. Alex is very intrigued by this, especially when she wears her hook. He LOVES that she can store her car keys in it! She very rarely wears the hook anymore, and now he's just interested in where her arm is. He asks about it every time he sees her!

She's a tiny, little thing. Only about 4'5", and has trouble moving quickly, but she can move pretty much on her own. When we took her to dinner, we didn't have any trouble at all getting her in and out of the car without the men's help. I was very impressed with how well she still gets around. I guess I should emphasize that she broke her hip a year or so ago. That makes it all the more impressive!

The pics below are a dream come true for Alex. He loves to chase birds! I don't know why, he just loves it! Along a stretch of the Snake River there was a whole flock of seagulls with a few geese and as soon as I saw it I knew we had to let Alex out and chase them.

A few days ago we got to babysit our newest nephew. (Shout out to the Junior Patriot!) He was really good, except every time he got near Mo. She didn't take offense, but she sure did like him!

And like I said in earlier posts; we really like to spend time outside. The weather last week was just right for some fun outdoors.

Here is Tsia, Jess and Taylor up at scout camp. Now you know why the scouts like going to camp so much. These are the rope course counselors. And you thought it was for the food!

Here's a pic of TJ trying to jump out of the harness after going down the zip line. By the way, she did it!

Colby got the chance to do the rope course. He was MUCH faster than I was. This is a pic of him and TJ right before he goes down the zip line.

And, yes!! Taylor's missionary came home this summer!!

Here are a few more pictures of our first water skiing trip this summer.

Cute, cute, cute!!!

As you can see, even though the boat wasn't up to par we had a great time!