Sweetness in Seattle

We hadn't seen Darren, Jill, Justin and Joseph since Christmas and that is just too long so we took a couple days off and went for a visit. Justin and Joseph have changed a lot in that time and it was so much fun to spend time with them again. The boys are so incredibly adorable and fun to play with. Justin is on the move at all times learning to walk and Joseph is such a good big brother, he just had his 4th birthday, loves to play outside and with his buddies on play days and is learning to read. He was a big help to Grandpa, Bruce the builder, when he helped Darren fix their gate and Grandpa helped him plant his very own tomato plant.We were able to go to their Stake Conference with them and Elder Ballard was their visiting General Authority so that was a plus. We had lots of delicious food thanks to Jill and enjoyed getting caught up. Darren was able to meet us for lunch and come home early on Monday and cook hamburgers and smores for us. Delicious!

Jill took us on the Water Taxi, to the pier where Darren joined us for lunch and then we had a great time shopping at the market. I think the only thing we really bought was ice cream but it was fun to look and smell all those huge fish! The water taxi was my favorite.

The time went by to fast, and we came home Tuesday morning after a wonderful time. Thanks Guys!

Recent fun times

Happy Spring! I think it is finally here and we are loving Dad's tulips, it feels like they are this great reward for the long winter. He is happy to be able to enjoy his passion of gardening and has planted, corn, onions, carrots as well as lots of pretty flowers. Today he plans to plant the tomatoes but right now he has the freezer torn apart, it hasn't been working right as of late. I'm grateful he is so handy.Speaking of passions, I need a new one so if you have any ideas send them my way. I thought it would be the piano but it isn't. I love learning to play and am so glad I am doing it but I don't feel passionate about it like I thought I would. I still love to scrapbook but soon we will need to build on a new room just to keep them in. I feel passionate about my grandchildren and really need them to live closer so I can take them places and buy them things and spoil them more.

Here are a few photos of some fun days.

We were able to visit Marc, Connie, Kellen and Caleb and go to one of Kellen's soccer games. Marc was the coach and he was so great with all those little kids, it was just a blast to watch. There were maybe three who actually played the game, one of those being Kellen. He was exhausted from chasing the ball and making, seriously, all the goals. The little girls just walked around holding hands and singing Christmas Carols. So fun! They are building a room on to their house and it was so fun to spend time there. Thanks guys!

Jenni and I took her new car on it's first road trip to Boise and stopped to visit Em, Steve and Easton who were visiting Steve's parents so that was a treat to spend time with them even though it was only 24 hours.

The day care kids have been pretty fun lately and we just celebrated Emma's 4th birthday. I love her and will miss her next Fall as she is going off to pre school as will my other cute 4 year old girls. I am counting the days until my Summer break but I really do love these girls.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! Be careful what you wish for though, I always wanted peace and quiet on Mother's day when all the kids were little and now that I have that, I'm not so sure it's all it's cracked up to be. I am really so grateful to be a mother and grandmother!!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

We thought it was time to visit Las Vegas and went for another quick visit to see Emily, Steve and Easton and had a fantastic time. Jenni surprised Dad and arrived Friday for his birthday, since we haven't seen her since Christmas it was wonderful to spend time with her even though it was too short to even get caught up.

Dad thinks Em should be a taxi driver, she can really get around the streets of Vegas and took us to all our favorite places. We love the Ballegio and could never see the water show too many times, it is amazing and I love it! We went on an awesome hike at Red Rock and the weather was to die for. I guess they had a nice week end in Eugene but we missed it and it has been raining ever since.

We took Dad to see Elvis, which was amazing, went to the park, had delicious meals and played with Easton. He is growing so fast and saying a lot of words and it was just so fun to spend time with them. Thanks, Em and Steve! It's back to reality now but little get aways like this sure give me a lift.

Easter/Spring Break

What a wonderful day for a baptism! Dad and I were so happy to be spending Easter with Tina, Scott and family and it was such a privilege for him to baptize Scott, Tamara and Taryn. We loved seeing their new home, which is awesome, playing with the girls, and sharing a delicious meal with them. It was an added bonus that Cierra was able to come from New Mexico.

The next day, I drove to Marysville, CA and spend Spring break with Melanie, Andy and the kids. I had such a great time being with them and we were busy every minute. Because of snow in the mountains, I decided to stay longer than planned and got to go on a little trip with them to Moneray and Santa Curz. We went to the warf, aquarium and boardwalk and just had such a grand time. There were seven kids and three adults in the van and very few problems, not bad huh? I was happy to finally meet their foster children; Jayden, Alexis and Geovanni. They are adorable. I actually enjoyed my drive both down and back so remind me of that next time I am hesitant to do it.

Dad was busy while I was gone and had carpet installed in the bedroom, started putting in the molding, fixed the light in my sewing room and much more. I think I should go away more often.

Oh, ye of little faith

Bruce has a vision and I am a little skeptical. I should trust him, I know, because he has always done such a good job with the yard and flowers. I loved it the way it was though, stay tuned to see what happens.

Cowboys are alive and well!

Dad was a big hit at the Hoe Down at Camp Alpine last night, he always loves to get into character and fit right in with the kids. It was mighty cold even though they had a raging fire burning, it mainly just roasted out the performers. I was really amazed at the talent from the branches as well as the Cowboy poetry and singing by Van and Kathy Criddle. Another great activity, they do have a good time and we try to keep up. We left before the square dancing so we could make sure we got an extra hour of sleep since we had to turn our clocks forward and I'm glad we did since today they all said they didn't leave Camp Alpine until midnight! If I really try, I can remember having that kind of energy way back in the day.

It is a quiet Sunday as Dad has been working all day trying to find a problem that has been bothering them all week. I am catching up on things I love to do when I don't have time so it's good in that way.

I added the photo of the daffodils for Bella as she wrote the most adorable letter asking if they had bloomed yet. It just made my day! It seems like we don't have as many this year but they are beautiful and I love them. We do have a bunch of tulips coming up and yesterday dad removed the tacky fence so you can actually see them. I will pray the kids don't step on them now!!!

Dad is home and ready to eat so that's it for now. Have a great week. Birthday time has officially started. Can you even believe that Jennifer is 21? Next week is Brad's birthday, then Dontea and on to all those in April, May and we even have a June now with Justin.

Hello,
It's been a long time since I have blogged. I am pretty boring these days so there isn't a lot to say. The day care kids have all been sick this month and are just now feeling better. I am so glad it is getting warmer and we can go outside for a few minutes each day. Bruce and I started a project fixing up one of the extra bedrooms so that will be fun AND the daffodills are getting ready to bloom so that makes me very happy.

I was tagged by Le Ann so here are my answers to her questions.

What were you doing 10 years ago?
Enjoying all the things my kids were doing. Jenni was in the 5th grade and Emily turned 16 and was playing softball. Darren received his mission call to Mexico City. Marc and Connie started coaching softball. I was walking every morning, serving in the Stake Young Women, and doing day care. Those were the days of Dariano, Marcus, Emily Ota and Alex. Good Times!

5 things on my to-do list today:--Practice the piano, read my book club book, post this to my blog, (that is a hard job for me), take care of five little girls, work on a scrapbook for Bethany.

"Things I would do if I was suddenly a billionaire: Give to the poor. Put money away for our retirement, if we ever have one, so we won't have to live with Darren. Put money away for my grand kid's education.

3 of my bad habits:---Procrastination, over eating, and I say a certain bad word when I get frustrated.

Places I've Lived:-Beaver, Utah - Logan, Utah - Carson City, NV - Reno, Nevada, Eugene & Springfield, Oregon

Jobs I've had:- Wife and Mother, Secretary at Marist High School, Waitress at Sambo's in Reno, motel maid in Carson City, Child Care Provider.

Things most people don't know about me: I take piano lessons, -
I tag...Emily and Jill