Grandma Defined

The Wedding

2011-08-04T12:53:00.001-07:00

July is now just a blur…and June is totally forgotten. But with the aid of comments from friends, and occasional picture popping up on Facebook (because heaven knows I didn’t take any if you can believe it) and little piles of “stuff” still taking up residence in various corners of my home, I will attempt to piece together and share the Highlights.

First the planning, Summer was in Idaho I was here, sample phone call… “Mom, is my wedding ready yet?” (well that may be an exaggeration, but you get the idea) Summer came down to visit and we hit the material store to find tablecloth fabric so we could have a jumping off point for the colors, she wanted Coral, grey and yellow…we let me just say coral is in the eye of the beholder, 8 million shades and variations of coral. Ended up with a pretty color I like to call peach. From there (the colors pinned down) we talked food…she wanted traditional wedding food, chicken croissant sandwiches, fruit, vegies and a couple of assorted salads. And I decided cupcakes would be fun (since I had a vision of the cupcake stand I wanted Arlon to build) and she said…great.

Now the doing…hemmed tablecloths, made a few more backdrop curtains for a couple of additional stands Arlon made for me, ordered paper lanterns, (originally we were doing a false ceiling with lots of paper lanterns, but luckily I helped a friend out with their reception food and in exchange he put up a tulle ceiling for us that he did for his daughter) ordered 5 lbs. of Jordan almonds (because I love them, forgot to take them the night of the reception, so I have been eating them….continually since) ordered invitations, ordered flowers, shopped for a dress, bought suits for the grandsons, made dresses for Taylor and Amy, started baking cupcakes….well you get the picture.

So the big day is fast approaching, Summers flies in, She has borrowed on of Jakes sisters wedding dress to wear, it is gorgeous! Jake flies in, he came, so the wedding is still on

Thursday night they do Wedding shots, (since it will be 108 degrees when we come out the the temple) and interviews for the wedding video…(Jake has that deer in the headlights look, combined with “is it over yet!) Friday we spend the day decorating. Brendan gets the biggest trouper award because he got to have Cindy Ray boss him around as he hung my Glob-ial of paper lanterns. Heath Westenskow put up the ceiling the night before. Lisa made a cute banner that says thank you, to hang over where the gifts will go

Friday night is the best, Summer goes through the Temple. This is the moment you feel like you’re an okay parent. Then we go over to Grandma and Grandpa Knights house where Jakes family has been arriving and will camp out for the weekend, eat pizza and check out the “other side”.

Saturday we get up, get beautified and Summer, Jake & I leave for the temple…WAIT…what's that Summer for got the wedding license… call dad, he saves the day. The Ceremony was beautiful. As I look around and see the other 3 girls and their husbands, all able to be in this beautiful building together I am so grateful for choices they have all made. Then its out into the heat to welcome the newlyweds and pose for the traditional temple step picture…have I mentioned its really hot! Then its back to the church for the wedding luncheon. The Fullmers really wanted to take care of this but after I convinced her it was more stress for me trying to get an exact head count,(Knights and Lewis’s do not like to be pinned down) She agreed to pay for it and let my wonderful cousins Julie & Kim and Aunt Pat serve us homemade Café Rio at the church. (again no pictures, so mad) Its was really good, if I say so myself, and very low key .

Then it was back to Calli arranging the Centerpieces and Lindsey taking care of the Kitchen for me and getting all the cupcakes frosted (my beautiful cupcapke tower Arlon build) and food put out. I was originally just getting croissants from Costco, but my other wonderful cousin Debbie volunteered her and Pam to bake 300 rolls for me, they were soooo much better than Costco. But did they stop there…NO they worked like dogs along with Aunt Nita, and Ted (who also made the delicious pasta salad) and his wife Stephanie in the kitchen. Those wonderful friends from the ward who came and helped got to know Waaaay more about my family than they probably should, but take us like we are and know that I have Aunts and cousins that will stop, drop, and do anything to help me out!!!

It was beautiful and I couldn’t have done it without Family,which is really what its all about

Last fling before the ring!!!

2011-06-04T15:14:00.001-07:00

Summer made one last trip to Arizona before she comes back to tie the knot, and we filled it with as much getter done stuff as we could. First on the agenda was of course Jessica's graduation. A big success, she graduated!!!

Then it was shower time. Lisa made big pom poms and made a backdrop for the food table. I pulled out the Zebra striped tablecloths (because pink and Black and Zebra all over is really what Summer is all about), and Calli and Lisa made yummy food. Calli whipped up some breakfast casseroles, and pasta salad, while Lisa cut up fruit and helped mix up punch.

Food, Fun and lots of family and friends!

cute water bottle labels …

last minute banner … sign in table…

Sisters … Kathleen and LeeAnn talking about the great food(I hope) …

(Summer getting pointers on how to visit with friends)… Jessica and Taylor (always ready to pose)…

Summer and the little girl she used to nanny…Friends….

cousin friend… more friends…

”special” friend… “old” friends… and chit chatting friends!!!

Practical gifts…and impractical gifts!!!

Zara will never be the same!

Cheesy smiles…

creepy smiles…

your face is going to freeze that way smiles….

is it over yet smiles…

and I wasn’t invited smiles!

All in all it was fun and she got a lot of really cute things.

don’t you just love it when a plan comes together!!!

Jessica

2011-05-20T14:56:00.001-07:00

Jessica Lyn Lewis. Born August 27, 1993 at a whoppin 10 lbs. 12 oz. our caboose, our last angel, the final twinkle in daddy’s eye.

She was a really easy baby, but that was because she was just a life sized doll for her 4 older sister to play with.

She always thought she was as old as all the other sisters, she was reading before kindergarten, playing t-ball,

(if only for the snow cones that followed) and building sand castles with exactness, and hunting for sand dollars in the sand dollar river, in Mexico over spring breaks.

When she was 7 she begged for and got a puppy (one of the Clouse doggy descendants) that pleasure lasted about 6 months, then the puppy turned into a rather large dog, who made rather large…droppings! Then “Bear” became mine, but Jess will always think of him as hers.

Jess and Summer spent lots of time lounging in our “pool” growing up. A large water trough, that they could run in circles making a really good whirl pool, and since we were the only family with a “pool” in the neighborhood she had lots of friends. Her best friend was Claire, who died…not really but her sisters told her she did when Claire moved away and we never heard from her again.

We moved to Gilbert, when Jessica was in 4th grade. She always danced to the beat of her own drum and in third grade decided she wanted to play the cello instead of the violin like her sisters, in gilbert schools you don’t start orchestra until the fourth grade, so she already had a year under her belt…which made her FABULOUS!!! So basically Jessica is smart, talented, and because of her early experience in our backyard “pool”, and many years of summer swim team, she would later go on to become a great Swimmer for Gilbert High School.

She has made some really good friends through the years, some come some go, but all have brought their own kind of fun to the party.

I don’t know what the future hold for Jessica…but she will come out on top, because she knows who she is, has a family that loves her (even though they tell her often she was adopted).

but right now it’s a new milestone for Jess, High School graduation!!! We love you Jessica…You Are BEAUTIFUL!

Turn around and she's grown!!!

2011-03-28T14:30:00.000-07:00

Even though Arlon's face didn't show it....he was SO EXCITED for girl number 4...Summer Nicole Lewis. Born August 6th 1990. There was just a small struggle for what she would actually be called...Arlon insisted on calling her Nicole for about a week, but Summer stuck and still doesn't look like a Nicole to me.

We had a five year gap between the big girls and the little girls so her older sisters loved taking care of her.

Halloween tradition included dressing up and doing the "Grandma run" before trick or treating.

As you can tell, sometimes the outfit fit the child!

(Even then Summer was dreaming of what she wanted to be when she grew up)

But most year costumes were just recycled...so everyone took a turn as a witch or a princess!

In looking at pictures, alot of Summers birthdays took place in the woods as we camped with family, and speaking of family's, bathing in tubs must have been a tradition!!!

(just glad it was bonnie and not me in that tub)

Like most families, we took many (now looking back) awkward family photos. (Lorraine, I better not seen any of these on your blog!)

I worked so hard on these dresses, at the time those big sleeves made perfect sense.

casual friday,

and this was the year I think I watched Sound of Music one to many times...these were the famous curtain dresses (and no I did not make them out of curtains and once again...it looked good in my head when I did it)

Summer's sisters were always very patient with her, but who wouldn't be...she was so CUTE!

And like her sisters, she spent most summers on the ball field dreaming of what they would have for snacks.

She took the requisite first day of school pictures,

had many summers in Rocky Point, looking for the great sand dollar river, playing at the playground, looking at the SAME stuff at the store fronts, getting her hair braided, and going into town for Thrifty Ice cream with grandpa.

Also spent alot of time in Taylor/Snowflake for the 24th or the 4th of July, sometimes the corn festival and sometimes just for the heck of it.

She and her LITTLE sister have always been close (small cough)

she is a terrific aunt (another small cough)

but mostly...she is just a party looking to happen! Be it dirty

or clean,

A crowd

or just a chance to wear sun glasses,

be with friends,

take lots of picture of themselves,(wearing sunglasses)

make Kissy faces,

or just faces,

she was not staying home, there had to be something going on somewhere!!!!!

Oh and did I mention, she plays the piano, the violin, ran track, swam, did student counsel, taught primary, nannied, and was HOMECOMING QUEEN!

add to that list a little broom hocky and some dodgeball,

many trips to California,

and this is only a small peak into who Summer Lewis is.

But who she has decided to become is MRS. Jake Fullmer.

She met Jake while attending BYU Idaho, in Rexburg Idaho, where he also attends and his family lives. I knew she had to love him because...it is cold in Rexburg, and she will have to visit his family (maybe only in the summer though).

We went to Rexburg to check him out because it looked like this could be son-in-law Number 4. While we were there, he called to set up a time to "speak" with her father. I'm not sure what he would have done if it hadn't gone well, after all they already had a ring and a date....but fortunately for him...he was a keeper. Tall, (6'6") athletic, really nice family, and he LOVED SUMMER! not much more we could have asked for.

We went to his family's to play games...( I know Summer doesn't play games, thats another reason we knew she was a goner) and they had it all planned that during one of the games Summer would give her score first, and we would all come in lower (she so didn't win on her own). Jakes mom (Konda) conveniently left the prize for this game in the basement so she sent Summer to get it, Jake said he would go with her. When he shut the door behind them...Summer started to think...when she saw the little box in the gift bag, she knew...( Jake informed us that asking her in front of everyone would be a little out of his comfort zone) of course she said yes and getting the ring took some of the sting out of finding out that she really didn't win the game.

She come up from the basement...engaged to Jacob Fullmer.

Pleased parents!

Cute couple!!!

The best is yet to come!!!

March madness!!!

2011-03-04T11:44:00.000-08:00

No I'm not talking basketball, I'm talking about those millions of little things that happen in life that make for sleepless nights and feelings of...

First off..Summer (the daughter not the season), has decided to stay in Rexburg for the Summer (the season not the daughter). Her father is having flashes of the dad on My Big Fat Greek Wedding...What is that? Is he good boy? I don't know. Does he come from good family? I don't know.

I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!"

So we are flying up to Idaho...to check out this young man...watch out Jake!!!

Calli and Brendan are trying to buy a house, a thought that is all consuming for them, Calli and "Hair" drama at the Salon (I don't miss that part of working), Brendan taking his state test, so he can practice the art of "adjusting" to his hearts content, and hopefully make enough money to buy the House of thier dreams, Taylor, Keaton and Brody reminding me often how glad I am that I'm the grandma and not the mom (I still send them home at night after I sugar them up)!

Jessica had to have a Indian dress for morp...although it was the easiest dance dress I have made to date,

so sad...sent her off to collect her date (girl ask guy date) and took no pictures...curses!

Then I have Lindsey calling to tell be she is ahead of me now in our "Biggest Lewiser" weight loss contest, and she won a house party and tickets to Disney on Ice (granted she won under Calli's name but whatever).

Then theres Lisa...posting daily picture of Riker who is running around the house now...taunting me with glimpses of all I am missing.

So I sit at home arranging and rearranging St. Patrick's day memories,

(subway art from. http://todaysfabulousfinds.blogspot.com)

wishing a leprechaun would deliver his pot of gold to my door this year.

So Happy March...BRING IT ON!!!

February Bunko

2011-02-11T11:54:00.000-08:00

I LOVE BUNCO!!!

Back in the day..don't you love it when you realize you are now old because you spend lots of time thinking about days gone by more than what lies ahead...anyway I digress, I love Bunco, and I used to be at one time in 3 groups. So Much fun. We went from hitting every boutique in town for the next great gift, to cutting and painting ourselves to save money, to "now our homes are full of this stuff so lets just bring a token prize and play anyway just to escape the reality of Kids, Kids, and more Kids". Well all those groups finally dissolved leaving a rift in my life that was never filled (sounds so pathetic). So I was so excited when we moved into a ward that had a group in place. Granted they aren't hard core players, no commitment, no set players, but hey..it was a bunco group. So I hosted in February. I had these really cute buckets that I had big plans for for Christmas, never happened, so I dressed them up as Valentines Day baskets, filled them with the appropriate goodies, and supplemented with a couple of wood crafts and WaLa...I thought really cute prizes!

Valentines craft day

2011-02-11T11:25:00.000-08:00

Since Calli moved back to Arizona..we had BIG plans. Crafting every day, okay, every week, okay once a month. Her working is really throwing off our game plan. But we did manage to get together one day before Valentines Day to get our craft on. Last Year I had made these...

So this year we took the easy way out and cut and sanded (Calli always sands WAY more than me),

Painted,

cut and modge podged,

These beauties!!!

Craft need...met for now.

A new knee for Dad

2011-02-11T10:23:00.000-08:00

So after years of climbing power poles, running away from bulls in the rodeo arena, chasing people up and down basketball courts blowing his whistle, running the great race between Hamburgers and Cougar crunch health bars, Dads knee had had enough! So the decision was made...get a new one! The jury is still out as to whether this was a GREAT idea or just a good one.

Surgery was Jan 4...so since his birthday was the 5th, it was Texas sheet cake at the hospital,

Some for him and some to share with whoever wandered into his room.

Probably his best gift was the lovely socks the hospital doles out, and no one wore them better than DAD!

First day of school…again!

2011-02-03T11:28:00.001-08:00

For Taylor, leaving Kansas meant not only moving to a new city, but starting all over again at a new school. Since she would be spending lots of time at Grandma’s house (mom & Dad both working to make enough to start paying back some of those student loans), She started at Finley Farms Elementary, which was right around the corner.

I’m sure when she is older and looks back at this picture…she will think “what was I wearing on my arms”…but right now she thinks she looks AWESOME!

An Attitude of Gratitude

2010-12-28T09:34:00.001-08:00

As my years of Empty Nesting fast approach…I am so grateful I still have a couple of happy helpers.

Summer usually finds a ride home for Thanksgiving even though she will be on Christmas break from BYU Idaho in three more weeks, not really sure if its to see us or everyone else she ever came in contact with. But what ever the reason, she is usually good for some dishwashing duty.

Jessica is always anxious for her to come (more clothes to wear), but always just as ready for her leave…must be a sister thing, can’t live with them…can’t live without them!

This year Calli took on the funeral potatoes, so Jess took on the assignment of the Deviled eggs…did an outstanding job (too bad we forgot them in the refrigerator until dinner was almost over.

This year we were joined in Thanksgiving festivities by Ron and Paula’s family, and Tony and Brenda’s…and of course Mom and Dad.

We ate lots of food…

Talked about life and love

made turkeys…ate turkeys…Ate olives off our fingers…

spent quality time with a beautiful granddaughter…

Posed for pictures…

Posed for more pictures…posed for awkward pictures

Looked around an saw lots to be grateful for.

Leaving Kansas…ready or not!

2010-11-08T13:48:00.001-08:00

Five years ago Calli and Brendan loaded up a small U-Haul with all their worldly possessions, and my only granddaughter, and moved to Missouri so Brendan could start Chiropractic school. During that time they added two more children to my cache of grandchildren, acquired a little more furniture, borrowed a boatload of student loans, made some really good friends, moved from Missouri to Kansas, gave me someplace to visit, scrapbook, trick or treat, get my back adjusted, and see what 4 seasons look like.

But the fun is over and its time for life to start, so I flew back to Kansas one more time (although Arlon and I will make one more trip in December for Brendan's graduation). Helped pack up a lot more stuff than they left Arizona with, and Said Farwell to Kansas, (small sigh) and followed this all the way back to home!

But first things first…MY LAST TRIP TO KANSAS.

Lisa was able to find a cheap flight over from Ohio, so she and Riker came to visit me,via the Potters. Riker has really grown since their last visit.

He now stares a lot, is fascinated by my fingers, and has a mouthful of teeth.

They stayed and visited a couple of days, so Calli and I were able to take Lisa to our favorite Kansas Scrapbook store for all day scrapbooking, leaving the kids with a babysitter (one real one, then Brendan) which caused Lisa to shed a few tears at leaving her child with a sitter for the first time. But with only a few trips back home to make sure he was fine, she persevered and got a taste of the scrapbooking bug.

After Lisa went home, it left us Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to attend Taylors Primary program, finish up any packing Calli had not yet done, eat dinner at their friends the Soubie’s, several times, Have a melt down as we load up to go…so no last picture of the apartment they lived in for the last little while, visit Wal-Mart, (who will really miss Calli and Brendan's business) buy really cute pajama’s from Wal-Mart, as our parting gift to the store which gave them such enjoyment for so many years.

Buy one last drink and a bag of seeds for the road….load up and drive,

.and drive, and drive, and drive, and drive,

and drive. The trip was not without its moments though…can’t be in Kansas without a visit to OZ…

several stops at Micky D’s…

rest stops ,

and even a little road rage (There are some really dumb drivers on the road). But we survived the trip and the Potters are back in Arizona ready to face the reality of life!

See Jessie Swim

2010-11-08T11:38:00.001-08:00

Jessica Lewis…Senior, Student Council member, Costa Vida worker, and Swim Captain.

Juggling all those activities might have made a normal person crazy…good thing she’s not normal!!!

The lovely shirts Jess and Jared Standiferd made for the Breast Cancer lap-a-thon.

Senior Towel…

Senior swim meet.

Go team “Lewis”

Farwell to Swim…4 years, good friends, fun trips, pasta parties, LOTSA Exercise!!!

Fall Break 2010

2010-10-20T14:28:00.001-07:00

For Fall break, we flew to Utah, Drove 4 hours to Rexburg, Drove 4 hours back from Rexburg, Waited two days and drove 4 hours back to Rexburg, spent the night and drove 4 hours back to fly out of Utah… so Jessica could renew her sister bonds with Summer…We are the best (senile) parents!!!

When we got into Utah we drove to the temple because it is so beautiful all lit up at night.

The weather was beautiful!

Checking out The Christus,

The Tabernacle, (Jessica was having flash backs of pictures with Bernerd)

and simply being amazed by the beauty and spirit you find on temple grounds. We managed to sneak into the Conference center just in time for a quick tour before they closed for the night and it still astounds me with its grandeur every time I go in and hear about its construction and the vision President Hinckley had of the part this building would play in the continuing growth of the Church.

The best part of the trip though was seeing Lindsey, Mike, Amy and Matthew. They have relocated to Pleasant Grove (staying with Mikes Parents for the time being) to regroup and make really important Life Decisions (like what do I want to be when I grow up). Lindsey and Amy drove with us to Rexburg (Thanks Mike for watching Mathew)they just felt the need to go on a 8 hour car ride. It was nice to have the time to visit with each other and of course we had to stop…THE WORLDS GREATEST STORE!!!…on the way. They had lots of hats for the “little ones” to try on…

and let their inner child out.

(didn’t buy these lovely animals)

but we did buy a nice assortment of candy, nail polish, toothbrush and a bear that tells the entire store of the “Night before Christmas”…If you want it this store has It!

Now we did visit Summer when we got to Rexburg, it was clearly an emotional reuniting of sisters… just envision the tearful reunion, the the amazing maturity that Summer and Jessica have come to have…NOT! As always eating is the highlight of all of our trips and the experiences by which we rate them…and SCORE, we let “Maggie” (our GPS) find us a Mexican food place on the way there, which was surprising good, and a trip to Craigo’s Pizza with Amanda, Summer’s roommate. and we hit Olive Garden on the was back in to Utah…So the trip was…GREAT!

The next day Mike once again did his fatherly duty and let Lindsey run away with me to the amazing craft stores Utah has to offer (I will not however mention that while Mike was a job interview Matthew fell off a chair and had to get a stich under his chin…oh wait I guess I did mention it ) But he seemed to weather it just fine and what boy can grow up without a scar or two, and it was totally worth it for us to experience Rod Works, Wood connection and Tai Pan without little ones. When we got back Dad, Lindsey, Mike and Matthew (since he had a new stich and couldn’t get it wet) went to the sports expo that Lindsey had won tickets too. Is this a good time to mention that Lindsey is forever winning things on the radio, if we ever want to win anything we sign Lindsey’s name to it. While they were gone Amy and I went swimming at the hotel. I had also planned to hit McDonalds and the Halloween store next door, but she was content to swim and carry out her very imaginative story lines in the pool.

She was a Fish, a mermaid, a princess and a frog.

and the nice part about it…all I had to do was say “good Job” every now and then and listen to her tell of her adventures!

I am so excited they are a little closer to Arizona.

The next day we made the trek back to Rexburg…boy is it a long drive…and took Summer, Jess, and Amanda (Summers really fun roommate) out for Pizza at Craigos, spent the night and headed back to the Airport and home. (Oh I almost forgot…also visited Porter Craft store, a must if you ever make it to Rexburg). Cross that trip off the list…OH WAIT… the adventure is not over…just as we were leaving the airport, we blew out a tire…(and yes I knew the bubble tire in the trunk had never been aired up and the Lord was tired of protecting stupidity) so Arlon had to call his ever vigilant brother Dennis to drive out and air up the tire that was nice and new and without air. But the only difference between bad experiences and good experiences…having a camera around to make it a memory so you can laugh about it….after some time has passed.

A more BOO-tiful home!

2010-10-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

I Love Halloween…all the glitz and glam…Food, Decorations, Costumes, and no gifts to buy!!! This year I hosted our wards Bunko night so the incentive was there to get with the program and get the decorations up. I will also have grandkids back in the state in time for Halloween (Yeah Taylor, Keaton and Brody) Any one who knows me, knows original I’m not, so it was off to the computer to get my holiday inspirations. http://www.skiptomylou.org/ gave me the shoe pattern and http://picky-palate.com the Monster Mash (the stuff in the cupcake holders)

I I

Won the Boo pumpkins at last months Bunko,

Added some old in with the new, and WA LA…Bring on the ladies!

(I made several sets of these to give away as prizes)

Glittery Skulls were everywhere this year!

My “Franks” have been with me since my old wood crafting days. Great memories of Super Saturdays in Meadowgreen Park Ward, and Crafting with my friend Shellie who always has original ideas (no internet back then to borrow ideas from, can you even imagine I’m that old!)

My new dollar store find…a candlestick (it has little skeletons dangling from it) that I glued a cute Halloween plate to the top to make a great Plate holder.

Did I mention I LOVE Halloween!

Up, Up, and Away!

2010-07-26T11:08:00.001-07:00

I wish I could have gotten the pictures to do this trip justice, but I didn’t so you will just have to use your imagination to recreate the pictures in your mind!

This was the first annual trip to Arizona with grandma. One day they will be old enough to get on a plane and just come see me when I need my “fix”, but for now I had to go and collect them. So I landed in Kansas, spent a couple of days then Calli ,Taylor, Keaton and I drove to St. Louis, met the Laudie’s. While there we visited the Zoo and Celebrated Matthews 1st Birthday (these pictures will come in a later post, I am doing my summer posts as the mood strikes and out of order…because I can). I took possession of Amy and we drove back to Kansas. (sounds kinda creepy…doesn’t it) While on the trip home, Keaton, who had been advanced to a booster seat instead of a car seat, decided he know longer wanted to sit in his booster. He kept sliding his skinny little body out of the seat totally ignoring the rather loud and constant good advice of his grandmother and mom! So a side trip was made and a new car seat was bought and he was strapped in TIGHT! And this was the sweet boy I had been missing and came all this way to bring back to Arizona…(I hope your mental pictures are half as good as the real ones I did not take)! At this time I was contemplating which drugs were legal to administer to minors on a plane:) We made it back to Kansas and I was still determined we could get to Arizona without a midair incident.

They day arrived for us to leave. The backpacks were loaded with treats…the dog leashes were clipped to the belt loops (you may think that was overkill , but by now I knew how fast a two year old could disappear..and I had two of them) Brendan drove us to the airport and helped us get all the baggage checked in. We checked in just in time to board the plane, thus no chance to take really cute pictures of the exodus to the plane. (Picturing Three cute kids with backpacks on, leashes attached and grandma sending silent prays to heaven to help us arrive safely.) All this was for not though because Keaton was so sober the entire trip…he didn’t feel good, Taylor sat by a very nice man and his son who listened to her talk the entire trip, and Amy was happy to color and eat. I am SUPER GRANDMA!

These were the only picture I got of the plane trip!

To infinity and beyond!

2010-07-14T15:33:00.001-07:00

It was finally the long awaited time…Toy Story 3, was finally here. Grandma bought them the proper attire…

the proper junk food… and we settled back to enjoy the show!!! Keaton hasn’t hardly let me call him anything but Buzz for months. He was enthralled the entire time…then it was over…he just didn’t get it, we should stay and watch it again! A classic case of “Too Much Birthday”. Needless to say “Buzz” went home and had a nap!

Did I mention…Keaton really enjoyed the movie!

Getting that “Grandma Fix”

2010-05-31T07:53:00.001-07:00

The call of Grandma hood is just so strong, sometimes you get a little carried away with plans. Like..I think I will fly to Kansas, visit for a week, drive to St. Louis bring Amy back to Kansas with me, also collect Taylor and Keaton, wander through the Kansas airport (with dog leashes attached to A & K) get on a plane with them, and bring them to Arizona to stay for a couple of weeks. What was I thinking! I remembered by the next morning, why children are sent to young dumb parents, old people are…OLD! I arrive with traditional dress up gifts in hand, (otherwise they would not be as excited to see me).

Taylor sporting her “Can Can” dress, not the traditional princess dress she usually gets but still fluffy enough to pass muster!

Keaton’s new obsession is Buzz Lightyear! For the two months leading up to this trip, every webcam visit we had consisted of..”do you have my buzz costume yet”! I would so have not been welcome if I had arrived empty handed.

Brody is just happy there is someone else there to feed him…he is wasting away after all!

As a reward for being a good grandma, Calli came through with our traditional crop weekend at the scrapbook store! Where my 5 weeks of dieting and drinking a gallon of water every day… was destroyed within 30 minutes of temptations…I have NO willpower!

It runs in the family though.

All I could hope for was the stress of creating our masterpiece scrapbook pages and wandering around the scrapbook store was burning off thousands of calories…Right!

Calli, Keaton and I took a road trip to St. Louis where we were meeting…drumroll…The Laudies! They drove down from Dayton to meet us for the Amy Handoff. We met at the St. Louis zoo. Arlon, Jess and I had been there on our recent trip. I remember thinking how pretty it would be in the spring, and it was partially due to the humidity. Missouri is a sweaty place!

They had a few “watering holes” for kids throughout the park. It took K & A a while to get up the nerve to join the other wet rats, but eventually they talked themselves into it…then didn’t want to leave!

We checked out the butterflys

The Elephants,

The stalactites,

The wooly Mammoths…oh wait that's Mikes hair…

A few primates

and a few wanna be primates,

and some really big fish,

We ended the day celebrating Matthews 1’st Birthday…Lindsey made cupcakes…I’m sure they looked better before the 90 degree walk through the park but Matthew didn’t seem to care. YUM!

Just a few more…”poses” and it was back to our cars and our separate ways :(

The joys of Grandmahood!

2010-04-26T07:56:00.001-07:00

There's not a lot of good things that I have to say about taxes...but I will say...thank heavens for tax refunds! (why we had to pay it in the first place, just so they can return it is a mystery to me). Any way Lisa and TJ go a Tax refund and they choose to spend part of it on sending Riker out to stay for a couple of weeks...and bonus...Lisa got to come too!

It was two weeks of “how many places can we eat out”,

you would think they have no edible food in Ohio,

“Lets try to tone down the brilliant white of Lisa’s Legs”,

thank heavens for tan in a bottle, I don’t think the sun could penetrate the glare,

and “Its my turn to hold Riker”

We also managed to fit in a couple of Diamondback games,

Some quad riding,

and yes...dork sister moments!

But most important of all...Riker got a little face time with the Arizona Sun! Its Great to be a Grandma!

Saving the best for last!

2010-04-12T08:28:00.001-07:00

So Our vacation is fast approaching the end…but the best is yet to come, OHIO! Well not really Ohio, but what's in Ohio…The Laudie’s and the Grier’s…well not really the Laudie’s and the Grier’s, but Amy, Matthew and Riker. Yes its true I only had children so that they would give me grandchildren. And they have all done exceptionally well!

We left Chicago and traveled down to Dayton, Ohio, where the Laudie’s are now residing. My ever frugal, amazing deal finder, and luckiest when it comes to contests, daughter, had won a DiGiorno Pizza Party on line to welcome us in style…without spending a penny! She is the queen of couponing and deal finding! (And quite the party planner). We got to enjoy spending some time with Amy and Matthew who really have grown.

Because its my blog I get to whine just a little…so unfair my married children have ALL moved away and taken my grandchildren with them…I’m getting a written contract written up with any new Son-in Laws that come along (and no there is none in the horizon) that will give them extra points if they stay within 30 min of my home! (I know that will have them swarming to my door).

The next day we headed up to Columbus so Arlon and Jessica could meet the newest member of the Grier family. First Jessica had to remind Lisa of just how much she misses her then she moved on to Riker Even Grandpa finally got a turn. (He’s not really sure of what to do with a boy child).

We got to visit with TJ’s dad and Deb, and grandpa…So much fun. Tom took us out to Olive Garden and treated us all to a great dinner. What more could we ask for, grandkids, food, and then a hotel room all to ourselves…(get your mind out of the gutter) as Jessica stayed at Lisa’s that night. The next morning, trusty Maggie took us to the church where Riker received a name and a blessing. TJ, did a beautiful job and Riker was of course…Perfect!

Jessica, Lisa and Lindsey had to check out who had the best legs, I guess that would depend on what you were looking for

I’m thinking a couple of them have been trapped in the shade a little too long! After the blessing…of course THE FOOD. Lisa has grown into quite the Suzy homemaker since leaving the nest (she was pretty much the least domestic of my girls, or I guess the least interested in cooking, cleaning and sewing, growing up) but she is making it up in spades as she finds she has time to herself in Ohio. She cooked up a delicious feast of Cafe Rio…Yum! Which was enjoyed by all.

Then worn most of us out.

If my arm was long enough I would pat myself on the back…I have done pretty darn good (yes Lisa I know this is bad grammar) with the wonderful spirits that blessed our home for a few years.

“Chicago, Chicago That toddlin' town”

2010-04-07T18:57:00.001-07:00

Just a little trivia, in the song, “toddlin” referred to the fact that Chicago was just a toddler in 1922 (when the song was written) compared to New York, which had had lots of songs written about it. I know that just fascinates you… and the term Windy city… doesn’t necessarily come from the fact that the wind always blows there (which it does) but instead could come from…and this story is straight form the mouth of our tour guide, and I’m sure he knew all…the time when Chicago hosted the world fair, the then mayor boasted about it so much they became known as the windy (which meant full of hot air)city. Now that the education part of this post is over…on with the trip. In preparing for this trip, there were more things we wanted to see in Chicago, the thought of locating them all even with the help of Maggie seemed daunting, so I booked seats on the “Hop on, Hop off” trolley. It would stop at 19 points of interest in the downtown area, you could get off, spend as much time as you wanted then get back on. Saves time in driving from place to place. Now in reality the area of interests were probably only 2 miles square at the most, could easily have been walked, but the three different tour guides we had on the trolley were very entertaining and gave lots of information on the buildings and history of Chicago. This was one of my favorite things from the trip.

We actually woke up to a rare sunny day in Chicago, it didn’t feel too bad when we left the hotel, we didn’t want to carry a coat around so we didn’t wear one. BIG mistake! Because are so many tall buildings, and the wind (you remember that wind that ALWAYS blows) blew really cold, and it blew the whole time, did I already say that…you know the part about the wind always blowing…anyway because of all that, we didn’t see much of the sun during our sightseeing trip.Jessica and I FROZE!!! So sweet Arlon took us to a Walgreens to buy us a souvenir….Sweatshirts, what a sweet man. As you can see Jessica's hoodie brought out the ever changing beast in Jessica.

Our first “Hop off” was the “Magnificent Mile”. A Mile of Mall stores, Jessica had been waiting for this the whole trip. She was disappointed to learn however that the store on this stretch of road, paid the highest cost per square foot for retail space to be there, therefore passed that cost on the the customer. So sad, not in Jessica's budget. So we drowned our sorrows in Chocolate, because you can always afford chocolate! and we got a free candy bar for visiting the Hersey store, and right across the street…a Ghirardelli store, more free samples, chocolate almost takes the pain of poverty away.

While waiting for the trolley…Bernerd checked out the map of down town, Jessica still was not over the pain of over priced clothes.

Next stop Navy Pier. Really a cool place to visit. We were running out of time so we just hopped off, did a quick perusal of it and added it to the list of places to go back to sometime when we have more time. We did get our free sample of popcorn however, Garrett popcorn, famous for combining Caramelcrisp and Cheesecorn popcorn. Next stop Millennium Park (in case you couldn’t read it on the picture). Jessica had some left over popcorn and thought the ducks looked hungry…they knew the routine and waddled over to visit, just about the time she was brave enough to stand still she looked up to see this swooping in to steal the goods, now we have all seen “The Birds”, scariest movie ever…so all she could do was scream and run.

The park had a really cool band stand lots of steel for Arlon to admire and say… I could have made that. But what the park is known for, (and in cool things for Arlon to see) ranking second to the Arch, not a close second, but still in second place, was “Cloud Gate”

Cloud Gate -- referred to by locals as "The Bean", for obvious reasons -- is a public sculpture by talented British artist Anish Kapoor. Cloud Gate weighs in at over 110-tons, and is 66 feet long and 33 feet high. "The Bean" was created using a huge number of individual stainless steel plates -- Cloud Gate's seamless surface is the result of thousands of hours of polishing.

The sculpture has the appearance of a giant drop of liquid mercury, and the mirrored surface offers an amazing reflection of the city skyline, even more breathtaking on a bright, clear day. Visitors can walk underneath the Cloud Gate, which is surprisingly concave. Kids especially enjoy the fun house mirror effect that this creates. (Can you tell I copied that straight from the tour guide?)

Arlon of course walked around it looking for the welds, which he couldn’t find. This is like looking at a “Where's Waldo” picture, or a where’s Arlon and Jessica, or is it a picture of me, taking a picture of me, or a picture of me taking a picture of me, taking a picture…of me…mind blowing…

lame but still it was really cool.

So as the day came to a close, we had seen little bits of everything, The glass balcony at the Willis Building (formerly the Sears Tower) where you could walk out on and be 1,353 feet over Chicago…NOT! Hard Rock Cafe, didn’t eat there, went to Portillo’s at the suggestion of our tour guide, we were hoping for deep dish pizza, got really thin crust instead, but a really good braut. Saw “Shedd Aquarium” (just did a drive by), ate chocolate at the Hershey store at the Water Tower, dreamed about Diamonds at Tiffanies on the Magnificent Mile that we would never own, saw Forrest Gump’s “Bubba Gump Shrimp” shop at Navy Pier, and were entertained with stories of Chicago, by well versed tour guides. I could totally go back to Chicago for a couple more weeks, as there was so much more to see, but what we did see… wore Jessica out

Beautiful Nauvoo

2010-03-30T17:14:00.001-07:00

Leaving Carthage, we drove into Nauvoo, found a hotel and began the search for food. Bernerd was much happier in this room, our last room smelled so bad of cigarette smoke I dreamed I had taken up the habit. After driving down the one street in town, that in off tourist season was totally shut down after 5:00, we decided to eat at our hotel which offered a buffet. It was basically a salad bar for one price with a meat and potato add on for an additional cost. Since dessert was included with the salad bar part, and we know I only eat dinner so I can have dessert, I was fine. What we didn’t know however was that the lady sitting in the corner all by herself, would get 3 take out boxes and totally fill them up with all the desserts except for the store bought cookies. Welcome to small town USA!
Before we left Arizona, Jessica had got a recommend to do baptisms at the Nauvoo temple.
What a wonderful experience. Arlon was able to do both the baptism and the conformation for her and several other kids. Even knowing that this is a rebuilt Temple the history and heritage behind it and the memories of those who worked so hard to finish the original temple so they could perform these same ordinances for themselves was truly a testimony of the hand our Father has in our lives. Arlon and I returned later that day to do a session. My cup was full. It was cold and I forgot my camera (I must have had my heart where it was suppose to be instead of on the temporal things of life) so I made Jessica go back the next day to take a picture in front of the temple
. Then it was on to visit old Nauvoo. First we went to the old cultural hall to find out what time the Missionaries preformed their show called the “Rendezvous in old Nauvoo” and then it was off to the visitors center to get the tickets. The Center is beautiful, lots of old artifacts and information. We watched a really good film on life in early Nauvoo and the exodus that followed. You could defiantly tell it was off season, we were the only ones there. This is as close as I will come to shaking The prophets hand in this life.
We walked the “trail of hope” down to the rivers edge, where the saints crossed to the other side leaving Illinois behind. It was a little chilly but not as cold as the morning the pioneers left, it was hard to read all the plaques along the way and then look back at all they had to leave behind and not feel some of the feelings they must have felt. This was one of my favorites…LDS women are are not sheep! We toured lots of the old houses. It was amazing to see that even the big houses still had small rooms and low ceilings. This building is not part of the original Nauvoo, but still one of our favorites :)
The Red brick store, Mansion house and cemetery where Joseph and Hyrum are buried, are owned by the community of Christ church (formally the reorganized church), most of the other homes, the LDS Church has purchased.
Elder Jeffery R. Holland had been there the day before to attend a stake conference, he had written his name in the book of Descendants of the seventy’s.
This building was Arlons favorite. When we serve our mission, this is where he wants to work.
he didn’t even laugh at the missionary who was doing the demonstration that day, but you could tell he wanted tohelp him out a little… we did get our prairie diamond rings though!
So just a little funny before we leave Nauvoo and travel on to Chicago… We really pretty much ate soup and sandwiches most of our stay, being the off season most of the eating establishments were closed or operating on shorter hours, We had decided to try this

establishment for dinner our last night. Just as we were about to go in, one of the couple missionaries we had met during our stay was just leaving with his wife and a rather large take out box. He pulled Arlon aside and told him that this was not the best place to eat, “As they served Hard Liquor there” Hhmmm, so we ate soup and sandwiches down the street and wondered what was in his take out that was not good enough for us.

Carthage

2010-03-28T09:32:00.001-07:00

Leaving Hannibal, we decided to go straight to Carthage. For me it set the stage. Seeing Nauvoo from the end to the beginning gave me a beautiful conformation of the spirit and truth of Joseph Smith. We were greeted at the visitor center by Bro Despain, such a small world, he was from Taylor, my hometown, and Jessica is friends with his granddaughter at Gilbert High. He and his wife are serving their mission in Nauvoo.
As we entered the Jail…which was really just a house with a cell build in the upper floor, you feel great power at walking in the footsteps of our first great prophet. As Bro Despain led us up the stairs, all the stories that I have heard since childhood come to mind. The stairs are narrow, which make you wonder about the men who would climb them in hate and ignorance. Did they push and shove so as to be the first to the top, did the noise of their shoes on the hardwood steps bring a sense of dread to the men in the upper room.
Joseph and Hyrum went to Carthage, and on 25 June 1844 they were falsely accused of rioting and treason (working against the government). They and several of their friends were put in the Carthage Jail, where mobs threatened and cursed them. In jail the brethren prayed and read the Book of Mormon. The Prophet bore his testimony of the truth of the gospel to the men guarding them.

Dan Jones was one of the brethren in jail with the Prophet. On the morning of 27 June 1844 one of the prison guards told him:

“We have had too much trouble to bring Old Joe here to let him ever escape alive, and unless you want to die with him you had better leave before sundown; … and you’ll see that I can prophesy better than Old Joe, for neither he nor his brother, nor anyone who will remain with them will see the sun set today” (History of the Church, 6:602).

Dan Jones reported this threat to Governor Ford, but the governor replied, “You are unnecessarily alarmed for the safety of your friends, sir, the people are not that cruel”. Then the governor left Carthage, leaving some of the Prophet’s worst enemies in charge of the jail. That day most of the Prophet’s friends were ordered to leave the jail.

Only four men remained in Carthage Jail: the Prophet Joseph Smith; his brother Hyrum; and John Taylor and Willard Richards, two of the Apostles. These four men had two guns that had been given to them by friends who visited them. Elder Taylor and Elder Richards also had walking canes.

Because the governor had left Carthage and had put some members of the mob in charge of the jail, the four men knew their lives were in danger. That morning Joseph had written a letter to his family telling them that he loved them and that he was innocent. In the letter he also pronounced a blessing on his family and friends. In the afternoon John Taylor sang “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief”. (As Bro Despain played this for us, I couldn't stop the tears, I knew Joseph was thinking of his wife and children, and all the testimonies that would be tested as a result of this day) This beautiful song about the Savior comforted the men greatly, and the Prophet asked Elder Taylor to sing it again.

Around five o’clock in the evening a mob of about one hundred men attacked the jail. Many of the men had blackened their faces with mud and gunpowder so they would not be recognized.The guards at the jail were friends of the mobbers and made no serious attempt to stop the attack. Some members of the mob shot at the windows of the jail, and others ran up the stairs to shoot into the room where the Church leaders were.

The brethren tried to bar the door shut and use their few weapons to drive off the mob. Joseph Smith fired a pistol and John Taylor used his heavy cane to try to knock down the guns of the mob as they were pushed into the room through the door, but there were too many people in the mob for the brethren to defend themselves.

Hyrum Smith was shot in the face by a bullet fired through the door. He fell to the floor, crying out, “I am a dead man!” As he fell he was hit by three other bullets. Joseph cried out, “Oh dear, brother Hyrum!” .

John Taylor moved toward the open window, hoping to jump to safety. A bullet fired from inside the jail hit his leg and he started to fall out the window, but a second bullet from outside the jail hit his pocket watch with such force that it pushed him back into the room, saving his life. Elder Taylor was hit with three more bullets as he crawled under the bed.

After Hyrum and John Taylor were shot, the Prophet moved to the window. He was hit by two bullets fired from the doorway of the room and a third bullet fired from outside the jail. He cried, “Oh Lord, my God!” and fell out the window.

The mob inside the jail ran out to see the Prophet’s body, (a view from outside the house, the window he fell from is the upper window on the side.) and Willard Richards hurried to the window. After seeing the Prophet’s lifeless body, Elder Richards ran for the door. He stopped when he heard John Taylor cry out from under the bed. He knew he would not be able to carry Elder Taylor out right away, so he hid him under an old mattress, saying, “If your wounds are not fatal, I want you to live to tell the story” Elder Richards expected to be shot as he left the jail, but before the mob could make sure they had killed all four men, someone mistakenly shouted, “The Mormons are coming!” and the mob members fled into the woods.

Elder Richards had not been injured in the attack. This miracle fulfilled a prophecy made a year earlier by Joseph Smith, who had told Elder Richards that there would be a time when “the balls [bullets] would fly around him like hail, and he should see his friends fall on the right and on the left,” but he would not be hurt.
Carthage is a very powerful place to visit. It’s hard to imagine how intolerance can lead to hate which can lead to violence. My testimony of the truthfulness of this church was strengthened by the spirit which you feel by walking here Joseph walked, touching the bullet hole in the door, and looking out the window where he fell. What a wonderful place this would be to serve a mission some day.

Welcome to Hannibal, Missouri

2010-03-28T08:36:00.001-07:00

Boyhood home of Samuel Langhorne Clemens - the famous Mark Twain! Well I was excited anyway. As a young girl (not so long ago), one of my favorite books was Tom Sawyer. It was one of my first Romance novels, Tom And Becky, lost in a cave, it was dark, Indian Joe was after them…well anyway I loved it. So while perusing maps for this trip and seeing that Hannibal was on the way to Nauvoo, we were of course stopping. It will not be at the top of “vacation spots we want to return to’’ but it had its moments. The town is pretty run down, and since it wasn’t tourist season, alot of the tourist traps were closed, but I had done my research and after convincing Jessica that this tour would not be televised, we set off! First stop the Museum to get our tour of the town tickets. The Museum was the best part (and really the only stop that cared that we had tickets) It had lots of Tom and Huck memorabilia, and a self guided tour complete with a Styrofoam grave yard that told you how to get rid of warts… a fake river…there was a real one outside… a really cool stage coach, that showed old western clips on screen inside (Arlon enjoyed the old westerns)…

and Jessica even found a good looking man or two, to sidle up to. (Dreams of being a debutant)One of the best parts of the museum was all the original Norman Rockwell prints. During tourist season they have a booth by the fence that sells straw hats and will take your picture painting the fence…Jessica was so sad it was off season…NOT! To give her strength to continue our tour…we stopped in at the local ice cream parlor…Had Huckleberry ice cream of course. and a picture of Arlon’s hero Barney, (Jessica and I had more fun with that than Arlon). Then we saw it…the lighthouse on the hill. THE CHALLENGE…who could make it to the top first…Arlon said he would opt out so not to embarrass us. I took off like greased lightning…it was alot of steps, the altitude gave me breathing issues, I forgot my depends, the beauty overwhelmed me and I had to keep stopping to take it all in…needless to say Jessica won! and mocked me just a little in doing so! Not a very gracious winner. and she cheated on the way down. where she patiently waited for me. So I made her pose in the butterfly garden…which was still dead because it was winter. That will teach her to gloat! I think she liked being a gang member more than a butterfly…but whats a mom to do.

my favorite description in the travel book was the one for Lulu Belles dining emporium…in the day a working brothel, delicious lunches and dinners, and if your LUCKY, breakfast. Now…just lunch. so after strolling along the Mississippi river, we bid Hannibal a fond farewell and headed off to Nauvoo!

Lions and Tigers and Bears…OH My!

2010-03-25T10:15:00.001-07:00

First the disclaimer…I am not a zoo person. Wandering around a zoo, looking at caged animals, or not looking at caged animals, depending on how hot or cold or the feeding schedule or myriads of other reasons the animals hide from the huddled masses, is not as high on my list of “how I spent my summer vacation”. That being said…the St. Louis Zoo is FREE…and you never turn down free. So off we go to the zoo. We had just a little trouble, Maggie (our wonderful GPS) took us on a side trip, she could not find the Zoo. She found a lovely park, a cemetery, and lots of side streets but no zoo,(I’m sure it was not user error), but when an alternative site was typed in she led us there with no problemo. Bernerd was REALLY excited…Jessica on the other hand was just humoring us at this point! Luckily Arlon consented to posing for me. This is his “I am so fascinated by all this” pose

Jessica…still humoring me, and not to convincingly. Even the shark wanted to bite her head off.

Hmmmm so these are Elephants…interesting. Keep in mind…its free!

Hmmm… so this is a monkey, nope its an orangutan…got ya!

Great minds think alike!

Yep their in there!!!

This is the one that Jessica actually enjoyed…I just think she liked saying it!The hippo exhibit was the only one that really made me a little sad… they had two (hippos not exhibits)and they were HUGE… They swam in a tight circle (because that's all the room they had) the entire time we watched them. They just seemed really caged to me. Bernerd was glad he was on the outside looking in though…they were really big!

She's got the whole Zebra in her hand…come on sing along!

Jessica practicing her kissing skills!

It is a nice zoo though. I bet its beautiful in the summer, lots of trees and grass and the bulbs were starting to come up all over, I would probably visit again, did I mention…its FREE!

Arch, Arch and away…

2010-03-24T09:20:00.001-07:00

Today we ride up the arch… but first we go down into the belly of the beast! I think it could have been a bomb shelter…narrow cement walls and steep stairs…I thought we were going UP (way too much thinking)! They put us in front of #6, a skinny door, to wait until the “hatch” opens. behind the door…its a egg shaped pod. Visions of Mork and Mindy, and alien planets come to mind. Jessica cried just a little…

But, who could resist the fun Arlon was having, seeing a metal wonder, a mechanical marvel, a slow moving vehicle of death, a tribute to other “Tall, Powerful Men!” So we got in the egg and moved up the Arch, listening to the ratcheting of the gears, as it constantly re-aligned itself to traverse the really, really high structure. Once at the top we got out to look out narrow windows, and get a true birds eye view of St. Louis. I really worried about this part, heights and I don’t always get along. But the windows were small, and the walls were really thick, and we were not hanging over empty space but just looking out, so it was “kinda fun”.

even if we were 630 feet in the air…auggggggh!

After descending back to the bottom, Arlon now need to see how they made it. They show a 20 min film, on the building of the arch. The film actually gave me more anxiety than the ride. Watching all those men walking the beams (this was before the invention of safety harnesses) and hearing how they had actually factored in the loss of around 13 men (they had no deaths building it) really made you marvel at “WHO THINKS UP THESE THINGS”! Must be a man thing.

Funny side note…While we were waiting for the film to start, Jessica attracted the attention of a local boy scout troop…one of which stared at her the entire time we sat and waited…awkward! She did a few poses hopping to embarrass him into looking away, no such luck . I think he probably still dreams of her today.

Going back outside, I had to cross the street on the other side of the park to even attempt to get Arlon, Jessica and the arch in the frame…This is one Amazing structure!
Leaving the Arch it was time for sustenance (food) again (you will find eating a familiar theme through out this entire trip.) Even though we has agreed no chain restaurants… it was Jessica’s turn to pick the watering hole. Since we had ventured down to Union Station, and it happened to have a food court, and one of Jess’s favorite places to eat was there, and since she was…pretty good…(if you call sleeping being good) while we watched the “Making of the Arch film, We ate at Panda, (I just happen to love it to so we let her think it was her idea) Yum!

While wandering through the station shops, we stopped in a gift shop. There was the cutest display of sock monkeys, all colors and sizes (and not all monkeys). Now by this time Jessica was a little tired of smiling for all the pictures, I think the only pictures that should be taken, should have someone you know in them…otherwise just buy a postcard, the pictures are professional then. So following in the footsteps of Mike and Lindsey’s trip where they let their Nutcracker man be their traveling companion (this was before they had children to take hundreds of pictures of)…Jessica talked me into a getting a sock monkey to replace her in the pictures…Meet Bernerd! Not BernArd, but BernErd…why…only Jessica knows but it was her monkey. So for awhile he got to pose for the many pictures yet to come.

Such a happy camper too!

Vacations…defined

2010-03-17T05:34:00.001-07:00

It began like any other day…not! We left early (according to Jessica) at 6:00 a.m. Grandpa Knight drove us to the Airport, then we flew into St. Louis, rented a car (Jessica wanted the red PT cruiser… Arlon wanted more leg room, dad paid the bill so Black Ford Fusion it was!

With a little help from “Maggie” our trusty GPS…we arrived downtown St. Louis just in time for the St. Patty's day parade. As we walked down the slightly drizzly, breezy, sidewalk…I had just a small thought of the beautiful 78 degree weather we had left at home. But the hot dog w/sauerkraut, and the view of the Arch, gave me the shot of adrenaline I needed to begin our adventure! (all the naked statues didn’t hurt the mood either :)

Jessica posed for pictures pretty well…at least for the first 20 or so,

after that we got a little…

Attitude!

We headed across the street to see the St. Louis Arch, The tram was filled for the day so we bought tickets for the next day then perused the Museum. Jessica got to meet up with her old friend from a student essay, Grover Cleveland. She wouldn’t bust out the Grover Cleveland song from “The All American Genuine Family Band” though…missed Summer just a little bit, she wouldn’t have hesitated!

Arlon was totally into the structure of the Arch…

being a welder and all, it was a great tribute to his profession!

Jessica, very impressive…

a buffalo picture for Ron! Dad just keeps getting happier…Jessica lovin it…sorta.

Checking out the baseballs at the “ All American Legion” display…do you think Jessica will look back at this trip someday and think…boy that was fun!

We piled back into the car and went to check into the hotel. Jessica was down for the count,

until I suggested checking out a local mall then eating dinner.

The mall was pretty much deserted and creepy! Alot of empty stores… and the ones that were open…scary, but it was a mall and Jessica got to ride the magic school bus and a pink motorcycle…what more could a girl want….lol! But dinner made up for the mall. We had decided no chain restaurants, only local eateries…so we went to…

Mainly because Jessica like the small sign underneath…we made laughed about it enough, the food would have had to be really bad to ruin dinner…but fortunately, it was very good!

YUM! So far so good…and day one ends!

How cool would this be!

2010-03-04T05:53:00.001-08:00

Okay we all know that the only one that could possible win this is Lindsey…that being said, it never hurt to try! These two (well actually the Janome company) is giving away a sewing machine and embroidery machine. Since the machine I use is still my high school graduation present, and I have had my 30th reunion, who better to win one. So cross your fingers girls, because if I win one you’ll hear the screams from here!

Super Heros

2010-02-15T08:11:00.001-08:00

Keaton has decided he's not content to just be Keaton anymore, he has many new identities. At times he will not lay down for his nap unless his mom says goodnight to the right identity. He goes from being Buzz, to batman, to Nacho Libre! Since he is having a birthday this month, I decided to feed his imagination and make him a couple of capes. Since he does not live here, I needed help to showcase my efforts. Quick to my aid were my trusty super models!!! As you can see, these capes can make anyone a super Hero!

Scaling tall buildings!

The green one is not for Kermit the frog…Its Super Keaton!

Up, Up and away

If this is the hope of Earth…watch out!

Love is in the air

2010-02-14T11:12:00.001-08:00

This is a love story…a story of two people, who meet, date (for a short time), marry, have 5 lovely daughters, and live happily every after. It all began 28 years ago, oh wait, back a few months. The Princess of this story, has moved home with her parents to put in her papers to serve a mission for the Church.

She sees the handsome prince at a fireside. She quickly makes friends with his sister. She flirts and bats her eyes at the handsome prince, he nods back. He finally asks her out to a concert. She totally impresses him with her constant chatter and need to spit off the side of the balcony onto the people below (she doesn't). Surprise… no call for several weeks. She ups the ante… she convinces his sister to invite him to Tucson, where the sister is attending school, she (the Princess) happens to be staying there at the same time! She sits on the couch, feeding him green m &m’s,(the food of love)

and refuses to leave till he kisses her…(she a little desperate, she leaves on a mission is 6 weeks) The Prince is smitten, he wines her and dines her, oh wait her comes to her moms house and lets the mom feed him every night (he is so surprised later when he learns the princess doesn’t cook quite as well as the mom). The time for her to leave approaches…she goes to the Temple,

her Farwell is the next day! After a wonderful experience at the Temple, she learns know great things are to come, she just can’t imagine what. Later that afternoon, the Princess, has a date with the handsome prince. They drive to Reed Park and wander around, he acts strange, they get in the car to leave, he turns off the key, he turns to her (the suspense is killing you I can tell) He asks the fateful question…WILL YOU MARRY ME…! She of course knows what a catch he is an instantly says yes. She does still have to give a Farwell talk at church the next day, but she just lets everyone know that she has chosen to go on a much longer mission with no companion transfers. They live happily ever after!

Riker James Grier

2010-01-27T07:32:00.001-08:00

Around 1:30 a.m. the phone rings…its TJ…”we’re at the hospital, Lisa thinks she's in labor…but they probably won’t keep her” I hear Arlon say, “well call us when you know”. Now of course I am not going back to sleep. I have plane tickets for 2 1/2 weeks later to go and be there when Lisa delivers. Why can’t people just keep to the plan. An hour goes by no phone call, so I finally call back. TJ…”oh yeah they’re admitting her now” I find it interesting he calls to tell us they will probably send her home but not to say they’re keeping her. Must be new dad brain freeze. So at 3:00 in the morning I am changing tickets looking for a flight that I won’t have to sell this new baby to pay for, and I get the next phone call…Lisa…”he’s breech, they are taking him cesarean…and she crying…alot! Every mothers nightmare, your daughter finally needs you and you are several states away. But we talked, she said she would call Lindsey who lives an hour away, but I knew she would come so Lisa could have family with her, I changed flights and at 7:00a.m. I am on a plane for Ohio. TJ picked me up at the airport and I meet Riker.

So cute, so small, (but then any baby after Brody looks small) and Mom and baby are great. (TJ was a little proud too!)

He face always seems to have just a little bit of attitude………………. But he has hair!

Being the grandma…I get to help with babies first bath…Its tradition. My mom always gave my girls their first bath. which really isn’t a bath because you can’t stick them in the tub and let them float around, which from the looks of things, Riker might have enjoyed that more.

But after mean ole mom finished splashing water all over the poor boy, and we rubbed the magic lotion on him to give him that new baby smell, Grandma got to sooth him and become his favorite. There is a method to my madness.

Notice the cute baby mittens to keep him from scratching his face…I think my girls got socks on their hands.

On her blog Lisa described herself as and orange on a toothpick…that is an untruth.. she was perfect… and next to this drunken sailor next to her… he can only hope gets some of her genes!

We’re still waiting to see if his eyes darken up. I never went through that with the girls they were either born with brown eyes, or suspicious blue eyes! (good thing Lindsey had great-grandparents with blue eyes) Verdict is Really cute kids begat cute kids…Love you Lisa, TJ and Riker!

My Favorite Daughter

2010-01-12T21:45:00.000-08:00

So I have this daughter.. her name is Summer Nicole. She always has been, and always will be my favorite child. The reasons for this is because.. well... she's perfect! She is up at school @ BYU-Idaho and gets her associates degree this semester. WOW! What an accomplishment! Her senior year of high school she was announced the Homecoming Queen! To go along with that, she is the most beautiful daughter of mine hands down! Her beautiful brown hair and chocolate brown eyes are perfect beyond belief. I don't know what I would do without her.. she is growing up so fast! I love you Summer! Love, mom

Ho Ho Ha

2010-01-06T17:48:00.001-08:00

December approaches…I clean…I plan…I dream…then…all bets are off, they arrive. Lindsey, Amy and Matthew got here first, so far so good. Mike then flies in a couple days later…still doin okay. Then the train pulls in, the potters get off, Summer makes her appearance, Jessica gets out of school, Arlon gets even OLDER, mom goes into the hospital, babies are everywhere, I can’t see the floor anymore, Lisa & TJ are missing all the fun, and Christmas 2009 is officially here! The following pictures are not in order, because as you can tell this was not an orderly Christmas.

Amy and Papa doing “scary eyes”

Posers

Winners and losers (summer being the only loser in the candy bar game)

Kissin cousins

Great-grandkids (if you could only hear the weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth as this picture was being taken)

Grandkids (Check out Bretts coat…he was wearing it for a reason)

Some really old kids…boy, Tony’s face is grey. Glad I don’t have grey hair yet!

They admitted Grandma to the hospital the morning of the sausage gravy Christmas party…so we just invaded her house and partied without them. Change is always hard. We switched from Christmas morning to the Sunday before Christmas to have a Knight get together. Families are getting so big, we were hoping this would take some of the pressure off all the traveling, go figure mom would have a melt down(diabetic). She stayed in the hospital around 5 days (it was a blur) had a zillion tests done, found out she has lots of things wrong, just not wrong enough to do anything about any of them yet. She's back home now sitting in front of the fire and having dad with on her hand and foot(well maybe one finger worth).

First Annual Lewis Christmas Pageant.
Growing up we always did the nativity at the Lewis Family party at Marvin and Joanna's. We decided we had old enough kids to bring back the tradition. The angels and the Wise men were upstaged by the “donkey”, a position held by Arlon for many years.

Swimming in December (yes it was heated)
The next generation …
Christmas PJ’s

Christmas Eve

My Christmas present from Arlon…so perfect!

Calli did not win the pickle prize this year…Shocker!
Many gifts of Christmas…
the books the kids got me…Taylors DS…
Jess’s parking pass…Keaton’s Buzz…
Matthew happy with a bow…the next season of Lost for Arlon…
the only diamonds Summer better get for awhile…

and gifts from a personal Santa!

Brody finally awake Amy eating pretend Icecream
Happy Christmas faces…and Summer doing what Summer does best. Lots of Joy going around…But…
all we got was Lisa and TJ and the webcam…not quite the same. They missed out on the noise, the crying, the snotty noses, the joy, and the…
Sausage gravy and biscuits…twice. But Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Winter Formal 2009

2009-12-22T08:47:00.001-08:00

For their day activity the girls got matching shirts for them and their date, Jess put names on the back of hers (so she would remember Dallin’s name I guess). They met at the Hatches where they were served a delicious breakfast by a couple of dads.

Made to order omelets, fruit, and I supplies the cinnamon rolls.

after a few group shots, they were off to the Mall where they played the A-Z game, which consisted of them running through the mall taking pictures of things that started with all the letters of the Alphabet.

After returning home…having a nap, getting beautified, and then picking up their dates, taking more pictures, they were off to the Loves, for a delicious dinner.

Looking very festive!

Early Birthday

2009-12-08T13:32:00.000-08:00

It's always a struggle to get Arlon gifts... he has no hobbies, he has all the tools he needs, (or that we can afford) he doesn't scrapbook, Clothes...not something he really cares about. So it really stinks that he has a birthday right at Christmas time, so we have to come up with not one but two gifts within a month.
My mom got him some really good (expensive) snow boots one year and gave him one for his birthday and one for Christmas, he seemed to enjoy that. The girls have given him a wallet, Twice, he still uses the ratty one he has had forever. (Which always reminds me of the white shirt we bought his dad once, which he never wore because the sleeves of his old one had not completely fallen of yet). Any way...the fallback tends to be a gift card to eat out, that way I score dinner somewhere too. So when Lindsey called a month ago (she is the one always thinking ahead, and looking for deals) and asked if I though Dad would like to see...

I knew they had a winner!!! He has talked about wanting to go every year, but because we don't plan too many things out in our lives, we never manage to get tickets before they sell out. And SCORE he will need a date, (he never goes anywhere by himself if he can help it...just ask the girls how many times they got to go to home depot with him) So she go the other girls to anti up (I hope) and sent the tickets. I had a slight moment of hesitation, since I had had surgery on the 22nd of November and this was the 8th of December, but no worries, it was great incentive to be up and around!
So off we went, stopping at Monti's La Casa Vieja for Dinner, then of to Celebrity theater. The seats were good, though meant for people smaller in stature than well fed Americans, and people watching was at its premium, (its always interesting the variety of people that attend functions)

Tim and Willy started the show out with a bang by opening with a video of them doing Beyounce's "All the single Ladies", defiantly an image burned into my brain of Tim's long nasty legs, but entertaining to my warped brain.
The Headliners were "Little Big Town"

Defiantly some eye candy there...They were excellent, They sing alot of slow pretty songs, so it kept it pretty mixed up with the other entertainment interspersed throughout the evening. They did several skits, my favorite, the visit of the only Jon Gosslin thy could afford (because the actual Jon thinks way to highly of himself) and since I can't stand Jon and Kate, this one was way more enjoyable...

The highlight of the evening for Arlon though was the comic...Tim Hawkins. When the girls were little Arlon dreamed of being "Raffi", making a living playing silly songs on the guitar... well Tim Hawkins is Raffi all grown up, (and not singing to kids, or singing kids songs), a large part of his comic routine are songs he has changed the words to, making a few composers turn in their graves.
The highlight of the evening for me was the song Willy sang at the end. It was beautiful and brought the Christmas spirit flowing through the room.
The biggest bummer of the night were the door prizes...now we didn't expect to win, only Lindsey ever wins...well and the one time Calli stole my prize at the scrapbook convention,...but the big prize of the night was a ticket to Garth Brooks in Las Vegas for Valentines day, and the 70 year old man right behind us won it...and didn't even respond! He wife finally said "oh that's you dear" and he kinda grunted, SO DIDN'T deserve the prize, but whatever! It was a little too far away for good pictures, but here's what I got!

Thanks girls the the best night ever!

2009-12-01T07:01:00.000-08:00

November brought a few changes for the Lewis Family...a lack of children at the Thanksgiving table! With Calli and Brendan's family in Kansas, Brenden finishing his last year of Chiropractic School, and Lindsey and Mike's family in Beaver creek, Ohio, Mike having taken a new job, and Lisa and TJ, in Columbus, Ohio, TJ attending OSU law school, and Summer in Rexburg, Idaho, going to BYU Idaho, I thought It might be the year for Arlon, Jessica and I to check out "Denny's" for our Thanksgiving Dinner. As a side note, I had decided to have the lovely procedure women my age are prone too that starts with "H" and ends with I get to lay around for a week or two and have a mini vacation.

Well "Denny's" became a pipe dream when Summer bummed a ride home, and Arlon manned up and took on the traditional family feast! Arlon made up a shopping list and assigned out the dishes. Summer got the string beans...
"Look Mom...I learned to read labels at Collage"

The Evil duo...contemplating their next job...

Jessica made the "funeral" potatoes, Summers finished string beans, and the made from scratch pumpkin pie Arlon whipped up!

Arlon also made arrangements to have the Turkey cooked in the Scott Clouse pit this year. It doesn't make for a pretty golden turkey to carve at the table...but it does result in Delicious fall off the bone meat.

I think a pit may be the future for the Lewis house hold. Arlon spent lots of time planning out how he would set his up!

The Happy Family

Thanksgiving is never complete without the deviled eggs and olives...

Look TJ, Olive Fingers!

Jessica contemplated eating the whole pie.

Summer settled for the whipped cream!

Who will be the new Dr.Mario winner...

could it be the winner of the wish bone pull...

Nope Jessica won the pull but....

Calli won the Mario Championship! It was also Calli's birthday on Thanksgiving, and she gave me the present by bringing Brody to see me. Thanksgiving turned out a lot better than I thought it would. It still wasn't the Family Frolic we usually have, but this year I spent a lot more time thinking about all the things I really was thankful for. I'm thankful for kids that are healthy and successful in the lives they are making for themselves. I am thankful for a husband who steps in and always comes through when he needs too. I am thankful for my health.

I am thankful for daughters that have become friends.

and for daughters that carry on with traditions...even when her mom thinks about cutting back!

I am Thankful for a beautiful home, that we can enjoy the many different Seasons, and all the memories they bring.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T15:19:00.000-08:00

So another Halloween has come and gone. Jessica, being the mature 16 year old that she is, didn't want to be a hobo, or an ugly witch, or even a princess. (I know summer will just love this picture)

She and her friend Aubrey chose to be flappers. I think Jessica just liked the way the fringe shook when she shimmied her bod.

One of the best parts of Halloween is the decorations...I have always thought that Halloween is the best holiday ever...all the glam, but no presents to buy.

This year I saved one of the big boxes that came with my new bed, and painted a haunted house on it.

The evil little man is my end of the season buy from last year!

a little spider webbing...

a sign to lead the way... and an old friend to guard the entrance...

even one of the first Halloween crafts I ever painted, the door witch...and a spider crawling down the wall...

Frank and his pumpkins guarding the candy bowl...

and Halloween came and went like clockwork. The only thing missing was the grand kids:(

SURPRISE

2009-10-19T17:36:00.000-07:00

So we shipped her off to school...got her settled...talked to her daily of the phone, and still, your minding your own business and out of now where...she shows up.

Summer hitched a ride to Arizona, (not a short trip) just to spend the weekend.

She and Jessica took the opportunity to do what they do best...take pictures of themselves...

Play with their horses...

try to look seductive (came out a little pathetic)...
Jump for joy that they have the best Mom...

and morn the loss of having to split up their clothes, leaving them with "NOTHING" to wear!

As my family shrinks, and comes and goes, its moments like this that make me smile.

Homecoming

2009-10-04T17:41:00.000-07:00

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So my last daughter has joined the ranks of school dance history. Jessica as you know from a previous post was asked to homecoming. The theme... "A Night Under The Big Top", whatever happened to "Magic under the Sea", "Time in a Bottle", a circus, seriously...whatever, she went and had a great time.

After the afternoon conference session, he came picked her up and they went and got pedicures...I know, sounds kinda weird...but secretly how many of us girls wish our man would whisk us off to have our toes pampered and painted...and join in the fun! I won't tell you who's toes were blue and who's were pink...Its a secret!
I think this young man is already learning the way to a girls heart! Then he, knowing the way to the parents hearts (or just a good kid) went to Priesthood session, giving Jessica time to primp and curl (or mom to curl).

then picked her up for dinner, the dance and then pie. Jessica only pretended to pin on the boutonniere...all my daughters are wimps and mom ends up doing it.

His mom made her corsage and it was beautiful

Aren't they cute!

Curses defined

2009-09-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

So Arlon got the chance to buy 5 sets of tickets at the beginning of the baseball season. Now I am not a die hard fan... but I love that we can go to the game and everything you could possibly imagine to eat, is housed in this stadium. So we went, we lost, the next night they win, we go, THEY lost, the next night they win. This became the pattern. We were at Lake Powell for one set of the tickets, but just owning them, caused the D-backs to lose. We were given a set by a niece, we lost, the next night they won. Pretty soon all I was going for was the food, and believe me there is not to many low cal foods there, at least not that calls to you when your losing the game. But finally... we took our friends the Rays with us. Now I don't know if the curse was lifted or the Rays are just good luck charms, but we finally won a game we attended. And we even won by enough to rate TACOS! Unfortunately, it was a Saturday game so no tacos for us, but Yeah, the tide has turned. Too bad they only had one more home game. Better luck next year!

Joy defined

2009-09-25T09:55:00.000-07:00

There are some things about motherhood that I won't miss as I finish the "raising" part of mothering. Whether or not the other kids will play with mine, whether or not to take them to the doctor when they run a fever, will they make the team, but mostly, will they get asked to the dance. I know its a dumb thing, but to girls it is so much more important than it is to boys. I know my daughter is beautiful, I know she is funny, so why do boys make you sweat it out. So another year another Homecoming dance...the room stays cleaner (in hopes it gets decorated) the door is answered much more quickly (in case its a drop off), and the mood swings are coming faster and faster....AND THEN...the doorbell rings.

at the front door a carton of "loaded" mint chocolate chip ice cream, with scoop attached and a note saying "Homecoming would be "loaded" with fun if you would go with me...so eat up.

The scoop is detached...

the ice cream is dumped into a bowl...

The note wrapped in plastic wrap is found

Surprise...(not, girlfriends talk) the smile finally comes and all is right with the world again.

Swimming defined

2009-09-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

The 2009 swim season is under way. Jessica is doing really well this year. She is consistently swimming at least 4 races..not exhibition.

What Form...

What a stroke...

And off she goes again!

They swim hard every day from 3:00-5:00, she walks in the door at 5:15 and better smell dinner or this happy face...

Is not Happy.

Farmer Cindy

2009-09-13T06:39:00.000-07:00

My brother Ron...though he would deny it...has the dreaded "just gotta have it because I can" gene running through his veins. Because of this gene...Ron owns things like Buffalo, Watusi, and pigs. Ron is also an avid hunter. Loves to go with his friends, and one of them always manages to snag a tag. So when he goes...who takes care of his beloved zoo! His totally awesome sister! Now for the instructions...go through the gate...down the path he's created with the trailer, hay, containers and other assorted items, DO NOT TURN YOUR BACKS ON THE BUFFALO, untie the gate, carry hay out to bathtub in the middle of the corral, DO NOT TURN YOUR BACK ON THE BUFFALO, watch out for reds baby, hes a little feisty, they hate Tony...but I'm sure you will be fine!

So I chose to climb up the fence, onto the railroad car, onto the bales of hay, down into the fenced in part of the hay, cut open a bale of hay....and throw it into the corral...my daddy didn't raise no dummy!

Then its on to slopping the hogs.

He had already boiled up the wheat...leaving it to ferment and ripen in the sun...

and as you shovel it up the lovely trio of pigs see you and let you know of their rapture, by squealing and running around the aromatic pen they are housed in.

They greet you at the fence....

and patiently wait for you to dump their slop in the trough...NOT...they try their hardest to slam the bucket back onto your legs. I will never again call anyone a pig without a clear visual of what I really mean!I expect some really good sausage outta these guys!

Am I not the best sister!!!

Back to School

2009-08-18T07:46:00.000-07:00

New year, new clothes...pictures in front of a bush again! When I was a girl, we would come to Gilbert to visit grandma and grandpa Harmon...and Grandma would always stand us in front of the same bush in front of her house and take our picture. As I told Jessica to stand in front of the bush for the Annual back to school pose...I had flashbacks of this...

I guess I really haven't evolved all that much because I still put my kids through the same torture my parents, and their parents before them have inflected.

Jessica going to Kindergarten...
Jessica going to her Junior year at High School...

Still being a good sport and posing by the bush!

Lake Powell

2009-08-03T06:49:00.000-07:00

We spent the week at Lake Powell with our Friends the Clouse's...so much fun. We got there Sunday afternoon, had to get checked for "Muscles" (because Arlon was honest and told the ranger the jet ski's had been in the water in the last 30 days) that slowed us up just a little but we still found a PRIMO spot down the beach. We set up our "orange bubble" aka tent, and waited for the masses to move in. We had about 50 people in camp at all times.

Russ and Shelle brought an awesome slip and slide. The girls said it was like jumping onto a cement sidewalk, but that didn't stop them from taking their turns.

Jessica and Summer gearing up for the slide!

They also took a boat load over to SAND HILL...a long walk up, but a slip sliding trip down. Several took advantage of the slope to somersault, cartwheel, and tumble down.

Summer and Jessica took it at a screaming run!

There was plenty of tubing and wake boarding. The girls got pretty good at both.

Lots of Sun and Fun and way too much food. Just the way to end the summer...next BACK TO SCHOOL...YEAH!

WICKED

2009-07-03T08:34:00.000-07:00

I am very lucky to be married to a man who loves to go see Broadway musicals. Without much encouragement he bought tickets for he and I and Summer and Jess to go to Grady to see Wicked.

Arlon and I got see the show in California, thanks to our children, a couple of years ago. It was still an amazing play. This time we were in the 6th row so I was able to see the costumes better and all the make-up. I really thought they captured the feeling of OZ with the clothes and hair-do's

Thanks Dad for the fun!

Any excuse for a party

2009-06-17T18:37:00.000-07:00

Its really hard for me to understand WHY you suffer childbirth, raise children, put up with teenagers, pick out the perfect husbands for the...only to have them finally start to become people you can enjoy....and they leave the state! Worse yet they take your grandchildren, which is the only reason for their existence.

But such is the case with my ungrateful children. Lisa and TJ are off to Ohio (TJ thinks he wants to go to law school)

and Lindsey and Mike, Amy and Matthew are also going to Ohio (Mike thinks he want to earn a living).
So instead of sitting around feeling sorry for myself...We're having a party! Monday night the 29th come by the house anytime after 6:00 p.m. to bid them so long, swim, eat, play games, see my cute new grand baby and visit with the old people (Grandma and Grandpa are coming down to say goodbye to the deserters) I will have plenty of hamburgers and fixins...just bring a side or dessert to share (and if you want another form of meat, bring it to throw on the grill.) Hope to see you. If you know your coming leave me a comment...If you think your coming but don't want to commit...just show up, I have enough grandma Brown in me I will be able to feed a small army.

Keep off the roads!!!

2009-06-05T21:21:00.000-07:00

So after much dragging my feet...using it as leverage(which did not work...room is still a mess)...trying to ignore it...and basically saying your not mature enough(meaning everyone else one the road also)...Jessica finally wore me down and we made the pilgrimage to the DMV. She spend forever fixing her hair, because she didn't want it if the picture was bad. In fact I think she spent longer doing hair and face than she did studying! But a picture is worth a thousand words...drum roll please...so here is Jessica Lyn Lewis...the last Lewis to need a driving permit!

Matthew Richard Laudie

2009-05-27T09:23:00.000-07:00

Weighing in at over 8 lbs, and cute as a button...even though he may end up with Mikes curly brown hair. And why is it that the boys always get the curls?

Another boy to add to Grandpas stash...he knew if he waited long enough he'd get them, but by the time they're old enough to work he will be too old to care.

All ten toes accounted for...although he tends to get upset if you play with his feet...so not Mine!

Amy couldn't be happier. She loves to rub her cheek up and down his...he must still smell like Heaven.

Memorial Day

2009-05-26T06:47:00.000-07:00

Still sitting here waiting for news from the hospital on the birth of my newest grandson...so thought i would post our lovely pictures from Memorial day. Its really hard to get good pictures because for some reason this family thinks you have to cross your eyes or make a fish face for some reason (but I guess that's better than Ron's famous finger) So here is our day...

Its tradition for Jessica and Mike to play bucket head. Once while Mike was swimming a few years ago he decided to call his family from underwater, so they found a bucket and dialed the phone and down he went. With all the air that's trapped someone has to sit on your head to keep you under, thus started bucket head. Now every time they swim out comes the bucket.

Amy is still a little unsure about just diving in...and once they move away where the sun never shines, she may never learn to swim (do I sound just a little bitter)

Lindsey just waiting around for the hospital to call and say... COME ON DOWN!

Amy is quite the bathing beauty. That Lilly white Laudie skin has to stay covered up.

Amy just hanging out with aunt Summer

Lisa and TJ stopped by after eating barbecue with friends to hang out for awhile. Mike had brought his WI and they all played cow racing along with other weird games. Lisa and Jess were very intent on riding their cows...

It looked better from the back...watching them jump the fences and turn the corners. All in all it was a nice day the sun shone and the pool felt good. Lindsey and Mike finally left, still waiting for the hospital to call. She finally got the call around 11:00 to come in. Hopefully the next post will be cute pictures of Matthew.