Life goes on

We went to Fremont to watch these three kids while their parents were vacationing.

While Papa repaired bicycles, Tanner was right there "helping."

 We decided to remove the door in the downstairs guest bedroom and replace it with a window.   So the afternoon after Mormon Helping Hands day, the construction (deconstruction?) began.  As of today, (May 19) it's all done.  I got a room-darkening blind for it, but now I need to shop for window treatments.  And decide what color.

 Yes, I actually bought this new toilet seat.  Love it!  David didn't mind either.  So there!

 Three weeks before Girls Weekend, I got David to help me decorate for the luau theme.  (Is he a great husband or what?) We put all the wall decorations up on Monday night with painters tape.  Then Tuesday morning we put it all up again (drats!) with staples.

 It ended up taking me three weeks to decorate my house.

 The "spread."  We started the festivities off with food.  Best way to start a party.

 These three little guys got to come this year.  Benjamin (one year old in July), Tanner (2 in July), and Matthew (one in August).

 My train kept them entertained.  As did the palm tree with pineapple lights.

 Me, Michelle, Laura, Kami, Carly, Cheri

 My friend Hilari came over one evening to teach us a hula dance. 

 Saturday morning we helped out at the Revlon Run.

Getting these three to hold still for a picture was like herding cats.

So this past Monday, I undecorated the house.  It looks kinda boring now!  And today David painted in the guestroom, so it looks great.  

Looking forward to summer.

Aloha 'Oe.

The trips continue . . .

We are finished with our traveling. At least for one month. On March 17th we were in Las Vegas for my nephew's wedding in the temple. Mason and Shelby make a cute couple. Below is the photo booth they had set up for their guests. With props.

Emma, Michelle, Kami, Lauren, me, and Katie
The next week we were off to Phoenix to see Matthew. (and Carly, Michael, and Adam) It didn't take Matthew too long to warm up to us.

Apparently, I'm the only one he will cuddle with. He's a smart little kid that knows the way to his grandma's heart. I can SO be bought and bribed.

Last weekend was our semi-annual trip to SLC for General Conference. We had a wonderful time. All of the talks were wonderful and the music was too. The picture below is on Temple Square looking towards the sky bridge linking the new City Creek Mall. It's a pretty cool place.

We joke about how we "checked off the boxes" on this last trip. We drive from home to St. George the first day. Here's our list of what we do, where we go, or where we (me) shop:
1) Tai Pan Trading Easter stuff!!
2) Krumpets Decorations - on clearance.
3) Cheese Factory in Beaver. Yummy curd.
4) BYU Bookstore I shopped while David donated blood. Bought fudge.
5) BYU Creamery on 9th. Famous chocolate milk.
6) WalMart in Orem. I wish we had one here that was this awesome.
7) Plaza Hotel. SLC. Within walking distance of everything.
8) Deseret Book. David bought a book. I bought candy. (Am I the shallow one in this relationship??)
9) City Creek Mall Wow. Creeks, waterfalls, fountains, fish. Water galore. Oh - and shopping.
10) General Conference Awesome. We went to the Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning sessions.
11) Priesthood Meeting Shopping A sacred institution. A tradition for 30 years. Went with my sis-in-law and her two girls. Fun!
12) Dinner at J.B.'s after Priesthood Mtg. Us girls get there a few minutes early and order for the guys. The guys and the food arrive at the same time. Efficient! Tradition. Even Michael called us and said, "You're at J.B's, right?
13) Driving to Vegas and spending the night before getting up at 5:00 the next morning to drive home. This time, we had snow the whole way from SLC to St. George. Made it a little more exciting. I think we prefer "boring."

We get a few weeks at home now before more planned trips. Ahhh. Life is good.

The last month

At the beginning of February we went to Fremont, CA to see our grandkids and for Emma's 8th birthday and baptism. She was lucky enough to be baptized ON her birthday.

We spent a day in San Francisco at Pier 39.

Emma and Tyler

And then a couple of weeks later we went to Orlando to see three more grandchildren and to celebrate MY birthday. And by the way, all of these children had their parents there too. But let's be honest -- the grandchildren are the draw.

Jessica and Chandler at the park. (Notice how our granddaughters just know how to pose?)

Ready for church.

When I left the house this morning to go running, the full moon was so big and bright that I grabbed the camera on the way out the door. It was beautiful down at the beach. But then, it's always beautiful at the beach.

And in a couple of weeks we are taking a trip to Phoenix to see our grandson Matthew. He is missing us terribly. At least that's what I keep telling him to think. So stay tuned . . .

Spring has sprung

I meant to post this two weeks ago and got lazy. The daffodils and iris bloomed early this year, and they are still going strong. Even the calla lilies are keeping my vases full.
When the daffodils bloomed for the first time many years ago, they faced the house. Like, don't they know which way is "out?" But now I get quite a crop of them each year. (facing the right direction.)
My garden always has plenty of pansies. It's a rule.

I transplanted the hibiscus a couple of years ago because it was getting too big for the planter. I pruned it to within an inch of its life, but it is now thriving in its new home 20 feet away.

My parents always had iris. They have a distinct fragrance and whenever I smell it, I am instantly back at my childhood home on Cull Canyon Drive. Funny how that happens.

And today I noticed that within the week the amaryllis will bloom. The Easter lilies won't be far behind. Can I just say how much I love living where I can have flowers all year long?

We're going to a huki-lau

In preparation for attending a luau, I have two choices of footwear. The ones below are super cute, but I need an outfit to match them. Dang -- shopping! (you know I'm being facetious, right??)

Carly gave me the following shoes for Christmas knowing that I was in an Aloha state of mind. How cute are they?? Perfect! And they match an outfit I already have.

These are not my "Hawaiian" nails, but just what I did yesterday. Probably would look better if my nails were longer. And if I was ambidextrous.

A hui hou
(Till we meet again)

These are a few of my favorite things . . .

I've been half-heartedly looking for a bench for the vanity and then I found just what I wanted. Where? At Ross! Should have looked there sooner. (And it was a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than what I had originally found at Pier One. Score!)

I needed (yes - needed) another shelf for my purses, (is it more chic to say "bags"?) so I found what I needed at Michael's. And with a 50% off coupon, it was even better. And then they also had a wooden "key" with pegs to hold even more. It was on clearance. This just keeps getting better. So I got them home, painted them purple, and also added some wooden accessories. But of course. Can't leave 'well enough' alone.

I have kept my manicure things in a plastic tote for quite a few years, but I needed (I use that word a lot) a place to keep my polishes in order to see at a glance exactly what I have. So on to the internet I went to find this caddy. (it was delivered the next day!) At first I wanted a wall mount like the ones in salons, but then I couldn't take it downstairs when others come over to do their nails. This made it easier to just pick up and move. I was telling my sister that if I could see what I have, then maybe I wouldn't come home from the store with my 4th bottle of clear polish. Ha -- I have seven right here! And that's because I condensed a couple of them.

The following picture is a high heel cake server. It was a Christmas present from a friend. (Thanks LaSchelle!) Is it too cute, or what? Definitely another "need" by the way. And another friend even gave me a leopard-print picture frame. (Thanks Janet!) Should have put it in here. And yes, a need.

This was a Christmas present from my friend Nancy. (thanks!) It is the cutest train. We saw them in a shop and I was going to buy it when she stopped me and told me one was already wrapped and ready for me. My grandchildren loved it and it moved just slow enough that even the four month old was mesmerized. But I still would have bought it just for me even without grand kids. Because I'm five.

Today I went to Home Depot to buy some pansies. They had a new one that I hadn't seen before: orange and purple. I wouldn't necessarily put those two colors together, but they look pretty good and I got three packs of them. And three packs of purple. Of course. But before I could plant them, some weeding and pruning was in order. And you know how that goes. Next thing David knew, he was outside with a power saw and doing some major pruning for me. Just cleaning that up is going to take a while.
Happy New Year.

Christmas 2011

Wonderful Food

Christmas Lights


Beach

Home for the Holidays

The tree in the living room. Every ornament has a memory or a meaning. (I collect ornaments.)

"I just know that Grandma will have candy in those jars on the piano." Smart kids. And it's obviously my job to spoil them. And keep the jars filled.

This is the purple tree on the landing at the top of the stairs. It's been two years since I put it up. Years ago I had this as the "main family tree" and after Christmas the kids pleaded, "Can we have a family tree again?" (Meaning: use our OWN ornaments?) What -- Christmas is about kids?? So this was the answer: do TWO trees. So this is known as MY tree.

In looking at this, it almost looks like a shrine to shoes. Mostly purple shoes. And leopard print. Well, yes - I like shoes and leopard. These stockings and most of the shoe ornaments were given to me. (one cute purple stocking is downstairs as a decoration) And so I was clearly forced to display them in a way so as not to make the givers feel bad. Clearly.

Thanksgiving

Matthew, Michael and Carly's baby

The family

Matthew with Uncle Adam

. . .and with Grandma

Pictures of the pier (again)

I was planning to put together a post for Thanksgiving before I put Christmas pictures on here, but this is what we have been greeted with each morning this week and I wanted to share. I'll do it backwards and post something pilgrim-y next week.

We're usually down here at 5:30 a.m. when it's still pretty dark, but this morning we were almost an hour later than usual. That may have helped make a better picture lighting-wise. However, the tree on the Roundhouse looks so much prettier when it's dark out.

New this year: Christmas trees lining both sides of the entire pier. Pretty!

Our poor Adam is fighting the snow, sleet and frozen hair in Idaho. As I'm taking these pictures in my short sleeves so early in the morning, it almost feels like I'm rubbing it in and it's a wicked thing to do. Almost.