Jason bough himself "Excaliber," which is a large broad sword (nerf style). It gives him a little bit of an advantage because he can reach farther and keep Kaylee away easier.
Leia Mais…
The work groupies.
Robin (aka Caleb) "I'm coming Bat Girl."
"Mom get this mask off me!"
Leia Mais…
So Saturday the weather finally became winterized. I personally wanted to boycott and run away to somewhere that was warm and sunny. I was out at the Home Depot returning closet doors, yet another drama in my construction saga, and a man took pity on me as a wrestled these huge doors out of the back of my car and helped me get them into the store. I could have done it myself but I must have looked awefully pathetic.
Mom is playing Granna Elf right now and working on all kinds of projects for the Grandkids. My brain has stopped its planning already. I haven't been my normal self this year and I still have to get presents for everyone...bad bad. Yes I will be one of those dreaded last minute shoppers this year and have to fight the madness.
Nothing much else is happening here in Utah. Just the same old same old.
I have delayed posting anything lately because I haven't felt very inspirational with all I am doing. However, I did want to brag about some cute kids in my family and the fun that I have had with friends and family.
Favorite memories I have made over the last few weeks include:
1- Seeing the Shamu show 2 times so that we could get wet.
2- Running across Sea World so Eli and Emma could both go on the Atlantis ride.
3- Feeling like an old foggy because I had to stop and rest a ton as we walked around the park.
4- Jessica shepherding my family around because we prepared for the vacation but not that well.
5- Seeing the beautiful picture that Jessica took of me where I look like a retard imitating Shamu for the kids.
6- Realizing that I am not Wonder Woman and work will have to wait.
7- Getting lost in San Diego and hitting the Naval base at two different locations trying to find our hotel.
8- Falling off a chair at work, causing a shelf and its contents to crash to the ground, and all my staff come running because they thought that a patient was in trouble...don't worry it is only me.
9- Natalie coming to visit for Conference.
10- Caleb smiling and giving loves to me.
11- Kaylee playing restaurant at Papa's house during conference.
12- Picking the last of the tomatoes, green beans, and squash in the dark while it was snowing because it was going to freeze that night.
13- Playing distructo in the basement.
So, now that you are board stiff with my ramblings I will share a few photos to illustrate my latest adventures.
Mom and I have always had this propensity to redo things. It started long ago when we lived in Fruit Heights. Dad was out of town so we took the hose, laid it out across the grass in the shape of what we wanted the flower beds to look like and started to cut grass out. Eventually it ended up being this beautiful landscape. We were tan, in shape, and very pleased with the result.
Well, now we are on to house number 2, yard number 2. Of course we see new ideas around us all the time and we want to change what already exists at our house. This summer Mom has worked to finish the landscape of her back yard. Last year we put in this really cool dry river bed. This year we hacked out a bunch of grass, planted trees, shrubs, and perennials, and watered it like crazy to make sure that everything was established really well for this coming winter and summer.
In honor of our finish I will share a few images of the splendor that has started and will continue to flourish in our back yard.
Well, I have been here at Mom's house for about 24 hours now. I moved back...yet again. The official address is 232 W Gordon Ave, Layton, UT 84041.
Anyways, I wanted to post a few pictures from our family picnic a few weeks ago while Natalie was in town. We drove up to Monte Cristo to enjoy the mountains. We had thought about camping but none of us have the equipment to do so anymore. So a picnic sufficed because we got up to the mountain, hiked around, picked flowers, and played in the trees. It was a beautiful windy day.
Here is the proof for the world. Emma can officially swim by herself! We are all so proud of her. Watch the movie and see for yourself.
I have been away from work for one week as of right now and I am going crazy. I have a hard time being on a vacation for this long without having scheduled activities or goals to accomplish. So last night in my burst of over-accomplishmenting-ness I cleaned part of Davey & Amy's house. Also, I have been able to catch up on two rather large projects that I brought from work...strange, I know, but I find enjoyment in accomplishing things and checking things off the proverbial to-do list.
Mom and I have had a great time enjoying the heat, summer monsoons, swimming with Emma & Eli, chilling, reading books, and being away from home.
So, tomorrow I will continue to improve my tan (skin cancer) and relax a little more so that I come back with more things to report on.
This weekend Mom and I went to Penrose, Utah for a small road trip. Yes there was a purpose behind the trip. Can we say we had a little persuasion when Kaylee called Granna and asked her if she would come up to her house for a sleep over.
Let me introduce you the the Duval residence...
So now that you have seen all the views of the house you can see Kaylee's favorite thing about her house.
We played with Celeste, Kaylee, and Caleb and today went on a walk and saw 4 different horses, picked a bouquet of flowers for Kaylee, ran in circles in Mary Ann's driveway, and threw rocks in the "river" (the irrigation ditch). Over all it was really fun minus the air mattresses malfunctioning and cramped position of sleeping on the love seat. Maybe we will do this again.
The last 2 weeks have been extremely eventful. I will start on May 30th and give you a rundown.
May 30th-- We moved Celeste & Jason to Penrose, UT. This is up by Tremonton. It was an all day process, of course.
This is Jason after cleaning the truck's steering wheel. Rather disgusting if I say so my self.
Mom and I took the kids in my car because the van was filled to the brim with other stuff and the moving truck definitely was filled to capacity. (Oh by the way that is my car you see there.)
May 31st-- Well Caleb Lamar Duval received a name and blessing today from Jason. We went to church for a bit and then met at the park for a picnic with the family.
Here is Kaylee avoiding having her picture being taken. She was so glad to have Joel there to play with her. I couldn't play with her because I was wearing a skirt and trying to be lady-like.
Here is Caleb, the man of the hour, on the left. He slept through most everything. On the right is Carter and Justin. Carter is a very cute and happy baby.
So the week trudged on since then. Mom and I spent this last weekend working on the landscaping of her back yard. We spent time hauling dirt, tilling, and then planting some shrubs (baby trees according to Kaylee Anne) and then some perennials to keep the beauty going in the back.
The Air Show was Saturday as well so as we worked outside we watched the planes as the flew overhead. Mom and I took a break and sat out front on lawn chairs to watch the Thunderbirds as they did their show.
Today--June 7th-- day of exhaustion-- I went to church and came home and slept for 4 hours to recuperate from the madness of the last little bit. I am looking forward to the next week of excitement and time will run away from here.
Well, life has been crazy busy. Last weekend Mom and I helped Celeste and Jason move to Penrose. This is a little town right by Tremonton, Utah. Oh, how I do love the country. I have felt rather trunky since going. I miss being down at Jacob Lake, driving through Fredonia and Kanab, going to Zion, Lake Powell, Grand Canyon, etc.
Other than that nothing else is too exciting. I did not have hip surgery because insurance companies are a pain in the hind end. Instead I bought a new car( one that I can actually get in and out of without hurting really bad). Since the picture won't copy from the website you will just have to look at it yourself.-- You can google the Kia Soul. Mom calls it "Blondie's Toaster." It is Java colored( metalic brown in real language). The interior is houndstooth.
Nothing else is really going on. Just keep on working and staying out of mischief.
Since I have slacked off for a while I thought I would get back with the program of keeping everyone informed.
Easter was a low key celebration at Great Granny and Great Grandpa's House. Kaylee and I hunted easter eggs both inside and out. The weather was semi perfect.
While we hunted eggs and entertained each other out and about everybody else sat and visited while Granny and Grandpa entertained Caleb (or vice versa). He pretty much slept the whole time, which is to be expected.
Nothing else super exciting has been happening here. I did start a new clinic at Lakeview Hospital so I now manage 2 clinics!! Great fun!
