Great News!

While in Arizona in March, we were invited to the Rustler's Rooste for dinner by my son and his wife.  They told us that they needed to meet with us in person for an important announcement.

 While the sun settled in the west on a beautiful Saturday, they shared with us wonderful news!

Down below, they were setting up for a fun party.  We enjoyed our dinner up above with a great view and a first course of shrimp cocktail graced with a baby pacifier on top.

There was much to talk about because they were announcing the coming arrival of a new baby!  Grandpa was thrilled.

He didn't realize that I was taking his picture thus the more solemn face.

We are all thrilled.  Sometimes we wait a bit longer than wanted for such news!  I can't wait to meet and hold this little one!  I am so happy for these two.

Emilia's graduation

Finally, we arrived in Albuquerque just in time for Emilia's special night, her graduation from dental hygiene school.  She had already had the surprise of her life, her mother and sister at her door at four in the morning.  They had come from Brazil to see her celebrate this great milestone in her life.

The Brazilian community in the States stay connected via social media and Emilia has instant friends almost every where she goes.  The young lady in the stripped dress is one of them.

Her parents were also in the States has they had come to help with that cute baby girl you see in her father's arms.  Her parents would later become my house guests when they came to Arizona for the Gilbert Temple dedication weekend.

That is Emilia's sister, Amanda.  She is in the States for the first time ever and she is also beautiful, talented, and funny.

Glen and I wouldn't have missed this special event for anything.  We were so happy to be with Emilia and her other family.

My youngest sister, Jolene, lives in Albuquerque.

So does my only brother, Farrell.  Sister Becky came from Arizona.  She is always so supportive of family events.

There was a pre-event where special awards were given and a special candle lighting ceremony held.

This is the special award Emilia received.  They highlighted her great way with patients.  She will be such a great hygienist.  Not everyone received special awards.

Mothers always make sure there are flowers.

Before the graduation began with all the different groups, Emilia and I took advantage of an empty stage.

I am so proud of her.  Dental hygiene school is hard and intense.  One third of Emilia's class dropped out before the end.  Emilia still made it happen even with English as her second language.

You go girl!

I know that you have fallen in love with your new profession.

I could tell that you were loved by your fellow students as well as the teachers.

The next afternoon, Emilia had an open house to celebrate.  She is so clever and had the help of her sister, Isabella, who came with her little family from Arizona as well.

Isabella made this adorable cake and yes, those are dental floss sticks in the top of the cupcakes and tooth shaped sugar cookies.

Jolene and I were able to help with the final prep.

Each of those little signs has a tooth related label.

How do you think these things up?

The "Listerine" is blue Kool-aid and clear soda pop.

Now she is studying so hard for her board exams.  Keep her in your thoughts and prayers for me.  I know that she can do this last hard thing and then it is on to a new profession.

Birthday dinner with a view

When our DIL was in Salt Lake City for a board review prior to her dental hygiene boards early next year, we celebrated her birthday early by taking her to The Roof restaurant overlooking Temple Square.

It is a wonderful place to watch the sunset while the lights come on.  It is a great view and one can even see the Great Salt Lake.

We were lucky enough to snag a table in the corner so had views north as well.  That is the Utah State Capitol building in the background.

This is our birthday girl and they treated her like royalty.  She deserved it.  She has worked and studied so hard for the last two years.  I think she should receive 10 out of 5 stars.  She is an English 2nd language learner who has rocked a dental hygiene program with an attrition rate of 33%.

Some people come into your life and you are so grateful because you can't imagine life without them.

Great big Arizona birthday party

Sunday, November 3rd, while in Arizona, seemed like a perfect time to celebrate November birthdays especially with most everyone in town.  Eric and Susan hosted all of us and we enjoyed a potluck soup and salad supper before birthday festivities.  My potluck contribution was 5 dozen homemade rolls as requested.

There was a cake with all our names, Laurel, Emilia, TJ, and Toby.  There are six family birthdays in November.  We four were born in the first half.  Grandpa Glen led the clapping of number of years for all of us and yes, I got 30 more claps than the next oldest.
 

After cake and ice cream, it was time for presents. Round and round the table we went.

We were so excited to have Emilia with us.  She is on a two week break from school.  Just one more semester and then she will take her boards.  She is almost an official dental hygienist!  I am so, so proud of her and amazed at her tenacity.  It has not been easy.

Toby has been asking for a back scratcher.  Glen couldn't fine the one he had been interested in so I found this one instead.  There were cries of dismay.  "Mom, that Mickey Mouse souvenir is almost an antique.  It has been hanging in your closet for our use since we were boys."  Oh my, I had no idea.

Glen found the other back scratcher (plain and ordinary) later in the week and is quietly working on a trade.

The other presents, a book and a game, were free of spectator angst.

TJ loved his quilt.  We also gave him BYU plaid pajama pants so he is all set for long winter naps.

However, I think that the two boxes of Smorz cereal that he received from his sister may have trumped the quilt.  Even after dinner, cake, and ice cream TJ went straight to the cupboard for a bowl and the refrigerator for milk.  Apparently this cereal is hard to find. I didn't even know it existed.

We had brought gifts from Utah for everyone from Nate and Nichelle.  Julianna, even though a Thanksgiving week birthday is planned, discovered her gift and was unwilling to wait.

Thanks Nate and Nichelle!  It was a perfect evening but we missed the Utah aunts, uncles, and cousins.  My life really is spread between two places.  I'm just glad that it is only two, sometimes three.

Why I have not blogged much

I began to blog in November 2007 when my DIL set up a google account and designed a blog for me. She said, "Enough of commenting on everyone's blog. You have enough to say to blog yourself."

Turns out it was one of my best gifts ever. No more feeling guilty about not keeping a consistent journal for I found that I loved the blogging format. It was a fun way to share parts of my life with pictures and to connect with family, friends, and even strangers. It was a place of reflection as one has to think before one writes. I love that it also organizes my life. Type a search term up in the corner and there is the recipe I need away from home. Click on a name on the side bar and then cry as you realize how quickly those grand babies are growing up.

So, every time I upload a picture there is a little message saying how much storage I have left at the bottom of the page. I ignored it for over 4 years until this month when I learned that I was probably going to have to "pay the piper." Yup, I had used most of my 1024 GB. Yesterday's post was one I was going to write a month or so ago. I finished it because the pictures were already uploaded. Today, there was only room left for this cute little origami "Google."

Speaking of origami, if you are interested in apps which demonstrate doing origami in 3D, check out Learn2Make created by son #2. He's finally making some money based on his college degree in Computer Animation by designing apps. You will also find balloon twisting and he has also created a few games. They love his games in Brazil, and I don't even think they know that he has a beautiful Brazilian wife. The Brazilian beauty received great news last week. She has been accepted to dental hygiene school. She decided that was a better route than trying to become a licensed physical therapist in the United States as her training in Brazil in physical therapy was so much different than in the States. She is so excited and so am I!

Back to Google. While I was in California helping with my daughter's family (yes, I'm going to be a grandma #11 and yes, just like pregnancy #1 & #2, nothing seems to stay down) she explained that my free days were over and explained my options to me and helped me figure out how much storage I might need a year. This morning I got out the credit card and purchased additional storage which automatically renews each year on this date (unless I cancel.)

When I called my hubby and told him blogging was going to cost him money he told me it was worth it. Yes, unlike some fellow bloggers, my husband loves to read my blog and I even pretty much tell him everything in person every day, too. Sweet man!

Newest member of the family

Look who came to town! Emilia's sister had a baby girl this week and Emilia came lickety split. She not only met her new niece, but also the newest addition to our extended family.

Santa brought a little male kitty to Ruby and Sadie because they decided that if both of them put a kitten first on their list they would probably get a kitten. They figured that they almost always get the first thing on their list. It worked! Meet Tiger, my first grand kitten. He even climbed up on my shoulder and purred in my ear on my last visit. He's a blur because he's constantly moving just like the grand babies!

A last look at New Mexico

I love it when I visit family or friends and they show me places, not necessarily tourist spots, that are special to them.

Emilia took me to one of her favorite places, this stretch of road through a tunnel of trees. It is now one of my favorite places.

One of my favorite rides was on the Rail Runner into downtown Albuquerque. It was just a two block walk to Ryan's office from the station where I got to see their beautiful decorating done on a dime. We took a walk around downtown and then ate at Tucano's next to the transportation hub that is light rail, regular train service, and bus station before taking the train back home through the dark. Tucano's is a Brazilian style barbeque and it was delicious and fairly priced, much better than our Phoenix choices for Brazilian. Emilia ate chicken hearts to her own heart's content.

But Tucano's may not be her only favorite place to eat. On her birthday, she chose Outback. Something to do with a "blooming onion." She is wearing a birthday girl button chosen for her by her husband. My brother, Farrell, and his wife, Eveline, along with my sister, Jolene, joined us for dinner. There was lots of conversation (some of it silly Farrell/Ryan style.) Yes, my only brother and my 2nd son are a bit like two peas in a pod and only they understand some of their shared humor.

Things to Remember:
* Temple visit with Emilia and Jolene
* Checking out Eveline's new kitchen
* Making friends with the "grand dogs" Max and Lucy
* A drive to Belen where they were making a movie in the old downtown
* Roll making with Emilia on a rainy day (and Emilia's yummy chicken tortilla soup - perfect rainy day food!)
* A gigantic hug from Ryan as I left him at the airport

Los Alamos and Bandelier

After leaving Santa Fe, we traveled west to Los Alamos and Bandelier National Monument. Los Alamos National Laboratory and supporting town is located on a number of high plateaus. It was opened during World War II and was very top secret. As we drove on to Bandelier National Monument and Frijoles Canyon we noticed "Tech Sites" related to the lab everywhere. It is still very much an operating laboratory.

We took the mile or so walk through the Frijoles Canyon. It was fascinating to view the ruins and imagine the hustle and bustle that must have once existed in this quiet, out of the way place. This picture shows the foundation of what was probably a large ceremonial kiva.

There were living quarters on the floor of the canyon as well as in the walls of the canyon.

Emilia stands near walls where multi-storied structures once stood surrounding a central plaza.

The canyon walls were covered with lines of holes where roof timbers once extended. The canyon walls were called "tuff" and were formed when volcanic ash fell from a nearby volcano and formed a 1000 foot layer. It could easily be carved out to form additional enclosed areas.

There was also wall art and pictographs. These two people seemed to be cataloguing the art work and taking pictures. This path followed a long wall which had once been lined with structures.

Ryan and Emelia catch up to me after taking a side trail including ladders and steep steps. They were able to enter into some of the carved out areas. I had declined attempting the ladders and small spaces.

There was also fall color in Frijoles Canyon along with the calls of sand pipers immigrating south for the winter. It was a great side trip.