Neighborhood picnic

Saturday was our "neighborhood clean-up day" to work in our yards and make our neighborhood nicer looking. Then we had a picnic in the park.

I had two soccer games to attend Saturday so I made sure Friday evening I did some weeding. this is the section of my yard that I weeded. I love it when it is weed free! I was sure to put down some PREEN to prevent future weeds. After the soccer games I went shopping for a couple of plugs for our sprinkler line, some weed and feed, and some pansies. That was about it for our part of "clean-up". (Notice in the picture the full garbage cans--we forgot to put our garbage and recycling can out last Wednesday!)

This is my magnolia tree. Each year I look forward to it's blossoms. This year it snowed the first day it bloomed...so now I have brown blossoms:(



...just so you see the placement of my tree

We piled into our getto van and headed to the park--why didn't we walk?!

Cooking hotdogs for all...

C rode her bike to the park...she had a great time.




J and T "excitedly" wait for hotdogs. I get the idea they didn't want their picture taken, what do you think!

CE played catch with his dad

K playing catch with his son.

(P.S. L was working last night so missed out)

Marathon and haircut

Last Saturday morning I met my sister in Farmington and drove to SLC with her and her children to watch her husband complete his long-time goal of running a marathon. For those that don't know, that is 26.2 miles. That is a long run. I used to run--but I have never run even close to 26.2 miles. My most was 10 and I only did that once. I had the benefit of coming from the high altitude of Rexburg, ID to the low altitude of the San Francisco bay-area when I did my ten. He completed the 26.2 having to run it in a much higher altitude than he is used to...I thought it was fantastic. What an accomplishment! He even finished in a good time---Back in my running days I would still have been finishing way after shutting down time. I am proud of you Randy! Congratulations!

So he went by so fast, it was hard to get a picture--especially since this lady blocked my second shot completely. But if you look, he is the one just to the right of the lady's hair. (I have two more pictures of the event that I took that I will add if I can ever get them. I forgot my camera so was using my cell phone. I e-mailed all three pictures to my e-mail twice but this is the only one that has arrived.)

BEFORE
After several months I finally had T agreeing to get a haircut. We talked about styling it etc. and she was game. But cutting day (Monday) she was against anything but a trim. I told her I could save the money and trim it at home so if she wants me to take her to have it professionally done she needs to cut at least 3 inches get some shape put into it. I let her choose and she chose to have it professionally done. Then there she absolutely refused to let the stylist do anything but cut three inches off. The stylist tried to show her some cute things he could do even with just simple shaping or layering, but the answer was NO!

So this is the AFTER
In the car on the way home she messed up her hair and I said, "What are you doing?" She replied, "I'm trying to get my identity back!" Next time I think I will just trim it.

Venezuela

I picked up my dad today from the airport. He returned from an adventurous trip to Venezuela. He was able to visit Angel Falls (the highest waterfalls in the world) which has been an ambition of his for many years. Here are a few pictures from his trip.

This is the Caracas LDS Temple. In front is the man in charge of Temple Maintainence and all the LDS buildings in the country.

This is the pilot taking dad to Canaima, the base for Angel Falls. Notice him reading the paper as they fly.

This is where dad slept while at the camp near the falls. The hammocks are drapped with mosquito netting. I told you, it was adventurous.

Here is proof that he made it. It was a rugged hike that took a few hours. He said it was a very difficult walk. He said, "I haven't been so tired since I climbed the pyramid!" He said he was lucky to be going with four young backpackers that gave him a hand.

And these are the four backpackers. The two girls are professional nurses from Denmark. One of the boys is from Germany (a Biomedical Engineer) and the other from Philadelphia (a laid-off gemologist). Dad said he didn't see any other people at the Falls at all. There was an Irish guy at Canaima that didn't go to the falls, but that is all he saw for the 3 days he was there.

From the air leaving Venezuela for Maimi; just off the coast of Venezuela. I loved this picture and the following. I told dad he should blow it up and enter it in the county fair for the fun of it. Which is your favorite of the two?

Off the coast of Venezuela---

Welcome Home dad!

Fingerpainting

We fingerpainted in school yesterday. Maybe that is why the kids were all so wild. You know how some days everyone seems to be on one? We had a great time painting and after we finished we hung up our picture on the wall. This is my group above. When we divide into groups for a craft or project and for snack, we meet at this table together. They are a great group of kids.

Baptism

Saturday my niece was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was a very special day for her. Above is a picture of all the family that was there. My L and T could not make it. L had to work and T wasn't feeling well.
CD and Caprice are great friends and have been having a great time being neighbors and cousins. Congratulations on you baptism Caprice!

Rock Stars and Baseball

I wasn't home much today so J had "practice" with his friends. He showed me some pictures he took and I decided to blog them---he is getting pretty good on the guitar. He's teaching himself and his friends how to play. He wrote a song that he played for me the other day, it was real good.

Alex
Chris
J

J and Chris
Chris

Now this is what I was starting to blog when J showed me the pictures. CE called me today from the school saying that he got hit in the face with a bat. After last summer with his brother (several hours of surgery caused by a baseball), the news wasn't so good to hear. He had to have a CAT Scan--and the good news is that they afterwards they brought him back to me saying, "OK, he's all done. You're doctor should call you by tomorrow afternoon with the results." That was good news because with J the tech came out and the first words were, "So do you already have a surgeon picked out or do you need us to call one for you?" What is bizzare to me is that CE doesn't really know what happened. I think he was knocked out. Although the school didn't say anything about it. But he doesn't know if someone swung the bat or if it was thrown. He said he didn't even really know he was hit until his face started hurting and he saw a bat on the ground. He said he was playing catch with a friend but finished and was going to go play basketball. He doesn't know anything else. He is dizzy and kind of loopy and has a terrible headache. His eyesight is also a bit blurry in the one eye...they are concerned about the eye orbit. Hopefully we will find out tomorrow that all is well.

Spring Carnival

Last night was the school carnival. Usually it is held outside, but this year we had it indoors because of the cool weather. I like it much better outside, but the kids didn't seem to care a bit that it was inside, they all seemed to have a ball. The place was packed with kids running around everywhere, parents in tow. The gym had the big blow-up jumping and climbing things, and activities took place in about fifteen classrooms.

This is the only picture I got of CE--simply because once he had his tickets, he was off and running. He hung out with friends, distancing himself from "mom" cuz, well you know, I'm just not cool.

CD is playing a "race" game in one classroom.

CD getting her face painted.

Eating her Chic-filet dinner


I like it so much better outside because I can sit and visit with other parents and keep an eye on both the kids as they go different directions. Also the kids don't need so many tickets entertain themselves as they run all over the field with friends. CD only saw friends while standing in line, passing from one room or another. On the field the kids get to find friends and play, and I get to meet their parents. But all in all, it was a fun night.

Just blogg'n

So, I realize that I haven't been as good as SHJ at keeping up on my blog, and truthfully, I know I never will---but in an effort to at least make an entry this week, here it goes. I haven't taken any pictures so I thought I would just pull one up from my computer. (After all, pictures are the funnest part of the blog! But this is it for today, so if you want to stop, you can!)

This is the Nauvoo, IL temple. Today is my mom's birthday. She passed away in 2004. In 2005 we had a family reunion and after a fun stint in South Dakota my dad and all my siblings and all the grandkids headed for Nauvoo. Ever since that trip, for personal reasons, the Nauvoo temple reminds me of my mom and when I see a picture of it, I think of her. So this is for her. Happy Birthday Mom!

I am doing a drug study for acid-reflux and had a scope today---fun. Dad took me out to lunch afterwards using a coupon from my paper. It was a very atmospheric place over-looking the Ogden Airport. Pretty fancy but the coupon and the senior special made it affordable. I should have taken pictures there! K would have loved the view. Thanks for lunch dad! The afternoon and early evening was busy with an appt. for J, soccer practice, tumbling, and taking a dinner in to a family. I was able to top it off with American Idol. Happily, Brooke and David are still on. Well, I'll end for now---hopefully I'll blog something more substantial next time... but who knows!