Christmas Countdown

Oh boy.... I found a Christmas countdown on a blog and loved it!!!! Of course.......imagine me loving something to do with Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Check it out at the bottom of my blog!!!! :) :) :)

Much To Be Thankful For

I'm a little slow posting..... couldn't be the rush of the holidays!! I can't believe that Christmas is so close!! I am trying to get some decorating done, but you know how it goes :) The best intentions always get side tracked. Hopefully I will get it finished this weekend. Our Thanksgiving was great, we had everyone here but Marcie, Bryce and family. We missed them but then we tried to have family pictures taken on Saturday and so they were down for them. I will post some as soon as I get them.....which will be soon I hope!!! It was of course a bit cold which makes it hard for the little ones. But I think we got some good ones. Can't wait to share. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I do want to say how thankful I am for all that I have been blessed with, husband, family, friends, freedoms, faith, health and happiness.

This is smoke not clouds from the So. Calif fires.

You can't go to California without going to the beach. We went to Huntington pier and it was beautiful. But after lunch we came back out and this is what it looked like. All the fires in So.Calif. were causing their share of smoke, as if the smog isn't enough.

Cinderella's castle all decked out for the Holidays!!

After a busy day at Disneyland.

Tending :)

We were tending Addie and Mo while Corrie and Kolyer worked on their house. I was rocking Addie and she fell asleep and of course Mo needed to be on Grandma's lap too. What a pair....

My Favorite Nephew!!!!

I have some wonderful nephews and I love them all, but I must say that none of them are as excited to see me when I see them as Jeff....So he has to be the favorite!!! I got to see him this past week while visiting California and when he came home and saw that I was there he just about jumped (if he could) out of his chair, and screamed with joy. Gotta love him!!!

PRIVATE

Isn't it said that such a cool thing has to be abused by all the crazy people out there!!!! Just got a little scared with the crazy posts so I will be going private too. Please get me your emails and I will add you. I will give this a few days before going just to give everyone a chance!!! Sorry but it has to be!!!!!

Corrie tagged my twice..... so here goes!!!!

Eight things that I am passionate about:
1. My husband
2. My kids
3. My Grandkids
4. The gospel- Strengthening my testimony
5. Quilting
6. Being a Wife, Mom, Grandma, Daughter, Sister, Aunt, etc,
7. Mo (Corrie had this one and I really kind of like the little stinker!!)
8. Blogging ( I really love keeping track of all the people I care about!!!!!)

Eight words of phrases that I use all the time:
1. What? (Is that a sign of old age and bad hearing???)
2. MARK!!
3. I'm Tired...
4. I have to work....
5. I have a quilt class....
6. I need to clean.....
7. Please!?!?!?
8. I Love You !!!

Eight things that I want to do before I die:
1. Retire and live a long time to enjoy it!!!
2. Have the time to do the things I want to do!!!
3. Take all the kids and grand kids to Disneyland
4. Loose some more weight
5. Serve a mission/ or work in the Temple
6. Get my kids pictures organized and scrap booked
7. Write my life history
8. Make lots and lots and lots of quilts

Eight things that I currently want or need?
1. Basement finished!!!!!
2. The painting and carpet done upstairs
3. A couch or chair for the little front room
4. Bedroom sets for the guest rooms
5. My sewing room finished and organized downstairs
6. A quilting machine
7. More time to do the things I enjoy!!!!!
8. A nap

Eight places that I want to visit:
1. Australia
2. New York
3. Paris
4. Hawaii
5. London
6. Alaska
7. Nauvoo
8. New England in the fall

Eight Favorite Restaurants:
1. Texas Road House
2. Cafe Rio
3. Olive Garden
4. Sizzler (when it's good)
5. P.F. Chang
6. Bajio's
7. Noodles
8. Pizza Factory

Eight TV shows that I watch:
1. Greys Anatomy
2. Oprah
3. Desperate Housewives
4. House
5. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
6. Survivor
7. NCIS
8. Cold Case Files

Eight People I Tag:
1. Liz
2. Heidi
3. Annie
4. Michelle (Brinley & Hadley's Mom)
5. Angie
6. Valecia
7. Anyone else who hasn't been tagged!!!!
8.

Before.....

After. How does it look??

Four Generations

OH MY....What have we started !?!?!?!?!?!

You know how it goes... you decide to paint a little and then you decide that the carpet looks terrible and after all you have been in this house for 13 years and carpet doesn't last forever and if your going to replace the carpet why not put in some more wood floor, because after all that will be so much nicer in the high traffic areas than the carpet and if you going to put in wood floor trying to match it to the old will be hard so you might as well tear up the old and put in new so it ALL matches and then if your going to put in new carpet in the front room and family room then you have to do the bedrooms because after all you do need to paint them too and then if you paint the bedrooms you have to paint the bathrooms and laundry room because they will look terrible next to all the other rooms that have just been repainted.......then since you have a son-in-law that is an exceptional carpenter you might as well get working on the basement also because you need it finished because every time the kids come to visit you have no room for everyone...............see what I mean I was just going to paint a little.....he he he gotta love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mo

Mo has been our pet for the last week. Corrie and Kolyer are still living with Kolyer's parents while they build their house and Kolyer's sister's dog is a female and has been in heat. This needless to say drives poor little mo ( the man that he is) crazy so he has been with us. This is what he does when he sees someone outside. Kind of cute huh?!?!?!

Grateful

As I was going through my family blogs I noticed that Angie quite often lists what she is grateful for...love that idea. So I will try to remember to express my gratitude occasionally. Today I am grateful for this time of year, I love the fall. The cool nights and the leaves that are turning, the knowledge that all of those wonderful holidays and celebrations are coming soon and that means that you will be able to spend a lot of time with good friends and family. I am also grateful for my family. My kids and grand kids are the joy and fulfillment of my life. They make me feel that I have accomplished some very good things in my time here on earth despite some mistakes that I have made. I am also grateful for blogging.... it is so much fun to keep in touch with what is going on with others. Thanks for letting me share with you a little of what goes on in your lives!!!

Tagged,Tagged, Tagged, Tagged!!

Thanks to my sweet daughters and Angie and Sara, I was tagged !! So I did my best.

8 TV SHOWS I LOVE TO WATCH
1. Gray's Anatomy
2. Desperate Housewives
3. House
4. CSI
5. Survivor
6. NCIS
7.Monk
8.Oprah

8 FAVORITE RESTAURANTS
1. Texas Road House
2. Cafe Rio
3. Red Lobster
4. Olive Garden
5. P.F. Changs
6. Pizza Factory
7. The Pie
8.

8THINGS THAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY
1. Day Off Work....Yeah!!!!!!!!
2. Made bed
3. Vacume
4. Laundry
5. Unloaded/loaded dishwasher
6. Worked in Sewing room
7. Helped Corrie move things out of little front room
8. Cooked dinner & cleaned up

8 THINGS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO
1. New carpet & wood floor
2. Painting rest of upstairs
3. Our newly planned girls shopping trip.
4. Trip to California (Get to see my sis!!)
5. Thanksgiving
6. Christmas
7. Days off
8. Time to quilt, read, play

8 THINGS ON MY WISH LIST
1. Basement Finished
2. Bigger savings account
3. Healthy Family and Friends
4. Trip to Hawaii
5. Lose more weight
6. A new house (built by Kolyer...he has good ideas!!!!)
7. Peaceful and loving home
8. More time to quilt, read, play

Tagged!!

1. Where is your cell phone? Close
2. Where is your significant other? Hunting (imagine that!!!!)
3. Your hair color? Dyed
4. Your mother? Missed
5. Your father?Aging
6. Your favorite thing? Family :)
7. Your dream last night? Peacefull
8. Your dream/goal? Contentment
9. The room you're in? Comfortable
10. Your hobby? Quilting
11. Your fear? Loss
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? New Home
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. What you're not? Skinny
15. One of your wish-list items? Peace
16. Where you grew up? So. Calif
17. The last thing you ate? Granola Bar
18. What are you wearing? P.J.'s
19. Your TV? On
20.Your pet? Mo
21. Your computer? Laptop
22. Your mood? Happy
23. Missing someone? No
24. Your car? Red
25. Something you're not wearing? Make-up
26. Favorite store? Fabric
27. Your summer? Over
28. Love someone? Yes
29. Your favorite color? Yellows
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Sunday
I tag who ever reads this and hasn't done it yet!!!! Is that cheating???

We had a wonderful weekend!!! We blessed little Addie and had all of the kids there but Julie. We always have a good time when we get together. The kids play well together and only tease and torment each other a little. But it is fun to watch them just be together. Kolyer did a beautiful job with her blessing and then we went to the Andersen's and had a nice lunch of soup, salad and rolls. With the colder weather this weekend the soup was a good plan and tasted good. The one thing that I didn't do was get my camera out more and take pictures. I was a little busy helping with the food so I will use that as my excuse. But it really was a fun weekend and we were glad to get together. It makes you appreciate your family more the more that you are able to spend time together. I feel so blessed to have such great kids and they all have chosen great spouses. When I hear other people talk about the fights that happen in their families and feel even more blessed because we get together so well!! I guess our next family gathering will be Thanksgiving. Hopefully it will work out that we will all be there. There always seems to be a few obstacles, but I guess that just makes it more worth it if it all works out.

During conference last week Corrie had seen a neat picture of a baby blessing so we tried today after Addie's blessing. This is just one that I took with my little camera. Kolyer's Aunt Tonya took some with her nice camera and I am sure they will turn out better, but you get the idea.

Corrie bought Addie this neat little seat, I think it is called a bumpi?!? She fell asleep in it so it must be comfortable.

We went to Farmington on Sunday and had a nice visit with the Quigleys!! Such cute girls.

Cute sisters!!

Belle loves her dad!!!

New Church Calling....

I have been in the YW for the past couple of years and enjoyed it alot, it keeps you young and the girls are so fun to be around. We have known for a couple of weeks that we were going to be released, but I didn't know till last week what my new calling would be. I must say that as the bishop was talking with me he was kind of trying to explain why he was calling me to this new position and even had me kind of nervous. Then he said that my name just kept coming to him whenever he thought about this position, so he had a strong feeling that it needed to be me, then he said "We would like you to be the new leader for the Bears in cub scouts". Did I hear him right???? All I could say was "Bless your heart bishop". It has only been a few years since I was Primary Pres so I know most of these boys and they will be fun. Well I do have a strong testimony that we are given callings for a reason. I also feel that my bishop is very in tune with the spirit and so wish me luck and say a prayer and off to scouting we will go!!!!!

Hard Job of Babysitting

I was tending Addie last Friday while Corrie and Kolyer were working on their new house, after they had been gone a little while Corrie text me and asked how I was getting along so I text her this picture of how hard tending her little sweet cheeks was.....what do you think. I'm not sure I can even handle it. I will have to think twice before I offer to tend her again!

Happy Birthday Averee and Dawson!!!!

Bart and Lynds had a combined birthday party on Saturday, since Averee's birthday was Saturday and Dawson's was the previous Wednesday. They didn't seem to mind sharing the day to much. Dawson is not to impressed with the crowds. I think he is used to being at his house with just his Mom, Dad and sisters, so when he woke up from his nap to a house full of grandparents, cousins, aunts etc. he was a little overwhelmed. But I think he enjoyed himself for the most part. Averee is just fun to be around and quite a character and that is why we love her so!! Bart cooked hamburgers and hot dogs on the BBQ and pot luck basically for the rest of the meal. The food was great and it was good to get together. We always enjoy gathering especially when it involves food!!!

Now there is a happy three year old!!!!

Not quite sure if he likes this party thing!!

What a happy birthday boy!!!

Ave thought the best part of the cupcake was the frosting....can you blame her. Here she is showing grandma what she likes to do with her cupcakes......lick the frosting off!!!!!

Averee was pretty good at opening presents, even with all the help from sisters and cousins.

Dawson like the toys but wasn't too impressed with the clothes.

Addie was partying hard.

Dawson thinks he is pretty tricky, after all he is one now.

The Stove is Here !!!!

Well the new stove is in and hooked up and functioning wonderful!!!! I broke it in first by canning... 9 qts of stewed tomatoes ( just what was picked from our little garden this week ) and 38 pints of chicken tenders. A friend at work got the chicken for me. It comes in bulk for a cheap price so you have to do something with it...so someone else from work said she bottles it, so we thought we would give it a try. I will let you know how it taste, but I am thinking for chicken salads for enchiladas etc it will be so easy just open a bottle and there you go!!

Is it sad that you can be so excited about a new stove????

Is it a sign that you are getting old when the highlight of your week is that your husband bought you a new stove. To say the least our old stove has been a trial for quite awhile. Since not long after we bought it none of the ignitors on the stove top would light on their own. We have had to use a lighter to start them, a bit of a hassle to say the least and the oven took at least half an hour to preheat. I could be wrong but I think that is a bit long. It had also started lately to blowing the oven door open when you would start to preheat the oven....scary huh???? So any way we went looking for a new stove last Saturday. Part of the fun was convincing Mark that it would be nice to have more than just the basic model and that a double oven would be so much nicer for family dinners and just using the small one for little things for just him and I would also be much more efficient. I tend to be the one that likes a little nicer things while Mark can just as easily function with the basics. (Can you say opposites attract.) Well as you can guess Mark gave in and bought his sweetie the stove that she wanted!!! What a sweetheart huh?!?!?!?! We haven't actually got it in the house yet...we have to go back up sometime this week and pick it up, they had to get one in from RC Willey's warehouse in Salt Lake, but here is a picture that I found on the internet. Pretty huh???!!!!

Oops Grandpa is 85

I got an email from my Kirma stating that I miss calculated Dad's birthday and that he is 85. I was just guestimating from when I could remember celebrating his 80th but I must have lost a year. Kirma said that Dad was 21 when she was born so.....you do the math about how old that makes her...hehehe :)

Grandpa's Birthday Party

Alice planned a birthday party for Dad this past Sunday, his birthday is the 2nd of Sept. Her two daughters and husbands were there as well as Rod, Bobbi, Fred, Kathy, Mark and myself. The food was delicious and the company even better. It was fun to get together and visit and enjoy each others company. Fred took a picture of the whole crew but I don't have a copy of it. I will try and get it and post it if possible.