Barbados

So, a day or so after our Halloween party, Mike and I got to go to Barbados. He did the whole trip on trade, we used flyer miles to get there, and we usually only ate two meals a day. So it wasn't really expensive, and we relaxed A LOT! It is a beautiful place. I had to look up where it was before we left-it is the farthermost eastern island in the Carribean. The water is the bluest, clearest I have ever seen. This picture is the view from our hotel on our last night there.

We rented a car for 3 days--had two flat tires (lots of pot holes), got lost several times, but we saw more of the island that way. It is about 14 miles across and 19 miles long, so there wasn't too far to get lost in. But they have no really visable road signs and lots of "roundabouts", narrow roads, and they drive on the left side of the road. We kept finding ourselves in the middle of sugar cane fields. The people were very friendly and helpful. Our hotel was right on the ocean, so we had a great view, but the beach was "under construction" so we went to a "sister hotel" to do the ocean thing. My favorite activity was going on a glass bottom boat and then swimming with the ocean turtles. I contributed 13 times to the blood bank of the local mosquitos-but I came home with 13 free (itchy) souvineers. Mike enjoyed the Harbor cruise dinner boat. We had no major agenda, so it was a laid back fun time.

**Just a note on the pictures. I got the pictures loaded onto my computer. (Yeah for me!) Then when I was doing the blog and I went to find them, they only had numbers to retrieve them. So I had to find the picture in my camera, count back or forward and try to find the one I want. Needless to say, it was not entirely successful. But you got to see more of Barbados than I had planned. I don't know how to delete the ones I didn't want, but I am sure that one of my computer techy children will soon advise me on how to do this. Then I can straighten out this here blog. They ( the techy children) may also wish to advise me on how to retrieve the pictures better, too.

Our Halloween party was way fun. I wanted to see the grandkids in their costumes, because we were going to be gone for Halloween. So, we had a party. Here are a few pictures from the night.

We have Tinkerbell, Hannah Montana, Monkey,Spider Fairy Princess, Scarecrow, and Clown. It was such a fun night. We painted Halloween Bags, made Halloween door hangers, played a "match" game. It was so fun, we may have to do it again--in a year.

I am totally supposed to be cleaning up my office. (can anyone find my desk?????) But here I am having such a wonderful time reading everyone's blog. (Ryan, it's time for a new post....) It is so fun to catch up on what everyone is doing on a day-to-day basis. (Brandon, let us know what you are actually doing.....)

I was so successful in getting that last photo, that I think I will try it again. I may even get brave enough to try taking some out of my camera and putting them onto my computer, WITHOUT help from Kevin. (Kevin and Jen, it's time to make a blog.....) Thanks, Sarah and Mindy and Melissa for your fun blogs. It always brightens my day to see them. Wendy, it's so nice to keep up with your family. (Hello, Mandi, where are you????)

Ok, now it is really time to try to find my desk (and office room floor...).

Ok, here's the tag item. Fourth folder, fourth picture. (If I can get the picture to post.... It usually goes into a weird area.) Ok, I cheated, I went to my oldest picture photo and picked the best picture of me. I am the one in the middle.

Yippee For Me!

Ok, so yesterday I was going to drive to Provo to go to a BIG Scrapbook Warehouse Sale and then hit all my favorite scrapbook places down south, and I DIDN'T. I realized that I really had no money or place to put one more thing and it would have cost a ton in gas. So, I am proud of me that I didn't go.

And tonight I didn't go to the "Women's Night Out" places that I usually go. I stayed home and scrapbooked all of the past year's wedding announcements. (Yes, I keep them all....) And I scrapbooked our extended family's pictures for the past year (including a really cute little note from Kayla Horton).

I know this doesn't sound like a very BIG accomplishment, but when you are a shopoholic, it was a GIANT step in the right direction. (I can't tell you how many times I have bought a stamp or a stamp set that I already have and then had to return it...). I'm not so much of a shopaholic as a bargain hunter and to let a 40% off coupon go unused is really a hard thing for me to do.
(Just see my basement....)

So wish me well in my new endeavor to cut down on my addiction to scrapbook shopping. My kids will undoubtedly appreciate this when I die.

Things That Really Bug Me

I get so frustrated when I am driving the speed limit on the freeway and people are passing me by right and left and giving me dirty looks. Yesterday, a girl even gave me a dirty finger..... So why don't the police pull them over? If we're going to have limits, why aren't they enforced?????

I also think the new bridges on I-215 have such beautiful artwork. But WHO can enjoy it??? You can't see it at 65 mph and there is no place to pull over and look at it, or anywhere off the freeway to view it. I kinda think it was a waste of our taxpayer money. (or federal money--whoever pays for these kind of things.) I wish it (the art work) was on a downtown park or somewhere else where we could really check it out and enjoy it or at least SEE it. ( I feel the same way about the Olympic Artwork under the bridges on I-15.)

So, what bugs you????

Catch Up Time

I love reading everyone else's blogs, but never seem to have time to write on mine. So, here is a little catch-up information.

We had fun with our Japanese girl, Kimi. She went with us and our entire family to Zion Ponderosa Camp. I think she was a little overwhelmed with all of the people and children, but she seemed to fit in well. She went with her professor and the other 5 girls from Japan on a 3-day trip. While she was gone, I did the fastest ever scrapbook for her. It had about 30 pages and turned out quite well for as fast as I had to work on it.

I was also teaching at the U of U for that week. (I teach english to 14-year-old boys from Japan and then we go on field trips in the afternoon.) This was my 3rd year teaching. I had the highest ability group and the best classroom, so it went very well.

I also spent 2 wonderful days at the Scrapbook Expo here in Salt Lake. (I also spent way too much money.....) I wasn't going to go this year, but it just kept calling my name. It is my favorite thing to do. Rows and rows of scrapbooking stuff--most of it at amazingly low prices.

My grand daughter, Jasmine, had surgery to put a rod into her back to help with her scoliosis. I tended little sister Nyah for 2 days. I took her shopping. You can never start too young.....

I have spent the rest of September trying to undo all of the piles that have accumulated through-out my house (mostly scrapbooking piles). Mike trades product with a house-cleaning company and lucky me gets my house cleaned about twice a month. The best thing about it is that it makes us clean up for the housecleaners to be able to do their thing. I'm never quite sure what to do with myself when they come. I sort of hole up in my office and check out my emails or read the paper or try to find my desk...

And I can't believe that it is already October. Wow! Where did that summer go???

Our New Japanese Friend

On last Friday our new Japanese friend arrived to stay with us for about a month. Her name is Kimiko, but we call her Kimi. She is 21 and has finished 3 years of college. She is here to go to the U of U's English Language Institute. (ELI) She rides the bus to and from school. She is very smart, fun, and helpful. She is eager to learn our language. She has studied it in school since she was little, but there's nothing like on-the-job-training. Last night we were talking about some of our "idioms". It is hard to explain them. ("top of the street", "raining cats and dogs", "I'm bushed", etc.) Just stop and think about all the things we say that can have a totally different meaning. When she tries to look them up in her electronic dictionary, it just doesn't translate well. But we are all having a fun time.

And I am going to have to cook more often.

A Fun Day in the E.R.

On Tuesday, Aug. 12, I was having a "hitch in my get-a-long", meaning that my upper left leg was not functioning well. It was also kinda painful. But I decided that I just had to "walk it out".
I woke up Wed. with tons of things to do, still hurting-but managable, and did all and more of them. But, on Thursday, I couldn't even step on my left leg without excruciating pain. I called my doctor, but he wasn't working that day. His office suggested I go to an Instacare. (I think most doctors who work in instacare couldn't get a real doctor job, and thus don't trust their expertise.) Mike and Kevin gave me a blessing, so I knew that things would work out, but I wasn't sure what to do.

Mike was supposed to be leaving that afternoon on a well-planned out trip to the Zion Narrows, but he gave it up to take care of me. We were also expecting the arrival of a Japanese girl who will live with us for a month on Friday. I was panicing about how I would pick her up at the airport when I couldn't even get into the car. Mike to the rescue again.

Anyway, we finally decided on the ER and the new Intermountain Medical Center. We were there for 7 hours doing an xray, an MMRI, blood tests, heart monitor test, blood pressure, and no food or drink. They were ruling out spontaneous hip fracture. (It happens to women my age....) So the final diagnosis was Bursitis (inflamation of the sac around joints). I was sent home with 3 prescriptions (Percacet, Ibuprofin 600, and Prednisone pack--plus the recommendation of using ice packs on it.)

I woke up Friday about 1000% better, but still in pain. Today, Saturday, I am even better though not thoroughly done. Thank goodness for blessings, husbands, and doctors who know what they are doing.

One good thing about my unplanned illness is that I was able to get, read, and finish the second book New Moon in the series that I am reading while I sat in bed or on the couch recuperating.
Now I have to find me a copy of the third book.

As a side note, our Japanese girl came Friday. She was delivered to our house by the person who sets up the housing. Her name is Kimiko. We took her to dinner at golden Corral to see what she likes to eat. She eats very healthily--vegetables, fruit, no meat. Then we went to the grocery store to buy stuff she likes to eat. Today she and Mike took TRAX to the U of U to check out the campus so that she will be able to find her way around. And next we are taking her to Snowbird on the Tram. (She has jetlag and is napping right now.) She will be with us for a month while she studies English at the U of U in a special program with 6 other girls and their professor. Kimi speaks very good English. She is 21. We are looking forward to lots of fun with her.

Free the Fridge!!

Well, I just accomplished my every two year ritual. I cleaned out the fridge AND the freezer. My family will be happy to note that I got rid of all the out-dated stuff, including the gooey raspberry sherbert that was oozing out of the carton on the door of the freezer. MEMO TO FAMILY and SELF: Do NOT store icecream products in the door of the fridge!!! The really cool thing (no pun intended) about today's project was that I actually recognized every thing that I threw away. Tomorrow is garbage day, and I wanted to get things out before then. But I am afraid the RHODES ROLLS are going to expand and fill up the whole can. And the old meat will be defrosted and start to smell in the hot garage, so I think I will take it to the street early. Then I will watch the neighborhood wasp, bees, etc. buzz around it for the rest of the day.

I also decided to jump on the Vampire Bandwagon and bought the first book in the series (Twilight) at the airport in Seattle. I finished it by the next day. Now I have to go hunt down the next book and avoid any chatter about the 4th book so it doesn't spoil my quest. I have been missing Harry Potter. This series is nice in that all of the books are done and I won't have to wait two years (and forget all the details and characters) like I did with Harry Potter.

We spent 4 lovely days in Seattle in a beautiful hotel with two huge corner windows overlooking the city. It was Mike's CEO group--very fun to be with. We did the Pike's Market, a dinner cruise, and took naps almost every day. Very Relaxing. No cooking! FUN!

My Most Favorite Activity

We just threw some stuff in the car, grabbed the waverunners, and flew up the canyon to Jordanelle Dam to try out the waverunners before Mike's company party on Saturday. Hopping on the big waverunner (it's more stable) and sailing over the water is such a wonderful feeling. Being the middle of the week and about 4PM we literally had most of the lake to ourselves. It was a tiny bit rough to start out but soon became almost glassy. The sun was still out, the air was warm (not too hot) and I LOVED IT. I guess because my feet have hurt for ten years and slowed down my ability to get around much, getting on the wave runners gives me a great sense of independence and mobile freedom. We are so lucky to live close to so many opportunities like mountains and lakes.

Mindy and Michael were able to go with us and help us launch and stuff. They took Carson out for his first ride on the waverunners...and he fell asleep!

Well, it's been almost a whole month since I put something here. I spend my time reading everyone else's blogs and then don't take time for mine. July just kinda whizzed by, didn't it. Today would have been my mom's 94th birthday. I hope she's having fun. Do you think when we die we get to celebrate our death day????

We were able to attend the Mormon Tabernacle Choir/Osmond concert at the Conference Center this past week. It was so good. And then it was on tv again last night, so I got to relive it.
I have always been facinated by the Osmonds. They're amazing.

Mike hurt his back this weekend and was hobbling around like an old man. I was wondering, when do you go from "middle age" to "old". I think we are on our way. Whenever we try to "get fit" we end up hurting ourselves and going back several spaces.

Mike was out of town last week for one night and I stayed up til 3am scrapbooking. It was heaven. Then I slept in the next day, so I wasn't even tired. I think if I lived alone, I'd never sleep--it's such a waste of time. But then I'd be sick.

Oops!

Well, I learned something this morning that I really did not want to learn. I was in the fridge and saw my liquid egg carton and thought, "I don't remember putting away the real eggs I bought on Tuesday (today being Thursday), so I went to the car where I keep my cooler for cold stuff and there were the eggs, along with a gallon of now chunky milk and a gallon of warm orange juice. My disposal got a really nice snack. Oh, yeah, what I learned was (1) milk doesn't keep in the car for 2 days at 97 degrees, (2) I am getting forgetful or maybe too side-tracked (3) Now I have to go buy new milk and eggs. ( I know, you're thinking, I should have saved the milk for Ryan....)

Give It One More Try

Top Row: Khursten, Jasmine, Allie
Bottom Row: Audrey, Carson, Nyah

Notice Sarah's cute oval sign she made to dedicate our playhouse.

Carson and Audrey are loving testing out the new equipment.

OK, so that picture worked. Let's try one more time. Hey, I think it's going to work. Are these the cutest kids or what???

Did I mention that I love my new computer?

Happy Birthday to Brandon!!

Well, I uploaded the pictures and it said they were done and there they aren't. Oh, well, time for a new lesson from Mindy.

I had to add one more thing before I went to bed. Today marks the 33 year anniversary of one of the happiest days of my life--becoming a mother. We had tried to have children for 5 years and we were finally rewarded with a cute little 41/2 pound baby boy, who within 6 weeks went from tiny and scrawny to having several chins. (I didn't know I wasn't supposed to nurse him for an hour each time.....) HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRANDON. We love having you for our son!

Playhouse Pictures

I am now going to attempt to put a few pictures on here of my grand children playing in the new playhouse/swingset.

Trying To Keep Up With the New Generation

When we got home from Branson, there waiting on my (really messy) desk was a brand new shiny black computer! Brandon and Ryan had worked to download all my stuff onto it. Butch helped me get some programs set up on it. And now I can USE it. It is so WAY FASTER than any of my old things. And it is all mine. Never been used. In honor of my new computer, I cleaned my desk off and several other areas in my office. (Actually, I was trying to locate my Adobe Photo Shop cd so that Butch could load it on for me. I had put it in a "SAFE SPOT". It was so safe it took me about six hours to find it.) Anyway, it's up and running and my emails work so quickly now. (It took 30 minutes to download a 2 minute video on my old computer and then the computer would randomly freeze whenever it felt like it.....) Now if only I were as efficient as my computer. Although I was able to find my printer software and load it all by myself.

Our next leap into the younger generation is that we got Mike a Wii for Father's Day/Birthday. Mindy came over last night and set it up. We golfed, bowled, played baseball, raced, fished, and did many other fun activities until about 1am. It was WAY fun. We can see that we will need to get more remote thingees. (I don't know what they are called.....) I will have to practice during the day to even come close to keeping up with Mike, Mindy, or Michael.

Today I got to go to a 3 hour scrapbooking class put on by Cosmo Cricket. They always give prizes and I won one of the best. You get much more stuff than the cost of the class so how can I NOT go. It was lots of fun.

Happy Birthday To Me!!

Well, it is our last full day in Branson. This morning we went to The Hughes Brothers--5 brothers and their wives and a zillion children (all LDS). They were very good. There were even babes in arms and one pregnant mom. It is the largest performing family in the world or something like that.

In the afternoon we went to Golden Corral for lunch and then suddenly realized that our next performance was an hour sooner than we had planned. In our hurry to get there, we got a little lost, but finally got to it (late). It was Noah, the Musical. It was amazing. The first part showed them building the ark from the outside--it was huge and tall. They loaded tons of real animals into the ark two by two down the the center aisle of the theater. When we came back in after intermission, we were inside the ark. There were 5 or six stories high that surrounded the entire theater with sections for real and animatronic animals. It was hard to tell which was which. It was really a wonderful production. (I'll try to post pictures when I'm home with Mindy's help.) Appropriately enough, as we left the theater, it was a huge downpour. (I wonder how they did that????)

We stopped for a funnel cake (my favorite) for my birthday. Mike had ice cream. We went home to watch a movie. I fell asleep and got a little birthday nap.

For the evening (and sadly our last) performance, we went to Hamner Barber--a variety show with a ventriloquist and a magician. I carefully kept track of Mike so he wouldn't be able to tell them that it was my birthday. But during the intermission performance they came down into the audience looking for a volunteer, and ended up giving me a balloon bracelet and I thought, "Oh great, how did Mike work this out." Just when I thought I was going to have to go on stage, They grabbed Mike and took him up. Was he stunned or what???? They put a magician hat and coat on him but had him put his arms behind himself, not in the coat sleeves. Then the magician put his arms around the back of Mike and into the sleeves. So there Mike was performing magic tricks right before our eyes. And me with no camera. (They were not allowed...) He did a great job, in fact, too great and the magician told him that he (Mike)was not supposed to be the one telling the jokes..... A fun night!

And now it is time to toddle of to bed. And off to Little Rock tomorrow.

My Last Day at being 58!!

Today we went to 12 Irish Tenors (only there were only 11 Irish Tenors as one was home sick).
In the afternoon we went to SIX (six brothers who do all of the instrumentation with their voices). It was really awesome. Then we went on a 2 hour train ride. Mostly all you could see were trees out of the sides and an occasional valley but it had two tunnels and reminded us of our train trip when Brandon was only 4 and went in search of a flashlight--and found one.
We did not go to an evening performance ecuase Mike was a little under the weather and could not stray too far from the porcelain precipice. I went shopping. Duh, where else would I go? But I asked Mike if I could have the money we would have spent on the performance and dinner, which he gave me and I put it to good use. One more day--3 more performances and then we leave on Saturday to drive to Little Rock. Then home on Sunday.

Wednesday in Branson

Well, it quit raining. It was a beautiful day. We started out the morning at the Andy Williams Theater with a production entitled "The Entertainers". It was a group of musicians and singers that did music from several decades. It was very sad that there were only 3 rows of people. They just barely got the show together and didn't have fliers out in the town.

Our afternoon show was Shoji Tabuchi, a Japanese violin/fiddle player. It was excellent with lots of addition entertainment. The restrooms were VERY decorated with a pool table in the men's room.

At night we went to The Magnificent Seven--seven decades of hit music 40's, 50's, ...up to now. Mike and I didn't know any of the music for the 90's or now except the presentation of STOMP which we had just attended in SLC. It was fun to sing along. AndMike told them it was my birthday so I had to stand up in front of everyone. (it's not really for 2 days.)

So now it's time for bed. Or tv. Or computer games.

Another Day in Branson

This morning we went to a production entitled "Island Fire" with Polynesian culture dances. It was a lot like the show at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii but on a smaller scale. But we had closer (front row) seats. This was followed by a Luau put on by the same people. Then we went to a Magic Show (Kirby and Bambi Van Burch. Mike went back to watch his war movie and Cindy found a scrapbook/rubberstamp store. And now we are getting ready to go to The Haygoods (an LDS Family that has been performing here for 17 years-10,000 shows). Mike also found time to slip a visit to the hot tub in while I was typing this blog. Fun! Fun! Fun!

Just Haning Out in Branson, Missouri

We are having a very relaxing, do-basically-nothing vacation in Branson. We flew into Little Rock. Arkansas on Saturday (by way of Albequerque and Dallas....) and then drove to Branson.
On Sunday we went to Church in the morning and the Irish Spirit of the Dance in the afternoon, followed by a production called The Promise about the life of Christ. (It seemed like a good choice for a Sunday...) It was very realistic and impressive.

Today(Monday) we went to Amazing Pets, Pierce Arrow, and tonight to Jim Stafford. (He sang "I Don't Like Spiders and Snakes" back in the day. ) He was great. His two kids played the piano, also. In between shows we eat. We have a studio condo with a kitchen so we try to eat two meals here and one out. We stocked up on groceries on Saturday night when we got here.
It rained all day today, but we were inside for most of it, so it didn't make much difference. The traffic is worsethan we remember, but the townfolks say the numbers are way down on attendance. (Gas prices too high for travel.) We haven't had time to try out the pool or rec. room yet. We have 3 shows per day scheduled, so we are fairly busy. But it is an easy busy.

David Cook--Are you kidding me????

Ok, so I am pretty much exasperated that David Archuletta didn't win. All those weeks of watching and they took away my reward. I thought he was truly the kind of idol that I would want my grandkids (and kids) to emulate--clean, nice, humble, talented, modest, did I mention nice? I think that the reason so many people loved him is because the Spirit was able to shine through him because of his sincerety. I hope he'll go on to do great things.

Tag, I'm it!

I didn't actually get "tagged" (kinda like being the last person picked for a team in gym.....) but I am a grownup now, so I will just play without the actual tag. My things mostly come in fours instead of threes, so deal with it.

Three Joys
1. Having a husband who loves me, provides for me, and actually likes to be with me.
2. Having 4 wonderful children, with wonderful spouses, who all like each other (I think). They
do things together without us and with us. They are all productive, active people who are
great contributors to society. They are marvelous parents, greatly invested in the welfare
and progress of their children. And they come to see us often. (not just when they need
something.....) For someone who had a hard time having children, I feel greatly blessed.
3. Having Six (so far.....)terrific, fun-loving grandchildren--each with different talents and
personalities.
They like to spend time with their grandma. I love it when they don't want to go home. I
also love it that I can send them home. I love to be with them all together, but even more
I love to be with them one-on-one where there are no distractions or competition. They get
to be the center of my attention.
4. Having a testimony of Jesus Christ and His Restored Gospel. Knowing that Joseph Smith
was and is a prophet and that we have a living prophet on the earth today. And knowing that
we have the Priesthood on the earth to bless our lives and having a husband and sons and
a son-in-law who are worthy to use that Priesthood to bless others. Knowing that the Book of
Mormon is the word of God to us in the latter days. Knowing that I am a daughter of God,
and that He knows and loves me, that Christ is His Son and was sent to redeem me and
teach me how to love and serve others. Knowing that I can and do have prayers answered.

Three Fears
1. Having something bad happen to one of my children, grandchildren, or husband.
2. I am afraid of spiders, bees, hornets, rattlesnakes, and any other poisonous, unpredictable
ugly creature. Hey, I don't invade their home, what are they doing in mine????
3. I am afraid of drowning. I was twelve before I was able to swim. I can't swim well without
noseplugs and have been known to wear them while crossing the ocean in a plane--just in
case.
4. OK, one more fear. I am afraid of not being a good wife, mother, mother-in-law,
grandmother, friend, teacher, sister, sister-in-law, daughter-in-law, daughter--of somehow
letting the above mentioned people down. I want every one to get along and love each other
and that somehow I am the one who should make this happen. (even though I really know
it is not up to me.)

Three Short Term Goals
1. Finish (actually start) the I Spy Quilts I have had cut out for about 6 years and the fringed
quilt that I started cutting out during the last conference session in April.
2. Try to get to the temple once a month. Because of my sleep apnea, I CANNOT stay awake
for an entire session, so it is hard for me to go.
3. Catch up on my scrapbooking (it will never happen because we are always out of town taking
new pictures. (I just got a cool one of a hummingbird in a cactus.)
4. OK, I just can't fit them into three things. I want to have on-on-one days with my grandkids
maybe on a quarterly basis.

Three Long Term Goals
1. Do Family History Work for my lines--including two fathers.
2. Organize years of Recipes. I don't love to cook, so this is probably not a practical goal.
3. Clean out my school teaching files and find someone to give my school teachng things to
who will love them as much as I do.
4. Dejunk my house--I am a collector and a reluctant give awayer.

Three Obsessions (This is an EASY one.)
1. Scrapbooking and owning every scrapbook item there is to have.
2. Rubber Stamps --Making sure there aren't any out there that I like that I don't already have.
3. Books--mostly children's books (I have a room with 10 floor to ceiling bookcases full of
them.)
4. We have a" four" thing going here. Children's toys. I have to check to make sure there
aren't new ones out there that we need to have.

Three Random or Surprising Facts About Me
1. I love to throw rocks through windows or glass. I like to see footage of buildings being
blown up and demolished. I like throwing rocks through ice.
2. I used to be very shy. I cried for 2 months when I had to switch schools in 9th grade. It
was a social nightmare for me. I had no confidence even though I was a great student.
3. I really only like to wear cotton. I have to be able to pull up the sleeves on long sleeves to
let my arms be able to breathe. Polyester makes my skin crawl.

Three Annoying Things About My Life
1. I am allergic to almost every scented thing. (perfume, candles, anything AVONish, hair
products, laundry soaps, hand soaps, lotion etc.) (Also, lots of plants and animals)
2. I used to be able to eat anything and everything and not gain an ounce. And now I do gain.
3. I don't really love the outside. (bugs, allergies, dangers, etc.)

Three Things I Would Be Doing if I Could Do Anything I Wanted
1. Scrapbooking
2. Shopping for Scrapbooking/Rubber Stamping Items
3. Riding on the big wave runner at Lake Powell with glassy, warm water and no other
boats on the lake yet--and I could clearly see our campsite so Iwouldn't get lost,
and all the rattlenakes were asleep in their holes and there were no bugs that day.
4. Having someone give me a million (or more) dollars and being able to regive it to my
children and other people who needed it.

Well, here I am in sunny Phoenix and I am spending the entire day catching up on my emails and reading everyone's blog. I got the best Mother's Day present EVER from all of my children, their spouses and Mike. They surprised me with a boxed swingset/playhouse and then spent the next 8 hours putting it together. It was so much fun watching them work together. I was mostly inside the house watching the grandchildren, thus keeping them out of the way. We took several excursions to check on the progress. They VERY best part was the JOY in the faces of the grandkids when it was done and they got to play on it. (Note: so far we've logged in two injuries....) And the coolest part (as Sarah pointed out) is that there is nothing to pickup when they are through playing with it. It will be so nice to have something for them to go play on when they come for their Sunday dinners. Note: pictures to follow when I get home to my real computer. (I am using Mike's laptop and having a heck of a time typing on it. I keep running all of my words together.

Now I have to figure out a way to zero landscape the area so that it will be easy to take care of.

These are my new additions to my blog--some of my very favoritist people. Note: If there is more than one picture of a person, that does not mean that we love them more than those with less photos. It just means that they were here more often when the camera came out.

Also, note, the following pictures are kind of mixed up as to when they were taken, but here they are, so that's what counts.

Mike and Carson being buddies.
Kevin and Jen came to watch conference with us and here they are.
Niyah is posing with her new Easter Duck.
This is Jasmine with her Easter Rabbit.
Brandon and Melissa getting cozy for the photo op.

Ok, so Mindy taught me how to post photos. I am still working on how to get them into the right order, but, nevertheless, here they are. I just wanted to have some fun photos of my favorite people. So, here they are.

This is celebrating Sarah and Allie's birthdays.
Khursten is very photogenic and knows how to "strike a pose."
This is Allie blowing bubbles.
This is a typical family portrait in which we can't see Allie's face. Audrey and Khursten are still checking out the bubble blowing equipment.
This is a little older photo, but very cute!!!

Fun with the Dress-ups!!!

This is Jasmine in her secret identity mask.
This is Carson, the Magnificent.

This is Nyah indicating that she is pretty well done with dress-ups, thank you very much.

And this would have been the last picture if I knew how to move it there, but I don't. But

Mindy has been teaching me a little each time she comes for a visit.

This is Brandon fitting into his karate clothes from his childhood days.
This is Mindy fitting into her younger days' leotard.
This is Melissa being very 'peaceful....."
This is Brandon also fitting into Mindy's younger days' leotard.
This is Nyah looking mighty spiffy in her lovely boa.

I just spent a wonderful week. On Tuesday I got to tend my three cute grand daughters from the Ryan and Sarah family (while Sarah was having surgery). Then on Wed. I went with my good friend Christena to stay at her fun getaway house in Saratoga Springs. We spent Thursday and Friday at BYU Women's Conference (along with about 300 gazillion other women). Then today (Saturday) I got to spend the entire day scrapbooking for National Scrapbook Day--taking classes and getting lots of cool stuff. The highlight of the day was finding a $50 bill in my wallet that I had hidden from myself--and hence, I had money to spend for more scrapbook stuff. Yeah!!!! Because I really need more stuff.....

Christena made me learn how to "Text" on my cellphone.
Mindy is teaching me how to "Blog".
Gosh, I may even try to learn how to program our new tv/recorder that we have had for several months since I am becoming so technically savvy.

Mike spent the weekend working in the yard and hauling peoples' yard garbage to the bins for our annual neighborhood cleanup day. He really needs to find a hobby he likes.....

seattle trip

Pros

Since Cindy has not figured out how to use this yet, I'm posting another one for her, just cause I can. This is where Mike and Cindy spend most of their time.

First Posting

This is the first Cindy May posting actually posted by Mindy. Yeah for grandma getting a blog! (Brandon is missing from this picture but not from our hearts.)