a boy's paradise

Grandpa Buzz and Grandma Miki's house is a boy's paradise. I have never seen such happier or dirtier boys. They are loving it here. I just told Zachary that it was time to go home and he started to cry. "No, I stay Grandma's house," he says. I can't blame him. It's beautiful here. The weather is mid to high 70's. We're planting gardens, mowing the lawn with the riding mower, swinging in the tire swing, riding the 4 wheeler, making forts, etc.,etc.,etc... Alex told me last night that he wanted to move here. He said that he wasn't cut out to be a city boy. He needed to move to the country. I'm ready to agree with him. I don't think I was cut out for the city either. Oh well, bloom where you're planted. We'll just continue to come to Grandma Miki's for fun vacation times.

Outdoor cooking

Johnathan is coming to the fire...ready to roast his hot dog.

Darrel and Zach roasting the hot dog in the flames.


Alex is loading up on the other food available.

Sick on vacation

I hate being sick. I think everyone does, but I just have to tell you that I really hate being sick. I especially hate being sick on vacation. We arrived at Darrel's parent's house Friday night at about midnight. We got up bright and early Saturday morning so we could enjoy every ounce and minute of our vacation. The weather here is so beautiful and I'm enjoying the mountain breezes so much. Darrel worked ALL DAY on Saturday installing an electronic drip system for Buzz and Miki's garden spots. I really hope that it works for them. Karla's husband, Floyd also worked all day on the project. I took some pictures and it was a good day...until....late afternoon I started to feel very nauseous. I couldn't participate in the fun bonfire, cookout as I was throwing up. I am so not thrilled to be sick on our little vacation. I ended up throwing up 4 times yesterday and last night and today have eaten only a popsicle. I really hope that I feel better soon because this is not fun. At least the weather is nice, cool, and breezy. I am loving the cool breeze that I'm currently sitting next to as I write. Well, think positive thoughts and maybe I'll be better by this afternoon.

Grandma Miki's house

Here is Johnathan filling his pockets with water.

Zachary is enjoying himself in the mud

Look in the background of this photo to see the fort they have built. It kind of looks like a teepee and they have placed pine needles all up the sides. It was actually pretty impressive.

The cousins are having a wonderful time with the four-wheeler.

I'll post more later...

Waiting for school to get out

Every day either Joy or I go to the kids elementary school to pick them up and this is our view. The second picture shows the pillar where they meet and then they run to the car and we brave awful traffic in an attempt to get them safely home. The bottom picture is the radio station we listen to while we are waiting (Dr. Laura). I just thought I'd show you a part of my day. Have a good one!

The Raingutter Regatta

Here are some pictures from our recent scout Raingutter Regatta. For those of you not familiar with this particular thing it involves getting a kit from the scout office for a raingutter regatta boat. Then it's kind of like a pinewood derby car. You fix it up, sand it down, paint it and add the sail. Then you journey off to your nearest pack meeting (that is hosting a raingutter regatta) where you put your boat into a raingutter and blow it to the end trying to beat your opponent. Alex's boat didn't do as well as Johnathan's boat, but he made mental notes for what he needs to do next time. We all had a great time. (Make special note of Johnathan's face, it was hilarious to watch him blow...very entertaining).

hello again

Hi!

I have sat down to update this blog numerous times in the last couple of days, however, I was having a hard time coming up with anything to say. Our lives are pretty ho-hum right now. Darrel has decided to brush up on his concrete laying skills and has built a sidewalk from the driveway to the gate on the east side of our house (at least I think it is the east side, I am always getting turned around). Anyway, it looks really nice. He is good at everything he tries and now he has a back-up occupation just in case :0) --it really does look nice and I am very proud of him.

I am currently typing on our new laptop - thanks to Danny and Amanda. Darrel bought a new screen for their old laptop and did some work on it and voila! I love it, it works like a charm and I'm grateful for a laptop.

Right now Alex and Johnathan are doing their homework and Zachary is watching Tom and Jerry. Well, Alex is doing his best to do homework...it is a little hard with the tv on when you can't seem to tear your eyes off of it to look at your paper. My boys are just mesmerized by the tv. Heaven help us!

I hope all is well out in your worlds. We are doing well and think of our friends and family often. I'll update again soon! See ya.

My Angel Mother

"All that I am or ever hope to be I owe to my angel mother." --Abraham Lincoln

I could not agree more with this statement. I truly have an angel for a mom. I love her so much. She is a queen among women and one of my very best friends in all the world. She has given her children so much and I owe her an extreme debt of gratitude. She was an amazing mother during our growing up years at home and continues to be an amazing mother and now grandmother (grammie). She is my angel mother and my first true and everlasting love. I love you mom!

May 9, 2007

I just had to show this little angel again to commemorate his blessing weekend. This picture was taken when he was just two days old. David's hand is to the left and Jackie's hand is to the right. You have to admire the cute way he can spread his little toes. Apparently his mother has this same gift. It was so much fun to go and see him (and his parents) this past weekend. It was a nice weekend in Utah and I am already missing some of that cold weather. The temp today was 95 degrees. It's just getting too hot too fast for me. Oh well, I'll just imagine the cool and try to dream my way through these hot days.

Tomorrow we are painting pots for Mother's Day. I'm sure the kids will do great. I just have to share this little story that broke my heart today. I went to "Mother's Tea" at the school today with Johnathan's class. All the children did a little play and sang a couple of songs. They had made all the moms corsages to wear from plastic leaves and recess candies. They were very cute. Anyway, the program got over and all the children were supposed to find their mothers and take them to get a treat in the back of the gym. Everyone had a mother except one little boy and one little girl. The little boy didn't seem very concerned although it probably bothered him a lot. The little girl however just broke down sobbing. I could hardly stop myself from crying and even now when I tell you this story I have tears in my eyes. I will never forget her little face looking around for her mama and not seeing her there. I felt so bad for her. She was such a cute little girl and she was wearing this very pretty pink, frilly dress. Her little dark face was anxiously scanning the crowd and when her mom didn't show she just lost it. Her little heart was just broken. I will never forget how sad she was. I really hope that her mom had a good reason for not being able to be there. I'm sure she probably did....but at what price.

Grandma Noble

This is my Grandma Noble. She is one of my favorite people in all the world. She is just as spry today as I ever remember her to be. She is a helping Grandma. Anyone who needs her, she is there. She has traveled far and wide to help her children and grandchildren by watching their children, helping them move, keeping them company and so many other things. She has over 30 Great-grandchildren now and she is leaving a wonderful legacy for us all. I took this picture about a month ago when I went to visit her. She "poses" for pictures and I can't stand her fake smile. She is such a beautiful woman, I was trying to capture her spirit and vitality in a picture without her knowing. She is a funny, fun-loving woman that makes you laugh and feel good about yourself every time you are around her. She has the most awesome ability to just exude love and support. I love her and wanted to share a piece of her with you.

A Photo Scare

This morning my computer and my picture card reader freaked out on me and I thought I lost all the pictures from the weekend (blessing and everything). It was so not cool. I was wigging out (to say the least). Thankfully we were able to recover the pictures and this is one of them. This picture shows Johnathan hitting a long drive down the middle of the field. He had a great game. His team was playing Kenneth's team and they both had a great game. They both got three really good hits and we were very proud of them.

I forgot to mention that my sister Elise had her baby this past weekend. She had a boy and she named him Jacob Darrell Adams. She had him completely naturally (no drugs) yea Elise!! I am so impressed. They are home now and doing well. I can't wait to see his cute little face.

Have a good day!

May 7, 2007

I was going to post pictures from this weekend but I can't get them off the card. Darrel thinks that it is a problem with my cord or my camera but not the computer. He says that he'll look at is when he comes home. I am just not very knowledgeable when it comes to this kind of stuff. I am fairly computer literate but not when it comes to cords and cards etc. Oh well, it's a good thing that I married someone who is knowledgeable in that respect.

This last weekend was fun. We went from really warm weather in Las Vegas to really cold weather in Utah and we just weren't prepared. It rained and even snowed in some places this weekend. We all still had a great time though. My boys had a chance to swim in Grammie and Grandaddy's hot tub and Alex and Johnathan went golfing with Ben and Darrel. Joy, Amanda, and I went shopping for Danny's birthday and then picked up a Mother's Day gift for my mom.

We also spent some time cleaning my mom's basement. It was a mess, but it's clean now. I was glad that we were able to help her. It would have been a very daunting task for one or even two people. Our family and Joy's family both helped and with mom and Ben we were able to bang it out in just under an hour and a half. The end result was very impressive and mom was extremely happy.

Today Johnathan's baseball team is playing Kenneth's baseball team. It should be a very fun game and one that we have looked forward to for the entire season. I will take lots of pictures, and hopefully with help from my dear husband I will be able to post them quickly.

Joy took time away from her busy day today (and on a day that it was my responsibility to watch her kids) to help me secure some tickets to the Scintas show on Thursday. I am going with a friend of ours and I am looking forward to the evening. The Scintas have been playing Vegas for some years now and the show is going dark after this weekend so it will be a good opportunity to see some Vegas legends before they are gone. I appreciated Joy's willingness to help me out...thanks Joy! I'll owe her some work time later this week.

Tomorrow we're talking about picnics and the beach in preschool. We're going to make a beach book and a beach visor. We are also going to have a picnic snack time. It should be fun. Preschool is almost over for me. I am having preschool graduation on the 31st of this month. This is bittersweet for me. It will be nice to have my mornings back and not have to clean every day, however, I will really miss the kids. I have grown to love them through the year and it will be hard for me not to see them every Tuesday and Thursday. We have a good time together and it's hard to give that up.

Well, now that I've rambled on and on I guess it's time for me to go plug back into my children's lives. Whoever is reading this, thanks for reading all the way through to the end. Have a wonderful day!

Almost 12 years...

That's how long Darrel and I have been married. On the fifth of May it will be twelve years for us. This picture was taken of Papa and Grannie a short while before they both passed away. I love this picture. When Darrel and I have been married as long as them (over 75 years) I want us still to be holding hands like Papa and Grannie. What a wonderful tribute of love and devotion they showed to their families throughout the years. I have been so blessed these last twelve years. Darrel is the most wonderful husband a girl could ever ask for. He is an angel man and I feel so lucky to have him as my sweetheart. Happy Anniversary to us!!