From California

Looking at the ocean from the Peir, I was trying to get a picture of the dolpins.

If you look close you can see the shadow of the seal.

There were a lot of surfers out today.
Oh yes. Forrest and I are in California, and today I was at the BEACH. Oh how I have missed this. We walked in the sand, and down the peir. While on the peir we saw a seal and 2 dolphins. They came just for me! Then we rented a double bike/surrey and peddled up and down the boardwalk, through the parking lots and around the streets. It was great, though tonight Forrest has sore knees and a sore bottom! It was a glorious day! Please excuse the blue photo, but my camara was set on "cool tones"1 Yikes.

Forrest Directed his first Play Production. Christmas Belles

Baby Tag

OK, I have been baby tagged by Tawny, so she is the baby I will use. Remember, this was quite awhile ago, and my memeory is not good, but here goes.
1- Where were you when you first found out you were pregnant? I have no idea.
2- Who was with you? ???
3- How did you find out that you were pregnant? Probably the Dr told me.
4- What was your first reaction to finding out you were pregnant? I know I was excited.
5- Who was the first person you told? Forrest
6-Did you plan to get pregnant? Did nothing to stop it.
7- Did you tell everyone else right away? ?
8-Was everybody happy for you? ?
9- Did you go out and celebrate? ?
10- Did you want to find out the sex? They did not do that in those days.
11- What was the sex? We had to wait until she was born to find out, it was a girl.
12-Did anyone throw you a baby shower? no
13- If yes, who?
14- Did you get any outfits at the baby shower that you just knew you weren't going to put on your baby?
15- How much weight did you gain? 50 LBS. Yes, you read that right!
16- Did you lose all of the weight that you gained? OH yea, within about one month.
17- Did you get a lot of stretch marks? .nope
18- What did you crave the most? I can't remember.
19- Did you crave anything crazy?
20- Who or what got on your nerves the most?
21- Were you married at the time? Yes
22- Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? I kept going into labor early.
23- Where were you when you went into labor?
24- Did your water break?
25- Who drove you to the hospital? Forrest
26- Did you go early or late? 2 weeks early.
27- Who was in the room with you when you gave birth? Forrest. Papa was out in the waiting room. I don't know where Gina was.
28- How long were you in labor for?
29- Did you have any drugs for the pain? Oh no.
30-Did you go Natural or have a c-section? Natural

31- What was your first reaction after giving birth? Another little girl! :) She has dark hair.
32- How big was the baby(s I believe she was 8 lbs.

33- Did your Husband cry? are you kidding.
34 What did you name the baby(s)? Tawny Renae
35- Does her name have any significant meaning? Not really. We had a friend whose daughter was named Tanya, but they called her Tawny and we just liked the name.
36- Did you have any visitors? Papa
37 Did the baby(s) have any complications? NOt really. At 6months she did have pnemonia though.
38 How old is your baby today? 26 years old??????
39- When is the next one(s) coming? In the mellenium!
40-If you could, would you do it all over again? We did, several more times.
41- Tag: Mom (you can choose just one of us),

Sorry, I guess I could go look up my old journals for more info, but it is 2:44 AM and Forrest is asleep.
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Hair update

I am back from St. George (wonderful, by the way!), but Forrest has requested I not post a picture of his lovely bald head. So being the wonderful wife that I am, I am honoring his request. Sorry all those of you who wanted pictures!
Tonight we put the girls to bed and set up the christmas tree. It is to dark to crawl in the cubby hole to find decorations, so that will have to wait. It is a good thing this is a pre-lit tree.

Hair

On Wednesday, Forrest decided to have Bekka straighten his hair. Let me give you all some advice. If ever you decide on such action, listen to the one that knows when she says "Dad, it is time to rinse your hair out". There is a reason for such words, which, by the way, he did not heed. 10 minutes later he consented to rinse out his hair. All was well, untill the next afternoon at play rehearsal. Bekka got severl messages from him, Urgent-come to the high school. When she got there, he reached up, ran his fingers through his hair, and came away with a handful of hair. Yup, if you don't rinse out in time, all your hair falls out. So yes, now dad is bald (as a billiard ball) and cold! :) The moral of this story is- Listen to those who know what they are talking about. Pictures to follow when I return from St. George.

Tawny

Today is my little girls birthday. That should make her smile, she hasn't been called a little girl for quite some time. I am so grateful for Tawny. She is a great joy to me. She understands more about me than I think I do. Thank you Tawny for being my daughter!
Have a wonderful day today. I wish I was there with you
I love you
MOM

Happy Birthday Tawny

Dinner

Last night we had the missionaries over for dinner. All went well until Jade put a combination of soap and face lotion in her hair about 15 minutes before they were to arrive. I should have taken that as a sign that the evening was doomed. In the middle of dinner, Michael was handing me the pitcher of water when it slipped and hit Lyssa's plate, which then shattered into hundreds of pieces. Oh my. And what did I do? I laughed, folded the table cloth up around all the shards, and on went dinner. What else could I do? What a mess we had to clean up! I dare say the Elders will not soon forget dinner at our house!

I have been taggen

I showed my ignorance by having to ask Tawny what that meant! Here goes

8 TV shows I love to watch-

1. Mash
2. News
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

8 Favorite restaurants-
1. Los Amigos
2. Taco Bell (does fast food count)
3. Sensuious Sandwich
4. Subway
5
5.
6.
7.
8.

8 things that happened yesterday-
1. I worked all day.
2. I came home to the kids dirty laundry spread all over the kitchen.
3. Lyssa made dinner for me
4. I went to bed at 9:30
5.
6.
7.
8.

8 things I'm looking forward to-
1. The WEDDING
2. Having almost all of my children here this weekend.
3. (Sorry, I guess this is not a good day to ask what I am looking forward to)
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

8 things on my wish list-
1. One hour just to myself!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2. To have ALL of my children here.
3. Not to have to organize my house.
4. Someone else to do the cleaning. (OK, I realize that one will never happen)
5. Someone else to finish canning my pickles and tomatoes!
6.
7.
8.

8 persons I hereby tag-

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I guess i am not very good at this.

The end of an Era

Those of you who have lived here or visited here knows what an Icon Simons Hardware has been in our community. This saturday at 6 PM they will close their doors for good. The store has been sold, who knows what will be there in the future, but it will never be the same. Since we moved here we have enjoyed going into the store, being greeted by Stan, or Jared, or even Don. I understand that things change, time moves on, but this is one change I don't welcome. When ever I pass by the store I will think of times gone by.

A Long Day

It is 9:25 at night, and I feel like it is midnight. Today was the day that either I bottled the pears, or I would be throwing them out tomorrow! So much to Sage"s shagrin, I bottled. 24 quarts of pears and 7 quarts of pickles later I am done in. All that after spending an hour plunging the kitchen sink! I really think the worst part of the day was washing out the canning jars that I hauled up from the basement full of all sorts of creepy crawly skeletons. I just kept telling myself -be grateful they are dead!I must remember next year to store them upside down!--So with the peaches and tomatoes we did last week, we are done except for the tomatoes still on the vine, which at this moment are covered up because of the projected drop in temps tonight. Hopefully I can wait until Friday to pick more tomatoes! Then next week we will dig up the potatoes. The squash needs to wait until after a heavy frost, then we can bring them in--my my, don't I sound like a farmer!!!

ODE to a Memory

I have mixed feelings today as the house across the street comes down. I spent many hours sitting on that porch visiting with Gladys. Those are treasured memories to me. My younger children spent many hours playing there while the older ones were in school. After Gladys left, Jo moved in with her family. Again I have treasured memories of a wonderful friendship. Our children became friends and we spent many hours visiting. I loved the time I spent over there and the friendships that I had. If I was the drinking kind, I would raise a glass to you, Gladys, and to you Jo, and to the memories I have.

ODE to a Memory

BABY

Baby Jayden was born early this morning. I am headed up there in a while and will post a picture when I get back. We are sooooo excited! Look at Our Family blog to see pictures!

FREEDOM SALUTE

Sunday morning there was a special program honoring Michaels unit. It was wonderful to see all of these hero's receiving recognition for their service! The governer was there, and if I knew better how to work my camara I would have a wonderful picture of Michael shaking his hand. LOL. It was a great to see our soldiers honored by the State that sent them.

Michaels Unit Welcome Home Celebration

4th of July. All of our grandchildren-for one more month anyway!!!!

New to Me Van

I am so excited. We were car shopping with Michael last week, when I spotted a van that just had my name written on it. Since Feb. when Sage was born, if we all wanted to go somewhere we had to take 2 cars. Getting the girls in and out of Grandpas 2-door car was not fun, especially when we went to church and I was in a dress. So when this van called out my name I could not resist! It is a 97, but that is ok with me. It has passenger sliding doors on both sides! Getting the kids in and out is a breeze! I am naming it the "Grandmamobile"! I love to drive it, to bad gas prices are so high! Picture will be coming soon. Needless to say, with my van, Forrests car, Lyssa's car and now Michael's car, to say nothing of the Crown Victoria in the driveway-our house looks like a car lot!

Michael is home.

Those are wonderful words for a Mother to be able to say. This past year has been a journey, one that I am grateful is over. I have learned a new level of respect for Military families and the sacrifices they make in our behalf. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the Patriot Guard? As thier hats proclaim-they stand for those who stand for us. They support the troops-even when the plane is coming in at midnight. They were there to line the walk from the plane to the families with flags. What a tribute to these men! Many of them are Vietnam Veterans. The reception they recieved on their return was so different! They are true patriots, and this mother is very grateful to them!

145th Field Artillery #1

Michael is home!

Hurray for the great state of Texas. Michael is either there or on his way! HOOAH! Calls started coming into families last night when planes landed on American Soil for refueling. I am keeping the phone by my side!

So, there is another change. The official 'WELCOME HOME' for Michael's unit will not be until August 9th, so I am thinking we will all try to get together before then. Let me know what everyone thinks!
We still don't have word on when he will be home!

You Are Pocahantas!

Free-spirited and wise. You have a strong passionate spirit that touches and changes all who know you. The wisdom and common sense that you have is really what guides you through life. Even so, you also have a very playful side that loves adventure and excitement.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

This morning I am in a bit of shock. I found out that my Aunt has Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma throughout her lymph system, and it has spread to her bone marrow. I owe so much to her. I grew up living a few blocks away from her, so she was always there. She is the one who started me on the path of Family History, for which I am so grateful. I will always be indebted to her for the wealth of information she gave me that helped me in my research. Since Dad passed away 2 years ago, she has called periodically to see how we are doing, and to check up on our family history progress. I thought the title of this picture was fitting-Aunts quilted memories. My memories are like quilt pieces sewn together representing a lifetime!

Playing the Wii

homecoming.

Ok. The latest on Michaels homecoming is that no matter when they come home the celebration will be the first weekend in July. So basically it will be the 4th of July. I would really like to have the whole family here, but I know some of you have plans already. I will let you know when we have more information.

Chicken Pox

OK. Michael's unit was scheduled to start pulling out of Iraq this weekend, but now they may be delayed because of an outbreak of Chicken Pox! No one is allowed in until the officials feel they have it under control! Therefore, no one can leave until their replacements are able to go in. So we are on hold on this end!

MAY

It is finally May. After a long week of cold and Snow agian, I am looking forward to a warmer weekend.

Tawny and Nick have bought their first home-we are soooo excited for them.

Michael leaves Iraq this month, who knows when he will be home???

School is almost over, summer is almost here, and our hummingbirds are back.

For the first time Forrest will be teaching part day through the summer. He is quited excited about that, but it will cut down on his usual free time.

SNOW

OK, I know most of you know how I feel about Snow. Well, here it is April 24, I am sitting in front of the window watching it snow outside. (Yes Tawny, I know it is warm there!) Oh woe is me!

The house on the Corner.

New Grandbaby

OK, I have been asked who is expecting the new grandbaby. So here is the news, with the latest info. Irina and Clay are expecting #2, and today they found out that it is a BOY. We (and they) are soooo excited!

Toe's

The girls spent the afternoon at a friends house, and they all came home with painted toenails, even little Sage. When I saw her toe's, I remembered my mother. MIMI always had her toenails painted!

Comments!

It is so fun to get comments! Thanks! Be looking for some cool pictures (I hope). One of the houses across the street from us is scheduled to be demolished and the fire department is using it for training. Every night when they show up I grab the camara-but no fire yet. We will keep watching. Tonight we go to our first meeting on re-integrating a soldier returning from deployment. It should be very interesting.

Lyssa and the girls

I have been trying to upload video, since I can't seem to figure it out, I decided to skip it. So here is a picture of Lyssa and the girls taken at Easter time. They make our life busy!

The Army

As we look forward to Michael returning frm Iraq, I have to chuckle at how the Army works. If big coorporations were run the same way, they would be out of business in a matter of months!

In the past 30 days, we have been given 4 different dates for their return, and completely different timetables for once they are out of country! We smile, and go about our daily lives!

Our Family

This is our family just before Michael left for Iraq in June of 2007.

About Us

Forrest and I have been married for 30 Years! That is quite the accomplishment considering our begining. When we were engaged, our friends made bets on how long we would remain married. The longest bet was for 6 months. I think we did much better than that.
We have had ups and downs, but every couple does. It is how we face those ups and downs that defines a relationship!
We have 4 beautiful daughters, and one son. Michael claims that he is quite hen picked, but his sisters all love him. This has been made very evident to us this past year as he has been serving our country in Iraq!
We have 6 beautiful granddaughters and one very handsome grandson, with another grandchild due in August. They keep our life busy and exciting. With 3 grandchildren living with us, there is never a dull moment at our house.
This blog is under construction, so come back to check it out!!!