i'm dreaming of warm summer days

wishing for weather like this....

instead of freezing winds that do this to my roof.

I can not emphasis enough how much I hate to be cold and how I always look forward to summer. I love 100 degree weather.

And it's just a teeny bit annoying that our new roof, put on in Oct of last year, blew off yesterday. We lost about a third of the shingles on the north side of the house.

misty water color memories

The other day after FHE, E wanted to keep his list of nice things about him the family wrote so I told him to put it in his baby book to keep it safe. "My baby book??" He said, "I didn't know I had one." Of course he wanted to see it right away and so after being jammied up we pulled out the baby books and read them. Luckily only H and E were interested because the big girls have much more detailed ones and it would have taken all night. Point of the story is his book was kind of empty so this week I have been searching through the archives looking for great pictures of him and filling in the details, while I can still remmber :)
It's been fun to look back even over the last 7-8 years (The digital era in our house) and see photos.
Some are funny, some are sweet and some make me a little sad. Like this one. This is Easter 2003. We got together with some of our firneds at the Stirks home. It was a lot of fun, but when I looked at the picture I realized that everyone has moved away from TX except me. Sandy and her family moved to Utah the beginning of last summer. Dani lives in Utah, Krista lives in Indiana now but moved to Georgia in the middle (we saw Chris a year ago or so when he was here on business) and Sheila moved to Utah by way of a year long fellowship in Ohio.

So it's kind of sad when friends leave, luckily I'm old enough to know it's a small world and many people we'll bump into sometime again. Thank goodness for Christmas cards so we can keep in touch :)

In other news I had my annual dr visit this year to renew perscriptions (another sign that I am getting old) and he told me I should weigh 115! What?!? Maybe I'm not done growing tall yet? And I got a tetnus booster (ouch).
Yesterday we also went to the doctor. J got her shots (same booster) and E has an ear infection. He is still home from school. G got to go to preschool today, she feels better and had a much shorter go of the ickies. Mom is still sick though and for some reason I can't figure out my spell checker isn't working, which I hate. And Poor DH is now sick, but they are testing so he has to go to work.

poem

Prophetic Passing

I imagine he's running to Marjorie now,

Yes, running, not waving his cane.

I see him embracing his father and mother

While they keep repeating his name.

I see him now meeting his forebears,

Brother Brigham and Joseph are there.

Sweet reunion of prophets,

united by service

That only such noble men share.

I see him embraced by the Savior

While Father says, Good and well done.

So faithful in stalwart endurance,

I welcomeMy noble, most excellent son.

I then hear the ripples of laughter

As he says the reception's just fine,

But he hopes that he'll get an assignment or two

Since theres no need to waste any time.

I can hear his clear voice in the stillness

At the close of this sweet Sabbath day,

Have faith and move forward

- there's work to be done.

President Hinckley would want it that way.

Anna M. Molgard

January 27, 2008

I saw this beautiful poem on Lei's blog and wanted to remember it. It made me cry, not for saddness but from a sweet joy that filled my heart as I invisioned the scene.

my little graduate!

Yeah! Dani graduated today! She started beauty school last year a month after getting married and today she finished. I am very proud of her!!

germies

We are house of plague. Last week I was sick, on vacation. S and J were sick while I was gone.
Saturday when we got home E was sick and he is still not better, although we keep thinking he's getting better. He's still running a low fever. Yesterday we had an appointment in the afternoon and by lunch he was acting so much more perky, said nothing hurt, no fever...so we canceled. Last night:sick again. He says nothing hurts though just a fever and tired so I am torn as to what to do.
Lu and Grandma both got sick last night too. Fever and coughing.
H thinks she's sick but has no fever and ate breakfast so I sent her off to school anyway....hopefully that wasn't a bad choice.

I am sometimes torn what to do, I think a lot of stuff will run it's course and you'll be better in a couple days so I hate to run off to the doctor at the first sign of a cough or sniffle. On the other hand if you need an antibiotic then I want to go...knowing is the trick.

Our Prophet died tonight

President Hinckley died tonight. I am happy for him. I know he is with his beloved wife and greeting his parents and that he was right with the Lord. We should all be so lucky. I know he was a true prophet of the Lord. That he knew Him and that he spoke to the world on His behalf.

What a blessing to have a living prophet.

We will of course miss him and feel sad for his passing.

Personally I will miss him. He's been the prophet for much of my adult life. It's his council I looked forward to hearing twice a year and who I have followed as I have tried to raise my children and do my callings. I will miss his warmth and his humour and his great wisdom.

One of my favorite songs is his "Constant as the North Star"

1. When President Hinckley was a boy,he slept outside for fun.He noticed all the stars would move,except for one.
2. Discouraged while in the mission field,he read these words from home:“Forget yourself and go to work.”His heart was stirred to
3. So if you’re discouraged or confused,just think of that bright star.Remember what our prophet said And who you are.
Chorus: Be constant as the North Star that shines for you and me,Anchored in the gospel with pure integrity,Steadfast in your service to God and fellowman.President Hinckley has shown us that we can.

I think he was a very relateable prophet.

surprise to me!

Our trip to San Diego was so fun. On the flight home we pulled out some paper and made a list of other things we'd like to see and do. I am sure that over the next 40 years we will check some of them off. It will never be as easy as right now (at least until everyone goes to college)
while we have Papa and Grandma living with us. It was so nice to hop up and leave without a worry. Anyway, this trip started out being a cruise and scaled back and back until we did this. Which was, again, so fun. We decided in two years when Lucy is 5 we will go on a cruise. DH will be 40 in two years and that seemed like an appropriate milestone to shoot for.

Fast forward to the next day, I have been wanting to see Wicked. I have heard nothing but great reviews from the several people I know who have seen it. So I was on the couch doing something and DH was at the table doing something and I said "for my birthday I want to see Wicked". He said okay. One thing turned into another and we were on the computer looking it up. NY is sold out. Chicago was not. Flights to Chicago that month were surprisingly cheap and before I knew it we were making actual plans. We called Nana and Abba because his birthday is the week after mine to see if they want to meet us and they are going to join us, and actually they ended up getting the tickets as a present for me. So Yea! Now I get to see the long anticipated show, and I get another weekend away since Papa and Grandma will still be here and are willing to keep the kiddos. Yea! I am excited!!

tea cups

Putt Putt

All the kids were happy that we are home! I missed them a lot and was glad to be back.
Today brother was invited to a birthday party at Putt Putt. I took Lu too since she didn't want to be left behind.

They had cake and ice cream in the party room and played games. Then all the kids got tokens to play the arcade, golf, and ride rides. E rode the go carts, the bumper boats, the airplane and the teacups. Lu got to ride the tea cups and bumper boats with me, which she was thrilled about. Everyone golfed.


When we got home E was feeling sick and now has a fever. H is also sick. J was sick while we were gone. It passes through the ranks.

they were my "american family"

a better view of the duck suit.

When I think of my childhood, besides my own family and siblings, the people I remember the most are the Dustins. Adam and I were in primary and school classes, we rode the bus together, walked to school together, did lots of things together. When I was in 4th grade and Lana in 6th we became best friends and then I spent even more time with their family. We did everything together and tried to spend the night at each others houses every weekend. If I sat down and wrote randomly the things I remembered from growing up I bet they would be the stars of half of them. Adam was the first person I know who could solve a rubic' cube. Lana introduced me to the fine art of making chocolate chip cookies, wearing nike shoes and every other fun best friend thing. Their parents felt like mine sometimes and I got a scolding or two from them as well as a lot of love. I am very grateful to have known and counted them as friends, more than friends, people who will be important to me always.

blast from the past

me and my BFF Lana. We loved horses and dressed up like riders one Halloween.
4th Grade Cinco de Mayo. Adam and I were dance partners.
I think we were about 6 years old here, maybe 7. We were Basque kids for a primary program. This was before they invented color film :)
Lana's birthday. We LOVED the Outsiders and in the middle of the night dressed up like them...or at least we thought we did.
Kathryn on the far left has four daughters and is soon to be a grandma. She's a school teacher now. Next is me. Then Lana, she has 6 kids as well. Becky is next, they have three and last is Shellie, the mother of four and a scouter. Who would have thought??
This was a very fun camping trip I got to go on with the Dustins. They camped every year at Carpenteria. Lana and I liked to dress the same, we were "twins" so this was the year of the worm bathing suit. The other three were kids we met in the camp ground.
random Sunday, matching dresses.

my first date. Layne and Lana, me and Scott. We went out to Tehachapi to a school dance. I think.

One year we were ding and dong the super ducks for Halloween.

my favorite part

Although our whole trip was really fun I think my favorite part was the last night. We met up with my good good friends from forever for dinner. Adam and I have been friends since we were 5 and Becky and I have been friends since she moved into our ward in high school. I feel very lucky because when I was growing up I had some really good friends in my ward. We were close then and I have been able to keep in touch with many of them through the years. We hadn't seen each other in many years and had so much fun catching up. We went out to dinner first and then visited, we went out to dessert and visited, finally Adam said come over and we stayed until almost 2am laughing and catching up. He had all his family pictures through the years on his computer that he had just digitalized and we sat and looked at them and remembered "the good old days" and laughed at our parents hair and our clothes. Ama and DH were a little bored but DH played Wii and Ama took a nap and both were good sports.
Becky looks the same as she did 20 years ago, no fair :) The rest of us are a couple lbs heavier but still young at heart.
They made a disk of some of the photos for me to bring home! Thanks!!

Wild Animal Park

Our last day we had big plans. We slept in, something we were all looking forward to. Then we went to the wild animal park, because we hadn't yet seen enough animals :)

The weather was perfect, cool so we wanted jackets and it drizzled a little, but the animals were so lively and the park was Empty!


They had a very fun petting zoo. We all went in and got to play with the deer and feed the ducks. I loved this picture of "babes", DH and I had a really fun time visiting with Ana and Ama. Every time we are together I like him more and am happy he's our brother. He's funny and smart and really nice. He and DH played a lot of halo and bonded over their republican rhetoric.

This park is the nicest animal park I have ever been to. It was so exceptional. The animals are right there and the keepers have time to talk to you. We got to visit with the elephant guy for a good long time and I really learned a lot. They had lots of cute babies!

We took the behind the scenes safari which was worth every penny.

My favorite part was the lion cubs. These two were about 18 months old and they had a rabbit. They played and "fought" and tried to get that rabbit from each other for the better part of half an hour.



We ended our trip with a fun carousel ride. Our trip was very relaxing. Even though I was sick for one day and iffy another day it was still very nice. We got to sleep a lot. I got to read, it was fun to hang out with my sister and to see the animals and to be off by ourselves.

another for Papa

for dad

Dad loves when Anna and I play piano duets, even though only one of us is a good pianist :) Still we play together when we can and laugh at our mistakes and have fun.

This is for dad, everyone else spare your ears.

fluk prints

Today we got to go whale watching. Luckily I was feeling better, I hope to be better still tomorrow but today I was able to go out and have fun so I was very glad about that. We took the morning whale watching tour and it was cold out but sunny. We saw a lot of navy ships and planes and helicopters.

Then we finally got to see some whales. We ended up seeing 3 different pods. Once we spotted one the ship would follow it and we could see them snorkeling and blowing and diving.

The boat was medium size and I was worried that I would feel sick but luckily we could stand on top in the air and it wasn't bad. Just chilly.

After we went to the zoo. Which was beautiful. I guess we're kind of zoopies because we always like to check out the zoos where ever we go. This one was maybe the nicest one. You could get really close to the animals and all the habitats were really nice. They had cute little brother grizzly bears that were so cute. My favorite were the orangutans. They were so playful and came right up to the glass. We didn't see the baby panda's because they weren't on display but it was very fun.

We went to dinner at The Prado and now we're
"watching" Nacho Libre while Anna is making creme brulle and I am blogging.

vacation fun

DH and I are on vacation. We came to San Diego to visit my cute sister Anna and her husband, Amadeo. Our flight here was "interesting", I think it might have been the pilots first time. He made several abrupt and dramatic changes in course. Our landing was a bit harrowing but thankfully in the end he was able to find the runway and the brakes (again very abruptly and with much drama). We landed and it was raining.
Our first order was to find an In N Out. It was VERY crowded and we ate outside, in the drizzly wet and my ears were all plugged up so I wasn't able to fully enjoy my #3 with a chocolate shake.
When we got to Anna's we saw her house and her neighborhood. It's very nice. I forgot the smell of the air here, the beachy smell that is so nice.
I was tired and fighting a headache all day. When I went to bed I got full blown sick and spent the night in the bathroom and I've spent the day laying down. It's been miserable. We missed our whale watching excursion, however we were able to switch it, unfortunately when DH and Anna went down to make the switch they forgot that she has to work in the morning so now she'll miss it :(
so it's been great.
DH and Amadeo have been playing a lot of Halo. Last night we played Rock Band, which was fun but I stunk.
S has been throwing up all night. I hope the rest of the kids are spared.

Lucy's birthday!

Today Lu is three.
She had a fun day. We went to church where her friends wished her a happy birthday. After we came home and ate pancakes. Brother ate 8! He reminded me of Little Black Sambo, which I commented upon and then we told the story.
We went to the park. It was freezing but the kids played anyway.
Then we came home and took a rest, followed by the highlight of the day, Lucy got to make and decorate her own cupcakes. Pink. Yumm!


We opened presents and she loved her cute fisher price dolls with snap on clothes and their own cute closet! She also got bathing suits, two of them and a gift card and a birthday check.

At three years old Lu loves to be a mommy to her dolls. That is her favorite activity and she will play and undress and sing and rock and read to her babies forever. She loves to color, have stories read to her, go to preschool, watch Dora and Mickey Mouse club. She talks a lot and is a real sweetie!

3 years ago....

American Girl Bistro

Tomorrow is Lucy's 3rd Birthday. We started celebrating today. Last night after KBT I felt kind of bad and had a hard time falling asleep so I ended up reading until 2am. So this morning I had a hard time getting up and had to rush to get to a baby shower for a sister in our ward who is having her first. Lu and I went and it was fun. We only stayed an hour and then came home so we could go to Dallas and celebrate Lucy's birthday at the American Girl Store. She loves dolls and babies and I thought she'd enjoy picking a new outfit out for her doll.
I was right.

It took awhile to drive there and it was crowded when we arrived but still it was worth it. It's kind of like a doll museum. Everything is set up so cute and you can touch and look and play. Lu must have spent 20 minutes playing with this cute little kitchen until I pulled her away.

We had lunch at the bistro. It was yummy and fun. For dessert H had warm milk and cookies. They cater to little girls so much and it's really fun for them. Even the dolls get menus and high chairs:)

Lu got a banana split with candles in it and the whole staff came to sing Happy Birthday to her. She was a little apprehensive about it at the time but has been talking about it ever since and saying "lets sing happy birthday to me again", which we have been doing.

Here she is with Bitty in her new outfit. We also got a couple outfits for our AG dolls. Toys come and go around here and mostly I don't care. Things they love seem to be better taken care of but one thing I am sick about is we had a lot of really cute and nice AG clothes when the big girls were smaller that Nana got them and a lot of the pieces are missing now. It makes me sad because they were so nice and I know Lu would have loved them. Maybe we'll sew some more.

KBT

Friday was busy. We cleaned up in the morning, then spent the afternoon at Chick Fill-a and Target. After school I started cooking and at 6pm our friends came over for Killer Bunnies.

Papa and J left for the movies, they don't like to play and S went out with friends. After we ate and set the kids loose to run amok we set up our bunny mat and commenced the festivities.

This was a marathon long game. We played for 4 hours and 12 minutes with Teresa emerging victorious. We went through a package of oreos, two bags of chips, a pan of apple crisp with yummy ice cream, a 1 lb bag of m&ms and some brownies ....and a tub of tums.

We ganged up on the Smiths because they have won the last 3 months in a row...but then I felt bad after so I am lone bunny from now on. I guess I care more about friendly fun than competition.

The kids played Wii, ate, played guys, set up a train, ran around, ate some more, then collapsed in front of a movie.

It was a good Friday nights. And, fun news, the Cooks are expecting an "O" now!