Look who's one!!!

We went to Rexburg for Owen's 1st b'day. He liked the ribbons and the presents.
Then next day Jessica showed me around Rexburg while Clint was at school. She wasn't kidding when she said that Rexburg is a small town in the middle of nowhere. But there are some cute parts of town, and the school resembles BYU Provo- on a MUCH smaller scale.
(I know... not a very flattering picture of Grammy, but then, who's looking at her?)




















Friday night Owen modeled his cowboy boots. He loves his boots as much as he loves walking!
The boots were his daddy's when he was the same age. Way cute!!!





Saturday was party day. Jessica had made some cute decorations, including this hat. Owen actually liked wearing it! I'm sure she will have some fun blackmailing him in the future.

Papa got some much needed Owey" time.
And a fun time was had by all at Bear World. Doesn't Owen make a cute little cub?!

Happy b'day, little O!!!!!

Aloha!!!!!!

Randy and I went to Poipu, Kauai, Hawaii last week. We left San Diego Thursday morning, arrived in Kauai that afternoon. It was gorgeous! Sunny, green, and not too hot. Just the way I like it!

We took a catamaran tour around the Napili coast Saturday morning. Perfect conditions! Incredible scenery! Glassy water. Sun.
As we left the harbor for the tour we met a pod of dolphins. We saw several more pods along the way, including this one that had several young calves. This is a mom with twins! Wow!!! Way cool!!! I was in heaven!!! (I know my kids are making fun of me as they read this! Get over it!)
And we saw several turtles! Two of my favorite things... dolphins and turtles!!!
We made a point to have some good food, and couldn't leave without a pukadog for lunch and some Lampert's ice cream for dessert while in Poipu. Thanks for the tip, Nikki and Brian.
Tuesday morning Randy finally hobbled (another story) to the beach for a swim before we left for the airport to come home.

to good health and Great friends!

I was so lucky to spend 5 days with amazing friends at an awesome place! I learned so much about nutrition, my body, my spirit and the connection they all have. Thank you, dear Collette for the once in a lifetime experience!

Hot August nights (and days)

We were lucky enough to have lots of family time this August! Beginning with "Sluv" and fam.
Cici, and Julia had fun in the spa. We all spent LOTS of time at the beach! Cousin Greg joined us for some surf lessons. The water was Heaven! Even Jill and I enjoyed it. Wes and Zak were cute with Andrew as they golfed after hours at the beach. The Wii Fit got broken in! FUN! FUN! FUN! We hope A's family comes every year. In fact, we hope all of our family comes to visit us!!!
Jonathan enjoys the spa. (He took swimming lesson all summer and is now a true swimmer.)
Julia loves wearing her goggles to swim.

Aug. 23 Jessica and Owen came home. We had TONS of fun at the beach, enjoying being in this paradise! Clint arrived on the 29th in time to celebrate his b'day. The Provosts joined us for Labor day weekend. Our little baseball fanatic went with Daddy, Papa, and Julia to a Padres game, loving it!!! (Isn't he cute!?)
The last few days have been spent doing what Grammy loves... the beach. Owey loves it, too. I love having beach grand babies!
Today is the end of our summer visitors. We have loved having you all, and look forward to next summer.

August 1 is a very special day....

How did I get so lucky to have 2 special people in my life born on the same day?! Not only is today Randy's b'day, but my sister/aunt Janet's b'day,too.

Why is Janet so special to me? Well let me tell you, we have been close for 37 years. That is when I invited myself to go stay at their house. Here I was, a 16 year old who just decided to ride with my Sunday school teacher to Logan. He was going to visit his family, and I thought "me, too!" (I can't believe my parents let me go with a single man 1000 miles in a car. He did have his 2 small children with him, though.) Anyway, I got to Janet's just as she learned that her mother was dying of cancer. I arrived in time to help babysit kids while Janet did what she needed to. I think I was there about a month. I hope I didn't cause too much trouble!

Janet was always the fun aunt. She always had a fun project or place to visit, usually a practical experience like hiking or quilting, getting squeaky cheese, canning or just "going in to town."

She taught me more about cooking than my own mom. She's an awesome cook!

Janet has been at every important event in my life. She was at my wedding, my kids' weddings, asking her "24 questions", making sure no one was making a mistake. She has been so good to my kids, always welcoming.

Janet is one of the most wise people I know. Through struggles of raising a family, marriage, working, being a friend, health issues, she has actually learned the lessons she's needed, and when appropriate, passed on her wisdom to others with grace and class. Her life has been a lesson in perseverance and endurance.

Janet is the most loved person I know. Probably because she loves more than anyone I know. She knows EVERYBODY! I was always so amazed that she knows everyone's phone #'s in all of Cache Valley. She has more "children" than she can count. Including me. She has taken on role of mother to so many strays, always welcoming, giving generously, finding something to love even in the most unlovable. Her children have been so generous to share her with the rest of us! Thank you, Jim, Raelyn, Rob, Marci, Shane, and Munch.

And thank you, Aunt Janet, for being my big sister, my friend, my mentor, and for just being you!!! I love you.

What does Barbra Streisand have to do with today?

When I was 13 I got hooked on Barbra Streisand and the movie "Funny Girl." It's the ONLY movie that I've seen multiple times, and used to be able to quote. I knew every word to every song, which for me, says a lot! That is when I fell in love for the first time....with Omar Sharif. To this day, thinking about him makes my heart skip a beat. But I digress.

One of my favorite songs from that movie is called "My Man." I would cry every time I heard the words. "Oh, my man, I love him so...." Well, eventually, I got my very own man who is just as gorgeous as Omar Sharif. They have a few similarities. They are both dark, soft spoken, and charismatic. But my man is so much more.

I fell in love with my man the first time I saw him across the ballroom floor. VERY CUTE! Getting to know him was my challenge. After all, in social dance class you dance with new partners all the time. Our class probably had 50 people in it. But I was up to the challenge and used every trick I knew to be in the right place at the right time so we would have to talk. And the rest is history!

In getting to know my man, I discovered someone who has many great qualities. He has worked hard his whole life. No material blessing was handed to him. Everything he has, he earned. And he happens to love his work- a real plus! Because of this, he has given our family so many things. In turn, we can give to those in need and who are less fortunate.

My man is smart. He knows more trivia than anyone else I know. Having no college degree hasn't stopped him. He is self taught, and amazing.

I discovered a person who loves people and is always kind. Everyone loves him. I think he only has one enemy in this world, and that person is just plain jealous!

I found a happy person. He's very rarely on a bad mood... maybe 5 times in the 33 years I've known him. I always say that his teeth glow while he's sleeping because he's smiling. Really!

I fell in love with a man who was trying to find out who Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are, and what they really want him to be. He has a strong testimony and shares it by being one of the most Christ-like people I know, and who honors his priesthood and blesses our family.

I fell more in love as we became parents. He was a calming influence in our home from day one. He could make the kids laugh, or put them to sleep. My man is a great dad!

And last but not least, my man loves me and shows it every day. Even when I'm not so kind, my man treats me with respect and dignity, and tries to make me feel beautiful.

So on this day that we celebrate his birthday, "..... wherever my man is, I am his, forever more."

Memories

In reading my girls' blog yesterday, and receiving an email from my longtime friend, Sidney, I realize that I LOVE reading blogs, but am NOT good at keeping mine up! All 3 blogs reminded me of so many good memories with 3 very special "girls" in my life.

(I have known Sidney for.... 35 years? Wow, how time flies! And as Sidney's blog reminds us, so do hairstyles! You always hear when you are young that the older you get, the faster time flies. It's so true. I just need to keep up by blogging. I will try to repent and blog more often.)

So Miq and Jess's blog challenged us to recount favorite memories of them. Toooooo many to record in one paragraph. To any who might read this, go to their blogs and see what others remember. It's pretty fun.

Anyway, I want to tell you about my fun time with my favorite granddaughter last week. I look forward to several days of one-on-one time with my Jules every so often. We have been having these "times" since she was a toddler. Never having this luxury with a grandmother myself, nor my girls with their grandmas, I treasure these times. I try to think of fun things to do, sometimes with a friend, but most often just the 2 of us.

The time started with Mique bring all three kidlets down to spend the night on a Friday. Julia was my date for a wedding reception for one of my favorite seminary students. We both had a good time, me mostly introducing her to friends and showing her off. Julia is famous for her funny statements, and that night was no exception. When asked by a friend what she had planned to do while at Grammy's, she said "We're going to Grammy's cousin's farm." Several months ago I had told her that someday I'd love to take her to visit Cousin Raelyn, and show her around their farm. Obviously, Julia is looking forward to that visit.... SOMEDAY! (Maybe I'd better ask Raelyn if she'd like visitors before we just show up.)

The next day, after Mique took the boys home, Julia spent the whole afternoon in the spa, perfecting her newly learned swimming skills. Yep, 3 hours in the spa! She finally got out to get ready to go with Uncle T and Papa and me to an exhibition water polo match with the Olympic team, and a friend of Papa's . Funny to watch her swim, then go watch these crazy good swimmers! She was exhausted by the time we finally drove home after a long day.

Julia enjoyed coming with me to my Primary class the next day, and felt very grown up attending class with 7 and 8 year olds. They were very sweet to her.

Monday we went to the Wave Waterpark in Vista. Last year we went there, and she wanted to go again to show off her new skills in the water. She played in the big pool, floated in the "Crazy Lake" (that's what he called the Lazy River), played in the water play structure. Lots of fun; a full day in the sun!

Tuesday was breakfast with my former neighbors, hosted by Susan Yermanos. Nicole Yermanos was very sweet to play with Jules, and Julia didn't want to leave. But she knew we were going to the beach, so that made it OK. We joined some mothers and kids from the ward, and again Julia didn't want to leave, after 4 hours in the sun. (Even I was getting tired of so much sun!) Thanks, Rocky B. for entertaining us all!

Wednesday we picked Morgan Cummings up at 9:30 and headed to Stagecoach park. The girls had met last summer at a beach night, and Julia couldn't wait to play with her again. We came back home, had lunch, went in the spa for a few minutes, played with as many toys as they could, then it was time to take Morgan home. Then we picked Kloe Porterfield up to go to the movie- "Kit Kitridge, An American Girl." Kloe was sweet to join us, even though she is several years older than Jules. Both girls have AG dolls, so they loved the movie.

Thursday was time to go home. We went to Long's to fill a prescription for Papa, and picked up some treats to take on the train. We headed to Oceanside, after saying goodby to Uncle T. The train ride was fun; Julia was a very good girl!

Am I a lucky Grammie or what?! I hope I can make many more memories with all my girls. And I love my boys, too! Owen will be here in a few weeks for a 2 week visit. I'm sure we'll have more fun. And 'Drew and JJ are such special boys. No grammy is more proud than this one.

Now, if I could just learn to post pictures, then you would see my beautiful kidlets. I'm hoping to learn that soon. In the mean time, please look at their blogs!