No, no...my blog is not a lemon. At least, I don't think it is. It's not particularly pretty, but it's a great outlet for me. I love posting pictures for my mom to see!
So, here's some May happenings. The lemons come later. But aren't they pretty? They are so big, too!
One of our big events was Seth's graduation from SUU. He graduated on May 6/7 with a BS in Criminal Justice. We are all very proud of his accomplishments. It's been a long time coming! But, he worked hard and got it done. Way to go, Seth!
Next came a trip to California. Below are some of Lexi's family. Lexi turned 8 the end of April and was baptized May 7 in Temecula, along with Cousin Suz's daughter, Avery. Below is Lexi's Aunt Colleen (really, she's Tandy's aunt), and Tandy's mom, Pam.
These are kind of out of order. Below is MY Aunt Tuny and Uncle Gary. They are presenting me with my family's antique chairs. I'm really excited to add these to my home. Thanks, Aunt Tuny! These belonged to my great-grandparents, or my mom's maternal grandparents. Very nice.
And because Avery was being baptized, that's why Aunt Tuny and Uncle Gary were there. Below is Suz. The link to her blog is on my page, and you can see some other pictures of our celebratory day. Smile, Suz!
Here is Damian's family:
The baptism went well. I gave a talk on baptism, Aunt Colleen gave a talk on the Holy Ghost, Avery's grandma led the music. Tandy played. Damian baptized Lexi. Kirk baptized Avery. Mike and Nick were the witnesses. There was also one other little boy from Avery's ward, but it was a family affair, mostly. :-)
After the baptism, we all went to Tandy's house. She had about 35 people there and we all enjoyed a very nice luncheon. Everyone chipped in. It was yummy. I didn't take any pictures of THAT food, but it was so pretty! She (Tandy) is well on her way to being all equipped for any sort of party you want to have. She's got lovely tiered dishes, a punch dispenser, plus all the other nice serving things she already had. It's always such a treat to eat there.
Okay, so after the baptisms, and after most of the guests left, the rest of us headed to the pool! Except Nick. He stayed to study at the quiet and empty house. (Later he said it was worth it, as he did exceptionally well on his test upon returning to school.) Tandy actually captured me in MID AIR below, as I jumped into the pool, cannon-ball style. Unusual for me, to say the least. I'm told it was a big splash ;-)
The grandkids love to climb all over their grandpa. We did have fun. I wish I would have taken a picture of Mike's mom. She came down there with us, but didn't get it. But it was not particularly HOT. More like cool. 70's and breezy. So Berenice just sat in a chair, covered in a blanket. Lucky for us, the pool is heated comfortably and we just never got out!
We played games while we were there. And Tandy fixed a beautiful Sunday morning breakfast for all the moms and grandmas. Nick helped her, too.
Then, Sunday night--another great feast for our Mother's Day treat! And these beauties were the highlight. Gorgeous chocolate-dipped strawberries. Yummy, yummy, YUM!
And then we headed home. I forgot to take a picture of our stop on the way, which was to have breakfast with my dear friend, Ruth Hair. She's serving a mission in Southern California. So, after we dropped Nick off at the airport, we headed to Ruth's apartment and she fed us breakfast. Nick had an 8 am flight, so we left Damian's house almost as early as he left! (he leaves about 4 am or earlier for his work. ugh) I think we got up by 4:00 and out by 4:30, at the airport in Long Beach by 6:30 or so. We had to miss the rush hour traffic... and did. Any way, it was great to visit with Ruth for a bit. It was a long drive home. But well worth the drive. We're so glad we got to be there for Lexi's baptism and to see her and Avery make such an important decision in their lives.
Next, after I worked for one whole day on the 11th, I drove to Layton, UT for the annual Utah Library Association conference. We stayed in a new hotel, "Home2 Suites" by Hilton. It was fun.
Funny toilet, huh? It's kind of a European style in the rooms. Stark-ish. But modern. We liked it. And we liked the conference. I had lunch with my Layton friend, fondly known to my family as "Waffle Lady." Karen, who have have known since High School. And she knows Ruth, too! So I had breakfast with Ruth on Monday and lunch with Karen on Wednesday. A Texarkana Ward reunion of sorts, but all spread out. ha.
Three days at a conference, 5 lbs heavier. Now it's back to work. Kind of. I'm still trying to whittle away at my annual leave so I don't lose it come June 30.
I think I'm ready to stay home for a while. And I will. Until June 9. Then we go trekking, Mike and I. But first, I think we'll plant our backyard garden.
so many things to do! and so little time.
Oh, about the lemons. Suz and Kirk have a nice big PRODUCTIVE lemon tree in their back yard. They told Mike he could have some. He and Nick went over and picked FOUR large grocery bags of them!!! Mike absolutely loves fresh lemonade. He traded one bag with a friend for some tomato plants for our garden, but he's going through the rest of them fairly quickly. I have just 1 and one half bag left on my kitchen floor. Lemonade for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and snacks between. I've had one sip. yEeek. Not my favorite.
Mike and Seth were AMAZED by what they saw in my front yard....
CAROLINE mowing the lawn! They'd been saying for some time that she was old enough to learn, so they taught her! She didn't come with the appropriate foot wear this trip, but she will for future mowings. She did the front and the back, had minimal coaching and Mike only did the first go-round to give her a good starting point.
Way to go, girl! Our lawns have never looked nicer!
Look who turned 2 this past week! He's anticipating the cake and candles.
Singing "Happy Birthday to you!"
And he blows them all out! One breath, and we did it again, just for fun.
He was just really tickled about the whole thing. Both times. "Again!" he said, again and again.
Then he opened some presents...
So, of course, the kids joined him. ZZZZzzzzz. They only posed long enough for a picture, though.
Giving backrubs.
Happy Birthday, Jonathan!! We love you bunches!
I added a few more photos. The one above and the two below, making a total of three, could be put side-by-side for a panoramic shot of the area. I suppose my camera or some other programs can DO that, but I can't. Above is "Left."
Middle. Use your imagination.
Right.
I wasn't really skipping SCHOOL today, but life in general. I was supposed to be doing other stuff. Like pulling weeds or cleaning my kitchen or vacuuming or SOMETHING. Couldn't plant the garden because all the rain and snow made it too muddy to walk in. Since I had to work for the half day the Library was open today, I was feeling more than a little justified in taking the ONLY beautiful day we've had for over a week and doing something fairly spontaneous and fun. So I grabbed Gail and the grandkids and we headed to Gunlock Reservoir. The overflow was really spectacular. The pictures don't do it justice. I took more, but they are on a different camera that is not with me at the moment. So stay tuned. I'll be adding a few more later.
This is the overflow area just west of the dam. Jonathan was generally quite happy on this little hike we took. Lots of red sand and rocks. Overcast skies, but very warm.
Caroline at the top near the overflow. This is just before the water goes tumbling over the rocks down to the Santa Clara River.
I'm the water bottle holder, apparently. That's just a part of the many cascades of water.
The cactus were in bloom.
We had to hike down, and it was kind of steep for a little 2 year old to manage. So Gail carried him DOWN the hill, but on the way UP, he walked. With some assistance. Caroline was the first one to the car. We even had to ford a tiny stream over logs on our walk over to the waterfalls!
I just LOVE this farm fabric! That's what is on the back.
The point of doing these table runners was to get me to keep my table cleaned off and pretty. It doesn't work.
8 a.m.
Noon
No, no...my blog is not a lemon. At least, I don't think it is. It's not particularly pretty, but it's a great outlet for me. I love posting pictures for my mom to see!
One of our big events was Seth's graduation from SUU. He graduated on May 6/7 with a BS in Criminal Justice. We are all very proud of his accomplishments. It's been a long time coming! But, he worked hard and got it done. Way to go, Seth!
These are kind of out of order. Below is MY Aunt Tuny and Uncle Gary. They are presenting me with my family's antique chairs. I'm really excited to add these to my home. Thanks, Aunt Tuny! These belonged to my great-grandparents, or my mom's maternal grandparents. Very nice.
And because Avery was being baptized, that's why Aunt Tuny and Uncle Gary were there. Below is Suz. The link to her blog is on my page, and you can see some other pictures of our celebratory day. Smile, Suz!
Here is Damian's family:
The baptism went well. I gave a talk on baptism, Aunt Colleen gave a talk on the Holy Ghost, Avery's grandma led the music. Tandy played. Damian baptized Lexi. Kirk baptized Avery. Mike and Nick were the witnesses. There was also one other little boy from Avery's ward, but it was a family affair, mostly. :-)
The grandkids love to climb all over their grandpa. We did have fun. I wish I would have taken a picture of Mike's mom. She came down there with us, but didn't get it. But it was not particularly HOT. More like cool. 70's and breezy. So Berenice just sat in a chair, covered in a blanket. Lucky for us, the pool is heated comfortably and we just never got out!
We played games while we were there. And Tandy fixed a beautiful Sunday morning breakfast for all the moms and grandmas. Nick helped her, too.
Then, Sunday night--another great feast for our Mother's Day treat! And these beauties were the highlight. Gorgeous chocolate-dipped strawberries. Yummy, yummy, YUM!
And then we headed home. I forgot to take a picture of our stop on the way, which was to have breakfast with my dear friend, Ruth Hair. She's serving a mission in Southern California. So, after we dropped Nick off at the airport, we headed to Ruth's apartment and she fed us breakfast. Nick had an 8 am flight, so we left Damian's house almost as early as he left! (he leaves about 4 am or earlier for his work. ugh) I think we got up by 4:00 and out by 4:30, at the airport in Long Beach by 6:30 or so. We had to miss the rush hour traffic... and did. Any way, it was great to visit with Ruth for a bit. It was a long drive home. But well worth the drive. We're so glad we got to be there for Lexi's baptism and to see her and Avery make such an important decision in their lives.
Funny toilet, huh? It's kind of a European style in the rooms. Stark-ish. But modern. We liked it. And we liked the conference. I had lunch with my Layton friend, fondly known to my family as "Waffle Lady." Karen, who have have known since High School. And she knows Ruth, too! So I had breakfast with Ruth on Monday and lunch with Karen on Wednesday. A Texarkana Ward reunion of sorts, but all spread out. ha.