May Days

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.