My First Camping Trip--in Over 30 Years!

Yes, that is really me, the non-camper. For Deryck's 11th birthday, he asked Papa and me to go camping with him. I decided it was time I learned to join in the fun! It was a great weekend, and I got to sleep in the pop-up camper, which wasn't too bad!

Now, maybe Sherm and I need a camper of our own? I'll have to think on that!

Old Tombstone

So, what do fairly sane people do on a Saturday night to have fun?? We gathered with our friends, the Frantz', the Diehl's, and the Helms, to act out a Wild West mystery. Elaine & Herschel were our hosts for an evening of fun. Sheriff Ned Mayhem and I; Poker Alice, we gathered at the local saloon to discover who murdered Sheriff Pat M'Down.

I am happy to report the sheriff and I were innocent. A local ner'do-well(Jack Diehl) did the dirty deed.
It was a fun time for us all. It's kind of fun to play dress-up once in awhile!!

All Grown Up

Brittani Nicole is getting ready to graduate from high school. How did that happen? It seems like it was just yesterday that we went to Disneyland and she was too shy to talk to Minnie Mouse! Now she is a grown up young lady, ready to start out on her own adventures. Papa and I are very proud of her.

I can't believe that my first grandchild is turning 18. Where has the time gone? tic..tic...tic

Naoko's Visit

Tyler's girlfriend was here to visit from Japan. Andy and Sarah and the kids came down for dinner and Sherm, Daniel and I went along for the fun. Danny and Alisha also joined in the fun. Naoko is such a sweet young lady, I always love to get the chance to visit. Besides, I got to have some time rocking and cuddling with the grandbabies! And playing too!

We had to shop in Sandy's pantry, did you know it is a Hagen store? Theo makes sure we have all the food we need,

Papa shows Penny the inside of the skylights. She really loves being up high, but only for a little while!

I think we wore them both out!

It is such a blessing to have an extended family. Ours now stretches all the way across the Pacific ocean!

Still Puzzle-ing

Our friend gave us a great gift--a puzzle board!

It is self-contained and has two drawers on the side that pull out, so all the pieces stay together. When we need to use the dining room table, we just push in the sides and take the entire puzzle into the other room and place it safely out of the way. Hopefully this will help to end the mystery of the missing puzzle piece!!

The picture on the right shows the new board, and I am happy to say that all the pieces of the first new puzzle were there! As you can tell from the balloon picture, there was one missing in it! Where do they go? When you are working with 1000 pieces or more, it is very hard to keep them all corralled.

The Latest Garage (living room) Band

Straight from Bellingham--the newest sound around!
Tell the Partridge family and the Cowsills that they have been replaced by the Best Buds.
They aren't really sure of their music style, but they sure do enjoy playing together!

Rory on drums, Jonah on keyboard, and Theo on the guitar. Lots of rhythms, lots of enthusiasm, and I'm sure the tune is there somewhere!!

Mr. BoJangles?

T is waiting for the music to start.

Sherm and I spent some time over the holidays cleaning. We were trapped by the snow, so we went through some past treasures that we need to pass on to their rightful owners. One of the things found was Sarah's first tap shoes. They are still very shiny and they make the best tapping sound around! Naturally I knew that Theo would need to try them out!! Sarah was 4 when she took her first tap lesson, so they are a bit loose on T, but that didn't stop him! Penny played with the statues of famous composers I took up. I just knew Sarah wouldn't want me to toss those valuable things out! Aren't grandparents thoughtful?

Ballerina Duds

Aunt Nene sent Miss Penny a very nice Ballerina outfit for her birthday. The headband didn't last long, but she sure did look cute!

It brings back memories of another cute little ballerina who's all grown up now. Time sure flies, doesn't it?!

January 18th 2009

One Year Old!!

This is Miss Penny's First Birthday!! She seems to be asking, "cake? do I really like cake?"

"This is pretty good stuff! Mom, why haven't we had this before?"
"I'm not finished!! I want some more!!"

She did seem to enjoy herself. There were lots of friends and lots of fun!

Make-up Madness

During the holidays I spent a morning with Megan Lee and her friends. We had a make-up party and tried some new looks. It was lots of fun and the girls were great! Thought you might like to see their before and after shots!

Megan