Aunt Lorna

I hijacked another picture from my cousin,Tom's, blog. He's Uncle Beans' and Aunt Lorna's third son. He sent me an e-mail this afternoon to let me know that Aunt Lorna is dying of a broken heart. She wasn't feeling well on Monday night and so they took her to the hospital. They ran tests and found nothing physically wrong with her. But Tom said that she's not responsive and the family feels like she is dying and will only be a short time until she passes. So tomorrow, there will now be a memorial service for both of their parents, Uncle Beans and Aunt Lorna. And when Aunt Lorna does pass, they will then have a graveside service. I have only the best memories of Aunt Lorna. I remember when I was a very little girl, she went to the trouble of making me (and Deb) homemade panties. They were make of plisse cotton and were very soft and well made. They always had a bit of lace on them. I'm sure we didn't appreciate them like we should have, but I sure do now. I would never have the patience to make anyone's panties, but she did because she loved us. She always made the tastiest meals. One vivid memory I have is of her metal milk pitcher. They had it FOREVER. It is probably still sitting on the shelf in her home. They had cows and their milk was always fresh and she made sure it was nice and cold before serving it....from the old metal pitcher. Another memory I have is that the family would always kneel together before their meals for family prayer. They always had a big farm-style wooden table and chairs. She was such a gentle, kind person. She always had a kind word to say and I will never forget her little laugh and soft voice. I'm sure her children and grandchildren are struggling right now losing both parents so close together, but one thing Tom said that is so true is that they were a shining example of a true love story. They've been married for 65 years. They were perfect for each other. I'll miss them both.

Uncle Beans

That probably sounds like an odd name to most people, but not to those who knew him. His real name is Marcel Mortensen, but all my life, we called him Uncle Beans. The story was something to the effect that when he was a kid on a camping trip, he stepped in the kettle of beans that had been set on the ground, and his comment at the time was, "Just call me Beans!" Anyway....he's one of my mom's older brothers. He's married to Aunt Lorna and together they have seven children, six boys and one girl. They used to live in Tolleson when I was young and we used to get together and play games/have dinner/or whatever about once a week. We loved having them close by. They moved to Animas, NM, where Uncle Beans and a cousin owned a hog farm. And man, was that a STINKY place. He used to kid us and say, "That's just the smell of money!" They succesfully ran than business for many years until the government put too many fingers in the pot and caused them to close up shop. They also have a cabin in Alpine, which we were able to visit quite often years ago. We would usually go there for the long Thanksgiving weekend. We stayed in the cabin and cut our own Christmas trees for many years. What fond memories that brings to me. Uncle Beans passed away last night. We'll miss him and his funny sense of humor and goodness to all. There are now only two (of seven)of my mom's siblings still living. He will be buried in Virden, NM, their childhood home. By the way, I hijacked the picture from my cousin, Tom's, blog.

Wildlife World Zoo....Finally!

We finally made it to the zoo today. After two weeks of someone being sick, today was the day for Abby and Dallin's birthday activities. We started fairly early this morning and headed for the zoo. We saw lots of animals....ducks, geese, lots of primates, a lion, a few tigers (one white), giraffes, lots of small mammals and birds, a white alligator (and other alligators), a rhinocerous, and new aquarium exhibit. I guess I expected something different that what it was. I expected a huge tank with lots of various sea life. But what it was was lots of smaller tanks with isolated species in each tank. It was still a fun thing to see. Sorry for the bad photos....it's very dark inside the exhibit and the flash tends to bounce off the glass unless I step to the side and get out of the glass's way with the flash. And that wasn't always possible with all of the other people and the angle of the various animals in the tanks. But it is what it is.
Abby and Dallin (and Mark and I) had a great time, but we were all exhausted by the time we left. We picked up a penguin card for Abby's teacher at school who loves penguins and we got a baby elephant (toy) for Luke, who was home ill. On the way home we stopped for lunch and the kids ate like they were really hungry...which they probably were. We had some snacks to tide them over until our late lunch since the food was so darned expensive at the zoo.

Birthday Catch Up...Oops!

For some reason, I didn't post pictures from Abby's and Dallin's birthdays this past week. Oops!


Abby chose a make-up case filled with various kinds of girly make-up...blush, eye shadow, lip gloss, combs, a brush, various make-up brushed, nail polish with remover, a mirror, pony tail holders, lotion, etc. She had a great time picking out just the right things for her case. We went to the movies and saw Bolt. I can't find the picture I took of Abby and her case. Hmmm...Wonder where it went?/!!




Dallin chose a Batmobile. He had so much fun playing with it the night of his sleepover and most of the day the next day. He and Grandpa went to the "urban zoo" aka PetSmart on Saturday before Grandpa took him home. They dropped me off so I could attend Jodi's bridal shower.
Tomorrow is the big birthday activity day for both Abby and Dallin. I'll be sure and take pictures and post them soon.

Happy Birthday, Hattie!

Today is Hattie's birthday. She is two. Last night we took her shopping for her birthday present. Erin guided us in our purchases. She chose some summery dresses for church and for play. Last count, she'd had three different dresses on today! We had gotten her a kitty (Dottie) from Build a Bear, so we took her last night so she could choose an outfit for her kitty friend. At first, she wasn't so sure what to do, but it didn't take long and she was totally "into" choosing an outfit, brushing/fluffing the kitty's fur and shopping for various accessories! When she'd picked out the first item, she sat on the floor and started to take off her clothes, thinking she would try the outfit on! So funny. We also took her (and her family) to dinner. We picked up Subway for Eliza, Chipotle for Mark and Brian and we all ate at Paradise Bakery, where the rest of us got our food. It was a fun, crazy night!
Today I was expecting Abby to spend the day, but she woke up feeling good and was fever-free, so off to school she went. I went out to Brian's school and helped him with some grading he needed done. They were book reports made from cereal boxes and were way too bulky to transport home, so we did it there. I brought home the rest of the papers to grade over the weekend. Tonight that's what I've been doing, along with watching a couple of movies...Swing Vote (not very good) and The Duchess...not my kind of movie, so I didn't finish it.
Tomorrow is finally the zoo day. We thought we might not make it because Luke has a fever now, but his mom and dad will keep him at home with them while we take the other two. Should be a fun, fun day!

Abby 1, Abby 2 and T-Ball

In my last post, I mentioned that Abby had the viral fever. She still had it on Monday, so she spent the day with me resting and recovering. I thought we were out of the woods, but around 3 in the afternoon, she once again had a fever. That day we watched Space Buddies and several cartoon shows. I went into my workroom to work on a book project, and she wanted to be by me. So I set up a small table for her and gave her the makings for some beaded bracelets. She made one, and wanted to then be at my elbow "helping" me with my book. She did great. She's a wonderful rub-on applier. She helped me choose the photos and words to use on each page. We dropped her off at Kamille's workplace and we headed to Casa Grande to watch Emma's t-ball game. It's so much fun to watch games for kids at that age---no stress, but lots of funny things. They try so hard to do what their parents/teammates/coaches tell them to do. Too bad, it's probably three different things all at once. What's a kid to do??!! Emma's team is called the Muckdogs. Don't know where that came from, but she's a cute player!

Brian thought last night that Abby would be well enough for school today, but she woke up with a slight fever, so she spent today with me, too. Today we watched Space Buddies, 102 Dalmations and Inspector Gadget. I was prepared today! Erin came by later in the morning with Ellie and Hattie. Since Abby hasn't had a fever since early this morning, and since Erin's girls have both already had this virus, Abby was able to mix and mingle with the other girls. They had lunch together, which was fun. Ellie and Abby chose a mix of Chicken & Stars and Chicken Noodle soup. Hattie wanted mac and cheese. Erin toasted a bagel and I had the leftover soup. The favorite treat of the "sickies" has been Scribbler popsicles. They're small and cute and the kids love them. They're also helpful in keeping down a fever.

Abby is still fever-free, so it's a very good probability that she'll be sitting in her class with her fellow students tomorrow. We're crossing our fingers that Luke will be able to dodge the viral germs. After all, we have a trip to the zoo planned for Saturday, and if he's sick, we can't go....again! Say a prayer that he'll skip the sharing this time.

Curses, Foiled Again!

On Monday when we tried to go to the zoo for birthday celebrations, Dallin had a fever, so we postponed until today. But today, Abby woke up with a fever, so we've now postponed until next Saturday. The third time's the charm. We'll see. I pray that everyone gets over these little bouts with a viral fever and gets well.
Today was Jodi's bridal shower. She got lots of nice gifts. And it was so fun to visit with lots of friends and family. It's amazing how many common friends we have living in various parts of the valley. I felt a little bad for Jodi, though. She really dislikes being the center of attention and today she certainly was. Made her a bit uncomfortable. Just wait until the wedding/reception!! She liked it best when people would go in the other room and get something to eat and/or visit with each other so "nobody was looking" as she opened her gifts. Funny girl.
Since we didn't go to the zoo today, Mark and I ventured to Mesa to Mystic Paper and then to Deb's. I got a few sheets of paper at Mystic and an apron to alter. More on that later....when I get it finished! At Deb's, she LOADED me up with lots of new 7gypsies products. Yum!! I told Mark I wanted to hurry home and create something! I can't wait to have a few mintues (read hours/days) to just play with the new stuff. Makes me all tingly all over!!! I know, I'm weird. But I can hibernate in my workroom and spend hours on end just working away, completely oblivious to the outside world or the passage of time. I guess that's my escape!!