Yes, I'm Still Here!

I know....it's been almost a week since I've posted, but since I didn't have anything too "exciting" or "interesting" to say, I've delayed. But here I am. My week in a nutshell: Tuesday--Erin and I baked bread with the help of four great chef's assistants. Wednesday--I worked (and finished) my CityScape project. If I'd taken picture of it, I'd post them, but I haven't yet. Thursday--I made lemon bars (YUM!) and a veggie tray for Jenny Cooper's baby shower. I also got my hair cut and colored. Always a good day when that happens. Friday--Mark and I went junkin' and found next to nothing. We were able to get a few kid books for the treasure box. I'm sure they'll like seeing new books to read. Friday night I worked on a sample for a class I'm teaching the YW in the ward the end of June. Today (Saturday) Mark and I took a day trip up to Payson/Pine. We were scoping out a place to stay during the three days we'll be at girls' camp. I know, we're wimps. I guess that's the luxury of getting older! We did stop at our favorite scrapbooking store in Payson and found a couple of fun items I'd not seen here in town. Almost made it all worth the trip! We even managed to get into some beautiful rain. That did make it all work the trip! There's nothing like being in the mountains during a summer rain storm. We even were treated to several loud claps of thunder! On the way home we stopped for a minute at the outlet mall in Anthem. They have some new stores we'd not been to before. Now we're home getting things ready for the Sabbath...clothes ironed, dinner planned/prepared, etc.

Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day, so we planned a trip to the National Memorial Cemetery to visit Mom's grave. Erin's girls have been wanting to go put flowers at Grandma Doris's grave. So we picked them up and headed to Michaels for flowers. Each of the girls chose flowers that they thought Grandma Doris would like. Then we were off to the cemetery. There was a LONG line on Cave Creek and on Pinnacle Peak to get in to the cemetery, but once you got it, traffic wasn't a problem. We found the grave and the girls arranged the flowers in two vases. Eliza had written a sweet note to put with her bouquet of flowers. They noticed the dust and dirt in the headstone and expressed their concern. We had water and paper towels in the car, so the girls went to work cleaning. They did a great job and were happy with how the gold lettering shone when they were finished. However, they felt bad for the nearby headstones that were still dirty. After that, we went to Chick-fil-A for a picnic lunch. We're glad they were happy to have a picnic inside.
On the way back to Erin's, we stopped at the dollar store. Libby and Ellie had earned a "prize" for various things they did well, so they stopped to redeem their goods. It was a fun day.

Kindergarten Celebration, Project and Silliness

On Friday, Emma had her kindergarten celebration. It was cute. They sang lots of songs and gave lots of cheers that the've learned through the year. Emma is a good friend to everyone and is very well-liked.

Last week, Deb asked all of the 7gypsies artists to do a project....decorate their binderie punch. My first thought was, what? Are you kiddin' me? How on earth am I supposed to do that??? Well, I thought on it for a couple of days while I gathered my supplies. And here is what I came up with.

Before


After
The fabric is supposed to resemble on of the papers from 7gypsies' latest paper release. It was supposed to be a skirt/apron, but Deb thought it looked like a halter top. Whatever. I was glad to be done.



Mark and I went to Erin's house last night for an impromptu pizza dinner. The girls got silly and made some funny faces.

Stop the Clock!!

I have to say, the grandkids are growing up way too fast for me (but maybe not their parents!). Somebody, stop the clock! Today Libby had her kindergarten celebration and tomorrow Emma will have hers. Libby, our very shy girl, did a fantastic job today. She usually won't get up in front of anybody to do anything...no Primary talks, prayers, scriptures, sacrament meeting presentations...nothing. But today she stayed with her class on stage and performed a couple of songs and when her teacher was talking about/introducing her, she stood right up. Way to go, Libby!

As of tomorrow we will have the following:
2 two-year olds
1 three-year old
1 kindergartner
2 first graders
2 second graders
1 fourth grader
1 fourth grade teacher
1 Sunday School teacher
1 Primary teacher
1 RS president
1 Primary president
1 high councilor
1 RS teacher
1 stake clerk
1 member of EQ presidency
4 visiting teachers
4 home teachers
and four very busy families, as you can see!

We learned yesterday that the school district that two of our kids and their families live in will have a change in school times. All grades will begin and end at the same time in an effort to save money on buses, etc. That means that from kindergarten through eight grade will go to school for seven hours a day. That's a LONG day for primary grades. Poor teachers!

Happy Birthday, Kamille!

Can you believe it....two birthdays in a row?!! Today is Kamille's (Brian's wife) birthday. She's also 30+! And what a wonderful wife and mother she is. We're so grateful that Brian found her. She's so kind and patient with everyone...especially her kids. She's a very busy mom....works full-time, is relief society president, cooks, cleans, does laundry, sews, cans, (among many other things) and keeps her family happy. We're truly blessed to have her in our family. Happy birthday, Kamille!

Happy Birthday, Erin!

That was then....first grade!

This is now...or at least the most recent now I have. I need to take more pictures!

Today, May 20th, is Erin's 30+ birthday. (If you're reading this before midnight, it's tomorrow! I want her to be able to see this when she first gets up in the morning!) What a wonderful daughter! She was the youngest in our family, after having two wonderful boys. But Erin was the one who "kept us all in line". She would organize us in every way. For every Family Home Evening, she could have posters galore....one for each song, one for the lesson, one for the game, one for an activity and others as needed. She would also be sure we did our chores or did things she wanted us to do....taste her creative, made-up recipes, perform into a tape recorder to be played later at her whim, watch her creative talents in various forms....plays for the family, piano, baton twirling, singing, drawing, pretending, etc. She has always been a good organizer, and that has stayed with her even until now. She's teaching her girls to be planners, too. I can see it in many different ways...notes left here and there, keeping journals, reminders, and in their school work. Erin was never afraid of being in front of a crowd. She could easily speak in church/primary, teach a YW lesson or twirl a baton in an arena full of people. It didn't matter....she did what she needed to do and did it well. She was good at pestering her brothers, but in a kind, guilt-ridden way! She kept us all on the right track. Today she spends her days playing with her girls, baking bread, organizing and planning her food storage, trying out new recipes, finding ways to be creative, making things for others, serving others, writing her blog, taking pictures, preparing lessons, doing laundry, doing laundry, doing laundry (that wasn't an error....she thinks that's all she does these days!), driving her girls here and there, sewing, being a good friend, playing games, and the list goes on and on. Happy Birthday, Erin. I hope you have a wonderful day!!

Update--Fever, Soccer, Birthdays and Chihuly

It's been almost a week since I've updated (it was kindly brought to my attention by an unnamed person), so I guess I'll take a few minutes and update for anyone who might be reading.

Last week, I had Abby here for three days because she kept having a fever....no other symptoms, but just a fever. And with the "swine flu" scare, the school is a bit touchy with kids and fevers. So she spent some time with me. We had fun together! We watched movies, cartoons (too many of those), read books, made jewelry and worked on my paper projects. She especially likes to do rub-ons!! She even made her own little book about their upcoming trip to Idaho.



Saturday was the end of the soccer season. Abby didn't get to play (due to her fever), but Eliza and Dallin both had good games. Eliza's team won, and so did Dallin's. Dallin even scored a goal! Yea, Dallin!!










Later that day, Mark and I took Eliza all around the valley taking pictures. I'm working on a cityscape book project and I needed pictures of valley "icons". Eliza was more than willing to help. But it was so darned hot!! I'm not at all happy that summer is here already and has hit with a vengeance.
On Sunday, we had our regular Sunday dinner, but we celebrated Erin's and Kamille's birthdays. Erin's birthday is tomorrow and Kamille's is Thursday. We had warm ham rolls, oven baked fries, a veggie tray and for dessert, double chocolate pie and cheesecake. Everyone seemed to enjoy the menu.
















I have been wanting to go to the Desert Botanical Gardens for the Chihuly exhibit for a couple of months now. But of course, we waited until the last week and the hottest day of the year so far! Yikes! It was 108 degrees when we went it at 5:30 pm and believe it or not, it was 109 degrees when we came out at 8:30 pm!! It was a fabulous exhibit, though. We've admired his work ever since one of his glass sculptures was installed in the Glendale Public Library near us. So it was a real treat to see more of his wonderful creations. I would have loved to have watch them install (and take down) this exhibit. The pieces are all throughout the garden and in and amongst the many species of cacti. And when the sun went down, the art was beautifully lit for your viewing pleasure. I've never been at the Desert Botanical Garden when it was so crowded. A lot of people had the same idea we did. I only wish we would have gone a month sooner...when it was cool and you needed a jacket!