Fun Time!!

Erin and had a blast the past two days. We spent all day shopping on Friday. We picked up a couple of ladies from this side of town, (who we'd never met before!) and they rode along with us all day. The ladies were all very nice and fun to be with.
Yesterday was the big project. And when I say big, I MEAN it! Erin pushed me HARD all day and we were able to finish about 2/3 of the tags. They're very intricate and detailed, which makes them so darned beautiful and hard to resist. Now we just need to find time to finish up before Christmas. That will take some major planning, I'm sure. But we had such a wonderful time. Thanks, Erin, for deciding to come. It made the day even that much better!!! And thanks to BT for being with a trooper with the girls for two whole days!

Much Anticipated Weekend!

Today is the beginning of the much anticipated weekend. Here's what we'll be making tomorrow!!

But today is the shopping day....all the fun spots....Sage, Rust & Roses, Melrose Vintage, Postino for lunch, Found, Domestic Bliss, Mystic Paper...then Erin and I will be breaking away from the group and going to a holiday boutique in Chandler. Then home for some much needed rest. And tomorrow's the Junk Drawer Advent Calendar day!! Whooppeeee!!!

Whew!

The last of the nativity classes is over! Whew! Those are LONG days!! But all in all it was a good class. Two finished and two are well on their way. I still have some kits left....what to do with them?? I'm sure I'll figure something out.
Now to dream up another class or two. That's the challenge!!!

Tomorrow is Primary Sacrament Meeting Program number three. This time it's with the Trimble girls. I'm really looking forward to it!!

I'm really hoping that next week is a less stressful, relaxing week. Please.

I almost forgot....I got the nicest letter in the mail today! It was beautiful from the envelope all the way through the card inside. It was my 'special' invitation to the advent calendar class on my birthday! Shopping on Friday and class on Saturday. Did I mention that Erin is joining me?? Lucky me! I get to spend lots of time with her. It seems like we've both been so busy lately that we haven't done much together. This is our chance!!! I'm excited and totally looking forward to that weekend.

Last Chance

I'm teaching the 7gypsies nativity accordion at The Creative Quest on Saturday. There are still a few spots left. Give them a call if you're interested. I only have a limited number of kits and when they're gone, they're gone. Many of the items are totally discontinued. So now is your chance to make a beautiful nativity to display in your home for Christmas. And it totally folds up for easy storage!! It will be a fun day and you should finish during the class time.

Just Realized!

Dad's in the hospital again....fourth time in two months. UGH! Hopefully, this time, they'll figure it out. Anyway, I was visiting with him yesterday and I realized it's just over 7 months until Mark retires! Man, the time is flying by!! This has been a busy/stressful week. Last week a good friend passed away very unexpectedly. It was very sad. She has two boys who both have wonderful wives that I've been privileged to know and appreciate. One of the boys has two little girls and works in the same department as Mark. The other son and his wife are having a baby boy this month. I can hardly imagine the grief they are all feeling and the loss they've had. I was able to take my friend's mom to her Dr. appt. this week....something my friend had planned to do. Then last night we had a shower for the new to arrive baby. It was a good shower, but bittersweet. We will all miss Becky.

Jan and I are teaching a class at Scrap Happy tomorrow afternoon. It's a Little Golden Book class. I've had lots of people want to know how to make the books. I may have to do a class at church sometime. Let me know if you're interested and I'll see what I can pull together.

I've also been busy this week with Dad in the hospital. There have been lots of issues/questions/no answers about his condition. Today I feel like we are finally making strides toward some answers. At least we have a decent communication with the Drs. Finally. It's been an exhausting week because of that. Hopefully next week will be better.

Next Saturday I will be teaching the nativity accordion class at The Creative Quest. The last I checked there were still some spots left. I would love to fill that class since it will be the absolute last time I'm teaching that one. So give them a call if you're interested. There are a limited number of kits left and there won't be any more....!

We've been busy getting started on our Christmas shopping. With 10 grandkids, we need an early start! We already have two of the kids taken care of. Two down, eight to go! It's fun, though, finding things they'll LOVE. It makes us really look forward to Christmas to see their excited faces! And it will be here very soon.

Oh, hail!!!

Yesterday it rained. A lot! Then it HAILED! A LOT! And the hail was big---at least golf ball sized. Our neighbors all had broken windows, but we were saved by our shade screens, which are a bit shredded and dented. We haven't checked the roof yet. We may be calling the insurance company. When it hit, I was in the back bedroom, on the southeast side of the house. And that's the way the storm was coming. It pummeled the house and was so LOUD! It was scary. Mark and I had to yell to hear each other and we were in the same room!!! Luckily, it didn't last long. Oh, and our tree was thinned greatly. About half of the leaves were torn from the branches by the hail and are now dead on the ground. It was quite a storm!! One for the record books!

Flat Stanley and Fire Prevention Parade

Yesterday was the annual Glendale Fire Prevention Parade. Since it is Mark's last official parade, we thought it would be fun to have some of the grandkids participate with him. Abby, Dallin and Luke came along. During the actual parade, they got to ride in the front of the DARE truck and work the siren. They LOVED it!! When it was over, Luke asked, "Can we do that again?"
Before the parade began, we took Abby's Flat Stanley character around and took pictures of him in various situations. He got his picture taken with the mayor of Glendale, the police chief, Miss Arizona and her attendants, Big Red, the Phoenix Cardinals mascot, a clown, an ambulance driver, military people, and many others. It was fun! We saw Sheriff Joe, but didn't want to bother him. That would have been a fun picture, though!! I'm sure Abby's presentation will be great!
We missed the morning session of General Conference while we were at the parade, but we recorded it and have watched in between the other sessions. It was wonderful! I especially enjoyed Elder Holland's talk. Last night all of the kids and grandkids came over. The guys went to the priesthood session of conference, and some of the rest of us went to ladies' night at Deseret Book. Erin won a prize! Lucky her! We didn't stay very long, but it was a fun time. We came home and played games and visited until dinner time. Matt and I picked up the pizzas and wings and we fed the kids. When the guys got home, the adults enjoyed dinner. It was a FUN evening and very memorable. I hope we can do it again next conference.
On Friday, Erin and I had made cinnamon rolls. Before they were baked we froze the dough. Last night each family took home frozen cinnamon rolls so they could bake them this morning and enjoy warm rolls during conference. I love my family.