The Chef

Jeremy bbq'd a great steak dinner for us. It was delicious and I will hire him any day. Thanks Jeremy! (cute smile too)

Mothers and Grandmothers

This was taken at the Mothers Day Dinner at Erin's. Jeremy bbq'd for us and Erin did an outstanding job as chef even though she's a Mom too. We all had plenty to eat and fun visiting.

Miss Carlie

This was taken at the Mother's Day Dinner at Erin's. Just had to get some "Carlie Time" in.

A Posie for my nosie

These beautiful flowers were from Andy for Mother's Day. They smell as good as they look too. Thanks so much.

To Sandy and Back

Over the past weekend we spent about 4 days with Mindy and Evan and Davis. They have just moved into a bigger apartment so we helped a little and played a little and had lots of fun. Mindy had her doctor appointment on Friday and Dad and I went along to keep track of Davis. She announced she is having a boy (with tears in her eyes). She had some good ultrasound pictures to show us too. Yea - another little boy. We are happy for you. Dad manufactured a shelf unit for their garage for food storage while I helped Mindy organize her kitchen. I must say though she is better at that than I am. But, with both of us working together we got it done and able to use the kitchen a little better. Davis kept us all busy and on our toes and then there is Isis who kept trying to escape outside. Mindy has some pictures of Dad and Davis hammering in the garage that I hope she will share. It was a super fun weekend and thanks for putting up with us.

After Saturday's Breakfast

We are just sitting outside the Grange where we had a very filling breakfast. The drive through the country was just beautiful and green. It had been raining off and on that morning so the air smelled so clean and fresh.

After Breakfast with Mindy and Evan

Evan and Mindy bought us breakfast at a little grange near Estacada on Saturday. It was a beautiful drive through the country to where the Grange was located. They put on a breakfast every 1st Saturday of the month. There was a very good turnout and we had to wait our turn for a meal of eggs, pancakes, sausage, hashbrowns, biscuits and gravy and juice. It was yummy. Afterwards we walked around outside where they have a small outdoor arena and a play area for children. Thanks Evan and Mindy for a very fun morning

The Big Machine

Dad and I were invited for dinner at Louis and Julia's. We had a nice visit and dinner and then Louis demonstrated his new toy. A quilting machine. He is making quilts for a humanitarian project through an organization in New Mexico where his sister lives. She also does the same thing. This organization sends you boxes of material scraps and you provide the stuffing and backing and sew the quilts. They are youth sized quilts that he does. He already has a huge cabinet full of quilts ready to be sent. He said he sends them every 6 months. Louis is almost retired and plans to make this his retirement hobby. When Julia retires (this year) she will step in and help him. It's quite a machine. They are doing well and as you can see, keeping busy. Their daughter, Shauna and her two girls ate dinner with us also. She lives close by and the girls spend a lot of time with Julia and Louis. The girls had fun putting the dinner on, and cleaning up afterwards and waitressing. It was a fun time and nice to see old friends. It's been 4 years.

The Quilting

This is Louis and his quilting machine. It is huge and is computerized and does an amazing quilting job. He demonstrated on a quilt he was doing while we visited. It makes his quilting go much faster than doing it by a regular machine.

CELEBRATE EARTH DAY - APRIL 22

Being aware of our earth and the beautiful creations made me want to find out more about Earth Day. There is so much we can do to protect our beautiful earth and all that the Lord has created. It is our duty to take care of it. You hear so much about being green but I am going to be "pink" because I like pink better than green. Here is my bag (it comes as a set of different colored bags that I saw Andy had last year. I loved them and ordered some for myself). I get so many compliments from the store checkers on my bags. Besides, a person can only use so many plastic bags - most of mine are used for grandbabies dirty diapers!!!ha ha IDEAS: Shop fresh - Not only is this healthier and more wallet-friendly than shelling out for processed items, it's also a good way to reduce the amount of packaging you end up throwing out or recycling. Eschew the dollar store - I know dollar stores are pretty popular right now, but I'd think twice before buying from them anything that I'm going to eat or use with food. My mom always said, "You get what you pay for", and I think she's right. I've checked the plastic bottles and dishes from the dollar stores, and they're frightening for two reasons: they're made in China and they don't indicate whether they're BPA-free. Same thing goes for metals--who knows what kind of alloys they use? Cook more for dinner - I always make extra servings of dinner so that we can have the leftovers for lunch the next day. Homemade lunch beats cafeteria or--ugh--fast food any day. Setting aside the extra servings for lunch means time and money saved, and most likely a healthier meal. HAPPY EARTH DAY!!

Scott and his machine

This is after playing Yahtzee and he was getting ready to push his machine to his room. Beka had stayed all day and then Cory came up to spend the night with Scott. He probably will go home Saturday. Tomorrow he gets to have something to eat - just liquids though.

Playing Yahtzee

Scott had a booster of morphine and was able to get out of bed and walk down to the play room. We all played a game of yahtzee and then he got tired and went back to his room to lay down. We had a good time playing the game but he was still a little bit quiet and tired.

Visiting Scott in Hospital

FHE Treats

For FHE we worked in the yard awhile and then came indoors for s'mores. After eating at Hu Hot I just had to have a S'mores Maker. Trouble is - we could only eat two each and we were stuffed. This little "maker" also has bowls for having fondue or an ice cream party with different toppings. What fun is that? Come on over!!

Pinewood Derby

Dad and I went to the Pinewood Derby at Cory's ward. Cory was in charge of all the weigh-ins and checking in each boy with their car. The round table in the background is loaded with derby cars. I should have taken a picture of that but missed it. Cory and Beka are conferring about racing stuff in this picture. She conducted the race and Cory was doing the draft work on the board while Jake ran the track. This track is one that Cory made himself and brings for the derby races each year. They are so involved in scouting with the boys. It was a fun evening with lots of laughs and cheering going on.

Derby Boys

Grant and Scott after racing their cars. It is such a big night for cub scouters and they love racing the cars they have made. Treats afterwards were donuts and cookies and punch. Not a real big deal but lots of sugar which little boys love.

Buddies

St. Patty's Day Kids

Mom's and Daughters