Grandma Tolman Turns 90!

On December 24th this year, Ty's maternal grandmother, Grandma Tolman, will turn 90 years old. Her children decided that this was a momentous occasion and deserved to be commemorated with a surprise birthday party. All 6 of her children came in to Lewisville for the event. Uncle Tom came with the excuse that he needed to use his sky miles and the others came quietly and stayed at local hotels. As many of the grandchildren that could, also came secretly. We all met at the church in Lewisville to await her arrival.
Tom and Annette claimed that Grandma's house was too small for all the local family to have dinner as a rouse to get her over to the church. Grandma was having none of it. She doesn't like to go out in the cold and ice and she was insisting that 26 people could fit in her home. Annette and Tom had to bully her to get her into her coat, all the while, Grandma was telling them how cruel they are to her. She even shed some tears about their cruelty. We were all waiting in the cultural hall as quietly as 40 some-odd people can. When she came around the corner into the room, we all shouted, "Surprise!" As Grandma took us all in, she was overcome with emotion and joy to see so many of her family together. She accepted hugs from many of us before she was led to the couch to sit down.






Everybody had brought different soups to share, so we had lots of yummy, warming food to enjoy. After dinner, each family stood to tell a memory about Grandma. From oldest to youngest, her children, then their children related their feelings about Grandma. The Spirit in her home, her testimony, and of course, rummy were mentioned, among many other thoughts and memories. there was much laughter and tears as well. The grand-kids who couldn't come even sent e-mails so as not to be left out of the celebration.
After the memories, the Great-grandchildren stood to sing a couple Primary songs to her. Then, the grandchildren sang a revised version of Jingle Bells, talking about how Grandma didn't want to come to the church, but now she was glad she did. Finally, her children sang "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks". Grandma was touched.
Finally, the cake was brought out. Everybody sang "Happy Birthday" and then she blew out the candles shaped like a 9 and a 0. We all clapped. But another surprise awaited. While the first cake was being cut for everybody to share, a second cake was brought out, this one with 90 candles all aflame! We all laughed and grandma was so tickled. We were just glad we didn't set the smoke detectors off!
It was a great birthday for Grandma and a great celebration for all her posterity. Happy Birthday Grandma Tolman. Here's to another 10!!!

Thanksgiving Weekend, cont.

Silly Blogger wouldn't let me type after the pictures of the lights on Temple Square, so I decided to continue in another post. Take that Blogger!
On Saturday, we got up and drove up the street to McDonald's for breakfast. Then we decided that we were gonna go to Boondocks and have a little fun. We knew that it was further up the same street we were on, so we decided to just keep driving until we found it. Ty's parents were going to meet up with us later, after they had done a little car shopping. So, we drove and drove and drove not finding Boondocks. We were keeping our eyes open for a craft store as well, but we couldn't find one of those either! Finally, after I-don't-know-how-long, we saw a sign for a Michael's and we pulled over. Of course, we couldn't find the Michael's, but we did find a JoAnn's, so that did the trick. I just needed an embroidery hoop, for Heaven's sake! With my new hoop safe in my hand, we continued driving down the street. Then, it just dead ended. There was a huge apartment complex right where the road should be and it was gated, so we couldn't even try to drive through it. By then, we'd had it. While Ty was putting gas in the van, I called Ty's parents to let them know we weren't going after all. They suggested that since we were so close, we should drop a quick visit to Ty's cousin, whom he hadn't seen in several years. We had a nice little visit and we were pleased and surprised to find out that Ty's aunt and uncle were also visiting from North Carolina. While we were there, we mentioned that we couldn't find Boondocks. Well, her husband is an executive for Pepsi and Pepsi just happens to be a sponsor of Boondocks, so he had some passes that he gave us and told us where we could find it. The kids were so happy.
We had a 2 o' clock reservation at P.F. Changs (Yeah!!!!) so we headed back into Salt Lake. Ty's parents had never eaten there before, so it was fun to introduce them to lettuce wraps. Everybody enjoyed their meal, even Zach, who hates everything. After dinner, we ran back to the hotel to grab the camera and then it was back to Draper to play at Boondocks. First, they wanted to ride the go carts. Zachary and Samantha were too short to drive, so they were "riders" with Ty and Tristan as the drivers. They had a ton of fun and it was "cool"!
Then it was time to play some laser tag. I am proud to say that I dominated! I had the highest score on our team. 2,348. Zachary, however had the lowest. -1,023. We would have won, if it weren't for that negative. But, that didn't matter, cuz we had so much fun. And I learned that my make up glows under black lights. Good to know.
Then , we watched a 4D movie. It was like being on a roller coaster, complete with the bumpy, jerky corners and the wind in our faces. That was really interesting. We laughed a lot at Zachary and Samantha as they screamed whenever our "car" jumped the "track".
After the go carts, laser tag, and 4D movie, we still had some credit on our passes, so we changed that in for coins and turned the kids loose in the arcade. There were lots of fun games. Tristan and Zachary really enjoyed air hockey. I'm not even sure who won! They just had a good time. Samantha and I found a dance game to play. I thought that I would be really good at it, since I danced when I was younger. Boy was I wrong! Samantha did great, and by the end, I was even scoring some decent points. The kids (including Ty) played a lot more games and then it was time to go back to the hotel. We were so thankful for those passes that the Vanslooten's gave us because without them, we couldn't have done half the stuff we did!
We stopped at a market and picked up some donuts and orange juice for the next morning, and then went back to the hotel for some more swimming. This time, Ty and I stayed out of the pool and instead played cards with Pam at one of the tables poolside.
On Sunday morning, we got up nice and early, so we could make it back to Temple Square to watch a broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word. Children have to be at least 8 to attend the show, so Pam stayed out with Zach while Richard, Ty, Tristan, Samantha, and I went into the Tabernacle to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the orchestra perform. They went though the entire program once as a dress rehearsal and then it was time for the broadcast. It was amazing! Ty and I were both in tears as those beautiful voices sang those carols and especially during "For Unto Us a Child is Born" from the "Messiah". As those powerful voices sang, "Wonderful! Counselor!" from the song, we couldn't stop the tears from flowing freely. It was so moving. Even remembering it now, I feel tears pricking my eyes. We were there for the 4,185th network broadcast. I would love to go again. After the broadcast, we went to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building to have Sacrament meeting. It was a very stirring day for us and we truly felt moved by the Spirit that day.
When Sacrament meeting was over, we hopped in our cars for the 3 hour drive home. It was made shorter by listening to an audio book. Mayzee was so happy to see us when we picked her up. She kept doing these short little howls all the way home and jumping from lap to lap in her excitement to see us. We had a very nice weekend, but it was nice to get home. I'd like to do it again some time.

Thanksgiving Weekend

This year, Thanksgiving was at our house. So after a day filled with baking and smoking (the turkey), a day with 18 people in my house eating and playing cards, we needed a break. So, the day after Thanksgiving, we left Mayzee with a "pet resort", and went down to Salt Lake City where we met up with Ty's parents. We stayed at the Little America in downtown SLC. We had rooms just across the hall from Pam and Richard. It was a lot of fun, being able to spend some time together just having fun!
After getting settled in our room, we headed down to Temple Square so we could be there when they lit up the Christmas lights for the first time this season. While we were waiting for the sun to set, we did a little sight seeing. The my family had never been on the roof of the Conference Center, so we did that first. It was amazing up there. They have planted a huge garden and there are fountains and reflecting pools. It's beautiful. I would love to see it in the Summer, when the gardens are in bloom!





After walking around on the roof of the Conference Center, we went over to Temple Square proper. It was quite cold, so we decided to wait in the Visitor's Center. They have some really cool displays there. One of my favorites is a model of Jerusalem in the year 33 AD. There are buttons with short explanations about the life of Christ. When you push the button, a spotlight focuses on the part of the city where that event took place. Zachary and Samantha were entranced. Of course, we HAD to go up the ramp to the upper level to see the beautiful Christus. I love that statue of our Christ with His arms open to us, showing us where He has "engraved us on the palms of His hands."
By then, it was getting to be dusk outside, so we headed out to wait for the lights to come on. There were so many people! While we were waiting, stamping our feet and moving side to side to keep warm, I noticed a little girl holding a P.F. Changs bag and got so excited. The family luckily had their number programed in their phone from when they had to call for directions, so they gave me that number so we could make plans to eat there later. Soon, it was full dark and they turned on the lights. Because the economy is still down, there weren't as many lights as there have been in the past, but it was still breathtaking. I love the way the temple looks at night when it's all lit up, so I included a picture of that as well. When we had seen all that we wanted to see, we found a Cheesecake Factory and had dinner, followed by a slice of yummy Red Velvet Cheesecake. Then it was back to the hotel for some swimming in the indoor/outdoor pool. Then, back to the hotel room for some much needed rest.

The Hardest Morning Ever

This morning was the hardest morning I have ever had to endure. Today is the first day of summer camp. District 93 has a camp up near Victor, ID called Pine Basin. This spring, Tristan begged to go. It's the last year he's eligible, so we decided he could go and today was the day.
We arrived at Rocky Mountain Middle School a little before 8am, so we had some time to mill around for a few minutes before they got started. Then the boys had to put their baggage on one side of the walkway and the girls put theirs on the other. Then the camp director had us go over to the little covered area for a quick parents' meeting. His name was Darrin. The told us a little about the cam and some of the things the kids will be doing up there. He also took some time to allay our fears. There is bear sign, but no bears have been spotted. 4 moose have been up to the cabin and looked through the windows, but they haven't been aggressive or threatening in any way. The water levels have gone down so the river isn't as bad, but the kids won't be anywhere near it anyway. The most dangerous things up there are the ground squirrels. A few kids have tried to catch them and were consequently bitten, but the bites were minor. All of the staff has been extensively checked out, including FBI background checks. So, there really is nothing to worry about. While we were talking, the staffers got the kids organized into a circle and started playing games. After the little meeting, it was time to say good-bye. I walked over to Tristan and he stood up. I really wanted to give him a great big hug, but I was content with his leaning into me and letting me do an awkward shoulder squeeze. "Bye, Mom." was all I got. Then a look that clearly said, "Time for you to go, Mom." I turned and started walking toward the van. About half way there, I started choking up. So, I had to hurry up. By the time I got to the van, a tear or two had escaped. I held it together until I got out of the parking lot, but then that was it. I sobbed. I considered pulling over, it was that bad. I calmed myself down just as my phone rang. It was Ty. The minute he heard my voice, he said, "I take it you've dropped him off?" "Y-e-e-s-s-s" I cried. He just laughed at me. Then tried to comfort me. I was fine by the time we hung up, but soon I was crying again. It was so hard to leave my baby with those people. He's gonna be gone for the whole week! I won't see him again until parents' night, but he's not gonna let me hug him or anything in front of his friends. He doesn't come home til Friday. He'll be home for the weekend but then he leaves for Scout camp on next Friday! How will I stand it? I can't believe how much I miss him. I hope I can stand it for the next 5 days!
When I got home from dropping him off, Zachary ran up to me and gave me a HUGE hug. "I missed you, Mommy!" He said. It was just what I needed. Then Samantha came in and gave me a big hug as well. It helped me so much to have my other two babies around me and loving on me. Maybe I will just need lots of cuddles from them to get me through this week. Wish me luck!
PS I would have had pictures from dropping Tristan off at the school, but I knew taking pictures would embarrass him, so I didn't even take the camera. *sigh* Actually, there is a picture on my camera, but I don't know how to get it off. Sorry about that.

Even More

Now the flooding has spread to the family room. UGH!!! I am not happy. In fact, I am VERY grumpy! I wonder if the previous owners knew about this problem...

We're All Wet

Today, I went back into the craft room to return a paint brush that was played with without permission. (grrr. It was one of my good ones too!) Anyway, I stepped next to a box and felt a very damp spot. I thought, "Crap! The dog peed on the floor." So I got down on the floor to smell it and make sure. (Ah, the joys of pet ownership.) However, I got a surprise when I smelled something else entirely. I couldn't place the smell, so I called Ty in to check it out. He couldn't identify the smell either. Then, he noticed that the box next to the wet spot was soaked half-way up. Uh-oh. Something broke and leaked all over. So we opened up the box and found a whole bunch of candles, but they were all solid and nothing was leaking. Ty got up and walked across the floor and discovered that it was ALL wet! Apparently, a pipe outside the house was leaking. A lot! We had to vacuum out the window well and down into a hole. We removed all of the boxes out of the room and had to open a few to check to see if anything was damaged. Luckily, nothing was ruined. Then, we began vacuuming up the water from the carpet. Of course, the hose on Ty's shop-vac broke, so Ty had to go borrow my dad's. While he was gone, I went over it with the carpet cleaner. I had to dump it twice because it filled the reservoir up to the top. Finally, Ty realized that it was futile as long as the pad was soaked. So, we ripped up the carpet and had to chunk out the pad. It was literally dripping and there were puddles standing on the concrete. Then, we had to re-vacuum up the carpet. What a mess! I think the carpet can be saved and the wall is okay as well. Thank goodness for insurance. Of course, all this happened two days before I go in for surgery! (More about that later.) I guess I should have taken pictures of all the carnage, but I was so absorbed in the clean up that I didn't think about it until the carpet was laying back down and the fan was at work. Sorry, I guess I'm out of "blogger" mode.
About the surgery. On Tuesday, I am going in for a partial hysterectomy. I have a very difficult time once a month. Heavy flow, pain that debilitates me, I turn into a total hag. Since we're done having kids, I don't really need all that plumbing, so Dr. Leavitt is taking out my Uterus. He's leaving the ovaries, so I won't have to start hormone replacement. He's doing it laprascopically, so the recovery time is a lot shorter; 7 days as opposed to 4-6 weeks. I may not even have to stay the night! So, if it's no trouble, maybe you could keep me in your prayers. ;0)

Getting there

The bathroom is done! Well, almost. Ty still has to put the toilet back together, but that's a 5 minute job. I'll post pictures when I make it back to the house with the camera. I'm afraid to take it over there right now cuz then I'll forget it and I won't have it for Easter morning and that just wouldn't do! (I apologize to all my English teachers for that run-on sentence!)
Now, we only have a few minor things to do. I discovered a drawer in Samantha's bathroom that the previous owners had glued something in and then tore out, so we need to sand out all the goopy, dried-on glue. Ty found a spot in the hall that didn't get touch-up painted, so we need to do a quick dab there. The fence in the backyard has these old window panes, complete with glass, nailed to it. Some of the glass has broken out, so there's a danger of getting cut. We've cleaned up the glass from the ground but we still need to take the silly things down. And the front and back yards need to be raked. There's still a lot of dog poop in the back yard, so I'll be sending the kids out with latex gloves and WalMart bags to clean that up. (Then out comes the sanitizer!!!) But that's it! Of course, the boxes still need to be unpacked and places need to be found for all our junk, but we can do that while we're living there. Actually, the raking doesn't really need to be done before we move in either.
So now we're all ready. Now if only the refrigerator would arrive...

It Never Ends

It seems that all I am posting about lately is the house and all of the things we are doing to it. Well, I wouldn't want to break that streak, so here's another one!
Ty's big project today was the kitchen cabinets.
Several of the cabinets needed to be re-caulked. There were huge gaps between the walls and the base and shelves.
Ty didn't want me to take his picture, so you know I HAD to.
The shelves also needed to be sanded down and repainted. There are a lot of cupboards and Ty had a big job ahead of him. He got them done and they look great. He went back to the house after dinner and now he's tidied up the garage and then he's going to caulk the gaps in the walls in Zach's room. The man's a maniac.
My project was removing the wallpaper in the bathroom. First, I peeled the first layer off. That took two garbage bags.

Next, I used my favorite new product, DIF. I don't care if the label says it's been proven to cause cancer in California. I'm in Idaho, so I should be safe, right?
First, I sprayed it on the walls. I started by spraying sections on the lower half of the walls. You can only do so much at a time or it sits too long. After it's been sprayed, it has to sit for 15-20 minutes. I tried to space it out so there wasn't a lot of standing around, but sometimes there was a little down time, so I'd go out into the kitchen and "supervise" Ty in his work.
Then I used a putty tool to scrape the wallpaper off. I can't believe how easy it is. When you spray on the DIF, you can see spots start bubbling up right away.
By the time you've waited for the 15 minutes, the paper just peels right off the wall. In some sections, all I had to do was start the peel with the putty thingy and then I could gently pull the paper off the wall. I got the entire bottom half of the bathroom done and two sections are done all the way up to the ceiling. Tomorrow I will finish the bathroom. I had to stop so I could get the kids home and make dinner. I also have piles of laundry to work on. It's been a little neglected these past few days. I didn't go back with Ty so I could get the kids bathed and ready for bed.
I'd better get off the computer so we can get family prayer and off to bed. Have a great night!

Worn Out

After a long day of working at the house and doing post-visitor clean up, we were all pretty tired. Tristan wanted to watch a movie to unwind, so he put in Secondhand Lions. We turned off all the lights and just relaxed. Samantha, Zachary, and I didn't make it through the whole movie. We were just so dang tired!
Samantha curled up on the couch. Doesn't she look so sweet?
Zachary wanted to cuddle and I had absolutely no problem with that. We kicked out the leg rest on the couch and snuggled in. He fell asleep almost instantly and when he goes to sleep, he turns into a little heater. I couldn't help but get drowsy myself. Soon, my head was resting on his and we were both in dream land. I love the little moments like this!

More Work Done

Since Ty doesn't work on Fridays, we (read "he") got a lot more work done on the house yesterday. He headed over at about 8:30 and got to work on the gas line. The house is heated by gas, but we also wanted the clothes dryer to run on gas, so he had to put in a gas line from the furnace to the dryer. He had to tear up the entire wall in the laundry room. He had to take the laundry folding counter off and take the cupboards underneath it apart. I dropped by at about 9:45 so I could pick him up to run a few errands. We dropped Samantha off at the Paramount Theater for a party and then went shopping for kitchen chairs. We also took Tristan to the comic book store so he could show them his report card and get his gift from Topps Trading Cards. I think we found the perfect chairs. Now we just have to decide if we'll get them. We also went to Ace Hardware so Ty could pick up a part he needed for the gas line. Then I dropped him back off at the house and then I went to pick up Samantha. We went to lunch and took Tristan for a haircut. Usually, my sister-in-law does it, but it was a bit of an emergency. The boy looked like a sheepdog. Once his hair was a little less shaggy, we went back to the house so we could get it all cleaned up for Jeremy's wife, Sandi, to come for a visit this weekend. Jeremy is in Iraq (keep him in your prayers, please) so she's doing the single parent thing. I got a Migraine and had to lay down for a bit while the kids worked on the downstairs bathroom and family room. At a little before 4, we took Tristan over to his Scoutmaster's house for a camping trip. Then Samantha, Zachary, and I headed back over to the house. Ty had gotten the gas line completely run and checked for leaks. He got the wall repaired, the cupboards put together, and the counter put back on. He repainted the walls and cupboards. The room looks like he never touched it! You would never know that it had been completely disassembled. He amazes me. He also did all the touch up in Zach's room and the spare bedroom. When we showed up, I puttied a few spots, removed some screws and nails I missed before and puttied those as well. Ty continued to touch up and I scored the wallpaper in the master bathroom in preparation for removal. Ty removed a swatch of paint from Samantha's room and the living room so we can take them to Home Depot and get the analyzed. Those are the only two rooms the previous owner didn't leave paint for. So you see, we got a ton done yesterday! Maybe we will get it done by next weekend.

Don't Judge Me

Last night, Samantha came to our door with a stomach ache. It was so bad that she was sobbing (which doesn't really help matters, but...) Anyway, I have a confession to make: I'm kinda happy she was sick. Now before you judge me too harshly, let me explain. It gave me the chance to be "Mommy" instead of just "Mom." I don't get to be "Mommy" to Samantha anymore. She's getting to be such a young lady. But last night, after getting her to lay on her stomach on the floor, I got to lay down beside her. I got to rub her back and whisper encouraging words in her ear. I ran my fingers through her hair. I pressed my forehead against her forehead and told her she was gonna be fine and No, we couldn't sue Little Caesars. I stayed with her until she fell asleep and then I tucked her blanket snugly around her before going back to my own bed. I really enjoyed being "Mommy." So you see, I'm not some freak with Munchausen Syndrome, I'm just a mother who occasionally misses that little girl who used to live here.

The Work Begins

This week, we started work on the house this week. And there's so much to be done! Ty wanted to begin by re-vamping the closet in the master bedroom. The previous owners had it full of organizers and it just didn't work. I don't know how they ever had it full of two people's clothes! Actually, when we visited the house when we were still looking, the wife had already moved out, so it was just his clothes and they filled the closet. Anyway, Ty completely disassembled it, removed the drawers, adjusted the length and depth of the hangers, and added shelves to the bottom for our shoes. The end result was twice the closet he started with. He did an amazing job.
When Ty was looking for all the pieces of his table saw so he could work on the closet, he brought several boxes from the storage unit to the house. A few of the boxes were full of books and games, and since we aren't making any changes to the shelves in the living room, I started unpacking a little.

We had to go through all the rooms and remove about a million screws and nails. I don't know how they could possibly had that much stuff hung on their walls! Then Samantha and I went through the rooms with this Sheetrock putty stuff and filled the holes so they can later be touched up with a little paint.
Those white ones are buggers! They are wall anchors and they leave HUGE holes in the walls. I hope the putty keeps.
Do you see all the paint stuck to those nails and screws? That is the epitome of laziness right there. They couldn't be bothered with removing them before they painted, they just painted right over them. There were several layers on those things!
I have been amazed by the things the previous owners have left behind. The cupboards and drawers in the kitchen had all kinds of things left in them.
Besides all the garbage found in the corners, I also found all this. Most of it was crap, but the dish clothes, dish towels, and pitcher are pretty nice.
The backyard is loaded with dog poop. I don't think they ever used a pooper scooper. There was also a plethora of balls, chew toys, and feeding bowls lying around the back porch and yard. But the Pièce de résistance was the cat. Yes, I said "cat"! We couldn't figure out why this black and white cat kept hanging out by the back door. That is until we looked under the blue bucket. do you see the hole cut into the side of the bucket? The bucket was upside-down and there was a pillow under the bucket. It was the cat's little home! Can you believe they LEFT THEIR CAT??? Un-be-liev-able! When we took the bucket out of the backyard, the cat moved on. I hope he's okay, wherever he is.
The cupboards were lined with this contact paper that I think has been there since the house was built in 1982! It was the butt-ugliest pattern ever created and it was peeling up all over the place.
Can you believe all the paper I pulled? It took almost an hour to get it all out. That stuff can really stick to wood, you know? The paper filled that blue bucket from earlier. It was amazing.

There is still a lot to be done. Ty has to run the gas line to the dryer so we can have a gas instead of electric dryer. There is a hole in the guest bedroom that the previous owners cut in the wall in order to get to the water line. That has to be repaired. The master bathroom's wallpaper is peeling off and needs to be removed so we can paint the walls. The plumbing under the kitchen sink is leaky, so Ty needs to get that taken care of. Tristan's room will need to be repainted because there were so many nails and nail holes in the walls that once they were puttied, the walls looked like they were polka-dotted. But you know what? It's all ours! There's a lot of work to be done, but it will all be worth it because it's all for our home. I can't wait to move in!!!

We're Closed!

A few weeks ago, we noticed this little addition to the "For Sale" sign in the front yard of the house we're buying. So we had to stop and take a picture. A few people drove by as we were getting the picture done and they got big smiles on their faces when they saw what we were doing. I think they were happy for us, too.
This morning, Ty and I met with our Realtor, Kim and the title lady, Theresa at AmeriTitle. Ty wrote a check for the down payment and then it was on to the paperwork.
It took us an hour to get all the paperwork signed. There were so many disclosures and contract agreements to sign. Several were simply repeats of the same thing, over and over again. Ty's hand was very tired by the time we were finished.
Then, outside the front doors, Kim handed Ty the keys to our home. OUR HOME!
(Commercial break: Kimberly Hurley is an amazing Realtor. She bent over backward for us. She was there for us every step of the way. When the seller's Realtor kept screwing things up, Kim was the one who cleaned up the mess. And quickly, too! If anybody is looking to buy a home in the Idaho Falls area, I would strongly recommend Kimberly Hurley-208-313-4148) After Kim gave us the keys she gave us a huge gift basket from Great Harvest Bread. (I think my diet will be suspended until all the goodies are gone.)
On the way home, we had to stop by the house. We tried all the keys and played with the garage door opener. When the kids get home from school, I'm gonna pile them all in the car and take them over so they can run around in the empty house. Ty's already there. He is starting the renovation to the master closet today. I'm so excited that the house is finally ours. Now I can't wait to get everything ready so we can move in. It's gonna be great!

Pathetic Puppy

Mayzee does NOT like to get a bath. If I'm not careful about getting the supplies ready for her bath and she sees the bath paraphernalia, she will hide behind the couch and it's next to impossible to get her out.
She's very good during the bath. She stands very still and lets me scrub her really good, but she looks at you with the most pathetic little face. And that face stays until she's completely dry. She is very good at "The Guilt Trip."

I Can Do It All By Myself

Zachary is so proud of himself. I decided that it was about time for me to teach him how to tie his shoelaces. I've been a little intimidated about teaching him. I haven't taught anyone to tie his shoelaces since Tristan was 5 years old. (A neighbor taught Samantha, I didn't think she was old enough. -I was wrong!) Anyway, I bit back my unease and began showing Zach how to tie his shoes.
At first it took him a long time to get them tied and his knots were really loose, but soon he got the hang of it. Now he's a shoe tie-ing fool. And he's VERY proud of himself.

Beach Combin'

I had a lot of fun playing photographer when we went to the beach. I thought I would share some of my "artistic" photos here.
This pelican was fearless. He was wandering up and down the boardwalk, weaving in and out of the people. Even begging for food from the people fishing.
Pretty seaweed that washed up on shore.
More pretty seaweed. (This is the wallpaper on Ty's laptop.)
The waves crashing on my mom and dad's feet. (This is the wallpaper on their laptop.)
My tootsies in the warm sand.

Taking pictures is so much fun. I want to take some classes.

5th Street Trailer Trash

I was so lucky to have a chance to fly down to Texas to see my Grandmother last week. I felt I really needed to see her because she has Alzheimer's and it is slowly claiming her mind. I needed to see her before she forgets me. We had lots of Sky Miles, so I used them to get to Corpus Christi.

My parents are Winter Texans, so I had a place to stay. The day I got there, we didn't do much. We hit a really good Mexican restaurant on the way home from the airport and then just headed to the trailer. Mom and Daddy run with a really great bunch of people down there. They are all so nice and boy are they funny! They refer to themselves as "5th Street Trailer Trash." After meeting them, it was easy to see why my parents enjoy going South so much.

The next day, Friday, was very foggy, but it was nice and warm. We decided to take advantage of the warm weather and went to Padre Island to play at the beach. We wandered up and down the beach and picked up lots of pretty shells for the kiddos. The surf was kinda high for Padre. Almost 4 feet in some areas. We took off our sandals and had fun walking in the sand and splashing in the waves.
When we were done playing on the beach, we went to the best bar-b-q joint ever. My family discovered Rudy's when we were stationed at Lackland AFB in San Antonio. The food is amazing. When we were going to Rudy's, there were only two of them and they were both in San Antonio. Now they have expanded and luckily, there is one in Corpus Christi. My hubby and kids were very jealous of my trip to Rudy's! Mmmm... ribs!
After Rudy's, we went to see Grandmother at her retirement community. I was so excited to see her and it was awesome when she opened her door and she remembered me! I couldn't stop grinning! I love my grandmother so much and I have missed her. It's hard to have family living so far away. We had a nice visit with Grandmother and then we went back to the trailer again.
On Saturday, we went into Fulton and went to the oyster docks. We also got a chance to see Fulton Mansion which is a beautiful home. After that, we went to my cousin, Richard's, basketball game. After the game, we went back to Aunt Leslie's house. It was nice to visit with Grandmother, Aunt Leslie, and my cousins Shannon and Rebecca. I also got to meet Shannon's husband, Jason, who is an awesome guy. any guy who can stand toe to toe with my Uncle Chuck is a winner to me!

On Sunday, we went to another restaurant I miss, Whataburger. Whataburger has, by far, the BEST hamburgers on the planet. I don't know what it is they do to them, but they sure are tasty!
Then we went into Goose Island park. It is home to "The Big Tree" (original, right?). The tree is a ginormous live oak. It's estimated to be over 1,000 years old. If you look closely, you can see iron supports holding up some of the tree's "branches". I wanted to see how far my arms would go around the tree, but there is a fence protecting it from dorks like me.
That night, Daddy built a fire in his chiminea and the entire "trailer trash" crew came over to enjoy the fire and to chat and just have a good time. As I mentioned earlier, they are a pretty cool bunch and it was fun to listen to them tease each other and play around.

Monday, all of Mom and Daddy's friends came by to hug me and say good bye. I felt like a rock star with all that attention. We went to Whataburger for lunch again and then went by Grandmother's to say good bye. She showed my some of the Alzheimer's by repeating almost every story she had told me last time I saw her, but it was nice to see her, nonetheless. She gave me one of Momma Leach's quilts. I am so excited!

Then, Mom and Daddy dropped me off at the airport. I breezed through security and then waited patiently for my plane to board and leave. The flight was uneventful, and that is nice. In Houston, I had to go from one concourse to another. It was quite a ways away. I was thankful for the shuttle that took me most of the way. I only had 45 minutes to get to the next gate, so I was really booking it. Turns out, it wasn't necessary. The plane hadn't even arrived yet. In fact, there was going to be at least an hour delay. My fellow passengers and I were a little miffed, but it couldn't be helped. As I was rushing into the gate area, I had noticed a very tall black man walking ahead of me. I thought to myself, "Hmm, he's so tall, I wonder if he's a basketball player." We talked a little bit and then I turned to my book and he began fiddling with his cell phone. Before long, he was swarmed by boys asking for his autograph. He was Glen Davis from the Boston Celtics! He was a really nice guy and was very nice to all these boys, and a few men, who were hassling him for his time.

Due to the delay in Houston, I missed my connection in Salt Lake and, of course, it was the last flight of the day into Idaho Falls. So, Delta put me up in a hotel for the night. You'd think I would welcome a quiet night in a hotel with a king sized bed, but the truth was, I missed my kids. I missed my husband. I just wanted to be home with my family and in my own bed. Oh well. Tuesday morning, I woke up to a nice little snow storm. A very chatty shuttle driver drove me to the airport where I got to sit in the terminal for 2 hours waiting for my flight. Then, to top it all off, I was so engrossed in my book (Dang you Jodi Picoult *shaking my fist*) that I almost missed my flight! What a mess that would have been!!! The storm made the flight home very bumpy and with the crashes the past few weeks, I didn't deal well with the pitch and roll of the plane. I was very glad when we landed in IF. I was so happy to see my husband at the airport and then to see the kids after school. They missed me, too, so it was a very happy reunion.

I am glad that I had the chance to go to Texas and I am glad to be home again.