christmas in hawaii

good friends, good times...christmas night party...beach with the kids, surfing...

pool time and spa....drives...great dinners...oh, and rain...but, what's a little rain when you're in the

relaxing mode? we did have a crazy dinner at macky's shrimp truck...the downpour started right as

we got there...they ran out of shrimp so the mollers didn't get any...but, what i had was fantastic...worth all my fantasies while

i was at home :) but, the lightening and thunder was unreal...then movies at our villa...so far...so good...

thoughts from the grandkids

over the weekend i had 3 of my grandchildren visiting....this is what was said:
we were unwrapping  christmas lollipops for my candy jar...and as each one was upwrapped the boys licked each and every one.they said they had to taste everyone to see if they tasted different!..so if you come to my house...stay away from those lollipops!
also...i was calling them 'suckers'...gavin set me straight...jojo...they are lollipops...not suckers!
the boys also helped me put some little lights on the front hill...jojo....put the lights here...not there...they had definite decorating ideas...gavin also was talking about his very 'cool' skinny jeans...he told me that if he had a tuxedo jacket, a black tie, that it would make his jeans look super cool...charlie has found a new place for her paci..she puts it down her shirt...too bad there is nothing there to keep it there! she gets very upset when it falls out...best thing about the kids visit...when owen runs in to my room and climbs in bed every morning...love those hugs and kisses!

to grandma's house we go!

we had a great week...i flew up to slc on monday where willie, kelly and their kids met us...it was a busy few days getting ready for thanksgiving...tuesday we had the storm of the century, that sort of fizzled.....on wednesday we took a break, went out to the moller's to welcome nick home from his mission! what a fun time that was....he looked great...mom, dad, everyone was so happy...a few tears of joy from kerry...thursday was a fun time...then, picked up russ at the airport on the way home.....the fryers, j.p and kit joined our family for a feast...everyone contributed something to the table and it was delicious...we played cards afterwards, ate a bit more...just had a fun time visiting with family and friends...kerry was happy...all her best buddies are back..the kids snowboarded, we went to the movie, saw friends and family..just had a fun time being together....sunday we had the huge storm, finally...drove out to nick's homecoming...got everyone off to the airport...and just like that....it's over! what a great time....

what a zoo!

we had a fun time at the zoo the other day! which ones should be in cages?

an attitude of gratitude

what are the words that make you feel gratitude?
family....kids....grandchildren....friends...joy...smiles....a home....love...beautiful sunsets...happiness....seeing the beauty of the world.... blessings...life itself...being with my loved ones...the gospel...good health...safety...fun...kindness....faith...opportunities...
   'The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.'  Eric Hoffer
   'Be the change you wish to see in the world.' Gandhi

think of the word the fill you with gratitude....and be grateful everyday that you have them in your life!

halloween!

celebrating Halloween in great style!

falling for fall

i had a great long weekend in utah....it was so beautiful...the leaves were just the perfect color...the weather was rainy and cool...and actually snowed yesterday...i had a great time with danece on friday...hanging out and shopping...talking...saturday i went up to kathy's for the big boutique...it was fun to see my sisters, nieces, friends etc...they did a great job and had a successful time...driving up the canyon was so beautiful...sunday, we went back up for a delicious dinner with the fryers and a fun time playing cards...monday i got to hang out with kerry, whit and jason...then had a fun dinner with my brothers and sisters...so, all in all...a nice little get-away!!

broken

my body has a broken thermostat!!!!

and i'm sure you know what i mean!!!

gratitude

i loved pres. monson's talk on gratitude today during conference...made me start thinking how many things i'm grateful for...i have so much in m life...i've had such a wonderful life...so far...i know it will continue...i'm so blessed...my greatest blessing is my family...they are the best thing in my life...it's great to be with my family...they are so talented, smart, fun...i'm very proud of each and everyone of them....and my grandkids are the best ever...i'm sure they are the smartest and cutest kids ever!!! i also have the greatest friends ever...i'm so lucky to have such fantastic people to be my friends...they are my confidants and keep me going when times are tough...i also have wonderful brother, sisters and sisters and brother in laws...neices and nephews...i have just been so blessed...it is wonderful to know that i have so many people on 'my side'...if i wear out one person...i can call on another!  so thanks to all of you for being in my life...love you all...

aunt cammie

a great lady passed away today...tom's aunt cammie...while she was a wonderful mother, sister, daughter, aunt...she was also bonnie blue butler in 'gone with the wind'.she was also the voice of 'faline' in 'bambi'..i'll miss cammie so much...she taught me much over the years...her life wasn't easy...she had many setbacks, but she perservered and went on...she had a wonderful sense of humor...i loved to read her stories that she wrote of her childhood years...she told stories of kissing rhett butler on the cheek...and her many experiences making that great movie...we were all blessed to have her in our lives...love you...

Feels good

In Utah, my garage is a dumping ground...for everyone and everything....you can't imagine what's in it...couches, chairs, tables, bookcase, a kayak, snowboards, baby stuff, my parents old stuff...you get the picture! Today, Kerry, whit and I cleaned it! We can walk in it! It's wonderful. One of those little things that make such a difference! So you better not get it dirty!! I'm talking to you!

party times...

it's the weekend...it's been the weekend for about 8 days now...i've been in utah playing with family and friends...it's been so fun...came up last thursday and met up with cousin mare...we don't get to see each other too often, so it was very fun....friday was a girl's day, danece, alison, larene, kelly, kerry, shannon, kristen and carissa and i went to see the parade of homes, lunch and alot of talk!!!..my kids all arrived on thursday night and friday night...i love it when the whole family is together...it gets pretty wild, crazy and loud, but what fun...the little kids love to play together...it's the greatest..on saturday we got to go to tayler and nathan's wedding...that was a very fun wedding...alot of good friends were there...it's a big reunion..on sunday we got together for a little more  reunion time with good friend, getting everyone together and catching up is alot of fun.....the family left day by day until kerry and i were left alone...pretty quiet...this week has been alot of lunches out, dinners out, moving kerry into her new apartment.(and as a sidebar...little owen broke his arm and elbow after he got home...had to have surgery last night and is home recuperating right now  :(((....)speaking of reunions...tomorrow night is my 35th high school reunion...that should be a great time....a few more day of fun...i still have a birthday party to attend, seeing some more friends...then, home again....

kerry

my beautiful baby is 21!!! how can that be...let me tell you a few things about her...21 to be exact..
1.beautiful
2.loyal
3.friend
4.fun
5.artistic
6.happy
7.adventurous
8.surfer girl
9.traveler
10.fashionista
11.spiritual
12.loves disney
13.auntie
14.sister
15.daughter
16.athletic
17.smart
18.hard worker
19.smiler
20.reader
21.brings the light into my life
love you so much ker...happy day and year!

who's turning the BIG 30?

with his idol...mr. T!

always a great cook

leadimg the way, always

styling!

willie and his 2 best buds....tommy and owen

it's Willie!!! i can't believe he's that old!!! once again, i say, i'm not old enough to have these old kids....willie is a wonderful 30 year old...he has accomplished so much...willie has so many wonderful talents...as you can tell from the pictures...he's always had great style...even as a young boy...he's athletic, smart, handsome, funny...a great husband, a great father and a wonderful son...i am so blessed to have willie in my life...have a wonderful day and a fantastic 30th year!!! love you always

newport beach

the last few days we've had a mini-vaca....russ and i came down to newport beach and kelly, jeff and kids joined us...we've been staying at the beautiful pelican hill resort...we weren't able to go to italy, so this is the closest we could come...the resort and villas are fashioned after beautiful italian villas...they have a gorgeous circular pool which is the largest in the world...at the villa pool, they have a pool that's a quarter the size, but still huge...the kids have been swimming every day...even charlie loves the water...gavin and owen went to the kids club on saturday and loved it...we went to the 'kids' club for adults...the spa...it was fantastic...on friday night we had dinner at the hotel, saturday jeff suggested this fun jamacaiian restaurant...the owner, eva, took great care of us...it was delicious..on sunday night adam and ashley met us and we ate at the grill at the golf course..on monday we had delicious indian food...and topped off the week with 'despicable me'....it's been a fun few days...i could stay here looking at the ocean for alot longer...

yummmm

start off with a few bunches of bananas....slice, put into
food dehydrator...cook about 18 hours...and......



you get delicous dried bananas!!!! not like those gross banana
chips...these are a little chewy and really addictive!!!

domestic goddess

last night i made strawberry jam....in the process i found out that my two youngest children (who aren't that young) don't remember that i did this...guess i've been 'off the domestic' wagon for toooooooo long...it made me think...as the kids got older, i stopped doing things that i did alot when they were little...probably the biggest one would be cooking!  i guess i figure...why cook, when half the time no one is home?  i used to do alot of things, i guess because i was home all day with young children and i had to keep busy or i'd probably kill them!  not really, but, you know what i mean....let's see...what did i used to do....cook, bake, can fruits, make jams, dry foods, sew, make crafts, paint, decorate and refurbish furniture, read, try to garden or at least keep the flowers from dying... i used to drive, drive, drive, it seems like i wouldl get home and then a child would call and i'm ready to be picked up!  loved it when cell phones came around!! saved me alot of trips, back and forth....i love to decorate and make things for my house...then, i'd clean, clean and a little more cleaning...so, that's a bit of what i used to do you guys (k and r), then, we'd go to the park, the beach, the tennis club, or friends for you guys to play and have fun......back in the day that's what we'd do...i felt like we had family night--all day and night..we were always together...and i loved it...sooo...what did you other moms do?  what don't your kids remember?  i swear, kerry doesn't remember half the places we've been or done...sometimes i wonder 'why did i do this?'...i'm finding mine don't remember much...so, i'll just  have to keep reminding them! that will keep me busy...

jam

start with these
clean 'em up nice
end with this!!! yummmm!

celebrations

(bearded guy was in the video they had to watch)

birthday presents
4th of july


the last few weeks have been really busy...we celebrated russ' birthday at the sky diving company, waiting until the sky cleared....it didn't, so then we came back last friday and they were able to celebrate russ and kristen's b-days by doing the big sky dive!! they loved it and want to go again...a couple of days later we celebrated kelly's birthday with the family....and then to top it off...it was the 4th! we had a really fun barbecue with my family, the meru's, the lefevre's, the pollocks, seek and his fiancee bree, aaron...and even our old neighbors wes and lisa showed up...it's always fun to get together, to watch the fireworks, see the kids run around...it's fun to see everyone grow up, but still love to be together...it's a great sight!

Free Hugs in Sondrio, Italy

love this!! we all need hugs!!!

russ and kelly

guess what we're celebrating this weekend?  that's right...russ and kelly's birthdays!  russ turns 25!!! tomorrow...and kelly is turning 32 on sunday!  when did my kids get older than me?  haha...well, i'll show you pics from the big days a bit later...this is the start of our birthdays in summer...we go until aug 5th...ending with kerry's...so happy birthday to you both...love you soooooo much...

playtime

i think i forgot how to be a mother of small children...i was given the opportunity this week...and wow, i'm tired tonight...kelly and jeff's kids came to visit...and did we have fun...they are such fun to be with, but, i've forgotten about all the work involved...i had little charlie sleeping with me all week...she sure like s to snuggle...snuggle me right out of bed!  between her and sophie, i didn't stand a chance...sophie felt she had to sleep on the other side of charlie, i guess to protect her...but, i had to keep her paws off of charlie...we swam and swam and swam...those boys love to swim and are fishes...gavin was learning to dive...his belly flops didn't sound so great, but up he'd come and try again...owen wasn't into the diving but he loves to be in the pool...we saw 'toystory' also, they loved it and so did i...gavin is also 'in love' with russ' friend kristen...i think he would follow her anywhere...he was trying to get her to have a picnic with him...told her that her hair is pretty, wanted a kiss!  what a cute thing to watch and kris is a great sport...all the babies love her..they jumped on the tramp, watched movies, played with kerry and russ, and just kept really busy....so they went home this afternoon...the house is so quiet after having them here...it was a fun few days...and my hat's off to you kel...you do a great job, day after day...be glad you're young and can keep up...

Good Things to Come

these little messages are always great...they give you something to think about..just click and watch!

Good Things to Come

youth conference!!

it's been pretty crazy in the last week...was up in utah for a big wedding, then zipped home on thursday for youth conference...it turned out great..the kids loved it...on friday 8 am we all met at the church, assigned families and took off for malibu where we met with the fulcrum people...they have a camp that teaches problem solving, team building, group communication...at the camp they have a ropes course which includes a jacobs ladder, faith leap, high wire crossing, rock walls...they also played games on the ground...it was fun time for everyone...at the end of the day we had dinner at the park...they changed, came back to the church for  a talent show and dance...we were all beat by the end of the day...i was working at making food for the conference so that kept us really busy...saturday we had classes, a service project in the afternoon, a big dinner, then a testimony meeting...everyone seemed to have a great time...after cleaning up, we crashed!! i could hardly walk on sunday...my feet hurt pretty bad...but, luckily i've recovered...it was well worth it!

more fun

a great day!  slc...laying out with some (not all) of my besties....lunch with them....pick up russell (barely)....dinner with some of my favorite family.....and more favs...our close friends... the whole reason we're up here...to celebrate a great wedding...can't wait...

flag day is june's day

today is my mom's birthday...i wish she was here for me to give her a big hug...but, instead i'll just say a few things that she taught me...mom was a giver, always working hard helping others...she would make delicious dinners ( i think that's why tom married me, hoping i would cook like her) and then she would be jumping up and down serving everyone...i had to cure tom of 'that' idea immediately...she was artistic...she loved to sew clothes and would make the most beautiful dresses for all of us...she was a painter, she liked crafts, she made a beautiful home...inside and out...it was warm and gracious and lovely to look at...she was willing to do just about anything...from killing spiders to going golfing with dad to shopping with the girls...mom was alot of fun to be with...she was a great listener...i could call her with all of my problems and she always had great advice...she was always beautiful with a gorgeous big smile...i'm so lucky to have her for my mom...i just hope that i can take after a few of her many wonderful ways!

what was lost, then was found

we had a little drama today...russ took the dogs, sadie and sophie out for a run...
they went to the top of the mountain...on the way back, russ was in front and the dogs
were behind...sophie showed up, but sadie didn't....so, he ran back to look for her...but, he never did find her...
when he got home and told us we then went looking...kerry and her friends hiked back up the trail, a runner
saw her but she was gone...russ and i drove over to the end of the trail where i dropped him off and he started looking again...i drove to another trailhead...everyone looked and looked...russ ran 15 miles looking for her...so about 5 pm i went to the store and was starting to think that sadie was gone...it was very sad...driving up the street from the store i was on the phone when halfway up the street, THERE was sadie! walking up the street with her tongue dragging!  i was soooo happy...she hasn't moved since!  so, thanks to all those who searched for her...i'm glad she knew how to get home...who knows where she went...she came home the opposite way of leaving...i'm glad she made it back...

summer

summer time, summer time....my favorite time of year!  it started for me back in april when we went to africa...but, for our neck of the woods it's starting this week with the end of school...so what's your plans for summer?  i have weddings, youth conference, holidays, birthdays,concerts, movies, weddings, birthdays, weddings, did i mention birthdays?  we have 6 birthdays in 6 weeks...that's just the family...then there are friends and extended family birthdays...so, that alone keeps me busy...then there are fun things like the beach, the pool, laying out in the sun...you get my drift...visits from the grandkids...pool parties...park days, i love summer and just barbecuing with friends.4th of july with the fireworks....just having a wonderful time...can't wait...and it usually goes way too fast...have a great summer! what's your favorite thing in summer?

home away from home

ker and i just got back from 9 days in utah....it was a fun time...so fun in fact, i stayed an extra 3 days....we went up for memorial weekend...to see dave as he returned from his mission...heard him speak...he was great...we had a fun time with friends and family...i was able to see most of my favs up there...that's why i needed so many days...too many people i want to be with.....the weather got better every day..the flowers are in bloom, the mountains are green, it's beautiful! it's fun to hang out and have no commitments....is that why i like to travel?  no place that  i "have" to be?  anyway, it sure is fun and hard to come home...although, as we drove along the coast, stopped at neptunes net...it wasn't too bad!!

have you ever?

this afternoon after my big last day of bowling for the season...then running errands all afternoon...i came home, was on the computer...and then basically crashed on the couch for a little nap...that was at about 4 pm...next thing i knew the phone was ringing at about 6:20...answered...woke up some more...thought, where are the kids...i'll just watch some tv until they come home....about 2 min. later i realized that i needed to be at the church...RIGHT THEN!  uh oh...i was dressed in a flash...out the door...luckily had good traffic to westlake...and made it by 10 to 7!! in time to put my decor up and help a bit...and luckily was there to say the closing prayer!!  lucky for me that phone rang!!

tv

so, in between my daily 'life'..i've been catching up on all the shows that i missed while on our trip...so, i've been 'off the grid'....i had to be caught up for the final shows!  a few i've been watching....24, it will be so sad when jack is gone forever...lost...the same for them, although, i won't be quite so mixed up! glee will still be there to cheer me up...and modern family for some laughs...so a few more days of questions...then summer where it's hard to find something to watch...