"It's Always Fun When Grandma Comes, Hurray!"

Grandma camp was in July this year. The theme was "Oh What Do You Do in the Summer Time." We made lighthouse night lights, read stories, had a lemonade and cupcake sale, did crafts and had a picnic by the temple. I am so grateful Reese and Charlotte live so close.
On one night we opened the french doors to the backyard and let in the night air. We turned off the lights lit candles and told stories. My girls remember doing this at Grandma and Grandpa Mac's house in the summertime. It was a fun few days.
Speaking of Grandma and Grandpa Mac, I sure miss them. I am amazed that I think of them every day. They were wonderful parents and I learned so much from them. There are many days I wish I could talk to them and I know one day in the far off future, because I intend to live to 100 and still be riding my bike then too. (another blog, I love my bike) But it is because of
here that we will be together again. I love to see the temple.
The best part of this night was that the girls thought they were putting the flame out by waving their hands gently over the candle. Little did they know that Tess was blowing out the candle. Their eyes would get so big when it went out. So funny

Carolina on My Mind

We are always so grateful when our North Carolina vacation comes around every two years. We do everything possible to have all the kids with us. It really is a dream. We all arrive at the beach house on Saturday and immediately get in the relaxation mode by hopping on a bike or catching a trolley to the beach. The water is warm and the waves are fun. One of the best things about the beach is the pool, after getting all sandy we jump in the pool to continue cooling off and to clean up. This year we enjoyed ordering fries everyday at poolside. I think fries are less fattening this way.
We had fun in the evenings on the dock catching crabs, Dane and Bret seemed to especially get a kick out of it as they worked along side the younger ones. Off the dock we had the wave runners, I was a little nervous as Tess drove off with Charlee, but Tess loves that little one so much she would never let anything happen to her.
The nights are particularly fun, as we play the same games every year and Glen and his dad add to the hilarity of them, they just don't get the point of the game sometimes. It happens every time, but if they ever really cooperated it just wouldn't be the same. We have insides jokes of meds, the internet and so much more.
We vow every time we go that we need to stay longer, maybe next time.
Grandma and Grandpa make it all happen.
Charlee before waverunner ride.
Faye was very adventurous and rode with Glen.

Dane's first time, I think he is hooked like the rest of us.
Yeah, we look good.

Summer Breeze

The summer breezes are about to change to autumn drafts soon and I may shed a tear or two. Summer is my favorite time of the year. I love the kick back feeling. One of my favorite things is no alarm clocks. It feels so good to wake when your body is ready. Spending time with the family tops it all. Family is everything. We have had North Carolina, Idaho, San Onofre, beach, pool, dinners, breakfasts, walks and so much more. Building memories is what Glen and I feel is so important.
Through out the week I will post our summer, before the upcoming school year.

Faye - Faye

Faye is our love child. I was 41 years old when I got a magical phone call asking if we had room for one more. Of course, the whole family agreed that we did. And a few months later beautiful Faye came into our lives. We call her Faye, or Faye Faye and even Fifi. She has been by my side ever since. She has taught me so many things. I am grateful for these things.

She is very organized and knows dates and times and things that she needs. She keeps me on my toes. Recently she taught me about patience. She doesn't like things to be to tight or lumpy. But we had to buy a pair of shoes for school and jeans for a field trip.
After 9 pairs of shoes, about 5 pairs of jean and many tears we found the right ones!
After the experience we sat on the couch and cried together, grateful that learning experience was over. I certainly have realized I have a lot to learn. Thanks Faye for making me a better mom. I love you.

The perfect fit. :)

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was a wonderful day. I had a wonderful note from Chelsea on facebook and notes from Brooke, Bret and her girls with a very cute vest. A big hug from Tess and she made dinner. And lots of love and gifts from Glen and the kids. I also made sure I didn't work too hard.
This was the first Mother's Day without my mom. And so to remember her I made some of her recipes that we all love, throughout the week. Like the chicken and dumplings pictured above. It is so good and the aroma and flavors bring me back to when I was a child. It was a signature dish of hers.

I also made sour cream sugar cookies. I used to love sticking the glass in the sugar and then pressing down on the cookie dough to make the cookie shapes. They aren't the prettiest cookie, but they are yummy.

Finally, I made a rhubarb pie. Every spring my mom would make this pie. A lot of people don't like rhubarb, but they need to give it a try. Even Bret, Noah and Tess liked it.

Faye's Baptism

Faye's baptism was a wonderful experience. Faye was adorable and so thoughtful afterward. She wrote in her journal how she felt the water was warm and she felt the spirit.
She was adorable, I on the other hand am not happy with my look, a little pudgy.

It was fun to have everyone here for the occasion.

It's Great to Be 8

Faye turned 8 on March 4th. We had a family party. I made red velvet cake, Faye's favorite.
We also played pin the number on Thomas, Noah and Charlee's favorite.
As Faye is blowing out the candles she is holding her hair back. She will probably remember to do this for the rest of her birthday's because a few years ago her hair caught on fire when she blew out the candles on my cake. Thank goodness Glen is the man of steel because he clapped it out with his bare hands.

Trekking into March

The first weekend in March was a little madness according to Tess.
It was trek and the youth in our stake went and pushed handcarts to get the pioneer experience.
Tess and Noah learned a lot but probably won't admit that until years from now.
They look so authentic and cute too.

February Frolics

The month of February brought tons of fun activities.
We started with Valentine's Day and for Family Home Evening we tried to see who could make the tallest tower out of conversation hearts. I think that I won, but others were certainly more creative than I was.

Presidents Day came next and again it was Family Home Evening
We spent the evening making log cabins. I thought the turned out pretty cute.

The men have a very simple abode.

It's rainy season, and there's nothing like reading in front of the fire. So cozy.

It Feels Good

I am not one of those crafty ladies, but I love it when something I do turns out how I envisioned.
I baked some whole wheat chocolate cookies as a thank you to some friends for taking us to the
PBR (professional bullriding). It, by the way, was so much fun. It is great to dress up a little cowgirl for one day out of the year. Anyway, I thought of a cute little tag to make to tie on to the cookie box and it turned out just right. Simple, yes, but I did it. And it just feels good.

Christmas 2010

Christmas was so much fun this year. We were all together. Chelsea and Dane arrived on the Wednesday before Christmas and we played the whole time they were here.
The picture above is Christmas Eve when the kids get to open their jammies. This year I made flannel bottoms for the girls and the guys got sweats. For thier shirts I bought them t-shirts from a favorite TV show. Dane and Chels got The Office tshirts and Brooke and Bret like Friday Night Lights. Tess' shirt was from cake boss and Noah loves Shark week. The little girls were, of course, Disney tshirts.
A favorite gift was Faye's gift to Noah, Just Dance 2. We all had fun dancing and the next day we were a little sore.
It was so wonderful to be together.

Tess made beautiful sugar cookies that we all enjoyed.