Duck, duck, goose.....

...and here's the goose as seen in this little TBT (Throw Back Thursday) pic of little Spencer at Woodward Park in Fresno, CA....

...and here's his son, Jack with the duck....and, BTW, it's Jack's birthday tomorrow...

...and here's a "Jack Attack" collage; mostly baseball 'cause that's what he's doing right now but he certainly is a "boy of many talents"....one of which is reciting movie lines. He loves sports and plays them all, depending on the season but it's a "thumbs up" (top left) all the time for this kid 'cause he loves life. He's a pretty 'fun-lovin' child that can really make us laugh. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the Jackster tomorrow. Hope your day is just "ducky"......

"It's a lovely day today....

....and whatever you'd like to do, I'd be so happy to be doin' it with you".....or I could call this post "Sittin' on the dock of the bay, watchin' the clouds roll away"....or "blue skies, smilin' at me....nothin' but blue skies, do I see".....whatever the song, we were singin' our hearts out today.....and rejoicing in the beauty all around us.

Randy had a short work week so we headed to Tahoe. Thought the Easter Week-end crowds would overwhelm us but just the opposite...'cause it's still pre-season and all the sites were closed but the gates were open so we wandered....and sat on the beaches...and basked in the sun.

Top left: A famous golf course....don't know much about golf courses but here's what I found.... "The only golf course that plays along the shores of Lake Tahoe, Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course was built in 1968 and sits just around the corner from the South Shore's casino hotels. George Fazio, along with his nephew Tom, designed the course, which features a three-hole finishing stretch along the lake, plus many other inland holes that play tightly through tall pines. Edgewood Tahoe regularly hosts a celebrity golf tournament, and also hosted the U.S. Senior Open 1985. While a scenic resort play, the golf course has plenty of teeth from the back set of tees and can play over 7,500 yards."  They even let us commoners sit on their beach because it wasn't open for the season yet and the day was a bit windy and it felt like we were at the ocean.....so amazing to see the waves roll in crashing to the shore....

...but to me, the order of the day was an AMAZING cloud show. We rode all around the lake, stopping at every point we could find and the clouds just didn't stop performing.....

 ...and as were about to leave, the rain clouds came rolling in and gave us yet another beautiful adventure, a ride home in the rain....and speaking of beautiful things, my beautiful grand-child #4, Maycee Lynn Wells is celebrating her 12th birthday tomorrow.

I recently had Maycee come visit me here in California with two of her cousins....such a good chance to really get to know this sweet grand-daughter of mine. She's an amazing dancer. I've been watching her since she was three or four years old. Nothing pleases me more than when she busts out into some dance moves when the music plays. She has the moves for sure.....cute kid. She has a very busy life with dance, soccer, friends and school.....once in a while, she'll answer my text. Happy Birthday to my Maycee girl tomorrow...and HAPPY EASTER one and all.

First and foremost....

...to be added to the chronicles of  "My Life as a Blog" is this little tidbit of information....and I'm very well-pleased with this child of mine....to say the least. He's overcome many obstacles to get here and he loves what he does.

Click HERE or on the picture to read the article. I've followed Kyle (literally) all of his life from being to every little league game, Pinewood Derby, watching EVERY rehearsal when he got the role of Curly in Oklahoma (I hid in the balcony so I wouldn't embarrass him)...but as he got older, I couldn't go with him to Boys State....Boys Nation....on his mission but I've watched him struggle and overcome some family genetic stuff to accomplish his educational and personal goals and I need to thank JoEllen for taking over and making sure he was where he needed to be when he needed to be there. He's a very good boy (always a boy to me)...and if anyone tells you any different, here's my phone number. I'll defend him to the day I die.......He'd give you the shirt off his back (and more and has)......if he thought it would help you. He's had to pay the price for his generosity and trust but has come out stronger. Kudos to Kyle as he sets out on yet another adventure....I'm still following him (in my heart). I've just got to add here that Kyle has assumed the role of patriarch of our family since the age of 11...when Scott was so sick, he took over for me and his siblings as "Man of the House". He got a brief reprieve to go out in the world and get things done but when Scott died in 2001, he took over again....still takes care of all of us. We all know it. He certainly is a man of many talents. I like to say he's my engineer son...with an MBA and a Ph.D. (and can fix anything) but most of all, he's an awesome father and husband. Next order of business.....some of my ex's live in Texas....namely, my "ex"-traordinary BFF's....and we got together there this past week-end (Janny and Kathy are Texans).

We enjoyed a night out at the theater, ate Mexican, laughed and talked, ate ice cream, shared favorite books, movies, stories....got caught up as best we could in just three days.....

...took a day trip to Galveston, oh, Galveston....rode the ferry, ate fish, snapped a picture at the ocean.......looked for all the wood statues in people's yards on Ball Street.......

"On September 13, 2008, Hurricane Ike hit the island of Galveston. People lost their homes and businesses, buildings were destroyed and trees were uprooted; the island was flooded from the salty storm surge. Many of the beautiful trees that lined the streets of Galveston were up rooted while others left standing soon died. No doubt, it was a sad sight to see. And then a silver lining; from the stumps of once beautiful tall oak trees came works of art. Earl Jones, Dale Lewis and Jim Phillips, with the help of Galveston resident Donna Liebert, came to Galveston and worked their magic carving unique statues and sculptures throughout the city."....and we got to see some of those. They are literally right in people's yards and tourists ride up and down their streets snapping pictures every day.  We totally did the "touristy" thing and I loved it. I just love finding stuff like this.

Here's just a few random pics of Galveston of things I enjoyed seeing. Bottom right is the ferry we rode and bottom left is the next boat I'd like to ride on.....I do love boats. Enjoyed seeing this unique little city that has always only been a Glen Campbell song....now it's real....and I love "real". So my advice for the day, go out there and "keep it real"....like these missionaries are doing.

We saw them on our little boat ride down the river in Houston. They are doing a good work....trying to teach people what's real.  Here's a little info I found on what it means to "Keep it Real".....

1.  Maintain a perspective on what really matters.
2.  Stay true to commitments.
3.  Remember where you came from and stay true to your roots (FYI..that's why I've chosen gray hair, wink, wink).
4.  Don't lie or pretend (it causes stress). Be yourself.
5.  Speak your mind (politely and when appropriate).

I'm sure this means different things to different people but I've come to learn that calm and peace come from living the gospel principles. So many wonderful words of wisdom came from our leaders this past General Conference. That and good friends and family is what is real to me.

There is beauty all around.....

...especially when you're in Pine Valley. We headed up there to spend a night before going north to General Conference.

We took a ride to the reservoir, shot a few pics, caught a few fish.....heavenly, I say, just heavenly!! Then on up the road to Randy's Mission Reunion (Southwest Indian Mission). The chapel it was held at was in Gawain and Gayle's neighborhood so we stopped for a visit with them...(should have gotten a picture). Anyway, it was a grand affair, the first one Randy has ever attended.

 (Top right) He met up with his mission president, Elder Dale Tingey. Awesome reunion. (Bottom left) Elder Echo Hawk of the Seventy along with Elder Tingey spoke to us. It was interesting to hear both of their stories. Elder Echo Hawk told of his life and conversion and entitled it "The Perfect Life"....but he has worked very hard for that perfect life and is still doing a lot of good for the Indian Nation. Click HERE to learn more about him. It was an inspirational and educational meeting....and always good to meet up with old friends.....always good to see Elder Snow and be on Temple Square. We were able to attend the Saturday PM Session of General Conference. Kaila went with us to conference after which we spent an enjoyable evening with Megan and Joey, then back to......

Little America, in it's finest form. The last time we were there, it was pretty much closed for a re-model and it is now MORE lovely than ever...I love this place....and speaking of lovely places, Traci and Russ have done a bit of a re-model themselves on their home and it's mighty fine; and it was fun to be there for an afternoon with her family.

A beautiful day for a walk, taking some pictures and then a talent show...and yes, that is Traci playing the piano...she is taking piano lessons too. So proud of all of them. Throw in a little craziness on the trampoline, some brotherly love and some beautiful blossoms....a lovely day for sure...

...all of it makes for a very enjoyable week-end with family....and while we are on that subject, I was able to have an educational experience at Heritage Elementary as Emily schooled us on Harriet Tubman and Evan filled us in on the Giant Squid.....so glad I was in town for these events.

One of my favorite sayings is..."What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about"...but we all know better than that. It's all about "FAMILY".....so it is with the ducks....couldn't help sharing this as I've become quite a duck fan of late.....

I saw this little family whilst visiting Ambyr today. I hope I can share this video and I hope you will take time to watch it and see where this mama and her little brood ended up.....

Speaking of ponds....let me end this little post by showing you a few pictures of our little jaunt to check out Quail Creek last week. Lovely, just lovely.....and pretty much this Southern Utah Landscape could be considered the "Geographical Center of the Universe"....(some may disagree!!!!).

I'll end with one of my favorite quotes from Conference from the talk by Sister Stevens...."The gospel is not weight, it is wings." I'm glad I have it to carry me through this flight we call life. What's your favorite quote??????