It's May Day......

What happened to the maypole? Have you ever braided one? A friend of mine e-mailed a bunch of us asking if we had any pictures of when we used to braid the maypole at East Elementary......so I got to looking in my old photos (this isn't one of them, I just found it on wikipedia so you can click on it to learn more about the braiding of the Maypole) and couldn't find one but remembered seeing it on video. Anyway, the memories flooded and I was just wondering where the maypole has gone....and (this is a lot of randomness) as I was cleaning off my shelves and deciding what to throw away, I came across my lovely little snow globe and card (click on it to enlarge it if you can't read it) but decided it would be a good thing to keep as it was given to Scott by Bonnie Andrus when he was going through his liver transplant many, many years ago and as you can imagine, times got stressful for him. I have looked at it many a time since and come very close to getting the hammer.....but haven't. It's a symbol to me that things aren't really that bad.....but the thoughts of slugging that thing have crossed my mind....but not today. It's been a good day and I've gotten to do some of my favorites things today....a Sam Payne Concert and a Mason Wells ballgame. Let the good times roll.....oh, and lunch with my sis. I love Thursdays.

When's the last time you played Andy I Over?????

.....or Prisoner's Base or No Bears are Out Tonight or Red Rover. The memories flooded as an impromptu game of AIO was started at our weekly gathering at my Mom's house last night. Teams were chosen and the rules announced.....let the games begin. I have fond memories of night games in my neighborhood as a kid. Kick the Can was a good one too but the fun was just the gathering of all the kids no matter the age....everyone could join in. It was fun to see the adults letting the little ones yell "Andy I Over".....and as they would try to get the ball over the house....."Andy Come Back"......then when the ball was caught.....sneakin' 'round front to see who would get caught. Just a lot of runnin' 'round and screamin' but it was an entertaining evening. We need to keep these good ol' night games alive for the next generation. All they're going to remember is Mario Cart and Guitar Hero. Come on....get off the couch and throw the ball around. It'll do us all good.

A busy day at Pirate Island.....

....followed by a Pirate Power Nap....

Captain Jack is 2 today....

Happy Birthday, little buddy. This little guy is so cute. He was the best little kid on our vacation to Disney World. He loved the bus rides, kissed all the characters and charmed everyone with his smile. Whenever I go to visit, it takes a minute for him to warm up to me but soon we become best buddies. This kid has an endearing personality like no other and wants to be where the action is. He and Seth are the best little pals....Jack always wanting to do what he does. Love ya, guy. Wish I were there to help you celebrate.

She's on the fence....

.....and the only one of us agile enough to climb on this fence made of bicycles that we came across on our recent trip to Texas. Happy Birthday Carol Ann.....looking younger than ever and athletic as well. She and I go way back...here we are on another bike while attending school at Utah State, dressing like twins; same shoes, same coat, same Levi jeans. I'm not sure when exactly we met but sometime in 7th grade when us East Elementary kids came across town to attend Woodward. We had some fun times in high school and Dixie College then went off to Utah State together.....and we've been neighbors for 25 plus years. She and Larry are heading off to run the Billings Montana mission and I'm excited for their new adventure. Have a great day girlfriend and eat some cake and ice cream today.

Lauri Bea is on her way again......

.....she got accepted to the Arizona State University Master's Program (I'll let you know the formal name of it another day). She will be going to Phoenix (or Tempe), not Tucson, however....and as the prospect sets in, I think she's pretty excited about that. I, however, wanted her to choose to stay here in the U of U program at Dixie State (to which she was also accepted) but I'm not the boss of her so she will go wherever she dang pleases......and she pleases ASU....nuf said. Congrats, Lauri. Tempe will be good for you (and you will be good for Tempe). Go Sun Devils......

Happy Birthday, Miss Maycee....

.....Seven going on seventeen. I got to spend some one-on-one time with her on Friday and it really was a lot of fun (she knows her way around Target. She taught me how to use the scanner). It's always good to get to visit with my little ones and she revealed a few favorites that I didn't know. She loves Orange Chicken.....my kind of girl. She's into Pokemon right now. She's a really good little dancer, can swing those hips with the best of 'em and quite the little social butterfly. She's a good little helper to her mom and dad.....and she's learning how to write in cursive. Maycee loves life, finds friends easily and really has a lot of spunk. I love you Maycee girl....Happy Birthday from B-Amma.

Not my best week ever.....

....but I can't let that keep me from counting my blessings and posting about the "good things" in my life. I think that's why I love to blog. It causes me to really think and be thankful for what I have but mostly it causes me to think. When I think there's nothing in my life to blog about, I just have to try harder and realize that there is. First off....It may have been a bad week because I had to go to the grocery store. But then...I think...how ungrateful I am for I should be thankful that I CAN go to the grocery store. And then I think....why do I hate it so? Maybe it's the decisions I have to make once I enter through those doors....or maybe it's knowing that a lot of what I'm purchasing with my ever precious money is just going to be thrown away or maybe I'm afraid of the germs on the grocery cart....no, that's not it. I'm not afraid of germs but there's something that has my anxiety in overload when I have to think of going to the store. I did it and I survived and I've figured out that if I limit myself to one or two bags, just what I know I will consume in the immediate future, I can manage it just fine. I did Google the problem....I called it "grocery store phobia" and it's REAL folks. I'm not the only one that suffers....but a week ago we did have a good Easter inspite of biting weather. We just met at Kyle's, colored eggs, hunted eggs and had an indoor picnic. It was all good. I'm posting a few pictures...then I can move on. Life is good. Let me end with this quote....for me....mostly....."The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty"
-Winston Churchill.....
and if life gives you rotten bananas, make banana bread.

These kids color my world.....

Wouldn't it be great if one egg is all that we needed to find?

Happy Easter Saturday everyone....

.....and a beautiful day it is with a bit of a cloud cover and on the chilly side for our end of the world and the Arts Festival is in full swing and grand as ever (I love the food) and I'm sitting here pondering Easters past....with a bit of nostalgia. We had good times, a picnic out to the farm with Easter eggs hidden in the field across the fence, rides in the "dumper" and some years on the horse, sometimes some skeet shooting but always the best potato salad on the planet made by my mom. We all knew our assignments from year to year; mine was the making of the chicken (French Dressing Chicken) and it just all came together. The families change, the farm is in a deteriorated state, grandpa is not here to let the kids crack eggs on his bald head and we all find other ways to celebrate....but I hope all the little kids get to have an Easter Egg hunt. I hate them but they are an important part of childhood, I guess to teach the little ones that life isn't fair. As I watched Emily in utter despair yesterday as her bucket didn't get as full as she had wanted it to, I felt sad for her but then again....she has to learn at some point in life that life is like an Easter Egg hunt. We all have the opportunity to be there, but some baskets will seem fuller than others. When all was said and done, she really had as much as George and Evan. No, actually, George (bless his heart) shared his cache with her. Another lesson learned. Have a happy Easter and once again, please let us all remember the reason for the season. Have a great week-end.

Hey, wake up girl.....

It's your birthday. This is my "drop-dead gorgeous" friend Phyllis. She had just returned from a 2-week trip to Japan when we dragged her to Texas with us for a friend's week-end so it's no wonder that she's a bit on the sleepy side but she held up really well and we all had a great time. She and I go waaay back from 4-H club to college roommates and now to life-long BFFs. She's the epitome of graciousness, a very private person living a pretty public life and she does it extraordinarily well, I must say. Keep on knittin' and for heaven's sake, have a HAPPY BIRTHDAY, will ya?

A few more pictures from Disney World.....

....and then I'll move on to something else. Shana has done a great job of posting a day-by-day log of our adventures. If you'd like to take a gander at that, then click HERE. I especially loved Spencer's fashion choice for Day 3 I think it was. He got asked a few times about his band.....



Disney World is a very friendly place. You get to know people really fast because the bus waits and bus rides are long and it's just what you do and you see a lot of the same people every day because you have to stay at least 5 days to do Disney World justice so it's just easier to chat.... "So, where are you from?"....etc. etc.

If a picture is worth a thousand words....

.....then I came home with 637,000 words. Not to worry. I'm too tired to even get through all my pictures tonight but just wanted to add a few to blog land out there to document the last 6 days of my life at Disney World with Spencer's fam. How could I explain this adventure? Let's see.....it was "Goofy"....



....and just plain "Ducky"....



....and really "Mickey Mouse".....




You can bet there will be more later but I'm home, exhausted, loved conference and ready to finish this blog another day.....Thanks, Spencer, Shana and gang for letting me tag along.

A "shout out" to my mom....

.....on the occasion of her 82nd birthday on March 30.....I won't be here but will be thinking of her while walking around Disney World and remembering the first time she and dad took us to Disneyland. It couldn't have been much after it opened in the 50's but our annual trips to "California" to see my Aunt Beulah and her family were always magical. We would pile (6 of us) in the old tan Chevy. Dad put boards across the seats and made us a bed and put the luggage underneath the boards and we'd have a jolly old time going over the "whoopees" somewhere there by Barstow and would constantly ask "When we gonna be in California" and all the time we really were in California but not in Reseda yet where Aunt Beulah and Uncle Emeron lived. Mom's legacy is her service to others, her impeccably clean home and a cake for all of us kids and our kids and their kids every Sunday night. I started figurin' up how many cakes she's made in her life, counting all the funeral cakes and it's got to be about a million.....and nobody can make frosting like hers. Oh, and the best Lemon Meringue Pie evvverrr!!!! Oh, and potatoe salad!!!And Sunday dinner at her house is divine!

She's always been there for me when I had my babies....when Scott got sick....nobody could love my babies like she and dad when I needed them to be loved in my absence and I'll be forever grateful for that. Some things I've learned from my mom: ya gotta have somebody to hold yer forehead when you vomit in the toilet and if you're there watching somebody throw up, hold their forehead. That's just what ya do. Merthiolate cures a sore throat and I couldn't outrun that finger wrapped in gauze...so I learned to just not tell when my throat was hurtin'. Always fold the towels in half then in thirds. It's easier to just get the dishes done than let them sit over night. I'm not sayin' I always do it, I'm just sayin' it's easier. She taught me how to make tidy, tucked-in corners when putting sheets on the bed and how to iron shirts. Put an undershirt on the babies when you see snow on Pine Valley and it's o.k. to take them off when the snow melts. I could go on and on....but anyone that knows my mom, knows that she's not afraid of work. She's worn herself out working for our family and everyone in her ward and neighborhood....and she just keeps on going, and going, and going. Whose favorite cake are you making this Sunday, Mom? Sorry I won't be there but I'll be thinkin' of ya. Happy Birthday on Monday.

One hundred years ago today......

......Hannah Hegsted Wells Rose was born. This is one of my favorite pictures......a regal lady with her crown jewels.

Epilogue to our Austin weekend.....Kathy's husband bob created this "Memorial to Peeps" after we had all left to go home......I just thought it was very thoughtful and worth posting. Thanks, Bob.

Tis' the season for "Peeps".....

....and ours got started with "Peep Wars" (ever microwaved a Peep?) and it didn't stop....we even took a Peep to the capitol with us and....let's just say.....it got a little "peep" crazy after a while but Peeps are an interesting phenomena (this is the term I chose to use because when I looked up the meaning it said:
" Nowadays, "phenomena" are often, but not always, understood as 'appearances' as contrasted by the word "phenomenon" which in popular usage, a phenomenon often refers to an extraordinary event) ... so whether "Peeps" are an "appearance" or an "event", they are here, and in the stores in amazingly wonderful colors...but they are here year 'round and because I'm a fan, I'm choosing to blog about them and tell you what a wonderful time I had laughing about them. I don't think my "peeps" (now I'm using it as slang for "people") thought it was as funny as I did....nonetheless (is that a word?) it felt good to laugh long and hard no matter how stupid the subject. Click HERE to link to Diana's blog for a more detailed description of our awesome vacation and more crazy pictures.

Deep in the Heart of Texas....

...oh, yes we are and havin' a good ol' time. We've visited the capitol, seen the longhorns and dined at the Stage Coach Cafe (and a couple of other great places)....along with lots of laughin', knittin', shoppin' and eatin'....and just hangin' with the "peeps". Time to head on home tomarra. Ye ha......Thanks Kathy and Bob for puttin' up with our noise and chaos. It's been awesome. Everything really is bigger in Texas, especially all of us after all the food we've eaten. It's been a "rockin' good time". The yellow roses were presented to all of us by Kathy's sweet husband, Bob. What a guy!!!!!