'Tis the season.....

 .....for graduations....and Jack's was today. Kindergarten here he comes. He made it through Dixie College Pre-school. By the looks of things today, I'm sure he was the top of his class. Cute kid.

Me and my boys at the "Crowl" yesterday celebrating the Jacksters birthday. It was a blast.....not even worth my money....no, I take it back.





With the cotton candy and gummy bears, we did get our money's worth. I've got a new thing for kids and buffets....I love it. So fun to watch them pick out food.

It's a big day....

....for little Jack 'cause he's celebrating his 5th birthday today and is the captain of his class and we're going to lunch at Golden Cwowl.....

He's a cutie for sure and through the course of the day and our celebratin' there'll be more pictures on this post but for now, Jack, you are the most....Happy Birthday, big guy. It's gonna be a good day for sure.
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Speaking of baseball.....Sunday night turned into a mini-ballgame as the kids lined up for their turn at bat.

We love our Sunday nights at grandmas.......a huge THANK YOU to my mom for making us cake and putting up with the crew every Sunday night. We love you, Mom.

I'm dang well-pleased....

....'cause James gradiated BYU yesterday. Not s'posed to be "proud" I guess but I am and it was good to be there to celebrate with them.

Then we met up with Traci and fam for a "q" in the yard. Nothin' better than a home grilled burger and a little kiddie to share it with.

A little backyard fun in the sun....

We always love a reason to celebrate. Congratulations James and Lauri. Good times ahead in Nevada. We'll celebrate again in a couple of years. (Just so ya know....I hate that blogger has changed it's format. Blogging is getting harder these days. Guess I'll adjust.....arggghhhhhh.)

My Maycee girl is 10 today....

.....and I'm wondering where the time has gone. This is one of my favorite pictures of her with her dad.

One of my favorite things as a parent has been to watch my sons become dads and my daughters become moms. Another favorite thing as a grandma is to spend one-on-one time with my kiddies on their birthdays and Maycee and I did it yesterday. Treats at DQ and shopping at Justice.

She's one active, talented kid. Love you, Maycee. Have a wonderful birthday and know that you are loved by your B-Amma.......

Missing a good man today...

On Friday, Spencer J. Reber passed from this earth after having lived an 85 year life packed with happiness. I think the hardest part is that he won't be in Pine Valley this summer and I, for one, will miss that. For the past few summers, I would look forward to going up there and visiting with he and Jo on my weekly visits. I haven't been vocal about it on this blog but I am soon to be married to Spence Reber's son, Randy and am very honored to become a part of this wonderful family. I've known Spence and Josephine for years but have enjoyed getting to know the rest of them during this precious time and have marveled at the strength and love they show to one another and especially to their mother and father.

Here is his obituary: http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20120415/OBITUARIES/120415002

He suffered with Parkinson's but it only slowed him down; didn't stop him from doing what he loved. He bore it well. We are all better for having known this good man and our hearts will be with sweet Josephine at this time.

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Randy and I will be married in Pine Valley on May 26.

Wish Spence could be there but I'm sure he will be in spirit.

"Hay"....how was your Easter?

Ours was awesome....low key, relaxed, beautiful weather.....

....excellent "picnic" food.

...blue skies.....

...great company...

....the thrill of the hunt....

....open spaces to play....

Thanks, Joyce and Jay for letting us invade. We had a great time.

My little boys of summer...

Wednesday was their turn to debut....McKay, Seth and Jack.

Now I'm here to tell ya that there was a day that baseball consumed our lives....so, it's a joy to be able to do it once again on Monday and Wednesday nights.

Watching my sons "patiently" take on their role as coach is totally cool in every way. Their dad taught them well...."play hard, play tough, have fun, go Rangers (or Red Sox or Angels or Phillies, whatever....). Love it, love it.......

The boys of summer....

....were at it tonight at the ball field for the season's opener. It was Drew's turn tonight....his very first season of little league with some others to follow. Seth and McKay are on the same team so that will be easy....then little Jack (and I'm not sure if Evan's playing or not) but my Mondays and Wednesdays will be filled up for a while but it was good to hear the bats crackin' tonight.

Leon's the coach but Spencer is helping....brought back some fond memories of the days when they played and their dads coached.

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Kenny: "Hey, Spence....we all have our Boston hats on."

"Maybe your mom could take a picture of us and put it on her blog".....

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Conference was good, as usual but even better as Joyce and I got some "up close and personal" tickets....

My favorite quote from conference: "Stop it" by Elder Uchtdorf (which could apply, really, to a lot of things we are doing). This is a favorite that I plucked from Facebook.

I feel blessed every day to have another chance.....

85 and still very much alive...

...and very loved as exhibited by the streams of well-wishers that came today. What started out to be just a little cake and ice-cream at the house in case anyone stops by turned into a full-blown birthday party. Mom has spent her life serving others and some of those that have been touched by her generosity came by to wish her well today. It has been a wonderful day to pay tribute to a very deserving person.

The cake was beautiful but the highlight of the day was this morning; as she was reprimanding me for going through her cupboards looking for something, I happened on her patriarchial blessing nestled amongst some genealogy sheets. I said..."...hey, I've never seen this before. It's your patriarchal blessing". She had a tizzy fit on the spot, says she thought it had been lost forever or burned somewhere. It drew tears in all of us as we read it and saw, after all these years how the promises in it had been fulfilled through all of her kind and loving service to others. What she thought was a very plain, inconsequential blessing turned out to have a world of meaning to her on this 85th milestone.

It was great to spend the day with my mom today. I loved every minute of it.

Whew....I'm tired but it's been a really, really fun day celebrating

When it comes to moms.....

...I'm here to tell ya that mine is one of the finest....and tho' she's not in her "prime" any more, you'd never know it by the pace she keeps, the cakes and pies she makes and the service she gives.

She says she doesn't want any "hoopla".....

....but we gave her a little tonight as we all showed up to Golden Corral to celebrate with her...

...and the crew sang a little birthday ditty....."I don't know but I've been told, someone here is gettin' old....I don't know but it's been said, someone's face is turning red".....

....and there'll be more celebratin' throughout the day 'cause she made it to 85. I think I figured up last year how many cakes she has made through the years. She makes one every single Sunday for all of us to come and eat so you do the math. I think she's been doing it for about 40 years or so.....We love ya Mom. You are our hero.

Hangin' with Captain Jack....

....at the Dixie College Preschool yesterday. He invited me to be there with him and I was there the whole time (gained a greater appreciation for pre-school teachers) and it was fun to watch him and his little friends.

He got to choose helpers.....surrounds himself with the girls. He's a charmer for sure.

Last week it was Max that I spent my time with. Loved every minute of it.

We caught a little of the airshow action out at Joyce's and....

....enjoyed hangin' with the goats.

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YOU ARE SO GOING TO WANT TO TRY THIS......Scooter's Spaghetti. Got the recipe from Joslyn Sorenson andhere's the link to the awesome cooking blog whence it came.....

http://www.salad-in-a-jar.com/family-recipes/scooters-spaghetti. Check out this blog. You will not be disappointed. It's a bit like my Crusty Cheese and Noodle Casserole.....but way better. Let me know what you think.

On this day...

....forty years ago, I donned my 3rd white dress and became Mrs. Scott G. Wells. One of the happiest days of my life for sure. I felt like a princess in my beautiful white dress (that I purchased at Maude's in Hyrum, Utah for 60 bucks). The reception was paid for by my Grandpa Sullivan...set him back about $250. My colors were yellow and green and it was a lovely evening....what I remember of it.

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Here I am ten years later, after 4 babies, and still able to get into my beautiful white dress....each year thereafter, I would try but it got harder and harder.

Some years, I'd just look at it and know it wasn't going to fit....this year, after losing a few pounds, I had high hopes. At least got the arms in....but no zippy uppy this year. It was fun to try and I was closer than last year for sure.

Scott gave me a good, full life as we raised our 5 children but he left me way too soon and the last ten years I've gotten really good at being alone. Do I like it, no...but I've gotten good at it. Stay tuned to see what the next ten years will bring.....hopefully, I'll always be able to at least get my arms in my white dress. Here's to staying healthy and happy for another ten. Speaking of happy, it was awesome to go to the Sunshine Tournament again after many, many years. Brought back some good memories. Scott and I spent many an anniversary helping put on this tournament as members of the Booster Club at Dixie High School

It was a good day at the fields as Dixie dominated most of the game but got behind and in the bottom of the 7th, with a two point deficit, was able to get a clutch hit and win the game.

Those were the good ol' days of baseball when the boys made the news. Good times and one of the remaining traditions that we can go and enjoy for years to come. May our lives all be filled with more wins than losses. Happy St. Patrick's day one and all. Enjoy the air show. It's great to live in Dixie.

So whatta ya do...

....when it's Spring break and ya didn't get to go to Disneyland? Well, today we found some shave ice at Hawaiian Grill (Snow Shack where are you????)..............

....and enjoyed the cousins and the sun.

...also, blog worthy....A "G.A." SIGHTING.... Yep, Joyce and I headed out to our usual Tuesday lunch date and saw none other than Elder Uchtdorf...handsome as ever, with his family at Cracker Barrel. He smiled at me and I was glad he and his family got to enjoy lunch without anyone interrupting them but as he walked out, he shook a few hands. They don't really want to be celebrities but they really are.

Anyway, it was fun to see him. Another interesting little tidbit that I saw today was that one of the prizes behind the big door on The Price is Right was a trip to St. George, Utah. Ye haw.....couldn't believe it but the guy won it along with a week at Red Mountain Spa and a Wave Runner. Lucky guy for sure. The prize was worth $21,000. We are on the map, folks......

My birthday girls.....

.......Traci and Emily and a great big shout out to two of the sweetest girls on the planet...and, speaking of sweet,

it's also the birthday of the Girl Scouts. BTW, Traci is 27 and Emily is 9 but......

Girl Scouts is 100 years old today. Click on the link to meet the cookies (and vote for your favorite)..... http://www.girlscoutcookies.org/default.asp?page=MeetCookies. Mine is the Samoa but the Tagalong is a close second. Tried the Lemonade this year but not too impressed. Anyway, time to hook up with your favorite cookie and I heard there's a recipe book to go along with the cookies. I'll check it out. I found a link..... http://littlebrowniebakers.com/cookies/mmmmm-try-girl-scout-cookies-in-recipes/ if you have some left-over cookies (ya, right). Anyway, interesting stuff. So....Happy Birthday today to Girl Scouts, Dale Murphy, Darryl Strawberry, Liza Minelli, James Taylor.....but mostly to Traci and Emily. Eat cake and Girl Scout Cookies today. (FYI...the reason I know that it's the Girl Scouts birthday is because when Traci was born, they came and took her picture and put it in the paper and gave her a quilt and a lifetime membership to Girl Scouts because she was born on their birthday.)

It's always good.....

...to have all your ducks in a row and I don't really know what that means but it seems like it would mean to kind of have everything in order, which I think would be a really good idea but on this day, the ducks weren't cooperating; they were even fighting, some of them violently for our mere crusts of bread even tho' we know they get fed all day every day. Still they provide a wee bit of entertainment for the kiddies....(and me).....

....and Laynee, bless her heart, was ever so willing to try the flower thing one more time...probably not even remembering that day of terror so many years ago. Couldn't resist posting one last picture of my daffs....love them so and they've probably got another good week of beauty left in them before they return to the dust.

....and finally, what more can I say about Crazy Grandma Camp other than we did it again and it was as crazy as ever....missed George but I'm sure as the kids grow older, I'm competing with more exra-curriculars and friends but I will keep trying; even little Matty joined us and partied with the big kids but when 7:15 rolled around, she came and found me with her blankie and led me in to the crib.

....and I was ready for my crib long before they all were but I kept the girls and made a mid-night run to Village Inn for breakfast....

....but I have to say....the dance-off is my favorite part of the night. They've all got some pretty good moves. Should post a video one of these days. I do love these little ones, every one.