Celebrating the Fourth of July at the cabin

We had a great time celebrating the Fourth of July at the cabin in Island Park.

Shaun's Surprise Birthday Party

On April 17th our daughter Amber gave Shaun a huge surprise birthday party at our house. It was a great party. I will post pictures later.

Tommy, Nancy, and Victor came to visit

April 9th and 10th, 2010

I was trilled to have my grandson Tommy, and his parents Nancy and Victor come from Twin Falls to visit me. We had Shaun, Amber, the twins, and Evan over for dinner too. It was a fun evening.

Easter 2010

This Easter was a little different than usual. A heavy, wet blanket of snow fell during the wee hours of the morning on Easter in Salt Lake City. The weather continued to improve, so we waited for the snow to melt until 2pm to have a fun Easter Egg hunt. We were much smaller in numbers this year. The kids hunt had just 3: Trevor, Colter, and Chloe. Trevor found the most money. The young adult hunt had 4: Abby, Brennon, Katie, and Evan. Abby found the most money. Then we had a small old adult hunt with 3: Danny, Pam, and I. It was fun. Pam found the most money. We had a nice dinner cooked by Danny at 5:30pm. We played a few games, and then it was time to go home. I sure did miss all my family members who weren't there. And of course my mom worried me by saying that this was her last Easter. But, we had a fun weekend.

My Birthday and I am not a senior citizen!

My birthday celebration has been spread out, and it sure has helped to face the big dreaded DOUBLE FIVE Birthday. And no, I don't feel any different, and not I'm not a senior citizen!
On March 13th I was visiting Nancy and Victor for the weekend in Twin Falls. Nancy made me a delicious birthday dinner: spinach lasagna. It was nice that I was able to celebrate with them. They gave me a battery operated Dolphin fountain.
On March 30th my visiting teachers delivered 3 beautiful pink roses to my work. Since then I've been getting birthday wishes from all my co-workers too.
Then that evening Amber cooked me another delicious birthday dinner: swedish meatballs, my favorite vegies, and a fantastic cheesecake. Brian and Nele were there too. Mark and Shaun went to bed (they catch the site bus early) and the rest of us played speed scrabble after dinner.
Tonight Mark and I are going to dinner with our friends David and Joni to the Sandpiper Restaurant. They are going to have a tough job to trying to cook a meal as good as my daughters Nancy and Amber did. Joni and I share the same birthday and we are a lot alike.
But my actual birthday day started at midnight when I went to the storage room to look for some easter stuff and found water on the floor. So I spent the next couple hours taking care of that. I beleve the rain gutter outside is clogged with leaves and we had a lot of rain yesterday. So when they tried to call me in early to work, the phone ring did not wake me.
I've received several happy birthday phone calls already, so thanks everyone for helping me through the tough DOUBLE FIVE.

My Florida Trip with the Bengal Dancers

The Bengal Dancers Team flew to Florida on Thursday. My text from Katie was: hey, I’m on the plane to Orlando. It’s nonstop booo haha. (January 14, 9:44am.)
She knew that our plane tickets had 2 stops. That evening I drove from Twin Falls to Pocatello. I was meeting 3 other mom's to drive to Salt Lake City tonight. But, they weren't ready, and it was 11pm by the time we left Pocatello.

JANUARY 15, 2010, Friday
On January 15th I flew to Florida with 3 other mom's and a 16 month old girl. (the daughter of the youngest Bengal dancer). We left our hotel room at 6:30am to leave for the airport. (And we just went to bed at 2:30am). We spent a long exhausting day traveling.
text from Katie: I hope your traveling goes ok today! Let me know how it’s going! We’re gonna go practice and play! (that was thoughtful of Katie)
I was hurrying to the gate for our connecting flight in the Atlanta airport when I received a phone call. “Katie is OK, but she is in an ambulance headed to the hospital.” Her coach explained that she choked on some chicken and couldn’t swallow. As soon as we disconnected I read the text that arrived while my phone was off on my first flight: text from Katie: I can’t swallow I’m choking 2:50pm At first I thought, oh it’s just like Ben, he’s been through it, and then I got al upset. Katie was so far away, in the emergency room, and I was stuck in Atlanta waiting for a late plane. My son Ben talked to me and calmed me down.
text from Katie: Might as well call me Ben Jr., haha
3:24pm By the time my plane landed in Orlando, Katie’s coach Hilliary said the procedure was done, and she was just waiting for Katie to wake up. They put Katie out and removed the piece of chicken and stretched her throat from a 12 to a 15. (the normal size is 20) I tried to decide if I should take a taxi to the hospital. But I ended up traveling with our group to the hotel, and taking forever to get checked in to our room, and walking all over the place. I kept in contact with Coach Hilliary and Katie at the hospital. Afterwards the hospital did another x-ray of Katie, and then they wanted to see if she could swallow soft food. They finally arrived back at the hotel around 8pm and the team was practicing out in the parking lot. Katie attempted to join them, but she was still unsteady and her coach made her sit down. By the time I saw Katie we were finally in the cafeteria getting something to eat. What a relief to see my beautiful daughter Katie coming towards me. She ate 2 bowls of ice cream for dinner. This was a stressful day.
(I left my camera cord in Twin Falls,so I will post pictures later.)

My January vacation-Babysitting

I traveled to Twin Falls late Sunday evening on January 10th.
pictures will be added later

New Year

I traveled to Salt Lake City to spend New Years Eve at my mom's house.

Christmas 2009

I'm really behind on my blog, so I'm trying to catch up.
Christmas Eve, I cooked for hours to make a nice Christmas Dinner. Amber and Shaun and the babies, Evan and Katie were supposed to be at our house for Christmas Eve for dinner and to play games. But, Amber and Shaun didn't come at 4:00pm when they said they would, and then they didn't have the twins. Just as we were finishing opening gifts, the twins got dropped off by Amber's mom. They spent about 15 minutes gobbling down dinner and took off for a church service. And that was our Christmas celebration with our kids. Pretty short. We were supposed to play games after their church service, but they called and said they wanted to tile their bathroom instead.

My first visit with my new grandson Tommy

December 18, 2009
When I got back from Oklahoma a little after 1pm, I repacked my bags and left for Twin Falls about 2 hours later. Amber made dinner for Nancy and Victor, so I stopped to pick that up.

Yipee! My training is done.

I am happy that my training at the NCED in Norman, OK is complete and my final exam is done!
Tomorrow I get to fly back to Idaho Falls.
Yippee!

A new Grandson!

My 6th Grandbaby will be born today. Nancy and Victor went to the hospital at 1am this morning. I wish I wasn't so far away in Oklahoma. It seems like it is taking forever for Tommy to arrive.

Tommy was finally born at 3:38pm!!!!! He weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces.

Training in Oklahoma

Well my training in Oklahoma started this morning in Oklahoma. I'm not sure where to post my pictures, on here or on facebook. But, it is starting to get late and I still need to study.

I posted the pictures on facebook.
December 6, 2009 Sunday
I’ve decided that I HATE flying anywhere. I had a nightmare trip back in January of this year, and today isn’t much better.
3:00am I awoke on the couch and began to get things done. I have felt so terrible the last 3 days with really bad stomach cramps. I organized Christmas gifts for wrapping. I worked on our budget. I washed clothes and took the Thanksgiving decorations downstairs.
I went to church and finished packing for my trip.
12:20pm I arrived at the airport, only to find that my airplane had not even left Denver. AAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! My flight ended up leaving over 2 hours late. And to make matters a ton worse, my cell phone died while we were parked on the runway waiting. And then when I arrived in Denver discovered my phone charger was in my checked luggage. Anyway I missed my connecting flight to Oklahoma City. Now I’m stuck in the Denver airport for over 2 hours.
11:15pm I walked into my hotel room.

December 7, 2009 Monday NCED BMEU Training
7:00am I have training every day for Bulk Mail Acceptance. Then we have homework to do at night. They have a nice fitness facility and I’ve been going there each evening. I got a fitness evaluation, I went to a nutrition class, a marriage relationship class. They are trying to help us improve ourselves in all areas of our lives. At the end of all the optional stuff they ask us to make goals.

December 11, 2009 Friday NCED Training
7:00 Training all day as usual.
4:00-6:00pm I went with Greg and his wife Tammy to see the local Casino run by the Chickasaw Indians. I went in one door and out the other, it was way too smoky. I walked around outside for a few minutes. Then we just drove around town, and then went to Wal Mart and I bought a few snacks and a book to read.

My Dad

I worried all week about my dad. He went to the hospital again for 2 days. So on Friday as soon as I got off work I drove to Salt Lake to see dad. On Saturday I spent 3 hours cleaning and reorganizing his bedroom. Dad isn't allowed to go downstairs anymore. Which is where he has spent all of his time, reading and watching TV for many years. Dad is not happy about not being able to go downstairs anymore.
Here is Colter and Chloe decorating Grandma's Christmas trees.


On Saturday I left at 1:30pm to drive home and spent the evening taking care of the twins. They are such a joy to be with.

Thanksgiving in Washington

November 25, 2009 Wednesday
I worked 10 hours today. They called me in early. And I had planned on finishing my packing before work. So when I got done working I had to rush home and finish packing.
4:50pm When I finally got on the freeway. I picked up Katie at her apartment and I drove to Nancy’s home in Twin Falls.
7:30pm Katie and I arrived at Nancy’s home. Nancy took Katie on a tour since it was the first time Katie had been there. They feed us dinner, and we played Catch phrase for a few minutes.
8:30pm Back on the road again. Katie drove.
3:45am We arrived at Jason’ house. We hadn’t expected to arrive so early, the garmin doesn’t account for time changes.
4:15am Back on the road again. Jason drove.
6:30am We arrived at Ben’s house. He was already up with Kiersten. Before long we were upstairs playing Ben’s new video game while Katie slept. And soon Ben and Jason kicked me out of the Wii game because I kept dying.
I helped Kara set the table for Thanksgiving. She did such a good job. Little children are so sweet and pure.
We had a good Thankgiving dinner early in the afternoon. We were all so hungry, we didn’t even wait for the potatoes to get done. We had some good ham, no turkey. I think that is the first time in my life I didn’t have turkey on Thanksgiving. Becky made homemade rolls and pies. We had corn on the cob (my favorite vegetable) and other good stuff. We had a nice day talking and playing games. I end up watching TV whenever they go back to playing their video game. I did miss seeing my mom, dad, and my sister Pam today. (and of course little Nicole)

November 27, 2009 Friday
Katie and I tried to get to Wal Mart at 5am. We arrived a few minutes late, and the store was jammed with people. We got a few things.
6:15am we arrived at Fred Meyer. Katie and I love to shop there the day after Thanksgiving. We’ve shopped there for years and they always have the same sales. It was 9am by the time we left. I spent way too much money, but I bought a lot of gifts. Meanwhile Jason was at the house alone. Ben had gone to work, Becky had taken the girls shopping. Then I slept for a long time. Becky brought the girls back and Jason and Katie watched them. Ben got off work early. We played a game and then Ben wrestled with his printer to get it to print our Zoo tickets for the Zoo lights. We finally arrived at 7:35pm. It was so neat, they had beautiful lights everyone, and animals made of lights. I loved it. They have a really nice acquarium and we spent a lot of time there. We stayed until it closed at 9am.

November 28, 2009 Saturday
After breakfast I watched a dull movie called Reach with Jason and Ben. It was a true story about
(I just copies this from my journal, I'll fix it later and add pictures)

A wild weekend

I knew this weekend would be crazy, but it was tons of fun.
Friday
I went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse with Mark since it was the only time I would see him this weekend. Driving back home I got so sleepy I went to bed and slept for 8 hours (instead of driving to Twin Falls).
Saturday
I got up at 4:45am. Got ready to go and left just as the snow was starting in Idaho Falls. By the time I got to Blackfoot, the roads were sheets of ice and then most of my trip was at just 45 mph. I finally arrived at Nancy's home at 10am.
At 11:00am Nancy's baby shower began.


Tons of people arrived, there were 30 women and 4 kids!!! And 12 other ladies stopped by before and after the shower. Everyone thing was really nice, and Nancy has a beautiful home.
At 1:30pm I had to rush off, there were still a few guest at Nancy's when I left. I got to Pocatello to the Holt arena to see Katie perform at her last ISU football game.




It was a great game, but so long........I kept thinking I should leave, get on the road to my mom and dad's house, but the game was really good, and the ISU Bengals won in the last 35 seconds. I got lots of good pictures which I'll post later.
7:20pm back on the road again driving to my mom and dad's house. Mom and I played one game of May I and we went to bed.
Sunday
9:30am I went to breakfast with Mom and Dad.

Then Dad and I loaded all his pop can into the back of his truck. I helped Mom put away Halloween decoration and then brought up Thanksgiving decorations. I washed sheets and made all 5 beds downstairs for my family coming at Christmas time. And that was a lot of work, cause I was still trying to clean and organzie the area too.

Ta da! I worked hard to prepare these room for Christmas company.

Mom and I made time for just 3 hands of Kings in the Corner. I won for the first time ever!

Then Pam and her kids called me and wanted me to come by their house on my way home. They called me a bunch and really made me feel wanted. So at 8:00pm I arrived at Pam's house.


I gave them some pirate shirts I bought on sale and we played 2 games: Bones and the animal game.

It was 12:30am when I got home and then I had to take care of Sky. It was very cold outside. I hear with the wind chill last night it got down to minus 11.

Nancy's Baby Shower

We had Nancy's Baby Shower today at my house. It turned out really nice.


High School friends: Destiny, Nancy, and Ericka.

I'm excited

I'm excited for everyone to arrive this weekend. I'm hoping I get to see most of my relatives. I've been preparing all week for Nancy's baby shower tomorrow.

I let Nancy open the gifts from me on Friday night since we needed to set them out for the Price is Right game.


Our daughter Amber spent hours making the best diaper cake ever.

Happy Halloween

Well, I started out the day with a sore throat) (still. So I didn't go to a Cedar Badge meeting in Pocatello that I was planning on going to. Not feeling good sure did put a damper on my week.
Trick or Treaters started coming at 5:45 while it was still light. It was beautiful weather for Trick or Treating, 53 degrees and no wind.
Katie called me at 6:45pm and said that she and Jake were driving up to Idaho Falls. Katie requested the traditonal Halloween food. So I ran to the store and made hot apple cider and sloppy joes. We played Uno Spin all evening.
We had a lot of Trick or Treaters this year, 153. I think it was because of the nice weather. I had a nice Halloween because Katie came home to visit. Kids, and their excitment is what makes Halloween fun. I miss the days when my kids were at home. (I will find an old picture later)

A mouse in the house

We have a mouse in our bedroom!
I was looking for the stepic stick to treat the 4 cold sores on my lips when I discovered that the top drawer beside my bed had mouse turds in it…eeeww……!!!!!!
So today (Saturday) Mark was looking in his dresser drawer that sits across the room from our bed for some papers and discovered mouse turds…….eweeeee………He pulled the drawer out to clean it out and all of a sudden he yells “the mouse is in the drawer” I rushed into the bedroom, Mark is kneeling on the floor in front of his drawer and he says “hand me a shoe quick” I just looked at him because we keep all our shoes downstairs in the locker room. The in-wall vacuum hose was laying on the floor (because I had vacuumed out my drawer by my bed that I had found mouse turds in) and Mark says “Hand me the vacuum, I’ll vacuum him up.” I protested as I handed him the hose because I’m picturing this mouse traveling through the tubing in the walls to the canister in the garage and the mouse getting stuck.
Needless to say, as Mark lifted the book and mouse ran by him to the other side of the room super, super quick. I thought it was so funny that Mark thought he could actually vacuum up a mouse. Ha, Ha

A few minutes later Evan called and Mark said “I have a mouse in the house”