This blog will be slightly boring to some of you - or maybe even most of you, but I am dedicating this to Lukas and Brook. Lukas loves when he jumps and I take pictures. That's all he asks me to do with him when he is here. And what is funny is, he can tell when I'm just holding my camera up pretending or when I'm actuallly taking photos. He'll say something like this.."Take my picture Grammy", and if he thinks I'm not taking pics he'll say.....'Let me see it'. And I always have to have the camera ready and aimed in case he does some 'cool moves'. I will say there is a lot of photo's to look at here, just be glad you don't have to sit through all of them.
Brookie thought she needed to be photographed also, just not as badly as Luke did. This is really for Brian to see what his kids do here, but please - sit back and enjoy along with Bri.
Oh, this is 2 different days of pictures here: Monday and Tuesday. (I already blogged about a previous jumping time with Luke and Brook).
Friday, May 20, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
This blog will be a Happy Birthday page to Allan. 
He is now 14. Last December I bought a 'Groupon' for $99 for a chance to fly a plane at Westwind Aeronautic Flight School in Deer Valley. The person would have to sit in a simulator 
(lam-o....a room with 3 desks with 3 chairs...yeah, didn't work for me) for about 30 minutes and then get to go into the plane. It was supposed to be an hour of flight -but Allan's ended up being about 45 minutes. I think the guy was ready to call it a day.
He is now 14. Last December I bought a 'Groupon' for $99 for a chance to fly a plane at Westwind Aeronautic Flight School in Deer Valley. The person would have to sit in a simulator 
(lam-o....a room with 3 desks with 3 chairs...yeah, didn't work for me) for about 30 minutes and then get to go into the plane. It was supposed to be an hour of flight -but Allan's ended up being about 45 minutes. I think the guy was ready to call it a day. Allan was, of course, treated to breakfast in bed and then our lam-o family tradition of grocery-sack wrapped gifts. Here were some of them: TGIF buffalo flavored chip sticks, a wind-up rubberband airplane, funny nose/uni-brow/glasses (I'm borrowing those for camp), another toy plane, candy, a birthday t-shirt and an envelope with a letter telling about the airplane flight. At first he didn't understand it, but after I talked him through it, he got excited about it. After school, I picked him up and the whole trip over to Deer Valley, a 50 minute drive, he kept asking, 'Are you sure I get to drive the plane'? 
It was a totally fantastic gift. Allan wants to be a pilot now. 
I'm all for that. I got to go in the plane and I was a little nervous because it was slightly - no, pretty much- a windy day. I had a small problem with nausea. No bags needed, but they were close by. Plane was tiny - I was nervous again. Thought of Nie-Nie. Now I'm really nervous. I asked the pilot if he were comfortable flying in this much wind. He had no problem. Yeah, but Allan was going to be allowed to drive. Hmm... still nervous.
It was a totally fantastic gift. Allan wants to be a pilot now. 
I'm all for that. I got to go in the plane and I was a little nervous because it was slightly - no, pretty much- a windy day. I had a small problem with nausea. No bags needed, but they were close by. Plane was tiny - I was nervous again. Thought of Nie-Nie. Now I'm really nervous. I asked the pilot if he were comfortable flying in this much wind. He had no problem. Yeah, but Allan was going to be allowed to drive. Hmm... still nervous.
I had a hard time uploading the video to my blog, so they ended up being on youtube. They are only about 45 seconds or less.
Oh - the exciting part was that Allan had control of the 'steering (?)' handle most of the time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOnMDOoLQrM Taxiing down the runway.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDNhjO4hwtk Making a turn.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsR0Acn8Fhs Some of his flying.
By the end of the day, half of his letters had loosened and he felt the need to peel them off. It's funny how it still ended up being a true statement. Happy Birthday Allan. You have been a great and funny caboose. I love you.Wednesday, May 11, 2011
I guess I should still try and blog every day because when I don't I have to tell a little bit about a lot of stuff and then my blog is crazy. I have been busy with girls camp stuff (no pictures). I leave in 2 weeks and 6 days, which seems like so far away, but we as a family have a few plans to do with Jessii that I need to hurry and finish the silly stuff just to be able to do the fun stuff.
Okay - a few weeks ago I colored my hair. I've been doing it since I turned 45ish. And with trial and error, I have found, with the help of Trudy, my favorite color.
L'Oreal Coleur Experte #80- Toasted Coconut. The past few times I'd been to WalMart, this particular color was not found. I went to Walgreens...not there. I tried Safeway and Bashas', but had no luck. I just assumed that it was no longer made so I bought, with a coupon of course, a different style of color - L'Oreal mind you, just not my Experte. 
Here is what I used instead.
After the dye job:
Here it looks okay, but in real life, my family all stopped in their tracks. And Shannon audibly gasped when she walked in from school. I thought I would just leave it and get used to the darker 'blond'/reddish shade, but after her gasp, I went straight out and bought this:
Now, I didn't have a whole lot of time because it was Wednesday and I was meeting with the girls for mutual to work on girls camp. This kit contained a plastic cap that you would pull hair through these little tiny holes and you could strategically place where you wanted your high-lights to be - um....no time for that, so I just took the mixture and started 'placing' it where I wanted my high-lights. Sadly, my hair turned out more like splotches. Almost like um.....leopard spots, with a few nice stripes here and there. On to mutual I went. Nothing was saiad, but I know I got a few funny looks. As time has gone by it has grown out/faded/I wear my hair in a ponytail. And the good news is, I've spotted my Coluer Experte in Fry's and once again in Walmart, so they just must have had a shortness of them when I needed it. Lesson learned? Have grey roots or stockpile.
Yesterday for school Allan had a presentation to do in his science class. The topic he ended up getting was smoking. He was supposed to argue both side. Yep. Go back and read that sentence again. After emailing his teacher with my silly concern, he said it was more of the smokers rights that he wanted than of the 'pro' side of smoking. Okay. Phew. So, Allan came up with a game using Doug's 'slap-box' (think of Family Feud), Doug's spin-wheel thing (think of Wheel of Fortune) and inside the covered can which is at the very bottom of the picture, are ping pong balls with letters (think of Lingo) that will fill in a word puzzle (think of Hangman). To be able to draw a letter out they must first answer a random question about smoking - Doug made a wonderful stand to hold his poster questions (think of a short easel). If they get the question right (all of them were multiple choice or true or false), then they pulled a letter and got a spin on the wheel which might give them another letter, or more time to figure out the puzzle. He put a lot of time into this. He didn't get the chance to do it yesterday, he is hoping today will be the day.
Oh, yeah, he also added bonus wedges. If they land on this, they get to answer a pop culture question for a candy bar.
On Sunday we were playing Yahtzee Free For All. When it's you turn you roll your 5 dice and try to get what is on the 3 or more playing cards. Jason tried to cheat by using a 6th dice.
I'm afraid the pink dice was a bit too obvious. Don't cheat on Sunday Jason.
Now for my hearts. It was a stretch on a few of them, but here goes. Allan was eating a Jimmy Dean sausage sandwich and said he saw a heart. I had to try several shots to get it.
Um, it was hard to see. I shouldn't really complain because I've heard from others that I'm pretty liberal with a few of my 'hearts'. (that's Allan's fingers. they kind of look old-manish. He needs lotion).
Make-up on my finger.
Elder Thomas' sore on his arm.
Some random girl at Shannon's volleyball tournament that had a 'pock' spot. I had to be brave to ask her if I could take a picture. My first one with a flash (dummy me) didn't turn out, so this was my second one.
Too cute, right?!
Okay - a few weeks ago I colored my hair. I've been doing it since I turned 45ish. And with trial and error, I have found, with the help of Trudy, my favorite color.
L'Oreal Coleur Experte #80- Toasted Coconut. The past few times I'd been to WalMart, this particular color was not found. I went to Walgreens...not there. I tried Safeway and Bashas', but had no luck. I just assumed that it was no longer made so I bought, with a coupon of course, a different style of color - L'Oreal mind you, just not my Experte. 
Here is what I used instead.After the dye job:
Here it looks okay, but in real life, my family all stopped in their tracks. And Shannon audibly gasped when she walked in from school. I thought I would just leave it and get used to the darker 'blond'/reddish shade, but after her gasp, I went straight out and bought this:
Now, I didn't have a whole lot of time because it was Wednesday and I was meeting with the girls for mutual to work on girls camp. This kit contained a plastic cap that you would pull hair through these little tiny holes and you could strategically place where you wanted your high-lights to be - um....no time for that, so I just took the mixture and started 'placing' it where I wanted my high-lights. Sadly, my hair turned out more like splotches. Almost like um.....leopard spots, with a few nice stripes here and there. On to mutual I went. Nothing was saiad, but I know I got a few funny looks. As time has gone by it has grown out/faded/I wear my hair in a ponytail. And the good news is, I've spotted my Coluer Experte in Fry's and once again in Walmart, so they just must have had a shortness of them when I needed it. Lesson learned? Have grey roots or stockpile.Yesterday for school Allan had a presentation to do in his science class. The topic he ended up getting was smoking. He was supposed to argue both side. Yep. Go back and read that sentence again. After emailing his teacher with my silly concern, he said it was more of the smokers rights that he wanted than of the 'pro' side of smoking. Okay. Phew. So, Allan came up with a game using Doug's 'slap-box' (think of Family Feud), Doug's spin-wheel thing (think of Wheel of Fortune) and inside the covered can which is at the very bottom of the picture, are ping pong balls with letters (think of Lingo) that will fill in a word puzzle (think of Hangman). To be able to draw a letter out they must first answer a random question about smoking - Doug made a wonderful stand to hold his poster questions (think of a short easel). If they get the question right (all of them were multiple choice or true or false), then they pulled a letter and got a spin on the wheel which might give them another letter, or more time to figure out the puzzle. He put a lot of time into this. He didn't get the chance to do it yesterday, he is hoping today will be the day.
Oh, yeah, he also added bonus wedges. If they land on this, they get to answer a pop culture question for a candy bar.On Sunday we were playing Yahtzee Free For All. When it's you turn you roll your 5 dice and try to get what is on the 3 or more playing cards. Jason tried to cheat by using a 6th dice.
I'm afraid the pink dice was a bit too obvious. Don't cheat on Sunday Jason.Now for my hearts. It was a stretch on a few of them, but here goes. Allan was eating a Jimmy Dean sausage sandwich and said he saw a heart. I had to try several shots to get it.
Um, it was hard to see. I shouldn't really complain because I've heard from others that I'm pretty liberal with a few of my 'hearts'. (that's Allan's fingers. they kind of look old-manish. He needs lotion).Make-up on my finger.
Elder Thomas' sore on his arm.
Some random girl at Shannon's volleyball tournament that had a 'pock' spot. I had to be brave to ask her if I could take a picture. My first one with a flash (dummy me) didn't turn out, so this was my second one.
Too cute, right?!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
3 days down. Caught them smooching - yikes! Spied them smooching several more times. It's going to be a long 5 weeks.
Luckily Kevin starts work Monday morning around 7am. Jessii (yes, with 2 i's) has an apprenticeship at Diamondback Gymnastics starting Monday at 3:30pm. She has been coaching in her 'mum's' gym for the past 6 years. It might last the full 5 weeks, so that will be nice. One of them gone during the day - the other during the evening. Hopefully they will be too exhausted to 'smooch' to much in the night. Open door policy in total effect everyday-everywhere. (Okay, not the bathroom). However, if I see both of them go into the restroom together you can bet your bonnet that I'm inviting myself in there as well. Yep, I'll be the 'three's a crowd' person.
Happy Mother's Day to you all.......
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Today I am filled with mixed feelings. A lot of them. Kevin is returning today from a 2 week vacation back to Australia. Happy feeling. He is bringing back with him - a girl. Jittery feeling. She will be staying for a 5 week visit. Interesting feeling. She wants to find apprentice work at a gym. Admirable feeling. She left her 'mum' for a long time. Sad feeling. Maybe she is my 'daughter-in-law' to be. Nervous feeling. Will they live here or there? Anxious feeling. Is it too soon to be thinking that? Perplexed feeling. Having them in my home. Comforting feeling.
Gotta run or I'll be late picking them up! Update soon.
Gotta run or I'll be late picking them up! Update soon.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
A few more jumping pictures from a few weeks ago.A couple of Sundays ago, I had to teach the lesson concerning Adam and Eve and the temptation that they had. My opening 'grabber' was this:
This hat shows the 'wordly' distractions/temptation/vices..... TV, music, money(working on Sunday), friends, etc., that the kids and even ourselves can easily get tempted by instead of making and choosing better things.And then I showed them this hat.....
I made Lukas try it on too.
This, of course, representing the temptation (only one) in the garden. It was a good class opener. Silly really.
I made Lukas try it on too.
This, of course, representing the temptation (only one) in the garden. It was a good class opener. Silly really. I am working on another video - my pictures of the egg bash: refer to Carolyn's here:
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