Carol's Thoughts

No, really...

2010-03-09T14:50:00.000-08:00

Can't we all play nicely in the sandbox?

Baltimore

2010-01-24T15:49:00.000-08:00

Jamie and I just returned from a weekend in Baltimore. Jamie went on business, so I tagged along. I got to see 5 of my Grandkids - Lana, Kevin, Isaac, Andy and Mason...whom I am not able to see very often, usually twice a year... which is not nearly enough!

So,here are some pictures from the weekend.

Cute, sweet Andy.

Kevin and Andy driving the grocery cart!

Steve and Ike

Here, Mason and Kevin having a chat!

Cute Mason who is 7 months old. I hadn't seen him since he was 1 month old.

We had a great time. We went to the Childrens Museum on Saturday and ate at McDonalds for lunch, which later, Steve and Kevin ended up getting sick... we think it was the chicken! No more McDonald chicken for us

"Lady Lana" Doug and Andy

Unfortunately several of us have come down with a 'stomach bug' the day after the museum.

But sick or not sick, it was a fun weekend!

Oops...sorry Linds

2009-09-28T20:19:00.001-07:00

LindSAY and Steve.... Sorry Linds I spelled your name wrong! :~(( My mom still spells Jamies
name wrong after 32 years. I think it is my age...

2 beautiful babies

2009-09-27T07:07:00.000-07:00

This summer was great! We had 2 adorable additions to our family. Lindsey and Steve had a darling baby boy, "Mason Swint Bay". He was born June 20th, 2009. He looks just like his brother and Sister, Ike and Lana. I was able to spend a few days out there helping Lindsey while Steve went to scout camp. It was a lot of fun. Problem is, I don't get to see these kids very often, so the next time I see little Mason, he will not even look the same. Here are some pictures:

While there I was able to see Doug and Lee and their kids too. That is one of the pluses of having 2 kids in the same vicinity....well one airport. Doug and Lee and their two kids Kevin and Andy joined me and Lana and Ike one day up at the Strausborg train in Lancaster area, which we rode to a childrens farm. It was so much fun. The kids had a blast! Here are some pics of that:

Ike was so funny at the trains, he did not like it when the train itself whistled, he wouldn't say anything, he just would cover his ears. Lee bought all the kids their own train whistle which was much calmer on the ears. Here is Ike and Kevin being the cool farmers they are.

Even Doug and Lee joined in on the fun.

We also just had another addition to the family, Kristi and Jared had an adorable baby boy also. His name is "Reed Cameron Hamilton." He was born September 10th which is also his Grandpa's birthday ( Papa). So that was a nice treat. He was born after a long summer, of threatening to come at 30 weeks. Luckily Kristi was able to stay on bed rest until this little guy would be at a safe gestational age which was 36 weeks. But, I guess he finally decided that it was way too comfortable in his mothers womb and he was finally induced out at 39 weeks. He did kinda start on his own, but needed some encouraging. He was finally born and boy was Kristi and Jared glad. I think Jared was more relieved to have this baby here, than anyone. Here are a few pictures

Here is Kristi and Jared just moments before the birth. Kristi was going to try to have this baby natural... but, the pain was just too much and so she scrapped that idea! Smart woman!

Cameron was very alert as soon as he was born. It was fun, because he would just look around, checking things out.

The kids holding baby Cameron. Luc was all excited because he got to get out of school early to come to the hospital to see the baby.

That is all the babies right now, we are not expecting any other Grandkids at this time, but we suspect there will be a couple more coming in the next few years. So, we will enjoy those we have and look forward to more as they come.

Blueberry Syrup and Waffles-YUM!

2009-07-29T21:54:00.000-07:00

For my first step in being a better cook, I started off easy. I made yummy waffles and homemade blueberry syrup. Well it was Emeril LaGasse's recipe. It was the easiest thing ever and it was very yummy. Here are some pics.

The waffles were from Bisquick, and Emeril's Blueberry syrup was:(may have to write all this down, it is quite complicated!) haha

2 cups of light Karo Syrup

1 pint of blueberries.

Combine both ingredients in a saucepan and bring to boil. Let it cook for a couple of minutes and then take a potato masher and mash the blueberries. Keep warm until serving.

This picture was when the syrup was still really hot. It looks much better now in a container in the fridge, but still tasted yummy!

Hey -it's a start and if this is good enough for Emeril it is good enough for me.

Food glorious food....well sometimes.

2009-07-29T06:47:00.000-07:00

I LOVE FOOD! So, you would think that after 32 years of being a wife and mother that I would have picked up some skill in the cooking field. I am addicted to the cooking shows on TV such as "Top Chef" and "Next Food Network Star". I love watching the Food Network channel and I love cookbooks. I am always picking a new one up at the store that catches my eye. So, you would think that I would be a great cook, chef, baker...but I'm not.

Last week at my son, Steve's house, I made one of Lindsays recipes. It was a chicken tortilla casserole It is a tasty casserole, one which she has made for us before, but for some reason when I made it, it was AWFUL! If it wasn't Sunday I would have ordered pizza after! Then last night, I made Chicken and Rice. I have made this many times, but last night it was dry and bland. Anyway, watching the "Next Food Network Star" has inspired me to put more effort into my cooking. I have to do it whether or not I like it, because I have a husband and right now kids and grandkids to feed- and it is embarrassing that I struggle with cooking a basic meal.

Melissa on Food Network Star, has inspired me. She is not a trained chef, she is a wife and mother who has turned a "chore" (as I see it) into a passion. We all have to eat so why not learn to love it and do it well. So, now that I am 50, entering a new decade, I am going to make an effort to try a new recipe a day. Breakfast, lunch or dinner- it's all free game. I will let you know what happens, and pass on good, easy recipes!

memorial weekend pics

2009-07-11T20:51:00.000-07:00

On Memorial weekend, Kristi and Jared and the kids came and visited. While there we celebrated Sami's 4th birthday which was on Memorial day.
We went swimming and to the Phoenix Childrens Science museum.

Here is Luc and Sami on her 4th birthday. We are at the Phoenix Childrens Science museum.

Tyler showing us how good "minute maid" is~!

Sami jumping into Kristi's arms

Lucas "walking on water" after he jumped off the wall.

Tyler Jumping off the wall into Kristi's arms

Kristi and Tyler

Tyler, Luc , Grandma Carol (me) and Sami

Before and After

2009-05-21T16:31:00.000-07:00

The past 5 days, we have been doing a little updating in our kitchen. My father-in-law has been coming over everyday helping us bring some color into the kitchen. this is a before picture, by the stove....

Another before picture....The whole kitchen was white except for the drainboards. Yikes!

We put up tile along the drainboards/backsplash, and around the island.
And here is an "after" picture: This is what it now looks like, 1000x better than it was.

Another picture: So, if any of you need tiling done, call me! I now know how to do it!!

Thanks Dad Bay for helping us!!

Anyway, now if I can get the floor clean!

Ducks

2009-05-14T16:47:00.000-07:00

Monday night Jamie and I were putting up a new
Outside porch light, and these ducks came waddling up
the sidewalk, right up to us.

There is a male and female duck, I guess they
were on a Family Home Evening walk! :~)

I went into the house and got some bread and fed them,
They were so tame acting,,, and didn't seem to be
spooked by us. Finally they flew away over to the golf course
where there is water.

Family

2009-05-03T21:25:00.000-07:00

Paul, Dad, Me

Paul and Oakley

Cade and Tyler

Samantha, Papa Jay, Jayden

Lucas, Sami

Ty and Sam

Happiest place on earth for the big 5-0.

2009-04-27T15:37:00.000-07:00

I Just booked the hotel for my 50th birthday getaway! For my birthday, I told Jamie that I wanted to go on a girls outing with 3 of my good friends! So, we are going to go to Disneyland and hopefully The Price is Right!! I am soooo excited. The friends I am going with are Correen, Joan and Cindi! They are all a blast and it will be a ton of fun!

Ladybugs,Lightening bugs and dragonflys

2009-04-25T10:22:00.001-07:00

I LOVE ladybugs...Dragonflys and Lightening bugs (fireflys). When we lived in Memphis, I was crazy about ladybugs... I think they are cute and they are the one bug that I can actually hold and pick up. I also like dragonflys although I probably wouldn't pick one up, but they are interesting to me. Since moving from Memphis, one of the things I really miss about Spring and especially summer are the Lightening bugs or fireflys. It is so cool to be outside at night and see them light up. They are fascinating. As far as other bugs go, I can do without them.

"Hot" Dog Days

2009-04-23T21:24:00.001-07:00

It was in the low 100's yesterday, and so in the late afternoon Jamie and Cody decided it was time to test out the pool. Cody was hesitant at first, but then got the feel for the water and realized it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.
Here are a few pictures of his first swimming experience.

He loved it and kept climbing in the pool. When he is bigger, I think he will be a jumper and a diver. I hope I don't come out and find him floating face down in the pool one day!

Safety pin

2009-04-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

Anyone need a safety pin?

Update on Cody...

2009-04-18T22:37:00.001-07:00

He is still alive!

Pet peeve

2009-04-18T22:20:00.000-07:00

At work yesterday, I sat by a woman who was probably in her 40's. I am almost 50 so, I know I was older than her, but ALL DAY LONG she kept calling me "Hon" or "Honey". It was the most annoying thing ever! I can't stand it when people call me hon or honey who are not entitled to do so! Only my husband and my parents and inlaws are allowed to do that! Anyway, it REALLY bugged me and I was so glad to get out of there so I wouldn't have to hear it again!

hot or cold?

2009-04-18T22:17:00.000-07:00

So, not that I am complaining, especially with those of you still battling the cold and the snow, but a few days ago, it was windy and cold... in the 50's -60's (I know that isn't cold to most of you, but to us down here, it is cold).
Today it warmed up to about 85 and tomorrow it is supposed to be 96! What is the deal with the weather.? It just can't make up its mind... cold one day, hot the next.

update

2009-03-31T18:38:00.000-07:00

Update on puppy...

Well, it has been 4 days since the dog trainer came, 5 actually, but whose counting. Anyway, I must say I do see some improvement. Cody is much quieter in his pen, and doesn't nip as much. Still does some, but not nearly what he was doing. I think we just got a really crazy dog, with tons of personality, and cute to boot. I know a lot of people have puppies that are perfect from day one. This must be one of our trials!! haha....

I spoke with the breeder and she says that Cody's mom has pups like this, but they will eventually calm down. He will be a lot of fun, once we get him under control. For now, I must stick with the plan (today is a new day) and realize he is a dog, a puppy, and doesn't know better yet, he has no clue when I talk to him, what I am saying, except he knows his name. I have to treat him like a dog, not a human.

I am not giving up, although I would like to at times. He is sleeping better at night, but is an early riser. Once he is potty trained, I can just let him get up and roam while I go back to sleep. Can't wait for that!

Dog days, but help is on the way!

2009-03-25T17:36:00.000-07:00

So, in the context of Lee's daily list of happenings, here is a list of my own morning routine, living with Cody.

1. Wake up at 5 to dog whining, take him out to pee-he does (have previously been up at 12 midnight and 3 am with dog).
2. Put puppy back in Crate
3. Try to go back to sleep
4. Fall asleep but wake back up at 6 am to dog whining
5. Lay there mumbling under my breath....use your imagination!
5. Finally get up at 6:10 am when dog howls louder
6. Take Cody out to pee... he does
7. Think Cody will control himself in the house running around bedroom-he doesn't he goes CRAZY!
8. Jumps up to bed and barks and bites at anything hanging over bed, including feet
9. Pick Cody up whilst getting nipped at constantly-feet, hands, hair, ears...
10. Put Cody in Pen in Kitchen
11.. Give him food and water
12. Take Cody out to pee-he does (7:30am)
13. Try to play with him,,,,more nipping toes, feet, hands, legs, pajamas, fingers, hair...etc.
14. Give up and put in Crate
15. Go hike for 1 hour --Yeah... free from puppy attack!
And the rest of the day continues, nips,bites,jumps,barks, pees, poops,nips,bites,jumps,barks,whines,poops ----which leads to shopping while dog is in crate!

After many days of this, I called a professional puppy trainer Kay, and she is coming tomorrow! Hallelujia!
I'll let you know what happens! Do your magic Kay!

Yep --you told me so Jen! But he sure is cute!

Puppy blues

2009-03-18T17:21:00.000-07:00

So, it has been a little over two weeks since we picked up our puppy. I must say, I have probably hit every emotion since...excited, joyful, happy, frustrated, stressed, angry, melancholy, apathetic, pain, overwhelmed, elated, proud, tired, exhausted, ticked, incompetent, hopeful, discouraged, and today encouraged.

Having a puppy as all of you who have had puppies know, is not easy as you think. Sure they are cute and bouncy and fun, but they are a TON of work! It feels like I have a two year old and an infant all rolled into a ball of shedding fur! Getting up every two hours for potty breaks wears old after 2 weeks, but I am excited to say that Cody slept through the night the past two nights-YAHOO! I was beginning to think that I am too old for this, but I know I am not, and have a renewed hope that I can train this puppy.

I will post pics as soon as I find my camera battery charger so I can download on this new computer.

Cody Bay

2009-03-04T14:42:00.001-08:00

We picked up our puppy on Saturday. He is 7 weeks old and is an English Springer Spaniel.
Here are some pictures:

Here is Cody, keeping cool in the bushes in the back yard, it was in the high 80's today, so it was a bit warm for him...and me.

Sweet face...although, a bit misleading, he is a feisty one!

Here he is just posing for the camera

Giving Jamie kisses!

Trying to stay cool.

From a distance he looks black and white,but he is actually mostly brown. He is what they call a "sable" color. He has a mixture of black and brown, and white.

He is fun, although he is a nipper...we are working on that though and I am determined to win! His personality is coming out, but I'm telling you what, he has an attitude! It will be interesting and a bit of a fight for the power! I feel like I have a new born and a 2 year old all at the same time!

8 days

2009-02-20T09:43:00.000-08:00

Only 8 days til we get our puppy! Yahoo!!!

Whirlwind

2009-02-19T20:55:00.001-08:00

I spent the last week and 1/2 visiting all my kids and grandkids. This doesn't happen often, and I am so glad I was able to do this.

We (Jamie and I) first flew to Nashville and helped Lee and Doug drive out to Maryland, their new home state, and helped them move into their cute, cute townhouse. It was so fun to spend time with little Kevin and Andy, and love on them for 2 days! Then we drove up to Pennsylvania to spend a night or two with Lindsay and Steve, and played with their adorable kids, Lana and Ike, who I am sure is going to be a linebacker for an NFL team one day!
Then I flew to Salt Lake to babysit the other three grandkids, Lucas, Samantha and Tyler. They are so cute and busy! I was exhausted by the time Kristi and Jared came home, but enjoyed the time I spent with them. I always think I am younger than I am and it is moments like this, that I remember my age! It was fun to drive the kids to school, to dance, to karate, and everything in between! Kudos to you Kristi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One very memorable things we did that week was that I took Luc, Sam and Ty to the Draper Temple openhouse with my mom. The kids were so good and reverent throughout the tour, I am sure they felt the warmth of the spirit there. Lucas talked about going to the temple all week and that it was his favorite thing we did. It was a wonderful experience.

Saturday night I went to my moms symphony concert and heard the "Kings Singers". They were very entertaining and I really enjoyed it.

On Sunday Jerry and Julie and their family gathered at a church building and blessed the 5 new little grandkids they had. It was a nice evening, and fun to see the family and those sweet babies. The next day, Mac (Dad Bay) got JoAnn and I up at 2:30 am, to drive home to Phoenix. Was he kidding? But, we survived and I slept most of the way thanks to merezine (anti-nausea) medicine! We got home around 4:30 pm, so it was a long day, and I slept good that night. Now I am back to my normal life, cleaning cupboards, playing piano, watching "Top Chef, and Biggest Loser" and enjoying the quiet!!!

Blogger talent?

2009-02-19T20:47:00.001-08:00

I think people are born with a 'blog talent'. Yep, as hard as I try, I just can't be consistent like Lee or Mary or Jen with this blogging thing. Maybe I have an uninteresting life, that I don't feel ya'll want to hear about, such as; keeping the laundry in the washer over night, and having to rewash it like 2-3 times, or how my cupboards are a mess because I have too many cans of food to fit in them, or that I am really excited that the 2 guys I voted for on American Idol Tuesday night were voted into the top 12! Yep, I really think there is a talent at keeping a blog. I guess I am one that has to work harder to develop this talent than others. What's new anyway, I am like that with most everything!!

Hiking at South Mountain

2009-01-24T17:07:00.000-08:00

So, I have told you previously that I have been hiking with a friend, several times a week and have meant to get pictuures. Well, here are a few. We are fortunate enough to live just 5 minutes from this park, 'South Mountain Park' it is called, and so it is very convenient. In the summer time we usually go at 5 am, but in the winter it is too chilly at 5am, so we go at 8am. Much nicer. Now, those of you who live in the northern areas of the country, where you are dealing with the cold and snow, sorry....these pictures were taken a few days ago, when it was a balmy 60 degrees at 8 am. Gotta love Phoenix winters!

Above is a view from the first part of the trail.. we have about 1/2 mile of this semi-paved trail, and then it turns into dirt/rocks. The goal is the dip or bottom of the 'v' where the sky meets the mountain.

About 3/4 of the way up the mountain, I needed a breather and took this of our state plant.... the saguaro cactus. This is a fairly young one, only a couple hundred years old or so. ;-)

This is a view from the top... well, the first stop. you can continue which we do sometimes do, but lately we have stopped here and headed down. You can see the trail below. It is quite the hike, and I am surprised my heart hasn't given out yet. Apparently the more we do this, the easier it is supposed to get.... hasn't happened yet!

puppy

2009-01-20T06:51:00.001-08:00

By the way, the puppy is a male. Haven't thought of a name yet, just waiting til something jumps out! Any ideas??

A new years goal...

2009-01-19T22:57:00.001-08:00

What is it about a New Years? It is a strange phenomena, one day (Dec 31) we are burdened down with the economy, elections, the housing crash, weight gained and lost and gained, sorrows and joys we felt the last 12 months, and then bam...we go to sleep and wake up the next morning (Jan 1) feeling renewed... like all our previous cares of the day before are gone. When in reality, it is the same week, and we still have our burdens, but for some reason we feel hope for better things to come. We feel like we can set goals and succeed, we look forward to writing a new year on our checks just because it's tomorrow.

I must admit, I am terrible at goal setting and every January, I sit down and write down my goals. This works for a week or two, and then I go back to my old self and go back to my old, habitual ways.

Well, this year, may be the same, but I have a new incentive. I only tell you this because, I am hoping that if I write it down and somebody besides myself reads it, then maybe I will work harder to achieve this. Now if you know me well, you know that I HATE my teeth. Yep, they are not teeth I can be proud of, and for years, I have envied anyone and all who have shiny white, straight, perfect teeth, well perfect in my eyes.

So, my good husband has challenged me...now it wasn't entirely his idea, I planted it in his mind not really realizing it, but it is brilliant. Now again, if you know me well, or not so well even, you know I HATE to exercise and diet... and I have battled with my weight for years now, only to become a living yo-yo. You ask, 'what does this have to do with my teeth?". Well, I will tell you.

The other day, we were driving home from Vegas and I mentioned to Jamie that I would LOVE to have a nice set of teeth....not dentures, but I wished my teeth were different, white, lovely etc...He told me that if I can get down below a certain weight, (no, I am not telling you, but trust me it is substantial), that he would pay for me to get my teeth fixed, capped, veneered, or whatever.

Now he didn't tell me this, because he thinks I am a fat slob, but because he knows I am trying to lose weight and have had trouble with finding an incentive to lose it. So in front of the 12 people or so that read my blog...I am going to strive for this goal, however long it takes! I am hoping though, that by June I am well on my way, because I have a cruise to go on!

Puppy love

2009-01-19T22:06:00.001-08:00

Kattie the mom...she is a beautiful dog...we fell in love with her and her pups. Ours is the one in the middle -bottom of the picture...

Today is Martin Luther King day and since Jamie had the day off we drove down to Tombstone, AZ to look at some Springer Spaniel puppies. We have been contemplating on getting a dog again, and have narrowed it down to a Golden Retriever (Jamie's favorite) and a Springer Spaniel (smaller and what I am leaning towards). Jamie coerced his parents into driving down with us, which was a lot of fun, and we went down to check out the puppies.

It's our new puppy....well almost!

After driving 3 hours we arrived at the breeders home. We instantly fell in love with Springers, they were all so sweet, and loving and friendly. Once we saw the puppies, I knew this is what I wanted. Two hours later, we walked out of the house as future Springer Spaniel owners. We found a puppy we loved, and put a deposit down on it. We will be able to pick it up the end of February.

Front view of our puppy.

Sleeping puppy

Good experience

2008-12-22T16:29:00.000-08:00

I had a really good experience today. I went with two other sisters from my ward and helped dress a sister who passed away last week. I have never done this before, and was surprised at how sweet the experience was. We dressed her in the temple clothing and she looked so nice afterward. This sister had passed away from breast cancer and had been suffering for quite some time. It was nice to see her at peace.

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."

2008-12-18T07:42:00.000-08:00

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Well, maybe not outside, but Jamie has been busy decking the halls inside and I must say, it looks mighty festive.

Jamie loves putting up the Christmas village and since living in Phoenix, we haven't put it up until this year.

From far left: Jerusalem and Germany, then moving right is London, school and park and a fair.

We have about 70 other houses that we did not put down, they are currently up on a shelf in our family room.

This is a part of the wall the houses are on. Maybe one of these days, we will have a house big enough to put them all out.

Thanksgiving

2008-12-15T16:11:00.000-08:00

I know it is late in coming, but we had a great Thanksgiving, the only thing that would have made it perfect is if Kristi and Jared and their kids were also with us! :(

We went to Pennsylvania to Steve and Lindsay's house and had a great time. The best thing besides the grandkids, is that we found out that Lindsay is expecting again. We are thrilled and just hope the grand kids keep coming!

Wednesday night jamie and I babysat, while Steve and Linds had a long overdue date. We had fun watching 'Tinkerbell" and made chocolate chip cookies. Lana was a big help

Papa, Lana and Ike eating chocolate chip cookies and milk before bedtime.

Thanksgiving day, we had a great Turkey dinner thanks to Lindsay and Steve and enjoyed every bite. The next day, Doug and Lee and their kids drove in from Nashville. Once they were rested up, we piled in the cars later that day and drove to Hershey PA. Chocolate is one of my life lines, so I was thrilled!

Ike, Kevin and Lana at the Hershey store

There was a ride at this Hershey store that took you on a tour and showed you how the chocolate is made. The kids had a good time on this, and so did the adults, nice not to have to walk!

After the tour, we went to dinner and then came back to the Hershey park where there were rides the kids could go on, like the Merry go round, and all sorts of kiddy rides. They had a great time, but it was sooooo cold! The kids even saw Santa's reindeer!

The next day, we went home. It was a short trip, but very fun and it was fun to see the kids and grandkids. Maybe one of these years, we will have the whole family together for Thanksgiving! It's a dream of mine!! :)

Grandma again!

2008-12-09T16:09:00.000-08:00

So, I am going to be a Grandma again! Lindsay, is pregnant with her number 3 child and my number 8 grandchild. She and Steve are not going to find out what it is until she delivers. It will be a fun surprise! I am looking forward to loving another sweet grandchild! Can't wait!!!!

New Orleans 1st Branch

2008-12-07T10:57:00.001-08:00

This last Sunday, Jamie and I visited the New Orleans 1st Branch. It was a great experience, and I am afraid I can't do justice by telling about it, because "you had to be there", but I will tell you anyway.
As we entered the church, this cute African American older gentleman greeted us at the door and gave us our program, and we went in and sat on the back row. All through the meeting, this man mumbled under his breath, making comments after the testimonies and I expected him any time to stand up and say "Hallelujia!" I thought it was cute, but Jamie thinks he must have not been quite right. Anyway, as we sat there, I looked around and now, if you are like me, when I go to a new ward or branch, I immediately make a judgement, I know, it isn't the best thing to do, but I picture myself as a new member of the ward I am visiting. Sunday, was no exception, I counted about 60-70 people in this small plain chapel, and thought to myself, "I certainly wouldn't want to move into THIS branch". Little did I know, but by the end of the meeting my opinion would be different.

After the sacrament was passed, the congregation was invited to get up to bear testimonies, including the visitors, they were reminded that they were asked to fast for missionary efforts, since they were a branch, they have hopes of one day becoming a ward. The first couple of people came up to the podium, and bore their testimonies, one lady gave a history of her life for the past couple of years, and told how her house got gutted from hurricane Katrina, and the challenges she faced. The next sister was a cute young young lady who was from the Czech Republic. She and her husband had come here last year and she spoke about how this year has been one big miracle. She improved on her English, they found a beautiful cheap apartment, and she did well in her college classes. As she spoke in her broken English, I was taken by how humble she was and was so grateful for all that she had been through this year good and bad.

After she spoke, a middle aged African American man came up and as he stood, you could tell, something was wrong, he had a hard time getting up and walking to the podium. As he started to speak, all he could do was cry, he couldn't speak the words, and you could tell he was trying so hard to. He could manage to say "teach me to walk in the light", that was about all. At this time, his wife came up and stood beside him to give support. She didn't say anything and neither could he, finally, they started singing "Teach me to walk". They sang two verses together. It was his way of bearing his testimony. We were all in tears, not because it was such a beautiful way they sung, but the simplicity and the sincerity with which they sang. At the end of the meeting, the Branch President stood up and told us that this brother, had had a stroke, and even though his mind was completely fine, his speech was affected by the stroke, and the only verbal thing that wasn't affected was his singing. It was such a great meeting, everyone in the chapel was crying including Jamie and I. After the meeting, I just wanted to sit there, and stay all day. When we left, I told Jamie that I could totally live this branch!. It was a very sweet experience, that I will always remember.

Holland

2008-11-30T21:02:00.000-08:00

Hogerbeetstraat 16, 2242 Wassenaar NL

Kristi was looking online for pictures of windmills in Holland and came across the house we lived in when we were over there. It is actually a 'townhouse' type house. It is very typical of Holland housing. Apparently the house is up for rent again, and so we were excited to see pictures of the outside and the inside. It brings back great memories. Ours was the one with the pine tree in the yard and the silver car in front, next to the white picket fence.

The neighbors had a golden retriever, and every morning she would walk to the market, and bring the dog. The cute thing was the dog would have a leash attached to its collar, and have the other end of the leash in his mouth. He was walking himself!

Twilight

2008-11-21T17:16:00.001-08:00

So, today was the big day for Stephenie Meyer fans. "Twilight" came out, and although I thought of staying up and attending the midnight showing last night, I value my sleep too much and knew the movie would still be there.
My friend Correen and I went to a 9:45 am showing of it today and it only cost us $5 to get in plus of course the bottle of water and milk duds I bought which cost $7.50-definitely a rip off, but it is what it is.
Although I am not a huge fan of the twilight series, I have read the 1st and 2nd book and am almost done with book 3, I know, I am soooo slow in reading this series. Most of my friends have read the series several times and I am barely finishing it for the first time.
So, it was a good movie, different, but good. Not sure about Edward, the jury is still out on him.
I won't say much, but it pretty much follows the book which I think is a good thing and I think you big fans of "Twilight" will enjoy it.

DISGUSTING

2008-11-12T17:36:00.001-08:00

So, Lee and Jen were right..The mystery picture was actually a really moldy fruit salad that I discovered still in my garage refrigerator that has probably been in there a month or so! Trust me, it smelled as bad as it looked. Obviously I don't use that refrigerator much. I guess I just forgot about it. YIKES... But it did actually kinda look like your granite countertops Jared and Kris, I wish it was, actually! IT WAS DISGUSTING!!!!!

Reminder Kristi--you may want to take that tomato shrimp drink you "so dearly love" out of your garage refrigerator Dad left in there, before it looks like my moldy fruit salad.

Biggest Loser

2008-11-11T19:42:00.000-08:00

I don't know how many of you are following the Biggest Loser show, but I cannot stand the Blue team. Except I do like Amy (she wasn't an original). But, seriously they are so rude and I don't know if I want to watch it anymore, because it makes me so mad! They are a bunch of crybabies and whiners and act like they are in junior high. Wait...... Brady just got sent home tonight! YAHOO!!!! There Vicky!! Amy you are my hero!
I guess I'll watch it next week.

Hmmmm.......

2008-11-11T19:17:00.000-08:00

Any Guesses???????

Halloween

2008-11-08T18:52:00.000-08:00

We were in Utah this year for Halloween. Here are some pictures.

Lucas was a Transformer, Tyler was Buzz Lightyear, and Sammy was a Fairy Ballerina

This is Jared and Lucas being silly, while carving a pumpkin.

Cute Sammy waiting to carve pumpkins

Tyler opening presents after trick or treating

Tyler and his spiderman cake after trick-or-treating

fishing

2008-11-08T18:05:00.000-08:00

Jamie and I went camping over Labor day weekend about 3 hours north east of Phoenix. For his birthday around that same time, I bought him a couple of fishing poles-one for me and one for him. He had told me a few weeks earlier that he wanted to learn to fish.

So, at the end of our weekend, we packed up our trailer and headed for home, We saw a sign for a lake and decided to try our hand at fishing. Why not eh? I remember as a child fishing with my dad, he LOVES to fish. I remember dad showing me how to bait the hook with worms, which is actually quite disgusting, but I did it.
So, I figured I could do it now that I am much older and wiser. We bought some worms and proceeded down to the shore of the lake. There were a lot of people there, families especially, and so we tried to find a spot farther down so we wouldn't make fools of ourselves in front of the masses.

We plopped ourselves down and proceeded to bait the line and start casting. We were quite proud of ourselves, because we actually did quite well with casting. We didn't look as green as we were. After a few minutes a large family came down and started fishing next to us. There were several young kids, and they just started pulling fish in like crazy, we were humiliated, because we hadn't gotten one fish, we did have bites though.

Here is Jamie fishing for the first time.

Well, just as we ready to call it a day, I caught a fish! It was so exciting, but when I pulled it out, I didn't know what to do with it. I had no recollection of how to unhook a fish, and what to do with it. So, I ran over with it to the people next to us, the dad had all sorts of gadgets, and he tried to get the hook out. But, unfortunately the hook was too deep in the mouth and so he had to cut the line and we threw the fish in. I felt sooooo bad. Here was this fish who was probably going to die, and it was all my fault!!

But, it was still exciting to catch a fish, a little one, but it was a fish! Sweet!

My little fish

Here is me holding my fish, it blends in with my jacket.

4th of July

2008-11-08T17:38:00.000-08:00

So I just downloaded 300+ pictures from our camera of pictures we have taken this summer.

Over the 4th of July we went camping with Kristi and Jared. We met at Zions Park in Southern Utah and had a really good time.

We stayed at "Zion Ponderosa Resort" just outside of the East gate of Zions. It had a ton of stuff to do, a great swimming pool, horseback riding, petting zoo to name just a few things.

This is a picture of Luc, Tyler and Sammy riding horses with a guide. They had a great time. We thought Tyler would be afraid of the horse, but he didn't even bat an eye.

We took a day and went into Zions Park, which was beautiful, but it was sooo hot that we only stayed a few hours. This is a picture of Kristi and Jared and their kids.

We had a good time, but would probably go earlier in the year next time, in April for Easter rather than in July because it was too hot!

Pretty good week! ha

2008-11-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

Well, it's friday now and Jamie and I still feel pretty crummy. We must have caught some viral thing and just can't shake it. I went to the doctor yesterday, to see if they could give me an antibiotic or something to help, and see if I have a kidney infection. Last Friday when I woke up, after driving 12 hours, and sleeping for about 3, I had this terrible lower back pain that didn't let up until sunday evening. It was so hard to get up out of a chair or even move side to side, but thankfully Kristi had some ibuprofen that she let me take, which took the edge off, and luckily by monday morning this pain was minimal. So, when I told the doctor this yesterday she checked my urine and found blood in it, and now she thinks I have kidney stones. What? This is Jamie's department. He has kidney stones often and this is one thing I don't want to go through! I am completely fine with Jamie cornering the kidney stone market in our family. All I can say is, sorry kids!
So, Wednesday I get to go and have a renal and pelvic ultrasound, I just hope I don't have an attack like last weekend. That was miserable.
So, besides the sinus infection and the kidney stones, it has been a pretty good week!

This week

2008-11-05T16:04:00.001-08:00

So, we had a wonderful weekend in Utah, with my dad's 80th birthday, and my grandsons 2nd birthday, it was a full but fun weekend. The only big complaint I had is that I booked a luncheon at "Market Street Grill" in Cottonwood for a family luncheon on Saturday for my dad's 80th. He along with everyone else told me that MSG was a GREAT place to eat, fabulous food and atmosphere. Well, the room they gave us was okay, not quite what I expected, but the wsorst thing was, the food. The salad was ho hum, and the Halibut was pretty bad, although I ate all my food because I was famished! My sister was the only one who had steak, and she said it was great, she was the smartest one of the bunch of us! It makes me mad because we got 2nd rate food at a 1st rate (supposedly) restaurant. They charged us $25 for the room, which I wonder why because we were the only ones in the basement area...and then the food was crummy. I don't think I will go back to MSG at least the cottonwood area one. Which is sad, because I love seafood and have heard so many good things about this restaurant. Anyway, I'll just chalk it up to experience.

Sunday morning we went to my brothers church where he blessed his baby- Jake, and it was really nice. I was really glad we went, Paul (my brother) bore his testimony, which I don't know if I have really ever heard it, and it really touched me. He is a good guy!
That evening we had a Thanksgiving dinner with my whole family and it was YUMMY! I of course ate way too much, but just couldn't help myself.
Most of the guys were down watching football, and so a few of us left upstairs played Balderdash!
Seriously, that is a very fun game! It is hard, because you have to make up scenarios, definitions, etc... and that can be tough, but it is funny what some people come up with.

The next morning Jamie and I both woke up Monday morning feeling under the weather, you know scratchy throat, headaches, so we knew we were going to have a "fun" drive back to Phoenix. Well, we decided to stop in Vegas because Jamie had a conference call he had to make, and plus we were both feeling rotten.
Jamie booked us a great room at the Marriott Las Vegas resort, way out in west LV, and it was great. It had a big whirlpool bath tub that I sat in most of the evening trying to relax my body and clear up my congestion.
The next morning we both were feeling lousy still, and headed out to Phoenix. The weather was great and we were anxious to get home to vote and relax. We got home about 2 pm and voted then both went to bed. We were looking forward to watching the election results, and tried to watch them until It was clear that McCain didn't have a chance, so we went to bed for the night.

This morning I was pleasantly surprised and thrilled to see that the Prop 102 in Arizona (marriage amendment) and the propositions in Florida and California also passed! To me this was more huge than the presidential race. I was so glad that even though my candidate didn't win (yes, I voted for McCain), that the most important issue on the ballot did pass. It makes me feel like we won anyway. So I am happy!
Now lets see if we can get Romney in 2012!

Safe in the arms of a man...

2008-10-24T20:15:00.001-07:00

Time for another blog, because I am tired of looking at my Prop 102 blog when I open it up.

What is it about men? Now I'm not talking about how they act, but when Jamie is home, at night, I feel safe. I can go to bed, even if he is in the other room, and not be freaked out by some strange noise I hear. But when he is gone, I become all anxious if I hear an unfamiliar sound, or a pack of havalinas squeeling, or the ac goes on and my door pulls shut from the pressure, or the palm tree fronds rub against the window, and my mind starts wandering about all the things that could happen at night to a woman alone in a house etc, etc, etc. When Jamie is home for some reason knowing he is in the house, makes me feel safe and comforted.
So, he was gone all week for business in Louisiana, and I usually don't mind him gone a few days, but this time, It was toooooo long. (I decided he can't go away for a whole week again, unless I am with him).
This trip, I think I was more nervous with him leaving because (and this is really dumb), we put up a "YES on Proposition 102" sign in our yard (for marriage between a man-woman). Some of our friends had their signs stolen, graffiti'd on and so forth, so I didn't know if someone was going to egg our house or torment us because of this sign. I had visions of someone torching our house because of this sign...stupid I know... It seems that this election year is bringing the crazies out by the dozens. Anyway, don't get me started on the election, it makes my blood boil!

So, when Jamie is out of town, I usually go to bed early, around 7:30-8:00 and put in a movie and relax. When I am dozing in and out of consciousness, I wake up enough to turn the TV off. I don't like to turn it off too early or much before 11 pm because then I usually don't fall asleep soon enough and I lay there and hear all sorts of sounds and creeks and it freaks me out. So this week, I haven't gotten a lot of sleep, but tonight I will, because he is home! Yeah!!

During my lonely nights this week, I did watch a cute movie. I bought "Baby Mama." I thought it would be silly and kinda dumb from the previews, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was cute, silly in parts, but well done. The problem though, was that the whole time I was watching Tina Fey, all I could see her as was Sarah Palin. They seriously must have been separated at birth!
I did enjoy the movie for what it was, an entertaining, cute movie that required no thinking whatsoever!

Thats all!

Prop 102-Marriage

2008-10-19T22:25:00.000-07:00

For all you Arizonians, I encourage you all to vote YES on prop 102. This is a short statement to define marriage only between a man and a woman. This is a huge issue in California also. A few years back Californians voted in a law that defines marriage as a union only between man and woman. Unfortunately the California Supreme court recently overturned this law, thus all the gay marriages that have been flooding California recently. California is voting this election on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as only between man and woman. By making it an amendment, the supreme courts will not be able to overturn it. This is the same thing here in Arizona, a constitutional amendment not just a law. Florida is also voting on this same issue this election. So, keep us all in your prayers that this will be voted in. And if you live in California, Florida or Arizona, vote YES! It has dire consequences for families and churches if it is not passed. It protects the children, and the family unit. We must stand up for what is right, no matter what the world says.

scorpions

2008-10-19T22:15:00.001-07:00

Lets see, what shall I blog about today. I went to Home Depot yesterday and bought some tomato plants and squash and jalapeno pepper plants to plant in our garden. I also bought a black light. Strange, I know but come to find out, scorpions glow when you shine a black light on them.
It all started a few days back when Jamie saw a scorpion in our hallway. Unfortunately as Jamie was getting the tape for me to pick it up with, the scorpion ran under the door of our hall closet. That sucker was moving quite fast, and we just were not fast enough to catch it. Plus, you don't want to just pick it up with tissue, because it will sting you. So, I opened the door, and couldn't find the darn thing.
So, we went to bed, and decided to invest in a black light to help find this critter before it finds us!
So, last night, I turned off the lights and turned on my black light and went through the closet and all the bedrooms, kitchen, bathrooms, and finally the living room. Low and behold I shined the light in a corner of our living room between couches and there was the scorpion, glowing like it was hit with a high dose of radiation. I yelled for Jamie, and as he kept the light on him, I ran and got some packing tape. We were lucky enough to catch that sucker and I disposed of him outside in the garbage can. I should have gotten a picture but didn't want to dig through the garbage. So, now we are scorpion free, at least for now. I then went outside and "hunted" for scorpions with the black light, but had no luck. Maybe tomorrow night! It was cool. Next time I catch one, I will take a picture of it, I know you are all dying to see it! :)

exercise; arghh!

2008-10-08T07:51:00.000-07:00

So, for the past 3 weeks or so, a friend and I have been getting up at 5 am and hiking up a mountain for exercise. This is all foreign to me, because I am not an exercise person. I loathe exercising! To me it is boring, and to get up at 5 am....well...I'll just say, I love my sleep. This "hike" is brutal-I am not the most in shape person, so I huff and puff and my leg muscles scream at me as I force my way up the mountain. The best part is reaching the top and looking over the valley we live in. It is beautiful with the sun coming up over the hills, and the saguaro cactus' silouhette against the sunrise backdrop. When we start out at 5, it is dark. No moon, only a few stars and you can hear owls and a few coyotes in the distance. It is a little creepy, but we bring our flashlights, so we can at least see where we are walking. Plus, I am hopeful that the lights keep the coyotes and havalina's away. Now that I have been doing this, I must admit that I really am starting to enjoy it. I automatically wake up at 4:30ish, so I don't have to set my alarm. I enjoy the peacefulness in the early morning and being outdoors in the cooler weather...80's! The very best part is I feel better during the day, I don't feel achey as much and seem to have more energy. I also have lost a few pounds between the exercise and eating better. So I guess exercise does have it's benefits!

Grandkids

2008-10-06T17:09:00.000-07:00

I just returned from babysitting 3 of my adorable 7 grandkids. It was so fun and I really hated to leave! Kristi went to Chicago with her best friend Erica and seemed to have a very memorable and fun time, so I had the privilege to fly to Utah and spend 5 fun filled days with her kids. Unfortunately my camera battery was dead, so I didn't get any updated pictures of them. We made a halloween gingerbread haunted house that was a disaster, I threw it in the garbage the next day. Have you seen those kits? They make it sound so easy and the picture on the box is just perfect. Well, when you try to put the house together, the frosting is so thick even after squeezing the tube for 60 seconds like it says, and the walls just don't stay together. But, the kids had fun decorating the roof and needless to say we were all covered with black and orange frosting by the time we were done. We also watched "Flushed away" movie about 4 times, Shrek (one of my favorites), the Incredibles, Cars, took cookies to Grandpa Swint, had Sunday dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Bay and Jenny and Doug, read books, went for a walk, went to Walmart (dangerous place for grandmas and grandkids!) played on the trampoline and had movie nights Friday and Saturday with popcorn, homemade pizzas and had a great time. It is amazing how much I love my grandchildren. All the grandmas I talk to feel the same way about their own. They light up my life, and I love talking to them on the phone, getting little pictures they have colored, cute messages and fun pictures. Keep those pictures coming kids! Hopefully next spring I will be able to go out and babysit the other grandkids. We need to bond you know! (hint). Grandkids are the best, keep 'em coming :) !!!

Random

2008-09-27T21:34:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I am having trouble finding a name for my blog. I just can't seem to find a title that fits me ...yet. "Random thoughts", the newest is probably most like me because I am very random with everything I do. I can come up with the most random comments at church, with my friends and on the phone or wherever I am. So, maybe this is what it will be. We will see. Who knows what the title will be next week.

Thoughts for today

2008-09-22T17:28:00.001-07:00

I was looking through a book filled with inspirational quotes. Here are some I really liked- enjoy!

"Let us then be what we are, and speak what we think, and in all things keep ourselves loyal to truth."
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen."
Winston S. Churchill

"It's a funny thing about life- if you refuse to accept anything but the best you very often get it."
W. Somerset Maugham

"Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant."
Horace

And this one is in honor of my mom-the eternal optimist:

"A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities; an optimist is one who makes opportunities with his difficulties."
Reginald B. Mansell

Thats all.

Mt. Rushmore-a proud moment

2008-09-16T19:13:00.000-07:00

This summer, as my mom and I finished up in Nebraska, we headed for home via South Dakota. We decided to head up to Mt. Rushmore since I had never seen it in person. It was a gorgeous day, cloudless blue sky, rugged hills lined with emerald green meadows dotted with bison. As we approached Mt. Rushmore, I was anxious to see this great land mark that I had only heard of and seen in picture books. I really didn't know what to expect, except some faces of past presidents carved in rock. As we came around the final bend, I looked up and saw this magnificent mountain with sculptures of 4 of the greatest, most influential presidents of this great country. The majestic sculpted mountain against the brilliant blue sky was breath-taking. I was in awe at this great art sculpture and was having trouble fighting back my emotions. I suddenly felt very patriotic ready to sing out on demand the National Anthem. Luckily for mom and those around me, I resisted the urge! It was a time to reflect on what a great blessing it is to live in this great country and how proud I am to be an American. It was to me one of the most spiritual moments that I will not soon forget.

Nebraska corn

2008-09-16T18:46:00.000-07:00

This Summer my mom and I went on a road trip to Nebraska, where she was born. It was great to see the tiny town my mom was born in (real tiny town-Ithaca) and to see where she grew up for most of her youth. We stayed at her best friend's house whom she has known since first grade. It was really nice to get to know these good down-home humble friends and get to spend a few days on a real farm where they raise corn. The best part was being able to eat all the fresh corn we wanted. It was the tastiest corn I have ever had. It really made me appreciate the endless hours and hard work that goes into the food we eat. These are good God-fearing, humble people who help make this great country of ours what it is. I am so glad I was able to spend time with my mom, who I don't get to see very often. We had a great time driving and passing train after train after train... I hope we can do it again.

BIOS boot order

2008-09-16T18:09:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have had many inquiries on what my BIOS boot order is. Well...here you go:
Here's Dougs BIOS boot order. What's yours?

Stupid movie

2008-09-13T20:14:00.000-07:00

So Jamie and I watched a really dumb movie last night... no we didn't go out, we are too tired on Friday nights to go out, usually we come home from work, make dinner... or pick up dinner and climb in bed and watch a movie. So, Jamie went to blockbuster on the way home from work and picked up "What happens in Vegas" with Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutchner. If you haven't see this... don't! It was amateur acting...VERY predictable story line, Cameron Diaz looked old and like she put too much" instant tan" solution on. Ashton was his normal self, playing a loser of a kid, and not doing a very good job of it. The whole time I watched it, I was thinking to myself, who in the heck directed this? I could do a better job. Anyway, it was disappointing, especially since Jamie spent 20 bucks on it.

this blog thing

2008-08-13T09:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am finally getting this blog thing going. It is taking forever... trying to figure all of the ins and outs of it. Thanks to Lee, I am slowly getting it done. Anyway, I am a private person, and maybe that is why I have been hesitant to do this. Writing my thoughts, feelings, daily life activities for all to see, is not in my comfort zone. So, I will get uncomfortable and use this as a "non-private" journal. We will see how it goes.