Good times in Morgantown

On Friday the 21st we flew to Morgantown WV to visit Jacob and Julia and see where they live in their new town home. The weather was quite a shock to our system since we left 70 - 75 degree weather and went to High 34, Low 25's!! Snow and cold and rain were the norm while we were there but we still had a great time with everyone that could join us. Kandis and Nic flew in and we picked them up Monday morning and then Joshua and Alexis and Megan and Bryson drove over from Kentucky on Wednesday afternoon. We had so much fun eating and playing and eating and playing. We spent our time doing a little home improvement in between the fun and of course ate out when we could and on Thursday we had a wonderful meal together. What a great time we had and I hope you enjoy reading and looking at some of the pictures we took. I know others have a lot more pictures than I took so post them on your blogs so we can all see them please! LUVS

Nic's birthday

The weather was horrible and so we could not celebrate in Pittsburgh as planned. After spending some time at Cabellas we headed back to Morgantown and went out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse with everyone. It was a great place to celebrate and food was really good. Loraya was fascinated with Kandis having a baby in her tummy so she shoved her dolly under her shirt and tried to look like Kandis. The first day we woke up after going to bed Loraya asked if the baby was out or still in her tummy!!

Here is Loraya riding the birthday saddle. Yes, Nic was asked to ride the saddle also for his birthday song and he was a good sport and did it!!

Home Improvement Time

Kandis and Loraya were giving moral support to the guys while they were doing some home improvement projects. While we were there we added new hardware to the cabinets in the kitchen! Towels in the bathrooms, pictures and mirrors, new lights, new window blinds, and who can forget the new shelves in the garage so they can now pull in a car in their garage!! Did I forget anything???

Jacob and Julia working on the hardware in the kitchen. It really dresses up their beautiful cabinets with their stainless steel appliances. Julia made a great choice in handles and knobs!

Nic fast at work with the marking template to make sure we were putting on the knobs in the right place. It is amazing what a few guys can get done together!! We are so glad they are so handy dandy!!

Cabellas in Wheeling PA

On Monday we traveled to Pittsburgh to pick up Kandis and Nic from their hotel stay and on the way back we stopped in Wheeling PA at the Cabellas. The weather was very cold and raining and so we were trying to find things we could do that was inside instead of outside! Here is Sid in front of the African exhibit inside the store.

Loraya tried her hand at the shooting gallery and did quite well for not seeing what she was shooting at!! Watch out Sid, she will be ready to go hunting with you in a couple of years!

Loraya and Isaac would not turn around for the picture when they saw the big elephant displayed! It was very HUGE and really cool to get so close up to it.

Here is Kandis, Julia and Isaac at the front of the store. There was a big walk though aquarium and a white tail deer display also to look at. Sid has all the pictures in his camera so I won't bore you with any of those shots!! There are some moose and sheep above them in this shot!

Our Grandkids are soooooo Cute!

We were getting some lunch before church started so I thought I would snap a picture or two. Isaac is so handsome in his vest and shirt and Loraya is absolutely beautiful with her LONG blond hair.

I told you she was adorable. Her hair is getting so long and she has the cutest voice and asks the cutest questions.

This is a rare shot with Isaac actually looking at the camera and smiling. This does not happen very often!! Isaac LOVEs books and the letters that spell words. He knows all the letters and tells me what words start with what letters!! What letter does SMART start with Isaac???

Lots to be THANKFUL for!

As the Thanksgiving day gets closer I am reminded of all the wonderful things in my life that I need to be thankful for. We had a get together with wonderful friends on Saturday and before the dinner I got to go to a fun movie with 3 of my closest friends. How great is that??? I consider, Debbie, Julie, and Gwen some of my closest friends and it was great to spend time with them and cry and laugh about anything we wanted. (the movie was kind of emotional but in a good way). Julie surprised with some of her creativity by treating us to a "Forget me not" box. We all need one of these because with old age our minds seem to forget things. Dinner was fun at our house and of course Jay is a party in himself. Jay can keep us entertained for hours with trivia, poems, quizzes etc!! He can make a trip to the gun shop interesting for all of us!!

Friday we drove up to Yuba City to see Grandpa and Sid's sister Chris from Arizona. What another blessing it is to have grandpa still with us and Chris to come and visit and sort through things in grandpa's house. Grandpa also got a new little puppy named Abby and she is a little Shi-tsu (sp??) Such a cute little dog and perfect for grandpa to love and cuddle with. He just wasn't getting the love from his chickens like he hoped for!! (not to cuddly!) The chickens do produce about 18 eggs a day now and that will get more and more. He loves to take care of them and sell his eggs to church members. What wonderful family members Sid has for brothers and sisters and what a blessing that is in our lives. It was fun to have Calvin, Joanne, Marga, Clinton, Tiffany, Steve, Ava, Ron, Alison, Blake, Bradley and Sid and I all together. We went up on Sunday with Mike, Christy and Ava so Chris could see Ava.

I am so blessed with wonderful kids and grandkids and especially the spouses of my children. What a blessing it is for my kids to marry such wonderful people who love them and take such good care of them and our grandchildren. Nothing is better than to have "JOY" in my posterity.

I am so blessed with a beautiful home and Sid to have such a great dental practice. We look forward to the day that Jacob and Josh can get through school and come and let Sid have some rest and relaxation from working so hard for the last 30+ years. Sometimes we wonder if we should move out of California but I look out my backyard and can hardly think of leaving such a beautiful place. (Sid always threatens me with Montana)

I am so blessed to have a temple so close. Also, that I can work at the temple every week and be reminded of our Saviours love for all of us. What a wonderful blessing to perform the sacred ordinances that we receive in the temple. What a great blessing to have the true gospel in our lives to know how to live and return to our Father in Heaven. I am truly grateful for parents who taught me right from wrong and to stay strong in the church.

Well, enough said. I look forward to flying to West Virginia to be with Jacob and Julia and Loraya and Isaac. The weather does not look to warm but we can bundle up and stay warm in their beautiful home!! Love to you all and hope you all have a GREAT Thanksgiving and take the time to truly see all of your blessings that you have been blessed with.

I think we did it!!!

For those of you who live away from the state of California as of early this morning, it looks like Prop 8 will pass!! We are so excited for the results to be finalized so we can preserve marriage as a union between 1 man and 1 woman. It was a nasty fight (as some of you know) and hopefully we will be able to hold our heads high knowing we did everything that was asked of us to keep marriage sacred. Yesterday, a very serious add from the No campaign was aired on CNN and was directed at our church. They were asked to not air the commercial and they refused. It is on utube now and is quite disturbing. We know the fight is not over yet and the No side vows to appeal again what the people have voted on. We will see what will happen. We were very happy to see that Florida and Arizona passed their propositions for the same issue and have put into their state constitutions that a marriage is between a man and a woman. Hopefully the rest of the US will follow suit and hopefully the Federal Government!! (Not likely since we have a new President!) Well, for now we will stay in California and not move out like we were thinking we would have to do!! I feel like I should be standing on the corner with a sign that says Thank You for voting for Prop 8!!