Random News of the Week

Well, we must start with congratulations to Mike for getting accepted into the Medical Diagnostic Sonography program which will start in April. They will be looking for a place to move by the middle of March and hopefully they will have Jack by the middle of February so he can make the move too!!

Second, we all had an interesting weekend. Sid went Duck hunting with Zip for the first time and he did well considering the elements and the fact that Sid did not shoot a duck for him to retrieve. I got to lead the Christmas cantata for the ward Christmas party and it turned out well. We then performed in Sacrament meeting and that went well too!! Mike and Christy went out to dinner with Trevor for his birthday and had a good time. Christy celebrated her birthday this week too and we went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner with both of our families. When Mike and Christy got up for church on Sunday they went to get into their car and noticed something was not quite right. Someone broke into their car and stole his ipod, garmin, radio face plate etc. They then took things from the black honda and Sid said his back window on his truck was open in the morning and luckily they did not take any of his hunting stuff that was in the back. What a way to start a Sunday morning. My car was safe because it is the only one that gets to be in the garage!!! We called the police to make a report and Mike will call the insurance company today and see if anything is covered under his policy. Zip did not bark because we have a bark collar on him. Last night we took the collar off and he didn't bark so we will try him without the collar and if someone tries this again he will surely bark at them and wake us up. I guess someone needed some Christmas presents and didn't want to pay for them. It really makes me mad! I am just glad they didn't try to come inside the house or the garage.

I hope everyone is safe in your neck of the woods and that you don't have to deal with any kind of theft! Lock your doors and cars! Stay safe.

Part 2

The $9.98 tree this year with the blue and white theme. It is about 10 feet tall. The Santa collection on the hutch. Don't forget to find the elves on the antlers of the deer!

These are the towels in the guest bathroom. I could not resist them since we have a dentist a hygienist and 2 want to be dentists in the family!!

Ava was eating her breakfast so that is why they are ducking in this picture! The stairs look festive with garland and red poinsettias on them.

The entry way has my Santa and other pretty things I could not put back in a box!

It's starting to look a lot like Christmas

For those of you who will not be with us this Christmas I thought I would take a few pictures of the decorations so you can imagine yourselves here! No fighting over who gets to take out the toy.

Feather trees are in abundance this year. This one has antique acorn ornaments on it and surrounded by my Bellsnickels.

Mr. Bear always gets his hat and bow on for Christmas. Betty barked at him because we moved him from where he usually stands.

The three trees in the living room with the Nativity on top of the piano this year to keep it from getting picked up by little hands!!

Happy Thanksgiving

I thought you would like to see how big Betty is now. It is kind of hard to see with her laying on my lap.

Here we all are!! Zip is not wanting to get on the bark dust and sit nicely. Betty is trying to attack Zip so we look a little weird!

I hope you all have lots of turkey and stuffing to eat and have a wonderful day!!

Happy Thanksgiving and Pheasant for All!

Zip is always trying to sit on Sid's lap! He just loves being close to him and hunting with him. This is going to be a long and wonderful relationship I hope.

Sid has been taking Zip out on Fridays and Saturdays to pheasant hunt and he is getting really good at it. He points the birds and even pointed a skunk and got sprayed one time!! Zip can't wait for Sid to get up in the morning and take him out. He runs all morning and just loves it. He comes home with purple and red marks on him from these berry bush things that he runs around in. It takes a few days for that to wear off of him. He has really been a great companion for Sid and a great hunting dog so far! Ducks are next and Zip has never been duck hunting before so this should be an adventure!

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and we will be going to Christy's parents home. They have been so nice to invite us over since we have no kiddos coming home for the holiday. I had lunch with Gwen and Debbie on Tuesday to celebrate Debbie's birthday and it was so much fun to eat and talk. We missed Julie but know she was with us in spirit!! I have so much to be thankful for!! Not to mention the best 6 kids in the world with the best 6 spouses and 10 almost 12 grandchildren. We are so grateful for good health, jobs, friends, and most of all the gospel in our lives. What a blessing to know we will be together for eternity! We hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and remember to be grateful for our blessings.

Guess what Sid saw on his walk this morning??

A silver Toyota corolla face first in the creek past the second bridge!! The same place that a person died when they did the same thing many years ago. No one died this time but still crazy to see a car in the creek. I was walking down so I could take a picture and the fire truck and several placer county sheriff's came down to check things out. They found a purse in the car which had identification in it and said it was from a girl on our street. We did not recognize the car as one that we see coming down our street so she was probably a passenger in the car. Crazy huh?? They would have to be going pretty fast to run through the barriers and end up in the creek. My battery in my camera went dead on me so I only got this one picture. I just saw the tow truck go by with the car in tow so I can't take any more pictures now.

Primary Program

We had our ward's Primary program on Sunday and there were some funny things that happened. One of the sunbeams in the front row kept picking her nose and eating it in front of everyone. Her parents were just dying in the congregation and kept trying to tell her to stop doing that. One of the little boys who had a speaking part said "Jesus was baptized by "George" the Baptist". You could hear the chuckle from the congregation!! All in all it was a great program with lots of wonderful little singers and speakers. We really have some talented kids in our ward! I am sure the Primary Presidency is glad that one is done for the year!!

Random shots

Ava got some new boots and was playing around. She was trying to do a head stand or something. Maybe she was trying to look at her new shoes upside down!

Ava likes to dump the balls out of her bag and kick them around the house. Betty loves to help her mess things up too!

Ava in her Halloween costume. She is a little Mexican girl! Barefoot and all! She would not let go of her little ponies for me to take her picture so that is why she is holding them.

Betty wanted her picture taken too! She poses for me. She is still cute and little and has lots of energy. She gets mixed up as to what toys are hers and what toys are Ava's. She kept me company when I was sick by lying on my bed with me. She really is a sweet dog.

Betty helping Ava make a mess of the balls in the house. She loves to chase these and bite on them.

All Better

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I am all better now!! It was not fun getting sick and especially when it came back after I thought I was better. I worked at the temple on Tuesday and it was so nice being in the temple again. I missed all my temple friends and the wonderful new temple presidency that just arrived. Life is pretty much back to normal for now and luckily no one else in the house got what I had!! Thanks to all who called and wished me well and thanks to all who brought over Chicken Soup! (Judy, you know who you are!) it was wonderful.

The FLU

Just a post to let you know that I got the flu on Tuesday night and am still battling with all the symptoms, fever, cough, aches, etc. Possibly the H1N1 virus. I guess I was due to get sick since I NEVER get sick!! It could not have come at a worse time since our choir is supposed to be singing a HUGE song for a farewell and I have been working so hard on it for the longest time. I am so bummed about that whole thing. Also, Sid and I were supposed to watch Ava while Mike and Christy go out of town on a motocross weekend. They ended up taking Ava with them. I feel just horrible about that one too. The doctor said it just has to run it's course and some people get over it sooner than others. I have been quarantined to my bedroom since Tuesday and I am getting really tired of just laying around and watching HGTV. Water and chicken soup are all I get to eat. My non stop coughing causes my chest to ache so bad. Do you all feel sorry for me now?? Good! Here is getting better and enjoying good health in the week to come. (Cough, cough)

Cuddly grandkids

Connor and Macey got to meet each other for the first time. They were both so cute and cuddly to hold and kiss!! Such good babies.

Grandma with 2 at a time!!

Grandpa's first time meeting the new additions! They all loved playing with and on grandpa!

Macey was starting to smile so much while we were there. She is so darling and such a good natured little girl. Can't wait to watch her grow up!

Huber Farm in Kentucky

Went to the farm and picked apples for an apple crisp. It was cold and windy and very crowded but we still had a fun day to remember with silly pictures.

Bryson trying to be like the big kids!!

Isaac loves green so he just had to get up on this tractor and take a picture. Doesn't he look so sweet and cute??

Baptism Day

Brayden getting ready for the baptism. Matt and Brayden were excited to have this day arrive. The weather was cold outside but warm inside. The water was extremely hot and Brayden let everyone know it was. Matt said it was so hot it stung when you got in the water!! Brayden did great and it only took 1 time to dunk him!!

Brayden with Grandpa and Grandma after he was baptised and confirmed.

Brayden and his friends at the baptism. He had a lot of friends come and support him on his special day.

Brayden's Birthday and Baptism

Yes, you are seeing it right!! It snowed when we were in Denver and it was really cold. It didn't stop us from having fun and celebrating Brayden's 8th birthday!

Brayden had to ride the saddle at Texas Roadhouse and get a birthday song! He loved every minute of it. The food was great and we were totally full for the evening. It is always fun to eat peanuts , throw the shells on the floor and not get in trouble.

Sid bags one in Kentucky!

Sid found this deer taking a nap in the back of this truck and decided to shoot it with an arrow!! NOT! Actually he shot this deer with his arrow on Tuesday night around sundown and tried to find it but it got too dark before he could find him. Sid went out the next morning and tracked him down, put him in the back of this truck, and brought him home!! Yee Haw!

A nice 8 point white tail!

Proud hunter with kill!

I think the face on this deer is funny looking. I guess you would look weird if you were shot too. Sid says the deer around here wear red lipstick (hee hee)

Eggplant festival part 2 (Sorry it is out of order!)

There was a booth of 4-h kids showing off their animals and encouraging others to join. Ava liked seeing the animals and Betty Boop was pretty much afraid of them.

Wells Fargo Bank had a booth set up with this really cool stage coach. Doesn't Christy look so cute! Betty is in this picture since I decided to hold her. She was getting stepped on by the HUGE crowds!!

High Hand Nursery has really grown big now with a restaurant and a wonderful walking nursery to stroll through. This is an old truck that they planted flowers in. It really looks great in front of their nursery.

This is a chicken with a bad hair day!! This was part of the 4-H group of animals to view. We just thought it looked pretty funny with all those feathers on top of her head.

We had a great time strolling through the booths and seeing people from the town of Loomis. The food booths were a lot more plentiful and they even had a bull riding booth and a surf board riding booth. They better watch out how big this thing is getting. It might encourage people to locate to Loomis!! Just remember a small town is like a big family!! (Hee Hee Hee)

Could it be???

What do you think would cause the city of Loomis to put this sign on the road??? If you guessed the world famous eggplant festival you would be right!! Yes, my folks it is the weekend for the Loomis eggplant festival once again. We strolled on down during the break in conference to check it out and much to our surprise there were a lot of new things to get our attention!

Who ordered the giant purple man?? Pretty weird if you ask me. Seriously a purple man???

Lots of produce to buy and of course the reason for the season the "eggplant". What do you do with those things anyway. I really have not met a soul who grows these things in Loomis. Hence, why the festivities to celebrate this vegetable?

This was one of the new things added to the fun day. Yes, you can race your OWN chicken or RENT one from a 4-H person for $5.00. If your chicken comes in first place you win a prize. I think grandpa Kelly should bring "Big Red" down and kick every one's buttocks!! I should raise a chicken for the races for next year and train him in our half acre. What do you think??? They even had trophies with gold chickens on top of them for the winners. That is reason enough to get the training started!

More Macey pictures

These are the pictures I will have in my mind of what Macey looks like. I know the next time I see her she will look totally different. She is such a joy to have and I am so lucky to have spent the first week of her life with her to get to know her better. Jacob and Julia are wonderful parents who love their kids so much. They are raising wonderful children who love each other and their Heavenly Father and Jesus. What a wonderful place to raise their kids and have such wonderful friends who love them and their family. We are so grateful to the ward family that loves each of them and takes such good care of them when we are away.

Macey is lucky to have come to such a great family. Loraya and Isaac love her dearly and Julia and Jacob will be great parents to her!

This is a familiar sight. Macey always has to be sucking on something if she wakes up and is hungry. She is so cute and cuddly. Those cheeks are perfect for kissing and squeezing! Can't wait to see you all again in a few weeks.

Morgantown Charm

Downtown Morgantown is so cute with all of the old town charm and especially these wonderful hanging baskets on every lamp post. They are so beautiful I just had to take a picture to show you how long the ivy is on them. I don't know how they grow so good without any known source of water except the rain! Wish I could do that!

This little house is so cute too!