It's COLD outside

Well, it is New Years Eve and it is freezing outside. For the past 2 nights it has dipped below 30 degrees and it is really cold in the morning when I walk with Gayle. Don't I live in California??? It is the end of the year and so much to be grateful for. What a great 2011 to look forward to. We have six wonderful kids married to six great spouses and together they have given us 13 grand kids so far and number 14 will be here the first part of February! What more could a person ask for?? Sid is making changes to his dental office with going digital and he still finds more than enough days to hunt, hunt, hunt and did I mention he likes to hunt??? How much pheasant can one person eat?? Zip has turned into a wonderful companion for him and gives him lots of exercise on Friday and Saturday mornings. I will be starting a monthly craft group to get my creative juices flowing again and I plan on loosing much needed weight to look good for Cancun in May 2011. So grateful for wonderful friends and family. May we all have a healthy and prosperous new year!

A song to remember

A few weeks ago the temple president's wife asked me to sing Away in the Manger for our prayer meeting in the temple last night. I told her I would love to sing but I don't sing solo! She was not surprised and asked me to ask Susan Merrill to sing with me. I quickly sent an email to Susan and asked her to sing with me and hoped she was an alto. She said she would be glad to sing with me and she was an alto so all was going great. The week before we scheduled our breaks at the same time so we could practice in the break room together. We sang it once and called it good until this last week when we were to perform. We got to run through it once in the ladies room before we performed in front of our Tuesday evening shift. When we practiced together we were discussing how we were both so afraid to sing alone and that we were both very nervous to sing at all in front of everyone without a piano. Well, it was finally our turn to sing and we just got up and it was such a high for me to sing with Susan in the temple. The acoustics in that room are amazing and we sounded really good together. So many people were shocked to hear us sing and said we sounded like angels!! It was such an honor to sing with Susan and especially such a wonderful song about our Savior. It was a wonderful beginning to the night of work at the temple. I am so grateful for the talent of being able to sing and share this talent with others. I have truly been blessed in so many ways and thank him for this gift.

Happy News

If any of you have not heard yet, our son Joshua got accepted into Dental school at the University of Louisville!! We are so excited for him to FINALLY get in and get on with his dream of becoming a dentist. It is hard to believe that we have two sons attending dental school at this time. Jacob in West Virginia and now Josh in Kentucky. We are so proud of all of our kids and know they have worked hard in their educational goals. Mike and Christy are living with us while Mike completes his clinicals at UC Davis in Sacramento. He enjoys the experience of working with different people every day and learning new things. We love having the grandkids entertain us on a daily basis. Now that Jack is mobile we have to watch out for everything on the floor that he might get in to. We had a great Thanksgiving in Colorado visiting with Matt and Stacie and seeing our newest addition to the family Tysen. What a sweet and good baby he is. It seems all we did was eat the whole time we were there but we did have a great time. Kandis and Nic were there and Kristin and Thomas were there. Three out of six children isn't bad when they are spread out all over the USA. It was cold and windy but we flew in and out with out any problems. The time just went by to fast! I have not got the Christmas decorations out yet. I have to decorate for the ward Christmas party on the 11th and most of my things will be taken over to the church for that party. I will probably get the rest of the stuff out today and get it done. Much to be grateful for and much to look forward to.

Look What I Did

A while back I bought a hand held sander so I could sand those little benches that were in front of my house. The weather was beautiful so I decided to go for it! The sander is really great and I loved how fast it took care of the work of sanding. These are really old oak benches so they needed a lot of sanding. I think I definitely got my monies worth out of this guy.

A little tricky with all the slats but really fun to use the new tool.

Then on to painting them red! Yes, RED. I love red so I thought they would look better in red in front of the house. I can even think of ways to decorate them for Christmas now!! Anyway, they turned out really cute. It did take 2 to 3 coats of paint. We did not take a picture of the primer on the benches so that was another step in the process of getting these painted.

Finished results. I likey!

One on the left and one on the right. They are different benches but both are antiques and oak. On to the next project. Painting nightstands black. Julie Doolittle gave me some nightstands that she did not want so I said we would take them and someone would want them. Why not add them to the stuff I have in my garage?? Saw a great blog about painting and I am convinced they will be wonderful when I am done. If the weather holds up in the 70's I will tackle it soon.

Photo shoot of grandkids

Looking at something off in the distance
Ava playing hide and go seek
Look at those baby blue eyes!
We bought some cool frames from Ikea to go in the kids room so we needed some updated pictures of the kids to put in them. We dressed them up and took them out front of the house and tried to get pictures of them to put in the frames. After much effort on our part to get these two little ones to smile and look at the camera we ended up with some good ones! We had fun blowing them up to 16 X 20's and putting them in the frames! Enjoy these two little cute kids. Ava is 2 and Jack is 8 months.

Back Home

Well, after two weeks in Kentucky I am back home and Mike and Christy have moved in again. The place was ready for them and we are having fun having them back with us. Mike should be starting his internship this week and life will get into a routine. Sid is off hunting in the mountains with his brother Calvin looking for deer in California. He should be back when they get something. The weather has been hot but where he is it rained on them and looks like rain will happen most of the week. I am excited to get back to the temple on Tuesday night and see my friends. I really enjoyed general conference and hope all of you got a chance to see it too. If you want to see what I helped with in Kentucky you will have to click on Josh and Alexis's blog! Lots to see. Kristin and Thomas will be arriving back in the USA on Tuesday night. They will fly into SLC and will be staying with Thomas's parents. They are anxious to return home. They decided not to proceed with the masters in law in England and return home and go another path. We will see where they will land. Maybe we will be lucky enough to have them back in California again. I hope this helps you catch up with my life!

New Decor

Have not decided on the lamp yet so that is why the tag is still attached. I love having homegoods so close with all the great deals you can get. I just love the mirrored night stand. You can't get enough bling!




With the arrival of Mike and Christy back into our home on the 25th of this month I thought it would be nice to change things up a bit. Sorry Kandis but the purple and gold had to go in the guest bedroom. I decided to go with black and white and aqua. Ava and Jack will be sharing this room and they will move the white crib in the bedroom with a white dresser so it should look really nice. I also purchased black curtains for the window treatment to keep the light out when napping. I am thinking of getting HUGE vinyl letters of their names for the wall but have not firmed that one up with Christy. The other bedroom has Kristin and Thomas' bed in it with their bedding. All I added was the picture over the bed and a mirrored night stand. The other mirrored night stand is in the kids room. They are really cute and I got them at Target! The Laundry room got a new rug and a picture on the wall to make me happy when I do laundry. ( I'll let you know about the happy part!). The shower curtain rod has been changed to the type that is in hotels. It is bent to give the person more room for the shower. Pretty cool. I hope you enjoy the pics. This is the first time I have done this with my new computer. (go apple!)

All ready for the kids to move in a couple of weeks. I will be in Kentucky when they come so I hope they like it!

So Sad

Well, we knew this day would come but it didn't make it any easier! Thomas and Kristin flew to London on Monday and the trip to San Francisco was very memorable. The flight did not leave until 7:15 pm so we decided to leave around noon so we could be there in plenty of time and possibly grab some dinner before they needed to be at the airport. We start out getting on 80 west from our house and the traffic was packed bumper to bumper pretty much all the way to the turn off for the Sacramento airport exit. We were going about 5 miles an hour stop and go when we get rear ended by the car behind us in the middle lane of the freeway. We pull over and get out to check the damage and luckily we were in Sid's truck and didn't have any damage to our car since Sid has a tow hitch on the back. The bumper of the other car was punctured but we were fine. The bump woke up Mason from his nap and he was not very happy about that. We got ourselves back in the pile of cars and headed forward again. The clock was ticking and we really did not see how we were going to make it to San Fran by 5:00pm. We would cruise for a little while and then come to a dead stop again. Very frustrating and tense in the car.( You can imagine how Kristin and I were in the back seat) Thomas was calm and cool about it but we were a little tense! We get to the bay bridge and pay our toll and then on the bridge a car was stalled and a tow truck pulls in front of us and stops. We have to go around it and then off we were to the airport. The clock turned to exactly 5:00pm when we arrived. We pull all the luggage out of the truck and get a cart to push everything in the terminal. I am pushing Mason in the stroller and Kristin is pushing the cart and Thomas has 4 bags trying to find where we needed to go. The luggage falls off the cart and we have to stop and pick everything up again. Sid had to wait out by the curb with the truck and then the police car came and told him to move it just as I was walking out of the terminal. I ran and jumped into the truck and off we went. Sid didn't even get to say goodbye properly and I was a sobbing mess! We haven't heard a thing from them yet so we hope they made it on the plane and are in London at the Holiday Inn.

We have a couple of weeks before the house will be full again with Mike and Christy and their 2 kids. Mike will get assigned his internship at the Kaiser in Sacramento so they will stay with us while he completes that part of his schooling. They will probably be with us for about a year. Life is always changing around here and keeps us busy. For now there is quiet on the home front but I sure miss Mason's giggle and smiles and all his jumping in the jumper! Next time we see him he will be walking and running.

Sid got his Antelope

Here is Sid's big antelope for the Nevada archery tag that he drew for this year. Before he left on Friday I asked him if he would shoot a big one the first day if he saw it and he said," No Way, I have the whole week off". Well, as the story goes he saw this big guy by 11:00am on the first day and shot him and was home Sunday night!

We have gone back and forth about getting this bad boy stuffed and I have laid down the law and told him no more animals in the house. He said this one will go in his dental office! Yeah right, we will see how long that will stay there. I told him the elk in the garage needs a friend to talk to so that is where he will go!

The night before Sid set up the trail camera and didn't bother to look at it. You can see his truck and trailer in the background. He really didn't need to go very far from his camp to get this big guy! He was already in his hot blind waiting for his antelope to come into his watering hole.

Monday morning I walked out of the garage to see a carcass hanging from the tree and a big black garbage bag in the refrigerator in the garage. Sid was quick to show me the head in the bag and I was not so excited to see meat hanging from the tree. Sid said you might be married to a redneck if you have a head in your refrigerator and meat hanging in the tree. I KNOW I am married to a redneck! It was great having him home for the week but he went back to work on Wednesday and Thursday! Right now his back is killing him and he can hardly walk. He needs to take it easy! The garden is killing him this year.

Slacker

I know I have been the blogger slacker lately. I have been really busy with helping Kristin and Thomas move, having house guests (Josh & Alexis, Jacob and Julia) Still not an excuse for keeping everyone that wants to know informed about the goings on in our home! It seems like the days are going faster and faster and I get less and less done. I still work at the temple on Tuesday nights and for that I am grateful to stop the day and just ponder and have peace in my life.
Sid bought a 4-wheeler for riding in the mountains and has been giving the grand kids rides. The garden is over flowing with produce which takes time to harvest and preserve almost daily. I must say we have come up with some wonderful zucchini recipes for all the zucchini we are picking.
We had a scare with Betty Boop eating slug bait and almost dying. She seems to like to eat anything she can get in her mouth. She will be going to live with Kandis in a few weeks so we will see how long that will last. Life is great, fun, busy, wonderful all at the same time. I am trying to walk with my good friend Gayle Wheeler in the mornings and finding time to relax in the pool if I can with the kids. I can't complain, we have been truly blessed with wonderful kids and grand kids.

Another Turkey Hunt

Mike came up for Mother's day weekend with the family and went hunting with Sid on Saturday morning. They went to the same place that Sid got his big tom. They set up the blind and called the turkey and waited for the big moment to kill one. While they were talking up came a tom to their decoy and they jumped into action. Mike shot it and off it ran limping. They waited awhile and then started out to find it. An hour and half later they found it and claimed their kill.

A very nice bird with a long beard! Gobble Gobble! We are not having it for dinner today but they will have to take it down to Richmond and cook it up later.

Quick trip to Provo

This past Wednesday I drove to Provo to visit Kandis, Nic and Nixon. My friend Cindy was going to women's conference at BYU and asked me to drive out with her. The weather forecast was crazy cold so Sid gave me the truck and the trip was on! Going over Donner pass they posted chain controls but if you were in a truck with snow tires you did not have to chain up. We started up the hill and about a third of the way up the hill I hit some ice and spun the truck in a complete circle. We were now facing the on coming traffic and luckily for us they stopped behind us and let us get facing the correct direction. I put the car into reverse and turned it back around and started to head in the right direction very slowly. Cindy mentioned that we needed to put the car into 4-wheel drive. I made the comment that I did not know how to do that. I did not want to wreck Sid's truck so I thought we would need to get the car manual out of the glove box and read how to do it. Just as we said those words the phone rang in the car and it was Sid on the phone calling us to tell us how to put the car into 4-wheel drive!! We were so excited to press the little button on the dash and off we went with not a single problem the whole way! I know Heavenly Father was watching out for us. Sid was not happy about us going in the cold weather but I am sure glad he listened to the prompting to call us when he did! How could I miss seeing such a cute little grandson like Nixon?? We were at Quilted bear in Provo and Nixon saw these stuffed animals. He grabbed the biggest bear he could carry and wanted to squeeze him. So cute!

We found some treasures to put into Kandis's home and it was a great time.

We did the Sam's club run and while we were there we saw Julia's sister Christy (sp?) It was good to see her! When we got home we set the hose on the front lawn and Nixon climbed on top of it and was afraid to get down. He LOVE'S being outside. Even if it is snowing and raining he wants to be outside. He points to everything and tries to say the words that we would say. The funny word he says is "Happy" at this time. He loves the song "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands" and that is why he says Happy all the time.

All dressed and ready to go shopping with Grandma and Kandis. We went to Quilted Bear, Thai Pan, Ikea, Sam's, Macy's, University Mall etc. On Saturday we went to Wayne and Laurie's house and saw how the addition is coming along. A jaw dropping job of an addition. Way to go Laurie. On Saturday night we went to a concert in Salt Lake with the Utah Symphony and the Temptations. Yes, you read it right the Temptations. I didn't think any of them were still alive and singing concerts. The last original Temptation is Otis Williams and next year he said he would have been doing concerts for 50 years! Wow that is a long time. They were great and it was a fun evening with Matt and Val. Church was on Sunday and Kandis will be great as the new YW president in her ward. The girls will have a lot to learn from her. She is a great example and so darling! Monday morning I packed up the truck and headed home. No rain, snow, ice but a lot of wind. I will take wind any day! 85 degrees and now I remember why I live in California!

Library Time

At the Library they have reading time for little babies and toddlers and we took Nixon over to participate. It was really fun and such a great place to be when the weather is so cold. They had a big stuffed animal zebra that Nixon loved to hug.

He was having grand thoughts of riding this bad boy but the librarian put an end to that dream!

They have a 1/2 hour of rhymes and puppets and books and then you can do it all again in Spanish! Starts out with the morocco's and cucaracha song. The kids LOVE shaking their instruments to the music. Fun to watch.

Kandis and Nic are getting into the song.

A Day at the Bay

On Sunday Mike and Christy were asked to speak in church so the Meyer family and ourselves decided to go down and watch Jack and Ave while they spoke in church. It was an amazingly beautiful day at the marina and we took a walk after church. These purple plants are everywhere and they are HUGE. They remind me of a purple pineapple! I wonder if they would grow in my yard.???

Ava is sleeping in the stroller at this point but you get the idea of how wonderful the weather was and the beautiful ice plant was all over the place. Sail boats and bikers everywhere.

Here is Ava and Christy at the deli waiting for some lunch.

Can you believe how big Jack is getting??? He is so happy and smiley all the time. It was great to see their place and how cute Christy has decorated their apartment. The people in their ward just love them so much and are so grateful for them moving into their ward. It was a wonderful day.

Random

Zip and Betty having a moment together. Usually Betty is barking and bugging Zip all the time and jumping all over him but they seem to get along once in awhile.

Have you tried these yet??? They are so yummy we just had to buy some after having a taste in the store. REALLY really good. I can't say which I like better. They are both great.

My beautiful birthday flowers are still in bloom a week after my birthday! I just love to look at them. Thanks Jacob and Julia.

Loraya's special day today!

Loraya on her blessing day!! What a cutie and so smiley. The dress was bigger than she was and she was just beautiful.

Always smiling and laughing. A very roly poly baby!

The serious side of this little girl. Julia always dressed her so cute and notice the accessories on her wrist. I just want to squeeze those sweet cheeks.

So so so cute! Happy birthday Loraya. This is the way I remember you! Now you are all grown up and so big! 6 years old today!

Things that make Sid SMILE

Sid got up bright and early this morning and went hunting for the big Tom turkey. He set up a blind the night before at a friends private property and this morning he nailed him with his bow.

He was a biggy! He got him in the leg first and then he flew a ways away. Sid waited for him to die and then went over and shot him again just to make sure he was dead! While doing that 2 other toms came over to his decoys and started strutting their stuff and wouldn't leave his decoys alone.

Check out these spurs on his feet. The biggest ones I have seen him bring home to date.

A seriously ugly bird if you ask me. The beard on this old tom was really long. Much longer than the one we have in the office. I am sure he will go back to get another one before the season is over. He sure was excited about this one. Gobble Gobble

Things that make me SMILE!

If you want to get some attention at church wear these shoes!! I wore them on Sunday and you would have thought some people have never seen amazing shoes like these! These make me smile. I got them in Minnesota when I was visiting Kristin and we wore them for our photo shoot with myself, Kristin and Kandis. We all wore HOT shoes and had fun. If you want to see the pictures you can go onto Johnsharpephotography.com and click on clients and then on Rose family and see the unedited pictures of our group shots. Those pictures make me smile.

This closet makes me smile. I got new little boxes to put my socks in and they are so fun to look at. I got them at Home goods for small change and together with my shoes they make me smile!

Sorry this birthday card is sideways but I just had to share it with everyone. Sid gave it to me this morning and I still can't stop laughing. The dog on the front looks like our lab Zip! Read on for the funny part.

The funny part is that Betty always sticks her head around the shower to see me in the shower and just stares at me! Weird I know! Zip is a POINTING lab so what Sid wrote on the card was hilarious

Thanks for all the birthday love coming my way. The flowers were beautiful from Jacob and Julia and thanks for all the phone calls. That makes me SMILE!!

Hapy Birthday!!

A great day for Zip and Sid

Look at all of these pheasants!! 16 to be exact. Sid was asked to be part of a special hunt at the pheasant club and so this was an extra Saturday for Sid and Zip to have some fun. I think Sid was the highest shooter of the day and he would have gotten more if he didn't run out of shells!

You can see Zip licking his chops at the birds. It was a real test of Sid's strength to keep him away from these birds. He wanted to roll all over them and pick them up and play with them.

Zip looks like he is saying thank's Sid for taking me hunting. You are the best! We just love seeing Zip point those birds and he never seems to get tired. If it is hot he will get tired but it was a cool and breezy day today so perfect for both of them.