Sunday, December 27, 2009

Memories...

...in the making. It's kind of like pulling out the box of old Christmas tree ornaments, you know what I mean, the ones the kids made in Kindergarten that are broken and faded. You don't think about them until you see them again at the beginning of every Christmas season. Every year I think, this is it, I'm throwing some of these out, or giving them to the rightful owner who is now 26 years old, but then my old sentimental self comes out and I hang them back on the tree.


Pictures do the same thing to me, taking me back to a special moment in time. I have shoe boxes full of old pictures, many of them are duplicates (remember the pre-digital era when you took one then one more to make sure you got a good one, then you had duplicates printed).


Now today, I look at the pictures of this holiday season and recognize some are better than others, but still I can't delete any of them any better than I can throw those old ones out. Some of these pictures won't mean much to anyone but our family. And that's OK, because those are the ones that will remember with tenderness the moment those pictures happened.

Let's start with...

Preston's only wish for Christmas was Lego's. And so...he got Lego's. Big, small, yellow, red, round and square...he got Lego's.




Within minutes of opening his last present, Preston was in another world, creating a spaceship to save the galaxy.


...and the result is in...a Starwars Battleship. Way to go Preston!



Me and my new scarf from Andy and Shay playing a game of Snorta. Cock-a-doodle-do!!!!




Madison got more clothes than toys this year. She's not the little girl I see looking back at me in last year's Christmas pictures. She squeeled with excitement when she opened the box with a hair crimper. Preston just rolled his eyes.





Yes, there truly is a Santa Claus and he roams the neighborhoods of Hooper, Utah. Giving, anonymously, very handsome cowboy boots to little 5 year old boys. Little boys, who need a little extra TLC, while dad is serving in Afghanistan. We may never know who that Santa is, but we will never forget the look on Lukee's face when he tried his new boots on. To that good Samaritan, God bless you!



...and speaking of faces we will never forget, Emry was quite lovely with the blue, pink and yellow paint highlighted by her big, brown eyes. She is a beauty, even when covered in a coat of water color.



It was fun to see Amelia in her warm, footed jammies, enjoying her new ball popper. I wonder how long it will take her to find Emry's finger paint?





Emry is an Impressionistic painter. We all got the "impression" that she loved her new easel Santa brought her.



Our sweet Shay, always trying to make gifts personal, made a book for Grandma Great with a collection of the children's stories grandma had written. Grandma was thrilled. Good job Shay!



Sammie is practicing for when Logan comes. She has it all under control, right down to the feeding and burping. Danielle doesn't have a thing to worry about.



Nothing can be sweeter than a one year old boy, snuggling into his mother's arms. Next Christmas Cameron will be much to old for such things, but this year, Danielle was enjoying every minute of his hugs.



Sammie dancing to "The Ladybug Picnic".




A gift I promised myself...

to read a book during the Christmas break. I highly recommend it.


Tuesday, December 15, 2009

I couldn't be prouder...

...of Shay. After serving in the Young Women in Ohio for several months, she realized that the girls in her ward were not working very hard at setting and achieving goals. She wondered what she could do to increase their desire to earn their medallion. Shay, wanting to be the best example possible, decided she would lead the way and earn her own medallion. She set goals and worked hard.

The goal I admire her for the most is reading the Book of Mormon all the way through. No small achievement given the fact her husband is NEVER home and she has 3small children who need rides to school, home from school, 3 meals a day plus several snacks in between, laundry, a dog, a home that needs vacuuming and scrubbing, and then the all consuming daily laundry.

It is something to be proud of when you are in Young Women and earn your Medallion, but to do it as an adult is a great achievement. How lucky for the Young Women of the Bay Village, Ohio, ward to have such a dedicated leader, who cares enough about them to give of her time, talents and energy to make their experience in Young Women better.

Shay, I couldn't be prouder of you!



Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Here is something...

...to remind my grandkids what Christmas is all about.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKk9rv2hUfA

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Aubrey's blog...

...is updated, but it isn't showing an update. So if you read this, now read Aubrey's blog and make a comment. A simple word of encouragement can make all the difference in a the day of a soldier's family.








OH, how we love and pray for them.

PS I emailed blogger to try and get help solving this problem, the blogs not showing an update on the feed, and there were thousands of other people with the same complaint. Hopefully this will get fixed soon.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

After Halloween clearance...





...equals dress up costumes. Emry chose to be the Snow Princess last night. Twirling is a required talent for every princess and Emry has it down. What a beauty!

Pictures I didn't take...

...but love...

again.

I am so glad my daughters are willing to share their pictures with me for my blog. I know I probably look at my blog more than anyone,so I want pictures on here that I love the most.

...and what do I love the most...?







...mostly I love my grandkids!!!!!

By the way, if you ever wanted to know what Andy looked like when he was a baby, just look at Tessa May.


Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Tender mercies...

...from Mother Nature. Tomorrow the snow will fall, but today...










...today a rose bloomed in my garden.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

IT'S A BOY...

...at least that's what the test said and now the ultra-sound confirms it. Dani was invited by Angie Larsen, ABC 4 news, along with 9 other women to test a genetic test sold by a company in CA. The company said they have a 95% accuracy rate at determining the sex of a baby quite early in a pregnancy. Dani had to re-take the test 3 times and every result showed a boy, but also said it was inconclusive. I don't think Dani would spend $100 to buy the test, but she was willing to try it out for free. They had the report on the 10:00 news last night.

Here is the website to the video:

http://www.abc4.com/news/local/story/Putting-the-early-gender-test-to-the-test/m6xXViXoakK6sCkUTWGyyg.cspx

You will have to copy and paste it in, since Lauren isn't here to help me insert this the right way.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Planting tulip bulbs with Grandpa's little helper



It was a beautiful fall day and time for tulip bulbs. Sami was right in the middle of each bulb, in a good way. She wants to do everything I am doing. She is pretty good to try and do things right. It will be fun to talk with her about the flowers next spring.

He's gone...





...and he is missed.

Can you help us...

...figure out why Aubrey's blog doesn't show that she has updated? She was wondering why no one had commented, then she went to her blog from the Coil fam blog and noticed it didn't show that an update had been done. If any of you SMARTER THAN ME people can figure it out, PLEASE comment.

Cookie Cutters...

...is the best place ever. If I could fit in the cute little cars, I would go there for my next cut.


Erin took Emry there and when I saw the pictures, I just had to take someone in so I could see it for myself. Fortunately, Abbie was a willing participant.











She looks so much like her dad that everytime I look at her, I think of him. What a gorgeous girl!

Definitely Christmas morning joy...




...even in October, when I look at those BIG, BEAUTIFUL, BROWN eyes and realize she's MY granddaughter.


Mike and Erin asked us to babysit, so they could go to the U game. They are always concerned that it might be inconvenient for us and almost hate to ask.


If they knew what went on after I hung up, they would ask us more often.


After telling Matthew we were babysitting during the game, he yelled, "YAHOO, I get Emry first".


To which I lovingly replied, "Get in line, Buster. I'm the grandma and I get them both first"!

an explanation will be coming...

...and now that the flu is gone, here's the story.

Aubrey had to get military ID's for Madison and Preston at Fort Douglas on Monday. I had a few free hours and went along for the ride. After getting their pictures taken we went to the zoo to see the new baby elephant...so cute


Since Mondays are free at THE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY at the U, the kids thought that would be fun too. Aubrey, always up to an adventure, said let's do it. We had a great time.


At the entrance to the museum there is a dinosaur that if you put money in it's mouth it roars. I told Preston to stand by it and I would take his picture. Of course, you can never say to an 11 year old boy, "Just stand there", and expect them to just stand there(that would be contrary to nature).


...so anyway, I was getting the camera ready and looked through the view finder to see Preston with his head in the mouth. That was pretty funny, but I thought the expression on his face was the BEST.


I LOVE boys!!!

Not even...





...after trying REALLY hard, can Erin look like she is not a morning person. No matter what she does to herself, she's gorgeous.

Who needs cake...

...when you have mounds of frosting and decorations? Erin was in charge of making a cupcake decorating table at the Halloween Party. Even Jake got into it. It was a hit!




How lucky are we...

...to have such a handsome grandson.

Celebrating...

...Abbie's special day.









We love our little Miss Sunshine, Abigail Brooklyn! Happy Birthday Abbie!!!!



Tuesday, November 3, 2009

never under estimate...




...a woman's desire...




for that smooth, chocolateeee center...



...going...







...going...








OK, so did you really think she got it? Well probably, but Matthew didn't get a picture of it, so use your imagination.



Of course, this only proves the fact that no one knows how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop, because your cousin takes a lick and makes you loose track of your count. Oh, Emry, you are such a sweetheart to share.

Lukee celebrating his birthday with Chuck






AND HE'S OFF...

...officially. Cameron is no longer a crawler. As of Conference Sunday (I know this post is a little late) he is offically walking. Ooops! Did I say walking? Make that running! And the faster he runs, the harder he falls and the more he laughs. We may never get a focused picture of him again. Poor Dani...sigh!

Monday, November 2, 2009

Pictures..

...I didn't take, but love.


enduring to the end...

...of the flu



Wednesday, October 21, 2009

He's 5...or make that 6!!!

Aubrey and the kids were down for Sunday dinner. Matthew and I gave Luke an early birthday present, a double sided light-saber. His birthday was actually three days away, but Luke didn't argue with us about getting a present early. He was THRILLED...and Preston was pretty happy that you could pull the two swords apart and play with someone else.

However, when they got home Sunday evening, Luke told Aubrey that he was 5 and would be 6 on Wednesday. Aubrey told him he would still only be 5. He is insisting he is 6 years old today.

Isn't it funny how when we are little we want to be big, but once we are big, we miss the life of being little?

Luke is wanting to grow up. I am wanting him to stay little.

I hope when he really is big he will look back on his life and know how much he was loved.

He is funny, cute, smart, and full of life...a super-sized, super hero in every sense of the word.

We love our Lukee!!!!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Did you know....?

Christmas is right around the corner and with it comes the monumental task of opening the clamshell plastic wrapping on all those children's toys. (clamshell wrap is what they call the plastic wrap they seal around things so that nothing, including a nuclear bomb, can open it)

Did you know.....

you can flip it upside down and use a standard, rotary can opener to cut open the edges. YEAH! No more fussing with scissors to stop the screaming of the 2 year old wanting their toy, NOW!!!!