More fun pics from the Family Reunion

I do look fabulous, if I do say so myself! Not bad for over 60!

Actually dressed up after church and SMILING ;O)

Games at night. The these adults didn't always get as much sleep but it was by choice!

Best way to get the kids where you want them to be, make it a race.

Two buddies.

Lining up to try to kill themselves on the slide at Darby Girls Camp.

The jumping house was fun for a while but would have gone much better in nicer weather. And just a tip for anyone looking to rent one; 1/2 a day is the way to go, it's very tiring, even for kids.

All on one sofa! The Reunion House is the perfect place to get together.

Sure it looked nice to start but ended in the SNOW! They weren't all smiling when they got back.

Reunion Weekend

I'm going to have to take this in small segments as the last two weeks have been a whirlwind of family reunions. First, on Thursday my own family began arriving at a beautiful "Reunion House" we rented for the weekend that sits right below the Tetons. Every family had their own room and each family had been assigned one meal. I had spent all day Wednesday shopping and delivered the groceries to the house amist a fantastic lightning storm late Wed evening. All but Kelly's family arrived Thursday and Kelly's family arrived Friday morning after he had worked and hadn't slept in about 36 hours. He was his happy self though and we had pictures taken from 11:00 to 1:00. Each family got their own pictures and we had about a million full family pictures taken. Everyone was a good sport. Not one complaint from any grandkids. I was impressed. I think they are all going to grow up to be models. Friday afternoon was spent at Darby Girls Camp which sports a long slide which only my family could turn into a competition.
Sat. most of the adults rose early, braved the cold, rainy weather, and left to hike up Table Rock (a 12 mile hike up the Tetons). Jess and I got the grandkids fed and went to my house where I had a bounce house rented for the day. It was so cold, the kids played inside most of the day so I felt the bouce house was a waste of time and money. Due to a pouring rain, we left home and went into my new school and the kids had fun drawing on the chalkboard, playing golf in the hall, and racing up and down the log hall. That evening the hikers returned to the house totally exhausted. Kelly and Becca have to be given the "Brave" award as they hiked with little Boston on Becca's back. They only turned back because of the rain and fear that Boston was cold. Wow! Tommy has to be given the award for being the fastest up the hill. He was dressed for the occasion though as all the others were in shorts not knowing they were going to encounter snow. The group stopped on the way down and built a fire to warm up before finishing the hike. What an accomplishment for them all. It will be a hike they will never forget. They need to attempt again when the weather is not so nasty so they can enjoy the beautiful scenery.
In spite of Saturday's events, the whole family showed up early for church and we had the grandchildren practice my mother's song "We're a Family Forever." Jess had been practicing with them throughout the day on Saturday and I have to say they stole the show. My whole family spoke in Church, even the grandchildren. I was so proud of them. That will probably be the last time I will have them all together speaking for a meeting except my funeral and then I won't be there to enjoy it. I had so many compliments on the meeting it was well worth all the nagging I had received from my children. Again, as usual they were all good sports and made me so proud. We all spoke on how God helps us in our life. Thanks to all my daughters and daughter-in-laws for practicing with your children.
Sunday afternoon was a relaxing one - especially for me. The men played a lot of horseshoes and the kids kept busy with legos, etc. Sunday evening my sister-in-law and her son Eric arrived from Boston and New York.
I need to close for now. Next entry will be the departure of my children and my adventures with Evie and Eric.
I ran onto this article in my hometown newspaper on how to nurture self esteem in children that I would like to share with any of the young mothers (mainly my neices) that might read my blog. I will just give one hint at a time, but I felt the advice given is invaluable. I notice that my students that have the highest self esteem are the most successful in school. So bear with me as I pass on a little advice for young families.
The one step I felt most important is: Teach good decision-making skills: We all make decisions every day, but kids don't often realize that's what they are doing. When you see your child in a situation where they need to make a decision, help them clarify the problem and the choices they can make. Discuss the possible solutions and the consequences of each. When your child chooses a course of action, respect his decision. If your child is unhappy with the results, you can discuss how he or she may have done things differently. (Watch for more hints) Later!

Trip down memory landland and Max's birthday surprise

I am mad at myself as I don't have a picture to post. The last couple of days have been eventful and fun for me. It was Max's birthday Wednesday and thinking I was going to visit on the weekend, I didn't get him a card in the mail plus I love giving him balloons as he loves to use them as punching bags when the helium begins to get old. I decided to order him balloons from a florist shop and after spending about an hour on the phone, when they gave me the total - with shipping included, I said "I could deliver them personally for that price," and cancelled the order. On Wednesday, I jumped in my little trusty subaru and headed to Boise to hand deliver my ballon bouquet. I had to go to Twin Falls anyway to return a cooler I had bought and didn't like, so I figured a few added miles would be worth it if Max got balloons on his birthday. Again, my angels were watching out for me as just outside Idaho Falls, Spence calls to see what I was doing. When I informed him I was headed to Boise, he tells me his family had not gotten home yet from their trip to California and they are in transit. We decided to try and hook up on the road in Twin Falls. I couldn't believe my luck. I was planning on returning home the same day as I have things to do at home so this would save me $50 in gas and about five hours time. I loaded my car with balloons in Pocatello and checked in with Summer. She was just leaving Utah and we would meet in Twin Falls. I'm thinking an hours wait time would be worth it, but I had only been there 10 minutes and here they are. Wow. Unbelievable!! What great angels I have. I gave Max his balloons, we shoved them in their van, and off we went. Me back to the mountains and them on to Boise. Of course, I had my camera sitting in the front seat of the car but in our haste, I forgot to take pictures of Max on his birthday with his balloon bouquet. Rats!!
I returned to Pocatello and spent the night there and the next day took a little trip down memory lane. I walked the track at my kid's old school and drove past all our old houses. I visited with friends I don't see often then spent a couple of hours with a dear friend who has MS and is not getting better. I vacuumed her floor and cleaned around the wood stove then helped her into the car to get her to the hospital where she could await the arrival of her 27th grandchild. I then headed home and stopped at the cemetary in Idaho Falls to clean the headstone of my sister Diane (I am sure she was prompting me). I didn't do a very good job though so will have to return with some stronger cleaning solution.
Off to my beloved mountains and anxious to get out of the heat. What a beautiful sight as the Tetons came into view and I new I was getting close to my little humble home. What a trip!!! Thanks angels for watching over me.

Fun at the waterpark in Boise - July 2009

Look at me!! Two posts in a month. Thanks to my patient, understanding tutor-daughter Jess who has pretty much taught me everything I know about this blogging stuff, it is getting easier for me. For anyone that reads this, I hope to to better and practice more so it is not such a chore for me.

The above picture is one of all my grandchildren except Tommy's daughter which we hope to get in the picture in August. Everyone (except our Texans) met in Boise about three weekends ago for a great day at their fabulous water park. It was fun watching the grandchildren have fun and even funner watching my own children trying to keep up with their children (never ends). Speaking of keeping up with children, Spencer challenged me to a ride down what I now call the black hole at the end of the day. Not wanting to look like a coward, I finally agreed not knowing he was going to try and drown me at the bottom - that was after he scared the heeby jeebies out of me on the way down. Of course, we had to sit on a double tube with me on the front and him (a two-ton tillie) on the back. I should have been suspicious then. We drop into this pitch black tube and whirled around as fast as possible while we dropped about 10o feet. I think he even tried to tip the tube as we went down. It only lasted about 20 seconds but it was the scariest 20 seconds of my life and what a relief to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Well, as we drop into the pool at the bottom, our tube tips over - probably with a little help from two ton tillie - and I go under with the tube and Spencer on top of me. All I could feel was his huge leg holding me down. But, my biggest concern was my cute little sparkly hat (that he hates) and my contacts. So, when I finally surface and stand up, I have one hand on my hat and reaching out for help getting out of the pool before someone lands on us but I couldn't open my eyes for fear I would lose my contacts. So, I pretty much looked life a helpless old lady and my children got a big kick out of that. That is a little adventure I will never forget and probably will never attempt again. By the way, Spencer, I am writing you out of my will and getting you off my insurance policies so you won't be tempted to end my life again at this young age.

My closing quote for the day: "Don't let the things you don't have get in the way of the things you do have." I thank God everyday for my good health and a wonderful family and now I thank him for surviving the "Day at the Waterpark."

Week with Nana in the Valley

I know why I don't do this often. It has taken me an hour just to load the image I wanted. I had better either quit or do it more often.

As you can see by the picture, I had a great week with three of my grandsons. My daughter Nichole spent the week at girls camp so I got to have the two little boys and Max (Spencer's - far left) wanted to come back to Tetonia with us. We packed my little car and off we went leaving Boise after a fun weekend at the water park with the Crossley's and Kelly Nead's (that will be my next picture and entry). It was a longer ride than they thought it would be and we made various stops along the way. Thank goodness for the little portable DVD player I had. Made the last two hours of the trip a little shorter (thanks to Red Box and $1 video rentals).

At any rate, these three boys had a blast doing just "boy" things. As you can see, they are armed with their weapons. We had bow & arrows, shot guns, handcuffs, and of course light saver swords.

The first day was a killer for me. I'm not used to having three little boys relying on me for food, entertainment, etc. The second day was better and by the third day we had established a routine and were doing great. They went nowhere without their bow & arrows. Max had his first hunting experience. They came running in the house at one point and asked if they could shoot birds with their bows. I said of course, so off to the park they went. Wasn't much later Max comes running back to inform me he had shot his first bird. I was a little surprised, and asked him what the bird did when he shot it, and he said "Well, he just flew away." He loves telling the story about his hitting a bird with his bow and arrow. We spent time at the football field where they played and I walked then a lot of time in my new classroom which they enjoyed drawing on the board, kicking the soccer ball around, playing in our beautiful new gym and of course target practicing with images they had drawn on the board. We had a great time and it made lots of memories for me and the boys. (Good thing you have children when you are young and full of energy - much harder later in life. Hats off to grandparents who are raising young children).

I need to keep this short or it is hard to read - just in case anyone reads this. I do it mainly because it is as close as I get to writing a journal. Just a word of advice for your mothers - keep a short journal of things your children do. My grandchildren love to hear stories of when their moms or dads were children and I wish I had written down events that went on in our lives when my children were young. It doesn't need to be long - just a short entry that will jog your memory as you look back on this time of your life.

I have to close with a powerful statement I heard from a book on tape. It was short and to the point, but has made me take a different outlook on life. An African lady is giving advice to her boyfriend as he is criticizing some co-workers. She said "You will find what you are looking for." I pondered this statement for quite a while and realized how true this is in life. If you are looking for the good in someone, you will find it. If you are looking for the bad, you will find that also. This goes for any situation. Just remember: "You will find what you are looking for".

Schools Out!!

Just in case anyone reads this, I just want you to know I am not dead. I have been crazy busy for the past month or so but things are going to slow down some as school is out. This is my second day without students and I am having a hard time changing from the fast lane down to the slow lane. I hate to admit this, but I have been sleeping in until 9:30 for the past two days. One reason is we have had not-stop rain and it is now depressing. At first I was grateful for the moisture, but now I am tired of it. I can't even get my lawn mowed because it is always wet. It is sure green though but we haven't been able to enjoy it. I got my second-hand swing out of the shed and have gotten to sit in it once!! But, I am off to Boise and McCall tomorrow for a week with the grandkids so maybe I will see the sun some where along the way.
I plan to catch up on the last couple of months when I return. Just want to thank my family for the fun phone calls I got on Mother's Day. I loved having them on my recording machine because I listen to them over and over again. Will report in later - maybe when the sun comes out.

Spring Break in El Paso

I am sooo proud of myself. I actually took a picture, got it from my camera onto my computer, then from my computer to my blog, without one little mistake. I feel like I have finally arrived in the computer era.
Above is the only photo I took of my spring break (now I need to remember to take pictures). I am in El Paso, Tex. in front of the great fence of Texas. Looking out, you are looking at Mexico. You see border patrol everywhere. I was afraid I was going to get shot just standing by the fence but I guess I was to blonde for that.
Took a quick trip to El Paso over my spring break to visit Jessica. I saw a lot of the front of her office as she couldn't tear herself away from her desk. Just kidding Jess. I wandered around the first day I was there and enjoyed the warmth. I finally thawed out from our frigid weather up here in the mountains. The second day we spent most of the time in the car as it was very windy and dirt from the desert was everywhere. We had fun seeing the sights of El Paso though. I left early the third day to head back to Idaho. Spent a very short time in Boise then we all left and headed to Rigby for the blessing of Boston Anderson Nead (Kelly and Rebecca's fourth child). Thanks Summer and Spencer for making the trip over to support family.
The last hour of my journey was the most treacherous. It was snowing and blowing as I traveled the last 40 miles home. I arrived home and said a prayer of thanks that I got home safe. Had a whirlwind trip and went to school the next day exhaused but with lots of memories. It was fun to see where Jessica and Tommy live and work. Thanks for the memories Jess.