Leap Year Surprise/ dreaming of retirement

This morning between several different phone calls, Mel called me and asked me how

I'd feel about a new Tundra truck. Well, I'm O.K. with a new Tundra truck. Especially

if my hubby feels like it's o.k. to get one. Then he asked me if I was o.k. with getting

a Radiant Red one. Well, I was o.k. with that, because it was the only one left on the

lot for the great price that we got. So, here is our new truck, and now that we have it,

Mel may get even more anxious for retirement. We are both joking that he decided to

buy it because now there is another male in the family, and Mel needed a way to

celebrate. = ) So we are thinking of naming the new Truck----Uncle Sam

One, after our new grandson, and two, because all but one of our cars since we've

been married have been Red, White and Blue. Makes sense, don't you think?

Barbecue anyone?

Well, Michelle is getting a chance to enjoy the sunshine today, and we got Julie out of

school for lunch, so we could have a little barbecue before Michelle went back to the snow.

The steaks were delicious, and the sunshine was warm......who would have thought it was February?

Michelle visits, and so do the Christiansens

Julie and Michelle
Katie, Michelle, Joneel, Julie, Julie, Bonnie

Michelle came home between student teaching blocks to see her new nephew, Sam. Andrea

came too, but only stayed for one day. So since Michelle had some time and I'm always up

for a night with the Christiansen ladies, we went to dinner and came back to my place and

took a picture to remember the evening. It looks very similar to our last picture---minus

Melissa and Stella. But we had fun gabbing and laughing, as usual.

Just a couple more pictures of the new boy

Well, Mel Julie and I went to see Anna and Tyler and Samuel at home. They got out of the

hospital today, and Mel had the day off, so we went to visit. We didn't stay long, but took

a few pictures anyway. He's a little jaundiced, has lost some weight, but I can't wait to hear

that he's started putting weight back on. That always gives me a feeling of relief.

So enjoy the pics. (my picture is fuzzy. I look like I've got things in my teeth)

Samuel

Well gosh, we know his name now. And he was just as precious and cute today as ever. I got to hold him today also. But for some crazy reason, it appears that when my kids have children, I either get too excited or anxious and seem to get cold sores. So NO kissing.......YET! Anna is doing great, baby is doing great. And Grace got to come meet her little brother. Tyler had video taped it, so he showed us their first meeting. Very sweet. Grace was holding him (with help from Anna's mom, a.k.a. Grammy) and she would just kiss his head. Probably 3 times or so. Very cute. She giggled at him when he burped. Ha ha, it was great.

After our visit, Julie and I headed on down to the Beach. It was beautiful here today. We waded in the water for a little while, took pictures, then went shopping. = ) As I was wading in the water, and feeling a little joyous/melancholy/grateful/hopeful/, I thought about how beautiful the Savior made our world for us. And my emotions were stirred a bit. And I was thankful

for my blessings. I like times like that, which make us think, and ponder, and make us realize

what we have been blessed with. Geesh, I don't really like to get too introspective online, but

I'll allow it every once and again I guess.

Happy Birth Day

O.K., Tell me, would you think this would be your view from your hospital Window??? I think
I might just want to stay for a while.
Today we added a new grandchild to our family. Anna gave birth to ?Samuel? at 1:08 p.m. He weighed 6 lbs. 13 ozs. and was 19.5 inches long. The baby looks a lot like Anna to me.

What a fun experience. I can't wait to hold him.
Julie and I went to the hospital so we could have a glance as soon after birth
as possible. Mel went and watched Grace so Anna's mom could be at the hospital
too. Mel says that Grace said "Mommy's at the Hos a pal. They're taking the
baby out at the Hos a pal". Mel said "Well, maybe tomorrow you can go see
Mommy and the baby at the hospital" and Grace said "I don't want to go to the
Hos a pal" but then when Anna's mom got there, Grace was trying to convince her
that she wanted to go see Mommy and baby brother. So I hope that the experience
meeting baby brother will go well.

Will you be my Valentine?

I have been sick in bed since Monday afternoon. No FUN. A fever, and
nothing else. So I haven't been out at all. Not even to pick Julie
up from school. But today when she called I was feeling good enough
to hop in the car with a coat over my jammies, and sunglasses donned.
When I picked her up, she had a huge teddy bear and a flower from an
admiring "valentine". aaaahhhhh. Usually Mel and I go to Mimi's cafe
for Valentines. It became a "tradition" years ago. But I don't know
that I am feeling up to it tonight. That is a clear indication that
I am not quite "fully" back to my normal self. Close, but not quite.
Maybe I can have Mel pick up some take-out from Mimi's. MMMMM....
Cobb Salad anyone?

I'm one of a kind

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Fun with Grace/FHE with Mitt

Tonight Julie and I went over to Tyler and Anna's and got to spend a little time with Grace.

Tyler had gotten word that Mitt Romney was having another Rally in Long Beach near the

airport. So Julie and I went to his house and spent time with Grace and Anna till he got

home from work, and then we headed for Long Beach. It was mine and Julie's first political

rally. And we are all definitely impressed with what we hear from Mitt. Anyway, now I feel

like we can relate with Melissa and Andy, who have been supporting Mitt from across the

country in South Carolina. I sure hope that Super Tuesday proves to be a success for MITT !!

Our Country needs him.

opposite topics

Today was the broadcast of Pres. Hinckley's funeral. Very sweet. He was totally the man.
He makes me want to live better. It was a great tribute to him.

On the opposite side of things,
tonight was the Winter Formal dance, and instead of going to the dance with a bunch of girls
(since they feel Winter Formal is more of a "date" dance), Julie and a couple of friends decided
to get a little dolled up and go to dinner, and then to a party. So here is a

picture I snapped of the lovely ladies before dinner.

Evolving

a little blurry, darn it
Well, my sweet Julie decided her hair was in for a change. She wasn't thinking a major change,

just a slight one. Well, I feel it's a little more dramatic than what I was anticipating, but she is

still my sweet, gorgeous Julie. She just reminds me of Snow White now. = )

Another FRIEND night

Tonight Julie had some friends over to goof around and watch a movie, and then after Quinn

heads home, we are having another sleepover!! I'm not a huge fan of sleepovers, but when it's

on a school night going into a week-end, the kids are usually pretty tired, because of early morning seminary. SO, they get to sleep pretty fast. Plus, early in the morning they will be heading to the church to help Quinn with his Eagle project. They will be putting together

wheel chairs made out of plastic chairs and bicycle wheels. I'm thinking that it's easier to have kids sleep over when there is only one child left at home. So, Julie may miss out on having her

siblings around as long as the others did, but.......she seems to have more "friend" nights

then her siblings did.

This and That

Tonight Julie cut her bangs. She had cut them last April or May, and grew them out, but decided she wanted to try them out again. So I have to put in a NOW photo and one from before. Today Julie and I had a fun day since she didn't have school. We saw a movie and had lunch. FUN STUFF
JAN 2008
MAY 2007

Last week Julie had a couple of her friends over, and they made and decorated a cake. Mel and I weren't home at the time, and this is what I found on my camera. = )


Then Julie and Mackenzi had a photo shoot together.

ZOMBIES?? NEVER!!!!!

Don't send a lame Starring You! eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Just having a little fun with these crazy things. See if you can recognize all the
faces in there. And see if you can pick out all the propaganda too.

What year do i belong in?

You Belong in 1981

Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You're colorful at night - and successful during the day.

http://www.blogthings.com/whatyeardoyoubelonginquiz/

Movies and a sleepover

Well, I need an excuse to change the top post on my page. I'm getting tired of my scowling
face. So I thought I'd snap a picture of Karynne, Julie and McKenzie as they were snuggling
up for bed tonight. We had a fun afternoon/evening. Julie cheered at a basketball game
that ended up being very exciting. It was J.V. girls basketball, and they went into 2 over
times. It got pretty noisy, which made it feel exciting. We ended up winning. YAY !!!
Then Julie, Karynne and McKenzie went to see a movie and are sleeping over.

We have Stake conference starting tomorrow. On Sunday, they asked me to play the
organ. Hmm....first time for stake conference. WHAT FUN ~~~~NOT-------hee hee hee
hah ha ha ha ha.

BACK TO REALITY = (

O.K. It's back to reality tomorrow, and I'm a little upset about it. I had a wonderful
2 weeks with various activities, but the best part was spending time with my family.
I am missing Stella and her parents. I want to hold her and squeeze her sweet little
body. I miss seeing her smile. I am missing Michelle and her sweetness and her cute
little accent. I want a big piece of land where all of my kids and their families can have
a huge plot with their own place. Where we can see each other when we get that inkling. Aaaaaah, grrrrrrrrr.

But......I have decided that I can't stay upset too long. It's just not me. But, I'm still going to miss Stella and her parents, I'm still going to miss Michelle and everything that goes along with that, but I will persevere, I'll start thinking about the next time that I can visit, or have them visit me. And I'll be happy that I have been blessed with such a wonderful family that I can have for eternity. And I'll make full use of the telephone and internet until we can all get together again.

Girls Night In

Joneel, Melissa w/Stella, Michelle, Julie, Katie, Julie, Bonnie

While I had my college daughter here, and my South Carolina girl home, I wanted to get together with Bonnie and her daughters. So we got together and went to dinner and then

came back to my place and talked and joked. It was a lot of fun. For those of you who don't know, Bonnie is my original beach buddy. Years ago when Michelle was 3, we went camping

at our favorite beach. But the next year Mel couldn't come with me, so I called Bonnie to see

if she would go camping with me. She said "Would you mind staying in a hotel instead?" Well,

I didn't care how or where I stayed, I just wanted to go. So that was the first of many many years of going to the beach together. We have added friends, family, etc. since then. So here

are the original "girls". We both do have sons, but they weren't here for the "Girls Night In".

Happy New Year--2008

Happy New Year! Last night Julie got together with some friends from the ward, Quinn and Karynne. First they went to a movie, then they stopped by a party thrown by someone in the Stake, then they came to our house to eat some goodies, jump on the trampoline, and ring in the new year. They spent most of the time outside on the trampoline. I had to call them in at 11:57 to tell them that the Ball in New York was about to drop. So here is the pictures I got of them last night, and very early this morning. I also want to point out a really fun fact about these

three. They have lived in the same ward and been in the same Sunday School class/Primary

group since they were born. How often does that happen these days?

Tyler's birthday get together and family picture

Today is Tyler's birthday. Last night we were able to all get together to celebrate with him. Actually, first off, Mel took Tyler and Andy bird hunting first, then we got together. It was fun to be able to all be together. Anna made a wonderful ice cream cake. DELICIOUS. And the "cousins" got to see each other one last time before Melissa and Andy and Stella left. Then today Tyler, Anna and Grace came to our ward, which makes a Mom really happy. Just wish I could have had everyone there together, but Melissa and Andy were on their way to Colorado to spend a week with Andy's family. But here is the picture we got of the whole of us.