Uncle Dee's Funeral 6/18/09

My Dad's oldest brother Dee died this summer and we just happened to be going to Utah to pick up Bayley on the same weekend of the funeral.  I was so glad to be able to represent my parents and take pictures for them since they are on a mission in Armenia.  Here are some of my favorite pics.

His son Randy saying his last goodbyes.

Flowers that reflect Dee's life building so many wonderful things!

Randy was all smiles!

A sister and sister-in-law taking it all in.

A brother and his family leaving the grave site.

And my personal favorite...

Randy enjoying a laugh with my nephew, Hayden.

Muddy Run

June 13th 2009

Ran the Camp Pendleton Mud Run

Lots of fun and lots of mud!

Eric's shirt was originally white!

Glad to be rid of these biker shorts that I've had since college-- they were a light gray before!

Shoes that were dumped in the trash after a nice hot shower!

Fast Track 6/12/09

San Diego at the Beach

Having fun playing cards & eating whoppers!

Sour!

I guess she doesn't like sour things. 

(she is eating a Warhead)

Fast Track 6/9 to 6/12/09

So here is the fast track to catching up to the present.

All the way to the Ghirardehlli Chocolate Factory and we get ice cream?

Us on a real Naval Aircraft Carrier-- the USS Nemitz.

San Diego Zoo-- with lots of animals-- not these animals, the next ones.

The Forts

Just enough snow to build a fort yesterday. 

Oldest and Youngest (excluding Kendra) VS.

The Middles

Judging by how many snow balls the Oldest/Youngest has, I think they might win. 

Let the games begin!

Did it have to snow on my night?

It snowed all day yesterday. Not strong, but steady.  Steady enough to blanket us with a thick layer of the white stuff!  A really thick layer so that at exactly the time that my favorite show was on... my satellite dish could not get reception.  So You Think You Can Dance was MISSED!  And I didn't know it until I got comfortable in my jammies, washed my face, got my blanket, my bowl of warm oatmeal cake, my glass of milk and snuggled in my chair.  Oh, the frustration when I turned on the tv and found the message..."Your satellite has not had reception for 1 hour."  Click on my show, it ends after 1 second.  AAARRRGGGHHH!  You know that Charlie Brown sound when he tries to kick the ball and Lucie snatches it away... that is the sound I made.  I proceeded to try and watch something else because I wasn't ready for sleep.  No reception. So then I was mad and went out to my satellites and tried to hit them with a broom to dust off the snow.  Only to get snow dumped on my head! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Lets just say I went to bed very upset.  All over a show, you say?  Yes, because I was looking forward to it and remember... I am alone with 5 kids for 2 weeks.  I needed some good ME time!

The Juice

So I finally was able to juice my grapes.  I didn't even have to take off the stems or anything.  Love it! They were just steamed to release their juice.  We had our first glass today and it was luscious. I wished my parents had been here to help guide me along with the whole process... they are pros at the whole grape thing.  They probably would have gotten bored fast though-- I only have one vine and so I could only get 5 quarts out of all my grapes.  They usually get tons from their grapevines in Texas.  I made some mistakes, but will definitely do it again next year.  

Grapes and grape juice remind me of 5 things... 

1.My dad insisting that we take grape juice on campouts ( with tons of ice in our green coleman thermos)

2. My dad swirling his grape juice in his cup with ice so it gets really cold then drinking it and saying "ahhhh, good"

3. My parents garage in Texas filled with bushels of grapes (startin' to turn into wine)

4. Passing a plate of grapes around the table at every family gathering (and then passing it again cuz no one took any)

5. And finally my kids gettin' the runs/rash/leg burns from too much acid from eating too many grapes all summer at Grandma and Granpa's!  

For the love of grapes!

I love...

My Cutco knives!  I got them for Christmas almost 2 years ago.  Although it took me a while to not cut myself, I absolutely love them now.  I was cutting with them today--loving how easily I could chop.  They are a great investment (and a great gift, you men readers out there...although I don't know many men who read blogs).

My Mother!  She called me today and I got to chat with her for awhile.  I miss her.  She is in Armenia serving a mission with my Dad.  She has been through it all and taught me so much in the process.  She is the one who I get my love of recipes from, my love of making bread, my dirty brown hair from, my love of entertaining, my love of buying more and more dishes to entertain on, my love of old movies and my love of mowing the lawn.  Things I wish I had from her are her crystal blue eyes, her hairless legs, her "going with the flow" and just how solid she is... I call her a rock-- nothin' shakes her!  I love her and can't wait for her to come home in September.

My Yukon XL.  And I say this today because it has been snowing all day.  Every time I get in it in the snow, I just love it more and more.  It has all wheel drive, it has seat warmers, it has tons of cargo space for all the snow gear, it has tons of people space for all my family, and it has an auto start (we put that in... thanks to living in Alaska).  It was such a smart purchase... a vehicle that we now own (WooHoo!).  Now mine doesn't look this nice anymore, but you get the picture!