The new grandbaby!

 

 

Grand baby # 14 is here!

 

 

I went and stayed the night with older siblings. We had a good time.  Pancakes for breakfast, playing with toys and making clay!

 

 

One of the sweetest parts was when Mom sent me a photo of the new arrival.  Older sister couldn't stop exclaiming  "He's Sooo Cute!" over and over.  I loved it!  He finally came home! 

 

She is just as delighted with him in person!

 

All the grand parents were in agreement.  He's very cute.  The ultrasound just before birth predicted a 9 pound baby but he wasn't quite that big....8 lb 11 oz....but 21 1/2 inches long.  He's a big boy and, gratefully, he is eating and sleeping very well. 

 

It was a couple of days late, but I got the quilt done and over for him. 

 



 

We are so grateful for the miracle of birth, and for all of our sweet family!

Celebrations

This cutie had a birthday so we went out to lunch!  She is such fun...a consummate conversationalist and delighted with everything!

Having fun together!

See what I mean?

 When we moved into  the condo, our first 'calling' was to attend the English class that our ward runs as helpers.  Neither of the teachers speak any Spanish, so it was a great help to them to have someone there who does.  Rod quickly had other calls, but I have continued to go and come to love not only the teachers but also the students.  We shut down during the summer so we had a pot luck dinner as an end of the year celebration.  They are such fun ladies.  (We have men students occasionally, but not nearly as regularly as the sisters)

There was food for dozens of people...delicious!

We have a great time!

Rod has been working and training  for a long time in preparation for this hike.  He has wanted to hike from rim to rim in the Grand Canyon for several years.  The time finally came!  He and Alicia did it together.  I dropped them off at the south Kaibab trail head at 5:30 am. 

 They did great for the first few hours, then Rod began having pain in his knee area...the IT band.
It slowed him down quite a bit, but they persevered!

They finally made it out at 11 :30 pm.  I was  so Relieved to have them out and safe.
I had rather a lot of waiting and worrying time at that trail head.  It made me so very grateful for a loving husband and daughter.  Life is rather fragile which we often forget.  There was a quote of C S Lewis in a book I read recently.  He said that  bereavement is  part of love.  I had never thought of that before, but it's true.  However, thanks to our Heavenly Father and His plan for our happiness, that bereavement is a temporary state. No mater how things turn out in this life, we can plan on a 'happily ever after' ending to our story. No mater how hard our now is, it will all be worth it!  I am so thankful for this knowledge and testimony.  I love you!

Missing May

I think there is a movie called missing May.....  Apparently I have been! Sooo here it is!

Well, actually, this was taken in Apr. but his birthday is in May.  This was his surprise cake...I got there late at night, rather hoping he would be in bed but he wasn't so he saw it.  He really did like it...just not having his photo taken

 

There is the smile!

 

The theme is Paw Patrol...just in case you don't have preschool boys around to educate you. 
Rod had a difficult time cause he was looking for Papa Troll...We still aren't sure which we are hearing.

 My sweet Mom decided an expedition was in order so brothers David and Duane rented an RV and she treated us to a trip to Branson Missouri.  We had a great time.
This is us in the back of the RV

David and Duane did all the driving...going straight through ,,,about 22 hours.

We were glad Emily had a 'family situation' and could come.

 Once there, we checked into a very nice time share and had a good rest and sleep.  The next day we saw a show called "6"...six brothers that sang and entertained us acapella.  We also enjoyed some other activities.

Trying to 'act his age'.

On your mark

get set, Go!  We so enjoyed getting a long visit with Bita.  She flew down for the trip.

I thought he would have had enough driving.

Watch out!

 I have a few more photos of the drivers but not of everyone...my reflexes just aren't that good anymore.

Then we went to Ripley's Believe it or Not museum.  Fascinating!

Shaking hands!

We enjoyed dinner at this BBQ place....although we were the only ones there and were a bit nervous to start with.

 

Sunday we went to Sacrament meeting. I was quite impressed with the talk given by a deacon aged young man.  His family are performers, but his talk was excellent! A great ward.

 

We then went and listened to the sales pitch which helped pay for our accommodations.  Not too painful. 

 

That afternoon we saw the Chinese acrobats perform.   The photos are terrible...but the show was amazing.

 

 

Balance and juggling

See what I mean?

This guy was 'the star' I think.  You can see how strong and still he is because any movement is blurry.  He did hand stands on top of a stack of 8 chairs and a pile of blocks..probably 20+ in the air.

Here they are diving through hoops

About 8 people on 1 bicycle....Wow!

Then we drove home again...very glad we left when we did as we were ahead of the storm that produced several tornados.

Love our Home sweet Home!

Thanks Mom for a wonderful time!