Happy Birthday Randal on November 6

He may have an ache or two here and there but he's still spinning pretty good for a 60 year old! Happy Birthday to a special husband, father and grandfather. We love you very much and are proud of the man you are. Enjoy your special day and enjoy every minute of the ride!

What a handsome young man! He's always been "tough" and ready for adventure and challenge! One of his favorite quotes is "When the going gets tough the tough get going!"

Thank You!

A big thank you to all my family and friends who made my birthday such a special one. I am truly blessed by the family and friends that I have. I was treated to books, treats, balloons, sung to by the Beattles and Elvis, gift certificates and more and the best part was the visits and good wishes and even the phone call at 11:00 pm from someone just finishing the day in the potato harvest. I sometimes feel overwhelmed that next to Randal I am the oldest in our whole family. I don't feel like I can quite grow-up and be a responsible adult. Maybe I really am getting old and mushy. My goal for the coming year is to try to be the kind of wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend I would be proud to have. Thanks again for all the love that was shared with me today! I want each of you to know how special you are to me!

Just a note: Anyone have good suggestions for what we can do on November 6?

Jim Shore Collectables

A couple of years ago Megan gave me the first Jim Shore Collectable. It is the pumpkin in the picture. Now I look forward to see what the next addition to my collection will be. Click on the picture for a close up. My new addition is the corncopia on the right side. I love them! The detail is so awesome. Thanks Megan and Ivan for adding to my collection. It reminds me of the fun shopping trip Megan and I were on when I got the first one.

Do I really have any quirks?

I have been tagged twice thanks to Susan and Brittany and have spent a number of minutes trying to think of quirks I would dare tell about. I'm sure no one would believe the quirks Randal would tell you about me so I guess I'll try to name six of my better quirks:

1. If I have my choice of chocolate (everyone's first love) or caramel I would take caramel any day.

2. I like to eat little pretzels with m & m's.

3. When driving/riding places I love to look at little old long abandoned cabins and wonder what their story is...did a big family live there, did they have relatives staying there too, were they successful and went on to build a bigger home or did they give up and go back to wherever they came from, did they come there and homestead, or...you could go on asking lots of things.

4. I also, like Susan, have to finish a book once I start it. Sometimes several more books get read in between but it always bothers me until I go back and finish it. I can't see a movie and then read the book, I have to read the book first. My favorite books are historical novels and Sacajewea, Follow the River and The Work and Glory series are the only books I've read more that once. I'm a soft touch for happily ever after books and movies. I'm not really big on self help books because it just reminds me of all the ways I need to improve.

5. I don't like tomatos or very many vegtables because they are mushy when they are cooked. And I am not good a trying new foods.

6. I've told very few people what my middle name is because I always wished it was something cute and not old fashion. It really isn't bad and I am proud of the heritage and grandmother I'm named after and the courage she had in meeting lifes challenges, but it still isn't mentioned very often. No, I'm not going to tell.

I am still pretty new at this blogging thing but I now tag Amy and Liz!

A happy SMILING family!

We all have a little something extra in our smiles thanks to Aunt Megan and Uncle Ivan's early birthday present to Hayden and Jace. Jace is the photographer and has a good time having us all pose for him! Click on the picture to see our "bright" smile. Maybe some of us shouldn't have read the vampire romances.

September 11

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day? As the words from the Alan Jackson song say where were you and what were you doing when you saw those first pictures and heard the news on that September day?

Tell me your memories of that day.

Proud to be an American!

Megan joined Ivan at the National Republican Convention last week and wow what an experience. What a great chance they had to be there and see historty being made with the first woman being chosen to run as the Vice President. Megan also liked Cindy McCain's wardrobe! Ivan and the Utah delegation were right behind the CNN newscasters and Kortney even saw him on TV. I appreciate Megan making me feel like I was right there with all the cell phone calls and text messages. We are proud of she and Ivan and that they take advantages of sharing such great opportunities to be involved with each other in their jobs and the trips they each take for their work.

Weekend Road Trip

Randal and I took a little weekend road trip on our way to the wedding of our nephew Jonathan Leatham in Hailey, Idaho. We left Friday evening and returned Sunday after a great get away and exploration of the Salmon River country. We spent Friday night in Challis, Idaho and then took a beautiful drive through Stanley and ended in Hailey. We took side roads and dirt roads and even saw the headwaters of the Salmon River. Absolutely amazing the tiny creek that becomes the mighty wild Salmon River. We attended the wedding Saturday and enjoyed the evening with Matt and Amy and boys. Sunday on the way home instead of taking the usual road we took the road less traveled and went OVER the mountain from Sun Valley to Mackay. (And I do mean OVER the mountain...one lane with a shear drop off on one side and the mountain on my side!) We stopped for a great dinner at the Webster house and to check on the football injuries of Keegan and Kyler. That's another post!

The happy new couple Anna and Jonathan. The new Mr. and Mrs. Leatham were a radiant couple.

The wedding was held in a grove of trees by Cam and Joan's house. The day was warm and lovely and the setting was very unique. The wedding party were all dressed very formal.

Hayden practices the proper way to hold your pinky finger while making a toast at the fancy wedding dinner.

Our boys loved the pool at the Wood River Inn. Hayden and Jace are both little fish and love the water. No fears. We enjoyed the pool and Baskin and Robbins across the street.

Petunias

First before I tell you my new secret for growing petunias you should know that petunias hate me. I have been trying for over 30 years to grow them. Everyone else has beautiful, full, spreading petunias. Mine grew straight up, one blossom on top and no fullness or spreading what so ever! In a gardening class this spring the instructor said these were the best trailing petunias and would just grow and spread and were so so wonderful. They are called bubble gum and would be so great. Yeah, let's see what I can do. I planted them carefully, set them on the steps where they could trail down the side and just as they were getting a good start a delivery man knocked them off the step. I didn't notice until I was on my way out the driveway. I stopped stuck the plants back in the pot because I was in a hurry and didn't even scoop much of the dirt back in the pot, something I thought I'd do later. You got it! The plants grew like crazy. The best petunias ever. Go figure.

This is the rooster weather vane with yes, even more black eyed susan climbing plants growing and blooming. It seems our summer has gone so fast. I enjoyed doing my summer bucket list and am thinking of maybe doing a short one for harvest break. I'm starting a beginning quilt pieceing class with a group of Relief Society sisters so that's a big goal for me. Keep watching for progress reports. A highlight I haven't mentioned before was a summer birthday party that we have every year on my dad's birthday in August. It was a fun cook out in the back yard and I appreciate family and getting together. We don't do it often and missed those who couldn't make it.

Patience...

When gifts were being handed out in heaven I must have been standing in the wrong line visiting when the gift of patience was being handed out. I don't do very well in that area. A couple of years ago when we were in Pennsylvania I saw some beautiful hanging baskets full of climbing black eyed susan plants. We thought we'd never seen them here so Zoeann and I carried little started plants with the roots wrapped in wet paper towels all the way home on the plane. Needless to say they didn't survive very well. What a surprise...I found the same plants in The Garden Gate Nursery in Rigby, Idaho! After a couple of years of trying this year they grew. Not bragging but I am pretty proud of myself that I got them to grow in two different places this year. They are just such happy plants. The one of the back deck had really grown up the planter and blooming so pretty.

One of the items on my summer bucket list was to see the painted buffalo in West Yellowstone. There are 36 fiberglass painted buffalo around the streets of West Yellowstone and also into Yellowstone Park. They are so amazing. On Tuesday of last week my sister Tamra and I drove up to see them. I tried to pick a favorite but there were too many to put in this blog and I don't know how to do a slide show yet. We enjoyed walking around and taking pictures of each one, having a picnic in the park and doing a little shopping. The best part of shopping was finding a weathervane decoration with a horse on it that looks great on top of the entertainment center. I take that back, the best thing was getting to spent time with my sister and catching up on life with her. I'm blessed to have Tamra for my sister and good friend...even if I am the old one. Thanks for going with me Tamra.

Where the buffalo roam...West Yellowstone

Rodeo

Our Saturday evening was spent with friends Dale and Susan at the War Bonnet Roundup in Idaho Falls. HK Contractors are sponsers and Randal had four tickets for Cowboy Tent dinners and the rodeo and concert after. It was a great rodeo and the concert was Restless Heart. I kept thinking I would recognize some songs but I guess my country western collection is rather limited. All in all it was a good time and we even got to sit by my sister Tamra and her husband Brad and niece Brittany, her boys Nakeaden and Axton and her husband Garrett who also works for HK. It's fun to get some of the little side benefits.

Old school friends myself, Marlene Weatherston Scott, Vickie Hathaway Hill and Susan Smith Foster enjoying a little outing to get reaquainted with each other in Jackson.

Classmate Reunion

Last Saturday evening myself and three of my high school friends had a mini class reunion. I'd tell you how many years but I'm sure it couldn't have been that many years ago because I'm not old enough to have been out of high school for that long. We enjoyed a great meal and entertainment at the Bar J Ranch in Jackson, Wy and then hours of talking and laughing. The trip included some shopping and a tour of the Teton Valley and such expansion and huge homes that it is so unbelievable. It seems the word thousand has been replaced by the word million. It was a fun weekend.

Wednesday was a pool party. Randal's sister, two of her daughter-in-laws, and her grandchildren joined Keegan, Hayden, Jace, Jessica and Randel (Melissa's foster kids) and Amy and I for a hot dog cookout and water fun. Melissa and Paul were taking 4th year girls on their overnight hike. We enjoyed the afternoon and the water wasn't really that green!

Follow the leader! We live in a beautiful area with great places to ride just a few miles from home.

July 6th was family ride day. Hayden, Matt, Melissa, Keegan, Paul

and Randal rode from Luthy's corrals to McGarry's corrals and back again. Everyone had a good time and are ready to go again. Megan and Ivan went for a hike at Heise and the rest of us stayed home and swam in the pool and fixed a cookout.

This last weekend was a busy and fun one. I went to Salt Lake to spend a couple of days with Megan and Ivan. I helped her put some new art, a clock, family pictures and rod iron thing on a wall in her living room. (We all know how much better it works to have it already done when the husband gets home.) Then she had the great idea of painting the wall behind their entertainment center yellow...I was not a believer. The new art work had yellow in it and I have to admit that when the three of us were finished it looked great. It is great being in their home and I enjoy being there with them. Thanks for the fun weekend kids. I'm still not thinking blog pictures so you'll just have to use your imagination on what the walls look like.