Happy Valentine's Day

Here's a bunch of LOVE for all my family and friends on this special Valentine's Day. I have had a wonderful few days with Brandie and Isabel here! This is the way to spend a Holiday or any other day for that matter. February gets busy. Rick's birthday is the 4th. We were planning a fun dinner at some steak house he wanted to go to with Wendy/David here but he got real sick and had to spend his birthday in the bathroom. Sorry Hon. We had fun while Wendy and David were here and love to spend as much time with them as possible. Brandie and Isabel got here on the 10th and yes, I am in heaven. My Carys' 4th birthday is the 12th and she is having a pinkalicious party. She a darling blondie with a sassy "tude". We love you Carys. We are going to celebrate Brandie's birthday the 17th. I hope to get some wild and crazy going on. Pictures of all the events will be coming soon. Love to you all!

Catching Up!

Brother! I really suck at this blogging thing. I do love to see other blogs and most especially the pictures, so you would think I would try harder to keep mine current.
We spent our 21st anniversary by going to Ruth Chris Steakhouse in Park City. It was a beautiful drive, the snow made everything look like a winter wonderland.
I miss Brandie and Lancer and families!
We really have had a busy holiday. Christmas day was a bit lonely with out Lance and Brandie and their families thank heaven for the web cam! We had our Christmas Eve party complete with the snowball eating contest and the usual goodies. Othea spent the night (she has no choice after 21 years). We spent Christmas day at Marty's and hit Tiffany's that evening.
I really miss seeing Brandie, Josh, Izzie, Lancer, Brooke, Sydney, Carys and Elyse!
My Uncle Leon passed away and the funeral was that SSaturday. So we postponed our trip to Arizona a few days. Uncle Leon was a special guy and an admired uncle. I will especially miss driving into the "fields of Spanish Fork" (Uncle Dean's) to park the motor home. He was always there with a welcome smile and ready to help me hook up! I learned a lot from him around the "campfire" too.
Have I mentioned how much I miss my kids?
New Years was spent in the warmth of Phoenix with Wendy. We stayed for two weeks. Rick really wanted to stay longer but I needed a grand baby fix. We always have so much fun at Wendy's. She made me exercise everyday...and best of all,she made me laugh everyday! Her and David gave Mom and Dad tickets to the Lion King for Christmas. We were able to get some tickets and go with them. We went to dinner at some little steakhouse before the play. We all voted it to be one of the best steaks eaten in a long time! It was the first time I had seen the Lion King and it truly was awesome!
I sure wish I could have taken all my grand kids to see it, they would have loved it!
Rickey's Mom passed away a week and a half ago. All our sincere sympathies and well wishes go to all of their family. We really are lucky to have Rickey, Tiffany and Lil Rickey close. We love spending time with them. I love watching Rickey several days a week, it really is the highlight of our week. She absolutely adores Grampa!
I would love to watch the other girls too!
So it's been two weeks since we left AZ and it was time for Wendy to come here. We really can't go very long without seeing each other. We've been having lots of fun. We seem to eat allot! Well and laugh allot too. We all went to Curt's tonight to watch the Superbowl. Of course the girls ended up down stairs playing rock band instead.
We really needed Brandie and Lance's families there!
The best news I have is two fold! Number one, Tiffany is going to give me another grand baby in September! She has been a bit "grey" the last couple weeks so it's hart to hide it! Hope she has gotten a hold of Lance and Brooke by now or I'm in trouble for letting the cat out of the bag. Number two, Brandie is coming home for her birthday. She and Isabel will be here the 10th thru the 20th. We will be celebrating her birthday big time. I can hardly wait.
In case I haven't mentioned it lately, or you can't tell, my "family" is the absolute breath I take! My kids have always been my life! Now my Joy is complete with the "five little girls"! I love you all!

All I want for Christmas!

Many of you know that the only thing I want is to be with my kids. To be with all of them at once is Heaven! And I do mean that! I finally got my wish for Thanksgiving. We spent a week in Washington D.C. with Brandie and her family and then drove down to N.C. to spend the Thanksgiving week with Lance and his family. Tiffany's family met us there. What a perfect moment to have all my babies under one roof at one time. I took over 350 pictures, I tried to pick just a few, man they were all so good.
Our trip to D.C was incredible. Rick had never been there so all the sights and experiences were new and fresh. Of course it is an awesome place that is full of history and makes you proud to be an American. We saw all of the monuments, got a personal tour of the pentagon with Josh, Arlington, Mt. Vernon, the Smithsonian, Gettysburg, Mananas, D.C. temple and so much more. We were so fortunate to be in the right places at the right times. At Mt. Vernon in George Washington's home we were there the day after they brought the original painting of George Washington kneeling in prayer. It was huge and incredible. They told us that Arnold brought it there himself. When we went to Gettysburg, it was Remembrance Day. The day they reenact the Gettysburg Address. Hundreds even thousand of people dressed in period costume were there. A big parade then battalions march to the drums and fife on the fields. The lined up, the North and the South. In grey and blue. It was a sight to see and we got to witness it from the warmth of our car. We went to the Smithsonian American History museum the day it opened after being closed for many years, they greeted us with flag pins, people dressed in character (George and Martha Washington, soldiers, Jefferson) and we saw "the Star Spangled Banner". The original flag that flew over the fort during the civil war. Unbelievable.
Thanksgiving day was the best. Brooke outdid herself. The food was delicious and we ate all day. Everyone was is such good spirits and happy to just be together. We ventured out to McDonald's, the movie, and the mall to ride the carousel. The kids were so good. We had no glitches what so ever. Rick and I got to babysit all 5 girls one night while the big kids went to dinner. That was heaven. There was not a minute that you couldn't reach out for a hug or a kiss from anyone and they were all so willing. Saying good bye was the hardest. Especially when you don't have a "see you in..." date to look forward too. This was definitely the best gift I could ever have received. So I thank Rick for taking me, and all my kids for arranging everything and all the entertainment. But best of all, thanks to my "five little girls" for loves and kisses and the frosting on the cake. Somebody up there loves me to bless me with all of this.

Happy Thanksgiving

After reading a sincere post on Wendy's Blog, I wanted to take her example and post the things I am thankful for.
We are so fortunate to be able to take a trip to Washington D.C. and then on to North Carolina to spend Thanksgiving with ALL my kids. Yes we will all be in one place at a time (still hoping big Rickey will make it)!. Most of my loved ones and friends can tell you that my kids are the most important things in my life. Yes they are my biggest blessing and I am ever indebted to my Heavenly Father for entrusting me with them. I can't imagine a day without them or talking to them, knowing they are always there for me. I know that I am truly lucky that I talk to them each day. (Sometimes more than once a day) I am so proud of them and all they have accomplished, the spouses they have chosen, and the character each one has developed. This all leads to the biggest JOYS in my life, my five granddaughters! They make my life worth enduring. They are the frosting on my cake! And I love the frosting.
I am thankful for Rick, though he is probably is the last to know that. He has stuck by me when most people would have run by now. I thank him for letting me do the things I love the most, be with my family.
Thank you to my parents who are my idols. Never before has there been two people as perfect as they are. They have given me so much and been so supportive. They have been my safety net, confidants, and advisers through so many trials. I love them greatly. Thanks to them I have two awesome brothers and a sister that is absolutely priceless. I also love my nieces and nephews and my awesome in-laws.
Without sounding to much like a testimony, I am really very thankful to my brother Jesus Christ for all the blessing in my life. I thank him for loving me first and being with me always.
Thanks to all those who read this...for letting me be me.