Another Grandma's Birthday Sleepover Comes to a Close

We drove Esme home today - and spent a bit of time with Bonny and the Little Women - and were blessed with clear freeways both ways - it doesn't get much better than that!!

Bruce was in Chicago so everyone was just "kicking back" and enjoying the day.

Ara did go through her backpack to get everything ready for Monday - maybe she can come and give lessons to some of my students!!

Annika was taking a little trip through time and checking our her mother's Little Women doll collection.

And Bonny gave Dad a little run for his money at chess - but he won!

Sunday a.m. was a little retro-feeling - not often that I have to fix two little girls' hair for church - of course they asked for braids - and a french braid.

Not another sleepover due until July - although we do have to work Ara's in soon. Her soccer team took state, so maybe she will have a break for awhile - in between concerts for her school orchestra!

Busy, busy, little women - and we love them one and all!

"Girls just wanna have fun!"

The day was lots of fun - so fun that I only remembered to take one picture!!

It isn't a Grandma's Birthday Weekend - at least if you are female - unless you go to Urbane and have a manicure - which we did in the afternoon after we picked up Eve at gymnastics. We had picked her up from the church and taken her there in the a.m. since Dawn was busy with the YW Camp Fundraiser at the church.

Esme and I shopped, ran errands, had lunch at In 'n Out, and stayed with Porter and Isla while Dawn went to pick up Baby Harry from a b-day party - since Isla was finally getting her nap!

Then we got Eve, and the first event upon returning to the house was some vigorous tetherball!!

After the manicure session - where Eve ran into one of her teachers and someone else asked the girls if they were twins - we got ready for dinner. Eve and Esme played with their American Girl dolls and worked on a puzzle.

Noah joined us for dinner - a perfect feast for a cold rainy night - homemade mac 'n cheese, peas, sliced apples, and biscuits and jam. It was all downhill from there - baths, started a movie, tried to roast marshmallows but the coals didn't co-operate, and rounded it all out with another visit from Grandpa Bob!!

I think the girls were tired - haven't heard a peep from them. That's what good times do - make you tired - a good tired!!

I'm not sure what tired I'm feeling, but I think I will sign off too!

And maybe take more pictures tomorrow!!

A birthday weekend!

We are having Esme's b-day weekend, and it's started out with a bang - and a meal at Mimi's!! I got one of the new lean and fit entrees - only 550 calories - so I could indulge when we did s'mores!!

Notice Esme's scarf and shirt - courtesy of REI, where we did a little shopping and spent Dad's gift cards and his REI dividend too! Love to shop with the largess of others!

Yumm - home for s'mores and a toasty fire too!!

I did the math, and it turns out that one s'more is only 159 calories!! (Dad said he believed that, but didn't believe I could only eat one!!)

I only ate one!!

Watch for more adventures - Dad's in playing Grandpa Bob for now!

"When the family gets together . . '

Diane and family are in SoCal - at least they have been - they head home tomorrow - but we were happy to get to catch up with them at Bonny and Bruce's for a great Sunday dinner.

Diane and Gabe had Alex, Tieren and Sierra with them. Chris and Robin came, as did Jesse. And Shauna - their Hoffman cousin - came too.

The weather was not the least bit co-operative - rain, rain, and more rain - and on PCH and environs that can mean rocks and mudslides. The drive there was not bad - the drive back was horrendous!! First we were stopped at the bottom of the canyon - looked like they were scraping up a mudslide. That wasn't so bad, but once they let people turn on to PCH, the car in front of us kept choosing not to go!! Dad is too polite to honk - although the cars behind us had no such compunction - so he finally just went left and then in front of the guy - and just hoped there wasn't some good reason for the guy not going!! It was a new car and we drove through mud - but a little mud never hurt anyone right? (I said a little mud!!)

We cruised on until Madre at the 210 - stopped like a parking lot - for 30 minutes. I texted Harry to see if he had any clues - the only thing he found was a collision on Sierra Madre Villa with an ambulance responding. And that could have been it.

So those of you who couldn't go or opted not to go because of the very inclement weather at least avoided some traffic frustration!! But we did have a nice time visiting, and so I am glad we were able to pull it off.

The photo is not the clearest - there was some discussion about turning off some lights - but you get the general idea!!

A big thank you to Bonny, Bruce, and family for their great hospitality!!

Caught, in the Act

Actually this is Dad on a job site.

Nice colors.

Beware the Ides of March!!

As I was doing the Ides invites, I noted that the day we were going to have it was actually Pi Day - you know, 3.14 - so I made the decision to break with tradition and have a different menu. We had three kinds of Shepherd's Pie, salad, rolls, Italian Soda and dessert pie: Lemon Curd, Blueberry, Pumpkin, Banana Cream, and Caramel Apple with vanilla ice cream. We also ate outside, since it was pretty balmy. We did that once before, and if the weather co-operates, it's the way to go.

We had some "newbies" too - Larry and Ginger joined us, and did Jenny and Allen.

The Terrill contingent was somewhat full - Bonny had to beg off and we missed their family!!

Portia was a kind of Pied Piper for the kids.

The Ides is actually Allen's birthday, so we serenaded him - and he had the male lead as Julius Cesar - did an excellent job too - Dawn said he had a radio announcer's voice!!

Of course our good friend Karan was with us - she who said so many years ago when I invited her, "I thought you'd never ask!"

Porter glued himself to Allen - and Jenny's camera!

Grandma Helen did not feel up to coming - so Ginger stepped in as the Soothsayer and did a commendable job.

Those Hoopes boys - yukking it up!

Jeff C. added musical background this time - it was pretty effective - may be a new tradition.

Harry glued himself to Janet and Andrew - the sword was a lot of the draw, but Andrew - who will be a new daddy this month - did a credible job of keeping Baby Harry focused!

Dad was an excellent producer/director. Tony-award caliber I would say!!

Not the best quality photo - but you get the drift!

Another curtain closes on the Ides Extravaganza at 428 - wish you could have been there!!

Saying goodbye to a favorite aunt

We got up at 3 a.m. on Saturday, Harry picked us up at 4. We got to LAX at 5. We landed in SLC at 9 a.m., Utah time. It was overcast and chilly to us - the natives were in shorts and flip flops - they thought the 48 degree temps were warm!! We were bundled up!!

Frances and Dee met us, and we drove to Orem for Virginia's funeral service. It was a lovely service. All four kids spoke. Jack and Thailia sang, Stacy, Susan's daughter, played a Chopin Nocturne on the piano. All the grandchildren and great grandchildren sang "A Child's Prayer," and it was very touching, as most singing by children is. I think Virginia would have been pleased.

Steve and Susan at the luncheon after the service. In true Mormon style, we had ham, funeral potatoes, green jello with fruit, rolls and cake!! (And we were glad to have it, since we'd only had juice and peanuts on the flight up!)

Frances with Julie and Stacy, Susan's daughters. Julie is a marathoner too - and one year we ran into her with her parents at Boston.

Bill Taylor came, as did Mary and Genieve. We were able to go over to Mary's for a brief visit also.

Trudy came, as did Doug, LaDenea, and children. It was nice to visit with them.

It was great to see Jack and Thailia again.


Chuck with his kids Ethan, who is standing, Jean Ann and James.

Dad was pretty tired, but I don't think that's why his eyes are shut!! This shot includes Virginia's 4 kids.

Steve and Susan with their kids: Julie, Emily, Stacy, John, Adrianne. John and Julie are twins.

I remembered to have someone take a shot of us - so you'd know we were there. Karen had planned to drive down, but the time got away from all of us. As it turned out though, our 6:06 p.m. flight got delayed and didn't leave until after 8 p.m. We could have met them at Temple Square, taken a tour, and still made our flight!! (There's a shuttle service at the airport that can do just that for you!!)

We did run into our good friends Larry and Ginger - who were on our flight - and knew it was delayed so they didn't arrive until after 7!! But we didn't have a way home, so they graciously took us and Grandma Terrill home. Truly a tender mercy!

It was indeed a "quick trip," but really worth the effort and resultant fatigue. It's too bad we only seem to gather for funerals!

Sad News to Note -

We got word today that Dad's Aunt Virgina died. We will be going with Grandma Terrill to the funeral in Utah, but it will be a very quick trip.

Virginia was Bill's first wife. After the divorce, she moved with her kids to Provo. When we were engaged, Dad rented a room from her in her basement. She was as funny and sweet and cheery as she looks in this picture!! She had wonderful laugh, a beautiful singing voice, was a great cook - and since her kids would not touch leftovers, Dad and I went every Sunday after we got married and harvested a week's worth of leftovers for ourselves!!

At first she was a bit aloof with me. Then I discovered that Bill's second wife was named Barbara. Virginia soon warmed to me, and we'd laugh about the shared name.

We didn't have a TV when the astronauts landed on the moon, so we went to Virginia's house to watch it. I can still see us all curled up on her couch, watching in awe.

In the picture above, she is shown with her brother Larry, whom she raised after their mother died. She took good care of everyone.

Her divorce was not a pleasant one and there was much acrimony. But at Jack's missionary open house, she stood and bore testimony that she had forgiven Bill, so she expected her kids to also.

She dealt with a lot of sorrow and heartache and came out of it stronger. After her kids were out of high school, she went back to school and got a teaching credential. She taught elementary school in Orem for many years until she retired over 25 years ago.

The last time we visited her was a few years ago. She wasn't well, but she was a spunky as ever. Her son Mike, who suffered a severe injury while on his mission, lived with her for many years and was with her when she died.

It will be good to go and see family. It will be even better to celebrate the life of a wonderful woman, a woman who made the world a better place for having been in it!

Happy Birthday Ellen!!

Felicitations today to the lovely Miss Ellen - a favorite niece - of whom we don't get to see nearly enough!!

This was from our trip to Virginia last summer - where we got to spend some time with Ellen.

Have a great day and a great year ahead!!

Saturday Night Dinner

We had Mom and Donna over tonight - they wanted to visit the invalid - who is definitely on the mend - and Donna wanted to ply Noah with her famous CCC.*

Mom is up for photo ops now - with her new eye!!

It's looking good! And that is not a pun!

Mom was commenting that the only part of her head that hasn't been messed with is her nose!! She can certainly see the humor in everything!

We enjoyed our visit - and the CCC!*

*chocolate chip cookies

Update from 4 -2-8

I was thinking that this would be a great time for everyone to be here!! Not only is it blue-sky beautiful and warm, but the house next door is getting a whole new top. I'm pretty sure the grandkids would enjoy sitting on the cinderblock wall and watching the action. There's nothing like a crane to entertain!!

I guess the fire did very extensive damage - but the house always looked unscathed from the outside.

I'm busy with Noah's laundry - why do I love doing laundry so much? It has no end, but I do enjoy the process and watching the clean things pile up! (When we were first married, I would iron Dad's shirts and line them up in the closet - and then get upset when he wore one of them!!)

Our guest room is getting a workout this year - maybe I will even get it painted one day soon.

Noah is feeling better today - and catching up on his phone calls, as well as playing the piano and answering my questions - you know me, always asking questions!!

I got an apron done, too, and got 2 more cut out. Sent out my Ides invites and caught up on the birthday cards. Did the weekend grocery shopping too. I could enjoy a 3-day work week!!

Virtual recovery!!

It took a while to get Noah to settle down and recuperate! Finally he crashed while watching a movie!!

I think the gardeners machines might have lulled him to sleep!!

Some people will do anything to get waited on!

Noah called us at 3:38 a.m. and said he thought he was having another kidney stone attack and wanted to go to the emergency room. So Harry got up and did just that.

Baby Harry thought all the hospital equipment was pretty great.

Throughout the day, I was wondering what was going on! Finally around 9 a.m. I got some details. He was very fortunate and got right into the surgery lineup and was in his room recuperating by about 3 p.m. Harry the Dad stayed with him most of the day, and Harry the Son came by just as he was being wheeled into surgery. Turns out he was having an appendicitis attack.

It was the short day today, so I got over there around 2:30. When I left him at 5, he was perking right up!! The Dos Harrys came to call also. He had tons of text messages and calls - so he's not feeling neglected. He feels very fortunate that he'd reactivated his phone on Tuesday night. And that he's on my health insurance!

The Lord watches over us.

Blessings come to those who wait - and wait - and wait!!

Phoebe sent us this photo of Henry wearing souvenir tee shirt from the Cedar City Shakespeare Festival of long ago. She commented that she'd kept it for 7 or 8 years - guess we sent it to Henry when he was pretty young!! I'm sure it was the smallest size they had, and we couldn't resist it.

And isn't it worth the wait? You know, when it's just right, it's just right.

As I recall, Dad didn't dispute my contention that we should get it for Henry - but I suspect I thought he'd be into it sooner than 7 or 8 years!!

Ah, Henry, a king in your own right!!