Summer Magic!!

Happy Summer Solstice to one and all!!  It's been a busy fun summer already - with more to come!!  We are especially enjoying getting to know Miss Rhoda so well!!  She is pretty darn cute!!

 

Sue Graham stopped by last night to bring a gift to Rhoda - what a treat to sit and visit.

 

Hannah and Phoebe are having a great time - and cooking up a storm.  Not sure Dad will want to settle for my bland brand of mealtimes when they leave!!

 

Our canopied chair makes everyone look like royalty or something!!

 

Patio dinners are the best.

 

And so is the Seely's pool!!  So great to have generous neighbors.

 

Resurrecting the Zim-Zam!!

 

Chocolate smiles!!

Stay tuned for more adventures - Annika and Esme are here while the rest of their crew was at Trek - need to be sure I take a photo of them!!  They are all having a fine time together - it is so gratifying to watch your grandchildren play and have fun with their cousins!!

Happy Birthday Harry W.!!

I am not at my computer, so I can't pull up photos. But even without a photo, I can wish a happy day to Harry W.!!

Harry is 5 today!! Seems amazing - I can picture in my mind's eye standing in our living room talking to Margaret M., who had stopped by for some reason. And a phone call came that Harry had been born - and it was a BOY!! (We had not known ahead of time!!)

Of course the memorable story from this time was the hunt for his name - I think I have a photo of the list of names we put on the white board while the decision was being made!! We Terrills like to get just the right name - and sometimes that takes time!

Harry, Dawn, and family were living with us at the time, so we got in on a good chunk of Harry's infancy. My favorite story is when Dawn was out, Harry F. had to go somewhere, and he asked me to watch the baby so he could go do what he had to do. He was fussy, and I had several things that needed doing, so I whipped out a table cloth and wrapped Harry W. to my body - a la women all over the world! - and lo and behold, he calmed right down as I bustled about the house washing dishes, doing laundry, picking up, etc.

Harry F. came home, rolled his eyes heavenward, and chuckled at what he thought was my silliness. He took Harry from me and I went on with my chores. It wasn't much later that he came and found me and asked me how I had tied the cloth around to secure Harry to me!!

And the next day he went and bought a baby sling that became standard operating procedure in the household!! You know, sometimes Mom does know best!!

Have a great day Harry W. - and a wonderful year ahead - we love you - and I'm looking forward to our Grandma's Birthday Weekend!!

Happy 7th to Calvin!

I haven't seen Calvin since "Cousin Camp" this summer!! And I miss him! He's a wonderful little boy - who's getting to be quite a big boy - maybe I can't call him little anymore!!

He sure was a cute little guy when he was younger!! And I guess I shouldn't be calling him cute anymore - maybe it's time for handsome!!

We love you Calvo and wish you a happy, happy day!!

Porter's Birthday Party

We gathered for some Baskin Robbins Ice Cream cake and celebrated Porter's 7th birthday. He was a happy boy today - as well he should be.

Saturday Fun in the Valley

Dawn and the kids and I drove out to GH today. We've been trying to pamper Dawn, so she went for a mani/pedi and a facial while Mom, Donna, and I tended the kids.

Eve and Donna playing "Hollywood!"

The kids took baths and then wore shirts of Donna's. Funny how kids love bathing in "other" tubs!

As long as her mom's not around, Isla is willing to be with me!!

Eve - showing her "stuff" for her upcoming competition.

Isla loved the Polly Pocket stuff.

Mom fixed a great dinner for us - Donna said, "Does this all seem familiar, kids underfoot while you cook?"

And Mom said, "These kids aren't in the way!!"

Old habits never die it seems!!

And kids still enjoy being at Grandma Mary's!!

10 years - 10 pictures - of our man Henry - double digits today!!

He is the first grandson - and has set a high standard for all the grandsons to follow. I love hanging out with Henry. I love having conversations with him. I love playing Golf and Mormon Poker with Henry. I love driving around Lake Oswego with Henry - having him know just where we need to turn. I love watching movies with Henry. I love talking about Star Wars and Harry Potter with Henry. I love sewing his Cub Scout patches on his uniform. I loved reading the Henry Huggins books to him one summer. I love doing Cub Scout projects with Henry.

(One of my favorite Henry stories: I was tending Henry and Calvin while Phoebe and David had a little getaway. They were getting ready to move from Davis to Oregon. The house was full of packed and soon-to-be-packed boxes. It was a little chaotic. I was going to take the boys for a walk - Calvin was little enough to need a stroller. But I couldn't get the stroller open. I tried and tried. Finally, in exasperation, I exclaimed to Henry, "How does your mom get this open?"

And Henry coolly replied, "With one hand.")

I love everything about Henry!! In fact, I love Henry!

And I can't believe he's in the double digits already! Yikes, before we know it, I'll be posting his Eagle Scout pictures!!

A whirlwind weekend - a great way to start Spring Break!

I left right after school on Friday and flew up to Portland. The next day was full of BASEBALL!!

And it was chilly and cold as you can tell by Agnes' attire.

Phoebe's neighbor and friend Mandy and her husband Michael welcomed twin baby girls on March 23rd - so we had to stop by and help out for a bit!! Agnes, by the way, was in HEAVEN!!

Back to baseball - or should I say T-ball - that's Calvin in the back, getting ready to run!

Sully and Agnes are great little spectators!! And Agnes knows her way around the snack bar too!

Phoebe's job is to sign up snack contributors.

Calvin with his Bruce-made bike!! A hit for sure!

Henry had two games - one was the season opener - which they won 10 to 0 - and the other was a Pitching Machine Tournament - which they also won - but by one run!

The happy team with their medals. Going into the bottom of the last inning, Henry's team just had to hold on to their one run lead - first batter struck out, 2nd batter got on base, 3rd batter struck out, another batter got on base. A line drive to left field - which Henry got and threw to first to get the third out. To say there was excitement is putting it mildly!! What a great way to start the season.

David is a busy man - and this is the only shot I got of him!!

Phoebe and Mandy with Evelyn and Amelia - identical twins. Mandy is in the same complex as Phoebe - and her husband is finishing up his residency, so they are moving back to Logan. All the Fillmores will miss their neighbors and friends - there is one to go with each Fillmore!!

By the end of the visit, Sully was warming up to me - naturally at the end!!

Phoebe always has projects for me - this was a tunic top she'd seen on a blog - it's a Lisette pattern from Simplicity. We were up late Monday night finishing it - only to find that it was too snug through the hips.

So we turned it into a "shaperon" instead!! It's still pretty cute. It was hard to make - the directions were quite vague and unclear - or maybe it was the fact that it was after midnight!! But Phoebe went online and found a woman in Australia who had made it and done a tutorial on it!! The day - or should I say night - was saved! (I did some of the work - but Phoebe did most of it - she's planning to start another one with more fulness in the hips - I can identify with that!!)

Just before heading to the airport to come home - of course Sully smiled when I held him!!

Agnes with friend and neighbor Zia - and Lourdes the Hippo - the little stuffed toy I'd started last summer when Sully was born - finished at long last!! (I had made a little stuffed dog for Calvin then.)

It was a great trip - brief but fun. Sunday Phoebe taught in R.S. and did a fine job - I'm glad I got in on that. Also - and I think this a record - I did not do any laundry!! (But I did catch up her mending - maybe that will be my new job!)

At dinner Monday night, Phoebe asked the children the best part of their day - Calvin said, "Playing Golf and Mormon Poker with Grandma!"

Can't wait to see the gang when they come to LA in July!!

"Baby it's cold outside!"

Henry sent this to Dad tonight!!

We are expecting a storm - with predictions of snow at 500 feet - which would put it in our back yard.

We'll keep you posted - and take photos.

Sure hope it doesn't kill all the popcorn that's popping on our apricot tree!!

Happy First Birthday to Our Lovely Miss Isla!!

Guess who is ONE today??

Can't believe it's been a whole year - we were in Virginia last year when the lovely Miss Isla made her precipitous debut - and what a lovely year it has been with her!!

Happy Day to you!!

The Happy Campers!

Got some phone photos from the traveling duo - they are not letting the grass grow under their feet - that's for sure!!

We are having a fine time here too!!

How I spend my evenings sometimes!

It's Back to School Night this week in Monrovia. Harry was working, so Dawn brought the kids over. They are getting pretty progressive these days, and the Back to School Nights are divided up by grade levels at the elementary schools. (K-2 one night, 3-5 the next night.)

So we hung out together for two nights. We watched Princess Bride - sometimes that is - I think kids just want some "background noise" or something. Or maybe they've seen Princess Bride enough that they just stop for the fave parts!

I took some pics and then showed Harry W. how he looked as an alien!! The above was his solution to redeye in photos!

Pretty effective you might say!

My Back to School Night is Thursday. Any bets on how few parents will show for my classes?? (One year no parents showed up at all!!)

Almost two weeks old!!

Our man Sully is growing up!! And we even got a shot with his hair lying flat - most of the time he has that David Bowie look!! Sometimes a little Kevin Bacon too!

And Miss Agnes, big sister extraordinaire, once again said, "Take a picture of me!"

So I did. I'm really going to miss these kids - Henry and Calvin too - when I leave!!