The Party Girl

Yesterday was Cheryl's birthday. We went to lunch at a cute little boutiquey-lunch place called Dear Lizzies in Highland. Yes, Highland. I brought my newest cupcake book to show them.
This book was more of a fun "here-you-go" gift than a practical one. I wouldn't blame her if she never cracked it open, or actually used it.
Isn't this a cute place? The smallest cupcake will put you in the hole to the tune of $3.
Lunch was fun! And now that the Ward Luau is over, Cheryl can finally relax! I don't think she'll plan another ward function on her birthday again! She did a great job with everything.
This is our home teacher. He's also Cheryl's home teacher. He made the ward sing to her. She was embarrassed just the right amount. Nice.

Big Balloon

When I was in California a couple of weeks ago, Karen, Caleb and I went to ride a hot air balloon. It's not that big of a deal because the balloon is tethered and just goes up and back down rather than wandering all around. Still, it was pretty cool, especially for Caleb.

He sees the balloon!

It's going up, up, up.

Karen had a friend and her little guy come along.

Nana and Caleb

I sure like this guy.

Shouldn't the balloon be red?

I think it should be red. Yep.

One Extra Day

For the last several days I've had these angels visiting me. I use this rocking horse as my gauge for how big the kids are growing.
The last time Eliot was here, he was brand new. Now he's so big!
Before going to the airport, Laura's friend, Shannon took some pictures of the family. While she was taking the professional version, I was snapping these off in the background.




We hurried to the airport and bid each other a sad farewell. I went to the office and shortly received a phone call saying they'd missed their flight! I got one more night with them, which was perfect! We got to finish up a few things left undone and I was grateful for a few more moments with my kids. It was a fantastic visit. Thanks Laura, Nick, Agnes and Eliot for making our world a little brighter for a few days!

Mirror Lake

Last Monday for Labor Day we drove up to Mirror Lake. I've been as far as Russia with Bud, but I haven't been to most places of interest right here in Utah. We bought a sandwich in Kamas and headed up the mountain. The view did not disappoint.


The following photo shows a road we took thinking it was a different road. It was a rocky road.

I prefer my rocky road with a spoon, thank you. Good thing I have a Jeep.
When Bud told me we were in bear country, I wondered if I would see one. I figured I wouldn't. What I never thought to figure on was seeing this guy.
He didn't look like he was in a very social mood, so we didn't stop to chat. It was a great day.

All By Myself

Get a new calling, need a new desk, right?

Put slot A into tab B? Uh, yeah, we're having fun over here.

In the past, when I've needed help putting something together, this guy was usually pretty close by. He's 'handy' like that. Today is his birthday. 9/9/09, and his age is divisible by 9! Happy Birthday Brandon!

So since he wasn't any where near here and Bud was at work, I had to do it myself or wait for Bud to come home. I didn't want to wait so here's how I figured it out. I made a sticky note for every part of the desk.

There were a lot of parts. It was nice to come across a piece that was pre-labeled.
Okay, so far so good.
Then there was the hardware that had to be dealt with.
More stickies!

I learned that with a little organization, a LOT of time and a couple Advil, even I can do hard things, all by myself!

I would much rather have had Brandon do it though. Hope your birthday is happy my Son-in-law!!

Grandkid Bonanza

Last week I got to see some of my grandkids. In fact, most of them. The only one missing was Jackson. In order of appearance...

Eliot

Agnes

Caleb

Sara and Nora
I didn't get to see Mia (my newest) until later that evening. In the meantime, the kids "needed" to go swimming.
Then it was time for Nora's birthday party. She wanted a cooking party! The first project was to decorate the hats and aprons.
Breadsticks were made, followed by pizza making. Each child there got to make their own. Nora was very happy with her party. The activities were non-stop! Eating donuts from a string, marshmallow scooping, banana splits after the pizza, and on and on.

Here's Nora assembling her creation.
Finally! I got to see Mia (she'd been napping earlier, and I was the "official photographer" so I didn't get to seek her out).

She's the cutest baby ever!

That evening, the kids came to the hotel to swim (their second swim of the day). They all wanted me to catch them as they jumped in. Usually all at the same time!
Caleb and Agnes spent the night at the hotel with me. They were watching Stuart Little on the computer until the battery died and we didn't have the cord to charge it. I don't know how the movie ended up, but I suppose Stuart was okay in the end.
The next day we went to the L.A. County Fair. It was a pretty warm (hot) day, but we still had a great time.

I wish I didn't live so far away from these sweet kids!