Mother's Day May 10th 2015

My family really knows how to spoil me for Mother's Day!  Just look at the treasures they gave me!   I got to talk to Cole and the Texas grandkids too!  For Mother's Day Dinner we went out to Brock and Carrie's.  My Mom and Jimmy joined us.  We had a lovely day!

 Brock and Carrie gave me these awesome phone covers and a nice card.

Tyson and Courtnie gave me a gift card from Porters and I bought the easel that holds the picture and this great clock.  They also bought me a picture that says "Don't forget to Pray"

Chelsi sent me these beautiful flowers on Saturday. She also gave me a gift card to Dillards.

Clinton gave me a wonderful card, the beautiful plant, make-up and some money for a shopping spree.

Monday morning I went to Dillards armed with my gift card and cash and bought these awesome shoes and some leggings!  I do always love a shopping spree!

Last but not least Chelsi gave me this quote that has some great words of wisdom!  It is so nice to feel so much love!

Sleepover with Payton & Braden May 8th & 9th 2015

Brock & Carrie went to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to celebrate their 5th Wedding Anniversary. Clinton is out of town, so I got to have a sleepover with Payton & Braden.  We got to eat dinner, watch the rain, hear the thunder, play with toys and read books.  We had a delightful evening!

On Saturday morning they woke up bright and early.  We had pancakes and eggs for breakfast.  Then we got dressed and loaded up their things and went to my house to spend the day.

The weather was ok so the boys got to spend some time outside playing with the tractor and car.  This is always a highlight.  Because they have different nap schedules, I got to spend one on one time with each of them.  I always enjoy this.  We also made cookies ( another highlight ).

My Laurel Class May 6th 2015

     This is my Laurel Class!  My world has revolved around these girls for the past year. We have had a great year!

     Tonight we had a going away party for the Seniors.  It is a bittersweet time.  I am excited for these girls to move on and have new experiences and adventures.  I am also sad because I will miss hanging out with them and learning from them.  I have come to know that when you serve others you really learn to love them.  These girls are fantastic!  Their testimonies are strong and I can see them doing great things in their lives.
     Back Row: Me, Savannah Williams, Ayano (she is an exchange student,  We have really enjoyed having her in our group), Sabrina Luthy and Nakia Mattson (Laurel Advisor)
     Front Row: Stacy Roberts, Michone Bingham, Morgan Casper and Mackenzie Casper.
     The quilts that the girls are holding were made by Joyce Cromar.  She is a disabled lady in our ward.  She made 9 quilts for the Senior boys and girls in our ward.  She is amazing!

Bear World 5-2-15

Lucky me!  I got to go to Bear World with Brock, Carrie, Payton and Braden!  They have a Seasons Pass and can get visitors in for less.  It is fun to watch the boys reactions to the animals.  They really make it fun.  This is a great Saturday Activity.

Friday Night Date Night May 1, 2015

I planned our Date Night.  We went to Squealers to play miniature golf.  It is in Rigby.

I don't think I am lined up for a very good put.

This was a fun place to go.  Next time I will invite more people to join with us. I am going to try to make our date nights more fun and different this summer.

Last Day of Bowling 4-30-15

Today is the last day of Bowling for the 2014 - 2015 Season.

Team members:  Me, Cari Zollinger (4th Member), Michelle Parkinson, Pam Blackburn (not shown, sprained her ankle and was gone the last month)

Magnets to show accomplishments during the year.  Always a great time at bowling!  I tell the ladies that I come for the visiting and the food.

Goodbye Uncle Dean 4-28-15

Uncle Dean has passed away.  He lived a very long and amazing life.  He was 93.  I love funerals.  I love to hear about the person who passed and learn more about their life.  I love how the family rallies around and we get to spend time with them.  It is a family reunion.  We were able to reconnect with Denay Burrie ( his daughter-in-law) and his grand children (Robert, Richard, Shelley, Val and their families.  The funeral was lovely, the weather was nice and the meal was delicious.  It was a great day.  The picture is of Amanda Tow (one of Dean's great-granddaughters) playing Taps on her saxaphone.  Shelley and her family stayed at our house during this time.  It was wonderful to get to know her family better.  We will miss Uncle Dean.  I am grateful for the knowledge that I have to know where Uncle Dean is and that we will see him again someday.  This is so comforting.

Can I Just Say Awesome! 4-23-15

Wow!  What a great day bowling!  This 201 is my 2nd 200 game this year!  It sure makes my day to get a score like this.  I am Awesome!  I also text Clinton and my kids to remind them how awesome I am too!

One Door Closes and Another Door Opens 4-22-15

Agritech is a good place to work.  I like the environment and the people there.  They are always thoughtful and send flowers on Secretary's day.  That always make me feel important.  I have worked there for about 2 1/2 years.  I started out as part time doing filing.  Eventually they increased my work load until I became full time.  I enjoyed the work and the things I was learning, but I felt out of balance in my life.  I am the YW President and that takes alot of time too.  I found that I could not keep up on the cleaning of my house and I rarely cooked.  At this point I asked to go back to part time.  It was a relief.  But, Agritech needed some one to help Brock with accounting and to be full time.  So I have been phased out.  I am ok with that.  It was a very good experience for me and gave me a better perspective and appreciation for women who work full time.  I am now in a new chapter in my life.  I am going to find other things to do that are fulfilling and meaningful.

Grandpa takes the kids for a horse ride 4-20-15

Grandpa loves taking the kids for a horse ride.  Today he could only take them on a ride around the barn.  It doesn't matter to them, they just love being with Grandpa and the horses.

Kaden

Cloe is our relative.  She is Val Arnold Royer's daughter.  Val is Uncle Dean's granddaughter. Cloe and Kimmi became good friends when Tyson and Courtnie lived in Washington.

Kimmi

Emma

State Convention April 17th & 18th 2015

I am still in the Rexburg Civic Club.  I went to Convention with these wonderful ladies.  We all met in Burley, Idaho April 17th and 18th.  I am the President Elect.  In 1 year I will be the President of our Club.

Back Row:  Susan Landon, Karla Groom, Judy Steiner, Pat Packer (President)
Front Row:  Mari Barton (State President), Me, Linda Flamm

I is nice to belong to a club that gives so much service in our community.  I enjoy meeting ladies all over the state of Idaho.  It is fun to learn new things and to better myself.

Ice Cream for Easter April 2015

For Easter this year I gave my grandkids in Texas money in an Easter egg.  They all went out for ice cream! Yeah! I wished I was there with them. For my grandkids in Idaho I gave them a coupon for a yogurt and I took them one at a time. I even drew their names out of a hat to see who goes when.

Kimmi is the first to go with me.  We went to Millhollow.

2nd is Kaden.

3rd is Payton

4th is Braden

5th is Emma, last the best of all the game!  That is what I told her because she couldn't believe she was last and it was hard to wait.  I love taking these lovely kids all by themselves.  We have great uninterrupted conversation!

Kash! 4-13-15

This is Kash.  He is our 11th grandchild!  He turned 1 on April 9th.

What a blessing that Tyson's family now lives in Sugar City.  Now we get to be a part of their family events!  We had fun celebrating Kash's birthday today!  He is such a sweet little boy!

Grandkids and Surgery! April 8 - 11, 2015

     Fun at Grandma's house!  It all started when Carrie was boxing up their house for the upcoming move,  I took Payton and Braden on Wednesday so she could have uninterrupted time.  One of our fun activities was making brownies!

The boys just love licking the beaters!

     On Thursday, Emma and Kimmi came to stay until Saturday.  Their Mom and Dad went to Salt Lake City to celebrate their 8th Anniversary.  It also happened to be the day of Clinton's hernia surgery. I was so worried because I could not be there with him.  I called every hour to check on him until he was ready for me to pick him up and bring him home.  Kimmi and I bought him some get well balloons.  She was very concerned about grandpa too.

     Saturday was a fun day!  Emma, Kimmi, Payton and Braden were all together at my house. It is a miracle that Clinton was able to relax with all the fun going on.
     We are all loaded up, and ready to go to the library!  Emma was in the front seat.  It is so fun getting these cousins together to play!  I am glad they are getting to know each other.

Treasure! 4-4-15

I found treasure hidden away in our storage room downstairs!

After living in our house for 4 years, I finally got up the courage to really clean out the storage room.  What has been holding me back is the possibility of spiders lurking in the corners.  I threw alot of stuff away and took other stuff to DI.  Underneath the stairs I found this treasure!  I took it to the bank and found I had $19.95.  Clinton said I could keep it because I found it.  I decided to use the money to treat my grandchildren to yogurt!

Celebrating Jimmy's Birthday 3-25-15

Jimmy's Birthday is March 26th.

We took Jimmy to the Sandpiper for his Birthday dinner.  Kathryn & Kirk and my Mom joined in the celebration.  Happy Birthday Jimmy!

Trip to the Temple 3-24-15

Tonight our Laurel Class went to the Temple.

We did baptisms for the dead.  The girls that came are Stacy Roberts, Sabrina Luthy, Michone Bingham and Savannah Williams. This was an enjoyable evening.  We went to Millhollow afterwards and had a yogurt.  It is fun to hang out with these girls.