Steele Cooking Blueberry Muffins

Steele wanted to make blueberry muffins all by himself this morning. He did a great job!

Tribute to Mom

We have so enjoyed having Mom live so close to us!! It has been a blessing in our lives. She embroidered the quote for me and Nicole framed it and we put it right by our front door. I took this picture with one of her newest Great Granddaughter -- Savannah Irene Childs. She wants me to take a picture of all the Christmas Stockings that she makes. This is what she likes to do to keep busy during the day besides reading. Amy keeps her supplied with books from the Orem City Library. Thanks Amy!! Oh PEPPER had to get in the picture. I saw a quote the other day that reminded me of Mom and Pepper. "This House is Ruled by the CAT!!" Toby had to get in the picture too.

Thanks MOM for living with us!!

Disappearing Nine Patch

I found a project to do thanks to Alice. I made a Disappearing Nine Patch for Steele's bed. He's been using an old quilt that I made when I was a teenager and the one Granny made for Don with Smoky on it. (Don's dog when growing up.) It came together very nicely and then I borrowed some quilting frames and I actually have room in this house to put up quilting frames. (yeah!!) Amy, Becca, Bridget, Nicole, and Mom help me tie it. I'm attaching some pictures of the work in progress. Mom helped me finish the edges. I need now to take a picture of it on Steele's bed. That's next.

Spring Break, Disneyland, Southern California

We had a perfect vacation to Southern California. We left Tuesday morning and flew into Long Beach. We had never flown into that airport and was surprised and how small and efficient it is. We got the rental Dodge Caravan and drove to the Queen Mary. We took a hour tour of the cruise ship and wanted to see the Spruce Goose but found out that it was moved to Oregon 16 years ago -- oops!! Oh well we had a great time. The kids wanted to do the Ghost Tour but we didn't. We then drove to Fullerton to show the girls where they lived for a few years and had lunch at In and Out Burgers. We then got on the freeway around 2 p.m. before the traffic. We got to Debi's place and waited a few hours before everyone came home from work and school. Don and I took a walk around the neighborhood on the horse path. We played with the dogs. Laura got home first so she took us on a tour of her new condo. When we got back Debi had dinner ready for us Hawaiian Haystacks and fresh squeezed orange juice. Before we left Cody gave us a tour of his rabbits and pigs. We left around 8 p.m. to get to the hotel. We stayed at the Marriott Residence, one bedroom apartment which was perfect for us. It had a full kitchen which made it nice to make lunches and it came with a full breakfast buffet so we didn't have to worry about breakfasts. It was a 10 - 15 min. walk to Disneyland.

Wednesday morning we went to Disneyland and was able to walk on all the rides we wanted. I even went on Space Mountain and now I remember why I didn't like it. It the afternoon we were tired and walked back to the apartment and took a nap. Laura met us after our nap and we went to California Adventure with her.

Thursday morning Disneyland was busier and we had to wait longer in lines but still able to do all we wanted. We had lunch at the Blue Bayou, tradition. We went to California Adventure in the evening. Bridget had blisters on her feet from wearing the wrong shoes -- sandals so she had an early evening. Nicole, Steele and I wandered around and saw lots of things we hadn't seen before.

Friday morning we drove out to the beach -- Treasure Island Park and met Lisa there with Landon. The beach was fogged over but still beautiful. We took some pictures and then back to Disneyland which was even more crowded than Thursday. So were glad we did everything on Wednesday and Thursday. The weather was perfect. At 3 p.m. we drove back down and visited with Lisa and Landon. Debi and Bud, Laura and Derrick came later. We had pizza and played games. We had a very nice time. Laura guided us back to the 5 freeway to get back to the hotel. We packed up and went to bed.

We woke up early 4:30 to get to the airport for a 6:45 flight. We slept on the airplane. We got in early because of a tailwind and was home at 11 a.m.

It was a wonderful time!!

Saturday April 12, 2008

Don and Steele left early at 7 a.m. to drive to Rexburg, ID to pack Nicole up and bring her home. They got there in record time 3 hrs. and 50 min. They loaded her up, checked her out, dropped off the roommates' pet turtle with another girl, and then had lunch at Craigo's Pizza Buffet. They then drove home. Nicole drove about
an hour and 20 minutes of the trip so Don could have a rest from driving. Steele ended up getting sick shortly after arriving home, but otherwise they all returned safely.

Bridget left at 8 a.m. to take her ACT test. She's not sure she did as well as she would have liked, so she might take it again in June hoping for a better score.

I stayed home and did house work and laundry. When Bridget came home from her test Grandma and I took her to lunch and Costa Vida. Lynnette was in town and joined us and we had a fun chat. After lunch Bridget and I took Toby for a walk. We came home and mowed the lawn and then fertilized the lawn. Bridget swept off the patio and hosed it off.

Don, Steele and Nicole arrived home around 5 p.m. We unpacked the van and then Nicole went straight to bed as she hadn't slept all week. At 8 p.m. she went to friends for a fondu party.

We had a very busy and productive Saturday and is nice to have Nicole home for the summer.

Creation by Debi

Toby is wearing the sweater Debi knitted for him while she was here visiting us last week. Thank you Debi. Isn't he adorable! And Gracie too!!

Coming Events

Lots happening this coming week and week end. First Nicole comes home on Saturday after finishing her first year at BYU-I. Don and Steele will drive up early Saturday morning and pack her up. They will have lunch in Rexburg and then drive home. Nicole is excited to come home and cook. She has missed that the most being in the dorms.

Bridget will take the SAT on Saturday morning. She wants to get a high enough score to get into BYU.

Tuesday morning we fly to Long Beach, California. We will see the Spruce Goose and Queen Mary after we get our rental car. After we see those sites we will drive out to Norco and see Debi and family. We want to see Laura's new home as well. And we have to see Bella too. Then drive back to Anaheim to the Marriott Residence Inn where we will stay until Saturday morning.

We will go to Disneyland on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday Morning. Friday afternoon we will meet Lisa at the beach. She will take our family picture. Debi will come and meet us and we'll have dinner and hang out.

I am so ready for a break. It will be fun!! Mom will stay home and take care of Gracie and Toby.

I'll post pictures of our trip when I can.