Monday, May 19, 2008

Spring is Busting Out All Over

And, boy, do I love it! The evidence is in our yard and here's the tour, courtesy of Jim the photographer.

Starting with the new blueberry bushes in the front,

Commencing with the newly planted tomatoes.

Fresh garden greens.

Flowers,


more flowers,


and even more flowers. The peonies are about to bloom!

The iris smell heavenly...

...as do the lilacs.


We love our wall of fragrant lilacs!

Oh yes, and the pool is ready for brave swimmers. :)
Wish you could join us in our little bit of heaven!

Twins


Cami and I found ourselves in our matching souvenir T-shirts from Japan one night. Jim grabbed the camera.

Sariah in Uruguay


Sariah arrived in Uruguay on May 6 after a long journey from Salt Lake City to Dallas to Miami and finally to Montivideo, Uruguay. She spent the first day getting oriented, teaching some lessons and doing some tracting. The second day she met her trainer who was born in Argentina but raised in Provo, Utah. She's excited about the work and adventures ahead!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Spring Dance Revue

Cami performed beautifully in her Spring Dance Revue Sat. night. Here is a clip from her lyrical dance. In case you were wondering, she is the second dancer from the right.

She also performed in a hip hop and a pointe ballet number which we will try to get posted soon. Jim, my trusty and knowledgeable assistant, just left on a business trip. :(

Monday, May 12, 2008

A Happy Mother's Day

I actually got to celebrate all weekend! Gifts from Jim included plane tickets to Japan (I'll be joining him on a business trip the first week in June. I can't wait!), a bouquet of flowers, 28 tomato plants and lots of little surprises. He took me and Cami to dinner Saturday night. Jim and Cami cooked dinner on Sunday--BBQ chicken, homemade bread, grilled potatoes, fresh garden salad and corn on the cob--and did all the dishes (the best part:)). I received phone calls from all of my children. It was so good to talk to them! I even got to talk with Hermana Sariah in Uruguay! She arrived last Monday and is feeling a little out of place right now but her attitude is good. She knows she's got quite the adventure ahead.

I feel loved and pretty much spoiled rotten.:)

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Way to Go! Cami

Cami was awarded the Golden Bee at the Borah High awards assembly due to her outstanding GPA. She was also awarded a $500 art scholarship! We received a letter from the high school last week informing us that she has the honor of having been chosen as artist of the month. Good work, Cami!

Other good news for Cami: Jared Nielson asked her to prom. Nine other couples joined them in the festivities which started with breakfast prepared for the kidnapped girls by the boys. Cami and Jared made a handsome couple and seemed to have a great time dining at Angels and dancing the night away. The sleeves on her dress have their own story. Let's just say, we're glad they worked!


I'm happy to note that Cami survived her AP tests last week in English, European History and art. The AP art test involved putting together a portfolio--a huge project--which ended up involving Jim and I as well. He took the photos of Cami's art and I delivered them to Idaho Camera to be developed into slides. I think I got the easy job.:)

April Happenings

The birth of Becca, our fifth grandchild, got the month off to a great start!

I attended the Idaho Dietetic Association Conference where I picked up lots of interesting information about diabetes care, bariatric surgery, metabolic syndrome, nutritional counseling to motivate, probiotics and prebiotics, and cooking with natural flavor enhancers.

We enjoyed a short visit from Jacob after his winter internship in Italy. He stayed for a couple of days before continuing his journey to Utah and then on to Encinitas, CA to start his summer internship with another design firm. (Jacob, by-the-way, loves his new job, thinks his little room in the Russian couples' home is perfect and can't believe how beautiful Encinitas is!)

We drove to Utah to attend Uncle Dale's 90th birthday celebration. After celebrating over dinner at the Ogden Country Club, Jim and I, Gordon and Sandy, Sam and Hilary, and Tom joined Dale and Maurine for cake and ice cream in their home. Uncle Dale had a smile that wouldn't quit! We loved listening to Uncle Dale's stories and visiting with members of the Wilson family.

Yeah! Another chance to visit with Elly, Brian and the grandkids!
We also payed a visit to Grandma Wilson in the care center. She didn't have much to say but she laughed at all of our jokes! Afterwards, Grandma and Grandpa Cannon fed us a great lunch. We enjoyed the opportunity to visit with them.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Baby Becca, Soccer and a Pile of Dirt

One month ago on April 6, Elly gave birth to her fourth child. Her name is Rebecca Brianne Catmull. Her big sister, Maggie, wanted to name her Banana. Her dad sometimes calls her squeaky burrito. We all agree that she is beautiful (a combination of each member of the family), cuddly and oh so sweet.
I drove to Utah shortly after her birth to spend a few days helping out. What a change from the peaceful existence to which I had become accustomed! First task, get Nathan out the door in time to catch the bus. That seemed simple enough, after all I've spent the last 23 years getting kids out the door to catch the bus. Breakfast went well. Matthew even got up in time to join us. Then it was playtime. Playtime? Nathan insisted that he could get ready for school in 5 minutes. Ten minutes before it was time to leave, I informed him that it was time to get ready. At three minutes before having to leave for school, I realized that Nathan was still playing with Matthew. He hadn't even started getting ready for school! Miraculously, in spite of the fact that he couldn't find any pants to wear, or socks, or shoes and needed to get his folder signed and had to check to see if he was buying lunch or not (thankfully hot dogs were on the menu), he actually was out the door in about 5 minutes. He didn't miss the bus.

Next task, pick up Nathan from school about an hour later because he isn't feeling well. Matthew needs to go along to help me find the way. He's dressed and ready to go. Maggie wants to go but needs to get her diaper changed and clothes on. Jim calls about this time. I talk to him. Maggie talks to him. Maggie still needs to get dressed. By the time we talk Maggie into putting on clothes and she decides what to wear and I get Maggie dressed and we find her shoes and socks and I get Maggie and Matthew buckled into their car seats and we find our way to the school, Nathan had been impatiently waiting for about 1/2 hour. He was not a happy camper. Matthew, by the way, knew exactly how to get to the parking lot of the school from his house and told me to turn left here, then right, then left, etc. I was impressed!

Matthew was his silly smiley self, always looking for ways to be the center of attention. He entertained me one day with his two-legs-in-one-pant-hole trick. He showed me how he could kick a balloon with both legs and land on his bottom. Another day, he put on a pair of pants with a hole in the knee. He put his leg through the hole and was thinking that it would be fun to go to school that way. His mom talked him out of it.:) Matthew got invited to two birthday parties. I got to take him birthday gift shopping. He found exactly what he had been wanting and we bought two of them. He was hoping that maybe he could play with them before he wrapped them up?

I spent a lot of time playing with Maggie. We read books, played with Little People, put together puzzles, blew bubbles, and even played in the dirt! Maggie helped me mop the floor one day. After the floor dried, we could see her footprints.:) She was always saying the funniest things. I loved how she said, "Man!" whenever she got a little frustrated. A couple of times, when she saw her dad coming she would slam the door in his face and say, "Whew, that was close!"

Sometimes, I even got the chance to hold little Becca. That was a treat!

Jim flew to Salt Lake on Friday. He had been in California on a business trip. I picked him up at the airport and we joined members of the Wilson family for dinner.


Early the next morning, we braved the cold to watch Matthew play soccer. We all bundled up.

In spite of the cold, we had fun watching Matthew play. I especially liked it when Matthew got a break from playing and snuggled up on my lap to get warm. At one point in the game, he got control of the ball and kicked it clear across the field right into the net. Score!

Matthew's grin couldn't have been much bigger!

Maggie wanted to play soccer. She played with Grandpa for a while...

...then found a new little friend to play with.

Amazingly, the day turned into a beautiful warm spring day. We had a picnic in the greenbelt and the kids played in Dad's new pile of top soil. What a great playground!

We really enjoyed meeting Becca Banana and spending time with Elly and her family!