Party On ...

June 4, 2017

The gangs all here ... even Mike made it back from Mossleigh ...

Nathan was busy grilling up the burgers and smokies ...

and finally taking time to get his dinner ...

After dinner ... Alana and the kids went inside to tend to the cake ...

James and Ella were busy putting on the candles ... 

placing them far apart ...!!!

James lit all the candles then Alana carried down the stairs ...

as everyone sang “Happy Birthday” 

Nathan had to take a deep breath to blow out all those candles .. hahaha !!!

Nathan loved the “Oilers hockey colours” 

All the kids were by his side ... waiting patiently for a piece of birthday cake ...

Nathan continued to open his gifts ...

Later on ... it was time to sit back and relax ...

sitting around the campfire and toasting marshmallows ...

Craig and James dug up a Time Capsule ...

they buried it in the yard ... 

They were eager to open it up to see what was inside ...

It was funny because they had totally forgotten what they had buried ...

and commented that they had been looking for a couple of the items ...

 

It was a wonderful weekend ...

Mike and I headed home after the party ...

 

Happy Birthday Nathan

June 4, 2017

Today is Nathan’s birthday ... a beautiful day for a party ...

Mike was at his shooting tournament ... 

and I was spending the weekend with kids ...

The kids were excited when they heard the chimes of the Ice Cream truck ...

They quickly ran outside to stop the truck so we could get some ice cream ...

After we finished our ice cream ... it was time for Nathan to open his gifts ...

Nathan was touched by the cards that the children created ...

Nathan then read Alana’s card ... he loved her card ... 

it was soooo beautiful ... it made me emotional ...

He then proceeded to open up Alana’s gift ... the children were waiting to see as well ...

Nathan was surprised to receive this gift ...

An amazing ultra modern new watch ... !!!

Nathan was overwhelmed and needed to take a few minutes to relax ... haha ...

The boys decided they would join him ... 

they sure love getting hugs from dad ...!!!

Okay ... enough relaxing ... 

it was time to get things set up for the party ...

It was a beautiful ... sunny warm day for a party ... The families started to arrive in the afternoon ... All the kids were excited when Alana brought out the balloons ... for the kids to have a water balloon fight ... 

They had a lot of fun ... with lots of screaming ...

and laughing ...!!!

 

Tom’s 40th Birthday ...

June 2, 2017

We arrived at Alana’s brothers 40th birthday party ... 

oh my goodness ... everyone was dressed up in costumes ...

from the 60’s...!!!

Tom was dressed up as Elvis ... and he played the part well ...

Alana was looking pretty cool ...

Not quite sure who Nathan was ... but it was a hoot ... the kids wanted to try on daddy’s wig and beard ...

They were hilarious ...!!!

We had brought flowers for Alana ... congratulating her on graduating from college ...

Elvis was having a great time with the kids ...

Alana’s family posing for pictures ...

Oh oh ... looks like Elvis got into trouble ...

The families were having a blast ... posing for pictures ...

The kids and I stayed for dinner ... and the gift opening ... 

It took a few people to keep Elvis busy in the house ... so that the gift could be brought outside ...

and for Elizabeth (who was dressed up in a shark costume) to climb into the box ...

Colynne and Jessica-Lee managed to keep things well hidden ...

Tom wasn’t sure what was going on ... when he came outside ...

Elvis decided to play a few tunes before the shark jumped up out of the box ...

 

He was bombarded with silly string ... everyone was laughing and clapping ...

He was still unsure of what was happening ... until he was given an envelop with a letter inside ...

While reading the letter ... he all of a sudden stopped ... he was in shock ...

He was given a trip to be up close and personal with “SHARKS” ...

He was so surprised ...

 

It wasn’t long until we were all singing Happy Birthday and the “shark theme” cake was served ...

This party crowd was getting a little rowdy ...

The kids and I decided that it was time to head back to the house ...

and we would have our own party there ... playing games ...

watching movies and munching on popcorn ...!!!

 

 

 

Our Anniversary ...

May 3, 2017

We decided to do some yardwork a couple days before our anniversary ...

I spent a few hours cleaning up the beds ...

The strawberry plants were given fertilizer and a fresh layer of straw ...

 

Mike spent his time aerating the lawns and fertilizing ...

to get them ready for the season ...

 

May 5, 2017

We spent a lovely morning ... celebrating our anniversary ... 

and then in the afternoon ... I headed into town to pick up a few things for the garden ...

and we decided to bring home take-out Chinese food for our dinner ...

After our late lunch ... early dinner ... I went down to work in the garden ...

adding soil and tilling it in with my little rototiller ...

then planting a few seeds and greens ...

Love working in my garden ... !!!

 

I received a photo today of James ... sitting in his classroom ... 

He looks very focused ...!!!

 

 

Lots of Beads ...

April 19, 2017

We had brought back a bag full of beads ... from Houston ...

The beads were from the parade we went to with Daigen and Nixon ...

then Aunt Kendall added quite a few more from her stock ...

We also found little bike license plates with their names ... when we were on Route 66 ...

in Williams, Arizona ...

 

So grateful for my outdoor cane ... to get around the yard ...

Ella and Grandpa were digging in the garden ...

to go fishing down at "Mac's Lake" ...

James and Ella also brought back a few Pussy Willows ... 

 

It was a wonderful day ...!!! 

 

 

Grandchildren Arrived ...

April 17, 2017

The grandchildren were at their other grandparents home for Easter ...

I picked up the children at the highway ...

We stopped in at the neighbours ...

to see Grandpa ...

as he was working on a waterline trench with the tractor ...

The kids wanted to stay and watch ... so I headed home ...

It wasn't too long before I heard the tractor ... 

and of course the kids hooting and howlering with excitment ...

(Grandma wasn't to pleased ... with the transportation) ...

Everyone dame in the house to have dinner ...

but before that ...

they were given their pre-Easter gift ... (they had no idea what it was) ...

as daddy and Alana were going to arrive in a couple days ...

and they wanted to hunt Easter eggs with the kids ...

They were so excited opening up the bags ...

and delighted when they saw what it was ...

They couldn't wait to try them on ...

After dinner ... Ella spent a little time knitting ...

once she was finished ... she asked me how to finish it off ...

I sat down with her and showed her the technique ...

she then proceeded to finish the cover for a cover for an icepack ...

 

It wasn't long before the kids put on their coveralls ...

and began working ...

I luvvvvv it ... no more dirty clothes in the house ...

Grandpa made a spot in the shop ... for them to hang up their coveralls ...

Everyone was busy ... Ella washing parts in the parts washer ...

Craig working on his R/C car ... and James outside ...

building a track to drive the R/C cars on ...

 

Surprise Treats ...

March 11, 2017

Morning arrived ... and the boys were so excited ...

We had brought the boys some little gifts ...

They were so excited to have gotten a few boxes of Smarties ...

the boys love their Smarties from Canada ...

as they are not available in the USA ...

They also received sticker books ...

Ian & Kendall love anything to do with ...

Betty Page and old cars ...

We found this poster in Williams, Az ...

on Route 66 ... to be hung in Ian's garage ...

Kendall was given a package with ...

garden butterfly ornaments ... calender and a shirt ...

The boys gifts ... Daigen making his way to the bar ...

to play on his iPad and nibble on a few Smarties ...

before breakfast ...

Grandpa helping Nixon with his sticker book ...

and Oma watching the activites around her ...

 

After breakfast ... it was play time ... 

Nixon taking Oma upstairs to show her his creation ...

Later Daigen joined Oma on the couch ... 

He was intrigued with Oma's puzzle on the iPad ... 

and procceeded to help her find some of the pieces ...

We spent the day ... outside by the pool ... 

relaxing ... and playing ...

 

 

 

Mike's Birthday ...

February 17, 2017

 

We decided to go outside to enjoy this warm sunny afternoon ...

putting on our snowshoes and venturing out to the field ...

Even with our snowshoes on ... it was difficult making our way at times ...

there was so much snow covering our earlier tracks ...

It was still a lovely hike ...

and soon Nathan and Alana would arrive to celebrate Mike's birthday ...

 

Mike had received a bottle of Tequila and some mini Cuban Cigars ...

and my gift was a bottle of pure Vanilla Extract ...

from Nathan and Alana from their trip to Mexico ... a few weeks ago ...

This was the perfect opportunity to crack open the Tequila ...

to celebrate Mike's birthday ...

After enjoying a delicious dinner of chicken ... veggies and baked spatzle with cheese ...

it was time to serve Mike a piece of his birthday cake topped with whipped cream ...

it was "Crazy Cake" made with Stevia ... and he was delighted to have chocolate cake ...

all to himself ...

As the picture indicates ... I think he was surprised that it was really just for him ...

We sang a rendition of "Happy Birthday" and then Mike made a wish ...

and blew out his lone candle ...

Mike was so surprised with all his gifts ...

especially because they were all for his new hobby ... Trap & Skeet Shooting ...

(shotgun shells ... sporting clays ... carrying pouch ... Beretta hearing protectors ...

clay thrower ... and the perfect plaque ...)

 

We had a lovely evening ... celebrating ... talking ... telling stories ... laughing ...

with a few shots of Tequila ... a few Martinis ...

then ... Mike and Nathan went out to the shop for cigars ...

The guys were excited for the morning to arrive ...

so they could shoot a few rounds of their shotguns ...

before they go to the shooting range on Sunday ...

The only issue was that the snow had started to fall again ...

 

 

Valentine's Day ...

February 14, 2017

 

Happy Valentine's Day ...

It's a beautiful ... loving day ... !!!

A special morning ... showered with gifts ...

mainly CHOCOLATE ... !!!

Mike and I enjoyed a wonderful breakfast ... and then I made my way into town ...

to spend the afternoon with Oma ...

After running a few errands ... some shopping downtown ...

we decided to go for lunch ...

Oma wanted to go to DQ ... we shared a meal ...

so that we could have our own Sundae as our treat ... !!!

It doesn't take much to please the two of us ...

love spending time with mom ... wherever it is ... !!!

I also received a goody bag from Oma ... special made cookies from Rosa ...

a resident at Joseph Creek Village ...

I knew exactly what my gift was ... from the aroma of anise seed oil from the bag ...

They were homemade ... and are one of my favourite cookies ...

PIZZELLE

 

Pronounced“pit-sel”

"Pizzelles are the oldest known cookie. It isgenerally believed they originated in the Abruzzo region of south-central Italyin ancient times to mark an annual celebration. The name comes from the Italian word Pizze for round and flat. In someparts of Italy, the irons were embossed with family crests and passed down toeach generation. Over time it became tradition to use pizzelles to celebrateany holiday or festive occasion. "

 

 

Early Birthday Gift ...

February 12, 2017

Mike received his birthday gift early ...

A new shotgun for his new hobby ...

of Trap & Skeet Shooting ...

He was so excited when he went into town to pick it up ...

Bringing it home ... and giving it a full inspection ...

hoping if the snow stopped falling ...

that he would be able to go shooting on Sunday ...

 

Guess we'll have to get some Clay Pigeons ...

a thrower and some shotgun shells ... oh and some heavy duty hearing protection ...

for Mike to practice out here at the house ...

He's one happy guy ... !!!

 

 

Truck Box Addition ...

January 14, 2017

Mike finally had some time to go to the shop ...

and work on installing his new BedXtender for the truck ...

He took out all the parts out of the box and set them out on the bench ...

Then reading the instructions on the procedure for installing the rack ...

He needed to take the tail lights off to install the brackets ...

It took a bit of work measuring ... taking the template to mark the drill holes ...

for the bracket ...

Once the brackets were installed and the tail lights put back together ...

Mike then started to assemble the rack bars ...

then attached it to the brackets ...

Mike completed the installation ...

and was delighted to have it done ...

Now items will no longer slide to the front of the box ...

or fall out of the truck with the tailgate down ...