Dad, Kathy and I had a BLAST in San Diego! We had the great opportunity to go to a BYU Football fireside and then spent the night with Owen and Megan. We had fun playing with their cute dog and sitting in the hot tub, talking. Saturday morning we made banana pancakes and then went to the BYU/ San Diego football game. I was amazed at how many BYU fans there were! Oh, and I forgot to mention that at the fireside we happened to sit behind a group of young men and their leaders from Redlands! We also saw the Knapps from 2nd ward! The game was especially fun right from the start to see Jeff Bell carrying the BYU flag as the players came out on the field. We yelled and cheered throughout the game and saw BYU win. After the game we all went to dinner with Jeff's parents and a brother and sister in law. It was nice getting to know them a little bit. We took a couple of pictures but I'll have to post them later because they are on Dad's phone.
Dad took some young women sailing on Saturday. None of them had ever been before and they had a great time. One came home and told her parents that they have to get a sailboat now, because it was so much fun. In reality, dad said that there was hardly any wind and they just went around the harbor and under the bridges and used the motor the whole time. So, I'm not sure if she would feel the same way if they were out beyond the breakwater under the power of a good wind.
I'll post the pictures as soon as I can. Dad just left for Long Beach and to do more sailing possibly over to Catalina. I couldn't go because I have some appointments, but maybe next time.
By the way, thanks for your comments on my blog. I read them over and over. I love you all and I just want you each to know that I am very proud of each of you! Love, Mom

Hunting Season Again

The past few mornings I've been suspecting it was getting time to go hunting again...and this morning marks the first offical day. Yesterday, dad and I watched as our neighbor's cat was eyeing a mound of dirt in the back yard. This morning there were three mounds and one was fresh, so I hurried out with the shovel and hose and tried my best to get the rascal, but no luck. Maybe tomorrow.
We had a fun week with a day at the L.A. County Fair and a day at Huntington Library. At both places I felt sorry that we never took you kids to these places. At the fair, I had a scoop of the BEST ice cream I've ever had in my life and as we were walking through one building of exhibits, a Korean guy hijacked me and gave me a massage. I turned to tell dad that I was going to sit at his chair for a few minutes and dad was no where in sight. Later, he told me that he saw me get captured and thought he better keep walking so he didn't have some guy rubbing his neck and shoulders. You know that knot I always seem to have at the top of my shoulders, well, this Korean rubbed and pounded it out of me. I thought I might not survive the torture of it, but after, I felt better than I have in a long time. Interesting.
Oh, one last note about dad and his junk drawer. I forgot to tell you something else he found as he was cleaning...13 decks of cards! Then there were another 2 decks in the kitchen. That's embarrassing!
Hope you don't mind the undate on our lives. We love you all and are so grateful for each one of you. :)

(written an hour later) Dad just found 2 more decks of cards!! How pathetic is that?

It's Dad writing now. I scanned in three more photos that I really like.

The first is Karen playing soccer. She driving on the goal. If you look, there is no one between her and the goal. I bet she scored.

Next we have a picture of Kathy holding her first bird in the aviary. I strongly suspect that Owen is the one giving her the bunny ears.

Last is Mom. On the back of the photo it says: "6th Grade---I was in a bad mode and really didn't want my picture taken! Mom took it anyway".

Do you have a good head on YOUR shoulders?

Before you begin reading this blog, note that I was hoping to put these pictures in the opposite order and at the close of the blog...It would have been funnier. (maybe next time)

This week I am happy to report that we now have new shower heads in the bathrooms that will accommodate tall people!! So, for our tall males in the family, you no longer have to squat down, bend over, or turn the nozzle to shoot the water up at your face! Yea!
The weather has continued to be over 100 degrees, so the only walking we've done has been at the YMCA on the treadmills, which, actually has given me the chance to read the Ensign from cover to cover. The September issue has a great article about marriage that I would highly recommend. Several different people who have been married for a long time give what they consider their best advice for a happy marriage (pg.12). Oh, and by the way, did you all know that Daniel and Julie are quoted...not in that article...but in another article in which young couples give advice for Home Storage (pg. 66). Good job to you!
Dad has been keeping busy not only with shower heads and downloading info from an old computer to a portable hard drive, but he spent a day actually cleaning out his JUNK drawer! Does everyone have a junk drawer? If not, this is a drawer that odds and ends are put into that are considered treasures at the time, or just stuff you don't know what to do with. Among his "treasures" he found a bunch of pictures. We are posting a few here that we laughed over for quite awhile. Here's the story. You kids found this doll head and thought it would be funny to put it on your shoulder because we were telling you that it was of value to have a "good head on your shoulders". I'm not sure if Karen and Kathy quite got the idea of it, but wanted the "good head, too". Kathy may have been exhibiting the phrase, "two heads are better than one." Dad thinks that Julie and Owen will remember this story better, so if you do, leave it as a comment.
We love you and hope you have a good week.
Mom and Dad

Dad finally got around to putting some of his pictures on the computer from his big sailing trip, so I hope to post some here for you to view. He also spent quite a bit of time this week downloading pictures of you kids from years ago that were on our old computer to a portable hard drive. They were fun to look at.
On Saturday, Peter, Mary and I played up at Riley's Farm up in Oak Glen. It's a really great place to take small children to. There's apple picking, candle making, rope making and some game booths for kids. The food is good too. The Ceilihouse Band has been asked to play Saturdays and Sundays from now until the end of November... the apple season. I told my group that Sundays were out for me, but I would give Saturdays a try and see how it goes. It was a relaxing atmosphere where we just sat under a tree and played. It was 84 degrees which was 20 degrees cooler than at home. I enjoyed it, but we really missed Rory and Frank.
Dad and I also did some sealings in the temple one morning and I thought I had a Todd ancestor that needed to be sealed, but as it turns out, that person needs to be baptized first.
I went to a movie night at Relief Society on Wednesday and ate a lot of junk food. At the end, my name got picked for a door prize which was the most recent conference issue of the Liahona (all spanish). So, yesterday when we went to Long Beach to watch the BYU football game, I gave it to Grandmother's friend, Heloisa, from Argentina. At first she thought it was a political magazine and then I told her it was mi religione...de mi iglesia, and she was very happy to have it. She said she has some nieces and nephews that belong to our church. I don't know if she was just being gracious or not, but she was very happy about it. That made my day!
We love you all and look forward to your comments.
Mom

September 13, 2009

Today I am leaping into the world of technology by joining the rest of the bloggers and beginning one myself. I think this will be an excellent way for our friends and family to keep in touch and to know that we love you and want to be a part of your lives.
We have had so much fun this past summer getting together with each of you and we miss you when we go for too long without seeing you. The Labor Day weekend was great fun although we all missed Owen. In the coming months we look forward to mid October when Kathy will come home. We will get together with Owen and Megan and go see the BYU / San Diego football game!! I'm WAY excited for it!! Hopefully, Karen and Danny will be moving into their first home, or house I should say, and we will be able to come visit them and help them with anything. In November, I'm hoping to to go to Utah for the BYU / Utah game, but dad is sure it is sold out and so we may stay home. Then we look forward to having everyone here for Christmas. You'll be glad to know that we just bought another double bed. (I don't know who will be the lucky ones to stay in the beautiful futon though ;).
Yesterday, the Ceili House Band played for the Boys and Girl's Club of Redlands. We played in one of those portable aluminum stages that feels like an oven when your inside it. We had some Irish dancers join us and the noise and echo from the fast hard shoes was like drums in our ears. None of us could hear what the person next to them was playing. It was a real test to stay together. I had my eyes peeled on Rory's fingers and foot tapping. We got a good laugh out of that. I watched the most football in one day that I have ever seen!! It was exciting to see BYU win and we saw #58 a couple times, which had us screaming. Then we drove to Long Beach, visited Grandpa and Grandma Ann and then over to Grandmother's for the USC game. She is doing very well with Heloisa staying with her. We must pray for them both!
We had a great Stake Conference today. Dad said that in the morning priesthood session, the husbands were told to be nice to thier wives. That's always good to hear. That's just as Dr. Laura says, "choose wisely, (before marriage), then treat kindly (after marriage). Good advice for everyone.

Well, since this is my first post, I'll close. I know it's long and I'll have to get better about shortening my stories. Just know that we love you all and think you are the best people EVER!!