Tidbits From January

I haven't been taking very many photos, partly because my "I spent too much money on my camera"

is getting worse and worse and partly because I haven't been taking photos to the boys, preferring to enjoy them, or work around them instead of following them around with a bad camera.

Pleasanton Fire Department got a special award from the governor and they all 

were able to take a photo with him.

Zane has expressed an interest in cooking, so for his birthday I gave him a bunch of ingredients including stuff for a pepperoni pizza.  

I made the boys photos books, and I'm glad they enjoy looking at them.

Some of my favorite cookies and favorite memories are leftover frosting inside of graham crackers, especially if it's chocolate.  

Here we have a normal sized large egg, and a huge large egg.

      

And here is said huge, large egg in my hand.  I do have small hands.  

  

I guess Paislee's dad, is teaching her mechanics, early. 

My brother gave this tie-dye outfit to Lorene when she was 3 or 4.

Here's Christian wearing it at 6 ... 

And Zane at about 4.

The End of One Year and The Beginning of the Next

There are a few activities that will be standard for the next few years and one of them is the school concert.  We try to get a photo of the boys all nicely dressed up, but since I am also a believer in taking a photo of anyone with the least amount of pain and the best look we can get on their face; we here have one nice shirt showing and two nice jackets.  

We had a big snow storm at the end of the month.  I couldn't remember the actual amount we got so I went on a google search and found, with some effort, a website that told me.  

The total was 11"

Lorene added a puppy to their family.  Here he is brand new to them.

December is also a good time for the gathering together.  

Jim and I spend a lot of time doing puzzles more or less together.  

Even when we have company. 

I think one of my daughters gave me these flowers.

They're beautiful.

Thank you.

Miss Paislee

Zane turned 11 at the end of the year and he asked for a special cake.  

"One of those with the hole in the middle, and make it a monster."

So, I did.  

He wanted red frosting, white hair and something to make eyes, I used sixlet type things and  life saver gummies.

Birthday party at their house. 

The ones  who stayed to see the new year in.

Ten inches is enough snow to make a snow man. 

Happy New Year!!

Giving Thanks 2019

When I was a kid we always went to my grandparent's house during Christmas vacation. 

It was my favorite place in the whole world.  

There was family there, a familiar house, and lots of food and games and cousins.  

I especially enjoyed the years when there was snow.  We would play outside, making snowmen and sledding down 'the big hill' (which isn't so big anymore).  Then we would come inside and dump our boots and snow suits and put our wet mittens on the floor furnace.  

This thanksgiving we had snow, and friends and family and food and games.  There were grandsons to play outside and make snow forts and snowballs, and sled down the steps.  

They came in and dumped boots and snow pants and put their gloves to dry by the fireplace (and in the dryer).

I've come full circle.

I can't seem to find the words to explain how much those days at my grandparents meant to me.  I've always valued history, especially family history, and their place meant the continuity of it to me. 

It was just so special.

Now I have a place I love, and there is family that comes and talks and eats and plays and enjoys their time. There are kids who play with toys their parents played with and dump their stuff just like their parents did. Those kids are comfortable in my house and with their Papa and Gramma.  I'm supervising my kitchen and my family is around me.  

And I still can't explain exactly the way it makes my heart feel.

This is the only photo from this day,

but there are a lot more in our memories.

Time in Texas

Every once in a while Jim gets a hankering to see his daughter in Texas so away we go.

We went to the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens to see their big fall display of 90,000 pumpkins and squashes.  We were interested in the whole place, but the squash display 

was definitely the star of the show.  

I have far too many photos, just as they had far too many squash.  

I was amazed at all the different varieties. 

Some sort of event going on here, but neat to our landlocked eyes.  

Since it was her birthday weekend, I got to make her cake.  

Leaves Much To Be Desired

I'm seeing the last days of October approaching on the calendar and the effects of the little bit of snow we got this afternoon.

I'm cleaning up my photos for the month, it was a busy month for me.  Lynette and Anthony stopped in for a couple nights on their way home from a big trip from Texas, up the west coast and down through Montana and Wyoming, so we had a family dinner.  My folks were here for a few days and we had a family dinner.  We went to Texas to see Lynette and Anthony at their house.  We had other company that didn't require a family dinner. 

We had Lorene and family over again to play in the leaves. 

 At the very end of last month we took Christian on his trip to the SAC Museum and Wild Safari Park and had the other two boys overnight the next two weekends. (See further blog post for pictures from Christian's trip and the Texas trip. I'm getting too tired tonight. 

I was growing celery, until I let it dry out after I put it in dirt.  Re-watering hasn't revived. it.  

Barry wanted to make a dessert and I was desperate for ideas, but he was happy with a layer cake.  There are 9 candles, 8 for him and one for me. He chose the color of the frosting. 

Dad entered the flag afghan I made for him several years ago into the county fair.  

I didn't make it fair quality, but a second place  and $3.25 will get me some ice cream. 

This is a book about the history and current status of immunotherapy for the treatment of cancer.  

It seems like the non-fiction books I have been reading are so in depth that they the complete history of every scientist involved and where even the most minor things started.

My take-away is that in order for immunotherapy to be effective it needs to be tailored to each patient, is very, very expensive and can have very serious side effects. 

Boys and the pumpkin patch.

Photo Shoot

Leafy fun.