Labor Day Weekend Get-together

Uncle Frank and Dominic making friends.

Audrianna

Well, it was derned hot again. Dave built a misting system in the covered patio but it was still too hot to sit and eat outside. Everyone voted to stay in the a/c. Those who came were: Dave and Betty; Dan and Jessica and Audrianna and Lucas; Ashlee and a guy friend; Frank and Rene; Virginia; David and Jill, Sam and Dominic and Peg. Later on Meredith and Meri came. We had Pulled Pork sandwiches and I made a side of North Carolina Mop sauce (just for you J and K). We also had: melons; waldorf salad; corn on cob;cole slaw, potato salad; chicken wings and sauce; pasta salad (From Jen's cook book) and a chocolate fountain with strawberries, marshmallows, chocolate chip cookies, animal crackers, and bananas. Needless to say, plenty of food. It was nice to visit and especially nice to have little ones around. We love the little ones. The only ones who swam were the three Daves and Sam and Lucas.

Little Lucas and his new sister, Audrianna came for a visit. Jessica looks great for just having a baby two weeks ago.

Grampa Dave deciding what to put on his plate.

Sitting around chatting and eating. Lucas and Dominic making eye contact.

Peg, Virginia and Ashleigh.

Little Lucas toddling around. He does very well for being so little.

The day ended off with a chocolate fountain. Dave Power came up with the idea and the goodies to make it. He was the first there and I think, the last to leave. It was great. It was Meredith's 12th birthday and we got to visit with her and Meri for just a few minutes. She is growing so tall. Didn't get a photo of them :(

My Trip to the Coast

Well, as usual my photos are in reverse order. I drove Peg and I about six hours up the California coast on Monday the 20th to visit her friend, Carolyn and to visit the beach and see the Redwoods for the first time. We stayed in Fortuna and Carolyn provided dinner each of the three nights we were there. Here we are in the motel room. Peg took the photo.

Below are photos from the Avenue of the Giants. These are the mighty Redwoods, native only to the northern Ca. coast. They are majestic and beautiful. Here is Carolyn driving through one and waving at us.

Below is a Redwood cut and if you click to enlarge, you can see the dates when historical events happened. This tree is comparatively young at 800+ years old. Some have been around before Christ.

The forest is awesome, shady and green, green, green. It is very quiet and ferns grow naturally.

Peg standing next to the base of a tree.

A blue hydrangea growing wild in the forest. That tells me the soil is acidic because the flower is blue. Look at how green the leaves are. Wish my hydrangea looked this healthy.

Peg and me standing halfway down on a fallen log.

Do the leaves of three look familiar to anyone? It is poison oak and grows all over the forest floor and up the tree trunks.

Me standing at the base of a tree.

It was impossible for the camera to capture the sheer height of the trees. They go up to 200-300 feet high! You have to see it yourself.

Peg and I standing near the cliff overlooking the ocean. The wind was blowing as usual but I loved it.

The photo on the left is of a seal swimming in the surf at Fortuna Beach. Hopefully you can enlarge it and see the seal clearly. On the right we (Peg, her friend Carolyn who lives there and me) were standing on a cliff overlooking the beach. It was cool and beautiful compared to the 100 degree weather in Sacto. Hope this wasn't too boring for you. I had a good time and talked and laughed till the wee hours of the morning. It was good to go somewhere.
Congrats to Jessica and Dan on the birth of Audrianna Goin! She was born on the 21st of August. Wish I had a photo. Another sweet addition to the family.

We love our grandkids and kids!

Starting with the youngest grandbaby, our sweet Hannah being held by Grandma D.

Baja Fresh with the Stevens and Thornocks.

Sam,Allie (check out that smile!) Dominic, Grandma and Grandpa at David and Jill's house.

The Swimmers, Kamrie and Madison

The Snackers, Taylor and Kaden

Hailey posing. Ella enjoying the grass.

This is so rare, getting all twelve grandchildren together at one time. It is even rarer to have them all sitting still and smiling. I'd say almost impossible. Out of over 24 shots, these are the best and they have some funny faces in them:) Aren't they cute?

Even though it got crazy sometimes, (as usual) we loved having everyone here. With all the different activities going on, it sure went fast. Dave and I have the house back to normal awaiting the arrival of Jessica, Jeff and Madison tomorrow. They will be our last visitors until Christmas time (as far as we know). This Saturday is a big Ward Party so the house is already cleaned for them. Thanks for everyone taking the time and spending the money to stay with us. We loved it.

HOW SWEET IT IS

David and Jill and kids were just too hot last week and came over to swim in the pool. David is in my favorite spot, under the waterfall. Looking forward to having the pool filled with swimmers in a few weeks.

Our July 4th

Sorry the photos are so dark. The guy in white was a great singer.

Our July 4th was sort of different. It was better than last year when I got released from the hospital and stood outside with my drain; and IV in and watched the fireworks from the corner. Frank, Renee and Bev (Renee's mom) came over for a BBQ dinner. It was too hot; 105 degrees, to sit outside so we ate in the kitchen. I had tons of food because I was expecting more people. Anyway, they left before the fireworks. I was feeling lonely but then our court got together and had a party! It was fantastic. A member of Earth, Wind and Fire was here with his group and they played awesome music and people were dancing. Our neighbor Steve Taylor and his wife, Angela had their band as well.We had a huge fireworks that lasted until 11pm. I've enclosed a couple of pictures but it was too dark for the camera. Next year is going to be a bigger, better event because it will be on a Friday. Our very wealthy neighbor is hosting the event. I've heard he gives some awesome parties because he knows professional entertainers. I'm inviting all family members to come and enjoy the fun. :)

Our New Calling

Hi everyone. No pix this time, but hopefully we will get some around the fourth of July. Dave and I are getting to know the kids in the singles ward. It is going to be a crazy ride!! There are about 400 kids in the summer. They are full of energy and multiple activities weekly that we are invited to attend. We've already been told that our home will be put to good use. We knew there was a reason we got this house :) Since my home is empty of my own children and gchildren, I guess it will be filled with others' children. (Except when you guys visit). We are going to a Luau on the 20th, FHE every Monday night, RS activity on the 13th, VT luncheon on the 14th; sealings on the 26th; and some other activities I don't even know about yet. Pray for me! I hope their energy is contagious.

The Reception

Its finally over. We've been working on the yard for months and it turned out beautifully. The weather was almost perfect, a little warm around six but cooled down quickly. People stayed until 9PM. There were at least a hundred people there at one time and we had no problem with crowding or parking it seems. Dave and I were thrilled to see so many people from Park Ward. It really felt like home again. We felt blessed to have such a sweet couple, Kari Busath Neilsen and Eric Neilsen have their reception in our yard. Dave and I worked very hard for days before and the day of but it was worth it.






Top left is the receiving line in front of the casita. Barbara and Merry Leverton serving punch and dipped strawberries by the family room window.


Left; some of the table were in the back. This is before it was decorated. We painted the wood and caps on top of this gazebo thingy.










Don't know who that is in the photo. Looks like he is saying a prayer.
The cake was in the kitchen on our table. (Notice that we painted the top of the seating area a lighter color.) It was a good tasting cake with different flavors for each layer.


Here is Julia and Annie working hard on the food table. It looked beautiful and was in the patio area with the fans. They did an awesome job. They served: sandwich wraps; fruit and veggie trays with cream cheese dips; baked Brie cheese with a pastry wrapping and crackers. They also had dipped strawberries (which I pigged out on) and green sherbet punch.





These are some of the people in the yard. The colors were sage green and cream. Virginia sat by the pool and acted as a pool watcher because there little ones who loved the water.



. This is the side of the house by the gate. We put Virginia's fountain in with a crape myrtle tree, petunias and gallardia with black bark. It looks alot better than before. The gate has been painted and we put ivy and tulle on it. The front of the house had white poles with ivy chains leading to the side so people wouldn't go in the front door. I'm glad its over. Now on to the next project, staging and painting Virginia's house to sell.