Zeke is ONE!

Here's Zeke(with his mommy and daddy) enjoying his birthday cake! He turned ONE on september 21:)
One of these days, I'll get the pictures in the right order!?!

Here's the wagon we gave Zeke for his bday:) He looks like he's riding a wave:)

What a cute little surfer boy!

He was a happy birthday boy! We have him ready for his cake-diaper only:) He seemed to love his cake and his presents and we love him!!!

A blessing in Omaha

Grandma(me) snuggling with Megan and Jake

Our newest grandchild, Jake, was blessed in Omaha , and Jim and I were able to be there:) My in-laws(Ann and Dick) also came. They DROVE all the way from California! We FLEW:)
It was so great to spend time with Summer, Brian, Karaline, Megan and Jake! We miss them very much! The kids grow and change so fast! Hopefully one day they can live closer(a lot!) to us:) Our visit there was way too short!

Jake sure is a handsome little fella! Look at those kissable cheeks! Jim met Jake for the first time and I hadn't seen him since he was two weeks old! He's a happy little guy and smiles readily:) His sisters love him and Megan especially loves to pat him on the back and give him kisses:) So cute!

Grandma and Karaline overlooking the Missouri River(behind the trees).
I love Karaline's big, cheesy (but cute!) grin:) She's so much fun!

I sure miss them!

TAGGED!
I was tagged by my daughter-in law, Lois:)
Instruction: Answer the questions with one word or a little more, and then tag three friends. This is going to be fun!
1. Where is your cellphone? kitchen counter
2. Your significant other? Jim
3. Your hair? graying
4. Your mother? missed!
5. Your Father? too far!
6. Your favorite thing? grandkids
7. Your dream last night? don't remember
8. Your favorite drink? hot chocolate
9. Your dream goal? kids living nearby
10. The room you’re in? Living room
11. Your hobby? baking
12. Your fear? not being here to see my grandkids grow up!
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Orcutt
14. What you’re not? young
15. Muffins? yummy!
16. One of your wishlist item? Canon digital SLR camera
17. Where you grew up? Whittier, CA
18. Last thing you did? worked
19. What are you wearing? work clothes
20. Favorite gadget? kitchenaid stand mixer
21. Your pets? Riley, a black lab
22. Your computer? HP.
23.Your mood? content
24. Missing someone? Summer and family, Jesse & Lois
25. Your car? Toyota Forerunner
26. Something you’re not wearing? make-up
27. Favorite store? bookstore
28. Like someone? Jim
29. Favorite color? Fall colors
30. When was the last time you laughed? today
31.When was the last time you cried? a few days ago
I tag: Summer and Sarah and Maxine!

Jesse and Lois' Wedding Day

Though Jesse and Lois were married on April 26, I am just finally posting my favorite images from that happy day! All photography is done by Tonya Joy Photography:) She(and her sister, Gena)did such a beautiful job!
These came up in the opposite order than I intended...My grandchildren came up first and then the wedding couple:)


Zeke


Megan

Karaline

Our Family

What a happy day!

Handsome Groom

Beautiful Bride

There was a lot of kissing going on that day! : )

How to Kill Two Birds With One...CAR!!!

Yesterday was not a good day.

First, I lost my new glasses, which I really liked and only had for a few weeks! I am hoping they will show up somewhere:) I am very frustrated with myself and my carelessness! My daughter told me that I should get the chain that attaches to the glasses and is worn around the neck...I might as well print "OLD" on my forehead!

Secondly, I was driving down my street(on my lunchbreak)toward my home, when I noticed a pigeon ahead just resting in the roadway. I proceeded along assuming that the bird would fly off (as birds usually do!), but it didn't and ended up slamming into the grill of my car, up the front window, over the hood and onto the street behind me! It was obviously dead:( I know I should have stopped and cleaned it up, but I was rather upset that I had just rammed and killed it! Thank you to the good samaritan that did clean up the remains:)

Thirdly, Jim and I (and Riley) went out to Pt. Sal on a hike:) It was very foggy, but nonetheless it was nice to get out and get some exercise. The hike up was uneventful, but on our way down it was getting fairly dark and there were coyotes howling, too close for my comfort! YIKES! I(and Jim too) kept getting spooked by the bushes; they looked like animals(coyotes!?) watching us! I was very happy when we got back to the safety of the car, vowing never to start a hike at such a late hour again! We headed down Pt. Sal Road(I was driving at about 50 mph), minding our own business, when out of nowhere a huge(not so wise) owl appeared and crashed squarely into the middle of our windshield, shattering it on impact! We both saw the hefty owl, but it happened in a split second and there was no time to react! R.I.P. Mr. Owl.

What a day!!!

Hiking In Our Own Backyard

Yesterday Jim and I (and Riley) went hiking in the Orcutt Hills. It was nice to "get away" by driving less than a mile to the trailhead:) It was pleasant and cool and the sunset lit up the horizon! Jim was able to capture the sun's rays against the rugged terrain. And I was able to capture Jim!

I miss you Mom!

Rose Manookian Bouza
July 21, 1926-May 3, 1986

"IT IS SAD TO DO THINGS FOR THE LAST TIME"
Richard L. Evans

There was a wistful note in the voice that said it: "It is sad to do things for the last time." Certainly it is sad to do good and pleasant things for the last time. It is sad to part from beloved people for the last time, to part from useful tasks we have become accustomed to, to look for the last time upon the face of a friend, to leave behind beautiful and lovely scenes, to leave behind any cherished part of life. It is sad to see the present move into the past. But here and now, this is how life is lived. It moves one way; it moves forever forward; it will not wait; there is none of it that we can hold to, none that we can rerun. We must move as time moves-from the present to the future. But we pause a moment for searching, for reflection, for appraisal, a moment for seeing ourselves and our surroundings. In his long, lengthening days, Winston Churchill was asked if he would like to live his life over, to which he replied "Happy, vivid and full of interest as it has been, I do not seek to tread again the toilsome and dangerous path. Not even an opportunity of making a different set of mistakes and experiencing a different series of adventures and successes would lure me..." He seemed not so sure that he might do so well the second time as he did the first time through, nor could any of us be certain. We sometimes think we would, but we do not always do better, not even when we know better. In any case, we may well be grateful we have arrived as well as we have, and grateful for hope and faith and assurance for the future-assurance of an eternal plan and purpose that we can count on. No hour returns, no day, no year. But we have reason to be grateful that truth and intelligence, that memory and people are perpetuated in our Father's plan and purpose. "I desire no future, " said George Eliot, "that will break the ties of the past." Thank God for this assurance: that families and friends, that life and loved ones are everlasting; that we need not look for the last time on that which matters most. And as we look both ways at once, gratefully we recall this grateful utterance: "There is a Future, O thank God!"

"The Spoken Word," from Temple Square
December 26, 1965