MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas everyone! It finally got here. We have ALL our kids and grandkids home. What a treat! It's been so fun to be together -(even with the stomach flu, colds, coughs, achey bones, headaches, etc.). I hope it doesn't go through everyone.
We had some family pictures taken. I'll post some sometime soon.
Have a Merry Christmas - enjoy your day wherever you are.

From this

To this:
Yes, we are remodeling out bathroom - it all started with a leak behind the tub. One thing led to another and here's where we're at! It's suppose to be done before all the kids come home for Christmas so hopefully it'll be done. I am so excited to get it back together. Our neighbor is doing it and he does a great job - I've let him just take over and pick everything out! Neutral colors is all I asked for! We might have to take family pictures in the bathroom! It'll be the nicest room in the house!
New tile today! I love it!

New tub - sheet rock, etc. - getting closer!

This is the old vanity -

This is what the wall behind the tub looked like when they tore the tub out. Scarry! There is red flamingo paper behind the green lily paper! (so I was told!)

ALL THE STOCKINGS WERE HUNG...

Our stocking holder is no longer big enough! I decided to hang them on the stair railing this year. I had to make 3 new ones this year!

Can you believe - he's three?

Grampa's little buckaroo.

Today is our little Lucas' 3rd birthday! We can't believe it's been 3 years since he made his debut (5 weeks early).

He is so much fun and says the cutest things. He's such a good brother to Kody and loves his little cousins. He is so cute with Reese - he loves to hold her and kiss her on the head. He'll be busy at Christmas time holding babies!

Happy Birthday Lucas - Grama Carole and Grampa Mark loves you lots.

REESE KALLI KESLER IS HERE

Reese - 4 days old

This is little Abby - 2 months old (can't wait to see her!)

Lucas tending the babies. (He loved to hold Baby Reese).

So precious.

Just home from the hospital in my warm and cozy sleeper.

Brand new!

(I posted these pictures backwards! Oh well!)

Our newest little grandbaby arrived November 26, 2007 (Monday)! She's absolutely gorgeous. Her name is Reese Kalli Kesler. (which fits her perfectly). Everything went so well and Tawnya and baby are doing great. Landon is just a great dad and helps Tawnya with whatever she needs! Mark took me down Monday and I stayed until last night. He came back down Friday to pick me up. (Jessic has my car while hers is getting fixed). It's no fun to leave a brand new baby - but I'll see them soon. We can't wait to get them all together at Christmas!

To see more cute pictures visit my girls blogs.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We didn't know what we'd be doing until today. We were hoping to be at Tawnya and Landon's with a new baby! She's not quite ready to make her debut I guess. We'll be going to Boyd and Ellen's with a bunch of others. It'll be yummy! We'll all have a turkey coma before long!
Enjoy your day, eat lots and don't forget to count your blessings!
Welcome home Ty! (He got home from his mission late last night.)

Happy Birthday Katie

K-K-K-Katie, Beautiful Katie.
You're the only G-G-G-Girl that I adore
When the M-M-M-Moon shines
Over the cow shed
I'll be waiting at the k-k-k-kitchen door!
(My mom taught that song to her when she was little.)

Today is her 27th birthday! My how time flies!
What a delight she is to have as our daughter. She brings so much joy to our family. She is our oldest and has always been such a great example to her 3 younger sisters.
She married her childhood sweetheart, Jed, and they have given us two of the cutest little boys you'll ever see! She's a wonderful wife and mommy and takes such good care of her family (and Nappy).
Have a Happy Birthday - can't wait to see you tomorrow.
Love you lots.

View of the Logan Temple from our window.

Anniversary Inn

Our kids gave us a gift certificate to the Anniversary Inn for our birthdays (last spring). We could never find a good time to go so we thought we'd use it to celebrate our anniversary this month. We were in the "Arctic Journey" room. There were polar bears, penguins, and seals keeping us company.
We went to Cafe Rio for dinner and then wandered Lowe's looking at "bathroom" stuff. ("Our bathroom is torn up right now - we had to put in a new tub so one thing leads to another when you start re -doing.)
The PBR was on so we watched that and I crocheted baby socks. (Are we old or what?!!)
This morning we had a yummy breakfast and then we wandered Home Depot. Mark had to be back for a baptism at 11:00.
It was nice to get away for a little bit anyways! Thanks kids. You're wonderful and we love you lots!

Fall Leaves

It's Autumn Time, It's Autumn Time. The leaves are falling down.......
Not quite as pretty as Shara's leaves but we do have lots of them!

Happy 25th Shara

Look what they found in the leaves!!!!

Shara and her cute little family in the leaves!

Happy Birthday Shara! It's hard to believe it's been 25 years! I was carving my 1st pumpkin (yes, I was deprived as a child!!!) when I went into labor with her. We are so very excited to have them move closer to us (still not close enough). They will be moving to Mesa in November. They have really loved living in the Boston area and have done a lot of fun things. They will miss New England and the people they've met. We're glad we were able to visit a few times while they were there.

You're such a wonderful daughter and cute little mommy to Abby. We love you lots and hope you have a very Happy Birthday.

Midway Weekend

Nancy planned a fun "sisters weekend getaway" last weekend. We went to Midway and stayed at her timeshare condo. Ellen and Nancy went up on Thursday and Anne, Grace and I went up Friday afternoon. We met them in Park City at the Outlet shops then went to unload the car at the condo. We found a place to eat in Heber (we figured the one with all the cars must be good!) Went back to our room, got in our jammies, and watched "Must Love Dogs".

Saturday morning was cold and snowy! We went back into Park City, moseyed around a little mall and ate lunch. Ellen and I had to head home (we had to be back for church duties) so we left before the snow got worse. The others stayed until Sunday. Thanks Nancy - it was a lot of fun visiting and eating and spending girl time together. I didn't take many pictures. Nancy took one of the snow on Sunday - I'm definitely not ready for winter to hit yet!

TRIP TO AZ

I was able to go see my parents and some of my family the first part of October. My mom and dad are getting older and I needed to go see them. Katie was already down there and then went to Mexico with her in-laws for a "Girls Getaway". She left Lucas at my mom's so I helped watch him! We went up to Heber to Max and Jeanie's "cabin" (it's a very nice home) for conference weekend. It was very cool weather up there and we had a great time. Nyla was able to drive over and be there with us. It's always so nice to see my family. I had a great time being with them.
Grandma Great, Lucas and Grandma Carole Grandma Great, Lucas and Katie

Playing with all the animals. He loved, loved, LOVED playing with them - thanks Grama Jeanie!

Jeanie, Nyla, Mom and Me. (The power went out so Jeanie had wet hair!)

Indian petroglyphs. (We climbed up this little trail to see these - we even took Lucas up there - crazy us!)

Looking for my favorite rock (on our way to see the llamas.)

Nyla, Jeanie and Lynsee hunting for rocks - (a little bit of our Grandma coming out in them!)

They actually found a piece of petrified wood that was very pretty.

Calling the Llamas over - they wouldn't come! (Nyla, Jeanie, Lynsee and Lucas

"Grama" Jeanie showing me the horses on our walk.

Not a very big playpen!

Lucas in the cage with "Fuzz". The puppy's name is really Fizz but Lucas called him Fuzz.

WITHDRAWALS

I've been having withdrawals! "Grandma withdrawals". I had to come home Wednesday and leave little Abby. I absolutely love going to help my girls when they have their babies but I don't like saying goodbye and leaving them. We shed alot of tears.

I'm so glad that I was able to go help Shara and Aaron. She has been such a good little baby. We had "sleep overs" every night. Her in the laundry basket and me on the couch. Shara wasn't getting any sleep listening for her all night. I'd take her up to Shara when she woke up to eat. (You can see lots of pictures on their blog).

It was fun to have Tawnya come and help also. I think she learned a lot about what to expect when she has her little one!

It's a good thing Lucas and Kody are coming here tonight (and Katie, Jed and Jessica). They should be here any minute!

I'm so looking forward to Christmas when they all come home this year!

CUTEST GRANDAUGHTER

Yes, we do have the cutest little grandaughter! Abby Lyn Call made her entrance on September 19, 2007 at 3:18 p.m. She was only a few hours old (like 2) by the time we (Tawnya and I) got here. She weighed in at 7 lbs. 11 oz. and 20 1/4 inches long. She has light brown hair and is just darling. We've spent most of today at the hospital with them. I'll be glad to get them home tomorrow to start my "grandma duties". I do whatever I'm told!! AC and Shara are already taking such good care of her and will be great parents!

WEEKEND FUN

We had a busy, fun weekend. Our little grandson, Kody, was blessed on Saturday. There just wasn't a Sunday that both families could be there so they got permission to bless him on Saturday. It was a very nice evening. (see Katie's blog for darling pictures). We had planned to go down on Friday but Mark had another one of his "episodes" and ended up in the hospital for the day. Of course, the tests show nothing is wrong - again. I guess that's good. It sure is scarry at the time though. He got another ambulance ride!
We came back Sat. night from Katie and Jed's. We had to be back for our meetings on Sunday.
Grandpa Grant had a fun weekend also. He was able to go on the "Heroes" flight to Washington, D.C. for WWII veterans. They left Friday and came back Sunday. He said he had a great time and was so glad he got to go. Clint, (our nephew) met him there and was able to help him get around. I know he was very grateful for that (and so were we)- thanks Clint!
I've been trying to get packed for my trip - I don't enjoy packing so it takes me a long time.
I'm flying to Boston on Wednesday to help Shara with her baby. Hopefully she'll be here by then! Tawnya is coming with me which will be nice. It's much nicer to travel with someone.

New Projects

Kody is being blessed this coming weekend and he won't fit in Lucas' blessing outfit! He's too big so I had to make him a new one. I got it done yesterday. It turned out pretty cute. I hope it's not too big for him though. It looks pretty long! (Thanks to Melanie with the zipper).
My girls were telling me about these diaper burp cloths so I thought I'd try some. SIMPLE!! I added rickrack to the sides of it. (I can't believe they still make rickrack!)
I thought I'd better get these done. Shara's baby is hopefully coming soon - before next Wednesday- when Tawnya and I go out to see them. I'm so excited to get a little grandaughter!
We had a very nice shower for Tawnya and Shara last Saturday. They got so many cute things.
I was also asked to be the YW President a couple of weeks ago. Just when I thought I'd have some extra time on my hands! It'll be fun to work with the girls again. It's been a few years since I've served in YW. Maybe I'll get it right this time around!!!! We have a great presidency and a lot smaller group of girls since they divided our ward. Only 18 girls! Half of them are Laurels.

COUPLES REUNION

Resting at Temple Square - (tired and hungry!)

Grams and Gramps

We had our Nicholas couples reunion this past weekend at Jim and Grace's. Everyone was there except Grant and Wanda (we missed them but they were in CA seeing their kids).

We had a wonderful time and gained a few (actually a lot) of pounds! Saturday activities included IKEA, Cabelas and Park City. Then watched the BYU football game (first game of the season), played games and did lots of visiting and eating (again).

Sunday morning we attended Music and the Spoken Word at the Tabernacle. Then we went to the Grand America Buffet Brunch. It was yummy and we were stuffed. (Omlettes, crepes, seafood, grill, smoothies, desserts, etc.) Their bread pudding was the best! They even gave us the recipe.

Thank you Grace and Jim for all you did! We had such a nice time. You run a fabulous "Bed and Breakfast Inn"!

New Beginnings

There's a lot of "New Beginnings" in my life right now. We sent our baby off to college! She's attending UVSC (soon to be UVU) and living with Katie and Jed. They, along with Tawnya and Landon (and Lucas and Kody) are keeping track of her! We are officially empty nesters. I had to go upstairs this morning and it was kind of "spooky" with no one to wake up. I would always holler at Nappy to get up and get ready for school. It will take some time getting used to her being gone. It seems our lives revolved around her with going to watch her play ball for the last 4 years. I'm not coaching volleyball anymore - (Jessica graduated and so did I!) so I come home from work and stay! I miss the girls but I am enjoying my free time. I'll go watch a few matches and keep track of them!

Also, our ward got split Sunday. Very sad! Our house is the last house that stayed in Honeyville 3rd ward. The rest of them south of us go to Harper Ward. (Harper Ward was divided into two wards). I'll miss all of those people that we've known for such a long time. They are wonderful friends and neighbors. Our Bishopric was released so Mark is a free man! (for a minute!) We have a new Bishopric that will do a great job.

The County Fair was last weekend and that is a big event in this county! Mark did his business booth again which requires a lot of time being out there. He enjoys being out there all day - I have to take breaks! Katie and the boys came up Tuesday, Wed. and Thursday. Tawnya and Jessica were here for the weekend. It was fun to have the kids come and help too. We might get AC and Shara out here for it next year!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

I need to wish my wonderful DAD a very Happy 79th Birthday today (Aug. 15th). I have some awesome pictures but I can't get them to post yet. (I need help!) I scanned them in but.....

He was born on the same day as his Dad. (I also have a picture of my grandpa). What a great birthday present for a Dad!

A little history of my Dad:

He was born in Virden, NM and lived there all of his life until 1993 when he and my mom retired and moved to Mesa. He loved farming and did a great job at it. He raised cattle, cotton and alfalfa, and 5 kids! (4 daughters, 1 son). We all helped him on the farm, moving cows up and down the highway (his farm was scattered in the Virden Valley) hoeing cotton, picking rocks, burning ditches, etc. (and we grumbled quite often! )

He also delivered mail - the friendliest mailman ever - and you could always find him visiting with someone along the route. (after his Dr. Pepper stop at Boyd Brothers!)

He loved to watch his kids play sports and was the greatest Sideline Coach ever. Loves his grandkids and great-grandkids.

He always fulfilled his church callings and loves the gospel. He loves and knows the scriptures. He was called to be Bishop of the Virden Ward for 6 years.

Love you lots Dad and hope you have great birthday!

Weekend Projects

Here's my projects I've accomplished this weekend. The blanket binding has caused me much stress! It's a "Floppy" blanket. My sister, Nyla, has done them and "told" me how to do them. I couldn't get the binding to look nice so a friend of mine suggested to just do a running stitch on it. It turned out much better and actually looks kind of cute! Not sure that I'll do a silky binding again until Nyla "shows" me how to do it. (However the corners did turn out nice! - they caused much stress at first also!).
Shara has been doing "pillowcase" dresses so I thought I'd try one - not sure about it either!

Happy Anniversary Katie and Jed

Happy 5th Anniversary Katie and Jed! I went to the Logan Temple today and thought of your day 5 years ago. What a perfect day it was! Sunny, warm and beautiful. The temple grounds were so pretty today also. Hope you have many, many (actually an eternity) of years to come! We love you so much. (Sorry I don't have a picture to post- look at Katie's blog!)

Mom's and TLC

We've had Katie, Lucas and Kody with us the past few days. Katie has been very sick so we brought her and the boys back with us. After a trip to the Dr. and two antibiotics she's feeling a lot better. I'm so glad I have the summer's off (from work) to have had some time to help her. I was always so glad when my mom came and helped after I had my babies. Nothing like a little TLC from moms! We met Jed in Ogden today. We'll sure miss them although I'm sure they're ready for a break from all of us!

Lucas and Kody (2 weeks old!)

"Go faster Dampa! "

Loves riding Vic - (notice the chaps!)

Sitting in Nappy's chair.