Thanksgiving

Here it is Thanksgiving eve already and I'm sitting in a really quiet house by myself, reading blogs and thinking. I have to say I'm so very thankful for an amazing family, all my PERFECT kids, their spouses, grand kids and a husband that really spoils me with flowers, peanut clusters and a whole lot of patience. I love it when everyone is home and we are sitting around the table playing a mean game of "uno attack" or "apples to apples". It's great to hear everyone laugh and tell a stories on each other. It will be a little quiet tomorrow, but wait until Christmas. :) I love all of you so much!
I also love the Church and the little knowledge I have. The gospel and my family have all ways been there for me when I've had my trials and the good things of life. My testimony grows more each day.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and be grateful for all you have.

Old as I am, I still miss my Mother

It's hard to believe that a year ago today one of

the most amazing ladies passed away.

She was my best friend, mentor, inspiration and hero.
Not long ago I read a quote that is very fitting,

"Old as I am, I still miss my Mother"
No one that knew her can forget her cute little
smile and shoulder shrug. She loved birthday parties
and any other reason to get together.

The simplest things made her happy
like a teddy bear and a glow-in-the-dark dog.
But the most important thing was being with her family.
She always wanted us to be friends and support each other.
When I'm told I'm alot like her, I consider it a real compliment.
Maybe I repeat myself and forget things a little like she did, but I only hope
for the same things in life, a love for the gospel and a close knit family
that enjoys being together. I'll never give up on that!
I love you and miss you Mom

What a trip!

A couple of week ago Ralph and I took a few days off work and took a camping trip to Jackson and into Yellowstone Park with some friends. We had a great time. Fall is really the season to enjoy a trip like this. We camped about 2 miles from where the movie "SHANE" was filmed. The old barn is still standing. It was almost one of those "Did you see that?" picture moments, but I did get a shot or two.




And of course you can't make a trip to the park without a stop at the falls outlook. The best part was that there weren't many people there.







And you always have to make a stop at Old Faithful. It was getting late in the day and was really pretty cold, and he wasn't on time. We waited about 40 minutes past the expected eruption time. Again, not a lot of people and the wait was worth it.




But the very best part of the day was all the wildlife we saw. Deer, elk, an amazing moose, buffalo, coyote, a mountain goat and a grizzly bear. I haven't seen a bear in the park for YEARS! It was a thrill.

I can't wait to go back, but next time we are staying at least a week. Retiremant doesn't look that bad :)

The Man Tag!

A. The rules are posted at the beginning.
B. Each person answers the questions about their sweethearts.
C. At the end of the post, the person then tags people and posts their names; then goes to their blog and leaves a comment, letting them know they have been tagged.
Alright people here are the facts and details.

What is your husbands name? Ralph Edward

How long have you been married? 7 1/2 years.

How long did you date? We still do once in a while, but we dated 8 months before we got married.

How old is he? 59

Who eats more sweets? I think that would be him.

Who said I love you first? Deffiently Ralph

Who is taller? Ralph is. It doesn't take much to beat 5'2"

Who can sing the best? Neither of us sing very good, but he really doesn't!

Who is smarter? That depends on the subject.

Who does the laundry? I do most of it, but he does his own in Lanark.

Who pays the bills? I pay mine, he pays his. No joint account here.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do

Who mows the lawn? Usually he does and I do the weedeating.

Who cooks dinner? We both do. It depend who is in the mood.

Who drives? He does, but I really wish he would let me, especially in the city. He doesn't like using the blinker.

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? He is because I'm never wrong, just a little confused.

Who kissed who first? He always does the kissing.

Who asked who out first? He did.

Who wears the pants. We both do, he just doesn't look good in a dress and I don't like wearing one very often.

I tag, I guess no one 'cause I have no one to tag!

31 years ago we planted an apple tree in the back yard. The first winter was a hard one and the rabbits came in and ate the trunk of the tree, it then became our apple bush. I never thought I'd see the day it would actually have apples on it, but it finally happen!! I guess it's kind'a like raising a family. Never give up! It might take awhile but with a little love and patience amazing things can happen.
By the way, the apples aren't even wormy.

Don't Blink

So, here I am. It's hard to believe just 35+ years ago I came home from the hospital with my new baby boy knowing my quiet days were over forever. Well, here I sit at the computer. The laundry is caught up for a change, the floors are somewhat clean, as well as the bathrooms and the house is really QUIET! Ralph is on call this week so I'm alone. It's kind'a weird. There's a lot of truth to the song "Don't Blink". Time passes by too fast!
I guess it's a good time to try to fiaure out what this blogging is all about, but like Shane, I'm going to need alot of help!
By the way, don't forget the family reunion this weekend :)

Mother's Day and Anniversary

It doesn't seem like I have a lot of time to sit at the computer and think of things to write, but I do want to thank everyone for making my Mother's Day pretty special. Ralph tried for about 5 minutes to keep it a secret that everyone that could was coming home and the men were fixing dinner. I know how hard that is when you have a family and live a ways from here, but it was great especially sitting back while the guys did all the work and the girls watched the Jazz game. We had a great dinner and a lot of fun. Bad thing is, we didn't take any pictures.
Our anniversary was pretty interesting, too, as Ralph got down on his knee with AnDe and Shanna as witnesses and asked if I had it do over again would I marry him. I was a little taken back and had to laugh as I said "sure". Then he gave me a card that told me he might get down on one knee but he couldn't promise he could get back up. It was great, and by the way getting old with bad knees SUCKS!
Keep adding to your blogs. I love reading them and seeing the pictures of everyone. I love seeing the new skills Shane is learning in his photography class, too.

Back At Last

OK, so I've been hearing some frustration from me kids that I haven't added anything since this all began, well you know me, there isn't much to say. Each day is about the same.

You probably know what my favorite subject was when I was in school about 50 years ago, so I have a problem for you---
I have 8 kids---Ralph has 4
I have 5 inlaws with Zack and Ashley joining the family soon---Ralph has 3
I have 15 grandkids, Carter will join us with Ashley---Ralph has 8
Oh and don't forget our siblings, 3 for me and 6 for Ralph.

OK, now you do the math and let me know what Christmas is like for us, not to mention remembering all the birthdays. I don't know how my mother ever did it. Kind'a crazy!

Just beginning

Ok, well Shanna got me started on this so I'll try to figure it out.