Time with Grandpa

Every since Whitney was born up until about 6 months ago, she was always scared of Grandpa. She would finally warm up to him on the last day of the visit. Then we would have to start all over again on the next visit. Not this guy he has always loved hanging with Grandpa. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures, but last week when Grandpa was here we were out at Mike and Coley's and Grandpa was sitting on the swing, Wilson would go over dip his chips in Daddy's salsa then walk backwards over to grandpas lap to swing some more. What great times

Whitney's Castle

Even tough this does not look like a castle it's what Whitty likes to call it. This is a felt playhouse I made her last year for her birthday. Jaylynn also got one too. They are placed on pvc cubes. If you scroll back to March you will see grandpa proud as a peacock with the cube he designed sitting on top of my car.
Whitney has had hours of fun playing in this and I had hours of fun planning and making it.
Whitney's is the pink one of course and Jaylynn's is the blue one.

Casserole Carrier

Nicole has this great casserole carrier that I have used a couple times. So I finally made my own. What a handy item. It's quick to make and saves on spilling and burned hands when taking food out with you.

Enjoying the outdoors

I know I have said this before, but I have to say I was meant to live here. I have had the opportunity to get out and walk this week. What a beautiful place, I love being on my walk hearing and seeing roosters crow, horses whinny, deers crossing my path, wild little rabbits casually eating peoples gardens.
The out doors here is so lovely. And when it's peaceful and you are in it what a joy. I also love that people give you the how are ya wave, not necessarily ones you know either. A couple on bikes, another walker, a man visiting with his neighbor who was out for a horse back ride. Lovell is truly a serene town.

Father's

I have been blessed to have such great men in my life growning up.
~PopPop~
He is my moms dad. He was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. He was kind and gentle. He absolutely loved having children around. He was so patient. He loved teaching you things. I can remember being just a little one and laying upside down on his lap and he would tap on my throat until I would laugh uncontroably. When I was 8 we moved home from Hawaii and my dolly was in storage. My PopPop helped me stuff a baby sleeper with newspaper, and made me a helium baloon head. He truely understood the needs of a little girl.

~Grandpa Williams~
This is my dad's dad. He was a retired city bus driver. He loved to read the paper with his dog Willy leaning against his back. He too was a devoted husband. I remember though any time we went out in the car after he couldn't drive any more he would tell Grandma "remind we to teach you how to drive when we get home: :) I was young when he fell ill. But he took us on trips and held us on his lap and reminded me to treat my grandma very special. He too was a devoted husband.

~Daddy~
My dad. I din't get grow up in a home with my dad all my life. My parents divorced when I was 3. But he never failed to make you feel like you were the most important girl when you were with him. He called all of us girls baby. And he would kiss you on the forehead or the top of your head.
Daddy would sleep out in the camper with us just for a thrill, he took us on trips. One time while having a weekend visit with him, I got the flu. While grandma babysat he went out and bought me a Snow White sticky board. We went through a time when he was not very good at keeping contact with me. I felt really left out. But now as an adult looking back I think it was really a man thing. After he retired and figured out the computer, my sister Jeri and I had many letters addressed good morning daughters. I treasure those letters as it felt like we were sitting down chatting with him.
There was a time that we lived with Dad and Jacki when mom was struggling with her life. It was a difficult change for all of us. I remember having on going spats with Jacki. Dad did not discipline in a way you really knew it was happening, nope he took me out to play tennis (which I had no skill for) and talked about how change was hard and how we all needed to do our part.
Dad would take us for rides on the motor cycle, he would cheer you on. Always wanted to know how school was going. (the only one of us who wanted to talk about school was Jeri because she got it) not Marcus and I. I remeber getting a review from my boss and finally being able to show dad a straight A report card. He was so proud of all of us through our trials and accomplishments. He was a great grandpa too. He loved having the kids around and was so proud of them too. He loved hearing of all their accomplishments.

~Klete~
My husband of almost 29 years. Klete is a great man in my life. After 33 years of knowning him he still makes me feel beautiful. He loves to crack jokes, (sometimes not so clean ones) he can send chills down my spine just by winking at me. Klete is outgoing and therefore has the ability to meet people any where. He is a hard working extremely talented brick mason. Klete is a fantastic father. He has always been there for both of our children. From Coley's adventure into our lives to Kletey's adventure into our life. He took time to be at both kids 5th grade camps as well as the 5th grade class Coley taught. He has spent numerous hours of loving time supporting Kletey in his motor cross life. He has put in all the daddy hours at dance recitals and drama programs. He was always willing to accompany the children on field trips for the day or over night. Klete is a supportive husband even though sometimes his wife goes kind of out there... He loves his children rather they are little ones on the job site with him or adults needing his time. Today he is a devoted grandfather. He loves to spoil the little ones and keep up on what they are doing. He even purchased a fishing license when Whitty wanted to play PaPa Bear and little bear and go fishing (and bought her a pink pole)

~Kletey~
My son. My son is full of life. Likes to take it to the fullest. He is a loving son, brother and uncle. Klete is proud of his sister and loves his niece and nephew to pieces. He cracks up at the little things they do. He is so compasionate. While we were camping with Whitty (without mom and dad) she became a little scared at bed time. Uncle snuggled her up and stayed with her until she fell fast asleep.

~Marcus~
My big brother. Marcus is a terrific brother; although we grew up fighting like cats and dogs we spent numerous hours being together growing up. I even had the privilege of marrying one of his buddies. Mark is a loving brother, uncle and husband.

~Michael~
My son in law. Mike enjoys being with his kids and spending time with Coley. He has been hard at work this last year working full time and still finding time to build them a beautiful home. He is good at caring for the little ones and even brining them along. I am greatful Coley has a man in life who can respect her and support her, and have fun with. And she the same to him.

~Jeff, Dave, Mitch, Kelley, Kasey and Kody~
My brother in laws. These men at one time or another have and will impact my life forever. They have brought me love and laughter and if I continue to write on this post I think my computer will crash.

To all the great men who have blessed my life thank you.
Happy Fathers day to you all!

Memorial Weekend

Nothing like having friends and family to share the time with.

Memorial Weekend

Whitty riding the sea doo with Grandpa and playing in the VERY cold water with grandma.


Our time with Whitty. I took all the pictures so not in many (which normally is ok) but I do love to have pictures taken with the grand children to mark the memories.

Memorial Weekend

Often when you get two 3 year olds together they seem to have good times and not so good times. Well I have to tell you these 2 played together non stop and virtually had almost no squabbles. I was so proud of both of them. What we did not get pictures of was them playing in the car which they did for hours it seems.
Nap time was a must as you can see by the pictures

Jet Sking

It has been a very long ongoing tradtion for Klete and Kletey to meet up with lifer jet ski buddies and head out for 3 hour rides, along with jumping their boats off the waterfalls. We figure we have been going to Pot Holes for about 18 years now. These are men Klete rode with over the years, and they like us have raised boys who are now carrying on the tradition. And they even take their dads with them still. This is Klete, Kletey, Zack and (Joel first timer) getting ready for the ride.

Memorial Weekend

What a fun trip. Whitty and I left out of town on Wed. the 26th and headed to Eastern Wa. for our yearly camping trip at the Pot Holes state park. We made it to Missoula the first night and stayed in a hotel. We woke up Thursday morning to pouring rain. So we took our time, had breakfast and then off to (oh yes) Walmart to do the shopping. We arrived at Pot Holes that afternoon to an anxiouly awaiting grandpa and uncle. They were so excited to have Whitty camping with us for the first time. Mystie and Kaylee we're there to greet us too.
A wonderful weekend with friends and family. Aunt Wendy and Uncle Dave joined us on Saturday and Joel and Zack were part of the festivities too.
Whitty had planned for Grandpa to be Papa Bear and her little Bear going fishing. So grandpa had gone out and got his fishing license and a pink pole for Whitty to fish with. Well we didn't end up with fish but she had the experience of worms and poles and oh could she cast. lol

Announcement Board

I wanted the Sister's to have something eye catching when they come in Relief Society on Sunday's. So I put together this bulletin board. I covered a cork board with the fun fabric then wrapped chicken wire around it. Our clothes pin reminders help keep announcements in place.

In my garden

Please stop by and visit. I have this amazing spot in the garden, with an umbrella of Lilac hanging just over us. I will serve you lemonade and cookies, while you fill my soul with your company.

Pillow Makeover

We will be making over pillows next month in Releif Society. I did a quick one just to give and example. But I am hoping the sisters will go through their homes, find that one pillow that needs made over, then.... go looking for either a piece of fabric, a top from their closet, a towel, place mats....The ideas could be countless.This one I covered with a piece of white fabric and just made pleats down the center of it. What could you think of to add to it.

So Whitty tuned 3 in March and is becoming very indpendant. She was spending the morning with me last week. And when it came time to dress she did it all on her own 100% she is so proud of herself. But funny there are time all the sudden when she says "I Can't!". She is such a joy. At times she is so stubborn, and can throw such a hissyfit. But then she wraps her arms around you and says I love you and I melt.
Grandparenting is truely a reward for raising children. I am so greatful for wonderful children to receive the blessings.

My Baby Turns 21

Son you are such an amazing guy. You have a smile that will break the bank. You are tender hearted and so smart.
After 8 long months trying very hard to carry you, you arrived a month premature at Whidbey General Hospital. You were born C-section and so I had not even had a chance to hold you when the nurses came in and said you were turning blue when they tried to feed you and felt your lungs were underdeveloped. So they brought you into me in an isolate, let me reach through the hole and touch you, then wisked you off by helicopter to the soccer fields near Children's Hospital in Seattle where they loaded you in an ambulance and took you to C.H.. Dad and Gramma K., met you there and spent the night with you. As they would not let me out of the hospital. You were this large 8 and half pound guy in the preemie ward with all the tiny tiny babies. Well the next day the doctor was willing to let me out early if I promised to keep a pillow on my lap in the car and to go straight home. You bet I said. As dad picked me up and off the Children's we went. Like he didn't know. You stayed a couple days. Improved and came on home to start life with us and your big sister. Coley was so happy to get you home. She was such a proud big sister. I was glad when she had to go to school so I could get a turn holding you.

Son you have had many trials in your life and have put your shoulder to the wheel and pressed on. I am proud of the accomplishments you have made.

Riding has been your life. Through many bikes, helmets, and gear not to mention the breaks. Yes the bikes but mainly you! 18 bones last count???
Kletey I could write books about that.

Son most of all know I love you and I am proud to be your mom. I am so thankful that we have a great relationship.

California Trip

Klete and I got away for a nice week long vacation the middle of April. We flew into San Diego and stayed a couple days with my sister and Jeff. Spent time with my brother and Jaylynn too. Well I hung out with my family and Klete golfed. Ok we saw him some. Then Klete and I went to Palm Springs for a few days. It was great to get away with him and have some relaxing down time. I hung out at the pool and Klete GOLFED! Oh we also ate out a lot...We stopped by and saw Mitch and Jan, Aaron, Jenny, Austin and Isac too. Oh I love hanging out with family. These pictures are in Palm Desert. It's amazing to see. There is a waterfall right there in the middle of the desert. You see even when he can't golf he still tries. Ok I set that up.
We then took a quick drive over to Indio Ca. which is not much to write about. But let me tell you. Klete and I owners of Trendwest Resorts. And we were staying at the very ollllld condos there, when we saw the very NEW condos in Indio. Boy were we bummed. Pizza place on the grounds, small store, lazy river, and not one but 2 golf courses right out the front door. We will be checking those out soon. Then back to San Diego for the afternoon and back to Bothell for Klete and Lovell for me.
Thanks for the nice trip honey. Thank you to all my family for putting up with us.

Potluck Picnic

We will be having a potluck picnic at my place on the 25th. I made these cute...apron invitations. Of course I forgot the put the time on them. Many sisters were quick to see my mistake.

Relief Society Presidency

I was called as the 2nd conselor in R.S. recently and I have really been enjoying making little take homes. I am so blessed to be called to this calling. Working with the sisters in our ward is such a blessing.
These are clothes pin reminders to go on their fridge. I am trying to have something at least twice a month to send home for them to put in it.

Nursing Cover

Well I am so far behind on blogging. I thought I would stay right on top of this but no....
Claudia a wonderful lady who works in our program had a beautiful grand daughter arrive recently, so I made this nursing cover for her daughter. What I like about my nursing covers is they are lined, and also have a pocket on the back side for nursing pads or a binkie. I love this fabric. It's so cheerful.

Happy St. Patricks Day

3 years ago today my sister and I had the joy of becoming grandmas. Yep my daughter had a baby girl Whitney and my sisters son had a baby girl Jaylynn. Now we both were truly excited about our those baby girls coming along. We had a phone conversation and I mentioned maybe the girls would arrive the same day. Well sure as shooting they did. Whitney in the late morning and Jaylynn in the evening. What a treat and a blessing.
Our mom also had the honor of becoming a great grandma of 2 beautiful girls just prior to her passing.
These two little girls have brought such joy to our lives.
We lead very different lives being grandmas~
My little one lives with her mom and dad. And I have the privilege of living down the street. Seeing her when ever I can and spending as much time as possible.
My sister and her husband Jeff are raising her little one. I want them to know I admire what they do. I know at times it must be so hard. Jaylynn is blessed to have them, to have the love and security of a beautiful family and home.
So happy birthday to our girls.

Whitney turns "3"

Happy Birthday to our very special girl. Gramma can't believe you have been here with us for 3 years already.
You are such a precious girl.
You love to learn about everything. You have great speech. But sometimes like to say things in your own way, like instead of piano you say plano. You can say yell and o but you don't say yellow you say lello.
I love your imagination. You love to sing and dance. You make up little words when you are playing and you like to tell us to say them.
You love to play princess and prince and you always get to be the princess.
You are great with your little brother well...most of the time. Although you do like to steal his binky.
You love to eat snacks and have a hard time waiting for snack time.
You are really into skirts and prefer them over pants.
You love wearing your hair pretty and almost always have beautiful bows in made by mom.
You think your dad is the greatest. You love to go to the house to work with him or join him on trips to Billings.
You have a scowl about you these days and man can you turn it on. I like to tease you that you look like Mr.Duck in one of your books.
You love to watch your movies, lately you have been watching little mermaid and little rascals.
You enjoy reading books and being read to, you have a new book called Pinkalicious and you already have a lot of it memorized. Your birthday this year will be all about Pinkalicious. The little girl who ate to many pink cupcakes.
Well sweetie Gramma could write about you forever, but I do want you to know how special you are to me. And how much I love you. I thank Heavenly Father every day for letting me be your grandma.

Things they say!

Had Whitty and Wilson over for awhile yesterday. Whitty got into one of her not so pretty moods (yes even my precious little Whitty is less then pretty sometimes) anyway she was frowning and stomping and making not so pretty sounds.
Grammy-Wow Whitty that is really beautiful.
Whitty-looking a little puzzled- that does not look beautiful!!

Later in the evening I was over at their house for dinner. Whitty brought out some books and asked me to read to her. So we were sitting on the chair reading
ummm maybe around 6:30. I could feel her getting heavier by the minute.

Whitty-It's been a long busy day. I think I will just take a short nap....Out cold. About and hour later I took her to the potty. She went, we came back out to the chair, out cold again, took her to bed about 15 minutes later sound asleep. So much for a short nap.

Your place or mine

Need a guy to pop out of the cake. Well I got one for you.

Secret Project

So I am working on a secret project for my Whitty and my Jaylynn (great niece)for their 3rd birthday that is soon approaching. St. Patty's day. And I needed a 48" pvc cube for this project. So Grandpa/Uncle got busy while I was at work. And true to who he is my red neck honey. Here he came driving down the road with a sheet on the hood of my car and the pvc cube. Oh how he made me laugh. First I need to tell you that he made my heart pitter pat as I saw him walking down the sidewalk with the pvc poles on his shoulder. Just knowing he was being part of the project.

Tinkerbell

Back in December. Mike's aunt Linda and cousins dropped by and brought with them their new little minature schnauser and right away I fell in love. So a couple hours later off Coley and I went to get one for me too.
I chose the name Tinkerbell becasue Whitty is really into Tinkerbell right now. She is mostly called Tink/er.
She has really been a joy to have around and loves everyone. She goes to school each day with Kirk and I . I tried to leave her home one day with Klete while he was here she cried so loud you would have thought she was being beat!
One of the cats Talee thinks she is ok and will play with her if he thinks you are not watching. The other one Scoot is not pleased at all to say the least. To bad Scoot.
The kids really enjoy her. Wilson gets a little frustrated as she always wants to clean his face. And she thinks he's the hit, because there is usually treat scraps around where ever he has been.

Motorhome

The other day I had Whitty in the car with me. I saw this absolutely beautiful diesl pusher motorhome/bus. Our conversation went like this...

Gramma-Whitty look at that beautiful motorhome
Whitty- Yah it is just like yours, grampa's and your uncle's (Kletey)
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Whitty is still getting straight on who is who. She often says your grampa or your uncle meaning her grampa/uncle. It's so adorable you don't want to correct her.

On a side note, I do want to say that has been one of out greatest investments. It is not the top of the line by far, but it has all the pleasures a person needs. And I don't feel one bit bad when the motocrossers are coming in and out in their boots, or the jet skiers bringing in water/mud. And people seem to feel very comfortable in it. Weather it's a motel at a job site, a motel at a motocross race, a motel at a jet ski race or a motel for gram and gramp to steal away.
Wish it was here now. I would hop in and go for a cruize. With Whitty and Wilson.

Be Mine

I just need you all to know that Geraldine makes the worlds best Navajo tacos. So the night before Valentines, I called and just happened to mention that if I was her valentine she would probably make Navajo tacos for me. And I would do the fixings for her. So of course being the awesome lady she is SHE DID! And I have to tell you they were as great as the first time I ever had them when the kids got married. Thank you Geraldine! It was nice spending the evening with her and the family. A little picture of our valentine celebration.

Coley's 27th

I already posted about my baby girl turning 27 but want to add the pictures. I came up with the orange and brown theme as I found her some fun summer time dishes. I had a blast making the cake. Kind of funky as Whitney would say these days. And I just have to say I love being Coley's mom.