Christmas Tag

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I really like to wrap.

2. Real or artificial: I to love a real tree. But have a beautiful artificial that we bought a few years ago after Christmas. It does look so real. Just doesn't have that wonderful smell.

3. When do you put up your tree? This year we did it at Thanksgiving since we had 2 of our boys here to help set it up. It was fun.

4. When do you take your tree down? After the New Year. I try to put it away before we go back to work.

5. Do you like eggnog? EggNOT

6. Favorite gift ever recieved? My Barbie Convertable car from my dad. I was in 3rd grade.

7. Hardest person to buy for? Our parents, they have everything.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Steve.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Christmas card with picture and letter.

11. Worst Chrismas present? I have loved everything I have recieved.

12. Favorite/Worst Christmas movie? It's a Wonderful Life (Jimmy Stewart), and "Miracle on 34th Street". I don't have a worst.

13. When do you start your Christmas shopping? The day after Christmas for the next year.

14.Have you ever recycled a gift? Yes I have. When I know the person would love it.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Stuffing and peanut brittle. Oh and my fudge.

16. Lights on the tree? All colors that dance.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Im Dreaming of a White Christmas.

18.Travel on Christmas or stay home. We travel to one of the kids house. But next year we want to be home and have them come to us.

19. Can you name all the reindeers name. Yep, you want me to say them?

20.Angel or star on top of tree? This year, Santas hat.

21. Open presents on Christmas Eve? Grandbabies get new jammies. A tradition we had with our boys. They always look good for Christmas morning.

22.Most annoying thing about this time of year? Nothing, we are going to be with our kids.

23. Favorite Christmas ornament? It changes every year. This year a boomarang from Australia.

24. Favorite food at Christmas dinner? Turkey and stuffing.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? As Kim said "health and happiness" and that we will all be together.

I tag Adrienne, Megan, and all my email buddies.

Just wanted to share some favorite pictures

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Getting ready for Christmas

Our Thanksgiving weekend started off with Stuart, Geoff, Steve and I lugging all the Christmas decorations out of the garage to decorate the house. We decided to put the tree in the middle of the foray, so that you can see the tree from the front door. We had fun going the through the crates and finding the treasured ornaments that have been collected from all over the states and Australia. And the ones that the boys made.

Mom, we are done with the tree, right? Sure wish Scott was here. We are missing middle brother, Scott. Stuart, Geoff and I are happy that the tree is finally done.. The guys with the tree as it is being finished. Did dad help? Yes... He said we did a good job. And I stayed out of the way....

36th Wedding Anniversary at Pinetop, AZ.

Our 36th wedding anniversary was November 11th. We went Pinetop, AZ for 4 days. We did not know it was going to snow. We went to celebrate at our favorite german restaurant and the weather was clear. By the time we left an hour and a half later it was snowing. It didn't snow a lot, but was enough to enjoy going out into it. We ended up spending the day in front of the cozy fireplace and watched movies. So romantic. A nice relaxing time.

This is the clubhouse at Pinetop.

The front of the condo on the second floor.

Steve standing at the back of our condo. We were up on the second floor.

Kylie's Gingerbread Man Comes For a Visit

Kylie's gingerbread man came to visit her Nana and Papa after he ran away from her classroom. At first I didn't see him, but when he made a noise while pulling a book off the shelf I was able to get some quick pictures of him before he slipped out of the library and ran towards Kylie's papa's room. He just looks so comfortable in my rocker. Here he is reading the story about The Gingerbread Man in my rocker that I sit in when I read to the children when they come to the library. The gingerbread man was able to slip into Steve's classroom when his students came in for third period. He was really interested in what these machines were and what they did. He is trying to figure out what these boys are doing on the computer. Looks like some kind of a report. The gingerbread man followed papa home, because he found out that I was having a Bunco party. He had never heard of it and wanted to check it out. but he was shy at first and stayed hidden behind the pumpkins. Here are all the ladies who I play Bunco with. Teri, Diane, gingerbread man, Doris and Britta having fun. That gingerbread man really is having fun with the ladies. Sam, Cindi Nana, gingerbread man, Daria and Melissa having fun and eating dessert. Here he is with Kylie's Uncle Stuart and Amanda. We were celebrating Amanda getting her Master's in Education. It was a very nice party with the family. The gingerman enjoyed meeting everyone. When the gingerbread man found out that Kylie has cousins in Wichita, he just had to go and see them. He had so much fun with them. He went to the park and also the Wichita Zoo. He also ate pizza with them. After his trip to Wichita, he learned that Great Aunt Lynne and Great Uncle Stan were going to San Diego to sail on their boat for the weekend . Since he had never sailed before, he decided to give it a try. He had so much fun with Great Uncle Stan at the helm of their sailboat sailing around the harbor. He even saw a seal on the dock, but was to afraid to have his picture taken with it.

Bunco at Gail's

My daughter in law made these invitations for my Bunco Party. She has a nice talent. Okay, its Bunco time again. This time at my house. This is our 4th year of playing.

We have 6 of the orginal group that we started with. We are the
die hards that just won't give up. We love getting together as a group and

have fun. So we ate Cheesy Salsa Pasta with Green Chili Cornbread, a huge salad and a Pizzuki for dessert. Lindsay was the big winner with 4 buncos. We were a bit worried since she is due to
have her second child any day. Doris, Daria and I tied for most wins. Doris won that with the high roll of the dice. Second most wins, Daria won with a high roll. Jan won the loser prize. A nice bottle

of wine. Melissa was made famous by being able to put a spoon

on her nose. And than a little friend who came visit us was a
gingerbread man from Utah. He

is traveling around from our grand
daughter Kylie's kindergarten
classroom. And he just showed up. But got away before we could catch

him.
These are the girls of "Divas of Dice". Lindsay, Teri, Gail, Robyn, Sam, Daria, Gingerbread man, Doris, Jan, Britta, Melissa, Cindi and Diane.

A Tucson Weekend

Our Tucson weekend was wonderful

We had discovered the Coronado Wines when the vineyard came

to Camp Verde last year, Boy what
wonderful wines they have. We ended up buying a case and a half. Can't wait to get to them. We also had a tasty lunch made for us. The chef did wonders.

After our visit to the winery we went and found Apple Annies Pumpkin Patch. That was fun, We wished that we had had the babies with us. There was a corn maze, hay ride to take you out to pick your own pumpkins. So I found my pumpkins for my front porch. One being a sage green fairy pumpkin. Wow, is it a unique one.

The condo at Rancho Vistoso still is one of our favorites. We like that it is out of the city, and we can see the city lights from the balcony.

Australian Dreams

Make a Smilebox photobook

Here are some pictures of our trip. We thought you would like to see. We had a wonderful time and wanted to share. The book said 2007.... yea thats wrong. It should say 2008.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LESLIE!!!!!!!

To my dearest and oldest friend, Happy Birthday!!!!! I am so thankful for the day that Jerry Grewe, (old family friend) who was dating your mom, saw my mom in Woolworths in Lompoc, Ca. Jerry and your mom didn't last. But our moms became the best of friends and so did we. I was in 6th grade and you were in 5th. Wow!!! That was in 1966......

Some friendships last a lifetime and I am so lucky to have yours.

So Happy Birthday my dear sweet friend.

Happy Birthday To Me

I had a wonderful birthday, celebrated for several days. My day on Saturday began with a trip to Phoenix to see my mom. She doesn't really remember me. But that's okay. I can still make her giggle.

Steve then took me to ASU to Gammage Theatre to see "A Chorus Line". What a thrilling musical. I enjoyed it so much. And what really impressed me is that Steve did not fall asleep. He enjoyed it too. The singing and dancing was just wonderful. I look forward to going back to see "Happy Days" and "Wicked".

After the musical we went to have dinner at Stuarts restaurant "The Elephant Bar" in Chandler. He didn't get to spend to much time since he was very busy. But it was still good to see him and have a good dinner.

After dinner we stopped to see my sister Lynne and Stan. Where we found out that Adrienne is going to have her second baby. We were so excited for them.

On Sunday Scott and Kim called to see if it was okay to bring a TWO MONTH OLD BABY on our family vacation in July. We are going to Oceanside. I said "What"? He said "Happy Birthday Mom". I am going to be a NANA again. What a wonderful weekend I had. So thanks to all and I love you.

Stu and Amanda

This past weekend Stuart and Amanda came up from Phoenix for a visit. Amanda is my sister's husband's brother's daughter by marriage. WOW.... Anyway they decided to get out of the heat for a visit. Stuart is usually so busy that he doesn't take the time to visit. So thank you Amanda. We went up to Flagstaff and had lunch at the Beaver Street Brewery. Stuart has been away from Flagsaff for 3 years and still managed to run into people he knew. He is one popular guy. They are so use to the heat that they were cold at 70 degrees. Steve and I loved the temp. When we left Flag we drove into Sedona. What a beautiful drive and day it was to spend with one of your kids.

I Got Tagged by Kim*****

Here goes what happened in my life...

20 Years ago:
1. I was 33 years old with a husband and 3 small boys.
2. We were living in Spring Valley, Ca. on Le Chusa Street. In a rental house which was very nice, but not in the safest neighborhood for the boys.
3. Geoff was 13, Scott 10 and Stuart was 5 years old.
4. Steve and I bought 3 acres up in Julian, Ca. So our boys could grow up in the country.
5. Stuart started kindergarten so I started my career at a school district. Since Stuart cried everyday I dropped him off.

10 Years ago:
1. We have lived in Julian for 9 years.
2. I have been a 2nd grade aide at Julian Elementary for 9 years.
3. We have taken Geoff and Scott to Utah to live. Geoff to college and Scott to ???? Stuart is in high school.
4. Steve and I are enjoying having 1 child at home.

5 Years ago:
1. We are loving the life with no children at home. We can do what we want. But we really miss our boys. Stuart is at NAU.
2. I am a cancer survivor of 3 years.
3. Our first grandchild was born. A beautiful little girl.
4. We have fought a fire that just about destroyed our beautiful little town of Julian. We had to evacuate so we went to to Scott's and stayed for a few days and then to Borrego Springs to wait for the okay to go home.
5. I am still a 2nd grade aide and loving it.

3 years ago:
1. We have left Julian to move closer to the boys and babies. We now have 2 grandbabies.
2. We sold our home in Julian and bought a brand new home in Lake Montezuma, Az.
3. I am a Health Aide in a middle school and Steve teaches Tech.
4. We used our timeshare and go to Oregon and Victoria for a summer vacation.

1 year ago:
1. I am now the Librarian at our school district. I have been waiting for this chance to come along.
2. We now have 4 grandbabies. Kylie, Peyton, Ashley and baby Cooper.
3. We go back to Oregon with our timeshare. We have started to plan our trip of a lifetime to Australia for next summer.
4. Stuart tells us he is a gay man. Which we accept. Cuz we kinda thought so.
5. Steve and I went to Pinetop for our 35th wedding anniversary.

This Year:
1. I have worked and figured out the library.
2. Steve and I went on our dream trip to Australia for 20 days.
3. Went to San Diego to see Steve's mom. Visit with my mom every other weekend at an alzheimers center.
4.Geoff is a divorced man, with his ex moving to Kansas with the kids and a new life. (SAD)
5. Scott and Kim are good with their babies in Daybreak, Utah. Stuart in Phoenix.
6. Kylie starts kindergarten and is so smart.

Yesterday:
1. Carpooled to school with Steve. It's Friday.
2. I read the same story 8 times today to 8 different classes.
3. 25 people from the middle school piled into vans and went to a Diamondback game in Phoenix. 4. Talked to Stuart on the phone about him coming up this weekend.
5. Steve told me about the tickets he bought for my birthday to go see Chorus Line next weekend.

Today:
1. Here I am behind this keyboard writing this blog.
2. I will go food shopping for the week to Basha's.
3. Clean this house.
4. Enjoy the day with my man.
5. Just got a call from Geoff and Peyton scored 3 goals in his first game of soccer. 2 for his team and 1 for the other team. He likes to share.

Tomorrow:
1. We will wait for Stuart to get here. He is bringing Amanda. (family relative)
2. Our friend Cindi with join us for dinner.
3. I will sit and enjoy the day, and maybe talk to the babies.

Next Year:
1. I will be healthier due to my blood diet.
2. We will spend a week in Oceanside, Ca. with all of our family at our timeshare.
3. I will await the birth of my 5th grandchild. ( keep my fingers crossed).
4. Get my backyard done.

Happy 75th Birthday Mom

This past weekend was my mom's 75th birthday. She is in a center in Phoenix for Alzhiemer's. It is hard to see mom like this, because she use to be so full of life.

But we had a nice day that she seemed to enjoy, and she enjoyed her birthday cake and ice cream. Her cake had beautiful red rose's. She loves roses and red is a favorite color. She had almost the whole family there. There was 15 of us there so she was busy watching all. She also had her great grandson son RyRy (Lynne's grandbaby).

When I saw her I told her happy birthday and did she know who I was. She said "no she didn't know". But when I told her I was her daughter Gail, she said "I love you". So our job is to love her and to make her comfortable.

Peyton and Ashley

These are our other cuties. We did not get to see them this summer since they have moved to Kansas with their mother. But with her help we hope to talk to the often. Peyton is 4 who loves to rough house with anyone who is willing. He is as sturdy and as solid as a rock. But he loves it when I call him "sweets". Ashley is still a petite little girl who loves to change her clothes. Don't get me on her shoes. She loves them. She gets upset when you try to help her put anything on. Her favorite saying is "I do it myself".

Cooper

So .... Cooper is an image of his daddy. Except he has his momma's big brown eyes. He has a sweet disposition and very quick to smile. The cutest thing he did while we were there is his wave. He would look at you and wave and then look away. Then only to look right back at you to wave again. He would do this several times and then just smile at you and giggle. He loves to ride his bike when he is outside or just run. He is very much a boy who loves to play tough. When his daddy comes in from work, Scott will whistle which sends Cooper running for him and yelling Dada.