GOOD SAMARITAN

We walked with Trent and Regina to our cars after the Undy 5000 last Saturday. We came upon an older man in the parking lot with a flat tire on his car. Trent immediately asks him if he needed any help and if he had all the parts he needed to change the tire. The man wasn’t sure. Trent quietly changed his tire, no fuss, no muss. Trent would not want any notice but he was practicing what he believes and who he is. What a good example of the Good Samaritan. Thanks Trent.

Heaven on the Coast

This has been a busy week. We just got back from visiting the 3 little princesses in Arroyo Grande, CA. Ryan and Michelle went on a 7 day cruise and we went to spend 7 heavenly days with the girls. Richard, Raelynn and I had a great time with Emily, Bella, and Lexie. Since they don’t seem to miss their Mom and Dad when they are gone it is lots of fun to be with them.

Lexie is just like the youngest in all the Rodger’s families. She can do anything the oldest one can do. She kept us pretty darn busy. Michelle warned us but we had no idea of the extent of her busyness. She was into everything and I mean everything. If it was quiet for more than 60 seconds, it was too late. Repair work had to be done. The last night at 3 in the morning she emptied the fridge: milk, yogurt, cheese, carrots, water bottles, and other food stuff. Came and stood by the bed at eye level staring at me. That was the night she was awake from 12 midnight till 5. Never cried even when I threatened her with bodily harm. I think she smiled when the rocker dumped me on the floor when I fell asleep in it. At 7, when Bella and Emily came and got in my bed (the one I had made to block the door) she did too, all was forgiven, by Lexie and me. In explanation for Lexie running loose at night, Ryan and Michelle wanted Lexie trained to her youth bed while they were gone. She was great the whole time till the last night. She went to bed and went to sleep with Emily and Bella just fine every night but Friday. We never had to repeatedly put her back in the bed. She made up for it that last night. She never cries except when getting up from a nap. Makes you not want to give her one. And is always smiling that great smile of hers. When you catch her at something and say “No” or “Naah” and she jerks back and smiles, you can’t help but smile at her and grab her and kiss and hug her. She eats like a little horse too. Made our hearts glad.

Bella chose not to walk to school each day with Emily, Lexie, and me. She wanted to stay with Grumpaw and get tickled. She loved sitting and watching TV with him, “Tom and Jerry.” Bella helped me a lot with organizing drawers. We spent a lot of time talking. We didn’t do puzzles very much this time because Lexie’s hands were in everything. But Bella told me about everything from her birthday at Disneyland, to her cake, to all about her friend Gage, to being a Mommy someday. She is very prim and has all the hand motions to prove it. Bella and Emily just recently had their ears pierced. Everyday we went through the routine of cleaning and changing earrings. It was really quite fun. Bella had hers done first and has quite a few earrings and is very generous about sharing them with Emily. Bella is a sweetheart.

Emily is a Rodgers. Quick witted and could talk you to death. But of course she has something to say. On the way home with Em and her Dad, who can hit 100mph on the on ramp in 10 seconds, I said “Is your Dad a crazy driver”? Em said “Nana, THAT is a stupid question”. Isn’t that cute? Emily is a picky eater but she loved Grandpaw’s cooking. We couldn’t believe it. You would think we had bribed her the way she complimented and soft soaped us about how good the food was or how well I did a list or some other thing. Maybe it was how many times we went to her favorite yogurt shop. We loved having her be the first one in the bed with us every morning at 6 or 7, even on the weekend. She came to talk not to sleep. In the years to come she will probably share her inter most secrets with her parents at that time. We played Apple Scrabble and she beat the pants off her friend and me. She has even taken on crossword puzzles and Sudoku. Emily is sharp. Friday night we had a Night at the Drive-in on our deck. We set up the lawn chairs on the deck to face the TV room window, opened the window, waited on the sun to go down, turned the lights out, turned up the volume, fixed hot dogs, fries and soda, popcorn, and candy. Emily wrapped up in a blanket and watched all of “ “. The rest of us were to cold to stay out side and watched from inside the movie theater. It was a fun night.

We read stories every night. I read the story from Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle titled “Harbin the Slowpoke”. Emily became Harbilina. (It isn’t her favorite nickname, hum Lulu?) We’re still looking for the powder from Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle to sprinkle on Emily’s shoes. Does anyone know where it is? Nana will give a reward for it.

They were all 3 so happy and easy to get along with. I’m glad we’re in good health because we were running all the time and came home not needing to rest. That made it a really fun trip and the kids really enjoyable.

Lastly, Regina and Trent; take a trip so we can come and stay with your kids. We want to watch the cute things they do and say on a daily basis. It has been a while. They grow up so fast.

We're happy we get to see the 3 little missionaries all the time. We love them. We love our life.

Grandma Joyce

How lucky can one person be???



















I’ve spent some time with Grandma Joyce all by myself the last couple of months. It has been like a vacation for me. She has really slowed down from her hundred miles an hour that she has run for the last 85 years; but she can still run small circles around most of us. If nothing else the stories she tells about her adventures through life as a wife and mother are enough to tire any normal woman out.


Last Wednesday I had Jury Duty and had to be there at 1:00 in the afternoon. The case was going to last 5 to 7 days. The judge said not to try to use the grandmother excuse to get out of jury duty. We are leaving for Ryan’s on Thursday. I feel a patriotic responsibility to serve so I would never use the grandmother card unless Lexie was calling. Well Lexie is calling, I told the judge, he had no choice, and he let me go.

I arrived at Grandma Joyce’s with 2 of our Rodger’s family Christmas projects. Grandma’s monitor stopped beeping. She had a new reason for living. She went to work and if she hadn’t had so many phone calls and so much company we would have gotten finished with the stockings. Nancy helped a bit. (We are really going to owe them when Crystal gets married.) I left the stockings and pillow cases at her insistence. She hasn’t been this happy in a long time. I may have to look for other projects for her.

I learned a few new things about Grandma during this visit. One is where Ryan gets his desire for long, long, long showers. Grandma told me she loves to get in the shower and stay there. She pays the bill so she can. I told her about Ryan and she said “You go Ryan.” . I made a late run to Sam’s Club Wednesday night for chocolate and we ate nuts and chocolate for dinner because we could
We called Dad/Richard and ask him to bring stuff we needed on Thursday. He was wonderful. He did. The garage door stopped working so we called Dad and he came on Friday (and brought stuff) and he and Uncle Alan worked on the garage door. Dad left and Uncle Alan finished up. Dad left at 3:30 to run an errand for Wendy and for a meeting at home Friday night. On Friday afternoon Grandma and I talked about needing my sewing machine to finish the stockings in just a couple of hours. Grandma laughed a mischievous laugh and said “Call Richard one more time and ask him to bring your machine in the morning and we could be done.” She was half kidding but would have loved it if I had. I didn’t. I came home on Friday night before she wore me out. Hopefully she is resting now.

Life is good.

I love Grandma Joyce's philosophy on life. She always wanted to make a lovely home for her husband and children and see her children grow in truth and righteousness. She has done a great job achieving her desires. She is a great Matriarch. Any of us would do well to pattern ourselves and our lives after her.

This is it

Trailing.................2009

I loved taking Savannah to the airport to send her to EFY on July 12th. It was so fun to spend the afternoon with her. I wish it hadn't been sandwiched between two very exciting activities -

Wicked and EFY

We thought it would be a quick drive by and drop off but it turned out that I went with her to the gate and then her plane was delayed and we had dinner and talked and talked. They swapped her plane for one that worked and she was on her way to one of the best weeks of her life. I'm glad I was a small part of it. Savannah, you are so put together and so beautiful. Wow!!

Trailing Thoughts From the Summer 2009

Some happenings I don't want to forget so I better start putting them down. Now that the kids are back in school maybe I will catch up. I sure love all of these kids. I must tell this one on Bella. Only the adults can read this. Don't mention it to Bella. I believe we were home from the beach 2 days, like Sunday evening, and I was talking on the phone with Richelle and Grumpaw was watching TV. I was standing in the family room next to my desk. Emily was sitting at my desk. The card table was set up in the family room in front of the TV with a 1000 piece puzzle on it. I had been working on it for about a month and had almost finished it. It lacked about 25 pieces being finished. Bella walked over to the card table and tried to put in a puzzle piece and then with both hand made circles on top of the card table with the puzzle pieces. I went berserk. Richelle thought someone had drowned. It was the only time Bella cried while she was here. We all got over it.

I think I will put the puzzle back up today and start over. I love Bella. I love Mary Ellen's statue that has magic marker on it by someone who shall remain nameless. I love the foot prints on my back from the bottom of the pool. I love the foot prints in my garden. I love holding their hands next to my bed at night. I love being asked if it's time to get up yet at 6:30 am. I love being ask "Can we come swimming?" or "Will you come to my party?" or "Havn't you finished it yet?" Or being call Nana or Monkey. Or even Grandma, yuk!

A Concerned Mother,Sister, & Friend

The last couple of weeks have caused me to reflect quite often on the need for balance in our lives and how hard it is to maintain. It is next to impossible to 'take care' of ourselves, the family we live with, our children, our extended family, our close friends, and those we want to be close to. (Take care of and feel satisfied with the care we are giving.) Care meaning love them and communicate with them and try to interact with them. Lots of prayers have been offered to get us through today (and I mean particular today today.) Today is a hand ringing day for me. It is bad enough that it is a MONDAY and a new week is starting; i.e. school, work, doctors, clinics, out patient. (I'm not leaving the house.) I will have a prayer in my heart for each one of you today. I will be waiting to hear by bedtime that you are all home safe and 'well'.

My sister, Judy (Aunt Sandy) has her first Chemo treatment today, a 6 hour drip. She has been told she could be violently ill and it could take longer because they may have to start and stop a number of times but it will get easier with each treatment. It looks like it would be easier the first time. My heart breaks for her. I wish I could do it for her. I wish no one had to do it. She is good at biting heads off but I hope today she has a calm spirit and has an over abundance of the comforter with her.

My brother Frank is spending the summer in Cottonwood, AZ. It is nice to have him close. Richard is so good about calling and checking on him and his wife Janie. Frank has had stints put in and has an aneurysm and disk in his back that need to be repaired. The doctors will not do the second without doing the first. Vicious circle. Looks like some action may be taken with him this week. We are waiting on pins and needles to hear. Richard will call to check on them.

My very old and dear friend Linda lost her husband Dave a week ago Friday to cancer. They thought they at least had a couple of months but his heart and lungs just gave out. She has certainly had her trials. She lost her son Lewis to juvenile diabetes a few years ago. She is a strong woman and has a lot of faith in Heavenly Father. Still, being a lone is going to be very hard. She has a daughter she is very close to. They are lucky to have each other. The memorial service is today in Colorado. There will be another one here in Arizona.

What a good looking bunch! Will we ever have ALL of us together again?

Worrying about all these kids is enough to cause an ulcer. One has a CT scan today, Randi has a colonoscopy, Richelle has an appointment for a colonoscopy, Regina just had one, Ryan and Robyn are making appointments, Raelynn just had one last year. Doesn't need one for 4 more years. Maybe we'll do it sooner if this doctor wants to study her along with the rest of the kids under the same CLOUD, or umbrella as the case may be. I am so glad the Rodgers are not procrastinators about their health and they take it seriously. This is serious and I do worry. Thanks!

The Long, Long, Long Summer

We wouldn't have it any other way. Grumpaw and Nana have reminised a lot about our on happy childhoods this summer as we have spent time with Bella, Emily and all the other grand kids. We have had such a wonderful time with all of them.

As we were preparing to leave San Diego to come to Phoenix Bella told her Mother she needed bandaids and she needed them sent to Phoenix and she needed them to get there the next day because Bella was going to Phoenix and she needed the bandaids to be waiting for her. We thought that was great that she didn't even consider going north, she was going east. We are so happy to report that there was never a tear or a request for Mommy or Daddy or to go home the whole 3 weeks (that is 21 days) that they were with extended family. G and N think that is a tribute to their Mom and Dad and to us and loving aunts and uncles and counsins for teaching them to love each other and want to be together. It was like Christmas but it was finally over. It was lots fun and we can't wait to do it again. No regrets and lots of good memories. We'll have some comments as we recall them and some pictures other than the ones Richelle and Michelle didn't post.



(R&M this picture was not taken on the way home from SD. It is a sample of happy children watching vedio's. Emily's carseat was used from SD.)








The aunts Richelle, Randi, and Robyn and even cousin Sydney had a great time shopping with the Bella and Emily. They are lucky girls. Every girl should be so lucky to have benefactors like them. And then one day Aunt Robyn came over and spent some time (Aunt Richelle already mentioned it) playing with all the kids. It was a MARVELOUS break for Richelle and Nana to sit back for a while and watch them have fun with crayons and playdoh and silly string. I think Aunt Robyn had as much fun coloring as anybody else. I bet the pictures she colored are on her refridgerator. We'll look next time we are at her house. What a great time that day was! WAIT... Maybe she was using coloring as an excuse to not wash out that poopy diaper that everybody was getting blamed for.













































Hayden, McKenna and Brooklyn were here for 2 nights and we had lots of fun. Richelle is a hands on aunt. She is so helpful and she lets me be involved lots of times. She is the instigator most of the time.
Anyway, one morning McKenna and Bella were playing upstairs after they got up and Bella insinuated that McKenna had an accident in her pants. McKenna said "No I didn't." That was the end of that. I came down stairs and Hayden says "Grandpa needs to take a bath and brush his teeth. He stinks really bad." He was so serious. It turned out that Raelynn had been to the bathroom and we needed to set a bomb off to get the smell out of the house. The Rodger's curse. I will not post a picture.
I will post a picture of what we did at 9, 1, 3, 5, and/or 7:00. We didn't need or feel like going away from the house.

Quote for July 2009

We found this sheet of paper laying around one day. Raelynn's handy work is quite often a surprise and this one was a real surprise. It read as follows:

HEY. YOURE DROPPING ALL OUR MONEY. YO FOOL!

We wondered how she found out!!!! She's smater than we thought.

The Beach 2009

Just cute!

The dare devil!!

Our little home is behind the loving child and ancient one.

Grumpaw and I thought it would be a great idea for Emily and Bella to join us at the beach this year and then come home with us to Glendale for a week or two. We are in day 16 and could not have asked for a better adventure. The 4th of July Ryan and Michelle left and we put the girls to bed in the cottage and they have not once cried to go home, attribute to us and their parents.

We're sharing some of the wonderful pictures we took when my battery wasn't dead.
----------------------
Billy slept on the air bed on the floor in the living room and the 2 princesses slept on the futon in the living room. Every morning Emily got in bed with us, and continues to. Bella has slept till 8 or 8:30 every day. Even if Billy slept till 9 or 9:30 he never even once complained about them being 2 feet from his head and coloring and eating and talking. They were very kind to each other. He played with them and teased them until it was time to go get the other cousins from the beach house.
Beach Cottage - about 400 sq feet. You can emagine how big the bathroom was.

Our fun mornings with Billy sleeping at their feet.

Things we did at the beach:

Inside we read silly poems, sang songs, watched movies, played dominoes (I really hate getting beat by a 7 year old more often than I win. She is so darn cocky about it too.)and a few other kid games.

Outside we walked on the beach, hunted for shells, went to the Shell Shop, went to Cow-a-Bunga, ate at the Peir for my birthday (Fisherman caught a big shufflenose.), went fishing, played in the sand, played in the water (I couldn't take pictures. I had to watch Emily like a hawk or she would have been out with the surfers.), played in deep sand holes (The Jr Life Guards dug holes 10 ft deep by 15 across.), went to the park (Chased the motorized cars like robots.), went to the Lifegaurd monument.

Playing on the wall was something they all had to do. They had to see if they could kee from falling off on to the rocks.

Emily made a new friend at the beach.

I think the little ones were happy not leaving the beach the whole week. I certainly was.

Fruits of the Earth

Here is a whole meal from our garden. The wonderful part is Nana is the only one who will eat any of it. Nana can't even bribe anyone to eat them. What strange people the Rodgers are! No wonder Nana is so healthy. She just can't understand why she is so fat.

Have a veggie day.

One More Great Moment

We were up till 2 on Thursday night watching movies. Another story.

Friday morning Nana was dreaming away in a very pleasant dream. In my dream I had run into an old friend (from an old Ward) who in the past had always been a little sour but now she was very contented. I didn't ask her what had changed her, but she started telling me anyway about a program that centered on a book about positive thinking and forgiving. She had been married and divorced, sour before and sour after, but this book had shown her how to forgive and go on with her life and be HAPPY.

(This is where it gets good.)

Derek just happens to be sitting next to me in my dream. In my dream my thought is "I should get this book and maybe it would show me how to forgive and forget and be happy."

STOP!!!!!

At that moment I think "I've done that", and I'm roused out of my dream in the fetal position with my prayer hands under my cheeks and a smile on my face and mouth "My life is perfect. I don't need that book."

DaDa!

Next moment, the whistle blows and it is Richard blowing the whistle at the bottom of the stairs for me to come to breakfast. Remember the Princess in the movie 'Enchanted' flowing around the room? That is how I looked when I came down the stairs in my green print Pj's and Derek, Savannah, and Brooklyn were already seated at the table and Richard was putting one and half inch thick French toast made with home made bread on the table with hot syrup and juice. He is the best!! What else can I say? Of course the story goes on. It was about 10:15 and we were meeting Richelle at the movie at 11:10. Needless to say we were out of there and Grandpaw did what he always does and cleaned up after us. We love him.

Another great day in my GREAT life.

Quote from the Parents

Saturday morning, May 30th, was a little different. Nana was still lying in the bed at 9:30 (no comments please) and Grumpaw had come upstairs. The phone rang and he lay down on the bed to talk. It was his friend Gene Saunders calling from Logan, Utah to check on one of their home teaching families. After they talked about that they went on to other subjects and Grumpaw says "Dianne had some of the grand kids here the last couple of days playing with them and having a good time. They're going home today. Talk to you later." Sounded like a normal conversation. I'm flattered. He didn't even know what happened. Of course 15 minutes later he had to make it up to me and go to Safeway and buy donuts for all of us, which he did without any complaint at all. I got apple fritters which I love.

HAPPINESS

You are the flowers in our garden!!!

This past week we had the start of a discussion on being happy in this world in spite of the difficulties that we encounter and the trials we face. I mentioned I had read something recently that was encouraging and I would look for it.
I found it.
April 2009 General Conference, Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The Power of Covenants -
"We need strong Christians who can persevere against hardships, who can sustain hope through tragedy, who can lift others by their example and their compassion, and who can consistently overcome temptations. We need strong Christians who can make important things happen by their faith and who can defend the truth of Jesus Christ against moral relativism and militant atheism."
My perception on this is simple. These strong Christians have a smile on their face. Having HOPE suggest we see the bright side. Everyone faces tragedy. We just have to keep picking ourselves up one more time. Don't we love to be around people who are good examples or who are compassionate toward us? When someone put their arm around us or touches our hand doesn't that tell us they love us and are concerned for our happiness? When we do that aren't we expresses our love and concern? When a little child says "Thank you" or "I Wove Vue" its because you have been a good example in saying those words. When we get up and go where we're supposed to and practice what we're supposed to and stop ourselves from saying things we would like to say when it would hurt someone we're overcoming temptations. We all have to do that.
And boy we better have a STRONG faith in Jesus Christ and stay away from those last two things. Nana had to look them up; moral relativism and militant atheism. I would rather play in the pool with the 3 year olds. I may have to grow up. Heavenly Father protects the simple minded but YOU are not simple minded.
Gain all the knowledge you can and be "Strong Christians" and finally endure to the end. Enduring to the end requires more than just being here till the end. We need to endure WELL to the end. Put a smile :) on your face. Poop happens. We all go through it. We've got each other. There is always a haven and someone to talk to (Heavenly Father and Grumpaw or Nana.)

FUTURE ROYALTY

These pictures depict what a prince and 2 princesses look like. They're party animals; they play, they swim at 9am or 9pm, they eat, they watch movies, they sleep late, they stay up late, they look beautiful and handsome and their slaves adore them. We want to know when they will be back to their summer castle?????? We'll be pining for them till they return.

(Please refer to Richelle and Randi's blog for other pictures.)

Birthdays

Hayden celebrated his birthday today with two of his Primary friends. What a fun day for him and his friends and his sisters and his cousins. Grandpaw and I were up and out of the house before 8:30 to pickup Derek, Carsen, and Jake to take them, along with a Pokemon cake and a Poodle cake and a cotton candy machine, to Hayden's house. We had a great time. Regina and her friends had a water slide, bubble machine, pizza, and ice cream. The kids were wet and happy. Hayden had a great happy smile on that sweet face and McKenna was happy to set on our laps and let us love her.

We had a great week and weekend and Memorial Day with kids and dogs and swimming. Thank goodness for Sunday and rest.

TOGETHER FOREVER

We love each other and we love our children and grandchildren and great children. We love the Lord and are truly grateful to Him for the great life we have and for blessing us so abundantly.

Ryan's Granduation

Here are a couple of pictures that Carlys took at Ryan's graduation. We had such a great time with Ryan, Michelle, the 3 little princesses,Richelle, and Randi. We celebrated and played and loved each other and cried when we had to part.

'It is the kind of suffering that comes from loving another so much.'

Couples Tag

I used to not really like tags, but I see that we haven't blogged for a week and a half and I'm glad to have something to write about:

♥ What are your middle names? Mine is Joan and Richard's is Lyle.
♥ How long have you been together? We met 12 years ago this coming September. We were married 11 years ago March 13th.
♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? Our first meeting was a blind date. Our next date was 2 weeks later.
♥ Who asked who out? Richard's brother and sister-in-law, Alan and Nancy, arranged our meeting. Richard ask me out on the date 2 weeks later to a high priest activity. I think he left safe in those surroundings. He says he thinks I felt safe in those surroundings.
♥ How old are each of you? Richard will be 66 in Aug. and Carlys will be 64 in July.
♥ Whose siblings do you see the most? Richard's of course. We see my brother Frank once or twice a year. We see Judy and Bud every 3 years whether they like it or not.
♥ Do you have any children together? No. It's not humanly possible.
♥What about pets? No. I have a stuffed otter.
♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Richard is to easy on Raelynn. I'm to hard on her. I don't believe he expects he expects enough out of her.
♥ Did you go to the same school? No.
♥ Are you from the same home town? No. How far apart can 2 people be. Richard is from Blackfoot, Idaho. I'm from Carrollton, Al. by way of Memphis, Tn.
♥Who is smarter? Richard is intellectually smarter. I have more common sense.
♥ Who is more sensitive? I (Carlys) am of course.
♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? Within 5 miles of the house. Anything that sounds goods at the moment.
♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Antigua
♥ Who has the craziest exes? Carlys of course.
♥ Who has the worst temper? Richard does UNLESS he speaks to Carlys in a rude manner.
♥ Who does the cooking? Richard does most of the time. He likes meat and potatoes most of the time and I would like to branch out a little more. If he wants what he likes he'll have to cook it himself. Sad but true.
♥Who is more social? Richard. I watch Raelynn most of the time. Richard doesn't even know she is in the room
♥ Who is the neat-freak? Neither one of us is a nut case about it. We like things clean and kinda neat and things in their place
♥ Who is more stubborn? Raelynn.
♥ Who hogs the bed? There's enough room for both of us.
♥ Who wakes up earlier? We are about even. Some days it's me. Most days it's Richard. He has a hard time sleeping most nights.
♥ Where was your first date? Mimi's. I, Carlys, thought it was a great start. I don't understand why Richard has never wanted to go there again.
♥ Who has the bigger family? Richard does and I love it.
♥ Do you get flowers often? Yes I, Carlys, do and they are always beautiful. Richard never gets flowers.
♥ How do you spend the holidays? Always with family. Just the way it should be.
♥ Who is more jealous? Neither one of us. No need to be.
♥ How long did it take to get serious? It took Richard a little longer than it took me. I was a goner when I met Nancy.
♥Who eats more? We both do our share.
♥ Who does the laundry? Carlys does. She doesn't like people to touch her wash.
♥ Who’s better with the computer? Have you seen Richard's hands. They are way to big to be using a computer.
♥ Who drives when you are together? Richard does most of the time. With Carlys' new car she is driving more around town and Richard is the passenger more often.

We're tagging anyone older than 50 that reads the blog.

Surprise Swimmer

Wednesday was a half day at school for 2 of the little Richards missionaries so we picked them up and it was an explosion from there. Check out Richelle's blog for the pictures of the gardening experiences. They were endearing. We have a piece of heaven in our back yard. It lays dormant until a little person enters it. Yesterday it was awake........

Jake joined us at 3. Becky, Emma, and Mikey joined us at 3:30. The sister missionaries joined us at 4:15. Richelle joined us at about 4:45. We sat down to dinner at 5 and the door bell rang during the prayer. We all laughed. It was a boy scout wanting to go over his eagle scout project paper work with Grumpaw. The scout and his Dad weren't hungry thank goodness because there was no more room in the kitchen.

We only have pictures of the pool Troll and his victims. When the Troll first got in the pool the victims just stood there with their mouths open. That was the first funny part. Then the Troll took control of the pool. Derek was pretty brave a couple of times and flashed by the Troll like lightening. But he slowed down for one second one time and he was Troll food from then on. It was great fun watching them try to evade the Troll and his cannon balls. Grumpaw doesn't usually get in the pool because of the cold water but he loved it on this day.

Pool Troll in his cave

Troll has him where he wants him. Carsen stayed out of reach.

Derek just couldn't learn to stay far enough away from the loooooooooong arms of the Troll.

Our Happy Life

Nana (I in this blog) and Grumpaw have such a happy life. Each and every one of you contributes to our happiness. We recognize you each face trials and difficulties but you are brave and courageous and real fighters. You never quit no matter what the obstacles. We are so proud of every one of you and we love you more than you know. You will find out when you age because your kids wear you out the way you wear us out and you learn to love it.
We have been very busy loving you a lot lately and Nana is pretty exhausted some Monday's. Grumpaw is fine. He just goes and makes a couple of pens or calls an old scout and he feels better.

Birthday cakes and other cakes and a bus trip with Carsen to the Wildlife Zoo and birthday lunches.

Wendy's Birthday

McKenna came in March and stayed a couple of nights. She is so excited about being the only child at Nana's. She brought 4 or 5 plastic bags full of clothes when she came. We've made a permanent bed on the floor next to our bed for little people. They are right next to me and I can turn over and pull a blanket up over them. Richelle and I took McKenna and Jake to the Zoo for Christmas Presents. We had fun. I love touching the stingrays. McKenna was not crazy about that. The stingrays wanted to suck on our fingers in case we had food. McKenna didn't want to have anything to do with that. She did miss her Mom after 2 days and was ready to make the trek back to Gilbert. She is such a cuddle bunny we love having her. She came this past weekend to visit overnight. She watered plants and looked like a MOVIE STAR.

Cute as you can see. She played on the Baja step of the pool and read books and worked puzzles. She is easy to bring home with us because she wants to come. WE LOVE YOU MCKENNA!!!!

We kept the 3 little Richards' missionaries for their parents so they could go away for their anniversary. (We certainly want them to be happy.) I stayed at their house and everybody was a lot happier, you know, screamin' Jake. We had a fun time, T-Ball, swimming, a movie. Jake was starting to like me until I took him to a scary movie. Now he wants to know why Nana would take him to a scary movie, Monsters vs. Aliens. I spent Monday in the bed till noon and vegged still Tuesday. I think I'm Ok now.
The next weekend the Hawkins went away and Sydney and Billy were with us for a couple of days. What a joy! They can stay anytime. They are so cooperative and adaptable. We thought we would have time for at least a couple of fun activities during General Conference weekend but Michael, Wendy's Husband, went in the hospital with an infection. Sydney and Billy could not have been more cooperative. They went where we ask and did what we ask. We didn't know what Michael's problem was in the beginning so their cooperation made our lives much easier and relieved a lot of stress. We are excited for Sydney to get her drivers license. She is READY! We are ready. She can come visit us more often. Please get her license. Estoy esperandole su llamada por telefono.

Michael's visit to the hospital was very stressful. Michelle's mother was a wonderful help. Michael would still be sick or dead if it weren't for Bobbi. We are tied to the Smiths in more than one way now. We loooovvvvveeee Bobbi. We worried so much about Michael and are so glad he is back at work and riding his bike again.

You've seen the pictures of Richelle and her surgery. We had her at our house for 3 days and cared for her as our 'Best Beloved'. It was so peaceful having her set in the yard with the flowers and Raelynn while I watered. It was so cool and comfy relaxing. Each year we have experiences thatbind each of us closer together. When you talk until 2 in the morning you get closer to a person. We're glad she is well and taking care of her little missionaries again, but we miss her and the boys visits.

I went to SLC to visit the 8th child and 14th grandchild in their new house. Found everything snowy and cold one day and sunny and warn the next. Had a fun relaxing time. Always do. We stripped the fireplace mantel so Suzanne decided all the other woodwork in the house will be done by someone else. Lots of work buts it's to be expected in a house built in about 1930.

Suzanne has given up skating in the Derby but is still managing. As a family they have taken up recreational skating. It's a great spring time activity for SLC and they are so close to great places to skate in downtown. I guess Rebecca will be the next Roller Derby Queen. Zack just hangs around adoring Rebecca what ever she is doing.

Well Grandpaw and Nana just hang around adoring each other too. I guess that is why life is so good. Gag.....

Trickters

My brother Bud was born on April first. We always thought he was the biggest joke around. But there is a bigger jokester in the family who is rather young. This is how the story goes from my end. Nana was so excited to get a GIFT from the Rodgers in Arroyo Grande, CA. (Side note: Suzanne's Bill was born in Arroyo Grande in 1964.) It was so sweet of Emily, especially; to send what I thought was an early Easter gift of chocolate. I wanted to open it when I could talk to Emily on the phone, so you can imagine how my mouth watered every morning and night as I looked at that giant Hershey Kiss

and wanted to take a big bite out of it. (I was running back and forth to the hospital to see Uncle Michael, so I was having a hard time catching her during the day.) Finally the day came and I called Emily and she was so innocent and sweet and I told her how excited I was to eat the chocolate so I took a great big bite and began to chew and I tried to be nice but I was glad she couldn't see my face.

PICTURE OF INNONCENCE

I wanted to gag and choke and spit. It was awful. It tasted very, very salty and chewy and I didn't want to swallow it. I didn't want to hurt her feelings so I told her it was very interesting and she started to giggle. And then she told me it was Play Dough and chocolate mixed together. And it wasn't for Easter it was for April Fools Day! Thank goodness for the Symphony Bar she sent because it got the bad taste out of my mouth. Is it your Mom or your Dad that is the bad influence on you? In any case Emily you never know when the NANSTER will strike. Keep your guard up.

p.s. I know there are jokesters in heaven otherwise my life would not be so funny.