Kittens, The Sequel

Annie and Jax have been with us over a week now.

Little Maggie passed away on Thursday morning in Molly's arms.

We are falling into a routine with them. Feed, play & purrrr, potty, nap, nap, nap, nap...

and do it all over again.

They are still on the bottle, but gradually going to solid food. And they are starting to figure

out the cat box.

I think dad has grow as attached as anyone.

Basket of Kittens

Molly came home last night with a basket of kittens. She found them just behind the building where she works. No sign of momma. Just three little squeeking kittens. The gal at the flower shop next to where she works took them to a vet to get advice on how to care for them. Their maybe 3 wks. old. She came home with a small bottle and some formula. They have to be fed every few hours. I haven't talked to Molly today, so I don't know how things went last night.

Molly is at school today, so I guess I'm technically kitten sitting... I guess that happens when your

a sucker for a cute face.

New Blonde

It's getting to be that time of year again.

I usually go to red hair, but this year I'm feeling more blond.

Canada VaCa...

Six days/Five nights on Canadian water in the Georgian Bay.

30 ft. boat

plenty of sunshine

warm weather

lots of new and old friends

good food

2 swim suits=

A pretty darn good time!

Summer VaCa

My super summer vacation is now just a memory.

But Oh boy, what a memory.

The best part was being able to be with Mark, Laura and the kids, and Chris & Bill.

Ofcourse Oakley, Baby-girl and Harley were pretty cool too...

Our 4th of July Celebration was awsome!

We had swimming, steak, sun and fireworks.

Mark did a great job at teaching me how to surf.

Being at the beach was so fun. I got some good photos, had delicious breakfast

burritos and caught some good rays and waves.

We spent a day at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. And a day at the Natural History Museum.

Family is a wonderful thing. And I was so glad to be able to share in a snap-shot of their lives

for a brief moment. My life is richer. And I will always treasure these memories.

Thanks guys!

You Know It's Hot When...

9 ways to tell if it's hot:

1. You WANT to take a cold shower.

2. You burn your legs getting into your car and the steering wheel is too hot to touch.

3. Your make up immediately runs off your face when you step outside.

4. All you want for dinner is a drink.

5. You are sweating even before you dry off from your shower.

6. The mailbox is just too far away from the air conditioning to worry about.

7. You have to wait until sun down to wash the car or mow the lawn.

8. Slush sounds better than ice cream.

9. Even the bugs outside are irritated.

Southern Tornadoes

On April 27th, 2011 at 6:30 a.m. I was in an airplane on the tarmac of Huntsville International

Airport. At the same time Arab, Alabama( a small town northeast of Huntsville) was being hit

with a tornado. During the course of the day hundreds of EF2-EF5 tornadoes ripped through the

states of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas.

The tornadoes that touched down were at times over a mile wide and hundreds of miles long.

380 people were killed. 236 of those were from Alabama. 6 of those were from Arab.

The plane I was in took off at about 7:00 a.m. and was probably the last fight out of Huntsville

for the day. Later that night I learned of the event while at Steph and Russ' Connecticut home.

The power was down for 5 days and cell phone use was sporadic at best. David and the kids did

the best they could with candles, coolers and a Coleman stove. I returned a week later at which

time the power was back up and running. We sustained no damage to our home and property,

but we have friends that had major damage or loss of everything.

Our hearts go out to those who have lost family, friends, homes, or possessions. Every loss is felt.

Go to Alabama Tornado Disaster 2011-Rascal Flatts "I Won't Let Go" You Tube Video to see.

Spring In CT. 2011

Well, I'm back from a great trip to Conneticutt.

I had a terrific time with everybody there.

The weather was much better than the weather back home!

Steph and I got to spend the day in NYC.

Did some fabulous eating- Steph and "Friendly's" were my favorites.

Got a first-class tour of Yale and the LDS Institute of Religion.

Took walks through beautiful parks and neighborhood streets.

Got to go to Peter Rabbit's House.

Made lots of cool stuff with Lego's.

Got Sophia to let me hold her one night after dinner.

I learned a new card game,(which more likely than not, I'll have forgotten the next time we play).

And I visited the bus stop a number of times...

But the VERY best part was being able to spend some time with Steph, Russ, Laura, Emma, Grant, Sophia, Mom & Dad, Jaz, Maggie, and Tom. I just love seeing them, having fun and chill-laxing.

Thanks to all y'all in making me feel at home and welcome. Thanks Emma, for letting me use your room- and for the special little something you slipped to me before I left. Thanks Russ, for sharing Steph with me. But most of all... Thanks Steph for being my sister and wanting to spend

time with me. I LOVE YOU!!!

That Pile of Clothes...

When we're down in Texas we like to go to a place called the "duty free" zone.

It's a magical place where you can buy things REALLY cheap. And there's no

evil tax on it. They sell clothes for example, by the pound. There are warehouses with piles

of clothing and fabric which they move around with fork lifts. These clothes are new and used.

Some still have store tags on them. I figure they buy store overages and extras at a reduced price

and then sell them by the pound.

One of my favorite buys there was a leather jacket for David. I ended up paying approximately

25 cents for it.

The only catch is that it's hot in the warehouses, you have to be willing to search through piles

of clothes, and occationally you come into contact with sleeping mexicans. (I guess that's more

than one catch...) You also have to give whatever you get a good washing before wearing. And

it is a real plus to have a good eye for sizes because you can't try anything on.

This last time I was there I got several shirts for myself, David and Ben. Jeans are another really

cheap item.

Texas Spring Break 2011

This last week David and I have been "Spring Breaking" in Mission Texas. We arrived in Texas on Sat. March 19th at a crack-house on S. Stewart Rd. (that's where our GPS(Kera)sent us). After a number of phone calls to Roy, we made it there. So just the highlights of the trip: We spent an afternoon at the Texas Museum of History. Went to Ropa Usada for some treasures in all the piles of clothes they have. Went to Progresso, Mexico for the day. Went to South Padre Island. Ate oysters. David tried one... Drank the BEST orange juice EVER! Stopped off at a local market and got wonderful mangos. Swam in the pool and layed out in the sun. Took walks around the park. Named a local resident rabbit(Buster Bunny). Learned to play a card game, "Hand and Foot" with Barbara and Roy.(The girls won the first night, and the guys won the second night of games). Ate local BBQ. Got to visit with Roy and Barbara. We learned about Roy's flight aircraft crew in WWII. And how he left 5 bottles of burboun on the tarmack before heading off to England. And how Barbara was dating 2 young men after the war and had to choose one of them...Roy got lucky. We had the best time ever!!! Thanks Roy and Barbara! WE LOVE YOU!

Spring Fever 2011

Spring has sprung in the South.
Wev'e had several days of beautiful weather and the landscape is showing it.
It tends to make the rest of us feel rather giddy too.
Ross was over the other day and we had some fun at the computer screen...

Snow Shots 2011

Here it is, a new year.
2011
January 10th.
Monday.

I'm sitting here in our kitchen looking out at the 4-5 inches of snow
that was left from last night.

This morning I got up, got dressed in something really warm and went
outside to find Ben's boogey-board. I first used it on the soft-slopping
hill in front of our house. When I was sure of the gravity I took it to the
BIG hill around the corner.

David video-taped one of my two runs down the hill. It was hilarious.
After that I had to come in for a cup of hot chocolate.

I might not have a long fuse, but I sure do burn bright.