HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPENCER, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAMMI, and HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

What a great weekend, celebrating Spencer, Sammi, and the wonderful Father's in our lives.  

Spencer celebrated his 23rd birthday on Thursday, and is as handsome now as he was when he liked to play airline captain 😀.  Spencer is one of the most kind, and loving people I know, and is also a great listener.  I loved our visits when we were in Chicago a few weeks ago.  He is learning to grow from challenges, and someday we are all going to want his autograph because he is going to be someone famous ~ Love you so much Spencer!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SAMANTHA TODAY!

Sammi turned17 years-old today.  How quickly they grow from that⬆ to this ➡.  She is smart, a great cook, and a super cookie maker. She is kind, and fun, and I love that she is always so thoughtful of others.  Samantha will be starting her Junior year of high school in the Fall.  Wherever she goes or whatever she decides to do in life, the world will be a better place because of her goodness and beauty, both inside and out. 

Happy Father's Day to the great Fathers in my life! 

To my Dad who always showed us how much he loved our Mom.  He was such a hard worker, but loved his ranch, his cows, and horses, his bowl of ice cream at night, and a good steak.  

To Kevin who has been my best friend for 48 years, and a great father to our children.  Life has been an adventure, and being a parent doubles the fun 😊.  I love that Kevin has such a strong testimony of the Gospel, I love his knowledge of Gospel Principles, and his faith in our Savior.  

And to Josh, Adam, Jonathan, and Chris - Thank you for being such wonderful husbands to your wives and amazing fathers to your children!      We love you so much!

Jonathan sharing his scooter with Sayre

Josh and his Girls, and Ben

A little explanation about Chris's shirt.  It was a gift from his kids for Father's Day today.  Remember when he used to love Poppy the Street Dog?  Well, now he loves otters - so if you see any good otter videos be sure to send them to him.  

A great Christmas photo of Adam and the kids

December 2022. 

You are all the Best Dad's Ever!

I DO LOVE AND APPRECIATE ALL OF YOU ~   Last Sunday I lost a good friend in the Ward to pancreatic cancer.  She was diagnosed in December, started treatment in January, and did well through May until suddenly she didn't.  She went downhill so quickly in just the last two weeks and I was sad not to be able to visit with her again, but she just wasn't up to it.  I was asked to help dress her in her Temple clothes this past Tuesday, and though it was sad to see how the disease had ravaged her small body, it was also a testament to the truth that our bodies really are just a temporary home for our Spirits, and once the body can't function any longer, the Spirit is gone.  So, thanks this week for your phone calls, text messages, hugs, the photos you sent, the children you shared, and the diet coke. When I was feeling droopy, you were there for me 💜

 HAPPY #24 ANNIVERSARY to Kim and Chris today - JUNE. is definitely a month for celebrations! 

Salt Lake Temple, June 11, 1999

Chris and Kim have found a way to always have fun, and make the best of every situation.  Sometimes when the day seems droopy, Dad and I will look at each other and say that we need to be doing something fun, we need to have more fun like Kim and Chris, so we'll sneak out of the house for a pedicure, or walk through Sam's Club.  Now, that may not sound fun or exciting, but anytime we are together and focusing on each other and not our computers, or the TV is a fun time.  

You are a blessing to our family and wish you many more years of joy and happiness. 

Another Anniversary . . .  Dad and I also celebrated our 48th Anniversary on June 6th.

What an adventure!  

Oakland Temple, June 6, 1975

11 moves, 4 children, 13 grandchildren, 4 dogs, Disneyland, Mt Rushmore, Washington D.C., Gettysburg, road trips to California, road trips to Iowa, road trips to Salt Lake City, Service Missions, and so much more ~  Even though we are feeling the bumps and bruises of getting older, it just keeps getting better!

We celebrated our anniversary by putting new flooring in our bathroom and bedroom. Thank you Adam!  It's not quite completed yet, but should be by tomorrow afternoon.  Adam has worked so hard and has done a great job.  Once the flooring is complete,  I want to paint 😁  

This has been a great time to do some purging and clean out our closets.  So many things I never use and haven't worn for ages - finding new homes for them this week.

Speaking of Adam - he and Cory also celebrated an Anniversary on May 22 - 

Denver Temple, May 22, 2004

We are so happy they live close by, and especially now that school is out we get to see them more often.  Also, thank you, Cory, for bringing me a box of biscuits from Cracker Barrel this week! (because when I took Shannon to breakfast one morning she ate all of mine😢)

SUMMER is looking like a busy time . . .

Hollie is busy with friends, but has promised to come see me this week

Eilis is going to Salt Lake City with a friend for a concert

Samantha is working at Jellystone RV Park

Emma is working two jobs, and just moved into an apartment

Spencer will be working and has promised to come see me this summer

Lily is spending time with friends, after a busy soccer season, and just went to the Temple

Ben is busy playing (it's nice to be 5)

Paul is playing soccer, and more soccer  

Blythe is lifeguarding at the community pool  

Max has extended his mission until December so he will be serving the member in Huntington Beach this summer

Grant is Blythe's boss at the pool😀 (good luck grant!)

Jake is always busy - summer, fall, winter, spring - he never stops 

Sayre is finishing his last days of Pre-school, and will be heading off with his Mom and Dad to Utah(for Dad's work), Idaho, and Colorado.

I wanted to share another thought this week that came from the book, Our Savior from Self-Doubt.  In a TED talk, Stanford University psychologist and author Carol Dweck, (queen of the growth mindset)  spoke of a high school in Chicago where the students were required to complete eighty-four units to graduate.  If students did not pass a unit, they did not receive a failing grade.  Rather, their report card read "Not Yet."  "Not Yet" implied that the students were still learning and still working to complete all that was required.  Dweck said, "If you get a failing grade, you think, I'm nothing, I'm nowhere.  But if you get the grade "Not Yet," you understand that you're on a learning curve.  It gives you a path into the future."  The students and their teachers discovered that "not yet" grades helped students maintain motivation to keep working instead of giving up.  They did not feel like failures but instead were at ease that there was still work to be done.  A "Not Yet" mindset helped students accept tasks that were difficult' it created kids who were hardy, resilient, and persistent.

Can we let it be OK that we are not finished and that there is still work to be done?  We are all in the state of "not" "yet" - we're not perfect yet, but we will be eventually.  Right now we can focus on the progress we've made thus far and on our next steps forward.  We can change our focus to who we are already, (because of God's hep) and be grateful instead of focusing on who we are not . . . yet.  I accept that I have a "Not Yet" grade in every area of my life.  There's a lot of work to be done.  Christ gives me hope.  His loving patience motivates me to keep trying.  It motivates me to be patient with myself and others.  

We should have known Blythe would grow up to be a fashion artist and Eilis would be her first test model😀

Cute Hollie knows how much her Mom loves snowmen

A great photo of Kim and Chris taken today

Okinawa 1995-94?

sleepyhead #!

sleepyhead #2

Congratulations Grant ~ 

Grant graduated on Sunday, May 21st.  We really felt blessed to be able to attend Grant's graduation ceremony.  He is so handsome and this is such a pivotal time in his life. 

(Spencer really is happy 

It is exciting to see these kids grow up, but also sad when I remember the days of him standing in a mud puddle covered with mud, or our first Grammie camp, or learning to drive in the Liberty HS parking lot.

He is planning to go to the local community college next year, and from there will decide what path to take to  change the world.  WE KNOW YOU WILL DO GREAT THINGS, GRANT 💚

Catch-up Time  I missed posting last week as we were in Chicago, so I have lots of  photos and memories to share.                                  

 So much summer fun already!                                                                            

Sayre wanted to ride his bike to school so Jonathan rode with him the 3 miles there, and rode three miles back home at the end of the day.  What a great Dad!  I bet both of them slept good that night 😴

Jake's last week of school and dressed like he's ready for a little vacations - maybe a little Aloha spirit -

Samantha came over after her last day of school  - We treated ourselves to  pedicures and those wonderful  back massages you get while sitting in the chairs, Yay!!!                                                             

Sammi and her tape and marker

Sammi spent the night and was helping us get ready for our trip to Chicago. She wandered into the bedroom and the carved trunk at the end of our bed caught her eye.  She asked if someday 😊 she could have it.  Then she asked if we had some masking tape and a marker.  She proceeded to go through our bedroom and my jewelry and put her name on things she would like to have . . . someday.  We had a really fun evening with her, and the next day was her first day of work.  She has a summer job at Jellystone RV park in Larkspur.  

 The story isn't quite over . . .  Wednesday the missionaries came over for a short visit and while we were sitting in the living room talking something blue on the wall behind the missionaries caught my eye.  Yep, it looks like Samantha was claiming my three small pictures hanging there 😂.

(Notice the blue piece of tape above the small picture)

 She had her name in the middle with arrows pointing at each of the pictures.

You go, Sammi!

We had a really nice time in Chicago with Chris, Kim, and the kids.  My favorite was sitting in their sunny back yard, reading, eating outside with Kim and Chris at an Indian Restaurant, Lululemon with Blythe, lunch with Grant, Blythe critiquing Spencers teeth, shampoo, and unshaven face all in one sitting, and Spencer being such a great sport, and last but not least, the night time run to the local gas station so we could all use the restroom, because we had a flooded kitchen and bathroom at Kim's house and had to turn the water off for a day (and a night) 😁

Ji-Chan repaired the swing and it held all of us 

YUM!

Outdoor dining at its finest

We got home on Friday just in time to unpack and go to the Temple on Saturday.  Hollie came up to help with Shannon and because Adam and Cory had to be in Denver for a soccer tournament through the weekend, we stopped on the way home and picked up Lily.  What fun and beautiful young ladies!  

Hollie cooked for us and was a great help with Shannon.  She did my nails, and then came out with a skin mask on that was pretty scary!  See the before and after ⬇

They looked so cute on Sunday so had to take a photo of the girls  -  Kate, please notice that Lily has a "doolie-bob" 😊

What is better than starting Summer with a baseball game?????

Jonathan, Kate, and Sayre headed to Milwaukee to watch the Giants beat the Brewers.  This is the first time Kate has been to a Giants game and they have won!

Nothing beats a baseball hot dog!

Mustard only 

Finished. up the week doing amortization charts for Math, and planting flowers with Jake - the latter was much more fun!  He came early Friday morning and we went to Home Depot to find some gardening gloves that were his size, and some flowers.  We have had so much rain that the ground was pretty soft, so he did a great job digging and planting.  Thanks Jake! 💗

This week we have had some ups and downs with Shannon.  I have seen a steep decline in her cognitive abilities and in anxiety and mood swings.  She has not wanted to take her medicine, but I think she is realizing that she feels better when she does.  She wasn't well this morning so I stayed home with her and then when Dad got home I went to a later Ward.  I fixed her breakfast and had her take her morning pills.  Tonight I put her pills on the napkins beside her dinner plate so she took them before eating.  She seemed better this afternoon and tonight, so I'm hopeful for a good week.  I loved that last night before going to bed I noticed the sign in the kitchen, compliments of Jake, "I can choose to be happy".  That is my motto for the week - whatever comes around - I can choose to be happy.