New Years in Orem :)

New Year's Day after church. Happy 2012!


Claire in her Sunday dress with static electricity hair!


Jack and his playmate, Parley. Parley's a good sport even when he is upside down:)


Meet Mr. Bo-Jangles. He's hard to catch, but doesn't seem to mind sitting on Claire's lap in the high chair:)

Jack loves the train set. We spent a lot of time coupling cars and sending them around the track and through the tunnel!


Parley is so patient with being picked up and hauled around - not a finicky cat at all!



Jack is usually in a good mood, even in his car seat. Claire helps to entertain him.



See that look? "Who me?" We just finished a game of hop down the stairs.



Claire dressed up like Snow White. She has quite a few costumes and has fun dressing up. She is learning to count higher numbers as you can see on the wall. Megan does pre-school with her and she is reading little words and having fun.

It was a fun vacation week for me. I stopped thinking about all my duties back in Galesburg and just enjoyed Megan & Brian's company and playing with Claire and Jack.

OK, so back to work tomorrow:(
Hey, I'm half finished with the year:)

Michael is an orthodontist !

We enjoyed a wonderful graduation dinner with Michael and Lea at St. Louis University. After 4 years of BYU, 4 years of dental school, and 2 and a half years of orthodontic training, he is ready to practice his profession!

A Happy Thanksgiving

A fall picture of Mike, Lea, Mazy, and Evey. They hosted our Thanksgiving meal this year in St. Louis. They will be moving to Colorado the middle of December as Michael will graduate from Orthodontic School and begin practicing in Grand Junction and Glenwood Springs, CO.


Evey is 8 months old now and crawls just about everywhere - even up the steps if she gets the chance:) She is already pulling herself up to the furniture and getting her balance! She is a happy baby, always returning your smile.

Mazy is trying out Grandma's ipad - given to all SPED teachers in the school district this year. Mazy knows all about using touch screens!! Her ankle is bandaged up after spraining it over the weekend.




Evey talking and reaching for the ipad, which Mazy then protects:)

Hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving.

Labor Day Visit

It's always fun to visit Mike, Lea, Mazy, and Evey:) Michael barbecued a superb steak on his grill the first night and we brought in Pappy's ribs another night. Yum, Yum!
We also visited a butterfly house and an historic settlement. I saw cotton growing on a plant which I'd never seen before.















Grandpa and Mazy watching together.



The butterflies seemed to like Rob's red shirt!






Lots of fun, then back to school and work:)

Pres. Obama Visits GHS Aug. 17, 2011

President Obama made an impromptu visit to Galesburg High School Wednesday! He was on his way to the little village of Alpha, just north of here, and decided to stop his bus right here. He went to the football field and watched practice for about 20 minutes, then spoke with the coach and the team. He then visited and shook hands with a group of student athletes who just happened to be on the field getting their pictures taken. Some administrators and teachers heard the "rumor" when someone saw his bus pull in and made it to the field. I was one of the "too late" ones. I got as far as the sidewalk by the band door and a Secret Service man said, "Sorry m'am, you can't go any further." So a group of us waited just to see if his bus would pull out in our direction, but no, they took the rear exit, so all we got was a grand view of his big black bus (and a big red one that accompanied it.)
So, GHS is becoming a Democratic President magnet - first Pres. Clinton, now Pres. Obama :) Hey, he is the sitting president!

Michael & Brian - if you want to see a few teachers shaking his hand, go to galesburg.com for more pictures. I saw Mrs. Eisemann and Mr. Wolfe whom you would know.

Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

That song popped into my head today - guess I am recalling what a great summer I have had, but it is coming to an end as school begins on Monday. "I wish that summer could always be here!"

My last escape was to St. Louis last week to visit Mike, Lea, Mazy, and Evey. Mazy and I got to cool off in the apartment complex swimming pool one evening. Michael was busy going to school, work, and working on his research project. Lea is still recuperating from surgery. And Evey is sweet and happy and just learned to flip over:)






Yep, they're cute!

Cincinatti :)

I enjoyed a visit with Jim & Jolene - also got to see Lyndsay and Jill! It was just as hot there as it has been in Illinois and everywhere else. But we escaped the heat, mostly by SHOPPING, always fun because there are so many malls!

We went down to the riverfront on a Friday night, the one time we ventured out in the heat. There was a bluegrass band playing that we enjoyed. Cincinnati is really a nice little "big" city, clean, with lots of activities.

Holy Smoke - I never realized how much we look alike!

We met up with Lyndsay on Saturday who joined us for some shopping, then home for Chinese take-out. All is well with her, her job, and I met her dog who came along to visit.

Jill was out of town for a wedding, but met us for lunch on Monday. Jim, Jo, and I had been shopping at a neat resale shop where we found some great bargains:) Jill continues to travel quite a bit for her job with Chiquita.

Thanks Jim & Jo for a fun and relaxing vacation!