It's almost over...

We'll be heading back home today after a week in Utah.
We have enjoyed visiting family and friends - some friends that I have
not seen for 20+ years - and it's like no time had passed.

I am, though, looking forward to getting home, and getting some of my
photos uploaded -

Posts to come soon!

An afternoon with Bobbi...

This is my cute and multi talented-scrapbook queen-dance teaching friend Bobbi!

I've known her for about 11 years! A few of my loaves of bread

have entered her home, so she asked if I'd show her how to make it!

Don't you love her cute apron?

She let me wear one too!



She has an ancient Bosch mixer - said she got it for a wedding present 30 or so
years ago... it takes a licking and keeps on ticking!

I love that the Bosch mostly kneads it for the baker all on it's own!

Doesn't take much elbow grease!

What a lovely dough ball! Ready to rise!

She stole the camera from me... Love the apron!

(I also love her scrapbooking station in the background!)

And then she brought me a warm loaf!

Not bad pay for an hour's worth of work!

(although it wasn't much work... glad to visit with you, Bobbi!)

A look back...

Three years ago we had a long.... for us, anyway... summer vacation. We drove to Northern Utah, across Wyoming, down into Colorado, through New Mexico and back home. We drove over 2200 miles that trip... Mark driving most because my TN was acting up and I wasn't well medicated. Nevertheless, I was looking thru some pics.. and found this cute one of Jessica. She was 9 at the time.. and we went up Pikes Peak with my brother and his family. We stopped in a beautiful area for our picnic lunch - and loved the quaking aspens there...
Now?? she is growing up... somehow she's now got her ears pierced, and will be starting Junior High in a month.. where has the time gone?

We'll be heading North again.. out of the desert... in a few days.. looking forward to seeing some old friends... and hanging out with family!

Okay, Okay!

Yes, I know I need to update... will try to come up with something clever today... hmmm.

My Dad

I love my dad.

I am grateful he chose a beautiful wife.

I am thankful he did things with me.

(I don't know if that's really me, though..)

He always provided an adequate and safe home for our family.

When he became a Grandpa - to Megan Michelle.

Megan will soon make him a Great Grandpa.

Summer 2009And with my sweet boy Brennan... Summer 1996

Thanks Dad - I love you, and Happy Father's Day!

Friday Night Lights...

Friday night clouds- and the sun setting..

We were headed towards Scottsdale for a Drive-in Double Feature...

Mark noticed how ORANGE the sky was..
We loaded up the lawn chairs...
Some sandwiches,
Caramel popcorn,
Buttered popcorn,
Sonic drinks...
A mom, a dad...

and a coupla cute girls...

(the boy was gone with the Scouts to a cabin..)

Oh, and a pig and a monkey came too..
The weather was beautiful - even took some blankets..

it tried to rain, but we only got a few sprinkles.

Although there is no longer playground equipment up near the screen,

the drive in can be a fun place...

No more poles with speakers on them to hang on your car window..

Bring a radio and tune it in (my Zune was awesome !)..

Hope that the kids nearby aren't too rowdy.

Maybe the girls will fall asleep in the car -

oh, and maybe I will too.

If double headers started at 6ish, maybe I'd see more of the

second movie!

A finished project

When fabric is on sale at Joann's, I often will buy, not always sure what I'll make..

I started this a few weeks ago - and finally finished it today - Hope it doesn't make your

eyes buggy... I know that stripes get me a little.

Let me say I am NOT a regular quilter.. there is no handsewing here - it's just squares and

all machine stitched.. and it just has the stripes on the back. Not even a real binding..

I really did try to make a pattern - really..

Anyway, I'm proud of it. There is also something oddly satisfying in finishing off a spool of thread! It is for my sister who is having a baby in the next few weeks...

A night out.. with my baby...

Who taught this kid manners?

A few weeks ago, we found ourselves alone with Mallory on a Friday night.
We tried to find a place for dinner that wouldn't have a long wait...

it had been a long week, and we were hungry.

Suddenly it dawned on us to go to The Landmark !

We hadn't been there in quite sometime!.

It is an old two story churchbuilding in Mesa, West of downtown. Our first apartment was only a few hundred yards away from it, but way back then, we in no way could afford to eat there! They have a salad ROOM, not a salad bar.. but a salad ROOM! All kinds of thinks like quail eggs and pickled stuff...It's kind of a fun place.

It has beautiful wall paper, wooden divider type things that have old china pieces on display. Probably the best part of the meal is that they give you SORBET , a small scoop, between courses to "cleanse your palate". Yum! The lemon sorbet is the best, but we had raspberry this night.

Mallory was being her usual fruitcake self.. it was fun to hear her talk- without any competition for attention from her siblings. She was getting goofy putting her pinky up in the air... She absolutely LOVED the chocolate mousse for dessert - we split one- yum!

I suppose I shoulda made myself a little more presentable..

Blog-avoider

Yep. That's me. I am going to try and do better.

Here's a fun picture - rats... doesn't want to load.. I'll try later!

We met Anthony about 14 years ago! When Mark & I moved to Oregon, we knew no one there!
We asked around at church for referrals for a babysitter - Brennan was only a month old, and I had to go back to work.

Anthony's mom Kim was who we were referred to! She was a nurse- now doing child care- and the fit was wonderful. She lived not far from us, so we dropped off Brennan on our way to work.
Kim was wonderful- she had a houseful of fun kids she tended - and they always had fun.

Not knowing anyone in Oregon- the Libonati's kind of took us in as family- I still consider them family now. Anthony was just a little guy then - maybe 8 years old? Precocious little guy - tough, he played ice hockey in a league. Well- he is still playing, although now in a semi pro status. He is all grown up and married! Wow! We were able to meet him for lunch on Memorial Day when he was in town for a Hockey tournament. We had a great time visiting with him and catching up on his family. We've all reconnected via Facebook - so that was great.

It was great to have a little time with him - now we have to figure out how to see his parents, Kim & Dana again- Guess we'll have to make a trip up north again!

While in OR, we also had a chance to become acquainted with the Jazz group New York Voices.
Dana met Darmon Meader in New York - a birthday present from Kim, if I remember. Kim Nazarian, of the group, came out to help Dana with a workshop for his Choir kids, and one night she was at their house - and we were invited to come and listen! Dana on the piano, Kim N singing, and Glen, Dana's brother, on the drums I think. It was awesome! I got a tape recording of Kim singing an acapella Somewhere Over The Rainbow! It was the best - also Soon It's Gonna Rain - I wish I could find that little cassette tape - although it probably won't sound so great anymore.

Anyway - memories - of the great time we spent in OR!!

Happy Mother's Day!

It's hard to find the words to say how much I miss my mom.

She left us far too early.

I'm sure that I didn't tell her often enough how very

thankful I was to her.

But, because she was a Mother, she knew.

Here she is, age five, with her favorite flowers - Peonies.

I don't know where this picture is, probably Illinois,

where she grew up. We also had them at our

house in Magna, UT, other places the climate wouldn't

support them. But she loved them.

Mom with her parents Frank and Jessie White, and her brother Larry.

I don't know if this one above is before my parents married?

I believe so, though.

February 1969 - I was age 2 - my parents had been married

not quite 5 years, with 3 kids 3 and under. I don't know how she did it!

Somewhere along the road, my mom started wearing flowers

in her hair. She had a little drawer with all different colors

of silk flowers, and an abundance of bobby pins to put them

in her hair. Mom & Dad came to visit us in Oregon - we moved there

shortly after Brennan was born. I know it was tough for

them for us to be away - but we made some great memories when

they came to visit. Mom's parents left Arizona in April every

year, and went to Canby Oregon with their trailer, and parked

it on the land of some friends. We went to visit them

this particular summer , and stopped at a roadside market

for fruits and Vegetables, and to see goats that climb in the trees!

I could go on and on with stories about my mom. She was

a wonderful woman, who loved Jesus Christ and wanted to

share her testimony with anyone she met. She loved her children

and grandchildren, and read to them whenever she could. She also loved her

heritage - she loved to do family history, and was thrilled to go to

the Netherlands - place of her mother's birth, in 2004.

A year or so ago, I ran into some friends of my parents at a

bookstore, and Elaine said that I reminded her of my mom.

That was one of the greatest compliments I ever received.

I miss her so.

I resemble that remark!

At work today Dawn asked me if I had abandoned my blog.

Um. Didn't mean to.

I'll try harder.

Not to, I mean.

Here's a pic to tide you over...

Mark had a birthday - I made chocolate ganache to put on his cake.
I didn't eat any of it. But everyone else seemed to like it.
He's now in his 40th year! Woo HoO! Love ya honey!

Seriously????

Mark got a new book for his birthday.

called

A MAN, A CAN, A PLAN

No, not that kind of can...

it contains

50 Great Guy Meals even YOU can Make!

The following has to be the most disgusting of the bunch..,

the one at the bottom...

Spaghettio's, 2 eggs + 2 egg whites,

2 Tbsp shredded Parmesan, Milk & garlic powder.

It's like a Spaghettio's Fritatta.

As Tara would say...

Seriously??

And then she was TWELVE!!

Bright and early one April Morning, 12 years ago, Miss Jessica came to our Family.

She was named after two of her Great Grandmothers -

Tjitske Germeraad (Jessica in Dutch)- my grandmother

and

Esta Marcella Webb- Mark's grandmother.

She's wanting to grow up - of course I don't want to let her.

I had to wait until I was 16 to get my ears pierced -

Mom said... if God had wanted holes in your ears,

He would have put them there.

But.. Mark convinced me we shouldn't make her

wait that long..

so... Voila... holes.

Jessica has a beautiful voice - plays the flute, and Grandma Brown teaches her piano.
Her birthday was piano day - so she got to see Nana.

Riding in the front seat for the first time.. on a trip to Sonic!



Our friend Tara stopped by - always good for
a chocolate bar and a hug for the girls!

For a party, Jessica invited some friends to go see

HANNAH MONTANA!!! AAACCCKKK!

(actually enjoyed it...I did!)

Kylan is a cousin, Erin is a neighbor -

these two have a lot in common,

besides the obvious. They also

both love TOMATOES!

Celeste is in Jessica's class at school.

At the theatre, all sugared up.

Came Home and Frosted Cake.

I love you , my Jessica!

How to stay young!

We all need to read this one over and over until it becomes part of who we are!
HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Try everything twice. On one woman's tombstone she said she wanted this epitaph:
Tried everything twice...loved it both times!

2. Keep only cheerful friends.?The grouches pull you down.

(keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches)

3. Keep learning: Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever.

Never let the brain get idle.
'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's!

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

And if you have a friend who makes you laugh,
spend lots and lots of time with HIM/HER.

6 The tears happen: Endure, grieve, and move on.

The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves.
LIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love:

Whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.
Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health:
If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it.

If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips.

Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county, to a foreign country,

but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
I love you, my special friend.

11. Forgive now those who made you cry. You might not get a second chance.

Remember! Lost time can never be found.

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

There were some really cute pics that I got in an email with this..

But I don't know how to save them and upload them... bummer!

She's got lots of Glass!

Monday night we went with our friends/neighbors the Haws' to the Desert Botanical Gardens near Phoenix. There is currently a Dale Chihuly exhibit there - the blown glass is spectacular!

The exhibit is there until the end of May, I believe, so if you are local, I'd encourage you to attend if you can, but make reservations, check their website at http://www.dbg.org/ . It's fabulous!