Grandma X 3!!!!!!!

Well, if you have read Casey's blog, you know our exciting family news. Casey and Cody are going to have a baby. The due date is July 12, 2009. So, if the baby is on time, I will be in Washington DC when he makes his appearance and probably won't see him in person until he is 3 weeks old. Wah!!!!! I love to hold those newborn babies and I sure wanted to be there to help Casey. I am so glad that their work schedule will make it easier for them to be with the baby and catch naps when they need it. I hope I will be able to be of some use to them when I return. After all, that is supposed to be the privilege of being the grandma, to be able to help with the newborns. :))

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Thanksgiving it officially over and so we can start singing Christmas carols and enjoying the season. The Christmas tree goes up today and the cat will be pleased because he really likes to sleep underneath it. I love to play the carols and have bayberry or pine scented candles going, and feel all warm and cozy in the house. I love to set up my nativity scene (which I bought in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) and just generally enjoy this time of year. We get to sing carols at church. I like that. I hope everyone has time to let the "reason for the season" sink in just a little deeper. Merry Christmas, everyone.

Where were you?

I was 5 years old when President Kennedy was assassinated. I was at home with my Mom and younger brother and sister when the neighbor came running over and said to turn on the radio, that the President had been shot. We lived in Bermuda at the time and we didn't get TV until about 4 pm, so the radio was where we got "breaking news". I didn't quite understand what was going on, but I skipped down to the bus stop to meet my older brother and sisters and announced to them that the President had been shot. My brother responded, with some disdain, "Nuh-uh, that was Lincoln." and we argued about it all the way home. I don't remember much more except watching the funeral on TV. As, I got older I became interested in the detail surrounding the assassination and became somewhat of a conspiracy buff I guess. In the past 10 years, I have read many of his speeches. He had the power to inspire and I really think we would have avoided much of the Vietnam war and the turbulence of the 60's if JFK had gone on to serve a 2nd term. The following is an excerpt from one of his speeches that I have always loved:

I have, therefore, chosen this time and this place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived — yet it is the most important topic on earth: world peace.What kind of peace do I mean? What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children — not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women — not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.
If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.

I often wonder what our world would be like if he had lived, much the way I wonder what would have been different had Lincoln lived to oversee Reconstruction. This day every year, I relfect on that and wonder if we will ever have "peace for all time."

Our Next President

Well, we knew history would be made no matter what in this election. November 4th was a historic night for our nation. Record numbers of voters chose the first black president for the United States. John McCain's concession speech was gracious and eloquent. Barack Obama's acceptance speech was inspiring and even though I didn't vote for him, I had a lump in my throat after listening to him. This part especially, touched me:

"And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too."

My 8th grade students were excited about this election. We spent the month prior to election day studying about the election and talking about the candidates and learning about the electoral college and what it would take to win. On election night they had the assignment to watch the coverage and keep track of the states and listen to the speeches. The next day they were excited to have history made in their lifetime and excited to understand that in 4 years they would be voters too and that Barck Obama would probably be running for re-election.

Their excitement is contagious. I have a lot of hope that positive changes can be made in our country. Barack Obama is a family man with strong moral values, an honest man with integrity. I could never say that about our last Democratic president. But Obama has my respect and support as long as he supports the Constitution. This is our system of government, the best in the world. He deserves every chance to do good for our country.

God Bless America, land that I love.

From Laura's Tag Post

I just read Laura's blog and decided to post using the tags she had. They sounded fun. So, the 6th picture in the 6th folder in My Pictures is....

this one! This is a picture of my older brother and two sisters, Butch, Dell and Faye. It looks like it was taken Christmas of 1957, just two months before I was born. My Dad was stationed in France and this picture is in the apartment they lived in. Dell is holding the Dolly. Wait, this can't be 1957, does Faye look like she is 3 years old? Maybe she does...anyway, I have always thought this picture was of Christmas right before I was born. :)

Now, the 8's

8 favorite TV shows - The Amazing Race, Survivor, 2008 World Series of Poker, Friends, Seinfeld, Bill O'Reilly, Glen Beck, Cash Cab

8 things that happened yesterday - I caught a cold, Jake got his driver's license, I had 3 students for lunch detention, kept score at an 8th grade girl's basketball game against Declo that went into overtime, talked to Laura and Carter on Skype, joined the KLIX loyal listener club, emailed Jean

8 things I am looking forward to - getting over this cold so that I can sleep, Thursday when Casey and Cody get here and we babysit Halle, during fun Friday at school we are going to learn the zombie dance from Thriller. Ever since I saw 13 Going on 30, I have wanted to learn that dance., Election Day, just so the suspense will be over, Christmas when Laura, Josh and Carter come home, spring break when we get to go visit in Mississippi, having more grandchildren, retirement

One of those "get to know you" things

My Mom sent this to me through email and I figured it was a good enough thing to blog. It is a good way to learn some things about people you know. So, copy it and fix the answer to reflect yourself and post it on your own blog or in the comments.

(x ) Gone on a blind date (x ) Skipped school ( x ) Watched someone die ( x ) Been to Canada ( x ) Been to Mexico (X ) Been to Florida ( X ) Been on a plane ( X ) Been lost ( X ) Been on the opposite side of the country ( x ) Been to Washington , DC ( X ) Swam or played in the ocean (x ) Cried yourself to sleep ( X ) Played cops and robber ( x ) Recently colored with crayons ( x) Sang Karaoke ( x ) Paid for a meal with coins only? ( X ) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't? (x ) Made prank phone calls ( X ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose ( X ) Caught a snowflake on your tongue ( X ) Danced in the rain ( x) Written a letter to Santa Claus (x ) Been kissed under the mistletoe ( X ) Watched the sunrise with someone you care about ( X ) Blown bubbles (x ) Gone ice-skating ( x ) Been skinny dipping outdoors

1. Nickname: Railerhouse, Tio, Munge
2. Mother's name? Helen
3. Favorite drink? icy cold coca-cola with a real cherry in it.
4. Body Piercing? Ears
5. Tattoo? No
6. How much do you love your job? a lot
7. Ever been caught 'in the act'? almost
8. Favorite vacation spots? Diana's porch, Mom's swing, Faye's house, Boston
9. Ever been to Africa? only in the movies
10. Ever eaten cookies for dinner? Yes
11. Ever been on TV? YES
12. Ever steal any traffic sign? Yes, I used to have a yield sign in my bedroom
13. Ever been in a car accident? Yes.
14. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? 4
15. Favorite salad dressing? 1,000 Island
16. Favorite pie? boston cream
17. Favorite number? 8
18. Favorite Movie? It changes, depending on my mood, but I would have to say the one I like to watch over and over is "While You Were Sleeping"
19. Favorite holiday? Thanksgiving, at least, the Thanksgivings of my past when it was just family, food and watching the Cowboys play football. Before someone who shall remain nameless criticized my cooking, choice of food and pretty much everything about me. Now holidays are only enjoyable when I have just my little family, because I never get to spend holidays with my Mom or my siblings.
20. Favorite dessert? chocolate molten lava cake
21. Favorite food? crab - steamed crabs, crab legs, crab cakes like you get in Maryland.....mmmmm crab (no imitation krab - yuk)
22. Favorite day of the week? Even though I like my job, I am always happy when Friday at 3:05 rolls around.
23. Favorite brand of body wash? Bath and Body Works Sweet Pea, or Lime Verbena
24. Favorite toothpaste? Crest
25. Favorite smell? roses like from Grandma Van Noy's garden and ocean air or rain. I love the way my kids smell when they hug me (except when they stink, right Laura?)
26. What do you do to relax ? get my jammies on, get in the bed, watch TV, surf the net, play pogo, read, Guitar Hero is a good way to get your mind off other things.
27. Brothers & sisters? Butch, Dell Faye, Junior and Diana
28. How do you see yourself in 10 years? retired and grateful
29. Furthest place you will send this message? Mississippi
30. Who will respond first? You only have to answer this one if you are going to email it. I think Laura and Casey responded at about the same time.

September 11th

First thing this morning, I put out the American Flag outside of our house. Today is called Patriots Day. September 11, 2001 is one of those defining moments of life. You never forget where you were when you heard, and I will never forget the awful feeling in the pit of my stomach as events unfolded and I realized the extent of the tragedy.

Today I talked with my students about the day and showed a video of the events of the day. They were barely 6 years old when it happened and really don't remember a lot about the day. I think it is important to remember. Remember what happened, and how our lives were changed forever. Remember the sacrifice of all people who have died in order to insure our liberty. And remember that freedom often comes at a high price, particularly to those who were directly affected.

In the weeks after 9/11, Americans came together. Flags were flown, songs were sung, memorials were presented, money was collected, and we vowed that terrorism would not prevent us from living our lives with a sense of security and peace. Since those first few months, we have splintered again, and some people even believe that our own government was responsible for those planes going into those buildings. People who think that was dishonor those who died that day, particularly the policemen and firefighters who died doing their duty, and those on flight 93 who realized that unless they took control of that plane, hundreds more people would die.

I hold this day with particular reverence. I personally knew two of the people who were on board flight 77, the plane that went into the Pentagon. This day is a tribute to them and to all who had to sacrifice their lives through the cowardly acts of muslim extremists. This day particularly, I pray for our country. I pray that God will bless our country and countinue to allow us the freedoms and liberties we have heretofore enjoyed.

Land of the free, home of the brave.

Temple Dedication and a New Stake

Last Sunday, August 24, was the dedication of the Twin Falls Temple. The day before that was the youth cultural celebration which Jake took part in. I got to watch the performance and hear President Monson bless the youth of the region. I was so grateful that my son was part of the celebration and a recipient of that blessing. Jake has quite an eventful week. He went on a 50 mile hike with his scout troop and got home Friday morning in time for a few hours rest and then off to dress rehearsal for the cultural celebration. They got home about 9:30 that night and then were up early saturday morning to practice, practice, practice, until the acutal performance for the prophet. President Monson and President Eyring were there and the youth put on a wonderful performance.

Then we were at the 9am session for the temple dedication. We got to watch the cornerstone ceremony and participate in the Hosanna shout. It was a very special day.

Then today at church we were told that a new stake was being form, the Twin Falls South Stake, of which our ward will be a part. we will have a stake conference at the new Twin Falls Stake Center on Spetember 14th. Then a new stake center will be built next spring off of Orchard Drive. Until then, we will use the old stake center on Maurice Street as our stake center. It is exciting to see how Twin Falls is growing spiritually.

A'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I finally got my grades for my 2 master's classes I took this summer. A's in both! Yay!! I guess I can do this!

Philly and Gettysburg

Well, I have been home for a week from Philly and Gettysburg and I leave tomorrow to go to Ashland University in Ohio to begin my master's classes. It remains to be seen how well this old brain can function. I had a great time in Pennsylvania and learned a lot. If you are ever in Philly make sure you go to the National Constitution Center and go through the permanent exhibit. It is just awesome. Here are some pictures of me in Gettysburg. The one at the right is with Dr. Gabor Boritt, who is the nation's leading scholar on Abraham Lincoln. The other one is me at Little Round Top - "Meade held the high ground"

Gettysburg was full of reenactors because it was the anniversary of the battle. It was really neat to walk down historic downtown and see all of these people in period clothing.

In Philly, we stayed in the historic district. I have lots of pictures from that one too, so I will show a few.

This is a nice picture - the liberty bell with Independence Hall in the background. We asked the guide if Nicholas Cage actually got to go up into the bell tower and he said no.

This is the memorial in front of the tomb of the unknown soldier in Washington square. I really liked the quote "Freedom is a light for which many men have died in dark."

And this one is the Graff house, sometimes called the Declaration House. This is where Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence. The houses are so narrow becaused they were taxed on how much frontage they had.

In Philly and Gettysburg I was again impressed with what a blessed country we live in. The liberties and freedoms, first expressed in the Declaration of Independence, then guaranteed by the Constitution, are what made the sacrifice at Gettysburg so important.

"...It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. "

God bless us and God bless America.

Gumbo - it's whats for dinner

Yum! Chicken, sausage, shrimp, okra and all kinds of seasonings. This is one of my very favorite things to eat. Normally, there would be crab claws in there too, but they are out of season right now. Gumbo is the Swahili word for okra, so it truly isn't gumbo unless you have the okra. I don't make this very often, but every once in a while nothing else will satisfy my taste buds. We usually have this Christmas Eve. When Nate and Meg were engaged we invited her over on Christmas Eve for some gumbo. She got confused as to what it was called and when her Dad asked her what she was going to do Christmas Eve, she said "Going to Silvesters for some guano." (bat poop) Nowadays, we call it guano as much as we call it gumbo. However, this is a very tasty soup so I imagine it taste nothing like guano. You must also have some rice to serve it over, and some crusty bread (I like baugettes the best) to serve with it. Anyway, we are having some tonight!

Election '08

Even though I disagree with Glenn Beck over public schools, there are a lot of things I do agree with about and more importantly, he really cracks me up. So, I saw an election sign on Lance's blog, so I thought I would post my own. :)

Father's Day

Father's Day is tomorrow and is always a bittersweet day. My father passed away 15 years ago and I miss him. I wish he could be here to know his grandchildren and great grandchildren. He was a funny loving guy and someone you could talk to. He was a retired Air Force veteran. I remember talking to him on the phone when I was at BYU and he asked me how my money was holding out. I told him that my debts were all paid but there wasn't much left over and he said "Not even a quarter to buy a candy bar with?" and we both laughed. A few days later, I got a card from him with a quarter taped in it. He did those kind of little things that could always cheer you up. I could always count on him to stick his finger in my ear when I was pouting to which I would always respond " Da-ad!!" He would never let me sass my mother. He was hardworking and I always knew that he loved me.




Missing you Daddy. Happy Father's Day!

Relections on a particulary difficult school year

Well, my summer break officially began on June 4th at 2:30pm. I must congratulate myself for getting through this 2007-2008 school year without a) seriously injuring a student and b)resisting the tempation to take up alcoholic beverages or mind altering substances.

We had 130 students and approximately half of them were underachievers and intent on doing anything other than schoolwork while at school. We lectured, we rewarded good behavior, we had parent/teacher conferences, we had parent/teacher/student conferences with the principal thrown into the mix most of the time. We gave detention, we gave fun Fridays, we had after school tutoring, morning tutoring, lunch detention, lunch tutoring...it just didn't seem to matter what we did, we just weren't getting through.

As much as I lectured these kids and got onto them about proper behavior and treating each other with respect, and all the eye rolling and huffs and puffs in response, I thought the school year would never end.

I teach with the best group of teachers you could ever ask for. Each of us has a different teaching style and usually each of us can reach a different group of kids and nuture them and we have some positive experiences along the way. That wasn't happening with these kids and it really wasn't until the last week of school that we finally realized that we had done some good along the way.

One of the positive things that comes from having this kind of year is that you learn so much about truly effective discipline. The other good thing is that you realize that this type of class doesn't come around very often. Thank goodness for that.

Teachers get very little respect in the United States. Constantly on talk radio, public school teachers are bashed, particulary by people like Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity. They dislike all teachers because of the teachers union. They want choice in public education. They have never seen a group of dedicated teachers who truly want the best for the students go through a school year like the one I just went through. And on that subject, I have an opinion I would like to share about choice and the voucher system particularly. If you pass legislation that would give vouchers to parents to take their children to any school, public or private, then you are also going to have to give those vouchers to parents who homeschool their children. I know many families who successfully homeschool their children and who would continue to do so. The problem comes in when parents in the lower socioeconomic bracket discover they can get a lot of money for their children if they educated them at home. That will induce a lot of parents who are ill qualified and undereducated themselves to pull their children out of school in order to boost the family income. What you will end up with is whole generations of people with little or no education. Crime, unemployment, and a welfare state will result.

Public education in the US has its problems, yes, but it still allows a good ecucation for all of its people, even insures it. Those who want to change it need to think the process through very carefully and work all consequences of change before they alter it.

Me, too

It has been so long since I posted that I am going to borrow Casey's list and post my version. I like doing these kinds of things. So...

1. Where is your cell phone? ....................bookbag
2. Your significant other?......................computer chair
3. Your hair?....................................brown...ish
4. Your mother? ................................. dear
5. Your father?.................................. missed
6. Your favorite thing?.......................... hugs
7. Your dream last night?........................confused
8. Your favorite drink...........................Coca-cola
9. Your dream/goal?..............................eternal family
10. The room you're in?..........................sanctuary
11. Your children?................................brilliant
12. Your fear?................................... car crash
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years........... retired
14. Where were you last night?...................home
15. What you're not?............................. fashionable
16. Muffins...................................... poppyseed
17. One of your wish list items?.................debt free
18. Where you grew up?.......... Bermuda, Tennessee, Houston, Picayune
19. What you read last........Narrative of a Revolutionary War Soldier
20. What are you wearing?........................ lounger
21. Your TV?.....................................50 in plasma
22. Your pets?.........................kitty asleep on the heating pad
23. Your computer? .............................. outdated
24. Your life?........................routine (and I like it like that)
25. Your mood?...................................anxious
26. Missing someone?.............................The Van Noys
27. Your car?....................................minivan
28. Something you're not wearing?................shoes
29. Favorite Store?.............................. amazon.com
30. Your summer?.....................studious, which is my kind of fun
31. Like someone?................................many people
32. Your favorite color?.........................dandelion yellow
33. Last time you laughed...............over dinner (Curt and Jake are funny)
34. Last time you cried?..............well, off and on since Laura left

Good news

Well, since April 1st I have been on pins and needles waiting to see if I was going to be accepted to some institutes and other things I had applied for to further my teaching expertise. :)) You know, most studies show that the more a teacher knows about the subject she teaches, the more effective she is. That being said, I have always tried to find workshops and institutes that will help me in that endeavor. In the past I have gone to institutes on state constitutions, Lewis and Clark, the Civil War, and Thomas Jefferson. This year, I applied to the James Madison Memorial Fellowship. This is a foundation that is dedicated to strengthening Constitutional content in schools and encouraging teachers to focus on the Constitution in their classrooms. They offer a fellowship that pays up to $24,000 to obtain a Master's degree in constitutional studies and they also sponsor a 4 week summer institute in Washington DC on the Constitution of the United States. They accept one teacher from each of the 50 states per year. This year, their fellow from Idaho is..me! I am so excited to begin my Master's Degree in American History and Government. I just received word this week that I was accepted. You should have heard me yelling and screaming in the teacher's lounge, lol. It is a great honor, to be sure, and I feel very humble and grateful.

I also have some other fun things to do this summer. I also learned this week that I have been accepted to a one week institute on Abraham Lincoln held at Gettysburg, sponsored by the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History, and a one-week institute on the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution held in Philadelphia., sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities. I love trodding the places where our nation was formed and where crucial events took place. I will take lots of pictures and let you in on some of my experiences. After the school year I have had, I am looking forward to these experiences with great pleasure. History rocks!

Spring Break

Spring Break was last week but things have been so hectic I just haven't had a chance to post about it. I went to Texas/Mississippi to visit family and Jake went to Germany, Austria, Lichtenstein, and Switzerland. He had a great time and experienced the old and majestic places of these countries.

The first picture(above) is in Vienna, Austria and is the palace of Marie Theresa. The 2nd picture is the students in Munich in front of one of Hitler's favorite speech making places, You can see Jake's smiling face in the center of the group to the left of the red haired girl. The 3rd picture is a sculpture in the Dachau concentration camp, representing the way the Nazis stacked the bodies. Jake said this was a very solemn place and everyone whispered. The 4th picture is the famous Glockenspeil in Munich. The last picture is Neuschwanstein Castle (taken through a bus window).

This next group of pictures are some of Jake's favorites. The lion sculpture is the Dying Lion of Lucerne and Jake said it was really cool. It is a monument to Swiss soldiers who died in the French revolution. The next two pictures are of the Alps, which I think are magnificent. This last picture is of the McDonald's in Vienna. Jake was impressed with how upscale it seemed to be.

I went off to Mississippi and didn't bring a camera. But I had a great time. My sister Faye, picked me up at the Houston airport and then we drove to Mississippi. We talked and sang Beatles songs and ate pita chips. We met up with Mama at about 7:30pm at the Hollywood casino where Mom had us a room. The wind was blowing so hard that our hair was standing straight up as we got out of the car. We had some dinner and then Faye and I watched "No Country for Old Men" while Mom tried her luck at the games. The movie was really good, but quite chilling. Javier Bardem definitely deserved his Oscar for his performance. The next day we went to the Island View in Gulfport, where we stayed two nights. My sister, Diana, came over and spent time with us and we went to her house for a while. Diana has the most serene and peaceful porch and it is so nice to sit there and rock and look at the water. We sang some hymns and had some good visits. We went back to the Island View and ate. I had some really good fried green tomatoes - yum. The food was really good there. Faye and I watched movies both nights - Charlie Wilson's War (I enjoyed Phillip Seymour Hoffman's performance in that one) and Atonement. Faye liked that one better than I did because she had read the book. We also got to watch the first two installments of John Adams on HBO. I don't have HBO, so I will have to wait until it comes out on DVD to watch the rest of it, but what we saw was really good. Faye and I went back to Texas on Thursday. We got to Denham Springs and ran into stalled traffic because of a wreck, so we pulled off and found an antique village where Faye hit bank on some bells and owls. When we got to Houston, Joey was there. Joey is Faye's son and the first nephew and is just the sweetest and best guy you could ever want to know. We had some dinner from Lupe Tortilla's, and visited with Bob when he came home and then we crashed. We were both tired out. On Friday, Faye treated us to a massage that was awesome. Then we visited with Louise, Layla and Joey at their house. I also got to meet Louise's Mom, Sally, and her sister Michelle and Michelle's daughter Alex and a nephew, Andrew. This was my first meeting with Layla, my great niece, who is two. She is a cutie and we had a lot of fun getting her to tell us things and playing with her toys. This is a picture of the five of us. (If I had only had my curling iron, I wouldn't be quite so scary in this picture). We went home that night and had left overs and Faye and I watched "The Painted Veil" which Diana had recommended. It was a good movie, but we couldn't figure out where the name came from. The next morning, very early, Faye took me to the airport and I was home and walking in my door by noon, at which time I put on my pajamas and went to bed. lol It was a great time away, but as always, it is nice to be home.

Happy Birthday Nate!

My baby boy is 27 years old today. I hope he has the best day ever and knows how much I love him. I am just so very proud of him.

I can't figure out how to make these pictures go where I want them to in this blog so it looks kinda goofy. But that is Nate when he was 4 months old. He was such a chunk. And then that is Nate when he was 25 years old and just graduated from POST. He is the best police officer in Twin Falls and I am not just saying that because I am his Mom.

On Turning 50

I have been 50 years old for over a week now and it's not so bad. I think I had a harder time adjusting to being 40. But 50 has been easy. My family made it very easy by treating me so specially.

On my birthday, February 28th, I went off to work as it was a Thursday, thinking "just one more day and the kids will be here and I will get to see everyone." My students found out it was my birthday so throughout the day I got sincere birthday wishes and some smart aleck 8th grade remarks about how ancient I was. My friends and colleagues brought me gifts which are always fun. Arlinda gave me lottery tickets and I won $25.00. Still, it was a long day and I looked forward to going home. Since the kids were coming home, I had a bit of tidying up to do. I get home and see Laura's car in the driveway. "Oh goody" I think to myself, "She came a day earlier". I walk in and not only Laura but Casey as well yell "Surprise!" They had sneaked into town the night before and stayed with Nate and Megan. After I left for work, they came over, Megan, too and cleaned my house from top to bottom. I was so surprised and so grateful. My girls are just the best. If I had not received another gift, I would have been well pleased to have such a great birthday gift. But, the fun was just beginning!

Curt and I went out to eat that night with the Danzie's. They are good friends from our ward and Jeanette has her birthday on February 29th, so we go out to eat around our birthdays. the girls were exhausted from cleaning the house and then recleaning it after Halle and Carter got through with it, so I got them chinese food from Peking. After Curt and I got home we visited for a while before we all were ready for bed.

Friday, Cody and Josh came and I think they got there about the same time as I got home from work. Curt cooked us all dinner and we had some good visits. We played guitar hero and sat on the couches in the front room. I had to give in a go to bed around 10pm.

Saturday I woke up to the sound of Carter telling the names of everyone in the family picture I have. It is a very sweet way to wake up, he has such a cute voice. We did various things until around 5pm when we all met up at Jaker's. We made the hostess mad at us right off thebat, but after that it was good. :)

After we had ordered, Laura requested some help in the corner of the room and asked me not to look. So, Cody and I chatted while the others helped with the project. When they were done, they asked me to pop some balloons.

So, I did and everytime I popped a balloon, 20 dollar bills fell out! I was stunned! After I got them all popped, I had about $800 dollars! Then Laura tells me that all of my family had pitched it to contribute to "Get Munge a Big Screen TV Fund" I was stunned! I couldn't believe it. So, we ate dinner and then went TV hunting. The girls part was done and the guys stepped up. I have two incredible sons-in-law plus two great sons. Curt and I kinda wandered around, but these guys knew about TVs. Megan too, she knew what kind of resolution to look for and something else that I had no clue about. She had been looking around already so she knew where to go. We tried Walmart first because, after all, they do have the lowest prices. (but I really hate Walmart) and naturally, they didn't have the TV I wanted in stock. So, we went to Best Buy and found a really nice 50 inch TV that everyone agreed was a good buy. Josh told me about getting a HD dvd player to go with it. Nate and Curt and Josh got the manager to knock the price down a bit. The guys loaded it up, took it home , set it up and we all watched it. It is awesome and every time I look at it, I think of all the special people who made it happen and feel so totally undeserving and very grateful for people who love me. I have the best Mama and best sisters and brothers and especially the very best sons and daughters, whether they are born to me or by marriage. So, being 50 has started off great and it will be a birthday I will always remember. :)) And, I must say, I have the most wonderful grandchildren that ever walked the earth. Just look at this picture and dare to tell me I am wrong.

Uniqueness...hmmmm

Well, there isn't a lot about me that is really unique, other than the fact that there is no one exactly like me anywhere. I do remind people of someone they know, so I must look like a lot of other people. Let's see...

I was born in France, which makes me unique among family and friends, but not particularly to the French.

I like raw oysters. The best oysters I have ever eaten was the summer of 06 in Virginia.

I have been in the very top part of Monticello, which most of the public isn't allowed to view.

I went to 6 different colleges before I finally got my bachelors degree....in 3 different states.

That's about all I can think of.

Go Braves!!

If you know me at all, you know that I love baseball, particularly the Atlanta Braves. I am so excited for the season to start this year because my favorite player, Javy Lopez, is back with Atlanta. Woohoo!

5 Memories

These memories are supposed to be from before I got married, right? That was a long time ago, but OK.

One: My father was stationed at Kindley AFB in Bermuda, and I went to school there from 1st grade to 3rd grade. Before I started school, I chatted with my friends about who our teachers would be and we were all excited to go to school like our older siblings. My Mom walked me down to the bus stop, but the bus took a long time to get there, so she went back to check on my little brother and sister. In the meantime, the bus came and I got on, hoping it was the right bus. My mother came back to make sure I got on the bus and when she saw I was gone, she called my Dad and asked him to check and make sure I got to school ok. When I got to school, a lady read my name tag and told me to get in line "over there". So I got in the line she indicated. My friend was in the line next to me and we knew we were supposed to be in the same class. I thought she was in the wrong line and she thought I was in the wrong line. We got to class and did some preliminaries and then the teacher took roll. She asked if there was anyone who's name she didn't call and I raised my hand. As she was trying to figure out where I was supposed to be, my Dad and the base commander (I think) walked in the classroom door. When they hadn't been able to find me in my class they were afraid something awful had happened. I was happy to see my Dad and didn't realize that they had panicked somewhat until Mom told me "the rest of the story" Anyway, that was my first day of school.

Two: This one also has to do with school in Bermuda. My older sister, Faye, was learning how to use quotation marks in school. She was a fourth grader and I was in first grade. I thought quotation marks were really cool, so the next day as we were doing adding and subtracting, I put quotation marks around all of my numbers. I was so happy to be able to use quotation marks! When I got my paper back, graded, there was a big, red F on the paper and all of those quotation marks were circled. The teacher, (whose name was Mrs. Sherman and she must have been old and ready to retire, with no sense of humor left) was disgusted that I had put those on my paper. Well, it was the first F I ever received and I just knew I was going to fail first grade because of that, so I cried for the rest of the day. When I got home and showed the paper to my Mom, she laughed and told me not to use quotation marks anymore and Faye told me I was stupid.

Three: I have a lot of memories from Bermuda. We lived at one time, in a two story yellow house. We occupied only the top story. The bottom story was some kind of storage place. There was a balcony that we could play on. It was a cool house. There was a banana grove across the street, which I was deathly afraid of because my brother told me there were spiders as big as your hand in there. Anyway, when our parents would go out of an evening and leave us kids at home, my older brother and sisters came up with cool games, which I only got to be involved in because I threatened to "tell" if they didn't let me play. We played "Murder in the Dark" and other scary games. Then my brother devised a really fun game. We took a white sock and fashioned it into a kind of ghost effigy thing. We put some twine around its neck. Our house was close to the street and we had a window overlooking the street. My job was to watch for cars that turned down our street and say "Victim!" Then my brother and sister would fling this ghost thing out of the window at hopefully the right time to land in front of the windshield of the driver and scare the pants off of them. Did we think we might be doing something dangerous? NO. We just thought it was fun to scare people. We made a couple of cars swerve and had great fun. We play the game a few times until we threw the ghost out in front of my Dad. He was really mad, we all got spanked and that was the end of the ghost game.

Four: The summer after 7th grade in Houston, Texas was probably one of the funnest. I had a new best friend, Frances Campbell. I still keep in touch with her. One time, we went bike riding round to see who we could see. Frances wanted to take a shortcut, so she took me over to a catwalk that spanned a canal. Well, I am afraid of heights, always have been. The catwalk was only about three feet wide. Frances just rode her bike right across it, turned around and said "Well, come on." I told her no way. She called me a scaredy cat and I agreed. There were other kids there too that we didn't know and they were running back and forth on that catwalk, not at all concerned that if they fell, they would fall about 30 feet.. There was no water in the canal. So, Frances left her bike on the other side, walked back across the catwalk and rode my bike across and I crawled on my hands and knees across. That was really scary. The summer after 7th grade was when we saw the Osmonds in concert there in Houston. Frances and I would talk for hours and hours about all sorts of things.

Five: The summer after 10th grade, I went to Houston to visit Frances. We had moved to Mississippi. Frances and her Mom were going to Mexico to visit relatives and they invited me to come along. My first trip that I can remember to a foreign country. We drove to Monterrey, where her relatives live. They were all so very nice and she had a cute cousin. Frances' Mom decided she wanted to go to Guadalajara. The three of us, plus two of her cousins made the trip. To get from Monterrey to Gudalajara, you have to drive over the mountains. We were beginning to come down the other side of the mountains when the car broke down. This was a road less traveled and there was not much traffic. And this was way before the days of cell phones. A truck came by and he gave us a lift back to the nearest town and we were going to stay the night there, but there were only two motels and they were both full. Frances's Mom had us get on a bus that was heading back toward the car and the bus dropped us back at the car and we stayed the night in the car. It was raining and we could hear rocks falling. When lightening would flash, we could see this huge boulder and we just knew it was going to come tumbling down that mountain and smash us. Well, we made it through the night and when dawn broke, we saw that the huge boulder was actually a big bush, so we felt a bit foolish. A truck came by and I think Frances's Mom rode with him to get a tow truck. We stayed with the car and amused ourselves by clearing the road of all of the rocks that had fallen down during the night. We finally got the car fixed and the mechanic's wife made us something to eat. That was one of the best meals I ever ate.

The First One

This blogging stuff looks like fun so I thought I would try it too. Right now, it looks a bit more complicated that I thought, so it may be a while before it looks like something you might want to read.