It Was a Happy Day

On Sunday we celebrated birthday number 42 for Joleen.  She is a continual amazement as she meets life head on. We value her determination.  And she had read 8 volumes of The Work and the Glory in the last 2 months!  What if she would have had to wait a year in between volumes?  Low traffic at an open house has been put to good use!  Keep smiling, Jo.  And know how much we love you.

Happy 49!

Kemp was born at Harrison Memorial Hospital in Brememerton, Washington on a very cold and frosty November 6.  His birth was followed 2 days later by the Jack Kennedy/Richard Nixon election.  I was too young to vote!!  Somehow Kemp survived and thrived, a process that he has repeated in his life.  And he has encouraged the rest of us to do the same.  How blessed we are to have Kemp in our family and we wish him a happy birthday.  We are grateful that Sonja is there to share the day with you.

Halloween Wolf Haven

Each year Brooke carves pumpkins with her Grandpa.  As she is a senior this year, it is undoubtedly her last.  They each had a work of art.  This one is Bob's.  You have to enlarge the dark picture to get the impact of the red eyed face.  I hope to get Brooke's pumpkin here as well.

Washing Dishes

I borrowed Joel one morning and let him play with Graces's tea dishes.  The funnest part was dipping in the kitchen sink.  He will make a great dishwasher.

Who's having the most fun?

A picture tells a thousand words...

Simple Pleasures

What is the purpose of a dress? Only to grab the hem and try to stuff in the mouth. Quinn works very hard at this talent and entertains us all as she does so. We love having the kids only ten minutes and a phone call away.

In the Humvee

Here is a picture of Ross in his desert Humvee...doesn't the military know that there is no ocean in the desert? 115 degrees and counting...

A Toothless Granny Grin

After much maneuvering the second tooth fell out on its' own. Now she looks like a real first grader.

The Week of August 17 - August 21

Baby Quinn.....blue eyes still, and hair that definitely has a red tint!

Joel coming down the stairs to check out the company. A few minutes later, he smashed his fingers in the heavy door leading to the garage. Ouch!

Thursday and Friday found us in Sequim with David and Shannon. It was pleasantly cool, but overcast. We had such a good time.

Shannon

David

Us

The men hunted the wildlife for our dinner. Crab is on!

And Grace lost another tooth!

Family Gathering: Sunday, August 16, 2009

Shannon and Joleen bookend their brother, Ross, who leaves on Tuesday and will be gone to war for the next year.

The happier side of the day was welcoming Sonja with Arrilla, Bethany and Benjamin.

Phil and Joleen

Grace and David

Quinney(with a pink flower), Ben, JoLin and upside down Joel.

17 Family members strong (Phil is taking the picture) and all are united in our love and prayers for the good of each other. Particularly at this time for Ross.

This Will Brighten Any Day

Elissa, Libby and Natalie serranaded us. Elissa said that singing this song makes her feel better. It made me feel better too.

Wedding Day for Kemp and Sonja

Just in case you missed this photo from "Crystal Prisms", I am copying the wedding photo of Kemp and Sonja here. They were married in the Burlington, Wyoming chapel on July 24. As they begin a new chapter in life, they are joining together their efforts, love, respect, and friendship. Together, in their days ahead, may they be a blessing to each other. Our prayers and best wishes to them and their children.

My Georgia Girls

Monday night, the tired 9hour flight travelers from Atlanta arrived for a visit. By Tuesday morning, Elissa, Libby and Natalie were ready to take the fearsome beagle for a walk down the RR trail. It is a wonderful feeling to have kids and grandkids sleeping under our roof!

The quilt is "Pajama Party" and was made from flannel scraps of all the years of Christmas PJs.

Natalie could show me every print that she ever had and was making a selection for next year.

Speaking of quilts, this is what is left of the baby quilt I made for Libby, now more than 11 years ago. The very center diamonds with the blue border have completely disintergrated. It goes every where Libby goes.

The back side is very thin and worn places are in need of repair/replacement? The reason the binding looks so good is because I replaced that about 4 years ago. I told her she could leave the quilt with me and I would repair it. It is a separation issue and I will not be mending the quilt.

Painting the House Stories

As you know, "we" are painting the house this summer. Yes, all 8 sides and all of the additional nooks and crannies. Robert was working on the rise at the breezeway break. That stupid beagle saw him up on the roof to accomplish the task, and sat at the bottom of the ladder whinning and crying to join him. So.....he carried her up the ladder.

She loved exploring the roof, but soon did the usual dog thing...She found a warm spot and took a nap!

Next Generation

This is the same house. Shannon's photo of the house currently, shows it is in better repair than in 1938. Robert was 5 years old attending kindergarten in Salt Lake and living at his grandmother's home along with his mother. She was also going to school to get accredited to teach. This bright smile is the only picture I have of Robert's childhood. That is certainly a loss.

1100 E & Westminister Ave, SLC

Taken 2009-It was fun to walk on the sidewalks around the house, thinking about my own Grandmother and Great-Grandmother having been there.

Suzannah Rebecca Alexander Seal with Afton & Mark, taken about 1907.

Dwight and Velna

A sampling of Dwights fine garden...

It was so nice to visit with Dwight and Velna-I don't think I had seen them since Grandpa Blood's funeral. Our Utah trip was cut short so I didn't get to see all the family. Hopefully I can plan to go to Zion again next year to finish up what I had hoped to do...

Garden Fun

These "black" hollyhocks are quite exotic!

The hummingbirds love the crocosmia, often scolding each
other for intruding on claimed territory!

A Busy Week

Kid survival.

Bob is back at the house painting job. The garage door side is complete and he has since started the patio area. He is doing a great job!

On July 4th we could find only a small handful of berries that were rip to eat. By Wednesday, I could not keep up even though I picked steadily every day. The temperatures have been rather warm and that didn't help any.

From patch, to box, to refrigerator, to jam.

On Saturday Ben came bringing this HUGE drill bit to go through the brick. Then he fed all of the TV wires through the hole to hide them from view. Very nice!

While his dad was working on the TV, Joel learned how to climb on the tractor. He couldn't quite get the ear muffs on straight. But never fear, to him it was right and he was happy.

On Friday, the dog chased a chipmunk. Finding the back door open, he made his getaway through the kitchen, down the hall and into the back bedroom. The bedroom got dismantled trying to find the critter with the help of an excited Beagle hound. "Chip" made his exit the same way he came in.

In the process of putting the room back together, I did some deep cleaning and came across Joleen and Shannon's pathetic Barbie collection. Broken feet were mended with tape and some were apart at the waist. I decided it was finally time. Taking the shoebox with remanents inside, I deposited it in the garbage. I'm trying to do that separation thing.

Hideaway

Over the summer when Bob would mow, I could hear brush crashing and wondered what was going on. Then I noticed that often he was not in the house, garage, yard or even asleep in his truck (as he has been known to do sometimes). Also one of the lawn chairs was missing. Then as I was cleaning in the back woods between the woodshed and the potato patch,

I found this little alcove. What do you think?