Wonderful Days!

Here she is. Baby Eisley!!! We have been loving being Grandparents!
She had a little Jaundice and was on the biliruben lights. When she was held she was supposed to have the light pad on her so when she was wrapped up she looked like a little glow worm. I called her my Glow Bug. She is so fun to hold and cuddle.

She is so sweet and squishy weighing in at 9lbs 10 oz. and measuring 22 inches long. R was induced and had a long labor but did super well. She is recovering very well and loves to share the love and lets everyone hold her precious baby.

How precious is this little yawn?

Every little thing she does we get excited over. She is so loved and coddled.

We tried to get a picture with her eyes open. It doesn't happen enough but it's good that she sleeps so well.

Her Grandpa D was so excited to see her after 4 days of missing her. He took her right from her bath and cuddled her wrapped in her towel.

R is the best Mommy ever. Baby E looks so much like R did when she was born.
Oh those sweet kissable cheeks! So soft. Mmmmmm

Yes, Grandma Gigi loves to hold this precious baby and loves to take pictures of her. She is my new favorite thing to talk and write about and take pictures of. I love being a Grandma!

Kick off to Summer

These first pictures are two that I forgot to throw in but the trip wouldn't be complete without saying that we really did go to Winslow Arizona and took a picture "standin' on a corner in Winslow Arizona" (sorry if you are too young or not an Eagles fan and the whole line is lost on you)I lived in Aztec, NM when I was very young and remembered going to the Aztec Ruins so we went way out of our way and found it. It was truly amazing. 1000 year old ruins with about 800 rooms. You can walk through some of them. It is amazing!
Now, back to your regularly scheduled blog post:

So we went to San Diego - the long way!We started by going to Moab and doing a late hike to Delicate Arch

We met with L who is always our guide when we go there.

Here are my hiking buddies just before the hike.

L loves to go places with her Dad. They are both so funny.

Then we went way out of our way to Four Corners. It's all fenced off and under construction so we walked all around it and at each "corner" we stopped and made the letters of the state we were in. We are a little dyslexic - this AS should be AZ for Arizona.

We stayed in Chandler where an old High School friend of mine lives. I had a great/quick visit with her. We arrived at almost the last minute because now they have moved to Virginia and I would not have seen her.

Our first visit was at the Mormon Battalion museum. It was amazing how they told a very "moving" story and had so much interactive information.

The reason we went to San Diego was for a conference for D. Our hotel was close to Sea World so while D was in meetings the boys and I hung out at Sea World. For future reference, if you sit in the "soak zone" you don't get splashed on - you get SOAKED!
We actually had to go back to the hotel and change. It was too cold and humid to ever dry out.

See the sunshine. That was a brief few hours but such a beautiful time to be out biking on the beach.

Whose jaws are the scariest?

No, it's not a dolphin, not a killer whale either. It's a Pilot Whale. Everyone has pictures of the common animals so I decided to use the unexpected.

Yeah, that whale really is bigger than CJ.

The nature of our trips have changed over the years and it's nice to let the boys take the car and go to a movie so I can sit by the pool and read. We drove 2400 miles and saw a lot of territory. The temperatures in the desert of Arizona got up to 109 degrees to 3 days of 65 in San Diego and down to 45 on the way home. So nice to be home. I had four very busy days at work as payback for being gone for over a week.

Now we wait for a new grandbaby!!!!!!!!!

Family Reunion 2010

This last weekend was a family reunion for my parents and siblings.

This is what a family reunion looks like:

It was held in Paragonah. We also went up Parowan canyon for a picnic where there were more trees and water. However, we were so close to the mountains that our morning walk was a hike in the mountains.
My Dad and oldest sister from California visiting here.

Did I mention that our morning walk was in the mountains? And was 2 hours long?
The first day most of the gang took an assortment of guns out and shot targets.

D likes to shoot.

As many as possible got in on the action.
Some would consider it a shame teaching a sweet little girl to shoot but she learned some important gun safety along with it.This is us in my sisters yard. Great place for a reunion!

Saturday was also our 29th anniversary. We don't usually make too big of a deal of it but we did manage to escape for an hour or so for another shorter hike.

While the majority of the group went shooting the older sisters and Mom took a scenic drive to Cedar Breaks and had a great visit.

Cousins. (second cousins)

It's been called a "redneck reunion" with the guns, 4-wheelers, country atmosphere and dogs but what a fun time us hicks have!

Our family is the greatest!

FUN DAYS!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FAVORITE OLDEST DAUGHTER!She's got a cute man and they are going to have cute baby soon!

We love to hang out and like doing the same things.

She loves her Dad and he does a lot for her.

She loves her sister!!!
This Wednesday was a big day for
the second daughter!

(notice the belly on the older one. yeah, I'm gonna be a Grandma!)

All the guesses were in

And the friends were here!

(see the baby belly?)

Friends and Family had arrived for the "reading"

She got a letter from the prophet and wanted to share it with all these people.

It was a very big deal!

L has been called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the London, England Mission!!! She will report to the MTC in Preston England October 1!

We are so proud of her.

Store It!

I read a blog recently that wasn't about food storage but about organizing.

This cute girl was organizing her pantry. It was nice and only a little better than mine but smaller. She was giddy over her storage feeling very blessed to have so much food in the house. Not to be outdone!!!!! I did my own comparison. This is enough to keep us going for a long time.The bottom section of the above picture is food storage cans two deep, labeled!

My storage room downstairs has ALL the staples: And emergency equipment!
I have a cold storage room with MANY cans of beans, rice, wheat, oats, milk, sugar and flour.
One wall has flour, oil, condiments, veggies, tuna, cake and brownie mixes, boxed pasta and stuffing, soup and a plastic box with chocolate chips and brown sugar.

We have enough brownie mixes to give the whole neighborhood a sugar high for a month!

The other side of the aisle has bottled fruit, jams and jellies and a variety of drinks.

We have not one box less than TWENTY boxes of hot chocolate packages and I still go berserk when my kids drink it. It's a special treat! I hoard the stuff but wont let anyone drink it, unless it's especially cold, or a special day or a very special treat. WACKY!

I'm sure we would last a very long time. If I by chance have a reader that has never had a prophet of God tell them to get a years supply of food they might think us a little eccentric. This is the best insurance policy I have ever purchased and I use everything we store. I even learned how to make sweetened condensed milk out of powdered milk! I am officially smart!

If times get bad we're eating better! (we might be allowed a cup of hot chocolate ; ) )

So Sara (blogger) I may not be super organized, don't judge me, but I have a lot of very delicious and very useful food and emergency supplies.

IT MAKES ME HAPPPPPPY!

Fire, Fire, Fire!

Ok, so I know college students are not known for their cleaning skills but really, this is what B's apartment looked like yesterday! This is the new sky light in his hallway. Unfortunately it doesn't meet building codes nor would it protect from cold Cache Valley weather.
The stairs were a mess as well. But, I think those boots belong to a professional. I think he's enforcing evacuation.
B Just moved into his new apartment. The bed had bedbugs so he had to get the mattress swapped and got a plastic sheet to protect him from existing conditions. He had just settled in and had roommates he liked and former roommates and friends next door. He decided not to go camping with them because he was going 4-wheeling with his Dad, brother and Grandpa so he sat home alone watching a movie in his shorts and no shoes. The fire alarm went off next door but upon walking out onto the balcony the alarm sounded distant so he gave it no more thought. The apartment manager took it seriously and entered the apartment but realized the fire extinguisher was not enough and told Braden to call 911 and evacuate the building. Of course, his shoes were upstairs and he wasn't going up for them. By the time the firemen got done there was insulation on everything including his bed.

The fire started in his neighbors bathroom ceiling. One of the guys left the bathroom fan on and it overheated and started a fire in the attic (third floor). This was actually the neighbors bathroom with the offending blackened fan on the toilet. Imagine retrieving your things out of this mess. They all did.

This is the new ventilated ceiling in B's hallway next to his bedroom.

And some charred trusses.

Last week he was homeless because he had to be out of Old Farm on Saturday and couldn't move into this place until Monday. He was there 4 nights. 20 units, all evacuated, only 2 were uninhabitable. Of course, his is one.

The ironic thing is that he got hired at a new job as a bank teller that requires a week of training in Salt Lake so he was going to spend a week with a friend there.

This weekend has been spent washing EVERYTHING that could absorb smoke. The washer and dryer has run constantly for 24 hours. B doesn't know where he is going to live but right now he needs to concentrate on starting a new job. If he gets desperate he can stay with Grandparents or Aunt and Uncle. It's good to have options.