You Know You've Had Enough Snow When...

I've had enought!!!!!!!!!

I'

More SNOW today! Ugh

March Went Out Like a Lion!!

I'm not even going to put a photo of the 8 inches of snow we woke up to this morning because I'm sick of it!! I keep thinking of that TV commercial, "It's not nice to fool mother nature." Hay, who's fooling who?!?

I'm Edith Ann and this is Tommy and we're three years old!

Doesn't these pictures remind you of Lily Tomlin when she use to play the character, "Edith Ann"? Yesterday Les and I spent the day furniture shopping and at Furniture Wear House on Road Redwood, (Redwood Road for those of you who are not familiar with their commercial) we came across this chair and couldn't resist getting our pictures taken in it :-)

A Great Likeness!

While sitting in Church a few Sundays ago a young BYU Student named Morgan Charles sketched Les while he was conducting the services. I thought the likeness was really quite good what do you think?

Grandkids Are The Greatest!

Thursday Ashlyn was at work and received a call from the school saying Lily was in the office crying because her neck hurt so, being a retired Nana :-) I got to go pick up Lil and bring her home with me. Driving to the school to pick up Lily thoughts came flooding back to years when I was a working Mom. I don't know what I would have done without Grandma Barrett who was always there for my kids when they were sick, before and after school, or just plain someone they could count on when Mom and Les weren't around. Thanks Grandma B. you were the greatest! Back to Lily, I picked her up and we went to the store to get some Motrin and a lunchable, as we came into the house Lily said, "Nana, I love to come to you and Papa's house. It's always so fun to hang out with you guys." That put a smile on my face for the rest of the day maybe even the rest of the week and warmed my heart. We laid on the couch together, Lily with a warm rice bag on her neck and watched Madagascar Escape 2 Africa. "I like um big, I like um chucky":-0 my favorite part. Could anything be better then this?

IT'S SNOWING!!!

UGGGGG!!!!!!!!:-(

"February Birthdays"

February 12th 1971 I received an early Valentine when Jeramy made his way into the world. Wasn't he a cute little boy with his blond curls. He will probably kill me for putting this picture on my blog:-) Jeramy was "38" this last birthday.Another picture Jeramy won't like but I do so there. You can see today that the money we invested in Jer's teeth really paid off. Dr. Gee did a great job on straightening Jer's teeth:-) Jer was a fun kid to raise. He loved sports of all kinds and we spent lots of time on the soccer field, baseball park and basket ball court. He enjoyed and excelled in school. He was and still is a terrible tease, but he always had a pleasant, positive attitude and personality. Jeramy probably his senior year or just after graduation. He looks like the studious person her turned out to be:-)
Jeramy is a great husband, dad and son! We love you Jer, Happy Birthday!
February 26th Isaac celebrated his 7th birthday. He is a chip off the old block and very much like his dad. He loves to tease his brothers and sister just like Jer did. He loves school, sports and has a great little voice.

This is a picture of when Isaac was here for Christmas a year ago. He is a great young man. Happy Birthday "I" man. We love you.
Last but not least Sam turned "17" on the 27th of February. I love this picture it shows what a happy little guy he was growing up. Sam is a great young man. He enjoys the theater and is in a theatrical group at school. He also has a great voice and enjoys choirs. He likes school and is a great older brother. Recently he had the opportunity to fly to California to spend some time with Grandma Welch.
Grandpa and I enjoyed the afternoon with Sam last weekend by going to a movie where as we were watching the up coming previews Sam said, "I can't believe I'm sitting here watching this with my grandparents," To which we thought the same thing. Then we went to lunch where Grandpa Les scared the heck right out of us by getting food caught in his esophagus and ending up in the ER. Happy Birthday Sam. Your growing up to be a terrific young man and we love you.

SPRING REALLY IS ON IT'S WAY!!!

Can you see those tiny green shoots popping up through the mud and leaves. Even though we woke up to snow this morning there really is hope that spring will be here before we know it. YAHOO!!! It also shows me I need to get out in my yard and get my flower beds cleaned out:-)

The Draper Utah Temple Open House

Isn't this Temple simply Magnificent!!! Monday afternoon we went with Ashlyn and the kids to Draper where we picked up Dave from his work and then drove to the new Draper Temple open house. We meet in the stake center first and watched a video about temples, I couldn't help but shed a few tears as we listened about the saints and their sacrifices to have a Temple in their day. How they had to leave two of their beloved Temples behind as they were driven from their homes. How they sacrificed and worked and sweat to build the Salt Lake temple which took them 40 years to complete. And now we have temples around us just minutes away from our homes and we take them so often for granted. We were then bused to the Temple were we were able to walk through this beautiful edifice. The materials used in the building and the craftsmanship are breath taking. The cherry wood, the hand painted wall murals, the colors, the stone work, everything about it shows perfection. Nothing is to good for the Lords house. And can I tell you that even though this has not yet been dedicated to the Lord you could absolutely feel the spirit there. Keagan, Jake and Lily loved it and expressed how they couldn't wait until they were old enough to go there. I watched as AshLyn explained all the rooms and things to Lily. It was a great Family Home Evening event! Wish the rest of my family could have been there with us, that would have made a great experience even greater!!Ashlyn, Dave and family at the open house after the temple tour.Nana and Papa, I hate seeing pictures of me because I am looking so old. I told Jeramy there was a little old man who was helping to keep the floor clean and he had a dust pan and broom sweaping up the crumbs people had dropped. Jeramy laughed and said, "Little old man hu"? I don't feel little and old!:-)

January Birthdays

Wow, I'm behind again. Here it is the last of February and I'm just putting on the January birthdays. Tandy celebrated her 14th birthday January 12th...this was a photo from last years birthday. I don't have a recent picture. Tandy is a shy energetic sweet young lady who loves school, friends, video or WII games and her horse. Tandy is wearing the top in the photo above with the top that goes over it, along with the the whole gang:-)And Tristen was 9 years old on the 27th of January. This was also a photo from last years birthday party. Tristen is all boy and enjoys doing boy stuff, sports, video and Wii games, bugging his big sister, and doing things with his Dad, school and friends. Happy Birthday Tandy and Tristen!

My sister Nancy celebrated her "29th" :-) birthday on the 16th of January. Happy Birthday Sis. And last but not least, Les celebrated his "56"th birthday with his family down in Vegas this year. Happy Birthday Les. I know, you don't have to say it, there is a striking resemblance between Les and his Dad.

The Perks of Being a Retired Grandma :-)

Day before yesterday because I am "RETIRED," I was able to go to school and watch, and take pictures of Jake doing his presentation on Volcanoes. He did a GREAT job and even got an "A"! Good Job Jake!!!!

Jake explaining what he's about to do.

The project was a great success with the class and Jake as well. It appears learning is much more fun in this day and age then it was back when I was Jakes age. Kudo's to Ashlyn and Dave from being hands on parents, active in their childrens education.

I WILL MISS THE PEOPLE!

On my last day at work the office through a party for me. They really did spoil me!
I WILL truly miss the people I work with, but I WON'T miss getting up at 5:30 each morning and traveling to work on the sometimes snowy roads. I WON'T miss sitting at a desk for 8 hrs a day taking calls from people who feel it is my fault that their insurance didn't pay as much as they were expecting, because they have a deductible or co-insurance they have to pay. I WILL miss the kind people who are grateful that I called their insurance for them and help them get their bill paid or we were able to give them help with their bill.
Katherine one of my best friends, Natalie and Kristy.
My Boss John McBride who was the greatest to work for. He never bossed.
The three amigo's, Tina, Katherine and myself. My Mom and sisters came to wish me well, Bonnie, Deb, Mom, Nancy and me in the back. Thanks to everyone who made my day such a great one:-)

COULD SPRING BE JUST AROUND THE CORNER?

As I looked out the window the this morning to my surprise what did I see? I saw buds on the Aspen tree! Look at the tiny little white pussy willow looking things coming out of the buds. It made me smile and gave me hope that this cold and snow won't be here much longer. It also reminded me of a loving Heavenly Father who gave us such a beautiful world to live in.

FREE AT LAST!!!! :-)

I have to pinch myself to see if this is really real or just a dream, and it's real!!! I feel just like this little willow figurine, I have been a free women for the last three days. Can I just tell you I think I could learn to love this real fast! Although I can see I could creep into some negative habit patterns of not making the most of my free time. I have got to get myself some kind of routine, albeit a flexible routine so if your game to do something fun give me a call. I can now do some of those things. :-)

TOMORROW IS MY LAST DAY!!!

Tomorrow a chapter in my book of life will come to a close and I am looking forward to the next chapter. I hope it is packed with wonderful things to write about on my blog. I have a lot of catching up to do around my house though and that could keep me busy for a long time. All day long I have been humming that song...Tomorrow, tomorrow,I love ya tomorrow. It's only a day...away!

Todays History In The Making

Today President Barack Obama fulfilled a long await prophesy for the Black community. Reverend Martin Luther King's stirring speech so many years of "I have a dream" was brought to fruition today as Barack Obama placed his hand on the same bible that President Abraham Lincoln used to be sworn in. I have to confess I did not vote for our 44th President but he is our President and I will give him my support. He has the chance to do great things for this United States, he has the opportunity of uniting all races, and of being a great leader. I pray that he will have the ability to do so. I pray that the things he said in his speech today are more then just words. As I knelt down for my morning prayers this morning I felt a peace as I prayed for him. May the Lord bless you Mr. President and give you the strength to make righteous choices for all the people of this United States. As I listened to the many black people express their joy with tears in their eyes I couldn't help but think back to the 70's when our own church made the announcement that President Kimball had received revelation that the blacks could now hold the priesthood and how happy I was. You can imagine the joy they are feeling today as well. I can't remember when there has been such a feeling of excitement and hope as there was today with a new president. Maybe back when JFK was made President is the closest I can remember. But I pray Heavenly Father will bless our great nation and help our new President to be a righteous and wise leader.

4 MORE WORKING DAYS!!!

Yahoo!!! Just about there. My co-workers keep asking me if I'm a little sad. SAD?!?! Are you kidding?

13 Day and Counting!!!

I have 13 more work days until I retire. YaHoo!!!! And 3 of those days we will be in Vegas. Can you believe it? I have to pinch myself. :-)

Okey, Enough already!!!

It started snowing yesterday afternoon about an hour before I had to go to the dentist. I was about 45 minutes late for my dental appointment because it was bumper to bumper traffic. It has been snowing non stop since then. How I wish we had a snow blower! Everywhere it seems they are trying to cut cost because of the economy. Our city is no different they are doing their share by eliminating so many hours for snow removal. They start later in the day and end earlier in the day. Is that really wise??? Who are they saving money for or whom??? Not the auto body shops, for sure the snow is boosting the economy for them. Les always says this weather is the insurance companies nightmare. We had a white Christmas which was beautiful but Christmas is over. The snow can go to the mountains and leave us here in the valley the heck a lone. I just want to curl up in bed all snuggy and warm with a good book and never venture out in this snow. By the looks of everything I would say we have at LEAST 24 inches of snow out there. It's time to stop this non sense down here and send this silly old snow back to the mountains where it belongs!

Our walk way to the front door.

The back yard.

Off our deck.