Santa Came

I love Santa! I have always been a believer. Every time I hear a bell ring, I'm grateful that I can still hear it, unlike most of the adults around me. Somehow, he always knows just what to bring and has never disappointed. This year, however, was a little sad for me because for the first time in 33 years, Santa wouldn't be visiting my house. For the first time, no kids spent the night, to wake up early and excitedly run down the hall to see what he brought. BUT, when I got up Christmas morning, Santa had been here! Thanks Santa, you are awesome. I will ALWAYS believe in you.

O Christmas Tree

I love our Christmas tree. Decorating it has become bitter-sweet for me because I miss Todd and Amy being there to help. But, as I unwrap each ornament, it invokes memories of vacations, fun times, and loved ones. Every ornament hanging has a special story, from the three "snow balls" gotten for my first Christmas, to the missionary name tags turned into ornaments the first Christmas home after missions. I love to sit in the front room at night, with just the tree lights on and watch the tree twinkle and shine. It never seems like we really feel the spirit of Christmas until the tree is up.

Christmas Traditions

I'm not sure how or when it happened, but for years we all have worn Christmas socks to dinner on Christmas Eve. It's always fun to see the socks on young and old alike. Even our neighbor, who came to dinner a few years ago, sported socks as he came into the house. It wouldn't be Christmas Eve without them.

Teaching

This has been a tough year. The days go by pretty fast, but I find myself thinking, "Is it really only Wednesday?!" I find myself wondering if I'm doing any good, making a difference in any ones life. Just when I feel that the answer to that question must be no, I get a picture or note lovingly made by one of my students telling me that they love me, that I'm the best teacher ever! That always put a spring in my step and a smile on my face. That's what makes it all worthwhile. I love being a teacher.

Dead tooth

When I was little, my brother, Milo, and I went to a birthday party and when I came home, I had a dead tooth. No one is sure how it happened, I obviously hit it on something, but my front tooth became dark, and eventually had to be pulled out to make way for my permanent one.

Last summer, while visiting Utah, I noticed Luke's dark tooth. Evidently he hit it on the wood floor while wrestling with Tayson. (I wonder why big brothers always seem to be involved?) When I saw this picture of Luke, it reminded me that I had a similar one of me. Look at those great smiles!

Legoland

Last week Amy and I took the kids to Legoland. We had never been there before so weren't sure what to expect. What fun. It was a beautiful day, so we took advantage of the "wet" rides. The pirate ship was fun, but we all got soaked. I mean hair plastered to you head soaked. The kids especially enjoyed the splash zones, until the giant bucket dropped tons of water. Carson wouldn't take his eyes off of it after that. My favorite ride was the Dragon roller coaster that I rode with Wyatt. It was short, fast, but very smooth.

It was amazing all of the things created out of legos; animals, space ships, even entire buildings. This giant pumpkin was at the entrance and we couldn't resist getting a picture.

Camping

I have always loved to camp. I love sleeping in a tent, although I will admit that now I insist on an air mattress. I love cooking on an open fire or the camping stove, but especially a dutch oven. I love the donuts we make for breakfast. I love the time away from the crazy world; no TV, phone, or traffic. I love the time around the campfire, looking up at the stars and listening to the fire crackle. I love spending time with family and friends in the out-of-doors.

I came across this picture and it reminded me that my first camping experience was with Grandma Busby. We were on our way up to Salmon, Idaho to visit Grandpa and his carnival. We only had one night of camping and it rained on us, but it must have hit a nerve, because I've always loved it since.

Summer 1961---Grandma cooking with Mel and me watching

Ode to Summer

Well, it's over!!! Summer, I mean. This has been a wonderful, relaxing summer and I hated to see it come to an end. But end it did. I had school meetings last Tuesday and Wednesday and my new class of 5th graders showed up on Thursday. Oh boy! This may be a very long year. Usually the first few days, the kids are on their best behavior, trying to impress their new teacher. Not this group. We weren't in the classroom for 5 minutes before I hear a kid say, "I can't sit by him!" with the response of, "Oh no, not her!" I was really happy for Friday to roll around. As I said, this may be a very long year. I really miss summer.

Luke's Big Day

Last Wednesday was a very big day for Luke; his 5th birthday and his first day of kindergarten. I flew up to Utah to join in on the festivities. What fun. We took pictures and then the entire family walked him to school. He was so excited to finally go to school.

Luke's 1st day of school

August 2009

Todd's first day of school

September 1981

Boston

This past week, I took a quick trip to Boston. I had never been there and it's full of American history, so I decided it would be worth the trip. I arrived Tuesday night and only had time to walk around Boston Common before I went to bed. Wednesday, I walked the Freedom Trail. It's a walking path that connects 14 Revolutionary War sites including Paul Revere's house, the Old North Church, and the site of the Boston Massacre. I took a guided tour for the first part, and was on my own for the rest. It's amazing to think that so many important events happened in a 3 mile stretch. It was very hot and humid, but really interesting. Somehow, when you are there and see the area, history comes to life.

I loved the metro system, being able to go all over town without a car, even to and from the air port.

Thursday morning found me at the Boston temple. It is really a beautiful temple with very friendly and helpful workers. After I checked out of the hotel, I had a picnic lunch in the public gardens and caught the metro back to the airport. It was a really fast trip, but I loved every minute of it.

Kindergarten

The first day of school for my kids was always hard for me. It meant the end of a fun summer, spending lots of time together. But it also brought on a case of the guilts. (I always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, however, life didn't cooperate.) On the first day of any given year, the kids would get ready in their new clothes and pose for the annual first day of school pictures. I love looking back at those pictures and see the happy, excited smiles.
When the first day of kindergarten came for Tayson, I wanted to be there. I missed so much of his life being so far away; birthdays, school programs, ball games. This was one thing I could attend. It was so much fun to share in the excitement of that day. Since then, I have decided that this was going to be a "grandma thing", being there for the first day of kindergarten.
Monday was Carson's turn. He was so excited, he could hardly eat breakfast. As we dropped him off, he waved good bye, blew kisses, and went into the classroom with a big smile on his face. What was really cute was that at the end of the morning, when we picked him up, he said, "That was so much fun, can I come back tomorrow?" If he only knew!

Why Blog?

I thought about blogging a while ago. It looked like fun and a good way to share your thoughts and life's activities with others. But what would I write? All I would need to say was, "See Amy's and Kathy's blogs." It seemed that a good deal of my life was taken up with them and their lives.
However, after seeing the published books of their blogs, I realized that this is a great way to journal. I'll admit that I have not been very good at writing in my journal, and this looks like a lot more fun, so why not. Besides that, even though a lot of my life parallels my kids, I certainly have a different perspective. So here goes, my attempt to keep my family and friends informed and a written record for my posterity.

Good bye to Summer

Amy's last day of summer vacation was Tuesday and she wanted to spend it at the beach. This made me smile because I remember all of the times Amy, Todd, and I spent our last day of vacation there. It usually was Labor Day, and we usually wondered if it would be too crowed. But, we always managed to find a spot and spent our last few hours of freedom relaxing in the sun and surf. How I love the beach

It's August? It must be canning time

A favorite summer activity that has become a tradition for me is my annual trip to Twin Falls to can with Mary. I leave home with a car full of empty jars and get back home with an assortment of fruits and veggies, enough to last a year or more. When we started this, Mary's dad had an enormous garden. We would go out and pick whatever was ready, then go home and can it. We have had great success with peaches, corn, beans, tomatoes, chili sauce and Grandma Busby's pickled beets and bread and butter pickles. After Mary's father passed away, we have limited our bounty to green beans and jam, with a few peaches sometimes thrown in. This year we canned 142 pints of green beans, a favorite of my grandchildren, and raspberry jam, a favorite of Amy. I love this time in Idaho, enjoying Mary and my dad's company and seeing the results of our labors all lined up on table.

Beach House

For our summer vacation, we rented a house in Newport Beach. It was right between the bay and the ocean, just perfect for us. As you can see from the pictures, we had a blast.

Happy Birthday to Me

On Sunday I turned 60 and it was awesome. It was awesome for several reasons****Todd, Kathy, and the kids were down to help celebrate. It's always great when they are here****Amy gave me a super wonderful party for family and friends. She spent many hours preparing for it: arranging the caterer for dinner, creating the beautiful rose centerpieces, organizing fun games, and serving my favorite, strawberry short cake for dessert****I am 1 year closer to retirement, only 2 years more and I get to retire. I'm really excited about that ****My dad and Mary, as well as Milo and Mark and their families came to help celebrate. It meant a lot for them to be here. It was a great evening and it helped me remember that I am loved by so many people. Happy birthday to me!!