Mother's Day Activities

We enjoyed a Mother's Day dinner prepared by Adrian. Grandma Delia and Grandma Jarrell ate with us (Adrian and I, and Adam and Logan) along with Trula and Verna. We visited outside on the deck and opened presents.

Adrian and Trula enjoyed a trip to see the chickens.

Doesn't everyone shoot firearms as part of their Mother's Day activities?!

Adrian and Adam take aim.

Trampoline Time, Mission Prep., Guitar Heroes, Birthday Celebrations

What would a trip to Kristen and Cory's be like without some time on the trampoline?!

Adam beginning the process of getting his papers ready for his mission.

Our very own guitar heroes!

Celebrating Kristen's birthday!

In the country...

Old McDonald

We enjoyed a nice visit with Kristen, Cory, Elise, Ian, and Merry Grace this weekend. On Sunday after our birthday dinner for Adrian, I decided to take Mama a plate since she wasn't feeling well and didn't get to come eat with us. Ian was eager to go with me, so we got into the van and headed out. He was so cute talking about things as we rode along, but one of the cutest things was on the way home...we were riding along, listening to the rain pouring down on the roof of the van, and then all of a sudden he burst into singing "Old McDonald Had a Farm" and so I joined in with him. It was just so cute! Ian is such a neat little fellow and just a real pleasure to be around, always full of adventure and fun!

The grandkids were all just cute as could be and it was a pleasure to be with them. Merry Grace loves to come up to me to be held and it just makes my day. She is so sweet and cute and cuddley. Sometimes she just puts her head against my shoulder and snuggles up and it is just so sweet. Elise is growing up so fast and staying such a good example and a wonderful helper in her family. It's fun to talk to her - she always sounds so grown up and expresses herself so well to be only 5.

8bol rides again

8bol, being the cute little dog he is, quickly responded to Adrian's invitation to "Come on, 8bol, let's take a ride!" Logan came along, too, and they all made a quick trip to take off our trash. 8bol must have had a great time, because when they got back, he continued to sit by the van and whine. He walked from one door to the other and then to the back. He put his paws on the back bumper and cried some more. Evidently, he really likes to ride! He is a good traveler when we go to Kristen's (and he rides in his pet carrier), but I'd never seen that kind of response to a trip! Maybe he liked being held by Logan in the seat and looking out the window this time. I don't know....but he was sure ready to go again!

More at Sunset

The colors of the sunset just fascinate me. I just love the way the sun sets over the mountains and the colors in the sky.

This is near sunset, too, this afternoon. It has been a cloudy, rainy day, but with a little clearning as you can see. Yesterday is was 85 and quite warm. The forsythia are blooming, along with the redbuds, bradford pears, tulips, etc. Just a warm and beautiful day. Today was much cooler, in the 50's. But no snow like Ethan and Adam had in Utah yesterday!

Annie Get Your Gun!

This is me rifle shooting, but skeet shooting with the shotgun is still my favorite. Yesterday I tried some from a different angle and it was more challenging, but I hit some. The best is when you shatter them, instead of just shooting off a piece.

Guns and a new hobby...

I've never been too excited about guns. Adrian encouraged me to practice with a handgun about once every year or so, so I would know how to shoot one if I ever needed it. I'm still not real excited about the whole gun thing, I mean they still scare me, but I have found that I do kind of enjoy skeet shooting. This is how it happened... One day Adrian asked me to throw some clay pigeons for him, but I had difficulty with the thrower...so he threw them for me and I used the shotgun to try to hit them. I don't think I even hit any, but it captured my attention and I thought it was challenging, and I thought maybe guns might be a little bit fun. So, it wasn't long before I wanted to try it again and so for FHE activity about a week ago, we went up into the woods and used the thrower and went skeet shooting and I actually hit some! I think perhaps this qualifies as a sport. There is the timing of things, aiming, hitting a moving target in the air, etc., and I have to admit, I liked it. I guess Adrian thought maybe we were on a roll and he'd see what else I might enjoy, so over the weekend we tried rifle shooting and a different handgun than the one I usually use, and they were okay, but my favorite is the...let me see if I can get this right...the Browning pump action 12 gauge shotgun. So, there you have it! I think I might have found a new hobby!

8bol running

8bol is so cute running and jumping!

Nature and Chickens

Sunset near Pilot Mountain

I love the colors of sunsets and sunrises! Here is a sunset looking from our yard, just below the chicken pens.

This is a good shot of Roofer and Captain Jack, two of our roosters.

Here is one of our favorite chickens, Princess.

Family Pic's

Logan playing basketball during the stake youth basketball tournament.

Merry Grace playing on the deck in her backyard.

Elise and Ian in their back yard. I thought they were cute walking along holding hands.

Logan in our circle with Lucy and 8bol.

Kristen and Logan at the Raleigh airport after flying in from Utah and their visit with Ethan and Adam.

Ian and Merry Grace - ready for church!

Elise beside some beautiful artwork!

Computer Dependent

There was some construction going on between a couple of buildings on campus today, a retaining wall or something, and a wire was cut that no one knew was there. So, I was sitting in my office minding my own business, responding to an email about a committee I'm on and was almost ready to hit send, when everything went down! The outage was partial in our building, but eventually the power was shut off completely to repair the damage to the line. It's amazing how quiet it is with no electrical things running. My computers were silent, my printer, the fax machine, the two-way radio, telephone...all quiet. A co-worker stepped into my doorway and commented that this would not have mattered 200 years ago. He's right. We do so many things with all our electronic devices that when we don't have them, we're almost paralyzed. It's like, "Well, what do I do now? What can I do?" I was desperate to use something electronic, so I got on my cell phone and texted my family (except Logan, who I knew was in school - I didn't want his cell phone to get taken away). Not that I have to have a reason like that to text my family, but I did miss all the instant communication we are so accustomed to. And it was a good reason to take a minute to say hello to everyone. As we all adapted to our circumstances, it was interesting to look around at the ways we made the best of things as some moved into the lobby area underneath the skylight and people started using cell phones for the all-important communication we have to do. It's sort of like when it snows (which we haven't really had any to speak of this year) and we have a power outage. It is inconvenient, but it is peaceful and quiet and for a little while the world slows down - and that part is nice.

I knew this was coming...

I predicted it would be soon! I told Kristen not long ago that I was beginning to feel comfortable with finding their house and knowing my way around a little (I'm so terrible on directions!), so.... I knew they would be moving soon! It always happens! As soon as I get the hang of where they live and how to get there and get around a little - they move! So, I was not surprised to hear they bought a new house and would be moving in a couple of weeks! Hmmm.... is this number....5? in 7 years? and 4 towns/cities? and 4 wards? How exciting!

A little snow

We finally had a little snow. There wasn't much and it didn't last long, but it was pretty.

Provo vs Mount Airy Weather

Today we have a few windows open in the house and the high is supposed to be right at 60 degrees. We have a sunny, blue sky and it is quite pleasant. When I check my favorite weather websites, I sometimes type in the zip for Ethan and Adam to see what their weather is like. It is rare that I check it and see many, if any, temperatures above freezing for the week! Hard to imagine!

My Personal Space

I must be clautrophobic or something, but I usually want a little personal space between myself and particularly strangers. People I'm close to are great (you know, family & friends), but when a complete stranger invades my space, I'm uncomfortable. Yesterday in Wal-Mart, I was waiting in line to pick up a perscription for Grandma, when someone got in line behind me. I mean right behind me. I moved up a little, but didn't want to crowd the person in front of me, so there was really nowhere to go, unless I wanted to leave the line, and she moved up, too. Anyway, it was a fairly long line, so we continued to move up and with each move, she was just right there, breathing on my neck, well, almost. It wasn't unnverving exactly, just uncomfortable. I just wanted to say, "Hey, just give me a little space here! You're going to get to the check out in the same place in line, just don't crowd me!" And I won't even go into the cell phone conversation I overheard!

24

Okay...I'm pretty much addicted! We used some coupons, etc. from Blockbuster and have been watching season 5 of 24 and are planning to watch the final episode tonight! It is so interesting and exciting! I almost hate to watch the last one, because then it will be over! ...until season 6!

And the Season is....

Who can tell? It's the middle of January and last night we slept with the windows open! The weather has been so mild lately that it doesn't even feel like winter! It has been pleasant and I have enjoyed being able to get outside and do things, but it's hard to tell which season we're in sometimes! I mean we do have snow in NC...so where is it this year?! I guess we've got to have some below freezing temps first!