Four Wheeling Fever

Have I mentioned before that I love being from a small town. If not, let me make it clear - I think small towns are great. Case in point: We took the kids four wheeling last week and decided to ride from the house and go up a nearby side canyon. Jami warned me to make sure the kids had helmets because the police were ticketing any minors who were riding without one. Here's what I love - the cops don't care that people are riding four wheelers around town, they just want to make sure everyone is safe. Everything is as it should be.

BTW, you can't quite tell with the clarity of the I Phone,

but the view was amazing.

Who's In Charge of the Baby?

A little in the mouth, a little down the belly, and a lot in the diaper.

Life is Good!

Happy Anniversary

Exactly a year ago I was at Heritage Gardens, getting ready to make the walk down the aisle that would change my life for the better. There were a few hiccups as everyone was left waiting in the sun, thinking I was pulling a "runaway bride". I was actually inside pacing around waiting for some very important family members who had been sent to do an errand. I won't name names, but the girls with the baby who came running in late, in fantastic shoes, may have been the culprits. From that point on, it was smooth sailing. We had such a fabulous night with family and friends. The party in my parents backyard the next night was so much more fun than I would have imagined. And Maui, couldn't have been better.
Now, don't let the bliss filled paragraph fool you, it has been work, and not every day has been perfect. It is tough to blend two lives, to compromise, to be unselfish. But I can't imagine my life without him. Whatever the bumps in the road, the journey has been so completely worth it. I can't wait for the next 50 or so years. Love you babe.

Still Alice

"She didn't want to become someone people avoided and feared. She wanted to live to hold Anna's baby and know it was her grandchild. She wanted to see Lydia act in something she was proud of. She wanted to see Tom fall in love. She wanted to read every book she could before she could no longer read.

Alice Howland is proud of the life she has worked so hard to build. A Harvard professor, she has a successful husband and three grown children. When Alice begins to grow forgetful at first she just dismisses it, but when she gets lost in her own neighbourhood she realises that something is terribly wrong. Alice finds herself in the rapid downward spiral of Alzheimer's disease. She is only 50 years old.

While Alice once placed her worth and identity in her celebrated and respected academic life, now she must re-evaluate her relationship with her husband, her expectations of her children and her ideas about herself and her place in the world.

Losing her yesterdays, her short-term memory hanging on by a couple of frayed threads, she is living in the moment, living for each day. But she is still Alice. "

This was a rough book to read. My great aunt had alzheimer's. She was quite old when she developed the symptoms, but it was no less heartbreaking to watch someone slowly lose themself. The book has had fantastic reviews and in theory was great. Just be warned that it is a really emotional read.

B+

New House

It's official, we are home owners. We don't quite live there yet, but hopefully this week. The house was a foreclosure and has needed some serious TLC. This has meant a lot of stress and work, but I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and am getting excited. It is a little bittersweet though. I'm not a big fan of change and it's tough for me to leave the place I have lived for the past 15 years. It is definitely a great opportunity for us, just tough for me to leave. More pics of the interior to come...

Kindergarten Graduation

Miss Ada is an official graduate of Kindergarten.

The graduation program had so many fun songs.

Ada was the superstar.

Grandma and Grandpa are the best cheerleaders ever.
Miles is always great for a little drama.

Just a little warning.

Be careful where you are when you tell

a little boy that he should go potty.

Then again, wouldn't it be nice if life were so easy.

Hillbillies

So they packed up their stuff and they moved to Beverly...

Wow, it's amazing how much stuff you can

pack into a small truck and trailer.
Tim and Ryan have mad skills.

One day we may actually move the stuff

from the garage into the house.

State Orchestra

I'm a little behind the times, but a few weeks ago T went with

his freshman orchestra to the state competition.

I don't know what I was expecting, but I was shocked

at how amazing they were.

The judges obviously heard the same thing

since they awarded perfect scores.

Congratulations.