Six Boys and Me (and Kitty Too)

For a whole week I had six of my boys (and Kitty) with me.

Spencer, Spencer II and Connor arrived on the Fourth of July.

We have been telling Spencer since the first year we were here in Puyallup that he should celebrate the 4th with us. He finally made it and boy did we have a BLAST. Since he is only allowed Safe and Sane fireworks in California it was a real treat to celebrate the 4th in our county neighborhood where it looks and sounds like a war zone. Okay, not that bad, but it is loud and the fireworks go on until midnight.

We splurged this year and bought a lot.

Little Spencer and Connor had a ball but I think Spencer had the best time of all.

Paul had to work that night so it was Dewey, Spencer, Little Spencer, Connor, Buddy and me. Kitty was in the house somewhere. I was very proud of Buddy. He didn't seem to mind all the noise and flashes of light. We had barbecue ribs and the trimmings for dinner. I made homemade vanilla ice cream and everyday after Connor wanted my FRESH made ice cream. He liked it best when it was soft and before putting it in the freezer but he had it hard frozen too, but I think he really wanted me to make a fresh-made batch every day. We went to the Farmer's Market earlier in the day because there is a place where the boys can decorate their own bird house, but we arrived to find them not there that day. I guess they were somewhere else for the 4th. A consolation was some delicious shaved ice. They both chose red and blue flavors--appropriate for Independence Day.



I had a wonderful time having my grandsons in Primary with me. Since I'm the chorister I was with them for all of sharing time. We sang and sang and sang.

On Monday Spencer, Paul and Andrea (Paul's girlfriend) went to the mountains. They got some great pictures and it was a beautiful day for a hike.



Meanwhile back home, Dewey, Connor, Little Spencer and I went to see "UP". The boys had seen it but were happy to go and see it again with grandpa and grandma who had not seen it. What a cute movie. The dogs were so funny in it.

Tuesday was Dewey's birthday.

We celebrated with Hawaiian food, cake, ice cream and presents.

Spencer and Paul (and Andrea) took Dewey to the Mariners' game. They had great seats, first row, down the first base line.

Right behind the ball girl who they got to talk to the whole game.

Unfortunately the Mariners lost to the Orioles and they never got a foul ball to them so the boys and I didn't see them on TV, but they enjoyed it.



We bought a blow up mattress and Connor and Spencer slept on it and stayed on it all night. I was very proud of them. It's quite comfortable.

Spencer, Connor, Little Spencer and I went to see "Ice Age:Dawn of the Dinosaurs" in 3D. A fun movie. I like anything with dinosaurs. We went for Chinese after the movie...YUM YUM!!!!

On Thursday we went to Seattle and the Pacific Science Center.

We even took Buddy and he went in with us.



I carried him the entire time. When we went to the IMAX to see "Animalopolist", Paul took him out to walk.

Also, Dewey and I took turns when we went to the Butterfly exhibit.



That was my favorite part. Real butterflies flying all around and beautiful plants and flowers.

While in Seattle we ate outside at one of the restaurant on the Pier.

We were going to ride a ferry and Connor was not happy about that but in the end we missed the ferry by a few minutes and all was right with Connor and the world.

We went to Spencer's favorite park. I think Connor likes it too. It is Wildwood Park and there is a wonderful play area and the greatest tree in the whole world to play on and around.

Paul met us there and took Connor and Buddy for a walk. Connor wanted to walk and Spencer wanted to play with the kids there so when Paul showed up Spencer got his wish and Connor his. The park has a little stream going through it and a nice playground. I wanted to take them to my favorite park called Bradley Lake Park but we ran out of time.

We had Sunday donuts and Saturday waffles and chocolate chip cookies and Rice Crispy treats and lots of other stuff. Spencer sometimes went to the gym twice a day to burn off all the calories. We played in the back yard and went for walks and we had a grand time being able to be grandma and grandpa in person. We would have loved for them to stay longer but it didn't work out this visit. Maybe next summer. I am sure I missed something but we had a full and wonderful week. I am thankful Dewey was able to spend three vacation days home with us.

I am thankful for the visit from my California boys. I am thankful for my family.

Harry Potter

We just got back from seeing Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

It was great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just wanted to get that in before I write my post of the boys visit last week that I have been procrastinating about. Dewey and I really had a good time at the movie. He has been waiting for two years to see it since they postponed it from last November.

Dewey is a BIG Harry Potter fan.

This may be my favorite of the Harry Potter movies.

5K

I did it. I walked a 5K yesterday June 24, 2009.

A milestone for me. I know for most people 3.2 miles is nothing but for me it was a goal that I accomplished. And it was a big deal for me. Paul and his girlfriend Andrea came along to show support for me and I was thrilled that they would take the time. My trusty companion Buddy was walking with us. I tried to be careful and not exhaust him but every time one of us would pick him up he wanted back down to walk. Finally with about a half mile to go I asked Paul to carry him whether Buddy wanted it or not.

When we finished one of the ladies on the walk had dropped her keys and Paul volunteered to go back to find them. Andrea went too. Unfortunately, the keys were at the mile point so by the time they went there and back they had added 2 more miles to their walk. We were going to see Transformers after the walk but decided to go home and rest since they had to leave for work a few hours later. The walk was with my Weight Watchers group so those that completed it will get a medal. I asked my lecturer if it would be sterling silver and she said probably not. However, I think it should be.



Yea!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I did it.

Strawberries

We have a little strawberry patch in our backyard.



Today I pick the third batch of this season and there will many more pickings before it is over.



I made an Amish Strawberry Bread today and it is delicious.



I have so many strawberries right now I'll have to freeze them.

Buddy likes to help me while I'm picking.



Mostly he likes to pee on the plants.(I do wash the berries very thoroughly.) Maybe I'll discover other recipes to use my berries.

Any suggestions?

June 11, 2009

Today is Buddy's birthday. He is 2 years old. Think about it--14 years old in people life. A teenager. Maybe that is why he likes cars so much. And bicycles, and roller blades etc.



I made cupcakes in honor of his big day and preceded to eat a lot of them because he can't. We went to Bradley Lake Park for a birthday walk. At one point there were 6 dogs (including Buddy) trying to sniff each others butts and various other things. After a few minutes I told their owners that it was Buddy's birthday and this was his birthday party and thanked them and we all went our separate ways. How about that for a cheap birthday? We then preceded to Petco where we cashed in his birthday coupon he had gotten in the mail the day before in his only birthday card (from Petco) this year. We were presented with a large bag of Science Diet treats which Buddy cannot eat (he has a friend he is going to give the bag to) and paid the 56 cent tax--how is that--we get a free gift but have to pay tax on it. Buddy had a mellow afternoon but before bed Dewey, Buddy and I went for a night time birthday walk. It was cool (weather) and he saw Orange Kitty, the 2 Yorkies who live around the corner and met a new friend, a German Shepherd puppy, named Rocko. I think he wanted to eat Buddy. He was only 9 weeks old and really cute. He was already bigger then Buddy.



Happy Birthday Buddy! We're glad you are in our life.

Roses

Our first roses of the year are cut and on display on our kitchen counter.



I love cutting them and bringing them inside to enjoy. The more I cut the more they bloom.

Spring is here but for the past few days it was summer- too hot for me -at least too hot for Puyallup. I know some like the hot weather but as for me if want hot I would move back to Texas. BUT everything is air conditioned there. Today it cooled down by almost 20 degrees so all is right with the world.

At least all is right in Puyallup.

A Fun Week

Carl, Devin, and Hayden arrived on the 23rd of May.



Carl could only stay through the Monday Memorial Day but Devin and Hayden got to stay till Sunday the 31st.



We had a great time having them here.



Hayden was a perfect little angel according to her Grandpa and Grandma.

Grandma got to give her baths every night.

It was wonderful to have a baby (excuse me toddler) in the house again.



We ate and ate and ate some more.

We had barbecue ribs,



roasted veggies, baked beans and corn on Memorial Day.



All cooked on Dewey's new Barbecue grill.



We had a barbecue chicken dinner at another meal. We also had Thai food, pizza, and Chinese food during the week. Dewey took Devin to the movies ("17 Again") and to lunch one day. They ate at a Vietnamese PHO restaurant. We had all kinds of snacks and of course cookies. Devin made peanut butter cup cookies. Delicious. We tried it another day and added Heath pieces to the dough but they didn't turn out as good that time. Hayden eats all kinds of things. She loved the yogurt covered raisins and she couldn't get enough grapes.

Hayden was quite fascinated with Kitty. She even learned to sound like Kitty. At one point I couldn't tell if it was Kitty or Hayden meowing. Buddy didn't feel neglected because he found Devin and Buddy LOVES Devin. I suppose Ella helped because Hayden is so use to her that Buddy was just "Ella" to her. Kitty didn't run from Hayden but she stayed out of her way. Kitty loves Devin too because Devin brushed her. Kitty thinks that is the best thing that ever happens to her besides eating.



I was so happy that Hayden was especially nice to Buddy and Buddy didn't have any episodes with Hayden. Not even a growl. Hayden has learned to sound like many animals. My personal favorite is her tiger sound.

Hayden had a few firsts with us. She had her first visit to the zoo.



The Point Defiance Zoo.



It is a little zoo but has some good animals.

I think Devin had more fun than Hayden and Hayden had a pretty good time.



We had a beautiful day. A Macaw took a dollar out of Hayden's hand. It was a donation to the zoo. I even made it the whole three and a half hours that we walked around viewing the animals. Yea for bionic knees and my daily walks with Buddy.

Hayden had her first, all by herself, ice cream cone at Baskin Robbins. We love ice cream.

Hayden also had her first ferry ride. That is a story in itself.



On Friday the 29th Dewey took the day off and we headed to Forks, Washington for a day road trip.



We got to the Hood Canal Bridge and discovered it was closed.

It was the only way to Forks from where we were,



so our plans changed and instead of going to Forks we ended up in Port Gamble. Later we caught the Kingston Ferry to Edmunds.



Port Gamble is a pretty little place. We took the walking tour and then on to the ferry.



We wanted to go to Forks because we love Twilight and it would have been fun to go just to be there.



We know Edward and Bella and Jacob wouldn't be around but at some point they passed through and that's good enough for us (meaning Devin and myself).



We played and walked at some of our favorite parks: Bradley Lake Park,Clark's Creek South Park and DeCoursey Park.

Hayden loved playing in the back yard and she had her own little pool.





Devin and I went to church on Saturday night to fill 72 hour kits. I had purchased 5 of them and Devin was going to take them home but her luggage filled up fast so I guess Dewey and I will eventually have to take a road trip to Utah.

And we went to the Puyallup Farmer's Market.

I'm sure I left out things but we had a great time.

Come back soon Carl and Devin and Hayden.



We love you and miss you!