A Dandelion Kind of Day

Brockton came over again. We love his little visits!!! Stacy and I took him to the park to try out our new gear yet again. The following are my pictures. Check out her blog to see hers. Brockton is getting more and more adventurous. Here he is walking on the slide.

I've noticed that he is starting to stick his tongue out the side of his mouth more and more. Reminds me of Tracy. When someone's trying to do something he tells them it works better if they stick their tongue out the side of their mouth first.

On the way home, we found a dandelion. I showed Brockton what happens when you blow on them. He said, "Oooh." I then gave it to him to blow and he immediately popped it in his mouth before Stacy or I could do anything. We were both aghast. He stuck out his tongue and it was covered with seeds. I busily went to work wiping them out of his mouth while Stacy looked on. She was too caught off guard to even think of getting a picture, so I took this one a little later, because of course I had to blog about this little incident. Oh, how I love this little boy!!!

I'm No Longer a Rebel Mom!

Yea!!! I finally saved enough money to buy me a new camera. I am no longer just a "Rebel Mom" as one of my teachers referred to the moms who own Canon Rebels. I got a Nikon so Stacy and I could share lenses, etc. Now, I just need to learn how to use it! I put it together just as Brockton came over to visit while his parents went to the gym. So, Stacy and I took him outside to get some pics. She got a new lens too and wanted to try it out. Here are a couple of my favorite pics that I took. Check her blog to update soon with her faves. I was soooo loving her lens. But, I do love my new outfit too!!! Even if it is soooo much heavier than my Rebel. I told Tracy I need to start lifting weights to get myself in shape to haul that thing around.

Brockton LOVES basketball! It's so fun watching him with the ball, looking at the hoop.

Today in Primary I Learned...

That with my new haircut, I look like Elmo. Uh, thanks Kaden. I did say thanks, then told him that Elmo's hair is red and mine is not. He said something like I know but it goes like this...(making flipping motions.) I said, "Well, Elmo's cute right?" He said yes. I asked, "So does that mean I look cute?" He said yes. Good answer. At least I got a good chuckle. By the way :) Kaden is 4...no one else better try to get away with this. Just bite your tongue and go straight to the you look cute part. Thank you.

Picture of Elmo, who knows. Picture of me by Stacy of course. Oh and she styled my hair for me this morning too. Thanks Stacy! Even if I do look like Elmo.

Mary Higgins Clark

On Tuesday evening, I had the privilege of meeting Mary Higgins Clark and her daughter Carol. They answered questions for awhile, then signed books. My sister Jill and I went an hour early to get a good seat, maybe too good, because it took us awhile to get out of the auditorium and into the line for the book signing. While waiting in line for the event, Jill turned around and saw our other sister Danna, so we saved her a seat. Jill and I took pictures and Jill got Carol to autograph her book, since she was just sitting there at the time. She passed the book to her mom, so after awhile Jill decided to go home. I got in the book signing line with Danna. She had moved maybe one step. The line was so long, we didn't get our books signed until around 11:00 p.m. Oh well, it was a fun wait. I loved hearing Mary speak. She is so funny. Who would think that? Her books are so serious. She said that when she was young, she would get together with her friends and say, "Let's get a candle, turn out the lights and tell scary stories." She is the best mystery writer I know. I was a little sad to hear that she is 81. Hopefully she lives to be 181, so I can read her books for many more years to come.

Oh, and I guess you can tell I got my hair cut and colored.

We Love to See the Temple

Stacy and I decided to go down to Temple Square again. Marinda called, so we invited her along. This was actually one of the last shots of the day, but it is Stacy's favorite, so I'm posting it first. Isn't it cute? Stacy watched as the couples jumped and wanted the chance to jump too.

I thought this bride was so pretty. When I saw the children gathering around her, I had to take a few pictures. This is one of my favorites:

Isn't she gorgeous. She didn't speak much English. I think she met her husband while he was on his mission.

This little girl came a few minutes later, here she is waiting for the bride and groom to exit the temple.

The first bride and groom setting up for a photo shoot. I had to crop out the photographer, that's why it's a little off center. I also shot this at 300mm.

If you're longing for spring, go to temple square where all the flowers are in bloom.

The bride and groom again.

The little girls from the second wedding playing ring around the rosies. They hardly spoke English, but they sang the song in English. They were so darling!

We had such a great time. Just wish we didn't have to keep running back to check the meter.

Bless You

Brockton has had a cold now for at least 3 weeks. Last night he was over visiting and I noticed his nose was running, so I grabbed a tissue and wiped it, then set the tissue on the arm of the chair. Brockton grabbed the tissue and pretended to wipe his own nose. He put the tissue back on the arm of the chair. Hallie sneezed and Brockton looked at her and then reached for the tissue. I said, "No, no..." Hallie sneezed again and Brockton grabbed the tissue and reached towards Hallie. She sneezed again and he held it up to her nose. What a sweet boy wanting to help Hallie. I wish my camera had been out for me to capture the moment. This will have to do.

UPDATE: Brockton came over again to play and he started playing with Hallie. I went to get the camera to get a better picture of the two of them together and this is what I found. (It only took me 30 seconds to get the camera.)

He was in Hallie's kennel feeding her. He loves to feed Hallie. Tracy taught him this little trick last week (feeding her, not climbing in the cage.)

Brockton's First Easter Egg Hunt

Cody and Stephanie were nice enough to let me go with them for Brockton's first Easter Egg hunt.

Here's Brockton meeting the Easter Bunny with Mommy.

Brockton saw the eggs and thought they were balls. He loves balls and wanted to go get them. He didn't understand why his parents were making him wait.

Brockton got a couple of eggs and put them in his basket until....

he spotted this basketball looking egg. After he picked up this egg, he didn't want any others, even though there were tons right next to him. The next thing we knew the hunt was over.

Brockton took off towards the playground with his egg in hand. I LOVE this picture.

Daddy helping Brockton climb up the slide,

and sliding back down. I love the look on both of their faces.

On the stairs of the jungle gym.

Making his way to the basketball hoops, his basketball egg in hand.

Daddy throwing the basketball egg through the hoop.

It breaks apart.

Heading home.

Fourth and Final Post for the Day

I've been served. Lovely. What a lovely end to a wonderful day of being spiritually uplifted. I guess the devil doesn't take Sundays off and neither does his worker bees. Makes me not want to open the door on a Sunday night. Remember this post? Well, they contacted a lawyer. Said we never contacted them. Liars! We called them and sent a letter! Oh well, there goes the money for a new camera. I love working through backaches, neckaches and headaches to give my money to thieves!

Ladies' Night

I've been going to Deseret Book's Ladies' Night Out for as long as I can remember. It went from being a small gathering of women who stood on a lucky number to hundreds of women waiting anxiously for their name to be drawn. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it. But, I get a chance to see old friends and a chance to look at newly released books. I've dragged my kids along through the years, until they were old enough to stay at home. Stacy has been gracious enough to go with me. She has probably attended every Ladies' Night Out since she was born. You can't win until you're 18. She didn't win the first couple of times that she was allowed to put her name in, but she won last night! She won the following book:

Brockton and Max

Brockton's cousin Max came down from Idaho for a visit. They came out to the Garden Center to get their pictures taken. Max was a little leery and Brockton wanted to explore and ride the 4-wheeler. We did get a few cute pictures though.

My cute son Cody with Brockton and Max.

Father and son.

Isn't this the cutest? Look how little he looks up on that big thing.

It was hard to catch the two of them looking the same direction at the same time.

Watching the fish and playing in the water. I love this new addition to the garden center!

Stacy took some great photos too. Look for her to update her blog soon.

My Hard Working Dad

My dad has been a hard worker all of his life. He grew up on a farm and along with his chores, he also hired out to neighbors weeding long rows of vegetables for a dollar a day. My mom's dad was the manager of Miller Floral and my dad got a job with him, eventually opening up his own greenhouses. He retired a few years ago, but then he and my brother talked about opening up a garden center and he came out of retirement to help build the greenhouses needed and to also plant and water the plants and hanging baskets needed. We would tell him to slow down, take time off, not to work so hard. He is approaching 80. He didn't listen. This week after carrying the baskets and lifting them up to pain, he was a little tired. Chest pains developed that night. After a trip to the doctor and hospital for tests, he was placed in the hospital. Seems the stress test gave him a mild heart attack! (Dang Davis North Hospital!) He went in for an angiogram and received a couple of stints. He felt great afterwards, but had to stay in the hospital a couple of days for observation thanks to the mild heart attack caused by the caring professionals at Davis North. He was released this morning. My mom said he'd most likely be back to work tomorrow to water the plants. No lifting anything over 10 pounds for awhile. I hope he listens to that one. You just can't keep a hard worker (and a good man) down.


Dad decided a couple of months ago that it was time to get another dog. He hasn't had one for quite a few years. He wanted a beagle and found this hyper little cutie. She loves to fetch and she loves my dad. My mom on the other hand isn't too pleased with her new dogsitting duties.

Stacy took these pictures out at the garden center one day. My mom was there too, but she doesn't like her picture taken so I know she wouldn't want it posted. She's a hard worker too, but she has decided it's not too wise to push her limits.