My gift

I told you about my Dad on his birthday, the 18. I had his gift done for him, which is very unusual. I seem to have a block about birthdays. I know there coming, know when they are, just can't seem to do the card/gift thing on time.

It is also getting very hard to come up with something for Mom and Dad. I don't want to give them things that I will have to bring back to my house, sometime in hopefully the far distant future. They always tell us not to get them anything, which I try and not pay attention to. We have gotten where we have either given them gift cards to eat out, or taken them out, which we really love. But I had a different idea this year. I knew that there was a huge tub of pictures and things in Mom and Dad's basement, that was Grandma's. I went thru it and found a bunch of pictures. Also a cousin of Dad's emailed me a bunch of wonderful photos, last year. So I decided I wanted to do a scrapbook for Dad's birthday. I ended up with 2 6"x6" books


This is Grandma Thomas, in the mirror, with her mother. I think this is one of the coolest photos, I have ever seen.


If you want to see the rest of the book, go look here.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/grandmaper/sets/72157607526068828/

BTW, Mom and Dad were thrilled. Now they can look at these photos anytime they want to, and not have to sort thru that big tub in the basement.

Girls and football

just don't mix, I guess. Monday, in P.E. class, Grace was to catch a football. As she did so, she hurt her pinkie finger. It looked swollen and the assumption was that she either sprained it, or jammed it. She was complaining of pain, and Joan tried to get her in, but couldn't, until Tue. Well, sure enough, the luck of Grace, her finger was broken.




She goes back in three weeks to see how it is healing. She had decided before her appointment, that she wanted a blue cast. I asked her why blue, "It's my favorite color" was her response. So there. She said it doesn't hurt, now that she has the cast. She really didn't do a whole lot of complaining, even at the time it broke.

She's a Senior!

Katisha is a Sr. this year, so that means lots of lasts, I guess. Well, last night was her last Homecoming. She was going with a group of friends, no DATE. I always thought those were the best times. Not tied to one person, just have a good time with your friends.



She came out early in the day and helped Grandpa tape styrofoam for the garage floor. Before that, we did go to The Cafe for an awesome breakfast, as usual. Anyway, when she was done helping Grandpa, and cleaning her new car, she went home to start getting ready for the dance.



She came back later so we could see her, and give her money for her ticket. Of course it was picture time. I did have her take a couple of her and Grandpa.

Happy Birthday Dad

Yup, today is Dad's birthday. He turns 72. Now if anyone wants to do the math, I will be 60 on October 1st. Mom will be 81 on October 16, and they will celebrate 51 years of marriage, Dec. 9.
The year I started Kindergarten, my Dad was a Senior in High School. That always makes me laugh. Three years later, Mom and Dad met, at my grandmother's cafe, Mom's Cafe. It was a truck stop, with a gas station attached. Mom worked at the cafe, Dad at the station. They finally started dating, which only lasted 3 weeks, and they got married. BTW, my mom had divorced my biological father earlier that year, THANK GOD.

Us kids were all in love with Dad, and were really happy about the marriage. Because Dad was only 21, Mom 30, and us three kids, others were very skeptic of it all. Well, to this day, I have never met another 21 year old man, willing, or able to take on the task, and do the excellent job Dad did.

Yes, there were lots of bumps along the way, but that happens in everyone's family. All I know, is this man stood up, and took it all on. If there was child support, great, if not, we still were taken care of. The biggest thing for me, I always knew I was safe, which was something new for me. There was never any yelling, screaming, violence, threats, nothing. There were very lean times, but not because he didn't work 365 days a week.

Grandma, (Evelyn), Great Grandma,(Mommy or Elva), Grandpa, Homer)

Along with a wonderful father figure, Kenny, Gerry and I received two of the best grandparents any child could ask for. I have always been amazed at how they must have felt, but they never showed Mom or us kids anything but love. We also got a fantastic Great Grandmother, who also welcomed us with open arms. There were also two wonderful aunts, Rita and Dixie. I don't know how we got so lucky, but I'm sure glad it all happened. Eventually we were blessed with two little sisters, that made our family totally complete.

Dad, Happy Birthday. I'm sure there were many times along the way that you second guessed your decision, esp. when there were three teens in the house. But you never failed us. You are the person that I judge all men through, and man did you set the bar high. I love you, and Happy Birthday! Oh, and hope for many more.

My weekend

My daughter Joan has mentioned for a few years that she would like to start scrapbooking, but it just didn't happen. She has always been a very artistic person, and has shared my love for taking pictures. A week ago she came out and we organized some of her pictures, and put together some page kits, so she could scrapbook with my scrapbooking group.

So Friday, we went to the club house, me at noon, and Joan at 1 or so. We were joined a little later by a couple others and eventually there were 13 of us. We had such a fun time. Daughter Joan fit in very well, and did some wonderful pages.

Saturday I went to meet Karla, at her daughter's softball game. Karla and I took off and headed for Des Moines. We were heading to see Jason Aldean at the Val Air Ballroom. We drove by to see how big a crowd there was and if we needed to stop and jump in line. The line was pretty short so we went to Valley Junction. We shopped at Heirlooms by Design for a bit, then went and had supper. It was then time to go stand in line. We happened to meet our friend Amy, who was second in line, so she saved us spots, belly up to the stage. It was wonderful. Jason put on a really good show, and has a wonderful, fun to watch band. BTW, he is much younger looking in person, than in his videos. Either way, very handsome guy.

We ended up with some very funny stories again, but as they say, "What happens in............." The younger generation is so different than it used to be. Dang. Anyway, we had a blast, and it sure felt good to cut loose, again. It has been way too long.

We then headed to the Motel 6, to spend the night. We had a little adventure finding it, but alas, they did "keep the light on", and we found it. We slept, showered and on the road again, we were. Well, first a stop at McDonalds, Archiver's, and Old Navy.

We arrived in Council Bluffs, walked all the way thru the Casino, only to find out the venue was outside, just across the street from where we were parked. Oh, well, there was a strong need for a ladie's room. We spent the next few hours in line, meeting some pretty nice people. A woman Karla used to work with was third in line, so we did end up going in with her, and WOO HOO, belly up to the stage, again.

Cross Canadian Ragweed opened for Gary, BLECH!!!!! But, who cares, we were getting to see "Our Gary". We would have stood thru anyone for Gary. And nope, he didn't disappoint. It was truly amazing. He just gets better and better.
And after all these years, I do know what my favorite, favorite, favorite Gary song is. Gary's version of Tom Petty's "BREAKDOWN" is beyond freaking amazing.
By the way, who doesn't love a man in a skirt? I do.

We had a blast, and again, lots of stories, and a ton of hysterical laughter. Got home at 2:00 a.m. this morning. Didn't get to sleep until 5, up at 9, and going to hopefully, crash tonight. Fantastic weekend, thank you Karla. Ready to do it again, anytime soon. Next time we may have to invest in some depends.

School picture time

Teddy and Grace have school pictures today, so they were both very excited and wanting to look extra special. They picked out their clothes, and I must say that they both looked so darned cute. Teddy even did an extra tooth brushing, LOL. Oh, and the hair, that had to look perfect. I just don't recall 10 year old boys really caring what they look like, but he sure does.


And Grace, she came down with a big old sweatshirt covering her gorgeous outfit. Well, she is 9, and she is pretty self conscious of what changes are going on with her body. OMG, I so remember 50 years ago, and all the trauma of that stage in your life. It really sucks being a girl some times. I did convince her to ditch the sweatshirt long enough to take some pictures. She doesn't like her smile right now either, cause she is missing a couple teeth. We don't notice, but she sure does. God, vanity and self doubt starts so young. Poor kid. She just doesn't see how beautiful she truly is.
Last minute instructions, give them your best smile. Oh, and Teddy says, "it isn't fair, we have our pictures after P.E., so we will probably be sweaty and all messed up." OK, knock it off Teddy, you aren't old enough to worry about stuff like this. Go to P.E. and run and sweat, and get messed up, and have a ton of fun. It is only a picture, and Grandma has a ton already.

Both of you, enjoy being children, you are too young to worry.

Summer coming to an end

Fall is my very favorite season. Seems strange, since next comes Winter, which I really don't care much for, esp. as I have gotten older. The only saving grace, I don't HAVE to go anywhere. But, we aren't there yet. We are still in Summer, for a few more weeks. The kids are back in school.









Don's mother told me that she always knew that it was time to go to school when the Goldenrod was in bloom. Such a very gorgeous color of gold.

The Trumpet Vines are in bloom. They can be a nuisance, if let go, but when contained, so gorgeous.






Then the Resurrection Lily. What a surprise they are. About mid-Summer this beautiful lush green foilage comes up, just leaves. They last for a few weeks, then die off. They get mowed off. Then when you have forgotten all about them, these beautiful shoots flowers show up. I remember my surprise the first year they appeared. I have loved them, and looked forward to them every year, since.



And then the Butterflies, all the gorgeous different colors. What amazing creatures to go thru all the stages of their lives, to become one of the most beautiful forms of life.


We all think that Spring is when everything comes to life, but wow, what is going on around us at this time of year in Iowa, is nothing short of glorious. How can people not believe in a higher power when all of this is around us, free for the taking.