Our East Coast loved ones came to visit.

Cris' brother, John, and his two daughters, Cathy and Jillian came for a visit this week. It was so good to see them and we had a great time.

Memzy made a pre-birthday cake for Uncle John.
Cathleen and Jillian. Beautiful girls, inside and out.
Of course we had to take them to Dewars. You can't visit Bakersfield without going to Dewars for ice cream. It's mandatory.
The other big news of the week. . . . .drum roll please. . . . . .Cris got his new power wheelchair!!! This beautiful chair came with mixed emotions. Grateful to have it--wish he didn't need it. Now here's my question. Why does this buggy cost so much (you don't want to know). Kudo's to our insurance company--love them. It doesn't have a windshield or windshield wipers, no turn signals, no radio or CD player. So what's up? It's kind of like a transformer robot---you know--one minute you're sitting, the next minute it's a sky chair raising you up. (Sky chair is a reference to a game Cris used to play with the kids when they were toddlers) The computer screen lets you do all kinds of things, forward, back, round and round. It's really quite awesome.

We are currently accepting suggestions on how we can accessorize/decorate/flamboyantize it. This will be for amusement purposes only--he plans to keep as low a profile as possible while in it. I say he needs flags, a squeezer horn and side mirrors.

These are the technicians delivering, adjusting, instructing. Click on this picture to make it big and marvel at the intricacies of the machine.

Princess Clara turns ONE!!--Updated video

THIS JUST IN!!!! Clara has learned to walk and Aunt Memzy was her best cheerleader. Enjoy



It's Clara's birthday and her mommy made a beautiful cake for her. She gets to eat the top heart all by herself.

What is this? What am I 'sposed to do with it? Can I touch it?

Mommy is introducing "Sugar Heaven" to this little birthday girl.
Hmmmm. Not bad. I think I like it.

I LOVE IT!! Thanks mom.

Happy Birthday Clara. We love you very much. Gramma and Papa

Memzy's multi-tasking

So I arrive at the gym this morning and this is what I find--Memzy waiting for her class to begin, taking every opportunity to read her new favorite book (Not Watership Down)

You have to work to see this one. See the guy in the middle with the white shirt and black pants? Look all the way back and you'll see two skinny arms over her head TEXTING. That's right--doing bum crunches while simultaneously texting. Now THAT'S multi-tasking at it's finest.

Count your many blessings, name them one-by-one.

There are days when things don't always go the way you wish. We all have them. When that happens--"count your many blessings, name then one-by-one" Here are just a few of our.

Tasha and Bella--Nick and Lori's girls. We miss them very much and love to see pictures. Beautiful, sweet, kind, smart, etc., etc.

Bella is full of joy--born that way.


Kevin and Tracey's club. Sunday was Ricky's 2nd birthday. Looks like he had fun. Christine, Seth, Rachel, Ricky, Luke. We miss them too and love them very much.
Ricky LOVES books and will sit for ANYONE who will read to him.

Kevin and Tracey. Great job--we love you.

Memzy's killer gym class AND cooking with Gramma

This picture was take this morning at the Friday morning killer gym class. That's right people. There are firemen and muscle people and Memzy in this class. Odd picture? Not at all. I took it from behind the cage. She's pumping weights while balancing on a bouncy ball. Not an easy thing to do, I fear. I was pumping weights on one of the circuit machines. Yup, I was.

It's cooking with Gramma day today and Liesl, Charlie and Clara came for the fun.
Rolling the molasses cookies in the sugar is the best part. And yes, I had to mop the floor when we were done. . . .and the counter. . . .and the cupboards.


Clara's first time at cooking school. She was psyched!!!

Yummy cookie dough.

We made two kinds. Molasses and chocolate chip.