New Shelves

My son Greg built some shelves for me during Christmas vacation. They turned out exactly how I wanted them. They will soon be filled with books and pictures.

BEFORE (This is before we put flooring, etc.)


AFTER

A Day With Kru

I got the privilege of watching my grandson the whole day Sunday. He and Emily helped me wash his Mommy's car. He loves the water. Afterwards we had a spaghetti dinner then worked on the inside of the car. He and Emily played in the back until he fell asleep sitting on Emily's lap. She told me if she were a little older, she would be a great Mommy.

Christmas 2009

It was a great blessing to have all three of my sons and Emily as well as Rikki, her mom and brother here for Christmas. We had dinner then opened gifts. Everyone was pleased and thankful. This was Kru's first Christmas to actually unwrap presents. He had a blast. We went to Sea World the day before. Notice Tony riding with Kru on a pink pig. Our city has a traveling Santa that stopped in our neighborhood. Emily sat in Santa's lap and told him what she wanted without any prodding this year.

Our Trip to PennyPickles Museum

Emily and I love to go to the PennyPickles Museum in Temecula (the next town over). We have been there three times and still find it fasinating. This time we also walked around town and looked at other shops and had dinner. We have a pretty good time together.

June's Visit

My sister came for a visit last month. She is such a sweet soul. I had to leave while she was here and go to my father-in-laws funeral so I didn't get to spend as much time with her as I would have liked. She came on Thursday and left on Tuesday. My sister, like myself, works way too much but she is happier that way. While she was here she planted trees for me in the backyard, put up wire mesh to keep Emily's escape artist dog in, painted my spare bedroom (it is no longer neon pink), planted greenery at my entrance, power washed and scraped my deck outside my bedroom and painted it and put up security pins in my sliding glass doors. She is just simply amazing. I told her she had a place to stay anytime. Thank you June.
Here are some after pics:

Dress-up Night

Emily wanted to us to dress up and go out to eat. We had bunches of fun.

Ed Minich

My father-in-law Ed Minich passed away Thursday, November 12th. He was a most wonderful man and Emily and I will miss him very much. Here is a tribute video his son Dave put together.


Here are a couple of my favorite pictures of him and Emily

Oh and by the way....

I am going to be Grandma again. Yeah! Rikki (the best daughter-in-law I could ever hope for) is 5 weeks along.

Catalina Cruise

Emily and I went on a 4 day cruise with Tony, Rikki, Kru and Debbie (Rikki's mom) Oct. 26th to the 30th. We went on a Carnival ship stopping at Catalina and Ensenada, Mexico. The cruise ship, entertainment, food, work out facility, everything was great. I liked Catalina, not impressed with Ensenada although Emily really enjoyed getting to ride up front with the buggy driver as we took a small tour on a horse and wagon. Emily loves cruising. She made a few friends on the ship and went with them for the 'Princess Party' which consisted of a spa day.

In Catalina, I stumbled across a fantasic Art Gallery that featured an artist by the name of Ruth Mayer . I love the way she catches light. One of my favorites is 'Walk on Water'. It depicts Jesus walking on the water but looking from under the water up.

It is nice not cooking or cleaning and just relaxing but it is even nicer to come back home. I love home. Here are some of my favorite pictures of the trip:

Kru's First Birthday Party

We had a great Halloween/Birthday party for Kru's first birthday! Tony, Rikki, and her mom, Deb, decorated the house and made all kinds of fun things to snack on. Lots of friends and family. Kru had a great time but was really exhausted at the end. Enjoy the pics!

Catching Up

Last weekend we went to the beach and stayed with Jim's sister Carla and family. We had a great time. Chris and Carla are such great hosts. Emily and Lindsay play so well together. We rode the roller coaster and Emily got a henna tattoo. She got to surf and was so proud of herself. She got to stay an extra day with them (without me). They brought her home and had lunch with us before heading back to Arizona.

Emily had another basketball game tonight. She is starting to get the hang of things and getting a little more confident. Today I worked on painting my fence. Lowe's suggested spray paint so after 5 cans and my hands cramping, I think I will take a different approach. I did find out today that it is illegal to sell spray paint to any one under 18. You also have to register you pet and you can't have more than three.

On another note, my neighbor edged my yard for me today. I have not been able to find my weed eater battery and not ready to buy a new one yet. So Emily made a really cute thank you card and I baked them a dozen cookies to thank them.

The weather has been wonderful!

Here is a few pictures from the beach. I always like it when I can get a great sunset. My brother-in-law Bob enjoys them.

Kitchen Granite Completed

This is my kitchen after the granite was installed. It made the kitchen look so much bigger and brighter. I really, really like it. Now I just need to figure out what to put in that empty wall space on the right side of the sink. I think something is wrong with my camera as there is a strange light marking across it.

Time Flys....

I can't believe it has been 2 weeks since I last posted anything. Sunday before last, I had several family members for Sunday dinner. It was very nice.

Emily has been playing basketball. She signed up with the YMCA and ended up on an all boy team. At first, I didn't think she was going to play but she is doing OK now and actually enjoys it. I can see a lot of progress with Emily. I think home schooling is helping a lot. She is so smart and she likes the one on one time she gets with me.

My grandson is just so cool. I just don't think I could love him anymore. It is so wonderful to see him with his Mommy and Daddy.

I have been taking off from running because of an injury. I am sure ready to get back to it. Maybe next week. Enjoy the pictures.

This is the view from my bedroom balcony. I love the mountains. As you can see my fence is in dire need of painting. On the list.


Kru, Tony, Rikki, their dogs, Debbie


Tony, Rikki and Kru in Emily's favorite tree.


Emily playing basketball.


My brother Dave and his son.


My brother Ben and his grand daughter. She is the light in his world.