Just wanted to get everyone on the same page, and some changes have been made. If you know what you are going to prepare and it isn't here already, let me know and we'll post it. I am so excited to see everyone and get caught up and have fun. Bob and Bev are bringing a canoe and a raft, and Bill is bringing a kayak and a canoe, and his karaoke! If you need small life jackets, you might want to bring them.

Wednesday dinner - 29 people - Bob, Bev, and Granny (Green Chili Gone Dutch, Green Salad,)

Thursday Breakfast - 31 people - Kevin and Sarah, Jeffrey and Karen

Thursday Lunch - 31 People - Janelle and Peter, Sterling and (wife?) (Salads and sandwiches)

Thursday Dinner - 37 people - Craig and Ruth, James and Cami (Steak)

Friday Breakfast - 36 people - Ned and Kim, David and Claire

Friday Lunch - 37 people - Anne, Pete and Rebekah

Friday Dinner - 32 people- Bill and Danae, Jen

Saturday Breakfast - 32 people - Mary and Aaron, Bob and Bev

PLEASE PLAN ON BRINGING PAPER PRODUCTS AND PLASTIC UTENSILS FOR THE MEAL YOU PREPARE.

If you would like to bring/prepare/share a dessert, bring along and we'll pot luck. I think I will do some dutch oven cobblers on Thursday night.

Be seeing you soon! Bev

Assignments Revisited

*Ned and Kim, and David and maybe Claire are going to do breakfast on Friday, trading with Kevin, Sarah, and Stacy, and Billy and Jen if they are coming.
*Please post what you are going to cook or prepare for your assignment, so we don't have hamburgers every meal. :)
*Please check the Family Reunion site to see if you have paid yet. I need confirmation. Getting excited?

Family reunion is almost here!! This is the proposed schedule of events. If the meal times are not to you liking, let me know.

Wednesday Dinner: Bob and Bev, Granny
Thursday Breakfast: Kevin and Sarah, Stacey
Thursday Lunch: Janelle and Peter, Sterling and
Thursday Dinner: Ruth and Craig, James and Cami
Friday Breakfast: Ned and Kim, David and (Claire)
Friday Lunch: Anne, Pete and Rebekah
Friday Dinner: Bill and Danae, Jen, Tara and Jason
Saturday Breakfast: Karen and Jeffrey,Mary and Aaron

Desserts/Smores/etc, lets everyone just bring and potluck stuff.

I will be bring Snow Cone and Cotton Candy machines that will be available all day every day. (I know - sticky and messy, but come on, it's only three days and we can throw them in the lake!)

I heard Billy and Jen may not come, or at least not stay. Please come for at least a day!

If you want to bring outdoor fun like badminton, croquet, horseshoes, Frisbees, baseball stuff, etc, please do.

I will bring along some genealogy stuff, for those who would like to know were we are with stuff.

How about: Wednesday night -?
Thursday night - Karaoke, Bill?
Friday - Circus, kids (and grown-ups?) perform (some of my family can juggle!)
Also, what do we think about a group/family devotional/family prayer/ moment each night before putting kids to bed? Say 9:00 or something.

There is a dinner theater nearby, but you can decide when you get there, I think.

Please send me any questions/problems, and when you plan on arriving. Love to you all and I CAN"T WAIT!!!!!

Mother's Day and Signs of May

May 12, 2009
I have just had a wonderful weekend! Billy and Jen Hurd are moving to Utah, and were in need of someone to drive an empty truck from Utah to Fresno, and then drive an extra car back. I talked to Bob, who said he was fine with that, so Granny and I took the challenge. It was only afterwards that we realized it would be Mother's Day weekend. I mentioned to DaNae that Granny would have 2/3 kids there, and did she think Ruth would be willing or able to come down from Oregon. She has had a terrible time with her back and traveling is not at all comfortable.
Mom and I left Manti Thursday afternoon, after Girl Scouts, and drove to St. George, where we stayed with Bob's sister, Nedra. We left in the early morning and arrived in Fresno in the mid afternoon. There were lots of frantic, secret phone calls, while things were worked out, but Ruth and Craig did decide to come, and arrived about 4 am Saturday morning. We had arranged a very unique way to surprise Mom with their arrival, but she accidently saw them hiding and started squeeling and hopping from one foot to the other saying "What's going on!!! What's going on!!?". It was so fun. We had a park bbque with Jenny and Tara and Billy and their families on Saturday, played games, watched a movie. On Sunday, the ladies were served a delicious quiche and fruit salad on the patio before church, and the guys (mostly Billy) made wonderful Mexican food for us for dinner.
We left Monday morning and drove straight through, arriving about 10:30. It was perfect.
The Lazuli Buntings are back - in force! No, this is not some aboriginal tribe or a strange fashion trend. They are beautiful red, white and blue birds! We have had 8-10 at a time at our feeders. They are small, but so colorful they take you breath away.

May 4, 2009
Okay, so I stink at keeping a journal, or a blog.
I have completed a couple of quilt tops since my last entry - a 12 block-of-the-month in pinks and greens that I added panels of "turn of the century" children, and appliqued borders. I also completed the "critter" quilt I started in Panguitch 2008. It has all different sized blocks named after "critters" and nature. It will hang (when it's done) over the doorway into the living room in James and Cami's two story entryway. And, the main part of Anne's quilt (she bought the fabric and gave us the pattern - oh, 4 years ago) is done, but we need to add really wide borders, and decided on Twisted Ribbon borders. AND, I have started a Charlottes Web quilt that is really cool, that will be big enough for Pete and Bekah's California king.
Here is a darling picture of James and Cami and their little Hudson! He is 6 months old now. They are for sure coming to family reunion! Cami's family usually go to Bear Lake that same weekend, as well, so everything has worked out wonderfully. Hudson is growing so fast! His laugh is contagious and he smiles and plays so cute. Rebekah tends him everyday while Cami goes to work and (darn it) he knows and like her better than me!!
But his is very friendly, and warms up quickly to new people.
Mary and Aaron have decided to FOR SURE to come to family reunion, with a 5-7 week Lily (Due June 18th). So, that makes %100 of my kids, and Bills. Ruth's kids are planning on it, but will need to see what work schedules are then. I am sooo excited.
Just a note on being "empty nesters". First of all, even when the kids are out of the house, they are not gone. And that is a GOOD thing. I love to hear from them, answer their questions (cooking, friends, pregnancy, babies, etc), hear their news, and share their joys. And I love that they love to come home and visit, stay the night or the weekend, or have us at their homes.
I also love that I have the time to do things with Bob. Our recently completed Hobby Room was the largest bedroom, and it now houses Bob's radios and work space, my sewing machine and all the stuff I need for quilts, crochet, knitting, scrapbooking, painting and crafts. Also, a huge TV James and Cami gave us, a day bed/couch with trundle, and all my favorite DVD's. So, often we work on things together in the same room and share a movie. Also, usually I can just drop everything when Bob calls that he needs to do rounds at the hospital right after work and do I want to go along for the ride (which means a couple of hours of time to do handwork, and dinner out). We both have ward church jobs, and can go to and from church together and sit together in meetings. ( I play the piano in RS now instead of Primary.) I usually do the cooking and Bob the cleaning up, but if I'm busy he does the cooking. We try to have an overnight in Provo or Salt Lake every other month. Our love and care for each other has only increased, and I am blissfully content and happy.

Februsary 5, 2009
This has been a very busy couple of weeks, and looks like the trend will continue.
I have been serving as a Sector Chairman for the Boy Scout Council here, (basically from point of the mountain or Draper, to Paige Arizona, and state borders east to west), for 3 years. Before that I was Sector Commissioner. (Because the council is so huge geographically, the Council President divided our 38 districts into sectors, and we, along with the Field Directors, constitute Sector Key 3s.

Anyway, Hal Miller became the new Council President, and asked my last November if I would be willing to serve as a Council Vice President over Membership and Relationships. After lots of q&a, research and discussion, I agreed. So they are in the process of replacing me as Sector Chair, but currently I am doing both.

As Membership Vice Pres., I am responsible for training the 38 District Membership Chairman, (if they have them, which some don't yet) how to find potential sponsoring organizations, organize new units, find the boys, and in the case of Venturing and Exploring, the girls to join Scouting. There are so many ways to be involved in Scouting and I am learning about Soccer to Scouting (mainly to get Hispanic families involved through a structured Cub Scout soccer league) and Learning for Life (a K-12 values and life skills curriculum for use in schools and taught by the regular school teachers). Did you know that a high school club, even cheer leading, can become a Venturing group, which would provide BSA insurance and access to Scout camps and properties, when available, for their activities? In a small high school with few resources, they could have a snowboarding club, chess club, science - anything, and have available all the training for leaders and youth, insurance, and all the benefits of Scouting.

Anyway, it will means lots of traveling and teaching and workshops and training and I am excited.

We have about finished our 'hobby room" (not to be confused with our 'Hobbit room' ). Bob's radios and other electonics, my sewing machines, yarn, paint stuff, scrapbooking-all in one room with lots of shelves and counters and a huge TV (thank you James) and a daybed. So we can both be working on things together, or if one is the other can watcha movie or doo handwork, read, whatever,and we are together. Bob took the plaque off on old cultural hall door and put it on the hobby room door. It says "No admittance without authorized adult supervision."

The Asian room is started. I am wainting to get the rest of the Hobbit pictures framed, then I will add a video pan of the Hobbit room for this site. And the Africa and Victorian, as well.

So, we keep busy. And happy.

ITS FOR THE BIRDS
My 8x4 foot kitchen window faces east. There is a large deck, with two bird feeding stations and a total of 5 feeders for mixed seed, thistle and sunflower seed, plus suet feeders. We spend about $65 a month on bird seed. At any given moment there are +40 birds. These are the common guests this time of the year: house finch, house sparrow, dark eyed junco, and pine sisken.
The problem is our large,east facing window acts as a mirror, reflecting the trees, mountains and blue sky. Every morning one or two of these little creatures smashes into the window, thinking it is free air space. They fall to the deck, upside down with feet curled up, or wings splayed out and still.

Bob taught me years ago that if you hurry, you can usually save them. The problem is they go into shock and will surely die, even if the impact isn't lethal. You need to pick them up, set them right side up in your cupped hands, and hold them for 2-10 minutes, until they can keep their feet under them and their heads erect. You can usually feel their little hearts beating a mile a minute. At first they will be pretty limp, keep their feet curled, and their eyes might be partly closed. But if they are going to survive they start to perk up. I pet their soft heads with my thumb and talk to them (not mandatory, I guess). When they can keep their feet open and support their own weight, I set them on a branch (Bob put our live Christmas tree still in the stand on the deck for this purpose) or ledge or fence and walk away. I watch them out my window and check until they fly away.

I have saved maybe a dozen birds in the last couple of weeks, and only lost two. It makes me nervous to run errands until about 10 am when the sun is high enough to minimize the illusion.

It's a little thing, but it's what I do.