Easter 2009 in Vancouver

I thought my traditional Easter cupcakes turned out great and they were delicious! Instead of jelly beans, this year I put peanut M&M's on them along with some malted milk ball eggs. Of course the cake was chocolate. The coconut on the icing was divine! Yum!
I was so blessed to spend Easter with Nate, Misty, Adalei and Brielle. I gave them the Easter basket full of candy from See's. You'd be proud of me; I didn't get any for myself or ask for any bites from them. I especially loved the little bunny finger puppets on the See's candy stick. See the picture below for the candy.....

Adalei and Brielle decided to have their Easter dinner on this little table. They just looked so cute together that I had to take a picture.
I think Adalei loved those Easter cupcakes as much as I did! She wasn't very interested in her ice cream though.
Cute little Brielle waiting patiently for her Easter dinner................

We were going to have Easter in Camas but Nate and Misty's oven had a problem. They have quite the story to tell about that if you get a chance to ask them. I was thrilled to have them all come to my house for dinner. I made the cupcakes and heated the ham. Misty did all the rest. It was a nice Easter weekend.

Crafts, Animals, and Snacks at the Tulip Festival (4/18/09)

The wooden crafts were impressive and the girls had such a good time posing on them. They both ran from one craft to another. I took as many pictures as I could of them together and separate. Brielle didn't sit still long so it was hard to catch her in time. They had so much fun it was a thrill just to watch their happy faces.
This was Adalei's pose when I said "Smile!"
This was Brielle's response to the camera. Everytime she saw the camera, she came towards me to get it so I had to snap the pictures fast!
Adalei loved to have her picture taken so she gave me lots of opportunities.


This is Brielle running towards me to try to get my camera.....................
Brielle had absolutely no fear of feeding the pony. She fed the pony and also threw some carrots over the fence. She really enjoyed this opportunity.
Adalei wanted the pony to eat out of her hand but the pony's owner insisted that she feed the pony this way.
We were surprised to see a kangaroo! As you can see, the kangaroo wasn't at all interested in the carrots like the pony was. Brielle stuck her fingers through the fence but the kangaroo wasn't interested in her either.
This was the first experience eating an elephant ear. They were $5 each and huge. One served all four of us. Brielle absolutely loved this snack as you can see from the picture above and below. Misty wanted Brielle to share a little as she was the slowest eater but Brielle was determined to each it all herself.
Brielle is so cute - she knew if it was in her mouth, it was all hers!
Adalei loved the elephant ear also! We also shared a piece of pizza for snack and then headed home for dinner with Nate! It was a beautiful, warm spring day and so peaceful out in Woodland. Misty and I really enjoyed our time there as much as the girls.

Osmonds in Las Vegas (4/09)

I went to Las Vegas for audit super strategies training. We stayed in the Flamingo which is also the hotel where the Osmonds perform. I would have loved to have seen at least one of their shows but the cost was high and the tickets sold out so I didn't see a show. However, I did get a few shots showing the Osmonds.
I think "Puppy Love" is the first song I remember Donny singing when I was a teenager.

The above picture is from a huge billboard outside the hotel..........
This signed portrait has a sales price of $200................... A shop in the hotel sells lots of Osmond souveniors - books, CDs, Marie designed dolls, pictures, etc.
This is the side of the Flamingo hotel. I wonder how it must feel to see your picture all over town. The Osmonds appear to be quite popular in Las Vegas. I have heard they perform there year-round. So get tickets in advance and save up if you want to go to see an Osmond show. The shows for the two nights I was there were sold out when I checked 6 weeks before our trip.

Guess Who?

Do you know who this is? (This is probably easy but I thought I'd check it out.) I'm hoping to get some guesses...

"Tiptoeing Through the Tulips" (April 18, 2009)

The Holland America Bulb Farm has a Tulip Festival each year in Woodland, Washington. Misty and I took Adalei and Brielle to see the tulips. (It was too bad Nate had to work.) These wooden shoes were so cute so I had to get a picture of the girls posing in them.
I just loved the purple flowers.
A loving mother with her two darling daughters.............
A pretty tulip...................
This picture above was entered in a contest for children under 2 years old. The winning picture will be on the front of next year's catalog that will be distributed to 7,500 customers. This picture is so cute (in my opinion). I think it may be the winning shot!
Fifty acres contain millions and millions of bulbs. These pictures show just a few shots of the beautiful tulips and other flowers.
What a beautiful smile!
Two loving adorable sisters in the tulips...................
This picture above is great. I think I'm a pretty good photographer! It's too bad Nate was not here to be in the picture also.
I just had to end with a picture including me in the tulips with Misty and my two darling granddaughters. It was such a fun day! I had a great time!

Special Moments with Weston! (3/29/09)

I just loved these pictures of Weston! Just looking at them makes me happy! The first picture is actually the last one taken but it is so precious that I had to put it first.

This is Weston's bath right after his first haircut! He is so cute - what a handsome little boy!










Jenna is such a good mom - she was playing with Weston in the bubbles so I had the chance to take a couple of shots!















































The cheesecake with the candle is from our Tahoe Joe's favorite spot! Just to celebrate Weston's first birthday one more time. It was delicious. I'm not sure Weston even got a bite but I had more than my share.
















Weston with his dad.....





























I just love this adorable picture with Weston and Paisley! I should have had it at the top!

Springtime in Roseville, California (3/29/09)

These pictures were taken across the street from where Jenna and Casey live. We had a nice walk and I really enjoyed the scenery. It was quite windy and cold but so beautiful. (I wanted to include some of my favorite people in at least one of the pictures but lacked the cooperation to do so! At least I have the memory that goes with these pictures.)

I especially love wildflowers. Purple wildflowers are my favorites.

The sunset picture at the bottom was taken while stopped at a red light. I love the California sunsets. Sometimes I wish I still lived there.

Wiggly Weston's First Birthday Party! (continued)

Jenna created the wrapping paper above for Weston's birthday presents!
It was so clever and creative that I had to get a picture!

Weston and Casey.......

Aunt Charity and Princess Paisley! Both pretty in pink!

The happy birthday wagon ride!

Paisley and Weston - inseparable! When Paisley climbed in the wagon,
Weston leaned over and kissed her forehead! It was so cute.

Time to open presents.....

Paisley picked out this birthday present for Weston! Ashley was checking out the toys at
Target and wasn't sure which toy to buy. She put Paisley down on the floor while making the comment that she should let Paisley pick out the gift. Less than a minute later,
Paisley was after this Lego dump truck on the bottom shelf!
Ashley immediately decided that was the perfect gift for Weston. Ashley was right -
Weston loved his new truck with all the Lego pieces and the Little People man driving the truck!

Wiggly Weston's 1st Birthday Party! 2009

Jenna made a lovely and delicious birthday cake for Weston. It was so cute with the magnifying glass and the bugs on the cake. The green grass was marshmallow fondant and the best I have ever tasted.

There were cupcakes, pudding with "dirt" cookie crumbs and gummy worms on top, chocolate dipped gummy worms, and jello cut-outs in the shape of "W" and "1."

Jenna also made the fruit centerpiece. (It sure looked professional - the cake did too.) The food was absolutely wonderful and it disappeared extremely fast.


























Weston liked to squeeze the cake and icing in his hands and between his fingers. Then when he realized that it tasted good he was into eating it more than playing with it!














Weston sure loved his cake. These pictures give you a good idea of what it was like. Once he got started, there was no stopping him. He is definitely all boy.




(This was so different from watching my granddaughters with their first birthday cakes.)












































Weston sure enjoyed his cake and we found out why after he was removed from the table - that cake was absolutely divine.











What a fun day! Jenna, Casey, and Weston put on a great party - good thing it was at the park! There was no floor to clean up after Weston ate his birthday cake. That was really smart of Jenna to have the party at the park!






I'm so happy I could be there to attend this party and celebrate Weston's first birthday! I am so grateful he is a healthy boy! I'm so thrilled to have a grandson!












You can see how quickly that entire cake disappeared!

An evening with Ashley, Jason, Paisley (3/26/09)

Ashley and Paisley picked me up at the airport around 3 pm when my flight arrived from Portland.

The busy engineer returned from work at Intel around 6 pm and took a minute to read about Spain in the Church News. (The gospel has been preached in Spain for 40 years now.)



We decided to go to California Fat's in Folsom for dinner. We had honey walnut prawns and I forget what the other dish was. (I'm sure Jason and Ashley will remember.)

Unfortunately we were seated at a table that was not able to have a high chair because of the fire code.... You can see how happy Paisley was about that. She had a great time and I enjoyed watching her little faces as she communicated non-verbally! We all enjoyed dinner very much before Ashley was off to her class...
It was a short but wonderful visit!

Weston's First Haircut! 3/29/09

Casey gave Weston his first haircut. These pictures are so cute. Weston is definitely the most handsome little boy I've seen. Cutting his hair seemed to take him from being a baby to a little boy. I don't understand why but it was hard for me to see his hair get cut.

Casey did a great job cutting Weston's hair. Weston is so trusting of his dad - there was not one yell or cry from Weston. I was surprised that he was so good with the noisy clippers going over his head. You can see that Weston wanted to play with the clippers but waited patiently when his attempts to get it were futile.


I'm so happy I was there to watch and take a few pictures to remember this event. The pictures say a thousand words.

Great job Casey!