Missing Nate, Misty, Adalei, Brielle, and Elijah!

Nate, Misty, Adalie, Brielle, and Elijah moved away earlier this week. I cried. It was so hard to see them go. I miss them already. I think Nate and Misty have been married 7 years and Nate has lived here 8 years so I've had a wonderful opportunity to be a part of their lives for a long time.

It was such a blessing to have them close for so many years. I loved being a part of their lives and watching the kids grow up. I think my relationship with Nate is even better than before because of living so close. I loved babysitting and helping them out and spending time together. They were wonderful to invite me to dinner frequently and I always loved Misty's cooking and Nate's baking. I usually saw them weekly or every other week and it was always the best part of the week for me. The kids are so adorable and I love how they call me "grammy" and then laugh. I loved doing scripture time with them and reading to them. I also really enjoyed talking to Misty about our lives and discussing business related topics with Nate. I have learned so much from them. They are excellent parents and I'm thrilled that they have been better at parenting than I was. I'm always delighted to get a phone call from one of the girls and hope that continues!

I'm not sure I have many regrets from these years together. Of course, I would have loved to have seen them more often but at the same time I wanted them to have space from me. I think we had a good balance (and I hope they do too). I do feel bad for those times I was impatient or emotional about little things. They were so patient and forgiving with me so I'm grateful for that.

I hope and pray that they will love Grant's Pass and the dental office there will be very successful. I'm optimistic that it will all work out perfectly. I hope they will be able to sell their house here quickly. I'm grateful that they are still relatively close - 1 hour plane trip or 5 hour drive. At least I can get there relatively quickly and I hope to see them often. At least every 3 or 4 months if possible. I'm already looking forward to spending Thanksgiving together and seeing their new place and the new office. Besides, I need a dental exam! I hope I can fill this void in my life and not miss them too much.

Jason has taught me to be grateful for what I have and not sad about what I don't have. I'm trying to focus on all the good years we've had together and be grateful that they aren't any further away. It is hard for a "grammy" not to live close to her kids and grandchildren. This will be like a new chapter in the book and I'm sure there will be many blessings for us all from their move. They are close to Ashland and the Harry & David factory - two places I've been wanting to visit - so I'll look forward to those visits and perhaps meeting my kids in California there since Grant's Pass is half way from here to Sacramento, California. Life is good and I am so grateful for all my many blessings.

Good bye Nate and family! I can't wait to see you again! I love you lots!

No More Grandparents

Clarence Crawford was my last living grandparent until Monday when he passed away. He was my maternal grandfather and 95 years old.

Grandpap is the one that investigated and joined the church. The missionary that gave him his first Book of Mormon is a sealer in the Portland temple so I've had the chance to talk to him and hear what he wrote in his missionary journal after meeting my grandparents. The gospel is one of the many gifts that Grandpap gave me in this life.

Every time I would see or talk to Grandpap, he would thank me for the cards and letters that I had sent him over the years. He was so appreciative and it was really nice to hear. I will miss him for that.

Weston and Benson

Weston is like a fish in water. He was so cute swimming around the pool with his "wings." Below, Benson was trying really hard to pick up the money. I was surprised he didn't even try to put it in his mouth.

Above is a picture of the house Jenna and Casey currently live in. It looks really nice especially since Casey, Jason and friends painted the interior Navajo white.

Below, is a picture of Weston and Paisley. This is where we had breakfast one morning to celebrate Casey's promotion. Before we could get in the front door of the restaurant, these two were distracted by the water fountain and wanted to play awhile.

I had a great visit to California earlier this month!

Charity's 2010 Birthday Celebration

Ashley made Charity the birthday cake of her request. It was as delicious as it looked. Ashley did a wonderful job. I was impressed. Thanks Ashley!

We had some fun games to play - pin the candle on the cupcake. Jenna was our artist and the cupcake looks great. Jenna does great with artwork. I can't remember who won this game. Was it Jenna? Charity put the first candle on the cupcake and her candle was a bit too low.

We played a relay game with good and plenty time of candy. The teams were boys against girls and the boys were the winners. You can see that Jason is ahead of Charity in this picture. The candy in the race is like putting large sprinkles on a large cupcake. (The theme of the party was cupcakes.)

The last game was the most amazing. We played a cupcake eating contest to see who could eat the cupcake first with no hands. I really appreciated all the enthusiasm for participation. The prize was $10 but was not accepted. The next two pictures show the eating in progress, followed by the winner!

(Charity wasn't willing to participate....)

Jason had a winning strategy and surprised us all how quickly he could eat a cupcake!

Charity's smile shows how happy she was with her surprise birthday party! She had lots of candles to blow out!

This is one of many birthday gifts. Casey and Jenna gave her this beautiful apron that I love. Other gifts included the forms to make a giant cupcake cake, See's candy, sandals, Tommy flip flops, etc. Jason and Ashley gave her a huge pillow to prop her up in bed. I think she had a fun time celebrating her birthday all weekend and opened gifts Friday nite, Saturday, and Sunday! It was so fun for me to be there for the birthday celebration! Happy Birthday to Charity! We sure love you!

Paisley's Poses and Spencer Too!

This is a picture of Paisley getting into the stuff for Charity's birthday party.
Paisley loved the cupcake liners with pictures of Cinderella on them.
She was so cute - it was hard not to give her anything she wanted.

Little Paisley posing at the pool - so cute!

I just love this cute little polka dot dress. I got it for her first birthday.
It was so fun to take pictures of her in the dress.

I saved the best picture for last - cute little Spencer with his big sister!
What a great time I had visiting them and
I'm looking forward to Spencer's first birthday coming up soon!
I am such a lucky grandma to have 7 wonderful grandchildren!

Charity's new location

This is the view of Folsom Lake that Charity has from her bedroom.







She lives in the cute little house shown below. It is a one bedroom cottage.

An Afternoon at Chuck E. Cheese's

Adalei and Brielle had a fun time on the rides.

Adalei was brave enough to pose by the mouse.
Below, we had a yummy lunch of pizza and fries.

Adalei was having so much fun and
below Brielle was proud that she could ride without holding on!

I lost the election!

I ran for Precinct Committee Officer and lost with 42% of the vote in Tuesday's election. I'm okay with the results.

Beautiful House for Sale in Camas, Washington

The house is ready to sell! The new shrubs in front of the house are cute.

This is the cute living room above and the dining room below.
I folded all the napkins in the glasses.

This is the entry way above and the family room below.
The pictures aren't all hung yet - 6 more to hang tomorrow.

This is the cute breakfast nook above. I recovered the chairs and impressed myself as to how well they turned out. Below is a good shot at part of the kitchen.

Here's the rest of the kitchen above and the girls' bunk beds below.

I loved the laundry room with the colorful baskets and the picture which I made!

This is one picture of the girls' bathroom above and the guest bedroom below.
The comforter set below is borrowed from my guest bedroom.

This is the master bedroom above - this picture doesn't do it justice but gives you an idea.
Below is a picture from the master bathroom.