Happy Birthday Grandma!

Good things (and bananas) come in bunches. GM's birthday comes very quickly after mothers day, in fact, when the stars are aligned just right, they actually occur on the same day!
Well not this year. We had a few days between mothers day and the birthday to prepare our traditional GM birthday celebration.
Know one remembers how it started, but for years now the tradition is to get TONS of Chinese food and then have presents and cake. It's weird because it is usually the only day of the year that we get take-out Chinese food. By the way - do you know what they call Chinese food in China? See the end of the blog for the answer.
The party actually started at CJ's little league game, where besides getting 3 hits, he started a triple play by catching a fly ball and throwing out the first of two base runners that couldn't get back to base.
We then went home and waited for Bonnie to show up with the food and cake.

The small box of Chinese food arrives.

Bonnie set a cute table.

What to eat first?

It's all so yummy!

Everyone digging in.

Into the family room for presents. Bonnie and the kids did a "beach theme" of gifts.

GM received a folding beach chair with a big pocket in the back for goodies. The whole thing folds up into a neat back pack. Which was also filled with beach related goodies (and some salad dressing from CJ - go figure).

Aubs and mom watch from the safety of the couch. CJ runs amuck.

Some of GM's goodies.

By the way, Grandpa is taking Grandma to see Elton John in concert. Of course, none of the kids know who he is.

Thanks and group hugs.

Yummy cake!

Answer to joke "food" - I'm a going to be a great custodian some day (ask GM about that one)

Mothers Day

Mothers day this year actually started on Friday when GM received 2 dozen Sherry's Berries.

Yum!

This year GP decided to give GM breakfast, not in bed (kinda hard on a waterbed), but on the little balcony outside the bedroom. Last summer GM hauled a little table and chair set her friend Kyle was getting rid of up to the balcony.

So GP got up early and made breakfast for GM and took it out to the balcony

GM munched on eggs, Bagel, strawberries (from the garden, of course), and orange juice.

She declared it yummy and ate most of it.

After Church, Bonnie and the kids came for an early dinner. We enjoyed BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, and other assorted yummies.

While dinner finished cooking, we retired to the family room for presents. It's always especially fun to see the things the kids made for their mom.

GM and Bonnie got some nifty things. GM was especially thankful for the neat picture that required each of the kids to submit their portion of it to Bonnie, who assembled it here.

Good job guys!

GM also received flowers from the kiddos, which she also really liked.

GM shares her Berries with Aubs & CJ.

GP prepares GM's breakfast.

GM enjoying breakfast.

The flowers are also from the yard.

Aubrey shucks corn for dinner.

Aubrey brings presents to the family room.

GM and Bon survey the loot.

Flowers CJ made at Church.

Aubs watches from the safety of the couch.

CJ explains the card he made to his mom. "No mom, you have to open this part first......."

GM opens her picture.

As Molly would say "Ta Da"

GM's flowers.

All in all, I'd say it was a really good day. Time to gear up for GM's birthday, which is this Friday, then Aubs, then....... Wow, there sure is a lot going on around here.

I'm sure I'll be blogging at you soon.

Summer Daze?

No, not yet. But a beautiful spring Sunday afternoon that seemed like a summer day. Shawna was in town visiting, along with Doogle, so after Church, Bonnie and the kids came over to hang out and it turned into a summer like day.


Grandma catches a few rays.




Bonnie catches up on some reading.




Shawna and CJ break out the ladder ball game.








GM cleans up after dinner - yummy enchiladas. Like her new polka dot apron?




Doogle looks for someone to play with. We decided he really likes playing in the yard!




Aubrey gets in on the reading thing.



Bonnie and Shawna. Are they having a reading race?





CJ watched "Pirates of the Caribbean" during dinner and is now a pirate. It's only a matter of time before he ends up in the pool.






It starts cooling off, but Bonnies on a streak and breaks out a blanket.




Everyone ends up in the spa.


After a trip to Dairy Queen to take advantage of the last day of the Blizzard sale (GM got 6 and put them in the freezer).
Shawna and Doogle crash.
What a great day! I can't wait for summer!

A leg to stand on

For a long time after we moved into the house we have now lived in for, I think, about 24 years, we called it the "new house".
I think that's because when we were building it, we'd be running back and forth between the "new house" and the "old house".
I guess now it should be the "old house" and the "really old house.
Anyway, when we moved in here I built a fort / playhouse / fort thing for the kids. I didn't really build it to last forever, not forecasting grandchildren at that age. Well it still gets lots of use. In a previous blog you can see CJ shooting his paintball gun from it (Shawna too).

As I said, I didn't really build it to last forever. I used old temporary power poles I had (untreated 6 x 6's , for you men). I dug holes and poured concrete around the poles. Not something you would normally do, thinking I'd get 15 years or so out of it, then tear it down.

The other day I was out in the yard and happened to glance in as I sometimes do (you never know what CJ might have going on in there. I won't go into the bathroom he and James made in there from an old automatic dog watering dish. It's customary to check for things like that, or unexploded ordinance, stuff like that).

Anyway, as I walked by something didn't look right somehow. The building seemed to be leaning or something.



The next step was to saw the leg of. This is appropriate because a lot of what goes on in here is pirate play, so it's only fitting that the fort end up with a peg leg.


I looked at it closely, as it was obviously leaning, so I poked a small pipe under the leg, and where it should have been solid, it went right through like there was nothing there.
The next pictures show what I found when I jacked the building up. There was nothing there!





The next step was to saw the leg off. This was especially appropriate because a lot of the play here involves pirates, so it was only fitting that the fort end up with a "peg leg".




The picture at the top is the new leg we made at work by welding a bracket onto a length of 2 1/2" galvanized pipe.

Next I had to dig and vacuum out all the dirt and old wood and junk to create a place for the new leg. Kinda like a root canal for a building.
You can see the fort is resting on large blocks of wood. It made me a little nervous working under it. Funny thing is (hahaha) we had an earthquake later in the afternoon. Sure wouldn't have wanted to be under it then!
I didn't want to end up with my own peg leg!




I then bolted the new leg into place. No small task as it was heavy.


Then poured the concrete around it.

All thats left is to cover the concrete and paint the new leg green.
Think I should check the other 3 legs? Na, I just watch for "the lean"
I hope I get some new grandkids to make this all worth while!

33 years and counting

A few weeks ago, my friend Larry gave a talk in Church. It was around his and Kyles anniversary. I don't remember how many years it was, but he commented that it only seemed like 5 minutes..........................underwater!
I guess I'd be smart, and perhaps that insight is one of the reasons we've been together this long, and not comment on that.
Anyway, we had a nice day. We received flowers from the kiddos (thanks kiddos)
Mom has wanted to see the Hollywood Bowl, and I was able to kill 2 birds with one stone by getting tickets to see the Eagles (one of her favorite bands) there April 20th.
I got us a room up there so we won't have to drive home after the concert that night.
She said we're going on a cruise in October.
Any way. I love you gma and here's to another 5 minutes underwater!