The Cinderella Ball

Bryan and Jamie had a military ball to attend and I told Grace it was like a Cinderella Ball. She was so sad that she didn't get to go that we decided to have our own Cinderella Ball. Before Bryan and Jamie left she got to dance with "Prince Daddy".

The girls got dressed up and I did their hair with pink glitter so they could be all ready for their own ball. We danced "princess style" (slow) to the

Chipmunk Christmas music.

Grace was sure that we had more fun

than her mom and dad did.

We decorated Christmas sugar cookies and ate lots of sprinkles.

When baby Jack woke up he got to enjoy his liquid refreshment and get

some cuddles with Grandma.


This is our parting shot as I departed Oklahoma. It is sad to say goodbye, but we'll see you again next summer when we can swim in the pool and play with your
California cousins! Don't grow up too fast!

Oklahoma and Baby Jack

Jamie looks so good and happy to finally have baby Jack here. I took a picture of his head of hair for all to see. He is covered with blonde and brown swirls of locks... quite a handsome guy.

Here's a close-up of his little head. His hair is so fun to look at and he has such a rosey complexion. He also is a very relaxed baby. He just looks around and doesn't really cry.

Grace and Raegan were quite excited to go see him. Grace held him for quite a long while and didn't want to leave. But we had a Primary party to go to and she finally agreed we could see him later.

At the primary party we went to a retirement center to sing Christmas songs to the "grandmas and grandpas". Then we came back to the church for dinner and crafts. I told Grace that there was going to be a special visitor, meaning Santa Clause. While we were walking down the halls of the church to see him, Grace said, "Is the special visitor Jesus?" I told her that the special visitor was not nearly as special as Jesus. It was nice to see where her priorities are.

We came home pretty tired after a long and exciting day. The girls opened their bags of goodies from Santa and we ate oranges and drank hot chocolate before going to bed. What a day!

Shop 'Til You Drop

This was definitely a fun day! It was squeezed in between Thanksgiving and leaving for Oklahoma. It put me in the mood for all the holiday festivities. Thanks to good friends and fun traditions. We're just some grandma's with baby strollers spending a whole day in the mall!

Home from Hawaii...on to Park City

Thanksgiving at the condo was an adventure for us all. We had four of our children, their spouses and twelve grandchildren. The kids had fun making decorations, playing games, and running around with each other - quite a lively group! And I'm missing, Emilee, Spencer, Madison, and Joshua from this picture. Where are you?



They did lots of eating. We went through eight dozen eggs, tons of milk, bread, sandwich makings and all the Thanksgiving feast they could eat. No one went hungry, I dare say.



At the end of the reunion Ray and I looked over the place and were so happy that the effort was made by those who could be there to join us. It was well worth the time spent. We also enjoyed the evening that Dennis, Rosemary, Don, Cindy, and some family members were able to join us. It was good to see them.

Emilee and I had matching soccer shirts from a Kansas City Wizards game we went to last year on the fourth of July. Emilee has grown so much since then!

"Happy Birthday" to Paul who celebrated his birthday his last day there. He was treated to crepes by the experts, Taub. Pretty delicious birthday treat, I must say.

We managed to get all the granddaughters by us on the couch for a parting shot along with tons of girly giggles. Aren't they a cute group? Of course it's not complete without Grace, Raegan, and Ashlyn, but we were thinking of you and missing you with us.

Here, There, and Everywhere...Good Times

Some sweet faces for my parting shots from Hawaii. Who can resist this cheesy grin - especially when wearing this t-shirt. We were morning buddies snuggling on the couch with chocolate milk, favorite bear and blanket while watching "Dora". And this cute little face snuggled from the wind at turtle bay. It was Jaxon's first drive to the north shore to see the big waves. He slept most of the time however - such a good traveler.

Surrounded by Cuteness

Welcome to the family, little baby Jaxon! I got to hold him for the first time in the hospital after he was born. He is so tiny and sweet and can almost fit in one hand...especially when he's all curled up.


Ashlyn and I went home to build a dresser for his clothes. What a task for a mechanically challenged person like me. But I did it, with Ashlyn's capable help.

She's had a lot of practice building towers with her colorful blocks.

Here's big sister and baby brother having fun next to each other and posing for pictures

I got to snuggle up to a clean baby right after his bath. He immediately spit up on himself but that's life with a baby...and we love it!

It's baby time!

I'm getting ready to say "aloha" and head off to help Heather welcome baby boy Tang! This will be a fun week with Halloween, Mike's birthday and fun things to do. Then I will board the plane and start my adventures in babysitting. We look forward to Thanksgiving with Paul's family and everyone who can join us in Park City and then it's off to Oklahoma to welcome baby Jack. I'll miss all of you at home, but I plan to post some fun pictures of the new arrivals.

I've been tagged?

tagged! (by Jamie, unless she knows another Kathy H.)
I don't usually do the tag thing, but I thought this might be fun.

4 RANDOM THINGS I LIKE ABOUT MY HUSBAND: (notice the similarities and differences, Jamie)
1 - He loves to play with our grandkids.
2 - He works hard.
3 - He has a great sense of humor.
4 - He remembers song lyrics and can imitate the original singer almost perfectly.

4 JOBS I'VE HAD:
1 - Picking cherries during the summer of Jr. High. (cute boys to throw them at)
2 - Life guarding at the Payson City Pool. (It was all about the tan)
3 - Catering for "Annette's Market".
4 - Weddings...everything from flowers, decorating, catering, to planning etc.

4 MOVIES I'VE WATCHED MORE THAN ONCE:
1 - An Affair to Remember...with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr (so romantic)
2 - The Sound of Music...I love musicals
3 - The Sting...more music
4 - Charlotte's Web...love the music and the memories of kids and grandkids

4 TV SHOWS I WATCH:
1 - CSI
2 - morning news shows
3 - 24 (in the old days)
4 - American Idol - (when its on)

4 PEOPLE WHO EMAIL ME REGULARLY:
1 - Elder Horspool - (the only regular one)
2 - Ray - sometimes
3 - Heather - sometimes
4 - Bryan and Jamie - sometimes

4 OF MY FAVORITE FOODS:
1 - lobster...on rare occasion
2 - cookies...sugar, chocolate chip, lemon, etc. (They're all good)
3 - BBQ steak with roasted veggies
4 - Chinese food prepared by Jason

4 PLACES I WOULD LIKE TO VISIT:
1 - B of M lands on a BYU tour.
2 - The east coast during fall foliage time.
3 - Anywhere my kids are living.
4 - Islands in the Caribbean on a cruise.

4 THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO IN THE COMING YEAR:
1 - The arrival of more grandbabies. (Going to Hawaii to welcome one)
2 - Thanksgiving and Christmas time with family.
3 - Teaching Sunday School...I'm learning so much.
4 - New opportunities that may arise.

4 PEOPLE I TAG: (You're probably the only ones who will read my blog.)
1 - Aubree
2 - Heather
3 - Amber
4 - Tami

Fun at Sweetwater Ranch

We took the kids on an outing to the Chudy's ranch in Oak Glen. They loved playing in the gravel pile and feeling the gravel tickle their toes...especially the grown-up kids. So many animals to see. The chickens and rooster entertained us.
They got to help gather eggs from the hen house.
Ten acres is a huge play ground. They also got to pick apples and we made some delicious apple crisp.

Little Joshua didn't play with the animals, but I couldn't resist posting this picture of him.

The kids had fun feeding the goat some branches off a bush.
Kira, Staci, Brinley, Ryan, and Spencer posed for a picture by some farm equipment. Sister Chudy gave each of the kids a little pumpkin. She is so great to let us enjoy her ranch each fall! We love seeing the animals, picking apples and playing in the gravel.

A quick visit with the Tangs

We were excited to have a few hours with the Tangs while they awaited their flight between LA and Honolulu. They were on their way home after a visit with the Tang grandparents in Maine. Little did we know that their few hour lay-over would turn into a ten hour lay-over. We didn't find out about the extra delays until after we dropped them off or we would have gone somewhere fun to hang out for the day. We wanted every minute we could get with them. Taylor and Aubree and Amber and the kids were there to join the fun.

Here's Grandpa with the three cute little girls.
Grandpa treated us all to a delicious lunch.Aubree and Taylor had fun with little Ashlyn. She amazed us with all her new knowledge of the alphabet and her various new words. What a little smarty!
Spencer, Brinley, Ashlyn and Stacie had a fun time playing together. Brin, you're such a good babysitter. It was hard to keep everyone out of trouble.
We all miss you Ashlyn. We can't wait to see you again soon. We miss your parents, too.

Taub arrives and a Labor Day Party

Taylor and Aubree arrived last week and we moved them in to the upstairs bedroom. They had a moving van full of their things, including the motorcycle that Taylor loves to ride. After 18 years of being a boys dormitory, it is beginning to look a lot more girly, thanks to Aubree's touch with some lace curtains and a pretty quilt. What a challenge.
Aubree looks excited to be here...in spite of the intense heat and the earthquakes.

The Labor Day party was a traditional hamburger barbecue and swim party. Grandpa and Winifred made it here along with a few of their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

The cute little Mortensen girls had fun swimming and eating.The Horspool women had a good visit while the kids are swimming and having fun. Mel, April, Tami and Amber are just relaxing while the kids swim and play. Tami, you don't look like you could have a baby any day! Andrew's favorite Uncle Mike is helping him dip his feet into the cool water. Rebecca's husband, Matt and their adorable new little boy, Cameron take a dip in the pool. He is just a little tyke and this was his first swim. Little Cameron relaxing in the arms of his Grandpa David seems to be quite content.
Brothers, Ray and David snuggle up with Cameron. He looks like he fits right in with the rest of the clan.