Baby Jesus. . .nope it's just Lily!

Lily goes to the spa while Oakley and Cooper get nestled in their beds.
We were missing Todd's kids this year. . they were with the
inlaws or the outlaws can't remember which

I would like to thank my sweet sister, Telese for the luxurious coat. I received this gift at Thanksgiving time but had special permission to wear it since I have been living at the equator previous to my Boise residence. You don't need coats at the equator!

Nothing like getting a good pair of slippers for Christmas, who would have thunk!

This year as always there were some fine handmade gifts. Tara is in love with "long boards," and for those of you who don't know, long boards are really long skateboards basically. So, Mike, her husband, decided to make one out of an old waterski, on which he himself had learned to waterski. All hail to Cypress Gardens...it's the Big'n!

We all got a turn, even if it was just in the entryway:)

Lily was the Christmas Delight this year. Pointing and being so sassy, she did her job well. We miss you 3, if only Pennsylvania was right next to Idaho!

Oh, how is miss our times together in Houston!!

Christmas Elves

It's amazing what you find when you open a Christmas box from the garage. There was the nativity scene and then all of these elves. . .trolls. Pieces of my youngest sister's lives. . .someone had a troll fetish!!

If you ask anyone if it snows in Idaho they will say yes...now mind you, not as much on the western side of the state as they get on the eastern side but none-the-less it does snow here and according to the recent weather report we will see temperatures dip to 5 and 10 degrees in the next couple of days. Gonna need some boots to stay warm.

Good-Bye California

I didn't think saying good bye to California would be so hard, but it was. . .I have to confess that I get attached to places and people very quickly because that is part of living well, right? I told my dad that I was going to stop making friends so it wouldn't be so hard leaving a place. . .hahah that won't last long. Good-bye California.

I will miss the City and my patients in Berkeley!


I will miss our dinners and walks, Jack and Dominique!

I will miss our Fish Taco Tuesdays Gretta!

I will miss meeting with the missionaries and the people we were teaching!

Thanks D and M for taking care of me!

It's Just a Number!

Thanks mom and dad and tara
for coming into town for my birthday. . .and
the birth of dads new ears! I love you.

Is this what 40 looks like?

I hope not! Scary!

A Baptism, A Blessing and A Bag

Erynn Nina, thanks so much for a fabulous weekend.
I love coming to Fresno to visit,
Never Ever disappointed!

City Life

Trajen and I clowning around!

Went to see the Golden Gate Bridge on Saturday, the 18th of July. Drove over the Bay Bridge and through the city and ran into a beach along the way.

These kids are Liz's little girl Davie and Mikkel's son, Trajan. They were so much fun. We were sticking our feet out so the water would get us!

The beach was a bit chilly but the sand was warm on our feet. The rhythm of the surf was so relaxing, have I said how much I love the beach? People were strolling and surfing. After our stop at the beach we headed for the bridge. It was really foggy and we could barely see the bridge as we approached.

Here we are on the bridge but we still couldn't see it really well because of the fog.

Then all of a sudden you come out of the fog and aaaahhhhh, angels are singing and there it is.

This was from the look out point on the other side. Amazing isn't it?
We stopped in Sasalito for a "little" snack at Fred's. Here is Trajan, Mikkel and Davie eating a "little" mickey mouse pancake. I would recommend the club sandwich with fries, definitely!

We went home via Richmond which meant we did not back track but made a huge circle to get home. We could see the city floating in the distance and some cool barges.

The Bag Lady!

My dear friend Kelli, happens to know how to knit (fortunately for me) and she knows how to "felt it" when she is done, so here is her latest creation. Yes, a beautiful bag for me! Glad to have friends with such talents.



Okay, so I have to post one more apron, it is probably my last for a while. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to put a top on it? Any votes? Yes/No?

Candy!!!!

I happen to live only 30 minutes from the Jelly Belly factory located in Fairfield, California. I'm not really into this type of candy only because if I'm going to have something sweet it better be gooey and rich--most likely chocolate of some kind! However, the tour was fun and the tasting bar at the specialty shop was a hit. They have some yummy new flavors for those who dare. . .boogers, rotten eggs, skunk and who knows what awful concoctions they will dream up next. I tried the mango salsa recipe--one mango jelly belly, one lime and 2 jalapeno! Delicious!


A sample of the candy art! Oh, Ronny where are you when we need you!



Here are some friends from Cedar City, Utah---Liz and Mikkel!

ApROns

Okay so the neck strap isn't done yet but it's my newest creation!

ODE to MoThER!!

Ode to Mother by Tosha Strickland

Luckily Laurynn got stitches in her eyebrow before I got there.

I was glad though to change the band aid every night and morning.

Thanks Ellie for your bed and letting me practice my beauty parlor skills.

I must say, you did eat some chicken nuggets! Yeah for protein!

Tanner my scrambled-egg companion also sings and plays the clarinet quite well.

Just remember Tanner I am the reining “round-the-bend” champion at the moment.

Cannon my sweet helper, taking kids to school and signing them in.

The strawberry and Von’s excursions were fun too. Shake your boodie!

Thanks Erynn for eating your vegetables and for good conversation.

Todd you are in charge of my birthday ice cream cake, Forever!!!

4 Glorious days of being the pseudo-mother! I love mini vans.

Lovely manicure by Laurynn. THE END