Baby Shower and A Suprise Visitor

My sweet niece Jena, was given a wonderful baby shower by Ron & Sharon and their amazing friends. We all had so much fun and loved seeing Jena and Justin so excited and happy. This little boy is sure loved already!
I can hardly wait for these new precious babies to join our family.
Mayce and Jena's boys will be just a couple of months apart.

Justin got his own diaper bag...which was equipped with tongs and a face mask!

Today Kaden and I had a surprise visitor...
We haven't seen Ivan for 2 years, and today he stopped by for a visit. It was really great to see him and so good to talk to him and catch up... (you can tell by that big smile on Kaden's face how excited he was) Ivan has played professional volleyball in Puerto Rico, Spain, Germany, Greece, Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the last 2 years...(and those are only the places I can remember.) Thank you Ivan for coming to see us... it meant more than you know.
You'll always have fans in Vegas.

MM28

It doesn't seem that long ago when Allyson and her cute friends were out in the backyard swimming.
Courtney, Cami, Alyssa, Sadie, Katie, Tally, Ally, Kami, & Ciji
What amazing girls and wonderful friends Ally has always had.
I love these girls...who are now all grown up and are beautiful young women.

Beach 2010

Del Mar was a blast. I'm wiped out. I have lots to catch up on. So grateful we got to go. We missed those who couldn't be there. I have lots of laundry to do. We love the beach.

MM27

One of my all time favorite beach pictures. Every summer for years Allyn, Allyson and Amy would build this rolling castle thing that they would race paddle balls down... There are some days I wish I could go back in time .
Today is one of them.

Being a Grandma...

Seven of our grandkids spent the night last night. Don't worry, I took three Advil and had a diet coke and I was just fine. But really... I loved having them all here. I truly feel like the luckiest Grandma in the world. I love seeing them grow and learn, ...and they give the best hugs ever.

A dear friend sent this little thought about grandparenting that sure made me laugh! Enjoy...

WHAT IS A GRANDPARENT? (Taken from papers written by a Class of 8-year-olds)

Grandparents are a lady and a man who have no little children of their own. They like other people's.

A grandfather is a man, & a grandmother is a lady!

Grandparents don't have to do anything except be there when we come to see them. They are so old they shouldn't play hard or run. It is good if they drive us to the shops and give us money.
When they take us for walks, they slow down past things like pretty leaves and caterpillars.
They show us and talk to us about the colors of the flowers and also why we shouldn't step on 'cracks.'

They don't say, 'Hurry up.'

Usually Grandmothers are fat but not too fat to tie your shoes.

They wear glasses and funny underwear.

They can take their teeth and gums out.

Grandparents don't have to be smart.
They have to answer questions like 'Why isn't God married?' and 'How come dogs chase cats?'

When they read to us, they don't skip. They don't mind if we ask for the same story over again.

Everybody should try to have a grandmother, especially if you don't have television because they are the only grownups who like to spend time with us.

They know we should have snack time before bed time, and they say prayers with us and kiss us even when we've acted bad.

A 6-YEAR-OLD WAS ASKED WHERE HIS GRANDMA LIVED. ''OH,'' HE SAID, ''SHE LIVES AT THE AIRPORT, AND WHEN WE WANT HER, WE JUST GO GET HER. THEN WHEN WE'RE DONE HAVING HER VISIT, WE TAKE HER BACK TO THE AIRPORT.''
GRANDPA IS THE SMARTEST MAN ON EARTH! HE TEACHES ME GOOD THINGS, BUT I DON'T GET TO SEE HIM ENOUGH TO GET AS SMART AS HIM!

It's funny when they bend over; you hear gas leaks, and they blame their dog.

Amy is home!

At least until her traveling bug takes her to some other foreign country, Amy is HOME, well not really home, but at least in America, and we are so grateful. SO.GRATEFUL. She about gives her poor mother (me) heart failure with all her independent traveling. A beautiful girl traveling alone in Central America... Yes, I worried a lot. Have you ever seen the movie "Taken"...I had several dreams about that movie while she was away. That was not good. What is good, actually amazing and wonderful is all of the fabulous experiences and wonderful people she has met all over the world. Amy teaches me everyday about loving and experiencing life without limits. Read more about her amazing adventures here... We love you Amy. Welcome HOME. Now, come and see us soon...pleeeease!

MM26

I just found this cute picture of Becca, Mayce and Ally enjoying some summer swimming...such cute cousins!

Now my beautiful nieces, Becca and Mayce are all grown up and married... this picture was taken last Friday at Mayce's baby shower. Little Trey Thomas will be joining their family right around Christmas time and we are so happy for them.

My great niece... Miss Piper is so cute! And she is crawling like crazy and even waves at you. She absolutely loves books. Not only is Piper adorable, but she is a very brilliant 6 month old I must say...I think she takes after her mom and dad. Calder and Ivy, you are going to have your hands full with this smart little beauty.
Bet you already know that.

Levi is 2!

There is about two million reasons why this little 2 year old melts our hearts....
Happy Birthday Levi!! We love You!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MM25

It's hard to believe that these pictures were taken almost 10 years ago, on Taylor Colleen's blessing day.

This picture is pretty amazing... Taylor is being held by her mom, and with her are three of her four great grandmothers, Bobbi Jones, Janet Schlauder and Colleen Huntington. Her great grandma Mel Slade wasn't feeling well that day or she would have been there too. And all of TayTay's great grandma's knew each other long before her mom and dad were married. That's so cool.

Wow what a legacy of faith, goodness, and love these amazing women have left for all of us.

Tay Tay is 10!!!

Taylor Colleen is 10 years old today...say what? How can that be? It seem like it was just a couple of years ago that I was in SLC with Amy, watching her play in a volleyball tournament, when I got a call from Jennie, at about 4am, telling me that my first granddaughter was on her way and to hurry up and get home. The earliest flight to Vegas was at 6am, and I was on it. I remember hurrying so quickly and rushing to Summerlin Hospital, so excited to have gotten home in time... only Taylor was a little bit stubborn, and decided not to come until about 3 in the afternoon! We were all giddy with excitement and anticipation... finally our first grandchild was here... and she was perfect in every way. She was the most beautiful baby ever (just as pretty as our girls.) I remember when my mom went to see her at the hospital, she said,"Jennie, I think she is even prettier than you were!"
Now that was quite a compliment, coming from Grami.
Oh, Taylor, we love you! You have brought us so much joy, love, laughter and started us into this whole grandparenting world one decade ago. You will always be our #1 granddaughter...we love, love, love you Sweetheart.
Happy Happy Birthday! ... I can't believe you're into double digits!

Fun Surprise

We had a great time going out to dinner to celebrate Allyn's birthday and then we came home for dessert with all the kids and a knock came at the door... Azurdee, Brett, Bristol and Janika were driving through town on their way to Utah and came by to surprise Al for his birthday! It was wonderful to see them!!!
And it was perfect because Leah and Amber were here too. Coincidence, I think not.

Happy Birthday Allyn David

(So, Al vetoed this picture...but I still have to keep it on here...)

I love this picture. I was pinching Allyn's bum, but really I feel like pinching myself everyday because this guy is mine. We've been together for 37 years, and every day is better than the last.
Happy, Happy Birthday to my other half...I love you