Springing along….

 

If you were to drive by a certain house on a certain street in West Valley City, Utah and you wondered why there were so many cars parked in the  front yard, and why so much NOISE was coming from the inside of the house, and how so many delicious smells were escaping into the atmosphere, then you might have a small understanding of how our SPRING BREAK is going!

Heidi arrived safely from Portland and everyone has enjoyed hanging out with her.

 

                      (Katie and Heidi)                              (Maddie and Brooklyn)

We haven’t really gone anywhere, or done anything very exciting, but we have laughed a lot, eaten plenty (Yummy ribs baked by Robbie), played games (Telestrations), watched “Red” and “The A_Team” projected on a giant screen, decorated Easter eggs, and dodged and stepped over a million and a half tiny toys.

(I probably didn’t need to organized them all the day before!)

              (Karl)                                               (Heidi and Michelle)

                 

                              (Katie, Andrew,  and Heidi)

    

                       (Irene and Joshua)                        (Brooklyn and Joshua)

    

                          (Brooklyn, Maddie, and Liz)

                               

                                                 (Brooklyn, Robbie, Maddie)

Stay tuned for more updates.

JoAnn

P.S.  I even got a few flowers transplanted

-without doing it in the RAIN!

Who doesn’t love a little time off?

Spring Break is off to a good start!

I’m not going to let a little rain interfere

(or even a week of reported storms)!

JoAnn

P.S.  Tomorrow Heidi is coming!

P.P.S.  Check out Joshua's piano performance here.

Want a good laugh?

My sister Linda sent me an email that made me laugh.

If you sometimes feel like you are getting old, I hope you enjoy these pictures. 

(I don’t know whom to give the credit to.  Sorry.)

And my favorite…..

Have a great weekend!

JoAnn

(Thanks, Linda!)

getting it right…..this time

In a few weeks, Karl, our son-in-law, will be walking with the other  graduates at Utah State University’s graduation ceremony.  He just finished getting his masters degree.  We are very excited  and proud of his accomplishments!

This is the picture I took at his bachelor's graduation.

He looks like he was ready to be beamed up to a waiting spacecraft!

Do you think I could get a

few photography lessons before his big

day?

JoAnn

Time out in the corner….

Remember when being “sent to the corner” meant time out or punishment for bad behavior?

(Image from Google)

(Does that statement make me sound old?)

Tonight, that was where  all the grandkids ended up.

However,

they weren’t in trouble-

they went there of their own free will.

Some of us went on a shopping trip to Home Goods and while we

were gone the kids were playing quietly in the corner

(with all the toys dumped out).

No running around.

No arguments.

Pure contentment.

It was magical!

Maybe corners were NOT meant for punishment.

JoAnn

 

A little out of place…..but, hopefully, not for too long!

Do you notice  something that doesn’t look right in this picture?

Yes, that is SNOW falling on this sunny, bright, yellow Adirondack chair (that will soon be moving to a new townhouse with Michelle and Katie).

Somehow snow and colorful summer furniture don’t seem to go together.  A big, tall glass of lemonade should be matched up with it-not a mug of hot cocoa!

Speaking of out of place-

I have a new student- straight from Somalia.

He doesn’t speak any English.

He has never attended school.

Two weeks ago he left behind a politically unstable world (and a warm and arid climate) for a very different life (and a cold one right now).

Somalia is situated in the Horn of Africa, along the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, on the East side of the continent.  (I had to look it up.)  It touches borders with Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Kenya and is just a little bigger than Texas. 

It hasn’t had a stable government since 1991.  The country has faced famine, civil war, and drought.  In the famine of 1992 over 300,000 people died.

I’m sure my new student is feeling lost and awkward as he tries to figure out what is happening all around him. 

I gave him a little  picture “survival guide” to start off his first day, but there is no way to really communicate with him, other than some feeble attempts at body language.

(Can you imagine what he was wondering as we participated in an earthquake drill on his very first day?)

I wish our school system had better provisions for students who need time to transition, but they are just thrown in the mix.  At least the other students are kind and helpful, and kids are pretty quick to adapt.

I sure hope he soon feels comfortable and settled!

Now, about that snow…..

JoAnn

P.S.  These pretty flowers might help!

Thanks, Ken!

What a weekend!

We helped unload one of these.

(Sorry, no pictures.  We were too focused on getting finished.)

We paid some neighbor boys to do this.

(Our mower is in the not-quite-working-yet-this-season-mode and our grass was at least eight inches high)!

This picture is from Google.  Once again, the camera was MIA.

Planted some of these, which now are covered with this.

(Yes, we got at least five inches today!)

And I did take this picture.

Listened to our church leaders as part of our semi-annual

General Conference.

It was so relaxing and uplifting to watch  four of the five sessions of Conference on television.  I enjoyed every single talk and all the music was beautiful.  All the messages were so helpful and motivational and just what I needed to hear.

How can anyone doubt a religion that encourages you to become better than you were, while reassuring you that you are loved,

no matter what you may have done?

I love the gospel!

(For those who may not know, I’m a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)  This photo is from their site.

Played with Joshua (who likes to explore).

(Thanks for the picture, Irene.)

Danced with Maddie and Brooklyn.

(Sorry, no pictures of me in a tutu!)

And now the house is full of the kids' friends.

(They would chase me off if I even tried to take a picture!)

Well,

It’s back to work tomorrow,

but I’m thankful for a full and productive weekend!

♥

JoAnn