LOVING THE MOISTURE

We have been blessed this week with rain! How grateful we are. We can see snow in the mountains and boy is that appreciated. Prayers have been answered for sure. Thank you Lord.

The lawn, plants and trees are soaking it up and they are all greening up and flowering !

The Locust tree has finally started getting leaves and will soon be providing shade. I am so grateful we put in the shed and I don't have to worry about a BIG garden. Small is better the older we get. lol

One of these days, Tony and Patrick will finish the fence up front near the driveway. It is coming down and they said when it gets to be the right time, they will replace it. Wonder what color it will be. lol We have three colors going now, which you can see in the previous picture.  (If you look hard enough)

We went to the temple on Tuesday with just Lynn. The Browns decided to stay home for him to recuperate more.  When we finished we ate at CHICK FIL A, then took Lynn home. I wanted to get home to make Scott a Strawberry pie for his birthday. 

It's not pretty but hopefully it tasted OK. Jill cleaned out a bunch of his T shirts when he was working in New York and he asked me if I could make him a quilt out of them. I'm gonna try but I am thinking of asking Gaya Butterfield to help me as I'm not much of a quilter anymore. Wish my Mom was around to help, but alas, she has more important work to do.

Scott and Jill came over after they had dinner in Meridian. We had a nice visit discussing our trip to Pocatello for Hawkins graduation. Also Jill is speaking at their Saturday night Ward Conference AND Elder Uchtdorf is their visiting General Authority.

HOW EXCITING IS THAT.  We are going!!

Having fun with my Bestie at the gym. We are so excited!! Tony bought us tickets to the MICHAEL JACKSON Movie that is coming out this month. Pat said she is taking us to dinner 1st and then she said she is buying us the hat and sparkly glass that they are serving pop and popcorn in.   lol  We can't wait to go.

FOUR DAYS OF BUSY

We went to the temple on Wednesday because of doctor appointments for Lynn. The Brown's had some family issues to take care of so it was just the three of us.

It was a beautiful day and the flowers are blooming like crazy. 

Just gorgeous!

After  we did two endowments, we went to FREDDY'S for lunch. We had a nice meal (I love Freddy's) and then we brought Lynn home. Tony and I came home and I worked on some cards.

I got a new die and I wanted to try it out. The colors are wild but I was using scraps from my "scrap box" so there's that!  lol

Then I made four triple folds with some pretty bee paper.

I didn't have a pattern but made one and liked it, so I made three more.  lol  Not much space for writing a message but I could put another white on the back so there would be more room.

It was a fun card to make. When I finished, I went down stairs to fold a couple of loads of laundry I had washed and dried. 

Then I sat down to read the book were reading for

BOOK CLUB this month. It's a really good book. 

Tony was out in the garage putting a wagon together that he just bought. I think its for his mothers yard.

I went out and checked my plants and those dang squirrels have dug up my Chicken and Hen's ....AGAIN!! I get so frustrated with those darn varmints! They have ruined so many plants!!

They don't bother my Iris and Lilies!  Thank Goodness!

These Lilies are starting to do pretty good too. I put more dirt over the bulbs because they were showing with all the watering from last year. Consequently, they came up a little late. 

The Quints are starting to bloom so they came back pretty good from the BIG trimming we did on them a few weeks ago.  We had a couple of busy days going to the gym and going grocery shopping for the weekend. I got to see Scott on Friday when he was out shopping as well. We ran into each other at Costco. Had a short visit while we shopped and ate samples. lol Nice to see him. It's been a while. It seems like he's always gone. They are taking Scotlyn to Pocatello after school on Friday so she can check out the college.

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Tony and I went to the temple for our Saturday shift today. Some of the kids came back to town this weekend because Livie is reporting on her mission tomorrow. Tony and I officiated the 10 o'clock session.  Stillman and Alex stayed with Lynn so they brought her to the temple this morning. Curtis and Deedra stayed with the Butterfields and they came too. Stillman's  brother in law, Jordan and his wife Stephanie came as well.  It was nice to have them all in the session, when we were officiating. TENDER MERCY'S!

Afterwards, we all met at RAISING CAINS.

It was so packed that we had to eat outdoors. Jordan and Stephanie went home to get their kids so we started without them. We took Lynn home because the kids were going golfing. Jordan and Stephanie showed up as Tony, Lynn and I were leaving. Lynn and I got cold so we were ready to go before the other kids finished.  

The kids went golfing after dinner and Tony and I went home after dropping Mom off at her place. I got busy and made a BIG pot of Taco Soup and a coconut cream poke cake for Sunday. Then when Alex and Stillman got back to Mom's place, we went over and played games. Curtis and Deedra went to the BUTTERFIELDS home and played games.. Tammy and her three kids came over about the time we were done playing. We finished up the last 2 rounds and then we came home and went to bed. We'd been up since 4am and were tired. 

SUNDAY:

We went to the Smith building for their Sacrament meeting to hear Alivia report on her Mission. 

She got home three weeks ago and her parents took her on a special trip to Belize. They got in  last night at midnight and to bed at 1:30. Church was at 9 this morning. She did a phenomenal job on her mission report. She had no problem talking about her mission and used NO NOTES and spoke for 25 minutes! It was great.  After ward, Tony went back to our ward for Ward Council. Lynn and I rode back to her house with Stillman and Alex. I put the Taco Soup on to warm up. Curtis & Deedra showed up and when Tony got there shortly after 11, we went ahead and ate lunch. Chris and Tammy showed up shortly after we started and we all had a nice lunch and visit. At 12:30, Tony and I went back to church, because we were both conducting our last meetings. Him in Priesthood and me in Relief Society. Its been a great few days.

 AND I AM LOVING THE RAIN!! 

WE ARE SO BLESSED!

63 YEARS OF BEING A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS

Tony and I went to the gym and met up with Pat. I was happy to hear that her daughter gave her a

               "SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY" 

on Sunday. She was so happy and told me all about it. we had a great visit as we walked. It's so funny, .... people kept walking by us and asking if we call each other daily because we were both dressed in black pants and a pink shirt. It has happened before and I swear, it's just a coincidence.  I guess we are such good friends, that we just know. lol 

  When I got home, my siblings were texting back and forth. It has been 63 years today since my Mom and us three girls were baptized. What a blessing it has been for our family. I love how close I am with my siblings. We love each other so much and support one another. We keep in touch almost daily and it has been such a blessing for all of us. We all have a testimony of the Restoration of the Gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Our family unit has been strengthened because we have love for each other, our parents and the gospel. It was such a sweet bunch of texts today.

After breakfast, Tony and I started working in the yard. Yeah, it's that time of year. 

                                                         

I had cut back all my bushes earlier this year and they are starting to come back and blooming.

The coral one is looking a little nasty on the top but the bottom is starting to bloom nicely.

My Viburnum in the front is blooming nicely and it smells

 SO GOOD!! 

The daffodils aren't opening and I am so unhappy about that. I have got to get them dug up this fall and separated. I think the bulbs are just too crammed together. 

The grass is looking pretty good for not having any water yet. Other than a couple of good rain days. Our irrigation is going to be turned on late this year and probably turned off early. This may be as green as the grass gets this year. lol

Tony trimmed after I mowed. He also spent a fair amount of time on his knees, digging out dandelions.  He's a good man!

My pots need some new plants but the Iris and Lilies are coming up good.  Not going to do a lot of planting this year due to the water problem. I'll enjoy what I got.

GENERAL CONFERENCE WEEKEND

Saturday, just before conference, Tony went to pick up Christopher Landrum (new convert) and his mom. They both watched the 1st and 2nd session's of General Conference. Liz came over as well but just for the 2nd session, as she was at the Adamson's for the 1st session. Chris is a real sweetheart. I believe he is on the spectrum and I was worried he wouldn't be able to sit through the sessions, But he did pretty well. He would get up on occasion and go use the restroom, but all in all, he did pretty good.

He's super sweet. He loves to give hugs and he calls Tony and me, his God Parents. lol

I sat on the couch behind him as he and Liz sat in the front. Mom was in the recliner on the right. Chris would turn around and give me the piece sign. lol  After the 2 sessions were over with, we loaded up my breakfast casserole and the sausages and drove to the church for the Ward Waster Brunch. 

Christopher and Drue

We were some of the 1st to arrive and we helped put the plastic table cloths on the tables.

It was a great turnout and there was a ton of food. Everything from fruit to eggs and bacon, pancakes, breakfast burritos and a ton of pastries. There was a good variety.  If you went away hungry, it was your own fault. lol

Brother Smith likes to make funny faces so he had me take a picture of him after he put an orange rind in his mouth. lol It was a good time had by all. After the brunch, we helped cleanup the cultural hall, put tables and chairs away and swept the floor and did some dishes and took out trash. We then took Mom home (Christopher walked as he lives a block from the church) then Tony and I went home, put on our walking shoes and met Pat at the rec center. We walked the path outside because there was only an hour left for the gym to be open. It was a gorgeous day and Pat was happy to meet us there. When done, we came home and watched HUDSON & REX. (Tony loves it) It's ok but not my favorite. lol

Sunday morning, we got up, dressed and got our food ready to take to Lynn's. We watched the 1st Sunday session with the Butterfields and Mom Norton. After the 1st session, Tammy and Chris and family came over and we had dinner together. Ham and funeral potatoes, salads, cheesecake and cookies. It was delicious.  We then listened to a concert that Jack played his french horn in while we played GOLF. When Conference was about to start again, the Floyds went home to watch it and the Butterfields left for home. I got pictures of them before they all left. 

THE FLOYDS

THE BUTTERFIELDS

It was a great day. We enjoyed spending time with them for their Spring Break. Conference was wonderful and I learned so much. I really need to love more like the Savior does. I have a lot of things to work on. I am so grateful for Him and I know He lives.

GOD IS GOOD!

FUN FRIDAY

We had a busy day planned for Friday. It was Pat's birthday so I brought her gift to the gym. She is INCREDIBLE!! I get out of the car and hand her her gift and she hands me a bag!!  I said "what's this? It's your birthday!"  She said she had gone to the new Tractor Supply store to look around and she bought her and me SOCKS so we could match when we walk!!  lol  She is hilarious.  She put her package in her car and we went in and walked our 4 miles. It's amazing how much faster 4 miles goes when you have a great friend to talk to. I sure love her. When we finished, we came out to her car and she opened her gift. She was so excited about it all. She claims I dress her!  Too funny!   We parted ways and when I got home, we ate a quick bite of breakfast and then Tony went out to help the Jarrett's hook up our trailer to his vehicle. They wanted to borrow it so they could haul topsoil to their back yard. While he was outside, I got busy preparing a couple of things for Saturday and Sunday dinners.

1st, I made a big pan of FUNERAL POTATOES for our Sunday meal with Mom Norton and the Butterfields. We are having ham and I am making a salad and an apple dessert as well but will do them later. Tammy is making a salad as well. It is General Conference weekend and the Butterfields are leaving to go back to Washington after dinner and the 1st  Sunday session.

I also made a sausage potato breakfast casserole for Saturday. The ward is having having a Breakfast Brunch dinner at the church after the 2 Saturday Sessions. I am also going to fry up some link sausages to bring but will do them just before we go over to the church. Once we were both done with our projects, we cleaned up and at 1 o'clock, we drove over to Kevin and Jan Poulsen's home to pick them up for dinner. We went to THAILAND EXPRESS and ate "lupper." lol We sure enjoy their company and had a wonderful time visiting. We laughed so hard at some of the conversations we were having. After we finished, Tony suggested we go to COSTCO and get ice-cream. Since they started serving the BIG CUPS of soft serve, he wants it all the time. Honestly, I was full and wasn't really in the mood but, they were, so we did. lol I got vanilla with chocolate and ate about 1/4 of the cup and gave the rest to Tony. Jan did the same. The men got a fair amount of delish! Too funny! 

 We had checked into movies to go watch, but there wasn't really any that we wanted to see. We had just bought the new DAVID movie so we came back to our house and watched it. We all enjoyed it and we all said we needed to re-read the story of David because we didn't remember a lot of it. We didn't have to bring them home because part way through the movie, Kevin got a call from his lawn guy and he wanted to be paid. Tony stopped the movie and drove Kevin home and then he drove his own car back to our house. Anyway, we said our goodbyes and will see them Saturday at the brunch. I am so excited about General Conference. It's always so great to listen to a living Prophet and the Apostles and general authorities.

GOD IS GOOD!!

A BUSY FUN WEEK...SO FAR

It's been a busy week. Curtis & Deedra and the kids came Sunday evening. They are on Spring Break and so they came to Nampa for the week. They are staying at Lynn's. Monday morning, Tony and I went to the gym and when we got home, we ate breakfast, and then Tony was blowing up his bike tires because Jack wanted to borrow it for the week. I started cleaning up the kitchen and then I got a call from Deedra. She said Gramma had a weevil infestation in her kitchen. She wanted to know what the best cleaner for her cupboards was. I got in the car and drove over to Lynn's, and Tony rode the bike over.  Deedra had the two older boys washing dishes that had been taken out of the cupboards. They had thrown out a lot of food that was open or expired and Deedra was washing the cupboards with bleach water. Tony and I started refilling the good stuff in the cupboards that were cleaned. Then we went to emptying some of the other cupboards that hadn't been done yet. It was a BIG job. Deedra is such a good mother, and I was impressed how she involved all four of her kids in the work. Good Kids!!  Four hours later, we finished up and Tony and I went and bought a couple of pizzas at Papa Murphys.  I had to laugh at Jack. When we asked what the kids wanted to eat, Jack said anything but Panda Express. lol  Rice just didn't look good after all the weevils!  We ate and then we played games till it was time to come home and go to bed. Tuesday, we picked up Lynn and the Brown's and we went to the temple0 and did endowments. The kids stayed at Lynn's and did their own things. When we got back from the temple, we changed and went back to Lynn's and played games again. 

Wednesday was rainy and we were so thankful for the moisture!! 

We need it so much.

The wind blew and most of my pretty pink petals are gone.

The pickup was "PETAL KISSED"

It was kinda cool, but Tony got out his blower and cleaned them all off after I took my picture. lol He had an appointment with his sleep doctor, so while he was gone, I worked on finishing up some things in the craft room.  When he got home, we went to Lynn's again. Tammy and her family came over as well and we all played games. 

It was raining again and it is music to my ears. We sure need it and I enjoy listening to it when we go to bed. Wednesday night, we watched a movie with the kids. Chris & Tammy came as well .

Curtis and Deedra have the ANGEL app and so we watched

 SOLO MIO! It was such a great movie. I definitely want to purchase this one. We all enjoyed it. We came home after it was over and went to bed. Tony and I went to the gym in the morning and after, came home and ate, Then Tony took Lynn to an eye appointment. Then when they were done, we got ready to go to the temple to do baptisms. 

 Alice was taken to her cousins to be babysat. ( she'd hate that word probably) She was in heaven, playing with little Evelyn, going to McDonalds and Swig and then making cinnamon rolls with her cousins, Ellie and Livie. She had a blast!

MEANWHILE:

 The Butterfields came too (Curtis's parents) and so we were able able to do 107 baptisms and 107 confirmations.

Afterwards we got a picture of the bunch of us.  From the left: Garrett AKA Elder Butterfield. He is on a

SERVICE MISSION in Kennewick. Curtis, Jack. Charlotte, Deedra, me, Tony, Lynn, Gaya and Steve.

We then went to THE OLIVE GARDEN for lunch.

It was a good time and fun to be with the kids. Alice was being taken care of by her cousins Ellie and Livie. They are all planning on going to THE MARIO BROTHER'S movie this evening and so we dropped off Lynn and came home to relax. I am so tired. It's been a non-stop week so far. I guess I'm getting old and can't keep up the busy pace.  It's been a good week though.  Tomorrow they are going to WAHOOZ to play around and Tony and Me are getting together with the Poulsen's for dinner. We might possibly come back to our house and watch a movie. We'll see. 

Till the weekend, it's been fun.

GOD IS GOOD!~