Kelly's Wedding

After checking into our motel last Saturday evening and throwing our wedding clothes on over our beach scraggle-ness we sprinted to the church for the wedding, which was supposed to start at 6pm. We arrived at 6:01...but then it didn't start till 7:00, as they were waiting for a late grandmother! The wedding was very beautiful and Kelly was beaming the whole time.


Jon and Kelly at the reception at Jon's parents' home.


Bride at groom at the head table.



Grandma Bonnie and Brenda frosted and decorated the cake. Stephanie helped with flowers.
What a masterpiece!

Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Garth. (I wish I could have caught Bonnie ""hamming it up" just before this shot. She is a hoot!)


Jessica dumped her pink and white jelly beans on the ground, but she was determined to get every one of them back in her cup!


Dad and Amy posed at dinner.


And on the cool bridge in front of the house.


Brendan is all ready for the toast with his flute of apple juice.


And on a final note-I really liked the look of this house across the street from Kelly's new in-laws. I asked Dad if he would build me one. He said yes, if I took a picture of it. So here's the picture, Jeff. Do you think he'll build it??? :)

Morro Bay

After the big trees we drove across the state, on some beautiful, tiny, windy roads through some really pretty country-and some "middle of nowhere land" too-to the beach.


Amy with Morro Rock in the background.


Are these egrets? Or what? We are not birders. But they were cool!


More of the "egrets."


We got to watch a real "Baywatch" type rescue. Everyone was okay. That lifeguard was HOT. He needed to go for a swim to cool off...


Morro Rock from afar.


I have wanted to go to this quilt shop in Morro Bay ever since I read "Mariner's Compass" by Earlene Fowler and wondered if it was a real place. When I met Earlene at our local quilt shop she told me she based "The Fabric Patch" in the book on "The Cotton Ball" in Morro Bay. I looked up their address both this time and the last time we went and left it home by mistake both times!


When we were driving down the road to the beach this trip I just happened to see it! I made Dad and Amy stop on the way out of town. It is a really fun shop - home of the "surf quilter!" (See Rob Appel and "Adventures of a Surf Quilter at http://www.thecottonball.com/)

Then it was a race back across the state to our niece Kelly's wedding!

Big Trees

The largest living organism on the planet! And WE were there last weekend!


This is the "General Sherman" tree in Sequoia National Park, southeast of Fresno, and northeast of Bakersfield in California. It is 36.5 feet in diameter at the base and 274.9 feet tall. It could fit almost two of our family rooms in the bottom!


The funny thing is, next to all the other sequoias and redwoods in the forest, and with Amy and Jeff in front for reference, I don't even think it looks that big!


And while it is neither the tallest nor the widest tree in the world, it IS the largest living organism on the planet by volume. If you filled it with water it would hold enough water to provide you with a bath every day for 27 years! Whoa! That's a BIG tree!


We stopped along the road on the way into the park and Jeff and Amy hiked down to the middle fork of the Kawaeh River. I had finally succumbed to the nasty virus everyone else in the family had gotten sometime in the past two weeks, so I stayed on top and took pictures. This picture was taken with the zoom lens. It was quite a ways down.

This tunnel tree is over part of the trail up to the General Sherman.

Another thing to mark off on my "List of things to do Before I Die."

Cowboy Up!...and more

Before our "walk" around the block, Tyler was "pretending to dress up like a cowboy, 'Dramma' Linda!"


Is this kid photogenic, or what?


His sister's not half bad, either!


Love the ponytail?


Their cousin's pretty cute too. (Her preferred position for asking - "Eat?")


Papa's teaching her to ride a scooter.

Lots of cute kids in this family...

You Already Know...

Yes, I know it and you know it. I've discussed it before. I am a nerd. (But not in a BAD way!) The last couple of days, in my limited spare time, I have...ORGANIZED THE LINEN CLOSET. (I also finished Aubrey's quilt top, worked in the office, did Relief Society service, changed sheets, cooked meals, taxied Maddie around a bit, watched a few episodes of West Wing DVDs, finished the Book Club book AND another one, went major grocery shopping...I could go on! Just so you understand I'm not a TOTAL slacker...Hmmm...I'm not sure I helped my case too much with that list...)

Back to my closet. I wish I had taken a BEFORE picture, but I didn't think of it in time. Suffice it to say it was SERIOUSLY the kind of closet you opened at your own risk. Usually a bottle of shampoo or a washcloth or a tablecloth would fall out when you did. Last weekend we kicked apron strings back under the door every time we walked by. Hmmm. Does that sound like it was time for a change? Then I bought this month's issue of Family Circle magazine and read the "Get Organized" article.

And did this!



I'm so proud of myself.

The funny thing is this. Years ago, a woman in my ward named Geri used to talk to me about the differences between people. Geri was a very creative person who loved to write and do artistic endeavors. Her mother was an organizer. The greatest joy Geri's mother got was from restoring order to an area of her home and then showing it to Geri--and anyone else who would look at it. Geri could never understand this. She even gently mocked her mother for her organizational pursuits. Geri got no pleasure whatsoever from an organized home. She liked to create!

I think I have become Geri's mother! And I'm enjoying it!

Happy Birthday, Ally! (...and Aubrey, Allyson, Grandma D., Julie, and Susan...)

Today is "Little" Ally's birthday. She doesn't want to be "double digits;" she wants to stay small. But there it is. She is TEN! Smart, sassy, cute, creative, and loving- she is a joy to be around. I'm sure glad she's in our family!

We have had several birthdays in the family recently, and I don't think I wished anyone except Grandma D. a happy one on my blog! Here are my belated wishes to the rest of you! I sure do love you all!


We celebrated Susan's 24th, Grandma D.'s 73rd, and Julie's 12th birthdays with cake and ice cream the last Sunday of May. Ally and Tyler helped blow out the candles...


Last Sunday we had cake and ice cream for Ally's 10th, Aubrey's first, and Allyson's 28th birthdays. (We'll also have a swim party with both sides of the family for Aubrey's birthday next week!)


Sydney and Ally in the matching aprons I made them to go with Ally's birthday present.


Maddie and Tyler help Aubrey open her present from us. (In the corner you can see a copy of the cute tinted photo of Sydney that David and Loretta framed for Ally.)


Tyler and Nathan enjoyed the dollhouse. When does Aubrey get to play???


No, really. Brian LOVES our birthday celebrations. All the excitement just wears him right out.

I'm so incredibly blessed to have all these wonderful people in our family. Happy birthdays!

Lucky to Be Alive

This is for all of you who just look at the "static electricity" messages at gas stations without taking them in. Jeff had an experience this morning that could have easily turned into a terrible tragedy. Apparently because of the way automobile tires are now manufactured, static electricity is a VERY REAL danger at the gas pump. See this video. From PERSONAL experience we can testify that this CAN and DOES happen. Be careful out there!