The Pack Is Back--Happy Birthday Don!!!

Nothing makes us happier for our birthdays than to spend time with our kids! Yesterday we celebrated Don's 48th birthday (yes, I married a younger man!). Jennifer and Nicole came over for dinner and brought their dogs with them. Jenn has a dog and a puppy, Nic has a dog, and we have two dogs. The pack of dogs was larger than the pack of humans!




One of our family's birthday traditions is to let the person with the birthday choose what they want for dinner and what kind of cake and ice cream they want for dessert. Don chose barbecued bratwurst with hot mustard and horseradish. He also requested potato salad, four bean salad, and fresh vegetables with onion dip. It was almost like having a picnic! For dessert he asked for a lemon cake with strawberry jello, topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. The ice cream was chocolate fudge brownie. Lots of sugar for my sweetheart!



Below are Don and his loving girls (ages 20 and 22). We missed having Nathan, Sarah, and the grand kids with us, but in another 3 years they will be back in the United States and able to join with us once again. Oh, Don wouldn't let me take any pictures yesterday unless I agreed to explain the cut on his forehead. He was finishing a bat exclusion job when the clip holding the pipe he was working around broke and the pipe hit him in the forehead knocking him off the ladder. He landed on his feet, of course (he's so agile), but the bleeding was annoying to him. Where's the super glue when you need it? haha



Happy birthday, Don! We all love you for the wonderful man you are! Thanks for the laughter, the fun, and the adventure! Life would be so boring without you! You are the BEST!

Just a Note...

Tomorrow is Don's birthday, so Jennifer and Nicole are coming over today for dinner, cake, and icecream. I should be able to post some pictures tomorrow or Tuesday. Until then, I wanted to share this YOU TUBE video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpFhS0dAduc) which is an Easter message from Elder Holland. Wish I would have seen it earlier in the month, but better late than never.

Families Are Forever

Last Sunday we had a wonderful Easter dinner at my mom's. My side of the family was there except for Nathan, Sarah, and their kids. We sure miss them! My niece's little boys were there. Aiden hunted Easter eggs, etc., but I forgot to get out the camera (as usual). After most everyone was gone, I finally remembered the camera.

Susan took this picture:




This is Don and I in my mother's living room.

Don took this picture:




This is my sister, Susan, me, our daughter Nicole, and my mom (who is still going strong at age 81!).

Monday we went out to Vail and had dinner and played games with some good friends. The rest of the week was spent working on the bat job (which should be done next week), and working with the boy scouts. Don also went on an overnight camp out Friday and Saturday with Spencyr and had a fun time. Don's birthday is coming up soon. I'll blog about that next week. And Paige's will be 5 years old on the 21st of April. That little girl is growing up so fast! How we miss the grand kids!

I'm glad for the family that lives nearby, and miss those members of the family that are far away. But love binds us and keeps us close together even though there may be many miles between us and many weeks that go by between visits...families are forever.

Water for the Wildlife

Yesterday Don did a special project in the southern end of Catalina Regional Park (he's the manager). Many volunteers from the community came to put a pond liner in the large wildlife pond in the conservation area of the park. It was great to see so many people turn out. Not even the rain and subsequent mud kept them away. The pond is large enough that it took two rolls of liner (overlapping in the middle) to get it lined. Each roll weighed 1200 pounds and had to be lifted with the little tractor before it could be rolled out.

It took everyone pulling with all of their strength to get the liner across the pond...

...and up the other side. what a chore!

Then it had to be unfolded and laid out flat. Once that was done, everybody took a break for donuts, fruit, and juice. Then it was back to work with the second half...same thing all over again! When that was done, large rocks were brought in to hold down the edges. Because of the rain, we couldn't get the middle seam put together. That will have to be done next week.

Afterwards, everyone took another food break, and a bunch of them posed for me. It was a big morning, and we're so glad that it went well. Don's been working on this project for weeks!



We're still working on the the bat exclusion project at the elementary school. We think we can have that done in another week or two.

Happy Easter, everyone! We are profoundly grateful for the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ and all it affords us. We enjoyed talking to the grand kids this morning, and will spend this afternoon with my side of the family. Life is good. We are happy and feel very blessed. We hope you do also.

New Activity

This week I tried a new activity: vinyl lettering on wood. It was fun, and I enjoyed the time I spent doing it. I'm not very good at it yet, but hopefully, with time, I will be.

Here are my first three projects. One is for a wedding next week, one is a colorful recipe box, and one is a Choose The Right plaque. I have a few more projects planned...hope they turn out as well (or better).