Birthday!

It's been quite a birthday weekend! Don and I went out to dinner last night after he got home from work, and then we got up and went hiking today in the mountain canyon just east of the house. It was beautiful! The stream was running (which the dogs loved) and there was a gentle breeze. I love all the boulders and the plant life. Then my mom, Jennifer, and Nicole came over for dinner and games (which included watching the Arizona Wildcats win their basketball game-yea!). It's been a full, really fun few days. Thanks, sweet family, for a great week of time together, good food, and great memories!


I put a slide show to the right of some of the pictures we took while hiking today. Hope you enjoy them!

Good Week!

This week began last Monday with removing packrats from an attic space in a home in the foothills, and will finish this Monday with removing raccoons from another family's attic. In between we played soccer Wednesday night, Don had a soccer game Friday night, My mom and sister, Susan, took me to lunch at Olive Garden for an early birthday (yummy), and the Collins family came over to spend the day with us Saturday. It was fun to see them again and have some time to spend with them.


The keeper!



Lunch at Olive Garden


Kerri, Chase, Don and Pat (being silly), and Aurora



Badminton and horse shoe playing area

Resolution Time

Since this is the time of year that everyone makes resolutions, one of mine is going to be "remember to take the camera with you every place you go and take pictures for the blog"!!!! We have had a fun couple of weeks, but the only time I remembered to take pictures was yesterday (and Don ended up taking them). Oh well. I've got a whole new year in front of me to improve!


We had a fun New Year's Eve with my cousins, Roger and Jean, and then spent New Year's Day getting some exercise (soccer and walking) once we woke up. Don did a 15.3 mile hike two days later with the Boy Scouts, went to a couple of soccer practices during the week, and played goal keeper during the first game (last Friday night). It was really fun for him. I stayed on the sidelines and tried to stay warm as I cheered. The games will now be every Friday night.


This weekend there was a big 3-day horse event at the equestrian center here in the park that Don was involved with. Below are a couple of pictures from yesterday...ahh...Tucson in the winter! So beautiful!










The biggest thing that happened over the last two weeks (in my mind) was that the Stake Presidency redrew the boundary lines in our part of the stake so our ward will now be bigger. Everyone will have only one calling from now on...I wonder which of our 5 callings we will be released from...hmmm...we should know in the next couple of weeks. We are looking forward to meeting more people in our "new" ward.


Tomorrow we start another week of critter gittering with some packrats that are making themselves at home in someone's attic space. It's also a week of working on the needs of the HOA in our old neighborhood, since I am still the President. Hopefully, we will be able to hold new elections at our March meeting, and I will be relieved of that responsibility. The kids and grandkids are doing well in Germany...we get to talk to them via the internet with the webcam...it's so good to see them. We miss them! The girls keep in touch almost everyday, for which we are grateful. We love our little family!

Let I Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

We actually had a dusting of snow the day after Christmas (Gary's birthday). Since we almost never get any, it was fun for us. Mia loved it (Trooper, with his short hair, didn't)!

Yea For Christmas!!!

This was our first Christmas in our new house, and I enjoyed figuring out where to put the decorations. We were happy to hear from friend far and near! Thnaks for the cards and pictures! This was also the first Christmas my mom has hosted since dad passed away. It was good to gather the family at mom's. There was too much food, as usual, and lots of love and laughter. Everyone was there except for my sister Joni who called from Denver, Angela's husband, Jon, who is serving in Iraq, and Nathan, Sarah, and the kids who are all in Germany where Nathan is serving in the Army Dental Corps. Most of the pictures came out too dark, but here are a few.


Nicole and Jenna


Angela and Tyler



Aiden and Adam


Adam playing with Tyler (bow on his bottom)
and Don playing with Aiden


Gary and Carol


Mom and Gary


Nicole and Susie

Friends, Furry Things, and Faith

We started this week by going to a combined Family Home Evening at the Wilkes home with others from our old ward. It was so good to see old friends again, sing carols around the fire, and be in the midst of so much musical talent! Thanks for hosting, Wilkes family!

On the critter front, we gave a skunk a new home this week. They are basically docile little animals, and this little guy was no exception. Here he is finding his way around his new habitat.

We also rescued a ringtail cat that had crawled into someone's car engine. They were driving around hoping to scare it out (!!!!) and finally decided to call us to talk about their problem. They were driving nearby, so Don had them come over so that he could get the little guy out. When freed, Mr. Ringtail quickly scampered up the nearest tree. They are such cute and curious little animals! Here's a couple of pictures:

We also enjoyed seeing both of the girls this week. It's nice to know that no matter how old they get, they still appreciate having us nearby and the security that comes from knowing that we love them.

At this season of Christmas, may all of you have the security of family love and feel the love of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind, whose birth we celebrate at this time of year. Joy to all of you!

Another Day, Another Dollar

At some point I am going to have to get in the habit of taking pictures! I don't seem to remember to grab the camera until Saturday. Oh well. Better luck this coming week.

This week Don took care of bees, a packrat, and sealing off places where bats could roost in the spring. We also answered questions about skunks, ringtail cats, and ducks (Q.: Can you come and remove these 150 ducks from our little lake and take them to another lake so that they can stay there? A.: Wild ducks are not exactly obedient, and they do fly for hundreds of miles and are not prone to "staying" where you put them. Could we give you some ideas on how to live with them and keep them out of the places where you don't want them?) Here's a picture of Ms. Packrat getting a new home.

I wish I had taken pictures the day Jenna was over. I enjoy having her here--she enjoys getting her laundry done and raiding the food storage...oh I mean, she loves visiting me, too. lol We have a fun time and she's welcome to to the washer and dryer and the pantry any time.

We also had the ward party this week...Don went and had a good time...I stayed home trying to keep this head cold from getting worse. He had a good time. Yesterday one of the families Don home teaches came over for dinner and games. We had a great time. Their two teenagers are a lot of fun. It's been raining all weekend, so we put a fire in the fireplace. The Jenkins kids wanted to roast marshmallows (Trooper stayed close to that action hoping for a handout) in the fire place (de ja vous) and James and Don were doing pull ups on the stairs. We played the train game...congratulations Nicole on beating your brother and the rest of us.