Without Training Wheels

It's a Sunday evening.  Mother and daughter visit the church parking lot for another lesson in bike riding without training wheels.

"Mom, I'm scared!  Hang on to me!"

"I'll hold on at first, then I'm going to let go when I know you don't need me; but I'll stay close in case you start to fall."

"Promise?"

"I promise!"

Success!

Wedding - Revisited

Here are a few pictures of Jeanette and Julio's wedding that were taken by our "professional" photographer.

Outside the temple door.

Our family - already outdated since Rachael and Dave had their baby boy who is no longer nameless.  They named him Neil Franklin

The decorated tables.  Sorry, Jeanette, it still looks like a church cultural hall.

The table decoration is a painted pot, holding branches that are spray painted white.  The flowers are hot glued on the branches.  Pictures of Jeanette and Julio are hung with the yellow ribbon.  Luminaries with battery operated candles are on the table.  Not sure if I should tell you this or not, but I will.  By the end of the reception, every picture and every candle, including the candles outside in the lanterns on the shepherd's hooks, were stolen missing! 

I love all the candid shots.

Our own beautiful Miss Kazzy, greeting Jeanette.

Jeanette's surprised to see Valerie and her daughter, Emily.

A hug for Brooklyn, her cousin's daughter.

Not sure who she's hugging here, but at least she's being careful with her glass of water.

Ahh, being nice with the cake feeding.

Everybody Dance Now!

Their first dance.

Love this picture of Jeanette and her Dad! 

During the Mother/Son dance, Jordan and I really cut a rug!  

My Mom and Dad watching the dancing.  My sister, Nancy, and her daughter, Julie, standing next to them.

These darlings had a great time dancing the night away!  

Jeanette, we love you!!

May I introduce to you..

..my newest grandson.

Rachael went from this...

...to this...in just a few hours!

I  picked up The Corbanator and Izzy while their Mom was in labor and took them to Chick-Fil-a for chicken nuggets because "that's the place that has real chicken!  They just cut the chicken in to fun shapes!" (according to Corb)  Dave (the proud father) kept me up to date by texting the progress of dilation.  I got 3 texts.  One read "5", a half hour later the text read "9".  Fifteen minutes later the text read, "It's over. It's a boy. all natural."

Dad, Izzy and The Corbanator.  

This nameless boy is 9lbs 4oz and 22 inches long.  His face is bruised but he's healthy and beautiful!

Rachael's mother (Grandma Nina).  

Corb looks ready to take over in case Grandma doesn't know what she's doing. 

I can't wait to hold this little guy again... 

...without Dave holding his head! (I've done this before!)

Welcome to our family, sweet boy!

Two Halves Make A...

...very sore old woman!  

On Saturday, 9-10-11, I ran my second half marathon in 3 weeks.   

I still had a sore knee from the Hobble Creek marathon so I wore a brace on my left knee and a band on the right.  With that much support, I was ready to run!

(I like to be at the back of the lineup to race, especially if I'm wearing a timing chip.  That way, I don't have a bunch of people passing me.)

Before mile 4, I was doing pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.   By mile 5, I realized the knee brace and silly band didn't do anything for these sore, old, knees.  They were ON FIRE!  And I'm not talking about speed.  They caused So. Much. Pain!  

Several times throughout the race I wondered if I was going to be able to finish - but I did!  In fact,  a half block from the finish line, the man in the picture below, ran along side of me and said, "Let's get across!"  For some reason, that was enough to motivate me to pour it on. How nice of the man to let the old lady cross the line first!

I didn't come in last!  My time was 2:33:27. 

I got third place in my age group...out of 3!  Not superb, but that's OK.  I finished! 

Right after the race, we went to a family reunion in West Haven.  I iced my knees during the hour and a half drive.  On the way back, we stopped at the Burger Bar in Roy to have some delicious shakes. 

A raspberry fresh lime shake is just the treat to soothe the fire knees!

I'm taking a week off from running to make sure I heal.  

God Bless America

It has been 10 years since the 9-11 attack.

I haven't adequate words to describe the feelings that come while remembering,

or by viewing images of that day.

Our nation has changed.

  May God continue to bless this great, promised land. 

My heart is full.

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Rocket Man(s)

Ahhh, the joy of Labor Day weekend.  The weather was perfect, the family arrived, hamburgers were juicy and the company was enjoyable.  Could it get any better?  

How about a rousing rocket launch?

Dan brought his homemade rocket launcher and we had a rocket making/launching contest.


Soda bottles, heavy foam, glue guns and a bunch of odds and ends were used to create the perfect rocket. 

Dave is showing the lovely "left-over hotdog" rocket made by Jake.  The two pencils protruding from the nose shows style and weaponry.

This is the Cherry-7-up rocket made by Dave.  Inside the nose of the rocket are hot dog buns.  He thought this rocket would  feed the seagulls...as if they need any more to eat!  They better watch out though, the plastic fork dart could prove to be dangerous!  

This Sprite/water bottle rocket was created by Dan.  The celery in the top turned in to a relish after a few launches. It could double as a food processor.  

Here's Dan and Andy getting the "food processor" ready to launch.  I think it would be a great infomercial!

The following videos are a sampling of how it's done.  The camera person (me) couldn't track it very well.  They shot so high and fast that it was next to impossible to keep up. 

(That's my story and I'm sticking with it)

This video shows Jason launching his confetti rocket.  It's hard to see but the confetti floated down beautifully after the launch.

This video shows Jake's hotdog rocket.  We found the hotdogs but the rocket, with the #2 pencils, appropriately landed on the school. 

We had a lot of fun!   Since we didn't break any windows and no one reported us to the police, we may just do it again!

Lights, Camera, Action!

Saturday was a day of Sports for a couple of my grands.  

Here's Mr Cy, he's in 1st grade and plays tackle football.  

You can tell he has the eye of the tiger or is it the kitten! He's not very aggressive right now but he's learning.

Of course, when there's a game, I like to take the camera to get some pics of the action. Just look at that handsome boy ready to rumble!

Miss Em had a volleyball game on the same day.  She's got her serve down and made several points for her team.

I made sure I snapped some action shots throughout the game.

Here's Kels.  She doesn't play sports but she really wanted some attention in front of the camera.  She kept asking me to take her picture as she posed in silly ways.

She would ask to see the picture after it was taken.

Then would change her pose to something even sillier.  

She's workin' it! 

I'm sure I missed lots of Em's game but couldn't resist giving this four-year-old some attention.

Yeah, this is where the action is!