It was a blast!

Miss Bella and Sir Dylan arrived recently for a visit and what a great time we had. I got a pool from Target on clearance and boy did they enjoy that and the sand and water table that Bella has loved since she could walk. It was soooo good having all the noise and toys all over! I miss them being close and seeing them more often but I took it all in and just loved on them and was just sitting by Bella one night while she was playing and looking at her...she looked at me and said "Gramma, what you looking at me for?" I miss that girl!! Dylan is as precious as ever and just melts my heart with his big eyes and smile. His sweet yes answers to my questions remind me of his dad. Awww...good memories.

Enjoying my girl in the pool.
Dylan got his first haircut!
He loved the water hose!
He and Speed bonded with a kiss!
Isn't she precious??? Love her!!
Uncle Dustin made time for his niece and nephew and enjoyed Mr. Dyl soooo much!

Me and my boys...Dylan and Mason.
Cousins...getting to know one another!
Love this one of the four of us!! If Dylan was smiling, Bella had her eyes closed or wasn't smiling so this was the best of all of the ones taken...

Guess who's coming to visit???

I am so excited!!! I haven't seen my precious grandchildren and their mom since July! I can't wait to give them all big hugs and spoil them just a bit! :)

Random Dozen

***This was supposed to post automatically on Sept. 16th and obviously it didn't so I'm posting it anyway!
I've decided to join Linda or Lidna at 2nd Cup of Coffee with her Random Dozen meme. If you'd like to join, just copy the questions and answer them on your blog and link back to Linda. You can also pull this button from her sidebar to put in your post. So here goes:
1. Which is worse: a long, boring meeting or standing in a return/exchange line after Christmas?A long boring meeting because you have to sit there quiet and act interested. In the return line at least you can talk to those around you or people watch to pass the time. :)
2. Except for maybe Rosie O'Donnell or Ann Coulter, nobody likes confrontation, yet we all have to deal with it. When you feel cornered and defensive, do you "bite back" or become "passive agressive?"I will generally bite back. I know it's not the best thing to do but I try to do the right thing and usually have my reasons. I will usually apologize if I say something that I didn't mean or was hurtful.
3. Do you know anything about your genealogical background? (What country are you from, culture, ties to prominent historical figures, or other stuff?)Yes, my family came from Germany in the 1800's and immigrated to Iowa to farm, but after a couple bad years they packed up and moved to North Dakota to farm there which was pretty successful. My grandpa used to hold political rallies on his farm in the early 1900's when the candidates were coming through the area. The love of food continues in our family especially baking.
4. What is the quickest way a person can endear him/himself to you?I enjoy people who love to laugh, are positive, love their family and seek to live a life pleasing to God. I also like those who are a bit adventurous and like to see new things.
5. Cake, pie, cookies, or ice cream?? (NOTE: You cannot say "ALL of the ABOVE". You must choose ONE!! Feel free to elaborate on flavor memories tied to your choice.) You may share a recipe if you'd like but you don't have to.I don't like the rules to this one because I like cake and cookies but OK, I will choose COOKIES!! It's probably because my mom made homemade cookies every week of my life growing up. We always had a new batch each week. I love chocolate oatmeal no bake cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, 5 chip cookies, peanut butter kiss cookies, sugar cookies with or without icing, peanut butter, chocolate chip macadamia, butterscotch creme cookies and snickerdoodles to name a few!! I also love the new blonde oreo cookies and many more from the store. I'd better stop now but ya'll I LOVE COOKIES!!! YES I DO!!!
6. Females: Do you regularly change your handbag to coordinate with your outfit?Yes, I started doing this a few years ago when I had extra money to buy things for myself and there were so many cute purses. My sister encouraged me!
7. Are you task-oriented or relationship-oriented? I am soooo task-oriented and have realized that in my later years and now make a strong effort to be more relationship-oriented.
8. IHOP, Bob Evans or Cracker Barrel? I just discovered Cracker Barrel this year and it's my favorite! Everything I've eaten has been soooo good and at a good price! AND you can shop afterwards!!! :)
9. Have you ever left a movie in progress? Why? I haven't left very many but should have left a few. The one that sticks in my mind is Disney's Fantasia. We took our 3 year old to see Mickey and when Mickey didn't show up in the movie for at least a 1/2 hour after 50 million "Where's Mickey Mouse?" and the movie was too slow for a 3 year old, we left and got ice cream!!
10. What is one area of your life in which you would like to develop more discipline or organization?I'd like to be more disciplined to exercise on a regular basis. I can plan it in my head and then I just get busy right away and never get to it. I know it's so important to exercise into your later years and I NEED to be more regular at doing something each day. I do really well with a personal trainer and had one for a year and a half. I just can't afford that now.
11. Was middle school fun or painful?It was fun for me. I attended middle school in Madrid, Spain while my dad was stationed there in the Air Force. I had great friends, a great youth group, freedom to go all over Madrid exploring with my friends on the trolley cars and subway. My challenge was that I was tall and skinny and the fashion was long pants to cover your shoes. I had a hard time finding long pants and then my mom would shrink them in the wash. Interesting, the things you remember!!
12. What is your favorite Fall beverage?I guess it would be a spiced coffee or a mocha coffee with whip cream. Hot chocolate with marshmallows is a treat now and then!
Now you know me a little better. I hope you still like me. If you'd like to join in go see Linda at 2nd Cup of Coffee .

A busy little man!

Mason and his mom came to hang out for a couple days while daddy was away on business. He had a wonderful time keeping mommy and grandma busy. Here are just a few photos of him during his stay...I have a ton more! He is 10 months now! I can't believe it! BDay #1 is right around the corner.

Looking out the back door and talking to the dog! I have a photo of all of my grandchildren looking out the door at our dogs.

Hi Grandma!

Sitting with great grandma Lenie.

He was amazed when the phone started talking to him in English and then in Spanish!

He loves food and was just waiting for a bite and then he would have been grabbing some for himself!

Playing with mommy!

Climbing up the stairs!! WHat fun!!
He made it to the top in record time~

This was too cute! He loves Yo Gabba Gabba and Brobi.
Bath time in grandmas big tub is so much fun!

Grandma gave me a mohawk that we call a "hocock" thanks to my cousin, Bella. She always wanted a hocock when she took a bath!

He just loves the faucet now and standing up in the tub! He couldn't catch the water!!
ANother bottle..this time with grandpa!

Busy, busy but oh so much fun! I love every minute of it!

I Will Never Forget!

Baby Garden Gift Basket

Isn't this the cutest????

When I was in Arizona visiting my best friend, Tricia's daughter was making the cutest gift basket for a girl she works with who was having twins. We went by her home and helped her put together her baskets. I was so impressed, I told my daughter that we had to make one for her sister-in-law. We made this on Monday. Isn't it cute?

The baskets below are the ones I helped make in Arizona.

These were really cute...sorry the picture quality is so bad. I used my new Nikon Coolpix camera for these and I don't like the quality of the photos.

Here are my instructions so you can make one too!

You will need:

A basket or crate

Wood letters for name

wood paint

wood glue

floral picks with wire attached

styrofoam

shredded paper or grass

24-30 ft of narrow ribbon

onesies

pants

pacifiers

spoons

teethers

shoes

socks

bath duckie

wash cloths

**All of the baby gift items were purchased at Target.

***The basket, letters, paint etc were purchased at Michaels.

We chose this basket.

We chose wood letters for the baby's name and painted them. They take three coats of paint with a top coat of glitter glaze.

We chose a flower pot decoration and painted it also.

We attached the letters and flower pot decoration with wood glue and let it set overnight.

Then start attaching the pacifiers, shoes, onesies(rolled up with pick inside-wind wire around pick if not needed to attach item) and decorate with a ribbon bow.

How cute are these??

And these??

And this??

And this??

Those shoes are too cute too!!

My daughter needs to have a baby girl!!!

Once you have all items on the picks, put the styrofoam in the bottom of the basket and stagger the styrofoam so you have a taller section in the back of the basket and in the center. Cover with shredded paper. Start inserting items in basket to create your gift garden and see how cute a gift you've created.

These shoes are pretty cute too!

Attach the pacifiers with the wire on the top of the pick and then attach a ribbon through the pacifier holes. I love these!

The duck was so sweet...he was heavy but we attached the pick wires to him and set him in the corner.

I love the spoons with a ribbon around each one...they look like little flowers!

The shoes really anchored the center of the garden!

The top of the socks said Love...I stuffed one sock inside the other and put the pick up inside the sock or rolled it around the pick if you want the sock the other way and tied a ribbon around it.

We really lucked out with everything we chose and what was available because it was a flower garden theme too.

The finished gift! I just love it!

So if you are like me and not the creative one to come up with something like this on your own, you have my permission to use this idea and make it your own. If you do make one, please let me know so I can see it. Just FYI, this can be a pricey gift if you don't plan ahead. It also takes about 4 hours to complete. I enjoyed making this with my daughter. What fun we had until

2am the other night.

A Special Nephew

Our son, Dustin with his grandfather and cousin, Derek
Our daughter, Danielle with Derek's wife Beth and Mason
Our nephew, Derek is moving to Oregon to study for his Doctorate in Psychology.  It's an amazing story because Derek has dyslexia.  He struggles to read.  However, with new technology that scans his books and a program that reads it all back to him, he can study and learn and pass his classes.  His Mom and Dad have been a huge support over the years assisting him in writing his papers and studying for tests.  Now his wife, Beth (who is herself studying to be a pharmacist) encourages him endlessly and studies with him into the early morning hours and helps him write his papers. I am so proud of Derek for his accomplishments and being so persistant in his dream to get this degree.  He applied to many schools over the last 2 years and was always denied entry because he could not pass a mandatory written test.  

He is the nicest person you would ever want to meet and is a joy to be around.  Beth is his perfect mate and she knew it when she first met him and told her friend that she was going to marry that boy!

We are celebrating tonight as Derek heads to Oregon State to continue his pursuit of his Doctorate.  Beth will join him shortly as she has her last set of internships to complete and she will be a full fledged pharmacist.  So keep them in your prayers as they go through this time of separation and excitement for the next chapter in their lives.