Typical Sunday

Sunday is the day we get together as a family

on my mom's side. This has happened for years now.

Since my kids have married and left home,

it is an extra special day to me now-

to spend the day with those who can make it over.

This is a typical look of our Sunday-

 a group of us around the table- talking

or playing cards- but always eating.

And  the other group

(mostly the grumpy men)

who want to sleep on Sunday while some

game blares away on the TV.

The kids LOVE Grammy :)

She brought bouncy balls from Disneyland

home with her from her CA trip.

Livvy and Will are excited to have

Grammy throw the balls while they "fetch" them

for her. Livvy can't walk yet, but she could beat

Will to the ball by scooting on her bum across the

floor. I wanted to attach a cleaning cloth to her

rear end so the scooting would have greater

meaning. :)

Did you notice Grammy's toes? She is one

hip, happening Granny! Always got her toes and

nails done. I want to be like her someday!

(just the fancy nails part, not the limpy cane using part)

Had to say that part so the Universe didn't make it ALL come true :)

This is a tradition in my family too.

Weird as it is-

every baby is photographed in

"the lion's head"

It's Livvy's turn.

The Lion's head is the top to a little trash can that belonged

to my little brother Stevie. So it from the late 60's. 

I'm not sure where the tradition came from-

but I know it has to do with Grammy.

(remember Universe- just the nails part :)

It is fun to see the pictures of each kid with

his face poking out of the lion's mouth.

Kind of a rite of passage-

you're in the lion's head, you now belong.

This too is a typical Sunday activity-

how strange can you be- or can you

make everybody laugh hard enough someone

has an "accident".

Tommy found 101 ways to entertain himself with this 

Tinkerbell sucker.

Doesn't take much to keep him happy-

or me either evidently.

I'm a sucker for a goofy boy.
.........
BTW- Sierra has started her own blog-
http://wherethegreenergrassgrows.blogspot.com/
Check it out. It's pretty fun. 

Swingin in some Sweaters by guest blogger Sierra

Well hello everyone. This is Sierra. Even though i am going to make my own blog one day my mother has decided that i am going to do this post apparently. Anyways, this Saturday me and Ta'merra went to sweater swing. For our day date we went shooting:) 

This is Stephen with a gun. 

What a handsome boy:)

This is me shooting a clay pigeon. 

Dang i am one good shot!

This is Sawyer (Ta'merras date) looking all spiffy in his shooting shirt.

and this is Ta'merra looking smoking hot.

After our awesome day date we went over to Stephens house where Stevies brother Andrew and SIL Chantal had their new baby goats and let us bottle feed them.

they are soooo cute!

Then we took the boys home so that we could get ready. The theme for sweater swing was "opposites attract" so ill let you look at the picture first so you can guess what opposites we were:

ha ha ha yes we went as city girls and red necks:) my favorite part was that Sawyer had those duck calls around his neck and he would do duck calls at random times during the night. 

then we ate some delicious dinner at my house with our sweet little cooker thing. it was an awesome dance and we had so much fun! 

Smile Today :)

When you smile-

it's contagious :)

 

Don't hide your smile

(Sierra liked this one-

she must relate :)

Your smile makes you unique

Smiling makes you stand out

in the crowd.

Now go and spread the joy.

Million Dollar Smile

Sierra has wanted braces for as long

as I can remember. The dentist never

said it was a need, so I didn't ever press

for it. Sierra argued that since she was 

going into the dental field, she should

have perfect teeth. She won her dad over

with that reasoning, so off we went to

the orthodontist :)

Here is her happy before picture.

What a cutie. 

This crazy thing they put on her just

gave me the creeps. It looks like some

torture device from the Nazi days.

It didn't seem to faze her. Still got 

those happy eyes.

The beginning of the finished results.

She only got the top row done for now-

who knew she has a severe overbite

and can't get the bottom row on until that

has been fixed! I guess she really did need

these braces :) She gets to wear them

for a year and a half. She'll be 19 when they

come off.  All the other patients were 12 and

13 year olds, I guess it's better late than never.

Now for a few random Sierra/February shots-

Sierra turned 18 this month.

I'm sure this was her favorite present!

A sock monkey hat from me :)

Sierra and Stevie went to Sweethearts-

Thanks to Sophie and Tommy who set them

up with the dress and tie the night before!

This is a scrub top I made.

It was fun to do. I love time

with my machine :)

Notice her sore mouth now :)

Not so much the teeth as the insides

 of her mouth. Hope she gets 

mouth callouses real soon.

But soon she'll have that 

million dollar smile her sisters have!

Wendy Gets Her Craft ON

Lately I've been in a crafty mood.

Luckily, I've had the time (made the time)

to fulfill those crafty feelings.

So I now present to you

my newest attempts of

creativity.

I can't take all the credit for this beauty-

Scott and Sabrina gave me the

cute miniature quilt hanger.

Sabrina and I saw one at=

Cutest store ever btw.

Anywho- she went home and made them

for Christmas presents. Love it.

I made the primitive Snowman

wall hanging. He's a bit crooked, but I 

have a soft spot in my heart for him. 

 This is my attempt at Valentine decor.

I bought four hideous plaques at DI

and gave those pitiful things

a true purpose in life.

I repainted them, mod podged 

scrapbook paper on them and then 

slapped vinyl letters on.

Much better than the

"kitchen prayer" 

from 1971 which had been on them.

(sorry if I offended any 1971 plaque lovers)

 Now finally for the 

piece de restistance

 I recovered my moms dining room

chairs. This might not seem so

exciting, but for those family

members who remember what

they used to look like-

it's a big deal.

The last fabric had been 

serving us since 1980-

It was labeled, so I have proof.

It's been a soul fulfilling few weeks.

You can applaud now,

as I take a bow.

:)

Stew VS Little House

  A recent conversation I had with my darling daughter Kira put me in a thinking mood. I wonder if what TV/movies/video games I raised my kids on has had a vast effect on them? I'm sure it has, but now the question- was it a good or bad effect?  While other homes were watching "Little House on the Prairie" (which we watched too, I LOVE Laura- Lisa looked just like her) anywho- while they watched Little House, we devoured programs such as "The Stand", "It", "Storm of the Century", "The Tommyknockers".  

I love The Stand. I can't explain it. I just do.

It might have something to do with part of it being filmed on little old Main Street in my home town. While filming was going on, I went to the city library and happened to get a glimpse of Mr. Stephen King himself. *shivers going down my back* *good shivers :)*  It might have to do with my Junior high librarian- the sweetest little spinster lady you'd ever meet- introducing me to Mr. King's book Carrie. I just have a weakness for Stephen's (I'm sure he wouldn't mind me calling him that) earlier work. Especially when it's made for TV, so it's not quite so creepy. It's a safe creepy.

I love the good VS evil aspect of the story. I always wonder, which voice would be calling me? To go to Callerado (pronounce the "A" long) or Sin City Vegas? 

I love the music in it- Don't Fear the Reaper, Don't Dream It's Over. I could go on and on. I love it.

     My younger kids were raised on Buffy. Buffy. *sigh* Buffy. I love Buffy too. And Angel. And Spike. Oh my. I loved Vampires before stupid old Twilight came along.

Don't get me wrong. I like Twilight (and Vampire Diaries, yes I DVR it every Thursday night) But they are not Buffy. Trust me. I think I might have harmed a few of the neighborhood kids with my addictions too- I still have one sweet young lady who regularly borrows my Buffy collections.

         I also like me a night of watching my boys play- Resident Evil 

Oh those were the days- of teenage boys screaming like little girls as dogs and "mongees" jumped in through windows at your unprotected Jill. 

   I still get to watch once in awhile.  *sigh* Those are some of my favorite memories :)

So you be my judges- While we watched "Full House" , "Saved By the Bell", "Seinfeld", "Barney", plenty of Shirley Temple, every Disney movie ever made, and tons of musicals (my kids can sing them all for you- "do you hear the people sing? Singing the songs of angry men......") Did I mentally harm them? Are they scarred forever? I wonder.....

But somewhere down deep in the darkest corner of my heart- I will always have a special spot for "The Stand" and "Buffy".

So what were you/ are you/ will you raise your kids on?

My Great White Hunter

A few Saturdays ago,

 Eddie and his bestest buddy

since grade school, Rob went duck hunting.

They've done quite a bit of duck

hunting this year, and thankfully only

bagged one or two a time.

I'm not the biggest fan of "duck".

But, this outing was a little different.

The morning started out foggy-

which forced the birds to fly low.

While waiting for the ducks to appear,

a whole flock of Canadian geese

flew fairly low over their heads.

I guess this is very unusual,

the geese normally stay so high in

the sky that you can't get off a good 

shot at them (so I'm told).

With shaking hands and wobbly guns

Eddie and Rob shot the first 

Canadian geese of their long hunting careers.

As soon as they got home, Eddie ran

into the house and had me take my camera

out to snap a few pictures of them.

They were so excited- retelling the story

of the hunt a few times, getting more

and more animated as they went :)

My mom, on the other hand, wasn't

quite as excited. She served one of her missions

in Canada, and when seeing the geese, shed

a few tears over them. (Which is weird- 

because she is a big hunter herself.

So first thing Monday morning I took

her to get what she calls her "distemper

shot". It helps her emotions even out a bit :)

Now I am not such a fan of hunting.

I do not understand the whole concept of 

the thing. I am grateful for the meat,

which has saved us many a years, and

is dang healthy for you.

But when the sport can make Eddie this giddy

and feel like a kid again-

Hey, I'm all for it!