Happy Father's Day...

In honor of ALL the father's in my life, I'm going to share 1 memory of each father that I'm related to. To be included in this list are my own Dad, my husband, Grandpa's, and Uncles...Living or passed on. Here we go.


Dad-My Dad, Gina and I went to Red Robin for dinner one day in the summer months. We told them the waitress it was Dad's birthday (January 24) so we could get free ice cream. We ate our dinner and then bottomless french fries for over an hour. It was AWESOME!


Ken-When we lived in Utah we lived in a duplex with a lot of trees in our front yard. One fall day Ken went outside to rake leaves and just as he was done the kids joined him. He was getting ready to bag up the leaves when Matthew and Nicole ran through the pile then started playing. I could see that he was frustrated but he allowed himself to get caught up in the moment and they all played in the leaves together. We never did get them cleaned up and in the trash.

Grandpas

Grandpa Price-Last time I saw my Grandpa it was while we were in Bremerton for my Mom's viewing and funeral. One evening while we were at the church for the viewing Grandpa and I were standing at the head of her casket talking and my sister said she would take her picture. I stood there and smiled, and right as Gina snapped the camara Grandpa ducked down so he would be level with the casket. It was really funny.


Grandpa Anderson-I never met him. He passed away before I was born. He actually passed away before any of his grandchildren were born. Both my Mom and my Aunt Chris were pregnant with their first babies at his funeral.


Great Grandpa Calaway-Grandpa Calaway passed away when I was 11 years old. If I remember correctly he lived part time in Idaho and part time in Basin City. Basin City is where I was him. He made the BEST peanut brittle. One of the last times I saw him I went over to his house which was across the street from my grandparents house, and we made peanut brittle together. I think that batch was the best one I ever had and we ate A LOT of it by ourselves.

Uncles

Steve Price-Steve is my Mom's brother. When I was a child we would visit my grandparents home and on each visit Ryan, Heather and I would spend the night at Steve's house. I was terrified of their dog, Bear. His children are my cousins that I was the closest to and have the most memories with. (That actually shows how very little time we spent with family while I was growing up.) I remember one time Steve was my grandparents house and we were talking about names. He was asking me what each of our middle names were. When I told him Garen's middle name was Clyde, after Grandpa Calaway, Steve told me Garen was named after him. He said his name was Clyde. I didn't believe him. He ended up showing me driver's license. He convinced me of his first name, but not that Garen was named after him. :)


Lyn Price-I didn't see Lyn very often growing up because he didn't live in the same town as many of my Aunts and Uncles. One time he came over to my Grandparents house and I was playing outside. He looked familiar, I knew he was my uncle and I knew it wasn't Steve but I also knew I didn't know who he was. So when he said 'Hi Dedra' I thought quick and said, 'Hi Steve!' He stopped, and then said told me he wasn't Steve. After he told me his name he also informed me that he was MUCH younger AND more handsome than Steve. They are far less than 2 years apart...I was going to say 16 months but I'm not sure. Lyn passed away in May of 2006 and is GREATLY missed.


Tom Collier-I saw Tom a couple of summers ago. First at a family reunion and then I stayed the night in their home while I was driving back to Kansas. Tom gave the prayer that evening and gave thanks that 'Deder' and her kids made it safely. He is one of my only family members that still call me Deder. I like it.


Darcy Price-When I was little I would watch Darcy give my older cousins rides in the back of his truck. When the rides were over my brother would tell my Mom what they did. She'd get mad. Ryan would say I was great. I wanted to go! The first time I got to ride in the back of the truck I felt like it was a HUGE milestone in my life. I was scared to death while we road up to the dairy but it was an equally fun time.


Grant Mathews-When I was 6 years old Ryan told me that Grant was the Incredible Hulk. I was scared of him for MANY years. I wish I had a picture of him to show you. Last time I saw him, Ken and I ran into him and Jill at the Columbia River Temple. After our session, while we are all in the last room you go to, I told him that story. We laughed and he said he hoped I had learned not to believe what Ryan tells me.


Brad Casper-The first flat tire I ever had happened while I was taking my cousin Jessica home. I was parked in front of their house and my cousin Tyler told me he could hear my tire losing air. Brad changed that tire for me. THANKS AGAIN Brad!


Theron Anderson-Theron did chin videos with us the evening after my Mom's Funeral. He acted like it was too juvenile for him, but he loved it!


Sherrall Anderson-Sherrall and his wife Brenda came to visit us a few times when we lived in Meridian, Idaho. I remember his always being kind and happy. I don't actually have a memory of any conversations we have had, but I loved it when I got to play with his children.


Dave Nicoletti-Dave is not legally my Uncle anymore since he and my aunt divorced but I still consider him my Uncle. I haven't seen him well over 20 years but I remember that he LOVED trains. I think the first time I ever heard, 'I saw 'U' 'P' (you pee) on a boxcar', he was the one who said it.


Ernie Kean-I never met Ernie. I only spoke to him on the telephone 3 times in my life. He passed away on July 25, 2003. My memories of Ernie are nothing but positive. The first time we spoke he told me to let my parents know that their baby daughter, Natalie, didn't survive. He bore his testimony to me that Heavenly Father had bigger plans for her. The next 2 times we spoke were after my baby son passed away. He gave me good council and bore his testimony to me again. I wish I could have met him. He was a good man.

My Dad came over for dinner tonight. Before he left we took a couple of pictures. Something went wrong in the end...

Happy Father's Day!

Our new neighbor 'Joe'

This evening Ken and I came home from the the super market and saw a huge raccoon run across our driveway, stop and stare at us, and then run up a tree.

Right as 'Joe' ran across the drive, the kids ran out of the house. They were going to see it. We quickly sent them back in the house and explained that raccoons aren't interested in playing.

I called my Dad to tell him about it, because that is what I do whenever I ever see anything exciting, and then it showed up again in the back yard. It was looking for a treat. I got it on video. I was talking to my Dad while I recorded and when I hung up with him I also ended the video. But I also got some still shots of 'Joe'. They are in the post right below this one. I took them on my phone so I had to send them separately.

I tried previewing this video and it said to try again later. I'm not sure why that would be be. Anyway, if it doesn't work, try again and if it still doesn't work, let me know and I'll try something different.

Joe

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

I just learned about this group...

They're called the Cactus Cuties. I'm sure some of you have already heard of them and if you have, thanks a lot for telling me about them! Here are a couple of YouTube videos of them. It's totally worth your time to listen! (Dad, log onto my blog to listen to these. )

I'm not sure if they have any CDs, if they do any original songs or if they are just performers of traditional music. Whichever it is, I like them! Enjoy





This last one is just 2 of the girls.

Grown Up + Graduation = Kindergarten!

Today after church Nicole and I drove over to Kent to see my sister, Heather graduate from College. She got a Bachelors in Education and hopes to aspire to be a Kindergarten teacher someday soon. Here are a couple of pictures taken at the park after the graduation. CONGRATULATIONS HEATHER! I love you!

YIKES!

Tomorrow morning I start a 3 week commitment to watch a 4 year old girl and a 2 year old boy for 9 hours a day. I am scared. I haven't watched children that age since my own were that age, SEVEN years ago. Wish me luck...seriously. Also, wish them luck while you're at it. Besides that fact that they are so little, I only have 2 kids. I'm doubling that for the next 3 weeks. To those of you who have more than 2 I know it's not a big deal, but try doubling your capacity with age groups you have not had in your life for a long time...YIKES! Ok, forget luck, PRAY FOR ME!

Random Thoughts

When you ask Nicole what she wants to be when she grows up, she will tell you she wants to be a 'home staying mom'. BUT, she will only be a home staying mom if she has a red kitchen aid. I must say, it's seems like a perfectly acceptable demand. I LOVE MINE!!After Matthew was potty trained he decided he wanted 'toonies' (underwear) like his Dad. The had to be white and he wanted undershirts too. (Sorry for tmi about Ken's undies!) One day Matthew was looking for a pair of toonies in the clean laundry basket and he picked up a pair of Ken's. They were about as long as Matthew was tall and he said to me, 'Are these mine or Dad's?) When I was a little girl all I ever wanted to be was a cosmetologist. I LOVE DOING HAIR! I love fixing it, cutting, braiding, shampooing, etc. I also love the smell of perms AND the whole beauty shop 'scene.' It speaks to me! Would it surprise you to find out that my Mom was a cosmetologist? She had a shop in the laundry room of our home in Meridian, Idaho.

My brother in law, Larry is a fireman. So was his AWESOME Dad. I won't be surprised to see one of his boys follow in those same footsteps.

I had a really good friend growing up who's parents drank, smoked, where VERY involved in the party scene and eventually split because they were cramping each other's style. She's following right in those same footsteps.

I heard a talk once that said we have to do everything we can to teach our kids the right way. It doesn't matter what we say because they can see what we are doing. AND whatever we do, they are going to try to do better. So, if we are loving and kind and involved in a good work, so will our children. If we are fence sitter, they will be too. You get the idea.

I am not a fence sitter. I'm an all or none type of girl. If I'm involved, I'm TOTALLY involved. If I don't like it, I won't go near it. I want nothing to do with it. You aren't going to convince me. I try to stay so far away from the fence, that I couldn't find it if I wanted to.

I'm not really sure where this is going, but I just want you to know that I'm trying me best. I love Jesus Christ. I love his words, his gospel, his example! I want to live with him again. I want to see my son, my mom, and the crazy lady, Bernice, that I helped in a nursing home for one of my Laurel projects. AND I want my kids to see what I am doing and be able to see a good way to live.

For Kate

I'm posting this picture for my friend Kate because I know she'll enjoy it. I'm also showing all of you that Animal's hair is growing back...slowly.

ps, of course we feed our dog. He's just naughty.

READ THIS BLOG!

No, not MY blog, although I do love that you spend a few minutes every so often and read my blog. I'm talking about this blog. It the journey of a young woman in Utah (Shannon Blackham)who suffered a terrible head trauma in May of this year. It is amazing to see her progress and to feel of the love and tender mercies that she and her family are recieving on a regular basis. I have added her to my blog list in the Utah section.

Stolen from another blog...

I took this picture off a great blog called http://oinkledoinkle.blogspot.com/. Here is a youtube video to explain it...

Random Pictures...

Here are some random pictures from our trip.

Kansas
Colorado, you can kind of see the double rainbow.

Wyoming

Wyoming

Wyoming

Twin Falls, Idaho Temple

Oregon

Uhaul Trucks...

You may think that the best part about having a Uhaul Truck is that it is a fantastic tool to get all your stuff from one location to another. I think that same thing! Sadly, I've been informed that both you and I are incorrect.

Matthew knows there is something WAY better about said truck that the fact that it transports all our junk.

We kept the truck until Friday, even though we were done with it Tuesday night so he could play. His birthday was on June 3rd (11 years old now!) and all he wanted was a an airline ticket to Washington + a week with his favorite cousin (check!) and a Uhaul truck in the driveway (check!). He's actually been asking for these things since July of last year, it was a fluke that it worked out so well, but he doesn't need to know that until he's older and decides to read this blog.

We live in an enchanted forest...

Look at these tall trees! They're my favorite!

Our house from the other side of the cul de sac.

The view down our street.

I LOVE IT!!

Travel Blog...

My Dad flew into Wichita on Friday, May 28 to drive me and Nicole back to Washington. Ken had been there for 2 months and Matthew had been gone for 10 days.

Saturday morning some of our closest friends from the Great Bend Ward came and helped us load the truck and brought us snacks for the drive. It was amazing to see them cram all our stuff into a 17 foot truck. It was another tender mercy in our lives.

We got on the road at 11am on Saturday and drove to Rawlins, Wyoming the first night.

As happy as I am to be moving back to Washington to be closer to my family, this sign was the hardest one for me to see. I LOVE KANSAS!! It's not like the Wizard of Oz. Maybe you already know that but I surely didn't when I moved there. I'll say I was pleasantly surprised. The people are amazing. The landscaping is beautiful and I've never seen more beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Anyway, I love Kansas and I already miss my friends that I left behind.

While we were in Colorado we saw a beautiful double rainbow. I didn't think to get a picture of it until a little later, so the 2nd rainbow was faded, but I did get the whole bow on a 2 second video. Too bad my camara doesn't capture the true color!

While we were in Utah, we stopped in to see my sister, Gina. She cut my Dad's hair. We also ate Walmart deli food for lunch on the patio furniture in front of the store. Sadly, my camara was in the truck.

While we were in Idaho, we stopped in Mountain Home and had dinner with my cousin, Darcy. She baked us homemade brownies and they were delicous. We also drove through Meridian and showed Nicole where I lived as a little girl and a few other sites. I loved it, she was making snoring noises.

We got to Oregon late in the evening so the picture isn't so great. We slept in Ontario the 2nd night.


The next day we drove down the Columbia Gorge and crossed into Washington in Vancouver. We arrived in Lacey at 4:45 pm. Our trip took us 3 days and we spent 36 hours in the truck. I'm glad to be all together as a family again.

We're HERE!

I just wanted to stop in and let you know we made it to Lacey. The internet will be hooked up on Thursday and then I can post the pictures from our trip. We were in the moving van for 36 hours and it took 3 full days to here, but we made it safe. thanks for all your well wishes and prayers for a safe journey. they were all answered.