Out There with the Gordons

Uncle Dallin and Sister Gordon

2012-01-11T04:22:00.000-08:00

Dallin and Darrin got a big chunk of our drywall hung while he was here....it is coming along....SLOWLY!

This is what "Uncle Dallin" will look like by the time I get any grandchildren....haha! My kids think I'm nuts.

We had a going away party for Emily on Monday night. Here are Emily, Timmy, Darrin, and Sarah peeling the eggs for one of the numerous dishes we served. I was nervous not knowing how many people would come....but come they did. Our ward is awesome. They came, they ate, they brought gifts, they hugged, and they supported her. We are blessed to be here and I think Emily really felt the love. Thanks Seaford Ward!

The little kids LOVE Sarah. This is Peter and Lorelei...our Bishops grandchildren.

Everyone ate some of the food, but holy cow I have a lot of leftovers....anyone hungry?

I love this little pixie. Lorelei is in my primary and I get to be with her every Sunday! She is a great little singer.

Jake Whitmer is also in primary with me, but only for a little longer....sigh....love this boy.

Emily is comforting Aidan (the boy she babysat while she was here) and this is Kelly, his mom. She is Tom Hoffmans daughter. Tom and Kim are our friends and neighbors.

Captain Bo! Timmy loaded his belt with everyone's cell phones and then he made his serious face...after a few attempts that ended in laughter. Bo is leaving next week to start a new job in Iowa...Leah will follow after their house sells. WE WILL MISS THEM DESPERATELY!

These are the Bokinsky boys...Andy and Timmy. Timmy is part Gordon too. WE love having him at our house.

I really was happy all night....Darrin caught me at the end of the party a little tired, but I really am happy.

Holly and David Whitmer...we love these guys...David is our Seminary teacher and Holly teaches in Primary...there are no more important callings than those if you ask me.

And.....off to the airport.

Becoming Sister Gordon

Awwwww.

Last family pic.....sigh.

Daddy and his little girl. My father would be so proud of her....IS so proud of her. Way to go Em....we love you.

Christmas 2012

2012-01-01T13:19:00.000-08:00

Christmas was a blur this year...Up early for church, unwrapping, dash off to church and then.....

We took off early Monday morning for NYC! Leah and Timmy Bokinsky went with us. He has lived in Delaware all his life and hadn't been yet....so for Christmas his mom got him a trip...with the Gordons...cuz we are so fun. This is in the Subway....heading south to see the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, and WTC.

Of course Dallin wanted to go to Chinatown. There are open markets like this everywhere...and they smell of fish. We kept trying to get him to talk to someone in Chinese...no go.

Darrin, Timmy, and Jesse went to see STOMP. It was amazing.

Sarah wanted to go ice skating. Rockefeller Center was our first choice, but it was like $65 to skate there....so here we are at Bryant Park on the east side skating for $14. Awesome

Poor Dallin had the hiccups for 3 days....Sister Bokinsky is trying one of the MANY remedies we found. Nothing worked for very long. They finally just stopped.

Sarah and Jesse got these cool air swimmers for Christmas. Jesse got the shark and Sarah got Nemo.

Thanksgiving and NEW KITCHEN/DECK

2011-12-04T15:16:00.000-08:00

We drove to Kentucky for Thanksgiving and had a great time with Lisa and John (and kids), Callie and Randon (and kid) and Rachel and Allen. Oddly enough, the only pics I got were of our Ultimate Frisbee game. Callie has the other pics...so go to her blog for them. It was a lovely 2 days of eating and playing.

These are the sweet potatoes that I dug out of my garden...they are weird looking, but I am proud.

Emily babysits Aidan (the older boy in the stripes) 4 days a week, but we watched this little group during a funeral in our ward. It was a busy day. They are cute kids. Piper is on the left, then Aidan, then Jayden. Oh yeah, and Emily.

Some of you may have heard about our little addition project. It has been going pretty slowly ( we started in May), but we can only work on Saturdays, so.....Our friend and neighbor, Tom, comes over to help every week. This last week we got our deck underway and Emily and I got a chunk of the insulation done. The kitchen will eventually be in the addition and the old kitchen will be our dining room.

Next is the actual decking and drywall....Yippee!

2011-11-15T06:58:00.000-08:00

Dear Pinterest,

I have spent a lot of time with you in the last few

months…unlike some people…I believe none of

that time has been wasted. Because of you, I have…

Tried 10 new recipes, 3 new makeup techniques,

4 new nail polishes, 5 new hair styles, 2 new exercises…Put together 12 new outfits, found my new favorite boots, ordered chandeliers for my kitchen, but the most important thing I have done because of you is…made dozens of craft items found on your boards to sell at a benefit boutique for a family of 5 who just lost their mother to cancer....So…from the bottom of my heart..... THANK YOU!

WARNING Long Catch-up Post. (You know you love it)

2011-11-05T04:16:00.000-07:00

This...is where our stake has Girls Camp...Killens Pond Primitive Youth Campsite. No facilities...just campsites. It was hard for me to get used to.. but next year will be my fourth year as a camp leader and I am beginning to be o.k. with it. Below is our "Sunrise Devotional"...that is Sarah''s group all asleep on the blanket. Hahaha.

All the girls canoe at camp and since I am an experienced canoer (?)...I get to go with all of them...that equals about 6-8 hours on the water during the week. Phew...I was a little fried afterward.

This is Brian (my nieces husband) and his daughter Riley...they came for a week and we loved it.

Dallin got to come home for a week before ASU started and it just worked out that Emily was going through the Temple that week...We were so grateful. Larry Hunt and Jeannie Thatcher (Emily's good friends from AZ) also came for a few days and to go to the Temple with her. So glad she has good friends. We went to Historic Philadelphia and had a great time. Not sure what Dallin is doing here, but we teased him about it the rest of the day.

This is the only pic I could get of the Temple and my two oldest children...looks a little like our Soprano's picture from 2007. The Washington D.C. Temple is very large. Four of these spires broke and crashed to the ground during our earthquake in August. Crazy!

It was a lovely day at the Temple. Our good friends the Bokinsky's and the Hoffman's also joined us to support Emily. Emily said that she just felt peace while there. It was amazing to be in the Temple with 2 of our children.

And...of course...our week couldn't end without a trip to the beach. This was the perfect beach day...warm, but not too, and the dolphins made an appearance. We stayed for hours. So much fun.

Last week, Sarah and Emily and I went to Lancaster County in Penn to visit Amish Country! It was AWESOME! We rode the Strasburg Railroad and toured around the area looking at the beautiful fall leaves, Amish buggies, farms and covered bridges.

This is Jesse's Birthday Cheesecake. He decided against the traditional cake. This is...White Chocolate Raspberry Swirl! Oh..it was good.

This is Jesse's friend Ben. His family is in our ward and they are good friends. Can't believe this boy is 14!

And this cheesecake is for our good friend Alicia. She joined the church in June and we love her dearly. Turtle cheesecake for her....YUM. Sorry it took so long to post our summer on here...hopefully it won't take so long to post other things....no promises though.

Emily's Call

2011-07-29T18:45:00.000-07:00

Camp!

2011-07-03T04:39:00.001-07:00

I have been at camp all week and have tons of stuff to post on here.....but....not until I have recovered; cleaned, rested, unloaded, debriefed, gotten Jesse off to Scout Camp tomorrow, etc. I will be back to elaborate soon!

Chicken Doctor

2011-06-17T10:31:00.000-07:00

Sorry...no pics...just an update on Rattie. She is nearly healed and back to normal. Who knew that I could be a chicken doctor. I guess you just tackle what is thrown at you. That sounds like some deep, philosophical advice. No...just me taking care of my chicken. Have a nice day.

Rattie

2011-06-05T18:13:00.000-07:00

Most of you already know that we have chickens...right? Well, I have to tell you a gripping story about one of them. But, before I start, I need to give you a little background.....It all started about a month ago when a little raccoon peeked in our back sliding door. It was so cute. We went out side and watched it climb up a tree in our backyard. It had been digging in our compost heap. No big deal. So we forgot about it. Now...the good part...last Sunday night, something dug under our coop and attacked our chickens. All of them had lost some feather, but poor Rattie lost a bit more than that. She had a wound under her right wing that was about 4 inches in diameter. Rattie is the runt of our flock and has a bent comb and feathers that don't lie flat. Hence, the name. I brought her in and cleaned her up (gross) and got online and figured out what to do. She had to be isolated because apparently chickens are cannibals and will peck a wounded chicken to death. GASP! So, Rattie has been in a box in the garage. When I let her out with the other hens, Big Red and Little Red both peck her on the head...they are so mean! Beatrice is very docile and just lets Rattie do her thing. Anyway. A friend from the ward came and put out a live trap. Nothing the first night, but we have caught 4 raccoons since. Holy Cow...who knew? Saturday, I put Rattie in the feeding pen next to the coop to help reintegrate her with the other hens. Chickens naturally go into their roost when is starts to get dark, so I went out to get Rattie and put her back in the garage. She was gone. I panicked thinking a raccoon had gotten her again. We looked everywhere and found her in her box in the garage. She had flown out of the feeding pen and walked to the garage and hopped into her box. I was amazed! Chickens are NOT smart, but she seems to be...and lucky. So...we have decided that she needs a new name...Rattie does not do her justice. Lela Tingey says we should rename her Elizabeth Smart cuz she got away from a predator....Sarah says Madame Curie...anyone else have an idea? We will let you know who wins!

Beatrice

Big Red

Little Red (the meanest)

Rattie (the blue tint is a wound coat)

The BEAST (#1)

The feeding pen

The garage is to the right behind Sarah. The coop is back behind the pile of dirt. EPIC journey for Rattie!

Rattie's box in the garage.

Darrin feeding our bolted lettuce to the hens...they love it...to us it is bitter and nasty.

Unrelated shot of our addition in its beginning stages.

SVU

2011-05-29T17:54:00.000-07:00

Sarah and I drove to Southern Virginia this weekend to visit the campus of SVU (Southern Virginia Universtiy). It is in Buena Vista (pronounced byoona), right next to Lexington. It was GORGEOUS! The campus is very old and full of character. Sarah fell in love with it. It is small, and rural, which she prefers. But best of all, it is LDS! Like an east coast BYU. This is the main hall, perched on the top of this picturesque hill. The boys dorms are in the top two floors.

This is the view from our hotel overlooking the valley and hills and mist. So beautiful.

More views from our hotel.

We met with most of the administration and staff at the open house. They have a fantastic Art department and everyone was so friendly and encouraging. Now...we just have to earn the scholarships...cuz it is a private school with a BIG tuition. They require all their students under the age of 21 to live on campus (more money), but everything is within walking distance, and it is only 5 hours away from us. (So much closer than Dallin and Emily). The classes are small (total enrollment is 1,500) and they strongly encourage travel study for their students and provide fairly inexpensive trips every year. Needless to say, Sarah really wants to attend SVU...we will all have to work hard to make that dream come true.

What's Up!

2011-05-22T13:58:00.000-07:00

We have had quite of few "happenings" that were photo-worthy this last week, so I am sharing a quick monologue....and pictures. So, first, Darrin made this yummy creme brulee (he even bought a torch).

In order to watch any television here, you have to have an antennae, and we seem to have to hold it in a certain spot for it to work. Sarah is taking her turn.

This is Sarah's syrup pitcher. It is a pitcher plant...it turned out really well. She loves art!

We are starting a small construction project on Monday (24th) and had to cut down 4 trees before we get started. So, since native Arizonans don't really know anything about trees, we had to ask around. We found a father/son business that cuts the trees from the top down...while climbing. It was crazy!

Tree #1..about 100 feet tall. Yikes

That is the edge of my very high roof with the tree guy in the top of the big tree.

Here is the new empty space full of firewood.

Gordon is new BPW general manager - Cape Gazette Article

2011-05-05T09:50:00.000-07:00

LEWES — The Lewes Board of Public Works has hired Darrin Gordon as general manager of the utility provider.

Gordon has been BPW assistant general manager for two years. He moves into the position previously filled by Ken Mecham, who retires July 31.

C. Wendell Alfred, BPW vice president, said Gordon was the panel’s unanimous choice.

“We’re excited about having Darrin as general manager. When he was hired, the board’s goal was that he would move up into the position when Ken retired. He did, and we’re pleased,” Alfred said.

Alfred said Gordon started in the position May 1.

He said Mecham, who has been general manager since August 2005, would remain with the BPW as special projects manager and to facilitate Gordon’s transition.

“I’ve worked in the municipal utility business for over 15 years, having worked my way from a laborer in the water, wastewater and natural gas utilities, into the management side of the business,” Gordon said.

Gordon earned a Bachelor of Science degree in natural resource management from Arizona State University, and a master’s degree in administration from Northern Arizona University.

“The BPW is a wonderful organization, and I look forward to helping it go forward to be the best utility provider in Delaware,” he said.

Gordon, 46, came to Delaware two years ago with his wife of 23 years, Marcie.

The couple has four children. They lived in Arizona the majority of their lives, and Gordon said they enjoy Delaware’s diversity. The family lives in the Millsboro area.

Gordon is new BPW general manager - Henry J. Evans Jr. - CapeGazette.com - Covering Delaware's Cape Region - Inland Bays, Atlantic Ocean, Rehoboth Beach, Lewes, Milton, Dewey Beach, USA

Buzzy Week...(Lots of pics and video)

2011-04-28T12:58:00.000-07:00

It has been Spring Break here this week. We started by driving to Williamsburg, Virginia on the 21st. We all had the 22nd off. We went to Busch Gardens and then to Colonial Williamsburg. A Fast, Fun, Exhausting 3 days!

This bird flew onto my shoulder.....

...and gave me a kiss!

We loved the "little kid" rides at Busch Gardens

They also had a wolf show.

...and a barn owl.

Sarah got creative waiting in line for the bumper cars.

The Governor's Garden at Williamsburg.

The Governor's Mansion

The Blacksmith Shop

This woman is laughing cuz the little girl used the "royal" wave.

The Taylor Shop (they sew everything by hand)

Darrin got his bee hive!

Jesse working the smoker.

Releasing the bees.

The Queen (she has a white dot on her)

So...you can see, it has been a very Buzzy Week!

Sarah's EYE

2011-04-04T04:50:00.000-07:00

We had a little (ok...not so little) scare this week. Sarah has had a couple of migraine headaches this last month...even missed a couple of days of school. I thought...oh dear...I get them, Nona gets them, Jayna USED to REALLY get them...poor Sarah. On Thursday, March 31, she woke up with another headache. I gave her some Ibuprofen and she went to school. When I picked her up in the afternoon, she was as white as a sheet. She had spent the last hour in the nurses office. (Guilty mother feelings) She seemed o.k. the rest of the day...so...out of my mind it went. Friday morning she woke with another headache...but with blurry vision and dizziness. I gave her more Ibuprofen and waited....it never worked. So I get on the internet and look up Glaucoma and Headache. It says that they can be related. So I call her doctor and the receptionist says he is booked solid today and can't see her. I tell her to relay her symptoms and see what he says....well...of course he says to bring her right in. So....a little preface here....normal pressure in your and my eye is between 9-12. Normal for Sarah is 21-27. They sit her down and take her pressure and it reads 42.5....They decide the machine is broken and move her to another. Still 42....when the reading comes up an alarm goes off....like when someone codes in the hospital....The doctor comes and takes a manual reading...still 42. PANIC! He puts several drops in her eye and gives us a prescription for some pills and tells to call his cell phone (yes...he gave us his personal cell #)...He wants to see her first thing the next morning and on Monday (today)...So I am trying to be calm and calm Sarah. We get the pills and the 2 new drops and head out. Darrin and two of our friends from the ward gave her a blessing Friday night. Saturday morning.....pressure is 14! YES! However, her doctor is concerned as to why she had a spike. We will see him again this morning in about a half an hour and then see a specialist on Glaucoma surgery next month (I think). Anyway...we are grateful for the miracle of Priesthood blessings and for Sarah's sight. Usually with pressures that high...vision is lost. Not the case with Sarah, and now we have an indicator...headache...when her pressure goes up. It usually strikes in silence. We are hopeful that this will all blow over and she can get back to normal...well...normal for her.

Art Shows

2011-03-12T15:00:00.000-08:00

Here are the promised Art Show pictures....Jesse won 1st place for all of 7th Grade and won $40! His piece is called Suburban Jungle...a shoe with a view. If you can't tell ...it is a rhino.

This is his second piece...a linocut block print.

Here he is accepting his prize money from the Mayor.

This is a painting of Sarah painting her marbles...her friend Molly won first place for Sophomores with it.

The sign says Derrickson Award Winners

Here is the famous marble painting...she won 1st place for her grade and the Derrickson Award, which is free art lessons at the Rehoboth Art League including supplies.

THE AWARD!

CRAZY BUSY!

2011-03-10T04:16:00.000-08:00

Don't give up on me...I will post again, I am just WAY too busy for the next couple of weeks to do anything. However, I will whet your appetites. Sarah and Jesse both have art entered in competitions this week and according to their teachers, they have both won prizes. We will find out what on Saturday (12th). Speaking of Saturday, I have a big camp meetings all morning, then the kids two open houses at the art competitions. Darrin and I will divide and conquer that day. I will post pics then too. Sarah and I were going to a campus visit on the 26th at SVU in Lexington Virginia, but we postponed that until May...not enough time. So then in April...Darrin and I are doing the food for a Priest/Laurel conference.....7 STAKE! Yikes. We will be serving dinner, breakfast and lunch....Soooo....be patient....I will have a LOT to post in a few weeks.

Happy Birthday To Me!

2011-02-24T06:20:00.000-08:00

Many of you may already know this, but Darrin and I went on a cruise for my birthday this year. We traveled with our neighbors and good friends, Tom and Kim Hoffman. Here are some random photos from our trip.

This is one of the many lovely views from our ship. This is nearing Cozumel or Belize I think.

If you have ever been on a cruise you have seen these towel creatures...one would appear every evening before we would retire for the night. These are my sunglasses, the crew used them on this seal and on a rabbit later.....adds a personal touch.

This sunset is taken from the aft hot tub as we are leaving Costa Maya.

Here is the view looking forward (toward the bow) from the same hot tub.

Here is a view of our ship from the little mall right on the dock in Roatan, Honduras.

This is a Brazilian Silkwood tree right near the beach where we went snuba diving in Roatan.....yes snuba is correct. It is scuba diving, but your tank is floating on a raft above you instead of on your back. It was awesome. I have been diving before, and Tom and Kim are certified divers, but it was Darrin's first time....he is now hooked.

The Norwegian Spirit dockside in Roatan.

Loved this carved horse sculpture...the sign said "DO NOT TOUCH", so I am not.

An old shipwreck in the bay as we are leaving Honduras.

Darrin and I on a catamaran on our way to snorkel the reef in Costa Maya, Mexico.

Kim and I all dressed up...aren't we attractive.

Peep-toe snorkel fins with an ankle strap....high fashion.

Our "fish" impressions.

This towel monkey was hanging from the ceiling...his eyes are creamer cups.

On our last day at sea the weather was bad and very rough so we played cards in the game room...The boys won most of the time, but I think they were cheating!

This is at the port in Belize...just for us cruise tourists...everyone walks through here on their way to their excursions....ours was cave tubing....pretty cool.

We cruised to and from New Orleans....here is a random group playing on the street in the French Quarter...they were really good. Tom even bought their CD...it's case was made out of lined notebook paper with handwritten titles...awesome.

So....I am already planning next years birthday party....don't you think I should?!?

I was dreaming of a WARM Christmas!!!

2011-01-05T07:02:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas and New Years on planes this year....and all the time in between in WARM, SUNNY Arizona....NOT! Well, the day after Christmas was beautiful, but...we had to come home to Delaware to get warm after that. Seriously, I think we are weather cursed! It was great to see many friends and family during our stay. We wished we had a week to spend with each one. I'm afraid our kids didn't get much of us at all. Next year, they will be coming here. It seems like we had one long party the whole week. I will let the pictures do the talking...

Heading up Gonzales Pass to Safford...for our Delaware friends... these are mountains!

The Tunnel....yes we rolled down our windows and honked!

Mt. Graham and cotton modules.

The Gila Valley Temple and our Family!

The Gordon's made a trebuchet and launched grapefruit and lemons at the neighbors over the fence...the neighbors retaliated with stink bombs!

Watching the "bombs".

Out to lunch with 6 of my 7 siblings...so fun! We missed you Jordan.

All the single cousins...all the single cousins. (they are rolling their eyes at me right now).

COOKIE FACE!!

More Cookie Face!

This Bouncy House was supposed to be for the little
kids, but the BIG kids had more fun!

Flamboyant Christmas Concert

2010-12-20T08:49:00.000-08:00

I have to post this cute video from Jesse's concert last week. Jesse came home with a part to learn a few weeks ago. He wanted to try out for a solo....a few days later he said he didn't want to try out for it anymore. He didn't explain why, but when you watch this video, you will understand...I did. It is very funny, but the talent is amazing. Turn up the volume and enjoy! Jesse is right in front of the teacher....laughing.

Sarah's Marbles

2010-12-06T13:18:00.000-08:00

Sarah has an awesome Art teacher who has really helped her focus on her drawing this year. She has been working on this piece for several months...she calls it "Reflection". It is being entered in a competition by Scholastic in Dover tomorrow (Dec. 7)...if it does well there it will go to a state competition, then national and then international. I think it is an amazing piece, but I am her mother....what do you think?

Thanksgiving

2010-11-26T16:27:00.000-08:00

So here is our Thanksgiving weekend in a nutshell.....

Lily hung out on Sarah's lap at the computer.

Allen read Mockingjay while David read Hunger Games.

The boys crowded around our tiny laptop to watch football.

Rachel and Jesse played "the bubble game" on David's phone.

And lots of Wii. This was canoeing...too funny....

We had a great time with the Favreau/Knight families. Lots of food and games and chatting and napping and hanging out. Loved it.

Gus and Lily

2010-11-20T04:15:00.000-08:00

This is Gus (left) and Lily. They are the Hoffman's Lhasa Apso dogs. They are very spoiled and very cute and we get to have them for the next 10 days while the Hoffmans are in AZ. celebrating Thanksgiving with their daughters. They will look after our chickens while we are in AZ for Christmas. Kim (Sis. Hoffman) says that stinks for us, cuz her dogs only leave poop behind and mine leave eggs.... love her...she is a hoot.

Occasionally we have what are called "fog delays" which basically means that school will start 2 hours later cuz the fog is too dangerous for safe driving. However, last week we had a VERY foggy day and no delay...it was pretty scary. This pic is from my front porch at 7:00 am, but by the time I got to Sarah's school we couldn't see 10 feet. Life on the east coast is definitely full of new experiences for this family! Dogs?...not on your life...in AZ. Fog?...not enough to delay school...

On a depressing note...our weather forecast for Thanksgiving is RAIN! Grrrr.

Fall!

2010-11-14T14:19:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the views from our yard. Our weather has been fairly nice...a few cold days and then 4 or 5 in the mid 60"s. Fall has come very late this year...all the leaves were gone by this time last year.

This is the view from our driveway into our back yard (and my little chicken coop).

The back door from our dining room.

We went to Fifer's Orchard in Dover and got apples...a whole bushel...and made apple butter. This is a beautiful place full of trees and gardens and a cute country store...we also bought some local honey. All their produce was amazing and huge...

...check out these carrots!

We are so excited for Thanksgiving and then Christmas in Arizona.

Funny, Funny, Mother

2010-11-07T03:33:00.000-08:00

Today is my Mother's 82nd birthday....she died two and a half years ago and I still miss her everyday.
I have been going through my mom's recipes and found some really great ones to share....
Happy Birthday Mom.

This was something mom made all the time...I loved this stuff...she served it in the colored cupcake cups.

This one she made for Christmas most years...it was a complicated process, but sooo yummy...I think Nona makes this now...I haven't tried to do it yet.

This was just funny. I found this just as it is...edited...I remember she would call this "Better than Robert Redford Cake"...you can fill in the cut out section however you want.

There was one more that wouldn't scan...it went just like this....

Chocolate Dipped Pretzels

Melt dipping chocolate...dip pretzels in.

...that was all there was on it's own 3X5 card in the recipe box...funny, funny mother.....love you Mom.

HALLOWEEN!

2010-10-31T12:53:00.000-07:00

So....Darrin and I went to a "formal" Halloween party at our rich neighbors house where costumes were mandatory...Our friends Tom and Kim Hoffman (Cinderella and Prince Charming below) got us invited cuz they have been fellowshipping these people for years and I think Tom just wanted to have company in the "embarrassing costume" department....anyway....we were a 60's (or is it 70's) couple....I think Darrin looks like Tom Jones...Hahahaha...Sarah dressed up as a vampire...Jesse was a Republican...complete with the elephant nose...sorry no pic.

Tom and Kim Hoffman..... Aren't these guys amazing...She made their costumes...everyone kept telling her she belonged at Disneyland...They are grandparents for crying out loud!

Sarah was in a donut eating contest....she got a little unwanted help from above (her dad)...she still won. It was COLD for Halloween here...it was kind of nice after a week of 80 degree weather....

Next up....THANKSGIVING.....my favorite holiday!

Turnips and Greens....

2010-10-27T16:45:00.000-07:00

Our friend Marshall Mumford (real name and is exactly like you would imagine a Marshall Mumford to be) called the other day and asked me if I wanted some turnips...I told him I didn't really know if I wanted them or not, but that I would try them...so we went over to his house and he pulled up these beauties...then he asked if I wanted "a mess of greens" too...Ummmm....never really tried those either, but what the heck.

The greens turned out to be kale...very large and kinda rubbery leaves with a thick stalk and veins.

...so I looked up some recipes on Allrecipes.com and made these sour cream and cheddar turnips and...

..these spicy mustard and garlic greens.....so....I don't think I like turnips and greens....Darrin liked the kale, but he likes cooked spinach and I don't.

Another first for the Gordon family in Delaware....and for some of us...a last as well.

A Field Trip and a Campaign.

2010-10-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

Jesse's science class went on a field trip last week and I got to go with them....

This is James Farm an ecological preserve that is right on the Indian River Bay. The Bay is fed by the Atlantic Ocean which is across a little neck of land about 100 yards wide. They did soil and water testing and plant identification labs.

Later they put on their hip waders and seined "things" from the Bay...they found fish, crabs, mussels, and trash.....haha

This looked like a tumbleweed to us, so we took a picture for old times sake...:(

On Saturday we drove a few miles to Georgetown and met up with David Favreau who was there campaigning for Christine O'Donnell. It was short, but sweet. He is coming back to our house for Thanksgiving along with Rachel and Allen and Mark. We can't wait.

Random Happenings....and a TEENAGER!

2010-10-10T17:35:00.000-07:00

Jesse had a birthday this week....13.....HE IS A TEENAGER! Holy Cow...when did that happen?!? He decided he wanted money instead of gifts, so we gave him what we thought we would have spent and he bought his own presents....works for me. Jesse's cake is actually fried ice cream...pretty yummy!Darrin is back in the cow business. He and our friend Tom Hoffman bought these cute little beasts the other day...they keep them at another friends house and then will split the meat or sale price with him for keeping them....they also bought some pigs...not my favorite animal.
We had Stake Conference today....Darrin was sustained as a High Councilor. On the way home we spotted all these parachutes coming down, so we pulled over to watch...it was pretty cool. Darrin has done this and both Sarah and Jesse want to....NOT ME...I would die...I don't like falling....I can't jump off a diving board either....terrifying!

TWINS!

2010-10-04T05:14:00.001-07:00

Just a follow up to last weeks post....Yep...it had a double yolk!

Cluck....Cluck....GOOSE!

2010-09-27T04:21:00.000-07:00

If you have been reading this blog, you already know that my hens have been laying for a few weeks. Well...they start off laying fairly small and sometimes misshapen eggs, which get bigger and more standard looking as time goes by......So...saturday morning I went out to gather the eggs and one of the POOR things left this...

YIKES! It is nearly double the size of an extra large store-bought egg, (right) and nearly triple the one she laid the day before. (left) Boy am I glad I am not that chicken! We haven't cracked it open yet, but I suspect it will have a double yolk or something....I have never seen a chicken egg this big before.

Goose....yes.....chicken....no.

In other news.....

We spent Labor Day taking the Ferry across the Delaware Bay to Cape May, New Jersey. The ride is about 80 minutes and very calm.....almost boring....

but we enjoyed hanging over the railing and just watching the water go by.

Cape May is and OLD resort town. It used to be the elite vacation spot for New Yorkers and D.C. big shots....the old hotels are cool. (please disregard the old woman in front of the hotel)

We walked around and sampled all kinds of food and walked along the boardwalk and basically just chilled all day....it was really great. Next day.....school started for the kids....Sarah is a Junior and Jesse is in 7th Grade....Holy Cow!...Jesse is in 7th grade?!?....Sarah is a Junior?!?

Restoring Honor Washington D.C. 8-28-10

2010-08-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

We had one of those moments when living here in Delaware became a great advantage...Saturday the 28 of August we drove to D.C. with our good friends the Shupes (who flew over from Az. to visit) to be a part of the Glenn Beck rally. It was such a great experience...I have to admit that I don't really listen to Glenn Beck except on occasion, so I didn't know a lot about what would happen there. We were surprised to find out that is was a purely NON-political rally...Yes...that is right...NON-political. Apparently he had decided that he was going in the wrong direction....dividing people...rather than uniting them. So...we were inspired for 3 plus hours by Beck, Sarah Palin, Martin Luther King's neice, and many others...They spoke mostly about Faith, Hope, and Charity....and uniting together as people of God. At the end Brother Beck gathered 250 clergy of many faiths....he paraded them on the stage and said that they represent about 180 million people of faith. He said that we need to unite together and fight those that want to remove God from our lives. None of us agree on the fundamentals, the doctrine, the rituals, but we all look to God and we must bond together as people of faith to triumph over the evils of man. It was powerful. I wish everyone could have seen and heard and felt that power. His website will have pics and video up soon, but until then, here are some that I took. Enjoy!

The sound system was SOOO loud that Darrin put baby wipes in his ears and could still hear everything.
I know it is hard to see but people were everywhere...behind those trees was a large field FULL.Cheese!
These two enjoyed renewing their great friendship.

These are just two of the videos I took....they were all so good. The geese flew in as the music was playing just prior to the beginning of the program....it was like an air force fly-over..they were in formation and seemed trained and on cue. It was cool.

Happenings

2010-07-20T08:11:00.000-07:00

New family pics.

Bored after church while dad was in a meeting.

Happy 16th Birthday Sarah!

Washington Monument waiting for the fireworks to begin.

Waiting for the Metro in D.C.

Girls Camp.

Just a few pics to represent our last few weeks...
Of course I have to include the spectacular finale at the Washington D.C. fireworks....volume up!

Stuff

2010-06-26T13:03:00.000-07:00

Lots of stuff.....

Darrin and I went to Ohio to Jessica and Jared's open house and then drove to Kirtland to see all the church sites....It was great!

Unexpected treat; Amish Villiage.

We ate at an Amish restaurant with some people we met at the church sites...this is an Amish traditional dinner...mashed potatoes with noodles and chicken gravy... very boring, but good.

Dallin and Jesse and I picked blueberries....Jesse got stung by a bee and his poor finger swelled up and is bright red.

These are actually berries from my little bush at home....we picked about 5 pounds from the farm and froze them. Yum!
This nest was hiding in one of the blueberry bushes.
My zucchini plant by my front door.

My chickens are in their house finally, but not before we lost 2 of them to some little predator. *sniff*

Oh well... Sarah and I leave for camp on Monday..she is doing the 4th year high adventure and I am the 3rd level leader. Our camp is very primitive this year; no electricity, water, cabins, etc. I am not really a camper so we will see how this goes. Emily is only here a couple more weeks...she goes back to AZ to be in Jeannie's wedding on the 17th of July. We are sad. Sarah and Dallin will go near the end of July...Sarah will be visiting Lela for a while. Then.....who knows! Sarah's birthday is tomorrow but we are sort of putting it off until after camp. She will be 16! Yikes!

Too Much Info for a Single Title Post

2010-05-27T06:27:00.001-07:00

Tee Hee. I am just going to post all the pictures and let you fill in the commentary. Have fun.

Dallin built this monkey bridge one afternoon....just for fun.

This turtle wandered over to our house from the lake. Dallin (and Em's legs) sunning at Cape.
Em's Birthday Lobster dinner....the rest of us ate cheap.Emily's fish..er..cat..er...owl...that's it...an owl.Emily's Birthday cake...6 layers with custard filling....yum. Thanks Darrin.Skimboarding at Cape.K

Kayaking at Hoffmans.

This is Jesse's dance concert at school...this is his class doing the Violet Beauregarde dance...he is wearing a bright green shirt in the back...he works his way to the front just before they go off stage...and then....his big solo....he moonwalks in on the right. AWESOME!

Oh What Do You Do In the Summertime?

2010-05-18T06:05:00.000-07:00

My big kids are home.....Ahhh..sigh of relief. I don't really worry about them all year, but it is always nice to have them back under my wing. So what do we do? It has been one continuous party since we picked them up from the airport. Already I am feeling the days ticking down to take them back. Sniff Sniff. Here are some picks of the last few days. We had a BBQ monday night...the weather was a little drizzly so things started off slow, but cleared later for some riotous VB. We invited all the young adults in our ward and the missionaries and turned it into an investigator FHE. We had 5 non members and 2 less actives...it was also a ton of fun. Today...the job search. Dallin has a couple of interviews already lined up near the beach. It is rainy and cold today, so my Az kids are really freezing. Tee hee.

This is a hog nose snake...they pretend that they are cobras and rear up and spread our the sides of their faces to make you afraid of them....but...they are harmless. Darrin got to play cowboy last week...our friends have 3 calves and they needed to be de-horned, so he got out his lasso and they bull-dogged them down and cut off their horns. He loved it.Sunday was GORGEOUS outside..so Sarah did this.....Dallin and Jess did this.....they camoflauged themselves and snuck through the forest and scared her.I picked a gallon of these and ate them. It is strawberry season here...we have 5 weeks of fresh picking...gonna use them all.
I love summer.

WARNING! Long catch-up post.

2010-05-03T05:32:00.000-07:00

O.K. I know it has been a LONG time since I posted on here, but I really have had nothing to post. You know...doldrums (sp?). But I have been collecting pics to share and I now have TOO much to write...Sorry. Here goes. First...we celebrated (well not really) our 1st anniversary as Delaweanies. We have actually been here a year now. Wow. It seems weird. In the past I had never really thought about anniversaries except my wedding, but now it seems I have a lot of them; moving dates, death dates (3 of those), missionary returns, medical checkups, etc. I don't think I really like most of them, but they come and go anyway. Enough of that. I have some new assignments in our ward and stake. I am playing the organ for sacrament meeting this month...I hope it is temporary, but I am afraid it may be permanent. For those of you who don't know, I REALLY don't play the piano well. I practice constantly just to be able to get through one meeting. Our ward is musically challenged so...I also play in RS. O.K. here it comes.....I wish I had stuck with the lessons when I was younger.....there, I said it. I am sure Mom is giggling a little "I told you so!" right now. I am still teaching seminary. We are winding down to the end of the Book of Mormon. I really love learning so much more about it and all the great scripture that is contained there. I hope my students are getting as much out of it as I am. Next, I am the ward camp director. We have 4 girls going this year. That is a record for our ward. I am also the stake 3rd level leader...(we have to double and triple up callings here). Camp is so very different here. We are completely roughing it, no facilities at all....no electricity, bathrooms, kitchen, just a meadow and some trees. Our stake is so HUGE that is it truly difficult to put together a camp. I have been to meetings every saturday for a month. One meeting was 2 hours to the north and the next was 1 hour to the south, this saturday is all day in Dover (1 hour north). I have some GREAT YCL's and am not worried at all. Sarah is a 4th year and they are biking 40 miles to the beach for their high adventure. The stake camp director has a horse farm and 3rd years are riding. Awesome. One bad note....when we toured the camp, a tick found me. YUUUCCKKK! They are fairly common here, but YUUUCCKK! OK. I feel better now. Darrin got his wisdom teeth removed the end of April...he did very well, I don't think he even had any swelling. He has been very busy at his job. They keep him late most nights. He is going to be taking over the General Manager position this year and they are piling on the responsibilities. He is the YM president in the ward and goes on splits with the missionaries. Jesse is loving school...he even said those words...shock....he has NEVER loved school. He has a solo in his spring dance recital at the end of May, I will be sure to post a video. Sarah is getting more "acclimatized" to high school on the East Coast. It has been a hard transition for her, but she is making friends and doing well in her classes. She gets her permit on her 16th birthday and is excited to start driving. They have very strict new driver laws here. She will not get her lisence until she is almost 17. She seems ok with that. Traffic is scarier here than in AZ. Our weather is really warming up here and we will soon be living on the beach...don't be too jealous....we did have a very snowy winter. Ok. here are the pics.

These are our blueberries ripening on the bush. YUM!My late-blooming tulips...(I planted them late)We have lots of butterflies here....love them.I have always loved Hydrangeas....now I have them.Second generation Gordon chickens....only 6 this time. They are about 4 weeks old.

1st Day of Spring!

2010-03-25T05:43:00.000-07:00

It was sunny and warm on the first day of Spring....so we went to the beach. Well, it wasn't quite as warm as we thought (58 degrees) so we didn't stay too long, but it was nice to be there for a little while. We watched some kayak surfers (in their full wet suits) enjoying the waves...just whets our appetites for the summer...ENJOY!

Mexican Food....Delaware style!?

2010-03-08T10:51:00.000-08:00

O.K....so...we decided we wanted to go out for Mexican food for our anniversary last Friday. We took the kids and went to a place called Rincon Jarocho in Dagsboro which is not to far from us. We had heard it was really good. So we walk in (there is only one table with people) we sit down and order...the menu is a little different...more seafood options...but that didn't surprise us....What did surprise us was the Spanish Polka music playing on the LOUD speaker. We could not keep ourselves from bouncing in our seats to the music. Sooo funny. Then we got our food.....even funnier. My Nachos consisted of some very greasy chips covered with mozzarella cheese, canned ground beef (think underwood deviled ham), some lettuce and a big tomato slab. OK...weird. The meat was AWFUL. I ate around it and stole some of Jesse's refried beans to help the taste....needless to say I left most of it on the plate when I left. Darrin had enchiladas filled with the same meat and mozzarella cheese. The salsa tasted like tomato soup...seriously..it was even the same color. Weird. The problem, we think, is that the "Mexican" people here are predominantly Guatemalen. I don't know anything about Guatemalen food....but it ISN'T anything like the mexican food we are used to and love. I guess I will have to get good at making my own. We are going into withdrawals. I remember thinking that we had no variety in Safford cuz all we had were Mexican food places.......yep...being punished for that.....A LOT!

Sarah says to explain that at the end of the video a piece of chicken went down her sleeve and she was trying to make it fall out....now watch it again....and laugh. hahaha!

On a lighter note....our weather is significantly nicer these days. This morning I took a lovely walk here....It was a tiny bit chilly at 8:30, but by the time I was done it was BEAUTIFUL...and walking by the ocean always makes me smile.....:)

SNOWED IN!

2010-02-12T07:00:00.000-08:00

So... we have been snowed in here in Delaware since friday the 5th of February. That storm dumped about 12 inches on us. Then tuesday morning the sun came out and I dashed to Walmart for a few essentials and by noon the next storm had rolled in. That storm was a blizzard....true 40-50 mile an hour winds plus HEAVY wet snow. Our governor declared us in a state of emergency and banned road travel. We had white-out conditions for the next 12 hours! School has been cancelled for 5 1/2 days and won't meet again until the 16th. It has been an adventure to say the least. Shoveling a driveway is NOT fun. All the Walmarts had to close to shovel their roofs. There have been numerous colapses because of the amount and wetness of the snow. Today is sunny again but the temps are still below freezing, so we won't get much melt. AND....another storm is coming on Monday. We have watched WAY too many movies...eaten WAY too much junk food...been WAY too lazy and are about to kill each other for the amount of proximity we have endured....but...it is all good. Everyone here keeps reminding us that Delaware never gets snow.....HAHAHAHAHAHA...I do not believe them anymore!

Happy Birthday to me!

2010-01-31T17:50:00.000-08:00

My day started with SNOW....8 inches!

Church was cancelled so we stayed home and had our own sacrament meeting. Darrin made me a 3 layer carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. YUM! We had the Hoffman's over for dinner and then played games for a while. Then the phone calls started coming in. My sisters and brothers called to wish me a great day. So lovely. School has been cancelled for tomorrow, so we are going to sleep in and hang out in our pj's all day. Boy.... don't you all wish you could have a birthday just like mine?! Too bad it has to come with the number 46 attached.

Nothing

2010-01-26T08:01:00.001-08:00

This post is just to let you know that I have nothing to post.....hang in there, something interesting is bound to happen soon. hahaha

Dallin Time

2010-01-15T09:07:00.000-08:00

I am home now after spending a week on the road with Dallin and Emily. We got him all squared away at ASU....Here are are few highlights from our time together. He is still a little bit crazy, but we love it.

Dallin dove into the Atlantic Ocean...(the air was 30 degrees)He ran through a flock of Snow Geese.Rode the Staten Island Ferry in New York...(among other things)Arriving at Sky Harbor in Phoenix.With Grandpa and Grandma GordonWent by the cemetary...Aunt Jayna's house after he spoke in our old ward in Safford. Random (!?!?!?) sign on the mountain turn-off.

Swining on the big swing that Uncle Dave made. It makes you feel like you are 4 years old again.

Good Times....

Out with the old.......

2010-01-01T13:09:00.000-08:00

These shoes came home with Dallin the other day. I bought them for him his senior year of HS. I would say that they best describe my feelings for the last year. It thoroughly wore me out. So.....in with the new...

all bright and shiny and ready for anything....Farewell 2009

HOME!

2009-12-29T11:40:00.000-08:00

I don't think I can put into words what we were all feeling yesterday as we picked Dallin up at the airport. Just watch the video and look at the pictures....they are worth a thousand words...

Before........

After.... .

WELCOME HOME DALLIN!

Snow, snow, snow, SNOW!

2009-12-20T17:37:00.000-08:00

We had a winter storm come up the east coast this weekend and this is what we got.
These are taken from our front door.

No church today....no school tomorrow....no leaving the house all weekend. They actually asked everyone not to drive. Believe it or not, our area really doesn't get snow.....it shuts everything down just like snow in Safford did. The high temp today was 30 so now it is all ice. No driving tomorrow either. It is fun, but I certainly wouldn't want this long term. Bring on the heat.

Jesse and the Grinch

2009-12-17T11:15:00.001-08:00

Jess had his concert last night.....he had a significant solo....he is one of just a few baritones in his choir...He did such a good job....I wish everyone could have been there! The whole concert was amazing. These kids really excell. The "majors" (7th and 8th graders that choose music as their focus) were incredible. Jesse's group was all 6th graders. I wish all my kids could have gone to Southern Delaware School of the Arts!

ART

2009-12-04T12:16:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share some of Sarah's art from school this year....all of it is 11x14 so I scanned them in sections....they are ok, but don't do them justice....She is very talented.

I threw this self-portrait Emily did in high school....Seems like all my kids got Grandma Udall's artistic ability except me. Even Darrin has it.

Summer Pictures

2009-11-19T10:40:00.001-08:00

Thought I would just share these pics that our neighber brought over. She is a budding photog and he is a sailboat guy. They live on this lake, and we live across and down the street from them. We can see the lake now that the leaves have fallen, but in the summer they are so thick you wouldn't even know there was a lake. We hear the geese all the time though. Not a bad thing. Different for us. There is a resident flock that hatches goslings every year and migrant geese that come and go. We watched the fuzzy little babies grow up as we drove back and forth before the house finally closed. Anyway. Here is Tom and Jesse on their little sailboat.
These pictures are taken at a Labor Day picnic. Someone brought their pet Tarantula and Sarah played with it. Most of the boys wouldn't even touch it. Pansies. Well, Sarah of course, has no fear. Enjoy!

Elder G

2009-11-12T07:36:00.000-08:00

The ward mission leader from Dallin's last area sent me these pics. Dallin lost his camera before he even got to Texas so we haven't have very many pictures from his mission. It is so exciting to see him! These remind me of the boy we sent out nearly 2 years ago. He comes home in 46 days. It is hard to believe that he has served most of his mission. We are counting the days till we can be a complete family again. Emily comes on the 17th of December and Dallin on the 28th. He will stay a week and then the three of us will fly to Arizona on the 7th of January (our flight lands at 11 pm) I hope that everyone will come to the airport to welcome him home. I know it is late (our original flight was a lot earlier, but the airline bumped us), but I am sure those of you who knew him will want to be there. We will try to get him all set up at ASU and then I fly back to Delaware on the 14th. We will celebrate his 21st birthday before I leave. Then......WOW! I can't even think of what is next for him. He won't be my boy anymore. The ward mission leader and another family in Mexia say really nice things about Dallin: as a missionary, man of God, and a friend. I think it will be a strange adjustment for him. The world he left doesn't exist anymore....so many things have changed since then. He is resilliant though and will be more than fine. We sure do love this boy....oops, man. (weird to even write the word)!

"House Call"

2009-11-06T07:10:00.000-08:00

Darrin and I attended the Health Care "house call" at the Capitol in D.C. yesterday. It was amazing to be a part of something so deeply heartfelt by so many people. You could literally feel the "buzz" in the crowd. There were many speakers, some were democrats who opposed the bill, but most were Republican congressmen who gave moving speeches about our liberty and freedom. Actors Jon Voigt and John Ratsenburger were also there along with Mark Levin. The only media that covered the event was Fox News. I haven't heard any mention of it from other people either. My guesstimate is that about 20,000 to 40,000 people were there. I walked all around and couldnt see the ends of the throng on one side, so my guess may be way off. After the rally, we were invited to go across the street to the three Congressional office buildings and visit our congressmen. The lines were hours long. They handed out 2 copies of the bill (all 2,000 pages). Everyone took half a page and asked there representative to explain that half page to them. We didn't stay to see the very end, but it felt good to be able to support such a good effort. Wish everyone could live close enough to do that once in a while.
Here we are on the METRO!

This is the view coming up out of the Metro onto Capitol Hill.

FALLBACK!

2009-11-01T03:07:00.000-08:00

For the first time in my life, I am setting the clocks back throughout my house for the end of Daylight Savings Time. So I woke up at my usual 4:30 this morning and now I realize that it is really 3:30. That is fake time though, just on paper (or just on clock), cuz it is really the same time we are just trying to fake that we have more or less time in every day. SO WEIRD, and stupid, if you ask me. Nobody asks me, of course, so I am setting all my clocks back an hour this morning. One nice thing about it is that now it is only 2 hours different from AZ instead of 3. So when Emily calls at 9:00 her time it will only be 11:00 here. Yeah!

BOSTON

2009-10-26T05:49:00.000-07:00

We took a road trip to Boston this weekend. The weather driving up and back was great, but the weather on saturday was wet and cold. Such is the Gordon Luck. Oh well, it didn't slow us down too much. The farther away from home we drove the more brilliant the fall colors were. The reds and oranges were amazing. We went to a cranberry farm and picked our own berries. They had already flooded the bog and gathered the berries the day before, but they let us pick the edges that didn't get dislodged by the machines. It was really pretty there. They had a haunted corn field, but we decided we didn't want to do that. The next morning we went to the U.S.S. Constitution in Boston..... and then took a ferry over to Long Wharf and downtown. We went to the Old State House and Fannuil Hall. There was a street performer who was pretty funny. We wanted to go to the New England Aquarium, but the line to get in was way LONG. So we went back to the Navy Yard in Charlestown and went to a museum instead. We had a few firsts in the food category. Jesse and Darrin and I had some fried clams. They were good as long as you couldn't see the the little slimy clams sticking out of the breading. EW! We also had a Whoopie Pie. I had heard of these, but never actually seen one. They are HUGE!!!! We divided it into 4 and shared it. We found a really pretty rest area in Connecticut on the way home and took some pics and video. The wind was blowing and leaves were swirling everywhere. Very New English.. Wish you all could have been there. At the Cranberry Farm.

Washington D.C. Temple

2009-10-20T05:43:00.000-07:00

Last saturday we drove to the D.C. Temple to participate in our Elder's Quorum Temple day. We haven't been to the Washington D.C. Temple yet. It is in a beautiful area. Rolling hills and open green parks. We were really excited to get there. Well....as we drove through the gate we found this sign. It says, Temple closed due to water main break. Bummer! Funny thing was that on the radio at that very moment was a country song and the girl was twanging away singing...."Unworthy, unworthy, I'm so unworthy". We busted up laughing. Hope it wasn't a warning!?!

Jesse's new school

2009-10-15T09:20:00.000-07:00

Southern Delaware School of the Arts!!! This is the name of Jesse's school. Can I just say that it has transformed him. He loves it. He still struggles with some of the learning trials he has, but he loves the school. He has made friends, learned to juggle, is learning ballet, is in a play, is in the choir, works on group projects, has been on field trips, etc. The list goes on. Thanks Leah for encouraging us to send him there. I have hope for him for the first time in a long time.

Delaware Fall

2009-10-13T05:15:00.000-07:00

Darrin took some pics from our yard to show the changing colors of fall. There isn't a lot of change here yet. The brilliant colors are farther inland. They work their way to the ocean. We are hoping that when we go to Boston on the 23rd that the timing will be just right.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESSE!

2009-10-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

We had a very small gethering on Jesse's birthday. Darrin made one of his famous multi-layer cakes, we sang, ate, and opened presents. His favorite present was in the garage. A new bike. We didn't bring his old one from AZ. The people in the video are: Bro. Bokinsky, Timmy, Jaime Jarmon (Timmy's friend and QB on the HS football team). Darrin cracks their backs on thursday nights before games on friday. Jesse loved it all, loves school and is making a few friends.

Yeah!

12,12,12, TWELVE!

2009-10-02T06:36:00.000-07:00

My Jesse is turning 12 next week.....TWELVE!!!!! I can hardly believe it. He was just a baby, right?! He is still mostly a cuddly, happy, sweet, funny, loving kid. I hate for him to grow up and out of most of that. His school is having a Halloween party/dance and I told him he will be old enough to go....he looked at me like I was crazy and said. "Mom, I don't want to go!" I asked him was it because he thought girls had cooties. He said "If you haven't noticed mom, girls haven't had cooties for a while now, duh." WHAT?! I hadn't noticed and what the heck is he talking about? I must have looked startled cuz he said, "Don't worry, I'm not getting married tomorrow or anything, but most of my friends are girls you know." OH!....OK. Am I a typical mother or what. Gotta love that kid.

Bonnie, Pizza, Wedding Dress (?), and Seminary

2009-09-21T13:30:00.001-07:00

We sold Bonnie this week. We bought her in June for Emily to drive during the summer. She was affectionately called Bonnie Beach Car. No more. sniff sniff.....Sarah made homemade pizza for dinner the other night. I added the fresh mozzarella and basil. It was pretty good.When I got home from the airport after picking up Darrin, this is what Sarah was wearing. They made wedding dresses out of napkins. Cute! Perfect for our "prom stairs".Here is my seminary class minus Sarah....they are watching the new Apostle Song by the Sons of Ammon. They are a handfull. It is officially Fall now. We are dying to go on a "color-watch" tour. Not much change here yet, but north of us is already spectacular. Sept or Oct. would be a perfect visit time for any of you who haven't planned your trip here yet.

ARIZONA!

2009-09-14T15:23:00.000-07:00

All of my siblings and spouses gathered in Arizona for a little reunion this weekend. We swam, ate, swam, ate, talked, talked some more, ate......you get the picture. Speaking of pictures.....

Here we are at Rustler's Roost for dinner. We came here 11 years ago for our parents 50th anniversary. I think Brooks is hiding behind Alison.

Emily came and did the water park with us. Love that girl!!Yes! This is rattlesnake...tastes like chicken.We spent a little bit of time going through the last 9 boxes of Mom and Dad's things.....bittersweet.The waterslide curtsie!!!......The slides had a powerfull effect on our swimming suits.
We danced to Ragtime Cowboy Joe. The band played it just for us. Dad sure loved that song.
It was fun to be together again. We are a big, crazy, funny, ridiculous, wonderful group. Love them all.

1st Day of School......and finished table.

2009-09-09T11:06:00.000-07:00

Here are my little cuties on the first day of school.

It does seem late in the year, but we go clear to the middle of June. It is 68 degrees today and was a little foggy this morning. That is a new one for us on the first day of school. They were both nervous......very nervous. Jesse couldn't eat much cuz his stomach was a little fluttery. He was a trooper though and pressed forward. He is wearing his uniform. Sarah is worried about the people. The kids are very different from the kids she knew in Thatcher. She is the only member girl and our friend Timmy is the only member boy. She will survive though. I finished the "Trevor" table. It turned out well and will last another 10 years before I refinish again. Darrin and I will be in Az. for the next three days at a sibling reunion for my family. Then he goes to Savannah for a conference for the three days after that. Busy week.

My Week

2009-09-02T12:54:00.000-07:00

So, I have been busy this week. I put off stuff and then.......well you know. I stripped my table (the Trevor table) and painted the chairs...I think it looks good. The table will be a walnut color when I am done and will match my cabinets. We went to the beach one last time......it was pretty rough because of Hurricane Danny that came through on the weekend. The beach was quite eroded as well. This is the beach that Emily and Jeanie worked at.

We also cleaned out our storage unit, so my garage looks like this for a while. It was clean.I really didn't want all this stuff, but when it was time to leave, we just threw stuff into boxes and shoved them into the U-HAUL. Now I get to sort and stash, or sort and trash. I don't like it. If I didn't think there were some treasures in here somewhere, I would just throw it all out. Our school starts here on the 8th. Jesse got a letter from his new school today, it says.......

"On the first day of school, be prepared to begin our year-long Renaissance theme. Students will be ushered off the bus and over our drawbridge and into the 15th Century. Once inside the building, students will assemble in the gym after parading past staff members in Renaissance attire representing a Renaissance marketplace".

Pretty cool. He is excited. He didn't want to ride the bus, but he does now. I hope this school can help him to love learning instead of having it make him sick to his stomach.

NEW FURNITURE!!!

2009-08-28T14:14:00.000-07:00

*WARNING* Very Braggy Post

For the first time ever in my life, I bought some new furniture! Sarah and I have been looking for just the right thing to go in our family room. Our entire house is BEIGE! White walls, off white carpet, beige furniture....you get the picture. So we wanted to bring out my framed portrait of the Savior. The one where He is wearing red. Well, it isn't red! We carried the picture around with us to stores. Turns out it is CORAL! We found a set we loved when we didn't have the picture, so we went back with it and it was on sale. It had a very ugly ottoman/coffee table that was supposed to go with it. I told the sales lady that I would be more likely to buy it if she could get the coffee table out of the deal. She did and took $440 off the price. It was delivered today! It has a 10 year warranty to boot. Hopefully my kids are old enough that we won't ruin this one. (all our others have been hauled away to the dump). My friend Leah says that everybody looks good in coral. GOOD!

I threw in some pics of the other rooms in the house that I have gotten put together so far.

Taylor Farewell

2009-08-20T07:39:00.000-07:00

A family in our ward is moving to London on Friday, so the YMYW had a farewell party for them. We played the M&M game. It was fun! We will miss them. Tyson said the "to be born in January daughter" will be named London Bridgett. That is a Brooks-worthy, or maybe Ken-worthy (hahaha) joke. Goodbye Taylors!

Pictures.....as promised!

2009-08-11T07:26:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics from the last few weeks.
Danny Bokinsky left for SVU where he will be playing football. (it is very early in the morning in this picture)
Timmy and Sarah headed off to trek and had to stock up on candy first........guess where they hid it...?!We stopped off at SIX FLAGS in Baltimore on the way to take Emily and Jeanie to the airport.Timmy and Sarah hip-hopped all the way home.....heheBrooks, Suzette, and Chris came on the first of August for a week of the East Coast. First stop was a crab boil courtesy of the Bokinsky's neighber Griff. Poor Suzette was allergic to crab, so she just hammed it up for this picture. Next stop...Rehoboth Beach. Re-hooooo-beth for Brooks. The accent out here is fun to mimic.A little sun, a little sand, a little ocean, and a huge bucket of Thrashers fries. They are pretty addicting.Waiting at the Trenton Transit Center for our train to NYC. Quite GQ there Chris.Madison Square Garden....Penn Station (train and subway) is underneath. On the subway....I had to beg this smile out of Chris.....everyone is happy on the New York City subway, right?

Times Square...we spent a lot of time in this area. They saw "Wicked" and "Mary Poppins".

The Brooklyn Bridge: We wandered over to sample some Pizza at..........

Grimaldi's Pizzaria....Jordan Keith recommended it. It was pretty good, but not amazing.

They don't look a bit like tourists do they?!

After playing for 2 days I was pooped, but they went on to DC and Gettysburg after this. You will have to get pictures of those areas from them. I dove into moving into our house and getting things organized. We now have phone, internet, and trash service. We finally got our washer and drying after the Udall's left....sorry I couldn't wash your socks Brooks. Next time.....

Here are a couple of amusing videos as well.

Emily learned a song on the steel drums....and Timmy learned not to mess with Emily!

Quiet....for a minute.

2009-08-07T06:53:00.000-07:00

It is quiet at my house for a minute. Brooks and Suzette and Chris left earlier for DC and aren't coming back here before they fly home. Patti and Darin Carpenter and their kids are coming tomorrow morning to visit. They are in Baltimore for training for 9 weeks. So....I am posting some pics and a little news. We FINALLY closed on our house last wednesday the 29th of July. What a roller coaster ride all that was. We moved in a little bit and then I took Jean and Em to the airport and played at Six Flags the next day. Friday and Saturday we moved a lot and then the Udall's came sat. night. On Tues morning I went with them to NYC as a tour guide. We got back late wed. night. They went to DC on Thursday and then decided to just get a hotel on friday instead of driving back and forth. They are staying at Darin and Patti's on sat. night. There is so much unpacking to do that I don't know where to start...not do I want to. I am pooped. Jesse got accepted into the Southern Delaware School for the Arts this week. He has to audition in 2 areas. The school teaches through imagination and hands on projects. I think this will be really good for him. They learn all kinds of non-traditional things like: tap dancing, steel drums, juggling, sculpting, music history, etc. He is excited. Our schools don't start here until after labor day, so we still have a few weeks of summer left. Don't be jealous though cuz we go until the 2nd week of June. I have a lot of pics but my internet is buggy right now. I will post them later.

PAUSE

2009-07-25T11:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry no blog for a while. I am currently computer challenged. My adapter got fried and I am waiting for a new one to arrive. I have tons of pics and juicy bits of life to post, it will have to wait a bit. We close on Tues the 27th and will be moving in shortly thereafter. Emily and Jean go home on the 3oth and Brooks, Suzette and Chris come on the 1st. I promise long posts. Don't forget me while I am absent.
Marcie

New Address

2009-07-11T12:54:00.000-07:00

Dallin has a new address.

1418 Lincoln Ave. #2
Fort Worth, TX 76106

He says he is trunkie cause he has been counting down for Chris. He only has 5 months left himself. He is an "old" Elder now. He has three baptism this week. He is way excited. We are still trying to decide where he will come "home" to first.

We have moved out of our rental and in with some friends from our ward. We hope it will only be for a few days. Everything is done as far as our part of the loan for our house is concerned, we are just waiting for closing. Then we get to move again. YIPEE! I am very tired of being unsettled. I am tired of moving too, but this will be the last time for a LONG time. Can't wait to see Chris and his parents (you aren't forgotten) in a few weeks.

BOO HOOO!

2009-07-08T15:39:00.000-07:00

We are so sad not to have Lela here any more. Here are our last moments with her.

Thrashers fries...

Rehoboth Boardwalk...

Bacon Ice Cream?.....

Why we love Lela!!!!!

Driving to the airport..

The "Legoty Bell"?

The 2nd flight delay :(

Come back soon Lela. We love you.

LELA

2009-07-07T06:02:00.000-07:00

We have had so much fun with Lela here this week. We have been busy, but she is so funny that it was all easy cheesy. We have been boogie boarding, walked on the boardwalk, bagged phonebooks, decorated cakes, had several bbq's, toured Washington DC, watched some awesome fireworks, been to McDonald's, played at a waterpark, skateboarded, slept alot, didn't sleep enough, eaten junk food and healthy food, laughed till we cried playing BuzzWord, driven long distances (to the church mostly, it is an hour away) made some new friends and caught up with some old ones. Today we picked blueberries! YUM! Now we are going to Rehoboth Beach to have some Thrashers Fries, taste Bacon Ice Cream, shop and play on the beach, and then (sob, sniff) we go to Philly to see the Liberty Bell and take Lela to the airport. What a WEEEEK!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH!!!

2009-06-27T14:19:00.000-07:00

Sarah is 15 today. I can't believe it. She was just born yesterday. She will be driving and dating soon! Yikes.

HOMEOWNERS!!!

2009-06-23T13:17:00.000-07:00

They accepted our offer. We are homeowners again! Now all the fun financial stuff. They want to close quickly. Hopefully we will be in by the end of July. Yipee!!!!

Mormon Tatoos???

2009-06-23T09:22:00.000-07:00

Here is a look at Emily's latest craze. She draws "tatoos" on anyone and everyone with colored sharpie markers. They are pretty awesome. Mine is "squished" on the bottom of my foot. No visible tatoo for me!

Back to square 1

2009-06-21T13:50:00.001-07:00

We made an offer on this house today. The last offer went nowhere so we are starting over. This house was one of the first we looked at, but it was in limbo.....not quite foreclosure, not for sale, etc. It came back on the market over the weekend and we jumped on it. So.....again cross your fingers and toes. We sure want to be in a house. This one has a lake nearby and neighbors that we know from our ward.

Camp Misty Mount

2009-06-20T08:21:00.000-07:00

Sarah and I just returned from Girls Camp in Maryland. It was VERY different from Arizona. Let me count the ways:

1. The girls cooked most of their own food.

2. They brought mess kits to eat out of and washed their own dishes after every meal.

3. Camp Misty Mount is near the Appalachian Trail and very rugged.

4. Very little outside time because of constant rain. HEAVY rain.

5. NO CAMPFIRES. We could have them, we just didn't.

6. 4th level does a 30 mile full pack hike on the App. Trail. Very difficult.

7. Shorts are allowed.

8. Swimming pool and lake swimming every day. (when it wasn't raining)

9. 4th level does white water rafting.

10.3rd level does repelling.

The girls had fun, but it was very different than what I have experienced before.

Cape May

2009-06-11T05:48:00.000-07:00

The girls went on an outing to Cape May, NJ last weekend. Rode bikes and the ferry. It was fun, but tiring. It was a lot more riding than we anticipated. My cruiser is made for slow, short, and leisurely, not get somewhere. I was in the rear most of the time....huffing and puffing. That may or may not be the bikes fault. haha.

Sunset on the ferry

Lewes at Delaware Bay "The Betty"

We saw lots of dolphins frolicking in the water, but they are hard to capture...you can see them a little in the first video. The second shows how much the boat was rocking during the ride. Whew! In the this video below, the girls are riding all over the car area as the ferry is turning around to dock. Notice the land flying by at the farthest end. So fun.

Scream like a girl!!!

2009-06-09T16:31:00.000-07:00

Emily used to wrestle Dallin and he would scream like a girl. We thought it was Dallin. Well...here is Emily wrestling Danny, a boy from our ward, and he screams like a girl, too. So....it must be Emily! Danny's dad squeezed Em's arm at church and said he wanted to feel her muscles. Apparently Danny told him how strong she was. We already knew that. Danny is a good sport and a nice kid. He graduated this year and is going to SVU in the fall on a football scholarship. He hangs out with us often. His family have been very nice to us and have made us feel very comfortable here. Thanks Bokinski Family.

Makeovers

2009-06-07T13:59:00.000-07:00

For YW this week, we did hair makeovers. The girls didn't want to do serious, so we did outrageous. When we got home Emily and Jeanie got into it and did some "Vogue" shots. The results were hilarious. Check it out.

Annual Pass

2009-06-03T05:49:00.001-07:00

We discovered the State Parks this week. The beaches are nicer and less people and stores. So...we bought an annual pass. It was only $27. At all the other beaches you have to feed a meter. Tricky business. I already got a ticket. Not cool. We bought a couple of more wave boards and a skim board. Skim boarding is hard! We watched a group of guys totally rocking the skim boards and then tried it ourselves. HAHAHAHAHAHA. Very funny. These guys would run down toward the water and drop the skimboard and then jump on and ride it out to the wave and ride up the wave and do flips and spins. Really cool. We, on the other hand, tippy-toed down the beach and tried to jump on and then fell off as soon as the board moved even an inch. Sad. I have some pics on my phone......someone will have to get them off for me.. :( I am getting a little more techie, but not enough for that). Em got my pics off and here they are plus some other ramdom phone pics.

SUNNY day at the beach

2009-05-31T03:44:00.000-07:00

It has been pretty rainy here so a sunny day at the beach is a big deal to us. Oh, we go when it isn't sunny, but the water feel too cold or something so it isn't the same. The kids had a great time and Darrin and I chilled on the shore. This beach is our favorite. It is a state park so no big commercialism hanging around. It is called Cape Henlopen State Park. The light house is on one end and all the surf fishermen are on the other. The sand is very fine and soft and the waves are perfect: not too big and not too small. We have been eating a lot of fresh fruits lately. You can grow ANYTHING in Delaware. Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries (grow wild in the yard of the house we are trying to buy), asparagus...... there are farmer's markets everywhere. I can't wait to plant a garden somewhere. My garden in Arizona is flourishing....but I can't eat it! Raun, our nephew, is taking care of it. I am sure he is about to be overwhelmed. The zuchini plants did well and have 3-4 on each plant. ( I planted 12 but on six lived) That is a lot of zuchini for one person. I also planted 20 potato plants, 20 onions, 2 tomatoes, 2 pumpkins, etc. I wish I could enjoy them! So...I will enjoy what we can get here instead. Here are pics.

Washington D.C.

2009-05-29T05:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went with Jesse on a field trip to Washington D.C. I was supposed to chaperone a group of boys, but Jesse was the only one who came, so I chaperoned him. It was actually nice to just be with him. We don't get to do that very often. His teachers are great and the trip was very fun. Interesting start though. We got a phone call at 6:00 am telling us that school for Sarah and fieldtrip would be delayed 2 hour due to fog. Crazy! A fog delay. That NEVER happened in Arizona. The kids here tell us it is pretty common. Anyway, soupy fog for a while.....then business as usual. The bus was a charter, so we had great reclining seats and a DVD screen. We went the the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and the Natural History Museum. In case you don't know, those are the two museaum featured in the newest "Night at the Museum" movie. They were pretty cool. Jesse didn't care for the mummies or bones though. We spent our time with the stuffed animals and fish. We walked along the National Mall a little, but we weren't too eager to do major walking, so.....we got an ice cream cone at McDonald's and sat for a little while. Jesse is loving this school, I am sad we only had a month here. He never really felt like a part of Thatcher schools, too bad. Jeanie and Emily both have interviews at Hotel Rehoboth tomorrow. Cross your fingers.

Birthday Cake!

2009-05-26T15:49:00.000-07:00

Darrin made Emily one of his famous birthday cakes this weekend. He went all out! We have been watching "Ace of Cakes" lately and he decided to try his hand at fondant. It worked pretty good. The cake wasn't quite strong enough to hold it up, but it was a good first try. Em wanted a star cake, so star she got. All 7 layers of it. They had a fun time constructing together. We only ate a small amount of it before it caved in. It was alright though, the fun was in the building.

Rain, rain, rain

2009-05-26T06:16:00.000-07:00

We had a beautiful sunny week and now rain. The weather was perfect for our NYC trip and for most of the weekend. Monday at about 3:30 the clouds rolled in and it has been raining ever since. It is supposed to keep up for a while. It is ok as long as we get a few sunny days in here and there. It sure keeps things green around here. Thursday I am going with Jesse to Washington DC for a field trip. We are both excited. Our kids still have 2 weeks of school, but it is ok. They had a long break when we moved. Emily and Jeanie went bowling with some boys from our ward last night. It has been such an easy transition. I got another calling this week, but I don't start it until September. I will be the Seminary teacher. Yep. We have it once a week on Sunday night. I go to Dover once a month for training all summer. Good thing cuz I have no idea what I am doing. Yikes.

NEW YORK CITY

2009-05-21T04:42:00.000-07:00

WOW! What an amazing 2 days. I think Em really enjoyed it. I know I did. We were exhausted though. Lots of walking, walking, walking! Here are some highlights....rode the train from NJ to New York Penn Station. It is underneath Madison Square Garden. We then walked many blocks to our hotel. It was a great hotel in the middle of China Town. We took the subway to Time Square and got on our bus tour. It was good, but our tour guide was ANNOYING to say the least. His voice was like fingernails on a chalk board. We ate ate at a three story McDonalds in Time square and then wandered around a while before heading back to our hotel. Then we had New York pizza at a place in Little Italy. It was yummy. Then of course we had to have some Gelato too. I bought some cherries at a stand on the sidewalk from a chinese lady. They were weird looking but good. We slept like rocks and then headed out early in the morning to catch all the places we saw the day before. We went to Ground Zero, the Empire State Building, Battery Park, the Statue of Liberty, Museum of Natural History, and had a hotdog in Central Park. Then we saw Mary Poppins on Broadway. It was spectacular. Oh My Goodness. It was amazing. Loved it. Rode the subway and another train and drove for 3 hours and fell into bed at home. So Great. Happy Birthday Em.

Tentative YES!

2009-05-18T13:16:00.000-07:00

Our realtor just emailed me and said the the seller is signing our offer and sending it to the lender by the end of today! That isn't the end, but it is a great beginning. Also, our friends Olive Clawson and her daughter Jean Patterson and their family just invited us to spend the 4th of July weekend with them in Virginia (at Gary's house) and go to the fireworks in Washington DC. Gary has worked at the Pentagon and they (Clawson's) go there every year. We are totally stoked. Yippee!! Great Day! And tomorrow....off to get Jeanie and go to NYC for 2 days.

Out-of-sorts BLUES

2009-05-16T15:01:00.000-07:00

Not really the blues, just tired of being out-of-sorts. I think it is worse than it should be cuz I had my whole life occupied in Arizona. I got up, got kids to school, and went to whichever parent/grandparent that needed me. NOW WHAT? I don't quite know what my role is anymore. I think it will be better when I have a house, but until then......WHAT? I eat most of the time and then feel gross. Food is my happy place right now (when I am not at the beach). I am sure I will survive it, but my clothes may not. I guess I will just enjoy it while I can. ;)

We Found IT!

2009-05-13T05:52:00.000-07:00

We found the house!!!!! It is just exactly what we have been looking for. All of the others had at least one thing that wasn't exactly what we wanted, but this one has it all. We are making an offer today. Cross your fingers and your toes and pray for our offer to be accepted. It was built in the early 80's and thus has typical decor for that era, but call all be updated easily. It is a short sale (just about to go into foreclosure) so we can get a great deal. It is 3 bed 2 1/2 bath, but has 2 large unfinished rooms upstairs that could be bedrooms or whatever. Now, sit down......it is 3500 square feet. I know, crazy, but the price is right, and there is room for all of you to visit....at the same time! It needs a bit of work, nothing major, just a little cleaning and painting and finishing here and there. The back yard is amazing!!!! I am trying not to get too attached before it is really ours, cuz I will be super disapointed, but it is hard not to dream of being in our own house again. I am on my way to Baltimore in a few to pick Em up at the airport. Sooooo excited. It hasn't been that long since we saw her, but it wasn't in Delaware. Keep you posted.

Master bedroom

I LOVE Mother's Day!

2009-05-12T06:05:00.000-07:00

But...not for the reason you think. We got to talk to Dallin for an hour + yesterday. It was so great. We tried to do a three-way with Emily, but Darrins phone died. SAD!!! So Emily texted and we talked and relayed her texts. Complicated but satisfactory. Emily will be here tomorrow. We cant wait. I am seriously tired of being in someone else's house. We are dilligently looking for one of our own, but......I am going out with the realtor again today. Maybe our criteria is took unrealistic. Who knows. The sun is out today. Thank Heaven. I don't know how much of this "unusual" weather I can stand. Everyone tells us that it is never like this in May. They better be telling the truth. I am at the Library again. We still don't have internet. It is beautiful today. I think I will walk on the beach for a while.........eat your hearts out Arizona. hahaha

Hello from the East Coast

2009-05-09T06:13:00.000-07:00

We are still hunting for the perfect house. We thought we found it this week, but.......:( I guess we are being too picky. I refuse to settle for less than the house I want though. The kids first week of school started out pretty tough, but they are both happy now. They have met a few people and gotten used to their new routine and are feeling settled. Hurray!!!! Now, if we can just feel settled in a house........I know I need to just be patient. Our ward is really great and we are getting to know alot more of the members. They have been very friendly and helpful. We are excited for Emily and Jeanie to get here for Brooks's family to come in August. We have tried some new restaurants (seafood) and are big fans. I know we will miss Mexican food someday, but for now...not so much. Emily is bringing us some of our favorite enchilada sauce on the plane. Macayo's is the best. The Mexican food aisles at the grocery stores are pretty wimpy. So....Em to the rescue. We had rain all week and just a little sun yesterday, so I don't have any pictures to share. Everyone here tells us that this much rain is very abnormal. I hope so. I stayed outside and soaked up every drop of sunshine yesterday. Today it is cloudy, but not rain so far. It sure is green though. Love that.

Update

2009-05-04T06:33:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long. Kids started back to school today. FINALLY! It took forever to get them in. Lots of schools to choose from here. They have what is called "choice". You choose the school you want and then apply to get them in. Normally that takes a month or so, but they did a quick time for us. There is still 6 weeks left here. School ends on June 12th. Yikes. It feels like forever to Sarah and Jesse, so I guess a 2 week break in April is ok. Sarah is in Indian River High School, (pic) and Jesse is at Lord Baltimore Elementary. It is about a 1hour commute for me in the mornings and another 1 hour in the afternoons. We chose schools that would be close to where we WANT to live, not where we live now. We have found 3 homes that we really like and now the game is on. Negotiate and bargain, my two favorite things. We don't really like our realtor, but we are almost done with her. She talks WAY too much. I get a headache just knowing that I have to talk to her again. I have a calling in the ward. I am the 2nd Counselor in the YW. We have been twice now and are starting to learn names. There are an overabundance of 16-18 year old boys at the moment and they are all drooling over the idea that Emily and Jeanie are coming for the summer. They are all clones of Dallin, so the girls should have fun. One boy asked Sarah if her sister was a "cool dude". If they only knew how COOL Em and Jean are they would be out of their minds. Emily gets here on the 13th and Jeanie comes on the 19th. We can't wait. We hope we are in a bigger house by then......I am trying not to think about Mother's Day. It feels too weird and lonely. I can't wait to talk to Dallin though. Happy! Darrin and I had a lobster dinner on saturday. It was the special at a beachside restaurant. It was pretty tastey. The people sitting next to us were very chatty and gave us "lessons" when they found out we were from Arizona. So, all of you that are thinking about coming out here to visit, pray for us to get the house that we are looking for cuz we are looking big to accomidate extras. So far so good.

BIG Headache

2009-04-27T17:23:00.000-07:00

We have been here a week and are still in upheaval. We are trying to find a bigger place to rent and get the kids in school. We found a beautiful victorian house in Milton. It is completely restored inside and out and has a georgous back yard. It has 4 bedroom and 3 baths and the rent is cheaper than where we are now. Here are some pics. It is in a storybook neighborhood. Unbelievable. We have to open enroll the kids in school and that has to go through an approval process, so they are still on vacay. It is alright though cause they go clear till June 14th. Everything just takes forever. So....we are working hard in the mornings and relaxing by the beach in the afternoons. We had the hottest temp in the nation today. Yes, you heard right...the HOTTEST! The water is still pretty chilly, but not to cold for the kids to boogie board. It is supposed to cool off and rain again this week so our beach days may be limited. :( Emily and Jeanie are coming mid May and we will probably do some more vigorous site seeing then. TaTa

WE ARE HERE!

2009-04-19T19:21:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to Delaware. We are tired and grumpy and a little sick of each other, but....tomorrow we move into our rental house near the beach. Big exhale. I will try to download some pics.

Day 2

2009-04-18T06:18:00.000-07:00

It rained all day as we drove yesterday. Texas is a BIG state. We finally made it to Shreveport at about 6 pm. We stayed in Monroe, Louisianna last night. Thant is MUN-roe, not mon-ROE. We learned that at the I HOP. It is beautiful this morning. Overcast, but warm. We passed through Fort Worth and wiped a tear and kept going. Only 19 hours to go. We will pass clear through Mississippi today. More tomorrow.

Odessa, TX

2009-04-16T23:08:00.001-07:00

Sleeping in Odessa tonight. We experienced a few firsts today. First cross country pack up and move, first Texas Bar-b-que, first tornado warning, first U-haul driving, etc. I'm sure there will be more tomorrow.

Delaweanie

2009-04-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

So does anyone know what we will be called when we move there? We have had some interesting guesses. This is my favorite. It is funny and also it rhymes with Jeanie. Jeanie, Jeanie, Delaweanie. HAHAHAHAHA Love ya Jeanie. How about this one. Dela-where? Heard that one a few times already. Delawicious. Delawart. Delawarn. Delawarish. Delawarian. Anyone, anyone???? Maybe we should have a contest and just make up our own.

Pictures!

2009-04-08T06:25:00.000-07:00

My house is a swarm of activity. Boxes, triathlon stuff, gravel, dishes, everything is in upheaval. Our front yard looks fabulous. You should come and see if you can. Our interior....not so good. Triathlon in 4 days.

So far.....

2009-04-02T16:02:00.000-07:00

We have listed our house with Myrna Curtis. We are asking $213,000. Anyone interested? Now we are frantically trying to get it ready to show. The landscaping out front is nearly done. We will be boxing most of everything and putting it in storage until we move. The house will sell better empty. Our agent in Delaware is supposed to be submitting an offer on a new house today as well. My head hurts. I think that may be a constant for a while. I called the YW president to see when girls camp is. We are no longer the head cooks and Sarah will miss camp here. I will be doing the triathlon still, it is next weekend. 1400 racers....and Boys Life magazine is coming to cover the event. Cool. Then....packing, packing, packing. We have reserved two 26 foot trucks with car dollies to try to move everything all at once. It is a 4 day drive and we don't want to do it twice. We are selling our white car before we go and buying grandpa's car. Our car is a 2001 Chevy Lumina with 84,000 miles for $2,500. Sorry for all the advertising, but we gotta do whatever we can to get everything done in three weeks. I will update again later. Dallin got tranferred to the office and has a new p-day. So email him on saturdays.

The News.

2009-04-01T17:36:00.000-07:00

I know we have been super vague about our trip to Delaware, but we can now reveal that we are moving. Yep. Darrin was offered a job that we can't refuse. He will be the Assistant General Manager of the Lewes, DE Board of Public Works. He starts ASAP. We found a house that we are putting an offer on and are trying to be there in three weeks. What a year this has been. The community and the ward are sooooo friendly. They welcomed us site unseen. The Board begged Darrin to seriously consider the position. They need him and want him and esteem him. Take that City of Safford. :O Seriously, we have felt directed literally the entire way. We couldn't have even considered this move a year ago, heck even a month ago. It is a beautiful little town on the coast with farms dispersed through the county. Darrin's office is right in Lewes, but we will live about 15-20 minutes inland. This house is in an awesome area with a lake. It is 4 bedroom 2.5 bath, 3/4 basement (guesthouse) foreclosure that isn't on the market yet, but the realtor is going to try to get it under the table. We love it. The school says to go before school is out to give the kids a chance to meet some friends before summer, so.......here we go.

This is Darrin's office. It is brand new. No furniture yet.

Here we go again....

2009-03-26T12:27:00.000-07:00

Darrin and I are taking a "business" trip this weekend. We are leaving right after Grandma's funeral. We are going to Lewes, Delaware. And, no, we are not paying for it. Great huh! It is a beautiful coastal village, pop. 3,800. Their claim to fame is that they are the 1st town in the 1st state. About as opposite of Arizona as you can get. We will be back late Tues. night. Here are some pics of the area.

Fishing Pier in Lewes

Kings Ice Cream Parlor Cape Henlopen Light House Lewes Jetty Beach The Pirate Brethren

LAST ONE FOR A LONG TIME!

2009-03-25T16:54:00.000-07:00

Grandma Thelma Carpenter died this week after living 100+ years. Having 3 deaths in our family in 8 months is not something I would have ever chosen, but it has been ok. It takes a lot of effort to help someone leave this world. And then you get to plan the party. Putting together a funeral is a lot of work. I am exhausted. We joked with the mortuary about getting frequent flyer miles. No go. But they bend over backwards to get us anything we want. They are great. The funeral is friday morning at 10:00. Darrin and I are going on a "business" trip and fly out of Phoenix at 3:50 the same day. It will be frantic. It seems like that is how our life goes. Everything crams itself into the same week. After we get back, we have the Varsity Scout Triathlon. Darrin is the starting line chairman and I am the director. After that is Girls Camp. We are the head cooks. After that......I hope there is nothing. This is a picture of Grandma and my sisters at her 100th birthday party in December.

The chicken came first......

2009-03-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

But now, we finally have the EGG. Just one and very little, but beatiful! I sound like a new mother. I guess I am sort of. We anticipate many more in the near future. YIPEE!