Happy Birthday to the best birthday present a mom could ever ask for! I love you Melsy!

Birthday Cruise!

We had such a great time on our cruise to Cabo. We enjoyed the weather, the food and a great fishing trip in Cabo. The crew of the ship pampered us so much. It was amazing they could remember our names when they would see us. They cleaned the room twice a day and turned down the bed at night with mints on the pillow. The cute pillow animals were there at night waiting for us. It was so relaxing. . except for the trip back! The trip back was pretty exciting. The wind was blowing so hard and the ship was rocking pretty hard. Lots of people sick that night!

We got to spend time with Cody and Chris and the boys and spent a night at Trav and Heather's after taking a rather scenic tour to their house. Thanks so much you guys for letting us crash at your house! Their boys are so cute. It's so funny to watch Jackson try to do everything Dominik does. Jack took to Uncle Mont pretty quick and spent Thursday morning on his lap watching cartoons. I wish we could see them more often.

Here are some pictures of our trip.

The Cutest Tricker-or-Treaters That Came to My Door

Tough Week. . .

It has been such a tough week. The weather has been so beautiful and so many things to be grateful for. But sometimes, it's just hard to find "my groove".

Twenty-nine years ago October 28th, I lost my mom. She was such an awesome lady. Always pleasant, and smiling, even when things were pretty darned tough for her. She was my best friend. The one I could tell anything to.
People say that it gets easier as the years go by, but I just don't believe that's true.

It's A Fat Day

Have you ever had those mornings when you just really don't want to get up. . .you finally drag your sorry self out of bed, get in the shower and attempt to get ready for the day. Your hair, no matter how hard you try, looks as if a mouse has attempted to make a nest in it; your make-up looks like a 4 year old has done it for you; no matter what article of clothing you pull out of your closet feels like someone painted it on you and the day continues to snowball until you mutter to yourself, "I knew I should have stayed in bed." Those days I fondly refer to as a fat day. . .and today just happens to be one of those days. . .

Meet the newest addition of our family

Introducing
Grayson Walker Chappell
Born September 25, 2008
8lb. 12 oz 20" long



I am one proud Grandma!!

In A Blink It's Over. . .

Summer is over. The days are getting shorter. The nights are cold; the days crisp and clear. It's hard to believe that summer is gone. Wasn't it only yesterday I was waiting for it to warm up? We've had so many great times this summer! So many memories!



I know looking at someone else's photo album isn't always the most interesting thing, but indulge me as I share some of the people and places I love the most. . .

Eugene, Oregon

Greetings from Eugene, Oregon! I'm on a fire assignment on the Willamette (WilLAMette) National Forest. It's so beautiful and so green! The streets are all one way and then you have to watch out for all the people on bicycles.

The building we're working out of is the Federal Building in Eugene. It's a 5 story highrise in the middle of downtown. It's kind of strange trying to run a fire out of the city. I guess it happens all the time, but this is a first time for me. They don't have stake sides or anything like that to get the supplies to the fire. Just different. The FBI is in the building we work out of too. They have preferential parking in the back of this secure building. You have to have a card to get almost everywhere. The only window in our room faces the FBI parking. We were working away one morning, when there they all went, strapping on guns, bullet proof vests...the whole thing...we've only seen them ever bring one guy in cuffs. Yep, there I was takin pictures of it all. Little country girl anway!

The convenience stores have 4 choices in fountain soda and they don't have a squirt of cherry to go into the concoction that I can put together. I can't find caffeine free diet anything in this city, even in a bottle.

Eugene is the home of the University of Oregon Ducks. You can't find a motel room in this city when they have a home game, and especially when it's the home season opener against their arch rival the Washington State Huskies. These people take their football seriously, and it's a party atmosphere for 2 days before the game. They have a duck for everything. I came out of the motel the morning after the big win and this was the dashboard of the car parked next to me. Sorry the pictures are blurry.

I was out walking today and the train came by....now THOSE are trees!

Also pictures of the Willamette River.

It's beautiful...my skin loves the humidity...but I'm ready to come home. I love the beautiful fall days in Lyman. I have a date with the greatest fishing buddy ever to spend a few days on Lake Powell. We have a new grandson due in a couple of weeks. I am so excited to meet him! And more great news...Marcie and Jeremy are expecting #3 in February and Steve and Courtney #2 in May. Here we grow again!!

I am so blessed....

My Sister

Happy Birthday to the sweetest sister in the whole world. She's always there for me. Always has a listening ear and helps me feel better about myself. She's been through alot in her life and she's done most of it by herself. She's such an example to me. She's so strong, and independent.
I love you Le!

The Saga of Morris the Mouse

What happens when you have 2 helpless women alone
in a house with one ginormous ( that's a Melsy word)
mouse whom she named Morris....

Mom attempting to set the mouse trap.....

The result....yes, that is peanut butter on the ceiling and 2 mashed fingers...I found out later I had too much peanut butter on the trap causing it to be too heavy to stay set...

SUCCESS!!!

Yes...this is where Melinda spent her time until Morris met his maker ( yes with legs crossed on the couch. . she said she IS aware of the fact that Morris could climb the couch)....It was all I could do to get the trap into the dustpan with Morris' four disgusting feet sticking straight in the air, and only after he was thrown in the dumpster did I think about taking his obituary picture....

Check out my Slide Show!

I LOVE SUMMER!

Catching Up

Wow, time goes by fast, but the weather doesn't change! Still cold and cloudy, and I'm starting to wonder if it will ever be warm. Remind me of that when I'm complaining it's too hot! (Would I do that?!?)

Mother's Day was so awesome. Melsy, Clint and Krista all came. I was whining about how horrible my hair looked. I needed some color. I went to the gym and told my good friend Nan, that if my daughter wasn't going to come home to do my hair for Mother's Day, I was going to have to find someone to do it for me. I came home from the gym and called Marcie and told her I couldn't believe she wasn't coming home to do my hair. She said, "I'm sorry, Mom." I tried to call one of the girls here that do hair, but she couldn't do it either. So I said to heck with all that and went to have a nap. I was sleeping so good, and Marcie, Kenna and Madi all came in and said, SURPRISE! It was so great. I got a color, a cut and a pedicure....love a day at the salon, even when it's at home! I'm such a lucky woman, I have the greatest kids and grandkids in the whole world. Everytime the kids come home I have some kind of job for them to do. They're going to quit coming! We went to Bowery Haven Resort and had dinner for Mother's Day. I talked to all of my kids and grandkids on Mother's Day. It was awesome.

I love having Brooklyn call me on the phone. She's so stinkin cute. She always says, "Hi Grammy!" She jabbers for a minute and then says buh bye now honey. What a sweetie. I got the cutest picture of her for Mother's Day. They're going to come and go camping with us (if it ever warms up). I'm really looking forward to that!

Uncle Bill came and spent the next weekend with us. Mont and I are so thankful that he's such a special part of our lives. Our only regret is that it has taken us all of these years to have this special relationship with this great guy. He makes us laugh, cooks great meals and would give us the coat off of his back. I did yard work over the weekend and they fished and fished and fished.

We went to Santaquin on Friday to see Kenna's dance recital. She's such a great little dancer! I thought maybe she would chicken out when she saw all those people, but she didn't! She danced 2 dances. One to "Kiss the Girl" and "The Tiki Room". Good Job Kenna! Madi is crawling now and has a mouth full of teeth. She is getting such a personality. She sure loves her sister. It's so cute to watch the look on her face when Kenna starts towards her.

Cody and Aaron spent this past weekend with us. Chris wasn't feeling well so she didn't come. Aaron was such a kick. I think we watched Snow Buddies at least 150 times. lol He's the sweetest little boy, so loving. He's still not ready to ride the tractor or 4-wheeler yet, but he's in love with the Chevy Blazer. He told me this morning he gets to drive it when he's 16.

Guess that's it for now...maybe by the next post the temperature will have risen!!

Life is Good

It has taken me awhile to try and find the words to express how I feel about Steve and Courtney's wedding. It was so beautiful. It was quite emotional for me. Steve has always had such a tender heart. When he was three years old he was backed over by a car when we were at our Easter picnic. His leg was pushed out of the socket by the weight of the car. We spent 5 days in the hospital. I was so thankful that he was all right. It didn't take him long to figure out how to get around and within a week after being released from the hospital, he was running around again. I'm so grateful for him and the joy he has brought to our family. His sense of humor; that grin. And now he has found such a sweetheart to spend his life with. They compliment each other so well. The look on both of their faces as they said their vows. It was so awesome!



While the newlyweds were honeymooning, the rest of us spent the day at a new park by Cody's house. It was so much fun! We ate, played sand volleyball, flew kites, played in the water, and Kenna and I played McDonald's on the playground equipment. There are pipes with little speakers on each end. They are quite aways away from each other. Kenna would say, "Welcome to McDonald's. May I take your order please?" I would tell her what I wanted. Another little girl was watching and listening to us, and then she said, "I'd like some nuggets with honey, ok?" It was so funny. They had the water fountains there, and Aaron and Kenna wanted so badly to play in it, but it was a little cool to be playing in the water.



That night we went to Cody and Chris' house. They cooked us meatball subs, they were SO good! We played a really fun game, and I wish we had had more time to play. It was great to see Chris' mom. She is so much fun!

It was such a wonderful weekend!

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Thanks to all of you who traveled so far to be with us for Steve and Courtney's special day. It mean the world to us!

A Day at the Park

Mont needed to go to the park today to check the water level in the water tank. He asked me if I wanted to go with him and hike up to the water tank and across Johnson Mesa. It sounded like a great adventure to me and it was a beautiful morning!

The picture below is climbing the hill to the water tank overlooking the housing area and the Visitor Center at the park. The next pictures are looking down into the Fremont River from Johnson Mesa.





As I was hiking along, I couldn't help but think about what a terrible pioneer I would have made. I couldn't help but think of that as I could see all the old remnants of what had to have been a very hard life. The fence made of rocks that went on for miles; ditches that were dug by hand; imagining trying to clear the land to be able to plant it.

We drove out to Sleeping Rainbow Ranch where Mont has a huge project going on. Utah Valley State College or I guess now it's Utah Valley University has an agreement with the Park to build a Field Study Station. This will be an outdoor classroom, so-to-speak. The buildings are awesome, with dorms and a main study hall / classrooms/ kitchen. Too bad they don't let you ride 4-wheelers down there!! We could have a great time!

The picture of Mont with this little tree is quite funny. Nothing like the Park Service. They are trying to establish a nursery near the Field Study Station. The trees got to the park and Mont had sat in on a meeting where they talked about getting the trees in the ground; they were ready to go. So he goes ahead, gets the trees planted and then holy cow! Let me just say, he wondered if he should have planted them!

So when he shared the story with me, I assumed they were HUGE trees. So when I saw this little stick, I couldn't help but LAUGH!!

When we got home, I was SO ready to take a nap. I was just settled on the couch when the phone rang. Mont said, "Come see our baby llama!" So last but not least here's a picture of our new baby! Mont thinks we should call her Toni! Clint says we should name her Tina, from Napoleon Dynamite. "Tina! You big fat lard! Come eat your food... gosh."

What do ya think?? LOL

Rascal Flatts and Kelly Pickler!!

Last Thursday, KSOP radio station in Salt Lake City was giving away tickets to the Rascal Flatts concert at the Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake. All I had to do was be caller 10 when I heard 2 Rascal Flatts songs back to back. I heard the songs...started dialing...busy...busy...busy..."Good Morning KSOP, who's this?" NO WAY!!!! So I called Melinda and told her we had tickets to Rascal Flatts for Friday night. We're both so excited. Friday morning, I'm working for a little while, when she calls my cell. I was busy with a co-worker so I silenced the phone and went back to work. She called right back. She must need something I told my co-worker or she wouldn't have called me right back. So I answer the phone. "Hey! What's up?" "MOM! I JUST WON PIT PASSES TO SEE RASCAL FLATTS ON KBULL" OH MY GOSH!! Now we have 4 tickets and 2 pit passes to the conert. How lucky was that!?! We ended up giving the other two tickets to another teacher and a high school girl that volunteers at the elementary school Melinda teaches at.

It was quite an experience. I've never been where they step on your fingers if you don't watch out! I was trying to take a picture on my cell phone for Krista when Gary, the lead singer for Rascal Flatts comes and takes my phone. Melinda and I both had this look of what the heck is he doing with my phone on our faces! lol It was so funny. Apparently, he was trying to figure out how to run the camera on it, 'cause he took a picture of ME with my cell phone. It was so dang cool. I know I probably embarassed the heck out of Melinda, but dang it was fun!!

Happy Spring!!

I survived January! But, where did February go? I can't believe it's March already! Thank goodness! I DETEST winter and this one has been long and cold.

Great news! Steve is getting married April 19th! Courtney is so sweet and we are thrilled to have her as part of our family. Courtney has a beautiful little girl, Brooklyn, who has already got this Grandma wrapped around her tiny litle finger. A new daughter and granddaughter! Courtney met almost the entire gang over the past weekend and the engagement is still on! Thank goodness. It's quite a zoo when we're all there. The kids got ready to leave Sunday afternoon, and we found out the road across the mountain was closed, again, because of white out conditions. Cody had a flight to Dallas to catch first thing Monday morning out of Vegas. They finally ended up going about an hour and a half out of the way to get home. Did I mention I DETEST winter?!?! lol

Kenna is going to take "ballerina lessons". She is SO excited. She had to go to Wal-Mart and get her ballerina clothes before she came to Grandma's so she could practice. The moves her Uncle Curt taught her were quite interesting. Looked a little more like a rutting elk than a ballerina, but Grandma worked with her. GO GRANDMA!

Mont and I spent last week in St. George. Mont had meetings and I had to shop. = ) The weather was SO nice. We went walking in the evenings after his classes and then out to all those great eating places we don't get to frequent. It was so much fun and I hated to come home.

Well, guess that's all for now. Hope I can do better keeping up here!