I REALLY AM GETTING OLD....

This afternoon I was reading Nannette's post about her Anniversary. I wanted to send her a "comment" since she is always so good to read my blog postings and comment on them; even though I am much older than her and I am sure that some of my entries must be considered 'SNOOZERS' by young people. Well, I realize that I really am getting old because when I went to send her a comment; I COULD NOT get the Letter Verification thing right to allow the post to go through. I tried on numerous occasions (4 to be exact) and it kept coming up INVALID... TRY AGAIN.. Well I got so frustrated that I logged off and tried again at 11:30 at night and after trying two times.... yeah... SUCCESS...
I am either getting "really old" or need stronger glasses... IT'S FRUSTRATING! JUST SO YOU ALL KNOW.. the letter verification was alot harder than this one...seriously it was... BESIDES.... I truly don't understand the importance behind the "Letter Verification thing" I mean what's the purpose anyway besides making me upset? ANOTHER SNOOZER...

CRAZY ABOUT MUSTANGS!

My little grandson Zeke is SO
CRAZY about MUSTANGS. Heather allows me to park my Mustang in her garage since I HARDLY EVER drive it. Well, today I sent Paul up to Heather's to get it because I planned on taking it out for a drive and Zeke got so upset when he saw Grandpa drive it out of the driveway. He bolted for the door and proceeded to run down the street to my house saying "MUS TANG... MUS TANG..." while Heather followed behind. Here he is at my house wanting us to take the MUS TANG back to his garage. So, Paul drove him around the block.

VISITING MT. OLIVETT

Today Zeke had a doctor's appointment up at Primary Childrens. Afterwards we drove through Mt. Olivett Cemetery. We have been there on numerous occasions as the kids like to watch the deer that roam the grounds there. We found several hanging around the headstones. Ofcourse, I carry my camera everywhere so I can snap photos for the blog. My grandkids are use to visiting cemeteries and funeral homes since their Nana has been working with them since they were born. They always seem to enjoy Mt. Olivett the best.

WE ARE CEMETERY PEOPLE...

After the girls watched the deer for awhile, they decided that they wanted to have their photos taken at some of the crypts. Can you believe that at ages 8 & 9 the girls know all of the death care terminology. It was funny to hear them talk about crypts, vaults, markers, caskets. Guess they have hung around their Nana too much. Not to mention that before too long their Aunt LuLu will become a mortician.

Summer Injuries Have Begun

As a mother of six, the summer would not be complete without several injuries per/child. I am now the Nana (I prefer that term instead of grandma) to ten grandchildren (soon to be 11) and so I expected the summer injuries to start at any time. Well, they they started this evening after dinner. Evelyn was running into my house (without any shoes on) and hit her toe on something, don't know what; and cracked her big toenail in half. Aunt Audrey had to perform surgery while her mommy held her close. I provided the popsicle for Evie to suck on while Aunt Audrey clipped the toenail back as far as she could and then wrapped it in the bandage. While Evie was crying she said "I better not come to Nana's house anymore"..... okay, that broke my heart...But she later said she had changed her mind and would see me tomorrow...

Aunt Audrey Saves the Day...

Aunt Audrey saved the day by fixing the broken toenail. The girls love their aunt Audrey so much. When my kids were little, Audrey had to do all of the cleaning and washing of wounds...She has always had such compassion for people.. I always thought she would be a nurse...

Who Does This Remind You Of ?

Simon is reminding me so much of when Aaron was little. This photo proves it!

Cousins and Friends

Ayana and Evelyn at our Family Barbecue today.

UNCLE AARON SCORES FOR US AGAIN!

Today we had breakfast at Del Taco. The little girls love to go there because there is a crane machine and they know that Uncle Aaron will try to win them a prize out of it. This morning the machine was filled with big rubber bouncing balls. Aaron was able to win Evelyn and Lydia a ball and he was down to his last fifty cents and last try and was able to get one for Mikayla. We all held our breath as the claw grabbed Mikayla's ball and dropped in in the slot. We were all cheering so loud in the restaurant, I am sure the workers thought we were crazy. But they don't realize how horribly we would have all suffered if Mikayla was the only one not to win a ball. The pressure was on for Aaron, but he pulled it off.

ONE OF OUR NIGHTLY VISITORS..

Aaron snapped this photo for me around midnight last night. He got really close to this little guy. His mate came about ten minutes later.

I LOVE THIS PHOTO OF EVIE AND UNCLE AARON

GREAT JOB TODAY EVELYN...

Evelyn did such a great job today at her ballet performance. Her dancing was excellent and she was by far the most beautiful little girl on stage today..

PIG OUT...

Today I wanted to show Audrey a house I saw for sale when I went to help a client last week. After showing her the house, we decided to drive through the neighborhood to check out the residents. A couple of street away we found a home where the owners were preparing for a party. They allowed me to take these photos of the pigs they were roasting in their driveway. There must have been at least 30 pigs they were cooking. It smelled REALLY GOOD...
Well Audrey, at least you won't starve!

HAVING A FIREPIT TONIGHT

Tonight the little girls wanted their Uncle Aaron to start a fire pit in the back yard so they could roast marshmellows in celebration of Evie's dance performance today. Our great friends the Soffe's came over with their two children and we all had a great time. The little girls just love Kristie..What's not to love?

More Photos at the Fire Pit

FACING THE FACT....

On Saturday I will be attending Evelyn's Ballet Performance at Kingsberry Hall. Can I even begin to tell you the many performances I have attended there when my LuLu was doing her ballet training. It will be an emotional day for me to sit in the audience and have to face the fact that my beautiful ballerina will not be performing for me anymore. As I write this tears come to my eyes. I am not good at saying goobye to things I have loved so much. When Melissa turned eight years old, she started on pointe. She was placed in a gifted ballet class where the studio chose 11 girls that they felt had talent (and the body type) to train to someday be a professional. Melissa went to ballet class (at eight) everyday, including Saturdays. Sundays she had off. We did this routine for the next 10 years...! At 18 she audtioned for a professional company. She danced with Nevada Ballet Theatre for the next 7 years. I am so proud of her and ballet has become such an important part of my life... I love this photo of Melissa's beautiful legs and FEET....
I have loved watching her in EVERY PERFORMANCE... I will have a hard time holding back the tears when I see my little grandaughter Evelyn up there on the same stage my daughter started performing on. Good Luck Evelyn....

Audition Day With Nevada Ballet Theatre

Paul and I drove Melissa to Vegas to audition for Nevada Ballet Theatre... I watched through the window of the studio (like I had done for the past 10 years) holding my breath with each jump and piourette she performed for the artistic director and judges. I knew that she wanted this dream so badly to come true. I was so scared for her. Here I was watching like the Ballet Mom I had turned into... After the audition, she had to wait in a room where I couldn't see her anymore... About 30 minutes passed and it seemed like a month before she came out with a contract offer to join the company the following season. We took this photo at the studio right after we all got done screaming and crying...

A new Beginning...A Tearful Ending...

This photo was taken of Evelyn when she came to see Melissa perform in Nutcracker in Vegas... The other photo was taken of Melissa in the Canyon..(Thanks Adri...I love the Canyon Photos)
Good Luck Evelyn this Saturday and in your future years of Dancing. You are a beautiful little girl..and I am so proud of you. As for you Melissa, thank you for all of the beautiful memories we have shared together through ballet... I love you!

WIGS & MORE WIGS....

I have been working on a custom photo book for Melissa to represent her Ballet Career and I have found so many wonderful photos. (my book is going to be awesome..so you guys should check out Aaron's website at www.mycustomphotobooks.com and do a photo book for your loved one, your family, or something)... Anyway, I found these photos of some of the wigs Melissa has worn over the past years and thought she looked really awesome in some of them...BRINGING BACK MEMORIES..MAKES ME CRY...

HAPPY & NOT SO HAPPY....

Today Heather and I took Mikayla and Ayana to lunch. It is really hard trying to get these two to decide on the same eating establishment, however, on Tuesdays kids eat free at Lone Star...so that's why Heather and I decided it might be a good choice. You can see that Ayana wasn't thrilled about the choice and Mikayla was. What is funny about this is that Ayana ate all of her meal and loved it and Mikayla ate only one bite of her food. (glad it was free).. ADRIENNE...YOU AND THE GIRLS SHOULD JOIN US NEXT TUESDAY....IT'S CHEAP!

Cooper & Aaron

This past weekend Aaron & Ryan had to go back down to Palm Mortuary for a followup business meeting. Went well! Ryan left the next morning and Aaron stayed and hung out with Melissa, Mitch and Cooper. It sounds like they had a blast. It is so great to see Aaron enjoying himself again. He really enjoyed spending time with Mitch and is looking forward to going down again in a couple of weeks for some relaxation and fun.

A NEW TOY FOR HARLEY BIRD

Today as I was putting on my make up and blow drying my hair, I let Harley sit on the counter in the main bathroom. This bathroom very seldom gets used, except when Melissa is home. I had one of the drawers open on the vanity and Harley happened upon a box of TAMPONS that Melissa had left from her last visit. He proceeded to take one out of the box, open it and enjoyed looking at it and chewing it apart. Who needs expensive bird toys....

I'M A MAMA'S BOY

Zeke is such a gentlemen. We were going out the other day, and Heather and I were busy carrying bags to the car, and he wanted to help. I told him to carry his mom's purse for her. (NOTICE WHAT HIS SHIRT SAYS)

OUT LITTLE SOMEONE NEW...TURNED OUT TO BE TWO...

Last night around midnight, I heard some noise on the back porch. I figured it was either "outdoor kitty" or "bank owned kitty" looking for food. So, I got out of bed and flicked on the porch light and found not only one skunk eating from the food bowl..but TWO...! I quickly yelled for Paul to come and look (because I think they are so beautiful) and he wasn't quite as thrilled as I was. Infact, he was pretty disgusted by the whole thing. It is hard to get a clear photo through the glass, but if you look closely, you can see two tails..