Spring Break in Seattle

March was an exciting month for us here in Seattle.  We had Amy, Justin, Bryton, Whitney, Austin, Wendy, Olivia, Ethan, and Tyler here for Spring break and for my birthday.  We had a great time and it was fun for me to have people here to play with!  We went to some pretty fun places.  I have posted a few of my favorite pictues of the event.

Who are these monkeys?

 

Let me out!!!!!

And then....at the end of spring break we had the great news that the newest Bird grandchild, Janie Amorett Bird was born on March 28, 2009.  I don't have any pictures yet...but just wait until I get back in a couple of weeks.  I will have plenty to share!  We welcome her to our Bird family with open arms!

road trip

Last weekend we decided to go to Island Park to visit my brother Ron and his wife Francis.  We invited Melanie to come and join us, so she did.  We met up in Pocatello on Friday night and went to Idaho Falls, where we stayed at the motel.  Saturday morning we awoke to snow!  We were excited as we were looking for good snow to ride the snowmobiles on!  We drove to Ron's house where we all went for a fun ride on Friday.  It was fun to be there in their new cabin, and spend time with them.   On Saturday Ron, two of his friends, Rick and Bob; Larry, and Melanie, all went on an all day ride.  They had a great time putting over 80 miles on their machines. While they were gone, Francis and I had a great day with her teaching me all kinds of fun things in card making and scapbooking.  All in all, it was a very fun weekend for me.  I loved having Mel there, and I think she enjoyed it as well.  I also enjoyed spending time with Ron and Francis.   They were very hospitable and very fun to be with.  I hope you enjoy the pictures of our fun weekend in beautiful Island Park!  Thank you Ron and Francis!

Way to go Ethan!

On January 31, our 5th grandchild, Ethan, was baptized.  I was so happy for him, and he definately was happy!  When he came out of the water, he had the biggest grin on his face.  He just couldn't stop smiling!  I loved being there and seeing the joy that came to him.  It was fun for him to share this great experience with both sets of grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins.  What a lucky boy!

Where Is It?

Then came the search for the "perfect tree".  First Larry went on the snowmobile, discovering the candidates available.  Then Melanie and I went with him to view the candidates.  He showed us several; tall ones, mediums sized ones, three sides great, two sides great, and then the final one...the "perfect tree"!  Right on our very own property.  He wasn't sure he wanted to cut it down, but it really was perfect, so he did.  As you can see from the video, we had fun finding, cutting, delivering, and setting it up!  

Advance team adventures

What is it?

When Mel, Dad and I arrived in Donnelly the week before Christmas, we had an unwelcomed guest living in the cabin.  As you can imagine, it almost caused a melt down...for all involved!

When we entered the cabin, we found garbage tipped over, flowers eaten off of a flower arrangement left on the table, the rubber chewed up in the sink from the garbage disposal, lots of "tracks", and a general mess.   From the evidence there we decided it definately was larger than a mouse, but we didn't know what exactly we were dealing with.  I called the pest control place and they told me they didn't deal with anything large than a mouse.  I knew it was larger than that. They gave me the phone number to a man who takes care of animals who intrude but he lives in Boise and told me it would be several hundred dollars for him to come up in the raging snow storm then in full swing.  So, we decided we were on our own.  Dad went outside to blow snow, so Mel and I started exploring; trying to find out where the "beast" was. We found signs of him upstairs on the loft...parts of the carpet dug down flat.  We found signs of him all over the kitchen, and in the appliance closet where I had some chocolate popcorn in pop-top tupperware.  He had spilled it all over.  We then ventured up the stairs to the kids toy room and as soon as we entered, we both heard a rustling sound...we knew we had found him.  We quickly shut the door and ran down the stairs.  Fortunatly Nate, one of the carpenters working on the siding on the pool house, happend along and we convinced him to go on a "snipe hunt" for the unfortunate intruder.  Mel, Nate, and Dad ventured up the stairs and shut the door.  All I could hear was thumping and bumping.  I was nervous!  After some time, they came down the stairs; Nate carrying a clear plastic box...inside was the biggest, furriest, ugliest thing I have ever seen!  What would you call this thing?  I call it CREEPY!!!  and it was living in my house!  How dare he!!!!

Can I just say that I am glad Mel was there with me!  We donned rubber gloves, mixed up bleach water, and went to work. We now have the cleanest toy room in the history of the world!  Mel is wondering how she became part of the "advance team."  It's somebody elses turn next time!

it's warm in Texas!

I am finally blogging my trip to Texas!  Sorry I have been so slow!  Part of the problem was being in Donnelly where uploading any kind of video or even pictures is painfully slow.  But now that I am in Seattle for a few days,  here I go!  

Being in Texas with Jeff, Brenna, Jackson and James was so fun for me!  Some of the highlights were being there for the ultra sound to find out they are having a girl, playing with Jackson and James and hearing Jackson sing, sing, sing!, going hiking on the windy rock hill, attending a football game in an amazing stadium!  We had great seats, as you will see from the pictures I took, If I lived in Austin, I would definitely want season tickets for all of the UT games!, going christmas shopping, making wonderful candy, (I wish Brenna would come and make it with me again), playing tee-ball and watching football Jeff and Jackson style, going to the park with the train, and being there for Jackson's birthday!  Now that was fun.  He had a little trouble getting the candles blown out, but he finally won.  It reminded me of the good ole days with Mel!

Jackson and James with their rendition of Head, Shoulders, Knees and toes.  It's great!

 

Texas....Fight!!!

Thank you Jeff and Brenna for letting me come be a part of your family!  It was so fun!  I am the luckiest grandma in the world!

travel time!

This has been such a fun two weeks for me!  I started off at Holly and Aaron's the day before Halloween and it was so fun being there!  I loved spending time with her cute family.  I loved spending time with Holly Christmas shopping, going trick or treating with Lucy and Grace, birthday shopping with Lucy, going to the gym with Holly and her friend Jill every morning at 5:30 a.m., finding and making new yummy recipes, going to the school for lunch,watching Noah and Grace swim, going on a field trip with Lucy and her pre-school, going to High School Musical three, and all of the other fun things that I got to participate in by just being there!  Here are a few pictures of our time together.  I have a new video camera...It opens up a whole new world!

.

Isn't she just the star?

        

I loved watching Noah and Grace practice with their swim teams!  They really are good swimmers!

Halloween day

I feel so blessed to be able to visit my kids and their families.  They are always so gracious and willing to let me come!  Thanks Holly and Aaron!

I love you and your family!

update

Happy Birthday in October to Olivia, Lucy and Austin! Liv's birthday was on the 1st of October. She turned 10! Two whole hands old! Lucy's birthday is also on the 1st. She is 4 and I can't wait to go and see her. We will go birthday shopping! That will be fun! Austin turned 7 on the 26th of October. Can you believe how old they are getting?


Olivia and I had a fabulous time birthday shopping. She wanted things to decorate her room and bed. How do you think we did?

great mirror, don't you think?

Liv is a great shopping partner. I can' wait to go with her again!

austin and I also went shopping and it was great. It was a totally different experience with him than with Liv, but one just as satisfying! After shopping and lunch, Amy put on an amazing party with 20 of Austin's closest friends.

As you can see, it was quite the group!

everyone was singing Happy Birthday so loud, Austin had to cover his ears!

I love being a grandma! It is so fun to take the kids birthday shopping. Having them one on one is a treat for me.

And now I am off to Omaha to visit Holly, Aaron, Noah, Grace, Lucy, and Jacob for a week. Then to Austin to spend a week with Jeff, Brenna, Jackson, and James.

Watch for my travel journal. I will let you know where I am and what we are doing!

I think Mel wants me to blog!

It has been such  long time since I have added anything to my blog!  I think Mel is trying to encourage me since she tagged me.  This one is a thinker.

8 favorite TV shows

24

Prison Break

Fox News

Turner Classic Movies

Western channel movies

and that's all I know about that.

8 favorite restaurants 

Arid Club

Columbia Tower

Olive Garden

California Pizza Kitchen

Chapala

Quiznos

Mr. Bird's Kitchen (rack of lamb)

Cold Stone

8 things on my wish list

to have my party house done

have it be 4th of July week again

all my children and grandchildren lived in Boise or Donnelly/McCall

my husband would retire in Donnelly

my hand would never go to sleep

my parents were still here.  

I could eat anything and never gain weight

I had a convertible  

8 things I look forward to

5 feet of snow in my yard

Mel coming to see me for both Thanksgiving and Christmas

sitting in the hot tub in the middle of a snow storm

seeing the Ogdens and Bird's (Jeff) in a week or so

going to the temple anytime!

taking my grandchildren birthday shopping

Friday nights because that's when Dad comes to spend the weekend

french toast on Sunday mornings

eating breakfast while studying my scriptures

8 things that happened today

I worked out ( upper body)

cleaned bathrooms

mopped all the wood floors

did laundry

talked to Mel and Amy on the phone

went to the post office

found a cow and calf in the yard

packed to go to Seattle

I tag:

Grace

Noah

Ethan (with Mom's help)

Ty (with Mom's help)

Brenna

Jeff

Thanks Mel for helping me get back to my blogging.  I will try and do better!

it was over WAY to soon!

Having my family at the cabin all together is one of my favorite things!  Thanks to all of you for putting up with cramped sleeping conditions, the flu bug, and sleep deprivation.  I hope it was as fun for all of you as it was for me!  Since I gave a copy of all my pictures to all of the family, and since the cabin internet is so slow and hard to up-load pictures with, I will just tell you all to visit each other's blogs and see all of the amazing pictures of our great time together.  Thank you for sharing your pictures with me!

I loved Wendy's top 10 things she loved about being at the cabin all together.  I decided I would add the grandma's perspective with my personal top 10 in no particular order.  I also had to add a few extra...because I can!

#10   Noah's baptism.  Way to go Noah!

# 9    Hearing about the frogs and fish (and seeing them) from Austin and Ty

# 8   Jake kisses and James hugs.  what cute boys!

# 7   Watching Lucy dance

# 6   Seeing Stuart lead the jogging group in the mornings with his sun glasses, hat backwards,

         and medal on; with Jackson close behind

# 5   Watching Grace swim.  She is amazing.  I can see why she loves swim team!

# 4   Seeing what Bryton and Ethan can do with a pile of legos!  Amazing!

# 3   Listening to Whitney play the piano while Liv played the violin.  They are good!

# 2   Sara's smile.  It can and does melt my heart

# 1   Having Mason just see me...and run to me...he gives great hugs, arms tucked and           everything!

I also loved the soccer game.  It has to be my favorite sport to watch...especially when it's my kids and grandkids playing!

The high jump was great, as were all of the events in the Bird Olympics.  The ball toss with the left arm was quite entertaining as well as the double dutch jump roping!

And then there was the parade.  Well, with Mel on music, and all of the kids with grandpa on floats, and with Great-grandpa as the grand marshall...what more needs to be said?

It is fun to have a swimming pool again.  I heard more than once how great the pool is because you don't have to apply sun-tan lotion or bug spray!   And just wait until it's cold and snowy! We are really going to love it then!

I am already counting the days until we can have another party!  Come any time!

I love having company!

As you can see, Bryton, Whitney, Austin, Olivia, Ethan, and Tyler enjoyed Spring at the cabin.  It was So much fun!

I was tagged by Austin

 
The Rules are....1. answers the questions.2. Each Player tags 5 other people and posts them, then goes to their blog and posts them a comment to let them know they've been tagged and asks them to read your blog to find out the details.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?  living in Boise on Canonero, going to girl's camp, and enjoying my three grandchildren; Bryton, Whitney, and Olivia.

2.  5 things on my list to do today.  Go to Radio Shack and exchange my phone because it doesn't work, make lots of phone calls for the construction project, work out, change my sheets,up-date my blog

3.  If I were a billionaire I would: make sure all of my kids and gandkids had everything they needed, finish my construction project, travel, find the best way to help those in need, and help them!

4.  3 bad habits:  staying in bed for a  while after I wake up.  I just can't make myself get out of bed!  always wanting to have chocolate,  forgetting to put a plate under the syrup pitcher.  Grandpa hates that!

5.  5 places I have lived: Milo, Idaho; Pocatello, Boise, Seattle, and Donnelly

6.  5 jobs I have had: secretary for a professor at Ricks College, lunch lady at an elementary school (That didn't last long!), A mom, a grandma, and a construction manager

Thanks Austin for tagging me!  That was fun to do.  I tag Grace, Bryton, Wendy, Brenna, and Emily

1. what i was doing 5 years ago... the question really is 10 years ago... 

1. what i was doing 5 years ago... the question really is 10 years ago... 

a great visit from Melanie to Seattle!

I loved having Melanie and Michelle come to Seattle to play!  We had a great time shopping, exploring, being girls at the spa, watching movies, and eating way too much!  Isn't that what makes a great vacation?  Thanks Mel for sharing part of your vacation time with me!

 

  

As you can see, we had a great time getting "pretty".  

And then to makes things even better, Amy and Whitney came for an overnight visit. Thanks to Whitney and Mel I bought the cutest summer purse, and Whitney FINALLY got to go birthday shopping. (only a month late)  I think it was worth the wait!  It was a busy and fun 10 days for me before heading back to the project and melting snow.  I loved it!

happy mothers day!

Here is to all of the amazing women I know that are awesome mothers!  

Here is to Amy, Wendy, Holly, Brenna, and Emily...the mothers of our grandchildren.  I can't tell you how much I appreciate you for being so caring, patient, kind, protective, and loving.  You continually amaze me with your insights and your ability to teach these beautiful children.  I love being their grandmother...and I love watching you be their mothers.  Happy Mother's Day to you all! 

There are other women I would like to also mention on this Mother's Day.  Of course, my own mother, who I love and miss, Grandma Bird, who has taught me so many things, and Great Grandma Bird, who was the only grandmother I have known.  I also have many friends who have been my heros, who have inspired me to be a better wife and mother.   I am grateful for all of these women in my life.

I hope you are all well and happy...and that you have a wonderful Mother's Day!

a great soccer day!

                                         

A couple of weeks ago, I spent an entire Saturday watching my grandkids play soccer!  As you can imagine, it was one great day!  I actually saw all 6 of them play at least half a game.  The weather was a bit challenging, but that's soccer!  

Being at the Ogdens

March 30, 2008

On March 27th, 2:00 a.m. (yes I said a.m.), Dad and I arrived in Omaha, Nebraska to spend time with Holly and Aaron and the kids, and to be a part of the blessing of little Jake Larry.   It was fun to be with them for my birthday.   The kids were so cute!  Then the next evening, great grandma and Grandpa Bird came, completing our "traveling blessing group".  Holly and I had fun shopping for a blessing outfit for Jake, and Dad had fun playing with the kids while we were gone.  He and Lucy walked to the bus stop and met the kids.  He took some really fun pictures...Isn't that a great action shot of Noah?  Way to go Grandpa!

We so appreciate our kids and their willingness to let us be a part of their lives.  It is amazing to watch each of you with your children!  We love being grandparents!

march madness!

I am so far behind!  It was a busy and fun March.  Fun for me because I spent time with kids and grandkids.  You know how I love that!  I have so many pictures, but I will share just a few. 

March 22, 2008

What an absolutely beautiful day! What a great beginning to Spring Break! What a fun Easter weekend! Brian, Emily, Stuart, Sarah, Mason, Olivia, Ethan, Ty, Grandpa and Grandma spent all day Saturday on our mountain at Tamarack. You have never seen a more beautiful day! blue sky, no wind, great snow! just perfect.  Wendy and Gary had to take care of their Easter breakfast at their ward, so they came up later in the day.  They missed the whole event!

Sarah is SO brave!  she went up and down the mountain with her dad!  She did great on the chairlift!  Mason loved riding down the mountain on his Dad's shoulders.  He just wanted to ski!

  As you can see, Stuart loved the chair lift.   He did so well!  He went up and down, up and down!   He looks like a real ski bum!  It was so fun!

           

And those Moyes kids were amazing!  Look at Ethan on the jump!  Bryton went on the jumps the day he was here, but the weather was so bad I didn't get any pictures.  He is going to have to come again next winter and do it again for the camera!  Ty loved the chairlift.  Grandpa helped him down the mountain.  And that Liv....what a ski babe!

March 23, 2008

We have never had kids at the cabin on Easter Sunday!  It was so fun.  I love the slideshows Brenna does, so I decided to try it!  I hope you enjoy it

tagged

This really is a fun tag.  I have enjoyed everybody who has been tagged so far!  So, the book I grabbed is "Those Who Love"  It is the story of John and Abigail Adams, given to me for Christmas by Jeff and Brenna.  It is now one of my favorite books!  

Page 123; 5th sentence reads:

"The Council arrested no Bostonian no matter what he did, having been warned after the arrest of Ebenezer Mackintosh that the Boston militia would not protect their beautiful Custom House should it be attacked".

This book has so much history in it.  If  you want to know how this amazing country became a democratic society, and learn about two amazing people, you should read it!

Olivia!  I tag you!

are we crazy?

this picture looks like Amy, Whitney and Bryton are stranded in some blizzard; cold and mniserable. It it weren't for the warm clothes, they could be pioneers! If you look carefully, you can tell they actually do have on skiis. So much powder! such brave souls!

Last weekend we had such fun with Amy, Bryton, Whitney, and Austin. They came with the specific intent of skiing at Tamarack. We woke up on Saturday morning to a blizzard. It was coming down SO hard! Austin looked outside and said, "looks like a good day to go skiing." I didn't have the heart to tell him it was a terrible day to go skiing! Even though the weather wasn't great, they were not to be deterred. So we loaded everybody up and headed to the ski hill. When we got there it was snowing even harder, if that was possible! We rented their skiis, bought them goggles and face masks, and off we went to the magic carpet. There was about 4" of powder; making it very hard to slide down the hill. So Grandpa put on his skiis and made a track for the kids. Because it was so slow going, they learned great control! After a few runs, Bryton and Whitney graduated to the Discovery Chair Lift. Grandpa took them up, and they were hooked. I decided if they could love skiing in those kinds of conditions, they really were going to skiiers! Austin did great coming down, the stopping is still a problem, however. Grandpa says that as soon as he learns to stop, he too can go on the chair lift. I didn't take very many pictures due to the incliment weather, and the fact that my battery died, but what I did take tells the whole story, weather wise.

They are awesome kids. They will still tell you they had a great time. I didn't hear one of them complain about the miserable weather. such troopers! They are bound to be ski bums!

tagged!

Since Wendy and Mel have both "tagged" me, I guess I should respond. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do, but Mel informed me that I should share 6 things about myself that you may or may not know. I think you all know all about me, so there probably won't be any secrets!


1. For me, meeting your father has been the greatest blessing in my life. He has been my support, my lifeline, and my best friend for most of my life! He always insists I can do whatever I truly want to do...what a great support! I love spending time with him whatever we do! I am glad he loves me and I look forward to living eternally with him.

2. I love babies! I have always loved babies and I believe I always will. They are such a miracle and they inspire me so much. It is amazing to me how perfect they are and yet so tiny. They know how to sneeze, cough, cry, eat; all the critical things it takes to live. I just love babies!

3. I would love to travel world-wide. To see and experience all there is to see! Of course, I don't want to go anywhere dangerous, but I wish it was all safe so I could see it all! I loved visiting China and Japan. What an amazing adventure to see those countries. I loved visiting South America as well, expecially with my two spanish speaking missionary sons! And being in New England with Mel was so fun! Melanie and I have been travel companions more than once...we need to do that again! I do love to travel!

4. As you all know, I love building projects. It is so fun for me to design on paper, and then watch it come into reality. I have especially loved this current project because it is such a fun one! I can't wait to have all of my children and grandchildren there to play!

5. One of my favorite things is when my grandchildren come running into the house shouting "Grandma"! Then it is usally followed by a great big hug. Now they are getting old enough that they have things to share with me...they tell me about what they have been doing or bring me pictures they have made for me. Sometimes we even email each other or IM. Being a grandma is a great blessing! I have the cutest grandchildren in the world!

6. Since I am now retired, I have developed many hobbies to occupy my time. I have always loved quilting and still do. I have always enjoyed cooking and now I have time to experiment with different recipes and find ways to make food look and taste the best it can! I really do love scrapbooking, along with taking pictures, printing them, and making books for my children and grandchildren to enjoy. I also enjoy playing the piano. And now that I have more time for such things, I love practicing and getting better at it! Ty told me he thought I would love to be able to play every song there was, without having to practice. I think he might be right! I guess you could also call my building project a hobby. I have learned so much about the building process and I do enjoy working with contractors and with our current project manager. I love riding behind Larry on a snowmobile! It is like being on a thrill ride at Disney World! Is that a hobby?

My favorite hobby, however, is my grandchildren. Just being with them makes me smile!


Emily and Brenna...you're it!