Happy Birthday Cheryl!!!

What a joy it is to celebrate Cheryl Dawn's 39th birthday! I hope it is a happy one for her, even though the"9's" mean another decade is fast approaching. I am exactly 20 years older and I get it - #59 for me this year. I ususally say "hi, blondie", when she calls me on the phone, because I have an instant picture of that touseled blonde hair, right from the beginning curl on the top of her head. Cheryl is a loving mother, wife, sister, and daughter, and we are all very proud of her. She manages a very busy household, that features a full activity schedule for Chloe, Hunter, and Bridger. She teaches Seminary every morning and stays on the run all through her hectic days. I marvel at her strength remembering back to her childhood when asthma had such a grip on her that she was in the hospital a good many times. Her life was spared more than once at that time, and now she serves her family and others continually. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for each of my six beautiful daughters, for the blessing they are to me. I hope Cheryl will feel our love for her on her birthday, September 27th and every day. I love her so much!!! Happy birthday sweetie!!! Wish I could be there to share it with you, so eat some cake for me!!

"Jackson" is out of his tree!!!

Jackson climbed up a tree last Thursday evening and has been there ever since, until just a few moments ago. We had tried everything to coax him down, but to no avail. Every time Dad started to get close to him on the end of a very tall ladder, he would simply run up the tree higher. We tried the fire department in Tulelake, and they said they might come, but never did. The power company said they wouldn't have a truck out here all week so that was a no-go. The tree has some rot in it so it is too dangerous to climb, because the large branches just fall off of it sometimes. Dad tried the tree trimmer neighbor down the road but he wasn't home. We were resigned to the fact that the cat would probably die in the tree, but tonight after work Dad finally got ahold of the neighbor ,(Porter) and he came down and was able to get the cat, literally by the scruff of the neck. Jackson ran for his food and water dish, and I stroked him for quite awhile. I think he might have used at least half of his nine lives on this one. My sick stomach of4 days and nights sure feels a lot better tonight. Jackson...you dummy!!!

On the trail again...

This past weekend we were supposed to go to Portland for a Seminary conference, but decided against going at the last moment. We headed for Crater Lake to explore a new trail, but were turned back by a fire that has burned right in to the Park. We were giving up and heading home when we decided to go to the Lava Beds and go on a trail we had not been on before because of the length of it. It is about 3.3 miles to Whitney Butte and back 3.3 more miles. Altogether with little sightseeing detours, about 7 miles. Mt. Shasta was clouded over and so the vistas weren't the best, but the exercise felt great. The trail ends at an amazing lava flow, so we rested, snacked a little, and headed back . The Ranger at Park Headquarters looked really surprised when we told him where we had just hiked. We must look too old or something, haha.

a groovy "do'

I have really got the blues today, so thought I would do a little blog therapy. Alexis left for Rexburg today, and I found myself crying through yoga, which was not induced from the trying poses, but by memories of doing yoga with Lexie. The yogamaster says some things that really crack us up sometimes, and we always have a good laugh about it. She never makes fun of me when I tip over or lose my balance. She is very good at yoga and also cheering me up each day. I cried my way through it, and am trying to get on with the day. She and Dad should be there later tonight, and I can visualize their route and am praying them there. No one ever told me how tough it was when your children leave home, but I am warning my children now, that an empty nest is very overrated. I miss you all!!!
Anyway, just before Alexis left, she got a really rad haircut with all kinds of layers and shaping. I just had to catch her styling her new do. It looks great!!! At first I don't think she was too sure about it because it is really short at the crown, but today as she left, she just combed it after her shower and it was so darn cute! We both think it looks better than when she tried to style it. So bon voyage my sweetie...I hope you have a blast there with all your friends. Maybe tomorrow I will open your bedroom door and look in, but not today.

Best of Show!!!

Alexis and I decided to enter some pictures in the Tulelake Fair this year just for something to do. I haven't entered anything or even gone to the fair in a couple of years, but we thought it would be fun to compete against each other because she entered as an adult instead of a junior like she used to do. The hard drive on the computer crashed a couple of months ago taking all my pictures with it again. So, I only had about a month's worth of pictures to choose from. We had a family reunion this summer, and during that time Cheryl and Melanie took pictures and saved them on cd's and on my computer for me. ( My camera batteries were dead during some of that time too.) There were 3 or 4 of those saved photos that fit the fair entry catagories really well, so I printed them up and entered them along with the 14 that I had taken to enter. I was actually in the 2 photos that Melanie had taken. Well, there were 1,100 entries in the photo section and only 2 "Best of Show" awards for adults, one for advanced pro, (not me), and one for novice, (me). I didn't have a snow-ball's chance...if you get my drift. I used to go to the judging and see what the judge had to say and know what my awards were before the fair even began. I have won 2 Best of Show awards in the past and think that is pretty fun stuff. I was astounded when I walked in the building the first day of fair and there was my name, picture, and ribbon, for Best of Show. I should say Melanie's picture was the big winner!! I had entered it in the "Down on the Farm" category. There I was in the picture with Brynn on the back of my 4-wheeler riding out of the first west pasture with bales of hay in the background. One of the clerks who I know really well came up and asked me who had taken the picture. I replied that Melanie had. I think she was hoping I would say that I had used a timer. I know from reading the rules , there is nothing that says that the one who enters the photo, must have taken the picture. However, as Alexis says, it is probably implied. I mean if not, you could import any picture from the internet or anywhere and use it as your entry. Then my friend asked me if Melanie lives here. Well it is a rule that you must live here to enter things in the fair, but I was the one who had entered it and I live here. So I told her "no" she doesn't. I felt 2 inches tall, with about as much integrity as a snake in the grass. It bothered me all during the fair because I knew that everyone who saw the picture and knows me would know that I probably hadn't taken the photo because I am in it, and that is not a very genuine thing to do. When I went to the fair with Dad on Saturday, the first thing we did was to go look at the display of "my" photo. It was gone from the Best of Show wall. I almost died! The ribbon was there, but my photo and my name were gone. I thought they must have disqualified me and I died a million deaths of humiliation. I found the clerk who was walking toward me and she had the photo in her hand. She said it had fallen off the wall, and she had replaced the hanger and was hanging it back up. Oh death, where is thy sting? I have always tried to be very honest and have won some great awards that have been really fun to win, but I tell you that I cannot wait to package up the photo and ribbons and send them to Mel, and wash the blood from my hands. No, I didn't technically break the rules, (although I bet they modify them next year because of me), but there was not much joy in this one, just a red face. I hadn't felt any guilt when I entered it; it wasn't a deliberate act to deceive or cheat. There was no joy in winning it however, when the baptist minister's wife pointed out to the former branch president's wife through her questioning that it probably wasn't right. So now I have repented right here on my blog for all my posterity. Grandma does some dumb stuff, and please don't enter someone else's photo. It's on the way Mel - you did a great job! Love you!!!

P.S. Mel, your other photo ( Cheryl and I sticking out our tongues at you, "the odd couple") got a first blue ribbon and was also in contention for a Best of Show. Cheryl, one of yours, (Chloe @ the Malin pool, "whoops"), got a first blue and was in contention for Best of Show, and the other (Bridger eating the rice krispy treat), got a second. There were hundreds of entries so to even place and then do so well is incredible! Great job girls but the fun is over. I have repented and can't look back.

The Tulelake Fair!!!

I went to the fair with Tonia and her kids, Max, Derek, Chelsea, Mark, and Danielle. The kids went on the rides all afternoon , ate fair food (indian tacos-yum), and went to a booth to find out if they were going to heaven. As their Grandma, I can assure you that they are going to heaven, because all my grandchildren are angels. Max "graduated" from the "little kid rides" to the "big kid rides", which pleased him immensely. He didn't get scared once, but he did throw up once. He recovered quickly and we all enjoyed the afternoon very much. Fun times!!!