Thanksgiving!

It's been a wonderful Thanksgiving week!  I will have to admit that this illustrates one of the very wonderful things about the week!

  

I love my seminary kids and I love teaching them but I don't love the 4:45 a.m. alarm!

Matt and Scott also came over to visit us again.  I always enjoy having them here.  We had Thanksgiving dinner at a nice restaurant.  But to prove that I'm not a total lazy slug I did make two pies!  

 

Our Thanksgiving dinner was delicious and the 'pumpkin cheesecake' was very good but it just didn't seem like Thanksgiving without a traditional pumpkin pie!  And yes, we do know the proper way to eat pumpkin pie!

 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of family and fun and lots of whipped cream to go with that pumpkin pie. 

A Cultural Weekend

Last weekend we enjoyed three nights of culture!  Started with Lake Oswego High School's fall production of "The Addams Family"

 

Predictably quirky and lots of fun!  Two of my 'seminary boys' were in this show.  I just loved seeing their musical side as they sang and danced on stage! 

Friday night we treated ourselves to "Riverdance" for the 2nd time.

 

So many talented singers and dancers and musicians!  And the amount of energy is phenomenal!  I mentioned to George that we should take up Irish dancing!  Goodbye weight problems!

Saturday night we had the pleasure of attending our Stake's production of "Fiddler on the Roof".  

 

Every other year for the last 26 years Lake Oswego Stake has entertained the community with a great musical.  That is 13 productions, all directed by the same volunteer woman.  How she manages to pull this off in just 10 weeks is beyond me! There is a huge cast of men, women, teenagers and children, some with little or no stage experience. The sets, costumes, orchestra, singing and dancing are close to professional level. I am in awe.

Three of my seminary kids were in this production.  And since this is the only one of the three shows that allowed photography, I couldn't resist.  

Olivia is the dancer in the red head scarf.  She was so fun to watch on stage. She lights up our seminary class each morning with her joy for life!  I felt the same joy watching her on stage!

Jackson was one of the bottle dancers.  He's the one in the dark brown shirt. Loved seeing him dancing and singing!

 

Not a single bottle fell!  Jackson says that it is easier than it looks! It would have to be, as it looks virtually impossible.

Christian was the tailor,  Motel Kamzoil. If you remember the story, he gets to sing the great song "Miracles" and he marries one of Tevye's daughters while the parents and townspeople sing "Sunrise, Sunset"!

Only problem with all these musicals in one weekend.....I may need to buy this t-shirt!

 

 

Feeling the Love

In our church when talking about our responsibilities to others, we often use the phrase, "to mourn with those that mourn and comfort those who stand in need of comfort".  This is a lovely concept but today I experienced the flip side of this sentiment as a group of my friends 'rejoiced with one who was rejoicing' as they gave me a 'Grandma shower'.  I was completely surprised and totally thrilled.  I definitely felt the love.

Take a look at these thoughtful gifts....

Collage picture frame because 'one picture is not enough', a Grandma's brag book, and a clever photo holder for popping in some snapshots!

This is my 'book club' group so there were lots of books.  I can hardly wait to read them to little Isabella!  Such fun interactive books!  She and I will have such a great time snuggled in a rocking chair as I pass on my love of reading to her! 

Knowing how I love dogs, they gave me a doggie puzzle, stuffed dog with both a super soft side and a silky side and another great book with dog photos!

Some 'fruit snacks' for hiding in Grandma's purse! What little one doesn't like fruit snacks??

An all natural teether and really great 'rinse and roll' bib!

And of course some adorable little girl clothes...an outfit, fanciful socks, the sweetest pink hat and some stylish boots! She is going to be a little fashionista!!!

They even found 'new grandma' cards!

I am so blessed to call these wonderful ladies my friends!  They are fun to be around, very intelligent and well spoken, beautiful, talented, clever.... and full of love for everyone.  Today I got to experience some of that love.  My 'Grandma Shower' just made my day!

Maui Is My Happy Place

When I go to the dentist or have blood drawn, in my mind I go to my 'happy place' and for me that is Maui!

I love that George found this shirt for me!  He helps make any place happy!

I'm already looking forward to our next Maui adventure! Definitely my happy place!!!

Geo Versus the Volcano

Hiking on Haleakale is always an adventure!  It is like going from Hawaii to Alaska in a few hours! We went for a little hike and then enjoyed our lunch while watching the clouds roll into the crater.

Sometimes the views looked as if we were in an airplane! Puffy white clouds below us!

When we lived in Colorado people would say, "If you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes."  That same expression holds true on Haleakala!

At one point I could see rainbows in the clouds below me!  This picture doesn't do justice to the beauty but you can see the rainbow if you look hard enough.

Maui is a magical place!

Luau

We've only been to one luau and since that was 25 years ago, we decided as a part of our 40th anniversary celebration that we'd go to the "Feast at Lele"!  And feast it was!  Almost like having 4 complete dinners as we ate our way from Hawaii to New Zealand and on to Tahiti and Samoa.  And THEN they brought dessert!  We were stuffed but very happy!

The dances were top rate....and also took us on a trip across the South Pacific with authentic dances from each island. A wonderful night and a great way to keep celebrating our 40th anniversary!

Captain Steve's All Day Snorkel Trip

I have lost count of how many times we've gone whale watching with Captain Steve's Rafting!  Since we were not on Maui during whale season we decided to go on his Deluxe Dolphin Lana'i Snorkel Adventure and we weren't disappointed!

The snorkeling was wonderful!

 Beautiful coral and lots of colorful fish!

But the highlight of the day was the dolphin show! The natural dolphin show!

Yep, they get this close to the boat!  And they do tricks....all on their own!

There is a reason they are called 'spinner dolphins'! This particular dolphin just kept jumping and spinning and coming down hard on his back.  I asked why he would do this and was told that he probably had some sort of fish attached to his back that he was working hard to get off!  I'm sorry he was being irritated but it did make a boat load of tourists very happy!

This is the largest pod in the Hawaiian islands, around 400 dolphins today swimming in two different groups!

Captain Steve surprised us and we actually got to swim with them.  Hawaiian law prohibits people from getting in the water when the dolphins are all around your boat BUT there is no law in going about 1/2 a mile ahead of them, dropping anchor and waiting until they get close.  Then we got to slip quietly into the water and swim into their path.  I got about 10 yards from them and just watched in awe as they swam past.  The really amazing thing is that when I put on my snorkel and looked under the water, I realized that there are twice as many under the water as above the water.  And we could hear them communicating with each other.  Remember the old TV show 'Flipper'?  Well they sound like Flipper, a high pitched squeaking sound plus you hear them all take breaths when they are above the water.  Definitely a highlight of our trip and of our anniversary!

You're Still the One

October 29, 1975 - Provo, Utah

October 29, 2015 - Lahaina, Hawaii

We've been together since way back when

Sometimes I never want to see you again

But I want you to know, after all these years

You're still the one I want whisperin' in my ear

You're still the one -- I want to talk to in bed

Still the one--that turns my head

We're still having fun, and you're still the one

I looked at your face every day

But I never saw it 'til I went away

When winter came, I just wanted to go

Deep in the desert, I longed for the snow.

You're still the one --that makes me laugh

Still the one -- that's my better half

We're still having fun, and you're still the one

You're still the one -- that makes me strong

Still the one -- I want to take along

We're still having fun, and you're still the one.

Changing, our love is going gold

Even though we grow old, it grows new

You're still the one -- that I love to touch

Still the one -- I can't get enough

We're still having fun, and you're still the one.

You're still the one -- who can scratch my itch

Still the one -- I wouldn't switch

We're still having fun, and you're still the one

You are still the one that makes me shout

Still the one -- that I dream about

We're still having fun, and you're still the one

Isabela Mikayla

Our little Isabella Mikayla is a beautiful baby!  I know, I know every grandmother thinks that! And every grandmother is correct!  

Thank goodness for FaceTime and Messenger so that I get lots of pictures of this little angel!

I am thoroughly enjoying watching Johnny and Monica learn to be parents.  Isn't it amazing that one little 7 pound bundle can bring so much joy and be the recipient of so much love!

This picture just makes my heart sing!

John made her a costume for her first Halloween!  I don't think she was too excited!

Babies in Argentina get a national identity card.  I can hardly wait for her to also have her US passport which will mean she is ready to come here and get smothered with kisses from Grammy!

She may look like this....