Snow is upon us!

Dorothy just blew in from Kansas.....Candice

The sharpest shooter in the West...Emma

Matching her American Doll as a cheerleader...Lexie

A Fairy Princess .....Bele

Louis is hot on the trail of the bunny sitting at the corner of the fence, he checks for him every morning when we open the curtains....and then looses him as he hops under the deck.

I'm not sure where November went, but it has came and gone! Mid-October I came down with Bell's Palsy and the left side of my face was paralyzed for about a month. Slowly it began to leave, and now I am probably about 90% back. You can't tell to look at me, but I can certainly tell doing simple things like brushing my teeth. Linda Whitaker came and surprized me with a visit about a week after the onset, she kept busy sewing and laughing I forgot I had anything wrong. Little Bele (Andrea's youngest girl) was so funny she didn't know any different so she would imitate me, talking sideways, it was hilarious we couldn't stop laughing which of course a 5 year will perform if you laugh at them!

I left just before Thanksgiving (which by the way I will NEVER fly at that time of year again) to go help my Mom as she was preparing to have a total Hip Replacement. She is now walking with a cane (less than 2 weeks from surgery) and doing great. Thanks for all your prayers.

We are packing for Texas, time to head south we're freezing! Charlie got a new motor for his boat so he's very excited to get in the bays! We're going to stop in Fredericksburg for New Years with Paul and Marilyn. They are helping us work on "our" dancing skills so we're going to a New Years Eve Dance at Turner Hall. Maybe we'll be able to master the "Polka" for Wurstfest 2011!

We really enjoyed this summer and fall and now WINTER..okay maybe not WINTER but we have enjoyed our kids and grandkids. Bele and Samuel have really fit into the family nicely, Bele is the newest Drama Queen, and Samuel has the cutest sense of humor although I'm not sure he knows it's humor yet! LOL Clancy is cross country skiing for school this year, he's such a good distance runner he is doing great, we will miss getting to go to his meets. Emma has really grown up this year and stepped into the big sister shoes, she love her ice skating and doing really well at it. Lexie is loving school and her Barbies. Her imagination is so creative and she loves to draw and color, we are always amazed at how well she can draw, she keeps our refrigerator decorated very nicely with her talent. Candice is the cutest two year old...she has a smile that will make you melt and busy, oh my gosh that girl never stops except when she sleeps. Thankfully she's a good sleeper! She talks non stop (well she has to in this family to try and get a word in edgewise) and keeps us in stitches laughing. Chauncey and Angie are now the sole owners of Pinedale Properties and doing an excellent job. Chauncey has really stepped up to the plate and has a good mature business head. They hosted the annual Christmas Party and Angie went all out as usual, the house was gorgeous, even Lexie told me , "be ready to sit at two BEAUTIFUL tables", and she was right everything was perfect. I think they are known as the Griswalds on their block, drive by and see their outside lights or check them out on Angie's Facebook page they are great! James and Andrea are busier that ever, James is now working primarily as a Ranch Consultant for two major ranches, one here and one in Nevada. His expertise and advise is well sought after and he gets to spend more time with the cows so you can imagine his smile is much bigger now! Andrea, well she stepped back into the past with a 4 and 5 year old that are learning everything all of us learned from 1-5. She says often it's like having a two year old in a 4 or 5 year body, the kids are learning great but there is just so much to learn. She of course wants the very best for them and is preparing Bele for 1st grade and Samuel for Kindergarten next year. She is pretty drained most days still but we all get to see the fruits of her work, and lucisous fruits they are.

My next blogging will be from Texas....so until then.....Happy Trails

Arkansewer's Retreat Photos

The Sweat Shop (formerly known as Linda's Pool House)

Cyd, Margie/AR, Bonnie/TX

The whole crew with the aprons we made, and the bags we made,and the cups with sleeves that Linda and Cyd made for everyone.

Bonnie surrounded by a few of the quilts she donated to the women's shelter in Rogers. This woman is unbelievable!

AlBe, Debbie, Cathy and Bonnie, toasting to a good time!

October

Linda's Voting booth for Green Chili (mine) or Red Chili (Chauncey's)...It was a tie!

Emma as the All American Cowgirl

Bella's as a beautiful Butterfly

Lexie with matching outfits, her and her American Doll are cheerleaders.

"They come in peace".....Grant and Samuel as Buzz Lightyear!

Gosh seriously has it been since July that I updated this blog???? Where has the time went? I can't possibly remember what we did in August and September, I'm barely hanging on to my memory for October!

For sure the biggest event is the two new grandchildren from Ethiopia.....we are loving them and what a perfect fit they are in the family!

Check out Andrea's blog for updates on that... See the link in my page here.

I left September 30th for Arkansas to have some "girl time", with Linda. To say we had FUN is such an understatement. We sewed, ate, laughed, created, shopped and really what else do you need for "girl time?" Oh yea, we had chocolate too! We co-hosted a quilting retreat for friends from Wyoming, Arkansas and Texas. Some drove, some flew and we all congregated for a wonderful time.

I returned back to Pinedale on the 12th of October, rested, smiling and happy. That was Tuesday, and by Friday my whole world changed. I woke up with the left side of my face paralysed ! By the next Monday the neurologist in Idaho Falls confirmed that it was Bell's Palsy. So now 2 1/2 weeks later I've gotten a lot of the feeling back, can't close my eye all the way yet so still have to have it taped shut at night, and continue to have some pain, and paralysis but for the most part I'm about 75% back to what used to be normal. At least people don't say "Oh my gosh, what happened" anymore when they first see me! LOL We had to postpone our California trip though, good food, good wine just didn't go hand in hand with Bell's Palsy. We think we'll try and go next May, should be another beautiful time of the year there.

Wednesday night guess who came to my front door? Linda had driven all the way from Arkansas straight through to come and be my "pal" during rehabilitation. She is leaving tomorrow or Wednesday, no is that a friend or what? I don't know how I would of made it through these last two weeks without her, she has truly been a blessing to me.

I'm planning on going to Arizona and spending Thanksgiving with Mom and Leonard and seeing where I can help out there. We are planning on heading to Texas right after Christmas. We certainly aren't escaping the cold soon enough this year, brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

I can't get all the pictures in this post so will post more pictures on top of this.

July - What a whirlwind!

Gosh July went by so fast I think we missed a good share of it. We started off going to the HR Ranch outside of Wheatland to celebrate Ruth's (Charlie's mom) 80th birthday at the annual family get together. We had Clancy and Emma with us as James and Andrea went to Ethiopia to meet their new kids. We got home from the ranch on the 4th, and Sean (nephew) and his friend Katie came on the 5th! We all enjoyed the rodeos and street fair and doings of Rendezvous all week long. Then they left on the 11th, Andrea and James got home late the night of the 12th...then we left for Coeur D'Alene, Idaho for Weston (nephew) and Brooke's wedding on the 14th! We got home on the 19th, Charlie left on a fishing trip on the 21st, my friends from Texas came on the 22nd...they left on the 30th and Charlie got back on the 1st of August. Does whirlwind explain July???? We had a blast though, and enjoyed every minute of it!

The Roger's are packing up to leave on the 15th of August to go bring our new grandchildren home. The whole family is going this time, we see excitement, fear, anticipation and most of all love in all their eyes. We're all excited on this home front to meet them! Rogers 426 is a reality!!!!!

The Goodrich's are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year, wow how did that happen. Candice is every bit of two year old, and her favorite phrase, is "no me", she wants to do everything herself. Wonder where she got that???? LOL

I'm attaching a picture of Emma's second doll quilt. She is entering it in fair this week. She made this one for Lexie.

Also the baby bluebirds have been so much fun watching the week....

See ya in August!

June Camping Trip

Stopping for lunch, how do you like the bill on that visor? LOL.... We rested well at night with the guard dog on duty! The Saw Tooth Range.....this picture just does not do it justice, it was a breathtaking view.

Wildlife in Wyoming

Nursing MotherHey Mom, wait for me

Stay near the bushes till you get your legs!


Mother Goose

These picture we're taken by Whitaker's son in law, Buck. Was he in the right place at the right time or what????

Charlie's 60th B-day Surprise BBQ

This is the sign Clancy and Emma made and we hung it from the railing....

The hostess , do you think we had enough desserts?????

The food was sooooooooooooooooo good!

SURPRISE!!!!!!



Andrea decided to surprise her Dad with a BBQ with friends and family. Ron and Becky came from Steamboat and Calvin and Kathy came from Riverton, and lots of family and friends. Andrea made 2 brisket (Uncle Dave's recipe) and Chauncey smoked a HUGE pile of ribs. The food was excellent and we all had a good time, and he DIDN'T have a clue till her drove up to James and Andreas.....

Back in Wyoming

We made it back to Wyoming last friday afternoon. So far the weather has been windy, cold and or snowing! Packing to come home and unpacking it all again here, I wonder if it's worth it. But come fall I'm sure we'll be ready to head South again! Time will tell, we're kind of on "hold" until we find out about when our new grandkids will get here. Andrea and James are still awaiting the news, and no one is more anxious than they are to meet their new children. We're all getting pretty excited and God willing, it will be soon!

Emma and Lexie were over the other day and had a little "Cootie" party and showed them off. Both of the girls got their hair cut and it looks so nice on them. Next weekend Emma and Clancy come to stay the night with us while their parents take a break in Park City. James will have completed his first semester of Bible College, and I think they could just use some "me time." That's good with us, we can have the kids to spoil for a couple days....then we'll send them back! LOL

April

This is a female carndinal getting building material, Bonnie and I watched her while sipping coffee on her back patio.

During The Goodrich's visit Candice got tired one night and decided to just lay down on the back patio on top of her "deflated" tube for the water!

Dad celebrated his 78th birthday in Rockport this year! We made him a brisket dinner with all the trimmings.

Captain Charlie

Charlie has been practicing his "Poling" skills for when Chauncey gets here to fish, and Cyd's been practicing her "kayaking" skills in South Bay!

Birding with Bonnie part two

Birding with Bonnie

Bonnie came to visit and we had a WONDERFUL birding experience. She even had a "lifer" with a Black Rail at Aransas Wildlife Refuge. Charlie took us out in the boat and we did our own birding area favorites as well. Lots of pictures, but I couldn't resist putting them up to share!

January/February

This is the Kaleidoscope I made, what a great project...whoops made this in February, gosh what will I post for February now??? This is the FIRST stain glass window I'm doing for the transom windows. The window you can't see to the left will be identical to this one, and the center one we'll create. (Okay probably Helen will do most of the "creating") Charlie got the house all painted on the inside this winter. We're going to do the Master bedroom, bath and the kitchen next winter!

Here are Jim and Gay at the Infamous Big Tree. Be warned if you come visit you are destined to have your picture taken in front of the Big Tree!

Captain Charlie with his new poling platform he built. He's been trying it out this week and they've been succesfull! We're having a fish fry tonight!

We've had a good time this year. I played a lot of Mah Jongg, (notice I said played, not won!) and got to sew quite a bit and Charlie is getting ahead of the "curve" with Gulf Coast fishing! Jim and Gay (Jame's parents) came down to visit for a couple of days and we had a good time "showing" them the area, and we drove a little further south and did a tour of the King Ranch.