Flower Angel

I have never been really good at keeping plants alive. When the kids were all at home and here to help out there were years that we had some pretty nice looking flowers in our yard. In fact one year the weather was very agreeable with my type of gardening and the flowers were just beautiful. I'm afraid to say that was the only time that happened, but throughout the years I continued to try. A couple of favorites I had were the hanging fuchsias, potted geraniums on the porch and petunias planted around the front porch. As time passed JJ has continued to get me a hanging fuchsia for Mother's Day. Up until the last two years Caroline always gone with me to find the flowers and help me plant them. One of our favorite activities and one that we miss doing together. The past two years I have been more occupied with working at Leta's Top Shop and Relief Society (women's organization at church), so when JJ brought me my hanging fuchsia I sighed. Don't get me wrong I loved it, but I knew that it would quickly die for I just didn't feel I had the energy that it would take in caring for it. To make a fuchsia really flourish it takes time every day with watering, feeding, pruning and talking to it, I really baby them when I can and they flourish with the babying. But this year I just didn't see where I would have the time and there would be a quick death. Yet, death did not come to it. It didn't flourish and become a thick beautiful plant, but it was living and growing and flowering. How could this be happening? Then one evening I saw my Flower Angel. She came quietly across the yard with her bowl of water and poured it over the fuchsia. It was my next door neighbor Jean. I was so surprised and yet I should not have been. I have seen her many times through out the years working in neighbors yards. When I was talking to the girls about Jean and her flowers they also told me that when they were very young and we had first moved to Washington 22 years ago the first several years Jean would always give them crocus bulbs to plant in our flowering area around the front porch. I always wondered how they appeared there. Then the other night I came home from a very long day left house early that morning for work, was gone that evening making Relief Society visits and came home at 9:30 to 10 that evening and there as I was passing my little rose bush area it was all cleaned out. I knew immediately that my Flower Angel had been at work again. My heart lifted and I smiled. What a blessing this Flower Angel has been to me through out the years. Thank you Jean for helping me keep my house beautiful with flowers.

Eating Corn On The Cob

Who ever knew that eating corn on the cob could be so hard.

It's Birthday Time

Birthday's are always fun for our family. We talk, play, eat, laugh and have lots of fun together. Our Aug/Sept birthdays are for Care, Di and Tan the Man. Labor Day cook out is the yearly event but Caroline was in from Utah. How could we not celebrate early with her being here.

You can't see really but our cake of choice is Dairy queen ice cream cakes.Care is enjoying a visit with JJ and wormboy.

Lights are always to bright for the camera when it is pointed in their direction, but Donald and Kenressa, especially Donald can always be caught in the kitchen helping with preparations of some kind of food.

When it comes to Cora Beth I never know if she is going to willingly have a picture made or turn her face into hiding. Mom Di is usually the shield in her defense.

And the all time favorite is eating.

Wisdom Teeth

Caroline came to help Suzanne recover when from having her wisdom teeth pulled. She, Care, also wanted to be able to go in and observethe extraction, she works as a dental assistant in Utah, but the Dentist office here has a policy that only staff could be back during the extraction. She and I waited in the waiting room together and then took her home. Care took her up and got her in bed and all settled in. She stayed there most all weekend and then on Monday finally made it down stairs. Thanks Care Bear for coming and taking care of your sister.

Festival of the River

Diane, Scott and family have come over for Scott to have a check up with his doctor at Swedish Hospital. Whitney, a friend of the family, has come over with them and we meaning the family with out Diane and Scott are going to go play at the Festival of the River. It is the Indian Stilligau

mish Tribes pow-wow and tribute to the rivers here. I went to one several years ago when it first started and we decided that it would be a fun thing to do again. We started out with watching a dance that was a benefit for a family who had lost a family member.

We were enjoying all the different colors in there native wear, especially the use of feathers.

This is a good picture of the different designs in the women's dress.

From there it was over to the the lumber jack show. Wormboy is usually a very sociable little guy but he was not sure about going up and talking to the lumberjack. Suz was the good aunt and went up to give him the support he needed.

Wormboy just could not bring himself to talk with him and started to cry. Cobster stepped up in place of wormboy to talk with the lumberjack.

After a little discussion about what he would be making for cobster such as a cat or a rabbit we came out with a chair. The silly little chair sits in my living room.

This year has been an unusually warm/hot summer for Washington. We felt we were going to melt away. We needed a little refreshment and snow cones were right in order for cooling off.

By the time we ended the afternoon we were all very worn out from the heat and ready to relax at home.

Coster's Seattle Birthday part 3 Space Needle

At the Space Needle there was a crowd and we had a good line to wait through. It began to get hot but this was not going to detour Cobster he was ready to get to the to of this. He and Tan the Man had no problems walking around and were feeling very comfortable with the height of things. Where Corky, Grandma Tempie and Nana just as soon stay as close to the interior as we could. The fog did burn off but it wasn't as clear as I would have liked to seen it. When i took the two pictures I could see Mt. Rainier in the back ground but in the picture the haze seems to have eaten it up. We left Seattle in time to mingle with the rush hour making the drive home a little longer that usually. The kids just leaned back and enjoyed the ride several fell asleep. Cobster thinks he had a pretty nice birthday present but wanted to know where the gift was to unwrap. Next time I'll wrap the tickets.

Cobster's Birthday in Seattle -part 2 Science Center

After pictures we picked up Grandma Tempie and headed for Seattle. The first stop had to be the Science Center for Seattle was under a layer of fog and would burning off by the afternoon.

We visited the dinosaur exhibit and were able to stand, lay or sit in the footprints.

Cobster trying the dinosaur growl.

We played a little chess.

Then off to see the insects. That morning Corky saw a spider waltzing (more like scurrying)across the floor. She promptly went into hysteria over the thing until I killed it. Then she ran into a fly and again the hysteria. My what is wrong with this girl? Simple everyday insects are just to much for her. Yet, when we go to the really big ugly African cockroach she will hold the thing and pet on it like it was a pet dog or cat. Ugh! to much for me.

We also saw some really beautiful butterflies and Corky didn't want to come in the butterfly house because she was afraid one might land on her. We did get her in for a quick walk through. Wormboy was very fascinated with them.

Tan the Man and Cobster sitting in a space capsule.

The mirrors were fun to play with. I couldn't get them to lift the leg off the floor where it looked like they were suspended in the air.

Trying out the sound projection. Now we are headed out to the Space Needle and Cobster is thoroughly excited.

Birthday in Seattle-part 1 pictures

Each weekend as Cobster and Cora were coming over to Seattle to see their Dad in Swedish Hospital, Cobster was fascinated with going up to the top of the Space Needle. He was always making comments about the Space Needle so I decided for his birthday I would take him up the needle. The day actually turned into a really long day and lots of fun. We started with picking up the cousins Tan the Man and Wormboy the super hero, for grandkid pictures.

Tan the Man and Wormboy had a really good time working it for Rachelle.

Cobster was of another opinion. He did not care, he was not going to be touching his sister or her touching him, thus we have bunny separating them.

Here we had to trade up brother and sister. Still Cobster did not want her touching him.

This picture is just fun. I hope Tan the Man realizes that his cousins may be looking up to him because he is the oldest cousin.

Corky

Wormboy the superhero.

Cobster

Tan the Man