What a Happy Mothers Day

This is how my Mothers Day weekend went.....Saturday morning Mark and Alysa went "mommy" shopping. They came back with a dozen beautiful pink/peach colored roses, which I promptly put in a vase and water. Alysa found the perfect place for them on the table in front of the kitchen windows . Later that afternoon, she went to a local arts fair with a friend while Mark and I did housework, researched cars and did yard work. It looks beautiful! Sunday morning, I woke up to sunshine streaming in through my window. I was promptly handed 2 beautiful cards - one from Mark and one from Alysa. Alysa's card had a recording of her telling me she loved me and that I was the bestest, greatest mommy in the world, followed by a kiss. We all went to church and then returned home to find I'd received calls from Perry and Wes (which I returned) and to have a deliciously grilled steak, very tasty salad and rolls, which we ate on the back deck where we enjoyed the sounds of the birds and the stream peacefully flowing. We later went on a bike ride through the neighborhood (I love riding my bike!), visited with neighbors and then came home so Alysa and Mark could wash my car. We capped off the day by hanging out at our friends, the Jasinskis, and playing an exciting game of Hand and Foot. It was one of the most enjoyable and relaxing days I've spent in a long time. I love my family so much and I am so grateful to have 2 grown boys who don't forget me, who still call me mommy and seem to appreciate my role as a parent more now than they did when they were younger. And I'm grateful, too, to have Alysa around to miss me while she's at school, to give me tons of hugs and kisses and to be my best gal. Plus, I have the best husband - so thoughtful, sincere and humorous! I'm so wonderfully blessed and so grateful for a Father in Heaven who has provided all these blessings, and the atoning sacrifice of my Savior and the gifts his life and death has afforded us all.

FRUSTRATED!!!!!

Can I just take a minute to vent please? I have new pictures on my camera I want to upload onto my computer. Problem is, when it gets time to transfer FROM the camer TO the computer, the entire Kodak program shuts down and WILL NOT transfer the pics!! I am so aggrivated! I've tried over and over and even rebooted my computer several times. I'm not enough of a computer geek to be able to figure out the problem. I'm hoping it's my camera because it's an older model and I want Marks!! His is new and has a great zooming lens. Anyway, that's why I haven't made any new posts lately...I can't upload pics to go with them. If anyone has helpful ideas, I'm all ears!!

Been Gone.....

I know it has been a long time since my last post. Honestly, I had to look back at the most recent pictures to remember what we've been up to around here. Here are some of the highlights. First, was the trip to Texas Alysa and I took to visit Wes, Wendy and the grand babies...and other family too. Of course, we had to make all the usual stops at our favorite restaurants......Pizza King (pizza and salad with the most awesome house dressing), Jalapeno Tree (mexican with warm, freshly made tortillas and melted butter.....my mouth is watering even now) and Swanners for the best burgers EVER!

Wes, Wendy, Skylar and Briley

Skylar at her Chuck-E-Cheese 4th birthday party


Briley (8 months) enjoying his first spaghetti dinner...toddler, of course.
My sister, with her 2 oldest girls, Raney and Randi.

This is a 4 generation photo with my dad at the top of the mountain, my sister and I just beneath him, 4 of our 6 children and the 2 grand babies. Awesome! We were at a nearby park having a picnic and flying kites...and blowing bubbles! Great day!!

Wes and Briley....like father, like son.....too sweet!

Before we went to Texas, Alysa "cheered" at a special basketball game that her class played against another 3rd grade class. Not to sound mean, but we SMEARED 'EM!! This is a pic of Alysa and her bestest bud, Andrea. More to come......

New Man in my Life

Let's play a game.....see if you can guess what's missing in this picture. It probably isn't too hard to spot. Sunday morning I got up and left for church and everything was perfectly normal. After sacrament meeting and Sunday school, I left and went to meet Mark and Alysa at his church. When I walked in, he looked totally different. We were in public, so I didn't know how to react.....I was in total shock. Apparently Alysa didn't like the change at all. When he walked into the kitchen, where she was eating breakfast, she took one look at him and ran up stairs crying. She wouldn't look at him or have anything to do with him for a good while. She's relaxed now but still doesn't like it. I'm still getting use to it too. This is the first time he's been without a mustache in over 20 years so neither of us has ever seen him without it. I've been trying to get him to shave it off for years, so I could see what he looked like without it. But he said he'd do it when I least expected it. Apparently, a few weeks or so ago I told him he would NEVER do it and he considered that a challenge. And because Mark doesn't like to be challenged, he followed through. Reverse psychology? I'll never tell. I thought this absolutely warranted a blog post.

I Just Love This Man

There are so many wonderful things I could say about my adorable husband.....but I'll spare you all the mush. I'll wait until his 46th birthday and make a list of 46 things I love about him.....or maybe not. I just had to post a recent picture of the two of us. I'll just say he's a good 'un.

Can I Have a Drum Roll Please?

Well, here they are.........for all of you who have been waiting for pictures of the inside of the house. Some of them aren't as clear as I would have liked; but you can get the general idea. If you want a closer look, COME VISIT!!! Welcome....
Just inside the front door.....formal dining to the left... and staircase to the right... Straight ahead is the "great room"..... To the right of the great room is the master bedroom... and master bath... Toilet area is on the opposite wall from the tub and the closet is to the back of the tub, centering the wall, going the full width of the bathroom....To the left of the great room is a hallway leading to the utility room, full bath and bedroom/office... The eat-in-kitchen is also just to the right as you start down the hallway... It also opens into the great room. Up stairs overlooks the great room... has a "Jack-n-Jill" bath (2 separate sink areas and 1 combined tub/toilet area)... which opens up to Alysa's room... and a "bonus" room where we have the big TV, Wii, exercise equipment and oversized sofa (I know it's awful looking but I love it and can't bare to part with it)... Outside the doorway is the hall, which leads to a guest bedroom (which I won't show because it's not decorated yet. But it has a king sized bed and chest of drawers, just waiting for company)... That's the tour, minus a few areas of interest that just don't have an effect in pictures. We feel so blessed to have such a beautiful place to live that we feel is "us". It's very relaxed and comfortable and we welcome friends and family to come enjoy it with us.

New Email Addresses

One more post to let you know what our new email addresses are. Please use them to send us YOUR email address.

stacydjames@yahoo.com
mrjmrj63@yahoo.com