Cute poem

"Just happen to have them with me..."
This is what I say.
But when you come down to it,
I plan it just that way!

Just happen to have the pictures
Of my sweet grandchildren here -
I like it when folks say, "He's cute,"
Or, "Isn't she a dear?"

Grandparents keep these photographs
And show them near and far...
Their pride is understandable -
That's just how grandparents are!

Karlo's Recipe

I got this recipe this week from Tama. Karlo made it and Tama said I had to make it to cheer up her dad. So I made it and he loves it! She knows what will make him happy! Good job, Karlo!!

Tangy AvocadoSauce

1/2 pound (About 4 medium) tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and cut in half
3 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 or 2 jalapenos (leave as many seeds and membranes as you like to make it hotter of milder) Roughly chopped
About 1/4 cup(loosely packed) cilantro, thick lower stems cut off
2 large ripe avocados pitted, flesh scooped from peel and roughly chopped
Salt

Set a small non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Lay in the garlic and tomatillos(cut side down) When the tomatillos are well browned, 3 or 4 minutes, turn everything over and brown the other side. (The tomatillos should be completely soft) Scoop the tomatillos and garlic into a blender or food processor and let cool to room temperature(about 5 minutes) Add the jalapenos, cilantro, and avocado. Blend until nearly smooth. Season with salt to taste!!

ENJOY!!

Goodbye to a good friend

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

~Author unknown~

Tonight, just after 6:00 p.m. Red crossed over the rainbow bridge and moved on to the next adventure. She is no longer in pain, I picture her and Sadie having a joyous reunion and running, jumping and playing like they used to.

I remember when Red joined our family. Tama got her from her p.e. teacher while she was still in grade school. She was the cutest little red puppy. She was very timid and not like most border collies at all. I always said she was a 'snobbish' dog. She liked what she liked and that was it.

She had no interest in playing fetch. If you threw something and expected her to run and get it, you could wait for hours! She would look at you, turn her head and walk off.

She wasn't interested in working livestock or trying to herd anything. She was content to be with Blaine and get whatever attention she could get.

Red drew a tough spot in our family. We already had a 'house' dog and Sadie was queen of the house. Red was supposed to be a working dog. She was supposed to help Blaine with the horses and such. But, she would always try to sneak in the house, once inside she would hate to have to return to the kennel! Red wanted nothing more than to be a house dog.

Red had a good life as a mom of many good dogs. She and Sam made the cutest pups and she had several good litters. Once she was a little older, we decided to get out of the puppy business and had her spayed and Sam fixed.

A lot of changes came at once. Sadie had to be put down, and Red got promoted to Queen of the house! She LOVED it! She would sleep on the floor next to Blaine's side of the bed. She loved being in the house and sharing pistachios with Blaine!

She was very good with the grands. Whenever she got tired of them, she would get up and go in the closet in our room and hide from them. She thought that was her room. Even when we moved to Arizona, she took over the closet and would hide in there for peace and quiet.

When we moved to Arizona, we had to leave Red behind. We found Sam a new home but did not want to get rid of Red. Gary took her in and spoiled her rotten. He got her hooked on burgers from Wendy's! They would walk together and she had a good life at their house. Gary loved her and was really upset when we finally (a little over a year later) bought our house and were able to bring her home with us. I know Gary will miss her just as much as we do!

After she had been here awhile, Gypsy joined our family and she and Red became best friends right off the bat. Red took Gypsy in and raised her like she was one of her own pups. Red always took care of her. Gypsy is very lost tonight. Her eyes are so sad. It breaks my heart!

When Gypsy came to our family, it was like Red got a new lease on life. She had more energy and liked to play with Gypsy. But, sadly, it didn't last long. She was just too old and frail.

When we finally made the agonizing decision to let her go, we didn't want anything that would traumatize her so we called a mobile vet. The vet came to our house. We all went out in the back yard with Red. Blaine brought her bed out. The vet gave her a sedative to help her relax so she wouldn't be scared. We pet her and said our goodbyes. Blaine had to go in the house, he couldn't do it. Red layed down on her bed and closed her eyes. When the vet gave her the shot, she was gone in less than 15 seconds. Many tears were shed, but we know it was what needed to be done for her.

I picture Red and Sadie running and chasing together and it helps.

Goodbye my friend.... you will be missed....

Wordless Wednesday....enjoy!

Random Ramblings of a Crazy Grandma

So Monday we went to a sneak peek screening of Forever Strong. It is a movie about a rugby player who gets sent to jail and turns his life around and how he gets where he is. It is an awesome movie. We went with Terri and Nite and Masiu. It was fun to go with them since Hainite plays rugby. I so want to go watch one of his games! They start next month! It was a fun FHE.

The kids were so cute over the weekend and did some really funny stuff. Robin had a temporary lapse in sanity and let the Shoopman grands help her paint! She has been on a painting frenzy at their house and Saturday morning she let them help! Yep, she's crazy!

One day last week, Robin and Kolby were laying in his bed and he had the hiccups and was telling her how he had them all day long and he was mad that he got them again. So when he was done, she yelled BOO really loud and scared him so bad he grabbed her and started to cry! Mean mommy! She said it was very hard to comfort him and not laugh out loud.

Travis is gearing up to go elk hunting. He has never gone before. Blaine would love to go with him, but it's too much time off of work and a bad time to leave. Not to mention the cost of an out of state hunting trip! Travis has Blaine's .25-06 rifle to use so we will wish him good luck and hope he gets a wild wapiti for the freezer! Blaine used to go deer and elk hunting every year when our kids were young. Finally, after several years of unfilled tags, I was able to convince him it would be cheaper to buy a beef for the freezer and just take a weekend and go somewhere! I know....I take all the fun out of it. But that's why he has his yearly pack trip and fishing. Male bonding time!

Baylee was in the tub today and wrapped a washrag around her hand and said, "look mom, a prophet!" She meant 'puppet' but it was so cute! That's a keeper for sure! They scheduled Baylee to have her tonsils out on October 7th.

Taylor has been dancing all around the house lately and singing! What a crazy girl. She loves to sing and be a princess and swing and always has to be moving around and be busy.

Abbie got her fish tank all set up and got a nice fish named "Emilio Ray Stucki". Only Abbie could name a fish Emilio! What a nut! She called up Papa last night and read him four or five books over the phone. She is way too smart to not be in regular school!

Kallie has had some issues the past few days. She was a little grumpy the other night and her dad was trying to get her to help clean up toys. Well, I'm not sure what happened but Kallie came crying to her mom and when Tama asked her what was wrong they had the following drama:

Kallie (sobbing) "Daddy pushed me"
Mom: Daddy pushed you?
Kallie: Yeah. My go tell daddy no pushing?
Mom: No, you can't go tell daddy no pushing.
Kallie: My go push daddy?
Mom: No, I don't think it would be a good choice to go push daddy either.
Mom: Why are you in trouble with daddy?
Kallie: Because yeah.
Mom: oh.

Actually, Karlo was trying to get her to come out of the room and help clean up toys so he was taking her by the hand and 'guiding' her. No pushing involved. But when you're two everything is drama!

Poor Kallie... life's tough when you're the baby. It is so fun to hear them learn to talk and learn new words. Kallie pointed to her eyebrow the other day and said, "hey, mom. This is my brownies" haha.

Kallie went to the endocrinologist today and she has grown almost an inch since she started on the growth hormones! She had about 10 screaming fits in the office while they were trying to measure her and weigh her and check her all out. That girl has definitely had her fill of doctors! Unfortunately, she is nowhere near getting a break from them.

We have a tough couple of days ahead of us. Our old dog, Red has been going downhill for quite awhile now and the time has come to help her move on. The vet will be coming to our house on Thursday to put her down. It was a hard decision and one that was not made in haste. We both know it is what is best for her and we will have to just do it and remember the good times we've had with her over the past 17 years. I like to think she and Sadie will have a joyous reunion on Thursday.

More bad news today. Wade had his surgery for the tumor in his colon. They took it out and also discovered he has a tumor on his liver. The doctors have told them that with treatment he may have up to a year left to live. We are devastated! He is a young man, he has a wife and two little children that need him. I don't know what Steph will do without him. He is the love of her life. McKenna is his princess and Brice is his little shadow. They are strong and will get through this with their faith in Heavenly Father's plan. We will visit with them later this week and get more details about treatment, chemo, etc. but for now, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

On a happier note, I called my mother today on my way home. We talked quite a long time and I think by the time we hung up, the bridge had been mended and we can move on. I don't know that my mother and I will ever have a 'close' relationship, but I do love her and want my kids and grandkids to know her and love her as well. They can't do that if I won't do it first.

The night is getting shorter and I should go to bed soon. I will add some pictures tomorrow!

Sweet dreams!!

I am leading the fight to take our neighborhood back from the thugs!

So I was thinking on Thursday that I need to get the girls to send me some funny things about the grands because I don't have any fodder for my blog and I don't want it to be boring... well, careful what you wish for!!! Thursday evening I got home from work and had a message from the mammo place to call and ask for a diagnostic visit so they can examine something they found on Monday's mammo. Let the stress begin! I went in on Friday at noon for the ultrasound and it is just a cyst. No worries! YAHOO!!

After showing the 'girls' to strangers again, I went home to help Blaine get ready to take the scouts camping. When he goes camping, Amber and I have a girls night out. So we took Terri and Masiu to the movie with us and had a great time. Masiu is getting so big! He is so cute! Watch for pictures soon!

When we came home from the movie and dinner, the thugs next door to us were fighting in their driveway and yelling obscenities and beating each other up. We have put up with so much of this lately and I guess I was just in the right mood or something, so I called the cops. Well as soon as they saw me on the phone and heard me telling the cops what was going on, they started yelling at me that they were just messing around. Yeah right! They start spouting off foul words and calling me different names that I don't choose to repeat on my blog. So the mom comes out and hustles them all into the house and we hear yelling and screaming from the house while we wait for the cops to show up. Finally, three deputies show up and we explain to them about the neighbors. We remind them that they busted two kids for possession at that house not long ago, and explained to them that we are sick of the thugs and are not going to put up with their foul mouths and trouble any longer. The cops were very nice and told us to call them at any time. They spoke to the kids and mom and then left and we went inside.

Saturday came and Amber and I went to get a pedicure. When we got home, Blaine was home already and Nite was being yelled and cussed at by the neighbor lady (I use the term lady loosely!) Apparently, Nite was upset about the disrespect shown to me and told the neighbor boys that they were not allowed to talk to me like that ever again. So they went in and told their mommy. (they were outside in the van smoking weed, mind you!) So she comes out and starts yelling at Nite and calling him foul names. Words went back and forth and Nite was very nice about it and tried to explain to her how her kids were disrespectful. He told her that her kids could not talk to his 'mom' like that. So she called the cops on him.

So here come the deputies again! They came to the door and asked what went on this time. I told them and explained to them. They were very nice and gave me their card to call whenever we have a complaint about the neighbors. I told them they would get to know me very well!

As soon as the deputy left, here came the mom to our door to tell us that it was against the law for Amber to park her car on the street. I told her we would wait for the HOA to send us a letter about it and asked her to please not come to my house again.

After she left, I called the owner of the house and told her that we are fed up with her renters. She was under the impression the house was rented to a young family with three little kids! (She rented it out through an agency) So by the time I was finished 'updating' her on her tenants, she was not too happy. She assured me she would contact the agency first thing Monday.

I'm sure this won't be the end of the problems with the neighbors. I spoke to some of the other neighbors and told them I am inciting a riot to take our neighborhood back from the thugs! They said they would also call the owner of the house and share their complaints. We will see what happens as the week goes on. I half expect our tires to be slashed or our truck to get keyed or something equally childish to happen.

Anyway.... My mother finally called me on Friday night while we were at the movie. She left a very short and terse message about my little brother's grandma dying. I spoke to her on Saturday morning but it was a tense conversation. I have decided to put forth the olive branch and call her several times this week to mend the bridges and move on. Life is too short!

Today was a great day at church! We had two kids baptized and they confirmed them in Sacrament today. They are older kids and their family has recently returned to church. It is great to see a family come back and the happiness and excitement that comes with them. Terri taught a wonderful lesson in RS and Masiu was cute as ever!

Happy Sunday!!

Bryce's Visit

Well hello again! We have been busy this week. Work is busy for some reason and has been keeping me hopping. Then couple that with scouts, Blaine leaving for a training campout this weekend and just life in general, it seems like I am slacking again when it comes to getting news posted on here!

Wednesday we went to St. Joes to see Bryce. He is doing very well and just went home this afternoon! He was walking a bit, eating some and very happy with the balloons he got! Wade and Steph are hanging in there as well as can be expected. To fill in those of you who may not know, Stephanie is Blaine's niece and the mother of Bryce and McKenna. Bryce is 6 and is autistic. He just had surgery to shave out more room in his vertabrae in his neck and the lower part of his skull to make more room and relieve pressure on his brain. Seems his cerebellum (I probably spelled that wrong!) was pushing down into his spinal column because of the lack of space in his skull cavity. So the docs went in and drilled some of his neck vertabrae out and made more room in his skull and covered it all with a titanium plate. They say this is one of the most painful surgeries a kid can go through. Then add on the fact that Bryce is autistic and you have a real gem of a time! But what a trooper he is!

A few weeks ago they also found out that Wade has a very large tumor in his colon and believe it is cancerous and has spread to his liver. Wade wants to make sure Bryce is okay before having his own surgery and starting whatever treatment they can do for him so he is sustaining on an all liquid diet right now and to put it as nicely as possible: looks like crap. They are in for a long road, but Steph is strong and will deal with the hand life has dealt her through her faith and prayer.

My boss is off on travels again this week. She is in Denver at a seminar. She told me she liked Sydney Australia better than Denver. Uhm... of course!! She is such a city kid and desert dweller. She was freaking out because of the little skift of snow they were getting and swearing to me she was going to freeze to death. She cracks me up!

Blaine had a couple of guys on his job that wanted to beat him up today, but he backed them right down. They have been trying to get the subs to clean up after themselves on the job site and they just won't listen. So on Monday, they told them in the meeting that if they didn't clean things up by Friday, they would not be allowed to work until the job was cleaned up. Well, today is Friday and they are shutting them down and telling them they cannot start work until they clean their trash up. Some of them are not too happy about that, but oh well. One guy called his manager and told on Blaine and the manager talked to Blaine and Blaine told him, 'your guys can either clean up their mess, or they can get off the job until they are ready to clean up their mess'. Sometimes, it seems like he works at a preschool instead of as professional.
Amber is hanging in there. She still has a lung nodule but it hasn't grown in size since they last checked it so we will see what her doctor says when she sees her next week. Since Blaine is going camping tonight, we are having our 'girls night out' and going to see some chick flick! I love to go out with her! We have a good time.

The grands are all awesome! I got some cute pictures of Baylee's birthday party from Robin's sister! She posts them on her myspace page and I steal them from there! Kolby told his mom this week that he is a big boy now and he would like to walk to the bus stop by himself. Robin was kind of sad about that but didn't seem too bothered by it today when it was raining and cold outside! haha! He is so cute with his front teeth missing!
Taylor has been having a good time lately. She has discovered if she gets up in the morning BEFORE Baylee wakes up, she can play with all of Baylee's toys!

Abbie loves her preschool and told me yesterday that she is excited to ride the bus! "and it's a short bus, grandma." I had to stifle my laughter! She enjoyed her first day riding the bus, but looked a little relieved that it was over when she came home! haha
Kallie just started going to OT now and they are working on her sensory and spatial issues. She is so funny. Last night her mom went out to Pampered Chef party with one of her friends and when she got home the girls were in bed, but Kallie had not had her shot yet. So Tama went into their room and Kallie sat up in bed and Tama said, "Kallie, are you awake?" Kallie said, "no, Mom, I still sleeping in my own bed". What a silly girl!
We found out this week that Kallie is having her surgery on October 10 to remove her ovaries. She is getting a buy one get one free bonus as they are going to take her appendix out while they are in there. I am a firm believer in we have what we have for a reason, but I also know what we can live without! They have taken almost everything they can take out of my body and I'm still here! So they are just going to do some 'housecleaning' while they are in there. They are also going to fix her 'outie' belly button hernia and make it an innie. Poor Kallie. It's a good thing she is so tough! She told me on the phone today that she has an owie on her leg. I asked her how she got it and she said, "Abbie pushed me".

Baylee also went to the doc this week and she is going to be getting her tonsils out about the same time. They haven't set the date yet, but I'll let you know when they do! A whole lot of medical stuff going on this week!

My boss graciously offered me some of her frequent flier miles to go to Boise to help with Abbie while Kallie has her surgery. So I get to go be there and help them out. I love my boss!! She is the greatest and always gives me my 'grandma time' whenever I need it.

I worked as a temp here for a year before I let them talk me into signing on full time. I enjoyed being a temp because it gave me the freedom to come and go as I pleased and not be tied down to one job. But after temping her for a year, they had to fill the position. So they begged and pleaded and asked what it would take for me to stop being a temp and just stay here. I told them, I temp so I can leave whenever I want and spend time with my grandkids. If you will guaranty me my grandma time whenever I want it, no questions asked, I will stay. So they agreed and so far it has been great! Right after I hired on full time, Kallie was born and they knew ahead of time I would be gone for her birth. What none of us knew at the time was that I would end up being gone for SIX weeks! But they stayed true to their word and were very supportive and earned my undying gratitude and loyalty during that time! I truly love the people I work with! I am thankful every day our paths crossed.

Enjoy your weekend! Until next time....

Birthdays and Roller Coaster

Many ups and downs this past week! Let's see, where to start?? We had a good three day break over Labor Day. Blaine took the scouts camping to the lava caves in Flagstaff, and Amber and I went to see Mama Mia! What a great show! So funny! Monday was spent cleaning house and doing yard work.

On Thursday, our second granddaughter, Baylee, turned 4! What a princess she is! She loves to ride horses, hang out with her daddy, and play with My Little Ponies.

Now, she is very much interested in the Disney Princesses. A friend of her mom's made her an awesome castle cake! She got lots of cute dress up costumes and had a very good birthday. Baylee is in dance lessons now as well and so the costumes will be fun! Here she is doing some warm up moves:



I was talking to Baylee on the phone on her birthday and we had quite a funny conversation. I was at Scout Roundtable, but skipped out of a class to go into the hall and make this important phone call to wish Baylee a happy birthday. So I'm standing in the hall at the church having the following conversation:

Gma: Hi Sweetheart, what did you get for your birthday?
Baylee: I got a butterfly costume with wings!
Gma: Wow, that is so cool!
Baylee: Do you have a butterfly costume, Grandma?
Gma: No. Last time I looked in my closet I didn't notice one. Do you think I should get a butterfly costume so we can be the same?
Baylee: YES! You need to get a butterfly costume like mine. But you will have to get great big wings cuz you are so big.
Gma: Okay, I'll see what I can find at the store next time I'm shopping.

So, if anyone happens to see a nice butterfly costume with great big wings let me know!
Baylee: But you can't really fly with the wings.
Gma: You can't? Bummer.
Baylee: I wish I could fly. I really want to fly.
Gma: Well, you can fly to grandma's house on the airplane.
Baylee: Okay.
Grandma is the master of distraction!
This is a cute picture of Kolby and Taylor. You can see what a good big brother Kolby is. He even 'helps' Taylor smile for pictures!

The day after Baylee's birthday is Abbie's birthday. Abbie turned 5! She is quite the girl. She is very much into the Disney Princesses and learning! She loves to learn! Abbie had a nice outdoor party in their backyard and had an Ariel cake and even got an Ariel fish tank! She loves fish!
Abbie has finally mastered her fear of riding her bike. I guess when it's your dad helping you, it makes all the difference. Tama has tried to get her to ride it for a long time and every time, it was too scary and there would be lots of tears, yelling and finally giving up (on both parts). But finally, Karlo got her to do it and now she races all over on her bike! Silly girl!

So on Abbie's birthday, she got into a little trouble and her dad sent her to time out. Well Abbie didn't think this was a very nice thing to do and proceeded to yell from her room, "Who would do this to me on my birthday!" Her dad calmly replied that he would. She definately has no problem speaking her mind.

I remember one day this past summer, we were with them at Taco Johns in Rawlins and Abbie was being especially trying to her mother's patience and finally, her mom told her if she did "it" (can't remember what 'it' was she was doing) she was going to take her outside and spank her. Well, Abbie, looked her in the eye and did 'it' again. So Tama, having to be true to her word, took her outside and gave her a little swat on the backside. Then they came back in and re-joined us. As soon as they came in, Abbie told her mom, "Mom, it wasn't very nice of you to take me outside and spank me." I almost shot rootbeer out my nose I was trying so hard not to laugh!

Those girls love to have fun and play dress up! Here is a cute one of the Stucki girls sharing their dad's shorts! Silly!

Friday was a very strange day. Work was just coming to a close for the day when Blaine called me and said he just heard on the news that his previous home teaching partner (from before our ward split) was just killed in an accident at his wood shop. He owns his own business and his son works with him. The news said the man pushed his son out of the way of a falling bunk of lumber and suffered a skull fracture when the lumber landed on him instead and was killed. We were both in shock, upset and very bummed.

Well, that night I was watching the news and there, on the news was his wife! She was telling about THEIR EMPLOYEE that was killed. The news had said it was the owner of the business and it was NOT!~ While still sad for the family that lost their father, we were relieved it wasn't our friend. Dumb news people! I know a lot of people heard the news the first time and thought Carlton had been killed. Plus you know how fast news spreads through a ward. While he was very upset that this happened to one of their employees, at least we are glad he is still here with us!

So my roller coaster of emotions went from high (birthdays) to low (thinking our friend died) back to high (glad he was still with us) and now back to very low. We found out on Saturday that our neice's husband has a tumor in his colon. They are pretty sure it is cancerous and it may have already spread to his liver. They have two little kids. One of which is autistic and is having surgery TODAY to remove a vertibrae from his neck to relieve pressure on his brain. After they get him home and on the road to recovery from his surgery, our nephew will go in for his surgery and start whatever treatment they think is necessary. They are in for a long road, but the Lord will bless them in one way or another and all will work as it should. Please keep them in your prayers.

Abbie took the bus to pre-school today for the first time! She was so very excited! Kallie on the other hand was very upset that she couldn't go on the bus too. This is Kallie when she isn't very happy:

As it turns out her daddy happened to stop by the house for lunch at about the time the bus came, so Kallie got to ride in "daddy's bus" (work van). That seemed to make things better.

The day after Abbie's birthday, her mom and she had the following conversation:
Mom: I can't believe you are five. How did you get to be five already?
Abbie: Well, I can't explain it, maybe I eat too fast and then I grow too fast.
Gotta love the logic of a five year old!

Until next time...