Here I Am!

As you can tell, baby Hudson gets lots of attention, albeit in short spurts. Everyone wants a turn and I knew I needed to take plenty as my days were numbered.
Ethan adores his new brother. I wasn't able to get a photo quick enough, but my favorite was when Ethan was stacking Lego's on Hudson's head!
Hudson at two weeks old. He already looks older and cuter. I wasn't able to get him to look at me due to the competition going on around us. I won't mention any names.

Philosophy of the Day

My grandchildren have taught me so many profound things during my stay. I wish I had been keeping a journal of all of them, but I had no idea what gems of truth and knowledge would come from them. But this morning was the crowning jewel.

Savannah: Grandma, what are you doing?

Grandma: I'm getting dressed. Do you want to get dressed?

Savannah: No, I'm busy. Busy people don't have time to get dressed.


How true.

Hello from the Wasatch

I'm still alive, although I have no photos to show for it. I think a card reader is in my future so I can immediately use the wonderful photos I have been taking of family. I guess the visuals will have to wait until my return to AK, but in the mean time it has been a busy couple of weeks. But the highlights are:

Holding baby Hudson all I want (I am going to miss him so much)
Playing Barbies with Savannah (this gives me a new insight into her sweet mind)
Going to the pool with S & E
Playing hide and seek and tag
The BYU bookstore
The Shops at Riverwoods (where Jenny went into labor!)
Seeing Monsters vs Aliens with S & E
Family picnic
Great weather
Blowing bubbles
Parks
Airplane museum
Not working (the less rewarding paid for kind)
Meeting my kids friends
My wonderful son-in-laws
My wonderful daughters
Having Dick come down for a visit and doing important "Dad" stuff (I will be home soon)
Hanging out with family like it was an every day occurrence
Going to church with family
Neighborhood walks
Sunflower market
Provo Saturday farmers market
Making jam with Savvy
Gateway Mall (Hudson's first real outing)
Doing everything on Savannah's Grandma "to do" list
Doing real "Mom" stuff
Finally getting my Uganda souvenirs from Megan - they were worth the wait!

There have been a couple of low lights, but most of them are actually pretty funny or things turned out well and are therefore a blessing, so I guess they aren't really that low after all. I will miss everyone terribly when I return to AK on Friday, but I miss Dick and I like to think he can't function without me although I know he does very well. Hopefully he has missed me a little.

Too busy to blog

This picture says it all. For more baby photos go here or here

Happy Pioneer Day and The Last of the Fruit

Happy Pioneer Day! I have some wonderful pioneers in my line, but you must go a bit further back. Our families have been in the country since it was practically discovered and it's a treat to do family history and discover a little more about them. I'm sure it will take a life time and then some, so I hope we live to be very old. Or we could just die and get to know them sooner than later. But I vote for staying with the living for now.

While fruit is probably not even ready to pick in Utah, I am finishing up with my shipped here from California/Washington/Oregon stuff. But it's the best we can do here in the frozen, fruitless North. I am shelving the last batch of jam, Raspberry-Cherry. A friend gave me a jar last year and I was hooked. We also jarred several batched of the fig preserves for the World Famous fig cake. I think we'll be making one of these during vacation. And I made blackberry jam this year for the first time in honor of my granny, who always made the best blackberry jam. The berries were just so big and yummy this year (again, thanks Costco!) I couldn't resist. We did more eating that canning this summer, part of our new "5 a day" commitment. We froze more strawberries and blueberries than usual because they were so cheap this year. And yummy. Cooldad kept opening the kitchen freezer (looking for ice cream to be sure) and commenting that "there are things in here!" Meaning, what's the deal with all the cookie sheets full of berries? Fred Meyer had some delicious peaches this week but I don't think I have time to do anything with them. It's so rare and unexpected to find a decent peach up here. Looking forward to seeing what the Utah farmers have to offer. I'm sure it will thrill and delight! And I just discovered some silver salmon in the freezer from last year that will probably make it's way to the smoker when I get back from Utah.

I leave in three days!