Week-End Wind Down

What a fun week we've had! We started off celebrating Ben for his 29th birthday, happy that he was here with us for his day this year.

Later in the week Sara arrived with her parents.

We enjoyed a sweet time having them visit here in Wyoming.

It is nice when others can see the beauty of the West with us.

By Friday evening it was back to just Mike and me.

We were in our dual rocking chairs when a cold wind blew through, 

bringing hail and lots of rain.

 It was really, really a LOT of rain!

THEN, our cell phones and our land line all started ringing.

We are signed up for a CODE RED alert system that

calls us with serious weather threats.

We were being warned of the potential for flash flooding!

We didn't have any problems at our house but we did

learned that the local art museum was flooding.

That's the museum where our son-in-law is employed,

where they were just starting on their big week-end festival!

Yikes!

I don't think he had a very pleasant evening but

he and the rest of the staff there did get

everything under control.

 It turns out to be tougher than you might think to get a 

good photo of rain and hail but this at least gives you

an idea of the bouncing and splashing that was occurring.

 By this morning, things were calm again so we headed into

the festival to enjoy...well, to enjoy the festivities.

The girls had their faces painted.

Elise held her face funny but she was very still throughout the process.

Cordelia requested a butterfly face.

She was very specific in asking for a monarch butterfly.

Aren't they precious?

 There were stilts there for people to try.

Cordelia did pretty well with them.

 There was plenty of cotton candy.

 Our little monarch butterfly really enjoyed her cotton candy.

 This is how I smile when I am trying to take a photo of Elise

but due to the glare on my phone, I didn't realize the camera

was in mirror format (looking back at me).

Oopsy.

 There.

I got it figured out.

It was fun to watch Elise

work her way through the cotton candy.

 Yes, she was wearing two hats.

Cordelia's kept blowing off as she was dancing around a bit

so Elise kept track of them both.

Uncle Ben found these adorable hats for them

in New Mexico and they sure were drawing a lot of compliments.

When we first arrived at the festival we had a chance to chat with a man on stilts.

As we were leaving, we saw him from the back.

Well, what can I say about that?

No thanks.

Summer Evening in Wyoming

Last night was a pleasant evening. Our daughter-in-law, Sara, arrived to join Ben here. Along with her were her parents, Mark and Orit. With these relatives here from North Carolina and Michigan, our daughter and son-in-law, Maria and Eric, hosted us all for a delicious dinner out in their yard. Although we felt a few drops and saw some threatening clouds, the weather was really quite cooperative.

Mark and Orit arrived with gifts for our little granddaughters. They really hit the mark with little princess costumes!

They felt so very beautiful and special!

I received a dandelion from a princess.

THAT doesn't happen every day.

Cordelia felt it was important to teach Elise how to bow in her royal dress.

Sara tells me she is not photogenic.

I do not agree!

Sara and Ben  

And introducing Orit, Sara's mother...

I know she looks sad but she was just listening intently to Maria telling her something.

I thought it was a pretty photo of her anyway, and I promise 

I will show smiling photos of her as well.

And this is Sara's Dad, Mark. 

I think he's also listening intently to something Maria was saying.

I don't think Mike and Sam were listening intently at all.

Rudely, I did not get any good photos of our host and hostess.

I don't know what is wrong with me.

Later, we showed Orit and Mark a big view of Wyoming from part way up the mountain.

 Sara took over the camera so I could be in some of the photos as well.

I really loved this one of Mike & me.

I'll likely use it over and over until you are all sick of it.

The four parents all lined up in front of Wyoming.

The four of us became related back when Sara and Ben were married,

and we've really grown to appreciate these people.

Mike & I always find them easy to visit with and fun to be around.

It was nice of Sara and Ben to bring them into our lives!

And another nice photo of Sara and Ben...

It's probably a good thing we were running out of light as 

I may have just kept making people pose. 

I do that.

Romantic Surprises

This past week-end was really all about love and surprises!

Mike was asked to officiate at a 50th wedding anniversary party. The officiating part came in when the "re-bride" and "re-groom" renewed their vows. The best part was, it was all a surprise to the two of them! Their daughters put together the party, which was really a lot of fun.  Their parents were escorted to the meeting place in an old car and greeted by their family and friends, some of whom came from out of state.

Excuse the small and distant photo but I didn't ask permission so I want to keep the people unidentifiable.

At one point, the parents were called up to where Mike was and he led them through a little wedding service including the renewing of their vows. One of the things Mike did was to read the 50 year old newspaper article about their wedding. It was all quite sweet. 50 years of living and loving is most certainly something worth celebrating!

Don't you just love those kinds of surprises? You have to know your people, know they'd enjoy that sort of thing, but it can turn out really great.

One of the best parts of the story had to do with potato salad. The daughters wanted to have potato salad for the meal served afterward but they knew their Mom made the best potato salad so one of the daughters asked her Mom to make a BIG batch of it for a "girl scout" event.  Sneaky, huh? I'm sure her Mom didn't want to make potato salad on her anniversary week-end but she agreed. That tells you something about her! Anyway, it was pretty funny when she realized she had made it for her own surprise party!

In the meantime, our daughter and son-in-law and their little girls were in New Mexico for an EVEN BIGGER EVENT involving love and surprises. I hope you will read the post about that right here. It will warm you heart, I promise!

Entertaining the Little Girls

I'm enjoying a few days off from work and some extra time with my family. That means more photos!

One thing about Mike is this... he is a fun guy. Really. He knows how to make fun out of the most ordinary things.  Who would have thought to liven up an afternoon by pairing granddaughters with Grandpa's clothes closet?

 What little girl wouldn't love this shirt?

 Cordelia had a great idea!

Two in one!

There you have it.

A party - just like that!

Birthday Fun

What do you get when you take one silly uncle,

add two little girls

and throw in a big ball?

 

Birthday Memories!

Happy Birthday, Ben!

I do not remember the last time we got to spend Ben's birthday with him but he is visiting here from the East Coast and today is his day! Yay!

Ben is a guy full of energy and when he is here it is most definitely NOT dull. Cordelia and Elise are loving having another uncle around for a bit! It's so nice to see his smiling face... I like having all three of my children within reach.

We love you Ben! 

Happy Birthday! 

We're glad you are here!

Now THAT's a Weather Vane!

While driving along the interstate in Northeast Wyoming yesterday my Mom and I were taken by surprise when we saw something strange along the highway...

We investigated a bit and discovered that, indeed, it was a plane on a pole.  Not only do the propellers turn in the wind, the whole plane swivels.  It is a weather vane!

Facebook Funnies!

Bad Neighbors

Cancer cells are like bad neighbors who do not abide by the rules. That is one of the things I used to tell new cancer patients when I was an oncology nurse. I'll explain what I mean.

Rule #1 is that cells are supposed to serve a purpose. Lung cells are supposed to contribute to your ability to breathe. Skin cells are supposed to work together to keep you covered. Cancer cells just don't feel obligated to contribute in any way. They are happy enough to sit around and use up your body's resources for their own satisfaction. It's kind of like an unwelcome neighbor coming in and eating all the food in your kitchen but not lifting a finger to clean up. That is just rude.

Rule #2 is that cells should not reproduce to the point of overcrowding. Cancer cells just keep on reproducing. If you lived in an apartment and the neighbors across the hall lived in their own little two bedroom apartment, you might agree they should not have 70 children. Cancer cells just don't really seem to care if it is crowded, even if it is to the point of causing damage to the apartment walls, so to speak. They don't care if they knock down their own walls and spill into your apartment. That is NOT neighborly.

Rule #3 is that cells are supposed to stay in their own yard. That is, breast cells are meant to stay in the breast. They aren't supposed to go lounging around in the lungs as that is not their yard. Colon cells aren't welcome in the liver but sometimes they go to that yard and just set up camp all over the place. Again, rude!

OK, I realize that I am personifying cancer cells. They aren't their own beings; they are actually just our own cells that have become malformed through faulty mutations.  However, some believe imagery is helpful not only to understand this process but also to put a stop to it.

So, how do you put a stop to bad neighbors? Any suggestions where to take this imagery from here? I guess we could call the cops (doctors) to come help with the eviction. That seems reasonable. Any better ideas?

Cancer has been on my mind because we just found out my Mom has some "bad neighbors" and she's got to do some evicting of her own. We have a lot of reasons to expect a good outcome but I'm just upset that she has to deal with cancer at all. She is an incredible woman who has shown her strength in both little and big ways. I know she can handle this. I just didn't want her to have to.

Cancer is a terrible neighbor.

Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday was a mixed bag of joy and other emotions and I got all tangled up with time. 

Translated that means, "Oops!" I didn't blog and note a happy day in our family. I want to do now what I meant to do yesterday. It was our daughter and son-in-law's anniversary. 

Congratulations Maria and Eric! We love you quirky people sooo much!

Father's Day

You may have noticed how much I love our granddaughters.

I want only the best for them.

When it comes to a Dad, that is exactly what they got!

Our own children also hit the "Dad Jackpot" 

and for this, I am so very grateful.

Both of these men are adored by their offspring...

and their women.

Happy Father's Day Mike & Eric!

Faith Community Nursing

One thing I've long be interested in is Parish Nursing, now called Faith Community Nursing. Recently, Mike told me I had been invited to join a group of Episcopal Nurses as they gathered to learn more about Faith Community Nursing. That program started at noon today and goes into early afternoon tomorrow, so it is a busy week-end for me.

I did some Faith Community Nursing at our church in Alamogordo and truthfully, that would be my dream job if I didn't need a job that actually paid me money.  I really, really enjoyed that. This is fun now, for me to learn more about what programs are available and all that. I'm feeling invigorated and enthused about pursuing this a bit more!

The nursing program I attended was all about treating the whole person (wholistic nursing) and I am a big believer in that. In order to accomplish a wholistic approach, people need to be offered a spiritual side to their care as well as body and mind. It is something that I think is not only intriguing but pertinent.

So, that's what I'm doing this week-end. You?

A Good Decision

No, we are not in St. Louis again. Too bad! However, I just wanted to post a picture of the two of us together as today is our 36th anniversary! Really? How could 36 years have gone by so quickly? It seems crazy to me!

What wasn't crazy, though, was our decision to spend those years together. I've been grateful over and over and over again that we get to spend our lives together. That was a good decision!

Yesterday

My Mom thinks I am too busy. You be the judge...

Yesterday:

Up before 6:00 a.m. and worked a bit on reading information in preparation for a Board Meeting.

At work by 7:45 and spent the morning working. That's what they pay me to do so that seemed right.

11:45-1:00 A long lunch with Maria, Cordelia and Elise. I may be busy but much of it is delightful.

1:00-5:00 Worked some more.

5:20 Home to find that Mike had returned from Montana!  Yay! I was happy to cook supper so we could have a meal together.

6:10 I dashed out the door for a 6:30 Policy and Procedure Meeting. I am on the Board of the local pregnancy resource center and have volunteered to be on several committees.

7:30 We had a full board meeting after our committee meeting. I really enjoy these meetings with these people. Part of last night's meeting involved our accountant going over the financial/tax exempt side of things. It is pretty dry but our accountant loves accounting and it is fun to see her all excited about all those reports.

9:ish I was home for the night!  Yay!

All of my days are not quite that busy but it I admit that I often find myself thinking something like, "After such-and-such things will slow down around here." It really doesn't. I'm no different than everyone else. While I do think I let myself get too busy, it is hard to think what I should cut out of my day. Do the rest of you have this situation as well?

So, since I've not had time to come up with a meaningful post, I will leave you with another chuckle...

Inappropriate Funnies

Sometimes I find things that are funny but maybe not appropriate for my door at work...

Yea, I try to keep it friendly and I don't want to remove that illusion that I am kind.

Funnies

I am still putting things on my office door that I hope will make people laugh. I'm thinking I'll do this one tomorrow. Is it too creepy?