PACKED AND READY TO GO

We are all packed and ready for our trip. Donna had a half day of school today. She should be home at least by noon. We will be spending the night at Debbie's and then going to the airport Friday. It will be a very short night. We have to be at the airport about 3:30am. I am really looking forward to it. We will park in the airport which will make it much easier on me. I am not going to take my walker so we will see how that goes. Donna is my paid assistant so it is her job to take care of me.


Jennie made a comment on my last blog about how good it was that I am still so active. I know I have slowed down a lot but when I really think about it I am so lucky that I can still do so much. I never dreamed I would be taking vacations. For years I never had the money to go anywhere and after that I spent years being a caregiver. I am not complaining. I really have had a good life and have lived to see grandchildren and great-grandchildren. My next great-granddaughter will be Jennie's. I am sure she will be just as cute as Sophie.

So we are off to the land of sunshine. It will be in the eighties all week. There is a chance of some rain or thunderstorms. If it rains it will feel like a warm shower since even the night temperatures will be between 75 and 78 degrees. I LOVE warm climates.

My story is that when the stork was delivering me he was on the way to California but got lost and dropped me off in Montana. Washington is a whole lot better than Montana. I guess I will just have to visit warm climates when I get a chance. If everything works out for Diane in Atlanta we are planning on visiting her.

GRADUATION PARTY FOR ERIK

Finally I am writing again. It has been so hectic around here for weeks. Last Saturday we went to Erik's graduation party in Renton. Debbie and Kent do just a great job entertaining. Steven and Janet and their children were there too. There must have been close to 50 people at the party. Now "little" Erik is all grown up and will be heading to college in the Fall and then off on a mission. It was so nice to see everyone. We had a very nice time. Now I am madly trying to get things ready for our trip to Cancun. Donna has been having school and meetings and today a picnic so I am trying to get the things ready that I can. Laif is in Egypt on business. Donna and Laif having been skyping back and forth. Laif says the Mediterran sea is just absolutely beautiful. Donna and I are leaving for Cancun on June 24th and will be back the 30th. Then Steven and Janet and their children will be up here July lst and stay until the 5th.

JUST CATCHING UP ON WHAT IS HAPPENING

The top picture is one I took of a Sunset and near the top is a tiny black dot which is a Helicopter. The picture below is of a wild canary on the right hand corner of the planter. There is a pair of them that come almost daily. Also, almost daily, a beautiful Hummingbird comes by. He takes a sip or two out of the feeder several times and then is off.

Last week I was really sick with Bronchitis. I went to the doctor and she gave me antibiotics and cough syrup. It is always the same. My lungs are clear. It just settles in my Bronchial tubes. I didn't use to get it but about the last 3 years I keep getting it. Other than that I really don't have any problems.

Yesterday Donna went on a whale watching cruise with some of her school kids. She had to drive to Port Townsend. When she was ready to go home she had such a painful thumb on her right hand that she couldn't even turn the car on or put the car in gear. She managed with her left hand. By the time she got home it was too late to go to the doctor.

Today Donna had school and she did manage to get a substitute to come in at 10:00am. I had to get up at 6am to take her to school and then I picked her up a little after 10 and she had a doctor appointment at 11am. The doctor gave her a cortisone shot and then a perscription to help with the pain. She had a blood test to see if it might be Gout and also an x-ray. The doctor thinks it is probably just Arthritis but Donna is going to be seeing a hand specialist.

Donna had a meeting at the Church this evening. Her thumb is feeling better. I was going to take her but she said she could drive. She still used her left hand to start the car and put it in gear. At least it is Thursday and now Laif will be able to take care of her.

Yesterday was such a beautiful day here. I got really ambitious. I went to Penney's to get a perm. Afterward I stopped at the shoe store in the same shopping area and bought another pair of everyday shoes and a very comfortable pair of sandals for our trip to Cancun.

WARM AND SUNNY VACATION PLAN

Donna and I were planning to take a vacation to the Midwest in August to see the Rocky Ridge home of Laura and Almanzo Wilder. We had seen all the other sites when we went there a couple of years ago. On our trip there we saw so much. All the Laura Ingalls sites, Mount Rushmore, Wall Drugs, the Corn Palace and also after Laif joined us we saw the hometown of Walt Disney and the Mark Twain sites.

While Donna and Laif were gone this last weekend, I spent hours pouring over the towns in the midwest close to Mansfield, Missouri where the Rocky Ridge farm is. Mansfield is absolutely in the middle of nowhere. It is fairly close to Springfield, Missouri . There is an airport there and then you would have to drive there. Kansas City and St. Louis are quite a distance. Even in those cities there was not much that interested us. There is Branson but I don't want to go there. It is called the Las Vegas of the midwest. The shows are so expensive and except for one show the others did not interest me. Now we have completely changed our plans.


After more time pouring over places to go and even thinking maybe Hawaii, we finally decided on Cancun, Mexico.

We booked an all-inclusive vacation package from Costco. It is one of their buyer's choice packages. All is included----airfare, hotel, all meals, transportation to and from the hotel. We will have an ocean view. The pictures of the resort look wonderful.

We will be leaving on June 24th and coming back on June 30th. The flight is what will really be hard on me because I think it is about a seven or eight hour flight. On the way to Cancun we will have a stop-over in Phoenix and on the way back we will have a stop-over in Charlotte, NC. The main thing I must do is get up and walk at least every two hours. Donna said she will see that I do. Hopefully I will sleep a lot.

One other problem we will have to work out is that our flight from Sea-Tac to Cancun is very early. Our flight leaves at 5:15 am but Donna says we will have to be there at 4:15 because it is an international flight.

In case you are wondering how we changed from August to June is that Laif will be leaving for Egypt for work on the 19th of June and won't be getting back until about the same time as us. Donna only has a short day of school on the 23rd and then she is through with school for the Summer. Donna thought this would be a good time to go.

We will get all the details worked out and in the meantime I am so looking forward to a warm sunny place. Donna said it is exactly what she wants to do too. We will spend a lot of time in beach chairs. There are pools by the hotel and also hot tubs. Donna can go swimming and I can do the hot tub. There are places to shop.

We were thinking about taking the Myan Ruin trip but it is an all day trip. From 7am to 7pm. I am not sure we want to do that. We just like the idea of a very relaxing vacation.

FRIDAY, THE 13th

I hope everyone had a good Friday, the 13th. Myself, I have never had bad luck on Friday, the 13th. We did have a calf born on a Friday, the 13th. He was mean and always tried to attack people. He would put his head down and butt you as hard as he could. I am sure Dan and Darrell remember when our big black Lab saved them from the calf. The calf was charging, ready to attack when our Lab went for it's throat to make it back off. I think that calf would have been mean no matter what day it had been born.

In case you are worried about Friday, the 13th' there is only one this year.

Fear of Friday, the 13th may be the biggest superstition of all time. In a report done in 2004, between $800 to $900 Million dollars are lost each Friday, the 13th as a result of people avoiding travel, wedding plans, moving and so on.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not travel on the 13th of any month and would never host 13 guests at a meal.

CINCO DE MAYO DAY

Cinco De Mayo day--another gloomy day for us. Today is Cinco De Mayo day. It is just another cloudy day here. We had such a gorgeous day yesterday. It would be nice to have a week or two of nice days.

My subject today is the weather-------On the KOMO weather on the Internet today there is an article about Seattle weather in April. The caption says " SEATTLE SETS A RECORD FOR THE COLDEST APRIL ON RECORD"

In addition to setting the temperature record, we were high on the charts for it being the wettest April on record. The month tallied 4.47" of rain--good for the fourth-wettest April on record behind 1991 (6.53"), 1996 (5.37") and 1993 (4.54").

Overall Spring has been gloomy---When you combine our record chilly April and our fairly chilly March, we find that 2011 is the seventh-coldest March-April on record with an average high of 52.0 degrees. The record is 1955 at 49.5 degrees, which featured the coldest March on record. (In fact, 1955 was the coldest overall year at Sea-Tac Airport) 1955 was the 25th wettest March-April, so while it was certainly colder then, it wasn't nearly as wet as this stretch. 2011 wins for the gloomier Spring.

Now that it is May, I hope to see a lot of sunshine. I did see a beautiful Hummingbird a couple ot times so that is a good sign.

IT DOES NOT FEEL LIKE MAY

Yes, finally I am back. I just got lazy about posting. Rachel does such a fantastic job because she has so much to write about all the time. If it was not for the calendar I wouldn't know it was May. It feels more like March. We did have a nice weekend. I guess we just have to enjoy the few sunny days we get. Maybe we will have a hot summer. That would be great for me.

I did have a nice trip over to Debbie's on Friday, April 29th. Diane came over to help Donna with Calculus. (I am not sure I spelled that right not to mention that kind of Math is way beyond me.) Anyway Donna needs to brush up on it because she is going to be taking a test for it to help her for teaching. Diane and Donna worked the whole day on it.

So, anyway, I had all three of my girls together. It was so nice to see Kent and Erik too. I went with Debbie, Kent and Erik when they went to clean the Church building. I have nice memories of that building. Clayton so enjoyed going to Church. While Clayton was still alive, we read from the Book of Mormon almost everyday. In the earlier years we went to the Temple a lot. We would always stop and visit Jack and Ina Sparks on our way back.

This month is always a little hard for me. I can hardly believe how long Clayton has been gone. He died May 16,2008. All the men I have been married to are gone. Dave Thompson died September 3, 1994 and Dave Otte died on May 8, 2001. Dave Otte and Clayton shared the same birthday--August 2nd (not the same year) and they both died in the month of May.

Now enough about the past.-----I am still here and though I miss everyone who has gone before me I am here for some reason so I do my best to enjoy life. I know that I will be with my loved ones again someday.

I have so much to be thankful for. I have a nice place to live and I still enjoy life and I am in good health. I have so many comforts in life. I have lived to see all my children grow up and to see grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I have had hard times but all in all I am having a good life.

I have a friend in the Church who is Donna's assistant in the library and also she is our visiting teacher. Her name is Eloise and she is such a nice person. Sunday I found out we have something it common. Donna had been teasing me and had turned my salt and pepper shakers around and was putting my TV remote at an angle. I can only stand it for so long. Laif happened to mention how Donna had been tormenting me with the remote and Eloise said she is the same way. She says she has to have everything lined up. It always makes me feel better when I find someone else who is like me. We are the normal ones, don't you agree?