Comparision

Here's a picture of Kari at about the same age Annika is now. See any similarlities? Seems like the smile is pretty similar to me, Annika has the same little closed mouth smile that Kari has in this picture. I've never been real good in seeing similarities, so I'll wait for you to point them out to me. Tell me what you see!

Grandkids Pictures, Again

It's been almost 3 1/2 weeks since I put any pictures of my adorable, smart, wonderful grandchildren on my blog. What is wrong with me? So, here's a couple I took last Monday. Annika is growing by leaps and bounds and can do something different practically every week when I go up there. She is very different from Saben, although they both have enjoyed pulling the videos off the shelf, which is what she was starting do when I
took her picture. Saben has really taken off on riding his bike this spring, now that he is tall enough to reach the ground when he sits on the bike seat. This is a different type of bike than I had ever seen before. It has no pedals, it is powered by running feet. If he gets going down a hill, he can lift his feet and coast, otherwise he just runs around with it, so it is good exercise and he loves it.

Busy Times

I find it interesting that even when things supposedly "slow down" due to some activities being over for the summer, that there is still not enough time to do the things you thought you would do if you had more time. I'm not totally sure what happens to those extra hours that were taken up by the activities that have been stopped for the summer. For me, some of those hours are spent working in the yard, but there are others that are unaccounted for. I think that when I don't have to rush off somewhere, I go at a much more relaxed pace. Having to be somewhere at a certain time keeps me moving and if I don't have to be somewhere I can waste time easily, especially in the morning, when I find I need to check e-mail, blogs, etc. It also seems that there is no such thing as "slowing down", there is always something else popping up to take up your time. Right now, the thing popping up that I've been spending a lot of time thinking and planning for, is my parents 60th anniversary/ 80th birthday (for my Dad) party being held on June 22. (More about that later.) That's another reason that the trip to San Carlos was so nice, we could actually slow down for awhile.

Prince Caspian

Last night Ken and I went to dinner with some friends, then went to see the new Chronicles of Narnia movie, "Prince Caspian" (PC). None of us remembered the story from the book very much at all, although parts seemed kind of familiar to me. There was one part that I didn't remember at all as being in the book and can only conclude that Hollywood added it for some reason. I'll be interested to see if anyone else found that also. There were a lot more fighting scenes than I remembered and although good wins out over evil in the end, the story of PC doesn't have near the impact as "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (L,W,W) does. L,W,W, does such a good job of showing the picture of Christ's sacrifice, death and resurrection, it's hard to top. I was trying to decide what lessons there were in PC from a Christian standpoint. The ones I came up with are that it shows how we fail when we try to do things on our own, without God's help and how we can succeed when we do ask for help, but we have to ask for His help. The other lesson I saw was how we need to seek God and follow Him when he shows us what He wants us to do, even if others are telling us we shouldn't. Over all, the movie was pretty good, although a movie with lots of fight scenes is not really my favorite.

Learning from MOPS

As a mentor mom for MOPS (mothers of preschoolers), I not only get the chance to interact with the young moms, and hopefully add some helpful comments, I also get to hear the speakers that come each week and talk about a variety of topics that are important to these young moms. It is fun to hear what issues are of concern to young moms these days and I have found that I have learned some things along the way also. One of the things that has stuck with me this year is a comment one of the speakers made concerning different learning styles for children, but I have applied it to others areas of my life. It is easy for me to get locked into thinking that I know how things should be done and to get bothered when things aren't done my way. (This can be anything from how the dishwasher is loaded, to which direction to go to get somewhere, etc.) This speaker reiterated over and over, that just because someone does things differently than you do, that it's not wrong, it's just different. I find myself saying that over and over, It's NOT wrong, it's just different. God made us all different; physically, emotionally and in how we do things. Celebrate the differences, instead of dwelling on them! What a good lesson to learn.

Trapped Hummingbirds

Various times throughout the years that we have lived in this house, hummingbirds have gotten trapped in our garage. Sunday was one of those days. I always feel so bad for them, it seems like their little hearts wouldn't be able to take the panic they exhibit as they fly rapidly around the garage near the ceiling. I was on my way to church, so I didn't have time to help it right then. I decided to leave the garage door open in hopes that it would find its way out. When I got home, I didn't see or hear it, so I assumed it had flown out. Later in the day when I went out there, I could hear it again and discovered it was fluttering against the windows in the garage now. It looked pretty tired, so I did what I have done in the past to try and help them on their way. I get my broom out and put it near them, they usually flutter a bit, then sit on the broom. I was able to get it on the broom, then slowly moved toward the open garage door. I didn't have to go very far, when it flew out the door. It always feels good to be successful in helping them find their way out, hopefully they recover with no problems. Has anybody else been able to help a trapped hummingbird? I'd like to hear how you did it.

San Carlos - Part 3

These are a few of my favorite things (or at least some memorable things).

The sound of the waves right outside our door. The sound of the gardener singing as he waters the plants in the backyard. The same gardener trying to talk to us as we read on the patio, then going to his car and bringing us a bag of lemons to make lemonade with. Watching the pelicans dive into the water. Walking on the rocky beach and not slipping due to the water shoes.


Finding shells and uniquely colored rocks on the beach.

Looking for dolphins all week, then going on a sunset cruise the last night, and finding them swimming beside and in front of the boat, right under our feet!

Trying "molcajete", and liking it enough that you go a second time. (This is chicken, it comes in beef and shrimp, also, and is cooked in a stone mortar bowl.)

While watching a DVD, spotting a lizard running across the wall in the house. The house we stayed in. The different flowers and cactus that are in this area. Eating meals at 12 different resturants and only eating indoors 3 times. Having breakfast on our patio while watching the waves and birds. Going to a resturant a second time for breakfast and having the waiters remember that we wanted to see the dolphins go by. (They told us the dolphins had gone by 10 minutes before we got there.) Having plenty of time to read. Asking a waiter for something not on the menu that we had heard the resturant made and being able to order it. (It was lobster thermidor, it was very good and priced amazingly low.) Finding the cove where a scene in "The Mask of Zorro" was filmed. Fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast every morning and it can be bought at the stores.

San Carlos - Part 2

This blog entry is especially for my daughter, who loves plants and flowers and is celebrating her anniversary today, Happy Anniversary, K & K! (I hope the rest of you enjoy the plants, also.)


One of the many things I'm enjoying seeing is the various types of cactus that are in this area. A special bonus is that a lot of them are blooming or have just finished blooming. I'm not totally sure what the different types of cactus are all called, I do know that the one with all the branches is an organ pipe cactus and I believe the one with the yellow flower is a prickley pear. I just know I find them extrememly interesting and have many more pictures of cactus than what are found here. I think the cactus with the puff ball looking things is one that has already bloomed and that is what the flower turned into. We saw a bird pecking away at one of the puff balls and it looked like maybe there was fruit inside, it was kind of pinkish inside, so it looked like it might taste good. Seeing unique plants and flowers that we don't have in the great Pacific Northwest, is one of the things I enjoy when we travel.

San Carlos, Mexico

Ken and I left Tues. to spend 8 days in San Carlos, Mexico. Why, you ask, did you go to San Carlos? Two reasons really, one we are celebrating our 35th anniversary this month and wanted to go somewhere away from the rainy and cloudy weather. Second, I remembered that my Mom's cousin Bonnie owns a house in Mexico, which she rents out. We have never been here before and were curious to see what it is like. Ken is sitting on the steps that lead from the water to the house, which is a duplex and has 2 bedrooms in each one. We are staying in the one with the flowering vine over the 2 arches. We are really enjoying sitting out on the patio each morning to eat breakfast and reading, later, out in the deck chairs. The weather has been perfect, sunny with some overcast from time to time, but not to hot. (Although I was able to get a sunburn yesterday, when I forgot to put some suntan lotion on before taking a long walk on the beach.) This is a totally different vacation from most that we've taken over the years, in that it is a restful vacation. There are a few things to see and do, but a lot of the time we are just relaxing and not feeling like we need to rush around and see lots of things. Both of the mornings we have been here so far, we took a walk along the rocky beach that is exposed at low tide and have enjoyed seeing all the hermit crabs and finding some shells to add to the collection at the house. I don't think I've ever seen so many hermit crabs in my life. We have discovered the most wonderful thing for walking and exploring wet, rocky, shoreline, they are water shoes or aqua socks. You don't slip at all as you walk on the rocks and cushion your feel nicely. We can't believe we never tried them before. They are wonderful!

Apple Blossom Festival

May 2-4 was the weekend for the annual Apple Blossom festival in Wenatchee. This has been an extended family get-together since I was growing up in Wenatchee. As family members have moved away from Wenatchee, many try to go back for the weekend when they can. This year there were 25 of us that gathered at my parents for lunch after the parade, 7 of them ranged from 9 months old to 8 years old. I'm not saying what the age range was for the rest of us! It was definately a full house, but a lot of fun! This is a picture of some of us waiting for the parade to begin, including 2 of my nieces and 3 great-nieces. My Dad is sitting behind Ken's head, so there were 4 generations at the parade.