Aloha, David Carson!

Our 9th grandson, David Carson, was born in April. I love that we have have so many grandsons! David Carson is the third generation of Davids in our family. David Austen, David Jeffery and now David Carson. Only David Austen goes by David! The rest by their beloved middle name. So, with great pleasure we traveled to Jeff and Sarah's home for David Carson's baby blessing. As we were driving into town, the boys called us and invited us to lunch! Oh, how nice, we thought. The boys want to spend time with us and enjoy a nice visit.

Enjoying a nice visit with our kids at the Burger Barn.... before the word....

Dad.....ahhh
We went to Smith and Edwards without  you and you are paying for lunch! 

Sunday we had a wonderful day visiting with family and enjoying a wonderful meal after the baby blessing at Jeff and Sarah's Church. It was a nice service and reminded me how special it is that we have the sealing power on the earth today so our families can be sealed together forever.
(Want to learn more click http://mormon.org/)

Laura helping Sarah prepare the pulled pork.. Bryan making his coleslaw.   Did I mention the food was wonderful!  Good job Sarah, pulling all that together. 

Laura's Family Picture

Jeff sneaking dessert first while Ben and Grandpa Ward laugh at the idea of dessert first!  GOOD ONE!  

Coleman,  was so good in his high chair eating food and watching everyone come and go to the food table.  He isn't the baby anymore in our big family!  David Carson is the new baby!  Coleman will be ONE in August.  

Cootsie... what more can I say?  This little guy wins the heart of everyone. 

Jeff, Sarah, Eli and Carson.   Jeff is trying to get Eli to look at the camera.  I actually have a better picture of their family, but for some reason this is one I posted.  Weird.

Carson and his two beautiful Grandmas !!  And of course his VERY beautiful  mother!  

Three Davids...  I think Jeff and David look alike in this picture.  

Do  you want a piece of this?

Bryan and Celeste enjoying the nice day.

Pretty Mama and a cute baby Coleman.

Sweet Kaelynn, having a fun time picking grass and asking people if they want a treat!
 She loves a good joke under there.

 On our way home we decided to do one thing that was on our Summer 2012 list.  We have 45 things on our list!  Number 40 is to visit a museum.  We decided to go to the Bingham Copper Mine so we could check it off!  What a sight!  I can't believe how huge this mine is.

Enjoying the view

This truck is as large as a house!

Fast forward to the next weekend and it was time for our FAMILY LUAU... ALOHA everyone.  We had great food and a fun time playing the Maori Sticks game.  Go here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L65BAGdtuww&feature=related  to see how to play.

Laura and Ben enjoy a good Luau

Sarah and Jeff, Eli and Carson enjoying the Luau.  

Hang Loose... our bar tenders resting after making delicious smoothies for everyone

Our Sweet Hawaiian princess

Visiting and relaxing after our great meal. 

Tyler is checking out the smoothie bar to see if he wants another one!  He had a blast running around with his cousin

David loves baseball.. this isn't a secret.  So, he trains all his grandsons to play baseball.  I think he is hoping for one good player in the mix!   Here is Eli's first lesson:

Hold the bat like this Eli....

Now Swing!    Eli did swing and hit the ball!  Way to go Eli.  

We are having a great Summer and can't wait to go fishing with our grandkids!  What's next on my summer list?  Stayed tuned.
Aloha.

A Visit to Springdale

David grew up in Springdale. He loved growing up in that small town which sits in the shadow of Zion National Park.  He has many stories about his boyhood he loves to tell, when you get him in the right mood.  I also have a soft spot in my heart for Springdale, because it was there I met David and we fell in love! Ah shucks....
On Monday for Memorial Day, we drove to Springdale to visit and drive past some of our favorite spots.

David's parents, Austen and Helen Excell are buried in the Springdale Cemetery. It is such a nice cemetery.   

Their Children... I like this idea for future generations so they can make connections to their ancestors.

A view of the cemetery nestled beneath those beautiful mountains that make Zion so wonderful.  We strolled through the cementary reminiscing about those that have gone before, but were such a big part of David's life growing up. 

Downtown Springdale... this is the heart of the town .  The old Pioneer Lodge to the right and Bumbleberry Inn to the left. 

David's chapel growing up!  It has now been turned into shops and a Pizza and Noodle house.  He can't stand to go into the building, because it just doesn't feel right!  We attended church here together a few times... I think I might have batted my eyelashes at David in this church!  

The Driftwood Lodge... this is where David grew up!  His parents owned this motel and restaurant.  It has changed since they owned it, but most of the charm is still in tact. 

Another view of the Driftwood...  I think David might have batted his eyelashes at me at the Driftwood!  We had some fun times here. 

Austen and Helen's family home.  David lived here when we started dating.  His room was on the far right. They used to have big trees out front, but they have since cut them down.  The big front door is brown, and in this picture it looks like there isn't a door, but there is!  I never can remember a time when there wasn't chairs out front on the porch. 

A closer view of the front door.  I think I only went through this door one or two times!  We mostly used the other  front door!   I love the day lillies out front.   This home is still owned by the family, but they are currently renting it out.  This is the home where our daughter-in-law lived with her children while our son was in Afghanistan.  It  has HISTORY folks.....goood memories.  It truly is a home.
We had a great time visiting Springdale and we ended our visit with a trip to Oscar's for a yummy lunch.  Springdale is a great place.

April and May

What is old saying? Time flies when you are having fun! That is how I have felt lately.  We have been having fun, but time has sure flown by. I can't believe it is the end of May already.  Here are some things we have been up to:

Kaelynn has been making barbie clothes to match her outfit!  She is wearing a dress I made for me, but I have to say it looks better on her.  Her barbie is wearing a matching dress made by Kaelynn.

We finished my April project!  We painted this table.  Here it is with the primer coat on.
We ended up painting it Navy Blue .

We had a fun Mother's Day weekend in St. George.
 We went to the Splash Pad with  Laura and her  children.
Kaelynn is enjoying herself to the max!  She loves water.

Here is Cooter trying to warm up after running up and down the stream and running in the big fountain.

 Tyler taking a drink after running through the big Water Fountain!

We went camping for David's birthday... He found some wood to chop and had a fun time splitting logs on his birthday! I hope I can split logs when I am in my 60's!

Here is our makeshift campsite in Nevada about 30 North of Ely.   We found this nice valley and enjoyed a nice steak dinner.  

Driving into Wendover!  Wendover Willie is there to welcome us.  After Wendover, we drove into Salt Lake City and stayed for 2 days in a nice RV park. 

The Eclipse.... Here is David in the "Sweet Spot" Kanarraville, Utah.   Not the best picture since all you notice is the SUN.... and you can't even tell the moon is over shadowing the Sun. 

The people were lined up for miles on the road to Kanarraville.. we saw tents, picnics, cameras, telescopes... it was  fun to be in the Sweet Spot and see all the people gazing at the Sun. 

The welding helmet we used to see the eclipse.  We weren't the only ones using a welding helmet!  Some people next to us had two and they were wearing them and walking around!  

Helmet Head!

This is what it looked like through the lens.  You could see it better than this, but this shows you the color.  Just looking at that picture hurts my eyes... don't stare at it!

My April project almost done.  I still need to put in sleeves and hem my dress. So far, it is turning out nice.  Instead of an Easter Dress it will be a Carson Blessing Dress!

My May project was to organize some of my sewing and crafts.  I used these boxes and they turned out nice.   I will also finish up my dress and make a baby blanket for a friend.

June Project is to make a quilt using this material.   This will be for the sewing room/grandkid room. 

June project is to finish this bag.  I have it cut out (2 years ago) and now I need to sew it .

Life is Wonderful.... blog on.

March Madness

I have been able to get a few things done this month! I am still trying to keep up my monthly project goal for the year. This month I wanted to stain my music cabinet.
Here is the before picture:

And here is my after picture:

I used an oil based stain.... I think Walnut

Here is David helping me stain the inside of the cabinet...

I liked the way it turned out... I also made some "Orbs" from embroidery hoops!  It sounds weird, but they look kind of cool.  Here is picture of them on top of the newly stained cabinet!

Closer view! I think I might add some vines intertwined to give it a fuller look.  Of course, this idea came from pinterest!

My April project is going to be to sew a new Easter Dress... or if that doesn't work out, I have a side table that I need to paint black..  I did buy a new pattern for the dress and I have the black paint already, so there is a good chance I will get one of these projects done!

Weekend with the Girls!

Every year we have a Girly Girl Weekend (we are on our 3rd annual) for just the girls in our family. This year Laura Jean was in charge of the weekend and she planned a wonderful get-a-way in St. George. We started out the weekend by having lunch at Kneaders... a great place to eat!

What to order?  So many choices!  

Waiting for the tour to start at Jacob Hamblin Home.

Here are the Girls!  

Waiting for our tour at the Bringham Young Home.  We got to visit with Grandma for a few minutes.  Both babies feel asleep!

Thanks Laura! 
 It was a SUPER Girly Girl Weekend.
I can't wait for next year!

Leap Year!

Today is Leap year 2012.... it only comes once every 4 years, so today was my day to finish projects.
My first project is my quilt!  This was my January project, but went into February!  The quilt top is finished and now I will need to tie it!  YEAH.  I love the way it turned out.

Finished Levi Quilt top

It was made out of old levis

My Project for February is Choose the Right Plaques to give to my Grandchildren!   The theme for Primary this year is Choose The  Right.  I saw these plaques on "Just Another hang up" blog and wanted to make them.   So...I did :)

One for Kaelynn, Tyler and Austen.   Tyler and Austen can share with their brothers.
When Sarah was here we made one for Eli... I feel bad I didn't get a picture of it because it turned out so cute. It was polka-dot like the pink one above, but it was greens and blues.  

I also made a plaque with the Young Women's theme this year... I thought it turned out nice as well.  

March Project:  I am going to stain this music cabinet to match the piano.

So far, my day of projects is  going great!  I love it when a plan comes together......

Have a Happy Leap Year Day.

Thirty days hath September,
April, June and November;
All the rest have thirty-one
Save February, she alone
Hath eight days and a score
Til leap year gives her one day more.