Check-In

Still Pictures of MORE Trees...

2011-12-15T08:38:00.000-08:00

Here is a long shot of the trees lined up on Santa Anita This is a tree up on Elkins. Those roots! That tree was SO big:
SEE! I am 5' 7 3/4" tall....The tree's circumference is as tall as me!

Ok, now back to Santa Anita....That is steam coming off the top of the foliage pile! I took these pictures at about 9:00am.

Huge pile of foliage in the parking lot of the county park on Santa Anita

Foliage pile meshing into the log pile

OK! The end of the tree pictures!

The Consequence of Winds

2011-12-14T12:50:00.000-08:00

I made 2 videos for your enjoyment!
I HATE the new blogger. I pushed the button that suggested I "try" it. I do not like it!!

I have still pictures, too. They will come later.

Try, Try Again

2011-12-09T20:52:00.000-08:00

Many times today have I tried to fix that "Wind and Blown Down Trees" Link. I THINK I have finally fixed it.

Please click on it again. The pictures are amazing.

If the link doesn't work, you are supposed to comment and say, "hey, the link did not work!"

Thanks.

I'll Huff and Puff and BLOW your Trees Down!

2011-12-08T19:33:00.000-08:00

Wednesday night, November 30, 2011, the winds blew with great force. I heard a report that at times the winds blew 90 MPH. We heard it and it was scary. Our electricity went out at 10:00pm. Who knew...I thought it would be back on in a few hours. I wondered about how we would wake up in time for school. Little did I know.

Our electricity was out for 5 1/2 days. Our city looked like a tornado hit it, BUT, thank goodness, no houses were blown down; just a lot of trees. On Thursday morning, I drove around and took pictures. It was amazing. No school Thursday or Friday. Monday, Quinn went to school, Tuesday all the children went to school and a few hours later the electricity came on! Yea!
Here is my reporting:
This is a couple of blocks from our house. On the corner of Wilson and Sierra Madre. I think a very old lady lives here. The tree is still like this one week later.
The blessings of having a pine tree:

Ok, I have SO many more pictures to show you, I have put them up on Picassa.

Here is a link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/thxhune/TREESDecWinds?authkey=Gv1sRgCKjXgajn_aXJjAE

Mom/Nana: click on the line above. When you get to the pictures, click on the small pictures and they will get bigger, then there is an arrow (kind of light, so look) at the side of the picture that you can press to see the next big picture.

It gets better...or worse, depending on your perspective.

EyeLID Caught in a Zipper

2011-12-08T19:14:00.000-08:00

SETUP: We/Chase, had/has a jacket like this.

It is one he got for free from Sports Illustrated.

It says FALCONS on it.

More SETUP: On Friday morning I went to go to a funeral.

(Shauna Miller's mother died.)

STORY: While I was gone, Quinn went outside to work on getting all the leaves out of our pool. Griffin went out too. He was wearing the jacket.

As boys will do, he tried to turtle himself into his jacket; to shrink down below the zipper, then he tried to zip up the jacket. Somehow, he got his EYELID caught in the zipper!!

MORE SETUP: This was all during our power outage. I learned to charge my cellphone at every opportunity. I was charging my cellphone in another room with the phone off. I did not want the phone to ring, or beep at an improper time during the funeral.

STORY, CONTINUED: Griffin cried/screamed as anyone would. Quinn came and saw what had happened. He tried calling my cell phone, but I did not answer. He tried calling Dad, but by that time he was almost at work, about 40 minutes away. He called Heather, but because of the traffic it would take her about 40 minutes to get to our house, then he tried calling Angie Jensen. She came over.

About this time, I went to check on my cell phone and found many messages, and missed calls and missed texts. Griffin had zipped his eyelid in a jacket zipper. I had one message from Griffin just crying so pathetically for about 3 minutes. It was awful. I raced home!

It was hard to know what to do, but eventually, I cut the jacket off his head with just the section remaining that he had zippered to his eyelid.

Then Angie saw that we had to just zip UP the zipper to release his eyelid.

I told him it would hurt, then quickly zipped hard and fast.

Within 30 seconds he felt so much better.

Sorry, there are no BEFORE pictures. I was REALLY tempted to run and get the camera and take a picture, but that seemed a little cruel.

Here is Griffin's eye right after his release:

It looks awful!
Here is a side view so you can see the swelling:

Many days later, he is fine. We are lucky and blessed he did not have to have any stitches.

Plus is makes for a good story.

Just be careful how and what you are zipping...

Cupboard Looks Bare....(not naked, tee hee)

2011-12-08T19:10:00.000-08:00

True, untouched photo....

I don't think this has happened much in the life of the Cole family.

Only THREE boxes of cereal!

That is what happened after Thanksgiving and boys left for school.

Almost eaten out of house and home....and happily so!

Don't worry, the cupboard has now been replenished!

2 Socks and a Shoe

2011-12-07T16:48:00.000-08:00

Conversation with Luke's Mom, Allison:

(Griffin was 9 houses down, at Luke's; playing.)

Me: I Allison! There are a lot of trucks down the street, I just wondered if the boys might enjoy walking down there and seeing all the trucks and workers.

Allison: That would be fine, but did you know Griffin came over this 2 socks and one shoe on?

Me: What? He was going to ride his bike... (I found out later, he told me he forgot about his bike).

Allison: Well, I saw him come in the door with 2 socks and one shoe.

Apparently, Griffin had a lot on his mind....

Can You Spot It?

2011-11-22T19:08:00.000-08:00

It is so gross...

It's almost as big as a mouse!

We took many pictures.

Quinn killed it.

It is still hanging, dead, from the front porch.

Thanksgiving Songs!

2011-11-16T19:50:00.000-08:00

I just heard that KOST (a radio station, 103.5) has started playing Christmas songs!
Ok, I like Christmas songs, but we haven't even celebrated Thanksgiving!
No one wants "their" day skipped! So let's not skip the Celebration of Thanksgiving!!

Here are some great Thanksgiving songs.
Enjoy.

Whose Body Parts?

2011-11-09T06:21:00.000-08:00

Whose legs? Whose smile?

Whose hair?

Whose arm? They ALL belong to the Birthday Boy Today!!

Happy Birthday, Christopher!!

We LOVE you!

We'll see you soon!

This post was posted at the exact time and day Christopher was born. That is one of the gifts of the first born; the mother always remembers that time. It is a life changer.

Halloween 2011 Pictures!

2011-11-08T18:29:00.000-08:00

Griffin is a HIPPY poser - so cool

Leah Dunham began collecting these peacock feathers in Jr. High! She has continued to collect them until Halloween. Now, the fruits of her labors!

Pictures from the Day at the Farm

2011-11-08T10:47:00.000-08:00

We went on October 21st - I am finally taking the time to put the pictures up.
Enjoy!!

Here is the beginning of the day. Quinn with his eyes closed....sorry

This is in a corn stalk labyrinth - one way in, one way out.

Kylie posing on the pumpkins

Griffin ran all the way over to the other end of the pumpkins; about 1 1/2 football fields worth.

I LOVED all these sunflowers!

Quinn in the labyrinth

This is a close up of a guy in a outhouse.

Candice, Lola, Teo

Griffin posing on the pumpkins

Some weird pumpkins!

The Coles that went

That's a huge pumpkin

Griffin & Teo in the pumpkin patch.

See the green bushes way at the back of the photo; that is where Griffin ran to and back; hopping over pumpkins

Griffin enjoyed this display VERY much. Giggle and giggle

It was a fun day!!

Next up....Halloween!!

We Went to a Corn Maze!

2011-10-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

Please just be amused; the pictures came in backward. I heard about this farm on the NEWS! The kids had a day off of school last Friday the 21st, so we went. We had a great time....more pictures in another post.

Here we are at the top of a stack of hay! That was the gift for finding the end of the maze:
Yea! We did it in about 15 minutes.

Climbing up to the top....

This is the start...a bit scary because there is no rhyme or reason for any turn left or right. My children were brave, so so was I.

A VIDEO!! Here are a few feelings at the top of the stack of hay:

It's Been a Month....

2011-10-19T14:43:00.000-07:00

My, oh my...
I can't believe it has been so long since I last blogged!
Nothing seems new, or newsworthy.
Life is good and happy.
Here are 3 pictures:

Our front porch! I planted flowers in the pots.

A zinnia WITH a bee in the center!

A sunflower
Yes, from our yard!

BYU Blue at the Game

2011-09-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

At Friday nights game!

Such a nice picture!!

Hope they can win....

Proud To Be

2011-09-21T16:34:00.000-07:00

Today, while turning in GRIFFIN'S application to be a cub scout, I saw a friend. She asked how much scouting my children had done.

My happy reply, "I have 4 Eagle Scouts and my 5th is VERY close to finishing".

It was a nice moment for me.

Thanks, Christopher, Steven, Chase and Zak and the soon to be Eagle, Quinn!

In another conversation with Griffin, I told him that we would need to go home and google what the name of the end part of the shoelace was. Griffin quickly told me it was an Aglet! And it is spelled A-G-L-E-T.

I was most impressed!

Later, I asked Kylie if she knew; yes she did and she told me aglet.

Then I asked Quinn. He told me that he learned it from Phineas and Ferb! Today, I texted Zak and told him that Griffin knew what an aglet was, did he? He quickly responded with yes, and that I needed to watch more Phineas and Ferb.

Thanks, Phineas and Ferb for teaching my children.

For those who don't know:

What BUGS me Today!

2011-09-20T08:58:00.000-07:00

Griffin's school has changed the company that is doing their school portraits. This new company wishes to charge way more than the last company. VERY Frustrating!!

To think that I got an 11 x 14 from Costco for $1.50 and this company wants to charge $15.00 for an 8 x 10. That bugs me!

I can't put the real picture up that goes with this "bug", because it would be inappropriate! I bugs me to see girls going to school with shorts so short that they BARELY cover their bums!! There IS a school dress code, but no one really cares but me. I don't think kids have to go to school dressed like pioneers, but come on, cover the tops of your thighs!!

Oh, I thought I was done, but WHAT are the MOTHER'S thinking about buying their little 11 year old daughters clothes like that anyway!! Think, people, think!

Ok, these shoes are a little ugly, but because of that, I kind of like them. I looked into how much they are, thinking maybe around $10 - $15. They are $45!! I have seen kids wearing these shoes and I know their families do not have much money. I don't get it. I also don't get spending money on cell phone plans that you don't need, but like, when you are scraping by to pay the electric bill. It reminds me of Pres. Obama's plan to raise taxes to solve the governments spending problems. Maybe, not spending so much would help too.

Ok, off my soap box now.
Must go do something productive.

Compare

2011-09-12T14:09:00.000-07:00

Steven

and

Jayna

hmm

The Weekend

2011-09-11T21:04:00.000-07:00

I could blog about a lot of different things, but I will start with today and we'll see where that takes us!

I was in charge of Sharing time in Primary. We were talking about the blessings that going on a mission brings. I decided to talk about CHASE! These are some of the pictures I showed! I printed them up big, a full 8 x 10! The primary kids loved them:

Chase pointing at the line where the water was during the hurricane

What was the name of that hurrican, I can't remember? What the hurricane did:

I showed a good picture of chase as a missionary, not this one, I couldn't find the one I used today, I put them one up for entertainment sake only:

It was a good message AND I showed Chase's yellow Mormon Hands T-shirt too!

Thanks Chase, you really helped me for primary today!

Songs we sang in church today:

Opening: Be Still My Soul

Sacrament song: O Saviour Thou That Wearest a Crown

Rest: Shall the Youth of Zion Falter

Closing: Master the Tempest is Raging

It was an interesting selection. Lots of verses and singing.

Now 2 pictures of Jayna, taken on Saturday, Sept 10th:

At Kylie's soccer game, her team won. The score was 1 to 0. She assisted in the on goal!

Griffin played his game too. He ran by and around the ball nicely. He did make contact a few times.

Quinn will start seminary tomorrow morning at 6:30! They are studying the Old Testament.

That's it!!

P.S. Now I have those songs swirling around in my head!!

First Day of School Pictures PLUS!

2011-09-09T09:13:00.000-07:00

Ok, have you see the blogs where people put up several small pictures up, all together in a cohesive table, like 3 pictures in a line, two or three different lines?? I tried to do it, but I can't; don't want to take ALL the time to figure it out; have SO much to do. So, in YOUR mind, just see that!

Here are our FIRST day of school pictures:

All the while Griffin was complaining and questioning the reason for such pictures, why, do we do this every year, why, I don't want to, I can't be any more happy. So I told him he would not get a ride to school unless he smiled appropriately....nice...

Kylie Starting 7th Grade

Griffin starting 3rd Grade

Quinn starting 11th grade

My Sunflowers! Aren't they SO pretty? I love them. I must because they bring SO many bees!
It is amazing I have the nerve to go out there and water them!

The whole garden

A tiny beginning of a pumpkin and a zucchini:

A buttercup squash and a cucumber

NOW, I must go and start dinner....yes, it is 9:46am, but I want to get it done (Mexican Lasagna). Oh, on a side note, I am going to try to find a good VEGETARIAN Lasagna recipe. Kylie should LOVE that.

I must finish my slip cover, it is really looking good.

I am starving, so I must eat.

And I REALLY need to go see Jayna!

For The Crafty

2011-09-08T09:41:00.000-07:00

I accidentally found a new blog today:

I put the link over on the side.

It is GREAT!

Has lots of free printables.

It is filled with all the kinds of things I want to know how to make, but don't.

I am supposed to be sewing my new slipcover, but this was so much easier.

I'll go work on my slipcover now.

P.S. Can anyone tell me why, sometimes blogger chooses to make the spacing be double when I only want it to be single? It seems to happen after I put a picture on. It really bugs me.

Swimming With A Friend

2011-09-07T19:44:00.000-07:00

We NEVER use the pool in September. It just seems we get too busy. The pool is not warm enough. Things just happen.

Well, it has been VERY hot....106 today; warm enough to keep the pool water nice! I was GOING to use the pool.

I went out, knowing I would have to skim the leaves off the top.

I pulled the tarp back and found something odd...

Do you see it?

Yes, that is my shadow...I think it is funny, but that is not what you are supposed to see.

I guess a rat got thirsty, or it was chased into the pool.

Yes, it was/is gross.

I got it out.

Thank goodness I used the pool!

Tonight I still must cut Dad's hair.
Put the tarp back on the pool.
hmm....I know there was something else!!

Fantasy Football Draft: THE MOVIE

2011-09-05T13:30:00.000-07:00

It all STARTS on THURSDAY!

Here's a video of the start of our

Family Fantasy Football Draft

Jayna Julie Cole has ARRIVED!

2011-09-04T20:55:00.000-07:00

2 hours old

7 lbs 10 ozs 20 inches long

She is so pretty! Look at her lips!

Let's take you back 3 days to Heather's baby shower:

The cake at Heather's Shower on August 31st:

Heather with a few of her gifts

Now, I take this close up to show you how tiny Heather's belly is!
She looks GREAT and she is going to give birth in 3 more days!!

Sweet family picture

Jayna is about 2 hours old!

Quinn holding Jayna

She's not drooling on him yet!

Kylie holding the baby

NOW, in the next couple of days, my plan is to add pictures about:
Griffin's Baptism
Our Fabulous Mexican Cruise
Quinn's Birthday
So, stay tuned!!

Pictures of THIS Week

2011-08-04T09:52:00.000-07:00

Enjoy Zak's face because it is the LAST time you will see him with BRACES!

They are off today at 1:00! Griffin had a birthday -

opening presents; notice the JOY on his face!

with his cake
he WANTED a part with NO frosting

blowing out candles

his loot

I taught Kylie how to SEW some shorts!

These are ones she sleeps in.

A proud finish!

I found a recipe for the BYU Mint Brownies!

They were delicious!

Ok - That was the week - well some of it.

Now I must clean bathrooms

sort laundry

make a card

fix dinner

remember to pick Christopher up at the airport

continue to teach math to Griffin

clean the stove (I hope to get this done)

clean my room

I would like to sew myself a new purse too, will I have time?

Act of Desperation?

2011-08-03T15:10:00.000-07:00

It won't help your draft be better than mine. Besides, I have numerous NFL sources who text me instant updates everyday.

Just For Griffin!

2011-07-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

Griffin is EIGHT today!

We love you Griffin!

Love your sweetness; helpful attitude, always ready with a hug!

You are entertaining, a joy to be around.

For Mike Sims-Walker

2011-07-29T22:05:00.000-07:00

So he doesn't forget about curfew

For Future Reference

2011-07-25T17:28:00.000-07:00

The Rams have a Good Defense and they're getting better. So if you need to describe how bad something is don't be like dad and say "lousy, like the Rams" or I"ll bring up the stats. Last year, the Rams had 12th best defense, while Dad's beloved Philadelphia Jailbirds and Showboats had the 21st! that's worse than the Raiders! (but not as bad as the 23rd ranking Colts). And if you DO diss on the Rams it's very likely they'll punish your teams starting QB for it because they had the 7th most sacks last year. That's more than anyone else's favorite team. So back off or suffer! (Only Quinn has no need to fear this; Jay Cutler getting injured isn't exactly going to have Chicago fans crying themselves to sleep...)

Also, my Free Agency predictions

Rams: They sign DT Barry Coefield (alt guess: Brandon Mebane). They sign RB Darren Sprolles (alt guess: Steve Slaton). They sign G Harvey Dahl. They sign S Quinton Mikell. They resign WR Mark Clayton and get no other WR's.

QB's: Cardinals trade for Kevin Kolb (I hope: Marc Bulger). Seahawks resign Matt Hasselbeck (I hope: trade for Carson Palmer) Vikings get Donovan Mcnabb. Kyle Orton starts in Denver

Nnamdi Asomugha: goes to the Buccaneers (alt guess: Texans).

The Greatest Show on Earth!

2011-07-21T21:51:00.000-07:00

We were invited to the Ringling Bros. circus today, Thursday. We were given box seats, free parking pass; VIP status! Nice for us, and thanks to Catherine!

Chase, Zak, Kylie, Griffin and I went. Quinn is at Scout camp having a GREAT time, I am sure.

It was held in the Staples Center:

a view from our seats

Some of the retired Laker's Jerseys:

On of the first things the Ringling Bros. did to start the circus was to have us all STAND while the Star Spangled Banner was sung. An elephant walked around the ring in honor of our flag.

The circus in full swing!

A daring tight rope act!

It was a fun and GREAT adventure!

Glad we got to go!

Las Vegas

2011-07-21T21:39:00.000-07:00

Kerry and I celebrated

30 years of marriage

last week!

Amazing.

We both thought 30 years sounded like a lot,

but it felt very short.

So, on Tuesday of this week, we drove to Las Vegas!

We stayed at the MGM Grand

While there we saw the Statue of Liberty

Well, we saw it from the perspective of the Hotel New York, New York
It was fun to see them more up close instead of "zooming" by on the freeway.

We walked down the strip, ended up in the Paris Hotel.

Beautiful!

I used the "facilities". They were lovely and I took a picture:

Really, these are bathroom stalls!

These are the beautiful sinks where you wash your hands:

We had a great time. Stayed one night.

Enjoyed the Lazy River Pool.

Out by the pool, reading, swimming.

No pictures of the celebratory people....

FOOOOOOOD!!!

2011-07-19T17:20:00.000-07:00

I'm hungry, it's dinner time and Mom and Dad are gone on their anniversary trip.

I don't know If I'm gonna make it

Zak DID Graduate!

2011-07-14T11:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am trying to catch you up, slowly, not to overwhelm, on what's been going on!

It was a GREAT night. I took about 100 pictures.

NOW, just to keep you current...

I had a 2 minute pow wow this morning.

I just wanted to speak the words and warn my children on the dangers of drugs, smoking, alcohol. Who knows who will be addicted to it? Besides, it is in no way good for you. So, that was my warning.

Griffins comment: Mom, did you know that someone on the Yankees cheated by doing drugs?

What??

2011-07-12T19:59:00.000-07:00

This is Steven on his last day of being 25. Enjoy your 26!!

Flying Bats!

2011-05-28T09:05:00.000-07:00

Early in May, Zak was asked to go to a Dodger game.
He had a very good time. It was an exciting game; especially when Zak got on TV!!

Let's say that Zak went to the game on a Wednesday. (It's been so long, I can't remember what day he went.) On Thursday, after school, he came home and turned on the TV to ESPN; one of those sports shows. He started watching and they started talking about last night's Dodger game. They showed the time when Andre Either threw his bat after he had a mighty swing. There in the upper right hand part of the picture Zak saw himself!

He couldn't believe it! We watched and watched, then we recorded it. We have it on VHS. So, when you come over, you can see it in slow motion! Zak remembers when it happened. He said it was a little scary, hence his face of fear. Now, below, I have a nice (sort of) close up for you:

Now, go back and try to find him in the original picture.

It's a fun game.

Maui, Hawaii 2011 Pictures

2011-04-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

Oh, it was a great trip!
Glad Kerry/Dad earned it!

Here is a video I took of loud waves/surf hitting lava rocks. If you want to see more pictures, go here
We stayed at the Sheraton in Maui. I never went to the pool. Most everyday I walked down to the beach; so convenient and SO nice! There is nothing like the beach on Maui. One day we drove the road to Hana. I enjoyed it! Kerry was glad for the accomplishment.
The pictures are in there backward...don't ask me...I did my best.
Just enjoy the trip!

Happy Day; It's Your Birthday!

2011-04-05T08:31:00.000-07:00

Happy 22 today!!

Hope you enjoy your day!

Now, below, please enjoy the full page of your birthday song! It just came to me as I was thinking of you and your birthday! I thought everyone knew it! As I sang it, all I got were quizzical faces. I played it on the piano; still, nothing. So, the next time I see you, I will play it for you! Or, just try and hum along yourself.

You are always a joy.
You are always helpful.
Always so kind.
Quite and respectful.
So grateful you are part of our family!

We LOVE you!

A Basketball Tournament

2011-04-04T21:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, Zak and Quinn played in a basketball tournament a few weeks ago....here are some pictures:

Sam Magnusson, Zak Josh Colton

MOM-Venture!

2011-04-04T16:19:00.000-07:00

We went on a MOM-Adventure today!
I looked in a book; found something we could do that wouldn't cost much money; it had the possibility to be fun; so I took some willing participants!

We went to Chinatown in Los Angeles. I had never been before; I think most of my children have been. It was fun; quick; LOW cost and I think we were back home in 75 minutes!

Here are a few pictures:

We went into a few stores; saw some trinkets; bought nothing. I enjoyed myself! At one point Quinn asked why we were walking SO fast; I told him we had to hurry; I only put enough money for 40 minutes in the parking meter. We got back in plenty of time.

We drove passed Olvera Street. We will come back and see that on Wednesday! I think we will get a churro while we are there. I know, you can hardly wait for the pictures!

A Conversation with Griffin

2011-04-04T14:38:00.000-07:00

Griffin: how old is Christopher?

Mom: I will tell you a way that you will always remember how old Christopher is! He will always be 20 years older than you! Now, how old is Christopher?

G: he is 27!

M: that's right!

G: is he still going to school?

M: no, he is ALL done!

G: so he doesn't have any more school to go to?

M: that is right, he has NO more school.

G: Wow! That was fast!

Griffin Plays Baseball!

2011-04-04T14:30:00.000-07:00

He plays "machine pitch"; just what it sounds like His team is the "A's". Pictures: Batting.... He made contact!

On first base!

His whole team out in the field...Griffin is the one crouching down.

Griffin in the field

Watch is face as he runs to first base; it's great!

Lloyd Newell = Roger Goodell?

2011-04-03T08:58:00.000-07:00

While watching music and the spoken word, I realized that in addition to teaching at BYU and speaking for music and the spoken word, Lloyd Newell has a side job as NFL commissioner. Maybe he can get the mormon tabernacle choir to perform at the draft.

We Are Here!

2011-03-24T17:41:00.000-07:00

Aloha!

This is the view from our room!

Hope you are all having a great day!

Maybe we will go snorkling later....

Right now, it's Jimmer Time!

Order of Operations

2011-03-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

Correct order of CAR Operations:

1. Park at destination
2. Turn off motor
3. Hold keys in hand
4. Get out of car
5. Lock doors
6. Walk away

Forgetting numbers 2 & 3 are just troublesome:
1. Park at destination

4.Get out of car
5. Lock Doors
6. Walk away
7. Get a sinking feeling

Hmm...anyone join the club lately??

Because of Zak

2011-03-13T19:26:00.001-07:00

Because of Zak, when I saw this T-shirt at Griffin's game, I knew exactly what he was talking about. It made me laugh. Then I took his picture knowing I could blog about it.

Zak, every so sweetly, clues me in on many sports things. He called me over to the computer awhile ago and showed me the video below. I like KNOWING things and being kept in the loop!

Tasty!

2011-03-13T19:15:00.000-07:00

Right when I thought I had NOTHING to blog about; Quinn eats Chocolate Covered Strawberries.

Great photo op!

Good sport!

Chocolate Covered mouth

Funny T-Shirt

2011-03-11T22:20:00.000-08:00

You might need some background to fully appreciate the hilariousness of this shirt. (I apologize if you already know all this) On the UNLV basketball team there is a player named Tre'Von WILLIS who has been talking trash about Jimmer all season, saying he's overrated (then the next day Jimmer scored like 37 points against him) and that he doesn't deserve the MWC player of the year award. He's been saying stuff like that all season. Anyway, I thought this shirt was hilarious.

Full, Wet and Seedy

2011-03-09T21:11:00.000-08:00

A little background for this post:

We have eaten cantaloupe lately (great prices; on sale!). Zak saw me cutting the cantaloupe the other day and told me that it just makes him sick to see the inside of the "uncleaned out" cantaloupe. I quickly cleaned out the cantaloupe; I didn't want any sick children.

Now the Blog Post:

We just finished watching Survivor! It was so good. We decided that this year there are WAY more "weird-os" on the show. We really enjoy it.

Then I was switching around and saw a bit of: Hoarding: buried alive! It is such a car wreck of a show. Interesting. It is also a show that helps people. (That's my defense in watching it.)

Zak said: "watching that show kind of makes me feel like cantaloupe; a little sick."

QUIZ!!

2011-03-09T10:01:00.001-08:00

If you were going to give CHASE some delicious food that you KNEW he would love, what would you give him?

Looks SO Good!

2011-03-09T06:54:00.000-08:00

I have kept this bar in my car for a few days. My goal was to see if anyone would try it and then to my own delight, see their face as they chew. My latest victim was Zak. He saw it, couldn't wait to try it. Really, it is a disgusting bar. You can't help but screw up your face. He did well. I had to spit my bite out. I think he swallowed. Just a little joy in my day. If I wasn't going to get my money out of eating the bar, then I got my money's worth out of people's faces when they ate one bite.

Sorry, Lara. You just aren't our bag.

Other victims: Kylie and Quinn
Thank you

Wounded!

2011-03-08T18:45:00.000-08:00

When I saw QUINN'S WOUNDED HAND, I knew exactly how he achieved it.
Do YOU?

A closer look....

Come on, make a guess!

2011...Who Knew?

2011-03-08T09:17:00.000-08:00

While running the other day, my mind started wandering on my children.

I thought about Kylie, turning 12! She will start Young Women's. She will do Personal Progress!! I thought we should do something special for her; growing up; moving on. I know it is right, but sometimes I want to squish them down. What happened to my tiny, baby girl?

Then I remembered Griffin would be baptized this year!

That's BIG! My youngest child turning 8!

And then Zak, turning 18!
Graduating from High School.
My 4th child to do so!
Accepted to BYU...also the 4th.
Getting his driver's license.
Oh, and he will probably get his braces off, ha ha.

It's a big year for him!

And Heather and Steven having a baby!
That is BIG!
Steven getting the news that he passed all of his CPA exams!

Quinn will be 16!
He can get his driver's license...will he?

Christopher getting in a car crash and having his car totaled! Who knew? Would we want to know?

Chase, what is your news of 2011??

I think that is A LOT of BIG things to happen in one family in one year.

Amazing.

QUIZ!

2011-03-04T08:49:00.000-08:00

What is this number: 54,902

What "drug" is Charlie Sheen on:

How many books do you think Kylie has read this week?

And now, in thanks for your participation, here is a funny picture....it made me laugh:
(Thanks, Hillary)

Another Cole Family Tradition

2011-03-02T10:18:00.000-08:00

I sent Zak an e-mail this morning about what I thought we should have for dinner. You know, dinner, that meal that is always coming, what you always have to plan and hopefully make people happy about. I thought I would just ask Zak's opinion. I know he checks his e-mail in 3rd period. Kerry checks his e-mail, but happily, he seems always to be happy with what is placed before him. Here is Zak's and my
e-mail exchange:

FROM JULIE/MOM:
REALLY: I think we will have large, baked potatoes for dinner tonight.
I'll have cottage cheese to eat with them.
Maybe some fruit too.

I think it will be good and filling!
If you have objections or anything to add; now is the time!

Much Love,
Your MOTHER

ZAK'S RESPONSE:
sounds good, keeps with the cole family side-dish as a main course theme. you could add something like rolls and green beans in there too

What is funny is that I NEVER considered Zak's thought about "our Cole family" tradition! But it is true! I do like a good side-dish for a main course. Funny to me! This is just how my brain works. If I add extra things to dinner it is always a nice bonus.

I'm Stronger than I Thought...

2011-03-01T15:21:00.000-08:00

Do you see anything wrong with this picture?
Notice the actual faucet where the water comes out, it is up on the sink edge.
See the yellow hose...that is taped there. That is where the water is coming out.
Last night as I was pulling the faucet out, as I have done 3000 times, it came off in my hand! The tubing slipped back through the mechanism and was on the ground. I picked it up and taped it to the counter so I could still get water to my sink.
Hopefully Dad will make a miracle and get it all fixed tonight.

I Played Basketball with Jimmer in the Pre-Existence

2011-03-01T08:56:00.000-08:00

As I was looking at a few of my favorite blogs this morning, I came upon a VERY funny post about Jimmer Mania! The blog is Hillary Miller's.

Here is a link: LINK BUTTON

In case you haven't heard...

2011-02-25T17:42:00.000-08:00

Over Christmas break I mentioned the Jimmer craze that has been going on at BYU. In case you haven't noticed, the Jimmer crazy has gone all across the nation now. Here is a link with a bunch of twitter comments celebrities made about Jimmer after the SDSU game. Well, BYU (currently ranked 7) is playing SDSU (currently ranked 4) again tomorrow (Saturday) at 11am California time, so if you get a chance I would definitely watch the game. It's supposed to be one of the biggest games in the Mountain West Conference history. To get everyone pumped up, here is a youtube video with some of the best Jimmer highlights for the first half of the season http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZkrYKITL-o. Enjoy!

ANNOUNCING.....

2011-02-24T11:36:00.000-08:00

Please press the PLAY button for the appropriate music while you read this post:

ZACHARY PAYNE COLE
has been Officially Accepted to Attend
Brigham Young University!

Nice going Zak!
He starts in the fall.

The Next Great Bronco

2011-02-05T08:57:00.000-08:00

I decided if there is some sort of NFL lockout, and they hire replacements, I'm definitely trying out for the Broncos.

I'm hoping for a lockout. I'll give you an autograph if you want.

Lots of Zak

2011-01-27T10:44:00.000-08:00

I didn't know what to do for Digital Photo class, but I had a bunch of pictures of me, so I made this. Find the real Zak (hopefully you can click on the picture to make it bigger).

I'll give you a hint: the Zak in the giant hole was photoshopped in.

Creepy Family

2011-01-27T10:41:00.001-08:00

I was running out of ideas, so mom suggested this. I wish I didn't have to rush a little to finish on time.

Napoleon Crossing The Alps

2011-01-27T10:33:00.000-08:00

So I found this picture of Napoleon and thought it was offensively innacurate, so I fixed it to be more like what really happened

(original)
(fixed)

Crazy Animals

2011-01-27T10:27:00.000-08:00

In-case you couldn't tell, I made the picture with a lion's body and tiger's head when I was really crunched for time.

Sing While You Read

2011-01-25T17:07:00.000-08:00

2 GREAT Pieces of Cole Family News:

1. Quinn scored a goal in his AHS soccer game yesterday!!

2. Zak now has his Driver's License!!

Letter Campaign

2011-01-25T07:34:00.000-08:00

This morning, while looking at my e-mail, I saw this letter:

Hello,

I was wondering if you accept guest post for your blog. If you do, I
would like to submit a few. You can see a sample of my work at
LaptopComputers.org under the author James Mowery. I've also written
for several high-profile blogs like Mashable, Performancing, and
CMSWire. Thank you for your time.

- James

So, I responded:

Dear James,

If you had taken the time to even look at our blog, you would have quickly noted that it is mostly family, funny items; really not appropriate for guest posts. We are flattered that you would like to be seen as part of our family, but we will have to see some good referrals before we start to refer to you as a Cole.

Good Luck!
The mother of all

It's good to be a Cole!

We All Have Needs

2011-01-24T19:42:00.000-08:00

This afternoon, while going through my Rolodex to find the Orthodontist's phone number, this is what I found: Really, very funny.

We all have needs.

Go find a clever place to announce yours.

Google AdSense

2011-01-21T08:52:00.000-08:00

I don't know if it makes sense, but we had a big discussion last night about adding adds to our blog. "We could make money".

Then it was compared to my saving water bottles, etc.
Then someone said that we could make more with the adds per month than the water bottles...that was quickly taken back.

I really think people I know....Christopher, Heather(?) have done this AdSense thing. Did you, have you? Are you glad you did, did you make any money? Have you known anyone that did this and made money? Don't you need a readership of 500,00 people per day to really make $100 a month?

That's my take.
But I am willing to try.
I think the add will pop up in 48 hours, or 10 minutes, who knows?
Click on it when you see it.
Let's give this experiment a go!

I Talked to Chase!

2011-01-19T17:25:00.001-08:00

Such news, such stories!

Apparently, he got a new roommate!

His favorite roommate moved out. He moved to another Centennial apartment. So Chase got a new roommate; the kind that actually lives in his room.

1. He is a gamer.
2. He loves playing all types of computer games.
3. He is about 24.
4. He has spent his time playing computer games.
5. He is going back to UVU this semester.
6. His classes start at 8:00am.
7. He takes the bus to school.
8. He wakes up at 4:00am...sometimes 5:00am.
9. He tunes on the lights at the awful hour.
10. Chase has requested that he please not turn on the lights.
11. When he comes home from school he puts his bathrobe on and starts playing games.
12. No one really knows where he comes from. He has given 3 different answers.
13. He snores.
14. Chase guesses that he does not wear deodorant; he needs to.

I told Chase to take notes and write a book. It could be a best seller!

Chase also joined a Water polo Inter tube Intramural team!

They have not played any games yet, they WERE going to play, but it got cancelled.

I am glad he is SO adventurous!

**The picture off the the side ------->
is NOT a real picture of Chase playing
water polo.

It was a delightful phone call. I just wanted to share it with you all!

Enjoy!

Tree Update & Some Discussion

2011-01-18T16:30:00.000-08:00

The next day after the whole TREE situation I heard lots of noise coming from over by the "trees". I took a picture. See that little, tiny yellow guy in the tree? I am not sure what he is doing. You probably thought, "wow, I can't see anything, zoom it lady!" Well, I did zoom the picture. This is the original picture. I took these while standing on my front porch.

The tree guy got down out of the tree that same night. Four of them went to jail. The trees got cut down.

Now, on to Oprah!

I saw her interviewed the other night by Piers Morgan. He did a very good job. I enjoyed what I saw. They spoke for a few minutes about marriage and Oprah not being married. She said she was happy about it. Marriage would not have worked for her. She told of a story where she was having meetings at her house the last few nights and when dinner time came she would get up, stop her meeting, go and fix Steadman dinner and then come back to the meeting. She liked doing that. She wanted to make dinner when she wanted to make it, not to have to make dinner.

I think Oprah missed one of the greatest lessons of being married! To do things, (be thoughtful) of the other person even when it is not convenient for you. To do "it" (that can be anything) even if you didn't really want to. Isn't that when we learn to be self-less? Part of the reason for us to be on this earth is to learn to be better people.

Any thoughts?

Well, speaking about doing something I didn't really want to do....

Griffin asked me to please help him make slime the other day. I forced myself up and we made it! It has been fun to touch and play with. I think everyone has had their hands on this gooey, weird stuff.

Ok, this picture should have gone before the other one; whatever.

Who recognizes Kylie's shirt?

Who owned it first?

Really, I don't know.

Ok, Now I am going out to clean out the pool.

I'll have a great time.

McDaniels to Rams?

2011-01-15T17:32:00.000-08:00

One day when Mom was picking me up from school we were talking to Christopher and as we were hanging up (he had to rush off) he mentioned that he saw Josh McDaniels was hired by the Rams. We rushed home to see the news, but there was only speculation. I wouldn't mind if he was hired though, I think he can be a great offensive coordinator

REPORTING: From Arcadia!

2011-01-12T20:32:00.000-08:00

All day I had heard helicopters flying over my house, wondered why, but never knew. I found out when I went to get my mail around 3:30. I could see and hear a small crowd of people over at my neighbor's house!

They were hooting and calling over their back fence. I went back to my house, grabbed my camera and walked over to the Mead's house. They let me in and I found out the scoop!!

I have known for a while that Los Angeles County needed to clean out the dam up here by Highland Oaks. They need to clear out all the silt. They felt the need to put it back behind my neighbor's back yards all along Highland Oaks. To do this, they need to cut down, clear out about 150 oak trees. Yes, they do. Many people have protested. I guess last night a somewhat famous tree protector plus 3 other people went back there, got themselves in the trees and are staying for as long as they can.

So, from my neighbor's backyard, this is what I saw:

I am looking over their back retaining wall. These are the police officer's to keep the peace. The trees that are being taken down are back beyond that chain link fence.

You see that green splotch there in the middle of this picture?

That's John Quigley, the sort-of-famous tree protector. He once sat in a tree in CA for 71 days until the owner of the land, a developer, agreed to move the tree so it did not have to be cut down. He is up there in a sleeping bag with provisions.

Here is local news station reporting on all the hoopla. In particular, this is John Quigley:

Here is a report right at the top of Highland Oaks. This area was all blocked off. There is an entrance there that will take you right to all the tree action.

Because I am NOT a professional reporter/photographer, I didn't realize I needed to take MORE pictures!! When I got to my neighbor's back yard, there were about 8 people there. One of them happened to be Daryl Hannah (of Splash fame!), but I'll get to that later. There were several big time activists. They are friends of Mr. John Quigley. They were whooping to him, yelling encouragement, waving a towel. I heard one of the girls say that if he needed, she could do something to distract the police like falling off that wall or something. Well, about 10 - 15 minutes later she fell off the wall! I don't know if it was real, but it was a huge coincidence!

Oh, there was a distraction all right. The police came over. Her friends went on the other side of the wall. "Could we get ice, could we get a chair, we need to carry her back over..." Stuff like that. The ambulance was called!

She was wincing in pain. She did NOT want the paramedics to look at her. She did NOT want to go to the hospital. It was a pretty good distraction and some voices were raised.

That is Daryl hovering over the fall-over girl. Daryl is wearing the dark jacket. You can see one of the legs of the fall-over girl.

That's Daryl's camera there on the ground. I never saw her use it. I am sure she did though.

Now the girl is trying to get out of this situation. Her activist friend there is "holding" her up. She wants to leave. I didn't really hear this conversation although it did get loud.

Look how nicely she is holding her leg up.

For some reason they got themselves out to the car then had a nice (probably not too nice), long conversation out by their car. At one point I saw her sprawled over the top of her car. Very dramatic.

Now we can see most of the "Activists" people over at another neighbor's house. They went over there because they felt that they could get a better view of their friend, John.

That is Daryl Hannah there with the Hat on:
You know Daryl from:
Splash

Roxanne
Wallstreet
Kill Bill
Blade Runner
She dated John Kennedy

When I first went over to the Mead's (the first neighbor's house), I recognized the woman that turned out to be Daryl Hannah. I knew I knew her, I just couldn't place her. I guessed she was probably someone from High School. Here we are in Arcadia, what else was I to think. I didn't want her to think me rude or stuck up so I was planning on just coming clean at my not quite remembering who she was. Just before I got all my courage up to ask, I realized it was Daryl Hannah. I knew her from the movies! Very funny. Glad it takes a bit of time for me to build up my courage.

Here is the view from our front porch. After a time the fall-down girl and her friend drove 50 yards across the street to another neighbor's house. Some of them loaded into this car, others got into a truck.

Here they are getting into the car:

Ok, so that's the story!

Pretty exciting!

As of right now, 9:38 pm, it is dark out, but there is a nice, bright spot light shining where the tree sitter is. I have no idea what the plans are. I will keep you posted!!

2011-01-10T15:34:00.000-08:00

I failed my driving test because I kept getting marked down for "wide turns" >8-/

Careful for those No Fear guys

2011-01-10T15:31:00.000-08:00

I should have been more careful during my test, someone wearing a No Fear shirt could have run into the middle of the intersection and I would have hit him with a wide turn

Interview after my 5K!

2011-01-10T09:57:00.000-08:00

It's all of 28 seconds....

Papers

2011-01-08T20:14:00.000-08:00

Quinn suggested that I put up pictures of our playoff bracket papers....

so, his wish is my command!

Here are all the TEN papers:

(try clicking on the photo and zooming in...) Mom's then Quinn's then Kylie's

Steven's, Griffin's and Christopher's
Dad's and Zak's

Chase's then Heather's Enjoy!

The first game (Seahawks vs. Saints) was SHOCKING!

At least it was a very good game.

The 2nd game (Jets vs. Colts) SHOCKING also,

but quite boring.

We'll see what tomorrow brings!

Christopher & Griffin both picked the Jets to win!

And NICE for them, Dad and Christopher were the only ones that did NOT have the Saints Defense.

Playoffs - First TWO Games

2011-01-08T15:34:00.000-08:00

Here are the guesses for the first two games:

Saints vs. Seahawks - Everyone guessed the Saints would win

Colts vs. Jets - Christopher and Griffin guess the Jets will will
Everyone else guesses the Colts will win

We'll see....

Christmas Lights

2011-01-08T08:30:00.000-08:00

Last night, while driving Griffin home from a friend's, we looked down a street and saw these fantastic Christmas lights. We had to drive down the street and take a picture. I am amazed at how many houses still have their lights up on January 7th. I kind of enjoy it; but I am glad mine are down and put away. Twice today, I saw people's Christmas tree still up in their houses too.

Quinn!

2011-01-07T19:59:00.000-08:00

Quinn just got home from his soccer game today.

His Frosh/Soph team won!

They won by a LONG way!

Quinn played a lot of the game.

He played well.

He played defensive.

He had a good time!

Congratulations, Quinn.

Or is this picture better?

Let's Look Back....

2011-01-07T12:48:00.000-08:00

We started this blog in September of 2007
Let's look back and see what we, (meaning I), posted on January 7th of our previous years....

January of 2010 (Only 2 posts for this entire month!)
They were both about FOOTBALL – Playoff picks

Jan 7 2009 – (24 posts this month)
We were getting our furnace fixed
S & C took a picture of Cosmetology school I went to 29 years ago!
Griffin could read a few words…and, the, like, my, can…
(Yesterday, Jan 2011 he was reading Little House in the big woods!
Yea for progress!)

Jan 7 2008 (12 this month)
We had FHE and broke a piñata that Griffin, Kylie and I made;
it apparently caused great tears!
This was the month that I COMMANDED that all the children
have piano lessons, like it or not!
Zak was into football…shocking

So, what do we learn from all this:

I am a great wife/mother....always cooking and cleaning, for YEARS!
We are a family that enjoys Football!
HEY! Who will set up our Playoff Brackets....anyone?
Progress is good
We can come back from a NO when we want a YES
Taking piano lessons is a good thing!

OK, Now back to the Cleaning.

Oh, and On THIS day, January 7, 2011, Kerry called and asked me to lunch. So nice!

And Then There was Laundry...

2011-01-04T11:19:00.000-08:00

Sorting, folding, putting away....

Oh, and there is still more in the washer....

Happy 2011!

2011-01-01T10:32:00.000-08:00

We had a GREAT New Year's Eve!

We played our annual game; which we played for over 1 1/2 hours!

It is always a fun and funny time.

Here we are standing in front of the

GAME CATEGORIES
*Zak says he is going to get married the day after he gets home from his mission so he can have a whole category that he totally knows!

Everyone is holding their auction booty!

We are already thinking of new categories and questions for 2011!

Then we watched the movie "Shrek Forever After". It was great! I highly recommend it. It has great music; very funny.

Happy Birthday Zak!!

2010-12-30T00:48:00.000-08:00

To celebrate Zak turning 18, I decided to give-it-a-go at making my first movie!

Here's to you, Zak! We've enjoyed all 18 years.

Happy Anniversary to our Newly Weds!

2010-12-29T12:04:00.000-08:00

It's been just about one year since they got married! Their anniversary is Dec 30.

I decided to do an interview to celebrate their union.

It turned out GREAT, but not all of it recorded.....

Enjoy what there is; which I think is about 4 minutes.

The interview will start with me asking Steven about his new (to them) car that they just bought:

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T03:02:00.000-08:00

Wrestling with a Cake?

2010-12-24T12:01:00.000-08:00

Last night Christopher, Chase, Zak and Quinn were just about ready to leave to go to a LAN party….that is computer speak; you only need to know that it is a nighttime thing; usually all night. A group of boys get together and play and play. They really enjoy it. They really enjoy playing “Cole vs.” and winning.

When I say just about ready, I mean they had their coats on ready. Chase turned around and Kerry saw this:

Ok, stop laughing. Prior to being "just about ready", Chase and Griffin were wrestling; on the couch and apparently on a CAKE!! No one really knows how it happened; but it is funny.

A neighbor came over a bit before and brought us this very fancy cake! So nice! We immediately brought the fancy box over to the ottoman, opened it up, cute it open and enjoyed some of the coffee flavored cake....well, Kerry really enjoyed ! It was very nice of our neighbor. They are good people. I guess the caffeine got Griffin and Chase going and they wrestled. The cake did not look bad at all. I forgot to take a picture of it.

Don't worry, I washed and dried Chase's pants and jacket. They had a good time at the party. They are home now and sleeping.

Hmm, Christmas memories!

Quiz!

2010-12-24T09:38:00.000-08:00

While shopping yesterday, I saw these cute pants....what section (Boys or Girls) of the store did I see them in??

Frugal Chocolate & Rain

2010-12-22T15:28:00.000-08:00

I went to see Candice just before she left to go to Utah. She was having a cookie/cooking party! One of her friends was doing chocolate candy canes. They looked good. She was using 2 different squeeze bottles to squeeze the chocolate out of. When she was done she went to throw the bottles and leftover chocolate away! Shocking! I asked her if I could have it; she was happy to have me have it as opposed to throwing them away. She doesn't like the duty of cleaning the bottles. Today I made these Santas with that left over chocolate! Happy for me! On to RAIN! If you are not living in Southern California you may not know that it has been raining steady for the last week. Guess how much rain we have had! Here is a large bucket. You can see it goes up to my knee.

This much rain!

Since I took the picture, we have had a lot more rain....

Do we need to build an ark??

It Takes Two Babayah!

2010-12-14T19:36:00.000-08:00

We had to get 2 Christmas trees this year...

Here is the story: We went to get our first and we thought, our only Christmas tree.

We are little unconventional in our picking. We like to pick our trees while STILL in the binding. We just pick the tallest tree in our price range, then easily bring it home! It works great. This is our choice this year. It looks beautiful!

Griffin loves the tree

Here are Zak and Kerry tying the tree on the car.

Griffin is just having a good time on the car.

A FEW days go by and we notice more and more needles falling off the tree and we STILL have 2 weeks until Christmas! The tree must have been old. It didn't even suck up any of the water we so lovingly put in the tree holder.

So, we picked it up, took it outside, tied it back on the car and drove it back to Home Depot!

Yes we did!

They happily took their dead tree back and we picked another nice, tall tree. This is the only shot we took of our pick:

Yes, I feel a little off looking at it too.

Tying the tree back on the car

This one seems just fine.

It is decorated, but I guess no one has taken a picture of it.

I'll get right on that.

Time Out for a QUICK Game!

2010-12-14T14:36:00.000-08:00

Can you spot the kitty?

Deck the Halls

2010-12-14T12:51:00.000-08:00

Have you HEARD this? It made me laugh.

Fall Colors

2010-12-14T11:48:00.000-08:00

The trees have been beautiful this season! This is what I see as I drive up this street many times a day.

Just beautiful!

Our own oak tree out in front:

And the other tree in the front yard:

Not on our property, but I love these colors!

Phone Etiquette

2010-12-10T18:46:00.000-08:00

Part of an overheard phone conversation:

Jared: What are we doing tonight?

Zak: I thought we were going over to Ashleigh's and watching a movie. Why don't you call over there and find out?

Jared: Ok, I love you

Zak: I love me too.

Background: APPARENTLY when Jared was out on his Missionary for a Day the missionaries that he was with always said "I love you" on the phone when they hung up!! Jared thought it was a rule or something. So, I guess he tried it out on Zak. It was good for a good laugh, if not a bit creepy.

**I know, I know, I haven't blogged much. I've been SO busy, can't hardly think. Things seem to be getting a little better. I'll try to get back on the blogging machine. I know you miss me.

It's a DEAL!

2010-12-02T14:05:00.000-08:00

For those of you that live near Duarte, CA - Here's a great pizza deal:

Papa John's pizza, Large size, one topping only $4.99 Mon - Thurs
It is ONLY at the Papa John's right by Target.
Unbelievable deal. The best pizza.

For those of you that do NOT live near here, sorry for making your mouth water.

Identify the Remains

2010-12-01T13:39:00.000-08:00

I found this on the lawn this afternoon!

It is obviously very old. Dad MUST have mowed over it a couple of times!

What is it?

**I know it is gross, but isn't it kind of interesting...just to find on the lawn??

Nov 30!

2010-11-30T10:21:00.000-08:00

How could it be November 30th ALREADY!

It's time to get the Advent calendar out! Fill it with fortunes and treats. Time to dust off our Christmas reading!

I am still really reveling in a lovely Thanksgiving. Loved all the family and food, laughs and sports. I did not take enough family pictures! Not enough faces! I just forget. I enjoy the time and the people, I forget to get out the camera! I did take plenty of SPORTS pictures. I am getting good at that. (You can see the Turkey bowl pics....a few posts ago.)

Now, I must make up some math papers for Griffin; send e-mails off to friends, take a shower, clean and laundry, etc, etc.

Friday Hike

2010-11-28T07:26:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving, Griffin got bored and suggested that we go on a hike! I googled hike in Sierra Madre and came up with the place! It turned out great. All that wanted to participate were me, Griffin and Dad. We had a better time that we anticipated. I'm so artsy

on the path!

Griffin liked the SPILT rock

We came upon this huge opening with a FABULOUS swing.
Griffin got to enjoy it to his heart's content.

There was glee and delight.

A VIDEO!

Griffin took this picture of dad on the swing

Griffin took this picture of me. I had no idea!

This would be a GREAT place for a family picture!

choice 2 for a family pic

An odd bug...can you spot it?

Griffin took this picture of us. He said he got close!

On the path

Which way to go??

We chose long and steep

but beautiful views!

that's LA!

Do you see the 210 freeway?

More of LA

Here is that beautiful clearing with the swing

I saw this tree; thought it would be funny/fun if Griffin would get up there on the limb and we could take his picture! He disagreed! I tried to force him; Kerry quickly grabbed the camera and took the picture. It was funny.

It was a great way to spend an hour and a half. I will definitely do it again!

A Clip from the 2010 Turkey Bowl

2010-11-27T13:34:00.000-08:00

Turkey Bowl 2010!

2010-11-26T15:34:00.000-08:00

All of the ONE HUNDRED...really 77 pictures are available here:

http://s484.photobucket.com/albums/rr209/thxhune/#!cpZZ5QQtppZZ16

Enjoy!

Success!

2010-11-26T10:52:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely thanksgiving.

Great Turkey Bowl.

Fabulous food, family & friends!

Tremendous pictures will be posted later.

Griffin needs something physical to do...

Some of us are going on a hike.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-24T12:49:00.000-08:00

It's a work in progress -

all this cooking & prep!

So are going well; I've had FABULOUS help!

We've made 6 dozen rolls; cinnamon rolls coming next!

Picture will follow when the battery is charged!