Saturday, August 22, 2009

No more summer fun

Well, the summer fun is over for the year and everyone has gone back home to get ready for school. Here's where my grandkids stand in school:
Talon is 19 and currently working at a good job at Wells Fargo Bank. He is a salaried employee and I don't think he is planning to take any schooling this year.
Tanner is almost 15 and will be in 9th grade.
Trampis is 14 and will also be in 9th grade.
Trey is 14 and is planning to repeat 8th grade so he can grow a little more before he starts high school! He's a smart kid and a good student, but basketball is his passion, so he is hoping to get a little taller.
Ella is 11 1/2 and is starting middle school--6th grade.
Taz just turned 11 and is also starting middle school--6th grade.
Cynjyn is 8 and I think she will be in 3rd grade.
Kresimir just turned 3 and will be in pre-school!
TIME MARCHES ON

As for me--here's some of my thoughts today

I'm bummed because:

Everyone is doing facebook and I don't understand how to use it, so I am really missing the updated blogs!! Please, bloggers, don't stop blogging!

I am recovering from having a 4 1/2 sq inch piece of my right breast removed. Thank goodness the m ass wasn't a tumor, but I can't seen to get my energy back

Part of that might be because I have an inflamed siatic nerve that is distressing my left leg with terrible, almost unmanageable pain! I do the alternating ice/hot packs 3 times a day but I still can hardly move.

But I did decide to go to the farmer's market this morning. But, they are having a Crossing the Blues celebration today, so the streets are blocked off for blocks around and I couldn't walk far enough. sooo--Maybe a little TV?

No. My old-buddy TV gave up the ghost right after Ron left town for a couple of days. Then I tried to use his TV and couldn't change the channel for some reason. So--maybe I'll read.

Well, that worked for awhile until I finished my good book (Hunger Garmes) and didn't have another one to read.

Really bummed now--I tried housework, but my leg hurts too much and I have no energy.

Maybe I'll work on New Family Search--no, too frustrating b ecause everyone I've looked up so far has been wrong! (Well, 80% have been wrong) I'll wait until they get the bugs worked out!

So, no tv, no book, no family, no NFS, no updated blogs, no energy, and virtually no use of my left leg--just sitting causes a constant burning sensation and moving causes extreme pain. Don't ask me what I did, I don't know!

As soon as Ron gets home, I'm going to make him go with me to get a new TV--that's positive!

Well, I really don't think anyone reads my blog, but I got those thoughts off my mind, anyway. Sure hope things start looking up!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Fun Times Continue

Grandpa has spent a lot of time babysitting Beckham so everyone else could enjoy the fun times! This is a good way to babysit!
We spent 3 days at Wallowa Lake. We rented the trout pond house. Here some of us are on the patio: Cynjyn, Kim, Taz, Trey, Me and Ella.


Kres turned the cooler into a horse (he invented this himself), after he rode "Joe" at the horse corral.

The kids enjoyed "movie night" in one of the bedrooms. It was about 10 pm, but none of them would admit to being tired!!



Beckham and Krissy bonded.




Here the horseback riders are leaving for a ride. I took the picture from the window, where I was babysitting





Kres and Trey play a little chess. I think Trey is winning!








Time to feed the fish--Trey, Taz and Kres made sure they were never hungry.





Beckham entertained Kim and the kids. He was so good and fun .








the kids found this big chair, and loved sharing it!











Kres wasn't sure he wanted to sit by this old timer, but Taz, Cynjyn and Ella really liked him.










Watch out, Kres, Cynjyn might get bucked off!
















One fun thing about Wallowa Lake is all the deer in the park--here's the first big one we saw.












Having the deer right outside the house is always fun.















Kres and Taz are real buddies--here they relax with a little TV
















Ella and Cynjyn always like to put on "shows". Here's Ella modeling Ky's homecoming dress. My camera ran out of batteries, so I didn't get Cynjyn's modeling, but she was adorable in her new school clothes.

















Kres wanted to model, too, so here he is in one of Cynjyn's new school outfits.


















Friday, July 10, 2009

Summer Fun

What is summer without s'mores? Taz can't even imagine!
Summer fun would be better without all that technology! Trey waites patiently for Tanner to finish a game. We banned phones for awhile!

Time for dinner at the 4th of July Terry BBQ


Gather Round to enjoy a little U Tube




How about a game of Wii with Trampis?



Trampis and Taz compete in Skete Shooting






Cnyjyn goes after the fallen, but unbroken, clay pigeons!






Ella almost got a Bull's Eye on her second try!







Cynjyn lines up to try to hit the target with a little help from Kim.







Taz shows off where he hit the bull's eye









Matching outfits for the special day!










Funky twin hairdos for Cynjyn and Ella-












Bonding with pop ice for Kresimir and Taz











Slushies at the waterpark













Taz and Kres enjoy spounting fountains--a great way to cool off!














Wednesday, June 24, 2009

I WON!

I Won a prize in Carol's contest and I have to post this!

That story's kind of fun--How can it possibly be??

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

You never get tired of seeing those elk!

This is actually part of the next post, but I don't know how to download more than 5 puictures at a time, so read the next one, too. This shows only a few of the elk we saw, and frequently see, on the way to the 480. We can usually depend on 100-200 head at any time of the year in this area. These were only about 1/2 mile from our place (The 480, as it's commonly called)

Ahhh Spring

Spring is such a great time of year! It always prompts a few little changes around the house--like in the kitchen--Can you tell what's different? Nothing like new bedding to spruce up a bedroom and make y ou wish you could paint a room by yourself!

Oh yes, don't forget a 4-wheel ride in the great outdoors! The Terry family joined us for a fun day in the mountains!


Well, this is a different mountain--the 480. Krissy was feeling a little spry because of the beautiful weather and the great picnic we had!



Back to the 4-wheeling and another great picnic, which Krissy and Brian are really enjoying!
Spring is my favorite time of year! The weather is wonderful, the trees and fields are so green and gorgeous, family comes to visit, and the flowers are so beautiful. And now summer is here, and that's not too bad, either!




Monday, June 22, 2009

Getting to Know My Dad

Well, I wanted to put in a p icture of my dad, but I didn't have one I could put in (limited knowledge on transferring pictures!) But, father's day prompted me to think of my dad. My children knew and revered their Grandpa Waite, but they never knew their Grandpa Calvert in "real life". So, in this tribute, I hope they learn a little more about him and what he was like

My dad, "Bill Calvert" was raised on a poor dirt farm in Montana. His mother, a hard German Woman, threw his dad out when he was very young. He became the breadwinner for his mother, 3 brothers and one sister. He quit school in 9th grade to go to work for the railroad so he could support the family. He was 14.

He worked hard all of his life, but became a very wealthy, well-respected and well-known community member in La Grande, Oregon. Without a formal education, he became "self-educated" He faithfully read the local paper, the Portland papers and the Wall Street Journal everyday. He owned, managed and did the books for his own well-known restaurant. People came for miles to eat in the Royal Cafe, and many travelers to and from Portland,Oregon, planned their trips so they would arrive in La Grande at meal time. Prior to this adventure, he owned a shoe shop across the street from the restaurant, and made shoes for people during WW II when shoes were rationed. When the war ended, he bought the restaurant and the pool hall on the corner. He converted the pool hall into a banquet room and sucessfully ran the restaurant until he died in 1965.

Some of the traits my dad passed on to me:

*Hard work is important--it involves self-dicipline and always pays off
*You can do anything you want to do if you set your mind to it. He always told us, "You have two sides to your brain, use them both" In this day when people say, "She is right-brained or left-brained" as an excuse for not doing some things well, I can proudly say, "I am whole brained, and my linguistic, musical and mathematical abilities proves it!" Thanks dad.
*Practice makes perfect. He wisely flowered us with praise when we played our musical instruments or got A's on assignments. This made us want to practice more. I still play the piano and organ fairly well, and I love writing short stories These are skills I learned through practice. Thanks dad.
*Don't give up I can't tell you how many times I fell off those water skies before I finally got out of the water, or how many times we stayed up late into the night when he was helping me with a math assignment. Here was a man who didn't finish 9th grade helping me with my calculus and getting it right! Thanks dad.
*He was forever a teacher. He would stop at power damns when we were traveling and explained to us very young children how they worked; he would show us moss on the rocks and trees and teach us a lesson about that; he would teach us history, math, science, geometry--anything we wanted to know about. He could do anything and knew something about everything it seemed. And, in his teaching, he was patient beyond belief! I became a teacher, largely because of his example. Although he was never a "professional" teacher, he was the best teacher I ever had. Thanks dad
*He was always loving and kind to our mother and to us kids. I only remember one time in my whole childhood when he raised his voice at me (I wanted to go to a party instead of go to work at the restaurant, and he had worked already 16 hours that day and needed a break) He raised his voice a little when he told me I needed to be responsible and do what I said I would do (work). Needless to say, I chose work and cried for 2 hours because I felt so bad about even asking. Other than that, all he had to say was, "I'm disappointed in your choice", and that was discipline enough for us. He always led by example. thanks dad

This is getting too long, and no one will want to read it, but it was important to me to do something to remember my dad and think about what he meant to me. I am so lucky to have had such a great dad! Thanks dad