Looking back....

One more fun picture to share! This is my friend, Lin (the one I visited 2 weeks ago in Dallas), and I at the Alpha Phi house in our college days!! (She found this picture after I left and just sent it to me.) It's so fun to look back at those "carefree days" of college and to think that all these years later we are sharing stories about our grandchildren. A true testament to how important "girlfriends" are in you life!!

S U M M E R....love it!!

After starting of kind of "questionable", June is turning out just beautiful!!! Summer is my very favorite time of year....

What is one to say about June,

the time of perfect young summer,

the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months,

and with as yet no sign to remind one that its

fresh young beauty will ever fade.

~Gertrude Jekyll

Thursday gratitudes...

I love to read Ali Edward's blog! For those of you that aren't familiar with Ali, she is a "scrapbooker extraordinaire", author, artist, teacher...and, so much more! Her blog is always very fun and inspiring to read! Today she has a list of gratitudes--things that she is grateful for today! It is always good for all of us to step back, look around, and think about the things we are grateful for!

My gratitudes for today...

1. Sunshine. I think summer if finally here---it is beautiful outside! After a very long winter and NO spring, it just makes me happy to walk outside and feel the warm sunshine. YEA!!

2. Girlfriends. As my last blog stated, there is nothing like girlfriends! I am blessed to have so many special friends! The role that girlfriends play in our lives is ever-changing depending on our age and what is happening in our life, but I will never underestimate the importance of that very special relationship!

3. I don't have to drink Gatorade today!! (Short explanation---I had a colonoscopy this AM and part of the preparation involved drinking Gatorade...among other things!) It was really hard to choke down that last glassful! I'm Gatorade-free for three years!! :0)

4. Flowers. The geraniums and lobilia in our outside pots are about ready to bloom. And, the hydrangea is getting close.

5. Grandchildren. No list of things I'm thankful for would ever be complete without these 5 special "little people!" They make me happy every single day!! (In addition, and just as important to me, are their parents!!)
5. My Sister. I feel so blessed to have a sister...whether it is on the phone or "in-person" she is a special part of every single day!

6. Golf. I'm not good yet...not even "sorta" good, but I am so grateful that Jim is very patient and willing to play with me and help me to improve! I'm also grateful that my youngest son, the golf pro, outfitted me with clubs, shoes, and everything I need to "look the part!" Now, if I can just get my game to match the way I look! :0)

7. My wonderful gardener! Our lawn, and all of our property, looks so beautiful thanks to my fantastic husband---thank goodness he love to work in the yard!This list is just the beginning, but writing it down does make me stop and think how very lucky I am. I used to keep a "Gratitude Journal" (something I learned about on Oprah)...I think I need to get it out and start writing in it again!

What a weekend...

The most beautiful discovery true friends make
is that they can grow separately without growing apart.

~Elisabeth FoleyMy weekend in Texas with my friend, Lin, was FABULOUS!!! We laughed, reminisced, talked, ate, shopped....all the fun things that girlfriends do!! :0) Linda greeted me at the airport (see picture above) with this sign...we started laughing right then and didn't stop all weekend! (The day before I left home to fly down to Texas I asked her where to meet her in the airport, and if she would be standing there with a "gerfrend" sign?) Actually, she kind of rescued me---I was patiently waiting by the wrong luggage carousel when I turned around and saw her standing there holding this sign! :0)

We did so many fun things over the weekend...we started out Friday night with dinner at PF Changs (my favorite) and then I got to be the co-pilot with her husband in a flight simulator where he works. TOO MUCH FUN!!! He let me steer the plane down the runway using the "nose wheel gear" steering thingy...oh, my gosh I was all over that runway. Then I let him take the controls and we flew around for a while. I knew I was in a simulator (not a real airplane), but everything is SO realistic that you would swear you were really flying!! The visuals through the cockpit windows were just incredible. I am ready to do that again anytime.

Lin's husband had to work on the weekend so we entertained ourselves at 2 fantastic malls (remember, I live in a "retail deprived" area), we had lunch out both days at great restaurants, and had so much fun looking and shopping. I taught her how/what to order at Starbucks and now I'm sure she will be a "Starbucks junkie" just like me! :0)As we hugged good-by Monday morning (and Lin shed a tear---she is very sentimental like that!) we promised each other that we wouldn't let so much time go by before we have a special "girlfriend's weekend" again! Thanks, Lin, for a weekend I will always treasure!

All I Need to Know About Life I Learned From My Girlfriends
Good times are even better when they're shared.
A good long talk can cure almost anything.
Everyone needs someone with whom to share their secrets.
Listening is just as important as talking.
An understanding friend is better than a therapist; and cheaper, too!
Laughter makes the world a happier place.
Friends are like wine; they get better with age.
Sometimes you just need a shoulder to cry on.
Great minds think alike, especially when they are female!
When it comes to "bonding," females do it better.
YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD FOR SLUMBER PARTIES!!!!
It's important to make time to do "girl things."
Calories don't count when having lunch (or any other food) with your girlfriends.
You can never have too many shoes or girlfriends.
GEMS MAY BE PRECIOUS, BUT FRIENDSHIP IS PRICELESS!!!!!

Special weekend...

I have an special weekend coming up and I couldn't be more excited!! I am jetting off to Dallas (NO more snow...lots of heat!!) :0) for a weekend of shopping, eating and most of all "being with" a very dear friend from college!! We met in 1965 when we were both freshmen at the University of Idaho. (Oh, my gosh that sounds like a long time ago!) We met in "Angel Flight" a female drill team sponsored by Air Force ROTC. We had SO much fun together and we both ended up pledging the same sorority. So many fun and treasured college memories...those really were the good ole' days!

This picture of us is from 1970 when I visited her in San Francisco. (OMG, you gotta love that outfit I'm wearing---my Mom made it for me!!) Both of our husbands were away in the Navy and I took the opportunity to take my baby boy down to spend a few days! Our last visit was 11 years ago when we were in Washington DC... she went shopping with me to help me find a dress for that "very same baby boy's" wedding!

I know the weekend will go much too quickly, but I feel so lucky that we get to have this time together! And, I'm going to make her promise to not wait so long until our next visit!!

When the laughter is light

and the memories are many,

but the time is too short...

you know you're with a

good friend!

It's SO NOT fair....

It's June 10th and it is SNOWING! I'm depressed!! (Of course, it's not bothering Jim---he is off to play golf!!!) Men are crazy! :0)

But...I'm not whining, honest!! This is just a little "blip" in our weather and it's going to be sunny and warm by the weekend. And, after seeing the devastating flooding in the Midwest and the oppressive heat in the northeast, I'm counting my blessings! :0)

The picture below is from my daughter-in-law's work this morning...8 miles from here!!

Those darn birds....

This picture says it all!!! Every spring and early summer we have birds that want to build their nests right above our front porch on one of the crossbeams (right above our front door!) :0( So, for a few weeks Jim has to drag the ladder out 2-3 times a day and take down the beginnings of nests! They are very persistent little birds and continue to keep trying for a few weeks. (If you have had a bird nest by your house you know what a huge "mess" they make---I won't go into the gory details!)

This year we thought they finally got the message---we hadn't been finding the nest building materials right in front of our front door for a week or two. But, every time we opened the front door a bird would fly away so Jim was thinking that they must have build a nest in one of the bushes around our front porch! (Not great, but definitely better than right over our front door!)

Well, this morning he came inside and said "I found the nest...." (See the picture!) Those darn birds built a nest right on top of the wreath that I have on the front of our house! And, I LOVE that wreath and just loved how it looked on the front of our house! Those darn birds....

Happy Birthday...

I had fun scrapbooking these fun birthday pictures and the "Pretty Pony" birthday cake! "K" was thrilled with the cake...can you tell? :0)

Ewwwwww....

I bribed "K" to hold this wiggly worm just long enough so that I could take a picture! We found him when we were planting flowers yesterday. She wasn't convinced until I told her that she could wear my gardening gloves. :0)