A shout out to our youngest grandson - CASH

Cash - you turned two years old this week and Pa and I miss you very much. We miss not being able to see you grow up. It is hard to not see all you do and your accomplishments from day to day.

We love your smile
We love your happy face
We love your outgoing personality
We love your free spirited energy
We love your giggle
We love when you act funny
We love it when you act just as big as the rest
and I loved your hugs at Disney World.








and my favorite picture - Pa holding you CASH!

Pa and I love you Cash and miss you very much!

Volcano fun!

We spent over two hours last night blowing up this "erupting volcano" for the boys to play with today. They had a blast! Tatum even loved it but I couldn't get a picture with her in it because I was the only one home.


We played in the pool for 3 hours and 15 minutes. Alvin joined us the last hour. Chandler and Cooper are taking swimming lessons and they are doing amazing in their ability to swim. Cooper was a little nervous at first but not any more.







Next time we will have to hook up the water feature that causes the volcano eruption. Defnitely a fun water toy - Chandler said he had lots of fun today. That makes me happy!

It's Official!

My title, "Forty Years on the right PACE!" was yesterday. Yes, married for a big whopping forty years. I am not the one that usually forgets things - I always remember birthdays, special things that are happening to someone so basically anything needing to be remembered I remember. I first wrote "worth remembering" but that certainly a bad choice of a word because an anniversary should always be remembered. So, I guess you figured out by now that I forgot our anniversary. Alvin came home from work around 2:30 carrying a wrapped bouquet of flowers and it still didn't come to me what they were for. A thought came to my mind that they were for somebody else he needed to buy flowers for or maybe somebody else was sending me flowers for some unknown reason and he met the delivery boy outside the house. Can you believe my stupidity! Oh, forgot not suppose to use that word says Cooper!


We have always done something special for our anniversary weather it would be going out of town for the weekend, going to Dbacks games but always doing something. This time the Dbacks were out of town playing so we went to a game several weeks ago and that was memtioned it would be for our anniversary but I still knew we would do something on the day. We did actually, Alvin's mother called middle of week and wanted to know what we were doing Saturday night and I said nothing. She invited us out for hamburgers and defnitely not an anniversary dinner. She forgot too and she always gives us a card and $20.00 so we can celebrate. No card or cash last night from her! An exciting anniversary evening spent with his mother, brother and sister-in-law.

So, obviously I will never live this big memory loss down and Alvin is going to never let it be forgotten that I did. The exciting thing is we have been together for a long time. Twenty-seven years in the home we live in now with many memories to cherish and three great children, a special son in-law and daughter in-law and of course the most loveable five grandchildren. Thanks Alvin - you have provided for us well - I love you!

(p.s. - yes Alvin, one of these years we will take that cruise)

"Girle Girl" after all . . .

In past posts I have talked about Tatum being anything but a femine little girl. I have changed my mind. Lately she has taken to her dollies and likes her pretty dresses and shoes and likes to carry purses around. Here she is with her new "dolly."





This dolly says "mama" and makes baby sounds so this morning Tatum was saying "mama"
over and over while rocking her back and forth. It is amazing how instincts just take over.

It is nice to be a mother . .

I want to thank my three children, Gretchen, Chelsea and Cody for being such good children and being so made my part as being your mother a treasure. You all have turned out to be wonderful adults and I commend you all for your accomplishments. I love you!

It is nice to be a grandmother too . . .



Thanks for letting me be part of their lives and I miss Carter and Cash not being with us all the time.

Here is a Mother's Day anecdote my own mother would of loved hearing.
Chandler on Friday had a Mother's Day Tea at school so when he and his mother came to pick Cooper and Tatum up at my house I assume Mother's Day was still on his mind. When they were walking out the door to leave this is was happend.

Chandler said, "Happy Mother's Day Nana."
I said, "Why thank you Chandler that is very nice of you."
Cooper automatically said, "Happy Mother's Day Nana."
I said, "Thank you so much Cooper."
and than 14 month old Tatum turned to me and said right at the perfect moment in her own gibber gabber with the right amount of syllables, "Happy Mother's Day Nana."

Now that is a story I will remember!

Stephen and Chelsea - you two are pretty special too. I love you both!

What is your lunch of choice?

We all like "mac and cheese" at this house!

We all went bowling

on the couch! Gretchen bought a "Wii" so this afternoon after dinner we all went bowling. It was quite fun.

I thought I was going to be the "top bowler" until it was Chelsea's turn. Should of remembered her previous profession of helping the special education kids in high school at their bowling tournments. Kinda a big disadvantage don't you all think? I must be what you call a sore looser! Anyway, these are our final scores:

Chelsea - 192
Jana - 170
Stephen - 150
Grandma Helen - 119
Cooper - 109
Alvin - 80
Gretchen - 79
Chandler - 70 something

Next week we will have to all play golf. Our green carpet will work don't you think?