I L.O.V.E. General Conference

Today's conference sessions were amazing! President Packer, Elder Holland and President Monson were among the highlights for me. Also, our dear friend, Robert M. Call was called to be an Area Seventy! We had Janae, Peter, Annabelle & baby Daniel here. Also, the missionaries, Elders Jensen and Braegger with a great young family, whose dad and two of their three sons will be baptized tomorrow, joined us for conference and dinner. I love having a houseful. I have missed my sweet Annabelle and cuddly baby Daniel...and of course Janae and Peter also :)

Have a great conference weekend!

He's here!

Shannon and Cooper Reeve Terry. Welcome little one!

There's always room for more!

Today is the day we get to add one more picture to our staircase wall. Grandbaby #16 is making his/her way to the world as I type this post. Shannon and Dave are having their fourth baby. What a wonderful day to have a bebe!

Happy Spring!

Attorney General soon-to-be Governor McKenna

Ron and I were asked to host an open house for Attorney General Rob McKenna, who is running for Governor for the state of Washington. I was really impressed with him. He's a conservative family man. I like that. We had a pretty good turn out for a Saturday afternoon. I'm grateful for the opportunity. Thanks Jeff and Carol!

There, that'll fix it!

Last January we had a big ice storm which caused a lot of tree damage in our neighborhood. Most of our neighbors had to chop up their trees so much that they won't have the cherry blossoms that make our neighborhood so pretty in the spring. Well my brilliant, yet mischievous, husband had an idea to remedy their awful plight......................... .........................................................BEFORE

AFTER ................................................................................................................We did a little "night maneuver"......and our four neighbors across the street from us got some of the cherry blossoms off OUR tree duct taped to THEIR trees. We were laughing so hard while doing it...I don't know if it was because we didn't want to get caught (which tends to make one giggle) or the inappropriateness of doing something mischievous at our age (which makes one laugh even harder!) In any case, my husband is so much fun! We laugh together every day! I hope you do too!

Fabulous day with friends on Vashon Island

Becki, Chris, me and Ron, going to do a service project at Morningside Farm. HA! Becki and I lasted about 45 minutes in the cold and rain!

Becki called Jennifer and said "hey, we're coming over to your island, can we stop by?" Jennifer, gracious girl that she is, said "I'll put on a pot of soup!" Let me tell you, it wasn't just a "pot of soup". Her table was set so beautifully...Jennifer had prepared a delicious salad, the most scrumptious creamy mushroom leek soup, and homemade breadsticks that I couldn't get enough of...seriously, I think I had 3 or 4 of them! Take a look at how amazing her dining room is. Larry and Jennifer's whole house is straight out of Walt Disney's imagination! Look at the wreath hanging over the table...even her silverware was exquisite.

We watched through the diamond shaped leaded glass windows, a robin redbreast who stopped at the bird bath just outside the dining room.

Look at the leaded windows with original panes of wavy glass. And all the dark wood beams. Can't you just see Geppetto coming around the corner of his workshop?

Every little corner has her signature on it. Her loving touch is evident in even the smallest detail.

It is a feast for the senses!

And just look at the view they are forced to look at every day!

It was time to say goodbye so we wouldn't miss our ferry back home. I left Larry and Jennifer's knowing why they had to move there. If a house can have a soul, that one is truly a soul sister with Jennifer Farnes.

Larry and Jennifer, such a darling couple!

These are my dear friends Becki (left) and Jennifer (middle), two of the most talented women I know. Not only artistically talented, but kind and genuine. Artsy people sometimes tend to be of a different mindset than the rest of the world...self absorbed, even narcissistic...not these two. They share their time and talents and knowledge with those of us who are lacking, and they do it with pure graciousness. I absolutely love these women!

100 Days to go!

This is a paper chain that Shannon, Ella and I made with links to count down the last 100 days until Ron is retired! YAY!!

70 calories of coconutty deliciousness!

This, my friend, is a little piece of heaven that I discovered today.

Normally I'm all about dark chocolate. And I'll be honest, I didn't look that closely at the bag to see that it wasn't dark chocolate. I guess I assumed that because it was coconut and chocolate, that the chocolate would be dark. But anyway...This tasty little (approx.70 cal.) huevo has creamy coconut on the inside...yeah, I said creamy so there's no texture of toenail clippings that you get with your average Mounds bar, and it's wrapped in smooth Dove chocolate. I think I'll email the Mars Candy Co. and ask if this is just around for the Easter holiday. 'Cuz if it is, I'm stockin' up!

I Am One LUCKY girl!

How cute is this? My Uber-talented-Master-of-everything-More-creativity-in-her-pinky-than-in-my-entire-body friend, Becki made this for me. She makes the ordinary seem magical in everything she does!

I love that girl!

Get thee behind me comfy bed of mine!

This is a beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest. The rain coming down is a soft, delicious rain. And the wind blowing the trees outside my window is making a kind of 'white noise' that would lull me back to sleep, if I hadn't made the conscious choice to make my bed this morning so as not to be tempted beguiled into climbing back under the fluffy down comforter. The warm, soft, Egyptian Cotton bedding is calling to me with her siren song. I. Must. Be. Strong. I think I'll go downstairs and clean...or have a Girl Scout cookie and watch some HGTV!

I'm SO lucky indeed!

It was great fun seeing all the kids and grandkids in Gilbert. We saw Emmett get blessed on Sunday.

We saw the new Gilbert Arizona Temple being built.

We visited an airplane museum with cool planes.

We watched Logan play soccer.

...our grandchildren took us to Bounce U. It was hysterical!

And I got lots of baby kisses in, thanks to our newest darling grandbaby Emmett...I could just eat him with a spoon!

Grandma Who?

Oh sure! The party's over. This past week I've been here playing with our Arizona grandkids by myself. It's been fun. Now grandpa comes to town and I'm like the unknown warm-up band who opens for The Rolling Stones! Ha! Oh well. It was fun while it lasted!

She and her husband haven't seen each other for a week. That is seven days too many for both of them to be apart from each other. The last time she saw his face was at SeaTac Airport as she was going through security. He waited for her to get through and she kept turning around to see if he was still there and he was. For those few moments it was comforting to know he was still there. Separated by several yards distance and security personnel and big Xray machines and conveyor belts with passengers belongings, she could still see him. She wanted to cry. She wanted him to be on the plane with her. He blew her a kiss and she turned the corner and headed to her departing gate. Tonight they will be together again. It was his turn to go through security with its Xray machines and conveyor belts with passengers belongings in tidy rectangle tubs, only there was no one there to blow him a kiss as he turned the corner headed to his departing gate. She will place it on his lips as he walks through the door tonight. Oh the anticipation....