Pre-Birthday Bash

When we took my dad to Disney in January, we purchased a three-day Florida resident pass.  I have been hearing constantly on the radio lately that if you have a three-day pass, they will no longer be good after May 24th, so I told George I would like to go for my pre-birthday.  We just couldn't waste those other two days, and besides we knew we would have a great time.

 It was a great time to go because they still had many of their flower creations--remember these are all made of growing plants!

 We had to stop in front of the Chinese pavilion since I will be leaving for China in a couple of days.

 Lady and the Tramp--my favorite!

Although we only had three hours in Epcot before they closed, we had a wonderful relaxing time (except for the half hour when it poured down rain, but we just waited in a covered area for it to stop and then went on our way).  The highlight of the evening is always the wonderful fireworks display on the lake.

The next day, Kyle, Kim, Carter and Jenna met us at Hollywood Studios (formerly known as MGM).  Brady stayed with his Grandma Patrece back at their house.  This was a special weekend because Disney had their annual Star Wars tribute.  

Jenna and Carter are always so much to be with.  They are always ready for a good time!

Not being a Star Wars follower (sorry to say that I only watched the first one), I don't know who this guy is--but evidently he is very famous in the show.  He played Darth Maul.  People had lined up since 4:00 a.m. to get his autograph and be in a picture with him.

How would you like to be in that fur all day--and the temperature was 90 degrees!

 

There were storm troopers everywhere.

A huge tent had been set up with every kind of Star Wars item you could imagine to buy.  I think the Darth Vader was $1,300 and the Chewbacha (sp?) was $850.  Amazing!

Two artists were drawing/painting scenes from Star Wars or pictures about their characters.  I really liked this cute "family" picture.

George and Kyle just chillin' before the big parade started.  They didn't want to fight the crowd, so just enjoyed seeing what they could see over the tops of all the heads. 

 Yep, there were so many people, this was the tiny slot that Jenna, Kim, and I had.  If the characters didn't turn towards us going by, there was no way to get them at all. 

Again, someone famous from the movies.  Unfortunately, they always have make-up on or some of them are just the voices, so they aren't easily recognized by an amateur like me.

With the fantastic Star Wars music going, it was hard not to be caught up in the excitement.

Cute Jenna with some of the beautiful flowers which were everywhere.

It's always so fun to watch how they filmed "Indiana Jones."

Here were the police escorting the main character guy they had there, I guess so the fans would stay back from him. 

We, also, got to see a fun Disney character parade.

 

After the parade, we went to the "American Idol" pavilion where they actually have auditions for American Idol.  We heard three people who were finalists from the day; then we got to vote, and the finalists all were going to the last night show where one person a day would be chosen by the audience.  That person got a Golden Ticket to be at the front of the real auditions when they start again.  It was really fun!  Two of the finalists this year--Holly and Skylar--both got through this way.

Yes, Grandpas can get lost, too.  George wasn't watching and all of a sudden, we couldn't see him with the group.  Jenna had to go after him.

It truly was a fantastic weekend--great places, great times with family, and just plain FUN!

A Special Birthday Party

I wanted to post the special birthday party that Jeff and Amy planned for me.  Jeff is great at the grill, and he fixed all kinds of shrimp and chicken that were absolutely divine!  Amy did all the sides, and we seriously had a feast!

A cute birthday card which they all signed.

Instead of getting one big cake, Amy got big cupcakes for everyone.  It was so fun because everyone got to blow out the candles with me. 

Isaac chose to let Grandpa George blow his out.

Grandma Laura with Garrett, Lola, and Isaac.  We all had such a great time at my birthday party!

Thanks, Jeff and Amy, for planning such a fun event!  

This party was actually held the day before my birthday because George had bought tickets for the Alhambra Dinner Theater where we went on my real birthday.  We got to see "The Buddy Holly Story," which we really enjoyed.  Thanks, George, for that fun evening!

 

   

I wish I could have seen all of the kids on my birthday, but they all called, sent cards, and special remembrances that made me so happy.  Thanks to you all!  The very next day I left for China.

Happy Mothers' Day!

This year, we had a very low key Mothers' Day--George had just returned from being in Dallas with four of the boys and didn't get home until 1:30 a.m. from the airport.  Of course, I had to hear about all the fun he had, so we ended up getting to bed about 2:30.  The day was really enjoyable, however.

 

 Jeff and Amy gave me this beautiful Mothers' Day corsage.

 It's really fun to be in the same ward as Jeff and Amy because we get to see them at all the church activities.

 After Relief Society, the boys came running in with their flowers that they had made their mother.

 We were laughing so hard (after the boys left, of course), because we knew exactly which boy had made which flower.  Garrett is the exacting one whose creations have to be perfect.  Now, do you get the idea.  Hah!

 Jeff, Kyle, Carter, and Brady left for The Players Golf Tournament in Ponte Vedre, so they didn't eat until after the tournament, but the rest of us had a wonderful dinner together.

 In a few more days, it will be ten years since my mother passed away.  I still have a longing to just go give her a call when I want to talk.  She was truly such a special person in my life--a mother in every sense of the word.

My mother, Lola

 

George's mother, Ruby

 George's mother died 14 years ago.  She was such a hard worker and truly dedicated to the gospel.  Even though both George and I don't have our mothers at this time, we definitely carry with us so many wonderful memories and teachings they gave to us.  We are truly indebted to them and love them dearly.  How grateful we feel to have the knowledge that we will be with them again someday if we but live our lives worthily to be where they are.

All of the calls I received from the rest of the family--my sweet daughters-in-law, daughters, sons, and sons-in-law, meant so much to me.  I love you all!  Thanks so much for the wonderful day you gave me.

One son-in-law I didn't get to talk to was John who ended up in a Shanghai hospital.  He went out to play a little game of basketball with Parker a few days before and had only been playing a few minutes when "POP"!  His Achilles tendon snapped, and he had to go for an overnight stay a couple days later for surgery.   (This is the same surgery Kent had to have one year ago playing church basketball!  What is it with playing basketball?)   Then a couple days later, he developed blood clots and is back in the hospital for another three or four days to make sure they don't cause further harm.

 I love this picture of John and Alison.  They just celebrated their 20th Anniversary right before all this happened.  We can't wait to get them back to the states in July--San Francisco, here they come!
 

Like I mentioned, George spent two and a half days in Dallas where he had such a wonderful time with Craig and Cassie's family and Cameron and Anne's family.  (It was so sad that Craig had already left for work the morning this picture was taken.  It is so rare to get this many kids together at one time!)  Kevin flew in from Utah and Kent flew in from Guatemala where he had just spent a week re-visiting old missionary sites and wonderful people he had met there on his Mormon mission. 


One last very exciting bit of news:  We just found out this past week what our twenty-fifth grandchild who will be born the first part of October to Craig and Cassie will be:


A GIRL!!!
With 17 grandsons, and only 7 granddaughters, girls are pretty rare in our family.  We are so excited for her arrival!



 Riley said she looked like a dinosaur!  Oh, dear!  We surely hope he changes his mind about not wanting a new baby!  Hah!