Jordan Has His Batchelors Degree

The first in our family to graduate from college! He's going to go on now for his Master's Degree. We're really proud of him. He's a really nice young man. We went to his house yesterday for the party. Just family was there. We had a good time and Dallas went in the pool with Lindsey. It was so hot yesterday.

Son Denny Finally Had Stone Crushed

Poor guy is in pain right now but the stone won't bother him anymore. I hope he doesn't get another one. He was in such pain.

My Little Sister's Birthday

Oh my gosh! Laurie is 60! I can't believe it. I can still remember her as my 'kid' sister. I'm seven years older than her. We still get together since we live so close. Every Saturday night we eat out with Steve and Laurie. And every Sunday morning, Laurie, our two friends that also happen to be sisters and I all go to a movie. First we go to Starbucks or the Corner Bakery for coffee, chai and a goodie. We have popcorn at the movie, of course. I'm sure glad I live close to my 'little sister'.

If I Could Have One New Year Wish

I would wish that my children could walk a mile in 5 pair of my shoes.
1st pair- when I was a child
2nd pair- when I was a teen
3rd pair- when I brought them up
4th pair- the shoes I wear now
and the 5th pair would be my last pair of shoes.

I went back into my mother's life and tried to wear
her shoes. I understand what her life was like and
why she did the things she did and how she brought me
up.
I forgive her for the things that she may have done
wrong because I understand why she did them. I applaud the
things she did because I know it was hard for her but she
did them.

Dennis is now 69 Years Old

Wow, my husband is 69 now. I never thought of him as an old man. Well, he is! But, I'm not far behind him! We went to Texas Roadhouse for his birthday. Denny and Randy couldn't be there because they were hunting but the rest of us 'girls' went with him. He said that he DID NOT want us to tell the waitress it was his birthday. But it was too late because Danielle already told her. When all of the waitress' and waiters came to our table, I got nervous because Denny can get upset easy. He was cool and they sang happy birthday to him without a protest!
Here are pictures of our day.

Fun with Danielle, Sue, Jamie and LB

The five of us went to the casino today. We all donated toward a set of towels, blankets and sheets for the hotel. Well, that's just a way of saying we lost our money! But it was fun! It's great having Danielle here from NC while Randy is hunting with his brother, Denny. Coco is fun when he doesn't bite. He can't help it because he's with a crazy family. Beautiful weather here in North Texas for a nice drive to OK to the casino.

Dallas' finger, Randy's checkup, weather, and Denny

Dallas' finger is doing good. It still has to be bandaged up and has a ways to go. The injury caused the top part of her pinky to be cut off. She likes the bandage. She's afraid of it hurting without it. I'm thinking that the nail may be growing back but I don't get a chance to look at it long. She doesn't like anyone to look at it.
Randy went to the doctor for a checkup. It's been 9 months since the accident. He has to have surgery on his nose because there's cartilidge in his nose that prevents his breathing. His nose was broken in the accident. But it still looks the same.
Our temperatures have been in the 100s for a couple of weeks. Doesn't bother me at all. I just think of the cold days in winter. The heat doesn't bother me, except when I try to work in my garden. I'll be posting more pictures of my garden soon. So many pretty flowers and a big Swallowtail butterfly was in the yard on my butterfly bush the other day. Just beautiful.
Denny is in Michigan. He played golf yesterday. We talk several times a day. It's quiet around here without him. Dallas is excited about going to MI in August. Denny got her a life jacket. Jamie doesn't like life jackets but we said that it's too bad because Dallas WILL be wearing one in the lake!

My Flowers From Danielle, Randy and Ashley

Danielle and her Mother's Day Gift From Ashley

Jordan in the No Cell Phone Zone

Jordan is 21

I can't believe that Jordan is all grown up. It seemed like yesterday that we used to 'hang out' together when his mom and dad were working. Grandpa also worked nights, driving truck. Jordan was just a little tyke then. He still remembers some of the things we did. We'd watch Shaka Zulu almost every night. I recorded the series and he loved it. And we'd watch the movie "Willow". He never got tired of watching it. We'd eat garlic chip crackers. Oh, I can't forget that we'd watch Steve Erkel say "Did I do that?" Jordan did a good job of copying him. I had three lizards in an aquarium. We'd go to the pet store to get crickets to feed them. Sometimes we'd go to Mr Lee's Chicken Coop to get our supper or we'd go to Little Caesar's to get bread sticks. Jordan was around 5 when we did all of these things. One time we were on our way home from Litle Caesars and saw a bunch of police cars around a house. They were putting yellow tape around the yard. We found out that the man in the house killed his family and then killed himself. Jordan thought that it was quite something. Well, O.K. so did I. Not much excitement around the neighborhood. One night Jordan and I went to Meijers to get a few things. When we left the store, a real big storm had rolled in. The store had a big glassed in entrance and there were a lot of people watching the rain fall and the real high winds blow. I told Jordan that they were crazy to stand in a glassed in area. We ran for it. When we got to the car, we were soaked. It rained so hard that we had to pull off the road on the expressway and wait for the rain to slow down because it was pouring so hard that we couldn't see. We got home and sat by the window watching the lightening and listening to the thunder. One good thing about it was he was never afraid of storms.
Time sure went fast. Now he's in his third year of college. He grew up to be a very nice young man. Always polite and never fails to show us his gratitude for anything that we give him or doing things with him. We still go to a movie whenever we can. Which reminds me of one more thing. when he was around 4 years old, we went to a movie. A lady sitting a couple of rows ahead of us was talking during the movie. All of a sudden, Jordan blurted out. "IF YOU PEOPLE DON'T STOP TALKING, I'M GOING TO GO GET THE MANAGER"! Believe me! They shut right up.

Casino trip, Randy, Jobs

I went to Chactaw Tuesday. I brought $100.00 like I usually do. I bet you think I'm going to say that I won. Wrong. I lost $44.00. That's not bad. I didn't lose it all. And I had a real good time. That's what counts, folks. It's not what you lose in money, it's hanging out with friends that counts and enjoying yourself in retirement. Meanwhile, Randy is back to work. He went back Sunday. He's doing really good and he's even gained 6 pounds. Danielle went back to work too. She works with patients in dialysis. Randy works in security at Ft Bragg. He xrays the trucks that come on base.
So now we need more prayers for my son Denny. No, not medical. But with the economy the way it's going, he may lose his job. Things are getting tough all over. People losing their jobs everywhere. It's so sad. Fortunately, Texas is doing better than some states. Michigan, where we're from originally is not doing well at all in the job market. And to top it all off, not only are jobs scarce, so is the sunshine. That's what I like about Texas. The sun shines almost every day!

Randy

Our son, Randy, lives in NC with his wife, Danielle. It would be nice if they lived closer but we stay in touch on the phone a lot. I have a cd that he made with his singing. I wish I could download some of his songs to my blog but I don't think there's a way to do it. Randy is our second son, middle child. Oh, oh, you know what they say about middle children. No, he's a great guy. Danielle is a beautiful girl. I think Randy got a diamond this time.

More on My Car

I was worried that I had lost the picture of me and my car but I found it today. It was taken on June 15, 1961. It was the night of our Commencement Exercise for graduation from Union High School. Oh, to go back to those days, just for awhile but not for good.

My first car

Do you ever wish you had your first car? Have you ever dreamed that you parked it (when you had the car, like at school) and now you're trying to find it?
I wish I had my first car again. I wish I could see a car like my 1953, two tone green, stick shift, two door, hardtop Plymouth. I don't think it had a name to go with it like Fury (which wasn't made until a few years later than 1953). Just plain Plymouth. My dad paid $350.00 for it and I had to pay him every week until it was paid for. It was 7 years old when I bought it.
I've looked for the car for years. One collector told me that I'd never find it because there weren't many made of that year and model. I remember when I had my car that there was only one like mine in Grand Rapids, MI. I saw the car a few times in downtown Grand Rapids. So, I keep looking in movies, while on the road and on the internet. I found one the other day that except it had four doors and my car had two doors. Anyway, I sure wish I could sit in the driver's seat of my car again. I loved that car. I had to get a new motor in it one time because I didn't learn that you're supposed to put oil in it! Duh! Hey, I was a 16 year old girl. Give me a break!
Here's an almost picture of my sweet little car!

Old man umpire

He doesn't look too bad for being 67 years old. Of course, he took of his glasses, let the seeing eye dog go to the nearest post and the cane is laying on the home plate.

Where, Oh where could they be?

I can only see a couple of lady bugs today. I wonder if my neighbors have them all. Maybe they're hiding under the mulch. Oh well, maybe there aren't enough aphids for them to eat. My gardinia tree has beautiful smelling flowers on it. It's on our front porch because we don't know where to plant it yet. I want it where I can smell the flowers.

Ashley, my teenage granddaugter had her tonsils out yesterday. I hope she's doing ok now. I remember when I had my tonsils out. I went across town on the bus in my pajamas with my mother. (she didn't drive). My aunt picked us up after surgery. They didn't have many outpatient surgeries back in those days. And I didn't go to a hospital. I went to a doctor's office! I woke up and my mother was eating a chicken salad sandwich and she asked me if I wanted a bite. Oh sure! I got a couple of boxes of candy from my aunts. My sisters ate all of the candy. I think I was around 10 or eleven.

Another cousin Diane story

I wrote about our cousin Diane in my posting about our trip to Florida. I mentioned that she makes us laugh all the time. Well, she did it again. We don't even have to be with her to laugh at her. Here is what she wrote to us today:

Well, you girls missed a good one today. Sharon and I were going shopping at 9 AM this morning as she wanted to get a new sundress to take to Cancun. She was sitting at the table by the pool and it was really windy out and quite cool. I walked over to the pool, took my shoe off and stuck my foot in to see what the temperature was. I don't know what in hell happened but I fell in! I had black slacks and a black cotton knit top and I was standing in water up to my boobs! Sharon laughed so hard I thought she was going in hysterics. There I am standing in the pool with all my clothes on! I got out, dryed off, changed my clothes and we laughed all the way to the mall! I will never hear the end of it, believe me!

Our Florida Weekend

Laurie and I flew to Claremont FL Thursday and spent the weekend with my cousin Diane and her husband Fred. We flew home Monday afternoon. It was such a great weekend with them. If laughter is the best medicine, I could get rid of all of my pills. I don’t know if I’ve ever laughed for four complete days!
The first night that we were there, Diane and Fred took LB and me to a restaurant called Al Capone’s. They had a great buffet and they had a musical on stage. We had a table right in front of the stage. It was a good show, very entertaining. The three of us girls had our picture taken together. It was like we were in a lineup. We each got a keychain with the picture in it.
Sherry, Diane’s daughter was at their house for much of the time because her husband had friends from MI there for the week too.
Fred and Sherry told us some of the funny things that Diane has done. Diane is really something. The first morning we were there, she put the oven on so she could make a quiche. Well, she put the microwave on for 20 minutes without putting anything in it. I was going to put my water for tea in it but couldn’t open the door. We got the door open and it was sooooo hot in the microwave, we had to leave the door open and put the fan on.
Friday LB, Diane and I went to the Boardwalk. Diane was sure that there was a pool that the bottom was all sand but we didn’t find it. One pool had a sandbar in the middle of the pool but nothing on the bottom of the pool. When we were in the restroom, LB seemed to take a little longer than Diane or I did. Diane said that LB was probably taking a dump. LB came out just in time to hear her and she explained that she doesn’t do that in public. Diane just happened to have taken a drink of water and when LB said it, she burst out laughing and spit all of the water ‘right in my face’! I saw it coming! It was in slow motion! We were all laughing so hard. Diane was trying to apologize and kept saying “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry” all the while laughing so hard she couldn’t say it. We also went to Disney Downtown. I got a pillow for Dallas with the princess’ on it. We walked around town and had an ice cream cone. At night we watched a dvd that Sherry brought over. We had to try keep Diane awake.
Saturday morning we went to a museum of presidents and the White House. It was really interesting. There were wax figures of the presidents. I never realized that the presidents were so small. I guess people were smaller in those days. We went to Friendly’s restaurant and each had a nice big sundae. Sherry joined us but she had a salad. Hey, someone has to be good. Since LB and I were on vacation, we didn’t care.
Fred, Diane, LB, Sherry and I went to an Italian restaurant that evening. Fred and Sherry met us there because the three of us girls were going to Old Town which was like a carnival. They had a parade of cars that we went to see. Nice old cars but way too many Mini’s. We enjoyed watching the people watching the parade. Saturday night we watched another dvd and afterwards, LB, Diane and I got in the pool. Pretty neat pool and all of the pools there had screened coverings over them. (See the picture). The temperature of the water was in the 80s but Diane said it wasn’t warm enough. I had to agree. She said that it would be warmer the next day. The next night after we watched another dvd, we got in the pool and it was perfect. It was in the 90s!! Steam was coming off the water. While we were in the pool each night, we could see the fireworks from Disney World.
Diane and Fred have the cutest little dog. Her name is Nikki. She doesn’t bark or jump on you. Just darling.
Sunday we went to Celebration. We went there after eating at a buffet. Celebration is a little town by Disney World. There was a craft show going on so we walked around it. There was a wo/man there that I just couldn’t get over watching. S(he) had a man’s face with makeup on. S(he) wore a tank top and had huge boobs, no hips at all under her tight pants. But his arms were so muscular, like a body builder with very large veins running down his arms. Really freaky looking. Not pretty, not handsome.
We rode around looking at the houses there and found some Open Houses. We looked at one for $400,000. Then a beautiful house for $800,000. It was absolutely beautiful. It was on the corner and had a woods behind it, flowers and fruit trees all over the lot and a pond with a walking sidewalk around the pond across the street. There was an alligator in the pond so I took pictures of it. The lady in the house said that the alligators get in the pond sometimes and someone will come and take him out. Anyway, we went to a house that was $2,300,000. Six bathrooms.
So we had a good time that day too.
I forgot to tell you about the car! Fred and Sherry were telling us at breakfast about Diane’s driving. Fred told us that Diane ran into a gas pump one time and she backed up. When she backed up the whole pump fell on her car. They had to close down the pumps for the day. Well, we were laughing about it when we left. Diane backed out of the driveway and we heard the car start beeping and we heard an awful noise. I looked out of the window and saw that she was right next to Sherry’s rented car! Ouch! LB told Diane that she hit the mirror. Sherry’s car was fine. When we got to the restaurant and got out...oh my gosh! There was a huge black streak along the doors of the car! So we got wet paper towels, dry paper towels and a lot of elbow grease but we got it all off from the car. Of course, we didn’t tell Fred!
Sunday night we watched the Academy Awards. We were so disappointed. Nothing great happened, no excitement at all. And we weren’t happy with most of the winners. We ate popcorn and fudge which turned out to be the highlight of the show! Sherry joined us to watch it.
Monday morning we were fed by the great pancake maker, Fred the chef! The pancakes had strawberries and, I think, blueberries in them. Mmmmmm, they were good. We talked about our families and our childhoods. Diane is 5 years older than I am. I forgot to mention that I picked oranges off from the trees in the orchard behind their house.
We left Monday afternoon. It was such a great weekend and I thank Diane and Fred so much for inviting us and having us there. So that was our trp to Florida.

Pictures of Denny

I picked out some pictures of Denny in his younger years. I have so many pictures and albums but I just picked out a few.