It's getting HOT !

Well, our temperature hit 106 today, and I think that's just about my limit.  Unfortunately, tomorrow's not going to be much better, or the rest of the week for that matter.  I'm sure Ben will love it, but it really saps my strength.  Jeremy and Mariah came over this evening, and Jeremy got roped into a hot game of Monopoly with Jacob.  Jeremy's sidekick was Lauryn ( she got to roll the dice, good thing she wasn't the banker).  Jer's a good sport, and when they left, Bill took over, and found out Jeremy and Lauryn weren't doing so well :) As I am blogging this, I can hear Bill yelling, "Oh, you little bugger!" I guess I don't need to ask who's winning.

Here's Jeremy's partner in crime!

Come On Kitty!

Sometimes they just don't listen.  Lauryn was trying to get the neighbor's cat to go where she (Lauryn) wanted him to go, but I think the cat had other ideas.  Lauryn and family have a dog (Juneau), but she desperately wants a kitty.  I wonder how long the kitty would last???

Ughh, get over here, kitty.

Nice kitty.

Back in St. George, again

Well, Erin and I, and the kids made it back from Texas in less than two days. Let me tell you, it was one fast ride.  The kids were great.  Just imagine a 9 year old, 4 year old, and 7 month old baby traveling that long.  I'm glad to be back home, and finally got my stitches out of my head.  Don't ask, everything was fine.  It's a bit hot here right now, but not humid, so that's good.  It's time to get back to couponing.  I know I missed out on some great deals, but you can't win 'em all.  Here's a few pictures of our journey.

Lauryn and Jacob in the back seat.  I think Lauryn just woke up.

                                                        This is Landon.  He's a real charmer.

We stopped at the Petrified Forest State Park, but didn't go in.  The only thing petrified is the tree stump behind Jacob and Lauryn.

We went to the splash pad on Tabernacle today.  Yeah, 102!
Next week Jenny, Adam and kids will arrive.  Ben's coming in on the plane.  Tyler/Summer & Kids, Adam/Ashley & kids, Jeremy/Mariah, Logan/Vicki & baby will be here, also, for Will's baptism.  We're going to have a house full, but what a blast!  More pics to come.

Finally, Some Food

I had a procedure this afternoon, and one that I would most definitely recommend to anyone...NOT.  I had to stop eating 48 hours prior to the procedure, and starting last night around 6:00, began drinking 4 liters of a salty water drink.  I was able to add some Crystal Light (pink lemonade) to it.  This cleaned me out big time, but the flavoring didn't really help when I had to drink that much.  I got up this morning to finish the last 2 liters.  Can I just add, that the doctor found me "clean as a whistle"? I wasn't going to blog about this event, but now since I am free to eat, what the heck, why not?
Now tomorrow, I get to have a hole cut in my head (like I don't already have enough holes in my body).  I have a small spot of basil cell carcinoma, and since I had one removed around 5 years ago, I get to return for more, yay!  I just had my hair done yesterday, and I know they're going to make a mess of it.
I know what it's like to read (or not) about someone's medical problems, so I'm going to stop right now and go outside and watch the birds feed on their new seed bell.  They are really hungry little guys. Bill just mowed the lawn, and it looks fantastic.  I wish we could do something with our over-grown backyard; I guess we'll have to save that for another year.

Portland was great (and wet), and I'm so grateful to be back home.  I still have to post some of my pictures; here's a few,  just to prove that's where I actually was:

This is Noah with Jack.

This is Noah, getting ready to bat, at one of his little league games.  This was one of the rare non-rainy days.

This is me with my brothers and mom, in Portland.  Gordon, second from the right, on the couch has Parkinson's Disease.

Finally, a picture of the Sandy River in Troutdale, Oregon, as seen through the trees. I stopped on the roadside, on my drive to see Ben one day.

Say hi to Jack!

Here's  bird's eye view of Becca's dog, Jack.  He's got a lot of energy, strength, energy, teeth, and of course, energy.  He's an American Bulldog, and is about a year old.  Imagine relaxing on her couch, then gazing into those set of eyes?  He's pretty harmless, unless you consider the chunk of carpet he took out at the top of Becca's stairs.  She's got a neat new home, but Jack just needed to sink his teeth into it.  She bought him a couple of those dog chews that eliminates a dog's need to chew on anything in your home, like furniture and carpet. I will post his pic when I get home and download them onto our computer.

Waiting

I'm here at grandma's (actually up in the library of her complex, using the computer), waiting for mom to return from her doctor's appointment, and for Bill to finish doing some last minute shopping. He's also going to try to  get a haircut from the little Vietnamese lady he used to go to when we lived in Troutdale.  Hope she's still in business.
Last night Bill and I went over to my brother Bill and sister-in-law's for dinner, and my brother made the absolute best pizza.  He made his own crust and sauce, mmmm.  Bill is now hunting down the Italian store to buy some more flour for us and my brother.  According to my brother, you NEED this flour to make the dough for the pizza crust.  We now have the recipe for the dough and sauce.  I guess that's what we'll be making from now on when we have pizza.  Oh, and he cooks his pizzas on his barbeque! 

Portland

Bill and I left for Portland on Saturday morning, and I haven't had time to take pictures, but will be doing plenty of that while I'm here, so hold on and they'll be posted along with my pithy, and extreemly witty banter.  It's been the usual spring weather so for...the kind that Bill loves (ha ha).  He and Ben are out golfing right now; trying to get in a round before the serious rain comes a callin'.  I'm going to try and post a picture I took, out the car window, as we were driving down the Columbia River Gorge just before we arrived in Portland.  Those pictures, taken with a cell phone, out the window, tend to have a crappy quality to them, but, we loved looking at the wind generators they have up on the top of the gorge all the way into Portland.  My camera was packed in my suitcase, and I couldn't get to it in time, sorry.