Grandma Beth

Your sweet Valentine

2012-02-14T08:57:00.001-08:00

Bath time!! (he always makes that big eyed look when the flash goes off!)

GrandmaShel came to visit. I swear he spent the whole time looking at me while she was holding him saying, "THIS is what real love is, she takes care of me..."

New toy that Grandma bought him. It plays music and he seems to really like the drums!

His Valentine socks say, "Future Mr. Right" on the bottoms!

Happy Valentines Day Grandma Beth!!

2012 January Snowmageddon

2012-02-11T17:54:00.001-08:00

I love snow. I come from snow country..Marquette, Michigan. It seems like the last few years have been less than snowy there, but I remember growing up it seemed like the snow lasted for years...then we had a month of blistering hot summer, and then snow again! We always had snow at Halloween - it was tradition. I don't miss the months and months of snow, but I like to have a couple days every year to enjoy the pristine beauty of new fallen snow. This year really delivered!

Mom came to visit from Michigan before the snow hit...she was delayed getting home because of airport closures. She was right in it with us though...helped us shovel out the driveway. It was a good thing we did that because the next day we had an ice storm and everything was frozen solid. We could at least get out of our driveway...well with the truck anyway. The cars were grounded for a few days.

Newby loved the snow. At first he wouldn't go in it...but we knew he really HAD to go out eventually, so we pushed him a little. After that he couldn't get enough! He loved to jump through it and push it with his nose. His belly was barely above the snow - so he ran everywhere to plow through!

We sure were glad when it finally melted enough to drive. David had a week off of school, and we lost power due to the ice storm for 2 nights and 2.5 days. I was SO thankful for our woodstove which kept us warm. Many friends ended up at motels.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-07T21:23:00.001-08:00

Dear Grandma Beth - we hope you have a wonderful holiday time in Hillsboro with the Pages.

Thank you for the poinsettia - we'll be thinking of you each time we see it!

Blake and Adam told me all about your trip and lunch and the excitement at Sharis!!

Love you! - Julie and Mike

Santa's Tootsies!

2011-12-01T14:18:00.000-08:00

Aunt Rachel came to visit and brought a cute santa outfit for Alairen.

Dad and Alairen playing!

Every time his little "tootsies" show, I think of you and how you would
just love them!!

Grandpa Dave strikes again!!

2011-10-29T17:18:00.000-07:00

I was studying Lance's ears for days trying to figure out where this little
crinkle came from, then mom comes and within a few minutes she notices
and tells me the source! Pinch from Grandpa Dave!

Happy Halloween from your candy corn!!

2011-10-28T16:55:00.000-07:00

This is the face I see every day, very very often...
It's his "feed me" face.

This is Alairen's Halloween costume that Grandma Shel
made him, he is a little Candy Corn. So very cute!!

Mom and I found the socks at target

This is a picture of Alairen with the binky that
Aunt Missy sent him... he loves it!!

We love you Grandma!!

Alairen Michael Lucero

2011-10-11T12:36:00.000-07:00

Here he is! Sorry it took so long to get you some pictures. Turns out having a new baby means you don't get much sleep... :) This is Alairen at almost 2 weeks while he was still in the NICU, I love his big eyes!

This is our first family picture right after the C Section.

The Proud Daddy and his son!

My first walk around the hospital after a nice hot shower! So nice.

Lance was making Alairen make faces at me and "talk" by moving his chin. I had to tell him to stop after I started to laugh and realized my laughing muscles were the ones they cut!

We love you grandma, I will get some new pictures up soon. Miss you!
Love,
Lance, Rosie and Alairen Lucero

2011-09-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

Hey grandma,
Here is a picture of your upside down grand baby. I have tried numerous things to get him to turn and we will see on Monday if there was any success! Love you and miss you!
Rosie Lucero

Life for Luceros

2011-08-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

Hey Grandma, so things have been going just great as usual. I have been working at the daycare trying to field questions about how I got a baby in my tummy, and Lance has been working hard on all the crazy stuff they hand him. The ohio weather has decided to calm down and be decent for a while, we have been having upper 70s to mid 80s with no humidity, but unfortunately it is too late. I have decided that i am done with summer and am eagerly awaiting fall. I have been trying to make myself hold off on the pumpkin bread and apple cinnamon muffins. I pulled out my halloween decorations and was tempted to put them up, but I don't want to scare the baby and make him think he came to the wrong home! Lance has been spending the last few days rebooting and organizing the computer so I haven't had much time on it, but even if it was available I probably wouldn't have done much since I am a big fan of sleeping any chance I get! I am at 34 weeks this saturday and it is so exciting/nerve wracking! Last wednesday Lance and I went to our first Lamaze class and started learning some breathing and relaxation techniques (one of them being - the coach is forbidden to ever command "relax!" in the heat of the moment!) :) He seems really calm about it all so it helps me face this with more excitement and less fear. This week, I am going to the class alone because Lance just had Lasik eye surgery this morning. It went really well and now he is home sleeping (as am I!) and I am helping him put in his eye drops every two hours which proves I really do love him! I covered as much of the windows as I could and he is laid out on the couch with another blanket covering his head in a fort-like thing I made to make it as dark as possible. He looks like quite the royalty except for the bug-eye coverings and sunglasses he has on!! (don't worry, i will get pictures!)
At work I have been playing with kids in a much more modified fashion than before as it gets next to impossible to bend or sit for very long. When i am sitting I have two to four kids coming up and rubbing my belly (like its good luck or something!) and asking questions. Most I can ward off but sometimes they get hilarious. Some of my favorites have been;
Girl: "Your mouth is too small."
Me: "For what?"
Girl: "For the baby to come out."
Me: "Uhhh..."
Girl: " Oh look! birds!" and runs off.

Girl rubbing belly: "Is that his head?"
Me: "It could be."
Girl: "Is that his foot?"
Me: "Its hard to tell, but I bet you are right."
Girl pointing at my chest: "Are those his eyes?"

Boy trying to lift my shirt to see the baby: "Can I see?"
Me: "The baby is in my tummy, all you can see is my belly button. You know like when you eat food, you can't see it in your tummy."
Boy: "So you have to throw up to get the baby out??"
Other Boy (who has a younger brother) : "babies come out your bottom."
Boy: "Ewwww, in the toilet! like poop!?! haha"
Me: "Well, no. I go to the hospital and the doctor helps me get my baby out...."
Boys run off together laughing about poop.

Sigh, kids really are funny! As the weeks are counting down Lance and I are starting to really prepare for this little guy to come home. Its so fun to baby shop and Lance seems to understand this because no matter what store we go to he always lets me go down the baby aisles! I think its payback for me letting him go down all the electronic aisles for months. He finally settled on a TV (he has been looking into one for months) and is really happy with it. It's a 46 in with 3D capabilities. Basically it can convert ANYTHING into 3D. You don't need a blue ray or special movie. You can even convert regular cartoons (like Dexter). Its pretty cool. (Now you all want to come visit us, don't you?!) So once Lances eyes heal up we will be exploring that more. Any good movie suggestions? :)
Well that is all that is going on with us right now, Just counting down the days and enjoying our time now. We love you and hope you are enjoying things in your life too.
Love, Lance, Rosie and the Peanut (who is starting to really enjoy poking me!)

Your favorite new grandson

2011-07-14T17:51:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of The Peanut at 27 weeks. People are starting to notice that I am pregnant and how it is all of the sudden growing! Love you Grandma!

2011-06-19T15:15:00.001-07:00

Hello hello,
So Lance and I have been doing really well and I just wanted to update you on all the good stuff. So Memorial day weekend was the first weekend that it stopped raining and the sun came out, ever since that day it has been near the 90s or 80s consistently! I think Ohio forgot spring, we were having days with 50s and 60s before that full of rain and then it's like someone pulled a switch. We have enjoyed the weather except for half the days have been 90% humidity and on those days we just hide inside!
On friday I got to go to lance's work and go to a small promotion ceremony in his office. It was really cool, there was like 30 people or so and they did a couple speeches and had Lance say a few things. Then the other Airmen that outrank him came up and "tacked" his new stripe on his shoulder. In other words they got to punch him in the arm! Then there was cake and cookies. It was a fun thing to be able to attend. So now he is an "Airman first class." I think that means an $80 month raise but he spent it this month just getting his uniforms sewed with the new stripes! :)
Lance and I were asked to speak in church about Parent's responsibility to raise a righteous generation. I had dreams for the the two nights previous that I either missed church by two hours or I forgot my talk. This morning I was double checking everything but we made it and I survived! (I hope I am truly awake so I don't have to do it again in real life!!) It was also a pleasure to talk about raising the next generation when our own son is so very perfect and I can be really idealistic! Lance gave a powerful talk and testimony, I love hearing him speak. I figure if the price I have to pay to hear him speak is to give a talk myself, then it's worth it. This has been a fun time for us as we look forward to being parents and we plan our goals and future guidelines. We both know that as the kids come things will not be as easy as it looked but for now we enjoy the simplicity. :)
We have been able to get some things from friends in the ward for when the baby comes, it gets so exciting as it feels closer and closer. We now have a crib, changing table, stroller, and car seat. Of course we don't have much room for anything but we welcome the generosity. Lance and I stopped at a maternity store a couple weeks ago and that was strangely exciting, I got a few things and I can't tell you enough how comfortable maternity pants are! Love them!! We also were able to go and get the first part of our food storage with our tax return. It was also exciting to finally get to that, It feels good to follow the prophet's council and get going on that.
After church today it was fun to sit and let Lance feel the baby move (happy fathers day from his son!) the kicks are not super big but Lance gets to feel a little push as the little peanut stretches out. We had a check up last week and things seem to be going just great. This weekend we hit 24 weeks. I almost can't believe it! I have been feeling really well, Of course I love to get any extra sleep i can and get some occasional heartburn but really nothing else significant. I feel blessed to be able to be so active and healthy. I go to school and the kids are all telling me about "the baby" in their tummys. For some of the boys its a baby spider and for some of the girls its a baby girl. I had one mom say she heard all about me from her daughter (not even in my class) because she talks about me having a baby in my tummy. It's so fun.
The kids in my daycare have been really fun to be around. You get a glimpse into their home life just by interacting and watching them play. There are some kids who come in everyday and the pretend to "weed whack" everything in sight or they want to pretend they are mommies with babies and are tucking the dolls in to sleep. I had one little two year old who came up and asked if he could play in the block area. I had to tell him he needed to wait until after lunch was over because it was closed. He looked up at me, scowled, put his hands on his hips and said, "Do you hear the words coming out of my mouth?!?" and I got a snapshot of his mom right there. Of course I was laughing too hard to respond much.
The geese outside our window in the pond have finally grown out of the "ugly duckling" stage and now we have three times as many geese to leave poop all around and wander in the street on the one day you are running late!! The other night we saw another cool thing about ohio. The fireflies came out a couple nights ago and we went out and watched them until we realized that the mosquitoes were getting a feast. We decided from now on to enjoy that view from behind a window where we wont get eaten alive! So we are enjoying Ohio for now, but have no fear, it still doesn't add up to the west where we will be the minute we can choose where to live!
We love you and wanted to let you know that things are going great for us as we plug along in the daily grind of things.
Love,
Lance, Rosie and "bump" (as Lance calls him!)

See my Garden!

2011-05-22T17:58:00.001-07:00

It is done!! As long as we don't get torrential rain in the next few days, I believe I've been successful in my garden this year. I was able to finish weeding and turning it over on Friday - that is the first picture - oh, and the tomato plants I rec'd from Vicki are in too!. It is far from perfect, but most of the weeds and grass are gone and I've raked it. I thought I might die from doing this..it was SO labor intensive. I was about to give up when David appeared with a glass of water - bless my boy! I took a long drink and keep on going. I then let it rest for the day, and then on Saturday Sami and I planted it in the rain. I just wanted to get all the plants and seeds I bought IN. I planted lettuce, carrots, onions, radishes, my mother's day dahlia bulbs, peas, two kinds of cukes, watermelon, honeydew melon, and strawberries. I am SO jazzed!!

Utah Trip

2011-05-01T15:16:00.001-07:00

Our girl is home! Dan and I flew down to Provo, Utah to get her on April 21. She was all packed up - I was so proud of her efforts. We did a little cleaning in her apartment, and then we were free to do what we wanted. I had a list of stores to shop at - ones we don't have here at home. We managed to get to all of them, and fit in visits with family and friends. On Saturday April 23 I flew home and Sami and Dan drove home. They stopped along the way and visited family, and still made it home Easter Sunday at 2:30 am. We are so glad she is back! She hopes to gain employment this summer to help with college costs, and enjoy home cooked food. I hope the summer is a nice long one so we can enjoy her before she goes back in the fall. And yeah, I don't know how to fix the pic - you get the idea though.

It stormed in Utah when we were there - aren't these clouds something else? The wind was so strong it really knocked the car around on the way back from the airport. Sami was nervous -she almost pulled over to let Dan drive but then it calmed down a bit. A truck with garbage packed in the back started losing his load - and garbage rained down! I was glad to get through that all.

I thought I would add this pic of Dan eating this scorpion laden sucker. Why he would do such a thing is beyond me...other than he can now say he did it. YUCK~!

Raelee and Rachie's Sleepover!

2011-04-26T15:45:00.001-07:00

I've been promising Raelee a sleepover for months so now that tax season is over, I was able to take Friday off. She came over on Thursday and we did a puzzle and played with any stuffed animals she could find. Yes, that's the Christmas Chihuahua you gave me that sings Feliz Navidad! She loves it and I need to find a better place to hide it when it's not Christmas!

We put together one of her puzzles, a Barbie one of course!

The next day she woke up around 6am telling me it was morning outside. I, being the morning person I am, told her it was not morning and to go back to sleep. That only worked for about 20 minutes so then I told her to color while I tried to sleep a little longer! Later that day we went to see the movie Hop. It's about the Easter Bunny's son who is supposed to grow up to be the next Easter Bunny but wants to play the drums in a band instead. It was a cute movie but had real people and cartoons and Raelee was only interested in the cartoon part. And the popcorn of course!

This is us at the theater.

I set up the ball pit, which she still loves playing in there. She made up a new game where she hides the stuffed animals in the balls and then I have to find them all. Then it's my turn to hide them and she has to find them.

She also loves doing somersaults down the slide, then she ends up with crazy hair!

We also made some cookies. Now, you know I don't love to cook but I was going to make sugar cookies and use my mom's Easter cookie cutters but I had to run to the store anyway so I got the premade cookies with Easter bunnies and chicks on them. This worked out well because when it was time to make them, she wanted to color so we just put them on the pan and cooked them. We took them to my parent's house for Easter dinner on Sunday.

The bunnies are one the left and the other ones are yellow chicks in pink eggs.

While the cookies were baking, Raelee and I called and sang Happy Birthday to you! Then she wanted to draw you a picture. She worked on it for quite a while and I was impressed with her coloring skills - they are much better than mine!

This is the only time she sat still the whole day!

We had a lot of fun together. We also took a walk and had a dance party! She is such a fun girl and growing up so fast. It's fun to be able to have conversations with her and then for her to still be a little girl who loves to giggle! We love you and hope you had a great birthday!

Love,
Rachel & Raelee

2011-04-25T17:59:00.000-07:00

Grandma!!
So first off I want to tell you all that there has not been a single Saturday in Ohio that has not been raining/ thunder storming. Turns out the weather here is crazy. On many (like five or six) occasions a week has gone from 70+ degrees to 52 in a day. We have at least 3 thunderstorms a week and pouring rain. Then it gets warm only to break out in storm again. Tons of people here have flooded basements and I am very grateful for our second story apt. The sayings around here are "If you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes." or my favorite, "What do you call a sunny day after 3 days of rain? ..... Monday." Very true, haha!
I started working at the child development center this month. Well after a bunch of paperwork and waiting over 3 weeks after interviewing they finally got me going. Actually on Tuesday afternoon I found out I was working Wednesday and every weekday since that. For taking so long in the beginning they have sure made up for that!! I spent a couple days observing all the classrooms and then got put in a preschool (3 and 4 yrs) for a week and a half. Then just when I got comfortable I was moved to my permanent classroom down the hall. It is also a preschool age class and I am loving it. The kids are so fun (most days) and quite hilarious. Actually I explained to Lance that some days it feels like I am trying to herd cats and am exhausted afterwards and some days it feels like I get to play with cute kittens all day. That way when I get in the car after work all I have to say is "it was a herding cats day" and Lance knows to walk on eggshells!! :) Some days it feels like all you are doing is cleaning up after potty accidents and telling kids not to step on eachother, but other days they are so adorable I find the day is over before I know it. One girl had had an accident in her pants and so I told her to go to the bathroom while I get her new clothes. I come back and she is still standing there so i tell her to take off her shoes (so she can change her pants) and she just looks at me all confused, "I pooped in my shoes??" Another time a girl was having a rough day of listening and just wearing my patience, then she looked up at me and said, "Miss Evelyn, you are really nice. I like you." That deflated my frustration REAL fast!! One little boy calls me, "Miss El-a-ben!" seriously melts my heart, so cute. This age group is so honest, its funny. you ask them if they washed their hands after going potty and they say no. Then you tell them to go back and do it and they are like, "awww man!" I met the sister of one boy I knew and she started to tell me about this one time when her brother bit her back a long time ago. Then she says, "Thats ok, one time I threw ka-ka around the room." I was like... "uhhh, nice to meet you." Then you get the kids that come up to you crying and you ask them whats wrong, they say, "Lilly called me a girl!" (the world has ended for that boy until about 2 mins later when something distracts them and they totally forget!)
Since our weekends have been very rainy, Lance and I have been limited on what we can do for fun but we have made some good memories. A couple weeks ago we went to the "enterTRAINment center" which has the worlds longest model train sets and a random fun house. We had fun getting lost in the mirror maze and Lance talking about his childhood love of train sets and what kinds he wants to get to put together with our kids. :)
Last week we went to a Jon Mclaughlin concert which was really fun... when it started. It "started" at 7:30 in Columbus so Lance and I went right after work so we could park and get something to eat. We find parking and there are a ton of other concerts and events all going on in the buildings surrounding ours. We go to find something to eat but apparently EVERYTHING is closed except crowded smoky bars. (I only know that because I had to pee so bad that I had to go searching.) We finally found this marketplace type thing and got some food there. Then we head over to the concert which of course is when it starts pouring rain. haha. So we make it back to the "basement" as it is called and wait for the doors to open. This venue is just that, a basement. It is the basement of a crappy bar with tons of drunk 50 somethings trying to hit on eachother. I was pretty discourage about that but the downstairs was cleaner and smaller. So about 45 mins after it was supposed to start some random guy gets on stage and starts playing. After about a couple songs he introduces himself as the opener and starts going to town on his... harmonica. yea. real cool. no. He was quite obnoxious and seriously played for almost an hour! Then FINALLY Jon Mclaughlin comes on and starts to play. He is very entertaining and funny. I love his music and can't wait for the new cd this fall. He plays some mad piano and sings great. So it was worth it in the end but there were about four or five times I had to leave where we were standing and go sit on the side because the sour beer smell made me nauseous (not to mention the smell of the guy passing gas in front of me all night!) :( Then on saturday we were able to go to the temple which was a wonderful boost and great blessing. We decided the baby "needed" some ice cream that night so we went in search of some. We stopped at this "famous" place and realized it was so popular because they put tons of choc. chips in all their ice cream. Wasn't a huge hit with us but satisfied our sweet tooth.
We have gotten to hear our baby's heartbeat twice now and it is so exciting. I am setting the appointment for next month when we get to have the ultrasound and hopefully find out the gender. I can't wait!!! :) We are all doing well health wise and just dying for some warmer weather so we can see all the parks and trails that are in our city.
Well, I better sign off and go to bed! Love you, let me know how you are doing!
Love, Lance and Rosie Lucero (and baby)

seattle aquarium

2011-04-21T08:11:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Marilyn and Tommy watched the boys for me while my mom and I went to Portland and Jonathan worked... they took the Blake and Adam to the Seattle Aquarium, and from all accounts it was a HIT! Hope you enjoy the pictures....

Adam turns 2

2011-04-03T22:33:00.001-07:00

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Sami & Grandma

2011-04-03T11:18:00.001-07:00

Can you believe it is almost time for Sami to come home again for the summer?? She is just finishing her second year at BYU Provo. I believe classes end after next week, and then she will have finals. We will be leaving to go get her on April 21st. After we pack her up, I will fly home and then Dan and Sami will drive home arriving on Easter Sunday. When she starts a school year it seems SO LONG before she gets to come back home...and then all of a sudden it is April again and she is back! We can't wait!

hellow

2011-04-03T03:54:00.000-07:00

I don't have a whole lot of news to tell you but I thought I would say hi. :)

We are all healthy and doing well. Kris is working for Group Health in Spokane Valley. (170 miles a day commute) I am still working at the jail, animal control, and on the school board. I was just called as the 1st counselor of the elders quorum. It appears that I will remain the secretary of the priesthood group and primary teacher too. Oh, how I long for the old "ward member" days when a person could hide, no such luck in a branch.
Heather still has not found a job but is helping out a lot around the house. Ashley is doing home school and working at Taco Del Mar and finally starting to get some hours now that the traffic is picking up on I-90.
Michael is doing well. He helps out at the house too but only after I remind him of his chores. :) The only thing I don't have to tell him to do is EAT. He does that on his own. He will be taller than me by the time he starts school in the fall. (8th grade)
Jacob is really doing well this year in school. His social skills have really come a long way. His therapists and teachers are all impressed with him.
Savannah is in preschool and is loving it. She is best friends with the daughter of a co-worker of mine. It is good to see her using her social skill if only at school. :)
Sorry it has been so long since I have written you. I enjoy our phone calls but I need to do this more often too. I need to get you some photographs before Jacob is taller than me. Don't hold your breath though. :)
I love you,
Be good
Scott

Ohio, the saga

2011-02-22T09:14:00.000-08:00

Dear family,
As many of you know, Lance and I survived traveling in the crazy storm. Lance drove like a champ and didn't tell me how nervous he was until after, which was probably good. :) We traveled through many states that we came to a consensus about that we never wanted to live there! (south dakota, really?) The storm of the century of whatever you want to call it was right in front and right behind us. We managed (through lots of prayer) to never hit the really bad spots. The worst was really stopping for gas (in south dakota) and it was literally -30 degrees. Just turning off the car made it so we could see our breath! Needless to say we did not feel like extending our stay in this lovely state to see Mt. Rushmore. Another time maybe! (we took pictures along the way but lucky for you they got lost, now you don't have to look at 7 identical pictures of different snowy wastelands for a state!!) We just plugged our way through the trip and saw many blessings on the way. One time we stopped a little earlier than planned because the roads were windy, icy, and it was getting dark. The next morning we saw about 12 cars and a semi off the sides of the roads on just the next exit. But despite all obstacles, we made it to Ohio weds night. We got to stay with Lance's cousin Megan that night and then in the morning we drove the 45 mins to the base and checked in. They set us up in temporary housing which was nice, except the kitchen had recently been the victim of a popcorn burning or something. We hunted for days for apartments in the area and ended up debating between base housing which would be 3 rooms, an attached garage and yard or one bedroom with a really nice kitchen and bathtub (my favorite part). We were really having a hard time weighing the pros and cons so we decided to look at 2 more apts. After quickly checking the first one off our list (it smelled like cat pee) we went to Stonefalls apartments. We didn't even leave the parking lot and had decided that this was the place for us. We have a wonderful one bedroom (square foot of a two bedroom) with a free garage (not attached but free!), a view of a little pond with two geese and occasionally some ducks, the managment is really great and the apt has the best lighting from big windows. After this we set about to find furniture. I have personally come to the conclusion that furniture salesman are not too distant cousins of car salesman. We went to a million different stores and found the perfect stuff for us. We are now the proud owners of a new couch, 2 small bookcases, a beautiful kitchen table, 2 beside tables and a new bedding set. During all this Lance was going on base to inprocess and I was trying to recover from a massive cold. Then Friday morning came, bright and early. We eagerly packed up our stuff in the temp housing and moved the 8 mins to our new place. Just as we pulled in I started to smell pickles. Pulling out the food bags, we found that a half open pickle jar was ready to spill its contents all over the front seat of our new car. So we spent the first half of the day cleaning out the car and the rest of the day with Lance muttering, "pickles! I smell pickles! I will never eat another pickle again!" Then the movers that were moving our stuff were only able to show up at about 6:30 pm. Because of this the guy didn't have any help moving our stuff in except his wife. So Lance chipped in and we ended up getting everything all done about 9:30pm. We then spent the next day picking up our newly acquired furniture with the help of Megan's father in law's truck. (did I mention that the first thing you do when you come in the apartment is go upstairs?? yeah.) Then we spent the next few days unpacking, putting up pictures and grocery shopping. (Did you know that there are NO bulk food stores here like WinCo?) Now we are settled in, everything is ready and in its place. It's just the ordinary doing laundry and dishes day to day. So things are going really well here, Lance starts work tomorrow. I use the term "work" loosely because apparently they don't even have computers and there is going to be a lot of waiting around. Their offices are being remodeled and their team is being put together from scratch so it might be a little while before he does real work. But he is eager to get going. The office he is in has some fun rumors too. It apparently used to be a train yard building where they would work on trains or something. I also heard the basement used to hold German prisoners from world war II. And most comically, like all government institutions there are the rumors of Aliens and UFO debris. (if it's true I will never know because my husband wouldn't be allowed to tell me!!) Although I can't say I don't think some of the heads of the government are going about things in an unearthly way... haha! sigh. I am funny. just kidding. Ok so here is our address, feel free to send letters, packages, and yourselves at anytime!

2437 Edgewater Drive #5
Beavercreek, OH 45431

We are going to enjoy our adventures here and are looking forward to new roads. Keep us updated on you as well. We will be sending emails with updates as things happen, so if you don't hear from us that might just mean things are going smoothly and I haven't spilled more pickle juice in the car!! Love you all, Lance and Rosie Lucero

thank you GG

2011-01-06T01:04:00.000-08:00

thank you for the package you sent! we got it the day we came home from Rome... they boys loved the candy (of course), they also LOVED the books!

see you soon GG!!

THE YELLOW PAGES

2010-11-16T14:00:00.001-08:00

For Halloween last month, Rosie, Missy and I dressed up as the Yellow Pages! We got the idea from our Page grandparents who did it years ago. People, of course, didn't get it right away but we ended up winning funniest costume. I designed the t-shirts online but we couldn't find yellow pants (I'm gonna be honest, I was not excited to wear yellow pants so I didn't look too hard!), so we got these ugly yellow hats that were way too big instead. My definition of a Halloween costume is something you would not normally wear so those hats were perfect. We even painted our fingernails yellow!

The shirts say "I've got your number...want mine?"
They also say "Page" on the back for people who didn't know us.

We also made some fun Halloween treats but I don't have a picture of all of them. Missy made Jack-O-Lantern cheese balls. She used bell peppers to cut out the eyes and mouth so it looked like a pumpkin. Rosie decorated a few dozen cupcakes to look like webs with spiders or pumpkins or witches. I made little smokies wrapped in crescent roll dough to look like mummies.

Halloweenies!

Love you!
Rachel

My Airman!

2010-10-22T09:53:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was the long awaited time to get to see Lance. He graduated from Basic Training and as far as I can tell from what he explained it sounds like a prisoner of war simulation camp! Anyway he made it through and lived to tell. We took him out to eat at subway (remember how much you like it now?) and he promptly ate 2 feet of sandwiches and declared he "wasn't full but should probably stop."
It was so nice to see him and hug him (briefly mind you, there were rules!) This just goes to show that there are things you can live through that you never thought you could/wanted to. (I am talking about ME living without him!) And yes that banana split is doused in peanut butter!

We both love you very much!

thank you GG

2010-10-19T03:23:00.000-07:00

Blake was so excited when he got your card in the mail today! They both LOVED it and have been playing it over and over and over! :) Thank you for sending it, it made their day! We miss you and love you!

EXOTIC ANIMALS

2010-09-28T17:28:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Steve, Rosie and I went to the fair grounds with Raelee to see Exotic Animals!
Of course Raelee was the only one excited to see the animals and she got in free, but the rest of us had to pay $8. There were baby tigers, leopard and lion but so far behind the fence that is was hard to see them. Just like at the zoo, to which we have a free pass. Raelee was only interested in the animals that she could pet. She pet the miniature pony but we had to tell her what is was. It was so short and hairy that it looked more like the dog on Peter Pan. There was also a llama, pig, goat, baby burro, rabbit,camel, and chicken. She steered clear of the chicken because when she visited her friends earlier in the week, their chicken had bit Raelee. (I'm sure Raelee was minding her own business and NOT chasing the chicken or anything.) There were a lot of people selling birds, fish, hamsters, reptiles, puppies, turtles and I think there was even a ferret. They had a performing pot belly pig too. I think we killed maybe 45 min., determine to get our money's worth.
Raelee got a little mouse (cat toy) for FREE.
It's fun being a grandparent but my favorite part was when we got home Raelee, Rosie and I had a tea party.

2010-09-26T17:39:00.000-07:00

Hi Mom,
Doesn't David look tall?! His mission president is Brazilian and doesn't speak English, at least to David. I asked David if he spoke enough Portuguese to communicate and he said "No."
I don't know how serious he is about that but he looks happy doesn't he?
Love,
Michelle

Dear GG

2010-09-04T22:30:00.000-07:00

THESE BOYS LOVE YOU!

I just wanted to tell you that we've had such a great time staying here with you the last few weeks. The boys have LOVED playing with you.... I just love hearing Adam yelling down the hall, "gg, gg, GG" it cracks me up! Thank you for all that you've done to make our stay so wonderful, we love you and will miss you so much!

Just A Funny Story...

2010-07-12T09:09:00.000-07:00

This is a picture from back in March when Lance and I really wanted to go camping but it was too cold. I figured out how to make do in our apartment! Luckily it is warm enough to go real camping soon.

On sunday we were teaching our darling little 6 yr olds. We had only 3 boys there for the holiday weekend. The lesson was on gratitude and I think I take the manual for granted in that it is always age appropriate. We start the lesson by filling a cup with water. As each kid says something they are grateful for they pour a spoonful of water into the cup. (of course everyone was grateful for fireworks- several times!!!) anyway we bring the kids back inside after the cup has overfilled. (I wasn't going to do that inside!!) I try to explain the analogy that we are blessed to overflowing as well. Now 6 year olds are literal. They look at you like you are from another planet if you don't explain well. (I am quite familiar with this look) So in an attempt to try to explain, I reminded them how last week we walked around like sheep and followed a shepherd but that we weren't "really" sheep and that we follow Jesus. They are looking at me like, "yeah. so?" I try to explain that we are like the cup (which gets them giggling) and that Jesus pours out blessing. I am actually quite proud of the way I tied it all together until the serious kid in the class looks at me all confused and says, "Jesus is a SPOON??"
Now I admit, I did not keep a straight face but I do pray that if anything stuck in their heads from that lesson, please let it be that they did not go home thinking Jesus is a utensil!

Our 4th of July

2010-07-06T12:42:00.001-07:00

On the 3rd we got to ride on the float Daddy's work made for the parade. Finley chose to ride in the big truck instead. :) Our float won 1st place. They think it was because of the cool rockets on it. I think it was because of the Beautiful Princess on it.

Then on the 4th we went to a friend's house

I know this picture is kind of dark and fuzzy but just look at her face. This is the face of a kid who is using her first Sparkler. She was trying hard to be brave!!

Then on the 5th I found this in the bathroom. For a girl so traumatized by haircuts I am surprised she would attempt to cut her own. Good thing it's curly. It hides all the weird lengths.

DAVID AT THE MTC

2010-07-01T17:49:00.000-07:00

Well, we got an email today letting us know that David made it to the MTC in SaoPaulo, Brazil.
Isn't he handsome?!
Michelle

family picture

2010-06-19T11:22:00.000-07:00

spinning on GG's chair

2010-06-03T08:55:00.000-07:00

My Baby is Graduating

2010-05-14T17:02:00.000-07:00

from preschool:
He kept saying today, so, I start kindergarten tomorrow, right? I guess he's ready!

Love you Aunt Beth--glad Josh got the computer up and running!

Happy Tax Day!!!

2010-04-18T22:43:00.000-07:00

It's finally over!!! I took Friday the 16th off, turned off my phone and didn't do anything I didn't want to do - all without feeling guilty! I could literally feel the stress leave my tense little body!

I really enjoy this cartoon but it has another meaning for me this year. I think of it not as the IRS but more as my bishop calling me to be the RS president during the busiest part of tax season. He was nice about it and told me he knew I was busy but that tax season would be over in about a month and I just needed to pick good counselors to help me out! I can honestly say that I did get good counselors but none of them have helped with the thought that pops into my head every few minutes "Oh no! You're the new RS president! What are you going to do?!?" Followed by, "I need to get this tax return reviewed before the client comes in tomorrow, so focus!" I'm relieved to have time to actually sit down and figure this whole calling thing out - hopefully without all the voices in my head!

Don't you worry, though. I do have good counselors so I am planning to visit you now that I don't have to work weekends anymore. I'll let you know when I have it figured out. See you soon!

Love ya,
Rachel

2010-04-08T17:32:00.000-07:00

Well not much new is happening here grandma. We are still going - one day at a time.

This was the best picture of us we could get!!

Finn's favorite place to play is in Brie's bed. He also likes to empty the kitchen drawers and fill her bed with all the measuring cups.

Raelee loves her Auntie Rachie and especially loved the night she came over to make Hello Kittie toast with the Christmas present Raelee gave Rachel!

Raelee really loves her daddy - I do too!

Hollywood

2010-03-23T14:02:00.001-07:00

after our cruise we had a few hours to kill before we caught our flight home, so we rented a car and drove around Hollywood a bit... i thought you might like these!

2010-03-03T11:53:00.000-08:00

PARK!

2010-01-25T08:06:00.000-08:00

we were able to make it to the park a couple times last week, it was actually sunny, and not too cold. of course the day we decided to go have a picnic with some friends at the beach, it was not so sunny... but still better than a typical january day, and definitely better than being inside all day!

blake had a lot of fun pushing adam on the swings

my blue eyed boys!

we're still trying to figure out where these cute boys came from.... really, i don't think either of them look like us! (but we'll keep them! ;o)

My Kids

2010-01-08T13:12:00.000-08:00

Raelee loves Preschool. Her favorite part is the 'craps'. She is getting to be a great 'archer' just ask Grandma Beth to show you the picture Raelee drew for her for Christmas. She is so fun and tells me all sorts of stories. You know those kids in Primary that tell you the outrageous things and you think 'Who are your parents?', well it's me. She told me the other day that she was going to go to the temple and get baptized by Jesus and then die and live with him in the temple. I guess she is half listening! :)

Typical Finley face
He has three teeth now. Raelee 'helped' him get his third one by slamming his head into the kitchen floor. He is communicating with sign language a little now. He does the 'all done' sign when daddy is running the vacuum - he doesn't like the loud noise! He is experimenting with standing alone in the middle of the room but isn't quite brave enough to walk yet.

2009-12-09T23:30:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I forgot to finish this post from back in October!

Hi Grandma! I just got back from upstate New York today. I went with my friend, Kehaulani, from my ward and we went all around the area enjoying the fall colors. It was a little cold but we missed the freak snow they got so we were happy!

BUTTERMILK FALLS:

WATKINS GLEN:

Love you,
Rachel

Family Pictures

2009-12-01T21:27:00.000-08:00

Hi Aunt Beth!! I thought I'd share some pictures from our recent family photo shoot. The boys were pretty goofy this year:

The girls, this year anyway, behaved with more decorum:

All my little monsters: Love ya Aunt Beth!! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

2009-12-01T11:54:00.000-08:00

Hey Grandma,
I hope your visit was fun. I know I enjoyed seeing you (felt very brief though!)
Lance and I are moving into our first apartment today in a few hours and in between packing I wanted to take a break. I can't wait to have our own place, it's so exciting. What a blessing. Lance is doing his air force processing tomorrow to thursday. So hopefully in the next few weeks we will get an idea for dates and times for boot camp and all that.
I have been getting into the christmas season by listening to bing crosby christmas music. It feels a little weird because it feels like I totally skipped thanksgiving!!
Well here are some wedding pictures from a friend. The professional ones should be coming soon.
And thank you again for the neckalace- I love it and so will my daughters! (someday) :)
I love you grandma!
Love, Rosie Lucero :D (I just can't get enough of saying that!!)

Brittony's Senior Pictures

2009-11-13T16:30:00.001-08:00

Kitchitikipi Big Springs

2009-11-13T16:08:00.000-08:00

Brittony and I took a bike ride to the Big Springs the day before school started. The Springs was great. You can see the bottom 45 feet deep. And you can see fish swimming. The day was sunny and warm and we rode for 5-6 hours.

We rode through beautiful U.P. Country. We had a great time, but wished we were in the Pacific Northwest the entire time.

Brittony also took pictures of ducks sitting on logs. She was as excited as a kindergardener (and almost as tall). She was also excited about taking a picture of a bug that landed on my back and a big green worm.

we'll miss you!

2009-10-30T08:48:00.000-07:00

hey grandma,
just wanted to say that we hope you have fun staying in Oregon next month. we'll miss you!
love you,
jonathan, suzanne, blake and adam

here are some pictures so you don't forget us! :o)

my friend mariah's family (the one that came canning with me) and our family went out to Dash Point State Park about a month or more ago and took some pictures of eachothers families.... some of them turned out pretty cute! hope you like them!

Pumpkin Carving

2009-10-29T19:20:00.000-07:00

Our singles ward had a big pumpkin carving activity a couple weeks ago. Lance and I were trying to thing of something "really cool" and some how we came up with the idea to carve a Tee Pee. I think it was "Intense" (get it? "in tents"??!!)It morphed into a huge bonfire, tee pee, Indian playing a flute. Then I insisted the Indian have a squaw. So the second figure with the "X" is the girl Indian and that is a bow in her hair!!

Lance and I proudly posing with our creation!

That was a fun night. But I think I am all done with Halloween. (I know it hasn't even come yet) But thats all I needed. Now I am listening to Christmas music and dreaming about the perfect Thanksgiving ever!! :)

Love you Granny too snelda!! I can't wait to see you!
Rosie

fall fun

2009-10-23T18:09:00.000-07:00

This is Raelee's first day of preschool. We are doing a co-op with 3 of her friends and their moms. I did my first set of two weeks of teaching at the end of September. Keeping four three year olds interested and in the same room is pretty hard but it was fun. Raelee's favorite part of preschool is the 'craps' (crafts). :)

We went to our favorite pumpkin patch with GrandmaShel, Bumpa, and Auntie Missy. Raelee was ticked that I was the daddy and Spencer was the mommy!Finley fell asleep so we decorated him! Raelee's favorite part is riding the pony. This one's name is Peaches and it is the biggest one there. She picked it!
We put Auntie Missy in the stocks!

snoqualmie falls

2009-10-11T09:13:00.001-07:00

yesterday some friends of ours and us went up to snoqualmie falls.... i can't believe i've never been there! it was beautiful, VERY cold, but beautiful!

Happy October!

2009-10-06T15:20:00.000-07:00

Let the holidays begin!!

On Friday night I was watching the Roth kids while Kim, Travis and Kyle went out. We decided to make haunted houses out of graham crackers and icing. It was really fun and every time we messed up we would just say we did it on purpose because it was supposed to look bad!!Ben seemed to really enjoy himself although we didn't get anything out of him except an empty plate!!

This is a close up of the Rosie and Lance creation! Quite good if I do say so myself... :)

Maurie made a piece of art, she was so meticulous with hers!

Grant gave up after his fell down 3 times and called it a dog house!

Here is Jared quite proud of his creation

This is a picture taken on a sunday walk down by Coeur d'Alene Lake just before it got really cold. Beautiful day!

Back to the good stuff... :)

2009-09-30T16:28:00.000-07:00

Temple pictures : Columbia River Temple

When Lance came to meet the family we stopped at the temple on the way. So these are old but good pictures

Love this man!!

who's kid is this?

2009-09-30T15:35:00.001-07:00

how could any child of MINE not like carrots???

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!

2009-09-30T07:55:00.000-07:00

A lady in our ward was telling me last night that her 4 year old had been watching Myth Busters, which is a show where they try crazy things.
She went into their family room and it was full of black smoke. The ottoman was on fire! She grabbed a blanket and put it out. Then she saw her son coming into the room with a cup of water. Apparently, the T.V. show had done an experiment
tossing a lit match into a container full of match heads to see the flame.
So, this little guy had somehow gotten into the cupboard above the refrigerator
and found a box of matches. He poured them out on the ottoman and lit it.
Then he proceeded to try putting it out with cups of water. He looked at her and said, "They said not to try this at home".

Leavenworth Trip

2009-09-27T18:42:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our trip to Leavenworth. The high school band marches in the Autumn Leaf Festival every year and this year we decided to stay over a few nights! We left Friday and came back today (Sunday(. The band won first place for AAA schools - we were all very excited. David was nervous - can you tell by the picture? It was beautiful weather and we had a great time. We are planning on going back this summer when Sami comes home so we can walk around town without all of the people. It was very very busy!

BYU!

2009-09-27T18:34:00.000-07:00

I am still having trouble with pictures - maybe someday I will learn how to do this correctly! I thought I would send you pictures of when we took Sami to BYU. Isn't her room small? We were able to fit everything in with room to spare though. I had fun helping her put it together. I loved visiting the Salt Lake Temple, it so was beautiful! I've printed the picture of us all in a 5x7 size to put on my desk at work. Sami is doing great at school and liking her classes (most of them anyway). She really likes her roommate - they are both band geeks! She is already preparing for cold weather...Grandma Jackie sent her some earmuffs. Love you! Melinda

2009-09-26T05:05:00.000-07:00

Mada sent me this picture in an email and I just love it. He reminds me of our cat Thomas. The expression on the cat's face makes me laugh. I don't think he could be any angrier.

We are doing well. The kids are all settled into school and are doing ok. Ashley has her drivers permit and I have taken her on several drives now. Heather has been sick but is back in school now. Michael had a problem with clarinet reeds not to long ago. The school wanted an arm and a kidney for a box of reeds so I found a place in Cheney I could get some for $15.00. Not great but better than the extortion the school wanted. Anyway, I brought the box home and told Michael to put them up so the babies couldn't get into them. Well he didn't and Savannah broke all 10 of them. I was not very happy to say the least. I made Michael replace them out of his own money. (he was not happy about that) We are trying to teach Jacob his letters and to spell his name. Still no interest in the Potty much to our dismay. I was sure that knowing that the other boys at school don't wear diapers would help. NOPE! Savannah is the biggest pill and blessing all rolled into one. She gets into more trouble than all the other kids combined but when you catch her she puts on her pouty face and says "sorrweey daud" I can't stay mad. If she weren't so cute I think I'd sell her. :)

Kris is going to Camp Wooten with Michael next week. She will be the camp nurse. I had to be in the cabins with 11 boys and work in the kitchen doing dishes. NOT FAIR!!!! Well I guess that is enough whining for today. We Love you and miss you. BE GOOD. Love, Scott

Roth family

2009-09-23T13:54:00.000-07:00

Hey grandma,
I was looking at posting more pictures for you but then decided that you probably have enough of Lance and I for now!! I will give you a break... just this once! This first picture is of Coeur d'Alene Lake by a fun hike called Tubbs Hill. Beautiful.
I have also been able to do some very fun things with the Roths this summer. We went to the Post Falls dam and and walked around.

Kyle (13) is enjoying the view. He just started Cross Country at school. He has become quite the little teenager these days. It's pretty funny. I came home from work on Sat night about 8pm and everyone was gone except Kyle. He had procrastinated doing his homework so he got left home when the family went and did something fun! Well, I guess we will see if he learned his lesson this weekend!!

Maurie (10) is growing into a beautiful and sporty woman! She plays soccer and loves it. We were making plans for my wedding and she was making plans to paint our nails so it would be "pretty but not too girly!!"

Grant (5) is totally enjoying Kindergarten this year. He picked up reading and tying his shoes the other day. It just all of the sudden clicked for him! He is playing soccer now too and his games will be coming up soon.

Jared (8) just started doing flag football this fall. He is very methodical so he comes home with all these strategies to beat the other players when all he really needs to do is run faster!! This picture is from when Kim let Grant & Jared do their own hair how they wanted.

Ben (2) is not loving Grant leaving in the afternoons for kindergarten. As far as he is concerned, anything Grant does he should be able to do as well!! But he is talking more and when I walk in the room he calls out my name, "Fweee!" This is a picture from one of his notorious tantrums... the other day he got so mad he screamed until he threw up. Poor kim...

This is my favorite picture of the whole family. They are all just having a blast going for a walk and skipping. They are so great!

Love you so much!
Rosie

Outtakes!

2009-09-20T09:22:00.000-07:00

Hey Grandma,
I decided to post some outtakes from our engagement photo shoot! These are just some of the gems we came up with. Don't worry there were enough good ones that we made up our announcements last week. But you have to wait to see those until they come in the mail.

I was having some allergies that day...

Not really sure what I am doing but I am sure it was needed!

This is just a really nice face I am making...

I think we are trying to skip...

We ended up having a whole lot of fun.
I miss you grandma.
Love always,
Rosie Page

School

2009-09-12T00:48:00.001-07:00

Jacob is in School 5 days a week this year. He goes to Kindergarten on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Preschool on Tuesday and Thursday. Tuesday and Thursday are also the days he has therapy in Cheney so it is working out great.

Jacob the world is your oyster!

We Love and miss you very much Mom!

Scott

MAXINE

2009-09-07T08:22:00.000-07:00

I know this is long but I also know that you love Maxine.
(Me Too)
Enjoy,
Michelle

Zoe

2009-09-01T01:22:00.000-07:00

Sorry to say that our little Zoe died this last week. We had her for a long time and we miss her.

I was told when I was young that our pets will be with us in heaven but I don't know any scriptures that address it. Do you know any? Scott

Birthday Weekend

2009-08-31T11:47:00.000-07:00

My youthful days are over Grandma, I am now 30 years old. Thank you for the card and birthday money.

Spencer and I went out to eat - all by ourselves!! He also brought me flowers at work that morning.

Then on Saturday we had a party in the gazebo behind our building. We had ice cream sundaes and Rachel put some candles in mine!

Raelee was really excited to sing to me. She also wanted to get me a card when we were at the store earlier but I thought it would be silly to buy my own birthday card. Then yesterday we had dinner at my parent's house. The table was really small without David there. Even Raelee sat at the table. Spencer made dinner with his new recipe for enchilada sauce. It tastes like it's from a restaurant! So even though I am really old now I had a wonderful weekend. We are looking for a time to come up and see you again soon. This time we will try to bring Spencer. We love you Grandma.

Stephenie and family

Senior Jokes

2009-08-29T08:22:00.000-07:00

Hi Mom. Dorothy Goff sent me these senior jokes and I wanted to share them with you.
Love you.
Michelle

An elderly gentleman....Had serious hearing problems for a number of years.
He went to the doctor and the doctor was able to have him fitted for a
set of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to hear 100%
The elderly gentleman went back in a month to the
doctor and the doctor said, 'Your hearing is perfect.. Your family must
be really pleased that you can hear again.'

The gentleman replied, 'Oh, I haven't told my family
yet. I just sit around and listen to the conversations. I've
already changed my will three times!'

----------------------------------------------------------

A senior citizen said to his eighty-year old buddy:
'So I hear you're getting married?'
'Yep!'
'Do I know her?'
'Nope!'
'This woman, is she good looking?'
'Not really.'
'Is she a good cook?'
'Naw, she can't cook too well.'
'Does she have lots of money?'
'Nope! Poor as a church mouse.'
'Well, then, is she good in bed?'
'I don't know.'
'Why in the world do you want to marry her then?'
'Because -- she can still drive!'

----------------------------------------------------------

A man was telling his neighbor, 'I just bought a new
hearing aid. It cost me four thousand dollars, but it's state of the
art.. It's perfect.'

'Really,' answered the neighbor . 'What kind is it?'

'Twelve thirty..'

----------------------------------------------------------

Morris, an 82 year-old man, went to the doctor to get a
physical.
A few days later, the doctor saw Morris walking down
the
street with a gorgeous young woman on his arm.
A couple of days later, the doctor spoke to Morris
and said,
'You're really doing great, aren't you?'

Morris replied, 'Just doing what you said, Doc: 'Get
a hot mamma and be cheerful..''

The doctor said, 'I didn't say that.. I said,
'You've got a heart murmur; be careful.'

the beach

2009-08-24T13:42:00.000-07:00

Last week a couple of my friends and I took all our kids to the beach at dash point state park... only a few minutes from our house! It was a gorgeous day, the sun was out, but it wasn't too hot and the breeze was perfect! The kids had a great time, we had lunch, played in the sand and dipped our feet in the water. Minus having sand EVERYWHERE, it was a perfect day!

here is blake lounging in the chair

this is blake's friend Ella.... they are pretty cute together!

he even has a pet name for her... he calls her 'ella bella'

adam was SO good, he loves being outside, he just sat in his car seat and made cute faces at me!

Arcadia Beach

2009-08-23T23:15:00.001-07:00

Hi Grandma,

The singles ward had a beach trip a week ago and we went and took some pictures for you. The whole drive out there looked like it was going to be a typical cold, windy day at the coast but right when we got to Highway 101 the clouds broke and it was a beautiful day. It was sunny and around 70 degrees with only a slight breeze. We were just south of Cannon Beach and we had a BBQ and then took a walk to some tide pools. Here are some pictures from the trip:

Aren't we cute?

You couldn't dream up a more perfect day at the Oregon Coast!

There were lots of seagulls of course!

There were lots of pools of water from where the tide
had gone out and they were warm and your feet
would sink right in. I had fun walking through those!

The tide pools had tons of mussels, sea anemones and starfish
of all colors - red, orange, purple and green.

Did I mention LOTS of starfish?

Missy's first time touching a starfish!

We climbed this rock because I thought it looked like the
one in the movie The Lion King so this picture is for Blake too!

We tried to help Missy up but that didn't work out so well!

That was our day at the beach. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! If not, we will have to drive up and put some sand in your underwear drawer so you can get the full experience!

We love you Grandma!
Rachel & Missy

Stinky frogs and hectic packing!

2009-08-19T18:07:00.000-07:00

HI GRANDMA!!!
I am so happy that your surgery went well. I wish that I had been able to be there for you.

Sorry that I haven't been posting on this blog, but I have been sooooooo busy at work. The picture above shows me demonstrating the use of our crazy new setup for galvanized wire coiling. Orgionally, we got the wire on big spools that we spun onto the macine that I am holding. My boss forgot to order more spools and we ran out! We got some wire but the only way to get the HUGE coil (it's under the ladder) to not bind up all the time was to use this crazy, jury-rigged contraption. the best part if the story is that later the same day the company's insurance adjuster showed up! It all worked out though. One of the worst jobs at work is making frogs...no, not live ones! Frogs are plastic parts that look like this:

These parts have ammonia in them so they smell...interesting (like a bathroom). Needless to say, I now shower when I get home instead of before I leave. Ewwww...
I am also trying frantically to get packed for college (6 DAYS. GAAAA!). There is so much going on right now; it's insane!
I hope that you are doing well. I love you!

Consider yourself Warned

2009-08-19T16:12:00.000-07:00

I thought I was prepared when we decided to get a dog. I'd had them as a kid, no big deal. Nothing has prepared me for the white mess these two create. Don't get me wrong, I love them, but the "them" gets left everywhere! This picture was taken after I'd brushed ONE dog. I then cleaned it up, and got another pile a little smaller than this one. I can see it floating in the air again, so it is time to do it again - it never stops snowing at our house!

Melinda

Silver Falls continued

2009-08-18T23:15:00.001-07:00

I didn't take my camera on our hike so I've been gathering the pictures from my friends. Here are some more pictures of the waterfalls. Now you can enjoy the beauty of the hike without the sweat and tired feet!

This is Upper South Falls.
We started here and you get to hike around behind the falls.

Behind Upper South Falls

There are lots of creeks from the runoff.

I think this is Twin Falls (not the one in Idaho!)
You can tell the water levels are down in the middle of the summer.

Speaking of lower water levels, this is Winter Falls.
As the name implies, it is MUCH larger in the winter time.

Hope you enjoyed the hike!

Love,
Rachel

MORE WEDDING IDEAS

2009-08-16T19:04:00.000-07:00

Hi Mom,
I stopped at the store on my way home and found this fabric for Raelee's flower girl dress. What do you think? It's yellow with stars!!!!!!
Would you like to make it for her? (how about as a favor to me?!) O.K., I'll do it.
Thanks for all of your help with the wedding planning. It was a lot of fun.
I enjoyed being with you and hope to come up to see you again in a few weeks.

Love you,
Mitch

2009-08-16T11:00:00.001-07:00

So I went on a bike ride with some friends yesterday. The trail was called The Route of Hiawatha. It was an old railroad path that winds through tunnels and cool dirt trails. The first tunnel is like a mile long and it gets VERY dark! We all had head lamps and lights on our bikes or there would have been no way to get through it! There were a lot of people on the trail which was fun. It was about 15 miles long but before you think I am all tough, realize it was all down hill!! :)
The view was spectacular! I think the trail was technically in Montana which was only an hour away. (Living in Idaho's panhandle really makes you feel like a traveler- nothing is very far away!!)
Here is a couple pictures of us on one of the bridges and then one of the view from the top looking down on all the trees.
All in all it was a very fun day. It did rain hard on us the last mile but we survived.
Lance and I also booked the Portland Temple for November 21. Mark your calendar!!
Love you Grandma!
Rosie Page

Silver Falls hike

2009-08-13T21:28:00.000-07:00

Hi Grandma!

I've been trying to think of some fun things to tell you about but I was having a hard time so I had to just go out and do something fun last weekend just to be able to write to you! Don't you feel special? So, on Saturday I went with a couple of friends to hike around Silver Falls. It's down near Salem and we did about a 6 mile loop and saw 7 different waterfalls! Some of them you even get to hike behind the falls. It was a perfect day for hike so we took our time and took some pictures. I hope you enjoy them!

Love you,
Rachel

2009-08-11T17:48:00.000-07:00

Hey Grandma! I am doing great. Today is my birthday so I am officially 5 years older than Lance. I figured you would be proud! :)
Lance and I are doing great, a lot is hinging on if I get a teaching job. I have applied for several and will keep applying. Our plans for the fall are up in the air as to where we are going to live and all that. But we did plan on the 21 of November for our wedding in Portland. Mark your calendar!
Here is another picture of the wedding dress I ordered and it should get here to idaho in about mid october.
I think the allergies are just going to have to be toughed through because no medicine I take does anything but make me drowsy! But like you said about the bee stings, this is somehow preparing me for marriage!!
P.S. this plate is just to give you an idea of my wedding colors.
I love you so much!
Rosie

Granny- too-snelda!

2009-08-10T13:59:00.000-07:00

Grandma I miss you!
So one time my mom bought 5 chickens and wanted me to butcher them. And I did.
I am getting ready to start classes at Portland State soon, but I have to take a whole day and do Orientation- blech. Once I get that done I will get to sign up for all my classes and officially be a Viking- one of my favorite Barbarians as it so happens.
I have been doing a lot of family history and indexing- which I love! I will have to teach you how to do all of that on the new system when I come up next (hopefully soon!)
I also have some great stories about trying to rein in the sisters in Relief Society when I teach. OK, just a couple of them, but it is an adventure!
I love you Grandma!!!!!
Missy Beth

Uncle Jim, the Rubios, Aunt Mada & the Pughs

2009-08-10T07:50:00.001-07:00

Hey--just thought this might be the easiest way to tell everyone that Uncle Jim, the Rubios, Aunt Mada & the Pughs are all coming to Oly.

Uncle Jim & Aunt Mada will be here the 28th-30th if you want to visit them at Bill & Marilyn's house.
The Rubios are just coming the 29th so if you want to catch them, you'll have to catch them at Bill & Marilyn's before our annual luau at 5:30--they're coming to that.
The Pughs will be here the 28th-29th but are staying in a hotel. I don't have anyone's cell phone handy but if you want it, let me know.

fun weekend

2009-08-06T07:59:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went up to Bellingham for our nephew Shane's baptism, some family time, and camping! we had a great time. It was fun to see Jonathan's mom, stepdad and sister (and her family) from New Mexico. Blake had a great time with his cousins! Camping was great, Jonathan and i have never been together, so this was a first for us. Most of Jonathan's family came with their kids, and we had a huge group site. It was at Deception Pass, which was beautiful, and the weather was perfect!

Blake's cousin Hallie turned 2 while we were there, they had a pinata... of course Blake loved it, hitting something with a stick, how could you go wrong!?

Jonathan had 5 days off.... a rare thing, it was great to have a mini vacation together!

Camping was right by the ocean, so we spent a lot of time by the water, Blake LOVED throwing rocks in, and having the waves get his feet.

This is Mishael, one of our nieces, she LOVED holding Adam, and I LOVED having her hold Adam!

The sunset was beautiful!

2009-08-05T14:30:00.000-07:00

I was so hoping to come and see you this week, but we are sick. Isn't that how it always is with kids. You don't get to do the things you want, but you end up being able to do everything else?? :)
I thought if I posted a couple of videos that it would be like we were there..... almost.

We love you,

Steph

2009-08-02T17:51:00.000-07:00

Grandma Beth - here is the beautiful flower from your garden!

The Lance Romance Update

2009-07-31T11:02:00.000-07:00

Hi Mom,

Well, we've met Lance and he is Just As Advertised! Rosie said he was "perfect" and that we would all love him.
I'm happy that they are going up to see you on Sunday.
Steph and the kids and I are coming up to see you on Wednesday the 5th.
You will have a busy week.
Love you,
Michelle

birthday present

2009-07-30T23:07:00.000-07:00

So I am trying really hard to be a good mom and find a happy medium between keeping my kids happy and not spoiling them. (If anyone has unlocked the secret... let me know). I took the kids to Target to get some sunscreen and we decided to LOOK at the toys. Raelee and I had talk about how we were not going to buy anything today; just look. She said 'Okay' and we started down all the aisles looking and playing with various toys (Finley was asleep in his carseat in the cart!!). The LOOKing was going well until she spotted the Disney Princess Barbie aisle. She found some ponies that are made for each princess. She studied each of them carefully and then started talking to herself/me saying "hmm... which one do I want? This one, or that one? I pick this one." Then she picked up the one for Beauty and the Beast and held it close to her with a smile on her face that looked very determined and like she was begging at the same time. I was racking my brain - How could I stay firm on my "no buying stuff this trip" and still let her get it. It was even on clearance! Then I remembered the check Raelee got from Grandma Beth for her birthday. In the move it had gotten put in a drawer and we had just recently found it again. So I asked Raelee if she wanted to get the horse for her birthday present and she was so happy to be able to get it. So she knows this was from Grandma Beth and is so thrilled. We took a video of her with it to show you what you gave her! :)

Uncle Jim & the Rubios

2009-07-27T12:05:00.001-07:00

Thought you all might like to see a picture of Uncle Jim and the Rubios. We went up to see them this past weekend.

Andrew, Sheronda, Inani, Tony, Ruth, Isaac, Leah

Selena, Fruini and, of course, Uncle Jim

Sheronda, Leah & Inani

(I'm sure I'm mispelling some of the names). The Rubios are terrific, such a great family.

Uncle Jim turns 79 on August 13th and Ruth said she is thinking of planning a party for his 80th next year so pencil that in your 2010 calendar :)

Michael's a Deacon!!!!

2009-07-26T13:35:00.000-07:00

Dear Grama Beth, I am happy to say that last week I got the laying on of hands and became a deacon! I also got to pass the sacrement for the first time! I knew that the spirit has helped me get this gift. How I felt is great happyness and nervis because I am finally becoming a man. I say this with all my love.
From, Michael
P.S.Thank you for the cards I love them! I miss you and hope to see you again.

2009-07-25T22:36:00.000-07:00

Hi Mom,
This is our latest attempt at getting a family photo. I guess the next one will have Lance in it!

2009-07-25T08:08:00.000-07:00

Grandma Beth,
Here is a picture of me and Lance on top of the waterfalls where he proposed in Yosimite national park. (ok, ok, this isn't quite the top yet! But those pictures are not as pretty because I am totally pooped!!) His name is Lance Lucero and we are planning on getting married in the Portland temple. I have no idea about the date yet but we are working on it! I can't wait to come see you on Monday the 3 of August. I miss you so much and I love you! I can't wait for you to meet him, you are going to love him.
Rosie Page (and Lance Lucero)

Well

2009-07-24T21:29:00.000-07:00

I'm not a kid or grandkid but we love Aunt Beth!!

Thanks to Suzanne for inviting us to join the blog--we love seeing what everyone is up to!

Love ya, the Maiavas

some pictures and a quick note.

2009-07-24T13:49:00.000-07:00

hey Grandma,

just writing to let you know what's been going on in my life lately.

-i've been going to physival theropy for my back. it has gotten so much better. the theropist said that i can stop going soon. which is good news i guess.

-i'm going to babysit for someone next week. her kids are so cute. haha

-i've just gotten over being sick. it had something to do with my tonsils. i went to the doctor and they gave me some antibiodics. so, i'm better now.

-other than that i've just been at the house or with my friends.

- i'm glad that you have this blog thing so that we can have some contact with you. when something else happens i'll be sure to write about it.

-i miss you and i love you so much. take care Grandma.

love, Ashley

p.s. my friend lindsay wanted me to tell you thanks for letting her stay at the house and for everything you did.

2009-07-23T22:10:00.000-07:00

Dear Beth,

Did you enjoy your evening tonight? Mike and I went up to Marilyn's to help hang pictures and a huge full length framed mirror - It's beautiful! It was fun seeing Marilyn - she showed us around a little bit. We ate at Hale's Ales - a restaurant, pub, & brewery in Fremont! (Picture above) They didn't make us drink any beer... I had the best French Dip sandwich ever!

I asked Marilyn to take some pictures of her room to show you the work her dad did for her tonight. Her room looks wonderful - so many things from her life, school, and world travels... She has great taste!

vaccation pics

2009-07-23T15:11:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from our trip to the Oregon coast this Summer.
This was at the OSU science center. FUN FUN FUN Newport OR

The redwoods near Cresent City CA. IF it had a whole in it we could have driven through it!

One of the downed redwoods

MORE TREES

OOOPS, you may be familure with this one.

Trip to Idaho

2009-07-22T22:12:00.000-07:00

We made a quick trip to Grandma Cathie and Grandpa Dee's house this past weekend. It was a lot of time in the car and the kids did great. Brie made friends with the kids so she could have a warm lap to sleep on! We spent all day Saturday outside enjoying the weather. Finley and his cousin, Harvey, had fun in the kiddie pool.

Our "HideOut!"

2009-07-20T17:09:00.000-07:00

Dear GG - on Sunday, Blake and I found a new hide out! Instead of going out to "dammas new tar" we went into the hall closet. We read books and sang songs. Blake spent about an hour going in and out - shutting the door then opening the door, turning on the lights, turning off the lights... So if you can't find us someday we might be in the new hideout!

a few quick pics for Grandma - thanks Ashley for the help

2009-07-20T15:23:00.000-07:00

Hello from Marquette

2009-07-18T18:27:00.001-07:00

Grandma we all love and miss you very much. Aaron and I just spent a week at Scout Camp. It went very well. Aaron will be a Life Scout after his board of review and should make Eagle next year. About 2.5 years faster than is dad! Brittony and Kelly are getting ready for girls camp next week. While they are gone Aaron and I are going on a Bike Trip with the Scouts. Since I am driving the rescue vehicle Lorin is riding along with me. That poor girl will spend three days with the Boy Scouts. It must be rough being the youngest. Oh Yeah, IT IS! Actually she is just as spoiled as I was; well almost.

Sami's Birthday

2009-07-18T18:07:00.000-07:00

Sami had a good 18th birthday! She had a few friends over for munchies and then a cake decorating party. We baked 8 inch rounds and they decorated them with icing and Sponge Bob - it turned out fantastic. It was so hot after baking that the kids all ran in the sprinkler - and then came in and watched cartoons. Yes, she is 18, not 8! We came home and all took a nap, then we went bowling. We are waiting for dinner - Sami's request of roast beef, DAD's mashed potatoes, corn, and rolls. And the best part - Funfetti Cake decorated by the birthday girl herself!

blake & adam love you!

2009-07-18T16:52:00.000-07:00