It's Laurel's Party

Laurel is preparing Sturgeon McNuggets for her birthday!

Here Laurel is with her birthday cake.We didn't forget the Birthday princess hat. Doesn't she look great!

Here we are celebrating a century with Laurel. We wish you could have joined us.

Happy 25th Birthday Laurel

Twenty Five years ago you came into this world. You are a wonderful daughter. You have come a long way from your pink oshkosh's and your pink canopy bed. You are now your own person. You a full of adventure, kindness, wit, brains and energy. (Oh, did I mention that you are a great cook and fisherperson!) I'm so glad to have you as my daughter. I hope you have a wonderful birthday and continue to grow and enjoy life.


Laurel as a babyLaurel Now

Laurel's Sturgeon

Check out Laurel's first Sturgeon. She got a fishing license for Christmas and she catches a very coveted Sturgeon in San Francisco Bay on her first try. It was about 52 inches long and weighed about 40 lbs. Not bad for a novice. Steve and DB have been trying to catch one of these for ages. It was fun to have Laurel show them how to do it. Go Fisher Girl!

Helen's Birthday Trip To Utah

Helen and I traveled to Orem to visit our long time friend Lakshmi for Helen's Birthday. We played and talked and laughed and walked and ate and ate and really had a great time. We arrived on Sunday and Lakshmi treated Helen and I to tea in Salt Lake City followed by the play Menopause the Musical. We then went to a very trendy pub. We had so much fun. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

This is Helen and Lakshmi having lunch in Homestead.
We took a walk in Homestead and I couldn't resist hanging out with Kermit the frog.

Here is Lakshmi and Helen on our walk around the golf course. Well, actually this is where they cross country ski.

Since Helen is the Birthday Girl I needed my picture taken with her.

We had breakfast on our way to the airport.

Lakshmi's daughter Kira, and grandchildren Pace and Satya joined us. Here I am with 2 year old Pace. This is Kira and Satya. The photo was taken by Pace (not bad for a two year old)

Here is Buela Lakshmi with Satya and Pace

Thank you to Lakshmi for hosting us in her beautiful home in Orem and for taking us on wonderful walks and adventures. Happy *8th birthday to Helen. It is a pleasure having Helen and Lakshmi as dear friends.

Grandma's Two Weeks in Portland

Most of you know that I went to Portland to visit Chris, Jess, Maryn and Lucy for 4 days. Then we found out that Lucy needed open heart surgery. We are so thankful that she had the surgery and is doing wonderful. I ended up staying up North for two weeks. During that time we had both good and bad times. As I write this, I actually can only remember the good times. So, here are a few pictures to give you an idea about how things went.
This is Chris in Children's Hospital with Lucy. She was in ICU at this time, but after a few days they let her come home until her surgery on Jan 29th.

Here I am with Lucy. I got to spend the night with her and Jess. That is an IV in her head.
They let Lucy out of the hospital so she could have a snowball fight before her surgery. Wasn't that nice. This is outside of their apartment. Maryn actually did throw a snowball in Lucy's face.

Jess's mom came up for the surgery. It was perfect having two grandmas around. It was also great getting to know Kathy better. Here they are the day after Lucy's open heart surgery. Maryn had a nice time visiting her sister and wasn't too bothered by the tubes.

A social worker at the hospital gave Maryn a doll, stethoscope, medicine dispenser, handmade doll blanket and all kinds of fun things to help her understand what was going to happen to Lucy. It was really nice to see the care they took with Maryn. Below Maryn is checking "baby Lucy's" heart.Grandma showed Maryn how to do a lot of things while she was there. Here we are taking chicken off of the bone. Maryn really liked this. She is a future chef of America.

We continued to play outside. Maryn is an outside GirlHere Maryn is playing at the rec center.
Maryn did get sick and actually cuddled and fell asleep on my lap. It was sad to see her sick, but the cuddling was great

Maryn is making "something" with ice. She loves the kitchen!

Here is Maryn mixing up pancake batter.
This is Maryn in bed with her dollies. Isn't this cute! She is holding "baby lucy" and that is the quilt that they gave her at the hospital.

Lucy came home from the hospital and wanted to play.

Here is big sister Maryn helping Lucy play. Lucy loves her sister.
Less than a week after surgery, Lucy is playing and happy. I thought it would be interesting to see how great her scar looked just one week later.

I have two wonderful granddaughters. I thank God for them and pray that he continues to bless them.

Happy Birthday Erica

Happy 29th Birthday Erica.
I hope you have a wonderful birthday. We are celebrating your birthday in Portland. You should taste the brownie sundaes that we are having on your behalf (and they are calorie free, for you). Erica is my dear niece, newly wed, bright executive and CPA, swimmer, biker, runner, adventure girl, leader, friend and a Bruin for life. She also has a honey of a hubby. You are a great lady and still under 30!