It's the final Count Down . . .

We have a few so here we go.



8 more days until Keston is twelve



9 more days of school (yipee) which means no more homework!!!



18 more days until Keston is a deacon - holy smoly



43 more days until Grandpa retires (hopefully he'll sign up to be the Hemsley nanny)



45 more days until Wasa - start warming up the boat Rob



53 more days until Keston goes on his first 50 miler hike - his dad better watch out for him



89 more days (approx) until Chad starts tackle football - I hope he can run fast enough so he doesn't get hit



90 more days until Tylissa is in high school - GASP!



1 year and 6 months until we hit California!!!

Meet Maggie

We finally got our little Maggie . . . she is so much fun and so far pretty dang good. We picked her up yesterday and I've only heard her bark once - it may be the calm before the storm and this morning when we woke up it was like a little gremlin so excited that we were awake. So here she is - the girls are now even with the boys.

Last night she just snuggled in my lap- on the floor not the furniture :o)

She is so cute - and the lady we got her from said Maggie needed to lose a few pounds - can't you tell.

This is my favorite, she has lost her coat for the summer so check back next winter when she is really fluffy.

The Weekend

Wow - we survived the weekend, the scary part was I had to go up to Calgary to get a passport and I worry too much, would the guarentor be okay, did I bring all the paperwork I needed, what if the pictures were the wrong size . . . it was crazy. So Monday morning Val and I headed up to Calgary, it took us a bit to find the place. Ken was kind enough to print out the google map instructions - only problem was there were 3 exits with similar names, one would end in Dr, one in Gate, etc. Once we were there we were in the passport office for 20 minutes and we waited in line for 15 minutes. So no sweat!

Now to rewind, we got to Canada around lunch on Saturday. Val and I were able to go to the temple that afternoon. We don't go enough, it was so nice to just leave everything at the door and relax and feel of the spirit. It is such a beautiful place.

Then it was up to Ken's for a hot dog roast and barbequed hamburgers - yum! The kids had a great time, the food was delicious and Chad invented his own gear for a life.

It's hard work roasting those hot dogs

Bring it!

Sunday was a fabulous, church in the morning and I professed to the Sunday School class that no, I was not moving in just visiting. Preston sat in his chair for the whole sacrament and did a great job. The day ended with a GFC dinner at Granny's after a nap and a visit over to Grandma Berry's (to get a Grandpa Berry mint). It is very rare that we stay over on a Sunday night so it was nice to watch everyone else leave first instead of us. A group took a walk around Temple Square to gather clues for Becky's primary . . . did you know there are owls living in the trees around the temple. They found 4 of them.

Monday was long with the drive to Calgary and back and then to Kalispell but the drive back home was beautiful . . . the snow is melting and there were waterfalls everywhere.

The top of the waterfall . . .

The bottom of the waterfall.

Love the mountains . . . we saw plenty of deer and a group of mountain goats.

The Final Concert

Last week Tylissa gave her final middle school orchestra concert. I am still having a hard time thinking about high school orchestra . . . here are a couple of snippets. She was amazing!

I hope this worked!

The Mad Scientist Returns

Chad has a thing with experiments . . . I do my best not to cringe when he asks if he can do an experiment. Some are more successful than others. Well the latest one is the Rubber Egg. Did you know that if you put an egg in vinegar that it turns to rubber and it is very squishy? Neither did I, but guess what - it actually makes the egg rubber. Chad put the egg in a sealed container for 4 days and abracadabra. So here is Chad with his rubber (and might I add smelly) egg. It feels like a stress ball and is about the same squishiness - don't know if that is a word but oh well. He wanted to take it to church with him but no can do Jim Bob. He did finally put it in a baggie because we weren't sure what the inside of the egg is like. Needless to say the inside of the egg was still egg - thank goodness for the zip lock baggie - I ended up squishing it to hard and pop! The inside was still egg but the shell was all one piece. Who knew?

The next faze will be what a hard boiled egg will do in vinegar for 4 days so stayed tuned for that report. I know you will all be on pins and needles .

The Mad Scientist Smile

10 Reason Why We Love Grandma

10. She survived raising all the kids - yep there's 11 of them.

9. She is ok with just the girls eating Thanksgiving because the guys are still out hunting.

8. She plays dressup and make believe with the grand kids.

7. The house is never quiet - someone is always at Grandma's house.

6. She figured out how to use the web cam - way to go Grandma.

5. She loves the outdoors - gardening, camping, fishing

4. She loves it when we call, email, or just send letters and now when we visit through the web cam.

3. She can keep track of the kids, grand kids, and great grand kids.

2. She loves when the family gets together, especially the family reunions.

1. Because she is Grandma - we love you Grandma - Happy Mother's Day!

10 Reason Why We Love Granny

10. She's an Interpreter - she can interpret for Grandpa, she knows what each grunt means. Thanks Granny, otherwise we would never be able to talk to Grandpa.

9. GFC - need I say more.

8. She thinks of everyone before herself - she is always the last one to eat, the last one to sit down, and usually the last one to go to bed.

7. Makes an awesome icerink in the backyard - fun for kids of all ages, especially when there are home made doughnuts and hot chocolate.

6. She is the ONLY person who hands out Halloween candy while decorating for Christmas.

5. Always makes enough food for the whole family - enough that if 4 generations showed up for dinner there would be leftovers.

4. Christmas Pinata - a beloved tradition that grew and grew, the Mickey Mouse pinata has turned into giant happy apples to space ship looking things. As the pinata grew the stick had to get heartier - it went from broom stick to aluminum bat. The pinata is more fun than the treats inside.

3. She is who she is - take it or leave it - sweats or no sweats.

2. She would do anything for her kids or her grand kids.

1. She keeps our family together because she loves everyone of us.

We LOVE you Granny - Happy Mothers Day!