Birthday party

Today is Joe's birthday. I won't report his age. Let's just say that he went over the hill a long time ago.
Our son (Aaron) came up from the great land of Provo to help with the celebration. Our daughter (Sarah) took charge of the kitchen and turned out a beautiful dinner. Although I do understand that Aaron grilled the Steaks.
For dinner we had Baked Asparagus, wild rice, and Steak. There was also homemade salsa and chips.
Joe requested Sarahs famous Raspberry Trifle dessert, instead of the traditional birthday cake. It was rich and delicious.

Our oldest daughter (Susan) lives in Arizona. She sent him a wonderful box of goodies and a picture of her new baby (Jacob).





I've roped Joe (alias; dad/dadoo) into fishing with me this summer and we're both getting better equipped for this latest hobby.
Here he is with a big ol' net. We have high hopes; either that or delusions of granduer.
He also got a scary fishing knife. It's so scary that I don't even want to show a picture of it. Thank goodness it came with a sturdy sheath.



Aaron is the real fisherman in the family. He learned as a scout and has had additional experiences since then.
Here he is putting weights on his moms line, so he can show her how to cast. We all went out in the backyard and had lessons from Aaron.
He's quite a pro.



Cute Sarah with her brother:


So, this evening Sarah is loving her brothers company.
The 'dad' has been going about sharing his sugary goodies and I can report that I can finally cast my fishing line; although I can't control it's direction whatsoever. I hooked the backyard tree limbs twice.

I have to add here, that on Friday evening the four of us attended the musical 'Wicked'. It was spectacular.

Garden boxes

There's something about a long cold winter that can get a person dreaming of gardens. It's the need for life and color.
My hubby built these great garden boxes for me, just in time for planting season. Which in this case is April.
I was going to wait until my plants were full grown before taking a picture, but my dad suggested that it might be worth getting a picture before that. I guess it could be interesting to show the garden as it progresses.
We've talked about using a drip system on the veggie garden to save water. My ultimate dream would be a mini green house as a place to sprout seedling. I could get an early start on each growing season.
Squeezed into these two boxes are; Kale, Spinach, Carrots, Turnips, Beets,
Brussel Sprouts, Arugala, and Broccoli.
The herbs are; Mint, basil, parsley and dill.
In the little pots are; Nasturtiums (an edible flower) and Alyssum, also called Basket Of Gold, to attract bees. Elsewhere in the yard are strawberry plants.
This summer I'll also grow tomatoes and squash.
We have a huge amount of lawn that gives us a lot of future possibilities. This urban, backyard farming is very fun.

New Grandson

We have a new grandson. He was born in Glendale, Arizona on March 29, 2009. He was 8 pounds 2 ounces and was named Jacob Benjamin Dangerfield.
He was supposed to arrive on Tuesday March 31 by being induced, but he had ideas of his own and showed up early (two weeks early).
My daughter, Sarah and I had tickets to fly down on Monday in order to see Jacob be born, but things actually worked out even better. He was already here when we went down and that gave us more time to visit with Susan after the birth.


Susan with her baby in the hospital:



This is going to be a handsome young man:




Grandma and Jacob:



Emma and Becca admiring their little brother after he gets home:




Sue and Ben with their little family just moments after bringing Jacob in the door:




Sarah bought the kids a fishing game, which was a big hit. Can you believe Susan is playing too?
She did so well after this child birth. This was only about 4 days after Jacob was born.




Susan's mother and father in law stopped by one evening with loads of gifts and to hold the baby.




On about Friday, Susan insisted that she needed to get out of the house. So while Ben watched the baby, the ladies took Emma and Becca to the Mall to play in a childrens play zone.
We just sat and watched all the kiddies play and then we checked out a couple of shops. It made for a good little outing.




This morning (Saturday) Sarah and I took Emma and Becca to a park that's close to their house. It was so nice outside and the sky was blue. The girls enjoyed escaping the house.
The girls have had other brief outings this week. Besides that, Emma had pre-school which she clearly enjoys.



Sue drove Sarah and me to the Phoenix airport. Our plane departure was delayed, so we left at 8:20 Phoenix time and got to S.L.C. a bit after 10:30.
It's almost 1:00 a.m. and here I sit doing a blog. I think that I adapted quickly to Arizona time and I'm still pretty energetic in spite of the late hour.
So that's my report. Sarah and I were away Monday thru Saturday. It's good to be home.