Blessing Day

We were lucky enough to be present for Clara's blessing day. Everybody is looking fine for our trip to church. Matt did a fine job, and Miss Clara is now officially a "child of record."



Leegy was not excited to wear a tie, but he surely looked spiffy in it. It was all about the "Leo Show" at sacrament meeting and although he was generally well behaved, he did make us all smile during the opening prayer. The woman offering it gave thanks for a living prophet, and Leo zeroed in on the word "prophet" shouting "Monson!", "President Monson!" That boy knows who the prophet is, by golly.



Here is Miss Clara looking resplendent in her blessing dress. Bubby and Laur made a slip for her yesterday, and she was all "princessed" out. Laur mentioned that changing her diaper in this getup was a challenge. Lots of layers to peel, and I think she soiled her diaper a couple of times while we were at church.



We had to have this one for proof positive of our presence. Bubby announced today that we have been in attendance for the blessing of all of our grandchildren. I hadn't really thought about it, but upon reflection, it is true. We have been very lucky to be in the right place at the right time, at least eight times, in our adult lives!



One final shot of Clara and the dress. She is so sweet, and cooperated so well today. It was really fun to participate.

Bubby and I took a walk this afternoon while the kids were napping. Everyone we met commented on what a beautiful day it was. Of course it was doubly beautiful to us, because we knew it is miserable and snowing in Cedar City. Bubby commented on the fact that we have enjoyed three falls this year, Minnesota in early October, Cedar City through early November, and now the color change (that's right, it is going on right now!) in Dallas. We won't soon forget this fall.

Buboppy

Happy Thanksgiving

We were able to get Booty and Laur's bedroom painted on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I was thinking I had slowed down a lot, because Booty and I worked at it all day (except for lunch and drying time breaks). However, the job involved three different colors of paint, ceiling, crown molding, walls, and baseboard. Lots of masking to make it all come out. There are a still a few touch up items, but we'll get those done either Friday or Saturday.

Between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, the air temp dropped about 30°. We were in the low 80's on Wednesday, and I doubt if it got much over 50 on Thanksgiving day. We spent the day enjoying the family and relaxing.



I was able to get a couple of picture with Booty and his kids. He seems pretty natural at all of this. He claims his "one true talent" just might be putting Clara to sleep.



Here is a shot of Leeg soaking up a good earlobe milking. Leeg does have delicious lobes, a family trait that no one appreciates more than his Dad.



The other day, while Bubby was trying to keep Leeg out of the paint projects, she decided to let him have his Christmas present to play with. It is a cool Fisher Price drill and tool set. The drill reverses so it can drive or extract the screws from the workbench. There is a hammer and some nails to drive and "pull" from the bench as well. The bench itself has a place for everything, and Leeg keeps everything in its place (I wonder where he learned that?)



Here is a close up of festively dressed Clara on her first Thanksgiving. She is a very sweet baby, and stays pretty calm. Bubby loves to hold her.



We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner, thanks to Booty and Laur, complete with Aunt Cynthia's delicious rolls. In this photo, not only is Leeg about to taste Grandma Isobel's famous squash pie, he is seriously getting into licking the beaters used to whip the cream.

On this, and every other day, we are so very thankful for each other, our family, the gospel, and our testimonies. These are very happy days in the lives of Bubby and Poppy, and we recognize that we are greatly blessed.

Love to all,

Buboppy

Bubby at Booty's

We have been pretty busy here the last couple of days. Part of the reason we came was to see if we could help out. On Monday morning, I started painting what will soon be Leo's bedroom (he has to give up his current location so Clara can move out of her parent's room, when it is appropriate).

It was a complete job, ceiling, closet and all. I got the ceiling and woodwork done yesterday, and finished the walls, in a nice silvery gray, today. I think it turned out pretty nice. We put it back together this afternoon.

While I was painting the ceiling, Bubby and Leo were weeding the front yard flower bed. She was trying to keep him occupied so he didn't get into the paint.

Every time he passed by the closed bedroom door this morning, the exchange went something like this: Knock, knock, knock. "Bubby" (he is struggling with different names for the two of us). "I am Poppy!" "Poppy!" "Yes." "I want to hold you!" Of course what he really wants to do is come in, see what is going on, and touch everything, including any wet paint. We had quite a few of these conversations this morning, but I wasn't sucker enough to let him in, not even for a minute.

We had cheap, but marginal, Chinese food for lunch, so it was a very successful day. Tomorrow, Booty and I tackle the master bedroom.

Buboppy

Bubby Meets Clara

Our trip to Dallas was quite uneventful. We left Cedar City about 10:30 AM, and ended up having time to stop for Bubby's In-n-Out in St. George, and Trader Joe's in Las Vegas.

We were a little late arriving, so Booty had to drive around the airport roundabout four times before we connected. As soon as we got to their house, Bubby was able to get her hands on Miss. Clara.



She is such a sweet little sister, and seems to getting along just fine. With Laur as her mom, we know she is in very capable hands.



It was fun to see them looking adorably at each other-Clara not focusing at all, Bubby focusing on Clara.

We got up early on Saturday morning, right after Leo came into our bedroom to find his Bubby. We made the trip to Sprouts, Booty's green grocer, Albertsons to kill a little time, and then our first trip to Aldi, a really unique store with a limited inventory and selection, but really great prices on some of the groceries. Booty bought milk for $0.99 a gallon and large eggs $0.50 a dozen!

We had breakfast, and then hung out a little. Booty and I drove over to Harbor Freight and purchased his Christmas present, a new, lighted, steel workbench which took us the rest of the day to assemble. It will really help him get his garage organized.

I have to report that we had an exotic food experience at lunch. Near Booty's house is a large Asian population, and there was a shopping complex called Little Saigon that we drove to. We ordered four different banh mi sandwiches. Some were savory and succulent some were incredibly spicy, but all were delicious. It was a fun adventure.

We are looking forward to some quality time with Booty, Laur, Leego, and Clara this week. We might even paint a bedroom. Beats the heck out of work!

Buboppy

Great Fall Weather

It was a busy week. Bubby and I manage to stay pretty busy with work and home chores. We have had such lovely fall weather that we have fallen behind on our fall yard work. During the week, Bubby brought Drewfy and Sister home on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons (after nap time, of course), and they played outside while she worked in the garden and flower beds. She gave Drewfy a pair of "nippers" and turned him loose on the sumac bushes in the back yard. I am glad I didn't witness the ever enthusiastic Andrew with a pair of garden shears big enough to cut off a digit. Of course, Evelyn would not be outdone, so Bubby gave her a much smaller, but equally sharp, pair of garden snips. When Rosalyn came to pick the kids up, she informed Bubb that Evelyn was "playing" with the nips, and Bubb didn't bother to tell her that she had given them to Sister to use. They'll grow up fast around the Bubb, that's for sure.

We rose early on Saturday and tackled the final dismantling of the garden. We had to pull the beans off of the horse fence, take out the fence and its supporting posts, and load all of the refuse into the back of the truck. We were on our way to pick up Drewfy by 9:00 AM. He and Bubby have been planning a trip to the dump for weeks now. I don't quite understand the fascination, but it probably gave them something to talk about. We picked up a few things at Dan's house, and loaded up the boy.

Of course Andrew enjoyed the new experience, and immediately noticed the smell associated with a landfill. Fortunately, we weren't there long enough for him to spot the rotting remains of some slaughtered animal, we don't want him to grow up quite that fast! The big selling point of a trip to the dump is a treat on the way home. Bubby had been promising a Frosty from Wendy's, but it was only 9:45 AM when we got back to town. I thought we were going to have to punt, but fortunately, Wendy's opens their doors at 10:00 each morning.

We killed the wait time by having a breakfast burrito at Roberto's Taco Shop. Andrew had pancakes for breakfast, so he was only mildly interested in the burritos. Instead he sipped on an agua de pina and made loud, and somewhat insulting, comments about the other early morning customers. There are some downsides to having a four year old with a 10-year old vocabulary and a 2-year old's sense of propriety.

When we dropped Andrew off with a Frosty for himself and Evelyn, his parents were up to their sticky elbows in squeezing pomegranates for jelly. We escaped as quickly as possible, but while I gave the lawns the once over, Bubby went back to help. The syrup (it didn't jell properly as pomegranate jelly tends to do) has a beautiful color and is reported to be a proper balance of sweet and tart.

Bubby and I had a couple of social obligations which we participated in. We watched the entire first half of the SUU vs. DSCU football game (something I am required to do as the Dean), enjoyed a bag of kettle corn, went to the movies (Red), and then to a men's basketball game (because I like those). All in all a very full Saturday.

Buboppy