coloring eggs, 2016

 And then there was this at the end of the day.

 Love, Val

easter week

It was a great week, bright and sunny.

There was a preschool service and songs, very nice.

They found a wooly bear caterpillar, which is always a good thing.

 We filled the pinata with candy, ready to take to Pam and Paul's on Sunday.

 It's safely held in the trunk to keep thieves out of it.

 A little piano practice:

 And there was this very quiet, worried-looking poodle in the house visiting.  Apparently it came over with James' friend Manny?   Got right up on the couch pillows, seemed to know what to do.

My cousin put these on our cousins facebook page today.   I love these pictures.

Those are my cousins Kelly, Tammy, and Missy in the sandbox in our grandparents' back yard.

I am so fond of my cousins. They're as sweet and beautiful now as they were then.

 Here's Missy and Tammy with their parents and brother Doug, a few years later.

 Missy and Tammy in the big flowered rocker, below--  Missy had a blanket called her beau that she carried around a lot while she sucked her thumb.   Later I had five thumb-kids of my own.    When my dad asked James what his thumb tasted like he said, "Like chicken."

See how blue Missy's eyes were?  Kelly's were equally dark brown.

 Tammy tells us this picture is of my mother's dad and his sisters, holding baby chicks.

 More cousins.  That's Kelly in the plaid, Tammy with the red bow.  Kelly's brother Dean in the blue shirt.  My little brother is sitting on the stool in overalls. That's the back of my head, and Pam next to me.

 Here we are with Grandma, dressed for church.  Pam's the little one.  That goofy guy in the bedroom doorway is my mom's little brother.

Tammy, Tammy, thank you for sending these.

Onward.  The eggs are boiled, and it's almost Saturday.

love you all, Val

surprise guys

 This morning while p.j. and I were half-awake, tucked together on the big, red couch, Dannell called and asked if they could come over in an hour?

Heck, yeah!

She woke  up the kids, we all got dressed, straightened up.

This little guy said our macaroni with chicken and vegetables was the BEST macaroni ever.  It is tasty, I agree.  We get it from the milkman every week. Tim and Big Jay hate it, but they can fix a sandwich.

 This beautiful girl with the thickest, plushest eyelashes I've ever seen on a baby was also here.  And her crazy little mom is someone I've loved for years.

 p.j. was over-the-moon happy her cousins were coming for lunch.  Look at her beaming at that young squirrel.

 This chair Tim is sitting in had to be removed from the baby enclosure due to p.j.'s little sister being a climbing hazard.  When we pull her off and scold her, she screams like she's in torture.

Complete exaggeration in every way.

No, you may not climb up there and fall off and get injured. Stop telling wild stories about our meanness. They're all fiction.

I gathered the chair up and removed it for her personal safety.

Julia took some photos, and that's a good thing.

 This one is her favorite:

I definitely like that arching bright sky.

Still getting out of  2015, but 2016 brings so much hope.

I love you all incredibly much, Mom, aka GRANDMA, aka Val

because that makes sense

So, yeah, this makes sense.

Heidi found these diapers she provided to us for the baby's care.  SOMEONE drew poop on them with pens and markers.

Because that makes sense.

Yeah.

So.  Add this to all the evidence I've provided that kids are crazy.

Cuckoo. Cuckoo.

The good news is, these diapers are not wasted by the drawings.  We'll use them just fine.

Lord. Have. Mercy.

Little Jay's interview at his grad school went as well as it could have.  He drove several states away, returned hopeful.

Heidi's training for a half marathon, so she was here with her girls yesterday.

This is the first dog birthday party we have had to be apart from.  Usually this happens on my patio.

She's a very sweet dog, very well-behaved and friendly, easy to have around.  Kirsten pays Tim to sleep with her at night when she's out of town.

It's a tough job, but he takes the responsibility seriously.

It was a sunny Palm Sunday, all of the ones we can compel to go to church did.   There was bright, golden stained-glass sunshine, hugs from a friend, lovely.

Then we ate, and I went off to work selling houses, which I did.

And then a sunny ride home at 7 pm on a sunny, empty freeway.  It was only 41 degrees, so I didn't open any windows,  but the sun was that inviting and bright.

Office work, bubble bath, now here.

Onward to tomorrow. The DMV awaits.   love forever, Val

3-17-16

This is how we're living today.  This little girl happened to go down to the basement and asked me about the candy all over.

Then she found the note.

It was the Leprechauns.

They left a rude note, but they enjoyed the candy. It was thrown far and wide. Starbursts may be being found for years.

Then there's this little girl. She was hell-bent on breaking out of her enclosure.

 Now she realizes freedom is in her sights:

 Oh, yeah, turn off those tears.

 The cuteness.

Yeah.  She's big and strong and determined, but she's also pretty funny.

 Julia must have taken these late afternoon pictures of life in the enclosure, where there are lots of pillows and blankets and Netflix.

Onward.

Tomorrow is Friday, best day of the week.

Hoping for greatness.

love, Val