April 30

Have you ever done this? I was going to the store, and ran to my closet, threw on my sandals. They felt funny, so I looked down and this is what I saw.

April 29

There are several beautiful Hibiscus bushes in front of the school. I have never seen a yellow one before and thought this bloom was quite exquisite.

April 28

You Are Cilantro

The bad news is that there are some people who can't stand you. The good news is that most people love you more than anything else in the world. You are distinct, unusual, fresh, and very controversial. And you wouldn't have it any other way.

What Spice Are You?

Thanks for this idea, Katie. I don't know how they come up with this stuff. I love Cilantro myself, but I cannot abide the thought that there are some people out there who cannot stand me! I guess it is their problem - their loss! I also do not think of myself as controversial - more of a peacemaker and a pleaser. Maybe this one is just not accurate...

April 27

SURPRIZE! I downloaded my pictures today, and this is what I found. Becca had her friend

Mckaela over after church (which we love and is becoming a new tradition at our house on Sundays) and the played around with my camera (AGAIN!).

April 26

We went to our ward's annual Ragin' Cajun Pinewood Derby tonight. I made a big pot of Jambalaya. I found the recipe in a Louisiana Cookbook that Rod had. Just let me tell you that it was the most foul dish I have ever produced out of my kitchen. It had oysters, ham, bacon, salt pork, sausage, onions and rice in it. The oysters were so disgusting and they tainted the whole pot. There were actually a couple of people there that liked it! Ewwwww!
Here are the two finalists as their cars were placed on the track. It was fun to be with ward members, even though that nasty Jambalaya was over there on the table..

April 25

Student Council brought us each a beautiful rose for our desks in honor of Administrative Professionals week. But even better is that smiling face I have tacked to the wall above my fax machine!

April 24

Happy 4th Birthday to my Buzzy! I miss you, Buddy.

April 23

I have been looking for a solution to the "stinky sandal" syndrome. I love wearing sandals, but they get soooooo rank after even just a couple of weeks of wear. I found this spray "Just Feet." It is supposed to keep your feel cool, and your shoes from being all stanky. I sure hope it works!

The Viking Parent Club treated all of us office ladies to lunch today in observance of "Administrative Professionals Week." We went to the Macaroni Grill. They loaded us on to a big yellow school bus, driven by the lucky man in the center, Alex.

Mmmmm! My favorite - Chicken Milano Pasta. Loved it!

April 21

Walking to the west teacher's work room, I looked up at this beautiful flowering tree, and saw the palm towering above it. I thought it was beautiful, had an interesting angle, and it made me happy to see it, so I snapped a shot of it.

April 20

I know, these photos are really from yesterday. I did not take any pics today.

These are some kind of wild flower along the trail. They look almost like snap dragons. I love them! (and the man down in the corner, too!)


And then, as I am hiking along this very steep and rocky trail, every now and then there would be a little clump of these very brave and cheerful little flowers. They were just growing in the rocks right in the middle of the trail!

April 19

Guess what I got to do today?

Yep, and it was just over 6 miles of VERY rugged terrain. Loved it!

April 18

Survivor star, Joel Anderson, as he appeared on the show.

Today, he came back to work! Eat your heart out.

April 17

Monthly RS Birthday visits for April were last night: darling cards by Peggy, and good smelling lotions from Target dollar spot. It is always an adventure of some kind!

Here are the highlights of the most interesting visits:

A kid answers the door and we ask for the mom. "She doesn't live here anymore." We ask if he knows where she lives? "Daaaaad...you better come here!" The dad steps outside. We ask for the mom again. He gets very quite and sad, even with a little tear glistens in his eye, "we got divorced two months ago and I don't have a forwarding address." Yes, I would say that was awkward.

A college age kid answers the door. We ask for the mom. "She's in New York." Oh, how long will she be there? "For a long time. Maybe forever and ever." Okay.

A very nice pony-tailed man answered the door and let us know she had moved to Lake Pleasant. He said he wished we were all there to see him. Just a little flirty, but we left with smiles on our faces.

And the winner: A man answers the door. We ask for the wife. "Who are you, why are you here?" We tell him we are with the Relief Society and we just wanted to wish her a happy birthday. "We haven't been to that church for years. We aren't associated with that group anymore. Do whatever you have to to get her name removed." Okay, we'll pass that along to the right people.

April 16

Becca's "Edward the Vampire" face. Are you scared, or what!?

April 15

Thanks for putting our new book shelf together! It is now FULL of CDs and VHS tapes. At least most of our movies are now somewhat organized.

April 14

Becca and Nick wanted another guitar for their Guitar Hero game. I told them if they would clean the cars inside and out, I would get it for them. They really did a good job, too. They spent over an hour washing, drying, polishing, vacuuming, cleaning the dashes, and shining the windows. The cars look beautiful! They loved the guitar, and kept saying thank you over and over. They can now duel each other and they have a ball!

April 13

I stubbed my toe! OUCH!
I love my new kitchen rug.

April 12

This morning at 6 a.m. Becca had a "shake-down" hike for girl's camp. I really wanted to tag along because they went to my favorite hiking place - Thunderbird Park. Becca had told me I could not go. This morning as I was dropping her off, she said I could go since I was dressed and had my water with me. (hee hee) She said I could not talk, though. Well... I went, I hiked and I talked. It was a great time, and I took her to I-Hop for breakfast afterward. She even said she was glad I came along!

April 11

This is my beautiful "lunch buddie" Lupe.

I am so thankful to have such a great friend at work!

I don't know what I would do without her.

April 10

Jen and Johnny, two out the counselors at Sunnyslope.

April 9

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!

April 8

Today was AIMS (Arizona Instrument for Measuring) testing for the all the kids in the State of Arizona. As a reward for those kids who tested to raise their scores (they don't have to do this), our school ordered 76 Sausage, egg and cheese McMuffins. I was asked to go and pick up the order. This nice may carried the box to my car for me.
'


Here is Lexie putting the sandwiches in the warmer to keep them nice and hot for the students.

April 7

Trimming the bushes in the back yard.

Picking up the trimmings.

April 6

Everyone get comfy, it's time to watch conference!

April 5

New filters on the E-vap cooler! Thanks, guys!

Welcome home, Becca! So glad you are back.

April 4

Books are fun came to school again. I just can't resist. I love getting these wonderful books for my grandkids and my children. I am especially excited about the baseball book for Cooper. I think it will go well in his "sports" theme room. And I have not yet given baby Luka any books, so there are some for him, too!

April 3

We have a problem with pigeons. Some are nesting up on top of that beam under the eve of the house.
Roxy stands as sentinel, surrounded by the pigeon poop. They are filthy, noisy, disease ridden, pesky birds! They white wash our roof, our rain gutters, our driveway, and everywhere else they like to roost. Yuck! We need to get a pellet gun and eliminate them.

April 2

Meet Rita. This is the GPS Rod got me for my car for Christmas. She is an amazing traveling companion. Just put in the address, and she will take you there with voice prompts ("In point 3 miles, turn right") and a map! If you are looking for a restaurant, you can also put in the type of food you want and she will find all of the eating establishments within a certain range of miles of where you are, you can pick one, and she will take you there. She can also do that for lodging, gasoline, certain locations like airports, zoos, shopping malls, movie theaters, etc. Wow! Isn't technology wonderful? Ryan used her to travel to and from his seminars in Mesa every day while they were here in March. I think he liked Rita, too. She is my main helper when I go make visits in our ward. I can find any house without a hitch. It has been great!

April 1

Tonight, I took Becca to meet with the bishop to get her recommend for a Patriarchal Blessing. I had her pose in the doorway of her room for this picture so her Jonas Brothers posters could be seen. She is CRAZY about them. I mean CRAZY!!!