Funneefarm

Balloons, Prayers and Lessons Learned

2010-03-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

Merilee gave me a beautiful flower arrangement with 3 helium balloons attached to it for my birthday. Her kids begged me for the balloons every day, but I wanted to enjoy them a bit longer. Finally one of the balloons lost its oomph and I decided a better let them play with the other two before it was too late. They ran around the house with them for a bit then wanted to take them outside. I warned them about the dangers of helium balloons and the great outdoors, but they assured me they would be careful. It wasn’t long, however before the returned to the house with Brandon empty handed and in tears. I asked them what had happened.
Lexi replied “Brandon lost his balloon, but it’s ok.” “ Come on Brandon” she said tugging on his little hand, “Let’s go say a prayer.”
I followed behind them not quite knowing what to say. I peeked in the bedroom and watched as they knelt down together. I listened as Brandon said “Heavenly Father, I lost my balloon. Can you help me get it back please?” Next it was Lexi’s turn. “Heavenly Father, Brandon lost his balloon and he is so sad. Maybe you could make the wind bring it back.”

Being “wise to the ways of the world”, I knew that balloon was not coming back. I gulped not sure what to do, I whispered my own little prayer. I went in the bedroom and wiped Brandon’s tears, sat on the floor and pulled them both into my lap. “Sometimes we make choices that Heavenly Father really can’t fix if he wants us to learn. When you went outside you knew what could happen to the balloon, but you made the choice to go outside anyway. Heavenly Father always answers our prayers, but not always how we want him too. He is probably not going to bring your balloon back, but he will make it ok. He will make you strong enough and help you not be sad. “
Brandon twisted around to look at me and said, “Do you mean that Heavenly Father isn’t going to give me back the balloon but He will make me happy?”
At this point Lexi pitched in seeming to understand what I was trying to tell them. “ I can share my balloon with you and some day maybe you will get a new balloon.”
That’s right, Lexi,” I said, “Right now Heavenly Father is answering Brandon’s prayer because you are helping him to be happy by sharing your balloon with him. Remember, Heavenly Father always answers our prayers and helps us with our troubles. He doesn’t always fix everything back like it was, but He helps us be strong and lots of times He sends other people to help us, just like you are helping Brandon right now.”
Lexi jumped up and tugged on Brandon’s arm again, “Come on, let’s go see how far the balloon went up in the sky.” They rushed out, happy once more.
I sat there on the floor for a bit and thought about what I had tried to teach them. I am sure they didn’t really understand it all; but maybe the lesson was more for me than for them. There are lots of hard things in life; things that are not going to change, problems that aren’t going away, lots of reasons to feel sorry for myself. But through experience I know that my prayers are answered. Oh, I still have plenty of problems and a heavy load to carry, but I know that I will be strong enough to carry on and that I can be happy while I am doing it.

Barrel full of Cats!

2010-02-03T21:22:00.001-08:00

We left a half full garbage can next to the back door - the next morning it was full of cats! I was sorely tempted to put the lid on quick and haul them away - it costs us at least $50 a month to feed them all - but then again we haven't had a mouse in our house in the last 11 years.

Grandkids Galore!

2010-02-03T19:35:00.000-08:00

We went to Billings on Sunday to see our new granddaughter and attend Benjamin's baby blessing.

Charlotte and her mommie (Anneke)

Granny, Charlotte and Josie - the "Big Sister".

Proud Pappy!

Baby Benjamin was blessed today (Sunday, Jan 30th) - I didn't get one picture of him today, but here is one from last week when he visited.

Smooches from Granny - I just can't resist so i hope they get used to it!

After the baby blessing, April and Steve cooked us an awesome ham dinner. The kids had a picnic on the floor. Not all of them are in this photo - there are several more running around.

Armfulls of Grandkids

Brenna - Ashlyn - Benjamin - Seth

Aden and his awesome birthday cake (Dec. 2009)

Tough guy Brandon taking out the popcans!

Puzzling!

2009-12-27T13:21:00.000-08:00

Yikes, what a morning! Seth, Ashlyn and Brenna were up early of course but not dressed until about 10:00 and it took me until almost lunch time to get their hair combed. We played cars, dress up, play dough and guns; ate pretzles, popcorn and candy canes; fought, teased, chased and giggled; rolled marbles, strung beads and puzzled.

Brenna spent over an hour playing with these doll magnets on the fridge. She sang little songs to them the entire time.

Don't let these innocent faces fool you.
I was so pooped by lunch time that I really needed a nap - 3 of them to be exact!!!
They zonked in just a few minutes and I got to blog!

The real puzzle here is what to do with them for the next few days that we haven't already done?!?!?!

New Baby - Benjamin

2009-12-27T13:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went to Billings to return Paul. We had a delicious lunch at Nathan's. I got lots hugs, snuggles and kisses from Heather and Josie - just what I needed.

I can't believe how fast they are growing and how much they are talking.

Don't you love the blue, blue eyes of these two sweet little girls!

Then is was off to April's for my first peek at my new grandson. He is a handsome little fellow - he looks a lot like Seth. You can see more photos of him at http://aprilz42.blogspot.com/

Then I packed up Brenna, Ashlyn and Seth and brought them home to spend a few days with me while April recuperates. Should make for a busy week.

Quiet Christmas

2009-12-27T13:03:00.001-08:00

Christmas with Paul.

Getting ready for the catch!

Posing with his Christmas stuff.

Paul was the only one home for Christmas this year. I loved spending time with him, playing games and just talking. It was quiet, but nice.

Happy Birthday Aden!

2009-12-27T12:41:00.000-08:00

I made a quick trip to Billings for Aden's birthday right before Christmas. I loved this picture of him and his pirate cake. You can see more of his birthday at Amber's Page

2009-12-26T20:15:00.000-08:00

I was right, my mother called me crying. She said they were happy tears! She loved the blanket and said she would keep it on the arm of her chair and put it over her when ever she needed a hug. I sure love her. She is a wonderful example to us all. I feel bad that she is so far away and I can't give her real hugs every day.

Slugs!!!!!

2009-12-16T17:56:00.001-08:00

We found these huge, nasty slugs while camping in Oregon. I knew the kids would love them, so I packed a couple up for an all expense paid trip to Wyoming!

Just as I thought - Brandon is fascinated!

Seth like them better in the jar.

Ashlyn held them, but was a little grossed out.

Brenna wasn't too sure she kept this slug at arms length in case it attacked!

Every one was slimed - stickiest snot I ever saw - we really had to scrub to get it off.

The slugs went home with Brandon but after he let them loose in the house a couple of times - the mysteriously disappeared for good.

Trailer Trippin' - two

2009-12-16T17:36:00.000-08:00

I got woke up early this morning by a pocket call from Nathan - not enough time to go back to sleep, so will continue with our trip.

With only a couple minor meltdowns, we arrived safely at Kris's house. Thanks to our GPS and my constant vigilance while John drove.

Kris, Jen and the kids went camping with us out near the coast. John and Kris got to fish and the rest of us went beach combing.

We cooked a gourmet dinner of hot dogs and s'mores and settled in for the night in the trailer, which I like fine as long as it is not moving.

Hotdogs extrodinaire!

Kris and family.

A long walk on the beach at sunset.

We did make it safely home much to my surprise! John is trying to psych me up for a trip to Arizona after the first of the year. I am not sure if the door handle and seat edge can take it - we shall see..........

Trailer Trippin' - one

2009-12-16T17:14:00.000-08:00

I wasn't going to to ketchup posts - but found these picutres on my camera. Nothing exciting is happening here, sooo splat!

We bought a 5th wheel trailer in the fall - After a near nervous break down on my part on the first day, we were off! We stopped in Missoula for an anniversary party for Joe and Sandy - It was fun to see everyone again.

Don't ask!

I am not hyperventilating too bad while writing this post, but I do think my heart rate has increased slightly!

Then it was off to visit Cora Ann, Todd and Lance. The sure have a beautiful place - we took a walk out by the lake that is right in their back yard.

Cora Ann shared a box of pears from that little tree behind them in the photo - they were soooo delicious. We lazed around and visited - it was starting to feel like a real vacation - - - - -
Then (dun, dunn, dunnnn) we got back in the truck with a 31 foot trailer on behind and headed down the road towards Oregon!

Christmas Blankies

2009-12-16T16:32:00.001-08:00

I made 5 of these little quilts for the youngest granddaughter's dolls. I forgot that I hate working with satin and bumpy chinelle and I put both of them together for these blankies. I am glad the little ones are to young to notice what a sloppy job I did.

The baby in this blanket is one that Merilee got when she was just 6 or 8 years old.

I made the lap quilt below for my mother. I wrote a poem to go with it.

Long Distance Hug

I made this little lap quilt filled with blue skies and bouquets,
I added summer sunshine to brighten wintery days.
Each stitch was made while missing you;
Each stitich was made with love;
So, when you wrap it snug around you -
I am giving you a hug!

PS - I think she will cry.

Qualified!

2009-12-16T10:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I took a medication administration class (and passed). I didn't take it because I wanted to or thought I needed it - it was required to recertify to give respite care. So now, after 36 years of assisting people with medications, I am officially certified to do so! So, if you would like to have your medications administered by a certified med. assistant, come on down.

. . . . and the stockings were hung!

2009-12-11T19:45:00.000-08:00

Merilee's kids were here today to help me get ready for Christmas - finally. We only hung a few - but we put out all the stocking hanger uppers. I love stocking holders and buy a new one when ever I see one - I have 19 in all - not enough for everyone to come home for Christmas yet, but I am getting there. I have paid a lot for some of them, but got 4 new ones at the Dollar Store this year - Yahoo!

Four of them are cheap plastic ones that are left from when the kids were little. Almost antiques!

They decorated the tree beautifully. Brandon is holding a plastic sled ornament that I made from a kit when I first got married. I signed up for a "craft of the month" club. I would get so excited when a new kit arrived. Any way, this cheapy little sled has lasted 36 years! (Definately an antique!)

No mistle toe - NO Kiss!!

PS - Christmas Stockings are now back in stock - check them out at My Website

New Serger

2009-11-24T20:29:00.000-08:00

I stopped at the sewing center to drop off one of my sewing machines to be serviced last week and mentioned that I would like to buy a serger soon. Of course they were on sale and the sales lady showed me all the fun stuff they do and how easy they are to work. Then she told me the price - boo hoo! But all was not lost - she just happend to have a second hand one that she would sell me for less than half price! I couldn't resist!
I tried for 2 days to make it work, no luck - so I stared at it across the room while I used the other machine for the next two days. Finally, I read the instruction book and wahoo! It worked. I made the most awesome seams around the necks of the new bibs - I have lots of other projects in mind, but probably not until the craft shows are over.

No bobbins to wind, no seam trimming to do - nice professional looking edges. Sigh, it is my new best friend!

2009-11-10T18:42:00.001-08:00

Hmmm, I haven't posted for so long I don't know where to start. I admire those of you who post consistantly - and those who do catch up posts - but I just can't seem to bring myself to do it. So I will just make a new start. I had my first craft show on Saturday and did really well. My best sellers were the new bunnies and bears and of course princess and super capes! I didn't think those bright pink ones would sell very well, but they were all gone within the first hour.

Six Wheeler Fun

2009-06-23T21:53:00.000-07:00

Leonard and Loree came to pick up their girls and were able to stay a few days to visit. Everyone got rides on the the six wheeler, except Pappy, his shoulder still is healed enough to drive.

The six wheeler is up and running again, thanks to Steve and Johnathan.

Kaitlyn, Blake and Eric

Lexi, Carly, Paul and Blake

Blake, Brandon, Paul

Summer Rain - Cottonwood Snow

2009-06-23T21:43:00.000-07:00

These little ones discovered that it was raining and escaped out the door to do a rain dance. They got soaked, but had a lot of fun before their mothers dragged them back in for warm baths.

Blake dancing up a storm!

Lexie and Brandon trying to catch raindrops on their tongues.

No, this is not a summer snow storm - it is cotton from the cottonwood trees. This is not a very good picture, but it almost did look like snow. The lawn is covered and if you breathe deeply outside you suck it up your nose! Yuck.

Father's Day Weekend

2009-06-23T21:28:00.000-07:00

Pappy peeking out from under his hat.

Loree, Merilee and Anneke sent me to my room - one minute of timeout for each year old I am - that is a long time, but not yet a full hour! I still wasn't able to catch up on my scripture reading, tho.

Anneke and Josie drove clear down from Billings just to bring Pappy a little father's day treat and have dinner with us. Josie loved this lion and was feeding it a bottle all afternoon, so cute.

Eric and Brandon on the motorcycle.

Cute photo of Carly in her cousins camp shirt.

Paul came down to spend the night. He loves his motorcycle that he bought from Nathan. Please drive safe, Paul!!!

Aden and Seth checking out the betta fish I bought. Cousins camp kids named it Razzberry Rainbow.

Cousins Camp - Day 4

2009-06-23T20:33:00.000-07:00

We drove to the top of the hill and across the highway to see the airplanes.

The Kids crawled through a tight passageway into the cockpit of this plane.

Checking out the propellers.

Dominique peeking out the window.

Kaitlyn - ready to jump.

Seth was always checking to see how things worked.

Carly

Aden, preparing to start the plane.

Aden looks pretty small next to this airplane.

I bought each of the kids a whirly bird - if you look closely you can see one in the blue sky at the top of the picture

Lexi with one of the many popcicles consumed in the last four days.

One final shot of the Funneefarm Cousins Camp Group!

I think every one had a good time, I know I did. It was fun to watch them play and make up games. I think the only thing I would change is to have someone to clean up after all the messes we made and a full time photographer! It was hard to take pictures and help everyone do stuff too. We had a few tiffs, tears and times outs - a couple of boo boos and bandaids, but all in all things went very smooth!

Can't wait until next year and 10 grandchildren at Cousins Camp

Cousins Camp - Day 3

2009-06-18T19:59:00.000-07:00

Today was another fun day on the Funneefarm even tho the kids (and I) are getting a little worn out. First we made dipped pretzels. We dipped in shifts which was a lot easier for me to handle. When someone wandered through the kitchen and wanted to help we let them join in.

Carly and Lexi got the first shift.

Carly picked out a plate of the best ones to take to Pappy.

Second shift was Dominique and Kaitlyn.

Then Seth and Aden happened by.

We got some pretty awesome pretzels. I dipped a few plain ones after they all left for the less discriminating consumer.

Everyone loved the teepees.

We drew with sidewalk chalk on the deck; played frisbee games on the lawn; ate popcicles and popcorn; had ping pong ball gun wars; discovered a batch of brand new kittens and a few of the kids were brave enough to jump in the cold pool on a cloudy day.

When ever I needed to find the boys, I would first check the sandbox - it is their favorite hangout.

Seth snuggled up with me to watch cartoons and help me out with the popcorn.

Pappy bought a few poppers, snakes and parachutes to entertain. You can't really see them, but the kids thought it was great.

And- we needed some pictures of Pappy!

Lexi had a melt down and went to bed early curled up next to Pappyand Lilly.

The boys were out in less than 5 minutes as usual.

No whispering for the girls tonight. I read to them for a bit then lights out - they were so tired I didn't hear one peep out of them.

Cousins Camp - Day 2

2009-06-17T20:36:00.001-07:00

Every one got to shoot a whole hopper full of paintballs. They are pretty good shots - the teddy bears were all orange and they even got the little targets spinning a couple of times.

Dominique

Kaitlyn and Carly

They painted these cool slap bracelets with puffy paints. What creative kids you have!

We made fruit kabobs for lunch.

Note the fabulous, designer aprons.

The kids loved slicing their own cheese with my awesome cheese slicer!

New Webkinz

Webkinz Jr. for the little ones.

Pool fun.

We set the sprinkler to spray the kids, notice Lilly fighting the sprinkler to defend the girls.

Supper time.

Merilee came to the rescue and helped haul kids to the park. They had lots of fun - but all the posing was a little difficult!

Seth, Lexi, Kaitlyn, Dominique, Carly, Aden

It was really tough getting them all hanging at once, they kept dropping off one at a time like little rotten apples!

All lined kissing fish lips! You can't see them very well, but each child has a straw with a little fish on the end. You have to suck on the fish lips to get your drink!

I love this picture of Kaitlyn kissing her fish!

We sang funnee songs at bedtime - the favorite was Sweetly Sings the Donkey!

They are now all sleeping - I should be too, I am pooped!!! Pappy cleaned up the kitchen after us twice today. The floor is still sticky from the fruit kabobs, but that can wait 'til morning.

Funneefarm Cousins Camp - day 1

2009-06-16T20:47:00.001-07:00

Pappy and I arrived home at the Funneefarm with 6 grandkids in tow just a little after lunch time. We unloaded the cars and we were off to have a crazee time!

First was the treasure hunt -

The older kids read the clues -

Off to find the treasure -

Carly was the lucky finder!!

They gathered in the shade to check out the loot!

Cousins camp tee shirts, eye patches, drink bottles and candy!

Aden - - - - - - - - - - - Seth

Lexi - - - - - - - - - - - - -Carly

Dominique - - - - - - - - - - - -Kaitlyn

Next we made aprons - it was really hard to take pictures and help the kids paint at the same time. The boys did theirs in a hurry and lost interest by the time I could get the camera out.Kaitlyn helped a lot with the little ones - then did her own when they were done and there was no one to bother her.

Creating buggy aprons

Carly hard at work.

Will post pictures of the finished aprons when we use them to protect us from our next project.

I put a pizza in the oven and tried to supervise them all inside and out: coloring, jumping, swinging, blowing bubbles and such while I participated in a mandantory webinar (something about documenting medications for respite clients, I think) for almost two hours.

Then. . . after face washing (sorry, no baths - they are on the agenda for tomorrow), toothbrushing and stories they were all tucked in and the last ones asleep by 9:30 - whew.

Day one complete.

Family Reunion

2009-06-16T19:23:00.001-07:00

Sunday and Monday we had our family reunion. We just got together and had a good time playing with the kids and catching up.

We had the traditional smokey bar b que

juicy watermelon (Brandon and Brenna)

Jumping on the trampoline.

Nathan and Heather

We took all the little ones to an awesome little park with a castle , what fun!!

Kris and Tyler

Josie

Johnathan on the slide, sort of.

Brandon

Tyler pushing Aunt april on the swing.

Blake the engineer.

Anneke pushing half a dozen kids in the tire swing.

Merilee causing trouble. Not sure who started it, but they all joined in the bark chip throwing!

Everyone was able to come except for Eric who had to work.

The rest of the family will soon be posting the photos they took, so check out their blogs too.

Funneefarm Cousins Camp

2009-06-09T16:41:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I sent each of my 6 oldest grandchildren the following letter. I have been planning and buying ever since. I think I am as excited as the grandchildren. Watch for my posts next week. I will try to take lots of photos and blog each night - if I am not to tired anyway.
Dear Kaitlyn, Carly, Dominique, Seth, Lexi, Aden:

You are invited to attend the first annual Funneefarm Cousins Camp in Greybull, Wyoming! There will be 4 fun filled days from June 16th-19th. This camp is for all Pappy and Granny Zito’s grandchildren that are 4 years old or older.
Some of the activities that you will enjoy are: A treasure hunt, swimming, target shooting with paintball guns, bed time stories about when your mom was little, fun songs, a hike, games, lots of crafts, a service project and of course a Cousins Camps t-shirt. There will be time to explore the Funneefarm and get to know your cousins. We will have pizza, ice cream, popcorn, s’mores, popsicles.

You will need to bring your swimming suit, clothes that you can get dirty in, an indoor sleeping bag if you have one. Try to learn a cute or funnee song that you can teach the rest of us.

Please return the enclosed card so we will know that you are coming.
We are so excited for Cousins Camp - hope to see you in a few weeks.

Love,

Granny and Pappy

Open invitation to tie a quilt on the Funneefarm!

2009-06-05T07:35:00.000-07:00

You know, I really shouldn't whine that no one helps me. Sewing is what I love to do - Therapy at its best. And . . . people really do help - they donate fabric and money to feed my habit, what more could I ask! And I love boxing up the finished items and sending them on their way.

But, it is fun to have someone to talk to once in a while - soooo if ya ever want to tie a quilt, or have a sudden burning desire to make some booties or a school bag, come on down - I would love the company. tee hee, ha ha, ho ho, he he, giggle giggle, snort!

Humanitarian Day

2009-06-03T08:02:00.000-07:00

On our last trip to Salt Lake, I visited the Church Humanitarian Center. The tour was interesting, but afterwards I asked if they had some projects I could take home. They gave me 47 bootie sets, 28 gowns, 50 school bags and 10 quilts! I was so excited, it was better than Christmas!!! I started on the booties soon after I got home and finished all of them in less than 2 weeks – that is 94 booties people!

Yesterday was our humanitarian project day - no one showed up but me (it was at my house). I was a little disappointed; it is kind of like having a Tupperware or Pampered Chef party and no one comes. I am sure they were busy and a couple people did call to say they were afraid to drive down my muddy road - but that didn't stop me from getting lots accomplished!

I finished all 28 layette gowns and finished tying the quilt I had set up the day before for people to work on. After I set the quilt up on Monday I was so excited to have it ready that I tied half of it myself - with help from April and several grandchildren. I also got the binding done on 2 quilts that were tied at our combined Basin/Greybull work day last month. So it was quite a productive day if I do say so myself!
Well, I better stop goofing off with my blog and finish up the plans for cousins camp - and I only have one Bible Quiet Book left again so that is next on my to do list. The quilts and school bags will have to wait.

Visit from April

2009-06-03T07:51:00.000-07:00

April and the kids came to visit for the weekend and I didn't take one picture!! So sorry. We had lots of fun tho. The kids played on the swings, in the pool and sandbox all day long. April commented that the bathtub was always full of sand. I think I will have to offer a huge amount of points to have someone move the sandbox from right next to the door to the furthest corner of the yard! Any way, I got lots of hugs and weed bouquets!

Primary Activity

2009-05-20T19:57:00.000-07:00

Last month the Relief Society Presidency did a primary sharing time. We explained the RS Declaration with props and 3 or 4 sentences. One of the items that I talked about was "Delight in service and good works." I told the kids we would be making hygiene kits for the humanitarian services of the church and asked them to bring bars of soap to contribute. Today we assembled the kits - the kids had lots of fun and couldn't wait to get in line to make another one.

Brandon putting the toothpaste in.

Millie helping Lexi with the soap.

Lexi and her friend.

This little group of kids completed 62 kits in about 20 minutes ( and 15 more that only need soap)! This was the best humanitarian project we have done so far. We are going to try it on a ward level if we can gather enough stuff or get enough donations to buy more.

Lawn mower fun!

2009-05-18T19:11:00.000-07:00

The grandkids helped me mow the lawn for the first time this year. I let them drive which ever crazy way they wanted. You can't see it to well, but there are circles and curves and wavey lines every where.

Took me a while to finish it up when they were done, but they were so excited to be the one steering that it was worth it.

May projects - 12 finished super capes with random letters - 10 more ready for letters once someone buys them - 20 crib sheets for a day care - 15 bags of polymer crystal; bagged, tagged and ready to ship.

funneefarm update

2009-05-17T13:09:00.000-07:00

Last week we took a run to Salt Lake to see John's VA doctors. They are thinking he might not have Rheumatoid Arthritis after all, but something that is similar to it. They stopped all his RA drugs and he will start on new ones this week. I saw the face doc while we were in SL too. He thinks he can fix my face - the insurance will pay for the necessary stuff, but he thinks I should have almost $9,000 worth of other stuff done too. I said I would rather have a new car - so sorry guys, you will just have to put up with my mug the way it is - but I will give you a ride in my new car.

I did get to visit with Scott (my brother) and Karen and Jenny (my neices) and their families while we were in Salt Lake. What a cute bunch of little ones they have. I wish we could have spent more time with them. I also visited my mom - which is one of the nice things about all these trips to Salt Lake.

On Tuesday (in Cody) John had his rotatar cuff repaired - and a torn cartlidge, and a bone spurs removed, and the joint scraped and smoothed, and frayed edges of something or other trimmed and smoothed. He is pretty miserable - four weeks with a pillow wedge strapped to his arm and at least 12 weeks of physical therapy. sigh But. . . . onward and upward, we will prevail!?!?!

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T19:49:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful mother's day. My kids showed up after church and cooked me and awesome dinner! They made chicken alfredo, bread sticks, fruit salad and a yummy green salad. It was so nice - the girls did all the cooking ( I think I heard that some of the guys were in the kitchen too) and then the guys cleaned up while we sat and chatted and watched kids. Four of my kids drove clear from Billings just for the afternoon - that is over 2 hours. John had purchased a willow tree figure called "anniversary" for me. It is a couple sitting on a rock. When I saw it I longed for the figures of 7 little children to place around it to represent my kids. I couldn't wait to get to the store to pick them out. But, my awesome children bought them for me. I was so surprised. It was fun arranging them them on the shelf - they look so cool and reminds me of when they were little.

It makes me smile every time I look at them.

Dry Creek Design Craft Update

2009-04-28T17:37:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it has been a whole month since I posted about sewing. I am sure you all dying to know what I have created. I made 13 pairs of booties, two recieving blankets and 10 nighties for the church humanitarian project. For Dry Creek Design I made 4 - Three Little Pig story books, 12 - Mother Goose Story books, 108 pull over bibs - (you should check out the 11 new designs I added), 8 nursing coverups and 14 matching burb cloths.

Earlier in the month I made 6 Bible Quiet Books and 10 Mother Goose Quiet Books. You can't see them very well, but I found some really cute little finger puppets to go in Noah's Ark!

The sad part is - it took me most of the month to do the quiet books and the rest I got done in less than 10 days. The quiet books are very time consuming and it seemed like I kept getting interrupted so it took even longer.

Strawberry Jam

2009-04-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

I have been promising John that I would make jam the first time I saw stawberries for $1 a pound and today was the day. I had a hard time finding MCP pectin - Walmart and Albertson's didn't have it, but our little grocery store here in town did. This is about 4 gallons of jam. It took 13 pound of strawberries ($13), 8 packages of pectin ($16), 2 cups of lemon juice (50 cents) and 16 pounds of sugar ($7.50)!! That comes out to $37 or $9.25 a gallon.

I will have to run to town in the morning before paintball to buy more containers to put it in! I think John will share if you wanna come have a taste.

For your viewing pleasure I have included this photo of the center piece I created for the table at the talent show last night. Everyone guessed right away which table I decorated!

It's a Wonderful Life! ! ! !

2009-04-16T12:17:00.001-07:00

I was reading back through some of my posts - "pity party" was pretty bad. But even I have bad days. All in all, we have had a wonderful life. We have spent lots of time doing fun things and John was there for so much of the kids growing up that most dads only get to hear about at the end of a long day. Life is not what I thought it would be like at this point in our lives. I thought we would be camping, fishing, visiting places like church history sites, exotic tours and especially visiting our kids. But just because life is not what I expected, it doesn't mean it is not good.

We are so blessed. Most of our children and grandchildren live close enough to visit often and those who don't call and blog to keep us updated. I love our litte valley, the church and our community. I am very busy with my church calling and all that it involves - I love to serve others. I love to sew and my business is growing by leaps and bounds - sometimes it is hard to keep up. I may have to start treating it like a real job!! The paintball can be a pain, but it is nice to be around young people who are so enthusiastic - and they think this old grey haired granny is pretty "cool" I think. I have loved spending time with my respite kids. They sure give me a different perspective on life and what is important. I have a warm home and more than enough to eat, we have enough money for all our needs and to occasionally help our children, I do not live in fear for my safety and I am surrounded by people who love me despite my shortcomings!

Any way, apart from a bad day here and there, LIFE IS WONDERFUL! If there was one thing I could change it would be that John would not be in constant pain. But, if things were not the way they are, I am sure I would have been too busy and distracted to learn the important lessons this life has to offer.

Here are some pictures of some turkeys that visited this old turkey (me) the other day.

Lance left last week. Before he did, I cooked him an awesome dinner of oven fries, steak and mushrooms and a yummy salad - by candlelight I might add. Lance furnished the A&W root beer for our fancy goblets!

We miss you Lance - I haven't gotten on the treadmill and my popcorn bowl has been empty since you left.

Hard Worker

2009-04-07T19:14:00.001-07:00

Seems like I was super busy all week but I didn't get a lot of sewing done. I did get 10 cloth books made. I made 5 Mother Goose and 5 Three little Pigs. The Mother Goose ones were sold, but the Three Little Pigs is a new book - the illustrations are by Mary Englebreits and are so cute!

I have an order for 10 Bible Quiet Books that I need to get out by the middle of next week. They are much harder and more time consuming than these little cloth books.

My shipment of towels for pull over bibs and humanitarian stuff came today. Brandon was here and helped me bring it all in. Brandon was so impressed that the mail man brought me so many presents.

He pushed and rolled them up the ramp. It is hard work moving something that weighs as much as you do. At one point he said, "Granny, stop taking picutres and help me!"

Check out that face!

Counting the boxes and taking inventory.

We can flush the toilets! Yipeee!

2009-04-03T19:57:00.000-07:00

It is fixed!!! Last night when we replaced the old pump with the new one and turned it on ------- water gushed out every where! I suppose it is typical for the funneefarm that the sewer pump goes out but that is not all. The pipe was broken where it goes out of the tank. So it was another night with no flushing then of all things, a blizzard hit.

We woke up to this to do the work in! Those snowflakes were big enough to be snowballs!!

This morning Steve had to dig a hole 4 feet deep big enough for him to get down in, cut off the old pipe and put in the new one. Those of you who have been unfortunate enough to be here when the sewer pump went out before know eactly what I am talking about. Soooooo, after 3 trips to town for parts and only 4 or 5 hours of work in an April blizzard it was finished! We waited the mandantory 5 hours for the glue to dry and turned it on!!

Yippeeee!

The toilets are flushed, dishwasher run - only the basement bathroom left to clean cuz the toilet ran over. (which stinks, cuz I just cleaned it before this happened!)

But all is well now - Steve and April took me out to dinner and I am going to bed and it is only 9:30.

Sorry guys - but Steve is now the brown noser board leader with a whopping 20 points - you have to admit that he earned it.

In between holding parts and doing what I could to help Steve, I did get to spend a little time cutting out some cloth books for a new order - I never actually made it to the sewing machine today. Guess I will have to survive until Monday before I can get a little "therapy".

Life on the not so Funnee Farm

2009-04-02T12:16:00.000-07:00

I vacuumed the living room and under the couch cushions, cleaned the refridgerator, cleaned bathrooms upstairs and down. I only had time for 45 minutes on the treadmill. Created a new account for my respite billing and got my billing done for March. Balanced my accounts and paid bills online. Put clean sheets on my bed. Purchased new pump in hopes that someone will show up to put it in for me - threw a few towels on the basement bathroom floor to mop up the mess once again. Working hard boosts my spirits or at least makes me to tired to care about things that go wrong.

I got online and ordered transfer paper, towels for bibs, new tags for Dry Creek Design and a few things to complete some humanitarian projects - spending money is a great spirits booster! I sneaked in a few minutes and finished a couple of quiet book pages- ahhhh, therapy.
Next I picked up Merilee's kids and a respite client, too. Luckily, April showed up with left overs for dinner so we didn't have to eat bread and water.

Steve helped me worked on the sewer pump - of course one pipe broke - we hurried to the co-op and got that replaced before they closed. We couldn't find a pipe wrench so Steve went to a friends house to borrow one. Home again - of course the oulet on the pump was a different size than the last one. Will have to wait til morning to get a different pump or an adapter. Mean while the toilets are filling up and the sink is full of dirty dishes, but I have lots of help - if all goes well, we will be in business first thing in the morning.

Here is the lineup of kids on for the evening laughing at cartoons! Couldn't help but bring a smile to my face.
Such is life on the not always so funnee Funneefarm!

Pity Party

2009-04-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

Most of you know that John (pappy)(husband) is disabled and has been for the last 21 years. He hasn't been too bad, but the last 4 or 5 years he has had several major surgeries and just hasn't quite recovered. We get to spend a lot of time together, but we don't go any where much except to doctor appointments. He spends all day, almost every day, in bed sleeping, reading or watching TV. I was really looking forward to today, we were supposed to go to Billings for a dr. appointment- of course I was going to get groceries, pick up stuff for "therapy" (sewing) and paintball and at least eat at a fast food place or maybe Red Lobster if he wasn't too miserable by the end of the day. Not to be. He didn't sleep well last night and his shoulder hurt too bad so he couldn't go. I guess I should be used to it, but it is hard. I hate to drag him with me, but I don't like to leave him home either. And, you can't drive clear to Billings just for sewing supplies. Sigh.
Lance just came upstairs and informed me that the toilet won't flush - I checked the breakers, outlet and pump - everything works except the pump. So now the nasty job of pulling the pump up out of the sewer and putting a new one ($400) down in. Not as easy as it sounds as many of you know who have helped replace it in the past. Broken pump means no showers, laundry, toilet flushing or dishwasher - which is currently full of dirty dishes. Sigh, Sigh.

The best thing for feeling sorry for yourself is to get busy - so here I go!

Added to Inventory!!

2009-03-30T15:16:00.000-07:00

This week I finished the 76 bibs that I started last week. They are folded and on the shelf. I really like these new towels, they have cute little animals and are cute colors. You can check out all the cute bibs I have including Disney ones at my website http://www.tctwest.net/~dcdesign/home.html

I also finished 10 quiet books that were sitting on the shelf half done and made 4 more super capes for a new order.

My humanitarian projects this week were 5 bibs, 8 pairs of booties and I put the binding on the quilt that Merilee and Amber tied last weekend.

I am getting low on Mother Goose Quiet Books , I have a lot of store bought cloth books that have been waiting to be made and I am trying to find fabric for 15 crib sheets ordered by a day care in New Mexico. I need to get some quilt tops ready for the 14th for our group project day - hopefully some people will show up to help me tie them.

Sigh, I guess I better quit blogging and get busy - the more "therapy" the better.

Who is that masked man?

2009-03-28T15:22:00.000-07:00

LANCE!!!

He helped in the shed cleaning guns and waiting on customers.

Lance and Shadow refereed for me. Lance walked over 16,000 steps on the paintball fields - no treadmill for him today!

He tried out the targets.

Lance has Williams Syndrome and as you know kids who are different aren't always treated as nice as they should be. This group of kids was great with Lance. They made him feel accepted and important. They even invited him to go to town and have pizza with them after a long day of paintballing.

Joe is my head ref, I couldn't run this place without him. He is so good to Lance and let him hang out with him all day.

More Grandchildren Visit the Funneefarm

2009-03-28T09:34:00.000-07:00

April brought her kids down from Laurel on Monday. Chaos again - but after all - we live on the Funneefarm! April stayed until Wednesday, then left to go to Missoula to dry pack some food storage stuff. The Kids stayed until Friday when Merilee took them home on her way to the Stake Temple Day.

First thing on the agenda was watching Tom and Jerry Cartoons with Pappy.It is so funnee to hear them all in the bedroom laughing. I think Pappy laughs harder than the kids.

Next was a hike and picnic to Devil's Kitchen.

April and the kids.

There are lots of cool rock formations and awesome colors of stone cliffs.

Seth had a ball climbing on rocks. He really struggled with this one.

But he finally made it to the top - to "rest my wobbly legs from too much hiking!"

Of course, they all "helped" with the sewing.

Brenna and Ashlyn sat here for hours handing me pins and supplies.

Seth helped with the clocks for the quiet books. Ashlyn took this picutre of him marking the center dots for the clock hand attachments.

Cute picture of Brenna. She calls Pappy "Happy" - at least she doesn't call me Dopey or Grumpy although I can be both at times!

They are gone now - quiet once more but still crazy here on the Funneefarm.

A Visit From Lance

2009-03-26T20:00:00.000-07:00

Lance has been here visiting for the past couple of weeks. It has been fun having him here. He was going to stay for 2 weeks, but has been having so much fun, we decided he should stay for an extra two weeks. He has been a good help and good company.

He Vaccuums for me.

Keeps my popcorn bowl constantly full!!

Sorted bibs towels with Jenni.

Lance helps with the kids that visit - snips threads - buckled 100 buckles for quiet books - feeds the cats - helps cook meals and helps with paintball. (We lost the pictures of paintball - will retake them on Saturday.)

It sounds like I have made him my personal servant, but he really seems to enjoy helping. We have done a lot of fun things, too.

We took a hike in Devil's Kitchen.

Lance climbed this big white hill - it looks huge in this photo!

We had a delicious picnic!

Eric and Lance built this pinewood derby car and raced it. They had an awesome time. Thanks Eric. We also went shopping in Cody where he bought some new Indian drum CD's and a couple of cool T shirts. We have walked at the park, ate at the Chinese place in town, went with me to a Laua at the church and enjoyed a movie night or two.

But I think the best thing is that Lance has been walking on the treadmill - he walks 1 or 2 miles almost every day and usually gets close to 10,000 steps on his stepcounter throughout the day. He has lost 8 pounds since he got here. I am so proud of him.

Sewing Projects From Last Week

2009-03-22T21:09:00.000-07:00

I made 10 gowns for our humanitarian project. I had an order for 6 super capes (personalized) and 3 princess capes. I got them done and in the mail. I made 10 more princess capes so now I have a few ahead. The super capes are ready to sew - but I can't personalize them until I get orders.

I also worked on a couple dozen booties (not finished yet) and got the necks cut and ribbing pinned on about 75 pull over bibs. But those are next week's projects.

Grandchildren visit the Funneefarm!

2009-03-22T20:13:00.000-07:00

Nathan and Amber came to visit this week end. It was good to see them again - seems like it has been forever since they have been down. The kids ran and played out side - they were so tired and dirty when they came in. lol - you could have made mudpies with the dirt left in the tub!

Aden learning how to play Webkinz - don't you just love those huge eyes! His lashes don't really show but they are really long and thick - what a cutie!

Aden and his dog Zeke

Heather in her Sunday dress that used to be her mother's.

Heather and Pappy. Check out those big blue eyes!

Heather and her daddy napping after church - no baby could be more loved.

Nathan took Pappy and Eric fishing yesterday - he was pooped out I guess.

Merilee and Amber tied one of our humanitarian quilts. They had never tied one before so I got them started and then I left to do the hot dogs for the paintball players. When I got back they were just finishing it. They did a great job and have sore fingers to prove it!

Everyone left tonight - it is just Lance, me and pappy - 24 hours before the next set of grandkids arrive!!

Paintball kids

2009-03-21T12:19:00.000-07:00

We had a few paintball players in to play today and the little ones were dying to play. I put goggles on the 3 grandkids that were here and took them to the targets. They had a ball. The gun was a little heavy but they actually got some hits.

Lexi - Brandon - Aden

The had a ton of fun finding paintballs on the ground, you would have thought it was an Easter Egg hunt. All three kids sat on the step with their hotdogs and pop afterwards, but my camera was out of memory!!

New Webkinz!!

2009-03-19T20:19:00.000-07:00

Last year Merilee bought me a Webkinz for my birthday. I didn't know anything about them, but Kaitlyn and Carly came for a visit and educated me right away. Some of the games are kind of fun, but it is more fun to help the grandchildren play and especially great to send them gifts for their pets.

Lexi has been working hard and saving her money for a new Webkinz pet. She finally figured she was pretty close so we took a trip to Cody to go shopping. Only two stores in Cody carry them and the first one was closed. We looked through the window at all the pets displayed - Lexi was very sad. We finally located the other store - they only had a few to choose from, but it didn't matter. Lexi saw the pink dinosaur and latched onto it immediately. By the time we had finished our happy meals and headed for home she had named her dainty little dino Tinkerbell. I got a camel and of course her name is Alyce!! (as in Alyce the Camel has 3 humps)

Lexi and I had a fun trip - she learned two new songs - Little Tom Tinker and Sweetly Sings the Donkey. She is just like her Granny and sings little songs all day long. She loves learning new ones.

The best part for me was the hugs and kiss and hearing - " You are the best Granny in the whole world!" By the time we reached Greybull, I had her convinced that I was the best Granny in the whole universe. She still doesn't quite understand what the universe is but she knows it is bigger than the world!

Super Hero Helper

2009-03-15T20:46:00.000-07:00

I had a Humanitarian Project day coming up at my house - soooo that morning, I looked around and knew there was no way I could get everything cleaned and ready by myself. I was pushing and pulling on the furniture trying to make room to set up a quilt to tie and next thing I knew ---- there was The Hulk!!

With the Hulk's help, I got that furniture moved in no time!

Of course, now the floor was gross from the stuff under the furniture (and grandkids) and who showed up in my time of need??? It was Batman to the rescue.

Not only did we get a lot done, it kept Brandon busy and he had no time to make more messes. Hurray for super heroes!!

If you need help from a super hero - check out my supercapes at http://www.drycreekdesign.com/

5 Miles!!

2009-03-05T09:31:00.000-08:00

I did 5 miles on the treadmill this morning in preparation for the Women's Fun Run. I beat my time from 2 weeks ago by 8 minutes!! Treadmill screen and sweaty face to prove it. Scary picture, huh. If you can't read it the treadmill screen says (1 hr. 12 min. - 5
miles). Not bad for a fat old lady!

The VA called and said that John's test all came back normal - they want to do an ultrasound of his joints on Friday. We are leaving for Idaho Falls today - at least it will be good to see my mother again so soon.

Well, I better go pack my pretzles, carrots sticks and my size 10 pants!!!!!

Paul and Amanda's Visit

2009-03-03T20:28:00.001-08:00

Paul and his girlfriend, Amanda, came to visit a week or so ago. It was really fun to have them here. We played guitar hero – Paul mostly beat me so it was fun to watch Amanda beat him!! I need to practice up so I can win more than 2 or 3 out of 10.

Amanda helped me with the file folder games for the humanitarian project. We cut, colored and organized so that all folders had all their parts and they would be ready to be completed on our next Relief Society humanitarian project day, she was a lot of help..

Paul worked on getting points on the "Brown Noser Board" (I decided to call it that for lack of a better name). I keep a list of things on the cupboard door that I either can’t do myself or don’t want to do. The boys and sons in law come home to visit and do as many of those chores as possible – each one is worth 1-5 points depending on how time consuming or how desperately I want it done. They don’t win any thing except points and the satisfaction that they have done more for me then their siblings, which they know will make them my favorite child. They love the competition and I love that stuff gets done. We started a new chart in January – so far Johnathan has 8 points and Paul has 3. Of course they are they only ones that have come to visit so far – but posting this online should get them on the ball.

Happy Birthday to ME!

2009-03-03T18:46:00.001-08:00

I had a very nice birthday today. First I went to the eye doctor and he said my face is sliding off, then Dr. Hill called to tell me the bump he removed from my cheek last week was cancer! After that, my day was a piece of cake. (lol) The tests came back on the lump and it was definately cancer. Nothing that will spread or cause other problems, but he does want to do another biopsy in a few weeks to make sure they didn't miss any thing. The eye doctor said my eyelids were definitely droopy enough for my insurance to pay for it (30% qualifies and mine are 60%) and that I also need a brow lift. Merilee says I should go for a complete remodle and have a chin lift and a tummy tuck. I told her I didn't think they cared how I "look" - but they might help me able to "look." We are trying to schedule that in Salt Lake at the same time as John's next VA appointment. Last week I got a crown put on a tooth ($749) – they couldn’t get the tooth numb so it hurt the whole time, sigh.

After all that everything was great. I went shopping for some new clothes - nothing fancy but I got to buy a size smaller!! Guess all that walking is helping!

I was so excited. I bought a new pair of jeans, size 10! I bought new shoes, 4 simple t-shirts and 2 blouses like the one in the picture – the other one is pink. I bought dinner so I didn’t have to cook (which I probably wouldn't have any way, but at least this way we got to eat.) lol Most of my kids have called to wish me happy birthday and I am sure the rest of them will call as soon as they read this!!

Now I am heading to the sewing room to put away the supplies I bought, spend a few minutes on the treadmill and maybe sew for a little bit.

A week of service

2009-02-13T06:05:00.000-08:00

Monday - Got Pappy off to the VA dentist in Sheridan - he will come home through Billings and bring Paul home with him for the week, yay! I worked worked on the file folder games for one of our humanitarian projects - mostly laminating the folders and making sure I have glue, markers, scissors, and paper for them for our enrichment meeting tomorrow night. One of my respite clients was having a hard day at school so I picked him up for the afternoon. I spent an hour or so practicing the new chior piece on the piano.

Tuesday - The fabric arrived to make the backs for the quilts we are tying for a humanitarian project - I made backs for all four quilts. Took care of Merilee's kids while she was at school, made chicken and wild rice soup to take to enrichment meeting, loaded all the stuff in the car, unloaded it all at the church then reloaded it all when we were done. Nine people came to the meeting and we tied 2 of the 4 quilt tops I had sewn and got a lot of cutting and coloring done on the file folders. Brought all the stuff back home, unloaded it and put it all away. Practiced chior number

Wednesday - Today I put handles and velcro on 35 school bags (humanitarian project again) and took lunch to a sick friend and her family. Made a sample cot sheet for a day care in New Mexico - they want 100 of them!! Went to enrichment planning meeting. Practiced chior number.

Thursday - Finished up the other 30 school bags, folded and boxed them all. Respite client arrived at 3 and stayed until 10pm. Refilled prescriptions - argued with workers comp and doctors office (very time consuming and frustrating.) Practiced chior number.

Friday - Made more chicken and wild rice soup and took it to another sick friend; continued working on file folder games; another hard day for respite client - picked him up at 9:00. Practiced chior number, gave John a haircut, met with respite case worker.

I need to get the file folder games orgainized and ready for the next meeting instead of doing them all my self - (sometimes that is the fastest way to get things done) and do the binding on one of the quilts we tied - maybe tomorrow.

Tonight we are off to the Stake Valentines Dinner - and John is taking me!!! Paul and Amanda are going with us - should be fun.

Socks and Scissors

2009-02-07T19:14:00.001-08:00

Last week when it was so busy around here, Merilee brought me two of my favorite things. She picked up 2 packages of socks and a cadbury egg for me just because. I love new socks, I ration them to use on days on know I will be on my feet all day; and cadbury eggs, YUM! What a sweetheart.

On our way home from Salt Lake we stopped in Billings to pick up some stuff from Nathan's and see if we could get Heather to laugh and squeal. Nathan had heard about Merilee's good deed; so not to be out done, he had a gift for me. He bought me 3 packages of socks and a whole box of whoppers!! What funnee kids. I love them all so much. I will have enough brand new socks to last me a couple of months, and you can bet I will think of those kids every time I put a new pair of sock on my feet (and every time I get on the scale too!)

So, with my new, cuddly socks on my nice warm feet, I got out another of my favorite things, SCISSORS. They are part of my Therapy. I will spend the evening with my feet up, in front of the TV, clipping this huge pile of bibs. Most of them need to be ready to send out when the check clears in a few days and the others will add to my stash of bibs ready to sell.

You can check out my bibs and other fun things I sell at my website

www.drycreekdesign.com

Superbowl and Time Out for Fun

2009-02-07T18:39:00.000-08:00

The week of the super bowl April and Steve and their family visited - John White came up from California for a few days. Merilee and Eric spent some time here to so we had a full house. On Sunday, Steve put on a fun super bowl party.

Yummy Food with Football Theme Super Bowl Watchers

John White made some new friends,
Seth and Brenna

I took some time to play with the kids - we learned to build log cabins from Lincoln Logs

And bounced a ball up and down the stairs until we couldn't laugh any more!

But kisses and snuggles are what I like best.

Brenna Brandon

Trip to VA Hospital in Salt Lake

2009-02-06T06:37:00.000-08:00

Wow, I just caught up on everyone's blogs. I haven't had access to a computer for 4 days and was having withdrawals, but all is well now.

We are at my mother's home in Idaho Falls, it is so good to get to visit with her. I put a link on her computer so she can read all your blogs, I hope she will do it once in a while. We got to see my brother Scott, he was nice enough to take me shopping. Tom Hamilton was in the hospital with some nasty rash so we had to visit him there. My brother Dan and his wife Pauline came over to mom's to visit and last night Ruth came. On the way home we stopped to see Kaycee in Bozeman and checked out his new house. It was sure nice to see everyone, don't have any pictures tho - left the camera on the charger at home.

The appointments at the VA went well but of course we won't have the results for any of the tests for at least a couple of weeks.

We had good roads and good weather up until now. Looks like it is snowing so we better get going.

My kind of day!

2009-01-23T13:47:00.000-08:00

I slept in this morning, clear until 8:30!! Then I rushed down to get my hair done - it was really looking bad. (yikes, don't know why I am posting these, I hate pictures of myself.)

Before

After
I stopped at Merilee's and she made an awesome chicken sandwich for me. She bought a box with a real oyster in it for me on her cruise. I opened the oyster and there was a little pearl to put the necklace that came with it - very cute! I love it, thanks Merilee. She also gave me a cute little doo-dad for my knick knack shelf. I bought Merilee and April these shelves once when they were little because I loved them so much. They weren't really all that interested in them, so I took them back. I put all the little things I have collected over the years in them - but there are still lots of empty spots, so if you go some place exotic you can buy me a little something to help fill them up!!!

When I got home there were 3 huge boxes of new towels to make in to bibs sitting in the kitchen!! I had an order for 60 bibs - so straight to the sewing room I went. I sewed for a couple hours, then back up to check website sales (I had 2 more sales) and of course check everyone's blogs. Then back to the sewing room to finish the bibs. I got all the sewing done, then sat and trimmed and folded them while I watched TV and ate popcorn!!

Sigh, my kind of day.

Quiet House

2009-01-21T11:18:00.000-08:00

Lexi and Brandon went home last night. It sure is quiet here this morning. They kept me hopping, seems like the only rest I got is when I would lay down with them to get them to nap!!

They are busy little kids so to keep them out of trouble I enlisted their help in almost everything I did. They helped unload the dishwasher, vacuumed, cooked, set and cleared the table, and of course picked up toys and clothes!!

I didn't make them slave the whole time - they played with Paul's old cowboys and Indians,

colored pictures and played outside when it wasn't too cold.

Brandons favorite pastime was being the Hulk -

and Lexi's was playing with her webkins. I was amazed at how fast she learned to play the little games and navigate from one activity to another in the program. It was fun to have them here - I am glad they didn't go too far away.
But......
I am ready for some THERAPY!! (sewing)lol

After Christmas Letter

2009-01-21T08:14:00.000-08:00

January 6, 2009

Greetings from the Funneefarm,

It is way too late to call this a Christmas letter – even a New Years Letter would be stretching it. I still wanted to write and tell everyone about how blessed we have been this past year and catch you up to date on the Zito happenings!!

John and I put our place up for sale but with the recent economic problems and the changes in our family, we are glad it has not sold. We were going to move to the Billings area where all of our kids (except Leonard) seemed to be congregating. When you see what our family is doing you will understand why we want to stay here. This place is a lot to take care of and we are not sure what to do about the paintball, but we love the peace and quiet. When we were looking for places to move, we couldn’t find any thing that came any where close to what we have and really don’t want to leave. I got a riding mower for the huge yard but that doesn’t help with the watering! So who knows what we will end up doing.

Leonard and his family are doing great. Leonard took a new job after 10 years working as a computer engineer for Intel. He took a service engineer position at Network Appliance or NetApp. They sell PC hardware. One of NetApp's biggest customers is Go Daddy, a web hosting company he is dedicated mostly to the Go Daddy account. Loree is still addicted to scrapbooking – if you need advice, ideas or supplies, talk to her. She is also the blogging queen – if you want to know something about their family, check out her blog. Kaitlyn (10) and Carly (7) are growing like weeds. They were both on the swim team this year and did really great – you should see all the blue ribbons they have. They came and spent the week before our family reunion with us – it was so fun to spend extra time with them. Blake (2) is all boy and seems to keep everyone hopping. Steve got out of the military last spring; he got a job with the Stillwater mine and moved his family to Laurel, Montana. We are not sure what the future of the mine will be, but for now, Steve still has a job. It was sure hard to see April and the kids go after having them live with us for almost 2 years. Sure is quiet around here. April is a stay at home mom right now – probably a good thing with 3 little ones. Seth is 4, Ashlyn will be 3 next month and Brenna will turn 2 in March. It was almost like she took MY kids when she moved because they had been here most their little lives! Seth loves being with his dad and has memorized the 5 house rules. It is so cute to hear him recite them. Ashlyn thinks she is a real live princess and has to be forced to wear “real” clothes. Brenna is just starting to talk and loves to have us hold her – I think she misses us as much as we miss her. When the kids aren’t keeping April totally occupied, she enjoys blogging and has gotten most of the family going on it too. They are after me to start a blog – maybe that will be my next new project.
Nathan and Johnathan are still working hard with their asphalt sealing company. It has more ups and downs than farming if you ask me. One day they are doing great and looking at their first million and the next they are hoping they don’t go broke and lose everything. John and I drove trucks a little for them last summer again – fun to be with them, but nerve wracking to be right in the middle of the roller coaster life they lead. I like hearing from them when the check is in their hand or a crisis has once again been successfully avoided much better.

Nathan's little family is really growing. Heather was born in September, what a happy little baby, she makes it thirteen grandchildren for us. Nathan works hard to keep Z&Z Seal Coating up and running. He is always busy bidding jobs, working with bankers and looking for ways to expand the business. Amber was baptized last spring and we are excited that they are working towards going to the temple. Amber finished up her Physicians Assistant Degree and passed the test – so she is now officially a PA and is looking for a job. Aden (4) loves to help his dad with all the equipment and is a wonderful big brother.

Kris took the final test for his CPA license last fall and passed!! He was really worried. But that is all behind him now. He has accepted a position with a company in Eugene, Oregon. They were here for Christmas and then left the day after to pack their home and move. Kris and Jennifer have wanted to make this change for a long time – they are so excited that it has happened. Jennifer will put her schooling on hold for at least a while but hopes to continue soon. Dominique (7) spent a week with me this summer, we had a lot of fun and now that she is so far away, I am glad I took the opportunity to have her here while I could. Tyler is growing so fast – he is the oldest of the batch of 3 year old grandkids and isn’t afraid to take the lead.

Johnathan is the advancement chairman for his Boy Scout troop – I think they use him for more than that quite often. He often calls for ideas on merit badge requirements and goes on campouts. He loves camping so he probably volunteers for that. He went on camping trips with Leonard last spring and Troy Jaques went with him at Thanksgiving. If you know Johnathan and his camping stories you know that they did well to survive! Anneke is the enrichment counselor in their ward and is doing great. We have fun sharing ideas since I have the same calling in our ward. Josie turned one in October. She is a little shy, but has the cutest smile with only 2 teeth – she is finally getting her top teeth so I suppose she will soon look more grown up.
Merilee completed the courses for her LPN license in December and is working at the local clinic/hospital/rest home. She loves the work and her face lights up when she tells you what she is learning. She has started the RN courses and should complete them this time next year. Eric took a job at the Stillwater mine, but he was one of the 1,100 people that got laid off. He was lucky enough to get his old job back at WyoBen (bentonite plant) here in Greybull. So they won’t be moving to Billings either. We are so lucky to have them close; Lexi (4) and Brandon (almost 3) keep us company and help keep us young. “Chubby arm hugs” are never far away.
Paul is living in Billings. He worked for Nathan and Johnathan last summer. It was fun to watch him work and see how many things he has learned to do. He drives those big old trucks, runs the equipment, blows out the cracks and fills them and some times runs the whole crew. I worked with him on a couple jobs and he works hard and fast. We don’t get to see him much now that summer is over – he has a new girlfriend and is pretty smitten with her so that keeps him occupied. Paul did bring Amanda home for Christmas tho and was fun to get to know her a little.
The kids bought John a really nice fly fishing pole and he has really enjoyed using it. He has gone on a couple of fishing trips and is getting pretty good at it. He also bought a truck that really runs and is not such a gas hog – first time he has ever had a nice truck. He loves having the grandkids over and scaring them to death with scary movies. When he has had enough of them crawling all over him, he simply chases them out and locks the door! I am still busy, busy, busy with respite, crafts, paintball, R.S. calling and grandkids. I know I should give up some of it, but I love every thing it is hard to choose. All in all, it has been a wonderful year for our family. Seems like there is seldom a dull moment and if there is you can bet it won’t last long. We have been blessed with closeness in our family that you don’t often see. All of our children get along very well with each other and are always ready when someone needs a helping hand. It was such a joy to have all of them home last spring for a family reunion. There were 27 of us all under one roof! We still call our place the Funneefarm although the craziness does subside a little bit occasionally.

We love and miss you all,

Welcome to the funneefarm!

2009-01-16T15:50:00.000-08:00

I was telling April (my daughter) about last Sunday. She laughed so hard - gasping she said, "Mom, you have to start a blog!" I haven't done it before cuz I just didn't know where to start. Here goes!

First a little background. Merilee and Eric are gone on a cruise and I have the grandkids for 11 days! (Lexi is 4 and Brandon just turned 3 on Sunday) We made it through the first few days and even Sunday morning was a breeze since our meetings were changed to the 11:00 schedule. We didn't get home and have lunch over until 3 so I decided the kids would not get naps and would go to bed good and early for Pappy while I went to my stake meeting. I laid out their pj's and toothbrushes and went on my way. I arrived home all inspired and uplifted about 9:30 or so only to be met in the kitchen by pappy who grabbed me tight, his shoulders shaking, I wasn't sure if he was laughing or crying! (maybe a little of both!!!) He said he had just gotten the kids in bed and was laying down with them when Lance Anderson and his girlfriend showed up at the door.

The dogs went crazy, the kids were up - Lance took them to the basement to play and some how Brandon hurt his wrist. Lance left - kids were headed back to bed but Brandon wanted his wrist wrapped up so pappy took a long strip of cloth from the sewing room and bandaged him up good. They were just laying down again when Lance was back at the door - he was stuck on the hill!

The dogs went crazy, the kids were up - Pappy loaded the kids in the truck and spent an hour or so getting him unstuck. By then he was hurting - the kids were way too tired to settle down and I walked in. I promptly put pappy to bed - scolded the kids who then laid down and were zonked in less than 3 minutes. Needless to say - on Tuesday I took the kids with me to enrichment meeting with strict instructions for John to not answer the door or phone.

This is just a little glimpse - but our entire lives have been and probably always will be just like this!

Note - Brandon's wrist was fine - I loaded him up to take him to the doctor the next morning - as I put his coat on, I felt it pop - he howled - apparently it was out of the socket but I popped it back in. whew!!