How Can My Baby Sister Be 50?????

Linda's 50th birthday party was yesterday. She invited friends and family to help celebrate. The party was held at an RV park in Pahrump. We didn't stay overnight, but we opted instead to go for the actual dinner and party Saturday night. It was lots of fun. Amy made a game based on facts from 1960 which is the year when Linda was born. Jennie made a funny black hat. Allison made a memory book and picture wall, and Leslie made a yummy cake for dessert. The park had a swimming pool plus an area for boating. Cali enjoyed the playground and all the Sutton cousins. My big question is if Linda is 50 and she's younger than me, where does that put me on the time line??? Ugh, I think I'm on the other side of the hill now!!!!! Oh, I don't know, maybe the new 60 is the old 40......

Some of My Greatest Blessings Call Me Grandma GG

Above are pics of Cali and Ashton with the Easter bunny and Jace all decked out with his new Easter suit. I don't have Easter pics of Kyra, Skye, and Dane since I wasn't in Missouri this year for Easter. I think being "older" comes with some perks. I like watching my grandchildren grow, and I love to hear them call me Grandma GG. It's just too cute! When the kids want to tease me, they call me Grandma Gayle. I HATE, HATE, HATE that name. The only thing worse would be Grandma Galler. That basically makes me feel like I'm as old as the hills! Why couldn't my first name have been Susan?????

An Early Easter in Oregon

Last Sunday we went to church with Julie and Sheldon. It was Fast Sunday just like in Las Vegas because of general conference being held on Easter weekend. Sheldon gave the Sunday School lesson in the Gospel Doctrine class. It was nice to sit back and watch and listen while someone else taught class for a change. I went to Young Women's with Julie. She's the president. Each of the adults gave a part of the Easter lesson. Julie had assigned each of her leaders a part of the Savior's life to talk about. They went from birth to the atonement. It was a very spiritual meeting, and I thoroughly enjoyed reviewing in my mind the events of Christ's life. It really was a summary as you would imagine. Julie ended the lesson with a four-minute segment from a church DVD. After church we headed home for Sunday dinner and a family Easter party. It reminded me of days gone by when my four girls were little. It's nice to see family traditions continuing on into the next generation.

Finally We Meet Roselle in Oregon!

Richard and Roselle drove down from Seattle and met us Monday night in Seaside, Oregon which is on the coast. The next day we did some sightseeing. En route back to Forest Grove which is where Julie and Sheldon live, we stopped at Tillamook Cheese Factory for lunch and a tour of the plant. On Wednesday we drove into Portland and hiked through a huge wooded forest called Hoyt Arboretum. We enjoyed a picnic lunch, and then drove a short distance further into Washington Park to see the famous Rose Garden. We couldn't resist taking a few pics of Rose by the Rose Garden signs. Then Rich and Rose had to be on their way back to Seattle. Although it was a short few days with them, we were really excited to finally meet Richard's new wife.

Silver Falls State Park

If you ever get to Oregon, you won't want to miss Silver Falls State Park. It is 15 miles from Salem which is the capital of Oregon. The park is incredibly beautiful. This is the second time we've gone, and both times I think it is amazingly beautiful. After awhile, it's hard to remember which waterfall you're looking at when you see all the pics. There are 10 falls in all, and each waterfall is powerful and dynamic. When hiking the 8.7 mile trail, I would swear I'm in a rain forest from one end to the other!

Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival

Steve and I just returned from a one-week vacation in Oregon this evening. We had an absolutely fabulous spring break with Julie, Sheldon, and Jace. Thursday we drove to Woodburn, Oregon which is very close to Portland. We went to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival. There were acres and acres of beautiful tulips. Even though it was cold, damp, and rainy every day in Oregon while we were there, we bundled up and enjoyed tromping around the tulips posing for picture after picture. We stayed in a hotel in Silverton after the tulip festival and an afternoon of shopping at a nearby outlet center. What a gorgeous state! I'm really going to miss vacationing in Oregon after Julie and Sheldon move.

Look Who's in My Tree

When I came home from church on Sunday, I was surprised to see Natalie's car parked in front of the house. I quickly observed Cali sitting quite comfortably perched on one of the limbs of our plum tree. I've never seen anyone climb that tree let alone Cali! It was so cute, and she was so proud of herself. She even tied red ribbons on some of the limbs. How fun to have such a sweet granddaughter who didn't let Sunday attire stop her from acting like a monkey!!!

A Quick Trip to Missouri

Over President's Day weekend Steve and I flew into St. Louis so we could spend a few days with Melanie, Heather, and her family. We had a great time. It was sooooooo cold. Temperatures were in the 20's, but we had lots of fun building snowmen and having a snowball fight. We spent time shopping for Kyra's birthday presents at our favorite store, "Kohl's." We went to church, and I was once again shocked at how many women go to Relief Society in Heather's ward. I think there were at least 50 sisters in attendance. We don't have anything close to that in our little ward here in Vegas. Heather planned a fun Valentine's Day dinner and party. I also got to see where Melanie works in Jeff City. Tuesday morning everything fun came to a screeching halt because Heather had her tonsils removed. The surgery went well and finally Heather's frequent episodes of strep will soon be a distant memory. It's been a long ten years; they should have come out much sooner. Now, she just needs six weeks to recover. Ugh!

Saturday Night on the Tracks

Friday night Natalie invited us to the Las Vegas Mini Gran Prix located on Rainbow near their house. Cali had fun riding a few rides; and as you can see from the video, I enjoyed racing with Steve. Although I got a better time with each lap; unfortunately, I never did beat his time. I guess I'm just not brave enough to punch it on the gas even around those corners!