Hmm...Which to choose?

I am working on Christmas calendars this week. I try to assemble some fun family photos taken in the past year and turn them into a colorful calendar to distribute to each of our nine children. It's a fun tradition as they have a different photo of a family member hanging on the wall all year round. The tough part is choosing the photos. What do you think? Should I use any of these?






Anyone who knows Whit and Ty knows
these photos need no explanation!

Shakespeare was so right!

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath


It is twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.

Yes we are twice blest.

Two new grandchildren in November.

Kate and Jason welcomed Wyatt and

Dirk and Emily welcomed Campbell.

Both moms and babies faced some difficulties getting here, but they are doing well now.

Shoot, Steal and Rebound

Everyday at 3:45, Nelson rings my doorbell for some Hooked on Phonics drills. (How many ten year olds, voluntarily give up their play time to learn how to read in a new language?) No one makes him come. He just has an innate desire to achieve. After 45 minutes of word drills, we go out to the gym for another kind of drill. I figure any ten year old needs a basketball vocabulary just as much as the "I can chat, I can chop" stuff. So far we have practiced shots, steals, passes, dribbling and rebounds. He literally giggles when we play "steal the ball" from each other. We usually end up with a game of HORSE. He is actually a pretty darn good shot. We then go inside and write and then read a story about our games. Who knows? You could be looking at the first NBA player from Birundi. Fun times!

A dog's window on the world

Pretty cute story. Patches is an Australian Shepherd who lives next door to Emily's parents. They have a long-time relationship with Patches. Every day, when they returned home, they slipped a dog biscuit treat through the picket fence to Patches. In return, Patches offered them adoring friendship as only a dog can do and even barked once in awhile to warn them of possible intruders in the neighborhood. Boy, did they have the best of both worlds. Man's best friend for the small price of a bag of dog biscuits. (And no doggie doo doo clean-up duty.) Problem: the fence blew down and the neighbors put up a new one...except this one wasn't picket. Emily's parents missed Patches so much, they convinced the neighbors to build a window in the fence, so the doggie friendhip could continue. Now Chance is the one reaching through the fence with a dog biscuit.

"Kakee"

Just returned home from a Houston flyby to visit Chance, Dirk and Emily. New words are rolling off Chance's tongue everyday and this weekend it was Kakee. (All the grandkids call me Grandma Kathy and this is Chance's version.) It is so so fun when a little, almost two-year old decides that you are important in his life and gives you hugs and calls you "Kakee".

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

If you know me, you know I love to dress up. Halloween is such a fun holiday. There is little stress involved (as opposed to Thanksgiving and Christmas.) The traditions are not as steep; it doesn't have to be perfection. It also works that we have a pretty well-stocked costume closet. We just save stuff. Cheerleading outfits from Oly High, Football jersey, graduation gowns--just stuff. Sometimes we even buy something that we might need someday for Halloween. That's how I got the ruby slippers. I've owned them for a dozen years but never worn them. And years ago I bought a blue checked jumper from Talbot's but always felt like the farmer's daughter when I wore it, so it ended up in the costume closet. But this year, those items emerged from the closet and I became Dorothy. The trick or treaters love it when adults dress up. I could hear them through the front door..."Oh look, she's Dorothy." One asked me, "Where's Toto?" And of course, he was right there in his basket.
I'm not the only one in the family that loves Halloween. Believe it or not, Nacho Libre is a big favorite with Whit and Ty. And Hugh always finds a way to scare the bajeezus out of the neighborhood kids. Of course, Dorothy did need a wizard to get back to Kansas.

Scare Crow Festival

Salt Lake City has the annual Christmas tree festival, Portland has the Rose Festival, even Nebraska is likely to have a Corn Festival, but Mahone, Nova Scotia celebrates Scare Crows. Check out the photos we took last week while cruising New England and Canada. Watch for Alice in Wonderland and note the scare crows representing the presidential candidates.





The last photo shows a picturesque little town chosen as a UNESCO site. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This town, Lunenberg, also in Nova Scotia, is the best surviving example of a planned British colonial settlement in North America.

Ta da da da da da Drum Roll Please

Jeneseri for President! (Of the Olympus Junior High Eighth Grade) I am proud to announce the inauguration of the new president of the 8th grade. Something tells me, Jeneseri has figured out how to get along in his new country. He decided to sign up for the election, found a friend to help him with posters, (whose father happens to own an Alphagraphics) and went out there and won the election. McCain and Obama -- eat your hearts out.
And, while he was in the mood for signing up for stuff, he decided to try out for the track team. Turns out, he is a pretty good runner. Yesterday at the track meet, he took 11th overall in the district cross country event. Congratulations Jeneseri.

Married to a Workaholic? There are some benefits...

I did a Phoenix flyby this week. Arrived Wednesday, home Saturday. Had lots of fun with the grandkids -- tennis, biking and of course the pancake breakfast. (Danny calls me the pancake grandma.) Also, helped Kate pick out a stroller for Jr. Winsor. And what did Hugh do while I was gone? Well aside from the usual pastime of stamping out pain and suffering at the hospital, he mowed, edged and trimmed the yard, cleaned the garage, delivered Stuff to the DI, bought groceries at Costco AND defrosted and cleaned the freezer AND organized the food storage room. Whew! I bet it wears you all out just thinking about being married to this man. All I can say is, I am darn lucky!

Food Storage Room -- Spotless!!

Picture three inches of Frost on these shelves

And the award goes to...

Tonight, I shared a Family Home Evening (FHE) with Ty and Tiffany's family. Ty played the guitar while the children sang and danced. We learned about how special it is that we are all children of God and how much Heavenly Father loves each one of us. At the end, FHE awards were presented. These awards consisted of especially creative and individualized certificates for each child. Davis received the Bravery award for his courage in getting stitches in his scalp (on top of the kitchen table.) Ella received the Sharing award as she was cited for sharing her chicken nuggets without even being coerced. Jackson received the Intiative award for doing something for someone else without being asked. (He provided Ella with dipping sauce.) I found out later the most prestigious award ever is the HUP award. It isn't given every week, just on very special occasion to a very deserving person. What does HUP stand for you ask? Honesty Under Pressure. Indeed, a high honor. Think about introducing this important award at your FHE.

My Three Sons...Looking Back

Most of the blogs I frequent are written by young moms with small children. I am reminded daily of "back in the day" when I was raising kids with all the fun, effort and joy accompanying each day. Check out my three stair steps. Exactly two years apart. All three born in the same week in September. Now all three practicing their own brand of medicine. Yes, young mothers, eventually they will grow up and move away and raise their own families. Love them now. Teach them now. In no time, you'll be looking back.

Add this exercise to your daily

Chillin' in the Hot Tub

New vocab word today. Hot Tub. As today's high was in the 60s for the first time in three months, it seemed like a good day to open up the hot tub. The Bashire children were quite grateful for a place to warm up after their time in the swimming pool. I reminded them that the hot tub is for soaking and relaxing and they remembered most of the time. I asked them to pose so as to show off their muscles.

All Summer Long

All summer long I have coaxed Jeneseri to jump off the diving board. Usually a pretty outgoing and fearless kid, he absolutely refused to do it. He was really afraid of dying. I always promised to save him if he did, but he still wouldn't do it. But TODAY, he did it! Of course, I had to get Hugh to stand in readiness to rescue him, so that I could take the photo, but he DID it. I am so proud. He has gone from not swimming a stroke, to jumping off the diving board and swimming the length of the pool in less than sixty days, with really nothing more than encouragement and very simple swimming "lessons" from me. After the first jump, he immediately climbed back on the diving board for a "dive" into the pool. It is amazing what kids can learn just by watching TV (see the Olympics post two weeks ago.)

See You Later Alligator, After A While Crocodile

I'm not sure if alligators in the water are a big problem in Birundi, all I know is Stela isn't taking any chances. Even though she has splashed in our swimming pool a good part of the summer, she often straps on not one, but three life jackets (just in case.) After she has them securely fastened she will dive in and boy, let me tell you, she is buoyant! She pops up out of the water, barely getting wet. The cutest scene of all is when this little seven year old, three deep in life preservers, acts as the chief lifeguard for her three-year old sister, Aline. She is continually watching to make sure Aline doesn't float too far away from the stairs. Aline, surprisingly, is content with just one life jacket. But then she has Stela to keep her safe.

All I want for Christmas is my....

Meet Scotty David Edwards. Scotty is the roughest, toughest grandson ever. Take his teeth for instance. Yes, he has lost a few as most kids do. But Scotty never lets his baby teeth get sorta loose and then by wigglin' and wigglin' for a week or so, the tooth eventually, hanging by a thread, falls out or is gently nudged by dad or mom. NO! Scotty's teeth only and always leave his mouth with a modicum of violence when his mouth collides with one or the other of his siblings' heads. In addition to this rough and tumble individuality, Scotty is also a lot of fun. When he visits, we play basketball and tennis in the gym. He is highly motivated in tennis right now because Grandma can still "smoke" him, and he does so want to win. I am very much aware that my prowess will be short-lived as this grandson is no stranger to extreme competition. Grandma loves you, Scotty.

First Ever Birundian Olympic Swim Team

Invited my African friends over for a swim. We invite them over several times per week to cool off in the pool. They usually beg for life jackets and goggles. I strap the life jackets on the 3 and 6 year old, but encourage the others to practice actual swimming. It wasn't until the Olympics started that they really got interested in swimming. Now, Jeneseri (12) and Nelson (8) swim all over the pool. Friday, we learned the backstroke and the butterfly. They also now love to practice trick "dives" just like in the Olympics. Check out the action

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What to do on a hot day in Phoenix?

We visited the ten grandchildren in Phoenix last week and found ourselves with a very hot afternoon with nothing to do. Big surprise in Arizona! FYI for moms or grandmothers in the same situation. Rush right over to Sam's Club and buy the paper airplane book. Contained therein are specialty papers with the fold lines imprinted and there are detailed directions to go with. We folded and practiced piloting and then we had the Olympics of Paper Airplanes. What fun we had gliding and crash bombing them across the room and down the hall. We even had an around the "world" event. Congratulations to EJ, Jackson, Davis and Brooke. Perhaps we have some future pilots aboard.

Mirror Mirror on the wall

We have another three year old in the family. Ella just celebrated her birthday on August 15th. Move over ToysRUs as we have found the Costume Closet a great place to shop for birthday presents. All of our grandkids love to dress up and Ella is no exception. She even had a Sleeping Beauty castle cake for her birthday party. (See link to Ty and Tiff's blog.) Doesn't she look so sweet in her Snow White regalia? Happy Birthday Ella!

Like Father like son

Those of you who know Devin well, know that he is a gigantic food afficionado. He is known for his very enthusiastic MMMMMMMmmmmm when he is served (practically any kind of) food. And so the perfect toy for Baby Hugh is our container of (fake) food. As he is Devin's offspring, he gobbles down most anything and even gives it the MMMMMmmmm approval rating.

Snowbird in Summer

Whit and Laura plus the four kids visited last month. We spent an evening in the canyon, riding the tram at Snowbird and loving the beauty of our Utah mountains. We saw a number of deer as we rode the tram. Our time at the summit was cut short as a thunderstorm was rolling in. You do not want to be on an 11,000 foot peak when lightning is afoot. Note little Ty is now on solid foods. He thinks Papa Hugh's backpack is especially tasty. Whit, of course, has summitted much higher peaks. His climb in Africa of Mount Kilimanjaro was a 19,000 foot "hike." Whit will also climb Mount Owens (Grand Tetons) on Labor Day weekend. He has a group of friends from all over the country that climb with him each September. Whit and Laura have moved an incredible 12 times in 12 years of marriage so they have friends everywhere.

Oh me oh my! I started scrapbooking!

Yes, I did it. I started scrapbooking digitally. It is pretty fun and so easy. About 8 years ago, I thought I would be such a great grandma and make some scrapbook pages for my grandkids. Well, we all know how that turned out. The first four grandkids got a couple of pages just because Kate needed a summer job and helped me out. The other 12 grandkids, zilch! Just recently, Becca got into the memory maker stuff and also taught me a few of her tricks. I found it fun to place a grandchild on your lap and let him help you create the page. The photo posted here is an example. Davis picked his own photos, paper, font and mat. Well, okay, I added a few things too. I think it looks out of the galaxy cute.

Jedi in a Bathrobe

I can't for the life of me figure out where they get it, but Whit and Ty got all costumed up and staged a Jedi Training at Davis' 5th birthday party. (If you've been to Disneyland lately, you know the drill.) Check out the cute little Jedi trainees. Yes, they are my grandchildren.

Ever Caught a Fish with Your Bare Hands?

You've met Jeneseri before. My 13 year old friend from Africa. He is in our local scout troop and is the smallest scout by at least a foot. Jeneseri went backpacking with the scouts last week. He loved it. The Scoutmaster said he was like a mountain goat carrying his giant pack up the mountain with no problems. Apparently he loves trout. He ate 3 for dinner the first day and 8 for lunch the next day. He didn't want anyone to throw the fish back because he wanted to eat them all. One of the biggest fish caught was by Jeneseri but unfortunately he had to put it back because he caught it with his bare hands.