New York with Gwen

My honey is home and has been for 8 days. He is very glad that the snow and freezing weather waited to come to New York city until he left. He has been talking regularly to Yasir and Gwen since he got back and there is steady baby steps of improvement everyday. Gwen does remember that he was there but not exactly when or how long he stayed. I thought I would show you some of the pictures he took while he visited. In this picture they are sitting on the couch where Richard slept every night. The papers on the wall behind them tell Gwen about her surgery and has a calendar up there too so she can see how time is passing.

Here her friends have come over and are fixing Quesidillas (sp?) Richard said they were very good!!


They had some crazy "Shower Caps", so Gwen's friend Dawn, Gwen, and her Dad were clowning around with them. I guess that's the only way a shower cap would be worn these days :0)

Here you see Gwen with her Dad on the roof of Yasir's apartment building with New York skyline in the background. It was very cold but a clear and beautiful day.

Gwen is supposed to take at least a 30 minute brisk walk every day so they all walked down by the East River which is just a few blocks from Yasir's apartment. Pretty spectacular scenery surrounding those wonderful people. Notice the skater in the one with Gwen and Yasir. A very common sight in New York.

Lonely in Santa Rosa but busy too!

Well, Richard has been gone since Tuesday morning and he took my camera with him to record his adventure for Gwen as well as us. I will post pictures when he gets home which will be Monday night...Hurray!!! I miss him terribly.

Last weekend was the Nativity Exhibit and we sang in the choir. Dan Earl was very, very pleased with our performance. He said it was the best, most prepared choir he has directed. We were happy to have pleased him and the audience. Here are a few pictures from the exhibit.

This is what people see in the exit foyer as they are leaving.

This is a brand new nativity from Ecuador. I loved it!

This a my all time favorite nativity that has been shown many years. It was purchased on ebay and was made in Italy. To me it shows most realistically what it might have been like the night of the Savior's birth.

This is a close up of the cave and the Holy Family.

Tuesday I got home from the airport and went to the church to "take down" the exhibit and get our nativities. I brought it all home and then began decorating our house for Christmas. I worked for 9 hours and got a lot done.

Wednesday I did some more decorating before work and then after work I put the finishing touches on it in preparation for my part in the ward party on Saturday.

Thursday I drove out to Sacramento to be with Noelle, John, and the grandchildren. What a great day that was. I sat for Jenna and Isaiah while Noelle went Christmas shopping. That was a grandma's delight!! Then we walked to school and picked up the other 3 and walked home. There are few words as sweet to my ears as "GRANDMAAAAA!!!" There was snack time, homework time, dinner time and then bed time. Wow, what a busy household. Good job Philpott family. That night John and I went to a very special Zrii business meeting and I was really glad we took that opportunity. (Thank you, Noelle for sacrificing John to let him go with me. You will be glad he did. :o) I spent the night, thank you Abby for giving up your bed, and then left Friday to come home and go to work.

Friday night, Chris and Em invited me to their ward Christmas dinner and party after work so I went there and really enjoyed that. Then I went to their apartment to watch "Horton Hears a Who". What a great movie. Very entertaining and the animation is fantastic! A fun evening.

Yesterday I finished the decorating, except for the Christmas tree which we don't have yet cause Richard and I will do that together next week. Then I cleaned house and set up for the group of friends coming here for the first course of a progressive dinner. We had a great time and then I went to the two other homes for the rest of the meal. It was a great ward party with way to many scrumptious desserts.

Today was church and then tonight is choir practice and then the Single adult Christmas potluck fireside and program at Pres. Wiseman's home. I don't know if you have been counting but I haven't had to fix but two dinners for myself the whole time my sweetheart has been gone. Like I mentioned, it's been a busy week.

November highs and lows!

November was much more than I bargained for and very busy as formerly noted. As the Philpott family likes to do, we had some real highs and lows this month so that is how this blog will go. Fortunately most of them are Highs!!

The Election was a high because it's finally over and things are changing, some for the better and others for the worse but they are changing and we have to live with the results no matter if they please us or not.

One "high" was a big wedding floral contract that was a lot of work but with many gorgeous flowers. I loved the colors the bride chose (Dusty rose, burgundy, and ivory) and the romantic feeling she wanted in the arrangements. It was truly a delight making her happy and being surrounded with all those flowers for three days while I worked with them. I was afraid that I would run out of flowers at one point but it turned out to be just right with a few to spare and the bride was very happy with the results...she said they were, "perfect". I also did the flowers on the cake that was made by my neighbor and good friend, Jan Dold. Here are some pictures of them, see what you think.


The Bride's bouquet.













The large church arrangement, there were two.








Another "high" was the Single Adult T-giving dinner and movie night we had at the institute on the 22nd. The food was great and the attendance was about 32 which is extremely good for a movie night. I think we always need to serve food if we want more people to come. Everyone enjoys a meal with friends, especially if your single. We ate and then watched the movie, "August Rush". If you haven't seen it, give it a try. It was our second time seeing it and we enjoyed it twice. Be sure and have some Kleenex ready at the end. Here's a picture of our feast and friends.

Then there was a huge "LOW" that has effected all of our family. Gwen (this picture of her and Yasir was taken fall of 2007) told us about her brain tumor that was growing rapidly between her brain and her skull causing the loss of her sight in one of her eyes and the need for speedy neurosurgery. Through the stress of finding a very good surgeon and getting it covered on her insurance, she finally had the surgery two days before Thanksgiving and everything went well for the 7 and a half hour procedure. Her sight has been restored (a high) and she came through the surgery really well (a high) but her short term memory is temporarily "out of order" and that is a" big LOW" and a tremendous concern for all of us who love her so much. They expect a full recovery but we have to have patience and wait! How grateful we are for such a big family on both sides, her wonderful loving Yasir, and so many amazing friends in New York. They have all gone the extra mile to help her in her trials. Thank you to her sisters who have gone out there and helped so much and of course her mom, Daisy for all you are doing to support and help your daughter. We thank all of you for pulling together and loving her and us. Richard is able to go out there this coming week to be with her and help in any way he can thanks to the generosity of our immediate family. Words cannot adequately express our gratitude for this marvelous gift of love and joining us with all your fasting and prayers in her behalf.

Thanksgiving brought us a big "HIGH" with the addition of one more grandchild in the Philpott family... sweet Isaiah (2 and a half) and the youngest brother of the other three new grandchildren. Because of his timely arrival, they canceled their planned trip to Utah and stayed here giving us the opportunity to go out there and be the grandparents fixing the feast they provided and playing with the children. It was a wonderful day full of activity!! We colored in coloring books (aah the smell of crayons), watched movies played charades (I was a turtle and Dad was Cinderella), played outside, and the two youngest girls, Emma and Jenna, each made me a beautiful bracelet. We were happy to be there and share in this fantastic day of gratitude. Our family has so much to be grateful for.

Another "High": starting back in October and through November in with all the other activities, Richard and I were also practicing with the Stake Nativity Choir with Dan Earl. As always it has been a thrill. The exhibit is this weekend starting yesterday and going through Monday. The Choir performances are tonight, Saturday, and two tomorrow. We love it and consider it a huge part of the Christmas season. The Spirit is there so strong there. I was working in the set up all this past week and it is beautiful with many new nativities and my personal favorites as well.

My final personal "high" to begin the season and to look my best for the holidays, I got a perm and a haircut Thursday as my hair was getting really straggly and hard to make it look as good as I like because my hair is thinning out and most of the curl was gone from my perm in June. I am grateful for the money from my wedding flowers to be able to do that. It feels much better and I've gotten very nice comments from friends and people at work.

Hope you enjoy the fun "hustle and bustle" preparing for Christmas. Just remember to keep the reason for the season in your heart and mind to bring you peace and happiness as you sing those beautiful/fun songs and wrap those gifts of love.

Busy, Busy BUSY!!

This is just a short note letting you all know that I look at your blogs daily and love you all. I haven't had time to do a good blog with pictures and all, for a month now. It is the Stake Nativity Festival time and I've been busy with that, working my longer hours and trying to get the Christmas/ Birthday shopping completed so that you will get the gifts in time. Then trying to figure out Dad's trip to NY and haveing wonderful holidays thrown into the mix...whew, just writing about it makes me feel tired!! So I have pictures and I will blog but probably not until Saturday, unless we go and get our tree that day and I start putting up decorations... I promise I will get to it in the next 3 days. Till then.....

The Election is over and there is Hope in America!

We support and pray for the new President elect, Obama, that he will be able to get this country back on track and back to being a strong country united together. He has a huge job ahead of him and needs all of our prayers.

Yesterday, Richard received an email from the wife of the brother in charge of the Prop. 8 campaign in the Shiloh Park ward. She gave a quote from a talk that was given in 1978 at a devotional by Neal A. Maxwell. Of course it had nothing specifically to do with Proposition 8 in this past election, however... his prophetic counsel is certainly appropriate in our standing strong and fighting for family values and the sanctity of marriage in this election. I take comfort in his counsel confirming that the Lord is always aware of us striving to forewarn and encourage us and He knows our present battles and at the same time tells us that the battles on many fronts are long from over. I hope that this will give us continued courage to face the challenges ahead. So here is the quote...


"Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions. President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had 'never hesitated to follow the counsel of the
Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional or political life.

This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ. . . Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted. . . . This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions. Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened.... Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel.

There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself. Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves, 'summer is nigh.' Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat."

Elder Neal A. Maxwell

I'm a Blue! As A Child

Congratulations you are a blue, 46.47% (AS A CHILD)

Blues (Motive: Intimacy)

Blues are motivated by Intimacy. They seek to genuinely connect with others, and need to be understood and appreciated. Everything they do is quality-based. They are loyal friends, employers, and employees. Whatever or whomever they commit to is their sole (and soul) focus. They love to serve and give of themselves freely in order to nurture others' lives.

Blues have distinct preferences and have the most controlling personality. Their personal code of ethics is remarkably strong and they expect others to live honest, committed lives as well. They enjoy sharing meaningful moments in conversation as well as paying close attention to special life events (e.g. birthdays and anniversaries). Blues are dependable, thoughtful, and analytical; but can also be self-righteous, worry-prone, and moody. They are "sainted pit-bulls" who never let go of something or someone once they are committed. When you deal with a BLUE, be sincere and make a genuine effort to understand and appreciate them.

Joy, your personality profile indicates that you have significant portions of other colors in your overall makeup that help shape your unique personality style.

When I have the time, I will take it as an Adult. Thanks for doing both Rachelle, I wondered how much validity was gained as an adult thinking of yourself as a child when you take it.

Happy Halloween to everyone!

Hope you are all having a fun Halloween tonight. The children we have had at our door are mainly the little kids and they are so adorable and they are all polite too. There have only been about 25 though. That's about the average for us these last few years. They all go to the mall or up to the "Sky Hawk" neighborhoods.

Well, I will do my TAG from Emily so here goes:

My 8 obsessions right now!

1. My Family (checking all their blogs daily!!)

2. Get through this election and all it entails!

3. Get out of Debt

4. Our Zrii business

5. The Nativity Exhibit

6. Be better organized

7. Get the Christmas presents I'm making done.

8. Waiting for "LOST" season 5

8 words or phrases that I use often...

1. "Oh My Goodness!"

2. "Oh My Stars!"

3. "How in the world...."

4. "Awesome."

5. "Good afternoon. Thank you for calling Santa Rosa Chiropractic Neurology Center. This is Joy. How can I help you."

6. "Fantastic"

7. I have a question for you

8. I love you.

8 Things I want to do before I die...

1. Go on a cruise.

2. See a Broadway Show on Broadway!

3. Get all my pictures organized and not get behind again

4. Finish the Books of Remembrance I have waiting

5. Serve at least one full time mission with my husband

6. Ride on an elephant or a camel

7. See a Koala Bear for real

8. Travel with my husband

8 Places I want to go...(only 8?? Drat!)

1. Australia

2. Hawaii (again)

3. Norway

4. New York City

5. Disney world etc.

6. Europe

7. Zion National Park

8. Yellow Stone National Park

8 things I want or need right now!

1. A perm

2. A Pedicure

3. a Treadmill

4. An invention that will keep Bermuda Grass from my yard permanently!

5. Enough money to be debt free so Richard can retire and we can do all of the things in the last two categories.

6. TIME to accomplish all I have to do

7. The ability to bring all my family home for Christmas!

8. A new car

8 people I tag...

1. Brook (double tag)

2. Rachelle (double tag)

3. Christy

(Okay let's get some guys in this)

4. George (I doubt he'll even see this but oh Well)

5. Jeff

6. John

7. David

8. Christopher

This was much harder than I thought it would be and I got help from my honey on the "words and phrases". I'm sure those who read this could have come up with them much faster than I did.

Busy, Unique Thursday

First things first... Happy, Happy Birthday, Michael!!! Hope your day is fantastic!!

Every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 8:45 this month (I only missed one when I had my Dr.s appt.) we have been having an exercise class at Church. There are about 12 -14 of us who come and Andria Pulu in our ward is our instructor. She is great!! She is young and really cute and in very good shape, but she is our friend so there really isn't any intimidation. I love the class. It actually started in Sept. but I went once that month and it was very aerobic and I didn't get there at the beginning so I was really struggling. This month she changed the format and we are doing our whole hour with our exercise balls, mats, and weights. I love it!! and I can really feel it. I have taught Dad some of the exercises we have been doing and will teach him more. We already had our exercise balls but the little booklet that comes in with them give you about 6 exercises to do with the ball and that is all. How boring. Now I have a whole hours worth and we can work out together which was the point of getting the two balls in the first place. We're going to get into shape yet!! i hope we keep doing it with the balls all next month. I know we will for at least next week from what Andria said this morning.

At work things are changing somewhat. One of the ladies who works there and has been with this office for about 25 years (she worked with Rob Jones before Blake took over when Rob moved to Utah) fell when she was walking last Friday and broke her elbow. Ouch!! She had surgery on Tuesday and will be out of the office for a while. Therefore, they have asked me to come in and work more hours. For how long remains to be seen. I will be going in at 12:30 PM Mon., Wed., and Fri. for now, starting tomorrow. I have to take a break during our lunch break so that I don't work more than 6 hours without one. So that will help our finances for now as I continue to work with Zrii to build our business.

Then I went into the office today... yep, I don't normally go in on Thurs.... but it was for a very different reason. Dr. Ambridge is having a commercial made to be shown on local TV and I was in it as part of the staff. I even had to sign a model's release with the film company who is making it. It was fun and really different. The two crew guys were very, very nice and made all of us feel really at ease. It was something I've never done before and I hope that I don't look really goofy or too ugly in it. You know we are our own worst critics but I'm kinda scared to really see it and see how I look on camera. It isn't very often I really like pictures of me and so we will see. Autographs anyone??? :o)

Yesterday before work, I went to the institute for their blood drive. I gave a pint of blood in 4 min. and 43 sec. They said I was the fastest one they had all day. I really "flow freely"!! Wouldn't Dracula love me!!!

Birthday and Thanksgiving weekend

What a great weekend we had with our California family. Dad and I were so excited to have the Philpott's here with us and show the newest grandchildren our home and the park across the street. Next time we will take a walk down the park corridor and show them the play equipment at the other end.

In this first picture, Abby climbed clear to the top of the "web" structure. She was high up and having a great time being there.

John decided to join her which took a little more effort than he probably thought it would. I don't think these structures were made with adults in mind but I must give him credit...he made it to the top. I know his new physical strength and slender frame was a plus in his accomplishment.














All of them had a great time on the swings, and slides and monkey bars as well. Dad and I loved pushing the younger ones on the swings and Noelle had the most fun of all sharing a swing with Jenna. Abby doesn't need pushing anymore; she's learned the art of pumping.

Our Thanksgiving dinner later in the day turned out great thanks to all the family contributions. I enjoyed making a special cake for the October Birthdays and the youngest kids were happy with my efforts as they hadn't seen a cake that Grandma made before. It was fun surprising them with Pocohontas and Jack from "The Nightmare Before Christmas". I was going to have them take the rest of it home with them but they had won a cake in a cake walk on Friday so they didn't need one. I took it to the woman's shelter on Monday cause Dad and I sure don't need a cake to finish eating.

Sunday night was the first rehearsal for the Nativity Choir. I know, hard to believe but it isn't very far away. We are doing some new music and a couple pieces we have done before. They aren't as hard to learn as last year so that is good. Dad and I will be singing in a small ensemble too this year. We are actually the only members of the Mann family to be in the choir this year. That seems very strange after having so many of us in the past. This way we'll have Mann's in the audience too!

Birthday Shout!!!!

HAPPY, HAPPY, BIRTHDAY, NOELLE

We love you!

My Turn!!

Okay, so I had to do it too. It is fun but sad to see that (considering my age) I've only done just a few more things than my very young daughters and some of theirs are really exciting. I guess you can tell that I haven't had the great opportunities in school programs that you girls did. Wait till Dad does it. With his time in the Army, there are quite a few of the travel things he has done. Of course I could add a few things I've done that are not on the list so I guess that would count for something.

49...Things I've done and Been to (Mine are in RED too )

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (in the process of )
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (whiffle Baseball:)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible ( Book of Mormon)
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating eewww...
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Some Birthdays, Stake Conference, Teeth, and family

It's Fall and that means time to watch the trees change into beautiful colors AND..

Get out the decorations and the "candy corn"!!!

Dad had a great birthday thanks to all your calls and cards (notice the Abbot and Costello "sound card" from the Halls. Bet you can guess what it says.) and gifts (so far, I know there is more to come at the end of this month) Thursday he went to work and someone had put up a "Happy Birthday" banner in his cubicle. He was surprised and figures it is his co-worker in his dept. Then the company has a banner on it's network inner office page telling everyone who's birthday it is so Dad got 19 emails wishing him a happy birthday. That was nice. That night, Chris and Emily came for dinner. Dad's birthday dinner choices were:
Meat Loaf, Cheesy potatoes, ceasar salad, Chocolate milk (Safeway good stuff) and then triple berry cobbler ("Clobber" as he calls it, and I made from scratch using the "Dunford" cook book, "thank you, Jean Dunford") with french vanilla ice cream.
After dinner and between his wonderful phone calls, we all watched "Iron Man" that Chris and Em brought over and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's much better than we thought it would be and we look forward to the sequel. A very enjoyable evening!!Saturday morning we went to Costco to purchase the food needed for the SA luncheon following Sunday session for Stk. Conf. Very busy on Saturday and why I normally don't go then but it was nice having Dad with me. We snacked off all the vendors giving samples...no need for lunch that day. Saturday night was the Adult session of conference which we all enjoy. The speakers were great including our own Single adult co-chair, Tim Dugan. He has a great sense of humor and a tender heart and gave a great talk about marriage and the church and the place of singles in it including how married families can make singles feel a part of everything. The whole topic of the evening was marriage. It was a delightful evening.

Sunday was Stake conference... sorry, no Prophet at our conference... however it was a great meeting. There was a young women's choir and many really good speakers. Following conference... as is the custom... we have a Single Adult potluck luncheon. The stake committee provided different kinds of soups and then the rest brought salads and desserts. There was plenty of soup and bread but the salads were in short supply. By the time Dad and I got to the food line, the salads were gone. However we had a really large group this time, about 40 people with only a couple of kids. They all seemed to have a good time.

Sunday evening we went to Jason Dearden's homecoming/open house. Hard to believe he has been gone 2 years and he's back. He had a great mission in the Dominican Republic. Some of his pictures looked like ones from John and Jeff's mission. When we got back home we had Chris and Jim Jones come over to give Dad a blessing for his dental surgery in the morning. Then I had one for my little health concern too. I love the Power of the Priesthood!

Dad's surgery lasted 3 hours as the tooth was old and brittle with the root being totally dead and decay under it. Dr. Wilson's intention was to take it out and do the first part of an implant. However the tooth was so brittle it kept breakiing apart so he had to go all the way down to get it all out and then do a bone graft so he could put in the pin for the implant. Now it has to heal before he can do that. Darn, it's tough when your teeth get old!! Dad thought he would have to take two days off work but even after the long surgery, he felt pretty good yesterday and went to work and stayed all day.

I had a Doctor's appt at Kaiser to check on some heart palpitations I'd been having recently. They did two EKG's and asked me all sorts of questions. Everything is normal. It's just something that hearts do and as long as there aren't any other symptoms happening that he asked me about it's nothing to worry about; just a bothersome event on occasion. When it happens I feel like those cartoon characters whose hearts beat so you can see them jump in their chests.

Last night we had Mark, Kathleen, Joshua, and Luccas over for dinner and the evening. What a wonderful visit it was. We enjoyed a good meal (even though Dad couldn't eat the stuff that needed more chewing) and fantastic company. Those little boys are adorable and so well behaved. We always enjoy their company. Hope you enjoy the pictures we took...

Before they went home, we took them upstairs and showed them all our families blogs. They loved seeing all of you and what has been going on in your lives. Kathleen said she needs to learn how to do this. I know we would all be happy to teach her. Maybe sometime soon I'll help her learn. Then they can join in with the rest of us.

To end this long blog we just want to say:
HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO RACHELLE MANN AND JENNA PHILPOTT!!!
We love you both and hope you each had a great birthday today.

What a great weekend!!

I haven't taken any pictures of anything lately so I guess there isn't any to post. We had a fantastic weekend with Chris and Emily here to watch General conference with us. What an outstanding conference it was. Powerful talks that are so timely. We "almost" had Mary Dahl, our neighbor, here for the Saturday afternoon session as the Sister Missionaries in our ward asked her over when they picked oranges for her, but she wasn't home when they called or went there to get her. The Sisters did watch it with us anyway. I guess none of that is new for all my former missionary children. I'm sure you've experienced this before. Chris went to Priesthood with Dad; and Emily and I enjoyed our time together just visiting.

Sunday afternoon, Kathy Payne came over to help us register (Dad already had) on the new Family Search program and then instruct us in how to use it. It is an amazing program but will take some time for it to come easily. We did find an ancestor in Gran's line that hasn't had any work done for her yet and so we printed out the temple ready form to take with us the next time we go to the temple. We also discovered that some of the work we did has been done more than once for some of Gran's family. It will be fun to see if they have been done through extraction or if we have other family members doing our line too. Emily's ward youth are going to the temple on the 25th of this month to do baptisms so we are going to try and get some more names before then, for them to do that work for us .

The fall weather here is gorgeous. It is mostly warm in the day but it takes longer to get there and then it cools down rapidly. The trees are changing into their beautiful colors as are the vineyards. Friday we had a really good rain, the first real long lasting rain in many months. The air smelled so fresh. I love the fall. I'll do some pictures in my next blog...

Busy Bees and my tag!

So, I was "tagged" by Brook and I've finally taken the pictures required to fulfill that "tag" so here they are in order as was shown. The only one I don't have is my dream vacation because I haven't been there yet so I don't have a picture on my computer of where I want to go and I tried to copy and paste one from the internet and I couldn't do it here. So I guess I'll just have to tell you in the appropriate spot instead of a picture. It was a cool picture too... ENJOY!

Our refrigerator ... outside &

Inside!

Our Downstairs toilet.

Our closet!

My Kitchen sink

My favorite Room for obvious reasons!

My Laundry room

Okay... so my dream vacation is to NORWAY and seeing the country and fiords as well at the northern lights in the "Land of the Midnight Sun."

Our Kids "plus" (not the best quality in this format but the best I could do.)

My Favorite Shoes


Self Portrait, with a "little" help

I love to read blogs and that takes much less time than writing them. As you can see, I've jumped on the bandwagon with a new layout...thanks again my lovely daughters.

The past week has been a normal busy week with work at my three jobs...Joyous Occasions, SRSNC receptionist, and Zrii. All have been good experiences and tasks completed as well as can be. Dad has been doing his High counsel stuff and spoke in Bennett Valley ward last week. Great talk on "Follow the Prophet." Dad and I walked for "Yes" on Prop 8 again this morning and the responses of the 16 people out of the 72 townhouses we went to was about even. It gives us a small feeling for what missionaries go through every day and makes us love a appreciate their work just that much more. Go Army of the Lord!!!

Nothing really new to report from Santa Rosa. Just keep on blogging family. We love to read your adventures and see those pictures. Carter is plumping up nicely. I teach Primary again tomorrow and it is our ward's primary program so I get to sit with the kids. That will be fun. I'm looking forward to that. I also have a meeting tomorrow night with the Stake Nativity Committee. I'm a counselor in the presidency and it is that time of year to get it planned and implemented. The Theme this year is "Oh Come Let Us Adore Him". Dad and I (and hopefully the other two Manns in our family in Santa Rosa) will be in the Choir lead by Dan Earl again too. That is one of our favorite things to do every year.

It's a beautiful fall already. Weather really cool in the night and morning but quite warm to hot during the day. Love those fall colors and sunsets.

One Day that seemed like 3!

This past week was pretty normal as weeks go. I worked at the Chiorpractic office and enjoyed it as ususal. We have great patients. We had empty nesters on Monday and Dad and I were incharge of the activity. We had an old fashioned "spelling Bee". It was a hoot... everyone seemed to have a good time.

Then came Saturday...We got up early, 6:30 am, for a Saturday without a wedding, and at 8:30 am met a group of about 12 others from our ward to be trained and receive materials to walk the precincts for YES on Proposition 8. It was a scary but rewarding experience in the long run and only the first time of several that we will be doing this. One man rudely made a comment and slammed the door in our face. Others were adamant about their NO vote but were polite. We did get a few possitive responses and even two that would put a sign on their lawn. So those mixed in with the others gave us the courage to keep going. We were done about 11:30 and went on to the next phase of the day.

We had a meeting for our Zrii business here at the house where I did the presentation for the first time in front of a group. I was nervous but excited too becasue I have such a strong belief in the product and the business. It was a good meeting and Richard said I did a really good job. It's a good thing that I have enthusiasm and belief because that hid my nervousness. I look forward to the next meeting.

The final phase was our best because it was our monthly family dinner in Fairfield. We were all there (at least as many of us that are left in California) and we each packed a picnic supper and met at the Allan Witt park on West Texas in Fairfield. We sat in the sun on a grassy hill by the play equipment and had a great time eating, talking, laughing, and watching the Philpott kids play on the equipment. Then the sun sank into the hills and the wind picked up and we knew we had to leave because it got very cold, very, very fast. To think that it was 100 degrees a week ago is amazing. We had a safe trip home with Chris and Emily and we looked at and talked about the stars cause Chris knows a lot about them now. We couldn't see as much as we would have liked because it was a full moon. They went home and we watched "Juno", the movie and ate popcorn. It was pretty good for the most part but not one we would watch again. On to our monthly Singles activities tonight and then a new week to see what it brings.

Weddings and a little trip!

This past week has been really long, and eventful, and HOT!! I had one wedding on Saturday the 30th of August out at the Jack London Lodge in Glen Ellen. It was the wedding of Steve Hall and his girlfriend of 5 years, April. Steve is one of the sons of Dave and Pat Hall. I did their cake and flowers. The site was familiar from a wedding I did a couple of years ago and the weather was hot but it all turned out well in the end. It was a lovely ceremony and reception. Bishop Jim Beyers did the ceremony.

Sunday I came home following Sacrament meeting, packed my clothes, kissed my husband goodbye, and headed out of town. I drove 6 and a half hours stopping only once for gas in Redding and ended up in Grants Pass Oregon to visit and help my Mom and Dad. The drive was uneventful except for the much appreciated and anticipated phone calls on my bluetooth every two hours from my sweetie, but the scenery was beautiful and the weather was delightful when I got there; cooler than at home. I was surprised. Mom and Dad are doing well. We had a great visit on Sunday and I showed them all our family blogs and signed them up with an account so that they can read all the blogs and make comments, if they want to.

Monday, Labor day, I spent the day training my parents in our new Zrii business adventure. We are partners and I brought a lot of listening and viewing things to share with them. We had a great time learning together. That night a couple in their ward came over to learn about Zrii the product and the business opportunity. They were very impressed with all we shared with them and took home some additional information to look over. The next day as I was leaving for home they came over and purchased a case (4 bottles) of Zrii anxious to feel the difference the beverage can make in their lives. It's done amazing things for my parents. We are all very excited about this product and the business too. We will have a great time working together.

Tuesday we spent the morning going over a few other things and watching a Zrii DVD together. I left Grants Pass around 2:20 PM and was home about 8:30. I made good time. Another easy trip. Here are a few pictures from my trip home. I took 2 of them through the car window while driving...Mount Shasta with a tiny bit of snow. I've never seen her so brown!A rest stop in the Shasta National Forest. Too pretty to resist stopping.
Lake Shasta at a very low level. Water should be where the trees are!

I was called in to work on Thursday morning for about 5 hours because Marie, the other receptionist was ill. I normally don't work Thurs. at all. It threw my flower delivery off by a few hours but it was too hot to do much with them. I just needed to get them in the frig. Friday was 102 in Santa Rosa when I got home I had to decide what I was going to do. I would normally do the flowers but the Oasis would dry out in the heat so I decided to do the cake and put it in the frig. I finished at 1:15 AM and then got up at 5:30 AM to do the flowers. Saturday was another hot day (100) and the wedding was outside again so no air conditioning. Dad and I delivered everything to the Bridal Path by 2:00 PM and prayed for the best. Sunday, when the mom of the bride brought back the stuff from the cake set up and the vases the flowers were in she said that everything held together fine and they all loved the cake and the flowers. I am so grateful for that. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

What a Vacation!!!

Well, Richard and I are back from our fabulous vacation in Utah. We love those majestic mountains and being able to spend time with our Utah kids and seeing their new homes. We drove out early Thursday the 14th and arrived about 7:30 PM at Dave and Brooks cute new 2 bdrm apartment. We had dinner there and were joined by Jeff and Rachelle. It was a lovely evening. We spent the night with them...Thank you Carter for letting Grandma and Papa sleep in your room...and then left early for the first of two days of the Zrii "Rising Star Academy" business training seminar. It was fantastic and so enlightening. We are very excited about this new business adventure we have started. It is the best thing to come along in our lifetime and will allow us to fulfill our dreams and help others along the way. Friday evening we had dinner at B & D's with J & R and enjoyed the evening together. We then moved into the guest bedroom of Jeff and Rachelle's new home just 5 minutes away. It is a 2 bdrm condo that is really nice too. Both families have just moved in so we were there to see the putting up of pictures and the arranging of belongings. What a process when you are just getting ready to start college!! I admire all both couples have accomplished in such a short period of time. Well done family.

Saturday was our second day of training in SLC and then back to Brook and Dave's for dinner all together. The meal prep was shared by Brook and Rachelle. What good cooks our sons have.
We enjoyed the time Saturday evening talking, taking a walk around their duck pond park like apartment grounds (where I got my toes mistaken for bread nuggets by the "friendly" ducks that surrounded us), laughing and playing games together. Sunday we went to church with Brook and Dave so that we could help out with Carter as they try to adjust to their new ward. It is the Millcreek Second ward in the area where Pres. Hinckley was Stake President many years ago. It's just down the street from their apartment.

We had a big surprise waiting for us when we walked into B & D's apartment. George, Seneca, and Emeric were there. They came down from Idaho Falls to surprise us and visit for a couple of days. We were very happy to see them. We all had dinner at Jeff and Rachelle's condo and enjoyed the evening together with lots of chatter and surprises. It was a mini family reunion.

Sunday evening we packed up and left for the second portion of our vacation...BYU education week in Provo. We were able to stay with Rachelle's grandparents, Jim and Jean Dunford in Orem. They have become good friends and we enjoyed staying with them and thank them for their hospitality. We attending BYU Monday through Friday going to 8-9 classes each day except Monday. We ate at Fuddruckers for dinner Monday which is a tradition for us. We were emotionally and spiritually fed learning many things with topics from Organizing our lives, to music by Marvin Goldstein, to Leadership skills and learning about the middle East. There are so many wonderful teachers and topics...something for everyone. Richard and I attended more classes together this year than we have in the past and that was lots of fun. We absolutely love Education week!!!

Saturday we met up with the kids again and went to lunch at The Gateway Mall, road "Tracks" to the SLC distribution center in the Joseph Smith building to make some purchases, then drove up to the Campus of the University of Utah to the book store while Jeff got his text books, then back to Jeff and Rachelle's to wait for her to get home from work. We took our family out to dinner at "The Old Spaghetti Factory" at Trolley Square. On the way home Jeff had to go to the Law school to pick up a Sylibus for a class so we got to see the Law school late at night. He can go into the building 24/7 with a special card he has so he can access whatever things he needs to do the work he has to do. We were happy to see where he will be spending so much of his time the next 3 years. Richard gave both of our sons a Father's blessing for their new challenges as they start a new phase of their lives.

Sunday morning we left Jeff and Rachelles for home at about 8:30 AM. We had a quick and safe trip home stopping for an hour or so at the Philpott's to see their wonderful, growing family. It was a fantastic, eventful, uplifting vacation. Thank you to all our Utah family for sharing it with us. We miss you.