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.

Is Anybody out there???

I just thought I would pose this question to see if there is anyone reading the blogs I write. I got comments from some of my family when I first started doing this and I loved that. It was a connection to you. Now....I write comments to my family bloggers but I haven't had a comment from anyone in months. If my family is reading what I write and has any response...I would love to have you talk to me. What do you think? There is only one member of our family who lives in our city now and they don't always know everything we do nor us them so Comments from all are anxiously awaited. Thanks all, I love you!!!

A Busy, Fun, Spiritual weekend

Friday night we loaded up the back of the van with our old Computer monitor, used batteries, used florescent lights, and old gallon containers of various latex paints and stain and tile adhesive. A odd thing to load in a car you may think...well, you're right but it will make sense in a minute.
Saturday morning we got up, ate, showered and dressed in church clothes. We left the house about 9:45 and headed to the computer recycling place near Sequoia floral. They paid $.05 per pound for old computer/TV components so we picked up a whopping $1.20 for the monitor. We then headed to the dump! We went to the household toxics area and delivered our other stuff which they took gladly. We wonder if they had ever seen people at the dump in Church clothes before? :o) From there we went to the Temple...what a contrast!!

It was a beautiful day and the session was great.
We enjoyed the peace and spirit of being there.
We were there early enough so we had a snack
in the cafeteria and then had time in the chapel
before the session to read and ponder the scriptures. It couldn't have been better. I took some pictures after the session specifically for this blog...enjoy!!


This is the view of Oakland, and the Bay Bridge with the fog rolling in through the Golden Gate Bridge... that's why you can't see it.


After the session we took off for our favorite "after the temple eating place"...the plaza shops and eateries in Emeryville. We normally eat at Fuddruckers but this time we chose a new place called the Buckhorn Grill. Wow!! What fantastic food. We had a Bacon cheddar Tri-tip sandwich on a fresh baked french roll. So good. Then we went to the movies and used our AMC movie gift card we got from Brook and David for Christmas. This is the only AMC theater in the bay area and it took us awhile to find it. We saw WALL*E. We loved it. It is a very unique movie with a darling love story done by Disney's PIXAR. If you haven't seen it we highly recommend it. It was a wonderful day.

Today we had a fantastic Single Adult fireside. My "boss", Dr. Blake Ambridge and his wife Amy spoke on "A Brightness of Hope". They are very good speakers and held the audience in the palm of their hands. We learned a lot and gained great insight as well as sharing in their personal experiences and stories. I'm so glad I was there.

Now we get to prepare for our trip to Utah on Thursday. Yippee!!!!!!!!