Our Children 2011

Us with all of our children - July 2011 after Michael and Annette's wedding

Todd, Russell, Michael, Brian, Daniel
Valerie, Amy & Amanda
July 23, 2011

Dinner in Napa

Malcolm and Rachel enjoying a fun moment

Matt sitting on a frog near the fountain outside the restaurant

The fence outside Brian's new office has a mural painted - very realistic

The three sculptures are in the fountain outside the restaurant in the garden

A beautiful pink rose in the garden by the restaurant

Brian and Deb relaxing after dinner

We drove to Napa for the afternoon and evening for a visit with Brian, Deb, Rachel and Matt. We drove over to Brian's new office complex which is an old victorian home they have converted and decorated with period decorations and accessories. It is very nicely done and fun to explore all the features They have landscaped the outside and really done a nice job!
Then we went to an Italian restaurant with a garden where they grow their own veggies and very delicious food. We had a great time and enjoyed our time with the whole family

Canning Tomatoes

Our good friend Brad Stewart gave us 10 gallons of tomatoes so yesterday I made tomato soup and chili sauce. We got 46 pints and 6 quarts of tomato products. Thank you Stewarts!! We are blessed to have such thoughtful friends. This is especially nice because we did not have a garden this year.

Visit with Mom

Bradley and Grant

An Amish couple at the train depot in Sacramento

Erin and Katya

Gram Eastland relaxing

Kylie at Cafe Rio

Malcolm and I just spent some time with my Mom in Utah and had a wonderful time. I traveled on the train for the first week and spent some time cleaning freezer, refrig., organizing and cleaning, cooking and enjoying visiting with my Mom. We bought her car so I spent some time having it serviced until Malcolm flew in the next week. My cousin, Denise let me use one of their cars the whole time so I could run errands to the store to shop for Mom and post office, bank, etc. It was a privilege to be able to help her and give Denise a couple of weeks off. She is so helpful to Mom with meals, shopping and Dr. appointments. I also got some wonderful visiting time with Mom and talked about growing up and some family history. She is so alert and bright and a joy to visit with. We plan to visit more often now that we have the time available. I am blessed to have a great Mom! We also took Dan's family to dinner as Cafe Rio and enjoyed it so much. The first week Steve's family came and brought dinner and I made rolls and potato salad and had a great time with them too. It was such a good time with family.

Mike and Annette

Mike and Annette's Family at the wedding

Michael and Annette asked me to make their cake

Mike asked Dad to perform their wedding - it was wonderful!

Just the two of them

Official wedding portrait
(Erik and Amanda took some great pictures)

Mike and Annette were married July 23rd at the Gridley Stake Center. Malcolm performed the marriage at Michael and Annette's request. It was wonderful and we had all of our children and grandchildren in attendance. It was a beautifully prepared ceremony and reception. We all enjoyed each other and celebrated their special day!

Pageant of the Masters and Beach Time

We spent some time at the Beach prior to attend the Pageant and the waves were just sooo good That day!

Some of the art we viewed prior to the show

The festival building

Malcolm and I at the Pageant

Mike and Annette at the Pageant

Just Goofing off taking some pictures

Malcolm at Red Robin's for dinner

Patsy at Red Robin's for dinner
( We took each other's pictures)

A perfect day at the beach. We walked a long way on the sand

Malcolm and I had a great repeat week in Laguna Beach and Newport Beach last week when we met Mike and Annette for the Pageant of the Masters. It is a terrific Art show with people injected into the painting for over a minute. There is always a theme and this year was Make Believe so there were very cute dragons, Peter Pan and many contemporary artist portrayed. It was just amazing and time went by so fast. There were many paintings so the show lasted two hours. Prior to the show we viewed the art, pottery, jewelry and sculpture done by gifted artist from the area. We took two days for the drive so we had time when we arrived to go the beach and watch the waves and look in some cute shops and dream about a beach house for a week. ( we checked the prices and decided the motel was just great) We had dinner out by ourselves, bought me a new dress for Mike and Annette's coming wedding , had dinner with Mike and Annette and took in the show. On the way home we visited with our friends the Goss; in Fresno and enjoyed a great evening with them too. It was a wonderful week! Thank to my honey for all the driving and taking such good care of me!!

Happy 4th of July

How blessed we are to live in a land of freedom! We are grateful to all those who have sacrificed for our country and freedom. We love America the Beautiful! Happy 4th of July1

Paige helping clean silver spoons

Malcolm and I shared the 4th of July with Amanda and Tyler. We made potato salad, beans, all kinds of fresh fruit, hamburgers and hot dogs, corn on the cob and rootbeer floats. It was delicious. Afterwards Paige and I went home and cleaned my silver spoons. It was Paige's first experience and she was enthusiastic and very cute.

New Car

Malcolm with our new Subaru Forester

Our New Car - We love it!
It was time for us to get a new car for traveling. We had lots of miles on our other cars so we traded in the Sebring and got this new car. It has lots of fun things on it - a back up camera, moon roof and places to plug in phones, warming seats, and lot of features that make it a handy and fun traveling car plus it is very comfortable..

Sarah's Graduation

Sarah, Andrew and Brittany

Sarah and Malcolm

Malcolm flew to Tillamook for Sarah's graduation. I could not go because my leg is not healed enough. We have managed for at least one of us to attend all of our grandchildren's graduations and it was wonderful that Malcolm could share the day with her and her family. He had a great time. Sarah is our 7th grandchild to graduate - Congratulations, Sarah!!

1st raspberries

We picked our first huge, sweet raspberries from our garden today! They were so yummy!!

Happy Birthday, Malcolm!!

Then - May 31, 1941

Now - May 31, 2011

Happy 70th Birthday to my Angel Husband! He is an incredible Husband, Father and Man. I am blessed to be married to him for almost 48 years this Fall. He is a talented man who has plaedy every kind of ball and worked in an interesting area of employment. Malcolm has a great sense of humor, and love for outdoors, hiking and backpacking. Several of his friends and Brian have joined him on his adventures in Alaska. He also took young men on great hikes in Yosemite and Marble Mountains. When we moved to Live Oak, he took on beautifying our home with some very creative and beautiful planters and patios. He also served on our city council and has been an asset in his calling at Church. Wow! What a guy - I love him sooo much Happy Birthday my darling husband!

Grandma (Elizabeth) Weston

Our Dear Mom and Gram passed peacefully away Sunday, May 29th . She led a wonderful and full life with many friends and Grandchildren who loved her dearly. She played games with them, made them eat healthy foods and was delightful to be around. She always had a special feeling for babies and made certain all her granddaughters had baby dolls as long as she could give them. Many of our children would spend some time in the summer working with grandpa and enjoying games afterwards with them. She and Grandpa belonged to a dance group and several times took grandchildren with them to watch the fun. We have been blessed to be around gram and grandpa all of our married life so our children have had some rich and wonderful memories! Malcolm and I have been particularly close to Gram and Grandpa since we moved to Live Oak and they to Marysville. We spent some time shopping, doctor appointments and family outings together for the past 6 years. and have had so much fun!

New Knee

The new knee with stitches out

The new knee with staples in

May 3rd I received a new knee at John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek. I had a rocky start, but thing have been better since all the meds were corrected and I got home with Malcolm's excellent care. He had to give me shots for blood thinner every day for 20 days and lots of physical therapy to get the range of motion I am glad it is now done and life can move forward. Many wonderful friends and our daughter provided some excellent food for a few days to help us and we are so very grateful. Thank you everyone to came to visit and for the flowers, books and upbeat visitsl

Carson and Mason's sleepover

We took Carson and Mason for a sleepover while Tyler and Amanda were on their cruise. Stephanie is staying with their children this time. We took them out to dinner for happy meals and ice cream. They ate every bite. We love our little talkative grandsons!

Yellow Roses

Malcolm has picked several bouquets of our yellow roses too. Our whole house has the scent of roses - love it!

First Rose

Malcolm picked our first Lincoln rose for me ! It is one of our favorites!

Gram Weston

Grandma Weston is now recovering from her fall in a skilled nursing facility in Gridley. This is close to us so we can visit every day. She is alert and enjoys visits. We have brought some of her favorite things to wear to lift her spirit. She is eating ice cream in this picture. Friday is ice cream day. She isn't crazy about the food, but otherwise is doing reamarkably well.

Jam Project

I just make two batches of low sugar jam (our favorite). One is boysenberry/Pomegranate jam and the other is boysenberry/pomegranate/blueberry jam. They taste delicious when you taste more berry than sugar. I have already given away several jars to family and friends.