Ode to The Golfer or (Grampa sneaks out of the office to play golf)

Since it is Father's Day I thought I'd send you all a poem Nick wrote for Dad, some years ago.

"The clubs are in the trunk, I think,"
He says one sunny day.
"If the clubs are in the trunk, I think
I'll play the day away!"

After pretending to feel faint
He topples to the floor.
But the office folk catch on to this
(They've seen it done before).
And with a flash,
They put him back in his office
with the slamming of the door.

But his love for golf will never feign
and then he spots the window pane!
"Ah Ha! he laughs, saved at last,
I just hope the day won't overcast."

And climbing out on the ivy wall:
"I'm almost there, I, hope not to fall."
And to his car he quickly flees
with pockets full of brand new tees.

He screeches from the parking lot
and speeds off to the fairway
but in the trunk the clubs are not
"And it's still a sunny day!"

All through lunch he concocks a plan
"Look who's here, it's my old pal Van,
I'll borrow his clubs, I think I can."

When Van comes back from the loo,
his clubs are gone, his golf cart too!
After sitting on a bench in dismay,
he spots that "friend"? Giggs driving away!

The Wedding of the Year!

Last night Jim and I (and the rest of our ward) went up to the Wasatch Room of the Joseph Smith Building and got to witness our two dear friends get married. It was one of the funnest evenings I can remember. There were about 200 of our ward members there, who had been through the horror of Eileen's husband dying suddenly about 4 years ago and we had all helped Terry through the awful years of his wife's cancer. They had the room just beautifully done and were greeting everyone as we came in, just as excited as two young kids...and the love and excitement was caught as soon as you saw them. All their kids were there...those kids who had played together when they were little. Their two oldest sons stood as witnesses and they were best friends as little boys. Out Bishop married them. His talk was funny and sweet and Eileen kept turning around and laughing at all of her friends. After we ate the fantastic dinner and no one wanted to leave. We all decided it was the best ward party we'd ever had. (Too bad the ward doesn't have that kind of budget)
Anyway..it was perfect and fun to see two middle agers that had been through some pretty hard times looking so happy...and their kids looked happy too! I hadn't been out for a while, so getting dressed up and getting to go there was really fun.

Happy Birthday to Mom

Sorry if you get this blog 3 times..I'm having trouble with my computer. I couldn't sleep, so I came down to look at the latest pictures of my PA children, and as I looked at the pictures of Hogan batting, I thought mom and dad would love to see things like this. Then I realized it was mom's birthday. So I wanted to wish her a happy birthday and thank her for having all of us and for the way she raised us. She would have had so much fun holding Heidi's new babies, and even though I know she probably knows these greatgrandkids well..it would just be fun to see her face as she looks at all the darlings. Abby called this morning and told me she got her first real kick from the baby. Not just the fluttering thing...but a real kick. Mom would love the blogs and everybody that writes on them and sends pictures and I also think she would be thrilled that we have this connection through the internet. So Happy Birthday to Mom and to all of us that love and appreciate the many things she did for us and surely still does.

Happy Birthday to Mom

Sisters

I've wanted to share this story with Heidi, because I thought it was sweet, although in the middle of all that's going on over there, you might want to put it away in a book and read it later. Here is this sweet story. Two little twin baby girls were born prematurely. One weighed 2 lbs 2oz, the other just barely 2 lbs. The doctor's decided to put them in seperate incubators so that if there was any infection, they wouldn't pass it to each other. The bigger sister was doing ok and growing a little, but the smaller sister was having a harder time. Not growing and getting weaker. It finally came to a crisis where the doctors couldn't do anymore medically. One doctor decided to try one last thing...he picked up the tiny sister out of her incubator and slipped her in with her big sister. The bigger baby immediately wrapped her arm around her sister. And the smaller baby snuggled up next to her big sister. Within hours she had stabalized. She started to gain weight and strength. The doctors felt that the love of the big sister strengthend the small baby so she could get well.. I know your babies didn't have these problems, but I am sure the bond is just as great..what a special blessing, because just think of how we feel about our sisters that are just regular sisters..Their loving arms are always there to help us through trials, sickness, joy, whatever..Your two little ones will have an even closer bond. Hope all is going well in the Ballou home..

Learning new things each day

As you can see I have changed the look of my blog..with Marty's help (who is master computer whiz and blogger) I have finally gotten to the point where you can see and leave your comments. I am now going to learn how to drag pictures from google to make my comments more fun to look at. I feel like a first grader, but it is always fun to learn something new. This week we had fun finding out about plurisy (I haven't checked to see how to spell it) I just know I have it. Another fun test! I think Heavenly Father wants me to be a Doctor. I am learning so much about the human body and mind. I just wanted to let all you more regular bloggers that I love to read them. They uplift me and I love seeing all the creative ways you describe your lives. What a blessing to be part of such a fun and creative group! I love you all.