Relaxing in the Garden- Glorious Summer

Can't believe we're almost halfway through glorious summer. 

 I love warm summer nights. 

 My upper garden has been a mess of vines for the last few years.  

This year we cleaned it out and added quite a bit more space. 

 So nice to go up my steps and hideout while reading a book or just star gazing.

  Perfect spot to relax in the evening.

I've always enjoyed the concept of "rooms" in my garden.  

Another lovely place to enjoy warm evenings is my back patio.  

Sometimes I just sit and listen to those wonderful summer sounds.

Something fun going on in the gardens around my neighborhood is our weekly lemonade gathering.

  Once a week we gather and enjoy a cool glass of lemonade, visit and just enjoy each others flowers. 

 It's nice to stop once in awhile and relax with good friends.

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on

 a summer's day,

 listening to the murmur of the water,

 or watching the clouds float across the sky,

 is by no means a waste of time."

~John Lubbock

Comings and Goings in February..Sunbeams, Grandkids, Birthdays, Arnold Friberg

It's almost the middle of February and the days never seem to slow down.  

I teach the Sunbeams in Primary. 

 Last year's class was a mix of two boys and three quiet little girls. 

 This year there are six little boys.  Such cute little boys, but full of it as all boys that age are!

I am constantly trying to think of new and creative ways to get their attention.

  Am so grateful for the internet and all the great ideas people are willing to share. 

I am also grateful for a team teacher who helps as we try to teach these little boys.

This last week the lesson was how Heavenly Father and Jesus love us. 

 What could be a more perfect lesson the week before valentines?  

I based a lot of the lesson on the song "My Heavenly Father loves Me." 

 They went on a hunt trying to find the pictures that went along and then they were able to put them in their heart envelope. 

 Hopefully they will remember they are loved.

Days are never dull when spent with Jake, Sam and Dylan. 

They keep me moving!

I love getting up to see Whitney and Wren for a little shopping at City Creek.  

We celebrated Melanie's birthday last week with Whitney's coming up!

Am missing this family, and hoping the snow stops back east soon.  

Otherwise we may not see them this summer as they will be in school til August with all the snow days they've taken. 

 Hopefully

 "The Sun will Come out Tomorrow!"

The perks of retirement!  At 3:00 pm today,

 Jim came downstairs and said "lets go see the Arnold Friberg exhibit!" 

 We jumped in the car and went to Gateway and totally enjoyed his beautiful paintings. 

 He painted in watercolor, oils, pencil sketches..everything.  There were paintings of his I had never seen before.  Loved to see the ones he did as young as seven!

  I loved reading the history behind his work.  

What a gifted artist.  

So there's our mid winter wrap up!  Have a Happy Week.

Dear Old Friends..

Yesterday I called my friend, Pat, and asked if she would like to run around with me for the day. 

 I needed to find a clock for my family room and a few things to spiff up my home going into the new year.  Soon after ten in the morning we were off to see what we could find. 

Of course being with Pat, we found ourselves wandering through the after Christmas sales. 

 (Pat is the all time best shopper)  

which, although I love to be with her, is one of the other reasons it is good to take her along when you shop. 

 She has shopped for bargains for so long, that it is like they call her name.

  I knew if she was with me I'd find just what I needed, and for the right price.

Did I say we left at ten in the morning?  

Well close to three in the afternoon my son, Nick called me on my cell. 

 "Where are you? "he said. 

 I told him Pat and I had made our way at that point to Tai Pan.  

We had our carts full.

  His response was " I'm worried for the other shoppers, with Thelma and Louise on the loose!"  or something to that effect. 

 Thelma and Louise we aren't..but wonderful, good old friends we are.  

We left Tai Pan with almost nothing as we realized the full carts didn't have anything in them we really needed. 

 But, as I dropped Pat off at her home late in the afternoon, 

I had a full heart. 

 How grateful I am for this dear friend. 

 We have raised children together, gone through broken hearts together, planned and carried out parties together, served together, laughed together, gardened together, become grandmothers together, we were young together..

and now we are growing older together.  

We take care of each other and understand one another. 

 There is nothing better than a dear, dear, old friend.

Winter Days, Grandkids, Fun

Had an extra fun day with these kids. 

They went sleigh riding in our backyard...

then inside to decorate a gingerbread house,

run around and be crazy and have hot chocolate and toast.

Dreams of having a little nap! 

 Not happening with this bunch. 

 (I'll have one later..the minute they leave). 

 

Christmas Decorations, Parties and Sam's Birthday

It's only December 4th, and already the month is moving along with activities.

  Got the house decorated over the weekend.
 Jim got the lights up just before the big snow hit,
 which spread the holiday spirit..inside and out.

Got the trees decorated.  Love getting out all the old decorations. 

They remind me of Christmas's past. 

 Love our Golf Club, my crystals I purchased from Harrods when I visited with Nick in London. 

 The old sleds mom had painted for each of the kids,

 ornaments purchased from places we have visited

and my very special Bonnie Blue Butler, given to me and signed by the real Bonnie Blue!

  What treasures!

Put my beautiful Nativity on the Mantle.

  I love the simplicity of this nativity and love that my family gave it to me. 

All ready had a party. 

We had Jim's family over for dinner last night.  It was fun to get together with Tam, Kevin, Kathy and Lanny.  We visited and enjoyed great food.

  Love seeing family over the holidays.

But the most important day so far was yesterday!

  My little Sam turned four years old! 

 He couldn't wait until it was his birthday. 

He is the most fun child.  So expressive.  So determine, so ACTIVE!!! 

 I love his smile, the way he talks, his hugs. 

Today he asked me if I would stay even when his mom got home. 

 He put his little arms around my neck and had tears in his eyes and said please stay grama, please. 

 I almost did..almost. 

 I love you Sam.  Have a happy year. 

You are my sunshine!

love, grama

So goes the first week of December.

The DeSpain Gang's Halloween Party

We invited some kids over for a Halloween Party. 

Before we knew it there was a Ninja, Superman, Dash and a little Indian in our pumpkin Patch! 

 They were all looking for just the right pumpkin to carve!

It was the perfect evening to sit around a fire and roast hotdogs.

Then onto carving our pumpkins! 

What a great evening...

wish the eastern gang could have found some brooms to fly out and be with us! 

 Missed you all.

My Goals - Learn a new Talent every 30 years

When I was in my teens I took singing lessons. 

 I worked hard, had an extremely good teacher and enjoyed singing. 

 At the age of thirty I decided I needed to learn something new.

  I am extremely untalented when it comes to the arts, so I decided to stretch myself and took up painting. 

 This was very difficult for me, but I practiced and practiced and proved to myself that with enough practice you could get fairly good at anything. 

Well, another thirty years have passed and I've decided it's time to learn something else..

I've taken up the harmonica!

My first lesson was today. 

 It was actually quite fun, so I think I'll go back and hopefully with a little bit of practice I might be able to play a song or two.

 ( I wonder what I'll come up with when I turn 90 !  It seems I'm on a thirty year learning curve.)

An Evening with James Taylor

I've been looking forward to this concert all summer.

  I've seen my friend, James sing every time he's made his way to SLC. 

 I listen to him in my car, when I'm cleaning or relaxing. 

You could say, I'm a fan since way back. 

 As crazy as it sounds,

I'm even a member of his Fan Club!!! 

 

I'm a groupie!

 

Being a member paid off last night.  

 When Jim and I got to the door our tickets showed at the conference center,

 the host exclaimed, "who do you know.. you have great seats!" 

We were kind of stunned wondering what she was talking about,

 but just kept following along as we were guided closer and closer to our

reserved seats..right down in front and in the center! 

We were shocked! 

We were told it was because we got our tickets through the James Taylor Fan Club which I had gone through!   

 The evening only got better as the Utah Symphony and the Tabernacle Choir opened the evening with several fabulous musical selections.

 

I always love hearing the choir sing "When the Saints go Marchin In." 

 I love John Rutter's arrangement. 

 It could only be made better if Dad was sitting next to me to enjoy it as well. 

(Maybe he was). 

 

James Taylor's selections were perfect. 

Loved every song he sang, but when he sang "Shed a Little Light"  with the choir as his back up,

 I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.

  Of course his last song with the choir and symphony "Shower the People" was  unreal, 

 but then, as he sang "Sweet Baby James" for his encore, the evening was made perfect.

 

The sound in the Concert Center is so beautiful.

  Everything about the evening was just what I'd hoped for. 

 A lovely way to end the summer. 

 Thanks James!

Welcome Spring!

What a beautiful few days. 

Could it possibly be that spring is on its way? 

 The little boys and I are certainly grateful for a few days out in the sunshine. 

 While Jake is in school, Sam takes his bike out for a spin. 

 Safety first! 

 He always wears his helmet and rings his little bell as he cruises around the neighborhood.

When Jake got home we played some more. 

Swinging, climbing, jumping, sliding! 

What a great day..lots of smiles.

  After, a little down time with Ipads and pumpkin bread for a snack. 

What a lovely day!

A Late night surprise

 It's been cold and gray lately...

so Grampa decided it was time to get away for a little spring baseball.

We got on a plane,

 late at night

...flew in

and

surprised

the 

GANG!

Can't believe how much they've grown in just six months.  

Will post about the fun days ahead.

Grama, You will just cry...

Today after I picked Jake up from school, he started singing a song he was learning for his Christmas Program. 

 He said, "Grama, you just have to come to my program!  It will be so cute...you will just cry!"  I said, "why will it make me cry, will I be sad?"  "Oh no," said Jake, " you will cry tears of happiness!" 

 Where does he come up with this stuff?

Halloween at Grama Polly's

We had some rather scary visitors tonight! 

A Headless Man, a Vampire, Minnie Mouse, Dorothy and her Lion

 and the Witch!!!

...and a little boy who just wanted to carve a pumpkin.

Lucky I have a

really

scary

spook

alley

 right in my garden. 

 

There are witches and ghosts and spiders, oh my!, and is that a big bat behind that tree???

And...lucky there are some pumpkin carvers around,

because.. there were four little jack-o-lanterns just waiting to get some faces. 

 

Have a Happy and Scary Halloween!!!!

My Week...

This week...

 

 

we celebrated Jake's 5th birthday.

Wren went to her first Halloween Party, as Minnie!

It turned from fall into...

winter, with our first snowfall.

Witches, Polly and Pat made our final appearance at Gardner Village.  We flew home only to return next year when witches are out and about!

Cousins Carnival

 

Last night was our first ever

Cousins Carnival!!

 

 

Hosted by my most talented, creative, hard working daughter, Abby - who would rather stay behind the scenes .  She's a full time mom and has a full time job, plus quilts for people on the side.  Then decides to throw a Carnival for her kids and their cousins!  She decorated her yard with lights, prizes and games for all the kids. 

 

 

The helpers  Marta and Whitney (and their helpers)
Together, these three girls could be event planners.

 

 

Can't have a carnival without the kids!  They came and had tons of fun.  Love getting this group and their moms together. 

 

 

Marty told the story of  "The Old Woman who Swallowed a Fly"  The kids loved it. 

 

They even had the Fly and the horse and the cow to feed to the old woman!

 

Thank you Abby for giving your home, your time, and most of all your love to our family.

Gardner Village and some Silly Witches

When pumpkins start appearing everywhere,

 there's nothing left to do...

but,

 become a witch!!!!! 

 Isn't that what everyone does at this time of year??

But of course.

So my other witchy friend, Pat and I flew out to Gardner Village,

 found our favorite shop

 (Vintage Chic, it's where all fashionable witches go, you know). 

 There, we found other witches,

 Pat danced,

 and we tried to keep warm! 

And then, because we were exhausted,
because we are grandma's and very old
witches...
we

FLEW HOME!!!

 

Come see us tonight

i'll be there with another

witch at

Vintage Chic

Discussions with my Granddaughter

The other night I got to spend time with my little Wren.  We chatted about girl stuff.  None of that rough and tumble that goes on everyday with the boys.  We discussed fashion, hair, accessories, shopping.  She told me how she wanted to decorate her room.  We dreamed about her future....  friends, school, careers, and you know...boyfriends (don't tell her mom, and especially, don't tell  her dad!!!!)   There are some things that are kept between a grama and her granddaughter.  I never knew having a little girl around would be so much fun.

The Getaway

I'm still upset about the pictures missing on my blog.  So, Jim said lets get out of here.. off we went and saw the beautiful fall colors.

 

Everywhere we drove the colors were amazing.

 

 

  We ended up in Colorado,  in a lovely little town.  And who do you think showed up?

 

 

Nick!!  It was fun to see  him and spend some time with him!

"Because God made you, That's why I love you."

As the sun sets on our family being all together this year,  I am filled with gratitude for such wonderful children and grandchildren.  The one thing missing was Nick, off teaching.  But we'll all get together sometime soon.  The days were beautiful, our home was full of kids, laughter and love.

"In every conceivable manner, the family is the link to our past, the bridge to our future."
~Alex Haley

With the kids here I remember the summer days of my childhood.  Important days, because they are what we look back on with joy and security.  It is important to give these kids that same feeling, even though it is a different time and place. 

So I will say good night to my darlings, as we did in my childhood, and as I do, as I rock the littlest ones to sleep. 

"Tell me why the ivy twines, tell me why the stars do shine.
Tell me why the sky's so blue, And I will tell you, just why I love you.
Because God made the ivy twine, Because God made the stars to shine.
Because God made the sky so blue,
Because God made you,
That's why I love you."

Love to you all,
Grama Polly

Fish Lake 2012

Getting ready for a three day camping trip is simple.  Just fill a large truck, trailer, three SUV's  with just enough room for the family to squeeze in and we're off!!!!

The older boys are old hands at camping, fishing and all that goes with it.  The three little ones became part of the gang.  The learned from the best and were soon fishing, running through the wilds, and getting really dirty just as they should when camping.

The best part was all the smiles, the hugs the laughter.  Nothing better than watching these kids have fun with one another.

There were fish caught.  The biggest one was caught by Hogan, unfortunately it turned out to be lots of seaweed.  Becky showed off her talent as our driver - (eyes closed).  Good think the lake is very large!

Can't resist the smiles!

The hugs...

The fun, just watching the little ones play.

Abby and Becky outdid themselves as our cooks.  We ate the most delicious food.  Can't thank them enough for all their hard work!

Don't know if these two loved the boat at first.  Takes some getting used to.

Loved getting this picture of all the boys.  Next time little Wren will be running around keeping up with them.  Just a bit tiny thing year.  We missed her.

All good things come to an end.  Jake told me this was his biggest adventure of all, but on the third day, he was ready to go home.  (I think his parents were ready to go too.)

"To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter; to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's  nest or a wildflower in spring- these are some of the rewards of the simple life."

~John Burroughs

We have enjoyed and been blessed by the pleasures of nature, our family, and much love. 
The simple pleasures. 
Life is good.

Independence Day in my Neighborhood

Because of the courage and bravery of our Founding Fathers, we today are celebrating the birth of our Nation.  How blessed to be living in such a beautiful country.  To have the opportunities and freedoms that sometimes we take for granted.  Because of their (our Founding Fathers) foresight we are able to enjoy activities like we do in our neighborhood. 

We gather as neighbors for a breakfast where we celebrate the birth of our nation, our friendship and our blessings.  We are grateful to the Jorgensen's who have hosted this for about 33 years.  The neighbors participate in setting up, preparing the food, and clean up.  Hundreds show up, many who have grown up here bring their children back for the fun.

There's a mix of old times and new comers.  Everyone is welcome and feels it.   

After the breakfast we get ready for the parade!  You can't have the 4th of July without a parade and a popcycle!

We've got our Grand Marshall, we've got our Royalty, we've got children on decorated bikes, we've got our spectators!  Who could ask for more?

Happy Independence Day!