Just give me some time....

Okay, I know that things are out of whack here and I am tired of fooling with it. So I will try to get some lessons on how blogger works and then I can come back and fix it. I have looked at all of Kristl's, Adrienne's, and Amber's blogs and they are amazing. I thought something was better than nothing at this point. But I promise I will work on it to make it much cuter.

It's About Time!! A NEW POST!!

Ya, I am a complete slacker! I have great intentions, but as you can see, I just don't get it done. Well, it is Sunday morning, 6 am. , Kody has just left for work and I cannot go back to sleep. So this seemed like a good idea. Hmmmm, now where to start. Since I last posted, several things have happened. Ya, we got Raven, and then we gave her away. She was crazy! She was so attention-starved, she would literally attack whoever came out the back door, and by the end of summer she had grown to about 5 times her original size and weight. So after much careful consideration and with the help of Amber, (it was her children, mostly, who were getting attacked), she has a new home in Kanarraville with a couple of very nice gentlemen. I miss her, but, not much. I still really miss Jax. Last night I told Robert, "I need a pet". He said, "Okay, go get one." We just don't have much luck with dogs, we had Jax the longest, 4 years. So I think I might just put that on hold for a while.

Mighty Matt!!

July 3rd brought us our second grandson, Matt. After having a very tiny, petite, and still petite at 2 1/2, Abby, Kris and Rich have a big, chubby-cheeked son. He has the sweetest bedroom eyes and the prettiest smile you've ever seen.






Number 6?

In September, Kaley got a call from Dallas, Texas that her nephew, Sage might be available for adoption, and was she interested? She and Berni were very interested and so started the process. It has seemed like a long haul, but hopefully they are nearing the end. We made a trip down in October to meet with Social Services and we got to spend 3 days with Sage and his wonderful foster family. Everything has gone very smoothly, the home study and the background check are finished and now they are just waiting for the word. We are hoping they will get him before Christmas, but that might be a miracle. But hey, isn't Christmas the time for miracles?? This will give us 3 grandsons and 3 granddaughters.












Sage will be two on December 21. He is so sweet and so smart. He has some developmental delays and is socially way behind, but I think he will catch up quickly with lots of love and attention. His foster mother, Heather is amazing with him and she keeps Kaley up to date on everything that happens.

Empty Nest? (Almost)
Kelton and Amber and kids are moving out this month. It has been fun having them with us, we really enjoyed being able to see their kids every day. But they really need a place of their own. We will miss them. Our house is so quiet and so clean. And, I can put something somewhere and it will actually be there the next morning when I go to get it. So, now all we have is Kody and he will be gone after he graduates in May. He hopes to leave for boot camp (Marines) in June. It will be so strange, we have not been alone for 32 years. I think I could get used to it.

Meet Raven

Raven is a 7 week old black lab/golden retriever mix that weighs about 12 pounds and has HUGE feet. It just so happens that she is also my surprise late birthday/early Mother's Day present. Kody gave her to me last night. And yes, I was surprised. I just gave away my Sheltie, Jax about 2 months ago at Robert's insistence, so what the heck am I doing with another dog??? She is really cute and very sweet, but puppies are a pain. Amber and Kelton like her, Natalie and Drake love her and even Robert seems to like her. Maybe it's because she is a "Real Dog". Oh brother. Kody is hoping to take her hunting when she grows up. I think she is going to eat us out of house and home. Anyway, I named her Raven because when I was in the seventh grade, my English teacher gave us the assignment to memorize and recite 10 verses of our favorite poem. My favorite was Edgar Allen Poe's 'The Raven'. I did it!! Have you ever read 'The Raven'? Try it. Also, she is black so it makes sense that she should be called Raven. Wish me luck.

White Pockets

Saturday, April 19, we drove out to White Pockets to ride 4-Wheelers. I really don't know where White Pockets is, somewhere in Arizona, I am usually talking or sleeping on the way out there, so I could not tell you how to get there. But, it was an amazing ride and a beautiful day.

Locke and Carol Sue Ettinger, and Tony and Trudy Whitney get ready for a long day of riding and sight-seeing. We rode over 70 miles that day.

I love this picture of White Pockets, the color of the sky is so unusual.

Robert, Trudy, and Jo stand at the top of these cool formations-----

---while Tony Whitney and Clyde Postma find themselves at the bottom of an abyss.

Robert thinks he is 'King of the World' when he is out in the sticks.

This cool formation, we call the Seashell, or the Corkskrew. It doesn't look very big here, but go down further and see the pictures of us inside.

Robert and Me.

Tony and Trudy looking like newlyweds.

Locke and Carol Sue in the Corkskrew.

Clyde and Jo Postma, can you believe she actually got him to sit still???

We rode all the way to......ummmmm......okay, it's just an overlook. This is part of the Grand Canyon. If you bring the picture up big, you will see the cool bridge, which Robert cannot remember the name of.

More Grand Canyon.

This was Robert's favorite picture. Look how cool the change of color of the river looks where the Paria joins with the Colorado.

All in all it was a fun day. We had a picnic up here at this overlook. The wind was really blowing and threatened to blow us over the side. But we ate our sandwiches and treats, enjoyed the view and then took off for home. We left at 6:30 in the morning and got back home just before 8 at night. And when we go back we will return all the sand we brought home with us in our shoes, socks, clothes, hair, and on our skin.

More Katie

Abby meets her new day-old cousin. She thought she was interesting for about 2 minutes, then she just wanted to play with the hospital equipment.

Friday, April 11, on Katie's second day home, Nana decided to strip her down and get some cute newborn pictures. Adrienne was getting some much needed rest, and Katie cooperated for the most part. Anne Geddes eat your heart out!

She's Here!!

Kathryn Paige Hansen arrived tonight at 7:13 pm. She is picture perfect, weighing 6 lbs. 7 oz. and she is 18.5 inches long. We are so excited after waiting an extra week for her. Kylen is sure a proud dad! Adrienne came through like a champ after an initial 'C-Section' scare. Mom, Dad and Baby are doing just great. We will put some more pictures up as they come.