A few of her favorite things...

Why does grandma look surprised?

It's her birthday!! and there was a surprise party with some of her favorite things...

shrimp...

watermelon...

root beer...

grapes...

a log cabin in the making...

and lots of grandchildren!!

Merry Christmas from Florida!

Christmas tomatoes?

It's late December in Florida and the signs of the season are all around--grandchildren singing Christmas carols with the school chorus...

and red berries greeting us on green vines...also known as tomatoes. Isn't winter in Florida wonderful?

Of course, now and then a blast of Canadian air comes through...

bringing Santa along (and he is just as scary for little kids in Florida).

Best of all are the Christmas lights.

Over the river and through the woods....

Why are they dumping shell at grandma's house and making roads over the river and through the woods?

Because grandma's log cabin has arrived!!!

Well, at least all the parts did. Now, where is the Lincoln Log instruction sheet so we can put it together?

Tooth fairy coming?

You might remember that we've been treating Black Velvet for an infection in her cheek.

Well, after three months of treatments, we decided to just pull the tooth. How much do you think the tooth fairy will give us for this?

It's Christmas Time again!!

Sage was in charge of the ward Christmas party. The decorations, the food, and the entertainment were spectacular, as expected.

But the highlight was the live nativity scene outside with Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, a donkey, and singing angels and shepherds that greeted and entertained the guests and neighbors passing by.

Birthday boy!

Stephen is now FOUR!!

Thanksgiving visitors

This year everyone was everywhere else for thanksgiving, though they did pass by to say hello so Grandma could have fun with Tatum...

while the boy cousins could have some wild interaction.

Of course, the mothers supervised and cooked...

while the girls did quieter activities.

There was time to pick oranges and hunt for rabbits and burrowing owls.

We had a great time with everyone passing through.

Bush hogs and sowers

Who is that hidden behind the tall blackberry bushes on the Camp Thompson Ranch South Ten?

It's grandpa pulling a bush hog cutting down the wild berries and small trees to create pastures and adventure land for camping, four-wheeling, and other activities for the grandchildren. Notice how everything clears out as he does his creative mowing.

Who says that work isn't fun? Here's grandma sowing ryegrass in the newly mown fields so the horses and cows will have feed this winter.

Oh, there's work enough to do ere the sun goes down!