Picture borrowed from L's blog

These two cuties are just too cute.

Grammy is very happy to have them be part of our family.

L & R:  you make very darling babies!  Keep up the good work!

Summer Reading

B took this with his phone.

I have been up to the cabin quite a bit over the past two months and it has been lovely.  Words can't quite describe waking up to the cool fresh air.  I even enjoy the birds singing.  I don't know what they are saying so early in the morning but it must be shouts of joy that another day has begun.  A while ago, someone told me that waking up each morning is symbolic of the Resurrection.  It give me a different perspective as I greet the sun peeking over the mountains.  And since I am of a certain age, I don't sleep as much now and wake up before the sunrise so I actually do get to see the sun rise.

The fires in various hotspots in Utah gave the sunsets an extra wow factor this week.

What I've been reading:

The Well and The Mine by Gin Phillips

1493 -- Uncovering the New World Columbus Created by Charles C. Mann

The Beach by Elin Hildebrant

(just bought another one of hers entitled Summer People)

Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende

What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg

People of Darkness, A Thief of Time, and Sacred Clowns by Tony Hillerman

I recently pulled from my bookshelf for a re-read:  Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See.

I've been trying to locate B's original copy of The Two Towers (he got this particular copy when he was in the 5th grade) because that is what he is reading for the 12th time.  It is the first time he's re-read it since he read it to D when D was in the fifth grade.  It was our tradition:  I read the Book of Mormon with the kids before their baptism and B read the Lord of the Rings trilogy with them when they were in 5th grade.  I hope they treasure those memories as much as we do.

Latest reading

My latest reading list:

Any of the various books by Tony Hillerman

 (these are the ones I read recently)

The Blessing Way

Hunting Badger

Talking God

Skeleton Man

The Fallen Man

I am working on getting all of the Hillerman books.  

I read his biography, Seldom Disappointed, and really enjoyed it.  

He seems like he was a really nice man.

Other biographies that I have read recently include 

Lisa See's On Gold Mountain 

and 

Amy Tan's The Opposite of Fate. 

Amy Tan has two new books coming:  

Rules For Virgins 

and 

The Valley of Amazement

Worksong by Ivan Doig (always 2 thumbs up)

South of Superior by Ellen Airgood (I really like this one)

I am currently reading

The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner

Also I ordered new Adriana Trigiani books:

Viola in the Spotlight

and The Shoemaker's Wife

Welcome to The World!

Welcome to the World, little guy, little bubba, little Charlie.

We are so glad to meet you and love you!

Words cannot describe seeing you come into the world.

I love your Mom and Dad.

I love your brother.

I love your Grandpa.

I love your Tio

I love your Prana

I love you.

Blast From the past

These are pictures from the 1979-1980 Murray High School Boosters.

In the first picture, I am in the second row, just past center.  

In the 2nd picture I am on the left 4th row from the bottom.  

Wow, could I get my hair any bigger?  

Yes, I actually could and probably should have!

I think these are great pictures with wonderfully great memories.

A LIttle Bit Busy

Things have been a little bit busy here at La Casa. We've had L & R and their family with us for a few weeks. They moved to Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, but L was about 37 weeks along and didn't want to start new with a doctor she didn't know. So she stayed with us and went to a family friend. And a new baby joined us on Saturday. We are all a little sleep deprived but so happy our family has grown. We are so happy for R & L; they have such a bright future!

I've read a few books since my last post, but none of them really worth writing about here. I just started re-reading Death Comes For the Archbishop by Willa Cather. I first about this book when I was in the American Lit class taught by Professor Genaro Padilla. He was from New Mexico and also taught the Southwest Lit class. He is now at Berkeley. The first time I read the book was when we traveled to Albuquerque to visit family, and I was reading it as we passed by Acoma. [We later visited Acoma on a subsequent visit] I think I've read just about everything Willa Cather has written; I've even taken a Willa Cather Lit class taught by a Cather expert, Marilyn Arnold. My other Cather favorite is Shadow on the Rocks. My one complaint about Death Comes for the Archbishop is her treatment of the local Spanish people. Her Anglo arrogance [as well as Archbishop Lamy's] shows through the prose. I wish there were a book of this caliber written for and about the Spanish people who settled New Mexico and showed them as I believe they were -- hardworking people trying to make a living for their families.

I'm going to visit the Land of Enchantment this weekend with some of my sisters. We will visit our Aunts, go to a lecture about the Jaquez family, visit several of my "internet" cousins who have been so helpful with genealogy, and enjoy the scenery. When we go to restaurants and they ask "red or green" I will always choose green. I will stand where my Dad played and grew up, and remember.

Fun In The Fort

My next door neighbor friends (age 9)

have made use of a little hole in the shrubbery in our yard.

We had one of the shrubs died and so, I pulled out the remains.

The shrubbery on each side filled in through the front,

but in the back, there is a nice little hole and it is the perfect hiding place.

They call it The Fort.

Yesterday, they took Little D in there and he loved it

so today, he wanted to play some more.

I fit in The Fort but preferred sitting on the wall

or even better, on a blanket on the grass out in the open!

We had fun playing

Chase The Ball,

Kick The Ball,

Roll The Ball,

Throw Rocks in The Rock Garden,

Find Rocks in the Grass to Throw in the Rock Garden,

and Roll In the Grass.

What a fun day with a fun fellow!

I also had fun with his Uncle D,

his Mom Linds,

and his Grandpa.

I had a fun evening with our next door neighbors, D & C,

and a surprise visit with my sis and her co-worker.

It is now 1:20 AM.

Can't go to sleep. Not sure why.

Could be the two Diet Cokes I had with dinner. :(

Today would have been my Mom's 82nd Birthday.

I miss you, Mom, and have wonderful memories to keep you always in my heart.

I found her family in the 1940 census. She was 9 years old at the time.

I also found my Dad's family. He was 19 years old.

The 1940 census became available online 5 days ago.

It took me an hour or so of looking

but it wasn't too hard and well worth it to see their pages.

Maybe now I can go to sleep.