Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts

Friday, March 21, 2008

A Great Meeting

I had an uneventful drive up north to Atascadero yesterday.

I was on my way to meet my new great nephew Hunter for the first time.

Here he is at 20 days old:


He's pretty laid back:


Here he is posing with his mama Heather as Great Grandma snaps away:


His mama is in love with him...


...as is his Great Aunt Fluteprayer:


Aunt Bethany is dreaming of the day she will have her own little one:


Proud papa Coach Matt poses with the rest of the family:


Tomorrow a big family bar-b-que is being held in Hunter's honor.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm...bar-b-que!

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Introducing Baby Hunter

My niece Heather and husband Matt...

...are admiring their new son Hunter Benjamin!



It's love at first sight for Bob and me as well. I can see his mama in him.

I can't wait to get my great auntly hands on the little guy!

Congratulations Heather, Matt, and Hunter!!!



Friday, February 29, 2008

Hunter Has Arrived!

Hunter Benjamin was born 43 minutes ago at 3:52am! When the call went out he hadn't even been weighed or measured yet. I'll let you know the particulars later.

Meanwhile, Happy Leap Year!!!!

The Stats: 8 pounds, 9 ounces
20 inches long


My new nephew is almost 9 hours old and I still haven't seen a picture of him. Email, anybody???

I hear he's really, really adorable.

I wouldn't know.

No pictures.

I just talked to Grandma Christy. Her Charter email is down so she can't send pictures. Maybe later. AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!


Thursday, February 28, 2008

Waiting for Hunter



This is the only picture I have of my grand nephew Hunter.

So far!

His mom is in the hospital at this very moment awaiting his arrival. Last I heard, though, she was only dilated 3cm.

Come on, Hunter! You can do better than that.

Let's go, young man.

There's a family longing to love you.

See you soon!

Monday, December 31, 2007

New Year, New Nephew



My beautifully blossoming niece Heather and her husband Matt will be welcoming their first child Hunter in the New Year.

Hunter is due at the end of February.

Heather just recently found out that both Matt and his brother were over 10 pounds at birth.

Now there's something to look forward to!

So from FlutePrayer to all my blogging friends, Happy New Year everyone!

May God bless and keep you safe and secure in the palm of His hand.

Monday, December 17, 2007

A Disney Rest




With Bob's wonderful mom Nellie safely home after her lovely week's stay with us, Bob and I are making our way to Disneyland for a bit of rest before joining my family in Atascadero for Christmas.

No, we can not afford to stay at the Grand Californian Hotel. We will be staying at a hotel nearby.

It's supposed to be rainy, so you will find us snuggled up in our suite watching HGTV (since we don't get it at home) after venturing out to the Magic Kingdom.

I'm not sure if I'll blog while we're gone, but I will (of course) take some pictures.

And hey, if you're going to be in the Disneyland neighborhood let us know. Maybe we can ride Indiana Jones together!

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Blogging Family



I lifted this wonderful picture from Darleene's blog Darleeneisms.

Bryan "beFrank" is my blogging hero, and the inspiration behind my own blog. Almost every "toy" you see on this blog was added in an effort to emulate his masterful style.

Darleene "Darleeneisms" is my tech hero. She has been blogging for over 10 years and knows everything cutting edge about internet technology.

Although we have never actually met in person, I value these two as part of my family.

So Merry Christmas you two. You and yours are welcome in our home any time!

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Express Arrival


It was a beautiful morning at Ontario International Airport.


Bob and I were there to pick up his mom Nellie from her ice-delayed flight from Oklahoma City.

She was ecstatic about her Express Jet flight. She said it was the smoothest, best flight she'd ever taken, even through the very stormy weather out of Will Rogers Airport.


She is now safely home with us. We are so thankful that she is here.



Bonus: We were able to get tickets for Bob and Nellie to the sold-out Irish Tenors concert I'm playing in tomorrow. We're all looking forward to that. I'll see what I can do about getting some pictures from that job. Maybe yes, maybe no.
I'll keep you posted.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

A Family Thanksgiving

My entire family gathered in Atascadero for Thanksgiving this year:

Well, there was one member who is waiting for his debut. This is my niece Heather (with husband Matt in the background):

And the soon to debut family member? Meet Hunter:



Expected arrival: February, 2008.

I'll keep you posted!


Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Grandma's Doggie Day Care

I had an exuberant greeting upon my arrival at my sister's house this morning.

Three smiling, feisty canines waited behind the front gate.

I had arrived at Grandma's Doggie Day Care.

Here is "Grandma" with Tim and Bethany's dog Chassie, Matt and Heather's dog Olive, and her resident dog Penny:

Grandma is teaching her charges manners:

And now for the reward:



What a treat it is to visit Grandma's Doggie Day Care!

Sunday, November 18, 2007

On The Road




I'm heading for Atascadero tomorrow morning in my rented Kia. I'm looking forward to escaping LA and breathing some invisible air (as opposed to, well, you know what the air is like in LA).

The down side? Bob won't be able to join me until Tuesday night.

The up side? Lots of blog fodder as the family gathers.

I'll keep you posted.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Having A Blast

Sorry for the blog silence.

I've been doing the usual teaching, practicing, playing thing and returning home in need of sleep instead of blogging.

Thankfully, Bob is slowly recovering from his dental woes. He is submerged in work and will be out of town most of the week.

Today I've got time to further reflect on last Monday's visit to Disneyland.

Mason and Bob took their best shot with their Astro Blasters:


Here I am riding solo:



Hmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Methinks I got extremely lucky...

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Piratey Encounter and Pain



Mason and I ran into this buccaneer at Disneyland on Monday.

Quite the swashbuckling trio, are we not?

On a more dismal note, my dear husband Bob has been suffering excruciating dental pain for over a week, even after 3 trips to the dentist and a root canal. Ouch! He's back for trip number 4 tomorrow morning. Please pray for the man!

Monday, November 5, 2007

Goofy Day at Disneyland



Bob and I spent the day at Disneyland with our nephew Mason.

We had a blast.

I'll post more later.

For now I'll leave you with this Goofy picture:


Thursday, August 30, 2007

Light Show

Picture from the San Luis Obispo Tribune


The remnants of Hurricane Dean did an end run on the Central Coast last night, completely blindsiding the weather forecasters.

I thought it was odd that someone was using a strobe light in the middle of the night. Earplugs kept the rumbling of thunder at bay until 2:30am when I was finally shaken awake.

The best part? The fragrance of rain! It has been many long, long months since I have been blessed by that.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Visitors in Paradise


My sister Christy, her husband Dave, and their son Mason drove west from Atascadero to take in our little bit of paradise yesterday.



We had fine weather for our walk on the ranch and nearby tide pools. The remnants of Hurricane Dean dropped moisture further south, but didn't touch us here.


We got a close view of several turkey vultures as they made their way to the beach below the ranch boardwalk. We couldn't see what was on the menu, but could certainly smell it, and appreciated their role in clearing out the carrion.


The tide was low, so we got a good look at the tide pools. Mason accurately observed that the exposed sea weed looked like potpourri. It certainly didn't smell like potpourri!


A lavish spread of the most exquisite snack (read junk) food was enjoyed upon our return home.


We all remarked on how peaceful and relaxing the surroundings were.




I woke up this moring thinking of my teaching responsibilities back home. That's just wrong! I'm going back to reading.

School can wait!

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Auf Wiedersehen Marine Stadium, Good Bye El Dorado Park

A large crowd packed the park Thursday evening as the Long Beach Municipal Band said Auf Wiedersehen to Marine Stadium.

It was blazing hot on the band stand.

The sound system tried to go down repeatedly during the concert.

Bob resuscitated it, but it wasn't pretty for him.


Friday saw the final set up at El Dorado Park:

The three Men In Pink spent a good part of the night smoking brisket in this marvelous contraption:

Mike, Greg, and Justin not only set up the risers, stands, chairs, and mike stands, but provided amazing barbecue for the band.

My niece Bethany and her husband Tim vamped it up Hollywood style.

They stopped by on their way back to Templeton from Palm Springs.

My sister Janine drove down from Paso Robles with her youngest son Peter (left) and our nephew Mason (right) especially for the concert.

Beverly, Mom and Dad are in the background.

Bethany and I take a break in front of the band stand before the concert:

Bob was trying to grab a bit of brisket while praying over the sound system.

It was on its last legs.

It limped through the last concert.

Fortunately for us it didn't quit altogether.

Aunt Charlo and Uncle Joe joined in the fun:

My brother Ken was feeling goofy after a long day at work:

A bit of serious warming up was required after ingesting such a large amount of brisket:

My view of the final concert:

After the final tear down in the park, all the equipment was unloaded here...

...where it will hibernate until next summer.

So long, Muni Band.

You will be missed!