Bittersweet

A while back I walked in to my local Walmart. To my immediate left were shelves packed with all the school supplies. My first thought was, "Hallelujah! I never have to go school supply shopping again!" And then almost immediately I heard myself thinking, "Oh dear. I'll never get to go school supply shopping again!"

I didn't realize that something that I once dreaded every year would actually be missed when I no longer had to do it. And today was the first day of school. Living on a street with three schools, I felt a little weird this morning -- like I was missing out on the real action.

Luckily Daughter #3 told me I could buy her a new backpack for University. She's so thoughtful that way!

Dixie

On Being a Grandma -- Round 2

One day after Daughter #2 left with her kiddies, Daughter #1 arrived with hers. It has always amazed me how much these kids look like The Mr.'s side of the family. ;)

Seriously, though, we did have a little fun with the costumes.

One day while baking with the five-year-old, we were discussing all sorts of important things. He confided in me that he could hardly wait to go to "the love center". Somewhat baffled, I asked him what "the love centre" was. He said it was a place where you do grown-up things. Not really sure whether or not I wanted to hear the answer, I heard myself asking, "What kind of grown-up things?" He matter-of-factly responded, "Like baking cookies."

Phew! That was too close for comfort!

Dixie

On Being a Grandma

This morning I kissed these sweet faces goodbye.

They were here for a few days with their mother - Daughter #2. We played at the park, went to the farmer's market, had a movie night party in our pj's, watched a play, shopped, played games, baked goodies, had some girl time, and stayed up way too late.

Relief Society Pot Luck Activity

Showing their wares from the Farmers' Market

I love how little kids are so honest. It's always fun to "interview" them and see what they come up with. Here's a small portion of one of our conversations:

Me: When does a girl turn into a woman?

Them: When her hair turns white.

Me: So, is your mom a girl or a woman?

Them: A girl.

Me: Am I a girl or a woman?

Them: A girl.

Needless to say, I was feeling pretty good about that. My head (with the non-white hair) was starting to swell.

It was only 20 minutes later when my granddaughter came snuggling up to me, gave me a cuddle, and then asked, "Grandma, why are you so old?"

Ouch! Nothing hurts more than being brought back to reality.

Dixie

The Past Couple of Weeks

So, it appears that the picture of the man in the drunken stupor featured on my last post, seems to have taken up permanent residence. I'm getting tired of seeing him, so I figure it's time to post again, even if it's just a quick summary of our past couple of weeks.

Here's what we've been up to:

1) Staining the fence we built last year.

2) Breaking in our new fire pit.

3) Attending "Taste of Edmonton" for the first time.

Sampling quail. (Tastes like chicken :))

Sampling deep-fried Mars Bar

4) Loving every minute of "Wicked".

And yes, by the clothes we're wearing, you can tell that we went directly to Wicked from the previous activity.

5) Reunioning at "Ol' MacDonald's Farm" .

6) Looking forward to a visit from Daughter #2 and her kidlets today, and a visit from Daughter #1 and her family at the end of the week.

And that's about it. Not much, but now I won't have to look at the drunk man anymore!

Dixie

FindYourBeach.ca

The Mr. was in Calgary on business yesterday and came across this sight:

Somehow we doubt this man is helping Corona's campaign.

Dixie

Thirty Years

Thirty years ago The Mr. and I got married. Whoa! Thirty years -- that's a long time. The on-line conversion chart tells me that would be 133 years in Dog Years. I'm guessing it would be something like 233 years if there was such thing as a Movie Star Marriage conversion chart. Either way, it's a long time. A lot of things have happened or changed in the last 30 years. The most obvious is our appearance.

Here we are in 1981

And here we are 30 years later

And here are some of the highlights over the past 30 years:

Birth of Daughter #1

(Look at that top-of-the-line baby seat/play pen. Nothing but the best for our children!)

Birth of Daughter #2

Law School Graduation

The purchase of our first home

(After seven years of apartment living, we thought we had died and gone to heaven.)

Birth of Sons #1A and #1B

Birth of Daughter #3

Our year in Utah

Some great family vacations

(Please try not to be envious of my groovy pants.)

The wedding of Daughter #2

The wedding of Daughter #1

The arrival of some adorable grandchildren

1A and 1B's mission call to Russia

(Where they apparently almost starved to death!)

Thirty years is a long time to be married. When you try to sum it up in a few paragraphs, it can't quite capture the true feelings that have developed over that time. Feelings of love, obviously, but more that just that. When I see my husband I feel comfort, relief, excitement, security, romance, joy, and a whole bunch of other emotions that I'm sure I'll think of (and wished I would have included) after I've pressed the "PUBLISH POST" button.

The Mr. and I have had a great 30 years together. I'm looking forward to the next 30!

Dixie

No Matter Where You Go...

On Sunday The Mr. and I visited a church in St. George, Utah. Funny how all Latter-day Saint wards are pretty much the same. We've all got the same types of characters, just taking up residence in different bodies:

• The Sacrament Meeting chorister who leads the music with so much exuberance that it feels like he/she has just participated in an athletic experience.
• The thirty-something dad of several young children who puts his head down and falls asleep, leaving his wife to take care of all the kids.
• The older gentlemen in Sunday School who has a comment for everything. Sometimes he even says something related to the lesson.
• The Relief Society presidency member who is so sugary sweet. You're sure her daughters all wear matching home-made dresses.
• The sixty-something woman who seems to be the authority on everything. If there's a dispute over the date, time, or place of any church or community event, she seems to be able to finalize it with her comment.

It's kind of reassuring to know that it's not just the doctrine, but the people, that makes "the church the same, no matter where you go in the world."

Dixie

Kids -- Gotta Love 'Em

Overheard at the foodcourt:

Young Boy: Last time I was at A&W I had a baby burger.

Woman: Was it good?

Young Boy: Yeah. It kinda tasted like hamburger mixed with.... babies.

Told to me by a mother of one of my youngest members of Showbiz Kids:

Olivia: (Pointing out the window to Daughter #3 riding her bike) Look Mom!!

Mom: Oh, we know her, don't we? Good for her for riding her bike.

Olivia: She's only riding with one hand. She's so cool!

(Later that day the mom noticed Olivia riding her bike in the driveway.... with one hand.)

When I mentioned this to Daughter #3 she said, "Oh, I guess I should've been wearing my helmet."

Kids -- gotta love 'em!

Two Things

There are two things that The Mr. has been threatening to do for several years.

There are two things that I vowed I would never let him do.

Oddly enough they are the same two things:

1) Get a pair of cowboy boots. (And actually wear them.)

2) Shave his head before he goes on a summer vacation.

Guess what two things The Mr. did within the past week.

Guess what two things I found myself aiding and abetting.

Pictures may or may not follow.

Dixie

There's A Last Time For Everything

As mentioned in my last post(s), Daughter #3 has just finished grade 12, and with that have come a lot of "lasts". Her last day of school, her last day of early morning Seminary, her last high school exam, her last day to attend church with me in our family ward, her last time to attend Young Womens, her last school play, her last rugby game, her last awards ceremony. It's amazing how these things that are "hers" have become such a big part of "my" life. I guess being the last of five children, she probably gets a little more of my attention than my other children got. Probably more than she wants!

So, we're each entering a new phase in our lives. She's so excited to be moving on to that next phase. Me? Not so much.

Dixie

In All Fairness....

I am boring. At least that's what someone might think who checked out my last post of Daughter #3's grad. I know that's what I thought when I checked it out a few days later. The pictures I posted where pretty staged and serious. So today, in all fairness to said daughter, I've posted a few pics of what really happened that day:

"My sister, the GRADUATE!"

"I knew you could do it!"

"I salute you!"

"C'mon, be respectful. She doesn't look that funny in her cap and gown."

"Okay, sorry. We'll quit flirting now."

"Enough with the pictures. I'm about ready to fall asleep."

"Someone called for a limo?"

"Okay act natural. Show enough to look like a good sport,

but not enough to look like the best sport."

"Can you believe he let us take our picture with him?"

"You lookin' at me?"

I love this kid!

Dixie

And The Winner Is...

Okay, so a while back I promised to post the winner of Daughter #3's graduation dress shopping spree. I realize the picture's not great, but it just happened to be the only shot we got of her that showed the entire dress, from head to toe. What you can't really see from the picture is the tiny little flowers tucked into her Taylor Swift-style bun. Nonetheless, I think she made a great choice.

Here are a few other pictures from the day:

Overall, a very fun day, but........how can she possibly be old enough to be graduating from High School?

15 Minutes of Fame

Just a few minutes ago I was checking in on one of my favorite blogs -- catalogliving.net -- when I saw something that caught my eye. Off to the side, in the area where it shows a few people who "like" this website on facebook, was a picture of Daughter #1. The fact that she likes it wasn't surprising. The fact that out of the 26,046 people whose picture could have been there, hers just happened to be there when I was checking! Okay, that deserves even more emphasis. !!!!!!

I have to admit, I exited and entered the site a few more times in rapid succession to see if her picture would still be there. It was.... for just a few more minutes. And then just as quickly as she rose to fame, she vanished. Oh well, you know what they say. Everyone has their 15 minutes of fame.

I discovered that I also have been captured on the internet. While checking out google earth satellite maps one day, Son 1A found our town. Zooming in a little closer he found our street, then our house, then ........me! I was so excited to be famous. And I even looked pretty good. I was bent over the lawn mower filling it with gas. (I'm so glad I was caught doing something industrious, and not just lounging on a lawn chair eating bonbons.) But just now as I've been searching to find that same image, it's disappeared.

Oh well, you know what they say.

Dixie

The Resident Entertainer

I took a little drive this past week to visit my mom. Since I have last seen her, she has moved to a Senior's lodge. We used to call it "the old folks' home" but I suppose that's not politically correct anymore. Initially I was a little worried about her moving in there. I thought she'd be a little lonely, or missing her home, or whatever. Hah! She's loving it!

• While everyone else complains about the food, my mom thinks she's died and gone to heaven. No more meals to make.
• While everyone else misses their homes, mom's relieved she doesn't have a lawn to mow or sidewalks to shovel.
• While everyone else whines about their tiny living quarters, she's grateful she doesn't have very much to keep clean. And to top it off she gets maid service once a week!

So, her spirits are in pretty good shape. She's having a good time, and seems to have taken it upon herself to be the resident entertainer. She puts on musical programs and tells jokes about old people. The funniest thing, though, was her walker. At first glance it looks pretty normal.

But upon closer inspection.....

you will notice that the contents include:

1. one kleenex box (okay, so that's pretty reasonable)
2. one garbage bag (for the used kleenexes) taped to the handle bar
3. one bottle of multi-vitamins
4. one piano book of rag music
5. one tambourine
6. one set of maracas
7. two harmonicas
8. three kazoos
9. one wooden train whistle
10. one pint jar of Roger's Golden Syrup (in case they serve pancakes for breakfast)
11. one bottle of cinnamon (?)
12. one bar of Irish Spring soap (your guess is as good as mine)
13. one pair of sunglasses (perhaps to give a hint of "rock star" while playing the kazoo?)

I think she has every right to claim the title of "resident entertainer". I only hope the other people are laughing with her.

Dixie