Spring Break and a blast from the past

For Spring Break, my sister, Denise, and her son, Jake, drove here from Vegas. Hannah's project that first night was to paint some signs that she later put up outside by our dead tree trunk.

On Sunday, Deni and I left Jake behind (we were a day late due to a needed car repair), and we went to Oregon to visit our parents for a week. Jake, a senior like Ryan, seems to have had a good week partying it up with his cousins and their friends. Yes, they had a movie party and watched the cartoon version of "Robin Hood." We know how to live.

While Deni and I were in Oregon, Andrew (still in Provo and almost done with winter semester) turned 22.  I wasn't there to take a picture, but here's one from his 3rd birthday and notice he is wearing a BYU shirt:

Andrew and Glen

Ryan turned 18 and got his driver's license. Hannah made a great cake for Ryan, which I saw when we got in (partially eaten, of course). For those of you not as familiar with pokemon as we are, this is Charmander. One of his special traits is he can breathe fire. Hannah had placed the candles so it looked like he was breathing fire. Pretty creative:

After returning home I thanked Hannah for doing such a good job keeping the house in order. She gave me this amazed look and asked me how I managed to do it all. Apparently it had been a difficult task. Though I wish her task had been easier for her, I'm so glad there's a new appreciation in her for what I do. Warms my heart.

Denise and I had a quiet week which was just what the doctor ordered. Mom, Deni, and I played games (the dice games Farkle and yahtzee, plus some 3 to 13, a card game). We got Dad to play one game of yahtzee with us, too.

I only went to the beach once, on Monday, as I had a project I was working on, but Denise went several times to sit and think. The sun actually came out for a bit while I was at the beach. They hadn't seen the sun in over 2 1/2 weeks, Dad said. It had been raining a lot. We did see the sun a couple of times while there, but it was mostly cloudy and a bit rainy.

Deni and I also had a mini Jane Austen movie-fest. We saw Persuasion, Emma, and 2 versions of Sense and Sensibility.The 2 versions were different, leaving us wanting to read the book to see what really happened. I read it so long ago, I don't remember the details.

My big project was to take my grandfather's scrapbooks and some other family photos and scan them into the computer. The scanning is done, but not my project. I am still working on a family history book.

Denise and I drove back on Saturday. That night we went to see "The Princess Bride" in the high school theatre. Glen plays the grandfather, Alex is the grandson, Eric is the albino, and my nephew Joseph is the gatekeeper. Curtain call:

Fezzik (Chad), Inigo (Dallin), Albino (Eric), Miracle Max (Braden), and the Taylor (Jared)

(Alex and) Denise and Jake after the play

Now, for a blast from the past. Besides scanning photos that were 100 years old, there were also a few a bit more recent...like about 35 years ago taken in Metairie, Louisiana.

me readingin the back yard--wish it was something great, but it was a Harlequin Romance

I think this photo was taken in the summer of 1977. Denise and Martha, who was visiting us from Massachusetts, would have just graduated from high school. We are still in contact with Martha. She even came out for the wedding of Denise's son last year. It's great to still have contact with old friends.

Denise, Martha, Beth

Great fun.