Graduating class 2011

Tomorrow night I will be in Yakima. My second oldest grandson will be   graduating from High School. I remember so well the day he was born. Time flies when we are so busy with our lives doesn't  it? I hopefully will have a picture to post of him. Funny I will be celebrating my 45th year since graduating high school  myself this year.. OMG that makes me feel really old... 

Weekend trip Camping

The boys fishing, unfortunately they didn't catch anything.. but they did have their lines in the water all of 5 minutes. They really like to cast the lines best. next to swimming.

Happy Hour with the girls

Clay took the picture of our group.

We sure hated to see my Dennis, Michelle and Charlie have to go home to Denver. .. 

Our "Prince Charles"

We think he is adorable, and are thoroughly enjoying  our visit with him this week. He is our Prince Charles and know he will  be some lovely princess's Prince charming when he becomes of age... we figure that will be awhile but in the mean time hes already charmed his way into our hearts.  Later this week we will join his 3 cousins when we go camping over Memorial Weekend. Our family will be camping and fishing and playing for three days. We only wish Aunt Nancy& Uncle Simon were joining us but  this year they couldn't make it. I am sure we will be sending them many pictures.  I will  be sharing those pictures here with my readers when we return.  I hope you all have time to enjoy your love ones this week.. 

The House is pretty much Child proof

Spent the day childproofing the house, covered a few  reachable electrical sockets, put away glass "pretties." Moved most of temptation... I think..Because Charlie will be here tomorrow.  He will undoubtedly find something that will be a "do not touch" but there will be a lot of things he can handle.. Buster may not like it to be kid handled but he can always move out of sight.  It has been years since a toddler has  been in our home so we are kinda excited to say the least. We are sure hoping the forecast is correct and this awful rain is going away tonight.. Gosh I  hope so.. My son and  his wife will be here for only about a week.. This is the first time Papa Clay will actually get to meet Charlie in person..  Oh yes, Gramma went to the store & there are treats & cookies did you doubt that? 

Company coming for dinner

 Tonight we have company coming for dinner.. I planned a small dinner party with a couple of friends and their spouses. I  Love to entertain and cook for guests.  I don't know why but when I do these thing I tend to work  for hours prepping and cleaning so I can relax when the guests arrive. 
While my husband has been sprucing up the outside, I have been preparing food, setting up a mini -bar, setting the table and pre-cooking what I can. Do you do this? It makes perfect sense to me.. and  makes the evening stress free.
My menu has been planned for a week. I am sure  it will be a great dinner. How can I go wrong.. good friends & yummy food..now I should go chill the wine. marinade the fish and I will be set...or yeah and post my appetizer pictures on "thishensacookin  blog. You can see them, just go on over to the sidebar and click on the egg carton. 
I think I am set....

here they are...4 new chickens

Here they are ... the 4 babies. They are adjusting to their new home.. Clay & I clipped their little wings before we moved them into their new home. I have been trying to go out & pick them up daily so they get used to that.. It really helps if they are tame & not afraid of you, in case you need to pick them up later.. I made the mistake before with the older ones and it is quite difficult if I need to gather them up to move them to their coop.  So far these babies are doing fine.. There are 7  resident chickens now. It is amazing how big the others seem now..  and  I am hoping that no more predators come near these.. We lost two last week to a hawk I think...  and that really cut down on my egg production.. getting only 2 eggs a day right now... These new chicks won't start laying until mid July... Keep checking back as I  document how they are growing.. Enjoy your day and be safe.

New girls will share the coop

And then there were 7.. hens.
 Today I brought the babies home from Gail's. They look so cute. Growing quite quickly.
As you can see here are two of the 3 older hens,  wondering where these babies came from ..
Tonight  they will share their space.
I am sure a pecking order will be re-established.  Two more months and we can start seeing the new hens laying... I hope.

Taking a break

I think I am becoming "old". I seem to need a few more rest breaks than I used to. After being in Denver for 10 days, visiting and  babysitting my two year old grandson, I am well... "pooped". It is taking me more time to re group since I have been home than I thought. I have managed to unpack my suitcases, did laundry and grocery shopped. I have been home for 4 days!
I managed to plant a few vegetable seeds today and cleaned my kitchen. I have beds to change and a guest room  to spruce up for coming company in  a couple weeks, plan meals, and get back into my daily routine.. I will be trying to post here as I make the time..but  it may be a few days before I can get back to blogging. Have a great Mothers Day weekend and Enjoy your families. My husband is taking me to a Brunch and I will be doing some  reading from my new Kindle that one of my daughters gave me for Mothers day, I think I will really relax and even  get a pedicure...how about you? What are your weekend plans?

The walls do have ears....

Did I say Chocolate? The kid loves it....A funny story

My son & I  mentioned maybe going out for icecream at the dinner table  last night and as we started to clear the dinner table, Charlie got down from his chair and went to the Freezer...   tugged at the door,   reached in and pulled out  the container  of Chocolate Ice cream...( Luckily there was one serving  left) Who said kids don't hear whats being said around them.?   Yes The walls do have ears!

His Mama will be arriving tonight at the airport so my son made a huge  sign for Charlie to  hold at the top of the stairs as she comes through the gate: It reads  "Mommy, Sure did miss you!". I am sure her heart will melt when she sees it....

Coming home soon

I am tired, but love being here with Charlie.. The week is almost over. Sunday,  I will be returning home with these  great memories that will be soon renewed when he come to "Gramma's house" for the first time. After being with  this little "Prince" I see I have lots of Kid proofing to do when I get home. ( as well as shopping for  some playthings) I figure I have a couple weeks to do that. Buster will be happy to meet Moby too .( thats

Charlie's new dog who will be coming along too). We have a family camping trip planned for Memorial Weekend and that will  include My daughter Pj and her boys who have not seen Charlie since he was 6 months old.
I can honestly say "It will be a busy & memorable time". I promise to download my Denver  pictures when I get home so I can share with you all  A few of the giggle times I had with Charlie.. OMG he is so cute .. and that's a very unbiased opinion I am sure.... from a one proud gramma....

Packed & ready to hit the skyways this time...

Yes, I am  packed and ready to go to Denver on Friday. I will be spending 10 days with my little grandson 

Charlie.   He's 2 1/2 now and Its been too long since I have held him on my lap, read him stories and played at the park with him. I will be babysitting him while his  Daddy works and his Mommy goes to a retreat. 

I have not seen him since last summer. I know he has grown and will probably do the shy kid bit for a few minutes.  Hopefully this will be my opportunity to have him get to know me again and then when he comes to my house  in a few  weeks  he will remember me.. If you remember Charlie was born on my birthday and I was there when he was born. He is my last grandchild and 5th Grandson.
Are you a grandma? Do you get to see your grandkids often?  I wish I saw all 6 of mine  more often.. I cannot image not having some time with them.  They grow up so fast and  get on with their own lives much too quickly. I want to keep close ties to them as I do my children.. It is hard to do sometimes but having Family is one of my  cherished treasures.

Death Valley Pictures

 We drove through some mighty pretty country. We have been here before but during much  hotter weather. These colorful hillsides were so pretty and rightfully names as we took the drive. Greens, browns, purples, golds and tans..all created by mineral elements in the soil. If you are given the opportunity to visit I do recommend doing it. I guess one really  does need to appreciate the desert and its beauty. I was thinking of the pioneer's traveling through this and wonder what they must have been thinking.  

 

Photo memories of the desert

The desert was starting to show its  bloom. I managed to catch a few shots of the beaver tail and prickly pear cactus and other flowers  in yellow and pink. The sunsets and painted hills & valleys were were beautiful too. These trips are such spirit lifters, don't you agree?

Along the way....

 Here we are camped at Lake Mead RV Village in Nevada, about 45 minutes from the "Strip". We have some great stories to tell of our journey, ( to be shared later) We settled in yesterday for a few days rest here. Met a nice couple from Idaho. They are camped directly behind us. In a Bounder 32 ft motorhome,  (Even with our 11 1/2 ft camper, we look small parked among some of these  coaches.) We sat by their camp last night enjoyed a few drinks and then they invited us to join them for dinner.. What a treat... Good Dinner around their gas firepit...and no dishes to do..

Some overnighting others have camped here for a few days, weeks & months. 
Looks like a camper city paradise. The weather today is cloudy but warm 75 degrees.. A nice break.  ...

We could come here again....

The landscape along the journey here was breath taking.  Redrock formations very similar to the Canyon Lands in Utah.

The desert is starting to bloom here cactus and desert flowers.   We will be cooking for our new friends tonight Chicken Parmesean and pasta, so I better get the chicken out to thaw, do a bit of reading and relaxing here with Buster. Now doesn't that sound good?