What We've Been Up to During Oct. 2008

Having just returned from over two weeks of travel, I felt I should document our activities. The day after celebrating Mitchell's 2nd birthday, we loaded up our Windstar and traveled to LaVerkin where we visited with my mother (Ruth Nielson). On Friday morning (Oct. 10th) we saw her and then traveled the 6 hour trip to Prescott, Arizona where the Haltermans graciously allowed us to stay with them. This included a shopping trip with Kendra to start looking for fabrics for all her projects and our visit with several of our friends in Prescott. We saw Ethel Taylor, Ruth Allen, Allison Stanford and Dave and Alice Lange. We are amazed how well Alice is doing.

















On Saturday we traveled to Phoenix, Arizona with Kendra and the children. It was fun to be with them again. On Monday we started in to serious work on the many projects we wanted to get done.




One of our most enjoyable thing was to be able to spend some time with our 3 lovely Arizona grandchildren.


Kira came home with a Principal's Award for her first quarter grades. Naturally we are very pleased grandparents.






Tessa loved having us there to give her more attention. She loves music and had us all dancing when she would push the buttons to get the music going on the toy on the refrigerator door.














Trenton looks so handsome in his cowboy costume that he wore for one of his school activities.



















Kira is a great big sister. Here she built a baby "jail" to keep Tessa from going up the stairs or from going in to disturb her mother while she was giving voice lessons.
















I set my sewing machine up in the living room.










After finishing a little orange skirt for Tessa's birthday, I made up the cover for this fabric chair for Kendra's loft reading area. She bought "Dick & Jane" fabric because those are pictures from the first reading books.








We enjoyed being a part of Tessa's first birthday celebrations and helped Kendra clean up, set things up and host the party for many friends and relatives.
















































Some of the projects we did included;


Family Room cafe curtains.




















Living Room curtains
























Halloween costumes for Kira, Tessa and a helmet for Trenton. (Kira is the White Witch from Narnia and Tessa is Lucy. Trenton is wearing Caleb's knight costume for Peter but I made him a helmet.)









Drapes for the sliding doors in the dining area,


















Roman Blinds for the kitchen windows.

















With some help from Barry, Garth built a locker unit to be used in the pantry room.












Here is the finished product.




































Perhaps the biggest project that both Garth and I worked on was the reupholstering of two chairs for the living room. I think you will agree that they looked much better after we finished with them.




















And so ends our report. We had a great time but are are happy to be home again.

Peach Days in Southern Utah

Greetings everyone! We traveled to LaVerkin on Thursday, August 28th, to spend some time with my mother, to have a belated birthday dinner with my sister - Quinta, and to attend my 53rd class reunion (Hurricane High School)



Eight of us gathered at Mother's house on Thursday evening for a belated birthday meal for Quinta who turned 78 on July 3rd. I prepared the meal and LuDeen made pies and furnished ice cream. Going around the table to the left you will see Garth, LuDeen, Marsha, Eric (Spencer), Quinta, Randie and Fred. It is always great to get together with my brothers and sisters and their spouses. We missed Corrin and Janice.

On Friday we took Mother's fiber optic's Christmas tree over to her apartment for her to enjoy and to brighten things up a bit. We had tried to take it to her earlier but she hadn't wanted it.

I also took her two new dresses. She is wearing one of them in this picture.
































Saturday was reunion day. In the morning, Garth delivered me to the parade route in Hurricane where I met some of my classmates and we rode on this trailer. I am actually on the other side of the trailer 2nd person from the front of the trailer.











In the evening we met at the American Legion Hall in Hurricane and had a delicious meal of dutch oven cooking










For our program we tried to follow our graduation program. Since I couldn't find one of the songs I sang in, I did a couple of songs from the operetta that we did our Senior year titled, "Kentucky Sue". I had the title part and sang, "I Want a City Feller" and "Kentucky Sue".














These are my classmates who were present. I am on the front row, 2nd from the right. Out of our graduating class of 53 we had 9 men and 13 women present. It was a fun time.

Caleb's Birthday - A Day with Addie & a Chair

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY, CALEB

We were privileged to join the Hardings to celebrate Caleb's 5th birthday. Since they had a big party when the Reynolds were still here, I made him a chocolate cake this time.













A DAY WITH ADDIE





Friday was a fun day for us. Garth picked up Addie after lunch and brought her to our house in Springville. She had been telling her mother for some time that she needed to come to our house and, "Help Lita make me some dresses".


First she wanted to put together a puzzel and she chose this Snow White puzzle.

She wanted to watch a movie and after it was established that we didn't have Ella Enchanted, she settled for Snow White.










I then let her choose the cloth she wanted her dress out of and, with a bit of help, I sewed up a dress for Addie and one for her doll.






















































A CHAIR FOR TALIA




This is another project that Shanda came up with while she was visiting but I had to wait until I was in Colorado Springs - when the patterns were on sale at Joanns - to get started.

Shanda had this grey green fabric and I cut out and sewed up the cover. It is filled with pillow forms that I also cut out and sewed up then, yesterday - August 23rd - I cut foam rubber and used batting and put the chair together. I thought you could better see the size if I put someone in it and Mr. Bear was the only one available who would fit.

To Colorado Springs & Back Home - Aug. 2008

As I mentioned in my previous posts, I am catching up on the summer. The day after Milo Hickman was born, I posted a few pictures.

This post picks up the rest of our visit.



What do you think Talia is so focused on?





You are right. . . It is one of her movies - Either "Ice Age" or "Spirit".
















On Friday - the 8th - we had a 1 day birth celebration.
Here are the exhausted parents and their little family - Milo ( 1 day) and Talia (17 Mo.). I think Talia is more interested in the yummy little chocolate cake or blowing out the candle.
















Our newest little grandson - Milo Hansen Hickman on his first day on this earth.
















I couldn't resist big sister and her two pacifiers.
"Fires" seem to be the solution to all her problems at this age.









Day 2- Don't this mom and her new baby look great!

















Garth and I spent several days working on refinishing this dresser so Talia would have a place for her clothes.

















Saturday morning - August 9th - Preston took us to see the Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs.

Talia is all ready to go in one of the little dresses I made for her, her back pack and her hat.














Here we are at the Garden of the Gods. The picture doesn't really do it justice. It is an amazing area of beautiful rock formations.








Sunday morning - August 10th -

Talia and Gavin are ready to go to church. Talia is wearing another one of the dresses I made for her. She loves pockets so all of the new clothes I took to her have pockets. Doesn't she look darling in this one?















Sunday evening - Shanda's and Milo's first excursion out of the house.

Preston's parents - Mike and Marsha Hickman - invited us to their house for a great dinner with a lot of things from their garden.





Here is the first family picture of the new family of five. Shanda holding Talia, Preston holding Milo and Gavin who is just enjoying being with his family.













I did a good job of spoiling Talia while we were there. When I was working in the kitchen she wanted to be in arms or up on the cabinets where she could be involved. From the cabinets , the sink just looked like too much fun.














We had to have a picture of Garth getting acquainted with his newest grandson.







Another project while we were visiting was to help Shanda complete her nursery. In as much as Milo will take over the drib and dresser. We helped sand and paint a dresser for Talia then Garth made a wooden headboard and Shanda and I covered it and combined with a new bed frame and the white bedspread I had made when Shanda was visiting with us in Utah, we were able to put together this lovely junior bed - just the right height for Talia.

























We arrived back home August 15th.
After having been gone from home for 12 days, this is what we found in our garden.