Family Pictures

I finally got our family pictures that we took right before Bud left. I am very pleased with them except for one thing - someone is a little bit too chunky. I will let you figure it out, but in my defense it was the holidays and then a very stressful time packing up the house, shipping it out, cleaning it out and basically eating too much fast food. (Translate - all my cooking stuff is on a slow boat!) I have lost about seven so far but . . .

Whoops - wrong fat girl!

Here she is! I guess we don't look too bad for a pair of old farts!
(This is a disclaimer for my mother - "I can't believe you said that.
I didn't raise you to talk like that!)

We had these taken at an antique store in American Fork.
It was about 22º! Yes we were freezing!
That is why the baby is wrapped up in my sweater.

I love this photo.

Here are two pictures of Grandpa with his favorite buddy!

In case you can't tell, they are freezing!
Does that amount to child abuse?

The boys, and . . .

the girls!

If you are not careful you might overlook the munchkin on the top!


Cute family!


My two kids. How I love these people!



Do you think they like each other?

We had these pictures taken by Jodi Gallagher.
If you live in the area give her a try.
She is very reasonable. Her blog is MemoriesbyJodi.blogspot.com.
When she edits the pictures, she gives them to you on a cd for you
to choose and print from. I really like that.

One Week To Go - On the Count Down!

Time that has dragged on before is now flying fast! One week from today I am on the plane going to my new home! Bud has told me the last few times he has been in Utah to hurry up and come to Scotland. I think he is tired of being alone, and I don't blame him. I am actually getting excited to go. I thought packing up my house would be sad - it wasn't. I thought seeing my house empty or with the renters in it would be sad - it wasn't. I guess it is just time to go.

I have been having a very good time staying with Snort and family. I love being woke up EARLY in the morning with my grandson wanting to flip on the light, "Let's go downstairs and play Floolie." He and I have a discussion on why grandma needs to lay in bed with the lights out for a little while longer. I will miss my little guy tremendously. We play everyday, go on dates, get ice cream, and watch Wall•E or Kung Fu Panda. Little Izzy Tizzy loves her grandma and leans towards me when she wants me. She likes to grouse to me and be patted to sleep. She is my little chunky monkey. I will also miss Snort. We have been having so much fun. I don't know what we are going to do without each other. It will be strange. The big boys will be missed too but I don't see them as often so it won't be as noticeable. I guess we will see what tune I am singing when its just Bud and me in Scotland. We have hardly seen each other lately . . . I hope we still like each other!!!

By the way, it is quite a bit warmer in Scotland than Utah. Go figure.

So What Have I Been Doing Lately?? Recap

Perhaps some of you might be wondering if we have fallen off the face of the earth?  Well we haven't but sometimes it feels like that. Here is a quick recap of all that has been going on.

We had our New Years Eve party and it was fun.  Bud estimated we had 75 to 80 people pop by. It was a great way to see everybody before everything got really hectic.  We even had Bud's nephew and his family drive up from Kirtland, NM.  That was a really nice surprise. I will have to post pictures later.

The next big adventure was the packing and moving.  On January 5th and 6th, the packers came and packed everything up that we were shipping to Scotland.  What a mess, headache, pain, etc. You get the picture.  On the 6th, the movers put everything into a 20 ft. sea crate. On the 8th the crate was put on the train to Houston.  In Houston it will leave January 27th on a boat and arrive in Felixstowe, England on February 20th.  It will have to clear customs and then we can have our stuff.  

 

We also got family pictures taken the day before Bud left for Scotland. They turned out really good.  I am happy we got them done even though it was last minute, but hey they are done!

Bud is in Scotland right now and I leave on February 4th.  The day is getting closer!  Snortney and I have been cleaning my house, getting it ready for the renters.  That is a huge pain in the BUTT!  I don't know what I would do without her help.  We have been boxing up the stuff we didn't take for the storage unit or throwing it away.  It is amazing that you can collect so much stuff in 27 years of marriage.  She and Jake have taken the stuff they want - both complaining how much of my stuff has now made their houses messy!  Its true - it seems like we move one mess to another place.  Oh well, when I leave they will have time to get organized.  They both inherited freezers and all that goes with that, plus lots of kitchen stuff.  Speaking of kitchen stuff, I was cleaning in the kitchen Saturday and found a drawer and a cabinet of utensils, food processor and blender, dutch oven and miscellaneous items that were suppose to be packed and weren't.  I was a little bit livid to say the least.  Stupidhead packers!!@#%*!

My computer has been sitting in a box for me to ship to Scotland since January 5th.  I didn't want it to take until the end of February to get to Scotland so I am going to Fed Ex it.  I am sure that will cost me a pretty penny but will be worth it.  I still need to get that done.  That is why I haven't really blogged, that and being super busy.  I haven't downloaded any pictures but I will try to get some done at some point.

Next task is to try and sell my car.  I need to sell it so I can purchase a car in Scotland.  I need the  cash.  Banking over there is so different and I don't think they do loans until you have lived there for a year, or least that is what someone told us.  Anyway, wish me luck in selling my car!

After that I hope that I can just have some fun with my kids and grandkids.  Bud actually is coming in for meetings this Tuesday in Provo so it will be nice to see him.  Our little guy thinks his Pa Pa's plane is going to land in his yard!  So Cute!

Well that is just a quick recap.  I hope all is going well for everyone.  I love reading your blogs!

Love, Mel

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

For the new year, I wish that you have fun,
laugh a lot and snuggle next to a loved one.
I hope your year is adventurous, healthy and prosperous.
I hope you are as excited about the new year as I am!

May the Lord bless and keep you!

Love, Mel

P.S. The picture is just for fun. She is so cute.
Life doesn't get better than this!