From the Journal of ...

... of Our Traveling Frog -

He is like a child to Nancy and I, and he calls us mom and dad.

- I get to go to Paris. Here I am with Aunt Joan and Mom. They gave me my own drink. Mom and Joan are smiling to pretty.

- On the plane, kept jumping seats. Here I am with Uncle Larry. I was so excited.

- We are at the Paris Airport. Mom told me to stay inside the bag, but I had to take a look. Wouldn't anyone?

- The shuttle drive was taking to long. I jumped in to drive, and he kicked me out. He was so rude.

- We stayed in the Hotel Queen Mary. I peeked in the window and saw that we were going to stay in a great hotel.

- My first subway ride. The Paris metro is cool.

- Mom and Aunt Joan found a picture of a hot French frog. We looked all over for her, but we couldn't find her. I was disappointed.

- Just squeeze me until it hurts. This French doll and I did the tango at the Paris Hard Rock Cafe.

- It was time to leave, and love was in the air. I told the hotel clerk to kiss me again.

Coupon works ...

... at Jack in the Box -


- Laura blogged about a chicken fajita special at Jack in the Box. It is worth the $2.29 for the drink and chicken fajita.

The Start of ...

... Two Adventures. Traveling and visiting Hard Rock Cafes -


- The year was 2000, and our travels with Larry and Joan started with this trip. We are sitting outside of the Paris Hard Rock Cafe. (Paris, France not Paris, Idaho) :)

- After visiting the Paris Hard Rock Cafe, I started to collect Hard Rock Cafe pins from the Hard Rock Cafes that I visited. Including Paris, I have visited 41 Hard Rock Cafes.

- There will be more posts on our travels and Hard Rock Cafes.

- Enjoy!

Have You ...

... Kissed the Blarney Stone?


Enjoy!

Michael Jr ...

... spent last night with us -

- We started the adventure with a stop at McDonald's. This is the toy Michael got in his happy meal. He also got a game card, which will come into play later in the adventure.

- Michael worked hard with me in taking down the nutcracker tree and the train. Nancy asked if he would like hot chocolate, and he said yes. One taste, and he said "I don't like it."

- I put Michael down to bed at 10pm. I turned out the lights, TV off, and I laid with him, figuring that he would be asleep in a short time. He talked non-stop for an hour and a half. At 11:30, I figured we should watch the ball come down in New York City. After the new year, I listened to music on my computer and the lad was asleep in twenty minutes.

- In the morning, Michael wanted to go home we talked him into having cereal. About his game card. He treated it like an access card, and he would swipe the doorways before we could go through. It was fun, and we enjoyed having him.

Alivia ...

... A day with a young lady -

- Nancy and Alivia spent hours talking, and Nancy commented that it was like talking to an adult.

- We started the adventure at Taco Bell, and Alivia tried the Mango Freeze, and Nancy tried the Orange and Cream Freeze. I stayed with the usual, diet Pepsi.


- Alivia went to a wedding reception with us. Here she is with the bride and groom. Two beautiful women in this picture.


- Alivia designed her own bracelet. I have a nice supply of beads, and Alivia picked the ones she wanted. In this picture she is arranging the order of the beads. I strung the beads on memory wire.

- The finished product.

Enjoy!

Madison ...

... Has Her Sleep Over -

- After picking Madison up, we had dinner at the Battle Creek Taco Bell. She had a chicken quesadilla.

- From the time we got home from dinner, Madison and I worked on her 1000-piece puzzle until bed time. She wants her Uncle Ivon to know that she needs no more than a 400-piece puzzle. In the time we worked on the puzzle, we got the border complete except for one piece. Her puzzle will need to be a family project and left up until completed. Hint, hint mom and dad.

- This morning, Madison and Nancy made a two-sided blanket for her doll. One side with fish, and one side with mermaids. Also, they made a scarf and hand warmers for the doll.

- It was great having her here. Love you Madison.

Sleep Over ...

... Time for Lach -

- This was the first time Lach has slept over with us. We were not sure if he would make it through the night. Laura was on standby to come and get him if needed.

- Laura tells me Lach woke up ready to go, "right now." He dressed himself with his Hard Rock t-shirt to be like his grandpa.

- He made himself at home. He prefers whip cream instead of ice cream. He did not want to say "cheese" for me.

- Laura told us that Lack has a night time routine of getting milk in his sippy cup and laying on the bed to fall asleep. He doesn't know the routine. When he was ready for bed, he crawled up on Nancy's lap to cuddle, and he was asleep in minutes.

- Lach woke with a smile on his face. He asked for some one-on-one time with R2-D2. R2 did have enough battery life to dance for him.

Time to ...

... Send Derek and Erica Home -

- Derek and Erica returned to their home in Rexburg. They had to work on Monday.

Christmas Party ...

... A Family Tradition on Christmas Eve -





- Enjoy!

Gingerbread ...

... baking with a little helper -

- Landon cutting out small gingerbread men (yes, his grandma helped him wash his hands)

- Ready to bake

- Baked and glazed

- The grandkids will be decorating their gingerbread cookie today. Enjoy!

Moon ...

... at night -


- Picture was taken about 10:00 P.M. on December 22, 2010 with my Coolpix. Enjoy!

This past ...

... week has seen three sleep overs -

- Laird was the first

- Larry followed. He asked if he could set up the race car set, and he did

- Next came Landon. He brought his laptop to play Roblox.

- We had a reception and took Landon. He loves dipping grapes in chocolate.

- There were a few tears by Lach; and each time we picked up one of his brothers he would say, "I want to go to your house." His turn to sleep over is Tuesday, and Laura will be on call to come and get him if needed. It will be his first sleep over.

Hopefully, Alivia, Madison, and Michael Jr. will want to have sleep overs too.

Laird - Band Concert

Enjoy!

Alivia - Recital

Enjoy!

Is this ...

. . What is Meant by Life Changing Moments? -


- A month ago, doctor said something like, "You have high blood pressure, and take the pill on the left.

- Three days ago, doctor said something like, "First pill isn't working. You need to take a horse pill (pill on the right).

- I don't want to think about next month's pill.

Madison - Recital

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Sherri ...

... Here is a yellow rose for your birthday --

(Picture taken late summer of a rose in our yard)

- Who is Sherri? Well, she is the one with her name added to the picture.

- It has been fun over this past year to learn about her family and, of course, about her. She has tons of great ideas of things to do, and she does them with her family. She is teaching memories that will last forever.

- One of her posts is of her Christmas Tree last her. I laughed so hard. Click on this link for a smile and maybe laughter and tears. I may have laughed so hard that I had a few tears. :)

- Sherri, I hope you have a great day, and you should be pampered. Tell your children that the lesson for today is to learn how to treat their mother on her birthday. Blog your birthday adventures.

- Happy Birthday!

Alivia at the Judson Winter Concert

Enjoy!

Another look ...

... at the Annual Nativity Display at the Salem Stake Center on Lone Oak




- Hundreds of Nativities are on display. I hope everyone of who looks at this blog has had a change to visit. This is a community event, and it gets better every year. I mentioned another look. Check out Laura's post on the Nativity Display.

Christmas Lights ...

... at the Keizer Station Train -

- Enjoy!

Update ...

... On My Meal Plan -


- the above picture is the meal I had for two lunches this week. It is salad and an open-faced chicken salad and cheese sandwich Today, Nancy fixed me me a small cheese quesadilla, salad, and some seedless watermelon. For dinner we had Tilapia fish and salad. For dessert, we had seedless watermelon. I am also trying to not eat over two cups total for each meal. These changes for me are interesting.

I Have the Best ...

... Doctor. He Doesn't Tell me I am Fat -

- At my yearly physical, he just tells me I now have high blood pressure and gives me a prescription for pills, have glucose intolerance (which means pre-diabetes), and my HDL is a little low. He also tells me to eat less sugar, take fish oil Omega 3, and exercise.


- This is my breakfast; I fixed steel cut oatmeal with dried apples and craisins. I just added an extra 1/3 cup of water for them to plump up. After the oatmeal was done, I added bananas. My chocolate milk is sugar free and fat free. I am also trying to stay with the two-cup rule at each meal.

- Laura has asked that I blog my progress, and this post is for Laura.

Let the ...

... Festivities Begin -


- Christmas 2010 Season is officially here. No presents yet for under the tree, but the tree is up and decorated. Laura came over and the two of us did a little Christmas bonding. See her blog. The ornament shown is one that my sister-in-law, Mary Snow made for us a couple of years ago.

Annual Tradition ...

... to go to a Local Tree Farm and Cut our Christmas tree -


- Last step at the farm is to have it farm owners shake and shake the tree. Once home, I cut it from the bottom to have a seven-foot tree. It is now in a bucket getting all the water it can drink. We will decorate the tree tomorrow. Enjoy!

Found These ...

... While at the Christmas Tree Farm


- If you want to see a larger view, just click on the picture. Enjoy!

Another ...

... Present for Me -


The kit is actually a perfume holder, and it works great for consecrated oil. The wood is white oak from the Livonia Barn (Mormon Barn). The location historically associated with Mormon gatherings was the "Mormon Barn" - now demolished - between Geneseo and Lakeville, New York. Undocumented Geneseo tradition is the Joseph Smith and his parents lodged in the barn on occasion and the Joseph Smith held meetings here.