June 13, 1925 - May 19, 2010

My Mother, My Friend

She was kind,beautiful,bodacious.
Loving,patient,tenacious.
She was true and brave,courageous,
with laughter and cheer so contagious.
If I could see her but once again,
I would call her mother, my very best friend.


Happy Birthday Mom, I love and miss you more than I ever thought possible.
I think of you every day,and wait for the sound of the bell.

Seven Years

Happy Birthday Dawson! Seven years on the 8th of June! He was born on his Great Grandfather Lemmon's birthday! Dawson is such a sweet boy, always has a hug and kiss for his grama! We love you kiddo! The cake was more about taste this time I think. I just didn't seem to have a heart for it this month but doesn't mean Dawson isn't as loved. Just couldn't seem to make the fingers do what I needed them to do this day. And he wanted Power Rangers and had to settle for the ole Spiderman! But hey, he didn't care, it was more about getting his cake from grama, I think. Hope you have a great year Sweet Dawson!

Grama and one of her Favorite Little Men

Night Time

Night Fractures. Splinters crevices that become chasms with each ting of the bell, until longing for the void where there is no sound,no smell, no feeling, only darkness and silence that never comes. Then the buttery soft light of morning growing and filling the blackness of dreams, bringing courage to walk the precipice one more day, hoping to make the journey, hoping for strength to stay the course, finding that glade of peace, knowing the towers of guilt, regret, remorse, sorrow and loss will overshadow all in complete and utter silence, no breath, no ringing of the bell.

Seven Down, Five To Go, I Think!

Brooke turned four and requested a Hello Kitty Cupcake! After much searching I found a topper at the bakery and proceeded to the kitchen. Ashley baked the cake for me one night and I tried to make it look cute the day of the party. I had trouble with the frosting, my mind was in a funk, but I think she liked it anyway. Little girls are like that, they love whatever grama makes them. We had a great time with all of the cousins at Triple P. I always love to see them all together. Happy Birthday to our toothless little Brooke. I remember getting the phone call and hopping on a plane a couple of hours later. You were born before I made it to Denver but I have a picture of us just a few hours after you were born. I held you and whispered I love you in your soft sweet ear. Happy Birthday Sweet Little Girl!!!

Kaylie Thirteen??

One more giant cupcake done. This is the sixth so I am half way to my goal. Every single one of the kids has been looking forward to their cupcake. I hope no one is dissappointed. Kaylie wanted a green one and her response was,"Awesome, grandma!"




How is it possible that our first little granddaughter could be a teenager. Look out Aaron and Gel!! I remember the day Kaylie was born. Aaron called and said they were going to the hospital in San Diego where they were living. I packed a bag and was on the road within the hour. I was there to watch Kaylie take her first sweet breath of life, to see her daddy weep as he held her for the first time, to see the joy on her mommy's face. I truly felt a part of the circle of life for the first time. What a blessing to be a mother and a grandma. Happy Birthday to our sweet Kaylie. You are so beautiful, smart, talented, funny, sweet, the list goes on. I love how you love your family. I have watched you over the years with Malaya and Lino and what a good sister you are to them. We are so happy to have you home from your "stardom tour". Always know that Grandma and Grandpa are right here for you. We love you Kaybugs!

Sydney's Twelve

Happy Birthday To Sydney! Sweet, smart, lovable, kind, crafty, talented, the list goes on! She is a girl after my own heart. We have fun crafting and talking and hanging out whenever we get the chance.






I hope she liked her giant cupcake. I think she was expecting it to actually look like a cupcake. The others did. But Sabra said do something with horses that she collects. I thought about a barn and then Sabe said she rides the mountain with the big A out in Roll. Why not make that? So I gave it my best shot! I don't think she knew quite what it was supposed to be until I explained it. But that's ok. I had a great time creating it anyway and it may not have been the purple cupcake she dreamed of, but it was from my heart and it tasted pretty good, too!!! I took the left over cake, (you have to trim the top off the bottom portion of the cupcake and the bottom off the top) and I used it to make the rocky path up the sides to the top. Then I mixed chocolate pudding mix into white frosting to get a grainy, sandy looking goop to frost the entire thing. To this I added strategicly placed candy rocks, green grass, and purple and orange flowers. I topped it off with 12 Breyer Horses, one for each year. YeeHah!!! I hope all your wishes come true Syd!!!

Craft Day at Grama's House

With spring break coming to close, I wanted to have some time with my favorite girls. I thought it would be fun to craft. So I called the older girls together and this is what we did.

The Challenge



Each of us had to take 3 blank envelopes from the bank (Granpa had a stack of them he had been saving) and make something to give away, keep, and trade. They all finished the assignment except for me. I only got 2 done. Anyway, they had access to stamps,ink, stickers, etc. and I told them to use their imagination. We had a great time. At least I think we all did; the noise level indicated as much. Good ole Gramps brought pizza and rootbeer at noon. They all went out on the patio and I kept crafting so I wouldn't be tempted by the pizza. My stomach and pizza do not get along well. After I finally finished my second one for the trade, we all picked a number and then put that number in the cup. Each drew out a slip and the person who put that number in gave their creation to whoever took that number out of the cup. I thought it was great fun! It was exciting to see each little girl use her imagination and ability to come up with something from nothing but a blank envelope. Most of all, I will always treasure the time we had together. I do love my girls.