Grandma Selfies and Hiking Herriman

 April 1-2, 2022

Selfies. I am not obsessed with them, but I do seem to take a lot of selfies when I am being a tourist with Darryl, or when I am with my grandchildren. Here are a few from this weekend. Unfortunately, I didn't get selfies with Tyree, Clancy, Gabriel or Ezra. I will remedy that the next time I see them!

Sweet Miss Rachel, smart as a whip and very creative. 

Rachel is Mom's big helper around the house and a little nanny to her baby brother.

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Next is our dearest Reagan, a beauty who loves Roblox and Minecraft and ....

She has such a great imagination when and is quite a storyteller.

And then our Little Miss Annabelle,

Gymnast and fashion icon of the 4-10 year old granddaughters. 

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Avery, oh sweet Avery. She is a spitfire. Full of energy and fun...

and she loves to tease! Peppa Pig and Buzz Lightyear are her absolute favorites. 

💖Oh these girls! 💖

On Sunday I got Sammy to hold still long enough for a quick pic! What a sweet little 'Leapling' this little guy is, and now he is a big brother.

Jethro had no choice but to do a selfie with Grandma, as he was trapped in a seatbelt in the car and couldn't get away!

Our miracle boy loves to dance and paint and play computer games and he love playing outside with his brothers and best friends. 

And finally, selfies with little Liam. What a joy!

On Saturday morning Skye and I hiked up the Blackridge trail in Herriman. It was a beautiful morning to watch the sunrise over the Wasatch Mountains.

And it was fun to spend the time with her and to talk about the world, scriptures, church, family and so many other things.

Soon she will be off to law school, so right now she loves having the time to take these little jaunts to enjoy Gods Beauty around her.

Smile Skye, it's selfie time!

She pulled out her Book of Mormon and did her morning scripture study on the mountain top. 

I just enjoyed the view!

We hiked 4.81 miles that morning. What a pleasant thing to do!

A Bearded Dragon, a Peacock Birthday and Our New Baby!

 I got to meet Clancy's new pet, Jeff the Bearded Dragon. He's pretty chill, and I won't lie, he'll sit on your neck and just hang out, but when he does decide to snuggle you close around the back of your neck, it does prickle and tickle!

I had just washed my hair and Jeff would crawl behind my neck, I guess he liked the smell of the shampoo!

Thursday March 24th - Jesse's Birthday

Tyree decided that her mom needed a special birthday party when she turned 39 and she was insistent that Jesse had a Peacock Themed Birthday Party.

I looked up "Peacock" cakes online and found this fun confection. Six different shades of batter poured into the pan, baked, cut in half and decorated to look like a beautiful bird.

Tyree, Darryl and I got up early Thursday morning and decorated the dining room to surprise her.

It was quite festive and we couldn't believe she slept through our decorating shenanigans.

The kids were so excited to have mom sit in her 'Peacock Throne' as we ate birthday dinner and then they couldn't wait until time to blow out candles and cut the cake.

Jesse let out a squeal when she cut the cake and immediately said, cut another slice!

It was delicious and fun to eat! To top it off, Kelly gave her a Peacock and Peahen for her birthday.

Happy 39th Birthday Jesse Kay!

😊😊😊

On Friday we left to go to Utah to see our newest grandbaby, Liam Lamar Cunningham, who was born on Saturday night, March 12th.

😐😮😕 

We left around noon, and just south of Pocatello we blew a tire. Darryl was prepared for it and in 20 minutes the new tire was on and we were on our way again.

Oh look at this wonderful little guy!! He is so very, very sweet!

He was 8 lbs. 10 oz. and 22 inches long. She was delivered at home with Cody helping with the delivery.

Oh, what a sweet little snuggle bunny this guy is..

and he is such a quiet, content little guy. Grandpa and his new little man.

Yes Liam, Jesus is smiling on you. You make us all happy. 

Getting Out of Town

How in the world can two people collect so much 'stuff' in just over two years?

On Dec. 5, 2019 Darryl and I arrived in Pascagoula with a trailer of furniture and Items and what we could pack in the back of his pick-up truck and my mini-van. We have spent the last month packing up all the small things, paintings, collectibles, and yes, some furniture and lamps, that we now own. I was almost overwhelmed by it all. It was like moving an entire large house.... how did that happen?

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March 18, 2022

Everything that will be going to our next Dome assignment we packed into a storage unit in Pascagoula. We loaded the trailer until we couldn't even open the doors without something falling out. All of our luggage we wrapped in plastic bags, in case of rain, and packed into the bed of Darryl's truck and tied it on with straps through the handles to keep it secure.

Thanks to our good friends Rick and Linda who provided a trailer so we could give away much of our furniture.

Finally at 10:00 p.m. on Friday, March 18th, we left to drive straight through to Blackfoot, Idaho and Jesse and Kelly's home.

😟😟😟

We did have a couple of mishaps along the way.  

At our first stop for gas in Port Allen, Louisiana, Darryl noticed that one of my suitcases was missing. It held my workout clothes, my belts and all of my beautiful scarves that I have collected over the years from our many travels. We have no idea when or where we lost it. - Oh Well... such is life.

😌😌

On Saturday afternoon when we stopped for fuel in Kansas, we noticed that the steel was showing on on of the trailer tires. It was a blessing that we saw it and were able to get it changed before we had a blow-out. An hour later we were back on the road.

This was a very long, and relatively slow trip because of the load, or overload on the trailer and truck. Where we usually would drive 80 miles an hour or faster, we were driving 65 - 70 mph the whole way. So the 31 hour drive took us about 43 hours. We also took the interstate highways the entire way, avoiding some of the faster, shorter, but much more mountainous roads.

March 20, 2022

(Happy Birthday Gideon, we'll see you soon)

Sunday afternoon as we drove on I-84 north of Salt Lake City we ran into a little snowstorm, and also just north of Pocatello, Idaho. But by the time we pulled into Jesse and Kelly's Sunday afternoon, the skies were clearing and we could finally relax!

It was an expensive trip with Gasoline prices ranging from $3.79 in Mississippi (the last time we saw anything with a 3 at the front) to over $5.30 a gallon in Utah.  😖Thanks Joe.                                   (You know what I mean.)

In the end, we were both very, very grateful that we made this journey safely. 

Tomorrow, we unpack the trailer! 

Lovin' and Leavin' Mississippi

 For two years and 4 months we have called this place home. Now it is time to move on to the next Dome Technology Project.

I have loved this sweet town of Gautier and all the friends I have made and the beautiful wildlife and scenery that surrounds this Gulf Coast town.

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I will miss all the seabirds that populate the area. The Herons and cranes in the pond outside our door and the gulls, pelicans, cormorants and egrets all around. The ducks and geese. What a lovely place!

I will miss Marguerite Pavarnik and all of my friends and fellow artists in my Wednesday morning art class. Clockwise from the bottom left: Sharon, Annette, Me, Doug, Marie, Marguerite, Becky, Branda and Christy.

I will miss singing in the Ocean Springs Chorale every Monday evening under the direction of Mary Elizabeth Sawyer, and the concerts we give!

I will miss the Mardi Gras parades, colors and other celebrations. Crawfish boils and all the delicious fresh seafood!

I will miss my neighbors in our apartment complex, some of the best people I know. Becky, Tony, Debby, Mary and all of them who I now call my friends. 

And, I will miss our dear friends at church. But, never fear, we will see you all again as we travel this great nation! - Love you!