Weekend retirement and Yes, it's my birthday!

I wanted to share that Fred and I are adjusting to the joy, freedom and reality that we can actually see all of our children and grandchildren any weekend of the month.....if they will have us. I say weekend for two reasons...

1. I work full time
2. We were just called to be the webelos leaders. In case you wondered......I totally told our new bishop that I do not like little boys. He smiled. So all he knows about Fred and I is that and we have a daughter in Las Vegas and we have a son who was in scouting. That 20 minute appt. is the only amount of time we have had to visit with our bishop. We are very disappointed that we have not had the opportunity to have a get to know you as a new member of our ward appt.

Back to happier thoughts. We drove to Shannon's on Saturday after we had a surprise drop by from Scott and Cate. They were headed back to Provo from their California trip so we took them to Red Robin for lunch. We enjoyed our short visit hearing about their anniversary trip with Cate's brother's and their wives. Anyway, Shannon and Brian were asked to speak in sacrament meeting so we offered to come and sit with Little Buddy. We went to Panera for dinner.... Our family tradition that may ever end...we seem to always take our children out to eat. I asked Brian if he would make me his fabulous chocolate cake while we were there to celebrate my upcoming birthday.. Which he did. I brought some of it home and sliced it up in single servings and put them in the freezer. Tonight I served it up with cool whip and fresh strawberries....yummy!!! It is a chocolate bundt cake with sour cream and lots of chips etc. in it. Pretty yummy looking huh? Thank you Brian.

Changes of the month

I started my part time job on July 10th as a receptionist in the afternoon from 1-5 PM at Deseret Laboratories. I answer the phones and greet people who come for appointments. Also every employee permanent or temporary have to clock in and out at the reception desk when they arrive, go on breaks, go to lunch and leave for the day. So I see people a lot.

As of the 1st of August, I became the full time receptionist. So now I'm there 8-5 PM and there is a lot of down time as I do not have a lot of tasks to do. I think Heavenly Father knew I have been frustrated with myself that I don't use my time productively so now I have to. I am able to read at work so I have been reading church magazines and can take my I Pad so I have even more available to read. Basically I have about 4 hours a day outside of work for the rest of my life responsibilities. I have to plan meals and what I need to get done instead of sitting in front of the TV or wasting time on the computer. I have also told myself I will not complain about being "bored at work" to myself or anyone else. This is a gift of time that I can now do personal productive things. I think with time responsibilities will come to my position. I'm feeling confident that this is where the Lord has prepared me to be for working.

At least I have a nice view of the blue skies and greenery outside and the plants inside. An improvement from my view at Olympic High School.

These are a couple photos of our home around 8:30 PM. 

August Adventures

Corinne and her boys came to visit a couple of days before we all headed to Shannon's to celebrate Little Buddy's 1st birthday. Here is Garrett (on the left) and Spencer (on the right). These boys really like to play board games. Connect Four was a hit. Grandpa Fred is always happy to play games with the boys. There was Chess, Checkers, Pig Mania, Connect Four, Operation to name a few. The boys are sitting on the area rug that we got for the living room if you noticed. 

Another hit is always Legos. Here is Richard sitting at the table set that Great Grandma & Grandpa Daly made for our girls when they were Two and Four years old. They made hand and foot prints of the girls and stuck them to the table. As you can see, we save everything (that is important). We have Lego sets from Scott and even one or two that Corinne wanted when she was about ten years old. We saved a big box of Power Rangers toys and a big box of Transformers also. These little boys never need for interesting toys when they visit.

Here is Little Buddy being encouraged to make a mess with his birthday cake. It was kind of hard to watch. His Daddy Brian made the cake. It was the best ever. Have I ever said that Brian is a great cook and even better at baking?Brian makes homemade bread (of all varieties). Little Buddy spits out store bought bread. 

Yes, that is me. What a Grandma!

Looks like Little Buddy adores his Grandpa in this shot.

I will blog again in a few days. I want to journal about my new job and how I'm adjusting to our new life.

My new ride

I'm not sure how many of you knew that I sold my Highlander before we moved here. I told Fred that I was planning on making lots of trips to see my kids and grandkids once we moved here. He said "well then we better get something more economical on gas".

Now that I have a part time job, I felt it was time to treat me to a car. We really don't need two cars right now and I actually told Fred that the other day, but he had started researching cars and decided it was the right time to buy. Not that there really is any facts to support that idea, but he actually had talked himself into it and who am I to question?

I wanted a Corolla or Hyundai Elantra. Our son in law Brian originally planted the suggestion of an Elantra. I like the curves of the Elantra and more destinctive body shape. Corollas are a little plain unless you get the sport or LE version. So I got exactly what I wanted. 2013 Elantra silver with gray interior. We brought it home on Saturday morning. It's super sweet and curvaceous just like me.

A little home decorating

This is the arrangement I made in my sewing room. Same pictures as my Pink Room in Bremerton plus a few more. Like my Lunch Bag Award from Fred. 

 Chris Martone & Linda Nyland gave me this sign for a going away gift. 

This is my new happy place.

Thank you.

 Recycled decorations here in the kitchen. I did have the plate in our bedroom for years. I made it for Fred when Scott's preschool made plates.

 It was the time of our 15 year anniversary.

 At the 15 year mark the highlights of our family are represented on this plate.

We enjoyed camping. See the tent trailer and pine trees?

Scott would follow Fred around in the garden Fred would rototill and fertilize the garden.

Corinne and Shannon both played the piano, Shannon the clarinet and violin....

Music was enjoyed in our home. 

And of course, I love Fred!!

I got a job

I found a part time job. I applied on line at Express Professionals and they called me a couple days later and invited me in for an interview. They place a lot of temporary employees at Deseret Laboratories, Inc. here in Washington. It is a is a full service Private Label and custom manufacturer of Rx, OTC, and nutraceutical intermediate and finished products. Focusing on direct sourcing of ingredients, which allows the highest quality of product as well as very competitive pricing. The company provides approximately 120,000 square feet from which to deliver agglomeration, instatization, blending, tableting, hard shell encapsulation coating and packaging to it's valued customers. (I copied that from their website).

The company is in a big building and I'm that person who sits at the information counter when you walk in. I answer phones, greet everyone, sort and deliver mail. I like that it is part time. Monday thru Friday from 1-5. It's about a 10 minutes drive. I've been told by Express and the woman I'm replacing that after a few months, the company should hire me on permanently. Of course, I could do a really crappy job and they not like me and they won't hire me, but I would hope I do a good job and they want to hire me permanently even though I really didn't want to find a job for about six months. I wanted to spend lots of time setting up the house and enjoying my family nearby. But I was trying really hard to get my name out there on job sites etc. so it didn't seem right to turn it down. I am still hopeful that at some point I'll make my way into the school district here. I'm so spoiled with the job I've had the last 10 years. I knew I would miss it.

Maybe this part time job will get me my own car sooner. We actually are getting along with one car, but I miss the independence of my own car.... MY OWN CAR!

:)

4th of July family reunion in segments

Over the 4th of July holiday we had all of our family here to visit. Well, just about all of our family. My Dad flew into Salt Lake to visit with his brother, and then he visited my two brothers before joining up with Corinne and her family to drive here to see us. 

Shannon wasn't able to make it here before Dad had to leave to catch his flight back to Seattle. We did skype with Shannon so he could at least visit with her and see Little Buddy live.

Here is Great Grandpa Burke with Corinne's three boys.

 Here he is with Corinne & her boys.

 And here with Corinne & Ben & Family.

They enjoyed shooting off their own fireworks outside and playing with their favorite toys here. Legos, race car tracks and board games are always a hit.

Next came Shannon. Brian wasn't able to come because of work, but we enjoyed having her and Little Buddy come. Here are our attempts at a group shot. Someone else probably has a better picture.

 Little Buddy enjoys shopping. He is a good little shopper. That awesome shopping cart cover I made. 

 This is Little Buddy sporting my favorite and only outfit that I saved of Scott's. It is soft and snuggly.