Quick Pics of the Jolley Homestead (and more daily stuffs laters)

These are pictures of the darling  Emme and Irelyn, visiting us and watching tv with Grandpa

They love being with him

I get to try to catch their photos when they're not wiggling : )

Here, they are munching on Grandpa's super-good, giant chocolate chip cookies!

 

my

And these are pictures of Dallin and Haley's beautiful place they're renting

Doesn't it look like the Garden of Eden?

That's the Snake River out across that grassy field

And I'm goin' fishin'!

('Cause it's my birthday!!)

This is a beautiful willow tree on there property

And this is their adorable white house

with the yellow roses by the door

 

This giant, giant, giant willow had to be cut down

because it had died

Wouldn't it be a good place for a tree house?

It certainly makes it even more picturesque there!

I notices irises and peonies there also

 

Okay, Haley is standing in the doorway to the one bedroom

It's really nice-sized

Paige has her bed in there, too

 

And here in Mr. Hunter-Man, napping in "his room,'

the large utility room

He loves it! 

Here's a view of the many cabinets in the kitchen

The room is wide, too

 

Here's their refrigerator, on the end

Mind you, they were still unpacking,

'cause Haley didn't want pictures with the boxes in them

Golly, Haley - you are human, aren't you?

(Just barely not a Stepford Wife, I'm afraid ; )

 

Paige has a basket of toys she delights in tearing in to

 

Isn't she getting big?

And she makes the most delightful faces

Very flirty, yet terribly innocent and angelic

 

When Hunter awoke, he came and sat next to Grandpa

They shared some manly moments

 

Here you can see one of their wonderful, deep-set windows

 

Once a week their lawn is flood-irrigated

 

Woo Hoo!

 

Isn't Hunter getting big?

 

And to close, we stopped by the store on the way home

to get the ingredients for Mark to make me

this super-yummy salad!

No wonder I love him so much

 

We love you, too, and all your cute families

Now help us raise money for Megan and Brooks to come out

for the reunion!

They'd be here a couple of weeks

and they're providing most of the money

I think it will be fun to raise the rest ourselves

I am selling some stuff on ebay

And maybe Haley and I can get a garage sale going

And we can sell Leto and Tut

Okay, that was a jk

What d'ya think?

Want to join in?

We love you, either way!

xoxoxo

Jolley Times and Plans for the Reunion on the Fourth!

Hello!  Mark's been helping with my computer, which is being strange right now.  It's breezy here, as usual, but we're hitting 91 degrees today.  And we're headed out to Haley and Dallin's soon, to see Haley and the kids.  Dallin started his new job today - wow!  That was quick!  Hope he likes it.

They like their place just fine, once they cleaned it up.  It's roomy for a 1-bedroom, and it has a utility room that Hunter sleeps in at night.  It must be pretty roomy, too.  Hunter slept all night and Paige cried all night, lol.  So the grownups were tired this a.m., and still not unpacked; Haley took care of that today, during Paige's nap.

Haley said the yard is nice and it's pretty being next to the river, on a dirt road behind a field!  But there are lots of irrigation ditches all around: another reason to hold on to Hunter when he's outside.  I'm excited to see the river and fish in it!  And to see our peeps!

Melinda dropped off her Pac 'n Play for Paige to take naps in when she's here.  That will be awesome.
She can actually stay a while then.  :D

We ordered this for Eden, and it should get there any day now:

 

Isn't it a darling color for her?  I can't wait to see her in it.

I ordered a dress and shorts together, but they cancelled the order;

they didn't have it in stock.  I'll order it again or something - 

I just want to welcome her and give her a prize for making it

to her first birthday!

Do you have ads on the bottom of your blogs now?

This just started on mine, and we can't get rid of it.

Is it blogger.com's thing they're doing?

Anyway, I need to put info on my Facebook page about the family reunion this year, on the Fourth of July.  Bonnie and Dennis are coming up from June 30th through July 4th (I know...they have to miss the fireworks!!)

And John Ringer (Gene and Toby's son) and his wife and their grown kids 

are all coming here from the evening of the 2nd till the morning of the 5th.

I think Justin will be up here, too.

And Mary and Allen

And Kattie and Ben

And all you folks

Yay!  We are going to have so much fun!

We're borrowing tables and chairs to set up here, and Mark will be cooking,

so you don't want to miss this!

We'll answer any questions that you have,

so don't hesitate to ask.

We'd like to know who all is coming.

We might do something on the 3rd

or we might just play reunion games and cool activities

and talk and take pictures and videos

and interview each other.

I'm sure we'll do that type of thing as we go.

On the 4th, we'll see the parade:

 

and then probably eat and go up by the river - 

or not.

Just what people want to do.  

That might be a good time for our own activities

and fireworks, of course.

Then we'll take Bonnie and Dennis to the airport

and then we'll go out to see the big fireworks!

Yahoo!

We always take blankets, snacks, boom boxes, cameras,

safety glasses, drinks, sandwiches, and so on, with us.

And chairs!

The safety glasses we bring are because we sit so close to 

where the fireworks

go off, so some debris usually falls on us.

It's okay; don't be afraid.  

It's in the regular area for watching fireworks.

They don't let you up where it's dangerous.

We love that it's right along the river

but you have to be vigilant about having little kids

in strollers or in someone's arms or holding hands.

Glow stick necklaces are a great thing to bring

and put around their necks,

to keep track of them.

So we'll be getting ready for that.

I wish so much that Megan and Brooks could come, and Seth.

We'll be thinking about you,

and we'll be sharing photos and more details!

Maybe we could Skype with Megan?

That would be cool.

Also, it would be great if some Howalds could make the trip

And some Buis folks.

And Millwards and Ringos and on and on!

Please invite yourself to this reunion here, 

on the Fourth of July, Every Year!!

I'd better go and have Mark print this for Seth.

We love you, and we're praying for Danny Buis and Samantha and all.

Take care!

xoxoxo

They're Almost Here! (The Jolley Family) and "To All the Aides..."

Can you tell we're excited? 

Travel safely, Jolleys - we're praying for a safe and uneventful trip for you!

We probably won't see them until Monday, because Mark is laid up with his knee; he strained it more than a week ago, and really can't drive yet.   He's been flat in bed for the most part, and it's slowly improving. 
It's been strange that he's been more disabled than I am, although I did sleep sooo much during this past week.  I guess that was my body's way of recovering for the previous week, when I barely slept at all.  I have no idea why.  Just one of those fun things that happen to me!  I feel rested right now, which is amazing.  I can actually think and see and direct my actions, which I couldn't before.  It was so strange!
I thought I was going senile!  (Or maybe I am, and this is just a period of lucidity...uh oh.  Well, I always say, have a lot of fun at my expense, if that happens. ; )

So Haley will be in town for groceries on Monday.  Yay!  It's hard to believe they won't be leaving again.  Tlhey're renting a small place temporarily, and it's right by the river, but with a fenced yard.  They won't let Hunter outside without supervision, anyway, and he'll love the big yard and fishing with Dad!

I'm playing ketchup again, and I apologize.  I really couldn't post, for really, truly!

Besides sleeping and watching TCM, we have a new aide.  Hope she's half as good as Melissa was.  She was awesome!  It's always a big adjustment, but the good ones don't usually stay because they move on with their lives, to better jobs or schooling.  Misty did the latter.  So did Beizy.
Or they have changes in their children's health.  That's very sad.  That happened to Amanda.  

I feel like singing, "To all the aides I've loved before..."  lol   They really do have a great impact on the way things go for us.  A good aide brings so much peace to our home, and her duties are taken care of
in a routine manner, consistently.  That's the intent, and people who visit can tell the difference.  They'll ask if I have a new aide, as soon as they come in.

Other details of my life:  the weather has been great, and I've been able to sit outside with Leto and Tut, doing crosswords or reading.  We are doing a trial of Audible, and I found that I love it!  Who would've thunk?  I'd never listened to an iPod or MP3 player before, and I'm shocked at how great the sound is, and how your hands are free to do whatever.

I listened to Dr. Phil  read his Life Code book, for book club at Mary H's home.  We had yummy angel food cake with a sauce on, plus fresh watermelon and pineapple on the side.  This was an interesting book that is worth borrowing and reading (or listening to).  I'm sure it's at most libraries.
He really lets you know about different types of "Baiters" in the world:  people who are destructive and manipulative.  After describing them and using personal anecdotes to illustrate,  he challenges the reader to examine their life choices and what they really want, and to go for it.  Lots of food for thought, and possibly life changing!  (You really should try the audio version - he gets quite worked up about it, which, with Dr. Phil, is saying something.)

Mark is listening to a Glenn Beck book about the real facts regarding guns and gun control.  I'm interested to hear about it.  Did you know that they include suicides in the gun violence statistics?  That gives a false impression, in my book. 

Let's see...what else?  I know I'm forgetting big things.  Oh, the grandkids are doing great in school.  They had to make a special award for Aiden's reading program because he had more than tripled the reading amount of the next kid.  And Audrey got the highest amount in her grade.
Tristan got an award for being the highest in his grade (but on what, I can't recall). :/

The kids have been doing violin and piano and gymnastics performances.  I can hardly keep up with their learning activities!

And Megan finished her first semester of RN school with a 4.0, and so did Melinda, who got accepted in regular study at BYU-I (she hasn't chosen a major yet, and she's taking a couple of classes a semester right now, but the classes have been quite intense, and she's had interesting classmates!) 
RN school has been crazy-intense, naturally, and I just want to acknowledge Heavenly Father's hand in helping these young mothers with their scholastic endeavors. 

Maybe I can still accomplish something more; I'll have to consider everything.  My health is so erratic!  And I've struggled to be realistic about that.  Only in the past year have I come to terms with it.  That's more of an accomplishment for me, through the years, because I'm a pusher, inside.  It's easy for me to do dramatic, all-out things. 
Mark's the same way.  It's hard for us to be patient and allow things to be guided slowly - we feel like we're sitting on our hands then, just bustin' our britches to have at big challenges.  We've definitely had to learn to wait upon the Lord...but we've seen the good that comes from following His counsel.  So often, we haven't seen the way ahead and things have been illogical, but we've gone step-by-step, and we've grown in our understanding.

I think we're each used in ways that help us to stretch, while accomplishing things that Heavenly Father has planned all along, in His own way.  We must never doubt Him, because His ways are above our ways.
And that's all I have to say about that - except "It ain't over till the fat lady sings," and I'm not ready to yet.  haha

I'm going to close for now, and I'll write about some other things in another post!
We love you!  Take care, okay? 
xoxoxo