Tuesdays with Sammy

I've had a great time the past few weeks.  Tuesdays have been my time with Sammy.  Levi & Natalie have been in swimming lessons and for a couple hours Sam and I have done our own thing.  Sometimes we hiked the Mall and rode the carousel, many times we came home and rode the golf cart around the yard, once in awhile we went grocery shopping.  Today Grandpa stayed home and we had Sam together.  He braved the 39 degree weather and took Sam on the golf cart while I fixed lunch.  A good sign that Sam is growing up - he sits still and likes to read a book.  Here is Grandpa reading a story to Sam.

Pumpkin Carving

Family Home Evening last night with George & Anna  - pumpkin carving.

Big Loss

It's time to document some serious weight loss on Harry's part.  I've managed to shed a few pounds, but Harry's downturn has been remarkable.  Thanks to daughter, Amy, we were introduced to the "Eat to Live" diet (or as everyone calls their current diet - our lifestyle change) based on the book by the same name by Joel Fuhrman.  We did learn that we can go off the diet now and then and not suffer drastic weight gain if we maintain the diet most of the time.  We had hot dogs (turkey) and s'mores with the grandkids Friday night and no significant weight gain.  In fact, Harry hit his all-time low at weigh-in this morning.  I don't think he'd mind my telling statistics for him.  He started at 260 on July 12 when he began living the "green life".  His cholesterol was high.  He weighed in at 212 this morning and after less than a month on the diet, his cholesterol was all within normal or good ranges.  

Amy gave us a 1-page Do's & Don'ts and we've followed that pretty much, though we bought the book and have gotten some guidance from it.   Her 1-pager is shown at the right.

Here are the before and after pictures:

Today and May 2008 - New goal...  200!

Harry and His Bees - Winter is Coming!

I may have forgotten to mention in the posts that Harry is now a beekeeper.  He took a course last January and started the process of building his hive.  He got his bees in May and began his official hobby of  beekeeping.  Some time in late June or July the bees swarmed.  He worried at first but was assured from the supplier of his bees that this was a good thing.  He collected the bees that had nested on the ground near his old hive and put them into a box for safe keeping, then ordered another hive that came in a couple days and managed to get them into the hive.  He now has 2 active hives.  No honey for us this year - the bees need all they produce to get them through this first winter.  Perhaps next year!

Here are recent photos of Harry with his colonies.  He's helping get them ready for winter.

A Visit to Chuck & Amy's New Place

We visited Chuck & Amy about a week ago as they were moving to the country.  The kids are excited about their new surroundings and it looks like "kitten" will adapt after she learns not to dash into the house every time the door opens.  She is now an outdoor cat and expected to do her duty catching mice.  

Amy reports that they are very happy in their new place after a week of unpacking and getting things in order.  

All in a Day's Work

The yard is beginning to fill up with trees.  I'm sure the last owner was happy to have free-sailing when mowing, but we are tree lovers and Harry keeps doing his bit to add more of them all the time.  Last Saturday he planted a row of flowering pear trees along the driveway.  It does a nice job of framing the yard and he did an excellent job lining them up.  It's hard to see Fall and Winter coming and the end of another growing season.

Nauvoo - Pat & Amber Sealed

August 30 in the Nauvoo Temple, Pat and Amber were sealed and Griffin was sealed to them. Many of the family came for the weekend including Dewey & Susan, Chuck & Amy & kids, Harry & Teresa & kids and us. We all attended Sunday church in Nauvoo, then had a picnic lunch near the Visitor's Center before heading to Harry & Teresa's for Labor Day.

Birthdays! Birthdays! Surprise!!!

Our chef knows how to do all the tricks and our waitress gives Levi a big hug.

A special birthday dessert - a sundae with a sparkler in it.
Thurmans all the way from Alabama.  Joe meets Griffin.


Becca outdid herself with the cake and George designed a book for letters.
The new babies in the family
Anna's Mom & Dad came to lend a hand with all the work and grandkids.  Wonderful friends!

It was an eventful weekend with a major '60' birthday surprise party for Harry.  Our kids took it on from start to finish and invited a few friends and fixed lots of good food.  He thought he was going to a birthday party for grandson, Levi whose birthday is the day after Harry's so there was no thought that it was anything other than that.  When he walked in and saw some of his friends singing Happy Birthday that was his first clue.  We were very surprised to have our old friends the Thurmans make the trip all the way up from Alabama for the occasion.  The kids arranged for a family photo after the party.  All-in-all the best of times!  

Last night we compensated for the fact that it wasn't a birthday party for Levi and took him out to the Japanese restaurant for his birthday (a day late).  He had a great time watching the cooking and trying new foods and chopsticks.  

A Visit to Grandma Simpson

We made a surprise visit to Grandma Simpson this week to introduce Griff to her.  Amber is still on maternity leave and Pat has the summer off from school.  We enjoyed the day!

Dew & Sue Visit

Dewey & Susan came down for the Memorial Day weekend and spent a few days with us.  Dewey proved his skills once again as an expert griller.  Bump & family were here for a couple days and we all enjoyed the great brats, burgs, dogs and pork chops Dewey cooked up on Memorial Day.  Bump's kids were here while he and Teresa spent 2 days house hunting.  Bump started his new job a week ago and the family hope to join him by July 1.   Harry & Dewey and Bump's kids helped us get our garden in.  They really worked hard.  

Daniel became fast friends with Harry while he was here.  We've never had him when his parents weren't with him and it gave us a great chance to get to know the little guy.  He's quite a character.

Spring is for Babies

We've been blessed with 2 beautiful grandsons this Spring.  First, Seth Isaiah - George & Anna's 4th and now Griffin Talmage - Pat & Amber's first.  Seth made the last post.  Griff was born May 18 - about 2 weeks ahead of schedule.  

Spring is Near

I've neglected updates for awhile. This past month we had an Easter egg hunt here at the farm, welcomed new grandson Seth Isaiah to the family, had grandson Nolan this past week, and we are into dirt again! You do well to ask "Why do you want more dirt?" They were removing topsoil at Harry's office to do some landscaping - we can never pass up free dirt. Not only did we get that dirt, we got all the company's dirt for about 2 weeks. They've promised to move it where we want it when the ground dries out - for now it is a fixture on our driveway cement pad. Perhaps another mountain in the making??

Nolan & Levi - The Dirt Mountain

The Swingset Gets Some Use After a Long Winter

One of the first signs Harry's bulbs are coming up. He planted a couple hundred last Fall.

New Grandson Seth

Spoils of the Egg Hunt - Little Kids Inside, Big Kids Outside