Pool Party with teeny tiny boppers.

Sammy stopped by the Kruger's early to help Joe get the pool equipment in top shape for the on set of many diapered children heading over to visit with Kim and CJ.

CJ being the good host and offering a little water to his little friends.

Miss Piper, the beauty queen of the day sporting the new sunglasses style. Picture will show up in Style Magazine. Don't be late with showing off the new style.

Sammy telling Piper, "at least you don't have to wear this contraption to be near water."

 

 Bribed by the cookie Pied Piper aka Jennifer with ch. chip cookies if they all sit on the grass. Done! CJ got his first taste of chocolate by cousin Abby. :)

Chesley and Joe far far away. They were the life guards. Well, Joe was. Chesley was the look out.

Ryan jumping into the pool to his mommy for the 100th time.

Who are you talking to Brooke? You're kids are over there with their daddy learning how to swim.

Piper telling Sammy to make this face and you'll get all sorts of things. It's the thinking look.

Sammy thinking I'm going to grow up  someday and we are going to be friends because she's so smart and pretty.

Sammy and Jessica sitting on the grass. This is her wild child quietly eating a cookie.What's wild child mean Jessica?

 AND saved the best for last. Home made buns by Kim. I got to take some home. But I'm not sharing! Just saying people.

Thank you Kim because Sammy kept coming over and eating my pulled pork sandwich. So when he leaves in the morning I'll bring them out and sit and eat the whole thing.
Thank you Krugers for making a fun afternoon for the girls and their kids and husbands. 

Friends on Friday

This is our Friends on Friday day. Maybe a first with more to come?? 

Kim Lovejoy and sweet CJ and Martha and Jess and I all drove to Comfort, TX first to get our take out  lunch at High's. 

Thirty five years ago I'm sure I was holding Kim in my arms with Martha standing next to me. (Not at High's but somewhere I'm sure). We didn't take pictures back then.

You girls are just adorable!

This is our picnic area. Bending Branch Winery. This is a must visit for wine lovers.

CJ, Kim, Jessica, Ally, and Martha. Here we are having our delicious lunch while our girls did the wine tasting and reminiscing. Carter aka CJ loved it here and was an angel.

 I told Oreo he had to go now because we were going to eat and he just looked at me then put his paw on my lap. So he ate with us. He likes me. :)

 This little munchkin likes me too. He thinks I'm funny. Ha, he's the funny one.

On our way home we saw this road and Martha said, why not explore and see what this place is all about.

Riven Rock Ranch Resort click to see website.

I took the pamphlets and info so I didn't take anymore pictures. But look at the website and all I can say is we were in God's country today at both the Bending Branch Winery and Riven Rock Ranch. Beautiful views.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

I was so blessed to be thought of through out this month. Peach cobbler set for a Diva!

 Cookie with chocolate frosting another night.

 Breakfast, movie, shopping and lots of laughs.

 Ryan and I celebrated together. May is close enough to June so we share. Here we are getting ready to blow out the candles. My cupcake is going around with the Happy Birthday song. :)

 Ryan had some M&M's but saved the white one for Nama's birthday. He had it in a zip loc bag and was so happy to save it just for my special day. I felt my heart inside of my body busting with love.

 Sammy is learning to eat with a spoon and he is doing a great job. But then with banana cake with frosting to eat helped get the food on the spoon and into the mouth.

Are we like loving those eyes. They are a beautiful brown.

 My anthropologie apron from CA along with the home made card was worn all day. 

 After Ryan's white M&M he gave me this which was a stacked cooling racks for the chocolate chip cookies we always make here which I'll wear my new apron while taking them from the cookie sheet to the new racks. I have a few more days to make the cookies before the diet begins in July (maybe).

Ryan loves cupcakes and gifts. Not only for himself but he loves giving gifts and seeing people celebrate their birthdays. Am I like the luckiest Nama or what??

Father's Day

Bottle of wine, fruit of the vine...

 

 Chickie enchi's, home made hot sauce, guacamole, and Jessica's homemade banana pudding (Cindy's recipe) much to Chesley's excitement. I had threatened Chesley with his life if he said anything to Jessica about not liking her banana pudding. He was a little anxious about it but much to his surprise she said it was Cindy's recipe. O the smile on that mans face.

 Father's Day dinner, missing a few family members. :( You were missed.

 Our little man with his big guys hat. Thanks Jenny. Ryan loved it.

 

Brotherly love here. Little more coming from the one that was hoping to take over the driving. 

 The boys gave Nama Dotty a bag of goodies because she always has one for them so they surprised her with her own from them. But the most precious look on Sammy's face tells the story. He loves what he put in her goodie bag and intends to eat it and is VERY happy about the thought of . 

My camera is sick. It's in need of either retiring or fixing or exchanging it for the new iPhone 4 with that great camera. Hummm! My camera acts up every year about the same time, June 21. So annoying.

One of my favorite things....

Skyping with the CA family. This picture tells such a funny story.

First of all, Schroeder, aka Eli, is in the back ground, playing Beethoven had my full attention.  Stacy and Jenny are texting pictures of us skyping etc. You can see Jenny and I in the little square in the bottom left corner.  Stacy is seeing what we were seeing from here. Does that make sense? Might be much funnier than it is to anyone. 

Anyway, I love skyping. It's a Thumbs Up Thursday for me.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day Chesley! (My Diva month is one day shorter then the actual month due to father's day) :) Started our day off with breakfast and gifts and "it's all about you today"

 

Little of this and a little of that.

Below is my grandfather and dad in Palm Beach.

 My dad and great grandfather and my grandmother. My dad's mom. Isn't she beautiful!

A boy and his dog!

My dad!

I found this from my dad to his dad. There was a card attached. :)

Happy Father's Day to all the Fathers.

Diva

It's not even my birthday and I'm all decked out thanks to my birthday Diva fairy. I struck gold when she took me under her wings of my Diva education. I have gotten computer surprises, yard sign surprise, jib jab surprises, a singing monkey, the cuzy sp? that says "Former Princess , Reigning Queen".  (which I've used since I've gotten it, just in case Chesley forgets who reigns this month. AND last but not least my crown. Now that seals the deal. I'm officially Diva, Queen of June.

Now I get to pass on the lessons to my Divo (?) the man of the house. He will wear a huge smile on his face the whole month of Oct. I need to start making notes of ideas for his month. I will love doing it because he will LOVE the attention more than anyone I know.

Anyone want to double dare me to wear my crown out and about?

Learning to be aware and appreciate life.

This month has brought so many things to light for me. Probably because being a Birthday Diva you start off thinking about all the pampering and things you want to do. That means taking the time to think about what you do each day and how you're going to fit into your normal routine some time for what YOU want to do. Then I'm blogging it, so it's like out there for all to see. Most likely just for family and close friends. I'm sure any perverts have disregarded this blog a LONG time ago. :)

I'm working on filling my days in with my spiritual self, material self, my wifely self, my motherly self, my friendly self, my awareness self, well, you get the drift! Since I'm ADHD my days are filled with  a little of some of each.

My Birthday Diva Fairy helps keep me on track and not let me forget. I'm so glad because I'm learning things and I might have given up but I'm pretty hooked now.

This week I was fortunate enough to go to Corpus Christi, TX to the Southwest Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church. I witness, along with other friends in my Emmaus group,  a friend Denise Barker, in my Emmaus Group, being Ordained into a lifetime of ministry. The Deacon of Ordained Ministry exemplifies and leads the Church in service to God in the world, remembering and celebrating the gifts of God and living faithfully in response in God's grace. She indeed is a gift and example to us all how to listen and use her gifts God has given her.

 This is Denise in the middle and the rest of (most of) our Emmaus Group.

Also this week my youngest granddaughter graduated from preschool! 

Malyn Grace Arnold.

This is my fun loving, adventurous, happy, and excited graduate. I love her smile. I love her eyes telling a story about her Diva Day of graduating.

 See the fun loving, excitable happiness just bursting out of her precious face. Is she saying, "We did it! We've graduated from Sand Tots."

We had another grandson graduate from High School this year. Peyton Harrison May. Congrats Peyton!

Diva Day

Jenny's home safe and no bad weather. Only rain. Rain?? what's that?

 Jessica, Ryan, Sammy and I picked Jenny up at the airport.  Jenny about jumped out of her skin when she saw the boys. Clearly more excited to see them than Jessica and me. The boys were all smiles and equally as excited to see Auntie Jenny. Such a sweet bond those three have.

Jessica and the boys went home and Jenny came to my house. We stopped for some kind of tuna tower?? Girl was HUNGRY! While she was eating and telling us all the stories and showing us pictures, I wanted to keep her company and had some milk and cookies, because I can. You know, it's the diva thing! :)

After dinner I handed her soap, shampoo, razor, fluffy towels, lotion and a robe. We washed all her clothes. Curled up on the sofa and got caught up on the last two Bacheloretts. Yes we are actually watching it. Crazy I know! So staged!

Jenny woke up at 10:30am. I went to Taco Cabana and Starbucks. (Imagine that). I brought back breakfast and we began our Diva day. She looked at all my stored up make-up from the free gifts. We tried all the lipsticks on and laughed at some of the old colors that once were "IN". We looked at some old jewelry and she helped me pick out an outfit for my weekend trip and some jewelry for her weekend trip. 

She also hung a full length mirror in my closet. It's been leaning against the wall behind the closet door for 8 years. She decided my closet needed a chair. 

Jenny thinks I have a chair fetish. I had to agree. Not sure how that happened. But I walked around the house and counted all the chairs inside and outside. Anyone care to guess? Very embarrassing. She helped by hiding one in my closet. It works. 

Chesley is still trying to figure out just what this Diva thing is all about. Of course he's already not liking the fact that my birthday and Father's Day are in the same month so you can only imagine how he feels about this. But I have Oct. to make him the male diva. Maybe then he'll understand. Sounds like fun.

THE RUG! 

Love it! Thanks Cindy! Now I have to change the dining room chair covers. Add some other touches and the room will be complete. O, see some of the many chairs? Feel free to leave a guess.

Now the Den which we will tackle next week.

and the trend continues.

I have a birthday fairy that delivery's special birthday messages... Here is one of them. I am learning from one of the best birthday diva's just how to turn a birthday into a birthmonth! AND How to be a diva. I'm still in the learning stages! Thank you Diva!

"Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You."
— Dr. Seuss (Happy Birthday to You!)

 
The rug hunt goes on.
I will know Wed. if Cindy and I decided on the right rug on Monday for our dining room. Hard to tell from this picture but you can sort of get the idea. I'll post a picture when the rug is decided on. Thanks again Cindy. Hopefully one room to go.

I'm always reading the "long distance grandma". This month I sent (to CA) can of chow mein noodles, pkg of butterscotch morsels and jelly beans. Melt the butterscotch morsels and mix with noodles and form into birds nests. Add the mini jelly beans and there you go! Cookie if you want to eat your art work.

  I'm hoping to finish "Cutting for Stone" and "Loved Walked In". We'll see! I just finished the trilogy of "The Hunger Games". Fast read and I liked it! Movies coming out in March.

BAKING

one of my favorites

chocolate chip cookies... I didn't even take the time to stage a proper presentation for my cookies. I just snapped the picture, poured a glass of milk and gobbled some up. Then realizing I'm a diva this month, I ate some more.

One of my life's biggest favorites. It's more then the cookies themselves. It's the memories of my mom and I making them, then my daughters and I making them at all times of the day and night. :) When ever the thought or taste buds over powered us and we went into action. I went into action Friday night.

Pomegranate Blueberry Sugar Free/Fat Free Vanilla Latte 

Stacy and I share these over the phone. It's a treat because I have to send away for the ingredients. "The Coffee Bean" (they were around before Starbucks). They are in CA. I have heard that there is one in Austin. Could that possible mean they will eventually come to SA?? by June 21. ? :)

 103 today! What I'll be tooting around in today!!

Jenny is in Haiti as I posted earlier. This is Haiti today. She is supposed to leave tomorrow (Wed.) Praying for a safe trip home.

Rain is north of us, south of us and east of us. "REALLY, weird weather, stable yourself out!!!!"