On the road.

Rachel said it all for me. I managed to get on line here and Skye with the kids who are happy to have Daddy back home.

Three States in One Day

Everyone is sad to see Grandma leave Provo. She had a late, but excellent burger lunch in Idaho Falls, where the river and falls are running high. The drive north from Idaho Falls is beautiful, although it is muggy, 80 degrees, with no sun. She crossed the continental divide and is planning on a night in Butte. After picking up information on Glacier National Park at a visitor's center, she is really looking forward to that next stop.

Good job Kate.

Kate had her piano recital today. she did a perfect job, it was good to hear the results of her practicing. Great Grandma Grape came with us and then we celebrated at Del Taco!
We have had a trip to the library and have lots of books to look at. John has a book about planes that we are about to look at together. I have loaded my car ready to leave in the morning. The weather north sounds a little wet, I hope it’s not too bad.

Adriennes Birthday.

Adrienne’s birthday today. I worked with the kids to give her a Mexican party with Tortilla soup and Fajitas. We made hanging decorations for the patio and had dinner in the garden.
School is over now. Morgan got another award for Hope of America, he was hoping not to win another award as he felt he had won enough!

Eventful start to the day!!!

Adi had to be at school early today to set up for field day. So I was in charge of getting everyone to school. We were doing well until John tipped off his bike right by a sidewalk drain ditch filled with dirty smelly leafy water. His left side tipped in, water dripping off his head and shoulders, cap floating in the water. Morgan took the girls on to school and I took John home for a shower. Then I drove him to school just as the bell rang. That was enough excitement for my day!!!
This evening we went to Sunflower Market grocery store to decorate visors and eat banana splits (if you were a kid)
We spoke to Daddy in Beijing again today on Skype. His Blog address is : http://iaininbeijing.blogspot.com/


Miss Hawaii Meg

Good job kids.

This is the last week of school. There are a lot of things happening. Morgan had his sixth grade graduation yesterday, he also received The Quest for Excellence Award and Voted Great Kid Award by his class.
Kate and Meghan got a certificate for being a Great Kids, the last morning of school is Friday.
John says goodbye to Kindergarten today (Thursday)
I am now able to walk to and from school without hurting my knee.

The painting is Morgan's gift to his teacher.

Hobble Creek GC.

It was a little windy here at Hobble Creek but sunny, short sleeve weather. A good golf day. I only played nine holes today, but my knee was OK.

Meghan just got home from school and she won an IPOD in a drawing today.

Memorial Day

Sunday we had rain but it is perfect weather today so I took the kids up the canyon and we did a little bit of watercolor painting. Then we did a hike and were lucky enough to find caterpillars that John had to bring home to put in his bucket!!! We went to IHOP for lunch. Now we are back home and who knows what our next thing will be.

Laser war games

Laser war game for us today, you never know what will happen next. It seems that I hit 78 times but I was also hit 78 times so I think it means that it’s not my new sport. We also did miniature golf, I wasn’t that great at that either. We all had fun.

Morgans exciting day.

Morgan had the most exciting day yesterday. One of the parents owns a hot air balloon and they flew it to school and everyone got to ride in it. We have been working on gardening, painting and reading. Also John can now sometimes count to 100. We had some rain and thunder yesterday and there may be more today. It is still hot!!! Iain leaves for Beijing on Sunday for a week, I will leave here on Saturday May 30. to start my journey north.

Johns Birthday Party

Iain decorated the cake with Spiderman, Darth Vader, Yoda and John on a train. We had water ballons and the Rotton Meghan got Grandma very wet. Another good day.

Edgewood Golf course in Lake Tahoe on May 11

When I went to Edgewood, I was just going to take a look at the course. At the desk they told me that they would let me play for a locals rate of $75. So I had to play. I played on my own and had time to enjoy the views. I was getting tired after about 12 holes but didn’t want to miss anything so I played all 18 holes. My score was close to a McKenna par but that didn’t matter it was great to be playing.

Sundays Un-birthday party

We had a fun afternoon of games, gifts and presents. Dinner in the garden, ribs and chicken. Meghan helped me make dessert of Pound cake, Cool Whip and fresh cherries. Iain and family bought me a Skype camera for my birthday so that I will be able to see everyone from anywhere.

Winnemucca to Provo

I drove the seven hours to Provo today. There were four youngsters outside the house waiting for me. There was a chalk arrow line into the driver way and lots of drawings to Welcome me. In Elko I bought Cornish Pasties and a Cherry pie at the famous BJ. Bulls shop. He used to have a store in Palo Alto many years ago. He was a cheery guy and gave me a sample to try. It was quite windy yesterday but the drive was not too bad. There were plenty of helpers to unload the car and we played Boggle after dinner while I&A went shopping.

Saturday May 16

Since I got here on Wednesday its been busy. I got to sit on the trampoline while John jumped and performed tricks. We have been sorting through clothes to see what was grown out of. We have drawn Dragons and planned some future master pieces. Sunday afternoon is our Un-Birthday party. Weather is getting hotter each day. My knee is getting stronger on walking the stairs. John thinks that I look more like a Grandma when I have my hat on!!!

Provo!

Nevada is dry and windy, but that does not prevent the motels from being quite full. Luckily Deana was able to find a room for the night and get some rest. Elko is a good stopping spot for Cornish pasties, so with dinner for all, Deana arrived yesterday at the Hunter’s house in Provo. Tired Grandma Deana and excited kids.

Today she’s settling in, catching up on emails, and hearing all the latest news about school. She’ll be here for a few weeks.

Passing Reno...

Great news! 18 holes yesterday and her knee is fine. She had a lovely time on the course, and especially enjoyed the amenities – it’s not the muni. She took it easy this morning relaxing by doing an oil painting at Zephyr Cove and then hit the road. Right now she’s passing Reno and wondering which of the delights of Nevada might be worth a visit. We did once turn left at Winnemucca having heard there was a ghost town and State Park out there, but after driving quite a few miles and finding a town which will soon be a ghost town, but not currently a tourist hot-spot, and a closed ranger station we turned around. We did meet a nice local who towed our car from the sand pit we cleverly found along hwy 290.

South Lake Tahoe

She’s in South Lake Tahoe for a night or two. The weather is beautiful. She called me this morning and told me in a tone which required an excited response that she is, “playing Edgewood.” I made the assumption this is something to do with golf and made oooohing and aaaahing noises and told her to pluck a blade of grass for her scrap book.

Happy Mothers' Day - And She's Off!

Our favourie adventurer hit the road this morning, almost on schedule, with her car fully loaded with gifts for the Grandkids, clothing for all contingencies, and of course her golf clubs. As she drove away, waving out of the driver's side window, I wondered if I could possibly remember how to brew my own cup of morning coffee.

Once on a road trip Deana and I took several days and a few hundred miles to reach a destination only 47 miles from our starting point. We call this road trip technique "Flying By the Seats of Our Pants" and it seems that this is the formula Deana has adopted for this current trip as not long out of the gate, she was lured from the route by the call of the latte. Her GPS unit, Lady, does not appreciate this lack of regard for the Point A to Point B method of navigation and has developed a resigned, yet irritated, tone which seems to have been produced from overuse of the word, "recalculating".

As of time of posting, Deana is passing Diamond Springs, having stopped in Lodi, enjoyed a luncheon with friends at their ranch in Jackson, painted a water colour at Lake Comanche, and toodled in Sutter Creek. She is considering driving into South Lake Tahoe for dinner and lodging, but who knows what will distract her along the road. Happy trails, Mother!