Grandma's World

This year, our work party was more casual with a Western Theme. I thought I'd share some of the night with you...maybe you can get some ideas for decorating for a work or Church dinner on a budget. (That is if you have a friend with a saddle and horse tack, get good deals at a garage sale, and have a bunch of crap-I mean good stuff- that you've collected.....) Seriously, it all came together and now the night is behind me. Okay, Lil' Mister Nolan, Grandma's obligations are over. Just give me a call.

We had so much fun last night watching Scott coach his first-ever Middle School wrestling meet. He was so professional and good with the kids on and off the mat. Jeff was in town and got to be there for awhile, too. Hope you can catch a bit of the excitement, spirit, and joy from these pictures. If not, feel free to come watch in person. ;o)

What a busy day today will be. We're working on our final preparations for Thanksgiving and the family get-together! Much, much, much to be done, but we're excited, to say the least. However, we also have some sad, mellow thoughts about it as we realize we won't all be together this year. I know it is part of growing up and getting older, but it's one of those parts that stink. I won't dwell on the negative for now...just the blessings of love and good health that we enjoy. So, I'm dragging out my pie pans and making my lists.....Woo-hoo!

Congratulations to Amber! She is the first to graduate from High School in her family. She is part of the sweet family my mom and dad have 'adopted'. They have watched her grow up from a tiny girl into this beautiful, accomplished young woman. She is looking forward to entering college next semester and to watching her sisters, little brother, AND mother complete their High School graduation requirements. You go, Girl! We're so proud of you!



Every young woman needs their own luxurious robe to feel pampered in--especially after reaching a goal, don't you think? A little bird told us that her favorite color is purple, and we remembered how much Erica and Karlie have enjoyed their robes, so that was our Graduation gift to her.

Just a little sampling of the Baby Shower I hosted for Danielle at work today. The Food table had tiaras and pink stones scattered, the window sill and main table had Disney Princesses, stones, and candles. The young gal that sits across from me made the darling Diaper Cake as her gift and the centerpiece. Jeni baked yummy brownies which we accompanied with Vanilla Bean ice cream dressed with pink sprinkles. (The baby's room is done in pink and brown-so were the invitations-hence, we had a pink and brown dessert. Clever?) We had a good time and Mommy and Baby received some lovely girly presents. Babies are wonderful. I sure am excited about ours!

I got to sit here and read Erica's blog cuz I ALREADY VOTED. (But I can't figure out how to put it in Patriotic colors, so you have to use your imagination.)

Remember Little Scotty wrestling for the YMCA? Then all the changes and progress from a timid Freshman wrestler to a State contender through his High School years? Ahhh...memories. Now he is helping young kids work and set those same goals for themselves. He conducted his first real practice as Coach for the Middle School Wrestling Club held at Reagan Middle School yesterday afternoon. Wow! He came home very excited and pumped at how things went. He had about 12-ish kids come out. The mats weren't in yet, but he spent some time game-conditioning and other coach-type stuff with them. He can't wait 'til next practice. Oh, to be a fly on the wall. ;o)

...I can post pictures of Miss Princess Karah-Belle's dress.

Uncle Mark is migrating back to Texas and has spent a few days with us. He's been down to Temple, TX and found an apartment for Eileen (who is going to come down, too, and work at the VA Hospital there.) Next week he's going down to Austin and put the smack-down on job hunting.
I wish y'all could've been flies on the wall during some of the conversations between Mark and Rick. They have been walking and sometimes stomping down memory lane. They've covered everything from young childhood, teen-age years, raising little boys, surviving teen-agers, enjoying grandchildren, etc., etc. It has really been good having him here.

Love,
Megan, Jayden, Rylee, and Karah

...but lately I've helped design and put together invitations for a couple showers for a young gal I work with. The first one was for a bridal shower for her niece. I didn't get pictures of those, but the following ones are for her 'work' baby shower. She is expecting a little girl in December. She really liked them so I offered to help her with the ones for her 'family' shower. Bless her heart, when she found out how many she needed, I think she was afraid to tell me. SIXTY. She said they had decided to combine all the families-her family, in-laws, and steps. Lol. Whew, sure glad Rick offered to cut the paper. She's going to have some friends help her with the assembly, so it won't be too bad.

We just got a call from Mrs. Coach telling us that Scott and Matt had both survived their first MMA fights uninjured. Whew. I can't begin to describe the kind of day Rick and I have gone through. Matt won by decision and Scott lost by decision. They both went the distance and from the sounds of it, they both did well. How can I be happy, sad, relieved, concerned, overwhelmed with gratitude, drained, charged, etc. all at once!??!??!

'Cuz the cracked potty seat is fixed! Hurray for Grandpa!!!

...I didn't have pictures to prove it. So, just take a look at these:


I know, I know...sit down, rub your eyes, blink a few times...do whatever it takes, but I promise, you really are seeing the Jeep IN THE GARAGE!!!! Isn't it amazing? Thank you all, again.

No pictures, but lots of nice memories. We spent a very pleasant Sunday afternoon with Erica, Jeremy, Megan and Lil' Bump today. We got to see their 'all decorated up' house and had a first class tour guided by Megan. They have cute (and some scary)Halloween decorations throughout the house. They are lucky to have little shelves and alcoves to place things...all within the reach of Megan. She is so proud of everything and the way she's placed things.
Erica is bumping out quite a bit since the last time we saw her. She is feeling movement and looks so blamed cute. Her new haircut is snappy and sassy, too.
We took dinner/lunch makings out to Podunkville and Jeremy was the Grill Master. We had the beloved Preggo Potato Casserole, a new yummy brussel sprouts recipe I tried (and I usually don't like them), salad, frosted banana bars and strip steaks. Wow.
We then settled in for play time, book reading, snoozing and football. Then Grandpa Rick remembered he needed to get back for an evening meeting, so we divided food, packed up and hit the road. But oh, the good times we had....

Last week I was asked if I would sub this Sunday and teach the Relief Society lesson.
Rick had already been 'assigned' to speak in Sacrament since it was his turn from the Presidency.
Then....
Rick got a call reminding him that one of his counselors would be out for the blessing of his grandson, and he has been teaching the Gospel Doctrine class until a teacher is called....
Scott willingly took that responsibility and did a great job.
Whew, next week is General Conference. (I wonder if the Branch will be as grateful as we Leftover Reinbolds are.)

I saw this on Kati's blog and thought I would try it out. Just a little 'snapshot' of me in the moment. Be advised that all answers are subject to change depending on anything that may or may not happen. He, he.
For directions...best to go to her blog. ;o)



1. What is your first name?: Kathi
2. What is your favorite food?: Pizza
3. What school did you go to?: Wichita State University
4. What is your favorite color?: Blue
5. Who is your celebrity crush?: Robert Redford
6. Favorite drink?: Cranberry Juice
7. Dream vacation?: Dublin, Ireland
8. Favorite dessert?: Hershey's Kiss
9. What you want to be when you grow up?: Young and Thin
10. What do you love most in life?: Family
11. One word to describe you?: Caring
12. Your nickname?: Katz

What a game!

Kari called around 6 this evening with extra tickets to the Rangers/Boston game. Section 20, Row 19, seats 1-4. WOW! Third base side, near the away dugout. Great seats! She still had to drop Andrew off at home, go back to Plano to get the tickets& parking pass, and drive down to Arlington. Rick and I met her at my work parking lot and drove over to the game. We got there in the fourth inning and Rangers were ahead 7-4. We'd missed a lot of game....BUT....saw a LOT of game, too. :o) Final score: 15-8, Rangers. Boston made a heck of a rally in the 9th. We sat amongst RedSox fans. They were EVERYWHERE!!! But it made for a lot of fun. The pictures are of this cute guy that was the Ranger Fan Rally-er. He was a riot. The first couple of pics are of him stretching so he was limber enough to help the ump signal the third strike. LOL! All the cheering and yelling was in good nature for both teams. Sure glad we went. (Missed ya, Andrew....maybe next time. Lots of good people watching to be done.)

Paychecks are wonderful, aren't they? Scott went to Guitar Center yesterday and came home with this beauty. 'She' is an electric acoustic with built-in tuner. (He'll fill you in on the details, I'm sure.) It has been so nice having the gentle strums and tunes around here today. Rick and he have worked together using a beginning program that Rick is happy with, and I've been a proud cheerleader. Can't wait for the next family gathering. Wonder what it will cost to put 'her' on a plane??? Might be another road trip. ;o)

You just never know who you're going to see. (Sadly, we lost tonight. Hopefully, we'll get 'em tomorrow. I feel a LONG lunch coming on. Game time is 12:05 pm...changed because of the threat of a storm from Gustav.)

Scott is working at Poly America as a forklift operator, etc. He is working 4 days on/4 days off-12 hours a shift. (5:30 am- 5:30 pm)

Since so many children were getting their Back-to-School pictures taken, I was asked to make sure Scott's First Day was recorded for posterity. Can you believe I had to be reminded?! I did! Thank you for the help. You can tell just how pleased he was to get it done---then he lightened up and we had fun with it.

This brought tears to my eyes.
At work, a couple of us bring in fun pens every now and then to share with our co-workers. When I came in after my Grandma Trip, this one was waiting on my desk for me. It couldn't have been more perfect! As I got teary-eyed, April (my young friend that gave it to me) was a little worried and concerned that the hands on the hips, and stern face might have hurt my feelings. Little did she know that this pose is one of Miss Rylee's newest ones. I LOVE the pen. Every time I use it, I get the giggles thinking about how darling Rye is when she does it. Thank you, April.

...to go again!!!

So, here I am at home-alone with Aggie-and I wanted to watch the Olympics and other tv in the Family Room. Scott and Rick had watched a movie last night and had left the dad-gum dvd player all plugged in, hooked up, and messin' up the tv for regular viewing. All I had on the screen was 'no signal'. Argh!!! So, I text messaged Scott for help, but he was working out and wasn't checking his messages very often. I could've watched from the bedroom, but it doesn't have all the features and I didn't want to fall asleep at 8pm. I tried a few things with the new remote and didn't get anywhere. After waiting around a little bit, I got this brilliant (okay, not really) idea to try the old tv remote and see if I could get things going the semi-old-fashioned way. It only took a little bit of fiddling and I DID IT!!! WOO-HOO for ME!!! Ahhh...the joys of little accomplishments.

I had a pretty fun-filled and satisfying week. I took in FOUR Grand Prairie Air Hogs baseball games (plus they've made it to the finals in their Inaugural season), and soaked up as much of the Olympics as possible. I've spent good times with friends and family, and even squeezed some work in there. The only thing that would've been better? If ALL the family had been here to enjoy it with me.

Meg and I went to the AirHogs game again. Woo-hoo! She was a little friendlier toward the mascot this time. She found out his mascot name is Ace Bacon. We had a sweet family with three boys behind us. Meg got along great with them. We shared our french fries and paper and they shared their little paper punch and Game Program. The night was beautiful, again, and our time together was wonderful. GO HOGS!!!!

Okay, so some of you just might not 'get it', but Megan and I had a true-to-us Girls Night Out. We went to the Grand Prairie AirHogs Baseball Game. GO HOGS!!! We enjoyed a beautiful night, watched the Hogs win, saw friends and neighbors (Mrs. Hagle, Kenneth and Cole Kracmer), ate nachos and hotdogs, and clapped and danced to the festivities. Megan wasn't too keen on Ace the AirHog Mascot, but she was fine if he stayed at a distance. Late in the game, he came up to sit by me (opposite side of where Megan was sitting), but it was still WAY too close for her comfort zone and she got anxious and a little teary. Ace snuggled up to me and whispered in my ear, "Bet you don't know who I am." I asked him to repeat it and he did. That didn't help at all so he told me: William Brazelton! No kidding. Megan decided he was being nice since he didn't bother her, and only talked to me...and brushed up to me, as she put it. Lol.
All in all, we only had a partial potty accident hardly worth mentioning, Megan ate 2 hot dogs, she played up and down the row we had to ourselves, we walked around the concourse twice to get her dogs, and she was a true-blue baseball buddy for me. Thank you, Meg. I loved it. (And we'll practice whistling some more, k?) ;o)

Craving entertainment but the budget is shot?


Invite the ever-entertaining MEGAN the MAGNANIMOUS to come visit. Believe me, there is never a dull moment.

Megan and Mommy Erica came to spend the night and hang out with us because Jeremy wasn't going to be home and neither was Grandpa Rick. The beginning of our fun times together started with Coach and Stephanie Criner coming for dinner with Uncle Scott and me. Following dinner, Miss Megan and Erica came. We enjoyed watching the Olympics, visiting, and watching Megan's acrobatics off the recliner. Scott and Kelci got together, but they wanted Megan-free time so they took a walk in the dark. In the meantime, Megan fell asleep. During the night, Megan, Aggie and I snuggled in our bed. This morning, we got up and had yummy Purple Smoothies and Peanut Butter and Apricot Jelly toast for breakfast. We've played a matching game, fetch and tug-o-war with Aggie, toys from the big toy bin, and watched Olympics. We had spaghetti (naked noodles for Meg and Aggie to share) for lunch. More playtime, then Mommy Erica rocked Meg to sleep for her nap. We all hunkered down in our selected spots (E upstairs, Uncle Scott in the recliner placed in front of the living room door so Meg won't escape outside, and Meg, Agg and me in our room for naps. This is what I woke up to less than two hours later: A conversation between Megan and Aggie...one-sided, and then I roused enough to get up and check on things. By then, she was on the big-girl potty and was taking care of both jobs by herself. Way to go, Mega-bug!
She had also been in my purse and had procured gum. Oh, boy. She's chewed her way tired of that now, so I rescued it off the carpet and also saved Erica's wallet and the various cards and receipts that were getting scattered...at least I HOPE I got them all. She also tasted Aggie's dog food, somehow, and definitely wanted a drink of water and her hands washed.
I'm leaving out the hilarious things she has said because I can't remember them right now, but suffice it to say that she's a trip, for sure.

Still craving entertainment?

We'll share, but only for a little while. Our budget is tight, too. :o) (And we wouldn't want to miss these magnanimous events.)

I'm sure you'll hear much more about this great trip, but I wanted to let you know that Scott is home safely and is readying for his next vacation. Here are just a couple of quick pics from Seattle. Scott said that Jeff has the best ones, so hopefully we'll get a copy of them to share soon.

You know, I didn't think I'd ever see a Saturday that I didn't have something I HAD to do or someplace I HAD to go, or something I was in charge of, etc. So now that I have a Saturday like that, what am I supposed to do? I know, sounds like a no-brainer, doesn't it? Depending on who is reading this, I could be hearing: **Got your grocery shopping done? **Movie Marathon Saturday, here I come! **This is a great time to rearrange, clean out, organize ______________ (fill in the blank). Or...**Have you read a good book lately? How about...**Do you have a couch yet? **Brave the 100+ degree heat and head to the golf course. **Manicure/Pedicure? No heat involved, just pampering. **Ahhh, a shady spot at the lake. Grab the burgers. **How 'bout those flower beds? **Let's go swim with Megan ('cept she's with her Daddy @ Gouldings)**Vacuum, dust, toilets? **Rangers playing tonight?
I DO have laundry going, I've opened my Pampered Chef order (fun stuff!), and I ate leftovers for lunch. I guess I'll get ready for the day and go to the store to buy chopsticks and a few things for our YSA Asian-themed Break-the-Fast dinner tomorrow. Other than that? Dunno.
I'd like to sign off with "Happy Saturday", but in an odd way, I miss the good ol' days when y'all were running me crazy.

I was going to add a clever picture, but Blogger is having issues. Anyway, just wanted to let you know that Granna and Double G have electricity!!! Sorry that Kari, Kati, and Ryan didn't get to experience the cool air before they left, but I know we all feel better now that G & G can settle back in with their refrigerator, air conditioning, BASEBALL, computer, hot showers, BASEBALL, lights-although I'm sure candlelight was romantic, washing machine and dryer, BASEBALL, vacuum, electric razor, etc., BASEBALL, etc. Man, just sleeping with the ceiling fan on would feel like a part of heaven.

It was a lovely 104 degrees here yesterday. Miss Megan, Grandpa and Scott set a swim date for Saturday afternoon. What fun!

Ornery Uncle Scott splashing Grandma

Motorboat with Grandpa

More motorboating

Practicing kicks