Sigh. . .

I am getting a little frustrated with trying to post this weekend. My computer is running awfully slow; my photo programs won't open or edit; blogspot doesn't believe I am me; and I have missed so many events already that I am so far behind!

This has been a very busy Spring and Summer is already overcrowded!

That, by the way, is an apology.

Number One Daughter!

Another birthday in our family! We like to keep them close together, so no one has an excuse to forget! :) A broken toe and pulled tendon did not keep our birthday girl from ripping open her presents with enthusiasm! Her friendly week-end chauffeur even took her out to lunch as her prize for winning the blog contest from earlier in the month!

It was a great day: bright and a little windy!

Spring has sprung!

Spring has come to Virginia Beach and it is absolutely beautiful! We wish you all could see the lovely flowers and all the trees budding. The forsythia is covered with yellow blooms in front of the house and periwinkles are going strong in the english ivy along the backyard fence. The azalea under the kitchen window is in early bloom, probably thanks to the new compressor unit next to it. The evenings are still cool; daytime is sunny and perfect. Come and visit!


One of the best parts of Spring is always Spring Break! This year David spent his week at a planetarium training class. Spouses weren't exactly invited, so I thought really hard of all the places I could go and ended up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina! I missed David, but there were compensations.

The week was so much fun! We took Elena to the mall and she discovered the Disney store. She loved the mountain of stuffed animals on the back wall. So did I! Elena liked the elephant, but the one I wanted was priceless.


Among all the wonderful, everyday things I enjoyed with Emma, Dan and Elena, we made a special trip to the North Carolina Zoo. There our little girl saw real elephants and so much more. I noticed an adorable little creature behind a plexiglass wall, but Emma said I couldn't have her. Even though there seemed to be an extra.

It was hard to leave the Dison family, but I can always keep up on www.thedisonfamily.blogspot.com.

David came home the day after I did, and we are getting all caught up at home and school. On Saturday Bethany came over and we all checked out the the sweet treats from the Easter Bunny. Chocolate eggs are always a delight, but I had a little daydream of what I would REALLY like.


Easter was beautiful and our time at church was inspiring. Our choir had worked very hard on a special hymn, "The Empty Tomb." We were so moved by the message of it and can only hope the congregation was too. Happy Easter to all!

For Lani!

This is a limited time only post for my BFF Lani! I didn't want you to miss out on Lynnea's birthday party. She is such a cutie and really enjoyed her cake. See you soon!








I'm having a hard time getting the last video, the one with the cake to load. I'm giving up for now and going to bed. Tomorrow is another day.

Okay, after numerous tries I figured out that the cake video is too big. So I have split it into overlapping halves. Also, I am sorry I talked so much; she was just too cute!

TCC Science Building

Even if I seem to be consumed with grandparenthood, David has a life. Quite a busy one, as it seems. The new Science Building opened at Tidewater Community College after Christmas break. There are still kinks to work out, but classes are being held there and David is constantly occupied in various aspects of the new structure. It is two story with two wings fanning out from a planetarium. Yes! A planetarium! David's personal playground!



Physics is on the second floor on the right.



Biology has a living lab outside between the wings.










There is an observatory just outside the building as well. The telescopes are not set up yet, but I have a shot of the roof opening.
















Now here are some pix of the planetarium:
The dome is 40 ft
It seats 81 people
There is a "command center"
and the computer with light up red keyboard.































Wow! I am so tired of manipulating these pictures around. It will have to stay as it is now!
Hey! If that is the command center, is David the Commander?

January and February!

Because this blog is so infrequently updated, it would seem we have a very boring life, but NO! We have Elena!

Elena is now ONE year old! I got to go to Winston-Salem for the big event; David was stuck at work and then a conference in Baltimore. Elena had a wonderful birthday on Thursday, January 17th, and then a fun party with lots of friends and their families on Saturday. It was fabulous to be a part of all of it. She had her first chocolate cake and her first ice cream cone. She approved of both! I realize this video is over 4 minutes long, but now you can feel like you were really there at the party! The other videos are shorter, promise.




Since David had missed all the good stuff, Elena and Emma came to visit in February for a long weekend and we had so much fun. She was walking around furniture, and sometimes, when she wasn't tired, all alone for a couple of steps. Of course, the camera was never going then. She enjoyed all the stuffed pigs around the house and learned how to turn on the musical one after watching me do it once. She is brilliant as well as beautiful!



We also went to the Virginia Aquarium (formerly the Marine Science Center) where she enjoyed watching the big, shiny fish, sea otters, Grand-dad, and the other children. She is very happy, sweet and well behaved.



Then she got eaten by a shark.




She was rescued by Grand-dad just in time.

People have always told us that grandchildren would be fun, but I don't think we were quite prepared for how much we treasure this little princess! We are glad we get to share her with this blog.

Christmas!

Wow! We had a wonderful Christmas. It was a little smaller than we are used to, but great fun. Adam was home from school, and Bethany had almost just as much time off. Working at a college has its benefits! We did most of our traditional Christmas stuff: food, fun, cookies, chocolates, caroling, etc. It was a banner year for our little street; we got 10 families at home when we went caroling on Christmas Eve with the sister missionaries. We missed singing for Mrs. Baylor, who died a month before Christmas. But her daughter, Sandy, was so glad we stopped by. That left only 6 plates to deliver around town. For once we got home at a decent time. Christmas morning was lovely and got started a little later than when we had little ones. Bethany stayed over and wake up time was 7am.

This video, the first with our wonderful little Flip camera, shows Bethany and Adam enjoying their gifts. Also, it shows off our tree. We love our tree! We love our kids! We got to talk to everyone on Christmas Day.




The whole week was great. We went to a couple of movies, Dad made his special Death By Chocolate birthday cake, watched videos, went geocaching, and ate leftovers. Mostly we talked and laughed.

New Year's Eve was a quiet night at home for David and me. Since it was Monday night, our stake didn't have a dance, at least not for us. There was a Young Single Adult dance with a lot of activities. Adam and Bethany both went, but didn't stay much past midnight.

It's back to work and school for everyone; all the decorations are put away; and I'm back at my regular, irregular schedule. The next big event is Elena's First Birthday! I plan on being in North Carolina on Janary 17th for the big event - just like last year!