Topherbugs visit, Kayla's wedding etc

Here are the cute little Topherbugs that came for a long weekend of fun and giggles

The little Grace is very fond of Berries and soon discovered my Raspberry patch. It became her favorite spot in the garden.

Storytime with Grandpa Sam wasn't so bad either

I got to babysit her while everybody else went to the temple. When I handed her the strawberry for breakfast, she broke into a big smile and signed "thank-you". Could it get any cuter?

Of course it was not typical August weather, but turned rather cold... so what is a good Oma to do, but make some warm duds for the Gracie.

We also decided that she needed some more hair.... maybe we went a little overboard with the fertilizer here?




Feeding the Ducks at the River: one bite for the Grace, the rest is for the Ducks.

Look Mummy, there are more hungry ducks!







Alysia got very excited about cute little hats with bows on them, and spent a fortune buying some. So I showed her, how easily you can make those yourself. Needless to say, we spent the rest of the time making hats and bows.

Alysia made yummy chicken enchilatas for dinner. I think Grace really liked them.

She wanted to get every last bite.










And Raspberries for dessert

Our trip to Portland took a detour to Bend and Eugene first, so we could get a day at the coast. Can't go to Oregon without visiting the coast! The Lava fields between Bend and Eugene are truly impressive. The lovely rainforest further towards Eugene is even better.

Our day at the coast didn't turn out as planned... it was cold and rained almost the entire day. We got a bit damp, but that didn't stop us from frolicking in the surf. Here is Sam in top frolic mode.

And look what we found!!! A dead sealion!!! Sam was so excited he put on his sunday-best and had his picture taken with it. Thank goodness it was very windy, so we couldn't smell much.

And here we are at Sheila's house up to my eyebrows in flowers. Very nice flowers too. It took me all day to produce 1 bridal bouquet, 5 brides maids bouquets, 2 mothers' 2 fathers' 5 grooms men's, 4 incidentals and 4 arrangements and the stuff for the cake. It was great fun though, and I was sad to see the McKays running out of daughters to marry off so soon.

This is how the bridal bouquet started out

This is the finished product

This was towards the end of the day.... the last brides maids bouquet

And this is my super douper totally talented helper. She was so good, she would have taken over if I hadn't stopped her! She had lots of good ideas, and rather nimble fingers and actually produced some of the brides maids bouquets and corsages and did most of the arrangements. What a little jewel to have around. If you can't have an Emily, a Bug will do very well. But the Emily had already done her part. So to give credit, where credit is due: the Emily was in charge of the ordering process and working with the Kayla to decide what she wanted and then telling them how much and what to order. We couldn't have done it without her.

What we don't have a picture of is Sheila's neighborhood hedge and bush trimming service... I hope she will present all her neighbors with a bill for the fine job she did on her morning run... with scissors... when she took care of all this unruely shrubbery giving it all a good trim, so we had lovely greenery for the floral arrangements!

Here is the cute couple, now Mr and Mrs Conrad to you all... Kayla still looks a bit shell-shocked.. ups...I am sure Alan's pictures look better

Here they are in all their wedding finery.

And Linda outdid herself again with this magnificent cake.

The End.

Anya's Visit

As you can see, Anya was rather busy, while she visited here. She was a super crafty little person.

Her most favorite activity was sewing. She designed these amazing slippers and then sewed one and is modeling it here. She also made all sorts of clothes for her pig. It now sports a ballett tutu , a blouse and a skirt. Of course, she also got her Oma to do some sewing, so she now has a new pink princess nightgown and a blue polka dot dress. All in all, if you are ever bored, invite Anya over and she will keep you hopping! And you'll have so much fun! we went to the zoo, jogging in the mornings, she is quite the trooper, she kept up with me on her bike.... Yea, I know, she rode circles around me, but aye, we were out there together. We went swimming and did lots of shopping and cooking and painting.

July happenings

Baby Ellie's blessing. She wore a magnificent dress, fashioned and designed by our very own Kim. A masterpiece indeed, sure to turn heads!
The furry little critter on our patio was a visitor from the sanitation department, cleaning up after the birds, that always leave a mess after visiting the bird feeder. He actually brought a friend later on.

Emily and family came up from Las Vegas

Even though this looks like Marti saying: give me my baby back now! and Alysia responding: come get her, if you dare........ it was a really polite and loving exchange, and Marti actually offered Gwenny to Alysia to hold in stead of Grace who had stayed home for health reasons. The plan was to have Gwenny in the family picture and photoshop Gracy's face on her.... we'll see if it works.




It is strange to see Sam sitting there so peacefully without a book in his hand. Maybe it is because he is BEING lunch to Dacia's tame mosquitos that were having a feast during our otherwise nice luncheon.

Oh my goodness, if I had known how dorky I look with this hat, I would not have let Sam take a picture of me. The lovely Tetons, we visited to go hiking at Jenny lake and later to meet Allen and Alice for dinner at the Calamity Campground next to the Palisades dam. This time we came prepared with Mosquito repellent.

While peacefully sitting out on the patio one evening, I started contemplating the very messy looking flower bed. So, inspite of skirt and heels, I went to work and ripped it all out. The next morning Sam was a dear and turned the dirt for me, then we got 4 garbage cans full of bark chips, I thinned a few of the shade plants from other places in the yard, and voila! now it looks quite neat and orderly. I did most of the planting and mulch-spreading in a super downpour, but because of the convenient tree, didn't get very wet. Funny weather, we're having, but we are not complaining.






Girl's weekend in St George. We spent the first 2 days producing over 70 pair of earrings. Then the next two days we stationed ourselves at strategic points in Zion's National Park and sold them as native mormon crafts...(j/k)

Ellie thought it was great fun to have so many doting females around, there was always somebody willing to hold her.

Johnson Family Cottage Industries Flock shot

We talked Alan into trading his daughter for our Honda... I think it is a great deal. Our Honda was never this cute or appreciative when we took it places. And our Honda certainly didn't have any talent for art work.

Anya was a bit nervous about the goats, but since they didn't seem to eat any of the other little kids there, she finally decided that it was safe to pet them.

Fearlessly she put her head in the lion's mouth

And stood by the ferocious tiger. She had originally planned to sit on it.... but it was way too hot!














Here she is meeting the educational penguin.