High Priests, Taxes and Fashion statements

Life seems to go on even when we think it's taking forever. Sometimes I think my life is boring, but it's really not. Wayne had his 2nd High Priest party (He's the High Priest Activity person) last weekend and it was a hit. There were probably about 70 people there. That's pretty good for a ward who has only had 2 parties in the last few years, Relief Society dinners and Ward Christmas parties. Wayne has become a social butterfly. Who would have guessed. I'm starting to work on everybody's taxes again. I have one already done and about 5 or 6 in the process. I hate taxes, but since I can hate them and still do them, then I am elected to do it for everyone. It's always nice when they are all finished, especially if everyone gets a good refund. Wayne and I have started reading scriptures again in the evening. It has been quite fun. We are actually reading stuff that we didn't remember before. It's a lot different that doing it with the kids. The kids around our house have been trying to make a fashion statement, so here goes

The things we do to Achieve "Pretty" or "Handsome"

Addie in her "levis"

Addie in her little "curlers"

Nevin in the latest "Superhero" outfit

Liam in the latest potato head "earings"

Keeping Me Young or Making Me Old

The grandkids that I live with are either making me old or keeping me young depending on how I feel on any particular day. The baby shows up in my bed about 6:00 am in the morning and that starts my day. Sometimes she cries and wants a bottle, but mostly she lays and talks to me and grandpa. Then she cries and wants her bottle. Eventually the 3 older kids get off to school and then Liam and Nevin wander in. They are funny, they fight, they get hungry, they need their diapers changed. Sometimes I think I'm too old to be doing all of this again, but them they smile at me or do something funny and then I know I'm not too old. I'm very lucky. I have grandkids that I don't see very often, and I miss them terribly. I am very grateful for the ones I do get to see all the time. Some people st church feel sorry for me because I go home to kids, but I think most of them are jealous. Louyre got a new grandbaby this week, Addyson, and I know how much she loves her grandbabies. You just want to eat them up.

Nevin talking on the phone

Grandpa fed Addie graham crackers
Nevin fell alsleep watching NCIS (unthinkable)

Nevin is hiding him and Addie from me

Addie in her stylish outfit

Ginger has so much fun dressing her

Liam in his Mr. Potato Head glasses

33 years - Our anniversary

Wayne and I are having our 33 wedding anniversary on Jan 17, 2009. I can't believe we have been married that long. It still seems like just yesterday. I remember the 1st time I met him at his home in St. Johns in July of 1975. It was right after he came home from his mission. I was dating his cousin, Eddie Whiting, at th time. Wayne told his sister Tammy later that night that he was going to marry me. I dated Eddie for another month and then we broke up. Wayne called me and we started going out in Aug-Sep of 1975. We were inseperable. Nellie became our chaperone and went with us everywhere. We became engaged around Halloween and had a pretty short engagement. Wayne wanted to get married in December but my mom wanted to wait until the next spring, so they settled on January. We have had a very good marriage. I know that we planned to be married in heaven, and we actually found each other and fell in love here. We are different, but yet so much alike. When we play games we answer all the questions the same way. We can't even play Scategories at all, because we canacel each other out. As a little girl who had never really left Shumway, Arizona, Wayne showed me the world (well his version of it anyway). I have been so many places and done so many things. Actually I have lived in most of the places we have been. Things have been tough at times, but I don't ever regret one second of it. He is my soul mate I will always have to be grateful to Eddie Whiting for introducing us. We actually knew each other as kids, but he was in the other ward and since we didn't go to church much, we didn't really know many kids from the other side of town. I love growing older with him. It's such a nice feeling to be so close to someone that you feel like you are one. That's how I feel about Wayne. We are one. He's my best friendand I dearly love him. I have been doing some reminicing, and got some pics. I have put them here. Hopefully you don't get bored. If you do, then don't finish looking. I never get bored of looking at them. So many things I forget, and it helps me to remember. They make me smile. Some of them make me cry. I guess I am just a romantic. I cry really easy and as much as I love the present I dearly love my past and enjoy going back into it every now and then.

(We beat the 1 in 2 marriages that don't make it)

Wayne and Ronna's engagement picture (Dec 1975)

Wayne and Ronna coming out of the AZ Temple Wayne and Ronna on our wedding day

Our wedding line

I can't even hardly see it anymore to tell who is in it

Wayne and Ronna in our skinnier days

Wayne & Ronna in about 1990

Wayne and Ronna (and Dale and Ginger)

Our 29th anniversary in Jan 2005

Ronna Marie as a baby

Ronna in grade school

Ronna with no pants on (Debbie has a pic like this also)

Ronna with a sexy hair do
Ronna in grade school

Ronna on the black thing (I was the queen of jumping on it)

Ronna in 1970

Ronna's senior pic 1973 (I hate this picture) Ronna in 1975 Melvin Wayne as a baby

Wayne and cowboy boots and a hat

Wayne always smiled

Wayne with his hair combed over (cute huh)
Wayne as a smiling kid

Wayne about 1973 (I see Caleb in this pic)

Wayne abt 1973 also (I see Caleb in this pic also)

Ronna Michelle born 1976

Ginger Renee born 1978

Brandon Wayne born 1979

Dusty Lynelle born 1980

Dallas Wade born 1982

Penny Lyn born 1984

Caleb Brenn born 1986

Cayce Bree born 1988

A really cute pic of all the kids - 1988

I love my babies dearly (and their babies also)

Marley and John Deere and Tammy Mineer

Caleb emailed me a couple of pictures of the baby Marley last night. They were taken with a phone, so they're not really good, but they're good enough for me. I also have a picture of a puzzle that Penny put together. The puzzle pic is for Tiffani. She'll appreciate it. Everyone is back to work, back to school, and back to their normal life. It's kind of nice to be normal again.

John Deere puzzle

Caleb and Marley in her homemade hat

Chelsea and Marley

A little after thought for me. Just before I got married back in 1975 I was working at Taylor Elementary School as a teacher's aide. I worked with Lane Shumway in special ed. There was a little girl name Tammy Mineer who was in Kindergarten. At 9 months old she had a gun fall over and hit her on the head and caused her to have seizures. She had them all the time. Everytime she had a seizure it would trash her memory. We would have to teach and reteach her all the time. She was such a little trouper and always let us try and teach her over and over. She had long brown hair and was absolutely gorgeous. Her eyes captured me the first time I ever saw her. She made me cry and I dearly loved her. After I got married I saw her a time or two, but not much. The last time I saw her was in Bashes when she was about 14. She was still gorgeous. I read in last weeks paper that she died. She was 39 years old. I have wondered and thought about her so many times over the years. My one regret is that when I was in Taylor I didn't go and try and see her again. My loss. She was such a special little girl. She has a special place in my heart and I will never forget her. Procrastination is such a terrible thing. I am the worst. When I think about it, I can't even remember the names of any of the other kids or what they looked like, but I remember her. I always will be grateful that our paths crossed.

The Day After - It's completely gone

Well it's the day after the flood, and the water is completely gone. I can't believe it. It went down so fast. We were driving last night and Michelle spotted the swan. I have never seen a real swan in the wild before. He was just lazily sitting and going with the current. It was only a few seconds and he was gone around the corner.

This is what it looks like out my window this morning. All the water is gone. I know there is still some up on Skok Valley Road coming over it, but only a few inches I'm sure. When Wayne and I came back home last night about 9:00 we were only in about 6 inches of water in the deep places. We have a lot to do this summer to fix the place up to make us better prepared for when it comes again.

Rainbows at the end of the storm

Hip Hip Horray, it's over. It's 11 o'clock now and I can't believe how much it has receded since it got daylight. So much water. We were truly lucky. We came so close to getting water in the house again. From Seattle to Portland there were records set for Tues and Wed for rainfall amounts. Between that and our 3 feet of snox it made for lots of water. Some people weren't as lucky as us and got some major flooding again. It was so nice when the sun came up this morning for the 1st time in a couple of weeks. The water in the fields was so awesome looking. It was beautiful. It all amazes me. It's amazing at how the sun can make a person feel better.

Here is what the road looks like right now at 11:00 am

Pretty different from when we looked out the window at 3:00 this morning

The house just north of us

Mark showing how deep the water was on the road
Mark walking out in the water

This was my picture of the rainbow

The llamas look like they are thinking

"What the hell is this all about"

The new dike held very well. Notice it still has snow on it

It may look kind of rinky dinky, but it was built very well

This is Michelle's rainbow

She was pretty proud of it

The road looks so cool with water running from one

side to the other all the way down. Notice the tall grass that is stuck

in the fence. The fences were all fixed and cleaned this last summer and

now they are broken and filled with grass again.