Bunting Buzz

Another Sleepover

2012-01-16T14:17:00.000-08:00

Kids love sleepovers, and we took the oportunity to have one for Kacy, Will, Ed, and Jessie while they were still on Christmas vacation. Karrie and Ryan dropped them off around 4:00 and headed off to Woolgrowers and and to see "War Horse." We had lots of fun playing, then I let them decide what to have for dinner. Kacy said she was really hungry and helped me cook everything. They decided on tacos, chicken nuggets and fries. We added some veggies and fruit too. I have to say that I was really surprised how much they can eat! We had had a good time watching movies before going to bed. Kacy described in detail the proper way to brush your teeth, according to her mom. I was impresssed that she had paid attention! After a pancake, o.j. and bacon breakfast the next morning we made a trip to the dollar store. I had taken them there last summer and now it's a sleepover tradition, I guess. We stopped off for a Frosty at Wendy's on the way home. The afternoon was spent playing with our dollar store purchases,making some crafts and going on a long walk. Jessie wanted me to carry her, and I convinced her that Clara had walked that far so she could, too! I really wished I could keep them a couple more days, but I loaded up the truck and headed up the mountain after feeding Granny and sending Papa to work at 4:00. We made it there around dusk. It was fun to see the progress on the "big" house. Ryan had two YM there helping. Kacy was excited to have been invited to another sleepover that night.

Happy New Year

2012-01-16T13:25:00.000-08:00

We began the new year with some of our grandchildren. Jocelyn and Oscar were invited to an adult party, so Papa David and I invited Nathan, Spencer, Jared, Levi and Clara to a sleepover. When the kids arrived, we had pizza for dinner and continued the evening with a movie marathon compliments of Netflicks. We The kids are used to heading to bed at 7:30 on school nights, so I wasn't surprised when their heads began nodding around 9:30. Clara was first to go, and I tucked her in so we could go let off our noise makers and call it a night. I thought maybe we could join in the east coast TV celebration but all we could get was Lady GaGa (Yuck!). We opted to let off our poppers and noise makers out on the patio and they all went to bed.

Since New Year's Day was Sunday this year I was glad the early morning meetings had been rescheduled and we didn't have to be to church until 10:00. I fixed breakfast, which is always pancakes for the grand kids. While they ate, I went out to get Ellen up. The kids were all good and when I came back in, we got everybody ready for church. Jocelyn and Oscar came to get them just as I had headed in to get myself ready. I was scheduled to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting, so I had prepared it earlier in the week. It was the first time since David has been in the Bishopric that I got to sit with him at church. I'm not that excited about giving talks, but I like sitting up front because you can see every body's face instead of the back of their heads.

Clara 's Arrival

2010-09-07T12:16:00.000-07:00

What better way is there to get back to blogging than to announce the arrival of a new grandaughter? Clara Delgado arrived this morning, a few days early, at 2:16 a.m. She weighed in at 9 pounds 4 ounces and was 21 1/4 inches long. The Delgado boys were a little late for school because I took them to the hospital to welcome her to the family. They were all delighted with her. Jocelyn and I can't wait to get started trying on all that new pink stuff.. Their favorite thing about her was her beautiful, silky hair. Jocelyn is doiing great and is hoping to home this afternoon. I can't wait to hold her again!

A Bunch of Amateurs

2010-02-19T16:08:00.000-08:00

I changed the name of my blog in honor of our family's new pastime. Ryan started it all awhile back when he decided to increase the number of people in Kern Valley available to transmit information in an emergency. He did this by passing a test so he could become an amateur radio operator. In certain emergencies, it is likely that most of us won't be able to use our cell phones, and we want to be prepared! Last fall, David found out that there are not very many members of our church in Bakersfield qualified to pass information in an emergency, so he studied up and also passed the test to become a "technician" level operator ( same as Ryan). Oscar and his brother, Andres, followed, also becoming "technicians ." In January, Oscar upgraded to "general" the same day Jocelyn passed her "technician" test. Karrie joined the ranks a couple of weeks ago. I hope I don't shame the family by being the only one who can't pass the test. I'm a little backward when it comes to knowledge of electricity. Isn't it magic? I've always thought so. I'll find out if I've learned enough tomorrow night. David is going with me to take the "general" exam. There are a bunch more friends and family who said they will be there. We'll see.
Anyway, about SPURIOUS EMISSIONS...( I love saying that, it sounds like dangerous rays or or something coming from outer space. ) What it actually is, according to my new found knowledge of radio is "emission on a frequency or frequencies which are outside the necessary bandwidth and the level of which my be reduced without affecting the corresponding transmissions of information. Spurious emissions may include harmonic (I love that word too.) emissions, parasitic emissions, intermodulatulation products and frequency conversion products but exclude out-of band emissions." In case you were wondering, "HARMONICS are electric voltages and currents that appear on the electric power system as a result of certain kinds of electric loads. Harmonic frequencies in the power grid are a frequent cause of power quality problems." See my point?

Pepper Spray Experiment

2010-01-29T17:43:00.001-08:00

While Jocelyn and I were checking out some online coupons to print, Spencer tried an experiment with PEPPER SPRAY. He came running in the office hysterically crying that he had hit his head on a table in the toy room, all the while his hands were trying to scrape something off his lips and tongue. Suspicious! Jocelyn investigated and found the pepper spray from her purse on the counter in the kitchen with drips still clinging to the edge of the bottle. I looked up the antidote online and there is none. Water will not help, but, if it's on your skin, milk might. They suggest a solution of 25% Dawn and 75% water, since it's a oil, but that's not too cool if the pepper spray is on your lips and in your mouth. They suggest staying calm and quiet. Yea, right! 15 minutes later Spencer was down to a whimper and 30 minutes later he told his mom he had good news, "His lips were not burning." The bad news? None.

Grandma J's House - updated to sell

2010-01-29T14:20:00.000-08:00

We have had Grandma J's house updated to make it more marketable.

All the old brown panneling and wallpaper were removed.

Outside trim, eaves and garage door were painted.

The interior received a modern two-tone look.

Lighter colored floor coverings were installed.

Cabinets were refinished.

Updated light fixtures are in the works.

(David and I purchased them and plan to install them soon.)

Dining Room

(The fan is going to be replaced.)

Living Room

Family Room

Bedroom

Upper Oven Cabinet

Upper Cabinets

Lower cabinets and new floor covering

We are looking for a good deal on new appliances.

Any suggestions?

There is currently a double oven and electric coil cooktop.

We are thinking of replacing them with a convection oven/microwave combo,

and a smooth cooktop.

Also in the plans:

Fix the sprinkler valves.

Repair the front gate.

Trim the trees and bushes.

Plant some pretty flowers in front for curb appeal.

Maybe some base moulding.

Wash windows.

Make a couple of trips to the dump!

Anybody in the family want the old window coverings?

Guests... and more guests

2010-01-27T16:42:00.000-08:00

We were pleased to have some of our family come through Bakersfield this week and visit us. Barry dreamed up the whole thing. In anticipation of his mother's (Barbara's) 90th birthday later this year he wanted to talk to some of the relatives to get some interesting facts about her younger years. So... Barbara hitched a ride from Sacramento with Buffy and Lance who had been up there visiting. They all landed here for a fun couple of days. Barry and Lee drove up from Escondido and joined the group on Friday. We had a Bunting style feast to celebrate.

Levi and I cooked up some Peach Cobbler for dessert. We served Tri-Tip, Relief Society Potatoes, Carrots, French Bread and Green Salad.

Saturday the Delgado's joined us again and we had a great time talking more over breakfast. Lots of pancakes and Bunting's organic brown eggs were consumed.

David and I had met up with Nadine, Deanna and Susie in the L.A. Temple on Tuesday. Nadine was scheduled for back surgery Wednesday, so Sue and her mom drove down from Northern California and and met Deanna, who flew in from Utah. They arrived a couple of days early and stayed in the temple apartments. Tuesday is my day to serve at the temple, so while I served my shift, David , Nadine, Deanna and Sue went on sessions. Afterward we had lunch together in the temple and visited awhile in their apartment before heading home to Bakersfield. After surgery, Deanna flew home and Sue and her mom came to Bakersfield for Nadine to convalese at Nadine's sister' home. Sue came over Sunday night to chat awhile. (See above pic) Nadine's doing well and David is planning to take her to her follow-up appointment next Thursday.

Lee and Barry came back to Bakersfield on Monday after their sprint up the state to Sacramento to take Barbara back home and see Aunt Helen. We all went out for Italian food. I probably gained back everything I lost the beginning of the month.

Jared's 4th Birthday Celebration

2010-01-24T15:07:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Jared's Birthday on Sunday with all the cousins.

Jocelyn made him a robot cake letting all the kids help, of course.

Here, they are all getting ready to sing to the birthday boy:

Give a Day - Get a Disney Day

2010-01-16T08:45:00.000-08:00

Our most frugal family member, Jocelyn, told us how we could give some service and get a FREE voucher for a day at Disneyland. The offer gives a list of organizations for you to select where you want to give your service. We picked Project Linus since I like to make quilts. David helped put them on the frames. When I turned my quilts in yesterday, Michele told me she had answered 4000 e-mails. Her living room was full of blankets and quilts.

Icelandic Yuletide Lads

2009-12-02T17:14:00.000-08:00

In Icelandic tradition, there are 13 Yule Lads who are offspring of the giant ogress Gryla and her subservient husband Leppaludi. This large family is supposed to live in a cave somewhere in the mountains and keeps quiet until Christmas approaches. Then the Yuletide lads take their once-a year bath and descend from their mountain home around Christmas. One comes each day beginning on December 12 to play tricks on townfolk. Each lad is named after his mischievious action: Stekkjastaur (Sheep-Cote Clod) heads directly for the sheep cote to have fun disturbing the sheep. He has stiff peg-legs.

Giljagaur (Gully Gawk) hides in gullies and steals milk from the cow shed.

Stufer (Stubby) is abnormally short and steals pans to eat the crust left in them.

Pvorusleikir ( Spoon Licker) is very lean and steals and licks spoons.

Pottasleikir (Pot Scraper) was a funny sort of chap. When kids were given scrapings, he'd come to the door and tap. And they would rush to see if there was really a guest. Then he hurried to the pot and had a scraping fest.

Huroaskellir (Door Slammer) When people in the twilight would take a little nap, herwas happy as a lark with the havoc he would wreak, slamming doors and hearing the hinges on them squeek.

Askasleikir (Bowl-licker) hides under beds and always arrives late enough to get the food left by children in their bowls.

Skyrgamur (Skyr-Gobbler) thinks of nothing but gormet food and steals skyr (like yogurt) from the larders whenever he gets the opportunity.

Bjugnakraekir (Sausage Snatcher) hides in the rafters and snatches smoking sausages.

Gluggagagaegir (Window Peeper) Looks through windows for things to steal.

Gattabefur (Door Sniffer) has an abnormally large nose and sniffs the doorway of houses for laufabraud (Christmas fried flat bread) .

Ketkrokur (Meat Hook) who likes smoked lamb very much, spares no effert to hook a leg of lamb from the stove through the chimney, although his hook at times is a tiny bit short.

Kertasnikir (Candle Beggar) who likes candle light and never gets enough candles for himself although he snatches quite a few from children.

Stacie's Reception

2009-08-03T13:28:00.000-07:00

Stacie and Zach's Wedding Reception was beautiful. I'm just sorry Dayna and some of the kids had the flu and couldn't fully enjoy it.

This is David and Bobby (famous for his BobbyQ Sauce), who catered the event.

The fruit and vegitable display were beautiful.

These are views of the newly constructed pergola,before and after sunset.

David helped Steve get it done in time for the reception. (I'm just glad no one was killed or maimed raising those beams, though I understand some pain killers were needed for muscles strained the process.)

Here are a few views of the lanterns for Kimi, who is using them for her reception this Saturday.

The hit of the night for the kids was the sweet table. Jars of candy were available for scooping up and into the little orange bags or your mouth. Levi enjoyed the Skittles.

Painting in Progress

2009-04-20T17:43:00.000-07:00

I just went out and took a picture of the coop painting in progress. The cream color is primer and the "Hot Chocolate" is the final color. I think he's used about 15 gallons so far. The trim will be white.
David came in to take a call.

Guess who came to visit?

2009-04-20T16:51:00.000-07:00

We had a nice weekend visit from Kalisi, Will, Ana B and their parents, Lenna and Brandon. Here they are helping me get the chairs ready for the barbecue we had Saturday. It all started because they have friends from Bakersfield as well as relatives. (We're the relatives.) So we decided to get them together since their friends, The Taylors, live in Fresno now. So, we invited them and some other friends and family and had a great time together.

They brought me this, which I forgot to share

while everyone was here. Is that good or bad?

Chicken Coop Walls

2009-04-20T16:46:00.001-07:00

The aviary (chicken coop) has walls and is ready for paint. Actually, it is being NOW. Hopefully, the new occupants can move in this weekend.

Block Wall

2009-04-20T16:42:00.000-07:00

Here's a look at our new block wall we recently had

installed along the west side of the driveway.

Easter and Levi's 1st Birthday

2009-04-13T14:35:00.000-07:00

Levi had his first birthday April 11th, so we waited a day to celebrate since we were having lots of our family come to our house for Easter. He is such a sweetie! He can walk several steps with a little confidence now, and he says, "Tickle, tickle, tickle" so cute you can't believe it. Although he is very friendly and loves people, his favorite person is, without a doubt, his mommy.

Levi, age 1 year 1 day

The Easter bucket brigade is ready for egg hunting. You can see the hail/rain/wind storm was quick to leave. We had beautiful sunny weather for the kids.

With a little encouragement from Granny and Grandma J., all the eggs were found and the bunny bucks redeemed.

Nathan was quick to find his dozen eggs, but discovered candy and not too many bunny bucks inside. He had to negotiate for his toys.
Kacy loves pink eggs, of course.
Will's a great egg hunter.

Jessie was a little under the weather,

but she managed to have a little fun too.

After the egg hunt, Karrie and the her kids went to Grandma Mayhall's house for dinner. Yvette, Gus, Eric, Kimi, Jake, Nathalie and Sophie came to join us for dinner, along with Angela, Lee, Lucy, baby Will, Gary and Marsha. Karl, Gaye, Jimmy, David, Lindsey and Sarah joined us later in the evening.

Oscar brought some of the chicks over for the kids to see.

We were amazed how fast they ate the bugs! Boys love chicks.
Lucy joined in too.

I didn't get a picture of little Sophie and her pretty polka dot Easter dress, because she left before I got my camera out after dinner. That's the disadvantage of being hostess. Yvette has some great pics of her on the Bryant Blog, so you better go there to see how cute she is.

Easter Hail Storm

2009-04-11T14:22:00.000-07:00

Just before Easter we got a nice hail/rain/wind storm. I had cleaned up the yard and got everything looking pretty good, knowing that rain had been forecast, but it looked nice to me up until Thursday afternoon when the wind blew this in. Saturday, I had to hurry and rake up all the leaves and blown off branches.

Coop Progress

2009-04-08T14:11:00.000-07:00

These are the forms for the cement upon which the walls of the chicken coop will rest. David is making slow, but sure progress. The chicks are currently housed in a big cardboard box in Jocelyn and Oscar's garage. Some of them have names and a pecking order has begun. They are anxiously awaiting their new home.

Three Boys and Rakes

2009-03-30T16:01:00.000-07:00

I had a brainstorm. I was looking at all the pits from last year under the trees in the peach orchard and I thought, "What I need is some boys with rakes! They are old enough to learn how to work and feel they accomplished something." So I went to Lowe's and bought three little rakes and the next time they came over I offered them the job. They would get 1 candy of choice per tree raked. If they completed one whole row they could choose a new DVD movie, out to lunch with Grandma to the place of their choosing, or a toy of their choice.

The RESULTS:

Nathan raked 5 trees.

Jared raked 2 trees.

Spencer said," No way!" but wanted to play with the rake.

Fresh Baked Bread

2009-03-15T14:04:00.000-07:00

Since we learned how to bottle butter,

I decided we needed something on

which it could be sampled properly.

Happy Birthday Jessie!

2009-03-02T22:25:00.000-08:00

Sweet little Jessie is ONE today! She is a joy to have in the family and is always so happy. Her smile is a treat. She is super fassssst at crawling, and I bet it won't be long before she's running around with big kids. The little curls behind her ears are so cute .We love her bunches!We celebrated yesterday. Jessie's favorite food is french fries, so I was happy to accommodate her taste buds. We added another of her favorites, hamburgers, along with some chicken, jello, and fruit salad. All the kids cleaned their plates and everyone asked why I don't serve that for Sunday dinner more often. After dinner all the kids helped me decorate her butterfly cake.

She's had quite a crowd trying to help her, but managed to open her presents with just a little help from her mom. I found it very difficult to get in to take any pictures.

Jocelyn made her a little dress and matching hair clip, then decided at the last minute to sew one for Kacy too.

The Chicken-Coop has a Roof

2009-03-02T21:18:00.000-08:00

In our effort to be self-sufficient, David decided we needed some chickens, so here's the fruition of his plan. I guess it should really be called an aviary, since one section will also hold Oscar's lovebirds. Anyway, progress has been made and it should be done by the end of the month. The chicks have been ordered and will arrive the first part of April (in time for Easter). As well as providing some eggs, we hope the chickens will be fun for the grand kids and do away with some pesky summertime bugs. Ryan thinks they are going to eat up all their neighbors, the bees, who reside next door to the coop. We'll see. Those who want eggs, come over in September.

The Pass-a-long Car

2009-02-12T20:35:00.000-08:00

Several years ago Oscar's sister was given a car. She was a student and used it to go to school and work. After awhile, it developed some mechanical problem, so she passed it along to Oscar , thinking he might be able to fix it, and bought a new one. Oscar didn't really need it, so he parked it in David's "bone" yard. One day we saw it parked in front of a house several neighborhoods to the west of us. A tire had been slashed and it was dirty. Apparently, it had been stolen and the thief ditched it when he discovered the mechanical problem. The police couldn't acquire any usable fingerprints. It had been parked there for two weeks, according to the owner of the house, and we hadn't noticed it was missing. We drove it home, cleaned it up and David fixed it. About that time, my dad had some medical problems and I found myself driving to the hospital a lot and then transporting my dad to re-hab and physical therapy and much later I went back and forth to the nursing home. It got great gas mileage, was easy to get him in and out of, and was very dependable. It was a blessing, saving me a lot of money and trouble. After dad passed away, the air conditioning went out and it was summer, so we parked it. That was over five years ago. I got the Jeep. A few weeks ago David put in a new battery, installed new tires and passed it along to someone else.

Valentine Enrichment Activity

2009-02-12T19:25:00.000-08:00

We had a Valentine theme enrichment activity for Relief Society. Jocelyn planned some "Make and Take" crafts you can see above and on her blog. I brought some ideas for fun Valentine food and treats. We ate heart shaped pizza, pink cupcakes and chocolate lollipops while we crafted. Both of us forgot to take pictures, but a couple of the edible leftovers are shown above. The morning after it was all over I came across some super cute ideas for packaging treats, which I plan to use to surprise my VALENTINES.

Ellen's 96th Birthday

2009-02-09T19:06:00.000-08:00

We had a big 96th Birthday bash for Ellen. She is amazing. All the family in town were here to help her celebrate except "little" David, who had to work. We ate roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, carrots baked Ellen's way, jello salad, rolls, and cake. "Little" David's 27th birthday is the day after Ellen's, so we planned a double celebration, but the railroad didn't cooperate. Here are Lindsey and Sarah with Ellen:

Look who came to our house...

2009-02-08T18:55:00.000-08:00

While sitting on the stand at church with the Relief Society sisters, I thought I saw Richard way in the back by Oscar. Turns out it really was him and he joined us for lunch after church. We got to hear all about life in Kentucky. Maybe Natalie and the kids can come next time.

Winter Clean-up

2009-01-26T14:36:00.000-08:00

January is a big yard clean-up time for us. The sun usually manages to push through the cloud cover and shine for a few days and makes you think Spring is on the way. The fruit trees need pruning, the lawn needs crab grass preventer and fertilizer, and there are TONS of leaves, weeds and green waste to remove since we are usually too busy to do anything about it during the holidays. We had a great crop of mandarins this year and shared a lot. Our wonderful neighbor, Elisio, came over a couple of times to get some and offered to trade some labor for the last of the crop. He raked leaves for us in return for oranges. It was a big help to me! David later paid him to help with tree trimming, so we are pretty much done with that, and it's not even the end of the month. I got the lawns done and Round-up sprayed last week before the big rain storms hit. David has been wanting to move the pomegranete cuttings out of the garden so he could roto-till it. He was getting their final resting place ready and accidentally broke a water line (see picture above). That's all fixed. Now all he has to do is plant the cuttings which have grown about 3 feet tall. I have to spray the weeds in the peach orchard and plant some pretty flowers for Ellen around her deck and also some for me. That's the fun part. I love Spring. I can't wait for all the blossoms and flowers.

Hall Wall Art by Ed

2009-01-26T13:57:00.000-08:00

This is a section of my hall wall "after" being cleaned with Magic Eraser.
We were all busy during the holidays and didn't keep a close enough eye on Ed. He somehow found some non-washable markers and decorated my hall with black and red artwork. I wasn't too worried since I have successfully been able to remove all previous smudges, crayon, pencil and other kid inflicted stuff with Magic Eraser. It took off the black pretty well, but was not successful with the red. I had consigned myself to re-painting it when Barbara (David's sister) and Carolynn came for an overnight visit. Barbara suggested I try rubbing alcohol, a remedy recommended to her by a friend for lots of unwanted spots. I did and IT WORKS! I just received this cartoon in the mail from her a few days ago:

Jared's 3rd Birthday

2009-01-18T22:00:00.000-08:00

Sweet little Jared is three! We love him so much. He is truly a joy in our family. I made a frog cake for him and we had a fun time celebrating with the family.

National English Toffee Day

2009-01-08T17:19:00.000-08:00

Jocelyn and the Delgado boys came over to play this afternoon and she told me today is National English Toffee Day. Now, I personally think this is a BAD time of year to have such a day, what with New Year's resolutions and such, but after talking about it we just had to MAKE some. After a look in the pantry we were able to find all the necessary ingredients. Above is the finished product, below, how it appeared before refrigeration and the breaking up. Jocelyn does not like nuts on hers. I do. If you live nearby and want to help us celebrate ...come on over. We'll be happy to share if there's any left when you get here.

Brio Fun

2009-01-08T17:18:00.000-08:00

All the grand kids got a Brio train set for Christmas and it is kept here at my house. Will, Ed and I spent the morning setting it up. The little red engine next to Will's right hand is motorized and that is one of their favorite pieces. There are five other engines and lots of cars, but they like it best . The other favorite is the red and yellow forklift. They are staying at my house until Sunday while Ryan and Karrie are out of town for a little time away and shopping for things for their house (like door hardware).

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T12:16:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures for friends and family who live out of Bakersfield.

We love you and wish you a very

Merry Christmas.

This is my mom with Levi.

A Visit with Santa

2008-12-24T03:57:00.000-08:00

The Delgado boys each had a turn sitting on Santa's lap at our ward party Friday. They decorated cupcakes and sang. For dinner we brought potluck soups and desserts and salad and drinks were provided. It's always fun to celebrate the season.

Hog Harvesting

2008-12-24T03:46:00.000-08:00

Some friends of Ryan asked him to harvest three pigs and deep pit the meat for them. He got to keep one for doing the work. It became quite a project and several people came to observe or help. We had ribs from the pit for dinner Sunday. Most of the meat is cooked, packaged and in the freezer, but, we still have the bacon curing.

Crafty Days

2008-12-24T03:32:00.000-08:00

Thursday, December 11th and Saturday December 13th Jocelyn and I some of the ladies in our ward got together to make some Christmas crafts. We did nativity finger and hand puppets, paper globe topiaries (as seen on Heather Bailey's blog), traditional or nativity theme lighted glass blocks, glass etching, hooded bath towels, and cookie cutter ornaments. Above is pictured Heather, Jennifer , Jocelyn, Jennifer with Emma, and the kits for the hand puppets.

Nativity Celebration

2008-12-13T01:22:00.000-08:00

Here's a few shots of the Community Nativity Celebration from last week:

The early morning unloading crew.Starting Jocelyn's set-up plan.
Tablecloths and trees next.

With the fluff and 350 nativities.

Some of the Thursday night performers:

Four of my grand kids dressed up to have their picture taken. Aren't they cute? Will and Ed adamantly refused costumes. Ed preferred to unwrap the wise men's gifts:

They all loved the Little People Nativity.
And the puppet show in the children's area.

Jocelyn did a great job. It was beautiful. Now we figure we qualify for the "do not contact" list next year.

Guns and Ammo

2008-12-13T01:20:00.000-08:00

It's an unknown fact that I like guns. I shot in competitions in high school, but that was YEARS AGO. David invited me to go with him to the range the Saturday after Thanksgiving Gaye had picked up her new shot gun and was going to try it for the first time, so girls were allowed. I really don't like shooting shot guns, so I started with the 22. It was a different kind of range, targets, and rifle than I used in the old days, but still fun. I tried all of David's guns and liked the 38 special Smith&Wesson best.

Watch out burglars! Gaye has experience now.Karl even came along.

Oscar, Andres, Steve, Jordan, Peter, Kyle, David J., Jason, Maurice and Mike were also there. I think it would be more fun if we got a competition going.

Who needs TURKEY?

2008-12-13T00:35:00.000-08:00

The Bunting's did not go hungry on Thanksgiving. Those of you who know us can affirm we like to eat. We had a wonderful feast. Our tradition is to eat dessert after the dishes are cleaned off the table and the food is put away. By that time, your food has "settled" and you feel like eating pie. As I looked over THIS, I wondered "Who needs turkey?
Ryan had to work, but stopped in briefly. He requested a pecan pie this year. I decided I like it too.

Jared should be related to Steve N. They both love cream. Steve, do you like peas too? That's Jared's favorite non-sweet food. I remember when John was little he asked me for some "PLAIN" pie. We had about ten choices, as usual, so I tried to find out which he wanted. He said no to each as I suggested it. I finally figured out he wanted a bowl of cream.

By the way, in case you are wondering, I have plenty to be thankful for. David and I have commented to each other many times over the years that we are truly blessed in so many ways it's amazing. I look at the wonderful children we have and the grand kids who are the best looking and smartest I know. (Notice I didn't say best behaved. I would have, except today they made me yell at them for throwing popcorn kernels all over the carpet and banging on the woodwork with my meatball maker.) I am so grateful they live here and I can see them all the time; that they are here to spill on my carpet and write on my walls. What if they lived far away and I could only see them once in a while? See how blessed I am? And I love how David helped me drill holes in all the shower blocks for Super Thursday/Saturday. He spent more on drill bits than the blocks cost, but it was ok because the women in our ward need the time together to make stuff. And he went out and got Chinese food for dinner because I had no time to cook. I had been looking for clear glass plates for days so the ladies could do glass etching and cutting out felt for the nativity puppets. I have said it before: He is irreplaceable. He doesn't care that our Christmas tree is still not up.

Turkey Art

2008-12-13T00:28:00.000-08:00

The day before Thanksgiving I watched Will, Ed and Jessie while Karrie did errands. We enjoyed the day with some of the Delgado cousins doing turkey art while the older siblings were in school. Each kid had their own styleof coloring, of course, and all were posted on my fridge for Thanksgiving.

Ed's style. Enough said.

Nina's Birthday

2008-12-13T00:18:00.000-08:00

My mother's birthday was the day after we returned from the funeral in Utah, so the grand kids helped me decorate her cake with gumdrops left over from our Enrichment holiday cookie decorating activity. We enjoyed a nice dinner together. Anita, Randy, Yvette and Gus joined us to help her celebrate 83 years. We love you lots, mom!

Uncle Harold's Funeral

2008-12-13T00:06:00.000-08:00

David's Uncle Harold passed away recently at the age of 93, so David, Karl and I made the trip to Saint George, Utah to attend the funeral. The Smith family is known for their longevity. It was wonderful to hear all the nice things said of Uncle Harold and to visit with the other family members who attended.

Trip to Mesa

2008-11-19T17:21:00.000-08:00

We recently took trip to Mesa to see David's Uncle Paul and his wife, Melba. It had been a long time since we had seen them and David also wanted to help Uncle Paul with some family history. They live across the street from the temple, so we took the opportunity to go there and also to the visitor's center where we saw the Joseph Smith video and the beautiful Christmas lights. While were sitting around talking one afternoon,Uncle Paul taught me how to make his famous hats so I could come home and teach Ellen. He's made over 1000 of them to give away to family and friends. We also took them out to lunch to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary.

David and I are in front of the the visitor's center reflecting pool.

Aren't the lights pretty shining in the water?

Our last evening there, we went to Organ Stop Pizza with Paul and Melba and some of their family. It was quite an experience. This guy sits on a stage in a huge room with a balcony and plays requests from the audience. The organ also controls lights, mirror ball, puppet stages, other musical instruments, flags etc... It was amazing. I asked Melba if she was dying to get up on stage and play the organ. She was.

6 Random Things About Me

2008-11-03T11:22:00.001-08:00

I was tagged by Randy quite awhile ago and did not have time to respond, so I'll do it now:
1. I'm afraid of dogs.
2. I have a secret ambition to learn several languages. I know it will probably never happen, but I would like to at least learn one enough to be somewhat fluent.
3. I have never made Chow Mein and have wanted to for over a year. Anybody have a good recipe?
4. I am anti-social and prefer small gatherings. I would rather be in the kitchen than limelight.
5. I love poetry. When I was in college, sometimes I would go to the library and read John Keats instead of hanging out in the lounge at the Institute. (I guess that's proof I'm anti-social.)
6. I broke my back when I was sixteen by falling out of the cab of a red 1949 truck as it turned a corner.
I tag Carla J., Angela, Lee, Anita, Jeremy and Ryan.

Halloween

2008-11-02T22:20:00.000-08:00

I joined Jocelyn and the boys at 8:15 Friday morning for Orangewood School's Halloween costume parade. Jared got to hang with Nathan for a stroll around the blacktop.

Spencer followed Dracula in the parade.

Jared decided he preferred swinging...

...and sliding to walking and watching.

The alien mom and her youngest karate kid.

After the parade, Jocelyn and I spent the morning going between Nathan's and Spencer's classes. Nathan's class had a camp out complete with paper bonfire and tents. Nathan's teacher, Dr. Neal, read a couple of stories and then sent the kids to their tents.

I took Jared home for a lunch brake and returned at 12:30 to hold Levi while Jocelyn got the class treats ready. While I was gone, the class used compasses for their fun math treasure hunt activity. I read to the group in Nathan's tent until school was dismissed. Everyone had a good time. All the white karate outfits were covered in bright orange frosting.

After arriving home, David and I (mostly I...David napped) vacuumed and washed the Jeep and truck and got cupcakes and chili ready for the annual "Trunk or Treat" party. While I was washing vehicles, I think Jocelyn was washing the bright orange frosting and playground grime off the karate kid clothes. David had put his "bean less" chili in the crock pot Thursday night so he only had to add the finishing touches. Jocelyn took the boys to Granny's to "Trick or Treat" and then we set up our "trunks" by 6:00 at the church parking lot. I passed out treats and showed Halloween movies from the back of my Jeep with occasional help from Nathan and Spencer. I bought David the Frankenstein costume for $3.00 and even had green make-up for his face (donated by Jocelyn), but he wouldn't wear it. He did agree to put it on for 30 seconds for this picture. I was a witch.

Here's the Delgados at the end of the party, tired but happy.

Temple Security

2008-11-02T22:04:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday, while I was working at the temple, we got word that a group of Prop 8 opposers were going to deliver a petition to the prophet between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. In order to avoid any problems, they beefed up security and posted these guys at the front gate, which was half closed.

I came before the security detail arrived, but I heard that they screened those who drove up and planned to escort the petitioners to the area where the church is behind the temple for their delivery. We heard a megaphone during the morning, but it could have been coming from the school next door. When I left at 11:45 all I saw was these guys by the fence and someone talking to a television camera in front of the temple.

Support for Prop 8

2008-10-27T19:09:00.000-07:00

Stephanie asked David to build frames to support some large signs she made for Prop 8 and to deliver and install them. Here they are Stephanie:

If anyone drives down our street,

they won't have to wonder how we stand:

Sunday Gathering

2008-10-27T18:44:00.000-07:00

Some of the Clements joined us Sunday afternoon for some talkin' and eatin'. Jason's family, Aimee and Cooper were in town for Randy's dad's wedding, which was Saturday. We enjoyed seeing everyone again and since it was Hailey's birthday, we found candles for the Texas sheet cake and sung to her. ( I can't believe she's 12!!!) The kids ate and played in the backyard, while the adults finished off some apple pie in the house. We talked politics, church doctrine and got the scoop on the wedding and Lindsey's baby shower. Everyone left tired and happy. I killed at least 17 flies this morning.

Green Insulation

2008-10-27T18:23:00.000-07:00

Friday, David and I helped Ryan and Karrie insulate the floor of their house with recycled (mostly) celulose. It was a tedious, but rewarding job that would have gone faster if the machine that squirts the stuff had a better blower. I fed the hopper and Karrie squirted until almost dark, then we switched. Ryan and David followed behind us with the plywood flooring. Kacy came to help after school too.

The Bunting's MULTIPLEX THEATER

2008-10-23T08:37:00.000-07:00

I was watching the boys while Jocelyn attended a site council meeting yesterday afternoon. There was a difference of opinion on which movie to watch after Nathan's homework was completed. So, I decided to have them put the names of the movies in a bowl and draw a winner. I sent them to Papa David for the drawing in order to avoid conflict. David had a better idea. He set Nathan up in the family room with "Flubber", Spencer in the office with "The Velveteen Rabbit," and Jared up with his laptop and "Sleeping Beauty," which the other two wouldn't be caught dead watching.

The Mummy

2008-10-23T08:24:00.000-07:00

I think this is the mummy that scares my grand kids. A couple of weeks ago Ryan and his family came to see us and brought dinner. (It was yummy stuff from "Flame and Skewer".) They had been out shopping at Lowe's and came upon this guy. I think he was able to talk and his eye moved on their visit . By the time I saw him, and took this picture, he had been incapacitated and didn't seem too scary. But, I can imagine an unsuspecting child coming around the corner and being engaged in a conversation with him. Apparently they wanted to avoid that area of Lowe's at any cost after the encounter with THE LOWE'S MUMMY.

David's 59th Birthday

2008-10-23T07:54:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Mr. Irreplaceable's birthday last week and his neglectful wife didn't take the opportunity to blog about it. So, I am about to redeem myself. As I have said before, he is an almost perfect husband and irreplaceable in every way. I don't know what I would do without him. Because he has been "on reserve" at work, we have had a glimpse of what retirement is like. A few overdue projects around the house have been knocked off the list and he's been able to go with me to the temple. The men on my shift have got to know him pretty well and want him to work there as almost as much as me. We have been learning Spanish while driving, so I can now ask you if you want something to eat if you come to my house and don't know that's what we do here. And, I can find out how much beer costs at a restaurant and ask you where you're from. Anyway, he's a great guy and we're looking forward to lots more years together. He prefers pie over cake, so I made a bunch and got some from Marie Calendar's for his birthday. He's been eating them all week. We had a nice dinner for him. My brother Loren and his wife Carla happened to be staying with us for a few days, so they helped us celebrate along with Anita and Randy, Ellen and the kids and grandkids.

Vote YES on Proposition 8

2008-10-09T11:04:00.000-07:00

YES ON 8 Voting YES on Proposition 8 does 3 simple things: It restores the definition of marriage to what the vast majority of California voters already approved and what Californians agree should be supported, not undermined. It overturns the outrageous decision of four activist Supreme Court judges who ignored the will of the people. It protects our children from being taught in public schools that “same-sex marriage” is the same as traditional marriage, and prevents other consequences to Californians who will be forced to not just be tolerant of gay lifestyles, but face mandatory compliance regardless of their personal beliefs.
MARRIAGE BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN IS SACRED, Let's keep it that way. Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children. We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.
Click on the links below. The first one is about 6 minutes, The other is less than a minute.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1815820715/bctid1822459319
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kKn5LNhNto.

Also check this link:

http://www.preservingmarriage.org/
Please tell everyone you know to vote YES on 8

The Flight of the Turkey Buzzards

2008-09-29T20:50:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, as David and I were coming back from our evening bike ride, we looked up and saw hundreds of turkey buzzards. They were taking advantage of the beautiful cool evening and were soaring overhead. I don't exaggerate by saying hundreds! When I got up to walk the next morning, I noticed they were waking up and getting gathered to fly off somewhere. They had spent the night in the trees in our neighborhood. Karrie told me later there is a "Turkey Buzzard Festival" up in Kern Valley. Who would have guessed? I notice this evening there are still some around, maybe ten or twenty tonight. I always see red-tailed hawks around here, but have never noticed turkey buzzards. The pictures above were taken in the early morning, as they gathered in the eucalyptus trees.

John's Birthday

2008-09-29T20:45:00.000-07:00

John and Becky were in town last weekend helping his Grandma move. Sunday they came over for dinner. We knew his 32nd birthday was coming up, so we all had to wish him Happy Birthday!

Kawasaki Fixed Up

2008-09-29T20:32:00.000-07:00

David bought a Kawasaki a while back so he could ride off road with Ryan and maybe save a little money on gas by riding it to work. He took it for a couple of spins and it has since been sitting out back collecting dust. He recently washed it and fixed up a few things so it looks good and is rideable again. Now that cooler weather is approaching, it'll be nice. I used to love riding with him on his Honda 650.

36th Anniversary

2008-09-17T13:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was our 36th wedding anniversary. It was also my day to work at the temple. I have to leave Bakersfield around 3:00 A.M. to get there in time to to my job as assistant coordinator of instruction for the early morning shift. I was so happy that David was able to go with me. He did endowments while I was working and we were even able to meet at the cafeteria for a snack on my brake. I usually don't have a brake. I thought about him often throughout the morning. I am looking forward to his retirement when he can work at the temple too. What an irreplaceable and supportive husband he is. I am truly blessed. We spent the entire day together and it was wonderful, even the dinner, which was well worth fudging on the diet. We plan to ride, ride ride this evening to make up for it!

Canning Peaches

2008-09-17T12:55:00.000-07:00

We picked the last of the Fairtime peaches Monday morning and canned them. I was cleaning the pantry and garage last week to reorganize and re-evaluate our food storage and felt bad that I had so many empty bottles with fall approaching. I had to do something about that! Bottled fruit looks pretty on the counter or shelf and there is something satisfying about just having it there.

Tug-o-war with David

2008-09-17T12:50:00.000-07:00

Nathan, Spencer, Kacy, Will, Ed and Jared are trying to out pull David with our new tug-o-war rope Grandpa David made.

Uncle Dandy's Birthday

2008-09-17T12:38:00.001-07:00

Uncle "Dandy" had his 57th birthday on Saturday, so we helped him celebrate a day late when he came over to visit us on Sunday. We didn't have quite enough candles, so we just made the number 57 with candles.

ALL the kids LOVE Uncle Dandy because he's the best "tickler," and bug him to death when he comes to visit. They are crowded around to watch him use the engraver.

Extracting Honey

2008-09-17T11:36:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, David decided it was time we extracted honey. He was planning to take some hives up to Ryan's place for the winter and wanted work with the bees and get a little honey first. Matt and Julie came over to help.

Julie and David are uncapping (scraping the wax off the top):

Next, the frames are put in the extractor, which is cranked to make the honey come out by centrifugal force. Oscar came to help too, and everyone took a turn cranking: Then, the honey is put through three filters to take out the wax and impurities. You might think there is a lot of waste, but after I was all through straining and bottling there was only about a quart of wax with "yukkies." We could actually reuse the beeswax, but we haven't got the equipment to filter it properly. I ended up with about 70 pounds of honey from 15 frames:

New Bikes!

2008-09-17T10:39:00.000-07:00

In preparation for our big backpacking trip next summer, we bought these bikes. We have been walking and dieting, but felt something a little more strenuous might be needed to help us get in shape. Stair stepping seemed kind of boring, so we went looking for bikes. David had read that they are often discounted in September to make room for the new Christmas models. We found a great bargain. Mine was marked down $180.00 and David's $150.00. The only problem is the last few days we've been so busy with projects that we haven't had much time to ride. Today for SURE! And I doubled my walking time today.

D. Spencer's 5th Birthday

2008-09-04T10:13:00.001-07:00

Spencer sure has been looking forward to his birthday this year. Maybe because he started school. or maybe just because birthday's are fun. Anyway , he requested a rocket ship for his birthday cake. I put what I thought was a carton of frosting in my basket at Smart and Final and it ended up being whipped topping instead, so when we went to decorate the cake we decided a chocolate rocket would be just fine. As I have said before, kids are easy to please. We celebrated on Sunday, when all the cousins came, even though his birthday is September 2nd. For dinner, he specified spaghetti and meatballs. Now an articulate speaking, bouncy and imaginative kid, Spencer has captivated us all since he was a baby and had that spikey hair we adored. He loves school and showed me the "Student of the Day" sticker he recently received on one of my recent visits to the Delgado boys room. He had it taped above his bed. "Teachers use a lot of tape, " he said. I know he'll have a great year.

Everyone likes to watch the gift opening.

Will's 4th Birthday Party

2008-08-25T23:00:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Will's 4th birthday yesterday, although his birthday is actually today. Kacy thought we should put 3 candles on the cake since he wasn't quite 4 . He wanted a monster truck like Nathan had, so we made it a different color. I let all the kids help decorate, then we put it up high so Ed couldn't reach the donuts this time. It kind of melted as the pizza (Will's choice) was cooking, but nobody seemed to mind.

We had a good time watching Will open his presents and later had root beer floats. Will's a fast talkin', big smilin', tender hearted loveable kid. It's been fun to watch him grow into a terriffic four-year-old.

Last Days of Summer

2008-08-25T12:08:00.001-07:00

The week before school started the grandkids came over and splashed around in the backyard one last time. I had to retire my puppy pool that I got when Nathan was the only one around. It just wouldn't hold air anymore. This new model hasn't got as much personality, but there are more pieces to throw around, and they had just as much fun!

Jessie & Ryan

2008-08-25T11:53:00.000-07:00

We haven't seen Ryan too much this summer, because most of his days off have gone to either boys or girls camping excursions. But, one Sunday he was able to come for Sunday dinner and walked in carrying Jessie. She was really enjoying her dad, and did not even want to lift her head off his chest.

Backpacking 2009

2008-08-13T13:31:00.000-07:00

Sky Blue Lake Basin

Dusk at Sky Blue Lake
Yup, That's someone swimming in

Sky Blue Lake

at over 11,000 feet elevation One of Ryan's scouts caught this guy.

Panoramic view of Mt. Whitney

The old folks (us) have decided we want a little adventure. So, David and I have drummed up a couples backpacking trip for August of 2009. That should give us time to lose a few (well, maybe more than a few) pounds and get in shape for a High Sierra trip. Our destination is Sky Blue Lake. When Ryan and Karl heard about this they started laughing. Keep in mind that both of them have been to the area we plan to go. Ryan just got back a couple of weeks ago after taking his scouts there, which is what got David jazzed on the idea. Me? I was actually SHOCKED when David suggested it. I love backpacking and could never get him to go. He hated backpacking in the days when we went to girls camp. I led the 3rd and 4th year hikes for several years, but David preferred to stay in camp with Pres. Davies. Maybe it's the picture of the golden trout that Ryan brought back that convinced him. I know it impressed Uncle Dandy. Anita said she would rather go on a cruise, but it might be do-able since we have a year to get ready. When Gaye told Karl he WAS going with us, he didn't seem too excited. His memories of the place date back to the 70's when he was YOUNGER and in better shape and he thinks it's TOO HARD for us now. We'll see, 'cause I'm not backing out.

P.S. I told Anita maybe we could do the cruise too. (How 'bout to somewhere with a tall mountain we could use to get acclimated.?)

Jessie's Eyes

2008-08-01T20:11:00.000-07:00

The other day I watched the kids while Karrie went to buy food for Ryan's backpacking trip. This is how she looked when I went in to pick her up after Ed woke her up from her nap.

I think it's the flash from the camera that makes her look "surprised."

Big Bear with the Delgados - Day 2

2008-07-26T17:19:00.000-07:00

Friday, we were a little slow getting up. Levi had decided to play for a couple of hours in the wee hours of the morning, so Jocelyn didn't get too much sleep and the boys were wore out from all the "surprises" the day before. So we took our time getting breakfast and packed up to go home. When all was ready, we headed over to the Moonridge Animal Park. Everyone but me had been there earlier in the week. Season tickets had been purchased, with guests allowed, so we had to take advantage of that.

The zoo is kind of like CALM. They take injured or sick animals and release them later, if possible. It's on two and a half acres and has kind of evolved over the years, like CALM. However, we were told they have lost the lease and have purchased property over near the Discovery Park. After accumulating 12 million in donations, they are going to build a new park in two years. Right now the hottest attractions are the grizzly bears, a mom and two cubs, and the snow leopard. The area also is home to 13 bald eagles, and they have an injured one at the zoo.

The Grizzly Bears

A black bear is looking into his swimming pond

probably wondering why they drained it.

The boys are looking at a blue heron. The zoo has several nice birds.

Jared liked this little owl and spent a long time looking at it.

Nathan wasn't too perky the last day and was resting here.

This snow leopard was hiding in the bushes during our visit.

He's one of only a few animals there that are not from the area.

We saw this little African Pygmy Hedgehog at a noontime program. Only about 6 inches around, he was taken in by the zoo even though he's not indigenous to the area. Someone had him as a pet, which is illegal in California, and punishable by a fine and time in jail.

We left the zoo and went out to lunch, then home. It was a really fun place to visit, and I would love to go again with David. It's only 3 hours from here.

Thanks for inviting me, Delgados!

Big Bear with the Delgados - Day 1

2008-07-26T14:59:00.000-07:00

Wednesday afternoon I took the Delgado's up on their offer to join them on vacation at Big Bear. I arrived in time to enjoy a juicy hamburger grilled by Oscar. We ate on the deck of the cute little cabin where they were staying overlooking the pines. They spent the evening showing me around the cabin and filling me in on their adventures earlier in the week. Then, we played some fun games with the boys downstairs in the game room before going to bed. The first activity of the day was the Alpine Slide at Magic Mountain:
I left my camera in the car and stuffed only cash in my pocket since I knew we would be riding little sleds down these cement runs. It was so much fun...even for a grandma! I took pictures, but on Jocelyn's camera which I'll post later. These are from an advertisement. You have to be 6 years old or 48" which ever is first, so Nathan was the only kid who could go by himself. All you do is push the lever forward to go and back to stop. We took turns staying with Levi. (That's when I took pictures.) They LOVED it! Jared was so cute. He couldn't go fast enough, and screamed in delight around every corner. We left with the boys still wanting more to get to our next adventure, boating, lunching and fishing on Big Bear Lake:
This was Oscar's favorite activity of the week.

He loved being "skipper" of our pontoon boat.

Jocelyn and Levi loved it too.

Levi was not overly fond of the floatation vest.

We enjoyed the scenery, wildlife and watching other boaters.

Spencer did a little fishing.
Jared applied both kinds of my chap stick, just to make sure he would not end up looking like a clown...i.e. he liked eating the stuff.

One interesting place to go at Big Bear Lake is the Solar Observatory, which unfortunately was closed while we were there. They are installing a new telescope. Apparently Big Bear experiences over 300 days of sunshine a year which makes it an excellent place for one of six solar observatories in the world. It is just east of the observatory that we turned off the boat to drift and eat our lunch. With 15 minutes to get back to dock, we found the boat would not start. So, we called and explained our predicament.. We drifted further east until help arrived, and enjoyed the extra time on the lake! After returning to the cabin for rest and dinner, we headed on to the Bowling Barn, another first for the boys!
We all had a blast. Each boy had their own style of bowling and it is way more fun for them with the bumpers up so they can't get gutter balls. (I wish I was young enough to qualify.) Jared was the most entertaining. It is so cute when a two-year-old bowls. In fact, all the surrounding bowlers were cheering him on! I didn't get very good pictures, because it was bowling league night and no flashes are allowed. I got in trouble for my camera flashing when I thought I had turned it off, so I quit taking pictures. Jocelyn got the best score, 114. Three of the boys were asleep by the time we got home to our cozy cabin.

Nathan's 7th Birthday

2008-07-26T14:45:00.000-07:00

Nathan, my oldest grand child turned 7 on July 19th. He's such a fun kid and so smart. One thing I really like about him is how much he loves his brothers. That brother bonding thing is really special and he's a great big brother. He wanted me to make a monster truck cake for his birthday. I said, "Good! Can I just put a monster truck on top?" Oh, no....that's not what he had in mind. So here's what we came up with. I found that even if your monster truck looks like a jalopy the kids think it's great. That's what's nice about kids.

We usually eat dinner, then clean up the table before having cake and opening presents. This is what happens when you spend a little too much time in after dinner conversation without keeping an eye on Ed. I had just walked into the kitchen a minute before and the cake was fine. All I can say is that kid can scoot a bar stool eat a donut real fast!

Fires and Floods

2008-07-26T11:36:00.000-07:00

During the month of July, there have been a lot of wild fires throughout California, but the Piute Fire is the one we watched most because it had an impact on our family. Some members of our extended family are firefighters and were assigned to it and other fires. Also, it came within a few miles of Ryan and Karrie's property. A wind change could have made things much worse for them. As it was, they saw the flames over the hill and had bad air quality for awhile. Even here in Bakersfield, the morning sun looked red and the air was bad. When the rain came, it caused flooding. Ryan was on duty and got sent in to investigate a problem area on Saturday, July 12th. At around the same time, Karrie and the kids lost their electricity. She called Ryan to tell him about their predicament and all he said was, "I can't talk now, the helicopter's here to pick me up." Kacy tells her version of the events on Saturday and Sunday on this video:

Jake's Wedding

2008-07-23T00:51:00.000-07:00

My nephew Jake got married on July 15th. Natalie's beautiful and we wish them lots of happiness together. Here are a few of the pictures I took:

Spencer helped Uncle Dandy adjust his suspenders while we were waiting for the bride to arrive in the limo.

We were thrilled that Pat and Teresa were able to fly in from Utah for the wedding. They came on the Sunday afternoon before the wedding and stayed until Wednesday. It was great to have them here, if only for a short time, and I know Yvette was happy for their help in setting up.
3 Brothers

Eric and Kimi checking out their pictures

The decorations were beautiful and the food was delicious.

The Delgado boys especially liked the balloons!

Barbara and Carolynn's Visit

2008-07-22T18:34:00.000-07:00

David's sister, Barbara and her daughter, Carolynn came to see us on the 10th of July. We were the last stop on their way home. They had come from Escondido after visiting the relatives there for the 4th of July. Barbara and Carolynn are frequent traveling companions and had also been up to Oregon and Washington visiting other family members there. They shared some pictures of their trip to Mt. Rushmore with Becky and Larry and also some of Pam and Tom's new house. Ryan, Karrie and their kids joined us for dinner along with Ellen. Ryan had come earlier to try out some food for his upcoming backpacking trip with the scouts. While the dehydrated refried beans were pretty tasty, we opted to serve Chicken Parmesan with homemade breadsticks for dinner and some Peach Cobbler.
The next day Carolynn and I went looking for some additions to her Polish Pottery collection and were happy to locate a plate she wanted and a pretty oval serving platter. I picked out a cute little sauce pitcher. Barbara had a nice visit with Ellen while we were gone shopping. I think this piece, called a "cheese lady", is what I might buy next:

I think it would be fun for serving pancakes.

Camp Shower

2008-07-22T18:20:00.000-07:00

Matt and David built this shower for Girl's Camp. Patty is YW President in their ward and their camp director has never been to Big Meadow. In a couple of days they put it together with a tankless waterheater which uses propane and a 12 volt battery and provides unlimited hot water. I understand that it worked great. In fact, occasionally the water was too HOT. It even has a gold plated faucet.

July 4th Activities

2008-07-21T19:57:00.000-07:00

We woke up on July 4th for a fundraiser breakfast at the church. The sister missionaries were really excited because they thought we had brought some investigator friends with us and came over to our table with pass along cards in hand. Lenna is from Tonga and one of the sisters is from Samoa, so they had a nice visit even though no missionary work was happening. We enjoyed the company of other ward members and the kids found some things to keep them occupied after eating pancakes.

Nathan and Jared, along with the others, had a turn in the wagon pulled by Brother Randall.

There was a nice MUD HOLE to explore.

And some WATER to play in.

We hurried home and got ready to go play at PUMP IT UP for the rest of the morning. It was so much fun, but the adults were exhausted! I called Jared the energizer bunny because he just got off one thing and ran to the next.

The Delgados trying out one of the slides!

The Loveridges coming down fast!

Kalisi and Spencer

The little guys loved the car.

Yup, that's me.

We hurried home and shared lunch with my friends from the temple, the Nichols, and their daughter and her husband. They were meeting up at our house and leaving a car before traveling to Yosemite together for a family reunion. Then we set up the backyard for water games and let the kids get wet while we prepared the barbecue tri-tip and chicken with all the fixins. After dark and just before all the kids collapsed we watched some more fireworks and let the kids wave around some sparklers:

Blogger is posting my pictures rotated wrong, so I'm going to stop until I figure out why.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

David and Matt building a camp shower

Barbara and Carolynn's visit

Ryan and Karrie's Fire & Flood

Video of Kacy telling about her dad's helicopter rescue

Jake and Natalie's Wedding

July 3 Loveridges Come to Vist Bakersfield

2008-07-21T19:33:00.000-07:00

I have been busy with life and blog posting has been put on hold for a few weeks, so I am going to attempt to catch up. David has hinted several times that he has seen enough of me being "Stranded at the Temple" which happened July 1st.

A couple of days after I was rescued by my "irreplaceable" husband, we were happy to welcome the Loveridges to Bakersfield for a long anticipated visit. They are SOOO much fun, and they bring chocolate!! When they arrived I was taking my mom to the doctor, so David welcomed them by having the kids pick oranges to juice. The kids loved it, as do my own grand kids. We had gallons!

After I arrived home, we got some blankets, chairs and edibles together and joined the Delgado's for a trip to Shafter High for a fireworks show. Thanks Carla for telling us about this event. It was lots of fun and we had a great place for the kids to play while we waited for it to get dark.

Stranded at the Temple

2008-07-02T09:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, after working our shift at the temple, Anita, Randy and I got in the car to come home and the car wouldn't start. They have had the same problem last year with the car and had to have it towed about 10 times. After it was towed to the mechanic , it started right up, so they had trouble diagnosing the problem, but thought it was finally fixed for about a year now. It has something to do with the security system and the battery. We tried several things to get it started and the temple mechanic came and tried some more to no avail. So, I called my IRREPLACEABLE husband and he came to our rescue with a car trailer. As Anita and I were pushing the car down hill with Randy steering to load it on the trailer, a guy in the parking lot remarked, "That's a good way to save gas!" Randy yelled back,"I just wish my other three wives were here to help."

Karrie's Birthday Celebration

2008-07-02T08:26:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Karrie's birthday with a little family dinner on Sunday. She picked the menu:

Wild Alaskan Salmon (for the adults)

Chicken ( for the kids - only Kacy tried the fish)

Spinach Salad

Fruit Salad (for the kids, since they won't eat spinach)

Roasted GardenVegetables (Zucchini, Peppers, Onions)

Fresh Baked Rolls

Carrot Cake

David's salmon was FABULOUS! We had leftovers, and had some on salad later which was also yummy. Lee helped me make the carrot cake on Saturday. It was three steps with the cake, a glaze and the cream cheese frosting. We made two so there were leftovers. David had some on three different days, and said it was best the third day. As you can see in the above pictures, Karrie had pleanty of help from the kids to make sure her 31 candles got blown out.

Barry and Lee 's Visit

2008-07-02T08:03:00.000-07:00

Barry and Lee came up from Escondido for a few days so David and Barry could continue working on Barry's Mustang . They came Friday and stayed until Monday evening. It was great to have them here and David and Barry even made some progress on assembling the engine despite having to return several times to the parts store to get the right stuff. Lee and I did some shopping and talking and preparing for Karrie's birthday dinner. We hope they'll come back soon.

Monday morning we made pancakes to try out a new batch of apricot syrup. It was YUMMY! After breakfast, Barry stood up and realized his back end felt a little "sticky." We all came to see why and discovered the reason: My grand kids had eaten dessert at the kitchen table on Sunday. We had wiped off the table, but not the chairs after they finished. BIG MISTAKE. A glob of ice cream that had been left on the chair overnight had rubberized and adhered Barry to the chair! Better him than us.

Happy Birthday Karrie

2008-06-25T10:21:00.001-07:00

Make three wishes Karrie!

I hope they come true.

Fishing in Alaska

2008-06-25T08:37:00.000-07:00

David really enjoyed his trip to Alaska.

Here are a few fish pictures :

David showing off his "Yellow Eye".

This is the catch for the day for their boat.

Here, Steve is bringing in a salmon.

Nice catch!
This guy got the biggest halibut of their group. He got $10.00 from each of the other guys for the biggest halibut of the day, and a free trip for the largest of the trip. So that fish is worth about $2700.00 !It's all luck too. They bait up the rigs and rotate who hauls in the catch. First, they fish for salmon and the limit is one per day. After everyone has a salmon, they attempt catching halibut, with a two per day limit. The halibut swim on the bottom sideways. Notice in the picture that one side is light and one dark. Also, it's hard to see, but both of the eyes are on the dark side. At the end of the trip all the fish is combined and divided between the people on the boat, except the biggest halibut. David brought home one box of frozen fish weighing about 30 pounds. That's about $100.00 per pound fish. I think we'll really enjoy it.

I know many of you have been wondering about Steve's final fur selection. I believe he liked this "stripey" beauty best. He also hauled home a reindeer hide along with his frozen fish. David brought a duffel full of gifts home too. Our kids and grand kids each received a shirt from Sitka, all different. I hope to get a picture of all of them 'cause they are really cute, but for now here is Jessie sporting hers:

For me he chose beautiful pale aquamarine earrings which "capture the lucid beauty of the oceans. " According to saga, aquamarine originated on the treasure chest of fabulous mermaids and since ancient times has been regarded as the sailors lucky stone. Wearing one promises a happy marriage and is said to bring the woman who wears it joy and wealth. Wow! What a gift. I know David has some great memories of the days spent in Sitka.

Someday he wants to go again and show me around.

It's not BBQ, but...

2008-06-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

This is a dinner menu and pictures David sent from Alaska:

Got to Kill Fish

2008-06-17T14:29:00.000-07:00

When I got home from the temple today I discovered David had sent me an e-mail with these pictures and the following message:

"No time to write. Got to kill fish."

More from Sitka

2008-06-16T21:18:00.000-07:00

David and the guys arrived in Dove Island by boat yesterday. The place they are staying has a gourmet chef . Dinner last night was five courses and took and hour and a half. Prime Rib was the main attraction. What a life! Here are some pictures taken before they left Sitka:

Steve and Bobby (he's the one who makes THE barbecue sauce!)

Teddy ( Bobby's son) and David at the hatchery:The eagle release:

I haven't heard anything from them today. Hopefully, they were busy catching all kinds of fish! I spent last night and all day today at my mom's house. She fell yesterday afternoon and I wanted to make sure she could get along alright by herself, since she was having trouble walking.

Sightseeing in Sitka

2008-06-14T15:43:00.001-07:00

The guys spent the morning sightseeing in Sitka today. They went to the Rapture Center and got there just in time to see an eagle being released.

The Sitka Fur Company was another stop, which they seemed to have enjoyed a lot, since they went last night and also today. It was probably difficult for them to choose what kind of fox or sable coat to bring home to the wives to wear in Bakersfield. The Artic Brain Warmers ( hats with wolf heads) seemed to be their favorite.

I understand Steve is contemplating the purchase of this bargain.

(And I thought they would be taking pictures of totum poles and churches.)

Finally, they stopped in at the fish hatchery where millions of salmon are grown and released for spawning.

Sitka

2008-06-13T20:37:00.001-07:00

I just got a call from David in Sitka. They arrived safely and had just finished dinner. He could see the A T & T store from where he was calling and the reception was crystal clear. He said it was 40 degrees there. Tonight they will stay at the Sitka Hotel and, tomorrow, explore the town. Then, they will be picked up Sunday and transported to Dove Island to begin the fishing experience. He has internet and took his computer and my camera, so I'll be expecting him to post something on OUR blog for the first time. NO EXCUSES will be allowed !!!!

Ryan's Birthday Party

2008-06-13T15:10:00.000-07:00

Ryan's 35th birthday was Tuesday. He was busy that day, so we arranged to have a little celebration here last night. After spending the day buying a new car (Mazda 5) and selling the van to Oscar and Jocelyn, everyone was hungry ready for dinner. All six of the "older" kids had stayed with me while their parents did all the car negotiating. They made cards for Ryan and were pretty well behaved. I only had two "time outs". Here's what Ryan picked for his dinner menu:

Grilled Tri-tip

Smoked Chicken Leg Quarters

Oven Roasted New Potatoes

Caesar Salad

Jello Cake

After we ate, Jocelyn had to leave fast to teach her enrichment class on "Blogging". The rest of us stayed to eat cake and open presents. As you can see above, the kids enjoyed watching as much as opening themselves.

Jammin'

2008-06-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, David and I loaded up the wheelbarrow with the last of the apricots from the tree and I decided we'd better get busy and do something with them. I couldn't find my canning kettle, only the rack that holds the jars. I think the kettle part was absconded by people going to camp or something. So after a trip to Wal-mart to buy another one, I chopped, boiled, poured and sealed all day. With David's help, I came up with 38 jars of jam and syrup. Everything sealed properly. I tried several different recipes and methods, so evaluation will come later. But, with all that sugar how can you go wrong? We also have a freezer laden with frozen apricot halves for cobbler and some puree for fruit leather when Jocelyn finishes with the dehydrator.

Apricot Pickers

2008-06-09T20:01:00.000-07:00

These are three of the best and cutest apricot pickers I've ever seen. They showed up at my house today ready for action. We had three buckets full in about five minutes. I think that's about how long the fruit leather Jocelyn is planning to make will last with these three HUNGRY snackers.

Levi's Blessing Day

2008-06-05T22:12:00.000-07:00

I'm a pokey poster, but here's a shot of the Delgado's after church last Sunday when Levi was blessed. Spencer wasn't too excited about documenting the occasion, but it was a special day for me as a grandma. Thanks to all the family and friends who came to the blessing and our home to help make the day memorable.

Artichokes

2008-06-05T22:09:00.001-07:00

Here's what happens when artichokes go to seed. Randy was over the other day and saw these in our garden. He asked me to honor them on a post.

Ed's Birthday

2008-05-26T12:13:00.000-07:00

We had a little early birthday party for Ed Sunday. The cake was supposed to look like his dog, George. It was jello cake with Cool Whip frosting. The eyes and nose are cookies and the tongue is fruit leather. Ed's such a fun kid and always has a mischevious smile. He goes full speed into life and that's why we call him "bulldozer". He'll be 2 in a few days and is learning lots of new words. Sunday he was singing "E I E I O, cha, cha cha...all day. We love him lots!

Carolynn's Patio Enclosure

2008-05-26T09:13:00.000-07:00

David and I spent last week in Galt building a patio enclosure for Carolynn, David's niece. Well, it was actually David and his nephew, Barry who did the construction. Barry's wife, Lee,and I helped with caulking and insulation at the end of the week. We spent the rest of the time shopping, exploring Sacramento and getting ready for Carolynn's surprise birthday. (More on that later in my post!) Carolynn has a great house and a beautiful yard, but wanted a little more space, so she asked Barry and David to convert part of the existing patio into a sun room/office. Here's a couple of BEFORE pictures: (The pictures were taken with cell phone camera's since we ALL forgot our good camera's.)

This is how it looked with walls, windows and door installed. See how busy David and Barry were. They didn't even turn around to pose for a picture.

David shot Barry through the wall with a nail gun on Thursday.

In this picture it looks like Barry's trying to retaliate with a drill.

Here's Carolynn helping with caulking:

Barbara, Barry and Lee are posing in front of the freshly installed insulation:

There was not enough time to complete the project, but it is far enough along that Carolynn can just call in sheet rock and tile crews to get it finished.
SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY
Wednesday was Carolynn's birthday. She had told several family members that she wanted to ride in a limo before she died, so Barry arranged to surprise her with a limo ride and dinner out to a VERY NICE restaurant for her birthday. All of us were housed at Barbara's in Sacramento, so while Carolynn was teaching school during the days we were shopping and preparing for the big party. On Tuesday we spent 5 hours at the Galt Flea Market. Becky and Larry flew in Tuesday night as a surprise to help Carolynn celebrate. So, Larry joined the construction crew and Becky joined Barbara, Lee and I to explore Old Sacramento. We found some great birthday gifts there and hurried on to finish gathering things for the party. We got See's chocolates, a bouquet of flowers to give her in the limo, balloons, and picked up the cake for after dinner. This is the table, all decorated. Carolynn loves gardening, so we used that theme for her table flowers and balloons:

We thought she would enjoy these Gerber daisies to plant in her yard:

Larry told Carolynn we were taking her out for pizza, so she was quite surprised when the limo pulled up and drove to Lodi to Wine and Roses, a beautiful restaurant by a winery. Sparkling cider was served by the limo driver before leaving and we enjoyed a wonderful pianist while waiting for our table. The waiters and food at the restaurant were the best! We all tried something different, and "shared". David' s calamari salad was a big hit, but everything was excellent. After dinner, we headed home for dessert and good conversation.

David and I got home Friday morning and Lee and Barry made it to Bakersfield in time for dinner and a movie (Indiana Jones) Friday night. On Saturday, the Delgados joined us for breakfast and then the guys went shooting (not nail guns). Afterwards David and Barry went on errands involving The Mustang, power washers, tire fixing, seeing the new Harbor Freight store and other stuff. Barry and Lee headed back to Escondido Saturday afternoon as David went to work. Thanks so much to everyone for a wonderful week!

Produce Inspection

2008-05-13T17:48:00.000-07:00

I asked David to join me for a look at some troublesome sprinklers yesterday and afterward we wandered out back for a produce inspection.

The garden is doing nicely so far and I picked a few sugar snap peas. I ignored the radishes, since we have far too many for me to use, as usual. The crookneck and zucchini are not quite ready, nor the romaine lettuce. The beans are flowering, the cucumbers plants are still small. The tomato plants and onions look great, and the corn is coming along.

These are our "Mother's Day" peaches.

We picked a bucket to share with David's mom.I absolutely LOVE the blossoms on pomegranates.

These we grew from cuttings off our friend Tom's bushes. They are two years old. We started some "Utah" pomegranates from cuttings given to us by the Waites this year.

The cherries attracted the rowdy grand kids last year, who tried to harvest them with croquet mallets. This year they are tall enough to reach, even Ed and Jared. I couldn't resist either.

We left these artichokes on to grow some more, and instead I prepared some that Leo had brought us for dinner. I put 1/4 cup water in a bowl and placed the artichoke upside down in it. Then I covered it with plastic wrap and cooked it for 9 minutes in the microwave. I usually cook 7 minutes, but the ones he brought were really big, so it took 9 minutes. Leo gave us a whole box full that we shared with everyone on Mother's Day. The shippers had given them to the railroad workers. Thanks, Leo. They are delicious! I had mine dipped in melted butter with a little lime added and David had his with mayo. We added some baked salmon and shared this cute cake Lindsey had brought on Mother's Day for dessert: (She brought one for ALL the ladies.)

Lindsey's ward made these for a girl's camp

fund raiser and made $1200.00!

Here's David waiting for his artichoke to cook.

Mother's Day

2008-05-12T11:55:00.000-07:00

We found some blue paint under Levi's fingernails while loading him up in his car seat last night. If you want to know why, look below to see what I got for Mother's Day. It would have been much easier for Jocelyn and Karrie to drop by with the kids in tow and say, "Hi, Happy Mother's Day." But, only a grandma can truly appreciate what it takes to haul a bunch of kids to the craft store, after inquiring what they want to make for grandma, and indulging their creative whim to sculpture and paint masterpieces. I don't know how they managed to get all those little hands to cooperate. I could barely get a partial, smeared footprint when mine were babies. And Karrie, How did you manage FOUR colors? Anyway I truly love my tremendously crafty, creative, imaginative grand kids.

Grandma by Nathan, Red Heart by Spencer,

and Grandma's name by Jared (with help from Nathan).

Refrigerator art by Nathan, Spencer, Jared & Levi

Ceramic Tile art by Kacy, Will, Ed, & Jessie

Thank you to everyone who came to make yesterday special. In addition to the grand kids, we enjoyed the company of Jocelyn, Oscar, Karrie, Gaye, Jimmy, David, Lindsey, Vickie, Leo, Mariah, Sarah, John, Becky, Nina, Ellen, Yvette, Anita, Randy and Gary. We ate, we talked about American Idol and who talked in church, and who's the new Gospel Doctrine teacher, and what the moms got at church, examined babies and made them smile, fixed computer problems, kept kids out of trouble (mostly), talked on the phone to family far away, noticed Ed's haircut, discussed Jimmy's beard, found out what Yvette's boys are up to, picked some cherries off the tree, distributed artichokes...you know, all the stuff families do on Mother's Day.

Sunday Celebration

2008-05-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

Here's a multi-tasking mother holding the baby and blowing out her birthday candle at the same time before the cream melted. Jocelyn ordered barbecued ribs, "funeral" potatoes and strawberry shortcake for her 28th birthday dinner. We were happy to comply, since she is such a terrific daughter. Plus, we like that stuff, too.
Our day began with a ride up Kern Canyon to visit Kern Vally Ward for Jessie's blessing (see Karrie's blog). It was great to all be together in church and I always like to see Ryan use the priesthood. Jessie is now officially named on the records of the church. She is such a SWEETIE!
After we arrived home, I drove west to pick up my mom to join us for dinner. I had all the food ready and the table set and I left David in charge. Here's what I found upon returning:

I leaned in and called him a slacker, but he redeemed himself by saying Karrie, Ryan and kids would be arriving later. So, I put all the food on hold and took a few pictures of the calm before the storm:

Grandma J took the opportunity to hold Levi.
It's a good thing I took a few pictures then, because after everyone arrived I was busy making sure everyone was fed and no one got in too much trouble. Today every thing is back to normal, but Papa David wants to know if anyone out there knows where the memory chips he left on the computer table yesterday are located. And Karrie, you left George' s ribs, so I put them in the freezer. And Barry, your's are in the freezer too, but if it takes you too long to come for them, I can't guarantee they'll still be there. And, Brandon and Lenna, I was thinking it's about time you came for another visit, so we have an excuse to barbecue again. We'll be calling. And Clement Clan, how's sometime the middle of June when you're all here? But we'll have to do it without David, 'cause he'll be fishing in Alaska. Let's pick a date so Ryan can be off.

Oh, I took this picture of Karrie's garden area all ready to plant after it is "decritterized". I'm sure she'll have more to say about that.

Mustang Tune-up and Dismantle

2008-05-03T17:07:00.000-07:00

Barry came to town Thursday to stay for a few days while Lee is visiting her new grand baby in Korea. He and David have been working on Barry's Mustang, which he brought along for the ride. (Actually THAT was the reason for the trip.) The first day they tuned it up:

Then, they listened to it. Still didn't sound right.
So, they dismantled the engine.

They decided there's not enough time on this trip to complete the overhaul, so they stowed it in Bunting's Mustang corral.

Now Barry has more time to dream

about all the cool stuff he can do to it.

Current project: Barbecue ribs for Jocelyn's birthday celebration tomorrow. Ribs are one of her favorite foods. The grill is heating as I type. David says this is the first time he's cooked ribs without a schedule to meet. We are cooking today and re-heating tomorrow. It's actually a double celebration, since Ryan is blessing Jessie tomorrow at church.

Big Brother

2008-04-16T09:41:00.000-07:00

Nathan loves being a big brother!

And Levi has learned to open his eyes at grandma's house!

Ladybug and Croquet

2008-04-15T22:22:00.000-07:00

Ladybug! Ladybug! Fly away home.

Your house is on fire.

And your children are all gone.

All except one, and that’s little Ann,

For she’s hiding under the frying pan.

---Children’s Nursery Rhyme, author unknown

Monday morning Oscar, Spencer and Jared came over after taking Nathan to school. While David and Oscar added some freon to the Delgado's suburban, the boys and I enjoyed a little outdoor fun. Spencer found a ladybug and made friends. He said, "Grandma, mom and dad think I'm just a kid, but I'm a ladybug collector too." We also resurrected the croquet set that was banned last year after the kids tried maiming each other and redesigning the landscaping with it.

It was Jared's first time to play croquet and he tried out each color ball. He learned very quickly how to connect with the ball and they both had a good time until crying when dad said it was time to go home.

Sweet Babies

2008-04-15T22:08:00.000-07:00

Levi and Jessie, looking sweet on their Sunday visit.