So, I was thinking...

Get comfortable in your seat - I'm sharing pictures from May (or is it April? When did you come visit Doug?)

Doug, Judy, Candi, Alana, Luke, Jamie and Jenelle made us Oh so happy when they came to visit so that we could meet Luke! It was a full week end and I know that those on this end had a Great time.

We ate and hung out at Gateway.

We visited Nicole's place of employment, Juicy Berry, and enjoyed the best treat...free frozen yogurt (but we did leave a nice tip).

And we DID meet Luke and finally had Alana in our home again. It had been a couple of years, too long.

...cute couple...

...she did good...

We visited the Church History Museum.

And "the boys" played around with designing their next quilt.

I'm not sure what this part of history was... but I think it'll stand for a long time.

Chay and Blade saved up their money and with birthday contributions from Grandma and Grandma and Memema and Papa, they were able to purchase an Xbox and Kinect. This is them excited just to see that it arrived!

I like the fact that you actually have to stand up and move to play. I know that I broke a sweat.

In June, Chay graduated from Middle School (7-8th grade) and was picked to be one of the four students to sing the National Anthem. He has a nice voice and I was pleased that his choir teacher at school not only showcased his voice with the National Anthem but also with a solo during the Spring Concert with a solo in "I'll Make a Man Out of You" from Mulan.

Blade graduated from Kindergarten and during the "ceremony" he kept leaning back in his chair.

Dave had me keep the camcorder focused on him because he just knew that in time, Blade and the chair would fall back. But.... neither did.

The special attraction at the Hogle Zoo this year is "Zoorassic Park".

The two dinosaurs below squirt water (the two orange ones in the back...)

This display has prehistoric water things that swim around...and as you can see, Nicole is really getting a kick out of them.

Model Chay

...I knew that he was a little orangutang...

...and this one is 3 feet short of being an adult female....

She's not heavy...she's my sister.....

....you just never get too old for some things...

...ouch...

...he has a monkey on his back...

Building a valet for Dave for Father's Day so that he can keep his keys, badge and cell phones in one place.

"OH CANADA!!!!!"

(Still June)

We finally made it up to Alberta after waiting for Nicole to get her days off from work.

The day after we arrived we made a trip "to town" and HAD to stop at Costco to eat french fries and gravy, and Chay had to have his chicken strips WITH fries and gravy.

We stopped at a Japanese food store and Chay was excited to actually find something with his name on it! For those of you without names like Chay, Wilma, Blade, Brylie, or Tyken, you just can't appreciate the joy of finding something with your name it.

It was a full day.

In the evening we went to Osho's and got treated to Japanese food....I do love tempura.

Auntie Helen came to visit since it has been a long since we've seen each other and she brought some delicious treats that all contained chocolate that we all ate up.

Pictures like this are so confusing.

The picture has not been altered but is it the angle that makes my kids look like giants next to Mom and Auntie Helen and when did Blade get such a huge head?

One of the wonderful things about Grandma's house is that she has kept our childhood games and they are in perfect condition.

So many new games are just updated version of some classics. Even with all the electronic games, Blade loved the old school games.

Mom showing me how to make chow mein. I've watched her make it and helped her make it countless times but don't know now how to make it on my own...sad but true.

Tasted just like I remembered - MMMmmmmm

...finding more competition...

Friday we stopped in Calgary on our way to see Sheila and Sharon.

We stopped to see Grandpa Shimbashi's picture at the Military Museum.

It wasn't as large of a display as it was orginally but we found it and I felt so proud to be a granddaughter of this wonderful man.

I've always been proud of our family history and remember Grandma and Grandpa Shimbashi with great love and pride. They accomplished so much and endured so much.

They literally and figuratively mingled with Royalty.

Mom and Dad continued to endure and accomplish great things so that I could have a blessed life and my goal still is to accomplish even a portion of what they have.

Thank you Mom and Dad for all your hard work and love.

The kids had fun in the parts of the museum that we took time to visit.

See for yourself.

Mom and Blade watching the clip about the Hill that Grandpa Shimbashi's troop overtook.

I need to document that information so that it's more than "the Hill".

Our pitstop at Doug and Judy's had a welcoming surprise waiting for us!

A tub of the famous Candi Sugar (that's kind of redundant) cookies!!

Ours were these cute popsicles.

So impressive!

We made it to Sharon and Darren's and what a view when we approached their remodeled home. It's not the same place. Everything I heard about it was true. Truly amazing!

Mom was able to relax a little and shoot some pool.

Who knew????

A bit blurry but you still can't miss the pure joy on the girls' faces. I don't know what Blade did but it was worth a good laugh.

It was bound to happen....they got into the strawberry tarts....

Auntie K, Evelyn, Jace and Nellie, came to visit at Sharon's, and the kids are adoreable!

Jace loved Candi's cookies and literally couldn't get enough, Auntie K had me move them out of site.

Lip smacking good and good to the last crumb.

At the soon to be again Neilson Resort, we went on a trail ride after private riding lessons from Darren.

Apparently, Nicole is enquiring about how she looks.

Blade and Elliot patiently waiting to saddle up.

Chay might like more than one horse power moving him from one place to another but, he had fun riding in the arena and his private lesson.

The cheerleading squad lead by Jacqui.

...looks like she belongs....

Apparently my horse felt my weight gain from 2 years ago and literally fell to the ground while I was on her back. The horse kept putting her (?, I know how to tell the difference but I didn't take notice) head down numerous times to itch her leg or face and then one time the next thing I knew, she was on her side on the ground and I was lying next to her. Luckily I did something instinctively so that my leg was not under her. That was weird. But I got back up in the saddle...now who's boss.

Look, REALLY riding pants.

...and she makes them look good....

(I sure hope it was windy because dang, look at that hair)

Before leaving Alberta we HAD to stop at the rest area in Milk River. It's a tradition.

....the making of the above picture....

Chay found new ways to play with the dinosaur.

Soccer

This summer Blade talked me into signing him up for soccer. Nicole and Chay had played soccer and I could never get into the sport. How can it be a real sport when the spectators have to bring their own seating?

And I know this sounds like a Mom but, Blade is a natural and played so well his first time playing soccer! He scored two goals!

He has that competitive spirit and goes for it!

(oh yeah, and he has fun.)

Chay was the photography for this game and this shot was a nice capture of my "tough" little boy moving down the field reaching out for his Mom.

A day in the Park, Liberty Park.

Looks like Blade is having fun....

...until you see this face...

...High School Musical jump...

Cookie Time

I needed to experiment with two sugar cookie recipes and wanted to try royal icing for the first time.

I don't know who wants to decorate more, me or the boys....I think the boys.

Chay's creations.

I found a new sugar cookie recipe that I like better than the one I was using and I discovered that the royal icing I made didn't have enough flavor. I like the flavor of icing with some butter and less meringe but, they don't dry as hard and you really can't pile they on each other.

Anniversary (July 15, twenty two years)

Dave surprised me with a week end at a condo in Park City.

We ate at a Japanese restaurant on Main Street and got the Bento Box...oh how I love Bento boxes....presentation, presentation, presentation.

Another surprise, a dozen chocolate dipped strawberries.

On Saturday we got the kids and returned to the Condo so the boys could swim and Nicole could work on her tan.

She really has a difficult time leaving that phone....that's all I'm saying.

See what I mean.....

(didn't I do a great job at making those "Shimbashi legs" look l-o-n-g and lean?)

Hot tub!

Jetted tub!

It must be a nice establishment when there are plush white robes waiting for you.

This outdoor patio at the Loco Lizard (mexican food) made me feel like we were back in San Diego (trip 3 years ago).

I had to educate Blade on some left handed considerations. See how Blade's and Nicole's hands/arms are fighting for space? Well I had them change seats so that they could each color with their hands on the outside and have all the room in the world to move.

Chay may look hispanic but his taste for Mexican food isn't the same as mine or Nicole's, so he ordered a hamburger.

And it was a big one.

I didn't take a picture of him squeezing and cramming the burger in his mouth.

Swimming

Blade has had scattered swimming lessons in his life and I finally made it a priority to work lessons into our schedules. It's difficult to find a time where I can ensure that there will be someone available to take him to his lessons.