It's ALL about the "..TUDE"

AS IN ATTI...TUDE

Yup

Why should that be such a big deal

well, it just is. For me anyway

I have really been pulling myself together as of late

has it been easy....HELL NO

(to put it bluntly)

 

But I have had some shifts in life and I think it will open new doors

windows

for me

Time to live a guilt free me

so.................if you are on this road with me, it will be bumpy

I am NOT so optimistic to think it won't be hard

but I am more positive

 

so What about Turkmas

IT WAS GREAT, and the balm my soul needed

 

Years ago, well 2006 actually

my son Matthew who was hosting thanksgiving

bought a table cloth that we each signed

year

after

year

 

It is so fun to see what everyone wrote over the years

 

 

as it turned out, this is a precious memory

  

 

It has turned out to be a great, treasured family tradition.

 

I was so lucky, as this November in Utah was WARM

and I was loving every minute of it...not coats, hardly a sweater

 

We got a few pictures of course, well who am I kidding

we got LOTS of pictures

 here is me with 3 of my 5 kids

One son not able to make the trip from Reno

and one in heaven

 

 

It seems to be getting harder and harder to get a photo

with all of us together

 

and...GOOD NEWS ....the son in Reno...he and his wife are expecting

their 3rd baby

in July

Merry Christmas TO ME !!!

 

Here is a grandaughter who always speaks up for the

Turkey leg

(funny, but she used to always call a drumstick, chicken on a leg)

 

 

I helped another son put up their Christmas Lights on the house

 

 

Well, Actually, I just supervised.

I don't climb up onto roofs

I left that up to my DIL and grandson

 

 

even my son doesn't climb up anymore

since his last Clark Griswald incident

 

 After a wonderful ten days with my family

I got off the plane to COLD...brrrrr

this is what my yard looked like

I have my very own "flocked trees"

 

 

And that's when I dig deep and say

attitude wendy, attitude

(I told you it wasn't going to be easy)

 

my porch

 

 

Holy Christmas Tinsel and Frozen Jingle Bells

or reindeer balls

 

But all is well

I got the tree up

Matthews stocking is hung on the banister with care

 

 

I made this for him when he was only 3, and his wife gave it to me

I was so happy he had hung on to it

 

So soon, before we know it

Christmas day will be here

so much going on for all of us I am SURE

 

and If I could send you all a hug

and a Christmas card

THIS WOULD BE IT

 

 

'cause they are just tooooo cool

 

ZIPPIDY DOO DAH

YUP...THIS IS ME

BEING HAPPY

(tee,hee)

 

There have been some good travels on my road to

Happy

since my last post

 

and funny

but one very sad thing that I found out about

will actually HELP me get there more then I realized

(details not important)

 

 

but in a very strange way it has allowed me to realize

time to move on and BE

 

so putting all that aside

I am headed to Utah to see my kids and grandkids

what could be more zippidy-doo-dah-ish

then that

 

I will be with them for American Thanksgiving

and since I won't be able to be with them for Christmas

we call it

TURKMAS !!!!!!

(because we are creative and brilliant like that)

 

I'll get to do a lot of this

 

So, I won't be able to visit many blogs over the next two weeks

you understand...right?

I'll catch up with you all when my arms have rested

from all the hugging I intend to do

 

Also

on that same note of HAPPY

 

 

Funniest show ever

I laugh till I nearly pee my pants

guess I AM turning into a bit of a REd NeCk

it's all good

like I said

I am learning to

BE

 



I LIKED IT, I LOVED IT....I WANT SOME MORE OF IT

Yes I told you there would be a part two

so you know what your are in for if you stay here

More fun

Cause ME and my Peeps

of the family kind

are nothing but FUN

come visit me.........Find out for Yourself !!

Let's see

where to start

Ok...so after we stayed at My place for 6 days

we headed south

to Southern Alberta

so we could see my folks and sister

(we stayed at my sisters house)

also there was the Yearly Family Reunion to attend

(gotta love a family reunion to re-affirm the nut tree you come from)

It was POURING when we got to Beazer

(that's about 20 miles from Waterton National Park)

But no sireeee...no rain will spoil Our Fun

My sister had these funny umbrella hats on hand

My parents (great grandma and grandpa) had a freezer full

of Rolo Ice cream

You Yankees can't get that down there (so I've heard)
and it is a favorite of my DIL'S

so when my kids come up we buy a HUGE BARREL of it

Yup.....I said Barrel

and every evening after supper

(we say supper up here in Canada...there is breakky, dinner and supper)

We'd head over to my parents house
Line up....and fill up ice cream cones

(yeah, it was not healthy for my hips eating this, they are in jeopardy of becoming a little Rolo)

The Reunion was fun as always
you know, the usual
wiener and marshmallow roasts
jokes and teasing
a few insults for good measure to keep us honest
games
sometimes the games did not go well for a few

The kids had fun running around in the fields
and playing on the hay stacks

(I guess Gracey is still a little miffed from the game)

One of the Favorite things for the kids to do when they visit
is go to the BARN DANCE
Officially....THE GREAT CANADIAN BARN DANCE
It really is a lot of fun
some real good two steppin' and line dancin'

(me and Gracey boot skoot boogin)

a little line dancing with my cousin

seriously ---so stinking much fun

The Creek is always a fun place to hang out at
(I have been swimming this creek since I could walk)
and have been known to do a little skinny dipping as well

a favorite is to use the rope and jump off the rocks



Miss Olivia says you have to be BRAVE to do it

Or perhaps you just want to do some floating



(K-doll......aka Sue Ellen Ewing (if your read my last post)

Hiking......lots of that

you don't come to the country and mountains

and not hike

(so pretty.........the Scenery Too)

We always go to Waterton Falls

(DIL and her kiddies)

(My daughter and her gals)

(looks like a little too much Rolo around the waist)

RED ROCK CANYON

This is a fun place to go

as you can go for quite a long ways following this creek

through the Canyon

There are some Deep parts as well as the shallow parts

Miss Olivia always ready to try the more daring places

there were some really slippery places

DANG....it is pretty up there

Lastly....we had our Ceremonial Indian Night
(or to be politically correct, the American Native night..or in Canada, First Nations)

We all gather around the bonfire
I smoke a little drift wood ...my version of the peace pipe

(visual proof...me and a niece from a few years ago)

ANYWHOOO

as I direct the smoke towards their head

each person is given their new Indian Name for the Year

and their Animal Names

Example: (for the benefit of my family members reading this)

Olivia was...FAWN and Rainbow Fish

Grace was....Thunder Cloud and Wild Stallion

Kendra was...Morning Glory and Blue Bird

Tristan....was Lightening Warrior and Happy Wolf

NOW EACH ONE IS NAMED THAT BECAUSE OF THEIR PERSONALITY TRAITS

(as a side note...SOME of you have heard this before

but since I am on my Third Marriage ....don't judge LONG STORY

my DIL once dubbed me SHE WHO WARMS MANY BUFFALO ROBES)

After the Ceremony which also consisted of some Indian Chants

and Dances (oh yeah, I know how to do THAT)

the kids have to run around the Barn, scantily clothed

we made a little loin cloth for Tristan

We even attended a REAL POW WOW

There was a part where they invited all spectators to join them

on the grounds and dance around with them

Of course we had to join them

(even though we'd already been there done that)

(my daughter, grand daughter and sister)

It was All Pretty Amazing actually

So...there  you have it

A vacation wrapped up

Everyone gone back home

and me.....

I'll be sitting in my own teepee through a cold winter

Perhaps "warming some buffalo robes"

IT'S ABOUT AS COUNTRY, AS COUNTRY GETS

IT'S OVER

and that is sad

for me

If you read my last post, you know

 I had my daughter and her two girls

and DIL and her little gal and son

visit me for TWO WEEKS

Can you scream wheeee with me and jump up and down

thanks

So

I thought I'd try and gather some of the Best of the Country Best

to show you

of all the FUN things we did

I had been working on the little cabin for over a month

and it worked out Great

But it has no "facilities"

so normally I'd say, "hey, do the country squat"

but Mr. Gorgeous also decided

THIS

would be helpful

Heck

that practically turned my lodgings into a FIVE STAR get away

(it was out back behind the cabin)

we called it Cowgirl/boy Test

as I had a whole list of things the kids had to do to Earn their

country status

Kinda like Merit Badges in Scouts....only COOLER

they loved being able to put a star

by each of the things they accomplished.

My DIL however is a little city-fied

she said she'd love to be a cowgirl...

if it was more like the TV show Dallas

(made me giggle)

Mr.Gorgeous's mom was visiting with us the first day

so here she is ...with what has become her 4 Great Grandchildren

how do you like my 4 country bumpkins

We went to a Local Rodeo.....seriously

THEY HAD NEVER BEEN TO ONE BEFORE

It was fun to watch their faces

The oldest loved the "cow penning" the best..........go figure

we were sitting right up by the fence

Great initiation for these potential country kids to get a little dirt

in their face

and feel the horses hooves pound right beside them

This is one of my favorite photos

A walk in the fields is always fun

Me and my daughter and DIL tried to make it PRETEND

saying that, once we got to the trees

 is was where the fairy's live

and you could make a wish

But this little Annie Oakley

was a little miffed

she said, "I wish for this stick to turn into a horse"

(um, it didn't....dang fairies)

She said YOU LIED !!!

she is sooooo literal

gotta love the straw in her mouth

She loves our horses

She wanted to be with them every day

and when grandpa (Mr. G) would lead her around on them

 she was thrilled

We even talked little Roy Rogers in training

to get on the horse

(his sister, the one with the pink fly swatter

she never did....I think she, like her mom

prefers the Dallas version as well)

But her MOM DID

and she and my daughter went riding with my hubby

We went swimming at the Creek

that way you can get mud between your toes

and wherever else

oops, not happy

They all loved the tubing

(hmmmm, the facial expression doesn't really express that)

Don't SPLASH ME

Even Mr. Gorgeous and Lucy had a good time

We did a Treasure Hunt in the area around our pond

It turned out really FUN

They had to follow all the clues

FOUND ONE !!!!

Frogs discovered

(Sue Ellen Ewing would be Proud)

(DIL and son)

COUNTRY....EQUALS......PEACE

and NEW Discoveries

(my daughter...and her daughter)

and at the end of each day

as we crawled our tired bodies into bed

instead of dreaming of Sugar Plums

I dreamt of stupid fairies who don't turn sticks into horses.

(next post, part two)

sorry YES YES YES, this was only part one

Next time you visit here, make sure you have a soda and snack while you sit and read this

I'M SORRY THERE ARE SO MANY PHOTOS...said NO GRANDMA EVER !!!