Mother's Day 2026

 I had a really nice Mother's Day! I was able to spend the day with my 100 year old Mom, along with ALL my siblings. Sherry and Curt came to St. Johns, Garrett too, along with Sonja and Randy. We had such fun visiting and talking the whole day. Curt was really in a story telling mood and he kept us all entertained. He has a great memory of his childhood and growing up in Tillamook. Mom felt good and looked beautiful! It's just sad that she couldn't hear all the things we were laughing about and having a great time, but she smiled and said she loved seeing us all together. She almost made herself sick on all the chocolate she ate. Mark sent her flowers and we had a ham dinner with Mom's favorite dessert-strawberry shortcake.

I also got flowers and lots of text messages and phone calls from all my kids. Bret was going to come by himself to spend the day with me so I wouldn't have to go to church by myself and be alone on Mother's Day. When I told him I was spending it with my Mom, he decided not to come. Also for my gift to myself, I'm getting a whole new lawn put in. They have put in new sprinklers and dug up my whole lawn. It's sure a mess right now, but hopefully will be great when they are done. I also got myself some new faucets in my bathroom. The old ones were corroded with green mineral deposits and leaked. It was time for new ones after 40+ years! The plumbers also had to fix the drain in my shower, it hasn't been draining well for years.

Lisa got me a new kitchen faucet for Christmas last year, so my old one went into my Airbnb.

I still have some spots the sprinklers aren't getting that they have to fix before they plant the grass. I thought I wanted sod put in but $17,000 was just too much!!! The sprinkler guys still have work to do!

That's what's been happening around my house!

Eliana turns 8 years old!!

 I flew to Dallas on April 30th so I could be there for Reed and Natali's daughter, Eliana's #8 birthday on Friday, May 1st. The popular gifts to give now are called squishes, all shapes and sizes and colors. I think her favorite kind is called a 'dumpling' and it comes in a cute box.

I got to go to her school and have lunch with her. Lunch provided by

 Reed and Chick-fil-A!

Later that evening, on her birthday, she had a dance recital and in- between her performances, we ate at a fun crepe place.

I got to hold baby Rome and that was pretty sweet!

Isabel performed too!  She is an entertainer! She will dance and sing for anyone who will watch her and loves it!!

Then, on Saturday, Eliana got baptized and she had asked me and her other Grandma, Launa to talk at her baptism. It was all so nice. Natali, Eliana and little sister, Isabel sang a song that Natali's parents had written years ago. Reed baptized and confirmed her. He also made all the refreshments, (we helped a little). It was a beautiful day.

I forgot to mention that when I arrived at the airport, they had James, their driver, pick me up. He was waiting for me when I landed and helped me get my bags! He opened my car door and boy did I feel special!! They also treated me to some amazing restaurant dinners! Reed told me not to look at the prices, but I couldn't help it. My filet mignon was the best I've ever eaten and I ate every bite!

It was fun just being with the kids and playing with them. 

Their dog Royal really likes me too!!

Rome is such a cute, happy baby, he likes to make people laugh!

He loves soft, fuzzy blankets!

The dog and him both love looking out the window!

Reed is a pretty special Dad. Eliana needed a project for school. The kids were supposed to come up with something they could sell (not for real money, but for credits) or teach and Reed helped Eliana make their own homemade 'squishes'. It was quite the project and took them a few days to finish. Reed ordered all the supplies, the little paw thing they filled, all the ingredients for the slime, etc. 

These tiny bead like things swelled up into little soft balls once inside.

She made a cute sign....

She packaged them well....

then took them to school.

One night they took me to a live theater play-we saw Wicked! It was awesome, I loved the costumes and the set was amazing as were the performers.

Reed took me and Isabel and Rome to the Zoo. Dallas has a really nice zoo, we had lunch there and enjoyed the day. It was a nice cool, perfect day! Later that night I realized I had my shirt on backwards all day!!

Reed is also a very GOOD cook! One night he and Isabel made sushi and it was delicious! I tried the chop sticks, but ended up using a fork!

He cooked the sticky rice and spread that first on parchment paper, then put the pre-packaged thin slice of seaweed. On top of that he added cucumbers, cream cheese, avocado, and precooked breaded shrimp. He then used this bamboo mat and rolled it all tight. It was so good!! 

Well, that was my wonderful week in Dallas with Reed's family!