Slurrrrrp ...

Make a postcard - it's easy!

Happy Birthday to Me

It came and went so quickly ... hardly time to think about it. But, it was lovely to celebrate. We enjoyed a fun lunch at my favorite place ... China Palace. That evening after dinner, some friends stopped by with a fab cake. (Jon had cleverly worked that out.) It was a great evening. It was nice to take a breather from the packing to just enjoy the family and our friends. Thanks to all!

I failed to get more pictures and these were taken without warning...but I needed a reminder of the thoughtful friends who came by to help us celebrate.

Deborah brought a great cake - super moist!! Hope she doesn't mind me sharing the recipe she forwarded to me!

Pig Picken Cake: Preheat oven to 350

1 box yellow cake mix (I have used white also)

1/2 c. oil1

1/2 c. water

4 eggs

1 can mandarin oranges with juice . Mix first 4 ingredients until smooth. Fold in oranges with juice. Pour batter into 2 greased and floured 9 in. pans. Bake 25 min. Test cake to make sure done. Cake will be flat compared to normal cake. Let sit in pan for 5 min. cool on racks for at least 1 hour. (I have put it in a 9x13, but you have to cook it for longer. Also I don't always take it out of the pan if I do put it in a larger one. It just won't have yummy 2 layers).

Icing for Pig Picken Cake:

1 small pkg. instant vanilla pudding mix dry

1 (8 oz) tub of Cool Whip

1 20 oz can of crushed pineapple

Mix dry pudding with pineapple and juice. Fold in cool whip. Chill 1 hour. Spread icing between layers and then all over cake. Refrigerate 24 hours or at least 8-10 hours before serving.

Meet Me In St Louis

The day after returning from New Mexico, we were back on the road. This time headed for St Louis for a visit with the Russell's. They have a great spread in Rolla, about an hour outside of STL. They've added a full-of-life Chocolate lab named Millie and two mules, Jack and Maggie since our last visit. It was much to short of a visit, but wonderful to spend time with everyone.

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

How to Eat Fried Worms ...

As with every good rain, the worms will come. This particular morning, there was a ginormous worm crossing the porch. Ian wasn't quite sure what to do with it, but you can tell Jon is now stranger torturing the critters. ha..ha..

A visit from Granny K ... a Trip to Carlsbad

In February, Jon's Mom, Kay, paid a quick visit to Roseburg while Jon and I spent a couple of days in New Mexico... Here are a couple of pictures she took while we were away. The first is one of their many walks through the neighborhood. Don't the boys look so mellow?

Imagine Granny's surprise when she discovered Ian with the Desitin? I realize 9 out of 10 kids have their way with a tube of desitin now and then, but for some reason, Ian thinks it's a major part of his daily facial routine

Meanwhile ... Jon & I spent a couple of days in Carlsbad. Actually, it was more time travelling than actual time spent in Carlsbad, but nevertheless ... here are some pictures of our adventures there.

This is what happens when you ride a small ... no, make that ... a mini airline. You get to check yourself in. "All aboard flt #69 to Carlsbad" LOL

The amazing sunrise in Albuquerque ... Such a beautiful morning. Such a tiny plane. This lovely scene is a clever decoy - how could you anticipate the worst turbulence EVER! It was a total white-knuckle-ride for me. Eyes closed, hands clutching the open "white bag" We hit one bump so fiercely that Jon's cell phone flew out of his shirt pocket. The good news is that our return flight was much less "eventful". We had the same pilots on both flights. Great guys. (we should know, since we sat about two inches behind them on both fligths. We were so close, that if they'd had bad breath, we would have known it. ha..ha....

It's windy in Carlsbad to say the least. Jon jumped out of the car to check the flyer and was literally "blown away". LOL

And finally, the crew ... These guys flew us to and from carlsbad ... They literally do it all, check in, load the luggage, fly the plane, gas it up ... (OK, I don't know if they pump the gas, but they did say they gas up in Carlsbad because it's cheaper. LOL) Ah, logging hours ... I'm sure someday, they'll be sitting in their big jets, saying "Remember the good ol' days when we only had 9 people to worry about?" ha..ha....!