Hello to all of you. I wish I could say I got as much done the weekend after Thanksgiving as I planned, but that is just not true. It seems like when I try to get a lot done it just doesn't happen. Life just gets in the way. Nikki and I planned the Pace Family Christmas party this year. We held it on Dec. 6, in Highland, Utah at Nikki's house. Let me tell you,"Their house is wonderful." Donney has a huge projection screen TV in the family room. I wasn't sure Jeff was coming home with me. I had a hard time getting him away from the TV. We had dinner and then the kids made nativity sets. My ward had made them on a Super Saturday a couple of years ago and I bought some extras. They were perfect for the party.

If this picture looks familiar it's because I stole it from Nikki. I forgot my camera and had to rely on Nikki and Allison for pictures. Nikki had hers' on her blog. I haven't seen Allison's yet. She still has to send them to me.

The kids seemed to have a good time and I think the parents enjoyed helping them. We had them put their completed nativity sets back in the bags and started in on the gingerbread houses.

Rachelle put the main houses together and then we turned the kids loose. It was fun watching them decorate their houses.

This is Simon and Camille with their houses.

The whole evening was so fun!

Allison and Scott went home about 8:30 and left Taylor and Mikayla with us. We left Nikki's about 10:00 or so and Allison and Scott invited us to spend the night. So we stayed with them and went home the next morning.

In case you don't know who these wonderful people are I'll tell you.
Shawn, Me, and Nikki

Now I'll tell you the camera story. I had a list of all the stuff I needed to take to Nikki's for the party. I got everything loaded and checked my list. I was set. We got down to Nikki's and I realized I had forgotten my camera. It wasn't on the list. It makes me irritated enough that I have to make a list to go somewhere, but HOW could I leave off my camera.

Today is my birthday. Mikayla called me this morning to wish me happy birthday. I was kind of surprised because she was supposed to be at school. Well, she was, but the teacher had stepped out of the room for a minute so she hurried and called me. She wished me happy birthday and then told me she had to go. She called me back a few minutes later and all the kids in her class were yelling "Happy Birthday Grandma", and "We love you". Mikayla couldn't even hear me and I really couldn't hear her either. Anyway, she decide she needed to get off the phone in case the teacher came back in. The kids wrote "Happy Birthday Grandma K" on the blackboard and she took their picture with her phone. She's going to show it to me and I'll share with you when I can.

Are you surprised there are pictures? I am!!! I decided to try it. It's not as hard as I thought it would be. I'll have to try some more things that you guys do all the time. I'm just a beginner and I'm a little slow to try new things.

Have a great day!!!

Well, here it is the day before Thanksgiving and I'm doing better than usual. The pie crusts are made and the pie filling is ready to go in them. When I get home from work I'll cook them and make sure I have everything ready for tomorrow. Angela has invited us to come to her house for Thanksgiving. We're really looking forward to seeing her and Jed and the kids. We're looking forward to seeing all the kids and grandkids tomorrow. I hope to take lots of pictures and learn how to share them. Mikayla is coming up after dinner and spending the weekend with us. That will be fun. I'm not working on Friday so I'm going to get some Christmas stuff done while she visits with her Idaho friends. I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy your friends and families. If you're driving be careful!!!

Good Afternoon,

I have found some patterns I was looking for on the internet. I was going to try to make all the kids a sewn Christmas present, but it's way too late. I'm going to start working on them so they'll be ready for next year. I did find some fun patterns and they are just what I was looking for.

I forgot to mention that I had one more dog. He was a weinie dog and his name was Max. Jeff and I have had him since he was about 8 weeks old. He was getting pretty old and he finally died about a month or so ago. He was a great dog! He started out as my dog and ended up being Jeff's. That's what triggered the collection of dogs we have now. I got Zoe a week or two after Max died and then the rest came like I explained yesterday. Life is always interesting around my house. Jeff never knows what to expect.

I also have 4 dwarf hampsters and a long haired hampster. (How long do they live anyway?) Then I have a cockatoo named "Powder" and a parakeet. She doesn't have a name. I won't even go into the cats. Let it suffice that I love animals.

I'm going down to Logan tomorrow to get some fabric. There isn't a single fabric store in Preston and I need to have some Christmas fabric for a couple of projects I'm working on. I also found the cutest pattern for a pin cushion that I want to try.

I have a friend trying to help me with the Maag side of my family history. I need to find a crack so I can work on mom's dad's side of the family. Sharol is a pro and is going to see what she can find out. Family history is a great love of mine and that's usually what I spend my Sundays doing. I haven't found any new names for a long time. That is always a special thing. If I can get something going on the Maag line maybe I'll have some more great experiences. For the time being I'm trying to find all the baptism, endowment, and sealing dates for everyone so I can make sure all that work has been done instead of assuming it has been done. If I can help anyone with anything they need let me know.

Have a great day! I know I'm going to.

It has been quite a while since I wrote anything. I should do better but I'm not sure I will. I was reading Nikki's blog and saw that she had posted things she was grateful for. It made me think of things I'm grateful for.

I'm thankful for a wonderful husband who loves and supports me. I'm thankful for seven beautiful children and their spouses and all my wonderful grandchildren. I am so thankful for their health and happiness. I'm thankful to live in Mink Creek. The air is clean, the neighbors are wonderful, and the life is just what I want to have. I'm thankful for a great brother and sister. I'm so glad we are friends as well as relatives. I'm thankful for a super mom. I don't see her as often as I would like to, but I do love her.

I'm thankful for this wonderful world that God and His son Jesus Christ made for me. I can't imagine that it could be any better.

I am very thankful for my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It gives my life meaning, direction, and purpose.

Now on a lighter note you won't believe what's going on at my house. I think I told you I had gotten a cute little puppy. I named her Zoe. A week or so after I got her she died. I was heart broken. I found Lacey to replace her. Lacey is a great dog, but she wasn't Zoe. I do love her but it's different. While I was getting Lacey Jeff found me a new weinie dog. When the guy came to deliver him there were two of them. They were brothers out of different litters. I had to take them both. (You can't break up brothers can you???) Now I had three dogs. They are fun and Oscar has adopted Jeff. (He's one of the weinie dogs). Then I ran into the gal who had given me Zoe and told her what had happened. She gave me Zoe's sister. She's precious. I think she's smarter than Zoe. Her name is Buffy. I call Jeff almost every day to check and make sure she's alright. It is definitely interesting around my house. Jeff complains about them but he really likes them. Pepper (the other weinie dog) even rides on his 4-wheeler. I had a chance to get a cute little poodle, but Jeff wouldn't let me have her. (I don't know why.)

I love life and I love my critters.

And you thought your life was weird!!!

Good Morning,

I can say I hope my plateau period is over. I went to WW's last night. I thought I had done pretty good, but I'm always nervous. My scales and theirs aren't always in agreement. I lost 6.6 pounds. I was elated!!! I have lost a pound, gained two pounds, lost a pound, gained a pound (I think you get the picture) for over a month. The leader told me last night it looked like I was over my plateau. I sure hope so. I want to finish getting this weight off and I was getting depressed. I know I won't lose that much again, but if I'm going down that's the right direction.

We canned apple-pie filling Wednesday night. Linda got hung up with a client and so it was just me and Natalie. We did 14 quarts and they looked beautiful after they came out of the cooker. It makes all the work worth while when those bottles of fruit look so perfect. I'll have to take a picture and show you. If I sound pretty proud of myself it's just because I am. I haven't done this sort of thing for a long time. I still remember how to do it and I can still do a good job.

The critters are all good. Lacey is my latest aquisition and she's great! She and Zoe are so cute together. They want to play with the cats. Milo will put up with Zoe, but none of them want to put up with Lacey.

I have to tell you where my indoor kitties came from. First I got Pill from my son and daughter-in-law. They sold their house and moved into an apartment. No pets; so I took Pill. Then Allison got married. Her kids each had a cat. Scott has a pug and he and the cats didn't get along too well so Grandma (me) took in the cats. All three of them have been neutered and declawed so they can't just be outside kitties. So I have Pill, Milo, and Oreo. They are great!! That's the story behind my inside cats. I have four outside cats. When you live in the country you have to have cats. I do have to say that Milo had a mouse the first of the week. He and Pill still get those mice every chance they get.

I'll tell you more about my other critters another time.

Have a great day!!!

It's Sunday evening. I just about have dinner ready. We're having an elk roast, potatoes and gravy, and veggies.

We had a good Sunday. Our church meetings were great! My visiting teachers came. They had a great lesson, but that's nothing new. They always do. We have all been canning and we exchanged stories about that. We all have gardens. We exchanged stories about that. We had a very good visit. It was fun to remember things from the past. I am lucky to have two such wonderful ladies come to my home to check on me.

I have a new dog. Her name is Lacy. She's a Sheitzo (I know that's not spelled right). She is a fun dog. She is well mannered and very polite. She's not neutered yet, but she will be. Now we have 3 dogs, 7 cats, and 3 birds. Oh, I can't forget 4 hamsters and 6 bunnies. Jeff never knows what I'll bring home next. I enjoy animals and plants (I have a lot of them too).

Every critter has a story. I won't go into that right now.

I cleaned, made jam, and made bread yesterday. I feel like I did the dishes about 10 times, but I think it was only three. I didn't get started on the apron. I might look at my fabric later and at least decide what I'm going to do. Jeff even took me out to dinner because I was too pooped to fix him anything. He spoils me sometimes.

Jeff goes up and cuts wood for an older couple in our ward that he home teaches. He has been working with an old chainsaw so he bought a new chain saw. He got a wood permit Friday so he'll probably start cutting wood tomorrow.

I hope life treats you well. Take care.

Well, I have to say it has been quite a while since I wrote. I'm going to do better. I'm trying to get the hang of this blogging stuff. Allison has a great blog. Cameron and Rebecca have a great blog. Nikki has a great blog. Grannie K is just trying to figure out what she's doing. I'm going to try to get a new picture and set up a slide show.

I have to confess something. I haven't been doing good at all on WW's lately. I weighed in tonight and it was enough to shake me up. I'm going to get back on the wagon. I let chocolate get the best of me. It just went downhill from there. I'm going to start exerciseing again tomorrow. I have been really lax in that area too. You guys check up on me now and then to see how I'm doing.

Things are good. I have a new dog. Her name is Zoe. She's a pompoo. Her dad is a pomeranian and her mom is a toy poodle. She's cute. She needs a hair cut though. She looks like a powder puff with legs. She loves to play with Milo (the cat). He just puts up with her. The other cats don't put up with her so she sticks with Milo. I'll have to take some pictures of her so everyone can see her.

I have two parakeets. They are trying to teach Powder (my cockatoo) to talk more softly. Any of you who have been around cockatoos know that they can be really loud. I haven't even named them yet. That's unusual for me.

I don't know if anyone is interested in WW's recipes. I could include some of my favorites if there is any interest. That will probably help me stay on track.

I have been doing some canning lately. Some friends and I canned chicken a few weeks ago and we canned barbeque last Tuesday. Preston has a county cannery that is open from August until the end of October. We are able to can just about anything there is a recipe for. It's great and very economical. The appointments are all filled for the rest of this year so we're planning what we want to can next year. We will be better prepared. We can still do dry packing and I might go down and dry pack some things before they close for the season. We went to Natalie's yesterday evening and bottled applesauce. The three of us did 41 quarts of applesauce. That kind of thing is so much more fun when you work with friends. We are going to do apple pie filling and then we are done for the year. I will probably do some freezer jam on my own, but the group effort will be over after the apple pie filling.

I am in a apron swap. I want to get started on that this weekend. The lady I'm making the apron for wants it made out of Christmas fabric. I have to check my stash and see what I have on hand.

Make sure you check out Cameron and Rebecca's blog, Allison's blog, and Nikki's blog. They'll keep you up on family news. I'll find out if anyone else has a blog and let you know.

Take care. See ya soon.