Cadet Tymber

 My niece Tymber  and her friend Chance are Cadets in the Idaho Wing Cadet Program.

This past week July 19th through the 28th, Tymber attended a training program held at Gowen Field, Boise Idaho.

Four Cadets left from Tymber's home town. 

The purpose of the Idaho Wing Cadet Program is:

"Serving America by performing Homeland Security and humanitarian missions for our communities, states, and nation; developing our country’s youth; and educating our citizens on the importance of air and space power.”
Company Overview
Objects and Purposes. The objects and purposes of CAP, as contained in Article VI of its Constitution, are to:
a. Provide an organization to encourage and aid American citizens in the contribution of their efforts, services, and resources in the development of aviation and in the maintenance of aerospace supremacy.
b. Encourage and develop by example the voluntary contribution of private citizens to the public welfare.
c. Provide aviation and aerospace education and training especially to its senior and cadet members.
d. Encourage and foster civil aviation in local communities.
e. Provide an organization of private citizens with adequate facilities to assist in meeting local and national emergencies.

 Tymber had a great time and a memorable experience. Tymber is the 4th person on the bottom row without a hat. 

They even flew in airplanes and once they were in the air Tymber was able to take over flying the airplane. What an exciting time.

 I was able to go and see her at the closing ceremony Sunday, July 28th. 

When we arrived at Gowen Field the cadets were lined up. I tried to figure out which one was Tymber, but couldn't really tell.

They started with the American flag with the music playing The Star Spangled Banner. The did a few other things and then the cadets marched around the field and by us and off the field.

Here is a silly video I took - is real short because I didn't know what I was doing or what was going on. But, here it is. 

 It was short and sweet, then we were able to see Tymber.

Jason and Sharon come to the program with me. Tymber was really happy to see us. However, when we approached her she was crying because it was over and time to go home. She really, really loved it.

I had Tymber salute us.

Outside the barracks she stayed in. I was excited that she was allowed to let us see inside.

This was her bed.

All the girls had a bottom bunk because there were only a few girls in the program.

This was the cabinet that she had her stuff in.

Below is Tymber with one of the friends she made during the cadet training. Way to go Tymber, we are all very proud of you!

James, What a Cutie

All of 2012 I babysat James each Sunday. James is my niece Taylor's son (my brother Lyle's daughter). I had so much fun taking James to church every Sunday as he grew from a new born baby (Feb 2012) to a little boy starting to crawl around and pull himself up on furniture. 

I purchased this cute suit for him to wear to church. He looks so handsome!

I love all those cute little curls on the back of his head.

My Primary children loved having him in class each week and James loved singing time when we were in sharing time. 

A couple of weeks after I purchased this little suit for James, Taylor's work schedule changed and now she doesn't need me to babysit. It's very sad that I don't get him every week anymore, but happy that Taylor gets to spend the weekend with her little boy. He's such a fun little man.

A couple of months ago I got to baby sit James again. He's walking now and so much fun.

 I had to put our superman/batman cape on him. He didn't like it too much because it was too long. He needs to grow into it.

 But I had to get my camera out and take a few pictures of him. Look at those blue eyes.

 Eating one of my famous chocolate chip cookie.

 I never was able to get a backward view of him with the cap on, it didn't like it one bit.

It was fun baby sitting him while it lasted. I love every moment of it.

Happy 29th Birthday Jason

 My oldest son, Jason turned 29 July 25th. In my frugal ways I made his birthday cake. However, I didn't have a white cake mix on hand and so I made it from scratch. It was a little dry, but it was good. Next time I just need to just go to the store and purchase a $1.50 cake mix - I like them better. But on the other hand it is a good feeling to know I can make one from scratch too. 

I haven't decorated a cake for a long time. It was kind of scary, but I did it.

 Instead of going out for dinner we decided to BBQ steaks at home. I'm being really frugal right now  cutting expenses in order to build up my savings again after purchasing my new car. Dinner was delicious, Rib Eye Steaks, Corn on the cob, twice baked potatoes (Jason's favorite), salad and rolls. Yum!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Jason, Happy Birthday to you!
 29 candles glowing and ready for Jason to blow out.

 Don't burn your self from all that heat!

 Blow! All 29 candles blown out and a wish to come true.

It was a fun birthday. Jason wanted cash for is present and that's what he got. We also watched "Warm Bodies" after dinner. It was a cute movie.

Free Concert "High Street Band"

One of my favorite summer activities is to attend and enjoy the free outdoor concerts our city puts on in front of Meridian, Idaho's city office building.

The first concert was June 22 and they featured "High Street Band".

Jim Dale, who is singing in the yellow suit is the mayor of Nampa, Idaho. Also in attendance was Eagle City's mayor. I love that a bunch of people in the audience get up and dance. It makes it so much fun.

Brady took a bunch of these pictures for me. In the photo below, he was captured in a photo featured on Meridian City's facebook page. Brady has a green shirt on. 

I love the face of the little girl in the photo too.

They music was rocking and had my toes tapping the whole time.

I loved how the band members wandered around the audience. This saxophone player was right next to me when I took this picture.

Here is a sample of their music. Just another reason I love living in Meridian Idaho!

My Boys Love and Spoil Me!

In February I turned 51. I can't wrap my head around that age - it seems so old yet I'm still so young and least in my mind I am. ha ha!

Jason and Sharon brought me over these flower and this yummy cupcake to celebrate this momentous occasion. Brady even sent me a card in the mail. It's always nice to be remembered and spoiled for my birthday. Thanks Jason, Sharon and Brady! You make my life so full of joy!

 

Isn't that a cool cupcake? It was really yummy too!

Brady was in town for Mother's Day. He was up early and made me breakfast in bed. Not just an ordinary breakfast, but one full of love.

A pink heart shaped pancake smothered in strawberries and topped with whipped cream. I felt so special and loved.

Happy Mother's Day to me! I finally did it! I purchased a Kindle Fire HD. Office Depot had it $20 off at $179. I had a $70 rebate check from Office Depot, so it was only $120 with tax. Yippee!  It's very exciting to finally have a tablet! I love it!

No Meridian Dairy Days, but Yes to Jolley Visit

Because I am such a slacker and so far behind on blogging, I have snatched this blog post from my niece's blog here:

 From Zoey Michelle: We love going to Boise each year to get away and have some low key fun!  This year, Meridian canceled their Dairy Days parade which has become a beloved tradition of our family.  We love the parade best of all!  Aunt Sondra lives only 1 1/2 blocks from the excitement!  We can't wait to be a part of such a wonderful community again next year!

The first thing Brady, Faith and Dawson did was play the board game "Life Twists and Turns". Faith was disappointed all year while Brady was attending BYU because he was never here when they came to visit and she wanted a re-match because she didn't win the last time they played. But really, I think they just have a blast playing this game together. Dawson seems to always have good luck playing this game and usually wins. Faith really, really wanted to win and she did! Horray for Faith!

The evening after they arrived we had a family BBQ. I invited all the family in the Boise/Meridian/Nampa area.  There were several other families (cousins) that were invited but didn't come.  It was very fun though! Robyn and her family did come and enjoyed BBQ Hamburgers and Hot Dogs. It was a very HOT, HOT day and so we ended up eating inside the house - but that didn't stop the kids from enjoying the outdoors.

Brandon graciously consented to man the grill for us, but with the kids coming in and out the back door it set off the smoke alarm - good thing it works *wink. I think it surprised the kids though.

Miss Faith! (boy my grass sure looks nice and green)

I purchased these beach balls thinking that they would be a normal size ball, but when I took them out of the package and blew them up, I couldn't believe how big the were. Just the right size to lay on!

Dawson, Brady, Faith, and Colt

Kate and Jadyn

Kate is all about the babies!!!

I LOVE Bristol's smile!

Bristol, Jadyn, Hallee, Kate

Adding in our boy - Colt!

Bristol

Kaylor wearing a black eye, poor little girl.

 Kaylor has the cupcakes. Yum!

Robyn the Mom of Hallee, Jayden, Colt, Bristol and Kaylor AND Zoey Michelle's sister.

Zoey Michelle took these pictures of me and says:

I love both of these pictures.  They describe why I call her 'FUN Aunt Sondra.'

(I'm so glad they love to come to Aunt Sondra's house for a visit).

After the BBQ, we headed out to Settlers Park in Meridian to watch the family movie "Rio" on a giant screen outside.  I have to say that it was so much fun and FREE!  I definitely want to put it on our list for next time. We got there at the perfect time and had an excellent spot!

Love all of Dawson's faces too!

I love this little girl! It didn't turn dark very early. We were there by 9pm but it was much too light to watch a movie outside. So we had to wait until 10pm. Meanwhile Aunt Sondra and Kate went and played at the playground. It's always amazing to me how strong these kids are playing on the monkey bars (but I did it too when I was young). Settler's park playground is awesome! Kate had a great time and Aunt Sondra had a fun time watching her.

What the movie screen looked like

After lunch, Sondra, Dawson, Kate, and I headed out to Robyn's (leaving Brandon and Faith for naps.)  Robyn set out this fun blowup slide/pool that all of the kids played on the entire afternoon.  It was good to visit and have cousin time ... and I forgot to document with pictures.  :(

Brandon's birthday was on Saturday.  He is another year older and we love him so much!  We hope he had a special day!

While searching for a movie to watch, Aunt Sondra said that she gave away the Twilight movies because she just couldn't handle it.  And when I found them, I took that opportunity to take another picture!  (Boy that is some scary sweated out hair on a HOT summer day). Also as a side note, Sharon took them to Hastings and sold them - my house is now free from those terrible Twilight movies - LOL!

We decided on Avatar which was really cool.  (Zoey Michelle had never seen it before and she didn't love it the way that I do.)

We finished off the night with a bang!  Sondra and Brady gave us our own personal firework show which was really cool and fun!

Brady taught Dawson and Kate how to light fireworks.  They definitely enjoyed it!

Faith content to watch

Ohhh-ing and ahhh-ing for the show!

We came in to find that Dawson was "burnt bacon" (in his own words).  We put on essential oils to make this better!  The legs were perfect the next morning, but the back took a couple of days.

All weekend long we were trying to get Kate to let us pull out her tooth. It was barely hanging on and it was causing her a little bit of pain every time she ate something. But she wasn't brave enough to let any of us pull it out. FINALLY we talked her into it and it came right out and wasn't that big of a deal she said AFTER it was out. She was a brave girl!!!  And the tooth fairy found her in Boise - lucky girl!

 After she was dressed and ready for church, I had to take some pictures of our cute little Kate showing us her missing tooth.

 I love her dress and sun kissed cheeks.

 Kate and her mom, Zoey Michelle after the tooth was finally pulled out.

 Before we left for church Zoey Michelle was talking Faith into wearing make up. Faith does NOT like to wear make up - can you imagine it?

 But, Zoey Michelle didn't back down and we forced her to wear a little make up. Here mom is putting on her mascara. I am always amazed to see them together as mom and daughter - they look like sisters. Zoey Michelle still looks like a kid herself instead of a mom to 3 children and a daughter 12 years old. 

Sunday, we woke up to see Dawson upside down in the recliner.  Quite a funny boy!

We finished up the weekend with sacrament meeting, which happened to be quite incredible.

  From the Jolley's: Thank you Aunt Sondra for hosting us once again and to the Royce family for helping make our Boise trip so much fun!  We love you all!  Until next time! 

Thanks Jolley family for coming for a visit! I sure love you guys. 

They always leave me a thank you gift. They sent me a text after they left and said "the hunt is on" - which meant I was to search out my thank you gift. Michelle always hides it - and makes it a surprise. This time it was tucked inside a book she brought for me to read. Inside the care was $40 cash to put toward my new car I was saving for. They are so giving and loving. They shouldn't give me such gifts, but it's their way. They are always good at showing love and thankfulness to everyone around them. They are one AWESOME family. I sure love them and love the time I get to share with them, although it always ends much too soon.

Bye Jolley family! It was a super fantastic weekend and I can't wait until we do it again!