Canyon Life

Holidays are now behind us, again. That season went by so fast! Kids are back in school, schedules are back on track. January is here, and with it comes a weird wave of warm weather. I think it was 84 degrees yesterday! Not that I'm complaining, I like the ups and downs of California weather, you just never know what you are going to get. I do miss the seasons, like we had in Nevada, but I will say, it's kinda fun to go swimming in the ocean in the winter. A little sunshine does me good.

Today they are burying my grandpa, I can't go, it's way up north, but I'm thinking and praying for my family today. They are saying goodbye to the last of that generation in our family. I'll always remember fondly my grandpa's old Navy tattoos. They were scandalous!

Here's another set of random pictures from my phone. Maybe someday I'll use a real camera. Maybe not.

Here's sweet little Mr. Darcy, who is now getting along with all the dumb dogs and taking over as alpha male of the canyon house. Cats do that.

Irvine Spectrum, all lit up and pretty.

Christmas morning, at my ex mother in laws for her annual brunch. We do this every year, she makes the best waffles and candied bacon. This year my dad came along, we went to church first and opened presents in the afternoon when we got home. Worked out well.

New Year's Eve at Brett's sisters house. We went to church, barbequed some burgers, played some games. Lovely night with family.

I remembered to take a picture of our tree this year. Not sure why I think that's important.

Mr. Darcy is the reason I had to take the tree down in a hurry. He got really good, really fast, at climbing to the top and knocking down all the ornament. Two glass ones broke, which would not have been a big deal, but they were made by my recently deceased grandma, and that's the only thing I have of hers.

My favorite pain in the booty niece, working on NYE. Make me a mocha!!!

We took Brett's sister and brother in law out for an NYE ride in the desert. I believe they liked it. 

A small portion of the tri tip I prepared and grilled for the wedding we catered. I think I stood at the grill for five hours. 52 pounds of beef, thirty chicken breasts, grilled corn on the cob, grilled bacon wrapped shrimp. Phew. I love serving like this.

In other news, this squirrel was watching me take a shower yesterday. Perv.

Got a call today. Grandpa Dean has passed away, they found him around noon today. Four months after the love of his life died. I know I've heard of that happening with couples, but still, I'm in shock. 

Grandpa was a sweet man. He was 71. Praise God, his hope was in Jesus. We'll meet again.

Here's cousin Jill with Grandpa in October I think.

Grandpa and some other family, my dad is there, all the way on the right. Grandpa was my dads stepdad, from his teenage years on. Thanks God, for sending Grandpa to us.

November's long gone, we're already smack dab in the middle of December. Sheesh. I can't keep up. I just got back from the airport, my mother in law should be safely to Reno by now, kids are asleep (I think), Brett's in bed with a yucky virus. I just started some Christmas shopping tonight, all online, I don't like shopping in stores much. Who needs to, when amazon has free shipping? 

I think I will stick to random picture posts for awhile. I can't seem to sit down long enough to actually structure a real blog post, not that I'm that proficient at it to begin with. No matter!

Brett and his sister drove to Reno a few weeks ago to see their momma, then they ran into a storm on the way home. I miss snow, but I don't miss driving in it all that much.

Sharon and I. Disneyland passes are so much fun during the Christmas season. We just stroll and people watch. Coffee, a beautiful sister, cheery atmosphere.

We can't stop with the moustaches. We just can't.

Awwww. This is my sweet cousin Alex, she visited last week. She's 17, loves horses and roller coasters. Love her. Alex is autistic, Disneyland is one of her very favorite places to visit. They give her the pass that allows her to skip waiting in lines. Feels like cheating.

Alex's sister Samantha and their momma, my stinker of a cousin Jennefer. Last year around this time, Jen was finishing up her chemo and radiation for cervical cancer. She's been cancer free for a few months!

Lisa and I. I think we were at the Christmas Coffee.

Tower of Terror, Jennefer has great hair. Me, not so much. Someday I will have long and flowing hair, perhaps it will be blonde. Perhaps I will quit making that face in pictures.

Perhaps I won't stop making that face in pictures. At least Sam looks cute.

That big wind storm last week, buncha trees landed on my porch. One put a big hole in the roof. We were not as bad off as all my family in Arcadia, they were without power for days, looks like a disaster zone up there. I don't think they've seen a storm like that in decades.

The Christmas Coffee centerpieces, Lisa made 65 of these. Beautiful!

The nieces and nephews came out yesterday to visit with Brett's momma and make Christmas cookies. I think this has become somewhat of a tradition.

Kids Music Team at church, learning some new songs. So blessed to work where I do.

I'm too busy to blog, and a picture is worth a thousand words, right?

Women's Retreat, Palm Springs, my friend and I prepared food and served 300 women. So fun. My favorite thing was the dessert nachos.

I moustache you a question....

Partners in crime, when it comes to all things food.

I'm my yard last week.

Fall Fest. Brett worked his butt off for this event, 13,000 people showed up. Awesome.

James making balloon animals at Fall Fest. His costume made him quite popular.

James as Santa, Matt as a video game character, Tyler didn't really have a name for his deal. And my brother David. The bunny suit from Donnie Darko.

A lil creepy. Dave stopped to visit on his way to AZ for a skydiving event. He DJed.

Disneyland with Brett's sister and girls.

Boys doing something. Together.

S'mores inside out thingy.

I forgot to update on poor Cody. See this picture of Cody on wheels? It's funny now. Because he doesn't need them. He can walk! After bringing him home, after a week at the vet, being intravenously fed with steroids, and opting out of surgery, he can walk. It happened about four weeks after he got home. We noticed he started using his legs to scoot onto his pillow, then he just stood up one day. It was amazing. The doctor didn't believe it would happen, and I had to bring him in as proof. She is still in disbelief. On top of that, he can go to the bathroom just like normal and get outside with the use of the new lower doggy door all on his own. It's amazing. Product of prayer? Well, every good and perfect thing comes from God, so I say yes. We put those wheels on Cody the other day. The look on his face was priceless. He wouldn't move. It may happen that he blows another disc someday, so we will keep them around. I'm so grateful everything worked out like this.