March on to the reunion

Wow! It was more interesting than I thought it would be, seeing all the old football players from "Long Beach State College" (better known as CSULB). Thank heavens for nametags in large letters. I found myself asking Carol Tracy if she had noticed how many old men there were at the dinner. Hmmmmm time for me to look more seriously in the mirror! Great to see some friends that we only hear from at Christmas--and some we haven't seen for almost 50 years.
Blessings: health, memories, renewal of acquaintances, people who care about those things
Promises: to communicate more, and take care of ourselves
Make it a great Sunday!

Where did the week MARCH off to?

OOOh that title is not very good English--sorry, Carden School. Anyway, the week came and went and it was fun. Assistance League meeting, always informative and good to see friends that I don't see often enough. Dinner with the Millers--Bucco do Pepe (spelling?) which has really good Italian food. Thanks Amy-Sue and Gian for the coupon to help defray the cost (we don't usually go to such "pricey" places) but it was goooooood! School is moving along, but I am ready to be done with the paper mosaic project (lucky for me, the students still like it and their projects are looking better than I expected) and the Calligraphy students are finally finishing their Haiku books, and they have done a good job and are pleased with them. What is next??? I've got to dream up something right away. Sabrina got her cast off, for good we hope, on Thursday and I got to take care of Tabitha and Charlee for a while. Meantime, the Keesters picked up Bob and they went out to dinner before going to the Millikan vs Wilson baseball game. When Gian and Amy-Sue and Sabrina got home, I walked over to Blair Field to join Bob and the Keesters. I love baseball--any variety--so it was fun for me, and since Ronnie Keester is Millikan's baseball coach, and they won, it was a great game. Amy-Sue, Charlee, and Tabitha brought their Chick Filet lunch over on Friday (and picked up some for us,too..yummy). Just fun to have them around. Friday night, Rylee celebrated her recent (16th)birthday by going out to dinner with 5 friends and then coming to the Ashcraft Community Center (aka, our house) for a night of movies and sleep (?) over. Actually, we didn't hear them at all. Our downstairs TV is very old, so I hope they got to see the movies they brought. ( I think we need to do something about that!) We are having the eaves on our house boxed in and then we will never have to worry about painting or replacing them again. Wait, how do we put us the Christmas lights, now?? Well, I guess we have a few months to ponder that question. ( Good bye termites in the faceia boards!) Today is CSULB 49er football players' reunion that Bob has been working on, so we will see some people we haven't seen in a looooooongggggg time. Good thing they are going to have name tags (which I really despise). Should be fun especially for Bob. Ooops, the girls are up--the workers are here for the eaves--time to get moving. March is almost gone, phew!
Positives: family, friends, reunions, blessings of health, maintenance, good food
Make it a great weekend!

MARCH on your birthday gift!

We have discovered the very best birthday gift ever--and it happened at our Sunday family dinner for Sabrina. She chose spaghetti for her dinner, and "lettuce...oh yeah, I mean salad", and bread (with Clearman's spread on it) and for dessert, ice cream drumsticks (with no nuts). So that is what we had, ( even though Bob wondered "Didn't we just have spaghetti last Sunday?" Me: "well, yes we did, but it is Sabrina's choice and she is part Italian!) Then came the gifts. Now, Sabrina is organized, and she had a list of items she would like to receive, so we could have some shopping choices. I don't remember them all, but I do remember that there were quite a few pet choices -- including a hamster, horse, fish, puppy, ...-- camera, rollerblades, clothes, and ten sheets of bubble wrap, to list a few. Well the pet situation is a no go says Mom Amy-Sue, and the clothes were taken by parents. That left rollerblades (and a new helmet, said Amy-Sue); but since Sabrina is still side-lined with a broken finger I decided that would be torture to get something that he little active self could not use for a while. Camera sounded good--her Mom is a getting quite good with her new camera so they can collaborate. Aunt Tiff and Uncle Drew and family took care of the pet issue with a butterfly farm that Sabrina can hang from the ceiling. BUT. . .both Tiff and I could not resist the TEN SHEETS OF BUBBLE WRAP! and, as it turned out, neither could Sabrina, her sisters, and her cousins. With screams of joy the popping began--they used their hands, elbows, chins, rear ends, feet and bodies, and then we all went outside and rolled Sabrina up in bubble wrap (which might be a good idea, since she is the one with the most injuries in the whole family) and then we unrolled her down the driveway. To end it all, we laid the bubble wrap out and Sabrina ran up and back, nine times while we all tried to swat her as she ran past. For good measure, Rylee had to take a turn running up and down 16 times, because we missed swatting her on her February birthday. I'm sure the neighborhood was delighted with our noise, as some peeked out their windows. "Oh, it's those Ashcrafts and DelBellos again." SOOOO if you are looking for a gift that is sure to please...head for the bubble wrap. Happy Birthday Sabrina--

ps. The reason for 10 sheets of bubble wrap? So each cousin could have their own piece! That's how Sabrina is--she is a jewel!

the weeks March on...

Our week was not too unusual. . .except that we didn't have dinner with the Millers on Monday because Joan was feeling sickey. Instead, we dined at Ruby's with Amy-Sue, Gian, Sabrina, Tabitha and Charlee because is was a fund raiser for Tincher's kindergarten classes. Tabitha was beside herself because Mrs. Matthews, her teacher was sitting in the booth right behind her. I typically do not like hamburgers, but I have to say that Ruby's has a good burger. We got home early, which was a good thing since I got a phone call from one of the eighth grade teachers telling me she wanted her (afternoon) class to have a 9:30am Calligraphy class Tuesday for Visitation. (I usually don't get to school until about 9:40). That class went well, as did the Wednesday 5th grade Art class I had. Along with visitation we have the Book Fair--sigh--so many books, so little money. Scary news from our friends the Bishops, Ed had to be airlifted to SLC from St. George, because he had bleeding in his brain, caused by a fall he took while playing tennis a month ago. Medical procedure went well, and he is on the mend...Janice says "No more tennis!" It is comforting to know that as we pray for people by name, specifically, the Lord stands by to help. On Thursday,we drove over to the storage area where we keep the RV, which is next to the Long Beach airport. By driving around in there we were able to get a fairly decent picture of Air Force One. Never mind who flys in it--it is awesome to see the huge words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA across the side of it. Yesterday was interesting. We decided to take the RV in for oil change and servicing, and a generator check-up. The two places that used to do our servicing are both out of business, so we headed to a different place--and that was our downfall--we got lost! I was following Bob (he was driving the RV--not easy to lose) but he went one way and I went another and I ended up in Costa Mesa and he (finally)in Irvine. All I can say is thank heaven for cell phones. Today, Hudson has a soccer game, and I have to get Sabrina's BD gift (I was gonna do that yesterday, but --- lost). Another "normal " week.
Good news: friends are feeling better
Promises: learn to use the GPS
Make it a great weekend!

The "Ides of March"

Well here it is halfway through March and we are almost totally back to our old routines. We were so lucky to have our friends Don and Carolyn Fickes come to visit us for the weekend. We have become so close, even though they live in Idaho and we live in California. Bob and Don converse almost every day on the phone and when we come together, it's like we never were apart. They spend their winters in Yuma, and decided that before they head home (about the first of April) they needed to see us in "real life"; so they braved the freeways (Carolyn HATES our freeways) and drove up from Yuma. We talked and reminised about our two Missions together, and caught up on families, and played Dominoes, and sight-seed(?) sight-saw(?) hmmmm showed them Long Beach. It was CUW on Saturday so Carolyn got to shop with us and then have lunch at Shenandoah (YUMMMY) , while Bob and Don went South along the ocean and then returned to have lunch at Joe Jost's. (and didn't even bring us an egg!) Wow! It was so great to see them. CUW is always fun,too. Amy-Sue, Tiffany, Rylee, Cassidy, and I met up with Melissa and Jessica Johnson, Courtney, and Natalie and Faith Fields for the lunch experience. I love the chance to be with the family girls and I found myself thinking what it will be like when the younger girls get old enough to join us. Will we all fit at Shenandoah, inside?
I'm starting to save now for the luncheons. We are starting to gather items and make to-do lists for our upcoming Mission. May is not that far away and time is flying. Meantime, Sabrina's birthday is approaching and before that, Spring Visitation at Carden is this week. Gotta get that art work up, and my "parent lesson" ready. Busy Busy Busy. I love it!
Blessings: family, friends, missions, health.
Make it a Great week!

Time MARCHES On :)

It's March! Out with the red, in with the green! Out with the hearts, in with the shamrocks.
We laughingly celebrate "St. pati-Sue's Day", and Sabrina's BD this month, too. Bob continues to recover, and complain about the "no driving for two weeks" edict Dr. Ingram gave him. "It's like I'm in prison" he says; so when I get home from school I take him for a ride. I will be as happy as he will be when he can drive himself. Tomorrow is doctor day (both the cardiologist and the urologist) and hopefully we can put an end to some meds Bob takes, and give up the frequent trips to doctors' offices. We have had some nice visits with friends this week. Friends are blessings! So are doctors, but they are better when you do not need to visit them.
Beginning this month with gratitude for health, family, friends, and weather (rain and sun)
Beginning this month with promises to walk more, and eat a little less (hmmmmm?????)
Make it a great month!