Once There Was A Snowman...

Emery came over the weekend- she is so dang cute and so much fun. See what she and GpaZ made on their date with Mr. Play-Doh.

I just had to share one of the splendid "things" she made. At first it was just a white snowman with a hat. She said, "Grandpa, the snowman needs some eyes". Then, "Grandpa, he needs a mouth". Later after she looked at it, "He needs some arms".


As I look at it, the snowman kind of reminds me of a "Mr. Bill" snowman, for those of you who remember Mr. Bill.... "Oh no!!!!!!"

Dark, Light Side of the Moon

This doesn't happen very often, but when it does, I like to be part of it- a total eclipse of the moon. I've always enjoyed astronomy, the stars and all the mysteries that are out there. Can't wait until we can travel the galaxies... anyway, I digress....

I got up early in the morning when all was quiet, bundled up with several layers, and "slunk" out the door... after all, I didn't think anyone else was as weird and would like to brave the frigid temperatures that early. I walked north then west down the street to where there would be no light pollution- down by the cows, where they were gently mooing- no doubt a bit agitated seeing some stranger walking the street and disturbing their slumber. I wish I would have had a good camera to capture the event- maybe someday we'll be able to download that stuff from our brains. Now, that would be sweet, but again, I digress...

Here are a couple of pix I downloaded for you to enjoy- taken in Arches National Park in southern Utah.




...And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes I'll see you on the dark side of the moon....The Floyd

Blessings and Birthdays

Isla's Blessing
The past weekend we went down to AZ to participate in Isla's blessing. That precious bundle of joy and noisemaker is getting so big and is so dang cute! (must be from genes) We had a wonderful time hanging out with Madison, Jake, and the wee babe. What a sweetie! Talk about being wrapped around her finger... she had Gma and GpaZ, Aunt Sydney and Uncle Carson at her beacon call. Jake gave her a nice blessing that Sunday. And me, GpaZ, being privileged enough to be in the circle, give this account to the best of my recollection; at one part of the blessing, Jake said something like "... Isla, know your parents love you...", and Isla let out this sweetest sound, like the coo of a dove- not unlike Cindy Lou Who, but much sweeter. It was a heart-melter of a moment. We then went to Jake's parent's place and enjoyed delicious food and company with his family.












The weather wasn't quite as warm as we would have liked it to be- could only wear shorts and flip-flops for one day. But, it was better than being in UT at the time as they had about 4 inches of the white fluffiness.

We had beautiful views of the red rocks and cliffs both directions of the drive. Such wonderful colors that Motha Natcha gives us to enjoy... sometimes, it's the little things in life that make it all worthwhile. We had snow and rain off and on from Flagstaff to Beaver on the drive home. We stopped off at this little dive of a pizza place in Beaver @ about 8:00p- we were getting weary of the trail and had to stop and rest (and water) the horses, but mostly, there was a sign out front that said "Soup", and Damama wanted soup ("and what Baby wants, Baby gets). The name of the place was Deano's Pizza. The establishment I believe was a converted church- lots of space, although that didn't matter as we were the only ones there. Well, after ordering, we thought we had made a terrible mistake in our choice of diners, but were determined to see it through. After waiting for quite some time for our pizza... how long you may ask? well, let's just say that Rip Van Winkle had awoken, finished his food, and was into his second slumber WAY before we got ours. But to our surprise and delight, the pizza was like... DANG! very good. We took a menu and will phone ahead next time- or will have to stop when we have an extra day to kill :)

Emery's birthday
Emery had her 3rd birthday today- it's hard to believe that time has gone so fast. We had a great time celebrating with ice cream and cake. She got some fun toys and she really enjoys the puzzles, bingo, and matching dinosaur games. Happy birthday sweet Emery!

Happy All Hallow's Eve

Halloween is one of my favorite times of year. Dare I say that it ranks very close to Christmas? Blasphemy you say? OK, so you can say it, good for you. Anyway, the coolness of the year, the smells (like the decay of dead leaves, pumpkin innards, etc.), the sound of the leaves as you walk or run through them or when you rake them up, jack-o-lanterns, lights, zombies, scary monsters... oh yeah- CANDY, right? Well, I was the only one home this All Hallow's Eve for most of the night- it was kind of weird. Brenda had gone to Las Wages for a work convention, Sydney had to work late, and Carson went out to eat with some friends and then hot tubbing after that... (oh, reminder to self- remind Carson to take his phone out of his trunks before getting in the hot tub next time ;) although I'm sure they'll come out with a waterproof phone soon enough.)

But, whilst I was waiting for some little tricksters to come for treats so that I might scare the bee jeebees out of them, I watched some of my classic movie favs... House on Haunted Hill, Ghost and Mr. Chicken, Hocus Pocus, Arsenic and Old Lace (someone BORROWED Young Frankenstein, (please return it if it was you, so I couldn't watch that one.... dang!)

So, here are a few pix. I got the ones of Emery off her mother's site- I just had to have some of my gkids! She was a little pirate- Aaaaarrrrrrr! Madison, Jake, and Isla donned themselves as Rapunzel, You-gene, and Pascal. I was just my devilish sweet self 8> (as always).

Here Duck Duck

Autumn- I love it. The weather has been oh so fine- I could do two more months of this stuff, but I know that won't happen. And this weekend, we were graced by Emery's presence which always brightens our lives. We bought a bike trailer and so we made a trip down to the duck pond and had a picnic. "Here, duck, duck"... Duck was not on the menu today (for those of you who have seen Journey to the Center of the Earth with Pat Boone), but PBnJ was. Emery loved the gaggle of geese and the din of the ducks... it was so fun watching her chase the other birds around, trying to feed them as well.











This feller wanted to nibble Emery's wee fingers which were holding the bread.

Sunday the 2nd
We had quite a treat today... I was out digging some potatoes to have for dinner. I heard the distinct mewing of little baby kittens coming from the little shed where the older batch of kittens and cats hang out. I went in and found 4 cute baby kittens- grandpa Z's mamma feral cat had brought them out to the feeding bowl (most likely to introduce them to the feeding bowl, and to take herself off the menu). The older kittens and momma cats took off, but the baby kittens, not knowing enough to be "scaredy cats" just hung out there looking for their mother. So, I ran in to get Emery and the rest of the fam to enjoy them in case they get "wild and crazy" and don't ever get the chance to touch them again. It was a great few moments.

A Month in the life....

Little Isla is one month old today. Here are a few of Isla's greatest pix....


























Little Isla, we love you. You, little princess, are in good hands.

Achtung Baby!

TEN HUT! DROP AND GIVE ME 50 SOLDIER!
Rory is going into the Army- can you believe it? We just dropped him off at the new recruit collection zone in Salt Lake City. (There were quite a few others there... oh my goodness- they are just kids!) He has been preparing for this for several months and has been living here at home for the last month to get a little more family time. We tried to talk him into going in as an officer, since he has a degree and all, but he wanted to do the work and then after (active duty? don't know) be an officer. He thought that knowing what is expected of him first would help him be a better officer in the future. He will be going to Missouri for basic training, then to Fort Huachuca in AZ, probably around December. He is signed up for 3 years of active duty and I think another 8? (good gravy!) of reserves.


It's hair cut time! Better get used to those nubs, soldier.







With Rory @ the drop-of zone in SLC.






That's one nubby noggin, dude!







Here he is swearing in... @#$%^&*!






Rory with his new employer's flag in the background







Good luck, Private Specialist Zaugg "...and you- SEMPER FI!" No, that's not right, that's the Marines. "...and you- BE ALL YOU CAN BE!" We know he will be. We hope this will be a great experience for him and help him move on in life. Any chance that the Army will do a 3-fer for us? Just kidding!



Our prayers go out to him and all those that serve our great country... it really hits home when you've got one of your own out there. Rock on soldier!

Wee Baby Rucker

Wee Baby Rucker was FINALLY born today! 8lbs 1oz and 20 inches, lots of hair and strong lungs.


Here she is! Isla Rucker (pronounced Eye La). After many long months of waiting (I think about 9), she finally made it! It had been quite a long week before her birth, as Madison and Jake had gone to the hospital a couple times, only to be send home empty handed.... so to speak. I guess she just wanted to wait until GmaZ arrived down there to be on hand for her grand entrance into the world.



You see, Brenda was ready to leave at a moment's notice, driving to AZ. So when she got the call yesterday that Madison and Jake were heading to the hospital, she took off like a bat out of el infierno. Then, later that day they called and said they were sent home for lack of progress- again! Brenda, by this time, was in Las Vegas. But, she kept on going anyway. Neither sleet nor rain (or lack of progress), shall stay the determined grandma from her quest. She arrived, to see a very frustrated mother and father-to-be.



But, early in the AM the next day, about 1:30 if my eyes were working correctly, I started getting texts that they were on the way to the hospital... again. So, for the next couple hours and texts, there was little sleep- but that was OK, cause this time, they weren't coming home empty handed!



So, after about 12 hours to good labor (?),... welcome to the world, little Isla... our leetle island of peace, love and joy amidst this stormy sea of chaos. We love you!

GpaZ