And Now We Are Nine!!

We now have Nine Grandchildren!!!!

Paul and Julia welcomed Audrey Crane into the world on Sunday February 18, 2007 @ 12:30 pm.

From what we have heard everything went great and mother and baby are healthy and happy. We are so excited and luckily Julia and Paul are sending pictures so we can see how precious she is.

Audrey Crane

Noey and Audrey

Spencer and Audrey

Lila and Audrey

Beardsley's 1st Birthday!!

Beardsley One Year Old

We had a great day on February 10th celebrating his first birthday. We took him over to the Conejo Botanic Garden in the afternoon for a fun filled romp. It was getting a little warm for him so he spent the last part of the walk looking for places to sit in the shade.

Here he is after digging in the damp dirt under the seat. He thought that was great fun.

A couple pictures of the proud "parents" with their little boy. This is at the top of the Gardens.

In the evening we had a little party for him. I looked for a doggy cupcake but couldn't find one so settled on one of his favorite foods, cheese. He got a new little toy, a Mailman that he thought was great.

As you can see he wasn't real happy to wear his Birthday Hat!!


This last picture is of both my men up at the top of the hill with their tongues hanging out!!! Aren't they soooo cute?

Winter in Southern California

As you might know we are having a cold spell here in Southern California. Mind you it is nothing like the rest of the country but for us it is BIG news!! We have had two nights of freezing weather and it has only warmed up to 45 during the day. Oh my that is cold for us!! When Paul went out walking this morning at 5 am it was only 27 degrees. Me, I skipped my morning walk and because there are football games on now I think poor Beardsley is going to have to skip his today too. Sorry Beards.
Yesterday morning I got a couple of pictures of the frozen fountains. They haven't thawed out for two days now.
The timer on the fountain in the backyard was never changed as the days got shorter so it comes on fairly early. Yesterday morning it was still freezing out when it came on so the water was freezing as it was bubbling down the ball on top.


I took the ice out of one of the bird baths to show how deep it had frozen. Beardsley thought it was great!

After a couple of hours of the fountain in the front running the water had drilled holes in the ice where ever it hit the bottom ice. This morning we turned off the fountains as they were so frozen they didn't come on at all. Not enough water could get to the pump!!


I will leave you with one more picture of my very spoiled but very wonderful little boy, Beardsley. As you can see we are letting his fur grow out for the winter. Think he likes it much better this way!

Roxy in Carmel

I am adding the pictures that we just received from Heather and John of their new dog, Roxy!! What a cutie! I can't wait to met her. I'm sure she has a lot more energy then our little lazy dog! (maggie)

"This is Roxy our new 10 week old aussie. We drove to San Diego to get her 2 days before Evan's birthday. She is a wonderful and very busy addition to our family. We can't wait for her to meet Beardsley! Much love to you all. Heather"

Tuesday Afteroon

So, there I was sitting out back on the patio talking to our new medical insurance company. Beardsley is running around on the grass, the birds are singing and everything was "good". I mean I even had got through to a real live person at the insurance company and she was getting all the things taken care of and giving me all the information I needed!! I mean how great is that!Then the world shifted. All of a sudden Beardsley started to yelp in pain. I looked over at him and he is on the grass in the middle of the yard with nothing around him but he is yelping in terrible pain!! He kept the yelping up and was in such pain that I had to cut the phone call short. He kept licking his right front paw and I'm holding him, wearing two pairs of reading glasses to see if I can see anything that might be stuck in it, with no luck. I looked around the yard but couldn't find anything that might be the problem either. Then, within 5 minutes he started emptying himself from both ends, getting weak and "depressed" in other words going into shock!! Luckily Paul got home from work right then and we packed him off to the Vets!!Over an hour, almost $200 and one shaved front paw later we were home again. The Vet shot him full of antihistime and cortisone and fluids which made him look like a camel! He must have been stung by a bee and had a very bad reaction. It could have been a spider but I don't think so as he was in the middle of the yard. He wasn't somewhere a black widow would have been. At least that is my thought. Paul did find a black widow the next day making a web on the front door! That would explain the reaction better but I still think it had to be a bee from where he was when it happened. They do fly around the grass some but I would have thought it was late enough in the day and cool enough that they would have gone home but no, it was still out there ready to pick on a little doggy!! Here it is Friday and he still isn't 100% yet. I just took him on his morning walk and I though I was going to have to carry him home. He has no energy yet. I figure the poison must still be working its way though him, or something like that.Ah the pleasures of pet ownership!! He does look funny with his shaved paw! He got to sleep with us that night so he thought that was pretty great! He was drugged up so he didn't move around that much. He did wake up and ask to go outside around 4am so I climbed out of bed, turned on the outside light and took him out. He gets a drink out of the fountain and then smells something and goes around to the patio area out of my line of sight. He comes back a few seconds later acting like he found something great and then trots off again. A second later I hear a growl from him and I take off running. He had found a opposum and was thinking about getting up close and personal with him!! I run over pick him up and dump him back in the house. I could see another trip to the vets to stitch him up and that wasn't going to happen!! Tell me again why I though this would be a good idea? Oh that's right, he is such a love!! I guess he is worth it. Okay, I know he is worth it!This whole thing has me a little worried about what would have happened if I hadn't been home or what might happen if he gets stung when we are traveling and can't get to a Vet for awhile. I was thinking I would just keep the antihistimes with us but this morning I got to wondering if that would work as he would be throwing it up again. Oh me, oh my what's a mother to think?Well, that is the latest news on the Dog front!!

The New Graduate!!

A very tired Beardsley and I just got back from our last Puppy Training Class!! He got his diploma even though he isn't 100% by any stretch! He does fairly well when it is just the two of us but put any distractions and it is all over! He loves playing with the other dogs in the class and when we are there that is all he wants to do. He did learn a lot and I guess more to the point I learned quite a bit that I can keep working with him so he can do it even when we are out and about. I was very pleased with the class and how it was run and the instructor. I had tried to get him into another company but they weren't doing any classes for his age when we wanted them so Petsmart was a second choice but I think it worked out as good as anywhere would have. I plan on signing him up for the next class when we get back from our Utah trip.


I can't say I like the picture but it does show him with his Graduation Cap on!! He wasn't real happy to have the hat on he wanted to chew on it instead of wearing it! Linda, the instructor had little doggy cookies and the Graduation March playing.

Pictures from Alaska

These are some of the pictures that Paul and Julia sent to us last month. Aren't those kids beautiful??


Noey, Spencer and Lila



The House. It is looking great. When we saw it they were still finishing it up. The downstairs is the "basement" area. They build them like that because of the permafrost. I love how it is out in the woods. Of course I might not like it when the bears come calling. Have you guys seen any around the house yet?

Dad with the kids. And the other picture that they sent is Julia that I posted on Sunday.

Happy Birthday Julia!!

I am way behind with posting birthdays!! I am so sorry. I thought I would start with Julia's as it is today, Sunday, July 16. Here is a picture that they us sent last month.
Happy Birthday, Julia !!

and Many, many more.
We love you!!

Beardsley

Beardsley

Well,well; look at what we have done!!! This is the new member of our family!! Our little boy is a black and silver Miniature Schnauzer and is four months old. We picked him up on Friday from a breeder in Palmdale. She also had a 9 week old puppy but we decided on the little older dog.
He is the mellowest puppy I have ever seen! He is already crate trained so he sleeps in his crate at night with only a couple of wimpers when we first put him in. We were expecting lots of whining and barking but it hasn't happened. At least not yet! He isn't housetrained yet so that will be a joy to do.
He will be a small dog, at the small end of the standard which is 12 - 14 inches. Pretty much a lap dog but he should be sturdy enough to do some hiking with us. We will have to work on getting him in shape as I think he might wish to be a little lazy. I know, a good match of us!! They are said to travel well so we hope to be able to take him most places with us.
As you can see his ears are uncropped and we will be keeping them that way. In past years most of the Schnauzers had the cropped ears but more are going with the uncropped look. We like it a lot better. His right ear might need to be taped so it flops down better and he doesn't have one that sticks up and one that flops down. We will wait for another month and see how it goes and then do something if it needs it.




I still can't believe we have a DOG!! For all of you that have heard me say over and over again, I would never have a dog go ahead and make fun of me!! One of these days I will learn never to say never!! I guess it makes the best sense for a animal that we can take with us when we go places. Oh who knows why but there is it, I have a Dog!! Paul has had several dogs over the years so it isn't that big a deal for him like it is for me. He had no problem with getting one and left it up to me whether we did or not. Such a love. I know I would have gotten a new ferret if they were legal in California but that was just something we didn't want to worry about again.


So this is the beginning of a long story of Beardsley and his "keepers". I'm sure there will unending stories to tell until everyone of you wishes they never heard of this dog!! Hopefully all the stories will be happy and funny and none of them sad. He should live for 12-14 years so we will be long retired by then. He could very well be the only dog we ever have so we are going to enjoy him everyday!!


Momma and her baby


Papa and his little boy

Rav4

Guess what we got last week!!! We have sold the van (that's a story for another day)and got the smaller Rav4 instead. We found we weren't using the van for camping so there wasn't much reason in keeping it. We got the Rav4 for several reasons. One of the main ones is the back windows roll down all the way. Okay, it doesn't seem like a big reason but we figure if we have 4 people in it birding it really is a big deal. On the Jeep Steve rented for the Salton Sea birding trip the back windows stopped about 4 inches short of all the way. It was in the way looking across to the otherside of the car and very annoying trying to put my binos and camera out the window.
Anyway, this is a 4x4 so we can go on the dirt roads around lakes etc. It is bigger this year than it has been in the past so it is more comfortable. It should work out great!! We are excited!!



Here is Paul washing it. How long to you think this will last? It's so much fun right at the beginning but then........!!!

Missy

January 1, 2000 to March 1, 2006

Missy lived with us from January 19, 2000 until she died today. She was so tiny when we got Tess and her!! Missy never really did get very big in size but she sure was fisty!! When Bandit came she really gave him a run for his money!! They fought like cats and dogs for about a month and then they became the best of friends. She really missed Bandit after he died. It was hard on her being the last one left and not having another ferret to bond with.

We will really miss her!!!

Jared Is Getting Married!

Jared called his dad last week to tell him his "Big News"! The wedding is planned for the first part of November of this year. Plans are still being made as of right now. They will be living in Utah after they get married. Jared has already moved out there and is living with his mom until he gets settled. We are hoping to met the future wife before the wedding!!
Congrats Jared and Tiffany!!

Ethan & Evan

New pictures from Carmel!! Aren't they just the most handsome kids in the world? Well, them along with all our other grandchildren!!! We have the best grandkids in the world!!

Thanksgiving 2005

Shannen and Jared were able to spend Thanksgiving with us this year. Shannen flew in from her new college of BYU to spend about 5 days with us. It was good to see her again. Jared was off work on Thursday of course so he came down to eat his dad's cooking. Paul cooked a turkey this year. He says it will be his last but we will see. Here he is cooking away!


While Shannen was here we watched a DVD she had over and over again. I thought I would never forget the name of it but guess what!!! Shannen, you will have to tell me again what it was called. Something like the Provo Boys Act Crazy! It was a funny movie the first time but after the hundredth time well...... Shannen had all the words learned by heart! When Jared came the next day it started all over again! I don't think Jared thought it was as special as she did. Here they are watching the movie on her laptop.

Dinner time and all is ready. Lets see, we had turkey,dressing, squash, mashed pototoes and cranberry sauce and maybe something else that I don't remember. Dessert was brownies with frosting. I remember the dessert okay!!


After dinner it was clean up time.


Daddy and his two wonderful kids. Jared, Paul and Shannen
Thanks for a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Birthday Evan!!

Guess who is 6 years old on Wednesday!! Have a happy, happy birthday Evan!! We love you!

Happy Birthday, Shannen!

Shannen will be 18 years old on Friday!

Happy Birthday, Shannen!!!

We love you!!

Lila Rosalie Crane's First Birthday!

Lila is one year old today!!

Monday is a Very Important Day!!

Monday is:
Talk like a Pirate Day!!
Check out the above link to get ready for this very important holiday!!!

Back from Alaska!!

Wow, what a wonderful trip!! I think I will break this down into a few posts starting at the beginning (a very good place to start).
We left the house at some extremely early hour like 4:45 am or something. We had set the alarm clocks but of course we were both so excited that we didn't need them and got up even earlier than we needed to. Paul had arranged for a towncar to pick us up instead of the van so we had a straight shot to LAX.

The plane trip up was non stop and so smooth that we would forget we were even on a plane. I got to sit in the window seat and although there were a few places that were covered with clouds over all I had great views of the trip. It is like looking at the ultimate map when looking down and you know how much I love maps! Next trip we take I think I will bring a map along with me to double check where I am.

The picture above is of the first views we had of Alaska from the plane. What a cold looking area! We were wondering what we got ourselves into!!! Luckily that isn't what the rest of Alaska looked like in September.

We landed, got our rental car and headed out of Anchorage to Wasilla. I can tell you, coming from weather in the 90's to upper 50's it seemed cold!! We kept trying to remember it was still summer and wasn't really winter already!

What surprised Paul was all the trees. He wasn't expecting anything like that. For me it reminded me a lot of New Hampshire where I grew up. Lots of birch trees and some spruce. It is beautiful. Another thing that we hadn't thought of was that we got to see the fall colors! We got two trips in one this way. The trees in Archorage/Wasilla area were just starting to turn colors. The birch and aspen a golden yellow. Not much of any reds as they didn't have the maples etc. but the yellows were wonderful.

We stopped in Anchorage and got Birds of Alaska by Armstrong http://www.globecorner.com/t/t34/17050.php so we could ID any of the birds we saw. I figured that way I wouldn't be trying to ID something as a bird that never ever gets up to Alaska!! It would limit the amount of mistakes I could make. I will be posting the bird list on http://plymouthgardens.blogspot.com/ soon. (Hopefully!)

Our cabin in Wasilla was great. We were a little surprised that it was right off a main road as the web site had it looking like it was out in the woods more but the traffic wasn't anything like the freeway we have here at home. It was set back from the road with trees between so wasn't bad at all. I guess everything looks like it is in the woods as there are woods everywhere!
The cabin had everything we needed with a kitchen, bathroom and what we really needed that night.... a bed!! We called the kids, told them we would see them in the morning and sacked out for a long winters night nap (in the summer). If we thought the added evening daylight would bother us we were wrong!!! It didn't get dark until 9:30 while we were there but we were fast asleep long before that.

More later.

Off to Alaska Soon

Thought I would share all the places we are planning on staying while we are up in Alaska.
As you know we are leaving on Thursday, September 1st and coming home on the 10th. We just can't wait to see everything!

We will be flying into the Anchorage airport. We have a nonstop on the way to Alaska. We will be renting a car for the whole time we are there so we will be able to get around to see all the great spots.

We hope to be able to do a little birding while we are there also! One of the birds on my list is the Rusty Blackbird. I was reading that were lots around right now so it should be easy to get! I have a couple of others on the list but nothing real "special" just regular types that we don't get down here.

The first 5 nights we are staying in cabins right near Paul Jr and family in Wasilla. Check out how nice the cabins look! http://www.alaskalogcabins.com/ .
We will be spending lots of time with the family here and also doing a bunch of side trips around the area. I know they want to show us how beautiful there home is! It is such a different place from Southern California! One of the places that we want to go is the Matanuska Glacier outside Palmer. http://www.matanuskaglacier.com/ Palmer is the town next to Wasilla. Paul is very interested in walking out on the glacier.

After those wonderful 5 days we are heading up to Denali National Park http://www.nps.gov/dena/. They don't allow cars into the park so we have booked a tour package for our three nights there. It is run by Denali Backcountry Lodge and is called the Denali Backcountry Safari. http://denalilodge.com/newtrip.html

We get to go to the end of the road and then spend the night at the Lodge there. We go out to Wonder Lake that late afternoon. http://www.wildnatureimages.com/DNP%20Wonder%20Lake%201.htm They talk about the pink "alpenglow" evening light on Mt. McKinley. It sounds wonderful!

On Friday we will be driving back down to Anchorage to spend the night before a Saturday morning flight back to the "real world"!

We should be coming back with many, many pictures and lots and lots of great memories!
This is the biggest trip that Paul and I have taken together. It is the first time we will go on a plane together. We should have a great time! We will let everyone know when we get home safe and sound and happy.