No Words

These pictures really don't need any words.

Problems with the blog

I want to post these darling pictures of Miss Miriam but my link won't let me retrieve pictires from my files.  Anybody know why?  The picasa option is still available, but won't connect to my files.

Thoughts on Birthdays

The older you get, the less enjoyable birthdays are.  At least that's been my experience and it seems to be the opinion of most people I know. 

On Richard's 30th birthday last week, we had our family dinner and I decorated with a little bit of black.  Not totally black because you have to save some for turning 40 and 50 and so on.  After we sat down and began eating, he said the black confused him and that he thought I was always so positive about birthdays; "Don't interpret the black as negative," I said. "It's meant to invoke humor".  Humor is one of the best ways to get through any of life's experiences, I believe.

I've always been one to see the bright side of things, like 40 is the new 30 and then 50 is the new 40.  I didn't feel quite so humerous a year ago when I turned the dreaded 50, though.

Never having been one to dread big birthdays, I woke and found this one to be different. 

All day long I thought , "This is just so wierd, everyone asking how it feels to be 1/2 a century old.  I'll be so glad when tomorrow comes."

 

And now a year later, I'm happy to say that turning 51 was a joy - for many reasons.  One, because it wasn't # 50, two because it marks 38 years that I get to live for my mother and myself, and three because my family made it such a special day. 

 

It was on Sunday, and Ben offered to fix dinner.  When we drove up to his house, I could see that all the kids (sans the college coeds) were there.  He and Laura put on this beautiful spread and we had a wonderful time.

One of the great things about living 1/2 a century plus one year is that the blessings get more and more bounteous.

I liked my 51st birthday.

Birthday Week

 Laura made a Boise State cake.   She does the neatest cakes for family birthdays.

 Because Gordon is 53 and Rich is 30, we put 5 candles for Gordon to blow out and then 3 candles for Rich to blow out.  I was laughing so hard I blew out most of Gordon's

 The boys really liked Gordon's old man cane that he got out to celebrate Rich's 3-0.  It has a rearview mirror and a horn.

Cam loved playing the "old man".

We really haven't celebrated mine yet; Ben is fixing me dinner this Sunday and it should be a great day.

Lots of Christmas Pictures!

                      Family Dinner on Christmas Eve

       I love this picture of Cam & Eli playing Christmas Bingo; they are so obviously in different moods.

           Little Miss Miriam wearing her animal print gloves & hat on Christmas Eve.

 It's fun to still have two "kids" home for the holidays. 
Although they fancy themselves adults, and rightly so.

        Cam gave me the honor of having my picture taken (by him) holding his prized Boise State football.

                  Eli opening a card & some cash from Great Grandma & Grandpa.

                 The boys opening their family gift; cache cookers. (Ben already had one, so we got
                 him a dutch oven table and griddle to go with his cooker).

                 Christmas is wonderful and it is so great to spend time with family. 
                 Its almost enough to get one through the Januarys and Februarys coming up:)

Brother to Brother

My oldest son gave quite a surprise to my youngest son on Chritmas morning. Wrapped in boxes from huge to smaller than ring size was a plane ticket to Georgia for the BSU/Georgia game.  Rich got them both from accumulated airline miles. 

 To say the least, Scott was thrilled!  James will be joining them too. 

Brotherly love....ya gotta love it.

Bird Christmas Party

Jess, Gordon, Scott and I made an impromptu visit to Idaho Falls on Monday for the Bird Family Christmas Party.  What a great time it was.  Grandma Bird had all 5 of her children there and it was Grandpa Bird's 81st birthday.  They are both awesome. 

Grandpa played guitar (and Scott, a little) and we sang Christmas songs.  Then he had Bishop Gordon give a message.  It was a highlight of this Christmas.

And then we came home - 24 hours later.  Two shopping days until Christmas Eve.  Wow.  Christmas is close.

But it was worth it.

Pictures to follow; for some reason it won't let me load them right now.

Bad Shoe Day?

I had a great belly laugh this morning; for that matter, the whole Dr.'s office had a belly laugh.

I had a yearly checkup today.  I wasn't in a hurry.  I wore my brown pants with a really nice brown/black/green top. 

I got to the Dr.'s office and after the nurse called me back, the first thing she did was have me get on the scales.  Of course, you take your shoes off because that can add two extra pounds.

She finished weighing me and I turned to put my shoes back on.

This is what I had worn:

They are both brown even though the one on the left looks black in the photo.  I tried both pair on when I got dressed and decided on the ones on the right. 

These wacky things seem to happen to me.  Why?  I don't know. 

But it's sure good for a laugh.

Second time around

 The Christmas village I put up every year is especially vulnerable this year......thanks to:

 This little sweetie!  She is a goer and a doer this one.  But I have to say that she is obedient too.

 We reached a compromise with her and her brothers; everything that doesn't have a light under it can be played with, including the nativity set. 

My own kids will groan at how flexible I've become with the grandchildren.  But I look at being a grandma as trying to do all of the things you should have done the first time around.

Gingerbread houses - eat them or view them?

Sunday night the family that is in town got together to do Gingerbread Houses for Christmas.  Everyone loves to make them, regardless of age. 

But the question is this:  do you eat yours or have it for a decoration?

I'm pretty sure ours make it one day, if that.

A lot depends on the freshness of the gingerbread and what kinds of candy (at least for me personally).

Both?  No way because by the time you view it as a decoration for a couple of weeks, it can't be fit for consumption.  But hey - thats just me.

Thanksgiving 2010

 Gordon got into the spirit early, donning his Pampered Chef apron and favorite ski hat.

 Notice the trees out the kitchen window.  What a beautiful sight.

 Ben getting some carving tips

 The day before Thanksgiving, I was getting three pies out of the oven; two pecan and a cherry.  The pecan pies needed another 5 minutes, so I pulled the rack out as far as I could and lifted the cherry pie. 
As I was setting it on the counter I heard a bang.  Turning around, I saw that both pecan pies had slid off the rack backwards when I lifted the cherry.  Luckily and to my amazement, they landed upright and only slightly jumbled, spilling just a little filling into the bottom of the oven.  I was very THANKFUL.
I love making pies, but find that I only make them at Thanksgiving.  I should make them more often.

 Laura doing our place settings for the table.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Birdhouse!

Baby Sister Home for the Holidays!

 Last Friday, Gordon and I had to go to Idaho Falls and so we went up to "the burg", as Jessica calls it, and picked her up for the holiday week off.  Here are a couple of pictures of her apartment.  Her roommate, Haley came for the weekend and taught us how to make pumpkin rolls.  College is making baby sister more domestic, some how.

We'll be doing great by tomorrow late afternoon when Scott gets home.  He is scheduled to travel home in a blizzard, so say a prayer for him.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Gotta Love Fall

There is nothing like Fall.  The crispness in the air, the beautiful colors, football season and on and on.  Our maple tree in the front yard is huge and leaves a bounty of leaves each year. 

Cam, Eli, Miriam and I made good use of them,

And Baby Makes Three

Now that they're telling everyone, I can say that JAMES AND SUZANNE ARE PREGNANT!
Due June 21st.

28 big ones!

Today is Benjamin Ray Bird's 28th birthday!  His birth actually happened between 11:59 on the 4th and 12:01 on the 5th. 

Where does the time go?  He's a big boy now; owns his own home, has a great job & is leading an exemplary life with Laura.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN!

Ben is in the brown.  (With Rich at Island Park Reservoir).             

I'm Impressed

What to be on Halloween at BYU-I on a budget? 

Jessica and her roommates dressed in black and used glow sticks for their shape. Then they went to a dance where it was dark and this is their result.

Jessica is the one in the blue.

I am so impressed with this fabulous idea.  College kids these days......

Halloween Brings Out The Best

Saturday evening we opened the door to find these three little spooks on our doorstep.  Two pirates and a

horsey (or was it a cow?  I can't tell for sure).

WARNING:  Lots of pictures:

What a cute family!  Have I mentioned that #4 is on the way?