So, what do I do in the summertime?

Adore them!


Visit friends!


Enjoy Niagara Falls and that's just a hint of what I've done this summer!

Happy Birthdays!!

We went to Carlsbad Saturday to celebrate Meg's 2nd birthday and my  ?  birthday! It was such a beautiful day! We enjoyed lunch out of doors at a favorite local diner and then headed to Chula Vista where we rode some minature but  real coal and steam driven trains. We saw some "train enthusiasts" ...AKA Dorff relatives-- Ken's uncle Tom and cousin Tommy and his daughter, Mattie and also a long time accountant friend. We wrapped up the day with some Dora The Explorer cupcakes and birthday presents. Thanks all for the gifts and the fun! (The pictures are clickable thumbnails.)

Grandma's story about "the invisible enemy"

I need to preface my remarks here with how much I loved spending the night at my grandparent's house when I was a child. I have nothing but good memories.
Well, I wanted to create a similiar experience for my grandchildren but I'm thinking that I screwed it up first night out!
Ken bought some books years ago that have "character building" themes. When bedtime rolled around and they wanted a story, I thought of those books. I grabbed one which was entitled, "Believe in Yourself." It was about Louis Pasteur...you know, the guy who developed the process for pasteurizing milk. Well, here's something you may not know...he also developed the rabies vaccine. Yea...so here I am reading this "bedtime story" all about a little boy, Joey, who is teasing a foaming-at-the-mouth rabid dog with a stick and gets bit. The "invisible enemy" (germs) enter the boy and make him sick, near certain death. But his parents bring him to Dr. Pasteur who uses a "shot with the biggest needle ever" full of "magical soldiers" to kill the invisible enemy. Ok...to fully appreciate this post, you just have to see these pictures from the book....and be sure to click on the pictures.





So, okay, am I the worst Grandma ever or what? This has got to be the scariest kid book ever written! Poor 4 year old Kylie keeps asking me during the story, "Grandma, do I have any invisible enemies in me?" and "Do I have to get a shot so I don't get rabies?" So okay, from here on out, I'm stickin' with princess stories....sorry, grandson's! And then this morning she woke up feeling brave, I guess, because she begs me to read about the "invisible enemies" again because she isn't afraid anymore.....ah, yea, right, over my dead body!!!

Sleep Over Party at Grandma's

Ev and the kids and I found something to do over spring break on a rainy day--we went to see "Tangled" at the dollar theater and then ate lunch at McDonald's. Had so much fun I decided to take Carter and Kylie home with me for a sleepover! (Click on photos to enlarge)





The kids love picking fruit off of our very "prolific" kumquat tree. Then Carter and Kylie helped Grandma pick up branches and sweep while she trimmed a bush. Of course, the best part was playing witches with the brooms after they finished sweeping.



Because Brent needed donuts for Seminary, we had a very yummy breakfast albeit not very healthy! We went to Walmart for a few things and wound up with a cool looking shirt for Carter that came with Silly Bands, no less and a trendy little outfit for Kylie... (although Kylie had a pretty hot looking style at the house playing with brother.)





After lunch it was park time to feed the ducks and do some all out playing. Carter did his "boy" thing at the park and found a stick and Kylie found her Mommy the perfect gift....an orange. (Unfortunately, brother decided to smash the orange so the gift was short-lived. No worries though...our understanding neighbor had some nice flowers that Kylie picked to replace the orange for Mommy.)





They actually got a double dose of play today at two different parks because we had to wait for a repair to be made on Brent's bass clarinet. There was a boy Carter's age and a girl about Kylie's age at the second park which was fun.





There were peanut butter cookies made, a movie watched, dominoes played, legos built, stories read (don't ask them about the "invisible enemy"...more about that later!), lots of pancakes, bacon, eggs, waffles and spaghetti, Mario Cart and bowling on the Wii and even a pillow fight! Does it get any better than that???!!






It was a great time for all! McKell, you're next!

My favorite song from General Conference

Happy Birthday? Happy Easter?

Since we will be going on a trip to London, England shortly we decided to celebrate some April birthdays and Easter early. We always enjoy family parties and today we got to play with Karen's granddaughter, baby Rachelle and enjoyed an egg hunt with our Hanson grandkids. Lots of fun!

Happy Birthday to you!!!!! That's 77 and 17 this month.

Grandma Karen and baby Rachelle! So cute.

On your mark, get set, GO!!!

                                                                       Mommy, look!!

Checking out the loot!

Sorry Dixie...no chocolate (or anything else) for you!

Your getting warmer Carter...

So Meggie, what's in your mouth???

Introducing Jared....

This post is to introduce our newest little grandchild, Jared Ardis Dorff, born March 25th. He is our 6th grandchild; we have 3 granddaughters and 3 grandsons...now does it get any better than that? We are so thrilled; so grateful! He was a healthy 9 pounds, 21 1/2 inches long. Mark and Christy are so pleased to welcome another little boy to their home. I have to share this picture because I think it is so sweet. Momma and her boys...

Christy, you look great! (Have to brag a bit about Christy. She does home births with no anesthesia...I am  impressed!) I hope to be able to meet Jared in person soon! I think he needs a little cuddling from Grandma Dorff and Parker needs to show Grandma his trains. Speaking of Parker, I was thinking after talking to him on Skype today, that he is the "brother of Jared." Pretty cool...:)

Do you ever look back at your life and wonder why certain things happened?

 I have thought about that question regarding the purposes behind our "Florida adventure." There are probably a number of purposes but one thing stands out in my mind. Experiencing the aftermath of three major hurricanes really opened my eyes to the importance of preparing for disasters. I find myself chuckling a little as I write this because long before we ever moved to Florida, I had a preparedness calling in a ward in California that I worked very hard at and I know I helped many ward members get better prepared. But it was different back then and maybe I can best explain it this way...Back then I had a "testimony" of the importance of being prepared but after Florida I was "converted!" I can't explain how stressful and topsy-turvy life becomes when nothing is normal. Things we take for granted everyday like clean water and plenty of it, electricity--light, having the Internet, news of what's going on, no heat/ air conditioning, no working cell phones, no refrigeration, cooking challenges, buying gasoline (if there is any), grocery shopping ( well...that is if there is water, ice, batteries or canned foods left and the store has backup power to run a register and if you have cash), banks with downed ATM's, post office closures, inability to access roads, massive clean up needs EVERYWHERE, inability to get medical care except in the most dire of circumstances....and we weren't dealing with the really hard things like people who had lost their lives. It isn't easy to deal with natural disasters and the getting back to some semblance of normal takes time, sometimes a very long time as it will be in Japan. But maybe my words and the pictures we've seen from Japan recently will help to move you to action and get better prepared. I put together a family First Aid Kit this week. I would like to recommend a First Aid book that is really worth the money. I bought it at the local Boy Scout Shop. It is the best first aid book I have ever owned (and I've had a few). It is well laid out, concise, current and has pictures which I find useful.

I hope this post will encourage you to get better prepared but if it leaves you feeling just overwhelmed and unsure where to start, then start with buying a gallon of water every week until you get a gallon of water per person per day for two weeks. Or, fill that 55 gallon water barrel. That's how to start! If you want a list of what's in my snazzy first aid kit, let me know and I'll send you the list. By the way, the 32 inch duffle bag (and they have smaller ones for less) my kit is in cost me $14 at Walmart, has wheels and zips up flat...way cool for super cheap!

What's new?

Yesterday Ken, Brent & I visited Nathan & Ev and family. It so happened that their city was sponsoring an International Festival. It was a  family oriented event so we had a great time watching our grandkids make tissue paper flowers, gather candy from a busted pinata, play with ballon swords, try their hand at boche ball, jump their little hearts out in a "princess castle jump house" and a basketball jump house and play with friends they know from their school and ward.

We also celebrated Kylie's 4th birthday. It was a fun day! Ev and I were also talking about blogs. She mentioned how nice it is when her cousins (we were talking specifically about Nicole's blog) update their blogs because you feel like you are keeping in touch and seeing their kids grow though in reality, you don't get to see them very often. I agree. I love seeing family blogs and seeing what people are up to. So, we hope that more family take a few minutes, maybe Sunday afternoon to do a post. We love you and love to hear about you!

Another thing I've been doing lately is working again on genealogy. Dad's cousin Bev has sent me information and pictures on herself and her descendants that none of you has seen before. I plan to distribute that information to my siblings at a later date. I also have some temple work that could be done by Luymes family members. If you are interested in that kind of thing, let me know.

Happily, John and his family have got out of Japan and are in Salt Lake indefinitely. We are grateful for their safe arrival but continue to pray and remember those in Japan who are suffering from the great disasters there. I know I have a renewed commitment on preparedness and I hope others do too.

Just 6 days to Christy's due date....we are so anticipating baby grandson's arrival. Christy, we are thinking about you and hope everything goes well.

HAVE AN INCREDIBLE WEEK!

I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

It was a great weekend! Got to listen to some great talks; a 9 year old girl talked about what she was doing to be a missionary, a teenager talked about how by being more exact in her obedience to the "little things" in her life like prayer and reading her scriptures has helped her to be able to get herself up and to Seminary after months of missing it. Listened to a young adult convert share how when he reached " bottom" he found himself remembering his LDS friends from high school and their invitations to come to church with them which prompted him to go to church on his own. Felt the Spirit deeply when a brother shared thoughts on overcoming trials; specifically his current trial of being unemployed for 10 1/2 months. Thoughtfully considered counsel on reducing debt, strengthening our families, keeping a journal, worshipping in the temple and planning as couples to serve a mission. Reminded that in spite of the turmoil worldwide, God lives and has a plan for us. Gosh, I'm glad I was there and feel gratitude once again to be a member of "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints."

What? You have grandchildren???

Yesterday I brought some food for dinner to a young family whose mother is recovering from surgery. They have 3 children; a kindergartener, a 3 year old and a nursery age child. The children are in our Primary and were very excited to see me in "their" home so I was talking with them and admiring their favorite toys. The father asked me how old my son was. They are new in our ward so I told him that Brent is our youngest child and is 16 but that I also had children turning 30, 28 and 26 this year and that we were expecting our 6th grandchild next month. His jaw dropped in utter disbelief. It made my day! I remember that my mother tried to console me when I was expecting Brent at 38 years old by telling me that people would think that I am much younger than I am because I would have such a young child. She was right about that! What a great little perk the year that I officially join the rank of "senior citizens...."

Fly like an Eagle

So, Mom's....I thought I'd do a post on preparing for an Eagle Court of Honor. If you have an LDS, 8 year old son, I just want to warn you. You've just signed on for a minimum of 6 years (though it might be up to 9 years of scouting) till it is even within the realm of possibility of your son getting their Eagle. Frankly, sometimes it feels like you've signed up for life. So the day B passes his Eagle Board of Review, I celebrate thinking its finally done, finally over, last son! But no! No one told me about how many letters I would have to send to politicians and celebrities asking for recognition certificates, or the extra badges I would still need to sew on, the photos I need to arrange for, the newspaper releases, the invitation list, the program, the thank you gifts, refreshments and decorations not to mention the scrapbook and table display. Well, let's just say, it's a good thing I love B!

So, I'll be celebrating for real on May 14th when it's all really over but I confess that I'll miss the medieval duels with cardboard shields and foil mace, the Egyptian pyramids made from sugar cubes; races at the Pinewood Derby, building "the project" and the dirtiest, and most stinky smelling clothes from boy's camp! Thanks son's.... for some great memories!

Beautiful Day at the Arboretum!

First things first.....

HAPPY 30TH NATHAN!!! HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT TIME TODAY!

Nathan was out of town for the weekend so Evaly, Brent and I took the grandkids to the arboretum for a "pizza picnic." We had a nice time exploring nature and just being together!

Even Baby Meg had a terrific time....

30th anniversary in Kauai

Beach Baby of Kauai

Memories of Kauai 2009

Memories, memories of a wonderful vacation with Mark, Christy and Parker....I have a lot of photos but here is a small sampling with promise of more to come.

Luau night! Parker was awestruck by this hula dancer and literally starred at her throughout her entire dance. Some of our favorite memories of Parker---sleeping on a makeshift bed...two airplane trays!...crawling into a kitchen cabinet that he couldn't get out of and other unusual places...using Mark's cell phone and yes, he actually calls people and "reading" in his carseat. Click on these pictures to see them bigger.