Silly Fun on Mother's Day

Hello all:

I hope everyone had a lovely Mother's day with whomever you spent it with. I got to spend mine with Melissa and the girls. We spent the day in Downtown Disney. We ate lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, tried to squeeze too many people into a photo machine (picture will show), ate ice cream at Hagen Daz and watched Amanda & Ashley put on makeup at Sephora.

It was a very fun day filled with laughs and family. The only thing that could have made it even better is if Sara was there also.

Hug Hug Kiss Kiss to all.

Marilee


This is what happens when you don't all fit in the machine. :)



Before Lunch was FINALLY served. Rainforest Cafe

The Birch is going, going, gone.....

Hello Family:

I have sad news to share. The beautiful Birch tree that was the best thing about Uncle & Auntie's front yard (next to the rock) has died.

Uncle was outside and noticed that everything else was in Spring renewal but the beloved Birch was dry & crispy. He called his tree guys and they dug a hole around it and watered it to see if it could be saved but unfortunately it was too far gone.

This very special tree was planted soon after Uncle & Auntie had moved in and has grown strong and beautiful for 50 years.

It has a famous branch that all the kids and grandkids have hung upside down from. A year ago while Uncle Tom & Aunt Sue were taking care of Uncle after his open heart surgery, Tom hit his head on this famous branch while taking Spike out. He told Sara & I that he was going to cut off this branch. Sara & I immediately told him he would be in a lot of trouble if he did this. Sara then got everyone in the family to sign a petition to save the tree. The petition was signed unanimously (except for Taylor Koslosky) he signed it but said to cut the tree down.

I have attached pictures of the tree coming down and a few pictures I had featuring the tree. We will miss this Birch greatly, but a new one has been planted in it's place and is quite pretty.

If you have pictures or remembrances of the Birch, please share.

Love Marilee

Amanda Hanging on

Greg, Jimmy & The Birch


Upside Down Ashley
Last View of the Birch





Hauling the Birch away

Me & the last piece of the Birch

The new Birch

You know your a redneck if....

Hello all:

I had to share the latest with my family. We were surprised at the end of April because Sara & Andrew decided to leave the frozen Tundra of Ephraim and visit us for a week.

It was a really fun visit. We went to the movies and out to eat and had lots of laughs. Even though I had to work I was able to visit with them in the evenings and on the weekend.

One night as I was leaving the office my father called and asked me where the camera was. I said the camera was with me in my purse. He asked that I hurry home so I could see what the kids had done and he would say no more than that.

As I pulled into the driveway I noticed that my Dad's pickup was parked all the way in the driveway against the garage instead of it's usual place in the street. I also noticed that there was a blue tarp shut in the doors, over the roof and in the bed. Before I got out of my car I knew what I was going to find and was glad I had my camera handy.

Those crazy newlyweds had turned my Dad's pickup into the poor man's swimming pool. Because it was such a warm day and the plumbing pipes are under our brick patio, it felt like spa water.

So I end with this. You know your a redneck if, you turn your pickup into a swimming pool. I wanted to share pictures with you.

Hugs to all.

Marilee

Knotts Berry Farm & the Cheer Cats

Hello All:

I guess now that I've been given the power to blog I can't stop myself.

This Saturday we went to Knotts Berry Farm to see Amanda & Ashley's cheer leading group the Cheer Cats perform.

They were both real cute. I told Jim they had an excellent chance at the beginnings of the stripper career. He didn't think that was funny for some reason. :)

Here are some pictures of the dynamic duo and also a video of their performance. Check out the cartwheels of Miss Ashley Braga. She is her mother's daughter.

Hugs & Love to all.

Ashley's School project

UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE. ASHLEY GOT AN A+ ON THIS PROJECT - WAY TO GO!



I must say I am a very lucky individual. I had the pleasure of being at the beach house a few weeks ago with Melissa & Ashley.

It was a beautiful weekend, the weather being clear & sunny. While we were sitting around chatting, Melissa remembered that Ashley had a school project due on the California Missions. Luckily Melissa had the list of the different projects Ashley could do to complete the assignment.

We decided that the video montage would probably be the easiest one to do. So we set out Sunday morning to San Luis Obispo and went to the California Mission.

When we arrived and were looking through the gift shop the girl behind the counter immediately asked Ashley if she was in the 4th grade. (We weren't the 1st people there to do a Mission project)

So she showed us around and told us a little about the Mission and then explained we could wait for the tour or do it ourselves. We opted to do it ourselves and video short increments on my camera. I then put these together to make her a DVD.

I just want everyone to know how blessed I am to be close to Melissa and her girls. I feel I share a special bond with them and love to be around them. I wanted to share her video clips so everyone could see them.

I hope you all have a great week.

Love

Marilee

So here it goes

Hello all:

I guess the time has come for a Blog. I wanted to do something that would be easier for people to look at and share pictures without having to join, So I hope this works.

2008 has & is going to be a big year for the Potters. The beginning of 2008, February 8 to be exact was Sara & Andrew's wedding day. It was such a beautiful day from the beginning to the end. I am so grateful that my sister found her prince charming (Even if she had to move to Utah) and that she is living the good life in Ephraim, Utah. (Very small town -get a map because I couldn't begin to describe where it is. All I know it as, is Land of the Crazy Deer.

Here are some pictures of the wedding:










When the newlyweds got back from their Honeymoon in Pismo Beach they discovered they were pregnant. Yeah!!! Honeymoon babies are good, I should know, I am one.






So now they are adjusting to wedded bliss and morning sickness. We should have the 1st Ostler grandchild and the 5th Potter grandchild in Mid November.

Some of you might be thinking, the Potters have 5 grandkids. They will by then because David & Michelle are (hopefully) due June 4th, which is Mom & Dad's 40th wedding anniversary. Ruby, Noah & Holly anxiously await the 4th. Well maybe not anxiously, but waiting anyways.

And the last big news for me is that my bestest friend Lisa Grigg is getting married September 19th to RD Coronado. How we have all waited for this day. :) And she gets a bonus with the marriage, RD's 10 year old son Alex. Here is a picture of the soon to be family at Disneyland.




Well I guess that is all for my 1st blog. I hope to be back soon. Hugs to all. Marilee