what a week

It has been great having Alashandra and Zeke here from Texas. I picked them up in SLC last Monday and they fly out again tomorrow. Zeke has really grown and changed since we moved them down to Texas. Beside having them here I have taken Grandma Janet to the Doctor for a UTI, and we go to a urologist on this Wednesday. We had Grandpa Dean into the Emergency room on Tuesday night, with high blood pressure, and another small stroke. It has taken us 3 days to get it down to an acceptable range. But we go see the Doctor tomorrow morning. Then last night was Dean and Janet Selman Christmas party. And I was in charge of it. We had it at Mitch and Morgans home. They were so gracious to let us have it there. There was the potential of 65 people. But we only had 50. Grandma and Grandpa Selman couldn't even come they were both sick. Grandma with the flu, and Grandpa with a headache from the high blood pressure. So we had odels of food. and I hope that everyone got full and had a good time. Well I havea head ache tonight so i guess that I had better get to bed. I have to leave here at 7:15 so that I can have Dean at the doctor at 8:15. You never know how the roads will be.
I will hate to see Alashandra and Zeke leave, but I think that Zeke will be glad to see his daddy. He is not so sure about the strangers that we keep seeing. Hope that they have a safe trip home.

Well I'm not one to talk about myself, so I guess that is why I don't blog much. But Monday night was the counties 4-H awards night. This was part of our committee that should up for the night. Chris was honored to receive his 20 year 4-H leader pin. Chris and I were honored for being the co-chairs of the 4-H state leadermete last March 12-14. What made it great was our committee of 25 wonderful volunteers that helped put this together. It is a state wide training for all 4-H leaders from throughout the state of Utah. We had 214 leaders attend. We had over 84 different workshops for them to choose from. We had a private showing of Beauty and the Beast at the Heritage playhouse in Brigham city. We had tours of various things in Box Elder County. We had 2 motivational speakers. An Awards banquet. A country western bad "Roughstock" to play after the banquet for dancing. It was a hectis wekk but very enjoyable. The county asked if we thought that we should do it again? We said definatly yes. This is the first time that BoxElder County has done this. I am looking forward to go to leadermete in Utah county this year. It should be alot of fun. There is always so many neat classes to take. wether you use them in 4-H or just in your daily life. I have been attending for three years, which I would have been involved long ago. If I can get the picture up I will show you some of leadermete.















Our theme for Leadermete was, Golden Spike Country We Train Leaders" We had a logo of two trains meeting at Promontory. This is a picture of the registration table. We built kind of old train platforms throughout the conference. The other is of the train platform that took you to the general meeting room. Each classroom was named a name of an old railroad stop from the old transcontinental railroad. Then we had a contest to see how well they paid attention at the awards banquet. It was alot of fun!! But we had a committe that work on this with us for 18 months, to pull this together.




























These are just a few pictures of Leadermete!!

Bandit, he his!!!

Well I guess I named Bandit the right name. Today I had made 2 1/2 dozen gluten free blueberry muffins for Tanya and Brittney, since they were both here. I left for town while they cooled on the counter. When I came back I accused the girls of only eating the tops and leaving the bottoms in the pan. They said they hadn't done that. So it was discovered that Bandit had done just that. Tanya found the evidence on his teeth, stuck blueberries. He had jumped up on a bar stool and then onto the cupboard. and had walked all the way around the cupboard to get to the muffins. Then a short time later we realized that all 4 of Grandma Janets homemade donuts were gone, that were also on the cupboard. So I guess I have a little Bandit on my hands.

Since we didn't go to the town trunk or treat, we only had 5 trick or treaters. They are they only ones that I planned on. they were 5 of my 7 adopted grandchildren. Okay, I had better explain. The 3 little neighbor girls, ages Jaylee 9, Skylee 5, Cassidy 2. Jaylee has called me Grandma since they moved in, 5 years ago. The other girls have followed suit since they learned to talk. Somedays they just need to come to Grandma Rains to play. They think that it is neat that they have 3 grandmas.

Then there are two boys. The family lived in the ward after they were married. When Dawson, the oldest was born, I was trying to befriend and fellowship this young family. In fact her mother use to babysit me. Since only one Grandma was around here. I was Grandma. I tended and they came to our home to meet with the missionaries. When employment took them to Ogden, They still come and visit and leave Grandma pictures. They have also had Lee Jay since they moved. I was invited to Dawsons Baptism the first part of September. I am excited that mom and kids are still semi active in the church after they moved.

Numbers 5 & 6 Soon to be 7 are 3 Brittany, and Racheal, and we think a little boy in November. They adopted me when we were helping at the deaf Branch in Logan. I am excited that they were just able to buy a nice home in Logan this summer. Thier real Grandmas live in Canada and Minnesota. So to far away to see very often. It has been fun to help teach them language skills since mom and dad are heard of hearing.

Matt my little knight and Maddy his Foxy lady came to see me before they went to they Real Soccer Game in SLC. Then Jonah was our little Toad. I haven't seen Garrison , the Crayon except in Pictures. And I haven't seen Zeke our little Bear. Him and his dad have been sick since yesterday. So he didn't do much trick or treating. Matt says that they have had swine flu at his school so we don't know what they have.

Enough rambling. Hope everyone has a Happy Halloween. And we get an extra hour of sleep tonight.

Bandit crying

Bandit cried when I left him with Tanya and Jonah today. Tanya said that it was hilarious. She laughed and laughed. Toby was so sad. She has several videos of him crying. Some at the door, in the front room, by the afghan that I was working on before I left. After I got home he started crying again and jumping up my leg until I paid attention to him. But we got a load of garbage hauled away from our yard. And we went to Ogden to deliver a locker lamb that I had sold. they live in south SLC so we met them at Riverdale Road. It will be nice to get it out of my freezer. We also say Justen, Laurel, and Garrison while we were in Ogden. Tomorrow we are going to Logan to listen to Brittney teach her Relief Society lesson. I hope that this video works, It didn't when i tried to upload it on facebook.

Thanks Britzy!!

Thanks to Brittney I was able to get 27 quarts of applesauce done today. Get Grandma Selman to the doctor. Make clam chowder for dinner. And we went and helped Mitch and Morgan finish putting up their fence. Bandit had a sulking session after I left to go take Grandma to the doctor. Then when I got home she kept jumping up on my leg, I was doing something and didn't pay any attention to him, so he let out a little howl. When I gave him some attention he was happy and went and laid down on the rug where i was standing. Yah for Jonah!! he army craweled over the boppy pillow three or four times today. That is progess.

Bandit update!

Bandit is a very different dog than Toby! He is very quiet. He hardly ever barks, Toby barked at ever noise, and went crazy when someone one came to the door. Toby was a very good lap dog, bandit will set by you but not on your lap. He prefers to lay at your feet. Toby was hyper. bandit is very mellow. Toby was to active to take time to learn anything. Bandit is very smart, and learns very fast. I have a team of dog trainers that live here now. Tanya and Dave have Bandit, sitting, Lie down, playing dead, Come, He is learning to bring back his little stuffed frog. We put him on his leash and open the kitchen door and torment him with the cats. Yesterday he bolted out the door to the cats when I went out to get something. So today we have been teaching him that he can't go out the side, or front doors, even to chase cats, unless he is on a leash and invited out. It will take some time but he is getting it. He is not use to sleeping in a crate. The first night i had to cover it with a sheet. I quess the biggest news is that he id definantly my dog. He follows me everywhere. While I was doing applesauce today, he would lay on the closest rug to me. if I went downstairs and didn't let him through the gate he was very unhappy. So i guess I have what i wanted. I good companion when i am home alone,which won't be for a while. and some to keep me company. By the way Bandit gets his hair cu next thursday. I gave him a bath today, and it was not a good thing, but he smells cleaner. He hated it. He jumped out as fast as I could put him in. I think that I got wetter than he was. But we made it through. I wonder if he has ever had a bath before. The groomer may have fun next week. I know he has had hair cuts but she would just slick clip him. It will be a while before he has long enough hair to have a decent looking show cut.

Well i did 15 quarts of applesauce today. And I hope to get that much done tomorrow. it would have been good to get the mess done all in one day but that was not to be. hopefully I will be able to finish it tomorrow, but I have to take grandma janet to the doctor tomorrow afternoon. So Brittney is coming over to help me. I hope to have it all done and in the hot packer when i leave then Brittney can watch it and finish it.

I had the opportunity to tend Jonah today. it was only for brief periods. but we got along great. When he was so sick I didn't dare tend him. but he is getting better so I dare do it again.

Bandit our miniature schnauzer

This is Bandit. I was missing Toby, so I started shopping for a new schnauzer. I found this one he is 8 months old, had previous owner, that couldn't take him to Alaska, then the breeder got him back and then they had to move so she had to get rid of him. He is about 15 pounds heavier than Toby. He probably would make two of Toby. His original name was Shadow but we are trying to change it to Bandit. Notice that he has a little black mask across his eyes. He is potty trained to a doggy door. But since I don't have one, we will have to be very watchful of him going to the door. I have only heard him make 3 little yips since we got him home. Jax is making more noise about a new dog in the house, than Bandit.
Today has been a long day. It started when I left to take grandpa Dean to the cardiologist. at ten this morning. After test there we went to PCMC to pick up perscriptions for Jonah. Then we went to West Valley City to pick up Bandit. We returned home around 3:45. So it was a lot of driving.

Tending M & M

Well nothing exciting happened today except i was able to tend Matt and Maddy. We had a good time playing knights and dragon, and the Foxy Lady. Came home and checked the Ewes and bucks to see who have been breed. We have to make sure that the two rams don't get in the same fence. Or one will be dead I am just not sure which one. I also have found me a new puppy. I just need to get $5o more dollars. they say his temperament is very calm. When his litter mates was out playing they would find him in laying on the bean bag pillow. He likes to cuddle up with her niece and nephew. So we will see when I go and see him in the next couple of days. I will post picture of him when I get him.

Tending the kids1

Home at last!!

Well we are home. In Phoenix it got a little weird. I won't say scary because things weren't to that point yet. But we flew into concourse D and our next flight left concourse C So this mass of people were moving to the end of the concourse to get to our other concourse when we got to the end there we turned to C There was a line Of TSA workers not letting us through. They didn't tell us anything just that there was a security problem. In the meantime A LOT of TSA worker walked back down the concourse from the way we had came. Then pretty soon here came Phoenix police some with dogs, some on Bicycles. There was a lot of chatteron the walkie talkies but nothing audible. We all just stood abd watched. But they wouldn't let us walk back down to where ther were seats we just had to stand thier. Then they annouced over th PA system that do to ao sceurity problem the airport was closed. So none of us would miss our flights. After about 20 -25 minutes the TSA authorities in front of us let us go. When we got to our gate. our plane was not there. we were able to see the plane we were to get on pull up and unload its passengers. Because of the security problem they had not allowed anything to land or leave the airport. So we were on time for our plan and only arrived in SLC 12 minutes late. Well I get to sleep in my own bed tonight. Tomorrow is a rat race day. I go and tend Matt and Maddy at 7:15 then we all go and pick up Grandma and Grandpa Selman at 10 Have Grandpa to the doctor in Ogden at 11. Then since Jonah is sick He has to back down to Ogden at 1 pm But I can't help him, He will have to go it alone and then if he is bad enough that send him to primaries Tanya will get out of school early and go down with Dave and Jonah.

Today was quiet day. we went to church at 11:30 then we went to have sunday dinner at Matts sister Jills house. We had a great dinner then we played with the kids on their new swing set. tehn came home about 5:30. We enjoyed Matt and Alashandra's ward. It is a little different ward. They have Spanish translations. it was good to meet some of them. We will see you tomorrow. We fly in at 6 pm if everything is on time.

Zoo and Gaga's birthday

Well as you can tell we didn't go to Sea World. We weren't paying $56 dollars a ticket. So we went to the San Antonio zoo. It is a really neat zoo. all the zoos that I have been to have a favorite part. We timed this just right, we were able to watch them feed the the alligators. Matthais I took a video of them feeding the alligators, so that you can watch it.
This is a white rhino. They have two white rhinos, and three black rhinos.

This is a warthog. He is really ugly and a lot bigger than I thought that he would be.
Here are some of the kangaroos. they have about ten of them.A Kumodo Dragon, he was pretty big too.



These two pictures are of them feeding the alligators. They feed them rats. The alligato up on the dry is named bubbles, that is the female. she was really hungry. The male is still in the water and his name was Rufus. He was not hungry and they couldn't get him to eat.

After the zoo we went to Joes Crab Shack to eat for Gaga's birthday. Gaga and I ordered crab legs, so we had to eat with a bib. Zeke was really entertained by the waiters singing and dancing to a song on the radio.

This is the shark that hangs in Joe's Crab shack.

Laundry Day

We didn't do to much today. Since we didn't make it to Tami's (I figured that I could some laundry there) we had to go to a laundromat today. We had a really nice visit with an elder couple that own it they were their stocking the vending machines and general maintenance. We tended
Zeke will Alashandra and Matt closed on their house. All the funding should be through Monday. We have hung pictures and bought and hung curtains on the sliding glass doors. The main level is pretty well all done. We hope that tomorrow we go to Sea World.

tourists

Today we were tourists. We went to the Alamo and to the river walk. Both were really neat. We spent to the Alamo and walked around there for a while. then we walked to the river walk and went to the Rainbow Cafe to have lunch. When we came out it was raining. but we continued to walk down the river walk for a little while. Then we came home. It has been enjoyable day.

Looking down the River Walk.

This is where we ate lunch on the river walk.
















This is an animated Alligator at the Rain Forest Cafe. The restaurant is on the River Walk. Inside the ceilings are covered with vines and lights. Every so often it starts to "rain" the lights flash and a rain storm is played over the speaker system and all the electronic animals in the building come to life. There are Elephants gorillas, alligators, monkeys, snakes, ect...















This is the front of the Alamo















This is a cool water fountain at the Alamo















Zeke loved to watch these big fish they were in a small water way at the Alamo. I think it was his favorite part.



















This is one of the huge trees around the Alamo. Some were so big they have added support to the limbs so they don't touch the ground.

okay I got the pictures on but I didn't get the text so we will try again. I guess I need a lesson on blogging. today we went to a wildlife ranch, has you drove through you could feed the animals the food that they gave us when we entered. The animals were all very interested in us and the food. they would put their heads right in the window to see if you had any food. The Imu that is at Zeke and my window wanted the cheetos that Zeke had. He put his head clear in Alashandras window so I rolled ours up. The Gemsbok really wanted to see what was in the car. Zeke really enjoyed the animals. Then Alashandra and Matt got thier internet, Tv and phone hooked up today. So we had to be here when they came. They said between 1 and 3. It was 2:50 when they made it. Well we will see how Everything is tomorrow and hopefully get to The Alamo and the Riverwalk.

Wildlife Ranch

unpacking

since we didn't get to go to Tami's we got alot unpacked today. Everything it put a way in her kitchen. It may not be where she wants it but it is unboxed and in her cupboards. It is pretty well organized. We went out to eat to not at a b-b-que place and it was really good. It was an eventful day I was getting a glass cookie jar to wash it when it broke. I don't know if I hit it on the counter or what but it broke. in the process it cut my arm just above the wrist. It is about 1 1/2 inches long and about 1/2 to 3/4 inches of it should have probably had stitches. But we were here without any vehicle. So we hunted bathroom baxes, or I should say Chris hunted through bathroom boxes looking for some first aid stuff. We souldn't find anything. So we took some strapping tape that we had unpacked today and cut it in to strips like sterie strips and taped it shut. But it keep ozing blood. So after the down pour of rain that we were having Chris walked to the gas station a few blocks away and bought some super glue, and bandaids. We cleaned it up again and super glued it together. Then put new homemade sterie strips over it again. With somebandaids on top of that to hold them on. 0ther than being tender it is doing ok. Grandpa Dean called and said that he wished that I was home. I needed to take care of him. He still don't sound to good on the phone. They put him in the hospital with double pnemonia yesterday. He said that Monday was still a long ways away. I guess if he doesn't start to improve maybe we willo have to see about coming home early. We will see. Tonight they said that he could go home tomorrow,but he still says he doesn't feel good. Well we just got finished watching a movie, so I guess I will go to bed.

change of plans

We went to get the rental car, nothing worked. We tried two different credit cards, that I knew had money available. But I had used them both and the to hotels we stayed in on our way down. But neither card would work. So I gave her our debit card they don't do debit cards. So I gave her cash they don't except cash. So needless to say we didn't get a rental car.
So we won't be going to See Aunt Tami. i came home and checked these card on the internet and they each had plenty of money available. But one was on a fraud watch, since it was used out of the area of normal use. the other wouldn't let it go because there was a pending hotel bill that hadn't cleared. So they should be cleared up tomorrow so maybe we can try again. Love and miss all of you. I don't know why everything has to happen when we leave. Six years ago we leave for Loisville, KY and when we land and turn on cell phones there are several messages that says Grandma Janet fell of the ladder and broke her hip. Now this time Grandpa Dean is put in the hospital with pnemonia. I guess that i should just stay home and take of all of them. But we get to play with zeke tomorrow and put some boxes away. That will be allot of help.

Well we made it to Matt, Alashandra and Zeke's. We made it about 6:30 Texas Time, so that is 5:30 Utah time. ZooZoo was glad to see Grandma and Grandpa . Tomorrow we get to tend him and play with him. you can't believe how he has changed. He will soon have a whole mouthful of teeth. Well i had probably had better go and get ready for bed. By the way we stealing off of someones internet, so i can do this.

Texas trip day 2

Not allot to tell about today. We drove through 8 hours of nothing. We were going to stop at the four corners this morning. but we missed the north turn off somewhere. All of a sudden we were in New Mexico. so that didn't happen. I guess the biggest news of today would be that Chris got propositioned at a gas station. When I came out from buying treats he asked if I saw the chuncky hispanic gal in tight stretch pants walk in there. I said no. then he told me that she just propositioned him. He said he saw her walking towards him with this look on her face, he started shaking his head no She said you don't speak spanish and he said my wife is in side. She turned on her heels and walked into the building. We had a good laugh over that. this gas station was in the middle of no where.
I have to say that New Mexico has some really neat rest areas. They have spent allot more money on them than Utah ever has.
We are in El Paso tonight. Matt says that it is 8 hours from here to San Antonio, in a car. So that means that it will be a little longer than that for us. But we should get there tomorrow. I may not be able to blog because They don't have any internet yet. It should be hooked up on Wednesday. But I can probably get on Tueseday night if we make it to Tami's on tuesday. I think that our plan now is to get to Shannys sunday evening. Stay at her house Monday and tend Zeke while she substitute teaches for Matt while he goes to some training. Then on Monday night thier ward is comeing to help unload the moving van. And then we will get us a rental car. Then we will go to Tami's 3 hours away on tuesday morning and stay until wednesday afternoon. then back to shanny's. We will see how it goes. Well I guess I will go soak in a tub. My hips are killing me from so much seating.

Texas day1

Well we have made it to Cortez, Colorado. This is us as we drive along. sometimes it is hard maneuvering around, and finding a place to park. We have traveled some roads that we have never been on, and we have since some beautiful country.