Another Vacation Highlight

During our week of Disney, I spent a fun day with our granddaughters chilling at the hotel.

I wanted to give their parents a day to play child-free.

We did the laundry and you know, riding in the elevator,

putting quarters in the washer and dryer and 

watching the clothes spin around

proved to be great fun!

I enjoyed the air conditioned comfort and the girls enjoyed

hotel furniture gymnastics.

We went down to the pool grill for lunch and enjoyed some

On Site

"DINNING"

(This made me a little crazy--you know how I am about grammar and spelling)

Technically, it was On Site Dinning when 

baby June wanted a drink of Norah's smoothie,

there was some very loud protesting...

And then Norah kindly shared with her by accidentally dumping it in her lap.

But, since we were just an elevator ride away from a bathtub,

not a problem!

After naptime and an afternoon snack, we met up with the rest of our gang for dinner. 

The next morning when Nicole got the girls up for another day of The Magic Kingdom,

 she told me they asked,

 "Can we stay here with Nana again? That was fun!"

So when it comes to entertainment, Nana's right up there with Disney.

Here We Go Again

The Gale Academy of Classical Education is on hiatus for the week so here is an opportunity to do some catching up. 

A list of recent happenings:

We found out that we have a couple of more Gale grandbabies on the way. 

Always joyous news! The Seth and Taylor Gale family have officially announced. That sweet little blessing is due in September. 

That is all I am authorized to say. 

Sam is almost finished with his freshman year at BYU. We got this notice in the mail:

He was invited into BYU's honor society due to his

"...early academic achievement at Brigham Young University"

He joins Siara who also earned that prestigious honor. 

He received his mission call to the California, Los Angeles (Spanish speaking) Mission. He reports to the Mexico City MTC June 11th. 

Spencer will be graduating from BYU next week.

 We are heading out to Utah for graduation and during our whirlwind trip, Andy will ordain Sam an Elder and we will all go to the temple with him to receive his endowment. So, overlapping happy family milestones! 

Spencer has earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering and he and Adrianna will be heading out to Wisconsin to begin gainful employment right after graduation. Well done! Graduation and a real job! 

Also, this happened:

General Conference with CONFERENCE BINGO!

They ate all the Skittles right away so coloring was a fun way to fill in the squares.

Scott and Nicole and fam were here for Conference livening

things up for us.

I got to spend a week with these two princesses.

There was a lot of Frozen going on around here--

including some fun braided hairstyles.

Norah made the crown and dubbed herself

"Queen Norah"

She also planned a party. When she read the announcement and invitation she was

so cute, Shane and I laughed. She became quite indignant 

and decreed:

"No laughing at Norah! No laughing at the party!"

It was hard not to defy her Royal Decree!

This was the creative party favor she came up with.

These two loved sleeping in the "Big pretty bed" and were

merciful on their old Nana and slept really well. Bailey had some

growing pains the last night so I moved Norah to another room and laid down beside Bailey to rub her feet and her leg. At one point she was crying and I felt so

bad for her. I asked her if she wanted to say a prayer and she wailed,

"Nana, I can only do one thing at a time and I am crying right now!"

And, in conclusion,  you may already know that this is also going on around here:

Another move...

Clear back across the continent to

California.

Deja vu. 

Another job lured Andy away and he started there last Monday. 

Shane and I shall hold down the fort here until someone buys the fort.

I am in denial--the first step in the mourning process. 

Although I have done a lot of packing in spite of my delusional thinking.

I will let you know how it goes.

In the meantime, we have  been blessed beyond measure in so many ways I am going to trust that we will be where we need to be and our family will continue to grow and progress in all the ways we need to.

The Hurrier I Go, The Behinder I Get

Sweet Little Trio of Girlies

Gentle Reader, I realize my blogging has been scarce as of late--it's just that we have been inundated with disasters and storms and family milestones and drives to New Jersey and grandchildren arriving from heaven in need of snuggles and cheek-smooshing and other grandchildren in need of story telling and song singing. Not to mention homeschooling decisions and early college admissions in addition to church callings and career considerations and so on and so forth. 

It's always something.

Winter storm Nemo brought us about two feet of snow.

The snow-plow driver destroyed our mailbox (again).

I beat the storm to New Jersey and waited it out there with our son and his family. They were going to bless new baby June that weekend but Pops and Uncles were snowed in in Connecticut. So that has been rescheduled. 

Perhaps for next Spring.

If the snow melts by then.

We caught the fringe of the storm in Jersey and got about four inches of snow.

So the girls bundled up to play in it. Bailey decided her Tinkerbell pjs were just the thing to keep her warm.

 Norah had done some avantgarde face painting with a dry erase marker. Her installation included the office carpet. She's kind of a free-range artist.

Ready to head out. Cinderella Barbie was part of the entourage.

Back indoors, the girls found many ways to entertain themselves and Nana. Here you see Norah in her cat costume jumping over a box (their Dad is doing some remodeling--like father, like son) riding a horse. Bailey's(imaginary) horses are named Lula and Scarlet. When one gets tired, she rides the other. 

Baby June-bug all dressed up for church. June is the most pleasant of baby companions. She is content and laid-back and only fusses when absolutely necessary.

 She is surrounded by love and she is thriving  in it.

The last day I was there, Bailey woke up and stretched and announced

 "Let's have  a Valentine's Party today Nana!"

So we did. She decided  the agenda:

Make Valentines

Decorate

Dance

Tell Stories

Have Treats

So we did.

A good time was had by all.

One day playing "School"

Norah: "Close your eyes and say the magic word."

Me: "What's the magic word?"

 Norah (whispering): "Kitchen."     

When it was Bailey's turn to be the teacher: 

Bailey: "You can call me Miss Bailey or Miss Gale. Or you can call me whatever you want."

Me: "Can I call you Silly Sue?"  

Bailey: "MISS Silly Sue!"     

That's about it for now from our neck of the woods. 

Life is good.

If you need a little enchantment in your life, remember the magic word.

Kitchen         

Trailing Clouds of Glory

Sweet baby June Ardyn was born two days after Christmas~

9 lbs. 6 oz. and 22 inches long

She was greeted by her two big sisters that evening.

Bailey, as she stroked June's chubby cheek:

"Baby June is soft, and warm as a summer breeze."

So precious.

This picture of our son holding his third little daughter is

pretty precious too.

And Nicole is AWE-mazing.

A VBAC after two c-sections--and no meds.

And that baby was posterior--and you saw the weight up there right?

A Post Christmas Post Postponing Posting

Gentle Reader,
So much to catch up on--so little time. Or energy. Our house runneth over and that means late nights with older kids and early mornings with grandkids--and that means Nana has been burning the candle at both ends! But here's a little something I didn't want to forget:

Bailey and Norah got a new baby sister a few days after Christmas (yes--that's another post in the que!) so we had them here with us for a few days. We took them to church with us last Sunday and the Sacrament hymn was "I Stand All Amazed". I had four-year-old Bailey on my lap and quickly realized that she was singing along beautifully and clearly and knew every word to that hymn. After she belted out the chorus of
               "Oh, it is wonderful, that He should care for me, enough to die for me.
                 Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me."
She said, "I know this song because my Dad taught it to me."

I thought my heart would burst.
             

Life Lately

A beautiful storm gave us eight and a half inches of snow:

So of course the boys had to get outside and enjoy it:

Shane's fancy hat:

Scott traveled around Europe and then came here for his Birthday:

(He was in Paris that morning and New York City that afternoon)

Bailey helped me make the cupcakes:

Bailey and I did a lot of crafting whilst she was here:

She wanted a box for her Daddy's birthday present, so we

watched a youtube video and learned to make origami boxes:

Then we (meaning I) made many, many boxes.

Those lovely presents hold cute little notes and drawings as

well as some erasers and rubber bands that Bailey found

in the craft room drawers. Look at that face--I would gladly

fold boxes all day with that little girl.

Bailey playing "copy-cat":

She made her headband out of a rubber band and some curling ribbon.

Love that pose!

One evening, we sent Scott and Nicole on a date and the girls hung out with us.

Bailey decided we were going to have a masquerade ball so she put on

Norah's dress and Norah put on her sparkly shoes and they danced

around the living room. 

Mmmm Thanksgiving Dinner:

We prepare and plan and cook for days and it's all over

in about an hour:

Some post-Thanksgiving story time with Uncle Sam:

Dad's birthday was on Thanksgiving this year so we feted him

with a big feast and then later we sang to him and he blew out

candles on his delicious Ferris Acres Ice Cream Pie.

I think Sam is thinking of a really good wish for his Dad.

After the holiday and hubbub were over and Scott and his family had 

headed for home, I found this little tea party set up in the living room.

Good times.

A 

A Very Special Occasion

Our little Bailey is turning four in a couple of weeks and we decided to

 celebrate her special day a little early while she was here.

Her delight as she realized that the cake was for her was precious.

She loved the pink polka-dot wrapping paper and the purple curly ribbon.

It is so fun to see the joy in simple things that our sweet granddaughter

expresses.

Earlier in the day, she happened to see her (unwrapped) present in the closet.

I hurried to put it up on a shelf and tried to divert her attention.

She said, "That looks like a princess game! Can I see it, Nana?! 

I told her "Oh, I am saving that for a special occasion."

Her reply:

"But I am a special occasion, Nana!!"

Yes you are Bailey, yes you are.

Sisters

We enjoyed several weeks here with the always adorable Gale Sisters: the next generation.

Nicole and Bailey and Norah hung out with us here while their house in Texas was packed up and the new place closed. It is always a joy to have the energy and enthusiasm of those two little girls. And their Mama is pretty awesome too--we enjoyed a lot of girl time which was nice for me.

 What with me being all outnumbered around here nowadays. 

Even the dog is a boy.

 There is a fine line between sweet, happy togetherness and "she's all up in my space" togetherness. These two cross that line from time to time--but the sweet happy stuff is SOOO adorable.

On this morning, Bailey decided it was Norah's Birthday and she wanted to make her a cake.

So she made it out of Norah's breakfast of blueberries and yogurt.

This is a pictorial of Bailey mopping the floor...

she is a hard worker.

She was really serious about getting the floor clean...

even though the mop is taller than she is.

She was also a happy helper putting the silverware away:

Norah was a natural alpha with Gunner (I don't have any pictures of her with him--I was usually hanging out with Bailey while Norah was sleeping in in the morning or napping)

She would follow him around and say:

"Hey Gunna! Hey boy!"

and then hold her arms out and say

"Gimme a hug."

We still say "Hey Gunna! Hey Boy!" at least a dozen times a day to him.

Bailey was a little more wary of the dog. She did warm up to him eventually and he basked in the glory of the many chocolate Cheerios she tossed his way. She was always very careful to stay up higher than the dog with her arms and legs out of reach.

She is a wisely cautious little girl.

Bailey loved to help with the cooking. We had a lot of fun together in the kitchen.

Bailey's imagination is another source of entertainment. She came with her Cinderella doll and I found her a pioneer Barbie in a box of Aunt Siara and Shanna's old Barbies.Yes, there were pioneer Barbies. They were in a sale bin at Fred Meyer years ago. 

Clearly I was the only mom who was excited to find a modestly dressed Barbie. 

They were not a big seller.

 Bailey called her Apple Girl and she and Cinderella had many adventures along with the other odd Barbie we dug out of the box of toy relics. 

This is Cinderella getting a check-up. Bailey put the stethoscope around her waist instead of in her ears.

All tuckered out after a walk. Norah was asleep on the other side 

but she was up running around by the time I got the camera.

I got to do Bailey's bedtime routine with her each night. We would agree on the number of books that would be read on the couch and then up in bed. She reminds me of her Dad--a shrewd negotiator. One night I told her we had read the allotted number of books and she should go to sleep.

She asked if she could just look at a book. That seemed reasonable. Pretty soon she was saying, "What is this word Nana?" and I would tell her. And then another word and another until I realized we had read the whole book.

 But when she snuggled up and said

 "Nana I feel so comfortable because I love you so much!"

I was willing to read her a hundred books.

We enjoyed our time with those precious granddaughters. And now they live close enough that we will get more of those good times. 

And there is another sweet girl on the way. 

She will be joining her sisters around Christmastime.