It's been awhile!

The last time I sat down to blog was back in May. I have been a slacker! Here are some of the highlights of the last couple months.

In May, Eric and I flew to Philadelphia to attend the graduation of our son in law from optometry school. Eric got to meet our newest grandson for the first time too.

Grandpa Eric bonding with Oliver

Sorry, not a great picture. Bailey, Miles and Dr. Clark following the graduation ceremony.

We drove to Denver to be with family for the wedding our nephew, Nathan and his bride Abby. I forgot to take pictures at the temple. It was fun to see everyone and to get to visit for a few minutes. Paige's family was there too and they were making their way to Texas for a visit. We caravanned back with them. Bailey's family also came from Philadelphia and stayed for a few weeks while they got things in order to move back to Idaho for a job in Pocatello.

Leslie told me that she wanted to see the butterfly place and the beach so those things were on our agenda. We visited the Museum of  Natural Science in Houston. The kids liked the butterfly room and the dinosaurs.

Leslie is getting an up close look at a butterfly

The whole group minus Eric (he was still looking at the butterflies) at the end of the exit of the butterfly room.

Brooke, Leslie, and Miles riding a giant caterpillar.

Brooke hanging out with a dinosaur.

Another fun thing we did was go to a zoo in Alvin, TX. We rode around on a wagon thing and we were able to feed the animals. The animals would walk right up to the wagon and eat out of our buckets of food.

Miles and Leslie feeding a deer that was hanging out in the picnic area. It was cool for a little bit, but then it became annoying because they wanted to eat the food we brought for our lunch.

Getting ready to go on the wagon ride to see the animals.

Grandpa feeding an animal while Leslie looks on.

Miles and Leslie watching the camel eat.

Grandpa and Oliver

We also went the Surfside Beach, but it was a bust. The water was so full of seaweed we were unable to get in it. Plus the seaweed was washing up on the beach and there was several feet of it piled up. We did find an area were the beach had some sand we could play in so we stopped and built a sand castle. We were so sad the beach was not good! And to make matters worse, the swimming pools in the neighborhood were not open for the summer yet! We managed to find things to keep us busy and we had a good time. Paige's family stayed for a week and Bailey's family stayed for two weeks. It is always fun to have the kids and grandkids around.

 

Eric and I decided to invest on improving our patio. It was so small we couldn't fit our patio swing, table with chairs and grill on it. And of course the timing worked out that the workers were ready to start when the family was here. Isn't that the way it always goes. None the less, the improvements were made and we are happy with it. We enlarged the patio area and also had a pergola built over it. Eventually we hope to grow some grape vines over the pergola.

 

 

After  our kids left, we had Eric's sister, Karen and her family her for a few days. They had just moved to the area and their housing was not lined out yet, so they stayed with us. I am glad we are her so we could help out. They ended up getting a house that is about an hour away so unfortunately we don't get to see each other as much as I had hoped.

 

Now life has slowed down again for us. We are back to our normal routine, running and biking. I don't bike much, but Eric rides to work a few times a week. It's 24 miles to his work so it is quite a commute. I try to run 4 times a week. Each morning I go out, I hope for a cool crisp morning but I get hot humid sauna. I am trying to adapt to the climate because running outside is much better than running on the treadmill. Outside I get to see things like alligators, turtles, rabbits, crawdads, huge snails, frogs, various varieties of birds, snakes (which I don't necessarily like to see) and lots of different kinds of plant life.

 

The days are hot and humid so I basically hibernate in the house all day. I have developed a love for quilting. I have started several projects and enjoy my days watching old movies on Turner Classic Movies and sewing.

 

We are going back to Wyoming in a couple of weeks to attend the Robertson Family reunion. We are looking forward to visiting with not only our kids, but most of  Eric's siblings and their families and also his extended family. This is the last Robertson reunion that will include Robertson aunts, Uncles and cousins as the funds that were set up by Eric's grand parents, Vernon and Gwen Robertson to pay for this type of thing have run out.

 

Eric is busy at this work. He found out today that a project he is working on will require him to spend some time in Kuwait. We thought originally it would be a couple weeks here and there, but it is looking like it will be more like a month at a time. That means I will just have to go to Idaho and Wyoming and visit while he is gone.

 

We are anxiously awaiting the return of our missionary. She only has 5 1/2 months left in Japan.

 

That is our life in a nutshell.

 

 

 



Visitors

A day at the Gulf of Mexico

My parents came to Texas to visit. I wasn't sure if they would ever be able to come. My dad's health is not great. He has a hard time getting around. So we were glad they were able to work it out so they could come. They are in the process of moving into a new house, but it is not ready yet so basically they are homeless and at the merci of their kids to provide them with shelter. Good thing we like them!

Some of the things we did were:
Went to the Highland games to listen to the bagpipers and enjoy all the Scottish stuff.
Attempted to drive to Galveston, but there was a wreck on the causeway and it was closed so we had to turn around. We did go on another day. It was a lovely drive.
 Mom and I did some shopping.
 Mom and I worked on some quilts.
We took walks around the neighborhood (with the help of a wheelchair for dad)
Over all we enjoyed to perfect weather.

Now they are off to Colorado to stay with Susan.

Arrivals!

Isaac and Kandace arrived in Texas to spend their spring break with us. We enjoyed a foggy, but fun day at the beach.

Grandma R. arrived in Idaho to play with this cute girl!

Easter Sunday arrived and so did cute Easters dresses.

The bees for our backyard beehives have arrived.

Logan Beach (Brother-in-Law) arrived in Houston to start his new job. Glad he was here to help the new bees move in.

Welcome to the world
Lela Cummings
4/14/14
6 lbs 14 oz
20.5 inches



 

Highlights of the last 4 months...

December:
Christmas in Wyoming!
After many flight cancelations and delays we finally arrived in  Cowley on Christmas Eve around 9:30 pm.


Christmas Morning! Abby was our only child that was able to be with us this year.  We spent Christmas morning with Grandma Flash and Bob.
 

On December 27, 2013 we had the opportunity to attend the weddings of our Nephew and Niece in the Billings, Montana LDS Temple. It was a beautiful day!

Sam and Ailina Davidson



Chris and Susie Brinkerhoff

I thought it was very kind of them to choose to get married on the same day in the same temple  a couple of hours apart.:) It was especially fun for me to get reacquainted with the Brinkerhoff family. That family played and continues to play a significant roll in the Whiteman family.

After celebrating Christmas and weddings in Wyoming, Abby and I made our way to Idaho! I was freaking myself out about snowy slick roads (I am a Texas driver now) but luckily we had perfect roads all the way, even Island Park was good!

We drove past the old house. It looked so empty. Our name was still on the mailbox!

We got to spend over a week in Wendell/Buhl with Paige's family.

January:
Isaac and Kandace drove over from Boise and we rang in the New Year with them! Happy 2014!! On January 3rd we spent the day in Boise. What a delight it was to go to the Boise LDS Temple with Kandace.

We forgot to take pictures when we came out of the temple so I snapped this one when we were stopped at a red light.

 

January 9th found us back on the road to Idaho Falls. Eric was flying in that evening in preparation for Isaac's wedding. We were able to visit our good friends, the Johnsons. We really miss them! Also, Abby, Paige, and me spent the day in the beauty shop getting our hair done for the wedding. Oh how I have missed Jen Polson! She knows just what to do with my mane. We spent all day Friday decorating for the wedding reception.

Wedding Day! January 11, 2014
We were so worried about the weather. The forecast was for strong winds, rain/snow. Hey it is Idaho in January. However, mother nature smiled on us for a good part of the day and all of our wedding guest were able to travel safely, we were able to get some good photos outside the temple and all was well.

Just coming out of the temple...the new Mr. & Mrs. Isaac Robertson

The Groom...when did my boy get old enough to get married?

For Time and All Eternity

I love this picture!

Beautiful Bride!

Photo with the grandparents. So glad they were able to brave the roads and come.

With some of Isaac's siblings. We miss Bailey and Miranda!

Almost all of us. Bailey's family was unable to come since she was too close to having a baby and Miranda is on her mission in Japan.
 

February: New Baby Oliver arrives!

February 26, 2014 our fourth grandchild arrives. Oliver Robertson Clark. He is our second grandson and the second boy for Bailey and Chad.

Oliver Robertson Clark
7lbs. 13oz.

Looking at Grandma and probably wondering, Who is this crazy lady?

Playing with Miles. We lined up all his cars and trucks many many times!

Miles laying on the quilt that Bailey and I made for Oliver.

We went to the mall one day and Miles picked me to ride the carousel with him, yippee!
 

March:
 Happy 23rd Birthday Isaac Whiteman Robertson!

What a cute baby you were!

Well, there you have it. Our lives for the past couple of months in a nutshell. Looking forward to April when grandbaby number 5 arrives.

 

Life is Good!




Thanksgiving

I have been a slothful blogger as of late. That is probably because Eric and I are not very exciting.

We did go to Wyoming for Thanksgiving. It was nice to visit with my family in Evanston and eat Thanksgiving dinner at my niece's house in Green River. All of my sibling were able to be at Thanksgiving dinner.

We stayed a couple of night in Laramie. It is fun to see the changes on the campus at UW. We also ran into some old college friends, Jeff and Debbie Anderson when we were eating at Chili's. We visited my Aunt Lucy Thompson for a few minutes, went to a movie with Abby,  and visited with Gwen's family.

Once again I set out to count my blessings. Here are some things I am grateful for in 2013.
Eric, Paige, Brent, Bailey, Chad, Isaac, Kandace, Miranda, Abby, Leslie, Brooke, Miles, new babies that are coming this next year, mom and dad, The Savior, beautiful home, Eric's job, great in laws, water filters (Texas water tastes bad),  cars that work, good health (especially after being sick for a month back in May), technology, modern medicine, airplanes, nature, T.V., music, kind people, sisters, brothers, missionaries, temples, prophets, apostles, church buildings, Advil, seasons, glasses so I can see small print, synthroid, food, curling irons, make-up, shoes, clothes, good friends old and new, ability to read, teachers, priesthood, prayer, faith, feather pillow, hot showers, sunshine, clouds, air conditioning, google maps/gps, crock pots, shampoo & rinse, combs, vacuums, washer & dryer, refrigerator, oven, fingernail clippers, foot rubs, padded church benches, physical body, heat, Sunday treats, bobby pins, flowers, color, Pres. And Sister Rasmussen, good neighbors, courteous drivers, FaceTime with my grand children and kids...I could go on, but I won't. The point is I recognize I am truly blessed.

We are not old fuddy duds!

We were face-timing with our kids when they were carving pumpkins, and Isaac asked us if we were going to  to be be fun or be fuddy duds since we no longer had kids at home to make us carve pumpkins. Well, I went right out (the next day) and bought some pumpkins and we carved them up!

Happy birthday Eric!

October 27-
Happy birthday to my sweet husband. Birthdays that fall on Sundays are not very exciting. He spent the morning in meetings, then church, then home teaching, and then choir practice. Finally at 9:00 pm we got to have a birthday treat...ice cream with home-made chocolate fudge sauce.  Here is the birthday boy with the new tie that Miranda sent him from Japan.