Happy Birthday to Papa Bill!

Happy Birthday Gelder William Lewis. We were all so happy to celebrate your birthday today. Your favorite kind of party, too. A picnic at the pool. It was a great day. Now you are sitting at the kitchen table looking over your cards. Life just does not get any better than this! Love you, old man!

LINDSAY

Happy Birthday, sweet daughter Lindsay. I was 29 years young when you were born. Pretty close to your age right now. I was just a kid. So are you! You were a pretty easy baby! You were an awesome addition to our family. You are a wonderful daughter, wife, mommy, and sister. You have had a lot of adventures in your 28 years. You have accomplished a lot. You have a lot of inner strength. We all learn from you. I am so glad you had a fun weekend. I hope there is cake on your day. If not, we will take care of that when you come.

L--lookin' very foxy for an old married lady with two kids!
I--in the mood for a Coke. Anytime.
N--never miss a beat. Always dedicated to your family, every minute, every hour, every day.
D--definitely the fashion queen, with princess London coming on fast.
S--spunky and sassy. You stand up for yourself and your crew.
A--a schedule. You are always organized.
Y--Yes, to playdates, dinners for friends, letting your kids make messes, home school for three year olds, and crafts, crafts crafts.

LOVEYOUTONSLINDSAYZUNDELLEWISMATHIE

Pink Parfait

I have always wanted to go to Victoria Island and see the Butchart Gardens. Bill has wanted to go, too. So when we scheduled a trip to Seattle for Trace and Lisa's big event, we decided to go. I got my passport at the last minute. You CAN get passports within a week. Anyway, we took a ferry to the island on Sunday and spent the night. The island is GORGEOUS. On Monday, we walked around a bit, had a lovely lunch overlooking the "inner harbour", and then drove to the gardens. We spent about two hours there. Of course, my camera battery died, and so I was dependent on phone pictures. I did take a lot of them, and they are all on Facebook. The gardens were worth every bit of effort it took to get there, and then some. They are amazing! I think we would both love to go back. We are so grateful that we got to see them. Our trip was fun. Last night after we got home about 11:30, (after getting lost in IDAHO!!!), I said "Everything that was important went perfectly, and everything that was unimportant went wrong". Oh well. Most special of all to me about the gardens was the "Pink Parfait" rose. This is what was planted at my home when I was growing up, and it is what we have in our yard. To me, there is not a prettier rose. And the smell in incredible.

Congratulations Trace & Lisa!!!

Law and Order

Recently I haven't had much interest in Law and Order. I have seen them so many times that I just haven't been watching them any more. This last weekend was a Marathon. So I recorded a bunch. So after a VERY busy day of a funeral and getting ready to go out of town, I am watching an "oldie, but a goodie" instead of packing. So I wanted to share one of my favorite lines from L&O. It would be Adam saying to Jack, "Well, you got an innocent man to confess to a crime he didn't commit. Maybe this job is getting too easy for you." Love it! Love Adam, love Jack! My favorite pollster Scott Rasmussen did a poll on what TV show is missed the most! You guessed it!

Happy Birthday America

Today I was driving in to see Dad as I often do. I go past the Bountiful Cemetery on my way there. I pass this place about forty times a month, but I never have time to stop. Today was different. I had a little bit of time, and I decided to stop. About three years ago, I discovered this statue at the cemetery. It is AMAZING. Today I decided that it is going to be my tradition every July 4th! It is called "Appeal to Divine Providence". It is Ben Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. I love it! I also love the story of our country and the men and women that sacrificed, worked, and dedicated their lives to the cause of America.

Miracle Number Three

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!! I am reading the book called "The Seven Miracles that Saved AMERICA". The third miracle is the fog in New York during the revolution that allowed Washington's army to escape Long Island. It truly was a miracle. Part of this miracle is the Declaration of Independence. When we consider what today's Washington DC is like, it is more a miracle than ever. Thank you JOHN, THOMAS, GEORGE, and BEN. You deserve a lot more than one day of appreciation!!

"Gramma Farm"

I keep telling the kids that their kids are going to call me Gramma Farm. I get called a lot of different Gramma names, but not that. But every trip to my house includes a visit to our neighborhood Llamas. They love us, and we love them!

Cousins

Well summer is here, and I am looking for long stretches of time. Not finding those, but I am sleeping in a little, sunning a little, (well maybe more than a little), and relaxing a little bit too. Today I got to do something REALLY fun. I have this wonderful cousin named Patty that came for a visit from Virginia. I knew this because we are FACEBOOK FRIENDS!! Thanks to FB and Patty, mostly Patty, we got together today. She organized a lunch at Little America for all of us Zundel cousins and a few Andersons. Great food, great conversation, great fun!! Thanks, Patty. You are one classy Chi Omega STILL! By the way, I told Dad that Neil was coming for a week visit. I think he is fine with it. Don't discount that little idea. AND I think a "Cousin Reunion" was born.