Grammy's Happy Place

"45 Years and More!!!

2010-02-26T06:44:00.000-08:00

How time flies when we are having fun! This is the same weather we experienced 45 years ago in Soda Springs. The storm was so bad we couldn't drive to Pocatello to celebrate our Wedding. We were to stay at the "Lamplighter Motel". We have had many Happy Times, Many Trials and Most of all Many Learning Experiences! We hope to have more to come! Our reward is our Great Kids and Grandkids! Thanks Family We Love You!

Conor's 12th Birthday!

2010-01-28T10:07:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has been 12 years since he came into this world. That is when I quit work at AAA Travel to care for him so his mom could go back to work.

2010-01-08T15:40:00.000-08:00

Christmas day with the boys!

2010-01-08T15:35:00.000-08:00

It was fun having the family together as we celebrated Christmas. It would have been nice to have Mike's family with us too. They are always in our thoughts and we are looking forward to spending time with them this summer.

Dan's Birthday!

2010-01-08T14:35:00.000-08:00

Here it is!

2009-11-25T17:39:00.000-08:00

This board was made by Duane Stokes, husband of Pam. He will be glad to make it for anyone and ship it. He is working on the price. It comes with the plug in strip which holds 3 plug-ins. He will paint it then you can decorate it. I have used mine for over a year and it works GREAT!.

Plug-in boards

2009-11-25T17:34:00.000-08:00

2009-11-22T19:15:00.000-08:00

Bears, Bears, Bears

2009-11-22T19:07:00.000-08:00

Some of you have seen our brave and ferious cat just waiting for the bear to come down from the tree. The bear was so afraid of the cat he stayed in the tree for 12 hours, whining, coming down the tree and then racing back up and finally I had to chase him off at 5:30am the next morning. He went to tell his friend and the friend came back climbed the tree and cleaned out the bird feeder.

Since then we have had a bear that thinks he has to play in our fish pond, pulling the pump out and squirting the water out on the ground. The funny thing is he has never, so far been able to catch the 5 gold fish in the pond.

I'm thankful I could enjoy the wildlife out here.

It's time to take a break!

2009-11-02T15:25:00.000-08:00

That was a lot of leaves and he still has more to go.

Fall is Here (and so is the clean-up!

2009-11-02T09:09:00.000-08:00

Cliff came home from his Virginia trip to find many leaves to be cleaned-up and so he is doing his best to complete the job before the winter comes on us. We love living in the woods and really enjoy the deer and even the bear even though they both can be a bother when it comes to all the flowers getting eaten up and the pond being torn apart because a bear wants to get my fish but we survive. and still love it.

Okay, mine doesn't look as good as it tastes!

2009-09-29T20:10:00.000-07:00

But you really need to check out Vicky's cake on her blog. It is just the cutest and most awesome ever. Somehow if you know Vicky you know it is her cake. All it needs is a frog!!!

Great job, Vicky!

Is this how it is suppose to look?

2009-09-10T19:22:00.000-07:00

Vicky and I are taking a fondant and gum paste class from Michaels and we are learning a lot.

This is our calilily. It was fun and we have two more classes. I did have a success in covering a cake with the fondant. I made my own fondant which does taste a whole lot better than the store bought but I had little powdered sugar lumps. Oh well, it was my first try.

From Primary to Seminary!

2009-09-10T19:17:00.000-07:00

I teach the CTR class which consists of from 3 years to 8 years and this is Davey with one of my Seminary Students and I don't have many. That is what happens in a small branch. We are pretty close in our little branch and we love it here.

Sometimes you need a watchful eye in the forest!

2009-08-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

Our trees have personality even though they don't keep the bears away from the bird feeder. The air is cooling and I know we will soon be seeing the leaves changing colors and then comes winter. It seems this summer has gone way to fast. I don't even remember enjoying the sitting on the back deck and watching the deer and squirrels. My favorite time is at dusk as the sun is going down the fireflies come out and do their little dance and make the back yard a twinkling forest.

2009-07-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

Tucker and Grandpa are paddle boating. Who do you think is doing the most peddaling? They had fun playing and checking for the fish as Isaiah was fishing. It was two weeks of fun at the Hershey Thousand Trails park. I enjoyed it because I was close enough to home to run home and still do my Scentsy and pick up a few more grandkids and bring them back for a few days.

When they weren't fishing, swimming, or boating they were playing DS - Sims Animals. They kept busy with all the activities like the scavanger hunt where they came in first and won free ice cream cones.

The Gettysburg Bike Tour!

2009-07-23T19:53:00.000-07:00

Pat took Tucker, Conor and Isaiah on the Bike Tour of Gettysburg battlefield. It was great fun and even though the rain soaked them good they never complained because they were having so much fun. Tucker loved being with the big boys and even though he is just learning to ride he could go along. What a good dad Pat is and what an education they can receive as they toured this very special place. Many of our ancestors lost their lives fighting for our freedoms.

The Graduation Cake! Woops!!!!!

2009-07-05T16:02:00.000-07:00

This was Rachel and Prenna's Graduation Cake made with dark chocolate, very dark chocolate with a lot of Black Coloring. Well maybe a little too much black coloring.

Grandparents Rewards!

2009-06-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

Parents struggle to make sure their children get good educations, growing up to be an asset to the world and not a burden and watch their children gain self-confidence and wonder what is to come in future years.

After those kids have grown and now have grown children of their own and you sit back and watch, it is our reward to watch these grandchildren achieve and grow.

Rachel has given us that reward as she has worked hard to obtain her goal of graduation from High School and received the High Acheivers Award from her school and now sets out to become a professional skater. She started her new job at Dorney Park entertaining the amusement park goers as she joins international skaters performing 3 times a day on week days and 4 times on Saturday and Sunday.

School is almost out and Summer is on it's Way!!!

2009-06-02T19:27:00.000-07:00

Miranda was so happy to have her big brother, Anthony come to her pre-school graduation. He lives in New York City and she doesn't get to see him very often.

Sometimes the tranquility of your life comes from your own backyard!

2009-05-11T10:10:00.000-07:00

I love Spring and the new growth with the tranquility of simple things.

2009-04-28T16:14:00.000-07:00

It's Craft Show time and I made aprons for children. I noticed as I was shopping for kitchen utensils for children that the toy sections in the stores don't carry many cooking utensils but lots of dress up and make up items. I just felt that we need to teach our children the art of homemaking. Every child should know how to do simple tasks to help at home.

2009-04-03T07:20:00.000-07:00

It's Pickled Egg time at the Fitzsimmons Home! There is nothing as good as a cold pickled egg with your salad or just eating it as a little snack.

Here is the recipe so enjoy!

Pickled Eggs from the Fitzsimmons Home

1 gallon glass jar- empty 3 cups vinegar 3 cups sugar 2 cups water

2 - 16 oz pickled beets (sliced or whole) 1 - 6oz bottle of Jalapeno peppers (sliced or whole)

1 large onion-sliced 3 doz eggs, boiled and peeled

Heat the vinegar, sugar, water, juice from beets, and jalopeno peppers with juice. Bring it to a boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Layer the hard boiled eggs with onion slices and beets. Then pour hot juices over the eggs and seal with lid. Refrigerate for 1 week. Enjoy!

A Sunday afternoon with Pam and Miranda

2009-03-22T15:08:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it is just fun to get away for awhile and go to our old ward with Pam's family. We met our friends and it was like a reunion. Miranda is growing so fast. I am just so worried I am going to miss some of her cute antics. It is hard to believe she will be going to Kindergarten next year. How time flies when you are having fun. And Life is Fun. Just wish I could spend more time with my grandchildren because they change so fast.

Wishing you "Thee Luck of Thee Irish"

2009-03-09T13:56:00.000-07:00

Sometimes ya just gotta have a lot of luck to be with these guys!

Two Buddies Tucker and Miranda

2009-02-24T20:46:00.001-08:00

SHARING IS SO MUCH FUN WITH A COUSIN! Tucker is sharing his mp3 with Miranda. I wonder what kind of music they like. They are the best of buddies and can't wait to be together. That is what cousins are for.

Tucker's Big Day

2009-02-24T20:37:00.000-08:00

Tucker and his dad are getting ready to make the big step. What a great day! It was a special day for all of us and It just doesn't seem possible that he can already be 8 years old. I'm thankful that he could still be my buddy. Tucker and his dad look so handsome in their whites.

Can't wait till Summer!

2009-02-08T20:50:00.000-08:00

It seems like it has been a looooooong winter. Maybe because I am not in Florida this year. This picture just reminds me of the good times we had with Pat and Pam and families at Outer Banks. This is Miranda and Tucker playing on one of the Sand Dunes. We had to take 4 wheel vehicles to get back to the rental houses, which you can see one in the back ground. What fun we had and am waiting for more of the same.

It was a fun vacation with Pat and Shauna and family, Bucky and Joni, Pam and Miranda and Vicky and Cliff and I. We enjoyed the wild horses when we could see them and loved strolling along the beach with the ocean crashing around us.

2009-01-31T19:30:00.000-08:00

Miranda the Elephant

2009-01-31T18:58:00.000-08:00

We went to the Circus * that is Miranda's school Circus program. We saw Lions and clowns and tight rope walkers and ponies and Elephants.

There isn't anything better than a school program, especially when it is your grandchildren performing.

Fun with Vickie on Scentsy Cruise

2009-01-25T19:30:00.000-08:00

This is our visitor to our cabin on the Cruise Ship. Here we are with Kristin and Katie.

What fun we had on the Scentsy Cruise! I am so glad Vickie could put up with me and it was a beautiful week and we didn't wind up in the Ensenada Jail because Vickie wanted special made bracelets for the boys. It was 14 degrees back in PA so I really enjoyed the Catalina and Ensenada warmth. I made lots of new friends and loved all the pampering from the cruise line.

Thanks to Scentsy for arranging this cruise for us. It was fun to get away and relax and learn while enjoying the Sunshine and great company.

Dr Ron's Family

2009-01-12T17:36:00.000-08:00

Most of you know Dr. Ron as aka Ronnie Dean Weeks but it has been a very long time since we have had a visit with he and Lisa, say about 14 years or so, when they got married. Wow how time flies when we are having fun.

It was great to see them even it we couldn't spend more time in North Carolina.

Let's get together more often.

Christmas isn't Just for Kids!

2008-12-29T16:43:00.000-08:00

Christmas is for Families! Families are blessings from Heaven. We started out with Cliff Vicky and I and slowly added Pat's family then went to Pam's house and added her family and Dan met us there with his family and Shauna's family came for Dinner. What a house full! We were only missing Mike and his family which makes us feel sad but we will keep working on that one.
Lots of DS's and new cameras and we always love Joe's garage sale gifts. Abram loves his new camera and takes lots of pictures and Dan gets to delete most of them, you know, like a picture of the ceiling and his leg and such. I love to watch the cousins helping each other with their games. Grandpa makes a good subject for Abram and Conor is helping Grace with her game. It's been pretty quite at Grandma's house with all the DS's.
To all our friends and family, May you have a Great New Year filled with all the blessings you so much deserve.

Baby, It's cold outside!

2008-12-19T16:36:00.000-08:00

Every season has it's own kind of beauty. In January 2004 we survived an ice storm that wiped out all power for a week. We were glad we had the motorhome to go into and stay warm and we had a way to cook our meals. We even had a way to watch videos. The ice bent the trees down so far that they clanked on the car as we drove down the street. It was beautiful but we were glad when we had electricity back on. Isn't it interesting how much you take for granted until you don't have it. I am thankful for the warm comforts of our home in the woods.

Slippin' and Sliding at Grammy's House

2008-12-07T18:51:00.000-08:00

Miranda and Pam love playing in the snow at Grammy's house. Lots of hills to slide down. Then its time to come in and get warm and maybe even have some fresh baked cookies with a glass of cold milk. Yum Yum!!!! This picture was taken the winter of 2007 after Grammy and Pop Pop got back from Florida when they thought they stayed in Florida long enough to miss the cold weather but the weather man fooled us.

Cliff and Tyler doing what they like Best! On the Road!

2008-11-06T19:31:00.000-08:00

These two guys, Cliff and Tyler - the dog, love going places in the motorhome. There is no place like home unless it is in the motorhome heading down the road. They want to be on the road for 3-6 months out of next year. That is a little too long for Erva so we will just have to see what happens.

Retirement for Cliff and Scentsy work for Erva

2008-11-06T19:19:00.000-08:00

We are loving retirement, Erva from watching grandchildren and Cliff from Atlantic States Cast Iron Pipe where he worked for 16 years and another 15 years for their sister company in Utah. We love living in Pennsylvania but miss the West where Mike Vickie and boys are. We live in the Pocono Mountains which are rolling hills compared to the Wasatch Mountains but they stay nice and green through the summer and in the fall we have very beautiful colors.