October is here.

Hi. Well since the last time I wrote... Andrew turned 6 years old. He had a party at the park with friends and I think he had a great time. Courtney, Stacey, and Whitney worked to put his MARIO party together. They played pin the mustache on Mario, Mario matching game, and Mario bingo. It was fun to watch the kids. Doug was able to come up for the party and it was nice to have him there. Andrew's grandma and grandpa Giles were also at the Party. In fact Grandpa Giles had to get stitches put in his cheek because the party was so much fun, but that's another story. I think the party was a big hit. Yep, BIG 6. he is loving school and had a pizza party with his teacher and a few other students last week. He should be starting Jr. Jazz in a couple of weeks. He is excited.
Preston is getting so big. He is getting to be chatty. It is fun to listen to him. He can really sing. You can't recognize all of the words but he can carry a tune. He is a tough guy. I think I might have mentioned before that he had to have his chin glued because he cut it at school. He also had strep for a while and boy was he miserable. His mouth was so sore. Even not feeling good he tells me hi everyday and gives me a hug.
Izzy is getting so tall. She is talking and talking and talking...and she LOVES "Horton Hears a Who!" But she is not obsessive about it. I only had to watch it five times on Saturday. Poor Izzy now has what Preston had, I think. She is always quick with a "HI PAPA" for me.
Courtney is working at the hospital to get her hours for school and she is in the Surgical Room performing brain surgery on African range monkeys that have made it to the U.S. by hijacking weather balloon's. Okay, not really, but I had to see if you really were reading all of this. She loves being involved in the surgeries. She is doing well but I can tell she is ready to be done.
My two little twins had their 22nd Birthdays today! Ah they grow up so fast. Awesome. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROOKE and BRADEN!!
Brooke is doing well at her job and is just go, go, go. I don't mean she is a go-go dancer she is just very busy with work and school. I didn't get to see her much. Tim is doing well and his coaching seems to be going great. His team is kicking some butt. His calling offense and doing very well at it.
Braden, was here for the weekend. That was a surprise. He looks great and seems to be doing well. He has been on training exercises out in the field for the last 10 days, I think. Jamie was here for the last week and she is doing well. they have an apartment in San Clemente, California, and I think they are just minutes from the beach. Yes, I need to visit.
Whitney is doing well chasing after Isabelle. Of course if they are here Grandma can always get Izzy's attention with a Popsicle or candy. Whitney is working, working, working. Probably just to buy more sidewalk chalk since Isabelle and I have to color pictures each day. Right now Whitney is trying to decide on a Halloween costume. I am sure it will be crazy.
Speaking of costumes, Andrew is going to be a SWAT team member.Of course if you ask him he is "Barricade" the police car from Transformers. Preston is going to be "Bumblebee" the Transformer. He is excited about that. Isabelle is going to be a pink pony. Yes, a pony. It is a crazy costume.
Well lets see...Stacey had a little surgery to remove a lump (no, not me) and she is recovering, although her arm is sore with some blood clots from the IV. It is very painful. She is very tough.
I am just working and trying to get the lawn mowed each week. Other than that I don't do much around here. I am just another pretty face. Wow, that was stretching it pretty far.
Grandpa Quinn left three pumpkins on the porch for the kids so we are good to go for our Jack-O-Lanterns.
I don't know about you but I can't believe it is almost winter. We have already had some snow, and today I had to scrape the frost off of the windshield. Yuk!
I hope everyone is doing well. I will try to write again soon. I am not sure what soon is, as you can tell. Have a great week everyone.
Remember to be thankful for our kids, whether they are 1, 2, 3, 6, or even 22, what we do without them? That's rhetorical, do not send me a list of things I could be doing. See ya later.
See ya later.

Muddy, Muddy, Weekend

Well this last weekend was a little different. Stacey, Courtney, and Whitney ran in the "Dirty Dash" up in Heber. The race is at Soldier Hollow and is a 5K or a 10K race for charity. Every where on the trail are places where you are going to get wet and muddy. Doug, Andrew, Preston, Isabelle, and me went to watch them run. It was great. They did a great job. For not training, they all finished, and faster than I thought they would. Not that I thought they would be slow. The point that we were able to see them, they had to swing on a rope across a mud bog, then run up a hill (a long way) to a water slide, down the slide, then run to, and through, two 3-foot deep huge holes full of mud and water, then to the finish. They were all tired but had a great time. We had fun watching them participate. Now it's Sunday and they are all SORE! Good job girls! You did great!

End of summer

Well here I am setting in a hotel room in Denver with no place to go. I have already walked about 7 miles today. Up and down the 16th street mall, to Coors Field home of the Rockies, which by the way is BEAUTIFUL, of course it is a ball field, then I Walked clear up to the other side to the Capital Building so I could be exactly 5280-feet, yep one mile high above sea level. Well enough about my boring work trip. Let me give you an update on other things. Braden is now back at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California. He did absolutely great in his training back in Virginia. He is the only person they know of to go through the training scoring 100% on every test. No-one has done it before. Awesome. He received another promotion and is a Lance Corporal now. Jamie has been out to see him and they have an apartment in San Clemente, CA. She came back for is National Guard duty. Brooke is going to school and busy, busy, busy. Tim is now calling the shots for offense at Juan Diego. Pretty big step. Courtney back in school and three days a week they have her in an med-surg (yes, surgery)at the hospital. She is liking it although she has to be there early in the morning. Andrew is in Kindergarten and he loves it. He is doing so well. He loves his teacher Mrs. Nessen. She calls them kinderbugs and he thinks that it is pretty cool. Preston had to go to the hospital today because he cut his chin open pretty good at pre-school. They were able to glue it together though. He's tough. Isabelle is getting so tall and such a talker and a singer. She absolutely loves Dora the Explorer. She is a ton of fun, and she has her grandmas sweet tooth. Speaking of Stacey, She is still playing softball for Skywest and having fun. Oh yeah, we all went to Lagoon for my work party. The kids had a ball. Preston is not too keen on the kids ladybug drop ride. Andrew likes all of the rides, and Isabelle loved Bulgy the whale. even to the point of putting her hands in the air. The kids were fun to watch. So here we are and life goes on and leaves are starting to turn. Where does all the time go? Wasn't it just yesterday we were waiting for the rain to quit in June, so we could start Summer? Pretty soon the bikes, trikes, scooters, and power wheels will be put away an replaced with the snow blower, sleds, and shovels. I can wait. I hope everyone is well. Have a good, fun, fall season. We will try to also. Remember, Halloween is just around the corner...

Thank goodness for change.

Well tonight was Andrew's last T-ball game. His grandpa Giles was there to watch him play and he reminded me that I had not been writing. So here I go. Everything is changing... Soon my kids will all be married, the grandkids are getting big and doing more, and there has been a big yellow thing in the sky...I think it might be the sun.
Like I said Drew has been playing T-Ball and he is doing well. He probably throws better than anyone on any of the teams (of course I am grandpa and a Little bit one sided) seriously though he play pretty well. He can hit a pitched ball instead of from the tee (if I can toss him a pitch worth hitting) and he anticipates the ball being hit when he is in the field. It has been fun to help with the T-Ball team. BIG news... Andrew can ride a two-wheeler without training wheels. He was so excited he was jumping up and down yelling "I did it!" Preston is right behind drew all the way. He can't wait to be on the field. He is enjoying riding his power wheels four wheeler and fighting over everything with Isabelle. He and I are always teasing each other and he is always telling me "Don't Waaff" which means "don't laugh." He is so funny. Isabelle is getting taller and her features are changing. I guess that means she's growing. She is Preston's wrestling partner. They can scream and argue over everything. It's comical. Stacey is playing softball again with Skywest and a couple of weeks ago she was hit with a ball in the side and has a very nice bruise. She pitches and she plays the game well.
Braden has graduated from Boot Camp at the San Diego M.C.R.D. It was so good to see him. He looked great in his uniform. He was home for ten days (of which it rained 9 of the days) and it was good to have him around. We were able to go fishing on the only dry day. It was a lot of fun. He is now back in San Diego at Camp Pendleton for his Marine Combat Training and after that he will go to Virginia for a couple of months. It's odd to think he is in the military. Brooke and Tim are getting things together for her wedding on July 5, 2011. She has her dress, and it looks good on her. Sorry Tim I have no pictures. Things are a bit crazy, the wedding is coming up so fast. Stacey is organizing, checking on things, and doing as much as she can between flying and everything else she has going on. Courtney is back in school again. I think she is doing well. Every Saturday she works in American Fork at the Hospital. She seems to really like it, other than they are long days, and if you have not seen her lately she has been hoola-hooping, waking, and has lost weight. The problem is I keep finding it and putting it on me. Doug was up here last week. It was good to see him and you can tell the boys were glad to see him. Doug has now traveled up and back to Mesquite without any car problems. Yahoo!! I hope I did not just jinx the whole thing.
Whitney is working, working, working and doing well. Jason is flying now and stationed in Utah. Isabelle is the beauty queen. She is so fun. She is a water dog just like Preston. Those two are so much a like. She played in the water the other day until I was cold watching her. You need to see her ride her four wheeler. Thanks to Aunt Ginger she has a Pink Power Wheels 4-wheeler.
Other BIG news. Yesterday I received a text from Jayme. She is in the USA. She is in Washington. I am so glad she is in the U.S. I think she will be there for a couple of weeks and then she will be home. Is that cool or what?
Well, there has been a lot going on and I just have not had time to sit and write but I am glad I did today. Thanks for reminding me. Thank goodness for change. Braden has been home, Jayme is coming home, all of the grandkids are learning new things, Brooke and Tim are getting married.
I hope everyone has a great week. Be safe. Jayme, we can't wait to see you! Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful). Love ya.

Spring???

Well we woke up to six inches of snow this morning. I did not expect that. This weather is crazy and I want to go fishing. Two more weeks and Braden's graduates as a Marine. He is doing well and seems to like what he is doing. H was the top shot in his platoon and I know he was excited about that. I can tell that he has learned a lot while he has been gone. It seems like he has been gone for a year. I am really excited to go to California and see him graduate. I was able to talk to Jayme tonight via Skype. She is doing well and trying to get things in order to come home. I am not sure when the day is but I am excited to have her back. Courtney and the boys are back in Mesquite this weekend with Doug. They went hiking and looked at some petrogliphs ( I have no idea how to spell it) today. Andrew has been on medication for about two weeks now and, knock-on-wood, he has not had another seizure. That has been great. He just attended his kindergarten orientation. He was very excited and full of information when he came home. Preston is talking like crazy and wearing big boy underwear, yep a big step. Doug just had his Birthday he is 12. Well that's what drew told me. Jason is now flying for Skywest. He is doing well. The weird thing is that he is based out of Palm Springs, CA. So he continually needs to travel to California for work. Whitney and Izzy are doing well too. Isabelle is growing up too quick. Chatter bug, Chatter bug. Izzy and Preston can't seem to be outside enough. They love the outdoors. Brooke and Tim have work school and oh ya, a wedding to keep them busy. Stacey is busy with the wedding as well, and I am just trying to stay out of the way. Things are good except for last Monday I did something to my back. My back is somehow a pain in the butt. Preston, Andrew and I built a couple of tiny birdhouses last weekend. The boys did a great job. The houses are on our fence in the front yard and they look great. Andrew had his fist tee-ball ball games. As luck would have it we played in 30 degree wet weather. I am trying to help out the coach, and it is like herding cats. There are only four kids that know that you run to first after hitting the ball, and they are Andrew and three girls. Go girls. The rest of the team manages to run to the pitchers mound, second base, or third. Drew is having fun and I noticed that he actually anticipates the Ball being when each batter is up. That's cool. Well I an going to go back and put the heating pad on my back. Have a great week everyone.

Marching, marching, marching on!!!

I thought I would take a minute and let you know how Braden and Jayme are doing...Well we have received a couple of letters now from Braden who is at boot camp. First of all he wanted me to tell everyone who wrote to him THANK YOU very much. He was so glad to hear from you, and that the letters arrived at just the right time. He said that they have been practicing marching, push ups, pull ups, and running several miles each day. He said that he can climb a rope now and they have been issued their M16 rifles. He said that this week they begin swimming which he said was going to be a welcome change and he could give his feet a rest. After this week they go to the mountains for three weeks. All in all he sounds like he is doing well. He wants everyone to know that he misses loves you all. I was also able to talk to Jayme on Skype the other day. She looked great and is doing well also. It is starting to get hot in Iraq and it was already in the 70's there. She is working from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. She also wants everyone to know that she misses them and sends her love to you all. She comes home in about three months. It will be nice to have her here.
On another note, Isabelle (the really cute 1yr old redhead) has to have tubes put in her ears because she keeps getting ear infections. It will be nice to get them in and get her healthy. She is such a funny kid. Let me tell you, she runs the show. She is awesome.
Doug is in Florida at a Physical Therapy Training thing but I think it is just an excuse and he is just at Spring Training with out ME!
Brooke and Tim are going to Mesquite this weekend. She gets to take care of Daisy while she is there. I hope the drive safe and have fun.
Jason is finishing up his final weeks in ground training and I know it has been tough but he can do it. Whitney is doing a good job keeping things going while he is away.
I have not seen Andrew and Preston today but I am sure that drew is playing video games and Preston is playing with his trains. Courtney is doing well in her nursing and it has not been easy lately. I can't wait for Andrew to start T-ball. It will be nice to be out of the house. I don't know how we will keep Preston off of the field because he will want to do what his brother does. Preston is really start to talk up a storm.
Well its time to clean up and get ready for bed. Have a great weekend. Happy Fishing.

USMC - Marine Recruit Braden Quinn

Hi all. Well it finally came…Time for our Marine to leave home and go to Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California. Yep, he is a “Hollywood Marine”. Our family had dinner together Sunday night and after dinner Stacey and I took Braden to the hotel that they put the recruits up at. I think they do this so they know where the recruits are at 4:45 a.m. on Monday morning. I doubt Braden slept at all on Sunday night because he had a cold. On Monday morning I called the MEPS office (Military Entrance Processing Station) they person that answered said that they would “probably” swear the Marine recruits in between 11:00 and 1400 hours. Yes it was like setting an appointment with Comcast. I was able to see him sworn into active duty and it was cool. He was ready to go. It was great to see him although I hated to say goodbye again. That was a week ago already, and last night we received a call from a member of the Bishopric who said he had seen and talked with Braden. I was so glad to hear that someone had seen him. Braden has a bad cold but is doing ok. He said that he was very impressed with Braden. He said that this group of recruits were the best he had ever seen, and he has been a Marine since 1947 (Yes, he is retired). He gave me Braden’s address and told us to write as often as we could. He said that Braden will graduate on May 13. They have a parent’s day on May 12 where I think the recruits can show their parents around and introduce them to their officers and other recruits. So I can’t wait for May to get here. I will try to keep up a little better with my blog so that everyone can see how he is doing. Thanks to all of our family who helped out with the parties for Braden before he left. You guys are awesome! Taylor and Scott, thanks for going shooting with us before he left, it meant a lot to Braden and me. Thank you also to Braden’s friends who came to see him. It was great to see and meet all of you. Semper Fi Braden. We LOVE you. ( P.S. I think I can do 10 or 8 or maybe 2 pushups)

Almost Time

Well just a few more days and Braden goes into the Marines. This is really strange. We have not had anyone in the military and now we have Jayme and Braden. Braden and I spent last Friday together just goofing around at Cabela's and to a range to shoot the guns. It was nice to spend some time with him. He leaves on the 7th of February, which used to be miles away, but now is almost here. I saw Jayme on the webcam the other day and I felt so bad for her because she was sick. It was still great to see her. I am trying to find out if the Marines will let Braden fix our cars from San Diego. Maybe he could just text me how to fix them and keep them going. I hope he does well. He did get his motorcycle running and it sounds great. You know I like to ride the motorcycles, but his is so fast it scares the crap out of me. Well the Marines are lucky to be getting Braden. Love you Braden.