Tig-n-Pooh

Could we just skip March and go right to APRIL?

2011-03-21T14:51:00.000-07:00

I am looking out my window at gloomy skies and dreary colors....I know this does not sound like me....hang in there I'll be right back, I think, as soon as April get here. But all is not grey and gloomy...there peeking their pale purple faces out at me from the cold Earth are dozens of happy, brave little crocuses that don't seem to mind the cold wind, the flurries of snow or the grey sky as they open each morning to herald the coming of Spring. I love my brave little harbingers of Spring.

I love the green spears of tulips and daffodills and grape hyacynths and Star of Bethlehem that will soon glorify my gardens. I can hardly wait to get my fingers in the dirt and stir things up again this year. My flowers never really know where they will sit each year because I have so much fun moving things around to get a new look each year. Yes, I'm getting too old for this as my body groans a little more each year and some day things will stay as they were the year before but I still look forward to SPRING!

Yesterday as I sat by my livingroom window I was tickled by the tiny juncos (sparrows) that flit and fly around the ivy growing up the chimney and has made it's way towards framing the big window by the chimney. For several years now they have made nests in the ivy (they must love the warmth of the chimney) and have raised their young as I have watched in awe. they chirp and chrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr and flit and swoop and do balancing acts on the leaves and stems of ivy as they teach their babies to 'be brave and fly' . Of course they are just in the 'new nest' building and old nest refurbishing mode now but the babies will come. I can't wait!

Thanks Annie for the new background, I LOVE IT and it lifts my spirits. Like my daddy always said about this time of year:SPRING HAS SPRUNG, THE GRASS HAS RIZ..I WONDER WHERE THE BIRDIES IS !!!

Will I ever learn?

2011-02-18T09:43:00.000-08:00

Hello again blogger world,
Annie has been on the phone with me for about an hour trying to help me change my background and post a 'new post'. Well, you will notice that my background HAS NOT CHANGED but I did manage to add some new words of wisdom.....wait, I'm too tired now to think of anything wise....so I'll just be a wiseguy and say that blogging is not for the faint of heart or those over (however old I am).....!

I will not give up! I will learn this art of blogging because I do not things like this conquer me and I think this is fun (as long as one of my daughters or D-I-L-'s hold my hand...thanks girls for being patient with me). I will post a few words now and then until I master this and then you may even see a new background or two and then.............who knows I may even add a pic. or two when I am brave....yes, ON MY OWN!

Dad and I are loving our mission.....this is definitely MISSION HEAVEN. The Humanitarian Program of the Church is sooooo amazing and such a wonderful missionary tool throughout the world. Someone said of the Humanitarian Effort....."The first two agencies on the ground in a disaster is always THE MORMONS and THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS!" Funny how that works.:)

Dad and I have been invited to BYU Women's Week to be in charge of the Humanitarian Dept. display and booths in the Wilkensen Center and the Richards Bldg. We will be in Provo April 27-30. We are both so excited, not only to see our Utah kids but to be a part of the Humanitarian program. Yep, this IS mission Heaven! lov mom

2010 Labor Day to Mid November Catch up!

2010-11-14T20:09:00.000-08:00

Hi again family and friends...Melanie again saved me from Blog oblivion and here we are at Labor Day at the Conover's annual tree house re-building the treehouse celebration. I can't possible tell you how many times this tree house has been built and re-built but it seems like labor day is the day for it and Mike, Annie and Amy's family came to help with the destruction and construction project. I will tell you that the tree got a MAJOR haircut and the treehouse got a new facelift, some shutters, a new upper level trap-door window and a wonderfully creative paint job (grandchildren handprint flowers) thanks to Missi and Annie. Not counting having a tree limb falling on the phone and electiec wires and totally disconnecting them we had a grand time and the tree house will never be the same.....we are lovin' the new look. Amy, Nick and the girls, Kendra and Lorrena, dove right in with enthusiasm and muscle and Nick and the chain saw did wonders to our trees.................................Thanks guys

Mike was amazing at trimming not only the treehouse tree (which was almost dead anyway) but other trees that badly needed haircuts too...........He was a workhorse for many hours........

The kids all worked too....jumping, eating, jumping some more and then up and down the ladder to check out the treehouse progress........................

This is the lower level of our famous treehouse (especially designed by Brett last Labor Day for the little people in our family) This is like the clown car at the circus...how many grandkids can you fit in the treehouse?

After lunch Missi and I enjoyed the shade and the swing while all the others had to get back to the job at hand.....................Missi got back to work too but I spent a lot of time on the swing.....grandma's time to hold the babies!

Annie painted vines and flowers on the back side of the house after cutting and installing shutters on all the windows....She and Missi had the kids put their hands in paint and put all the handprints of the grandkids on the vines for flowers.....cute touch...........Jordan, Brett and Emilie worked on the top level putting the trapdoor window opening in place.

In Sept we went to Provo to meet our newest grandson, Trae Jared Conover. he evened out the girls and boys.....14 of each now. O.K. Who's next?

Ray and I are loving our Mission.....yes, with all the fun we are having we are really on a two yr. mission in the Humanitarian Room. This is mission heaven for us and we can't believe it has already been about 9 months. Here are some of our volunteers and Missionaries and Elder Conover, who ties quilts with the best of them. We love serving in the room and also visiting wards in our temple district to speak about the HSR (Humanitarian Service Room)

In Oct. we got to go to Elko with Mike and Missi's and Roxanne's families. We had a great visit with Brett and Annie and the kids. We loved watching Annie coach Madi and Brooke's soccer teams. After the games we had a family soccer game.....it was a hoot! Yes, even I played and was a goalie along with any of the grandkids that were tired of running after the ball.

Cody thought riding mommy Roxanne was more fun than watching soccer......

It was a very hot, very sunny day and the little ones had a whole field of grass to run and play on. There was a huge Hot Air Balloon there as part of a festival going on in the same park and even the soccer players had a hard time not watching......hey get back on the field kids.

Little Conner knows exactly what to do with a soccer ball.................sit on it!

Annie the coach and little Brooke............they just seem to little to be in uniform but they sure are cute.

Then I got to spend a week with Jared and Lindsay and help with our little BYU fan.........Trae!

I just can't get enough of these little ones. You cannot take too many pictures you know! Trae Jared Conover is such a sweet mellow little guy.

Conference weekend brought Bob and Linda Kohler to our house and then we all went together for a runaway weekend to Boise. We watched Conference and ate and watched Conference and ate some more and had a great time just laughing and being friends. We are so blessed to have such special friends.

After that Dad and I went to SLC for three days to the humanitarian Conference with all the Supervisors of all the other (20) HSR in the Church. We met some great people and learned so much about our responsibilities. It made us even more grateful for our mission and the Humanitarian Program of the Church.

Now we are in SLC again and Provo for the blessing of little Trae.....this is not him............but I had to show you how darling little Kali Anne (Shon and Roxanne's) is now. It was only a few months ago that we were in Arizona for her blessing.............

Yup, this one is Trae...........gma and gpa just love these special occasions. He's getting so big already.................Thanks Jared and Lindsay for a great day.

Presenting...............the Newest Conover baby and his glowing parents. Jared and Lindsay you certainly do good work.......and Trae, you are just tooooooooooo cute!

Thank you all for your fun blogs and for keeping me posted more often than I do you......see you in (probably) six more months.....lov mom, Aunt Carol, pooh, and gma oh, and Carol!

2010-06-07T09:58:00.001-07:00

2010-06-07T09:31:00.000-07:00

Hi Bloggin' friends and fam...I am just logging in to give you a preview of my last month on the road. I have been to Sierra Vista, Arizona (Fort Huachuca) just about 15 miles from the Mexican border....to visit Shon and Roxanne and family. I was joined after two weeks by Ray and Brett and Annie's family for the blessing of little Kali Anne Conover, Shon's little angel.

Life with Shon is always an adventure and he took us all to Parker Canyon Lake to enjoy the cool breeze, water and fun. The kids had so much fun with grandpa and Uncle Shon on the lake.This is our # 27 grandchild (the girls are ahead by one now but with the birth of Jared and Lindsay's little boy in Sept. it will be 'even- steven' again) Meet beautiful Kali Anne Conover. We all got together in Utah at John and Melanie's for a (Shon to Afgahnistan) sendoff a month or so ago and while the guys played the girls made Kali's blessing dress. Thanks all you wonderful daughters for helping us get this done. It was pure joy to be there when this one came to Earth. She is delicate and beautiful and so mellow and hugable.

Kali Anne in all her finery. She really is a darling. It was amazing how Cody (big Brother now) grew the day they brought Kali home from the hospital.

It was so fun to have grandpa come for the blessing day. Thanks Annie and Family for bringing him to Arizona. John and Melanie deserve a big Thank you for fitting me in to their vacation and getting me to Mesa too. Life is so precious and children and grandchildren grow up all too fast. I am so grateful to be able to be a part of the grandchildren's lives and special days. I am also thankful for wonderful children and son and daughter-in laws that make me feel welcome and loved while I am with them. Thank you all so very much. Dad and I appreciate and love you all so dearly.

A wonderful Mama

2010-05-03T13:42:00.000-07:00

Now I know that you all know how Amazing Carol is but since she gave me her info to help her change her background I have the opportunity to hack in and tell everyone how thankful I am for her. Carol has been many things to me...an inspiration, example, shoulder to cry on, support, friend, confidant someone to giggle with (one of my favorites) and the list goes on. Never would I have thought that I could have been to blessed to have such a great woman in my life. I am grateful to her each and every day of my life for being the kind of person she is. For how much she loves me and most especially for giving me the greatest gift in my life....my Johnny! Thank you for loving me no matter what and walking beside me through the ups and downs of life! I love you, I love you, I love you!

Happy Mother's Day Mama!
Love Melanie

Grandma's on the Move again

2010-03-13T08:32:00.000-08:00

What I need is a time travel machine..no a 'twinkler' you know twinkle me from place to place. Christsmas was in Arizona with Shon and Roxanne...then home for a day then dad and I flew to Oregon with Jeff and Katie then off to Utah to see a 'blast off' with Mike's family then home for a few days then off to Elko with Amy for a visit with Brett and Annie's bunch then home again rig-a-jig-jig. Now I am in Utah with John and Mel's fam and we will be back here next weekend to see all the Conover kids that can come give Shon a sendoff for Afganistan. he will be deployed in June. Loved our visit with M&M's fam and Jared and Lindsay....went to a BYU bb game with them and John's fam.....wow, it's been almost 40 years since I sat through a BYU game. I loved it!

crazy g-kids just hanging out at the BYU game.....causing havoc and comotion all around me....and I love every minute of it.

We were in the nose bleed section but it was so fun just beeing there and we could see every lousy call the referee's made :)

Yep, here I really am at the game with Missi and Jared beside me....It was a sold out croud and lots of noise and excitement. I didn't even cry when we barely lost because I was having so much fun and it was such a nailbiter game.

You know me and my camera....we just snap, snap snap....seagulls landing, seagulls taking off!

This is my long-time 'best friend' Linda Kohler and I when they (Bob and Linda) came for a weekend of just hanging out. We love the Kohlers so much....They were here for Valentine weekend.

Are'nt they darling......They send their love to all our kids who are really 'their kids too' they say.

My dolly, Natalie (Jeff's youngest) and her dolly. I was priviledged to stay an extra two weeks with them after Dad had to fly home (back to work...slave driver that I am).

I even got to witness Natalie's first walk across the room....wowie!

2010-03-05T20:29:00.000-08:00

Hello Blogging World! So many times I have started to change my Blog and then I get intimidated and make excuses and dash to load the dishwasher or worse yet, I may even fix supper....now that is drastic fear of technology. For Christmas this year I was given an I-Pod and a laptop (well, Ray says it is his really) but my children are determined to get me to move into the 21st century.....I now can listen to music with things in my ears with the best of them...and I can pull up the internet while waiting in the Airport and look cool with all the rest of the travelors. So perhaps there is hope for this grandma and now Annie (I'm visiting in Elko for a couple of days) is helping me learn to change the background of my Blog so I can be 'seasonal' like the rest of you. I do love all the cute backgrounds you use....and yes, I do check your blogs from time to time and love all the updates. I am even thinking of putting some more pictures of our adventures since last Sept.....our most recent adventure began a week agao when we were set apart to be Humanitarian Missionaries for the next two years. WE ARE SO EXCITED!!! We will stay in Twin Falls, live in our own home (I am so thrilled) and serve as coordinators of the Humanitarian Room in the Deseret Industries here. We will be supervising 5-8 other missionaries also called to serve in the HRS. So far it has been a great experience and we look forward to every day. The room is open Tue, Wed, and Thur. from 10am to 4pm so Ray is still working for the Driving School in the off hours and off days. Come see us and spend an hour in the HR anytime. You'll love it!

Day we were set apart

2010-03-05T19:49:00.000-08:00

picts are a bit mixed up but this is in the HRoom...we took the fam over after we were set apart to show them what 'gma and gpa would be doing on their mission...the gkids had a fun time pretending to tie a quilt and looking in every nook and cranny.

Bishop White set us apart in the RS room on Sat. Feb. 18...it was so wonderful having this many of our family with us.....we missed the rest of you.

My father and sis joined us that day....Lea is also serving as a Humanitarian missionary now and we love having her in the HR with us.

I loved showing the little ones all the big indrustrial sewing machines I get to us now. Wow this mission is like sewing heaven for me. Truly, Ray and I feel so greatly loved and blessed by our Heavenly Father to have called us at this time to this mission and we will serve Him and His children to the best of our ability.

Aha... Life goes on

2009-10-13T21:53:00.000-07:00

My mom passed away Aug. 3, 2009 and I really miss her but I love knowing that she is busy and happy and definitely in HEAVEN. This is my favorite picture.....taken at John and Melanie's home in SLC Mother's Day 2007. We celebrated the birth of our 26th grandchild in August. Amy and Nick welcomed Lorrena Camille (Lorren) to their family. What fun it was to bring Kendra (18 mo.) to the hospital to see her new sister.

I love to capture the moment and this one was truly precious....Kendra just couldn't get enough of holding her newest toy...............................'Lo-Lo'

Then I had a spur of the moment trip to Portland and a few days with Jeff and Katie. What fun...but I was sad that Dad couldn't come too. I got to see Jacob's football practice and Jeff as his coach. Those Conover boys are all the same on the field.....intense! Also I had so much fun sketching Jacob and Sami....they were amazing to sit for me. Now I want to draw all my grandchildren.

After Portland I just had to run to Elko and visit Annie and her family. Here are my next two subjects for drawings. Ben and Conner are not so willing to sit still so I took a million (of course) pictures to choose my subject from.

Now this is truly a picture for a baby magazine.....Conner just can't quit smiling and those big blue eyes......wow! Brett and Annie are busy with these little boys (and Madi and Brooke)

Ray and I are preparing to go on a mission..........hopefully turning in papers the first of the year if things go well. We are excited and working hard to get the house and ourselves ready.

Week at Mark & Lindsays

2009-08-28T11:32:00.000-07:00

Now you can join us for a week in Denver! Good-bye Mark and Lindsay (Hawaii here they come). Dad and I braced ourselves for De ja vu week with four little boys. I think Jack thought if he didn't wave goodbye maybe they wouldn't leave......

Dad was in boy heaven with a dog (Rocky) and four little boys and a baseball field all to ourselves.......

The weather was perfect for a swim almost every day and the boys loved the 'dolphin rides' on grandpa.

Dad and I divided forces and got to see the 'big three' (Tyler, Spencer and Bryce) practice football. Little boys in big uniforms really tickled me. This is Spencer in a perfect 3 point stance! Go Spencer!!!

We got to do the "back to school" night and help the boys on their first day of school.....so fun and brought back lots of memories.

Jack and Grandma had 'preschool' at home every day.....with his very own Preschool book!

Grandma met all the teachers at back to school night and went into each classroom the next week to teach a 'cartooning class' for Tyler, Spencer and Bryson. Bryson was tickled with his own 'self portrait' on the blackboard................

Sunday was amazing with these handsome boys. Mark and Lindsay, they were so good at church! Hey, what magic formula do you have to get them to sit so quietly?

The welcome home hug from Jack......Hugs for Dad.................. Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who's the tannest of us all....................! MARK !!!

Dad and I got to attend the Denver Temple Sat. morning (while everyone else slept in). This was our first time. It was a beautiful experience.....we love each new temple we get to go to. Our visit to Denver was wonderful.....Thank you, Mark and Lindsay for this time with your boys. Grandpa and I love bonding with our grandchildren and getting to know them better.

Welcome to the blogging world

2009-08-28T11:03:00.000-07:00

Hi, world of bloggers.....this is totally fun and exciting! Melanie and I are playing today and this is first on our agenda....get mom going in the world of blogging. O.K. I am a beginner so be nice to me as I learn.