A NIGHT TO REMEMBER..........

A few weeks ago, Jon asked Jesika Combs to Prom. Around here it's customary to do something fun to ask your date. Like in September when Jon asked his date during a football game in front of the band and the entire stadium. Asking Jesika was problematic for the fact that he had bought a big bunch of mylar balloons and used stickers to write in spanish asking her to go with him. She can't read spanish (he knew that, but she makes fun of his spanish). He took the balloons to early morning seminary to put on her car, but she wasn't there. (they go to different stakes, diferent seminary) So he tried all day at school. He finally took them to her house and left them on the front door then had Josh call her and tell her to look outside.
Jesika called the house a bit later that day and asked me if she could come over when he wasn't there to give him her answer. She wrote her answer in Japanese on a big foam heart and decorated his bedroom door with it. It was fun!!
The big night was on Saturday. Jesika looked beautiful in her dress. She bought it during spring break in Orem when her family went to general conference. If you look close enough you can see Jon's beard. He actually shaved it off on Sunday morning, but had been growing it for about a month.
On their date they went to an italian restaurant and the dance was in Portland. Jesikas dress had a bustle for the train, but even with that he said he stepped on her dress alot........but he had a great time. This last picture was taken in Jesika's backyard with the other couple they went with.

Day at the ZOO

We have the most beautiful zoo!! It's like walking into another world!! One of the teachers I work with planned a day at the zoo for her kids and their families. I went and took Josh and his friend Caleb. It was 85 degrees today, but the zoo was green and lush and very cool. We saw the polar bears, tigers, elephants, you name it we saw it. There's a wonderful rain forest. About the only thing I can think we don't have at our zoo are koala and panda bears.We loved the butterfly exhibit and the bird sanctuary. Our group stayed together in the morning and then we met for lunch in a huge open grassy area where they put on shows with bald eagles and hold outdoor concerts. Then the boys and I broke off and ventured out on our own. We were able to see everything before we headed home so I could take pictures of Jon and his date for prom tonight (will blog that later) Isn't this guy cute?? While he lives outside in the open, there are windows where we can look in. He just came right up to the window and looked at us.The animals have wonderful areas to live in. This giraffe is in the Africa exhibit. While in the Congo, Josh and Caleb went on a wild ride in a jeep. We traded the jeep in for train tickets (hee hee) and had a 35 minute tour on the zoo train, all around the park.

HAPPY RETIREMENT DAY!!!

Friday was Richards last full day of work. Jon asked him when he started working....around 14 he said....picking berries and mowing lawns. That would have been about the year 1959. In his lifetime he has worked unloading grain cars for Great Western Malt, was a rental agent and cleaned cars for Avis rent a car, worked for Clark County in the mapping and printing dept., worked for the Washington State Highway Department as a flagger (before his mission), worked in a machine shop, was a Sergeant for the Clark County Sheriffs Department as a jailer, then worked 30 years in vending (a hard labor job with long hours in the middle of the night), and most recently as a Customer Service Engineer (fancy name for a cushy job) for Pendium Corp....the largest ATM company in the country. It has been a LONG haul and I am so happy that he can relax and take it easy. He will still be working 20 hours a week, but will be able to be home and do lots of jobs around here for me (who said I was going to let him off the hook that easily?) We had a little party for him...cooked steaks (a real treat for us) and sipped sparkling cider. The boys helped me decorate with balloons and we gave him some cooking tools for the grill. CONGRATULATIONS HONEY!!!

Wedding Aftermath......

So, the excitement is over and I've been running around all week returning things. We got the last of the trees and other borrowed items returned yesterday and Richard cleaned up the garage for me. I can now park my car in it again!! There is barely any sign of wedding happenings here. The only remnants left are all the beautiful plants on the porch.
There is a little food left, but we've either eaten it or shared it with friends and family. I took some fruit and veggies to work and everyone ate them up.
The biggest job today is the 2 weeks of laundry I have piled up. But, I'm working on that and hopefully can get the house clean and back to normal.
I did want to share a few more pictures that I had taken on the wedding day. I can't wait to get the pictures back from the photographer.I will ever be grateful for my dear sweet Seester, braving the unknown and facing her fears to be here with us. She was so invaluable in keeping me together and being the social one to bring our families together. She cleaned, ironed, shopped....she was my list maker, the one I laughed with and cried with. THANK YOU SEESTER DEAR!!! For the next wedding we should be able to pull it off without a hitch. (We have lots of table cloths and wisteria and battery operated lights we can use). I hope you passed your final with flying colors and that you are getting all rested. I Love you!!!!

Jenny's Special Day

Today was Jennys first time at the Temple. It was a very rainy afternoon, but it was beautiful inside. Many family members from both sides were there. We went to Applebees for dinner afterwards. It was a wonderful day. I'm sorry, no pictures with my Sister, she was busy taking all the pictures. We will be sure to get alot with her at the dinner tomorrow and outside the Temple on Saturday and at the reception.

On and On and On.......

Today we set this up to see how we wanted our wedding garden to look. We will take pictures of the final product on Saturday. It is going to be beautiful!!!

The Handy "Princess Bride"

Here are some pictures of the drill toting, paintbrush weilding princess bride!! Jenny's been very involved by re-painting the fence and archway (to freshen them up) and fixing the fence so it will stand up. She's a handy girl to have around!! She and Logan will do well in the construction business together....
Note her hairdo with the drill. We went to the lady who cuts my hair (and jenny's bus driver from elementary school) and she did up a hairdo that I'm going to try to do for the wedding.

Counting Down..........

Here's the archway and a picture of the swag flowers that will go on it. There will be fencing on either side of the archway with ficus trees (lit up with white lights) behind the fencing. There will also be 2 stands with hanging plants behind the fencing in the ficus trees. In front of the fencing there will be flower boxes and plants to carry on the garden theme. I went looking for the planter boxes today....the stores are getting some beautiful planter boxes for mothers day. I found some today, I just want to look a little more. We are also having a white iron garden table with 2 chairs somewhere.

More Wedding (are you bored yet???)

Okay........I thought you might like to see some of what the decorations will be.
The colors are purple, black and silver. Instead of renting tablecloths, silly me has been looking all over town for JUST the right fabric to use as table runners. I initally found the purple and silver back in March, but wasn't sure if it was the color the kids had picked. I could have sent them pics (like I'm doing now), but I honestly didn't think about it. Jenny and Logan gave their aproval so I went back to Walmart and the fabric was GONE! I've spent the last 2 weeks scouring the entire countryside for more purple and silver...not to mention I hadn't even bought any black. Richard and I found all of the silver and some purple last week, but not enough. Monday night after FHE Jenny and I went out one last time before I threw in the towel, cut my losses, and rented the tablecloths. We checked a huge fabric store, then headed to the last ditch effort... Walmart (that I had already gone to with Richard). Now Debi, you will chuckle at this. We had already looked at the last store and had walked around the entire fabric dept. I was so discouraged and I said a prayer in my heart and actually knew that Heavenly Father could make this fabric appear if he wanted. As I walked down the last aisle (that I had already gone down...or so I thought) on my way out of the fabric dept., there sitting on the end was an entire bolt of the purple and as an added surprise an unopened bolt of the black!!! I nearly cried. We are not talking about a little bit of fabric. We are using a total of 18 yds. of purple, 12 yds. black and 16 yds silver. At 2.00 a yard, it is still cheaper than renting tablecloths. To get an idea of what it will look like.....We will have white floor length tablecloths on the round tables. Each table will have a 2 yd. piece as a runner. The silver will be on top of the runner in the center with battery operated white lights under it and a purple hydrangea plant in the center of that.

Bridal Shower

We had a fun time last week at the shower Jennys Aunts gave her. It was a full house with family and friends. Jennys cousin Renee called Logan and asked him 20 questions. For each answer Jenny got wrong she had to put a piece of bubble gum in her mouth. Needless to say her mouth was pretty full!! She got alot of nice gifts, which we took a picture of at home. Only 11 days to go......

Wedding Update

Okay, so it's been awhile since I've blogged.......
It's alot of work getting ready for a wedding!! Logan brought Jenny home the day before Easter. We had a good time getting to know him. We had a big Easter dinner and of course the Easter Bunny came and left baskets for everyone. He was here for 4 days. They were able to get their marriage liscense, order their cake, rent the tux. Since he left Jenny and I have been going here and there doing all sorts of things. I shouldn't even be blogging tonight, there is still much to do (you all understand), but I decided it had to be done. Thought you might enjoy a few pictures.

Music is Playing Inside My Head.....

One of my favorite songs was written by Carole King. It's in my brain....just like the music.
Music is playing inside my head
Over and over and over again,
My friend,there's no end to the music.

Ah, summer is over
But the music keeps playing
And won't let the cold get me down.

Pictures are forming inside my brain
Soon with the colors they'll rain together and grow
Then don't you know, don't you know there'll be music

Ah, it's not always easy
But the music keeps playing
And won't let the world get me down.

This past weekend was full of music. On Saturday we spent the day at a high school percussion/color guard competition. Josh has been involved in our high schools percussion group for middle schoolers. It's the only one around here, so they went to perform and compete (although there were no others in their division). They won a trophy. They dressed all in black with blue gloves to be like "The Blue Man Group"
(I'd never heard of them). Josh plays the marimba. It was a very fun filled day. Josh had a great time. He will perform again Friday and Saturday, then he will be finished with percussion until next year.
Jon went to Tacoma Washington (near Seattle) on Thursday and spent 4 days practicing with the 2007 All State Band. It was a jump out of his comfort zone. The only one from our school to go, he rode on a district bus with 7 other kids from Vancouver that he had never met. He roomed with 5 guys from around the state. I would have been petrified, but in preparation for his mission he thought it was great going someplace where he didn't know anyone.

...More Music

Top O The Morning To Ya!!

With the last name of EGAN , being Irish around here is not an option. Each St. Patricks Day we celebrate with the kids having an good old fashioned "Egan" Irish feast. It's not in the least traditional from an Irish standpoint, but it suits us just fine. We have "Irish" baked potatoes with "green" salad topped with Zesty "Irish" Dressing along with an assortment of other "green" food items. We listen to Irish music and at some point in our dinner we hear a word or 2 from the "Irish" one himself.....Sir Richard. Here are just a few.......

SOME IRISH BLESSINGS: Bless your little Irish heart and every other Irish part!
May your right hand always be stretched out in friendship. But never in want.
May God grant you to be as happy as the flowers in May.
May the sons of your sons smile upon your face

SOME IRISH PROVERBS
IWho keeps his tongue, keeps his friends.
When mistrust comes in, Love goes out.
A friends eye is a good mirrorEGAN

Trip to Rexburg....Part 3...Saturday

Stephanie and her mom (who we also know and love) with Mallory and Shelby....and Jared

Saturday was full of activities. Richard and I were staying in Idaho Falls so we got up early to head to Rexburg. Jenny had tickets to attend the workshops and I was really excited to see Michael Ballam. He gave a wonderful talk full of music and stories on Love. He told about his son who has Spina Bifida and the many challenges they have had with him. It was really touching. We attended a baby shower for Shelby Crain our old neighbor and friend who lives there with her husband who's still in school. Her sister Mallory also goes there and her mom Stephanie and brother Jared (Jon and Jared were inseperable as boys) were also there, so we had a wonderful but quick reunion. (They now live in New Hampshire) Stephanie was excited and sorry that she won't be here to help with Jenny's wedding. We took Richard to see the dress and after purchasing it we picked up Logan and headed to Idaho Falls to shoe shop and other things. Jenny is very easy to make decisions....unlike her very indecisive mother, so it was a quick trip. Now all she needs to do is have the dress hemmed. That evening we attended an oratorio...The Tree of Life. It was beautiful...the story of the tree of life taken from the scriptures and put to music. We could just picture Jon up in the orchestra playing his french horn. More and more we are thinking Jon needs to be in Rexburg. We're really getting to know the school and love every bit of it....except the weather!!! (Jon can adjust)

Trip to Rexburg...Part 2....The Dress and other things

Friday morning started with Jenny and I attending her religion class. The lesson was very applicable to Jenny that day.....it was about marriage!! Cival War and Reconstruction class was interesting as well, although I had a hard time staying awake. We met Logan and he treated us to lunch on his meal plan. He bought a 50 meal card and had only used 10 of the meals. We could pick from any of the restrauants, but we all 3 chose chinese food. Jenny and I went and she tried on the wedding dress she had picked out with her roommates the day before. It is very beautiful on her. I'm blogging more pictures of it!!! We shopped at Walmart and went back to the apartment to wait for Richards arrival. Jenny and I played a rousing game of scrabble (we had played with Logan the day before....Grandma Drew would LOVE to have him in our family.) When Richard finally arrived in Rexburg,Logan met him out front....it was just way to cold to go outside. We had dinner at the resturant Jenny worked at.... "Lost Creek Steak Company" and got to meet some of her co workers. It was a nice time to visit with Logan and get to know him better. I'm not sure what he thought of all our stories, but he got to know us a bit too!!

Trip to Rexburg....Part 1

My plane arrived in Salt Lake early so I was able to catch the earlier shuttle to Rexburg. The weather was very cold and snow was falling. The shuttle was full of mothers from all around the country going to meet their kids for mothers weekend. We had a great time chatting about all sorts of things. The 4 hour ride went by quickly. Jenny and Logan met me at the drop off spot. The first thing Jenny said when she hugged me was that I was skinny. Hooray.....my diet is working!! Logan was very much the gentleman. They took me to Arby's since I was hungry. Then we went for ice cream. I met the roomates, which somehow they were never all together to get a picture. They are all very sweet girls. The "MOLD" was cleaned up but the clorox smell very strong, so we opened up the window and it went away after awhile. It was VERY COLD in Rexburg!! There was ice all over the parking lots as we walked from Jennys apartment to Logans. The streets in Rexburg were pretty clear and the campus walks were clear as well. I had made Logan a scrapbook of pictures of Jenny growing up. He liked it. I gave Jenny some notecards with "J" for Jensen (or Jenny) that I found last week.

Mother Daughter Memories

In a hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the type of house I lived in, or the kind of clothes I wore, But the world may be much different because I was important in the life of a child.

HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY JENNY!!!!

I have spent hours tonight looking through scrapbooks of my little girl's life. Since our scanner hasn't worked because we're too silly to figure out why, I thought I would take some pictures of pictures like Kristie did a few weeks ago. I found all kinds of wonderful pictures of Jennys life. Baby days, pre-school days, vacations, dance recitals, singing at the mall, birthday parties, school pictures...and many many more. It was so fun!! I wanted to blog them all. But, alas, every picture I tried to take would have the flash right in the middle. So, I settled on these 2. The baby picture taken at 3 months won a baby picture contest. We got some gift certificates to Safeway. The silly one was taken while she was home at Thanksgiving and shows her true personality....hee hee!!
I just can't believe 21 years have past, and now she's living her own life and making her own decisions....and by the way, not calling her mother enough this past week (hint hint). Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY!!

Can't Wait for Tolo!!

The girls decorated the guys car windows the night before Tolo. I thought they did a cute job!! Jon had been out to the basketball game with a group on Friday night. They must have done it sometime right after they brought him home, because when Richard got home shortly after 11:00PM it was done. Jon had been really busy all week with the school play (he's in the orchestra) so hadn't had time to get a tie. Saturday after we got back from a family baptism in Chehalis Washington I rushed to Kohls and bought him the shirt and tie. The shirt is doing double duty...he needed a black shirt for the orchestra pit. The tie matched Katies dress. He's a good sport....I'm always taking pictures.

Crazy Hat Day

Well, it wasn't really intended to be crazy hat day....it was actually a birthday tea put on at work on Thursday. Once a month different classrooms take turns doing a luncheon/birthday celebration for that months staff birthdays. This month we were to get out our favorite hats...or make one to celebrate. Finger sandwiches and tea was served. I was going to wear my Minnie Mouse hat from Disneyland, but when I got to work my morning class teacher wanted us to have the kids decorate butcher paper so we could make hats. It was actually a great opportunity for the kids to use some fine motor skills. We had them draw people, trace their hands, use bingo dobbers, and otherwise use markers to draw. Some of our morning kids are further along than the others, so some did more. We have several that can't sit for more than 1-2 minutes, but they did great. I wish we had taken a picture of the 3 of us....teacher Kari and the other staff assistant Sarah. They're both single moms pretty youngish....very nice to work with. We all decorated our hats in different ways. I put tissue paper flowers on mine....Sarah had diapers and picture schedules, paintbrushes, and baby wipes on hers. Kari put die cuts and pipe cleaners. There were lots of hats worn, but ours were definitley the most school spirited ones. By the way, the logo of our school are hands painted the primary colors....which we put on our hats. This is my hat.

Watch Out!! Here Comes Momma!!

I even got in on the fun!!Jon was pushing some kids on their sleds when he slipped and hit his face on the road. He got a bloody nose and a fat lip. He's had a hard week!!

WHEEE.................

Richard went and bought a sled for the boys. Some members in our ward live on a great hill to sled down. Josh had a great time going down. We're still going to build that snowman, but we came in to thaw out. We'll keep you posted.

Cozy Snowy Day

As Jon drove off to seminary at 5:45 this morning, there were very light drops coming down. I went back to bed and 40 minutes later the street was covered. I called Jon to make sure he got to school okay and told him to be careful. Josh got up and dressed and was ready to walk out the door when I called Jon again to tell him to take the bus home if they cancelled school. He said they had just cancelled it and the busses turned around. The only kids at school were the ones who arrived early. Josh went down to his bus stop to tell the kids there. Jon was able to make it home....slowly in the truck.
These pictures were taken 2 hours after it started. It has now been snowing steadily for over 4 hours. Josh played all morning and is now in thawing out. Jon, Josh and I are going to go out in a bit and build a snowman. The weatherman has been saying it's only going to last another 45 minutes.....he started saying it 3 hours ago. It's still coming down hard as of this posting. Jon measured 2 1/2 inches a while ago. Maybe today's the day I cozy up and read....or not!!

DIGGING IN THE TRENCH

Christmas break for my kids meant digging a trench from the side of our back yard to the front in the street. Our water line has been leaking for a few months so we are replacing it now before it breaks. We are one of the last of our neighbors to do it.
Faulty pipes were placed in all the new houses when ours was built 16 years ago. There was a class action lawsuit filed and the manufacturer was held responsible.....only up to 10 years. That means thousands of people had to put out the money to replace their lines. Being the self sufficiant people that we are, and having a hard working husband, we did it ourselves. It was a minor inconvience as we had to turn off our water for a few days, but, thanks to a very hard working crew who spent their Christmas break flexing their muscles the new pipe is in and working!!