Is it too late to teach an "ole dog" new tricks???

So here I am a hillbilly from Missouri who never learned proper English and guess what I am trying to do.

I am taking a class to learn to speak Italian. Yes that is what I said. So far I have learned the Alphabete...they only have 21 letters...vocalis....double consonants and much more. Problem is my brain and tongue don't work together. I am working on the days of the week, numbers, and colors. It has taken me 50 plus years to learn English so guess that means I have another 50 plus to get Italian down. Note to self I is spoken as e
Did you know that Casa means house and cassa means cash register//sete means thirsty and sette means seven. It is a sure bet that I will mess up somewhere and it probably won't take long.
Come ti chiami? Mi chiamo maria theresa.
Arriverderci for now....A presto

David visits Idaho

David is my 27 year old grandson, who lives in Colorado Springs, Co. We hadn't seen him in over 3 years and it was a real treat to have him visit this last week. He bunked with me from Thur. to Mon. spending time with the rest of his family at different times during the week. I hosted a family bar b que for him on the Sat. and 21 people showed up to spend time with him. Scott and the boys actually took him to the Boise Burn game that night. When he got back he and I stayed up until 2:30 am just talking and catching up on our lives. I am amazed at how he has grown and truly enjoyed every moment. Sunday was a hang out and nap kind of day and than he went to visit another branch of the family. Monday he was up and out before I was even up, little "brat" didn't wake me up to say goodbye just left. When I got up at 7ish he was gone so I called him he said he didn't want to bother me. I hope it isn't several years before we visit again he is moving to New Mexico so maybe I can go visit him.

OPPS

So as most of you know I have developed a passion for driving around searching out birds. I have been doing this for several weeks now and this weekend I kinda got into trouble. No picture as I was afraid to try and get the camera out.
I went to Cascade over the 4th and watched, the White Pelicans, Black Birds, Ducks, Greebs, Yellowheaded Blackbirds, Bluebirds, a couple of Ospreys, Robins, and a Blue Heron, (also a fox) . Now you would think I would be happy with that but NOT me.....So on the way home I drive back through Sage Hen (which is beautiful) and I see a flock of Waxwings...beautiful bird, 8 Turkey Buzzards, many Meadow Larks, and a beautiful little bird (don't know what it is yet)sitting on a great nest with 4 eggs in it. Ok so I am near Montour so lets go take a look at what might be out. I was there the week before and seen a great Hawk, a Spotted Tohee, many Violet swallows, so why not go back. So I am in Montour and the birds are not really out but I am wandering around anyway. I do see a beautiful tiny hummingbird (no picture) and than I decide to try and drive around this big mud puddle. While parked I watched a little Mazda do it so why can't I. So I drive up to it, take a look and drive over to the side..just before I get all the way around it my front tire hits the water and it sucks me in like a big ole drain. I am still moving so I gun it and just move further out into the center...so I try reversing and it is only getting worse. I grab my phone and call Phil, who tells me he will be right there. As I wait my car seems to be sinking and water starts coming into the floor..I am freaking so I call him again and he tells me to sit tight he is on his way. The water is higher and the car is tilting so I crawl out of the passenger side and stand in the road and worry. Long story short..Phil shows up pulls me out, we bail water, he checks out the car( thank God no damage) and we go back to his place to wash the mud off and tell Amanda what I did. Than I had to go tell Rick and Mindy and be scolded because NO ONE knew where I was and how lucky I was to have had phone service and so forth. All agree that if I am to continue this I have to have a different type of car and take someone with me. Since I can't afford a jeep/truck and I don't have a birding buddy guess I will just have to make sure they always know where I am. I gotta say I was really worried and will NEVER try that stunt again, truly thought my car was gonna turn over before Phil could get there. But I won't quit seeking out my little and big feathered friends.

Never under estimate a 2 year old

June brings us the Emmett Cherry Festival and for the first time in about 3 years I was able and wanting to go. I call my girls and ask if we can go together and if I can buy wrist bands for the twins and the boys to ride. Both moms advised that Keegan and Tristan were too little and that if there was something they could ride we would just buy a couple of tickets. Par for the course my boys demanded to ride and of course purchasing their tickets was more money than the wrist band . They rode more rides than either Martha or Olivia did. It was entertaining to watch the two of them as they rode the; wacky bus, the police jeeps, the cars, and slid down the BIG slide with the girls. Tristan kept wanting to go on the big kid rides and Keegan did not want to leave the cars. He drove the car, the bus, and the motorcycle and was taken away in tears. Needless to say next year they get wrist bands or we hide the fact that the carnival is in town.
I had a lovely evening with my family and getting to visit with people I haven't seen in ages.

One side note is the parade SUCKED! What happened to floats and people giving candy? So what if Emmett has more cop cars, more fire trucks, and big toys, the kids were scared to death of the sirens, the pops and the bangs that went on forever.

DFW to BOI for a 15 year old traveling standby

Today my 15 year old grandson,Ty came in from OK, by way of Dallas. His dad wakes me up telling me he is on the flight and while we are talking he gets a text stating that Ty is still waiting to depart. DFW had lightening storms that delayed the flight for over 2 hours. Two hours late and several phone calls later Ty lands in SEA and calls to see what his next step is. So I walk him thru going to the desk and asking to be put on the next flight to Boi. (It is very strange to be listening to this particular grandson talking to the agent. He is so very polite and laid back that it makes me think about the first time I met him. He must have been 2 or 3 and he was hell on wheels, now I still see that mischievous little boy but this young man isn't anything like that.)So he gets out of Sea on the flight that will land in Boi at 3:40pm and I go into a tail spin because there isn't anyone to pick him up. Thank God for my Alaska family who pitch right in and work for me until I can get there. When I picked him up he grinned and told me that it was much easier than he expected and not as bad as it was traveling with his parents. I was terrified that his football gear (2 bags) would have been lost but there they were no problem at all.

Ty was here just about a year ago and he was a big strapping youngster and the young man who walked off that plane was a very fit and trim person. Still with a devil may care smile and taller than I am and very happy to be attending the BSU FOOTBALL CAMP. He would LOVE to be asked to attend BSU and play football. This year in his little town he played Varsity and JV football. He just returned from a week at a Basketball Camp so I told him I would take him to breakfast in the morning and than he can just chill for the rest of the day because his camp starts on Sat. and it runs from 8am to 9:30pm for 5 days straight. On the day after camp is over I took the day off and am having the family in for a bar b que so they can visit with him.

We are all very happy to have Ty here with us for a visit and since he has proven he can fly standby with no issues we may be able to do this yearly....of course can only get by with that as long as he doesn't have a girlfriend.

Birthday #2

Keegan turned 2 today..wow where has the time gone? Amanda had his BD party on Sat the 6th. The only child attending was his cousin Tristan. The two of them are close in age and spend a lot of time together. The day was off and on nice but mostly it rained so we were in and out of the house and spent a lot of time on the patio. Let me tell you his parents SCORED BIG with his present from them. It was the last thing he got and it was a Radio Flyer Motorcycle that made his eyes light up and his face beam. He was one very happy little boy. Can't say the same for his cousin because of course, as all kids do he wanted it and Keegan was not about to share. Maybe next time he visits but not that day. It seems as if I waited a lifetime for Amanda to have a child and overnight he is 2......go figure.

Captain Phil

My friend and co-worker happens to be the step-daughter of Captain Phil Harris from the Cornelia Maria on the Deadliest Catch. Phil was in Boise last week and I was one of the lucky people who had dinner with him. He was very nice and you can tell that he cares a lot for my friend.