It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

It has been so long since I have added to our blog. After I go into why it has been so long you will see. Lets see.... it started back in August when my first grand baby was due. She was due August 13th so I decided to fly up to Utah on the 9th thinking that would give me plenty of time. As it got closer and Melissa was progressing Steve talked me into changing my plan ticket to the 6th of August. He told me I would never forgive myself if I missed this big event. He was right about that, however the baby didn't come till August 14th. Babies come or don't come when you want. :) So a day after Chelsea's due date they had Melissa and Brad go into the hospital early to induce her labor. The baby still had not dropped. Long story short, after many hours of nothing much happening and the baby still not dropping the doctor came in about 5 pm and they decided to take the baby c-section. At about 5:30 pm we had a new grand daugher. Chelsea Ruthe Petersen weighing in at 11 lbs 7 oz. (No this is not a typo) She was the talk of the nursery. She was the most presious thing ever. I couldn't stop staring at her. I couldn't believe I was finally a grandma. I called everyone to give them the news including Steve (the new grandpa) He could'nt believe how big she was. It truly was a great day.

Chelsea Ruthe Petersen - 8 /14/2008

Welcome to the World!

August 15th was my 50th birthday and since Melissa just had a baby and Steve was still at home waiting for his vacation to start I was alone. Or I thought. My best friend Nancy who nows lives in Utah took me out to a movie "Mama Mia" and to dinner. It was so much fun. It was like old times. We laughed and just enjoyed talking about the old days. Before we went into the resturant there was a motorcycle just sitting there so I had Nancy take a picture of me. (Harley Mama)

Good Friends are hard to find. Thanks Nanc for a great time.

On August 16th Steve and Greg drove up to Utah to see Chelsea and visit with Brad and Melissa. Greg was so excited to be an Uncle and Steve was such a proud grandpa. He just kept saying how pretty Chelsea was.

Grand Babies are a Gift from above.

We had a great time getting to know our newest member of the family. We all took turns holding Chelsea and helping Melissa out. She had a tough go of it. She had a rough time nursing Chelsea as Chelsea would not coroperate. It was very frustrating for Melissa. It was hard for me to see my daughter so heart broken as everything she wanted for the birth of this child didn't come to pass. From the delivery (she wanted to have it natural and had to have a C-section), to nursing her baby (not going to happen in this life time). I never had any problems so it was hard to comfort her. I know it all happened for a reason but it was difficult to watch. I was scheduled to stay till after the blessing of Chelsea which was August 31st and return home with Steve. As it turned out Melissa ended up with a really bad infection from her inssion and had to go back to the doctor to have it looked at. It was the size of my fist. The doctor gave her some options and she took the option to have the strong antibiotic by IV to see if that would help. She did not want to be cut open again. As fate would have it an hour or so later the inssion burst and she ended up in the hospital and they had to remove the infection. That set Melissa back and I had to stay two more weeks till she healed. I know this was hard for Melissa. It was hard on me to as I missed Steve but I knew I needed to be her for Melissa. The good thing was I was able to bond with Chelsea for a few extra weeks and I loved every minute of it.

Trip to Utah and Mo's Baby Shower

It all started on July 23rd. My sister and I drove to Utah for Melissa's baby shower. We had to take my sisters BEAST of a truck to get ALL the baby stuff to Utah. We had a crib, stroller, carseat and a lot more. I love shopping for babbies. I was told many times I went overboard. We drove to St. George the first day. My sister and I always have a great time when we get together. We ate at "Famous Daves" that night. What a meal. We got up and drove the rest of the way. A beautiful drive, but long. We got to Melissa's about 1 pm on Thursday which happened to be July 24th. Pioneer day in Utah. A big celebration there. We had tickets to attend the "47 days Rodeo".

The nest day my sister and I painted baby Chelsea's room. It was a lot of work but worth it when it was done. I didn't get any pictures of it as yet cause it was not decorated. I will include them when I get back after the baby is born in September.

Saturday was the baby shower at Venessa's house. It was good to see many old friends. My best friend from Chino (Nancy) came and it is always good to see her.

Everything looked so nice. Venessa did a nice job. Melissa had lots of her friends there and she got LOTS of clothes. Everyone likes to buy baby clothes so she didn't get a lot of things she needs for the baby.

After the baby shower Dayna and I thought we were going to have to put together the baby crib. We were not looking forward to that task. When we got home and Melissa was showing Brad the things she got at the shower Brad asked her to bring it up to the baby's room. As we walked up stairs Brad had already put the crib together as we were at the shower. That was so nice of him and Melissa cried. We then went shopping at Target to get those things Melissa needed for the baby that she didn't get. It is very difficult for Melissa to be on her feet for a long length of time so we suggested a cart for her to drive around the store.

After much shopping for those needful things a few of us got a bit tired.

After a hard day of baby shower and shopping we went out to dinner at "Applebees". Yum

Sunday it was very hard to leave. I have this feeling that Melissa is going to have this baby when I'm not there. I miss my husband and family at home but I really want to be there for Melissa and Brad and the coming of our first grandchild. I hope I make it.

A Visit with Jaylee and Patrick

Dad and Jaylee

We went to Santa Monica to visit Jaylee and Patrick and see their new place. Jaylee and Patrick both had to work but Jaylee got off at noon so we decided to take her to lunch at a famous hot dog place called "Pinks" in Hollywood.

Jaylee and Mom at Pinks in Hollywood

We stood in a long line that took about 30 minutes to order our food but it is worth it. The food is great and it is fun to be at a place that is famous. It was built in 1939. It is old and beat up but people love it.

The food was great.

Jaylee enjoying her food. She had a Guadalajara Dog, I had a Mild Chicago Polish Dog and dad had a Pastrami Burrito made with 2 hot dogs wrapped in a tortilla. Good stuff!!!

After lunch we went to visit Patrick at his work. He works at a car dealership just across the street from where they live. Doesn't he look cute all dressed up and looking smart behind that desk! Patrick gave us a tour of the place and showed us some of the cars. It was fun. Steve got a hankering (mid life) to sit in a Corvette. This Corvette is one that will be featured on the Price is Right in August.Doesn't he look cool??? I would say let the wind rush thru your hair But he ain't got any. :)

After we visited Patrick we went back to Jaylee's apartment and played the Wii game. We played bowling and had a blast. Dad wants a Wii game now. Jaylee then showed us her skills with Guitar Hero. She is pretty good. You go girl!!

A nice picture of Jaylee and Patrick at his work but the water fountain. Thanks Jaylee and Patrick for a nice visit. I know it was short but we enjoyed it. Hope to spend more time next time. Hope you had a nice time in Vegas and won LOTS of money to buy your mom and dad a WII. Thanks again We love you.

Dixie, Zion, and Lots More

St. George Utah

Dad was on vacation this past week and we took Greg to Dixie College in St. George Utah for his orientation and register for his classes. We had a nice trip without any problems. The weather was as if at home... hot and humid. I don't have a picture of Greg by the Dixie College sign because he was being a poop and he promised when he went to school he would take one. So sorry no picture of Greg. :( But I did get a picture of the Dixie on the mountain. The first night in St. George we found a "Famous Dave's" BBQ to have dinner. Greg of course finds the biggest dinner on the menu.
Here is a picture of Greg's slaughter.

St. George Temple





On Tuesday Greg had his orientation and Steve and I were going to attend the St. George Temple. We drove over there and walked the grounds. They are beautiful. As we walked around a worker stopped us and informed us that the temple was closed for cleaning for 2 weeks. We wondered why we hadn't seen anyone come in or out of the temple and when we did find the front of the temple and the parking lot it was empty. We were disappointed as we really wanted to go inside and feel of the spirit there. The Lord knows the intent of our hearts.



Sorry wer'e Closed!



So we then decided to go to Zion National Park. It was a nice drive and beautiful scenery. It was a beautiful day. We took lots of pictures and just enjoyed being in God's creation and spending time with each other.

What a nice couple.

After enjoying a great day in Zion we had to go pick Greg up from his orientation. So we headed back. We picked Greg up had some lunch and went back to the hotel. Greg wanted to take a nap so Steve and I decided to go bowling. (we want to keep up with Jeff and Mandy). So we found a bowling alley and proceeded to bowl. I had not bowled in a while. It was fun but very hot and sweaty in there. On my second game I finally broke a 100. I did get on strike of which dad did not get the picture. Check out the action shots on the slide show.





As we were walking out of the bowling alley I saw one of those machines that have different things you can try and grab. I saw a Betty Boop Doll that I liked. (Steve has a relative named Betty in Michigan that collects them) So I said why don't you try and get that. He never played the game before and didn't know what he was doing. He said "How much does it cost?" I said it looked like 50 cents, so he puts in a dollar and the machine starts to go. He gets it over to the doll and he proceeded to pick it up and NO GO, it drops. He said what is the hang of this. I tried to tell him and he tried one more time. This time he timed his pick up just right and BAM he got it. It was soooo exciting and it only cost a buck. My boyfriend won me a toy at the bowling alley and I was so happy.

That's my MAN!!!

After going bowling we stopped off at Dessert Book Store and of course you have to get something. So dad found 3 books on the presidents of the US and he was so excited it only cost $20.00 for the 3 of them. I bought a CD call "A dog at my Scriptures" for $2.99. We listened to it and it was pretty good. I recommend it to all. When we got back to the hotel Greg was mad he didn't go bowling. We told him we were leaving so he lost out. After a very nice time in Utah we had to head back home. :(

Mom gets new phone for her 50th birthday

The PHONE LG Rumor Phone.



Well the story starts when I needed to update my cell phone. We went one Friday night after dinner. That night happened to be the night California instated the new "Hands free" law. So of course Sprint was busy, Radio shack was busy... everyone was busy so we decided to let things cool down. So this Friday after dinner we went to Best Buy to check out the phones. Steve wanted to get me a new phone for my 50th birthday since he will not be with me on my birthday. I will be welcoming our new grand baby. Anyway he decided to get me a new phone. He and I both liked the "LG Rumor " phone. It comes in 4 colors. Green (like my Ipod), white, blue and black. I really liked the black because it looked classy. So that is what I got. It is really cool. It has a slide out key board for text messaging. (like I know how to do that fast) but it is cool and I'm sure I will get better. So now I have caught up to the rest of the world. I even have the new "Cock Roach" ear piece. Too cool. Mine is light weight and is square not like the other cock roach looking ones. So don't be surprised if I text you more these days. It is because I'm practicing.


Just look at the ear piece not the cute babe wearing the piece.

The Harvest

Well it is a week late but the GREAT tomato is hear. We didn't have it for our 4th of July hamberger so now we have to think of something special to do with it. Steve took this picture and I think he did a great job. Of course he does too. Notice the beads of water and everything??? We did get another tomato off the vine but it was not a very developed one and we cut and ate it. It was good.

International Harvester!!! Steve picking his crop. Not much to look at but he is a very proud owner.
Proud owner of the GREAT TOMATO!!!

Green Fried Tomatoes and the 4th of July

Celebtating our county's freedom at the Redlands University fireworks show.

Well it all started back a few months ago when Steve wanted to follow the Prophet and grow his own little garden. He thought he would grow some tomatoes in a pot. His goal was to have a nice red, juciy rip tomatoe to put on his 4th of July hamberger. Well the 4th is here and the tomatoes are still green so I told Steve we could have Fried Green tomatoes.

Just the two empty nesters at Redlands celebrating the 4th of July. I would say it was a quiet day but there were so many families with kids that it wasn't that quiet till we plugged in our I Pods. It made us miss our family and wished we could have been together to enjoyed this time. It was hot there too but it did cool a bit when the sun went down. All in all it was a nice day to spend together. We made record time getting out of there too. We knew the back streets so we were able to get on out of dodge QUICK.

Two LOVE birds enjoying the 4th of July at the Park. Notice the ear pods???

What's a picnic in the park without a nap? Steve took this picture without me knowing. I will get him back one of these days. If you look in the back ground you will see the family from Iran. They are the same people that were here 2 years ago with their bongs and special tea. What are the odds of them being right next to us again?? The group doubled in size as the day went on.

Well here he is "Steve-O" grillin the juicy hambergers. They were mighty tasty but we had to use Store bought tomatoes. :( We had a nice spread going. We had hambergers, potatoe salad, watermellon with all the trimmins.

What's the 4th of July without Homemade ice cream? Dad did his thing and made our traditional homemade ice cream. Since it is just the two of us we had lots of left overs for days to come. YUM, YUM. There is advantages to being empty nesters. MORE ICE CREAM!!!

We would like to thank all those who have given their lives for our freedom. Of course dad had to buy a flag to take to the park with us. He also hung the one at the house. It's great to be an american!

God Bless the USA!

Memorial Day Weekend

Steve Chill'in after a hard day of crouqet.

Jeff and Mandy enjoying the pool together.

Jeff and Mandy came out for the weekend. We had a great time. We played croquet and played in the pool. Our family tradition has always been that we make homemade ice cream on holidays. So of course we made ice cream and it was very yummy!!! It was sad to see them go.

Memorial Weekend with Jeff & Mandy

Steve and Mandy duking it out for the wicket. Who will get there first???