I just returned home from San Diego. Ben, Tracie, and Jeff were with me. We had a really good time. We went to see Ben's friend, Brittany who lives there. We played a lot! This top picture is of Jeff when we were on the air tram at the San Diego Zoo.

This hippo was very interesting. He was SOOOO big! It was fun to watch him underwater.

Someone asked me to take a picture of the gorilla. Can't remember who, but here is one of them. They are not as big as I pictured them. There were even a few babies.


Ben and Brittany under the arch in the gas lamp district in San Diego. We walked up and down this street. Lots of fun shops and restaurants on the street. Earlier, before it got dark, we saw the "Twilight" cast coming out of a theater. They had been doing a pre-view there. We didn't know that was going to happen. We just happened to be there at the right time. We even got on TV. See Tracie's blog for the link.

We spent on day at Sea World. While we were there we ran into our cousins. We found out from facebook that they were also going to be there at the same time. So we arranged to meet for lunch.

One of the shows at Sea World was a gymnastic type show over the water. These two guys were awesome. What strength.


Tracie and Jeff at the restaurant after dinner on Thursday.


Brittany and Ben during dinner. Sorry Brittany, I got you looking a little funny!

Sunday on our way home we stopped by the beautiful San Diego Temple. It was absolutely breathtaking.
One of the many trees on the Temple Grounds. It intrigued me because of the many colors. Green, red and white, all on one tree.

Jeff and Tracie in front of the Temple.


Ben, Tracie, Jeff and myself in front of the Temple. Actually we were on the south side. Still beautiful.

Kat and Andy after Andy's graduation from police academy!


Jared Hawes (son-in-law) presented Andy with his graduation certificate. Only family members who are police or other law enforcement can present. We are proud of Andy.

Ethan helping Tracie. They are going to try to refinish Susan's table. It didn't get finished while I was there, though.


Kat and Andy waiting for the fireworks on the 4th of July in Idaho Falls.

This is Keith on the 4th of July. He just got a big huge kiss from one of the clowns in the Gunnison parade.
A picture of our family at our family gathering on the 3rd of July. Grandma and Grandpa Bartholomew were Grand Marshalls in the parade on the 4th.

If you look closely, you can see Brooklyn. She scooted into the garage looking for the kittens!

Myself, Muriel Stone Wilson and Gloria Gallo East. We were able to get together for a lunch while Gloria was in Utah.

Linda with the cute hair-do that Christian styled for her!

Rose's children trying to reach around the old Ponderosa pine tree. They weren't able to reach. It took three adults to reach around the trunk.

I am going to try to update. It's been forever. Last February, I attended a International Reading Conference in Phoenix, AZ. While there I met several authors. One of which was Brandon Mull. He autographed a few of his books for me. If you haven't read the "Fabel Haven" series, do. They are great.

Tuesday, Ben didn't have to leave until noon to go back to Cedar so I took advantage of free labor. He dug out one of my flower beds and helped me replant it. I planted the pots. And I did a great job supervising!

Later in the morning we hiked into an area that Keith knows to see a giant ponderosa pine tree. The tree had actually died since he was last there but it was still standing. On the way there we came across this old tractor. Rose and Dave and their children posed for the picture.
I'll try to post a picture of the tree later. (It's on Keiths camera because my batteries died at that point.) It took Rose, Dave and Keith stretching from finger-tip to finger-tip to reach around the tree. I was amazed that I made it all the way. I did poop out on the way back though. But Dave went and got the 4-wheeler and rescued me.

Memorial Day started with a Flag Ceremony in the Fayette Cemetery. Ben and Andy were both part of the squad.

Gary was recently chosen as commander of the Spanish Fork unit of the National Guard. This is part of the ceremony.

Couldn't resist posting this cute picture of the "True Princess!" Yes, Becca, you can steal it!

More funeral pictures. My mom looked good in her casket. The pain and suffering all gone. The pictures are of course in reverse order. Just depicting events of the day.

On March 21, my dear Mother, Mariam Beth Lyman Christiansen, passed away. She is in loving hands at her new residence, Heaven! It was difficult to see her, go but she is much better off. These are pictures during the day of her funeral. Paula and me at the cemetary after the burial, Iris and Rodney (mom's siblings) and my dad (Looking pretty spunky!).

Funny Brooklyn! These are just a few of the funny faces that Brooklyn pulls when you want to take her picture!!

Something by Me for you

I got this from Rose's blog. We'll see how it goes. The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice - for you! This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make! (I can only hope.)2. What I create will be just for you.3. It will be done within 6 months.4. You have no clue what it's going to be. (Well maybe you do.)5. You are supposed to offer the same deal on your blog, but really I'm not going to hold you to it. You can still play if you don't have a blog. All right, first five! Come on all of you non-commentors. I know you're out there!

I know it's been a while since I updated but I have something to celebrate! A new granddaughter!!! Rebecca Lynn Bartholomew was born January 15, 2009. She weighed in at 6 lbs. 7 oz. and was 19 inches long. She looks alot like her sister Brianna. This is the third girl for Gary and Ami. We are grateful all is well and she is here with us. I tried to get a picture with her eyes open but she wouldn't cooperate very well.

While I was shopping, Ben, Andy and Keith took the kitchen apart and painted the dining room and kitchen. I was glad they did. It would have taken Keith and I a month to do what they did in two days. However, I had to hunt very hard just to find the salt shaker to fix dinner on Sunday. I had no clue as to which box had the salt in it!!! I did find it finally!

This is what Andy does when you take him to Home Depot! Nice, huh???

Black Friday shopping spree! Brooklyn sacked out in the shopping cart. The boys loved riding in the train! But in order to get them to pose for a picture I had to put another 50 cents in the machine. So they got an extra ride out of Grandma!