my very own fish

I don't know if any of you have noticed, but I have a fish tank in my blog.  Each time I log on I can feed my fish by clicking on the mouse.  I taught my grand daughter Lili how to feed them and while I was visiting her we would feed the fish each day.  I've always wanted an aquarium, I enjoy watching fish putter around in the water. However, I am not interested in taking care of a big glass case full of water or having to find someone to take care of it if I go away for awhile.  So blog fish are just perfect for me.  Whenever you visit, take a few seconds to feed the fish.

Rylee takes a bath at home

Rylee goes to chruch

 all dressed and ready to go

 ..and we're off

 First appearance at church

relaxing with mama afterwards.

More of Rylee

Kerri said there were not enough pictures of the baby.  So Here are a  few more I have taken...

 She is still a bit  yellow so she needs to be under  a special light .

 She is resting comfortably on a great big siesta sack carefully tucked into the cove under the stair case... Her bed is under the stairs just like Harry Potter.

 Glow little glow worm, glimmer, glimmer...

ahhh, life is good!

Rylee Aden Balls her first day

Welcome, Welcome Rylee Girl.  She's here, she's here!  After much waiting and anticipation she is here.
She had a bit of a problem making her entrance. She needed the doctor to actually suck her out with a manual vaccum.  But she is a beautiful precious sight.  8lbs. 6 oz.  May 23rd, 2011  2:52 P.M. in Rexburg, Madison County, Idaho.

                                                    Mom and Rylee meet.

 This was such a tender moment.  You can't see the tears but Mom and Dad are weeping with JOY!

                                           Daddy comforts his daughter for the first time.

                   Momma keeping Rylee warm while she waits for the nurse to bathe her.

                                     Grandma Verdi and Rylee just after her first bathing session. 

all together now!  Mom and Dad, Uncle Matthew, Uncle Danny and soon to be Aunt Camille.

Jack and Jill went up the hill...

Anywhere worth going to on campus is UP hill.  Whew!  it's a good thing I have my shape-up tennie shoes, otherwise my calves would be in dire straights.  But as we all know what goes up must come down, so it is here also.  Up, up,  up and more ups, then down, down, down keep going down.  Endurance is the name of the game.  I do not know how Krystal does it everyday.

What is nice about looking up is you can see the Temple from anywhere in the area.  It sits on a hill and it is beautiful. You can see it across campus as pictured in the center of the photo below.

Food, we just love FOOD

One of the good things about visiting my girls is I get to go out to eat.  I don't do that much at home, it really costs too much.  You can cook so much more food than you can purchased prepared at a restaurant.  But I enjoy going out to eat with my girls and their families.   Since I have been here we have eaten at Panda Express, Big Judd's and 5 Buck pizza.  I forgot my camera when we went to Big Judd's.  This place is known for the 1 lb. hamburger.  It's so yummy.  We shared one between  the three of us.  Below is a photo of The Big Foot pizza.  It is 20 inches and 5 lbs. of yumminess.

Each of these places had a "Wall of Honor" if you were able to eat the item by yourself in the prescribed amount of time your picture was posted on the wall.  

BYU-Idaho

While visiting with Krys and Bruce I have the opportunity to spend time on campus with them. The last time I was in a university gym was over 30 years ago.  These buildings have changed drastically since then. When I first entered the gym I was so impressed with the way it was designed to accomodate so many different sports.  Krystal informed me that all university gyms are alike.  Hmmm, it's pretty cool what is offered for the students use.So I took pictures. This will not be anything new to those of you who attend college but Gary and I have not seen this before, so the pictures below are for his benenfit.

The day I took this picture the gym was set up for volley ball, tennis, and basketball.  The white and blue you see across the floor are large curtians that can roll up and down to make the playing area larger or smaller. This court is partioned off from the volley ball  and tennis courts.

Above the gym floor is a track that encircles the building for joggers, runner or walkers.  There are four lanes marked and a clock/ timer positioned at the beginning of the track. This gym is not only used by the students and faculty, it is also open to the community.  You just have to wear a school issued t-shirt.

 All around the gym upstairs are large windows which look out onto the campus.  Very nice to be able to look outdoors while you are exercising indoors.  Espeically on a chilly day like this one.  (44 degrees)

A rose by any other name is still a Rose

I have always been fond of nick names.  The cute ones, not the mean ones.  Our whole married life Gary has always called me "Babe".  It use to drive his mother crazy.  She use to scold him and say, you do know that she has a name?  I simple stated that I loved it and it was special to me.  It still bugged her.  She was the type of woman who wanted her own identity and nick names took that from her, I guess.  But what I thought was funny, one day as I was visiting Bob and Polly for an extended time, Bob called her Blue Eyes and she responded without a hitch.  "Hmmm, what's the difference between Blue Eyes and Babe,?"I asked.  She said the words babe, doll, sweetie, good lookin' put women in a bad light.  We are people, not objects for their pleasure.  Why is it okay for Papa to call you Blue Eyes?  She said that is a term of endearment, "he loves my blue eyes; it's a fact, I have blue eyes. You on the other hand are a woman, not a baby or a doll." 

Oh well, I like it when Gary calls me "Babe".  To me I am more to him than just the women who shares his residence. I bring this up because I noticed that Bruce calls Krystal "Miss".  It 's adorable.  Nate and Brad do not call Kim and Kerri by any pet names that I can recall.  I only remember Nate mentioning that his wife's name is Kim and  only her family call her Kimi.  Well, I suppose since her Father and I named her we can call her whatever we want.  She is Kimi, Kerri is Kerri Berri, and Krystal is Krysie. These names where given to them by their older brother, Garrett as each girl came along.  We have used these names ever since.  I have never heard either of them complain. 

As for my nick names growing up, we don't need to go there, but I never was offended just thought I was loved.  While visiting Kim this last time, Lili told me she had 14 nicknames.  We listed all her names on the board whenever we heard a different one.  It was so heartwarming to me that she was proud of all her nick names.  Too cute.  The ones I can remember were:  sweet pea, princess honu, miss lillikins, booger butt,
pretty girl,  lovekins, little mama....and there were more.  I guess it depends on your personality whether or not you like nick names/pet names. If I give a nick name to someone, it comes from my heart and I hope that is how they precieve it.

Idaho

I'm here in Rexburg, Idaho waiting for my 6th grand child to make an entrance.  Krystal is trying her best to be patient but when your due date comes and goes and still no baby it has to be very frustrating.  As soon as something happens I'll record it, but until then I have to sit and wait just like mom and dad to be.

making a list, checking it twice

A Ver-dah! moment

I forget to do things so I have to make a check list.  This is not new to me.  I have been this way all my life. I carry a notebook and pencil everywhere I go.  When my daughters were growing up they taught me to make my list on the bathroom mirror with a erasable marker.  This works wonders  especially when I am going on a trip.  No  last minute "I forgots" because I always have to use the bathroom before I leave and voile! there's the list.
Oh by the way, I shared this tip with the ladies at a luncheon one day and they have all since put this into practice   It really is a life saver. You are welcome to use this technique yourself.  I'm grateful to my girls for their ingenuity.

ANYWHO...getting to the point...Today I participated in a community clean-up project and when I got home a nice cool shower was all I wanted.  The usual occurred.  There was water, soap, shampoo, lather and the squeegee.  The squeegee is an important step in taking a shower in our home.  You must wipe the water from  the walls and doors so to make the maids job easier.  I am the maid and yes, it is an essential part of the plan!  I had just put down the squeegee went to squeeze out the excess water in my hair and realized by the sound of bubbles in my ears I had neglected to go through the rinse cycle.   I still have shampoo in my hair and soap bubbling on my body parts...you know those unseen places you have to double check.  I am so mad at myself at this point, not only do I have to turn the water back on and remove all the bubbles, I have to squeegee AGAIN!. BAAHHHH.  As I finish once again and I am drying off, I look at the mirror and think to myself, oh my gosh, am I going to have to write the steps to a successful shower iside the shower door?  Pitiful, just pitiful...

NBA playoffs commercial: .4 seconds left

I have been enjoying the NBA playoffs. There are three commercials with a talking basketball. This one is my favorite. Who am I rooting for? Right now, the Mavericks, The Thunder, The Heat, The Bulls.