The Babbling Brooks

OMG! I am Grandma Nellie!

This...is what I had for lunch today!

The Awesome Authors Challenge!

Alyce over at At Home With Books has issued a challenge for 2010 and I've decided to jump in with both feet. This will be my first book challenge! I'll let Alyce tell you about the challenge. Here's her words... "The idea behind this challenge is to read works by authors who have been recommended to you time and again, yet somehow you haven't managed to read any books by those authors. These are the authors that everyone else tells you are awesome, thus the "Awesome Author Challenge" title." I'm going to join at the "moderate" level which means I'll need to read books by six different authors during 2010 to complete the challenge. I have two (maybe 3) authors in mind already and will be thinking about who else to add. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them! Want to join in? Click HERE to read the challenge rules and sign up!

Happy Anniversary to Us

The 22nd was our anniversary, 16 years of a perfect life together :) We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory along with Tony and Tonya who were newbies to TCF. We're looking forward to at least another 34 years so we can celebrate a 50th wedding anniversary. Love you, Sweetie!

Happy 1st Birthday, Lennox!

Happy Birthday, Lennox! It's hard to believe you are one already! Wish we could be at your party today. We love you!!

(photo taken in July 2009)

I-Blog Conference in November!

My bloggy friend, Jody, is hosting the first I_Blog Conference next month. She is the owner of Have Kid Will Travel  and The Iowa Geek ! The conference will be held November 14th-15th at The Hotel Pattee in Perry, Iowa. There is an awesome speaker line-up guaranteed to help you step up your blog! The hotel is historic and has fun, themed rooms.

Creative Memories signed on as an I_Blog sponsor and will be hosting a pizza & digi scrapping party. They will be giving every attendee to the conference their new StoryBook Creator plus 3.0 software! (It’s worth $65.) Which makes the conference an even better deal!

The details and registration information can be found at I_Blog Conference !

Win Helmar Adhesives at Tracy Weinzapfel Studios

Need some sticky stuff for crafting? My friend, Tracy at Tracy Weinzapfel Studios , is a VP at Helmar Adhesives and she's got a great adhesive package to give away! Helmar makes several adhesives that are perfect for different tasks. If you scrapbook or do other crafts, you'll find the perfect glue from Helmar. Click HERE  to enter, winner will be drawn on October 26th.

PS: Be sure to check out Tracy's professional photos site... HERE !

Please vote for Melissa!

I read The Consumer Queen on a regular basis. She finds all kinds of ways to save you money, has some great giveaways, and works really hard to make her blog interesting and informative. She's been selected as a finalist for the Panasonic LiHD Insider program! Please help her out by placing a vote for her. There's no need to register or buy anything. Just click HERE to get to her blog and then click on the button to vote. Her name is Melissa Garcia and she is The Consumer Queen. Thanks for your time and your help! 

Banish Boring Boxes

Who wants a boring tissue box when you can have these?! This packaging won the Best of Show award at the 2009 Pentawards which recognizes new packaging for consumer products. I'll be on the lookout for these, love them! You can see what else took home an award at the Pentawards Blog .

Who Let the Blog Out???

Ok, it was me. I've written a whole lot of posts in the last month and they are all safe and sound...in my head where I've left them. I've been working on a lot of projects and really let this slide...my apologies. I'm moving it back up the priority list. There are lots of photos and other things to share...travel, vacation, Oklahoma, friends, family, and more! I've also started a second blog and will share that soon. Stay tuned!!

Tim Hawkins Theatre

This pretty much covers it...

Obamacare #2

Stephen Crowder investigates public healthcare in Canada...

Obamacare #1

I am in Montana because.....

No, we didn't trade in the blue SCRPBKmobile. It'll be here waiting for us next spring. It's starting to show it's age and miles, but runs great. We'll be making it our "town car" for trips to the post office, grocery store, etc. We traded in the Dodge pickup. There's not much use for a 2-wheel drive truck in Montana and we can do the same jobs with the Explorer and the utility trailer. Yes, I do have a name for this one. I need to check with the Montana DMV to see if the license plate I want is available!

Why Am I Here???

Some of you know that I just drove solo from Oklahoma to Montana and am now at Mountain Dreams. I took 4 days to get here and traveled through Rocky Mountain National Park, Grand Teton National Park, and Yellowstone National Park. I'd been to all of them before, but's it's been awhile. I'll share pictures later...

So.....why am I here after being here just a couple weeks ago? I'll tell ya tomorrow!!

We're back......

in Oklahoma. John's leave of absence of over and he goes back to work on Monday. I've got a ton of photos and stories to share, not only from July...but also from spring! We had a great time with kids and grandkids all month long. We'll recover in a few days :)

Sneak Peak!

We've been in Montana since July 12th. We picked Legend up on July 1 at his other grandmas, stayed a day in St. George and then went to Washington. We spent a week there visiting Ocean Shores, seeing my sisters, and going to the Hansen brothers summer birthday party. Brad, Legend, and Trevor came to Montana with us and Wendy, Brian, Zachary, and Jacob followed a week later. We've had lots of fun and I've got a ton of photos to share. Here's a sneak peak of some of the pictures I've taken of our five grandsons...Trevor (9), Legend (6), Zachary (4), Jacob (2), and Lennox (9 months).

      

John goes back to work in Oklahoma August 3rd, so we'll be headed that way in a few days! 

Fauna Pillows!

Spearmintbaby.com is hosting a contest to win a free Fauna Pillow. Visit Beddingsets.com for a wide variety of bedding for children and adults.

Celebrate America!

I hope everyone is celebrating their country today and teaching their children and grandchildren what it means to be an American. Be proud of our history, our present, and our future!

We'll be leaving St. George with Legend and heading for a week in Washington. We plan to spend the night in Boise and hope to enjoy the fireworks at the river front park. Happy 4th of July!

Could You Use A Bouncehouse At Your House?

Here's your chance to add the perfect summertime fun to your backyard!  J. Leigh Designs and Playhouse Bouncers have joined to give away this... the Pirates Bay Inflatable Play Park!

Wouldn't your kids or grandkids love this? I know ours would. Want to win it? Here's how! Click HERE to go to the contest page at J. Leigh Designs blog. Be sure to read the rules and directions carefully and get your entries in. Be sure to visit Playhouse Bouncers to take a look at the variety of bouncers they offer, click HERE to get there! Contest end August 3rd...Good luck!  

It's A Guaranteed Win For Bloggers!

 

Have you been wanting a custom signature for your posts or maybe a blog button? Me, too! I'd love to have a blog button, but just haven't had the time to learn how to do it myself. Here's the deal! April at April Showers is offering to design a signature or blog button for everyone who follows the directions she's left on her post for signing up. It's that easy! To get yours, click on the link after her name and it'll take you right to her post. Thanks, April! 

Response from Senator Max Baucus!

Wow, I received a response to my e-mail to the Senator in less than 24 hours! They must think we're stupid. It's the exact response I received to my e-mail regarding health care on June 12th...word for word. I still have the other response. Maybe a phone call is in order....

Twitter Party Tonight!

Letter to Senator Max Baucus

my e-mail to Senator Baucus today said this...

Are you kidding me??? I just heard that you, Senator Baucus, are proposing to exempt unions from taxation of health benefits should it be enacted for the rest of us. When are you going to start representing the citizens that elected you? You were not elected by unions, the Democrats, or the Obama administration. Stand up for what is right and represent what the people of Montana want. We do NOT want a health care system run by the federal government. We do NOT want our children and grandchildren saddled with back-breaking economic debt. We do NOT want our medical records digitized so that some government bureaucrat can look at them. We do NOT want to allow states the option of using federal taxpayer  money to provide health care to those who have entered our country illegally.That's right...it's our money, not yours. Stand up NOW, Senator Baucus and speak out. Get out of that back room and give us the details of the health care plans being proposed. Invite your fellow Senators from other parties to participate in the meetings and in the upcoming day-long "discussion" being aired on ABC. To not invite dissenting viewpoints and other ideas is like the author editing his own book. You'll see what you want to see and miss the errors. Come on Senator...you are a more honorable man than this.

O, America

Release date, June 23rd.....Enjoy!

(you can turn off the embedded music by scrolling to the player at the bottom of the right sidebar)

You could be a winner!

 

Check out the new web site, XTRA XTRA ! You can post milestones (births, weddings, etc.) to share with others and keep them posted on the happenings in your hometown. As part of their launch they are giving away an Ipod Touch and other prizes. Want to win? Click on the button to get to a giveaway site!