July, a busy and hot month . . . .




From the beginning of the month, its be go, go, go, and now we're just tired out. With Erin and her sons visiting, we made a trip to Ephrata, WA to visit Leslie and Troy and the children. It was such an enjoyable time with all of them together. We especially liked visiting the area and spending time with at least five grandchildren. Our time there was all too short and we had to make it back to Utah.









On the morning of our departure, I took some pictures of the scenery from the patio door of leslie and Troy's home. It seemed fitting since everything was quiet.












The car was loaded and we just had to bring ourselves to get in and get going. A 750+ miles to home but we made it in 14 - 16 hours. Of course we had to make the essential stops.















The evening before leaving, Troy and I finally found time to put Leslie's new quilter frame together. So, this picture is of the finished project and shows Leslie enjoying her quilting. Of course, it was fortunate that Jo was there to help give some instructions on how to operate it. So, Happy Quilting, Leslie.











Upon our return, I check the garden and here is a picture of the progress, ripe tomatos. Fortunately the garden got watered, with the help of a drip system and timer.












Another view of my garden this year.















Well, after the weekend of our return from Ephrata, we had the sad task of bidding our grandsons farewell, especially early in the morning. They brought us so much joy and fun, and with the noise, our home resembled a normal home.




















Bidding farewell at the airport.



















A couple of days after Erin and the boys left for home, I travelled to Portsmouth, Virginia to attend a conference for work. There was so much history in Virginia and got to see a few historic places.












A monument remembering the confederate state and there involvement in the civil war.















I talked to our son Jesse who is living in northern Maryland and arranged to meet him half way so I could see him and his family. He drove south to Ocean City, Maryland, while I drove north from Portsmouth, crossed the Chesapeak Bay, a long bridge and a tunnel under the bay and on to Ocean City.









Little Jesse and brother Jackson (Jack Jack)














Jesse and his two sons.

















Grandpa Calabio with Jesse, Jackson, and little Jesse.














I received an award, being honored by our national association of college and university mail services. It was for mail manager of the year. It was a great experience to be recognized.

Anyway, the month was busy, busy, busy. To top that off, Jo did my irrigation while I was away and had the misfortune to break her foot and fracture the side of her forhead. Needless to say, she is scheduled for surgery to repair her foot, but there isn't anything they can do about the fractured skull. She's already let me know that she'll never do irrigation for me again.


Though the month's been busy, I'm glad its over.

Summer Time in PG

Correctly translated, this means family visit, neighborhood BBQ, Strawberry Days Parade, and of course, quilting here below "G" mountain.

















George is all excited before we go to the neighborhood BBQ picnic.
















We have great neighbors, such as the Mark and Linda with their two sons.















Its a time for relaxing for Heber and Doris.
















Of course we can't forget the extended family (by marriage), just across the street and two doors down, Carol and new hubby and family.















Then there the Strawberry Days parade and all the fun of a small town whooping it up.
















Henry really enjoyed the warm day and catching candy thrown by the parade people.
















Henry and Grandma enjoy a hug. Boy what a difference it makes at home having grandchildren visit us.
















Ipo doggy and Grandma relax on the front porch.


This quilt is a product of Jo who is the G Mountain Quilter.

Ipo is there for contrast.

4th of July Celebration

Being a kid is the best thing possible especially when there is a parade. Here are a few photos of the Annual Freedom Festival Parade in Provo. We had to get up early to get a good spot on the parade route.

















George is all excited about the parade.
















People in the area are really patriotic and enjoyed the parade theme.
















Henry enjoys a ring pop during the parade.




The boys enjoyed the Wells Fargo stage coach. This is the real West.

WARM SUMMER DAYS



















A warm summer day brings all sorts of ideas about how best to enjoy the day and cool off. While visiting Troy and Leslie and their children in Ephrata, Washington, we took an afternoon trip to a nearby lake. We had all sorts of fun keeping cool and ended the activity playing minature golf and topped off with ice cream treat and snow cones.

















Erin with George, Anna and Christian hit the lake for a dip.
















Baby Emily likes to explore and almost got one of those "hot" nuts (Wasabi flavored Almonds).
















Christian, George, and the gang all enjoyed the treat at the end of the day.
















We also took a trip to the Farmers Market at Wenatchee and while waiting for the adult shoppers, the kids enjoyed the bubbles in the cool comfort of the shade.















Henry, Christian and George enjoy some of that delicious Rainier cherries. They wiped out the whole bag in a couple of minutes, but it was good. They didn't mind.
















Henry, George, and Christian are all ready to go to church here. Christian gave a talk in Primary and we all enjoyed our day at Church.

In a moment of quiet, Anna and Grandma pose for a picture. Anna had just finished off some cherries at a picnic dinner by the pool.

Our May 2006 Highlights


In the valley, if you live in PG, then the early morning whine of the firehouse siren can be heard. It sounds the start of the annual Firemens Breakfast. A community event of such magnitude that you won't forget it. Breakfast is served for a nominal amount, cheaper than "Mickey D's" and all you can eat. You meet friends and neighbors all having a grand social. Its a good way to start the morning especially the first Saturday in the month of May.






For the family, you get to climb up on the fire engine trucks and imagine you are a fireman. Best of all, sometimes the real firemen will be available to help you sound the horns and sirens or even give you a ride.

For a city that depends on a volunteer force, you can't beat the commitment and quality of their work.














Taking pictures on a Sunday is a task in itself. You have to keep the group in check by keeping them focused. That's after you've dressed them up appropriately. Here's Gabby, Pookie and Bun in their famous pose.















We all had a great visit, especially the Papa. This was taken on Sunday afternoon just before Nikki and the kids headed home to "Why not, Minot?" North Dakota.
















The fun part was packing in everything. Luckily, none of the children were left behind, but after loading up the car, they all made it. As you can see, both Gabby and Pookie have their sun glasses on, ready for the trip. Poor Bun had to face the rear looking at the sack of oatmeal that was being taken home.







I guess Elijah was happy to say goodbye so he could get seated for the long trip home. It was a sad departure but in the end, they made it home safely.

As for the folks in PG, the quiet of the neighborhood soon became deafening and Po doggie had no little children to feed her. The house is quiet, things put away, furniture moved back to their original place and readied for another family visitor making their way home to PG.




This is Jo "wired", litterally. You might think that the recent visit might have something to do with this picture but it doesn't.

As you can see, she had been wired up to monitors to measure her sleep, or lack there of. It is quite scientific here.













This picture shows the attachments of the wires to her body. Look at all the different color ones. The test last until the morning. I hope she passed.


Anyway, this has been a snippet of our month of May. We hope you all enjoy the pictures and will update your blogs.

We look forward to sharing our next month pictures and updates of the family in PG. Bye for now.

Granddaughters Gather Together, April 8, 2006
(left to right) Anna, Rykell, Klailea (standing), Emily, Gabrielle

They are all so special and we were excited to gather all the granddaughters together for a picture. We had a marvelous time with them all and their families early in April. With their brothers, it was a fun filled week visitng. (Since we couldn't get all the grandsons together, we'll just have to wait until Christmas when there is a good possibility that we'll get all the grandchildren together in one family picture. It was also Mom's birthday and we got to celebrate some other birthdays also.

Thanks to their parents for making this possible. Your pictures will be on their way. Just thought you'd like a preview.

Celebrating a Spring Day!







Sometimes it takes both sisters to travel to a halfway point to meet. In this case, they both travelled from opposite directions to meet at our home in Utah. Also with their older sister, Leslie, it was a great visit for all the families.

















Going back to old family albums, often you couldn't tell whose picture we were looking at, Rachel's or Nikki's. Since their five years apart, its good that they turned out the way they are now.




























Rachel (Above) Nicole (Above)


Actually happened today! Ipo stalked the easy prey for their ice cream. Look at the culprit in action.






Hmmm. Let's see who hasn't finished their ice cream cone yet? There must be someone still with some ice cream!

Ah Ha! I've found my easy target! Oh Gabby, you are so good to "Po Doggie."












Ethan in a moment of quiet contemplation. He just witnessed Ipo picking off the ice cream cone from his sister Gabby. (Wow! Ipo was sure fast.)












It's fun to set up the tent and have a spring campout in the front lawn. (Gabby, Ethan, and Bun Bun, aka Elijah)










We're enjoying our time with Nikki and the kids. Po doggie is making the most of it, as seen by the above pictures. Elijah is mastering his "army crawl" and is making his way through out the house pretty good.

Buy back started at the bookstore and Jo has been busy their. I've been overcoming my residual pnuemonia and almost licked it. It's been a miserable two weeks. The kids are resilient and bouncing back from bronchitis and soon, we will be free from the coughing, snot, and gala gala. There's a good chance we will all make it to church tomorrow. Since Easter is over and no more lilies and we are getting over our coughing, we'll be where we should be on Sundays.

We hope you all will enjoy this short blog message. Bye

Celebrating a Spring Day! Sometimes the only way to enjoy the season is to get the family together for a wagon ride to the park. The kids really enjoyed that ride.

Going back to March, that was a big month. We celebrated the birthdays of George, Henry, cousin Audrey, and Auntie Nikki. Jo went to Hawaii to help out with George and Henry, and yeah, their Mom, Dad, Aunt, Uncle, and cousins Klailea and Rykell.

While the intentions were good, the weather wasn't. It rained for most of the time, recording record downpour, flooding, mudslides, and frizzy hair. We all thought that it was paradise there. I guess we were not exactly right on that one.

Back on the Mainland, Po doggie and I suffered extended winter weather, and the blahs of being in the land of brown.


In paradise, when there were some sunshine, the kids and Jo made the best of it with sightseeing and shopping. This picture is a great example of sun shining here but on the other side of the island, it continued to rain.








A trip to the Honolulu Zoo.

















Just a short break to rest in the shade of the tree and look for wild animals.

















George and Henry in a moment of contemplation.

















It didn't quite rain for 40 days and nights but it got people thinking, "learn to thread water".
















This picture is not at all what you may be thinking about George and Henry. This was waiting in line at Matsumoto's Shaved Ice Store in Haleiwa. Policemen also brake for "shaved ice".

Jo had some fun times with the daughters Erin and Rachel and their families. Though we miss them all, glad she's back home quilting. Well, bye for now and there's more to catchup on the blog. Aloha to all the family and friends.

Grandchildren Gathering at our home.



Grandma Jo and 3 granddaughters and 3 grandsons (Anna, Klailea, Elijah, Christian, Ethan, Gabby). Just look at our Polynesian Princesses in their dresses.)

Here below, some of the grandchildren were lounging and playing.





Family, this is what it's all about!

Since the last week of March, its been "grandchildren time". We've been busy, even up to this very point in time with the visits of four of our children and their families. Even though the visits seem to be staggered, we managed to visit with most of the grandsons and granddaughters. Wow, what fun.

During the last week of March, Jesse and Amy brought their two boys for a short visit on their way back to the east coast. (See last blog entry) Then Nikki and Dan brought Ethan, Gabrielle, and Elijah to visit us. While Dan left this morning to return to work, Nikki and the children are visiting a while longer here. Last week, Rachel, Jason, and their two daughters, Klailea and Rykell came back to Utah for a visit. They left for home this morning. Also, Leslie and Troy brought their children, Christian, Anna, and Emily for a visit. With all the family visits, we were lucky to get three out of our five children in at one time.

Our hope is that at Christmas time, we can get all of them in for a visit. We certainly had a great time seeing the little cousins play together and everyone visiting. Sometimes I seriously wonder how we don't do this more often.

At least, Mom and her daughters got to do stuff they enjoyed most, shop for fabric and stuff. Dad and the sons went out for some outdoor recreation, golf. Even though the weather was a bit shakey (wind, hail, cold temperatures)it was the best golf ever, no one else on the course, just us. In the evening it was off to dinner at Papa's. Great smoked ribs, good sides, private dinner room, all of us at one long table, someone to serve, and someone to clean up. Wow, what a great evening.

We did hold our traditional Easter egg hunt early to accomodate the grandchildren. It was a blast, even though we missed having four grandsons and an awaiting granddaughter (?) there. Though we may have had our own agendas during the entire visit, some of the adults played a game "Killer Bunnies" and got hooked on it. I've yet to figure out the strategy for the game but it was just fine seeing them not arguing but having real fun.