NOW THAT'S ONE BIG TV

The Mapleton Agles newest acquisition. The old TV gave out and though he didn't go in with the idea of getting and 81" TV, there it was, in all its glory. The rest is history. He says it will save on going to the movies!

NOW THAT IS ONE BIG CAT!

A picture is worth . . . seeing how big a house cat can get!

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A LITTLE OF THIS AND THAT

Ken sent these pictures.  Below is Rumplestiltskin (aka Nathan).

You might recognize a couple of kids in this one (Sophie, a beauty and JP- check out those muscles) but I think the 3rd kid is Grandad Padgett(?)

Remember the Planking

The Owling

Sashy and Curtis ae now adding Snailing.

How did they get up there in the first place?  That's the question.

MY LITTLE GARDEN

When you live in a condo, basically your patio becomes your garden.

Background:  Several years ago we were driving by a house where the owner was out watering his lawn.  At the curb was a bird bath with a sign on it, "FREE".  We asked him, "really?" and he said if you can lift it, it's yours.  It was a heavy sucker (solid concrete) but we were ten years younger (than now) and so into the boot it went.  Off to our abode we returned with our new treasure.  (Actually, I might have been a tad more excited than dad.)

The only place I could put it (legally) was on our patio but let me tell you, keeping a bird bath full of water on your patio is not very practical.  You have to unwind the hose from its little home, drag it across the patio, wash out the old water (yuk), and refill it.  Messy, messy, messy.  After a couple of years, that got pretty old.  Solution:  Put some potted plants on it.  Reality:  Looked kind of forlorn.

About a month ago I visited an outstanding nursery in our area and saw a great idea I could copy.  Their planter bowl was about 3 feet across with gorgeous succulants in it.  I asked them how they planted it and she told me to just mound the soil in a peak and go from there.  I'm confident that in a few months when mine fills out, it will be a show stopper.  Now I really love my
re-purposed bird bath. 

As an aside, my cymbidium orchid (back wall on the left) has 3 spikes on it and will blossom in another week or two.  It will be spectacular!

These yellow cymbidiums are similar to mine except mine are white with purple centers.

Katie has some changes coming in her life.  She's quite busy now with finals so her Mom agreed to fill us in on those changes.  Here's an update on those events from Suzanne.
In February of this year, Kate heard about a job from Apple computers. She is currently enrolled at the University of Utah and heard that the Uof U was one of 10 universities across the nation that Apple had picked to hire students for a year to work for them. Kate went to the initial meeting that Apple had on campus and liked what she heard. The company were looking for students who could commit for a year. If hired, the student would be trained and would be part of a task force that helps customers in the Apple care club. Customers can join this club, for a fee, when they buy an Apple product and then are guranteed service and help with anything they need in regards to the purchased device for a year. It is like having unlimited access to Apple Help any time.

    The students employed by Apple go through 4 weeks of training, 40 hours a week, paid of course. They work from home on the phone, working full time in the summer and then 17 hours a week during the fall and winter semesters. They have to work full time during the holidays but Apple will work around the student's schedule during the semesters. Apple also pay an hourly wage, full medical benefits that apply to the emloyee's spouse if married, payment of tuition for the semesters the employee is in school and the employee gets an IMAC for one year. I thught that sounded very good too!

    Kate was offered a second, personal interview that took place in March. That took place on facetime, via the computer then Kate was asked to wait until the end of April when Apple would inform her as to whether they would offer her the job. Well, 2 weeks ago, Kate heard from Apple and she was offered the job!

    She gave in her notice at Banana Republic last week. That was hard for Kate because, although the hours are sometimes long and hard, she loved the employee discount for the clothes and took full advantage of it which, coupled with her eye for fashion and style, always leaves her looking gorgeous! (I know, I'm her mum!)

    Kate starts the 4 weeks, full time training, on May 7th and then goes from there. It is such a great opportunity for this newly married couple and Daren is "stoked" ! Good Luck to Kate in this new endeavour and this Mum could not be more proud of her courage and determination to open up this opportunity for herself and Daren.

Sounds like Kate has some exciting new challenges coming up.  Good luck, Kate.

Adam took his spring break by visiting his Mom. He returned back to Boston last Sunday. Here's Ruth's recap that I asked for. Enjoy.
Adam was here for the past week, and we had a GREAT time. As you may recall, he'd made his decision to go live with his Dad over the summer, so never really got to say goodbye to his friends, which in Iowa country, they're scattered far and wide in various small towns and out-in-the-country farms. At Julie's suggestion, I called his school to see if he could go there for lunch. No problem! I was a little bit worried when I dropped him off, praying that all would go well and he would have fun. When I picked Adam up an hour or so later (he went to both lunches), he was wreathed in smiles and grinned all the way home. Yay! It DID go well! After school that day, one of his good friends came over to play video games - sans his evil brother, aptly named "Damien", thank goodness.

The next day I cajolled Adam into going into the recently purchased house behind me. I was afraid to go myself for fear of the creatures that may have made a home in there through one of the various, ever-widening holes in the roof. But there was nary a creature afoot! We found treasure. And this is how Hoarding can begin! I know you've been in that house, mom, and know how gross it is with all the mold from the incoming rain and snow, HOWEVER! Those same holes that might have allowed creatures to enter also seemed to have helped the place air out a bit. It wasn't NEARLY as bad, and didn't feel as scary as it had. In fact, I may enter there again BY MYSELF to retrieve the treadle sewing machine that's still in there, and the old vanity. As it was, I found a silver pocket watch and a separate gold case that I gave to Adam (I was going to use it as a wall clock in my next dollhouse for the Petites). He LOVED it. In an jar of buttons, I also found some old foreign coins that I gave to him too. In addition, I found an old music box with a dancing couple that had jointed legs so that when they turned this way and that, their legs would swing hither and fro as they danced to the music. Sweet! I also found parts of an old doll tea set, a matte teal ginger pot, some more old fabric that I'd missed the first time, a rather pretty "Last Supper" print that you may remember was hanging on the living room wall. GORGEOUS coloring and a pretty carved frame. There were just a lot of fun odds and ends. An adventure! Julie, Scott, Adam and I had TWO separate movie dates, the second on a perfectly rainy day where we snacked a lot (huh-oh, weigh-in!) and on a gorgeous sunny day that came afterwards, Adam and I went to Emmetsburg, a small town nearby. We went to a Chinese restaurant and then to the local antique and thrift stores there, were we each found a few small treasures. I couldn't tell whether or not he was having fun, him being a cool teenager and all. When I asked him what he wanted to do next, he said, "This is fun! Are there any more stores around?" Yay! He later said again how much fun he had! I can tell that's going to stick in his memory and we'll do it again next time around, over the July 4th week.

His last day here he met up with his best friend Alec. I drove him to Alec's house, he'd taken off the afternoon from school and they went and saw a matinee of "The Three Stooges" and then played until all hours. I finally called at 9:30 that night, Adam told me he'd be home around 10:00, I called again around 10:47 - and he was just pulling up. Which is a good thing! His plane was leaving from Fort Dodge at SIX O'CLOCK the following morning! He ended up not going to sleep at all that night. And YES, we went up to the attic! I heard my mother's voice in my ear and knew that we'd better! The Rolfe city-wide garage sales are this weekend - so, unfortunately, is predicted rain. Adam brought a lot of bins down for me and we saw nary a bat. Who knows? Maybe that last bat was hanging out in my house all winter.

Maybe he was in the birdhouse I have on top of the cupboards in my kitchen! Maybe he was there the whole time, just WAITING to pounce with his bloody fangs of gore!! Hopefully, it was just a fluke and I will NEVER have a bat again.

All in all, we had a GREAT time, a little teenage drama thrown in for good measure but good adventures when all is said and done. The last day, before I took him to Alec's, he insisted that we take a picture together. So we did, using the "self portrait" mode. Later he took a picture of himself in the car, and more pictures looking out the windshield as we drove to Alec's. You can just imagine the "Fargo" money being hidden in the snow along that long road.

And that was my visit with Adam, who grows by leaps and bounds, both in stature and maturity, each time I see him. I love that boy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAREN

A big birthday wish to (Kate's beloved)Daren. Big year for him as he is soon to graduate from the University of Utah, get going on his career path, and check out what life has to offer.

Update on the on-goings in Sashy's life.

Sashy is in the midst of finals, but her good friend Curtis is done with his.  He came over for a visit and of course they had to have some great fun and take some cute photos.

Who is that blond?

And on a more serious note. . .

And then to share some more news, Curtis has received his mission call to serve in the New York City, New York in the Spanish speaking area. He reports to the Mission Home on July 25th.  We're all thrilled for him and wish him the best.

Dancing Dads and Donuts.

Looks like Ken was home and able to attend a very special function at Sophie's school. There are a lot of Dad's there, aren't there.

Last Spring, Erik, Kristin and the kids took a trip to Duncan to visit the Germaines and Carltons. Kristin got some beautiful shots of desert flowers.
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Make your own slide show at Animoto.

THE E AGLES ANNUAL FAMILY SKI TRIP TO MAMMOTH

It's a tradition for the EK BUNCH to take a ski trip with the family and friends to Mammoth for a week of skiing. Mammoth is about 300 miles north of Murrieta. The report is a good time was had by all. Enjoy the pictures.

Back row: Ryan, Erik, Kristin
Front row: Travis, Lindsey, Nathan

On the ski lift.

Looks like they really have a Wooly Mammoth up there.

Aimee came too.

Taking a break

Travis

Nathan

Puka teeth

Ryan

Kristin taking a break

The ladies, Aimee, Linsdey & Kristin enjoying the hot tub.

I think there will be enough room for the permanent teeth!

Can you believe it?

CRAZY? ? ?

Nathan, the snowboarder

Skiing in the snow fall.

Exhausted ?

Which run to take?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE LONDON

A big Happy Birthday to London who turns 4 years old today.

Let's see your tonsils.