Pink Dolphin .......I never knew !

Charter boat captain Erik Rue, 42, photographed the animal, which is actually an albino, when he began studying it after the mammal first surfaced in Lake Calcasieu, an inland saltwater estuary, north of the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana.
Capt Rue originally saw the dolphin, which also has reddish eyes, swimming with a pod of four other dolphins, with one appearing to be its mother which never left its side.
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"It was absolutely stunningly pink.
"I had never seen anything like it. It's the same color throughout the whole body and it looks like it just came out of a paint booth.
"The dolphin appears to be healthy and normal other than its coloration, which is quite beautiful and stunningly pink.
"The mammal is entirely pink from tip to tail and has reddish eyes indicating its albinism. The skin appears smooth, glossy pink and without flaws.

"Surprisingly, it does not appear to be drastically affected by the environment or sunlight as might be expected considering its condition, although it tends to remain below the surface a little more than the others in the pod."
Regina Asmutis-Silvia, senior biologist with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, said: "I have never seen a dolphin colored in this way in all my career.
"While this animal looks pink, it is an albino which you can notice in the pink eyes.

It's National School Breakfast Week

National School Breakfast week is observed each year during the first week of March here in the U.S. According to the School Nutrition Association, research shows that children who eat breakfast have improved memory, problem -solving skills, verbal fluency and creative abilities. Don't we all wish this would have been in place when we were children? This whole article made me think of my times as a child growing up in a farming community and riding the bus to school. I loved riding the bus with all my friends. As farm kids, we had to eat lunch at school or carry it. In those days (days gone by!!!!) the cost was 50 cents and I remember the meals were great! You just couldn't beat the price. I have such wonderful memories of "THE LUNCH LADY". I even remember the cool milk machine and when they put in chocolate milk!!

Joe at the Nascar Race

My son -in -law at the Nascar race this past weekend.

He will be doing his first Triathlon on March 28 in Las Vegas . It's called "Showdown at Sundown" triathlon at Lake Las Vegas. If you want to check it out here is a link: http://www.sunsetracing.com/. We are all so excited for him and inspired by his hard work, determination, will power and self control. Seriously, on the self control thing.....No sweets..He did not even have one bite of the cheese cake on Sat.

You go Joe.........We are backing you!!!!!

# 18 Car

Lucky #18 Kyle Busch winning car at the pit.

Nascar 2009 Las Vegas Speedway

Sweet Race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and our Las Vegas home boy Kyle Busch took first place in the race on Sunday. This race is known as the Shelby 247. The race length is 427 miles. His average speed was 119.515 MPH.

And.....his winnings were $461.273.00. Not bad for a days work huh?

Las Vegas Weekend

This past weekend I traveled to Las Vegas to celebrate my youngest daughter's birthday. I never feel old until someone starts talking numbers and then.... I simply cannot believe it. My baby turned 28 on Sunday. We had such a great time together. We just did alot of hanging out, shopping, gardening, playing board games (she won at CLUE), cooking, exercising and then going to church. It is always so nice to be with those you love. Thanks again Joe and Mackenzie for a really great time and for being "My Family". I am truely grateful for my many blessings!!!!

The Future "Master Gardener"

Mackenzie posing with her "efforts". She was so excited to plant and create. Remember to keep them watered and talk to them. "giggles"

ART

What a lovely work of Art !!!!

Color Mixture

The two Iris starts were given to her at the class and then we went to a local store and bought the others. Cute huh? Maybe she will grow into a "Master Gardener" !!!

Front Porch is sure Cute !!!

Veggies !!

On Saturday morning Mackenzie and I attened a local gardening class and lecture. It was very informative and so she decided to try her green thumb. There were plenty of starts that someone had brought to share and so she just purchased a few pots, soil, bone meal and a tomato plant. When you live in Vegas you have to plant early because of the high heat. Good Luck Kenzie !!!

Cheesecake Factory

Located in an area of Vegas called "The District" at green valley ranch is one of our favorite restaurants. It was Mackenzies birthday so we went for lunch and then topped it off by sharing a piece of Cheesecake. Note the palm trees.......The temperature was close to 73 degrees on Sunday.

Your Inner Child Wants To Play

The Carousel

This is a beautiful little carousel located in "The District". You can even have birthday parties here.

Fashion Show Place Mall

Fashion Show Place Mall is located on the Las Vegas Strip. The shops are amazing here. They actually have fashion shows and if you look close enough you can see the cat walk located below. Pictured are my cute daughter and her hubby.

Fish Vase

How cool is this? The kids have been looking at this piece for almost a year and finally on Saturday we went to a shop called Z Galleries located in the Fashion Show Place Mall on the Las Vegas Strip. The best part is that it was 20% off too. We then bought sand, some live plants and 2 goldfish (that you can barely see). It turned out really cute.

My Godmother

This past weekend I traveled to various places to visit with family. I figured it was over 350 miles in three days. But............to me there is nothing more important than "my family". Pictured is my Aunt Jan who is "my godmother". She has come out west to get out of the cold of the New England States.

The Girls

Aunt Jan, my mom, me and Aunt Sylvia.

Oh Those French !!!!!!!!

I love to just sit and listen to my family speak french. It amazes me at times. Pictured from left are My Aunt Jan, Mom, Uncle Paul and his wife Sylvia. They all grew up in a small town in New Hampshire called Nashua. We are all french descendents from Quebec Canada. Our lines include the names: Caron, Moussette, Desjardins, and Nault.

Get Together Weekend

This past weekend my daughters and I were able to get together for the day. Kenzie and Joe came from the south, Ivy and her family from the north and me from the east. How funny !!!! We took the kids to the park and then went for lunch. It is wonderful to be together. I am truely blessed.

Heartbreaker !!!!

I bought Lukas this cute "Heartbreaker" shirt from Old Navy for Valentine's and the other night he wore it to dinner and told his mom this.........Mom, I gonna be a heartbreaker and break all the girls hearts. HE'S FOUR!!!! Where do they come up with these things????

Layni

Can you say "Strike a Pose" ? I really do think they love for Nana to take lots of pictures.

Playground Fun

Picture Perfect

She has the most beautiful smile !!

Mackenzie and Lukie Bear

Aunt Mackenzie and her favorite nephew "Lukie Bear". Ok..... so his name is really Lukas. But for a really short time we will really only be able to call him little lukie bear. For the longest time we would ask him his name and he would say "Lukie Bear". That's a thing of the past now.

The Tradition of The King Cake of Mardi Gras

The King Cake is believed to have originated in France around the 12th century. These early Europeans celebrated the coming of the three wise men bearing gifts twelve days after Christmas calling it the Feast of the epiphany, Twelfth Night, or King's Day.The main part of the celebration was the baking of a King’s Cake to honor the three Kings. The cakes were made circular to portray the circular route used by the kings to get to the Christ Child, which was taken to confuse King Herod who was trying to follow the wise men so he could kill the Christ Child. In these early King Cakes a bean, pea, or coin was hidden inside the cake. The person who got the hidden piece was declared King for the day or was said to have good luck in the coming year. In Louisiana, Twelfth Night also signifies the beginning of the carnival season which ends with Mardi Gras Day. The bean, pea and the coin have been replaced by a small plastic baby to symbolize the Christ Child. The person who gets the baby is expected to carry on the carnival festivities by hosting the next King Cake party.

King Cake

When my dear sweet Texan friends were here with me one year we got a King Cake from the famous "Raos Bakery "and they let me get the piece with the baby. I was so excited. ... I might add that the cake is also DELICIOUS. Best Mardi Gras Wishes to them: John, Pat, Danny and Janis. I love you and miss you....... And I am jealous that you will be in New Orleans soon.

Mardi Gras

The following photos are from my trip to New Orleans in November of 2008. I thought it would be fun to see them since today is the start of Mardi Gras. Mardi (Fat) Gras (Tuesday). What a lovely area to visit and so much to see. I cannot imagine being there during this time but it looks like quite a party!!!!

Beads Everywhere

There are simply beads everywhere in New Orleans. This is in the Garden District area and you can tell probably some of them have been there for quite some time.

Marie Laveau Tomb

Marie Laveau 1801-1881 renowned practioner of Voudou in New Orleans is buried here at St. Louis Cemetery #1. Born in the french quarter of New Orleans of a white planter and a free Creole woman of color. Visitors draw the three x's (xxx) on it's side, in hopes that Laveau's spirit will grant them a wish.

This beautiful building is located down in the French Market area. All the little doors located on the ground floor are all various little shops. It was close to here that we discovered a great little creation called a "Praline". It's a southern candy confection that is out of this world. For Valentine's I sent my mom a 2 pound box. Was she ever excited to see them!!!!!

Fabulous Homes

My mom and I walked all over the Garden District and some of these homes were just amazing. Notice this great old tree and the roots above the ground.

Market Cafe

Oh yes! I am still thinking about the deep fried oysters and wish I had a big ole platter in front of me.

Street Entertainer

These very entertaining street "persons" are all over down in the French Market area. Most all of them are pretty darn good at what they do and by the looks of his bucket of money he had a pretty lucrative day.

Crazy Times

OK...........so last week I went to the grocery store, bought just a few items maybe 5 or 6. Let's see can I even remember what they were now? Not important and besides I can't remember. Anyway I got into the check out line, put the items on the counter and I'm waiting patiently browsing the people magazines and it suddenly comes to me that.. I needed pretzels. So,I turned my cart around and headed for the chips isle. I'm browsing and eyeing them all in ( all 150 choices). I finally decide on the Chex sweet and salty mix. YUMMY. I put them in my cart and went: "WHERE ARE MY GROCERIES?" Are you kidding me? I got back to the check out and the cashier is just looking at me and said "I knew you would be back!" Who does this ????? I mean really, Are you kidding me? Needless to say I have had some concern about my memory and my behavior. Upon telling my children we have decided that I will definitely be living with the daughter who lives in the gated community when the time comes. We have been laughing about it ever since. Just another sign of "the dwindles" I guess. Please tell me this kind of stuff happens to others?

Life continues to be full of love and adventure around every corner.
God never closes one door without opening another.

Who was "My Valentine"?

My Valentine's day was so nice. My dear sweet wonderful loving children sent me flowers. The card read : " Mom, you will always be our Valentine". I am truly blessed. I stayed home all day and did just whatever I wanted to do. ... I enjoyed my favorite comfort food of Chips and Dip. What did you do?

Zion Blessings.........

I know I am always talking about where I live and posting lots of photos of my surroundings. But, to me it is just one of the most beautiful places in the world. I hope you never get tired of seeing them as I never take it for granted how I am so.......... blessed to be able to wake up here everyday.........

Morning Sunrise

These two photos were taken within minutes of each other the other morning. This mountain is called West Temple. You can see the reflection of The Watchman mountain as the sun rises. These mountains are situated about one and a half mile from each other facing east and west. The little valley between them is where we live. I loved catching the reflection of one into the other. Breathtaking huh?

Morning Sunrise.

A Century of Sanctuary

Zion National Park's 100th Anniversary in 2009.

In 2009, Zion National Park will celebrate a "Century Of Sanctuary". Zion was established as Mukuntuweap National Monument by President William Taft on July 31, 1909. Starting soon the Park plans to have a series of celebrations and events to commerate this historic milestone.

This is going to be a great year for us here in Zion. There will be lots of activities to celebrate our 100th year.

Check it out here: http://www.nps.gov/zion/parknews/a-century-of-sanctuary.htm

My Beautiful Zion Snow Day

Yeah !!!!! It's a snow day here in the canyon. There was about a 30 minute period where it was just a complete white out. Even more exciting!!!

Enjoy my snow day through my photos !!!!

It's a Snow Day.. and you know that makes me happy.

It has been snowing off and on here in the canyon this morning since about 5AM. What a lovely blanket of white and such a blessing for us. Moisture in the summer months here is almost a thing of the past. I am someone who has seen this thing we call "Global Warming". It is a nice reminder that there is still some winter yet to come. If I weren't working what would I be doing? Well...my computer is in for an upgrade and I will pick it up tomorrow. I will now have 1Gig of memory, that is double what I had before. So let's see, I would not be blogging, enjoying my friends on facebook, nor would I be enjoying my ultimate hobby of genealogy. HOW DID ANY US OF EVER SURVIVE WITHOUT THE ALMIGHTY COMPUTER ?????????? Hail to Bill Gates and microsoft !!!!!!So, I guess I am glad I am working especially since I love my job. I will post some snow pictures later in the day. Until then.........many blessings.

THE life given us by nature is short; but the memory of a well-spent life is eternal.

--Cicero

Each New Day is a Blessing !

Zion Weekend

This past Saturday I took a drive up into the National Park. Only the months of Nov., Dec., Jan., and Feb. can you drive your personal car into the park. The rest of the months we have a shuttle system, which is great but I love driving and just pulling over and jumping out to get great photos. It had rained on and off most of the day and I was really hoping for some great waterfalls and this photo to the left was as close as I was going to get. I hope you enjoy the rest of the beautiful photos of my day in Zion National Park.

Zion Lodge parking

During the busy season this parking lot is jammed packed. It's so nice in the winter that there is room to move around. I think last summer we had 3.6 million visitors to Zion Canyon.

Zion Lodge

Lodging in the park

These are the cute little rooms beside the lodge that you can rent on a daily basis in the park.