Chritmas 2008

Christmas day began with our annual Christmas breakfast at Jason and Melinda's. Before breakfast, however, we got to see Laura and Sara unwrap some of their presents and see the joy and excitement on Christmas morning. Afterward, we had a delicious breakfast consiting of french toast with homemade buttermilk syrup (yum yum!) sausage, and orange juice. We had a delightful time.

On Christmas eve, Todd, Tyler, Rylie and Taryn spent time with us and had fun sleeping over night and spending the remainder of Christmas day with us. We watched the classic movie, "It's a Wonderful Life," and on Christmas day we all watched "The Christmas Story" which still makes me laugh...what a great movie!

One of the highlights of the day was when Todd hooked up the big screen downstairs with "Rock Band" & Dan & I listened to an amazing concert complete with Rylie as the lead singer, Todd and Taryn on guitars and Tyler playing drums! Actually, we helped with some singing too and we sounded semi professional! Ah, well ya know....we tried! Bret also got the same "Rock Band" game and when they came they were already warmed up and they had a great time continuing the concert!

I cooked a bone in ham that took 5 hours to bake and our home smelled like the Christmas's I remember as a child. We had foods of every kind and enjoyed every bite with Todd & Bret and his family.

What a grand time we had together! This was a really good Christmas for everyone this year....check out Jason & Melinda's blog and Bob & Keri's blog. Good times

Adams Christmas Party

Susan invited Dan & I, Tom and Dorothy, Kevin & Geri and Debbie & Ondre to a delightful Christmas party at her beautiful new home in Springville. We had a great visit including some delicious food to eat. Susan made a pork roast and a beef roast. I had never heard of a spoon roast before and we all enjoyed it very much! We exchanged gifts, laughed and all in all had so much fun together. I wrote down my childhood Christmas Memories. I had the great opportunity to read it to everyone and it brought back so many fun times we shared together as kids. We laughed and reminisced about times past and felt so good about sharing time together. It was a lovely time we shared as a family. It is the simple times we share that really mean the most!

White Christmas

We have been covered with snow into a delightful winter wonderland! We got more than 8 inches of snow in Orem! We love the beauty of the blue skies and fresh white snow to guarantee an old fashioned White Christmas this year. We are looking forward to a fun filled day to celebrate Christmas with our family. The older I get the more I enjoy the quiet simple things of life! Life is good!

Candle Lighting 2008

The food was yummy, and it didn't take long before it was devoured by a hungry crowd.

I cannot believe that the family tradition that my children and I started when we moved back from Kansas has continued for 19 years and going strong! The Candle lighting tradition has been an awesome experience as we has added all of our 16 grandchildren and extended family along the way. The grandchildren love being part of our sharing time. We all love lighting the candles one by one and sharing what the "Light Of Christ" has meant to us in our lives over the past year. I love seeing the candle glow on every one's faces as we all listen to the gratitude for the blessings each one has been blessed with over the past year. It is always a joyful time we spend together sharing our love and our hearts. As we continue to bond and grow ever closer as a family our love grows into a mighty flame that warms us all!
We had great food, gifts, and a wonderful evening sharing our love with all of you! Merry Christmas to everyone of you!

The get together ended with an exchange of gifts. Laura proudly wore her thumb ring given to her by grandma B. It was the first time that Sophie was able to be with us. Her skirt and wings were a big hit. But the present of the day was "roomba" the carpet cleaner. What a great gift from Jason, Melinda and Todd. This robot does a terrific job of cleaning floors. Horray for technology.

Christmas Fun

We are having such a great time with Christmas this year. We attended my Goldsworth work Christmas party on Monday night and enjoyed a wonderful evening at the "La Caille" in Salt Lake. What a beautiful setting. It had just snowed up in the canyon and that privided some atmosphere for the festive occasion. The food was amazing and the chocolate cake was oo la la! We had fun dressing up and enjoyed visiting with everyone from my company. I must say my
boss Harold and his wife Karen really know how to throw a terrific party!

Dan & Linda

Jake & Aubrey Toombs
Randy & Shelly Childs

Jordan & Sabrina





Igor & Yulia and Karyn & Troy










Harold & Karen Toombs & Company

Thanksgiving Blessings

We had an amazing Thanksgiving this year with all of our loved ones around us. Before our meal we each took turns sharing what we were most grateful for and it set the stage for our grateful hearts and tummies as we dug into all the yummy food complete with turkey and all the trimmings including yams, homemade chocolate cream and banana cream and pumpkin pies and the best homemade rolls ever. We had such a wonderful time with one another. The grand kids all paired off with their cousins and we just had so much fun!!! I love holiday's to reflect on the things in life that really mean the most! Family and loved ones are the best!

Keri and her family came from St. George to spend a couple of days with us. Keri whipped up a tasty plate of yams for the festivities. Bret's boys had a great time playing video games with their cousins. Todd must have felt a little alone without his kids, but still managed have fun. And, Jason, Melinda, Laura and Sara brought alot of joy to our day. Thanks Melinda for bringing your yummy potatoes and rolls!

I can't believe my beautiful teenage grand-daughters are growing up before my very eyes!!

Sunday Dinner

We had a delightful Sunday dinner with Jason & Melinda and girls. We invited Dan's Mom as well. Laura loves Grandma Great and we thought that it would be nice to arrange some time together for all of us. Laura sat between Grandma Linda and Grandma Great for dinner and so it was just "Perfect" a direct quote from Laura.
I made a fall dinner with two yummy meat loafs, squash, scalloped potatoes with cream and cheese...(Yummy) fruit and salad. It filled our tummies and we all enjoyed a wonderful evening together.
Sara and Laura we the center of attention and always steal the show with their super cute personalities. Have I ever said "I love my family?" Ah....I really do!

Taryn's Baptism

We feel so blessed to have been able to attend Taryn's baptism on October 11, 2008. I was also very honored to have been asked to give a talk on baptism and to share and remember the importance of the convents that we make on our baptismal day. I enjoyed hearing Hannah play the piano and Debbie sing "Choose the Right" as part of the program for Taryn's special day. I am so proud of our Taryn, for his kind and loving heart, his quick smile all the way to his toes and his desire to Choose the Right. I am grateful that Dan was able to confirm him a member of the Church. What a memory to cherish. Taryn we love you sweetheart!

Yummy Food & Family

We have learned that we never turn down an invitation to dinner at Jason's and Melinda's house. Can you say "Cook Extraordinaire"? Well, that would spell Melinda....Yum mo!
On Sunday Bret's family and Dan and I ate homemade pizza and bread sticks until we were beyond full! Oh, we did leave just a wee bit of room for pumpkin spice cake too!
We had a wonderful visit and completed the evening with Jazz game. Good times!
Thanks again for another super meal and fun with our adorable grand kids! Can I just say....we love our family!!!

Kids Again!

We spent October 2nd through the 8th in sunny California! We felt like kids again for a few lovely days at Disneyland where dreams really do come true! We just relaxed, enjoyed everything, and forgot all about all of a responsibilities and worries. It was magic! We met Jason, Melinda and our adorable grandchildren Laura and Sara at our hotel in California on the 3rd. We were ready to start the day at a Character Breakfast in the park on October 4th to celebrate Laura's 5th birthday day celebration....in Disneyland...Wow...what a day it was...from morn to night we walked and ate great food, went on fun rides, bought gifts for the Birthday girl and had one very exciting and fun day sharing lots of memories, love and hugs and kisses and just plain old fashioned FUN! Whew! we packed so much into just one day that ended with a parade and chocolate cake and some tired grandkids and sore feet for the adults! Laura had the best ever birthday and we were so glad that we were invited to the Birthday Party! What a blast!

Jason, Dan and Linda at the end of the day..we were draggin' but it was fun!

Of all the fun rides at Disneyland the good old "carousel" was still among the favorites.

Happy Birthday Laura.. and, yes, the cake was delicious!!

In between days in the park, Dan and I enjoyed a few rays at Newport Beach.

Sunday Blessings

We had a memorable experience at Laura's Primary Program on Sunday. Laura had been asked to open the program with a talk and a song by the Primary President. She was confindent, composed and adorable as she gave her talk. Her talk was about Grandma Jo and her passing away. She said that she felt bad but not that sad because she knew that she would see her again. It was an amazing talk given from her heart and we felt that we had been taught by our dear granddaughter the message of the gospel that families can be together again. The night that Grandma passed away Laura wanted to sing I am a child of God to grandma. We all stood around Mom's bed as Laura sang to her. It was such a tender moment. Laura ended her talk by sharing that story and then she sang I am a child of God solo. Tears were in my eyes and throat as I listened to her sing. It was beautiful and brought back the memories of that night in December when mom slipped through the veil.
Thank you Laura for honoring Grandma Jo in you talk and in your song. We will always remember that special day.

Sunday Visitors

We enjoyed Bret, Adam, Aaron and Sophie for dinner and a nice visit on Sunday. The boys are doing very well in school this year. Adam is in the 7th grade and loves the opportunities and responsibilities of getting older. He really likes the idea of going to different classes and meeting new friends. He also thinks the girls are "very cute." Sophie is delightful! She loves spending time with the boys, loves her "Daddy" and loves getting to know her grandparents....we love getting to know her too. She is such a good baby. She does not fuss or cry and she walks all around the house and feels safe and comfortable. She laughs and smiles and plays every minute we have her. Bret gets her every Sunday for 8 hours and we are all grateful to be able to get to spend time with her and get to know her sweet personality.
It is wonderful to see Bret and the children doing so well. The boys are very well behaved and are enjoyable to have around. We love our family, each and every one on you!