Final Holiday Events and Pictures

This is our last Holiday posting on the blog. We had a wonderful birthday for Grandpa Dick. There's a picture of Spencer and Preston helping him blow-out his candles.

We had a dinner for the siblings at our house and then everyone went to Sean and Jana's house for dessert and games. Sean and Jana have some great games and a huge house so it was a relaxed, pleasant atmosphere. Sean and Jana have some cool electronic games--baseball, tennis, boxing, etc. It was a lot of fun playing those games.

We had a cookie baking contest followed by tributes to Dad and a thanks from Dad. All left feeling grateful for Grandpa Dick.

We also had Brian and Mindi over on Christmas to help finish the leftovers and we've got a cute shot of Jaimee.

Christmas events

Hello All,

Chris finished his Phd and arrived in Utah several days before Christmas. He had a "wonderful" 20 hour trip on the train. It is great to have him here with his family.

We had a fun party at Brian and Mindi's house. We had a great dinner followed by a white elephant gift exchange and games.

We also had a Christmas eve dinner with Prime Rib followed by a game, "Guess who said this"--extracts from my journal with funny things the kids said and music by Kaelynn.

Here are some pictures of the events.

Hope everyone has a great Christmas

Holiday pictures

Some Holiday pictures

Ain't they cute!

California wickedness has spread....

While "babysitting" Spencer and Preston today, Spencer told me shocking news, he said:

"No, Grandpa we don't say prayers in our house"

As if this weren't bad enough he also said,

"We don't brush our teeth" Funny thing--why do each of the boys have tooth brushes?

If any of you know how to reclaim these poor lost souls, please give us your ideas....

We enjoyed Thanksgiving at Dick and Joy's house. They were kind enough to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner for about 40 people. The day after Thanksgiving we went to Stuart Sondrup's wedding. It was great to see all our relatives.

The real highlight of the week was going through the Temple with Kaelynn for her to receive her endowments. Sandy and I particularly enjoyed sitting and discussing quietly with Kaelynn the covenants she had made and other aspects of the cerenmony. Afterwards Brian and Mindi and kids came over to be with us. Us included Chris, Lisa, Matthew, Allysa, Ema, Kaelynn and Sandy/I. We have some pictures of all of us.

Some pictures

Family Picture

Thanks to Lisa's photography talents, here's a great shot of the family

Kaelynn Gets Called!!!

Kaelynn just got her mission call--she is going to the Hartford Connecticut Mission! She is going to serve in the same area that I was in. Wow! That's pretty cool, huh! She is excited and thrilled to be going and we are all thrilled for her.

End of the Trip

We got packed up and moved out. Lisa and the kids then drove to Utah with me. About half way through the week I started feeling really sick but prayed for strength and that none of the kids would get infected. I made it home and went straight to bed. The next day we went to the Doctor who said I had pneumonia. I’m getting over it

Matthew's wisdom

Matthew told me today that "computers are stupid", so if any of you see a smart computer please let Matthew know.

He also said, "My Mom's Dad can do more things than you, Grandpa".....but not to worry he told me that I can do more things than him because he is "still a little boy".

GOODBYE CALIFORNIA!!!

I'm here in California for a week to help Chris and Lisa as they pack up and move to Utah prior to heading out to Texas. I've already heard some shocking things from Libralville--Matthew told me, "We don't pray over the breakfast food!"

The grandkids are absolutely delightful: inquisitive, active, loving and THEY NEVER STOP! Just trying to keep up with them is a full-time job......