Christmas 2012

Hi All, 

We got a wonderful announcement—Andrea is pregnant!  She is 15 weeks along and is doing well.  The kids gave us a beautiful picture of all the grandchildren and then afterwards gave Sandy a small present.   This present had the ultra sound of the baby.   They then had Andrea on the phone to talk to us.  It was a great moment.  Below is the ultra sound picture. 

Chris and Lisa and children came to the house Monday night.  They stayed with us until Wednesday.

Christmas morning Matthew, Alyssa, Emma and Connor opened presents.  

We had a wonderful afternoon dinner with all the kids except for Andrea and Mike and, unfortunately, Mindi was sick.  Grandpa and Grandma Monson also came over.  We made some aprons for each of the children and it was fun to see them open these gifts. Here are some additional pictures of the day.

After dinner everyone sat around and talked, played or slept.  In the evening, Matt and Kaelynn, Chris and Lisa, Matthew, and Brian played a new game Chris and Lisa brought with them.  Unfortunately, Mindi was sick and couldn’t come.

The next day the adult kids went out to eat dinner and see Lincoln while we watched the kids.  It was fun to watch the grandchildren enjoy playing with their cousins.  Matthew and Spencer; Alyssa and Jaimee were particular buddies.  

2012 Year in Review

Hi All, 

Here is a slide show showing highlights of 2012.  Hope you enjoy!  Luv Dad and Mom

Visit with Mike and Andrea Nov 2012

We had a wonderful visit with Mike and Andrea.  We arrived Tuesday night.  Wednesday, while Andrea worked, we went with Mike to an interesting National Monument and park.  The monument was an old fort that was quite interesting to see.  We took a walk around the area and saw hanging down moss covered trees and other interesting vegetation.  We went to the new James Bond movie, “Skyfall” afterwards.  

Thursday we started the cruise.  We got on the ship late—which was a great disappointment to Mike that we couldn’t get on the ship and start feeding earlier…

 The first evening and second day we spent sailing on the ocean.   We played mini golf and ping pong, we went to a show, we played St Petersburg and ate, ate, ate. 

On Saturday we stopped at Nasau, which is in the Bahama Islands.  We went snorkeling and walked around the city.  

 After Nasau we went to Freeport.  Here we walked around a bit and did things on the ship.

Sunday night and Monday were rocky as the ship was hit with wind and ocean swells.  We still had a good time. 

When we got back to Jacksonville, we played games and saw Stephen Speillberg’s movie, “Lincoln”.  It was great. 

On Wednesday we went to an Alligator farm and to St Augustine.  The Alligator farm was amazing.  There were about 700 alligators and crocidiles of all shapes and sizes.  They had a time where a keeper came out and fed the alligators which was cool.  

After that we went to St Augustine.  This is the “oldest” city in America.  It was really a cool city.  We saw the fort there and then walked down the streets. 

Thanksgiving day we cooked the turkey, played around in the basketball gym and walked around in downtown Jacksonville. 

Here is a cool movie of feeding an alligator a delicious white rat "treat":

Bryce and Chris, October 2012

We went down to Bryce Canyon and then on to Chris and Lisa’s for Chris’s birthday this week.  Monday morning we went to Bryce Canyon on a spectacularly beautiful day and got some amazing photos.  We stayed at Ruby’s Inn that night. 

The next day we drove to Chris and Lisa’s house.  We ate lunch with Matthew and Allyssa at school.  Afterwards we went to Emma’s Kindgergarten class and helped with a Halloween party.  That evening we went to a dance recital.  I took the kids to Taco Bell and Sandy/Chris went to a restaurant to celebrate his birthday (Lisa was at a bookfair). 

The following morning we went to one of Chris’s lectures at SUU.  Though I didn’t get as much out of it as I would have had I started at the beginning, it was interesting. 

Below are some pictures (when I get the software I need to download from my Smartphone, I’ll put in the pictures I took of the kids.  I obviously took pictures of Bryce with the camera and I tried out the Smartphone with Chris and Lisa’s family). 

Halloween Party 2012

We had the annual Halloween family party.  It was great.  Below are pictures of the costumed family members  (the last picture is from a dinner after General Conference.  Jaimee Joy said she "couldn't see" without glasses so she put on the plastic glass frames and Lauryn got in the act). 

Spencer Baptism, City Creek Ride; September 2012

Spencer got baptized on Saturdy!  The baptism and confirmation was a spiritual experience.  Spencer gave us all a thumbs up while he was up on the stand with Beth prior to his baptism.  Chris and Lisa and family, Brian and Mindi and family and Matt and Kaelynn were there to see the glorious event.  After the baptism we went to Nate and Beth’s house for a great lunch.  

We took a fun bike ride up City Creek Canyon.  Here are some pictures of the event: