Christmas 2014

Hi All, 

We had a lovely Christmas.  Christmas day we had everyone over for Christmas with the exception of Mike and Andrea.  Chris and Lisa came up on Monday (the day I went to Twin Falls to pick up Sandy).  Sandy and I got back on Tuesday afternoon.  Christmas Eve we had Minestroni soup with Chris, Lisa, etc. and Dick and Joy.  Christmas day we had presents and dinner.  That night we played a new game of Chris and Lisa’s called Kingsburg.  

Saturday we went sledding down a hill in Woodland Park.  It was great fun.  Before we left to go, Connor had to go to the bathroom.  As we were getting ready he called out, "Don't leave me Grandpa!"  

Friday night we watched some of the grandchildren while their parents went out to eat.  Brandon wanted a snack of cold cereal.  Evidently, Sandy did not pour enough cereal and he said, " You can give me more cereal, I am your Grandson".  We played hided and seek and he gave us a secret to hiding:  "Blend into the shadows so you can completely disappear".  By the way, Sarah Grace hides by putting her face into the wall.  

Jaimee and Brandon Birthday Party and Soccer Game, Nov 2014

Hi All, 

Saturday afternoon, Nate and family as well as Brian/Mindi and family came over for a soccer game.  We had a lot of fun.  Lauryn told me that I didn’t fasten my seat belt when gong to the park from my house. 

Afterwards we had a birthday party dinner and presents at the house.  We had delicious Lasagna and ice cream cake.  We had a wonderful few minutes where Brian told us about an ancestor Christian Hans Monson.  I watched the older grandchildren as Brian was telling them about him and they were paying rapt attention. 

Lauryn saw a Broche on Sandy’s blouse and offered to take it, because “I am afraid you might loose it Grandma”.  

Grandparent Breakfast October 2014

We ate breakfast with Jaimee and Brandon this week for the “Grandparent Breakfast” at their school (Eagle Bay).  It was a lot of fun to be with them—Jaimee spent probably a half hour looking for a book; Brandon was a whirlwind of going from place to place in his own world. 

 

Visit to Cedar City and Mount Nebo Oct 2014

Sandy and I went on a little trip  to Chris and Lisa’s in Cedar Cty. I enjoyed eating school lunch with Emma and Alyssa, hearing Matthew play the Cello and witnessing new births in Emma's fishtank.  Sandy did a lot of artwork with Alyssa.  I also took Chris and Lisa to the Centos restaurant in Cedar City for a great dinner to celebrate his birthday.  The next day we drove through Mt Nebo and hiked.  It was spectacularly beautiful.

Halloween Party 2014

Hi All, 

The Annual Halloween Party was a big success.  We had "Snake Calzone", "Bat Wings", and other Halloween food.  There was a fish pond and pin-the-tail on the cat.  We also enjoyed telling a round robin story amongst adults and children which ended in potty talk.  A certain individual was mesmerized by her cellphone and had trouble participating.  

Family Reunion, September 2014; St George, Utah

We had a wonderful family reunion Sep 24 through 27.  We went to the same home in St George as we did last year.  Everyone in the family attended and there were good feelings throughout.  We played soccer, basketball, football and swam.  We had a wonderful talent show and family Olympics. 

At the talent show many amazing talents were displayed: 

Nicole and Sarah Grace twirled around in a dance-like manner.  In addition, Sarah recited PokeMan card names. Lauryn, Spencer, Preston, Beth and Nate all dressed up in black clothes and had outlines of bones highlighted by glowsticks.  They then did a dance in the dark that was hilarious.

Conner helped his Dad set fire to hands.  Chris had a propane burner and soap bubbles.  He lit the hand of those willing to participate without burning their hands.   Emma and Alyssa performed some lovely dancing and Matthew played the Cello with background music from the Anvil Chorus—it was great.  Brandon and Brian did an amazing magic trick.  Jaimee showed us sock juggling and trampoline tricks that were done with great skill.  Mindi recited the alphabet backwards and all the Presidents by memory, which was quite a feat.  Andrea and Mike reversed roles and performed a funny skit. Matt showed us once again why he is the strongest man in the world and Kaelynn played a guitar number that was perfect for a scout campfire replete with gaseous imitations. 

The Olympics were memorable.  A few highlights: the pushup contest featured not only Mike doing a record number of pushups in one minute but Brian yelling at him to stop because Mike was embarrassing everyone.  Brandon had a “unique” push up style that showed great skill.  The strongest man, Matt, not only beat everyone’s arm in the arm wrestling contest but everyone’s whole body.  The eating contest featured eating pork rinds and year-old fig newtons.

Everyone received fabulous awards.  Several highlights:  Kaelynn received a bottle of honey in honor of what she constantly calls Matt; Andrea received a 10-minute supply of 3 bottles of hand sanitizer in honor of her paranoid protective mother role; Lisa received a magnificent bug collection;  Sandy got a bottle of Dr Pepper and Craig got a bottle of Mountain Dew.