Annual Reunion July 2017

July 24, 2017

We had the annual family reunion this past week.  We went to a new place in Park City that was “off the grid”.  The interior was roomy and spacious but it had no pool.  Nevertheless, it was a wonderful experience. ''

The afternoon the reunion started Kaelynn, Matt and twins; Brian and Mindi family and us went to Jordanelle Reservoir and swam, played games and rented a jet ski

Sandy and I did a slideshow of our daughters and sons in law.  We got pictures from their parents as well as a story from when they were little.  We then had the oldest child tell something good about the parent.  It seemed to go over very well. 

We played lots of games and had good times chatting with every one.

Cute things kids said:

Sarah said:

“My mother is having a baby and were going to name her Violet”

Camden was distraught that he lost his scorpion. 

Mindi told us she is pregnant, which is wonderful news!  This is going to be a big burden on the family and I hope they will use us to help them.

Chris, Nate, Matt, Spencer and Matthew played a long game of Axis and Allies. Emma liked the house and wanted to stay longer. 

Jaimee, Preston and Allysa were very mature in wanting to watch the little twins. 

 I enjoyed watching Spencer, Preston, Jaimee and Alyssa interact.  They played a game called “Code Word” and had a lot of adult conversation such as, what they are going to be when they grow up. 

Sarah Zoo July 2017 and other events

Hi All, 

Kaelynn and Matt are going to have another girl!  We learned this from a "gender party" at the house.  

In other news, we went to the zoo this week with Sarah Grace.  She was such a crack up.  From the moment she got in the car she talked and talked.  She told us that,

If our house ever burned down she would,"build us a new one with beautiful flowers and pictures of BYU”;

We didn’t know that,

“It takes 100 days to walk to the mountains”

After the zoo we went to Diary Queen where she marched up to the counter and said we wanted three chocolate ice cream cones and a kids meal.  After we finished, she thanked us for taking her to the zoo and going to Dairy Queen.  

Chris and Lisa also came up for a Lagoon visit; we had a pickleball adventure with Nate, Spencer, Preston and me.  It was a lot of fun. 

Connor Baptism May 2017

6 May 2017

The main event was Connor’s baptism! Connor is a sweet and loving young man and it was great to witness his baptism.  He has a lot of faith and we are very proud of him.

Arizona and Utah Trip to Celebrate Bert's 90th Birthday, April and May 2017

30 April 2017

This past week we went on a trip to sights in Utah and Arizona to celebrate Bert’s 90^th birthday.

Our first day we drove to Bluff Utah.  Bert and Betty, Greg and Sue, Robin and Richard, and David and Tracey went in an eleven passenger van.  It was a bit crowded but I really enjoyed talking to Richard and David and Tracey who sat around me in the van--David always has some entertaining commentary and Richard always has thought provoking subjects to talk about.  

We saw the Bluff pioneer exhibit, explaining Hole in the Rock and other early pioneer things.  We ate at the Nauvoo twins.  We went to Edge of the Cedars museum where we saw Indian ruins and petroglyphs linked to seasons of the year.  We also stopped at Newspaper 

Rock and saw the Petroglyphs. 

We then drove to Chinlee.  We had an entertaining Denny’s “shareable ice cream”. Sandy and I ordered a shareable ice cream dish that suffered from border wars.

The next day we went on a guided tour in Canyon De Chelly.  Our tour guide was a Navaho who pointed out many interesting ruins and petroglyphs.  He also told us about cleansing and healing rituals without going into detail.  The name of the tour company was “Beauty Way” which signifies a harmonious path with nature.

We then left for Holbrook Arizona and saw the Petrified Forest.  We ate at a Mexican restaurant Sombriaros.  This was our first experience with David as a superlative restaurant connoisseur assisted by Yelp.  

We saw Indian ruins by Flagstaff and ate at yet another superlative “David recommended” restaurant--Oreganos.  

We went to Coconno National Park and saw craters.  

We went to Kayente.  Greg and Sue served their mission there and we saw the Ward and missionary quarters.  We then went to Monument Valley which was spectacular despite an incredible third world road.  

More Grandchild Events in April 2017

23 April 2017

We were walking to the tennis court to play tennis with Brandon.  We saw some broken beer bottles.  Brandon said that, “Their addictive behavior caused that”. 

Kaelynn had this week off of school and so Sandy went up to Andrea’s house.  I dropped by Kaelynn’s house one afternoon and went with her and the twins to the park.  We put them in swings and they had a great time.

Going to the zoo with Camden he asked me if I would like, “A hungry alligator or a regular alligator”. 

Preston Arrow of Light and Other Visits

April 2017

Preston got his Arrow of Light award.  When Nate was the cubmaster he made a bridge that the boy walks over from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts.  It was a fine ceremony for Preston and we are proud of him.

Mike and Andrea as well as Chris and Lisa came down over General Conference.  We had the traditional Pre Priesthood meeting at Marjas with Matthew and Spencer joining us.  We had a grand time.

 

Mike and I also took Nicole and Tara to the zoo.  It was a lot of fun.