Nana's Place

JADE IS OFFICIALLY AN ADULT--21 WOW!

2010-12-04T00:05:00.000-08:00

My number one grandchild turned 21 a week ago. I am sorry this did not get posted on her very birthday. Life was just too involved then. We usually get to be with Jade on her birthday since it is so close to Thanksgiving. I could not have chosen a better person to be my 1st granddaughter. She is such a wonderful example.

See they all lick the candles because she does!

Wasn't it just yesterday she was this little?

Such a cute little family!

Was Jade always happy?

And a baby sister to love!

Here are a few of the things I love about Jade:

1. She has always been such a good, obedient girl. At one time Seminary was her favorite class. She has had serious talks with her friends about why they needed to get their act together so they could be married in the temple like she plans to. She maintains standards no matter who she is with.

2. Jade has a testimony of her own. This is one of my favorite pictures from when she came with us to Israel. It is in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jade found an isolated bench and contemplated the sacrifice that was made for us and was moved to tears. I was quite a ways off, but was overwhelmed that one so young could feel the spirit and understand. It made the trip worth it for me.

3. Jade loves her family. She is very close to them and lets them know she loves them and they in turn adore her.

4. Like her mother and father, Jade loves children. She will be a wonderful mother some day. She has a wonderful way with kids.

5. Jade is beautiful. She has beautiful eyes and a smile that never quits among so many other things. To enhance her looks she has a sense of style and knows how to dress to look her best.

6. Jade is smart. She works hard in school and is dedicated to getting her nursing degree.

7. She is persistent.Though waiting lists are long for nursing programs, she continues to work to attain that goal. She has her CNA and is working at McKay Dee hospital for IHC while she takes classes. It is just a matter of time until that opening comes for her.

8. Jade is fun to be with. This is in Galilee as she finishes off "St Peter's Fish."

The young Israeli soldiers were very taken by this fun, beautiful girl. Her grandfather stayed very close at hand to be sure they knew how special she really was. Can you just hear her laugh?

On our Israel trip, Jade tried everything: riding camels, donkeys, swimming in the Dead Sea.

9. Jade has many talents and uses them. She has a beautiful voice. She plays golf well enough to get a college scholarship in golf.

Here she sang in St Annes Cathedral in Jerusalem with others who shared her gift of music.

10. Jade is kind and thoughtful. She has empathy and cares for those around her. She extends her loving personality to those around her, including me.

I left off the crutches. Did not want to mention that she broke her foot doing double-dutch jump rope.

Beautiful mother and daughter

It is going to be a wonderful year for a wonderful girl.

I LOVE YOU, JADE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

JENNIFER IS HOW OLD?!

2010-11-21T21:53:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Jen's birthday today. She is so young, pretty and young at heart. She livens up any place she is. However, her elderly mother-in - law is beat, so I will do my little tribute in the morning.

Happy Birthday, Jen!

Uh-oh, it is now past morning and I have not gotten back to this blog until now. So here are some of the things I love about Jen:

1. Jen is probably tired of hearing me say she is a wonderful mother, but it is true. From the minute Jade was born, she has totally immersed herself into being a good mother to her girls. She spends time with them. She teaches them. She fills them up with love and security. They are both wonderful young women. I am so glad Jennifer is the mother of my granddaughters.

2. The church is a constant in Jennifer's life. She has tried hard to do all the things that we are counseled to do to live the gospel. Her family have testimonies also.

3. Most of my pictures of Jen have her with children. She loves them and they quickly love her. I can honestly say that sometimes when the grandkids come to visit that Jen is a better "grandma" to them than I am. I get caught up in cooking and doing and she plays with them.

4. Jen is a lot of fun. We laugh more and have a better time when she is around. Of course, we have a lot of funny stories to tell on Jen, too. She says funny things.

5. Jennifer is beautiful. She always looks nice and is one of the most attractive women in any room. Her sense of style keeps her always in fashion.

6. Jen loves my son, Adam, through thick and thin. I am so proud of them that they continue to work and improve their marriage and understand how important their love is to the whole family.

Jen and her mom, Karen.

7. Jen is the fun mom. Her Young Women love her and the girls friends love being with Jen as well as with Bailey or Jade. She always knows what's in and what's up in their lives.

8. Jen is very health conscious. She is dedicated to working out regularly as often as she can. She also knows a great deal about which foods are best for us and helps her family eat healthy without be overbearing about it.

9. Jen is a good help at our home. On Sundays she steps in and makes the meal preparation so much easier. She has always been a great help when it is time to clean up. She is the one to see it to the end.

10. Jen is very smart and capable. If she has to learn a new program for work, she sets about it on her own and masters it. She keeps informed on the things that are important for whatever she is involved in--work, church callings, health issues, school matters, and many venues. She has been over-qualified for about every job she has had lately, because there are so few to be had these days. I think her employers have really gotten a deal when they hire Jennifer.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JEN! I LOVE YOU. I HOPE THIS IS A GREAT YEAR FOR YOU.

I LOST TWO UNCLES IN TWO WEEKS

2010-11-18T23:19:00.000-08:00

David Stohl Hatch 1922-2010

Two of my uncles passed away and had funerals in the last two weeks. It was the worst for my Aunt Barbara who lost her husband and her twin brother in about ten days. David Hatch was a wonderful man, married to my mothers only sister, Barbara, after she lost her husband Wayne Durham to MS. He was a kind and gentle man who took good care of Aunt Barbara after her many years of caring for others. He was always so supportive and loving. They served together for many years in the Salt Lake Temple and were directors of the Washington DC Temple Visitors Center. He had been an executive with ZCMI and also in the Army in WW II and in the Reserves after.

I had not been able to get to David Hatch's funeral, but when it worked out for me to attend Uncle Boyd's in the Bay Area, I jumped at the chance. I was so glad that I did. Spence and I met in the SF airport and spent the day together. I wish we had more time to be together. You just have to grab what you can. I loved hearing about Uncle Boyd's life. He was a civil engineer for Utah Power and Light and then GE when they were bought out. He headed up many big, big projects in far away places like Australia's Snowy Mountains. We were always proud of his accomplishments. The phrase I heard over and over at the memorial was that after they made Uncle Boyd they threw away the mold.

A world traveller

Of the 26 cousins in our Paulson family, 13 of us from all four families were there. That is pretty good considering we live in at least five different states and 4 have passed away. There was a special feeling being together.

Paul, Janie, Cole, Kathy, Gina, Me, Spence, Beth, Mark, Julie, Liz, Carol, and Cathy

Paul, Mark and Cole Durham with Spence

Spence, Liz, Beth, Cathy, Carol, and Gina

We need to see each other when it isn't a sad occasion. My mom would be so pleased. It was a wonderful celebration of Uncle Boyd's life, though. I only wish I could have been at Uncle David's as well.

OVER THE TOP!!!!

2010-11-15T07:26:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I am way over the top with my birthday posts. I have so many birthdays in my family and I have gradually worked up to putting so many pictures that I dread even posting one other thing. I apologize to you family members who may be getting less pictures, but this is out of control. I need to get to doing quick little weekly posts or something. Also I now have four people I have missed. I will try to catch up at a more reasonable number of pictures before the next birthday puts me behind even more. I love you all just as much. I am just a slacker.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MACKENZIE!

2010-11-11T07:34:00.001-08:00

Mackenzie turned 9 years old today! Where does the time go?

It seems like just yesterday she was this age...

Wasn't she beautiful even then?

Loved to be on stage...

Here are some of the things I love about Mackenzie:

1. She loves her sister and her brother and is such a good help with them.

With new baby sister, Kayla.

2. Mackenzie has personality. She loves to laugh and join in the fun, dress up. At first her parents worried that she was slow to talk, but she is a great conversationalist now.

3, Mackenzie loves to sing and is developing her talent on the piano. She loves to play and is picking it up very quickly. She has inherited her mother's love of music.

4. Mackenzie has beautiful eyes. I think she got a little of my grandmother, Mabel Alexander's beautiful round eyes with thick lashes. She got her mother's beautiful blue color, however.

5. She is a willing helper. She helps with her sister and brother and is great at helping with chores and cooking jobs. She always helps decorate our Christmas tree.

6. She is a good friend. She has many neighborhood, school, church and family friends and is kind and thoughtful. Here she is with her cousin Halle.

7. Mackenzie loves the beach as any California girl should. She loves the water, but I often see her being creative in the sand. She is very imaginative and creative in all her activities.

8. Mackenzie loves to play soccer. She has been playing since she was little and really puts a lot of effort into playing and has been a valuable player on all the teams she has played on.

Baby Ethan is born.

You can tell she loves him.

Mackenzie is willing to try new things. She had never been around horses, but at almost 6 she was bold and willing try the whole experience of riding and did a good job.

She loves Papa's dogs, but mostly when they are little.

She is a good swimmer and has lots of fun in the pool with family and friends.

Turning 8 years old

9. Mackenzie has a testimony and wanted to be baptized. She was so excited for this special day when her dad baptized her.

With cousins at Grand Camp.

10. Mackenzie is a good student. She tries hard in class and excels in many areas. She especially loves math.

She is still growing taller and still beautiful!

Happy, happy birthday, Mackenzie. I love you so much!

FINALLY, BEN IS FIVE TODAY!

2010-10-27T23:49:00.000-07:00

Ben has been wanting to be five since he turned four and now he is! I am so lucky because his family moved in close to me. I get to see him every week. I get to go to his soccer games. I get to hug him often (if I sneak up and surprise him, at least.) I get to hear his happy voice and look into his big brown eyes.

I am also glad because I have pictures from his whole life in my digital file already.

I remember when this darling boy was born.

I remember when he was blessed!

His parents (and grandparents) were crazy about him.

Here are some things I love about Ben:

1. He is enthusiastic about everything! It is fun to be with someone who enjoys life so much.

2. Ben loves his brothers. I remember when this picture was taken, Ben was barely 9 months old and not quite walking yet. But he wanted to be where Toby was. He made you hold his hands and let him "walk" to where his brother was. He has been Toby's closest companion and friend ever since.

3. Look at those eyes! One look into them and he can have anything he asks. I love his beautiful brown eyes!

4. Ben is very coordinated and might be an athlete when he grows up a little. You should see him on a skateboard already.

5. Ben is a happy boy and joins in all the fun he can find.

6. I love how beautiful Ben is.

Did I say Ben loves his brother and wants to do everything he does?

7. Ben is smart. He learns quickly and masters just about anything the older boys can do.

8. Ben is fearless. He will ride any ride they will let him go on and isn't afraid. He loves to try new things.

Will Ben get to be a surfer like his father?

He tries anything.

9. I love that Ben can play all by himself sometimes and use his imaginaton and creativity.

10. I love that Ben is all boy and has lots and lots of friends to play with.

Ben and Jack showing off their muscles and strutting their stuff!

Lots of cousins!

Donuts are the best part of soccer.

Chase and Ben scare Nana with their frog.

I love you Ben. Five will be a great year for you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUNNY!

2010-10-23T21:28:00.000-07:00

Sunny's birthday is today. It was almost a normal day, as they usually are when you have eight children. This is one of the things she did today:

Wrestle children while she watches Sage's football game! She is a pro! She has a very stiff neck, but it barely slowed her down. We also went out to Thaiphoon with them, Lindsey and Harmon, Rosemary, and Doug, Marti and Haley who happened to be in town. I failed to get a picture, however.

Sunny in a most amazing person. For some reason I can't locate my easily accessible baby pictures of Sunny (I suspect she stole them.) She was an incredibly beautiful baby with so much hair. I will insert it when I find a picture. But before I say much more about Sunny here is a little step back in time of a little of her childhood:

With Adam about 1 year old.

Same set of pictures.

About 2 1/2 years

Maybe 3 years old.

About 4 1/2

Always the capable big sister she is 5 here.

School picture 6 years

10 years and taller than Adam

Pretty, huh?

I think this was Jr. High graduation.

Soccer at age 13 or 14

Not sure of my date on these two.

Pose with your brother before the Girls League Formal.

This was before the Debutant Ball with Chris Gladwell.

Fast forward now with five kids--Riley is the baby!

Some of my first digital pictures. Hickerson with five kids and a tent. Sunny was a trooper.

Thanksgiving.

Maybe I better start on some of the things I love so much about Sunny.

1. Sunny is a champ at smiling even when she is knee deep in trials. She will shed a few tears, then smile and jump into setting things right with more will and energy and positive attitude than anyone I know.

2. Sunny is persistant. She wants what is best for her family and works hard to achieve it. We are so glad that persistance lead to Steve joining our family. They are a great couple and work hard to keep this family functioning well. Sunny brought home a quote about th "Lioness at the Gate" from Relief Society. Steve remarked to me that is what Sunny truly is. You better not mess with those she loves, for she will protect them in every way she knows how for as long as it takes.

The family four years ago.

3. Sunny is so pretty. She keeps herself in great shape with actual exercise and working out as well as the workout she gets from chasing children. She is so current on style and beauty. Sunny's keen sense of style is evident in her home, her decor, her children's attire, and in her own clothing and care. She has always stood out.

4. Of course, Sunny is an awesome mother. Here she is with newborns, Sam and Charlie. Can you believe they are children #six and #seven! I knew when she was a child that she would have many children. She was always so good with them and showed such love. She has loved each one of them so completely and individually. Though she has a houseful, she manages to make each know they are very special to her. I have been there with each newborn and she was definitely in love. She has been a completely dedicated, loving mother.

Charlie and Sam are an added handful...

But there is always room for one more as Baby Grace joins the family!

And once again Sunny's heart unconditionally embraces one more.

5. Sunny manages to do more than just survive in the face of overwhelming demands. She throws parties, travels with all eight children, hosts many wonderful dinners, fills her house with homemade goodies, caters to her children's special needs, attends all events, and keeps them all looking beautifully put together and loved, to name just a few things. We once called her "Wonder Woman," and she definitely lives up to the title.

Halloween with all the darling regalia.

6. Sunny shows her love by being there. She is in the middle. She is with those she loves. She plays with, studies with, corrects, trains, teaches, exemplifies, defends, protects, enjoys those she loves. She has always been one of the smartest people I know and she passes that on to her children, both through the genes and in how she teaches them.

6. Like being persistent, Sunny plays through the pain. When she was little we could count on her daily accounting of all her "owies". Then she would run off and play as hard as ever. She still gets some pretty big "owies" but it still does not get her down. She rises above each challenge and overcomes. Here she does Disneyland with a baby in a pouch and a bad foot and all the needs of the other children as well.

7. Sunny is a wonderful wife as well as mother. She is totally dedicated to Steve as he is to her. She supports him in all his necessary travel with his work and his work via phone and computer at all hours of the day and night. She values all his help and advice and is truly his working partner. She shows her love for him by the care and attention she gives him, even though she is so engulfed in kid issues around her. They even manage to find time to spend alone together now and then.

Sunny finds individual time for the older kids, as with Tristan here...

...even while she is engrossed with the littles,

8. Sunny has always been an athlete. She still rides bikes, coaches soccer teams, swims, maintains disciplined workout shedules and plays hard with her children. She is a fun mom. She rarely just sits on the sidelines. She went bunji jumping once and put several younger "macho" men to shame with her boldness and fearlessness. Once she signed up for a marathon but did not have time to train. When she went to observe, she decided to just see if she could do it. She not only finished the marathon, but had a very good time, beating many who had trained for months.

With Sage, fun at the beach.

9. Sunny is a very good friend. She learned long ago that she needed to be a friend to have friends. She learned to reach out first and extend herself to others and they would also embrace her. Consequently, she has many friends. She kind and thoughtful to others and quickly comes to the aid of someone in need. Likewise, she has always been a great, loving sister to her family. She has performed countless acts of love and service to others in the family, sometimes asked and sometimes unseen. She was my right hand when she was a child. Her younger brothers and sister looked on her as a second mother. Many look up to her and love her for her natural generosity. That was a trait she exhibited as a child, which is rare in children, but has continued as an adult.

Sam and Sunny have always had a special bond.

With the "littles" at our house after a week of mostly Disney, when the others were on a different trip

10. Sunny loves the gospel of Jesus Christ and applies it in her life. She understands its principles and strives to communicate them to her family. What joy we had with Sunny and Stephen when they were sealed in the temple! It was such a blessing to have all eight children in the temple together when the three youngest were sealed to their family.

Sunny is truly the Queen of hearts.

I love you Sunny and know that this will be a wonderful year for you. Happy Birthday, Sunny!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ASHLEY!!

2010-10-15T23:04:00.000-07:00

Ashley and Todd are celebrating her last birthday in her 20's with an overnight getaway. That means that I get her darling boys for the night and morning. That also means that this birthday blog may not be completed for a little while. I do not want to miss publishing this on her day. Check back soon. I love you Ashley, but your boys have worn me out, tonight and it hasn't been a "do ahead" week. Ashley commented that this was not one of her favorite looks. So here are the MANY LOOKS of my Ashley (I love her expressions and humor. I have always called her a "rubber face.")

Here's a little memory lane:

2 Days Old

2 Months Old

4 Months Old

2 Years Old

1st Day of Kindergarten

First soccer team

Favorite dog, Chelsea

With her sisters, Sunny & L:indsey

Baptism

With Jade after Strikers' soccer

With Sam as he leaves on a mission.

El Toro High Soccer

At the beach

Engaged!

Married!!

Then came Toby

And Ben

And Chase...

Brought us up to now (sort of).

Here are some things I love about Ashley:

1. Ashley is a great mom. I wish I had played with my children the way she does hers. We came over a few weeks ago fairly early in the morning and found her having a water baloon fight with her boys. They think she is the coolest mom!

2. Ashley has always been a great friend. Consequently, she has many friends. She has maintained many of her friendships over the years and has many close friends in different parts of the country and world.

3. Ashley is a great wife. She and Todd make a great team. She has been a widow to his long hours of graduate work, supporting him through all the hard years of school.

They lived in Boston where she learned to live with the cold.

They moved to New York City where...

...she learned to navigate the streets and raised three active children in a small apartment as he started his career and many days away from home.

But Todd is a loving and involved dad and husband and worth all the effort. They make a wonderful team!

4. Ashley has great style. Her interest in fashion lead her to a fashion class while she lived in New York. She has had some opportunities to advise others on how to make the most of their wardrobes and enhance the look that will make them more successful and confident. Her changing circumstances currently let it benefit her own style and that of her family.

5. Ashley has a great sense of family. She loves her Harris family and is truly an important part of it as well as of the Dicksons./She works hard to stay close to all no matter where she lives or where the family lives. At great expense they visited Salt Lake so she can be with family, North Carolina, New York and California. She does a great job of balancing all the visits so no one feels slighted.

6. Ashley has a great sense of humor and can find many things to laugh at to get past the trials of the day. See the "Many Looks of Ashley" above. Her blog is a favorite because she finds so many funny things to add to it.

7. Ashley lives the gospel. She and Todd have been leaders and important contributors to every ward they have been in. I do not worry about them spiritually because they are where they should be. I have sat in on their family prayer and family home evening and admire their commitment to raising their children with faith.

8. Ashley is not afraid to speak up when she thinks you are misjudging or just judging someone. She values an open mind and is empathetic to others views. She stands up for what she believes. I will never forget when that little six year old told her upset father, "I am not afraid of you!" even though I think she was.

9. She has always been goal oriented. She makes a plan and moves toward it. This has helped in planning their lives and budgeting even when they have been so long in the unsettled student stage. She has planned when to have each of her children and has even tried this time to plan the sex of this next one. When she was in school, she knew what she had to do to get a good grade and studied accordingly, accomplishing the difficult task of getting in to BYU and also graduating in a minimum of time.

10 Ashley has moved close to me and I get to see her all the time and have her boys and husband part of my life. She has us come for dinner and games to her house sometimes. as well as contributes to the dinners I put on. We have gone to a baby shower already together and even gone shopping together in our busy lives. She is a joy to have close to us. Her boys think Papa is their hero. After all he is a "hunter and a cowboy!" I never thought she would even consider this close a proximity. So far it is pure joy, even if I did have to get up three times in the night last night with her boys!

In her backyard for Labor Day

Always a game to play!

ASHLEY, I LOVE YOU! HAVE A GREAT YEAR!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINDSEY!

2010-10-01T17:35:00.000-07:00

Lindsey's birthday was actually two days ago on September 29th. I tried to get this done, but life is just not that free. I want to be sure she knows how much I love her even though I am behind on this. I am afraid her day was mostly just another day. I know she was making dinner for a friend who was having surgery and also watching her children. Lindsey deserves some serious pampering since she contributes so much to so many.

I really struggled to find single pictures of Lindsey, but her life is so wrapped up in her family and others around her that I only found a few and most of those she would kill me if I posted them.

Here is her beautiful family a year ago.

She was such a cute little imp when she was young. She has never forgiven me for my lack of photos of her as a baby. She has confiscated the few that I have. I definitely had my hands full! My oldest was three and I was not so old myself. I felt like I did everything for everyone, and pictures were an afterthought.

When I see this cute little picture it makes me remember that shortly after it was taken she cut her darling hair almost totally off on one whole side--five times in one day. She was determined! She was never this blond again.

With Dad before a race.

Always beautiful!

We laugh about this dress now, but she designed it, I made it and we were proud.

They don't come much better than this man that she chose. We are so glad he also chose her.

There are better wedding pictures, but these were the easiest to put my hands on.

With Granddad, who sealed them, and Grandma who loved them. (Harmon's good looks made Grandma "swoon.")

Three generations.

First there was one--Lacey was such a darling.

Then Halle was added...

Then Jack...

...then along came Kate. Are they finished? They answer, "Yes." I say "They make such special children, why not one more. Jack needs a brother.

Lindsey and Sunny with new babies.

Here are some things I love about Lindsey:

1. She has always been so interested in other people. Her interest is usually translated into useful help to those around her. She knows when to step in and how to do it best. Lindsey is a very good listener. She hears what you say and knows who you are. She validates the good and mostly overlooks the less than perfect. She is the one to call her siblings and close friends and know what is happening in their lives.

2. She is a loving sister and daughter in our family and also in the Tobler family. The Toblers were so glad she was a part of their family during the recent passing of Harmon's father. She used her love and organizing talents to help orchestrate the necessary arrangements so that the funeral was wonderful, conforting, and a real tribute to a great man.

3. Lindsey is a wonderful mother. She knows so well how to balance affection, attention, teaching, and discipline. I have no doubt her children will grow up to be wonderful individuals like their parents. They are learning and being loved every day of their lives.

4. Lindsey is a truly committed member of the Church. She understands the principles of the gospel and applies them in many visible ways: FHE and prayer in her home, teaching true principles with great insight as Gospel Doctrine teacher, giving true service as a Visiting Teacher, adding all the extras as well as perfecting the basics in each calling she has, frequently attending and even working in the temple because she loves to be in that sacred place. I do not ever worry about Lindsey's faithfulness, because her actions reflect her understanding and love of the Lord.

5. Lindsey has always been wise beyond her years. When she was young, each birthday seemed to come a year too late: she seemed older than her actual year. I have always relied on her opinion because she is so often right on--sometimes seeing things I miss. Her wisdom spills over to help others be wiser also. Many seek her counsel.

6. Speaking of seeing things I miss, Lindsey is one of the most observant people I know. If you've changed the way you do your make-up slightly, she notices. If you have a new ring or new dress, she sees it and compliments you. If you wear a new fragrance she can tell. If you are down she senses it and helps you with your problems.

7. Lindsey is a great wife. My observation is that she is a great companion to Harmon. She acknowledges his role as head of the house and advises him with her insights and input. I never thought my strong willed Lindsey would ever find someone she respected enough to be an equal partner to, but Harmon is the man. Lindsey loves and respects him and shows it. Ask any of the 40 people who came to Harmon's birthday party a week ago if Lindsey loves him and treats him right.

8. Lindsey adds an extra flare and excellence to all she undertakes. Her daughters' baptisms had more of the niceties than just about anyone's: from memorialized photos, invitations, and wonderful meals afterward. Her lessons, parties, service projects and all she commits to become a work of love and art.

9. Lindsey has style and knows how to project the image she feels reflects her life. Her house is beautifully and tastefully decorated. Her children are beautifully dressed. She tries to stay true to who she is in both the way she lives and the way her home and family look.

10. Lindsey is very creative. She started curling her own hair when she was four and eventually became the one all the other girls came to for hairstyles. She makes quilts each year as gifts for her family members. Her flare is seen as well in stitchery and other gifts she makes for others. She has used these skills in several jobs she has had, combined with her ability to organize.

Lindsey, I have skipped several of the others whose birthdays have come and gone without a blog because I thought my observant daughter would probably notice (though I know you would also give me a pass if I needed it.) I promise everyone else, your blog from me is also coming (Mao, Gracie and Harmon.)

Lindsey, I love you so much! Hope you had a good birthday and that it is the start of a great year!

RILEY TURNED SEVEN ON AUGUST 26TH

2010-08-28T21:35:00.000-07:00

Uh oh! My next birthday season is upon me and I am so out of the habit of doing a birthday blog that I forgot Riley's on the 26th. Riley is so photogenic, I will have a hard time choosing! Here are a few of my favorites:

This year at a dance rehearsal. Riley loves to be on stage!

Riley is not yet one in this picture. She walked early and has been on the run ever since.

Not yet two but so tall and so loved!

Here are a few of the things I love about Riley:

1. Riley has always been so, so bold! She was not yet two and had the agility, balance and lack of fear to cross this little bridge over a creek. You could never keep Riley down!

2. Riley lives life with gusto! There isn't much she is not interested in or will try. She was this age when Granddad Price dubbed her "Catch Me If You Can" and she continues to live up to it. Sorry Sunny, it takes a lot of work and love, but it is never boring with this one.

3. Riley is darling--so pretty and also feminine.

4. Riley loves to be a girl--to dress up, to wear ruffles and make-up, pink and pretty.

4. Riley joins in on everything. She is the first to slide in the snow and the last to leave and always a little more capable than the other kids her age.

5. Riley is very friendly and outgoing. Below Riley recognized Uncle Doug as the one who loves children and became his best friend. She is quick to show her affection with a hug or seven.

6. Riley loves her little brothers and sister. She has always been good with them and shows she loves them.

Riley with Charlie

7. Riley has such a fun personality. She loves to pose and always has a twinkle in her eye.

8. Riley must be in the middle of everything! I love her enthusiasm. This was my birthday and Riley wanted to help with every present. She was as excited as if it were her own.

9. Riley is a smarty. She is a great reader and does very well academically. Is that any surprise? All this energy and inquisitiveness just needs direction!

10. Of course, Riley is an athlete! She is taller, more coordinated and more fit than most of the other children, boys or girls that she plays with. When you give Riley a hug you find she is just all muscle.

She is always moving, climbing, exploring and smiling!

The "Littles" visit while the others are off on a different adventure.

Riley is part of a large loving eternal family!

But Riley is definitely unique. I love that very special effervescent spirit that is Riley!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RILEY ROO!

FINALLY! HERE IS SAGE'S 10TH BIRTHDAY!

2010-07-21T23:50:00.000-07:00

Well, I really blew it! I missed posting on Sage's birthday. I didn't miss the day, just forgot that I should be blogging. So here is the best I can do at redemption.

This is one of the most recent pictures I have of Sage taken at Grand Camp last week. Sage and Tristan wanted to get wet while we were at Sea World and they did.

Here is one of the earliest digital pictures I have of Sage. He has always loved the beach.

At St. George--a delicious breakfast!

Camping at Hickerson 2005

More beach with Mackenzie.

Sage with Halle and Lacey.

The kitchen counter, a great place to sit.

Here are a few things I love about Sage:

1. I really love his unique smile. It is just so Sage!

Sage with Charlie

2. Sage really loves his younger brothers and sisters. He is mostly a loving good brother.

Sage and Riley ready for school.

3. Sage tries hard at school and is a very smart boy.

Baptism day with Papa and Nana

4 Sage is a good member of the church. He tries hard to keep the commandments.

Sage helping Papa at Grand Camp 2009

5. Sage is willing to help out whenever you ask him.

Sage with his special friend and cousin, Halle at Grand Camp 2009.

6. Sage is a lot of fun to be with. He has many friends. When I am at his house, many boys knock on the door hoping that Sage can come play with them.

7. Sage is coordinated. He loves to climb and could ride a bike very young.

Sage (12) playing football.

Sage was player of the game this time!

8. Sage is a good athlete. He really loves the sports he plays and does a good job for his team.

Going up in the balloon in Irvine for the second time.

Sage reassures Sam, who is not so sure he wants to be here.

At a beach party last Christmas season with Mom and Gracie

9. Sage really loves to swim. I can't remember any child who loved the water as young as Sage. At one he couldn't even walk but he could crawl into the water and didn't mind if his face was under water. He still loves to swim both at the pool and at the beach.

10. Sage is very bold. He loves to go on thrill rides and watches any movie the big kids do. His enthusiasm for all the activities we do from fishing to participating at Sea World he does with gusto.

Sage is part of the act.

I really love Sage and know he had a great birthday with three celebrations this year.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SAGE. I AM SORRY I AM SO SLOW. I MISS YOUR HAPPY FACE!

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY, ETHAN!

2010-07-12T23:59:00.000-07:00

Ethan turned two years old. How quickly the time flies!

Brandy-new but you can already see his blonde roots.

Mackenzie and Kayla already love him--as do his parents.

Sleeping through the fuss.

Getting bigger and blonder

Fun in the pool. Is that hair sun bleached?

One year old. Where's the cake?

Happy Birthday Cake!

Loves Balls

Loves the water and Mom.

At a beach party with Dad.

Easter living up to his "Little Man" name.

Got candy?

Here are some things I love about Ethan:

1. He is two years old--one of my favorite ages.

2. He has beautiful blonde hair and pretty blue eyes--a lady killer combination.

3. He opens his mouth wide and wrinkles his nose when you tell him to smile.

4. Ethan loves balls. Will he be an athlete when he grows up?

5. He also loves cars. He got lots of them for his birthday. Auto mechanic, race car driver, car dealer, man's man?

6. He started organizing the cars as soon as he got them. I hope that means he will be neat and organized.

7. He kisses me almost any time I ask him to.

8. Ethan has a sweet, mild personality.

9. He is all boy to his sisters' all girl.

10. Ethan is a smarty pants. Just ask his proud mom!

Blew out the candles on that cute Mickey Mouse cake!

CHARLIE AND SAM TURN 3 TODAY

2010-07-08T23:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, you cute boys, Sam and Charlie Wright.

Sam and Charlie have been a delight since they were born. Here they are called "Night and Day" because of all their differences. We were so glad to have these little Wright babies in our family, too.

Sam, Cousin Kate and Charlie

A little older with Mom and Nana.

Can't wait for Nana's birthday candles. It was all just very good.

A game of Horse back riding. They loved doing this, but Sam is a sturdier horse.

A game with Papa.

Tackle Nana and then take away the ball.

Charlie will always stop to pose.

Sam always wriggles out of a picture.

Dad and sister Gracie keep the boys busy while Mom gets ready to go.

Charlie is so photogenic.

Barely caught Sam to take a picture!

Here are a few things I love about these boys, Charlie and Sam Wright:

1. They are so dang cute.

2. They are very different from each other! Their personalities are "Night and Day" as they were called in the hospital. It is good to just be you. I love who they are, whether together or pursuing their own individuality.

3. They give great hugs. Charlie is always happy to jump in my arms. But sometimes it takes Sam a while to remember me and warm up, but then they are both my best friends the rest of the visit.

4. They have so much enthusiasm and are so much fun to watch and play with.

5. They share a set of dimples. Each has one and they are on the opposite cheek from the other.

6. They are sealed to their parents. That is another blog post soon.

7. They are a miracle. We are so lucky to have them in our family.

8. They say cute things.

9. They are a blessing to the whole family. Their brothers and sisters just love them so much.

10. They have great names: Charles Stewart Wright and Samuel McConkie Wright will be names they can be proud of their whole lives.

(Maybe I will add to this blog in the morning when my brain works.)

Happy birthday, Charlie and Sam! I love you.

OOPS!! MISSED A BIRTHDAY

2010-07-08T22:23:00.000-07:00

Such a crazy up and down 10 days we have had. It's no excuse, but I failed to blog for Sage's birthday. Check back tomorrow and I will have it done. Sage turned 10 on July 1st. I didn't forget his birthday. I just forgot to post a blog about him. He is on a family bike ride thing from SLC to Vegas this week so he can wait another day for his blog. Today is Charlie and Sam's birthday so I will do Sage's tomorrow.

ADAM HITS A MILESTONE

2010-06-16T23:49:00.000-07:00

Forty years ago today, Adam was responsible for the most amazing single day in my life. Sorry to all my other kids, but it was the day Adam was born that I discovered that incomprehensible love a mother has for her child and the indescribable joy being a mother brings. I continue to experienced it, but that first one is such an incredible surprise and overwelming, all encompassing love. I had the same with each of the rest, but I was prepared for it the next times. I remember Alan often staring down at our newborn Adam and just shaking his head in wonder.

He was such a cute little hairy darling. I was in love for sure! No child had ever been more beautiful!

Always a dog around.

Adam watched out for his sister!

He loved sports from a young age and excelled at them although our funniest story about his first year in T-ball was looking out in the field and seeing him with his mitt on his head staring off into space.

Good swimmers, but didn't have time to include it competitively with all his other activities.

Received his Eagle at 14. Did not like to wear the uniform in public by this time, though.

Girls League formal. Doesn't look to excitied, does he? Already too cool. This was his favorite dog, Apollo, as a puppy.

Football was his favorite sport. He played two years on the varsity CIF championship team.

Jennifer came into his life and wedding bells rang.

Aren't they a cute family? (Did I like my hair that way?)

First Jade...

...and then Bailey

Here are some of the things I love about Adam:

1. Adam loves his family and loves to be with them. He makes sure he lets his girls know he loves them. He spends time with them and is happy when they get interested in his things--as when Jade enjoyed golfing. His girls know they are loved and love to snuggle close in front of the TV. He is also thoughtful of his brothers and sisters. He is often the first one to call on their birthdays.

2. He is a good athlete. He has always been coordinated and has loved sports since he was young. He was very good at most sports, but is always hard on himself when he is less than perfect. He always has a few sports he plays throughout any week besides working out. He looks like he is thirty.

3. I was looking for pictures of Adam and many, many have him holding or playing with a child, mostly nieces and nephews. Adam loves children and goes to great lengths to win them over. They are so comfortable with him as well.

4. Adam has a great mind. He understands quickly and can explain what he learns in simple terms. He came to work for us a couple of years ago and quickly had a good knowledge of the ins and outs of our business. We rely on him to straighten out the details of some of the complicated problems. He can also transfer that knowledge in a sales situation. He is low pressure but convincing.

5. Adam loves sports. One reason I thought I would never get his family back to California was his love of the winter sports. Now that he is back he has learned to surf and is working on that skill. He finds a way to take his family to the beach as often as possible. He always plays on softball teams, as well as plays soccer once a week. He would be out golfing more if he could. There are a few bonuses to living here such as being able to play golf year round. He is also a passionate fan. I love watching the sports he is so passionate about because he draws me in. Also he Tivos the events and we can watch them fast. He makes it fun even for me.

6. Adam is disciplined. He decided he wanted to lose some weight. Now he was never overweight. He weightlifting on a consistent basis, always pushing himself helped him gain so much muscle. I have watched him lose weight because of his care with the quality of food he eats and regular daily excercise. He has learned to stay disciplined in other ways: consistent work-outs, budgeting, emotionally being in control, etc.

7. Adam is a reader. He will read any book I hand him if he has exhausted his supply. He even loved all the assigned reading literature books in high school, even the ones everyone else thought were boring. He really enlarges his world by all he reads.

8. Adam is patient with me even if inside he is irritated. He will help me with a computer problem with great calms, even though it is so frustrating. He never complains in our business and accepts all assignments and critiques.

9. Adam is a dilligent member of the church. He is reliable and capable in his callings. Our ward has put him to work and used him in several capacities as well. I appreciate his willingness to sign up for service projects just because it is the right thing to do.

10. Adam is a true friend to his Dad and me. He spends a lot of time with Alan and that could easily cause friction, but it doesn't exist. Alan particularly loves being able to share a joke, a funny picture, or bounce a difficult situation off him.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ADAM! I LOVE YOU!

SAM HAS GROWN OLD!

2010-06-15T23:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Sam! I am getting this done after you are in bed. But you have to give me credit for getting it done at all, since I just got back from almost two weeks in Guatemala tonight. I stayed up late the night we left trying to scan in pictures so I could easily post this with some comments. I think I went nuts with the scanning. So here are a lot of Sam as he grows up:

Coming home from the hospital!

With JR, about 2years old.

Maybe 4 years old.

8--he never really loved baseball.

Football mean look.

Sam silly

Bad quality pictures but from their fresman year at BYU. They had something special from the beginning.

He loved to pick up his mother.

Off to the MTC and then Chile, Santiago East mission.

Married !!

I think this is Max.

The day he defended his thesis. Doesn't he look smart.

Ruby is born!

Sam officially is awarded his PhD.

Forgive me if I don't add a few more updated pictures. Before I crash I want to put down a few things I love about Sam:

1. Sam is a good listerner. He calls me regularly and asks questions and listens and discusses what I say. He also loves to make me think by his discussions.

2. Sam is a good dad. He tries to get home early and his favorite activities involve his family. He loves to be with them. He has sung to all his children and they respond to his songs. He is a hands on father even though he has been very busy getting his degree.

3. Sam is converted to the Lord. He believes the principles of the gospel and uses them with diligence in his life daily. Because of his total commitment, he throws himself into doing the things that are asked of him, whether it is counselor in the SS presidency, Gospel doctrine teacher or Elders quorum president with enthusiasm and creativity.

4. Sam loves his wife completely and is happy when she is happy. I never dreamed he would turn into such a handyman. I can see by the way he lives his life, that he thinks marrying Lindsay was the best act of his life.

5. Sam has a unique sense of humor. When joke night at Grand Camp is coming up he is sure to get a call from nieces for some advice. His humor is usually their level. He has other ways of showing his humor. He used to think it was funny to make me or one of his sisters scream by surprising or scaring us. Does he still do that Lindsay? His type of craziness makes him a fun person to be with.

6. Sam takes advantage of the brains the Lord blessed him with. He pursued his degree until he had it, no matter the obstacles. He thinks deeply and helps solve problems. He loves to read and analyze, but stimulates others to do so as well. He retains things well and uses them often in his life.

7. Sam has become a very happy, outgoing person. People like to be with him because he seldom gets down. He has a great optimism about him. Who knew?

8. That brings me to the point that Sam has learned to change what needs to be changed in his life when he recognizes the problem. He overcame a speech problem when he was a child that some people never conquer. He learned to overcome the awkward public image he had been tagged with and extend himself to others and be happy and have many friends.

9. Sam has wisdom and character. He does the right things for the right reason. Sometimes he even helps me make better choices from his sense of integrity. He applies the scriptures to his problem solving and has many memorized. He encourages me to do the same. It helps.

10 Sam participates in life fully. He is doing a triathalon soon. He plays church sports. He enjoys his work and the people he works with and works hard. He calls Adam to discuss things Adam is interested in such as the NBA playoffs, me to hear what I Conference talk I like best, Alan to hear about his hunting and so on. I love his interest in so many things.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAM! I LOVE YOU!

IT'S ALMOST OVER

2010-06-13T21:08:00.000-07:00

I can't send pictures but I can let you all know that we are fine and having a wonderful time. Mao has especially worried about us. We are very safe. We have even had two security guards following us since we entered Guatemala, just in case. We have stayed in top hotels everywhere, but the best may be tonight. We are in the Guatemalan highlands, which may be the land of Nephi or the land the Lamanites lived in for most of the Book of Mormon. We are in a place called Lake Atitlan which is a candidate to be the waters of Mormon. It is green and gorgeous and the hotel is surrounded by the most beautiful manicured gardens. We have had some minor intestinal disruption even though we have been totally careful. Alan got sick this evening, but I expect it to be mostly gone in the morning. Michael Wilcox has not disappointed us. He just has such wonderful narration. The people we are with are so great. aAnyway, we come home Tuesday evening. Will get this being more accurate and Updated soon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINDSAY!!

2010-06-11T21:11:00.000-07:00

Here some random pictures of Lindsay. I an in Copan, Honduras tonight seeing some amazing ruins. I downloaded some pictures to this post as a draft before we left Cali with the idea that I would be able to flesh it in over the internet. Unfortunately, the browser with iPad does not work too well on blogspot. I can't even see the pictures until I post it. But, I do not want to miss wishing Lindsay a happy birthday and telling her a few things I love about her:

1. Lindsay is one of the most committed members of the church I know. It shows in how she lives her life, how she does her callings, and how she raises her children. This is one of the highest compliment I give to anyone.

2. Lindsay is a wonderful,diligent, loving mother. Her great desire is to raise her children perfectly. She is willing to let other things go that she used to think were important to spend quality time with these kids-- teaching, training, and loving them. She is very successful at this.

3. Lindsay is a wonderful influence on my son. She brings out the best in him. He is a wonderful person, but he is a better one since Lindsay came into his life. She has spurred him on to do better at school, to live the gospel with exactness, and to learn to do many things like laying diagonal hardwood flooring he never would have learned on his own.

4. Lindsay wants everyone else to be happy, sometimes at her own expense. She truly cares about others.

5 Lindsay is very good at playing games. You don't realize she has such a careful strategy until she slips in and beats you.

6. She is very smart. This manifests itself in many ways such as how she teaches her kids the Gospel and to read, how well she did in school, how carefully she manages their budget, and how she solves problems.

7.Lindsay is a very good writer. I am jealous of what great blogs she writes. She makes the smallest details of her family life come alive for us in pictures and words.

8. Lindsay is such a willing worker. I can always count on her pitching in when she visits. She can spot the jobs to do and doesn't have to be told what needs to be done.

9. Lindsay has a wonderful sense of family. She loves to be with her family on both sides and involves herself in their lives in a productive way never in a critical way.

10 Lindsay is a beautiful girl. That is what Sam said when he first saw her and I think she gets prettier every year. She has a great sense of style and it carries over into her home,dress, and all she does.

Day 2 BOM Tour

2010-06-06T20:31:00.000-07:00

After spending way too much time trying to add pictures to this blog and both of us getting very frustrated, I just read that my browser is not the right versio to use blogger in compose mode,just the HTML. I am assuming that means the iPad won't do it. Maybe I put in the text and get one of my new friends to let me use their laptop To do the pictures.

We had a great day. Michael Wilcox is Amazing! While we travel to wherever we are going, he tells us so many interesting things about what we will be seeing, ties it into the scriptures and then relates it to our lives. We first went to the Mexican Museum. We had a local LDS guide,Ignacio, who showed us many coincidences found in the artifacts that help verify the Book if Mormon. We then went to some enormous ruins at Teotichuan (spellcheck later). We climbed to the top of two very high and steep pyramids with photos to prove it. By the time we got to the new hotel in VillHermosa we were tired and dirty. Luckily it was a beautiful and moodier place. We are especially enjoying the great friends we are making. This is hard to keep up because Internet time and availability is limited. Try again tomorrow.

BOM Tour Day 1

2010-06-04T19:22:00.000-07:00

We are in Mexico City! I am trying to blog with Alan's iPad and it isn't working the way my computer does. Hope I can figure out how to download the pictures. Anyway, we left early from John Wayne. Lucky for Alan Lindsay's dad is head of Delta. He accidentally packed his little everything knife in his carry-on. He just sent it to John's office to hold for him. We met up with the rest of the group going on the tour on the connecting flight in Houston. From the time we landed we had twenty minutes to get off the plane and make it to a far terminal before the flight took off. We booked it almost running. With the gate in sight, they started calling our names over the whole airport loudspeaker. As we fell into our seats, just about the first thing I noticed was Michael Wilcox sitting three rows back with his daughter. He wasn't supposed to come since his wife was receiving treatment for a recently discovered brain tumor. Apparently, the treatment was not affecting her too badly and she urged them to come without her. We were thrilled! He was half the reason i wanted to come. We arrived in Mexico City and are staying at a nice hotel and getting to know many nice people (mostly older like us.) I have some good pictures I would like to include, but can't figure out how. I don't know if it an iPad problem, Mac problem, or a stupid user problem. The pictures are on the iPad okay, but blogger doesn't give me the option to browse for a file. Any of you Mac experts know what I might be doing wrong. Reply on the home email. Connecting to wi-fi is also a challenge. I am having to post this a day late because of it.

ALAN IS HOW OLD?

2010-05-30T12:35:00.000-07:00

Today is Alan's birthday. But it is one of those crazy busy days and I have not made time to do a blog about all the things I love about him. Check back later today. I am off to my third Sacrament Meeting for the day. He will be in meetings for six hours.

Happy Birthday, Alan! I love you. Hope it isn't too bad going to meetings for the whole day. Here are a few pictures of his life. I will add more before the day is over.

Here is the rest:

Alan has created this room with his hunting/cowboy trophies. He is comfortable here.

Cute baby. I didn't have the one that his dad got when he was overseas during WWII when he didn't even know whether he had a son or daughter. The page of the letter telling what he had was lost the rest of the letter just said "the baby." He said he looked like something that crawled out from under a rock. I think he was cute. He had as much dark hair as I did when born. Consequently, we had six little hairy babies.

Alan, obviously on the left, had three brothers. Dan was not born yet here. John is the baby and Roy on the right with Dad, Burke, in the middle. They were a rowdy bunch. Mary was a wonderful boys' mother. We miss her.

Handsome Alan before his mission. If I were a good wife with lots of time, I would find an old picture from his mission. He still tells many stories from his Southwest British mission. It totally changed his life and mine.

Here is Alan, the returned missionary I married.

Here is our little family. I have posted this before. Wish I took the time to find a different one.

Here are some random things about Alan that I love. There are too many to put them all here:

1. He is a true and worthy patriarch of a wonderful family. He has been my partner in loving and raising our six plus one children. We have not been perfect parents, but our children, their spouses, and our grandchildren are pretty great people despite our failings. Alan ruled with an iron hand and a loving arm to draw them to him. He used his priesthood often and with inspiration to bless our home, our health, our struggles, and souls.

2. Alan is passionate about his hobbies. He has always been a hunter. I did not know what that meant when I married him. I found out when he was late to the temple because he couldn't miss the morning dove hunt and then left me six out of the first nine weekends we were married (1 wedding 2 honeymoon 3 move to Utah 4-9 hunting)

I only have pictures of bird hunting. He especially loves bird hunting with his dogs. But he does it all: deer, elk, wild boar, bear (hasn't got one), antelope, caribou, whatever. I have never had to worry about him being disappointed because he is a very good shot and gets what he is after if it is getable.

He has also had more dogs than most people can name. He has specialized in hunting breeds--just about every kind out there. However, he has not limited himself to those. We have had Old English Sheepdogs, German Shephards, Airedales, Cavaliers, and on and on and on. He loves to breed, buy, study and search for dogs of all breeds. Right now we have a French Brittany and a Pudlepointer. They are both excellent hunting dogs. They are enough for any dog lover/ hunter, don't you think? No I didn't buy him a dog for his birthday!!

3. Alan has kept my life from being mundane and routine. One of our grandsons said with awe is "Our papa is a COWBOY and a HUNTER." Alan does things that I would never have been exposed to without him. We go to the National Finals Rodeo every year just before Christmas. He loves all things cowboy and rodeo. He goes on roundups and buys horses. He tries to get me listen to cowboy music and learn to shoot. He watches animal planet and bull riding and discovery channel and adds spice and variety to my world.

4. He loves our grandchildren. They love to cuddle up to him and he woos them with his love.

As with our children, Alan is my partner in loving, building a relationship with and being proud of our grandchildren. He really goes out of his way to win the little ones over.

A few of them like Jack, below, especially seek Papa out and are so comfortable and safe in his arms.

He can be the fun Papa, too, huh Mackenzie?

5. Alan love to travel and see things with me. He will take side trips like Yosemite and enjoy whatever we are out to see.

He will go on tours with groups even though that may not be his first choice of travel methods. It was so fun to have Jade with us in Israel a few years ago.

We walked where Christ did.

6. Alan loves to check out the shops both when we travel and at home and especially loves to buy me things. I have to put the stops on all the spending he loves to do on me. He is very generous and thoughtful.

7. I love that Alan is alive. He was so sick three years ago this doctor, Dr Patel, who saved his life also told me he might not make it. Luckily, I did not recognize that was what he was telling me. As Alan fought to stay with us, I realized how much I loved and depended on him. I am glad that he had the faith, strength, and desire to stay with me and be my companion for the rest of out lives here.

8. I love that Alan is a good provider. Here he is in his office. (Oh, there are lots of hunting pictures and creatures on his office walls. Just a note.) He has provided a nice lifestyle for us and works still to give us what we need.

9. I love Alan's commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He chose to serve a mission in his youth despite a family that was not very active in the church and did not encourage him. I love that he studied the gospel on his own and developed a testimony. I love that he was been dedicated to the church all our marriage and served with diligence in whatever his calling has been from 11 year old scout leader to one boy to bishop or high counselor. He is wise and seeks the direction of the spirit in all he does.

10. I love that Alan has always made me feel loved and beautiful, whether I deserve it or not. He is always willing to work on our marriage. We have been married almost 42 years of the next eternity. We are best friends, working partners, share a church calling and still in love. I dare most couples to try that. We are grateful it works so well.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALAN!!

TRISTAN IS 14!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TRISTAN!

2010-05-21T12:56:00.000-07:00

Our oldest grandson, Tristan has turned 14 years old today. I can hardly believe it! Although some of the unbelief is that he is big enough to be 18. He is now towering over me.

Because of how time consuming it is to go through all the poorly organized, non-digital photos that we have, I have some big age gaps in my pictures. It is also very hard for me to choose which pictures to use, so I have lots more than I probably should. Grandmothers (Nanas) are so sentimental!

Tristan is brand new here. Isn't he beautiful. He always was a big boy and he always had a ton of hair, as is the custom on our side of the family. We are hair snobs! Tristan is one of the winners in that contest.

Even as a very young one Tristan was a cuddly armful.

My dad's first great-grandson! I think he was 2-3 months here.

Tristan may kill me for this picture. Look at the legs and the cheeks on that baby

One year old now. So cute!

Maybe 1 1/2 here. Such personality!

With our first three grandchildren when Tristan was about 15 months.

Here are some things I especially love about Tristan Ross Orvis:

1. He has always had great enthusiasm for the good things in life. He has a lot of fun and is always willing to try something new. Right now he is into music. He has started playing the drums and been chosen quite young at his school to be part of an elite singing group. I never know what new thing Tristan will be participating in, but it is usually something great.

Four wheeling with his mom, Sage and Riley.

2. Tristan is kind. He has a soft place in his heart for the little kids, for the dogs, and for others. I will never forget the service he did in my name on my 60th birthday. In school his class was supposed to split into groups and he noticed a couple of the "nerdier" kids didn't have enough members of their group. Since he had committed to doing service for me that day, he joined their group to help them feel more accepted. (He also got a good grade on the project since they were also smart.) Tristan has always had many friends. He has had kids at the door and on the phone (and now on Facebook) all his life seek him out as a friend. I guess that means he is nice to them and fun to be with.

3. Tristan is very loving and good with his little brothers and sisters. That is a very good thing, since there are so many of them. When Riley was little, his favored spot was sitting by her in the car or at dinner. He has adored Baby Grace and...

(Holding newborn Gracie.)

(Here he has Charlie fresh from the hospital.)

...the twins. And they just love him, too, because of it. His mom really needs older kids that love the little ones and are willing to help out!

4. Tristan is a natural outdoorsman and also is an expert at paintball, fourwheeling, boating, waterskiing and lots of other fun activities I don't have pictures of. He participates in Scouting and really enjoys the outdoor activities. It is harder as you get older to do all the things scouting requires. I hope he sticks with it.

5. I can get a smile and hug from Tristan at the drop of a hat. I love his bear hugs when I arrive. He used to greet me by saying, "Nana, what did you bring me?" Now he just acts happy to see me and gives me one of those great hugs. You don't know how much a grandmother needs that. Don't stop, Tristan. My big grown sons still give me those kinds of hugs!

6. Tristan has been a hunter since he was very young. He is a good shot and has had real success younger than some kids have even accompanied their dads on a hunt.

Papa loves to have his oldest grandson share his love of hunting and the outdoors. He looks for ways to be with him in this interest as much as possible.

Axis deer in Florida.

Alligators?

That is Tristan ready for the play in the very center.

7. Tristan is willing to try new experiences. Tristan didn't start out loving athletics, but as he got older he tried football and put real effort into it. His size and his sharp intellect make him a natural at the sport. He learned to enjoy the contact and figure out the plays and strategy that are so important to this game.

With Steve to help coach and encourage Tristan, he really had a great couple of years. He also enjoyed the camaraderie with his friends as they work hard to build a team and beat the other teams.

8. Tristan is a great example for the rest of the cousins. Since Tristan is our oldest grandson, the choices he makes will have an impact on the younger kids, especially the boys, coming up. He is just the one to start things out right. He is our only grandson to have the priesthood, so far, and he honors it. Though all the cousins close to his age are girls, he gets along with them so well. There are many, many younger boys coming up who will look up to this good young man.

At our first Grand Camp with Papa.

Boogie boarding during Grand Camp.

Horseback riding was a new experience, but Tristan was a natural.

With Sage about to get wet at Magic Mountain.

9. Tristan recognizes the Spirit. When Sage was baptised, Tristan, who was twelve, bore his testimony in Sacrament Meeting. It was one of my favorite experiences as a grandmother. I was surprised when he went up to the stand, since Tristan isn't a person to seek out the limelight or attention. He said he just couldn't stay in his seat. He said that he had felt the spirit three times in the past week. One was right then when it pushed him out of his seat to bear his testimony. Another was the day before when Sage was baptised. He hadn't wanted to go see Sage get "dunked," as he said it, but gave in to his mother and went. The baptism was fine, but then at the little family gathering between the baptism and the confirmation, his three grandmothers were asked to bear their testimonies. He said he felt the spirit so strong at that meeting that it made it worth it to be there even on a Saturday afternoon. The other time was when he had gone to do baptisms for the dead in the Bountiful temple earlier in the week with the ward. Someone had discouraged him from going, saying that "baptisms for the dead are over rated." But he had gone anyway. He said when he came up from being immersed in the water the first time in the temple, that the spirit had washed over him and felt so good that he knew that it was the work of the Lord. He said he wanted to feel that spirit often and be where it was strong like that. I have never forgotten that testimony. It is one of the best I have heard from someone that age and one of the most real.

10. Tristan is very smart. He grasps concepts quickly and understands. I know he is a typical boy and hates to do homework and busy work, but his mind is sharp and his intellect is keen and he will make great use of it in his life, I am sure. I am so proud of Tristan and who he is.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TRISTAN!!

TWO TRIBUTES FOR MOTHERS' DAY

2010-05-09T23:18:00.000-07:00

Mothers' Day makes me reflect on two things. The first is these six children. They may hate me for posting this cute picture. (It really is the worst of me.) The other day Ashley asked me why I was "encouraging" her to have more children. The immediate short answer is that my children have brought me so much joy and happiness, I want her to have as much as I have had.

My children and my continuing experience at being a mother, in partnership with Alan and our Father in Heaven, is without doubt the best thing on this earth to happen to me. I would have loved to have more children and they always wanted more brothers and sisters. As my last grew up, the loss I felt at not directly parenting left such an empty place. The love I feel for them knows no limits or boundaries. It is the most eternal connection I feel on this earth. As hard as infinite is to comprehend, I cannot imagine my love for them ever ending and I have a shadow of a memory that lets me know I have loved them before they came into this world.

Look who they grew up to be! Could I be more blessed?

The answer is a resounding YES! Look who they have brought into my life, that I love also for all eternity. We are 37 in this picture and we have grown to 41 and counting as of today.

At the same time I have been missing my sweet mother today. It is Mothers' Day and I have no one to call and apolgize for being slow mailing my card or gift. I still have a file of Mothers' Day cards I did not get to send. I can't tell her any more times that she was the best mother anyone could have and that she has been my example for all the good things I have tried to do.

Marjorie Paulson was 16 years old here.

After a whirlwind WWII romance she married Reed E. Price in the Salt Lake Temple.

A few years later Ron arrived followed by their favorite child: Nancy Ann

Eventually, there were six of us. Living in this family was and is a blessing in my life that I am so grateful for.

At their 50th Wedding Anniversary Party.

No one has made me feel as loved unconditionally as my mother. No one else believed in me as much as my mother. NO ONE has ever been as blind to my faults as my mother. No one I know has been as consistently cheerful throughout their life as my mother. No one was as genuinely interested in other people as Mom. Her charitable, unselfish, loving life will always be my shining star example to try to emulate, as she emulated the Savior. I am trying to pass that tradition on through the ages, though I fall short. Luckily, I have daughters that see beyond themselves and are naturally charitable themselves. I miss my Mom. I know she is so happy where she is, because she was happy wherever she might be. I hope to have enough time left to become worthy of being where she is. I hope she can see this wonderful family she left behind and take joy in their many accomplishments. She would be so proud of her grandchildren that she loved so much and now great grandchildren. I love you Mom. Happy Mothers' Day.

OUR PHD'S

2010-05-07T21:45:00.000-07:00

I meant to post this during "my month" of posts, but never finished it. There are some events that need to be memorialized. So here I go. Todd actually defended his thesis and was awarded his degree back in September 2008. But MIT did not have a graduation ceremony for him to walk until the following June. We were unable to go to the presentation of his thesis and Todd's parents were in Europe when he actually graduated. It is nice to be covered by two sets of parents. We were so proud of all the hard work and diligence that it took for Todd to receive his PhD in Bio Engineering from MIT, that it certainly warranted a trip back to Boston, even though he now had a great job with McKinsey Consulting and they lived in New York City.

Here is the scene and the pageantry. We were so far away from the actual ceremony!

We could see him best by watching the giant Teletron in front of us.

He came straight down to where we were sitting. MIT gave out every degree for the whole year in one ceremony. One reader read the names from the first of the alphabet and the other did it from the middle of the alphabet. Consequently, Todd was on about the last page of the graduates. It was about two hours of reading names as fast as they could. We left as soon as he was called.

They should give wives with three small sons their own PhD for holding down the fort while he is absorbed in earning a degree like this.

We were happy to celebrate this day with Todd.

I was trying to get the hood in as well in this picture.

The wise and not as wise solving the problems of the world.

PhD or not one of his main jobs is helping to raise these boys which includes stroller duty.

Then in July of 2009, Sam defended his thesis in bio-informatics at NC State. Because the scheduling was changed so many times, Alan was not able to go with me back to Raleigh to observe this process. I must say I was a long way from understanding all of Sam's presentation even though he went over it with me beforehand. I didn't feel so bad when one of the statistics professors on the committee he appeared in front of did not seem to understand all of it either since it was in a different niche than hers.

This is one of the men on his PhD committee, a man he worked with at Glaxo, Smith, Kline and a great mentor for Sam. He is also a member of the church and participated in writing Sam's paper with him.

Here Sam is calling his dad to report he had been given his PhD. Not the terminology exactly and he still had some finishing to do on the paper, but it was a huge accomplishment to be finished.

Lindsay was probably even more excited and relieved than Sam. Sometimes it seems like this process will go on forever. It isn't like undergraduate work where you do all the requirements for a semester, take all the tests and write finite papers and then you get a grade and the class is over.

He is the Man!

And then the man goes home and plays with his boys!

NC State had a graduation ceremony for Sam to participate in December. In the meantime he was hired by Duke University by the department he had been doing work for as a PhD candidate.

Here is the set up and pageantry at the University. We were thrilled when they only had the PhD candidates walk up to the stand and be awarded their degrees one by one by name. All the others stood as a group and were pronounced graduated. They picked up their diplomas later. It was a much quicker ceremony but still had my son properly individually recognized.

We had good seats, but the Teletron was still the best close up. This one is perfect for showing Sam!

Alan's camera was having serious problems with focus, but it did the telephoto lens pretty well

A little justified pride in his step!

Lindsay was home with a week old baby so we brought Reed with us. For some reason, when the ceremony was over, Reed took off up the stairs through the crowds and was immediately lost. Alan and I went in opposite directions and searching for him. It took at least 15 minutes before security notified us that they had him finally. So Sam did not get much congratulations for a few minutes. Then our camera was so bad that we only got this picture and a lot of blurry ones immediately after.

I took this one with my cell phone and it was a little better.

Sam, the PhD, is showing how brilliant he really is.

This new baby was a bonus for our visit. She wasn't due until the day before, but was 9 days old when he graduated. I think this is his real treasure.

If it weren't Christmas, we would have loved to stay longer. But we were so glad we could be there.

What a great graduation/ Christmas present this little Ruby was!

We are so proud of the dedication, hard work and perseverance of these two young men and their families. It will pay off for years to come.

KATE'S DAY!

2010-05-03T22:34:00.000-07:00

Can you believe she is three years old today? She has grown up so much and fills our hearts.

Here are some things I love about Kate Lindsey Tobler:

1. She has such a beautiful little Tobler face.

2. She is a happy, darling little girl.

3. She is a smarty pants! She has grown up so fast. Quick to talk, quick to learn. 3 going on 12.

Loves sunglasses and bathing suits.

4. She says funny things. "I need skinny jeans." and "Mom, that's the thing, you're not the boss."

A year ago when Kate turned two.

5. Kate is a girl through and through. She loves babies, dolls, and pink frills.

6. She is growing out of shy and loves Nana and Papa.

7. Kate is a very strong personality and continues to exert her will the older she gets.

8. Kate loves her family.

With Mom

9. Did I say she is cute? (Kate with her cousin Sam.)

10. Kate loves her brother Jack and loves to do what he does.

A GOLDEN WALK WITH THE DOGS

2010-05-02T20:02:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite things to do is to walk up in the hills by our house early in the morning with Alan's dogs. For one reason or another we haven't done it for a long time. It is the best thing the dogs get to do next to actually hunting. They are like little children--excited and squealing and hard to restrain. Believe me, Alan restrains them though.

At the head of the trail he takes their leashes off. Can you see them shaking with anticipation? They are poised but won't move until he says "Okay."

I don't think he actually got the "Okay" out this morning. He just took the breath to say it and they were off!

He keeps his whistle handy and they return from wherever they have run to. Often we just get a "fly-by" but we keep track of them.

Right now the mustard weed has mostly kept them on the path.

They are quite obedient to the whistle, but sometimes are very far away.

We have never seen the mustard weed so high or thick.

We almost can't see the path. This mustard weed leaves very high dense stems that dry up and look like ugly brown sticks growing out of the ground. I have observed that in an area that has last years' sticks, no new mustard weed grows. It takes a couple of years for it to disintegrate unless someone comes and clears it. We think it has been at least three seasons since we have had this kind of growth. It will be a fire hazard in the fall but is beautiful unless you have allergies. It felt like we were in a jungle in places.

As we approach the top of the hill and there is a break in the weeds we can see the ocean...

... and behind us our house and neighborhood.

Time to start down the hill. I love the view.

Dense growth on this side too. We couldn't get over it--hence two similar pictures.

Bud is out of shape and just crashes on the path.

Man and dog heading home.

Too bad, we have learned that as we near the trail's end they must be on leashes. Abby especially is not very obedient when there are so many places in the neighborhood to explore. Hopefully we can keep this up daily. The dogs and their owners really need a more rigorous exercise routine. We'll see.

ONE MORE CELEBRATION / ONE MORE BLOG

2010-04-30T21:01:00.000-07:00

I am so lucky this year again. I have had so many celebrations of my birthday. It is so fun. Adam, Jennifer, and Bailey took us out to dinner for some delicious Italian food at Fratellos (formerly Peppinos). It was excellent food and such a nice evening.

One thing about doing a blog every day, I always have my camera with me. Who knows when a blogable event will happen?

We should have taken this when all the yummy food had just been served instead of just been devoured!

Arriving home they had a sinful chocolate birthday cake for me. I guess there is no hope for dieting this week.

You'd think I was about to blow out 60 candles instead of 5!

And look what arrived that Alan got me for my birthday! I have wanted a Bosch for at least 20 years. I bet it will get great use at our house--maybe even tonight. I can't wait.

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED FROM BLOGGING EVERYDAY FOR A MONTH:

1. I hate having to do one every day.
2. It is better to do it early in the day than at midnight.
3. I am not as insightful as Lindsay.
4. Children are the best subjects for a blog.
5. I like having a journal. As my memory gets worse, it is nice to have things written down and photographed besides.
6. I can find the time to blog.
7. I need to put more substance in my blogs and less just captioned pictures.
8. Sometimes my computer is deathly slow.
9. It is sometimes interesting to just tell about ordinary, real life things.
10. I will do a blog for each of my family on their birthday, even if it kills me.
11. As in most things, I can't do a short little blog. I do them too long and too wordy.
12. I cannot do humor. Where did Ashley come from? Is she my real daughter?
13. I don't think anyone reads my blog but Alan and me, but that is good enough.
14. I did it! I did it! I did it! I did one blog a day for a whole month!
15. Thanks, Sam, for the challenge. Don't look for a blog tomorrow, though.

HOME FROM UTAH

2010-04-29T22:51:00.001-07:00

This morning I woke at Sunny and Stephen's house to find this...

...and children having an early breakfast...

...getting ready for school.

Jessica

Riley

Alex

Tristan

Sage

Charlie was the last one up.

After the big kids leave the boys play dogs, a frequent game...

... and the three of them took a few minutes to make a fort with the couch cushions.

Then...

Gracie gets ready for the trip to drop Nana at the airport.

And Dad entertains the kids for a few minutes while Mom gets ready herself.

So I kiss them all goodby. I hope it is not long before I see them again and this time have a longer visit. A taste just makes me want to be with all of them longer.

However, when I arrived home, Alan had a birthday surprise planned. He had a nice gift for me--a cute outfit perfect for our upcoming trip to Central America. Then he took me to Morton's Steak House for a delicious and excellent lunch complete with a personalized birthday menu and Chocolate Lava birthday cake. Thanks, Alan. You really made me feel so loved.

After a couple of necessary hours at work we arrived home where I went straight to bed for a nap to catch up. Here I am again blogging late into the night. Only one day more of this commitment which has been depriving me of sleep.

A VERY GOOD DAY, FUNERAL OR NOT

2010-04-28T22:56:00.000-07:00

This morning the first words I heard were Halle's sweet voice saying, "Happy Birthday." From then on that was the phrase I heard most. I was lucky enough to have these darling, sleepy children that I love engulf me and start my day with warmth and love. Could there be anything better?

Lacey took the last picture, then her mom came home from working out and took this one which included Lacey.

To top my day off I got the sweetest card Halle had created for me by herself. She must have spent a lot of time on it and it really made me feel loved. I was so excited! Then the children helped me open my presents. I received two books I have been wishing for for months.

But all good things must end. The children went to school and Lindsey took me to meet up with Rosemary, Marti, Spence, and Dad to go to Orem for Sharee Paulson's funeral. I hardly noticed the cold and snowy day it started out to be because of the warmth I felt from being with my family that I love and never get enough of seeing.

It was a very beautiful and spiritual funeral. Sharee's family will really miss her and all her love. It just doesn't seem fair that they should lose both parents so young in three years. I know Sharee and George are so happy to be together. I was also impressed with how much Sharee's ward loved her even though she had been there about two years. The primary children she taught said she had been their favorite teacher. She was a kind and very generous person who was totally devoted to her family. She will be very missed.

Funerals aren't often a great place to take lots of pictures. Luckily, the snow and rain stopped when we drove into Salt Lake for the graveside ceremony. I snapped a picture of Spence, Marti, Rosemary and Dad as we left the graveside.

The Paulson family hosted a lunch at Little America which was wonderful, but the Arizona family had to catch a plane at 5:00, so we just had time to satisfy our hunger and run off. I only got a chance to take a picture of the Durhams who attended the lunch and sat at our table and the adjoining one.

Above are Margie, Mary and Mark, and Mark and Nancy

Above here are Louise (Cole is off talking to someone else), Maren and Paul, Dennis and Janie, and Janet (I don't know where Kelly was at the moment.)

Rosemary and Spence say goodby to Carol, Sharee's daughter, as we leave.

It is difficult to only see all these cousins at sad things. The ones who help us gather and stay tied together seem to be passing from this life. We need to have a reunion even without parental arm twisting. These are some of the finest people I will ever know and I want very much to still have them in our lives.

After a stop at the airport, Rosemary took me to Sunny's. One by one as the children saw me they called out "Happy Birthday, Nana!" and gave me big hugs. There was no adult coaching them either. Charlie was the first one to say it when I came in the house. A hug from Gracie took a little coaxing, but after Sam and Charlie jumped into my arms, she followed suit and snuggled for a minute.

Then in a whirlwind we were off to Riley's dance recital dress rehearsal.

Below she is waiting her turn to perform. Isn't she cute?

The pictures I took of her dance number just didn't turn out because of the low light and distance, not to mention the movement. But when it was over Riley was more than happy to pose for me below.

A dash back home for a quick bite of Sunny's spaghetti and meatballs, and we were off again to see Riley's soccer game. She is such a ham, she strikes the funniest poses when you point the camera her way.

When she is out on the field she is the one most often in control of the ball. But since they only play three at a time and switch them out frequently, the other team also got to score some goals. Riley scored 3. As soon as she was taken out of the game, she would run to one end and chase around 4 or 5 lingering boys. She is tireless.

A little fancy footwook.

A common sight at Sunny's: three kids on her lap, in her arms, gathered near her.

Jessica lights the candles as the boys supervise.

After the game, it was birthday cake time. Sunny had gone above and beyond in making my favorite chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. This was a chocolate/chocolate chip cake and on top of the rich dark chocolate icing she had yummy chocolate mousse.

Sage also gets into the candle lighting business. Lucky the candles were only symbolic of my many years and not numerically accurate.

So fun to have these great helpers, Sam and Charlie, to blow out the candles. Unfortunately, Gracie got squeezed out, but doesn't yet know she should be upset.

Now to the best part: eating that delicious cake, which was done with great intensity.

Gracie loves this Smith's special Tinkerbell nightgown.

Can you believe I captured this darling picture of Gracie? Maybe a little of Lindsay is rubbing off on me.

I don't know where Sam was the rest of the night, but I sure got a couple of cute picts of Charlie.

Tristan grows two inches each time I see him. He is trying to decide how to style his hair when he gets it cut. He has such thick nice hair, he could do almost anything and it would be great.

This is Sage's spot most of the evening. He works hard in his spare moments at school to get his homework done before he comes home.

Jessie vanished to the basement all night and I didn't get any additional pictures of her. Alex had been on a 25 mile bike ride with her dad. But she came home with great enthusiasm for the day's activities. I was so glad to see her. We talked for a while, then it was off to do homework and I was off to download pictures and blog until late into the night.

I sure wish I had more time to spend with these families up in Utah. I am glad to see them for a few minutes anyway. We have to plan a longer visit soon.

FOR YOU PAPA

2010-04-27T22:54:00.000-07:00

I am in Utah today to attend my Aunt Sharee Paulson's funeral. I know Alan really wishes he were here to see his grandchildren he misses so much. Here are a few picture of the Toblers I took so he could see them, too. (I wish I had the knack for photography Lindsay has acquired.)

After Lindsey picked me up from the airport, we made numerous stops along the way to prepare her to go to Women's Conference and still handle many commitments. After the while the kids said,"We don't want to go in to any more stores!" So I would sit in the car with them while Lindsey ran into the store. Before long the songs, food and games also got boring. They wanted out of the seats.

Here Kate had not yet gotten her way.

At least she is out of the seat.

Two crazy kids!

Lindsey took Lacey for her first experience in the temple doing baptisms for the dead. At home we played house, babies, going to the doctor (Jack had four vaccination shots that morning in his legs in preparation for starting kindergarten this fall) and...

...played a little Super Mario Brothers for Wii.

About that time Halle arrived home from school.

Then Lindsey and Lacey came back from the temple on a high. Lacey had a very special experience the temple. Besides the normal a sister had asked her to be proxy for her two ancestors so she could take them and do the other work. She even got to do the font side confirmations, which is a rare privilege.

Halle gave me a preview of the pieces she is playing for her upcoming recital. I was amazed at how good she had gotten in such a short time taking lessons!

Lacey also played me her recital pieces. She has been taking lessons much longer and her renditions were very beautiful and more complicated than I had heard her do before. I was so proud of her.

Then I gave Lacey her birthday presents. Of course, someone else got to do the unwrapping.

Lacey just cared that they were open and is such a loving big sister.

A quick modeling of the new clothes. I think she liked them.

I Hope You Don't Expect Much

2010-04-26T23:25:00.000-07:00

If I had thought to take my camera out of my purse tonight, I would have had a ready made blog. Sally Lewis, Marilyn Hoggan and Marsha Parks took Sheryl Brown and me to dinner tonight at the new Elephant Bar for our birthdays. Being with them reminds me that I do have friends. These friends have been with me through all my struggles and they still love me and I really love them. They know my children and I know theirs. We will always be friends and support each other when we can. I miss seeing them. I know I can do something about it. I just have to do it. But we were so busy updating each other on our families and lives that I forgot to pull out the camera. Next time.

Here are a few pictures I did remember to take:

Does this look familiar? How many helpers does it take to blow out these candles?

How many days do we celebrate JR's birthday?

Do you think the marines and young adults enjoyed celebrating JR's birthday? They'll do anything for a homecooked dinner--Hawaian chicken and orange rolls.

Early morning flower planting. All those flowers I bought last week had to get in the ground before I leave tomorrow for SLC and Aunt Sharee's funeral.

In N' Out opened in Utah. Cafe Rio opened in Lake Forest just across the freeway from work. Every time we go we see many old friends from around the valley who are church members. Today we ran into Kim Gardner with her son Tyler. She told me how she had run into Ashley and Todd when they attended church in Boston. Imagine that! Beth and Dave Green were there too. A real gathering place.

Today I am especially thankful for my family and my friends.