Christmas with Shellie and George

It turns out we ended up celebrating with family on Christmas Day after all. At our celebration a week earlier, George took us aside and said, "Come down to Las Vegas next week and see me surprise Shellie with a new car for Christmas!" So Kirk and Scott and I slept over on Christmas Eve, and enjoyed a pancake breakfast Christmas morning with them and a bunch of George's family members. It was really fun to see Shellie get her car - George worked really hard at keeping it a secret from her. After the car excitement we gathered the whole crew for a rousing round of Christmas chimes. I bet I've done something none of you can claim —leading a roomful of Jewish folks in playing Christmas carols on the chimes on Christmas Day!!?? It was quite the experience! They all were really good sports and did a great job. Maybe next year for Hanukkah, they'll invite over a bunch of us Mormons to join them in lighting the menorah and playing the dreidel game. Actually, I think that would be fun!












We were also able to huddle around Shellie's computer so we could Skype Mike and Bri's family in China on Christmas Eve (Christmas morning for them) and Kenny and Christan's family in D.C. to see all their Christmas fun. After we left Las Vegas, we headed to Leeds to see our friends the Fowlks. They had their whole family together (if we didn't love them so much, we'd be pretty jealous) —I think that makes about 25 years in a row that we've celebrated either Christmas or Christmas Eve with our good friends, the Fowlks. All in all, our Christmas celebrations were wonderful with family, and friends, and the heightened sense of peace and love that comes about when we celebrate the birth of our Savior. I am so grateful for Him.

An Early Christmas

We celebrated Christmas a week early at our house since Brian had to work on Christmas Day. He and Emily came down from Lehi, and Shellie, George and the kids came up from Las Vegas. Scott also joined us of course. We opened all the presents and did our pipe chime Christmas carols and read the Christmas story from the Bible, and the signs of Christ's birth from the Book of Mormon. Abby and Caynen both loved Caynen's gift - a truck with a trailer to carry a little quad, and a motorcycle. There were lots of nice gifts to share, and it was a really nice early Christmas weekend. Even though it was early, we were so glad to be able to spend it with three of our five children, and two of our eight grandchildren.

Tommy's Basketball Game on Thanksgiving Weekend

Kirk and I and Scott travelled to Bountiful for Thanksgiving with my parents and brothers and sisters and the whole crew except Brent's family. Its always fun to be with everyone eating good food, playing games and gabbing. The next day Kirk and I were able to meet up with our good friends, Steve and Darcy McBride for lunch, and then that evening we took my Mom and Dad to my nephew, Tommy's basketball game at Salt Lake Community College. Brian and Emily met us there too. It was fun to watch Tommy —he got a lot of playing time. SLCC killed Colorado Northwestern - so the most exciting part of the game for Mom and Dad was when the mascot hung around.

Fun in D.C.

Christan and I and the kids had a great time at the National Zoo. Bailey was really good at mimicking the monkey statues, Corbin loved crawling in the dinosaur head, and Drew spent a lot of time exploring the maze in the prairie dog playground. Oh yeah, and we liked seeing the animals too!




























We were able to have a tour of the Lincoln memorial, and see the changing of the guards at Arlington National Cemetery. What a reverent, spiritual place that is. Kirk scheduled us all a tour of the White House through Representative Matheson's office. We got Bailey out of school. Christan got a babysitter for Drew. Kenny got a day off work. We drove an hour into D.C., and arrived about 45 minutes early - we were so excited about it. But, you may notice we don't have any pictures of the White House interior. That's because when we arrived at the gates, the guards told us that Matheson's office had made a mistake and told us the wrong time. . . the tours were already over! Arghh! Oh well, the very best part of visiting the D.C. area is always the time we are able to spend with Kenny's family.



Kirk and Kenny fit in their traditional shark tooth hunt of course, and we enjoyed many fun meals around the kitchen table. Here, we are trying out Bailey's chopsticks that Bri helped me pick out in China.

Beautiful Fall & Beautiful Family in Virginia

We are so lucky! We were able to visit Kenny and Christan's family in Virginia just a few weeks after we returned from our trip to China. Kirk was invited to a conference by the BLM - and of course, we haven't turned down a chance to go to D.C. since Kenny and Christan moved there. The fall leaves were so beautiful. I think we missed the peak by about a week - but they were still spectacular! Here are some fun family photos we were able to get right in Kenny and Christan's back yard.