Fiesta Bowl Parade

Today we did something I didn't think we'd ever do again. We went and watched the Fiesta Bowl Parade. Back in the day (24 years ago to be exact), when Erin was quite young and twirling, we attended the parade (and several others) every year. We got to the point that we didn't really ever want to see another parade again. But Erin's girls are getting old enough that we/she thought they'd enjoy going. So that we did! And they LOVED it! All four of them watched the entire parade and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We asked them if they wanted to leave early, and all of them declined the offer. We got there over an hour early and stayed for the whole thing. It was a fun time!

The last time we went, Erin was almost 7! She said this is what we'll soon look like as a twirler! LOL!

Some of our favorite things were the horses, the bands, the big balloons and the clowns.


We liked this band's uniforms, but those shoes had to be a killer for walking in a parade!!








Before the parade started, we saw Sgt. Ben Moore, an old family friend. We had a good visit with him, but before we left, he made us promise we wouldn't tell his mom he rides a motorcycle at work. So if you see her, PLEASE keep it under your hat!

Back to Reality

The party's over....no more holidays here! Today was back to work day...house cleaning, class projects, Great Skate, etc. Jan and I worked again tonight on our Valentine class project. It's coming along. It will be cute when we're done.

Last night we went to Brian and Kamille's for dinner and a movie. We watched Miss Potter. Kamille and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but Brian and Mark checked out about a quarter of the way into the movie! It was about the life of Beatrix Potter, author and illustrator of the Peter Rabbit books. She had an interesting life and imagination.

Here's a picture of Abigail without her front teeth. Too bad she lost them AFTER Christmas, or she could have sung the song!


I've included a couple of pictures of Emma during her birthday sleepover last month.

I've started a new project for 2009. It's called Project 365, meaning you take a picture every day all year. It's supposed to be a snippet of your everyday life. It will go in a CK album designed for the project. There are places on each two-page spread for the 7 pictures for the week, as well as journaling spots for each day. We'll see how long I last!!!

I think we're going to go to the Fiesta Bowl Parade tomorrow. Many years ago, when Erin twirled, we went most every year because she was in the parade. When she stopped twirling, we all swore off parades. But we may venture out tomorrow.

Happy New Year!

May 2009 meet all of your expectations and may you find joy and happiness in the new year!

Happy Day!

Today was a great day. Yesterday we took down Christmas and packed it away until next year, so when we got up today, it was done! That's a great feeling. I love Christmas and the decorations, etc., but after Christmas is over, I'm ready for it all to be down and the house clean and tidy again. It always seems like a monstrous job, and this year was no different. Even though we used far fewer decorations than in years' past, it still took several hours to get it all packed away. It feels good. Our first task today was to take some things to Erin's. Nothing major, but things that have been hanging out on our table waiting to go "home". Then we met Brian as he was taking Luke for his scheduled immunizations. He got two shots, one in each arm. Poor Lukie!! He's a trooper, but by this evening he wasn't feeling well. He spent a while throwing up, but after he'd done that, he was feeling a bit better. Abigail lost TWO teeth yesterday, thanks to Dallin. They both were very loose, but she's not wanting anyone touching them or wiggling them for fear it might hurt when they came out. But she and Dallin were playing and he accidently knocked out the first one and later, in the car, he popped out the second one, which is lost somewhere in the car. Luckily they wrote a note for the tooth fairy, and she was rewarded for both teeth! After I get the picture downloaded, I'll post it here.
Later today Mark and I spent one of our Christmas gift cards. We went to the movies and saw Valkyrie. It was a great movie. It's based on a true story about the efforts of some members of the German Resistance Army to assassinate Hitler. It's too bad it didn't work out! Bad me, I know, but he was such an evil man. It was a story that provoked much discussion and makes me want to learn more.
We got a new puzzle for tomorrow....our New Year's Eve activity!! And we're going to use another gift card....the one for Cheesecake Factory! Should be a fun day.

Christmas Day events

I'm a day late posting about Christmas day, but I have good reasons. Yesterday was a fun, fun day, but it was LONG! And I was tired. And today I forced myself to pull together my Relief Society lesson for Sunday before I "allowed" myself to blog! I'm teaching the TFOT lesson and using President Eyring's talk "Our Hearts Knit as One" from October's general conference. It's a great talk!!
Our Christmas day didn't start real early since we don't have little ones eager to see what Santa left. We were a little lazy in the morning. After we got up and going, Mark and I exchanged gifts. We both were ver practical this year (as always!). He got socks, ties, razors, new dress pants and a new white shirt. I got new tennis shoes, socks, UV lens covers, a circular polarizing lens and a new purse from Mark and Erin. The kids gave us movie passes, a Cheesecake Factory gift card, a book, some serving dishes, Mark a new jacket and after shave and me some Scentsy bars. It was a wonderful Christmas.
Our first stop was Dad's and Aunt Dovetta's. I know that probably sounds funny, but a while after Mom died, Dad married our Aunt Dovetta. She's Mom's brother's wife. Uncle Mancel (Aunt Dovetta's first husband and Mom's brother) passed away about a year before Mom. Aunt Dovetta and Dad married about three years ago. And it's been wonderful blessing for all of us. But I know it sounds funny since she's my Aunt and my step-mom. But that's how our family is!! Anyway, we (along with Erin, Brian and their girls) went there for lunch.






We visited for a while and then the Trimbles came to our house to celebrate Christmas with us. The girls had a great time opening their gifts. BT got a Nike gift card, Erin got new clothes, Eliza got new clothes, Libby got games, Ellie got a new bedspread and a sweat suit and Hattie got a church bag and a quiet book. It was so funny....the older girls had opened various clothing items and they immediately wanted to put them on. Well, when Hattie opened her quiet book, since it was made of fabric, she immediately thought it was clothes. So she quickly took off her pants and wanted to try it on!!! Funny girl. They stayed around for the afternoon and we played games (Libby's), Eliza wrote a story about going to the snow and everyone nibbled on various cheeses, dips, crackers, beef sticks and chocolates. We had a great day.
We had celebrated with Dan and his family on Monday. I'd post pictures of that celebration, but I didn't take any. I'm waiting for Dan and/or Chris to send me some of theirs. Bad mom, I am!





We celebrated with Brian, Kamille and their family on Christmas Eve. That was fun, too. Kamille worked that day, we so we started with a pizza dinner. Then we opened gifts. Abby got some Barbie items she wants, Dallin got a Hot Wheel track and cars and a transformer, Luke got an Elmo garage, cars and a little stuffed Elmo. We gave Brian and Kamille a Home Depot gift card. It was what they wanted, but I almost felt guilty giving them something that meant they had to work!!
Today Mark and I made one return (my socks) and we had Dallin's RideMakerZ car repaired. We made a stop at Seagull Book, Mystic Paper (one of my favorite places!) and DI...another great place to go junkin'!!
Mark's at Great Skate working. And I've spent this evening working on my lesson. It's done! Yea! Now we can have a fun, relaxing day tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!

My Dream

Warning....this is a long post!

Last night I had a dream. Here's what I dreamed...
I dreamed that we had our annual Christmas candlelight dinner. I dreamed that all of our kids and grandkids came, along with Dad and Aunt Dovetta. I dreamed that everyone brought the YUMMIEST foods to share. Also in my dream, everyone was happy, glad to see each other, cooperative and loving. As we prepared dinner, everything went smoothly and there were no major glitches. Everyone arrived safely and in due time. All of the candles (battery-type) worked and they all stayed on during the entire dinner. The grandkids got along nicely and didn't argue about who was sitting where. Nobody spilled anything. Everyone LOVED the meal. After the meal, Mark and the boys tidied up the kitchen while the grandkids, their moms and I got them prepared for our Nativity play. I also dreamed that they would all WANT to be different characters and that nobody would get their feelings hurt if they didn't get the part they wanted. In my dream, the costumes all worked and they each played their assigned part well and to their best ability. I dreamed that they wouldn't get silly with it and that they would show appropriate reverence for the Christmas story. After the play, I dreamed that the grandkids would sit patiently and wait until everyone had their early Christmas gift (PJ pants and corn bags) before tearing into them. After that, I dreamed that the ornament exchange would go off without a hitch and that everyone would be pleased with their gift. Then we would sing Christmas carols together and everyone would participate and do it with a smile! In my dream, the grandkids would want to go caroling again this year to Sister Clem's house because they had so much fun going there last year. But this year they were in such a hurry that the parents were still trying to get across the street before they started in their singing! And finally, I dreamed that everyone would have a wonderful time and be sad to say goodbye to each other. That truly was my dream as I tried to sleep last night, and I have to say that all but one thing in my dream was real and true and was my dream come true. Here's what didn't happen....all of the candles stayed lit during the entire dinner. Sorry to say, one of them pooped out and was a dud! Other than that, my 2008 Christmas dream has already come true. Life can go on and I'll be happy. It was a wonderful evening and one I know that I'll never forget. I am so very grateful for my children and grandchildren and their love for one another. I'm also grateful that their love is genuine and that they make my life so happy every day. They are my greatest joy. Thank you, family.

And now to pictures of the evening....

Sorry, but I didn't get a shot of the table when nobody was eating something. But this was our LONG table set for 12.

Six of the grandkids at their special table....Matthew has "graduated" to the adult table...he's getting too tall for the short table! Welcome, Matthew!

Emma and Abby were our angels.

Luke was one of our shepherds. He made a cute shepherd, but the shepherd's crook was deadly in his hands!!

Libby was also a shepherd. She especially loved holding the baby lamb.

Eliza was our shepherd/narrator.

Dallin and Matthew were our wise men following the star. I wish I had a better picture of them together, but it didn't happen.

Ellie and her daddy, Brian, were our Mary and Joseph. I guess we don't have enough "little" boys to cover all of the parts! Thanks for being a good sport, Brian. Dan played the innkeeper, but he managed to avoid the camera!

And Ellie made a sweet little Mary.

This is the best we got for a group photo!

Dallin, Eliza and Abigail were the brave ones who performed for us, "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas". They did a great job!!

Patient kids waiting until just the right time to start opening their gifts! They all seemed pleased with two new pairs of PJ pants and a corn bag all their own!









Some happy expressions during the ornament exchange.

Hattie enjoying some of Emma's birthday cake.

Dallin being....well, Dallin!

Yesterday was Emma's sixth birthday and she's blowing out her birthday candles.

Libby lost two teeth over the weekend and managed to keep them both a secret until her mom noticed them missing! Luckily, the tooth fairy came for a visit for both missing teeth!

Caroling at Sister Clem's house....luckily, I managed to get a quick photo before they finished! They were so excited to go, they forgot to wait for the adult slowpokes!!
It was one of my best days so far. Thanks again, family, for making my Christmas dream come true!!