DECEMBER 2012

Grandma's annual Christmas sleepover party for the grandkids.  We had fun making gifts and Christmas ornaments, decorating cookies and eating! Thanks to everyone for their help and support.

Beautiful snowstorm.

Tables all set for our family Christmas Party. We had it early because most of the family was out of town for Christmas.

Special guest artists at our party. (aka Chloe and Landon)

Opening presents with Easton, Addy, Ellie.

Adam got a puzzle.

I think Tanner likes his presents.

I remade a blanket of Italian soccer banners that Matt got on his mission. A labor of love!!

The girls got matching pajama pants.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Happy 93rd Birthday Grandpa with Dylan, Suzy, Brett, Christina, Myrna, and Pat.

Christmas morning with Matt's family.

Megan's First Christmas.

Christmas music played by Landon and Chloe.

More fun gifts.  We had a wonderful Christmas day.

OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER 2012

Happy 7th Birthday Addy!!

Family fondue party to celebrate Tanner and Ellie's birthdays.

Happy 3rd birthday Tanner!!

Ellie is 2 !!   Happy Birthday!!  Crocheted hat from Grandma.

More fun at the zoo!!

A baby giraffe was born at the zoo this summer.  We loved watching him and his mama!!

This group attended General Priesthood together and then came back to our house for ice cream.

Thanksgiving Day at the Zoo.  We all went to the zoo in the morning and then went  to Dan and Betsy's for a delicious Thanksgiving Dinner.

Elephant version of pumpkin pie.  They fed all the animals special treats for their Thanksgiving day feast.

Saying Hi to Rizzo!!

Baby Megan snug as a bug in a rug!!

MEGAN'S BLESSING DAY AND LANDON'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION September 2012

Proud Big Sister!!

Sweet Granddaughters.

Happy Birthday Landon!!!

Opening Presents!!

Bryan and Faye were here for a visit so they enjoyed the special day and good food with us.

Father and Sons!!

All the kids enjoyed jumping on the trampoline!!

After the party, Grandpa and Pat, Bryan and Faye, and Kenneth and I enjoyed a drive around the Mt. Nebo loop to enjoy the fall colors.

We live in a beautiful world!!

Good picture of Grandpa and Grandma Pat.

FUN FAMILY TIMES AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER 2012

We enjoyed a fun day at Thanksgiving Point Children's Garden with Chloe, Landon, Tanner, and Adam.

Everyone had fun just rolling down a little hill when we stopped for our picnic lunch.

On August 14 we all celebrated the arrival of Megan Michelle.  Chloe's prayers for a little sister were answered in a most miraculous way!  We all love this sweet little girl who looks a lot like Matt.

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All the Utah family had season passes to Hogle Zoo so we enjoyed several fun trips to the zoo together.  Here the grandkids are gathered in a replica of an eagle's nest.

Rizzo the Polar Bear was our favorite friend at the Zoo.  When he got in the water he really put on a show for his fans.  His fancy dives that brought him up out of the water right by the observation window were very entertaining.  We found that he liked to swim in the late afternoon more than in the morning.  A zoo trip was so much more fun when we got to see him performing.

This was one of our last rides on the zoo train before it closed for a 2 year renovation project.

We harvested our first 5 beautiful and delicious peaches from our Michelle peach tree.

Easton's dinosaur birthday party.

The boys loved playing with Easton's new train set.

Uncle Matt bravely swung the pinata over the edge for the kids to swing at.

A GOOD, GOOD Visit with Our GOODMAN Grandchildren July 2012

Our five cute Goodman grandchildren came for a 3 week visit.  We loved every minute of it.  Lindsey drove them here from Castle Rock arriving on July 11.  They got to do some visiting with Becky and Matt and their families the first few days they were here as we worked at the temple on Thursday and went to Idaho for my family reunion on Friday and Saturday.  We had a family dinner on Sunday and on Monday we headed for St. George.  Matt and Jessica invited us to join them for a few days of their vacation.  Becky and Adam also came.  Dad stayed home to work.  We enjoyed this splash pad and wading pool in downtown St. George.

Kyle did a very cute Budda pose.

Everyone liked the splash pad on a very hot day.

Tanner and his water goggles.

Potato chips make every picnic complete!

The granddaughters and I spent an afternoon visiting the Brigham Young Summer Home and the St. George Temple.

A sweet sister missionary took this picture of us in front of the Christus Statue in the visitor's center.

I Love to See the Temple!

Tanner and Adam enjoying a treat out on the rock in front of the Johnson's home where we stayed.

The family together just before we left to come home on Wednesday afternoon.

The following Friday we spent the day at Temple Square.  Our first stop was the Church History Museum.  The girls tried on bonnets in the gift shop.

This is a replica of a bunk on a ship where a family would sleep on their trip across the ocean. 

We learned how to play some pioneer games.

The museum houses many examples of member handicrafts from around the world.  We decided this would be Emily's next sewing project.

After a picnic lunch, we toured the rest of Temple Square. Wish I had a picture of Ryan trying out the choir seats in the Tabernacle.  Maybe he will sit in one of them someday!!  Then we went over to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and watched the very moving Joseph Smith film. A very nice lady let us into the room where Eric and Michelle's wedding reception was held.  This picture shows all of us in the room.  Tender memories!!   

Such a beautiful, peaceful place to spend a day.

Such wonderful people to spend the day with.

Lindsey and Kayla spent the next week at Especially for Youth at BYU.  They report a fantastic experience.  The rest of us spent the week doing some playing and some working.  On Tuesday, we celebrated Pioneer Day by watching the parade on TV in the morning and then having a family picnic and swimming party at Dan and Betsy's house.  We went swimming at the Farmington Pool and afterwards Dan took everyone for rides on the four wheeler and of course, we ate yummy food.  It was a fun time together. The boys really wanted to go to Lagoon again this year like we did last year.  Their Dad thought that sounded expensive so we agreed to split the cost with the kids helping me with some projects to earn the money.  The first project was to scrub the grout in my kitchen tiles. Keep those toothbrushes moving!!

Next we built a brick wall around our air conditioner to replace the uneven rocks that have proved hard to maintain.  We all worked very hard on this project.  Here is Ryan hauling the bricks from the car to the side of the house.     

Kyle is helping get the bricks ready to go in.  Emily was the expert in getting them level and even.

And we made it to Lagoon on Friday.  Dan and Betsy and their family and Chloe joined us for the day.  We were there when the park opened and stayed until it closed at 11 p.m.  It is very nice that Dan and Betsy live so close.  They ferried us to the park to save parking fees and were able to take their little ones home for a rest in the afternoon.  They came back in the evening and brought pizza for us to eat for dinner.  We finished the day by having funnel cakes just like Michelle and Dan always did when they were at an amusement park.  Special tradition!  It was a fun day.  The lines were not very long so the kids got on lots of rides.  I was totally exhausted but the kids helped keep me awake on the drive home.  While we were at the park the kids received word that their new little brother, Everett, had arrived safely that afternoon.  They were so excited to get the news.

On their last Sunday here we had a family party.  We celebrated the arrival of Everett and also had a family baby shower for Matt and Jessica's baby girl who is due in about 2 weeks.  Emily helped me make this cute fruit baby.  Dan also taught Ryan how to make funnel cakes for everyone that evening.

The Family (just wish Dave and Family could have joined us).

Just have to share this shoe picture.  I think I could have opened a shoe store with all the shoes in my entryway.  Love it!! 

Loved the visit with our Colorado kids.  Please come again soon.