February 24th, 2013

Day 2

Beth and Dave made us a yummy breakfast of Sausage, & Egg McMuffins. Then the girls played and did homework while we packed a picnic lunch., We drove to Laguna Beach. The girls rode in Beth's convertible. It was a warm sunny day. The water was cold, but they had fun playing in the waves, building sand castles, and burying themselves in the sand. There were Dolphins and Seals swimming out in the water right in front of us. I could never get the Dolphins in the pictures, but I got some of the Seals.We went back to their house and had dinner, and then drove to our hotel. We had a suite with a separate room for the kids with bunk beds, and a sofa bed. They girls slept 2 nights in each bed, rotating so no one got the top bunk all the time. They found out they had all packed the same pj's, so they wore them the first night.

Andrea

Gwyneth (Ariel)

Mandi

Seal!

Mandi

Gwyneth

Matching PJ's

Disneyland Vacation - February 2013

Day 1- February 23rd, 2013

Keeping up with our tradition of taking our grandkids to Disneyland, it was time to take the next set of kids. This time we took Gwyneth (8), Andrea (6), and Mandi (7). They slept over the night before, and we got up early and ate breakfast, and then loaded up the van. We took MaKayla with us as far as Las Vegas. First we stopped and visited my mom at Beehive Homes, and then we stopped at MaKayla's  house in Vegas, and visited and had lunch, and then we were off to California. I had a bag of surprises, and they got to open one every hour. They all had to do with Disney. Coloring books, puzzles, lip gloss, Disney dolls, etc. It made the ride much nicer. We got to my sister Beth's house in Laguna  Beach in time to watch the beautiful sunset from her back patio. Then we had a yummy taco dinner with them. The girls had a fun bath in their whirpool bath/shower. We watched Sleeping Beauty and went to bed.

 Visiting Great Grandma

 The 1st surprise!

Sunset!

 The girls on Beth and Dave's patio!

 Bubble Bath!

MaKayla's Prom - February 16th, 2013

MaKayla was asked to Jr. Prom by Steve Gibson. Her aunt Jessica came and did her hair and makeup. They make a striking couple in their black formal and tuxedo. This was her last formal dance. She will be graduating in May!!

Puzzles!!

We love to do puzzles, and have them set up quite regularly in our family room. One night we were tending Andy, and he wanted to help grandpa work on one of them. After he "helped"a little too much, we gave him one of his own to do. He was so excited to be just like grandpa!!

Emily's 5th Birthday - February 6th, 2013

Emily is growing up so fast. She is such a smart little girl. She loves to dance, and she is always saying the cutest things. She is a great helper when ever she comes to grandma's house. She had a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese for all her pre school friends, and then we came to her family party. She told me all she wanted was a pillow that lights up in the dark. She was very happy when she opened it. I can't believe she is 5 years old, and will start Kindergarten in August!!

 Her "5" year old doll!

Light up Pillow!

Foggy Day - Jan.27th, 2013

We usually have beautiful, sunny blue skies here in St. George, but on this Sunday morning we were driving home from Jessica's and we encountered this one patch of fog over the city. We stopped on the Parkway, and stood on the water tower and took these pictures. It was beautiful and kind of eerie. 

Whitney-Hartman Petroglyph Site - January 19th, 2013

We love exploring new places. Even after 22 years living here, we can always find something we haven't seen. It was a beautiful winter day. The temp was in the 50's. Perfect hiking weather. We took Ali & Sam (Mandi was gone for the weekend) and drove to Whitney- Hartman Petroglyphs. The locals call it "The Falling Man Petroglyphs". It is about 30 miles southwest of Mesquite. The last few miles are very bumpy. The kids had fun bouncing around. Once you arrive, you hike up to a tunnel in the outcropping and crawl through and look up the other side to see some petroglyphs. It is pretty steep, and I was afraid that the kids would fall, but Doug helped them. He had a lot of coaxing to get me to finally look out. I ended going down and around a different way. I could not stand on the ledge. Walking through the area we found a LOT of Petroglyphs. We finally found the "Falling Man". Then we drove over to an old abandoned reservoir and climbed in and saw it. It was a fun day. We all  climbed to the top of a hill (Sam called the top of the mountain), and we rested and had a snack of cheese and crackers. It was a very fun day. The rest of the pictures are here. (Click on sets, and then go to January 2013)

 Doug holding Sam up so he could see the Petroglyphs!

 Doug up on the top!

 Sam, Ali & Doug at the tunnel!

 Doug & Cynthia inside the opening!

 Petroglyphs!

 Sam in the opening! (this is way high up...)

 More Petroglyphs!

 Sam & Ali!

 Ali climbing on the top of the old Reservoir!

"The Falling Man"

Christmas - 2012

December was another busy month. We started the month by going to Phoenix and visiting Tonya and Kevin. (they won't be able to be here this year) It was fun seeing their beautiful house all decorated.  The weather here was very warm for December, so we did a lot of raking of leaves, etc.  It was so nice that we went hiking out back in the red hills. We had performances to go to, family visits, and the usual holiday fun. We went to Tuacahn to "The Live Nativity", we made Santa's out of cinnamon rolls, shopping, wrapping, and watching all the traditional Christmas movies, but my favorites are still:  Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, and A Christmas Carol. But the best time was on Christmas Eve. We had our usual program. Most of the grandkids performed. We had violin, singing, harp, piano, and of course the Hawker version of the Birth of Christ. This year, baby Jesus was our sweet little Lillyana. We had fun opening, and showing off  the new PJ's. With 4 families here on Christmas Day, it took hours to open all the presents, because grandpa still passes them out one at a time. The only bad thing this year was that almost everyone got the flu and was sick for the whole Christmas break from school, but at least we made it through Christmas Day. I love my family, and for me, that is what Christmas is all about! You can see all the pictures by clicking here.

  

Sam making Cinnamon Santa's

Mandi, Ali, & Sam all bundled up at Tuacahn

MaKayla all worn out!

Ali hiking out back!

Stockings waiting for Santa!

Izzy (and Andrea) opening Dec. 24th on the advent calendar. 

She had requested 3 weeks earlier to be the one to open the last day...

MaKayla, & Ellie in new pj's!

Emily singing "The hat I got for Christmas is too big"

The "Nativity" (I love the harp in the background)

Lillyana is in the "cradle"

Younger granddaughters in new pj's!

Grandsons in new pj's! Alex thinks he is too old, 

but he will do it for his grandma!!!!

Gwyneth and the Violin and Bow she made for Alex.

It was the best present ever!!

Mandi's Recital - December 8th, 2012

Mandi started taking Violin lessons this year. This was her first recital. She played one song. She did a great job. Her teacher's husband got a new job opportunity, so she is moving away. It was sad for the students to lose their  teacher. Hopefully, she can find another one soon, so she can keep up her lessons! 

 Waiting for recital to begin!

 Mandi!

 Playing her song!

Mandi and her teacher!