Another Great Christmas

Again, Alice and I stayed in "our motel" in Ogden on December 24th. We went to a movie and exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day, we had breakfast at the motel, then visited McAuleys, Gardners, and Jensens. About 6 pm, everyone gathered at Kristi's for dinner. It was a great day.

Weeping Cherry

One of our favorite things about our house is our Weeping Cherry Tree. We had never seen one before, but it came with the landscaping. Here are the 3 stages of the tree from blossoms, to fall colors, to bare with Christmas lights.

Mary'ns Concert

Maryn is in the girl's choir at her school and they had a concert on December 15th. We sat so far back that I couldn't get enough light for a still picture and I had to zoom in so far for a video that the picture is very shaky, but the sound is pretty good. Maryn is 4th from the right.

Brianne's Birthday

We celebrated Brianne's Birthday on December 10th. She loves live theater, so we went to a play about how the boy, Kris Kringle, came to be Santa Claus.

Nikkail's Concert

Nikkail has been playing the violin less than a year, but she is in the advanced orchestra. (Note her school uniform.) She played a solo comprised of a medley of Christmas carols in her December 9th concert. I've included a small video clip.

Another Great Thanksgiving

We stayed overnight at the same hotel as last year, but changed a few details based on what we learned before. First, we only stayed one night -- which made it easier for families. Second, Kristi rented an extra adjoining room so that Liam could go to bed while the older kids/adults stayed up and played games. Third, we rented a "Board Room" so that we could have a fireside (which turned out to be a "morningside"), dinner preparations, dinner, and after-dinner activities without having to leave the hotel. Picture 1: The dads were the lifeguards. Picture 2: I think everyone had fun at the pool. Picture 3: Wednesday evening, Brianne supervised the construction of turkeys. Picture 4: The turkeys were the centerpiece for our Thanksgiving dinner in the "Board Room." Picture 5: There were fun games going on all over the hotel (including in the elevator) -- some of which we were unaware until we saw Maryn's photos.

Jackson's Birthday

We celebrated Jackson's birthday on November 13th so that we wouldn't run into the Thanksgiving holiday. We saw "Megamind" with him.

General Conference

On October 2nd, we took Justen and Maryn to the Saturday afternoon session of General Conference, followed by dinner at a restaurant. It was a great experience and I couldn't wait to report it in my blog, but a series of quirky mishaps delayed the process. I took my camera to conference, but was unsure whether or not I would be allowed to take a picture before the session started. Upon learning that I could, I took out my camera and lined up the perfect shot. But, alas, the camera batteries were dead (Mishap #1). Undaunted, I rummaged through my camera bag to find the spare batteries I always carry. There were none (Mishap #2). Maryn, however, announced that she had brought a camera and offered to let me use it. This time, I successfully clicked the perfect picture -- or so I hoped. Afterward, Maryn went to upload the picture to her computer to send it to me. Her camera cable was missing (Mishap #3). So she ordered a new cable and it finally arrived. It was the wrong one (Mishap #4). But, she ordered an SD-Card Reader, it arrived, it was the correct one, she sent me the picture, and it was perfect! And she even sent Thanksgiving pictures as a bonus. But that's not the end of the story. I typed the blog entry, then tried to upload the picture. I lost them both (Mishap #5). So now, I'm trying again and hoping it works this time!