Best Christmas Ever!

Thursday afternoon (Christmas Eve), we went up to the same motel in Ogden that we went to for Thanksgiving (Teri calls it our "cabin"). We took Suzi's kids to Golden Corral, then back to our "cabin" for a swim, while Suzi and Trent finished their Christmas shopping. Then, Alice and I opened our gifts at the "cabin" late on Christmas Eve. Our "cabin" provided breakfast Christmas morning, then we visited Suzi's family, Kristi's family, and Teri's family on our way home. When we got home, we had a "Skype" phone call/web cam visit with Michael's family. Then, everyone (except Michael's family) came over for Christmas dinner.

Brianne's Birthday

Brianne's birthday was Wednesday, December 9th. She loves live theater, so, after dinner at her favorite restaurant, we went to the Desert Star Playhouse for a Christmas spoof: "The Nutcracker, Men in Tights." It was hilarious and we all had a great time.

Jackson's Baptism

Jackson was baptized on Saturday, December 5th. We had a dinner afterward at Suzi's house with my parents, Gardners, Jensens, and McAuleys (including Howard). Then Sunday, we had a dinner at our house with my parents, Gardners, and Jensens.

Alice's New Horse

Alice has a new horse named "Beauty." She is a Tennessee Walker and is almost 7 years old. She has a great temperament and gets along well with Legend -- who is happy to have a roommate (most of the time).

Best Thanksgiving Ever!

Suzi has an early morning paper route that takes extra long on Thanksgiving Day (4 to 7 hours) because of extra ads, so the girls came up with a great plan. We got a motel (Comfort Suites) in Ogden that has a pool, a free breakfast, and is 17 minutes from Suzi's house. Gardners got a room, Jensens got a room, we got a room, and Alice's Mom got a room. Suzi and Trent did the paper route and caught a couple of hours of sleep at home while their kids slept on hide-a-beds in our room and Alice's Mom's room. We arrived at the motel Wednesday evening, played games, and had a devotional. Thursday, we had breakfast and swimming at the motel, had Thanksgiving dinner and a devotional at Suzi's house, then had games etc. at the motel. Friday morning we had breakfast at the motel, then departed for home. Suzi and Trent joined us for the Wednesday and Thursday night activities as well as everything at their house and the the Friday breakfast. I think everyone had a good time, but for Alice and I, it was the best Thanksgiving ever! Picture 1: the motel; Picture 2: the restaurant where breakfast was served; Picture 3: Justen and Maryn gave the younger kids rides on the luggage cart; Pictures 4-6 and the Video clip: the motel pool.

Jackson's Birthday

Jackson's 8th birthday was on Sunday, November 15th. We were invited for Sunday dinner on his birthday, then we took him to see "Astro Boy" on Tuesday, November 17th.

Justen's Concert

On October 27th, we went to Justen's percussion concert. On the first number, he played the bells (metal xylophone); on the second, he played the vibraphone; and on the third, he played the gong.
I've included a collage of the performance.