The Lyman Zoo

4 Wheeler outings!!

2012-02-08T12:46:00.000-08:00

We have had a few 4 Wheeler excursions this Fall and Winter that need to be documented. Sorry there are a million pictures but this post will cover 3 different outings.

The first one was to Arch Canyon. Jed & I and Jeremy & his kids (plus a friend of Livvy's) were the ones that had the fun that day!!

And then there was our excursion at Sand Hollow near St. George....(Jed was attending meetings there and part of one day was spent with others from the meetings on this fun ride!)

And in January we went to John's Canyon. There were petroglyphs and ruins and a lot of beautiful scenery. This canyon also has a ton of history that is very interesting but too much to include here.

Christmas in Blanding--Traditions

2012-02-03T07:50:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas because......

....of the kid's programs at school!

.....and the family parties.....

......and the joy and excitement on the kid's faces. It is hard to wait for Christmas morning and so the kids get to open a present from Grandpa and & Grandma on Christmas Eve with their new jammies and this year they had puzzles and games and a new tortoise (yes, a real tortoise) that will be kept at Grandma's house to play with.

And, I love that we gather together on Christmas morning, before opening gifts, and read about the birth of the Savior!

And then we all head downstairs and.......................

the chaos begins!!!!!!

I love it and I love that we take time out of our busy lives to remember the birth of the Savior and all He did for us.

Polar Express!!!

2012-01-30T09:42:00.000-08:00

This year we decided it was finally time to experience the "Polar Express". We made reservations to go ride the Polar Express in Durango, Colorado on Dec. 17th. The night before we decided to get together and watch the movie. I hadn't seen the movie before this so I was glad I watched it because the actual Polar Express experience followed the story line of the movie pretty close. Great movie---Great experience!! We had a lot of fun.

Those of us in our family who live in Blanding (plus Josh!), made the trip out to Durango. We boarded the train at 5:15 and were ready for the adventure to begin.

Everyone got hot chocolate and cookies!

We sang Christmas Carols!!!

The kids got bells

After the ride, the kids got to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas!!

Our family sent us to the BYU/Hawaii football game for our 40th anniversary!!!

2012-01-24T19:51:00.000-08:00

This year our family gave us a trip to Hawaii for our 40th anniversary!!! How awesome is that?

Stacy, Taylor & Palmer and Noelle, Trent, Maxon, Scout & Denver went along with us.

We flew to Seattle and then we had a 4 hour lay-over. That time went by pretty fast watching the kids play in the play area they had at the airport.

Finally the time came for us to board for our flight to Hawaii. We were on our way!!

When we got to Hawaii, it was night and we were glad to find our motel and get some sleep.

To be continued....................

Hawaii: Day 1

2012-01-24T19:16:00.000-08:00

Our first day in Hawaii was spent on a tour of the Island. We saw a lot of beautiful things and were able to relax on a bus as we drove around and saw the sites.

We ended up at the Polynesian Cultural Center and spent the afternoon there.

We walked around the grounds of the beautiful Laie Hawaii Temple and then.......

........ended the day back at the PCC at a Luau and program.

It was a very fun day!!!!

Hawaii: Day 2, visit to the beaches

2012-01-24T18:45:00.000-08:00

Day 2 was our day to play on the beach. We waited for a bus to take us to Hanauma Bay!!

It was a relaxing day on the beach. We played in the sand.

And we did some snorkeling. Those fish are awesome!!!!

We were visited by some pigeons.
After returning to the motel and cleaning up, we walked down to Waikiki Beach. How awesome and beautiful is it at night????

Hawaii: Day 3...Game Day!!!!

2012-01-24T18:34:00.000-08:00

This was the day we had been looking forward to. This was why we were in Hawaii. It was the day of the BYU-Hawaii football game!! We rode the bus and arrived at the Aloha Stadium ready and excited for the game.

It was a good game. BYU won it 41-20!!! (continued)

Hawaii: Day 4

2012-01-24T18:07:00.000-08:00

On our 4th day in Hawaii we had a special day. We spent the day at Pearl Harbor. It was amazing to be there and feel the gratitude for those who have served in our armed forces over the years. It was hard to imagine the suffering that had happened in this harbor so many years ago. We were able to meet one of the survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. His name is Delton E. Welling. It was an honor to have our picture taken with him.

These pictures were taken at the site of the submerged remains of the battleship USS Arizona. You can still see the remains of that ship under the water.

We then went to tour the Battleship Missouri. It was huge and beautiful and amazing.

Our Hawaii trip is continued on "older posts".

Hawaii: Day 5

2012-01-24T17:37:00.000-08:00

This was our last day in Hawaii. We spent most of the day at Waikiki Beach.

And then it was time to head home. You can tell by the expressions on everyone's face that no one was very excited to leave beautiful Hawaii and go home.

We had such a fun time. Thank you so much to our family for making this trip possible for us!!!!

Thanksgiving at our house--quiet this year

2012-01-20T07:47:00.001-08:00

We had the smallest Thanksgiving dinner ever. We all fit at one table. I can't remember the last time there were that few of us gathered together at Thanksgiving!!!

We're glad Freddie was there to boost our numbers to 9.

Josh and I setting out the food

Coy waiting patiently:)

Our master chef, Jeremy, carving the turkey.

Finally, time to dish up......
and enjoy!!!!

Our numbers were few, but we had a great Thanksgiving. We remember our many, many blessings and give thanks for them.

When the family gets together......

2012-01-19T09:32:00.000-08:00

When the family gets together, there is always a good time and usually lots of good food is involved. This get together was for baby Denver's blessing on Nov. 6th (yes, still seriously behind on blogging. Trying to catch up:)

Denver was gracious enough to share the spotlight with Cohen.....it was his 5th birthday.

Halloween

2012-01-19T08:46:00.001-08:00

Here are a bunch of pictures from Halloween of the family minus the Roberts family. We don't have any pictures of them:(

Scout celebrates her 3rd birthday

2012-01-19T08:30:00.001-08:00

Scout celebrated her birthday with a "Tangled" birthday party!!!

There were "Tangled" decorations

And a "Tangled" cake!!!!

Happy Birthday Scout. We love you.

Fall Fun!!

2012-01-17T09:04:00.001-08:00

This is another "catch up" post. Some of the fall activities we enjoy are the horse shows.

Livvy & Cohen....getting Chiquita ready to go out in the ring.

Logan started riding Tex in the horse competitions this year.

Camryn has trained Desi to be a pretty awesome horse! They did well in the ring this year!

Kristi and Keri Jensen are waiting for their turn to compete.

I don't have any action shots from the competition because it

always got too dark to get any descent pictures:(

Another fun, Fall activity is little league football. Carter and his friends did awesome!!

Summertime fun---4-H animals

2012-01-10T15:09:00.000-08:00

I am so seriously behind on blogging. This will be the first blog post in my effort to catch up and yes, this is from 6 months ago!! If there is any event in our lives that needs to be documented it is the 4-H animal projects. Every summer, since our kids were little, we have been involved in some kind of 4-H animal project. It is one of the funnest parts of summer. With the help of the Ivins gang, the grandkids are now involved in the pig and steer raising projects.

Camryn shows her steer that she is "the boss". She works and works to get that steer to follow her around willingly. Many hours are spent leading him around "The Field".

The pigs needed to be "walked" every morning and so Heather, Livvy, Cohen and Coy were always there bright and early to chase those pigs through "The Field".
Livvy is always right in the middle of any animal project. She has no fear and she loved those stinky, muddy pigs.

And yes, folks, that really is Heather washing a pig!!! What a mother will do!!!!
Cohen and Coy enjoyed climbing on the bleachers and hanging out at the fair grounds.

Finally, the day comes that Livvy and Camryn take their animals into the show ring to be judged.
They both did really well!!

The culmination of the project is when the animals are sold. It is "pay day" and makes it all worthwhile.

Our Hearts Are Broken

2011-10-06T14:22:00.000-07:00

We began the year of 2011 with excitement and anticipation for the arrival of three new grandbabies to be born in July, August and October. After Stacy and Taylor welcomed their sweet little Palmer on July 11th and Noelle and Trent welcomed their darling little Denver on August 10th, we looked forward to the arrival of Deco's and Kera's little boy, due to arrive at the end of October.

But about 5 1/2 weeks before the baby was due, Deco called with the devastating news that the baby had died. We drove to Payson to be with Deco and Kera to lend what support we could. Little Eli Fred Lyman was stillborn on Sept. 20th, 2011. He was beautiful, tiny and perfectly formed and we loved him and felt his sweet spirit.
The Dr., nurses, social worker and others at the hospital were so kind and helped to ease the pain. There were little molds of Eli's hands and feet, along with handprints and footprints, made by a kind lady. There was a bear donated by a family who had gone through a similar experience and given to Aleyah to help comfort her. There were some tiny, crocheted booties and other memorabilia that were given to Deco and Kera to add to a little "memory box".
Through the overwhelming support of family, friends, neighbors, ward members and bishops of their ward and ours, and the kindness shown at our local mortuary, the healing process began.

Little Eli Fred Lyman was laid to rest on Sept. 22nd, 2011 (Kera's Birthday) in the Blanding Cemetery, right beside his great-grandpa Fred Halliday. We all find peace in the knowledge that we are a part of an eternal family and know that this knowledge will sustain Deco and Kera and Aleyah. We love you.

"I have a family here on earth. They are so good to me. I want to share my life with them through all eternity, Families can be together forever, through Heavenly Father's plan. I always want to be with my own family, And the Lord has shown me how I can. The Lord has shown me how I can"

Labor Day Weekend

2011-10-05T05:34:00.000-07:00

We, once again, enjoyed our annual Labor Day weekend at the Colorado cabin. We had so much fun together as a family. All of our family was there except for Noelle's husband, Trent. Jeff Halliday and his boys, Kaleb and Garret were also there and it was fun to have them with our family for the weekend. Here are a bunch of random pictures, in no particular order, that show some of the things that we did. We rode horses and 4-wheelers. We slept & ate & worked & fished & ate & slept & watched a BYU football game. We even had a Sunday/Home Evening lesson given by Grandpa Jed. Our family is awesome!!!!

#16 has arrived!!

2011-08-25T13:35:00.000-07:00

On August 10th, our 16th grandchild made his entrance into this world. Yes, I said 16 (8 girls and 8 boys). Maxon and Scout were so excited to meet their new, baby brother. His name is Denver. They love him already.

He met his cousin, Palmer and loves her. Palmer is 4 weeks older than him and belongs to Stacy and Taylor. Aren't they the cutest???
He and his Grandpa spent some time getting to know each other.

To read about the crazy events surrounding Denver's birth, go to Noelle's blog at the following address:

http://tndegroot.blogspot.com/

Palmer Tay Harrison

2011-07-29T12:06:00.001-07:00

On July 11, 2011, Stacy and Taylor welcomed a new little addition to their family. Palmer Tay Harrison entered this world at 5:55 pm. She is perfect.

Everyone is always lined up for a turn to hold this sweet, little girl!

We love you little Palmer Tay.

4th of July in Blanding---the only place to be!!!

2011-07-26T13:29:00.000-07:00

We love celebrating the 4th of July in Blanding. There are so many friends and family who come home for the festivities. The day is packed full of fun and activities for everyone.

Our family has a tradition of running the 5-K together. This year Jed and I were the only ones in the family who were tough enough to run it. Maybe next year the rest of the family will be up for the challenge:)

We gather on the lawn at the South Chapel on main street to watch the parade. It is so much fun!!

Here are our prego girls. I guess they had a good enough excuse to not run the 5-K that morning.
Jeremy and Kulani Fisher had a food booth. They sold Teriyaki chicken and Kalua pork along with potato salad and rice. It was yummy.
The kids enjoyed the games, slides and rides.

Our cowgirls, Camryn, Kristi and Jensen participated in the horse games. They all did awesome.
Camryn and Desi

Kristi and Trigger

Jensen and Tex

And then, of course, the end of the day was topped off with a spectacular firework display. We are so thankful for the freedoms we enjoy in America. The 4th of July helps to remind us of those who have given their time and for some, their lives, to protect our freedom.

One of those special days

2011-07-17T15:49:00.000-07:00

On July 2nd we had a very special family experience. We gathered around the reservoir on the Colorado ranch in Disappointment Valley. The occasion was the baptism of Marilyn's and Matt's son, Oakley. He was to be baptized by his big brother, Kolton. Kolton had been baptized in this same spot ten years earlier.

This picture was taken of their whole family before the baptism.

Kolton walked Oakley out into the water and the baptism was completed in this beautiful setting.

After the baptism, the first hug was for big brother, Kolton.

Back at the cabin, Kolton received the Melchizedek Priesthood and was ordained to the office of an Elder by his dad and then Oakley was confirmed. It was a special day for the family!!

North to Alaska!!!!!! (days 7 & 8)

2011-07-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

After a great time in McCarthy, it was time to head back. We left McCarthy on Saturday morning and saw a lot of cool things along the way.

We saw beautiful lily pads with yellow blossoms on the ponds along the way.

We saw several moose in Chitina this time through.

We stopped and hiked on the Matanuska glacier. It was amazing. It had ponds & rivers & hills & valleys and of course, lots of ice.

When we arrived in Palmer (this is where Cory & Crystal & their cute little family live) we stopped at the reindeer farm. There were other animals there besides the reindeer. Here's a picture of the buffalo. He was kind of mangy looking!

We got to feed the reindeer. We really wanted to take one home with us for a pet and actually they told us that is why they raise them---people buy them for pets! Do you think they could survive in Blanding?

We also got to feed the moose that lived there on the reindeer farm.

The next morning, Cory took us to Anchorage to catch our plane home. We had had a wonderful time in Alaska. Thanks to Cory and Crystal for planning an awesome week for us.

We arrived back in Salt Lake City, tired but grateful for the week we had with Mark & Tam, Jeff & Carol, Cory & Crystal and their family.

North to Alaska!!!!!! (days 5 & 6)

2011-07-13T18:42:00.001-07:00

On Thursday we left Valdez and headed toward McCarthy. We didn't really know just how long it was going to take us to get there but we did have fun along the way. We stopped at a beautiful waterfall called "Horse Tail Waterfall".

We also stopped at Worthington Glacier.

By the time we got to Chitina, we were pretty hungry. Just as we were ordering our lunch at a little "greasy spoon" in Chitina (I had ordered a Reindeer Sausage Sandwich), we looked out the window and there was a moose just strolling along the road. Of course, we, being the tourists that we were, had to rush outside and take pictures.

After lunch, we continued on our way to McCarthy. We passed this interesting sight: there were fish wheels set up along this stream. As the wheel turned around, these bucket like things would scoop up salmon out of the stream.

After hours of travel on a dirt road, we got to our destination: Currant Ridge Cabins. These cabins were cute and charming and we got to stay in them for the next two nights.

Javen and Navy even found a trampoline to jump on and plenty of room to run.

Here's the inside of one of the cabins.

The next morning, Friday, we drove to this footbridge. We had to walk across it to catch a shuttle that took us to the Kennicott Copper Mine and Museum.

We went on a tour of the old mill. It was so interesting. We had to wear hard hats inside.

After the mill tour, Jed and I hiked up to the "Root Glacier". It was a beautiful hike and a beautiful glacier. Some of the others went on an airplane tour. They said it was spectacular!!!

We enjoyed our day in McCarthy and decided it was well worth the drive to get there.

North to Alaska!!!!!! (days 3 & 4)

2011-07-10T15:27:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday morning, Jed and I decided to hike up to the Exit Glacier. We drove a short distance from Seward and hiked up a trail to the beautiful glacier. It was very "cool".

This is an interesting place we passed on the way to and from the glacier. We didn't have time to stop and try it out.

When we got back to Seward, it was time for all of us to meet at the docks and board our tour boat for a day of adventure. We went on a Kenai Fjord tour.

The day was full of sightings of a lot of animal life. These eagles were some of the first sightings.

This is a cute, little sea otter. We saw a lot of them.

Here are some Dahl's porpoises. They were swimming all around and under the ship.

This is a Fin Whale. Or I guess you could say, a Fin Whale's fin.

And, there were a few "colonies" of Sea Lions.

We saw many, many Puffins. They are cute, cartoonish birds.

More Sea Lions

And, the most awesome experience of the day was when we saw a group of about 4 whales "bubble net feeding". There would be two of them that would dive down deep in the water and they would create a "bubble net" by expelling a lot of bubbles. This "bubble net" would capture a lot of fish that then would rise up to the surface. And then the other whales would be waiting to gobble-up this group of fish as it came to the surface. The crew on the ship dropped a microphone down into the water and we were also able to hear all kinds of whale noises from down under the water.

We were so caught up in the whale adventure that we were a little late getting to our dinner appointment on Fox Island but the salmon and prime rib were still delicious.

After dinner, we returned to Seward to our Bed and Breakfast. Here is a picture of the view that we had from our back patio at the Bed and Breakfast.

On Wednesday we loaded all of our stuff and ourselves into our large, rented van and headed out. We would eventually end up in Valdez that night but had a beautiful, eventful trip getting there. We made some stops along the way and saw some more beautiful scenery.

We visited with Smokey the Bear at the Visitor's Center before entering the Whittier Tunnel.
We saw the beautiful, Portage Glacier.

And then we traveled on a ferry through some amazing places and arrived in Valdez in the evening. And, yes, it is evening. It is about 8:00 PM in these pictures!

Javen enjoyed the little, black guests at our motel in Valdez

North to Alaska!!!!!! (days 1 & 2)

2011-07-06T12:56:00.000-07:00

On June 12th, Jed & I, Jeff & Carol and Mark & Tam departed from the Salt Lake International Airport and flew to Anchorage Alaska. Our week-long adventure has begun. The next few posts will show where we went, what we saw and what we did there. WARNING: There will be a lot of pictures!!!

This first picture is of Anchorage.

After landing and being picked up at the airport by a shuttle, we left our luggage at the motel and then went to a museum. It was pretty interesting to learn about the Mommoths and Mastodons that were here on the earth many, many years ago.

This was our only activity planned for our first day in Alaska. We were tired and ready to return to the motel for the night. But, since it is Summer in Alaska, there is around 23 hours of daylight. We went to bed at night in the bright daylight and woke up in the morning in bright daylight. Crazy!!!
The next morning, at 5:30, we went to the train station and caught a train headed to Seward. The train ride was beautiful and we loved it.
(Obviously, this isn't the train we traveled on since it is only an engine!)

This is a picture of some airplanes and an airstrip (grass) right along the coast line.

These are Dall's sheep on the cliffs along the way. We also saw a moose from a distance and some of the people on the train saw a bear. There was also an eagle's nest (with the eagle perched in it watching us go by).

We were greeted in Seward, by this cute Puffin!!! We eventually saw a lot of "real" Puffins. They are so cute!!!!

Cory, Crystal and their kids (Javen, Navy & Paisley) met us in Seward with our rented van. Our first activity, after they got there, was to visit the Alaska Sea Life Center. Very cool!
We got to touch anemones and starfish.

This is an eel kind of fish thing. Creepy!!!!

There were several huge aquariums with some very cool exotic fish.
And there were a lot of puffins (this one is real), ducks, sea lions and other sea life. It was a fun place to visit. We enjoyed our afternoon and evening in Seward. After eating, we went to our Bed and Breakfast and tried to get some sleep. (remember that it is bright daylight most of the night).

How can this be possible??

2011-05-28T20:03:00.000-07:00

We are wondering how we can have a grandson old enough to graduate from High School. Kolton graduated this past week and we are proud of him.

Here are the cute cupcake that Marilyn made for his graduation party

Kolton with his siblings

The happy, graduated boy. Congratulations Kolton. We love you!!

We traveled over 2,000 miles!!!

2011-05-18T21:29:00.001-07:00

On May 7th we climbed on a bus with 45 other people. Our destination was 1200 miles away. We were going to Branson, Missouri. We were the "Blanding Old Timers". Here are the people we traveled with. This is our bus driver (in the white shirt). He was awesome!!

We stayed in Albuquerque the first night.
We traveled through Texas.
We stayed in Oklahoma City.
And then we got to Branson. It is so beautiful there.
Watch out Branson Missouri.........The "Blanding Old Timers" are here.

These are the shows we saw in Branson

2011-05-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

Our first show was an Elvis Presley tribute by Tony Roi. Amazing!!! We had to keep doing a double take to figure out that it wasn't really Elvis up there singing.

Next was a variety show called "Shake, Rattle & Roll. Where did all these talented people come from????

We laughed until the tears were streaming and our sides ached as we watched the Baldknobbers:)

The Red, Hot and Blue show was another variety show that showcased so much amazing talent.

We went on a "dinner cruise" on the Showboat Branson Belle. Once again, the talent was amazing and the food was fabulous.

The Jim Stafford show was also very entertaining.

I loved, loved, loved the Twelve Irish Tenors.

A Neil Diamond Tribute by Keith Allynn was also amazing. It was as if Neil was up

there on the stage.

Our last fabulous show was the Acrobats of China. Amazing and talented. A wonderful show to end a fun and entertaining week. We returned home with awesome memories. Branson is all it is advertised to be.

Easter picnic with the gang!!!

2011-05-04T19:34:00.000-07:00

You take Recapture Pockets and add a bunch of family and friends and you get a fun time for all

Hot, tired and sunburned, we headed home at the end of the day.

Cowboys and ????????

2011-05-04T18:46:00.000-07:00

Ivins' had calves to brand, but this this corral full of calves did not have a chance. They were surrounded by people and the branding was accomplished in short order.

Jeremy and Livvy ganged up on this poor little guy!!

Even Cohen was there to help
And how awesome is it that these cousins got together?
Livvy loves every kind of animal (horses, calves, horny toads, etc.)

Dylan and Napoleon had a little power struggle. Dylan won!!!!
And McCoy loved it all

It seems like there are more pictures that need to be shared......

2011-04-21T18:48:00.001-07:00

Just couldn't resist sharing more pictures from our trip

Who would have thought that they had these kinds of rides

at Sea World????

There are very few pictures of Kolton and Lexi from our trip (here's picture of their backs!). They had to leave a day earlier than the rest of us. They flew back to Salt Lake on Friday so they could be to their Drum Line state competition on Saturday.

Our three prego girls!!!!

California: Part two----Disneyland + 29 = fun!!!!

2011-04-19T14:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, we actually made a trip to Disneyland with all 29 of our family. We arrived at different times, in different cars but all with a common goal and that was to create lasting family memories. After checking in to the motel we went to the beach, ready to play. The weather did not cooperate----it was windy and cold but we had fun anyway.

Next, after the beach was a jump into the motel swimming pool.

It was warm and clean and fun.

Friday morning could not arrive soon enough. We were up bright and early and were at the gates of Disneyland as soon as the park opened. Let the fun begin.........
How do you keep track of 29 people at Disneyland? You give them bright, personalized shirts! The girls (Kristi, Noelle and Stacy) designed and created theses shirts for everyone. Each family had their own color.

Here is Noelle's and Trent's family as they arrived at the park that morning. Their family color was blue.
The kids all love to hang out with Uncle Josh whenever possible. Josh's shirt color was yellow.

Stacy's and Taylor's color was green.
Here's Jeremy's and Heather's family (minus McCoy who stayed at Heather's friend's house for this first day). Their color was grey but they look sooo blue in this picture.
Marilyn's and Matt's family color was orange.
Jeremy's and Kristi's family were blue also, but they were a darker blue than the DeGroots.
Deco's and Kera's family color was coral (Deco preferred that it be called coral rather than pink)
Here we are all together. This is my awesome family. Mine and Jed's shirts were tie dyed with all of the colors of each family.

Following are a random assortment of the different things we did at Disneyland.

Riding the shuttle back to the motel at the end of the day. These are some exhausted people!!

The second day at Disneyland was just as much fun and just as tiring.

Livvy, Scout and Addi got to eat lunch with some of the princesses. These sweet, little girls were the most beautiful princesses ever.

Disneyland is a magical place. We loved every minute that we spent there with our family!!!!

California: Part One

2011-04-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

Our family took on a very ambitious challenge as we decided to go on a family vacation together-----all 29 of us!!! The destination was Disneyland in Anaheim. We were to all meet up there on Thursday afternoon. Marilyn's and Matt's family graciously invited me to go with them a few days early and take in SeaWorld also. We spent all day Wednesday at SeaWorld. It was awesome!!!!

Our first adventure was on a ride called "Journey to Atlantis". It was splashy, wet and fun.
Next was the dolphin show. They are so cute and loveable.

Noelle, Trent, Maxon & Scout met up with us around noon.

The whale show was amazing as usual. How do you get a whale to jump and do flips and even come up on a platform out of the water?

The Sea Lions were full of personality.

Who ever knew you could actually play with star fish?

Thanks Roberts family for allowing me to crowd your car and your motel room. It was so much fun!!!!

So much to do, so little time

2011-04-05T14:19:00.000-07:00

The past couple of months have been very busy and as you will see, we have been doing what we love best, spending time with our family. Here are a lot of pictures to give you an idea of what we have been doing!!

Livvy had fun dancing at half-time of the Bronco basketball game. She has become friends with Avery, her cousin, since she moved to Blanding and they learned this cute dance from the high-school cheerleaders.

Livvy and Avery are raising pigs for 4-H this summer. They (the pigs) are cute now but probably won't be so cute in a few months. The girls will be cute forever.

Camryn is raising a steer for 4-H. Hers is the red one. He is pretty cute too!!

Aleyah has baby puppies at her house and loved showing them to Grandpa.

Grandpa and Grandma visit Addi's class for Grandparent day.

This very blurry picture is of Kolton's and Lexi's drum-line program.

The program was awesome.

Camryn played volleyball and Scout took a nap!

What a comfortable place to take a nap!!

Camryn's team took first place in the tournament. It was a great way to finish off their season!!

Josh and his friends gathered at our house to watch the BYU/Florida basketball game. We won't mention how the game turned out but, this party was a lot funner at the beginning of the game than after the game was over:(

Logan celebrated his 5th birthday. Where have the last 5 years gone??

And then, we (Jed and Candice), along with a lot of our friends (20 of us Senior Citizens) attended a Letterman concert at Tuacahn. For those of you who are too young to remember, "The Letterman" are a singing group from the 60's and the early 70's. They are as awesome now as they were then and one of the members of this group is from the original group !!! We loved the concert. Thanks again to DeAnn for giving us the tickets.

We Lost Our Grandma

2011-03-10T09:01:00.000-08:00

Words cannot describe the hole that was left in our lives when we lost our dear "Clessa", "Mom","Grandma", "Grandma-Great" on Feb. 7th, 20011. She has always been such an example of everything good to the whole family, we will miss her. We only hope that we have learned a portion of the many lessons that she had to teach. We know there are many more things we could have and should have learned from her.

We find comfort in the knowledge that she was reunited with her eternal sweetheart, DeAlton, who passed away 61 years ago......
...but we will miss the many family times with her.
She made the great-granddaughters pioneer bonnets.

She was always there at the special occasions in our lives.

The family was always her first priority.

Josh was leaving for the MTC and as with all special times, grandma was there to support him.

We celebrated her birthdays together.

We watched 4th of July parades together

We will miss Christmas night dinners at grandma's house and many, many more family events that will not be the same.

Yes, it has been 2 years!!!!

2011-02-14T10:05:00.000-08:00

Unbelievably, it has been 2 years since Josh left to serve in the France Paris mission. As the day drew near that he was to return home, his nieces and nephews (and parents) were sooooo excited. They made signs to take to the airport.

The day finally arrived and everyone was watching for Elder Lyman to arrive.

After awhile, the waiting became too hard. It felt like another 2 years to some.

Finally, Elder Lyman was spotted coming down the escalator!!!
He was greeted with hugs and smiles all around.

Love that smile!!!
Check out those awesome French shoes.
Josh's high school classmate, JJ Grover, arrived at the airport about 5 minutes before Josh. They were able to visit with each other for a few minutes.
What would a celebration be without lots of good food!!!!
Elder Lyman is back home after faithfully serving a mission in France.

Well done, thou good and faithful servant.

Well done, thou good and faithful son.

You have seen the field is white, You have shared the Gospel light,

You have earned the Savior's gentle praise, well done.

Girl's night at Noelle's

2011-02-08T10:09:00.001-08:00

We had so much fun at our "annual girl's night" at Noelle's house. We did Zumba with our professional instructor (Marilyn) leading us. We all built our own pizzas and baked and ate them.

The "kids" all made cute pillowcases with their names on them (sorry, I didn't take pictures of the finished pillowcases. They were darling!!)

And then it was movie and slumber time. Some of us slumbered more than others.

Noelle handed out antenna head bands for everyone to wear.

Thanks Noelle for planning another fun party for the girls. We look forward to next year!!

We Are Thankful For.........

2010-12-30T10:13:00.001-08:00

This will be a very belated post and will have to include Thanksgiving and Christmas. There are a million pictures of our blessings, our family and our activities. We are so thankful for all of these:

Our Christmas day was complete when we got to have a video chat with our Elder Josh. We were able to talk to him and see him. Soooo cool. He looked so happy and sounded so good. We also got to see his new companion, Elder Kyle (Pud) Shumway, who is also from Blanding. He arrived in France a few days before Christmas and Josh is his trainer!!

We are so very blessed!!!

"I am so profoundly grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for a testimony of the Atonement of the Savior. I believe in it with all my heart, and I live for it, and I bear witness of it this day. Of all of the events of human history, none other approaches the Atonement of the Savior in its meaning and in its results. God be thanked for the gift of His precious Son, to whom we all owe thanks for His sacrifice in our behalf."

--Gordon B. Hinckley, "Inspirational Thoughts", Liahona, Feb 2007, 2–6

A beautiful winter wonderland

2010-11-21T15:43:00.000-08:00

We made a trip to the Colorado cabin to clean out the frig, drain the water tanks, put out the rat poison (yuck) and winterize. As you can see, we weren't any too soon as the snow has already fallen and everything is icy and cold.

The cows were all content, laying under the tree. They don't even seem to realize how cold it really is.

Guess who's coming to dinner????

2010-11-03T11:03:00.000-07:00

Paco is patiently waiting for our dinner guests and wearing his

"I like Mike" shirt

Mike Lee, candidate for the U.S. Senate posed with the campaigning donkey.
We and Mike Lee and his campaign staff members enjoyed a delicious dinner prepared by Jeremy and......
........the cheesecake prepared by Stacy.
What a fun evening with some very nice people. ( Mike Lee won the election a few days later:)

Family Times

2010-11-03T09:46:00.001-07:00

Here are a random assortment of fun family times from the past couple of weeks!!

Scout had a birthday. She is two.

We had fun at McDonalds on Scout's birthday
The Redds had us over for dinner to celebrate Camryn's birthday. She wasn't real thrilled about blowing out the candles or having her picture taken.

Pumpkin carving time at our house. What a mess!!!!

Putting together puzzles with Uncle Taylor
Kristi giving Scout and Maxon rides on Trigger.

Riding that horse just wears you out

Aleyah came to visit Grandpa and Grandma while her

parents were on a trip.

It might not look like it but she really did

have a fun time trick or treating.

The boys are all dressed up for trick or treating
Camryn was so excited to get her new glasses. Doesn't she look cute?

Labor Day Weekend with the family

2010-09-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

It has become a family tradition to spend Labor Day weekend at the Colorado cabin. We play, we eat, we sleep, we relax, we ride horses, we fish. There were some who tipped over in the canoe in the reservoir (so mad I didn't get pictures of Taylor trying to stay afloat in levis and cowboy boots). We enjoy the beautiful scenery. It is a few days to create memories.

Pure contentment!!!

Yes, that is the BYU football game in the background!!!

Roasting marshmallows over the fire and then watching fireworks

Heroes in our life

2010-09-16T08:13:00.000-07:00

We all have heroes in our lives. I have heroes, a few of which are: My husband, my kids and their spouses, the prophet, the Savior and the list goes on. One of my heroes has always been my dad. He had been described as a giant in a small body.

On August 14th, 2010, Fred Eugene Halliday was allowed to quietly pass through the veil to be reunited with his eternal sweetheart, Audrey. We are happy for him but we miss him.

Our "Elder Josh" said the following words to us in an email: "I think if somebody can feel at ease about passing over to the other side, it's grandpa."

Dad lost both of his parents when he was young but he did not let that drag him down. He always lived life to its fullest and stood up for what he believed and was true to his testimony of the gospel.

He and his eternal sweetheart, Audrey, were married in the Salt Lake Temple on May 31st, 1946

Their lives together were full of service. They served in many positions in the church. They served three missions together.
Here they are with their posterity in 1983. The numbers have grown significantly since then.

Dad served as a Stake President

In the past year his health was failing but he continued to enjoy life.

This past spring, he was able to attend a Jazz basketball game and meet Thurl Bailey during half time (Thurl was one of his heroes)

He continued to enjoy outings with the family

And he always loved the grandkids

He served as a sealer in the Monticello Temple for many years and was able to perform the sealing for Trent and Nicole (Ivins) Holliday last September.

His family, friends and loved ones got together to honor him on August 21st, 2010.
What better way to honor him than to give him one last ride in his red, Chevy Luv pick-up.

Livvy, Cohen and McCoy get to stay at Grandpa's and Grandma's house

2010-08-09T10:07:00.000-07:00

When Heather goes to Girl's Camp we get to play. Livvy, Cohen and McCoy got to spend the week at Grandpa's and Grandma's while their mom was at Girl's Camp. That meant lots of fun for us!!

McCoy had just turned one. Phew, where does the time go?
Cousin/Friends are the best!!!

Time to head home and find mom. We miss those little munchkins!!!

There's nothing funner than the 4th of July in Blanding

2010-07-29T15:26:00.001-07:00

There's nothing to compare to the 4th of July celebration in Blanding. Our little town fills up with family and friends. We and others enjoy a day that is packed full of fun activities. One of our family traditions is the 5k run. Our numbers were fewer than normal this year but Marilyn, Jed, Stacy and Taylor represented our family well!!

Some of us were just the cheering section and yes that is a black eye and that is the reason (along with all of the other bruises) that I didn't run. Some of us will resort to anything (even a 4-wheeler crash) to get out of running the 5k.

Camryn and Jensen getting the horses ready for the parade
Jensen cleaning up after getting the horses ready for the parade

The parade was enjoyed by all......those who were in it.......
and those of us who watched.

We are so grateful for the freedoms that we enjoy and for this great land in which we live!!

Aleyah turns 1!!!

2010-07-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

Aleyah is already one year old and had a birthday party at our house!!!

This little pony is one of her presents. How many little one-year old's get a pony?

June happenings---Too many things to blog about

2010-07-09T15:24:00.001-07:00

Because I am so seriously behind on our blog, following are a full month's worth of pictures (well, not really the whole month's worth, but a lot).

We had a treat when Livvy stayed with us for a few days. We had a lot of fun feeding the steers.

Rachel and her kids visited with us in Blanding while Noah and Alex were at Scout Camp. They came all the way from Albuquerque, New Mexico to attend Scout Camp right here north of Blanding at Dry Wash!!

We had a fun Relief Society activity at Cottonwood wash

Rachel's kids and Livvy crawling around in the water catching tadpoles!

One of the highlights of June was when Kolton was awarded his Eagle Scout award

He and his friends did an amazing job singing a special musical number at the Court of Honor

Receiving the award

The Eagle's Nest

Grandma Black turned 94 on June 24th. We partied!!!!

The guys built her a new shed
Awesome birthday cake that Rebecca made for Grandma

This is the beginning of a 4-wheeler/horse ride that Camryn, Kristi, Carter, Logan, Jed and I went on. The day started of as a very fun activity and ended with a horrible crash and Carter and I rolled down a rocky hill on the 4-wheeler. Fortunately Carter was not seriously hurt. He was only scraped up a little. I ended up bruised and battered with stitches in my forehead (this is one of my excuses for being so far behind on my blogging). But, after a priesthood blessing and good medical care, I am on the mend and so grateful for those who blessed me and those who picked me up off the rocks and for the medical care I received.

Here's Carter with his helmet hair!!

Maxon and Scout have been at Grandpa's and Grandma's house

2010-05-19T12:44:00.000-07:00

We have had a fun week with Maxon and Scout at our house. Noelle and Trent are on a trip and we are lucky to have them here for the week. Logan and Maxon have played and played

Maxon and Scout have played and played
Grandpa Halliday has loved having them here

We have had a fun week

It's springtime in Blanding

2010-05-06T08:12:00.001-07:00

After a long winter and mountains of snow, the warmer weather has been so welcome. Here is a sampling of a few pictures of what it has been like at the Lyman Zoo and surrounding areas this spring. The pictures are in random, non chronological order.

Camryn got a new horse. Her name is Stella and she now lives at our zoo

Stella is young and has not been broken but Kristi took her to a horse training clinic and was on her within about 2 hours. The "horse whisperer" (Shamus Haws) was so amazing at training horses.

We visited Bluff, Goosenecks and Muley Point with Taylor's parents.

Paco is so goofey...he loves to play with beach balls! Unfortunately,

he has popped two this week and is currently without.

Paco also has not been broken to ride but Kristi and Logan didn't let

that stop them.

Fun on the tramp

There was so much snow that fell this winter, the runoff from the mountain has filled the reservoir to overflowing!

Kera, Aleyah and Melody (Kera's sister) visited our house

"And Carter connects for a base hit!"

Logan on Cody and Sophie on Paco

Logan was the star of the team at his T-ball game (that really is Logan

under the hair and the helmet).

Camryn has even been on Stella a couple of times

Grandpa goes to a Jazz game

2010-04-15T10:16:00.000-07:00

We took Grandpa Halliday to a Jazz game and then he got to meet Thurl Bailey and Pace Mannion. They are his heroes!! We had a good time. The Jazz provided an exciting game for us to watch, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder--140-139 in overtime!

Easter picnic at Recapture Pockets

2010-04-10T08:35:00.001-07:00

After a week of wind, snow, rain and freezing cold temperatures, we were brave and packed up our picnic and headed to Recapture Pockets. We usually have to share the area with a lot of family groups but this day we had it all to ourselves. We had a lot of fun and it wasn't really that cold there. I will warn you in advance that there are a lot of pictures but this grandma has to make sure everyone that was at the picnic is included.

Addi and Scout were so cute as they played in the sand! Addi was the cutest, little babysitter.

And the picnic was enjoyed by all

Grandma Black and Grandpa Halliday enjoyed watching everyone.........

.....and the race is on to find all those Easter Eggs! There were over 300 hidden eggs.

After the picnic and the Easter egg hunt everyone enjoyed kites, volleyball, climbing on the rocks and just enjoying the outdoors.

We lost a friend at the Lyman Zoo:(

2010-04-01T21:58:00.001-07:00

This post and the 3 that follow will show some of the recent happenings at the Lyman Zoo. This is the sad one. Our horse, Panda, did not make it through the harsh winter. He died and we will miss him. He was a nice and gentle horse.