"A Family Is........"

The past two weeks have been filled with lots of family fun and since I have to cram two weeks worth of happenings into this one blog there are a lot of pictures.

Camryn's birthday was on Oct. 13th. This is one of the celebrations with family a few days after her birthday.

Scout's birthday was on the 21st. We all helped her celebrate.........
but she was on her own to enjoy this giant cupcake that Noelle made for her.

Jed's birthday was on the 20th. Since it was one that he wanted to ignore and since it was one of the big ones with a big 0 in the number (I won't mention how old he is since he is ignoring that also) we had several parties for him. There was a surprise party for him with family and friends at the Homestead restaurant in Blanding (sorry, no pictures) and then a dinner for family at our house (once again, no pictures) and then the kids and grandkids planned a surprise party for him in Utah Valley on the weekend.
You should have seen the surprised look on Jed's face when he walked into Jack 'n Jill Lanes bowling alley and found all the family there.






We won't mention bowling scores, but some of the family did better than some of the rest of us. After bowling we dropped the kids all off at Noelle's and Trent's and then........

The adults enjoyed a delicious dinner at Olive Garden
Back at Noelle's and Trent's we found birthday cake (German chocolate) and pie (coconut cream) and chocolate pudding dessert (3 of Jed's favorites).
We ended our fun day by watching the not so fun BYU/TCU football game:(

The next morning we were reminded that football games really don't matter. We gathered again at Noelle's and Trent's for the blessing of Jeremy's and Heather's McCoy. He was given a beautiful blessing by his father.

And we are once again reminded of how thankful we are for family.

A Family Is.......a deeply rooted tree with branches of different strengths all receiving nourishment from an infinite source.

A Family Is.......where character is formed, values are learned, ethics are created, and society is preserved.

A Family Is........where all members contribute and share, cooperate and work, and accept their responsibilities toward the good of the group.

A Family Is.........where holidays are celebrated with feasting, birthdays acknowledged with gifts, and thought of days gone by kept alive with fond remembrances.

A Family Is.........where each can find solace and comfort in grief, pleasure and laughter in joy, and kindness and encouragement in daily living.

A Family Is.........a haven of rest, a sanctuary of peace, and most of all, a harbor of love.

-Manny Feldman-

On the road again

How can life be so hectic and yet so fun?Here's how our weekend trip to

Utah Valley & Salt Lake went.

An overnight stay at Deco's, Kera's and Aleyah's in Payson (you can see who grandma was taking pictures of at that house)

And then to the Salt Lake Temple the next morning for Kacey's and Joe's wedding
And then a yummy luncheon at the Lion House that afternoon (sorry no pictures)

And then after that, a trip to Stacy's and Taylor's and then to WalMart.........

And then we were off to the reception. It was held at a garden center in South Salt Lake.

It was a beautiful setting for a reception. (And, Stacy and Noelle made the beautiful cake!)

And then, the next morning we were headed back to Deco's and Kera's (and Aleyah's)

in Payson where we helped out with getting their yard ready for winter. (no pictures)

And then, Kera, Noelle and I went to Lehi to Laura's (Ryan Halliday's wife) baby shower. She is expecting twins, a boy and a girl!!!!

And then back to Payson to pick up Jed. After the yard project was finished, Jed and I met Marilyn and Matt at Carraba's in Orem for dinner before we went to Kolton's AllState Choir program at the Tabernacle on temple square in Salt Lake.

Here's a tiny little picture of the program at the Tabernacle

And, here's some pictures of Kolton (and Marilyn and Matt) after the program.

This is our view of the temple as we walked to the car after the program!

And to end this very crazy day, we went back to Stacy's and Taylor's in Sandy for Taylor's birthday party and to watch the BYU/UNLV football game.

BYU gave Taylor a great birthday present by beatingt UNLV 59-21!

The next morning was Sunday. We went back to Cedar Hills and went to Sacrament mtg. with Noelle, Trent, Maxon and Scout.

After a visit with Jeremy and the kids----Heather was sick:( ......we drove home to Blanding.

Phew!!!! What a fun weekend. We were tired!!!

A weekend at the Colorado cabin

Begin the weekend with a BYU win!!
and elk and deer everywhere!!

Beautiful scenery

An early morning jog in the crisp mountain air
And a peaceful two days watching General Conference

It doesn't get any better than this!!!!!

Lyman cousins at our house

We had the opportunity last week to have Lyman cousins (some of Uncle Almon's family) stay at our house as they started their Hole in the Rock trek and then again as they finished. It was so fun to meet some that we hadn't met before and to visit with those we had met. They spent a week driving and hiking the "Hole in the Rock" trail. They had extreme weather..first of all hot and then cold and windy but they succeeded and were pretty happy about it. It was a good experience for us to visit with them and a great experience for them to accomplish this trek.

Getting all the gear ready and loaded up

Ready to head out

Out on the trail!!

A happy group...the end of the trail!!!!