the bloghunt

Grandchildren . . .

2011-11-11T19:42:00.001-08:00

There's nothing quite like the joy of being a grandmother. Maybe this is why -

Grandchildren give us a second chanceto do things better because they bring out the best in us. ~author unknown

Usually I am the one with the camera - so I actually don't have too many pictures of me with my grandkids. Michele was sweet enough to accommodate me while I was out visiting her right after Rowen was born. These were taken when she was one week old.

Few things are more delightful thangrandchildren fighting over your lap. ~Doug Larson

The idea that no one is perfect is aview most commonly held by people with no grandchildren. ~Doug Larson

I have no idea who "Doug Larson" is -

but he summed up what I feel in part about being a grandmother pretty well.

I think I have the most gorgeous, amazing, funny, delightful grandkids on the planet.

The month of December I will get to see every single one of my 7 grandkids - Grandma heaven!

It will take 3 different weekends and flights to 3 different states - but I can't wait!

Landon earns his Eagle Scout Award

2011-11-11T19:07:00.001-08:00

Landon has earned his Eagle Scout Award. Nice job Landon. He worked hard and deserves to be proud of what he's accomplished.

Thank you also to EVERYONE that donated to Landon's project to gather toys for Ethiopian orphanages. Thanks to all of you he had over 2900 toys donated.

But the very best part of his project was this: Seeing the smiles on the faces of these kids in 8 different orphanages that were the recipients of all the toys the Landon helped to gather.

Also we appreciate the help from some very supportive Scout Leaders and friends. We are lucky to have friends that went above and beyond in their support to help Landon get the final preparations and details done before he appeared before the Eagle Board of Review. At that level Scouting becomes sort of a foreign language to me - I'm glad we have friends that can "speak" it.

You all know who you are :) - thanks a million!

That smile on his face must mean he passed! It's official :) Good work Landon!

My 10 days in Utah -

2011-10-26T21:56:00.000-07:00

My 10 days in Utah were a lot of fun - starting out with a beautiful Sunday afternoon drive thru the canyon - gorgeous colors -

Then the kids opened presents just for them to take to the hospital the next day -

They were excited - can you tell?

The next morning was REALLY exciting as Michele went into labor as she was getting prepped for her C-section. Rowen was a beautiful baby . . .

her brother and sister were excited to meet her -

So cute!

The first few days I kept the kids busy at home and made visits to the hospital -

Once Rowen and Michele came home the main goal was to keep Boston and Naomi off of Michele's recovering tummy and off of the baby. We went on exploring walks to give Mom time alone with the baby, rode go-carts, had a dance party (wish I had videos of that) and learned Halloween songs and played with my I-phone (Naomi loves that I-phone!) and gave Rowen her first bath.

It was non-stop action.

Usually I take literally hundreds of pictures - and some turn out. Not anywhere close this time. It was a full time job keeping Boston and Naomi busy and Rowen safe and sound :)

I got a few pictures of the kids that I loved their expressions -

Luckily Michele had someone wonderful lined up to take adorable pictures so there was no pressure.

She got shots like these . . .

Thanks for sharing this wonderful time in your lives with me. It was the best!

Welcome to the family - Rowen Faye Cloward

2011-10-12T20:46:00.000-07:00

Little baby Rowen arrived Monday morning - she is adorable and I am in Grandma heaven :)
Her brother and sister love her and are pretty excited to have her come home today.

She looks a lot like her brother Boston did and a lot like Michele as a newborn.

Michele is doing well after her C-section - the biggest challenge so far is keeping excited Naomi and Boston from jumping on her or Rowen :) I'm enjoying being here at this special time - life is good!

The Clowards visit to California

2011-09-26T21:00:00.000-07:00

Michele, John, Boston and Naomi came to California for a quick 4 day visit. We spent that first Saturday at our obligatory visit to Pixie Playland . . .

That's Boston with his hands up on the roller coaster - he's a dare devil!

Sunday we went together to our Nephew's homecoming talk, hung out with Tanner and Josie at the house - Tanner trained the kids to surf on his back (I think he gets a free back rub in this deal)

Naomi surfing on Tanner too . .

Do these photos indicate how wound up we had the kids at this point? They LOVE their Uncle Tanner and Josie. They can never get enough of her :)

A fabulous Sunday dinner at my Mom's (it's always like Thanksgiving when we have dinner there)

Then we spent 2 quick days in Tahoe - the guys golfed, we rode bikes, hung out, ate and had a picnic.

The time went by way too fast. Then it was back home - I started my new job and that explains in part why this blog post is 6 weeks late and there has been nothing to post since. Waiting for grand baby #7 - (can you see Michele's prego tummy/) I expect to be off for that next big event in the next few weeks. Photos to follow for sure.

2011-09-25T19:10:00.000-07:00

Here's all of us at the Wisconsin Dells - How did Landon get so tall?!!

The Deer Park

2011-09-25T19:00:00.000-07:00

The problem with taking a billion pictures - which is what I do when I'm with my grandkids - is I can't narrow my pictures down. I wanted to do a quick re-cap because I am so far behind and this is what happens - I pulled up a ton of pictures from this cool deer park we visited in the Dells and it seems faster to throw them up on the blog than for me to decide which ones to use. So in the interest of time - here's all of us at the park . . .

Last few days in Chicago

2011-09-25T18:00:00.000-07:00

We said goodbye to Summer and headed back for a few more days in Chicago. Stacey arrived while we were there and so we got to see her new house . . .

and go out for a fabulous dinner with them!

The rest of the time we just played with this little darling . . .

Landon is so good with the grandkids.

Can you tell how much I love this little guy?!!

It was all a great trip - so I wanted to document it. Better late than never right?

The Wisconsin Dells

2011-09-12T22:04:00.000-07:00

After a few fun filled days in Chicago - Tiffany, Madden, Landon, & I headed to Wisconsin where we were meeting up with Summer and her kids for a few days of family fun in the Wisconsin Dells. The Dells are famous back there - sort of like a kids version of Las Vegas or it reminds me of Myrtle Beach too. Mini golf courses everywhere, more indoor waterparks than you have ever seen in your life and a whole bunch of weird cheesy other sites. One thing that I really wanted to do there was ride on the Wisconsin Ducks. So it's the first thing we did when we arrived and met up that afternoon.

They go from land to water and back and forth showing you the interesting landscape there. The same boats they used back in WWII. It was a lot of fun!

A great outing that had all ages happy . . .

Pretty much the rest of the week was spent at the Waterpark (mostly indoors because the morning we ventured outdoors it got too chilly for us. Give me the heated pools and waterslides any day.

In fact, we were so busy watersliding we hardly took any pictures there. I have more photos of just simple cousin bonding time - Alex was so good to Madden . . .

See . . .

And here we have a serious bath tub bonding experience going on.

Of course all Hunt reunions involve food - didn't document that very well either (and nothing compares to the food in Chicago - but the kids were easy to please.

It was a great time for the cousins, sisters and brother and of course Grandma/Mom to spend all together. The kids said some hilarious things. If I wasn't writing this post 5 weeks later I could include quotes - but trust me, they had me laughing a lot. It was a great trip!

Chicago - the adventure begins

2011-09-07T22:44:00.000-07:00

A month ago I was in Chicago with Landon (his first time) visiting Tiffany, Randy & Madden. First thing on our to do list was getting re-acquainted with this little guy -

He is a lot like his Mom was when she was his age - he lines up all his cars in different patterns - so Tiffany, it brings back memories :)

Next day we took Landon in to see the big City. First stop was the Sky Deck - I've never done that before. You basically walk out into a plexi-glass cube that juts out the side of the Sears Tower on the 103rd floor. It's the tallest building in the western hemisphere. It was freaky - especially because I have a thing about heights - but the view was like nothing I've ever experienced before.

Took a water taxi to Navy Pier -

We showed Landon the famous "Bean".

and the fountains

Then appetizers and dessert at the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the John Hancock building- what a view!

and this was all just the first full day. More to come.

Other Chicago highlights . . .

2011-09-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

We did a lot on this trip - we took turns going kayaking out on the lake. The Chicago skyline really is beautiful and we had gorgeous weather for a day at the beach.

On Saturday we went to a Cubs game - I even borrowed a shirt from Tiffany because apparently to go to a Cubs game you have to be dressed in real Cub's colors. So here we are -

I have never seen such die hard fans. Everyone was decked out - you'd think it was the last game of the world series. It was quite and experience - and I was fascinated by the bleacher seats on the rooftops of the homes outside of Wrigley Field. It was a fun day.

What are the chances?

2011-09-05T22:10:00.000-07:00

John has known for a while that Paul was coming out to Reno in early September for an interview. He was looking forward to taking him golfing and hanging out. Long, long story short - John managed to get all the son-in-laws and our 2 boys - that's all the Hunt family men up to Tahoe on the same weekend for a guys golf trip. Seriously - what are the chances? 5 sons, 4 states, 2 job schedules and 3 school schedules. I don't know how he pulled it off but they all had a fantastic time. Here's the evidence . . .

These guys all love to golf -

and eat and hang out together. They all had a blast together.

It takes a lot of golf to make these guys look this tired.

but apparently it's all worth it - they had a great time and are always planning the next guys weekend.

I took a break . . .

2011-09-05T20:21:00.000-07:00

I have obviously taken a break from blogging for over a month now. I had the best of intentions - but between being gone for 2 weeks visiting all my grandkids (and having a bazillion photos to sort through) and then starting a new job the day after I got home I got behind. And even though the job is part time - I am struggling with keeping up with everything with 30 hours less a week to do it in. I am sure I will figure it out - and we will put these last few weeks of fast food, expired milk, no blogging, etc. etc behind us. I mentioned to my husband that my To Do list for today didn't look like much of a holiday. So he suggested I chuck the To Do list for the day and we go do something I wanted to do. EXCELLENT IDEA!!!

I love to explore and go see and try new things so we headed out this afternoon to go to this Public Market place I read about in Napa called Oxbow. It was a lot like a smaller version of the Ferry Building Market in San Francisco. I thought it would be more of a gourmet grocery shopping kind of a place but it was really a lot of cool little interesting eateries. We had to hold back as best we could because I had planned for us to have dinner down the road at another place I read about. It's called The Boon Fly Cafe -

and we went there mainly because I read about their Boon Fly Donuts with chocolate dipping sauce -

They were delicious - and I came home happy. I still have plans to get the blog updated with all the end of the summer activities but for today this won the day.

What's new with me?

2011-07-31T21:33:00.001-07:00

So here's what July brought my way . . .

Aren't these girls awesome? They had a swim party at the Aikele's, followed by a slumber party at my house followed by an all day trip to San Francisco, then back to my house for a dinner and devotional to end our mini conference.

The more time I spend with them the more I love 'em!

It was a memorable and fun day for all.

The next week I was off to drive 4 boys to Rexburg for AFY. Then I headed to Michele's to hang out the next 4 days with these two . . .

Boston and Naomi made friends with a stray kitty, played in their new sandbox, rode bikes, snuggled, told stories, and made a trip to Toys R Us with Grandma.

Aren't they cute?

I hated to say goodbye . . .

but these boys (Landon, Kyle, Johnny, & Tanner C) were waiting for me in Rexburg. They said their week was AWESOME! and it was the best week of their life . . .

I was so glad - especially as I drove for 17 1/2 hours straight that day just to make it to Truckee at 1:30 am where we crashed for the night and headed home the next day. I LOVE these boys - so I'd do it all again, but I did determine that BYU-Idaho was located WAY the heck out there. I can think of a lot more convenient places to put a major LDS university - like ANYWHERE near an airport!!! Just saying :)

Fireworks with the Grandkids

2011-07-03T20:46:00.000-07:00

We took a quick trip to see Michele and John and the grandkids and their new home they just moved in to. We went to the zoo, took the kids to their first movie at the theater - Cars 2, and did a lot of relaxing, playing in the yard, and hanging out. It was a lot of fun! Our last night there John broke out the fireworks and we sat in their court on a beautiful summer night and watched the fireworks - or watched the kids - they were both very entertaining. As you can see:

Disclaimer - please do not attempt to do the stunt my husband does in video #2

Why I LOVED Provence!

2011-06-26T15:43:00.000-07:00

I got to spend 9 incredible days in Provence, in the south of France. I came home with over 1500 photos and way too many good things to say about it all so I didn't know where to begin. So rather than bore you with a travel log I will just try to share some of the things that I LOVED!

Watch out - there is going to be a lot to love here . . .

THE COUNTRYSIDE . . .

We flew into Geneva so we drove south through the French Alps - the pictures don't begin to do it justice. It was incredible - dramatic mountains, we even drove by glaciers, and there were wild flowers everywhere. Simply breathtaking.

Provencal Countryside

2011-06-26T14:10:00.000-07:00

We would take off early in the mornings and drive through the countryside - these tree lined roads were so gorgeous!

There were orchards, vineyards, olive groves, and flowers everywhere.

The fields of poppies were amazing -

and there were all kinds of other wild flowers everywhere -

Then there were surprises like this in the village of Rousillion - ochre mountains

If it had been August these lavendar fields would have been dark purple.

Like I said - you had to be there - these pictures don't begin to show how breathtaking it was.

The Flowers!!!!

2011-06-25T21:28:00.001-07:00

There were flower markets all over - as many as boulangeries. I couldn't figure out how all these flower shops could stay in business - then I watched as the locals would come into town and pick up their fresh bread and their fresh flowers. Wow! It is a staple in the French way of life and I loved it.

While I was there the peonies were in season and we saw them everywhere in every shade.

Flower boxes were along the streets, planted pots in town, and just gorgeous flowers everywhere we looked.

French Food

2011-06-24T16:47:00.000-07:00

I can't say enough about French food - quite by accident we ended up staying at a place where the Chef there was also teaching a cooking school to people from all over the globe. It was one of my favorite places for many reasons -

#1 Look at this place - it was gorgeous

this is the lane at the entrance to the Chateau -

from the front -

from the back of the chateau -

So of course we ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner here -

#2 Look at this food - I've never had anything like it before and probably never will again.

Of course there was all kinds of other incredible meals - the french have got this down!

Charming Villages

2011-06-24T11:57:00.000-07:00

We sent to so many charming beautiful villages I couldn't begin to share all of them - so here's a

sampling of just one of the villages we went to - Tourettes-sur-Loup . . .

We walked thru the little alleys - it was gorgeous, not a single tourist anywhere, just the local children and a few elderly people.

No wonder we loved it right?

Market Days

2011-06-23T20:51:00.000-07:00

We loved the french markets - a great place to people watch and shop and just take in all the colors, sights, and sounds. Oh yeah, we shopped like crazy at them too.

The french markets are so much better than ours - look how they display the fruits and vegetables, olives, etc - it was like art . . .

The markets had everything from fresh fruits and vegetables to meats, paella, clothing, linens, soaps, flowers. purses, pastries, cheeses, flowers, etc. So much fun!

The Patissiere's

2011-06-22T10:22:00.000-07:00

I have a sweet tooth and there is nothing like French

pastries and the abundant Patisserie's. They are

incredible!!!!!!!!!

Towards the end of the trip Jan said she has never seen anyone put down desserts like me . . .

and let me tell you I don't regret a single one of them. They are a little slice of heaven!

I also realized I have a special talent. Even though I have no sense of direction I have the ability to spot and find EVERY single Patissiere in our radius no matter where we are. If I actually lived there it could become a problem :)

My Dad's 80th Birthday Celebration

2011-06-11T18:33:00.000-07:00

I have the best Dad ever,

and we just celebrated his 80th birthday.

Our family is geographically challenged - so there were 7 of us here

and letters, photos, videos, etc. from the 20 others in the family that couldn't be here -

my brother and his family in Florida

my brother and his family in England

my 3 daughters and their families across the country

We played a "How well do you know Grandpa" game - John and Tanner got pretty competitive - and we got to hear Dad tell us about some things that not too many people knew about. He's had an interesting life and seen a lot of changes in 80 years.

Time to sing Happy Birthday -( I did a candle for each decade)

Looks like my Dad will get his wish . . .

I certainly got mine - I couldn't have a better and more thoughtful and wonderful Dad. I have so many happy memories and he continues to be there to support me and my family in all that we do - whether it is tutor the kids in math (cause I hate math), help with an Eagle Project, design something that keeps me from hunching over the table when I scrapbook, or keep the political discussion at the dinner table interesting - my Dad can do it all.

I love you Dad. Happy 80th!!! You're the best.

A few random photos from the "Happy Place"

2011-05-16T20:35:00.001-07:00

Entering the "Happy Place".

(if you're a Hunt you may have a funny memory about the last time we were in the "Happy Place" - remember?)

Don't they look happy?

More smiles -

Being silly . . .

Doesn't get much better that being here with your family :) I was sure happy!

Blizzard Beach -

2011-05-16T20:26:00.000-07:00

Blizzard Beach shots . . .

isn't she adorable?

Boston loved the water . . .

So did Avery . . . we all did. I especially loved how the water was actually warm - no shock to the system when you went down a waterslide - just pure fun.

Of course eventually the kids wore out -

Naomi completely crashed - but not until we had all had a lot of fun!

Disney World

2011-05-15T18:09:00.000-07:00

John and I just got back from a fun packed trip that consisted of - 72 hours, 3 Disney World parks, 5 grandkids and their parents and lots and lots of fun!

Taking pictures was not a big priority on this fast paced trip. I did get this one of Michele's family in the Magic Kingdom.

And this one of Summer's family at Epcot.

My usual method of take several and one will be good of everyone didn't apply here - Noah hates to have his picture taken - especially when he's facing the sun and it's HOT. (Come to think of it who does?) He was a good sport but I had to laugh when I looked at how he was NOT liking it.

(check out the progression as I try to snap a better shot)

So this was the last "Kodak Moment" I requested and we just focused on having fun. No problem there - the trip was a blast. Lots of fun memories - I'm so glad we were there for those priceless moments of watching the kids on the rides, scream, giggle, or have their eyes get BIG . . . it was so much fun. Next best thing (maybe even better) to being a kid again :)

Boogie Boarding

2011-05-03T14:39:00.000-07:00

Remember how much fun you all had boogie boarding in the ocean?

Noah would find the best waves to ride in . . .

He was out there in the big stuff . . .

He even gave surfing a try . . .

You rock Noah!!!

Alex was out there too . . .

riding in on the waves

I couldn't believe how brave she was . . .

They both could keep at it for hours.

So sweet to see Noah helping his little sister so she didn't miss out on any of the boogie boarding fun . . .

She likes it too!

Isn't she a cutie?

You guys were all awesome in the waves. I'd say that boogie board had to be one of the best investments of the summer.

Water Taxi in Jacksonville

2011-05-01T21:53:00.000-07:00

Remember when we took the water taxi?

Pretty tricky how Alex's doll made the ride without falling in the water . . .

Also pretty tricky how the guy on the boat offered to take a picture of all of us and Noah tricked us and got out of the picture without us knowing . . .

Noah like to be a man of mystery -

Beach House on Amelia Island

2011-05-01T15:25:00.000-07:00

Remember how we got to spend a couple of nights at the beach house on Amelia Island?

We could go right out our back door to the beach . . .

And this was our view -

The water and waves were wonderful and we had lots of time to play . . .

We didn't have to take the beach toys and boogie boards too far.

It was like we had a private beach - there was hardly anyone around . . .

Remember the jellyfish?

And all the sea shells? We looked for sharks teeth too - and some nice beachcombers gave one they found to Noah.

Remember seeing this windsurfer come riding down the beach?

And we even spotted some dolphins out in the waves . . .

Everyone loved the water - it was the best!

The Alligator Farm

2011-05-01T12:44:00.000-07:00

Remember the day we went to the Alligator Farm?

I've never seen so many alligators in my life!

Remember when the alligator guy got in the alligator pit with like 73 alligators?

and they were BIG!

Good thing Alex found a nice one . . .

We saw a ton of cool things - and Noah knew all about the snakes and reptiles.

I thought this was the weirdest one of all . . .

and the albino one was pretty cool too . . .

It was a super fun day - I'll never forget it :)

Hey kids - remember this?

2011-05-01T12:09:00.000-07:00

I've just been home a little over a week and I miss Noah, Alex, and Avery like crazy. Spending a week with them in Florida was like giving candy to a baby - now I just can't get enough of them.

See why? . . .

Hey kids - remember this?

When we fed the turtles . . .

This place was SO pretty. . . . I love Florida!

It was such a fun week with all of you. Noah and Alex check every day this next week and see if you remember all the fun stuff I do :) Love you lots!!!

The Big Reveal

2011-04-07T18:13:00.000-07:00

So today I got the very last part of my kitchen makeover done. Hooray!!! Here's the big reveal for my daughters - it's a big difference from the kitchen you grew up in isn't it?

So happy with how it all turned out. Everything is fresh and clean - I'm loving it!

I love my grandkids . . .

2011-03-22T21:10:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend in Utah so we could visit our grandkids - this is Naomi . . .

She is so cute and funny and at 2 yrs old talks as much as her 3 yr old brother. We took this kids to the park and played and had a wonderful day.

John was scoring some Grandpa points . . .

Naomi is fearless and will try everything the older kids are doing.

"King of the Hill"

We went swimming at the hotel pool the next day. Doesn't she look cute in her swimsuit?

It's so much fun being grandparents - next month I am off to see Summer's kids. The Grandma/Grandpa tour has begun :)

This weekend -

2011-03-13T12:05:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend here -

and it was gorgeous. We went for a beautiful drive Friday afternoon around the Lake.

A wonderful quick get away up to Reno to see a girlfriend (and get away from the paint fumes and utter chaos in my house).

But we are making progress -

Here's a photo of my floorless kitchen by request :

I don't want to give anything away - how fun to have a big reveal sometime soon - in the meantime the living room looks like this -

the dining room table looks like this -

but my pantry looks like this -

clean, white, empty . . . I'm so excited. It almost seems a shame to junk it up by refilling it again so I am going to be careful about what comes back in and how its organized. It would be a dream come true (or a fantasy maybe) to have the perfectly organized pantry that looked orderly and even beautiful when you opened the doors. I'm working on it - even though my perfect version may be a little unrealistic. I'm going to give it my best shot.

Time to say goodbye -

2011-03-07T20:21:00.001-08:00

It's time to say goodbye - I've had my knotty pine kitchen for almost 21 years.

It was time for a change. So goodbye pine . . .

My floor has gone from "distressed"

to "hopelessly damaged". Adios!!!

The only down side is living like this for a while -

Everything is out of the kitchen and all over the house -

Time to become a minimalist - I can't believe how much stuff came out of my kitchen cupboards. The best is yet to come :)

So imagine this . . .

2011-03-02T18:24:00.000-08:00

So imagine this if you can - John is standing in our living room checking out the new grips on Landon's driver (like the one below) -

Apparently you check out a driver by swinging it around - which John did - to be followed shortly by the shattering of glass (into tiny little shards) all over the living room. John froze like a deer in the headlights. I started laughing. Landon ran out of the den to see what had happened and saw his Dad standing there with his driver and only 1/2 of a light fixture left above the couch - and he started laughing. You really had to be there - I think John figured I'd be livid - but the truth is I never really liked that fan light anyway - and now I HAVE to get a new one.

If we can make it through this next week without anyone getting shards of glass stuck in them by walking barefoot across the carpet or by sitting on our couch then all is well.

You are all forewarned. Sit on our couch at your own risk :)

Happy Memories/Wonderful Day

2011-02-17T15:11:00.001-08:00

Love that we just got the photos back from Tanner & Josie's wedding day. Brought back happy memories of a wonderful day . . .

This may be my favorite picture (above) I love Josie's smile!

Happy 2 month Anniversary Tanner & Josie!

Christmas Morning

2011-02-07T21:38:00.000-08:00

I will let the photos speak for themselves -

Santa's Visit

2011-01-25T12:01:00.000-08:00

Santa paid our house a visit - and brought some toys to entice the kids to come his way. OIt worked for Boston -

and Naomi was right up on Santa's lap checking him out . . .

This is what happened when we tried to get Madden closer -

So Naomi was the first to open her present -

then Boston joined in -

It was so fun to have Santa here visiting my grandkids. The last time Santa was at our house Michelle was 3 and Tiffany was 5 - now Santa was here in my living room again to visit their kids. It was very nostalgic - it doesn't seem like that long ago.

Even Madden finally agreed - our Santa was awesome! Thanks Santa - what a wonderful night!

Fentons

2011-01-22T22:02:00.001-08:00

Going to Fentons is a family REQUIREMENT when the girls are in town. Their husband have all become converts too and make sure we go whenever they're here.

So here's the 3 son-in-laws with their kids all ready to head off to Fentons.

Everyone is happy at Fentons. We train them young to carry on the family tradition.

The whole clan - I don't know why we have menus - we all know exactly what we want when we get there.

Temple Lights

2011-01-22T21:17:00.000-08:00

Monday night after our dinner at Fentons we took everyone up to see the Temple Lights and the Visitors Center. My camera failed to capture the Temple Christmas lights but we got some cute family pictures -

Paul, Summer, & Avery

Randy, Madden, & Tiffany

Naomi, John, Boston, & Michele

The grandkids: at the fountain -

and at the Visitors Center.

It's been quite a while since we had a Family Night with that much of the family - it was fun.

An Early Christmas in Livermore

2011-01-22T17:20:00.000-08:00

My Mom wanted us to come out to Livermore for a family dinner on a night that we'd have the most great grandkids in town. That was the day after the wedding - nice not having to think about what to feed our crowd. My Mom made a meal similar to a Thanksgiving feast and then she had presents for everyone. It was like an early Christmas!

Avery checking out her new beanie baby . . .

Our Christmas party in full swing . . .

This was my favorite part - all 4 of my Mom and Dad's great grandkids on their laps for a photo op. Yes - that is them trying to hang on to 4 kids all under 3. I had to take the picture fast - but it is priceless!

Thanks Mom and Dad for the great Christmas party!

The Wedding Day

2011-01-22T16:44:00.000-08:00

It was 5 weeks ago today - and I'm finally catching my breath and trying to update the blog so here it goes:

Tanner & Josie's wedding day was perfect!!!! Everything was wonderful - Josie even got her outdoor photos after the forecast had predicted high winds and heavy rain all day. I was expecting the worst and then we got lucky. Don't they look beautiful together?!

The happy couple with their close friends and family -

At the wedding luncheon - all smiles . . .

The reception was a fabulous party - dancing, great food, a "very memorable" slide show, and a happy groom and beautiful bride. I don't think I ever stopped smiling.

Welcome to the family Josie! We're so excited for both of you.

Santa gives books? "Pooh!" says 3-year old

2010-12-23T09:37:00.000-08:00

Saw this clip today - HILARIOUS! Just wanted to share. When things settle down I'll be posting about the wedding, the 5 - yes 5 major things that broke this week, having the whole family here, and Christmas. But that will all have to wait for the house to clear out - until then Merry Christmas!

It's the BIG birthday - Landon is 16 today!

2010-11-19T07:35:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe but our youngest is now officially 16! We celebrated with a family party a few days ago - because teenagers have such busy schedules that school, Basketball practice, and the Football game today all had him tied up from 6 am - 10 pm. So for our family party we had his favorite meal and then opened a few gifts -

Landon was pretty excited about his Dad taking him to a Monday night 49'ers game.

Then the 5 of us (John, me, Landon, Tanner & Josie) went to see this movie at the Lesher theatre for his birthday party (this is an easy kid)

It's hard to believe we've gone from this:

to this

to this . . .

Landon's always been the baby of the family -

Now he is taller than all of his sisters, his Mom & Dad, and closing in fast on his older brother.

He's always been loved and adored by his parents and his siblings because he's always been

so cute and so sweet. What's not to love?

Other facts about Landon that make him so extraordinary . . . .

He has ALWAYS been pretty much a happy easy going kid. The teen age years didn't even mess that up like I was afraid they might. He's still happy, pleasant, and easy to get along with. I told you this is an extraordinary guy.

He's got a funny sense of humor. Pretty quiet - but he takes everything in and then makes observations and comes up with some hilarious insights on what's going on. He cracks us up.

(Of course his Napoleon Dynamite impersonation is one of my favorites)

He is so obedient - when you say take out the trash please - he just gets up and takes out the trash. That may seem like a little thing - but he is like that with everything. He never kicks back or tries to get out of things - he just does what we ask. Another our-of character thing for a teenager that I truly appreciate about Landon.

He is the most appreciative kid ever. I can't count how may times he said Thank You for helping him with his Eagle Project. But a couple of days ago he asked me if I would make him some chocolate chip cookie dough. I did - and then he thanked me - and thanked me again - and again. I counted - he thanked me 6 separate times over the course of the afternoon and evening. He's been like this since he was little - but I still can't get over it. It's amazing to me every time that he is good about expressing his appreciation. I'll make cookie dough for him any time!

He's always chose great friends - pretty smart of him :)

He's a great uncle - his nieces and nephews adore him.

See what I mean . . .

You're the BEST Landon. We love you!!!! Happy 16th Birthday :)

Our Double Date . . .

2010-10-31T20:49:00.001-07:00

It's sort of a family tradition to take out our children and their fiancee's for a special double date in order to get to know them better. We had a lot more time with Josie then we've had with any of our future son-in-laws that lived out of state but we thought it was a great tradition to keep going anyway - so it was more of a celebration of their engagement than a get-to-know-you. So Saturday afternoon we headed out.

We decided to take them to see Beach Blanket Babylon in San Francisco.

We wanted to do something with them they had never done before. The show - which is a musical spoof on the days current events didn't disappoint - it was hilarious.

The costumes and songs were outrageously funny.

and guess where we sat? On the front row! I've never sat on the front row of anything before - it was cool.

And of course they are famous for their unbelievably big hats. It was great fun!

Then after the show we went and had a memorable dinner at Boulevard - we got the best table in the house - and they brought out Tanner and Josie's desserts with little Congratulations signs on them - made out of chocolate of course.

Don't they make a cute couple! We're so happy for both of them.

Welcome to the family Josie :)

I love a view!

2010-10-17T16:38:00.000-07:00

I LOVE a view . . . .

This was our view on Friday afternoon and Saturday. We went into San Francisco to celebrate our anniversary. John has a golf buddy that has offered for years to let him come stay at his condo in San Francisco since he flies home on the weekend.

This is the view from his place. AWESOME! I could have just stared out the window all weekend. We almost did. We relaxed, walked, talked, read and stared out at the bay a lot.

the morning fog . . .

I entertained the fantasy of retiring in a high rise in San Francisco.

Then I imagined living the gypsy life and living in a cool city for a year and then moving to the next cool city for the next year . . . I figure our kids and grandkids would come to visit us if we always lived somewhere cool. What do you think?

It was nice to have 24 hrs of total down time - no TV (even though there was one), lots of walking, talking, and being spoiled at a really great greek restaurant just across the street from where we stayed.

A very memorable 31st anniversary! Thanks John.

The romance continues . . .

2010-10-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

I got these flowers delivered to me today. Big surprise! And seriously the biggest bouquet I've ever seen. They are gorgeous - the pictures don't do it justice at all.

5 white roses to represent our 5 children, 6 yellow roses to represent our 6 grandchildren.

31 roses in all to represent 31 years of marriage.

Life is good! Especially when you're married to an incredibly thoughtful, generous and romantic guy. It's a very Happy Anniversary :) Thanks John - I love you!

The Mississippi River

2010-09-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

Paul arranged for us to take a little scenic cruise down the Mississippi River. We were right at the mouth of where the river starts - so it was smaller than I would have imagined - bt very pretty and we couldn't have gotten any luckier for great weather.

The river along downtown Minneapolis -

We had to go thru the locks to go up the river. We dropped down about 20 feet or so. It was amazing that they could control all that water - here's how it looked as we just started to go down.

Paul, Summer, Alex and Avery

What a wonderful day!

Mall of America Rides

2010-09-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

We spent Saturday at the Mall of America where there is a big amusement park in the middle of the mall. Noah was tall enough to go on all the fast scary rides - and he did them all! He loved every minute of it.

Alex went with us girls to do the kiddie rides. She was so funny on them. Wish you could have seen her on this mini drop zone ride - BIG EYES as it lifted her up and then laughing hysterically as it dropped her down - repeated 5 times. Hilarious!

She loved the bumper cars too.

Look at her squeal on the log ride with her Mom.

This was just the fun we had in the morning - I'll tell you more about the afternoon in another post.

Avery . . .

2010-09-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

Here's Avery with her Grandpa . . .

and at the pool . . .

Here they are ready to go off to church -

Avery was the most changed of the kids - when we last saw her in February she was only 4 months old and now she is almost 1! She is walking around the furniture and has the cutest smile! I love that she still has her strawberry blonde hair - don't know where she got the red hair but I love it!

at the Zoo with our grandkids . . .

2010-09-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I have such a hard time after a trip to "catch up" when I get home and get the trip blogged. We had such a blast in Minneapolis visiting Summer, Paul, and our 3 grandkids there. They were so funny - I decided I'd share a few funny things from each day . . .

First a disclaimer - it may appear from these blog posts that Alex is the "favorite" since she is in most of the photos. Well - the real reason is that she loves it when I take her picture :)

Noah and Avery are - shall we say - less cooperative so rather than bug them on this trip I had to settle for only a few photos I managed to trick them into -

So our first day in Minneapolis we took the kids to a really cute zoo. They all loved it. Noah amazed his with his knowledge of wildlife - "That's a green anaconda! They spend most of their time underwater." We checked the zoo sign - sure enough - he was exactly right.

Alex loves everyone and everything - can you tell? She is so cute!

Training Fish - When the kids put their hands in the water the fish would swim right up to them (looking for food I'm sure). The kids had it figured another way - they decided they were "training fish" and when they wiggled their fingers in the water they would "train" the fish to swim to them. Here's the worlds future fish trainers:

This was a beautiful atrium with a gorgeous garden, fountains, and a life size statue at the end of the fountains . . . .

Alex asked me to read the plaque that was next to this life size statue.

I said it says "Jane Kilpatrick 1925 'Playing in the Summertime' "

Alex asked - "What does that mean?"

Faye - "It means a lady made this sculpture a long time ago"

Alex - pondering - "Yeah, but how'd she turn her self into a statue?"

The kids said FUNNY stuff like that constantly - it was hilarious!

Thank you all so much!

2010-09-05T22:02:00.000-07:00

The summer is now really over and Landon and I wanted to thank you all again for your generous support of Landon's Eagle Project.

It was a wonderful success and nothing says it more than these pictures from Ethiopia:

Michele had an incredible experience on her trip and each day spent at a different orphanage was a memorable experience. Michele had enough toys to give to ALL of the children they saw in all the orphanages during their 8 days in Ethiopia. We could have never accomplished that without all of you - thank you all so much.

All of the children were thrilled with their new toys and clothes.

Aren't these children absolutely adorable!

They got lots of love and affection . . .

along with the toys, clothes, and food that was brought in. Their group was also able to make some much needed permanent improvements at each orphanage.

Absolutely thrilled would be a better way to describe these girls.

Michele said this little girl just squeezed her dolls tight all day with this huge smile. I just wanted all of you to see what sheer joy looks like . . .

Thanks for all you did to help us to be able to make this happen. It was a wonderful experience for all of us - your support was overwhelming. After 200 lbs of toys made it to Ethiopia we still had 11 boxes of toys that a Children's Shelter in Oakland was thrilled to receive.

I was hoping that Landon would have an Eagle Project that felt meaningful to him - and we certainly achieved that. I am so grateful to all of you.

THANK YOU each and every one of you!

Hobble Creek Half Marathon

2010-08-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

9 days ago we were in Utah for John, Michele, and Tiffany to run in the Hobblecreek Half Marathon. Landon and I came to play with the kids and cheer in our runners.

(I am a slacker when it comes to running - I'm sticking to my 1 hr work outs thank you)

Tiffany came in strong . . . (in fact she is going to run in a full marathon next month)

Michele came across the finish line with a smile on her face. She told me later the first 8 miles she was thinking it was the funnest thing she had ever done in her life - after mile 8 her opinion changed a bit.

John's my hero. He can do a LOT of things I can't do - this is just one of them. He pushed himself hard and did it (even when he had the occasional last minute second thoughts about this whole thing - he hung in there and did it). I'm proud of you - you'll never see me out there running for 13+ miles.

Here's our runners - happy to be finished!

I am proud of all of them. While I was visiting Tiffany in Chicago she was getting up at 5 am to get her running in before the heat - and Michele - with 2 kids under age 2 - I don't know how she managed to train at all. Not to mention John fitting yet another thing into an already over loaded schedule. It was quite extraordinary that they all did what they did.

As for me - I will never hear people cheering for me, yelling at me "Good Job! Finish strong", no clapping as I cross the finish line.

but the marathon was a great excuse to get together with the kids and grandkids. And when we left to go home Naomi cried -HARD - I mean really sad and distraught that we were leaving.

That's enough for me :)

Oh what do you do in the summertime?

2010-08-23T23:39:00.001-07:00

I found these shirts in Chicago - I HAD to get the "Boston" shirt for Boston and of course the "Chicago" shirt was perfect for Madden -our little Chicago grandson.

We all think the cousins look more alike now that they have the same haircut.

Putting them on the stairs seemed to be my best bet for getting any pictures - they are both on the run all the time.

A hot day requires popsicles - (which requires stripping down to their diapers so we don't ruin their clothes)

Good call don't you think?

Hamming it up . . .

Grandpa was ready for a water fight -

Boston took on everyone.

Nothing like the simple pleasures of a summer afternoon.

Summer Fun

2010-08-23T22:56:00.000-07:00

Thursday we took the kids to an indoor pool/play area - and they LOVED it!

How cute is she with her little water shoes?

Madden was fearless.

Enjoying the lazy river -

There was a big water slide that was really fast. Boston loved it - as he splashed down he would scream "Again!"

Madden was not quite as sure.

Even Naomi gave it a try.

We wore the kids out. Naomi was tired and she just snuggled up to Landon.

(I love this picture)

Landon was a BIG help. I waded around with my camera taking pictures - but Landon was there to take the kids on water slides, down the lazy river, and make sure every kid was having fun and had a big person to hang on to (the girls would have been out numbered without him). It was a fun day.

Don't you just love a warm summer night?

2010-08-23T22:29:00.001-07:00

Tiffany and Madden came to Utah for the upcoming Half Marathon and John, Landon, and I arrived on Wednesday afternoon in time to enjoy a warm summer evening of playing in the yard with the kids.

Naomi was giving out kisses to everyone . . .

Bu there were a few melt downs - pretty funny I must admit.

This is Boston when he is really ticked . . .

But mostly we just played . . .

Check out the wind up that Boston uses . . .

There's nothing like a warm summer night and being together with the family.

Family time with Tiff, Randy, and Madden

2010-08-20T16:44:00.001-07:00

This fountain at Millennium Park is like nothing I've ever seen before. It's huge - and the images on the two matching towers keep changing.

On a hot day it was the perfect place to splash around a bit.

Madden loved it! He just goes in a straight line so if someone was in his path they had to move.

Every so often the water would spout out - the kids would all gather under it and scream. It was pretty entertaining just to people watch here.

But of course I thought this little guy was the cutest one there.

I can't thank Tiff and Randy enough for entertaining me for the week - I had a blast!

Of course this little guy was the main attraction.

He has changed so much since I last saw him in February. He has the cutest personality.

I'm in love!

Chicago Highlights . . .

2010-08-20T16:33:00.000-07:00

Tiffany and I took in a lot of sights - Madden was willing to go for hours and hours in his stroller - such a mellow kid.

Here we are at the Bean in Millennium Park

It is a pretty cool piece of modern art. It reflects the cityscape and everyone around it.

This is the optical illusion you see from the underside.

It is such a beautiful city.

I love taking the water taxis.

The architecture is just amazing.

Getting back to why I love Chicago . . .

2010-08-20T16:15:00.001-07:00

The food was amazing . . .

we ate at some awesome brunch places

I thought I took more food pictures but apparently we just were scarfing it down - this dessert was heaven - the italian version of beignets.

I loved the different neighborhoods and the unique shopping -

I loved the architecture everywhere.

And of course best of all was this little guy -

too cute for words . . .

Chicago is the best!!!

2010-08-14T21:02:00.001-07:00

Here's the reason I went to Chicago:

Madden is now 15 months old now and needs to get to know his Grandma better - so I decided going to Chicago while Landon and John were on their HIgh Adventure trip would be the perfect time.

Madden is quite the Mama's boy - so it took a little while to get him to warm up to me.

It was fun just hanging out with Tiff, Randy and Madden - what a cutie!

We enjoyed Sunday together and went for a beautiful walk in their neighborhood that afternoon. I LOVED that it was warm (what the heck happened with our summer weather in Calif?) and they have the most beautiful neighborhoods - I love the architecture there.

Madden is so sweet and so much like Tiffany was at that age. I could just watch him all day -

but that is not what we ended up doing. Madden was so mellow - we could take him anywhere - and we crammed in all kinds of exploring together. Can't wait to tell you all about it - stay tuned :)

August 1st!! Where did the time go?

2010-08-01T20:08:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it is August already! The month has flown by and I've been so on the go that nothing has been blogged about either - so here is what I have been up to -

(the abridged version)

Spent a week in Utah - a few days helping Michele get ready for her big trip to Ethiopia and the rest of the week playing with and watching her 2 adorable kids. We kept very busy.

We played blocks . . .

We went for walks in the neighborhood, went to the park, colored on the driveway with chalk . .

had picnics in the backyard (under the shade of the trampoline since it was over 100 degrees) -

another good reason to run through the sprinklers . . .

played play dough . . .

watched movies and read LOTS of books . . . .

Like I said we were busy - but look how adorable these two are:

Another bonus - was my best friend from my college days at BYU - Hawaii was in Utah visiting her daughter. Jayne is from Australia and married Frank whose Air Force days had them living all over the place - but always far away. She was my Maid of Honor at my wedding - we've shared so many good times it is hard to believe it had been 13 years since we've seen each other.

And we figured out it had been 25 years since I'd seen her husband Frank (also an old friend from the college years). Wow - time has gone by so fast - but I feel lucky we got to squeeze in an evening reunion and do some catching up. Nothing like true blue friends that always remain. Jayne is one of those :)

I enjoyed the rest of the week with the kids - they are so funny together . . .

It's like "Grandma Heaven" to sit on the front porch on a warm summer evening with your two grandkids enjoying their popsicles - I could do that every day - there's something so sweet and nostalgic about it and brings back memories of my own popsicle days when my kids were little

It was awfully hard to say goodbye to these two - but I had to get back home and be off again . . .

I was home long enough to un-pack and re-pack and head off Monday morning for a week at girl camp where I got to spend time with some very fun ladies . . .

and wonderful girls. I went 7 years in a row - but I haven't been back for 8 years so it was fun to see what traditions remained and what was new.

Back home again the next week so Landon wouldn't forget me. Our big project - loading up all the big toys and extra donations that came in for his Eagle project that we couldn't ship to Ethiopia. We had 11 boxes of toys that made a Children's Shelter in East Oakland very happy. Thanks again to everyone - still giving Michele a chance to catch her breath and then get pictures of the toys going out to the orphanages in Ethiopia.

Throw in some wedding planning and shopping for bridal gowns with Josie (which I am totally enjoying) and it has been a busy month.

Tomorrow Landon and John head off on a High Adventure trip and I head out to Chicago to see Tiffany, Randy, and Madden. Can't wait - my only complaint is the summer is disappearing much to quickly

Michele is in Ethiopia - I'm in Utah

2010-07-16T13:51:00.000-07:00

Michele headed off early Wednesday morning for her trip to Ethiopia. I'm so excited to hear all about it. Here she is in D.C. with the other volunteers before they continued on their 24 hr long trip to Addis Ababa.

I came out on Sunday night to bring out all the toys Landon had collected for his Eagle project to ship off with Michele and other volunteers.

Naomi thought all the toy were great fun!

We sorted and packed and weighed and re-weighed until we had all the suitcases as full and as heavy as the airlines would allow.

I just want to thank everyone for all their help. We certainly could never have done this alone. Thanks for the toy drop offs, the cash donations (I had a lot of fun shopping for this project), and all the time the scouts and young women donated to pick up, sort, count, pack, and weigh at home. We ended up with over 2900 items.

The girls were so excited as they re-packed to think about being able to give these to the orphans they would see in just a few days. I am sure pictures will be coming soon but just wanted to tell everyone thanks so much. Michele got super excited about the trip - I guess seeing all these toys made what they were going to do seem real.

Thanks so much everyone !!!

It's Official!

2010-07-07T19:45:00.000-07:00

Tanner and Josie are officially engaged! We couldn't be happier :)

So save the date - December 18th -

when Tanner will add the wedding band to this engagement ring.

We're so happy for Tanner and I'm happy for me too. My first daughter-in-law! I couldn't have picked anyone better - Josie is incredible. Thanks Tanner - and welcome to the family Josie! We love you!

Sun Valley

2010-06-27T19:00:00.000-07:00

This is where we spent a few days last week. What made it so wonderful?

#1 It is in Sun Valley! It was spectacularly gorgeous there. Everything looked like this:

#2 This is right across the street - you can't see it but there is a trail and it we (John and I) walked jogged around the mountain and thru town - an 8 mile loop. It was so gorgeous I didn't care how long we were out running/walking. I LOVED this place.

3. There was pond for Boston to throw rocks in the "wogger" which he would be happy to do 24/7 with his Grandpa.

4. Our backyard faced a gold course and at night we took it over. An impromptu game of baseball -

(This was Michele's home run)

5. One afternoon we heard someone calling - we were looking around and then saw that Landon and Tanner Chatterly were at the top of the mountain - (those 2 specks are them).

6. They also hopped on the bikes a few times and road around on the trails

(truthfully the expressions on their face tell the true story - they wish they had been in Sun Valley for the winter season to snowboard - they weren't crazy about the small town/quiet summer vibe).

but admit it guys - this picture with everyone smiling is proof you still had fun.

#7 Spending more time with the grandkids. We've been lucky lately. This all happened because Michele and John decided to drive out to California to surprise John on his birthday/Father's day weekend. Tanner told them we would be in Idaho that weekend at his best friends wedding so we figured out a place in Idaho to meet up with them and make it all happen.

Isn't she just the cutest?

And him?

#8 Being with the grandkids any where is a blast - but I really loved Sun Valley. Thanks for coming to spending the Father's Day weekend with us - it was great!

Father's Day

2010-06-27T18:54:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we drove to Rexburg to attend Alden and Ashley's wedding. Alden was Tanner's best friend all through High School - we wanted to be there.

The Temple was beautiful . . .

The bride and groom looked so happy - along with their families. We were so happy for all of them. Tanner got to see some friends he hasn't seen since before his mission. It was a great day for everyone.

Back to Sun Valley to hang with the family some more.

Landon and Naomi after church (in a very small ward).

So here we all are . . . (photo courtesy of Tanner Chatterly who came up with us)

and here's the gang with me behind the camera.

Hope it was a memorable birthday/Father's Day John :) We all love you!

Lucky Me

2010-06-23T08:50:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago (I know I am way delayed on this post) my girlfriend Linda called me -

the cute one here on the left. She was in town and wanted to know if I could get away and meet her and her sister Shelly for dinner. Well I jumped at the chance and got out of my obligations for the evening. This is the first time in about 18 years (if I am remembering right) that the three of us have all been together again. Much too long!

19 years ago the three of us took a trip together. It was the trip of a lifetime - a whirlwind tour of Europe - my first time there. I can't believe it's been that long ago but all the wonderful memories are still there. As we talked about some of our fun experiences on that trip it was funny how it didn't seem like all that long ago. It made us all want to go and pull out some pictures from our adventure - so here are a few:

Here we are in Nice, France

This was a fabulous day in Bath, England . . .

----

Here we are in Rome . . .

and shopping in Florence, Italy.

It's great to have long time friends - even better that despite the time and distance we can still pick up right where we left off - and reminisce about the past and talk about the present.

Thanks for the reunion Linda - it was so much fun!

In case you didn't notice the "baby bump" in the first picture Shelly is having her 1st babies - twin girls. I am pretty certain this is going to get "Aunt Linda" out to California a lot more often in the next little while. I hope to see a lot more of both of them. I love them both -

Lucky me to have such great friends.

PS - Happy Birthday today Linda. You're still just as young and fun as ever.

A Quick Trip to Utah

2010-06-02T16:34:00.000-07:00

I did something totally spontaneous last week - I went off to Utah with less than a day's notice. (Thanks everyone for covering for me and making it possible) - I was so glad I went. I had a fantastic time.

Michele and John put us up at their home where we had the pleasure of being with Boston and Naomi all the time - so fun!

We love all the time we get to spend with them (even though it still isn't enough)

Naomi loves to be held, and played with.

She is definitely a cuddler - it is so sweet.

We had a blast with Boston . . .

He loved the ballon stuff I got him - although Michele may be sick of it about now.

Then to top it all off Summer and Paul had just flown into Utah to visit his family and we got to meet up with them for a wonderful breakfast - on Summer's Birthday! Perfect ending to a wonderful 3 days with the family. Thanks everyone!

Last 2 days in Mexico

2010-04-23T21:51:00.000-07:00

Sunday we went to church in Tanner's last area of Chicoloapan. We met lots more wonderful members and converts. We also met up with these awesome missionaries.

Elder Gutierrez, Elder Duce, Tanner, Elder Given, Elder Hilari

It was so fun to see them together - they were so happy.

At the end of the day we drove out to the temple grounds on our way back to the hotel.

It was a big temple and the grounds were beautiful.

We got permission from the Mission President to have the Elders join us downtown on their

P-day for breakfast before we had to leave for the airport (it took them 2 hours from their area on the metro to get to the financial district of Mexico City where our hotel was). We rewarded their efforts by taking them out to brunch where they could load up on some good food - it was fun. We got to hear lots of mission stories, and just get to know them a little better. Tanner said they were the best missionaries out there and after being around them I can see why - it was wonderful to spend our last day in Mexico with them.

Wow - do I like shrimpy next to Elder Given or what?

Wish I could tell you some of the wonderful things these Elders said about their mission service. But once again I would fail to do them justice - just ask me about it. They were incredible.

The trip to Mexico City far surpassed all my expectations. It was more spiritual, more fun, more emotional, and more rewarding than I would have ever expected. To see Tanner back in "missionary mode" was pretty special to witness too. Can't say enough about it all - but the blogging is officially done :)

The Best Day of our Trip

2010-04-23T20:08:00.001-07:00

Tanner took us out to visit his families from his mission and it was an unforgettable experience. In fact I hesitate to try and describe any of it because I won't be able to do it justice. Please ask me about it - I'd love to tell you about some of these remarkable people we met. I am hoping some of these pictures will give you a feel for what the day was like for us.

For example - Tanner pulled up here and told us to wait in the car and he would see if anyone was home. I was in the back seat of the car looking for something in my purse when I heard screaming. I looked up to see a little girl fling herself into Tanner's arms and she just kept squealing. A second later her brother comes flying out and jumps into Tanner's arms too. Then they are both just hanging onto him and screaming - and then a mother and older sister come out and they are both in tears - and Tanner - well I don't know if I've ever seen him look so happy. It was an incredible thing to witness.

We were invited in to visit. LaPerla never let go of Tanner.

She is 6 now - Isn't she just darling?

The mother is Concepcion. Tanner baptized Concepcion and her son Omar (age 9) and her daughter Brenda (18) when he served in this area. It was about 9 months ago and he hadn't seen them since then. Tanner didn't tell anyone he was coming so it was quite the surprise. He interpreted for us as we visited. I cried as I shared my testimony and gratitude to her for accepting the gospel and bringing such joy to my son. She cried and said - "thank you for sending us your son. We have the gospel now and it has changed our lives." A lot more things were said and shared and it was very emotional.

So were the goodbyes. . . .

The day continued on like that as each house we visited there were hugs and tears.

Tanner baptized Fatima and her mother Isaura.

Diego is 6 now - his mother said he really missed Elder Hunt.

the whole family . . .

Tanner was so adored by all the kids.

This is Paula and her family. She was baptized along with her daughters.

They really wanted a picture with everyone in it so we asked a little boy in the neighborhood to take this picture. We were cracking up because it looked like he wasn't even pointing the camera at us - it was his 1st time using a camera that was for sure.

This is at the apartment of Betty - her son had just returned from serving his mission in Texas. Her sister's family came up to visit as well (along with their 96 year old grandma). We had a great time visiting - they were wonderful to Tanner while he served in their area of Las Aguilas. (ask me about what Betty did for my son ) - that made me cry too. They were awesome!

This is Bero and her daughter Marlen. It was such an emotional thing for me to have the opportunity to thank her (and many others) for being a "Mom" to my son while he was in Mexico. It was obvious how much they really loved their "Elder Hunt". And we loved them.

Little miracles all day long - like the fact that Tanner wanted to surprise everyone - and each time we went to a home - they were all there. We didn't miss anyone.

Like I said - words can't begin to express all that we experienced that day as we visited these wonderful families and converts from Tanner's mission. It was definitely the high point of the whole trip - and we all agreed that it was the best day of the whole trip. Simply incredible.

The "Touristy" part of our trip -

2010-04-15T17:57:00.000-07:00

I know I am giving you far more photos and information than you probably want - but I had trouble eliminating al the interesting stuff we saw - so I decided to post the touristy 1/2 of the trip that I have blogged about so far. The las couple days will follow a little later.

Mexico Day 1

2010-04-14T17:56:00.000-07:00

We started off our adventure by getting up at 3 am to leave for the San Francisco airport by 3:30. Ugh! We flew to Phoenix and then on to Mexico City. After we picked up our rental car the excitement began as we drove in some seriously crazy traffic thru some "interesting" neighborhoods.

The sights after landing in Mexico City -

Did you see that?

Yup - that IS a car upside down in the street. Pretty crazy!

After we got settled into our hotel a cab driver took us near by to what was the "Beverly Hills" of Mexico City where we ate the BEST taco's ever!

They 1st bring you grilled onions - in this delicious sauce. They were amazing.

This pork is roasted on a big spit and they carve off the meat for the tacos.

Then they add sliced pineapple that was also grilled. They were awesome!

They're called tacos al pastor - aren't they pretty?

Tanner put a lot of them away!

Then we strolled thru the neighborhood - very pretty.

Mexico Day 2

2010-04-14T17:46:00.000-07:00

The first thing we realized when we left our hotel to explore the sights of downtown Mexico Wednesday morning - is that crossing the many lanes of traffic is like playing "Frogger". People dash across a few lanes - then stop in the middle of the street - with cars whizzing by them at 40 mph - until they see an opening to dash across a little farther without getting run over - trust me - this picture I tried to get just doesn't do the experience justice.

"Frogger" - crossing the streets in Mexico

Right down from our hotel is this Angel statue - it is the "Angel of Independence" and it is like their Statue of Liberty -

she's very beautiful

Downtown Mexico is an interesting mix of old and new -

Next we went to the "Towre Latino Americano". It is the tallest building in Latin America.

It took quite some time to convince John to go up in the elevators because he was getting claustrophobic just watching the people squish into them. Tanner used his excellent spanish to convince someone to let us go up in the elevator with just the 4 of us. John was pretty ticked when he found out once we got up that far we had to get into an even smaller elevator to get to the very top lookout here:

Mexico City just stretches on as far as the eye can see - it is pretty amazing. It is a city of 30 million people - the only city with a bigger population is Tokyo.

I was pretty impressed Tanner talked his Dad up here. Tanner didn't want any of us to miss a thing in Mexico - he was a great tour guide.

We went thru an enormous cathedral - (which I didn't get a good picture of) and then we went through a torture museum and walked along more of the streets of Mexico City before the day was over.

After we got cleaned up a bit we went to the Polanco district - a very upscale area with beautiful houses.

Then we took a break from spicy Mexican food and ate at a French restaurant. The desserts were amazing . . .

This photo has special meaning to us - it was pretty funny - but you had to be there.

"This is AWESOME"

Mexico Day 3

2010-04-14T17:26:00.000-07:00

Thursday -

-

This is Tanner's favorite taco spot so he took us here for lunch to have this:

this -

and this -

Tanner shows us how it is done.

Landon loved it too.

Unfortunately for me after a visit with a Dr. that morning I was told to back off on the spicy Mexican food and while they ate the best tacos ever I only had this for lunch -

But thanks to meds from the Dr. I was feeling up to walking around the downtown and we visited a market.

There were some pretty things I would have liked to buy -

but mostly the markets were full of random stuff that I can do without -

but this T-shirt did make me laugh -

When we came back to the hotel as I walked into our room my neck had a major spasm and I had a pinched nerve - and it hurt like crazy. I knew it was bad - however finding a chiropractor in Mexico City didn't seem to promising. Anyway - who needs a Dr. AND a Chiropractor all in the same day???? And when you're on vacation!

My men were off to my rescue - Tanner went to get muscle relaxants somewhere, got ice and John kept ice-packing my neck, and Landon and the guys carried my bags for me the rest of the trip. They were extremely sweet - when I felt like I was ruining the trip. How I love them :)

Mexico Day 4

2010-04-14T16:00:00.000-07:00

Xochimilco - is a place where lots of the locals go to have parties. In this little town you go and rent a boat and cruise down the canals in these colorful boats (if you are splurging you would decorate your boat with colorful flowers).

we asked our boat man how many boats there are there and he told us thousands - the day we were there it was a pretty quiet day.

You coast down the river and then people come up to your boat in their boats and try to sell you things - like blankets . . .

or flowers . . .

or mariachi bands will play music for you.

We bought roasted corn from this woman

These two guys played us a song -

There was interesting stuff along the riverbanks - little shrines -

beautiful scenery

pretty houses

and not so pretty -

We made a few stops along the way - one was at a little nursery that had gorgeous flowers.

Another little nursery specialized in bonsai trees. I thought that was pretty random. But Mexico is full of random - Stuff like this:

There were dolls and stuffed animals all nailed into the trees in this grove. What the heck?! We got a good laugh out of that one. It was a beautiful day and a wonderful way to spend it.

That took up our morning and then for the afternoon we went to this pretty colonial town of Coyoacan -

We went through the cathedral in town square and watched a wedding taking place.

It was a very pretty fairly quiet town for Mexico,

however - just like everywhere we were in the City there were tons of cops. All over. And the thing that I really couldn't get over is they ALL had little machine guns and wore bullet proof vests - I kept thinking how hot it must be for them in their dark uniforms and those thick bullet proof vests. Tanner said he's never notices that - funny huh?

Of course we went to the market there too -

Even though the stuff sold at the market started to sort of repeat I still loved all the colors you would see

and it was a fun place to people watch.

My guys hamming it up -

Goofing with the boys -

outside the cathedral

More To Come

2010-04-14T14:58:00.001-07:00

Blogging is time consuming!!!

Especially when you have 549 pictures to choose from - and when you have to ice your neck every 40 min (I got a pinched nerve on day 2 of our Mexico trip - very unfortunate timing). It HURTS and hunching over the computer is not the best thing for me to be doing at the moment - so I thought I would post John's thoughts to some of our pictures - he sent our daughters an e-mail yesterday listing his top 10 favorites of our trip - so here you go.

Much more to follow . . . . eventually.

John's Mexico Top 10

2010-04-14T13:33:00.000-07:00

The top 10 highlights of the trip for me are as follows:

1. Watching Tanners investigators reaction on their face when they saw him again.

2. Little children leaping into his arms with nonstop kisses and hugs.

3. Long hugs and tears when it was time to say goodbye.

4. Happy people who have almost nothing of worldly value.

5. Incredible food, like no other Mexican food I have ever had.

6. Tanner teaching us Spanish, and the fun we had trying to use it.

7. Hanging with your Mom and the two boys….lots of fun and laughs.

8. Breakfast with four outstanding missionaries.

9. Absolutely crazy traffic conditions.

10. The smell of Mexico

The colors of Mexico

2010-04-09T18:18:00.000-07:00

We're in Mexico having a fantastic time! This is just a little sample of what we are enjoying (besides the perfect weather). I LOVE the bright colors here everywhere.

Much more to come :)