Some Holiday Fun

We enjoyed the lights at a nearby shopping area...it was even cold---feeling just like Christmas:)

We kicked off the holidays with a Christmas Eve trip to see my all-time favorite musical Les Miserables in Dallas. As usual, it did not disappoint. Grant was trying to get out of going, but secretly I think he really did enjoy himself. (But he didn't cooperate when I wanted to take his picture)

Christmas Day started early and we moved quickly...Church was at 9am so the unwrapping started about 6am. It was so nice to attend Church...I really liked it:)

I am a terrible picture taker on Christmas morning...always have been:( So I didn't even take one of Garrett...but we can all atest to the fact that he was indeed there:) This Father Christmas is in honor of him for he was Father Christmas in the school play of Narnia...sorry Bear.

Grant is a college football junkie! His "Santa" gifts were two jerseys...one was Dennis Pitta (not college, but former BYU Cougar) and his current most prized posession is his Navy (as in the college football team and not the color) "Nike Pro Combat" jersey...if I had a dollar for every time I have heard "Nike Pro Combat", I would indeed be a rich woman! But instead, I am only an insane one.

A festive William...representing the street...Sesame Street...

And Christine...thanks for the sock monkey hat Grant:)
And a Happy New Year to everyone! We went WAY outside of our comfort zone and hosted a New Year's Eve party...trying to entertain our company:) I doubted that we would be able to make it until midnight...but low and behold, we were kicking people out at 12:30...:) We did a white elephant gift exchange and of course ate and ate and William and NaKya introduced the "signs" game to everyone...that was the hit, especially with the Cottrell cousins. We made a bunch of noise and then cleaned up and sent everyone home:) We have 9am church and I had a gospel doctrine lesson to teach...ugh...but it was lots of fun and who knows, we may do it again next year.

Papa-William-NaKya-Grandma

Cousin Nathan "drinking" with Christine

Three of the Tryon kids:)

Some of the crowd...

Lari and Dave Tanner

Most Preferred Man

While we were in Utah for Thanksgiving Grant made an interesting discovery...his very own Papa was named "Most Preferred Guy" at Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho many years ago. Grant was so impressed that he took a picture of the yearbook as proof and then insisted that the bakery put that very inscription on his birthday cake:) Grant is pretty proud of the fact that his old grandpa was popular among the ladies back in the day.

I do recognize that we switched the "guy" and the "man" part...oops...but you get the message...Papa was and still is a handsome guy/man:) And we love him.

This says it all....Happy New Year!

"This year, mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Be kind. Be gentle. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love and then speak it again."
- Howard W. Hunter

Bowl Game time!

We had a great time at the Armed Forces Bowl here in Dallas at SMU. The best part being that BYU beat Tulsa in the final possession of the game. Grant and his cousins had a great time waiting for the team to come out of the locker room...they got lots of autographs and met a lot of players. My personal highlight was seeing some old friends from our Wymount Terrace days...Les and Sheralyn Brown. Their son Braden plays offensive line for BYU. Sheralyn and I talked just like old times...that's what friends do...pick up where they left off:) It was great being with Papa and Grandma and the Cottrells too. I think we made some great memories:)

They're Engaged!

After several months of dating...it is official. William asked NaKya Nelson to marry him, and she accepted:) We couldn't be happier. She is a delightful girl and she adores William. No firm date is set yet...late April or early May in the St. George Temple!

The ring

Home for the Holidays

It is always nice to have all of my chicks under the same roof. William arrived home from Snow Saturday and we are so happy to have him for a few weeks. Truth be told, he is more "at home" away from home. He loves us, we know that, but he for sure has moved on...we are an intense family, and that drives him a little crazy. He is missing his "girl"...she is coming on the 30th for a few days...hopefully our family won't run her off:) We are just about done with Christmas preparations...and looking forward to visits from Papa and Grandma Casper, and of course, NaKya...life is good and we are blessed. Merry Christmas to all!

Family Time...St. George

We headed off into the wild blue yonder looking forward to spending a week with family in St. George...we pride ourselves on keeping our cars in good repair. Fears of repeating what I experienced a time or two as a child (sitting by the side of busy highways with broken down cars) has been my motivation. Well, I suppose our good luck ran out. About 20 miles this side of Amarillo our super reliable car DIED! We were so bummed...we are so unfamiliar with car problems that I looked at Bill and said "Now what do we do?" Before he could answer we heard Christine from the back of the car say "Call Allstate. We have roadside assistance." When I asked her how she knew that, she said she had seen it on a commercial:) Too funny. I did call Allstate, and although we don't really have roadside assistance, the nice lady was able to help us...Thank goodness for modern technology. Between Bill's iPhone and iPad, we were able to figure out where we were...because it really was the middle of nowhere...this is Taxas we are talking about! After a very long and uninteresting story as well as a 2+hour wait along a busy highway, we drove out of Amarillo in a brand, spanking new GMC Yukon XL...we had no idea how many of the gadgets worked...actually, I still am not sure of many things. But all was well and we handled what could have been a very stressful situation surprisingly well.

Passing time while awaiting the tow truck...

Still waiting...in the middle of nowhere:)

A nice shot of Christine's shoes...

And here she is...all loaded up:( That truck in the picture will be our ride into Amarillo. We had to pay $100 extra for the extra car...little did we know Bill would be driving. What a silly arrangement. I was certain we would add a speeding ticket to the day's tab...the tow truck driver was leading the way---we had no idea where we were going---so in order to keep up with him, Bill was speeding down the highway! We arrived w/o a ticket and ready to buy. We were in and out of the dealership in about 1 1/2 hours. Not an ideal way to purchase a new car...but hey, we are not your "normal" folks:)

Although we were staying in St. George, we headed south to Vegas to see Cirque du Soliel's "Love" (it's a tribute to The Beatles.) I was a lot of fun...Bill and I aren't big fans of Vegas...in fact, we couldn't wait to get out of there, but we did enjoy the show.

We met 2 former Dallas missionaries for breakfast. Milton Williams and Mark Metcalf are both living in St. George and attending Dixie State. It was great seeing them. We have been so blessed with great young men serving in our ward...Grant is especially close to these two guys:)

A quick visit to Southern Utah University. 50 miles north of St. George...both William and Christine will most likely be attending there in the fall.

A cool replica of Shakespear's Globe Theatre.

Uncle Bill and Ky...we'd kick Ky out of the family because he's a Ute fan, but we can't...he's a Casper, so he has to stay:)

Let the fun begin...William brought his dance game for the Wii and ALL of the family was groovin'. Even Great Grandma Casper enjoyed watching and participating. There were 33 of us, we were only missing Laws and Bryson...they are both serving missions. Because our numbers were large, we reserved Papa and Grandma's church...it was wonderful being able to spread out. I didn't take any pictures of the set up in the gym...shame on me. It was perfect though...just take my word for it.

Friday morning most of the cousins, a few of the parents and Papa went to the St George Temple to do some baptisms...It was such a special time. I would not have wanted to be anywhere else...being in the presence of such great Casper youth, all worthy to be in the temple, was priceless. The Temple...always where I want to be with my family.

Papa arranged for us to borrow 5 authentic handcarts, one for each family. We loaded our blankets and lunches up and walked a few blocks to a nearby park for a family picnic. The weather was perfect and being together was wonderful too. The kids, as well as the adults had a great time...

Lots of family pictures on the steps at the St. George Temple

Friday night we surprised Papa with a 70th birthday party. It was perfect and he was surprised and touched. Songs were sung and a wonderful DVD of his life was watched and both Grandma and Uncle Richard said a few words about their feelings about Dad...we had cake and laughed...a great time!