Holy Cow! It's been a while since I last posted.  Life seems to get away from us sometimes...I will do a guick catch up...

We spent the Christmas holiday in St. George with Papa and Grandma and William and NaKya. The biggest news of the holiday was that we are going to be grandparents! We are so excited for this stage of life we are entering!

William and NaKya were so thoughtful and creative in their gift-giving...they gave Bill some homemade fudge! He was in hog heaven!!!

Here is the crew on Christmas Eve.

On Christmas Eve we went to the St George Tabernacle and enjoyed a wonderful sing-along.  It was a great way to remember the spirit of the Christmas season...even Grant and Garrett muscled through the program:)

It was freezing, but everyone allowed me to take a couple of pictures for posterity.

We were back home in Texas in time for Bill to run our city's New Year's Day 1/2 Marathon.  He did great, finishing 3rd in the "Clydesdale" division (195+lbs)...and it wasn't near his best time...all of that vacationing took a toll on his training:)  Still very proud of him. Way to go Bill!!!

The Dallas Temple...THIS is where we like to spend our extra time.  Lately we have been going once a week...it's a place where we feel peace and are not bothered by "the world"...We gain strength from visiting regularly...We feel fortunate to live so close and have decided to be there more often.

Not the best shot, but evidence that we were there:)

A few of my favorite things:

Some of the pictures are older...but they are of great times together. I love my family and am grateful for each of them...everyday, everyday, everyday:)

BFF...our annual September weekend away...this time we headed to the Florida Keys.  We actually stayed north in Key Largo, but traveled to the southernmost Key in Key West...

And what would a trip with Jennie be without a visit to the local lighthouse?

The highlight for me was our visit to Ernest Hemingway's house.

The house had the most amazing windows/doors that surrounded the living room. They were floor to ceiling and wonderful!

The gorgeous wrap around porches were to die for!

And there were cats everywhere...over 40 of them...Hemingway loved cats and the interesting thing is that about half of them have 6 toes...a sign of good luck, who knew? This family of six-toed cats has been around the house since the time Hemingway lived there.

Key West...just after we filled our hungry bellies with some yummy food:)

Palm trees and water...exactly what we like to see from our hotel room...Although we didn't get any pictures of our Sea Doo outing, it was another highlight of our trip.  Jennie and I were hootin' and hollerin' and no one could hear us...we even raced...Jennie won...beginners luck+a faster machine...great memories.



Garrett and Anna...Homecoming 2012.  Great friends who met in the Theatre program at school. Her dress was awesome...great looking kids:)

Back in July I finished a project Christine had started...A labor of love for her 20th birthday:) She is our animal lover...beautiful selection of fabrics Sweetheart.

And so it begins...

The annual 10 mile Allen Eagle Escadrille Marchathon! All 800+ members were so fortunate this year to enjoy mild temperatures...we have been doing this for 7 or 8 years and it has ALWAYS been HOT and HUMID!  This year the weather was amazing! 

Garrett marching along...much to his chagrin:(

 

Grant having a blast in his first marchathon...:)

I loved this shot:)  This little guy marched some, but was carried by various guys in his section for most of the way...10 miles, my friends...

Garrett is an actor, by the way...he WAS NOT miserable...not at all...both boys were happy with their accomplishment.

And this is the much talked about $60 million dollar stadium that our school district thinks our city needs...ugh...don't get me started...anyway, atleast our boys get to be on the field...playing in the nation's largest marching band! They really are out there somewhere:)  This was at "Kick Off"...and the "Open House" for the community...

"Watermelon Bust" with our newest band member... I had never really thought about how it must feel to carry a marching tuba, so I tried Garrett's on...it was heavy and cumbersome and down-right uncomfortable.  I couldn't get that thing off fast enough:)  I am so proud of our boys...NOT an easy instrument to carry and play and march with all at the same time...I am more impressed than ever.

I am not sure if you can really tell, but the "bell" sits almost ON their heads...so very uncomfortable. Now I know why the tubas are not issued hats like the rest of the band...

There are 35 tubas in the band...that's a lot! Among them are two Caspers...a good thing? ...who knows.  They like to horse around when they are together.  Hopefully they are making some memories that they will look back on someday with fondness:)

A "day of rest"?...Only for a few moments:) This is what happens when my sweet husband has a minute between meetings or interviews to sit down on Sundays...this day happened to be a particularly busy one...they aren't all jam-packed...only sometimes:)  He's a trooper, that's for sure.