Another FRIEND night

Tonight Julie had some friends over to goof around and watch a movie, and then after Quinn

heads home, we are having another sleepover!! I'm not a huge fan of sleepovers, but when it's

on a school night going into a week-end, the kids are usually pretty tired, because of early morning seminary. SO, they get to sleep pretty fast. Plus, early in the morning they will be heading to the church to help Quinn with his Eagle project. They will be putting together

wheel chairs made out of plastic chairs and bicycle wheels. I'm thinking that it's easier to have kids sleep over when there is only one child left at home. So, Julie may miss out on having her

siblings around as long as the others did, but.......she seems to have more "friend" nights

then her siblings did.

This and That

Tonight Julie cut her bangs. She had cut them last April or May, and grew them out, but decided she wanted to try them out again. So I have to put in a NOW photo and one from before. Today Julie and I had a fun day since she didn't have school. We saw a movie and had lunch. FUN STUFF
JAN 2008
MAY 2007

Last week Julie had a couple of her friends over, and they made and decorated a cake. Mel and I weren't home at the time, and this is what I found on my camera. = )


Then Julie and Mackenzi had a photo shoot together.

ZOMBIES?? NEVER!!!!!

Don't send a lame Starring You! eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Just having a little fun with these crazy things. See if you can recognize all the
faces in there. And see if you can pick out all the propaganda too.

What year do i belong in?

You Belong in 1981

Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You're colorful at night - and successful during the day.

http://www.blogthings.com/whatyeardoyoubelonginquiz/

Movies and a sleepover

Well, I need an excuse to change the top post on my page. I'm getting tired of my scowling
face. So I thought I'd snap a picture of Karynne, Julie and McKenzie as they were snuggling
up for bed tonight. We had a fun afternoon/evening. Julie cheered at a basketball game
that ended up being very exciting. It was J.V. girls basketball, and they went into 2 over
times. It got pretty noisy, which made it feel exciting. We ended up winning. YAY !!!
Then Julie, Karynne and McKenzie went to see a movie and are sleeping over.

We have Stake conference starting tomorrow. On Sunday, they asked me to play the
organ. Hmm....first time for stake conference. WHAT FUN ~~~~NOT-------hee hee hee
hah ha ha ha ha.

BACK TO REALITY = (

O.K. It's back to reality tomorrow, and I'm a little upset about it. I had a wonderful
2 weeks with various activities, but the best part was spending time with my family.
I am missing Stella and her parents. I want to hold her and squeeze her sweet little
body. I miss seeing her smile. I am missing Michelle and her sweetness and her cute
little accent. I want a big piece of land where all of my kids and their families can have
a huge plot with their own place. Where we can see each other when we get that inkling. Aaaaaah, grrrrrrrrr.

But......I have decided that I can't stay upset too long. It's just not me. But, I'm still going to miss Stella and her parents, I'm still going to miss Michelle and everything that goes along with that, but I will persevere, I'll start thinking about the next time that I can visit, or have them visit me. And I'll be happy that I have been blessed with such a wonderful family that I can have for eternity. And I'll make full use of the telephone and internet until we can all get together again.

Girls Night In

Joneel, Melissa w/Stella, Michelle, Julie, Katie, Julie, Bonnie

While I had my college daughter here, and my South Carolina girl home, I wanted to get together with Bonnie and her daughters. So we got together and went to dinner and then

came back to my place and talked and joked. It was a lot of fun. For those of you who don't know, Bonnie is my original beach buddy. Years ago when Michelle was 3, we went camping

at our favorite beach. But the next year Mel couldn't come with me, so I called Bonnie to see

if she would go camping with me. She said "Would you mind staying in a hotel instead?" Well,

I didn't care how or where I stayed, I just wanted to go. So that was the first of many many years of going to the beach together. We have added friends, family, etc. since then. So here

are the original "girls". We both do have sons, but they weren't here for the "Girls Night In".

Happy New Year--2008

Happy New Year! Last night Julie got together with some friends from the ward, Quinn and Karynne. First they went to a movie, then they stopped by a party thrown by someone in the Stake, then they came to our house to eat some goodies, jump on the trampoline, and ring in the new year. They spent most of the time outside on the trampoline. I had to call them in at 11:57 to tell them that the Ball in New York was about to drop. So here is the pictures I got of them last night, and very early this morning. I also want to point out a really fun fact about these

three. They have lived in the same ward and been in the same Sunday School class/Primary

group since they were born. How often does that happen these days?

Tyler's birthday get together and family picture

Today is Tyler's birthday. Last night we were able to all get together to celebrate with him. Actually, first off, Mel took Tyler and Andy bird hunting first, then we got together. It was fun to be able to all be together. Anna made a wonderful ice cream cake. DELICIOUS. And the "cousins" got to see each other one last time before Melissa and Andy and Stella left. Then today Tyler, Anna and Grace came to our ward, which makes a Mom really happy. Just wish I could have had everyone there together, but Melissa and Andy were on their way to Colorado to spend a week with Andy's family. But here is the picture we got of the whole of us.

JUMP, RAH and AAAH!

Michelle Julie Melissa
Michelle Melissa Julie Andrea
Julie Michelle Melissa

Melissa and Stella Grace and Tyler

These last few days have been lots of fun for me. Being able to spend time with Melissa, Andy and Stella, having all the sisters spend time together, and having the whole family together. It just feels GOOD !! And since we are a family that loves a good picture, it's been great getting it

all documented digitally. Andy has been such a sport, taking scads of pictures. He's darn good

at it too. So, the jumping pictures (Jump) are from Christmas day, with the new trampoline,

the cheer pictures (Rah) I just had to take, and the aaaaah picture is from the feeling I got seeing Tyler's daughter and Melissa's daughter together for the first time in 5 months.

Merry Christmas

I hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas. I sure am. Here is the Christmas card/picture

I sent out this year. Didn't put any news in it. That will come in Next years card/letter/picture.

Probably the biggest news this year was Melissa and Andy having baby Stella in June. Mel is

at the same job, I'm doing the same thing, things are pretty much status quo. We will be adding a new grandchild next year. A boy. Tyler and Anna are expecting in Feb. And it's so nice having them live close by. We are thankful for our families and the happiness they bring. We

are also thankful for our Savior and his un-ending love for us.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

Deck the halls

Tonight since Michelle and Melissa and Andy and Stella and Andrea are finally here, the tree got

decorated. While it was being decorated, Melissa had to deal with Stella, so she didn't get in on the fun. We've already had a blast with the Smiths here. We had a yummy dinner, held Stella, hugged and kissed her, and got to hear her laugh. Then we played Apples to Apples, then we sent Melissa and Andy off to bed. It probably will take them a bit to get used to the time difference. Anyway, we are happy everyone that had to travel, is here, but we are missing Tyler and Anna and Grace. We'll see them soon. Anyway, Mel and I are in our glory. Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh

Julie caught the spirit

Today feels so nice. Julie is out of school for 2 weeks, Mel is off work for over a week, my girls are coming to town, and we get to see Stella. Yippe Kye Ay Kye Oh. We're trying to tie up some

loose ends with the Christmas shopping, and it's a mad house out there. I need to remember this next year. Get it done early. Anyway, Julie was feeling the spirit of the season as she went off to school this morning. Enjoy the pic

Andy Melissa and Stella. Our cute family that lives further away

Yep, Melissa and Andy and Stella live further away. MUCH further away. But I'm so excited because they are coming out for Christmas. We get to hug and kiss and squeeze little STella, and enjoy being all together as family. That is.......when Tyler Anna and Grace get back into town. They went up to Anna's Mom's house for Christmas. But we have a few days where we can all be together. I call it "Heaven on Earth"

Tyler and Anna's e-Christmas Card

Here is our Cute family that live close by. Gotta love it.

Andrea Bocceli

This morning Mel walked over to the computer, turned it on (which is very unlike him when he's home) went online, and started looking at Ticket Master. He found Andrea Bocceli, and saw that his concert was tonight, so asked if we would like to go. WOW, o.k. That was out of the blue. He has one of his C.D's and he and Julie love to sing "Time to Say Goodnight", or is that "Good-bye?" anyway..... so he thought it would be something we would all enjoy. So we drove over to the Honda Center (used to be the Arrowhead Pond) and got tickets. Then when we got home, Darryl and Cristina and little Reane were here, and we mentioned what we were planning on doing, and Cristina said how much she loved Andrea Bocceli. So I made her an offer she couldn't refuse, and we ended up taking her with us. It was very enjoyable. He is such a beautiful singer. It was so fun, because he came out for 4 extra songs, because the crowd was cheering him on. YIPPEE. And he and a guess singer sang Mel and Julie's song. BRAVO Andrea Bocceli

Ward Christmas party

At our ward Christmas party this year, I was asked to cut up some snowflakes, and thankfully, Mel said he would help me. And boy, am I glad. He is so darn creative on most everything he does. He made some of the best looking snowflakes there that night. I was also asked to play for a special musical number, and since we practiced at my house, and Mel was home, he got roped into singing with them. It was great. He has such a beautiful voice. In fact when Julie was listening to them practicing, she said "Hey, I thought I got my talent from you mom, but I've decided that I got it from dad". Ha ha. True True. Not that my talent is anything to shake a stick at. I've got talent too!!!! Ü Then the next morning, we had the primary party for the kids where Santa showed up. Man, I especially like this Santa. Ü He has Luke S on his lap. Julie thinks Luke is one of the cutest boys she has ever known. He really is a cutie pie.

Anyway, it's nice to have that week over with.

Lunch at BJ's with my dear friend Bonnie

Today Bonnie Jean and I got together for our annual Christmas lunch. I thought it was pretty fun that we went to BJ's, since those are Bonnie's initials. Normally our getting together included Shelly, but she has moved too far away to get together on a whim. We have to do more scheduling if we want to include her now. Anyway, lunch was great, conversation was great, but it just wasn't long enough, so we are hoping to get together again, but this time with our daughters also. I'll keep my fingers crossed!!

P.S. My sister aptly pointed out to me that BJ's restaurant is also Bonnie and my initials!!

Julie's first Cheer competition

Julie attended and participated in her first high school cheer competition on Saturday, Dec. 8th. They placed second, and did a good job. They have a squad that "mostly" tumbles, so Julie got to show off her stuff doing a round off back hand spring, and she had great form. They really have the girls do their make-up slightly exaggerated, as you will see in the picture, but it looks good on the floor. The girls still have 2 more regular competitions, and then it will be nationals. Boy, do they make for long days, but it's kind of fun to see the families and friends cheer the girls on. They are almost more fun to watch than the spiritleaders.

Go BYU Cougars

With our good friend Cosmo. I think I look a little bit too happy

My cousin Sandra and I
We decided that the rainbow was an omen for a good game
Gotta get a shot of those cheerleaders
Grant and Mel. Long time BYU fans

Today Mel and I, and Tyler and Anna, went to San Diego to see the BYU vs. San Diego state football game. And we WON. We also went to the tail gate party and ran into my cousin Sandra and her family, and Grant, from our ward. He and Mel have been fans of BYU football for a long time. We enjoyed the food and entertainment, until it started raining on us. Thank heavens that didn't last for long. But here are a few pictures of some wild and crazy BYU fans.