December to May 2010

I haven't blogged for a really long time. And actually, Kellie is the one that has done all the pictures. Here are a few shots of what we have been doing the last six, yes six months. We went to Christena's Dare program. They had some good speakers, one of whom I went to high school with, Murray City mayor Dan Snarr.

We had our usual Christmas Eve party. We did the nativity with all the grandkids. Jared and Jeni were Mary and Joseph because they were the only ones with a baby. Dad and I made quilts for several of the grandkids this year - six to be exact. Anyway it was good to be home for Christmas this year.

We went to Randy's and Connie's house for New Years. Jacie was sick but we had a fun time anyway. We watched a movie on their big screen in the basement and we played games and played on their WII.

Anna, Kenny and Caden in the family room, waiting for the movie.

We went to Britney's birthday in January. I forgot to take my camera for some of the kids birthdays. But we went to Savannah's in March and then we celebrated Olyvia's at Family Home Evening in April.

In the meantime though, February to be exact, we flew to Florida and helped Ben and Katie drive a moving van and their explorer to Pennsylvania where they bought a house and Ben had a new job waiting for him. Also he got his nurse anesthetist degree the end of January. Way to go Ben! After we got to Jacobus we spent the week helping them unpack and hanging curtains and blinds and putting up towel bars, etc. But we had some fun too. We especially liked visiting with them and playing with the kids but we went to the Hershey Factory and took a tour and sampled their chocolate and we spent our last day there in Washington D.C. taking in some of the sights.


This is Hershey Pennsylvania.

This is Dani and Jenna at the World War II war memorial. They loved getting dressed up in their new coats and boots.

Here we are at the Lincoln Memorial with the Washinton Monument in the background.

We went to Issybelle's birthday in March too.

The end of April we went to Jacie's school play in Blackfoot that she had two parts in. The next day we went to Allyssa's play in Clinton. They were both very good plays for Junior High students. The next week we went to Jared's graduation at the University of Utah. He got his bachelors degree. Way to go Jared! Stephen got his Associate's Degree the same day at the same time at Salt Lake Community College so we were unable to attend. But congratulations anyway. Kellie also received her Associate's Degree at Salt Lake Community College but she decided not to do the Cap and gown thing which turned out to be a really good thing. But congratulations anyway Kellie all three of you have worked hard and we are proud of you.




Jared and Jeni and Sophie

On May 19th we went to Blackfoot again and went to Randall's and Kenny's band and choir concerts. Kenny was chosen to play a solo in the band he was in. He did a really good job and then Randall sang in the Acapella Choir and played in the band. He composed a number for the whole band to play which he got to conduct. It was really good. The next week on May 27th we went up again for Randall's graduation from High School. Congratulations Randall. We also went
to Allyssa's piano recital in May and Mackey's Utah Program. It's amazing what you can learn about history in a few songs. We also went to the Freedom Festival at BYU that Christena sang in. And then all three girls, Christena, Savannah, and Olyvia participated in their school talent program that we were able to go see. They all sang and did a really good job. In our spare time we finished the little bedroom downstairs. Whew! I'm not sure how many months I could handle like this one. But we loved it all. Thanks family for including us.





Randall's graduation. Way to go!

I finally got Kellie to help me put some pictures on our blog. I just wanted to share some of the things we've been doing since July. In August Ben and Katie and the girls came from Florida. We had a family party and celebrated the July and August birthdays with everyone.

These are pictures of Jenna, Dani, and Katie when they came to visit. We really enjoyed having them here and are looking forward to going and spending time with them in February.

Dani seemed to enjoy "This is the way the cowboy rides" Jenna loved brushing the dog and playing with the blocks. She knows right where to find them.

The end of August Jake's girl's came and spent the night and then we went to the zoo the next day. We saw the baby tiger, the baby elephant, the baby giraffe, and baby snow leopards and meercats. We had a picnic and had a fun time.

Timmy was baptized the first Saturday in September. Way to go Timmy! We are so happy for you.

The next weekend, Wendy's kids spent the night at our house and then we took them to the zoo. We had fun at the zoo and then decided to take the scenic route home to Clinton -an hour and a half later we finally arrived. The kids were all asleep.

On October 22, 2009, we got a new grandbaby. She weighed 9 lbs. 3 oz. and was 21 inches tall. She has lots of dark hair and dark eyes. Her name is Sophie Marie Smith. She is a darling baby and we are so glad that everything went well. Way to go Jeni and Jared. Thanks for bringing more joy into our lives.

These are pictures of our infamous Halloween party. I have to admit I was kind of doubtful about having it at first. But it turned out to be lots of fun. It was well planned and I'm pretty sure that it will be a family tradition.





This is Tonja and Sean, incase you didn't recognize them. Aagh! (pirate and indian)

Michele and Family - Meet Michael Jackson, Chicken Little, the grim reaper, and we can't tell who the other person is he is in camoflage.

Wendy's clan - The french maid, dracula, gothic, and darthvader and little kitty.

Of course there was the pumpkin carving. This is Jakes family, - Mr. clean and the cleaning lady, A dead pirate, a dead gypsey, a leopard and Juliana was a clown.

This is the happy Bugs bunny and Elmer Fudd carving pumpkins.

Juliana and Issybelle. They took the little red chairs to the entryway and spent the night visiting with each other. They were so cute.

The rest of these pictures are of Dad's remodeled house. We are putting it up for sale this week. It is on ksl.com. We repainted and carpeted the whole house except for the washroom. This is the family room.

Grandma's bathroom.

Grandma's bedroom

The frontroom. Paul refinished the wood floor. It looks really nice. The ceilings are also textured throughout the house. It looks nice but it seems really weird to most of the kids to see it. It is in a lot better shape than it used to be.

We just got back from our trip back to the midwest. We had a great time. We were able to see many of the Church History sites. The only draw-back was the many hours we spent driving in the car. But we took along some games that kept us busy and we had a good visit with Michele and Stephen.


Our first stop on our trip Adam-ondi-Ahman. It is a beautiful place. It's the place that Adam will return to one day. We spent Sunday in Independence and went to Church there. Afterward we went to the Visitor's Center and then took a look at the Community of Christ Temple. Then we drove to Liberty Missouri and visited the Liberty Jail. It was a very special place. This i s Dad and I at the Visitor's Center. Tuesday we drove to Keokuk Iowa after spending Monday in Branson. We got settled in our Hotel and and then drove to Carthage and visited the Carthage Jail. It was awesome. Then we tried to find Nauvoo by following the back roads because it was shorter. Big mistake! We did get a great tour of the cornfields of Illinois though. This picture was taken at Carthage Jail. This is the room that the Prophet and his brother were murdered in.

When we arrived at Nauvoo we ate a quick dinner and then went to see the pageant. It began raining and we all prayed that the weather would clear so that we could see it. Just before the pageant started the clouds cleared and it stayed clear through the pageant

Luckily we had one umbrella that Michele and I shared. The guys were on their own. The pageant was really good.

Wednesday we toured Nauvoo. This is the Red-Brick store that Joseph and Emma owned. The Community of Christ Church owns all of Joseph and Emma's property. But we had a good tour through them also.

Wednesday evening we did an endowment session at the temple. It is a beautiful temple. I hope that you will all get the chance to see it someday.

These two pictures are both in front of the temple.

Here we are at the Winter Quarters Visitor's Center in Nebraska. We were on our way home.

This is an outside view of the Winter Quarters temple. It is across the street from the visitor's center.

We had a great time. We were glad to have someone there to enjoy it with us.

Well it is way past time to update this thing. A lot has happened since May. We are home from our mission in Arkansas. We had to come home a few weeks early. Camille's dad was having major health problems. He passed away last night, 16 June 2009 at 8:30pm. He was on hospice at Diane and Stan's house and we and Tim were there with them at the time. It was good for us to come home and be here with him and the family. The Lord gave us his release as we prayed about it before leaving Danville. We miss the people there and really grew to love them and the work. One of our investigators has decided to be baptized next month. Well, this is really short but there is a lot to do today. We will get more information on here as it is available.

Mom and Dad's last pics!!

Mom and Dad went to Graceland.

One of Elvis's memorabilia room's in his house.

The front of his house

Elvis's grave along with his grandma on the left and parents on the right.

Mom and dad at the temple endowment and sealing of the Bode family.

Floyd Avery's Chickens. He has 48,000 chickens in 3 houses

Dad and Floyd Avery. And his dog Wistle.

A galss Chaple. Kind of cool.

Mom at Garvan Gardens

Dad given a thumbs up for the Gardens!

Mom and Dad at the Old Mill in Little Rock.

Aren't they the cutest old missionary couple! Love you Mom and Dad! Can't wait to see you in 2 months and 4 days!!!!