Ronald's Funeral

This past weekend Todd and I went to St. George for my cousin Ronald's funeral. Even though we went for a funeral, it was a very nice weekend. We left Friday afternoon and Ryan and Tani rode with us. It was fun visiting with them on the trip and then at a restaurant once we got there. Sarah was extremely nice and stayed with the kids. The kids had a wonderful time with her!

Saturday morning Todd and I were able to attend a session at the St. George LDS Temple. Of course, this was nice and very beautiful.


We then all went to the viewing. It was wonderful to see relatives that we don't get to see often. There was a viewing before the funeral and a luncheon afterward. Ronald had planned his funeral and I'm sure he is happy with how nice the service turned out. It was neat to hear stories and learn more about his life. Ronald was only 55 and had suffered problems with his lungs after having double pneumonia about twenty years ago. Ronald was also mentally handicapped. He is free from all his physical challenges! It was inspirational to hear how he has touched and blessed so many lives. What an example he is to all of us!

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Joshua's Nap

Have you ever been so tired you just couldn't make it all the way up the stairs?!

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Jared's 11th Birthday

Jared is now 11! His birthday was yesterday (20th), although he had a small friend party on Monday since there was no school. His present from the family was a new bike. The bike is bigger than his old bike and has gears. Even though it was only about six degrees this morning, Jared rode his new bike to school. (Amanda and Megan opted for a ride!)


Jared loves his new bike as you can tell!


Jared had a "GREAT"(?!) idea for a picture.


Jared ran out of fingers to show how old he is!

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Jared's Arrow of Light

Jared received his Webelos and Arrow of Light at last week's pack night. Good-job, Jared! He also received a LOT of activity badges. It was great that he finished everything up before turning 11, but it was a little unfortunate that he got literally a year's worth of Cub Scout awards on one night. It would have been much nicer had he received them throughout the year as he earned them. There was some confusion with leader changes during his Webelos year and awards were never ordered as they were earned. The real bummer is he won't wear any of the patches he earned (except his Arrow of Light) since he begins 11-year old Scouts this week. Oh well! Jared has really liked Cub Scouts, but he is looking forward to being in Scouts because of the camping.

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Beth's New Church Calling

Two weeks ago, I was called to serve as the first counselor in the stake primary presidency. I am still figuring out what that all entails, but our presidency will be working with and a resource for the ward primary presidencies who lead the children. I really enjoyed serving as a ward primary president for four years and now look forward to serving the children in a much different way. I can tell already that I am going to also really enjoy working with the president, second counselor and secretary. Last night we had our first real function as a presidency as we were in charge of the baptism preview for all children in the stake who will be baptized in the next six months. Our stake has 68 children who fall into this category. As I was giving my talk on baptism and looking out at the congregation, it seemed like all 68 children with their parents and siblings must have come. Although, it always seems like more people when they are all looking at you! The program went well, but I was glad to have it (especially my talk) behind me. I guess Heavenly Father has again found one more way for me to grow!

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Scott's Family Visit

We had a good visit with Scott's family earlier this week. They got here late Monday night instead of Sunday evening after they dealt with van trouble near Las Vegas. Tuesday day was spent mostly with final preparations for Brittney's mission. Tuesday evening was especially fun with family coming over for dinner and visiting. Sarah, Trevor, Kyle, Tani, Marisa, Brady. Doug, Shannon, Jacob and Brynlee came to join us. Scott's family left for home via Las Vegas to trade their rental back for their repaired van. Before leaving, they of course took Brittney to the MTC (Missionary Training Center). Brittney will serve in the Houston, Texas mission for the next year and a half. She will be a wonderful missionary!

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Megan's Tooth

Megan had a dentist appointment this morning. Megan’s tooth problem really started on Christmas day. She was happy, but seemed pretty lethargic. Todd and I kept asking her for two days if something was wrong and if she felt ok. She just didn’t seem herself, although she would say she was happy and she felt fine. Then on the 27th she woke up with the right side of her face swollen and sore to the touch. We took her to the doctor who put her on an antibiotic because of the infection in her gums, but said she needed to see a dentist to find out the cause of the problem. We got her to a dentist who took some x-rays. We figured she had an abscessed tooth. Unfortunately, it is a densindente (sp?). This basically means her permanent tooth didn’t form correctly and created a separate tooth inside her tooth. The root system didn’t fully develop either and the tooth is already loose. We were hoping they would be able to save the tooth, but after the second dental visit it was confirmed that it would be a continual problem with infections. She had the tooth pulled this morning. It is the tooth next to the front center, so very visible. She sees an orthodontist on the 12th. We think she’ll have an artificial tooth on a retainer type appliance to hold that space until she is 18-20 years old and her mouth is finished growing. Then she can have a permanent implant put in. Megan was pretty cute after we found out what the problem was. Todd and I were bummed she would lose a permanent tooth, but Megan said, “At least it wasn’t a cavity!”

Hopefully the tooth fairy will realize what a special tooth this is. The dentist had never seen a tooth quite like this and was pretty fascinated by it.

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New Blog and Holidays

I've wanted to do a family blog for awhile now and here it is finally! YEA!!! It is a new year and a new way to keep in touch.

We had a wonderful Christmas! It doesn't seem too eventful to write about, which maybe is why it was so great. No big events also means no big stresses! We spent the holiday together as a family spending time and playing together. Santa brought us some new games (including a Wii) so it does seem like we have been playing a lot. We took the kids sledding a few times, which is one of their favorite things to do.

Family Home Evening - Nativity Pageant

Christmas Eve - New Pajamas

Christmas Eve - "Twas the Night Before Christmas"

Santa brought the family a Wii with Wii accessories!

Santa brought Joshua a "big boy" scooter!

Santa brought Amanda & Megan guitars just like their school teacher!

Santa brought Jared the electronic Lego train he has wanted for a LONG time!

Santa brought Ethan a Webkin and a Leapster.

Santa brought Todd a Carrom board just like the one he grew up playing at his Grandma Graham's.

Sledding Fun

Last night we had a New Year's Eve party at our house with four neighborhood families. It was a lot of fun. The adults had a white elephant gift exchange and played Electronic Catch Phrase and then Times Up. Each hour, the kids opened goody bags filled with treats or a little activity to help count down. The party ended promptly at 12:01 as the kids (and probably adults!) were all getting pretty tired.

Even though our holidays were great, we do miss all the fun of being with family. We did get to see some family on Monday night. We went to Kevin and Lauri Hyer's (my cousin's) house for a restaurant quality Mexican buffet. Yummy! Doug and Shannon's family were also there. Later we all went to see the lights on Temple Square. Two other cousins (David Nelson and Karalee Metcalf) with their families met us at the temple. What a fun night!

Another fun holiday event we did go to was with our ward. After the dinner, our ward put on the play, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” Jared, Amanda, Megan and Ethan were all in the play. Jared and Ethan were shepherds and Amanda and Megan were angels. They all sang, but Jared is the only one who had a few lines. None of them have ever been involved in a play before so it was a good experience for them. It turned out really cute.

Cast members - Ethan, Megan, Jared & Amanda

We hope your holidays were also wonderful!

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