Christmas Morning 2009

We had an early start again this year... Oh.. I guess I can't complain... we're the ones who created the family tradition of getting up at the crack of down to open presents... so we did it again this year... (When is nap time??!!)
It was fun waiting this year as we were really looking forward to surprising Briggs with the Wii Beatles Band Hero game this year... I think we were looking forward to it as much as any young child would... it has not let us down either. All it took was for the box to get open for the guys to run downstairs and begin the concert of the century at our house. I don't think I've laughed this hard in YEARS... it really is a treat to hear Mike sing with a microphone!! I tried it once and got a score of 7, Mike took over and never scored below 95 points!! Ryan said he tried to help me out by setting it on handicapped... but I guess that didn't work either. No one told me that the GAME part of this game was that you get judged on your performance... even the singing... so just be advised when you pick up the mic... there's just no singing along with this game if your using the mic... it judges your performance!! =) Hey... Mike even has a British accent now!!!

Christmas Time 2009

Today is the first time this year that you can really feel that winter is here... snow is on the way... I can just feel it!! Good thing Briggs got into the spirit a little bit earlier then Mike and myself did, as it is because of his ambition to start the holiday festivities that we have our tree up already and the lights up outside... if you were to see our place your would think we were totally into it all this year !!
Sitting here today listening to Christmas music... I got a wild hair and decided to mess with my camera and was inspired to take a couple unique pictures... so here they are...

Scary Pictures... from Halloween !!!

Who would of ever guessed that my cute little grandkids could look SO SCARY for Halloween... well, not all of them... but there were two little girls that I almost couldn't recognize !!!! Who are those little goblims???

Here is Olivia...

I wanted to post some pictures of Olivia too... Look how cute she is !!!

Anny's Baptism and Our Family Trip to Arizona

First off, I would just like to say that I LOVE it most when our family can be all together in one place... even though it can get crazy... it's the most fun and we really should make these events happen more often. I have learned this last year that a person must enjoy the journey *while on the journey* and that is what I am trying to do because if there is anything I have learned over the years is that nothing stays the same, life changes and circumstances change and while your experiencing life you had better enjoy it and recognize where it is that your blessings come from.
Just this month we were able to travel out to Arizona for Anny's baptism. What a fabulous time we all had. I so love being around all four of my grandchildren... could there be anything more fun to do in life then soak up all the goodness that has been a blessing to your life?? Anny turned 8 in September and that is the age that our church baptizes children. She was baptized by her father (Alex) and Papa (Mike) was able to bless her with the holy ghost. It was a great ordinance and tho I do not have actual pictures of the baptism I do have some from immediately afterward. We all love Anny and are so proud of her outward expression of love for her Heavenly Father by being baptized.

RIVER TRIP !! Aug 2009

Another awesome day to go canoeing... so off they went and look how good the pictures are!! Summer is almost over, so better get another trip in!!

MARCHING BAND MAN!!!

Briggs is a freshman this year which means that he can now can be in Marching Band !! He has been involved in the Marching Band Summer Camp this month and surprisingly enough, in one week they were able to get a routine done and be able to show it off to us parents!! It was awesome, I'm impressed with all that Dr. B was able to get out of 190 students. And the uniforms are AWESOME and Briggs looks so cute in it!! Here is a picture of him looking so handsome in it!!

Camping at Mahoney June 2009

We got to spend the weekend at Mahoney Stake Park this summer too. As part of the party we celebrated Ryan's 27th Birthday. Mike, Deb, Briggs, Ryan, Oliver, Natalie, Olivia and Stratton all got to go and have a great time. I want to do it again sometime soon.

Summer Time Fun in the Sun!!

Not only was there music camps,a trek, and YMCA Baseball, but we were able to get in a little canoeing this summer too!! There have been a couple trips out of state this summer also and through it all I took pictures for us to remember these days by. Here are some of the things we did while we were OFF this summer!!

Summer Band Camp

The whole first week of August was devoted to Marching Band Camp for Briggs. He was there from 9 Am to 5 PM each and everyday during this time. The band had 190 members and somehow Dr. B was able to command this band and get the new freshmen to get it together enough to be able to perform a portion of their halftime show on Friday evening. I was delighted to watch and even more delighted when I saw just how much had been accomplished this week alone. Dr. B is amazing and I think she has an amazing band too. Here are some pictures that I took to be able to remember it as it was in the beginning for Briggs. He LOVES it and I am so thankful, because I too loved my band years of High School!! Oh.. don't worry, I will post pics of Briggs in his band uniform!!

Pioneer Trek

In the month of June of this year Briggs got to participate in a church activity that gives the youth of the church the opportunity to re-enact the Mormon Pioneer Trek somewhat like it would of been back in the day. This year, the youth got to experience part of the actual path that the Mormon pioneers took, and it included muddy roads, rain showers and downpours, dragging a handcart through streams, mud, junk and all that goes with life on the trek. Briggs left there with a new understanding of the hardships of the pioneers, but also the faith that they must of had to even commit to going and then finishing it the whole way. What a great experience for him and me... as I got to go and take pictures along the way.

A BUSY SUMMER...

I guess I have been neglecting my blog, because my son Alex emailed me today saying "update your blog", so... I guess I had better start to do just that. I will start by posing a picture of Briggs at his last game of 2009 YMCA baseball. What a great game it was, I saw some awesome ball playing, surprising ball playing even, as these boys all have refined their efforts and you could really see it today. What a pleasure it was, even tho I found out that here in this area the YMCA does not have any high school age baseball teams... boo hoo!! I will miss my little spot out there beside the field!!

JACK...

Sometimes I am sent pictures that take my breathe away... these are just a couple of them.

MY GRANDCHILDREN !!

I have to say that Heavenly Father has been so good to me. Today, while sweating away at a fabulous baseball game (Briggs' YMCA game) I came home to a inbox full of pictures of my beautiful little angel grandchildren!! Oh how looking at them makes my heart sing. I wish so bad that I was with all of them this weekend, but pictures are the next best thing!! Anny, our big girl, Ellie our middle big girl, Jack, the man, and Olivia our tiny big girl.... what a pleasant little gift from Heavenly Father they are to us... ALL OF US !!!

It's Gramma, being a Gramma!!

Our little ray of sunshine was really fun to have around on Monday as I got to give her a bath... and she loved it!! No crying, no fussing... I think I'm a pro at it!!
Look at her happy face, and ALL that hair she has!! Ok... I too, notice how OLD my hands are looking in this pic, but I will say, they look just like my Gramma's and that's ok with me.

Little Beautiful Olivia....

Olivia is growing so fast and I have to say... is looking more and more like her father did as a baby.... tho... much prettier!! :-) Plus, she is always in pink and that makes it even funner!!! Gotta say... I LOVE having a g-baby CLOSE!! I am thanking my Heavenly Father for this little gift, cuz I know that she might not always be living this close. See how precious she is...

A Little Funny...

Briggs has done especially well this last year at school. He was on the honor roll all three years of middle school and has received several awards along the way, the picture I'm posting if of the last award for Briggs in 8th grade. It was the Presidential Award of Excellence in School, not just academics but also excellence in all areas of his school career. It was awarded to him by the Principle of his school and it's was awesome to see just how many 8th graders were at this award ceremony. It made my heart proud to see so many people excelling in school. When we got home we asked Briggs to put away all this school stuff that was laying all over the floor of the basement and get it all cleaned up down there... to which he did, and at the same time decided to illiminate some junk he had accumulated. So, taking all that he was learned this year about being smart minded... he thought he would get rid of his drums... not by just giving it away... he decides to sell it... I didn't know anything about this plan, but when I went to leave later that day I noticed the following sign in our yard. The sign is about 6 inches x 10 inches big... ANYWAY, if it wasn't so cute and so "Briggs"... I would of taken it down, but what the heck... maybe he can sell his drums...