November and December 2010

The holidays seemed to appear out of nowhere, especially without little kids around to keep reminding us of their excitement of family get togethers and visions of their future gifts. We enjoyed our last time voting together (a tradition we had for years)as Aaron will vote with his wife near their new home. Nephew Garrett Bedford offered to drive a fellow student home for the holidays from BYU-Idaho to Orange County California. So he stopped by to see his Grandma Judy. It happened to be on a day when Rachel and I were there as well. What a nice surprise!
The Boys Choir's performance schedule is ridiculously busy this time of year. I LOVE every minute working with them and they shower me with hugs and interesting conversation every time I'm with them. Of course, a highlight of the holiday season is the family White Elephant Party. I ended up with a clock in a tuna can, and Jim got a lotion applicator brush. Hahaha!


With Ian on his mission, we opened gifts with him listening on the phone (you can see in the picture, mom holding the phone.) We even got to Skype him at the end of the day. The only thing I asked for was a Craftman Tote - I ended up with four of them! MERRY XMAS!

Long Time No Post

My brother Randy recently gave me a nudge to get back on here and do some updating. My last post shared exciting news of Aaron getting engaged to Kelly Benson. There were other great things going on that months as well.....

my nephew Brandon Guthrie had his Missionary Farewell, leaving for the Mission Training Center and then on to Bolivia.
Ian hit the one-year-mark of his mission in Billings, Montana and celebrated his 21st birthday with one of his favorite companions, Elder Matt Vroom.
By then he was using the Montana/Wyoming lingo, saying things like Pertnear, Use-ta-could, and I Reckon. Hahaha! Our nephew Kevin was on his mission in Poland.

And Jim and I were enjoying having Nicholas living at home again. He'd been living in Santa Barbara for five years and moved home for a while to pay off debts and save some money.

Aaron Is Engaged!

About a year ago Aaron called and said, "I think I found the perfect girl!" And this was before she accepted his requests for their first date. Kelly is 25, a second grade school teacher, and high school volleyball coach. She lives at home with her sister and parents in the El Toro/Lake Forest area (in Orange County.)Last week Aaron invited Kelly's dad out to lunch and asked permission to marry his daughter. After grilling Aaron with all the subjects that Dad's want to know, he gave his whole-hearted approval. On Thursday, Aaron called and said, "Mom, I need you to help me pick out a ring for Kelly." So I left work and met him at the jewelry store. An hour and a half later, Aaron left for work and I came home with the rings; a 1.11 carat solitaire and a band with diamond insets.


I gave him the rings on Saturday and he was still unsure of when or where to propose. The right opportunity came the next day, Sunday September 12th, when Kelly's family invited Aaron to the beach. As the sun was setting, Aaron said to Kelly's dad, "I think I'm gonna do it." So after he and Kelly walked down the beach a long way, he got down on one knee and proposed. She said yes of course.

New pictures of our Missionary

Ian has been serving in the Billings Montana Mission for 1 year. For the past few months he's been one of the Office Elders. His duties include being Secretary to the President. When they have time, they serve as regular Elders in a small ward and a branch. Ian and his companion will be the last Elders to serve in the Mission Home Office since Salt Lake wants the job now done by Senior Missionary Couples so that the younger missionaries can spend all their time proselyting.

Ian loves working alongside the Mission President and enjoys the work of a professional secretary. His current companion is a cartoonist and has been documenting his mission in comic strip form. He has drawn Ian as a super hero known as Funky Arrow. We've been told that they will start training a Senior Couple in six weeks and then be transfered to regular missionary work in October. He's hoping to stay in Billings but who knows - his mission consists of the entire state of Montana and a third of Wyoming. It's good to see him so happy. One year down - one more to go! Hee Hawwwww.

An Exciting Summer for Nicholas

June and July have been fun for our #2 son. He designed, and had manufactured, his own line of drumsticks, which involved the shape and weight of each stick, type of wood, and his logo. Then he spent two weeks in Tahiti with his best friend since 1st grade, Kimo (Kimo in Tahitian means James) who is from there. Kimo’s family (aunts, uncles, cousins, parents and brothers) welcomed Nicholas with leis, beads, his own pāreu (a Tahitian wrap-around skirt for men) and a dream come true vacation. I’m only posting a couple pictures out of 2100 that were taken. More will be posted on my facebook.

Nicholas is the skeletal white boy. Kimo is the one giving us the moon.

Pictures of our Missionary in Wyoming

If you haven't looked at Ian's Facebook page lately, you should. He has some great pictures in his I'M A MISSIONARY folder. A few days ago, we received a surprise email from a couple serving a mission at the Mormon Handcart Pioneer Monument and Visitors Center. Accompanying a nice letter about our son, was a picture of Ian and two other Elders with him. Then today, Bill Foster (an Uncle) who was visiting his relatives in Wyoming, came to Riverton and took Ian and companion to lunch and took this picture. Two awesome pictures of our missionary in a week!



The final picture is described as a typical Wyoming activity in the cultural hall, especially with the little kids in Primary.

One year after our flood

It's almost been a year since our house suffered a flood while we were gone camping for a few days. Everything had to go, including the ceiling and floor. Windows, air conditioner, heater, ducting, plumbing, electrical, lighting, cabinets and appliances were also replaced. Here are a few pictures of the process.
Our entire kitchen fit into this trailer.

Jim gets ready to replace the kitchen plumbing.

Jim, Nicholas and friend Darryll put the new ceiling in place.

Cabinets in place - getting ready for counter tops.