Picking the shoes & bag...
Choosing the dress...
Doing the hair & make-up...
Three hours later, you get to look like this!
Or this!
Noel was Freshman Winter Formal Princess - nominated by the teachers and voted by her peers. She doesn't date yet, so we brought Holly back to go with her - they had a total blast!!!
My Uncle Aubrey died at the age of 89. He was a real cowboy! He worked on ranches in Arizona, Texas, and Wyoming. He and my Uncle Grant were on the Roping Circuit and competed and won a lot! Uncle Grant told me when they were little kids they'd practice on my mom. She'd run out and they'd catch her. Sometimes she'd get rope burns and then fight with them!
Like all of my mom's brothers, Uncle Aubry fought in two wars. He was in the Battle of the Bulge with General Patton! A lot of my uncles would come home wounded in the war and then go back out to war...
There were 11 kids in my mom's family. One passed away as a baby. These are the four left surviving: Uncle John, Aunt Ardel, Maybelle (my mom was called by her middle name), and Uncle Grant.
That evening after the service we drove 2 hours to Safford, Arizona. We drove right past the new Safford LDS Temple. It was so beautiful with the Graham Mountains behind it...
This is the town my mom and dad grew up in...
My mom worked at this theatre when she was 14 taking tickets and making popcorn...
Here is the Safford Courthouse -
This is the pool hall/bar that my dad's two uncles owned. It is still called The American Bar and it was the place to be back in it's day...
This is the house my mom lived in during junior high and high school...
My mom lived outside of a tiny town called Fort Thomas when she was little and went to grade school in this little red schoolhouse...
We visited my dad's grave - I miss him so much...
If you ever want the BEST MEXICAN FOOD go to Arizona!!!
We shot the rocket off in the Sand Dunes.
The dogs watched from the mule - the noise scared them!
Playing board games...
Taking naps...
Our sunset coming home from a relaxing weekend...
It's also called "Hot Pot" and we got one for Christmas.
You make your own soup with noodles, meat and veggies. Shabu Shabu means Swish Swish which is what you do in the pot with the ingredients to cook them.
It's really fun, delicious, and easy to do!
Yummo!!!
Leftovers!!!
Luke got Karate lessons for part of his Christmas gift. He has been asking for this for a long time! Matt is his instructor and he's great!
What? Sparring with a girl??? She's good though - she's a Green Belt!
I'm the King of the World!!!
Lucky for us - Drew and Holly stayed an extra day and didn't leave for school until Sunday. Actually it was because Drew hadn't gotten everything packed yet. He was moving up to his new (not really new) apartment at the Glenwood in Provo.
Holly would sneak this one up if she could!
I made Drew this cookbook with his favorite easy recipes since this is his first year cooking on his own! He loved this surprise!
It's always hard to say goodbye...
Boy, are we missing these two!!!
Jeff helped Drew pack the car to the tilt!!!
Bye Bye!
Holly and I thought it would be fun to celebrate New Year's Day by clearing the coffee table and setting up a big Chinese lunch while watching the Rose Bowl!
Everyone got to choose their favorites and then we picked it up, brought it home and got it all set up for the game.
Heidi and Sasha thought it looked good too!
Oops! Sash got too close!
The aftermath...
Jeff and the kids played our new "Beatles Rock Band" later that evening. Ben Cadden is back there too on the drums!
We watched Dick Clark!
In our pajamas!
Noel went to the Tri-Stake "80's" Themed Dance with Aubry and Carissa!
Drew, Holly and Trenton met up with a bunch of friends at their Regional Stake "Fire & Ice" Themed New Year's Eve Dance!
We set off poppers and sparklers at midnight and then went straight to bed!
It was cold and windy at the river this time!
Can you say STEAK???
Yes, we did have leftovers that we enjoyed in sandwiches and other meals.
Does something look not quite right here to you?
Yeah, we thought so too!
We all snuggled up to off road to the shooting range...
Jeff, Drew, and I shot at clay pigeons with a 22 Winchester rifle.
Jeff had done this before and looked so pro!
Me on the other hand...
Jeff taught Aubry and Carissa how to shoot - they did really well!
We used a 22 Lugar Mosquito handgun, a 22 revolver and the rifle for target practice. Of course we always wear protective gear - ear plugs and glasses...
Look out for Noel the sharp shooter!
The three girls all played on their phones huddled up in a circle while waiting for their turn.
The ammo...
We made our mark!
