Busy Holidays

We have had a busy and wonderful holiday season, starting with Thanksgiving. We had most of our family over for a yummy turkey dinner. Joel and Becky were in Pittsburgh, and Reed and Andrea went to Utah to spend Thanksgiving with Andrea's family. Marie, Rob, and Evan came up from Tucson. It was a beautiful day. The weather was unseasonably warm, and we were able to have fun outside playing badminton.



I took off a week from work in December to babysit April's boys, Gavin and Ethan, while April and Jason spent a fun-filled week in Cozumel, Mexico with some of Jason's family. The boys and I had fun going to the Temple Christmas lights, the zoo, the Science Center, and a few other places. Such good boys! They listen, they help, and they go to bed so easily!

Joel and Becky came to visit from Pittsburgh for two weeks during Joel's Christmas break from Dental school! We got to meet their newest addition, Nolan Marc (4 months)! He is so cute and adorable!! They blessed him this Sunday, and then we had a luncheon afterwards with Becky's family. That was fun!

Marina turned 5 a few days after they got here. She is soooo bright! I am amazed at how well she can read! And Molly is a beautiful little sweetheart!!

We had a great Christmas! Lots of fun and food and family! I just wish I could have taken more time off work to enjoy a more relaxing week. All I had off was Christmas day. Maybe next year!

New Pictures and Posts!

I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since I posted anything! I guess I better try to catch up on what we have been doing!

Last month Gary and I went to the Annual Pancake Breakfast at old Fire Station 1, and met two of my old coworkers from Personnel. It is always fun to catch up with them and see how they are doing. Only Jo Donovan (and her husbanc Gib) and Jessie Garcia were able to make it this year. I hope Cindy and Janet can make it next year.

A bunch of us went to a Union Picnic at Kiwanas Park in Tempe. Reed, Andrea, and Lauryn; April, Gavin, and Ethan; and Matt, Melanie, Heather, and Connor went with me, and had a lot of fun (except it was too hot!). Gary was working that day, and didn't get to go and receive his 25-year pin from the Union.

Halloween was fun this year. I sat outside on the front porch with a fire in a half barrel that Gary made into a fire pit. I handed out candy and roasted marshmellows. Reed, Andrea, and Lauryn dressed up. Matt, Melanie, Heather, and Connor came all dressed up too. And Tyler, Natalie, Hadley, and Cole also came by all dressed up to Trick or Treat!

We had a 4-day weekend on Veteran's Day, so Gary, Rob Sherker (our nephew from Florida), and I went camping at Apache Lake. It was so beautiful there! My favorite part was going kayaking!! The Stake has two kayaks that we were able to borrow. It has got to be one of my all time favorite things to do! I love being on the lake, gliding across the water with the only sound you hear is the paddle sloshing in the water! It was fun chasing after the wild ducks that would dive underwater every time you got close to them, and then they would pop up about 10 yards away from where they went under!

On Saturday, Pat Rogers, Mark Standage, and their boys Kimball and Joseph came up to do a couple of merit badges with Gary. They learned how to care for and handle a knife, an ax, and a saw, earning their "Totin Chip". But their favorite part of their trip was kayaking! They learned real quickly how to handle the kayak, and had a ball racing each other around the buoys! I even heard Joseph say that he wanted to stay here forever! The only thing he missed was his Game Boy. We ate lunch, then made homemade brownies and ice cream. Yum!!!

Gary had fun teaching Rob how to kayak! He has some funny stories to tell about Rob's first attempts! But after a few trial and errors, Rob thoroughly enjoyed the adventure! He's even talking about buying a kayak when he gets back to Florida to use on the rivers near his home!

The weather was warm during the day, and cool at night. We were able to go swimming (sort of!) in the icy water on Saturday (actually one of us went for a swim every morning at daylight! I don't how he stood it!). Then each night we had a warm campfire. I even roasted marshmellows and made Somemores one night!

Sunday morning my Mom and Ron came up to spend the day. They got there early enough to help us make biscuits and gravy and bacon and egss for breakfast. My favorite camping breakfast! Then Mom and I visited, Ron took a nap, and Gary and Rob kayaked all the way to Roosevelt Dam (a four hour trip - up and back!). We cooked steaks and enjoyed a wonderful dinner, before Ron and Mom drove back home in the dark. What a fun day!

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and we had a wonderful family dinner with everyone at my house. I totally forgot to get my camera out and take any pictures. But we had lots of great food and enjoyed each others company. Rob, Marie, and Evan were able to come up from Tucson to spend Thanksgiving here! It was fun to see their sweet family. Reed and Andrea went to Utah to spend the holiday with her family, so we missed them. And Joel and Becky had a nice holiday with their neighbors in Pittsburgh. We are looking forward to seeing them when they come for Christmas. I can't wait to see and hold that new grandson that we haven't gotten to see in person yet! And to see how their girls have grown!

National Preparedness Day

We babysat Gavin and Ethan today while Jason and April had their last adoption class, so we took them to the National Preparedness Day at the Bass Pro Shop. There was lots of booths with free giveaways (i.e., candy, frisbees, whistles, fireman hats, etc.) We got to see one of the City of Mesa Police helicopters, a SWAT vehicle and equipment, the Police robot that difuses bombs, and a big Fire Truck. We learned about being prepared in all kinds of emergencies. And we got to see all the live fish and mounted animals in Bass Pro Shop. A fun time was had by all!

Stake Conference

We had the best Stake Conference ever! I don't think I have ever had an Apostle at a Stake Conference before. Elder Dallin H. Oaks came to our Stake Conference this weekend. I have always loved his General Conference talks, but I have never gotten to know what he is really like, until now. He is so funny!! He would tell a funny story, and then he would get laughing so hard that his shoulders would shake up and down! He told a little about his family, and how his sixth child was born thirteen years after his first five kids. He said he felt like he got a second chance with this daughter to be a better parent. But he told how messy and unorganized she was, and how he was always nagging her to pick things up and turn off the lights. He said that one day when she was about 13, he realized that he didn't want to be remembered by her as a nagging parent, so he decided to quit nagging altogether. He started praising her for all the good things she did, and ignored all the bad habits that drove him crazy. He told her how proud he was of her for the good things she did. He said that in doing that, she began to try to live up to the wonderful things he was saying about her. He gained a testimony of how saying positive things to others can cause a change in them. His daughter is now married with four children of her own. He said she is an amazing mother.

Gary and I were able to attend the Saturday night Adult session, the Sunday morning Youth session (because Gary is in the Stake YM's presidency), and the Sunday morning Family session. Gary also attended the Saturday afternoon Priesthood Leadership session.

One of the most surprising things that Elder Oaks did, was to go around before each meeting started to shake hands with as many people as he could. And then after the meetings he would shake more hands. What a great feeling it was to shake the hand of one of the Apostles of the Lord. What a great spirit he brought to our meetings!

Stake Temple Day

Yesterday was our Stake Temple Day. My daughter April and I went for the whole day! It was so wonderful to spend the entire day there, feeling such a sweet spirit. I really appreciate April going with me. It was so fun to spend that time with her. I love having every other Friday off work, so I can do things like that.

Newest Grandbaby!

I talked to Joel today, and found out that they had their baby boy yesterday! We didn't hear about it sooner, because we didn't have cell phone coverage up camping! He was born at 10:45 p.m., weighed 8 pounds 1 ounce, and was 21 inches long! He emailed me some pictures today. What a cute baby! Of course I am not prejudice at all!!! Becky and baby are both doing great!

They named him Nolan Marc Tiffany.

Here he is!

Camping

We just got back from camping in the mountains this weekend. It was so much fun! It was cool, it rained, we ate good food, we made dutch-oven pizza, we played games, we roasted marshmellows for SomeMores, we sat around the campfire, we played volleyball and badminton, we went for walks, we rode quads, we relaxed in the shade of huge pine trees, and we enjoyed visiting with family and friends. The spot we went to was awesome! It was beautiful and peaceful (accept on Sunday afternoon, when someone nearby was shooting LOUD guns). We are going to try and reserve the same place for the Memorial Day weekend next year. It is a church-owned wilderness camp with no water, bathroom facilities, or shelters. But they did have gravel roads, wood chips on the ground in the camping areas, firewood that was already cut and stacked, metal fire rings/pits, and a few wooden benches and tables here and there. Nearby was a stage and benches that could be used for meetings or shows. We also found some rope swings that the kids could play on. The only downfall was that cows could walk through camp and leave their calling cards! We had to shovel more than a few cow pies to get them out of our way! I wish they would install some of those cow-proof grates at the entrances. The other negative was that we had to leave!! The kids really didn't want to leave! Ethan even cried as we were driving away, because he wanted to stay longer! What a great weekend!!

At the Zoo

I got to babysit Gavin and Ethan yesterday, while April and Jason went to an adoption class all day. Since it was cloudy and fairly cool, we decided to go to the Zoo. It was a lot of fun! They played in the water fountains, we saw lots of animals, we ate some snacks, they played on the farm equipment, and they rode the carousel! We only stayed a few hours, then came home. What good boys they are! Never a complaint or argument! I would say let's go to the next thing, and they would come! Wow, my kids never minded that well!! I guess April has taught them well. It is so fun being a grandparent! All the fun, and none of the headaches!

Quad Riding

Gary, Reed, and Matt went quad riding yesterday near Eagar. They had a lot of fun riding in the mud, as you can see by the pictures! Gary had to meet a guy there to show him the ride that he will be leading for the Quad Jamboree in September. Gary led the "Greens Peak" ride two years ago at the Jamboree. The Jamboree will be Tuesday - Saturday, September 4-8, in the mountains around the Eagar/Springerville area. It is beautiful there, as you can also see by the pictures.