All "Jazz"-ed up!

Byron and Tricia invited us to go to the Jazz game with them on November 1st. We felt honored to be asked to go with them. They could have chosen to take some of their children but instead asked us this time. The tickets included eating dinner first, the game, then a snack during half-time. We were able to eat up on the 6th floor of the Energy Solutions Building. They had quite the buffet and we really enjoyed our company. We were able to meet Byron's boss and his wife who were eating at the table next to us. We can see why Byron likes his boss so well.Byron, John, and I lovin' our close seats. What a fun evening! Byron and Tricia enjoying the game.
Tricia got a fun picture of us during the game.

When you are four seats from the floor you can actually see the players! As you can see we were right behind the L. A Clippers team. It was fun for us to see how the coaches and the players interacted with each other. John thought their coach micro-coached the players too much. The Jazz beat the Clippers and the last part of the game the Jazz basket was down by us.

Fall Leaves Me Happy!

Saturday I watched Jeff and Emily's children so that Jeff could go skeet shooting with his Dad, brothers and sisters. And Emily could go to her class.

All of the children helped me rake leaves and I just had to snap a picture of them in the leaves. I had so much fun with them while they were here. They were really good for me and I enjoyed interacting with them. We played Lumberyard which is one of their favorite games to play. We also watched the last of the movie"Stuart Little". The older children made their own sandwich for lunch so they could fix the kind they preferred. Before we could turn around their mom came and then their dad and Grandpa got home. It's funny how time passes so quickly when you're having fun!

Aren't they cute!

They helped to the bitter end. It looks nicer with the leaves all off the lawn. Now it can snow!

Family Masquerade!

On Halloween night all the family, except for Eric came up to our house. (Eric went to a Stake Halloween Dance.) We served cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate and thoroughly enjoyed seeing each of our grandchildren in their Halloween costumes. As you can see, Jeremy and Sarah also dressed up. The pictures are in order of when they arrived:

The cutest little monkey we've ever seen!

Byron's familyR-o-a-r! I love Halloween!
Jeff's family
Ummm! Elmo knows what he wants!

Go Cougars!

John was invited by his brother Ken to go to the BYU/UNLV game on October 25th. Byron invited Melissa and I to go with him and use two of his tickets. Michael and Genevieve were also able to go to the game. Even without planning to meet up with each other--we did 'cause all of us went to the pre-game event in the parking lot. We had to snap a picture 'cause this isn't an every day occurrence for us. It was great to see Ken again and get to visit with him and find out how they are doing. They came to Utah to help Matt and Amanda on the last leg of their house building.
Jared, Tricia's brother, was down for his wife, Danielle's brother's wedding and so came to the game. He came over and sat and visited with us for a while. He is always interested in each person and is enjoyable to visit with.

Boo-tiful Friends!

We get together with a past Bishopric group each month. We have done this for 19 years. (You know, it may have been even longer, but I know it's been for at least 19 years.) We met at the Johnston's for a Halloween Party on October 24th. John dressed up as the Bishop and six of us that are in the ward dressed up as part of his flock (sheep). Ashby's were kind enough to make the ears, noses, and bell necklaces so that it was easy for us to dress up. Johnston's and Noyce's totally dressed up so we had to take a separate picture of them. We took a Halloween quiz, played Halloween Win, Lose, or Draw trying to guess Halloween movies. We also played our old stand-by game, "I Got Mine!" What a fun party!

Pasta-tively Delicious!

Clara loves pasta! Jeremy, Sarah and Clara were up one night a couple of weeks ago and we loved watching Clara slurp up her spaghetti. We watched her while Jeremy and Sarah went to the temple. We enjoyed just watching her play and interact with us. What a delight she is. She didn't even cry when her parents left!

Sealed for Eternity

Laura McNeel Crawford and her husband J.R. were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on October 11, 2008. I used to visit teach Laura when she lived here a few years ago. I was able to go to St. George with my former visiting teaching partner when she and J. R. went through for their endowments. What a thrill it was to then have their love for each other sealed for time and all eternity. I can't believe the contrast of Laura today compared to the Laura of yesterday. She is so happy and is eager to share her testimony with all she meets. What a positive experience it was to be able to be a part of their sealing. This is a picture of Jared, Laura's son, Laura, J. R. and three of J. R.'s children from a previous marriage.

Fallin' into Sports!

I surprised Byron and Tricia on a Wednesday in September and went down to watch one of Johnathan's soccer game. I took this picture after he'd already started eating his much deserved after-the-game treat. After running tons during the game, he was ready for a drink for sure! Johnathan always has a smile for you!Bradley told us a few new words he has added to his vocabulary while we were watching Johnathan's game. Isn't he a cutie!

I was surprised to find out when I came down to the game, that Byron and Tricia/family had just purchased a new van. It's a Toyota Sienna van. Beautiful van with all kinds of features! Byron gave John and I a test drive in his van when we were down for Tanner's football game. They will get many years of service out of this van. It's great 'cause their whole family fits so nicely in it with plenty of room.

September 27th, John and I were able to go down to one of Tanner's Saturday Football games. He is the quarterback this year and does an excellent job! It's fun watching a game when your grandson has the ball lots. Tanner not only is good at sports, but he is a loving, awesome grandson and we love him.

Sisters, Sisters!

On September 26th, Sherlene and Dennis invited us down for a barbecue. We picked up Connie and Don and enjoyed the ride down and back. This is the first time that we've gotten together as couples since Don and Connie have moved up this way. We all contributed to the dinner and really enjoyed ourselves. We're going to have to get together more often, so we can continue to build a close relationship with each other. We got to eat out on Sherlene and Dennis' new deck and enjoy the new patio table and chairs that Dennis got for Father's Day. Nice! We're jealous! :) I love each of my sisters and brothers and feel so fortunate to have been born into the family I was. I learn from each one of them. I love my brother and sister-in-laws just as much as my brothers and sisters. Families are a blessing indeed! We appreciate Nicole snapping this picture.

Behold Your Little Ones

I have some catching up to do--so bear with me while I do some catching up. Thanks to Tricia and Camille helping yesterday to fix my post of our trip to Idaho. Now I can blog some of the other things I want to share with all of you.

All of the children we have in our nursery weren't here the day I took this picture, but I wanted to take a picture of Sis. Fellows, our music person who faithfully comes in to teach the children the Primary songs. The children love her! This Sundaywas her last day in our ward 'cause she is now going to a single's ward. She will be missed. I love serving in the nursery! I serve with some awesome, devoted sisters who also love the children.

Our trip to Idaho.

I just had to have a picture by this beautiful water fountain in front of the Twin Falls Temple. John and I celebrated our anniversary a month late 'cause he was gone on August 19th. We drove up to Twin Falls, Idaho on Thursday, September 11th and went on the 5:30 p.m. session in the new, beautiful Twin Falls Temple. You can just feel the excitement of the people up there to have a temple in their midst--and they should be!

You can barely see John here in front of the Twin Falls Temple. We took pictures before going in to do a session. This temple is in a perfect location and just looks majestic.

We went to Jerome to see Lon at his office, "Jerome Physical Therapy". It's a nice facility and it sounds like he is doing well. We appreciate him taking the time to show us around even though we knew he was in a hurry. Don't you love his "Scrabble" tie--not to mention the scary kind of friends he hangs out with!:)

We went to see Melanie and Lon (of course!) and their wonderful family. They always make you feel so welcome. Lon and Josh had a camp out and game to go to and they went later than they had planned, so they could see us and spend more time with us--how nice of them!

When I said I wanted to take a family picture of their family, I couldn't believe how fast they got outside to take it. They even picked up Brianna who was sound asleep in her crib! What a sharp family! They are doing the things that they should be doing and have their priorities in the right order. The children followed us wherever we went and were into the conversations and really made us feel at home. We picked huge, delicious raspberries right off the vine and sweet, yummy peaches off their overflowing trees. They also sent us home with tomatoes and cukes. Not to mention the chocolate chip cookies. Joshua even played the "Star Wars Theme" for us on the piano. You can tell he practices a lot! He says he plays the piano for priesthood. Keep it up, Josh! You guys are awesome!

John and I went out to Sizzler's for our 38th anniversary. We thoroughly enjoyed the meal and being together. We stayed at the Super 8 motel in a suite. Nice! It seemed good to get a way to the Twin Falls Temple and see the sites around Twin Falls.

This man from Australia is getting his parachute ready so he can jump off the Perinne Bridge a second time. We saw him jump off, but my camera was low on battery and I missed the whole thing! :(

Johnathan's Baptism!

I didn't bring my camera to Johnathan's baptism. I know, it's terrible! Check out Byron and Tricia's blog for pictures and details. (The picture is of Johnathan before a soccer game in October of 2007.) The spirit was strong at Johnathan's baptism. All of his brothers and sister were all dressed up and looked so sharp. It was great that Byron was able to baptize and confirm his son. I remember the day I was baptized. I can't remember who of my family was there, but I remember when my foot touched the water in the baptismal font a thrill went throughbout my body. After I was baptized I sort of started sputtering or something and I remember my dad telling me I'd be okay and comforted me. I was baptized May 5, 1956, 52 years ago! Crazy, how the time goes by so quickly!

"Money might make you wealthy, but friends make you rich!"

(I didn't take any pictures when our friends were here so I am including a picture we took when we were together in August 2006 when we went to Sacramento.)Our friends, Jerry and Sandy Smith, from Sacramento, California whom we got to know from our Duracell days, came to visit us from August 22 - August 23, 2008. We picked them up from the train depot early on Friday the 22nd and then took them back late on Saturday, the 23rd. So we had two full days and one night with them. We loved having them stay with us this time. We took them to see Jeremy, Sarah, and Clara since Jeremy was home during the day and had never met Jerry and Sandy and he had heard lots about them. Jeremy and Sarah went to Savers with us. Sandy and I always like going to Thrift Stores! We also drove to Provo so they could see BYU. BYU Education Week was going on at the time so there wasn't much parking, so we just drove them around. Jeremy, Sarah, and Clara joined the four of us for lunch at Cafe Rio. We then drove up town to Temple Square. Jerry and Sandy enjoyed the tour of the Conference Center.
We went over to our Ward's High Priest Social. Sandy and Jerry were so easy to take. They fit in perfectly. I think the group was sad to see us leave, 'cause Jerry and Sandy were such great entertainment. We left early 'cause we wanted to play games with Jerry and Sandy. We played "I Got Mine!" and "Accumulation" We always have lots of fun.
The next day after having a good breakfast, we headed up to Park City. John went up by Emmigration Canyon but there was so much construction that we had to take a detour and didn't get the full effect. We took the scenic route that day! We enjoyed shopping at the Factory Stores and driving around the Park City area.
In the eveningn we had invited our children/grandchildren up for a barbecue. Jerry and Sandy said they felt so at home here with our family. That made us feel so good. The time went by so quickly while they were here, but we made the best of the time while they were here. We found out that their train didn't leave until 3:45 a.m. Sunday morning so they had quite the wait--and it took them 'til 8 p.m. Sunday night to get home. It was a long day for them. I don't think they plan to ride the train again!

Fun in the Sun!

August 30th, 2008, Michael and Genevieve invited our whole family to a pool party. These were the ones that were able to come including John and I that aren't in the picture! It was fun interacting with everyone in the pool. The water was a bit too cold for me--but it did seem warmer once you got all the way in. Byron splashed me a lot--but I was able to get him back somc too. It was a refreshing change to go swimming. Michael and Genevieve had ice cream for us afterwards. I've always thought ice cream tastes so good after swimming in the pool. Thanks Michael and Genevieve!

Summer Fun

We had a fun time at the annual McCleve Reunion for my side of the family. My brother, Verl and his wife, Anna, and family did a good job in being in charge of it. We had it in Show Low, AZ where I grew up. This family picture was taken in the Main Street Church house where we had the Talent Show. We were sad that Jeff, Emily and children couldn't come to the reunion this year. We had lots of fun in the lake that was on the property. They had all kinds of boats, rafts, kayaks, etc. that were there for you to use at no charge. It was fun. You can tell the ones that spent the most time out in the lake by the sunburns!

Goin' to Grandma's

When I got down to Jeff and Emily's to pick up Ashlyn and Alyssa, Alyssa came running up to the van and said, "Grandma, I didn't think you were ever going to come!" I just really enjoyed having the girls up here. We had fun shopping at Jo-ann's even though Alyssa says she doesn't like to shop. I think she changed her mind 'cause she was quite the shopper in Joann's and "Dollar Tree".

We went to the Jordan River Parkway and the girls played on the playground equipment and then went for a short walk. We watched movies downstairs and for dinner I fixed spiderweb potatoes that the girls loved!

Goin' to Grandma's!

In June Parker and Carter came to stay overnight at Grandma's while Grandpa was at our ward's Father's and Son's outing. We went to Liberty Park and played on the playground equipment and played in the water. We watched two movies, "The Ultimate Gift" and "Lion King". They also helped me trim back the apple tree in the back yard. We set up the mattresses downstairs so that we could all three sleep downstairs, but the boys decided at the last minute that they'd like to sleep in the big guest bed upstairs-so that's what we did. I showed both Parker and Carter how the snails were eating our petunias. We caught a few of them that night. In the morning, Parker and I went out to see if there were any more snails. There were! And they had eaten a few more leaves. Parker went in to wake up Carter to show him. We went in the house to get a bag with salt in it, got the little gardening shovel and went to find the rest of the snails—and we found 6 more. One of the snails I found was so cute and all out. I showed it to Carter and Parker and said, "Oh, isn’t it cute?" Carter said, "It is, but we have to kill it ‘cause it’s eating your petunias!" He said it so sad like. It was cute.

Being a Grandma is the Best!