Where did December go?

I can't believe that December is gone. I wish I could capture the magic moments in a bottle and release them when I want the magic back again. I miss the wonderful Christmases of when the kids were little and the closeness of family and friends. But I know things can't stay the same forever and I don't want them to. I just wish we could keep the magic just a little longer.
But I had a very enjoyable Christmas it was very quite and snowy. This year we tried to keep things simple. Some of the traditions we had when the kids were little have gone and we are trying to replace them with new ones. I try to make them something every year. Last year I made them pj pants and stockings and this year I made them pillow cases and a scrapbook. They were a lot of work but also fun.
We didn't go anywhere for Christmas and a good thing to, we were snowed in. It snowed all day and blew all night. We ended up with 12 inches of snow or more.
We all loved our presents even thought they were few in numbers. J.J., Sam and little Rocky called and wished us Merry Christmas. We also got to talk to Peter ( Elder Riehle)for over an hour. He sounded wonderful and we are all getting excited for his homecoming the 3rd of June.
Jay and the boys didn't even try to shovel us out until the day after Christmas. With all that snow you need a good shovel our old shovel finally broke we only had it 14 years. We were lucky because we bought the last shovel in town and the last of the ice melt.
After wards we had a nice breakfast and then we took Alex the birthday boy to the mall and to his favorite place to eat Mandarin Gardens he loves that tiny spicy chicken.
I love all my children very much but I feel a special closeness with Alex since he was born so close to my birthday. It is hard to let your children go but I want them to have the same happiness I have had.
For the rest of December we hope to have Jay's family over and I am planing going on a trip with Jay again. I took a trip with him the first of the week to San Francisco. I will go if my tooth ache goes away. I am also planing on organizing my home and hopefully have my Mom and Randy over for a visit soon. I am also having a birthday. I can't have another one has come, it feels like I just had one. Oh well, where did my December or year go?

A Wonderful Week!

We had a wonderful week here are a few pictures of the good times with our family.

Happy Birthday J.J.

Today is my sons John's Or (J.J.) birthday.

He is a kind and caring person. He is such a good son, husband and father!

I just want to let him know how much I love him and to wish him a Happy Birthday!

We love you John!

My favorite season

This is my favorite time of the year. When the weather changes the leaves fall and the cool nights begin. I enjoy making warm soups and stews and warm apple crisps. I love to curl up to a good book with a hot cup of cocoa or just watch TV or movies in my pj's.
I am a homebody by nature and I love taking care of my family and my home. Every year I work on projects for Christmas. Last year I made recipe books and stockings and pj pants. This year I am making pillow cases and I am working on scrapbooks. I also plan on making yummy treats and goodies to share with everyone.
I am also trying to keep things simple. By simplifying things there is less stress.
I am also enjoying this season of my life. I have more time for myself and I am able to do the things that I enjoy. I am learning more about myself. I enjoy my grown kids they are fun to be around. It is a great accomplishment to have almost all of my children raised. And knowing that you did your best. I also enjoy being a grandma even though it is a long distance. I can't wait until my son and his wife come for a visit, and of course little Rocky.
Many people don't enjoy the cold days or the long winter nights or the feeling of an empty nest but they give me a feeling of peace and security. I love the holidays and the chance to be with my family and friends in celebrations. I am enjoying this season of my life. What season are you in your life?

Halloween Fun!

My brother Matt and his wife Kelly as Shrek and Fiona

Lacey and her friends after the Halloween Ochestra concert

Halloween Ochestra concert

Lunch lady witches

99 balloons

The video at the bottom of my blog is a segment I watched on Oprah . This video tugs at your heart strings and you really appreciate and love your healthy children. God loves us so much and he is always watching and taking care of us.
Make sure you have a box of tissues handy.

Twists and Turns

Life can take its twists and turns and my life has had some turns in it lately. Turns for the better I hope. I haven't written about what is going on with us here in Tremonton. I still am a cook at the Middle School. I love working there. The ladies are so nice and we all get along really well. My hours are short enough so I can enjoy my afternoons and I get holidays and weekends off. I even get paid in the summer to not work. What more could I ask for?
I also have been riding my bike to work and walking when I can. And a couple times a week Jay and I go swimming in the morning. We love spending that time together before he has to go on his trip in the truck. We have really been trying to have some sort of exercise every week. We have fun and we might even loose a few pounds in the process.
J.J. and Sam and baby Rocky will be visiting around Thanksgiving. We are so excited for them to come. Jay went to Ohio last week and on his way he stopped for a visit. I was jealous but I will so enjoy their visit in November.
I have also been caning a little bit and trying to boost up my food storage. And be fiscally fit with our finances.
I have also volunteered to be the Chairperson for pennies by the inch. I am in charge of the North half of Tremonton. I have to find neighborhood volunteers and then I have to gather all of the money and turn it in. It is a big job but I want to help out our community.
Peter is still in the same area he has been since the beginning of the summer. He is tracting a lot but hopefully he will get transferred to a new area with more success.
Lacey is doing fine. she is playing the piano and reluctantly taking violin. Shopping is on her mind these days. She just got her lamb money and it is burning a hole in her pocket. I am making her save most of it.
Andy has been going to USU and taking writing classes. He also teaches gospel doctrines every week. He just recently went on a date. Wow! he has only been on a few dates since he came home from his mission. I was so happy for him.
My biggest news is that Alex has flew the coop or in other words he has moved out. He shares an apartment with some friends and he is still a maintenance manager at Wendy's. He didn't move that far away but I think he just wanted to spread his wings. We miss him a lot but he comes over once in awhile to say hi or borrow some food. The house isn't the same without him.
Jay misses all his boys being home together. He is mostly with us girls when he is home. I know he loves us but it just isn't the same. He has always been around his brothers or his boys. I sometimes miss the whole gang at home but I am happy for my family and our lives have to take twists and turns in order for us to grow.

Tammy's Birthday

Last weekend I was able to spend some time with my sister Tammy and celebrate her birthday.Jake loves his mom so much. He is so thoughtful. He made a treasure hunt for her to find her presents.
We had a great time shopping for scrapbook supplies and eating yummy lasagna made by Charlie her husband and we watched Edward Scissor hands the next morning we scraped a few pages for her scrap book and a YUMMY breakfast. We had a wonderful time! Happy Birthday To A Wonderful Sister!

A fun labor Day

These are only a few pictures that I have to show. My card was full and it didn't save them.

For Labor day weekend my sister Tammy and her daughter Savannah came for a visit. We worked on scrap books, shopped for scrapbook supplies (hopefully she will get hooked on scrapbooks they are so fun!) and we made zucchini quiche. I wanted to take her to see the movie Mama Mia because I have been listening to the sound track all week at work and I love ABBA'S music.

I really liked the movie and we both cried when she sang the song to her daughter on her wedding day. It is definitely a chick flick. Our husbands were worried about us because we went to the late show and they made sure we went straight home. Which we did. Let's face it we are not party girls.

The next day Jay picked up Charlie in his semi truck on his way home from California. When they got home we made a picnic and headed up Logan Canyon. We enjoyed the shady spot that the guys found and it was right next to the river, but the bugs liked our picnic just as much as we did. So we didn't stay long. We next went to Sunrise peak and overlooked the Bear Lake valley. It was very beautiful there and we got a glimpse of a moose.

Lacey brought her friend Lexie with, because we are too boring for her. Charlie had fun teasing the girls by pretending to throw grasshoppers at them but they were really pebbles.

And since we came all that way we had to get the famous fresh raspberry shakes in Garden City. Savannah said that raspberries look like our brains. She is so cute and she says the funniest things. We ate in a covered wagon outside the ice cream store and Savannah had a ginormous ice cream cone which was melting faster than she could eat it.

We headed home very happy and tired. We gave a sticky Savannah a bath and we all talked and listen to some music and finished eating our picnic.

Our week end was very nice and I am so glad that I could finally spend sometime with my sister and her family.

Baby Rocky

Life is good being a baby!

Where did my Summer Go?

It seems that this summer has just flown by. Next week it is the Box Elder County Fair. And once again our kids are showing their lambs. We buy the lambs at the end of the school year and we show and sell them the weekend before school starts. That means every morning and every evening for three months we feed, water, clean the barn and watch and worry about them.

It eats away most of our summer but it still is fun and the kids learn a lot about work and commitment. And they earn some money ( this is the main reason why they do it) in the process.

I am looking forward to the fair this year. It is fun to get out of our routine and hopefully our kids will do well at the show. They have worked really hard and the lambs look really good. This year we hired someone to shear them for us. It was so much easier then doing it ourselves. Although, Alex did get stepped on and kicked in the face. But his lamb looks really cool with a mow hawk.

Time flies by so fast and before you know it, school will be out and it will be time to buy another lamb!

Fudge it isnt just for Christmas time anymore!

Last night in Young women's we made yummy fudge. Brother Wells taught the girls all about baking and pie making. I love to bake and collect recipe's and I plan on sharing some of my favorites with you. So check back often for some fun recipe's and enjoy!

FUDGE

3/4 cup butter

5 oz can evaporated milk

3 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 bag milk chocolate chips

1 small jar of marshmallow cream

Add butter, milk and sugar in a medium sauce pan. Heat on medium, until234 degrees. or until softball form in cold water. Remove from heat. Add vanilla, stir. Add the chocolate chips and stir until melted. Add marshmallow cream and stir until it is all mixed together. Line a 9x9 or 9x13 pan with butter or Pam spray. Place in pan. chill until firm.

Oh no Lacey is a teenager!

Today is Lacey's 13 birthday. Wow how time flies when you are having fun! We sure have had a blast raising a daughter. Here are some fun things about Lacey. Favorite foods are steak, mashed potatoes, cabbage (can you believe it?) fruits, mostly Mandarin oranges and chocolate milk. She loves clothes and jewelry. And spending her daddy's money. Her favorite song is Shake it by Metro Station. She like these tv shows I carly, full house, spongebob and The secret life of the American teenager. For movies she like 27 dresses and 13 going on 30. She is really into music as well.

Her many talents are playing the piano and violin, making cookies and she is artistic. She loves the colors orange, brown and pink,and lime green.

She has lots of friends and she loves spending time with them and texting them with her new cell phone or instant messaging when her cell phone battery is charging. And chatting about her favorite book series Twilight.

We love her very much her brothers think she is spoiled but maybe they are right to some degree, but when you only have one daughter it is easy to indulge her. Even though she is spoiled she is not a brat she is very helpful and kind to others. She has a tender heart. A sweet spirit and she is a blessing in our lives.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LACEY JO!

baby John

Here are a few pictures of our new grandson. Isn't he cute!

It's a BOY!

John Rockford Riehle was born on Monday July 14,2008. He weighed 8 lbs and 3 oz. 20 1/2 inches long. He has brown hair and he is the cutest baby I have seen in a long time.
But I guess I am predigest when it comes to my family.
Sam's mother and I got to watch the c section from a observation window. It was very interesting and I am glad I had my children vaginally. We were all nervous of how things would go after losing Charlotte but Sam is doing fine and the baby is healthy. J.J. is a bit tired but a proud papa. He will make a great daddy. He was the first one to change baby Johns diaper.
They are so happy and I am so excited to be a grandma. Now let the fun begin!

A day with the Amish

Today Sam & J.J. took me Shipshewana Indiana to Amish country. Our first stop was an antique store but it was more like a museum. Dad would have loved the place they had antique toys, tools, maps, furniture, and fifties memorabilia.
Next we went to this museum called men-heof. It wasn't that expensive but Sam didn't really want to walk around that much and the guys thought it was lame. So I just bought a Amish cookbook and I can't wait to try it out it has cool recipes like chicken pot pie and Amish bread and shoflypie one of Jay's favorite.
We next went to some markets and Andy's favorite store was the candy store and mine was all the beautiful quilts. very nice but too expensive to buy.
I also enjoyed all the farms and horses and buggies and all the people, there life seem so quaint and I like how there life is so simple and good.
I enjoyed my day out!

We have arrived!

Our flight to Denver was a little bumpy and Lacey got a little air sick. Other than that it was short and un eventful. Our flight to Chicago was all right and we got to see wonderful fire works from the plane.
I appreciate Sam and J.J. picking us up It is a long drive from there home in Indiana.
I so happy to be here and help out while we wait for baby John to arrive.
I am so glad to see my son Andy again. He has been visiting here for about a month. I missed his sense of humor and his sarcastic jokes.
Since we missed our forth of July fire works J.J. made a bottle rocket launcher and set off a few fireworks. We also enjoyed some sparklers and lightning bugs. That was the first time that I have seen fireflies or lightning bugs. I have only seen them at Disneyland at the pirates of the Caribbean ride. I don't get out much do I. I am glad we are here and I can't wait to be a grandma!

Flying by the seat of my pants!

This time tommarrow I will be on my way to Indiana to see my new soon to be born grandson. Lacey and I will be flying to Denver and switch planes and then to Chicago. Lacey has never flown before and I have only flown twice. We are a little green.

I will be flying by the seat of my pants because it will feel like my first time flying. I was never in charge before I always went with experienced travelers. I hope to be able to get on the right plane.

Wish me luck!

Young Womens Camp was a blast!

Here are a few pics from our girls camp in Willow Flatts Idaho. Our theme was mormon idol. We had a lip sync contest and we koreokeed. We don't have idols in our church but we do have heros some of the girls idols were Nephi, Lehi, Joseph Smith and the Savior.

We had a great time and hopefully I will beable to go again next year.

It looks like we made it!

It finally happened he graduated. I am very proud of Alex. We werent sure if this day would come but he pulled it off. It has been a fun and wonderful 18 years with Alex. He also amazed us when he graduated from Seminary. Way to go Alex!

current Missionary
Future Missionary

What has Elder Riehle been doing this past year?

Since it was Peter's Birthday on Tuesday I just wanted to let everyone know what he has been doing on his mission this past year. I wrote this for a talk that I gave on Sunday so if it sounds like a talk then it probably is.
I have saved all of Elder Riehle’s letters since he left the mission home about year ago for the Knoxville Tennessee Mission. As I went through them I could have used a urium and Thumum to read them. His hand writing is very difficult to read but I have to say it has improved at each letter. Our family jokes about if we can’t figure out what the word is we just make up a word and fit it in the letter sort of like add lib and it ends up funny in the sentence but we usually figure out what it is he is trying to tell us.
So here are some of Elder Riehles’ experiences through his letters. At the MTC he writes This is great here! I can’t tell you how much my testimony has grown, and how much I have learned I’m so excited to serve the Lord. He describes his first companion Elder Hooley from Lehi he is a really cool Elder. We are not allowed to call him a guy or a dude anymore only Elders. I noticed this when he called on Mothers day I kept trying to call him Peter but he always corrected me and he said he was Elder Riehle. They are really focused on there call as missionaries. He goes on to say that he was a little homesick at first, but the letters really helped him get through it. He loved almost everything about the MTC except the long classroom hours and the food. He said that there was any kind of food you could want but it didn’t agree with him.
In his last letter from the MTC he describes how much he will miss the Elders in his district and he loved his experiences there. He says I have learned and I have grown so much in the short time that I have been here. But it appears that I still have a long way to go.
When he arrived in Tennessee he writes from the mission president Godfrey’s home he says I just want you to know that I have arrived safe and sound. The flight was fine.
The people here are absolutely wonderful! When our flight got delayed the flight attendants brought us all lunch. Just because we were missionaries. She wasn’t even a member of our church. It was just because we had the name of Jesus Christ on our name tags.
His first area was in Dryden Virginia. The first week he baptized Barbra Wood. He writes I am not taking credit because I didn’t teach her. She loves the church and her brother in law is the bishop of the ward. My companion/ trainer is Elder Bennett he has taught me a lot since I have arrived. He is way cool.
Did you know what is even cooler is that I am living in a trailer. That is right a trailer. It is very nice I even have my own shower and bathroom. I thought this was funny I usually don’t think as a trailer being nice but he did. But I did see pictures of it and it did look very nice. In his next letter he calls me mamaw it is how the people in Tennessee call their mothers. Other hillbilly slang that he uses are ya’ll, howdy, Pappy and he has been acquainted with such food as hush puppies, corn bread , collard greens and fried chicken to name a few. And everyone has an antique tractor in their front yard.
His next area was a place called Pennington Gap Virginia. The people are very friendly and some want to argue about the gospel but most respect what we are doing. Pennington Gap is very beautiful. During the summer it is very hot & humid. But this year it unusually dry. It hasn’t rained and all the lakes are low.
He writes about how there are not teaching any investigators so they do a lot of tracting and reactivating inactive members.
His next area is Jefferson City. I’m finally in Tennessee. They are very poor but they are some of the sweetest people you will ever meet. We are teaching a woman named Carly she is a student at the Baptist College. She hasn’t picked a date for her baptism she is afraid if she joins she will lose her family. But the gospel can really bless her life. I know she will be great. He goes on to say that when she did tell her parents that she wanted to join the church they weren’t to excited at first but they are more accepting now and support her. He writes about her baptism she was baptized on his 6 month mark. And how happy she is you can see it in her face. She invited all her friends and family from North Carolina.


I am grateful to be a missionary I love serving the Lord. I have especially seen that with Carly the light in her eyes is astounding, she is so happy. And As I tract it is amazing to me how the people respect what we are doing and who we are. The other day a man invited us in his home and he sang us a bluegrass/Christian song he wrote about missionaries from our church he wasn’t interested in taking the discussions but he respected us and what we are doing.
He writes in his letter I know I was sent to the East Tennessee Mission for a reason there are so many people that can be blessed from the fullness of the gospel.
He writes about the service they do he has painted houses, changed oil in cars, fix lawn mowers, mowed lawns, raked leaves he says giving service always makes them feel good.
He writes I have to admit that Christmas time is slow. We don’t have any investigators to teach but we will keep working and try to find more. Zone conference is on Tuesday. I am always excited for that. We get to learn how to become better missionaries and have fun in the process. And afterwards the relief society ladies make us lunch and we always sing Armies of Helaman and it always makes me think of our mothers.
His last area is Jonesborough it is the oldest city in Tennessee. He has been there since the beginning of the year. In the winter it is very cold because of the humidity and the wind is worse. But there is no snow. But when there is snow they close down everything just for 2 inches of snow.
For a new years resolution the mission president challenged them to restart the Book Of Mormon and mark certain passages and finish it by Easter Sunday. And Elder Riehle challenged us to do the same. But I decided I would just continue where I was. I have started the book of Mormon over way to much.
He talks of the speeding ticket he got while going to zone conference and he sent us an urgent apologetic letter saying please send money.
In his most recent letters he writes about his companion named Elder Johnson. Before he left he and Elder Johnson got together and went to the temple and just hung out and became good friends. And now they are companions. He also writes about the new mission president coming in July. President Griffin. His wife was born in Tremonton.
He writes about his newest investigator he says we are actually teaching a clown his name is T.J. and he will be apart of a program next Saturday for the church. He works at circus pizza an all you can eat pizza place. He feed us and it was really good.
He also talks about how great the ward is they feed us almost every day. The problem is they don’t give us referrals but we will keep working hard.
And after each letters he bares his testimony and his love for us. Reading Elder Riehle’s letters has helped me develop a love for missionary work. We all need to support our missionaries by writing to them. I even need to be a better writer. When Andy was on his mission we were a little relaxed in sending him letters and one evening the mission president called and said we needed to support our missionary we need to write more. So when Peter went on his mission I promised I would write once a week and for the most part I do. I hope that you also can write to him wish him a Happy Birthday and a happy over the hump day. Elder Riehle's address Tennessee Knoxville mission office PO box 22730 Knoxville Tn. 37933-0730

Catching up

Just a few things our family has been doing since I have blogged.
Alex is going to be graduating in one week. I can't believe how fast time goes by. It feels like yesterday I was sending him to his first day of school. I am very happy and proud of him. He has tested my patience but he is a great kid. For awhile I didn't think I could get all the boys to graduation they all are smart but they never applied themselves. It is smooth sailing from here. I only have Lacey to go and she is a better student than the boys ever were.
Andy is going to be switching majors. Instead of pre law he would like to go into writing and journalism. He is going to move back home for a short time and go to USU.
J.J. and Sam are doing fine. J.J. has surgery on June 4. He will be out of work for awhile but he can help Sam out while she is waiting for the baby to arrive. Which is on July 9th. Lacey and I will be flying out to visit them on July 4th. We will stay a couple of weeks and Jay will pick us up in his semi truck. If you are interested Sam is registered at Wal-mart for the baby I think you just type in her name and maybe the due date.
Peter is doing well he would like more letters and a e mail once in awhile his address in riehleelder@myldsmail.net . We got to chat with him on mothers day and he sounds very happy being a missionary. He is having a birthday on the 27th of May he will be turning 20. Send him birthday wishes he needs our support.
Lacey is excited to end the school year. She will become a teenager over the summer. Ugh! She already looks 15 or 16 . Lacey is planted a garden this year. Hopefully it isn't going to be a weed garden. She is planing on raising a 4 H lamb again this year and she hopes that she gets star choice. She is also interested in learning tennis. Maybe our city recreation has classes. I doubt it we are somewhat small and not many people are interested in tennis. We might have to teach ourselves.
Jay planted 2 cherry trees on Sat. We hope we don't kill them. Jay loves cherries and he remembers as a kid sitting in the tree eating them until he was so sick. He also has finally put the finishing touches on the picnic table it looks great! I hope to get some batteries in my camera soon so I can show you the pictures of the table and the new windows. my house looks like a new house. In the future we hope to put up a deck and paint.
I am winding down my work we only have 6 days to go. I have a lot of plans this summer. I am trying to get my house deep cleaned, my yard weed free, house painted, I am going to girls camp in June and to Indiana in July. I am also working at the free summer lunch program. If anybody is interested in helping me with my plans don't hesitate I am more than willing to receive help.
I sometimes think my life is moving to fast I wish I could slow down the time or the demands of everyday life. I here it doesn't get slower but only faster. Is your life as crazy as mine?

Slowly Watching the World go by.

Life has been kind of slow lately. We are winding down the days of school only 19 to go. Yeah! It has been cold here in Tremonton but we managed to get some yard work done. We have trimmed the apple tree, sprayed and fertilized our so called grass. It has more weeds then grass. We are also improving our home. We are getting new windows installed. I am very excited! Our old ones let in to much cold air in the winter and you couldn't open them up in the summer because the rollers are shot and there is no screens. Mostly because the boys always forgot their keys so they broke in. which resulted in why the windows don't work. The front window has water condensation stains they always looked dirty. I will do a before and after shot of the windows. And put it on my blog . They will be so nice. They are very expensive but I get a rebate from our utility company and a tax right off.
Jay was just put back in the bishopric again. He is ward clerk. His work has slowed down and he is a little worried but When the Stake President set him apart he blessed him that he would be able to provide for his family and be able to spend time at home. He still might go on long trips but I know everything will work out.
I am getting ready to be a grandma. I have plans to make a few things for John Rockford. Some quilts and receiving blankets, and burp cloths. I am planning on spending part of my summer visiting him in Indiana. It will be fun to be a Grandma.
Lacey is growing too fast she will be a teenager this summer but she has acted like one for a long time now. So it won't be that much of an adjustment. Lacey and I are reading Twilight or should I say I am reading it she has finished it and she is nagging me to by the next book. I think I should get reading before she tells me what is happening.
Alex is driving me crazy. He is going to graduate but by the skin of his teeth. He doesn't have any future plans other than working at Wendy's. I would like to see him finish his auto body and collision class at Bridger land college. He still is a great kid very fun to be around.
Andy made me a nice picture frame that holds six pictures . I put in the baby photos of all my kids and in the last space I put the saying ... My greatest blessings call me Mom. Andy enjoys working with wood he has a talent I didn't think he would have.
J.J. and Sam are doing well. It was Charlie's birthday and they took some flowers and balloons to her grave. J.J. will be having surgery on his wrist soon and hopefully back to work. But everything seems good for them.
Peter has almost been out a year and he will be turning 20 soon. I haven't heard much from him so that must mean he is busy.
I am thankful for my life and I love all my family even our extended families. We don't get to see each other as often as we like but hopefully we can keep in touch with our blogs.

Our weekend away

For our 25th Anniversary we went to Wolf Creek in Eden Utah. We had a great time. The place was very nice. It came with everything that you need. A full kitchen with dishes and a washer and dryer. We even had a BBQ grill in the back yard. We decided to stay in for dinner. So we went to get some steak and crab and some yummy dessert at the grocery store. And we had a cozy dinner by the fireplace. We watched some movies and cuddled. The next day we went to the Ogden Temple and we were able to do a session and some sealings. I didn't even faint. WOW! I wanted to eat at the cafeteria at the temple. (I am weird that way but I enjoy that kind of food.) It was very nice. Afterward we went to the mall and shopped for shoes at Sears and signed up for a quote for some windows. We need some desperately. We were getting a little hungry again and we went to Sizzler. Because the Italian Restaurant I wanted to try didn't take Debit cards. We were not that hungry for steak again so we just got the salad bar. Very refreshing.I also got tickets for a magic show and Juggling act at the Old Egyptian theater in Ogden. It was funny but really geared towards kids. All in All we had a great time.We did have to hurry home on Sunday they were sustaining a new Bishopric and Jay was going to be made the ward clerk. He enjoys this calling and feels very humbled every time he is called into the Bishopric. this will be his 4th bishop he has worked with as a clerk. He will do a great job. We love spending time together I wonder where are next adventure will be?

25 fantastic years!

Our 25th wedding anniversary is today. Here are some milestones of the past 25 years.

1983 married, lived in American fork, Alpine and Orem. J.J. arrived to bless our family.

1984 lived in Orem. Sealed in the Jordan River Temple. Jay breaks his ankle has surgery.

1985 Andrew James joined our family.

1986 moved to Midvale. and then to American Fork again.

1987 our first real vacation to Southern California.

1988 Peter Kenneth joined our family. Jay finds a job as a dry wall stocker, Moved to Washington State.

1989 Alex joined our family the day after Christmas. Lived in Lakewood WA

1990 -1993 buy our first home, became Primary President, move to Lacey WA., raising boys, working hard , cub scout den mother very fun and busy life.

1994 Move back to Utah we miss our families. Live in North Salt Lake. Jay drives a truck for L.W. Miller.

1995 Lacey our only girl was greatly welcomed into our family.

1996 jay takes a job with A&R trucking in Corrine UT. Move in with Jays mom and dad to help save for a house.

1997 Move to our home in Tremonton. We love it here!

1998 Jay's Dad passes away.

1999 Oldest son gets his license. Jays mom remarries.

2000 Lacey enters kindergarten. Monica works at subway. Our family gets involved with 4 H lambs.

2001 Another son gets his license. J.J. joins the army and goes to Iraq. Monica goes to college at BATC. Remodel the kitchen.

2002 Jay turns 40. Buys a motorcycle. Vacation to North Carolina Monica's first time on a plane. Jay gets his current job with B&B Trucking. Celebrate anniversary at Daniel Summit Lodge.

2003 20 years of marriage. Andy graduate high school moves to SLC to attend college. Monica works at the Pie dump. Family vacation at Zions.

2004 M0nica turns 40 Andrew enters MTC for a mission to Connecticut. Monica's father passes away. J.J. returns from Iraq & moves to Denver. And another son gets his license.

2005 Our last son gets his license. Celebrate our anniversary at Sherwood Hills in Logan. Monica goes on a cruise to Mexico with mom& sisters.

2006 Monica works at shopKo. We celebrate our anniversary in Salt Lake City. At the Little America Hotel. Peter Graduates only 1 more boy to go!

2007 celebrate our anniversary in Laughlin Nevada. J.J. moves to Indiana gets married. Monica works as a cook for the schools. Family trip to Disneyland.

2008 Our 25th anniversary! We celebrate it at Wolf Creek resort in Eden Utah. We also become Grandparents in July.

Through all the years we have been best friends. Our love grows more everyday. It is not always easy to stay happy and in Love but it is well worth it.

Monica & Jay Est. April 14 1983