February 2012

Happy Leap Year, everybody.  When I was a kid, Leap Year meant that a woman could legally ask a man to marry her.  Now, what Leap Year means to me is that Hannah finally gets to have a birthday! She is sixteen years old, and is celebrating only her fourth birthday!!!

In January, we all suffered from the stomach flu, and February's affliction has been conjunctivitis and pink eye!  It's been terrible!  Very contagious! Everyone in our house and Mary's house has had it, except for Dad and me...and maybe Mary and Tyson.  Even Jenn and Josh had a touch of it. I'll be glad when that's all over with. Hopefully, March won't bring in something worse.

February was very balmy and pleasant.  All the popcorn started blossoming and the daffodils that Dad planted are blooming.  I cut all we had and took them to Doris Montierth, who had a heart attack last week.  They were so cheerful and bright and pretty.  I know they brightened her day. She is doing well, by the way.

Maya helping Dad...Isn't that the most precious picture?

What's left of the daffodils after I stripped the plants for Doris

Mary's apricot tree

One of the things I like most about February is the explosion of   African Daisies all over town.  This house is on the way to Mary's house.  The whole lawn just sparkles with yellow and orange.  It always makes me smile.

Dad has started his audits of the wards and stake.  He gets those done near the first of the year and then can relax until next year.

Besides Hannah's important 4th birthday, we have had some really special birthdays this month.  February is the month that has the most grandchildren's birthdays. 

Marlie turned 10 on the 4th

Brianna turned 7 on the 4th

Lindsay turned 4 on the 12th

Parker turned 17 on the 22nd

Polly turned 13 on the 26th

Bridger turned 8 on the 26th

Daynen turned 16 on the 28th

Hannah turned 16 on the 29th

Marlie's birthday party included loving brothers as well as her friends

Brianna's birthday party was held at "Richins Park" (actually, I think it's called Dayley Estates Park, but it's right behind Mary's house, so that's what I call it.  She had lots of little friends and Rylie and I were recruited to paint faces.     Rachel and Jenn were there to help and the girls had a lot of fun. Thankfully, it was a sunny, warm day.

We took Josh to eat Chinese food after Brianna's party, and I just had to get a picture of him eating a yukky shellfish kind of gross thing.

This is how we have spent so much of our time this month...watching election coverage! I don't know if you can tell how much more interested the men are than the women.

Lindsay's birthday was a happy one even though she wasn't feeling well.  When she came to our house, she had these darling "love bug" cakes, but when she had her friend party, it was a "bed party," so mary made this "bed" cake. When I saw it, I immediately thought of Connie and the cute cakes she makes, so I told her about it.  She had made one exactly like it for Shannyn a couple of years ago when Shannyn wanted to have a "bed party" for her birthday!  I guess this is a case of "great minds with but a single thought."

Thomas lost his two front teeth this month!

Dad went to a Suns game with Joel and Jeremy and Shad.  Jeremy just couldn't resist this picture

Crew won the contest for the best Valentine box at his school.  It is a robot and the cup on the top lights up!

We went to Mesa for two weekends in a row, the first time on the 10th and 11th, to participate in ordaining Albert to the Aaronic Priesthood.  Connie's parents had just come home from their mission in Africa and so were able to be there to participate as well.  The ordination was at the condo with Dad, Daniel, Parker and Jess Nevin all joining in the circle.  What a blessing for Albert.

Afterwards, we went with Daniel and his family to the El Charro.  They might not miss much about Arizona, but they miss the El Charro!  Joel and Jeremy decided to take their lunch break and join us.  Quite a big group for the El Charro.  They need to put in a back room just for big family gatherings.

The next day, Connie had planned to spend helping her sister decorate f or a wedding reception, but at the last minute found that she wasn't really needed all that much, so they went to Joel's where we and Esther and Shad and Jer and Erika and families were all gathered for a cookout. It was fun to be together and especially for cousins to reconnect.

Marlie, Shannyn and a niece of Connie's

Albert, Parker, Porter, Daynen

Kids showing off and posing in Joel's back yard

Porter, Daynen, Reygan

They even had a basketball game with the old guys playing the young guys.  I may be wrong, but I think the old guys actually won!

While we were there, we were able to watch Docker and Crew play Saturday morning basketball.  Dad went to Docker's game with Joel (who is the coach) and I went to Crew's game with Stephanie.

Valentine's Day

We got "heart attacked" on Valentine's Day. Someone plastered the front of our house with hearts and left a plate of cookies and we have no idea who did it!

Do you remember how much fun it was to get home from school on Valentine's Day and look at all your cards?

Jenn and I got flowers and candy from our sweethearts.  Dad also gave me a pot of petunias and a pot of tulips.

The kids made a garden Valentine for Dad.  They drew a heart in the dirt and filled it in with things they found growing in the yard.

That weekend, the 17th and 18th, we went to join in the Gilbert Fest to celebrate Arizona's 100th birthday, which was on Valentine's Day.  President Taft signed the bill making Arizona the 48th state on February 14th 1912.  Dad's dad was 10 years old and his mom was 6 years old at the time.  My parents weren't born yet.  Anyway, Joel conceived the idea that Gilbert should celebrate the occasion with two days of events.  We went to the Dutton's concert on Friday and the Brett's concert on Saturday.  They also had city-wide talent competitions and art shows and I don't know what else. But we really enjoyed the shows we attended.  They are both LDS families who have shows in Branson, so they were very family-friendly and fun and very energetic.  

When we arrived on Friday, we were met by Daynen and his crew of car parkers.

Then we were greeted by Reygan and her friend as ticket takers

Nancy and Trisha and Kristen took advantage of the Family Free tickets Joel offered and enjoyed a great show

Jeremy and Ellie

We saw Robert Biggs walking down the aisle, so he stopped and visited.  We didn't know that he was the Dutton's drummer until we saw him on stage! Check out the picture of him below.

Docker, Harrison and Tayte watching the Duttons

Joel receiving credit for putting on the whole Gilbert event-he is in the back in the curtain

Robert drumming for the Duttons

Everyone from the office had to work.  Here are Jeremy and Levi as show officials

We also got to go to Tayte's Saturday morning football game.  Here he is, making a touchdown.

Here is Soren, playing with the light saber he got at the Dutton's show.

On Saturday night we attended the Brett  Family show.  It was a different type of show than the Dutton's had been, but just as good in its own way.  Here are Steph and Dad, waiting for the show to start.

Instead of light sabers, the Brett's sold folded paper hats. They were really a big hit.  Even Dad bought one.

They start out looking like vases...

but when you put it on your head it is a hat.

Here is the star of the Brett family show reaching in to shake Joel's hand.  They really appreciated all Joel did to get them there.  They even attended church in his ward the next day.

After the show was over

The next Monday, Kirtlyn hosted a talent show for the cousins in Safford.  She made tickets and sold them...for free.

Everyone participated with songs, dances, clown acts, funny stories and gymnastics.  When Mary asked Carson what he wanted his talent to be, he said "sitting in the audience." So, along with the parents, Carson and Maya were the appreciative audience.

Polly became a teenager on February 26th.  She celebrated the night before with her friends

and the day of her birthday with her grandparents.

Bridger celebrated his 8th birthday on the 26th, too.  It was a quiet (relatively...it was Bridger, after all) birthday because they are saving all the hoopla for his baptism party.  In case you don't know, his baptism is Saturday, March 10th, with refreshments afterwards at his house.

Joshua invited his girlfriend, Nicole DeSpain (from Lisa's ward, actually) to our house for dinner and to watch the Oscars.  She is a theater major.  Her best friend, Lanie, is a Biggs.  Her mother is Bill Biggs' daughter.  Bill is Dad's first cousin.  Maya has fallen in love with Josh.  Watch out, Nicole, you have competition.

And finally, Mary and Tyson decided to get rid of their lemon van and buy another car.  They went to Mesa on the 27th and came home with this gorgeous hunk of steel.

News from around the family

Allison came down to Glendale to play in a tennis match this month.  Here is Arden Palmer, one of her biggest fans, who travels wherever he can just to watch her play.

With her Dixie tennis team

Porter, playing varsity basketball.  He was on the JV team, but got moved up to varsity and now plays for both teams. It's a good thing he loves basketball, that's all I've got to say!

Hannah in Las Vegas.  Her dad had to go there on business and Hannah got to accompany him as an early birthday present. WOW!!

Devynne took some friends home to Glenwood to show off the fun things to do there.

Our man Mitt's bus in Gilbert...and Docker on the bus.

Tayte won 2nd place for the whole school in the geography bee.  Congratulations Tayte!

Bethany and nice-looking date for the Institute Valentine's dance

Levi and his group of super heroes for their Valentine's dance

Shauna's message to her girls for Valentine's Day

Thomas in Tonola, buying a white dress for Kirtlyn's baptism

Brynlie won the book, "When I Grow Up," and the illustrator, Wes Hargis, doodled some original pictures in it just for her.  Here he is with her and one of the original paintings he made for the book.

Rachel performed her decorating magic for the wedding reception of Dustin Larkey. She was just responsible for the refreshment table.  I bet it was the highlight of the reception.

For Hannah's big 4th birthday, her friends really made a fuss over her.  Her friend, Matt, made her a special cake and then he and another friend took her to dinner.  She celebrated with her family and school friends all day.  Then, the highlight of the day was getting her driver's license.  She even drove around all by herself for a while!

Our Missionaries

Dallin and his zone.  Isn't he the cutest one?

Stetson overlooking the place where he has been transferred...actually, I just checked, and it is the place he has just been transferred from...San Juan.  He is now in San Rafael.

That about wraps up February.  It has been a good, full, eventful month.  March has already begun with Daynen's driver's license!  I'm putting it on February's blog because I'm still working on the blog and I just got the picture and this is too important to wait!