Nutcracker Tradition

Saturday was our "Nutcracker Tradition Day". For many years when my girls were growing up we would go out to lunch and then attend the Nutcracker Ballet. This became an event that we all looked forward to each Christmas season. Now, my daughters and their daughters love to follow the same tradition. We enjoyed a lunch at Sizzler and then we all attended the ballet together. Hailey had not yet arrived from Phoenix so she was not able to attend and we missed her!

Special times with Pam and Roger

Last Thursday evening we met Pam and Roger for dinner. They had come north to visit family and friends. We met at the newly opened Texas Roadhouse in Orem. The restaurant was beyond busy and incredibly noisy but the food was delicious and we enjoyed our dinner. After dinner we had an opportunity to visit in a quiet location and catch up on each other's lives

On Friday morning we went to the BYU Museum of Art exhibit of Carl Heinrich Bloch: The Master's Hand. It truly was incredible with 5 large altar paintings - plus 27 other works by Bloch. We rented Ipads that had wonderful information about the artist and paintings and we learned so much! Bloch was truly inspired in his work and we loved the exhibit! We then enjoyed a delicious lunch in the MOA Cafe. It was a wonderful time to be together!

A Milestone

Yesterday was a milestone for us - our oldest grandson - Treygan received the Aaronic Priesthood! Evan conferred the Priesthood on him and ordained him to the office of a deacon. It was a special day and we are so proud of him! Treygan is a happy and obedient boy and we are thankful for his example to his sisters and his cousins!

Being a grandparent represents all the best of life and I am so grateful to have 12 wonderful grandkids!

This event marked the conclusion to a wonderful Thanksgiving Season - we love our family and feel so very blessed to be able to spend time with them!

North, south, east and west - after travel home is best

We have returned from our 3 1/2 week trip to France, Greece and Italy. We travelled with our Caldwell friends - Bob and Susan Taylor. We began our trip in Paris and spent 1 week seeing the sights of France as we travelled across the country on our way to Italy. Thank heavens for a GPS - that really helped us to find where we wanted to go!
Our second week was spent on a cruise of the Greek Islands with stops in Split, Croatia, Corfu, Greece, Santorini, Greece, Mykonos, Greece and Crete. We sailed in and out of Venice.
The last part of our trip was spent exploring Tuscany. We home based in Cortona and visited 20 cities, many of which were ancient hilltop towns with lots of fascinating history. We loved the food and all of the beautiful scenery but when the time came, we were ready to return home after all of our adventures. Europe is wonderful and travel is exciting but of course - home is best.

Here are some photo highlights of our trip.


Notre Dame


The Eiffel Tower


The Eiffel Tower is so pretty when it is lit at night


The Louvre art museum - Paris


Visiting the World War II sites on the beaches of Normandy


Cemetery near Omaha Beach - Normandy


Normandy - near Omaha Beach


Mont St. Michel Abbey


The climb to the top was worth the view


The beautiful Chateau de Chenonceau in France's chateau country


The gardens of the Chateau


Breakfast at our Bed and Breakfast near Montelimar, France


Bob and Susan exploring the medieval mountain top city of Les Baux, France


Our last stop in France - Grasse - the perfume capital of Provence


Enjoying one of many delicious dinners in the ship's dining room


The beautiful island of Santorini

Santorini


Cruise stop at Mykonos island - Greece


An interesting old windmill on Mykonos


Shopping for oriental rungs in Mykonos


Our last cruise stop - the isle of Crete


A pretty church in Crete


Enjoying beautiful Venice


Bob & Susan


Our first gelato (of many)- Yummy, Yummy


Enjoying a view of the beautiful Tuscan countryside


Bob & Susan with the backdrop of Assisi and the valley below the city


Viewing an ancient monolith in Cittia della Pieve


The view of the valley below the hill top town of Pienza


In front of the Trattoria in Orvieto


Enjoying one of the many delicious pasta dinners in Orvieto




Bob & Susan enjoying a gelato in Civitella in val di chiana


We attended church in Siena and visited the hill town after church.


Enjoying our last Tuscan hill town - San Gimingnano

Siberian Battalion Missionary Reunion

Friday evening we gathered with some of our returned missionaries (a group of about 100) for a reunion. It is fun to be with them again and to get caught up on their lives. When you share a common experience of serving in the same mission field - there is truly a bond!


We think our missionaries were some of the best in the church!! We met new husbands, wives, fiancees, dates and even some of our returned missionaries' children! This is some of the payoff for serving a mission!

Eternal friendships are made on a mission!

We love to see our senior missionaries as well!!

The clean up went quickly with so much good help!