We had a small Christmas Day because of our cruise. We told the kids that Santa was only bringing one thing this year, and that the cruise was our family gift. Taylor and Ashley were fine with that, but Dylan was a little disappointed and asked me how I knew, because last year, Santa brought him three things... I think that we should feel very fortunate for the things we do have. I am grateful to have a job and that Greg has had some work - many do not!
We went sledding on the hill by Cal-Ranch on Dec 20th. We got quite a bit of snow, so we made the best of it. We loaded our sleds and headed for Cal-Ranch (about 2 miles away). The kids hated their sleds because they kept turning sideways, but luckily we had friends who brought sleds that worked! Jenna Dickison, our neighbor, came with Ashley and Dylan's friend Kaylyn Carter was there. Taylor came without a friend, but had a lot of fun too. I heard today that they are going to put signs up on the property near Cal-Ranch banning sledding, so that may have been our last time sledding there. Next time we may have to try out Brian Head or go up to Woods Ranch.
So we headed to Florida on December 3rd to go on a Disney Cruise with the Davis family. We embarked on our ship on Thursday the 4th. We watched exciting live shows and had wonderful meals. Nassau, Bahamas was our first stop on Friday. It was an experience! My girls got their hair braided by some local women and we played on the beach and in the crystal blue water. It opened our eyes to another country. At the end of the afternoon, we headed back to the ship and had dinner and watched another live show. I was so impressed by the talent of the actors. They could all sing so well. The weather was perfect and the sailing was mostly smooth. We could feel the ship move a little, but it wasn't too bad. No serious sea sickness. On Saturday, we were on Disney's private island, Castaway Cay. It was the highlight of the cruise. It was so beautiful and warm! The kids enjoyed playing in the water and we all enjoyed the sun.
We ended our cruise early Sunday morning and some of us headed for Disney World. We hit Animal Kingdom and Epcot that day, then on Monday we went to MGM Studios and Magic Kingdom. It was alot of fun but very busy! It was the busiest we have ever experienced it. January and February are better months to go to Disney World. We rode most of our favorite rides and then headed home on Tuesday. It was a long day of travel due to delays and weather, but we made it and look back at our vacation with great memories. Thank you to Greg's parents for being so generous. We look forward to going on another cruise someday. We would definately go for a 5 or 7 night cruise rather than a 3-night cruise. We needed more time! But, we will have to see what happens with the economy, and hope for the best... Merry Christmas to everyone!
Well, another Thanksgiving has come and gone... We went to Flowell to celebrate the day with my family, the Christensen's. We had a fun time and great food. Lee brought his girlfriend Brittany???? We don't know what will happen there... She seems like a nice girl though. Lee is the only boy, so whomever he marries will be the only sister-in-law. 
As you can see, we are all wearing turkey hats. This was my sister Kelly's idea... She even went to the trouble of making them all. She's very ambitious, to say the least. It made it kind of fun... Greg wouldn't wear it, of course, so I devised a plan to have Kelly sneak up behind him and stick it on his head. I took a picture... It was hilarious. He didn't think so though. 
I guess it's not cool to wear turkey hats??? Well, we all had a good old time. The guys went on a couple of four-wheeler rides and the girls cleaned... Ha Ha, isn't that how it always is? We were all there from Wednesday to Saturday. On Friday night, we all played some really fun games like "Couch", and "Pass the Sign"... I don't know the real names, but they were a lot of fun and we laughed our heads off... One thing I can say about my family is they are a lot of fun! Lots of creative juices are always flowing. I am the least creative of the bunch though. I think they are pretty awesome and I really enjoy our time together. Pictured below are the guys... Greg and Dylan, Marty and Mason, Jason and Logan!
My mom has this really cool, old-fashioned looking bike. Taylor liked riding it a lot. Even I tried... 
The past couple of weeks have flown by... My Grandma Verl passed away on Mon, Oct 27. She is pictured here with my neice, Caislee, in 2006. We headed up for her funeral in Flowell on Wednesday. It was very sad to say goodbye, but she was ready. She had been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma (cancer) three years ago and chose not to go through treatments. She never did have any pain, but was on Oxygen for the past six months, or more, due to trouble breathing. I grew up next to her and would always visit her. She let me do her make-up and hair and was so patient with me. She taught me many things and I miss her and love her very much! 
The only thing good about funerals, is the opportunity to get together with family. I saw my cousins, uncles and aunts that I haven't seen in years. 
My dad, who is my Grandma's son, had three brothers. They are pictured here with their wives. To the left is a picture of my parents, my sisters Kelly and Cortney and their families, my sister Mandy and brother Lee. On Halloween, I dressed up with my co-workers as a pirate. That evening, my family and I, headed down to St. George for Dylan's baseball tournament. He didn't even get to trick-or-treat, but Ashley and I went out to a friend of mine's neighborhood in Washington and took care of the candy thing. She carried Dylan's bag with her and got an extra helping for him. I was still dressed up (the only one at the tournament and the other team happened to be the Pirates). How lucky was that. I did feel a little silly, but it was fun too. Ashley dressed up like a witch, but only while trick-or-treating. She took off her hat and cape the minute we were done. 
Taylor stayed in Cedar and went trick-or-treating with her friend Jordan. They dressed up like an old man and woman. Taylor was the old man.
The only picture I had was from Taylor's cell phone and it turned out very small. The next event we had, was Greg's birthday on November 7. He turned 38! 
Taylor and her friend Madison made him a cake in the shape of a basketball, since he is coaching their border league team. It turned out very cute. 
His parents went to dinner with us and we had a good time. 
Well, that's enough for now I suppose. I had to catch up a little. See you soon!
The girls have been enjoying their time off... Basketball begins soon, so we will probably be putting every one of them in that. Taylor finished up softball in July on an All-Star team. She pitched, caught and played second base. Ashley has yet to get involved in sports and really doesn't want anything to do with it. She could be good at them though, since she is soooo tall! She is actually the tallest in her class and the only kid her age that is as tall as she is, is her best friend Jenna who lives across the street
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