Sarai's baptism and Zade's ordination

It was a "shout for joy" Saturday on March 1, 2020.  In the morning we went up to Cedar City for Sarai's baptism and confirmation.  Afterwards we met at the Weaver's with Lillywhite and Sheffield family members for a wonderful brunch to celebrate! (Oh, the two grandma's got to be the baptism witnesses - a first for both of us I think, since women can now stand as witnesses in different ordinances.  Noah got to hold the mic for Sarai's and another child from their ward's confirmations.)

Later in the day we went to Zade's Aaronic Priesthood/Deacon ordination with those who could be there from the Lillywhite and Smith families.  It was a sweet experience to see Zade moving forward in this way.

Top photo - everyone who came.  Bottom photo those asked to stand in the circle.  

We are so happy to see both of these grand children making great choices in their spiritual progression.

February birthdays - Kennis, Weed & Grandma Kurtz

Kennis celebrated a pretty big one this year...#16!  She was pretty excited about having her license and getting a phone!  I'm pretty sure she is excited about the dating part even if she didn't say so.  She endeared herself to all of us when we asked if she'd rather be out celebrating with all of her friends and she said she was happy to just be there with of us instead!  But friends did keep dropping by presents all evening!  Happy #16 Kennis - we love you!

Derek came up with an idea he wanted to do to celebrate Weed's 40th birthday this year.  Family and friends got together for pizza, salad, cookies and milk and sharing stories about her.  It turned out to be a really fun evening...something she would have liked to come to.  I always have this kind of feeling of wanting to stay home and be quiet, but this was a better thing to do than that.  I'm glad it turned out well.  You still feel that missing even though you know it's not a permanent loss.  That's just the way it is when you love someone and especially when they seem to leave too soon.  It's not so bad with old folks who have lived their lives and are "ready" to go.  Just one of those things that you have to have faith the heaven knows best on because you can't figure it out yourself.  

Juge posted some really lovely things that I share here:

Today my sister Weed would have turned 40-years-old.  On my last birthday I turned a year older than she ever was.  It's weird.  And the worst.  When she died, I was determined never to commemorate the day it happened.  It wasn't a day I ever want to remember.  And I still couldn't tell you what day it was.  But her birthday is unforgettable!  It's a day I always looked forward to.  She was born February 23, 1980.  The beginning of the decade in the month of love.  This is the day I decided to celebrate--a day that brought her into our lives, not the day that took her.  I want it to be a joyful day because she brought so much joy into my life.  But it's hard when I miss her so dang much all the time and feel so cheated out of the rest of a lifetime with her.  I was a very confident kid and felt pretty great about myself, hopefully not in a cocky way, but in a healthy way.  I want my kids to feel like that and I look back and try to figure out where that self-image came from.  I'm pretty sure a huge part of it was having Weed cheering me on.  She thought I was pretty amazing so I did too.  I wish I was handing her a genius present I picked out for her this year and giving her a hard time about being 40 today.  She was the best friend I could ever imagine.  Her birthday is for sure a day to celebrate!  

Best Day Ever!  Happy Birthday to the best of the best, Lenae Smith!  She was the best friend anyone could ask for and I was so lucky to have her as mine from way back before I can even remember.  Here we are as little river buddies (18-months apart in age) and as stunning old-fashioned ladies, complete with bustles.  She was always the nicest to go along with my really weird ideas.  

Anna Lou - Grandma Kurtz - had the final February birthday.  We celebrated with her by going to lunch, the DSU Art Show, and then coming home to eat cake and open presents.  After that Paul and Bean finished off the fun by installing her new shower heads and doing some yard projects she wanted done!  Happy #88!!!

Joel and Zion - Grand Edventure Date at the Children's Jubilee 2020

These two have a great time together.  They're a good combination of quiet and noisy.  We had a fun day hanging out at the Children's Jubilee (Western themed) and then going out for Wendy's frosties and fries afterwards.  The concert was NOT their favorite part, so we went out to the foyer and ate kettle corn and candy to listen to the last part.  We didn't get any pics in the inflatable planetarium, but it was cool like always.  They made funny little tongue depressor/rubber band musical instruments first thing and I think they were one of their favorite things.  Lots of fun stuff like always!  It was fun to hang out with these two!  

These guys were not too sure they wanted very much to do with these live critters.  They did just fine with the skulls and the scat.  

They had fun with these little robots that they could "program" to do different things.

They loved the leather working table!  We didn't get pics at the rock table, but they loved getting their own secret rock box there and watching the polishing machine.  

We were just a little surprised at how messy Zion could make himself with a small frosty and a pack of fries!  

Dolphin Arch and Yant Flat and charcoal kiln

The sun came out and we had some free time and enjoyed GETTING OUT for pretty much the first time for this new year!  It was so beautiful to revisit these favorite spots!  It was truly fun in the sun!!!  It just "does a body good" after the winter grays to get out into the sun and sand again!

Grand Edventure - Afton and Sarai

Afton and Sarai got to learn some carpentry/art skills for their date.  It was almost their first time using hammers and nails and also using a paintbrush for a wood project.  They made some really cute Valentine's Day presents for their families.  It was a pretty hard project compared to some we've done before.  I think they kind of wondered if this was something they wanted to do when they first arrived, but then they got right down to work and I think they had a fun time then!  Afterwards they really had fun when we took them to the Dollar Store to get wrapping bags to put their project/present in,Valentine's Day Cards and candy to put with it.  After that we took them to Wendy's for Happy Meals and they gobbled them right up and loved playing with the toys in the car on the way home.  They got to play some more when we dropped them both by at Afton's afterwards.  They are a cute little pair!  We picked them up after their 9 am basketball game that morning, and it was fun to watch a little bit of their game.  It's their first year and Juge and Lance were coaching them.  It was fun to see them learning how to play like their moms used to!

Ellie's Grand Edventure Date for 2020

This was a good date for Ellie since she has some experience with the Shakespeare and the crazy dialogue they use.  She has been in a Shakespeare play and has actually read/seen the movie of Romeo and Juliet, so taking her to see the play worked out well!  We had hoped to take Eden too, but she had a school concert, so Lou Anne filled in for her and went with us.  It was a nice evening.  The play set was in a 2020 high school classroom and the actors were college students.  It was a somewhat abbreviated version that they take to the schools, but really fun and well done!  Afterwards we went out for fresh squeezed OJ and Bugles that we ate at the Lin's dining area!  (Ellie was on a no sugar month, so we didn't want to ruin her resolve.)

The January Birthday Celebrities for 2020

We got 'em all...Bryan #44, Afton #9, Brady #15, and Brenden #11!  It was fun to wish all of these wonderful peeps a happy birthday!  We had dinner with the Randalls and did 3 at once, and then later in the month we had a private cake/presents/ice cream party with Brenden and family at their house!  We love them all!  

The grand "edventure" dates for 2020 begin!

We are getting off to a quick start!  With all of the lovely snow on Cedar Mountain we just had to take these 3 and let them try it out XC skiing!  (Brady had been before with scouts.)  We had to rent some for Brady - size 15 - since he long since outgrew any boots we own.  Eden and Gaige had to wear plenty of sox to fit into what we had.  It was our first trip to the Deer Hollow Winter Sports recreation area...and it was so much fun!  Other than Gaige feeling a little under the weather as soon as we started skiing, it was a good time.  (He was a great sport and tried hard even tho' he wasn't feeling in top form.)  What was cool was trying out a groomed trail.  They were actually grooming them while we were there and it was fun to see the way cool machines at work.  I'm so glad we still have the health to get out and enjoy these fun times with our grand kiddies.    We stopped on the way home for Maverik hot chocolate and Lin's donuts!  (Be sure to notice Eden's beautiful smile...she just got her braces off!)

We went again for a XC ski date with Kennis and Tasia on Martin Luther King Day - Jan. 20th.  We were out of school and they were able to fit in time to go with us between all of their other activities of the day.  Kennis had been on an 8-mile run that morning and had to be back for work at 5 pm.  Tasia went late to a friend's sauna party so she could come.  Their lives get pretty complicated as they grow up, but we had great time with the trails being even better groomed this time and again had perfect weather and road conditions.  We made some very funny videos of the girls trying out a little downhill run at the end - it left us all laughing!  Then we stopped for Orange Julius and french fries on our way out of town.  Fun stuff! The girls were much improved in their skiing from the time we took them last year.  The groomed trails made a big difference I think.

Sometimes we wonder if it is worth it to do these dates...it is so hard to mesh everyone's schedules.  We seriously considered not doing it this year, but after these two dates we are reminded again what a wonderful thing it is to spend time with these kids no matter how hard it is.  All too soon they will be leaving the nest and we won't get that chance.

Happy 2020 plus 1 day! XC skiing at Pine Valley

It was time to get the skis out and Pine Valley had enough snow so we could enjoy our first trip of snow of the year there!  It wasn't perfect conditions since the sun was out, but we enjoyed getting out there! 

Happy New Year & Fun with the Lillywhite Chicas (and their parents)!

Jay, Brynn and girls (chicas) came down for some fun after Christmas.  They stayed with Juge in Cedar, then Moss and Christie for Sunday, and then with us for a couple of days!  We had fun hanging out and getting out!  We all spent New Year's Eve with Moss and Christie and kids eating yummy food, watching football and playing games.  Another day we visited some of the Church historic sites - the Tabernacle and Brigham Young Home.  Clara wanted to take a hike, so we did our backyard beauty - Owen's Loop part way.  She got sleepy and missed then end.  It was a fun visit!  Too bad they don't live a little closer so we could hang out more often, but we do feel blessed to have them pretty close.