At last - two things published!

 January was a big month as far as getting some long worked on projects completed.  Paul and Tony's book finally got published and we finally got our copies to give out to the family.  

Another project that came to fruition is finally getting the smile design just right on the Girlstyle T-shirt girl that Weed's drawings inspired.  We had 3 designers work on them to finally get it just right.  And we had 3 different T-Shirt styles printed to check them out.  So glad that we persevered and got it just right at last.  Supe has worked so hard to get a website/sales page set up for us to market them on.  I'm not sure they are going to sell very much, but it has been a labor or love to work on them.  If no one else loves them, we sure do! This is the one drawing she did when the idea first came about.  On the others we tried to keep her main face style as close as possible to this and then add bodies for different sports.

girlstyle - “Awesome girls doing awesome stuff!”

 

January Birthdays are all done!

 

We did a 3 in 1 party for the Randall's January birthdays this year. We celebrated Bryan #45, Afton #10, Brady #16. It was good to get together a little (even with Covid still going strong) and enjoy each others company and visit.  And we all enjoyed Afton's yummy birthday dinner and cake!  

Last up for January was Brendon celebrating #12!  We made a stop over with some Crumbl Birthday cookies.  He's a BIG Lego/Star Wars fan, so hopefully we made him happy with another set to build!  

These are some really wonderful folks and we love them all.  It's crazy to see these grandkids growing up!  Makes me feel a little old!!!

First Rock Trip of 2021

 We just needed a little bit a stone for an upcoming job. We were feeling the need to get away so we were glad this came up. We were able to go in the little truck - not as comfortable as the big truck, but much more economical. It was a more relaxed trip than usual which is just what we needed.  We left after lunch and a nice little nap (after a crazy morning at school for me).  I kept busy reading Paul his book that he is writing.  Didn't take many pics, but really loved this old truck at Jacob Lake.  We stopped in for our usual cookie snack and pit stop.  That evening we enjoyed going out for dinner at the Outback and got our favorite coconut shrimp and wedge salads along with some soup.  So good.  Then we had a nice walk.  It was cold, but sadly, there was hardly any snow in Flagstaff.  In the morning we had another nice, cool walk and then had such a great breakfast at The Crackerbarrel.  We were able to split Grandma's Sampler and come out just right without going away leaving food or feeling stuffed.  We didn't have to pick up our load until noon which made the morning relaxed.  The load was bigger than we had planned, so the little truck was loaded heavy.  We lunched as we left Flagstaff and I finished reading Paul's book to him and then we finished another one we had started and not finished a week ago on a drive with Bean.  Got one more cookie at Jacob Lake on the way by and made it home in time for dinner.  And it was just such a nice, relaxing get away.  

Jem - 6 months old cutesness!

 From his mom - Jem is 6 months old today!! He growls a lot, loves going on walks, only takes 30 minute naps which really makes it hard to get anything done but we’ve accepted it and just don’t get many things done haha and he is still bald haha we love our Jem baby!!

Priesthood ordination day for Brenden and Gaige

 It was a sweet day today because we got to attend priesthood ordinations for Brenden (deacon) and Gaige (priest).  So glad they live close enough that we could enjoy these milestones with them.  Brenden's bishop asked the grandmas to say a few things/bear testimony - not my favorite thing to do last minute - before the ordination.  Words came out of my mouth and Paul said they were good (if he's telling the truth).  I hope so.  I am so not a speaker...and especially not a spur of the moment one.  But I still loved getting to be there for both of these events.  Another one of those shout for joy days!  

This is the sky over the chapel when we arrived at Brenden's. Kind of cool!

The Belly of the Dragon - just a little hike

 

Christie and Moss told us about this little hike over by Oderville.  It's actually a culvert under the highway that has been carved by water coming down from the waterfall.  Pretty cool little tunnel now that nature fancied it up a little!

More mini-golf fun - Brynnli & Braden, etc.

 

Yea!  Brynnli and Braden finally got some time off from school/work and were not cooped up from Covid, so we got to spend a little fun time with them and Ferf and some of the kids.  Afterwards we enjoyed pizza, salad and brownies together!  

Movie time at last!

 Strange as it may seem to write about it, we haven't been to a movie at the theater for months since the Covid-19 epidemic hit.  We were nervous about going the other night for a date, but we chose a weeknight when we thought it wouldn't be busy and wore masks the whole time.  And there ended up being only 9 people (that includes us) in the theater.  They came and made sure people were sitting in the seats they purchased so they would be far enough apart I guess.  They had one guy that wasn't in his purchased seat move.  So, it ended up being a nice date...mostly just like old times!  

Hello 2021 - Park time with family!

 In response to Covid-19 safety guidelines we spent a fun...albeit very cool...few hours together with family.  We missed Derek, Lance and Supe, Beacher and Jem.  All the other in town, Enoch, Cedar and Lehi family members were there.  We visited and ate picnic lunches.  The kids played soccer, rode scooters, played on the toys, hiked, hung out.  The adults did take just a short walk to the river - Brynn is still recovering from foot surgery, so there couldn't be too much physical activity and include her at the moment.  It was fun. We did freeze a bit after the wind started up.  (We were at a park - Grandpa's Pond - in Hurricane, so the wind was probably a given.)  But we still enjoyed our time together! Jay and Brynn came down for their after Christmas visit feeling very careful about Covid because after Brynn's family's Christmas party that one person came to feeling just a little bit of a sinus headache, many of their family has now come down with Covid to one degree or another (that person found out they had it after the party).  Jay, Brynn and family are the only ones who wore masks and didn't get it.  They didn't eat at the party either because they didn't want to take off their masks - the others did.  So, while they were down they wanted to be outside or inside (very little) with masks and mostly eat outside too.  They had tested negative before they came down. It's crazy to see the extent of how this disease has altered our lives in everyday ways.  I didn't take many pics, but here's what there are.  I'll be glad when this disease is over and gone!!!  Happy 2021!

Saying Goodbye to 2020!

 We said our goodbyes to 2020 by getting together with Moss and Christie and Jay and Brynn and families for dinner outside (staying safe from Covid measure) and then masking while inside.  Christie had fun activities for the kids to do at each hour - making party hats, a match game of things from the year 2020, a candy ball, Starburst game and then we watched the ball drop in New York (a little early for us) and then some fireworks and sparkler fun outside for the final celebration - we were done by 11:00 using the eastern time zone. It was a fun evening even with the crazy outside in the cold dinner and masked up inside (with windows open for ventilation) activities.