A Weekend With Family

We headed to Utah Wednesday afternoon. We were so excited because Jandi and her boys were going to be there. We have not seen them in over 2 years. I don't think I realized how much I have really missed them. I love being able to be myself with Jandi and laugh until our stomachs hurt. I have missed that. I love her boys and getting them to smile, they all have the cutest smiles.

Thursday we just "hung out". They kids played all day both in the house and out in the snow. On Friday Gregor, Fletcher, and I stayed home and slept because Gregor had the flu. The rest of them went to the rocket display @ ATK and then to The Golden Spike. Later we all went to a circus and had so much fun. I think everyone agreed that our favorite was the elephants and then the motorbikes were pretty amazing. On Saturday we went and had lunch at Maddox with Ben's siblings, spent the afternoon with my family, and then went on a much needed date. Sunday was Daniel's farewell. He did a great job. I don't think I have ever seen so many people to a farewell dinner. I think they had well over a hundred people. Daniel is an amazing person and he has such a testimony. I think one of my favorite things about Daniel is that he loves you no matter what. It doesn't matter the mistakes you make or have made he loves you unconditionally. He has been such an example to my kids, especially Jarrett. Jarrett now writes in his journal, and reads his scriptures every night thanks to Daniel. To say we are going to miss him is an understatement.

We had so much fun while we were there, it was really hard to come home this time. I can't wait until August when we get to be with the Stowells again:)

A Weekend With Dano.

The kids were so excited that Uncle Dano came for a visit. We got 5 days with him. I don't know what we are going to do without him for 2 years. This is going to be a tough one. Friday we went out to Hoover Dam. It was so much fun. Temperature was perfect and not to many people. The picture just below was of us standing on the new bridge that is above the dam. I hate heights, so it took a lot for me to put my first step on the bridge.

Friday night we took Daniel to one of our favorite restaurants, Viva Marcados. Yummy!!! I have found that I love Mexican food. Saturday we got up and lounged for a good part of the day and then we headed to Red Rock Canyon. We went on a little hike and found a little snow. We got a little cold, but I think we had a good time.

Love this picture. It will be one of my favorites for always. Ben decided to try to kill us all and take us straight down a cliff. He wanted to get to the little stream below. Everyone did well I went down once and Ben went down with Fletcher on his back and holding McGregor. Thankfully they didn't get hurt.

After our hike we headed to St. George to stay the night. We went to Ben's cousin Kelsie's farewell. Monday night we took Daniel to the strip. He was amazed by everything. It was so much fun to have him. The kids couldn't get enough of him. I told my kid as they were crying as he left that we would see him in a week and that 2 years really wasn't that long. I will keep trying to convince myself of that. Daniel was only 6 when I married Ben and he has always been like a little brother to me. We have a close relationship and I am thankful for the example he has been to me and my kids. We are going to miss "our Dano".

Our First Adventure of 2011!

We started going on "Adventures" when we moved down here back in June. First I think Ben and I did it to keep the kids occupied and give them something to look forward to every week. We usually go on Saturdays, but we haven't been on one in awhile because life has been pretty busy. We have been wanting to take the kids to a ghost town. Ben did all the research and decided where we were going to go. He is always so good about that. He knows everything about the place before we go. I love that. This town ended up not being the type of "ghost town" we were thinking of, but it was a ton of fun. It is a couple hours from our house in Oateman, Arizona. It is done up as a old west town and it has a stage coach, gun shows on the weekends, and wild donkeys roaming the streets. The kids loved it. We got to drive on the real route 66 (we told Gregor we were driving on the same road as Lightening McQueen and he still thinks he saw Mater!) I have loved our adventures. I would have never dreamed a year ago that I would be living in Las Vegas and enjoying it. Life was extremely different last year at this time. My dad was fighting for his life and Ben was working for his dad at the dealership. Little did we know what 2010 had in store. We have been in Vegas for 7 months now and we can say that we really like it. We know without a doubt that it is where we are supposed to be. It still gets hard to be so far away from family, but we have found a lot out about our little family. I didn't think it was possible but we are closer as a family than ever before. Mine and Ben's relationship is better than ever. We make efforts down here that we didn't up north. And yes we are loving I mean loving the Vegas winters. I don't know if I have put on my snow coat down here yet. Usually just jackets or sweatshirts. I don't know how I survived the cold for so long. As I look back over 2010 I am thankful my Dad is still with us. He had a rough year. He was in and out of the hospital for a good 7 months and really wasn't out of bed until Labor Day. He is doing really well everything considering. I have amazed myself. I had a pretty rough summer but I have found that I can survive away from home. I don't like it most of the time, but I am stronger than I thought. I am thankful for Ben's job. In an economy like it is you have to be thankful for what you have and Ben's job is amazing. Our kids have grown so much this past year both in size and mind. I think we have all found that we are stronger than we thought. We have realized the importance of each other and our families back home and in Erie. We have some amazing friends, some old and some new. We are truly blessed. We welcome 2011 and will have some good memories and lessons learned in 2010. Can't wait for our 2011 adventures.

Christmas 2010

Mr. and Mrs. Guymon

Christmas Jammies

Fletcher's new vacuum


Gregor's Scooby Doo gang

The only thing Isabelle wanted. A Recorder!

Jarrett's new Guitar.

We had a great Christmas. It was definitely quiet, but it was nice to be able to relax and let the kids play with their new toys. Gregor got a new bike for Christmas and it was amazing to be able to go outside and ride it. He loves his new bike. We had the missionaries over for Christmas dinner. We have some great missionaries in our ward. The next morning we got up and headed to Utah. Our kids are the best travelers. They can make that trip on one stop. They amaze me. We were so busy this time in Utah. Sunday we got to Utah about 5:15 and had a Christmas party with my family with fondue yummie!! Monday we had a Christmas party with Ben's Dad. Tuesday Dayna went through the temple. Wednesday Daniel went through the temple. Thursday Dayna and Bob got married. Friday we had a New Years Eve party with Ben's cousins. aunts, and uncles. Saturday we went home. Whewwww. We had fun with everyone. I am so happy for Dayna and Bob, they are cute together and I think will have a great life together. So cold while we were there, we were excited to get back to Las Vegas weather. We are spoiled down here with the weather. The bummer was Fletcher, Gregor, and I got so sick when we got home:( At least we were home.

Lights at the Speedway

Tonight we went over to the race track. They have lights all the way around the track. The kids loved it. Fletcher kept pointing and saying Wow. As your driving you can listen to Christmas music.

Christmas Mice

Saturday we headed up to St. George to see Ben's grandparents. Grandma McGregor gave us an idea to make these little Christmas mice. So we decided to make them while we were with her.

We had so much fun. We made some mice, watched Mr Bean, and did some visiting.

This is the finished product. 100 % edible(except maybe the tail).

Ward Christmas Party...

Last Friday night our ward had a Christmas party. As you can see Santa and Mrs. Claus even came. We had lots of fun. We love out new ward. We have so many friends here and are always excited when a ward activity comes up.

As you can see from the picture below Fletcher was scared to death of Santa.