24 Years of Bliss

Back in 1985 Roger and I thought it would be just a great idea to get married in December. On December 20th actually - wow my mom was nice!!!! And 24 years later I don't think there have been more than a handful of years when my devoted husband has not taken me out of town to celebrate the anniversary. This tends to cause a lot of anxiety as the holiday deadlines are always pushed up a bit for me. But, once we get to our destination it is always so wonderful to be able to spend time together and just relax. This year our destination was Washington DC as Roger had a bit of business there. I love that city and was more than happy to tag along. We checked into our Presidential Suite at the JW Marriott on Pennsylvania Avenue. (Roger has connections at Marriott. The first thing I said when we checked in was, "You better go down and make sure we're not being charged for this!")

That night we had dinner at one of Roger's favorite places, The ChopHouse. It was great. Then on Saturday we woke up ready to spend some time at the Smithsonian when we discovered the city was completely shut down because of a snowstorm. COMPLETELY!!! We found a diner still open around the corner and got a late breakfast, and then we got that relaxing time we always wanted with a few good books! It snowed about 21 inches that day!

Sunday we had planned to attend the Capital Hill Ward but of course all church was cancelled. We had tickets to the Messiah at the Kennedy Center and were happy that they did not cancel the performance. By then, the sun was out and the roads were beginning to clear. After the performance, we drove to Alexandria where my cousins live. We had dinner with the Heiner's - Brandon, Rachel, Ellie, and twins Corbin and Shannon. Then we drove over to the Coffey's- Valerie, Nate and Karston. It was fun to see them and their cute families and homes.

Monday, I shopped at Filene's basement which was just around the corner from the Marriott. Roger was anxious to show me their good deals and I quickly became a fan. That afternoon we headed out to Fed Ex Field to watch the Redskins play the Giants. We got to sit in the Marriott suite surrounded by fabulous food and great company. The game was secondary entertainment. Our friend Steve Young spent the evening visiting with us after he did a couple things for CMN. (He is an ESPN commentator, but only works before and after the game.)

Tuesday we went to the Holocaust Museum which is a must see for anyone who hasn't. We hadn't, and although it was awful to be reminded of how cruel human beings can be to one another, it was full of incredible history. We then flew home to our wonderful family. Katelin did a great job holding down the fort - which included a quick round of the flu! Thanks Kate!!!! We owe you one!!!

Children's Miracle Network Classic

Roger spent last week in Orlando working and playing! He got to have his big brother Stan go with him. Stan actually golfed in the tournament and Roger was his caddy. They had a lot of fun and found out they are an awful lot alike! Funny how that happens -

Has it really been a year?

Easton turned one on November 2nd.  He got lots of good stuff including cowboy boots and a rocking horse.

He enjoyed the cute baseball cake that his mom made him.  He's just washing it down with a drink of milk!

Our Little Monkey

Easton came trick-or-treating to our door.  It seriously doesn't get any cuter!  He caught on very quickly to the whole candy thing, and enjoyed sharing with Aunt Collette when the fun was over.

Halloween Fun

Courtney and Tyson and Danny and Kelsey decided to dress up as Monica and Roger.  It was hilarious!  We loved it!  Danny is the casual Roger at home in his flannel pj's with his laptop, and yes, reading glasses.  Tyson is the Roger at a BYU football game.  He is demonstrating his speed walk from the car to the stadium.

Kelsey is demonstrating Monica taking a picture, although I swear the lunge is not that deep.  And Courtney is demonstrating my lipstick obsession, which I admit is very real.  Thanks for the laugh guys!

Kennedi was a VERY cute pirate!  She got a lot of loot trick-or-treating with all of her friends.

Collette was a lovely snow queen.  And the three lovely roomates are self-explanatory.  (Unless you haven't seen Grease - Katelin is Sandy)  I'm not sure why she chose the bad Sandy at the end instead of the sweet innocent one in the beginning.  Probably because it's really fun to wear leather pants.

Birthday Time

Roger had a birthday on September 26th, and lucky for him, BYU was playing Colorado State, lots of us went to the game.  The rest of us went to the Relief Society Broadcast, and then we all met at Kelsey and Danny's for dinner and cake.

October 10th, Cassidy turned 15!!  Although her heart was set on getting a dog for her birthday - she seems thrilled with her new cell phone.  I think it is safe to say she was one of a handful of 9th graders that didn't have one!

School update

It has been a long time since we blogged and the reason is - my camera charger has gone missing!  I keep hoping it will turn up in some weird place.   I have offered a reward.  It is labeled very nicely with "mom's charger".  I know as soon as I go through the time and money to buy a new one, this one will for sure turn up.  But, I'm getting close.  

I do have back to school pictures to post.  Hard to believe school has only been going for a month.  It seems like much longer.  The 3 girls at home are working hard.  Collette has had a little stress, mostly relating to the fact that she has to wake up early which she does not enjoy.  We are working on earlier bedtimes.  Kennedi after having the most laid back teacher in the school has one of the strictest in the school now.  She is actually enjoying 5th grade a lot and is handling the workload really well. She loves to make lists and plan ahead and get everything done.  Cassidy loves the 9th grade, mostly because it's great fun to be the oldest at the school.  She has an AP Geography class, then choir and all honors classes.  She is working VERY hard and understands that her grades count now!!  She joined the cross-country team last week.  We'll see how that goes:)  In the 7th grade, her P.E. coach told her she should do track, so she definitely has some talent there.

Our out of the house kids are also doing well.  Tyson and Courtney are at UVU.  Tyson just has a couple more classes before he graduates and heads to pharmacy school somewhere.  (I'm personally hoping for the one in Hawaii). Courtney will not graduate before they move, but will finish up where ever they go and then join Tyson in pharmacy school.  Easton gets to play at our house every Friday and we LOVE it.  He is trying to talk like crazy, going up stairs, climbing around furniture etc.  He is so cute and fun.  And somewhat exhausting!

Danny and Kelsey are getting situated to living in Provo.  Both of them prefer Salt Lake, but they are adjusting and being good sports.  Danny is managing a computer lab at Provo Elementary School and attending UVU.  He is also in the process of trying out for the UVU basketball team.  He made it through the first round - way to go!!!  Kelsey is training to be a pharmacy tech at Stone Drug in Spanish Fork, and attending BYU.  Kelsey is majoring in Family Home Consumer Science Education.  When she graduates she will be able to teach high school which she will be great at.  

Katelin is adjusting to college life at BYU.  She likes her classes a lot and was lucky enough to get a job at the bowling alley in the Wilkensen Center.  She lives with her two best friends Cyndi and Emelia, and also 3 girls from California. They all seem to be getting along great.  The hardest part for Katelin, is that she is now one of thousands of little people on campus, instead of being one of the few big people on campus. It is an adjustment to go from high school to college!