Mr. Humble

My "good looking", humble, son sent this picture to his girl today and she sent it to me. I love it! He looks so good in that blue suit. And I love that he still has his quirky sense of humor. Sure do love this boy!

Lopsided tree 2015

Lexi went to Grandma and Grandpa's and helped them dig their Christmas tree out of the shed and then helped set it up and put the tinsel and lights on for them too! She is the sweetest and is always looking for ways to help them:) We came over later and Ava put on the bulbs and ornaments. She was so worried that the front would be neglected that she concentrated all her efforts on the front by the windows. She must have had at least ten or more mauve bulbs all in a cluster in the front. The opposite side has maybe two or three ornaments that Eli put on I think. Grandma and Grandpa are good sports and just had a good laugh. I'm sure mom will keep it just like it is. Ava was so proud of her work.

The Dynamic Duo

I love the day before Thanksgiving Day! I get to spend all day with these two making pies and visiting while listening to Christmas music. They are so cute and have their favorite recipes they use each year. We made 4 pumpkin, 3 blueberry, 3 apple crumb and mom wanted to try a new one this year so we made 2 apple cranberry. (I also made a homemade coconut cream and a chocolate pie for Dennis' family). I helped mom make a chocolate pie (Uncle Dave's favorite) Friday morning.
We had dinner at Dean and Alisa's this year and it was delightful. They have the cutest home and the kids played downstairs the whole time and had a blast. I had made the brine Wednesday as we were making pies and we started thawing the turkey (or thought we did). I had the brilliant idea to put it in a cooler with ice water. When Dad checked it the next morning it had a solid sheet of ice over the top of the water and turkey! The cooler actually made more ice. So we had to leave the turkey out most of Thursday in the brine and then put it in the fridge when it thawed a bit.
Morgan and Lexi were assigned the rolls (a step up from Dave who always gets pickles (which mom had) and cheese. Alisa made spinach salad, potatoes and gravy and provided ice cream, Mom and Dad brought squash, cranberry sauce, raspberry jello salad, and orange drink and I brought pecan topped sweet potatoes and pies. Anyway, it was a fabulous dinner and we laughed and joked for hours! So fun!
Dennis, the kids, and I enjoyed Thanksgiving Day with his family. David cooked the turkey, stuffing, gravy, and had a fruit salad and cranberry sauce, Darin brought sweet potatoes, Dale brought two kinds of mashed potatoes, Jill brought salad and rolls, Carolyn made green bean bake and I brought pies, ice cream and whipped cream.
I'm probably forgetting things from both families but that's what I remember from our 2015 dinners.

Savannah Rose's 12th bday.

What a cute birthday party Carolyn planned for Savannah. She planned a Cupcake Wars themed party and it was a hit! She had different batters for the three teams and three challenges. The first challenge was assigned ingredients. The teams opened an envelope and read what they had to put into their cupcakes or frosting. Carolyn had everything you could think of. One had rollos and graham cracker crumbs (they added bacon too), another had raspberries and pretzels, and the third team had chocolate mint kisses with red hot tamales. The next challenge was color. Each team had a colored batter and colored frosting and had to come up with some kind of creative use for that. And the third challenge was the Christmas challenge. We had vanilla cupcakes already made and they just had to decorate them with a Christmas theme. These kids did this from 10:30 until 2 and time just flew by! They loved it and so did the moms helping out. Carolyn had her best friend from college there, Barbara and she, Jill, and I "mentored" the teams. Then, Andrew, Dennis, and Don judged the cupcakes on things like, most flavor, uniqueness, presentation, taste, etc. It really was one of the most fun birthday parties I've been to and Jake and Ava loved it!

Birthday Party for Ava girl

Ava turned 8 on the 19th which was a Thursday this year. Since it was a school night, we decided to have the party the next night. Since it was her "special" birthday this year we told her she could invite 4 friends and we would take them to Jungle Jim's playland in Salt Lake. Her little friend, Caleb, couldn't make it because it was his little brother's birthday as well but her friends, Abby York, Millie and Norah Haws came. None of them had been to Jungle Jim's before and you should have seen their faces when they walked in. You'd think they were at Disneyland! They played for 2 hours and never let up. They did stop to eat some pizza (well, Ava refused to eat because it had so much cheese on it) and to watch Ava open her presents. Her friends got her make-up, a movie, colorful duct tape, and an Elsa coloring book. Her brothers bought her a stuffed polar bear, and boots for church. Her Daddy got her scriptures and I got her her scripture bag. Oh, her friend Norah played a claw machine game that nobody ever wins and she won a huge stuffed Minion! Icing on the cake!

Spanish Concert with David Archuleta

Dennis' brother David and his wife Carolyn invited us to go with them to the Conference Center to see a concert put on by David Archuleta about different Latino cultures and music. He bore testimony of the scriptures and the Prophet throughout the concert. Dennis and I didn't know it was going to be in Spanish, which of course was just fine for Dennis but the kids and I didn't have a clue what was being sung. But it is amazing how music can convey emotions even if you don't understand the words. I got a little emotional during one song in particular so I asked Dennis what it was about. It was kind of a Prodigal son story I guess. The kids loved it and Ava was star struck! She loves David Archuleta and listens to his music quite often. Jake loves his song "Glorious" which he saved til last. It was in Spanish but Jake said he understood it because he already knew the song. It was a weird feeling to be the minority!

Ferrari's and Boys

Brother ?, Wyatt, Liam, Brad, Brendon, Mitchell, and James

Dennis set up a private tour of the Ferrari dealership in SLC. I guess the man to the left in this picture is in charge of detailing these cars and was able to set up the tour. The boys LOVED it and of course the men did too. This car behind them was worth over a million when it first came out but then Ferrari decided to only make a handful so it jumped in worth to over $4 million. CRAZY!! Seriously, who would pay that much for a car?? I guess insanely rich men who love owning one of a kind cars! Anyway, the outing was a hit with the young men!

Eli in Grandpa Merrill's leaves

The kids and Dennis raked some leaves from Grandpa's big tree into a pile and then of course the kids enjoyed jumping and rolling around in them. Dennis took a couple of pictures of our boy buried up to his neck. Love this kid!

Danny and Rose Powers

Rose grew up in Maine and we all went to the same Ward in Skowhegan. Her father was a counselor when my father was the Bishop. We all grew up together. Rose was the first young woman to leave Maine for Utah. She met a BYU football player named Danny Powers and got married. Ellie and Elena also came out to BYU and hung out with Rose and Danny quite a bit. By the time I came to Utah, they had one little boy and were getting ready to move (back to Maine I think). Danny would give me rides to places I needed to go and we'd blast Bob Marley and sing away. Such a fun guy! Ethan was able to have dinner with them and their kids this past Monday, the 23rd. Danny sent me some pictures and videos. Looks like Ethan felt right at home!

Rose and Elder Ralph

Elder Merritt, Danny, and Elder Ralph

Elders Ralph and Merritt with the Powers siblings

Elder Ralph and Elder Merritt

My Missionary!

I sure do love this boy and miss him so much! I'm proud of his desire to improve himself and to give his life to his Heavenly Father for two years. He has been trying to improve himself in every way so he "can be a better man" (his words). He's been getting up early, and working out each morning before they start their day. He also runs twice a week. He is trying to give lots of service to the people of Gilbert and is trying to find people who want to hear about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know he probably gets a little discouraged when things fall through, (which happens quite often) but he keeps trying and I am so proud of his progress. I love my Ethan Daniel, my "Sunshine" boy.

Personalized Scriptures

Ava has been talking this past week that her teacher at church has been asking the kids to bring their own scriptures to read during class. Ava was hinting that she really needed some but I just pretended to not hear a word;) We had already planned on getting her her own set of scriptures with a carrying case before her baptism so we made it a birthday gift. She was absolutely thrilled!

Winter camping

Jake has never enjoyed camping. He hates the cold as well. Poor kid had to combine both of those things he disdains two weeks ago. His scout leaders did a winter campout/backpacking trip. Jake came home smelling like campfire smoke and I've never seen his face so dirty. He got a bit sick when he got home. He said he was so worried about staying warm at night that he actually over dressed and got sweaty and then cold. But his new leaders aren't much for camping themselves, so this past weekend they decided to "camp" at a Hampton Inn and enjoy an indoor pool and work on the Duty to God booklets. Jake has never been so excited for a scout activity in his life! They had a great time!

Ava's birthday lunch

Ava girl was so excited about her special 8th birthday. She knew she could have a friend party this year instead of just her family and was pretty happy about that. She also asked if I would come to her school and bring her lunch and eat it there with her. I called the school and they said it would be great to do that. (My boys never asked me to do that-I don't think the charter school did that). So, she requested Chick-Fil-A for lunch and asked if I would bring M&M cookies from the bakery to her class. So Eli and I ran around getting presents, cookies, and lunch for this girl on the 19th. It was so cute to see her around her friends at school and how proud she was of Eli. She took him with her and introduced him to all her friends. The cookies were a big hit with the class as well. Can't go wrong with chocolate cookies with M&M's!

Great Young Men! (And leaders;)

Derek Byrne, Liam Byrne, Brad, Jake, Dennis, James Hanna, Mitchell York at Priesthood session of General Conference, October 2015

Front row: Wyatt McHale, Brayden Christiansen, Brad, Liam Byrne, ? (new boy), James Hanna, Matthew Hanna (couple of days before he left for his mission to Washington) Back row: Jake, Aaron Hanks, Elijah Hanna, ? (new boy)
These boys all went to the temple together one last time before Matthew Hanna left for his mission to Yakima, Washington

Ava turns 8

Mr. Jake took Ava under his wing last week, dressed her up in her pretty baptism dress, did her hair and make-up, and then took her around for pictures. I thought I'd have to retake them later but he did such a good job I decided to keep them and used the first one for her announcements. She had her interview with the Bishop this past week and will be baptized December 5th. I just can't believe my baby girl is 8 years old already!!
* on a side note, we were driving the other night (just Ava and me) and a Christmas song, "Last Christmas" by George Michael came on. The words were "Last Christmas I gave you my heart, but the very next day you gave it away. This year to save me from tears I'll give it to someone special". Ava looks at me and says, "I think I know who that someone special is. I think he's going to give his heart to Jesus". I had a little chuckle to myself as I thought about George Michael and then I told her she was wise beyond her years. She didn't understand why what she said was wise but I told her she's always said wise things even from a very young age and has always been a very spiritual girl. She just smiled. I really do love the innocence of children and their tender hearts. They give their hearts and their all to Jesus.

Ava's Thankful Turkey

We decided to make a Thankful Turkey for FHE a couple weeks ago. Ava was our artist and I think she did a pretty good job. Brad had a friend over, so we invited him to join us. He said it was his first FHE and I think he really enjoyed it. We started with a song and prayer and a small lesson on gratitude and then did the turkey and every one made three feathers with what they are thankful for. After that we had snacks and watched a Christmas movie. Jake has been in the mood for Christmas movies lately. (The boy takes after his momma;) Anyway, I think Mitchell enjoyed the evening at our house and we have his feathers on our turkey too.

My little Po

Eli has discovered how fun costumes are this year. We went to Wal-Mart after Halloween and they of course had their leftover costumes on sale. He saw this Po costume and just had to have it and at $4.00 I couldn't refuse. He loves the little round tail and wore it for three days straight. He wore his Spiderman costume for almost 2 weeks. Such a fun age!