Christmas Choir Concert

Shay's mustache!

Trip to Yogurt Bliss after the concert

Colt's friend Maddie sat by us.

Here comes Santa Claus

Some of our Busy Summer

Fishing at Ottercreek

Erick and Jacy

Geocaching

Silly Granddaughters at Wedding

Jace and Reilee's open house at Spanish Fork.

Busy ...Busy....Summer

Wow, where has the summer gone? Seems like it has just flown by. Guess it was because we had such a busy, involved one. I love the fall, but do not look forward to winter. Jim is back in school, and we are starting to get back on schedule. Whatever that is. We had our 1st Great Grandbaby, Jacy Lorraine Smith, is summer. Had a bunch of the grandkids stay over. Jace got married to a great girl, Reilee Jo O'Brien Opps! She is now Reilee Jo Brinkerhoff. She was so cute at the weddding, the sealer called her Mrs. Brinkerhoff and she said Oh, that's me! We love her. We attended the Erickson Reunion in July, and spent Labor Day weekend at OtterCreek in our lovely trailer. We also took a trip to Panguitch Lake the weekend that Jacy was blessed. We killed 2 birds with one stone, I guess you could say. So you can see we have been on the run,

Phew.... just writing this makes me tired. I will post some pictures of all our fun.

Meet 'Fred.......

KFC's newest employee in Cedar City.

SHAY IS HOME.....

Here she is walking into the house. I didn't see Kelcey when I took the picture, not sure where she popped out from, but at least you can see Shay.
We are glad to have her home. Know that being home will help a lot. She is doing good. We are proud of her, she is a brave girl.

Shay's Surgery.........

So Monday was Shay's big day. We all trugde up to Primary Children's for her surgery. We were told to be there at 10:45 and that she would go in at 12. But due to mixed up schedules, we ended up waiting until 2:30 for her to go in. But, they had told us it would take 4 to 5 hours and he came out after 3 and said they were all done. She did great! No problems with her lungs, or her ribs, and he felt good about it. Thanks Heaven for answered Prayers!.

Shay, back in the outpatient area.

After waiting so long she couldn't stand it and came out to see Colt!

Us all, waiting in the waiting room. Lots of people there with lots of problems. We are thankful for ours, and that things went so well.

Here is Shay back in her room right after surgery. She was pretty groggy, but did respond to us and our questions.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame..........

We finally got to go see Jace play ball this year. It has been so dang cold, but Sat. in the sun it was pretty warm. In fact Jim and I both got a little sun burned. Matt and Syd came also, as he was up taking his EMT testing. Syd came to spend some time with Shay before her surgery. All in all it was a fun time, even tho they lost to Ganzaga.


Matt, McKinley and Syd

Jace at bat......

Third Baseman, Jace.

Shay's Tooth.......

We thought this was Shay's last baby tooth for her to lose when we took the picture, but then decided she has one more molar. She pulled it herself, when her Mom called to see if the dentist could do it. She is a tough girl.
And this next Monday she will prove her toughness again, when she has back surgery to have rods put in, to straighten her back. Keep her in your prayers, we believe in prayers.

Our Reunion Site..........

Dad and I rode up to see the place we are having our reunion in June. There was still snow around, and lots of deer, The Ritz it is not, but I think we will have fun here for a couple of days. At least we will have a place out of the weather, and it has air conditioning, ( if we need it in June) Has a big area in front to play games and let the kids run. The river behind the building is not too deep right now, but they say there are fish in it. Have to use flies or lures. Beautiful area. I am excited ,hope you will enjoy it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...........?

I think she closed her eyes so she wouldn't see 35 on her cake.! We love ya girl. Your not old, your just getting better. If that is possible.

Bowling............

This weekend, we went and got our taxes prepared at H&R Block. WOW, what a shock, but lucky us, just as we were getting in the car to come home, Danelle text'd us and said "Come to the new Lehi Bowling Alley and join us for a game". So to forget the shock from the taxes, we did. Nell wooped us all, and I was the end. But we had fun. It has been a long time since I bowled. Thanks for the fun!!!!

March's Birthdays.............

Sorry I am a little late getting these posted. Can't believe we are this far into March already. ANYWAY...........
March 5 was Grandma Chicken's birthday. We miss her and can't believe it has been over a year since she left us.
March 13 Wylene
March 15 Jace (Lana)
March 17 Danelle
March 18 Erick
March 24 Todd
Happy Birthday to ya all!! Hope you have a GRRRRREAT Day.

Exercise is good for you?....

While Ky was down, Shaylee noticed that all those wall squats and other workouts that she was doing is really doing a job on her backside.


( NO, it was really a couple of balloons) What nuts!!

Dinner Guests...........

We had two cute chicks from Salt Lake Community College come to dinner tonight! Kylee and her roomy Katie. They are so sweet and so much fun, I wouldn't mind if they came once a week. They came a few nights last semester for Jim to help them with math, but tonight they just came for fun. Come again girls, any time.!!!

SHOES.......

Yesterday Tricia met me at the Oral Surgeons to discuss what to do with my crazy mouth.( I have no teeth, because when I was growing up it was not cool to save your teeth, they just pulled them when you got a toothache and left spaces) Anyway, while we were sitting there waiting for Dr. Park and visiting, Tricia suddenly said, " Hey, we have the same shoes." Sure enough. Guess great minds think alike. We both think they are the most comfortable shoe ever. Thanks Payless.......

Crazy Hair Day...........

It was Crazy Hair Day at school and this girl went as......TA Da
SYDNEY LUE WHO

They are here.........

This morning at 10 am the door bell rang and there stood a sweet lady with my winnings, 12 yummy looking cupcakes. They were all wrapped up in this fancy box with black bow They are still sitting on my kitchen counter.
(yup, I haven't even touched one yet) They are so pretty I don't want to ruin them. I am waiting for someone to come and share them with me. Jim, Tricia, Danelle, whoever.............................. Thanks Cupcake Chic!!!!!

News Flash..........

I am going to be a GREAT grandma! to a LITTLE girl come July.
Her name will be Jacy Lorraine Smith. Can't wait to hold her.

Baseball & Softball Season Begins............

Baseball Season is beginning in our family. Kylee has played 2 weekends of softball already, but I don't have a picture of her. She has done awesome. Their team is undefeated so far. Jace starts this weekend in Tucson. We wish him good luck. After his arm surgery this last year he is kinda nervous. But we know he will do his best. Love ya Both !

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...........

Happy Birthday to Colt! He turned 7 yesterday. He had a Mickey Mouse party with a bunch of friends and really made a haul. Love ya Colt!

And it Came to Pass.........

It came to pass that Matt was called to be the 1st Councilor in the Bishopric of the Monroe 4th Ward. He was/is very humbled, but seems to fit in well with the other guys, except that he is a lot taller than any of them. We are sure that he will do a great job, and are very proud of him. The Lord sure seemed to know where he needed to be. If we all will just " Be Still, and know..." He will lead us all. Good Luck Matt, and Good Luck Shanni, you will make it.

KFC ROCKS...........

Kristin says " Try KFC's BBQ Chicken, it's yummy delicious" (can you tell?)

FAST and FURIOUS...............

Friday, we decided to make a run for the border. The border of AZ.
Shay has been having a lot of pain in her back , so we decided to go see
her Dr. in AZ and see if we could get her brace fitted, since she has grown so much since getting it. We took off Friday night about 6 pm and went to Cedar, where we stayed with Erick's family. They are always so nice to let us do that. Especially on the spur of the moment. We got up at 7am and headed south. We stopped here at Boulder for a potty break and enjoyed the cute statues they had all around the place.
Kids playing......................

For the Young at Heart.........................

For Kyle...................

For Brennon.........................
For Jace............................. When we got to Chris's house Sat. afternoon, we rested for a few minutes and then jumped back in the car and went to the orchard up the street to pick some oranges and grapefruits to bring home and share. We had to hurry, as it was near dusk. but we got some nice ones, and wow are they sweet..........

Look at the size of these two...... No, not the girls,.........the oranges!!!!!

Shay's Dr. met them and to our distress, told Shay that her back had moved so much, that the brace would not work anymore, so we will now pursue other options. She was pretty shook up, so to cheer her up and make Danelle happy( she loves this place) we went to " Bahama Bucks"

Is Chris wondering if he got the right flavor????

Courtney is playing a Kylee.......................... and Chris taking our picture......

The two Courtney's........................................ I think Courtney C has brain freeze

What is wrong with these AZ people, we came here to get away from the SNOW! Just outside the door is a palm tree where everyone sticks their umbrellas

from their drinks. Wylene says they clean them off every so often, and then it starts over. The kids had fun going along with the crowd.

Sunday about 10 am, we said our goodbyes and thanks to Chris's family for letting us crash on them. None of us really wanted to get in that car again, but off we went. We stopped at the Hoover Dam to stretch our legs. Here is my update photo on the new bridge. Haven't done a lot since Nov.

Grandpa and Shay in the gift shop, under a flashing Las Vegas sign. But DARN, it didn't keep flashing in the picture. We stopped in St. George and got a room. We had had it with the car and need to stop. The kids swam in the pool and then we had a good nights sleep, next morning we forced ourselves into the car again and thanks to Grandpa Jim, got home safely.

That is our story of our life on the edge.........speaking of life on the edge.......