Valley of Fire, Nevada

Gary and I enjoyed a USU's spring break

in Nevada. 

Camille kept things chugging along at home for us. 

(THANK YOU, Camille!)

Valley of Fire State Park was stunning!

Here is my hot hiking partner:

The most amazing colors were on an obscure trail called

the Wave.  You have to ask directions to find it.

The trailhead marker is teeny. 

Even the ground beneath our feet was gorgeous!

The slot canyon on the White Domes trail

was a lovely refrigerated break.

We met a fat little lizard buddy

who let me take his picture.

There were lots of cool petroglyphs.

Who knew all this gorgeous stuff was hiding

beyond the sagebrush just off I-15?



New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve was great!

Dylan decided to turn over a new leaf

in a really big way

and get baptized!

Exciting!

Here he is with his priest's quorum.

And with Camille...

Then we had a party at our house with

our friends, the Carters and the Mays.

Here are the kids getting ready to bang in the New Year!

Vivace Piano School

Camille and I with our piano students after our November casual ensemble recital.

We love teaching piano!

Back: Camille, Monique, Sarah, Chantel, Tiffany,

Marisha, Ben, Ammon, Emilee, Dellan, Me.

Front: Lauren (in black and white), Alyssa, Andrew,

Bethany, Traeden, Carter.

One student, Joe is not in the picture. 

We also have two "summer only" students: Valerie and Kegan.

Merry Christmas from the Donut Family!

It's been a good year for us.  As usual, we have a lot of excitement going on, with family members scattered across the world, doing all kinds of things.  My brother Scott (whose family members all have similar personalities, similar interests, and even similar looks) came up with a label for my family that fits pretty well.  Although we are all extremely different, we are similar in that no one is lukewarm, no one lacks an opinion, no one is laid back.  What we have in common is that we are all extreme:  We are "the Donut Family," Scott said, "No one is in the middle."

If you want the shorthand version of our donut year, just read this little overview. 
If you want the photo essays with gory details, click on the links for each.

Family member updates:

Gary has spent the majority of the year working in Albuquerque at Kirtland AFB on a defense satellite similar to the one he helped with three years ago.  We finally got him back permanently at the end of November.
Nick graduated from the U of U and works for L3.
Hyrum (a.k.a. Nate) is in Afghanistan. His wife Chloe is in Germany.
Andrew lives in Portland and is an oil man.
Christia & Jhesua live nearby.  Christia graduates from Stevens-Henager this month, and gave us our second adorable grandchild in April.  Jhesua works for Sonoco.
Brianna (Nick's Wife), Savannah, Camille, Marisha, Ammon & I are all attending school.  Actually, so is Chloe.

\

Favorite events of the year:

Girlfriends' Sleepover at Bear Lake
Spring Break in SoCal
Jensen Family Reunion in Georgia
Family Race Day
9/11 Day of Service
Halloween

And--just for fun--

Favorite books we've read this year:

Gary:       Born to Run, by Christopher McDougal
                America's Constitution, by Akhil Reed Amar
Nancy:     The Help, by Kathryn Stockett
                The Science of Fear, by Daniel Gardner
                The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, by Dorothy Gilman
Camille:  For the Love of a Dog, by Patricia McConnell
Marisha:  Janitors, by Tyler Whitesides
                Fablehaven, by Brandon Mull
Ammon:  Percy Jackson & the Olympians (Series), by Rick Riordan

We hope your Christmas is filled with love and laughter.  In celebration of our Savior's birth, here's a link to my Gospel Doctrine Christmas Lesson with lots of fun but lesser-known info about the First "Christmas." 

Thanks for your friendship and interest!

Happy Holidays!

Giving Thanks

We had a great Thanksgiving celebration with our extended family at our house.  Grandma, Stewart's family, Nick's family, Matt's family, Christia's family, Cory and Savannah all came.  Gary was back from Albuquerque and did most of the cooking, and it was wonderful!  We were too busy having fun to take any photos until later when Ammon, Marisha and Ben had a cousin sleepover!

The Three Musketeers

Chloe's Adventures

The Army wives of the Blackhawk Brigade

at Grafenwoehr Garrison

do not sit at home and sulk while their husbands are deployed:

They go off on their own adventures!

Chloe (right) and her friends took a day trip to Prague!

In order to have some much-needed

in-home companionship,

Chloe flew her flame-point Siamese cats,

Kalindi & Yamuna,

over to Germany.

They follow her around like dogs

and sit on her lap the minute she sits down.

They have been a blessing!

Aren't they gorgeous?

Chloe is working at the bank on base

and pursuing a college degree online.

She's also been learning to play the guitar.

On Andrew's Home Turf

Gary and I went to Portland in November to spend some time with Andrew.
We have both been so busy (Gary on his satellite project in Albuquerque, and me with my college studies while "single-parenting") that we did something we have never done on a vacation before: We spent one whole day doing nothing in the hotel, reading, watching movies, etc.

Then we got together with Andrew, going out to eat, meeting his girlfriend Erin (I forgot to take a picture), and watching "The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr." together.

 
Here we are at a fabulous Cajun restaurant, the Delta. It's the first time I've ever had Cajun food I really loved--their jambalaya. So good! Our old friend Chris and his darling girlfriend Leah joined us. And yes, that is our incredibly handsome son Andrew with his arm around me.   (Erin was at work.)
We also went to a place called Genie's for breakfast--gotta remember that:  The best pancake I have ever had in my life.  White chocolate chip hazelnut.  Yum!

 We went to the Portland Temple.

We had fun eating in the cold and rain at the downtown "pods".

We also took a little time to go to a piano sales and refurbishing shop, "Classic Pianos,"

where they let me practice on a Bosendorfer.  It was only $120,000 used...

We also got to visit our dear friends, Hyrum's in-laws, Craig and Emelie. 

Good times.