Friday, November 30, 2018

The Best Moments From A Bountiful Season

The months of October and November were busy and fulfilling moments of time. There was a lot of journal writing during these two months.  I have been writing a lot of my thoughts and feelings as we have cherished times with family and friends. 

We had a great adventure with our friends, John and Jamie.  We drove up to Eureka, Utah. As I child I used to go with my Dad on his delivery of IceCream to different establishments from Richfield, Utah to Eureka. We would then stay overnight in Eureka and go to a cowboy movie. I have wanted to drive up there for a long time, and John is from this area
. We then visited a cousin of John's who lived in Ophir, Utah.  John lived there too.  We had an incredible visit with him. He has many histories of the towns in this area and the mining that went on there. He has collected a wide variety of paraphernalia from this mining era. It was amazing. 

We attended a tournament soccer game for our grandson, Jeffery. It was fun to watch, and he is such a talented player. 

We next celebrated the birthday of our Son in law, Michael. It was a fun moment, and we enjoyed being with them all. Since they have moved here, we have experienced more celebration time with them. It was also awesome to have his mother, Irene here. She is one of my favorite friends. 
We next traveled up to Idaho one weekend to attend three soccer games of our son Travis's children. Each of the games was fun to watch. Here is a mix of the different games we visited. 


We watched our grandson, Ryley play in his game. Although they lost, he played every minute of the game. Ryley had such a great attitude and played hard. Ryley's team is in the photo above, and he is with me in the picture below.

The top photo is of our Grandson, Kason. We attended his game, and I always enjoy watching the younger teams play. It was almost more exciting watching than the older more skilled players. Kason played well, and we loved cheering him on. The younger children in the photo are our grandchildren, Haven and Layton. 


It was senior night for our Grandson, Ethan. They won their game, and at the end of the season, they took State. They were an inspiring team to watch, and we loved watching Ethan play. Since it was Senior night all of the seniors were recognized. 

We had a great family dinner with both of our two families the following day. We enjoy fun moments with James, Amber, Christian, Taylor Jo and Averi. Then Travis, Amanda, Justice, Jaxson, Ethan, Karli, Ryley, Kason, Layton, and Haven. 

We enjoyed Halloween with Michael, Jenni, with their children, Alyssa, Emma, and Benjamin. Our three grandchildren went out to go trick or treating in the neighborhood. We ended up with way too much candy left over. 
Our awesome Grandson, Joshua turned 12 years old, and we went up to Heber City for his Ordination to the Aaronic Priesthood and the office of a Deacon and then a lovely dinner afterward. 
We had a great time watching some adorable 8-month-old twins for Tyler and Allison. These twin boys are so cute and comfortable to have over.  Later we went to their home for dinner. They have an older son, Caden and then the twins; Logan and Liam. We loved spending time with this great family. 
Our beautiful Granddaughter, Justice went through the Rexburg Idaho temple for her Endowment on November 6th, 2018.  We drove up to be with her and handsome Jaxson. They are engaged to be married. It was delightful to be in the temple with our two families and enjoy this significant time with her. 
On Friday, November 16th, we attended the Wedding dinner at the Lion House for our Granddaughter Justice and her Jaxson. It was a lovely dinner. We felt blessed to have our oldest son, Sean, and Mary, of course, Travis and Amanda and their children and our Jenni and Michael. It was a marvelous occasion, and we enjoyed getting to know more of Jaxson's family. 
Our dear Granddaughter, Justice, and Jaxson were married in the Salt Lake Temple at 9:30 am on Saturday, November 17th, 2018. It was a very memorable moment, and we enjoyed the counsel given by the sealer, and the ceremony was lovely. 
Of course, I think these two are such a beautiful couple. We love Jaxson and are excited to have him as a grandson too. 

I loved the photos of the two of them but enjoyed taking some of our Granddaughter with us, then her Uncle James and Aunt Amber; Uncle Michael and Aunt Jenni. 

The family photo is of our children, Sean, Mary, James, Amber, Michael, Jenni, Roger and I, with our son Travis, Amanda and children, Justice, and Jaxson, the newlyweds; Karli, Ryley, Kason, Layton and Haven plus Amanda's parents, Pierre and Brenda and her brother; Eric and Jared. 
After the wedding, we hurried home to grab our suitcases and head up to Rexburg for their reception. They had an enchanting evening, and we enjoyed being part of the festivities. 
It was a little emotional watching our son Travis dancing with his sweet daughter and then Jane, Jaxson's  Mom dancing with him. It was breathtaking to watch these two young now married couple dancing together. They are such a perfect match. This was a favorite tender moment for sure. Loved watching them cut their cake and she shoved a pretty big piece into his mouth, and then he kissed her; it was so cute. We enjoyed being with our other children. I love seeing my other grandchildren, Alyssa, Taylor Jo, Christian, and Averi along with all of Travis and Amanda's children.


At the end of the reception, everyone had a sparkler lit as they came down the stairs to leave for their honeymoon. It was an exciting experience. These kinds of events always bring back memories. 

The next day was our sweet Amanda's birthday. We all went to church and then had a birthday dinner. Our two newlyweds showed up. It was also pleasurable to spend some time with Amanda's parents. Travis and Amanda have a very lively family, and we have fun and laugh a lot. 
My 73rd birthday was a fantastic one. My dearest husband always makes my day a good one. It was gratifying time to share with Michael, Jenni, and their children. I do enjoy having them near. The highlight was going to a play at the Hale Theater; "The Scarlet Pimpernel." It was spectacular. The costumes, scenery, singing, and acting was flawless. Watching it on the Hale Theater Stage is an incredible experience. It a theater in the round and you can feel and see all of it better. I was smiling and laughing through it all. 
Our Thanksgiving this year was smaller than usual. We usually have had our son, Sean, Mary and their entire family down. They went on a trip for a soccer tournament, so we enjoyed having Michael, Jenni and the kids with us. It was less busy and a little more peaceful. We did enjoy the whole day. Our endearing grandson, Benjamin was sick and didn't even get to eat Thanksgiving dinner. Being sick on Thanksgiving is the pits. 
Here are some recent photos of our remarkable missionaries. They email their families and friends each Monday. They are all three enjoying spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. They have some incredible experiences, and they are all growing in so many different ways. We are so proud of all that they are doing for our Savior. Of course, you can see that The Book of Mormon is the most effective tool that Missionaries have. It is the most influential book on the earth today. 
 I decided to share these photos of my three Granddaughters that are seniors this year. Taylor Jo lives in Idaho, Sarah lives in Washington and Abbey lives in Minnesota. They are very close friends and text each other a lot. Right now they are planning on attending BYU Idaho and live together. That is a dream come true for their grandmother. I am so happy that they have a close relationship with each other. 
This past week we took a day and went down to visit my precious Aunt Alene. We always enjoy time with her. She is terrific, and we love to listen to her stories and learn from her. She will turn 98 years old in December. 

My dearest husband, Roger suggested that we purchase some flowers to put on my parents' graves on the way home, They are buried in a small little cemetery in Sigurd, Utah. I love this man of mine for his giving and tender heart. As we stopped, I shed some tears. I miss my dear parents and two brothers so much. I pray that they are close by and busy in the spirit world spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have a marvelous heritage but at times feel very lonely because of all of my family are gone. I remain grateful for my two sisters in law that brighten my life. 
Sending my love to all who stop by and read my posts. This is a long one but to be a precious time with family and friends that is worth the effort to write thoughts and journal about. It's been a marvelous couple of months. May this Christmas season find your homes filled with the true meaning of Christmas. May you remember that tiny babe born long ago that came to save us all. Because of Him, I will again see my beloved family. 

4 comments:

Marsha said...

Wow. Wow. And Wow! What some wonderful, treasured, family moments. You have such a beautiful family! Thanks for sharing your family with all of us here in blog land.

Debbie said...

hi leann, these mosaics you put together are a great way to memorialize all of your special memories. you have such a big family and so many grandchildren, it is amazing how you keep up and attend so many special events. i am sure the boys love having you at their sporting events, birthday parties...and of course this special wedding. what a beautiful bride!! my niece recently married and we all participated in the sparkler thing too!!

happy birthday leann, it's nice to hear that it was so special!!

you look good, better when you smile for your pictures!!

Christy Monson said...

This is a wonderful memory book. What a priceless treasure for you and your family. Hugs for a wonderful holiday season.

Barb said...

Hi LeAnn!!

Wow, you certainly had a lot going on!! I was so grateful to get to visit you when you and Roger were here!

Loved seeing all the photos...I'm always so surprised at how much everyone changes in a years time!

Justis' wedding looked so beautiful, I was sorry we couldn't be there. It seems like we always have a wedding reception to go to on the week-end, and on that week-end we had two, so I had to choose to stay here.

Loved this post! Love you!

Hugs and Much Love,
Barb