Snow Day!

The Whitney's went in search of snow on Wednesday and they found the perfect place.  Fun was had by all!

Happy Birthday Ben!

It is such a blessing to see your children with their children and know that they have become the amazing adults and parents that you had hoped they would be.  Ben has a quiet strength and has been recognized by others as someone they can count on to do what he says he will do.  He was a math whiz from the time he was a little boy and turned that love of numbers into a career that he can be proud of.  He is a a great dad and loving husband and a wonderful son.  I am proud of Ben and love that everything he does seems so easy for him.  He is a handyman around the house, a committed member of his church, and an effective leader at his job.  Ben is a blessing to his family and a great blessing to me.

Rockefeller Center

Miriam took a little break from finals and took the subway down to Rockefeller Center to enjoy some of the Christmas spirit.  I have to admit she is courageous!

 

I Love Arizona!

Brutal summers, but stunning Fall/Winter/and part of Spring!  It started raining in the middle of the night and the rain continued to lightly fall the rest of the day into early evening.  After running some errands this morning and admiring all the leaves on the trees turning a beautiful yellow and beginning to fall, I was in love with the beauty of our winters.  When I came back into my apartment complex and saw a beautiful carpet down the sidewalk I had to take a picture of it.  I am embarrassed to think that I grew up here and never realized that we do have Fall.  Not quite as stunning at Fall in New Hampshire but Fall none the less!

Happy Birthday Abby!

16 YEARS OLD 

How quickly this 16 years has gone Abby.  What a beautiful young lady you have grown to be.  You have proven you are a hard working and kind swim instructor and I don't doubt the children you work with feel safe and confident with you working with them.  You have set a lofty goal for yourself for the coming year.  I hope that you are able to accomplish what is most important.  You have such a kind heart.  Don't be afraid to dream big and set goals for yourself.  Never give up!  The years ahead will be filled with opportunities and I hope you be able to take advantage of them.  I love how you have been there for your brothers and sisters.  You are blessed to have them and they are blessed to have you.  Keep up the good work you do and always believe in yourself.  

Sweet Surprise

I had a nice surprise from a sister missionary, Caleigh Burton Kipp, who we served with in New Hampshire.  After her mission and marriage she came for a visit to Arizona and stopped by to visit with us.  On Sunday I received a text from Caleigh.  She said this picture showed up on her timeline and so she forwarded it to me.  This picture was taken in December 2019 just a few months before Grandpa passed away.

Some Santa!

 

Piano Recital

Caleb and Ava had a piano recital on Saturday.  Each of them performed 3 numbers.  I was so impressed with how great they did.  Just a side note--not only does Ava play the piano she is a pretty amazing ukulele player as well!   

California

I had to take a trip now that I have a new car.  So after being invited to come for Caleb and Ava's piano recital I hit the road.  It was so nice to spend time with the California Duncan's.  While there we made a trip to Oakland to pick Ellis up at the airport and then went over to see the Oakland Temple.  It was beautiful especially with the added beauty of Christmas.

Chicago 2021

Ruth spent five days in Chicago with the rest of the Highland Orchestra.  They performed at the Midwest Clinic and then did some sightseeing.  She had a great time.

Jane

The volleyball season ended after some exceptional plays by Jane and her team.  They made it to the finals and although they didn't take the trophy home they did an amazing job.  It is amazing to see the progress Jane made after such a short time playing. 

Music Everywhere

There was music all over the place this month.  It started with Miriam doing a Christmas program at the college and then Ruth and Jane performing in the orchestra at their high school.  Ava was in a Christmas parade in Clovis and danced to the music down the street.  Ruth left for Chicago for a week where their advanced orchestra performed with other schools.  Christmas and music just belong together!

Jeremy

Aunt Becky sent me these pictures of Jeremy's projects in his woodworking class.  He made cutting boards and a special shelf to hold his Wii items.  I'm so impressed with the various talents our grandkids have!

Winter Formal Pics

 The winter formal was a great success.  These girls had the whole day planned and it even extended into the next week to finish their activities off with decorating gingerbread boys.  It's hard to believe that Ruth is a senior this year.  In February she will find out if she was accepted to attend BYU, she will be going to be heading to Washington DC in the spring with her school choir and then have prom to plan for.  What a great year she is having.  

Graham

If you are around Graham for any length of time you will probably get a laugh or two.  I thought I'd share a couple of things he came up with this week.

Aunt Amy said someone dropped off a caramel candy apple for her earlier in the week.  She was in the kitchen when Graham walked in and wanted to know what she was eating.  She told him it was a caramel candied apple and asked if he wanted a bite.  He replied "yes, but I only want to eat the flesh."  

About the same time as the candy comment he brought a chuckle again.  He had just taken a shower and was trying to put his underwear on.  As he struggled to make it happen he said, "these underwear have no sense of humor."

He definitely makes me laugh!

Gingerbread Houses

 

Gingerbread Houses (Left to Right)  Ruth, Eden Jane, Graham, Duncan

New Name!

Just call me Red Hot Momma!  Your great grandad use to say when you start making a car payment each month on car repairs it is time to trade your clunker in and get another car.  My Edge wasn't a clunker but definitely getting expensive to repair.  I got 179,000 miles out of it and a lot of road trips since we bought it in 2013, so I can't complain.  It was strange buying a car without grandpa but I brought Aunt Amy along to make sure I asked all the right questions.  I found what I wanted at the first dealership we went to (yes--because it was red!) and a couple of hours later I had signed on the dotted line and drove away in my new Ford Escape.  It is nice getting into the car without wondering if it was going to break down and leave me stranded somewhere!

Hanukkah 2021!

I had such a good time putting together a Hanukkah dinner for the Whitney's this year.  I think mostly because it brought back some wonderful memories of the years past dinners even before grandkids came.  After so many years I am definitely working out some of the chinks!  I made a substitution on my Israeli fruit platter this year and instead of dates I used dried apricots but all the rest of the fruit remained the same.  Instead of challah bread  I did a star of David using Rhodes Rolls.  A special treat was Jane playing on her Cello The Sabbath Prayer from Fiddler on the Roof with Ruth, Aunt Amy, and Uncle Christian singing the words. It was really a special addition to the dinner.  The brisket was perfect, the latkes were crisp, and the company was wonderful!  

By the way--make sure you have matches if you are going to light the menorah!

Good News!

I have good news for the Santa fans in the family.  Santa has spent the last few months vacationing in Arizona before he hits the sky on Christmas Eve!  This morning he stopped by a ward Christmas party before he heads back to the North Pole.  Being the thoughtful Santa he let his wife join in the fun.  

I love Darrin and Heidi and it is so nice to have them be a part of the family.  After they married the ward latched on to Darrin who has an ongoing gig to play Santa.  I think he could add a few more pillows but this Santa is definitely a health conscious jolly old St. Nick.

An Embarassing Moment

On Wednesday nights I often have Graham and Eden while the rest of the Whitney's are at Mutual.  Aunt Amy teaches the teenaged girls and Duncan is in the young men's youth program so there are regular activities each Wednesday night.  Earlier in the day I drove to Surprise to have lunch with Sister Walker, a life-long friend.  While there I told her I wanted to go to the store and buy some pajamas that I could wear in the evening as the weather gets colder.  (I know you are all saying--Arizona gets cooler!)  I bought a cute pair of flannel pajamas with birds on them.  When Eden and Graham arrived they were all excited to show me their new pajamas they got to begin the Christmas season (a family tradition).  I told them that I got new pajamas too and that after dinner we'd have a pajama party and watch The Snowman together.  After dinner I put on my new pajamas and then we sat down to watch the movie.  Half way through the show loud music was blasting outside of my apartment.  At first I thought that my neighbors had lost all consideration for those around them and then someone knocked loudly on my door.  Mind you I'm in my pajamas, but I answered the door hoping it was my neighbor.  Instead out on the street, by my apartment, was a hay wagon full of youth from our ward who had come to carol to me.   I called for Graham and Eden to come out to see what was happening and tried to have them stand in front of me to preserve at least the little dignity that I had left.  After a couple of songs they pulled away and we all waved goodbye and I thanked them for coming.  My red face eventually cooled off and we got back to our movie.  I love my church family and they have gone above and beyond to reach out to the widows of our ward.  This is just a small example of what they have done for me since moving into the apartment.  I have to admit I spent much of the evening thinking about those poor traumatized teenagers who saw Sister Duncan in her new bird pajamas.  I have often said you don't die from embarrassment--you just wish you could!  Actually, I have reached an age where you can get away with a lot of things because many people just shake their head and say, she can't help herself she is just an old lady on the edge of insanity--and I suspect they are probably right!