The Pace's Came to Town

Lisa had to work at Marriot in Park City during the holidays to get her maternity leave so 5 days before Christmas we picked them up at the airport. It was so fun to see Benjamin. He has grown so much and is such a cute baby. Jessica, Alyna and I stayed at the hotel with them and while Lisa went to work, the rest of us went Christmas shopping and out to lunch.

Benjamin wasn't so sure he liked the snow falling on his face.

That evening, we all met at Grandma and Grandpa's house for a yummy dinner and a gift exchange. Benjamin got lots of hugs and kisses from all the grown-ups.

Benjamin was the best show in town........

.....or maybe not.

Hatch/Hunt Family Christmas Party

Last Friday, we held our annual family Christmas party. The date and place had been chosen for a couple of months but as the date got closer it became more challenging to figure out what should be done. The week before the party, Dad ended up in the hospital again with a bad infection in the leg where his vein had been harvested. They thought he would be in for a day or two and ended up not getting out till Thursday. We had been hoping that even though he may not be able to come to the whole party, we were hoping he could come for a little bit. The week of party, we had to decide whether to postpone the party or hold it without dad. It was decided that we should go ahead.

I was in charge this year. Since we knew that dad wouldn't be able to come up to our house, we scheduled the Relief Society room in the church near their house. This is the first year we've ever done it at a church. We still wanted it to be festive and like Christmas so Mom, Martha and I set up a Christmas tree and decorated the room. It looked really nice - well as nice as a RS room can.

Alyna and Dennis enjoying dinner

Andrew and Lindsay were so happy to have their picture taken.

Now that we have a bunch of little great-grandsons in the family, we are having to take into account their needs for earlier bedtimes and foods that are edible for all. We had everyone help bring finger foods and we had a lovely dinner.

Rachelle with her new baby. The boys did a little coloring while the adults finished eating.

Ryan and Maryann's little guys came dressed as Santa's little helpers.

Hunt and Van Natter families.

We played a Christmas carol pictionary game and exchanged gifts. The little ones provided plenty of entertainment and excitement. It was a nice evening but it was sad not to have Dad there. We stopped by the house before heading home. It was good to have Andrew and Lindsay, Alyna and Dennis get a chance to visit with dad for a little bit.

We know that life is full of surprises and always changing, which can be good. My Christmas wish is that our parents live many more years and are healthy and able to enjoy watching their grandchildren marry and become parents.

What a Year it Has Been

A year ago yesterday, Dennis and I had all our belongings in Holland packed up and loaded on a truck. That began our exodus back to our home and family. It has been a busy year since then.

I've been writing a review of the year and am amazed at all the work we've gotten done and all the fun experiences we've had, as well as some challenges. Here are the things that have come to mind:

We worked hard and remodeled the 3rd apartment and moved the sewing room upstairs

Got all new furniture for the living room. I love it!

Our shipment from Europe arrived safely and we got all our furniture and belongings put in place

Mindy came to visit for a week and got all our old family photos scanned and saved. She makes us laugh and do crazy things. It was so fun.

I went back to work at Nibley Elementary, with very mixed feelings.

Dennis officially became President of Wescor. Wayne and Paul retired.

We got new windows. Yeah!! What a big improvement.

Dad Briscoe burns a large portion of his back in a accident while working in the yard.

Our friend, Lydia, came from Holland. We went to Women's Conference, Yellowstone, & Las Vegas.

My good friend, Carol, is diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. She has 2 surgeries and starts chemo. We make a care quilt for her with squares from 100 friends.

Cameron graduated from BYU. He decides to continue his education at Univ. of Indiana

Alyna graduated from Mountain Crest. Gets a scholarship to USU.

Jessica drove to Virginia (with some help from Dennis) to work for the summer.

Dennis and I went to Europe separately and then met in Holland and traveled to Spain.

The whole family went to Lake Powell for a memorable vacation with the Pace family.

Mindy had her thyroid removed and was treated for thyroid cancer.

Andrew got a lot of amazing work around the house and yard this summer.

Marga and Suzanna came from Holland. We traveled to California and Yellowstone.

Our first grandchild was born. Benjamin Ralph Pace has been a fun addition to the family.

Lisa, Cameron and Benjamin moved to Indiana.

Dennis and I vacationed for a week in Hawaii.

My dad had open heart surgery and has had lots of challenges in recovering since then.

Dennis made it to the Delta airline Diamond Medallion status. That means he's traveled A LOT this year! He mostly went to Europe but also finally made it to South America - Columbia.

Mandy and Dan had baby Kara.

Zeke leaves to serve a mission in Oklahoma.

There are several more fun things we are looking forward to before the year is over: family get-togethers, the Pace family coming for the holidays and Kara will be here for Christmas.

Things I'm Thankful For

Here are a few of the things I am thankful for:

My wonderful husband. We celebrated our 29th anniversary yesterday.

Having my Dad making a good recovery from open heart surgery and

feeling good enough to enjoy a family get-together.

An amazing Mom who is a great example to me and a wonderful grandmother to my children. She is a dedicated care giver and accomplishes more in a day than I can.

Watching my children develop their talents.

Wonderful in-laws!

A new grandbaby and the opportunity to play grandma, finally!

Sisters!

A nice warm home with lots of charm and personality.

A beautiful area to live in.

Beautiful places to travel to and enjoy.

Good health

Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Financial security

Living in the USA

Just to name a few!

The Blizzard of November 2010

Well this week we had a first. The weatherman began on Sunday predicting a huge storm to hit on Wednesday. This was to be the third storm to come in during the week so we already had a couple of inches of snow but mostly just on the grasses and such as the sidewalks and roads were still warm enough to melt it. On Monday they moved the storm arrival up to Tuesday afternoon and started talking about how bad it was going to be. I guess people started paying attention because the school districts decided to send kids home from school early. All the universities shut down in the early afternoon and many public events planned for the evening were postponed. The public library closed at 2:00 "due to the storm." I just don't ever remember such things happening.

I went out in the morning to get the last of the Thanksgiving groceries and it was surprisingly crowded. Afterward, Jessica and I went to do some shopping. At noon, there was a stiff south wind and it was 47 degrees. We went in to grab some lunch, and came out 40 minutes later and the temperature had dropped 10 degrees. I dropped Jess off at the mall while I went to my doctor's appointment and while I was sitting in the exam room, I heard excited voices in the hall saying that it had hit. Sure enough, when I left the clinic, the wind was blowing the wet snow almost horizontally and it was COLD! I got in my van and at 3:00 it was now 24 degrees and the temperature was still falling rapidly. I picked up Jessica and headed home. The drive was slow and cautious since visability was very limited. By then you couldn't see the lines on the road so everything was pretty much down to one lane in each direction.

We were so happy to be home. KSL was warning of power outages and suggesting way to make your home warmer and safer. We have a couple of doors that really need replacing and let a lot of cold air in so Jessica and I hung blankets up over them. Then we curled up with a cup of hot chocolate and a book and waited for the power to go off. Eventually, Alyna got home and Dennis got most of the Wescor employees on their way before he came home.

The storm raged for most of the evening. We never lost power and were able to carry on with our activities. Every once in a while, we'd look out to see how things were doing. The snow really piled up at the doorways and through our breeze way and made getting in and out a little more challenging. By about 9:00 the storm was over. Dennis went out and cleared the driveway and sidewalks. He thought we probably had 8 inches of snow.

This morning it is cold but beautiful. The ground always looks better dressed in white once the leaves are gone. The birds have been busy at the bird feeder this morning. All is well this morning and we lived through the blizzard of November 2010.It's nice to have weathermen who can warn us of upcoming storms and help us be prepared. It maybe wasn't quite as bad as they had warned us it could be but as storms go, it was a pretty good one.

the morning after

A Family Gathering in Honor of Zeke

Ezekiel (Zeke) Villarreal, my nephew, will soon be leaving to serve in the Tulsa, Oklahoma, Spanish speaking mission. Today he spoke in Sacrament meeting and did a beautiful job. He will be a great missionary! After the church services, family and friends gathered at Villarreal's for a luncheon and visiting.

Zeke and Alyna

We told Zeke he ought to take this picture and let his companions see if they could guess which one of these girls is hes girlfriend. To bad half of these are cousins and the girl he really likes isn't even in the picture.

After dinner, there seemed to be an epidemic of sleepiness. I loved the picture of Kimmy and Annie because it reminds me of the many times when my girls slept in exactly the same position.

This certainly can't be comfortable for all the girls.

Bonnie was able to sit down after dinner and enjoy a few minutes with Kara.

It was really nice to be able to spend a relaxed afternoon together. Everyone that wanted to, got to hold Mandy and Dan's new baby, Kara. Annie entertained us with her amazing kindergarten knowledge. Then she went in and put on her Halloween zebra costume and danced the dance of the sugar plum fairies. Very Darling!

Mostly family!

Andrew and Lindsay are becoming friends with all the kids Alyna's age. Alyna is amazed that they would want to hang out with them but really loves having them all be able to enjoy doing things together.

The Chairs

I have been pondering why I have been feeling so nostalgic about the old metal chairs that are sitting out in the backyard surrounded by fallen leaves. I bought them this summer at a local antique store. I've wanted some for a while now and was so excited when I found them at a reasonable price. They are similar to some chairs my grandpa and grandma Merrill had.

All through my growing up years, I spent parts of many summers with my grandparents on their farm in Idaho. They had a yard and garden much like ours, only much, much bigger. I remember planting flowers in the early summer, picking peas, and using the riding lawn mower. I also remember trying to find places to hide when it was time to weed the garden, pick the raspberries, and other less desirable tasks. There was never a lack of work that needed to be done, but, there were many evenings spent sitting in the yard, enjoying the cooler weather and visiting with the many relatives that lived in the area. My grandparents had some old metal yard chairs and although they are not nearly as comfortable as some of the yard furniture we now enjoy, it always felt so good to be able sit and relax after the work of the day was done.

I had only seen the chairs in their summer setting so to now see them in the fall, it has made me a bit nostalgic. They belong only to summer, green grass and times when people can sit and relax and enjoy their little bounce. Not to the cold and dreariness of winter.

I put them away today. I'm feeling sad - I'm not really sure why. Is it because summer it truly over and we will have to endure months of cold and dreary weather before spring arrives? Or, is it the yearning for days gone by, loved ones that are gone and a time in life that was much simpler?

Forlorn

FORLORN: sad and lonely because of isolation or desertion

I was looking out the kitchen window this morning and my eyes kept being drawn to the chairs that have sat sedately under our big maple tree this summer. They now look forlorn; the flowers and shrubs that stood nearby have been frostbitten, the tree has lost most of it's golden leaves and the sky is gray. All the other patio and yard furniture has been stored away for the winter and maybe these old guys should take cover also.

It's nice to know that eventually the flowers will return, the skies will be blue and there will be leaves on the trees and people ready to sit in the shade and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

Here's a better entry written by Mindy:

It has really started to look like fall around here. All of our big trees are dropping their leaves faster than you can say, "Why are there two old chairs sitting way out under these trees?" Yesiree, fall is upon us which means the holidays are almost here. This is a time of retrospection and reflection, a time to look back at what we have done and where we are going. Who sat in these chairs? What would the sitter have seen from this perspective? Perhaps, whoever it was, saw a young man working hard at maintaining a large yard, a dutiful daughter washing dishes and staring out the kitchen window, or some silly kids going door to door asking the neighbors if they could rake up and take their leaves so they could make a bigger leaf pile in their own yard.

Mandy and Dan Welcome Their Sweet Baby

Mandy and Dan are now the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl. Kara Ann Gordon weighed in at 5 lbs. 11 oz. and 18 inches long. She is absolutely perfect. She looks a lot like her mom or Annie. Mandy is very relieved to not be pregnant and able to make plans for Thanksgiving and the holidays without worrying about the baby's arrival. Alyna and I went over to visit for a little bit this afternoon but we didn't get a lot of time to hold her because there were so many people who were in and out to visit. I'm sure I'll find another time to get a chance to spend time with her in the coming weeks and months.

Piles!

I've been trying to work at getting some things cleaned up and organized while Dennis has been gone. There are some piles I love to look at and work on and some that make me want to throw up my hands in despair.

I love piles of fabric and the projects that are waiting patiently to be done. Right now, at the top of that pile, I have some cute girly fabrics ready to make an infant car seat tent for Mandy's new baby. I have some table runners and wall hangings to possibly get sewn for Christmas, some bags to make for camping gear and outdoor games..... My fabric piles are extensive and so are the projects I would like to make when I have the time.

I love piles of books that are waiting to be read. At the top of this pile is The Help by Katheryn Stockett that I need to read before book club at the end of the month. Some of the others are: Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, Dewey (we bought this one for Mindy and she liked it), Magnolia Wednesday, The Weight of Silence, The Search, Saving Max, and A Thread so Thin.

I have a pile of hoodies and lightweight jackets sitting on the end of my bed. I really like them but don't have a space to hang them and I know where to put them all. It is that changing of seasons when the lightweight jackets are still good most of the time but it will start snowing and getting cold any day. I need to figure out what to do with them today since Dennis will be home in the morning and he probably doesn't want to share his half of the bed with a pile of clothes that aren't his.

I have piles of shoes. Actually, I just got my 20 pair of summer shoes packed away so the pile is looking a little better. Luckily the boots are still in their boot boxes so for at least a little while the pile is very manageable.

I have a pile, well actually buckets, of carrots that we dug up from the garden yesterday. They have mostly been washed but they need to be processed and frozen.

And then there are the piles of paper. I hate those piles!!! They are never ending and frustrating. I try to be sure that the bills never end up in those piles and that they get paid but the rest of it............ Some is stuff that Dennis should probably look at, or something that needs to be acted upon when the appropriate time comes, or that is interesting, or not, but maybe it should be kept and filed...... We don't have a very good filing system set up right now - just a box that all "important " papers get thrown in. That may just have to be my winter project!

There are piles of things that I have a love/hate relationship with depending on the time and circumstances; piles of laundry, piles of toys, piles of pictures to be organized and scrap-booked, piles of quilts, pillows and blankets, piles of pill bottles, a pile of food stuffs on the pantry floor, piles of stuff waiting to be put away or thrown away or given away, piles of shoes inside the front door, piles of dirty dishes....

Maybe piles are a sign that we are alive, busy and looking forward with hope. Maybe they are reminders of how blessed we are. And, just maybe, someday in the future we may look back to this time and wish we had some of those piles again, or not.

A Few New Things

Last week, my niece and nephew came over for the evening while their parents were at meetings. Todd asked if we always decorated for every holiday. Alyna told him that we decorate for every holiday and every season. Yep. I guess I'm kind of crazy that way.

For many years, this has been the main table decoration for Halloween. It consists of a wooden napkin holder I made about 22 years ago and a table runner I made when I was first learning to quilt, about 10 years ago.

This year I found this darling witches hat and loved it but didn't know what to do with it so I set it out on the table in place of the napkin holder.

Well, I didn't think the satin and feathers and such of the hat looked very good with the

cotton table runner so I went to my miscellaneous shiny fabric stash and bought a few more Halloween ones and - Wha-La! A whole new look. The boo candy plate is just waiting

to be filled but since we all have serious sweet tooths around here and some people

choose to eat candy for breakfast, lunch or dinner - well the plate

will just have to stay empty till closer to the big day.

Several weeks ago, we gave our big aquarium to a nephew that needed a low maintenance

pet. After having an aquarium for 18 years and having it sitting in the corner of our

kitchen ever since we moved into this house, it feels a little strange not having anything

there. I wasn't sad about not having to remember to feed the fish everyday as I was

running out the door, but I sure missed the cabinet that the aquarium sat on. It had stored

all our games that we play at the kitchen table as well as cookbooks and a few baby toys.

I thought it would be easy to find a new cabinet that would fit in the same spot but after perusing all the furniture stores in town, I was beginning to think I shouldn't have been so hasty in giving our old particle board one away. I decided to try the antique stores in town and finally found just what I was looking for. It was an old radio cabinet that the radio had been stripped out of. The seller was willing to fix up the inside and get it all ready for me so all I had to do was paint it. I am really happy about the way it turned out and it fits perfectly into the space. I'm even more happy not to have boxes of games and such sitting on my bedroom floor to stubble around!

I figure when grandbabies come, we can replace the plant under the shelf

with a basket of toys and books.

So, who wants to come play?

The Rest of the Vacation

Here are a few more pictures that I got before my camera was dropped in the water. That's one of the hazards of being someplace where one of the main attractions is water.

We hiked up the Diamond Head crater. It was a fairly strenous hike

but for old folks we did pretty good.

The last part was about a hundred steps - that was the hard

but the view from the top was spectacular.

We drove up around the coast, stopping at the blow hole and

various beautiful scenic beaches along the way.

We got to this bay at low tide but it was very different from the places we had explored in California at low tide. Dennis came equipped with the appropriate shoes and was able to get out on the far side of the bay and saw more than the little fish that I was able to spot from shore.

We went to the Waimea Arboretum & Botanical Garden.

Dennis swam out to the little waterfall. It hadn't rained much on the island

for a while so all the waterfalls were a bit anemic.

We stopped and got a plate of fresh shrimp at Giovaoni's shrimp truck.

The next day we took the bus in and walked around the old town part of Hololulu, seeing the palace, and other historic sites. We walked around China town and got some lunch there.

Other things we did included going to the Polynesian Cultural Center, and the Dole Pineapple Plantation. We shopped and ate and just enjoyed being in such a beautiful part of the world.