Returned With Honor!

March 15, 2012 was a much anticipated happy day!!  Ammon came home from his mission after having served the people of Brazil for two years.  I still remember the day we dropped him off at the Portland airport.  It seems so long ago, yet the time seemed to go by so fast...if that makes any sense at all.  Meeting him at the airport was such a wonderful event.

Bishop Ennis (a.k.a President Ennis) and McKay checking to see if the flight would arrive on time.

 

Hyrum, the official sign holder, was practicing his important duties.

The family securing their place in the airport to have the best view of his arrival.

McKay looks on in anticipation.

Dad was the first to spot him as he reached the top of the escalator.

Okay, I can't lie, the emotions really kicked in at this point and I couldn't hold back the tears.  Even looking at this picture, the emotions all come flooding back.  I love the look on everyone's faces as they spot Elder Luke.

He looks great, especially coming home all tan from the Brazilian sun.

Ready to high five Hyrum.

There was much discussion as to who would get the first hug.  (Hyrum thought he should since he "really likes Ammon a lot.")  But, Dad pulled rank and made the decision for Mom to have the honor.  Although, if you look closely, there is a small arm around the back of Ammon...so I guess technically it was a group hug!

After patiently waiting, Dad gets his turn.

Then there were hugs all around!  

Moroni...

McKay...

 Corinne...

Kara...

Bishop/President Ennis...

Brother Dan Walker...

Cory Polier...

Mom...one more time...

 After 24 hours of traveling...thumbs up to being home.

The happy family.

Welcome home, Ammon, we are so very proud of you!

River Boat Cruise

I had the fun of being in charge of our last ward activity.  It was a river boat cruise down the Mississippi with a stop in New Orleans for dinner, entertainment, and fun in the Bayou.  You can see a full post on my craft blog by clicking here.  But, my favorite part of the evening was Hyrum and his friends performing to Yankee Doodle Dandy.  They were adorable!

22 Years and Still Going Strong!

Monty and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary in February.  We enjoyed a couple of days at the coast.  The weather was great and we had lots of fun.  I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful husband who supports me, loves me, and listens to me.  He is my BEST friend!

This was his message to me, the photographer....

"I"

"LOVE"

"YOU"

Cub Scouting

Now that Hyrum is eight, he is officially in the scouting program.  He loves the weekly activities and had a blast at the pinewood derby!  His car featured himself holding a sword and shield on a skateboard and weighed in right at 5 ounces.  (Hyrum has really been in to working with Fimo clay lately.  I can't count how many clay figures and accessories there are around our house now!)

Christmas 2011

Christmas was great this year spending time with family.  Once again we got to speak to Ammon through skype.  He's doing great...loving his mission...feeling nervous about coming home in a couple of months.  We were able to get a family picture once again around the computer.  I love that even though he is thousands of miles away from us, we are still able to get a picture of the WHOLE family!

I also was able to make many of the presents this year, including pajamas for Hyrum and the grandkids.  Can you believe that all of these pajamas cost me less than $13 total?!

And, of course, there needs to be a silly picture also.

We also had fun looking at Christmas lights.  In fact, we may have started a new tradition.  The kids dressed in their pajamas, we made popcorn and hot chocolate (with lids), and gave them each one of these...

(source)

Then we piled into the Mini Van Express(s) and drove around to see the lights.  I checked with the local paper beforehand to get a list of must-see light shows.  It was a lot of fun and the kids were especially excited to get their round trip ticket punched!

And then there were the ever popular graham cracker houses!

 I had the hardest funnest time trying to get a picture of Isaac!

 Finally!!

Olivia didn't actually make a graham cracker house....she just ate one!

  

And, sorry to Shailey!  She made a house, but in all the fun of trying to get a picture of Isaac, I didn't remember to get a picture of her!

Hyrum's Baptism

Hyrum is eight years old already and was baptized with his friend, Dylan, on Friday night.  It was a great baptism.  He was soooo excited!  The family all pitched in with Dad doing the baptism and confirmation, Moroni and Grandpa Mel being witnesses, McKay giving a prayer, and Mom giving a talk on the Holy Ghost.  It was a very special evening.  Afterwards, Hyrum was so excited that he got baptized that he was telling everyone...even the clerk at the store.  The conversation went something like this:

Hyrum to the clerk:  "Guess what, I'm eight years old and I got baptized tonight!"
Clerk:  "Why would you want to do that?"
Hyrum:  "So I could get the Gift of the Holy Ghost!"

He had a similar conversation with the person at the ticket office of the movie theater.  He's a missionary already!  Speaking of missionaries, through the magic of photoshop, Ammon was able to attend the baptism also!

The boys enjoy doing a pose they call "The Barney Stinson."  Silly boys!