We bid farewell to our untouchable sunsets - and snow - to spend two weeks in (almost)uninterrupted sunshine with our three families who now reside in AZ: Gibbys, Coxes, and Packards - plus the Frakeses, who drove down from Utah. On the way there (we drove the whole *&^%$#@! way - about 27 hours, though I suspect it could be a little shorter), we stopped in Las Vegas, New Mexico - read that carefully, that's NM, not NV - where Tim's grandparents lived for many years. He was able to find their old house, so you get to see it too...
The house in AZ (an investment property, so don't get all funky thinking we're moving) has a great little display spot - great for displaying Karly, Myles, and other smiling adorable children who missed the photo opp...
Family mob time... I confess, I can never get enough!
Picking oranges from our trees, fresh-squeezed orange juice for Christmas breakfast, playing in the sunshine at a park close by, the beautiful lights at the Mesa Temple...These more than made up for no snow - at least for Tim and me.
In spite of rampant sickness (seems to be part of our Christmas tradition when we gather), we had a wonderful time. Only one hole in my mama/grandma heart: the Adamzes weren't with us. But they had a great visit with Glenn's family, so I try not to grouse. And we did get a bonus visit - Emilie's parents came from California, and they spent New Year's Eve with our mob.
A few more random memories:
Christmas morning, in their new jackets (even in AZ, they needed warmth)
A couple of memories at two different temples...
We drove home through Utah, where we got to take part in Celina Fillmore's wedding! (A Fillmore site will be the place to see Celina and her new husband, and all that goes with a wedding)But my siblings and I were all together, so it was a great time to shoot us in a group hug...
And, though I don't have a picture of it, New Year's Eve was bright and beautiful with a Blue Moon (the second full moon in a month's time- a rare occurance and hence the saying...), my fascination of which has given Mel and Suzie plenty of opportunities to laugh at me. I'm okay with that; I'm pretty sure I'm the only one of the bunch who stepped outside on that bright, clear night to welcome my buddy the moon and the new year at the same time...!
Hope your holiday joys are lingering as sweet memories for you! Make 2010 the best!
4 comments:
Augh, something made the pictures all wonky. I can only see half of some of them, and others are all on top of each other. Did you do the same layout style for all the pictures?
It looks good from my end--fun to see some different pics! It sort of makes me feel like we missed tons of things since many of those pics were when we weren't there, but we were just trying to survive each day!! By the way, I have an interesting pic of that Blue Moon the next morning...maybe I'll post it someday! :)
some are chopped off also for me, but i get the gist of it all! looks like you guys had so much fun! we hope to join the coxes in AZ this year...we'll see! it was so good seeing you at celina's wedding!
Oh Karla, I love reading about your family -
You truly have a talent of making each and every one of your kids think they are the most special - how do you do it??
You're a great example to me. I love ya.
Plus you look so young - you're like a kid!! Sheesh.
All the laughter, I'm sure.
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