Nice chair Gramps, now give me my bottle!!

John, Beth, Jack and Brian made a quick trip to Irvine late Saturday night for the Irvine Stake Presidency reorganization the following day. We are sure glad they made the trip. John and Brian were back on a plane the next evening so they could be back to work and school on Monday. Beth and Jack stayed behind for a few more days. It's been fun having them hang out. Jack was sitting in the chair when his eyes saw grandma Annie walking his way with a bottle. He was happy to take it and enjoy 84 seconds of relaxation in the Rip Van Lee chair.

Southern California ( Irvine Fire update)

I found these photos online and took part of an article to give you an update on Irvine. All is well in this home.

The fire, started in three separate places near Santiago Canyon and Silverado Canyon roads about 5:55 p.m. Sunday, has destroyed 14 homes and eight outbuildings, according the Orange County Fire Authority. Eight homes and 12 outbuildings have been damaged.

About 22,000 acres in the mostly rural horse country east of Irvine has been blackened. Virtually every canyon community, including Trabuco, Modjeska and Silverado canyons, was evacuated.

Mandatory evacuations remain in effect for the canyon areas of Santiago Canyon Road between Silverado Canyon Road and Live Oak Canyon Road, including the Santiago Estates area and Jackson Ranch Road. Areas along Live Oak Canyon Road through the Trabuco Canyon area, including O'Neill Regional Park, to Trabuco Creek Road are also included in this mandatory evacuation.

Approximately 3,000 homes have been threatened and 43,000 residents have been evacuated.

Pam's MOOSE

My Mom drew a moose tag this fall. My Dad has put her name in the drawing every year the past 8 years and this was her lucky year. The odds of drawing out are 1 in 1,800. She shot this moose on Friday Oct. 19th, in Ogden near Snowbasin. She hit him on her first shot (320 yards) but had to shot a couple more times to bring him down. Curtis commanded the hunt as he directed Dave up the mountain and back down to scare the moose my Mom and Dads direction. It was an emotional adventure for my Mom as she felt the spirit of Grandpa Jack with her the whole time. Anyone up for a Christmas moose dinner?

Family Pictures

We had family pictures taken a few weeks ago. Lucky for us Steve is good at the digital stuff and was able to do some head swapping for us. Unfortunatly he did not give me the disk with the edited images. I think I am looking away in this one and Madison is not too happy!

Clowns

Taking pictures with these two clowns can wear you out! They are not shy kids and thought that Steve Mackley was pretty funny!

I spent the weekend in Montana doing a little hunting with some friends. 5 of us drove up on Thursday afternoon and we stayed until Sunday morning. We spent Friday doing a little fishing in his pond and learning how to shoot guns. On Saturday we walked all over his ranch looking for pheasant but we were not very successful without a dog. We found one but it quickly hid in a bush and wouldn't come out. My roommate did end up getting a couple of ducks. It was a fun weekend. The guys slept outside in the tent while the two girls, Jackie and Joanna, slept in the one room log cabin on the property. We gave each other "Montana nicknames" and mine was Buck for the weekend. Others included "Red" and "Bunyan"

hawaii

hey everyone- here are some pictures from hawaii...hope everyone is well!

Family Pictures

Jennie and the kids got all dressed up and took pictures of each of the kids to hang on the wall and surprise Curtis when he got home from Europe.

While Mom's Away, Jack will play

First Beth delivered the good news about her pregnancy and expected delivery of number two next May, then last Wednesday, she jumped on a plane with her sister and mother to go visit her other sister in Virginia - who had just delivered baby number three. That gave Annie an opportunity to fly to Utah and spend the week with Jack! She spent the first few days in Logan with Great-grandma Smith. Jack was also able to see Great grandma and grandpa Emmett while he was in town. I flew up on Sunday evening. Annie and I spent the next three days in Midway watching Jack so John could work and go to school. We had a great time. Every morning Jack wakes up happy and is content to sit in his crib and wait for someone to come get him. He loves his grandma and his dad - and even seems to enjoy his grandpa. We enjoyed playing hide and seek, and following him around - he's always on the move. He's always ready to go for a truck ride with his dad. I'm pretty sure he told the server at Los Lizard that he wanted the same dinner as his dad. Brian and Jackie stopped by for to join us for dinner one night and for Brian to show off his most excellent LOTOJA sticker on his car. sweet.

Happy Birthday Jack!

Jack's turning ONE tomorrow, but Annie and I are back in California so Annie decided to have a party before we left. Jack enjoyed his new riding car more than the party hat. He did some damage to his birthday cake, but cleaned up well. It took him a second to realize that Beth had just walked into Cafe Rio but he had a smile and kiss for her. Beth seemed to think that Jack had grown during the week she was gone. No doubt he had. No way grandma and grandpa are going to let their only grandson go hungry.

77th Birthday Party