One Final Holiday Hurrah

Our last day before Melanie and Ryan left for Oklahoma was spent at Town Square.  We shopped, ate lunch at California Pizza Kitchen, and watched the kids on the playground and ride a train.  It was a great way to end our week-long holiday with everyone.

Steve, Melanie, Ben, Weston, Cali, Ashton, and Natalie
by a Norman Rockwell Christmas statue at Town Square.

Ryan and Melanie

Steve, Natalie, Melanie, Ryan, Cali,
Ashton, Ben, and Weston

Melanie and Ashton

Ryan and Cali

Cali 

Ashton, Cali, and Melanie

Christmas 2012

Melanie and Ryan arrived from Oklahoma on Saturday, December 22nd.  It was fun to have them here.  We had a good time beginning with a yummy dinner with Ryan's dad and his wife, Mike and Kris.  After church on Sunday Kim and Linda came over with pizza and a salad for lunch.  We played a new card game called "Village Idiot."  Monday was Christmas Eve so we spent the day cooking and baking.  That evening we had Family Home Evening.  Tuesday after we opened our gifts and enjoyed a traditional Christmas morning breakfast, we spent the rest of the day enjoying being home.  Wednesday we had lunch at Panera Bread, got pedicures, went to a movie, and lastly enjoyed a great dinner at PF Changs.  Thursday after having a huge waffle breakfast we headed for Red Rock where we enjoyed being outside and being with each other.  Later that night we went over to Natalie and Thomas' house for dinner and a bonfire.  Julie left for Salt Lake City Friday morning so she could spend the weekend with Sheldon's family in Vernal.  Melanie and Ryan  return to Oklahoma Saturday morning.  Considering the events of this year and how dismal we were feeling in Vegas, the holiday ended for me with gratefulness in my heart for my family, the Savior, and my many blessings.  

Christmas Eve
Natalie, Julie, and Melanie

Christmas Eve
Julie, Melanie, Ben, Natalie, and Weston

Christmas Eve; the kids all got new PJs

Natalie, Thomas, Ben, Weston,
Ashton, and Cali

Christmas Morning
Julie, Natalie, Melanie,
Ashton, and Cali

Christmas Morning
Natalie, Thomas, Ryan, Melanie,
Steve, Ashton, and Cali

Christmas Morning
Our gift to the twins, a "Cozy Coupe"

Red Rock
Ryan, Melanie, Steve, Julie, Natalie, and Cali

Red Rock
Melanie and Cali

Red Rock
Cali, Julie, and Me

Red Rock
Cali, Weston, Ben, and Thomas

Red Rock
Ryan, Thomas, Weston, Ben, Julie, Natalie,
Ashton, and Cali

Red Rock
Julie, Natalie, Ben, and Weston

Red Rock
Thomas, Steve, Ashton, and Melanie

Bon Fire at Ellsworth's
Ashton on his new bike

Bon Fire at Ellsworth's
Ben and Weston

A 26-Mile Run

Saturday Julie, Natalie, and Heather Jones ran a marathon by Lake Mead and the dam. The race started at 8:00 in the morning. The girls thought it would take between five and six hours, and that's exactly what occurred. It was a beautiful day, and it was exciting to watch the girls pass us by as they made two complete laps. It was quite an accomplishment for all three girls. Sunday everyone was stiff and sore. Julie's knee is hurting, but hopefully it will be better by the Disney World marathon in a few weeks.

Natalie at the half-way point

Ready to start the climb again up the hill
and through the railroad tunnels

Julie at the halfway point

Natalie at the finish line.
It took her 5 hours and 40 minutes to
complete the 26-mile course.

All smiles at the finish line

Natalie with her dad at the
end of the race

Julie finished the race in 6 hours and 10 minutes

Both girls felt quite happy
they were able to finish

Heather Jones finished the race in
just under seven hours.
Way to go, girls!

The Twins Turn One

Natalie and Thomas planned a very nice birthday party for Weston and Ben. We met at a park near their home on the east side of town by the temple. We had yummy sandwiches, rode scooters, ate birthday cupcakes, and opened presents. It was a fun afternoon. It is hard to believe that a year ago these cute little guys were born.

Natalie holding Weston
Julie holding Ben

Cute decorations even at the park!

Thomas giving Ben
a little ride

Natalie and Weston

Ben and Weston
wearing cute little shirts
for their big day

The park had a sidewalk just for riding
scooters.  Ashton did an amazing
job as he went pretty fast down the hill.

Julie and Natalie had fun together
doing a ride at the same time.
Nice to see everyone having a good time.

I was surprised how long the run was from
top to bottom.  

Even Dad gave it a try

Cupcake time

The boys liked their cupcakes

Yummy!

Remembering a Wedding Anniversary

My parents wedding day

My parents 50th wedding anniversary
December 1, 1990

Today would have been my parent's 72nd wedding anniversary.  Dad passed away in November of 2000 ten days before they would have celebrated their 60th anniversary.  I am so grateful for the knowledge I have that they are together in heaven; exactly where they belong.  I pay tribute to an amazing couple that I am proud to call my parents.

Should I Retire?

Deciding when I should retire seems to be occupying a lot of my time these days.  I had decided at the beginning of the school year that this would be my last year.  I met with a counseling service representative from PERS (Public Employees' Retirement System) a few weeks back.  I received an estimate of my retirement salary and a percentage based on how many years I will have worked by the end of this school year.  It appears that if I retire on August 31, 2013, I will retire with 71.864% of my present yearly income. The cap is 75%.  So, if I work one more year, I will be at 74.5% which is as close as I can get to the 75% cap without going over.  The dilemma is whether I should go for that extra year.  It will mean $165 more a month until I am no more.  Can I face another year?  I wish I could look into a crystal ball and know the answer.  For now, I continue to ponder.  The paper work to retire is staggering.  Looking at it makes me think I don't want to fill it all out.  Maybe another year wouldn't be so bad.

School

I always enjoy my drive to work in the early morning hours of the day.  This morning I saw another pretty sky.  I'm not sure what made the unusual colors, but I certainly thought it was unusual and worthy of a picture.

I'm on Warm Springs driving west almost
to my turn to go to Sierra Vista High School.
Is that a rainbow?

The school buses reminded me of Kyra and Skye.
When we were in St. Louis this last time, we met
the girls a few times as they arrived home on the bus.
Today I smiled when I saw familiar-looking
yellow buses in Las Vegas.

This is Kyra and Skye the first afternoon
of our most recent trip to St. Louis.  They
were all smiles and so were we!  It's always fun
to travel to Missouri.

November Fun

I can hardly believe that tomorrow is the last day of November.  It feels like this month just started, and here it is practically over.  Besides school and church work taking most of my time, I have managed to have a little bit of fun here and there.  Below are some of the things that kept me busy in my spare time.

We celebrated Steve and Thomas' birthday and
Thanksgiving altogether one Saturday night
early in November.

Thomas turned 30 and Steve
turned 65.  The years keep rolling by.

One Saturday in November Steve and I went
over to Julie's school.  She was there trying to
catch up.  Steve hadn't been there before,
so lots of show and tell going on.

Julie is an excellent teacher; we are very proud of her.

Another view of Julie's classroom

After being at Julie's school for an hour or so
we met Natalie and her kids at Cafe Rio
and then off to a show at
Boulder Station.

The show apparently wore the twins out.

Another Saturday in November Julie and
Heather Jones ran in a race called the Turkey Trot.
This was the same one that Melanie did a
few years back.  It was held by the Las Vegas
Outlet Shopping Mall located on the
south end of The Strip.

Julie and Heather Jones
Best of friends forever and ever

On Thanksgiving morning Natalie, Julie, and Jeri
ran a half marathon on the east side of town
near the temple.

Taking a quick picture before beginning the
 13-mile run

When we first arrived, it was very dark.  By the
time the race actually started, the sun had come
up.  It was a beautiful day.  It was hard to believe
in some parts of the country it was snowing.

Here's Natalie with one of her friends from her ward.
They stayed together for most of the race.

Jeri is unbelievable.  She beat both Julie and Natalie.
Julie said, "I hope I can run like her when I grow up."
It was so funny; we all laughed.

Thomas and the kids made signs
to cheer everyone on.

I loved this sign.  It said, "You're the
bomb, Mom."

Natalie is evidently feeling quite
exhausted after running 13 miles.

Julie was cheered on as she crossed the
finish line by Natalie's kids as well as some
of the Ellsworth's cousins.  It was fun to be out and
about on Thanksgiving Day.  Later that afternoon
Julie, Steve and I went to Mimi's Cafe for
Thanksgiving dinner.