Still More Thanksgiving

First picture is Chase with Jefferson.
This is Patrick with his girl friend Heddi (I don’t know the correct spelling.)

This is Addison.
Tyler with one of the twins. Don’t mess with my brain. The girls had a great time playing though.

This is Blake with Brittney.

More Thanksgiving pix

Thanksgiving

Okay, so it's taken me a while to get a chance to post some pictures - and I'm not the best photographer. But we had a wonderful Thanksgiving. After dinner, we went to the church and played dodge ball with Stauffer cousins, and Zach (Tyson's brother). It was a great time.

Nativity Activity

Tanner and Tyler loved decorating the house Friday. The Nativity set kept them entertained for a very long time.

Cousins, cousins and more cousins

Can you figure out who is playing in this video? They sure worked up a sweat on the basketball court. It was fun to watch everyone getting along. We had a great time - and then dessert!

Jefferson Attack

This little guy was really going down on Camber's chin. It was the cutest thing. Next day Tyson noticed he had actually put a hickey on his mommy's chin!

Too cute to wait.

This is a picture of Jefferson on Thanksgiving. I want to update my blog, but this is all I have time for right now. Is this the cutest thing you've seen in a long time?

Lybbert finished Gingerbread house

Here is a picture of the kids working on their own house. I failed to get a completed picture. Darn!

Gingerbread houses

Sometimes you start a tradition without realizing it's going to be a tradition. Such is the case with our gingerbread houses. I started making these when my kids were in elementary school, and it's stuck.

Last night Carli and I decided to make the house that's going to be in our home so the kids could see the possibilities. We had a blast being creative. Once we got the house done, we wanted a fence and didn't have any pretzels so we went to the store and took care of that matter.

Camber brought the kids down today after school. They were pumped and ready to get started. I had their house assembled and all we had to do was put the frosting and candies on it. I learned a few years ago that whatever they do to it, it's adorable, so I let them be as creative as they wanted to be. We couldn't get the gumballs to stay on the windows, so I had to nix whole gum balls and cut them in half.

Jacob made three kids, and we all know what they say about three being a crowd. Carli fixed that little problem in short order and put a graham cracker house together on a plate for him to decorate. He was happy as a clam, i.e. one candy for the house, one for the mouth. His little house actually turned out really cute.

Jefferson was hanging out in various places in the house while all the action was going on. Camber was working on curtains for Tyler's bedroom, so he just jumped in his bouncer for a while. That little guy is so happy all the time. It takes hardly any effort at all to get a laugh out of him.

Pictures of Baby Gage and family and Germany

I just have to say, I LOVE GERMANY! That place is so beautiful. Well, it ought to be. It rains nearly every day, or so it seemed. After about a week, I asked Cymony and Danny which way their house is facing. Neither of them had the correct answer. It took me a full day of watching the sun and the shadows to figure it out. The sun just didn't shine!

Here are some of the cute pictures of took of Cymony's little family. They are such a cute little family and adapting well to life in the Air Force. I was so impressed with both of them and how well they deal with the ups and downs. This is a real growing experience for them.

Home Sweet Home

Dear Family –
I cannot let this computer snag me this morning. I’m home and have some serious things that need attending to – not the least of which is seeing my little Lybbert family. I wanted to stop last night, but I don’t know when I’ve been more exhausted than I was as we drove past the exit to their home.

Cymony and I set alarms (notice the plural) so I wouldn’t sleep through the time to get up and get ready to leave. I had her little travel clock plus I decided to set the alarm on my wrist heart monitor just for safe keeping. Rather than change the time on my watch, I just set it for six hours, which was 9:15 p.m. That should have worked just fine. However, I didn’t factor in my sleepy head factor. I woke up for my 1:30 pit stop and took a look at the watch. It said 5:30 and I jumped out of bed, grabbed my stuff and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower, makeup and getting dressed. I was thrilled my hair didn’t need scrunching or anything. I finished in record time and headed to the bedroom to have prayer and close my suitcase. I knelt down and took a quick glance at the clock on the floor. It said 2:00 a.m. What!!! You have got to be kidding. I had looked at the wrong time device. Needless to say, I went back to sleep. That was a good one on me.
When the alarm did go off, I was ready to go. Tee hee. I was actually glad for the little mistake, because I needed every minute before we walked out the door.
Cymony dropped me off at the train station. We had no hiccups on the way. Mikah woke up just as we were leaving and I got one last hug before I had to leave this precious little girl. I know she knows how to web cam, so my relationship with her will be on the computer now. It’s amazing to see how she grew up in the two weeks I was there. Baby brothers will do that to their older siblings.
When I walked in the train station I asked the lady at the desk where I get a ticket for the airport. She very German-like pointed to the Kiosk. What?!!! Clyde said I would be talking to a ticket agent. I went to the Kiosk and said a silent prayer for angels. One quickly appeared and helped me through the process only to find out I was on a Kiosk that did NOT take plastic. I still think it did, but she said not. I saw the slot. Oh well, I went through the process the second time kind of alone, but she reached over and hit buttons for me when I looked confused. What a sweetheart. She said she was fine time wise.
I went to the platform where I waited. Another angel was right there and walked me through my process. She invited me to her private berth. I guess that’s what it’s called. We visited for the 45 minute ride to Mannheim where she walked me through my transfer to the train that would take me to the airport. I told her I had prayed for angels before leaving and she could feel good about herself this day because she had truly been my angel. We parted friends.

I will never travel again with a huge suitcase. Why I didn't take two the size of carry-on luggage I do not know. It made real work for me, and I had to stand in the hall because there was no way I could get my bag down the aisles without a lot of work. Fortunately, it was a 30-minute ride.
Getting to the airport from the train station was as seamless as Clyde said it would be. I was quite pleased with myself that I didn’t have major anxiety, arrived in plenty of time and even grabbed a bite to eat before heading to my departure gate.
The long of it was this: I was on the go (Utah time) from 9:30 pm Tuesday night until 11:00 p.m. Wednesday night. For me, that is a very long day. I read mostly – the Twilight series. Book #3 isn’t quite as interesting, but I feel it’s laying down characters. I’m enjoying it, but will be glad when it’s finished. Three movies and a ton of TV was in there as well. I discovered that if I watch a 30-minute anything, I could fall asleep by the end of it and doze for 15-30 minutes before discovering I was asleep.
On this trip I finished reading “Younger Next Year” which is a book that embraces much of my thinking, so it was easy reading. I don’t believe in the author’s theories on evolution, but I do believe in the power of positive thinking and exercise. I will order the companion book for the male species that was actually written first, so that Clyde can read it. It’s a must read for baby boomers, who have the potential to live into their eighties and nineties. It is a guide to enjoy it which I intend to embrace as best as my own lifestyle will let me. His philosophies don’t factor in the business of our lives in the gospel.
Clyde looked like manna from heaven as I descended the stairs to baggage claim. Fifteen days traveling is really about five more than I will sign up for again. I get homesick around ten. Had I not been with Cymony and her little family, having grandkids to keep me from really being homesick, it would have not been a pretty sight. Even with the 15 days, as I leaned over Gage’s little bed to kiss him goodbye Tuesday night, the Grandma tears threatened and a lump entered my throat that was serious pain. There really should be a law against this, but I know it’s life and the world we live in. I’m grateful for Danny’s willingness to serve in the military. Folks, this lifestyle is not for just everyone. There is sacrifice.
Well, back to my day. Clyde and I picked up my bag and got a bite to eat at Rio Grande. Mmmm, Mexican food. But it was good. I was so tired, I’m afraid I didn’t eat much. We came home and I pushed through a couple of things on the computer – calling Cymony and letting them know I was home. Then I crashed.
It’s now early morning. I was up at 5:30 and couldn’t see the sense in fighting it any longer. I had a glorious night’s sleep. Home is a wonderful place to be. It looked so good to me when I walked in the door last night. Clyde (with Carli’s help I suspect) kept the house looking like I’d left it for the most part. I still haven’t gone through the mail. I have Primary Leadership Training invitations that must hit the street today. I’d like to attend the temple with the RS at 9:30. And I’d like to go for a quick run – not to mention the phone calls, laundry and unpacking, getting reacquainted with grandchildren and grocery shopping, not mention posting pictures of Gage and Mikah and their family. I’ll be busy today.

Time marches on

It's now one week since our little Gage entered this world. He had a bit of a rocky start, but he's doing great now. I have to be honest here. I have never seen a newborn who has adapted as quickly to life as he seems to have done. He nurses like a champ. Cymony is delighted with that bit of fortune as Micah never was able to get the hang of it and she spent five months pumping. That's devotion. Cymony has tried Gage with a bottle, but he's not particularly interested. He likes it first hand.

He came home from the hospital on Sunday, only to return Tuesday night after spending the afternoon in the ER. It turns out his circumcision stopped the flow and there was infection and he would have been in trouble. Fortunately, 48 hours after admission into the hospital, he was given the green light and is now home. He has been an absolute jewel since returning home.

Micah loves her little brother. She is fascinated with him and wants to help as much as Cymony will let her. We got a good laugh last night. She's been fascinated with his little eyes. You know the routine. Older (little) sibling just wants to poke them. Well, Joshua (friend of family and home teacher) looked at her doll. She had poked the eye in! So needless to say, we'll need to keep a close eye on her (no pun intended).

I've loved being with this little family in Germany. This place is so picturesque. I went for a walk this morning and went up the mountainside for 45 minutes before turning around and returning. The grade of this mountain could not be less than 15 percent. It was quite a hike. I passed an old man. We stopped to talk for a minute. Of course, I don't speak German and he used all the English words he could think of - none of them making any real sense. He then pulled me close to him so he could kiss me on the cheek. We said goodbye and went our separate ways. I thought that was really sweet. It started my day off on a delightful note.

Cymony drives all over like it's no big deal. I just hope they don't get tired of me and push me out of the car. There is no way I could get myself back to familiar territory. I have driven a few places with the GPS. That's no sweat. But without it? I'd be toast.

The military is a breeding ground to teach patience. I've been impressed at how patient Cymony and Danny are. There is no choice. The wheels move slowly with government work. For example, when Gage was told they were going to release him to go home, it was 3:00. Danny and I headed straight over there. We left the hospital at 8:00 p.m.! No apologies either. It is quite interesting to me.

I have pictures, but won't be able to post them until I return to the states on Wednesday. Of course, we all know it will take a bit of time to get back on board.

The longest day ever!

I'm finally at Cymony's home. It was a long day and I'm afraid a stressful day for Danny, though he handled it all like a champ. I left Salt Lake at 9:50. I had to create my own little drama, just so I'd know I was flying. I was on the Park and Jet shuttle when I thought I had left my phone in the car. I wasn't carrying my usual purse, so I couldn't see it. I got off the bus and ran a long distance back to the car, only to discover that I had to have it since it wasn't in the car. A deeper look into the purse exposed the black phone in a black hole. Grrrr. I had stopped off at WalMart to pick up Desitin for Cymony. I knew my big bag was 50# and couldn't handle another thing, and without even thinking, I threw that 8-oz tube in my carry-on, so proud of myself that I had picked up everything she had asked of me. Well, that was quickly confiscated as I went through x-ray. Grrrr. It turns out Cymony really wanted the unscented deodorant too, so I'll be bringing that home with me as well. The flight from Utah to JFK was peaceful. As I was walking down the runway to my plane, I saw Greg and Amy Bengtzen who had just returned from Hawaii. They'd been there eight days. That was fun to get a quick run down of how they did it, etc. They looked rested.

I went with the intent to order a meal. It wasn't offered. I think I must not know how to do that, as others did get a meal. I ate my nuts and fruit and was happy enough with that. However, I did get a meal at the airport before boarding for Germany. They are so slow in getting the meal out, that I didn't want to risk getting a headache. I sat next to a pleasant couple headed for Italy. We had a nice conversation about Utah and its beauties and the beautiful skiing available. I personally can't see either of them skiing, but they talked like they do it a lot. I invited them to Utah. The flight from JFK to Germany was exactly what I was expecting - long. I fell asleep for about 45 minutes. That means, that with the exception of 10-15 minute catnaps from the airport until we arrived at Tarin's about eight hours later, I've been up 32 hours! I really feel a little loopy. I met up with Cymony, Danny and Micah as soon as I walked out of baggage claim. They arrived exactly at the same time I came out. My baggage had to be dead last off the plane. About 30 minutes into the ride to Niederscaufenvach (kneader stauffen bach), their car lost power. Danny inched along for about a mile until he came to an exit and pulled into a little village where he called his work looking for help. A work associated arrived about four hours later to transfer us to his vehicle and take us to a car rental place. That adorable Micah just entertained us the whole time in the car. I can't believe how patient she was with the whole setup. I had some licorice, nuts and dried peaches that kept her happy. When we got to the car rental place, we discovered Danny and Cymony had left their driver's licenses in their car. We were in a bit of trouble. She would rent to me without any bother, but I would have to pay in Euros without their vat discount (value added tax), which would have been considerably more. So, she took an imprint of my credit card (since I was renting because only I had a driver's license), and we raced 45 minutes back to their car to pick up the stuff from their car and race back before close (6:00 p.m.). We made it. This is the scary thing. After being away all that time, I was driving on the autobahn. Actually, the adrenalin flow made me quite alert. Once we got to the cars and Danny had his driver's license, he was legal to drive. I was glad to give him the wheel for the return trip. We made it just in time. Phew!

It was about 6:30 when we arrived at Tarin's home. They had no idea when they left at 9:00 this morning that they wouldn't be back by noonish. Micah's diapers were long gone, and she did nothing but eat treats all afternoon. We enjoyed a good meal. I was introduced to Kimchi, which wasn't bad mixed with the rice, and zuchinni.

I feel almost human after a warm bath and nice meal and I'm about ready to call it a day - hey call it two days.

Camber, I thought I'd be able to log into my Waldron website and also my email account. I left my Palm Pilot home which tells me how. I thought I knew it. Would you please forward this to Grandma and Grandpa for me. It would be nice if someone out there could comment on this and tell me how to log into Waldron site. If not, then Iguess I just wait until I get home.

I hope all is well in Utah. I'm tired and think I'll see if my body agrees with me. Take care. Love Mom/Connie

Micah's baby

Okay Cymony, this is the baby doll. She really is cute.

Tanner's Birthday

Well, I tried to do a repeat of the fun experience I had with Marissa, Desi and Tyler for Tanner's birthday. Somehow in his young eyes, he pictured that they had a better time than he had. So I failed something royal. You don't like to bring your grandchild home in tears. We had a fun time until we went to Chuck E Cheese's for pizza. My big mistake is in not notifying them that we are coming. He was fortunate that they did a birthday song, but it wasn't for our little party of two. Robyn and her boys were there with friends, and it was for their 3-year-old. Nonetheless, he marched around with them and joined in their little party. The hostess gave him a birthday crown after he told her it was also his birthday. I've decided it gets harder to "ring that bell" when the kids get a little older. I will need to set my boundaries before going in the future.

Cymony asked to see my walls

Okay, this is what I did. It's real simple still, but with room to grow as I get new pictures. I mostly put just the current family pictures up. I'm a little embarrassed that it cost me so much, but Jan's help was appreciated. A good friend (or daughter) could probably have accomplished the same for free. Heck, Dad and I could have done it. It was the grouping that was the big deal. Oh well. The picture of the Savior is called "Friends" by Liz Lemon Swindle.

Cymony put this on her bog. I guess I'll try it and see what happens. I left one on her blog, so we'll see who does this back.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! (I can't think anyone but my children even see my blog, so this could be interesting.)

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Driveway unchanged

I can't believe we've had the driveway destroyed for nine days and we're still waiting for concrete. The concrete guy accidentally sprayed sealant on his face and hasn't been able to come. Our lawn is burning up because we've haven't had water on it for that long. Grrrrrrr!!!! When they told us it would be Saturday, we decided to go ahead and turn the sprinklers back on. This could be costly if we have to replace the lawn because it dies.

New Driveway in progress

Wednesday morning the workers came to tear out our existing driveway in preparation to lay new concrete down to the street, the parking pad and the little strip of sidewalk by the parking pad. This was the first few minutes. They didn't waste any time. Now we're waiting for the dirt to dry out so they can continue. I guess the back yard was funneling water under the driveway. Oh boy!

Jefferson's Birth & 4th of July

It's taken a few days, but I finally was able to download my pictures from my camera. I spent the evening making a slideshow in hopes of creating a pdf file. Well, it didn't work for some reason. Here are a few of the pictures we took over the weekend. We had Tanner, Tyler and Jake with us from Thursday night until Sunday when their parents came for them. It was party time all weekend long. We watched Alvin and the Chipmunks on Thursday night. Of course, Friday was the 4th and Jefferson's birth day.

The cute girl with Chase is Danielle. They have been seeing each other for a few weeks. She looks good with him. They seem to like each other.

Forget the slide show

I was trying to put a slide show I put together. It's just something that automatically happened with Adobe Elements and I liked it. Oh well, it didn't work. So here are the pictures of the day. I used both of the pix with mom and dad because Tanner had some eye issues.

Visit to Grandma and Grandpa Greats

Today was a good day. I picked Tanner up and we met Shauna and Abbi in Ogden and headed to Tremonton for a couple of hours. Abbi and Tanner played so nicely. We really didn't accomplish much but we were extremely grateful for the blessing of the day. Dad thought he'd take the tractor for a spin around the garden - just to eliminate a few weeds that would be a lot easier to extract with machinery. He didn't realize that the last driver of the tractor left it in reverse. When he turned the key (as he was standing next to the tractor), it took off toward the back of the shed. It was stopped by a small lawn mower and the big mirror that was a hundred pounds that use to be in the house. Oh the mirror is history now. The mower is probably okay. When we arrived at the house, Dad had just barely gotten himself onto the love seat and was sitting there rather sheepishly. He admitted he had been a bad boy. We were all relieved that he was okay, but this is a story that could have ended much differently. Definitely he had a guardian angel watching out for him because he well could have been run over. I'm not certain how he managed to hang onto the tractor without going under the wheel. Needless to say, it was a mini miracle. Maybe not even so mini.

Is Everybody Happy Now?

Carli saved the day by showing up at D.I. first thing this morning and searching for the donated pictures I took down Thursday. They were there. And now the day is over and everything is back where it belongs - at least the bookcase and pictures in the stairwell. It looks nice.

Happy Birthday Jake

Jake is being entertained by Aunt Carli while we wait to sing Happy Birthday to him.

Jake Blows out the candles

Jake is Two

Today is Jake's birthday. After a quick dinner, we drove up to Lybbert's to watch him open his present and share his birthday cake.

Cymony's assignment

Cymony tagged me with this assignment. I'll do the assignment, but I don't have anyone to tag who wasn't tagged at the same time. Sorry, Cymony.

3 Joys

1. My family – I love being with any and all of them – my extended and my immediate.
2. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ – I love reading the scriptures, pushing myself out of my comfort zone in sharing it and digging deeper than just reading for the nuggets.
3. I find joy in watching the face of a child as he/she is being introduced to new things.

3 Fears

1. Although I haven’t done it in the open waters yet, I’m somewhat fearful of breathing under water. I’ll do it when it’s time, but I’m not the one pushing for this adventure.
2. Singing in front of people. I can do it, but it scares the soup out of me.
3. Saying something that will offend or hurt someone. I’ll keep my mouth shut to avoid doing that, though it doesn’t always help.

3 Goals

I want to serve at least two missions before I’m too old to be useful.

I want to study the scriptures with Clyde regularly.

I wan to be the fun Grandma. That’s harder than it sounds.


3 Current Obsessions/collections

1. Dejunking my home. I swear it is the most constipated house in the world. I don’t even know where to begin.
2. I enjoy making temple aprons. I’ve made 9 – one for each of my daughters, granddaughters and daughter-in-law. If I don’t get anymore granddaughters, then I will give them really special young women who get married in the temple.
3. Crocheting baby hats for the Humanitarian Center. It keeps me busy when my body has had it for the day.

3 Random Surprising Facts

1. I love working outside (in the cool mornings), but hate working alone. Therefore I hate working outside. I absolutely loved digging in the dirt at my parents two weeks ago. I would love rich, brown dirt like that.
2. I love waking up in the early morning. Nobody competes for those early morning hours and I can pretty much do what I want – usually.
3. I made my first batch of bread at the age of 10 and found great pleasure in taking warm, homemade cinnamon rolls outside to the workers in our fields. I’ve been baking bread all my life and still find great joy in sharing it. Now that’s random.

More pix

Father's Day and Construction mostly done

I'll try to get a few pix off before bedtime. It's really tricky to get anything written when we get everybody here in the evening. Clyde was given appropriate homage for Father's Day. We also paid tribute to Tommy for Father's Day and his birthday.

Just about there

Here are the pictures I took this morning. We're getting very close to finished.

Worst day ever!

Today was the hardest day I've had in a very long time. I would have called the day off in a minute if I hadn't put so much money into the event. Cindy and I left in the rain at 5:30 a.m. to drive to Wellsville. The weather let up by the time we were there, but it was cool. I was never miserably cold, but the wind beat and battered us something fierce all day long. We thought for sure that when we reached Preston and turned around that the wind would be in our favor. Not so. How does it do that? It shifted at the same time and we had to battle the wind coming back as well. It started to rain after we ate around 1:30 and I called Clyde and encouraged him to come sooner rather than later. He and Cindy's husband, Jordan, were going to meet us at the finish line. Instead, they picked us up at mile 89. I was not too proud to get off my bike and pack it in. We had just passed LaRee's office, which was about the highlight of my day. Does that tell you anything? They changed the route from last year and we had several major climbs to make, which added to the pain of the wind. Oh well, I'm home now and the carpet is two thirds complete. It will be finished Monday. What added to my frustration of a miserable bike ride was my strong desire to be home cleaning up the cupboards that were finished late last night. I won't be doing anything to them tomorrow, so it will be Monday before I can start putting things away. I simply did not want to be biking today - poor timing on my part.