Christmas

Christmas morning

Christmas was a fun morning at our house. Tyaan's gift was a dirt bike. We've wanted to get her one for a while but hadn't done it. Jon found a great bike at a really great price so we got it and surprised her with it. She was really excited and can't wait to get to take it out. We put #3 on it for her because that's her water polo number.



This is her excitement when she saw the new yellow vans she got. I think she likes them...


Ty and Jon


After we got all of our presents opened we headed over to my moms house for presents there. Here are pictures of the family

Brandon


Jeff

Andrew (and Jeff's friend Josh who was with us Christmas morning as well)


Mom


And dad (mom got him a Wii. I think the rest of us were more excited about it than he was... :-)

Trip to Salt Lake

Last week (Nov 16-19th) my mom, Tyaan and I all piled in the car and drove to Utah. The occasion was my Aunt Lisa & Uncle Chris' sealing of their adopted baby (lil Chris) to them in the Salt Lake Temple. They have just moved back to Salt Lake from Dallas (finally!) so it was a great opportunity to see them, the baby, and a lot of family that lives in that area.

We left Sunday afternoon and drove to my Aunt Terry's house in Cedar City. We got there about midnight and it was really cold, but no snow. This is the first time I'd been to this house that their family built themselves. It's a beautiful house and I'm glad we stopped to see it. The next morning we got up and ready and my Aunt Terry joined us for the remainder of the drive to Salt Lake.

Here are a couple pictures taken from her upstairs balcony.





We got to my grandma's house in West Jordan on Monday afternoon. We spent the evening visiting with family which was great. My mom and Aunt Terry spent the night at my Aunt Rolayne's house nearby (where they stayed up most of the night playing Wii from what I hear!) and Ty and I stayed at my grandparents house.

Tuesday was the day of the sealing. It was Chris & Lisa's 4th anniversary which is why they chose that day to do it. They actually ended up in the same sealing room that they were in when they were married. I'm so glad that I was able to attend.

Here are some pictures at the temple after the sealing.






Later that day a lot of the family got together at my Aunt Rolayne's house to celebrate. I got to see many of my cousins that I haven't seen in a while and got to see lots of new babies! There was lots of food, lots of visiting, and video games going on in the basement. Ty and I sat at the piano for a little while which I always enjoy.


Wednesday finally came and we had to head back home. I got up early and went to the Jordan River Temple. I had grown up seeing this temple just up the street from my grandparents house and had never gone there to do a session so I figured it was about time. I really enjoyed it and was glad I made myself get up and go.

We didn't leave until early afternoon so we got to visit some more with family. My Aunt Terry drove with us back to Cedar City and then the 3 of us headed for home. We got home around 12:30 or 1:00 Thursday morning and went straight to bed. Both Ty and I had to be up and at school & work the next morning.


It was such a fun trip. It's a long drive, but I'm so glad I went. I love my family and don't get to see them as often as I'd like to. It's also nice to get to spend time with my mom and Tyaan. I couldn't have asked for better friends to travel with.

Mom & Dad's 30th Anniversary

My mom and dad's 30th anniversary was last Tuesday, the 26th of August. My dad sent my mom a bouquet of 30 roses. These pictures don't show quite how big it was, but it was beautiful!

A Family Reunion

This week we took a quick trip to Cedar City, UT for my dad's family reunion. Cedar City is a beautiful place and we had great weather, and even better company. It was great to get to spend time with my mom, dad, and youngest brother and an added bonus to see extended family that lives far from us.

Here are a few pictures from our trip. We left Sunday morning and got home Tuesday afternoon.



My dad with his mom and 4 siblings:


On Monday morning we went to Cedar Breaks National Monument. It's just a short drive from Cedar City and is really beautiful. If you've been to Bryce Canyon, it's a lot like that just much smaller, and about twice as deep.

This picture shows a small portion of it, and doesn't show off the true color.


My dad and I at another overlook.



My dad and his mom.


Tyaan and my mom.


A lot of Monday afternoon was spent at the pool. Here is Andrew after several hours of swimming.


This was taken on our drive up to Cedar Breaks. Once again, the picture doesn't do it justice, but it was an amazing view. This is looking at Zion's National Park from the road we were on.


On Monday night we went bowling. It was a lot of fun. Here is my grandma, my dad, and my Uncle Gordon.

New Montclair Police Department

There is a brand new Montclair Police Department just being finished and it's about to be moved in to. There was an open house yesterday and we went over to tour the new facility. Mom and dad had both seen it since they will both be working there, but the rest of us were curious. It is a beautiful building and it was a lot of fun to get a tour of it. We got a 'private tour' with some other family of employees and dad did some of it. There was a big turnout and a long line for the public to get a tour through, so it was a benefit to be family.

Dad worked the whole thing so he was there, in uniform, to greet us when we got there. He took a break from his other responsibilities to go with us on the tour and show us around a little bit. I, of course, had my camera out and got some pictures!

The front of the building

Andrew, Dad & Mom

Me and Dad

Joseph, Dad, & Andrew

The back entrance to the building, accessible from the secure employee parking lot. The windows upstairs on the left is where dispatch (or communications) is located and it has a door out to the patio you can see. That's where mom will be working.

One of my dads lockers. I didn't get a picture of my moms, but it looks the same. (ha ha)