FUN TIMES CELEBRATING OUR 60TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY AND CHRISTMAS IN ST. GEORGE WITH RYAN'S FAMILY

 We decided to travel St. George for our 60th wedding anniversary and Christmas. We reserved a Worldmark condo and totally enjoyed a change of pace for Christmas this year. We arrived on Monday, the 22nd, checked into our condo, then went with Ryan and Katie to Anastazi Steak house for a special anniversary dinner. It was quite an experience - cheese fondue, steak cooked on a stone at our table, and chocolate fondue for dessert. So yummy and such a fun way to spend our anniversary. 

Gooey cheese fondue

Steak cooked on a stone

Tuesday, Paul and I went to the Red Cliffs temple then to Jersey Mike's for lunch. After relaxing at the condo for a while, we had dinner at Ryan's and then went with him and his family to a live nativity at the Tuacahn theater. It was a very simple event put on by local wards but a nice depiction of the reason for the Christmas season. We topped the evening off by going to the Christmas lights at Red Hills Desert Gardens. As we walked through the gardens, around every turn, the lights there were absolutely amazing. A wonderful day.

The next day we spent some time at the St. George mall where I found a pair of light blue denim jeans for $16.00, regularly $50. It paid to shop the day before Christmas. We then went to Ryan's to help prepare for their Christmas Eve celebration. We had a ham dinner with all the trimmings followed by a Nativity portrayal and a Christmas letter from Santa. Katie's sister and her family joined us along with a couple who would have had to spend Christmas eve alone. 

Christmas Day, we got up early so we could be at Ryan's when the children walked down the stairs to see what Santa had brought them. It was fun to be with them as they opened their presents, Everyone opened their stockings before taking a break for a breakfast of scrambled eggs with ham and a tea ring, a Millar tradition. Presents were then opened. We were given several presents as I think Ryan and Katie didn't want us to be there with nothing to unwrap. It was a nice morning. Because of threatening weather, we decided to leave that afternoon for home. It was a great several days with family.

Other happenings of the month included decorating our home for the holidays, Mindi's birthday celebration, and a basketball game with Todd and Avery. It took us a couple of days to get all the decorations up but so worth the effort. We love our home when it's all lit up with Christmas.

Mindi's birthday is in the first week of December so the following Sunday we celebrated it with chicken in cream sauce for dinner and a tea ring for dessert. A little strange request for a birthday dessert but it was loved by all. (Speaking of tea rings, I made 22 of them to give away this year.)

For the first BYU basketball game in December, Todd and Avery joined us. The Fullers were out of town so we switched tickets with them. We gave them ours for when we would be in St. George and they gave theirs to us for the game at the first of the month. We loved having Avery and Todd with us. Avery was all decked out in BYU colors, including her nails painted blue with white 'Y's on them. So cute. 

 At the game, they were giving away BYU tank tops. We got two. Wek new we would never wear them so we gave them to Deon to give to her two grandsons who are avid BYU fans. They went to the game with our tickets while we were out of town. They loved the shirts and wore them to the game.

We received a Christmas card from some dear friends we knew in Spokane. In it we learned they had moved to Utah and living in a facility for seniors. We called them and arranged to go visit them in their new home. It was a nice two bedroom home which was a short walk from the dining room where they eat most all their meals. It is a package deal - rent for the home and meals in the dining room. We loved visiting with Bob and Janet Rands but realized we could not live in that kind of an arrangement. 

One last thing to report for December was Lincoln's Preschool Christmas program. It was held at his preschool and was darling. He was in the front row and sang so loud we could hear him above everyone else. He was darling dressed in his pajamas and a Santa hat. Such a change from when we attended Aria's preschool show where she wouldn't even look out at the audience.

Cute Ledger

Now for our monthly memes.......

And that's a wrap for this month of December.

THANKSGIVING IN IDAHO WITH FAMILY HIGHLIGHTS THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER

The Westover's arranged for an Air B and B in Rigby, Idaho for the Thanksgiving weekend. It was a home with 6 bedrooms so they invited us to come spend the holiday with them.  Charlotte, Allison, Maggie, Kacey, and baby, Arthur drove to Idaho on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Andrea and Casey drove in from Oregon that night as did Jillian and Lydia who live in Idaho Falls and Rexburg, respectively. We left Heber around 10 in the morning on Wednesday and arrived in Rigby around 2:30. That afternoon was spent baking pies, parker house rolls, and cinnamon rolls. That night we played a game called Story Go Round. Kacey had written an app for the phones that made the games easier than passing around papers to add to each story. Some of the ending stories were hilarious.

The home was set in a very rural area. This was
the backyard which included chickens and two pigs.

On Thanksgiving day, the Westovers went to see the new Wicked movie. Paul and I did not want to see it so we stayed home and watched our own movie called Spirited. I made the dressing, stuffed the turkey and put it in the oven so it would be ready for a late afternoon dinner time. I also made the yams and Jello salad as well as peeling the potatoes. I was glad I could help with the dinner and Andrea was thrilled when she got home to have so much done already. Paul was able to watch the BYU basketball game while dinner was cooking which thrilled him. Dinner was delicious and served on a beautiful table. 

The activity for the girls was working on a Lego Harry Potter village. They spent hours on it everyday and finally finished it on Friday just before we left for home. The Westovers stayed until Sunday.

Of course. the highlight for Andrea and Casey was their little grandbaby, Arthur. They miss him terribly as they are in Oregon and he is in Utah. Over the holiday, they couldn't get enough of snuggling him.

At the first of the month, we celebrated Lincoln's birthday. He is obsessed with the Banjo and Kazooie video game and wanted a Banjo cake. After researching exactly who this was, I found a picture I could copy to put on the cake. I had fun trying to make it look just like the Banjo picture. Lincoln loved it.

We spent a couple of days babysitting Lincoln and Ledger this month. Todd was out of town and Kailee needed to take the girls to their mock gymnastics meets. Avery's was on one day and Aria's on the next day. Taking the boys for the 4 to 5 hours each day would have been a nightmare for Kailee so we said we'd come help out. Olivia came to help with Ledger on the first day and Carly came the second day. With three of us entertaining two children, the job was pretty easy. Ledger became obsessed with Paul and kept climbing all over him. So cute!!!!

Lincoln kept his Banjo backpack on most of
the time we were there.

And then there was BYU sports. Football ended and basketball began in this month. For the next to the last football game, Todd brought Aria and Avery along with Susie, Kailee's mom. It was a late game and very cold but that didn't hinder the girls from wanting to come and then staying till the very end of the game. Side note: BYU ended up 11 and 1 and will play in the Big 12 championship game the first Saturday in December.

The basketball season got off the a great start this year. They played well in the pre season games and even won a tournament played in Florida. We're hoping they can do as well in the Big 12 games. 

During this month, I worked on designing a Shutterfly scrapbook for our 2025 vacations. I usually do a book for the Fullers too, but we only took two short vacations with them and I didn't have enough pictures to fill a book. In the scrapbook I made for us, I included our BYU cruise to Mexico with Todd and Jon, our trips with the Fullers to Branson and Colorado, and our annual time in St. George with my family to attend the Tuacahn productions. It was fun to review these great times spent together.

Just a couple of pictures before I end this month's blog.....

The kids loved our new hot tub. This was
the first time they had come prepared to
with swimsuits so they could play in it.

Paul and I laughed when this tennis ball showed up.
We were having our bushes trimmed and this ball
was in the middle of one of the bushes in the front yard.
Several week prior, Todd had hit this ball over the
roof while playing baseball with Jon and the kids.
 He tried to find it but couldn't. We had to take a picture of it.

And a couple of memes with meaning.....