Road Trip 12-29-11

Yes, I am still not too old to go on a road trip. My brother, Jimmy, and I drove to Helena, Mt. to see my brother, Brad. The nice thing about the drive was the visiting with Jimmy. When we got to Helena, we picked Brad up at the airport, where he works at Hertz. I had to do a double take when he came out because I thought I was seeing Zach Brown of the Zack Brown Band! His very full beard tricked me! (ha ha) We went to lunch at a Chinese Restaurant. Then we drove around Helena to see the sites. The old downtown was very cool. It was just fun to get to know the town. We did stop at the State Capital Building and toured the inside. I have never toured any State Capital, this was a fun adventure. Of course my brothers are very silly people. Check out the pictures below.aren't we a photogenic bunch!?
apparently we are a little camera shy.
I think the garbage can added interest to the pictures. These pictures were all taken in the State Capital Building. I just loved all the paintings, especially up in the dome. The stained glass windows were very cool too. All in all we had a great afternoon with Brad. It was nice to catch up with him and see where he lives and how he is doing.

Christmas 2011

It is that Wonderful time of year again. We are feeling very blessed right now. We are celebrating this season with family and are enjoying every minute. The Barrett Family Party was December 23rd at my house in Sugar City. Jimmy, Stacey & family; Kirk, Kathryn & family and Clinton, Me and part of our family had a very fun evening. We enjoyed good food, lots of visiting, a gift exchange and of course the traditional Nativity. Each year the participants are different, but the story of Christ's birth is the focal point. How blessed we are to have a knowledge of our Savior and the great gift of the Atonement he gave to us.
We have been counting down the days to Christmas with this Angel Advent Calendar. It is also a long standing tradition. On Christmas morning there was much excitement because of the believers among us. I just love having little children around and the excitement they bring.
Emma modeling her new pillowcase.
Kaden showing off some of his gifts.
Courtnie likes her new bowl.
Chelsi looking very stylish with her treasures!
Grandpa excited with his gifts.
The best gift of all was Christmas falling on Sunday. We got ourselves ready to go to church to enjoy the real meaning of Christmas. It was a wonderful meeting filled with beautiful music which brought the spirit in abundance. How grateful I am for the gospel of Jesus Christ, and this wonderful time of year when we get to celebrate his birth and focus more on him. I have been grateful for opportunities to serve and for those who remembered us this season. We have much to be thankful for!

December Activities 2011

I was given an early gift this year. I was asked to be in charge of our Ward Christmas Party, on December 1st. I had some really awesome people on my committee and the party went without a hitch. Clinton was in charge of the food. He cooked us a milk can supper. He cooked the food in an actual milk can.It was so delicious! The cabbage is my favorite! The very next day, December 2nd, we drove to Washington and moved Tyson and Courtnie to Pasco. We now have no children or grandchildren in the state of Idaho. I'm not sure how I feel about that. Two weeks later, on December 15th, we went to Salt Lake and moved Brock and Carrie from an apartment to a house. We have decided that December is our moving month. Buy the way, we are considered professional movers.
We went to Temple Square to see the lights. Isn't it beautiful?!
This is a baked Alaska Pie. It tastes as good as it looks. On December 19th, we had a family dinner with Clinton's siblings and spouses. We had a lovely time. It was so nice to get together and eat, visit and just enjoy each others company.
Back: Denny, Nancy, Bruce, Ivan, Jamie, Ronnie and Clinton
Front: Janet, Pam, Darla, Paula and Me

Carrie's Baby Shower 11-26-11

This is my daughter-in-law, Carrie. She is married to Brock. They are expecting their first child in January. We are all excited for the new addition! My daughter-in-law, Alicia, hosted a baby shower for Carrie on Saturday. It turned out lovely. We had many friends and family stop by. Carrie
I thought this diaper cake was so cute!

We didn't go hungry, this is just a sampling of the delicious things to eat.

Gingerbread Houses & Girls Night Out 11-25-11

On Friday we had a fun filled day! It all started with family pictures! Then we sent the guys away for some bonding time while we had lunch and built gingerbread houses with the grandkids. They really seem to love doing this. Emma told me her gingerbread house was amazing! They all were really proud of what they created. I know I am a proud grandma, but look how cute they all are!
Later that evening we had a girls night out. We went to the play "White Christmas" at the Colonial Theater in Idaho Falls. It was a fun play and Chelsi's friend, Sarah Parkinson was in it. Afterward we went to Cold Stone for some ice cream.

The Sleepover November 24, 2011

We are the luckiest grandparents! We got a sleepover with 6 of our 8 grandkids! So here we are having a movie night. This has been so fun for all the cousins to be together and get to know each other again. Cheyanna was with another cousin and Kimmie is too little to stay over. Treyton, Jordan, Deegan and Kaden sharing the beanbag!
Little Londyn just loves her grandpa!
Emma, Tyson and Kimmie. The parents went black friday shopping! We definitely had the better time!

Thanksgiving 2011

What a blessing we had on Thanksgiving! All of our children and grandchildren were together with us! We had much to be thankful for. Thanksgiving day started out with a game of "Flag Football". It was such fun for all my kids, grandkids and the cousins to play together.Londyn turned out to be a great ball handler.
Deegan, Jordan, Kaden and Treyton really mean business.
Even Chelsi joined in and showed the boys what to do!
After a delicious meal of deep fried turkey and all the trimmings, this is where I found the head cook relaxing. We had about 28 people over. The guests were our family; Pam, Ivan, Matt & Stacey and kids; Ron and Paula and their kids. We had a great day!
Just look at all the fun there is to be had! We feel truly blessed to have so much family around for this holiday!