A Marvelous Christmas Season

-Christmas Eve with Jeremy and Edward and all (delicious Chinese food)
-Christmas with Edward, Jacqueline, Erica, Bentley, Austen, Lincoln and Miranda
- Les Mis at the movie Theatre
- New West Theatre (Tidings) with Jeremy and family
- All our children and grandchildren here on the 27th
- My sister, Joan, dropped in

The Gang's all Here

It was very cold over Christmas (in the -20s C) - coldest weather I have experienced for several years.  However it warmed up Friday the 28th and is much better now.

Darwin and Amber left to go back to Lehi this morning.  Bob and I are alone and it is very quiet at our house.

Bring it on!

The tree is decorated (Thanks Nathan, Tara and boys), the Christmas cake baked, the buttertarts ready, and the gifts wrapped.  We are ready.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Cardston Temple

Yesterday we drove to Cardston and went to the Temple.  It was a cool, windy day, but no snow and the roads were clear.

It warmed up today, but this is supposed to be the warmest day for a while and there may be snow showers on the week-end.

Last week we attended the Stringam Denecky Christmas party - the first one I have been to for 4 years.  The firm has grown and I didn't know a lot of the people. 

On Saturday we watched Courtney and Taylor play basketball.  They were both high scorers for their team.

We tried out a new restaurant in the city.  It was called Cafe Verde.  We were told it was like Cafe Rio, but the food wasn't as good.

December Already

On Saturday the 27th we hurried home from Calgary and worked on talks for church the next day.  Whew - that is over with.   Then we gave a presentation about our time in Nova Scotia the following Monday at a different family home evening group.

We were able to attend the Cardston Temple the last Wednesday in November.

Our ward Christmas party was the 1st December and we had an enjoyable time.

Last Wednesday we spent four hours at LCI watching Courtney & Taylor play basketball.  They both play very well.

Nathan and family arrived Thursday night and we had them until Sunday.  Sue-anne, Langley & Carter came in Friday for supper.

 Our Family Home Evening group had the Christmas dinner on Monday. 

It is snowing again.

Calgary Lethbridge Calgary Lethbridge

On Friday the sixteenth we drove to Calgary.  On Saturday we stayed with Nathan's children while Nathan and Tara were busy being in charge of a Ward Party.  Bob, Orson and Liam went to the latest James Bond movie with Jeremy and family and Austen.

Sunday we went to the Cranston Ward where Lincoln, having turned 12 the day before, was ordained a Deacon.  After dinner at Edwards we returned to Lethbridge.  The weather was not bad that week  and was forcast to be warm for the following week.

We spoke about our Nova Scotia Mission at our Family Home Evening on Monday evening.

Tuesday morning it was 7 degrees C above at 7 in the morning, but by the time we got to Calgary at lunch time it was well below zero and very dreary looking.  The trees were covered with frost.

Good Weather for Puzzles

Nathan and Tara left for Las Vegas in the evening and after Bob dropped them at the airport he drove back across the city to take Liam and Orson to their pipe band practice which was across the city again..

The weather got colder as the week went by and we had some snow.

It finally warmed up on Friday afternoon and Nathan and Tara got home that night.

We arrived back in Lethbridge before noon today and the skies are blue.  It has been warmer here than in Calgary.

Storm 2

During the three weeks we have been home there have been two snow storms.  The second one started Thursday evening and it snowed all night and half the next day. 

View from the Bedroom Window

My age is starting to show.  The first Sunday I was back I signed up for some Relief Society classes and then completely forgot about it and missed them.  Last Sunday I signed up to work at the Soup Kitchen on Wednesday and when I went on Wednesday it was the wrong week.  It is coming up this week.

Nathan and family were planning to be here this week-end, but Lochlan and Matthi had strep throat and so they all stayed home in Calgary.

This morning we attended the funeral of Gerry Jensen who was a counselor in the Bishopric with Bob some years ago.

Later this afternoon Sue-anne, Darryl, Langley and Carter came and visited us.  It is so good to be back near family.

Friday in Hanna

Thursday Bob took my car for an oil change and to get the leaky tire fixed. They found that the battery was dying (and it is only eleven years old) and that one headlight wasn't working.

That evening Kennedy came over and we went to help her buy a printer for her computer.  The three of us went out to O'Sho for supper.  It was the first time we had been  there since the night before we left on our mission.

Friday we traveled to Hanna and my brothers and sister and their spouses met us there and we went to the dinner theatre and production of Grease.  It is amazing what a small community can do.  The orchestra was great and the actors did extremely well.
We stayed overnight with my brother and sister-in-law, Ross and Paulette.

Saturday we returned home.  There was fog and frozen rain all the way to Brooks where we stopped in for a short visit with my aunt.  The roads were fine the rest of the way to Lethbridge.

Edward, Jacqueline and three of their children stopped in on there way home from the Temple in Cardston.  Miranda wanted to go to O'Sho, so we went there for supper before they went back to Calgary.

Sunday we were released from our Mission.  In the afternoon we went to Taber and had supper and a visit with Sue-anne and family.