It's Christmas 2010!!! The Family Christmas Party

Every Christmas Eve we have our family Christmas party. It's always a lot of fun to get together. We have good food and great fun playing games. We decided this year since we had turkey and ham at Thanksgiving and my Mom's Christmas Party we needed to have something different. Ashlyn suggested Mexican or Americanized Mexican food. I made meat and bean burrito's and lime and chili rice. Ashlyn made Chicken Enchaldas and spanish rice, Raquel made salsa and a yummy cake. Deena brought a yummy pumkin roll which we forgot to unwrap until after they were gone. Poor Doug was salivating waiting to have a piece of it. We all really enjoyed the food so much that we almost had to be rolled away from the table. Next we played games and laughed...A LOT! then it was time to open the presents. As you can see from the photo collage the kids had a lot of fun opening their gifts. Hopefully they got what they wanted.

As usual it was a great to be together. That's what Christmas is all about, celebrating with our families and remembering who's birthday we are celebrating. If Jeramy, Rebecca and family could have been here it would have made it PERFECT!

Getting into the Christmas Spirit Motab style.

While Les and I were on our Trip to Iowa this last September, unknown to us Ashlyn put in for tickets to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and David Arculeta Christmas program. She put in for their family and our family hoping to get enough tickets for all of us. Their name was not chosen but my name was!!! I received four tickets to the concert. I told Ashlyn she should just take the tickets since she was the one who applied on line for them. It was decided that it should be girls night out and she and the girls, Keagan, Lily, and I should go. The guys, Dave, Jake and Papa could all stay home and do something else. When we got looking at the date it turned out that it was the same date as my Mom's Christmas Party. Dave had a free stay in a motel from all his traveling with work so he decided the girls should go up the night before. That was such a great idea!! After my Mom's party we rushed home, unloaded the car leaving Les with all the dirty dishes and things to put away. Thank goodness he is such a great guy! We grabbed our things and headed up to Salt Lake City. After checking into our motel and getting settled in we bundled up and headed to Temple Square to see the lights. It was a beautiful, night not to cold just right for seeing the lights. Right at the gait of Temple Square was a bag pipe man playing a beautiful haunting melody.

As you can see I can't take credit for some of these pictures taken on Temple Square but they were so beautiful I just had to share them.

We had a great time at Temple Square. Then it was back to the hotel to get ready for bed and the next day. The girls were excited thinking about getting to see David Arculeta perform. They got to see him in person when we waited in line to have him sign his book at Deseret Book a year ago. We got up bright and early 5:30 the next morning. Dressed and went down to a great breakfast. Lily let me know that if she didn't get breakfast in the morning she would be grumpy. As we walked out the door to get into the car and drive to the parking center they had set aside for concert goes we discovered it was RAINING!!! Thank goodness we had umbrellas because we had to walk for blocks to get to the convention center. It was a sea of umbrellas but they were quick to get us into the center where it was dry. When we went through security I set off the alarm. It must have been the screw in my toe. That was a first. I haven't set it off in the airport. Inside we found our comfortable seats. All of the sudden the crowd of people to the side of us stood and then everyone started to stand, we could see that the Prophet, Thomas S. Monson had arrived with his wife and was seated in the front of the center. We then watched as they broadcasted The Spoken Word. That was the first time I had been to one of the broadcasts so it was very interesting. Then David Archuleta along with the narrator for the performance Michael York presented a concert. It was amazing!!! David Archuleta is a great young man who seems very sincere and humble. Michael York has such a great narrative voice. He told how the Mormon Tabernacle Choir came to be and it was very impressive and touching. It was a great way to continue in the true spirit of Christmas. We had a great time creating some wonderful Christmas memories together.

Wanlass Family Christmas Party 2010

Saturday December the 18th was my Mom's traditional family Christmas Party. I was in charge this year so I didn't have the time to get around with my camera and get as many pictures as I usually do. This is Grandma Wanlass and the Lindley grand children.
My sister Nancy's grand kids. Front Row left to right: Chance (Holly's and Gene's oldest) Grandma Wanlass, and Cruz (Holly and Gene's youngest) Back row: Beau, Amber, and Erika (Dusty and Carol's kids) We had a good turn out. Lots of great people and lots of good food:-)
This is a picture of Lacey and Olivia. They were so cute as soon as they saw each other it was like, oh someone my size, a friend!!! And they hit it if right from the start:-)

Let's EAT!

Grandma Nancy and Chance.

CRAFT TIME

Chance, Jake and Parker

Jaycee and Mekenna


Reggie and Lily

Lucy and her big brother Boston

PINATA TIME!!

After much effort and many hit's the ole Pinata finally opened up and gave way with it's gifts to the eager little ones below. It was a great party, I think the little cousins enjoy it more then anyone else. They don't have to prepare anything they just have to come ready to have fun and renew aquaintances with their cousin, and run and play.

The Rewards of Being a Grandparent

A week ago Sunday we were invited to Ashlyn and Dave's ward. Jacob turned 12 on the 27th of November the cute little turkey:-) He had been waiting for this day for years! He just couldn't wait to be a Deacon and be able to pass the sacrament as well as collect fast offering. He went with his Dad several times in their old ward when they didn't have enough Deacons to go around. It was great that Dave could ordain him and Grandpa Robb and Papa could both be there in the circle. Dave gave him a great blessing. Then Ashlyn invited us all over for a wonderful Roast dinner. It's so great to see the kids grow up and take on new responsibilities.

The Priesthood holders that Jacob is now a part of.

Proud Mom and Dad!!

The Proud Family and the proud grandparents! Jake is almost as tall as grandma Robb and myself:-)

Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus - Must See!

The Storm of the Century

Just a couple of days before Thanksgiving the weather man started reporting that we were expecting the "STORM OF THE CENTURY"!! My friend Linda was here to visit her parents and was leaving to go back to Illinois on Tuesday, the day of the big storm. I told her I would take her to the airport. Her plane wasn't scheduled to depart until 4:00 that afternoon but she wanted me to get there and get back before the storm hit. I picked her up at 10:00 a.m. and we headed into Salt Lake. We stopped and had breakfast, the wind was blowing so hard it nearly blew us over. We enjoyed visiting over breakfast together and then headed to the airport. Linda called to check her flight just before we got there and it said it would be delayed. We were hoping she would be able to make it out. The airport was suppose to be crazy as well with everyone traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday. Linda called me on my way home and as the phone rang I was afraid she was going to say, "Can you come back and get me my plane has been canceled," but instead she said, she got right through the screening and her plane would only be delayed 15 minutes. I went to the store on the way home so I wouldn't have to travel out in the storm. That night Les and I settled in expecting the worse. I got up at 4:00 a.m. in the morning and looked out the window...where was the snow?!?! There was only a little only a little skiff. The big blizzard of the century turned out to be the big fizzle of the century:-) Not that I was sad by any means. This morning however we did wake up to snow. Not the big one, just the usual start of winter. We probably received 2 to 3 inches. Les had to shovel the driveway to get out for his Bishopric meeting this morning. Where was I? Snuggled under the covers of course. Les tried to talk me into coming out and shoveling with him saying, "it would be fun." Oh ya, real fun. Here are a few pictures I took from the window. I didn't even want to venture out this morning, besides I had just done my hair for church:-) Here comes Winter!!!!!

Hope you get the drift...no pun intended:-)

Thanksgiving Day!!!

This was the second Thanksgiving since Les and I have been married that I have not had to prepare Thanksgiving dinner! Yahoo!!! We went to Ashlyn's house and had a great time with Dave's family and Rod and Sam. I can't believe I didn't take my camera but my arms were full of food. I didn't have to prepare the whole dinner but I did prepare some of it. Hope ya'all had a great Thanksgiving!

What are you thankful for?

With Thanksgiving right around the corner I was reflecting today on what I really am thankful for. With the wind blowing outside and snow on the ground the first thing I thought about was I am so thankful that I have a nice warm home and that it is warm and cozy inside. As I awoke this morning I thought, I am so thankful for a warm comfortable bed. I had a hot bath this morning and it felt so wonderful to just lie there and soak, one of my most favorite place to read is in the bath tub:-) I am so thankful that all I have to do is turn on the tap and out comes hot or cold water with not effort. I thought of Les's nephew who is on a mission in Sierra Leone Africa who has no running water, who lives with rats and other creatures on a daily basis, who in the last 4 months has dropped 23 lbs. I have so much to be thankful for. I flip a switch and have light. I go to the refrigerator or cup board and have food to eat. I live in a country where I am free to come and go as I please, I can go to church and worship as I please. I'm thankful for FREEDOM and the young men and women who put their lives on the line so that I can enjoy that freedom. We must never forget that our freedom comes at a great cost. I have a wonderful family who bring me so much joy. We have our trials and our struggles but those too I am thankful for because they bring me closer to the Savior and my Heavenly Father. I know that through Them we can over come our struggles and become better people. I'm thankful for hair blowers and make up so I don't scare people when I go out in public. I'm thankful for music and for the important part it plays in my life. I grew up with music in my life, with parents who loved music, and a father who had a beautiful tenor voice who sang in church, at funerals, for many occasions. Then in my own home I have enjoyed all kinds of music. Now I have grandchildren who are so gifted with musical talent, music makes this world a much more beautiful place. I'm thankful for this beautiful world and for nature and the changing seasons. I'm thankful for friends, some of which I only get to see on occasion but what great memories I have of our times together. I'm thankful for my life, for the experiences I am blessed with daily. And the older I get the more I am made aware of my health, I am so thankful to be healthy and be able to dance and walk, and all the things I'm able to do. You never really enjoy your health more then when you don't have it, then you realise how important it is to you. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you too reflect on what you are most thankful for. Take a minute in your busy day to just stop and smell the roses or look at a beautiful sunset. We are indeed a blessed people.

We didn't get the expected snow...but we know it's right around the corner!

That snow that the weather man was forecasting never happened...at least not in the valley but from this picture you can see we did get snow in the mountains. We've had beautiful blue skies and the most beautiful fall weather. This weather has really spoiled me and I am not ready for the weather to change. Most of the trees still have their leaves as you can see from this picture. Our aspen trees have been a beautiful yellow and still have a lot of their leaves. And just look at the beautiful clear BLUE SKY! I love this time of the year!
This time of the year has always been my favorite. It brings back childhood memories of walking home from school and hearing the crisp sound of the Autumn leaves crunching below my feet. Of raking up large piles of leaves and then jumping into them. The clean crisp air that seemed to give me energy. It's a time for apples of all colors, and pine nuts, and curling up by the fireplace with a warm fire and a good book. Hot chocolate, carmel popcorn ball, apple crisp, hmmmmmm... I LOVE AUTUMN!
I can't take credit for this photo but I absolutely love it. It was taken by Les's cousin Westley Cottom.

Ugh...our first snow already!!!

I woke up yesterday to snow on the ground. It was to cold to get out of my cozy warm bed and go out and take a picture to show you but the weather man said we will have more this week so you'll get a picture. It seemed so weird, the leaves haven't even fallen off the trees yet. In Salt Lake the snow was so heavy it broke branchs off the trees. I guess it's time to gear up for winter. Thanksgiving is just around the corner and then...CHRISTMAS! YIKES!!!

Meeting up with old acquaintances

I was on face book the other day sending a message to an old friend, fellow ward member, and classmate, Linda Hutchings Wilson. I recognized in her friends and acquaintances...some other ladies we had gone to school with and also marched together with in the Americanettes...Tana John Pulley, Jill Peterson Clinton, and Leann Conder Powell. So Linda contacted everyone and Jill decided on where we would all meet and within a week we were all together at Chuck O rama. Jill called Patsy Edwards Callahan and she came too. It was so fun to see everyone again. We decided that we are going to meet together every couple of months. This may be the start of something great! Leann is in charge of where we go the next time and she wants to meet at the same place. Ugh. Were going to see if we can get more people to come. Should be fun. (Picture from left to right...Tana John Pulley, Patsy Edwards Callahan, Leann Conder Powell, Jill Peterson Clinton, me, and Linda Hutchings Wilson.)

You'll Never Guess

Last Thursday Les and I made a quick trip to Vegas to visit his family. It was fun seeing everyone and we celebrated Les's Dad's 83rd birthday on Sunday. Les's niece Sarah and her husband Sean had us all over to their house for a wonderful dinner.

Les, Owen and Les Sr.

Les's Mom, Doris, Les's niece Sarah, Les's sister Suzanne and Sarah's son Owen.

We had such a good time after dinner sitting around talking and hearing stories of Les Sr's and Doris's childhood and younger days. They say laughter is the best medicine and I believe it. Les's nephew's wife put on her facebook page today that laughter is the shock obsorbers that ease the blows in life and that is so true. Monday we loaded up the car to leave and come back home. Good-bye's are always bitter sweet. It's good to come back home but it's sad to leave our loved ones. We stopped in St. George to see our grand daughter Teresa and our great grand babies Armani and Adee.

Teresa is about as big as a minute. She probably weight 90 lb if even that and she's only about 4' 10" tall. Her husband isn't a big guy either so her kids don't stand a chance of being tall. We visited for a while and then decided to go and get lunch before we headed back on the road. I had been craving Mexican food so we stopped at Cafe Rio. We just got in line when a man that I thought a recognized walked right passed us. I turned to look again and said, "Les did you see who that is?!?!"

It was Elder Jeffrey R Holland of the General Authorities and his wife Patricia. My FAVORITE!!! I said, "I'm going to go over and shake their hand." Les said, "I'm not, I'm afraid to." I walked or should I say RAN up to them and said, "Elder Holland can I shake your hand?" He graciously said hello and held out his hand as did his wife. I said, "My husband is to afraid to come and shake hands." Elder Holland said, "Don't ever be afraid to come up and shake hands!" Les came over and said, "I was afraid to come over but I decided that I had better because I'm more afraid of my wife's wrath then yours." Elder and sister Holland laughed and said, "Smart Man." Then Elder Holland looked at me and said, "I can't believe any wrath could come from this little women." They made my day!!! Elder Holland is one of my favorites. I love elder and sister Hollands book, On Earth as it is in Heaven a book that they both co-authored. These men that are at the head of our church are so intelligent and spiritual and they dedicate their whole life in the service of our Heavenly Father and his church. They make me want to be a better person. As they walked out to get in their car they got into a Toyota Avalon. When I told Ashlyn she said, "so does Les now say he is driving a celestial car?" :-)

Autumn Days

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. I love Autumn time along with spring it is my very most favorite time of the year. I love the cool nights and crisp mornings. Nothing is more invigorating then waking up and going for an early morning walk. I love the way the flowers respond to the cooler weather, their colors seem to become more vibrant just like the leaves. Although this year we have had a much warmer start of the fall season. The weather man says we are on the average 17 degrees hotter then normal for this time of the year. A week or so ago I told Les I'd really like to take a drive up in the canyon and take some pictures of the fall colors. Years ago I wouldn't think twice about going by myself but I guess I'm not as daring in the older stage of life. I told him I didn't feel good about going by myself so he took half a day off and we started up the American Fork side of the loop. The colors weren't quite as bright as they have been in recent years. Maybe because we have had a drier summer then usual, or, maybe because we got a little cold spell a little earlier. The leaves may have hit their peek a few days before our drive.

This picture was taken up by the Mutual Dell and the colors there were at their brightest. We also drove to Cascade Springs which is always such a beautiful place. I caught a glimpse of this little couple on the trail. I got my camera out and managed to snap this photo just before they rounded the bend and out of my sight.


It reminds me of a verse from a James Taylor song, "Wake up Suzie, put your shoes on walk with me into this life." I thought, what a cute little couple, still walking hand and hand just like when they first meet. And I'm sure they have a greater love now then they did back then. Not as straight and tall, walking a little slower then they use to but still hand and hand. It did my heart good:-)
How can you not know that there is a higher being when you see the wonderful beauties of nature. It is almost as if God took his paint brush and painted this beautiful fall painting for all to enjoy. It makes me think of the scripture, "Be still and know that I am God."

Trip to the Midwest.

Have you watched a new series sponsored by Ancestry.com called "Who Do You Think You Are?" It's so interesting, it comes on Friday nights. They take movie stars like Sarah Jessica Parker, Brooke Shields, Lisa Kudrow, Mathew Broderick and many others and they help them trace their roots. My sister Nancy once asked me, "why are you so into genealogy? The Lord knows how were all related." And she is totally right but I find it interesting to go back and see if I can find stories about our ancestors. It gives me a feel for who they were, their strenghts and weaknesses, their joys and their sorrows. I find I have a lot in common with many of them. Also once your gone the only way that others know that you were even here are through the stories we pass on to our children and their children. We keep them alive in our hearts and in our lives as we remember. As I watched this series I see how it effects the people who are searching for their ancestors. Many of them have no idea where their ancestors lived, or how they made a living, or what they looked like. Susan Sarandon had been searching for her grandmother for years only to find out she lived just a few miles away from her for most of her life but didn't find that out until after her grandmother had passed away. Many of them have stories of the great sacrifices their ancestors made to come to America which gives them great strength. On the 26th of August Les and I flew into Minneapolis St. Paul where we meet Les Sr. and his girlfriend Dona. We were going on a trip back to the roots of Les Sr.'s father and Les's grandfather, Jay Dayton Smith. Years ago when Les was a student at BYU his grandfather took him as his traveling companion back to the area because he wanted to instill in Les a knowledge of where his grandfather had grown up and of the family he came from, as well as a love and reverence for these people. What a beautiful little place to grow up in! The first thing I noticed is there were no Mountains! Coming from Utah I love the Mountains and can't even imagine a place with no Mountains but it is a beautiful, laid back area. There were acres, and acres of corn fields, and soybean fields, beautiful well kept yards, and road sides. We hardly ever saw a farmer or someone outside their home until we got into the little towns.
Les and his Dad standing in front of the soybean field. Les's Dad holding up a soybean plant. They look like fuzzy pea pods. That was a first for me, I had never seen a soybean plant before. We stayed in a little town of Decorah. Most of the little towns around there didn't even have a motel, or even a restaurant. Les's grandfather grew up with his parents in a little town of Monona Iowa. They did have a restaurants but it was only open on certain days. The first people we saw as we started our journey were the Amish. As you see them drive by in their horse drawn carriage it is hard to think of the life they live going back in time with no electricity, growing all their food, sewing all their clothes, actually going back to a more primitive time then the ancestors we have come to inquire about. We stopped at a street corner where they were selling their wares and bought some homemade bread and jam. It was very tastie but we couldn't help but feel sorry for them. Their life is so much harder then ours, but probably a whole lot more simpler. I'll take my automobiles, air conditioning, and heating over their way of life any day. Welcome to Monona! Were getting closer to the home of Les's ancestors. You could feel an excitement in the car just like the excitement I could feel from the people on "Who do you think you are."

And here we are!!! As the Garmin (our GPS system) would say, "Arriving at destination on right, the home of Horace Hamilton and Martha Schneider Smith. Les's Great Grandfather and Grandmother. A home where three children laughed and played. Les's grandfather and his brother played catch with their ball and gloves right on this very porch, a home where they grew to adulthood. Can't you just picture them running in and out of that front door. I can almost hear Martha call out to them. "Children don't slam that door." Jay Dayton, (Les's grandfather), Leslie Hamilton, (who Les's father and Les were named after), and Gretchen. Horace was a very prominent business man, owning his own business the H.H.Smith hardware store. Horace was also the director of the Monona State Bank for 25 years, becoming it's president. At the age of 45 Martha became ill with what many think was the flew and passed away leaving Horace and the children alone. Dayton would have been in his early 20's and Leslie and Gretchen would have been teenagers how hard that must have been for them to loose their sweetheart and mother. Horace later married Elizabeth Davis a young nurse that came to attend to Martha in her illness.

Horace, Martha,and the children, Dayton, Leslie and Gretchen.

The home is pretty much as it was when Horace and his second wife Elizabeth lived there. We were told that after Horace passed away and shortly before Elizabeth went into a rest home she had a auction and many of the house hold items were sold, but many of the larger items stayed in the home. She was left a share of the home along with each of the children. Leslie passed away in World War I and was the first war casualty from the little town of Monona. Elizabeth donated her share of the home to the town and JD, Les's grandfather and Gretchen sold their portion to the town and the home was made into a museum. A little building was added onto the home housing many books and histories of the people of the town. A great place to find information about your ancestors if they lived there. We made copies of pictures and histories we had never seen before.

The original Hardware store of Horace Hamilton Smith is now a Floral Shop but has been left exactly like it was back then. When you walk inside the building you walk on the original hardwood floors. I thought I had taken pictures but I must not have but there were little metal beads on the floor that were used to measure in feet chain, or rope or what ever they had to measure. There were paint spots on the floor. The original elevator was still there and the owner of the store told us it still worked. I don't know if you can read the date on this small picture but it was founded in 1898.

Here we are in Prairie du Chien Wisconsin. Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota were all so beautiful and it's true the cheese is the best and the people really do talk like in the Movie, "New in Town" with Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr. don't ya know. I loved listening to them talk and wish I could talk the way they did. I wondered if they thought we had an accent;-? Hmmmm... We went to pikes peak where Les was told his great grandfather proposed to Elizabeth his second wife. It's a beautiful place that over looks the Mississippi River. We watched the barges moving up the Mississippi river through the lock and dam system which we found extremely interesting. We visited many of the grave yards and took pictures of Les's ancestors graves. Many times feeling like they were right there with us leading the way. One cemetery was completely concealed on all sides by corn fields and it was a miracle we even found it but thanks to Dona's keen eyes she saw the entrance of the grave yard just before we passed it. Although you can't really tell what Les and his Dad are pointing at because the head stone is in the shadows and the picture is so small but it is their grandmother Martha's mother and fathers headstone standing there as sentinels to welcome us in. All and all we gathered a lot of great information and had a wonderful experience at the same time. Now we need to do something with everything we have collected.

The picture below is of Dona, Les Sr's girlfriend. Looking at his familes headstones.