Christmas in Fallbrook

We were lucky to find a fouse in Fallbrook that we could rent.  We were all here (except Daniel, who is on a mission) for James' and Tammy's wedding, Christmas Eve, Christmas, and James' birthday.  Here we are on Christmas morning.  My mom and Craig were here for the morning.  Santa came and filled people's stockings.  Other than that we had a draw and each person picked someone to get a present for.  It was simple in terms of the amount of gifts exchanged, but was very relaxed and fun to be together.  We were also happy to get to talk to Daniel (Elder Meiners).  The last time we had heard his voice was Mother's Day.

Christmas Eve in California

The day after James' wedding was Christmas Eve.  We stayed at a great house in Fallbrook

with tennis courts, a pool table and table tennis.



It was so pretty even in December.


So, most of the kids went to the beach.

I shopped with Dave for groceries and other last minute Christmas things, and cooked.

That night we had James and Tammy with us--who were honeymooning close by at the beach. My mom and Craig were there as well as our other children (except Daniel who is on his mission).We had a nice Danish dinner and the very tradional rice pudding. In Denmark, the winner gets a marzipan pig. My mom had pig ears for the winner to wear--which happened to be her--and we all shared some chocolate with almonds.
Then we read the Christmas story together and then everyone in part shared a part they liked, and then we watched "It's A Wonderful Life"--another seasonal tradition.

James and Tammy are married

This is our son James and new daughter-in-law Tammy just after they walked out of the San Diego California Temple (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) where they were married for time and eternity.  After several days of rain and flooding, the clouds opened up for a few hours and the sun shone down on them as they got a few pictures.

Wednesday, December 22, the night before the wedding, my mom helped us hot a dinner for them for our families.  We rented a clubhouse.  My mom made enchiladas, and we had a Mexican wedding menu.  Afterwards Tammy and James were on the hotseat (near the fire :) ) as they told the story of how they met and dated.  It was a great evening. 

Midway through Erika, Tyler and Julia arrived.  We were so happy to see them because they had car trouble in Utah, were stranded almost 2 days in a big storm, and eventually were able to get a rental car and drive to California (starting out in Idaho) just in time for the festivities.

James and Tammy both looked so beautiful and happy at the temple.  After pictures they went with the photographer for more pictures at the beach.

That evening was a reception for them in Vista, California.  Here they danced the first dance.  Tammy is from Fallbrook--ironically where my mother and her husband Craig live, as well some cousins and an aunt and uncle--so it was nice to also have some of our family there.  In addition my brother Vic and aunt Margie  came down from Northern California.

They were sent off with a bang!  They stayed at the beach for their honeymoon for a few nights--close enough that we could still celebrate the holidays with them.

Julia goes to College to get more Knowledge

After Julia and I flew into Salt Lake, we took our side trip to the Rockin R Ranch in Southern Utah.  There my mom joined Julia and I and after our weeked there, we drove  our rental car to Rexburg, Idaho to take Julia to BYU-Idaho as a Freshman. We helped her settle into her apartment, bought food and school supplies, bought Interior Design materials on campus and picked up the textbooks we had preordered online.

That night we all went to dinner--including James and his girlfirend Tammy, who I met for the first time. 

I should explain here that when Julia and I flew to Salt Lake the Friday of Labor Day week, Dave dropped us off at the airport in Baltimore.  Then he, James and Andrea started their own trek west--by car.  Our intention was to leave that car with James and Julia so they could get around in Idaho.  They made a stop in St. Louis at Dave's sister Patty's, and then they stopped in Denver with Kara.  When they arrived in Salt Lake, Dave and Andrea got right on a plane--and then traveled in 4 hours they distance they had just traveled in three days.  James then drove the car from there up to Rexburg.

My mom and I spent one night at a motel in town, and one night at her brother Monte's.  He lives nearby with his wife, Violet. She made us a raspberry dessert when she found out we were coming!

My mom and I also visited the new Rexburg temple.

Then we were on to the next leg of the trip--visiting newlyweds Erika and Tyler in Pocatello-about 1 1/2 hours from Rexburg --normally.  This time however, I forgot about getting gas, and the rental car warned me just as our car sucked the last drop of gas and started losing power.  I pulled to the side of the road on a lonely strip--miles from anything in both directions.  Fortunately, I was able to call my insurance company who sent someone with a tank of gas--2 hours later.  Just a little glitch and we were on our way again.

Rockin R Ranch Reunion

Over Labor Day weekend I flew with Julia out to Salt Lake to take her out to the university at BYU-Idaho.  But first we drove our rental car down about 4 hours to Rockin R Ranch in Antimony, Utah.  Almost 40 years ago, my Uncle Bob was one of the owners of the Ranch and I came to work there several summers.  This was the first Reunion of the old gang who were either workers or kids who came to the dude ranch from California to horseback ride, water ski, and have a great, relaxing summer.  My mom came from California and met us there.

Here are a couple old friends I caught up with at dinner. It was so fun to talk to them and see where life has taken them, and also how our friendships and experiences at the ranch had shaped them.

A group leaves for a ride.  This is the corral where I occasionally took kids out on rides--though most of the time I worked in the kitchen and laundry.

Some of us went on a little hayride--which broke down and we walked back.  :)

Otter Creek--where we used to go water skiing each morning, and often had the lake to ourselves.  I learned to ski here, and sometimes drove the boat for the campers.

My friend Camille.  We were friends at age 14, and were the breakfast crew. People often confused us for one another.  Even at the reunion people thought we looked so alike, which we both found amusing.

My cousin Paula competed in the barrel races while most of us sat on the sidelines and cheered.  She did a great job!  (Sometimes the horses knocked down barrels, or just walked--or even stopped to drink water from the barrels. :)  )

At the indoor campfire Saturday night Julia and I listened to Burns, whose family now runs the ranch.  He sang and yodeled for us like the old days--the definite favorite being "I'm a long, tall Texan."  I also played the guitar and sang a request.

Uncle Bob also spoke that night--reminding us of his great oratory when he told ghost stories and other tall tales at our campfires.

Here's a group shot of everyone--similar to one many of us treasure taken in 1972.  Both Paula and I kept the original photo in our laundry rooms for many years--as a reminder of  all the camp laundry we did with her mother on a washboard type washer.

Church on Sunday was such a good meeting.  This is just some of the people I knew there.  Two men pictured here converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints (Mormon) from their exposure to the church at the ranch.  I loved seeing old friends who still held on to the same values and principles that I do.

Day Trip to Mt. Vernon

Dave, James, Julia, Andrea and I took a day trip to George Washington's home in Virginia. It was a warm, pretty day.

Mt. Vernon is a favorite day trip of mine.  There is so much reserved land there--just minutes from the nation's capital, but you can get a sense of what it looked like when George Washington kived there.

This painting of Washington praying at Valley Forge was painted by Mormon artist Arnold Friberg.

Here we're standing at the back of the house that overlooks the river. This architecture has stood the test of time. Our house model is a Mt. Vernon.

Happy Birthday Dave!

Happy Birthday to my handsome hubby!  This year he celebrated it with Julia, Andrea and me.  Dave is sporting a tie that Andrea sewed for him.

Erika and Tyler's MD reception

A week after Tyler and Erika were married in Idaho, we had a reception for them in Maryland.  We had family come from out of town, and well as Tyler's parents. We had dinner together at our house the night before.

Dave's parents, brother and three sisters were able to attend, as well as many of our friends.

It was great to have so much of our family together to celebrate this festive occasion.