Vacation to Seattle 2017

After Boise, Dave and I flew to Seattle to see James family.  

                                         One daye went to the Seattle Zoo, and I have to say it was my favorite of the three we saw that season (also Cincinnati and Boise).

Alek and Audrey really liked the animals and did really well walking around.

                                      It was out first time to see David Adam Meiners, Dave's namesake.

                                   Alek and Audrey both like to practice flashcard, and they know lots of words!

                                                         at the park near the petting zoo...

                                             Alek and Audrey both got their own pony ride!

                                 at the marina where the ferry comes...

                                      Tammy and James live very near the water.  Too bad the ferry wasn't running that day to the little island.

James and Tammy take the kids out often.  We had fun picking strawberries and going to several interesting parks and gardens to hang out with them and the kids.  And the weather in Seattle was much more beautiful than I had supposed.  I don't remember any rain at all.  It was a great trip!

Vacation to Boise 2017

 At the end of June David and I flew to Boise to see Erika, Tyler, their dog Vivee, and their new house in Caldwell.

                                                    at the Boise Zoo

                                                         at the Art Museum

                                 Tyler really wanted  us to tour the old penitentiary!

                                           

and we enjoyed the coolness of the State House on a hot day

               One day  we went to the cemetary where my grandparents and several other family member are buried.  Both of my parents were born in Boise.  We also helped Erika paint two desks one day, and we went out a few times looking at the new house construction in their area.  There are new subdivisions popping up everytwhere. A very cool place to live!

Cincinnati for Memorial Day

For Memorial Day, Dave and I drove to Cincinnati (well, Dave drove) on Friday to Tuesday. 
Kara, Luke and their children Jacob, 8, Bake, 6, and Ava, 2 drove from Saratoga Springs, NY to meet us at Dave's mom's house in Cincinnati.

 Saturday Dave worked around his Mom's house.  Sunday at church Dave saw some people he knew from many years ago.  Dave's sister Nancy was also up on Saturday, so it was nice to see her too. 
 Monday was a nice warm day and we enjoyed seeing the Cincinnati Zoo together!  They had a few fun animal shows. It was nice to have Kara's family join us!

Jacob's Baptism. NY Visit in March

We were excited to get this lovely invitation to Jacob's baptism.  We were happy that we were able to fly up for it.

David and I flew to Albany, and drove up to Saratoga Springs.  We were there for Jacob's eighth birthday celebration at home and at a bowling alley with friends, along with his other grandparents and great grandmother.

Luke made his famous pizza, and we had a nice time visiting with everyone.

Luke baptized Jacob. Dave and I  helped Kara with food preparation. We were also on the program.  Dave spoke, and I led the music.

It was great to be here with this great family.  We're proud of all of them!

Taking Andrea to the MTC

I flew in to Salt Lake City with Andrea on January 24th.  The day became even more memorable when James and Tammy called to tell us their son David was born that afternoon.  We were at Temple Square being shown around by Andrea's grandparents, my Mom and Craig, who are on a mission there.  Julia, who works in Salt Lake, was also able to meet us.  How great that Andrea could also see them one more time before her mission. 

Then Andrea and I spend the night with my cousin Annie near the MTC, and the next morning my Mom and Julia joined us to take some pictures at the Provo temple, and drop Andrea off at the Mission Training Center to begin her 18-month mission to Calgary, Canada.

Before we left her off, we sat in the car near the temple since it was snowing and we all sang together at alta voce, "We are family!  I got all my sisters and me."  It was an emotional time.  We're so proud of her serving a mission, but we will miss her!

Andrea prepares for her mission

Andrea attended the Washington D.C. with David and I in preparation for serving a mission to Calgary Canada.  The temple is sacred to us, and it was a joyful day to have her there with us.

Christmas 2016

I sang with my guitar at our women's Relief Society Christmas social. Below, I was rehearsing.

Andrea came home from BYU-Idaho, in preparation for her mission.  She left a lot of her things with Erika, who came to Rexburg to get them and take them back to Boise. It was nice to have her home at Christmas.

                                           Julia and Matt were here.  Sorry, no pictures. :(

                                           Daniel and Meg went to Texas, but we saw them throughout.

                                                        annual gingerbread house making

                                           I knit  a lot of  hats for gifts.  Here are a few of them..

Daniel and Meg (and Claire) move to Maryland

Dan and Dave getting warm by the fire

Daniel graduated from BYU in April.  He and Meg stayed in Utah until August when Meg graduated.   Meg’s parents helped them drive their belongings out here in their two cars.

Daniel was fortunate to have a great job waiting for him in Maryland in his new field of Statistics.

They  have been staying with us until they find a place that of their own.

New Kitchen in Basement

We decided to add a kitchen to the basement.  Daniel, Meg and Claire will be living with us awhile, and it seemed helpful to equip the space for them.

We are happy with the results!

Boise Reunion Slideshow

Andrea put together a fabulous slideshow of our family reunion on Boise. We had all of our children and their families with us, as well as my Mom and Craig.  We had such a wonderful time.  Click on the 2 1/2 minute slideshow here  

 and enjoy!

We had seven couples in the temple together!