Bringing Up Birthdays

January is a big birthday month. Our immediate family has four: Breann, Alicia, Hunter and Joshua. What a joy they have been in our family. Both Breann and Alicia have accomplished amazing things by getting multiple and interesting degrees. Being mom's they have learned patience, great love, creativity and had to stay up many a night with sick children. As daughters, they have made us very proud with their humility, kindness and service to others. Caring and loving wives are also wonderful attributes. Hunter will be thirteen this month, an official teenager. Lookout mom and dad. He is a kind, competitive and handsome young man. He likes hunting, riding horses and is a great worker. Joshua will be three. The magical age, when they finally understand and you can reason with them. That is a milestone. He loves trains, trucks and trying his mom's patience.

Allan's extended family has more: Marion, Dennis, Linda, Julie & Todd (Blaine's). My side has some winter birthdays with: Paula and Brian. Here is to all those that celebrate with snow outside. They have ice skating or sledding parties, indoor activities making snowflakes and have to be creative. Have a Happy birthday January born loved ones.

Basketball & Brayle

We have a basketball star in the family. Pictured here on the front cover of the Tooele Transcript, going up for a basket. It helps to be tall, strong and coordinated. We are very excited to be related. At the end of the day, she is pretty beat up, so she wears support leggings to prevent bruises after being knocked down numerous times. She loves the game no matter the cost.

My only claim to basketball fame was at age fourteen I scored eight points in a game. I was on Cloud 9. I can't imagine how Brayle feels when she does good. Currently on junior varsity, she often plays varsity, too. What a blessing to play for a 3A school, to have a better chance for playing time. Congrats, Brayle. You rock!!

Cousins Cozy Up

We had the privilege of tending Max and Henry last week while their parents went to a movie. The boys are not used to other little people, so it took them a while to acknowledge one another. At nine and eighteen months they have a future of fun times ahead of them.

With Henry a little faster than Max, they toddled around discovering separately then together. One followed the other, then they switched. Both liked the fireplace and little ceramic houses set up along the hearth. One day these angels will be shooting hoops and having a grand time, along with their cousin Joshua. For now, we love to see them discover the world one day at a time.

In 2015 we will have one, two and three year old little boy cousins to cozy up to one another. Hurrah!

Zero is Twenty-five

For the Christmas of 1988 or 1989 Jory got a cuddly, soft brown stuffed bear, with a red bowtie. He was only $10. I thought he would help Jory sleep better and could be his pal. At three going on four years old or maybe a year older, age really mattered to Jory. He love the bear and packed him around a lot, or just let him sit on his bed, during the day when he ran to play. At night all was quiet as they slept together. Sometimes the bear would sit up to eat meals or ride in the wagon. One day Jory asked us how old his bear was. That was thoughtful question for a child. Knowing the bear was brand new for Christmas, we told Jory he was zero years old. That answer satisfied our little three year old. But now, the bear needed a name. Everyone gave suggestions from big sisters, to parents and so on. Jory couldn't decide what to call his bear. Because he couldn't pick a name for the bear, he chose to call him Zero. And Zero it has been for twenty-five years.

As Jory got older, Zero got less and less attention. In time, he was moved to the toy box. Zero didn't even complain. What a great sport he was. Later he went to the playroom to sit on the beds. For some reason when the time came to clean out the toy box, Zero was passed over. Many other stuffed animals, bears, monkeys and such that were cuter than Zero, went to new homes via the Deseret Industries. The big squishy bear stayed. Maybe it was because he had a name and was part of the family. Now the next generation has taken to sleeping with and packing Zero around. I guess we will let him stay as long as he is needed. One day little Max, Jory's own son, will ask, "How old is Zero?" We will say, "Real Old! Almost as old as your dad!"

A Prime Example

Jory has Amazon Prime. It has come in handy this year, when waiting too long before ordering gifts that possibly wouldn't arrive before Christmas. Using Prime gets them there in two, maybe three days. Thanks Jor, for letting us use it, too.

It has kept us out of the hot seat. We like it. Hopefully you will, too. Merry Christmas.

Both Jory and Sarah have been prime examples of how to do Christmas and stay sane. We are learning.

Museum of Natural Curiosity-MMMmm!

With the generous $100 from Allan, I accompanied the Stevenson clan to the Museum of Natural Curiosity during their visit. For four hours we were introduced to five areas that tickled our senses.

They were the Rainforest, Waterworks, Scientific feats, Kidopolis and Discovery Garden.

Everything was 'hands on'. Each person could touch, feel, experience, climb, jump and enjoy to their hearts content. The marquis sign has the words, 'Mine Craft', that Kade made, by using the letter squares. Some adults sitting on a bench down below, read it, chuckled and commented on it.

In Jungleland several rope bridges had to be crossed. Here Emma is afraid to step out onto it. Mom is telling her, 'It is the only way back.' Eventually she made it across and into the waiting plane. Noah had no problem climbing up and across the rope bridges. The boys really had fun on the elastic tree canopy. Three or four stories high one climbed onto the top one and gradually slipped from one section down to the next as the elastic cables stretched wide and they dropped through.

We spent an exciting day at the Museum and vowed to return again for another go at it. Because there is always curiosity enough to go around many times. Smiles took us home.

Never Too Old for The Trampoline

Breann really got into the action on the trampoline recently. You would think she was a teen again, with the high flying jumps and antics. I couldn't resist to click several photos and laughed hard at how comical she was.

It's not often we can relax and let our hair down enough to really enjoy the moment. Allan and Henry can be seen in the background returning from visiting the neighbor's dog. Which Henry loves and is now saying, 'Dog!' All the while, Breann was jumping wildly and loving it.

Our twenty nine year old trampoline has served us well. Breann was five years old when we got it for Christmas. Many hours of fun, friendships forged, stress released and games were enjoyed on it with siblings, friends and neighbors.