New Pictures

These are updated pictures of the kids for 2011

Luke, 14 years old

Lindsey, 12 years old

Heather, 10 years old

Savannah, 8 years old



Matthew, 5 years old



Christmas at Temple Square

We always spend time at Temple Square at Christmastime.  It is a magical place and we always feel the Spirit.  With singing performances and violin performances we get to feel Christmas spirit at Temple Square in so many ways.  What a blessing it is to live this close to the temples.

Gingerbread Kids 2011

We had three of the kids participate in Grandma's singing group this year.  Heather, Savannah and Matthew joined the Gingerbread Kids for the Christmas season.  They had fun performing at the various venues.  Heather had her biggest solo this year and did a fabulous job.  Savannah and Heather got to sing together a couple of times and Savannah had a solo part in one song.  Matthew got to sing a line or two at the microphone.  It's always fun to watch the littlest ones perform because they do funny things.  Matthew was pretty comfortable on stage, in fact, a couple of times he seemed to fall asleep but the girl behind him would always direct him in what he should be doing.  Heather and Savannah were next to each other on the back row and had a lot of fun dancing and performing.  It was a good season.

A Yardley Thanksgiving

We had a real treat this year for Thanksgiving.  It is a rare occasion that we have all of my siblings together for Thanksgiving, and this year we got to do that.  It all started with the Lawrences heading to England over the Christmas holiday.  This meant that they would be coming to Utah for Thanksgiving instead of their annual Christmas trip.  Because our home was finally finished, I invited everyone here for the big day.  I was talking to Nicole on the phone and told her everyone was coming here and said she should come too.  I was surprised when she answered that maybe they would.  Schedules were checked, tickets were bought, plans were made, and we were able to pull it off--getting everyone together for Thanksgiving.

It was a fun filled week for the cousins.  In fact, it seems I hardly saw the kids because they were always playing or heading out for some activity.  At nights the kids found a bed, a couch, or a spot on the floor to sleep.  It really was a lot of fun watching them interact with each other.

My sisters, mom and I had fun planning the menu, shopping, cooking and hanging out together.  We had to do the Black Friday sales which I have decided are not worth it.  Around 3:00 am I think I started to lose my sanity and promised myself I was done with Black Friday.  It was definitely a memorable experience but I'm not sure I want to repeat it.  Of course, no trip is complete with my dad without a trip to Smith and Edwards.  That's how I convince him to come up here and see us.  There's always a treasure to find in that massive store, it just takes a while to dig through the junk to get to it.  It's always an adventure going there with my dad.

With everyone together, we made an attempt at a family picture.  It's not easy getting everyone together and coordinated and cooperating but we were able to pull off a portrait for the wall, a rememberance of this holiday that we got to share.

Savannah Gets Baptized

The first part of November started out with Savannah's baptism.  It is always a special day when there is a baptism.  Savannah was so excited.  She had had her interview with the bishop and was ready to go. 

We showed up at the stake center with just a few minutes to spare, only to find out we had been told the wrong time for our ward baptisms.  I was grateful we were actually early instead of late.  Instead of having a few minutes to spare, we had half an hour to spare.  The time mixup actually worked to our advantage as we had the first snowfall of the season that morning which made the roads hard to travel on.  Everyone who thought they were late because of the weather actually made it on time.

We had a lot of family and friends join us for this day.  We were grateful to share this day with them.  I know it meant a lot to Savannah to have so many cousins there.  We all headed back to our home to visit and have brunch.  Spending time together with everyone definitely makes the day more memorable.

The next day, Savannah was invited to go to the front of the congregation during Sacrament Meeting to be welcomed into the ward.  When she had had her interview with James he had asked her to share an Article of Faith when she was welcomed.  Savannah picked Article of Faith number 4.  She practiced it for two weeks-- everyday she would want to recite it to me to make sure she had it just right.  When she went to the front, she was welcomed by a new member of the bishopric who was more nervous than she was because it was his first time conducting.  He forgot to invite her to share the Article of Faith.  Savannah came back, sat down, and burst into tears.  She had so badly wanted to share the Article of Faith.  As I comforted her, I couldn't help think how most people get nervous and dread talking in Sacrament Meeting but Savannah was upset that she didn't get to speak.  I hope she never loses that enthusiasm and I'm sure she'll always remember the 4th Article of Faith.

Halloween

Halloween is different as your kids get older.  We had fewer trick-or-treaters going out from our family.  Luke and Lindsey had plans with their friends so it was just Heather, Savannah, Matthew and I.  We were lucky to have great weather that night.  In fact, I don't remember a Halloween night that was so mild.  Heather was a spider witch with spider webs in her hair and her face painted white with spider webs.  Savannah was a dead witch princess and Matthew was a knight.  We bought Matthew some pajamas in England that look like a knight costume and he wore that so essentially he was trick-or-treating in his pajamas.  I can't think of a more comfortable way to do it. 

The kids were determined to do the whole three blocks of our neighborhood.  We always set out to get all the houses around us but we never do because there are too many and the kids get tired.  We made it further than we have before but still haven't done the whole neighborhood. 

The night before Halloween we had a spooky Halloween dinner with pumpkin stew.  Of course, it was candlelight.  It seems that whenever you turn out the lights and eat by candlelight the kids think everything is so much better.  That was probably my favorite part of Halloween this year was sitting around the table laughing together.

We also renewed our annual neighborhood Halloween party this year.  We had to take a break last year because of construction but we were excited to host again this year.  It didn't seem quite as crowded as it usually is.  There were some who couldn't come but I realized it was actually because we have quite a bit more space for everyone to spread out in.  We look forward to doing it again next year.

This year, I got a real treat for Halloween.  There is a home we would drive by on the way to dance the last few years.  This home always had the best yard decorations.  Lindsey and I were driving somewhere at the end of September and saw signs for a yard art sale.  I thought it must be this house as it was the only place I knew that had yard art.  We took a detour and sure enough it was this home.  The artist is Val Bagley (he does a lot of illustrated childrens' church books.)  He was selling his stuff because he wanted to do more for his yard.  We browsed his selection and picked out a few items.  I saw a cartoon he had drawn in his garage.  I mentioned that I thought it would be cool to have that done life-size for my yard.  He told me he had always wanted to do that picture and he would do it for me for a good price.  I quickly took him up on the offer.  I was surprised when he told me he could have it done in a few days.  I was expecting at least a month.  The witches turned out even better than I expected. 

Matthew turns 5

Happy Birthday Matthew!  This was the first year Matthew really got into his birthday.  Having Savannah's birthday a few days before his set the tone.  In fact, he had reached the age where he was kind of sulky during Savannah's birthday because he wanted it to be his birthday.  I think all of my kids have done that at some point.  The anticipation for his birthday was really building for him this year.  This was also the first year he got to have a party with his friends.

Matthew started the morning with a pumpkin pancake, inspired by IHOP.  He quickly ate and it was on to presents.  His favorite present was the same as Savannah's-- a pillow pet.  He also got a family of dinosaurs that he really liked.  He wasn't too thrilled about the clothes but he needed them because he has grown a few inches.

Matthew's party was also a costume party but was much smaller than Savannah's.  He only invited six friends which was great.  Matthew had picked out what kind of cake he wanted.  He saw a picture online of a bubbling brew cake.  I had found some chocolate balls wrapped in foil eyeballs at the grocery story.  As I was putting on the finishing touches to his cake, he saw the eyeballs and was not impressed.  He informed me that those eyeballs were not the same as he had seen in the picture of the cake he wanted.  He wanted bigger eyeballs.  I was surprised he was so upset and particular.  Wanting to make the birthday boy happy, I quickly ran to the store in search of bigger eyeballs.  The best I could come up with was ping pong balls that we colored on.  Five minutes before guests were arriving we were putting eyeballs on the cake.  I look forward to when he is older and I can tease him about being so particular. 

The highlight of his party was the pinata.  I don't know what it is about whacking some cardboard but kids love it!  I was grateful we had nice weather so we could do it outside.  We had one mishap when the youngest guest didn't quite understand the rules and picked up the bat and started swinging while kids were trying to gather candy.  As you can guess, one guest was hit in the face.  It put a damper on things but he recovered when I told everyone they could go downstairs and play video games.  

I kept telling Matthew that he couldn't turn five, that he had to stay four forever.  As his birthday got closer he would ask me if he could please turn five so he could have a birthday and then he would stay five forever.  He is so sweet.  I know that we can't keep them little, we just have to enjoy them and we sure enjoy Matthew

Savannah's 8th Birthday

Savannah had a special birthday this year because she turned 8!  She was very excited for her birthday.  She started the day with breakfast in bed-- well on her bedroom floor.  She has been sleeping in Heather's room so she decided she would sleep with Heather and then have breakfast in her own room.  She opened gifts from us.  I'd like to say her favorite gift was her scriptures but I actually think it was the pillow pet.  I'm sure she'll come to appreciate the value of the scriptures as she studies them and applies them to her life, and after the stuffing falls out of the pillow pet and we take it to the DI!

Savannah had a party later that day with her friends.  It was a costume party which will probably generally be the case because her birthday is so close to Halloween.  She and her friends played quite a few games, did some crafts, and had cake and ice cream.  It was a fun party with a lot of screaming girls.  It sure is nice having Heather and Lindsey around to help with the parties.   We love Savannah and we're grateful to have her in our family.

40th Birthday Trip to England (and Italy)

For my 40th birthday (that's right, I am now the big 4-0)James took me to London to celebrate. I must admit I wasn't as excited about the idea as he was. Those who know me know that flying is not my favorite thing and flying across the ocean is probably my least favorite. It's always a challenge to get the kids' schedules organized and worked out with a babysitter. However, it all came together and we had a great time. I'm grateful James drags me on these trips because I always have a good time once I get there.

We spent most of our time in London. We toured various castles, including the London Tower which is probably the most famous. There is so much history that it is hard to keep it all straight. I thought how grateful I was to live in a fairly young country that hasn't had royal families that I had to learn about in history class. Of course, a lot of their history is our history too as that is where some of our ancestors descend from.

 It was amazing to learn how their civilization progressed through the dark ages and developed to a point that common people were able to be educated and read which led to the eventual translation of the Bible which then led to people gaining their own testimonies and understanding of God which then led to the discovery of America and the eventual coming forth of the Book of Mormon. It is fascinating to see God's hand in the various events that led to the founding and birth of our nation. Not coming from a country that stakes claim to royal blood lines, James and I really enjoyed learning about the various kings and queens and the succession of power amongst the families. I know one of James' favorite adventures was viewing the crown jewels and reading about their significance and ties to Christianity. He has researched some of the ideas he learned there since we've been home. He was really interested in the symbolism of the coronation ceremony.

We also learned how brutal some of those times were. James knows I love Halloween so he scheduled some tours of the London Dungeon and under the London Bridge. Both tours are designed to scare you with tales of torture and spookiness. We also took a walking tour of Jack the Ripper's escapades during the night time. They were all interesting but the best one was the London Bridge. At the end of the tour, you are invited to walk through a type of haunted house area. They had people dressed up chasing us with knives and chainsaws and the likes. James was at the end of the line and was really freaked out when the mock chain saw actually touched him. It was quite entertaining.
In the evenings we caught a couple of plays. I would call them Broadway but that is in New York. They do have a theatre district similar to Broadway in London. We also sampled the local cuisine which I've decided isn't much different than American food-- except for the famous fish and chips. James liked those much better than I did. Towards the end of the week, I couldn't care if I never had fish and chips again.

We did take a few trips out of the city. We visited Windsor Castle, Oxford, the Cliffs of Dover, and Stonehedge. The countryside was very beautful and was what I pictured England to look like. Oxford was probably my favorite. It is a quaint little town full of students. The actual campus of Oxford was interesting to see. The author of Harry Potter took some of her ideas in describing Hogwarts from Oxford campus and it is easy to see where she got her ideas. Oxford has a unique history in Christianity. They have statues of martyred men who were killed because of their faith and the translator for the first English Bible was educated there. I was most surprised to learn that tuition at Oxford is around $2,000.00 a semester! That is cheaper than BYU! Apparently it is a state school and they aren't allowed to raise tuition without parliament approval.

Stonehedge was basically rocks in a field. You don't get to walk very close to them and from what we learned, no one is quite sure why they are there and what they mean. There is plenty of speculation but no clear answers. I figure we'll all find out in the next life and probably not be that impressed with the answer.

After six days in England, we headed down to Florence, Italy. James was invited to attend a dental conference there. We have been to Florence before so we didn't schedule much time there for ourselves. It was fun to go back and see some new sights we hadn't seen before. James was in dental workshops most of the day and the wives got to take cooking classes. The cooking classes were probably my favorite part. The lady who taught us was great! We learned how to make pastas, sauces, breads, and pizzas. My family is grateful I took those classes too. They love the lasagne that I make entirely from scratch. I reminds me of my Uncle Dale who always made it for us on New Year's.

Each night, we met with the conference goers and had the full blown Italain meal-- six or seven courses, depending on where we ate. It was good food but I will never understand why Italians like to eat so late at night. They begin their meals at lik 9:00 and go to midnight. For us Westerners, it can be very exhausting! Of course, Italy has a lot of interesting history. They are most proud of the artists that descend from the area and the huge cathedrals and sculptures. James and I had seen most of the ones that are in Florence when we were there before but it was fun to walk around the little streets and see the shops. One of our favorite things to do in Italy is try the different flavors of gelato. Most of the Italian experience for me this time around seemed to be the food. James really enjoyed his dental conference and what he learned there and the contacts he made. It was a fun trip and great way to spend my 40th birthday.

 When we got home, Lindsey had organized a surprise party for me. She is so sweet. She called all my friends and invited them and coordinated with James to have some food there. It didn't go exactly as she had envisioned because James didn't quite do his part of having me out of the house, but the gesture was a huge surprise in itself. I am grateful to have such a considerate daughter and will always remember her efforts on my behalf.