Super Bowl Sunday! What fun. We didn't really care about either team this year, so my crew (as is usually the case when we don't care about the teams playing) cheered for the Cinderella team - Arizona. We (like many others I'm sure) went through several stages during the game - but for me, the highlight was when 2 of our grandchildren decided to entertain us at half time. I hope you enjoy the show!

Let me just say - I love Christmas! It's not about presents, although
those are nice. It's really about family for me, and not just another day together - we really like
each other!
Christmas eve traditionally has been to have all of Clem's siblings, their children, and their children here. We draw names according to age (it gets harder every year because we are still adding). I think we are up to 87 people. My basement family room gets more crowded every year, and I don't care. I know it sounds crazy, but it is the only time we get to see some of the kids, and I actually enjoy having them. Unlike Thanksgiving, where people come and go, on Christmas eve we have at least hours of family togetherness. Grandpa always gave a short talk on the true meaning of Christmas, and then we started with gifts from youngest to oldest.
This year, since Earl passed away, was a little different. Grandma spoke about Christmas not being about the gifts, and a year they had a very poor Christmas but it was still a good Christmas. Anyway, it was so nice to have everyone here, even if they trickle up the stairs for places to sit. I kept complaining that my camera (that goes with me everywhere by the way), wouldn't take pictures fast enough to get the great faces and poses the little ones gave. Also, people were moving about and frequently got in the way of the picture as the camera finally took it.
Well, that problem has been taken care of. Christmas morning I was given a new SLR digital camera! Hopefully by next Christmas I will know how to use it! It came with 2 DVD's to explain, 2 books, and a "quick guide" that makes absolutely no sense to me. Clem doesn't understand it either, so we are in trouble. I'll have to get my nephew - a professional photographer, to teach us!

I'm including a few pictures from Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning. Enjoy - and I hope every one had a very merry Christmas!

favorite child -I don't think so!

So my son Jon, who works for computer frontline support at IHC was helping a physician at my old office today and asked if the physician knew me. Duh, of course he knows me - however, we are not each other's favorite people, so when he found out Jon was my son, he started asking questions. He only asked questions that the correct answer would have been Jeremiah, but Jon didn't want to embarrass him, so he just said yes to one of the questions. Thus, Jon has decided that Jer is my favorite. Let me just say - for the record - My grandchildren are my favorite! My kids are wonderful, but not near as much fun as the grandkids (since my kids were never this cute). However, also for the record, I love each of my children - not always equally. It depends on my mood, or who I've seen most recently.

Jim - the oldest, has always had a plan, and swayed the family to do things his way. He has lots of fun, and lots of energy, and I could never hope to keep up with all that he likes to do. He has great strengths and patience (you have to have patience when you are the father of Laine "the hurricane"). He deserves Laine, because she is so strong willed (like him) and now he is getting a taste of how we as his parents spent his childhood - more fun to come Jim, just wait! It's a good thing Jim and Marie have Romney to even things out a bit - although he has his moments too. What a sweet child!

Judianne has always been a lady. (code word for master manipulator) She was a girl from the word go - and we honestly wanted to lock her in a closet at the age of 12 because we knew she would be popular with the boys. She had her moments of giving us grief (who didn't?) but in the long run, she has proven to be steady and strong in all things. She is an awesome mother and at times her children remind me of Jer and Judi as children. Wyatt is so quiet, sweet and caring 99% of the time, then he has moments when he loses his temper without warning or, but calms down quickly and is his old sweet self again. Elizabeth is another little lady. (code word for master manipulator) Judi always tried to keep her brothers under control, and would often initiate "school" at home. I think she still holds "school" with her children. They certainly know a lot. Elizabeth can sing the primary songs right along with Wyatt. Not an easy task for a 19 month old. I'm sure she keeps Ryan on his toes too.

Jeremiah is the passionate one, and the one who lets you know how he feels. His talents and love of music have helped him in many ways. I also think he is the ham of the group (although Jonathan has more of that than you would think). Jer has no qualms about sharing his talents, and will vocalize his dissatisfaction with helping with the computer when he has other things to occupy his time. He is right - I couldn't afford him if I had to pay for his time, so I'm grateful that he so willingly helps his computer illiterate mom. He is also the most willing of my children to help out when asked. He will stick with you until a job is completed and doesn't make you feel guilty about it.

Jonathan has always been the funny one. He can be funny without realizing it, and we have all been kept in stitches at one time or another - "I'm the leprechaun" is a favorite memory along with our camping trips with the "ragman".

Jon is the one who is most likely to do something nice without being asked. He will just step up and do a good deed with no expectation of reward.

Jon can almost be defined by sports. He has always been a sports nut and was on winning football teams through little league and High School. While too small to play much he was an important part of the team. He was almost the “Rudy” of the Olympus High team. His coach would use him as an example, telling other team members that if they had Jon’s heart they would be great players. He also added to my own love of sports – as long as Jon was playing, it made it that much better. The years he played baseball were the only years I enjoyed the sport on a regular basis. I’m glad he loved basketball and football.

Ali will have her hands full keeping up with Jon's love of sports, but she seems to handle it well.

So - sorry kids, I don't really have a favorite - if you were to ask me under oath, I couldn't name a favorite. You all have your place, and I'm glad to claim you all! (spouses included)- Mom

Thanksgiving weekend

I joined facebook on a dare from a co-worker. Now I'm getting all kinds of email from old friends! It's really fun, but I'm really bad at facebook. So for now, I'll just keep doing these blogs and if my facebook friends want to see pictures or whatever, I know how to do that here.

My daughter Judi and I went shopping at 4 am on Black Friday. We got lots of bargains and had lots of fun. It has been a long time since we found time to shop together without kids (hers) and even though we had to forgo sleep, it was worth it. I'm adding a picture of the line at Kohls - but I'm still figuring out how my camera works (I've only had it a year or so), so the flash didn't work well.

Then there was tonight - I got hit by a 16 year old who was turning left and didn't wait for me to clear the intersection! My poor car looks terrible, but no major body damage, so that is good. I felt worse for him than for me. At least he has a grandfather who can fix his car. I guess it's a good thing my mom has a car I can use (can you believe it - usually we are the one's loaning out cars, now I have to borrow one!).

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I'm really not looking forward to going back to work already - oh well........

The BIG Game!

At our house the BIG game is always a party. Everyone dresses for the team they are cheering for and nobody gets mad or angry (except Jon, when we are all talking and he misses something - thank heavens for DVR). Anyway, even the grand kids get into it - whether they care or not. Attached are a few pictures of our fun. And of Course at the end of the game - the Y flag got turned upside down. You'd think our neighbors are used to this by now - but we still get lots of questions.

seniors

So Clem and I aren't exactly "Seniors" yet, but because Clem is in the Bishopric, we were included in the "Senior" dinner. We took my mom, but Grandma Jackson was too sick to go. The talent show from the youth was almost as good as the food. We had a lot of fun, and I got a lot of great pictures for our next neighborhood newsletter. Besides - it is amazing what you'll do for a free dinner!

Voting Day

So I drove past the place to vote several times last week - so I could vote early. No such luck. I couldn't park within a block and decided it wasn't worth standing in line 2 hours to vote early. Thus, this morning (November 4th) I decided to go to the poll early and vote before work, rather than standing in line after work. When I got there - it was about 6:20 am and they were getting all set up. They had a lot of chairs and another person was there before me, so I sat with him to visit (he is in my stake). The guy that appeared to be in charge decided at 6:45 that he should just open the poll early and let us all get to work - but another person stated quite loudly that it isn't legal to open the polls early (I don't believe it - they've been voting early for 2 weeks now, what's 15 minutes?). Anyway, the girl next to me is a real blogger. She had someone take a picture of all of us waiting there at 6:45 in the morning so she could put it on her blog (maybe I'll look, I think it was Rosanderfam@blogspot.com). Anyway - she saw my camera in my purse ( I always take it with me - you never know when you might need a picture these days). She put me to shame with her - "don't you want to save this for posterity? How can you have a camera and not use it?" So I took a picture of the poll people taking the oath to serve the constitution just as they were all putting their hands down.
I got to work 30 minutes late.
Jer stopped to vote on his way home tonight - about 5 pm. No one was there. He didn't even have to wait in line!
Moral - Just go after work on voting day - forget all this "voting early to avoid the crowds" crap!
Notice the guy in Green shorts. We called him the "cheerleader" He said if he didn't wear shorts he would be entirely soaked in sweat by the end of the day. He also announced that your red "I voted" sticker was good for a free cup of coffee at Star Bucks. I asked if Star Bucks knew that and he just grinned. Someday, you'll all have to go vote before the poll opens and watch them get ready - it was quite entertaining!