Jan 2010--50th ANNIVERSARY SURPRISE PARTY!

THE BIG EVENT in JAN. was that the Emma, Adam, and Mark snuck out to Buffalo, New York both to see JEFF, SUE, and CAREN in Buffalo, and to be there in Syracuse for a SURPRISE 50th ANNIVERSARY PARTY for my Dad and Mom (and thanks to Erin for the idea). It all went off without a hitch thanks to Jeff and Sue's hospitality and Caren's terrific planning and it was both a total surprise for Mom and Dad, and a total success in that about 50 of their friends from Syracuse were able to sneak over to their home to surprise them when they came back from dinner with their friends Dino and Annette. Some photos of the advance preparations while they were out:





AND HERE'S PHOTOS and a VIDEO of the MOMENT of SURPRISE and right after the VERY SURPRISED, STILL HAPPILY-MARRIED LOVE-BIRDS ARRIVED!



A BUNCH OF PHOTOS FROM THE PARTY ITSELF and all the GUESTS:









(see next blog entry for more on the party and my parents):

GET WELL, JEFF !!

JEFF:
We made a short but cheery video clip to wish you a speedy recovery and a Happy Christmas! (And even if you have to spend it in the hospital, we hope you are getting better quickly and happy about the great news overall from the surgery today.)
Utah Burnzies

OCTOBER 2009

At the beginning of October on the weekend of LDS General Conference, we drove for two hours while listening to the talks on the radio, then hiked and picnicked during the two-hour break, then drove for another two hours home while listening to more talks. We've discovered this is the only way we get anything from the talks since watching at home on TV is pretty hopeless. So that weekend, we first drove to the Manti Temple about 70 miles south of Provo ...


... and then we went hiking off the Nebo Loop drive -- and the leaves were in full fall colors, as you can see. (The colors here get pretty nice in the mtns, but they'll never quite equal those in New England, alas.)




Two photos of Anna, the second of which is her classic "glare"--she does this when she means to be super-serious about something, of course, but it always comes off as pretty hilarious instead.


And then the other big though sad event of the month: Sam's first haircut in a very long time. Notice the before and after shots:





And finally, four random videos of selected offspring:

SEPTEMBER 2009

Adam and I went to a B.Y.U. football game in September with our friends Lawton and Aidan Smith -- highlights below include Adam sneaking down as close to the goal-line as possible, right next to the security dudes!

Below are highlights from a favorite family pasttime – wrestling! Adam is really great with his younger siblings and knows how to make it fun for them without being too rough. Dad sits around watching while holding a video camera, it appears.

AUGUST 2009

AUGUST 2009 -- Jackson Brown Concert in Park City with George and Amy Handley

JULY 2009--Trip to NEW YORK STATE!

One day we visited Old Fort Niagara with Grammy, Grampy, and Uncle Jeff and Aunt Sue. This is a fort left over from the War of 1812 which sits at the strategic spot where the Niagara River meets Lake Erie on the U.S. side. There are actors/guides all over in historic costumes -- voila the American soldier valiantly defending the fort with his musket ...
... the women growing veggies and doing the wash inside the fort ...
... a guy chopping wood ... ... and a pretty terrifying-looking native guy showing the various indigenous ways to kill and eviscerate your enemies. (Go ahead, try it on your local Yankees or Cowboys fans!)
The view from the fort is spectacular, and you could see way out over Lake Erie from the top of one of the fortifications:
And lastly, Jeff and Sue after we all gathered together as a family to kill, scalp, boil, and eat the Iriquois guide for lunch. Look at that satisfied, post-lunch smile:

JUNE 2009

HIGHLIGHTS of JUNE 2009:
Various short home videos of kids, etc.:









Trip to Clark Planetarium in SLC with kids and Aunt Caren. We saw a very cool 3-D movie (note funky glasses) and Emma got to walk on both the moon and Mars.





Boys Day Out at the annual Free Fishing Day at Utah Lake State Park:





Weekend family picnic with our amigos the Smith's at Vivian Park up Provo Canyon. Anna got naked (which she does when she has any excuse at all to throw off them clothes!) to romp in a creek

Emma climbed into a tree to reread the last volume of Harry Potter:

Erin scolded the papparozzi and reserves future royalities from all reproductions of this image for commercial purposes:


And everyone got to climb onto and into an abandoned box car at the park for photos. (We've decided to move into it for the summer. Last photo below shows us together in our new home.)