The best part of Christmas!

Getting a new puppy for Christmas can't be beat.  It really is great!  But there's one thing that even trumps that.  That is lifting the load of another.

This year we had the wonderful opportunity of meeting a lady named Josephine and her son, Oliver.  They are African refugees who are here in Utah now.  They are truly delightsome people!  I tell you, little Oliver can light up the room with his precious, smiling face.

They were most grateful for any help we could offer.  Our awesome Bonco group got involved and, together, we were able to provide some much needed items for this little family

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Little Oliver really took a liking to Tanner.  They had a great time!

Oliver had some little friends show up to join in the fun!  They were darling as well!

Then we were able to deliver a truck and trailer load of supplies and gifts to them.  Misty and Katherine's families (from the Bonco group) came as well.

Josephine was so very gracious and her smile, along with that darling smile of Oliver, made my whole Christmas season this year!

I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to meet them and hope to continue on with this new friendship.  She works so hard to make ends meet.  I wish them all the very best and thank those involved so very much!

The Christmas Surprise!

So, it's amazing that the cat was not let out of the bag, so to speak.  I could not stop thinking about our fun Christmas surprise for the kids.  Then I kept talking about it...it was just too darn exciting for me!  I felt like a little kid at Christmas--the wait about killed me!

On Christmas morning, after most of the presents were unwrapped (and I really couldn't stand it anymore) Bob went out and brought in the grand finale--a new Yellow Lab puppy we named Roxy.  I wish everyone could have seen Tan, Liz and Zack as they discovered their new little friend that morning!  They shot up and ran to Bob like he had water in a desert!  It was Great!!

Roxy is the cutest little pup you've ever laid eyes on and possibly the most loved puppy around.

Now I'd better run....it seems she is trying to tell me that she wants to give me a little "present" of my own outside right now....

The gift that keeps on giving....

Blackout Game

What a night! Yep, it was a bit of a stressful game and Yep...the Utes pulled through for the win against TCU! This was a huge win since TCU beat BYU this year.

We rushed the field and had a ball, taking pictures with the players, forming a Congo line dancing through the crowds, chanting "BCS" over and over with everyone and doing the huge group high fives.

GO UTES!! 10-0 baby!!!!!

Catching up!!

It has been way too long since my last post! So here you have about four new posts showing things that have happened over the past couple of months. More to come...I really should learn to pace myself...

Pancakes anyone??

This is apparently the kind of thing that goes on Sunday mornings when Mom is still in bed. Oh well, I got to sleep in and the pancake king got to have some fun!!

Snowbird Tram Ride

We went up to Snowbird to take a fun tram ride for our family night. We were surprised to find so much snow already up there (this was over a month ago). It was really pretty and we had a good time checking out the amazing scenery!

Hola Mexico!

We found a killer deal on a cruise over UEA and jumped on board, so to speak. We went on the seven day Mexican Riviera cruise. The ports included Cabo san Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta.
In Cabo, we had a blast parasailing! We all did it and I must admit, I was a bit scared....when my KIDS were up there!! Tan and Liz went up together and absolutely loved it! When I was up in the air, I was contemplating how many sharks were down below and wondering if I could spot any. As I was scoping it out, I saw a huge sting ray gliding by. It was amazing!
We were in Mazatlan for Liz's 11th birthday. We gave her a fun certificate telling her that the next day she would be SWIMMING WITH THE DOLPHINS! She was so excited!
So, in Puerto Vallarta she and I went in with the dolphins and it was awesome!! We got to touch them (including her tongue), hold them, give some commands, and ride around the pool on her belly! That was great.
It was a really fun family trip and we had a great time just being together. The kids loved sharing their own room right next to ours, swimming in the pool and going down the slides, the fun excursions and hanging out together. Good times!!