A Journal-Entry Sunday

We needed to get to SLC for big business last weekend. I almost upset the apple cart by having to attend a meeting that went until 2:30 PM on campus.

Feeling properly chastened by Bubb and Babsy, we arrived in Sugarhouse in time for chicken noodle soup and cornbread. Bubby then announced that what she really wanted to do was to see the lights on Temple Square. Let me preface my remarks by stating that we were not the only people in SLC that had the notion to see the lights on this particular Friday night.

We had planned to park at the Little America and take Traks up to Temple Square, however Little America was packed with people. There was a security guard directing traffic in the parking lot, and we watched him wave several cars in front of us through, not allowing them to park. When he got to us, I told him our intention HAD BEEN to park in their garage, and just then a car pulled out of the parking structure, and he waved us in! We came in separate cars, and we thought for sure that Babs and Bean would not be so lucky and would have to park on the street. However, once we reassembled, it turned out that the same thing happened to them.



Of course we had to go through the lobby of the hotel and listen to the carol singers and see the decor. Jake and Kate paused for a photo-op.

Temple Square was pretty covered up. We probably didn't spend as much time there as Bubby wanted to, but it was plenty for me, and twice too much for Chee and Maggie. When we returned to the Little America, we stopped for dessert and hot chocolate in the hotel. Jake got to pick one of the three desserts, and he was agonizing over his choices. He saw something called a "chedda budda brownie", and after some thought, he decided to pull the trigger. It turned out to be a peanut butter, cream cheese brownie that was more like cheese cake than anything else. He was very happy with his choice.



Saturday was filled with birthday celebrations for Babs, shopping and preparing, and lunch out at Michelangelo's Italian Restorante, right in Babsy's neighborhood. The photo above is the reason for our trip north. Jake was sustained and ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood on Sunday. We are so proud of him, and the fine young man that he has become. He will be passing the sacrament next Sunday for the first time.

We had a nice luncheon following the events (cheese fondue and 24 hour roast beef sandwiches). Jake had good support from his two sets of grandparents, his cousin Jason and family, Daniel and Rosalyn and family, and his ward family. His great Auntie Carolyn even sent her best wishes. During the actual ordination, I repeatedly had the impression that Grandpa Lumpy and Granny were there, proud as punch, taking in the scene. It was a very pleasant and lingering thought.

Following the luncheon, Bubb and I drove home to Cedar City. We love our family! We're so glad we were able to be in attendance at the ordination of our oldest grandson.

Buboppy

Just for Our Jake

Because he was expecting Our Jake to be in attendance, Jon brought two of his adorable Britteny pups, just to be held. They are super cute, as you can see. There are nine in this litter, and the entire litter is sold. If you are looking for a quality pup, check out Jon's website. He'll be glad to talk to you, but you better move fast. These things are in-demand.



Josh with the little girl pup. She is super sweet.



Evelyn was really curious about the pups, but a little reluctant to get too close. After a lot of talking, Bubby was able to get her share Bubby's lap with the puppy. You can tell by her expression she is still pretty uneasy with the entire concept.



This is the little boy pup, and he was fat. We were wondering if they could be away from Mom this long, and Jon just said he brought the fattest two for the occasion.

Buboppy

PS Jake, wish you could have been there. You are the "Puppy-Whisperer".

The Families at Dutch Christmas

This was a T-shirt year for Dutch Christmas, we were all "powered by mousies".

I won't bother to mention names over the internet. As I said previously, if you weren't able to be at this event, you were missed! It was quite a party.

Dutch Christmas, 2012

I want our readers to know that this is a daunting task. I took a ton of photos at this year's celebration, some good, many not so good. Due to the limitations of the Blogger interface, I am not going to bother putting all of the images in chronological order. I'll just post the photos and give a brief synopsis. Let me just say that this was a great Dutch Christmas, and all of our family members that were unable to attend were sorely missed. We love you all!



Daniel and Rosalyn were in charge of organizing the program that accompanied our celebration this year. They entertained us with a rousing rendition of Rudolph, including a verse written by Rosalyn specifically for this event. They will go down in history for sure (Like Columbus!).



Auntie Nell and Uncle Rol, with the able assistance of the chime holders presented "Sinter Klass kapoentje".



I just love this kid, but Diggy spends a lot of time being plain old cranky. What a funny little guy.



Kelsey played a lovely rendition of "Up on the Housetop!"



Jackson (or is it Jaxon?) was part of the resplendent Father Christmas play, dressed as Sint, himself.



Brent's youngest, Tony, stole the show during their handbell performance. If time it was his note, they would patiently wait for him to ring, and then the song would move forward. He is a cute little guy.



Sint is mounted on his beautiful white horse for the trip through town. Note Zwarte Piet in the background.



Eric demonstrated proper wooden shoe loading in preparation for Sint's annual visit.



Kat as Sint's beautiful white horse. Now you know who the carrots are for.



The entire cast of the play, including Uncle Jim as the narrator. A wonderful performance.



A close up of Zwarte Piet (aka Ammon). He was loving the spotlight.



Hannah recited some classic poetry. She is getting so tall, and is a very accomplished fishe-woman. That makes us kindred spirits.



Max also recited. I hardly recognize him without his cast or his hop.



The Sim Fam Six, during the early stages of their presentation. Lots of fun.



Because there was a microphone, there were several impromptu acts, including Joshua.



The best pat of this photo is looking at the expressions on the family's faces. It is obvious that they ALL enjoy Cody, the proclaimed end of the line.



Because no one else who could was around or willing, Rosalyn pitched in during some impromptu carol singing.



Now there is a smile on Diggy's face. I guess all he needs is a mic.



My old pal, Sam. Love this boy.



Not to be outdone, Miss Sarah gets into the act.



Auntie "B" also pitched in, impromptu, and led us in the carols.



Because the annual children's parade was cancelled due to awful weather, we had a lot more gathering time at the church than was originally planned. Flo entertained the kids like a trooper while the rest of the cousins arrived.



Miss Sarah arrived in full costume, and Uncle Rol, couldn't resist the opportunity to have a photo opportunity with her.



Another shot of the games in progress. What a fun time the cousins all had.

I have broken this post up into pieces, so as not to overwhelm.

Buboppy

Left Over From Thanksgiving

When I dumped all of the Dutch Christmas photos, I found this jewel, which I had forgotten. Bubby is just enjoying a little quality Clara time between the projects she and Babsy were working on.

She is such a cute little girl.

Buboppy

The Holidays Have Begun

I do have a few photos, which I will post as soon as I am near them and a computer at the same time.

As our readers will note, we have been enjoying the company of Laur, Leeg, and Clara for a about ten days now. However, on Friday night, Booty arrived in Las Vegas, and we got to have the fun of picking him up at the airport. Bubby, Dan, and I drove down after work on Friday. Bubby and Dan had an In-n-Out on the way. (Can't bring myself to do it. Maybe someday!) We had enough time in Las Vegas to make a stop at Trader Joe's for a few necessities, you know, things like giant Belgian chocolate bars and dark chocolate, turbinado sugar, and sea salt covered almonds. You know, the basics.

We only pushed homeward as far as St. George where we all crashed in the condo. I don't know how the boys slept (Booty in the princess bed, Dan on the couch), but of course Bubby and I were at home for all intent and purposes, so we zonked.

Next morning, Dan had to get home to begin what was a pretty wild Saturday for his family. If you haven't read about it, check out Evestigation. Bubby, Booty and I went to the Golden Corral for our favorite breakfast buffet. Bubb and I shared a great omelet, and I shamelessly consumed three biscuits (we brought our own plum jam in anticipation of just that possibility). We were home a little after 9:00, and Leo was super happy to see his Dad. They're pretty good buddies as it turns out.

Bubb and I did make the dance recital (we got one or two pictures to prove it), and spent the rest of the day doing fall chores. We tried our hand at jalapeno jelly-making and while we got some delicious green syrup out of the deal, we will need to try again before we can say we know how. We did do a follow up batch yesterday, and it looks like it might be closer to jam. Long story, if you're curious, ask us about it.

Once it warmed enough, we moved outside. I finally got my sprinklers winterized and pulled the tomato plants out of the garden Once we get the BBQ put away and the hammock into its bag, we'll be ready for winter. Bubby decided to take on the forsythia and lilac bushes and she did herself proud. They are officially "hat racked". We had a truck load of detritus so we stopped by Big K's and picked up Leo and Booty for an outing to the dump. Leeg didn't get out of the truck, but he got to take the whole adventure in. Our dump trips with the Grands always end with a Frosty from Wendy's, which is the part they like best.

We all (Dan and Fam, Booty and Fam, and Bubb) went to Bruno's for dinner. Bubb and I shared a combo calzone, and we just enjoyed watching the kids.

Sunday was about what one would expect, except, we had everybody, including Big K over for dinner at 5:00 PM. Bubby made a big lasagne and we had our favorite antipasto salad. The kids liked the spumoni ice cream that was desert the best, but they ate pretty well. Leeg and Clara are really good eaters.

We retired to the living room and after some play with the toys, we launched a brief game of Bula Bula and even played a little Gossip. Watching Leo when it was his turn to be "it" was a real treat. He got pretty excited about the whole thing. We'll do it again.

Simple pleasures are the best, as far as we're concerned.

Buboppy

Guess who came to dinner?

I took the photos with my phone, so they are not the greatest, but we had dinner with Leggy, Clara, Laur, and Big K last night. The PF did themselves proud. It was sure fun to see the kids. They are too cute.





Buboppy

The Lost Texas Photos and Halloween in Cedar City

I realize that this is old news, but, when I downloaded the Halloween photos this morning, I thought I would post the Texas State Fair photos, too. We had such a fun time there with Booty and Laur and the kids. We got to see a dog acrobat show, see Leo participate in a "rodeo" and visit the animals. Best of all, we saw everything in the world, fried, and for sale. How does fried butter sound to you? You can get it at the Texas State Fair.



Cute Clara looking a the animals through the bars. She is such a good baby. Always ready with a smile and fun to be around.



The weather had turned for our fair day, so things were a little chilly after a fast moving front had passed through. Here are Bubby and Leeg out of the wind and enjoying a little sunny spot.



This is supposed to be the largest Ferris wheel in the world and we saw Booty, Laur and Leo take a ride on it. I am not sure how enthusiastic Leo was to be that far off the ground, but he survived.



This is the object of our quest, here is Big Tex welcoming everyone to the Fair and wearing some really large Dickies clothing (they were an official sponsor of the Fair, must be a Texas company).



We did fun into one Johnny at the Fair. Booty and Laur just before getting on the Ferris wheel.



And this fans is what you have been waiting for. We had exactly four groups of Trick or Treaters last night, and this was one of them. We got some great of poses of Mev, but this one is the most tame. Didn't her Mom do a great job on her face?



Drewfy had a mask instead of face paint, but wasn't wearing it in this photo. He casts a pretty mean web, however. It was great to to the kids. They were all fired up, must be the excitement of candy and a bag.

Right after this visit, Bubby and I went to watch the Lady T-Birds in their first basketball game of the season. It is a young team and they play pretty up-tempo. There was plenty of excitement before they finally beat the Red Storm of Dixie State College of Utah. Dan joined us for the second half and prepared a lecture while he kept tabs on the game.

Buboppy

Dallas in October

We arrived in Dallas late on Friday night, but otherwise unscathed. Of course the kids were in bed asleep, so we didn't get to see them until the next morning.




Leo loves his bank, in which there is some serious change. He likes to dump it all out on the floor, then replace the lid and put all of the money back through the slot. A tedious process.



We have really been enjoying see Miss Clara. Her little personality is starting to show, and she is too cute, and quite delicious in general.

We had a fun Saturday that included breakfast at a Jewish Deli and Restaurant, some grocery shopping (it was Saturday after all), a trip to a middle eastern bakery to buy pita bread still warm from the oven, some tasty but scary looking rice pudding and a shared falafel sandwich, and finally a Tex-Mex dinner at Chuys.



We decided to go to the Dallas Arboretum to see the fall pumpkin display and take a few photos. We had a wonderful time, the arboretum was beautiful, and full of people so lots of interesting things to see.

We got a few good photos, but the kids weren't particularly cooperative. I am sure Laur got some better images than I was able to get with our little travel camera.



You can see that it was struggle to get both kids paying attention at the same time.



Miss Clara wouldn't smile, but she sure looks pretty in polk-a-dots in the middle of all of those pumpkins.

We had a nice middle eastern pita sandwich and fennel slaw for our dinner. It was yummy. Then we walked the neighborhood. Tomorrow, the Texas State Fair.

Buboppy