The Towner family arrived at our Lake home Sunday evening to spend the end of the year 2024 with us. We are few in numbers in our family New Years Eve gathering this year. Thomas family are on trip to Cancun Mexico, Burbidge family back in St George. Chaudhry family and Noriega family staying home this year. So it is us and the Towner family bringing in the new year together. we spend the day Monday hanging inside. They were going snow skiing but it was to crowed and came back home. They all got up early this morning to get out the door early to put a day of snow skiing in. They have been gone all day. I know they are going to be really tired when they get home. They are going to have rest in order to make it to midnight this year. Craig has come down sick with a bad cold. He had a rough night last night. I'm hoping to avoid it. I came down really sick last year on my birthday so hope and pray it is not a repeat of illness this year. I have had a healthy year, have not been sick since the beginning of the year 2024.. Looking forward to another year of good health and lose some weight. We both are at our all time high and need to loose. This will be our new year goal for the year to get some weight off. My half brother Scott just called me to wish me Happy Birthday. We had a very nice visit on the phone. I have had time to work on my blog today with the Towner's gone for the day. I just found out that Blog2print went out of business as of May 2024. I was wondering why I was not getting their printing coupons in my emails. So now I've got to take the time to find a new company to print my blog thru. I need to print 2023 and 2024. My blog app has not worked on my phone this past year so I have to go thru my 2024 blog enteries and add pictures which I like to have in my blogg. I need to take the time to find a new blogg app that works on my phone and a new blog company to print my yearly blog into book format. I have been doing the same process for 10 years now. Crazy home fast the years go by. Things to change over time. It is challenging keeping up with the changes over the years. It is a new learning curve for me. So this will be a project for me the month of January to upload my photos in my 2024 blog and figure out how to print the past two years and how to go forward. I need to take the time to finish working on my YSA history on the church website too. I have lots of recording to work! We plan to go watch the brunning of the town square Christmas and watch fireworks bring in the new year of 2025.
Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Sunday, December 29, 2024
YSA End of the Year 2024
YSA December Highlights 2024
December 3rd- Gourmet Nachos & games tonight @7 at Pres. Symes home 2630 N Bear Lake Blvd. Come hang out & enjoy some of the best nachos you’ll ever have! Jackson Pratt cooked us all a very yummy dinner. I do have to say they are the best nachos I have ever had! We enjoy eating and visiting together one another- I had short notice preparing our home for Christmas- I had to work fast decorating what I could and clean our home in time for our gathering.
December 13th -Story teller Glenn Rawson speaks tonight @7 the Oregon Trail Center Rides: Mark leaves Visitor Building @6:15 & Paris @6:35. Ice cream after- Everyone had a great time. I wa,s not able to attend, Craig drove up and back from our Draper home to attend. He said they all greatly enjoyed the event.
Brother and Sister Droesbeke, Kyle Cazier in the back peaking, Josh England, Dusin, Glen kneeling in front, Brandon in the blue shirt, Christ Smoot behind him, Karen Barlow, Lindsey Wahlburg, Jackson Pratt and Brother Smoot, President Symes taking the picture.
December 15th- We have had a nice day at church today. We had alot of YSA visitors- so it upped our attendance. Sister Smoot fixed us a yummy linger longer dinner. She served Café Rio style. We had our stake president visit today- President Jensen -he always gives such an inspirational message. Enjoyed his closing remarks.
Brother and Sister Smoot
YSA Young Men, Brother Modock Earley, Brother Josh England and Brother Kyle Cazier
Eating a yummy dinner
Saturday, December 28, 2024
Symes Family Christmas Party
We had a fun family party this year. It was hosted at
Natasha’s home two day after Christmas. Everyone was there except Austin
on his mission and Cole and Chase. Burbidge’s drove up from St George and
Towner family flew in from California. It has been years since we have
been able to get most of them together all at one time. Craig and I
planned two fun games that the Grandkids all enjoyed. We all had fun
playing the white elephant game exchange too.
We had fun laughs as the gifts were exchanged. Our Kids surprised us
with a Pickleball slinger- it’s a machine to practice our pickleball returns
and improve our hitting skills. We are excited to try it out.
Shannon gave me an infer red light that she has been using and loves it.
Natasha gave me a new steam curler set so I can have one at both our
homes. I have loved this set I got from my mother. Natasha also
gave me two new pairs of Ivy City shoes. I fixed a ham and scalloped potatoes-
each of the girls brought a side dish. It was all yummy. They also
all sang happy birthday to me with my birthday coming up on Jan. 1st.
I so enjoyed our family party this
year. It worked out great having it a few days later. Looks like
this will be the plan for the years to come. They all enjoyed having
their family time at their homes on Christmas. We are so blessed as a
family- the Towner family came to our Draper home last night-I took Stacy and I
to the Ivy City showroom this morning to shop their end of the year sale.
Stacy had not been to her show room yet. I found 4 dresses I liked
for my birthday this year on clearance. I love them. Craig and I
packed up to herd back to the lake. We had 4 days to enjoy at our Draper
home. Friday afternoon we played two hours of pickleball with Mike and
Jodie- it was a fun outing for us- we had to hurry home to get the food
ready for our family party. We arrived back to our lake home tonight Saturday
evening. Craig wanted to be back before
dark to watch the big BYU game. They won and played so well. After
the game we had to go clean the church. I have to get up early to make
sliders for our ysa linger longer. We will have snow by morning- it has
started snowing. Towner family is arriving tomorrow afternoon for a few
days to enjoyed some winter snow ⛄️ which is nice that it snowing
tonight.
Tuesday, December 24, 2024
/ Our Dating Anniversary/ Christmas Eve
December 21st 2024, Craig and I Celebrated our 53 dating anniversary. We have been so very blessed. Our life together has been better than i could have ever dreamed. I love my dear husband with all my heart. We have created a lovely family together and have so many adventures. We are enjoying our time living at the lake. It has taken me many years to adjust, but I"m finally feeling more like home. It is so beautiful here. I do miss being closer to our grandchildren. We do keep the road hot driving back and forth to the many activities supporting them and enjoying their events. I love our family dearly and they are my life. Our lives would be empty without them. We drove back to the lake Friday the 20th and had a lovely dinner at Cooper's on the 21st.
We have had a lovely time spending Christmas Eve afternoon and evening with the Noriega family. We met at their new home and then went to an indoor warehouse to play pickleball. Sharlena brought us a yummy dinner. We all had fun playing. So nice to visit with grandma Barbara Noriega. The grandma’s did ok playing pickleball. Craig took the family trophy this year. It was a close competition with Jacob in 2nd place. Aubrey was able to join us. She didn’t have to work at the last minute and surprised us with her joining in our family fun So nice of Sharlena to include us this year in their Christmas Eve. We would have been all alone this year. We’re not hosting Christmas day this year either. The girl's families have all grown to where they are spending the time with their individual families. It was nice to have something to look forward too. I feel a sense of loneliness not seeing my girls on Christmas. As we become older, we are together more and more alone. I decorated our Draper home again this year to have no one come visit. Just me and Craig. I have to make the mental adjustment. We are getting together two days later on December 27th Friday for a family party. I look forward to seeing everyone. Stacy and her family did fly in Christmas day to spend with the in-laws and we will see them all for our family party. They do want to come to lake snow skiing for a few days. We did wake up to snow this morning and Christmas morning it snowing on the mountain bench area. We went to the Thomas home to see the Thomas grandkids open their Santa gifts. The received lots of nice things. Poor Winnston very sick, running a fever just laid on the couch. He was too sick to open any of his gifts. I had invited the Thomas family and Chaudhry family to come to our home Christmas day evening to have potato soup and play games. Chaudhry family ended up not coming with Ashtyn and Landon sick. I talked to Stacy and she has sick kids too. Jacob was sick with a bad cough Christmas eve. This is a sickly this year. So, guess it has been a good thing to not gather on Christmas Day. Hope they are all feeling better by tomorrow evening. Look forward to getting some family time in. It is adjusting as the family grows and the grandkids grow older. I love seeing the family pictures posted of each family on Christmas Eve.
Sunday, December 15, 2024
Stake Christmas devotional/ YSA Chirstmas linger longer
