Jonathan and Cassidy

Last Sunday was the blessing day of little Jonathan, the newest of the grandbabies. After church, Melissa and Kyle hosted a wonderful lunch in their backyard. It was a dual celebration as it was Cassidy's 3rd birthday that day. She loved her presents and cake.

Alexis Pepper

Today, beautiful little Alexis Pepper was blessed by her father, Jeremy. He gave her such a nice blessing--lots of words of wisdom. Her gorgeous blessing dress was hand smocked and made by our neighbor, Dixie Pulsipher, who does it free of charge. Several of the grandbabies have been lucky enough to be blessed in something lovingly made by Dixie. We are so grateful to her for sharing this wonderful talent.

The happy family:

Baby Quilts

During the past months I have been busy making quilts for all the new babies that have come to our family. Now the last one is completed and Jonathan, Alexis, and Daniel have taken possession of the quilts made by their Grandma Johnson and paid for in part by Great-grandma Kirkham, with lots of love from both.
Daniel's quilt:
Animal Junction

Alexis' quilt:
Slide Show

Jonathan's quilt:
Monkey in the Middle

July 2010

Some of the people we've spent a lot of time with in July:
First of all, the cast of Seussical the Musical. Jim, Jenny, the new grandbabies, and I all got to participate in the show. For once I got to be IN it and I had a blast. We adults all played "Whos" and Jim was also "Yertle the Turtle". The babies played the baby elephant bird that hatches from Horton's egg. What a terrific, talented cast and we were ably led by our equally terrific, talented directors. Thanks to Kristin and Jessica.

We've spent a lot of time with the family at barbecues, parties, and parades. These photos come from the Kaysville and Farmington parades. Love those patriotic specs, Emily and Adam!

James and Emily don't exactly love the sirens.

We spent a fabulous, almost three hours with Paul McCartney in concert. What a great and gracious entertainer. He sounds and looks wonderful. Some of the songs made me tear up a little and for a few hours Jim and I felt young again.

Another trip down memory lane was my 40th high school reunion last weekend. This photo, used for the invitation, is from the cover of my senior year yearbook. (I was one of the editors.) I am the skinny girl toward the bottom of the steps, going up, with my hand on the railing, in case you were wondering. I had a great time renewing friendships and "remembering when". Jim was a good sport to attend with me, but he knew a fair share of these people as he graduated from the same high school a year earlier. Dear old Davis High School...

Reasons to Celebrate

We had many reasons to celebrate last weekend. First reason:
Jonathan Abbott, son of Melissa and Kyle, made a safe entrance into this world. Another darling baby to hold!

Reason #2:

We finally got around to celebrating our May and June birthdays, Emilee, Bonnie, and Stephanie (Ben's celebration took place in early May) and the graduations of Emilee and Danny. It was a perfect evening for a bonfire in the orchard, with just a little rain to help put out the fire at the end of the party.

Reason #3:

The blessing of Daniel Nathan on Sunday. Nate gave him a beautiful blessing and then he and Sam hosted a barbecue in their backyard after church.

We are so blessed in many ways. I love my family and am grateful for each one of them.

May Memo

I have a lot of news to catch up on. The last weeks have been very busy ones. I have to back up to April to announce the arrival of Daniel Nathan, son of Sam and Nate. He is a sweet, calm, and perfect baby.

Our next new little one surprised us with an early arrival a few days ago. Alexis Pepper, daughter of Valerie and Jeremy, is just beautiful and another perfect baby. Now we're anxious for the next one (Melissa and Kyle's) to arrive. It should be soon!

Jenny and I hosted our book club closing social at my parents' home in May. We had a potluck luncheon out on the deck and then reviewed the cookbooks we made our recipes from. We had a small, but nice group attend

We had several family members who were graduates this year. James (in the blue shirt)graduated from his first year of preschool. He has grown in many ways through this experience, but still didn't want to wear his cap or hold his diploma.

Danny received his MBA from the University of Utah. We are so proud of him! Congratulations!

Emilee received her Master's Degree in Organizational Development from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Such a great achievement--congratulations to her as well! We took a little vacation to Spokane for the occasion.

We spent a few great hours exploring the Riverwalk Park in Spokane. We viewed the falls, took a gondola ride, saw a parade with so many marching bands that we lost count, and rode on the fastest carousel I've ever been on in my life. Emilee's parents, grandparents, her sister Erin, and of course, Joel, joined Jim, Jenny, and I on our trip. We were able to find Jim's childhood home while we were there and then came home through Boise to visit with his Aunt Glennis and my Aunt Virginia and Uncle Bill.

April So Far

General Conference, wonderful as always, got the month off to a great start. We gathered together with the extended family for dinner to commemorate Easter after the last session. I'm posting some of the pictures from the egg hunt that followed dinner. Good times!

April brings more birthdays and we celebrated tonight with our monthly birthday dinner. Happy birthday to Melissa, James, Valerie, and Adam. Also, happy anniversary wishes go out this month to Valerie and Jeremy.

With the imminent birth of Sam and Nate's new baby boy, there will be still another reason to celebrate.