FHE = BYOP

We had Family Home Evening at Reddin and Karen's house on Monday night. It was a Bring Your Own Pizza Night, which we always enjoy.

The kids enjoying their pizza and mugging it for the camera.

The adults = more eating - mugging.

Kayda certainly enjoyed her pizza.

Marcus, Megan, and Paula Adele

Adele gumming on a pizza crust with Matty looking on.

Enjoying the company

Cousins playing nicely.

Cousins playing not so nicely.

The teachers (they were playing school-I don't think I would like them as teachers-they look mean.)

Boys and their toys.

On Wednesday we got to watch Sawyer, Abby, and Matty while Carrie worked at the credit union. I was home for the first two hours as was Aubrey, then Uncle Trevor got the honor of being the offical babysitter.

O is for OLYMPICS!

This is what it is all about! Check this out!

Happy V-Day!

Wow! Valentine's Day has come and gone and not one picture of the events that occurred this weekend. I'm just glad to make it through. Wayne got sick last week and then shared with me so I was kind of under the weather all weekend. Friday our ward had a great Adult Valentines Dinner and Dance. We feasted on lasagne, yummy salad, breadsticks, and dessert. Afterward Wayne and I even danced a few dances. When we got home of course we had to watch the opening ceremonies of the olympics. What a great time to be proud of being from the United States of America. On Saturday Reddin and Karen brought over their girls and we watched them while they went to a movie and out to eat. Marcus and Megan stopped by with their children. Reddin had brought over some carne asada so we had a little impromptu party with a Mexican flavor. On Valentine's Day we had the traditional Spaghetti Dinner which was lacking due to my not feeling well.

Birthdays, Weddings, and Etc.

On January 17th my first born turned 32. They came over and ate dinner with us and we had cheesecake with everyone.

We had an early morning visit from Payton and Kayda a couple of weeks later while her mother went out to Las Sendas to run hills to train for her upcoming race and her dad, who is YM Pres in their ward, went snowboarding with his boys.

Payton

Kayda

Happy Birthday to Ruth! She turned 7 on February 3rd.

She was so excited!

Love to open those presents! Everyone gets into the excitment.

Marcus and Megan made some yummy Chicken Tortilla Soup for us all to enjoy.

Matty does not looking like he is having fun wearing panties on his head. Look at all the abuse you have to take when you can't reach up and take them off yourself.

On February 6th my cousin Kathy got married to Lou Kerby.

Here are her brother Stephen, his wife Margaret, her sister Teresa and her daughter Tracy and me all waiting to go into the Landmark Restaurant for the wedding and dinner.

Karen, Kathy's sister, singing. What a beautiful voice she has.

Stephen, her brother, performed the service and did a very good job.

Blue Sky and Sunshine

I am a Valley of the Sun girl for a reason. I like to see the sun! After a very long day of continual rain I was ready to see some blue sky and the sun. I don't care if we do not have seasons here, which we really do. Fall is more like in December when the leaves finally decide to fall off the trees and Spring is about a minute long. But we do have seasons. I don't even mind the heat as long as the sun is shining. No cloudy, rainy days for me!

Happy New Year and Birthday!

On New Year's Day we took a little (long) ride into the desert so the men could play with their guns. I rode out with Travis, Stephanie, and Collin. Since I wasn't really interested in shooting I stayed over with the babies. That was fun!

Carrie trying her hand at shooting.

Neil all ready to shoot with his ear plugs.

Adele and Matty just laying around.

Matty looks thrilled to be there.

Collin and his Dad

Liam was born on New Year's Eve three years ago. We had a party for him on the Monday after New Year's Eve so that he could have a special day just to himself. We all gathered at the M & M's house and had a party. It was B.Y.O.M. and Megan had made some yummy aspargus and potatoes and dessert.

Happy Birthday Little Man!

Just what I wanted...another Lightning McQueen car!

Did I say I like Lightning McQueen?

Wow! What could this be? Another Lightning McQueen something?

Liam got some "man soap".

What a Week it Was!!!

What a crazy, wonderful, and busy week it was! It all started on Christmas Eve. We all gathered and had a Christmas Eve meal. And then the festivities began.

What things looked like as we began to gather.

The big kids enjoying their dinner or just hamming it up for the camera.

Part of the adults and babies eating.

Waiting for the program to begin.

More waiting because Grandma wasn't ready.

Reddin, Karen, Payton, and Kayda performing.

Ruthie is going to have to represent her family--I couldn't get the pictures of the M & M's to load.

Oh look! Just downloaded my pictures and some good little photographer elf took a picture of the M & M's that I could download onto my blog.

Brendon, Carrie, Sawyer, Abby, and Matthew

Travis and Colling performs "Must be Santa".

Aubrey singing and playing--isn't she talented?

Trevor strumming and serenading!

Such cute cousins singing a song!

Liam and Abby got to be Joseph and Mary this year and lucky Adele got to be baby Jesus.
(Love Joseph and his thumb)

Here is the cast of the nativity.

Waiting to open the pajama pants--not too much of a surprise anymore.

Picture of us in the pj pants!

Christmas morning at the Evans

Aubrey in her spot with her friend.

Trevor handing out the presents. It was nice to have these two home for Christmas this year and not having to coordinate two phone calls from Mexico and Portugal with the goings on of the other children.

Trevor waiting to open his presents.

Wow! It looks like Santa came. Everyone gathered back at the Evans in the evening for more partying.

Everyone has their stacks waiting to be opened.

Can we open them now?

Not yet!

Now!

Everyone is having a good time!

WooHoo Abby in her tutu!

Adele looks darling in hers.

Aren't they cute?

The Monday after Christmas the Evans clan again gathered for a night of feasting. Instead of our annual Progressive Dinner we decided to do Progressive Appetizers. It worked out well and everything was yummy and we came away stuffed. We started at Carrie and Brendon's and worked our way to the M & M's and Karen and Reddin's and ended up at our house for dessert. It must be something about riding and eating and riding some more that unsettles Liams stomach. He again complained that his tummy hurt and sure enough for the second straight year he threw up, however he was at home and not at Karen and Reddins.

Don't they look like they are having a great time?

On December 29th for my birthday we all gathered at Freestone Park to take a family picture, now that the missionaries are home and all the babies are here and no one is pregnant. We were a bit worried because rain was in the forecast. But it turned out to be a nice sunny day.

What an ordeal to get everyone there and ready.

What a great place to have a picture session.

Thought we might loose someone in the water. . .

. . . like Abby. But everyone stayed dry.

The results of our morning.

After pictures Travis and Stephanie took me out to eat at Gecko Grill. Wayne got to come also. What a great birthday lunch. Thank you so much, I really had a great time. Then in the evening we had everyone over for Chinese food and a game of Bunko. I'm sad to not have any bunko pictures but my photographer was snoozing on the job.

He did get pictures of the fun new game that Carrie gave Travis for Christmas. Quelf, you have got to play it.

Here is Travis doing one of the crazy things that you have to do in the course of playing the game. What a fun game it was and we laughed until we couldn't laugh anymore.

Everyone was back over for New Year's Eve for more eating and game playing but the photographer was slacking that day also. We all had a great week enjoying each others company. It was great to have Travis, Stephanie, and Collin here. We so enjoyed when they would pop in to play.