2008 Highlights

Another year has come and gone. B and I were contemplating some of our highlights:

• February - Jessica gave birth. This is an amazing feat since she was seriously questioning her ability to survive such agony (doesn't every woman?). But, now that it's over and she knows she didn't die, she hopes to do it again someday.
• February - Edmond was born. Our prayers were finally answered and we were blessed with a strong, healthy baby. He is amazing. In case you haven't noticed, we're obsessed with him.
• April - Jessica quit working. Yes, after a 10 year career in Office Management/Bookkeeping, Jessica has retired and entered the realm of full-time motherhood.
• December - We sold our house in Las Vegas. After having it on the market for over a year and a half, we thought this day would never come. We are so excited to finally have that chapter of our lives behind us.
• And last but certainly not least...we are still married. Hey, in this day and age, we all know it is no small thing to make it through one more year. It helps our self esteem to think of this and gives us a feeling of accomplishment.

Visitors!

My brother Jared and his family came to visit us for a few days. We took the boys over to the park in Old Roseville. They loved the sunny weather and were happy to get out of snowy Utah for a few days.




After lunch we went over to a Bounce House and let the kids run free on all the blow-up equipment.

I took Edmond down one of the slides. I don't think he really even knew what was happening. I was hoping to get some kind of reaction out of him...but...nothing.

Bed Head

The other day Edmond woke up from his nap looking like this:

I don't know what he does in his sleep, but I imagine him pulling his hair with his little fingers and twisting the pieces into little spikes.

Christmas Day

We woke Christmas morning to the pitter patter of rain outside our windows. Edmond woke up at 7:30 and we said, "Edmond! It's Christmas!" He acted all excited...which doesn't really count since he acts excited every morning. So, we packed all of our presents into the car and headed over to Grammy's to open them.

Every time we turned a corner some presents would fall onto Edmond's lap. He'd look at it and then slowly grab it and put it in his mouth. Once we arrived and started opening them he had a fun time crawling around in the present mess.

It was a great Christmas. My favorite present was my new casual shoes from DSW, B likes his handlebars for his bike, and Edmond likes his truck. But most of all B and I feel blessed to have each other...and now we also have Edmond, who brings us even closer.

Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve the way we usually do, at B's parent's house with his family. The evening started out with a meal of our favorite appetizers. B and I brought crab cream cheese wontons and chicken salad roll-ups. After dinner we read the Christmas story of Jesus' birth and dressed up all the kiddies in Nativity clothes. This year Edmond and Carly joined our nativity as little sheep.

They wandered around the house looking like little lost lambs most of the night.

Luckily, this year Jared and Amber were there and rescued us from our usual roles as Mary and Joseph.

Ha ha! Here we are, happily enjoying ourselves as members of the AUDIENCE, where we most certainly belong. We have paid our dues, we have done our time, and now our days of role-playing in the Nativity are over. That's what the grandkids are for.

Edmond crawled up to Papa and just stared at him while he read the Nativity story. Edmond loves his Papa.

When it was all over Edmond and Daddy crawled off to go exploring.

Biker Baby

Over the holidays we made some candy houses over at Jenn's house. Edmond learned how to ride a bike while we were there.

Here I am, making the "glue" for the candy houses. We just cook sugar in a pan...nothing else. It makes a brown liquid, and we use it to glue the sides of the house together instead of frosting. I didn't take any pictures of the finished product, but let's just say that my candy house looked more like a candy shack.

Play Date at the Mall

Edmond and I are homebodies. Well...I guess I would classify us more as loners, or losers, whichever. We go out and about on our own every day, but it is a rare event when we actually make an appointment to get together with other humans. Luckily, we have Megan and Lily who agreed to meet us at the mall for a play date, thus allowing Edmond the opportunity to mingle with other kiddies.

This is just a random picture of Edmond at his Grammy's. I had to post it....'cause it's cute.

O Christmas Tree

I, like every other woman who rightly spent too much on it, love my Christmas tree. I plug in the lights in the morning and they stay on all day. (Shhhhh, don't tell B.) At night when I'm watching TV...my eyes drift over to the tree and I think "Wooooo, it's pretty."



Whilst staring at my tree, a naked baby came up and insisted that I take his picture. So I did. When I discovered that taking said baby's picture proved to be quite entertaining, I decided to take several.

Sigh...when are his front teeth going to come in? Oh well...we still love our little vampire.

This is how Edmond gives kisses. I love my baby.

Shopping at the Fountains

So I have a new favorite place to shop. It's called The Fountains and it's about 3 minutes from my house. It's an outside shopping center and they have all these fountains all over the place (hence the name). Edmond and I went there about three times last week, he loves to watch the fountains and they have choreographed fountain shows like the Bellagio (but not quite as grand).



Another reason why it is my favorite shopping center is because they have this sweet train that you can ride for $2. I asked if the train was just there for the holiday season and they said no, it's there all year. Sweet. Now Edmond and I can go ride a train whenever we want to.

Remembering Grandpa

Joseph Quintin Adair 1920-2008

BOUNTIFUL - Joseph Quintin Adair, age 88, our loving father and grandfather, returned home to his Heavenly Father on Dec.10, 2008, at his home in Bountiful, surrounded by his family.
He was born Sept. 26, 1920 in Panguitch to Joseph and Marie Henrie Adair, the oldest of eight children. A World War II veteran, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps in the Pacific with the 316 Bombardment Wing. He then attended Utah State University, where he received a BS degree in civil engineering and subsequently his professional engineer's license. He married Marjorie Patricia Anderson on Nov. 15, 1947 in Salt Lake City; later sealed in the Logan LDS Temple. Together, they raised eight children. His career with the Utah Department of Transportation spanned 36 years serving in Logan, Kanab, Salina and Mt. Pleasant and as district four engineer in Price, where he designed and supervised the construction of I-70, U.S. 6, all access roads to Lake Powell and many other highways. His SR-276 Potash Road won Parade Magazine's most scenic highway opened in the U.S. in 1966. He received awards for Eagle Canyon, White Canyon, Colorado and Dirty Devil bridges. He served as district two engineer in SLC, where he supervised the design and construction of I-215 and I-80. He retired in 1986 as chief of roadway design for the state of Utah. He enjoyed white-water rafting, gardening, exploring the southern Utah desert, traveling the world with his wife, skiing, hunting and many camping activities with his family. As an Eagle Scout and leader, he took many young men on high-adventure outings. He served in various capacities in the LDS Church, including, high council, bishop of the Carbonville LDS Ward and the last 11 years in the Bountiful LDS Temple. Of all his accomplishments, he was the most proud of his family.

He is survived by sister, Wanda Miller; brothers Carroll and Kenneth; his eight children, Lou Ann, Bountiful; Gay (Kirtly) Nordfelt, Las Vegas, Nev.; Quintin (Kathy), Bluffdale; Laine (Rena), Spring Glen; Lori Lee (Matt) Heslop, North Ogden; Robin (Laurie), Las Vegas, Nev.; Leonard (Carolyn), Heber City; John (Judy), Nephi; 33 grandchildren; 26 great grandchildren; and his special friend, Charlotte Beck, and her family. He was preceded in death by his wife, Marjorie; two brothers, Ellis and Ronald; and sisters, Betty Lou and Lucille.

I have lots of good memories of my Grandpa. He used to pile all of us grandkids up in a heap and yell "Woodpile! Woodpile!" and as we'd scream and try to run away he would grab us and put us on the heap again. He has taken me on several river trips, the first one being when I was 8 years old down the San Juan, and almost every year since then down the Green or Yampa until I graduated High School. Whenever we'd leave camp in the morning to continue on down the river he would start singing "On the river again". If ever he saw me and my sisters or cousins standing or resting by the raft, he would call us "lazy girls" and give us some job to do.

He always kept fig newtons in his jeep and to this day I can't eat one without thinking of him.

When we were little kids he had me and my siblings ride the bus up to Bountiful so we could pick apricots or work on his tomatoe farm. He would work us hard all day and then we'd get to go home for lunch and my grandma would give us creamsicles.

I have lots of fond memories of my Grandpa and I feel blessed that I was able to have a close relationship with him. He was the best Grandpa in the world. I love you Grandpa!

I took this picture from the shore as my Grandpa paddled through a rapid on the Yampa. He was about 76 years old in this picture, and still going strong paddling through a class 4 rapid.

Some of us grandkids that my Grandpa took down the river.

At family events I often found my Grandpa napping soundly on a couch amidst all the chaos.