TX to Moses Lake- What a Ride!

 

2,152 miles through 6 states...whew!

I flew to Houston on Friday May, 25th and due to plane delays in Denver, ended up in Houston at 2:00AM! Ariel came and got me and we enjoyed a weekend together. We went out to eat with her roommates family and managed the Houston Temple on Sat.

 

Ariel and I outside the Houston Temple

Sunday morning I woke up very ill with the flu, so saw nothing but the ceiling and walls of the bedroom! By Monday morning we packed up and headed for the great NW. Took us 11 hours just to get out of Texas! Our travels took us to the little town of Aztec, NM where we stayed at the Step Back Inn and learned a bit about the history of the area.         http://www.stepbackinn.com/

The rock formations and the bright red coloring
seem to be unique to this part of the country

Ariel called this one Beaver Rock....good interpretation I'd say!

This arch, although not a part of Zion's Park was worth the few minutes  it took to get a picture!









 Not sure what this refers to, but thought it was funny!











Ariel and I doing a self-portrait in front of the
Monticello Temple in Southern Utah

Ariel with her two sweet little nieces, Eden and Cosy!

Wound through southern Colorado and made a Bee-line to Micah and Rebecca's place in Spanish Fork. Stayed an extra day as it was so fun to get reacquainted with the girls Eden and Cosette and just hang out with Becky and Micah. Got to help Becky celebrate her birthday and enjoyed the little ones!









Eden is cooling off with her mom's ice bag...we won't mention the baseball accident that required the ice pack in the first place! :-)

Cosy and Becky are ready for the park...Happy Birthday Rebecca!

















Cosy just turned one and she is quite the little muffin....a smiler and a giggler, she liked being at the park and loves it when her daddy throws her around! 

This trip sounds to be rather ordinary, but there is ONE thing that sets it apart from all others....Ariel met a fine fellow in TX, the week before she had to leave, but it looks like love, so she and I had fun talking, speculating and generally hoping that Tom had the good sense to see that he had won the heart of an amazing woman!

Beautiful Central Washington....it is great to be home!

Well here is hoping that all of you friends and family alike have a happy and productive summer and if you find yourself in the NW, be sure and give a holler as we would love to see you!

Winter/Spring/Winter/Spring

No, this is not Moses Lake or Kansas, Dorothy...but rather...Kaua'i!

Seems like the NW is a bit confused on which season we are enjoying! February was warm and then the promise of Spring was blasted with hail and cold temperatures...well, no sense complaining about the weather as there is nothing to be done about it...just enjoy it, right!?

The wedding was in a most beautiful setting and the bride and groom were radiant!!

Since our Christmas wishes a few months ago, we have had a few interesting moments to share:
Ammon and Ailene did go through with the promised wedding in the Philippines. It actually was a wonderful experience despite my "one week before Christmas" panic attack! It was great to meet her delightful family and be treated like royalty from the moment we stepped off the plane in Manila! We did end up celebrating Christmas on Dec 26th because we arrived home on the 24th, and we needed Christmas day to recuperate!

Grandma's 89th birthday! Warm hat and gloves for these cold Moses Lake days!!
Warm California winters are just a memory...Julian says "peekaboo"!

January was filled with family birthdays and February was generally mundane, but the mild weather allowed a few trips to the temple.
A Valentine dinner and numerous Skype calls from Autumn in Madagascar made the month fun.
The real excitement began on March 1st when we picked up mom's good friend Janice at the airport- got her situated and left for Seattle. The next morning found us Kaua'i bound with our good friends the Merrells. A week in paradise went by too quickly, but it was amazing to see the sights and get some nice "away" time.

On the Poipu Beach in southern Kaua'i. Remember the island is 26 x 35 mi.!

Seemingly the State bird, these roosters, hens and baby chicks were very plentiful on the island...running across the roads and underfoot at the resort! Someone needs to teach the roosters what A.M. means!

Yup, helicopter ride was MY idea and wow...I loved it! The center of the island is completely primitive with no roads. Saw Jurassic Falls and beautiful mountains, valleys and shoreline!

Na Pali shoreline on the mostly inaccessible north coast...so beautiful!


Wailua Falls was breathtaking as well!

This truly is the land of the rainbow...between showers they were seen everywhere!

Lovely beaches and warm breezes....does it get any better than this?

Dressed in our Washington attire, we are ready to return to 40 degree weather!
So hard to leave such beauty behind!

As far as the kids and grandkids are concerned:
Ariel is spending her Spring break in Atlanta with a friend...she is planning to return to the NW this summer and look for work a little closer to home. I guess TX is not her favorite place. Hard to make use of all of her wool sweaters!
Dan, Ammon and Ailene are still in NYC and working and playing. Called us from Colorado last weekend to say they were skiing in Vail...I simply cannot remember being young and carefree!
Haven has been involved in a Community Theater group and they are doing a Salute to Broadway this weekend. She has several parts and has been creating amazing costumes for herself....so she will be singing and dancing in style...such a talented gal! Her 3 little ones are growing and we love having them so close!

Grandkids eating Sponge Bob marshmallows...notice Boo Boo's new "smile"!

Noble is on Spring break with only one more quarter to go before he graduates with a Computer Science degree with a minor in math..he is spiffing up his resume and doing some serious looking. We have enjoyed having their family an hour away....who knows where they will go next. Their little Julian is 3 and we get to see him now and then. Hopefully Noble will get a job in Seattle so we will not have to drive/fly too far to hug that little boy!!

Eden displaying her new Hawaii necklace and Cosy in her HI Tshirt!
Thanks for the phone photo Becky!

Micah and his family are in Spanish Fork and Micah has landed an excellent job with Blue Host. He is heading up their video department and they like him so well he has been dubbed "Magic Micah"! The girls are growing fast...little Cosette will be a year old next month and little Eden is already 4. Unfortunately we do not get to see them as often as we would like, but we do enjoy the marvels of technology and seeing them on screen!
Autumn is in Madagascar finishing her CRS training and waiting (a bit anxiously) to find out where she will be sent for her "hardship" assignment. She has made friends and has had some remarkable experiences in some of the far corners of the Father's vineyard!! She is planning some home leave in a few months and we are so looking forward to it!
Enough catch-up...we know it is the pictures that everyone enjoys the most! Take care and as always- God bless us every one!!

Beginning at the End!

“For unto us a child is born...”

Merry Christmas 2011

Dear Ones near and far!

Oh what joy the electronic age, creating an ever more lazy creature of me! Instead of addressing all of those cards, one swift punch to the send button and ..wahlah…you can have your semi-personalized Christmas greeting delivered to your inbox!!

We hope that 2011 was a good year for each of you and hope this note finds you all in good health!

Our year has been quiet. Doyle is working part time in AZ - 3 weeks on and 3 weeks off. Of course he is delighted to be able to fly his newly equipped darling to and from AZ! He says that is why he went back to work, to pay for the avionic upgrades in the plane, but the love of flying and boredom with retirement is probably more accurate.

We were called to serve a mission while living at home. We teach the Daily Dose English classes to anyone needing to learn English. We are attending the Spanish Branch and enjoying working with our students and the 3 other couples who are involved with the program here.

My mother is still with us and although failing in some respects she is tough in others and I tell her that even though her 89^th birthday is just around the corner, she will outlive us all! She had cataract surgery on both eyes, so now I have to clean her room more often! Ha! We do not do much traveling as these last two topics keep us homebound much of the time.

Ariel moved to Texas, is teaching at a college and caring for a friend with cancer.

Dan is still in NYC working on setting up his own creative business...go get 'em!

Ammon married Ailene Quan 11/11/11 in New York, but the BIG wedding will be in the Philippines Dec 23^rd….yikes, what were they thinking? Yes, we will be there!! They have promised to move out West one of these years!

Haven is still in town with her three little ones and whenever it gets too quiet around here I know who to call. She has been singing in a karaoke contest...she is quite the performer!!

Noble is finishing his degree at Central and is scouting the market. It is nice to have them close so I can spoil another grand baby! I see them often as an hour drive is nothing for free food and babysitting!

Micah and Becky added another to their flock, little Cosette was born in April and she looks like a Cabbage Patch doll…so cute and smiley. Micah is finishing his degree in film at BYU and working on employment. They came for Thanksgiving as Christmas will be their time to move!

Autumn is still globe trotting and is currently working for Catholic Relief Services and being trained as a program director in Madagascar. She is loving it and we are excited to see her in Manila in a few weeks.

Our missionary reunion group from Japan got together on Orcas Is in the San Juans this past Sept and we had a great time together. We did manage to get the house fully furnished and the yard landscaped this summer lest you think we are just sitting around! HA!

How grateful we are for each of you and the influence you have had in the lives of our family! We are so blessed to have wonderful family and friends and especially we are indebted to our Savior who has made all things possible for us. At this Christmas Season and always, we honor and praise His name!

May the peace that comes only through Him be yours at this Christmas time and always!

Much love,

Doyle and Jeanne

2011 in Pictures!

Yup, we are getting a little gray around the edges, but we are as happy and crazy as ever!

Granny is in party mode!


How we adore our grand children!

These three darlings belong to Haven and Big T....Dulcinea- 5, Matthias-21 mo. and Tiburcio III- 7

Julian is 3 and he belongs to Noble and Krystal

( he loves his "Mi-Ma" and "Gamp-a")

Cosette (in the choke hold) is 7 mo and Eden is soon to be 4.

They are the sweet little girls of Micah and Rebecca.

This year's highlights.....

Spent much of the summer trying to make the yard look like

someone lives in our home! Big T built some grow boxes and they lived up to their name...

planted late, but my did things grow!

Took a break to spend a few days with my girlfriends in Leavenworth, WA. What fun we have together!

Our trip to the San Juan Islands was a delight. We so enjoy our Japan missionary reunions!

Summer Birthdays!

Haven made creative birthday cakes this summer for Julian, Dulcinea and Little T...quite the talent!

All the "kids" dressed up for Halloween!

Ammon and Ailene were married civilly in a park in NYC so they would have a US marriage registration. Some of their friends who will not be able to attend in the Philippines came to this event. They spent Thanksgiving with us so we got acquainted with our new daughter-in-law and her sister. They are both lovely and delightful gals!