Geocahing Tuesday

With Kim gone and no pressing chores on our agenda, Mom and David and I (and the dog) went to hunt up a few geocaches out at the Spenceville Wildlife Area. This is my favorite place to go because it means tromping around the hills, through ditches and over big rock formations just like you were in a real wilderness - only 30 minutes from home. This is always a good time of year to go too - no poison oak or rattle snakes to watch out for. The day was cloudy and cool, even cold when a breeze came up. But we found the thing we went searching for, and the dog found lots of interesting stuff to sniff, so we all had a good time.

Mom and David near "North Rock City" cache;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;David, the dog, an Mom tracking a trail
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Christmas Summary

David put together a bunch of photos that he, Kim and I have taken over the course of the holidays and added music. He did a real good job of telling the story of our fun times together, then he ends it with a section intended to not let us forget the reason for the season. Very well done.

Christmas Present(s)

We had a great day sleeping in (but not too much), and opening presents from our many wonderful friends and family. Below are two of the highlights.

On the left is a great T-Shirt from Michelle. In case you can't read the small print, all of the different cuts of pork are labeled "good" except for one - which is "real good." On the right is really nice stitched frame with a photo of my Mom & Dad from Mike and Martha (mostly Martha I think).

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One of our traditions each Christmas is sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits for breakfast. Kim, Mom and David put it all together on the left. On the right, they clean up afterward. What was my part on all this? I ate the product - oh, and took the pictures.

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It was beautiful weather again today. It gets pretty cold at night, but by noon things warm up nicely. This is why we live in California. The only better would be Phoenix.

Bay Area Day Trip

Kim, David, Melody & I drove to San Francisco Tuesday for a fun day at the bay. In the afternoon we drove back to Oakland (I made a wrong turn and we ended up driving through various parts of that city until we made it around to the freeway again). Anyway, we went through the temple, then met the YW from our ward (Melody is a counselor in the YW Prescy) to tour the Visitor Center and watch the Joseph Smith movie. Later we walked around the grounds and viewed the lights. It was beautiful!

We have so much fun with Kim an David when they visit. The whole day was excellent weather. We had a blast!

Golden Gate Bridge, no people;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;Golden Gate Bridge with us all
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One of the ramparts on the bay. (looks like a Hobbit house)

Christmas Tree at Pier 39 (the sturdy kind that doesn't mind the snow)

The Temple Before Dark;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;And after Dark, con Lights, sans Kids
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I'm not sure why, but every time we go on a trip with Kim
and David we end up with a photo (or two) of them in the
back seat hamming it up. This is the one from our latest trip.

More Christmas Fun!

Being a music teacher, I sometimes get the craziest gifts from students (and I'm not referring to the Starbucks gift cards that regularly come my way). I have some really very generous students, and the two videos below indicate what they think of me. . . that I'm either a deranged saxophone playing reindeer, or I have squirrels for friends. If the truth be told though, I have a great group of students this year and we have some good times together.

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Christmas Pigs

Either last year or the year before, for Christmas, Pam sent Mom and I this little stuffed pig that snorts "O Christmas Tree", then squeals at the end. It's one of our favorite Christmas ornaments now, and we fight over who gets to take it to work and who gets to keep it at home. So I thought I'd let you all in on our joy. I recorded the snorts and put some pic's with it. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Lights in Yuba City, CA

A full week later than usual, I finally got the Christmas lights up around our house. (Not without some difficulty, however, having gotten halfway through the job before realizing I had to start all over again due to non-functioning strands of lights and one particularly long stretch that somehow had female plugs on both ends. How does THAT happen?) Anyway, it all turned out well in the end as you can see below.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Melody bought the Christmas tree and her timing was impeccable. She showed up just as they were unloading a new shipment. I'm grateful for her taking on this responsibility. I'm afraid we've been a little lost since they closed the Christmas Tree farm where we used to cut our own for so many years. It was a sad thing, and we haven't come up with another place yet. But the one she picked looks tremendous even before decorating, so we're excited!

Christmas Lights in Gilbert, AZ

Rob and I spent a good portion of the day putting up Christmas lights on their castle, er, house. It was pretty fun. They have a Spanish tile roof, so it was a little more interesting than usual. Later this evening we all went to In-N-Out for dinner, then visited the street of lights here in Gilbert. Below you see some of the sights we saw. Pretty incredible stuff.

Kim with Lucy and Grant;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;A BIG Nativity Scene
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Santa Trying to Get In Without a Chimney;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;Neatly trimmed House and Lawn;;;;;;;;


Christmas with Sponge-Bob Square-Pants;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;A Harley-Davidson Christmas
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Santa From Afar;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;Santa Up Close
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Santa at the Beach (for Michelle);;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;Reindeer Flying Across the Street
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Video #1;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;Video #2
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Playing on the Tower

There's this really cool tower at the Phoenix Zoo. It's about two stories tall and looks out over the large area where they have giraffes, zebras, ostriches, and antelopes. Up near the top there are these walkways for the kids to play on, and Lucy & Grant made the most of them.

At the Zoo

Rob and Kim has to work today, but Mom and I went with Pam and the kids to the zoo. It was really a very nice day and there were hardly any people at the zoo so we had a blast!

Grandma and Lucy on the "outback trail.";;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;Lucy riding the Ibex
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It's much harder to get a good picture of Grant;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;He just doesn't stay still long enough
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Molly, Lucy, and Grant on the Turtle

Grant's favorite - the Giraffes;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;For some reason he kept calling the Ostrich a Flamingo

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A little black bird nesting in a Saguaro;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;Big Horn Sheep on the mountain
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The Tiger, of course;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;And finally, the Flamingos
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Random Thoughts on the Passing Scene

1) Saturday's local newspaper ran this headline on the bottom half of the first page: "75 percent of American youth do not qualify for military - lack of education, obesity, prison record make 1 in 4 ineligible" Since when does 1 in 4 equal 75 percent? Apparently the writer is one of the 1 in 4. (or 75 percent. Whatever)

2) The best program on TV right now is "Diners Drive-Ins, and Dives" bar none. Great food and good humor. What's not to like? The runner up is "Antiques Roadshow." Pretty interesting stuff - and the Feedback Booth at the end is a hoot.

3) There's a new History Channel program called "WWII in HD." It gives much credit to the leaders of the free world, the American people, and the soldiers who fought. Why isn't the same effort in the media being made for our current military actions to stop like-minded despots? Do they really not see?

The Big Three Holidays

Today in Sacrament meeting John Evans (a former bishop of the ward) spoke about redefining how we celebrate the Big Three Holidays that come at this time of the year. (No, he wasn't talking about Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas like I thought he would - but Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years).

His focus was on ways we could make Christ the center and focus of what we do, and how we celebrate each of those occasions. It was really very good. He offered suggestions ranging from getting off the couch (where we might be watching football) and helping clean up, to spending less yet giving more of ourselves, to starting the new year with a commitment to become a better disciple of Christ. Essentially, trying to honor those holy days by thinking more of others than ourselves.

Also, just before he spoke we had 6 of the 9 men who have served as bishops living in our ward sing "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" under the direction of Aunt Joanne. Uncle Richie and I participated. It was really very enjoyable for us. I'm not so sure about the congregation - but we had a good time.

Halloween XXII

Here's the video you've all been waiting for.

And a few still photos too. These first two are night shots, the ones below are in the light. We had a real fun time with the Trick-or-Treaters. Some af the little ones were very cautious, but the older ones (especially the parents) were thrilled with the display.

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Birthday Weekend

A week ago grandma took Rich and I (and Melody and Joanne) out to dinner for our birthdays. To make a bigger day out of it we drove up to the Apple Hill area to look at the scenery, buy apples, and enjoy each other. It was really fun. Some of the sights included the beautiful flowers shown below.

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At a place called "Grandpa's Cellar" (which, by the way, in up for sale - house, offices, orchards, commercial eatery, etc. - all for under a million) we saw the scene on the left. You don't know the people. I just thought the emu was kind of funny to see there. And the way the man is holding it by the neck is kind of funny too. The people on the right you do know. We had fun at the German place. You like Mom's hairdo?

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To The Beach We Go

Last Monday the kids and grandkids went to Dillon Beach first, then on to Salmon Creek. Mom and I joined them there after we got of work. We frolicked on the beach for 30 minutes and ate a little soup for dinner. Chris and Lorna took a night and a day away on their own in Bodega bay and San Francisco. We took Michelle and the grandkids home with us.

We have thoroughly enjoyed the visits from the kids, and are grateful for their sacrifice in bringing their families all the way to California to see us. We love them all and love being with them. It been a great two weeks!

Looking west at sunset;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;Chris, Ian and Kayla romping
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Kayla at the driftwood fort;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;Ian at the driftwood fort
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Playing at the fort;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;More playing at the fort
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