NOT GOING TO BLOG ABOUT THIS

I have gotten so far behind in the blogging and I feel very bad at how much I have missed. This blog is kind of like a journal for Kent and I so I asked advise about catching up and moving forward. The advice I received was to forget the past and start with the now which is good advice and really helps with the overwhelming feeling of so much to catch up on. Only problem is that as I reflected back on the year I realized all that I won't be blogging about.

Starting with the visit we had from Chad and Shannon and family back in June/July, it rained almost the whole time they were here but we still managed to have a lot of fun. Like a trip to Disney Kingdom....Even Noah loved seeing the princess...really that is Noah trying to smile but the girls really loved the visit.

Noah was so happy that Grandad bought him a Mickey Mouse Ice cream

Grammy dressed the girls up and took pictures but didn't buy the outfits

And even though it rained the whole time we went to Miami area we still found places to stay dry

and the sandbar had the biggest conch we have seen there yet

Yep! too bad I can't share because after that visit in Florida Shannon and I (Judi/Grammy) loaded the kids up and drove over 2500 miles to New Mexico. We stopped in Savannah Georgia where we got so soaked in a down pour that a lady took mercy on the drenched, bedraggled children and bought them all an ice cream cone. Later, because it was raining just Shannon jumped out of the car (without her phone) to run into a park to take pictures our brilliant idea was for me and the kids to drive around and pick her up at the other side, only problem was that when I got to the other side ....well I would say there really wasn't another side. luckily Shannon thought to go to a center to look for a phone, in the mean time I thought to go back to where I left her hoping she would go to that point ...luckily we came across each other....scariest part o the whole trip even more scary than when the GPS quit working.
Along this trip we also stopped at an Indian village and danced with Indians, then drove through the Smoky mountains, we saw some historic places and interesting markers, honked the horn in all the tunnels and saw the begining of some trails we wished we had time to hike.

We drove though Tennessee, Nashville, Arkansas, Texas and a few other states, We stopped at Loretta Lynn's home for pictures, I wonder where I put them, they may all be on Shannon's camera.

While in Dallas, TX we hooked up with my brother, Rob and he treated us to a trip to his friends aquarium, We saw snakes, monkeys, penguins, all kinds of interesting fish and birds and other animals as well. This aquarium is a must see if you are ever in the area.

Later that day Rob took us to his new home, mostly finished but still under some construction at the time.

5 stories high with a fabulous view of down town Dallas from the roof

I won't be telling that the purpose or end of the trip was to get to Natalie and Doug's house to spend some time with them before Natalie's baby came and then I would fly Shannon and family home while I stayed a while longer with Natalie for the birth of her baby. I won't be telling that while we were still in Dallas we got a call from Natalie saying that her water broke and that she would be going to the hospital to have the baby so we better take the shortest route to her place.

The cousins did get to play with one another for a day and Shannon and I did do the midnight Harry Potter show without Natalie. and Shannon got to go to the hospital and hold Billy and the kids got to see there cousin Billy through a window. Then they flew home.

Billy was and is a very good baby

his brothers love him very much

it was fun to spend 3 weeks with Natalie, Doug and the boys

we all drove to Amarillo, TX to pick Kent and Jordyn up from the airport there.
and of course while in Amarillo, TX you have to go to THE BIG TEXAN for dinner, fudge

and the big rocking chair

this was Billy's favorite thing to do while I was there, it was my favorite thing to do to.

and of course the reason we were there was for the baby blessing.

and because I am not going to blog about it I will probably forget all the details of the road trip Jordyn and I took driving home. The first day we dropped Kent off at the airport in Amarillo TX and drove on to Brandon and Ali's house in Wichita Falls, TX. We spent the night and then drove to the Dallas TX temple (closed on Monday) and then made it to Houston where we spent the night and then went to the Houston Temple and Jordyn did baptisms.

After Houston we drove to Avery Island, Louisiana, saw some alligators (we have them in Florida) climbed trees (what Jordyn does best) saw the Tabasco plant then
made it to the Louisiana Temple (they only do baptisms and other sessions on certain days of the week, we missed).
the next day we drove into New Orleans and walked the streets to see the interesting shops, ate some Beignets and followed a map to see the old homes in the gardens area, we found the, above ground, cemetery very interesting. We drove through the night and arrived home the next morning. Yep I will probably forget about all of this because I won't be blogging about it.

Well it may not be to important to remember that I had only been home for about a week when a "family meeting" was scheduled to discuss Grandmother Rowland's health and care. So on the same day I dropped Jordyn off at the airport to fly out to Wisconsin to visit her boyfriend Ben and his family, I also caught a plane to Utah. Not much happened in that short time but I did get to see all of my siblings and I was able to go to Logan and see Chad's family and be there for Noah's second birthday.


Then the important visit of Ben Rhodes to the Florida area. We played on the water and had some other fun times but most important about that visit is.

the engagement. This is where and when he proposed

This is dinner after the proposal

this is the proposal area the next day when we went back to clean up.

These are some of the engagement pictures that didn't make the announcement

and what else am I going to forget about because I am not blogging?

The Girls Trip

Natalie and Jordyn and yep that includes me and Billy too.
Billy met his great grandparents for the first time.

We organized and planned a reception at the Aspen Center. Found a Wedding dress and started alterations

We also were able to make it to Candace Moyse Prytle's baby shower

and have a wedding shower for Jordyn the same day

There were men at the wedding shower but they were only there for the food, they stayed in the other room mostly.

lots of friends, family food and fun. what a great trip

Another trip or two I am not going to remember is that Jordyn and I flew to Utah again in November for good friend Kelli Christiansen's wedding and more fittings for the wedding dress. We returned home in time to have Thanksgiving day with Kent and Blake at Disney Epcot and Kingdom. Then I flew to Texas to spend a few days with Brandon and Ali as June entered the world on Dec. 1.

I flew back home in time for a hair cut and packing, then Jordyn and I took her "new" car and drove to Utah, stopping and Brandon and Ali's for Brandon's birthday, then a quick stop at Doug and Natalie's to hear Natalie play her violin in church and teach the RS lesson that day then through Colorado to pick up Jordyn's things at the neighbor's house (too late to see them and too late to see our house) then off to Utah just in time to pick Ben up at the airport.

Those are the things I am supposed to leave in the past, I have been given permission to start with Jordyn's wedding, and Christmas with the family which is still going back a few weeks so look forward to those in the next blog.