Forty-Fifth Wedding Anniversary & Christmas

Steve really spoiled me for our anniversary, and for Christmas.  I didn't know it, but Sapphire is  the gemstone for the 45th anniversary.  Not only did he get a beatiful bright blue sapphire necklace and earrings, but also a 2nd set of more of a purple blue in an antique silver setting.  I love them both.

As if that weren't enough, he also got most of the things from the suggestion list I gave him. I didn't intend for him to get them all.  It was such a nice suprise.
He got a large planter box...which we'll put up this spring on the north side of the house.  It looks very beautiful and sturdy and will match the vynal perfectly.  I also decided to follow my practical instincts and ask for a Biffy.  It is an attachment to the toilet which serves as an instant bidet.  I like it even better than I thought I would.  It keeps me clean, refreshed, uses no paper products, and the water isn't even cold as I had expected.  He also ordered me a jacket of many colors, which I love.
   My gifts to him weren't nearly as exotic or expensive, as I use my funds to buy for the family.  I got him books, fleece pants, several nice shirts.
   We also took an anniversary trip to Grand Junction.  It turned out really fun.  Stayed in a nice hotel near the movie theater where we saw Lincoln, and both really liked it.  Cafe Rio was adjacent, and most of the shopping we needed to do like Kohls, Sears, Joanns.  We also ate at Red Lobster, and I got a pedicure Sat. morning.  It was an all around great Day.
   

Merry Christmas 2011

Dear Family and Friends,
       We are really slow getting these out this year, but it’s a good thing we do these yearly Christmas letters, otherwise I’m afraid we would lose contact with some of you.  We enjoy hearing from you and catching up on your latest escapades.  We hope you are all healthy, wealthy and wise.  Maybe two out of the three would suffice. 

Instead of a trip this fall, we did some home improvements.  We tiled our front entry way, and also poured a new patio and side walk, and we had our garage resided.  We hired Rob’s golfing buddy Dave Moore to do the work and we were really pleased with the results.  We dyed the cement a reddish color and imprinted the cement so it blends with the flagstone we already had. Once the patio was completed, Janet felt the garden area also needed attention so she planted more flowers, hauled rocks for a border and had Anthony prune the choke-cherry trees.  She wants to put in a fire pit on the south of the patio so Steve already has work lined up for next spring.

We raised another big garden this year and it was fairly successful.   Steve put in a raspberry and strawberry patch.  We are going to focus on producing more fruit and less vegetables.  We have several different fruit trees, but because of neglect the harvest was small. Janet also filled all of our bottles again this year; the final 50 were filled with pumpkin!

Janet has been the quilt guild president this year, and has had a lot of added responsibilities.  The group has been very pro-active with community service projects: baby blankets for the two hospitals, a quilt camp for youth, quilt tying at Farm Days, made quilts for two fallen officers and another 2 quilts for a Cancer fund raiser and fire victims.  Laurie and Brendan stayed in Blanding June 1-4 so Laurie could participate in Quilt Camp with Grandma. We had a lot of fun. The guild meets monthly.  Even though they are a wonderful group of ladies to work with, she’s glad the year is about over.   
                                     
We still run an addiction recovery class for the LDS church and have seen some success.  We’ve had fairly good attendance and the group is very supportive of each other.  This past summer our ward was dissolved (some say translated) and the members were divided up into three different wards.  We were again called to serve as the YSA advisors in the Fifth Ward.   The college dorms are in that ward, so we have about 45 young singles to shepherd.  We attend the Young Single branch most of the time so we can interact with kids we’re working with.  We also help teach the Temple Preparation class there.  We’ve been hosting a Sunday dinner, in addition to a game night at least once a month with the kids.  We enjoy working with them and hope we are a positive influence in their lives. Often our home is a bed and breakfast for YSA in transit.  Steve continues to serve in the Monticello, Utah Temple each Tuesday.

In April we returned to Ganado where we served our mission, to attend the dedication of an addition to the LDS chapel.  This doubled the size of the building and it is very nice.  There were over 175 in attendance at the dedication. They had a wonderful dinner after the meetings so we were able to see and visit with many of our old friends. It was wonderful visiting with former missionaries and other special friends there.  We are hoping Corey and Vanisha will pursue their plans for serving missions.  The Lord truly needs valiant servants in the latter days.  There is so much wickedness in the world, we all need to “rise and shine forth” if we hope to combat it.

In May we went with a large group of Blanding friends to Branson, Mo.  The bus picked us up right in Blanding!  That’s the way I like to take trips.  No driving, no waiting at airports, and our reservations were taken care of.  It took three day to drive to Branson we saw several interesting sights along way.  We spent three days in Branson and saw nine different shows.  On the return trip we visited the Will Rogers Museum, and also the site of the Oklahoma City bombing.  We had excellent accommodations and had a very enjoyable trip. 
 
In June we held our family reunion at Abajo Haven, six miles north of Blanding.  It had four real nice cabins so not all of our family had to sleep in tents. Amy and Andrew were in charge of the reunion this year and planned lots of fun activities.  We ate good meal, played games, hiked and swam in Recapture Reservoir and at the new Blanding pool.  It was great to have all of the family together: 16 adults and 24 grandkids.

Other family highlights this year included: CJ getting his driver’s license; Sage and Daniel were both baptized in July; Jens Quentin was born May; Anthony successfully completed Law School in Dec. and is gearing up for the Bar Exam in March. We also made two trips to Phoenix to visit Quent and Anthony’s families this year, plus family trips up north and to Las Vegas.

In Aug. we went to Blackfoot, Idaho for a Murphy family reunion. It was good seeing many of the Arnold, Keeler and Jensen families there as well and catching up on the news. We also met up with Janet’s classmates at Heisi, and got to go see the Keeler Farm on Antelope.  We’re planning our family reunion activity there next summer. In Sept. Janet caught a ride to Tooele and tended Nathan and Tammy’s children so Tammy could join Nathan in Washington D.C. for a few days.  Janet had several fun outings with Laurie and Brendan and Autumn and Amy and their kids.  She also reconnected with some of her college roommates.  That same weekend we attended our missionary reunion and saw both of our mission presidents and their wives, plus many of the senior missionaries we knew in the Arizona Phoenix Mission. Recently all of the missions that reached into the reservation were combined into the Farmington Mission.  Four Elders are assigned to Blanding and we’ve been helping them quite a bit.

This year has been one of wonderful highs but also some great sorrows regarding the little boy we hoped Rob and  Kathryn could adopt. Travis’s bio- father petitioned the courts for custody earlier this year and even though he missed the deadline for filing, was not married and only worked part time, the judge in Denver still gave temporary custody to Travis’s father on Aug 28th the day he turned one.  Travis had been in their family since birth.  You can imagine the sadness that was. The judge allowed Rob and Kathryn to visit him every two week, but on Nov. 01, the judge gave permanent custody to Travis’s father.   This has been heartbreaking for Rob, Kathryn and Ethan and the rest of us.  We pray that he is being cared for and raised with love.  But we know it will not be the same quality of life he had with Rob and Kathryn’s family.  Kathryn also lost her father this past year, after a valiant fight with pulmonary disease, so there are two big holes in their lives.  

We’re still working on several history projects, though Janet got a couple of books published earlier this year. She compiled a history of all of her sewing and quilting projects over a lifetime, as well as a tribute book about Lem Redd.  Maybe this winter we’ll have some free time to really concentrate on it.  Janet has nearly completed scanning our slide collection (3000+) and is now transcribing her Brother Clint’s letters.  I’m working on my life story. 

We are very thankful as we reflect on the past 44 years of life together, that God and his gospel have played such an important part in our lives.  We are so thankful that our children, are passing on gospel traditions to their children.  We know we didn’t do everything right, but we kept trying during those hard years.  Without a belief in God, and knowledge of his Son Jesus Christ, the world and its problems would be overwhelming.  We truly feel the peace and joy that the gospel brings. We pray that its light is reaching into your life as well.

 Love, Steve and Janet Wilcox                  

Post Christmas Shananigans

    We celebrated Christmas for almost the whole month, which is just the way we like to do it! We had quite a few neighborhood parties, YSA and AR socials.  Amazingly we were able to be with all of our family many times between Thanksgiving and New Years, just not at the same time..

    For Christmas Eve, we invited Rob's family, Kathyrn's parents, Brother Lovatto, his grandson, and Mary to dinner and a program.  It was a wonderful evening, and we were so glad they came. The next day we hosted a soup dinner and games with some of our Home Evening group, plus friends who needed some cheer in their lives.

Home Evening Game Night with Friends

We received lots of wonderful gifts for Christmas, but the one most meaningful was delivered about 10 days before Christmas and we read, and reread it.  "T'was the night before Christmas" started with a Wilcox spoof on the tradition poem, and Anthony filled it with lots of humor and allusions to Christmas's past.  He and Autumn rallied the rest of their siblings, asking them to write their memories of Christmas, as well as their own family traditions.  Autumn added photos and did the layout, and somehow miraculously got it published and to us before Christmas!  
    We learned a lot in the process of reading our children's stories, some of which we'd known about before, but others were surprises.  It was a great memory jogger, and we laughed a lot, and even cried a little as we recalled the hectic Christmases of long ago.  

Thank you so much for taking the time 

to pull together such a great present.

This book was the inspiration for several

Christmas tricks of our own.

  On Christmas Morning as we opened presents with Rob, Kathyrn, Ethan, and Travis, there was one last present which had especially been prepared.  We had found out by reading the book, that Rob was sorely disappointed one Christmas when he was about 9 years old, when he didn't get the Nerf Rocket Launcher he wanted..instead Chris received it.  Tears were shed, and he even double checked with Mom to make sure she hadn't made a mistake.  

   Well, Santa made restitution this year, and wrote Rob a note saying that Mrs. Claus had finally cleaned the back room, and found requests from the 1980's which had been lost.  Always one to keep his promises, Santa wanted to deliver the goods, even though it was late.  

           It wasn't quite the same Nerf Rocket launcher of 30 years go, but was happily received.  

                      Merry Late Christmas, Rob.

The other fun thing about Christmas was participating in Ethan's treasure hunt to find his Christmas present.  It started in Monticello, Christmas morning, then went to Blanding to Granny and Papa's, then to our home, then back to the Sandbox at Redds.  It was quite the treasure hunt, and low and behold--Ethan's Christmas request wasn't "shot down" afterall.  He got a single shot .22.  He was one excited boy.  So he and his dad both had new firearms to shoot.  Safety instructions were reemphasized, and the first target practice planned.

Tuesday Dec. 27-30  Nathan and Anthony's families join us for a fun filled week

















Dad's Root Beer from Quent and Bev, also a big
summer sausage and Almond Roca

The highlight of Dec. 27th was the gift from the Christmas Story Store. 

When we read Nathan's reflections on Christmas's past, we discovered that Tammy didn't have the same appreciation of the movie, The Christmas Story, like most of our kids do.  Shortly afterwards, we saw Joel Tate wear ing a Christmas Story Lamp necktie, we knew we needed to get one for Nathan, as he had a special affinity for the crazy movie. In the next few days the idea grew, taking on new dimensions and angles! Until Dad determined to create a replica of box which could feasibly contain the infamous lady's leg lamp.  Of course, the cylinder for the leg, only contained the necktie, but it looked like it could possibly hold the leg, and there was even an antique lamp shade with black fringe, albeit, fringed plastic!  He even saved the mailing label from the tie, to make it look legit.

  Here is the letter Dad composed:

Nathan reads the letter

We were pleased with the effort that you kids made for us on our Christmas book that Autumn put together.  It was fun reminiscing about past Christmases.  We even learned a few things we hadn’t heard before.  We appreciate your contribution.  We are glad that you still enjoy watching “The Christmas Story”.  We are surprised that Tammy doesn’t share your same enthusiasm and were wondering what we could do to improve this situation.  We thought about getting Brendan a BB gun, but that might not help matters.  
   We also thought getting some genuine bunny pajamas for Laurie, but we are not sure if she would wear them.  Finally, I went on line and I discovered the perfect gift -- A real Christmas Story lamp.  I’m sure if this lamp is displayed in your front window you will be the envy of all the neighborhood and it will give Tammy a greater appreciation for this classic movie.  In this package, you will find a real Christmas Story lamp.  Hope you enjoy it and may you use it for many Christmases to come.

Tamara can hardly contain her excitement as she anticipates
the great Leg Lamp in her window!


I had a great video of the reading of the letter, but it was so big blogspot won't accept it.  Que Lastima~
It was very fun to see both Nathan and Tammy's reactions.

Everyone was excited to see what was in the box.

The infamous lamp shade in all its tacky glory

Now, what do you suppose is in here?

Sigh, relief!  It was only a tie....not a leg

What we really want to know....Did he wear that tie to Church Sunday?!
===========================
Wilcoxes Rock-out with Wii Rock Star

Some day we may rue the day we put guitars 
and drums into their hands

This combo above came the closest to real talent

Even Grandma tries to keep up with Ethan (and Elton) on  Crocodile Rock
unfortunately, she couldn't see the words very well.


Grandma's Deja vu reality game:  Fox and Geese

Back when grandma was a girl in Idaho, we always had a lot of snow, so we filled our free time hours with lots of outdoor games.  If we could find enough kids, or coerce our parents to play-- Fox and Geese was the funnest, because it was a running game.  Others we played were "Who's the Boss of Bunker's Hill"--where you tried to stay on top of the snow pile, while others tried to push you off.  Dad was always best "Boss".  The words are so old I can't even find them on Google search, but the taunt went something like this: "I'm the boss of Bunker Hill, I can fight and I can kill."  Gruesome I know!


He made us a harness for our dog, Pal, and then he could pull our sleigh.  He also made us mini-toboggans which could be used on soft snow, but we had regular sleds for zipping down the hills which surrounded our home on the farm. He also made a large toboggan out of corregated steel, which fit our whole family.  It was very heavy to pull up the big hill, and the snow had to be frozen to use it, but it was very fun to do it together as a family.


 We also made snow angels, had snow ball fights, built forts, made trails, and all the other fun outdoor things that kids can invent.  The winters we lived in Ririe, sometimes Daddy, or another parent would pull us behind a car on our sleighs.  We'd all be roped together in one long line  I'm sure it would be illegal now, but it was very fun, until a sharp turn would tip someone over.  Sneaking off to do that one Sunday afternoon, is the only time I remember being spanked by my mother.   In later years we learned to ski, and that became our new passion, especially for Doug and I.  Lynn, Clint, and Nancy later took up the craziness as well.

Fox calls "Scatter" and all the geese run from the center when the game begins.

Even though we had been blessed with about 4 inches of rain the week before Christmas, there had been no snow, and it was about 45 degrees in the day.  Then The Perfect Snow Storm arrived in Blanding Dec. 27-28 after Christmas, putting down about 2 feet of soft fluffy snow.  It didn't pack very well for the Fox and Geese course, so Anthony revved up the snow blower that Chris had given us, and made the best circle and cross cuts I'd ever played on.  

The running course is a circle with pie wedges radiating out. The center is the Fox's den where the captured "geese" must go, until they are saved by being tagged by a "free goose".  There are also two safety pens where the geese can run to to avoid being tagged.  To make it more exciting two foxes can be selected.  After they wear out, a new fox is chosen, until everyone has a turn at being foxy.  It is great fun.  This may be my last time to play, and it was so fun, with no injuries!! I think we had  three generations of us playing, 9 altogether..which was a great size for the game.

Friday was a beautiful cold day, perfect for playing outside--for a little while at least.

Aren't they cute little geese?

Hmmm, how do we save Laurie from these two big foxes?

Ethan's Birthday Dec. 30th at the Redds

Christmas Cheer When Family's Near

We were home from Phoenix about 3 days when we left on an equally wonderful trip north to see our kids in the Wasatch Front. Here are some of the pictures from that trip. 

Michael with his "stuffed" house!

High demand on Gingerbread real estate

Like Father, like son.

Autumn pre-made all the shapes for gingerbread houses, plus gave everyone cutters and a recipe which can be used for future house projects.  Everyone brought lots of decorations, and the kids jumped right in and created some wondrous creations.

Some more smiley grandkids with their final projects. Brendan and Laurie finished theirs in record time.

Peyton loved all phases of this project!

Haily with her "neat" little house

While the Gingerbread houses were hardening, we ate at the famous Wilcox Pasta Bar.

Next on the docket was some great family entertainment:  Laurie and Brendan provided

a cheery duet welcoming in the Season.

Rob shows that he can even play and sing sideways--one of our favorites from The Forgotten Carols by Michael McClean.  Rob introduced us to this album shortly after he came home from his mission, and it's been a part of Christmas ever since.

Chris and Pam's Christmas Choir

Mattea tells one of the best jokes of the night. (Who's your favorite...?)

Next came the Victory Arch, where parents heralded the success of each child, and we all celebrated their successes.

Ethan Jess Wilcox

Hailey and Peyton

It's so good being me!!
We hope everyone felt this way.

Danny and Hunter ready to be recognized

Every one needs a victory arch once-in-a-while!  

Grandma presented CJ with a quilt for finishing up his Eagle Scout Award (almost), and challenged the other grandsons to set that as a goal in scouting .

He knows if you've been good or bad....so....

Some how or other, Santa found out where we were and came to check on everyone's list. 

 Travis, however, was not impressed and Ethan's request was temporarily "shot down."

Presents for all "good little boys and girls" and all of our Grandkids are "good".

Musical present exchange

But the Best Presents of 2010 were Travis, Emily, and Hinckley