Family Memories for November 2010

November has been such a great and beautiful month, with lots of memories and activities with family!  We enjoyed watching Devanie's tennis practices and being with Ryan and Cam's family in the sunshine and fall weather.  Devanie will take a time out from tennis for a bit - as her shoulder heals from an injury.  Tennis is a great sport that anyone can play for a lifetime, and it will be fun to see Devanie play through coming years!

Zander had his first year playing soccer on a team, and it was fun to go to some of his games and to see him improve each time.  He is an excellent goalie, and he was 100% on saves for his team when we watched him.  He also likes to run and kick, so is happy when he isn't in goalie position.  I especially liked his attitude on being a good sport.  It is great that his dad practices with him at home so he'll keep learning!

Each time we stopped at Richard's home we saw more additions to his upcoming Halloween party.  His house was decorated with spiderwebs and spiders, he got a lazer light show installed up on the ledges in his family room and also installed a smoke machine.  Richard was a "stick man" with his costume painted with lines that show up under a black light - so it was pretty cool.  Dad and I went to see his friends and their costumes and took some treats.  It was fun to see his friends and to be with he and Bailey!Zander got SO many awards at his Scout award night, and I could tell that he and his parents had been working really hard!  It was fun to see him on his knees eating whipping cream out of a pie tin to find his award - and he did it really well!  He is off to a good start toward becoming an Eagle Scout and is lucky that his dad has been a scout leader in past years because it has helped him to get into scouting fast!

It was an especially fun treat to have Rory, Heather, Alex and Aurora move to Oro Valley so that we could share Alex and Aurora's birthdays together!  Ryan's family, Riley's family, dad and I drove down and enjoyed a fun afternoon of pinatas, pizza, playing and presents! 

Each of the kids had their own pinata - - Alex had a Robot and Aurora had a shiny red and silver star pinata.  The kids had lots of turns hitting them and there was candy galore!  It was fun to see their nice home and how well it fits them!  The kids enjoyed playing together and it will be good to be acquainted better now!

Dad and I drove to San Diego to be with our Bluth family at Brittany and Greg's wedding (Barry and Jami's daughter).  It was a beautiful experience to be with family in the temple and to see this couple be sealed for eternity - and to know of Barry's joy for his daughter.  Dad and I enjoyed the day with Antoine and Shannon and Lothaire and Connie, going to the Mormon Battalion visitors center and to a movie.  Then dad and I drove to Coronado Island and looked around, then took a back-roads way home.  It was a great weekend together!

Dad and I have had a very special month with many miracles and blessings which we know will have impact on our individual lives and on us as an eternal family.  We were asked by our Stake Presidency to speak at the Adult Session of Regional Conference.  All of our children were good enough to make the effort to be with us.  It was a very sacred time in our lives to prepare for the talk - which was on Marriage Relationships (Ours) and we knew that we were guided by Heavenly Father in the things that we shared.  We have had many letters, phone calls and visits from people who said that they were greatly impacted by our extremely real and frank talk.  Rick was called and set apart at the Regional Conference as a High Counselor in the Greenfield Stake.  It was a beautiful sight to sit at the end of a long row of our family, and to see everyone SO REVERENTLY sitting there while he received his setting apart blessing from the Stake Presidency - David LeSueur, David Carmichael and Mike Rogers.  It was wonderful having Grandma Bluth and Gandpa Dale, Grandma Gurney and Bailey with us too!  I was set apart as the Family Services Representative for the Stake at that same time, then we all came home for a dinner together!  I'm so grateful for Rick in my life (and for eternity) and so happy that we have chosed to be committed to marriage and family!  It has been worth every moment - and we have learned that the most difficult times have become the most sacred seasons of growth and purification.

Ashley and Jonique's birthdays are right by each other.  I got to see Ashley 2 days in a row - and enjoyed being with her so much!  We went shopping and to lunch, and Riley was good enough to tend Brailyn so that Ashley could have some time of her own. 

Ryan and Cambria invited us to their Dance Performance (which was a Cancer fundraiser).  It was a lot of fun and they did a really hard dance and we loved the night!  Their kids were all dressed up to the nines also, and their Alvey grandparents came too.  I took lots of cute pictures of them and the kids dancing (mostly video) - and am so impressed that they take the time to date and to do activities that build their relationship (as well as have fun)!  Thanks for a great night out! We loved it and think it would be great to have a family dance where they teach us how!

Jonique's 22 birthday was a fun day - with an un-planned lunch at Waldo's for barbeque - with Riley, Ashley, Brailyn, Ryan, Cam, Maddaux, Rick, Jonique, Xelly and me.  Afterwards Jonique and I went shopping - until I remembered I had to be at the temple - but I made it in time to do my responsibilities there. 

The Bluth Family Thanksgiving at the park was fun and memorable for all - with our family doing all the set-up and take-down for the event.  Everyone brought food and we had a feast (with an over-load everything)!  We played games together - and I liked Kick baseball best.  I forgot to bring the poles fo Human Fooseball - so was disappointed in myself when I saw them when we got home.  Thanks to everyone who helped so well!