Relatives, funerals, and getting reaquainted.....

Nobody looks forward to a funeral.

It is always sad saying goodbye to someone you love and care about, and that you will miss,

but 

it is a nice time to reunite with cousins and other relatives that you don't get to see very often.

These pictures were taken at the recent funeral of Ken's Aunt Marie.  

(Thanks, Yun, for the pictures!)

(All but  three cousins were in this picture- and cousin Eddy who passed away a few years ago.)

(Drew, Kevin, Carolyn, Gina, Marcia, Jackie, Kelly, Lisa, Ken)

These are the Jones boys plus Ken.

  (Cousin Kristine is in the center)

This is Ken's family (including brother-in-law Steve and nephew Brett).

Last night we found out that there will be another funeral for our family. 

My Uncle Grant passed away yesterday.  

I hope we don't have any more "reunions" for a while!

♥

JoAnn

Looking forward to Christmas.....a little sneak peek

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

 

 I can't help myself.

With all this snow it just feels like the holiday should be here.

I guess I should be glad it isn't here yet-since I haven't done much shopping.

(My elves have been busy, however!)

Do you have any fun things planned for the busy holiday month?

♥

JoAnn

You can make the picture bigger by clicking on it and then clicking again.

Time goes too quickly.....

The Christmas season is on its way. 

We have most of our decorations up and have started working on our list of things to do.  

With all the snow (24 inches in the last eight days-I guess finding the rake on the lawn will have to wait) it really looks like Christmas.

It seems like just yesterday our family looked like this:

 

 And not too long ago we looked like this:

 (Yes, I know some of you hate this picture, but I didn't have a lot to choose from since digital cameras hadn't been invented yet and film and development were pretty pricey.)

Or this:

While the clothing styles have changed (yes, those pants are polyester), the hair-dos have improved, and the house looks much different, the anticipation and excitement of Christmas remains the same.  (Katie was to be born a few months later!)

This year we get to see it through the eyes of our three grandchildren!
(And Liz's new camera!)

We are so excited!

Hopefully, we can take some good photos for future reference!

♥

JoAnn

Snow.....

First annual 5 K Memorial Run....

On Thanksgiving day 

we gathered together with people in such diverse places as 

Morgantown, West Virginia; 

Idaho Falls, Idaho; 

Preston, Idaho; 

and Fruit Heights, Utah

to remember and honor Shane Mitchell.

His family had a tradition of running a 5 k Turkey Trot race every Thanksgiving and they decided to rename it and dedicate it to Shane's memory.   Many different groups of family and friends held races in other locations as a support.  It was a freezing cold day in the West, but we all enjoyed ourselves.

(O.K.  confession time- our group walked indoors!  That still counts, doesn't it?)

It was a good way to start a day of "thanks giving"!

Holly and Preston

♥

JoAnn

P.S.  Do you think that the physical activity balanced out all the Thanksgiving food we ate?
Thanks, everyone, for sharing your pictures!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 I am thankful for many things, today.

 As I reflect back on my life, I realize that it has been a good ride.

I'm grateful:

"For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

I hope you all have a great day!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

♥
JoAnn
P.S.  We will miss those of you who won't be here!

The vacation's over...

O.K., my break is over

(although I hadn't planned on spending it at the NORTH POLE)

and without even a chance to be tempted to get on the computer!

About the time I decided to take a break, the weather made plans to do the same.  We were hit with a huge snow storm.  It was beautiful, but our trees still had most of the leaves on them and the extra weight caused a lot of havoc.

 

The branches sagged, bent, and many snapped under the pressure of the wet snow.

You can see where the patio furniture is hidden under the big white mounds.  We still hadn't winterized yet!

We lost power (after witnessing a little fire in the tree), telephone, cable, internet, and all other forms of relaxation and communication that modern-spoiled-technology-loving-folks crave.

We were not alone.  Over 19,000 people were without power.

For nearly 17 and a half hours we resorted to things like this:

dressed like this:

It was kind of nice to sit around and visit with each other and we survived quite well,

(Thank goodness for our gas fireplace!)

but I did miss blogging.

  Thank you to all who missed me!

♥

JoAnn

P.S.  Anybody need any branches or twigs?  I'm sure there must be a craft idea hidden in there.

P.P.S.  Thanks to the faithful workers who repaired our broken power lines!