Season's Greetings and Happy New Year!

What a month it has been! :-) I hope all are well and had a lovely holiday with loved ones. We not only enjoyed the visits of family members... we were visited by the most beautiful and impressive snowfall (for the Pacific Northwest). The above photo (saved as a desktop image if you click for the larger version) was snapped on the 22nd of December, after the flakes had stopped for a bit. It was simply gorgeous. Kristine and Alex were here from the 19th until Christmas Eve and this day was their first anniversary. Last year we had a horrible rainstorm on the 22nd, but at least we all eventually made it to the temple for their wedding. Would have been a real fiasco if this stuff had come down a year ago!

And... if anyone in the Booth household is reading this... I asked her to thank you for sharing them with us (they paid for the trip). She kept forgetting to relay the message. :-)

I've not written for so long and a lot of pictures have accumulated from our visit to Utah, etc. I guess I'll start with the current and work my way backwards. Off topic and on a personal note, I just did something Saturday that I'm alternatively excited and apprehensive about. I signed on to go on a garden tour to Scotland and Northern England next September (2009). A local garden personality (Marianne Benneti, who I met years ago while attending one of her classes at the NW Flower and Garden Show) was pitching it on the radio and when I first heard, I sighed with envy at the thought of visiting those places and gardens. When I found out it would be probably be cheaper at this time because of the British pound, I began to wonder if I could actually justify such a thing. Then I worried I might be too late to get on the limited list (20 people). Well, I emailed a couple of folks and heard back yesterday that I've been added. So... if it all gets firmed up, maybe it will happen. That part of the world is in my ancestry and has been calling to me for a couple of years in various ways. Actually being there will be exciting. They make all of the arrangements and most of the time we will travel as a group on a chartered tour bus... so for a novice traveler as myself, it's perfect. Gardens, castles and pubs... that's the plan. If it comes off as they hope, we'd start in Edinburgh and end up in London. Two famous gardens they have on the list are Sissinghurst and Great Dixter. So... we'll see if it actually materializes. :-) I'll pay for as much as I can from the soap earnings.

Before I get to Thanksgiving... here is a photo from November... one of the many visits to our apple trees by the local deer:
Out of the garden and back to the holidays ...

We traveled to Utah for Thanksgiving this year and spent it at Kristine and Alex's. The house they are watching is huge and they can put up a number of people in the spare rooms. Niklas' elder brother (Nolan) is there for a bit while he relocates to Salt Lake City for a new job, so he was with us, along with Karen and Niklas and two of Karen's former BYU-I roommates. It was the first time in years we had Thanksgiving somewhere other than our humble home. Since we were there the month before, I'd already baked some rolls to put in their freezer for Thanksgiving and did pies and a molded salad the night before. The Kirkman's brought an apple cake and the day of the kids did the turkey and the Kirkman's pitched in and put the green bean casserole together (maybe the first time I've eaten it... or might have as a child and forgotten). Oh... Ron did the mashed potatoes and I don't recall who did the gravy. It was great to get everyone together, but Niklas had to leave only a few hours later so he could work on Black Friday (four hours away in Idaho Falls). Kind of a bummer... but it was nice he could at least spend that day with us. Karen stayed until Saturday and road the shuttle back to Rexburg.

First photo was snapped from the plane as we approached Salt Lake City. I loved it when we took off on the way home from this trip. There was a nice family from Whidbey Island behind us and their eldest girl (maybe 7 or 8?) was directly behind me. At lift-off, when many adults close their eyes and try to block out the fact they're flying... this little girl let out a "Whee!" Take-off is my favorite part, even though I'm a slightly nervous flyer. It's such a miracle to break free of gravity... we so much take it for granted.

The kids playing "Guitar Hero" on Thanksgiving Eve.
This one was snapped shortly before Niklas had to hit the road for Rexburg. Taken on Thanksgiving day, after dinner.Before leaving for Washington, we drove to Temple Square and saw the light displays. Kristine got better photos than I did. It was like walking around Disneyland... there were SO many people! I'm sure it's nicer now if you go, without the need for crowd control. ;-) This first photo was taken inside the visitor's center. I got a better shot of Nolan outside, but liked the backdrop of the Christmas tree in this picture (Ron is looking a bit grim also!). Kristine and Alex usually look good in most of their pictures.

The day we returned home (Dec. 1st), there was the most spectacular sunset. They have a stunning view of Provo from the deck, but this one really outdid any sunsets I'd seen so far. I'd raked up a few leaves that day and Ron was helping me pick up the piles while this sunset was changing moment to moment. I must have run out onto the deck at least 10 times to keep taking more photos! The first picture shows Ron setting the dinner table with the sunset behind him. We only had about 40 minutes to eat and load out to the car after Kristine got home from work.

One week later, this sunset happened from our own deck (this is also a desktop if you click for the larger image):

While we've been enjoying the holidays with various members of the family in Washington or Utah, Diane has been finishing up her internship at Disney World in Orlando, FL. She's had a great time, but was feeling somewhat isolated during the holidays. She got gifts for everyone but was not able to see any opened. :-/ I spent this weekend putting a DVD together especially for her, so she can the faces of her nieces when they opened their Disney plush toys, etc. Here are a few pictures of Diane, enjoying some of the perks of working for Disney. When she's not working, she gets to visit the park for free and enjoy it like everyone else:

This next photo was snapped of my computer screen toward the end of a Skype show and tell chat with Diane. She was really tired from her long day and was waiting for her roommate to vacate the bathroom so Diane could brush her teeth for bed. I thought the picture was cute with the little chipmunk looking over her shoulder. :-) Her one eye tells the story of how worn out she was.


When we got home from the Utah trip, there was a TON of stuff to get done before the 19th, when the kids were coming up for Christmas. It's also a busy time with the small mail order soap business, which disrupts the normal flow of getting things done. At least this year was easier with using the Click 'n' Ship deal at the USPS website. Thank goodness! Saved some gas money and time it would have taken to make trips into Silverdale to drop off packages. I could just put them into our mailbox.

I'd decided to get some old videos onto DVDs for the kids, which meant importing, editing and hours at the computer doing titles and transitions... and finally burning copies. I'd finished all but one when we left for Provo. Didn't think we were going to make it. If Christmas had been very elaborate with more gift giving, we wouldn't been ready, but this year there was not a lot of excess cash floating around to allow extravagance. It was a pretty costly one with medical and weddings, trips, etc. Ron got some really good news shortly after our return. His most recent lab results came back with a virtually non-existent PSA number... so that's great news. I think he's had three tests since the surgery. So far, it's looking like he won't need any kind of follow-up treatment. Happy day! We'll hope that trend continues.

With the tree finally decorated, cookies and rolls baked and in the freezer, packages mailed, newsletter done and shopping completed... we were ready to receive company. Snow moved in with a vengeance the week the kids were slated to come and we drove some slick roads to pick them up at the ferry. The next day the big front hit and church was canceled by Saturday evening. Burt came and left before the snow got too deep but Robert and Rachel ended up spending the night. They'd originally planned to come for a day visit. Michael's family was here that evening as well, but were able to drive home in his truck. When they first arrived, Amber and the kids got in the house first and I could see Michael squirreling around (driving) in the field ... like old times, I guess. So... it was an interesting but still fun weekend in retrospect (now that the fatigue factor has worn off... the night Kristine and Alex got in, we were up until 3:30 or 4:00 a.m.). Thankfully, the power never went out with this storm. The snow was so DRY and cold, nothing came down on the power lines.

There are so many more photos to post from last week, I think I'll start another entry and break this up. :-) I'd love to be up front with Lynda, who is watching some episodes of Sledge Hammer!

More coming...