Merry Christmas!!

Dear Family and Friends, December 2008
We have had many wonderful adventures this year that we would like to share with all of you, who are most dear to us. Hopefully, you can feel of the special spirits of our 5 greatest blessings, as we share a bit of our year with you. :)

Our 5th little princess, Aurora, joined our family on May 12th, 3 days before our 10th wedding anniversary. She weighed 8 lbs. 2 oz. and was 19 ½ inches long. Every new little thing she does makes all of her big sisters giggle with excitement!! She now sits up, her first word was “Mama,” and she loves to stick out her tongue and spit!!

Karina just turned 3 and she still loves to be held 24/7. She loves to sing her favorite song, “I am a Child of God,” and whenever anyone sings it, she says, “My song, my song!” Lately, she has enjoyed watching “Rosty the Toeman.” She also loves to drink from “wagle boggles” and eat “toot nacks.” And we just love her words!

Tierra, 4 ½, tried some new things--clogging, swimming lessons, and giving her 1st talk. We just love it every night when she hugs/kisses us goodnight and then asks “Can I kiss your cheek?” It is so sweet. When she watched “Finding Nemo” for the 1st time, she said, “I think we should take our fishies back to their families.”

Sariah, 7, was busy with piano lessons, clogging, swimming lessons, and loved having her Daddy coach her soccer team. Also, Riana and Sariah went on their 1st backpacking hike with their Daddy. Each week, Sariah is the last one in her Primary class, as she loves to color her class handout with beautiful rainbow colors every week.

This year, Riana turned 8 and was baptized by her Daddy. She also had her 1st sleepover party and she added Activity Day girls to her busy schedule of piano, clogging, swimming, and soccer. Even though Riana (and Sariah) attend WAVA at home with Mom, Riana had the opportunity to clog at a school talent show with a friend.

Grant kept active with camping, hiking, soccer, and “LA Fitness.” He also coached soccer & YM’s basketball and helped out with a Dance Festival. In August, he was called to be an early morning Seminary Teacher. His work took him overnight to Portland, Atlanta, and Chicago. He also performed in an Opera and as Elvis in our Ward Talent Show (complete with the moves and everything—it was hilarious!!).

Thanks to her regular breaks—women’s basketball, soccer, and “Curves,” Angela (barely) managed to stay sane, despite her busy schedule of teaching her girls, 1st counselor in Primary, teaching a friend violin, and many sicknesses especially with her tonsils. She had the opportunity to sing a solo in the program “Women at the Well.” Also, Grant surprised her with a date to “Phantom of the Opera” for her 30th birthday.

As a family, we took little trips to Seattle & Spokane, Washington, Portland & La Grande, Oregon, and a big trip to California. We spent 2 weeks driving down the coast to visit Sea World, San Diego Zoo, Universal Studios, and finished it up with Riana, Sariah, and Tierra, (Karina in the audience) dancing at Disneyland and California Adventures, with their dance group. All 4 of them also danced together at our Ward Talent Show and did great!! The only sad news of the year was when our dear friends (including Riana, Sariah, and Tierra’s best friends) moved to Kansas. That was sad, especially for the girls. :( But overall, we have had a very blessed year and hope you have too! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

All our Love, Grant, Angela, Riana, Sariah, Tierra, Karina, and Aurora