October Family Reunion

It has been tradition, since I left home, to go back to Idaho at October Conference time and get potatoes. After having the good, fresh from the field potatoes, it is really hard to go without them! The potatoes you buy in the store are so small and you have to peel half a bag to have enough to make mashed potatoes. I would much rather just peel a few really big ones!! This conference time was no exception and even a lot more fun. David and Claudia came from California this year for David's 40th missionary reunion - had to put that in so you would know how old he is - :) On Saturday morning, we rode up to Idaho with them and met Sandra, Grant, and Barbara at the cellar that Keith works at. We are so grateful to Keith and Driscoll farms for letting us get potatoes every year. Several of Keith and Pam's children were there and we met up with them as well. After getting the potatoes, several of us rode into Aberdeen to go to the cemetery. We don't often get to visit the grave site of my parents so we took this opportunity. It is very different going to harvest since my parents passed away. My Dad loved the harvest! NEEDLESS TO SAY - WE MISS THEM VERY MUCH! After our visit to Aberdeen, we headed back to American Falls to Keith and Pam's house where we met up with Betsy, Russ and their kids and everyone else for dinner. This is the first time that all my siblings have been together since my parents passed away. It felt good to be together - we need to do it more often!!!! (we should have taken some group pictures - what were we thinking!) We celebrated Megan and TJ's daughter, Lily's, Birthday. The guys went to Priesthood meeting and the girls stayed and did what we are good at - chatting. Uncle Alan and Aunt Julia came. It was wonderful to see them again! Thank you Keith and Pam for hosting such a big crowd! I am grateful for all my brothers and sisters. I miss those who aren't with us now, but look forward to the day when we will all be together again. Meanwhile, I will enjoy those that are still here and continue to make memories with them. The Lord has truly BLESSED me with a very WONDERFUL FAMILY!!

(sorry I don't have pictures of everyone who was there, but I did manage to get a few. Keith was always in the other room when I had my camera out. I did get him in some harvest video that I will try to add as soon as I figure out how)

Tiffany Barrus Riggs and Emily Warner

John Wellington & Russ Barrus

Annie Warner

(getting ready to put us to shame by running after dinner)

Steven Warner

A most charming picture of me and Uncle Alan

Pam Warner

Grant Cannon and David & Claudia Warner

Aunt Julia

Uncle Alan

Amanda Barrus, Tiffany Barrus Riggs, & Nicholas Barrus

Claudia Warner

David Warner

Sandra Warner Cannon

Barbara Warner Daniels

Betsy Warner Barrus

A Day at the Zoo with Izzy!

Since this is the last Friday for John with Izzy before he heads back to work, we thought we should do something extra fun! Izzy has really been enjoying the Fridays with Uncle John because we tend to do more fun things when he is around. We have been to see the movie RIO in 3D, visited Build-a-Bear, and went to the park as well as the normal play dates at the house. Today we decided to go to the zoo to see the animals and the dinosaur exhibit. Izzy seemed to be really excited to go and it was fun for us to take her. She kept talking about the dinosaurs, but when we got there, she really didn't want to have much to do with them.

John and Izzy starting out - She really liked the brochures they gave us at the gate.

She was excited to ride the carousel, but when I put her on an animal she freaked out. We decided it would be more fun to ride on the peacock bench with someone else. She really liked that!

Checking out a snake

Toward the end of our time at the zoo, she got a little braver. This is the closest we came to a dinosaur. She really wasn't certain she wanted to look at John for the picture, because she was keeping her eye on the pretend dino to make sure he didn't get her. Luckily, she looked at him long enough to get this picture.

So much to see!

The Mama and Baby Elephant

(in the background - not us. Izzy said we were smaller than the elephants.)

The Giraffes were fun to watch

What would a trip to the zoo be without the picture sitting on the tigers! She didn't want to get off, but I told her we had to let the other kids have a turn. The zoo was pretty crowded today!

Taking a picture of some happy zoo goers!

Riding the train on an animal safari

(as Izzy said .."Whoo - Whoo!")

Izzy - with her new animal (an elephant)

All the way home she kept saying "I love my new animal!"

Izzy got pretty tired toward the end and all she wanted was to get some cotton candy to eat later and ride the train. After we did that she wanted to go back to Nancy's house. After eating some of her cotton candy at my house (we had dino chicken nuggets at the zoo), she wanted to paint a few pictures. Then it was off to take a rest with her new friend. She also got a zoo puzzle to keep at our house and is anxious to do that after her nap!

THANKS UNCLE JOHN FOR A FUN DAY AT THE ZOO!! We will miss our play dates with you! (but we are so glad you are feeling better, even if it means you have to go back to work)

John's 3 Month Vacation

Ok - so it's not really a vacation! This is how you get time off work without going on a vacation. John had surgery the end of April to remove his colon. It was a 5 1/2 hour surgery, as they did a double loop ileostomy and formed a j-pouch. After 6 days in the hospital, he was sent home to recover so they could do the takedown surgery in 6 weeks. Our time at home was spent learning how to care for his temporary ostomy, doctor appointments, a trip to the ER, an infection, and more tests. He also was told he couldn't lift anything over 5 pounds or use his ab muscles in exercise. He did manage to rest and heal during that time. After only 6 weeks of recovery he was healed enough to go in for the take down surgery and get rid of the bag! He was really glad to be getting rid of that!! So a week ago, he had a successful surgery. They told us the normal time to be in the hospital for this surgery would be 3-4 days. After 2 days, he was well enough to go home! Now he is in the process of recovering from this surgery and hopes to be back to work by the middle of July. He is doing well - but still can't lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk or do strenuous exercise.

Things we have learned or are grateful for during this period of time:

1. PRIESTHOOD BLESSINGS and PRAYERS work and we are grateful for them!!! So many times we literally felt strength that wasn't our own that helped us through difficult times. WE KNOW THE LORD IS MINDFUL OF US and BLESSES US!

2. We have wonderful daughters and a son-in-law who are very supportive and gave of their time to sit with their mom while dad was in the long surgery. (Holly used vacation time to come from Arizona so she could be here for her Dad. Heather and Brian also took time off from work and school so they could support their Dad.) They also call and check on us often. WE LOVE OUR CHILDREN!

3. We have a wonderful extended family and friends who have also kept us in their prayers and supported us during this time. THANK YOU - we really love you!

4. OUR WARD FAMILY IS THE BEST!!! John's 2nd surgery was on our Ward's Temple Day of Dedication. We were so sad that we couldn't participate in it as it has been planned for quite some time and we have been preparing as a ward for this special day. Unfortunately, that is the day the surgeon could do the surgery. We know many ward members put John's name on the prayer roll and prayed for him that day. We are sure that is why John's 2nd hospital stay was so short and that he did so well! WE FEEL BLESSED TO BE A PART OF THIS WARD!

5. We learned that we need to TRUST IN THE LORD. There was a time when we were especially frustrated and felt like we had no control on what was happening. During one of our discussions about it we decided we needed to trust the Lord and the promptings he had given us earlier in choosing the doctor. We knew we needed to trust that the doctor was giving us the help we needed and that the Lord would make up any difference. Our FAITH has grown!

6. It is possible to fall even deeper in love with each other!!! OUR LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER HAS TRULY GROWN DEEPER! After being around each other 24/7 we find we still like being around each other and depend on each other in many ways. We think that we can even survive retirement together. :)

7. It is important to BE GRATEFUL! So many do so much for us and we know we need to show more gratitude for what we have been given.

I am sure that there is more we will learn as we continue on this healing process and that as we look back on it, we will find even more ways that the Lord has blessed us. In the meantime, we will keep trusting the Lord and doing our part to help John feel better.

On a side note....

A few weeks before John's first surgery, he was released from being High Priest group leader and was called to be our ward's executive secretary in a new bishopric. The new bishopric has been really understanding about him not being able to do all his duties and supportive of his recovery. He is looking forward to getting well so he can take over all his new responsibilities and serve the Lord the best he can.

This is how John is spending his summer vacation so far .... medications at 8am, 10 am, noon, 3pm, 5pm, 8pm, and midnight. (Not to mention all the time spent in John's new reading room)

Walks and naps are also a highlight! I BET YOU ARE ALL JEALOUS :)

NEW YEAR'S IN ARIZONA

We flew out a few days after Holly left to go home from Christmas, to go see Holly in Arizona. (We were really missing her after a few days) We thought it would be great to spend her birthday with her! We flew out in a bad snowstorm and projected very low temperatures for Salt Lake and thought how fun it would be to be warm in Arizona. Guess what . . . IT WAS UNSEASONABLY COLD IN ARIZONA! They even had snow (a few flakes) and freeze warnings while we were there! We still had a lot of fun, even though it was coat weather there too. Holly took us to some of her favorite eating places and shopping centers. We saw fireworks from her living room window at midnight on New Year's Eve. (I think they were at the ASU stadium) We were able to go to church with her in her single's ward and see how she fixed up her apartment. She has really adjusted to being so far away. WE ARE SO PROUD OF HER!

John, waiting outside a yummy Italian restaurant.

Notice how cold he looks! But it was worth the

wait for him, because he claims he had the best

dessert ever here! It was a half baked peanut butter

and chocolate chip cookie with ice cream on top.

Seeing the Christmas lights at the Mesa Temple!

We did this on New Years Eve!

They have a missionary choir that sang every night for an hour.

They sang Christmas songs and songs about the Savior. There

were missionaries everywhere talking to the people. It was really

neat to experience this!

I know this isn't the best or most flattering picture of me -

but it shows I was there and that they put lights up in the

palm trees.

Holly pointing out that they put lights in the orange trees!

We wanted to pick oranges off the trees, but felt it might be like stealing.

I wonder what the temple does with all the citrus fruit off the trees

on the temple grounds.

Holly and her Dad with the Mesa temple in the background.

After the temple lights, we went to eat at the Native New Yorker.

They have the best bbq wings ever! (We ate there with Steve when we

took some of Holly's stuff down the 1st time and had to return.)

They have lots of good food there! After that we went back to

Holly's apartment to play games. At midnight we watched the fireworks!

HOLLY'S BIRTHDAY!!

For Holly's birthday, we went to the Botanical Garden and spent some time walking around. It was a very large area. Then we went to eat at an Asian food place. We then went back to Holly's for her birthday cheesecake that we picked up at the Cheesecake Factory the night before.

A picture of all of us at the Botanical Garden.

We took lots of pictures here (too many to post)

and had a really good time.

A Christmas tree made out of poinsettias.

You can tell that it was unseasonably cold, because

all the poinsettias are starting to shrivel from the cold.

I am sure it was beautiful in it's prime.

These 3 trees are a glass sculpture done by the same artist that did

the sculpture for the Symphony Hall here.

Holly's Birthday Cheesecake.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HOLLY!

We did a lot of other things. Holly showed us the sights of the area she lives. We shopped for her birthday and enjoyed our time spent with her. As her dad always says, "SHE'S A GREAT KID!" (He says that about his other daughter also.) We are blessed with the BEST!!

CHRISTMAS

It was so fun to have my children together for Christmas this year. I have really been missing spending time with the girls. This past year was one of change for our family. Heather got married in January and Holly moved to Arizona in August. John and I have adjusted to being empty nesters, but we really like it when we can all be together. Holly flew in on the Wednesday night before Christmas. On Thursday, we went to see the Lights on Temple Square, the play SAVIOR OF THE WORLD, and then to dinner. Heather and Brian got stuck in traffic and just barely made it in time for the play. We were so HAPPY they made it in time for the play and for dinner after. We missed them while looking at the lights.

Holly and Mom

Heather and Brian stayed over for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. It was so fun all being under the same roof again. John and I truly feel blessed to have such wonderful children that we enjoy spending time with!

Heather's creative wrap job on her father's present.

(Who can guess what it was?)

Holly opening one of her gifts.

Brian with his surprise gift from Santa!

We had a GREAT Christmas this year! We are so grateful for our wonderful children and the good time that we had together.

CHRISTMAS EVE

TRADITIONS! Where would we be without them, right!! For as long as I can remember, Christmas Eve has always been as fun, and in some cases, funner than Christmas day. My mom started the tradition when we were younger for family to gather, EAT, have a special family home evening (that always included the Christmas story), and then EAT some more. I remember my grandparents coming and as the older siblings got married, they would come with their cute families. The excitement in the air of the anticipated arrival of Santa amongst the children and just spending time with the people you love most, makes for a very exciting evening. Some of my very best memories with my family comes from this tradition! My memories of Christmas's at my parent's home where the presents under the tree came clear out to the middle of the living room floor, because of the number of people celebrating Christmas there, will always be special ones. The last one that Mary Jane was with us, where her and Barry spent hours putting stickers on a doll house, with all of us laughing and joking will always be dear to me. I could go on and on - but back to the present!

I still love the tradition of gathering family for Christmas Eve. We feel fortunate that some of my siblings and their families don't mind joining our family for this special evening. The more the MERRIER!! This year we had lots of appetizers. So many, in fact, that no one was hungry for the soup I made. So it was decided we will just stick to appetizers next year and forget the soup. Of course we will always have all the yummy goodies to eat for dessert. We played the dice game for the adults and children. We read the Christmas story. (Is this sounding familiar?) Barry (our Santa look-a-like) read TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS to all the children. But mostly, we just had a lot of fun spending time together! (thanks Mom & Dad for starting such an awesome tradition) Thanks to my family who came for helping to make this Christmas Eve so enjoyable! Maybe we will have more of you next year!

The kids playing the dice game!

ABOUT TIME

I think updating blogs is a hard thing to keep on top of. I seldom remember to take pictures at events and even forgot to take my camera on our two trips to Arizona this summer. The end of July we went to Arizona twice. Once to find an apartment for Holly and a week later to move her into her new apartment in Tempe. That was hard for me to have her move so far away, but she seems to be doing really well and adjusting to the one season of Arizona. HOT! When we went to move her, we stopped in St. George and went to see TARZAN at Touahcan. It was incredible! I really enjoyed that part of the trip. We will have to go there again. Holly is working at a rehab center in Scottsdale for her clinical fellowship year. She is keeping really busy.

Heather and Brian finished the remodel of their house and our now officially landlords. They rented out their house the 1st of November and they moved to an apartment in Provo to be closer to Heather's school and Brian's work. Their house looked incredible! They put in so much hard work. Hopefully their tenants will take good care of the place.

John and I have been getting used to being empty-nesters and enjoying our time together. We have found that we really do like being together and doing things together. We helped both girls with their moves and marvel at what fine individuals they are! We sure feel blessed to have such wonderful children (and a wonderful son-in-law too)!!

We are looking forward to the upcoming holidays. Holly will be home the weekend after Thanksgiving so we will be celebrating then and she will be home again for Christmas. I am so glad that we get to spend time with our girls during the holidays! We will soon be putting up the outside Christmas Lights and it won't be long until the inside decorations are donned. (Thanksgiving) I love the holidays and the cheery atmosphere that they bring. It has been a beautiful fall season and winter has tried to creep in - snow will soon be sticking to the ground.

Hopefully I will remember to take pictures during the holidays and will post more then. I sure love my family and extended family and hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!