I LOVE SEPTEMBER

This is one of my favorite pictures of Andy with his dad about 25 years ago.
HAPPY BIRTHDAYS this month to Andy and Emily who turned six!

This was right after Emily had her hair done so pretty by her 2nd cousin, Lora Knight.

Bruce and I drove up to Washington (with Jared and Candace) for the 2nd time this summer for Joshua's baby blessing. Lee is the proud daddy and Karyn (the mommy), put on an open house afterwards at their house.

Thank you's to Deana, Savannah, Peyton, Shane, Shila, Alisha, Asher, and Ainsley, who came out to be with us! It was really great to see you all!

Grandma and Grandpa Howard love to hold our grandbabies!

Last weekend, we got together with Bruce's mom and his brother and sisters for a picnic.

Carolyn, his sister, and Craig drove to Utah from Florida to pick up their son,Nick, who has lived here for a few years and will go back home now.

Pat Merrill is Bruce's older sister who lives in Orem.

And Charlie is Bruce's older brother who also lives in Orem.

This is his mother who planned the party. It was good to see everyone. This summer has been a great one for seeing many of our family and it's hard to see it end. But we have some excitement coming next month because Sarah and her Ukrainian fiance will be getting married! Stay tuned!

BUSY LAST DAYS OF SUMMER IN AUGUST

We don't want to forget mentioning Wyatt's 2nd birthday was July 31st! Bruce and I visited with him a little early in Vancouver, WA and saw him again at our 1st Howard Family Reunion this month. (More details below.) Happy Birthday again, Wyatt!!! Hey, is that a fly by Wyatt's mouth?
and....HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSHUA JONATHAN CHRISTOPHER HOWARD born August 3rd!We are excited to welcome our 7th grandchild to the family! A precious boy to Lee and Karyn. He was 8 pounds 2 ounces and 21 inches long. His blessing will be the first Sunday of September at the Shelton branch for anyone able to attend. Bruce and I will be driving up there with Jared and Candace for that weekend.

and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to JARED on August 27th!!! It's so nice living close to you guys and having you over every Sunday for dinner. Candace's birthday was on July 16th. Had to wish her happy birthday early because we were gone to Washington on that day. You are a great daughter-in-law and we love you, Candace!!!

Whitney flew in from Washington the end of July to attend EFY at Utah State University in Logan for the 2nd year. We drove her to and from and had a little fun with her while she was here.

The fireworks at Liberty Park may not have been the most exciting, but it was fun to be together. There were a lot of fire engine sirens and we found out later that there was an accident around the site where they were setting off the fireworks. Some people were injured, so I am glad we were farther back!

Whitney enjoyed EFY.

And she was proud to find her room where she stayed that week.

We were lucky to have Raidon over to our house for a couple of days while his mom rode horses in the rodeo. We tried to give him a fun time.

He loves to play in a little swimming pool we put in our back yard. He loved his Fruit Loop necklace he helped to make.

And one evening, Bruce and I took him to the aquarium in Sandy.

He kept wanting to sit on this frog.

And was very interested in the fish.

Then it was time for our Howard Family Reunion we have been planning since the first of the year. Everyone, except Sarah (because she is still in Ukraine), met at a rented summer home we found in Garden Valley, Idaho. We had time to sit around and just be silly. Like making pipe-cleaner glasses.

Our buddy, Wyatt, kept his on for a while.

Great Grandma Howard and Whitney found time to play a game of Chess.

We got to meet our new grandson for the first time. The weather was beautiful and we found the river that was nearby where the kids got to wade in the water.

Diane and Dallon brough Sophie along and it was good for her to get to know all her Howard cousins.

She fits in with all the other little blondies in our family.

Zachary, Whitney, and Emily had fun finding pretty rocks.

Spencer and Emily tried splashing each other with water.

Jane is expecting our 8th grandchild in October.

It was a good time for Andy and Raidon to spend together.

These are the three closest in age. Wyatt and Raidon are two and Sophie is three.

Here's Bruce and I with five of our six children. Bruce and I have gotten to skype with Sarah in Ukraine and she is having a good time. We miss her and hope she will hurry home.

And here is all seven of our grandchildren.

It wasn't easy to get everyone there is one picture...but we did it. I love you all!!! Thank you so much for making the sacrifices to be there for our reunion. We will let you know where our next one will be after doing some checking around. XOXOXO Mom (Jeri)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH!!!

We miss you, Sarah! Wish we could be with you tomorrow on your 24th birthday! Stay safe in Russia and Ukraine and we'll talk to you soon. Love you lots!!! Mom and Dad

July - Vacation Time

It was vacation time...Yeah!
Bruce did all the driving, as usual, from Utah to Washington. I got to relax, work on crochet projects, and watch movies on our DVD player. Wyatt kept a ladybug for awhile in his new bug box we gave him for his 2nd birthday coming up on the 31st.

One day we went raspberry picking and Jane made us a wonderful sorbet!

Here's the whole group out on a walk near Camus, WA.

Wyatt loved playing at the playground.

Spencer and Jane always show us a great time by taking us on walks and hikes. Wyatt loves the rides on his dad's back and the expected daughter gets her rides in front of Mommy.

Lee drove us to the Sea-Tac airport and said good-bye.

Flying from Washington took all day with a stop in St. Louis, Missouri. Zach and Emily especially liked the take offs and landings.

The view below our Daytona Beach hotel windows was very beautiful. I could stand out on the balcony and look for a long time if it wasn't for the dense humidity.

Aunt Kathy played with the kids at the swimming pools. We tried staying out of the sun as much as possible.

It's hard to get a good picture of Zach, but he couldn't hold back his smile today.

This was their first visit to the Atlantic Ocean and they couldn't get enough of it. Even with all the sunscreen I put on them, they stil got some sunburns.

Zach thought he could dig out a crab from under the sand.... but they were too fast for him.

Here's some of the group at our dinner cruise. Jeanette's husband, Max's sister, Maureen (in the red) was very nice and sang "Don't Worry About a Thing" to all of us.

Emily wanted to dance over and over again to the live entertainment.

Lora was sweet to put shiny strands in Emily's hair. They stayed in until I combed her hair later the next day. Guess I should have just brushed it.

Love this picture of my parents, brother and sisters....

.......but we can be goofy!

Eating lunch at Johnnie Rocket's was fun. The servers entertained us with a dance.

This is the 2010 Garrard Family Reunion bunch (minus Kristina, Clint, and Maddie who had to leave early). We're a great bunch, aren't we! A big thank you to everyone in Washington and Florida who made our trip so fun!!!

Just before flying back to Washington, I realized we didn't get a picture of all of us together, so I asked a girl that was waiting for her ride if she would take it. General Maou is Emily's favorite friend. Our grandchildren were pretty fun to vacation with. Thank you, Lee and Karyn, for letting us take them. Their new son is ready to be born any time now.

On our drive home from Washington we stopped for a few minutes at Multnomah Falls. It is so pretty as well as almost the whole drive. Just wish it wasn't so far to drive home!

Dallon and Diane's Sophie turned three yesterday, the 22nd. Bruce and Jared went to her party in Syracuse. (I missed it because of Choir rehearsal.) She looks like she is all smiles! What a cutie!