For Spring Vacation, Robert and I went to Sedona for the day. It was a beautiful day and the drive was very pretty. We took Dakota and Max and I think they had a good time. Mostly they were just in the car, but we did take them out a couple of times and they got to sniff totally new smells! They loved it! We will be going to Sedona for a family reunion in July and we wanted to see where we would be staying. It's beautiful and we're looking forward to the trip.

Lindsay is in town this weekend for Amy Miles' wedding and I'm so excited to see her. It seems that it has worked out that she comes down to visit every month or so. Perfect! I will post pictures later... after we take some!
She just recently passed her Basic test for school. She is now officially an Esthetician, which means she can do facials, waxing, pedicures, manicures, etc. I think I'm going to get a good return on her education :)

Well, it has been a little bit of a scary day for our family. I was on my way out to Larry and Melanie's to watch my grandkids, Noah, Ethan and Catherine for the morning, when Robert called me and told me about the earthquake in Chile. Ben just got to Chile 6 weeks ago and is serving in Renaico which is very close to the epicenter of the quake. I spent the next eight hours being very worried about him, because we didn't know if he was okay. All the regular phones, internet and cell phones were knocked out and we didn't have any word. I would keep checking the Church website and the news releases to find out any information, but that didn't really help because all I saw on the news were pictures of burning buildings... Then around noon, we started hearing about the Tsunami warnings for Hawaii! Our son, Bradley, is in Hawaii attending Brigham Young University and so now I had another reason to worry! We feel we were blessed so much. Neither Ben nor Bradley were harmed during this whole event. We even found out later on when we talked to Ben that his companion actually had to WAKE HIM UP during the earthquake! I really wasn't too surprised, thinking about all the times I had to wake him for school. He is a very heavy sleeper. I am grateful that he is being watched over and being blessed. Very grateful.



This is the outside wall of the church. There wasn't much damage in the city where he's at.














This is a recent baptism that he had and a picture of the city where he is serving. I think it's beautiful!

Graduation!

This past weekend (Jan. 22-26) Robert & I traveled to Florida with Ryan & Kimber and Lindsay & Brian to attend Taylor's graduation from EOD school at Fort Walton, Florida. Larry also came out for the graduation and he took pictures for all of the graduates. Taylor was also promoted to Petty Officer, along with five other men. Again, just as I was when he graduated from boot camp, I was very impressed with the ceremony, the precision and the military-ness of the whole thing (I know that's not a word...but this is my blog and I can do what I want :) ). Florida is beautiful and we got to spend 4 days with Taylor, off and on, visiting different places, seeing where he lived and where he trained, eating at great restaurants and doing a little shopping. It was a very cold time of year and it rained a couple of times while we were there, but it was wonderful seeing what Taylor has been involved in for the past year. He will go through some more training and then will be stationed in Virginia later this year. Next on his calendar he gets to learn how to jump out of planes! How fun for him! We are very grateful for the opportunity we had to be there with him during this very important stage of his life.





Before the graduation, we did some sightseeing near our hotel









the beaches are beautiful in Florida! The sand is very white and fine. I couldn't wait to take off my shoes and wiggle my toes in it!

This is outside the Crab Trap

where we ate lunch

I had to get a bird picture in here somewhere...

This is where the ceremony was held. This is the wall of the names of EOD personnel from each of the different branches of the military who have died in action

These are the men who are being promoted. Taylor is on the right.

This is Taylor being given his certificate...

Taylor's graduating class

Taylor receiving his certificate

Taylor's pin that signifies him as an EOD technician




We are very happy for Taylor that he's been able to achieve this. It is quite a milestone for him.













...and it wouldn't be a trip to the beach without a surfing trip! The water was very cold, but Ryan and Taylor donned their wetsuits and braved the chilly Florida waters to do what they love to do...

So, Ben flew to Chile today! It seems very strange to have him going to a country that I've never been to and is so far away. I know he will have a great experience and that he will grow in ways that he never could if he stayed here, so I'm grateful that he has this opportunity. Below are some pictures from the MTC... Who says the MTC isn't fun??

For an after Christmas gift for our family (Robert & Me…), we purchased a new cage for our cockatoo. After escaping from her cage twice in one week and flying uncontrolled around the neighborhood, we decided we had to increase the security for our little “jailbird”. We have also moved her cage inside to prevent anymore high flying antics. Our good friend, Fran, suggested that we give her a new name in honor of her actually returning to us, escaping from the hawk that was chasing her and us being able to find her and get her back in her cage. Her new name is “Mila” which is a shortened version of the Spanish word “Milagros”, which means “Miracle”. She really is our miracle bird and we plan to enjoy her a lot more now that she’s home for good!














Update... on January 9th we realized that Mila is actually a boy... so now we'll have to get used to calling "her" him. He has been so much fun to have in the house now. We take him out and he is so funny to watch and talk to. One thing that we noticed is that when the phone rings, he'll say "hello" and he likes to fly to Brian from across the room.
woo hoo!




















Mila and Brian playing...


















and thank you Lindsay for helping with the new look for my blog!

Happy New Years!

We had a little miracle happen this morning... we came home yesterday to find our cockatoo had escaped from her cage. Her cage is kept outside and now she was nowhere to be found. We searched for her around the neighborhood, but couldn't find her anywhere. We thought maybe one of our neighbors purposely let her out because she can be a little loud :) This morning, after much prayer, Robert & I got in the car and proceeded to put out "lost" signs around the neighborhood, when all of a sudden, Robert spotted her in a tree, three houses from our own! We were able to hold her cage up close enough to her so that she could climb down and we put her back inside her cage. We truly feel that this has been our little miracle, because once a caged bird escapes, it doesn't often find it's way back home. Her cage is now inside the house... After that bit of excitement, we had a great New Years day watching football (of course), eating (of course) and spending time with family and friends (of course). What a fun 2 weeks this has been! We have had such a great time with family and friends over this Christmas season. I am not looking forward to having all the kids go back to their “other” homes, but I know they have to! I hope you all have a wonderful new year and that you are able to accomplish all of your goals that you have for the new year. Happy New Year!

Phoenix Zoo

Going to the Zoo is one of our favorite activities. With a Season Pass, it is affordable for a large family and everyone always enjoys seeing the animals. This time of year is a perfect time, too!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

At this Christmas time, we loved having Taylor, Bradley and Lindsay home for the holidays. Taylor has recently finished his training for EOD school and will be graduating in January. Bradley is finishing up his first round of internship back East and will be heading off to school again in January at BYU-Hawaii. Lindsay is loving school in Salt Lake City and will return to finish up after Christmas. Benjamin is at the MTC and will head off to Chile in mid-January. Brian is the only one at home now and is involved with school and LaCrosse. Our oldest four, Kelli, Richard, Larry and Kimber are married and are busy with their own families. We have 13 grandchildren, with # 14 expected in June.

Catherine received matching dresses for herself and her doll from Grandma and Grandpa

looks like Noah has lots of help opening his gift!

a super cool waffle iron for Larry and Melanie from Mom and Dad...

a manger and stars for the Nativity to Mom and Dad from Kimber and Ryan

Opening up their one Christmas Eve gift...

Taylor, Lindsay and Brian

Bradley always has a guitar in his hands and Taylor had to get in on the action

Lindsay opening her gift from Kimber on Christmas day... a Handmade comforter

Kimber opening gifts from Ryan

Robert and I want to tell all of our family and friends how very much we love you all at this Christmas season! We are so blessed to have each of you in our lives and we recognize the great blessing at this time of year of knowing that Jesus Christ was born and lived that we might know Him and follow Him as we go through this earthly experience. We appreciate having the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives. It gives us direction and guidance, peace and assurance as we face daily challenges. We hope you will each have a wonderful Christmas and that you will be able to spend time with your family and friends as we will.
We love you all...
Merry Christmas!

our family picture from Christmas 2008

back row... Melanie & Larry Reeves, Taylor, Richard, Ryan & Kimber Hicken, Lindsay, Brian, Kelli & Adam Bishop
middle row... Catherine, Mason, Chealsey, ... Robert & Janet, Brooklyn on Janet's lap
seated in front... Ethan, Nickie & Kendyl, Sadie, Benjamin, Bradley, Alysa, Tyler, Vanessa, Chase and Ryan

A big thank you to Larry for the awesome picture!!