BACK AGAIN!!!

I love blogs with lots of pictures, so that is what you are going to get. A lot has happened since my last blog, with trips back and forth between Fresno, Utah, SoCal and occassionally, even Calgary.

UTAH
A couple of weeks after Noah was born, I left Heather for a few days to go to Utah for a football game. Marilee, Adam and Avery came over from Denver and Marilee, Julie and I had a "girls" lunch with my mom, sister Lori, niece Amy and her little guy, Drew, and niece Val and her little girls, Ryley, Saige and Dylanne. I don't know why I didn't get any pictures of Val and the girls. Silly me. Sorry Val!

Gongy with Avery Jean. It was the first time she had seen her.

Amy, Drew (so, so cute!) and Julie.

Lori, Marilee and Moi!

Four generations! How amazing is that?

BACK TO FRESNO!

I just had to throw in a picture of Noah that I took the day I left Fresno for the last time. After almost 8 weeks, I'm sure Heather was more than ready to be on her own. When I said goodbye to the kids I got a little teary eyed and Brookie, in her always optimistic way said, "but Nana, don't be sad. You can phone us every day." Oh Brookes, I love you!

UTAH AGAIN!

The day after arriving back in Utah was "Grandparents Day" at the Brinkerhoff kid's school. I missed it last year so was excited to be there this time. It was fun to see the kids and meet their teachers. What a nice school!

Jackson in 4th grade

Natalie in second grade

And Brady in pre-school.

Sorry, no pictures of Reecie this time. We also got to see Jackson play football. His team did awesome, going to the finals and losing in a heartbreaker. Jack is a terrific tight end and made a ton of great catches and caught several touchdown passes It's now on to basketball. He's a great little athlete and might be even better at basketball. Have fun!

DENVER FOR GAMES, BABY BLESSING AND CANADIAN THANKSGIVING!

Annie loves having a sister!

Is she gorgeous or what! And she has the sweetest litte personality besides.

We can't believe Mar and Adam have 5 children. They are so beautiful, but I'm the Nana, so judge for yourselves. I knew you'd agree!

Yummy Thanksgiving dinner. One of the perks of being dual citizens is getting to celebrate and eat twice. It was fun having both sets of grandparentals there as well.

We had hoped to see all the kids play soccer and football, but Saturday morning was snowy and cold, so all but Spencer's football game were cancelled. Granddad and I braved the elements and went to his game in 17 degree weather, but it was well worth it as Spence had an awesome game and they came out victorious. Maybe next year we can see everyone play. It was so cold I didn't even get a picture of Spencer, but he isn't the only one, as we missed getting pics of Justin, Jackson and Ben in their football uniforms as well.

CALIFORNIA HERE WE COME!

I actually went to Calgary for a couple of days before heading out to California again. This time to see Amber and Marin in "Seussical the Musical" (sp?) and to watch the boys play football. Of course we also wanted to see our little Gracie-girl with her white-blond curls and big blue eyes.

The musical was so, so cute and the girls were adorable. Marin was Cindy-Lou-Who and Amber was a jungle animal and on the dance team. Even Don (who hate Dr. Seuss books) enjoyed it. Maybe it had something to do with his grandaughters?

The boys both had games, but again no pictures. Duh!! They both won and it was a fun day. Gracie is the cutest little girl with the funniest little personality. Didn't get a pic of her either. I must repent.

It was Joy Hall's (Nicoles friend and now my friend) birthday so we had brunch with some friends from Irvine. Such fun, lovely ladies. I love them!

Nicole, Joy, Heather and Cindy. Looking beautiful, girls.

HOME AT LAST!

Don and I went home for a week or so (wonder of wonders) and we were able to be with our Canadian kids and grandkids for Halloween. Jenny had a great dinner for us and the kids were all so cute (again no pictures). The only sad thing was Heath breaking his arm. Poor little guy, but he was brave.

Julie found these Ernie and Burt costumes for Don and Ian. Hilarious!

FRESNO AGAIN, ONLY NOT SO HOT!
Second weekend in November we were off to Fresno for Noah's blessing and we also got to see Brooklynn play soccer. She is quite the little soccer player and of course she was excited to have us there.

Noah on his special day. Isn't he so handsome? I love his huge eyes. He definitely has his own look, but also fits right in. We're so glad and grateful he is here safely and that Heather is healthy. What a blessing he is.

Cute little kids and Josh is such a little turkey.

Once again, Josh is the clown. They are such a nice little family and just like with Mar and Adam, it's hard to believe that Heather and Steve have 4 children. Time goes so quickly. We love them!

Pretty Mama!

Just had to throw in this picture of Brooklynn from her soccer game. She played goalie and stopped about 20 shots. She's a good little player. Way to go Brookes!

BACK AGAIN!!

MORE PICTURES OF NOAH AND THE KIDS

I thought I should include some more pictures of the Empey kids and Noah. I"ve also put in a picture of Heather a week or so before the baby was born. He friends Talli and Melissa and baby Macy are with her. She looks really good I think.

After her baby shower at Talli's house

Tyler's first day of 3rd grade

Brooklynn was so excited to be in 1st grade she could hardly stand it

Josh's cute little Chicken Little face

Just so relaxed

He's decided Noah is quite cute

Brookie is quite the little mother to both Josh and Noah

Tyler is such a big help to his mom and me

First photo after the birth

Such a cute little guy. We like him alot!

CRAZY CRAZY SUMMER

I thought when I blogged in June that I would be able to post a least once a month, but with the wild and crazy summer the time just slipped away. It is September and I guess a recap of the events of July, August, and at least part of September are about due.

CABIN FUN!!!
This year we spent the first two weeks of July at our cabin at Windemere Lake in B.C. Instead of kids and grandkids for the entire time, we did our first week with some special friends. Todd and Kathy Christofferson, Greg and MarJane Christofferson and Ray and Brenda Morris were our guests for the first week. The weather wasn't great, but the company was and we had a great time relaxing, visiting, eating and laughing. The second week, Ryan, Nicole and kids came and we surprised the Miller children with a visit from Spencer and Annie Christofferson.. Everything is always more fun when you have cousins to share it with. I have pictures of the events of the two weeks, but they are on my computer in Canada. Maybe I can post them later.

DENVER AND BABY AVERY

I was home from the cabin for just two days when I flew to Utah, celebrated Reece's 2nd (can't believe it) birthday and then Julie and the kids and I drove to Denver to be there for the birth of

Avery Jean on July 20th.

Pretty Baby!

It is always such a thrill to welcome a new little grandchild into the family. Julie, MarJane (Adam's mom), Annie, Adam and I were all there when she popped out weighing 8 lbs 8 oz. She is definitely a Christofferson baby, but I think Ry and Nic's Gracie looks alot like her.

Avery Jean

Grace Rylynn

I stayed for 2 1/2 weeks with Don coming the last weekend to meet his new granddaughter. It was love at first sight of course.

Smitten?

Needless to say her siblings adore her.

Logan and Avery

Garett and baby sister

Happy Spencer

Annie saw her born

A QUICK TRIP TO UTAH

In the middle of all of this I went to Utah for two days and was there when Brady staryed his very traumatic first day of Big Boy pre-school. Don't let the smiles fool you. It didn't last for long the poor little guy. He has adjusted quickly, however and is doing much better.

Such a big boy!

FRESNO, HOT WEATHER, BACK TO SCHOOL AND BABY NOAH STEVEN

I flew home for two days then was off to Fresno to help Heather who was on bedrest with her pregnancy. She had Josh 6 weeks early and had pre-eclampsia, so they were being very cautious. She had diabetes with this little guy and with Steve traveling so much for work, she needed some help. I arrived on August 7th, but I met Don twice down in Orange County and flew to Utah once to check on our home there. I flew back to Fresno on Sunday night the 6th and it's a good thing, cuz on Labor Day Heather woke up and said we maybe should get ready because she thought she might be in labor. She was still three weeks from her due date and scheduled for a c-section on September 23rd. Off we went to the hospital and sure enough she was having a baby. Because he was breach they delivered him by c-section at 2:17 pm on September 7th. He weighed 7 lbs 5 oz and was 20 inches long. His name is Noah Steven Empey and he is adorable. Again, the Empey babies all look alike when they're born. This little guy looks the most like Brooklynn, but we see both Tyler and Josh in him. A perfect combination. I'll meet Don in Utah for the game this weekend and then I'll be back here for a few more days since her recovery is a bit slower. Then off for other games, a baby blessing in Denver and more adventures. I must say that I have an amazing husband, as I know he HATES being home alone, but hasn't complained. His main concern is for his daughters and these new babies and even though he doesn't say much I know he worries until they arrive safely and moms and babies are healthy. We also celebrated Tyler's 9th birthday on September 11th. His best present was his new baby brother, however.

Josh's new bike

Back to School and time for the Happy Dance by Mom and Nana

We Welcome Noah Steven on September 7th

A Happy Nana

MARIN JANAE TURNS EIGHT

On labor day weekend Marin (Ryan's 3rd child) was baptized in Irvine. Her cousin Natalie Brinkerhoff was able to fly with granddad from SLC to surprise Marin. It was really fun to see those two little girls so excited. As you can tell we are big on surprises in our family. Especially when it involves getting cousins together.

Marin and Natalie. Cousins and Best Friends!

Ryan and Princess Zippy

Well there you have it. I'll be here in Fresno for the next couple of weeks with a trip to a BYU game in between. We are so blessed to have 24 beautiful grandchildren and great kids who are raising them properly. Life is good!! Go Cougars!!!

WELL, IT'S ABOUT TIME!!

I guess 13 months since the last post is about long enough. Since it's been so long, a brief overview of the past year is in order.

1. We've been to California about 10 times watching the Miller boys in sports and the girls in plays. We also spent Christmas with the Emplesteins in Fresno. Fun, fun, fun, but cold, cold, cold.

2. We've been to Utah even more times, since we bought a home there last September and have been renovating and furnishing it. It will hopefully be our retirement home in the future. Here are a couple of pictures. It is really starting to shape up and I need to take some more recent shots.

Family Room

Really big, nice kitchen

3. Of course, what is the fall without some BYU football. It was great to have Julie, TJ & the kids there to go with us. We saw Jackson and Natalie play football and soccer and we had some great food at our, now, traditional tailgate parties.

4. We went to Hawaii for U.S. Thanksgiving with the Brinks, AP Christoffersons and GP Christoffersons. It was so much fun and then the girls had a "girls" week with Heather and Nicole joining us after everyone else left. We definitely need to make it a tradition. We also went back in March to hawaii with Jim and Sherri. It was a fun time, but really cold for Hawaii. I just need to remind myself that the worst day in Hawaii is better than the best winter day in Calgary.

5. I spent a week or so in Denver after Christmas to help Marilee with pregnancy sickness issues. It was fun to see the kids play basketball. They all did so well.

6. April took us to Detroit to enjoy the Final Four basketball tournament with the Millers, Andrews and Lettichs. We had a private box and lots of yummy food. Detroit was quite a surprise, as it was much nicer than i expected it to be. We had a really fun weekend.

Ford Field

Magic Johnson was at a mall and he was very nice

Well, that is an extremely brief year in review. I'll tryto do better so it isn't always so sketchy. We are off to Utah this weekend to spend a week attending Ali Brinkerhoff's wedding and just enjoying our new home. Can't wait!