Happy Birthday Damon

It's hard to believe our little D is 7 years old!  He's handsome and smart and has a cute personality!  This year he was also very excited because he finally lost his two front bottom teeth and has a cute toothless grin for his pictures.  The past couple of years, Brandi and the boys have traveled here so we could celebrate Damons birthday.  He got to pick what he wanted to eat and then he wanted to decorate red velvet cupcakes for dessert.  Then the sang a very loud "Happy Birthday to you"...I think we get louder each time we sing it!!  While he was here he also got to drive the truck for grandpa while they were feeding the cows.  Thanks for coming down and letting us share your special day...we love you lots!!

Haylee, Logan, Damon and Taite

The Reason for the Season

Christmas is a lot different from the days when our children were small.  Now they are all grown up with families of their own.  There are no children so excited they can't fall asleep...no flashlights hidden under the bed so they can sneak out at 5 in the morning to see what Santa had brought...no watching Jason take the gifts from under the tree and set them in five different piles to make things easier when his sisters came out...no watching their faces as they unwrapped their gifts and were so excited to see Santa had looked at their lists and brought them what they wanted...just a quiet house with only the two of us.  I miss all those things that use to fill our home at this time of year.  But in it's place we have come to ponder the true meaning of Christmas.  The birth of the baby Jesus...the gift of love from our Heavenly Father...His precious son that would grow up and give his life so that we could each have the opportunity to return to live with our Heavenly Father again.  It's a season that we spend time thinking about those around us and doing things for others...just as the Savior did while he was here on the earth.  Hopefully we will keep that Christmas spirit thoughout the coming year.

Christmas Eve 2011

Those of our family that live here in Sanpete try to gather on Christmas eve for a little family fun.  We started the evening off with some yummy chilli and scones and then it was time for some activities.  First we played a couple of games of bingo.  Each round got a little harder and the money in the winning envelope was more and more.  At the end of the games we had the winners hold up their prizes...Haylee did add a little extra cash for the picture :-)

Next came cookie decorating cookies so the kids had goodies to leave for Santa.

Then it was time for the Nunleys and the Hoopers to head home and try to settle down so the kids could go to bed so that jolly old Santa could make his visit.

An Eagle Eye View

As Randy and I were driving home from our last minute Christmas shopping, we noticed these two bald eagles perched in the top of this tree.  We tried to get a little closer but the two of them flew off.  I love the picture of the horseshoe in the back ground.  This picture is just one of the many reasons I love living here in Sanpete!!

Lunch with the Ramsays



I got a call this morning from Amy asking me if we would meet her little family in Nephi and have lunch. They had gifts they wanted to give us and they wanted us to have them so we could open them on Christmas morning.  Taite and Haylee were a little bored and wanted to ride over with us so they could see their cousins, so we picked them up and headed to Nephi.  We had a tasty lunch at Lisa's and had a chance to give Christmas hugs and lots of love.

The Rydalch Family Christmas Party

It's that time of year again for the family Christmas party.  We've been doing this for as long as I can remember.  We use to do it on Christmas eve when I was younger and all our grandparents would come celebrate with us.  Years later we moved it to the saturday before Christmas, unless that saturday happens to be Christmas eve...like this year.  We finally had to move the party to the church house since our little family is getting pretty big.  After a wonderful dinner, we gather the chairs into a circle while my mom reads a Christmas story and we pass around sealed envelopes with money inside.  The kids love it and my mom puts lots of thought into the beautiful story she tells.  Above is a picture of mom, dad, my brother Dan, my sister Shell (who had surgery on her shoulder) and myself.  I love the look on Dans face!!  Here are a few more pictures of my kids and grandkids.

 Gavin, Ian and Logan

Amy and Daniel suprised dad with a

gun engraved with his name and a

picture of a horse.

Happy Birthday Kenzie

It's hard to believe Kenzie is now officially 16!  She has a learners permit and 16 candles to prove it.  Cute, smart and dangerous!!  And she is a typical teenager...see how close her cell phone is.  We celebrated the day after her official birthday because she was cheering all day at a wrestling meet at Juab.  She got to pick her favorite dinner...homemade tomato gorganzolla soup with monkey bread and then the traditional large cupcake for dessert.  She even earned her own money to buy her first car by babysitting for her physical therapist...a 1999 Toyota Paseo she lovingly calls Tony.  Happy Birthday Lou!  We love you tons!

Haylee, Kenzie, Wyatt and Taite

Haylee, Kenzie, Logan and Taite...don't you just love

that look on Haylee's face!!!!!

Kenzie and Tony