Matthew and Kasey came to Arizona a couple of weeks after their wedding. They wanted to visit with friends and family, so we had a small Open House for them at the house. It was a whirlwind trip as they were only in town for 3 short days. Kasey's parents also came. We tried to do a little sightseeing, but the temperatures were very high, so we stayed inside most of the time. It was great to see all of them and don't know when they will be back to Arizona!
While we were in Pittsburgh, we had ONE day that it didn't rain, so we took the boys to Simmon's Farm. We took a hayride, picked pumpkins, rode a huge slide, took silly pictures with Halloween cutouts, went through a corn maze, picked Indian corn, picked apples, went to the petting zoo, drank apple cider 
and just had a great time. There were dozens of apple trees to pick from, but I wanted to find my favorite - honeycrisp. So, Connor went to every tree looking to see if it had honeycrisp apples. He was so disappointed that we didn't find any. He had worked so hard to help grandma! He was rewarded with an extra glass of cider and extra play time in the cornbox (a sandbox with toys, but instead of sand it had hard corn kernels). Thanks anyway, Connor! We still bought some at $2.99 lb. Ouch!
Congratulations! Matthew and Kasey were married on a beautiful fall day. It was held on the anniversary of their first meeting, last year. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. After the wedding, a dinner/reception was held at an Italian restaurant downtown right on the river. The scenery was breath-taking. Jen and Laura helped me with the flowers and table decorations at the dinner.
Jen and Cameron went to Hawaii for a week, so Carson and Connor stayed at our house. Carson was sick for the first 4 days, so we had a lot of playing to make up for once he felt better. We had lots of activities, including candy tractors that were a big hit. We went out to eat and made special meals, even though Carson seemed to be stuck on turkey and cheese 
sandwiches with mustard (yum!?) We made peach ice cream and ate it with cute new animal spoons.
coney and then spend the day at Stapley Pool. All of us went down the big slide many times, including Connor.
Jen and the boys arrived in Arizona and one of the first things we wanted to do was to go to Canyon Lake and rent a boat. We took our lunch, life jackets, plenty of water and were looking forward to an exciting time. We got a little more than we bargained for! We had rented the boat for an hour. We drove for about 15 minutes to a cove and decided to stop, eat lunch and let the boys swim in the lake. We were there for about half an hour.
jacket that we bought that morning for him to wear. He tried the water, but wasn't too crazy about it. As long as he had food and shade, he was happy.
boat and move it out. Well. . . the motor would not start. We tried for a long time. Jen had to get the paddle out and try to keep us from hitting the bank. We tried to start the boat for at least 30-45 minutes and nothing happened.
Ryan and I had a sleepover and a fun Grandma day. At least, I thought it was fun! We started off by sleeping in a bit. We had a fancy breakfast of oatmeal, strawberries and brown sugar outside on the back porch. We enjoyed listening and watching all of the birds. Then, we made Ryan's long overdue personalized garden stone. It will join the others in the garden. He did a great job and wasn't afraid at all of making his handprint in the cement, although we immediately had to wash off the cement! That was kind of tramatic. Afterwards, we went to San Tan to play in the water spouts. He was a little leary to begin with, but once he saw the other little boys playing, he joined right in. We had a very fun lunch and then it was nap time (for both of us)!
Hey my little buddy! You are four years old today and how we wish we could be with you on your special day. We were able to be there on your birthday last year, but will have to just wait a week this year! I really wanted to see the look on your face when the "fruit salad" man came to your house to bring you a special delivery! Momma said it was priceless. I hoped you really liked it! I know you did because I couldn't even understand you on the phone because you had your mouth full! Since you weren't able to go to Disneyland, I hope you enjoyed your "alternate" plans! You know, you just can't beat that lunch at Costco and time to play at IKEA. You are a funny boy!
I just want you to know how much we love you and miss you and can't wait to see you again in just a little while. Happy Birthday!
Marc graduated from the University of Rochester Medical School on Friday, May 14. It was held at the beautifiul Eastman School of Music downtown. Marc was notified the day before that he needed to attend the awards assembly to be held on the same day of the graduation. He had no idea but he was to receive the "Robert J. Haggerty Prize in Pediatrics" award. We were so proud of him! We even took his picture with Robert J. Haggerty!
Matthew was able to come up and Laura's parents also flew in to support Marc. The ceremony in the afternoon was very nice. We lucked out that we were sitting on the same side of the aisle that he marched down, so we got a good picture! The commencement address was given by Dr. Ben Carson, a family favorite. He spoke for about 45 minutes and we all felt he could have spoken for another hour. He was fabulous.
After the ceremony, the school had a nice reception for the grads and their families. They even served strawberries, but not as large as the ones we had at Erik's graduation! That has been a joke with us because we have a picture of Marc eating one of them (they were HUGE) at Erik's. So. . . we had to get a picture of Marc eating one at his own graduation.
to support Marc. We are so proud of you!! 
Cameron was blessed by Kevin on Sunday, March 7. It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining. Church was early in the morning and far away, but we all got there on time! Cameron wore a blessing outfit that I was able to pick out for him in Mesa. The hat was the one that Carson and Connor wore. He looked adorable. He was awake and alert when he was 
blessed and Gary said that Cameron actually turned and looked at his dad during the blessing. It was a very special day. After Sacrament Meeting, we went back to Kevin and Jen's home and had a brunch. Jen's parents and one of her sisters and her family were able to be there. Marc, Laura, Matthew and Kasey were there, too!
Just when I thought I had seen it all in Pinetop, Pittsburgh got their 4th largest snow storm in history while I was there. It snowed and snowed and poor Kevin shoveled and shoveled. We knew a storm was coming, but had no idea how big it would be. Thankfully, Jen had gone shopping the day before while I stayed with the boys, so we had all of the 
necessities! After the storm, the roads were closed, many had no electricity, there was a water shortage (go figure!), power lines and trees were down in the roads, church and all schools were cancelled - even Kevin's medical school. So, we made the best of it. We got to do a lot of bonding, play lots of Valentine Bingo, eat chili, hold the baby and stay indoors except for "helping" Kevin shovel. The boys made and climbed on top of the "North Pole" and raised their flag (broom) when we finally went outside. It was a beautiful sight, but glad I don't live in it. I got to come back to Arizona where it was 70 degrees! You don't have to shovel sunshine!
Baby Cameron, our 4th grandson, was born on January 12th in Pittsburgh. I was able to go back and spend a few days with him and the rest of the family. He is so precious and as Carson said, "He is the cutest baby ever and he looks just like me!" He likes to be held, which is fine for me because that is exactly what I did. 
He is such a good baby, never crying except for letting you know it is feeding time, about every two hours. He has teeny little fuzz hair and blue eyes. He loves to have you sing to him, especially Primary songs. I hated to leave him, but we will go back for his blessing in a couple of weeks. 