Grandkids Visited

The summer started off great with a visit to Rancho Cucamonga to see Devin, Rachel, Crew and Finley. It seemed that water was the theme of our adventure! Fun Mother's Day vacation.

Pirates Treasure Hunt

Cooper and Mason were so surprised (even a little bit scared) to find an old pirate in a window who sold them a treasure map and magnifying glass so they could go on a treasure hunt during their recent trip to Idaho Falls. Grandpa BeBe helped them discover their clues.

Head wraps and patches for all, along with compasses and coats.

The map directed the pirates to various places in the yard and about town. The clues described the booty they would find.....The mailbox held "pirate power pellets" dispensed by Goofy and Donald Pez.

The map had to be studied very carefully.

The sheep in the filed about a mile down the road was the next stopping place. A little pirate (confiscated by the Fisher Price Pirate ship) was awaiting the treasure seekers at each stop.) The problem with the sheep field was the SMELL. Unfortuantely, there was a dead sheep that was really FOUL.

The next clue led to the office.

Trent and Andrew came along to watch all the excitement. Again, one little pirate figure awaited the boys.

Inside the office, was an obstacle course and an opportunity to be hooked up to the overhead suspension swing. It couldn't have been more challenging or fun, even for the big guys who took their turn.

Mason needed just a little help from GoGo.

The next stop on the map was Leo's pizza parlor. The pirates played in the play area there. The big guys enjoyed some of the best pizza ever. What a fun day....the only problem was that Mason and Cooper kept looking for orange and green paper clues for the next 24 hours....even though the hunt was over.
Enjoying grandchildren is by far the best thing in the whole world.

Julia really got into the swing of things too.

Arrrr me buckoo!

Aren't loving uncles fun.?

A Weekend in Portland

Claire and Grandma love to read books. We are watching the BYU-UNLV game that we wished wouldn't have gone the way it did....but we had fun anyway.
During the broadcast of the game we could see Devin, Rachel, Crew and Finley sitting behind the BYU bench...we kept hoping for a close up, but no luck. We were just glad we could see them.

Grandpa and Adam watch the super bowl together. Note Adam's new gotee and mustache!

Claire loves her bath....she can sign bath and asks for them frequently.

Her "lovey" signals it is time to snuggle down, suck a couple of fingers and take a rest.

We had a great time in Portland...We found a very cheap round trip ticket out of Boise, so we drove to Boise on Friday afternoon, arrived in Portland that evening. We went to fun restaurants, took long runs on a beautiful "Greenspace" boardwalk and paved trail, did walk-abouts through the Alphabet District and in general just had a great time.

Claire with her snack bowl. She says and signs snacks and enjoys "biscuits" best.

Grandpa and Claire playing on the floor. Claire really loved her Grandpa.

On Monday before going to the airport, we explored Oregon City...this is wher Rachel grew up. It is a quaint little town not far from Portland. We did a walk-about and viewed old houses, locks on the river, the Willamette Falls, and ate a great lunch at the Oregon City McMenimins (I am sure I spelled this wrong.)

There is a 90 foot outdoor elevator that takes you from one bluff of the city to the next....so interesting.

Claire needed Grandpa to hold her.

On our way to the airport we stopped at Ikea...Claire loved the puppies and was so excited that Grandpa bought her a beagle to take home. She loved them all and had a hard time deciding which one to take home.

We are so grateful that we can use our limited time off work and our resources to spend time periodically with our wonderful children and grandchildren. They are the joy and focus of our lives.

Claire had a really hard time not adopting all of the puppies, but her mom knew that her crib was too little for all of them.

Claire finally decided on her favorite and held it tight on the way to the airport.

Great time in the Pacific Northwest...After seeing budding daffodils, flowering trees and green grass it was really hard to come back to SNOW and COLD

Christmas Bangles and Baubles at the Belnaps

Adam, Claudia and Claire drove from Portland to spend Christmas. We were so happy to see them!

This nativity was made by my mother many, many years ago and is a central piece in our Christmas decorations.

My snowman collection is growing! Not much snow this year, however.

Crystal Chandelier just for Christmas.

Fireplace mantle gets a holly and berry treatment.

The big tree in the great room was done in purple, burgandy and gold. We cut the trees down at McCoy Creek Campground outside of Alpine, WY. Trent helped haul them out for us.

Mirrored Reindeer and trees were added this year and look great on the glass table...not great placement for the toddlers, however.

The nutcrackers always find a home, somewhere.

The stairway garland went up first, before Thanksgiving, and made the house festive weeks before the actual decorating began.

Pine cones, pictured on lower shelf, were gathered on our California vacation this summer.

White frosted candles and ornaments were added to the lanterns to make them festive.

Hiding reindeer in my decorations became part of the fun this year.

This is my "Families are Forever" tree. It includes framed pictures of all family members, stars, musical instruments and birds...maybe that is what Heaven will be like. Christmas is commemorating our memories of loved ones throughout the year. Thanks for making such wonderful memories.