Welcome 2022

This might just go in my books as one of my most memorable New Year’s Eves.  Rhea scored two hundred dollars of free fireworks working at the Fireworks stand for the last two days so we brought the goods and headed to Bret and Britta’s house for an explosive evening of blasts.  Rhea chose a wide array of fireworks from some beautiful sky lit splendor to a mound of poop that just burns.  It was chilly but we bundled up and lit them all off.  As the evening wound down we went inside for some sparking cider and yummy treats and raised our glasses to an amazing new year ahead of us.

The Beauty Of The Tree

“This is the beginning of a new day.  You have been given this day to use as you will.  You can waste it or use it for good.  What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day in your life for it.  When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever.   In its place is something you have left behind.  Let it be something good.”   Today I stopped in awe and wonder at the beauty of this tree and this day.  We had the bluest sky, the clearest day, the sunniest glow, the whitest snow and the most magnificent tree that God shared to make this day so good.

Ovi’s World

The world of Ovi is a mixture of every emotion one can conjure up.  Ovi is curious.  Ovi takes cat naps.  Ovi is rather intrigued with the toilet but has yet to slurp up any water.  Ovi sleeps like a newborn baby sleeps in every possible position imaginable.  Ovi takes baths in bread baskets.  Ovi isn’t sure what Rocky does nor why this dumb black machine rolls through the entire top floor of her living quarters.  Best of all Ovi brightens up every moment of our lives.

Love

No word can even justify photos like these.  How grateful I am for children, grandchildren, in-laws and cousins who truly love one another.  These sweet tender moments don’t just happen now and then, they happen all the time.  I am so looking forward to getting Hinckley and Hatcher together in Arizona in March – those two will have cousin bonding moments that will never be forgotten.  Paige has always adored Rhea but this time they had an extra special little love connection and I will always treasure looking at this photo.

Red Sleds Are The Best

You can have the old sled packed away in the garage and a girl who already turned twenty-two but that doesn’t stop from some good old slippery icy down the driveway suicide runs.   It brought back memories of just praying a car didn’t suddenly drive by and run over my kid because he made his sled go the furthest.   You are never too old to be a kid.    I just noticed in my photos that the first one shows a happy go lucky girl taking off and in the second photo she seriously went so far she could have been run over by a car.

The Glass Car

May I introduce freezing rain.  We have endured a bout of freezing the last little bit and the affects are quite unbelievable. “Freezing occurs when snow falls through a layer of warm air and then back into a layer of cold air.  Since the water droplet doesn’t have enough time to refreeze, if surface temperatures are freezing or colder, the rain will freeze on contact with the ground.”  I walked out to the trash barrel and held on to Shelby’s car because it was so slippery – the ice draping her vehicle was so thick with a dimpled sheet of solid ice so I held on tight and took this picture.   

Christmas Day Highlights 2021

The highlights:  watching Rhea get her new computer, Shelby happy to have her own scriptures,  monkey bread, watching Gwendolyn open her present,  explaining to Hinckley about the trip to Arizona with us in March,  the looks on Easton and Brecken’s face when they opened their hoverboard, skating at the rink, amazed at Remi going from one end of the rink to the other,  Georgie’s permanent smile the whole time she was being pushed around, cousins playing with one another,  Rhea flying Britta into the air,  Paige building a nativity wall around Ovi and Ovi thinking my new bread basket was for her.

She Makes Our House A Home

Christmas Eve – the biggest night of my life.   The kids decided to give Mike and I our gifts tonight which sort of seemed a little strange.  The box came out and then the video cameras came out and before I knew it the lid was off and there was my precious little kitten I so dearly wanted.  Her name is Ovi.  (short for Ovechkin – the greatest hockey goal scorer of the century) and she is Siamese and perfect.  This is her story.  Ovi was born in August 2021 but her existence was unknown until she was found in a shelter in Idaho Falls.  From there she was adopted by Kyla and taken back to St. Anthony where Blaze, Maverick and Dash absolutely fell in love with her, Kyla too.    They named her Prancer (sorry I couldn’t do Prancer) and she lived there frolicking and playing with the boys for about a week.  Then Rhea put her in a little black carrier that Kelcy had sent down and away they went to Idaho Falls for her flight to Anchorage.  Rhea and Ovi had delays and they ended up arriving about twelve hours after their scheduled  arrival time.  Ovi was then picked up by Kelcy where she resided for about another week.  Gwendolyn and Ovi became fast friends until Christmas Eve approached when she made it HOME!  She is all mine.  Best gift ever!!

Traditions – The Game

Tonight it was the annual Big Lake Hockey Alumni game at the Big Lake Lions Recreation Center in the heart of Big Lake.  Every year we love to watch through the glass at the kids getting back together on the ice to do what they love most – play some fun hockey.  It was be the best tonight because we had past Defensive Player of the Year numerous times #27 Bret Styers,  Offensive Player of the Year and MVP #23 Lane Styers and the most fun, happy and good sport Rhea Styers #19 all on the ice at the same time.  They had lots of fun and that’s what makes me the happiest.

The Grinch and Cindy Lou Who

A classic move by two girls-Rhea and Avalin.  They did a photo shoot just for fun and the pictures turned out fabulous.  The Grinch and Cindy Lou Who in all their glory.  Avalin did her own green face makeup which was stunning and Rhea has a soda pop can to make her hair go high, a fur collar from an old Christmas stocking and she is wearing my mother’s nurses cape from about sixty years ago.  Credits go to Shelby for the help with the hair, Avalin for some quality photos, Rhea for being resourceful with her outfit and me for remembering “well there is that cape.”