The Best Fifty Years Ever!

I'll start off with a nod to last year, though the new year did not happen until Wednesday.  These are my top 9 Instagram posts for 2024. They include all my Favorites, Art, Travel, Austen, books, Cloches, Scottishness, Our Historic House, being an antique dealer, and tea parties. 

Monday started with a cat in a box in Idaho, and ended with us at home in Utah. Hi Moochie.

Ready to go, and we needed a stair step picture first.

On the way home the mother of one of the kids in our Primary class last year, sent me a picture of this note that her 6-year-old daughter had written.  Wow, its actually an exact copy of what I said.

A couple of weeks ago, she gave us a card that said "Best Primary Teacher Ever!" Why am I not surprised her name is Emily?

Bright and early on Tuesday we met up with Barb to celebrate her birthday.  I had an amazing vegetarian  Eggs benedict ... oh so yum!

Here's a picture of our plates, Barb has two because she ordered ala 'cart, a healthier choice. 

The first movie was 'The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" I read the book in my Children's Lit class back in the early 80's and loved it.  This was our second time to see it, as it came out this year, and I LOVED it even more.  What a feel-good movie. (I'm all about the underdog, I guess)

Taken after the movie, the little is Trina's daughter Kensy.

It was fun to see Kylie and her husband John, they went to the most movies next to Dad

Of course, Moana is really a hero movie.

Fun to run into Daniel Heuer and his family.

How perfect is it that my favorite 'Wicked' was in theater 17.

Crista's oldest daughter, Boston, came with a green Elphaba face.

Everyone who saw Wicked, the little Elphaba is next to her mom in Pink.

And really 'Wicked' is also an underdog movie.

Homestead was an end of civilization movie. Since watching the trailer upset my stomach, I decided to take a pass and went junking ....

Then we met up with the Moes and Barlows for dinner at Edna's in Lehi. There were 2 Perkins, 3 Moes and 4 Barlows. 

On Wednesday, after I got home from work, we joined up with Spencer and his kids for dinner at Mi Rancherito.

So much munchkin fun ...

Parks is adorable ...

And look how much joy you can buy for a quarter!

Dad picked me up early from work on Thursday, so we could go to a gathering at Trevor's that was billed to be a Hannukah and celebrating Spencer's Family being in town gathering.  Here Dallas and Darby spending some two on one with Parks.

Oh, and if you're are wondering why Robin, Jeff and Randy are there, it was because in reality it was a surprise party to celebrate our 50th anniversary. 

But I still managed to get me some Adam Sandler Hannukah song happiness.

How adorable is Eleanor?

 

Barb was home sick, I am sorry to say.

But Bri and Robin, being cousins by marriage got a chance to catch up.

Meanwhile in the basement, a lot of silly fun was going on.

Trevor needs to make an impression on Van as it will be at least a year before he sees him again.

Of course, other grands got a piece of the action as well. 

And speaking of action, Darby was in her 'tickle monster persona', and when she came upstairs for adult time, the kids would send an emissary to get her to come back down and chase them some more. 

Reagan even made a tent to hide in from the tickle monster.

I doubt that Van will forget his fun Aunts and Uncles in Utah.

Emily suggested that Becca should do a reenactment 50 years later. Becca did the leg work, having the cake made at Macey's and buying a SLC temple for the top, because I never owned the topper it was the 'borrowed' element of the wedding, and now I have the temple from the reenactment.  Thank you, dear daughters.

Becca also made this banner of the houses we have lived in for more than a year during our 50 years.

Here is where we hung it at home.

Saying their goodbyes.

visiting...

Mack had been sent up to try to get Darby to come back down ...

Visiting

It was super fun to see the video that Trevor put together with family pictures from the last fifty years.  We loved it, and will love looking at it in the future, thanks so much for making that for us all, and for hosting the whole shindig with Nell.

I also wanted to mention that the kids went together and catered a Cafe Rio dinner.  Talk about being spoiled.  We loved it all. 

We also appreciate the wonderful gifts, treats and cards contributed to an amazing evening.

Spencer and Brittney brought Indian treats and spices to share ... I made out with three different spices .... so excited.

modeling the goodies

Here's the table that Parks conquered.

Here is Reagan holding Parks, who managed to navigate himself around the white round table behind them, like twenty times.  He's working on building leg strength I am sure, and will be walking before a year, unless I am mistaken.

On Friday, while working at the Grove a man brought up this truck and asked if that was really that price.

After calling the dealer and finding it was $195, and not $1.95, I looked closer and realized that the dot was actually the dotted i, on the next line .... what a difference a dot makes.  Hahaha.

On Saturday, along with deciding my new food rules for the year, mainly trying to get 50g of protein everyday on a more veganish diet. I'm not supposed to have more that 4 or 5 servings of soy, and since I drink soy milk in my smoothies, it can be tricky.  In researching online I found Seitan, it's a meat substitute first made by Buddhist Monks in China in the 6th century. It's made from wheat and was sometimes called wheat meat.  Anyway, I ran across it years ago and never made it because the process was so complicated.  But using a short cut I found; it was pretty easy, and we liked it a lot. 

I also made a healthy pie crust since I am trying to make a healthy version of Marie Calendar's vegetarian 'meat' pie, which has something like 900 calories.  It was a day of exploring food options.

Meanwhile in Dad's world, he saw this car on-line this week.

Les Callas from our old Orem ward was selling it.  Dad thought it looked good ...

so he bought it... yep, when I got home from work that day, he showed me the pictures and told me he had bought it ... I'm still baffled. 

He posted this on-line ...

He also framed and hung the picture of Dad and me, to complete the wall that Becca and Brady had imagined and made happen. We now have current pictures of the kids and us.