Happy Belated Halfway to Christmas

Cherise just added me to the blog editing party (at least for this blog).  So, I thought I would share some of the family fun that we have had this year.  Mostly one thing.  Our love of Christmas.

Dad loves Christmas, Disneyland, and Barry Manilow.  That much is absolutely true.  On June 25, our family celebrates halfway to Christmas.  Last year, we had a little Christmas tree set up and stockings.  I wasn't able to go home this year for halfway to Christmas, but I was sure able to receive a present.

I'm not exactly sure how many of us received this gift, but I know that Cherise and I got the same thing.  Dad has been asking us if we have started practicing yet.  Sadly, maybe not entirely sadly, but sadly, I have not.  Inside the book was also a note about money being added to our family Disneyland fund for 2020.  It's coming up: a little over three years.

ALSO: Breaking Family News

Cherise got married this summer.  Welcome to the family, Jensen.

Bench Dedication in Memory of Celia Turley

This is a video of the bench dedication ceremony in Celia's name, at Spectrum Elementary school, where she worked as a Kindergarten teacher last year. The following poem was inscribed on the bench:

A friend is like a shade tree beside a summer way.

A friend is like the sunshine that makes a perfect day.

A friend is like a flower that's worn close to the heart.
A friend is like a treasure with which one will not part.

In loving memory of Celia Turley

A dear friend and dedicated teacher.

My Funny Brother

The other day as I sat at the kitchen table, Griffin pulled out an exceedingly large piece of paper--a phrase that here means that the paper was the size of eight normal pieces put together--that his teacher had given him at school. And what did Griffin do with this ginormous piece of paper? He did what any other seven year old boy would do and made a paper airplane out of it. Although it did not have a very successful flight, it provided both Griffin and I with great entertainment.



The final product:

Happy Haunting!

With the help of some awesome aunts, the Turley kids were lucky enough to have Halloween costumes this year. Mario and Toad were sure a hit as they raced around the neighborhood and ward trunk-or-treat. I'm sure they scored enough candy to enable them to jump from the ground to the tallest mushroom.

Cami definitely won the Best Hillbilly Contest. Her hillbilly walk definitely brought the outfit together, and just made it that much better. She and Stacey even came up with a good country line dance to perform as they walked up and down the streets.

When we arrived at the Hunts' house, I was pleasantly surprised to find I had twin. It was fun to trick-or-treat with my matching buddy, even when he and Cami were having a battle over who could say "mama" the most times.

Thanks to all those who helped make our Halloween super fun!

Oh By Gosh By Gollie!

Yesterday, me, Makenna, and Griffin accompanied the Hunts on a fun trip to Payson for the day. After a pizza picnic at the park, and playing on the playground with cousins, we headed back to the Rosser residence to make treats and gollies. In the middle of making my candy corn gollie, I had an epiphany and me and Kit decided to make a bride and groom for a reception that I was going to be attending that night. So, here they are along with the candy corn gollie I finished today, and a witch that I made with Kit's help on my birthday.

To: Turley Girlies, From: Thailand?

Just another addition to the Chronicles of the Mysteriously Appearing Anonymous Packages:

Yesterday, when Grandma Turley arrived at our house, she walked in with a package that she had signed for that said, "To the Turley Girlies," which had been sent to our house from Thailand. After mounting suspense created by Cami trying to open the package "the fancy way," the contents of the box were finally revealed. Inside we found three cat-like change purses and a keychain. Since it was a mysterious package ordered from etsy, we are assuming that it was from Paul, and would just like to say thanks for the fun surprise!

Hunt Family Campout

Over the weekend of July 31st, Duane and Lari invited all the Hunt family members to a fun weekend of camping up north, near the Young turnoff between Payson and Heber. It was a great chance to escape the heat, enjoy nature, and create lasting memories with aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. Some activities included napping in a hammock, eating delicious food, participating in Olympic activities and scripture chases, a fireside chat, and a trip to the creek to play in the cold water.

Cousins' Camp Fireworks Show

This was one of the best fireworks, and had one of the best reactions, thanks to Brittany!

Cousins' Camp 2009

This year for cousins camp we went down to Virden, NM to visit with Grandpa and Grandma Payne. It was a blast! Here are some things that we did:

Climbed the big tree in front of G&G Payne's House,

Rode the Riding Lawn Mower,

Had a Weenie Roast,

Watched Some Fireworks,

Made a Chain of Cousins,

Went for a Hike at Caneaster,

Swung on the Swingset,

And had lots of photo shoots,

It was great to get together and hang out with all of the Hunt cousins, grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, and uncles that went. We made a ton of good memories that we will remember forever. I can't wait until our next Cousins' Camp! I would like to thank all the family members that made it possible, especially G&G Payne for letting us intrude their house, and Grandma Hunt for running the show, despite not always feeling her best. I would also like to thank the Paynes' good neighbors for letting us stay at their houses overnight, and taking family pictures. I think it is safe to say, "A Good Time Was Had By All!"

Cross Your Fingers...

Well, here goes my attempt at blogging. Hopefully I will be able to figure it out soon. Wish me luck!

Merry Christmas to All

The last week has been filled with Christmas cheer and festivities, starting on Saturday. The Hunt clan was invited to gather at our house for a pre-Christmas party. My mom, so thoughtful and creative, presented to each of us some homemade gifts. The first was an apron, with a note explaining that it is a symbol of a shield or armor (like an apron is a shield for our clothing against everyday messes) and the aprons strings are to remind us that we have loving family ties. The second was a yellow handkerchief, representing the ensign Brigham Young raised as a standard for virtue. Thank you, Mom for making these tangible reminders of your love and faith. And thanks to Dad for keeping Mom from being lonely while she worked on her masterpieces.


Ally brought Paul for over for a brief visit Tuesday evening. It will probably be the only time we'll get to see him between his transfer from London to San Jose. While they were here, they helped my kids put together a pre-cut gingerbread house. "That's got to be the ugliest gingerbread house I've ever seen," Ally commented. She followed up with, "But it has to be the funnest ever!" as the walls tumbled, like the foolish man's house.

About midway through the day on Wednesday, I called my sister-in-law Lari. We decided that if everyone felt up to it (no commitment), we would head over to her house for a Christmas Eve bash. Duane's reading of the nativity story reminded me of my favorite part of Christmas Eve growing up--my dad reading from Luke 2 and realizing the miracle of Christ's birth, life and resurrection. The serious part was followed by fun. It was almost midnight when went dashing through the rain in our 8-seat minivan, trying to beat Santa's sleigh to our house.


It wasn't any surprise that Cami was the first one up (and second and third and fourth throughout the night) on Christmas. Can you believe a 15-year old still gets so excited? Fortunately, she let Darren and I sleep until just after 7.

Griffin left a letter out for Santa. In spite of his written request for "sox" and "see moncees" (sea monkeys) reasoning that he "did so much jobs," he was thrilled to get a DS (think upgraded handheld Gameboy).
Makenna could hardly wait to read her new books, and she's made lots of movies with her little flip video camera. And who would have dreamed that the girl who refuses to wear clothes embellished with flowers, hearts, ruffles, lace, ribbon, etc. would want bracelets and sparkly nail polish?












Always enthralled with Lego contraptions, Emmett loved his new beach house set (even though his face lacks the appropriate enthusiasm in this picture--he's probably trying to figure out his first step in building).


Cherise and I found some slippers that look like those old-fashioned sock monkeys. We thought Cami would be jazzed to have a pair. Instead, she said they were scary, so she gave them to Makenna (see bottom left corner of picture below).

Fortunately, she found other footwear more satisfactory.













Cherise got the Jordin Sparks CD and robot shirt she wanted (quirky fashion sense, huh?)

As for Darren and me, the best thing was probably the long (okay, not-long-enough) winter's nap we got. And the rain. And happy kids. And good parents. And the true meaning of Christmas.

Oh, and it has been rather nice to be a stay-home mom for a few days and get a few out-of-the-ordinary things done...like this blog, for instance.