Skiing with the Brothers

I wasn't going to go but at the last minute I decided I should try skiing again after a 14 year absence.  Ben, Nick Ryan and I went to Snowbird, and my knees held up surprisingly well.  The only thing that really hurt was all of our thighs, at about 2:00 we were more than done for the day.  It was a beautiful day, not crowded, and it was good to get back on the slopes after a long time away.

Great Grandma Barker

My Grandma passed away this past week just a week after Aly's Grandpa passed away.  Jason, Ben and myself were able to go and see her the night before she died but unfortunately she was unresponsive.  My parents were on a cruise and couldn't see her before she passed so it was good that we were able to say goodbye to her before she died.

So she passed on the 15th, the morning that Aly and I were supposed to speak in Church.  Aly hadn't been feeling well and decided to wake up without a voice, so I was tasked with giving both talks.  We told the bishopric and for the first time I have ever seen, one person gave both talks.  Aly did the hard part and all I had to do was read it but I was so glad when it was over.  The past week was filled with coming home early from Vegas because of Aly's Grandpa passing, celebrating Isabelle's birthday, a funeral, Isabelle's friend birthday party, going to see my Grandma for the last time and then trying to finish my talk.  It was a week that I was glad to be over.

My parents arrived home Sunday night and started planning the funeral which we had this morning, Saturday January 22nd.  Since it was so early we stayed the night in Ogden on Friday night for the viewing and then at 9:00 this morning we had the funeral.  It was a very nice funeral and then after we went to Maddox for the luncheon.  Lets hope this next week is a little more quiet.

Isabelle's Friend Birthday Party

It was Isabelle's year to have a friend Birthday and the theme was "Spa Party."  All the girls were able to create their own flip flops, get their hair done by Ashley, make their own lip gloss,  and get their nails painted.  We had 11 girls here and all them were very well behaved.  There was a good mix of girls, some cousins, friends from the neighborhood and a few from Isabelle's school.  We started at 10:00 and ended at 1:00 after eating some pizza and having cupcakes.  Isabelle enjoyed being the center of attention and did a very good job of including her little Sister in the activities.