Well, here I am making another attempt to blog! How many years later?? Well we won't count. This will have to be an update and then I will have to try and do better and someday learn how to post pictures!

Since my last post Russell left on a 2 year mission to The California San Bernardino Mission and...has returned! I know. Sad. Not that he returned, just sad that during that time I didn't post once! I did, however, write weekly letters via e-mail and did almost as well with the hand written ones and routine packages. Russell served and honorable mission and returned home this past Christmas on December 18th. All of his sisters were at the airport to greet him except Kelly who was travelling with her overly studious and busy dental student husband and three kids from beautiful Arizona! I know... once again I haven't even introduced our two newest additions to the family. Needless to say, Russell had not yet even met them! Well, they weren't the only one's he hadn't met! He came home to 2 new brother-in-laws. It's true! Less than a year from his mission departure, his sister, Rachel married Garret Reynolds and 6 months later his sister, Jaclyn married Jimmy Phillips! Sooo....we now have Laney Grace who was 22 months old when Russ got home (she just had her 2nd Birthday), and our youngest 'grandson' Ray Elo Evers was born October 22, 2010. They are precious and we adore them. Elle turned 5 on Feb. 11, so she had really grown up and Uncle Russell could hardly believe his eyes when he saw her! Russell had not yet met Anna's fiance, Adam Close and so the reunion was amazing for everyone!

Christmas was amazing with everyone home. Even Grandma and Grandpa Elo came for the celebration on Christmas Day. The best Christmas present of the entire day! There were 19 family members all under one roof! We wrapped presents, ate, had devotionals, ate, went to the airport, wrapped more presents, ate some more, laughed till we cried, shopped, ate, airport again, did a little more Christmas shopping... Rachel and Garret were sealed in the temple, had a family picture taken (the most work of the whole season), and finally Christmas Eve was here. We had a lovely dinner and our family version of the nativity with 2 of the most darling 'Mary's' and their beautiful baby Jesus , (Baby Ray), a donkey (he came first), many shepherds 3 wisemen an angel and Grandpa David as the narrator.

One of the most memorable highlights of Christmas was our 7 days of Secret Santa's. Everyone loved it, especially Elle, who continues to secretly make everyone's beds at her own home almost daily. To see the enthusiasm and the special deeds, treats, notes and gifts that everyone was receiving was so much fun.

Anna and Adam were engaged just before Russ came home so we are excited to announce that they will be married here in Colorado on September 10th and we are moving forward with wedding plans, sort of. Anna is busy with a new job in Provo but we are doing the best we can. We found a venue for the reception when Anna and Lindsay were here visiting 2 weekends ago and such a fun time with both of them. (They came home for Sam's sister Laura's homecoming). Kiersten, is 17, a Junior in High School. She swims for the Arapahoe High School Swim Team, is on youth counsel at church, attends seminary is the second counselor in the Laurel Presidency and... (maybe the most important factors in her life) has a drivers license and is dating!!! Not anyone seriously, just having fun! Gray hair for mom and dad. Seriously! You'd think we'd be used to this regiment by now. Huh uh! Not so!

Russell is up at BYUI doing some serious studying, dating and maybe a little snowboarding! He has a janitorial job that he is doing 5 days a week from 4:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. everyday! He is amazing and has jumped right into real life making a pretty good adjustment.

Jac and Jim are back up at BYUI, finishing their Accounting Degrees, Sam and Lindsay are in Provo. Sam is attending BYU and plays Rugby for BYU. Linds is working, doing a couple of online classes to finish her Associates degree and then will transfer to BYU. Rachel, too is finishing online classes and working and Garret is gainfully employed in Oregon and they just bought a darling little home just across the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington. Kelly and Jeff and their 3 kids are living in Gilbert, Arizona and my parents are there right now for 3 months and they are all loving having the opportunity to see each other a lot more often. Grandma Karen and Grandpa Dick are loving the Great Grandbabies and Kelly and Grandma are doing a lot of spoiling one another. Anna had a chance to go visit a few weeks ago and they all had the best time. She is the sweetest 'Auntie' and Elle cried all day the day she left.

We are so very blessed to have so much in the way of a beautiful family and the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives.

Well, those are the highlights of our family for the past 2 years. The biggest highlight was having everyone together again!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! One of these days I will post pictures! (I hope). Today has been so incredibly beautiful! Hard to believe we had over 2 feet of snow 2 days ago and a snow day for Kiersten and the rest of the kids. By Friday a.m. on the way to seminary (which, by the way, I teach now. O Hour, too! Oh boy!), the roads were scary, icy! That same day around 4:00 p.m. the roads were dry. (Unless there was run off from the snow. I'm not kidding it's warm here). Needless, to say the sun had been shining all day. The Colorado Rockies have been absolutely breathtaking in their glory. Only in Colorado. I don't think I would ever want to live anywhere else but Colorado. Especially on a day like today!

Kiersten and a bunch of her friends went to Chipotle tonight for their free Burrito if they dressed up like one and now are watching scary movies. Wow, Halloween has done a 90 degree on us this year. We do have a pumpkin...but he is not a Jack-O-Lantern yet and probably won't be this year, but he will work perfect for our traditional Halloween dinner in a pumpkin that got bumped to Sunday this year! Thanks a lot Chipotle!!

Kiersten did dress up w/ some of her friends for the annual Halloween Trunk-or Treat this year. They were....well, you'll have to wait and see when I post pics because I can't remember what they were called. Maybe Power Rangers??? Yes!!!! That's it!

Where are my sweet little granddaughters??? I am missing them this Halloween. I am patiently waiting for pictures. Please don't be too tired to post tonight Kelly!

Goodnight Halloween!

Well it is a beautiful Fall day in Colorado today and I just had to peek at my cute little 'Blog' that I have no clue what do with! I still don't know what to post, or how to post pictures or connections to other blogs that I thoroughly enjoy, but moving on for the time being until I find the time to figure all of that out, I am reminded of my goal and the reason I started this blog in the first place and that is to journal. So...journal I will (blog is probably the more modern term).



The last week has been a fun and unusually eventful for David and I. Sad...but true. None the less, it was fun and worthy of a 'blog entry'. Our 17th anniversry was Oct. 2nd and Russell had given us a gift certificate to a darling bed and breakfast here in Denver ...so to celebrate we finally used it!



We had a fabulous dinner at a wonderful restaurant called "Duo" in downtown Denver.



In addition, David had gotten ticket for us to go see "Wicked" on Opening Day! And...what an opening. We loved it!!! Now i just want to take all of my children to see it. All in due time, I'm sure. I had to wait how many years...well never mind about that. Wicked was definately the highlight of my week!

My favorite season of the year is here and I feel highly motivated. Needless, to say, my oldest daughter Kelly, will be surprised that I have finally figured out how to set up MY Blog! Well...sort of. There are many things I need to learn, like how to upload (or is it download?) pictures, how to invite others to join my blog, etc. But as for today I have accomplished this much. It helps that I have the flu and have been 'home alone' (a rare thing) and have had some time to actually 'think'. (I must be on the up hill swing).

I am excited about the blogging aspect, mainly for the purpose of journaling so I am going to be spending a little bit of time (probably a lot of time at the rate I operate) "back-blogging". (Is there such a thing? Well, I know what I mean). Catching up, might be another way of putting it.

Over the last year we have had a daughter get married, a son leave on a mission for two years, a beautiful new granddaughter was born and a daughter leave home to go to college and a 15 year old who is driving! So...as you can tell I have a lot of "back-blogging" to do.

In addition to all of this, our daughter Rachel, will be married this November!! How much of any kind of blogging I will actually find the time to do is yet to be seen, but for one
Sunday afternoon I've gotten a pretty good start!