Utah Trip

My husband is the BEST!  This past weekend he sent me on a trip to Utah to attend some important family events.  He was such a sweetheart.  We had some frequent flyer miles, so he told me to just book the ticket, take Isla, and go.  

My brother Zach graduated with honors from the University of Utah.  He is now an engineer….. and starts his Master's program next week.  We are so proud of him.

My cousin, Janelle, got married in the Salt Lake Temple.  We are so happy for her!  And we are happy to welcome Robbie into the family.  We Gibbs girls don't settle, so we know he has to be pretty awesome to have snatched Janelle.  :)

On the many trips to Salt Lake, we drove Grandpa and Grandma Gibbs with us in the van.  Isla held Grandma's hand and it helped her stop crying.  Grandma then rubbed Isla's feet, which put her to sleep.  (Isla is so much like her daddy!  She loves to have her feet rubbed.)  I love my Grandma.  She is so sweet.

 The reception was held outdoors and it was a bit chilly, so we went inside Robbie's parent's house.  Grandma and Grandpa held Isla and snuggled with her… until she started getting fussy.  It had been a busy day.

 I saw my brother, Jens, at the reception.  He had grown a mustache during 'March Mustache Madness.'  Not only did he decide to keep his mustache, but he bought some wax to tweak up the ends for special occasions.  Oh how I miss my brothers!!

 On Sunday before church, we met Zach and Stacie to go see little  Kaisen's grave.  He is buried right next to Grandpa and Grandma Montgomery.  I started bawling as soon as Mom and I drove into the cemetery.  When I got out of the van, Zach said, "Why are you crying?"  I am often amazed at how strong Zach and Stacie are, even though I know they have a hole in their hearts even bigger than the one in my own.  We love you Kaisen and will never forget you.  You and Isla are our little cousin-twins.

Monday morning, we got up bright and early to catch our flight back home.  Isla was absolutely fabulous on the airplane ride home.    It was great!  She slept most of the time.  I sat in the window seat.  My 'row companions' also were very quiet, as they were sleeping off hangovers from a recent trip to Las Vegas.  I was able to kick back and finish reading Mockingjay without any interruption.

Andy picked us up from the airport.  Isla told him all about her Utah adventures.

Happy Day. . .

"What did you say? Grandma and Pappy Gibbs are flying here today? Hooray!"


I took this picture at the doctor's office.  Isla had her one month check-up this morning and she was all smiles.  She has grown like a weed!  She weighs 8 lbs 4 oz and is 21 inches tall now.  I'd say she has mastered nursing.
Mom and Dad are flying in later this evening.  We can't wait to introduce them to little Isla!

The Funeral

Nola Jean Toone

Montgomery Burch

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We had a beautiful funeral service for my grandma today.  We cried, we laughed, and we cried some more.  She will truly be missed.  Not only was she a wonderful grandma, but she was such a good example to me.  She was so much fun to be with.  Her laugh was contagious.  She was the most generous and giving person that I know.  Not only was she my grandma, but she was also my friend.  She would call me on the phone and we would discuss books we were reading and would recommend good books to me that she had read.  She was such a sweetheart.  She even learned how to text from her phone!  I treasure those sweet texts from her.  They always ended with, "I luv u".
I love you, Grandma!  We are all blowing you kisses.

My Sweet Grandma

Nola Jean Toone Montgomery Burch

Our beloved mother, grandmother and gramery passed away November 9, 2011 at her home in Boise, Idaho. She was born August 25, 1930 in Ogden, to Rose Ella Parker and Frank Wilford Toone. She was raised in Croydon, attending school in Devil Slide and Morgan before the family moved to Ogden. She attended Riverdale Jr. High and was a graduate of Weber High School. She was close with her fellow Warriors and rarely missed a reunion.

She married Willis Elery Montgomery November 2, 1950 and had four children. He passed away in August 1999. Their marriage was later solemnized in the Ogden LDS Temple.

Nola lived most of her life in Layton. They were active in the Jaycee’s and Jay-C-ettes, raising funds for the playground equipment at the Layton Park. Close friendships were forged with those exhausted Roosters.

She later married Floyd Burch on October 3, 2001. Their renewed friendship and love brought companionship, laughter and great joy to her later years. He passed away in April 2004. A small part of mom died with him.

She was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving in Primary and Relief Society.

Nola retired from IRS. She and Willis would fly south to join the other snowbirds in Arizona every winter. Their motor home took them on many adventures from Canada to Mexico, California to Pennsylvania.

She relocated to Boise, Idaho in December 2008 to live with her daughter who provided loving care in the final stages of her life. She celebrated her 80th birthday with an Alaskan Tour/Cruise with her children. It was an amazing journey, with many cherished memories.

She was a loving, generous woman that always welcomed you into her home, helped you feel comfortable and made sure you were fed. No matter how you made your way into her family, you were accepted as one of her own.

Nola is survived by her four children, Lana (Jeff) Entringer, Boise, Idaho; Roxann Van Orden and companion, Chuck Wright, Victor, Idaho; Mechel (Jim) Gibbs, Ogden; and Cole (Kathy) Montgomery, Denver, Colorado; 19 grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren with 6 more expected.

Always a positive, optimistic person, sweet tempered to the end, her spirit is now free. She is welcomed on the other side by her spouses, mother, father, and younger brother as well as many other loving friends and family members.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, November 19, 2011 at 3 p.m. at Lindquist’s Ogden Mortuary, 3408 Washington Blvd. Friends may visit family on Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 1:45 to 2:45 p.m. at the mortuary. Interment, Ogden City Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the American Lung Association.

It's that time of year again. . .

KNOEBELS!!!

Ewan and Abric, ready to ride the helicopter all by themselves!

Morgan and Bryce, ready to FLY!

Harrison and Alexandra driving the motor boat.
They are looking much too grown up for their parents' liking.

Pappy and Zane, navigating the waters.
(Watch for the video at the end.)

Morgan, Grandma, and Isabel navigate their way through
after a bumpy ride.  Ha Ha.  (See video)

Andy lets Abric and Ewan drive the boat.

No better way to top off the fun than with a big
ol' tube of cotton candy.

Zane and Pappy's Boat Adventures

Easter 2011

Easter was great this year. I stayed up late finishing these matching neckties for the boys. The lack of sleep was totally worth it. They were a lot easier than I thought they would be, just a lot more ironing and hand sewing than I was planning on doing. HERE is the tutorial.

After they looked through their baskets, I made pancakes for breakfast while we watched an amazing video about Christ's life, the atonement, His death, and His resurrection.

If you want to watch the video, click HERE. It is called, "To This End Was I Born".
Next project: to make a matching necktie for Andy. Abric took this picture. It is a little blurry, but we felt it gave us a great perception of how a Daddy looks to a two-year old.
I finally got a new Easter dress. It feels like it has been years, but I always had a hard time finding something that I liked at the price I wanted to pay.
Ewan wanted to be the photographer this time. He kept telling us to put our cheeks closer together.

Self-photo opp with my two youngest.

I realized that I need to take more pictures of myself with my kids.

I'm usually the one behind the camera.

After church, we had the big family dinner here at our house. Cousins + Easter = massive egg hunt, sponsored by Grandma Coy who always puts lots of $$ in the eggs. Our kids are so lucky.

Harrison dashes for an egg.

Zane is on the hunt.

Ewan running from egg to egg.

Abric is getting the hang of it.

Pappy-great looks on at the egg-hunt chaos. Anya walked by just as I was taking the picture, but I thought it was a nostalgic photo. She is pregnant with great-grandchild number 10. He looks like he is very happy with what the future will bring.

Grandma-Great and Zane make a quick pose during the hunt.

Here are all the great-grandkids, easter candy included, with Keith and Cindy and Grandma and Pappy Great. I think Isabel made out like a bandit at the egg hunt. Besides her basket of candy, she also got nine dollars worth of money in her eggs. I'm telling you, these are lucky kids!

Whirlwind Visit

This is a picture of me, Harrison, and my Grandma Montgomery from 2004.

Oh how I love my grandma! I had the opportunity to fly out to Boise to visit her. It was a quick 24-hour visit, but I will cherish it forever. She is one of the most kind, giving, and caring person that I know. She is such a good example to me and such a good friend. I am so grateful for the knowledge that, even though her body may be failing her right now, she will ALWAYS be my grandma and I will ALWAYS be her granddaughter.
On the way home, I had a three-hour connection in Salt Lake. Zach and Stacie were so nice to come visit me, so I took them out to lunch. It was a great visit, even if it was only for 1 hour!

Ahhhh, P.F. Changs and your Great Wall of Chocolate!

1/1/11

Since the rest of the world is sleeping off a late night party, we've made it a tradition to go sledding at Ski Round Top on New Year's morning. Here are all the grandkids (minus baby Landon) with grandma getting ready to receive their Christmas present: a 2-hour sled pass!
No snow in PA? No problem. Thank goodness for snow machines. Everyone remembers that big blizzard that hit New York City a couple days ago. Well, we got a dusting. The boys were so disappointed.

Harrison posing in front of the slopes.

Super-excited Zane.

Ewan chillin' on his tube at the kiddie hill.

Next year, buddy, you can try the real hill.

Abric making snow angels.

Keith and Lindsey taking their shift at the kiddie hill with the little ones.

Andy coming in off the hill.

The temp started to get up in the low 50s, so the snow was melting.

It became slush.

Slush is very slow.

Grandma coming in after a run down the hill.

Andy and the boys waiting to go up the lift.

Until next year! Hopefully it will be a little colder.

After sledding, we always go to Aunt Brenda's house for

the Pennsylvania Dutch traditionally

New Year's Day 'good-luck' fare of

pork and sauerkraut.

It sounded weird to me at first.

Now, I just can't get enough!

Happy New Year!

Labor Day @ Grandma Great's

For Labor Day we had a big picnic at Andy's grandma's house.

We had some great food….

great family….

and a great big-extended water slide!

Could Labor Day get any better? I think not.

The Aquatic Center

One of the things we have to do every summer is go to the North Shore Aquatic Center. The boys had an absolute blast!
Grandma, Amanda, Beau, and Gracie came along to swim. The best thing about it is that both Harrison and Zane can touch in all areas of the pool. I loved having the bigger boys be independent in the water. Ewan had a life-jacket, which helped in that respect.

Trip to Boise

Just over a year ago, my grandma moved up to Boise so that my aunt Lana and uncle Jeff could take care of her. They just bought a new house in the most amazing community in the outskirts of Boise. This community is just like Mayberry in the 1950's: it had a small-town feel complete with its own library, mercantile store, and swimming pool. What a great place to vacation!

The boys loved the pool.

Zane is still my little fish.

My beautiful Grandma.
Her beautiful new house. The front door is through the little entry-way on the left. On the right is a separate casita. It has its own entrance separate from the main house along with its own luxury bathroom. Andy, Abric and I slept there while the three older boys slept in the upstairs bedroom in the main house. It was almost like being kid-free!
This house is seriously amazing. It is a 'green' house. The floors in the kitchen, dining, and entryway are made out of concrete. Grandma pulled up the heat vent so we could get a better view. You can see the concrete, which was then stained and glazed. Definitely a kid-friendly, easy to clean floor!

Ewan loved helping aunt Lana water her flowers.

Jeff and Lana both love to cook, and it showed in their kitchen. Anything you want, they have it. We made a Thai feast for our last night. Lana and Jeff were the sous chefs and did all the prep work.
Andy took a shot of us hustling through the kitchen. You should have seen the feast: vegetable stir fry, pad krapaw guy, naam tok, yam woon sen, red chicken curry, massaman curry, and last but not least, mango sticky rice.
Lana played her violin for us. The kids weren't the best for a concert, but Andy and I enjoyed it.
Uncle Jeff wrestled with ALL the boys. That is no small feat!
The last morning we had breakfast together before we parted ways. Lana was driving Grandma down to her high school reunion and we had to go to our next destination.
Grandma, Lana, and Jeff: Thanks for such a great trip!