Merry Christmas 2019!

Hello friends and family! It is time to update the blog! I say this every year, but this year I mean it! 2020 is my lucky year(20 is my favorite number!) So, I am using it as my deadline! The picture below is actually what we look like today! We had a nice Sunday church service with Caden getting antsy even though it was only 1 hour!

Jeff and I went on a date to see a movie and this was the beautiful tree out front. 

Other Happenings to catch up on!

 Caden and Matthew spend a lot of time together! They are good buddies!

 Bryce and Mom have a subway date to celebrate good grades!

 Kelly Still runs when she is not exhausted from school and subbing!

 The family took a trip to Utah to be with ALL the Markers for Thanksgiving. It was wonderful!

Every grandkid and the 3 newlywed couples were there!

 Jeff's Mamita from Chile was in town and they were able to reconnect. It was very special. 

 The dinner with the family was the Sunday before Thanksgiving and the Monday morning, Dallin and Kelly hopped on a plane so Dallin could be back from basketball. We used the time to get some work done! Here's Dallin and Cassie painting over the purple!

 Jessica Malan was kind enough to invite us over for dinner. 

 To take a break from the chores and to feel closer to my dad on November 30th, I spent the night at Ranell's condo by myself and then met up wtih Nicki Davis and her family for a beautiful hike. It was just what I needed!

 Jeff had put up the first level of lights, which was awesome, but Caden begged for more, so on a beautiful dry day, Ranell braved the roof with me and we added to it!

Kelly finished her first semester of classes in her MAT program at Concordia University! She is loving it! Here is some of her cohort attempting to study together. 

It was a little late in the year, and there was a shortage of trees, but we finally cut one down!

 Traditional Jeff butt pic. :-)

 Fun Cookie Decorating party with amazing women!!! These are women I know mostly from running and they have each touched my life! (and they are amazingly talented!

 I was able to help in Caden's class!

Some Fall Happenings

In September, our niece Haley was baptized and Jeff was the family member who was able to attend. (I had class!) In October, our niece Ellie was baptized and we decided to bring Caden and Emily and make a road trip!

It was a beautiful sunset so Kelly enjoyed the view and showing Caden where Jeff had proposed to her!

 Ellie looked so beautiful and we had such a great time celebrating her!

 While in Utah, I was able to meet up with my great friend Kirsten for a run. Always good to run with friends!

 We enjoyed playing games with cousins and just having fun as a family.

 When we got back, there was basically one day left to do a pumpkin patch, so we grabbed a few friends and went for some fun. It was a beautiful day!

 Caden has been very different from any of our other kids. One day he came to me and said he wanted to decorate his Flash costume. He created his own persona called "Lightning Caden" and he asked my good friend Sue to help him personalize his costume. He started his own Youtube channel and has fun coming up with new ideas.

 We had some friends over for Halloween and Bryce had fun trick or treating on his own and got a ton of candy.

 Jeff and Kelly decided to have a date to a Blazer game. They had a great time.

 On Veterans Day, Kelly was able to convince Dallin, Cassie, Bryce and Caden to go hiking to a new spot. It was a beautiful day (even though it was cold!) and they all had a great time. We missed Emily (who chose not to go) and Jeff (who had to work!)

 Kelly is still enjoying the great running weather with friends!

 Caden surprised us by asking to play basketball again. He didn't seem to have very much fun last time but of course we let him try again.

Kelly and Jeff went to Jamba Juice to celebrate their first date anniversary. :-)