A Gymnast + A Tumbler = FUN !

It has been a real treat to  watch our grandchildren compete !

FOUR BOYS - ALL THINGS BASKETBALL !

Operation for Zac

Night before the operation - Relaxing on the couch with Thatch.
He says he's not nervous.

Morning of the operation.
Zac had his Labrum repaired, and when they got in there, they found that his Rotator Cuff also needed repair, AND a bone spur needed to be taken care of. 

* The labrum is a piece of fibrocartilage (rubbery tissue) attached to the rim of the shoulder socket that helps keep the ball of the joint in place. When this cartilage is torn, it is called a labral tear. Labral tears may result from injury, or sometimes as part of the aging process.

* The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that surround the shoulder joint, keeping the head of your upper arm bone firmly within the shallow socket of the shoulder. A rotator cuff injury can cause a dull ache in the shoulder, which often worsens when you try to sleep on the involved side.
Zac is about 3 weeks POST OP as of this post.
It's been a ROUGH 3 weeks.
Pretty Painful
REHAB starts tomorrow !

Here's a Birthday song for me - two days after his surgery.

And here's a picture from last night at the Midway Ice Castles.  Glad he is finally able to get up and around and out of the house.  Love that smile :)  

Happy Birthday Brightyn (a little late)

Brightyn turned SIX YEARS OLD on January 7th.
We dropped off another little Unicorn to be painted, because we know she loves Unicorns and Crafts.
She was so happy and excited.  

It didn't take her long to get started on it :) 

They also celebrated on Sunday with cake and ice cream.  I love how she was wearing her FAVORITE PJ's, that we got her at the DI when she had an unexpected sleepover at our house.  The top is Hello Kitty (with black background), and she found another bottom with black background (but not a Hello Kitty theme).  She was pretty picky there in the store, and knew JUST what she wanted.    She has worn the heck out of those things, and it makes me so happy that something so little  (I think it cost $2.00 total) can make her so happy. 

I love Brightyn's HUGS and her shout of JOY when she sees us.  She is smart and funny, and has a happy disposition.  She is an excellent tumbler, and in another post I will go into her tumbling in detail.    LOVE YOU BRIGHT !!!

Still trying to play catch up - New Year's 2020

We were invited to Zac and CJ's for a New Year's Celebration.
Grandma Shirlee was knitting away, and taught Thatcher a few tricks. 

Some played a few video games.........

And a mean game of NINES

Then we broke out a game - can't remember the name.....Blockbuster I think.
Everyone tried to act out MOVIES, and we tried to guess what they were. 

There was ALOT of laughs

Family Pictures

I seems the more your family grows, the harder it is to get everyone together for a picture.  With Cam coming in from AZ for a quick weekend, I wanted SO BADLY to get a pic of me and Roger with the grandkids.  IT WAS COLD !   But thanks to patient and helpful parents, we got positioned very quickly and threw the coats off, and CJ clicked and clicked and clicked.  I only had to "bark" at Roger D once (haha) - and they turned out great.  Brightyn may be Smiling/Yawning, and Roger's gloves are laying there for the world to see......... but all in all I LOVE the picture, the lighting, the background, and especially OUR GRANDKIDS !!!

Coats went RIGHT BACK ON after the picture - after all, it was only about 20 degrees !!
Miss Bexlee was a trooper :)

We threw on the SANTA HATS (and some coats) for another picture

The RICHS wanted a family picture of their own.
They are all so photogenic :)
Those big boys are getting SO SO TALL

Our Cam
BEAUTIFUL SMILE / BEAUTIFUL GIRL

A short video between pics

More from Cam's Visit - In Video

She was here - HAPPY DAY !

Cam came for a short weekend after Christmas. She flew in on Friday morning, and back out on Monday morning. It is ALWAYS so wonderful to have her come for a visit.

Grandma Ben has us up for barbeque dinner, with her awesome shrimp dip - YUMMY ! 

Checking out Christmas at the Rich's in West Haven

Hangin' with the BOYOS

These three in the BACKSEAT - if you don't think THAT'S a hoot 

Waiting to eat at KOBE - Grandpa's face (HA!)

Landon and kiddos met us there, and it was a wonderful SHOW and FOOD as usual :) 

Movie afterwards - Knives OUT

Don't know what we were cookin' but it was SOMETHING !

Girlie Selfies

A little LATE Gingerbread house making..........

With Grandma Ben

Wow Thatch - what a hairdo !!

Bex and Cam - cheese :) 

Cody Rich - Our Nephew

On Thursday January 9, 2020, Cody Ben Rich, of Morgan, Utah, passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family.  Cody was born April 8, 1985 to Layne & Susan Rich and grew up hunting and squabbling with his siblings.

Cody loved to get his adrenaline pumping by driving his motorcycle at top speed and tinkering around on his ’75 Ford.  He was known for how pure of a heart he had and his contagious smile & laugh.  He would give anyone the shirt off his back and always looked for the good in people.  Watching Alivia giggle at the zoo animals & grin at the fish in the aquarium were some of his happiest memories.  They enjoyed their daddy/daughter time by fishing, camping, & just being together.

Cody is survived by his beautiful daughter, Alivia Shirley; his wife, Danielle; loving parents, Layne & Susan Rich; siblings, Casey (Ali) Rich, Jared (Shaina) Rich, Layna (Tyrel) Robinson; many nieces and nephews; grandparents; and a vast expanded family.  He certainly had a special bond with his grandparents, Seth Earl & Shirley Dawson.  He will be greatly missed and the world has lost one hell of good guy!

Cody had such a great smile.  We didn't see him alot, but every time we did, whether it was in the parking lot at Ridley's or at the County Fair, he would always come up to us with a big smile, a handshake, and put his arm around us and no matter who he was with, he would introduce us as his Aunt Gwen or Uncle Roger.  Every time.  We love him and will miss him, but know that he lives on in Heaven, and we will see him again someday.  

Dickson Christmas Party - 2019

We had the Dickson Christmas party on a Sunday night before Christmas.  This is everyone who was there, minus the picture taker (Gwen) and Grandma and Grandpa "D" who were relaxing in easy chairs out of the camera sight.

Back Row:  Carrie, CJ, Devin, Ashley, Colton, Aaron, Payson, Treyson, Erika, Brian, Bexlee, Zac, Roger D.
Middle Row:  Elizabeth, Abby, Kacey, Brightyn, Landon, Dax, Thatcher
Front:  Tagg

Grandma was 5 days POST OP on her hip replaement, and we all stepped up and helped put this together and we had a good time playing QUARTERS, PICTIONARY, EATING, and a fun DI gift exchange.

If you want to see some of the action (and have 13 minutes to spare - haha)   There is a video below.

Christmas Revisited

Christmas Day at our house - bless Payson's heart.  He wasn't feeling good at all, but managed to smile for the pic. 

Kacey was SMART and took this a couple of days BEFORE Christmas at their house :)

The Boys - visiting Tenzin's grave, leaving little lighted candles. 

Someone did this drawing/watercolor for them - it's so sweet. 

We Came We Saw We Jingled - Love it !

PJ's were all the rage this year - we've got a YETTI, and WOLF and a POKEMON

And probably the best present of all (that we gave) was the painting Unicorn set for Bright.  Landon said she painted and painted and painted.....  It's always a good thing when you happen on JUST the perfect present.