Merry Christmas from the Robison's 2021

This Christmas season has proven to be a busy one. As I keep getting your Christmas cards, I think that I need to sit down and write something about our year. Here it is, early on Christmas Eve morning, and I finally have a minute to write something. 

The year 2021 has proven to be a full one. The year started visiting my sister in New Mexico, coming back for a funeral and shortly after having a wedding in the extended family. Some of the highlights this year were visiting the Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, exploring Canyonlands National Park, attending many graduations this spring (we love supporting nieces and nephews!), enjoying our kayaks on Pineview Reservoir as well as Bear Lake, Season passes to Lagoon amusement park, camping (though never often enough), and a trip to St. George to finally enjoy the season tickets we purchased for Tuachan (outdoor plays) back in 2019. 

This year Kent enjoyed seeing a little more of the country on a quick road trip back to Ohio with my brother-in-law. They had a good time. He’s been learning how to smoke meat this year with a new smoker that he acquired, and so far no one is complaining about his new found and developing skill. YUM!

This spring Kent decided that I (Marlies) needed a new car and what a blessing that has been as gas prices were climbing and I’ve been drive downtown for work at WiO diet. I just completely my first year with them and it’s been fun to watch the changes a company goes through as they grow. I was able to attend our church young women’s camp this summer and loved escaping my boy trap (as the boys like to call it) for the week. Braxton and I had the wonderful experience of helping to carry a 400 lb. flag up the canyon to hang in Grove Creek Canyon in Pleasant Grove for the 4th of July. It was a cool experience!

Braxton was finally able to get back to the things he loved this spring. We were thrilled to attend the Middle School spring play Matilda. The kids did an excellent job and it was a joy to see them perform again. Braxton also attended church camp with the young men and was able to enjoy having his dad come with him. He also attended a coed church camp called FSY and loved it! We’ve enjoyed multiple, in person, choir concerts this year. The only problem is that the last few concerts have been in HIGH SCHOOL! When did we get old enough to have a high schooler? Don’t answer that!  

Cort enjoyed soccer again this year. He’s also been a part of the school choir and enjoys singing as well. He is loving school this year and was invited to take part in a county wide math competition this month. He enjoys reading and often asks if we can go to the library. This month he also was able to attend Biz Town and was the CEO of the local new channel for the day. He said he learned that being a grown up is harder than he realized. Lol It’s fun to see his interests expand. 

Marshal is so much like his dad with a tiny bit of his mom throw in for good measure. He loves sports! He asked if we could postpone our trip to Bear Lake so he could play in his soccer game. We told him no, and didn’t regret that decision when the game was rained out. This year he got to try a couple of new things. He went on his first deer hunt and loved it. He is a true outdoorsman. He also tried his hand at basketball and has taken to sleeping with it next to his bed. 

We feel grateful to have wonderful associations with all of you. Thank you for being a part of our lives and adventures! We hope that you have been blessed this year as well and feel the love of our Savior this season. We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

Love, The Robison Family!

Birthday's and Achievements in November 2021

Happy 11th Birthday Cort!

Top Left: Happy birthday to my extravert Cort! He loves all the fidgets he got for his birthday and he loves spending time with his friends. We took the kids to Nickle Mania and they had a good time. Top Middle: Kent was doing a good job of winning tickets for the kids with this silly game. Top Right: Brynlee West and Cort with the gift she brought him. Bottom Left: Dylan Radicliffe and Cort with this awesome fidgets including a magic snake...did I mention he loved the fidgets. Bottom Left Middle: Kent waiting on his winnings for the kids tickets. Bottom Right Middle: Jomei Green and Cort with a very cool Harry Potter Lego toy. Bottom Right: Cort showing off his magic snake. We had these as kids and loved them!

Braxton and Marshal 

Fall Achievements

I love to celebrate my children's successes. Marshal earned Student of the Month for Accountability and Braxton made the honor roll with a GPA of 3.86. I am very proud of their hard work. All my boys continue to excel in life.

Life in November

Top Left: Marshal with his dog. Top Middle: We're doing something different. Marshal decided to wanted to try out basketball. This is our first kid to try out basketball at the rec league. Top Right & Bottom Right: Had to document my curls. Bottom Left: I always like to honor my dad for his service on Veterans Day. I am proud to be the daughter of a Vietnam Veteran. Bottom Middle: Cort found a burrito that looked like the back of an envelope. 

He took my phone and this is what I found on it later. lol

Top Left: Marshal is enjoying playing chess these days. Top Middle: Kent made a yummy looking lemon meringue pie. Top Right: Marshal is crazy. He is adamant that bread and mayonaise/miracle whip makes a delicious sandwich. Bottom Left: I made a yummy squash (like pumpkin) pie for Thanksgiving dinner. Bottom Middle: Doesn't ever date night end up at the store to purchase shells???Bottom Right: Marshal had something funny to say and, unfortunately, I forgot to write it down.

Cort on a Crazy Cart.

Top Left: I'm pretty sure learning that the guy you happend to go to Prom with, is now a scripture scholar, means you are getting OLD! Top Middle: Kent smoked some bird for us. So yummy!

Top Right: Kent and I drove Braxton to Heber to an FSY party and we were missing the Iron Bowl so we watched the ESPN app on our phone to stay up to date on the game. Unfortunately, Auburn lost. Bottom Left: More yummy smoked meat! Bottom Middle: I liked this cool quote. Bottom Right: We were laughing at funny games we found on the internet. 

Beautiful World

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go do that. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive.” – Harold Whitman

“You’ve been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” – Louise Hay

“You may not control all the events that happen to you, 

but you can decide not to be reduced by them.”– Maya Angelou

“I’m the one that’s got to die when it’s time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to.”– Jimi Hendrix 

More Fall Colors, Soccer and First Deer Hunt in October 2021

Finishing Fall Soccer

I sure love watching my boys play soccer. 

It's so fun to watch them improve!

Blue Lightening lost this one.

I love that I've been able to watch these kids play together for so many years.

Fall Colors in 

Big Cottonwood Canyon

We had so much fun up Butterfield Canyon and Kent and I decided to take a long 

drive and look at the fall colors on the other side of the valley. 

The trees did not disappoint. 

The colors were so vibrant this year!

"Be your own color no matter what the rest of the world looks like."

-Unknown

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."

-Albert Camus

“One of the greatest regrets in life is being what others would want you to be, 

rather than being yourself.”

- Shannon L. Alder

"How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days."

-John Burroughs

“To shine your brightest light is to be who you truly are.” 

 -Roy T. Bennett

Marshal's First Deer Hunt

Kent was able to get an elk and later was able to get a deer with Marshal. 

It was a successful hunt for which I am grateful.

Marshal definitely enjoyed posing with the elk more than his brothers did. 😆

Crazy Corn Maze

We took the youth to the crazy corn maze and we adult leaders had a great time. lol

with Rebekah Blackburn and Laura Garcia. 

School Halloween Parade

Because of Covid Marshal didn't get to have a Halloween parade in Kindergarten. This had not occurred to me until I heard him asking Cort if he was nervous about the parade. When Cort said, "no" I asked Marshal if he had been nervous and he said, "kindof." It's interesting the differences in our world today versus a few years ago.

Trick-or-Treat

For Halloween this year Marshal was Spiderman, Cort was a black-footed ferret, and Braxton was a ninja. I finally decided to dress up as a lady of Dia de los Muertos. I loved it! 😉

Life in October

Top Left & Bottom Right: Showing off my fun curly hair. Top Left Middle: Enjoying the "Friday Night Lights!" Middle: Demonstrating that the bed doesn't seem to get as tossled when Kent isn't there to tossle the sheets. Top Right: One of the things that I LOVED about the Saturday session of conference was to see the culturally diverse choir they had singing at conference. Bottom Left: Somehow Kent had lost his van key and we had looked and looked without finding them. Kent was ready to pay to have them replaced which was going to cost quite a bit. After weeks of looking and MANY prayers Marshal happened to find them sitting on the floor under the chair. They must have fallen out of Kent's pocket one night and got lost in the chair. What a wonderful answer to prayers that we were able to find them. Bottom Left Middle: If church sleeps are among the best, then I think conference sleeps must be considered holy. 😂 Bottom Right Middle: We took the kids to frightmares for one final Lagoon trip. It was very overcrowded and we decided that we don't ever need to return, but at least Marshal and the boys were able to have a tasty treat!  

Top Left: Kent was able to see this huge buck at work one morning. The deer knew where to go to keep from being shot...or so it seems. Top Left Middle: We were discussing scars when I recalled that Marshal had a deep cut on his head when Covid started. Our neighbor Kayleen Whitelock was able to come look at his cut and place some steri strips on it so we didn't have to go to the doctor when it felt unsafe to go anywhere. I asked to see his scar (over his left eye) and it looks like it healed up pretty well. Top Right Middle & Bottom Left: When your curls turn out this good you HAVE to document it. lol. Top Right: Only my Marshal would be in shorts and a coat with overboots on. Crazy child. Left Center: I get a kick out of Popeye Pancakes that raise up super high. Bottom Middle: Kent and Braxton are getting pretty close, but Kent still has him for another week or two.  Bottom Right: Checking out antelope between Mountain View Corridor and Baccus Highway. 

Top Right Middle & Top Left & Bottom Left: It's amazing how the woman's body prepares her for caring for and loving her children. Top Left Middle & Bottom Left Middle & Bottom Right: For School Spirit Week/Drug free week they had something to do with mustaches so my boys came home with these. Lots's of fun. Top Right: I really loved singing the sixth verse of hymn number 195, How Great the Wisdom and the Love. Bottom Right Middle: It was the craziest thing to see something in a garbage bag in a shopping cart. I was really wondering if this was one of those scenes right out the the movie where I needed to call the cops. Guess not since it was still there the next morning. Center Right: My boys with Crazy hair for crazy hair day.

Top Left & Top Left Middle: We are living in challenging times. The things that seem to be covered up by social media are making our country look more and more oppressive. Top Right: It's nice to be reminded of timeless truths. Bottom Left: Bottom Left Middle: Amen, Elder Uchtdorf! Amen! Bottom Middle: This is so very true! I hope I can continue to feel God's love! Bottom Right: Great reminder about living in the present!

Top Left & Middle Left: Perhaps it's disrespectful but these just make me laugh and smile. Middle: I really love this quote by Penn Jillette! Right: Spring Hill is where the Prophet Joseph Smith received revelation that Adam-ondi-Ahman will occurr. Bottom Left Middle: What a great reminded to make sure we start our day the right way. Bottom Left: I found it humorour that the manaquin in the blue appears to have a broken arm. lol 

Beautiful World

"The sun doesn't struggle to rise and neither should we."

-Chris T. Atkinson

“We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others 

that in the end we become disguised to ourselves.” 

-Francois de la Rochefoucauld

“I think everybody’s weird. We should all celebrate our 

individuality and not be embarrassed or ashamed of it.”

-Johnny Depp

"When we feel stuck, look at the sky. 

The clouds remind us that everything changes."

-Kelly Martin

"I think if you're open-minded, the road will take you where it takes you. 

If you're closed, you might not get to go where the road is heading."

-Russell Simmons

“When nobody else celebrates you, learn to celebrate yourself. When nobody else compliments you, then compliment yourself. It’s not up to other people to keep you encouraged. It’s up to you. Encouragement should come from the inside.” 

-Joel Osteen

Bear Lake and the Start of Fall Colors in September 2021

Labor Day

We decided to have a little fun and took the kayaks to Salem Ponds for Labor Day. It was a nice location to spend the day with the Kunz family. Too bad I didn't take any photos of the rest of the family. I did get a cool looking dragonfly though...does that count? lol

 

Bear Lake

I'm not sure that I will ever forget this trip to Bear Lake. We ended up in a lovely condo above the harbor and had the best views in the morning. If only every morning could be as lovely as it is at Bear Lake. I never knew why people loved it so much until then.

More amazing views from the deck.

The views keep coming I couldn't help myself.

Top Left: Jack had a great idea to be burried in the sand...but the sun was getting hot so we shaded him with a hat and a towel. Top Left Middle: Jack's head sticking out of the sand. Top Right Middle & Top Right & Bottom Left Middle: Kent had to stop at a gas station for something and they had some cool sculptures so I made Marshal hop out and pose with them. Bottom Left: Jack with a hat that was not shielding him from the sun. Bottom Right Middle: Marshal always seems to enjoy being covered in the mud. Bottom Right: All the cousins (over the age of 5) except Braxton and Cort who happened to be headed to and from the restroom.  

Some of the fun decor in the condo we rented. It was nice to be in a nice place for the weekend.

Again with the beautiful views.

I look forward to going back again.

On our way out we stopped by the cemetery to find family graves. We also stopped in a couple of spots along the way to see where our ancestors were burried.

Fall Soccer

The best part about Bear Lake was learning just how much Marshal loves to play soccer. He asked if we could stay for the game and go to Bear Lake after so that he could play. The funny part is that the game was rained out so he didn't even have to miss a thing.It was perfect.

Butterfield Canyon

My boys were so good to let me take all these photos so I could make a video.

All the photos that made the video above.

I love to see and photgraph the fall colors. They were AMAZING this year!

The helicopter in the top left flew right over us. It was incredible!

My boys weren't so sure about wanting to go look at the fall colors, 

but once they were up there they had a blast.

We also got to enjoy the local wildlife. 

It's crazy to think that in this city, wildlife are never too far away. 

More deer out in the fields

Here's some more shots of the helicopter the flew over.

Halloween Decor

I was very tempted to start dressing up my skeleton for Halloween in the yard...maybe next year.

More Vehicle Trouble

Thankfully not Kent's fault again, but unfortunately, there was another accident. This time involving his work truck. 

Top Left: We had a great crop of tomatoes this year. Top Middle: Kent and Marshal went to the American Fork vs. Lone Peak football game and so they stopped by The Purple Turtle for some dinner and had to send me a photo. Top Right: My co-worker Beatriz always tells me to make a wish at 11:11 because she says it is a lucky number. This time I finally caught that time all on my own so I had to document it. lol. Bottom Left: Marshal showing off his lost tooth. Bottom Left Middle: My friend Garnet posted this saying and I really liked it. Bottom Right Middle: My cute boy! Bottom Right: This in one of the odd places that I find Marshal's hidden clothes. He's very good at taking things off and stashing them somewhere so he doesn't have to put them away.  

Some interesting spiritual thoughts from this month.

Top Left: Be the good in the world around you. Middle: These are some good emotionally resiliant thougths to remember. Top Right: This says it all. I want my UNITED States back! Bottom Left: I really loved this. It is very easy to focus on the weeknesses that we have had passed down to us. Along with those weeknesses we have some amazing strengths!

Bucket Lists

I found these great bucket lists to use for some exploring. 

It's time to get out and see some of my favorite states!

A few more...

Even some from around the country and back East! 😊

Beautiful World

"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. 

It's what sunflowers do."

-Helen Keller

"When one plants a tree they plant themselves. Every root is an anchor, over which one rests with grateful interests, and becomes sufficiently calm to feel the joy of living."

-John Muir

"Clouds come floating into my life no longer to carry rain or usher storm, 

but to add color to my sunset sky."

-Rabindranath Tagore