Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
As I reflect on 2025, I am surprised by all we packed into 12 months! No, we didn’t leave the country or even make it past the Utah-Colorado border, but we did make some memories, and we have grown, which is equally, if not more, important!
Our family highlights were a trip to Antelope Island &
spending Utah’s Pioneer Day holiday in Wyoming on the Pioneer Trail! We enjoyed
the wildlife at Antelope Island, and the best part was when we saw something spook
a bison and watched it run at full speed. We now understand why you give wild
animals plenty of distance! For Pioneer Day, we took our boys to Martin’s Cove,
where Kent and I trekked over 20 years ago. We fell in love with the area all
over again! We enjoyed wildlife, beautiful scenery, family heritage, and
learning about the faith and fortitude of those early Saints!
Braxton (19) transferred from Snow College to Mountainland
Technical College this fall and has enjoyed living at home, where he has a
greater variety in his diet. He’s enjoying working at Cinemark Theatre this
year as well. This month, he completed his school course, and he’ll be
preparing to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, in the Ghana Accra West Mission, starting April 9th at the
Ghana MTC, and serving for 24 months. He will miss country dancing as that has
become one of his favorite pastimes, but we know he will grow as he serves the
Lord and the wonderful people of Africa!
Cort (15) still loves playing the trombone in band and loves
music in general! Last spring, he was in his first play and did a great job as
Nigel in Matilda! This year, he tried out for Newsies and is playing Albert. We
are looking forward to watching him shine on stage once again! He keeps our
vehicles running between the board games club, D&D club, drama club, and STEM
club. This summer, he enjoyed another session of FSY and made even more friends
to add to his ever-growing collection! In his “spare time”, he can be found
learning German on his phone.
Marshal (10) is living his best life playing Flag Football
in the spring and Soccer in the spring and fall. In the offseason, he’s likely in
the yard playing one of those two sports with his friends. Kent never has to go
alone to sporting events because Marshal is happy to watch sports with his dad
anytime. This year, he joined the Student Council at the elementary school, and
between occasional morning announcements and walking into classes to fulfill
his duties, he has learned to overcome his uneasiness about speaking in public.
Kent (Born in 19…) is starting to bleed blue because of the
BYU Men’s Soccer team, despite years of bantering with nieces and nephews about
the superior Utah Utes. He loves spending time watching family play sports and
being able to give his support. Unfortunately, this year, we learned Kent’s
sister Ginger had ovarian cancer, and in a short six weeks, she lost that
battle. She is missed, and we are grateful for the time we had with her and the
example she set for us! Because of Jesus Christ, we know we will see her again,
and we look forward to that day!
Marlies (also born in 19…) worked at the school job, which ended sooner than expected, and so I decided to look for a summer job. I inquired about a janitorial job at the Jordan River Temple and was fortunate to have a wonderful experience as a porter. I gained a much stronger testimony of the temple! I wish my body could have kept up with the physical demands, as the spiritual benefits of the job were amazing. Since my body didn’t keep up, I am now back teaching reading in my second year at school, which I enjoy. This year, I started a new hobby, growing plants from seeds, and I love it. I look forward to the growing season starting earlier next year.
Thank you for being a blessing and joy in our lives! We look
forward to the growth and development 2026 brings! We wish everyone a Merry
Christmas and a Happy and prosperous New Year!
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