MERRY CHRISTMAS TREE

My old tree took days to put up and decorate, the new one took me only one day!! The holidays are my favorite time of year, I love our family traditions. Actually I just love our family.

THE SPIRIT OF GIVING - Christmas Stockings 2008

THE SPIRIT OF GIVING never ceases to amaze me. More than 12 years ago I began collecting Christmas Stockings for the "Childrens Crisis Center" in Glendale. Initially it was a small token from our family to those whose lives have many challenges, we filled 40 stockings. It has since grown to hundreds of Christmas stockings every year. Take a look at the generousity of those who are blessed to those who have less. These stockings now bless the lives of children not only in Glendale but Mesa also. Thank you, thank you to our many generous friends and neighbors and even strangers who ask every year for more stockings to fill. And thank you to those who donate funds so that we can purchase the stockings, we used to sew the many hundreds we filled. Arthur, who runs the Glendale center says these stockings are the "cherry on top".

Peterson Sisters 2008

They are the most wonderful women I know. Each one very different, all with big hearts. The best part is, they love one another and enjoy being together.

Thanksgiving in St George 2008

We have such a fun time together. Great Grandma Nani and Great Granddad Reid love to have all of us. We have so many of us now that we use dad's cousin's home across the street. She wasn't home so we had the run of both homes. Natalie and Steve slept at his sister's beautiful home in St George. All of the boys played basketball Thanksgiving day and all of them were bruised and very sore even young Steve; Travis and Ethan built a beautiful planter and bench in mom's backyard; we took the kids to a wonderful park, we played games (Natalie and Steve are King and Queen of gaming); we went to movies and shopped and shopped; we celebrated birthdays and just loved one another. We did everything we love to do during the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Gingerbread Houses: It's a tradition that my mother started when I was young and I have kept it up with our children and grandchildren. They love it and so do I.

Grandchildren are the best.


Haircutting day. I cut 7 boy heads and 2 girl heads. Travis wanted a mohawk - anything you want Travis. You can't see it, but from the side it sticks up like a fan.


Ethan picked up the guitar hero deluxe tour and we had a ball. We ate and ate and ate. The day after Thanksgiving Grandma Nani made escargo especially for Mark.

We celebrated Caleb's 1st birthday a little early and then celebrated Ashley's and Jessica's 30th.

Losing Daisy Dog

Jacob made this card for me after he heard about Daisy. How sweet is this?



Nathan made this card for me. This is a picture of Daisy just last month. The boys loved to go on walks with Daisy. This was taken on a morning walk when the boys spent the night at our house.

These are the last photos we have of our beloved Daisy Dog taken just a few days before we let her go. As you can see she was very weak from her illness. Mark and I took her to the vet on Monday, November 17th, held her in our arms and cried and cried. Daisy was 13 yrs old, that's 78 yrs in doggie time. We know she is in doggie heaven because she only bit a few people; who probably deserved it. Mark's sister Mary who is a true dog lover said all dogs go to heaven. Mary and Helen sent us a darling book "Dog Heaven" by Cynthia Rylant.

Granddaughter and Grandmother Comparison

DO YOU THINK WE LOOK ALIKE? Ava and her Grandmother Brooke.

Blast From the Past - Ivins/Pertierra Family

Ana Maria Pertierra and Loraine Reid Ivins

Look what beautiful and skinny people they are.

Ana Maria Pertierra engagement photo.

L. Reid Ivins Air Force Cadet Graduation

September 17, 1955

1st Wedding Day was lovely but their sealing in the Temple 22 years later was joyous!!

It makes sense that beautiful people have beautiful children. From left to right: Nani, Brooke, Tony holding baby John, Michelle and Reid.

We are having a big family reunion with the Reid and Nani Ivins family this summer. I found these photos while preparing for the reunion in Park City, Utah.

Halloween with the Willis, Breinholt and Wirig Family - Isabel's Baptism - Grant's 1st B-Day In Utah

Grant the Turtle.

The Family Von Trapp at the Wirig family Halloween party. They are a fun family.

Grant in his borrowed chicken costume. His turtle costume hadn't arrived in time for his play group party. Grant is younger than most in his play group. He looks yummy enough to eat!!

A close-up. We're hoping he doesn't have his great Pa's body when he grows up.

We had a great time in Utah the end of October and early November 2008. Here we are in Natalie and Steve's new house. It is a cute as can be. She has 5 bedrooms and a huge family room and kitchen. They'll be comfortable there for a while.









Grant's first birthday. He loved the birthday cake. The Peterson's have a "tradition", a dumb one, in which they give a little lemon juice to the birthday baby after a taste of their birthday cake. Grant didn't even flinch!! What a boy.




Isabel had a great baptism day. Believe it or not she was the only one being baptized so it was the Willis-Peterson show. Her mother Ashley and Aunt Jessica sang a beautiful song. Grandma Karen and Grandma Brooke gave the talks on Baptism and the Holy Ghost. Granddad Mark gave the opening prayer and her Aunt Cami gave the closing prayer. Uncle Steve played the piano and Aunt Shaunae lead the music. We had a catered feast for over 50 in the Stake Center. It was a wonderful Saturday for the whole family. She even had Great Granddad Reid and Great Grandma Nani and Great Grandma Gail were there.








Halloween night at the Willis house is really something else. Gavin is a pirate Capt. Jack Sparrow, Ava is Belle, Isabel is Snow White and Kate is Pocahontas. Ethan dressed up too. It was hillarious.

Breintholt boys on Halloween. All monsters except sweet Froggy Caleb.

Treasure Island - The Musical

Mark and I took the boys to see Treasure Island at the Valley Youth Theater. Mark really wanted to boys to see this play and this was the last possible chance for us to do it. So we had to cancel a dinner party we had scheduled at our home and away we went.

Here we are before the start of the play. We had a snack in the lobby because the boys insisted that they needed dessert after their dinner.

The boys were excited to get autographs in the lobby after the production. We did not see Captain Long John Silver, with one leg, the boys were disappointed in that.

Can you tell it was after their bedtime?
They fell fast asleep on the way home to Granddad and Grandma's house. We sure love these boys.

Pa's Art Collection

Emily Clyde Curtis, and Rachel Clyde Jones, granddaughters of Evan Tye Peterson, are putting together a collection of Pa's paintings, http://www.etpart.blogspot.com/ . We are currently calling all recipients of his pieces to photograph and email them to one of them clyde_curtis@yahoo.com or rjjones1@cox.net.

Big Family Trip to Florida

We're back!! We had a fabulous time with all of the MEP family, eighteen in total. What a fun 10-day trip, planned by the twins, so we had only Sunday for our day of rest. Ashley and Jessica vacation like their father - no sitting around.