Thanks for Thanksgiving

 I don't think Robert had any idea when he said, "Okay, Thanksgiving is at our house this year" that we might take him up on it!  Roy and I, Val and Meg's family, and Faren and Ave's family all converged on Bozeman for the holiday.  We hadn't been up there for quite some time, and I was ready for some time with them.  Not to mention, Robert can cook a great meal!

 The kids loved having a big slumber party!  They ranged in age from 2 years to 9 years.  They all played so nice and got along well. 

Roy smoked a turkey, and Robert tried the turkey fryer in the garage.  Both were scrumptious!  Thursday morning, while Robert and I were cooking.....

 ....the rest of the adults took the kids to the local Ramada Inn for swimming.  They loved it, and all came back with big appetites.  After dinner, we took a walk and let the kids play at the neighborhood park.  It was a decent warm-ish day.  That night I went with Jane and Robert to Walmart for the Black Friday preview.  It was my first time doing anything like that, and I was amazed at the crowds.  Jane found some good deals, though.  So it was worth it. 

The NEXT day going home...not so warm-ish!  Kinda scary in places, with a pretty serious ground blizzard going on for about 90 miles.  We stopped in St A to see Seth and his family for awhile, then did a little shopping.

  Saturday, Roy and I took a carload of our ward youth to SLC.  We had lunch at the Lion House, then had some time to stroll around temple square before going to the production of "Savior of the World" at the conference center theater.  It was a fun, spiritual day!

Good weekend, all the way around! 

Robert turns 40

Forty years ago today, I became a mommy. Even though I was only 19 years old and Robert arrived 10 days late, I was as happy as I could be. Someone once asked me why we chose to have kids so early in our marriage. I replied, “What else was there to do?” That’s just what you did.

There was never any question what the name of our first son was to be. Roy’s brother, who was lost 3 years before was Robert, but was called Bobby. Even though Roy and all his family called our son Robert, I called him Bobby Dee. He was known by pretty much everyone we associated with as Bobby. When he was in Junior High, he decided he was going to be Robert. It was a hard change for me. And sometimes his aunts on my side still call him Bobby Dee.

We have always had a pretty close bond. Robert and I can talk about just about anything. We don’t always agree, but I admire his passion. He has a good gift of gab, and has a way of making lasting, loyal friends wherever he has lived. He loves to cook and is darn good at it. We share a love for good books and good music. There was a time when he was just as knowledgeable about the “oldies” as me….and I lived them! I’ve never questioned his love for me and I know he would go to the ends of the earth to help me if I needed it.

He has a darling little family now. (He chose not to start as young as me.)

Sending all my love to you, Robert, as you go “over the hill!”