December 2017

December was a GREAT month!  Marilyn Parrish flew out from Texas to stay with Maddie while she was recovering from shoulder surgery.  It was so wonderful to talk with her.  She truly is one of the most fabulous ladies I know, and I am so blessed to call her a friend.  I miss her and Mont terribly, but we had a great visit.

We took a trip up to the condo at Wolf Creek and just relaxed for a few days.  Somehow I forgot to get any pictures while we were there.  I must be getting old and senile, why else would I forget to take pictures?  Actually, we had a great surprise that may have rattled my brain just a little.  Kalel was so cute, he made Kim and I both sit down, and then puffed up his chest and announced, "my mom is pregnant"!  You could tell he was extremely excited about the prospect of being a big brother!  Shandra and Hayden are expecting a new little bundle in July.  Apparently Kalel has known for almost a month and hasn't told anyone!  That is amazing!  Kim and I are very excited to have another little baby in the family.

The Rasmussens were in charge of the Olsen Family Christmas Party this year.  It was very low, key and yet fun.  In addition to good food and a fun gift exchange game, they asked Grandma Olsen to read her favorite Christmas book, "The Littlest Angel".  She used to read the book to the children every Christmas, and after we got married she arranged for each of us to have our own copies.  It was wonderful to have her read it for us one more time.

For the Eagle Gate Layton Campus office party we were taken to an "Escape Room".  It was such fun!  The story of our room was that Houdini had promised his widow that he would make contact with her within ten years after his death if there truly was life after death.  Supposedly the night we were there was the final night before the ten years was up.  Mrs. Houdini was in the room with us and she urged us to find all of the clues that her husband had hidden that would give her access to his spirit before the time ran out.  It was GREAT!  Our entire office raced to find clues that were well hidden in order to solve the puzzle.  We utilized a lot of teamwork and thinking outside of the box.  At one point I was looking at a bust of William Shakespeare when Mrs. Houdini came over and asked me if I was a Shakespeare fan.  I was hoping she was giving me a clue, so I played along and said that I was a huge fan.  She then asked me which was my favorite of his plays.  Since I had never seen any Shakespeare plays before, I said the only one I knew anything about.  I told her that it may seem odd, but that I really liked "Romeo and Juliet".  She then started talking about the play and said that she agreed that it was a good play, especially if one viewed it not just as a love story, but as a . . . just before she said it, I jumped in and finished her sentence for her . . . tragedy.  We talked about that for a bit, and then she wandered off.  

I was pretty sure that she had just given me some kind of a clue, so I started searching all of the books on the shelves for anything to do with Romeo and Juliet.  I found "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare" and was scanning through it when Mrs. Houdini came back over and started talking about Shakespeare again.  I just played along and acted like I knew what she was talking about.  We all continued to solve the mystery and were successful with 4 minutes to spare!  

Afterward we gathered together for a photo.  After the picture, Mrs. Houdini started talking to everyone about how excited she was that she had found a new Shakespeare buddy (she was no longer in character).  She went on and on about how she was a huge Shakespeare fan and that she was thrilled that she had found someone to share that love with her.  Oh dear . . . she thought I had been a truthful when I told her I was a fan!  I broke the news to her that I actually knew next to nothing about Shakespeare, and she literally gasped!  She asked me how I had answered her questions so well, and I told her that I was just playing along with her.  She then told me that she had been teaching theater for many years, and had studied with some of the best actors.  She then shocked me by saying that I had totally fooled her!  Isn't that a riot?

Tasha, Zane, and baby Ish arrived on the 22^nd.  It just feels so right to have them here.  I know that they are doing very well in San Diego, but I miss them so much!  We had family pictures on the day after they arrived, so Tasha had Shandra give Ish his very first haircut the night before.  Shandra was so amazing and fast at cutting his hair while Ish was wiggling all around trying to see what she was doing!  She cut 1 ½” off!  Boy, that kid has a lot of hair. 

On Saturday we went to JC Penneys for pictures.  I don’t think that they are the most wonderful pics we have had, but they turned out pretty good, and the cost was right.  

Unbeknownst to Shandra, Hayden had asked me to help him arrange to propose during the pictures!  As you can see, she was totally surprised!  Luckily, she said yes and it was great to have the memory recorded in the pictures!

Congratulations Hayden and Shandra! 

The following are miscellaneous Christmas pictures.  It was such a great holiday!  I love it when my whole family can get together.

Kim carved snowman families for Tasha and Shandra.  It is the first carving he has done for them.  They were thrilled!

The boys all received Nerf guns so they had a Nerf "darts" competition.  It was a riot!

Kalel sure loves his cousin Ish!

We spent New Year's Eve at Roxane & Jeff's house along with the rest of the family.  We had such a fun time!  And then, after everyone else left, Kim and I stayed and talked with Rox and Jeff until almost 3 in the morning!  It was great!

I just LOVE spending time with my family!  I have been extremely blessed to have such a wonderful family.

And .... just like that, the year ended 2018 begins.