Christmas in Edmonton 2012

What a wonderful Christmas celebration we had! All the Schneiders, Youngs : Hu/Diane/Hugo, Grannie/Grandpa.Christmas Eve was at Schneiders. Great food, wonderful Nativity Pageant performed by the little people with Jordan, Charla, Ruby representing Joseph, Mary, Jesus! And carolling.
Christmas Day dinner was at Hu/Diane's - with prime rib roast beef, turkey with trimmings, a variety of veggies and for dessert - Bouche de Noël. Diane did a superb job of the table settings. The small fry ate in the Family Room. Hugo & David took turns checking on them. Adults dined at 2 tables in the dining/living room. Hu had his 'village' displayed  as well as the Nativity Set. Both looked wonderful. Lovely poinsettias at the tables. Boxing Day all we were treated to a hayride! Fun! The LA gang really enjoyed the snow & we have lots of it. When we went to Church we filled a row & half pew. Nice to be together. There were many festivites among the families. We enjoyed our beautifully decorated home - lights everywhere. Christmas wall hangings all added to a festive atmosphere.
The most beautiful present was "Gigi & Bapa's Book" celebrating our 50th anniversary as members of LDS Church. It is a treasure containing pictures and commentaries by our children, grandchildren & even a page for the greatgrandchildren! Thank you! We have been blessed with a wonderful posterity.
We wish you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR. We love you all.
G & G

Thanksgiving holiday at the Schneiders in Mercer Island

We spent a super holiday in Mercer Island with the Schneiders. Coleen is certainly a gracious hostess. She drove us many places. We so enjoyed visiting the Chihuly Glass Museum - truly a must-see. It displays the art of glass blowing showing all kinds of creations. A truly world class exhibit.  Even though there was plenty of rain we did go for several great walks to Green Lake, Seward Park, and by ferry to Bainbridge Island.
Grandpa took us to our favorite restaurant - IVARS - for a sumptuous dinner. We saw the movie LINCOLN - I recommend it highly. Grandpa, who really is not a movie-buff wants to see it again! He likes to browze around bookstores  and found some great books on Lincoln. One at the library  - excellent. It was an older version by Carl Sandburg distributed by Readers' Digest. He purchased it for $4.00!! He found an interesting 'bookazine' at the airport shops. I have never heard of this word before - have you? I can't find it in the dictionary. It is a magazine/book combination.
Very interesting  - even I am reading it.
American Thanksgiving dinner was a masterpiece. We all had to help prepare it. Coleen asked me to make dinner rolls which I have not made since we moved to Edmonton! but they turned out great, so now I am motivated to make them at home.  The table setting was just beautiful. So was the company - Coleen/OJ, John, David, Rachel & her boyfriend Andrew, Grandpa/I. A truly blessed day!
Good to get away but good to come home.
Now we can look forward to Christmas when the family will gather together again.
Love to all
Grannie

November 11 - Hugo spoke at Sacrament - excellent talk.

S - n - o - w in Edmonton

Celebrating Aaron's birthday 

 Sunrise from Aaron/Patti's apr

 On our cruise (Maui background

 Hawaiian dress-up

Dig Bapa'a chapeau with plummeria - Hawaii'a state flower

Aloha.
Time to share our experiences  of our Hawaiian cruise. We arrived a few days early in Vancouver so that we could visit with Aaron/Patti. How wonderful it was to stay with them in their one-bedroom apartment. We certainly appreciated their hospitality. We were able to celebrate Aaron's birthday too.They were excellent hosts and it was a pleasant experience for us. We went sight-seeing with them, had a horse-drawn tour of Stanley Park, saw the Olympic sights and ended up visiting Janice/Andy in Delta where we had a sumptuous dinner /visit. We certainly like the area where A/P live. We were grateful Aaron took time off to drive us to our ship - Carnival Spirit. Crossing the Pacific Ocean was great - 5 days at sea before landing on Big Island. We anchored at Kauai, Maui, Oahu. Grandpa took 2 land excursions. I stayed on board as we had toured these islands formerly. I believe we have been to Hawaii about 6 times. I enjoyed reading, walking on deck, sunning. Time went very quickly. Many activities on board. Met quite a few people from different parts of the world. The only drawback was we had to wait 10 h at Honolulu airport before flying at night to Denver on a beautiful 767 airplane.  Waited 3 h before boarding a plane for Edmonton. I was exhausted and on arrival home came down with a horrible head cold that still is lingering ....guess the airconditioning just does not agree with me.
Grandpa is great. It is good to go away but better to return home.
I'll post some pix once I fully recuperate.
Mahalo.
Grannie

Visit to Pincher creek

Greetings to all -

We've had the privilege of having David with us & also using his expertise  -re computer and iPad. We also had him drive us to Pincher Creek to visit my sister Marge who will be 88 in September. We left Edmonton August 1 and stayed in Calgary for the night. When we left in the morning it was raining & there has been so much construction & road maintenance that we kind of lost our way. Our trip south was good. Marge had a 'spread' for us - what a feast we had. Mind you, her daughter did some of the preparation. Marge purchased a computer & needed some help -re Facebook. David was able to help her. We returned home that day - what a drive! Rain, rain - in buckets - you could hardly see ahead.
It would clear then rain again with a vengeance. Was I ever glad to arrive home - utterly exhausted. The weather is weird - sunny during the day with lightning, thunder, rain, hail in the evening. My beautiful flowers on the deck were devastated. Otherwise we are doing OK but the heat sometimes is too much- glad we have the family room/bedroom  downstairs - only cool place in the house.  We have watched  the Olympics - the opening ceremony was spectacular. Today we watched the womens' soccer game - Canada vs USA. What an exciting game!

Post Reunion Happenings

Hello all-
Thanks for the lovely pictures of the Reunion. What a fine group we are . What a beautiful area to go to. So many interesting
activities. Thanks to the Planing Committee - excellent job.
Since we returned home we have David with us. He is a great guy and good to have around - driving us here/there/everywhere.
We have had extremely hot weather and have had to go to sleep at Hu/Diane's home to enjoy the airconditioning. We have also had heavy rains & a hailstorm that devastated all our flowers on the deck. How bleak everything looks in our yard. I was going to pick our rhubarb but it was totalled too. I scrounged what I could & did manage to make a delicious crisp.

The post-reunion highlight was attending a 'Tea Party' to honor Ruby - (just for the ladies in our family). It was an English-type tea like we have had at the Empress Hotel in Victoria. Very proper. Ruby enjoyed it very much and everyone took turns holding her. She is a beauty.
Love to all
Grannie

Family Reunion /Kananaskis

 Admiring Ruby

 Craft Table

 Ivy/Caleb & Auntie

 Kitchen Helpers

Bapa & Gigi at Delta Lodge Kananaskis

Happy Fathers' Day....to all fathers in our family. I made Grandpa a saskatoon pie so we invited Hu & Hugo to share it with us
Tasted yummy - none left. (Diane spent time with her dad)
Nice sunny Sabbath in sunny Alberta - not what the weatherman predicted!
Hope all the dads received pampering  by their progeny.
Grannie

Here is the latest picture of our farewell with Sydney as she prepares to leave for the MTC  and on to Frankfurt, Germany. We wish her well. Lovely experience at the Edmonton Temple and a delicious pot luck at the Schneiders. God bless!
Grannie

Just returned from Calgary last night after spending the Memorial Day weekend at the Redds - where we had a family celebration  -re Peter Redd's farewell address before he leaves  to Denver Colorado Spanish-speaking Mission. Nice to see both sides of the family so well represented. The Sacrament Meeting was extra special for us all to see Peter so well prepared to go. His talk was  motivation for younger priesthood holders to aspire to this calling.  An added bonus was to hear Peter sing in a quartet  -'I Know that My Redeemer Lives'. What a privilege it is for him to share the Gospel message, He will be an asset wherever he serves! We will pray for his success.

Included is a picture  which we will treasure. How he has grown and matured.  We are so proud of him and ask Heavenly Father to bless him while he labors in the 'field'.

Thanks to a memorable Mother's Day, 2012

Grandpa's 85th Birthday Party Photos

Had a wonderful 'birthday party' potluck dinner at our house for  Grandpa yesterday. 17 persons in attendance (counting the 'little' Schneiders). Great food, great time. Thanks to all who came. Even though Grandpa was under the weather, he enjoyed immensely the company. Thanks, Rachel for accompanying the singing of "Happy Birthday" on your violin. Nice to see the interaction of the siblings, cousins. Made us both very grateful.

It is Grandpa's 85th birthday on May 8. In case you did not know it he was born on Mother's Day! Today I made his birthday cake - chocolate (his favorite) with cherry filling & chocolate icing. Also made some tiny cupcakes for the small fry who will be coming tomorrow. Each family is bringing something for the potluck. I made a crockpot brimming with chili con carne - a favorite dish of his. Looking forward to this event. Uncle Hu did such a unique favor - he came over and gave Grandpa a shave - we told him he should open up his own shop - especially for seniors who can't seem to get off all the whiskers! I'll post some pics  later this week. Looking forward to the celebration tomorrow. Wish you could be here.
Love to all
Grannie

Greetings to all -
Just letting you know that spring has come to this capital city. The big news is that we had provincial elections and the PC's got in again but with a reduced majority. The Wildrose Party which was favored to win did not, much to the chagrin of the spin doctors and of course, yours truly.  But they will make an excellent opposition. Maybe, next time. It weill be interesting watching both leaders (female) butt heads with one another!
Love to all

Grannie

Here is the table setting that Coleen had at their Easter dinner. Inside each numbered egg was a scripture message that told the Easter story. We each had a turn to read. L-o-v-e-l-y way to focus on this special occasion.
I'm sorry that I could not post earlier - had to get help - which came as a surprise with the visit of Sydney - our soon-to-be missionary granddaughter.
Love to all
Grannie

Happy Easter to all- We celebrated Mikyla's birthday today. Present were: Janine/Benjamin Still, Karyn/Jim Redd, Ben/Brigham Thompson. They were all on their way to Slave Lake for the blessing on Lukas John Thompson. And of course the small fry were on their way home after a holiday with Nana/Grandpa Redd. They learned to ski so were very happy  with their new accomplishment.  I had baked some chocolate cupcakes - big, small. smaller, so with fresh strawberries & ice cream everybody had a good feed.  Tomorrow, we will be dining with the Schneiders & it sounds like there will be many of our clan in attendance. I delivered some goodies to my visiting teaching sisters - it was fun putting them in the mailbox & scurrying back to the car. I love the children of these families so I thought they needed some easter eggs for this Easter season.
Love to all -
Grannie (Gigi)

Hello -
Had a special event in our family. We attended the Edmonton Temple recently. Peter Redd received his endowment. It was a  memorable occasion to  be in the prayer circle together: Peter, Karyn, Hu, Jaima, Jeff & I along with others. Grandpa & Jim  were in the congregation.  How time flies -Peter will be leaving for Denver, Colorado Spanish speaking mission. I teased him he will probably teach illegal immigrants! He sure is a 'tall, dark, handsome' missionary. Reminds me so much of my dad (Gido).
Happy Easter to all.
Grannie

General Conference
I so enjoyed watching the 182 General Conference. The music and talks were truly inspirational. And of course we loved having Coleen and John watch the last Sunday session in our home. We had supper together so it made a special Sunday for us. I liked Elder Ballard's talk, especially his reference to the GPS. But all the talks taught us and encouraged us to be faithful and follow the Savior. Wonderful afternoon. Hope you all had the opportunity to view Conference.
Love to all
Grannie

hello all
What a time I am having trying to send this blog. It seems there is always an upgrade of a previous upgrade. Guess I will need Elena to help me out again. What I wanted to do is post some pix of the Thompson's Lukas John  born March 9 at the Grey Nuns' Hospital  in Edmonton. We visited him yesterday and he is absolutely adorable.  Sorry I can't post more pix. Hope you enjoy the one I have posted even though it is  duplicated!
Grannie

LUKAS JOHN THOMPSON

Mikyla Young RM with G/G

In John's awesome study

Maddy playing the cello for Grannie

Hello Grandpa /Grannie just returned from an over-weekend jaunt to Prince George to visit with the PG Youngs and be present at Mikyla's homecoming address at Sacrament meeting at Church. We decided to go by bus!! When friends heard about our manner of travel they pondered our sanity. Though it was a 10-hour ride on the Greyhound each way, we are glad we did it. We have all week to recover. Mikyla did a magnificent job and one could feel the Spirit. She looks great after serving her mission to Ukraine - home of my ancestors! We had a good visit with her, Maddy, John, Heather and of course we met Mr Bingley! Now we are looking forward to Peter and Sydney's farewells. I am into genealogy and have a one-on-one tutorial weekly. I have so much work to do and it is not easy, but I will persevere. I cannot procrastinate as I have quite a bit of information but it needs to be organized. I will post some pix next week. Love to all Grannie

And here is Elena's lemon pie made from scratch. Y-u-m-m-y!

Just to show you that many hands make small work!
Thanks for everyone's contribution. We must not forget Elena's lemon pie!

Family Potluck

What a lovely potluck we had at our home today. The meal was absolutely super. Everybody contributed. We made the roast beef - delicious; yorkshire - I'd give myself 50% as some rose and some did not. Gravy - so-o tasty. Elena came on Saturday to make lemon pie from scratch - great! Jaima brought potatoes (and some special non-gluten food) -  John came  running in to cook his contribution - carrots, and Charla brought corn. I asked John to make a cabbage salad - (thanks for your help, John) -   I took a picture of this colorful, delicious plate. I'll send a picture once I enter it in my computer. The Edm Youngs could not come and we were pleased that OJ came. It is such a treat for us to have such good company. the ggrandchildren are delightful and we enjoyed listening to the conversation of the  cousins. What a special Sunday. Thanks.  Love to all
G and G

We celebrated New Years on ms Amsterdam - unfortunately my battery died so this picture is taken the next morning.  Isn't our headgear snazzy?

G & G on our Caribbean Cruise......land excursion to the Bahamas

Carribean Cruise

Happy New Year-
It is good to be home again after a hiatus of 18 days 'travelling by air and by sea'. We had a prolonged flight going- we had to wait in  the plane in Edm for 1 h as the plane needed to be de-iced. Another h in Toronto due to some technical problem. When we arrived in Ft Lauderdale we were bushed and were happy for our 2-night stay at the Hilton. N-i-c-e!
Our cruise was very restful although we had 2 choppy days which made it almost too difficult to go from A to B. We finally resorted to in-room-dining. But we could walk in the corridors holding on to the railing.
Most of the support staff was from the Phillipines/Indonesia. They are great workers and very attentive to your every need. Holland America has training schools in both these countries - smart way to hire their help.
We took 4 land excursions: Puerto Rico, St Thomas, St Lucia, Barbados. My favorite was Barbados.  The other excursions were Bahamas, St Maarten, Martinique. We chose these as they had bus tours and a minimum of walking. We also toured part of Ft Lauderdale and cruised the New River to see huge mansions and yachts moored in front.
We enjoyed our cruise and feel well-rested but I would never go away from home during this season of the year. It is too special a time of year not to celebrate with your family and friends. On board was no Christmas Eve celebration, Christmas dinner was nothing to write home about and New Year's was celebrated 'in Babylon' And I did not enjoy one bit the music piped over their sound system - how many times can you enjoy 'Let it Snow'? I know they tried to keep a festive atmosphere catering to all nationalities and religions. The decorations were very lovely - Christmas trees, Gingerbread Houses, poinsettias,  even  a beautiful Creche. At their nightly Show Time the support staff entertained us with a choir - even sang O Holy Night!
 Everyone could do whatever they wished and there were many options. We even saw 2 movies - The Way, The Help. I had brought a book from home which I was determined to read on deck -  'Ukraine- a history'. I highly recommend it - especially if you want to learn about your roots. We enjoyed very much the  Captain's brunch invitations - really a promotion to sail again with them!!  On the whole, we did have a wonderful time - and it was fun to mingle with others and to see families enjoying being together.
Thanks for your gifts, emails, phone calls, visits. We are blessed to have such a wonderful family.
Again, Happy Hew Year to you all!
Love
Grannie
Grannie