Provo vs Mount Airy Weather

Today we have a few windows open in the house and the high is supposed to be right at 60 degrees. We have a sunny, blue sky and it is quite pleasant. When I check my favorite weather websites, I sometimes type in the zip for Ethan and Adam to see what their weather is like. It is rare that I check it and see many, if any, temperatures above freezing for the week! Hard to imagine!

My Personal Space

I must be clautrophobic or something, but I usually want a little personal space between myself and particularly strangers. People I'm close to are great (you know, family & friends), but when a complete stranger invades my space, I'm uncomfortable. Yesterday in Wal-Mart, I was waiting in line to pick up a perscription for Grandma, when someone got in line behind me. I mean right behind me. I moved up a little, but didn't want to crowd the person in front of me, so there was really nowhere to go, unless I wanted to leave the line, and she moved up, too. Anyway, it was a fairly long line, so we continued to move up and with each move, she was just right there, breathing on my neck, well, almost. It wasn't unnverving exactly, just uncomfortable. I just wanted to say, "Hey, just give me a little space here! You're going to get to the check out in the same place in line, just don't crowd me!" And I won't even go into the cell phone conversation I overheard!

24

Okay...I'm pretty much addicted! We used some coupons, etc. from Blockbuster and have been watching season 5 of 24 and are planning to watch the final episode tonight! It is so interesting and exciting! I almost hate to watch the last one, because then it will be over! ...until season 6!

And the Season is....

Who can tell? It's the middle of January and last night we slept with the windows open! The weather has been so mild lately that it doesn't even feel like winter! It has been pleasant and I have enjoyed being able to get outside and do things, but it's hard to tell which season we're in sometimes! I mean we do have snow in NC...so where is it this year?! I guess we've got to have some below freezing temps first!

So Many Good Times

I posted a few of my over 500 pictures (I filled up a 1G card...hard to believe...well maybe not too hard if you've been around me much!) I tried to hit some of the highlights in pictures, but well, there were so many memories, it was just hard to capture it all! I should mention our tradition of Adrian reading a Christmas story during December and our service activity we enjoy doing as a family and our special home evening together. Just so many good times! I guess when we live far apart, we just try to squeeze all the fun, celebration, laughter, love, and memories we can into a couple of weeks together! It was all fun and special, from the games and movies, to watching the kids and grandkids, to walks and talks, to good food, to all the thoughtful gifts and expressions - it was all just great! I am so thankful for a wonderful family! And I'm thankful for blogs, email, cell phones, web cams, texting, IMing, etc, that shorten the miles! And I can't wait for the next time to get this great crowd together!

An end and a beginning

Adam and Ethan packed up to go back to college and we left Mount Airy again, headed off to Kristen's in Raleigh on Thursday for a meal together, blessings, and our goodbyes. Kristen took them to the airport on Friday and it was a long day of traveling and then for Ethan and Adam a long weekend of moving and getting settled in their apartment and ready for classes on Monday. I guess back to the routine and looking ahead to the next time we get together!
Adam gave Ian and Elise his stuffed snake, so here we are with the famous snake that had been hanging from the ceiling in the boys bedroom for quite a few years.



A good holiday season! We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's together and loved spending time together and celebrating the season! It is one of the hap-happiest times of the year! 

Happy New Year

Kristen, Cory and family packed up to go home for New Years and we followed close behind. Here we are at Kristen's getting ready for church.
On New Year's Eve we got out the table cloth and began writing our memories of 2006. We also read our predictions and made some new ones for 2007!

On New Year's Day, we drove to Winston to go ice skating and then to use the tickets Kristen and Cory gave us for the Wake Forest basketball game!

On our last night in Mount Airy, Grandma was so kind to take us all out to dinner.
 

More...

A picture of part of the group after an outing.
It was chilly, but that didn't stop us from roasting hot dogs outside in the fire pit one night!

And who could forget watching ball games at Grandma Delia's house and a wild night of games!

The kids enjoyed getting outside and playing in the yard, kicking balls, riding down the hill, seeing Papa's chickens, and all that fun stuff!
 

The day continues...

We played games...and more games...and games again! Over the holiday we played: Mormon Rook, Apples to Apples, Sequence, Outburst, Taboo, Scattergories, Baulderdash, Mormon Dating Game, and probably some others. It was a lot of fun to visit, laugh, and play together!



We had Christmas dinner with all the trimmings.



Later in the day, we gathered around the table to make gingerbread houses. It was pretty typical Jarrell creativity! :) Elise was a great decorator!



One day we had a "yard sale" and let the kids take turns picking out our stuff to take home with them! We got rid of some things we weren't using and hopefully they got some good stuff they can use! Another day we all went bowling. Below is a picture of Papa and Merry Grace at the bowling alley. Papa with his Wake gear and Gracie with her Carolina attire!

 

Christmas Morning

The Grandmas came over and we all unwrapped presents together.



Lots of wonderful gifts were given and received!


 

Christmas Eve 2006

We had our traditional taco dinner on Christmas Eve.
Ethan, Adam, and Logan spent some time catching up on xbox games.

Kristen, Cory, Elise, Ian, and Merry Grace (and Max) arrived on Christmas Eve after spending time in Albertson with Cory's family.
 

The Holiday Begins

Kristen surprized us by changing Ethan's ticket, so when we went to her house to pick up Adam, there was Ethan, too! And a trip to Kristen and Cory's wouldn't be complete without some time on the trampoline!
After a delicious meal, as always, Logan went with Cory to a YMYW temple trip for their ward while the rest of us visited. After their return, we headed up the road home to get ready for more holiday fun.

Back in Mount Airy, the guys enjoyed some time playing soccer together out in the yard.