Our Grandpa Manning

On Wednesday afternoon Tim passed away after a hard fight against cancer. I have never seen a person so determined to beat this disease before. We are so grateful that it took him rather suddenly and that his suffering was not drawn out for too long. Both of Tim's parents died by the time Tim was eleven and we're sure there was the most wonderful and happy reunion at his passing.

Here are Tim and Diane on Christmas day at our house. I don't know that two individuals have ever been so much in love. They literally spent every moment together. Several years ago Tim decided he wanted to take up flying and get his pilot's license. Diane wasn't about to be left behind, so she too became a pilot. They became so enthusiastic about it that they bought their own plane. When Emma was three, Grandpa wanted to take her for a ride. She rode in the front seat next to a man that was completely captivated by her.

Here we are trick-or-treating Grandma and Grandpa on Halloween. He wore this hat often during his treatment and insisted on putting it on before the photo. Sonny and I were finally successful in making him realize that he had a sexy bald head and that a hat was unnecessary.

This was at one of Emma's t-ball games. Anyone that knew Tim years ago would have been shocked that he came to his granddaughter's games. We liked to call him a grumpy old man that liked to stay to himself. However, his grandchildren brought out a mighty change in his heart. He was always amazed that my children weren't afraid of him. :)

Like most grandfathers do, he cared so deeply for his grandchildren. I can remember how delighted he was when he first held Emma. He smiled so proudly at her and rubbed her little bald head. You can tell how much he marveled at his little grandbabies in this picture. This was Tim holding Joseph. I don't think he was ever ready to give him up that day.

I will always remember how sweet and concerned he was for my family. Whenever he hugged the kids goodbye, he knelt down on one knee and grabbed them up. He even did this when it physically hurt him. When Joseph was diagnosed with asthma Tim would always ask about him and send home his own personal medications for him. He loved the kids so much and longed for their happiness. Sonny will miss working with him and the many conversations he was privileged to have with him. Tim wanted to be known as a gruff old man that wanted nothing more than his privacy. However, we'll remember the real Tim. He was good at so many things, but awful at hiding how much he loved his family. He was so loyal and will be missed more than he ever thought possible.

Junie B Jones

For any parents out there...Junie B Jones is a must have for any child's library. We were reading Junie B Jones last night and I've gotta say these books are hilarious. It will brighten up any bedtime routine and make even the most serious adult laugh. Back in the day of the lost camera cord, these pics were taken of Emma and Audrey. Emma's school got to dress up as their favorite story book characters. How could Emma resist Junie B Jones? Audrey asked to dress up too. Emma was the winner for her Kindergarten class and went on to be the grand prize winner for all the kindergarten classes. She won a $4 credit at the book fair. What a day. Don't delay...go get your kids some Junie B Jones books today!

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What is his name? Timothy Sunshine George (how’s that for a mouth full).

How long have we been married? 7 years

How old is he? 27

Who eats more? Usually him, but myself occasionally.

Who said I love you first? I think he said it first. I think I loved him first though.

Who is taller? Him…he actually grew a little after we were married.

Who sings better? Probably me. Although nothing can cheer me up more, than having Sonny sing to me. He’s got passion!

Whose temper is worse? Mine probably rears its ugly head more, but his is more intense.

Who is smarter? Probably me. My parents raised me with that over achiever kind of quality. He knows the scriptures and carpentry more than me.

Who mows the lawn? We both do. We bought a new lawn mower last summer that has a key to start it. Who wouldn’t want to mow the lawn?

Who pays the bills? I do. He never questions where the money goes.

Who does the dishes? Sonny does awesome in this area. We both do them, but he probably does them 75% of the time.

Who cooks dinner? I usually do but its things I’ve made a hundred times before. He's the one who always experiments with meals and most of them are fabulous. He’s a big Food Network fan.

Who drives when you are together? He does. I love sight seeing.

Who is more stubborn? Definitely me. I’m queen of holding a grudge.

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? He is, usually seconds afterwards.

Who has more friends? Probably me. I think a girl’s friendships are usually stronger and deeper.

Who wears the pants in the family? We both keep this family running. We both need each other and each of us have our different strengths. My brother argues that I do. What does he know?

I tag Amanda, Kristi, Adriana, and Misty.

Winter Road Trip

Our family took a road trip to Utah and Wyoming to visit Sonny's sister and her family. Star's daughter Rachel was baptised. The kids had a really great time with their cousins. It's just getting there that sucked. Joseph became quite pissy whenever we strapped him in his car seat. Observe the photo to the right. That poor guy had to ride in between both of his sisters, who would often pick on him for entertainment purposes. Thank goodness for The Grinch. They watched it three times total and The Little Mermaid twice. During the third viewing of The Grinch, Audrey asked in all sincerity if the Grinch had a wiener. Ya...we did have other forms of entertainment. On our way up, we took the kids to that huge dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point.

The kids got to see actual scientists working on real fossils. The guy to the left wore head phones and rocked out the entire time, oblivious to any of us. What a job!

The kid's favorite part was the erosion table they played in. They all suited up in blue aprons and got to play in the mud and water. Joe was fascinated by all the toy dinosaurs buried in the dirt. Here is his line of dino friends. It got even longer after the photo was taken.

The girls tried out the tunnel they had. They're big chickens like their mama. That's as far in as they would go (about two feet). I think Audrey was sick and tired of pictures at that point. A kid can only say cheese so many times.


Here is a giant Megladon. As if these things are not terrifying enough, let's give it bloody jaws with it's mouth hanging wide open. Kids will love that. Sonny and I are extremely sensitive and awesome parents. We decided it would be a great photo to make the kids stand in front of it and scream. When they were too terrified to do it, Mommy got in the picture and forced them to do it. Audrey was really scared and Joseph was ready to move on to other exibits.

On a more cheery note, Rachel's baptism went really well. We're glad we made it to Lyman the day before becuase a small blizzard hit that night. Most of Daniel's family couldn't make it because the roads from Utah into Wyoming were closed. Here we are at the baptism with Star's family. The kids thought it was so cool wearing snow boots with their church dresses. The only one you can see is Joseph's Thomas the Train boot hanging out. I'm not a huge fan of character shoes, but Joe loved them so much he was wearing them when we arrived at State Line on the way home.

Now how many boys do you know that can pull off pink powder pants. Well maybe he doesn't, but Wal-Mart didn't have any black ones in his size so he was forced to wear Audrey's old ones. He looks humiliated doesn't he?

Here's the girls attempting to enjoy the snow. It was about 6 derees outside when this picture was taken. I think our family lasted eight minutes top outside our cabin before we headed back in. It was miserable. I wouldn't last one month anywhere, but California!

Sadly, we had to leave Wyoming before we all died of the bitter cold. Star traveled back to California with us to see her parents. This is the road into Ogden. Isn't it insane! Believe it or not, the pass before Cedar City was even a bigger nightmare. We saw several accidents and cars that had slid off the freeway into the center divider. I finally had a nervous breakdown when we reached Cedar City and Sonny found a hotel. I'm grateful to be alive and I'm grateful for Sunny California!

Christmas

We had a really great Christmas. Grama Wyatt, Nana, Pa, Grandma Manning and Grandpa Manning all stopped by Christmas morning to watch the kids open their presents. Emma tore through all of hers in a matter of minutes. Audrey was actually pleasant and smiling(she's usually a grump in the morning). Joseph was afraid of his presents after opening an Imaginex T-Rex that growled and moved. Who can blame the poor kid?

Grandma and Grandpa came over for Christmas dinner. Sonny and I have decided to stay at home for Christmas dinner so the kids can enjoy their loot a little longer. Notice the great lip shade Emma is wearing. Aunt Kelly got her make-up. We went over to Nana and Pa's after dinner and met up with the rest of the family. We're really hoping that they build an addition soon. We barely fit when we're all together.

Santa always leaves the kids presents out. Here's Emma with her American Girl Doll, Nellie. She wants to cut her hair to her shoulders now...to match the doll. We'll see...

This is Joe on his Choo-Choo. He loves this thing. All it does is drive around in circles, but Joseph will go around a hundred times before he wants to get off. Batteries never last long enough.

Here is our Audrey on her smart cycle. I thought it would break after the first couple hours, but we have been pleasently surprised. It's pretty awesome. It makes me feel a little better about the time she spends in front of the TV. I'm not gonna lie, my kids spend more than an hour a day in front of the TV (GASP)!

I threw in this picture of the girls at the ward Christmas Party. They were little carolers. Audrey wasn't technically suppossed to be in the program, since she's still in nursery, but I sent her with Emma anyways. I think those nursery kids get the shaft! Sonny also got to get on the stage and dance with the bishopric. He's got some moves (maybe a little too racey for church functions)!

Piano Recital

Here we are at Emma and my piano recital. Talk about nerve racking...when you barely play anyways, adding an audience is killer. We played on a baby grand piano. All you could see of Emma were her little legs sticking out at the bottom. Good thing she was sporting some fabulous tights. Emma did great. She is so talented when it comes to music. She wants to play every instrument under the sun, but unfortunately that would cost a fortune. She did get a guitar for Christmas though.

Looks Can Be Deceiving

Okay...so this is our picture perfect tree at the tree farm. We go back a couple weeks later to have it cut down and bring it home. When we begin the process of washing it and putting it in the stand, Sonny decides (like he does every year) that he "hates" Christmas trees. We finally get it in the house and standing straight, only to dicover the following morning that it drank all of its water and the trunk has sealed off. We lay it down to recut the trunk and then it takes another hour to get it standing and straight again. When we start to hang the lights, Sonny stood on one side of the tree and I on the other handing the lights back and forth. I saw some clusters of dead needles inches away from my face. When I went to pull them off, my eyes focused in on a lizard. Ya...it wasn't dead needles. The kids then had to inspect the captured creature for about twenty minutes. Then there was the strange, gigantic spider we found on the wall soon after. Real trees sure do smell good and look pretty, but they're a pain in the butt and house lots of little creatures. Here's the kids and the final product. All in all, I'd say it was worth it!