DISNEYLAND

We are anxiously waiting for May to come....we are going to Disneyland California. We are all super excited by this adventure.


Jolyn has only been there once, when she was almost 2 yrs. old. Lani has never been to Disneyland.
They have both been to DisneyWorld when Jolyn was around 5 and Lani wasn't quite one.


They have both been to Euro Disney in France, when they were around 7 and 4.




I think they are as excited as Jeff & I. We will be staying at the Travelodge Anaheim which I got for around $55.00/night.



We were able to obtain 3-day Park Hopper Passes for $99.00 each as Disney is celebrating the military this year. What a bargain.


I am way excited to go to California for Disneyland and also for our nephew, Joseph's wedding. He is getting married on May 14th. We will be leaving for CA on May 7th and going to Anaheim by the 9th or so. We hope to travel along HWY 1 or 101 on the coast during that time.




Hurry and get here May. We are ready for leaving. :-)

Christmas

We had many Christmases this year. It started on Sun. 12/20 when Cory, Robyn, and Gma Walle came over from Spokane to celebrate Christmas with us. Thanks Cory & Robyn for sacrificing your time to come and be with us. It was great to be together. Thanks Gma for coming to stay with us for the holiday. We had Christmas morning with them on Monday 12/21, opened our gifts, enjoyed a Christmas dinner together (Ham, Au Gratin potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, cranberry salad, and more),and enjoyed visiting and laughing with one another. Cory had to go back to work, so he and Robyn left Tues. afternoon to head back to Spokane. Gma stayed with us till Sunday, so we were able to have Christmas with her.

Friday, Christmas Eve, Gma Vi, Jim, & his sister, Donna, came over from Yakima to spend the afternoon with us. We opened gifts from them, and theirs from us. Ate another Christmas dinner. (Ham, Cheesy Potato casserole, green beans, rolls, cranberry salad, and more.)
We enjoyed our time with them very much. Thanks for coming and spending time with us.
We love all of our family and are very glad we have them close by to see often.

Christmas morning we opened presents and enjoyed time together. We played our new WII games, laughed, ate, and spent time together as family.
Here are some pictures from Christmas.































So there are our Christmases. Hope you and your enjoyed the season of remembering the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving 2010

We traveled 14 hours to Utah to be with my family for Thanksgiving. We arrived late Wed. night. It was fun to see everyone. Layne, Jayme, Payce & Tayo came up from Vegas. Lynette traveled in from Boise, and us from Wenatchee. It was fun to all be together. Lori & Hank & klan came up from Orem. We had 27 of us for Thanksgiving dinner. (Lynette had brought 2 friend with her). We had a very enjoyable time being together. If you can't tell I enjoy being together with my family. :-)
We had great food, fun, and laughter. The next day we had our family pictures taken outside my parents home in the snow. It was cold!! The photographer did a great job. Here are some examples of his work:












It was fun. After pictures, we went bowling. Had a lot of fun!! Later that night we had our friends the Wilkinson's and their families over for pizza and soda. We enjoyed visiting and meeting new parts of the family. We had a tradition in Great Falls, MT. Where we would have Thanksgiving or Christmas with the Wilkinson's, so it was great to reunite and do it again.
Santa & Mrs. Claus came and surprised us all. It was fun. The kids and some of the adults sat on his lap and received a present from Santa. Just like old times.
Thanks Santa & Mrs. Claus for coming to visit us. :-)

Sat. --Just spent time together and played games and enjoyed each other.
Sun. --Went to church and had dinner together.
Monday-We made the long trek back to home, took 16 hours. We had an almost 2 hour delay at the Utah/Idaho border, they had closed the road.
We brought our friend, Jamie Kershner home with us, and she was there for her grandpa's funeral and was looking for a ride home. Glad we were there and able to help her. We had fun visiting on the way home.
That was our vacation to Utah for Thanksgiving. Thanks Mom & Dad for hosting us in your home, and for all the food and fun! You are the bestest parents ever!!

Girls and School

This year Jolyn is a sophmore in High School. Can you believe how fast time flies? I can't. She is doing well in her classes. Liking most of her teachers........
Her school picture this year is one taken by my sister Lynette, while in Utah this summer. She liked it better than the school ones. I think that it turned out really good. Thanks, Nettie!! :-)


Jalani is in 6th grade at the Middle school this year. Wow!! My baby is all grown-up! :-( I am not ready for two teenagers in the house...but, ready or not here she comes!! She id doing well in school, too!! Also, some classes or teachers she may not like, but all in all doing well.

Garth Brooks

The Thursday before leaving on our annual camping trip, my brother calls and says "Guess what?" I had no idea, so I let him continue. He tells me he finally was able to get tickets for us for Garth Brooks. Wow!! I could hardly believe it, then he tells me it is short notice and can we come to Vegas the next weekend to go see him on the 11th of September in Vegas. Oh my, what do I say or do? My mind was whirling just with the thought of being able to go see him, finally.
Long story made short....my brother was getting married about 12 years ago and Jeff & I had tickets to see Garth. We sold them so we could go to the wedding. When his marriage didn't work out, he felt bad that we had missed seeing Garth. We told him it was no big deal, and we were happy to do it.
He has felt bad about that for a long time, so it was nice for him to ease his conscience by taking us to the concert. ;-)

Layne & Jayme, his wife, flew us down to Vegas, bought the tickets for Garth, paid for our lodging in a hotel, fed us food, and spoiled us rotten. We were able to pay for Luv-its Ice Cream one night. (http://luvitfrozencustard.com/)It was fun!! We had such a great time being with them and Payce and Tayo, their boys.
We were able to watch Payce play his first soccer game, ever. So cute!! We had fun playing with Tayo and eating those chunky cheeks of his.
Thank you so much Layne & Jayme. We appreciate you and all you did for us!! someday we hope we can repay you in some way!! It meant so much to spend that time with you and your family.

Annual Family Camping Trip

Starting Friday afternoon Sept. 4th - Monday Sept. 6th we went on our Annual Stevens Family Camping Trip. This year we joined Jeff's friend, Micky Cecil, and his family at Lake Roosevelt. it was quite the task to prepare for leaving, as it always is.
I put a lot of effort and time in to making sure we have all the things we need to enjoy our time together. (Food, clothes, games, supplies, extra blankets, sleeping bags,tent and much more)
This year we allowed the girls to each bring one friend. Jolyn chose her friend, Madison. Jalani chose her friend, Delaney. The friends were very polite and helped when needed. It was great!!
the trip to get to the campsite was an adventure in itself. If you do not know where this campground (it only has 9 sites) is, good luck in finding it. There are no signs per say to get you were you need to go. :-) It is many miles of dirt road and gravel roads. ICKY!! We had to take both the van and truck in order to fit all of us and all our gear.
We had a grand time once we were settled in.
The first night, we got there later than we wanted, so I felt unprepared at first.
That same night a big group came in late at night (11:45pm) and decided to party it up all night long. (no this is not an exaggeration) I woke up in the middle of the night(around 4 am) and they still had their music blaring and lots of loud talking.
I was mad!!! I told the ranger the next day and they went and talked to them. They still played their music and talked each night but nothing compared to the first night. I was grateful when I asked each of the girls the next day if that bothered them, that it didn't. :-)
Micky brought his jetskis and we were able to enjoy riding on them. Jolyn got her first real taste of freedom by driving one with her friend on with her. She thought that was amazing. We all had a great time. Ask Lani about her fish experience. lol
Lani and her friend spent a lot of time fishing and catching crawdads, and frogs. They seemed to really enjoy themselves.
It was nice to be away from home and phones, computers, etc. The cell reception was sketchy so you only had it every once in awhile in certain places. :-) I liked that part of the campground.
It is nice to spend time together as a family!!

Graduation, finally!!

Sat. August 28, 2010 was a grand day for the Stevens household. Jeff finally graduated with his MSW from Eastern Washington University. We are all so proud of him. It was a 3 year part-time program, and at times he wanted to quit and give up, but he didn't. He pushed onward and upward and now is finished! Good job, honey!! I am extremely proud of you and am grateful for your example and dedication in going back to school to get your Masters degree. :-)
YOU ARE AMAZING!!
After the graduation, Jeff's brother, Cory and his wonderful wife, Robyn hosted a after graduation BBQ at their home in Spokane. How grateful we are to them for having us in their home and cooking up some delicious food to eat. :-) YOU ARE GREAT!!
We had family and lots of fun!!
Thanks to Dorothy for traveling from California to be there for Jeff. I know it meant a lot to him, to have you there as well.
Congratulations, Jeff!! YOU DID IT!!