Tending Grandchildren Apr-June 2012

Grant and Jackson are buddies.

 In April, Doug and I were able to babysit Jackson and Hallie while Dave and Jamie went to Germany to see the Harpers on their mission.   Kacey had to drive a car up from Ariz. for a relative and so she was here at the same time.  In June,  we tended Dayton and Afton while Ryan and Mary Ann went to San, Antonio Texas.   We tended Jeremy for short times while Shane and Kim went to the temple or were helping with the Utah Valley Marathon.

 They enjoy riding the horse downstairs.  Luke isn't so sure about it though.

Grandpa with a lapful of kids

Jackson and Hallie ready for church

Aunt Marcie loves her niece Hallie

Kim helps Jeremy feed the horses and Afton looks on.

Visiting the horses that live in the backyard neighbor's house is lots of fun.  The owner, Melinda Burt, also lets us grow a garden in her yard.  The grandkids help me pick produce and then we feed the horses. 

Grandma helps Dayton feed the horse.

 Dayton and Afton love to go visit the train exhibit in the Wes and Ruth Burr's downstairs room.  They laugh as the train speeds around the track.  It almost looks like Thomas the Train.  Sometimes they even eat the cereal and candy in the train cars. 

We took a walking trip down the street to see the sheep and the new little lambs. 

Hallie and Jackson look at the sheep.

Dayton and Afton check on the sheep also.

Fun at Grandma's house- May-June 2012

 We enjoyed the hot tub even though it was warm and sunny!  Jeremy, Dayton, and Jackson love the water. 

 We decided to put a little table up for the grandchildren and they thought  it was so FUN!








Jackson is trying out grandpa's motorcycle helmet and then he got to have a ride with his grandpa.

 Jeremy loves to raid the food cupboard just like his Dad used to do.  I have several pictures of Shane climbing into cupboards and even into the fridge.









 Dayton and Jeremy are having fun with the cars and the raceway set.

  

Doug and Julie trying to capture 7 wiggly grandkids for a picture!!

We were so happy to have the whole Ahlstrom family together for one evening on Memorial Day in May 2012.  We all went out to eat at Cafe Rio to celebrate Marcie's graduation from Lehi High School.  Shane and Kim were here from Grenada for a few weeks during May and June.  Jamie and Tyler's families came from AZ and Ryan's family from CO.  While the boys went on the motorcycle trip, the girls had great times with the grandkids. 

Marcie's graduation from Lehi High- May 2012

Julie,Marcie, Melinda, Kim and Jeremy give congrats!

Brett Bartholomew and Marcie Ahlstrom

Jessa Bates, Marcie and Bethany Leishman

All the hard work pays off in the end!

The graduation was held at the UVU campus.  Doug and all 3 sons were able to attend, but they left before pictures were taken.  They were all loaded up for the annual motorcycle trip.  Mary Ann, Dayton and Afton were also there. 

Marcie's Senior pictures 2012

 These are a few of Marcie's Senior pictures taken by Jamie Bennett in April 2012.  Marcie is so beautiful and very photogenic. 

New Baby or April Fool's Joke?

This is the picture Ryan and MaryAnn sent to us on Sunday.  We were so excited and then we realized that it is April Fool's Day.  Maybe Ryan is just tricking us again.  They claim that it really is true even if the last time they totally tricked us.  Mary Ann just said wait until September and you'll see.  Next we wondered if it was going to be twins and that's why both kids had their little babies.  No!  It's only one, but what fun to find out about a new little one before the birth!  Carly is so excited to have a little cousin so close in age to her baby.  Carly finds out in 2-3 weeks whether it's a boy and girl and of course, Ryan And Mary Ann want to be surprised.  Are we surprised?

Winter fun with the grandkids

Jackson and Dayton love going next door to the Burr's to see the train exhibit.  They love to hear the whistle and see the trains chugging around the tracks and going into the tunnels. 

Afton and Hallie love playing with their grandpa.  He loves his two grand daughters, too. 

Jackson came to Utah ready to play in the snow in his new snowpants.  Luckily, we found a little bit of snow to have a snowball fight.  Dave and Jamie found enough snow to go skiing at Park City.  They had a great time and Jamie learned how to ski better.

Grandma Marie enjoys her great grandchildren, (Dayton, Macey, Aleia, Brinley, Hallie and Jackson

Playing with the grandchildren!

Dayton is helping me do the Box trick.

Dayton is a great flyer!

I love to play "airplane" with the grandchildren.  It reminds me of how I used to play with my own children.  Little Afton likes it too!

               Click Here! to view the cartoon

In January, Doug Sharp created a cartoon and invited us one by one to come into the computer to read it.  After Doug went in to read it, they asked Marcie to come in.  She got so excited she ran out of the the room screaming, "They're going to have a baby!!" before they could even stop her.  So that's how I found out the news!  We are so excited for them.  The baby is due about the middle of Sept.   Carly hasn't been very sick, just more headaches than usual.   They are so excited about the chance to begin their family.

Marcie going to the winter Ball with Brett Bartholomew!

Marcie and her friends tried to hike Timpanogos in the Fall but the snow made it difficult to find the trail.   They came home muddy and very tired.

Fun with Philbert!

Doug and Carly got a new puppy.  They named him Philbert.  He is a cute little Patter-dale terrier/lab mix.  Ryan and Mary Ann's kids got to see him and play with him.  They both love him.  Dayton loved having Phil chase him.   Afton would squeal and run away and then go right back for more loving.

Cozumel

Six of the couples rented motor scooters and explored the island of Cozumel.  We had fun just driving to the end,  where we saw a lighthouse and took pictures of us by a blowhole next to the ocean. We ate lunch at a local cafe named "coconuts" and the food was really good.  Three couples went to tour the ruins of San Gervacio.  It was really interesting to see the ancient Mayan ruins that were built between 300 AD and 1500 AD.  Someday I would like to know more about how all the ruins fit in with the Book of Mormon records.  On the way back into town we accidently got onto a one way road and had quite the adventure before we figured it out and got onto the right road. 

Brooke, Liz, Lisa, Kathy, Patty, and Julie show off on the scooters.  Actually the men drove, but I did enjoy driving for part of the time.

Doug and Julie beside a blowhole by the ocean. 

The Mayan ruins of San Gervacio

Swimming with the stingrays

We sailed for two nights and a day and looked out over the beautiful Carribean waters that were so huge.  We loved exploring the ship. We went on a tour of the kitchen and saw the huge amount of food they had to prepare each day   

Louine with Alan, Doug and Lynn.

Louine and her three daughters

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The first stop was at the Cayman Islands.  Here we hired a group to take us swimming with the stingrays.  Doug got to hold one of the stingrays and then I got brave and let them give me a back rub with their fins.  Grandma Shields even got into the water and explored the stingrays also.  We got back into the boat, but by this time Doug was getting sick.  We went to a another spot and got out to do some snorkling.  I felt bad for Doug because he was getting greener.  He finally fed the fish with the contents of his stomach and then he started feeling a little better. 

Patty, Jeff , Jeff Shuwway,(In front) watch as the tour guide lets us touch the stingray.  In back are Scott and Brooke, Julie, Louine, Liz and Zach.

Carribean Cruise on the Celebrity Solstice

 One of the formal nights eating in the fancy restaurant.  The food was so good and we ate so much!

The Celebrity solstice was an amazing ship.  It was 15 decks high and had so much on it.  We got on the ocean liner on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012.  We were impressed with the logistics of getting everyone and all the luggage off the ship in the morning and then loading all the passengers, food, luggage and supplies for a new week and be ready to take off again by 4:30 p.m.  We were glad that we had the safety drill before we left the dock, especially after we heard about the Italian cruise ship that hit a rock and tipped on its side!