December visit to see Mom and Dad

In December Robyn and I had a nice visit with Mom and Dad in PV. Dad is getting stronger after his heart surgery.

 When my friend saw this he said---"Look how handsome your Dad is--he still has all his hair"

 Mom is so great, helping us all out.

Mom and Dad's "favorite" daughter.

Doheny Beach Campout October 2012

We had a multi-family campout Friday-Sat (October 26-27) at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point.
I need some pictures. I will post more as soon as I get them.

Thanksgiving Hike 2012 at Whiting Ranch

We started Thanksgiving Morning with a hike up Whiting Ranch to the bridge.

Austin and Rachel were running the Turkey Trot when this was taken!

Happiness Is... Klompen and Grandkids

 Klomping around the house

With our Dutch wooden klompen on a Christmastime Saturday morning

Grandsons Bennett and Dylan

Tennessee Trip October 2012

Robyn and I enjoyed a week trip to Tennessee, stopping on the way to see Grandma Joyce in Bountiful, UT and an Italy Padova Mission Reunion in Salt Lake City on Conference Sunday.

Robyn and Jeff at the hotel Cookeville, TN, up the road from Sparta,

ready to start our adventure.

Meeting Charles Dodson, Robyn's distant cousin, in Sparta, TN.

Charles has his ATV ready to take us up the old road to the Davis Cemetery, between the area known as "Big Bottom" and Scott's Gulf.

Meeting our friendly and expert guides

from the TN Department of Wildlife Resources, ready to head up the road.

Robyn, Charles Dodson, Paul Stochman, and James Douglas.

After a 2+ mile ride, we arrive at the Davis Cemetery. Its marked by a trail sign.

 Viewing the graves.

The "tent graves"  with their peculiar inverted "V" slabs

 are unique to the Cumberland Plateau area in TN.

E. Davis grave.

Another family grave.

Walking along the Cemetery.

Notice how beautifully the State of Tennessee, under the direction of area manager James Douglas, maintains the remote graves and cemetery,

 keeping the grass mowed, and site pristine.

THANK YOU!

 Returning to civilization. The river rose to nearly 2 feet, from underground flows.

James guided us to family homesites, other nearly forgotten graves, the old school site, etc.

It was a fantastic trip.

Visiting  another family-related church and cemetery site in the area.

James Davis, original pioneer in the area, buried here.

Modern marker honoring James Davis' service.

Charles took us to another area cemetery, dating from 1811 and still used today.

After much hunting, we located the grave site of Asa Frasier.

This is a modern stone on an old grave.

 Later in our trip, we visited The Homestead,

President Andrew Jackson's home outside of Nashville TN.

Weird coincidence: a 19th century "Marion Adams" 

gravestone in the Andrew Jackson family cemetery at The Homestead.

We didn't know there was another person with Grandma Marion's name, born appx. 100 years earlier in TN, not related as far as we know.

We went to three different country music shows while in Nashville:

Music City Roots, Ryman Auditorium and Grand Ole Opry.

Lots of fun; trip of a lifetime.

 

Catalina 2012 Family Vacation

We spent a fantastic six days exploring Catalina--snorkeling, window shopping, and an interior jeep expedition. It was fun that all the children and grandchildren made it over to Avalon for a few days, making it a true "family" vacation.

Family all together--on balcony of our condo in Avalon

Stephen Davis was our underwater photographer.

He took this shot of Ryan, diving down for a closer look the stingrays--or posing for a cool shot.

Ryan, Robyn, Stephen

View of our condo complex and clear waters in background

Stephen, Jeff, Robyn, Ryan

Photo taken along our interior jeep tour of Catalina Island

Ryan is a local celebrity--he has houses named after him in Avalon

 Jeff went snorkeling every day, and almost everyone was able to snorkel

I managed to take this photo of Stephen--after first pushing the camera "off" button instead of the shutter button. That's why Stephen is the camera pro.

See the stingray?

Avalon Harbor

Clear water--Hamilton Cove

 Kelp Bass (green) and Garibaldi (orange)

Photo by Stephen

Garibaldi in Kelp Forest

Photo by Stephen

We made a big investment in time, equipment (wetsuits & snorkeling gear), accommodations, and travel--and it was all worth it for the lifetime memories.

Gap For A Few Months

A lot of great family activities are not recorded, for the past few months... Christmas, Easter, Birthdays, trip to Palm Springs with Robyn.  Grateful for these wonderful events.
From December through May, I have restricted my focus to work--with a big case going to arbitration hearing.

 Jeff, Dylan, Robyn, Rachel, Katie & Bennett (on lap)--back row

Eric, Ryan, Stephen, Austin, Christian--front row

Christmas Get-Together