FROM BIRTHDAYS TO BAPTISMS

June and July are always packed with John Family Fun!! To the point of exhaustion sometimes! This summer has been so memorable and we were blessed to have the entire family together for most of it. Our ninth grandchild was born a week after school got out on June 10th. Little Connor John Odell, with his red hair and blue eyes is adorable! We had an escape to the Grand Canyon, just Howard and I and then a short visit with Julianne's family in Arizona. By the time we returned the BIRTHDAY MANIA was ready to begin and the TEN birthdays and of course a moment for FATHER'S DAY and BAPTISMS of our two oldest granddaughters all took place with everyone present. It was so rewarding for me as a mother and grandmother to have this time with my dear children that are the joy of my life, but my greatest support, comfort, and love of my life came from having time to be with my sweet husband, Howard.

Connor John Odell was the new addition to our family this year.
And a wonderful start to a great summer.

At 8 lbs. 8 oz. and 20 inches long. He is so adorable.
I do believe he has red hair and blue eyes like his
beautiful sister.

What a wonderful family they have now. How we love them.

Our summer started with a Bang as we celebrated the fourth with all our grandkids!!

Adam is a very proud papa!

I was sure proud of Julianne and Shalyce doing a triathalon.
I didn't even know Julianne could swim!

Paxton is so cute with his mouth filled with Ramen Noodles!

Ashlie is trying to keep up with her cuz.

This was swim time at the Odells. Ethan's good to share.

Grandpa loves his new grandson Connor.

This was a special day to share with Megan.

This is the best season of life! Aren't they cute!

Megan couldn't quit smiling the whole day. She is so pretty.

We took a moment to have a generation picture.

Paxton got to celebrate his birthday the last day they were here.

Our Farewell Fire with S'Mores. What a lot of Fun we packed in.

Relaxing on the Beach at La Jolla!

The girls are trying to decide if they can outrun the waves! A famous painting made into a statue at the Naval Marina

Can you guess whose in the sand?

Team effort and a willing participant made mermaid building lots of fun!

Check out the black nylons on these legs! We were all covered.

Zoopendous Time at the Zoo in San Diego!!

She had her eye on this purple monkey since we walked into the zoo. We didn't really see a fox , but it's one of the few animals that Alyssa doesn't have.

thois is a grandma bear hug!

This is the smiles we got from the Sky Ride!

We were greeted to the zoo by Dr. Harry Lion!

This was the day we went to San Diego Zoo. We walked it and got up close and personal, then we rode the Sky View Tram and had a Birds-Eye view of the zoo. We even rode the open air bus when our feet got tired and then just to make sure we didn't miss anything we took the tour bus of the zoo. It was a day in the jungle and I loved it!!

Fun Times at Seaport Village and Del Mar at Sunset

Try and guess whose behind those Green Glasses! This hat shop had us all trying on hats!

Birthday Girl Alyssa

Romance at Sunset!

Still Amazing after 11 years!

Enjoying the Fun at La Jolla Cove!!

We walked among the sea lions. It was so COOL!! Squirrels were everywhere. Landon followed one to it's underground home. Leaving footprints in the sand.

Being seven months pregnant it was nice to find a rock to sit on.

We spent a day at La Jolla Cove as well as the beach. We saw tide pools and sea lions and a lot of squirrels. We built sand castles and buried eachother in the sand. It was so nice to feel the 70 degree weather. We saw the docking port for the naval carriers and even saw a Pirate ship! We visited Seaport village and took in the shops. Life seems so carefree and lazy in San Diego!

SPRING BREAK IN SAN DIEGO

On April 2nd at 5 a.m. we took off to find the sunshine of sunny California. We loaded our things up in the beautiful new van of Kim and Adam's and off we went to San Diego. We spent five luxurious days on the beach, at the zoo, and Seaport Village. It was so relaxing and fun that no one wanted to come home. We missed having the Woodward's with us but Paul and Jules made the five hour drive to join us for four of the five days. We had a blast! And again we must thank Jordan for letting us steal his sweet wife away while he was left home studying for finals. One of these days he's going to be able to come with us. Here are a few of the million pictures I took of the trip.

We felt bad to not be watching conference but couldn't get the broadcast so we headed to the San Diego temple grounds and found many visiting families from Utah there.

Oh well it's times like these that truly maximize the desire to believe that FAMILIES CAN BE TOGETHER FOREVER!

A BUNDLE OF LOVE FOR McKenzie!

A Precious moment for Grandpa!!

Having the waves chase the girls at LaJolla Cove.

I WIN ! I HAVE THE CUTEST GRANDKIDS AND GREATEST FAMILY IN THE WORLD!

Family Picture time because an opportunity came while Paul and Julianne let us tend their children while they went to Chicago and Nauvoo to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. I really don't know who had the most fun. Because if we ever get the kids from the land of the sun to come to Utah everyone comes to grandmas and grandpas house! It's Great for everyone!!Aren't we a good-looking group! We might not have it all together but together we have it all!
This is the baby patrol at Gardiner Village. They were all born one month from eachother. July, August , and September.

Landon was practicing for trick-or treat night and got a candybar from grandpa about every night.



Witchy Pooh is really my crazy Brooklynn

We found a great hay maze in Willard just the kids size to have alot of fun!

The hay maze had a slide in the middle of it that landed everyone in the hay.

Paxton wasn't sure he liked the hay it was quite scratchy to him.

Brooklynn's daily routine was to get in the hot tub and teach the Utah cousins how to swim!

A trip to grandpa's isn't complete without a marshmellow roast over the fire pit.

We had a lot of fun with the witches at Gardiner Village.

Don't they look fine in their hats. Even Landon!

This kind witch got up close and personal

A moment to stop walking and just give hugs!

For Landon the trip to Utah wouldn't have been complete without a train ride!

All aboard everyone!

This is so cool! I could be the engineer! And after this ride all we heard him say was

Train, Train, Train!