Last of the Year

Well, I thought I would finish the year with some pics of last year and exciting things that happened. Kelli and Kyle have done a great job adding their pics of the wedding and crabbing. That was a lot of fun!!!!

There they are in the middle of the Maze.

After crabbing we took Kyle and Laura up to Canada, which Laura has been wanting to do since she's been coming up to Washington. We went up to Vancouver and hit some of the fancy Shopping places, New York Style. We went to our favorite Gardens that have a maze that you can run through, Kaci and Kyle used to race through them to see who came out first. I think the last time we went there was with Nancy and Brittanie. They loved it! They were acting silly that day and ran all over taking crazy pictures of themselves.

I wish I had pictures of the great adventure we took with Cori and Aaron on the Boise River. Wasn't a good time for a camera though and I'm thankful we didn't take one to ruin. We started off going down the river, all things were great, we had Ellias and Cori and Aaron had Sydni. Aaron told us to follow him, he knew the river well, and knew the right places to go over the rocks and get around trees. Boy, we should've known better than to follow his lead. As we were going down enjoying the nice winding river, Aaron and Cori were going in all directions, running over low rocks, ripping their boat to shreds on the bottom, and as we looked over at them, all we could see was little heads popping out above the raft, as the bottom had deflated. They were sinking, so we pulled over to the side of the river, as Cori tried to pull their raft to the side, needless to say they were still about 15 feet away from the bank, she sprained her ankle, and almost fell in the water, which didn't matter, she was wet already. We decided that it was safer to go with grandma and grandpa so we enlisted Sydni to go with us. So we had both kids and we took off again. Cori, getting a little fed up with Aarons rowing techniques, decided to show him how it was done. As she pulled on the oar, the very first time, it broke and sailed down the river. So then they had to row with one oar. It was hilarious, to watch them struggle down the river, turning around and around, we wondered if they would have anything left to hang on to, as the boat kept deflating, but we couldn't stop laughing. Once we were done and finally out of the water, they were a little, or should I say soaked. They dragged their raft up to the the garbage can and dumped the whole thing and the other oar, in the garbage and we all just laughed. A river trip never to forget. WARNING!!!!! BEWARE OF THE RIVER RAT!! We had the best time ever!!!

Can't wait for another fun river run!

Save our raft for next year!!!!!

The best part is always being with the kids, and GRANDKIDS!!

Christmas was great, A real memorable one in our eyes!!! Dad had gotten an e-mail asking if any one could help an elderly couple with some water issues up at the church property. Dad went up there and helped, the next day he had a feeling he should call them. This was Christmas Eve, so he did, they had many struggles that week, their awning to the 5th wheel had collapsed with the weight of the snow and the electricity was off and still no water. So, dad went again to help and took more people to help with the other problems. When he got there he could see that the poor couple had just had it and were tired and DONE!!!! Dad invited them to come spend Christmas Eve and Christmas with us. Kaci and Aaron spent the night with us too, and when they heard that this couple was coming, they quickly turned into Santa's elves and went to gather some things. WOW! that was awesome. The couple had a wonderful time!!! We really enjoyed sharing our Christmas and making theirs a little brighter. Elder Cook is a Poet and has published a book, so he wrote a poem for us and signed it which made it even more special. It was fun having Kaci and Aaron here for their first Christmas together.

Elder and Sister Cook are from Idaho and this is their 8th Mission for the Church.

Then we got to open our Christmas from the kids, Always a scary thing to do since they have decided they are now giving us Adventures, WHICH I Personally, LOVE THE MOST!!! But is always a little scary wondering what is on their mind. Last year the dog sled was a blast, we loved it. So, here is our gift that they all gave us!!! It's a Garmin GPS with a destination, in coordinants, so we have no idea where it is until we put it in the Garmin, so we will be going this next week to find out where this place is that they are sending us. I'm in love with our GPS.... We call her LIA, for the Liahona.....I think sometimes though she takes us a totally weird way though, but it gets us there. It will be great for those long road trips. Thank you, it's a great present and just what we've wanted....WE LOVE YOU!!! You're the best kids ever!!

******Sorry the video won't load!!! I'll send it to Kyle and see if he can put it in!!********

After that we went to Kelli and Duffy's for New Years!! We played games!!, took the kids to the children's museum, and made yummy food!!! Dad watched the UTES WIN!!! His favorite game, we practically have to hold our hand over our heart when they play. It took some fixing up the antenna but we managed. We had a great New Years with them and it was fun to see the kids.

So that's the rest of the year 2008. Next year we'll have a new Dezember baby, Brinley getting baptized, maybe a new house for Kyle and Laura and who knows, Kaci and Aaron. The Lucoffs new adventures on the river, and hmmm crabbing. Thank goodness Van will be navigating. We are in the planning stages for our big CRAB Trip with our Captain Van on the Oregon Coast, Lets hope the wind keeps down this year and we don't get skunked. I don't think (Kaci's) Aaron will go hunting for any little critters (SNIPE HUNTING)this year.

Cutest little people around!!!

My favorite pics from the wedding...

So here are my favorite pictures from the wedding.....

Apples, Apples, and even more Apples
Brinley enjoying one of our 120 caramel apples

Cooper and Eli were best buds the whole time and Cooper insisted Eli hold his hand the entire time they were at the temple. It was so darn cute.

The girls dresses were so bright and colorful, they looked so pretty in the fall leaves at the temple.

Kaci had a big surprise under her dress for us....ruby red high heels!

I caught the boquet! Brinley beat out an older gal for the boquet and coulnd't have been happier! She needs to wait atleast 13 more years before she even thinks about being the bride.

Halloween Pics

Better late than never right? Here is the crew on their way out the door to go trick-or-treating. Duffy had me sew some pants into knickers so he could be a golfer.
Kendall was a vampire cheerleader. All her idea.....and a little help from grandma. She is wearing my old cheerleader skirt I wore in the 6th grade. We found a pattern and made a top to match.
Brinley was our pirate, continuing her fascination with pirates from Disneyland. Pirates of the Caribbean was her favorite ride. Her parrot was a big hit.
And here is the cutest Thomas the Train you have ever seen! He was a bit confused as to why he was wearing it until he figured out he got a treat for it!

Kaci and Aaron Got Hitched!

Congrats to Kaci and Aaron for getting married last Saturday! Let's all celebrate by posting pictures for the blessed event and crazy party afterward! Way to go you two!

Duffy and Kelli's Trip to Nashville

There were too many good pictures to Blog of our recent trip to Nashville, TN so I made another slide show. Hope you like it! We had a geat time. Thanks to Mom and Dad for watching the kids for us!

Make a Smilebox postcard

Pioneer Trek 2008

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Make a Smilebox slideshow

So our adventure began after a 15 hour drive at Independence Rock. We were all so excited to finally get there that we practically burst out of the Van and up the rock. It was a very warm day and the rock was quite steep. The significance of this rock dates back to the western migration in the late 1800's. People of all faiths and with all different destinations would celebrate when they reached this milestone knowing that there was less than 400 more miles to go to the Salt Lake Valley. They would carve their names in the rock to let others who would follow know who had been there. It is named Independence rock because the Pioneers knew that if they made it to the rock by Independence day (July 4) they would be able to make it to the valley before winter. Some were so excited to reach the rock they would climb up on top and have a dance! Well I had heard that Parley P. Pratt's signature was still there on the rock, so Duffy told the youth he would pay anyone $10 who could find it. Well we never did, and as we headed back down the rock we heard someone was injured. It turned out to be my good friend Kelley. She fell an estimated 15-20 feet down the rock and broke both leg bones and dislocated her ankle. So then we had to call 911 who sent life-flight and 3 emergency vehicles. She was flown out to Casper, WY where she had her first surgery, today she had her second. It was quite an eventful way to start our trip.

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Make a Smilebox slideshow At Martin's Cove we learned about the trials the Saints endured at this very spot. After a severe snow storm the Saints in the Martin Company sought refuge in this cove for several days. With a meager supply of food and lack of proper clothing many people died and their bodies were dug up and ravaged by wolves. It was here that the rescue company finally made it to the Martin company and were deeply saddened by the state of the Saints they found there, starving and barely hanging on to life. We were told many inspiring stories by the Senior Missionaries while at the Cove, and we were told that it had been dedicated as a Sacred and Hallowed site, as was the Sweetwater river we crossed with our handcarts later that afternoon. The Spirit is very overwhelming here at this site and I can't wait to go back and bring my family. It was also very beautiful as you can see by the photos. It was a 5 mile loop and my favorite picture is of the mother and daughter holding hands at the end of the trail, after her mom was hurting from a blister and tired from the long walk, her daughter grabbed her hand and helped her go the rest of the way. It was very tender moment I was lucky enough to catch on my camera.

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Make a Smilebox slideshow The 5 mile loop was a warm up for the 15 mile hike the next day up Rocky Ridge and over to Rock Creek. When we arrived at our camp ground the night before we found that some cows had made themselves at home. It was the neatest campground setting, we had bathrooms, a fence a water pump, and lots and lots of Wyoming prairie. We were literally out in the middle of nowhere. We had a great time singing and performing skits and braiding hair that night. The next morning we headed out early with our hand carts. Duffy was lucky to represent Captain Willey on the Trek. He had a really great talk to give at the base of Rocky Ridge and at the top. Before we reached the top we joined with the actual Mormon trail. It was really neat to be pushing handcarts in the same divots that they did. Before we reached the highest point on the trail, the top of Rocky Ridge, the men were all called away in the Mormon Battalion and the women were told we had to push the carts by ourselves the rest of the way. I have to say that we rocked that hill! The kids did so great pushing the handcarts and rarely complained. We had to keep telling them to slow down! As we reached mile 12 a man was riding his horses up the trail and said that the horse he was pulling was the horse Capt. Willey rode in the movie "Rescue at the Sweetwater". That was cool, the kids told Duffy to go and jump on him. They all nicknamed him "Capt. Lambchops because he shaved his beard to have big chops on the side for the trek. I have to say it was a pretty impressive feat! As we neared our final destination, cherry creek camp ground, as if in a movie, the clouds parted and beams of light shined down upon our camp. The youth thought that was really neat. Rock Creek is where the Willie Handcart company was rescued. There is a circular grave site there with 13 members of the company who died the night after they crossed Rocky Ridge after walking 27 hours straight in a foot and a half of snow. This place is also dedicated as sacred and hallowed ground. We were told before we left that going to these places would be life changing and indeed they truly were. We are so grateful that we were able to attend the Trek and be a Ma and Pa to such inspiring youth. We will never forget the feelings we felt there. Our family motto was, "The true Mormon trail was not on the Prairie, but in the Spirit" We definitely experienced this for ourselves.

The Oregon Trip and NO SHOW CRABS

Laura and Kyle at the hotel and the beautiful wild flowers

I'll add to Kyle's and Kelli's blogs, (although Kyles is on his own blog) so look there for his adventures in Oregon. We had a great time (although the wind was quite cold), especially in the evening. Usually we go in August because the weather is a little bit better but this was the best weekend for all of us. Kyle and Laura flew in to Seattle, Luke drove the other car down to the airport and they followed us to Portland where we spent the night.









We then got up in the morning and left for Nahalem State Park. Kaci and her two friends (Aaron and Daphne) drove down on their own that morning. Kelli and her family drove up from vacationing down in Newport Beach. It was really funny because that morning we all were in different areas, us coming from the East, Kelli and her family coming from the South and Kaci and friends coming from the North. As we came upon the 101 highway, who should be in front of us, Kaci and her friends. Kelli calls and she's within minutes of the park and Van was a few minutes behind us. It was really weird that we should all come at the same time from different directions. It was GREAT!!!!!

Even though the weather was kind of cold, we had such a great time spending time with our family. All that sitting around the camp fire and the great food that we had, everyone chipping in helping with dinners and lunches and everything took a load off of me. My favorite part was just sitting around the fire and talking and laughing and enjoying everyone. It always brings us back to how much our family means to us. It is our whole purpose, to be with our family and enjoy the time we have with them. THIS has to be one of those Kodak moments, or Church commercials. It helps you come back to reality, that this is what life is all about. Even though we caught tons of crabs but NO keepers. Sorry Laura, we were going to show you how yummy those little guys are when they come fresh out of the ocean. Hopefully next year!!!
The only part about this trip we missed the Lucoff's which we and wished they could of come. It would've made our trip complete. Hopefully next year they will be able to join us!!!! Van really missed them.

Dezember Family Summer of Fun!

So I wanted to update you all with all the fun we have been having this summer and share some new pictures:

Here is Cooper drinking his Route 64 oz Lemon-Berry slushy (with Lime) from Sonic on our way to Newport, OR. He loves to drink...must get that from his dad....

We had a great time on the 4th of July watching the fireworks off of the Pier down at the historic Marina. We ate at least 2 pounds of Salt Water Taffy

And had a great time! The next day we went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. The underwater tubes were the coolest part.

Watch out for those Sharks girls!

And for those Giant Japanese Crabs! Creepy!

We also saw giant bronze sea turtles, sea lions, and three cute kids!

Then it was off to Nehalem bay to go crabbing with Grandma and Grandpa and the Henricksen's and all the rest of the family...even Kyle and Laura came all the way up from Provo! Good Times! Here we are at Tillamook Cheese factory:

When we got home we performed in our Ward Luau. We have been learning hula for almost 2 years now so it was fun to show off our stuff. The girls perfomed 3 numbers and Mom even shook her stuff for the whole ward to see.

Everyone was really impressed and said they felt like they were at the Polynesian Center in Hawaii

And then we Closed on our First Home in July!!! Finally! It was a long journey but totally worth it in the end. We purchased the home that we are currently living in from the Previous owner who gave us a great deal because he didn't want to have to deal with putting a house on the market right now. It worked out well for both of us. He didn't have to put the house on the market and we didn't have to move our stuff!

The kids are hanging in there but ready to start school again. Kendall got a letter from the President:

Brinley Built the tallest block tower EVER!

And Cooper got a buzz cut!

Hope you're all having a great summer too!

Love the Dezember's