Wedding Plans

Stacia and Keith are making a lot of progress on their wedding plans. Their Temple date/time has been reserved and the Utah & Florida Reception locations have been reserved. They have arranged for married housing, purchased the wedding dress & found a photographer. The wedding announcements will be mailed soon and all the family travel arrangements have been confirmed.

These 2 pictures were among those in their engagement photo shoot. Provo Canyon in the Fall is a beautiful setting.

Stacia's Parents, Don & Lois, are flying in from Hawaii while Katie & I are flying in from Florida.

We are going from a Tropical Paradise to Utah, in late December!! Does anyone own a warm coat & gloves?

This is a family photo of Stacia's family.

Mount Timpanogas Temple

The wedding is scheduled for 1:00pm on Saturday, December 22nd. Due to work requirements, we will not arrive untill very late on the 21st. However, we will get a chance to meet our future daughter-in-law (and her family) before the wedding, at breakfast on the 22nd.



Their married housing is reserved at Union Square which is only 4 blocks from the BYU campus. It is furnished and, as we can see, has a beautiful view.

We, that is, Katie & I, Jeff & Kendra, then Keith & Stacia, will all be returning to Florida for Christmas.

On December 26th, the Newly Weds are heading to Orlando for their Honeymoon. On the way, they plan to stop for an airboat ride so they can say hello to the alligators.

Then it's off to check into their suite!

And then Dinner at Medevil Times

The next 2 days will be spent at the Disney Theme Parks

Stacia & Keith will return to our house on the 29th, in time for their Open House, that night. By New Years Eve, We'll be "Empty Nesters" once again!

Gobble Gobble

At Thanksgiving, let us once again remember to thank our Heavenly Father for the many blessings we've received. I am especially thankfull for our two children and my wife. I am also thankfull for bringing Kendra's husband, Jeff, into our lives; and this year, for bringing Stacia into Keith's life. I am also gratefull for my brother Michael and for my sisters Kathy and Darlene. Darlene's husband, Rick, has been a part of our family for many years. Although we are not close, I love and respect him. My brother means so much more to me than I can ever communicate to him. Sometimes friends can be as close as family. I have been blessed with a number of long-time close friends. They include Ron & Shauna H., Don & Jan S., Bill & Susan B., Chris & Lorna R., Joel & Melba B., Boyd & Ladene H., Doug & Sharon R., and many more. Also the friends we've met in recent years.

Thanksgiving was always a VERY big event in my family. After we had left home & married, my mom always looked forward to a family gathering at her home. With her passing in January 1993, those gatherings became more difficult. Soon, family moved out of state or went away to school. Now that we are "empty nesters", Thanksgiving has lost most of it's importance. Usually we get together with whatever family is available. This year our Thanksgiving is giving way to Wedding Plans, Christmas Decorating & Cruise Preparations. Our traditional Thanksgiving Dinner will be on Christmas Day with Jeff, Kendra, Keith & Stacia!

EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA!

Keith's Engaged!!!!!!!!!


It's Official!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Keith & Stacia are getting married in the Mount Timpanogos Temple, in Utah, on December 22nd!!!!

Keith & Stacia have known each other for over a year, dated for the last two months, and became officially engaged on September 17th. Although they will be sealed in Utah, they will spend their honeymoon in Florida.

Christmas Shopping The Hard Way

As a typical guy, I hate shopping, unless it's Home Depot. My idea of gift shopping is to sit at the computer & click the mouse a few times. I don't have to get dressed, no traffic, no crowds and no wandering aimlessly through the stores until your feet are ready to fall off. HOWEVER, there is one exception! I enjoy the routine that Katie & I have established in Cozumel. We shop our way toward Los Cinco Soles where we stop for lunch. We enjoy the authentic Mexican food while listening to live music under their covered patio. After lunch we shop our way back down the street and purchase large items we didn't want to carry earlier (Sombrero's, blankets, etc.)
This year we have booked a cruise to do it again after Thanksgiving. Enchantment Of The Seas is 990 feet long and weighs 80,700 tons (a WWII aircraft carrier was 33,000 tons). Although it is not as big as the Explorer Of The Seas, it has all the extras except the ice skating rink. Enchantmen went through a streatch & remodel a couple of years ago. The picture shows a 73 foot section being added to the center of the ship. Other pictures show the My Fair Lady Dining Room, the boutique shops, the lowest price cabin, the bungee-trampoline pool and the main theater.

We've already started our shopping list and know of one other couple going on the same cruise.

Harry Potter Fan!

OK. It's me - Katie. And yes, I'm the Harry Potter fan of the family, and proud of it! In fact, no one else in my family wanted to read the books or watch the movies in the early days! I think my kids have seen one or two of the movies by now, though.

During the early 2000s, when I was teaching 6 a.m. Seminary classes to high school kids at church, Leslie B. (not one of MY students, but nevertheless a friend) lent me her Harry Potter books, one by one, until I'd read all FOUR. She eventually went off to college, so my "supplier" was gone. Although I purchased all four DVDs, I allowed myself to lose interest in continuing the saga as books Five and Six were published...until about two months ago. That's when the hype for the "Phoenix" movie, the final book (#7), and the Universal Studios Florida attraction (a replica of Hogsmeade, Hogswart, etc.) caught my eye and won my serious attention! (Check it out!)

Oh, and BTW, I also happen to work at a library now, spending a lot of time in the Children's Department. (That helps....)

Well, I immediately ordered the book from Amazon.com, then checked out the "Order of the Phoenix" book and read it. Then, of course, checked out "Half-Blood Prince". So, I only had to wait a couple of weeks for the movie. My book arrived yesterday (July 21) at 1:00 p.m. Don't think less of me, but I HAD to turn to the last page or two to find out if Harry lived or died. No, it hasn't ruined the book for me; I can relax now and enjoy the journey through each chapter!

Note, though, the great restraint I showed by finishing my Sunday School lesson preparations BEFORE beginning chapter one!

Kendra & Jeff

Kendra and Jeff's Wedding
August 18, 2006
On St. Patrick's Day, Kendra and Jeff had their first date. Things clicked so much that by May, Jeff called us to ask for our blessing. He popped the question on May 20th, they came to Florida in late June (so that we could finally meet our future son-in-law). and they were marriedin the Bountiful Utah Temple on August 18th. Their reception that night was highlighted (in John's opinion) by the creative work that Jeff's brother and others performed on Jeff's vehicle. The newlyweds then flew to Florida for a 4-night cruise to the Bahamas and Key West, followed by their Florida reception.

Disney, Then and Now

Magic Kingdom 1987

Magic Kingdom 1990

Disney MGM 1991



Magic Kingdom 1998

EPCOT 2004

EPCOT 2007