Chris and Missy ~ 2010

Chris and Missy had a very busy and productive year. They remodeled their entire downstairs this year. A huge project that is almost done and looks fantastic. They increased their usable space by so much. Chris continues to love working for the University, got some wonderful grants this year, and took his students to Europe for a class in manufacturing. He also continued his work with the boy scouts and Young Men's program at church and did quite a bit of traveling for the University along with his research and class room teaching.

Missy has seen her first time since becoming a mom 11 years ago, that she has had a minute to herself, with all the kids in school. Owen started pre-school a few days a week. She is an amazing mom running all over and taking care of business with their home, transporting kids to activities, supporting Chris, etc.

She had a great vacation with her sister in New Orleans this fall and a nice family reunion with her side of the family during the summer when they all went to Oklahoma to visit her parents. The grandkids really loved that.

Missy just remains so calm and puts her shoulder to the wheel. She is a wonderful daughter, wife and mom. She is so creative in the kitchen and made me a cherry pie this year for my birthday from scratch, pitting the cherries and the whole thing. It was delicious and she is to be highly commended! Missy is in the Primary Presidency at church and really enjoys working with the great ladies and children in their ward. She is a movie lover like me, so we try to squeeze in movies together whenever we can.

Connor continues on with his piano and his progress is amazing. He is also trying his hand at many other things. He played football this year, got fantastic grades and helped his mom and dad with the younger kids a lot. Connor is so grown up and just got his own bedroom which is so cool. He is such a sweet young man. Con enjoys video games, and Wii. We love to watch their family play Wii, it is really fun to see how skilled they all are at it. Conner started his own blog this year. I really enjoy reading it.

Connor is so sweet to us and I really love that about him. Sometimes he just comes up and tells me he loves me out of the blue and then gives me a big hug. How to melt a Gramma's heart every time, Connor! He got his Arrow of Light in Scouts this year, loves board games and snowboarding. He just got his braces this month too! Chris says he started mowing the lawns and shoveling snow this year which makes his Dad one happy camper!

Aynslee got baptized this year. Her other Gramma, Barbara, made her the most beautiful white dress and she was just radiant in it. The photo above of the whole family was taken on that special day. She was very well prepared to be baptized and took it very seriously. She is doing well in 2nd grade. She and Zach and Connor participated in a summer choir. I was so delighted to be able to attend their performance. She has lots of girlfriends that live in the neighborhood and really enjoys playing with her cousin, Julia! We love how good she is to Hazie also.

She now has her own room and has been generous to let us sleep there when we come to visit. Her mom is going to decorate it for her. This is her first time to have a room of her own. One of the things I really love about Aynslee is she is not a materialistic child. When I ask her what she wants as a gift for a special occasion, she doesn't recite off a long list like a lot of kids would. She just seems to be very happy with whatever she receives. She is very gracious in that way for a little girl. Aynslee is a natural at ice skating and a super speller and she loves dolls. Her Daddy tells me that one of her major skills is just being a survivor with three brothers! This girl really loves her Grampa, they are special buddies for sure!

Zachary is in first grade. He has lost some teeth this year and is looking rather grown up these days. Zach is a great reader and reads a lot. And he still loves to play fun games on the computer and is great on the Wii. Zach just started sharing a room with Owen downstairs. Zach can often be found helping mom in the kitchen. Zachary loves noodles with Alfredo sauce! He is actually a wonderful eater and that is probably one reason he enjoys helping Missy in the kitchen. Zach continues to call me on the phone like his cousin Ross does, just to chat. We love that!

Daddy says that Zach is very content with life in general. He goes with the flow with a good attitude. Wow, he gets that from both his parents! Zach loves to play with Legos and is the first of the kids to really enjoy working in the garage with Chris making things and doing projects. Chris also told me Zach is the best worker around the house and yard.

Owen is growing like a little weed. This summer we had a lot of fun with him at the park one day. When he got tired he came over to me and let me hold him and cuddle him, it was sweet. Until then he had stuck pretty close to Mom and Dad but that day I knew he understood about Grammas and their special kids. He is talking up a storm and has the cutest little husky voice. He is enjoying pre-school and playing with the big kids. Owen loves eating treats, gold fish crackers and drinking chocolate milk which seem to give him endless energy!

Owie is the first of their kids to really love and actually play with his toys. Chris says he hears him talking to them quite often. He loves being outside and most of the time he is following the big kids around just doing whatever they are doing. We just love that little dimple he has right under his left eye...so cute isn't he? Owie and Hazie are about the same age and they are the only ones that still have baby teeth only! The other eight are on their way to being grown up!