Merry Christmas to all!

Wishing all our family and friends
a blessed and happy holiday season and coming year!

This was a year of crazy change for us ...

The condensed version:

• We're empty nesters ...
• We love spending time with our kids and grandkids ...
• We moved our "baby" to school in Boston ...
• Our third grandchild was born ...
• We all traveled to Ohio for an awesome Guyer reunion ...
• We're workin hard to fix up our empty nest...
• Sandy enjoyed traveling (3 trips to Boston & 4 to Cincinnati) to see her kids!
• Tim keeps working hard at Boeing ...

We are truely blessed! 

So thankful for each of you and the grace of God in our lives!

Blessed Holidays!

(To know more about anything just read on
or click on any links
or click on Lots of Pics!)

What a great November!

Our third grandbaby, Emsley Aven McInturff,
was born on November 11th  at 12:57 am.
She was 7 lbs 4 oz and  19 " long!

Great job Clay and Rachel!

It is just such a joy to be grandparents ... nothing like it!

We were so thrilled to have Adah come spend two nights with us

while her parents were busy having her baby sister :)

She was such a pleasure to have around! 

She had so much fun playing with all the "old" toys saved from by-gone years

and watching Veggie Tales on the big TV! 

Adah turned 2 on November 19th! 

Rachel and Clay were amazing to have a special birthday party for her

just 8 days after baby sister Emsley was born!

Her four grandparents loved celebrating with her! 

I had just enough time to squeeze in a trip to Ohio, 11/16-18,  

to see James perform in his first mainstage show at school! 

I flew into Indianapolis where my sister Lisa picked me up. 

We had an awesome drive together to Cincinnati, ate at The Outback,

where brother Steve works on Tuesday evening. Then we visited with our special

sister-in-law, Christine, and Steve before meeting James at his house!

Mom and Dad met us in Cinci the next day... 

we had dinner together and I got to see my three adorable nephews ... 

then all went to see Evita at CCM! 

Wow, what a treat!  It was just an awesome production!

I was just so happy to be able to go see my boy AND lots of my family, too!

Thanksgiving was pretty quiet this year. 

We had a great time celebrating with Jonah, Deb and Owen!

We decided that whatever the year brings,

as far as who can get together, it is very special and we are truely blessed!

Our "Little Pumpkin" Owen before bedtime!

We're so thankful for all our blessings! 

pics!

Fixin' up the empty nest!

After 27+ years of kids in our house we find ourselves home alone!  

During those busy years we couldn't imagine this time ever coming ...
but to be honest we are thoroughly enjoying it! 
We love and miss all our kids, mind you, but it's time! 

Time to have quiet...time to get things in order...time to fix things up...
time to have time together :)

So since August we've had a new roof put on ... with a lifetime warrenty!

Had ceiling repaired that the old leaky roof ruined...

Painted ceilings, walls and cleaned out all the kitchen cupboards

to make room for the new dishes Tim gave me for my birthday!

Cleaned and re-decorated Beka's room...

Now we are in the process of painting the outside of the house - ourselves! 

It's actually fun ... covering the peach & teal with beautiful shades of brown!

We reward ourselves by enjoying many special evenings
 with yummy simple meals like this!

 

Almost feels like a second honeymoon ...
 32+ years later and a bit more tired :)
More pics of all our labors.

An August to Remember!

Who could ever imagine the changes ahead! 

Beka applied, auditioned, was accepted and planned to go to The Boston Conservatory
and it seemed like it would never happen - but now it has come and gone! 

The date to leave was August 26th ... with so much to do before that!

We shopped, packed, shopped, shipped and shopped some more. 

But most importantly we planned great family times!

The hard part was not having James here :( 

Owen's First Birthday celebration!

Notice who's the center of attention!

Fantastic Family Fun Fondue Farkle Friday!

(When the kids were growing up we had FFF's -

Fantastic Fun Friday's)

This one topped all those - I think it was the chocolate fondue!

Our last "girls day" was awesome! 

The guys watched the babies :)

We started the day at Joe's coffee shop,

all had pedicures, lunch at Liberty Market, shopping, then

a treat at Freshens!  Such a blessing to have each other!

Our three beautiful girls - all grown up and together!

Another day...coffee at The Olive Mill with babies ...

then lunch at Deb's house nearby!

More pics! 

The day finally came and Beka and I traveled to Boston with 4 - 50# bags,

then shopped for more at Wal-Mart, Bed, Bath and Beyond, etc. 

We were loaded!

This in Beka in front of her dorm with her "stuff" that we then hauled up

three flights of stairs (plus the 7 boxes we shipped ahead!)

Beka in her "Corner"... It WILL all fit!

Getting settled!  Beka's desk and bottom bunk!

It was a busy week in Boston - orientation for students and

a great 2 day parent orientation.  It was awesome to get a "feel"

for where we're leaving our "baby"!

After 6 days in Boston, I went to see James and help

him get settled in the house he'll live in for the next

three years!  It's a great place very close to campus!

His room is in the upstairs corner!

We had 2 1/2 days to get it together!

We hit Ikea and got a bed, bedding, curtains,

end table, bookcase and desk! 

We assembled stuff till 2 am one night and midnight the next. 

The rest of our time we shopped for other stuff and lots of food! 

James in his great kitchen! 

He's sharing the back half of this house

with two other musical theater kids from his class. 

So much better than dorm living - and cheaper! 

What a crazy, busy 10 days...but I wouldn't have traded it for anything!

What a great feeling to help your kids get settled and to see where

they'll be spending their year!  They're truly where they're supposed to be - at least for now!
And I have pictures for when I get lonely!

Going Home to Ohio!

I was raised in Ohio, lived there for 21 years,  

went to school there, met Tim there...
and now our boy lives there!

My family planned a reunion in Ohio this year...
first in 10 years!  So it was awesome to go back!
30+ people together for a week in one house in Marblehead, Ohio!
It was absolutely perfect!

All 9 of us from Arizona flew back for it. 

The amazing thing is we ended up on the same flight ...
(unplanned) from Phoenix to Chicago. 

It was the best flight ever!  All 9 of us sitting near each other! 

This gramma was in heaven to be traveling with
the most adorable babies on earth!

        From Chicago the kids flew on to Cleveland.                              

Tim, Beka and I flew on to Columbus
 then drove to Cincinnati to pick up James after work!

  We had two extra hours ...
so we decided to explore Columbus - what a special treat!

First stop was lunch at "Friendly's" where Tim used to work! 

Then to the OSU campus and found the house where we met in 1974! 

Such a blessing...we hadn't been back there since we left in 1977!

               This is where I used to live...on the third floor!                 

 Tim lived in the attic of this house close by!

Not much had changed!
I'm sure we looked silly to Beka and anyone else
...two old people taking pics and getting excited
at seeing a few old houses!

Then we drove two hours to pick up James

and back 4 hours to northern Ohio for the reunion!

What an awesome time that was...
All 32 of us stayed here at "The Rock of Ages". 

A great house built in 1861 right on Lake Erie!
 Read more on Sandy's family page ...

And see lots of pics and videos!!!

After the reunion - Tim, Beka and I drove down
to Cincinnati to visit James! 

He spent a couple nights with us in the hotel
- a great family slumber party! 

James' job for the summer is performing in the show:
Signed, Sealed, Delivered at Kings Island!

We spent a day there and saw his show four times! We loved it!

 Links to the show here!

Then we had a day to just hang around Cinci and see the sights.

James showed us around the University of Cincinnati campus,

especially CCM (College Conservatory of Music),
 where he spends most of his time.

Our two "babies" loved having some time to be together!

We loved being together! We all miss you James!

Treasured Days!

...Memories made!

We're not TV watchers, but all of us were hooked on "LOST"!

We caught up five seasons over the past year or so ...

then actually enjoyed watching the last season live!

We got together on May 23rd for the "LOST" season finale and had

quite a party!  We missed having James with us!

Welcome to the hatch!

The lighthouse with broken mirror scattered below...

"Darma" food, a scales with white and black stones...

A corked bottle... (to "get it" you'll have to catch up on 6 seasons!)

The computer was set as the real countdown computer from the hatch!

The "numbers" had to be typed in every 103 min!

Great "Island" food... tropical pork (wild boar),

Sun's chips, fish sticks, veggies with Darma ranch dip,

Tropical fruit tray including lots of mangos, hot pockets...

And of course Mr. Cluck's chicken! 

So we enjoyed a great meal, put the babies to bed...then settled

in to watch over 4 hours of LOST!   

Beka had a great time being creative and we all got in on the fun!

Lots more pics! 

Cousin love!

Enjoying a "girls day" out for coffee at Joe's Farm Grill Coffee Shop!

Adah decided to get closer to Owen ...

so she just crawled in! 

She was sooooo thrilled to be with Owie! 

Not sure how he liked it!

We all thought it was adorable!

Our Memorial Day BBQ with two of the cutest

kids on the planet!

The girls cooked the most delicious food ever!

Two patient babies...waiting for the big people to feed them!

We were all thrilled to eat these burgers...the best ever!

Check out the recipie on 

Rachel's Blog and more pics! 

I'm overwhelmed by how blessed we are and so thankful for the kindness of God in our lives!

Seeing Family and Travel Fun!

Beka and I left Phoenix on May 6th for

our 10 day trip to celebrate her completion of high school

and my completion of 23 years of homeschooling! 

Well ... actually it was a trip to Ohio to see

James' show...

then on to Boston to visit Beka's future school! 

We had a blast and made some great memories!

We first went to Cincinnati, Ohio

for James' Freshman Showcase at CCM!

Brother Steve and family live there.

Grandma and Grandpa Guyer came

for the weekend as well as Aunt Lisa and Aunt Annette! 

So fun having everyone together!

Cousins enjoying each other  in Uncle Steve's backyard -

the amazing pirate ship playground he designed and built!

Preparations for our wonderful dinner

of cheese fondue and grilled delights!

We all went to James' showcase performance! 

Wow, It was amazing!

So happy we could be there!  Check out videos here! 

Afterwards we went to the cutest Irish Pub for a great family time!

For Mother's Day James, Beka and I explored

some beautiful spots in Cinci

then went out for a great dinner!

Love my boy!  Sure miss having him around!

Cute Cousins!

Steve and his adorable family!

Next stop ... A visit to The Boston Conservatory!

As of now, Beka is planning to attend there in the Fall! 

Check out her link for details!

It's in a beautiful part of town!

The dorms are old brownstones...right next to the conservatory!

Just a couple blocks from the school is "Newberry Street" -

8 blocks of beautiful shopping and restaurants! 

Looks like a great place to hang out!

So cute!

A great place to study so close by!

We had lunch at an awesome spot!

We took a walking tour of old Boston...first stop an old cemetery!

Sam Adams, Paul Revere, John Hancock

and others were buried here...amazing!

Paul Revere on his horse and the Old North Church!

Clam Chowder at this fabulous spot in Fanueil Hall!

This "Red Brick Road" was the path that lead us around town...

It's called the Freedom Trail!

More pics!

It's exciting to watch how God is opening doors and leading James and Beka in amazing ways I never could have dreamed up.  Just not so sure how I feel about it!  It's been hard enough to have James in Ohio these past 9 months....and it's even more difficult to think of my "baby" being so far from home!  But then again, I can't imagine Beka not pursuing such an open door! She is very excited to get started on some great training at an awesome school for Musical Theater!  This summer will be a busy one for sure!