Hitting the slopes

The Cannons came up for a visit and wanted to go skiing. The Kenisons were glad to oblige and accompany! We decided to go to Sundance, for convenience (15 minutes from home) and nostalgia (Judy and I learned to ski there). It was a cool and cloudy day, but the snow was great after the recent storms. Unfortunately, the holiday crowds were intense and we waited in lift lines more than we would have wanted to.



There is some spectacular scenery up there:




I think we wore one person out; this photo was taken later in the evening:

Happiness enhances beauty

We were at lunch today when I snapped this photo of my beautiful Sarah and her beau. I think she gets prettier all the time; and I thnk some of it comes from the "glow" of her happiness right now.

I don't really look forward to "giving up" my little girl to someone else at some point in the future, but knowing the natural order of life, I'll be eager to make that sacrifice if I'm convinced she will truly be happy. Sarah deserves the very best!

Christmas 2008

Christmas held a special joy this year, basking in the lingering thrill of Matt's mission call. There was also a little poignancy knowing that it's the last time we'll all be together for a while — between Matt's 2-year absence and Sarah's "uncertain future" that could take her away to in-laws for future holidays. So we were grateful to have this time together this year. Next Christmas, we'll be eagerly looking forward to the wonderful missionary phone call experience!

We had our traditional "Shepherd's Dinner" on the floor of the family room last night, and enjoyed sharing gifts this morning. I was pleased that Mom was willing to come over and stay most of the day — she was here probably from 11 to 5, one of her longest visits in years. I was in charge of dinner, and we enjoyed a nice honey-baked ham, a traditional Christmas jello, and much more.

Here are some photos from the day:

Mission Call

We've been eagerly waiting for Matt's mission call to arrive, really hoping it would come before Christmas. I was actually on the phone with Matt today when I came home and went out to check the mail. I didn't see the big white envelope at first, but there was quite a feeling of joy and excitement for both of us when I did discover it on the bottom of the pile!

Matt wanted to share the opening with friends, so we waited until about 5:00 p.m. to get everyone together (in spite of it being Christmas Eve). He had 7 or 8 friends here, and we also had a few people (grandparents in Virginia, Adam and Ale in Pennsylvania) listening in via cell phone. There is nothing quite like opening a mission call letter, and reading its contents for the first time:

"Dear Elder Kenison:
"You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Chile Santiago West Mission....
"You should report to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah on Wednesday, 11 March 2009. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language."

There was a lot of rejoicing, as we all felt and shared Matt's excitement. As we talked since, we discovered that Matt was MUCH more interested in learning Spanish than we realized. We think this kind of immersion will be essential for him, but we know he'll do great and be blessed.

So now, Dad and Mom will have to work more aggressively on our Spanish skills in the coming months!

Annual Christmas Cards

The tradition of sending an annual Christmas card, perhaps with a letter detailing the accomplishments of the past year, is an interesting one. At times, I feel like the couple in the attached "Pickles" comic (click for full strip). That probably accounts for the fact that we have not been very faithful in completing the task the past several years — averaging closer to every other year. Part of the challenge every year is to come up with a clever and interesting way to present the "news" of the family. There have been some fun ideas over the years, and occasionally we borrow someone else's good theme; but often we struggle with the composition.

However, we did succeed this year! We sent about 80 copies of our card and letter to family and friends around the country. It's always a good feeling to complete the task and see the stack of envelopes, addressed and stamped, ready for the postal service miracle.

For those who might have missed the letter, or who want a repeat, here's an online copy of our 2008 Christmas Letter. We went for creative formatting instead of a creative theme, and for brevity instead of boredom!

Mission memories

In the coming week, Matt's mission papers will be submitted and we'll await his call. That will be a happy time! Meanwhile, I had a reminder this week of the joy and blessing a mission can be. One aspect is how much you come to love and appreciate the local characteristics of your mission — even if it's a "stateside" mission.

My memory this week started with a pair of lovely avocados. They were given to me by a friend, also a Brazilian alum, who works for me. These avocados come from Florida and are much larger than the ones we typically get here in our grocery stores — almost as nice as the ones we got used to in Brazil! We would visit the open-air markets regularly and bring home wonderful fruits and produce of many varieties, including some I've never seen of heard of here.

The best thing to do with a large, flavorful avocado in Brazil is to make a "vitamina" — a kind of fruit smoothie drink. Many Americans cringe at the thought, but it's actually pretty tasty. In Brazil they add bananas, mamão (papaya), oranges, etc. — whatever is at hand. We would often add frozen milk to give it more richness. Wonderful stuff!

So when I get lovely avocados like these, that's the first thing I think of. We have some wonderful powdered mamão that I use on special occasions like this. The concoction may not be the most attractive color, but the taste is wonderful and brings back sweet memories!

I hope Matt has many such memories to bless him in coming years from his mission field.

Hometown visit

Mom had an unusual request yesterday. She wanted to go to Payson and visit the cemetery! I have no idea what planted that thought in her mind. We rarely go except on Memorial Day, and even then it's a struggle for her.

It was a cool but pleasant Saturday, so we drove down this afternoon. It ended up being a 2-hour trip by the time we got back. The cemetery was the first stop:

Mom asked first why there were two Kenison markers, and why the first one was crooked (it has settled unevenly). She had a hard time remembering who Uncle Albert was, but knows that Anna is still alive. We brought some small Christmas flowers, and she spent a long time looking at our gravestone.

Mom was not too happy about the cemetery. She said she didn't want to be put "down there" (in the ground), especially in Payson. She wanted us to move her grave to Provo instead!

She considered the dates on the marker, and was astonished that it's been 44 years since Daddy died. She said she has a hard time remembering much about him. She saw the wedding date in 1952, and couldn't believe she was alive then. She says the only thing she remembers about the wedding was that Harold B. Lee, who performed the sealing, gave her advice and she remembers only one thing: to cook good meals for her husband!

After driving around the cemetery, we did a little tour of town. I tried to help her recall schools, stores, churches, and especially the homes of families who lived in our neighborhoods. She had a hard time recognizing anything at all, but would often remember people once I mentioned the names.

Our own house looked good, and Mom thought it was one of the nicest homes in the area. But she had no memories of living in it. However, as I pointed out details, she remembered them — the landscaping, the neighbors, the clothesline on the side of the house, the area in the back yard where we used to have a garden (now a house has been built on the lot). Sidewalks around the yard are new.



It was a fun way to spend the afternoon. I believe these "field trips" are good for Mom, in spite of her protestations; and I certainly enjoy going back to Payson myself. When she's the one to suggest it, I'm eager to try to support.

I recorded a video as we drove in our neighborhood. It can be viewed by clicking here (it was too large to embed directly in this post). I wish I could have recorded more of Mom's impressions; I'll try to do that more in the future.

Sunday visits

We've developed a little tradition of visiting Mom as a family each Sunday evening. She seems to love the visit and look forward to it — especially seeing Matt and Sarah (when she can join us). It's amazing how much these visits from her grandchildren brighten her mood. When I visit alone, she often seems unwilling to try to "perk up." But with the younger visitors, she usually immediately brightens and gets more alert and conversational.

Happy with her visitors. Note how she is "latched on" to Sarah!

A little "horseplay" between siblings as we leave the Seville...

Post-Thanksgiving Dinner

We have been planning this week to have Friday dinner at Los Hermanos, since Matt was scheduled to work and we have never been in when he was serving. Ale and Adam planned to go with us, and then we picked up Sarah and Brian. Kind of at the last minute, the party expanded to include Brian's family from Redlands, who were up here for the holiday! We had a delightful time getting to know Craig and Melinda, and their sons. Matt did a great job as our waiter, earning a nice tip.

The "guests of honor" — do they look like heavy drinkers??

Part of the Wright family just as we were finishing up dinner.

Thanksgiving Day, 2008

For a while, we thought we might have only the 4 of us for Thanksgiving dinner today. But we were able to convince Mom to come over, then Sarah convinced Brian to come, and then Julie & Alex were able to join us. So we had a nice group of 8 to celebrate together!

As always, Bonnie did a remarkable job with the turkey dinner. It was delicious!

It was especially fun to have Brian with us much of yesterday and today.

Matt did his best to consume prodigious quantities of protein.

Mom endured pretty well, but was eager to get home for her nap.

Happy Birthday Andrew

We had a nice visit with Adam, Alessandra, and Andrew this evening. Andrew had his 1st birthday last week, and Ale's is coming up next week. It was fun to celebrate with them!

Enjoying birthday cake

Alessandra is a sweet mother.

A happy family moment (I'm never in any photos)