Happy Halloween

What fun it is to have children around for halloween! Valerie & Wyatt came last year for Halloween so I decided to make halloween themed foods. Well I must have made quite the impresion because when they decided to come again this year that is what they talked about. I only got a picture of the veggie cat but I also made rotten apple punch (apple juice frozen with gummy worms hanging out of the frozen chunks that we dropped into chilled apple juice). Then a dip with a carrot hand sticking out of it - fingernails and ring included. We had a fun time especially because the weather was so perfect. The group pictures I included don't include Savanna who was taking a nap. Thanks Scott & EmmaLee, Melissa & Spencer, Wyatt & Valeried for bringing your sweet children to our home so we could have "fun" on Halloween. Love to our wonderful family.




When we were at Randy & Heidi's last week Tyson put on his Tigger costume for us. When I asked him what Tigger says he proudly announced
Ti double "ga" "ur". Little Abby was dressed up as a newborn.

Newest Granddaughter

This is Abby Jo Pryor born to Randy & Heidi on October 9, 2009 She weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and was 20 inches long. She is welcomed home by big brother Tyson. We were able to go to Fruitland and meet her this past weekend and what a joy it was to hold her, cuddle her and look into her big dark eyes. She is 2 weeks old and already weighs 7 lbs 14 oz. Randy & Heidi say she is changing all the time.






She has long fingers and toes, has just a dusting of dark hair and is such a good baby. She hardly ever cries and eats good then is awake a bit then goes to sleep. She even slept 4 hours one night while we were there.



We also had a grand time playing with Tyson. He has the most amazing vocabulary for a two year old. Just ask him what kind each of his cars are. Ever heard a 2 yr old say Lamborghini? He knows all about incubators and fan kits and can name every tool and machine in his builder book.



Heidi is looking great and had their home all decorated for Halloween. It was sweet (probably more challenging for Heidi)to see Tyson wanting to be so close to Abby and always want to lie down beside her when Heidi changes her diaper. He is very tender (well as tender as a 2 yr old can be) with her and loves to be right on Heidi's lap when she feeds Abby. You can tell he loves his little sister.



We just felt such love for her. We love each of our grandchildren and are so thankful for each of them are in our lives. Thanks to our kids for being willing to bear children and thank you for raising each of them in the gospel. WE LOVE OUR FAMILY!

Changes in Keith's work

Last week they notified over half of the Moog Salt Lake Group employees that their jobs would terminate in starting in December and ending in May. Three of the six people in Keith's Department will be let go. Notifying employees of a layoff is one of the most unpleasant jobs a manager has to do. In addition to all of that Keith has been given responsibility for the IT department in Torrence, California. He is a well respected Moog employee and feels glad to still have a job but prefers to be home. He'll most likely be in California once a month. The work that will still be done in the Salt Lake facility will be the TACAN product, the missile group and software engineers. There will still be computers to maintain, phone systems to manage and network and server issues but with so many less people that equates to less of many things. It is sad to see so many people go. It will not be the same, but once again Keith's job is changing to be very different. Even though he has been in the same facility for 26 years, it is like he has had many different jobs, as the location has changed from E-System, to Raytheon, to Moog and now a much smaller facility and managing a IT organization in Torrance CA.

Keith's Watermelon

Keith gets such a kick out of growing watermelons. If I remember right we had 5 this year. All of them wonderful. This is the one he picked last night before it froze. You can see by the scale that it weighs almost 28lbs and is over 18" long just shorter than Preston.

With the frost comes the end of many garden plants. We covered the tomatoes but any we get from now on just won't be the same. We've had a great garden this summer with amazing amounts of tomaotes, corn (which at first we thought was not very good but strange enough the older it got the better it got. We had yummy corn on the cob tonight for dinner) Branson loves corn on the cob. The last two times they've eaten over here he has enjoyed lots.

We grew cucumbers and had lots of them hoping to make dill pickles but the variety we planted were just not right. A cable guy was in our back yard checking for some box or something and said to Keith,"Looks like you're growing pickles" Nothing Keith said could convince him that pickles came from cucumbers. Poor guy, wonder if he knows where milk comes from? Anyway we got enough green beans to eat lots fresh and bottle some too. We are still enjoying beets and the cilantro has reseeded and is very flavorful. We have 6 pumpkins but the colorful peppers are all still green. The cantaloupe were a mix, some wonderful the rest not so good. In fact one we had Keith said tasted like cucumbers. The peach tree that I've been nurturing from a seedling that grew up volunteer finally produced fruit this year and it was great. The cabbage heads were huge and we enjoyed trying Thai basil in many things and Keith eats a pod or two of fennel seeds eadch time he is outside. He has worked all summer training the grape vines and hopefully they will survive the winter. The summer squash were slow coming on but we had our fill of zucchini. Keith has kept the strawberry blossoms picked off so the plants will become hardy. Next year we'll enjoy fresh strawberries. Keith and Melissa helped me bottle the fruit we did this year and next week we will be doing grape juice. It's been economical to grow a garden this year we've hardly had to go to the grocery store for anything except milk and eggs.

2009 Pryor Family Vacation

From Tuesday, August 4th until Saturday August 8th, 21 of the most amazing, fun people gathered in the San Mateo County Campground to play together on the beach and camp in a beautiful campground full of big redwood trees. That amazing, fun group of people is our family! Scott & EmmaLee were in charge this year and this area is where Emmalee was born and where her Mom's family is from so she has come to this area her whole life. Now we know why, it is beautiful!. Scott's family left on Saturday to go spend some time with EmmaLee's aunt near Sacramento. The rest of us left on Monday and made it to Reno, Nevada on Monday evening where we enjoyed some fun at Circus Circus. We met the next morning at the breakfast buffet - we felt like the reunion had already started. (Valerie & Wyatt made it to Battle Mountain) On Tuesday we ate at our first "In and Out Burger" and Melissa, Randy and their families toured the Jelly Belly factory as we each made our way to San Fransisco, then down the coast to Half Moon Bay. Even though we all traveled separate, we all arrived at the ocean on Tuesday afternoon and within an hour of one another we were all at the campground. How many times did I call each of you and ask, "Where are you now?" We set up our tents and as always the cousins immedialty went about having fun together as we set up the "kitchen" and fixed dinner. A couple times during that evening we heard loud cracks that had us wondering if the racoons were breaking tree branches or what. Then in the middle of the night a rather large tree fell. Fortunately it was caught by it's own branches in some other trees. The men quickly moved Melissa & Spencer's tent as it was directly where the tree would have fallen if it had come all the way to the ground. It hung there until Thursday morning when it fell the rest of the way to the ground. Our prayers for safety were definelty answered and we consider it a miracle that the tree didn't fall all the way to the ground that first night. So with that part of the story told the rest of our time together was totally awesome. Each family was assigned two meals and as always we ate well. We had a talent show and learned that the men in our family could be Las Vegas dancers. The Pryor family circus could be the next show under the big top with Wyatt on the harmonica, Katie could be the stand up comic with Jessica, Valerie & Kristine being the lead singers. Scott could be the gymnastic act with Luke & Alex providing the comedy skits. Branson would be the one sharing treats up and down the aisles while Preston did his tight rope walking. No circus is complete without a some magic and Brittany would be our star magician. EmmaLee would have people coming from miles around to sample the food - all made from the new family cookbook she spent hundreds of hours compiling. Tyson and Randy would assist with our circus specailty food - Go, go bananas. Keith would be the technical director but since he's so good at that in his spare time he would most likely be found helping out the boys with the comedy skits. Spencer would be our resident doctor, keeping all the funny bones in place and Abigail, Melissa, Savanna, Parker, Sara and Heidi keeping the audience cheering and clapping loudly for each performance. Sorry if I left out someone or didn't remember what your talent was.
Each day we would spend until after lunch at the campground doing things like the talent show, one day Scott "learned from the ranger" about a buried treasure and gave the kids the clues to find it. Alex was really drawn into the fun of finding a buried treasure. "It's real I know it's real" he just kept saying as they were digging it up. Our FHE lesson on Friday was about Lehi's journey and part of his vision of the tree of life and holding to the iron rod or the orange twine as was the case in this lesson. Hopefully each learned the improtance of reading and studying daily from the scriptures. We love teaching the gospel to our family and hope they learn from the scriptures, stories and activities we do at our reunion FHE.
After lunch we would load up and head to the ocean.(About a 6-8 mile drive) The water was cold but that didn't stop most everyone from jumping right in. We saw seals, pelicans, sand crabs, ocean crabs and only a couple time were there crabby children and I don't recall a single crabby adult. We built sand castles, made plaster of paris hand prints, and explored many tide pools and rock caves. The beach was a ways from the parking so we hauled just enough gear to have a great time each day back and forth through the sand. Being at the ocean is always an amazing thing for me. It is fun to think about being at the edge of the land and to look out to the horizon and know the ocean just keeps going ang going. The breakers are so peaceful to watch and I felt like the ocean was kind to our fmaily. I have swam in the ocean enough times to know it can be hard to even stand up when the breakers wash past you. Most times they just wash you up on the beach but the waves were small enough that the kids could stand through them and had such a great time. I would love to have been able to go swimming but felt blessed to just be there since having my knee replaced. I got tired each day but slept well at night and was ready to play the next day with our wonderful family. Each evening we would come back and head to the showers to wash off the sand and salt water. The older kids were anxious to build a fire and we enjoyed sitting around visiting after the kids were all in bed. They were all so tired that some would even ask to go to bed. Katie fell asleep one night in a camp chair and one night in Keith's arms. The nights were chilly and with the moisture in the air we were glad for a fire. It rained one morning but didn't seem to dampen anyone's spirits. Spencer and Melissa were up in the rain getting breakfast ready so the other men quickly hung a tarp over the table and set up the dining fly we'd been using for shade at the ocean over the kitchen area. We got out the clay for the kids to play with until it stopped raining and it all seemed like it was part of the fun. It was sad on Saturday to pack things up and head home. Valerie's family only went to San Jose the first day so they could be part of the blessing of Wyatt's sister's new baby. They got home on Monday night. The rest of the kids all made it home on Saturday night (or early Sunday morning). Keith and I went a goofy way home making our way across the middle of California with the goal of seeing Lake Tahoe. Well we saw it but only after driving for 5 hours on cow trail kind of roads with many 30 mph turns and little silly towns. We stayed in Winnemucca on Saturday night and made it home early afternoon on Sunday. Thank you Scott & EmmaLee for planning such a wonderful reunion and for everyone's effort and sacrifce to come so our family could spend this week together. Enjoy the pictures! I'm sure I'll hear the applause from ya'll for my learning how to attach a slide show of our pictures. Sorry it is so long, I just couldn't cut any more of them out. Also watch the other family's blogs for additional pictures.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

4th of July Picnic

I'm not sure who was supposed to be sitting in the chair that is front and center and obviously vacant in the pictures but I wish it was Zander and Indi or some of our cutie grandkids.

I knew the parade was for Grandpa but I also know how hard Grandma has been working to care for Grandpa so I wanted to do something on the 4th that Grandma would enjoy too. Grandma has always loved having a picnic on July 4th and she originally wanted to go up into the canyon where it would be a little cooler. Well we did have a picnic which was very fun but we didn't get to go into the canyon and she ended up doing more than her share of the work because of my being mostly useless from my knee replacement surgery.

It was a good thing we came back to their house because I was able to ice my knee and even took a nap - well it started with the excuse that I could hold Preston and get him to go to sleep but I fell asleep too and I couldn't have done that in the canyon. I think Grandpa had a nap too. You know how tiring waving in parades can be. haha.

We roasted hot dogs on our portable fire pit and Barbara, Mark, Gary, Sheryl, Kendall (now 6'3" and a Jr in HS), Weston (plays the violin, viola and piano), Braiden (getting straight A's now he is in a charter school), Indi and Zander such cute little cabooses in their family. Spencer, Melissa, Jessica, Branson and Preston were at the parade with Keith & Grandma, Scott, EmmaLee, Luke, Katie & Sara didn't make it to the parade but came to the picnic. Then of course Keith, Grandpa & Grandma and me so it was a good group and we had yummy things to eat and enjoyed spending most of the afternoon together.

Barbara and Mark's granddaughter Sophia really loves bubbles so they bought the cool rope bubble thing at the parade that Weston is using in two of the pictures. THANK YOU Grandma for hosting the picnic and always being willing to help us have a good time when we are at your home. We stayed for quite a while after everyone else left. She even fixed us a bite to eat before we came home.

Spencer & Melissa met the Turner's in Provo to see the fireworks at the end of Stadium of Fire so we kept Preston. Grandma & Grandpa really enjoyed watching him. I really enjoyed having just him to play with. Nice hat Preston.

Parade Celebrity

Several years ago when we went to the Provo Freedom Festival Parade - (Randy & Heidi slept overnight to save a spot for us that year) there was an entry honoring veterans. I decided that I should try to get Grandpa Pryor in the parade sometime. Well this year it happened. I contacted the Parade committee and they put us in touch with the American Legion who was sponsoring entries in the parade to honor Veterans. At first when we approached Grandpa about it he was reluctant but before we left their home that night he was excited and was practicing his wave:) Keith checked to see what clothing he had that might be appropriate and even though his original army coat fit him it was long sleeved, wool and not the best thing to wear in the heat of July in a parade. So Keith decided to rent him an army uniform from Hale Center Theatre. Grandpa was so excited by this time we knew we had done the right thing. We topped of his "parade look" with my Grandpa Siddoway's tan Stetson hat. He looked sharp and was very happy to be part of the parade.



We had to have him in Provo at 7 am on parade day and he enjoyed feeling like a bit of a celebrity in the staging area - free donuts, bottles of water for us all, golf cart rides to and from the porta potty, but the real fun came when they assigned him to ride in the back of a restored army jeep driven by the man who restored it, a former military pilot and a super nice man. He made Grandpa feel so special.


You can see in the pictures there were only four entries behind the Utah's Military Veterans Banner and with Grandpa in a vehicle by himself he really looked and appropriately so, acted like a dignitary. Keith and Grandma Pryor along with Melissa, Spencer and their little ones found a good spot to watch. During the parade I stayed back at the car to rest and to be there when they brought him back after the parade was over.


Grandpa said he had so much fun. Just look at the look on his face, he was very happy to be honored by being in the parade. He did have a little trouble with him arm - diagnosis - too much waving at all the people cheering for him along the parade route. What a special way to honor his military service. Thanks Grandpa Pryor for doing your part to defend our freedoms during the historical conflict that has come to be know as World War II.

Better Family picture? you decide

The family picture I included in the Memorial Day post wasn't the best. I hadn't fixed the red eye. So here is a different one. You can decide if it is better. Love to ya'll.

Memorial Day Weekend

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Idaho. We took Jessica up with us and enjoyed visiting with her on the ride up and helped her learn to count to 100. She really enjoyed doing Karaoke and swimming with her cousins at Green Canyon. She and Abigail had great fun playing with Barbies and hanging out together.





We went on Thursday and spent time in Driggs helping Valerie so she could get some sleep and help her prepare to host over 40 people after Savanna's blessing on Sunday. I only stayed up one night with her. Savanna is getting better at sleeping at night.


Savanna is beautiful and smiles with a bit of coaxing.


Valerie chose to bless Savanna in the dress that we had Valerie blessed in which seems like "just a few years ago".

It was a tender moment watching her dress her.





What a sweet family you have Valerie & Wyatt. We are very proud of you Thank you for bringing such wonderful children into our lives.

We love all of our grandchildren and appreciate the time we can spend with any of them.






Our whole family was able to come so it made a great weekend for us. Thanks to each of you for making the effort to come support Valerie & Wyatt and also to be with me on Memorial Day. I trust you have each sent a Thank You note to your hosts.
On Monday we went to the Teton Cemetery to see Mom's headstone and we sent the kids on a hunt for other relatives graves. I shared some memories of them until it was time to head back to my Dad's for a family picnic.

Thankfully my fall into a hole wasn't as bad as it felt when I was on the ground. The weather was threatening so we moved the picninc into the garage but the rest of the day was perfect weather so we were able to really enjoy visiting with my family. Dad was very sharp and seemed to enjoy having everyone there. We especially enjoyed watching him walk hand in hand with Parker out to the shed where they enjoyed the machines.




THANKS SAVANNA FOR BEING BORN INTO OUR FAMILY WE LOVE YOU!

Welcome Savanna Penfold

We welcome into our wonderful family our 12th grandchild - Savanna Penfold born April 10, 2009 to Valerie & Wyatt. She weighed 7 lbs .07 oz. for more details see Valerie & Wyatt's blog.


Savanna is a beautiful little girl. She is very strong and was doing wonderful. She has big eyes, a cute well shaped nose, small, flat to her head ears, very petite features and a well shaped head with just a shadow of dark hair on top but quite a bit on the back.
She has a very cute mouth that can open very wide. Valerie is a devoted mother and thoroughly enjoys her newborn babies. So much so that I had to ask to hold Savanna. Actually partly because I was busy trying to keep up with Brittany, Alex, Abigail and Parker. They all were so tender and sweet to their new little sister.

Abigial especially loved to hold her and would sit for the longest time just talking to her. She and I shared some special times singing to Savanna and helping to calm her when she would cry, which wasn't very often. Well maybe Valerie would disagree with that statement in the middle of the night.
Grandpa Ward & Neil came up to Valerie & Wyatt's for a bit one afternoon and it was interesting the things that Grandpa said. He wasn't sure he should come because he didn't think Valerie would remember him. He wasn't sure he should come because he didn't know the baby's name. He asked about the motorhome that Wyatt's friend had bought from him. He hadn't shaved or bathed for a few days so he looked a smelled less than fresh but we all enjoyed his visit. It was very emotional to think about him being there without Mom. Both Valerie & I shed a few tears. He seemed so happy to hold her. When I asked if He'd like me take her he said, Why don't you think I know how to hold her?" He seemed to really enjoy her. On my way home I was able to spend some time at my Dad's going through a few more of Mom's things.(And to enjoy some sourdough pancakes - yes that's right Neil has Dad making sourdough pancakes again!!!)

I was very blessed to have my legs remain strong enough to deal with all the time I was on my feet while I was there. It was an answer to prayer. Really it was a miracle that I didn't have to use my crutches at all while I was there. I just need to get my knees replaced. Thank you Valerie & Wyatt for allowing me to serve your family and be there during Savanna's first week of life. What a blessing these sweet grandchildren are in our lives. Valerie & Wyatt please let us know when you will be blessing her as soon as you decide.

Snowsledding in Tooele

Valerie & Wyatt came to Salt Lake over Valentine's Day for Alex & Wyatt's diabetes doctor appointments and Scott & EmmaLee invited us to Tooele for an absolutely yummy ribs dinner then sledding.

I'd love to learn how to include a slide show of pictures - maybe next time. I know you're all saying yeah right, so here's just a sampling.
This was a very healing weekend for me. To get together so soon after Mom's death and just enjoy spending time doing things as a fmaily. YOU ARE ALL WONDERFUL! How grateful we are to part of this great family. We enjoy each time we are together.

We did a service project for Valentine's Day by putting together a Valentine's Day Party for the young children at the Christmas Box House, a place where children are taken when their parents have made bad choices that result in the children being taken away. It was a very rewarding experience. Kids remember to be thankful for all you have each time you wear your socks?

Family events

We've had fun celebrating special events in our family since the first of the year!
Melissa and Abigail's birthday's in January

Scott's birthday in February (also Grandma and Grandpa Pryor's)
Heidi, Sara & Parker's birthdays in March
Our anniversary in March - sorry we didn't take any pictures. I guess those memories are ours alone. I'd just returned from some time in Iaho helping Valerie while Wyatt was away and when I got home I put a clean pair of garments in my bag packed a dress and my temple clothes then off we went to celebrate our anniversary. I must have had the camera somewhere but didn't get it out or use it.
To celebrate our anniversary we used a getaway prize we won at Keith's Moog Christmas Party. We won a nights stay at the Little America Hotel which also included restaurant vouchers enough for two meals. We enjoyed our time in a beautiful room, lovely meals, a session in the Salt Lake Temple, time on Temple Sqaure watching several new couples and remembering our wedding day at the Idaho Falls Temple 34 years ago. We enjoyed a piece of pie at the Lion House Pantry(our anniversary is on "pi" day (3.14) then Hale Centre Theater's preformance of "Phantom". After all of that we went to Hellstrom's to be part of Heidi's birthday celebration where she went on a "hunt" to discover we had all gone together and purchased her a piano from one of her family's neighbors. She was surprised and very happy. Sorry I didn't include a picture of Heidi. I didn't have the camera. To see Heidi's new piano see the Fruitland Pryor blog. We'll get a cute one of her when we go there the first weekend in May.