Saturday, December 31, 2011

Abigail's Baptism

It was a beautiful day for a baptism and a beautiful place to do it - the Ambassadors residence.  It was an honor and pleasure for me to have Abby ask me to baptize her.

The Ambassador warned me the pool was a little cool (72 degrees) because one of the heating coils was not working.  It wasn't bad until I stepped off of the last step.  It was a bigger step than the others and I was up to mid-chest at that point.  I kept Abby on the upper step or she would have been under.  After the baptism we enjoyed refreshments in the residence which is beautiful.  This was the first time I have ever been in an Ambassador's home.  While the home and grounds are beautiful, I was surprised it wasn't bigger.
After the baptism we took a family shot in Steven's home with the camera on auto.  I wasn't tickling Benjamin.  Gideon was half undressed as we were not fast enough to gather them for the picture after arriving home.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Benjamin's Birthday

Benjamin's day started with breakfast in bed.  His favorite breakfast is Eggs Benedict which I think is the favorite of everyone in our family.  I am certainly glad it is his because we all got to enjoy it too.

Benjamin wanted to go Go-Kart racing for his birthday so we got an interesting tour of Kuwait City as the first race track was closed.  It was not a good race for Abby or Gideon as they both crashed.  Gideon's crash included destroying the Go-Kart.  Benjamin had a great time and is ready for more.

When opening presents everyone wants to be involved
It was also time to open Grandma and Grandpa Dowell's birthday present to all the kids.


















Benjamin also got his favorite dinner and dessert.

We should have gotten a picture showing how tall Benjamin has gotten - he is just about an inch shorter than Grandpa.          Happy Birthday Benjamin!





Wednesday, December 28, 2011

A Typical Christmas Morning










Steven put the See's Candy up high but that did not stop Benjamin and Connett from getting it.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

A Very Traditional Chrismas Eve


PJ in disguise
We finally arrived at Steven and Micah's about 9 AM Christmas Eve.  We were greeted at the door by Connett, Benjamin, Gideon, Abby, Peter and Eliza.  They were all full of hugs which we thoroughly enjoyed.  Eliza was not about to let go of me so I sat on the couch and enjoyed her hugs.  We eventually took a nap and then enjoyed a traditional Christmas Eve with goodies to eat, the Christmas story, pajamas opened and modeled and the Night before Christmas read before off to bed which took a very long time to happen.  We wrapped presents and then it was off to bed for us. 

Eliza and Abby

Monday, December 26, 2011

Temple Square Christmas Lights


Randy, Tyler, Jake, Lily, Heather
Before leaving for Kuwait, we went to Temple Square with Randy's family to see the Christmas lights.  The lights were amazing and we had a fun evening.  We also went to the Joseph Smith building to see the beautiful Christmas tree they have there.  We had gingerbread cookies at Deseret Bookstore and we had Chinese food for dinner.  Thanks Randy and Heather for a fun evening. 
Lily
Jake


London in a Flash

In Austin there is an annual trip to London England called the London Dash - well we beat them with the London Flash on our way to Kuwait.  Our good friends we met in  Iceland and Denmark - the Koyle's and the Clark's met us at Heathrow and took us into London on the subway.  After an hour long ride on the subway we went to the London Eye which has a great view over London as it moves very slowly.  The beginning was windy and chilly with a little rain but it was OK.  We walked from the Eye to Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abby, Buckingham Palace, St James Park and then Hyde Park.  


By the time we arrived at Hyde Park it was pouring and the wind was blowing so hard we were soaked from the bottom of our coats to our toes.  So it was decided it was time to get out of the rain and get dry so we took the subway back to Heathrow.  We had three hours until boarding the plane and by then we were dry.  Our coats were still wet though and were still wet when we arrived in Kuwait. 

It was so much fun seeing our friends again and have them show us around London.


The flight on to Kuwait was one of the worst flights we have been on.  We felt like we were in the back of the cattle car we were so packed in.  And to make it worse the lady behind me kept kicking my seat.  I thought for sure there was a child behind me but when I got up I was surprised to see a woman my age or older.  Needless to say I did not get any sleep on that flight.   When we got to Kuwait it took an hour and a half to get through the visa process so it was great when we got through customs to see Steven and Micah waiting for us.  When we arrived at their house all the kids were waiting at the door for us with lots of hugs and kisses which sure made up for the long and tiring trip.  It is great to be in Kuwait!




Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Tyler's Baptism

Monday was Tyler's birthday and baptism.  After a very nice baptism service, everyone gathered at the Bremner's for a delicious dinner and cake made by Heather.  Of course being Tyler's birthday he also enjoyed opening all his birthday presents.


Sunday, December 18, 2011

Tyler's Birthday Party

Tyler's birthday is  Monday.  Since it is also his Baptism, we celebrated his birthday Saturday.  The party was at an all you can eat pizza, pasta, salad bar restaurant in Provo.  The food was excellent to the point we all ate way too much - you just can't help wanting to try out all the different items including at least 8 different desert pizzas.  Lily found Santa in the restaurant and wanted her picture taken with him.  Lily was also having a great time with all the choices too.  Just as we were getting ready to leave she decided she wanted another piece of pizza - a big pepperoni one.  She took a couple of bites and then decided she wanted to take the rest with her.  I think before we pulled out of the parking lot she had finished the whole piece.

After a great dinner and basketball cupcakes for Tyler's birthday cake we headed to Utah Valley University to watch Tyler's Uncle Ben play basketball against Georgia.  UVU lead the way until the 2nd half and then sadly they lost the game by a couple of points.  During the various time outs the cheerleaders threw frisbees and tee-shirts into the stands.  Quite to my surprise a tee-shirt landed right in my lap, but at extra large I passed it on. 

Needless to say Tyler had a great birthday!