Polar Express - Symphony

We went as a family to Abravanel Hall last Saturday and had a great time. They played a lot of songs from the Polar Express and other Christmas songs and Santa even came out and led a couple of numbers and did some dancing, which Grace absolutely loved.

The kids looked so cute in their symphony attire and I think they really enjoyed it. Here are some pictures either during the event or outside before or after the event. Some great pics!

We have been very busy this month with many Christmas activities, parties, etc.

Hope everybody is having a great Christmas season!

Lots to catch up on...

I know a lot of us feel overwhelmed at times and wish we had more time to update things and stay on top of things.

We have had such a great year, but our blog posts don't really reflect that.

It kills me that we never blogged about our AMAZING Mediterranean cruise from back in May. We have a million pictures, but this is one of my favorite from one of the night's at dinner while on the wonderful cruise ship:


We had such great food! We were able to spend a lot of time in Italy, Greece, and Turkey and see many amazing things. The ship was brand new and was really top of the line. What a fun adventure! We were out there for 2 weeks and have so many amazing memories from there.

Okay, here is the deal. We will get so many 2010 pictures and updates on here soon...I promise!

Love you all and hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving! -MC and DC-

Amazing Training

I had the great fortune of going to a Leadership Training Conference on Saturday in Salt Lake that was presided over by Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve.

Those in attendance at this training were Bishops, Stake Presidents, and Stake Presidency counselors for 13 Stakes in our coordinating council. Our Stake only sent 10 people (3 in Stake Presidency and 7 Bishops). The total attendance was probably around 100 or less and we didn't even fill the small chapel, it was a great opportunity and intimate group. They also had Bishop Keith B. McMullin of the Presiding Bishopric there and Claudio R.M. Costa, one of the 7 Presidents of the Seventy.


It was over 4 hours and they had us sit organized in our Stakes and they each took the time to go around and shake all of our hands and speak with us. I can honestly say that when Elder Hales walked in there was an immediate Spirit that was undeniable. It was great to be in his presence.

The training was magnificent. Out of the 4 hours of instruction that came our way, 1 hour of it was devoted to encouraging us, as Bishops, to spend more time with our family. They pointed out that the first chapter in the new handbook is dedicated solely to the administration of our family and the care of our children, spouse, etc.

They also discussed many other important ministering topics and the Spirit was so strong. I am very impressed with these men, they have such love and compassion and have so much experience in Priesthood Leadership. I am so thankful for this amazing opportunity to be instructed in such an intimate setting.

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving holiday, we have so much to be thankful for -DC-

Hangin' at the Park (While We Still Can)!

The summer is winding down. Derek and I love our kids, they get along so well. It is great to see them spend so much time together. Ryan looks forward to Grace getting home from school and misses her when she is gone.

Here the kiddos are on the teeter-totter at the park. The weather has been nice lately, but we know the weather will be too cool to go to the park before we know it!

Hope all is well with everyone!

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!

We love you! You are such a sweetheart, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

On Saturday we went to the Bees game and there was a special message for Grace on the scoreboard. There was an impressive fireworks show after the game also. We also went to Lagoon last week to celebrate Grace's birthday! It was a fun week.

Below are some pictures from the Bees game. Grace also started 2nd grade yesterday.

Daddy and Ryan

Grace and Ry

Grace and Isaac

New Bishopric Changes

Back on July 11th we had a change in the Bishopric. John Riggs was my 1st counselor since we were all put in and he did a great job. We miss having him around, but his family moved out of the ward, so I had to make a change.

The original musketeers (from L to R) John Riggs - 1st coun., yours truly, and Nick Romriell - 2nd coun.

My ward clerk, Rusty Robinson was put in as my 2nd counselor in the Bishopric and my previous 2nd counselor, Nick Romriell, is now my 1st counselor...here we are:

Bishopric 2.0 (from L to R) Nick Romriell - 1st coun., some guy again, and Rusty Robinson - 2nd coun.

I am thankful for the great people that serve around me. Nick and Rusty are great guys and I am learning a lot from them and they are doing really well in their new areas of responsibility.

...now, I really like to keep track of this stuff for historical purposes, but my joker High Priest Group Leader, Kurt Francom, was the guy behind the scenes taking the photo. He decided it would be awesome to take outtakes and goofy pictures of us.

Here is one of Nick laughing and me looking annoyed at Kurt's shenanigans:

Then he couldn't figure out the difference between picture mode and video mode, has this guy never used a camera before...here is our awesome 14 second behind the scenes clip:



And now the clincher, the weird picture he was trying to take for some kind of dramatic effect, I am not sure what he was up to. But, this looks like a really gnarly group, eh?

We all look confused (which I can assure you we are):

But the tables have turned, FRANCOM, how do you like these apples:

Hope everyone is doing well! -DC-

Quality Father and Son Time

The reason I like to try and throw pictures on here every once in a while and try to attempt to keep things up to date, is because this is a good way to journal and remember important memories.

Recently Ry and I had the chance to go to our ward's Fathers and Sons outing, it was a great time!

We made it up there and found our ward camp:

Ryan liked to take the lights that are supposed to help you see...to replace his eyes:

He found time to "hang" out:

We ate plenty of good food:

We went canoeing and Ryan loved his Diego life vest:

We also found time with great ward members, Rusty (who is my 2nd counselor) spent time on the guitar around the campfire:

MORE FOOD THAN WE KNEW WHAT TO DO WITH...it was soooo good!

So at about 7am on Saturday morning we were visited by a few moose that ran right through our camp. The bull and cow got so close to us and Ryan thought it was so cool, those are beautiful and huge animals:

Every time Ryan still talks about the moose he says "the moose and then the other moose" referring to the fact that the moose were right next to each other following close, it is so cute!

I love my boy so much, it was such a memorable time with him and, with how busy I am, it was so refreshing to just disconnect from the craziness of everything and spend time with my favorite little red head!

Gone Fishing

Last night we all went up to the cabin of some of Derek's extended family and had a blast! Grace caught her first fish and we had good food, fun, and games.

We have not posted in a while, we have so much to catch up on...but rather than trying to catch up, we should just try and update the best we can. Since our last post we spent 2 weeks in Europe on a Mediterranean cruise, Grace finished 1st grade, Ryan has been growing up so much, Derek had a change with one of his Bishopric counselors, Derek did some more travel and had an internal job promotion at his work, we attended some fun family reunions and events and on and on and on...

But, back to last night's fun!

Here is Derek with Grace and their fishy friend:

Grace had so much fun fishing!

Thanks Ty and Tiff and fam for such a great time, it was also great to spend time with Karen, Derek's parents, and Grandma Clark!

Here is Grandma Clark comforting Ryan when he was sad, he went right to her...it was so cute!

Grace holding on to the fish before we returned it to the water:

Hope everyone is well! We are having such a great summer!!!

Palmyra, New York

I had the chance, while out on business in the Syracuse New York area, to take a day and drive out to Palmyra with a co-worker. The sacred grove was amazing. Honestly, I am not sure that I have ever been in a place outdoors that was so serene, quiet, and peaceful. We were there on the most perfect spring day, absolutely amazing weather. Lots of pictures from the trip below!

There was this little baby fox that we saw near the Smith family log home. The missionaries serving there were so excited to be informed of the little baby foxes. About the size of a typical house dog.

Palmyra Temple -- you can see they cleared the space looking right out into the sacred grove. Absolutely awe inspiring!

This is the Manchester home. It is the original structure. This is where the Smith family lived after Hyrum moved into the previous log home, about 100 yards away. Joseph and Emma stayed here and bounced back and forth between this home with the rest of the family and Harmony, PA to keep the mobs away.

This was one of my favorite things to see. The bricks on the right side are loose and things were hidden under there on a regular basis. When the mobs were searching the house for the plates, it is assumed the plates were hidden under these bricks regularly for safe keeping. Pretty cool!

The kitchen area in the Manchester home

More pictures from the sacred grove. The only sounds in there were birds chirping and a few woodpeckers.

The log home is ahead to the right, they had to rebuild it. Pres Hinckley had them use the original tools and build it identically to specs based on what information they had. The building to the left is the visitor's center for the Sacred Grove area.

This is the Grandin Printing Shop where the first copies of the Book of Mormon were printed, I learned a lot of really neat things in there and am always impressed with how the church preserves these sacred sites. Quite impressive.

Joseph Smith meant exactly what he said when he called the Hill Cumorah a hill of considerable size. It was straight up. It was a beautiful day to be there, I would love to go to the pageant someday!

I cannot say enough about the trip to Palmyra, I really want to go back and spend more time and take my wife and kids with me next time! What a great experience, one that really energized me and one I will never forget!

Cute Kids

Some more great pictures from St George. These are really some of my favorite!

Grace the Explorer!

Ryan the Stud!

Things in Things

Things in Things
by Grace Cullimore

Letters in words,
Words in sentences,
Sentences in notes,
Notes in folder,
Folder in backpack,
Backpack on back,
Off we go!!

Grace wants it clear that this poem does not rhyme.

Softball Begins

Grace is now old enough to play softball. She has games two days a week and practice on Saturday morning. So far two games have been canceled for bad weather, but she played last Thursday.

Derek's parents, Dennis and Kathy, were at the game. Ryan was telling us how he felt that he was not able to play.

They did not keep score and each inning consisted of every girl batting once. There ended up being four innings. At one point a grounder was hit (Yes, every hit is a grounder and none make it to the grass) and it went to Grace. She picked it up and threw it most of the way to first. She has a pretty good arm. Most of the girls' throws end up at their own feet. Derek has been spending time playing catch with her and it shows.

Go team, go!!!