Visiting Cambria (And Her Parents) in Washington

Marilyn and I arranged our summer road trip specifically so we could see Cambria (and her parents) because we missed her so much.  We drove to Washington on Saturday and had a lot of fun spending time with Tucker and Tashena (who took us to some really fun places and entertained us at their house) and snuggling the most adorable baby ever.  We were so sad to leave today because it has been a wonderful visit but we will see them in Utah really soon!  Here is a cuteness overload of Cambria!

We love this precious baby so much!

Cambria Rose

I finally had the chance to meet my great-niece two weeks ago when Tashena and Tucker were in town for a family funeral.  To say that I am smitten with her would definitely be an understatement!  I think she is the most adorable baby ever and I loved every minute that I got to spend holding her (I even got to feed her).  Marilyn and I are planning a road trip to Washington to see her very soon because we miss her so much!  In the meantime, here are some beautiful photos of our precious baby.

To add to the cuteness overload, here is the sweetest video of the sweetest baby ever!

Family Photos 2025

We decided to have some family photos taken while my niece and her husband were in town for Christmas.  We had our friend Lesa (she takes all of our family photos) do a photo shoot with us at the Utah State Capitol on a really cold day.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Christmas 2025

Yesterday I celebrated Christmas with my family and it was especially wonderful because my niece and her husband were there with us (I hadn't seen her since her wedding).  We met up at my sister Kristine's house to open presents at 8:00 in the morning (my nephew planned the whole day and he was really excited) and it was so much fun.  Since we open presents one at a time from oldest to youngest, it took us quite a while to get through all of them.  We also exchanged stockings (I had Marilyn and my nephew had me) and there were a lot of funny surprises.  I did very well and got some new AirPods and a photo printer along with a sweater, a book, and some stuff for my house.  After opening presents and stockings we had sweet rolls and juice which is a tradition that we have had since we were children.  We had Christmas dinner later in the afternoon with ham, potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, green beans, cranberry fluff salad, pasta salad, vegetables and dip, and rolls.  Everything was delicious!  In the evening we played Shanghai rummy and we all pretty much lost our minds (my niece's husband fits right in with the insanity of this game and it was so much fun to have him there with us).  We were all laughing so hard and, at various times, we were talking with accents, quoting song lyrics, and quoting from movies.  We had lots of treats and paused the game to have banana cream pie.  It was honestly the best day ever and I am so happy that we still have a few more opportunities to spend time together before my niece has to go back to Washington.  I hope you were able to spend the holiday doing things you love with friends and family!

Nathan Pacheco Christmas Concert 2025

It has become a tradition for me to tag along with my sister Marilyn and our family friend Kelli to the Nathan Pacheco Christmas concert. I am a relatively new fan (I discovered him when he was a guest vocalist for a Kurt Bestor Christmas concert) but they have followed him for years! The concert was last night at Abravanel Hall and, as always, I loved his eclectic mix of Christmas music as well as selections from the classical repertoire and from Broadway! He began with his new single "The King Emmanuel," which was quite stirring (he told us that we were one of the first audiences to hear it performed live), and then continued with the Christmas songs "Mary, Did You Know?" and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing." He is a classically trained tenor with a beautiful and clear voice so next came absolutely amazing renditions of "Questa O Quello" from Verdi's opera Rigoletto, "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's opera Turandot (this was especially fitting because it was Puccini's birthday yesterday), and "Time to Say Goodbye" (which gave me goosebumps). He concluded his first set with a heartfelt message about giving yourself grace during this holiday season and emotional versions of "Come As You Are" and "Forever." When Pacheco left the stage for a brief moment, his piano player Jared Pierce and his cellist Nicole Pinnell performed a cool instrumental mashup of "Sing We Noel" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." Pacheco returned to sing "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," "O Come, All You Unfaithful" (which I had never heard before), and "Silent Night." Next, his powerful version of "I Believe in Christ" with the Lyceum Choir just about brought the house down and his version of "God Bless Us, Everyone" from the movie Scrooge was lovely. He ended the concert with "O Holy Night," the song I most wanted to hear (it was worth the wait), and I loved it because he sings it better than almost everyone I've heard sing it live! The audience leapt to their feet for an enthusiastic standing ovation so he returned for an encore, including "The Greatest Show" from The Greatest Showman (apparently he auditioned for the role of Barnum in the upcoming musical adaptation but was the second choice), "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables (this was another favorite moment), and "The Prayer" which is one of his most popular songs. I really enjoyed this concert (I also enjoyed dinner at the newly remodeled Garden Restaurant inside the Joseph Smith Memorial Building before the show) and I am already excited to go again next year!

Note:  This was my last Christmas concert of the year so my final count for performances of "O Holy Night" is three (I was lucky enough to hear it at all three concerts I attended).

Gingerbread Houses 2025

Last night we had our annual gingerbread house party and we had so much fun that, at one point, we were all laughing so hard we couldn't breathe (mostly at all of my icing mishaps).  We normally use kits that we put together but this year my sister, who is an amazing baker, decided to make the gingerbread and royal icing herself.  She did such a great job and I absolutely love how they turned out!

I love this tradition with my family!