Family, Family, Family & Friends

We have been very blessed this past month to be able to spend so much time with family that we seldom see.

Devyn

First we had Troy's family Christmas party and all but Tonya's family was here. It was at our house and we let the kids play outside, borrowed Fancy Britches, opened presents and ATE.

Tiff and Morg, Tamara, Devyn, Fancy, Morgan & Kirk, Devyn & Drake

Then my family cam for my niece Madisen's baptism. It was fun to see everybody although it was a short visit.....well with my family it usually is.

Lil Derek, Raigan, Peyton, MADISEN, Keegan, Morgan, Breckyn and Uncle Kinney

Chey and Madi, the 2 girls playing with the cellphones (favorite toy of the day) & the boys chit-chatting away

Madisen's yummy cake. Made by her aunt Shey (sp?) on Derek's side.

Then my nephew Lil Derek turned 12 (a day after McKinney reported to the MTC). He was ordained a Deacon and my family once again made a trip to AZ. This time it was a little longer YEAH, my sister Jill and her boys came AND they stayed at my house 1 of the nights (thanks for the trailer Kandi & Adam).

All Dressed Up....Our Missionaries in Training

We were also able to plan a day of fun. The morning didn't go quite as planned....Chey, Jill and I were going to have brunch at H....well never mind where hehehe. But after we went to our good friend Lane Tebbs' baptism, we had them all out for some fun.

Cowboy Spike

Smarty Pants on Fancy Britches :)

We once again borrowed Fancy Britches (thanks Anissa and Mike) :) We rode the golf cart, four wheeler and the horses. Even Chey rode...this is important because she does not like horses.

Chey on Moon, attempting Fancy j/k and she even rode Too Tall

Uncle Troy...always a hit with the kids. hmmmmm wonder why???

Another very important family that came was that of a good friend from high school. David Mowers and his wife Tamara and little girls, Addy & Elle came. It was so great to see him, it has been about 9 years. I got to meet his girls and Tamara whom I have been visiting with for a while through Facebook. LOOOOVE IT! THANKS FOR COMING!!!

Daddy & Addy (i love that)

We had our traditional bonfire, roasted hot dogs and yes, Troy mode cobbler. 3 kinds and to my dismay, the Blueberry was a huge hit....ugh. I'll stick to Apple and Peach.

It got cold and we were tired. Maggie, Chey, Morgan and RaRa decided to sleep outside. RaRa's allergies got to her and since she had to sing the next day...she skipped out. Mike and Anissa came around 10:30 - 11:00 and by the time they left, Chey and Maggie were asleep. We made Morgan go sleep in the trailer with my mo, Jill, Breckyn, Keegan, Jax and Ryker. Troy and I went inside...oh poor us.

The next morning we all had a few hours before we had to get ready. the little kids played outside some more and the older girls went on a trail ride with Troy and Jim.

Great looking bunch, wouldn't you say?

and now....

Random Pictures

Playing with the puppies

Ryker's face in the morning...hehe

Little Cowboys

.....No Words Needed

What a wonderful way to start the new year. And to add to it...my little sisters will be back a week from today!! I love my family so much and I realize how much their influence has helped make me, well me.

I LOVE YOU ALL.........Family AND Friends.

Soon to be PRIVATE!

To all my loved ones,

Troy heard about a kid that was abducted out by us and the police said that they had found them through their family's blog. This is so scary and SAD that the world has become such a disgusting place that we cannot even keep in contact with friends and family without jeopardizing our safety.

I would like to get as many of you on my list as I can. Please let me know your email addresses if I don't already have them, so I can send you an invite. Your comments on this post that include your email, will not be published so nobody else will see your address. I will continue seeking out old friends and family through Facebook and give more invites.

Please make sure that you do this soon so that you can continue watching our family grow.

Love you all,

Timar Lu

Morgan will also be going private so I will send you an invite for hers too.

A NEW RECORD

I have not updated my blog since December 19th. This morning I finally sat down and did 4 posts. This is not a record for # of posts (that would be 5) but a record for how fast I did them. 3 HOURS. (with interruptions of course)

So enjoy my posts and admire my family. I say that because over the past 2 weeks I have seen how truly blessed our family is and I pray that yours is as well.

Love to you all and

HAPPY 2009!

Post Christmas Fun!

Friday I got to go to lunch with Maggie and Chey. They took me to the Pasta Factory (YUM). After that we went home and watched some movies that they got for Christmas (except One Tree Hill, which they watched every night we were there until like 6am) That night we played Partini (sp?). Aunt Lauri, Uncle Doug, Jill, Maggie, Kinney, Brant, Katie, Alison (Katie's sister who spent Christmas with us) and mom oh and me all played. It was so fun. We were laughing so hard and it was fun to see who could and could not do certain things (like hum LOL). Willie and Troy didn't play (surprised?) they talked business and life instead.

This is the boys. I just really like this picture.

Troy and Dad roping

Saturday we went to the place where my Dad keeps his horses.

The kids found a well. They had fun throwing rocks in it.

Morgan trying out our dummy.

My sis Chey and I. She is so beautiful.

Chey showing off her photography talent.

I love this picture. It even has a rope coiled on the porch next to them.

Ok, so McKinney decided to be funny and wear his "riding gear". The only problem is that while we were all laughing at him......

the horse lost her footing and fell. These are her tracks and way at the top....is Kinney's landing pad. We were glad that he was a dork and had his helmet on. LOL

See the big foot print?

After riding and playing for a while, we went to the dinosaur museum. It wasn't as fun as I thought because there were no bones. It was rock with feet prints. Don't get me wrong it was cool to see and to know that they came form St. George but you know me....I don't visualize well. Anyway, my dad bought the kids a toy from the gift shop.....

while the other dorks colored dino pictures hehe (Kinney & Katie)

there I realize how much I miss out on and how much I miss all of them. It is nice to be able to call my family......my best friends.

I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU ALREADY!!!

Christmas Day

We did not wake up until McKinney yelled at us at 7:00. That is what time we are usually starting breakfast. We all lined up, youngest to oldest and went down stairs. When we first start, everyone gets a present and then opens them at the same time and then it is a free for all. Troy didn't like this a t first because you couldn't see what everybody got but now that he realizes...if it take 1 1/2 hours to open all at the same time, it would take 4 hours to watch everybody. It works.

This is Breck and Keeg when we first walked downstairs.

This is Grandma Lu reading the letter from Santa. Morgan asked him how old he was and how many elves he had. That is her surprised face :)

This is Morgan's new breast collar to go with her saddle. She loves it and big Morgan did a great job on the tooling and staining.

Keegan got his Ultimate Lightsaber kit among other things.

Breckyn won the prize for the most excited over a gift. Her Mr. Potato Head

We are not sure why, but all the little kids love Uncle Troy

Ok.....Breckyn Daisy, Dressing Daisy doll (from caring friends)Baby Daisy Duck sweater(from G&G Taylor). See, I am not the only one that is extremely proud of her name.
A little of the mess after opening.

This is Maggie's new bed. Troy helped put it together. Aren't they so cute? This is Kinney's last Christmas at home before leaving on his mission this month.

After we ate and got ready, we went to my Dad and his wife Shauna's house to open gifts and eat a little. She made some real yummy soup and had some pie too.

My Dad made my kids and Willie's kids roping dummies. They are so cute/cool. This is Keegan carrying ours out. They also each got a movie that they had asked for. Thanks Dad.

When we got back to my Mom's, we played with all the toys and then had a yummy turkey dinner. While we were there we also had HOMEMADE TOAST (in the oven) and HOT CHOCOLATE......My favorite food of all time.

It was a great Christmas day and we all were very blessed with wonderful gifts. My kids along with toys and movies, got Sunday clothes from my Mom. Keegan even got his first suit that was of course to big (ya ya ya) so we will be getting a smaller one this weekend. I can't wait to see my little man.

Christmas Eve

These are all the stockings for our family. Pretty soon mom will have to start doubling up.

So for Christmas eve we had a lot of plans. First-EAT.....we had homade chimis and all sorts of Mexican dips (we all know how much I love Mexican food). Second-cookies

Santa has always loved my mom's/grandma's sugar cookies. Morg, Breck and Ali had lots of fun making a mess.

Aunt Jill helping Keeg and her Jax. Keegan found this to be hard work(he cut himself on my mom's old cookie cutters) These 2 boys are the best of friends.

Here is 1 pan full of cookies.

While the cookies were baking and cooling we moved on, third-ornaments. Our kids always get a new pair of pj's and an ornament. My sisters do this too. This year I found ceramic ornaments that the kids got to decorate themselves.

There was puffy paint, sparkles and rhinestones
Aren't they beautiful?

Breckyn, Keegan Ryker, Ali, Morgan & Jax with their pj's and ornaments

The kids also got to make reindeer food and spread it out on the lawn.

Santa's cookies....can you guess which one is Morgan's?

They all wrote a letter to Santa, set out his hot chocolate and cookies, oranges for the reindeer and then off to bed (along w/Troy) :) :)

It is a tradition in my family that on Christmas Eve, EVERYONE sleeps in the same room.

This year there were 17 of us in the TV room. And also a lot of snoring (sorry....I WAS SICK)

Entertainment was provided by Chey and Maggie and of course Mama Mia

It was a great night and we had a lot of fun wrapping and visiting until late into the night.

Christmas in St. George

This year, Troy surprised everyone when he said we would be spending Christmas with my family in Utah. I was so excited and although up until the day before we left finances were not on our side, Troy sold his "horse bed" and we were able to go.

On our way there was a lot of snow. This picture is in the middle of the Reservation.

I have never seen snow there and so we knew Jacob's Lake would also be a "little" icy.

When we finally got to my mom's house, my sister Jill had us all sit on the couch/floor and say "Merry Christmas" and sing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" to Chey on a video so that when she came home in January, we would all be there.

Well when we got to the 2nd wish you a merry Christmas I saw the door open and after a double-take saw that it was my Chey. Being that the others couldn't see her for the HUGE tree my mom had, they were confused when I "screamed" and said a few choice words and started running. (honestly they thought Troy had done something to me, surprised?)

This is Chey about 3 minutes after walking in. She is so skinny and TAN.

For all of you who know my family, you can imagine the water works that followed. My mom told Jill that she hated her (lovingly). It turned out that in November she decided that she wanted to be home for Christmas and Jill and Willie helped arrange it. They kept it a secret from EVERYBODY and hid her for a few days and even put her in their trailer a few blocks away so nobody would see her :). This was the best part of Christmas by far.

This is all of our family, minus Tracy and crew. This will be the closest we will get to a full family picture for at least 2 years.

Chey brought gifts home for everyone. Breckyn got a cute little treasure box with a hand made bracelet inside and Keegan got a sling shot.

Morgan also got a little treasure box with a larger bracelet and Troy got a machete. We were all amazed that she got it through customs. It took forever to open it, she wrapped it really good.

This is a game that Chey played with the kids in The Hogar (orphanage). It is really cute so I made them do it a few times......Chey always beat Maggie hehe

This is 2 days later. Chey and Maggie were going in to surprise the "boys" at work and invited Morgan to go. They are wearing the shell necklaces that she brought all of us big girls back (Morgan is wearing mine so she could look like them).

So as you can guess, we had a great start to our Christmas in St. George.