Farewell Gram

I mourn the passing of my sweet Grandmother, Genevieve Bennett. It is bittersweet--Gram Gen had a long and relatively peaceful life (she was just a month shy of her 95th birthday)...and she was in a significant amount of discomfort and pain since falling in September and breaking her pelvis. But, it's always hard to bid farewell to loved ones. Naomi summed it up when she said, "Grams are so special." Indeed.

One silver lining....a memorial services was held in Raymond, Alberta, Canada on January 21...and thankfully, it was 50 degrees and absolutely beautiful.

Ahhhh....Maui

It seems like so long ago (and weather-wise, it certainly was)....but our Thanksgiving Maui jaunt was great! Matt and Mel made their first visit to the Aloha State, and Darla joined us just a few days later--just in time for a Thanksgiving feast. The highlights? Well...it's hard to call out highlights beyond great weather, incredible snorkeling, hot sand, ocean football....but I'd say that seeing the first whale of the season playing 50 yards off the bow is one...and all the dolphins playing with the whale...and Matt finding a lobster on a reef in Ahihi Bay (lobster??!)....and the octopi, all the octopi....and who can beat a big humuhumunukunukuapua'a?

The Beans turns two!

I can't believe that Jillian Emma Sather is two years old! Indeed...she is now officially a toddler and you can tell....she loves her parents and she loves "brother" and she loves her Tatas!

We got to celebrate Jilly's birthday at the Rainforest Cafe...with the gorillas and fish and butterflies...it was awesome!

And at the end of the night, she looked sweetly at me and said, 'I go with you.' Melt my heart!

Happy birthday Jilly beans!

Don't miss these great video clips

I keep coming across little video clips that are too hilarious for words....and not to be missed. Here are just a few of the best:

Beeker sings Ode to Joy

First Semester Spanish Love Song

not to be outdone by...
Second Semester Spanish Love Song

And on a more serious note, this Keith Olbermann commentary is not to be missed:

Olbermann on Prop 8

Wives weekend

Last weekend the wives convened for a first-ever weekend together. We made merry....Med Express. Urban Outfitters. The condo. Sushi. Owl cookies. Pear scones. Birds in a nest. A walk in the rain (and by that, I mean downpour). Snuggling. No scrabble. Nearly a perfect weekend.

Our grand finale? The final episodes of Buffy season 6 season, punctuated with some WOOP WOOP shiraz and eternal thanks for the end of daylight savings time (we're no spring chickens anymore, except Andy). And yes, I fell asleep in the middle of the madness. So what if you don't understand that I can watch TV without my eyes open?!

Welcome Soren!

On Monday, Jen was thrilled to be in SLC to welcome our newest little nephew, Soren Moffat!

Soren was born to parents Steve and Liv on October 20, 2008 and weighed in at 9lbs 2oz and is 22 inches long. He's a big guy!

Jen reports that he looks just like his dad (and following that string...just like his grandfather Ray and his auntie Jen).

The new, larger Moffat family went home last night.....and we wish them many naps and lots of luck!

More pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Jen.Moffat.1/SorenSBirthday#

The Pack

I admit it - I like the Green Bay Packers. Now, I like the Seahawks more....but after my very first NFL game, I admit that I was not tragically sad that the Hawks lost. Perhaps the Mariner's season beat winning right out of me....

But I digress.

We did have our very first little NFL game visit and experienced the loud / powerful crowd at Quest Field. After a false start of my own, I even grew to love (well....tolerate) the Packers fans that were just everywhere...and grew louder and louder as their lead grew larger and larger.

But really, the most fun was watching Becca and Clint - fresh from SLC - as they watched the Pack win. Indeed, they were the coolest Packers fans (and the most sober) around. Oh, and they held their own while walking to the car after the game, when I thought we had a legitimate chance of inciting a riot.

- mhs

PS - it is well worth mentioning how much of a talent Clint is.....not only can he watch a very important game (which he was broadcasting from home 1,000 miles away but watching on his computer hooked up to our TV)....he can and did fix every device in our house. Now if only the damn external hard drive / server thingy worked right....