Monday, September 29, 2008

Moody & Mackay Receptions-Sept. 27, 2008

      A BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO BOTH OF THE HAPPY COUPLES!
Stacey Taylor and Dorothy Eppich helped serve the refreshments. The two-tiered wedding cake with pink ribbon & daisies, along with the temple on top, is in the background.
Trevor Mackay married Whitney Goss, from Rexburg, ID in the Rexburg, ID Temple, on Aug. 22nd. The wedding colors were mainly lime green, pink, & orange with a yellow accent. The flowers were Gerbera daisies. These pictures were taken at the Kent & Cindy Mackay home in Basin City, WA. Refreshments were cheesecake topped with raspberries & whipped cream or Volcano cake & whipped cream. Fresh fruit was also served, along with raspberry soda or water to drink.

Shareena Jones married Paul Moody from Syracuse, UT, on Sept. 19th in the Bountiful, UT Temple. These pictures were taken at the Hyrum & Sharee Jones residence in Basin City, WA. The wedding colors were brown & peach & the flowers were peach roses & white lilies. Refreshments were brownies &/or cake & icecream.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Jay & Jan's 31st Anniversary in Leavenworth, WA- Sept. 24, 2008

       We really did have a very fun, memorable time celebrating together in Leavenworth! I could 't ask for a better husband. He takes care of my every need & is always trying to find ways to please me & make me happy. I know he really loves me when he is willing to do those things that he detests, like shopping, for instance. When we're together like this, it makes me feel like I can conquer the world & I don't have to think about all those things that cause me worry & stress. He is my protector & 'knight in shining armor'. I sure do LOVE him!!

For our anniversary dinner, we opted for a nice garden salad, hot bread, good ole American beef steak & lobster, with asparagus & a baked potato with all the trimmings. We finished by having some sparkling cider & some German chocolate & carrot cake back in our hotel room. We had rented the movie, 'Sentinel' to watch, before we finished off our evening together.


Before going to dinner at the very nice Katzenjammers restaurant right across the street, Jay surprised me with some nice diamond earrings! We also gave cards to each other to read & ponder & reminisce over our 31 years together & what brought us together, how our love has grown & what has kept that love alive for so many years. It's times like these when we can get away & concentrate on making each other happy, that makes a big difference in the 'rat race' of life. My present to Jay was arranging this getaway for us to be alone, together.
After our hike, we went back to the hotel, ate a bite, rested & then did a little shopping in some of the little stores pictured on this street & beyond. Our hotel was only about a block south of main street shopping. We bought a couple of tapestries, one of them for our cabin & then looked at a 'willow creek' anniversary carving that we are going to give to each other. No luck in finding my sign.

Driving south on Ski Hill Dr., we passed some nice homes on some acres with horses & a nice view & the home above has a fun sign that I've been trying to find. (Between the 'Dead End' & 'Cat Crossing' signs, it says, 'Slow Grandparents at Play'). Click on the picture to read it.




The path near the top of the hill where we took the next two pictures overlooking different parts of the Leavenworth valley. Jay in the first picture and Jan in the second.

Next we drove to the Leavenworth Ski Area on the north side of town. We started walking on a path dotted with workout spots to do various types of exercises. The picture above shows the bars & instructions for doing chin-ups or whatever. First time I've seen something like this in the mountains.
We both took a few minutes to try out the swings in the playground area. You can see the edge of the lake in the background.

On the morning of our anniversary the next day, a kind lady walking her dog took our picture overlooking the scenic Leavenworth Lake, a few miles from town. We pretty much had the area to ourselves. We took a little hike through some trees, watched some squirrels playing & jumping from tree to tree and got a picture of some leaves starting to change color, pictured above.

On our first night, we ate at a German restaurant called, the Baren Haus (Bear House). Jay & I both tried some German dishes. Jay had Sauerbraten, (beef cooked a special German way). My plate is pictured above (Beef Roland-a mixture of rice, carrots, ? , in a special sauce rolled up in thin slices of beef & topped with gravy. We both had sauerkraut, cooked red cabbage, candied apples, & we tried a type of German pasta with egg & gravy. We enjoyed the meat, Jay likes sauerkraut, but it still tasted like I always remembered, which means I don't think I'll ever acquire a taste for it.

The Gazebo in the main little tourist shopping area. The picture above is on the street where most of the fun little shops are located. They are all required to build & decorate in the Bavarian style.

      A Bavarian looking mural painted on a motel. Other murals are seen around the village.


While walking down mainstreet, we passed a cool putting green & above Jay is looking down on the green with mountain goats eating grass just above it, next to the road.

    The next two pictures are of deer as we were leaving the park. We saw about five of them.
           Jan by another area of the river in the park.
A stroll through the park. Leaves changing color above Jay's head & light shining through on the path in the background.
          A scenic view taken from the bridge we are pictured on, below.
          Jay & I (Jan) & on the bridge crossing the Wenatchee river seen from our balcony.

           These next two views are from our 4th floor balcony.
After eating his waffles, Jay is reading up on all the adventurous things to do in Leavenworth.



          Our room # 401, is in the center on the top floor.



I just wanted to mention that last Sat. the 20th , we watched BYU football beat WYO 45-0, at our Country Mercantile in Pasco. They are now ranked 7th & 8th in the polls. Pretty Exciting!

Jay & I had a very nice anniversary in the little Bavarian Village of Leavenworth, about 2 1/2 hrs. from our home in Basin City. We arrived on Sept. 23rd and checked into our little studio apt. in the Blackbird Lodge overlooking Leavenworth Park & having a view of the picturesque Cascade mountains. (This area looks much like areas of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc.) A very fun atmosphere & lots of places to find German cuisine & crafts. We stayed two glorious nights & left on the 25th. The weather was perfect, brisk in the morning, but a nice 65-70 degrees for hiking at mid-day to afternoon.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Sept. 18-19-Janica Wood & Seth Ellsworth are ENGAGED!!

It is a day later, Sept. 20th & I have to highly recommend that you read Seth's version of his proposal to Janica yesterday. It is hilarious & heartwarming, plan to be entertained for 20-30  min. & bring a tissue along. I just read it, but I'm sure I'll read it again many times. Go to sethellsworth.com & click on his Blog. ENJOY!! Another update: Janica has now written her side of the story to make things complete! Don't worry it's not nearly as long, but still very enjoyable.
So here's the sparkly that you've all been waiting to see! Exciting adventures ahead & two months & ten days before the BIG DAY! For more pictures check out Shanae Wood's blog at jonesfamilyaloha.blogspot.com. I also have some more pictures of them in my previous posts.


August 7th, the day Wayne Riner took Janica, Seth & Coriann fishing on the Columbia River at Ringold, WA. Beautiful sunsets are typical of our area & they were able to get some great shots.
Janica & Seth officially met (they knew of each other before) when Janica moved into a condo directly across the street from Seth, around the end of April, first of May (they know the exact time), & pretty much have been together everyday since they started single dating, shortly after that. They immediately found out that they had grown up much the same way, with very similar values & guidelines, so this relationship has been pretty much a 'no brainer' as they would say. It was just a matter of communicating and discussing their thoughts on future goals, & all the other important questions & having some time to meet each other's families & to see each other in different circumstances. Janica will graduate in April 09, from BYU, & so they will be able to graduate together. Her major is PE teaching/Coaching. She's had experience the last few months as a basketball coach at Open Court (now Flash something) by Thanksgiving Point in the Pleasant Grove, Utah area. She hopes to do her student teaching there, also. They will probably try to find a place to live near there, since Seth is starting a new job close to there, also. This picture & the previous one were taken on July 6th, the day Jayce Wood was blessed.
Don't they just look like they were meant for each other? I often hear people say they even look a lot alike. Seth spent the first ten years or so of his life in Auburn, WA & since then has moved around a lot in the states of Arizona & Utah. His parents currently live in Phoenix. He is the 3rd of  four children (two older sisters & one younger brother). Seth is working for "International Marketing" & has created many of his own jobs on the side. He LOVES to write & does some 'public speaking' on occasion. He definitely loves sports (especially basketball, baseball, golf, & fly fishing). He was on the BYU basketball team for about 1 1/2 yrs. until injuries prevented him from continuing. He is finishing his last class to graduate from BYU in American Studies. He's extremely knowledgeable when it comes to American History or Church History or most anything for that matter. He enjoys music & has a nice singing voice. Most important of all, he's a very strong priesthood holder in the gospel & served a mission to Chile (Santiago East, I think). So he has been able to compare notes with Brandon about Chile. Janica & Seth have many of the same interests, especially when it comes to sports & music. He has a personality much like J. in many ways. He fits into our family really well & we're very excited to be having a new son come into the family!

The happy couple have chosen to get married in the Salt Lake Temple on Saturday Nov. 29th & there will be an open house in Utah that evening. A reception will be held in the LDS church in Basin City, WA, on Saturday Dec. 27th. Janica has chosen a dark sage or moss green color, chocolate brown, & pink as her wedding colors. Her flowers will be pink & white daisies.  They want to have a springtime looking wedding in the winter. These first three pictures were taken in Provo Canyon on July 5th.

A Huge CONGRATULATIONS to Janica & Seth! I don't think our family got much sleep last night, since the call came to us at 1:00 a.m. & I was so excited I had a hard time going back to sleep. Since I know Janica sent me a text with the picture of the ring, I had to immediately go look at it. There's a fun, eventful story with how Seth proposed & I'll leave the correct, unedited version for them to tell, since I only heard bits & pieces. The bits I heard were quite entertaining; something to do with "The Count of Monte Cristo" and a note in a bottle & a string around the finger & Utah Lake & then the ring falling into the fountain on BYU campus, commotion on Janica's doorstep & then a daisy (Janica's favorite flower) at 'Y' mountain & the actual proposal there after about 3-4 previous failed attempts. We knew this was coming soon, but just didn't know when, so now we can 'officially' carry on with all the plans & that definitely makes things a lot easier. My home is starting to look like a wedding reception center as I'm experimenting with decorating ideas. But it's a fun, exciting time & will definitely keep me busy & focused & out of trouble!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Sept. 14-Veronica Wood's 33rd Birthday celebration

Here's a cute picture of William Crestfield (Will) Spencer, who was named after his 4th great grandpa, William Crestfield Moody. Will is almost one year old.
Here are four of the six children cousins that were there. Calee Tomlinson, Michael Wood, Robert (named after his Grandpa Moody) & Derek Spencer. It is so cute how Calee & Michael are holding hands. The babies were Jayce Wood (pic. in group below) & Will Spencer (below &  2nd pic. above).
Veronica, Brandon, Janica, & Jayce Wood, Marie & Will Spencer, Coriann Wood, Seth Ellsworth, & J.   Wood. Somehow we missed getting the other adult, Marie's husband, Joseph Spencer.
Everyone enjoying dinner and dessert. Starting left around the circle; Clint Tomlinson, Brandon Wood, Sherri Tomlinson, J., Janica (looking down) & Janece Wood, & Marie Spencer.
Coriann (left) had to leave early to go to a mandatory fireside for the BYU athletes.
Veronica with her other gifts. The musical flower was from the Spencer's; the mother & son statue, money for jeans, & a temple envelope with her name & the Col. River Temple embroidered on it, was from J. & I (Janece). The rest of the fam gave their gifts to her on her 'real' birthday.
We had another birthday celebration at the Moody home. This time it was for Veronica Wood. Her actual birthday is Sept. 16th, but this was the only day we could have more family there to help celebrate. J. & I had to leave for our home in WA the next day. My niece, Sherri Tomlinson made the confetti cake & strawberry cheesecake as her gift to Veronica. HAPPY BIRTHDAY VERONICA!