Saturday, December 26, 2009

2009 Christmas Letter


It is occuring to me how many people I FORGOT to send the Christmas letter to. So sorry. Here it is!

It was November 2008; One morning about 6:00 AM Rod sat up in bed and asked; “How much does a wedding cost?” I groggily gave him my best guess and tried to go back to sleep. He couldn’t sleep, he started to stress. “We are going to have a wedding in June!” I thought he was crazy, later that day we joked about it and everyone in the family thought it was a crazy notion.

Rod was right! June 5th, 2009; Rodney married Kylee Eyre.

If I (the mom) could’ve arranged a marriage for my boy this would’ve been it! We already knew her and her family since she was 4 and he was 7. No crazy in-law stories here. Well they probably tell some about us… Rodney and Kylee were married in the Chicago LDS temple; It was a great couple of weeks with receptions in both Chicago and Texas. Many friends and family flew in from long distances to be there, and we loved every minute of it.

Rodney graduates from BYU this month and has been interviewing all over. We can’t wait to see where he and Kylee decide to go.

In addition to Rod’s new telepathic ways, he also has a new digit in his age: 50! Nothing changed when he turned 50, well except he added yoga to his repertoire of basketball, wakeboarding/surfing, and working out. Rod added pool building and concete to his construction business this year. He’s also in startup mode again with a Digital Signage company.

In preparation for this big wedding I (Jennifer) decided I needed something to help me fit into some nice dress. I signed up for a triathlon, not a full one but one of the sprint kind, I may have been desperate but I wasn’t crazy. That was a great adventure for me and I look forward to doing another one next year. Being a realtor continues to help keep three kids in college. Mostly though I’m just Mom; cab driver, housekeeper, cook, etc…and that’s what I enjoy the most. Now that half our kids are grown, Rod and I realize how fast it goes by.

Elyse (22) graduates this April from BYU. She spent the summer living half the week in Houston, working for us as we expanded our business there. She bought her first car, paid cash for it. All of a sudden the ‘check engine’ light means more when you own the car yourself. In addition to school, Elyse works as a trainer in a marketing company.

Kyria (19) is also in Provo; attending UVU. Her and Elyse are roommates. Kyria works in a law office as an office assistant. But really it just seems like they play a lot. They have these missions they go on together: ‘operation get Elyse’s boyfriend back’ Or ‘operation So Cal; down and back in 48 hours.’ Kyria’s favorite class is her basketball class, she also plays intramural basketball. She proudly got kicked out of a game recently for talking ‘smack’…well she got kicked out for two minutes and then they let her back in.

Nikka (16); is driving! The hand-me-down car that all 3 of the older kids drove at some point died on her shortly after getting her license. We bought a very used yellow bug for her. Stick shift and all. Took her some getting used to, and she does have a bit of a lead foot. After she pays this ticket and stands before the judge I think she may be cured of it though. In addition to high school, Nikka attends 2 classes at the college, 6 AM Seminary, piano, and works part time as a nanny. It makes me need a nap just trying to keep her schedule straight.

Joseph (12) Just finished up middle school football. As much as we love basketball; Joseph is the first one in the family to ever make the 7th grade basketball team. Middle school has brought out a very social side to Josey. He always has some invitation to do something with his friends.
Luke is 9, in the fourth grade. He stays busy playing sports, and ‘hanging out’ with his big brother. I bribe him and Joseph to take piano lessons. Luke excel’s at piano just for the flaming hot cheetos and gatorade that comes at the end of his lesson.

Also on a family note, the family made two trips to visits our orphanages in Mexico this year. In August, we went with the Herveys, Dials (Rodney and Ky), Larimores (Jerry and Billy), and a host of Eyre, Labrum, Richards, and Johnson teens (well, Pam Johnson is not really a teen, but almost) to build a boys dormatory for Rancho El Faro. We poured a foundation, built walls, roofed, plumbed, electrified, tiled, played soccer and basketball, ate lobster, swam in the ocean, and generally did some good. We went back in November for a Sunday visit to read to, sing to, and swing with the kids. We have another trip planned for 2010 that should be even more fun.

We love our family and friends that have touched our lives in many ways! Merry Christmas, The Dial Family

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Random things about me

Where is your cell phone? RIGHT NEXT TO ME
Your hair? IN A PONY TAIL
Your father? A HILARIOUS CRACK POT
Your favorite thing? MY FAMILY
Your dream last night? DEATH
Your favorite drink? CRANERGY AND FRESCA MIXED,ITS MY DIET COKE SUBSTITUTE
Your dream goal? 'SEE YOU THERE'
The room you are in? LIVING ROOM
Your fear? NOT BEING PREPARED
Where do you want to be in 6 years? A FIT HOT GRANDMA
Muffins? CHOCOLATE
One of wish list items? A DRIVEWAY
Where did you grow up? SAN DIEGO
The last thing you did? INTERVIEWED A BUNCH OF PEOPLE FOR A JOB OPENING, ugh...
What you are wearing? SOFT PAJAMAS
Your t.v.? BIG AND TUNED TO SEINFELD
Your pets? MILLIE, NEIGHBORS SINATRA, RANDOM RABID RACCOON, DEER A PLENTY
Your computer? GATEWAY AND GATEWAY, I'M CHEAP
Your life? GREAT
Your mood? EXHAUSTED
Missing someone? 4 PEOPLE IN UTAH
Your car? NISSAN MURANO
Favorite store? TARGET, ROSS, HOBBY LOBBY
Your favorite color? PURPLE
The last time you laughed? I PEED
Last time you cried? EVERYONE LEFT AFTER CHRISTMAS
Food? GOOEY HOMEMADE WARM CHOCOLATE ANYTHING
Where would you rather be right now? NO WHERE

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Kids and Cell Phones

Joseph is turning 12, tooooo young for a cell phone. Why then every day do I hope that some kid will loan him a cell phone so I can figure out if he has art or not, if he is riding the bus or not, if he needs to stay after or not. Without a means to communicate I sit at the designated pick up place wondering.... In fact I've loaded solitaire on my phone just for this waiting game. Without a means to communicate he sits in front of the school wondering if I've remembered that he didn't catch the bus because he was doing a project after school.

I've learned to answer his friends cell phones. Usually I'm only diligent about out of area code unknown calls. Those are potential clients moving here and wanting me to help them find a house. But between 3:45 and 5:15 I know to answer any random call that comes in.

Not sure what I did without a cell phone when I was 12. Oh wait I remember, I was a latchkey kid there were no parents at home wondering how I got home or when I got home or with whom. I just somehow got home and they were glad to see me when they got home.

Usually we say when they begin to play school sports and have before or after school practice we get them a cell phone. Thats a year away for Josey.

Where would he carry a cell phone? He still wears basketball shorts everyday. Fashion means nothing to him just yet, though I see the change coming.

PS I'm dieting, doing good, but I'm dieting. I'm hungry and I hate skinny people.