Julianne's Wedding

On January 4th, 2008 my sister Julianne was sealed to Eric Anderson in the Oakland, California Temple. Grandpa Packard sealed them, and it was a beautiful experience.  They didn't get any great pictures outside the temple because of the gusty winds and rain.  It was unreal.  I've never seen anything like it.  However, despite the tropical storm that was raging through Northern California, it was a very fun day. You can see at the beginning of the montage that we had made an umbrella wall for Julianne and Eric. They came out of the temple and in a matter of seconds, the wind had blown her veil right out of her hair! There is an awesome picture of her catching it as it blew away.  Congratulations Julianne and Eric. We love you guys!

(photographs by Erin Schmutz)

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Happy Birthday, Arthur!

Happy Birthday, Arthur.  It's great to be 28!  ;)  Well, close enough anyway. It's funny, but I couldn't find a good picture of Arthur by himself, so we could spotlight him.  (Not that he enjoys that, but you only have one birthday a year . . .)  So here's a picture of a little crew who are very glad you were born.  Thanks for all you do for us.  You are such a great husband, father, and friend.  Thanks for going to work every day to provide for us, for fixing all the things we break, for helping so much with the housework, and taking us camping.  :)  We love you soooo much!  Happy Birthday.

Video from Grandpa's 80th B-day

Here are some video clips from Grandpa's B-day. Fair warning: It's about 5 1/2 minutes long, so don't watch it if you don't care. Just thought it would be fun for the family to see some of the program and stuff. I have the great-grandkids, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, Improv by Uncle Dave and cousin Eric, and some of Grandpa jammin' on the saxophone. Fun times.

Grandpa Stone's 80th Birthday Bash

One highlight of our trip to California was Grandpa's 80th birthday party. Grammy had dinner catered, the grandkids put on a program for Grammy and Grandpa, and there was a jazz combo for dancing afterwards. It was super fun. We love you Grandpa! Thanks for the heritage you've given us!

Underage drinkers throwin' back some sparkling cider.

Me and Arthur

Grandpa prepares to blow out 80 candles!  Smokey!

The great grandkids (with some help from Uncle Nathan, and cousin Summer) sang "It's Always fun when Grandpa comes."  I'll post video of this soon.  It was really cute.

The Six Stone Sisters singing "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"

Grandpa jams with the band.  They played Glen Miller's arrangement of "In the Mood."  It was awesome!  

DANCING!

Grammy and Grandpa

Daphne with her grandpa (my dad)

Christmas!

We spent Christmas out in California and enjoyed spending so much time with the family.  On Christmas Eve, we did the traditional Nativity Scene.  Melanie was the director, and did a very professional job, complete with flashlights for spotlights.  

Here is Daphne getting into character before it started.  She was Mary.

Dallin played Joseph, the carpenter.

Sean was Linus.  I mean, a shepherd with a pacifier and blanket.

And the role of baby Jesus, was of course played by Hayden.

Reed, Jacob, and Nathan are the "Three Kings."

CHRISTMAS DAY!

The kids enjoyed opening presents early in the morning, after hiding to watch Santa.

Little Hayden with Uncle Mikey

Dallin getting attacked by a giant nutcracker at Uncle Dave and Aunt Sabrina's house after our Christmas dinner.

Hayden's first Christmas

He's here . . .

That's right.  This whole pregnancy I was convinced we were having a little girl, so I was very surprised when Arthur said, "It's a boy!"  Daphne was disappointed that it wasn't the sister she was waiting for, but she has since fallen in love with her new little brother.

Hayden James Gariety was born November 30th, (five days early, I'm happy to report) just 31 minutes after we pulled up to the hospital.  He came sooo fast.  I was dilated to an 8/9 when we arrived at Triage, and was rushed to the delivery room where he made his debut just a few minutes later. (Next time we'll head to the hospital a little sooner, I think.)  He was 7 lbs. 5 oz. and 20 inches long.  He is just perfect.  I could just look at his little face and hands and feet all day.  

Dallin and Daphne are so cute with him.  They rush into my room first thing in the morning saying, "I washed my hands with soap and water--can I hold the baby?"  So we have lots of little helpers here.  Sean is going to take some time to adjust to this new addition.  The first few days he basically ignored him, thinking maybe the problem would just go way.  Now he's in a non-committal curious stage.  He acknowledges him sometimes and has displayed some signs of affection.  Someday those two are going to be great friends, but right now, Sean isn't convinced he's the greatest thing ever.  

I'm so glad to have my mom here helping out this week.  She is awesome!  Thank you Dad for surviving without her this week.  She is such a lifesaver!

We are so grateful to add this new little miracle to our family!

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