My Jacksonville Trip (pictures below) and Moscow pics

We are having a problem with our blog. It's not allowing us to put the post with the pictures. If anyone has any ideas to help us, please respond. I am not great with this kind of stuff. We're just lucky to even have a blog! My trip to Florida early in November was wonderful. It was warm there and I got to be with Greg, Kacey, and Brooklyn, which was a blast. It was cool to see my son be an adoring daddy to his little girl. Kacey is a great mommy and I can tell Brooklyn is loved and well cared for. My flight was great. A friend from Baker, who is in our ward, Sharon, was also flying to Jacksonville. She was helping a friend, who I also know, Kara, travel to Jacksonville with her two small children, so they could be with Kara's husband, Wesley. Wesley served in Baker on his mission a few years ago. We had such a good time traveling together. It made the traveling so much more fun than if I went alone. Their two-year old, Ryan, was such a cute little boy. Greg, Kacey, and Brooklyn picked me up at the airport and they had a welcome sign which was written in Portuguese. The next morning it was present time. I had to take gifts! Brooklyn loved her Winnie-the-Pooh dvd. I couldn't resist taking her a Christmas dress to her, and she looked beautiful in it. I'm not sure she'll have need of the tights I took, what with the Florida temperatures being in the high seventies. The weather was like Baker is in the summer. I had so much fun with Kacey. She is like a best girlfriend that is easy to talk to and hang out with. One day we walked to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and when we came out the sky was very dark. We ended up walking home in a downpour, but in Florida it's warm rain. We girls also went to the zoo, which was a gorgeous zoo with every animal you could think of. Not many people were there that day, so we did everything--the train ride, the carousel, and feeding the giraffes. There must have been 7 giraffes. One late afternoon we went to the Jacksonville Pier. We packed our dinner and had a picnic on the pier and watched the fisherman. We thought one man's pole was going to break because it was bent so much. A huge crowd gathered around as he brought up a huge fish. The ocean was so blue and the sunset was pinkish-orange. When we got there the sea was dotted with dozens of surfers in wet suits catching the big waves. They were fun to watch, and they're much braver than I. On Saturday we drove to Orlando so Greg and Kacey could attend the temple. I had the privilege of taking care of Brooklyn. She and I met lots of nice people as we walked around this gorgeous temple. Any time we saw children Brooklyn gravitated to them. A young father and his children were waiting for their wife/mommy and his two youngest kids adored Brooklyn. I love being a grandma. I would love to have Greg and Kacey live closer, but I would never want to deny them the opportunities that they are having in Florida. They have a supportive, fun ward; they have good law school friends, and they have a nice life going for them. Moscow pictures: Zack sent us these cool pictures of Red Square in Moscow. He's doing very well on his mission and travels a lot.

Karen's Florida Trip

Pictures from Moscow

State Cross Country 2009

Jake left early Friday morning for Eugene where the state cross country meet was held on Saturday, the 7th.

Seven runners are on a varsity cross country team. Baker sent both a boys and girls team to state plus one alternate boy.

When we got to Eugene, Courtney spied Jake and his teammates at the edge of the track where they were watching the end of the 1A/2A/3A race.

Jake and some teammates with his cute sister Courtney encouraging him from behind.

Jake was a bit nervous just before the big race. Behind Jake is part of the course.

I loved these shots of Jake and Karen together. Courtney is in the white and purple jacket to Jake's right above.

Warming up for the 3.2 mile race.

Trevor was Baker's fastest runner all year and he continued his strong performance at state.

Jake was one of only about 10 freshmen that ran at state. There were about 130 runners in his race.

Skyler had a great run and set a personal best.

I was very proud of Jake. He truly gave his all in the race.

Skyler sprinting at the end while sporting his scruffy look.

Jake died when he hit the track. He had given his all and didn't have much left. He is in the back of the track.

Jake was dying at the end. But he finished in exactly 20 minutes. Way to go Jake!!

Jake with his senior friend Eric.

Jake killed his ankle three times in the race. He was so tired. I had a great picture with mom, Jake and Courtney but my fingers accidentally deleted it.

Jake sporting his new tee shirt from state!!