Christmas in the Carribean

What  a great way to spend Christmas break.  Our family flew to Miami on Saturday the 19th and then boarded the Liberty of the Sea, ocean cruiser owned by Royal Carribean.  What a great time we had.
We were joined by Warren's sister's family. Helene and Larry Arnett and their two children Scott and Anna.

We had a great time.  Our cabin was great.  It included a outside deck where we could look out at the ocean anytime we wanted.

The kids had alot of fun just being on the boat the first 2 days.  All you can eat food and cookies and they really loved the flowrider which let them boogie board and surf board on a ship.

Our first port of call was Labadee, Haiti.  It rained most of the morning but finally cleared up so Warren, Leigh and Marie got to go riding on jet skis and the rest of us played on the beach.

second port of call was Ocho  Rios, Jamaica.  We were met by the Richardson family.  Leigh had lived with them as a missionary last year.  They took us to Dunn River Falls and they were a wonderful family.

Our 3rd port of call was St. George, Grand Caymen.  We got to swim with dolphins and Sarah and Marie both got their first kisses bestowed by a handsome male, his name was Capernicus.

We also got to visit a Sea Turtle Farm.  The kids all got to hold different sizes of young turtles.

Our final port of call was Cozumel, Mexico.  We visit the Tulum Mayan ruins and spent Christmas day on the white sandy beach. White Christmas afterall.

Back on the ship we had a formal dinner night in the main dining room and dressed up for it.  Lobster and prime rib was served. Yummy

We had a great vacation.

We came home to snow and have had 8 more inches since last night. lots of fun but I miss Jamaica.

Brian gets his Eagle

Even though Brian earned his Eagle Rank in Boy Scouts back in April, he wanted to wait until his brother Leigh was home from his mission to award it to him.  We finally had his Eagle Court of Honor the last week of November.  Of course when the Clyde's have a party the weather doesn't cooperate and we had a great blizzard that night, but alot of family members still braved t he weather.  Thank you so much.

How did it get to be November already?

Wow, I can't believe Halloween came and went and it is November.  I barely blinked.

Actually we have been working very hard since Leigh returned. Leigh and Sarah are busy going to school.

They both have Physics and Calculus classes and other fun one.

We had great garden harvest this fall in some areas and total failures in other crops, but it was a great harvest year overall. We picked watermelons and potatoes but failed at pumkins, the beans and peas were great and the corn grew to full height finally after two years of stunted crops.  It continues to be a learning experience.

Since we finally got the apartment part of the basement finished the week Leigh came home, we started on the garden fence.  We planted 10 more fruit trees this year and the local deer promptly stripped them off and what they didn't eat, the wind blew off.  hopefully the new fence will help in a multitude of ways. I think it turned out pretty great. I even managed to grow a few lemons on my little tree in pot.  I kept it on the porch until it got cold and now it is in the guest bedroom soaking up the sunshine from the window. 

Warren decide that our ground was just too hard to dig some of the postholes so we invested in a new red toy, a red Kubota tractor with a back hoe attachment and other tools to hook to it.  Boy does it drive nice compared to the old beasty one. 

We again had snow in October and some beautiful sunsets.  Life is crazy but good as always.  I am recouping from knee surgery after a fall off the garden slope a few weeks ago, and the loom business is busy with pre christmas orders.  We are all doing well and looking forward to a fun cruise to go on Jamaica over Christmas week.  we will write more when we return.  Take care to all of you. Love Cindy and the rest of the family.

My Jamaica Man is Home!!!

Well Elder Leigh Clyde returned from the Kingston, Jamaica Mission on Friday August 14th.

What a great day it was. We all went to the airport to great him. The kids made signs and we took two of Leigh's cousins with us, Josh Smith and Kate Mitchell.

He got an even bigger surprise than us when his Mission President and his wife Pres. and Sister Gingery were at the airport to greet him also. They were released in July so had returned to their home in California. They were visiting Utah for the weekend so asked if they could join our celebration. What a wonderful couple they are.

We finally got the basement apartment area finished and partially furnished. Leigh had a bedframe but no mattress the first night so slept on his giant bean bag, but we got the mattress the next day.

Life sure is great. Thank you to everyone who came to share our fun and who helped me stay sane through the past two years.

Getting ready for my Missionary to come home.

Wow, where did July go and here is August!

Friederike is home in Germany getting reaquanted with her family and we are very busily trying to get ready for Elder Leigh Clyde to return from Jamaica.

Leigh will be home in SEVEN days. I am so excited but way overwelmed trying to get things in order for his return. Things would be easy if I hadn't promiced to finish his basement bedroom before he returned. I mean, we did already have the sheetrock when he left, how hard could it be. Well two years later, we started sheetrocking in June and finally hired someone to finish the sheetrock and mudding so that it would possibly get done.

July was hectic with tilers for the bathroom and electricians and door and trim installers while we

painted around them all. We did take time out to

go up to Driggs, Idaho for the annual Fullmer Family Reunion. The kids had a blast this year after their dad and Blaine Taylor built an obstacle course for the teenagers to use back and forth across the creek. Everyone has fun using it, even Grace Taylor and Milo Bahr who are both in their 80's crossed the bridge.

Now it is August and the painting is nearly done-just ceilings left in the bathroom and living room. Oh did I mention since we decided to pay someone to do some of the work we decided to do the whole apartment instead of just Leigh's bedroom. The electrician is done, the trim guys are done and Monday the electrical guys who do the phone, computer, tv intercom stuff come finish their stuff and Carpet comes on Tuesday. Boy am I cutting it close.

Add to that extra shifts at work and knitting looms

and the garden (which by the way is doing great),

canning apricots and .... OK so I am spread a bit thin but WOW!!! will it all look great next week.

Marie had a great week at girls camp, a week at youth conference and then a week at YASE-Young Ambassadors Singing Entertainers camp at BYU. Her cousin Anna Arnett came out from California to join her at YASE and they both had a great time. Marie's singing is improving greatly this past year and looks forward to Musical Theater at school this next year.

Brian attended Scout camp with his dad. They canoed and swam and fished at Flaming Gorge and Warren came home uninjured this year. He is still growing taller and taller. He has finally grown taller than both of his sisters and is now 5'8" tall. He hopes to pass Leigh at 6'2" before he is done growing.

Sarah was not able to get a job this summer though she tried hard and applied for many, so she spent alot of time helping me do loom orders and cooking dinners while I was at work or working downstairs. I will miss her when she goes back to live in Provo for the school year.

Well I will write next week after Elder Clyde returns. Love to you all. Cindy