Wedding Invitation

Grandma's 85th Birthday Bash!

And what a bash it was!

For my grandma's 85th birthday we wanted to do something really special for her, to honor her and the life she has lived. So on Saturday, September 20th, we held an Open House in her honor. We invited many friends and family, and many people came. Many people that she hasn't seen in a long time came which meant so much to her. We had good food, birthday cake, and family members brought scrapbook pages of their families to put into a nice scrapbook for her, and we took some fun pictures. It was enjoyable to see and listen to all the people gather and talk and enjoy each other's company. Grandma really enjoyed this day. I hope she felt special, which she very much is. I hope we did a great job of honoring such a fine, elect lady. She is definately worth it. This was a day all of us will remember always.

Here are a few fun pictures.

Announcing The BIG Day!

I just wanted to let you all know that our wedding date has been set for November 8th at 5:00 p.m. The ceremony will be at my sister's home in West Jordan with an open house to follow. Nothing big or fancy, just simple, and perfect for us. I will post a formal invitation once they are completed. I am so excited to finally be able to move forward. It has been a long haul but I am really glad and truly blessed to be where I am, who I am, and who I am with right now. Thanks for all your support.

Shellise Ann McCray

Shellise is my 14-year old, beautiful, photogenic, dimpled smiled, smart, talented and tall (5'9")daughter. She just started 9th Grade at Hunter Jr. High. She loves school and excels at most everything she does.

What is she up to these days? Shellise's favorite things to do besides hanging out with her friends and texting on her cell phone is Reading and Watching TV. Shellise is very talented in many things. She has played the Piano since she was about 5 years old. Although she no longer takes piano lessons, she still plays often. She also plays the Viola and is in the Hunter Jr. High Orchestra and during the summer tried out and made it on the Granite Youth Summer Symphony. She will be going to tryouts next week so that she can be part of the Granite Youth Symphony throughout the year.

Another talent and favorite thing for Shellise is Softball. She has played Girls Fastpitch Softball since she was 4 years old (starting out as T-Ball). She has really enjoyed this sport and looks forward to every spring/summer to play again.

Shellise is also a dancer. She has danced since she was 5 years for Shellie's School of Dance until we moved to Cedar City and then she danced for Onstage Dance where she competed in Hip Hop Dance Competititions. Since moving back to Salt Lake, we have not signed her up for dance yet as we have yet to find a dance company where she can compete in Hip Hop style dance.

Shellise has always been able to make friends easily which I consider a huge talent and for one I admire. She not only makes friends easily but she is a good friend to all. She has so many friends all over the State that she keeps in contact with on a regular basis. She is very blessed to have such good people in her life that she can call true friends.

From the time Shellise was 5 years old she knew that she wanted to be a Lawyer when she grew up and attend Harvard Law School. This goal has never changed. She is looking forward to getting into classes over the next few years that will get her closer to reaching that goal. I believe she would make a very good attorney someday and if she continues to do well in school and is able to get some scholarships, she just may make it to Harvard.

Shellise is such a wonderful daughter. She gladly helps around the house when asked and rarely complains. She is witty, and funny, and brings so much joy into our home and in our lives. I am so blessed by this beautiful gift I was given by GOD. I am so grateful and happy that I am her Mother.

Football

Jessie plays as the Fullback on the Cedar City 8th Grade team. On Saturday, he ran a 45-yard Touchdown. His team beat Hurricane 20-0. He was very happy and excited when he called to tell me about it. I am still so new at football terms that I had to look up what the duties of a fullback are. This is what the description is for those of you who, like me, have no idea:

In American football, a fullback (FB) is a position in the offensive backfield. Traditionally, the duties of a fullback are split between power running and blocking for the quarterback on passing plays, and running backs on running plays.

Good Job Jessie!

Family Togetherness

This past weekend was wonderful! Having Jessie home for a visit made our family feel complete. I think that Shellise and Jessie really missed each other. As you can tell by these pictures, they might even love each other! Jessie has grown up so much. I think he grew another 2-3 inches since we saw him last. He is almost as tall as Shellise now, at 5'8".

We had a wonderful time together. On Saturday the kids went back to their old stomping grounds in Kearns and watched a little league football game between Kearns and Hunter. They both had friends playing on both teams but they still routed for Kearns even though we now live in the Hunter area. After the football game we picked Bill up after his Paragliding class and went to lunch at Guadalahonky's Mexican Restaurant in Draper. The food was great the company was awesome! We picked up Jessie's best friend Ryan and had him over to our house for swimming and skateboarding. They always have such fun together and have been friends for many years. Thank goodness for good friends.



It was sure nice having Jessie attend church with us and seeing him pass the sacrament. It is very difficult seeing an empty spot every week where Jessie should be during sacrament meeting. We all miss him so very much every day and every week.

Swimming, sharing meals together, watching movies on the big screen at home, and visiting with extended family members made for some wonderful memories. The best memory is seeing both the kids having fun together and being happy. We will cherish these memories forever. What terrific and beautiful kids we have.

The weekend came to a close on Monday, when we had to drive Jessie down to meet his dad in Scipio. We don't know when we will get to see him next because he will be busy playing football in Cedar City every weekend from this point on for several weeks. Good Luck Jessie! We Love You.