‘Tis another Royal Christmas,
With a letter so fun to write.
Gathering up the happenings,
While our memories are bright.
Reflecting on things occurring here and there,
We’re growing leaps and bounds.
We’ve compiled some things we’d like to share,
Before Mr. Burns says: “Release the hounds.”
Our story now written, we gave it our best,
Royally reporting, for reals and in jest.
With that introduction, get ready to go,
Grab some hot chocolate (with just a touch of mint) and enjoy da show.
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| Fallfest pic! Halloween Day in Provo, October 31, 2010 From left: Brad, Whitney, Jordan, Maralea, Mike, David, Kelli, Jason |
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| Us again! Here holding tightly onto our bridge over troubled waters |
2010 IN REVIEW
Elder Royal Returns Home From Peru to Again Becomes . . . DAVID ROYAL
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| Mom & David looking for great bargains in Catacaos |
We gotta give the big headline up to David (woot, woot), who returned home from his two years of service as an LDS missionary in the Peru Piura Mission in July. That was definitely one big, awesome deal. Mom and Dad traveled to Chachapoyas, Peru (Las Vegas to Atlanta, Atlanta to Lima, Lima to Chiclayo, Chiclayo to Chachapoyas), which turned out to be about a 36 hour journey (including a 10 hour ride in a 20 year old taxi cab without shocks into the west Amazon mountains with two drivers (Jorge and Israel) who “no habla Ingles” and actually thought
they could communicate with Mom and Dad by speaking really, super slow Spanish (i.e. “Co . . . mo - Esss . . . tassss”) - which, uh . . . let's just say it did not help.)
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| Mom and Dad capture David in Chachapoyas |
They finally met up with David in the center square of Chachapoyas, when Elder Royal snuck up behind Mom and surprised her. They had an awesome reunion. Their tour of David’s mission and Peru is well documented by Dad right here in this family blog (below). If there is one thing Dad is good at - it’s documentation. He’s a true family historian.) So, it was great to get David back home with us (and David is happy to be home, to see everyone, return to school, and get completely caught up on Muse recordings over the past two years). The family met David in the airport and had a party to welcome him back. David spoke with a funny English accent and was quiet at first, but it didn’t take long before he was back to playing guitar and volleyball. (He still struggles with English on occasion, and his facial expressions and mannerisms change entirely the second he begins speaking Spanish. It’s pretty awesome.)
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| Brad, David, Kelli and Jordan at McCarran Airport, Las Vegas |
San Diego Beaches
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| A Cardiff sunset with the Bringhams, less the dads (one photog one fishing) |
We took a few days off in August to play in the surf and sun of Southern California before sending David off to school. The Bringham family met us there (without Cody, who is due to return home from the Iowa Des Moines Mission in March) and most of us tried surfing (emphasis on tried - Nicky and Brad get ultra surfing props). It was fun relaxing, hanging out, and getting back into the swing of things (and by swing we mean fighting with David, who still loves to tease everyone around him, jk). (But seriously, why don’t we all live in Southern California within a few blocks of the beach?)
Family Days in Provo
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| Cougarmania is awesome! |
David left for BYU about three weeks after his return home but, fortunately, our parents are seriously crazy rabid BYU football fans with season tickets so we gathered in Provo, Utah for every home game . . . and even went there twice when BYU wasn’t playing (including Thanksgiving - when we had some wicked awesome family dodgeball with our turkey and a great weekend . . . until the blocked field goal at the end of the BYU/Utah game - rats!). So, we got together a lot with not only
David, but with Brad and Whitney, and Kelli and Jason, all of whom live in Provo/Orem now. We love attending the BYU games (we made some basketball games, too). The boys enjoyed sitting in the student section about three rows up from the field behind the south goal post to get t-shirts thrown into the crowd and possibly get on TV. (That last thing didn’t ever happen, sadly. Mom and Dad recorded every game, so we would actually arrive home from each trip, unpack, get a couple snacks, and then sit down to watch the entire game again on TV. We are certifiable Cougar nut jobs.)
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| Dad & Mom with Mike, Devin, Mackenzi & Katie Berns |
To Florida and Georgia With Love
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| Mom & Dad at the BYU/FSU game in Tallahassee with Steve & Sabrina Denmark |
Dad has enjoyed recent opportunities to get in touch with friends from his mission. Dad and Mom got to meet Evelyn Parker (baptized in Vidalia, GA, 1980) and her daughters Rebekah and Rachel at the Atlanta airport en route to Peru in July. That
was very cool! Mom and Dad also went to Tallahassee, Florida to see the BYU/FSU game, and spent the weekend with Steve and Sabrina Denmark, then went to Lake City, Florida for a reunion with Terry and Rita Stratten, Tim and Duane Thomas, and Wayne and Cassandra King (and their daughter, Tasha). Dad was in Chicago in January and went to see Bob Berns at Kay’s Animal Shelter (Kay was in Kentucky picking up some puppies, so he missed her), along with Rod and Angela Lambert (Bob, Kay and Angela were residing in Foley, Alabama when Dad served there in the spring of 1980).
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| Dad with Terry & Rita Stratten in Lake City, FL |
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| Mike with Evelyn, Rebekah & Rachel: Atlanta airport |
We also got to meet Mackenzi Berns, daughter of Michael Berns (from Foley, Alabama) and Katie Berns, daughter of Tim Berns (also from Foley, Alabama), who joined us at a BYU football game and later for some post game pizza. (Katie’s brother, Tyler, is presently serving in the Minnesota Minneapolis Mission.) Michael and his daughter Taylor also joined us at one game. Mom and Dad also visited Larry and Talitha Hudgins (of Jacksonville), who are both FSU and Utah fans (ugh - a double dose of razzing this season). Missions are awesome!
Jordan Named Second Team All Region
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| Jordan gets a "kill" vs. Liberty |
Let’s give Jordan some props here. The Silverado High School boys volleyball team made it to the regional semi-finals and lost in five games to Las Vegas High School, 29-27 in the final game. (And to our Olson and Jenkins family members who attend LVHS, you should not be happy about that. Jk - wait, no seriously, be not happy.) Jordan was named Second Team All Region (the first of this Royal volleyball generation to receive such recognition as a junior). He is pretty good (and, as it turns out, he is now taller than David - ha!) Jordan is looking forward to getting started with volleyball season.
Silverado should be pretty good. (Perhaps Jordan will be the first to win a state championship. David came closest, his team making it to the final match and leading 2-0 before falling 3-2 - ooops, sorry David, forgot that we are not supposed to talk about that. This is supposed to have only happy memories!)
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| Jordan recognized at state tourney |
All He Wants For Christmas Are His Wisdom Teeth Forever Gone!
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| Jordan is singing in the wisdom teeth removal rain |
Within minutes of leaving school on Friday, December 17, 2010, for Christmas break, Jordan found himself sitting in the chair of an oral surgeon. He was given a seriously potent anesthetic and the last thing he said he recalls was talking to the surgeon about going to Tahiti someday. He woke up with a mouth full of blood and gauze (yum), and spent the evening nursing his aching/swollen mouth/jaw. Mom gave Jordan a recorded interview when they got home so we could all see how out of it he was. (She even had him play the piano in his very hazy condition - and, well, he actually did pretty good.) Jordan is glad to have that big event behind him. (We know, we know - too much information. But, Mom and Dad insisted that this part goes in, and they seem to think that wisdom teeth removal is a pretty big deal.)
Dad Turns Fitty!
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| Dad loves his Beatles cake |
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| Dad's older, likes silver hair and is still younger than Mike Adams |
Mom threw Dad a Beatles themed surprise party to celebrate his Royal oldness in August. (Well, she tried to make it a surprise, but that plan was kind of blown when she accidentally included him on the guest list sent
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| Haley/Maralea |
via email. Doh!) We had good food, a live bad that played classic rock, and got to play a lot of volleyball at the Flagg’s house of fun. It was awesome. Dad doesn’t seem to mind being so very over the hill. (Mom’s not far behind, but . . . that’s all we can say about that. As far as Dad’s concerned, she still looks just like Haley Mills!
The FAM
Okay, that’s it for family headlines. So, without further ado, let’s check in on the family! We’ll start with the oldies but goodies and work our way down to the younger, super coolios.
Mommy and Daddy
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| Mick Jager was way off - growing old is NOT "a drag"! |
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| A Valentine's Dance date! |
Mom finished her fifth year of seminary teaching in 2010 and is presently teaching seminary in a different capacity, as the home school instructor (once a week), as scripture mastery specialist (we think) and as the advisor for the Seminary Council. She loves it! Dad likes it when Mom is teaching seminary because her face shines with light. He continues to serve as Stake Young Men’s President and does his lawyer thing at Royal Jones Miles Dunkley & Wilson. Mom and Dad talk a lot about serving a mission. With Jordan soon leaving them with an empty nest, those plans are becoming more of a reality. (Wowzers.) They enjoy traveling together. Mom gets the nod as the best freeway driver between the two - she always gets better time than Dad (who prefers her driving when she’ll do it so he can play and/or work on his computer), but leaves all night time and bad weather driving to Dad. They celebrated their 27th anniversary in April (awwww).
Brad and Whitney
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| Brad & Whitney make a pretty picture |
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| "He ain't heavy, he's my husband" |
On the FIRST month of 2010 fun things were happening:
We had our 2nd anniversary
We had our 2nd anniversary
On the SECOND month of 2010 . . . We watched Cougar b-all
On the THIRD month of 2010 . . . We went snowboarding
On the FOURTH month of 2010 . . . We moved within Provo
On the FIFTH month of 2010 . . . WE'RE STILL MARRIED!!!
On the SIXTH month of 2010 . . . We went to California
On the SEVENTH month of 2010 . . . Whit turned twenty-four
On the EIGHTH month of 2010 . . . Returned to California
On the NINTH month of 2010 . . . Bradley’s one year older
On the TENTH month of 2010 . . . Lots of Cougar football
On the ELEVENTH month of 2010 . . . We ate yummy turkey
On the TWELFTH month of 2010 . . . Merry, merry Christmas
Kelli and Jason
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| Kel & Jason take a pretty picture, too! |
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| Kel transforms David into a Halloween emo |
David
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| A non emo David . . . much better! |
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| David & Landon in Provo ER after a flag football mishap |
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| David at the fam Cali surfin' safari |
Jordan
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| Jordan holds up trees in his spare time ;) |
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| Jordan & Hannah at homecoming |
Jordan is in his last year of high school at Silverado HS, and has submitted his college applications. He will turn 19 early into the summer of 2011 and presently plans on attending a summer term of school at BYU in Provo or Idaho. We’ll see. But, his primary focus in early 2011 will be preparing for his two year LDS mission. Jordan will be the third Royal missionary. Of course, he is also looking forward to a great 2011 volleyball season. Jordan went on an LDS Church history trip over the summer (a three week adventure from Salt Lake City to Boston, MA visiting every significant LDS historical site in between), which was incredibly awesome. He attended BYU volleyball camp (always fun) and EFY (where he again played his ukulele in the talent show), and he is basking in life as the youngest Royal child. Jordan received his Duty to God (which represents completion of requirements over a six year period). So, now Brad, David and Jordan have all received their Duty to God Awards and are all Eagle Scouts. (Note: Dad received his Duty to God, but only made it to Second Class in the BSA. (Ha.) Dad’s a Scouting quitter. Um, okay, we should mention that Dad received his Woodbadge beads in 2010, which is something none of the rest of us have done. So, good job there, Dad. We probably should have noted that in your section above. But now at least it’s now in the record!) Jordan loves hanging out with the family.
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| Best group date . . . EVER! |
Leftovers
Hmmm. Not much else to say - just a few quotes (they were in short supply this year) and stories before we close.
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| Dad doing the "Mormon Haka" at Youth Conference |
“Yeah, funny thing . . . it was returned to us. He apparently mailed it to himself.” Mom, explaining why an important letter Jordan prepared and mailed that did not reach its intended destination in timely fashion. (Ooops.)
“Is this your wife?” A Sam’s Club employee to Brad as he shopped with his awesome mommy.
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| Whitney temporarily became a toycupine |
“Is this your wife?” A Sam’s Club employee to Brad as he shopped with his awesome mommy.
“I've never been in the quotes section. Darn it.” Elder Cody Bringham, upset after reading the 2009 Royal Christmas letter and getting shut out once again. (It took a whole year, but you finally made it Cody! Consider this a courtesy quote. (Ha.) You'll have to do better than that in 2011.)
“Mr. Royal falsely claims that I was ‘moving papers.’” This is a comment in a brief filed with the court by a woman without an attorney who was responding to the following from Dad’s written opposition to her motion: “In the Plaintiff’s moving papers she states . . . .” (Hmmm. Perhaps this is only funny to lawyers.)
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| Jordan's first vote! |
“Uh, good.” Jordan’s response to any question phrased as follows: “So Jordan, tell us about how things went with [fill in person, place, thing, event here].”
“I’ve got some Super Glue. All I need now is a super husband to come here and use it.” Mom’s way of coaxing Dad into performing a Saturday honey do.
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| Brad & David loved flag football |
“Honey, it may be because you’re fifty and he’s not.” Mom to Dad on a Christmas shopping trip, explaining why Dad’s taste in clothes might be a tad different from David’s.
Worst thing about Christmas 2010: Dad dropping the staple gun from the ladder, which then landed on the hood of the Tundra, causing not only a scratch, but . . . (ugh) a dent. (Daddy no happy. But, Mommy happy lights are up and look pretty.)
Alright - just a few more pics and we are outta here! ;)
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| "We three queens of Royalty are . . . " |
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| David & Jordan like how the post-game interviews went after the BYU/UW game |
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| Hiking the "Y" is exhausting . . . but the arrival is oh so nice |
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| Mom & Dad inspected the Gulf beaches in September and found no tarballs |
Merry Christmas to All!
Well, that’s our absolutely amazingly awesome Royal Christmas story. We will not be entirely together for Christmas (as we have to share the married kids), but we will be united around New Year’s. So, that will be fun. Regardless of whether we are together physically, we are always one in spirit.
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| The whole hands in the middle thing never really gets old. (All for one . . .) |
Hey all you Royal fans
Stand up and clap your hands.
Now that you’re on your feet,
Stomp to a Royal beat.
Yell loud so all can hear,
Greetings of Christmas cheer.
Royal spirit,
Let’s hear it!
[Okay, this is where all all cheer . . . YAY!!!]
Stand up and clap your hands.
Now that you’re on your feet,
Stomp to a Royal beat.
Yell loud so all can hear,
Greetings of Christmas cheer.
Royal spirit,
Let’s hear it!
[Okay, this is where all all cheer . . . YAY!!!]
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| Making like trees and LEAVing 2010 in the rearview mirror - with fond memories |
WITH JOYOUS CHRISTMAS LOVE!
DA ROYALS!
DA ROYALS!
Awesome newsletter, as always! Thanks for sharing.
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