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| New Royal Youngins: Welcome Finley and Macie!!! |
OUR FAMILY IS GROWING!!! It expanded with the arrival of Macie to David and Kambria last December, and again with the birth of Finley to Craig and Kelli in August. It has been fun to watch Aubrey and Royal grow into their new roles of big sister and brother, respectively, with Beckham having shown the way as Zoe’s older brother.
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One little two little three little grandkids, four little five little six little grandkids
(we're counting Finley, too) . . . (SO CUTE!)
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Maralea and I have discovered that life as grandparents is amazingly beautiful and fun. We cannot get enough of our six little grandchildren!
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| The Royal Family reunion in June was fun, fun, fun! |
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| Aubrey takes a break from family swimming fun while Beckham's motor never stops |
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| Our family swim party in June was RAD, baby! |
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| Macie loved her first Royal family reunion in June while Royal loved showing her a good time |
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| Zoe loves to party Royally |
We had
a great family reunion in June - always a highlight of the year for us - which
included a lot of swimming, dancing to our 2016 family mix CD (a tradition
Whitney started for the family in 2014, where each family member secretly
selects a favorite song for the CD and we guess who picked each song - although
the little ones give a lot of secrets away during the dance along), and
pickleball. (Maralea bought a pickleball
net, balls and paddles, just for the reunion.
It seems to be more of an old folks kind of game. David and Kambria took Maralea and me to a
recreation center in Murray, UT, a few months earlier, where Maralea and I
first played pickleball against a much older couple. We did not know much about the game, but
still thought we would destroy the old geezers on the other side of the net
(ha). They annihilated us. We should get a lot better once our
osteoarthritis substantially kicks in.
Of course, it will also help to one day actually learn the rules of the
game.)
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| Kambria is nimble on her pickleball feet. (She doesn't need shoes to beat a bunch of amateurs.) |
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| David returns a wicked serve in our intense family pickleball game in June, which probably would have been handled expertly if I had chosen to use a racket instead of my camera |
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Maralea displays impressive pickleball form in this impossible to handle return
(because it struck the wall (ha)) |
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Kelli was glad to retire some of
her 2016 summer attire
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When Finley arrived in August, his birth was announced to
those of us in the waiting room by the delivering physician, Dr. Bohman, who
once lived in Maralea’s ward in Sparks, NV.
Dr. Bohman reached out to Maralea, put his arm around her and said: “He
looks like your dad.” Maralea just
melted with emotion, feeling such deep appreciation for that sweet reference to
her wonderful departed father.
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| Finley is happy to be with family |
We both
felt so much warmth and comfort, thinking of our two deceased parents (Ray and
Marie), who aced the test of mortality, being among those valiant spirits on
the other side of the veil escorting Finley into the world. (Finley received his name following a dream
Kelli had of being introduced to him as a little boy long before he was
born.)
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| Maralea had a little moment with Cosmo in Cincinnati |
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| Aren't they so cute?!? |
We have loved attending BYU football games with our
little Cougar grandchildren, watching them sing the Cougar fight song with vigor in their
fancy BYU gear, and growing into such kindhearted, loving souls. Speaking of BYU football, Maralea and I
attended every BYU game this season for the exception of BYU at Utah (only because
Maralea refuses to enter the Ute home of Rice Eccles Stadium (ha) (but
seriously, Maralea and heckling Utah fans don’t get along well) - instead we
watched BYU lose by one on TV). We had a
great time traveling to Arizona (win, yay, last second field goal),
Washington, DC (loss, dang, a certain receiver should have learned from the
Utah game that tipping passes in the air is not good), Michigan State (win,
nice, wasn’t expecting that one), Boise (loss, ugh, let’s not do any
more fake punts from the back of our own end zone) and Cincinnati (win, sweet,
front row seats, fun venue), together with visiting our youngins at home
games in Provo (UCLA (loss, rats, really needed to recover that late onside
kick), Toledo (win, yeppers, I can’t believe BYU, with their constricted
offense, actually won a 55-53 shootout), Miss. State (win, OT baby, take
that SEC), SUU (win, yawnfest, but a fun grandchild game extravaganza),
UMass (win, uh huh, more grandchild fun in the stands, downing yummy
CougarTails), USU (win, moo! But, how Hill manage to sustain a season
ending injury at home for third time in his career against the Aggies?), Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego (vs. Wyoming) (soggy win, yee haw).
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| Blue goggles were out in full force for the BYU/UCLA game |
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| Jordan and Maralea at the BYU spring game |
Jordan continues to enjoy the single life of a BYU student
in Provo (although he has met someone and seems to be enjoying the exclusive
dating life a little more). (I probably
should not say any more about that for the time being . . . or should I?) Jordan helped run the Utah Speed Academy
sports camp over the summer as part of his major of wellness and fitness. (We have not yet tested Jordan to see if he
is any faster as a result of all he learned.
Perhaps we can hold a family forty yard dash over the Christmas
break.) Jordan’s present ambition is to
get into physical therapy school. His
second home is Richards Building and Smith Fieldhouse where he works out and
plays lots of volleyball. Jordan
continues to work at the BYU law school and is loving BYU campus life (as well
he should, because it is super awesome - and we are completely objective about
that).
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| Jordan and Ashlee attended a few BYU games together. (More to come?) |
David, Kambria, Aubrey
and Macie
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| David & Kam Clan |
David and Kambria have been learning how to be tag team
parents with Macie’s grand entrance into their family, adding a new
dynamic. She is a cutie and has grown so
much already! Macie is a champion
crawler who follows her mommy everywhere.
She loves bath time with big sister Aubrey (age three) and is cool with
drinking Papa smoothies. Aubrey started
preschool this year and loves it. She
fills the house with singing all day long and likes being an awesome big
sister.
David presently serves as ward
mission leader and enjoys working with the full time missionaries (especially
setting up dinner appointments (ha)), and Kambria is the congregation
pianist/organist. She loves pickleball nights with
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| Aubrey had a hot pink birthday |
David, enjoys staying home with her girls, and finding new dessert
recipes on Pinterest. David loves his
work with Visible Equity and is excited about his future there. He especially likes the ping pong table at
his workplace that has allowed him to hone his paddle skills. David has become a home budgeting king and
generally loves telling Kambria how to spend (or not spend) money. (Thank you, Dave Ramsey.) David and Kambria are winding up 2016 by purchasing their first
home, a huge step that has been creating a mixture of high stress and
excitement. David grew a beard in 2016
which came in quite nicely. But alas, he
ended up shaving it just before Thanksgiving, which created some family
distress. No one was more disappointed
to see David clean shaven than Aubrey (who often calls her daddy by his first
name). When Aubrey saw David’s silky
smooth face, she anxiously asked: “David, what
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| Macie loves her daddy |
happened to your beard? What happened?” Then, after seeing a pile of hair in the
bathroom garbage can, Aubrey said: “David.
I found it! I found your
beard. Please don't make your beard all
gone. If you do, you will make me so
sad!” Aubrey has been mostly
successful with potty training this year, and had her first porta-potty experience
while playing at a park. David was
reluctant to have little Aubrey do her business there, but Aubrey was more than
pleased to enter the private space by herself.
Upon stepping inside and closing the door for “privacy,” she
exclaimed: "Wow. THIS is a nice
place. This is a NICE place!"
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| The best part of the Ikea hike with David and Kambria's family was this picture (with leaving being a very close second (ha)) |
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| "Two little Royals standing by a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G" |
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| Can we get enough Royal family selfies? I think not! |
Craig, Kelli, Royal and
Finley
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| Nothing but family smiles after Finley's safe arrival |
Craig and Kelli expanded their family in August with the
birth of Finley. He is growing so fast
and is already cooing and smiling a lot (which is nice, because he also cries a
lot - imagine that). Finley is drooling
like crazy and eats like a champ.
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| Craig, Kelli and Royal introduced Finley to BYU football at the Poinsettia Bowl |
(Finley’s parents are still waiting for him to sleep through the night like a champ.) Finley loves to stand when held on a lap, prefers laying on his belly, and embraces serious eye contact, which he rewards with a big smile. He loves bath time and cool music. Royal enjoys his new role as a big brother (and has trouble leaving
Finley alone with all his hugs and kisses).
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| Finley came into the world smile ready |
Royal learned how to swim on his own this summer! (One day he just turned into a tadpole, and
tossed aside his floaties forever. We
think Royal was quite motivated by watching his cousin, Beckham, swimming
around the pool freely without floaties during the June family reunion.) He loves preschool. Royal is quickly learning
how to read! Although he is growing up
fast, Royal still clings to his blankies and his bear (which wears a BYU jersey
and is aptly named Cougie). His
favorite Christmas song is Hark the Herald Angels Sing, which he performed
in church with his mommy recently.
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Royal said bye bye forever to the floaties in June
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Kelli
is glad to have retired her 2016 “I’M SO PREGNANT!” shirt. She loves being a mom and caring for two
beautiful boys (well, three if we count Craig (ha)). Kelli serves as a leader in the Young Women’s
Program. She enjoys doing hair as time
permits with her increasingly busy schedule.
Craig is employed as a trust/estate attorney for Solomon Dwiggins and Freer, Ltd., in Las Vegas. Craig
presently serves with the Cub Scouts in the Bermuda Ward. He loves his calling, his job, his family,
and we are especially impressed with his super gnarly beard (ha). Craig and Kelli are still renting in paradise
(the Murdock home) while saving up to buy a house some day in the near future. Kelli: “Life has been crazy but we love
our little family and wouldn't have it any other way.”
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| Kelli enjoys reading to her children in the desert |
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| Kelli's boys |
Brad, Whitney, Beckham
and Zoe
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Brad and Whitney are always uplifting
Beckham and Zoe
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Brad and Whitney spiced things up a bit in 2016 with
Whitney deciding to pursue a Marketing MBA at BYU. It took some schedule juggling and work, but
they have managed very well. Whitney
just completed her first semester in the two year program and is enjoying her
latest challenge. Brad continues to work
in sales for InsideSales.com, a software company in Provo, where he has been
for the past two and a half years and teaches gospel doctrine. Beckham and Zoe enjoy attending pre-school
together (same school, different classes).
They played on the same soccer team over the summer, with hyper
competitive Beckham running roughshod all over the field as a mega ball hawk,
scoring multiple goals a game (more than 10 in some matches), as Zoe took
serious issue with opposing players
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| Beckham helps Zoe display her super powers |
daring to impede Beckham’s progress. Beckham enjoyed his soccer success so much,
he would run to the opposing sideline to let the coaches know his goal total
after each score. Zoe loved playing the
roles of teammate, cheerleader and protective sister. She loves being with her older brother, and
has been known to leave her bedroom at night to sleep on the floor of Beckham’s
room just to be near him. Zoe and
Beckham love to sing loud and proud. Zoe
loves all things pink, and can often be heard singing “Let it Go” from
Frozen. She and Beckham love climbing
trees, chasing bees and many other thrill seeking activities. Brad related the following recent discussion
with Beckham:
Brad: Beck,
what are you taking for show and share at school when it’s the letter B?
Beckham: Myself!
But, I’m not going to put myself in my school bag. I’m just going to walk myself in.
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| One of my favorite pictures from 2016, Beckham and Royal at the BYU/SUU game |
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| Brad and Whitney enjoy occasional family strolls on the Salt Flats |
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| Thanksgiving Day was busy, but there was still time to relax on the Royal hammock |
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| We did a post church selfie and this was the best we could manage - the kids were just not in the mood |
Maralea and Mike
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| Our June family reunion grandchildren picture (pre-Finley) is a keeper |
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| Cincinnati was fun in the October sun |
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| Maralea built me a rainbow in early October |
Maralea was released as the ward Young Women’s President in
August and recently accepted a new calling serving once again as Sister
Royal, this time a service missionary for the Institute at UNLV. She absolutely thrives as Sister Royal. (Actually, Maralea thrives in every new
challenge, but she particularly loves serving as a missionary.) I continue to serve as Elder Royal in
the mission presidency (executive secretary), and added accompanying Maralea
two nights a week at the Institute to my weekly schedule. We are teaching the Temple Preparation Class
in our ward, beginning in January, which will be awesome. Our favorite trip of the year was probably
the BYU/WVA game in Washington, DC (even though BYU lost on a tipped pass in
the final minute). It was my first visit
to Washington, DC. We were both deeply
impressed with our experience at Arlington Cemetery, the Capital, Lincoln
Memorial, and George Washington’s estate at Mt. Vernon. (It felt like we were on hallowed
ground.) The best things we do, however,
involve grandchildren. Maralea and I
loved teaming up to raise four children to adulthood; however, watching our
next generation raise their own children somehow elevates our love and devotion
for family to a new level. There is no
greater title than being Nana and Papa Royal.
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| October weekend for Finley's blessing |
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| Zoe loves pink stuff . . . and Nana |
We often need to be reminded that life is good - even when
it’s bad. Blessings always abound and
are ever present, even in the darkest of times.
While we love celebrating and highlighting the goodness in life, we
nevertheless endured some difficult challenges in 2016 that will continue into
the future. However, also know that this
mortal experience is designed to present us with personal “tribulation.” (John 16:33.)
We overcome “tribulation” in the world by embracing the glorious “peace”
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| Lake Tahoe is way too cold |
offered by the Savior Jesus Christ.
(John 14:27.) His “peace”
offers comfort, solace and joy, even in the most turbulent of times. It is available to all. We are grateful to Him and this time of year
when the world remembers His entry into mortality as a little child,
contemplates the profound meaning and powerful impact of His ministry,
sacrifice, atonement and resurrection, and how we fit into His great Plan of
Happiness. May we all see the Savior
in the glow of every light, the evergreen of every tree, the red of every
Christmas ornament, the smile of every soul, and allow Him to use our hands to
do His work in leading others to safety at His side.
With ever true Cougar Royal blue love,
The Royal family
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| It really was a great year - because that lady to my right is super awesome |
And now, some year end blog overtime, because we simply can never get enough family pictures.
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| After throwing tiny little rocks all over our neatly manicured putting green in the backyard right after I had cleaned it up so it looked perfect, Aubrey offered to clean it up. After a couple of strokes, Aubrey said: "Papa, it's too hard. You do it." |
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| Royal gives Aubrey a hug goodbye after her visit for Halloween |
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| Beckham, Zoe, Aubrey and Macie scream for more ice cream at our pre-Thanksgiving family bash |
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| A pre-Thanksgiving family gathering. We are missing Whitney in this picture and have an extra baby (held by Kambria, which belongs to the photographer) |
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| A Thanksgiving Day classic photo for Craig and Kelli's growing family |
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| Zoe and Papa hanging out in the pre-game "Kids Zone" |
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| Royal and Beckham loved the big slide at the BYU-pregame "Kids Zone" |
Beckham scores a goal while playing soccer with some older boys at the "Kids Zone" before a BYU game
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| Royal has Nana very high up on his "very best friend" list |
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| Aubrey's cute little pink bow was just what BYU needed to beat UMass |
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| Jordan and Ashlee kind of became a thing in October - and since she came to visit us this month, we decided to put that in our year in review |
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| Beckham and Zoe wore their BYU jerseys when they learned that Nana and Papa were coming for a "sleep over" during Thanksgiving week |
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| Let's get the Nana and Papa "sleep over" party started! |
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| Aubrey and Macie enjoy a little Nana supervised bath time |
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| Babysitting grandkids means chocolate milk and donuts, and Aubrey got a pretty good haul on this occasion. (Sure, it kept her up all night, creating all kinds of havoc at home with her parents, but we got to have fun and sleep great in our hotel room, making it a big time Papa/Nana win/win.) |
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| Maralea and I stopped by to see Brian and Vicki Higbee over Thanksgiving. Brian was my first seminary teacher, who put up with more Mike Royal shenanigans than anyone should ever have to endure. (We stole his car keys routinely and would drive his VW Van all over the parking lot (and that's just the tip of the iceberg); yet, he still loved us.) |
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| Aubrey was hesitant to "break the triangle" of balls on the pool table at first, but once she realized they can all be quickly put back together, she was all in |
As you can see, it took Aubrey some practice to get into the hang of rolling a ball into the side pocket
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| Beckham enjoyed attending the BYU/UVU game with his dad, but after BYU lost 114-101, Beckham told his dad: "I wish we were cheering for the green team [UVU]." |
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| Aubrey in a reflective moment during a family photo shoot |
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| Macie looks good in everything, but the color blue seems to agree with her quite nicely |
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| Aubrey is ready to get out of her car seat and play after meeting up with us at a park in Murray, UT |
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| When Royal is thirsty, he reaches for the best kind of soda known to mankind |
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| Maralea and her sisters played "dress up" during the Kelly family reunion in June, here trying on her mother's wedding dress |
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| A visit to the Veterans' Cemetery in Fallon, NV to say hello Maralea's deceased father, Ray |
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| A Kelly family selfie photo taken in June during our visit to Sparks |
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| We did a Lake Tahoe hike with Maralea's sisters, Kathy and Donna in June. Even in our old age, we all still look pretty cool in sunglasses. |
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| Aubrey and Royal love cousin sleep overs, but Royal now just wants to sleep and Aubrey is still ready to play more games |
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| Macie loved swimming in the Lehi Recreation Center on a hot summer day |
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| The fearsome foursome Royal cousins take a break from summertime play fun so Papa can take a picture as they each say, "Cheese Papa" without actually looking at the camera (well, except Beckham, who is a pretty good photo smiler) |
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| Beckham and Royal got to attend primary together in September |
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| Beckham with some Surfin' USA action during a Horito family trip at Lake Tahoe |
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| Beckham, Zoe and Royal plan their next big cousin caper after having finished dinner |
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| Royal loves giving talks in Primary |
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| Beckham and Zoe are ready to rock and roll, BYU football style |
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| Beckham and Zoe having some group FaceTime with Royal |
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| Love this first picture of Finley on his literal birthday in August |
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| David on a very bad hair day |
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| Pool party selfie (point a camera at people and you never know what's gonna happen) |
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| Macie loves Shark Week |
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| Macie and Papa relax by the pool on an all too warm Las Vegas summer day |
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| Royal had a Jawsome time swimming all summer long |
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| Aubrey's face whenever Papa volunteers to make her one of his awesome somoothies |
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| David forgot to bring church clothes for his family's visit in October, so he wore this band tux from days long gone by. Royal went to church dressed in a black suit, too, so we got this picture of David's Mini-Me. We got plenty with Royal's eyes open, but this Royal pose turned out to be the coolest. |
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| Royal's first day of school, 2016 |
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| Aubrey was totally psyched for her first day of school |
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| Finley was totally psyched for his first days of life |
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| Beckham and Zoe busted into LES and totally partied |
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| Macie demonstrates for Papa the proper way to do a push up (going all the way up - none of this halfway stuff) |
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| Aubrey found the bronze Cosmo in the BYU bookstore and decided she needed to stop and say hello |
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| Wrestling "tag team" with Beckham and Zoe is hard |
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| We stopped by the White House to say hello (before the Secret Service made us leave) |
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| Royal looks forward to serving a mission, once he has grown another foot or two |
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| There's always time for grand kid swimming fun |
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| Night time stories are a Royal family favorite |
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| The "A" stands for Aubrey |
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| Maralea at the Sweetheart's Ball (I cut myself out of this one, because I just would have ruined it). Doesn't she look awesome? |
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| Aubrey loves dressing as a princess |
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| Kelli is the real life Wonder Woman |
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| Give these kids a foam No. 1 thingy and they will march around chanting, "B-Y-U Cougars" |
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| Macie on her baby blessing day |
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| Zoe's look when Papa complained about getting beat at bowling because she got to use the bumpers |
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| Royal and his baseball buddy Kennedy after another successful outing |
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| A visit to So. California included meeting up with the Molina family for church |
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| Newport Beach sunset selfie |
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| After Royal got to meet Cosmo, he said: "That was the coolest thing ever!" |
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| Maralea and Kelli at Town Square |
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| Royal was a cow in the ward Nativity but still got to hang out with the star of the play |
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| Zoe gets ready to fly down the slide ("Watch me, Papa!") |
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| Sisters |
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| Is there nothing Nana and Papa can't do? |
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| Singing, swinging cousins |
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| Beckham takes a moment from pool fun to pose, smile and show off his cool tats |
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| Waterbugs Royal, Beckham and Zoe take a short swimming break |
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| Zoe is close to swimming without floaties, but still likes jumping into her daddy's arms from the side |
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| Finley meet Cougie |
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| The Royal led League of Justice |
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| Did we already mention that Aubrey likes to dress up as a princess? |
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| Our Trick or Treat was tough to beat |
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| Royal and Aubrey are ready for some Halloween fun |
This slow-motion leap by Royal and Aubrey is hilarious
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| Royal demonstrates the look he gets when candy is in his immediate future |
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| Beckham and Zoe enjoy the ongoing Nana/Papa BYU Show |
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| Zoe sees the world from a different perspective |
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| Aubrey made things a bit sticky at the BYU-SUU game |
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| Aubrey gets in some bed time reading with Nana |
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| Beckham and Zoe making snow angels on Thanksgiving Day |
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| Royal prepares the house for Christmas |
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| Finley gets some Nana love |
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| Finley playing Peak-A-Boo |
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| Finley is already getting the hang of selfies |
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| Finley can finally see clearly |
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| Finley is ready to go attend his first ever BYU game - a Poinsettia Bowl win |
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| At the Poinsettia Bowl, all nice, warm and dry, before getting completely dumped on by the rain storm of the century |
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| Beckham, Zoe and Royal playing house |
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| Macie's blessing Sunday |
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