A VERY ROYAL MERRY CHRISTMAS
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| Our clan . . . just barely pre Benson and Monroe |
(Sing well and swell to Jingle Bells)
Read the news of Royal dudes,
Christmas time is here.
Oh what fun it is to write,
Of things we love to cheer - HEY!
Read the news, if you choose,
Lots we can relay.
Living in our super clan,
Is more than just okay.
Mike and Maralea,
Enjoy their family.
They love to watch it grow,
And take photos as they go.
So, once a year they post,
Of things they love the most,
Throughout the year with pictures clear,
And give a hearty toast.
So, read the news, shed the blues,
There’s so much to tell.
Three new cuties joined our crew,
Which we just think is swell - HEY!
Read the news, as we muse,
Time to end this song,
‘Cause if we cover everything,
It’ll truly be too long.
Merry Christmas
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| Beckham's baptism in September (with Benson and Monroe having arrived) |
Here we go again, with
another Royal family Christmas letter.
We’ll try to make this introduction short (or at least shorter) and get
. . . more quickly . . . to the pictures.
As we just sang so well, we are very grateful to have welcomed three
more grandchildren into the world in 2019 - Reese, Benson and Monroe (in that
awesome order), as little Kai (born in mid-2018) turned one and is now
walking/running like a champ. It is
really sweet watching our children serve as parents to their own children. We don’t know where the time has gone, but
words from Chicago’s Beginnings come to mind: “Time passes much too
quickly, when we’re together laughing . . . .”
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We loved cheering on
the Cougs at Tenn |
With three of our four children and their families
residing in Utah, gatherings are especially priceless to us. Other than three newborns, we had some other
important milestones in 2019, such as our first family grandchild baptism
(Beckham) - with
another expected in 2020 (Royal). It is thrilling for us to see these sweet
little ones choosing to follow the Savior.
We had a Las Vegas family reunion in July, and enjoyed our BYU football
game travel in the fall - especially that overtime win in Tennessee. Oh yes, Maralea and I got to see Paul
McCartney in Vegas (the last time we saw him in concert was at the Silver Bowl
in April 1993).
At this time of year, as we take a moment to reflect, we
remember the Savior’s love for the little children and his words to grateful
parents: “Behold your little ones.” (3 Nephi 17:23.) We are truly in awe of the things we have
been so blessed to behold as we enter our Golden Years. Below is a review of our respective Royal
family crews.
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| Sign of the times |
Brad, Whitney, Beckham,
Zoe and Kai
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| A Harry Potter Halloween |
This was a year of upgrades and renovation of their
home. Whitney donned her contractor hat
and rebuilt the family’s entire kitchen in 2019 (although Brad assisted in a
journeyman-like capacity). Whitney has
been working part-time at a Ampellis and also works with a professor
with the BYU MBA Program (which means Whitney also now has attained another
lifetime achievement - having received a BYU A-Lot parking
permit). Brad had some personal
upgrades, hitting a high water mark 2019 by obtaining his third elbow surgery
(he only needs one more until he gets a free one). Brad is still chugging along at Qualtrics,
and loves his work.
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| Beckham and Zoe show Kai the way of the Cougars |
Beckham got to play a role in the family home renovation
in 2019 as the Wreck-It Ralph demo guy (he especially enjoyed taking out
the stair rails). Beckham was baptized
in September, which was pretty awesome, as his entire family was present for
the celebration. Beckham excels in
school and loves to play all sports (although he hasn’t yet tried cricket or
curling). Zoe is great at rock climbing
and changed her favorite color several times in 2019 (it used to be pink - and
by now it may be back to that again).
Zoe loves to swim and especially loves being a big sister to Kai, who
turned one in July and now runs everywhere.
Kai has a special knack for avoiding toys in favor of playing with
whatever Mommy and Daddy don’t want him to have. Kai is also great at smiling.
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| Banff, Canada is a pretty cool place to visit |
The family enjoyed 2019 road trips to Banff (Canada), San
Diego, Idaho and Las Vegas, and cheered on the BYU Cougars together against
Idaho State (which included - but was not limited to - the sweet consumption of
Cougartails, popcorn and chocolate milk).
Brad recently took a day off to go snowboarding and had this exchange
with Zoe:
Zoe: Dad, where are you going? Don't you have work today?
Brad:
I'm going snowboarding instead.
Zoe: Did you let your work know? Don't you have to go in to make money? Is snowboarding your job now?
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| Skydiving is not snowboarding, but we're pretty sure Brad was not working when he left a perfectly good airplane (seen above) |
Craig, Kelli, Royal,
Finley and Monroe
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| This herd was found quietly roaming within its natural desert habitat |
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| Baby Roe has locks of hair |
Monroe (aka Baby Roe) was welcomed into the family
in May 2019. Monroe was born with a
mass of hair and loves to smile. She
will stare you down until your eyes meet and then give you the biggest
smile. Monroe just learned to sit up and
now has two bottom teeth! She’s super
protected and loved by her older brothers and her mama loves to dress her
up. (She is even starting to wear some
of the actual dresses Kelli wore back in 1987-88, which Maralea saved for some reason.) Monroe is a bright ray of light in the
family.
Finley has a need for speed and can maneuver a wiggle car
like a future NASCAR champ. Finley loves
to laugh and sing. He especially loves
trains, his ABC’s and 123's.
(He also very much loves Paw Patrol and Mickey and the
Roadster Racers.) Finley is a
wrecking ball of energy and tells his mommy he loves her all throughout the
day. Finley loves to snuggle and runs to the
garage when he hears the automatic door open signifying “Daddy’s home.”
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| A visit to In 'N Out always brings the smiles out |
Royal is enjoying second grade. He loves to read and beat Papa at card
games. Royal enjoys playing soccer and
is about to begin his second season of flag football. Royal plays on teams with a bunch of boys in
his ward and they have a blast jumping from sport to sport together. Royal
loves school, but if you ask him about his favorite subject, he’ll likely
respond: “Recess!” He’s such a great big brother, has such a big heart,
and is looking forward to his baptism in March.
You’d think that bringing a baby into the world in 2019
would be enough for Kelli, but there’s much more to this mother of three. She presently serves as the primary chorister
in her ward and successfully completed directing a big primary program in
November (nailed it!). (Poor Kelli was
super stressed and overwhelmed, having only been in her new position for two
months earlier, but it was truly a stellar performance.) Kelli loves doing hair stuff. But, Kelli really thrives as a wife and
mother - and is especially excited to have another girl in the family. (She sometimes gets in trouble for buying too
many ribbons and bows for Monroe.) Craig
loves his work at Solomon Dwiggins & Freer, and excels as Mr. Fix It
at home, tackling a lot of projects in 2019, including building an entertainment
center, designing and installing the backyard (which includes a cool built-in
fire pit with a planter), touching up the paint every few months from the boys’
crazy play, etc. Craig loves to play
with the kids and belt out songs throughout the house. He serves as the ward clerk which keeps him
quite busy on Sundays.
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| Monroe's birthday! |
David, Kambria, Aubrey
Macie and Benson
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| For Halloween, this group dressed as The Oz-monds |
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| Benson couch lounging |
David and Kambria’s big news for 2019 was an addition in
the family - their first boy, Benson, in March.
He’s a big, lean/Michelin Tire like machine - and his big sisters love
taking care of him. Their family also
moved into a new home in Riverton, UT over the summer, where they have a huge
backyard with lots of grass to mow, a big trampoline to jump on, their church
building is a 30 second walk away, and their neighborhood is filled with young
families and little children who want to be friends. The girls are in heaven. Benson is now rolling over and is close to
crawling and sitting up on his own. He
is a good eater and sleeper.
Macie is three - almost four - and loves dressing as a
princess. She also loves playing with
her dolls, and is great at roping anyone and everyone into playing with
her. Macie started a dance class and
asks her mommy each morning if that day is a dance day. If so, she leaps with glee. If not, poor Macie is distraught and tears
follow. The best remedy is to dress her
up in her dancing clothes and turn on Leap so Macie can stand in front
of the television and dance along with her latest animated hero.
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| Aubrey and Macie love pretty princess dresses |
Aubrey is in the first grade and loves taking the bus to
school with neighborhood friends. She
loves to color and draw pictures of her favorite people. Aubrey is a great reader and bedtime storytime now includes Aubrey reading stories aloud to her little sister. She is thrilled to have so many friends in
the neighborhood to play with. Aubrey
learned how to ride a bike without ever using training wheels and loves riding
up and down the street, followed by Macie on her scooter. She had an awesome neighborhood birthday
party with a blow-up slide and bouncy house.
The worst part of Aubrey’s birthday was when the party ended, but then
her dad played on the water slide with her and Macie . . . until someone got
hurt and started to cry (ha).
Kambria has enjoyed the challenged of getting the family
settled into a new home while taking care of her two girls and their little
baby brother. She appreciates the help
from David and the girls. Kambria
remains very busy as a wife, mother and chauffeur. She was recently called to serve as the
Compassionate Service representative in the ward Relief Society, which keeps
her even busier! David loves his job at
Visible Equity and this year took on a new role in the company as a product
development manager. David has had his
hands full with home projects as the family has gradually settled into their
lovely new home. David teaches in the
primary (Macie’s class) and enjoys the challenge of finding a way to handle a
herd of three-year-olds for an hour each Sunday.
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| Benson's birthday! |
Jordan, Ashlee and
Reese
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| Jordan and Ashlee thrived by adding honey to the hive |
Jordan and Ashlee became parents in January by welcoming
Reese Anberlin into the world. That one
little added ingredient into this Royal family ushered in quite a few lifestyle
changes as Jordan and Ashlee became full time parents and had to deal with the
ongoing effect of sleep deprivation. The
family enjoyed a vacation in Island Park, ID in the early summer and got to
visit Yellowstone National Park, where they enjoyed the bear necessities of
their first big trip as a family.
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| Reese with her winning smile |
Reese won first place in the Cutest Baby in Lehi contest
during the Lehi Roundup Week, which provided Jordan and Ashlee with the honor
of pushing Reese in her stroller down main street during a parade. (Yay for cute babies!) Reese learned to crawl in September, began
pulling herself up to her feet in October, and took her first steps on November
18, 2019. (Oh boy, Mommy and Daddy are
going to have problems keeping Reese away from the family Christmas
decorations! She is focused and
relentless (ha).)
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| Reese is mega mobile |
Ashlee began teaching piano lessons in the summer, which
has been a lot of fun. Jordan started a
new job at LendingClub and has enjoyed the challenge. Jordan also enrolled in an MBA program
through Western Governors University in July, which he hopes to complete by the
end of 2020. So, 2019 was a year of big
change for Jordan and Ashlee, but they have loved moving through the challenges
of life together as new parents.
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| Reese's birthday! |
Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year
The late President Thomas S. Monson, of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, stated the following in December 2011: “There
is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for all of us to
rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus Christ.” He added: “Christmas is what we make of
it. Despite all the distractions, we can
see to it that Christ is at the center of our celebration. If we have not already done so, we can
establish Christmas traditions for ourselves and for our families which will
help us capture and keep the spirit of Christ.” So perfectly stated.
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| At Mom's gravesite on Mother's Day - she always loved our Christmas letters |
December is a wonderful opportunity to take a break,
review the year, and count blessings one by one. When we do so, miracles are discovered
everywhere as we see God’s hand in so many life events. Our Heavenly Father truly loves us all. He and Our Savior know each of us better than
we will ever know ourselves in this life, and their desire is for us to travel
on the path of love and happiness, to be Their hands in uplifting and blessing
others every day of our lives. We are
thankful for so much peace in a world filled with turmoil and commotion. Here’s to a Royally Merry Christmas and Happy
New Year!
With love, Michael and Maralea
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| Beckham's baptism weekend |
BONUS FAMILY PICS
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| Aubrey is cool with the Utah cold |
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| Aubrey's Valentine's note |
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| Who cares if it's cold outside - we can still go swimming |
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| Macie hiking to the pool |
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| Beckham gets some in-game pointers from Coach Dad |
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| Zoe loves her Valentine's goggles |
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Finley patiently waits for Papa to put batteries in his train
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| No worries, Royal had his phasers on stun |
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| We love having Dad stop by for dinner |
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| Aubrey and Macie are ready to play with Nana and Papa's arrival |
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| Zoe is especially happy for some lunch at JCW's |
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| The best part about Nana and Papa staying in hotels is doing swimming pool stuff |
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| Kambria and Kelli introduced Benson and Monroe before they began their world tour |
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| Kai is Lord of the Rings |
