A 2025 ROYAL CHRISTMAS FAMILY WRAP
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Team
Royal, August 2025 |
Merry Christmas from Team
Royal! We had a family reunion
in Lehi, UT in August that was awesome.
It is always great to see all of our grandchildren running around
together. Our family was joined by Jovie
in May, our 15th grandchild.
So, it was time to do another grandchild lineup.
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| One little, two little, three little Royals . . . . |
Our family is growing so
fast! It is getting more challenging to
keep up with all of the activities, but we love trying. It is among our sweetest of memories anytime
we can get all of the family together.
We had a fun trip to North Carolina in the fall and spent
a few days at a beach house located on the Outer Banks in September. The motivation behind our trip was the BYU v.
ECU football game but we turned it into a nine-day vacation and got to spend
some time with our wonderful extended family in North Carolina and Virginia,
which included visits to the homes of my parents (located in Clayton, NC, and
Clinton, NC) and Wake Forest where Dad attended college (before the campus
moved to its present location in Winston-Salem, NC).
We gathered with extended
family members that we do not see often enough and were later joined by two of
our children and their spouses. It made
for such wonderful memories that we figured that a few pictures from that trip
should be included below.
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| It's another Corolla Sunset |
Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year from our still-growing Royal Army (we added
grandchild no. 15 in 2025). Below is a
brief family update, followed by our 2025 year in pictures.
Michael and Maralea (The
Royals)
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| We celebrated 42 years of marriage in 2025 |
Mike and Maralea continue working together at Royal & Miles LLP (going on 12 years). Mike got his Medicare card in 2025 (how exciting!). Maralea is starting to talk about retirement, but Mike is not quite ready. A highlight of 2025 was the arrival of our 15th grandchild, Jovie. (She is so cute!) We had an awesome family reunion in August. (The best of times are family times.) We loved our trip to North Carolina in September (and BYU beat ECU this time . . . unlike our 2017 trip). (We need to get back to NC again soon. We love our dear family there.) It is amazing to watch our grandchildren grow up so quickly. They provide us with so much joy.
We have loved following our
BYU Cougars this fall, which led us to North Carolina, Iowa, Texas, and every
home game in Provo, UT. Our favorite
home game was opening day vs. Portland State when we attended with four
grandchildren who hung around long after the game to acquire autographs.
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| Our BYU football opening night crew |
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| Our new favorite BYU hat |
Brad
& Whitney Family (The Royals)
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| The Cedar Hills Royals |
It was another year of adventure, travel, and wonder for
this Royal family. They visited some
pretty cool places and had a lot of fun.
Brad still works for Qualified and watches over his Costa Rico
coconut farm. Brad is a professional
musician as drummer/writer/ composer in his band, Lighten Up Francis, where
he performs with Whitney as bass player/writer/ composer. Brad loves to snowboard and enjoys golfing
when he can. Whitney continues to work
at BYU with professors who teach an EMBA class, and operates as the family project
planner/ manager. Whitney is basking in a
second LA Dodgers World Series championship.
Beckham (14) is in the eighth grade. He was on the middle school cross-country
team in the fall and played tackle football.
Beckham is also in the middle school jazz band, playing drums. Beckham enjoys snowboarding, rock climbing,
and playing the piano. He is also very
good at putting together puzzles and complicated LEGO projects. Beckham enjoys attending BYU football games
and taking on all-comers in Fantasy Football.
Zoe (12) is in the seventh grade. She began participating in her ward YW
program this year. Zoe joined her middle
school band and is playing percussion. Zoe
plays the piano, enjoys singing, and is getting into dance. She also loves indoor rock climbing and
skiing. Zoe loves skiing and is especially
excited that her younger sister, Mila, will be joining her on the ski slopes
this year. Kai (7)
is in the first grade. He began piano
lessons this past year. Kai loves
baseball and following the LA Dodgers (two titles in a row). Kai is looking forward to snowboarding this
season and wants to start working on getting off some sweet jumps in 2026. He loves building things and figuring out how
things work.
Mila (5) started kindergarten this year. She loves to sing and started taking dance lessons this year. Mila also loves playing outside and spending time playing with family and friends. Mila will begin skiing this year and is very excited to join her family on winter outings.
Craig and Kelli Family (The Friedels)
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| The Vegas Friedels on Halloween |
Craig
and celebrated 10 years of marriage with a trip to Cancun (alone – haha). Craig continues working as a partner at the
law firm of Solomon Dwiggins & Freer, Ltd.
He loves canyoneering and home improvement projects. Kelli is the family manager, somehow getting
everyone to where they need to be (mostly on time) and keeping all on
task. The family had a Disneyland trip
in the fall, and attended the Great Wolf Lodge in Arizona for the Friedel
family reunion. They also stayed in the
great Royal Air BNB lodge in Lehi, UT, for the Royal family reunion. Craig and
Kelli spent a few days in the Outer Banks, NC, and attended the BYU/ECU football
game with other Royal family adults in September.
Royal (13), eighth grade, played flag
football and volleyball for his middle school, and is presently on a club
volleyball team. But Royal’s real love
is tackle football. He is getting big,
presently about 5’9” and 150 lbs (and wears a size 12 shoe), and is looking forward
to getting his braces off in 2026. Royal
plays the saxophone in the school band. Royal’s
big moment in 2025 was meeting BYU star basketball player, Richie Saunders, and
getting his signature on a Saunders #15 jersey.
He also got a jersey signed by BYU wide receiver Chase Roberts. Royal wants to be an orthodontist.
Finley
(9), third grade, is enjoying school. He
loves his teachers, his friends, and played a season of flag football on his
school team. Finley is a friend to
everyone and LOVES building creations with Legos, reading, playing video games,
and wrestling with his siblings. He is a
good big brother to his younger sisters and enjoys playing games with
them. Finley has a great sense of humor
and loves to laugh. We think that Finley
is the most likely of our grandchildren to become a comedian.
Monroe
(6), first grade, loves school. She has
sewn up the coveted status of Teacher’s
Pet. Monroe loves to sing, dance,
dress up, and play games with her siblings – especially her little sister,
Lennon. They fell in love with Wicked in 2025 and dressed for Halloween
as their favorite Wicked characters. For Monroe, that was Glinda. Monroe lost her
first tooth in 2025, and the Tooth Fairy
was quite generous with her. (Yes, she
also somehow managed to become Tooth
Fairy’s Pet. How does she do
it?) Monroe wants to be just like her
mom and loves her perceived role as family assistant manager.
Lennon (4) (pre-school) loves Elphaba
and dressed up as her favorite witch for Halloween. She was so excited to put on more green
makeup than Kermit the Frog. Lennon is
very social and loves pre-school. Lennon
was in a dance group in 2025 and had her first recital on a real stage. She loves to perform. Lennon stole the show in her Nana and Papa’s
act at their ward talent show, helping them sing “BYU Babe” (lyrics written to “I’ve
Got You Babe”), along with her big sister and mom. (Lennon is devoid of stage fright.) Lennon loves being the youngest and by far
the most privileged (haha) in her family.
David and Kambria Family (The Royals)
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The Riverton Royals
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These
Royals reside in Riverton, UT. They had many adventures in 2025, including a family trip to explore the Redwood
Forest. David is getting a new Taylor
guitar for Christmas and has enjoyed recording songs. He continues to work as product manager for
NCINO, went on a fun backpacking trip with some buddies, and serves in the elders
quorum presidency of his ward. Kambria
loves managing the family, making sure everyone is where they need to be and doing
what they need to do every day of the year.
She is a master cook (and bakes phenomenal bread). Kambria and David enjoyed fun trips together
to the Outer Banks and Florida. She and
David enjoy shared adventures, including skiing. She serves in the ward primary
presidency. They celebrated 13 years of
marriage in 2025.
Macie (almost 10) (4th grade) loved
having her dad coach her volleyball team and is taking pickleball lessons. Macie has also made great progress playing
the piano and had her first graded recital in the fall (she did great). Macie changed up her hair in 2025 and got
matching bangs with Nana and her cousin Lennon.
She took sewing lessons, is really good at doing hair, got braces, and
sometimes quietly borrows her mom’s lipstick.
(She is trying to grow up a tad too fast – haha.)
Benson
(6) (1st grade) played t-ball and basketball. He loves helping his mom and dad care for the
family garden and work in the yard.
Benson is very curious about everything in life. He even likes helping his mother in the
kitchen and is a very good big brother to Ryder. They both love bedtime songs with their
dad. Benson also enjoys spending time
with his best friend, Levi.
Ryder (4) (preschool) was so excited to
start preschool this year. He loves one-on-one
time with his mom, and excelled in his swimming lessons over the summer. Ryder enjoys hanging out with his older brother,
Benson, and brings a lot of fun and craziness into the family home.
Jordan and Ashlee Family (The Royals)
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| The Lehi Royals |
Jordan
and Ashlee added a new member of their family in 2025, welcoming Jovie Raine in May. She is now about seven months old and is
growing so fast! Jordan changed
employers in 2025, now working for Nectar HR, which he loves. Jordan is also coaching boys' club
volleyball. Jordan and Ashlee have been especially
busy now that they have to engage in more of a zone defense as opposed to a
man-to-man (outnumbered by the children – haha). The family went to Disneyland and Bear Lake
in 2025. They also went to the Train Hotel in Mt. Pleasant, UT, where
they stayed overnight in a converted boxcar.
Jordan and Ashlee had to scrap a planned trip to the Outer Banks, NC in
September due to a poorly planned visit by the flu (we call it the Booo! Flu).
Madden (4) is in his second year of pre-school. He does not share Reese’s enthusiasm for
school, but he has resigned himself to the reality and necessity of education, so
he goes with the flow (haha). Madden
attended camps for football and gymnastics.
He loves monster trucks and playing anything involving a ball. Madden also likes to throw things (especially
the plastic Kung Fu stars and hatchets with his target toss game). Madden also loves playing with his big sister, Reese, being a big brother to Jovie, and playing with friends.
Jovie (7 months) joined our family in May and is soooooooo cute!
She is surrounded by love. Her
big sister, Reese, and big brother, Madden, love helping to take care of
her. Jovie was excited to be part of her
first Royal family reunion in August.
She won’t remember it, but we took lots of pictures, so at least Jovie
will know that she was there with us. We
are all excited to welcome Jovie to the family – our biggest and most exciting
news of 2025.
We love our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ, and appreciate this time of the year when the entire Christian world
celebrates His birth, which years later led to His inconceivable sacrifice for
mankind and His miraculous Atonement. We
hope to always live to keep our covenant to always remember Him. Faithfully following Him is the surest way to
lasting happiness. Merry Christmas from
our family to yours!
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| What a year it has been! |
JANUARY
FEBRUARY
APRIL
JULY
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
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| Welcome Jovie! |
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| Ah, so cute! |
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| Disney delight |
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| A Friedel Easter |
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| Casual Las Vegas temple stroll |
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| We tried to pass along Kelli's Colin face from 35 years ago to the next generation |
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| Grandma Kelly's 90th birthday bash |
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| Nana directs part of our Royal army |
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| They'll all be bigger than us soon |
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| Isn't she lovely! |
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| These girls had no Ferris Wheel fear |
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| Annoying Papa group selfie (Again?) |
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| Lehi church day |
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| Who said Nana's can't jump? |
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| BYU FanFest, Rangers Stadium, Arlington, TX |
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| She still needs us and still feeds us at 64 |
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| Nana knows BYU sign language |
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| Woop, there it is! |
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| Cousin movie night |
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| Cousins down by the lazy river |
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| Goodbye 2025 |
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