Our Christmas 2008

We had a quiet, but nice Christmas this year. Paula and Isabella came to do the annual Christmas Whitehouse tour. This will be the last year, since Ron will be moving on to other positions this coming year. Jacob came home for a couple of weeks from his AIT (Advanced Individual Training) at Ft. Gordon. I think he has been doing some decompressing (That means allot of sleeping). Phillip and Paula came up on Christmas afternoon and we loved watching Isabella open a few presents. The following morning Phillp and family left bright and early (5:00am) to head to Conneticut. As they buckled Izzy into her car seat, She opened her eyes, looked at the house, waved her hand, and said "Bye Bye Paca". What a cutie she is.

Isabella and Paula came to the White House Staff open house with us this year. It is always fun to be allowed to take in the cameras. The theme this year was "A Red, White, and Blue Christmas".
Izzy decided that smiling was going to be limited this visit. Coaxing smiles out of her was the challenge.

The live flowers are always pretty. This is the Red Room.
The red, white and blue theme was very cool.

See, there's a great smile.

Izzy and Gma looked very pretty together.

Cute little girl!

Nice view, huh?

Izzy's fun-meter had pegged shortly before this picture. We had to break out some peanuts to get her back.

Three pretty ladies.

Izzy loves smelling the flowers.

Gpa got to show her around (and show her off).

Winter at the White House.

Jake doing his best to feign surprise and excitement for his Mom and Dad.

Gpa does like new shoes, (even if they're just like the ones he already has).

Tex loves getting his Christmas stuffed animal. The squeeker lasted about 2 or 3 minutes.

Tank takes up his usual overwatch position, in the middle of the floor.

Tex is insanely intense.

Mom with her big baby. (He really is a sweetheart, albeit a big, clumsy, messy, sloppy one.)

"I heard there was going to be ham and stuffing; well...."

Izzy got a new purse from Gma.

She was starting to figure out the whole present thing pretty well.

She did love the shopping cart and the food!

Izzy and Paca (that's what she calls him).

Fox and Tex have decided mixed martial arts is their thing.

"Why can't I come in there? What, that old chew up the toys thing? Just let go of it Mom."

King of his domain (at least in his own mind).

She's been shopping with her baby.

"I'm so cute, aren't I?"

A trip to Texas

We were lucky to get to fly to Texas and see Ephraim and Heather and their two boys, Max and Ezra. They live in Killeen, TX, right next to Fort Hood, where Eph is stationed with the 1st Cavalry Division. He left for Iraq on December 15, 2008 for a 12 month deployment. Heather will spend most of her time in Texas taking care of the boys and helping out with the family support group while the Soldiers are away. We really enjoyed getting to know the boys; actually, meeting Ezra for the first time. We can't wait to see them again! We had our own little Christmas with them and got to know a couple of really good Texas eateries, a fine barbeque place and an awsome Mexican cafe, that makes the best flour tortillas you can imagine. All in all, a great trip and best of all, great loved ones to visit with.

Max and Ezra were really happy to get some quality Grandma time!

Max determined that this is his "Nephite" look. His Mom says the necks of all his shirts get stretched out from this. Funny stuff.

Lucky Max! He got to have several Christmas' in 2008.

We're not sure his Mom appreciated it, but Max sure loves his noisy machine gun.

Three Garner Men; it was kind of like holding your own kids, even though they're not. Gma and Gpa got to babysit while Ephraim and Heather went to Austin for a date. We had some fun, and no blood or broken bones resulted from the fun. That would be defined as success.

What boy doesn't love his Grandma? Especially one as sweet as Betsy.

This was Gma Betsy's first chance to meet Ezra. He is a very fun kid and seems to be allot like his Dad.

Gpa figured out how to put Ezra to sleep; wrap him up and hold on tight. He gives in in no time at all.

Max seemed to be a natural at striking a pose. I wonder if Aunt Sara has secretly been giving him lessons?

"Can you believe it; a great big pirate ship just for me?!

Ezra wasn't so sure what the deal was, but liked the paper, the excitement and the fun.

Can you believe Santa got this boy a drum set? What was he thinking?

And he loved the power tools and the tool belt. He loves dressing up and fixing things.

The tool belt was a major hit with the tool man, Max.

Ezra seemed to have no trouble figuring out the whole drumming thing; Heather should have lots of fun with these two while Dad's away in Iraq.

Just getting into the holiday spirit.

Max likes everything, (at least for a few minutes) then he's off to the next great adventure.

"See Gma, we clean up pretty good here in Texas"

Max and Ezra loved it when Gma would play Primary songs and sing with them.

Ezra, Ron, Max and Ephraim, the Garner Boys.

Ephraim and Heather bought a real nice place in Killeen, TX; this is the backyard.

Church can take allot out of a little guy, especially trying to sit still through two hours of Stake Conference.

Ezra took it all in stride; "just chillin' in my seat, man".

Ephraim and Heather have a great little family and are really great parents. We're really going to miss seeing them all.

A Basic Graduation!

Jacob Graduates from Basic Training!

As one career in the Army comes to a close, others just begin, so it is with the Garner Clan. The latest Soldier is Jacob. He just graduated from Basic Training on the 24th of October. His big brother Phillip and his family came along for the festivities. It is supposed to be pleasant and warm in Fort Jackson, South Carolina in the Fall, but not so on graduation day. We about froze in a very cold rain, but it didn't hamper the spirits of all those soldiers and their proud families. He is now at Fort Gordon, GA for his Advanced Individual Training (AIT) and will finish that in about 22 weeks, then will head off to learn how to jump from a perfectly good airplane at Airborne School in Fort Benning, GA, one of his childhood homes. All five of us are Airborne Soldiers now, quite a family feat. The most important thing is the willingness to give selflessly to their countries, which makes their Mom and Dad the proudest of all, as well as maintaining a strong commitment to their God, all being strong members of the Church.

Here we are, doing our best to not show we're freezing, just very happy he graduated and we can get in out of the cold. Izzie seemed to enjoy the celebration, but of course she got to be carried around wrapped in a warm blanket.
This is Foxtrot Company, he's back in the back, trust me.

"Where's Waldo?" He's back in the back right, whoever finds him first gets a cookie from Grandma.

Here he is, doing his best marching. They all looked good!

The oldest and the youngest of the Garner Strong clan, Phillip, currently a Captain and Jacob, a Private.

Spanning 24 years of Army service, but we're missing Alex, he's a Sergeant in Germany, and Ephraim, who was just promoted to 1st Lieutenant down in Fort Hood, Texas. Ephraim heads to Iraq in December, lucky him.

Still freezing. Lunch at Chili's is not far away now.

Hurry! Let's go!

NOW!

One of Jake's favorite Drill Sargents, SSG Dennis. See, they don't yell all the time, just most of the time.

Jake was a little less thrilled when we left him again for his 22 week stint in Georgia. He didn't want to say goodbye to his Mom this time. But of course he did, and he's doing well in his course, now sharing a room with just seven of his closest friends, instead of 60. He made us stay the weekend; we were going to hurry back for Church in Virginia, but if we signed him out on leave, he could have the whole weekend free. Needless to say the pleading was earnest on his part, so we made arrangements to stay with him for the weekend. We're back to being alone at home, but that's alright, we're getting used to it.