Bill, mom, and sons

Bill, mom, and sons
From left to right: Wes, Jason (holding his son, Billy), Bill, Joby, and Betty (Bill's mom).

Sierra, Sydney & Billy

Sierra, Sydney & Billy
These are Jay & Trisha's children. They live in Provo, Utah, so we don't get to see them very often. They are really fun kids. This picture reminded me of a picture that was taken of Kenny, Billy, and I when we were very small.

Joby, Celia, and Reyna

Joby, Celia, and Reyna
This is Bill's 2nd son and his wife, Celia. They are the caretakers of the family's dog, Reyna, who is about 108 years old in dog years. They live in Napa Valley, California.

Wes, Raquel, Brighton, and Mercede

Wes, Raquel, Brighton, and Mercede
Taken Christmas 2006 in their home in Woodland Hills. Mercede has changed a lot since this picture was taken.

Erin & Marli

Erin & Marli
Christmas 2006 at our house. Marli enjoyed all the presents, decorations, and lights. They live in Orange County.

Christopher, Carissa, and Caitlyn

Christopher, Carissa, and Caitlyn
Christmas 2006 after church.

Christopher's Gashed Leg

Christopher's Gashed Leg
I never sent this picture out as I had promised, so here it is. Christopher was at a birthday party at an indoor skate park and was there only 15 minutes when this happened. Another skateboarder ran into him with his board and we ended up in the E.R. shortly after where Christopher got several stitches to close up the wound.

Matzalan Beach

Matzalan Beach
The beach here was beautiful but not very safe. The reason I say that is because there are a lot of people swimming and surfing all along the beach but there are also boats pulling parasailers, jet skis, etc. just going everywhere. I couldn't believe no one got hurt or killed while we were there.

Matzatlan

Matzatlan
This is a picture of the town from the ship. We didn't schedule a tour at this port so we didn't take many pictures. It was very similar to Puerto Vallarta.

Cabo San Lucas Bay

Cabo San Lucas Bay
We took a tour of the bay on a boat and were able to see these beautiful rocks and private beaches of new resorts. The water was very choppy but we didn't get sick.

Diamond Princess

Diamond Princess
This shot was taken from our pod on our way back to the ship from Cabo San Lucas. The water in the bay was too shallow for us to dock right at the town so they lowered a couple pods down from the ship and shuttled us in to town. The ship was 15 stories high and 952 feet long. The long skinny window you see in the front is called the bridge. That is where the captain and crew navigate the ship.

Formal Dining

Formal Dining
We ate a formal dinner two nights. The rest of the time we just ate at the buffet. Needless to say, we ate too much and exercised too little.

Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta
No iguanas for me! I did allow a man to put this bird on my arm and he didn't even ask me for any money. We were in a bird reserve so we made a small contribution.

James Family Reunion 2007

James Family Reunion 2007
This is a picture of Carissa & Caitlyn relaxing in front of our cabin after playing in the hot sun. We had so much fun and enjoyed visiting with Corinna's parents, four of her five brothers and their wives and families and her four sisters, their husbands and kids. We had 52 people in attendance.

Another Picture at James Family Reunion

Another Picture at James Family Reunion
Christopher did a lot of this during our stay. He doesn't have any male cousins his age but he did have some fun scaring his sisters and girl cousins one night!

A Couple of Bills

A Couple of Bills
No, not money. Bill Read with Corinna's older brother Bill at the family reunion.

Sedona, Arizona - July 2007

Sedona, Arizona - July 2007
We left for Sedona after the family reunion. We went hiking a had someone take this picture for us. Shortly after there was a heavy rain storm that lasted for several hours. Fortunately we made it back to the car before it started pouring.

Sedona, Arizona

Sedona, Arizona
Bill loved giving the girls a scare by getting as close to the edge as possible.

Dixie Cup Tower

Dixie Cup Tower
Carissa and Caitlyn started a new hobby...building towers from Dixie Cups. They introduced this new activity to their cousins at the family reunion and played for hours.

On to the Grand Canyon!

On to the Grand Canyon!
We left Sedona and went to the Grand Canyon. This was the girls' first time there. They enjoyed walking to different spots to see the canyon and also enjoyed the bus tour.

Rain Storm Approaching!

Rain Storm Approaching!
One minute it can be sunny and bright and the next thing you know, it's pouring down rain. You can see the storm coming rapidly. It got to us in about 10 minutes. Luckily this was our last stop at the Grand Canyon.

Kids at Newport Beach - July 2007

Kids at Newport Beach - July 2007
How Sweet are They?

Carissa & Caitlyn - Newport Beach 2007

Carissa & Caitlyn - Newport Beach 2007
Under the 28th Street Pier at Low Tide

Girls at Kids Expo in Santa Clarita, CA

Girls at Kids Expo in Santa Clarita, CA
We went to the Kids Expo which has many vendors specializing in children anywhere from clothing to hair salons and extra-curricular activities such as lessons in ice skating, karate, gymnastics, etc. This was the last booth we went to after the girls had gotten their hair fixed and Marli was given a sucker. Lots of fun! We'll go again next year.

Grandchild #7

Grandchild #7
This is Bill's 7th grandchild, Sophia born in August 2007 to Jason and Trisha. She is such a pretty baby and very calm (except when she is hungry).

Almost the Whole Gang!

Almost the Whole Gang!
This was taken on Sunday before everyone had to head back home. The only person missing was Marli who was in Hawaii visiting her dad. Left to right starting at the top from the left: Bill, Joby holding Tui, Jason holding Sophia, Wes holding Brighton. Bottom from left: Erin holding Sydney, Celia holding Sierra, Trisha holding Billy and Raquel holding Mercede.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!!!

We have had a great 2007 and are looking forward to an even better 2008! We've been blessed to be able to visit with Bill's children and grandchildren and are looking forward to watching the grandkids grow and develop. We feel so blessed to live in America and have the freedoms we have. We hope you will each feel blessed as well as you continue into the new year. We love you and think of you often.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Hawaii - July, 2010

Bill and I were able to take a trip to Maui, Hawaii from July 6-13. We visited a lot of places while we were there and would like to share some of our pictures with you.