Death of David (Dave) Hestand

On Sunday, December 23, 2023, David Hestand passed away.  Dave and his wife Shelly worked at Weber State University for over 30 years.  Dave was known for his contagious smile and sense of humor.  He was always a joy to work with, as was Shelly.  Dave retired in 2007, and he would drop off Shelly to work at the Miller Administration Building, and then be there to pick her up for lunch, and then again to pick her up from work.  When it snowed, David would walk Shelly into the building and retrieve her after work as well.  He always looked at her so lovingly.  They truly had a great love story.

My heart hurt when I heard that David has passed away.  He had a pacemaker put in-in July.  I am glad that he didn't suffer long.

I attended the viewing.  It was nice to meet 4 of his 9 children and visit with Shelly.  The services were great and I think Dave would have been pleased.  

Rest in Peace Dave...you will be missed.

Christmas Village 2023

On Friday, December 29, 2023, Keith and I visited Christmas Village.  I remember as a little girl my parents would take me to Christmas Village every Christmas season.  I loved the lights and the displays.  When Keith and I got married, we made it a tradition to take our kids every year during the Christmas season.  We have taken our grandchildren to Christmas Village several times.  

Keith and I enjoyed walking through Christmas Village remembering all the many Christmas seasons we have spent there and we were in awe of the beauty and peaceful feeling there.  So grateful for our wonderful memories of Christmas Village.

The weather wasn't too cold - it was in the 30's...and no snow.  It was an enjoyable time!

Reno Grandkids Christmas

The Reno Grandkids had a good Christmas.  Unfortunately, Jamie, Dusty, and Skyler were sick.  They stayed home and because Keith's mom was ill, we stayed in town as well.  Brady and Miles went on a trip to Puerto Rico for a week with their mom and stepfather.

Jamie sent pictures of their Christmas.  They ate at the Cheesecake Factory on Christmas Eve and opened their Christmas pajamas.  They got up at 7:00 a.m. with Skyler and opened presents.

We missed having the grandkids here.  We did not get any photos from Braxton or Kimberly.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2023

Sunday, December 24, 2023 we celebrated Christmas Eve with a wonderful sacrament meeting. The talks,  the music, everything was wonderful.  I got up early that morning and got the yam casserole, green bean casserole, cranberry salad, and potatoes peeled and ready.  After church, I got the table set and prepared things.  Keith and I took a couple of selfies since we were both dressed up.

John Reynolds came 1 1/2 hours early to eat, so we visited with John and I hurried to finish preparing our meal so we could eat a little earlier than we expected.

John brought us a birdhouse and the book he wrote.  

Dale and Jacque came over and we ate dinner.  It was delicious.  We were visiting after dinner, when we heard a knock at the door.  It was the Page family Christmas Caroling.  They were so cute.  We invited them in and we sang several songs with them.  

After the carolers went home, we played Left, Right, Center.  Keith won the $12.00.

Then we took pictures!  

We went downstairs and watched Holiday Road and another movie.  It was fun!  Dale and Jacque went home around 10:30 p.m. and I cleaned up the dishes.  It was a fun evening.

On Christmas Day, we slept in.  I fixed us bacon, eggs, and toast and then we got ready to go out to Keith's mom's.  We got her a floral on Friday afternoon from Jimmy's Floral.  It was beautiful.  

Jimmy's Floral was so busy that the Layton store had our floral arrangement.  We drove to Layton, and got it and as a thank you for being inconvenient, they gave us a box of 4 chocolates that were delightful.  

We went to Eva's and visited with Brandon and Chad.  After a few hours, we came home.  We took a picture before we left.

Keith and I came home and heated up leftovers for dinner.  We rested and then got ready to go to the Megaplex theater to see the show: "The Boys on the Boat."  It was so good.  It was a nice, easy, day.

Skyler's 42nd Birthday...

Monday, December 18, 2023, Skyler Keith Preece would have turned 42!  Another birthday spent in Heaven.  We love him and miss him so much.

An Evening with the Thornton's...

On Friday, December 15, 2023, Dale, Jacque, Keith and I headed to Salt Lake City.  We treated the Thornton's to dinner at the Blue Iguana and then the Kurt Bestor Christmas Concert featuring David Archuleta.

The freeway was a bit of a mess, and we barely made our reservation for dinner.  Thankfully, we did and it did not disappoint.  We enjoyed our meal and visiting with each other.

After dinner, we walked to the Eccles Theater for the concert.  While we were waiting for the doors to open, we ran into Erin Pickett Brown.  It was so good to see her.  She and Jamie were besties all through high school.  We love Erin!

We bought some waters and treats and then we were seated.  We had really good seats.  

The concert was so good.  I loved hearing David Archuleta sing too!  Such a wonderful evening with friends.