The LeSueur Family

Five Little Monkeys

2010-01-18T15:12:00.000-08:00

Sat, the family came over to watch the Cardinal's game

Here are some of the kids hanging from our tree (Kacey)

Joey

Jason

And Mikey! (Sorry Melanie, you weren't here to protect him)
He loved every minute of it.(You can't see the net below to catch him if he falls) Where is the 5th monkey? I miscounted, thought Katie was hanging there too.

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas - This is a long one !

2009-12-27T14:40:00.001-08:00

CHRISTMAS MORNING
Those that want to, come over on Christmas morning and exchange gifts and have breakfast.

Kacey trying out her new skates

Lindsay and Addison

Darren

Opening gifts

CHRISTMAS PARTY

This begins with a lot of food, then the Nativity, and ends with their favorite game, a white elephant exchange.

Makenna was our Mary. She took it very seriously and left her costume on most of the night.

One of our cute wisemen, Jace.

The whole group, shepherds, angels, wisemen and Joseph (played by Tristen)

CHRISTMAS DINNER

Grampa's gift to all of the children. Jackson takes his turn.

Darren and Chad

Scott trying out the "Green machine"

Cute girls staying warm in the back of our car.

Scott, Garrett, Jacob. What good boys they are.

Little kids

The "Big Boys"

The "darlings"

The" Kids"

Introducing Carver, Our Great Grandson

2009-12-21T20:50:00.000-08:00

We were visited this weekend by Jordan and Danny and our new Gr Grandson. Grampa Russ, Gramma Melissa, Carver, Jordan and Danny.

Four generations. Great Gramma, Grampa, Mom and baby. Its scary to think I am now the oldest in a 4 generation picture.

New uncle Garrett and Aunt Emalie.

Melissa enjoying her new grandson.

Great Gramma and Grampa LeSueur.

Happy Birthday to Wayne

2009-12-13T15:55:00.001-08:00

Wayne and Ashley

Wayne is 37 years old today. We want to wish him a happy birthday.

Wayne an Melanie at Aspen Grove, one of their favorite places to vacation.

The boys, every Sunday are in their suits, all day.

The family at Manti Utah.

Wayne and some of his brother-in-laws.

He fits so well into our family We are happy to have him around. We appreciate all that he does for us and especially all he does for Melanie. He is good help and often is found cleaning the house or cooking a meal. He is one of the busiest guys around and seems to have unending energy.
We are grateful for the good example he is to us
He works hard, lives the gospel and loves to be with his family, especially on vacations. We love you Wayne!

Changed My Mind

2009-12-04T21:29:00.000-08:00

Awhile ago I thought I was going to go private. However I don't know how to do this and I am waiting for Kristen to help me.

Gobble, Gobble, Burp ! - also, Happy Birthday Sandy

2009-11-26T17:33:00.001-08:00

Melanie and Wayne and Family - Spent Thanksgiving at their cabin in Show Low

These are the Grandkids that we had over for Thanksgiving this year.

Notice Shelby and Emalie with their new smiles. Braces off!

Chad and his cute kids

Jody was here with these three. Brenden, Tristen, and Kaitlyn

Russ and Melissa and their family. (Jordan we missed you and your hubby and our great grand child)

Recovery

Kristen and Dan

The Grandparents with some very cute grandkids.

It was a good day and great weather. Couldn't ask for a better B-day.

Happy Birthday Danny Boy

2009-11-16T19:39:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday to Dan.This is a few days late but its here.

Dan loves the out of doors, trucks, motorbikes, boats, camping or any thing in the mountains makes him happy. He is the Scoutmaster in his ward.

One of our favorite Halloween times was spent with Dr Phil

Dan and Kristen love to have fun. We are happy to have Dan as a part of our family. He is a good sport and always willing to lend a hand. He and Kris love to spend time with their friends. They are good babysitters for the grandkids and Dan is a good sport to go along and help Kris. The boys especially love him. Of course we all know of their love for Disneyland. He is a good husband and treats Kristen with love and respect.

Going Private

2009-11-02T13:52:00.000-08:00

To all of our family and close friends.
We are going private.
If you want to be invited to see our blog
please let us know and give us your e-mail
address by adding a comment below
Thanks,
The LeSueur Family

Family Halloween Party-No adults allowed!!

2009-10-27T21:07:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures of this years Halloween Party, way too many pics, but we have to show everybody. Here is Makenna the princess

Jackson, Jake and Gramps

Grampa, Joey and Jason

Addison

Scott and Mikey the little monkey

Jason and Brendon

Scott, Grampa and Emalie

Emalie and Addison the Ghost

Kaityln, Haley and Shelby

Katie, playing dress up relay

Haleys turn

Grampa Scare Crow and Kacey

Garrett

One half of Kaitlyn and Joey(sorry)

Dry ice for special effects.

Its getting close to the time the kids arrive in Costume. Thanks to Kristen my assitant. (We don't consider her an adult. )

Table set- Kaitlyn, Brendon, and Tristen Massey

This was the best trick ever. Don sitting right where we had put a scare crow, weeks earlier. See below.

It was dark and the kids didn't pay much attention to the difference in the scare crows. Jake sat down by Grampa and had no idea of the change.

(Sorry Jake your pics were too blurry)

Grampa put his arm around him and he jump up really quick, couldn't believe the scare crow came to life. We all got a big laugh out of that!

All in all we had a fun crazy night and everybody had a good time.

For Jasmin

2009-10-11T18:53:00.001-07:00

WE have a friend named Jasmin. She complained to Don that we never update anymore. Well she is right. It seems that everybody has gone to Facebook and the bloggers are bored with blogs.

I understand how she feels. Many of our family blogs that I like to see have quit blogging

(Best cousins, Kacey, Joe, Jason, & Jace)
They love to be together and get along so well.

The tramp and swingset are a favorite place for the kids
(Haley, Jake and Katie)

Michael and Jason . The weather is beautiful

Jace, Jacob and Garrett.

Kristen and Michael

Our cute little grandkids

Emalie, Mikey and Shelby (soon turning 13)

Kacey and Joey-best cousins

Jake and Garrett. When the weather is nice we all love being outside.

Forty Years Old, Yikes!!

2009-09-22T19:04:00.001-07:00

Its hard to believe that this boy is actually 40 years old

Here is something he accomplished in that time. They are such cute kids and so much fun to be around. In fact the whole family has alot of fun all the time.

Chad and Russ many years ago. They were great scouts and all our boys worked to be Eagle Scouts. We can thank Don for being so envolved in scouting and taking the boys along, sometimes when they weren't old enough to be there.

Teen years, Russ and Peter were good friends

The Eagle Scout!!

Russ and his brothers, they were always up to something.

Russ has always had a good relationship with his uncle Bob LeSueur. Here they are fishing in Alaska. Bob has always been a good friend to him.

Russ is a fun father and loves to tease his kids all the time. We are missing Jordan in this picture. She is going to make Russ and Melissa Grandparents in a few weeks. Our first greatgrand child. We are all so excited!

Russ love little kids and is always playing with them and trying to convince them that he is their favorite uncle.

Russ is a good Mr Mom and cooks dinner most every night since Melissa has gone to work.

Russ loves to play, some of his hobbies over the years are golfing, bass fishing, motorcycles, flying, reading many books and of course sports.

Happy birthday Russ. We love you and are proud to be your parents. Have a fun watching Scott play varsity football on your birthday. What more could you want?

Somebody Has a Birthday

2009-09-10T08:44:00.000-07:00

Kristen Holyoak LeSueur is Thirty Four today

Happy Birthday to Kristen. We are glad to have her as part of our big family. We appreciate all of her talents and the beautiful grandchildren she has given us.

Here is a picture of their cute family.

Kristen is a good housekeeper and great cook and fun to be with. She is also YW president in her ward and does a great job at it. She loves her family and they love her. Hope this is a fun day for her. Happy Birthday Kristen

Happy Birthday to Kristen 09-09-09

2009-09-08T17:55:00.000-07:00

Kristen is turning 28 on Wed . She was born on 9-9-81

She is everybodys favorite aunt. Always having fun with the kids

Kristen and Dan are two big kids and as everybody know there favorite place in the world is Disneyland. They are off to Disneyland for the rest of the week to celebrate her birthday.

She loves babies, and is going through infertility process
We hope that this will be the year for them to have a baby.

Kristen is the baby of the family and everybody loves her. She is so much fun and the coolest aunt ever. She is always happy and never complains and is loyal to her friends and family (and cats)
Kristen we love and appreciate all you do for our family.

Michael Don LeSueur

2009-08-01T09:37:00.000-07:00

This portrait was painted by my cousin J D Parrish.

We love it! Thank you so much J D

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARREN

2009-07-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

Darren is 32 yrs old. I remember when I had him, I was 30, seems impossible that he could be that old. Here he is with Lindsay, and his two cute little girls.

Look at that face. He was really cute!

Darren loved to go camping with his Dad and went on many scout hikes. He had his own tent and could put it up by himself when he was 8 yrs old.

He has always loved sports. This is Dale Murphy, his favorite when he was young.

Darren and Don. I see Addison in that face.

He has always been good with his hands and is good at figuring out how to build things. He built his home in Queen Creek. He did all the beautiful cabinetry and doors and entertainment centers and even a bed for Mckenna. We enjoy a beautiful entertainment center and all the cabinets and countertops he built in our laundry room
He is a hard worker and a good guy to have around when you need something built. He built all the displays and cabinets in his Dads office and has done work in all his brothers homes. We appreciate all the good work he has done to make our lives a little bit better. He is a hands on Dad and is good with his kids. Happy Birthday Darren, we love you

GUESS WHO IS TURNING THIRTY FIVE

2009-06-16T08:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Melanie. We are so grateful to have such a good, kind and thoughtful daughter.

Wasn 't too many years ago that you were a small family of three

We were so happy to have a cute little baby girl. 4 lbs and 6 oz and only 17 inches long.
(Big sister, Jody)

A boy for Dad, a girl for me. I remember all of the help we recieved. Gramma LeSueur was always available to help. I miss her and would love to sit down and talk about the good ole days. She is probably spending some of her time with Mike (Cute hairdo Sandy)

You were beautiful even as a baby

So fun having twins. Everywhere we went people would stop us and ask us about having twins. Some would even ask, "Are they identical ?" We would always get a good laugh out of that.

You were so much fun and we enjoyed every minute of having you two together.

Look at that face, so cute!

You have always been a sweet girl and kind to everybody

Gorgeous sisters, remember that day?

Jr High school was fun

Had to put this one on. Remember "Grandpa and Grandma Are Going Away On a Mission"? Look at all the cute cousins.

Fun in the mountains, at the cabin. Who is that cool guy next to you?

We love you and are so proud of the person you have become. We are grateful for the good wife, mother, sister and daughter you are. It is fun to be your mother and I appreciate our friendship. I always enjoy spending time with you shopping, vacationing, eating and just talking . You have an adorable family and we love being with them. Thanks to Wayne for being a good husband and helper to our daughter. We love you all.

Happy family at the cabin.

A Helpful Thought

2009-05-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

“When I take a small pebble and place it directly in front of my eye, it takes on the appearance of a mighty boulder. It is all I can see. It becomes all-consuming—like the problems of a loved one that affect our lives every waking moment. When the things you realistically can do to help are done, leave the matter in the hands of the Lord and worry no more. Do not feel guilty because you cannot do more. Do not waste your energy on useless worry. The Lord will take the pebble that fills your vision and cast it down among the challenges you will face in your eternal progress. It will then be seen in perspective. In time, you will feel impressions and know how to give further help. You will find more peace and happiness, will not neglect others that need you, and will be able to give greater help because of that eternal perspective.”

Richard G Scott, May 1988

Families Can Be Forever

2009-05-19T06:54:00.002-07:00

Grandpa's famous tractor

Taken in Gramma's andGrampa's LeSueur's backyard

Mike getting his Eagle Scout award

Taken at Thanksgiving 2003, Russ's backyard

More Memories of Mike

2009-05-19T06:46:00.001-07:00

TWINS! What a blessing in our lives.

Well, I got up this morning and Don has been very busy. He posted all these pictures of Mike and our family. Its been a walk down memory lane these past few days. We all make fun of Don and groan whenever he wants to line us up and take pictures. I am greatful that he is so diligent in torturing us and taking our pictures. They are certainly, undeniably,
irreplaceable.

Memories of Mike

2009-05-18T08:30:00.000-07:00

Melanie and Michael

Mike and his mother.

Mike used to go on scout hikes when he was just 10 years old with his dad.

Mike Loved Scouting - He's sitting on top of the signal tower.

Mike In Puerto Lobos, Mexico, with His Friend Chuey

A Quick Trip To Nogalas

Two years have gone and tomorrow is the day we learned of Mike's passing. We are at peace with his death, but we miss him so much. I have put together some pictures to remember Mike. If you go to Melanie's and Kristen's blogs you will see that there is a place to leave a message about your memory of Mike.

Sundays evenings are an important part of our family life. We look forward to grandchildren coming to visit and occasionally cousins will drop by. This is a pic of Chad having some fun on Colleen's go cart. Ryan LeSueur looking on with Mike and others.

After they retired my parents moved to Camp Verde. Grampa Nelson had a huge garden area and a big tractor to take care of the weeds and garden. A few days after my Dad passed away, Mike and I drove up to help my mother. We spent a whole day cleaning her yard and Mike got a chance to drive the tractor. He loved it and I've always thought that Mike should of been a farm boy.

Typical picture of Mike in a sweater, he wore them alot. He also often had a ball cap on.

Christmas memories. Our Christmas party we have the week before Christmas. Its not the same without Mike.

MIKE THE CLOWN

Mike could make us laugh better than anyone. His impersonation of family members, or his blowing up his stomach like he was using a pump and then slowly letting the air out were some of his favorite acts.

He loved to play with the grandkids and that is why he was their favorite. He had a funny way of talking to them and they knew he loved them dearly. He was patient and would do just about any thing they wanted him to do. Below is a picture of him making his monkey face.

Happiness

2009-05-13T09:25:00.001-07:00

Make the most of Life

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window. I love it,’ he stated with enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.. Mr. Jones, you haven’t seen the room; just wait.’ ‘That doesn’t have anything to do with it,’ he replied. Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged, it’s how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. ‘It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, (or the difficulties I face) or get out of bed and be thankful for the day I have been given. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I’ll focus on the NEW day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away. Just for this time in my life. Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you’ve put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories!

Five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free you mind from worries and work on the things you can control, mainly yourself.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less

Wedding in San Antonio

2009-05-09T20:35:00.000-07:00

This week we had the opportunity to fly to San Antonio for our nieces wedding in the temple. The San Antonio temple is one of the prettiest I've seen. Every window was stained glass.

This is our beautiful niece Elise LeSueur and her new husband Scott Titensor

LeSueur family that attended the wedding. It was fun to visit withe Lauree who lives in Austin.

Craigs family at the restaurant

It was really hot and humid so we took the boat ride instead of walking

The riverwalk in San Antonio

Remember the Alamo! David and Paula, Duane and Karen, Sandy, and Elaine. Don is on the other end of the camera.

Sundays at Gramma's and Grampa's

2009-04-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

Most Sundays our kids drop by.

We usually end up in the back yard.
Yikes, the higher the better. This swing set was made by our good family friend Ross Tyler probably about 28 years ago.

Scott, Wayne and Dan

They love to spend time on the computer

Gramma and the youngest grandchild. Addison LeSueur

This Sunday nobody came, so we went to visit Gayle and Tom.

Joey, Jason, Makenna, Kacey

Katie loves to swing

Haley and Katie

Ashley and Mike.

They love to swing and jump on the tramp

Emalie showing off her cute hair do and her braces. She is 15 and 8 months and about to get her learners permit.

The glider is always a favorite and can fit a whole bunch of kids.

Mikey showing us his new trick. Hes got quite the tongue.

Everybodys favorite aunt.

Trials

2009-03-25T08:56:00.000-07:00

Now, for some serious stuff.

It seems lately that so many of our friends and family have had difficult things to deal with in their lives. I love this quote and want to share it with you, out there, who are trying to endure.

"No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility.
All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our character, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of god.....and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father in Heaven. "( Orson F. Whitney )

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MELISSA

2009-03-16T16:30:00.001-07:00

Somebody is having a birthday. (Melissa and Kacey)

Happy Birthday to Mom- these are Melissa's adorable kids. She has done a great job raising them. We do have the cutest grandkids!!!

Seems like yesterday these three were having fun on the tramp. Actually they still have fun on the tramp, everytime they are over. Emalie, Garrett and Scotty

This goes way back. Grandma Louise LeSueur holding Emalie (who is now a beautiful 15 yr old). This is the last picture we had of Grandma LeSueur.
Do you recognize these people?

Darren, Russ, Sandy, Grandpa Waldo, Chad, Melissa and Scott, Grandma and Emalie, Kristen and Melanie. 1993

How old do you think she is? I'm not telling but I will give you a hint- next year will be a "big" one.

Here is the family at Manti Utah reunion, minus a couple of girls. We really appreciate how Melissa has always been apart of our big family and supports all our family activities. She is a kind, loving and patient and supporting wife and mother. She always has a good attitude and is happy and pleasant.

How could Russ be so lucky to have such a great wife. We all love her and are grateful to have her in the family. I especially like the way she has always treated me. She is a daughter to me and a good friend, We used to have fun shopping and decorating together. She is too busy for those kinds of things now.Being a mother to teenagers, and and grade schools kids and working full time takes every minute of her day .

When we were in Manti she found this gravestone of a Susanna Chapman and know she must be a relative. Nearby is the stone of Welcome Chapman. I 'm sure her dad Terry Chapman can tell us who he is. We are grateful for the good heritage she has and especially her parents who have taught her so well. (Terry and Linda are serving a mission in Virginia)

Melissa and her oldest boy Scott. He definately has a lot of Chapman in him. Isn't he goodlooking? He is also a really nice, good boy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELISSA, WE SURE DO LOVE YOU AND YOU HAVE MADE ALL OF OUR LIVES BETTER BY KNOWING YOU.

Happy Birthday to Lindsay

2009-03-06T16:09:00.000-08:00

This is our daughter-in-law Lindsay. We just want to wish her a happy birthday and tell her how much we love her and love having her as a part of our family. She is a good wife to Darren and a great mom.

When Lindsay first came into our family I am sure she was unprepared for what lay ahead. She comes from a small family, one sister and no cousins. However she adapted very quickly to our family with tons of people on every side. I am sure she had a hard time understanding how our crazy boys acted but she never seemed to complain. Look at Darren, he has hair and I love it.

Some of the things that we admire about her is her willingness to be a part of everything we do. She is always happy and has a big smile and a good disposition. We appreciate how hard she works, and know it must be hard for her to leave her cute little Makenna with her grammas. She has given us two wonderful and gorgeous grandchildren, who are delightful. (I can sure see Makenna in this picture. )

Here is a picture of Lindsay with her sister, they are about the same age as Makenna and Addison are right now. I'm sure this brings back many memories to her mom and dad.

We appreciate Lindsay's wonderful parents who have raised her right

and taught to be a hard worker. Terry and Mike, you did a great job raising this baby.

We are happy to have her in our our family. All the grandkids love her and think she is so fun. She is always nice to everyone.

Happy Birthday!! Hope you have a great day.

APRONS

2009-03-05T07:09:00.000-08:00

I don't think our kids know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath,because she only had a few,it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that ' old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

REMEMBER:

Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool.

Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.

They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs was on that apron.

I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron.

My family knows that I have always used an apron. Could it be because I am so messy?
A friend sent this to me. The same friend who helped me choose the fabrics and patterns for these vintage aprons I made my girls for Christmas. I had fun making these for the girls (or Moms) I don't think they quite know what to do with them. Maybe they can get an idea or two from grandma.

The fabric and pattern for these aprons were bought from Trelva Greenhalgh a friend who sales all kind of cute fabrics on e-bay and out of her home.

NUMBER 26

2009-01-31T13:29:00.000-08:00

Meet the newest LeSueur baby.
She was born on Chad's b-day at 11:55 PM, Jan 30 2009
She weighed 8lbs 7 oz

She is so cute and looks alot like Makenna

Makenna was very happy about her new sister

Makenna will be a good helper and already was trying to be the mom

Cute girls!!

Nana and Papa Carden proud of their second granddaughter

The happy family. Her name is

Addison Michelle LeSueur

Happy Birthday to Chad

2009-01-30T15:25:00.000-08:00

Chads family, Jake, Shelby, Chad, Kristen, Jackson, and Jace

Its hard to believe that Chad is 38 years old. Doesn't seem like it was to many years ago that he was living here at our house and causing all kinds of fun.

We are grateful for the good father and husband he is. His family is the most important part of his life. He is such a good father and spends alot of time playing with his kids and teaching them how to play ball. We can always depend on him to come to our rescue when we have a plumbing need or a tree to cut down. He is the kind of guy you want to have around when you are in trouble. We really appreciate how hard he works to take care of his family

He told me this was one of the hardest things he has ever done.But it was the challenge that drove him to do it. He is a strong man and ready to meet any challenge.

Chad the outdoorsman. He loves to hunt and be in the mountains but never seems to have enough time to go. When he does he always takes his kids. His favorite hobby of all times is playing softball and is still a power hitter. He plays ASA softball a couple nights a week.

The brothers. They are all very different but always seem to have a good time together.

Happy birthday Chad. We love you and appreciate the good person you are. You are always fun to have around. You have a good heart and are always there to help others. We are proud to be your parents!

Our Japanese Son

2009-01-05T05:54:00.000-08:00

Ike and Rie. (Chad's friend from his mission to Japan.) They were married one Christmas here in Arizona. We had a party for them afterwards at our home.

This is our Japanese son Ike Yoshioka. He used to live with us when he was attending ASU. Getting pictures with athletes was one of his favorite past times. This is a classic. Pat Tillman an Americn hero and Ike. What a handsome pair. We miss you Ike, when are you coming to see your American family again?

CHRISTMAS PS

2008-12-29T18:13:00.000-08:00

Somehow we didn't get a picture of Chads family. We have had visitors on our blog from Japan and know that they must want to get a look at his family. So here it is. We hope Ike (Akida) and Ria are looking.

Christmas Morning

2008-12-26T11:54:00.000-08:00

Tradition is that those who can make it come over on Christmas morn for breakfast and a gift exchange.

The Syrek kids with their new family member Roxy (the dog)

Darren and Makenna.

Kids playing with remote car. Jason chose to wear his new PJs on his head. Garret LeSueur showing them how it works.

Kristen and Mikey Syrek

Jason and Kacey

Melanie and girls and new grand-puppy on Christmas morn. The good looking boy is Scott LeSueur.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2008-12-26T09:46:00.001-08:00

Christmas in Arizona. A few random photos of our Christmas. To see more and better pictures you will have to check out Melanie's blog.

Family Christms party. The kids love to play the white elephant game.

Shelby having her turn to pick a gift.

Good looking teen boys Scott and Jack

Russell acting normel.

Of coarse, there is always food.

Our cute little baby Mikey, was the Santa this year.

Makenna painting a ornament for her Nana Carden.

Joey and Jason helping(?) me decorate the tree.

Sunday some of us went to the temple to see the lights.

Darren and Mike

2008-12-26T09:38:00.000-08:00

I was looking through some old pictures and ran across this. Aren't they cute?
Seems so long ago.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

2008-12-07T20:14:00.000-08:00

Chad & Makenna
Garrett & Jake

Joey, Jack, Scott, Emalie, & Shelby

Darren, Makenna, & Lindsay

Melanie & Heidi with babies

THANKSGIVING 2008

2008-12-07T19:54:00.000-08:00

Cousins - Kacey LeSueur & Joey Syrek
Jace LeSueur & Jason Syrek

4 of our cute grandaughters
Emalie, Ashley, Shelby, & Haley

Makenna, Jason, Grandpa, & Joey

Cancun

2008-11-23T13:02:00.000-08:00

The view of the ocean from our room

2008-11-23T11:58:00.000-08:00

Here we are at a Mayan Temple Chichen Itza,with Ben and Lori Lyman our travelings companions.

TRIP TO CANCUN

2008-11-23T11:52:00.001-08:00

We just returned from a wonderful trip to paradise.It was the best kind of trip because it was paid for by Shaw Industries.

Four Things

2008-11-05T20:55:00.000-08:00

Four things- I was tagged by Shelby

Four things I did today
1. Babysit Makenna
2.Canned 300 Lbs of years supply food (with help from Russ and Melissa)
3.Visited with Haley and family-Haley's 11th b-day.
4.Attended Wyatt Browns wedding dinner.

Four things I want to achieve in life.

1.Find my 3rd Great Grandfather and his wife. (Do their temple work)
2.Go on a misson with Don.
3.See all of my grandchildren marry in the temple
4. Endure to the end.

Four of my favorite TV shows

1. American Idol
2.Today Show (minus politics)
3.5 O'clock news
4.? I don't watch much TV

Four of my Friends

1. My friend Judy Brown
2. Karen Tyler
3. Cyndy Hendrickson
4. Valerie, Kathy, Lana, Storey (They go together)

Halloween Fun!

2008-10-28T20:27:00.000-07:00

When my kids were young, I really didn't like Halloween because I was not good at costuming. However, about 8 years ago I had my first Halloween party for the grandkids and it was really fun. Now it is an annual affair at our house. Decorating, coming up with Halloween foods with gross names and games are more to my liking. A treasure hunt in the dark is the highlight of the party.

Kristen was able to get alot of picutes with her camera. Check her blog for more pictures of the fun night.

Ashley and Shelby

Russell and Makenna

Grandma (the Wal-Mart employee) and Makenna the little kittie cat

Kacey, Garrett(hidden in hat), Jason, Jace, and Jake (in back)

Shelby and Emalie

THE END OF AN ERA

2008-09-16T08:52:00.000-07:00

Our large pine tree turned brown this past month and we had to cut it down. Chad and his workers spent one long and hard working day cutting it down and hauling it off. The last large limb was supposed to fall in our front yard, but it fell on our next door ncighbors house, but only did minor damage to it.

American Idol Tour 2008

2008-07-06T08:35:00.001-07:00

Too cute for words!

2008-05-16T19:55:00.000-07:00

Boring Sunday with Bored girls!!

2008-02-10T16:54:00.000-08:00

Its Fall in January

2008-01-12T12:37:00.000-08:00

Every January all the leaves fall off the trees in our backyard. Kacey was spending the night while her parents were in Utah visiting Jordan. (We miss you Jordan) Some of the cousins came over and we had a great time raking the leaves, picking tangerines, and making a mess while doing crafts in grandma's kitchen.

The gang's all hereIt's fun to jump off the jungle gym into the pile of leaves
Katie on the swing
They all had so much fun!
Kacey like to jump in the leaves too.

2007-12-31T13:05:00.001-08:00

Christmas Morning

2007-12-30T09:21:00.000-08:00

Family tradition is that all that can make it come 0n Christmas morning and exchange gifts and have breakfast. This year we had waffles. In memory of Mike who the boys nicknamed "Wafs" , that is short for waffles.(Theres a story behind that)

Don and I gave all the the families Belgian waffle irons for Christmas.

Kristen has more pictures of the Christmas festivities on her blog.

LeSueur Christmas Party

2007-12-30T08:59:00.001-08:00

This is our annual Christmas Party. We always have a dinner and then we have a white elephant exchange plays some wild games and this year we bought presents for a family that needed help. Dan played Santa and the kids helped him deliver the gifts. They all thot it was the best part of the night.

All is Merry and Bright

2007-12-30T08:43:00.000-08:00

Emalie's Christmas concert. She plays the sax.

Jake and Joey acting normal

Random Moments in December

2007-12-27T17:18:00.000-08:00

This Christmas Season started out with a LeSueurFamily Social.

We have some very strange girls in our family.
( Katie Syrek, Shelby LeSueur, Haley Syrek)

Ashley Syrek, Kayla Payne, and Mallory LeSueur

Girls Trip/Shopping/ "Wicked"

2007-11-12T13:37:00.000-08:00

Emalie got to be "Special" and go with the Moms

Shopping at Cabazon. Window shopping at Beverly Hills . Cupcakes from Sprinkles and just being crazy girls was what it was all about.

Seeing the musical "Wicked" was the highlight of the trip.

Too much fun- don't want to come home!

The best trips are "girl trips". I learned this from my friends. You get to do what ever you want and stop at any store or buy any treat and you don't have to ask a man, who just wants to hurry and get there.

Dinner With the Syreks

2007-11-08T21:16:00.001-08:00

One evening we had the delightful time having dinner at our home with the Syrek children.
Who taught these kids manners?
I guess when the food is sooo good you have to eat it all and then lick the plate. There is no other way to eat speghetti.

Family History Trip/Lincoln Land

2007-10-28T21:40:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Don and I went on a family history trip to Illinois and Kentucky. We spent some time at New Salem where Lincoln lived for a few years before he became famous.

This is the tombstone of my gr gr grandparents in Athens Illinois. I am looking for his parents that were married in KY.

He is James Louis Parrish and His wife is Matilda Stout. They were married in 1838 Sangamon Co. Ill and he was born in 1816 in Lexington Ky.

This is not easy. You have to be a very patient detective. However I got the bug and I am determined to find him.

New Hobby

2007-09-30T17:19:00.001-07:00

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!
Betcha didn't know Don and I took up dancing.

Labor Day Weekend

2007-09-04T09:26:00.001-07:00

Our family (most of them) spent the weekend in Pinetop, AZ. Thanks to Ann and Dennis Barney for letting us use their cottage for the weekend . We all had a great time, but it was really wild and crazy.

The little kids and Garrett and Jacob.

Jace LeSueur (Chads boy, can you see that?)

Mika our granddog
Jason Syrek, our funny boy.
Race cars were lots of fun

This pic was taken at Grumpy Jakes, a restuarant owned by our friend Jerry Epps.

The mothers enjoying a shopping trip at a boutique called Urban Bliss, owned by Ann Williams (Melissa's sister). They dropped a few bucks there.

Darling grandaughters, Emalie and Jordan (Russ's girls)

Bedtime was a challenge with 15 kids.

Eating time was also crazy with 25 people

Cute girls riding with Gramma to the race cars.

" The teenagers!"

The boy cousins, who we had to keep an eye on for fear that they might do something really nutty.

Luke the Lizard

2007-08-22T14:44:00.000-07:00

I was watching Jace this afternoon and look what he found in my family room. A gecko. In the house. He decided to name him Luke the Lizard. Here's some pictures of him before we let Luke go.

Check out those eyelashes.

MaKenna's 1st Birthday

2007-08-14T10:44:00.001-07:00

We all got together to celebrate our darling Makenna's first birthday.

All the girls

The birthday girl.

Kicking back and enjoying our favorite thing to do.

Lindsay's family, their first grandchild and the very first great grandchild.

Family

2007-08-07T21:05:00.000-07:00

Doing what we enjoy the most. Thanksgiving 2006.

Thats Darren's arm in the right corner

Don started a new business. Its located on Higley and Baseline.
(Not the Cash Advance)

Some of our Family

2007-08-07T21:01:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures I was looking at and thought that I should post them. I have to admit they are all kinda cute.

Makenna, Darren's and Lindsay's baby is everybodys favorite right now. Where is Chad? Look on their blog, I couldn't find a picture

Journey to Coolidge

2007-08-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

It was about time we made the jouney to see the grand-kittens.
Melanie and kids and I, loaded the car with water (just in case of a breakdown in the middle of nowhere) and off we went. We had a good time visiting with Kris and Dan and maybe next year we will make it our vacation and spend a week. If your going to go that far you might as well make it worth it. Here are a few pics. Hope you enjoy them. Mom

Friends Forever

2007-07-27T21:06:00.001-07:00

Remember the days when Kristen bossed you around and if you didn't mind her she would shoke you?

First day of school

Girls Camp

2007-07-25T13:36:00.001-07:00

This is Ashleys first time to go to girls camp. It will be a great experience because she gets to go with her mom. Both are so excited.

Palmyra

2007-07-24T10:15:00.000-07:00

Don and I just returned from our vacation in Palmyra NY. We spent lots of time just relaxing and seeing the country side. Why do we live in this desert? My sister Sharon and her husband Allen LaRue are on a mission in Rochester. So we imposed upon them and probably help them to see that they really don't miss their family that much.
The highlight of the trip-The Hill Cumorah Pagaent. It was really good, and I mean really good. I love the way the church always does things in a classy way.

We spent some time in the Sacred Grove thinking about some of the experiences we have had this past few months. We felt great peace and are so thankful for our testimonies and know that there is life after death and we can be together again someday

Journels

2007-07-10T22:05:00.001-07:00

Today I had Emalie and Ashley over to spend the day. They also helped me to babysit McKenna. I had a reason for all of this. Journels! They made and decorated journels. I had fun with them and they are so creative. I told them they had to write a page about Mike and how they feel about all that has happened. Last week Shelby came and helped and created a Journel also. Tomorrow it is Katie and Haley's turn. I have the cutest and nicest granddaughters. I sure do love them and appreciate how nice they always are to me.

2007-07-04T16:47:00.001-07:00

"CHEESE"

2007-07-04T09:57:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July!

Father's Day

2007-06-24T18:22:00.000-07:00

I let Joey take my camera around and take some pictures. Here's what he took.

Alright, so I took that last one but it was too cute not to share.

Will They Come?

2007-06-21T08:33:00.000-07:00

Who are those old people in that picture? It couldn't be us, surely we haven't gotten that old.
Time goes by swiftly when your having fun. ( fun?) Well, Kristen got me into this and I really don't think there is anybody out there interested in what is going on in our life. However maybe we can entice our other children to add a few commemts and pics once in a while. This could be somekind of family newsletter or something. Maybe even a journel of sorts. So here goes, lets see what happens. Mom, aka Gramcrackers.

2007-06-20T18:03:00.000-07:00

Welcome

2007-06-19T20:55:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Don and Sandy LeSueur Family blog!