SmithsAfricanAdventures

  On Wednesday, December 27, all the Utah Daughters and Granddaughters came to Salt Lake for the 2:00 matinee of the Nutcracker.  When I was a little girl, my Smith Grandparents had season tickets to Kingsbury Hall at the U of U.  They got tired of seeing the Nutcracker every December (?) so they gave their tickets to my Mother and she took each of her daughters one by one - only two tickets! I took Polly when we lived in Sandy - she was 6 years old.  Granny gave her some butternut Life Savers to help keep her quiet - children at that time they asked to be 8 years old - Polly did great.  It has become a wonderful Christmas tradition for the women in the family to attend a Nutcracker - where ever they are! This flyer was inside the program.  William Christensen began directing the Nutcracker in Ca in 1944.  He moved to Utah and the Ballet West's version has been showing since 1955!   We met for lunch before the show.  The City Creek Mall ...

 December 26, 2023 was Stan's 50th Birthday!  We celebrated with a Memory Book that all the siblings wrote a memory of Stan - plus pictures of his 'wonderful life'!! It was fun to go back and remember such happy times - and a few sad ones!  Happy Birthday Stanford Harold Smith - you have blessed our lives. Valentine Box - train engine! New Franken, Wisconsin Love all these Valentines!!! On December 26, Lindsey and I got to hold three day old twins!  The Kocherhans moved into the ward last fall - he actually served as a young missionary with is in Jamaica 2012!  They have an 16 month old daughter and now a newborn boy and girl!!  So precious from Heaven.  Olivia and I are her ministering sisters and she is getting meals from the ward and one hour of help each afternoon - so she can take a shower!!   Tait, Reid and Zain Fairbanks got this sweet electric car from Santa Claus - they love it so much!  Cute Boys! New Year's Eve for Old People!...

  Christmas surprise!  On December 21, we got a call from Dwayne and Starla Kendell.  They served in the Johannesburg Mission - we met them in the MTC and kept in touch our whole 18 months, they served 23!  It was delightful to have them come to our house and catch up on the happenings in South Africa! Elder Kendell and Elder Perkins - one of the senior couples serving in the Area Office, were mission companions 40 years ago in South Africa!! The Kendells brought us this amazing lamp from a vendor at Irene's Craft Market. He made these temple lamps especially for the missionaries.  We had gotten Nativity ones from him when we were there.  The Kendells were good missionaries and made him a friend and he asked them what the symbol of our Church was - they told him the Book of Mormon and Temples.  Each side of the lamp has a temple - Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town and Salt Lake.  The top has Angel Moroni blowing his trumpet!  Wow - what a g...

  We purchased a live Oregon pine tree from a place downtown that Lindsey told us about.  It smelled so good and didn't drop many needles at all!  We have only about one third of our decorations on it - we used to get much bigger trees! Most of our ornaments this year are from Jamaica, Russia and South Africa!!  I still have a few stuffed animals and the center of attention is the Olive Wood Nativity set Harold brought back from his trip to Jerusalem. Love the two stars - one Toni Rae Peterson Halladay made for us and the yellow paper one Jennie made as a child when we didn't have one. Close up of our pretty tree!  Every year we try to get a picture of us by the Christmas Tree! Reid (4) and Zain (2) were over at our house for a few hours.  I found the Nativity set looking like this! So precious - everyone looking at the Baby Jesus!  Love it and them!! Our banana leaf Baobab Tree from South Africa all dressed up for Christmas!  On December 14, Soph...

Sue told Becky that this is the last year that Anne and Aaron would have their family in the Nutcracker - Revised!  Their dance/Capareia does it every other year. Becky got us tickets and we went to see it!  It was a great weekend.  Here at the show is Becky, Sue, Gaea - behind Berkly and John.                                                               The other end of our row - I sat between Becky and Emma, than Clark, Faye, Sheffield, Kurt, Emily and Ruby.  Kurt and Emily's family came two years ago and it was so much fun to have them come when we were there.   Elisa, Becky, Aaron, Anne, Sue and me - Simon joined us just a few minute later. Here's the wonderfully talented whole family!  Eliza, Aaron, Anne and Simon.  He will graduate this year from high sc...