Wendover, Louie Anderson, and Sunshine

Last weekend Bill and I went to Wendover to see Louie Anderson. For you young'uns, he's a stand-up comedian, pretty clean, who was popular way-back-when. I'd seen him before, in Las Vegas, with Susie and Sandy, while Bill and Joey were at the Monster Truck show. Kim got us tickets for Christmas, "Row A, Seats 1 & 2," so I told Bill that he involves people in his act who are sitting close to the stage. He started out with a few comments about Mormons - nothing bad- and asked who was Mormon, so we raised our hands. Later he asked Bill if he was offended, and when Bill said no, he made Bill part of his act! Bill and Joe, a smoker, who fed into Louie's smoking jokes. He asked Bill questions, like how old he was (and he said Bill looked pretty good for his age) and what he did. They bantered back and forth and Louie talked about things he'd said - old age, teaching, etc. He was very funny. We laughed the whole time!
The weekend was a nice get-away, until 5:30 a.m. when someone pounded on our hotel room door, yelling at us to let them in because they lived there. By the time Bill got dressed and to the door, as I was yelling at them to go away, they'd realized they had the wrong room and strolled off.
Tomorrow I go off track and am off to Calif. for a week, to relax and play with sister & cousins, and watch my mom watch TV. Thank goodness Bill does a good job of keeping the house and children in order while I'm gone. It sure helps to have Jill living here, too, to take charge when he has to work at the previously-known Delta Center. So enjoy the snow while I enjoy the sunshine!!!

Pat told me on Facebook that I have to ramble on, so I will. However, it will knock off some of my beautiful daughters' pictures and updates, so go to "Blog Archive" in the left column, click on 2008, then on Dec to see them. (It will be worth it!) (Even though Pat is the only one who reads this and she's seen those . . . ). Life in Leeperland is busy. I'm all alone today - Bill is working the Dinosaur show at the "Delta" Center, Joey is at Michael's, and Robin is at Hayley's. Jill is trading in her new car for one she can get financing for. Anyway, I'm supposed to be reading a boring Math book and writing a paper right now, but I'm taking a long break. It's a 3 day weekend after all so it will get done before the Tues. class. I've been up since 5:50 a.m. on a sleep-in Sat. to take Joey and friends to their Pow Wow to earn merit badges. I think I enjoyed it more than they did. Then we went to a church basketball game where I watched these poor boys, with no subs, play against a team much taller than they and with 3 subs. WE WON IN OVERTIME BY 1 POINT!!! This week I went to a meeting to see about getting a doctorate - How does Dr. Leeper sound? When I read about it, it was all theory and research. BLAH! I gotta quit taking classes anyway, but I love to learn. Gotta keep ahead of my 5th graders.
Everyone here is fine and keeping busy. Not much else to ramble on about. Next time I'm up at 3 a.m. I'll ramble on some more. P.S. I track off in 5 1/2 days, but who's counting?????

The Christmas season was full of surprises! Sara, Kevin, & Eric drove in from San Diego, surprising everyone. It was wonderful to see them again. Linda, Bob, and baby Andrew (Andy's son) drove up for Bob's niece's wedding so they spent a few days with us. We couldn't have asked for a better gift!

Sisters Linda & Karen

Leeper Ladies All Together!: Sara Kim Robin Kassie Jill Meridy Katie Kaleena

Grandkids: Eric (Sara's) Andrew (Linda's) Lizzy ( Katie's) Dylan (Kaleena's) Tyler (Kim's) Hannah (Meridy's) Joey (Karen's & Sara's), Anna (Kaleena's) Jenna (Kim's) Maggie (Katie's) & Tavien (Kaleena's)

Merry Christmas! 2008 has been an adventurous year! In January, Scott and I went on a Caribbean cruise. We had a blast swimming with stingrays; cave tubing, and ziplining through the rain forest. We loved it so much that we are taking the kids on a cruise this January. In May, Scott, Jake, and I completed the Ogden Half Marathon! Jake had a busy year. He turned 16 and got his drivers license, a new job at Office Max, and a serious girlfriend. Tyler is taking lessons on the electric guitar. Jenna is one of the top readers in her 1st grade class. We feel very blessed and hope this letter finds you all happy and healthy
Kim, Scott, Jake, Tyler, & Jenna Parkinson kimparkinson2067@comcast.net



Happy Holidays!
I hope the New Year finds everyone well. Our family has just finished moving. We finally have our mini-farm equipped with our three horses, four dogs, one cat, and now seven chickens. It feels like Missouri all over again. We love it. Maggie is 9 and in fourth grade. Maggie keeps busy riding her horse and catching chickens. She likes hunting for eggs. Her goal is to hatch one. Maggie’s a good mother hen. She makes the eggs little cotton beds to help keep them warm. Elizabeth is 12 and in 7th grade. She is enjoying the middle school experience. Elizabeth loves hanging out with friends, riding horses, and singing in her school choir. Her one fear is that she’ll be chased by a headless chicken when her dad decides to have one for dinner. James is still employed at Staker Parsons. He went on his first deer hunt this year. He loves our new farm life. I have a new job. I work at Elk Meadows Elementary with an Autistic Cluster Unit. It’s hard work but I love it. Our big news this year is that we are expecting a new baby at the end of July. Miss and love you all
Love, the Gaulrapps.
jkgaulrapps@yahoo.com