Elder Brazeau Returns With Honor!

The count down has finally ended, Elder Brazeau is home!

It was fun to have an open house for Derek!

It was good to get together with friends and family and visit! Little Paxton, my grandson is at the bar, my brother Steve, Bonnie and Randy Stowe, two of my dearest friends and.... Jeanne....turn around. That's my sister in law facing the other way:) Love you sista!

It was good to see Derek reunited with his old friend....the piano;) I have truly enjoyed hearing the sound of music in our home again.

He was so happy to see some of his wonderful friend, all of which were such good examples to him. Jason and Tricia posed for a quick shot! They were the food models!

My sister Debra was here for the big day! It was so fun to get to share that with her! I want her to know how much I love her and appreciate her help! She helped keep me calm that day and shared stories of her own experience with her return missionary, Brad!

LaDawn (the mother of Teren and Tyson, below) has been such a sweetheart to us. Working for Sky West Air Line, she kept us informed how Derek's flight home was progressing. She had to inform us though that he missed his last leg to St. George which was hard for her to do but she let us know we only had to wait a couple hours for the next flight!

Tyson, Derek and Teren all served within a couple of months of each other and it was interesting that even though they didn't see each other they all served within 1000 miles of each other. They have had a lot of fun reuniting!

We gathered around the piano and sang a few hymns which I was pretty impressed with this group of people and their ability to sing:) We've got Talent!!!

LaDawn Tasia and Evie found a spot to sit and partake in some nourishment. It's so wonderful to see the love these ladies have for my son! Evie and Derek claim each other as cousins even though it is only in spirit;)

All I can say is by the end of that day, I was just plum tuckered out, emotionally and physically! I still have moments where I can't believe he is really home!!!

Mandy and her brother were always so fun to watch growing up. Like a couple of silly puppies teasing each other! It's so fun to see them together again!

You can tell we were so excited to have our Deek back!!! I'm not sure if he was feeling the same excitement as I was LOL.

Grandpa Thurston is so proud of Derek and the man he has become.

I think the thing that has given me the most joy is seeing my kids reunited as brother and sisters! I am so proud of them all and want them to know that they are the best kids a mom could ever have! I love you, Tara, Derek, Kiva and Mandy!

Love,

MOM

Kiva's Big Day St. George Marathon "2010"

We had an awesome day all because of this girl! Kiva ran the St. George Marathon for the first time!

Paxton and Carson were so excited to watch their mom they passed out! These are their signs they would have held, had they have been awake!

Mandy, Austin, Cooper, Tara and I were by a mortuary awaiting her passing..... They had a sign that said "Mortuary Ahead.... Look Alive!!!!" It made a lot of runners smile!

The girls were so excited to see her they ran up the road and greeted her, then they ran with her a ways to give her encouragement!

Gum ma and Coop kept a vigilance at the corner of 300 East and 100 North, one mile away from the finish line.

Tara and Mandy were so proud of her as you can see on their faces!!! They love their sister!

We drove to the finish line just in time!

this is the final stretch. She hasn't seen us yet and is still focused.....

there we go.... we've broke her concentration....the other runner has passed her now.

She would have been 4027th but we made her be 4028th. Isn't family great!!!!

and look ..... she isn't even mad at us!

Newt was happy and proud of his beautiful wife! She didn't even look tired!
Here is the medal she received. It's engraved stone. We are so proud of her! She trained all year for this and achieved her goal. She certainly is an inspiration to me. I love you Kiva! Way to go!!!!! Love M♥M

Elder Brazeau In Oshawa Ontario

Brother Hungerford was one of the Brethren that helped in the mission Derek was in when he served in the city of Oshawa. He refers to the two young men beside him as the dynamic duo.


I received some photos from brother Hungerford that I have cherished so very much. It has been hard to get pictures of Derek and so to receive these just out of the blue was so wonderful.

The young man beside Derek is Elder Dewey, Derek's companion. They were tracting in this photo to a woman by the name of Sherry, in hopes to be able to be welcomed in her home to teach her the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It was so wonderful to get these candid shots of Derek, just to have a glimpse of his day.

Derek is now a zone leader teaching other missionaries and helping them become better missionaries. It has been a very humbling experience for him because he feels he walks away from these meetings learning more than he could ever teach.

It has been so good to see that smile that I have missed so much and for those who have missed it too....

I share this with you!

April 22nd, Our Ten Year Anniversary in Seattle Washington

We had so much fun exploring Seattle! It was nice to have some time to relax and spend some time together!!!

This is the Westin where we stay on the 43rd floor!

We had a fantastic view from our room ! This is Elliot Bay and down town Seattle! You can see the Space Needle to the right with the Mono Rails leading to it. Both of these were built for the 1962 Worlds Fair. Dad worked in Seattle at the time this was built. He told me when the foundation to the Space Needle was being poured, all of the concrete plants in Seattle were shut down to the public in order to facilitate the project.

David and I decided to celebrated our 10 year anniversary at the top of the Space Needle so we rode the Mono Rail there!

We had one of the most wonderful meals we have ever ate!!! Fillet Mignon and Crab, cooked to perfection. It was so yummy! The restaurant rotates at the top so we could look out over all of the city as we ate! At the end of dinner they surprised us with desert! An ice cream sunday with 2 candles:) It had dry ice at the base of the dish so it was as if it was on a cloud! It was so lovely:) Our waiter told us that the restaraunt has served that desert from the begining in 1962!

Since Seattle is know as the Emerald City, David bought me a necklace. It was a key inlaid with emerald's and diamond's. It is so beautiful! What a perfect night

This is "Pikes Market" one of the funnest places we went to. There was all kinds of wears being sold! It is huge!!!!

This was my newest bestess friend until I ran out of french fries! Oh well Say La Vie:)

This is the Metro Transit called the Sounder. It travels from Sea Tac Airport to down town Seattle above and below ground.

Who's that HOT Cowboy???? Eirr Eirr!

We got to go to the Aquarium and saw all kinds of fish and animals that live in and on get Sound.

My favorite were the sea otters!

We went to the Museum of Flight and this is the cock pit of Air force one. It flew President Kennedy and Nixon.

Hey there's that hot cowboy again!!! Nice!!!

A Little Spill At The Races

David is an active member of the St. George Lions Club. One of the events they sponsor is "The Dixie Downs Horse Races". It was held on the 10th and the 17th of April. Above is a photo of the starting gate. These men in the photo load the horses for each race. That good looking Brut in the purple coat is my husband:)

These horses are green and high spirited. As they were loading one of the horses at the end of the day, David almost had the gate shut when the horse rared up and spun out of the gate. David couldn't get out of the way. The horse pushed him down and he caught a hoof on each of the back of his thighs.

Here is what was left of his jeans. I would show you a photo of the injured area but as you can see by the location it may not be appropriate;) But if you know what an Egg Plant looks like.....ya well he is a little stiff and sore and he has appreciated all of the calls from his fellow Lions, Lady Lions, friends and family! Thank you all so much for caring.

Hang Time With Auntie Mandy!

Drew Allan was giving Auntie Mandy some pointers on how to shoot a little hoop!

This is Drews rendition of "Hang Time"

Cooper Roy was not much into basket ball that day but was more interested in what was growing in gummas garden.

Drew joined in helping water the flowers, the plants and...himself! YEA!!!!

These were some photo's I took of our front yard last fall. It was raining that morning and the colors from the Bradford tree were so pretty.

As you can see by the fountain it was a little bit chilly out this particular morning but the goldfish in the water "Fillet" survived yet another winter!