Elder Tagg

Breton's doing well in Brazil. He passed his year mark a while back - and has about 11 months to go. He's serving as a zone leader there - and has his first North American companion. He enjoys teaching, baptizing, studying, and serving. We look so forward to his Monday letters. We miss that boy - but are so pleased with his selfless service. Yeah Bret!!!!

National Champion.

Yep - BYU did it again. In 2011, they won their 4th National Lacrosse Championship!! The big difference this time - they had none other than Tanner Tagg on the roster. He spent his time on long pole defense and enjoyed roughing folks up whenever he got the chance. While that meant occasionally spending some time in the penalty box, it was all worth it. And yes, these National Champs are wearing rings to prove it. Go Cougars! If you ever get the chance to watch some archived Cougar games, listen carefully - that's Les you can hear, cheering from the bleachers!

I love to see the temple.

Dear sweet Shawney (on the left) went to the temple for the first time over Christmas break. It was a lovely temple session - full of aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, parents, Gram, and even a couple of cute friends. The temple has blessed the life of our family in countless ways - not the least of which is Shawney's personal desire to make and keep sacred covenants. I really do love to see the temple - especially with people that I love so much!

Birthday Party Fun!!

Marcy is 11! Seems like womanhood is just around the corner, dang it! She enjoyed having 11 friends over for a party - games, decorating birdhouses, make your own pizza, and a little 'Just Dance' to round things out. She's a great girl and it's been a great 11 year run!

One year down . . .

See that cute boy second from the left? That's our Bret! He's been on his mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for over a year now - unbelievable! We got to skype with him the day after Christmas - such a treat. He's doing great and, even though we miss him so much, we couldn't imagine him doing a finer thing and being a finer man. Yeah Bretty!!

Annual record . . .

Here's the end of 2011 - documented with a family pic. We were missing Tan, Les, and Bret - literally and figuratively!!! - but we snap away - no matter who's home! A quick shout out to Randon there on the bottom left - he just passed all 4 cpa exams - booyah!! Oh - and Beth - she just got a great new job designing curriculum for a defense contractor - oops - hope I didn't say anything too confidential!

She's a runner . . .

See this girl? She's turned into a runner? Who knew? After one year of detesting cross country in high school, it didn't seem possible. Her biggest accomplishment to date - a half marathon in Utah this past fall. This shot? A 10K in Ashburn on New Year's Eve - and she doesn't even look winded! Looking foward to where she'll run next . . .

Christmas morning . . .

We had a smaller than usual group for Christmas this year - but still a happy one!! Tanner and Les were in Spokane. Ran and Beth were in Atlanta. And Bret, of course, was in sunny Brazil. But that didn't stop us! We lined up in order (shouldn't I have been in front of Shawney?) and headed in to see Santa's abundance. We then enjoyed presents, food, lots of family, church, music, and games. Such a happy day.

Happy Birthday!

What do these 2 great family members have in common? They share the same birthday! Beth turned 26 while Max reached the big 15. They had fun planning the menu together and opening presents together. And, of course, it wouldn't be a birthday for Max if it didn't conclude with a Costco chocolate cake. Yum!

The Geography Bee

There's that Marcy - making her second appearance in her elementary school geography bee. She had some stumpers and didn't advance as far as she would have liked, but we're proud that she made it to the finals. Watch for a future post documenting her successes in the upcoming school spelling bee!

National Honor Society

We couldn't be prouder of Chap. This time, it's because of his accomplishment of applying to and being accepted for membership in the National Honor Society. The application required a lot of work - letters of recommendation, an abundance of signatures related to service, academics, and leadership - not to mention having the academics to back it up. And, as always, he loves a chance for a photo op. Go Chap.

The Appalachian Trail

These two love doing things together - especially if it's something outside! This year, the annual Thanksgiving Appalachian Trail hike was attended by just the two of them. They hiked about 20 miles through the Shenandoah Forest of Virginia and enjoyed the wildlife, the outdoors, the food, and the sense of accomplishment! Can't wait to see what they'll do next year!

Wanted: Dead or Alive!

Marcy and Daren had a foot stompin', knee slappin' good time at the Daddy Daughter activity for the young girls at church. They sported their best western wear, and had fun running sack and wheelbarrow races, eating donuts on a string, and trying to dodge the sheriff by wearing flawless disguises! This daddy and daughter are the best of friends and have fun together, no matter what the activity!

The Holy Land

Daren's work has taken him to many places so far, but by far one of his favorites has been his trip to Israel and to Jordan. While not working, he was able to visit much of the city of Jerusalem - including the Dome of the Rock, the Wailing Wall, the Mount of Olives, and the Garden of Gethsemane. His work showed him first hand that Palestinians and Israelis can work cooperatively together. He also enjoyed some time in Tel Aviv and in Amman, Jordan.