Happy 50th Barbie!

Barb is the littlest girl being held by her mother.

In both of these pictures, Barb is in the front row, 2nd from the right.

The day she married me!

Fifty reasons why I love my Barbie:

1. She loves children, not just our children, but everyone’s children
2. Her laugh is infectious
3. She sews cool stuff
4. She also knits cool stuff
5. She turns the heat up when I’m cold
6. And if I’m really cold she snuggles up to me
7. In fact she sleeps right next to me each night
8. We don’t fight
9. She cooks my favorite meals
10. She bakes scrumptious cookies nearly every Sunday
11. I can share my deepest thoughts with her
12. She has only told me once that one of my ideas was “stupid” (it was an idea to open a Harley-Davidson motorcycle rental business) and by the way we are not supposed to say “stupid” in our house.
13. She is thrifty, but never cheap
14. She loves to read
15. She is very unselfish
16. During our courtship, she was very patient with me when I seemed to not want to settle down
17. She encourages me to take my vitamins
18. She makes the absolute best butter-milk waffles
19. She drove the “sag-wagon” for our Yellowstone bike trip
20. She is best friends with our daughter, Katie
21. She has dealt with hardships and continues to love Heavenly Father more and more
22. She writes letters to Sammy weekly
23. We have had two major moves, six major job changes and she never once questioned my abilities, motives, or sanity
24. She loves to go camping (she never liked camping before our marriage)
25. She is very supportive of our children’s endeavors
26. She supports me taking the boys shooting even though she can’t stand guns
27. She calls me at least three times each day
28. She leaves love notes around the house for me to find when she goes on trips without me
29. She drives faster than me (at certain times this can be a demerit)
30. She buys Oreos and we always have milk (she doesn’t complain if I “dunk em”)
31. She has amassed at least two years of food storage (we are working on h2o)
32. She still irons my work shirts
33. She gets up each morning with our kids as they have go to seminary
34. She makes lunches for me and our kids each day
35. She likes me to come to bed with her.
36. She grew up having nice things but she has never pressured me to provide nice things
37. Her treasure is her family
38. She has faith and confidence in me
39. She helps me to be a better person and she expects me to be a better person
40. We have owned three dogs and I suppose we’ll have more dogs but Barb really doesn’t like dogs
41. In 1993 I was kind of selfish but she never told me I was being selfish. She knew I would snap out of it
42. She taught our daughter to be modest and she taught our boys to have manners
43. She supports me in my church callings
44. She pretty much practices what she preaches
45. She and I have a “routine” life, but she makes our “routine” life so much fun
46. She enjoys quick trips to the beach (Huntington) with our kids and she doesn’t mind if I stay in the water for hours on end
47. She tells me several times each day that she loves me
48. She lets me day-dream about Harleys and sometimes even calls me when she pulls up next to one
49. She is faithful to her marriage covenants
50. She is virtuous in every way

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I love you!

Love, Mikey

(this blog was secretly hijacked with the help of our wonderful daughter)

Life is full of surprises....

We received the dreaded phone call Saturday that Mike's dad had passed away.

He was on a horseback ride and was thrown off and died instantly.

Here is the Obituary that we wrote today.

George Gary Creer was born 6 November 1933, in Bancroft, Idaho to David
Russell and Genevieve Nuttall Creer, the second of four children. Gary passed away
on 20 March 2010, in St. George, Utah due to an accident while horseback riding
with his wife of 56 years, Sidney, and with his son, Steven and wife, Marlene Creer.

Gary attended Hamilton Elementary, Roosevelt Junior High, East High and the
University of Utah, in Salt Lake City, Utah. For three years, he served his country in
the U.S. Navy, Cryptography Section, National Security Agency, Washington D.C..
Gary met his future wife, Sidney Kay Smith while in junior high school. Courtship
began during her senior year at East High and they were married 19 February
1954. Together they have four children, 14 grandchildren, and five great
grandchildren. They are passionate about supporting each one of them in their
pursuits and achievements.

For years, Gary enjoyed a sales career representing the business technology,
clothing and medical industries. With his work, the Creer family lived in cities
around the U.S., including Boston, Dallas, Portland, Kansas City, Buffalo,
Breckenridge, Boulder, and Lansing, before moving back to Salt Lake City in 1974.
More recently, Gary and Sidney lived in the Park City and Midway areas, and in
1999 settled in St. George, Utah where they owned and operated a custom
screening business.

A life-long member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gary was
ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood by Elder Ezra Taft Benson in 1954, and
served in church callings such as a stake missionary, Young Men’s President,
Explorer Scout Leader and most recently, High Priest Group Leader and Ward
Employment Specialist. Gary’s hobbies and interests included hunting, leather
crafts, photography, rifle and pistol reloading, fine arts (graphite pencil) and skiing.
Gary was a certified ski instructor and also served as an assistant coach for the U.S.
Alpine Ski Team in the late 1960s. In his later years, he loved horse packing and
training, cowboy poetry recitations and playing an occasional game of golf. From
2005 to 2008, he was privileged to help design and build an equestrian facility in
Ivins, Utah.

Gary is survived by his devoted wife, Sidney, and his four children: Jennifer
(Richard) Kohler of St. George; Steven (Marlene) Creer, also of St. George; Jeffrey
(Darci) Creer of Mission Viejo; and Michael (Barbara) Creer of Las Vegas. Gary’s
grandchildren are: Tonya Pierce, Tara Paddock, Andrea Sato, Heidi Kohler, Carson
Creer, Niklaus Kohler, Cameron Creer, Michael J. Creer, Dan Creer, Kathryn Clover,
Samuel Creer, and Matthew Riley Creer. Bradley Creer and Noel Kohler, preceded Gary in
death. His great grandchildren are Ethan Pierce, Kaleb Pierce, Asher Pierce, Sydney
Sato and Levi Pierce. Gary is also survived by his two brothers and sister: Clare
(Maurine) Creer, Ralph (Jairine) Creer, and Jeanine (Eugene) Larsen.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday March 27, 2010, at noon, Sunset 3rd
Ward, 415 N Westridge Drive in St. George, UT. A viewing will be held on Friday
evening, March 26th, from 6 to 7:00 PM, Metcalf Mortuary, 288 W. St. George, UT,
and from 10:45 to 11:45 AM at the Sunset chapel prior to the funeral services.
Interment at Tonaquint Cemetery, 1777 S. Dixie Dr., St. George will follow the
services. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the LDS Church’s Perpetual
Education fund (pef.lds.org) or Humanitarian Services, at (ldsphilanthropies.org).

Riley's letter to the Gov about School funding.

This was Riley's school assignment to write about the cuts in school funding.
Riley took the satirical approach. I think it is pretty entertaining.
Sarcasm is not always good, but for this I think it proves a good point...


Deer Mr. Gibbons,

I just wants to tell you that I thinks your doing a grate job as govenor. I also wants to let you no that skool in nevada is very well. The teachers are payed so good, and my class has many kids in it. I like to be in the big class, I thinks I lern more that weigh. In the big class, I can talk and the teacher don’t know about it. The big class is more fun. Won day Phil shot a spit ball at my teacher. The hole class laughed and the teacher never saw Phil do it.

My brother Jim plays soccer at the growned up school. He is really really good. Jim says you are going to make soccer go away by giving the skool less money. Jim isn’t happy. I thinks soccer can go away. Jim can find knew things to do like play with the colored on people with the poky faces down the street. The colored on people have pictures all over their body and shiny metal on their faces. They smoke white sticks and trade flour pouches. Jim can play with them if soccer goes away.

Jim also says he wont gradute from the growned up school if you give less money. Jim says if he only has six classes he wont get enuff credits. He says he needs ate classes so he can gradute. Jim says if he can only have six classes he will just quit skool and flip boogers. I said boogers are gross and he shouldnt flip them anywear.

Have a nice day Mr. Gibbons. Remeber me and how much I learn in skool. Dont worry about Jim hes just grumpy because he didnt get a nap in skool today.

Sinceerly,
Riley

Whose phone did you call?

Cell phones in our family are very confusing.

If you call Katie's number and it goes to her voice mail

you hear Riley telling you to leave a message for Katie.

If you call Riley's phone, you get Katie telling you to leave a message.

She does tell you it is Riley's phone.

If you call Mike's phone you get Sam telling you he has been called on a mission.

You might never know it is Mike's phone.

We like to add an element of surprise to life.

My phone... well I have no idea what the message is I never call myself.

Road Trip...

I love a road trip!

This trip was for my dad's 90th Birthday party.

We had a great time, we laughed, we cried and then we laughed
You get all my siblings together and it is crazy.

We have a good time and we do enjoy life.

Katie & Jeremy were there...

...we always love to see them!

Of course, the boys went skiing, can't go to Utah without a day of skiing.

Just in...Pictures of Sam's Mission Life