Callister Family

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:13:00 +0000

Alex's Birthday Party

Tom and Amy and Melonie Christmas Party

Kristin and Rachel at the Christmas Party

Stevie, Andrew and Dan at the Christmas Party

Angie, Alex and Caleb at Christmas party

Samantha, Derid, Tayson and Stephen

at Christmas party

Deena and Deb, Chriatmas party

Christmas party

Christmas Day

Anniversay Family Dinner

I am finally updating my blog. A lot has happened the last two months. We had a birthday party for Alex on the 21st of November. Her birthday is the 23rd. We had most of the family that live around here there for the fun. She is 16 yrs old now and will be driving soon. We hope that she drives to our house often.

We had a great Thanksgiving feast with much of the family here for that. We have decided to have our celebration on the Saturday after Thanksgiving with the hope that less conflict with other family time will be better for all. It turned out to be a great idea and we will make that our tradition. We enjoyed the company of the Josh and Deena Callister family, the Dan and Angie Callister family, the Stephen and Deborah Skokos family, and the Tom and Amy Callister family. We ate good food, played some games and watched a bit of the Utah/BYU football game.

December brought us some additional visiters. The Derid and Rachel Ure family. Derid had graduated from Ortho school and will now be starting to work in Lubbock TX as an Orthodontist. We had the joy of spending some good time with them in December. Alex had the opportunity to sing in the chorus for the Christmas production of "The Forgotten Carols" . We went to see that at the Cottonwood High School, and it was very good. Loved to see Alex singing on stage. We had our annual Christmas party on the 12th this year. It worked out really well. We had 4 of our 6 children and their families there and would have had no one had we done it on Christmas Eve. So we are willing to break from tradition and have more of the family there...it is kinda what it's all about. We had the same people there as we did on Thanksgiving but added the Ure family and Kristin. Sooo much fun!!!!! The day started with a "Surprise" party for Derid. His family came down from Idaho and we met at the Macaroni Grill resturant for lunch. We told Derid that we wanted to take he and Rachel out for lunch to celebrate his graduation. When we got to the resturant, most of his family, and alot of ours were there to surprise him. After, we all came to our home and were able to bless their little baby Ellie. It worked out so nice to have all that family there together for that.

Our actual family party started with a trip to Grandma's Rehab to visit with her and to go caroling down the halls. It is fun to do and see the excitment on the faces of many of the residents. Some join us in their wheel chairs and walkers. Thanks to Dan for playing the guitar and getting the music together for that. We came back home and ate yummy food and played some traditonal Callister games......candy bar game, decorating gingerbread houses, What Were You Thinking (Christmas style), and of course the Chimes. We exchanged true white elephant gifts and all had a good laugh at those. Good time!!!!

Chritmas Eve Von and I went for a wonderful snowshoeing hike in Little Cottonwood Canyon on the Red and White pine trail. Amazingly beautiful!!!!! That evening we had Tom and Amy and family over for dinner and some games. Christmas day was fun because we had visits from Josh and family and Stephen and Deb. We played Apples to Apples ( a new kid favorite) and a new game that Stephen brought into the family "Bang".

On our Anniversary the 27th, we had family with us again. Family home evening with everyone in town but the Ure's...they were still in Idaho. But on the 29th we had a wonderful time in the Jordan River Temple as a celebration of our 35th anniversary. We (Josh, Deena, Stephen, Deb, Derid, Tom, Amy, Von, Maureen) did sealings as a family and that was a very special experience. A little side note to this is that Deborah wore my wedding dress in the Temple that night.

As you can tell the last 2 months have been awesome and blessed with lots of family time together. We know that everyone is busy, and we hope to see most of you in this year. Have a great 2010.

Trip to Nauvoo

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:47:00 +0000

So I am finally getting around to posting about our trip to St Louis and Nauvoo. We had such a great time. Of course when you travel with Dan and Angie it is always fun. Just so you know, I always get these pictures on in the wrong order, but oh well!! We spent Dad's birthday at Rachel and Derid's and they made the day fun for us all. We had the weekend to be with them, and we went to the famous Arch. Dan and Angie, Tayson and Derid went to the top. It is a very exciting thing to do.

We also went to "The City Museum" with the Ure's. IT is an amazing place. It is sort of a playground for adults. IT is very random with slides and interesting things to climb and crawl through. This is Dan and Angie crawling through a wire tube that is about 100 feet of the ground. I was happy to be taking the pictures.

We also went to the historic Cahokia Mounds which are very close to St. Louis. It is the remains of the most sophisticated prehistoric native civilization north of Mexico. This area had hundreds and thousands of people living there hundreds of years ago. Very Very cool!!!!

So on our way home we visited many different sites. We went to Liberty Jail, Far West, and Adam-ondi-Ahman. I loved walking around Adam-ondi-Ahman. I had not really wanted to take the time to go there. But am sooo glad we did. What a peaceful and, I thought, beautiful place. I did some more reading about it when I got home. Loved it!!

We continued into Colorado, and spent some time in Rocky Mountain National Park. It had snowed the day before, so we could not go all the way through it, but what we saw was very beautiful. We stayed the night in Craig Colorado, then on to Utah. We went to Vernal and climbed to the "Native American Rock Art" that is so amazing. There is so much to see and you can get right to them. Many of these are 2000yrs. old. I appreciate the sacred history that they portray.

We went at the "off" season, so we were the only people at most of the church history sites we visited, which is my favorite way to see them. It is so peaceful and you can really get a feel for the history and events that took place there. We are at Carthage Jail here in this picture. There is a very special feeling here.

We drove about 20 miles north east from Nauvoo to a little town called Webster. It is here that Thomas Callister lived and owned property. According to the records this peace of land was the very place he owned. The little town probably did not look much different then it does right now. Pretty cool. We were also able to locate the property of both Amasa Lyman and Edward Partridge in Nauvoo.

Out side of Nauvoo there is a really cool cemetery and it is here that many of the Mormons were buried. Edward Partridge is buried here in an unmarked grave. This is the monument there that the Church dedicated to his honor.

We had the opportunity to attend a session in the beautiful Nauvoo Temple. It was made to look as much like it might have then. It had wooden floors with carpets on them for example. Of course they had to make it modern and functional in most ways. I loved it!!!

This is the Temple as the pioneers would have seen it. Nauvoo is a little peaceful place. There are several homes and businesses that were built and owned by the pioneers that have been repaired by the church and it truly gives you an idea of what it all might have looked like then. A really neat place.
We are so grateful that we were able to take this trip. We could have spent much more time in each of these places. Thanks to Dan and Angie for going with us and sharing the experience. And thanks to Rachel and Derid for taking such good care of us.

Moss family

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:23:00 +0000

Thank Heaven for Little Girls

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:06:00 +0000

Some reflections from dad:

Yes, thank Heaven for little girls that are beautiful, thougtful and fun. That defines all three of my little girls, but one in particular is on my mind today. Years ago Deborah and I got to sing and dance in a Broadway Review production. We joined some other lucky fathers and their daughters in a dance to "Thank Heaven for Little Girls". The practices were fun and the group was fun. I don't remember being particularly nervous, probably because I was dancing with a dancer who made it easy. At Deborah's wedding celebration I had the same experience, but now I was dancing with the bride, gliding through the steps with ease with a smiling, happy, grown-up and beautiful woman. Deborah and Stephen were so happy and their happiness seemed to spread to everyone there. I was so happy to be identified as the father of the bride.

I suppose it is a prideful thing, but I am so proud of Deb and each of our daughters for developing the qualities that attract the fine husbands each of them have.

The fun celebration went by quickly. People were laughing and participating throughout the night. Like the father of the bride, they didn't want this party to end.

Deb and Stephen have a bright future ahead of them. I wish the best for the newly weds.

family pics

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 22:07:00 +0000

These are the pictures of our family. I already croped them, so if you want the uncroped ones so you can do things with them let me know. I also had some others out side the Temple but thought these were the best. Whatever :)

ure family

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:51:00 +0000

Aunt Margaret

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:50:00 +0000

This is to let you all know that Aunt Margaret fell yesterday and broke her ankle pretty badly. She is in the VA hospital right now waiting for her swelling and blood sugar to go down so that they can operate to set her ankle. She is doing OK and is in good spirits. Dad and uncle Jerry went in to give her a blessing. Don't know how long she will be in the hospital, but will surely go to a rehab ... to help her get back and going again. Please stay safe and well. Am praying for all of you!!!!

Awesome Hike

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 17:54:00 +0000

Dad and I did a great 24th of July hike. It is now one of my favorites. It is the Millcreek to Lambs canyon. Once at the top, you can see both Parleys Canyon and the Salt lake Valley. It has been a wet year, and the growth and wildflowers were unbelievable. What can I say but "Awesome".

It was pretty steep, but Dad slowed down so that I could keep up with him. Going back down was hard on the knees, but it was so worth it. I love that we can drive 20 min. to a trail that will totally take your breath away. It was just the two of us on the tops of the mountains....the world was ours and we loved it!!!

Later, we went to the Cottonwood Heights park and watched the Fire works with Deb and Stephen. It was a great day :)

Ma and Pa are back from Trek

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 00:45:00 +0000

Well, Dad and I just got back from our Stake Pioneer Trek. We were Ma and Pa to 10 great kids. The ages ranged from 17 to 12 years. We had a handcart to pull as a family with all our gear. Just like the pioneers. We even went on our trek in the same area that they would of traveled the last stretch before coming to the SL valley. We spent 4 days on this trek and covered about 20 miles. 10 of which was on the first day. Lots of hills and dry dusty HOT trails. It was very hard! We did not see a tree pretty much the whole time. Our family faired pretty well, but many had blisters, sprained ankles, and heat problems. But as you can see from the picture, we ate pretty darn well. That was our third day breakfast. Sausage, eggs, potatos and cheese....YUM

We camped and made our own shelter with a big tarp and the handcart. Some nights were better than others. our kids loved to sleep under the stars mostly. It was so hot during the day that we thought we would die, and then it was freezing at night. The dew caused us to have wet sleeping bags every morning. One morning, Gabby (one of our kids)'s sleeping bag had frost on it. We also slept among the dried cow pies (:

My family were good trekers.... the handcart was very heavy and some of the hills were a bit steep. Really good kids!!! We had a couple of strong boys and some strong girls. They were real troopers. IT WAS HARD!!!

We also had a girl that had damaged her knee and could not walk. So we put her on top. We only went about an hour that way before leaders in charge of the land ( a couple missionary cause it is church owned land) said we could not do that. She had to be pulled in a seperate handcart. 2 or 3 of us then helped with that. I have to say that I felt my 56 years on this trek and realized just how out of shape I am. It was a very good experience. We did a lot of family things together and had a good time. We had some super kids to work with.

This is our family on the last day ready to do the last few miles and go home. I must say, that I am glad to be home now and on to the other exciting things coming up in our lives.

Fun Times

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:45:00 +0000

I was inspired by Becky to post some pictures about what has been going on in our life. We had a fun trip with Deb, Dan and Angie to Lava Hot Springs Idaho. It was cold, but we had fun just getting together. I did a little Temple trip with Darylee. It was great!! We did the Logan Temple on Tuesday,( with Angie and Stephanie Griffin) then did the Manti and St.George on Wednesday. It was a long day, but was really nice. We are planning to do all the Temples in Utah.

Parked in the Back

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:30:00 +0000

It is very strange to have the Snoasis parked in the back for the summer. I have mixed feelings, mostly because of family. I won't get to have much family around and I will sure miss that. The extra money was always great.. for us all. I will admit that I still struggle with the other business getting our spot and our costumers. Grrrrr! But it also feels good to not have to worry about all the day to day, hour to hour stuff. Dad has been chopping the trees and digging and moving plants, and getting into the daily yard things. I have been planting flowers (my sad attempt every year). We are hoping to get out and travel around a bit more this year...who knows? We are serious about doing the Zion Narrows end of June. Maybe the Thursday before the reunion....or that Friday????? Get down there Wed. or Thurs. night and get into the canyon by 6 or 7 in the morning.... out by 3 or 4 if pretty good hikers. We heard about the way to do it as a day trip and we want to go. Best time is the end of June. Would love any and all to come with us. Think about it :)

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:17:00 +0000

We had such a great weekend. First of all Rachel and kids came on Thursday and we have been enjoying them so much. But we have also had some wonderful things happen this weekend. Caleb turned 8 years old and we all gathered at his house to wish him a Happy Birthday. He got many great gifts, but his favorite is his very own guitar. It is a really nice one too. He played while we all sang to him. Happy birthday Caleb!!

Saturday, Daniel graduated from Utah State University. It was a very big day, and we are so pleased that we could celebrate this great day with him and Angie.

The actual graduation was short and very nice. His degree is in Geography from the college of Natural Resources. CONGRADULATONS DANIEL!!!!!! They had a wonderful luncheon for all of us as well. It was a great day. We love you Dan.

Caleb went with Grandpa and the great uncles on the yearly Flaming Gorge fishing trip. I think he had fun......I know that grandpa sure had fun having him there with him. Grandpa's dream is to take his grandchildren with him on his adventures.

We took a little trip to the Mayan Resturant. Something none of us had done for a while. Tayson and Mia loved the divers, and we all got pretty wet. It seemed that they did more diving and more often then I remembered. IF you come this summer to visit and we go there, maybe you will see someone you know diving. Ask Deb and Stephen about that :)

We just had a great weekend with such great things happening. But just spending time with family is the best. We love you all!!!!!

Zions

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 20:56:00 +0000

Dad and I did the St. George via Delta and Venice trip this weekend. We had a great visit with Grandma and Neil and Julie. Got some good plans for the reunion this July, and are excited to get that all going. Grandma was doing good, and we played card games with her.....golf, fish, ya know, the fun ones. Next morning we drove to Cedar and St. George so Von could do some work. We were able to go to the Temple while we were there. The St. George Temple is so beautiful and the grounds were so peaceful. Then off to Zions.

Zions is one of our favorite spots. The park was open full scale with shuttles and all. We did not have a lot of time, so just parked the car and walked a ways up the road to see some of the amazing sites.

You don't have to be a hiker to enjoy the beauty!!!! However we love the hiking too. Next time we will allow ourselves more time. From Zions, we drove to Venice and spent the night there with grandpa. It is always good to spend time with him. He is rather lonely, but doing good. We noticed some major repairs that need to take place with his house there, and will be planning a trip just to get some things done. Could use help from anyone wanting to take some time to do that with us. Inside and outside stuff. I know, sounds like fun :). We love our parents, and are glad when we get the chance to spend time with them. Life is pretty good to us.

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 20:13:00 +0000

What a fabulous time we had in Italy!!! This is a picture of our stop in Pisa. Note the leaning tower in the back ground. It was so beautiful and much bigger than I expected. We spent the day traveling to Pisa, and then to Florence. We saw the statue of David (could not take pictures), and walked around in Florence. Would love to be able to go back there and see more.
Becky was able to go to Venice with Dad, Alex, Stephen and Deb. I stayed home and played with the Moss boys. We all had a good time that day. What an interesting and fun place to see.

A group picture in Becky's kitchen. We spent a lot of time there. Becky took such good care of us and feed us lots of yummy food. We had a lot of different pasta dishes... Italians eat pasta everyday. Thanks again to Becky and David!!!!!

We spent two days in Rome/Vatican. What an awesome place. There is truly so much to see and so much history to learn about. I loved it!!! We walked and walked till Alex said that her legs were like rubber.

This picture was taken in the fields behind Becky and David's home. It was beautiful there with the green fields and the fruit trees in blossom. We had such a great time and saw so much. It would fill up many pages to tell it all. We visited Venice, Pisa, Florence, Rome, Revenna, The Republic of San Marino, the most amazing Cave, and some of the cool things in Cesena (home of the Moss family). The most important thing that we did was attend Adam's baptism. Thanks for letting us be a part of that. We have lots of pictures we would gladly show anyone who wants to see them. What a wonderful experience the Moss family has given the Callister Clan by opening their home and giving of their time to us. Thank You! Thank You!

January 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 04:25:00 +0000

We had such a good time celebrating Deborah's Birthday. Josh and Family came, and Dan and Angie drove down, and Deb's friend Stephen also came to share in the fun. We had dinner and games and much ,much more. We have decided to have a "Family Night" get together, each second Sunday from now on. Would be great if you all could come. Josh, Caleb and Sammy went with us to Delta to see grandma Callister and we had a great visit with framily there. Aunt Catherine came last week and that is always fun for me!!! Grandpa Warner drove up for a couple of days as well. Good times!!! What a nice start to the New Year.

Alex's concert

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 20:19:00 +0000

Von, Deb and I had a good time this last week going to Alexandria's concert at her school. She did such a great job and it was so fun to see her do this fun thing. She is one of the few that tried out for this singing group to make it. She seems to enjoy it alot. Christmas Concerts are great, We loved it!!! Thanks Alex!!.

Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:54:00 +0000

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!! The smallest we have ever had. Dan and Angie, Deb, Mom and Dad. Yes, just the five of us, but don't let the small number fool you into thinking it was not exciting....... It was awesome!!!!!! We not only had a fab dinner, but we decided to check out some of the ancient American history in our beautiful state. Friday we drove down to Nine Mile Canyon by Price and we had a wonderful time seeking out the Indian rock art and finding interesting relics we (Dan) are sure were left behind by them. It was a real pretty day and we only wish that we could have spent more time there. Alex joined us Friday evening for games and movies. Then Saturday we (Deb, Alex, Maureen and Von) drove to Delta for the big family party there. It was at IPP again this year and was so much more fun then the gatherings have been in past years. There were 75 people there and it was sooo nice to visit with everyone. Grandma is still looking good and seemed to enjoy herself. Good times. Hope you all had a great time with family and friends this Thanksgiving. Love you all!!

Empty Nest

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:12:00 +0000

This is a short entry, but wanted to put in a few new pictures and let you all know that we are still alive. We have done a few things since the close of the Snoasis and family have all gone back home. Von had some business in Cedar City and St George plus we had tickets at Tuacan for "Les Miserable", thanks to Uncle Robert warner. We had a great time with some of my cousins, and visited Grandpa in Venice and Grandma in Delta. We hiked from one end of Snow Canyon to the the other and was it beautiful!!!!

Summer Hikes

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:10:00 +0000

A good part of my summer has been spent up in the beautiful mountains behind our home. We are so blessed!!! Apart from the time that family have been visiting, this has been the highlight of my summer. I go on a hike at least once, but usually twice a week. Have seen an old (1870) steam engine on the top of a mountain, incredible flowers, a moose, mountain sheep, lakes, old mine shaft, and views that are breathtaking. Angie, Dan and Von have shared in many of these fine experiences. I love the smells, the sounds, the sights and the feel of the mountain air. Next to the Temple, it is the most spiritual place I know. mom

Celebrate August

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:32:00 +0000

Dates to remember in August. August 17th .. Mom's (Maureen) Birthday
18th .. Josh and Deena's Anniversary
22nd .. Annie's Birthday
22nd .. Rachel and Derid's Anniversary
28th .. Gabriel Moss's 4th Birthday
Happiness to all who celebrate this month. We love you!!!!

Good times in June

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 23:09:00 +0000

The month of June was a great one for us!!! We had Annie here with us working for about 3 weeks. Rachel and kids were here visiting for about the same time. Derid's time with us was shorter because he had to get back to school. Jake was here for a few days as well. We had good times hiking, working, playing, working and Oh yea, sometimes we worked at the Snoasis. As you all know, the Snoasis takes up a lot of our time each summer. Dan and Angie are great to take charge and help with that. IT is a little more quiet and less exciting with most of the visitors gone. Looking forward to Aug. and more visitors. Caleb had stitches on his mouth and wanted to make sure that Eli and Adam saw this picture. We wish Andrew a Happy Birthday on the 9th of July, and Jake and Annie a Happy Anniversary on the 23rd. Love you all!!

June Celebrations

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 01:28:00 +0000

We wish Happy Birthday to: David - June 3
Daniel- June 6
Jacob - June 12
We Love You Guys!!!!

We made it to Eugene

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Mon, 19 May 2008 01:31:00 +0000

We had such a good time in Oregon with Jake and Annie and Moby. Dan ,Angie, Deb, and Mom and Dad traveled up to the green state and saw some very beautiful country. we hit a few thrift stores and went to Silver Falls NP, to the ocean, and just relaxed and played Mormon rook at J&A's. We had good food, good company and it was just plain great!!! NOw we have to get back to work....and try to get the Snoasis started. Good Times. Thanks to Jake and Annie

Our Trip To Venice (Utah)

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Sun, 04 May 2008 15:57:00 +0000

We took a little trip to Venice to see Grandpa this last weekend and had an enjoyable time with him. we took Margaret with us this time and was fun to spend a little bit of time with her as well. She is doing OK, but finds it very hard to get up any stairs with out a lot of pain. But we did a lot of talking and was good to be with her again. We also visited with uncle Robert for a short while. Kent and family were there as well. Haven't seen him for a long time. He looked real good and told me to tell Jacob that he is still waiting for his lokalgrown T-shirt :). Grandpa is doing well enough and seems to be healthy. He doesn't do much ( we think he is depressed) and his hearing in one ear is real bad, but he is still sharp and is fun to talk to. I had him give us a tour of Richfield and show me where the family lived when I was born. The picture is of that house. It was in much better shape he said 56 (wow) years ago. The Owl is a resident of the big pine tree in the front yard in Venice. Dad saw it spread it's wings and fly to the shade tree, also in our yard. We know he lives there from all the pellet droppings in the yard under the pine tree. Do you remember dissecting owl pellets as a cubscout Josh? Pretty interesting stuff. He is awesome isn't he? It was a good time

Caleb's Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Von and Maureen) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:09:00 +0000

We all want to wish Caleb a happy Birthday on the 3rd of May!!!!
We love you Caleb. He will be 7 years old.