Grandpa's BIG Birthday!

Grandpa Hilton had his 85th birthday on July 11, 2009, and Dad joined him in Pleasant Grove for a long weekend and to help him celebrate the BIG DAY! On Friday the 10th, Western Community Bank, that Grandpa works for as a courier, surprised him with an Open House to honor him. The bank even put an article in the Provo Herald Newspaper so that the Utah Valley community would know about it. Many, many family members and friends took the time to drop by the bank Friday afternoon to share in the celebration and wish Grandpa well.

Grandpa and Dad with Celesta, Victoria and Maxwell. The bank also honored Grandpa at a luncheon before the Open House and gave him a special gift.

Grandpa and his twin brother, Joe (his Big Birthday, too!)

Grandpa with his surviving siblings, Joe, Claire, and Glade.

Jeffrey's 18th Birthday

Jeffrey turned 18 on Wednesday, July 15th . Coincidentally, the 15th was also the opening day for the newest Harry Potter Movie, "The Half-Blood Prince". Understanding that Jeffrey is the biggest Harry Potter fan on the planet, we planned a Surprise Party at the Movies for him. Here he is holding the movie tickets for the 12 noon showing, and glowing with happiness. The reason for the extra glow is that there is a ticket there not only for himself, Gregory, Mom, and Carolyn, but also for Michelle McMurray, a young woman in the ward who Jeffrey especially enjoys being with! We all had a wonderful time, loved the movie, and Jeffrey and Michelle enjoyed lively conversation while we waited for the movie to start. Another surprise for Jeffrey--the Perry family came to the movie also to share the good times with Jeffrey on his birthday!

After Dad got home from work Jeffrey opened birthday cards and presents, then we had his requested birthday dinner (he called it a "Harry Potter" dinner!) of roast beef, mashed potatoes, and green beans.

Angel food cake with Seven-Minute frosting! I didn't have eighteen candles, but I found a #1 and a #8 candle left over from Christina's 18th birthday. He thought that was great, because you could tell right away how old he was without doing all the counting! However, when taking his picture, the numbers are backwards, and it looks like he's 81!

Happy Birthday, dear Jeffrey, Happy Birthday to you! Looks like you're all ready to blow out your candles and have your wishes come true!

Gregory's Birthday 2009

Gregory turned 14 on Friday, July 10th. Because Dad was flying to Utah that day to be with Grandpa for 85th birthday on the 11th (more on that soon), we celebrated Greg's birthday the night of the 9th. The big surprise of the evening came when Gregory and Jeffrey opened their joint birthday present: A Wii game system with accessories. I love the smile on Gregory's face and his enthusiastic response: "I LOVE you guys so much! I mean, I love you anyway, but I really really LOVE you guys!"
Gregory asked me to bake him a second cake with piles of Cool Whip on it for frosting. "Why?" I asked. Why, indeed!!

Oh, save us and preserve us from the Abominable Cool Whip Monster!
Eyeing his lemon layer cake with greedy anticipation!
"Happy Birthday, dear Gregory, Happy Birthday to you--now make a wish!

Jeffrey's Eagle Project!

For his Eagle Leadership Service Project Jeffrey chose to have permanent signs made for the Stake Relief Society's "Gifts From the Heart" annual clothing exchange. Every fall the Relief Society hosts a giant clothing exchange in the cultural hall of the Stake Center. Clothing and household items are dropped off at the Stake Center the night before the event, and then volunteers sort and categorize the donations, hanging them on racks and arranging them on tables. Up until now, the signs to identify clothing categories have been borrowed from a neighboring stake. With the completion of Jeffrey's project, the Stake Relief Society is now self-sufficient.

Jeffrey has been planning and implementing his project since March of this year. After getting his project approved, fund-raising, buying and gathering materials, and getting volunteers to do the work, he finally got the project completed on Saturday, June 6th, and Saturday, June 13th.

The first work day was held at the Prymak's house. Brother Prymak cut boards and pipes to the proper sizes, and did sanding and drilling. Some people cleaned the red lettering off of the PVC pipe with acetone, then washed the pipes with soapy water to get the acetone off before it melted the plastic. Others primed and painted the wooden bases for the signs.

On the second work day, which was held at the Church building, lots of people turned out to put the lettering on the corrugated plastic signs that had been prepared by other volunteers during the week. Some men and boys used 2" and 1" white reflective tape to created large exterior signs designed to guide people through the drop-off process when bringing donations to the church. Others used self-adhesive black lettering to make the interior signs for categorizing the clothing and other items that are donated. We were all thrilled that the signs were completely finished after only three hours of work!

Several weeks later Jeffrey put all the signs together for the Stake Relief Society Presidency and officially turned them over to them. The Presidency was really pleased with the finished product and grateful to Jeffrey for getting the signs made.

The Last Days of 8th Grade!

The last two weeks of school are always a whirlwind of activity, and especially so for the end of the 8th grade year. Gregory finished his tennis season well as the second best middle school tennis player in eastern Prince William County! He shows great potential and is looking forward to playing at the high school level. All those tennis lessons during the fall and winter seem to be paying off!

The final band concert of the year was wonderful. As a percussionist in the band Gregory played multiple instruments, including the timpani, snare and bass drums, and cymbals. Before the end of the school year Gregory auditioned for the drum line in the Gar-Field High School Marching Band and was selected as a bass drummer. He's already had a few practices to begin learning the ropes before band camp begins in August.

The 8th Grade Award Ceremony was exciting for us. Gregory was acknowledged for Outstanding Effort and Achievement in all five of his academic classes (something not very many students achieved). He also received an engraved plaque honoring him as the Outstanding Eighth Grade World History Student for his Team. His teacher, Mr. Lyng, said some very nice things about him when he presented the award. We are so proud of Gregory and his success and efforts in Middle School. We know he'll have a great experience at Gar-Field High School the next four years in the International Baccalaureate Program. Go Gregory!