Christmas 1995

There were THREE new babies (stockings) added to the Westra clan this year (Alyssa, Landon and Janika). Missing Shane, his first Christmas gone on his mission.  The Jensen's alternate with Rick's side of the family, so they weren't there for Christmas Eve, but were able to join for Christmas Day at Merrill and Lorrie's house. 

Here's some video from the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day gatherings ... Dad/Lamar mentions that the tree (notice it's perfect/more commercial shape) was NOT taken from the yard this year. The stockings were hung by the stairs. This was before the big entertainment center, with the older/big tube television. Interesting to note the changes over the years!

https://youtu.be/OCq2IRZliBE

... and more miscellaneous Christmas pictures.

Merry Christmas Memories!

 

1995 ~ Annual Recap and Christmas Newsletter

The official Christmas Newsletter is included at the bottom of this post, and the information in it retyped (for easier reading) and added to a bit for the annual recap here on the blog! 

1995 ... in the news was the Oklahoma City bombing in the U.S., a nerve gas attack in Tokyo subway. Michael Jordan came out of retirement to rejoin the NBA. OJ Simpson was found innocent in his wife's murder trial. The Dow Jones closed above 5000 for the first time. Windows 95 was released. It was the introduction of Ebay. A new optical disc storage media is announced (DVDs!). Popular movies were Toy Story, Batman Forever, Apollo 13, Braveheart. Best Picture goes to Forrest Gump.  Average income was $35,900. A gallon of gas cost $1.09. A US postage stamp was $.32. Bill Clinton was president. 

Closer to home, it was the year for new grandbabies, going from three to six in 1995. There was a  missionary farewell, and a ferret. Here's a peek at the Westra Sibling stories:

• Scott and Amy welcomed little Alyssa into their family, joining Mckenna who turned two (February birthdays for both girls). They ended the year moving from their first home into a nice home in Draper (Rosewood Park Lane). 
• Chris's crew has now been in Fayette for over a year. They have two boys, Conner and Kadan. 
• Wendy and Rick welcomed a baby girl, Janika, as the year came to a close.
• Jen and Gray moved into a new home in West Jordan, got a dog (Samoyed named Loki) and had a baby boy (named Landon). 
• Shane went to the University of Utah, and put in his mission papers. He got his call and was off to Brazil (with a stop-off at the MTC to learn lessons and Portuguese). 
• Derek was going to Bonneville Jr. High, playing soccer (outdoor and indoor), roller blading and spending time with friends. 

This was the first full year in the New Haven house (having moved in November of 1994). Mom and Dad did a lot of landscaping, trying to get Shane's help while he was still around.  

As always, there are more family pictures in Dropbox.

Here's the original Christmas Newsletter ... dot-matrix printer?