2020 ... Do We Really Want a Recap?

Family - this IS supposed to be a complete recap! 

If you have additional memories/thoughts for your family, 

or for Utah/US/World that you'd like to add, just email me and I'll update!

2020 ... a year that will be remembered, but one that many might like to forget. There was the Westra Christmas Newsletter and the Annual Slideshow for 2020 which gives a pretty good look at what everyone was up to. The annual Father's Day party still happened ... but Covid canceled a family reunion and the Christmas Eve party. 

There were three weddings ...

One pre-pandemic, one RIGHT before things shut down, and one right in the middle of it all.

Several of the younger generation became homeowners... and this year there has been planning for a new home for Shane&Alicia with a G-suite (section for Margie/Lamar). There was also new baby news!

There were the annual ouchies!

Cal broke his foot ... the FOURTH time. Scott had to have surgery on his spine. Derek decided to try a trip to the ER. Kim had surgery on her ear and Conner ended the year as Cal had begun, except he managed a bigger break that required surgery.  Covid was an issue for a few of the families (Camden was the first, then some of Scott's and all the Jensens) but happily no extreme cases.

Ah Covid ... that has its own blog post, with thoughts and memories (and memes!) from the year (Covid 2020). There was also the EARTHQUAKE in March, with aftershocks afterward. There were worrisome wildfires here in Utah, and worse ones in nearby states, causing smoky skies ... and spooky red skies. There was a night of wild winds that left some Utah residents without power for weeks. The airport was redone, Derek's old boss bought the Utah Jazz, a mysterious "monolith" appeared in the Utah desert and Jupiter and Saturn aligned to create the "Christmas Star"...

The year started with fires across Australia. Kobe Bryant and others died in a helicopter crash. The  Black Lives Matter movement made a mark, and there were protests and riots, in Utah and across the US. There was a plethora of politics and a presidential election. Whew!

Back to the Westra Clan...

Trying to add a little extra to what was in the Christmas Newsletter blurb.

Most snapshots are also in the slideshow.

Scott and Amy ... fun to have Mckenna and Spencer back in Utah. Some boating and razor riding, and S&A cheering on the cheerleaders. Amy and Taylee took a trip to Disney World. Kemery and Mitch got a house, a dog and now a new baby on the way!

Yea, a new and complete family photo for the Chris and Kim crew! A marriage, and a missionary home (temporarily). Lots of hiking, doting on a granddaughter and photo fun. Chris is good at keeping in touch with weekly email updates. 

Wendy sends email updates fairly often and keeps a family blog with all their activities as well as an annual Christmas post to recap their year (see it here). A wedding, a missionary home, college graduation and so much more!

The Blackham's also had a wedding, and once they moved Callahan out, there was a bunch of renovation (new carpet and paint). Gray got a new truck, and some new gadgets for his kitchen/cooking. Jen sent out monthly email updates (and adds them to the family blog as well). 

Shane and Alicia have celebrated being back in Utah/snow with several ski trips. There was a new family car (Kia Telluride), a driver's license for Adria, as well as teaching her to drive a stick in Grandpa's little blue truck. Dancing and biking and home improvement projects ... as well as exciting home plans for the future!

Derek and Danielle always have oodles of adventures going on! So many fun photos to feature. Many home improvement projects, music and art enterprises and their summer went to the birds (with them documenting both a robin's nest and a hummingbird's nest). If you follow Derek on Facebook/Instagram you'll be pretty connected with all that's going on. 

2015 Recap - Slideshow and Calendar Pages

 As the end of the year rolls around, it's time for the calendar and slideshow. 

It is always interesting to reflect on all that happened on the Westra side in 2015.

Most memorable, was Dad(Grandpa) having a heart attack.  Jase, who had been with him when it happened, had to make the phone calls to all the siblings. Dad has been in excellent health and very active, so this was absolutely unexpected. All the siblings gathered at the hospital and it was touch and go for a bit. Then, it seemed he would pull through physically, but his mental health was still in question. Happily, after just a few rough days, Daddy was back.

In Scott's family ... we had a wedding!

The first wedding of a Westra grandchild.

... it was the year of the missionaries! Chris and Kim and THREE missionaries out for 2015. Kim's two girls, Crystal and Kourtney. They both finished their missions here at the end of the year. Kaden is almost home (January) and Corin will be leaving. They will have a combined "homecoming/farewell" for their family! Landon left of course, but so did Janika, Wendy's oldest. 

Shane's family made a big move as the year came to a close ... literally. Due to job changes, they are leaving Utah and heading to California! We've been so lucky to have all our family close by. We will really miss having them around.

Derek and Danielle had some unexpected, but wonderful news! They are pregnant! After infertility and two darling adopted daughters, they were going to get to experience the entire pregnancy process themselves as well. Derek has been so cute documenting Danielle's pregnancy progression. It's another girl, and she's expected in January.

So THAT's what has been up with the Westra bunch this past year. 

Here's the Slideshow 

(it is a little long, I mean it's the WHOLE year from seven families!)

... and there are the calendar pages

 January

 February

 March

April

 May

 June

 July

 August

 September

 October

 November

December

2002 Annual Recap

Family gatherings for Easter, Kaden's baptism, Janelle's baby blessing and of course Christmas Eve!

LaMar turned 65 on May 28, 2002. Margie turned 60 on Nov. 7, 2002

Scott turned 39 on Dec. 16, 2002.   Amy: 34.  McKenna 9, Alyssa 7, Kellen 6, Kemery 4.

Chris turned 36 on Sept. 5, 2002.   Sandy: 35.  Conner: 10, Kadan 8, Corin 5, Camden 0.

Wendy turned 34 on April 29, 2002.  Rick 35.  Janika 7, Jase 5, Jared 3, Janelle 0.

Jeni turned 32 on Nov. 10, 2002.  Grayson: 33.  Landon 7, Callahan 3, Keaton 2.

Shane turned 26 years old on May 3, 2002.   Alicia 22.

Derek turned 20 years old on May 5, 2002.

 LaMar at Ruby River, big hat, 65th Birthday

LaMar retired from Unisys, 1 Jan 2002. He started as a Church Service Missionary at the Family History Library in downtown SLC 12  August 2002.  He worked on Mondays until 5 p.m., then when the Library closed, he walked over to the Joseph Smith Building and worked in the FamilySearch Center there until 9 p.m.  He did this for 8 years until the end of 2010.

14th grandchild was born: to Chris and Sandy: Camden Jacob Westra, 27 Apr 2002.

15th grandchild born to Wendy and Rick: Janelle Marjorie Jensen, 14 Oct 2002.

Scott's family living in Draper: Rosewood Park Lane

Chris's family living in Gunnison. A baptism, baby and Kuikido.

Wendy's family living in Ivins, 582 North 300 West, 84738. 

The Jensen's had a family trip to California.
Read more about their year on Wendy's blog.

Jen's family living in West Jordan, 3692 W 8070 S, 84088.

Jen&Gray had a Florida getaway with Hamlet Homes and a family trip to Oregon.

Shane and Alicia were living at 1764 East 4620 South. Not many pictures in the family Dropbox,
I'm sure they have some more. There were these photos from Shane's work.

Derek was on his mission. A folder of pictures in 2001 ... but nothing for 2002.

Check out more pictures from EASTER and CHRISTMAS ...

Father’s Day Flee – 16-19 June 2002 -- past Pineview Reservoir to Powder Mountain.  Dad wrote: It was a steep drive, and our car had a difficult time getting up the mountain.  The Powder Mountain condos were clear up at the top of the ski area, over 8000 ft in elevation.  We had Wendy’s, Scott’s and Shane’s families. I'm sure Wendy has many more memories in her journal!

 A birthday party for Grandpa. Got many of the Norman cousins to come too. Merrill and Lorrie were gone (left 20 Jun 2002) as mission presidents for three years in the Morristown, New Jersey mission. 

A look at the house and yard in 2002.

Here's a link to the 2002 folder in Dropbox

1997 Recap

 

1997 ... it was the year Pokemon was introduced, Dolly the sheep was cloned, Titanic opened and set box office records, and Princess Diana was killed in a car crash. This was the year most of the family started using EMAIL ... remember dial-up internet and Juno for a free service provider? While the annual Christmas Newsletter gives a quick rundown of what everyone was up to this year, here is a longer list of the family information and activities from this year ...

Ages -

• LaMar turned 60 on May 28, 1997. Margie turned 55 on Nov. 7, 1997
• Scott turned 34 on Dec. 16, 1997. Amy: 29. McKenna 4, Alyssa 2, Kellen 1.
• Chris turned 31 on Sept. 5, 1997. Sandy: 30. Conner: 5, Kadan 3, Corin 0.
• Wendy turned 29 on April 29, 1997. Rick 30. Janika 2, Jase 0.
• Jeni turned 27 on Nov. 10, 1997. Grayson: 28. Landon 2.
• Shane turned 21 years old on May 3, 1997, while he was on his mission. 
• Derek turned 15 years old on May 5, 1997.

Activities - 

• 0118 – Surprise party for Lorrie’s 50th at the Lion House
• 0126 – Clayton Blackham farewell. Mom/Dad, Rick/Wendy attended. Jen sang/Wendy accompanied on the piano.
• 0209 – Merrill and Lorrie's house for Anderson’s birthday. Grandma Norman didn’t make it as she’d fallen and twisted her ankle.
• 0309 -Mom/Dad host birthday dinner for Aunt Diane (her two kids). Adults only.
• 0504 – Family party (Wendy/Shane/Derek birthdays) at Blackham’s house.
• 0517 - Fayette Family Party. Derek and Dad went in the truck, and Margie and Wendy and Janika came in another vehicle (Rick had to work). Jen and Gray and Landon came also but Scott and Amy couldn’t make it as McKenna had a recital.
• May. Grandpa Norman had back surgery
• 0606 - Corin Born
• 0625- Shane returns home from his mission.
• 0628- Scott and Amy hosted a big barbecue. It was the first time we had everyone together since Shane left on his mission two years before.
• 0629- Shane's Homecoming. Jen sang, Wendy signed.
• 0630- Wendy and Rick move to Ivins, Utah 
• 0708- New computer (Star West, installed by Shane)
• 0810- Corin's blessing in Fayette. Marge/Lamar, Scott and Jen and their families.
• 0907- Birthday party for Landon at Blackham’s house
• 10/20- Mom/Dad/Derek, Jen/Landon to St. George to visit Jensens. (Gray and Jen had also gone in July). 
• 1109 - Birthday dinner for Mom at Old Salt City Jail (Grandparents, Merrill&Lorrie, Scott&Amy, Wendy, Jen&Gray). Gray "went to the bathroom" and Grandpa was so confused when the waitress said the bill had been taken care of. Gray never admitted to paying ...
• 1127- Thanksgiving hosted by Scott and Amy (Jen&Gray had a "day after" Thanksgiving for the folks/Shane/Derek too)
• 1202- Jase Jensen born
• 1228-Jase Blessing Day

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?

1983 ~ Wendy's Write-Up

Wendy has kept a journal for years. That's been a great thing for family history. If we need details about an event, there's a good chance Wendy had something recorded. Below (check out Dropbox for a clearer copy, Word doc or PDF) you can catch her recap of 1983. While a lot of the details are about what a 9th grade/10th grade girl's life was like at that time, there is oodles of information about the family and other activities.

Scott left on his mission. Chris fell into the orchestra pit at the high school and broke his ankle. Wendy got her ears pierced, her braces off and got a perm. She loves waterskiing, tried snowskiing, and ran track. There was a family reunion for Mom's side of the family in June. A family reunion for Dad's side of the family in July. A fishing trip to Strawberry Reservoir. Griffiths came to visit. Mom&Dad went to Vernal. There was a Bishop's Youth Outing to the Uintas, big floods and a huge hail storm. The Westra's got their first family computer!  It's interesting to compare Wendy's wrap-up with the annual Westra Christmas Newsletter recap.  We still need a complete BLOG recap too, based on all the information and pictures we have for the year. But Wendy's write-up is pretty complete!

Wendy's Memories ~ 1982

 Another peek at Wendy's record keeping ... her journal/recap of 1982