Ryan - a senior

Ryan recently submitted two photos to be included for his half page in the yearbook as a s
enior. I decided to post them here. And to ask the age old question "Where do the years go?"

Summer of 2009 Overview

This posting is an update of a few of our activities this summer! We sure had a great time together and getting to know those sweet little granddaughters better. Fun times!

As I mentioned in the earlier blog, all seven of us were together for 1 day before Scott left for his mission. (He stayed at the Missionary Training Center for about 12 weeks and as of about a week ago, he is in Taiwan - see his blog for updates on his mission - scotts2years.blogspot.com

While in Utah, we did many things. Pictured at a table at a wedding is Chris Lew, Scott and Andrew Chenn - all friends from Hong Kong. They are 3 of our 8 current missionaries from church here in Hong Kong. Chris is serving in Anaheim, California, speaking Spanish and Andrew will soon be in Sydney, Australia speaking Cantonese. It was fun for them to have this little reunion while celebrating the wedding of another HK friend, Chelsea Messick.

At the same reception, Cami is seen here with another little girl who was born about the same week as she. We thought it was cute with the little European and Chinese babies together (both are very American).

My sisters, Karen and Karla, had two of their daughters, respectively - Blaire and Sara, in Utah where we all got to visit. Sara, Blaire and Ryan are all the same age - in the order I listed them. Sara just graduated from high school and Blaire and Ryan are now seniors. They are shown here hanging out at our condo in Midway - and they're in age order!

Kate had her 3rd birthday on July 21 and Krista planned a big bash at the Spanish Fork pool and park. Here is a picture of Krista's and Travis's little family.

Arvid and I spent a wonderful weekend in Minnesota with his family. He is pictured here with 5 of his siblings and his mother, Gloria. Back row: Kevin, Karla, Arvid and Bob. Front row: Gloria, Karen and Cindy. We really had a nice visit and are currently making plans to meet up again next summer!

Ryan and I then spent a couple of weeks with my mom and Karen's other 2 kids, Barrett and Brendan. Neither Karen nor Blaire made it to that little reunion as Blaire started school very early in August. But the 5 of us had some great times together. Pictured here, we're hiking at the Garden of the Gods.

Last, but not least, I'm including a picture of Ryan with his best friend, Alex Lew - also at Chelsea Messick's wedding. We found out on Oct. 6 that Alex has cancer - lymphoblastic lymphoma. It's treatable, but may be a really tough road ahead for him. He has gone back to the U.S. to begin treatment. Ryan is doing okay so far. Our prayers and best wishes go out to Alex and his family.

Again, check out Scott's blog for updates on him. And check in here every so often to find out what we're all doing!

Summer Family Pictures

On July 7, 2009, we took Scott to Salt Lake City where he was set apart as a missionary by Elder Donald Hallstrom, our former Area President.















Afterwards, the family toured around Temple Square while Arvid and I picked up Krista and her girls from the airport. They arrived safely from their home in Maryland. Although they weren't there in time for the setting apart, they arrived in time to take a few pictures on Temple Square and go out to eat before seeing Scott off to the MTC the next morning. Although a few hours really isn't long enough, at least we got all 5 of our children together!




Our five children, with their children and one spouse, are shown here as follows: Krista holding her daughter Brooklyn, Erika holding Krista's daughter Kate, David, Scott (the new Elder Carlson), Ryan and Erika's husband Sterling holding their daughter Cami. Only Travis, Krista's husband is missing. He joined them several days later. (He said good-bye to Scott at Christmas.)

















The famous Lilly-Carlson children pose. I "inherited" this pose from my parents who always took pictures of me, my brother and 2 sisters in this way. It's always oldest to youngest. So here they are: Krista, Erika, David, Scott and Ryan (KEDS®.)













This is a 4-generation pose with my mom, Peggy Lilly, myself (Kelly), Krista with her two daughters-Kate and Brooklyn, and Erika and her daughter Cami.

Scott

As many of you know, Scott was able to come to Hong Kong and spend a little time with us after the year at BYU and before his mission. While here, he was able to get a full-time temporary job at the U.S. Consulate. There's a picture here of him leaving for work one morning with his dad.

We were able to some hiking together - and got a great shot of our apartment building from the back - an interesting view. (If you know EXACTLY where to look, you can see Ryan's bedroom window!) Also I got a shot of Scott and Ryan playing a "duet" on the piano. Fun.

The Mission Call finally came after an exciting wait. Scott was called to the Taiwan Taipei Mission, Mandarin speaking, and entering the MTC on July 8. Arvid and I took him to the Hong Kong Temple to receive his endowment. We had a wonderful experience together. Afterwards, we met outside with his friends Andrew Chenn (called to Australia - Cantonese speaking) and Alex Nightingale (called to Singapore - Mandarin speaking). The three boys are pictured together. Scott and Alex entered the MTC the same day, with Andrew and a couple other friends entering later. It is so great that they are all out serving the Lord "together."


(If anyone wants to teach me how to put the pictures in the right order, feel free!!!!)

New Zealand

Welcome to New Zealand!!!

Arvid, Ryan and I arrived in New Zealand on April 10 (Brooklyn's 1st birthday!). Here we are at the airport!

We did SO many fun things, but I will have to spend lots of time chronicling everything. This will take some time. So let me start by adding a picture of the harbor in Auckland at the beginning of our trip...

That afternoon, we went to a maritime museum and had a great time. Later we took a ferry to an outlying town where we strolled the area, went to dinner, and browsed at a bookstore.

Among our many activities, Ryan did his first bungee jump. This was off a platform that jutted out from a cliff. He landed in the water - from his head to his waist (in that order).

In the close up, you can see the cliff and the platform - and, of course, his wetness!

Crazy kid, but he'd do it again!

Hooray for Scott!

Not only did Scott get his mission call, but he also changed my blog so the toolbars are in English instead of Chinese. So I can now READ how to sign in and post a new blog. YAY!!! And it's about time as I was tired of looking at those old pictures of my big glasses and frizzy hair.

Since the name of this post is about Scott, I will show you a picture of what he's been doing...

That's right: lounging on our balcony overlooking the South China Sea while sipping cool drinks with tropical umbrella decorations and chatting on the phone with Emily. Ah, the life!

On June 1, he starts work at the Consulate. He'll be working in CLO (Community Liaison Office) until June 26.

Here he is holding his mission call - right before opening it. If you haven't heard, he's been called to the Taiwan Taipei Mission (Mandarin speaking). He enters the Provo MTC on July 8. It'll be fun to have him serving in the same country (different mission) that David has been in for 2 years. David returns to Hong Kong on June 26 - we're on the countdown!