Yellow Sea Horses and Others

Finally adding the rest of the aquarium photos. These Yellow Sea Horses were so elegant. They look a bit prickly, but moved smoothly around the tank.

These first couple of photos are of the Yellow Sea Horse.

This next group was called something like "pipe upside down". They were definitely upside down. The whole bunch of them! Bobbing up and down in the water; straight as arrows.

The next two photos are of the California Sea Horses. They were larger and brownish red in color.

Coming up next are the Pot Belly Sea Horses. This one is asleep on the bottom of the tank. There was a notice at this exhibit, "if you see a sea horse on the bottom of the tank, don't worry about them, they are not dead but sleeping".

Dwarf Sea Horses were so tiny! Must have been only 1/2 inch in length.

It was an awesome visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Purple and Orange Sea Dragons

I'm not sure that you can see that this creature is orange and purple in my photos, but they had such vivid color in their tank. Sea Dragons. . . .that's just what they looked like! Little dragons racing around in the water. Totally different than the Leafy Sea Dragons that floated. My video isn't but 3 seconds. There were just too many people around this tank. I'll have to get a better one the next time I visit.

Lively Octopus

Usually when we are at the aquarium, the octopus is sleeping up in the dark corner of his tank. This time, both creatures, each in a separate tank, were very lively and moving around the tank. We mostly saw their undersides, but when they released themselves from the glass, we could see their heads. They were pretty disgusting. The head hangs down, with yarn looking pieces of skin on the head. Looks almost like a muppet!

Leafy Sea Dragons

Aren't these sea dragons amazing? They blend right in with all the other vegetation in the tank. As with all the other sea horses, they glide effortlessly through the water. Up close, I was mesmerized by their faces. It looked as though they had long eye lashes.

Can you find the sea dragon?

Watch this graceful creature. You will be amazed as well.

Merry Christmas to All~~2010 Christmas Letter

Dearest Family and Friends, December 2010

Merry Christmas from our home to yours as 2010 comes to an end! We have had a very blessed and busy year in our family! The year of 2010 will stand out as a memorable time for all of us.

The year started with the engagement of Elizabeth to Dave Whitaker! Their marriage in the Oakland temple was held on May 1^st. They met in their ward at BYU—their Bishop having something to do with them getting together. . . One week before the wedding, Elizabeth graduated from the BYU Nursing program. She is now an RN, and worked for a while at Primary Children’s hospital in Salt Lake City. Elizabeth recently left her job to team up with Dave as they start their own business. Dave will graduate from the BYU Construction Management program this month. Business name: Bluerock Builders. They will focus on residential remodels.

Katie graduated from Saratoga High School June 10. She is attending University of Utah studying Art. Katie is really enjoying the UofU experience. She says that college is so much better than high school!

Jonathan graduated from Redwood Middle School June 11; now a freshman at Saratoga High. He plays a marching baritone in the marching band. He will play his euphonium for concert season. Jonathan plans to do track in the spring and finishing up his Eagle.

Matthew graduated from the UCLA Neuroscience program in June 12. Two days later, he flew to Singapore to live and work for a year. While he is there, he is searching for an MD/PhD program to start in 2011. A recent trip stateside for interviews brought Matthew home for Thanksgiving, but he probably won’t be home for Christmas. We will miss him. There will be more interviews to come after first of the year. It’s like having him on a mission, only we can call him on Skype anytime we want. We actually had, and attended, four graduations this year! Three of them being consecutive!

Sarah has recovered nicely from her accident with the industrial mixer last fall. After surgery and some therapy, her hand is gaining strength. She works at a specialty bakery, having baked Elizabeth’s wedding cake. Sarah works with the 10 year old girls for Activity Days.

Martha continues her studies in the Fashion Apparel program and has taken up pottery this semester. Her Grandpa Max would be proud~ Martha went to Girls Camp with mom to help with crafts.

Scott has been very busy! He spends half of his time in China where he is starting his own consulting company there, just outside of Shanghai. He has traveled extensively in Asia this year. Scott was recently called to be the Stake Executive Secretary. Thank goodness for email!

Jenette is holding down the fort. Started a family blog: http://jenettesfamilyblog.blogspot.com.

Before we say goodbye—we would like to announce that Dave and Elizabeth are expecting a baby May 27, 2011! Much can happen in a year! It will be wonderful to greet our first grandchild! Such starts another chapter in the Wheelwright home. We pray for you and your families as we enter into the New Year 2011! May you be blessed and happy; healthy and safe. You mean so much to us. Take care everyone!

Love, Scott, Jenette, Sarah, Matthew, Elizabeth, Dave, Martha, Katie, and Jonathan

Here is our year in pictures:

BYU Graduation in April 2010. Elder Christoffersen, Elizabeth, and Dave.

Elizabeth, Martha, Scott, Dave, Jonathan

Martha, Elizabeth, Dave, Scott, Jonathan

Elizabeth, Jenette

Elizabeth, Dave

Engagement photo shoot at Wildwood Park, Saratoga

Dave and Elizabeth

Coming out of the temple after sealing ceremony

Grandpa Harrieth, Jenette, Katie

Kalisha Roberts, Danielle Walton, Elizabeth Whitaker, Kristen Shafer

Best friends since they were five

All in attendance at the temple

Whitaker Family

Wheelwright Family

Siblings and spouses

Happy Hands

One, two, three. . . .go!

Landing together for eternity

Katie graduation from Saratoga High

Jonathan graduation from Redwood Middle School

Matthew graduation from UCLA

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Two days before Christmas, we went down to Monterey Bay Aquarium. What a beautiful day! Bright, sunny skies, with a nip of cold in the air. It is amazing to me, how many interesting and beautiful creatures are in this world! There were some awesome displays, especially the current exhibit of sea horses! I will share in another post what creatures captured my heart most.

For now, these photos are of who went.

Tired and grumpy after a long day?

Just kidding!

Outside the aquarium on the bay side. Jonathan, Martha, Dave, Elizabeth, and Katie.

Standing out here, we saw an otter playing in the canopy of the

kelp forest.

Now, where did I put my brain?

Do you ever wonder sometimes where your head is? Don't we do the darndest things? Then we ask ourselves, "funny, no one said anything". Or were they too shy to say anything?

After a very long, but nice Sunday yesterday, I went to my room to prepare for bed. I was brushing my teeth, when I looked in the mirror. Had I not looked in the mirror at any other time during the day? Guess not. I burst out laughing! What I saw in the mirror was hysterical and I laughed out loud! My family came to see what was the matter. As the four kids were standing there, I asked, "do you see anything wrong with me?" Checking me out, they all said no.

Well, this is what was wrong. . . .

I seriously wore two different earrings! I pulled them out of my jewelry drawer thinking they were a pair. They are both silver, and about the same size.

Oh well! It wasn't important enough to bother about. But I sure got a good laugh out of the situation!

The Secret Is Out!

So I have official word from Dave and Elizabeth that I can tell anyone and everyone that they are going to have a baby in May! I am so excited for them. They will be great parents! I'm glad that I can say something about the baby now. It has been difficult to keep this under-wraps!

They had a darling way to announce the baby. Here is the link to their blog: http://typethatdown.blogspot.com/.

I am looking forward to being a grandma. It sounds like Scott and I are getting old. . . . Well, we are. However, we're not THAT old!

Coming Up Roses!

Recently, in another post, I mentioned how California does have fall colors. As winter draws closer and it gets colder, we have more than just reds, yellows, and golds in our yards. Walking in my front door on Thanksgiving, after going to the store, I saw this:

We get roses year round here! A friend who moved here several years ago from the midwest told me a story. The gardener told her it was time to prune the roses. It was late fall. He nipped the plants right close to the ground. She was worried that her roses wouldn't grow back! Surprise, surprise--her roses came up more beautiful than they were before.

This is the best time to plant bare root roses. It's amazing how many colors are out there! When you are shopping for bare root roses, remember that they are graded. They may be cheap, but don't buy the lower grade. We have bought the mid grade shrubs and they have never let us down. Go ahead, plant a rose bush this year. Spring will bring you a real treat!