Did I Write About Reine Already? Pictures too?

Hmmmmm...Ohhhh well.
We visited with Reine and her parents last evening. We had salmon, potatoes and salad for dinner and watched Reine, I mean we watched the movie "Up". Reine is just over a week old now, still perfecting her eating and sleeping but growing in the cutie-ness department. Wait, she's pretty much mastered the sleeping and eating talents. Wait, maybe not. But she's getting better at it. She's perfected the cutie part for sure.

I took more video than pictures and some of them were large. I've put a few of the cutest short ones here and some pics too.

We just arrived. Reine had some splotchies on her face but they soon faded.



She looks so little, and precious in the large sofa.


She likes the swing.







The thing really swings, it's moving. Seems to relax her though.

I took these pics (and too many more) while she was laying in my arms.




I like best the one above. She seems about to smile.

Cute dreams.........



Julie and I are so happy to now understand a little about what other grandparents have been promising us! What a fun adventure this will be!




After the movie, which was good by the way, we ate gooey brownies with marshmallows and chocolate drizzles and ice cream.



So long Reine. See you again soon. Very soon...

Reine Vonique Hibbert

November 11, 2009 Veteran's Day

Now there is another (more important even) reason to remember 11-11 for me. I can't tell you how many times I've looked at a digital clock and seen the numbers 11-11. And every time it would remind me of the date I entered the Language Training Mission in Provo at the start of my full-time two year church mission. That was 33 years ago. Now 11-11 will also remind me of the birth of our first grandchild! Reine Vonique Hibbert was born at 11:49 AM in the Providence Hospital in Anchorage Alaska, to our daughter Lindsay and her husband Michael. Julie and I have not been able to get enough of her since.

Lindsay watching Michael bathe Reine.

I'm sure Lindsay won't like this photo but when Julie was on her way to the hospital Linds called Mom to ask for some Arby's. She was starving!

Reine's great-grandfather Don Rogers (Julie's father)

Reine's great-grandmother Georgia Rogers (Julie's mother)

Last night we admitted to each other that we needed to see Reine so we called and asked if we could come over. We did. Tonight on the way home from whatever, we wondered if we could stop by the Hibbert's for just a few minutes and see Reine. We did. Michael and Lindsay have been so kind to us, letting us barge in to see our little bit of heaven. We fear they will tire of us calling to see if we can come over.

This little girl is so precious. And beautiful.

I was fortunate to see Reine on her birthday. I worked in Fairbanks Monday through Wednesday and was to catch a 5:00 flight back to Anchorage and then go right to the hospital to see the newest addition to our family. When I got to the airport I discovered my flight had been canceled due to high winds in Anchorage. I didn't leave Fairbanks until 10:00 PM! After the hour long flight and leaving the airport, I finally was able to meet Julie at the hospital just before midnight. It seemed so late but time has a way of losing all sensibility after labor and delivery and the schedule of an infant comes into play. We spent about an hour there breathing in the essence of our new bundle of joy. The kids have put up pictures on their blog and facebook but I have to put up some of ours here along with some videos that were too large to email to our family and friends.

Lindsay laughing at her dad trying to take his own picture with Reine. Didn't work. No Reine.

Lindsay is doing so well, sore, but so well. She looks great. Michael has been an awesome father and husband. They make a wonderful little family unit! No, I don't feel like what I always thought a grandpa should feel like but I do love owning the title so very much! And it is so cool that I'm married to a hot grandmamma. (Did I just say that out loud?)

Okay, so here come a bunch of Reine pics.

Reine is pronounced like "Wren" the bird or "Ren".
Reine is French and means "queen".
Vonique is my youngest sister's name though she spells it with a capital "n" like VoNique.
That was my dad's inclination in naming his daughters.
My sisters RaNae, JaNel & VeNicia also have a capital "n" as you can see.

By the way, now that she is three days old, she is even cuter than in these pictures. Oh yes, you better believe it!

Ready for a few videos?
Well, I'll look at them then. All of them. Over and over.
And over...

Welcome to our loving family little Reine Vonique.
You are so welcome here.
Love, Grandpa

Twenty Nine Blissfully Mine

October 17, 2009
I have been married to the love of my life, my best friend and the person with whom I would rather be, for Twenty Nine blissful years. From time to time, in my quiet time, I think back to the miracle of our marriage. Back to the day I asked Julie to marry me. I marvel. I truly marvel at the events of that summer in 1980 leading to the day, August 8th when I scared myself and shocked Julie with a proposal that would change my life forever for the better. I still cannot understand why I thought I could ask and even more baffling is that she, this wonderful, gorgeous woman would consent to marry me. In my fright upon asking her the big question, the question that came to me just a minute before she left that night, I stopped her from answering then. What would she say? I couldn't believe I was actually asking her to marry. To marry ME! You know, she never did say yes to my proposal, yet from that moment we knew we were to marry. We started planning from that time. How? How? How did that happen? Gratefully, though she never did answer me she did say "yes" to the question asked of her as we knelt, dressed in white, across the alter from each other in the Idaho Falls Temple.

My beautiful Julie. How you have changed my life. I am so much a better person because of you my Dear. Thank you for 29 years of joy, sadness at times, worry at others but above it all... happiness, contentment and love. I will forever, always, remember our hug that momentous August night just before you got in your car to go home. A hug never felt so good, so warm, so right. Have I ever told you how nervous I was? How unsure I was? How afraid.... to kiss you? I asked you to marry me yet I couldn't get up the nerve to kiss you. Can you believe that? I was way over my head. I don't even remember our subsequent first kiss (I know we had one, it began our life of sweet, soft kisses), but I'll never, ever forget that first time I held you in my arms. Thank you Sweetheart for Twenty Nine Blissfully Mine. I love you.

Julie's parents- Don and Georgia Rogers


Eight boys I grew up with in Anchorage were able to be at our wedding.
Gordon Dean, Lance Pettijohn, Rick Owen, Guy Hudson(kneeling), Brad, Jay Marquiss, Clark Wolverton, Darryl Welling, Doug Kenley.







My family, minus Dad.

Julie loves crab.
The poor little creatures are her favorite meal.
We celebrate our anniversary each year by dining at
The Sea Galley, eating crab.





There are a lot of crab still in the sea.
Let's do this again a year from now and forever, whadda ya say?