Copeland Family Thanksgiving - 2014

For George and me, getting the entire family together this Thanksgiving, minus our two missionaries--was one of the happiest times of our lives! 

 Top row l to r:  Carter, Parker, Tyson, Garrett, Jaxon, Brady, Hannah, Sydney, Lauren, Jenna, Kade

Middle row:  Cameron and Anne; Taylor and Ellie (our first married grandson); Craig and Cassie; Kent and Natalie; Grandpa George and Grandma Laura; Angie and Kevin; Kim and Kyle; Amy and Jeff; Alison and John
Bottom row:  Kennedy, Riley Ella, Lola, Preston, Gavin, Mason, Isaac  

Elder Bracken Wilde (son of John and Alison) in Australia Sydney North - Mandarin (Chinese) Speaking Mormon Two-Year-Mission

Elder Connor Copeland (son of Kevin and Angie) in Nicaragua Managua South - Spanish Speaking Mormon Two-Year-Mission

This all came about when John and Alison invited everyone to come for the Thanksgiving weekend to their home outside San Francisco, California.

Wednesday, November 26 - Arrival and Pre-Thanksgiving Activities 

With families coming to California from four other states, there were soon people everywhere--and of course, I started snapping lots of pictures!  Here are some of the boys of the Copeland family, of which we have many!  They all have such a great time together!

One of our family projects was to make some "hands" Christmas trees for our two missionaries.  We let everyone write a little note or Christmas wish to each of the missionaries and then paste their picture on the front.  We gave instructions to each of the missionaries as to how to put it together.  Hopefully we will get pictures soon of our Christmas wishes to them.

Every single adult and child participated.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

UPDATE:  We just received this e-mail today that Elder Wilde got our special Christmas wishes in Australia and after reading the thoughts on the back, assembled the tree on his wall.

 He then added the picture of Christ at the top because as Elder Wilde stated,
"Christ is at the head of Christmas, He leads this church, and He is the one we follow to gain eternal life."  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
We were all thrilled that he liked our gift to him so much.

Like I said, we have lots of boys in our family, so there was usually some kind of ballgame going on the television.

Wednesday night was, also, an extremely busy night when all the women were getting their side dishes ready for the Thanksgiving dinner.  Many hands truly made light work!  (The next day, Natalie gave each of the women a beautiful apron.  So thoughtful!  Thanks so much, Natalie!)  With all the work done the night before, on Thursday morning we just had to put the turkey and ham in, and warm all the side dishes.  It was great!

While we were all making the dishes for the Thanksgiving dinner, Jeff was fixing some absolutely divine chocolate chip cookies which absolutely vanished before everyone's eyes!

Then the girls started working on the table decorations for Thanksgiving dinner.  They had some darling ideas!

And there were some major basketball challenges going on.  We hardly even saw these two--non-stop basketball!

Trouble was--when the bigger guys got on the court . . .

the littler guys had to wait.  They actually were very good sports!

Here are two more very competitive guys--Ethan (in neon green shorts . . .)

and Jaxon!  They would have stayed out there 24-7 if we had let them!

The younger girls were assisted by Ellie, Taylor's wife, in getting the table all set for the next day.  Ellie is actually an interior designer in Utah.  It looks like it's out of "Better Homes and Gardens," right?! 

So Wednesday night was pizza and wings night.  Grandpa and Grandma got the food--"Copeland Style!"  Plenty for everyone!

Many fun conversations while everyone was eating!

Everyone was looking forward to the Copeland Family Turkey Trot Alison had planned for the next morning.  Ellie made this darling poster to remind everyone.

Thursday, THANKGIVING DAY, November 27 -

So, not only was this Thanksgiving Day, it was, also, Taylor's birthday.  Ellie had wrapped his packages so darling and, also, made yummy breakfast muffins.  Many of the families were staying over at the Marriott where they would be having breakfast there.

Everyone loves a birthday . . .

And wants to watch the presents being opened.

Grandpa George got everyone out to stretch and do a few exercises before the race began.  It was pretty comical watching him doing "Shoulders, knees, and toes--"  first forgetting to say, "Head," and then not reaching his toes anyway. 

But the kids were all good sports and humored Grandpa by doing it.

The group of those participating in the Turkey Trot.  Alison had planned the route--2.25 miles to the end spot, and then 2.25 miles back--a total of 4.5 miles! 

Alison gave everyone the instructions.

And then everyone was off!  Perfect time of year with the most beautiful scenery!

The thing you have to remember--not only was it a pretty long distance--it was up and down these very steep running hills!

And guess what--real live turkeys on the Turkey Trot!  Alison had planned the perfect race!

It was amazing how many actually finished the race!  The two youngest kids to finish the entire 4.5 miles were Preston (7) and Isaac (8).  They were both pretty tired at the end!  George and I were the "retrievers," who took water to those who needed it and picked up those who couldn't quite make it to the end.  I was so proud of them all!  Definitely a family tradition that we need to continue!

After everyone cleaned up, everyone all met up back at the Wilde's home.  Grandpa George gave the family blessing and everyone was able to start the feast! 

Sydney, Isaac, Lola, and Garrett--Photo bombing by Lauren (Hah!)

Lauren and Jenna

Hannah and Ella

Tyson and Brady

Gavin, Mason, and Riley getting a little help from their mothers, Anne and Cassie

Riley

Kade, Ethan, and Jaxon

Ellie and Taylor

Anne and Cameron

Kent and Natalie

Craig and Cassie
Kevin and Angie

 Kyle and Kim

Grandma Laura and Grandpa George

Just as we finished dinner, Amy presented Jeff with his early birthday present.

He was very excited to find a new San Fran hat and jacket.

But, he was even more excited to find the ticket to today's San Francisco 49ers football game!  He couldn't believe it!  They have been HIS team forever and it has always been his dream to attend a game.  Now, it was going to be possible!

Jeff and Amy

And somehow with John working so hard in the kitchen, I didn't get a picture of John and Alison until another night when we went out for ice cream.  So, here is John and Alison!

The wonderful Copeland Women - So proud to be included in this picture!

Friday, November 28

Today, was Garrett's 12th birthday, so we were able to celebrate with him today.

After a morning of shopping on Black Friday, many went to a movie in the afternoon and then returned back to the Wilde's home for an evening packed full of events. 

The first thing was to prepare for the big family picture we were going to have taken.

Garrett, Isaac, Gavin, Kennedy, and Mason

Ella with her daddy

Kent and Natalie, Ella and Ethan

Hannah and Ella

Brady, Hannah, Ella, and Sydney

The wonderful neighbor who came to take the entire family picture (posted at the first of today's blog), was so impressed at how quickly we did it.  Anne had everyone all lined up when he walked into the yard, which was so helpful.  Anyway, we were done with the "pain" in about 10 minutes time!  Everyone cooperated so well, and it will definitely be a picture for posterity!  Thanks, also, to Anne for the editing time she put into the picture.  Great how an expert at Photoshop can change heads from one picture to another to have everyone at their best in the overall picture!  After the picture, we all headed inside for an evening of many memorable events!

Garrett and Ethan were born only 12 days apart.  We even saw them named and blessed at the same meeting in Utah when they were just babies, so it only seemed appropriate that they shared another very important event. 

The uncles and grandpa joined each of their fathers in bestowing the Aaronic Priesthood on each young man as they had now both turned 12 years old.  Ethan ordained a deacon by his father, Kent.

Garrett ordained a deacon by his father, Jeff.

Grandpa George talked about the importance of the priesthood and what a privilege it is to be able to carry out the responsibilities associated with it.  Both young men have lived such worthy lives and each were given a chance to speak and bear their testimonies of the gospel.  It was such a beautiful event!  Congratulations, Ethan and Garrett!

We all were thrilled to congratulate Lauren who just finished her "Young Women's Recognition Award."  For a girl, this is like achieving the Eagle Scout award for a young man.  Extremely time consuming, but so worth all the effort into bettering oneself.  We're so proud of you, Lauren! 

After the special sacred meeting, the Copeland Family Talent Show began.  Ella had organized the show and was, also, the MC. 

She did a fantastic job!

First up was Kennedy singing, "Let it Go," from Frozen.  This little girl is absolutely obsessed with that movie, the characters, the outfits (she is rarely seen without one of the dresses on.  She has four of them!) and the music.  She was so darling and sang the end words of each line of the entire song!

I should have taken more pictures during the talent show, but needless to say, it was lots of fun. 

Then began the "Awards Assembly," MCd by Alison, assisted by Ella.  Can I just say, we couldn't quit laughing the entire time.  She made it so fun and included so many!

First up:  Preston awarded for the youngest to finish the Turkey Trot.

Second Place Winner of the Turkey Trot - Isaac

The best Thanksgiving dinner table arrangers were then given an award:

Ella, Sydney, Hannah, Ellie, and Lauren

Parker got the award for arranging the football tickets. 

Garrett and Isaac received bags of "gold," for having such  important birthdays this year and for receiving the priesthood.

And to our brave little soldiers, Gavin and Mason, who both were bitten by Roscoe (why did he just choose Cameron and Anne's kids?), they received a book, "What Dogs Think." 

To Cameron and Anne, parents of the two bitten children, was presented $l00,000 (so no law suit would take place)!  Hah!

And presented to the one who was bitten on his foot by a neighbor dog while walking the Wilde's dogs . . 

a new pair of socks for Grandpa George!

The two little princesses were even remembered.  When Kennedy saw the prize, she was one mighty happy little girl!

And so was Lola!  What a fun time!  We absolutely laughed about all the comments until we were sore!

 Then it was off to the ice cream parlor--which made lots of people happy!  And the saddest of all was that Grandpa was getting so congested, he chose not to go!  You know he was sick when he made that decision!

Thinking I was ordering a little hot fudge sundae like you get at McDonald's, boy was I mistaken!  I couldn't believe it when I was brought this monstrosity out--and Grandpa wasn't even there to help me eat it!

We filled up lots of tables, but I only got pictures of the one where I saw.  It was a fun finish of a perfect day!

Saturday, November 29

Today, many of the families had arranged to go on the Alcatraz Tour.  We had to get up early and ride the BART into the city.  When we got off at the piers, we thought the place we would catch the ship to the island would be nearby, but we ended up having to walk very quickly from Pier 1 to Pier 33.  It was really a long ways and we had little time before the arranged boat that we had paid for would be leaving!  Taylor and Ellie were the pacesetters!

Tyson and Kade were so sweet to help carry the little ones.

I had to snap Coit Tower while I was walking quickly.  I know--I'm obsessed with picture taking.  I would take even more if I didn't think people were already sick of me doing it.  Hah!

We met up with everyone else and boarded the boat for the island.

The morgue on the island.  As the sign above says, "A reminder that not everyone left the island alive."

Prison uniform issuing area.

Showers - No one had any privacy.

Individual cells.

We all had headphones on with narrations by four inmates.  It was really interesting to hear their explanations.

The gun gallery above where the guards looked down on the prisoners so that no gun had to be on the lower level at all.

The Prison Recreation Yard.

In the area below, the inmates could play baseball or run laps.  "Others simply walked to the top of the bleachers (where Lauren is standing) and looked out at what they were missing."

Famous inmates included Al Capone, George "Machine-Gun" Kelly, Alvin Karpis (the first "Public Enemy #1), and Albert Stroud (the Birdman of Alcatraz).  As was noted, "Most of the 1,576 prisoners incarcerated there were not well-known gangsters, but prisoners who refused to conform to the rules and regulations at other Federal institutions, who were considered violent and dangerous, or who were considered escape risks. Alcatraz served as the prison system's prison - if a man did not behave at another institution, he could be sent to Alcatraz, where the highly structured, monotonous daily routine was designed to teach an inmate to follow rules and regulations."

"Once prison officials felt a man no longer posed a threat and could follow the rules (usually after an average of 5 years on Alcatraz), he could then be transferred back to another Federal prison to finish his sentence and be released."

We then saw the isolation cells where the most severe disciplinary problems went who couldn't obey the rules.

A prisoner could have the inside door with the bars on it shut, as well as the outside door which made it totally dark inside.  They could also be restricted on their food inside.  Whew!  That all would have been very scary!

The library area.

Some furnished cells where you could see the hobbies of the prisoners.  Some painted, some even crocheted or knitted.

We then learned about one of the planned excapes, but through the quick thinking of one of the guards who hid the key, the escape was stopped but not before two correctional officers and three inmates lay dead.  Two of the conspirators were later executed.  One of the officers had written the names of the conspirators on the cell and then circled the ringleaders.  Two of the conspirators were later executed.

A memoriam to the officer who hid the key and thwarted the escape of the prisoners.

A tiny window facing the city was about all the prisoners could see at the end of the cell block.

The place where visitation took place.  Few inmates ever got visitors.

The correctional officers' command station.

Uniform of the correctional officers.

The Warden's House was home of the four wardens of the state penitentiary between 1934 and 1963.  It was a 3-floor 15-room mansion, but was burned down during the American Indian Movement in 1970.

Looking over at the Golden Gate Bridge.

 In June 1962, a prison escape plan was set up by four American criminals who fabricated dummy heads from a mixture of soap, toilet paper and real hair, and left them in their beds to fool prison officers making night-time inspections.  They escaped from their cells by crawling through holes in the cell walls which they had dug with spoons over the course of a year.  This put them into an unused service corridor.  One prisoner could not make it out of his cell and was left behind.
From the service corridor they climbed a ventilation shaft to reach the roof. The trio then climbed down from the rooftop, scaled the prison's fence and assembled a raft from the prison's standard-issue raincoats and contact cement. They pumped up the raft on the northeastern coast of the island. At around 10 p.m. they climbed aboard, shoved off, and started paddling.  The next morning it was discovered that the trio had escaped.  The FBI's  investigation was unable to determine whether the three men successfully escaped or died in the attempt.  This real truth as to whether they lived or died  will probably never be known, but it continues to be debated.

Even in the kitchen, the tools were outlined on the board so that it could quickly be noted if one was missing.

Scene from the lunch hall.

A sign inside the lunchroom stated that tear gas canisters were mounted in the ceiling in case of trouble, but they were never used.  It sounds like the food was good.

A picture of the last prisoner to leave Alcatraz in 1963.

Then we had a most interesting chat with one of the former prisoners who had written a book and was signing it there in Alcatraz.  He had spent five years there as a prisoner and had been transferred there because he had been so unruly in Leavenworth Prison.

He said he had spent 30 days total on two different occasions in the isolation cells where he was put in naked, saw no light, and was given very little food.  When asked why he was put in the isolation cell, his answer was, "First time for starting a fire in my cell, and second time for talking too loudly to the correctional officer."

He signed both Ella and Hannah's book.  I hope to be able to read it soon.

School house where the correctional officers' children attended school.

Walking towards the burned out warden house.

What a unique tour!  We then got back on the cruise boat and returned to the mainland.

We had lots of hungry people, so we stopped to eat at Pier 39.

It's absolutely necessary to get a bucket of little donuts while you're there.

Then we headed off to see the sea lions.  Not very many at this time of year. 

Isaac thought they were pretty boring and wanted them to fight, move around, or do something!  Hah!

We next hit the city for some fun Christmas shopping.

One department store had these huge decorations made entirely of paper.  They were just beautiful!

While the girls were shopping, the guys found unique ways to pass the time.  Here Jeff and Isaac were throwing a football on the streets of San Francisco!

The stores were absolutely beautiful at this time of year!

This was such a unique display in one of the sports stores!

I love to go shopping with the grandkids to help them find a gift from Grandpa and me.  After the day shopping, some of us stopped at PF Chang's for some dinner.  Another great day!

Sunday, November 30

Another beautiful day in the neighborhood!  I always love our room with a view--it's actually Tyson's bedroom where we sleep, and he is always such a great sport to give it up for us.

Many of the family left for home today which was sad because I hated to see all the fun end.  However, we had filled it with so many memories, that will last me until we all meet again!

George and I attended John and Alison's ward on Sunday morning and spent a leisurely Sunday afternoon.  That evening, the families that were still around all met at the Oakland Temple which was decorated so magnificently, as always, at Christmas time.

We really enjoyed ourselves at the Visitors' Center.

While we were there, we watched "He is the Gift," in the little theater there.  If you haven't seen it, it is marvelous and only lasts about three minutes.  Click here to watch it:

He is the Gift 

What a beautiful evening!

When we came home, Alison had gotten a little gift for Riley because he had been so sad not to get an award at the Awards Assembly, so here he got the award for "The Best Tai Kwon Do" demonstration.  This really made him smile!

The next morning, after a few more families left that night, Alison drove us into the city to "Ride the Duck."

You get aboard a big bus with a duck quacker to show your happiness as you are riding around town.

Yes, they are loud, but that just makes it more fun!

The two sisters!

Of course, we drove past all the landmarks and icons . . .

cable cars  with Alcatraz in the background . . .

China Town . . .

seeing the city ready for Christmas everywhere!

And then suddenly the bus turned into a boat and we were out in the bay.

We passed by a couple of docked ships and saw one lone sea lion perched on top of one of the ships.

The Golden Gate Bridge in the background.

And it was interesting to see some of the city that was basically not being used for much of anything now coming to life with all kinds of construction of new hotels, stores, etc.

And we were able to sail right past the San Francisco Giants stadium . . .

while Isaac was driving the now-a-boat.  Look at that big smile!

It was really cold out on that water.  Thank goodness for the hooded jacket John got George!

And soon we were back at the harbor and going up the street again as a bus.

Such fun!

We walked around the Wharf a little and ate lunch at a little Italian cafe.

It only seemed appropriate that the last activity I participated in was answer some questions for Preston's homework.  He had to interview a relative and find out what they did when they were his age . . . activities, school, and in general what life was like as a second grader.  It was a lot of fun answering these questions because I had a great life growing up!

Hopefully, all my grandchildren feel the same about their lives.  Life is what you make of it, and although there will be hard times even when you make right choices, by and large you can have a happy life.
This Thanksgiving was one that will forever be in my heart as one of the happiest times I've had as I observed all my kids and grandkids showing such love for one another, for their blessings from the Lord, and for their lives here upon theis earth.

Thanks to John and Alison and their kids for working so hard to make their home so welcoming for all of us.  And thanks to every member of the family for making the arrangements to come!  It was the best!