Grandma's 80th Birthday Party!

Hi All!
This is a bit late, but Summer and I were able to meet up for breakfast while she was in London a few weeks ago. Not much else is new here, I am in the process of taking driving lessons, its one thing to learn how to drive on the other side of the road, but I am learning to drive a stick! Also learning to play poker, a few of the girls from the USC Alumni Club get together once a month for dinner and to play poker. Needless to say more eating and chatting gets done than playing any cards. We did however learn a new game called Chinese Poker and it is very similar to Scum, so I was able to impress everyone with my skills! Hope all is well with everyone and John and I are so sorry that we will miss the birthday party this weekend! Lots of Love, Dana and John

We had a Wonderful time with Mom & Dad last weekend .We're Very excited to see you all ( we'll miss you, Dana) in St. George in just a few weeks !! It's going to be So Fun !!

Hello All!

I am finally back in London, John and I went to CA for a friend's wedding in the beginning on September, then we went up to San Francisco for a few nights. We were able to meet up with Luke, who is the guy that introduced us back in NYC. Saw the sights, went to Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf, Union Square, etc. Then we drove to Napa for some wine tasting and spent the night there. Then we drove back down to OC, did some wedding venue searching and we are going to get married at the Montage in Laguna Beach! We are very excited! Unfortunately, John and I not going to be able to make it to St George. We will be traveling to New York for a business trip of Johns at the very end of October and staying for a couple weeks until November 12th. We have a few friends coming from New York and California over Thanksgiving, so will be nice to celebrate with them!

This is a picture of us on the Cable Car in San Fran.

Lots of Love
Dana and John

Hello to ALL! I just wanted to post something since no one has put anything on in a long while. Trav and I are doing great. I'm disgusted to report that we got our first snow in the mountains this week....yuck! I am just not ready for cold weather. So golf is slowing down since the weather has turned cold. We are excited to come down to St. George for the big bash. Anyhoot, just wanted to send big hugs and kisses to all that read. Love you tons!

CIAO everybody!! We are back from our vacation. Being in Italy was wonderful. We loved the time we spent there and we had so much fun with family and friends. We went to lots of parties (there is still lots of excitement because italy won the world cup), and saw dear loved ones.
We are glad to be back here though. A month away from each other was a great challenge.
We are so excited to come to St. George in October, and see you all. We are grateful to Debbie (and company) to make this happen. The best days in our life, are days spent with our families.
Neve is growing so fast (she is 4 months). She is making progress everyday. Now she rolls, attempts to crawl…and smiles a lot. We surely love her! We hope you are all doing great. Love you, Nate, Darlene & Neve KELLY

Sep 6.............Gma Kelly here! getting cooler in St Geo..........we saw Travis and Aymee over the weekend......I golfed with them and Dad..bummr.........it was a nice cart ride anyway......Terry
is so thrilled to be able to eat solid food at last...all is well there........Dad wants to go to his school reunion in Canon City Sep 15 (65th) wow!....we plan to go to Albq then up from there...on to
Denver and home...........Steve has a new job in Denver...they will move Sep 9...Brians rented
the house around the corner (next to where Hinchey lived)....should be a great move.
We are doing great and I have unpacked my last box, and hung my last picture....Love you all

Maria (with new blonde extentions) hunkered and strapped down

for another hurricane at our home in Florida.

At least during this storm, Dean

will be home to help hold down the fort.

G'DAY to ALL! First of all I would like to Congratulate Dana...how exciting! Now that Travis and I have finally found out the user name and password for posting on this "blog" we can do some blogging of our own. Let me see, nothing too exciting is happenin out here in Draper, UT. I am running the Park City Marathon this Saturday, so I am really excited and pumped! We thought we would slap some sweet shots of Trav in Iraq as well as other photos we would like to share. Enjoy and God speed!

August 22..........Gma Kelly here............we are so excited for Dana and John...........and the RING!!!WOW...............all is fine...we are happy here, and like our apt so much..especially since
it was "sight unseen"..........We got to see Summer and her wonderful girls...also Sarah and her wonderful boys....Gma Debbie too.....Nathan came down and it was good to see him and hear
about his trip to Italy........Lynette starts schoool this week, and Scotts are bringing her to Cedar
City.........so then they will come down here.....Terry is having a proceedure done today to
stretch her esophagus....she has trouble swallowing solid foods......she is scared...doesnt like pain!
More later............Love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After I calmed down!

This is Arundel Castle

This is the picture of the hotel Bailiff's Court.

Hello Hello!
So you have all heard the news and John and I are so thrilled and excited. I am still in shock and have not been sleeping, its all I can think about! I will give you the lowdown on how he proposed. . .I knew he had planned a weekend down in the country in Sussex and that we were going to have a nice picnic on the Saturday and that was pretty much it. We checked into our hotel (picture above) http://www.hshotels.co.uk/bailiffs/bailiffscourt-main.htm In case you want to get the full effect! Hehehe, can you tell I am excited! Then we picked up our pre-arranged picnic. We had asked reception where they suggested to have a picnic, John isnt like we have to go here so no flags that something was up. They mentioned a few places and one of them was Arundel Castle, so we went there. We found a nice secluded field just along the base of the castle and we set up the picnic and then it all began! Before we started eating John was telling me how much he loved and still I was like I love you too, and how he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me, won't get too mushy and then he pulled out the box. I don't shop in DeBeers much, so didnt recognize the box like I would have with Tiffany's (I mean come on, everyone knows the blue box) and then he opened it and I am a lil fuzzy as to what happens next, but I think I screamed and said yes and then immediately hugged and kissed him, and wouldnt let go for I think 10+ minutes. After calming down, he had to ask me if I wanted to see the ring! It is gorgeous, I love it. He had been looking for over a month and some and he picked it up on Friday before we left because he had it changed to be the right setting, etc. I love it and am so touched that he went through all of the hassle that he did to make it the perfect ring for me. The next day he had made arrangements for me to have a massage and manicure. Have to have pretty hands since people are going to be staring at my hands! Like my dad said, we are hoping for August 2007. Will keep you updated as the planning comes along. Lots of Love Dana (Soon to be Mrs. John Melsom!)

Dana and John are engaged. The wedding date is around August, 2007. The final date depends on availability of venues. All of this was as big a surprise to us as it was Dana. John called Ken on Friday to ask for his permission to marry Dana and for his blessing. We knew that they were going away for the weekend and were having a picnic on Saturday. He was going to ask her then. Needless to day, at 5:05 AM Saturday morning (3:05 PM London time) I received a phone call from Dana; she was so excited.

Fortunately, John has a mate whose wife works for De Beers so hopefully he did okay with the ring. It is quit beautiful and Dana’s says she can save on electricity because it “lights up the room”.

Now the planning begins…..I know Dana has a handle on everything that needs to be done…….She you at the wedding…….Ken

Dana Says

Greetings Everyone. Just a quick update on what is going on with me! As most of you know I was back in CA for the month of July visiting friends, family, etc. Had a chance to see Grandma and Grandpa's new place in St George and catch up with those who were there. Went to Vegas with a few friends and hung around home. I went to Ireland for 5 days with my friend Erin, from USC, we were in the same sorority. We went to Dublin for a few days, then Galway for a few days, then came back to London for a couple days. Had a great time. John and I will be going back to CA for a brief trip. I have a good friend getting married and then we are planning a mini holiday up to San Francisco and Napa Valley. A week after we get back I will be starting school. If you dont already know, I am going back to get my Masters in Marketing at Kingston University. It is a year program and I am very excited, especially now that it is getting so close. Going to really cramp my lady of luxury lifestyle, but what can you do. Hope all is well with everyone!

Maria and I flew to Salt Lake yesterday to spend the day with Whitney. She picked us up at the airport in her car (shown here in the photos) and chauffeured us around. Can you believe she is that grown up!? She is registered to start school at Salt Lake Community College this fall and will be studying Journalism. She is currently living with Grandma Hancock until she settles in and finds roomies and her own place to stay.

Adam, by the way, closed the deal on this motorbike and is now riding around like a bat out of hell....and once again, let us all pray.

Me and the folks at the SLC Sheraton Hotel. I had a long layover and they picked me up, visited Scott's store, picked up Adam at his new job, had taco bell (of course) and checked out Adam's (maybe) new wheels...photo to follow below. It was good to see them all and so glad they are in Utah so we can spend more time with them.

Adam checking out his dream machine...

If all works out with the financing and insurance details...he will become an official "hells angel"....

Let us all pray.

Maria @ Rockefeller Center in New York City, 30 July. Umbrellas shown below are covering tables used for outdoor dining during the summer. As you all know, in the winter, this is a famous ice skating rink. Hard to keep ice frozen outside in 91 degree heat. So cool nonetheless.

Had a long 20 Hour (Delta Dream Vacation) layover in New York City this last weekend...Maria tagged along and we had a great time. Weather was perfect (91 degrees) and the food, people, shopping and stuff was fine.

Under the Empire State Building

Shopping @ Macy's on 34th Street
(actually we didn't shop there, but did use their bathrooms after my New York pizza didn't agree with me and shot out like a clown out of a cannon...Couldn't make it back to the hotel!)

Thanks for all the news and photos,love this blog stuff,just getting back for us, we had a great time with Mom and Dad, just a couple shots of the trip,no Nate has not taken up a new career but I felt this was a photo op,and our grandkids sure love each
other. Love you all and keep in touch .

On the way home from the St. George trip, Ken's stopped in Las Vegas to shop the annual Nordstrom Anniversary Sale (can't miss that) and saw a show titled "Love"...lots of dancing around, swinging from ropes to the tunes of the Beetles.

More of Ken's visit to St. George with Jim and Nita

Cute little baby Sandhill Crane taking a rest by our back patio.





Other bird news...Mourning Doves still laying eggs in our flower pots. One egg incubating as we speak.

Cute Brooks' Kids! (with future very cute daughter-in-law hanging on to Zach for dear life).

Had nice visit in St. George with Mom and Dad, Brooks', Ken's and Scott's (no kids). Had a ton of great food thanks to Sheila and tons of candy. Here are some pictures of the gathering but mostly of Mom and Dad's new place. It really is nice...you should all make a plan to go visit soon.

Diane, Dana, Grandpa and his twin playing Scum. (Diane was president at this time)

Hi everyone. This is Dean in St. George with Mom at the library showing her how to post something on the blog. More to come later.