October 2009

A good looking bunch!

Ken (via Aubrey). Hey everyone! I thought Id start filling in for Dad, since he is just horrible at getting any info out there. Leah started back to school, and if all goes according to plan she will graduate at the end of this school year. She is working two jobs: Arby’s and TJ Maxx. Such a busy bee! Dad is working hard (gotta pay for college!) and working hard on the building in Tekoa. He just put in a ton of new windows and is definitely the talk of the town. As for me, I started at University of Idaho (GO VANDALS!) on August 24. I am double majoring in Architecture and Interior Design, and it is definitely keeping me busy. I love it here! I’m so angry I was sick and couldn’t make it to the reunion. I miss everybody! Hope everything is going well with everyone.
Love, Aubrey (and Leah and Dad)

Jim. Hi all. We're coming to the end of a busy time here. Spent the month of August getting Beth and Tyler moved to Colorado Springs and Tyler into school out here (6th grade), side trip to see Beth's family in South Carolina on the way. I had a retirement ceremony (small) and party (big) on the 28th. Beth started work here at the very end of the month - she's helping to integrate the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard into space missions for now until the Colonel assignment system decides what to do with her next spring (she should get promoted around next April).
I'll be joining a firm called CyberSpace Operations Consulting on October 1st so didn't have a very long retirement. CyberSpace Ops is a small group of consultants but is about to grow. I'll be doing some space-related work for the Army while I get oriented to the biz, then we'll see.
We waited until we got past the hump to have Beth's household goods from Virginia delivered so are just now wading through all the boxes and combining our furniture, etc. This is the first time we've actually lived together so we have a lot of stuff to get rid of - fun, though! In the process we dumped Comcast and went with DirecTV so my Comcast email address went away - I'm at jameswolf1576@gmail.com now. I also got a personal blackberry so my mobile number is 719-287-4123.

Laurie. Just like everyone else, I want to thank Merrily and Robert, David and Jenni and their families for hosting a wonderful family reunion. We enjoyed ourselves very much and really appreciate their efforts. It takes lots of time, effort and arranging to make it all happen -- and it did, beautifully. We'll have to try the boat again with all of you on a warm day.
Our house is very quiet these days. With only Camille at home now, life is a little different. She keeps an awfully tight schedule with seminary in the wee hours of the morning, school, choir, the musical, soccer and driver's ed. She is nearly burnt out already! She is happy to have made the Varsity Soccer Team but is not happy about having to be a dancer, as well as a singer, in the musical. Apparently there are some lifts in the dance they are doing and she isn't sure if the guy she's dancing with can handle it! He's not very big...
Cassidy may send her own news, but if not, she is at BYU living in the infamous Gates Hall #198 (my old dorm). And, according to Cassidy, I may have been the last one to clean the bathrooms 30 years ago! She has decided her favorite class so far is Humanities and she likes her ward. She's a pretty happy girl and is getting along well on very little sleep.
Neil took the boat out the other day with some people from his work. It was a retirement party for his boss from Germany. He came home with an injury (it's already doing much better) and some destruction to the propeller of the boat. When Camille found out she said, "Dad, are these friends good for you to be around? Do they make you a better person?" We have been chuckling about that a little. I suppose that might have been our reaction if she had done the same. Anyway, Neil is back in the working world after having a summer of no complete work weeks!
I am up to my neck in "eggplant elegance fabric" as I have been recruited to help with the choir dresses again this year. I have all kinds of little volunteer projects to do, and I enjoy them. I have a good life.
Thank you all for the great family that you are. We love you. P.S. Congrats to Drew!

Mom & Ramon. We want to give a big ‘thank you’ Merrily and Robert and their family and David and Jenni and their family and everyone who came for a great family reunion. Families are sacred. I agree with Merrily; she said she wishes we could all live by each other on a big cul-de-sac some where. I think that is what heaven is going to be like. It was so much fun to see Melody going through a box of her school papers. We just cheered when each family came thru the doors of the church. Thanks David for arranging our hotel and transporting us to and from the airport. We had a safe flight home. We have been working on our home with new metal soffit and all the wood around the windows. We remodeled our front door and installed a new window in the office.
Last Tuesday, Ramon was getting ready to come home from work when he had a bad fall off of the curb to the parking area. He managed to drive home. When I went out to his truck he was slumped over the steering wheel and seemed confused. He said he’d had a bad fall. I said, “Let’s get you into the house.” He was having trouble walking. We went along the car and sat down on the back step in the garage. I took his heavy work clothes off. He couldn't help or stand up or do anything to help me. I felt his head and shoulders and he was very hot. I called 911 and they came and took him to the hospital. He had a temperature of 104 deg. They ran a lot of tests and pumped him full of IVs He doesn’t remember from the time he got in his truck until they took him to his room from the emergency room about four hours later. They kept him overnight and his temp was OK the next morning. He has been gradually getting stronger each day. We send our love to all.

Merrily. Summer ended with Solomon’s basketball team taking 2nd place in the league, both Solomon and Abraham back in swimming lessons, and me running a Cub Scout day camp. Solomon earned the Arrow of Light and moved up to Boy Scouts. Abraham started Cubs and is so very enthusiastic. Next week we’re going on a Seattle Historical Hike – kind of a scavenger hunt for historic markers around the city. Victor and Eliahs are back to school at Wilson High School. They have geometry together. Solomon’s school moved just over a mile from our house. I bike with him sometimes. I hadn’t been on a bike since I was about his age and the first couple of days about killed me. Abraham likes 2nd grade but would prefer to spend his time building elaborate Lego vehicles and making up stories about how they battle each other. Kaela continues to work at a restaurant down the street from us. Kelsey is in school, too, and has both Spanish 301 and French 101 this semester. Doesn’t that sound confusing?
We went to the Puyallup Fair. Our kids love Christmas, camping, and the Fair -- probably in that order. Here we are on the ferris wheel. Solomon won the dog at (you guessed it) a hoop shoot game. Solomon made his very last shot and the dog is named LUCKY, of course!

David. It has already been a busy fall. Daniel started kindergarten, which he loves. And we haven’t heard from his teacher yet, which we love. We’ve discovered that Dan is a different critter than the other three who never got in trouble and would be mortified if they did. A typical day-after kindergarten conversation goes like this:
Jen: Daniel, how was kindergarten?
Dan: Great!
Jen: Did you get in trouble?
Dan: Well…I did have to stay in from recess for like a billion minutes.
Jen: Why did you have to stay in from recess?
Dan: For hitting.
Jen: What? You can’t hit other kids!
Dan: I only hit a couple of kids, and it was part of the game. (Apparently “Cops and Robbers” is a game that requires hitting.)
At least he hasn’t had to see the principal yet, and the teacher seems to be taking Daniel in stride. So far.
Zach started third grade and David and Sabrina started at their new performing arts middle school, Aspire. David ended up in drama, which he didn’t want, but he has friends in that class so he’s okay with it. He did say that the drama teacher is a little nuts. After the first couple of days, Sabrina has decided that she loves middle school. Since Dave and I both despised middle school, I’m so happy to hear that. The only problem is a long day and a long bus ride. They get on the bus at 7:45 and don’t get home until almost 4:30.
David and Zach both play football. David is in his last year of league football, and it seems like a much more violent game this year. In their first game four players from our team were benched with injuries. In the second game, David took a hit that bent his knee back the wrong way. The doctor told him that he needed to stay off it for six days, but David said no way. He played fine in the last game, but ended up with a face mask shaped bruise on his hip. (Really, we should send pictures.)
Zach is tolerating football. He loves the games, but he’s dying to play defense so he can tackle. For now, he’s stuck on offense. He doesn’t like practice because it cuts into his trampoline time, and he has a severe allergy to up downs. It’s funny to watch Zach on the line and to see that for now he’s one of the bigger guys on his team.
Sabrina is into soccer. This year they’re playing full-field and can do slide-tackles. The only problem is they have a small team and a limited amount of subs, often none at all, so they get plenty of running time.
Jen cried and cheered when Dan started kindergarten. She’s enjoying a quiet house a few days a week, trying to write, trying to keep the house clean, and trying to keep up with the kids’ activities.
Dave is busy with work, but is taking time for photography. He did senior pictures for three girls in our ward and gets out to take scenics whenever he can. Sabrina loves to go take pictures with him. He and Zach went on a fishing trip to Sekui and ended up catching a forty pound squid and a couple of salmon.
We had a great time at the reunion and can’t wait to see any or all of you again. Dan still talks about Will, and the other kids would love to hang out with their cousins again. It’s great to have such a big fun family. All our love…

Nick & Rachel. This exciting saga of the Nicholas and Rachel Nelson edition of the family letter is entitled “Differences between Nicholas and Rachel.”
1. At the end of this year, Rachel will be only two short semesters away from graduation with a Master’s in Public Administration. Nicholas will still have three years to go in his pursuit of education.
2. As we both recently moved, we both recently received new callings in our new ward. Rachel gets the fun opportunity to work with the 8-11 year old girls in the Activity Day program, while Nicholas must slave away in the Elder’s Quorum Presidency. They won’t be doing any modesty fashion photo shoots anytime soon.
3. In the pursuit of completing our portion of the adoption paperwork, Rachel toils mercilessly over each question and ponders the profound impact of each and every answer she provides on the extensive and through questionnaires in which we must participate. Nicholas, on the other hand, zips through his portion and finished his responsibilities in regards to the questioning weeks before Rachel was done. We will submit all our paperwork this week and will continue to wait for our background checks to clear, sometime around January.
4. Recently we both took a trip through the majestic, desolate plains of Wyoming to South Dakota where we saw four faces of beloved presidents of the past carved into the side of a granite mountain. While Rachel was attempting a picture with what appeared to be Nicholas’ finger picking Thomas Jefferson’s nose, Nicholas was captivated with the geology of the surrounding Black Hills.
5. Finally, all of Nicholas’ versions of the family letter are quite indistinguishable one from another, but Rachel’s mind is full of delightful imagination and comes up with new and creative ideas on how to share our exhilarating life story with our wonderful family.
One thing that is not so different between us is that we both love our family very much and are blessed with such wonderful people in our lives. Thank you for your love and support and for reading our portion of the letter.

Amy. It was great seeing y'all in Seattle (that's my Texas accent slipping out.) We got here about a week before school started and the boys have been such good sports. It hasn't been easy for them, but they are doing much better than we expected. Lacrosse isn't nearly as popular as it was in Colorado; they think football rules the world here. But the high school added a fall league this year (it's been just spring here), so Sean is making some friends and having fun. Lacrosse starts in November for Colton. Brian started basketball, and loves school. The boys were all jealous when we heard Colorado already got some snow, but I love the warm weather. Brittany is doing great at BYU, we're trying to convince her to stick with engineering, but doesn’t love it. We're under contract on a house. We move in Oct 26. The boys can't seem to remember in the apartment we can't run, jump, or bounce balls, so that's a challenge. Overall, we have been amazed how friendly people have been, and it has been great having Larry around a bit more. Once we get settled, we know we will love it here!

Doug. Our big news consists of Bryce getting his mission return date from Texas on Nov 19 (he will be home for Thanksgiving) and Drew getting his mission call to the New Hampshire, Manchester Mission! They will have a month to get reacquainted before Drew leaves on his mission. We are doing really well as a family and are single-handedly financially supporting the grocery stores here in SLC area to keep everyone fed. Not Joking!! But there are many blessing and good times that come from having our large family. Thanks to everyone in the family for supporting all of us in this new adventure. We love all of you very much! A bit of sad news is that Madison's mother, Kathryn, passed away on September 4 at the age of 46. She will be missed.

Dan. Not much to report since we saw most of you recently. Thank you to our hosts for such a great job organizing the reunion. It was wonderful seeing everyone and spending that short time with you.
Like I said, nothing very exciting here. Danil is busy with school and activities. We are enjoying beautiful autumn weather. We got two little boxer puppies (Bonnie and Clyde), working on some music stuff for church, Nadya is pregnant, work is busy doing two major remodels, took a trip to Phoenix, hiking, yard work, etc. Nothing new really.
Love you all. We are fortunate to be part of such a great family.



Sedona mudslide, Sept. 18, 2009

July 2009

Rob & Shante. Jack is now 6 months old! The time has gone by really quickly. He has two teeth, sits up on his own, rolls over, and does a war cry when he attempts to crawl. He just had his 6th month check up and weighs over 19lbs; he's a big boy. His favorite things are mirrors, being tickled, eating his toys, and snuggling. He's so fun and we love him so much. Nothing else is really new with us besides Jack hitting all his milestones. We had a really fun time this week. Rachel flew in from Africa and is with us until the 15th, Annie was with us on Wednesday which was Rob's birthday, and Will was with us for part of the week. It was lots of fun to have everyone here for Rob's Birthday. We're going to San Diego in a couple of weeks with our best friends and on the way home we'll stop in Mesa to see Annie and Al's new house. It's so great to have them closer! We can't wait to go swimming in their pool, and visit with them of course. :)


Doug. The Bodily/Schiess family is doing really well. We had two graduates: Drew and Nate. They graduated on the same day and, wouldn't you know it, at the exact same time at different ends of the valley. We had to divide and conquer to attend both. Very soon we could be down to only 5 kids in the house because of missions and college! We have been blessed as a family to be able to work together and steer the ship in the right direction. Thanks everyone for your support and understanding in helping me and my new found family get on the right track. I know that Holly is very happy with where we are now.
Bryce will return from his mission in November, hopefully. I say "hopefully" because as many of you have heard, he loves mission life and does not want to leave it. He is a great missionary, and probably walks on water daily!
Teresa and I have recently become SCUBA certified and are planning a trip to Costa Rica for a week of diving in July. We enjoy doing outdoor things together and have become quite competitive. She beats me at tennis on Mondays and I beat her on Tuesdays and so on. Also, we have become quite the gardeners. Our yard and garden are our pride and joy. The kids are all fully involved in basketball and softball and are feeling better and better about their lives here in SLC. Please come and stay with us and visit if you come through SLC. We are close to the airport and would love to see you anytime

Jim. Hi everybody. I’m retiring from the Air Force this year. My official date is October 1, but my last actual day on the job will probably be July 31. For those of you inclined to travel, we’ll be having a major bash to celebrate.
Beth has been selected for promotion to Colonel which means she’ll be staying in the Air Force for a while. Even better, she’s being reassigned back to Colorado Springs in August. Now that I know where we’ll live I guess I have to get busy looking for a job. Strange to be in the market for a job again after 25+ years. We’ll be busy early next month getting Beth moved, then Tyler starts sixth grade Aug 17th so my retirement ceremony and party will probably be sometime between then and Labor Day.

Ken. I sold my house in Spokane; it closes June 24th. I’m moving the last few things this weekend. I'll probably start staying in Tekoa full time after this weekend, as it will be more comfortable. Aubrey graduated! I had a great time at Jason and Karin Sayler's wedding. Here’s a photo of Don and Joann Sayler at the wedding.

Nick & Rachel. It seems odd to write a family letter after just seeing many of you at Chris' wedding, but then again the Wolf Pack News runs on a tight schedule, so here we go. Our big piece of news since March is that we have decided to apply to become adoptive parents through LDS Family Services. The process to become qualified to adopt takes about six months and then it can be anywhere from a week to three years before a child is actually placed with us. We are not holding our breath, but we are excited to move forward with this opportunity to expand our little family.
Aside from that, life is moving along busily but nicely. Rachel is starting a new job with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Colorado and is continuing to work towards her Master's of Public Administration degree. Nick completed his Master's degree in Astrophysical Sciences and now has only 3 more years of graduate school to go. Rachel is not impressed by the idea of 3 more years of grad school, but is supportive nonetheless.
It was great to see many of you at Chris' wedding. We feel very blessed to be a part of such a wonderful family and wish all of you all the best.

Merrily. First, THANK YOU again to Jenni for posting the March 2009 WPN. The spring is still kind of a blur in my mind, but here’s what I remember. Victor was released from the hospital in April. Once he started getting better he just kept going without any major setbacks. His speech has really improved. By the reunion I suspect that most of you won’t notice much difference. Of course, being a teenage boy it’s not like he was a brilliant conversationalist before the accident, so please cut him some slack. We think he’ll return to high school in the fall. Eliahs has grown a lot lately and I expect him to be the tallest in our family very soon. He’s planning to play football at Wilson HS in the fall so he’s working out several times a week (Victor goes with him). Practices start in August.
Abraham played coach-pitch baseball in the spring. Solomon played basketball. Both had a piano recital in June. Their teacher is a jazz musician so at recitals they often play with a bass and drums. It forces them to really know the songs and the timing. Kaela works at a restaurant a couple of blocks from our house. We stop in now and then and leave big tips. Kelsey is making her way closer and closer to a bachelor’s degree. She’s a junior now and will graduate in December 2010 if she keeps to the plan. She’s interested in Peace Corps and the Foreign Service -- obviously, a product of her mother’s influence.
Robert’s project at the WA Convention Center will go for another year. He’s started biking to work. I’m the Cub Master for our Pack of 18 boys and it keeps me very busy. Overall, life has returned to its frenetic, happy state.

Amy. Hi! We finally got our moving deal from Whataburger, so we are trying to get the house on the market and we will move down to San Antonio in August right after the reunion. See you all in Washington!

Lucy. So far it has been a busy but great spring/summer. We spent a few days in Sedona for spring break and got to meet Dan and Nadya's sweet little baby girl. The end of May we took a trip to Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, and D.C. It was such a fun trip. We relaxed on the beach for two days and then for the next five days we hit it hard and saw all sorts of historical sights, spent a day at Water County, and 1 1/2 days at Busch Gardens. We discovered fireflies for the first time and Sweet Magnolia trees. I've never smelled anything so delicious. It was a magical trip, one we will remember for years to come.
As soon as we got home Matt was off to Scout Camp, and I was off to a Relief Society Women’s’ Conference. This last week Annie and Will arrived. We are so excited to have them so close. I was able to go to Chris and Jessica's wedding. What a great couple they are. It was a beautiful wedding and it was so fun to see everyone there. This week is girls’ camp and we are all going, except Adri. She gets to stay with Annie. Even Matt is going. I told him he better come to camp prepared for a battle; the girls in our ward are ruthless to the Bishopric. I'm pretty sure Matt can hold his own he's pretty use to be ganged up on by a bunch a girls. We are so looking forward to the reunion in August and we hope to see you all there! We love you all.

Laurie. We want to thank so many of you for your help and support at Chris and Jessica's wedding. It just wouldn't be the same without family sending their best wishes and family coming to support them. We have learned that when you have a child getting married, you hardly get to visit with family because you are crazy-busy. That is frustrating, but we really could feel your love and support and it makes a lot of difference. We loved the wedding day and now Chris and Jessica are making their nest in Provo.
Cassidy graduated the week before the wedding. She will be attending BYU in August. Poor, poor Camille. Home alone with Neil and me for the next three years! I suppose she'll survive. It seems most youngest children do.
Neil and I traveled to Washington D.C. on a business trip last week. It was a fabulous place to visit! So much to see and do. My favorite was the Library of Congress. Our next adventure is a pioneer trek next week and then Twin Lakes. Needless to say, Neil isn't working much this month!
We love you all. Thanks again for being such a great family!

Dan. I don't have much to report. Nadya, Danil and Sofia are in Russia from June 1 to July 14 and I’m burying myself in work until they return including remodeling our kitchen for a surprise for Nadya. Hope to see you all at the reunion!
Mom & Ramon. On March 21, 2009 Neil, Laurie and the girls arrived from Oregon for little Joshua's blessing. They were able to attend a temple session where Ramon served as the session leader. Greg, Kandice, and Chris also attended the session. The next day we all attended a lunch at Greg and Kandice's and then the blessing at Greg's ward. Jessica was there with Chris. The next day the girls had fun shopping and playing with little Zach.
March 28th Angela came for a visit and to teach classes on writing at Idaho Falls High School. She was able to visit with her cousins Kathy Erickson, Valerie Bodily and Nickie and Jessie Jones. Also on that Sunday Zachary Wolf was baptized in Lacey, WA. We are so proud of him.
On May 21 Ramon had his cancer checkup at the Huntsman center in Salt Lake City. It went very well. That afternoon we visited Doug and Teresa and their kids in their beautiful remodeled home. They are doing great! We were staying at a hotel in Sandy so Rob, Shante and little Jack along with Andy came up for a visit. It was so much fun to see all of them. We had a fun time playing with Jack.
We love all of our children and grandchildren and are very happy when we can visit with all of you. Hope to see all at the family reunion.

Annie. Our big news is we're starting to get settled in our new home in Mesa, AZ. We live just a few minutes away from Lucy and Matt. It's so much fun to be close to them. They have helped us out so much--and we get to eat dinner at Lucy's. Yum! After a month in an empty house, our shipment from Singapore finally arrived. The house is still pretty empty, but at least we have somewhere to sit down now. The photo is Lucy and I at Chris and Jessica's wedding.
The kids are all doing well. Will is adjusting to the move, Rachel is working to help get a theater our friends are refurbishing and opening near BYU-Hawaii and gets to hang out with Kelsey, and Andy is going to school this summer. We just had a visit from Andy, Rob and Shante and Baby Jack for the 4th of July. The advance review copies of my next novel, SING ME TO SLEEP, are out. I'll bring some along to the reunion. Lots of love to everyone!

Melody moved and has a new phone number: 808-854-1832. She won't have email at home until she can get some tech help so phone is the best way to reach her. Her mailing address is the same (PO Box 1512, Kamuela, HI 96743). Go ahead and try out that new phone number!

WPN March 2009

Mom and Ramon. The middle of August I got hit with a bad case of deppression and anxiety. I was limited to our house and yard. I had to quit all of my church assignments. Ramon did most of the shopping and run for the pills. I have spent the past months working through this problem. I have a good counselor and doctor. They have helped me a lot. In October Ramon traveled to Newport Beach, CA for his grandson's wedding (Nick and Chelsey) in the Newport Beach Temple. He was with Nick's parents Scott and Darla Curtis. They had a great time. The wedding dinner and dance was held on a yacht Delising and they toured around the bay. We were both able to attend their wedding reception held at the Loft Reception center in Rigby, ID. Ramon's family members, children and grandchildren were there. We had a wonderful time. It has been so much fun to have Greg and Kandice and little Zachary here in Rexburg. This year we went to their apartment for Thanksgiving dinner. Their friends from Oregon were there too. They fixed a wonderful dinner and we loved being with them. Little Jack Morrison was born on Dec 5th, 2008 to Rob and Shante. It sounds like he is doing very well. Later in Dec we were able to go to Scott and Darla's for Christmas Eve. The roads were dry and it was a beautiful evening going down and back. They had home made chicked and noodles on mashed potatoes for dinner. They also read the Christmas story and played some games. We always have a good time and Darla loaded us up with some great food to take home. It was a good thing because the next day we had a bad storm. It dumped about a foot of snow with a strong wind. All of the roads around town were closed. You couldn't get out of your driveway. It blew all that day long. We just stayed inside and enjoyed the day. Lucy and Matt and the girls were in Pocatello visiting Matt's family and they drove up for a visit on Saturday. We just loved to see them. We also got to visit with Doug and Teresa and Drew and Madison. On Feb 5th, 2009 Greg and Kandice had little Joshua at Madison Memorial Hospital here in Rexburg. We were able to go to the hospital to visit Kandice and Greg and hold little Joshua. He is a beautiful little boy. Zach was there and Kandice's mother was playing with him. He was helping his mother eat her supper. We love all of our family and pray for you every day.Mary Lee is doing much better with this new medication and is looking forward to seeing all of you at the Wolf reunion this summer. We send our love.

Melody. I have requested off at work for two weeks ending 08/10. All of this is tentative right now, pending my finances, but I do have a plan. I'm just keeping it to myself for a little while more. I have to confess that Sayler's aren't coming until NEXT month. Here I emailed them about the Cherry Blossom Festival; then I called Jon when I didn't hear from him (he was in the County Courthouse at the time). Usually I get days mixed up, but this is a first in awhile getting months mixed up. I have just come home from a three week house sit, and am slow getting settled back in. I have tentative house sits on the books that should keep me going, including one that is 3 months long. I think Dana is getting used to this. We've been going through some growing pains with the staff at work, and things are starting to settle down there, too. Now, however, we are consolidating with the Mauna Lani Macy's, which just closed it's doors this weekend, and are going to have to break in 4 more employees, most of which have filled in here on occasion. We will be cramped together until April, when we move to a bigger space. Should be "operational" by 04/01/09; (April Fools' Day!). At a time when people are scrambling for jobs and finances, this will be a big feather in Macy's cap to say that we're having a "grand opening" of a "new" store...and don't think I'm not grateful to have a job at all. My friends, the Parks, have decided to rent their home short term, and have asked me to stay on and do some house cleaning and gardening between times (which is what I have been doing). This is something that I love to do - the place is gorgeous - but I'm going to have to file taxes on wages. Ouch! Filing taxes in Hawaii is it's own entity. I have not had all pleasant experiences. Praying with you for Victor and the rest of your family. Aloha pumehana.

Laurie and Neil. First and foremost, we want to send our sincerest wishes to Victor for a complete recovery from his injuries. We want Merrily, Robert and family to know of our love and concern. You have been in our prayers. We know that you have and will continue to receive comfort and peace from a loving Father and a Savior who understands your pain. While Victor fights for life, we welcomed two new lives into our family. Greg and Kandice had a little boy, Joshua Neil, on February 5th. Then DaNeill and Brian had a little girl, Phoebe Joann, on February 17th. I was able to travel to Everett to be with Keira and Aysa while Phoebe was born. Fun and exhausting at the same time! We hope to travel to Rexburg to see little Joshua during spring break. During January, Cassidy and Camille both performed in our high school production of "Thoroughly Modern Millie". It was really fun to have them both in the same event. We know it probably won't happen again as Cassidy will be leaving for BYU in the fall. We're glad they have this one year of high school together. Hopefully, all of our kids that are away from home will write, but if they don't, Nick and Rachel are both working and going to graduate school in Colorado and Chris is at BYU dating a very sweet girl whose father grew up living across the street from Neil in Richland, Washington. (Small world.) Neil and I love our life. We are blessed beyond measure. Thank you for being such a great family! Love,Laurie, Neil & all

I should add that Chris is engaged to Jessica Leigh Bates and will be married on June 12th in the Portland Temple at 10:00 a.m. For those of you that haven't heard the story, Jessica's dad, Roger, grew up directly across the street from Neil in Richland. Because Roger is several years younger than Neil, he was used as a moving target when Neil and the older boys had BB guns. Chris will probably be paying for that the rest of his life... Anyway, we are excited for this marriage and to add one more beautiful daughter to our family.

Nick and Rachel. Hello family! It's been a crazy few months for us and here are the highlights: November - Rachel was accepted into the Master's of Public Administration program at the University of Colorado at Denver. Nick silenced those family members that think that an astrophysicist never does anything useful by changing the alternator on our car.
December - We both went skiing in -20 degree weather, managed to avoid being frozen alive, and enjoyed the beautiful Colorado powder. We also successfully cooked the first turkey of our marriage, which produced far more meat than the two of us could ever have eaten.
January - Nick passed a 7 hour test that essentially means he is finished with coursework and now just needs to do a dissertation to get his PhD. Rachel began her Master’s degree program as a full-time student and a full-time employee of the YMCA.
February - After realizing that Rachel’s 1-hour commute to school wasn’t going to work very well, we decided to look into moving at the end of April (stay tuned...).
March - We realized what a great family we have and decided to write them all a letter.

Greg and Kandice. Well, we Nelsons are doing well. We all have had a little cold. Zachary and Joshua have had a stuffy nose. Greg said he has had a sore throat and we all have been little more tiered than normal. We are getting better.Joshua had a doctor check up last week. He now weighs 8 lbs 2 oz and 20 3/4 inches. The doctor said every thing looks good and he is growing normal. He doesn't go back until he is two months and then we start shots. That will be the fun appointments.Zachary is growing like crazy. He is enjoying Joshua and is learning that Joshua isn't a glorified toy. Zachary is also trying to learn how to share Mom and Dad and Mom and Dad are trying to make sure that Zachary gets some of their time.Greg's internship is going well. He is learning a lot about business. He is enjoying the projects that he is working and the people he is working with, for the most part.I am trying to keep up the house with every thing that goes on here. Sometimes that is a big task. Greg and I are enjoying our calling at church. We are Family History Consultant Chairpersons. We teach a family history class during Sunday School and are learning a lot about family history ourselves. We are also working on our family history and finding more about our family. It is a fun process. We are doing well and enjoying life. We are thankful for the wonderful family that we have. We hope all are doing well in your families Love,Greg, Kandice, Zachary and Joshua P.S. If you would like to see more pictures or know more about we have been up to you can check out our blog at gregandkandice.blogspot.com.

Robert and Merrily. We had a great Christmas with everybody home. I think Seattle made the national news more than once with the unusual snowfall. Robert and Solomon tried to snow-surf at our neighborhood park. It must be in their blood. On February 11th Victor was in a skateboarding accident and sustained serious head injuries. He is in ICU at St. Joseph Hospital in Tacoma. The last few days have been very good and have raised our hopes for his recovery. You can keep up on his progress at http://www.blog4victor.blogspot.com/. We feel like Victor and our whole family have been blessed. Abraham and Solomon went on their first trip to Disneyland. I probably had as much fun watching them as they had doing everything. We rode almost every ride, met some of our favorite characters, and relished the 70+ degree weather swimming in the hotel pool. Kelsey is enjoying this semester at BYU-H. She wasn't sure she'd be able to catch up in Spanish after not taking it for a couple of years but she's doing fine. Kaela is job-hunting. The market is tough but we're sure she'll find something. Eliahs is putting in his time in the 8th grade and putting in as much time as he can skateboarding. He's visited Victor at the hospital a lot the last two weeks. Thank you for all your prayers, concern, and offers of support. This experience has been a reminder of how much I love you all.

Dan and Nadya. Well, you all know our big new by now. We welcomed Sofia into the world on Feb. 7. All is well with Mama and baby. It is amazing to watch her change day by day. I know the rest of you have gone thru this a hundred times but it is new for me, so shut up and let me gush about my baby!!! I know, soon enough, she will wreck my car and whine about girl stuff and break my heart by leaving home but for now I am enjoying every moment. Nadya is a born mother and is patient as I stumble thru changing and dressing and carrying procedures. I am the designated burper and early morning diaper man. Other than that, Mama handles everything. OK, I'm finished talking about the most amazing baby ever born!!! :)Danil is doing great, growing tall and strong. His English is very good now and he loves his school and teacher. He learned to snowboard this winter and is thriving in every aspect. Nadya, Danil and Sofia will travel home to Russia this summer if they receive all their documents in time. Work is busy for me again after a slow Dec/Jan. All in all, we are healthy and happy and pray the same for all of you. All our thoughts and prayers are with Victor and his family.We love you all.

Annie and Al. Where do I start? We had a busy trip back home over Christmas. The highlight was getting to see Baby Jack blessed. We went down to Cozumel for a few days of scuba diving and on our way home, stopped in Phoenix and bought a house in Mesa not far from Lucy. (YAY!) It's quite a place. You're all invited--there's room for everyone. We hadn't planned on buying a home quite that big, but this was really the best deal we could get. We live in a tiny apartment in a high rise here in Singapore. We CAN'T WAIT to have our own home again. We leave Singapore the first week of June. If you have to live in a big Asian city, Singapore is the place to be, but I'm still a farm girl in my heart. Our new house is next door to the Tonto National Forest. It's a desert, but that's what they call it. Not rolling Palouse hills, but I'll take saguaros over high rises any day.Meanwhile, my book goes on sale March 5th. I'm flying over for a three week "Launch Celebration Tour," courtesy of Dave and Jenny, Merrily, Rob and Shante, Mom and Ramon, Doug and Teresa, Laurie, and Lucy. I'm speaking at about thirty high schools in Olympia, Seattle, Spokane, Tekoa (YAY!), Idaho Falls, West Jordan, Salt Lake, American Fork, Lehi, Orem, Provo, Kaizer, Mesa, Gilbert, Cave Creek, Scottsdale and Phoenix. Thanks everybody for all your help and hosting me. Penguin is amazed at my network. It's great to have such wonderful nieces and nephews whose teachers appreciate them so much they'll let their aunt come and speak.
Rachel and Andy are both having a great time at BYU. Rachel has learned to play the guitar and is into songwriting these days. Check her out on Facebook.Allen is still traveling too much, Will still plays video games too much, and I'm writing too much. I wear a black wristguard on my left hand all the time. So stylin'. I look like a professional bowler. My next book for Penguin, SING ME TO SLEEP, is heading off to the typesetters soon. Lexa is presenting it in-house to Penguin in some big meeting this week. I should have advance copies for you to read this summer. (I hope!) I'll post updates of my tour on my website (http://www.angela-morrison.com/) and Facebook. See you there!
We continue to pray for Victor and his full recovery. I shared his story with my ward here in Singapore. So many people were touched and told me they would include him in their prayers and fasting. We have a big, complicated family--but I wouldn't have it any other way. Love to you all. I can't wait to see you at the Family Reunion in August.

Rob and Shante. Jack Baillie Morrison was born December 5, 2008. We weighed in at 7lbs 11oz. At his two month appointment he weighed 13lbs 13oz. He is growing quickly and is a chunky little boy. We love it! He is so much fun! He is smiling and giggling and cooing all the time now. He loves to take baths and splash around, it's his new favorite thing. It was wonderful at Christmas to have Annie, Allen, and Will come and visit from Singapore. It's so fun to see Jack with Grandma Annie. When she was here she was the first to volunteer to change his diapers and do any dirty work. I think she would be happy to cuddle and hold him all day long. Needless to say it was a great Christmas holiday and we had a lot of help thankfully. I am now staying at home with Jack and loving it. I think Rob is super jealous because he wants to play with Jack all day. Rob is still working his same job thankfully and is doing well there. We were getting a little nervous with the lay offs but all has been well. The Lord truly has blessed us this past year and we're so grateful! Here are some pictures of Jack. Enjoy! Also we have a blog if you want to see more pictures of Jack: http://robandshante.blogspot.com/ Love, Rob, Shante and Jack

Amy and Larry
It looks like we are going to be moving to San Antonio this summer. The company Larry has been working for, Whataburger, is relocating their headquarters there. They are going to fly us out over spring break to look for houses. So we've been busy here trying to figure out all the projects we need to do to get our house on the market. The boys are busy with lacrosse, and we are excited for Brittany to come home for Easter, then she is going back for spring term. We wish you all the best, especially Victor--you are in our thoughts and prayers!

Doug and Teresa. We are doing well as a new family. We are trying to adjust to so many mouths to feed and so many different activities going on. Teresa and I are on the run constantly, but that helps us meet our goal to lose weight this year! Bryce just passed his 1 year mark in November so he will be back before we know it! He is in Corpus Christi Texas right now working very hard to teach the gospel. Many of you have read his letters and his testimony is growing by leaps and bounds. We are proud of him! Drew will graduate this year and he is looking forward to a mission right after graduation, he is working hard to prepare for that. Madison is in seventh grade and finding new friends and is very happy to have Teresa there when she gets home after school (simple but huge for her). She is involved with piano and theater/dance. If I had time I would go into detail about all the kids but we have so many. We are happy and working together to make things as good as they can be. We love you all and hope that all is well with you.


Elder Bryce Bodily
5757 S. Staples Apt #1507
Corpus Christi, TX 78412




Matt and Lucy. We have enjoyed a beautiful winter here in sunny Arizona. We had the most unforgettable Christmas filled with trecherous roads to Idaho, luggage flying off our car roof, blizzards almost everyday, 21 adults and kids stuck in 1 small house with the violent stomach flu and only 1 1/2 bathrooms. Not all was bad though we did get to see family members as we passed each other in the hall on the way to the bathroom, Adri was one of the three that didn't get sick so we had a sweet angel to empty our barf bowls, we had one sunny day so the girls were able to go skiing for the first time (Matt said they were naturals), we got to see Mom and Ramon, and we made it home safe and sound. We were so glad to get home!
Sidney turned 16 in January and got her drivers license, she's only almost killed us a few times, so so far so good. She has taken a photography class this last year and has a good eye and a natural talent. She even took all our Christmas pictures for us this year, even the ones of herself. She has become quite good at self portraits because we are in the MySpace Era. She is just starting a class to get her water safety intrustor certificate, and she is hoping to teach swim lessons this summer up at Las Sendas. Carly just finished up with volleyball and has started tennis lessons, and Adri continues with violin and her ballet lessons and is preparing for her recital in May.
We are so excited Annie and Al found a home just minutes from us. We haven't been close to family forever and are looking forward to having them around. We are also excited to see you all in August at the family reunion. We continue to pray for Victor. What a miracle you are Victor! We are anxious everyday to check your blog and read of your amazing progress. We are so proud of you and are cheering you on here in Arizona! We love you all and hope you are all healthy and happy.

David and Jenni. It has been a wonderful, white, crazy winter. We have gotten more snow and less rain this year and have loved it. The theme for this winter seems to be skiing/snowboarding. The Daves (father & son) both have season passes so they have spent the last three months trying to get their money's worth. The rest of the family has joined them a few times and now Zach and Sabrina are becoming good skiers as well. Sabrina went to the top for the first time, she's quite the little snow bunny. Zach has earned the nickname KZ (Kamakazee Zach) because for him fast is good and turns are bad. David was reminded of his early days of skiing when he tried to teach Zach to ski. Zach's comment to him, "Stop bothering me Dad, I just want to do it my way." Our new teenaged son has become quite good on the snowboard. He even survived a trip down a black diamond on his face with just a few battle scars to show for it. I got Dave new skis for Christmas and Dave got me new skis for me birthday. We snuck away one Thursday night and spent Friday skiing together. We haven't got Dan on skis yet, but he keeps begging to try. For now he's sticking to a sled. We're exploring the possibility of getting season passes for everyone next year so we can be a family of ski bums.
Besides skiing we have been doing the usual crazy stuff. Sabrina just finished basketball and the school play "101 Dalmations." She played Penny, a memeber of the dog family. David is doing jazz band and basketball so he often goes to school at 8:00 and doesn't get home until 6:00. Sabrina and David both got accepted into our school district's new performing arts magnet school. It's a great opportunity, but they're having a hard time with the idea of leaving schools and friends they love. Zach has started baseball and Sabrina is doing soccer again so the craziness won't be letting up for a while. Dan is in preschool. He keeps me company with all of his hugs and snuggles and is still the video game champion of the world. (At least for 4-year-olds). We're looking forward to Annie's visit next week and finding out what is in the 18 packages she had sent to herself here. (Sorry, Annie, had to thow that in.)
Zach just turned eight and will be baptized on the 29th of March (Sabrina's birthday). Any and all family members are invited to attend.

P.S. We are looking forward to seeing EVERYBODY at the family reunion. Please send us (Jenni and Merrily) your ideas, dreams and expectations for the reunion. We will be happy to lower them for your.