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 & allI 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 le
arning 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, Ma
ma 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.
