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 f
un 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 k
ind 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!
