November 2010

Mom & Ramon. Our highlight of the summer was Brittany’s wedding in Salt Lake City. What a wonderful time everyone had. The dinner the night before at the Macaroni Grill was a great starter. It was so much fun to be with Laurie’s family and celebrate Laurie’s birthday. The wedding day was perfect and a great spiritual experience. It was great to be in the temple together for their sealing. We pray for our family’s blessing each day.
The first of October Robert, Merrily, Solomon and Abraham came to visit us on their way to conference in Salt Lake. We had lots of fun visiting. Bryce went to dinner at Craigo Pizza Place with us. We then went on a grand tour of Rexburg and the BYU-Idaho buildings scheduled to be completed in January. Our happiest times are when we can be with our families.

Melody. Aloha! I'm set to dovetail a couple of house sits over the Christmas holidays. I'll have three days of crunch, but I couldn't turn down "just feed them!" when it's on my way to work and home. Nancy just cut my hair again and we went to lunch and a movie. She showed me a "new" used book store in Kona.
At work, I got to come home early last Friday night when the power went out -- very timely. We've had other power outs around the island lately, too. I'm having unusual schedules: we have a couple of girls out on emergency and boss is on vacation. There’s a medical convention in town, so we’re busy. A candy shop closed at the mall, and maybe one store going out next month. Almost all the stores have sale signs up. We're doing better than most.
On the home front, I'm still over 2400 emails in my inbox, but I have been taking my time. (Amy, thanks for the pictures!) As it's been raining and windy lately, I've been able to work indoors instead of out.
I've been in my upstairs-garage apartment for over a year now; doesn't seem like I've used it much. It has a homey feel, and more of my things fit than I thought. There's a missionary bed (hint, hint), plus I still have a whole big house that my friends haven't sold yet. They're dangling a new buyer. I think it's finally going to sell, then I'll have more time for me! But I so enjoy "helping" over there. I've been a recreational weeder for three years now.

Laurie. Hello from Oregon! We are having a great fall. I took a very quick trip to Pullman to see sweet Zachary and Joshua -- Greg and Kandice, too! Pullman brought back many good memories. We walked on campus where Annie and I used to have adventures, and I took a picture of the second story window that David fell from one day. I remember Lucy ran into the kitchen saying, "I hung on to him until I started to fall, too! So I let him go!" We all ran outside to find him. He had landed on his rear, thrown up and rolled down the hill. I was also reminded while I was at Valley Crest Village of the time that Annie tried to get into the wrong apartment at 6:00 a.m. with a load of laundry fresh from the dryer! Such great stories!
We are in the middle of another remodel. This time we are taking a bedroom to make our master bath and closet bigger. Lots of dust, noise and cold -- I'm not sure this poor house can take much more pounding. (Or me either!)
Camille is a busy junior. Probably her favorite activity this fall has been powder puff football. Her junior team beat the seniors, which is very unusual because the referees seem to favor the seniors. Camille did an outstanding job and even had several good runs with the ball. It was fun to watch. Between football and soccer she stays pretty beat up and she likes it. It just doesn't seem right to go to a formal homecoming dance with bruises all over your legs!
Neil, Camille and I took a weekend trip to Las Vegas to visit Neil's parents. It was great fun! Neil helped his dad with a rock wall and Grandma helped us find a homecoming dress for Camille. Grandma and Grandpa Nelson went on an amazing roller coaster with us. They are good sports! I think we would have enjoyed the ride more if we weren't worried that they might have a heart attack in the middle of it. Of course, in my opinion, that wouldn't be a bad way to go!
In case my older kids don't write, DaNeill completed basic training in the Air Force Reserves and is now back in Everett with her three sweet girls. Nick and Rachel are in Colorado. Rachel received her Master's Degree in Public Administration this summer. Greg and Kandice are in Pullman where Greg is doing graduate work in Mechanical Engineering. Chris and Jessica are in Provo with Jessica working full-time and Chris banging on drums and things. Cassidy is having a very fun second year at BYU. We loved having her home this past summer.
That's about it from us! I love you all and am so happy to be part of this wonderful family.

David. We made it through our crazy, busy summer of Trek, girls camp, and EFY. The kids are settled into school. Here's the rundown:
David (the younger and now tallest in the family), is in high school (gasp). He has three honors courses, band, and early-morning seminary. He keeps busy with skateboarding, his social life, and homework.
Sabrina is in seventh grade at our district's performing arts school. She's in the advanced choir, plays soccer, is buried in homework, but still keeps a busy social calendar.
Zach is one of the top readers in his class; he continually amazes his teacher with how much he reads. He still lives on the trampoline, and enjoys his mom as his Bear den leader.
Daniel is in first grade and has managed to stay out of trouble this year *fingers crossed*. He continually amazes us with his math skills. He recently learned how to do a back flip on the trampoline. (Now all of our kids can do one.)
David (the older) has kept busy with work and photography. He had a great time seeing everyone at Britney's wedding. This fall he has done a bunch of senior portraits to add to his awesome scenics. He has a website at www.davidwolfphoto.com where you can see his incredible pictures.
Jen chose a literary agent, (Sara Megibow at Nelson Literary,) after having four offer her representation. In September, she got to visit Annie and Lucy in Arizona and attend the SCBWI conference there. She had so much fun at the conference and spending time with Annie and Lucy's families. In October she got to go to another writer's retreat in Anacortes, WA. At press time, her novel TIGERSEYE has an offer from one publisher and she's waiting to hear back from three other editors before she makes a decision. We will let everyone know when something is concrete. She now has a blog, www.wolftalez.com, and a website, jennifershawwolf.com. Huge thank you to Annie for all of her advice and support!
We are all anxiously watching the ski report and looking forward to what is supposed to be a great ski season! We hope everyone is well!

Doug. We have two missionaries in the field now: Drew in New Hampshire, and Nate in Ventura, California. Drew has 1 year left and Nate just flew to California today, 11/1/10. Bryce is busy with college at BYU-I and was just called as the Elders Quorum President in his ward. Teresa and I had an eventful summer. We both broke our arms playing softball and baseball. Teresa broke one of her forearm bones in her right arm just above the wrist when she was hit by a softball during our game. I broke my left humerus bone between my shoulder and elbow (not very humorous!) while diving for a ball in a baseball game. It has been a long summer with not much tennis playing or scuba diving :( We should be good to go by January though! The kids are all busy in school and activities which keep us so busy we rarely have time to sit down. Teresa says that will keep us young....I am hoping she is right! Hope you are all well. We love you!
NEW ADDRESS!
Elder Drew Bodily
164 Madison Ave, APT 6
Skowhegan, ME 04976


Annie. We're getting more and more settled. I finally got to unpack Great Grandma Hunt's china and the chocolate set. It's all been in storage for six and a half years. It came through perfectly--not a single crack or chip. And it looks fantastic in my dining room even though I'm not actually going to use that room as a dining room. We bought a 1915 grand piano that we are getting refinished to put in it instead of a table.
We love having Rob, Shante, and Jack around. Al is gone all the time, so it's great to have them here to keep Will and me company. Rob is a great help, and Shante cooks dinner for us. Yum!
Andy and Rachel are coming home from BYU for Thanksgiving. We're looking forward to seeing them for a few days. Last year's Thanksgiving got canceled when we all got the flu. We're hoping that doesn't happen again this time. We bought Al a BBQ Smoker for his birthday so I think we'll have to have smoked turkey for dinner. Good thing we're having dinner with Lucy. She'll cook a regular turkey. Phew. We're looking forward to Dan and Nadya joining us for Thanksgiving, too.
Will is doing very well at school. He has all advanced classes, except Spanish, so his GPA is over 4.0. He works hard and is very responsible. The Lord blessed us with a bunch of really great kids. They keep Al and me on track.
Al travels too much. He's trying to figure out a good strategy so that can change, but as long as the US economy is weak and the Asian economy is strong, he'll end up flying the Singapore or France to teach. Kind of a long commute.
I'm still busy writing. This fall I'm working on CAYMAN SUMMER (Taken by Storm Book #3). I released the second book, UNBROKEN CONNECTION, with Rob's help, this summer. As a huge experiment and a gift to my loyal readers, I'm posting CAYMAN SUMMER on a blog as I write it--one poem, dive log or internet chat at a time. It's turning out to be a lot of fun and great motivation. I'll publish it in book form next spring. Andy helped me design the blog and Rob designed the cover. You can visit at http://caymansummer.blogspot.com.

Amy. Thanks again to everyone who was able to come to Brittany's wedding! It was so fun to get together. You really made it wonderful for us. And for those who couldn't make it, we missed you terribly and the next get-together will be mandatory. After the wedding we spent a week in Wisconsin at the Archibald's cabin. That is always the favorite week of the year. This year they added 4-wheelers and paintball guns to the lake toys, so the boys were in heaven. They even saw a bear when they were out on a 4-wheeler trail. Now the boys are back to their usual...school, lacrosse, basketball. I went back to school this fall, too, at Univ of TX San Antonio to finish up my Accounting degree after 20+ years off. It's been quite an adjustment, but I really like it. Larry got a good promotion, so hamburgers will be in our future for a while. Brittany and Steven are doing great, working and going to school. She should have her wedding pictures up on Facebook any day. We're having gorgeous fall weather if any one is tempted to get away!

Jim. Our big news is that we're moving again. This time it's only a dozen miles, though - from NW to NE Colorado Springs (into Black Forest for those who know the area here). We're pretty confident Beth won't get another assignment before she can retire as a Colonel in a couple more years, so our plan to get Tyler through school here is looking good.
So we bought a 2-1/2 acre lot in the trees adjacent to a park and we're building a house with a nice Pikes Peak view and a big study (I work from home quite a bit). We hope to move in by late next summer.
Tyler turned 13 a couple weeks ago and Cooper the puppy turned 7 months a few days later - both growing fast.


Ken. I’m either working at the salon or working on my house. With both of the girls settled in school (Aubrey at UI and Leah at SCC), my life has been blessedly uneventful. Alan VanVoorhis and I are going to Seattle Thanksgiving weekend to see Kansas City embarrass the Seahawks.

Greg & Kandice. Hello, Family. Many things have happened since we last wrote:
9 April 2010: Greg turns 25 and graduates from BYU-Idaho.
14 June 2010: Zachary turns three!!!
July 2010: We move to Pullman, WA for grad school at WSU. We go to Twin Lakes -- the best place in the world.
8 August 2010: Joshua starts nursery.
29 August 2010: Greg and Kandice celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary.
11 September 2010: Uncle Klain visits. We all go to a WSU football game and they win!
September 2010: School in full swing. Greg called as Ward mission leader. Kandice called as choir director.
October 2010: We look forward hearing from our family.
P.S. To see more check out our blog: gregandkandice.blogspot.com.

Merrily. We took a five day, seven state, 2500 mile road trip. Day one, we drove to Bozeman, MT. En route, we introduced the kids to the old Get Smart TV show, thanks to our public library. Now we use our shoes as phones. “Would you believe it?”
Day two we spent in Yellowstone National Park. The weather was gorgeous and the crowds were small. Then we headed south to Rexburg, ID for a great dinner with Mom, Ramon, and Bryce.
Day three, we visited Bear World (a must when you’re in Rexburg!) and drove to Cedar Hills, UT where we stayed with Robert’s cousins. Day four, we attended the LDS general conference in SLC.
Day five, we drove 1100 miles home via Nevada. In one day. I don’t know if it’s frightening or reassuring that we haven’t yet outgrown road trips.
Here's Robert, Solomon, and Abraham at the Great Salt Lake.






Lucy. I hosted the Relief Society Holiday dinner at my house yesterday and it consumed my life this past week or so...but even my windows are clean. We wrapped our summer up with a cruise to Alaska and Brittany's wedding. It was great to see everyone. The day we got off the cruise, Merrily hosted Sunday dinner. It was great to spend time with her and David's families. Our cruise was amazing. Alaska is such a beautiful and unique place. We saw so many things we have never seen before.
For fall break we rented a cabin up in the mountains and got a little break from the heat. Sidney took family pictures for us while we were up there. She is amazing, she would get the picture all set up and then she would run and jump in the frame and pose like a pro! The girls are all doing great. Sid is a senior, working on her photography and applying to colleges. She hopes to go to BYU-I. Carly is in 9th grade this year. She was elected captain of her volleyball team and is now trying out for the Club volleyball team. Adri is in 6th grade and has hung up her ballet shoes and is giving jazz a try. So far she loves it.
We are excited to spend Thanksgiving with Annie and Dan's families. I can't wait for some smoked turkey! For Christmas we are hoping to go up to Idaho but I still can't get barf-fest '08 out of my mind so plans might change. We love you all and hope you and your families are all healthy and happy.

June 2010

Dan. Our news is growth in the family. We were happy to welcome Giselle in May and are having a ball now that she is here. Sofia is even happy about it now.

Nadya finished her first semesters of college in the U.S. with great marks and Danil made the honor role at school. It's not easy being the bonehead in the family. However, I believe if you surround yourself with smarties then you look smart too. I don't know why I think that, it didn't work for Mr. Bush or for Mr. Obama.
Nadya's mother, Luba, is with us for a few weeks to help with babies. She has been a Godsend so life is easier for us. We took Luba to the Grand Canyon and we got snowed on June 12. Global warming I guess.
This week is Vacation Bible School at church so we are busier than ever with summer activities. Danil takes swimming lessons, Sofia loves to go to the park, days are long so Papa works longer, but is grateful to be busy. Nadya and Luba plant flowers and keep them watered, enjoy their walks with the babies, and feed us well. Danil works with me this summer to fund his new project car. We are restoring an old car together which we have been planning for some time.
This weekend I will return to where it all began as Annie and I head to Tekoa for our class reunion -- 10 year! :) Nadya and the girls will go with me as we cruise Crosby Street, walk down the halls of THS, and visit the old farm. I am really looking forward to seeing Ken and the girls and walking down memory lane with my old friends. And I do mean old. Have a great summer! We love you all.

Amy. Thank you everyone for the support for Britt! We look forward to seeing those of you who can make it to the wedding and wish you all could be there, but totally understand if you can't. We hope to get the announcements out next week, but I wanted to let you know there is a luncheon for all family and close friends at noon, the wedding in the Salt Lake temple at 3:40, then a reception 7-9 (on 8/14). We are in Colorado right now for Brittany's bridal shower. Thanks to Jim for having us for a few days! The boys are in heaven hanging out with friends, I don't know if I'm going to get them to come back. Actually things are good in Texas. Sean's lacrosse team won district and went to state for the first time. Sean made the All-District team. He also got picked to go to T99, the top 99 players in Texas where they have a tournament and lots of college recruiters. It was pretty exciting. Colton had a fun lacrosse season, too, and he will go to Scout camp when we get back. Brian's basketball team also got first place in their division, so that was a good time.
Here’s a picture of one of Sean’s games:

Laurie. The Nelson's are waiting for some sunshine and sweet Oregon strawberries which have been at a minimum so far this year. We have hope, however, that brighter days are soon to come! We enjoy having Cassidy home from BYU for the summer. She came home, got her wisdom teeth out and found a job all within a couple of weeks. She is blessed to be working for an architect doing some CADD work and learning a lot about construction which is amazing because her major is construction management. (Who would've thunk?)
Camille has a few days left of school. She experienced a minor bout with mono this past month. She has done an amazing job of playing "catch-up" with her school work. Now she just needs to make it through finals and hang on to her good grades. Finals will be a little tough since she has missed so much school. She works hard. Maybe she can sleep all summer---or at least when she's not at Girls Camp, Twin Lakes, EFY or soccer camp. (Okay, forget the sleep.)
Just a quick word about the older kids -- DaNeill is at boot camp for the Air Force Reserve and Brian is in Everett working and taking care of the three girls. Nick and Rachel are in Colorado continuing their graduate work. Rachel will finish this summer. They bought and are fixing up a townhouse. Greg, Kandice and boys will be moving to Pullman at the end of this month to attend graduate school at WSU. Chris and Jessica are celebrating their one-year anniversary and Jessica graduated from BYU in April.
Neil and I just try to keep up with it all. I volunteer for too many things. Neil is finishing a big project in the backyard to improve drainage. He has a very busy summer ahead with trips for work and family. We are looking forward to Brittany's wedding in August where we will also celebrate my 50th birthday---YIKES! (Not to mention David's 40th and Merrily and Amy's b-days, too!)
P.S. In the picture, can you find Laurie, Annie, Holly and Lucy? Uncle Walter Jones gave this picture to Greg.



Greg & Kandice. Much has been going on in our home. Joshua, age 1, loves to climb, walk and talk. He is growing like crazy! He loves to watch his brother and do what he is doing. He is a great help around the house.
Zachary, age 3, just had is birthday and had a wonderful day. Zachary too is growing like crazy. He runs all over the place and is talking up a storm. He talks about going to school and loves to be superheroes.
Greg loves to spend time with the family and be outside. Greg graduated from BYU-Idaho in April. He will attend grad school at Washington State in the fall. We’re moving to Pullman the first week of July. Our new address is 555 NE Terre View Dr #A304, Pullman, WA 99163. Right now Greg is doing odd jobs and enjoying the World Cup.
Kandice loves to spend time with my boys! I am also looking forward to moving. I think we all are. We are looking forward to the next chapter in our life. My days are spent packing a little and spending time outside because the sun has decided to come out and play.
If you would like to see more on our family and some pictures you can check out our blog at gregandkandice.blogspot.com.

David. Sabrina finished their school’s production of “Fiddler on the Roof”. It was AMAZING! It nearly killed her off. The director was a real slave-driver, but the result was worth it. For a review and pictures you can check out Jen’s blog http://www.wolftalez.blogspot.com. She has one week to recoup before she starts “Alice in Wonderland”. She’s now a Young Woman and is looking forward to her first Girl’s Camp in July.
Little (now officially taller than Jen and closing on his dad) David leaves soon for EFY in Utah. He will get back one day before Trek. Between EFY, Trek, High Adventure Camp, and Scout camp we plan on seeing David a couple of weekends in July. It will be good preparation for him. He starts high school (gasp!) in the fall. He’s already packed his freshman year full of early-morning Seminary, three honors classes, band, and football. He continually reminds us how many months, weeks, and days he has until he gets his driver’s license. But first he has to get his Eagle. He’s a couple of merit badges and a project away.
Zach plays soccer and is the kid who loves the piano. He and Jen went on a mother/son trip to San Diego. He was the king of the boogie board and ruled the “Screaming White Coaster of Death”. He loved LegoLand and the Wild Animal Park. He was so mesmerized by the beach on Coronado that he wanted to take jars of golden water home to his class. (He settled on pencils from the Wild Animal Park.) I was so proud of him. He worked for a week to earn money to take on the trip and then used it to buy gifts for his whole class and his brothers and sister. He only bought a set of shark’s teeth for himself.
Daniel has survived Kindergarten. He received his “self-manager” award and then had it taken away. He neglected to end his game of hide and seek and come in from recess. (But Sammy was supposed to find me, Mom!) He continues to amaze us with his math and reading skills. He started soccer this spring and LOVED it.
David (the older) has been working, running, and doing photography. He has some amazing pictures! You can check out his website at www.davidwolfphoto.com He and Jen want to run a half and then a full marathon soon, but haven’t been able to fit one in yet.
Jen tries to keep it all together and keep the schedules straight. She still enjoys writing and has finished her third complete manuscript (unpublished work). Under Annie’s divine guidance she is sending it out to agents.
We look forward to seeing everyone at Brittney’s wedding. We miss you all!

Rob & Shante. Rob was accepted into the ASU MBA program which is really exciting. We are currently living with Annie and Al awaiting the start of school. This way we will be eligible for in-state tuition earlier. Rob can't wait to start school. One of the best things about moving out of Utah for us was moving into a great ward. We love it here and the people are so friendly. Rob is the Assistant Ward Clerk and I am the Primary Secretary. It's great to be involved in the ward.
Jack is now 18 months and started Nursery at church. He was so excited to go, he loves playing with other kids. He also loves playing outside and in the pool. He especially loves playing with Uncle Will. Jack and Will are the best of friends.
See more cute pictures of Jack at our blog: robandshante.blogspot.com.


Nick & Rachel. Hello from Colorado! Our big news is that we bought a house - okay, a townhouse. It’s a little fixer-upper that was a foreclosure, but we got a great deal and are in the new homer-owner phase where all the little things that need doing still seem like fun. We are now fairly firmly planted for the next few years in Lafayette, Colorado, which is just north of Denver and east of Boulder. We very much like it here. Colorado is a beautiful place.
As I write this Rachel is cranking away on her capstone project for her Master’s degree in public administration. She is done with her course work and is now doing her capstone project as a consultant to a non-profit organization in Denver that partners local businesses with schools to help improve education. She’ll graduate in August. She is also in the thick of a job search with interviews doing all sorts of important public policy stuff. Additionally, Rachel is on the board of directors for the Colorado chapter of Families Supporting Adoption, a group that promotes adoption, seeks to raise public awareness of adoption, and advocates on adoption issues at the county, state, and national level. On top of all that she is now the primary chorister in our ward, which both she and the kids at church enjoy very much.
I have just completed my third year of graduate school at the University of Colorado and I’m hoping to eventually graduate, but probably not for at least two more years. I am learning a lot about fixing things around our new home. My next adventure is replacing our 21 year-old gas hot water heater, so if I’m killed in a freak gas explosion in the next couple weeks you will all know why.
We are still waiting to adopt the little baby that is currently AWOL from our family. We know he or she is out there so if you have any ideas as to where he or she might be, please let us know. If you’d like to know more about our adoption process, you can check out our new and improved adoption blog (http://rachelandnicholas.blogspot.com/)or our adoption profile(https://www.itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/23029714/).

Doug & Theresa. Here is Drew's new address. Love you all!
#3 Varny Hill Road
Windham, ME 04062

Lucy. Summer is upon us so let the activities begin! We have a busy summer planned. We started it with a trip to Vegas. It was a fun trip, including laying by the pool, scary rides, Cirque du Soile’s Mystery, and 24 hours worth of buffets! Next it was on to Girls Camp. I was ward camp leader, Matt represented the bishopric, and all three girls got to go this year. It was a great experience to have us all there. It was Adri's 1st year and Sidney's last. It was an amazing experience. We had 32 girls and 8 leaders and absolutely no drama! I think it was because our theme was service and they were too busy serving and loving each other. So mark that one down in the record books. In July we are going to Lake Powell with our Bishop and his family, Boise for a family reunion with Matt's family, and then Matt and I are taking a cruise to Alaska. I am looking forward to seeing everyone at Brittany's wedding. Hope you all are happy, healthy and enjoying summertime with your families! We love you all!

Mom & Ramon. Valentines Day was a lot of fun. Kandice and the boys came by for a treat. We had flowers and candy and fun cards. That evening was Raija Nyborg’s viewing at the mortuary in Ashton. She was my special friend for many years. Everything was beautiful.
Ramon continues to work the early morning shift at the Rexburg temple. I go once a month to a temple session.
The first part of April Greg Nelson graduated from BYU-I in mechanical engineering. Laurie and Neil and all the Nelson family came to attend. We got to see him get his diploma. It was very special. We really had fun. The next morning they all came to our house to have lunch and visit.
Our dear friend Ted Garner passed away and we attended his funeral on May 3. He is Shante’s grandfather. He had kept a daily journal over the years and there were a lot of funny things that happened to him that were included in his history.
On May 6 we attended and Extension retirement dinner for Janice Stimpson. I had worked with Janice for about 20 years.
May 7 Ramon and all of the Curtis clan left for Colorado to attend a memorial service for his grandson’s wife, Jill Curtis. She was 45 years old and had been battling cancer for several years. She left a seven year old son, Nathan. They made a quick trip because Sunday was Mother’s Day. I want to thank everyone for the lovely cards and flowers you sent to me. I really enjoyed them.
On Memorial Day we took flowers to Rexburg and Sugar cemeteries and to Ramon’s family. They are in Ucon, Milo, and Iona cemeteries.

Merrily. Abraham played basketball in the spring. He’s a monster on defense! He recently participated in a bike rodeo, went fishing, and spent a day at a BSA camp with the Cub Scouts. He also takes karate.
Solomon joined a track team. He placed first in the city meet in long jump and advanced to the state meet in the softball throw (a precursor to javelin, I think) and took 5th place. He’ll play some basketball and go to Scout Camp this summer.
Eliahs was in and out of the hospital much of the spring. His kidneys stopped filtering properly. We don’t know why. He’s on a grocery bag full of medication and a low sodium diet. He’s learning to cook without salt and is becoming quite good at it.
Victor is looking forward to summer. There’s a place in Moses Lake, WA that has an artificial surf wave. We’re taking the kids there to teach them how to boogie board.
Kaela turns 20 tomorrow (July 5th). Happy birthday, Kaela! That’s also Mom and Ramon’s anniversary. Happy anniversary to you! Kelsey moved to her Dad’s. She works for T-Mobile in Post Falls, ID.
I spent last week making jam and giving the garden some long-overdue attention. I’m considering getting chickens. They’re all the rage in Seattle. Robert’s job at the WA State Convention Center is winding down. We’re not sure yet what will be next for him.

Jim. Beth is in DC for a couple weeks so I’m doing Mr. Mom more than usual. I can do most of my work from home when I need to so that helps. My clients are mostly companies who do business with the government, but sometimes it’s the government itself. I’m still the new guy so am bouncing around some among projects.
Beth’s job will keep her stable for a couple years here, then she’ll still owe the Air Force one more. We hope to stay here while Tyler gets through school but that would be the break between junior high and high so we’ll move in the summer of ‘12 if it’s the right thing all around.
Melody’s visit was good and came at the perfect time – right when we were having Beth’s promotion party. Melody knew a few people from our wedding – Beth’s mom and niece (that’s them in the picture), and a couple friends from here.

February 2010

Merrily. Happy New Year! The East coast has snow but it’s nice enough here to work in the yard. I’d so much rather work two hours outside than one hour inside. Our dusty shelves attest to that.
Solomon’s basketball team has games every weekend. Last weekend he played in Oregon. On the way back to Seattle we went to OMSI. Wow! I’d like to live in there for a month because I think it would take that long to see and do everything. Abraham has decided to try basketball, too. He starts in March. The boys are both involved in Scouts. Abraham is all about earning belt loops and Solomon will complete First Class this month. That, along with school, friends and piano, fills most of their time.
Victor and Eliahs both have February birthdays. Victor is 17 now and Eli is 15. Kaela is in a job training program. When she finishes they’ll help with job placement so that’s an excellent perk.
It was good to have Kelsey home for Christmas. She’s back at BYU-H and in addition to her classes, she trains new tour guides at the Polynesian Cultural Center. She’s decided to serve an 18-month mission for the LDS church. She’ll move home in April to work and save money. She hopes to leave in the fall. We’re excited for her!
Robert works hard for our family. He helps with Scouts, sports, homework, and housework. And in his spare time, he renovates the WA State Convention & Trade Center.


Doug. Drew made it safely, and here is a picture of him with his trainer. Also the address for sending any packages -- "hint hint.

Elder Drew R. Bodily
New Hampshire Manchester Mission
2 Bedford Farms Drive Suite #208
Bedford, New Hampshire 03110-6525

Laurie. Now that most of our family is gone, it seems like our news goes with them! We don’t think our life is dull, but I’m not sure how news-worthy our day to day happenings are.
Camille is the exciting one. She just finished performing in her high school musical. They did “Kiss Me Kate” this year. It was very successful and fun to watch. I helped with costumes, selling tickets, and food for the cast. Camille was in the chorus and had a little part in a song called “The Life I Led.” She had to curl her long hair for every performance which gave her sore hand muscles. (Seriously!) She is also playing winter soccer with a very sore toe. We won’t send a picture of it.
Neil just returned from meetings in Germany. It is always good to have him home again. He and I have been updating our bathrooms and finished this weekend. We re-stained and varnished all the wood, changed lighting fixtures, put handles and knobs on cupboards and drawers and framed new mirrors. Our house is showing its age in places, but we still like it. We also like to have a project.
Cassidy, Chris & Jessica are at BYU. Jessica is finished with her course work and graduates in April. Greg, Kandice & boys are in Rexburg. Greg graduates in April, too. Perhaps on his birthday! We plan to go to both graduations. Nick and Rachel are in Lafayette, Colorado both attending graduate school. DaNeill, Brian & girls are in Everett. We hope to see them in March.
Thanks for being such a great family. We love each of you.

Lucy. We've had a busy but wonderful couple of months. We spent Christmas at home and had Matt's parents and his Grandma here with us. We went to Annie's for Christmas Eve. Annie planned a whole program of singing, the nativity, and we even all got to play instruments. The best part was that she had the most wonderful costumes for all the kids to wear. The girls loved dressing up. I guess they just never grow out of playing dress up! It is so great to have family just up the road. The day after Matt's parents left we rented a motorhome, packed up and went to the sand dunes. It had been quite a while since we had gone. I forgot how fun it is. The first part of January we sent the girls to Annie's house and Matt and I went on a cruise for a week. It was so great to spend some time without the kids. I love my girls dearly, but we had the greatest time without them and the mess that seems to follow them. The ship was beautiful and sooo relaxing. On sea days we just layed around and read in the sun. It was wonderful! We went to San Juan, St. Kitts, and St. Martin.

The girls are doing good. Sidney has adjusted to her change in schools. It is so nice to not have to drive her over to Gilbert anymore. Now she drives herself just down the street to Red Mountain High. She turned 17 in January. I can't believe how fast time is going! I wish it would slow down. Before we know it she is going to be on her way to college. How do you guys let your kids leave? I've been thinking about it a lot lately and I just hope my kids live close by. Well, most days I feel that way. Carly has mastered her round off, back handspring, back handspring, into a back tuck. She is working hard to try out for cheer this spring. Matt took her to tumbling last week for the first time (she's been going since she was about 8) and he was walking on cloud nine. He couldn't believe how good she is. He went on and on about it and even posted about it on Face Book. He's quite the proud Papa! Adri is becoming quite the little writer (must run in the family). One of her descriptive narratives was chosen to represent her school in the school district's writing contest. We are so proud of her. She's has done so well this year in school despite having the meanest teacher in the world.
Congratulations to Brittany on her engagement. A wedding is a great reason to all get together again. I love you all and wish we weren't so spread out. Hope you all are healthy and happy.

Mom & Ramon. On Halloween Greg and Kandice and the boys, Zach and Joshua, came by Trick-or Treating. They were dressed up in a clown costume and a pumpkin outfit. I asked Zach if he wanted to help me hand out treats to the neighborhood kids. He thought that was a great idea! It didn't take long for him to get the swing of it. It was a lot of fun for him. On November 22, Ramon's grandson Rob had a wedding in his parent's home. He married Leslie Hamer and we are so happy for them. On Novemaber 27 we were able to go through the Rexburg Temple with Drew and Bryce and their parents and the Leishmans (Teresa's parents) to take out Drew's endowments for his mission. On Sunday the 29th we attended the Sacrament meeting for Drew's farwell talk and Bryce's return. It was a very special meeting. Neil and Laurie and all of their family were there. Cassidy sang and Chris accompanied her. Andy and Rachel Morrison were there also. Afterward we all went over to Doug and Teresa's for a lunch and a good visit. It was a great day. This year for the Christmas celebration we were invited to Ramon's son and daughter in-law's, Scott and Darla's, home. They always have a fabulous dinner and great gifts. We love to go there. This year Greg and Kandice and their boys stayed in Rexburg and they were able to come too. It was a lot of fun to see them get their presents. We send our love to all.

David. We’re really enjoying this winter and skiing together as a family. David is an awesome snowboarder and is hoping to compete in a snowboard-cross race next weekend. Sabrina and Zach are doing great and even Daniel has made it up the second biggest lift. (YAY, no more hanging out on the bunny slope.)
Sabrina and Zach just finished doing the play “Willy Wonka.” It was so adorable and very well done. Sabrina was a candy-man kid and narrator. Zach was an Oompa Loompa. The Oompa Loompas really stole the show. They all wore matching white football pants, suspenders, striped socks, and curly green wigs.
Sabrina is playing basketball again. Her team is almost embarrassingly good. Every game is a blowout in their favor. The girls are all good friends and they have a lot of fun.
David just achieved the rank of Life Scout, one rank away from Eagle. He was also student of the month. But he’s not completely perfect. There was a bit of controversy concerning David’s hair at Christmas time. A group of girls created a “get David Wolf to cut his hair” fan group on facebook. When it had about 30 followers we made a trip to the barber shop. He turned fourteen last month, and we had a crazy surprise party with about eighteen of his closest friends, so I guess he’s loved with or without his curly locks.
Daniel is enjoying kindergarten and not getting in quite as much trouble. He continues to amaze us with his math skills and recently decided it was time to learn how to read, so he’s picking that up quickly too.
Jen is still writing, doing video work and chasing kids, usually not in that order. David works, takes pictures, and has graduated from teaching the quorum of thirteen Deacons to a nice quiet group of three Teachers, which will quickly balloon when all the Deacons turn 14.
We had an awesome Christmas and we’re already looking forward to a busy summer—Trek, Scout camp, girls camp, Cub day camp, high adventure camp, soccer, EFY, and we are hoping to squeeze in a trip to Brittney’s wedding in August. (Just before David turns 40 um …. I mean 32.)Congratulations to Brittney! We love you all.

Nick & Rachel. Our biggest peice of news is that we’ve been officially approved for adoption through LDS Family Services. We've been working with them for about 8 months filling out forms, going to training, and being psychoanalyzed, and now we’re just waiting for the right little baby to join our family. If you’d like to see our adoption profile you can go to https://www.itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/23029714/ourMessage.jsf, or check out our adoption blog http://rachelandnicholas.blogspot.com/. We are very excited to move forward in this little adventure.
Aside from that we’ve both been busy keeping up with school, work, church, and the million other things that manage to work their way into our lives. Rachel enjoys working with the 8 to 11 year old girls in our ward and participating in every ward or stake choir imaginable. She is currently taking her last two classes and after a capstone project this summer will get her Master’s in April. She has begun to look around at job possibilities including a possible job working in the Lieutenant Governor’s office. Next up for Rachel: take over the world.
Nick is teaching his first real college class this semester - Astronomy 1040: Stars and Galaxies, which is a freshman level astronomy class for those majoring in astronomy or astrophysics. Teaching is a challenge but he loves it. He is also enjoying life as the 2nd counselor in the Elders Quorum even though it means being in charge of snow removal at the church building this month, which needs to be completed before 6 AM. Luckily we only live in Colorado so it’s not like it snows all the time.
Overall we are happy, healthy, busy, and grateful for all of you.

Annie. Hi Family! We seem to all be waiting at the Morrison household these days.
Andy, at BYU, is waiting to hear if he got into the advertising program. Rachel is waiting to go to Ghana for a field study this spring and summer. Rob and Shante are waiting to hear about his MBA acceptance. Jack hangs around Will's room waiting for him to come home from school--it is so sweet. Will waits for Jack to wake up from his nap.
Al is usually waiting to get on another airplane and fly home. I'm often waiting at the airport to pick him up. I'm also waiting for SING ME TO SLEEP to come out (March 4th!) and to hear if Penguin will publish the sequel to TAKEN BY STORM that I finished at Thanksgiving.
With all this waiting, I hope we all learn to be patient!
Al and I did get to go on the same airplane all the way to Oahu to see our friend Don Nielsen in the hospital, visit with his wife, Alicen, and take a tour of the PCC from the best tour guide on the planet. Thanks, Kelsey!
REUNION NOTE: There was some discussion regarding having a family reunion this year down here in Phoenix at Thanksgiving time. Lucy and I would love to host the family ANY TIME, but after surveying the troops, we don't think that this year at Thanksgiving will work for most of the family. How about we put Phoenix on the back burner and get together as a family in SLC before/during/after Brittany's wedding? Isn't that where our family should be in 2010? So, Amy and Brittany, what can we do to help? When you've got things scheduled, we'll coordinate family get togethers around that. HOW DOES THAT SOUND EVERYBODY?

Jim. http://www.cyberspaceops.com/

Amy. Hi! I guess everyone knows our exciting news that Brittany is engaged and getting married August 14! If anyone wants an excuse for a fun weekend out in Utah, we would absolutely love it if you could come. It is so beautiful and there is so much to do. I'm taking a trip out there in March to go wedding dress shopping with Brittany!
Texas is growing on us. It has been one of their coldest winters on record, so it makes us feel at home. Colton even went on a couple campouts with the Boy Scouts when it was only in the 20's. Sean and Colton are starting the spring lacrosse season, and Brian plays on a flag football team. I have started taking down some outdated wallpaper and painting. Larry has been very busy at work keeping track of all those hamburgers. We've been trying to find all the fun things to do around here so if anyone comes to visit we can show you a great time!
We really love and appreciate you guys. Since the reunion, my kids can't get over how fun it would be to have so many brothers and sisters. I am so glad we all happened into the same family!

Ken (via Aubrey). Nothing really new from our side! Leah graduates from high school in a few months. She just got her senior pictures taken...beautiful!! She still works at TJMaxx. Dad is just doing his own thing down in Tekoa, making lots of progress on the building. It looks really good! As for me, I'm just busy with school. I got hired as a caller for "Vandal Connect," so I'll be calling and getting donations from alumni; as if I needed one more thing on my plate! I hope to compete in "A Chair Affair", a design competiton in Boise in April, but I guess we will see! CONGRATS BRITTANY!!!! We love you all! Miss you terribly!