Here are those pictures I mentioned from Jennah's new (we'll call it the "Sneaky" camera).

Love you

Dave

Dave is sneaky!

This is the year I have finally managed to be sneaky with Jennah. A couple of weeks ago I decided to get Jennah a new dress to wear to my work Christmas party. Unfortunately, that's all the forethought I gave it, promptly finding myself at JC Penney without knowing Jennah's dress size. I called Jan and said "Help!" She asked if I knew her pant size, shirt size, etc. She even asked if I knew her bra size. Unfortunately I remembered the right size for the wrong measurement on the bra. Jan accused me of being such a guy as she cracked up. Anyway, she told me she would call Jennah because they had us for Christmas this year and she would ask some questions. As Jan was talking with Jennah, she coyly asked if I was home. Jennah said no, that I was out running errands, Christmas shopping. She said that "Dave thinks he's sneaky but he's really not" (or something along those lines). When Jan called my back, she told me what Jennah said. We had a good laugh and Jennah and I had another good laugh later that night when I surprised her with the dress and even enjoyed a little bit of gloating over how sneaky I (with Jan's help) had been.

I also pulled another sneaky success this morning. Jennah misplaced out digital camera on our last trip to Utah and so she's been making due with our camcorder as a camera. But, the pictures really aren't very good. They're very grainy with poor resolution so she's really been wanting a new one. So, I decided I would get her one using a $50.oo Best Buy gift card I won at work. The gift card helped offset the balance and made it manageable for Christmas. Coincidentally, I bought the camera the same night as the dress so I think I was on a roll.

This morning, Jennah did her stocking first, and I had wrapped the camera in rolls of tissue paper so she couldn't feel what was inside, then put that gift on the top of her stocking. She was so excited when that was the first thing she opened.

Here is a picture, on the new camera, of the Doll House we made for the girls this Christmas.

We have enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Day and hope you have all had the same. We love you very much and wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Love you

Dave

White Christmas

After wishing for a white christmas, 13 inches of snow makes you want to take it all back. Hope your holidays are warm and bright. We posted some new videos of the kids on our blog if you want to check it out.

Have any of you heard about pandora.com? If not, I recommend checking it out. It's online radios that you can customize to play only certain types of music you want to listen to. I built my own Christmas radio station because I've gotten really tired of songs like "Jingle Bell Rock"a nd "White Christmas" and others I'm sure you could all name constantly overdone on the regular radio stations. You can build any number of different "radio stations" and its free. I just thought I'd share.

Love you

Dave

Holiday cheer

Hello all.  We're enjoying the season.  I hope you all are.  Our enjoyment was dampened a little bit a couple of weeks ago when the dishwasher and the washing machine decided to go belly up on the same day.  Still, small miracles happen.  I called Whirlpool and they agreed to pay for the parts and we paid for labor.  The parts totaled somewhere around $700 when all was said and done.  That's certainly a blessing.  We now have 8 dishwashers at our home, although only 5 are really effective.

This year, we started a new tradition.  Jennah and I (mostly Jennah) decided that the kids might get more out of the experience of drawing names if they had to earn the money for and make the gift they plan to give their person.  After the initial name drawing I told Jennah we needed to draw names in January next time because of the ideas that started to percolate among the kids.  The most dramatic was a rather large (big enough for Brielle to ride) rocking horse.  Jesse wanted to make that for Bree.  I'm not even sure I could help him get that project done in a year, much less 4 weeks.  Anyway, he chose something simpler and we're okay now.  Still, it was fun to see how much the idea got them going.  Jesse had a list of things he wanted to make for everyone before the evening was over.  I even got my car washed, after a fashion, yesterday because they wanted to earn some more money.

Well, I love you all and wish you the greatest time over the next week and a half before Christmas.

Love

Dave 

Great to achieve goals

Okay, I know this is really trivial after Jana's post, but someone has to put something down, so might as well be me.

Being a third year offers a little more time to do things besides school, so I have picked up racquetball again. There are two guys that I have never been able to beat, and both of them are here on their rotations in 4th year, so I have had the chance to play them now my game's back in form. I beat one of them about a month ago, so that was killer, but tonight I beat the other guy, who is a much better player. It was so awesome! It wasn't just a win it was 15-7 and I kept him scoreless for about half of the game. So I thought I'd share my victory dance online. Give a hoot and holler for me, cause I met my goal and got both of them.

Everyday!

Like I said when I started this blog, I started this for my own Journaling purposes. So please don't ever read my blog thinking I am preaching please. I just think that if I pay enough attention, everyday, there is something I will learn. And just maybe, if I can learn from daily "stuff", then maybe, if I share the stuff I think, someone else might also like to share in the learning with me, by my sharing.

Anyway, I just need to share an experience I had today, that really touched my heart, and again, made me SO grateful to be me and have my own set of challenges.

Today was the Junior High choir concert at the Joseph Smith Memorial building. Megan and I got there quite a bit before the Choir did, (I know, please keep the amazed breath intake to a minimum). Anyway, we had time to wander before the kids got there. Not that anyone wants to know this, but I had to find a bathroom. (yes it is necessary, for this part to be in the blog)

While we were washing our hands, into the restroom came a woman and a teenage boy. I was very taken back at first, until I started listening to the questions the young man was asking his Mother. It went sort of like this, Son:"I have to come in here with you, because of my handicap?" Mother: "Yes, that's why." Son: "will I always have my handicap?" Mother: "Yes, you will." Son: "Will I have my handicap in Heaven?" Mother: "no, You won't" Son: "because in Heaven, HE will take my handicap away?!"..............

Now at this point, there was Megan, me and another woman standing if front of the mirror finishing drying our hands and such. All we could do was stare at each other with misty eyes and listen with softened hearts. I can't remember exactly word for word or even what was said after that last statement, but I do know I was so moved by his last and simple comment.

I watched this young man wander around, the rest of the time we were there. I thought about talking to his Mother, but that seemed like it might have been out of place. I was reminded again, how well the Lord knows us as individuals! He knows that challenges that he has given us are the things we should be able to face with a reasonable amount of grace, if we put our trust in, and lean on him. Some days the "why me" party takes up so much of our time that we forget that maybe, instead, we should be saying thank you for letting it be me, and please, give me grace. Anyway, that's what I learned today. I don't think I would have the grace to be that boys Mother, but I hope that I do, with some small amount of grace deal with the challenges the Lord has placed in my life.

Also, why I was there I thought of Mary Ann, and her picture of the fallen tree decoration, and I wanted to let her know, how much I really enjoy her, and her pictures! So I took one today in her honor. The decorations reminded me of you, and made me smile. Thanks for sharing!

Megan's Christmas Concert

Megan also has a Christmas Concert this December, and it would be a little unfair not to mention hers after I told everyone about Fords.

So here are the details her concert is Dec 17th at 7 pm. It is a combined concert with the orchestra, choir and band.
There you have it. I don't know in what order they will preform, or how long the concert will last, but now you know.

Happy fat day.

And yes I called it "fat" day. Because I feel extremely fat today after having feasted on so many good foods! Mom out did herself yet again. She made 4 different pies and of course my favorite, homemade rolls! Yummy! Everything was so very tasty. April and John and their kids, ie. Keegan and her two nieces Yasmin, and Brianna came over to share in the food and company. We had a good time visiting and laughing. It was for me at least a good time. Thanks to Mom & Dad for being such generous hosts and having us here. We missed you all. Happy "Fat" day.

Ford's christmas concert

Just a heads up for any of you that can make it or would like to wish Ford good luck. His Christmas concert is on December 16th at 7 pm. If you would like to come, and you want a good seat, I suggest you be there by at least 6:30. This is ALWAYS one of the best concerts ever! IF you can make it you won't be disappointed. Love you all

Sadies Pictures

Megan got her pictures back from the Sadie Hawkins dance. I thought I would share them with you all. I really don't have anything new to share right now other than that,but I wanted you all to know I do look everyday to see if there is anything new. I must not have enough to do right?! Really I do, I should be doing about 10 things as I am typing, but I am not feeling very motivated at the moment. Enjoy the pictures.

Trivial but cool

I went golfing yesterday instead of going and wasting my time not paying attention in class and managed to shoot my first ever eagle!! For those not savvy to golf lingo, its where you get the ball in the cup 2 strokes under par. It was a par 5, and my drive was about 260-270 yds. 2nd shot was over the green with a 4 iron hybrid about 195 yards, third shot was a chip off a 35ish degree slope and it trickled down and fell in the cup. I was pretty amazed, considering that I haven't been playing much for the last couple of months due to financial constraints, but it was awesome! My overall score for the day was 7 over par.
This is just a pic I got last week when I played a championship course with my buddies. It was too good of a deal to pass up. We played 18 holes for $30 on a course that normally plays $135 regularly. Thank heaven for twilight and winter rates.

happy november!

well, we survived the move, thanks in no small part to mom and jana and their magnificence.
HEY MR. PARKER!!!!! HAPPY HAPPY VERY BELATED BIRTHDAY. (sorry i completely forgot to mail anything) my brain is not my own. i think it is still packed in a box somewhere in the garage. anyway, happy birthday. i'm really glad you are alive.
by the way, happy anniversary stephen and jenni. i hope it is wonderful. again, there will be nothing in the mail, but i love you anyway.
we are loving our new spot in the world. it is a great place to be. of course, we are still searching for things, like sheets, pillowcases, and my brain, but we did finally find mom's missing cookies - today - and they were even still yummy even after a week of hiding.
i know this is really scattered, but i haven't sat still this long in a couple of weeks and i am twitching my foot as i type, so for now this will have to do. (you should have seen me in church yesterday.)
does anyone need boxes? i have a bunch of empty ones you are welcome to, all you need to do is come get them. i wish you could visit.
love you all! until later :)

I'm really trying to get better about birthdays (sorry Christi) so I've started plugging birthdays into my cell phone calendar. My phone screeched at me yesterday and I'm still a day late with birthday wishes.

In any case, Happy Birthday (yesterday) Chet.

Love you all
Dave

hey everybody

Just a quick note to tell everybody hi. This last week went by so fast, I think it is still a bit of a blur! Mom was here for a few days and I really enjoyed her visit. I got to go help Christi and Chris out for a little bit on Saturday, and see their new place. Which by the way is very cool. I am sure that in not much time at all Christi will have it looking oh so cool like she has a nack of doing. I can't wait to see how they decorate this house! By the way Christi, are you for hire? My house needs some help and I am sure you would do it right.
On Sunday, we drove up to Heber to attend Mindy's "Home Coming". It was nice to be there for her and get to spend some time with her and Mom & Dad.
This week looks like it will be an equal blur, as I am trying to help Megan prepare for the "Sadie Hawkins" dance. Ya know, I never went to one of these dances, and I have to say, I really feel for the guys having to plan the dates all the time. If it had been left up to me I never would have gone anywhere. There is just too much stress envolved and I am just way to CHEAP!
Anyway, Steve, thanks for the update! It's good to hear things are good for you and yours. Katie is learning her language at school by the way. It is all around her and will only get worse as she gets older. Trust me, the kids at the Jr. High have the worst potty mouths I have ever heard!! Just be patient with her but firm. It works! Even Megans friends that come here know that that is not accepted while they are at my house. For some of them it is VERY hard, there are no limits for some of them anywhere, so to come here and have a strict limit it has been an adjustment. I think it is good for them though. I love you all. Hope to hear from more of you soon. Take care and feel the love! Jana

Update on words out of the mouth of babes

Katie: "mom, do I have a testimony?"
vs Katie: "oh my G**!" (that one she's said a couple of times, and I don't get where she learned it)

Ryan: "Bye Daddy!" complete with pulling the binkey out of his mouth and blowing a kiss

Ryan: Katie where are you?

Ryan, whenever he sees mommy after she's been absent for a while: "Daddy!"
Ryan, when you ask him if he want's something: "okay" or "No!" with all the attitude he can muster.
He also says hello when he pretends to be talking on a phone, or when he hears the door, he says Daddy! hi dada.

He also loves to cuddle on mommy and daddy's bed, especially pillows, and he also love to play pee boo!
He also loves to play get you! where he runs around through the kitchen one way and I run around the other and scar him, or chase him around saying get you until I finally grab him.
Just a couple of cute little kids.

Posing a question

Hey everybody! Hope your almost winter is going well. I have had the opportunity to spend the last couple evenings with Mom. We have had a chance to chat a bit and I have also talked to Dad a little. I am trying personally to get to know them better. I want to know them as people.
I was talking to Dad about things I would remember most about him, so this is what leads me to poae this question. What would be the memory about Dad and Mom that you would think of most often when remembering them. If you would share them with me I would really appreciate it. I know that we all have different memories. Maybe your memories will stir something I might have forgotten.
Anyway, if you get the chance and would like to share, I would really like to know what you come up with.
I will share one of my most prominent memories of both. Dad took me once when we were trying to work out a rough patch ( one of the many) and he took me out to Ogden and we went dragging the blvd. which also gave us time to talk and calm down a little. It is one memory I will remeber always.
One of Mom is when she came to the Roy high for something (I'm sure I was in some kind of trouble), but we were walking down the hall together for a while. After she left I had a guy I went to school with ask me who the "chick" was I had been walking with. He was so embarrassed when I told him she wasn't a "chick" but my Mom! I wasn't embarrassed at all though, I was proud that she was my Mom.
Anyway, there is one of each from me. Love you all. hope to hear from you soon. Jana

quick update

we have been the recipients of several miracles in the last couple of weeks and we are happy to report several things.
first of all, sometimes miracles come with sugar cookies.
second, a good bishop really is guided and inspired in unexpected ways, even sometimes by listening to his wife.
third, even ugly carpet can have redeeming qualities -- ugly wallpaper is a whole different story.
fourth, moving across town or across the neighborhood is equally stressful, although the neighborhood move requires less travel time.
we are madly packing boxes and will make our great exodus to the opposite side of creek road on Saturday November 8th. we are overjoyed that we get to stay in our ward and in our school district. we actually got to choose from two homes to rent in a ward and area where rental properties are almost unheard of. (pretty cool miracle, huh?!?) thanks for the prayers that helped make our little world miracle-strewn.
we are accepting volunteers for box carrying a week from Saturday if you can come. see you around 9:30am.
hope you are enjoying your fall and that it is much less dramatic than ours is proving to be. here's hoping that you are getting lots of good miracles in your lives too. you deserve them.
HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY kylie and caleb -- we really hope that your birthday was wonderful!! i am hanging my head in shame for not getting anything mailed, i had the best intentions and they failed miserably. just remember that aunt christi, uncle chris madi and gilli love you and hope you have a wonderful year.
love you all!
:)

We are Home!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to let you know that we are home from our 2nd honeymoon getaway. It was really so much fun I truely recomend it to all! We left last Friday morning and headed out to California. We hit Sacramento about 8:30 pm and found Chets' cousins house. We stayed out there on our original honeymoon, except his cousin is now married, has a son and lives in a house instead of a condo. We had No plan and as such when they offered for us to stay there for the night, we took them up on it. As such though, the next morning was their son's little leauge football game, and they offered for us to go and watch. we didn't feel like we could be rude and say "no thanks, we don't like football" so we went and watched. It actually was kinda fun till some of the parents got a little wound up. WOW! It's JUST a GAME!(Any wonder why we don't like sports!)
That afternoon, we headed up towards the coast and the Redwoods. We spent until Wednesday exploring from almost the Oregon border all the way to San Fransico. We stopped of at Muir beach, which is the only real memorable place we stopped on our honeymoon, and made it to Frisco Thursday night, and I was nervous to be in that city at night. (Chets' cousin advised us against it) We didn't know where to stay that would be safe, and we missed the kids, so we turned and headed back out of town and towards home. We stopped in Truckee, and took pictures of Donner Lake on our final leg of the journey on Friday. We got home late Friday night. In all the trip was a ton of fun. I can't wait for the next 20 year trip! :) love you guys. Jana

Happy Fall

Greetings all

Its been a great autumn season here. Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous, high 70's with clear blues skies. Great weather for kids games and Saturday projects. I would keep these days as long as possible. Unfortunately, I think cold weather is just over the horizon. And, if the Farmer's Almanac is to be trusted, its going to be a cold one. Oh well, not much I can do about that but turn up the heater.

We wish we could be closer and see you more often. I'm feeling a longing to hang out with you guys today. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten to inventing that silly teleporter yet. In the meantime, please know how much we love you and hope you are all doing well. Good fortune to you with the househunting Christi. We will send some prayers to heaven on you behalf.

Love
Dave

Happy

fall is falling

ahhhhhh!! (that was meant to be a sigh of deep contentment) UEA weekend has arrived at our house. i love it. maybe there will even be a chance for sleeping in a little? that would be nice.
it would be more peaceful if we weren't listening to the symphony of nail guns and construction worker type chatter. sheet rock comes tomorrow, so it will only get noisier.
we are madly house hunting and miracle seeking -- there are decidedly slim pickings in our school boundaries -- everybody wants their kids to go to brookwood elementary, so we would be deeply grateful to have a home type miracle happen within the next couple of weeks. until then, we are celebrating the water in the creek, and the view of the mountains that we have from our windows while we hope and pray that we will not be "homeless" much longer. thanks for your prayers.
jana, i love frankie and your yard decor. it looks wonderfullest! i want to come see. let me know when your footloose wanderings are completed and i'll come play halloween ghoulfriend and bring you stampy goodness.
PAIGE!!!!!!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! YOUR CARD IS STILL HERE AT OUR HOUSE, AND IT IS REALLY CUTE AND I'M REALLY SORRY THAT IT ISN'T THERE ALREADY. maybe someday my stress management skills and my organization ability will come back to me -- i really hope so! it will be one it's way tomorrow, but since your birthday was sunday, that is way late. i hope your birthday was lovely and that your fondest and best wishes come true. love from the ruppel clan!

So Happy!

I just want you all to know how happy it makes me to read all the posts!! If you could see my smile you would truely think I am SUCH a nerd. I guess in a way I am. Oh well! This month has flown by! Christi I am sorry about you having to move, but your stamp party was lots of fun. I was just sorry to have had to leave it as early as I did. Thanks for having us! Mindy your friend was fun to meet, thanks for bringing her. Thanks for the giggles!
Not much new is happening here, except for the fact that Chet and I are about to take off for 10 Days to celebrate our ten years. We would have gone in Sept. but one of the ladies I work with got to go to Greece on our anniversary, which I don't begrudge her being able to go.)So, we are going to take off and go on, a walk about, so to speak. At this point we aren't eve sure where it is we will for sure be headed. I think we are going to head towards the Redwoods fist, but don't quote me on that. Everytime I think we have decided, Chet changes our mind :) Anyway it will ba a good time I am sure!
I should be home before Halloween, but I couldn't wait till then to share our decorations with you so I took some pix today so you can see. I was most please with the idea I had for Frankie in our front yard. Let me know what you think. I love you all and thanks for being social with, and for me! Love Jana

Hey guys

Just a quick update. The weather has turned rainy and cold fairly suddenly, and with that comes the onset of the cold season. Of course we all caught it. Katie had to miss the last couple days of school and her last 3 soccer games. But I think we're all doing better.

I just had my first test, and hopefully it went well. Jenni had been cooped up in the house with sickies so she hasn't had much fun lately.

Other than that, not much new to report. Just wanted to put an update, so we weren't accused of being antisocial.
Love ya all

fall

So, yes, I'm actually posting. Usually Dave gets to it before I even think about it, but I've had such a great time reading all the news, I thought I would contribute. I promise I won't mention anything about poopy onesies. (oops)

Yesterday Kylee came running to me with excitement bursting from her eyes. "Mom, our tree has changed, and it's amazing!" The change has been so gradual, that she didn't really notice it until now. Now it's deep purple-red, and quite amazing. We only have one tree, so it's definitely worth excited about.

We actually took a drive up to the mountains last week to see the leaves, and enjoy the brilliant colors. We found a good place to stop and dance in the trees. Dave and I danced, the kids explored, and Dave pretended to be an aspen tree with leaves stuck to his forhead. He makes a good one. I hope you're all enjoying fall as much as we are!

You're all in our prayers, and we love you tons!

Jennah

Soooooo! My kids...........

Well, it's been a few days, so I guess I can talk about it now. (heavy sigh!)
We had a birthday here just a few days ago, and now my BABY is 15!!!
You know, I never had a problem with Megan aging, but for some reason it has been really hard this last year for all the mile stones hit by Ford. You know, like registering for 9th grade, then for seminary, and now THIS! He is even old enough now to get his driving permit! AAARRRGGGG! Just kidding.(about the arg.. part)
My kids are getting OLD! Thats all there is to it! I don't even know when it happened. I was looking at pictures of just a few years ago, and they were SO little. All I can say is, enjoy EVERY step! It changes so fast and they change even faster! I'm sure Mom & Dad will agree with me. I can honestly say that aside from little "disturbances" here and there, I am really enjoying this journey. I am so glad that Heavenly Father knew what I needed, more than I did; and that he blessed our lives with such great kids. Guess thats all for now. Love Ya Jana

eeeeekkk!

hey family mine. hope you are loving conference weekend. we are, (mostly). madi's response to the fact that it is conference weekend was "BOOOOOORRRRRRINGGG!"
we would love to request any extra prayers you have, we just found out that we have to be out of this house by november 15th. i wanted to have a giant temper tantrum when we found out, but what good would that do? oh well, moving really stinks! at least it hasn't snowed yet, i guess it could be lots worse.
now we really need to find the right place for the right price and we need to do it FAST! extra prayers would really help. we've already found a place that we really like in the school boundaries, BUT. . . we are at the mercy of somebody else, so we will have to wait and see what works. i do know that if you all pray for us to get the right home, that would help lots. either way, we will be ok. things happen for a reason, even when they are inconvenient.
i wish you were all coming to my stamp party next saturday, it will be the last hurrah here on oak creek drive. besides it will be fun! you are still all invited if you can come.
love you family! thanks for being you. :)

Yea!

Yea for the Colorado Martin clan! Thanks for the post, So good to read about how you are doing. Sounds like the kids are going full speed as usual! Thats porbably good.
We got to spend Friday night with Christi & Chris and the girls! It was really loads of fun. The girls jumped on the trampoline and then their family got to go out through the pumpkin patch (if you can call it a patch) and they each got to pick out a pumpkin. I was so cute to watch how deliberate Gilli was with the choosing of her pumpkin! She had to look at all of them at least twice before she picked out the one that was just right for her! SO CUTE! After it got almost dark we lit a fire and roasted marshmallows and made s'mores, custisy of Christi (thanks for the yummies). I was so much fun and we were all a little sticky by the time we were done. We wish you all could have been here, it reminded us of the camp out we had. We so need to do that again! Love you all and thanks for the fun reads.

The latest from us

Hi Everyone

I'm so glad to hear that you all are doing so well. We are well also. Fall sports are in full swing and have spent the last few Saturdays motoring between three games. Jesse is playing flag football and Bree and Paige are playing soccer. Its fun to see them learning to challenge themselves and be acitve.

Jesse really enjoys football. He loves to go out in the evening and practice his pass routes. He's had a number of fun plays go his way. Last week, on the first play of the game, he intercepted the other team's pass. Yesterday, he had a great fun for about 15 or 20 yards.

Bree was trooper yesterday. In the morning, she woke up with a sore knee. Of course, our drama queen (#1 of 4) made it seem unbelievable so we really weren't sure how much was drama and how much was real. She wavered throughout the day about whether or not she wanted to play. In the end, she did play through the pain it turns out. Last night, after she got cleaned up for Sunday, we checked out her knee and it was a bit swollen and she couldn't straighten it out without nearly going to tears. Fortunately, its much better today. If it persists, we'll certainly need to have it looked at.

Paige is enjoying soccer, though sometimes she's not sure how much. She gets distracted easily and the way she processes information makes it difficult sometimes. The quick fire instructions she gets from her coach (Jennah) and others take a second for her to fully comprehend. By then, sometimes the play has passed her by. We did notice yesterday that she does much better when she is in the middle of the action because she's naturally more focused. Its fun to watch her improve.

Having been a coach for these young teams, sometimes its hard for me to be a pure spectator. Jennah has to remind me to periodically be quiet (not when she's coaching of course - I know better then). I can't help it, though I really do try. I do love to see the kids have fun and grow. As long as they're doing that, I should be happy. Right?

We're doing some preparations for Halloween, getting costumes in order and such. Jennah went to Goodwill (great place) and got a few costumes yesterday. Caleb found a Batman costume. Kylee has wanted to be a horse and Jennah found a flying unicorn costume. Kylee was so thrilled! When she saw what costume Caleb had she said, "Well, horse don't love Batman." with a little cock of her head and swing in her hip. I suppose that's alright as long as Kylee still loves Caleb.

Well, we love you all and hope you continue to be well.

Dave

Hello?

I know where Christi is and how she is doing, because she and I are keeping the blog going. Which I really don't mind, just because I am putting down what is going on in our lives. But I thought the whole purpose of this blog was to keep in touch with ALL the Family. I already told Mindy she needs to get with it in person, but since I can't do that with Dave & Jen, or Steve & Jeni, I will do it here and now. In the nicest way possible, GET WITH IT! I am wondering how life in the home school/soccer lane and school/daycare lane are going! I love you all and hope to hear more from you ALL soon.
Oh and as for our family we are all still just plugging away. The kids with school, me with work and of course Chet with both work and tractor stuff on the side. Oh, and by the way, the pie I made the other day. It turned out really good, if I do say so myself.
Chet and I did just celebrate our anniversary, and I have to say I hope you are all as happy with your spouses and life as I am with mine! I look back at EVERYTHING we have gone through in these last 20 years, and though some of it may have been hard, I am so grateful for ALL of it. It made us the couple and family we are today! And what we are today I wouldn't trade for anything!
Megan's homecoming is this weekend, and she is a little sad because she didn't get asked. But she will be working on saturday night so at least she won't be sitting home feeling bad for herself. Scary to think that if she had gotten asked, that she is old enough to go!
Well, I guess I have rattled on long enough. I love you all. Jana & Fam

true wealth

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY JANA & CHET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

just in case you wondered, you have been married about 1,226,400 hours, so see, you're both millionaires!!
congratulations!!
love you best!

(your card is on it's way) :)

WAHOOOO!!

Boy I am getting daring now! I ended up with a bunch of peaches for free, from a tractor job Chet was on. After doing a bunch of jams including 2 kinds of spiced peach, and peach cantalope. Then I made peach syrup, peach juice and froze a bunch. I STILL have peaches! I am not complaining mind you, but I am not sure what to do with the ones that I have left. Also they are starting to get too ripe, so what ever I do I have to do soon. SO, with that in mind, today I made a peach pie! I have never made a homemade pie before! Ever! Well, ok, that's not true, I have made pumpkin, but thats easy! Never have I made a fruit pie. It is currently in the oven. I don't even know how it will turn out, but I was excited about it so I had to share. I will let you know how it all turns out! Love you all. P.S. That also reminds me, I still have pumpkins waiting to be chosen from our patch. :)

Long Drive!

Hey everybody!
I sure do miss you guys just so you know! This has been an interesting week here, for at least Chet and I. We got to go on an airplane, for the second time in my life. And I just have to say, it is NOT my most favorite thing. I even took a motionsick pill, and it really didn't help much except to make me really groggy for the rest of the day.
Let me explain, Chet hit a cow! Yes a cow. Last Thursday, he was on his way home from Jackson Hole Wy, it was about 10:30 pm or there about. He came around a bend in the road and didn't hardly see the BLACK cows dotting the road. Trying to make me feel better he told me "Well, I did miss the first 2"! Not much consolation. At least he was ok. He got towed home and finally got home around 2:30 in the morning.
He was just going to use the suburban until they got his van fixed, because they will pay milage. However, when he headed out on Tuesday he only made it to Snowville, Ut on his way to Idaho, when the suburban broke down. :( frustration and aggrivation!
Anyway, his boss told him to fly up to Washington, and pick up the extra van they had up there. So, he called me and we made aggangements for me to take time off and for plane tickets and such, and Wednesday morning we were on a plane to Wa. We finally got home late last night. (we worked on our way back home) Needless to say it was a very long drive! Over a thousand miles in 3 days. Still long drive and all, I am glad to have had the chance to go with Chet! The kids even did pretty good getting themselves up and to school. Wow! They are getting so grown up! well, thatsa about it for now. I love you all. Oh, and I do agree with Madi! I'm not much of a pickle fan either. However, I can at least eat them now.

Hi! I'm just commissurating with Madi! Ugh! I agree Madi, dill pickles smell like dead caterpillars! Grandpa loves them! Not for breakfast though, thank goodness!!!
Taught Relief Society last Sunday, taught a class on Tuesday evening, have another on Saturday, and am teaching all day at work tomorrow! What happened? I always used to tell people I wasn't a teacher! Maybe I still am not, but I surely seem to be doing a lot of it these days!
Weather is beautiful here! We open all the doors and windows at night, and it's almost too cool some mornings. It really is lovely here. Miss you all. Have a lovely rest of the week. Mom

why am i laughing?

so, since i have decided to embrace my inner e.e. cummings and boycott all rules regarding capitalization, you will always know it is me posting, right? like i told you a long time ago, i am the queen of trivia.
so i thought i would share a little reason to giggle today. miss gilli loves dill pickles passionately. she would have them for every meal if i would let her. this morning for breakfast, she told me she wanted vanilla instant breakfast AND a pickle. sounds pretty gross huh? the best part was madi's response? (GROAN) "Gilli, i hate it when you eat dill pickles, they smell like DEAD CATERPILLARS."
cue laughing :)

Update

Hey everyone! Bout time we got a new blog. Just a little update on what's going on with us:
Katie has begun preschool at Dilley Elementary School, and she really seems to like it. She goes every day for a few hours at a time. She has also started a soccer 'group'. its not a league or competitive group, but just a bunch of mostly LDS people that want their kids to play and learn. they have games in their age brackets but they don't keep score, so its been pretty good. She gets a little mad when she doesn't do things up to Pele's level of play, and she went from telling us that she was really good at soccer to, "I'm not good any more," after a frustrating practice where she was too busy playing around to listen to her coach.

Ryan has inherited his Dad's climbing genes and loves to get on anything he can. his most recent favorites are the dinner table, chairs and the couch. We're hoping he doesnt move on to bigger and higher things like the top of the fridge. He is getting so big and chatters all day long, throwing in real words mixed in with the baby chatter.

Jennifer quit her newspaper route before we left for the summer because of some issues with her boss about taking the time off work. But when we got back, her visiting teacher asked her if she would be up for helping her watch her daughter a few days a week for her since her other kids were going back to work, and preschool wasn't every day. So Jenn agreed and is watching a 4 year old 2 days a week. Its been fun for Katie to have someone come over to play, and the little girl is well behaved, so it hasn't been too difficult. She is also back in the swing of working out pretty regularly in the morning, which she really enjoys. (I get the working out part as good, but I just don't get the waking up at 6 am to do it.)

I have been in school for about 3 weeks now and I'm starting to feel like I better start studying again before it gets overwhelming. This semester is going to be really good as we are covering stuff that I am pretty interested in, but also pretty busy. I also interpret 1 day a week at one of the school's clinics, and have been trying to lose some weight as well, although I do it at a sensible hour, usually 8:30 or 9 Pm after the kids are in bed, and have dropped from 210 to 200.7 lbs. so I am really exited about that.

We have our family garden that has started to yield up some food, which is exiting. So far we have have gleaned 4 ears of corn, and a few carrots. Its getting late in the season, and things are still not ripe yet, so I hope it finishes up quick before the weather turns.

Thats about it, but you can check some of the pics on our family website if you would like to see some updated ones of the kids.

My Mountain

I told you I would get some new pictures of the mountain so here they are. It's much better in person though, so feel free to come on over.

Glad for all of you!

Hi All!

Hey everyone, I just want to thanks you all for being such amazing people, and for including me in your life! Today I have been just a little lonely, and how nice it was to get on the blog and find a new post from my funny sister. You make me laugh! I enjoyed reading about what is going on so much it made me feel better.
By the by, the pumpkins are ready, whenever you want to come and pick a few out.
I have been working hard on the back yard too. I was going to go out and take a picture to show you all what I have been doing, but when I got the camera out, alas, the battery was dead. Now it is charged and again, alas, it is dark out now, and the sprinklers are on. Oh well, I guess I will have to try again tomorrow.
Chet will be having his second cortizone epidural tomorrow afternoon, hopefully his back will improve a little more. We are praying that it will get better so that we can avoid him having to go to surgery.
The kids are good, school, is going well, I think. I say I think, because.... I have not been following Megan & Ford as closely this year, due to the fact that last year it almost ruined the relationship I have with Megan. So this year I have taken the position, of casual interest, and occasional reminer person. They are at the age now that if they don't want to do something, no matter how much I beg, plead, or bribe; they won't do it. I had to tell Megan and myself, that if she wants to graduate, it is entirely up to her. All I am doing is trying to encourage her, and mostly trying to keep myself in check. This approch is harder than one might think. I still want to bar her from doing ANYTHING if her homework is not done. I just don't want a repeat of last year, it was really that bad as far as school goes.
Also, I am trying to teach them to get out of bed on their own. Mom & Dad how did you do it without killing me? Truely though, I don't think I was ever this bad. Megan can wake up, carry on a conversation with me, go back to bed and never remember that we even ever spoke. She is currently grounded from driving the car until next Friday (that would be one week from tomorrow) because she was late for school, and our bargin was that if she was late first thing in the morning, or after lunch, she would loose her driveing privelages for a bit. So far she is not a happy camper. Especially today when I drove her to work with the car she drives and is responsible to keep fuel in. She was very mad that I was "WAISTING" her fuel making two extra trips as opposed to letting her drive her self. I told her it was fair because I shouldn't have to waist my fuel when she should be driving herself. Also if she was going to complain about it, I would start using HER car to drive her to school in the morning too.
Oh the joys of everyday life. Truely though, I am so glad for my life and for Megan and Ford. I love you all, sorry the post is so long, but I feel better anyway.
Love Jana

wow! watch that first step, it's a doozy

so, right now there is a backhoe in my front yard, creating a VERY large hole where our sidewalk used to be. i am really weary of construction, but all the same, the process is fascinating (and VERY NOISY) oh, sorry, was i shouting? the excavator has to work around these bizarre braces that are holding up the roof. nothing too major, it's just the roof. one of the guys was joking and said that if i heard a really loud noise that i should probably just keep the door shut. i think that was good advice.
September 11th is very thought provoking day for me. before gilli was born, our OB had an opening on her schedule and suggested delivering on the 11th, but i didn't want gilli stuck with any ties to such a weighty date, and now as i remember crying while watching the news coverage, even after so many years, i am glad tomorrow is gilli's birthday, instead of today.
sorry for such a serious post, just wanted to let you know that i am glad to be alive and despite living in a world full of chaos and even darkness, there is so much good! thanks for being a part of my goodness. love you guys! sending hugs! XXXXXXXXXXXXX!!! did you feel that? hope so! :)
p.s. I'm having a stamp party on october 11th!! :) you are all invited! let me know if you can make it ok?

Hi all! It's mom & dad. Finally got on, had trouble creating our account, but oh well! It's always fun to read you posts. I just taught my first Gospel Doctrine class today. It's like pulling teeth to get the people to participate, but I survived. My only hope is that someone got something out of it. Next week, I teach the Relief Society lesson, it's a bit of a challenge, glad I have a week to ponder it. I'll be driving to SLC for Gene Bott's wedding this week, staying with Mindy, (thanks so much!) and driving back the next day. Not much time to see anyone, but will try. I'll be at the reception Tuesday night if anyone is going. Hope to see someone. We are surely enjoying our lovely back yard, and spending more and more time on the deck just basking! It's getting cooler and really enjoyable. Hope some of you can come again soon. Love you all! Mom

OH MY!

Yay!! I am so glad to know I am not out here in this wide universe all by myself! Thanks so much for the posts. It really means more to me than I can explain to anyone. It helps me feel connected, if you will.

Christi, I fell your knidergarten pain! I can still see Megan waving her hand at me after telling me that she "didn't need my help getting to class, and that she could do EVERTHING by HERSELF!!" :) I do have to say that things really haven't changed much in that repsect.
Also as for the dentist, I will more likely than not, be having some of that same work done before too long. Especially as I have been procastinating the day for quite some time. I HATE the dentist! I told Chet I would take surgery, over the dentist ANY Day! And I mean that whole heartedly!
Well, a new adventure has begun at our house......... we bought a car for Megan to drive. Now I know you are all thinking, wait, I thought she was already driving?, and you would be correct. She has been driving the surburban. Now, she has a small car, which also happens to be a standard! Yup! We have undertaken the study courses of learning how to drive a stik! I have revisited some NOW very amusing moments in my mind or the last couple of days. Mostly just how funny it can be to learn driving a standard. I have had a couple of REALLY good laughs. The good thing is that for the most part, so has Megan.
The other day I took her to a church parking lot, that has both driveways on a hill. Trying to teach her how to start out on a hill. Either she killed it, or she squeeled the tires everytime, before I finally told her we would have to practice more on another day. The whole time she was just laughing her head off! It really was funny. Bring back any memories Dave? Even now thinking about it I am having a chuckle. Good times I will remember always!!!
Today though, OH MY! I had her drive me over to the new Lowes, in Clinton, for a few things. When we left, she ended up with a man in a truck, right behind her. Of course, that made her nervouse from the start, so.... OF COURSE, she killed it right off the bat! That's not where the problem lies however. She looked in her mirror to see the man just out right laughing! Then she got really upset! I finally just told her to wave him to go around her. Which he did, all the while laughing and waving as he drove past. She was so upset! It really was quite comical! At least for me. :)
Well, now that I have posted a book! (Sorry, I couldn't help myself). I need to go to bed. We have stake conference in the morning. Love you all tons! Thanks again for letting me know how you all are doing. Love Jana & Fam

Just Chillin'

Friday! I do look forward to Fridays. The weekend is a reprieve of sorts, and I'm glad to have it. Its really just trading one bag of to dos' for another, but its a welcome change all the same.

Jennah can relate to your root canal Christi. She had one a few months back and had some minor complications as well. No fun!

Tomorrow starts our Fall round of sports. Jesse is playing flag football and Bree and Paige are playing soccer. Jennah is coaching Paige's team, so that adds a bit more business to the schedule. We're looking forward to Saturday circuses as we perform the trick of getting to three games, but it will be fun as long as the kids have fun.

That's all for now. Later.
Dave

owwie!

can you say adding insult to injury? yesterday was a tough day.
first owwie of the day -- gilli started kindergarten. :( while she is only gone less than three hours every day, she is still away from me and my watchful eye. i asked her to stop and wave at me when she got to the door, or i think she would have left me without a backward glance. today when we got to the school she wanted me to stay in the car and let her walk all by herself. so much for momma's apron strings.
second owwie - that would be a root canal on one of my ever so lovely teeth. not so much fun. to top it off, the temporary crown fell off on the way home -- nice huh?!? so i had to go back again today. i have avoided the dentist office for as long as i could and two times in two days is way too much dentistry for me. ouch!!!!!!!!
so, sorry for the e.e. cummings approach to upper case today, but at least i posted.
on the bright side of our world, both girlies are loving school, there is finally progress on construction -- they actually framed the new garage today and trusses and joists arrive monday (or tuesday) which probably means wednesday. so we may actually have a roof before snow starts at the rate they are going, and we'll only have to move our stuff three more times to make it happen. construction is obnoxious!
tylenol and a big gilli hug after school fixed my owies, and now good family of mine, i'm off for storytime.
hugs from me to you!! you'll have to get your won tylenol. :)

Hello??????

HELLO OUT THERE? I really don't think I am here all alone, but maybe. That would make me sad! I am crazy busy, but I still have a few minutes to peak to see if anyone has posted or not. I know that my kids are older and everything but seriously, Even if someone just said Hi. I am missing all of you. (heavy sigh) Oh well I will look later, and see if anyone leaves a message. :( Love you all a ton Jana

Yay!

Yay, I am so excited to be back to the Family blog! Now if we can get EVERYONE to play along, we're in business.
I know that we just had pictures taken, but I always take some of Meg & Ford at the park and they turned out really good so I thought I would share a couple with you. Hope they make you smile. Especially the one of Megan & me. We are so crazy. Love you, and I hope to hear from everyone soon.

Back online

Hey Guys

Come and jam with us! Sorry i took so long to get this back up. But here we are again and I'll be much more careful with maintaing my access this time.

We sure enjoyed the chance to visit with everyone. I hope that next time we may have a bit more time.

School is back in full session now. Kylee and Caleb get to go to pre-school a couple of times a week. Kylee considers it the highlight of her week and Caleb endures it, though he does have fun once he's decided he can't get out of it.

We love you guys and look forward to hearing from everyone in the future.

Love
Dave