Merrry Christmas Robinson Clan

Today is Christmas Eve I wanted to tell all the members of my family, that I love each and every one of you. Last night was Mom & Dad's family party but it seemed quite empty without the missing members. We miss you - Lana, Stan, Bethany, Jake, Cody, Josie, Larry, Michelle, Megan, Corby, Kailey, Chelsey, Heather, and Paige - and love you.

This year saw the end of a long standing Christmas Tradition. Mom and Dad served the Christmas roast at the family party not on Christmas. It seems like the end of an era. Families will now carry with their own traditions.

As I contemplate the holiday tommorrow I feel the love of family and my Heavenly Father. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Love

Colleen

Picture Alert!!!!!

Help!!!!
Please e-mail any recent pictures of you and your families. I working on something for Mom and Dad and recent pictures will just add. They can be vacations, sports, anything. Send to cwood@gslelectric.com .

The holidays are upon the Wood household. We did get the trees and decorations up but it looks like no outdoors lights on the Wood house this year. Bah humbug!

Where has this last year gone? I can not believe that we are only a few weeks from a new year.

With Larry in Tucson, Lana in Orlando and LaNece going to Moab I am having family withdrawal. We have always lived in close enough proximity we can get together whenever we want. Now it takes planning. I love and miss your all. Have a joyful and merry Christmas and New Year.

Love
Colleen

Christmas upon us!

Oh my! I can't believe it's December. Seriously, I really can't believe it's December. We went and got our tree (the first time in how many years without the Davis family, Julie? I miss our family date...) and it was beautiful. The sun was out and the kids were in tanks and shorts. It's going to be a struggle this first year to get in the spirit (Stan reminded me that's how it was in Hawaii as well. Was it the same for Tucson, Larry?), so we pulled out all the decorations we can find and will hit the holiday tunes hard as much as we can without driving Stan and Jake insane(and try not to giggle about the "let it snow" lines and references to "frightful" weather).

Life goes on here and things are busy. Cody has been doing some amazing things on tests here and just excels in the classroom. Josie is enjoying school and has more friends all the time. She's having a small party for her birthday; we're taking the girls to "Enchanted," which I have heard is cute. Bethany has kept you all up to date on what happening with us.

Stan and I did the Space Coast and all I can say is that we finished...not well...but we finished. That counts, right? It was hatefully hot without a lick of breeze. Pretty sure I'm going to lose three toenails from this one...a new record. Yippee. So at this point, Nece, I would feel a fraud to offer any advice. Okay, I'm really just sulking...and we already talked about it.

Anyway, just wanted to tell everyone that I love you all so much. The holidays just aren't the same without you...

THANKSGIVING @ COLLEEN'S

Here are some of the pictures from Thanksgiving at Colleen's. We had so much fun, and of course the food was just
excellent. I cried like a baby when we said what we are thankful for, I am so grateful for all of my family and especially missed the ones that are so far away. We move Todd down to Moab this weekend and he is way excited but at the same time he is a little nervous. It is so incredibly pretty there but when the sun goes down it gets way dark. It pretty amazing how much light cities generate. I'm sure it will take my a little while to adjust but I am way excited. It's snowing as I type and the kids are loving that. Can you believe my friends have talked me into trying to draw out for the Moab half marathon in March, I must have been smoking dope. The furthest I've ever ran is five miles. Lana tell me about the walk/run thing how long do you walk verses run? I'll try and remember my camera this weekend and post some Moab pictures. I love and miss you all a ton. Love,
LaNece

THANKSGIVING @ COLLEEN'S

Loving my family!

Hello mi familia!!! I miss you all so much. Thanksgiving is upon us and I can't help but feel a little down. It can be hard being so far away. I'm very thankful for my family and friends in Utah. I'm also thankful for my family and friends here in Florida. Not to mention very thankful for my husband (he's had to put up with me. LOL). My good health is also something to be thankful for.
How is everyone doing these days? Things are going well here. I haven't had a lot of work from my court reporter and I really want to go to school soon so I can get another client. With all that in mind my dad and I had a talk and he suggested that I look for an online scoping and editing course and I found one that sounds awesome and has had some rave reviews! It will only cost me $2325, but you get a lot out of the course and they are really in depth with their modules. If I feel that I don't get enough from their editing course then I can take a proofreading course through another site that only costs $330. If you add that all up it is cheaper then one year of school at a college. Then I can become a partner in my mom's company and I can get some more clients. Not to mention expand the company. I've very excited to be able to have the opportunity to do this.
Jake is doing well. Just waiting on his raise now. We are very excited because his mother will be flying down for Christmas this year. We are still running and we are running a family fun run with everyone tomorrow morning. We are also going to run a 5k in December. It feels so great to get out and do something together.
The fam is doing well. Cody and Josie are loving their week off. Can you believe that they get the whole week off for Thanksgiving here? I think that is awesome. To celebrate Jake took Monday off of work and we went kayaking with the family. We saw three big gators! It was AWESOME!!! We also saw a LOT of turtles. We want to go camping there sometime soon.
Ma has been uber busy with her clients. Pa is doing well. They are both resting and getting ready for the Space Coast Marathon that they are running on Saturday. Then they have one at the end of December and one in January... Yeah, they are crazy! LOL.
Nece I'm so excited for you and Todd! That is such great news! Moab is so beautiful. I loved hearing about you running with Grandpa. It is so nice to run with somebody. What are you goals for running?
Well, I'm off to play some more WOW before dinner. I love you all terribly and miss you like crazy!!! Give hugs and kisses to everyone.

Moab here we come!!

Well can you believe Todd got the job in Moab. I am really excited for him, he really deserves it. He will be starting December 3rd. He gave Stein's his two week notice today and said it felt really good. They actually have living quarters about one half mile away so that's where he'll be staying. Brooks has almost all of January off track so we will be going down that whole time and then again for most of March, then school ends for him in the second week of June. We'll also be going down for a long weekend every other week. So it's now really starting to sink in.
Brooks is doing well in school and can be so cute, Tatum likes preschool once she's actually there. She giggles and runs to you every time you pick her up. Tennis is doing well I've actually turned a corner when my stroke is starting to really come together.
Dad started running with me about two weeks ago the first week was a little hit and miss then last week I told him I was starting 5 miles again. So he was off and running with me, I decided that since he hadn't run that far for I'm sure quite sometime that we should walk the 3rd mile and the when ended up walking a 1/4 mile of mile 5. He did so good. We ran the same thing on Wednesday and took off a couple minutes and when we ran Friday I am telling you I was struggling. The first 1/4 mile my rhythm was all off and I was sucking major wind, but I looked over at Dad and he was just plugging along so I decided to buck up and keep going. When we stopped to walk our 3rd mile I told him how hard the first part was and he said I know, I kept on going because you were still going. So I guess that's really good that we're going together. We've taken off about two minutes each time we run. Today Julie joined us and smoked our behinds. She did awesome, I hope she gets addicted. We are planning our own Turkey Trot out here the morning of Thanksgiving so we can eat a little more guilt free.(ha,ha). Well I love everyone and miss you tons.
LaNece

Question for Megan

Megan

Will you check the UofA bookstore for a red softball jersey. We got one for Daphne while in Oklahoma and we have miss placed it. Actually I think it went to DI with some other items that needed to be washed in cold water. We are missing quite a few clothing items currently. If you could check and then let me know that would be great. I was thinking of getting her another one for Christmas.

Thanks

Janell

GO WILDCATS!

i'm not sure how many of you follow pac10 football, but the UA won our homecoming game! wahoo. lol, in all reality we have a really cruddy football team, and we beat one of the pac10's most inconsistent teams this season, UCLA. but still, a win is a win. and i think i wasn't the only one in the stadium who thought so as, after the clock ran out, almost the whole student section stormed the field! i decided that i'd participate in that if we won a team that was any kind of good. but looking back on it, i should have just gone with the flow and enjoyed myself by rushing with my classmates. also, in amazing pac10 football news...ASU LOST!!!! -cheers- oregon gave them their first lose of the season. for those who don't know, "AS WHO?" is our rival school. i don't think i'll be going to that game though, as it is an away game and i'm not one for driving all the way up there when i don't absolutely have to.

i had two tests this weekend (friday and monday), and i feel pretty confident about them! i should though, all the information was really easy.

have any of you experienced the phenomenon that is longboarding? it's a big craze here on campus, and i rode on for the first time last week. i'll be honest, i am terrible! but it's still fun. i just need more practice.

halloween was a lot of fun for me. friday night we had an institute dance and then Kimball, Corby and i all hung out for the rest of the night before Kimball left at 4:30 for hawaii....-tear-. in order to not cry my eyes out all night the next night, Corby and i went to a mormon dance/house party. it was a BLAST! if you have facebook there are photos of my costume on there. i was a rock star and i convinced corby to be my lead guitarist!

speaking of guitar and things i've tried recently, guitar hero is SO MUCH FUN! my great idea though, is that we somehow combine guitar hero, DanceDanceRevolution, and there is a karaoke video game like guitar hero and DDR, along with a similar drum and bass game to get a complete concert! can you imagine trying to just play ddr and guitar hero at the same time? this might cause a seizure though....

it's nice to have this blog set up, i wouldn't know about anything going on if it wasn't for this! thank you!

love ya!
*Meg xoxo

St George

Hello Everyone

We have survived another Tournament. We played in St George last weekend and had tons of fun. Both teams played ok. Daphne's team we think ended up 10th out of 18 and Hanalee's team 5th or 6th out of 9. Hanalee pitched a few no hitter games, infact the games I got to see, she pitched mostly strikes. It was fun to watch her in her groove. I even got to see her hit her first home run and of course I didn't have my camera with me. She had tons of fun and was really upset when we got home last night that they didn't win it all.Daphne played really will she is hitting great and first base is a great position for her. She always has fun playing and just lives for the game. Daphne doesn't get as upset about not winning it all as long as she improves and has fun who cares. Of course the victory is Awesome. Miles as always was a real trooper and just loved to play with all the siblings. He gets to play with little supervision and eats nonstop. He is such a supportive and patient little guy.

Lynn took his P.E. test on the 26th of October. He said it was brutal. We will let you know when he gets his results. He is still working OT and working with the softball teams. He loves to coach. I'm still just trying to keep up with everyone. I have been working on a few crafts and scraping when I can.

We will send a few pictures from St George and Halloween when I can figure that out. Jose, that is an awesome picture of you. We hope that you have had fun playing ball this fall. And Cody that was a crazy game we got to watch.

We love and miss you all tons.

Love,
The Softball Clan

Hey, hey!

Okay, Nece, got to tell you I had nothing to do with posting the video. Took the expertise and wizardry of Stan and Jake getting it all together. Yeah, did you notice Stan B actually posted? Didn't think so. The cool thing about this game was we were two guys short the whole time (three, when one player had a mini anxiety attack and couldn't breath). The other team had 5 subs and played full team and scored twice in the first 5 minutes. We thought it would be their first loss for sure...and our boys, Mas Fuego, held them and went on the beat them by 2! We were sitting next to the Latino delegation and you should have HEARD them when Cody got fouled with no call! Oh my! I have nothing, sisters, nothing on the Columbians! They were all screaming, "REF! REF! REF! We have it on tape, REF!" It was so funny...though I thought we may get beat up on the way out...haha!

Halloween is way different here. And since we're on the edge of the development, we only got two kids...of course, last year in Utah we only got five. I think the holiday was a little tough for Josie. It was so different...with all the cultures, they don't dress up at school or have a party or anything. A lot of kids in Josie's class don't even celebrate it. Anyway, we fully intend to post more video...especially over the holidays. Let us know how Todd's interview goes...Love you all and miss you like crazy...my Jamie girl is keeping me very busy, though...

Halloween Pictures

Here are some of our Halloween pictures my friend Janae took them. The kids are doing really well and are way sugared up as I type. Tatum is at such a cute age for trick or treating. We went with Jonathan, Evets and Garrett. Jonathan hooked his four wheeler up to Dad's trailer and pulled us around. With the acre lots out here it made it a lot faster and more fun for the kids. At my house anyone junior high age or older that came to the door got a dum dum (we save the good stuff for the kids). It was really cute because Brooks wanted to wear his costume all the time because he was Dash from The Incredible (for you none Disney people). So he thought that he could run way fast when he was in costume, in fact he wanted to wear it under his uniform to his last soccer game. It was so cute but I told him "no". And as you can see Tatum is a cheerful as ever for pictures, I'll have to scan and post their school pictures, she's actually smiling in those. Brooks did really really good in soccer this year, he made at least one goal in every game. Lana way cool pictures and video, I had no idea that we could post video's how cool is that. Make sure you take some at X-mas to post and Larry you to since your not coming up for the big day.
Update on Todd he interviewed today with one on the owners of the Moab place and is really positive about how the interview went the other partner is coming in from New York next week and he'll interview with her. He really wants the job and it would be really good for him. So I hope it goes as well. Well I better get going, love and miss you all.

LaNece

Josie Playing Softball

 

Cody Eats Grass

This is our favorite clip from Cody's last soccer game. He doesn't score a goal or make a miraculous save; that would be boring. He gets fouled hard and there is no call. I recommend replaying the part where he flies through the air and lands on his face. Enjoy!

State Cross Country

Today we went to Sugar House Park to watch the 5A State Cross County Race. It was a stormy day and on the cold side. The sun had been coming and going all day. Becky and I parked at Highland High School and hiked over to the park. There were cars lining the motorway of Sugar House Park. I was truely amazed at the attendence to the race. The girls started at 3:30 and the boys at 4:00. The ground and grass were throughly soaked, and as the gun went off it began to rain sending the temperature downward. Connor ran the race in 17:43 a good time for him; but he did say that he did wish he had on a shirt under his racing jersey. Mom and Dad along with Julie, Greg, Allie, Janet, Natalie, Becky and I were all in attendance. It was fun and almost comical to race back and forth across the park to see the runners as they would pass by. Bingham as a team came in 4th in State; but all important they did beat Alta who came in 5th. By the way the picture is from my cell phone.

Hey!

Hello my wonderful family. Just wanted to drop a quick update about Jake and myself. We have just been chillin'. Jake has decided that next year, after we establish residency, he would like to try to go to school full-time. Just looking to decide what he would like to major in.I've been working as hard as I can. I joined a fitness boot camp, only a month, and have been slimming down and toning up. It is pretty fun but it is spendy, and I don't think I'll go back after my month is up. The time that I have spent there so far has really given me a good idea of what I need to do to get the body that I want. Only five more classes to go and then I'm done.
Oh, I've experienced what it is like to be attacked by fire ants a couple weeks ago. We went to the soccer quarter finals for my dad's team and I walked right through a colony of them. I didn't realize until they had completely covered my foot! It was kind of an ow moment, but I was able to catch them and get the off before they worked their way up my leg...
It sounds like things are going well for everyone, and that you all are staying out of too much trouble. LOL
It can be kind of lonely being so far away from you all and I miss you all so terribly. I can't wait for you to come and visit us. Well, that is about it for us. Love you all!

Greetings!

Greetings from sunny FLA! We finally had our first cold front roll in...it was 64 degrees the other morning...brrr! Better keep those parkas handy (haha!). But at least the beginning of October signals the end of the lovebug mating season here. They are totally harmless (except to car paint...which their corrosive guts will eat a hole through it if you don't get them washed off ASAP!), but Josie was freaking anyway...because they were EVERYWHERE! They covered the lanai and were always landing on you.

Just spent the nicest couple days with Mike and Charlotte and their whole family. We went to Clearwater Beach on Thursday and it was a beautiful day. We literally floated in the water for more than 3 hours with pelicans diving all around us, fresh fish (and I mean in the flirty way...brushing up against EVERYONE...little bait fish flying out of the water and running into the kids' heads...it was hilarious). We had to shuffle our feet since there was a dangerous marine life flag up...there were stingrays in the area. Stan and Mike saw one before it swam for cover when the rest of us charged over to get a peek. Then they all came over for a bbq...it was just heaven to be with loved ones. We had no idea how much we truly missed everyone, and then I suddenly had a very clear memory of talking to Larry about that very thing, how awesome those first visitors were for the family in Tucson. So all y'all better hurry before we aren't so keen on company (hehe...as if, right?...we didn't want to let poor Mike and Charlotte leave...practically followed their van out of the neighborhood!).

We're deep into soccer and softball which will keep us jammed until the middle of November. Training for the marathons is going well...we do our 20-mile run tomorrow and are extremely grateful for the cooler temps. Josie just finished her diversity project week...with HUGE props going to Grandma and Aunt Necie! You should have been noted at the top of her bibliography! She did refer to you often in her report and during her oral presentation. And of course the cookies were a hit...much more popular than the Dominican Republic crackers made with a little mashed plantain. Josie asked her little friend, "How can you think those are good? They don't taste like anything..." We're still working on the tact thing.

Anyway, love you all and miss everyone like crazy...even more so since seeing some family!

arizona adventures

i've been meaning to write for a few days, but my brain keeps pulling up a blank when i sit down to type. does that ever happen to any of you?

i do have a small amount of news though. i finally got a cell phone. i'm with Verizon, so i get free mobile to mobile minuets in that network, and i have unlimited texts. (which i found was a good thing when i had over 100 texts before i had even had the phone 24 hours.) so, without further adieu here is the phone number...520.425.6589. send me a text or give me a call so i have your number!

Brian Wheelwright, the boy i went on the hike with, has started a running "club" at the institute that i might join. the only problem with that is that i don't like running with other people all that much. another friend of mine was thinking about starting a club at the UofA. it was going to be an LDS co-ed Fraternity called Nu Epsilon Phi, abbreviated NEPhi. LOL! i thought it was clever. however, it probably won't happen since we need a faculty advisor and we don't know of any LDS professors who could fill that spot. but! if it does happen, i fill the spot of activities co-coordinator along with Alec Nielson. at very least we're still going to make shirts.

well, i'm off to teach myself how to play "Motorcycle Drive By" by Third Eye Blind on the guitar!

Love Ya! Meg xoxo

Here's the names drawn for Xmas

Can you believe that it is that time again already, I meant to have this done along time ago but better late than never. These first ones in parenthesis have each other so I'm not going to type them in twice (Leslie-Megan, Natalie-Kailey, Lori-Chelsea, Corby-Connor) now comes the rest Daphne-Heather, Hanalee-Whitney, Miles-Allyson, Cody-Daphne, Josie-Hanalee, Brooks-Taylor, Tatum-Hunter, Heather-Cody, Paige-Miles, Allyson-Josie, Whitney-Tatum, Hunter-Brooks, Taylor-Garrett, Garrett-Paige. Like I said I really meant to have this done along time ago but forgot.

Brooks scored his first touchdown Wednesday, he was so excited. He did the big fist clenching man thing, it was really cute and of course my video camera battery was dead. He usually plays defense because he's pretty fast and can chase down the other kids and pull out there flags. He's really enjoying it. His soccer is going great so far his scored a couple goals every game that he plays, last week we showed up to his game and it was actually snowing (can you believe that?) The other team only had two players show up so we rescheduled for tonight. Talk about some gale like winds out in Herriman and I though Bluffdale was bad. Brooks is off track right now so he's signed up at Marv Jensen's twice a week and goes with his friend McKay and they play all different kinds of sports, they absolutely love it and I get a little quiet time. We slept out in the trailer a couple nights ago, because the kids wanted to, I'm sorry did I say sleep? Well they slept I stayed awake and heard every noise (surprise, surprise) the wind was blowing that night too. It was pretty fun, Todd was betting we'd be back in the house by 3:00 a.m. we made it all night. It's funny, I play tennis twice a week and lately I actually feel like I'm digressing, I swear I'm getting worse, how can that be? And my reflexes are totally shot. Wait until you young pups start getting old. It's way fun though, I wish someone in the family would take it up so I would have a partner. Well I better get going. Love everyone and miss you tons.

LaNece

More nature shots.

Neat frogs come out after rainstorms.

Scary spiders hang out on the front porch.

Pictures from Florida.

Hey I just thought I'd show everyone a little bit of what it's like down here.




Birds in the backyard.


Beach on the weekends.


This is a sunset from the front yard.

Greetings

Lana finally someone feels our pain. Having two girls in softball is very challanging. Two games a week isn't bad. We divide and conquer alot here. Our fall league is almost over. Hanalee's team won their first game on Wednesday, they are really excited about the first win. At least now they know that they can win. Daphne's team has won all but one game, they have more experience than Hanalee's team. Thank You Mom for going to watch the girls play ball this fall. They love having somone other than me their. We are all doing great. Miles and Hanalee went back to school on Monday (yeah). I really miss them at times, but I sure do get more done with them gone. We had some water come into the house sometime in the last two or three weeks. I found it in my craft room, not too long before heading to work last week. I lost very little scrap stuff and the carpet. We put a new vinyl floor down. We think one of the kids left the water on outside(we have hoses on both faucets). We now know that we need to be more dilligent in checking the faucets. We are really loving the cooler tempertures and fall weather. Love and miss you all.

Softball Clan.

Hello all!

Just wanted to say hello. So Nece, when will Todd know anything? Keep us updated. Went and got a few books at the library for Josie's report, and it was really cool to see some of the same information that Dad sent (I don't care who typed it...lol). If you have any pictures of tradional Swiss dress, that would be wonderful. We're working on it hard this week...when we can! So you better get that iron warmed up and going, Nece. You'll have to send them the beginning of next week, I imagine. Please don't forget the recipe along with it since she has to include that...can you believe this for a 4th grade project? It's pretty cool...but, of course, it happens now as things are getting busier. We have to finish before she starts 2 games a week...ack! Softball is brutal. How do Lynn and Janell do it with two?

We did our first real long, long run here. We went 16 miles and I was SOAKING wet! My shorts were drenched and clinging to my legs like I just climbed out of a pool (seriously) and my socks were sopping wet from the sweat running down my legs. There is a whole other psychology I'm having to deal with here and it is a challenge, I'll tell you. Made me realize why the guy who ran past us was wearing sweatbands on his ankles...no lie. I was mocking him in my head then (yes, I'm a shallow, petty person...was I just annoyed that he passed us?), but I understand it now.

Cody had his first club soccer game, and it was a shame because the coach didn't have a laminated picture roster of the team so the refs made them forfeit and left, said, "We can't ref this game." Can you believe that? It was ridiculous...and the shame was that they went ahead and played the game with two parents coaching and line judging, and our team KILLED them. I can't believe the improvement in Cody; I've never seen him play like that...and he was a player before. The funny thing was Stan realized it's the first soccer game he has ever sat and watched, not coached, with the kids. And the temperatures were wonderful and cool (81 degrees...yeehaw...)...which was good because they wouldn't allow Tony in the soccer park so he had to stay in the car, poor dog! He's never NOT sat at one of the kid's soccer games (haha)!

Bethany has been busier with Rossann...unfortunately, it's all expert neuropsychologist stuff...BORING! It's like ether in writing...puts me right to sleep when I proof it...brutal....

Weekly Update

Hi everyone! Just thought I would update my weekly input. I don't know if any of you remember that Todd last year was talking to a company that they own a bunch of different homes all over and people have memberships to them? Well he's kept in contact with one of those companies and they said they had some things coming up and would he be interested? And then of course on the same day the Moab company called and told him they would know what was going on with them in the next two weeks. So who in the heck knows what is going on really with either one.

Brooks started practice this last week for flag football and games start this coming week. On his first practice he was supposed to grab the boys flag but tackled him instead and then wanted to know when he would be getting his helmet. Soccer has been going really well for him he's scored every game but his team has yet to win one. Julie thinks he plays too aggressively but Dad reassured me he's just being athletic. So I'm siding with my dear old dad on this one.

We have rain right now and it's cooled off a lot, this last week was pretty warm for this time of year though. It only really felt warm in the late afternoon. Just a little F.Y.I. yes I am typing for Mom and Dad when they blog, if any of you have seen them on a computer you will understand why I do this. They have really enjoyed reading every one's. We read it together every Sunday evening.

Larry I'm going to try and come out there at the end on January to early February probably without the kids, we want to try and hit the Orlando area next fall (or is that hurricane season)? So I'll be keeping an eye out for some good flights.

I got some new ear phones for my ipod, they are the Bose and are so stinking sweet, it's like listening to a different ipod. And I found out yes you can download music from your library in itunes. I'm actually going to have to get a new ipod, mine has been dropped a couple times and now wont let you pick any artists or anything else besides shuffle. If anyone has found any new good music let me know.

Love everyone,

Necie

Hey, Tri-O Man! (second try...)

I think I messed up somewhere and am certain I posted with just the title! (oops!) Okay, it's like you read our mind. Josie, just tonight, was saying we need to start on her report. Is Nece still going to send the recipe for the cookies (not EVEN going to try to spell it....) with the cookies themselves? Josie is SO excited...she's all about doing the project...so NOT like her mother...it's a Banks thing. Anyway, the e-mail is: lanalee_670@msn.com. (there's an underscore before the 670) Very excited to see the pictures. Can't wait for her to read to information. Love you all....

Lana

Hey, Tri-O Man!

Information for Josie's Switzerland report

Our family line from Switzerland are the Luthi's. That would be Josie's great great grandmother Rose Luthi, she was born in the county of Bern Switzerland (Huttwil area), her family had been in this area for over two hundred years. Switzerland is very very green because of the tremendous amount of moisture they receive. The country itself is about one third the size of Utah. The elevation in the valleys is around 2000 feet and they are a lot closer to the equator than we are. They get a lot of snow in the winters and rain during the rest of the year. They are bordered by Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, France and Austria. They speak French, German, English, Italian what they call Swiss (a mixture of German and French). The Italian and French areas are the dirtiest and the rest is really clean. In the Alps area they ride these little cable cars up the mountains to these farm areas. In the farming communties they still use horses because the cars would be to expensive. The farms are subsidized by the government and you have to be able to run your own farm, you can't buy one and have someone else run it, this keeps the big monies from buying all the land out. One of the dinners at the Fluckiger farm was Beef, clear bullion with angel hair, a berner platte (ham, boiled beef, bacon, two kinds of sausage, sauerkraut, string beans and potato's) fruit salad, ice cream and whipped cream. They have a lot of older history with monasteries and cathedrals, they started building the monastery in 1100 A.D. with the last renovation being 40 years ago. The capital in Bern and the big business head quarters is in Zurich. They have really high mountains with really narrow valleys with people literally living on the side on the mountains. You bike, rail or walk wherever you go and the don't have a lot of street lights they use round abouts. They have a lot of entertainers like singers and such that sing on the street for money (not like panhandlers). Skiing and soccer are really big there. But they are beginning to be worried about there snow pack. They raise a tremendous amount of fruits and vegetables in the valleys. They run most of there electricity is from Hydro power.

Lana we need your email address to send some pictures of Switzerland to. Hope this helps you let us know if you need anymore info.

We love you all and miss you bunches

Spelling errors

Sorry everyone for the misspelling. I was really tired and multil tasking. I really need to read through our posts before I post them.

Janell

We are all still doing well. One day I'll try to figure out how to post pictures.

Hello

Hello All

I feel that I could right ditto from our last post. Not a lot has changed in our home.

Miles has been playing soccer for about three weeks and loving every minute of it. He has scored two goals and complains that he hasn't scored more. Its tons of fun to watch him play, he's not very aggressive, but he's having fun.

Hanalee has been tying quilts and working on hats. The quilts are for Primary Childrens hospital and the hats we are going to take to the homeless shelter in a month or so. Hanalees softball team has been struggling, but she seems to be having fun and enjoying the game. Hopefully Hanalee and Lynn will continue to like each other with Lynn coaching. It's been fun to have her and Miles home for the past two weeks. They are off track. Hanalee is looking forward to going back to school soon.

Daphne asked if we could move the other day. She misses all her friends that are at Millcreek. Daphne isn't very outgoing so making new friends has been hard on her. She is doing great at school and seems to enjoy all of her classes. Her softball team is doing well, she is now playing first base. Daphne has a great love of the game. I really miss having her home.

Lynn has been busy at work, they had a designer leave last week so he is now working overtime. So between softball and overtime it seems like he is hardly here. He has been taking the girls to work a concession stand at the U of U. They have had tons of fun and they say the time goes really fast. He takes the PE on October 20th.
He has also been reading Harry Potter to the girls, I expect them to finish it tonight.

As you can probably tell, I'm still trying to keep track of everyone. I Love watching the kids play their sports and I'm enjoying the time I have with them when they are off track. But I am really looking forward to sending them back to school. I've been cleaning house and getting rid of things we haven't used in ages and I'm also finishing up projects that have been half finished. It feels so good to be getting things done.

We love and miss you all!

Love
Janell

We are Back

Hello all,

We are back from Disneyland! I had a great time and I think that the kids had tons of fun, I know that I sure did. Everyone had their favorite ride mine has stayed the same. The California Screamin roller-coaster still tops my list. You really need to sit in the front to get the whole experience of going 0-60 mph in 4 seconds. Other then that I will try to put pictures on but I am kind of computer dumb that way but hopefully I will figure it out. We also went on the new finding Nemo submarine ride. It was pretty cool the line was long but the ride is about 20 minutes so no wonder why you have to wait for over an hour to get on the ride.

Well I have to go

Becky

Pictures of our adventures.

A few photos of our recent adventures.

Evets, Garrett and Jon.

Hi everybody it has been a while since I last posted so I wanted to say hello. We just got back form lake Powell where we spent seven days in Iceberg Canyon. It was hot, hot and more hot but we had a great time. The indian ruins near the mouth of the Escalante river were cool. It was a 200 foot hike nearly straight up but well worth the effort. After returning home we spent the long Labor day weekend at our property in Indianola with Evets parents. We went over Skyline drive and shot guns and rode our fourwheelers and had alot of fun. Garrett is groing like a weed and is gaining vocabulary skills daily. It seems he repeats everything I say so I have to be very careful in my choice of words. I hope all are well in the remote sections of the continent.

Nece, quick note:

I'm SO proud of you. I loved it when I moved up to higher mileage, and you will see even more results. The swollen finger thing? Well, kind of the nature of the beast...after longer runs, my rings are imbedded into my seemingly-sausage fingers (I'm serious). Just make sure you are getting PLENTY of fluids, including Gatorade to replace the electrolytes...especially when it's cooler and you don't feel as thirsty. Keep up the good work! (BTW, you had me in stitches w/the Josie reminiscence! Oh, and she got on her friend's team...yay...)

Something new.

I'm still running with Jake but I wanted to find a way to get out and do more and meet more people. So I started browsing the internet for weight loss and exercise tips and came across an exercise group training thing that was called Florida's only boot camp. I emailed the co-owner and after emailing her back and forth I have decided to give it a shot. Its 180 for one month, but that included a fitness assessment, nutritional assessment with ongoing help, and it is 3 days a week for 4 weeks. A total of 12 sessions. I figured that is doesn't hurt to try it out. I have my fitness assessment on Monday, which will include a 1 mile walk/run, a sit up test and a push up test. I'm very excited! A little nervouse about the push up test because my elbows pop and grind when I do push ups.

I finished a 104 page job for Rossann yesterday (and that was only half of it because she did the last half), and today she sent me 187 pages! This is so awesome. From what she told mom she will have six more very similar in the weeks to come. That is very encouraging since I have wanted to get more work. Glad to hear that things are going well for everyone.

Oh, and a side note Jake and I are still improving our running time. I had a really hard time today but we finished our first mile in 12:53 and ended at 27:49. Not much of an improvement, but every little bit helps. And I've lost 2 pounds! yay!

Nice fall weather

We are having such beautiful fall weather, it has been wonderful for running, you have that nice cool breeze you can't tell how bad your sweating. Lana, I've started running 5 miles now, but I have been walking about 2 1/2 songs. It's actually been better than I thought it would be. I'm amazed that my last two miles seem so much better than the first three. Quick running question, my fingers still swell up majorly when I'm running, any clues why and what to do? About your book club if they are reading seven hundred page books I don't know if they'll like Percy Jackson books, they are more Junior High level, but are just great I would defiantly recommend you read them, also Shannon Hale's Princess Academy was wonderful.

Tatum had her first day of preschool yesterday and when I picked her up I asked the teacher how she did. She said she did okay until she asked her for a snack and the teacher said it wasn't snack time yet and she would have to wait a few minutes, then she preceded to throw herself down on the ground and start screaming. Wow, what a proud parent moment. Speaking of which do you remember Josie's with me? For everyone else that doesn't know what I'm talking about when Josie was four or five she was at my house and picked up a picture of me dressed up for Halloween with Brooks. I was Winnie the Pooh and my costume had a big Pooh bear belly, so Josie says to me "Necie this is you, huh." and I said "yes" then she says "do you know how I knew it was you? Because of your big belly." I laughed so hard kids just tell it like it is, I still chuckle when I think about it.

The Biggest Loser started last night, I'm not really into reality t.v. but every season I get so much inspiration from this show. It made my run a little easier this morning when I thought if those guys (who are a lot bigger than me) can do it, than I can do this without evil thoughts.
I found some really good running music, Finger 11 "paralyzer" and Fallout Boy "Thanks for the memories" and then an older one from Stereo Mc's "Connected". Good beats always make the time seam to pass faster. Well I have to get Brooks to his first flag football practice in a little bit. Love everyone tons.

LaNece

What a pleasure!

Oh my, it's wonderful to be able to get on and read what everyone is up to. All is well here. Bethany and I saw a 6-8 foot alligator floating is this lake when we were picking up books for the book club Stan got us involved in (more on that in a minute), and it made us realize how tiny the little guy in our pond is...and made us more grateful for our tiny, little guy (ha ha!). Of course, the scariest thing in the water is the tiniest. There is this amoeba that lives on the bottom of shallow, warm freshwater lakes, and when the water gets stirred up by boats and kids wipe out wakeboarding (or just dive down to the bottom) and get water (with amoeba) up their noses, they get in their brains and cause this amoeba encephalitis. It has killed three adolescent boys this summer (within days of it happening) and there wasn't a darn thing they could do about it!

Dad, oh my gosh! That's the scariest lighning story EVER! I have chills, I'm not kidding! You are also very brave. I would have been running for cover with Bruce...may have even pushed him over to get ahead of him. Can't wait for Stan to read your story.

Speaking of Stan, he signed us up for this faculty/others book club (bethany joined and forced jake as well); the first book we have to read is like 740 pages. How cold is that? I'm kidding...a little. I guess we all get to put votes in for books. Should i do War and Peace for revenge? Nece, would the Lightning Thieves be a good one? I'm open to suggestions, readers, both serious and vengeful (suggestions, not readers...though I would love to chat with a vengeful reader...hehe).

Cody is busy with school and soccer...and is absolutely taken with ESL girls (English as Second Language). There's a girl from Brazil named Yasmin and her accent nearly puts him over the edge, I think.

Josie just started dance. The first day I called Julie on the way and burst into tears...I've never been to dance without my sister. I'll probably cry when I go tomorrow too. Since we haven't found her a soccer team yet, she just signed up for softball, which she has never done but she's very excited about it. She's hoping to get on her friend Megan's team. She did a great job fielding balls and batting, having never done it before. Catching (er, not) pop flies will come with practice. She's very athletic and very coachable; she'll have no problem. But if her softball playing cousins have any advice, please send it. She should find out what team she's on by next week.

Love you guys like crazy! And I'm so jealous of the Star Valley time...except the lightning...glad I missed that lightning!

Lana

week four of classes have started!

i'm in the basement of the library on UA campus right now effectively procrastinating my biology quiz. i justify this by knowing that i'm prepared for it, when i do decide to take it. we have a system here where we take quizes and homework online for my lecture classes. can i just say that that was the biggest shock. i walked into my chemistry class, which is at 8 in the morning, and it's a lecture hall...FULL of people. i had to scramble to get a seat! at 8 in the morning, no less! when i say full i mean that there are about 400 people in the class. that was a new experience. my lecture classes are the hardest for me to pay attention in just because of the lack of participation and the times, 8 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon. luckily i'm good at the subjects, Chemistry and Biology respectively.

/tangent i have been thinking about the safety a lot lately. i don't know if any of you heard, but there was a stabbing in one of the dorms this past week here at the University of Arizona. to sum up, a girl stabbed her sleeping roommate to death. for more on that story see http://www.fox11az.com/news/topstories/stories/KMSB_20070905_dm_uamurder.a6d2b982.html
but that, in correlation with a shooting that happened in the UA nursing college a few years ago makes me very thankful for the safety i enjoy. i mean, the worst i've ever gotten was getting asked to go to some creepy guy's apartment. yuck. /end tangent

i'm really enjoy school, even though this semester is going to kick my butt. i have three tests this week! :P my favorite class so far is my Molecular and Cellular Biology of Cancer class. i've decided that i want to be an oncologist! probably my least favorite class is my chemistry lab, because my teacher seems to be incompetent. but at least it's an enjoyable subject and i have a REALLY nice lab partner.

well, i'm off to this quiz and then class.

Love you all!
Meg xoxo

Angels

Dear family,

I learned today that freckles are caused from angel kisses, I have really been kissed!! And I know a lot of you have too. We are going for peaches tomorrow and will be busy bottling and making peach syrup. Todd planted a different peach tree, the meat of the peach is white with a little red it is interesting and sweet, but like Hero's ( the t.v. series) these peaches are weird. We have a lot of raspberries and the jam is really good. The weather here is quite warm still and even Star Valley has been warm. We love you all and wish the best this week.

Dad's Update

Dear children I think about you very much and miss not having more time with each of you.

Bethany hang in there and make it go, I'm proud of you. I've had a little goal, to try to loose so weight and this last week I made two hikes one from Stump Creek to Tin Cup approx. 18 miles, it was beautiful and we had some fun experiences when we have time we'll talk about them. The second hike was 3 hikes on the same day this last Friday. I made three hikes from the Strawberry Dam up the canyon while our friends were fishing, the sum totally was approx. 8 miles, and the result was this morning when I stepped on the scales and weighed in at 164 lbs. This is the lightest I've been in about thirty years. So Bethany it pays off.

Lana I had an experience two weeks ago with lightening that really got me attention. Uncle Doyle and I were at the place in Star Valley putting in a water line to the Bowery. Uncle Doyle was in the Bowery and I just came out of the house heading towards Uncle Bruce's, the wind came up tremendous and I took off on a run because rain was with it. As I approached the big irrigation pipe between our place and Uncle Bruce's a lightening bolt observed by Uncle Doyle came down within about 300 ft. of the ground and branched off into 3 different bolts. One bolt came down and struck the ground between our house and the Bowery, the 2nd bolt struck the power pole right by our house, it blew the insulators and lightening arrester send glass everywhere, the third bolt hit Bruce's house. Aunt Joyce was inside calming grandchildren because of the previous thunder, a ball of fire about 2 ft. diameter was in the middle of the the kitchen. I was about 8 ft. from the irrigation line and a wall of sparklers came up out of this pipeline, it felt like my heart was going to explode. I stopped immediately but didn't dare run back to our place because of the glass coming down from the transformer. The sparkler wall lasted a few seconds then disappeared back into the ground. I ran at full speed to Bruce's house. It burned up Bruce computer and telephones. Bruce and Marion had just went down to dig potatoes and Bruce had just picked up the shovel with his foot on top to go into the ground when the lightening struck. They found themselves on their knees looking at each other and Bruce said let's get out of here. Fortunately no one was hurt. We were out of power for about 5 hours until the company could get a new transformer installed. Two days later we were still working on the water line and the lightening started hitting on the hills south of us, he said let's get out of here and I made fun of him. He asked if I wasn't afraid of lightening after that experience, I said 2 days before the Lord had the chance to take me and didn't so I figured I was okay.
This is an interesting devise of communicating with everyone and I like it!! Give Stan, Bethany, Jake, Cody and Josie my love and God be with you til we meet again. This includes the Arizona bunch also.

Andreason Update

Okay all you spider lovers (Cody) this monster spider was up in the corner of the back door up in Star Valley and I had to take a picture of it because otherwise no one would believe how big it really was. Sorry to report that during her relocation by Zack Jensen (Kurt and Cindy's son) it ended up getting squished. I'm just heart broken. We had a great time we stayed up the week after Labor Day and Todd came up Monday night. It's nice because even if he got a message on his cell about work he couldn't do anything about it, so we had a really nice relaxing weekend. We got a pretty bad storm during the week and they even had a tornado touch down in Soda Springs.
Todd went in for his interview and they had filled the G.M. position in Park City but wanted to know if he would be interested in a resort they are currently purchasing in Moab, Utah. So he's sent them his resume and they seemed really interested in him so we'll see it would start in the middle on November if he got it. It would be a great work oppurtunity for him and I'm really excited for him.
Brooks had his first soccer game saturday and he scored three goals, but he's not counting one because the boy that was trying to kick the ball away from him helped kick it in. He loves soccer, he'll also be starting flag football this next week, and is really excited. That was Todd's favorite as a little kid.
Larry I'll see what I can do about finding out your high school times. That's great that the girls are swimming. Julie has started on a Masters Swim Team (that's for old folks) and she said that their whole work out the other day was in butterfly. I know that they would have had to give my C.P.R. I can totally see Heather as a little reporter, I'm glad she's found something that she really enjoys. I'm reading a series of books that are great and a really fast read. The first on is the Lighting Theif (or it might be Percy Jackson and the Lighting Thief). They really suck you in and you get brushed up on your Greek Mythology. I don't know how those Greeks kept eveything and everyone straight. But it did help me answer the million dollar question on Are you smarter than a 5th grader.
Bethany, I'm way excited about your running, way to go. I can't believe that I actually have really learned to like running (except in Star Valley were I felt like is was sucking in major wind). That's great Jake's been doing it with you, I wish Todd would start with me. We still play volleyball every saturday night and we start women's church volleyball this week. With as much of us that play every week we should be pretty good, excpet we've picked up a lot of bad habits from the guys. So I'm sure we'll get a lot of illegal hits called on us at first.
I'm still trying to get Julie to even at least read the blog she says Greg has been, and if so we'd like to hear from at least you Greg. Tomarrow we get peaches from Willard Bay (Callie Nebecker) and start to put them up. Becky helped me make a killer pie crust this weekend to we'll have fresh peach pie, we had banana cream today that was really good. I love to get on the site and see who had written so please everyone keep it up. I'm going to help Dad set up a log in so he can do it too. Love and miss all of you that are away.
LaNece

Hey all!

This is Meg! i asked Dad to get me invited to the blog a few weeks ago....when he still hadn't i took matters into my own hands. about an hour later and i'm on! if you want something done at all, you've gotta do it yourself. ;) jk, love you, Dad!

my sisters, Chelsea and Paige, are calling each other the strangest names. a "pig eating lizard" is the one that i think stood out the most.

did any of you see the UA vs BYU game last saturday? oh my word, did the Wildcats even show up for that game?! that was just embarrassing. i watched as the second, well, third part of a date that day with Brian Wheelwright. we had both said that we could justify being happy if either team won, but we both found ourselves being embarrassed at the lack of defense...and offense....of our school.

i met Brian at the Institute two weeks back. we ended up in line next to each other at a luncheon they had and we had a date by the next week. he just got back from a mission in Paraguay and is double majoring in Optical Science and Math. (yeah, he's a smart kid.) we went on a hike up to seven falls, and it was really pretty. but coming back down it was REALLY HOT! at the beginning of the hike he said, "now Meg, let me know if you want to stop, slow down, speed up...if you want a piggy-back ride. i want you to have fun. i'm outdoors and with you, so i'm having fun. you're the queen here!" on the last leg out of the canyon i fell captive to the heat and he made me get on his back so he could run me the last 100 yards to the car. it was really sweet actually. we're going to a movie tuesday.

here's a picture of he and i at the falls.


serge and i are still "together"...as much as we can be. he's in Virginia at the law school there and really doing great. however, he thinks he's "lazy". -sigh- silly, misguided boy.

here's a picture of he and i at Agua Caliente park this summer.


well, i'll close this up for now, Kailey needs the computer.
*meg xoxo

In the heat of the day.

Hey all.

Sorry it has been so long since I have written. I will give everyone a big up date if I have one in me. Our Labor day weekend was nice, we didnt do anything special but did go to a movie and played some games. The kids really enjoy Canadian Confetti a card game introduced to us by Uncle Bruce and Aunt Joyce so we played that a couple times this weekend. (I hope i can get through this on my computer is being a pain I really need to wipe the hard drive and start again)

So I had a huge trip down memory lane this week. Kailey and Chelsea asked me to be a timer in the dual meet. It was fun to cheer them on and also to be back in that environment. So over the weekend I was able to find all my Regional and State meet metals. The only problem I have is I can't remeber the exact times I had on the events. So if Mom or somebody knows how to find them I am all ears.

We have been getting alot of weather from hurricane Gabriel (I think thats what it is called). We have plans to attend the Kirby Heyborne concert on Friday night. If anyone is interested I like both of his CD's, he has very easy listening music. Umm I think I am missing the book thingy I caught the books that Becky has read but they sound a little intense and depressing for me. (too much like the Holocust books I read) so I up for a new book. Work is going well for the time.

I am wondering if Julies and Greg are still coming for november. I sure hope so. By the way Michelle and I love the tandem bike it is a lot of fun. I need to find longer seat post and taller handle bars for a more up right riding postion but I would recommend one to anyone intersted. The back seat is the more difficult position to be in because you always are trying to steer but never can.

Love You all. Larry

In the heat of the day.

Almost Here

Hey everyone I hope that everyone in well. As I speak Mom, Nathan, Tasha, Whitney, Hunter and Taylor are at the Candy Cane Inn right next door to Disneyland. My plane leaves tomorrow morning at 6:30 so I am really excited!! I think that we will have a way fun time.

It's weird not having Mom home though. I will be visiting LaNece's for Sunday Dinner in about an hour. It's weird not to have everyone here running around. But I am sure that everything will be ok. I am watching the US Open on TV and Federer is not winning at the moment which is weird, but good. Change is always good.

Book update: To any one that has read The Kite Runner, it was great and kind of depressing, I just finished the authors second book A Thousand Splendid Suns. I have never been so enthralled and shocked and I don't know what else to write. It touched my life in ways that I can't imagine. It brought to life the realness of the atrocities that were going on in Afghanistan during the Taliban rule. I feel like I understand how oppressed the life of a women was during those times. I am grateful that I live in the United States of America. If you want a great story I highly suggest that you read this book.

Well I have to go I hope that all is well with everyone.

Love you all tons!!!

Becky

Tales from the Wood House

Hi! Guys. Can you believe that it is Sept 5th already. And I can not get the days this week for some reason. It seems like Tuesday but it Wednesday. It it playing with my mind.

Star Valley over the weekend and fun and full of relaxation. Watched about 5 movies and finished a set of baby things that I started before Brooks was born. I some think he won't be interested in a recieving blanket and burp cloths right now, oh well thank goodness Becky has lots of pregnant friends right now. We played Nerts Saturday night and had a blast with Lynn and Janelle and the kids.

Hey Bethany if you like the Pride and Prejudice ( which is one of my favorite books), read a book called Darcy's Story written in the same style from his perspective by a real Jane Austin fan. Very very good.

Jack, Tim, Nathan have been hunting fools since the 1st of September. They have had great luck and limited out everyday they have hunted by 7:10 a.m. in the morning. They are happy but tired hunters.

Only 4 days until our Disneyland trip. Boy I can not wait. On the same line my left foot has been hurting on top for about 10 days and not getting any better so I sent and saw Dr. Deichet (I hope I spelled right). I told her that I would be walking around Disneyland for 3 days next week, she took some X-rays and I have a bone spar on the top of my foot. So I got a Cortizone shot which by the way hurts alot. But today it is feeling a 100% better. Wish me luck.

Hello

Hello All,

Just checking in. Me and mom just got back from spending the weekend in Bedford. It was so much fun. We spent time with Lynn, Janell, Daphane, Hannahlee and Miles, also LaNece, Brooks and Tatum oh and I can't forget Grandma and Grandpa. I just sat back and relaxed and did a whole lot of nothing. We did put together a Thomas Kincade puzzle and that was fun, I watched a couple of "chick flicks" my absolute favorite movie right now "Pride and Prejudice". I think that I could watch that a million times and not get sick of it!!

We also played a bunch of Nerts. If I am spelling that correctly. Daphane and Hannalee are pretty good too. Watch out they might just get as competitive as their dad. We played singles on Saturday for a couple of hours and they did awesome!!!

Me and mom just got home from seeing The Secret Garden at Hale Center Theater. It was excellent. It was funny because I have never read the book and Mom and LaNece were talking about the Little Princess this weekend and I thought they were talking about the Secret Garden, so when we got to the intermission I told Mom I was way confused that the little girl wasn't in the orphanage yet. That's what I get for assuming.

I am still up making sugar cookies for a baby shower tomorrow after work. They are almost done now so almost time to go to bed!!

Hey Bethany you have a lot to brag about!!! I think that is awesome, keep up the hard work it will all pay off!!! Keep us informed on your progress you never know who you will inspire.

Just in case no one was aware in 5 days we will be in Disneyland!!! I am so excited that I can hardly contain myself. All the girls that I work with are counting down the days so that don['t have to hear how excited I really am everyday.

Well it is good to hear from everyone. Talk to you soon

Becky

Hello,

Well Nathan just got back from the early goose hunt. This weekend has been very successful! Nathan took Hunter on Saturday, Whitney on Monday, and Taylor today. Each day they got their limit of birds. They had an awesome time. The kids have not stopped talking about it. They enjoy that one on one time they get with Dad, Grandpa, and Uncle Timmy! Today Nathan said there was a single goose that kept landing in the decoys even while they were standing up and walking around. They let Taylor chase it and he would get within about ten feet of the goose before it would get up and fly a little way off. They also shot a banded bird yesterday. Nathan is very excited about this. It is his first banded bird. We called the number and the information on the goose is on its way.

Disneyland is in less than a week. We are getting more and more excited. Taylor is even asking how many days are left. It should be a great time! Bethany that is awesome on your running! Good luck and keep going!

Love you all!


Tasha

Just a little...

All right. I just want to brag a little bit, because I am so proud of myself! :)

Jake and I increased our running to 3 minutes and kept our walking at 2 minutes. We have decided to start training for a 5K that is coming up in December and then we are going to start training for a marathon. We wanted to see if the Space Coast Marathon, the one my parents are running in November, had a 5K but they do not. What I really wanted to brag about was our time. When we started running last week our time was almost 35 minutes and our pace per mile was 17:30. Today our time was 31 and our pace was 15:30! Isn't that great! I'm so happy right now, and I'm so motivated. I can't even begin to explain it. *sigh* I'm also going to start doing lot of Yoga to slim down more and to tone.
Thanks for letting me brag. I love you all so much, and miss you tons!

Bethany

Greetings!

37 posts in August? That's fabulous. We started one for the Banks family and had 4...3 were bethany and I...it's pathetic. Getting a little more used to knocking down the mud wasp nests. They freak me out because they look like they have a spider in it...I think they may paralyze one and stick it in there for food for the larvae...lovely. Just got our termite contract set up...since FL is 3rd in the WORLD (after losing ground to Hawaii for 2nd and Australia is 1st, of course) in termites. They say there are about two colonies per lot. Unreal... Stan and I are back in training. In order to meet our 25 by 50 goal, we have some catching up to do. So we're looking at the Space Coast at the end of November (the oldest marathon in FL), the Clermont (the newest marathon...it's the first year) at the end of December and the Disneyworld, of course, at beginning of January. Figure we'll use them all for training...we won't be getting any PRs here this year.

Okay, I've been posting from time to time in response but not sure if everyone goes back to read comments...so I'm going to redo a bunch right here.

Mom, your comment about Tatum and Matlock had us recalling fond memories. Bethany said, "Every time I think of Matlock, I picture Grandma coming down the hall and around the pool table over and over again, doing her exercises during the show." And I have such vivid memories of that, which is wonderful. I loved reading your post and you better keep doing it! I can hear your voice and picture you typing when I read it and it just makes me so darn happy...and weepy...but what's life without a good cry now and then? We miss you terribly, Mom, and love you more!

Colleen, I'm a little jealous of your garden but not of the work involved. I told you they got our piano here unscathed, right? But they ruined our dining room table, because they didn't take the legs off and then piled stuff on top for the 2400-mile trip? Yeah, it was nice. And then when they brought one of the leafs in, it was raining so there were a few drops on top (and I mean a FEW); it was set flat on the carpet and, in less than a week, the leaf warped and molded because humidity doesn't disperse here. Grrr! Anyway, Cody is taking guitar at school and LOVES it. I'm still seriously pondering the webcam thing for Josie to do piano...she misses it terribly, Colleen, and even though she doesn't have the talent for it that Cody does, she has 3 times the drive. I told Larry I'm going to have to do it so he can help Cody in algebra if need be. Think about it, okay?

Stan, well, I guess there's nothing to say, right? Loved seeing the pic of you and Janet at the reunion. I hate to miss the volleyball...though I suck at it, for real. Write soon...

Lynn, you're as crazy as my Stan, except he was coerced into coaching this year...and then he has to cut our boy, can you believe it? Well, to be fair, Stan left it up to Cody, who was honest enough to admit that he needs more work and is definitely outclassed as a player...Stan has kids from 7 different countries on his team (their goalie, Juan, is a state-championship goalie...quite a player). Stan was concerned about Cody getting trashed by 6-8 graders giving him crap about only being on the team because his dad was the coach. So he's playing on the Inter-United Soccer Club (because they just can't have simple rec soccer here...that way it costs 275/year and a 150 for uniforms...but they are professional coaches) and they say Cody is a thinking player who will be great when he develops a leg. Anyway, hope your year is as successful as last year; I'm sure it will be. And Cody will be SO jealous that Daphne has a locker! He only has one for gym and it ticks him off. Yeah, Janell, grats on getting all the kiddies in school. Maybe someday you can take a little nap....

LaNece, good luck on the potty training, sister! That can be so maddening. How did the interview go for Todd? I'll bet it went great but let me know anyway. I don't think you can burn iPod songs unless you already have them in your iTunes. I believe I have tried...but our resident computer expert could verify for certain. My iPod is currently drying out. Remember when I dropped my MP3 player in the toilet at the airport? Apparently, it's a particular gift of mine. At least it was our toilet this time. What's wrong with me, anyway? The family pictures are beautiful and made me just a little teary. You look great, Nece.

Larry, so did you cry when you discussed the truck? Stick to your guns...I think that is bull, and how much money does he think he'll save that way, anyway? How about take away his big, fat bonus if he feels so strongly about it? And I know what you're saying about being cold at 80 degrees in the house! We're set for 78 and I think I need to turn it up. When we first got here, I felt like I was boiling and now we wear jackets and socks. Josie takes a jacket to school because the bus and the lunchroom are "Freezing! I'm not kidding, Mom!" The heat index is such a weird thing. One day it was 92 and felt like 108 because of the 80+ humidity; the next day it was 92 and felt like 98 because of only 39 %...which is low for here. They have fabulous thunderstorms around here...entirely different than Tucson. I think FL ranks up there in strikes a year. Anyway, Josie was all worried about it hitting the house because the thunder was booming and the windows were rattling, and Stan and Jake reassured her it would only go around the house. And, I kid you not, the very next day, not two miles from our house, was the home that got hit (probably as we spoke) with the ENTIRE top level burned out. Can you believe it? I'm so happy for Paige! She will love dance and be GREAT at it. Josie starts dance at the studio here next week and is very excited. And yes, I'm doing the very same job here with the same clientele. Jake got us a domain set up where the reporters can send the large wave files and it sends them an e-mail when we download it...very cool. So we're looking for new reporters soon...though the thought does intimidate me the tiniest bit. So you have to tell me what you thought of Eclipse, brother. >.< All my love to your family...

And Julie, well, if you were ever on, I suppose I would ask you how dance is going for Ally. Did Ann ever get the pictures or what? Are the DVDs available? Or did she perish in a murder-suicide after whacking that no-good hubby of hers? Write soon....

Tasha, I miss seeing you guys for soccer. How are things going for Nate? We tried to get the kids in here but it's a totally different gig...no $60, or whatever, for the year. You have to find a club team, which is EXPENSIVE, and then you have to go all over the state for tournaments! Plus, the players have to pitch in for the travel and accommodations for the coach if we have to travel. We found a team for Cody but not for Josie yet...which is good, because how could you ever see both teams? *sigh* Not sure what we'll do. Tell Hunter we got his request and will definitely be sending postcards...and tell Taylor to "RUN, RUN, RUN!" Please let us know how things are going with the team....

Lastly, Becky, it's always great to read your postings. Keep up with your ninja/sword thing (ha, ha!)...I'm not mocking, girl, that thing kind of freaks me out and I don't know why. Let's hope your next test is in Orlando or something...we just bought our resident passes to Universal/Islands of Adventure...got two years for the price of one and includes free parking...we'll go play for a day. All you Woods have a blast in Disneyland...did I already tell you that the entire Disneyland park (including California Adventure and the parking lots) would fit into the parking lot of Disneyworld? Yeah, I'm sure I did...just had to say it again...

Life Continues :) or ...

hey Mom it is nice to see you writing to all of us and to hear that Connor is doing so well, It looks like I inheritited your swallowing disorder I cough up a storm on a regular basis.

So a quick up date for the kids- First shall be last and the last shall be first. Paige went to after school dance activity Tap Kids for beginner tap dance :) she wants to do it!!! It is a free program and she will be perfect we are working on getting her shoes now. Heather is up every morning and is working as a journalist for the school paper, she works regular on her young womens medalion. Kaliey and Chelsea are on the High School swimming team and are on their way back from the first swim meet we expect them home around 8:00 pm tonight, we are looking forward to seeing how they have done! Corby is still working on driving cars but is also entertaining a looking for a job that has more than 27 hours a week available. He is also "thinking about serving a mission" that is such excellent news for us!! One can never loose hope, it would be a wonderful blessing in his life. Megan is still going to school at UA and is a wilcat fan now. I had to tell her the sad news that the football team is really a habitual disappointment and to become a rabid basketball fan used to huge disappointment in March and she can be happy. Actually UA is a pretty competative school in many sports so I cant rip on them too bad. But I do have several lunches on this weekends game with the cougars (i hope im not the one who has to live with disappointment here)

It is getting really hot here again not that he regular storms are coming to an end. Yesterday was 110 in town and today was just as bad. You know something is wrong with you when the your chilly and the house is 80 degrees. I need to go practice my guitar so I will catch you later.

Love you all.

Larry

Potty Training Trials

Well the potty training trauma's keep going on. We still are not having luck with the big number two. She only has a problem every once in a while with peeing her pants but yesterday was the first time she's actually pooped in a toilet and it was over at Julie's, I'm not sure what her deal is but it's really starting to annoy me (we all know how patient I am). I'm playing tennis twice a week and having a riot. Bethany maybe you should take this up to eleviate the boredom thing and it's a good way to meet new friends. Brooks has his first soccer practice tonight and is really excited. He's going to be playing flag football also, so I'm sure we will be plenty busy. This week seems to be going a little better for him in school.
Becky gave me a really good tip for the blogger and I'm sure you all already do it, but she goes down to her last entry and starts there so she doesn't miss any one's posting.
I hope Todd's interview goes well tomorrow he really could do with a change of scenery. Brooks just came in from school and would like to say to everyone "Hi, I had a really good day and I love everybody". He's pretty eloquent. What good kids I have.
Does anyone know if I can burn a c.d. from what I have on my ipod? I'm not very computer savvy.

Running and working!

Hello my family!

It is so great to see everyone getting on here and sharing their stories. It makes me feel at home. I really miss the laughs that we would all share around the dinner table on the b-day dinners. Can see you all now. :-) Things are going well here. Every once and awhile I'll have a hard time, because I don't really have an outlet for making friends right now. I can get pretty bummed and lonely, but it hasn't been bad since my client sent me work yesterday and says that she has more on the way. Can't begin to tell you how bored I was getting. In the weeks when I had no work I was able to complete the Harry Potter books. The 7th was amazing. I'm now reading Pride and Prejudice. Mom is going to make me read Eclipse when I'm done with it...I'll do it to humor her. That and because I have to know what she, LaNece, and Julie have been talking about on the phone.
Jake and I have been running the past few weeks. Although some weeks he would be so tired because of work that he wouldn't want to get up and run, and on those weeks we would only get one run in. This week, however, we have been very good. Three days of two mile runs, so 6 miles so far this week. We have a plan to walk for 2 minutes and then jog for 2, repeat. Next week we'll increase to either w-1, j-3 or if I'm struggling we will w-2, j-3. Today was the first time this week that I didn't struggle, and I can't begin to tell you how happy that makes me.
Jake is loving work. Dad has been so busy with classes and soccer. He and Cody don't get home until around 6, and if Cody goes to the club (soccer) practice then he doesn't get home until close to 8. He loves it so much though, and loves learning new things. Mom and I set up our website for our scoping and all that is left to do is the about us page and find a site to list on so that we may gain another client. I'm really excited for that because I need another client to keep my busy if Rossann has time when she can't work. So please keep your fingers crossed for us.
I love you all and miss you very much.