Lots of new stuff to see, make sure you don't miss anything!

A New Family Member

Yesterday Emily Mae Parkinson was born at 2:06 pm weighing 7lbs, 2oz and she is 20 1/2 inches long. From information we've gathered, Heidi and Emily are doing great! You can see more pictures on their blog HERE. Congratulations to the Parkinson family, we're glad she's here and healthy!

Teresa Driving

I learned to drive at 15, like most normal kids. My dad did the majority of the teaching. He was firm in the idea that I needed to learn how to drive a manual transmission car. (im glad hewas, because I prefer it to automatic) We practiced the first few times at my siblings elementary school. Then he took me out on the town (which in san antonio, is not pleasant- lots of construction and lots of people). We got onto loop 410, apparently I did something very wrong because he pulled the e-brake and quickly steered onto the shoulder. I thought we were going to die. Other than that experience, my learning to drive was great. My dad was a great teacher.

Jeny Driving

I like the question of the month this month!
When I started driving a about age 18, Dad (grandpa) took me out one time. At one intersection as I was slowing down for the light he freaked out and pulled the emergency brake. Then he told me he wouldn't take me out again, and I'm pretty sure I would never have asked him.
After that I relied on others to help me learn. First was a very patient boyfriend who was trying to help me learn on a standard. I was stopped at a red light in the left turning lane going from Dublin onto Academy heading towards home. I think this is the right street. It was a pretty good hill, and I couldn't get the car started without hitting the car behind me who had pulled up pretty close, so after trying through two lights I just gave up and got out of the drivers seat and got in the back of the car. John then scooted over and got us through the intersection. Serves the guy behind me right for being a stupid driver (because of course I wasn't the stupid one!)
Once John gave up my Home Teacher, Brother Black taught me. He was very patient and kind. I wonder how many years I took off his life. He finally got me to the point that I felt I could pass the driving test. When I went to take the test, the tester guy told me to take 4 right turns and parallel park on a deserted street curb. I simply had to pull forward to the curb close enough to pass. That was my test. The only thing I got marked wrong was that I slowed down for a squirrel crossing the road. By the way, never slow down for an animal crossing the road. Unless of course it's bigger than you are.

Heidi's Driving

Learning to drive was NOT fun for me! Dad, David, Mindy, Jeny and Amy all tried to teach me, and all failed. The problem was that Dad was forcing us to learn on a stick shift. I could not figure out how that clutch was supposed to work and kept stalling all the time. Finally, just before I turned 18, Kathy Southard took me and Lyle out and she was able to explain the clutch in a way that I understood. I got my license, passing the drivers exam by only two points. The guy was not thrilled to give me my license. I still don't consider myself a good driver by any means and don't enjoy any part of driving. Give me a back seat any time!!

A Plethora of Birthdays and Anniversaries

These will be oldest to most recent.

November 27th: Amy and Tarquennis celebrated their anniversary! Congratulations!

November 29th: Happy Birthday to Jason Parkinson
November 30th: Happy 21st Birthday to Jordan

December 3rd: Happy 1st Birthday to Leah
December 15th: Happy 25th Anniversary to Lloyd and Kristi! Congratulations on 25 years!

(Yesterday) December 30th: Happy 11th Birthday to Dayna!

AND brand spankin' new Emily Mae!

We love you all and hope you had wonderful celebrations! This time of year makes me wish we had more family around. We're sure glad we live by Jeny and Holly at least! Love you all!

Question of the Week...(month)

Tell about how and when you learned to drive..

Jeny's Exciting Places

Are we still doing exciting places? Sheesh! Life is getting busier without kids. What's that all about?

I think the most exciting place I have ever been is Yellowstone. I've been to Japan, Hawaii (twice), several Canadian places and even Salina, Kansas (oooooohhh!), and I still think Yellowstone is the coolest place on earth. How do those things keep going every day year after year? And the mud pots are probably my favorite thing ever. Driving in a cab in New York was exciting, but not in such a good way. Hawaii (or any beachy place - Tahiti next maybe?) is my favorite place to go because beaches are great, but I'd have to say Yellowstone for exciting.

Mindy's Exciting Places

So, I think Vancouver is the most exotic place I've ever visited. Canada is the furthest out of the country I've ever been. But I think the most exciting place I've been is the San Diego temple. We planned that trip for 10 years, and it was not a disappointment. That is one beautiful temple, inside and out. Some day I would like to travel, but really I get most excited about visiting people, not places.

Heidi's Exciting Places

I have two most exciting places I've visited, each for very different reasons. The first place that came to mind was the Savannah desert in Kenya on safari. It was on my birthday in 2005 that I was within inches of an adult male lion in the wild. That was heart stopping exciting! What an incredible experience. Actually, I think all of us in the jeep were more terrified of the herd of elephants than we were the lions. Those things were huge and they made our jeep driver nervous. When he got nervous, we got nervous.
The second most exciting place I've visited is the Bahamas. It is so beautiful and seemed like a dream to be snorkeling and sitting on the beach down there. Jeny, you would love it!

New Question of the Week!

What was the most exciting place you ever visited and why was it exciting?

Happy Belated Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Miles! He's 5 now! His birthday was on the 12th but I was and school and working ALL day! And then traveling and working ALL day the next day and the next and then recovering yesterday. So here we are. Happy birthday Miles! Hope you had a fun birthday! We love you!

Heidi's Classes

I honestly can't think of a class in high school that I feel has benefitted my life. I hated every minute of high school. The best years of your life?? Not a chance. I'm living those right now. I did enjoy choir, I guess. Actually, my human anatomy teacher was really great. That was an extremely difficult class for me, but I think I learned a lot and actually still remember quite a bit. I still know what a purkinje tree is. Not that it helps me in my daily life to know that, but I do.

Mindy's Catch Up

Paper's done! I can catch up now. My favorite one on one time with Dad was when I'd snuggle up with him to work on a crossword puzzle. Most of the time I wasn't really helping him, as he let me believe, but every once in a while I'd get one he didn't know, and boy did that make me feel like big stuff!

Dad, I think it's funny that of all the academic classes you took in high school, typing is the one you most appreciate now! Typing wasn't even a whole class for me. It was just a part of computer time. Funny. I do really appreciate knowing how to type though. That's the skill I learned in school that I appreciate too. I think the academic skill that I most appreciate is grammar. We all learned that from Dad too, but it makes such a difference to know how to speak and write correctly.

Mom's Catch Up

I've been trying to think of a special time with my Dad. He was gone a lot of the time. He worked out of town most of the time, from Sunday night to Fridays. When he was home he was working with all the widows in the ward. I guess the time I remember most was the time in his later years when I went with a tape recorder to talk about his life.

The teacher and class I appreciated most was my High School English teacher. Can't remember her name. I loved to read and language was important as you can imagine, when I married into Dads family. They corrected constantly. I can't imagine how it would have been iif I hadn't had that background. I also am very glad I took typing.

I want to remind everyone of the pictures being due soon to Tricia. Please get them in.

Jeny's Most Useful Class

Maybe I'm not answering this the way you want, but my most memorable/useful class was Greek History in junior high at West Jordan Junior High. Not because the class itself taught me anything super useful, but the teacher certainly did. He taught me that sometimes you just need to stop and help someone out, even if it seems like a silly little thing they could do on their own. Sometimes those perceived little helps make a big difference. I think I've mentioned the story before of this teacher taking a broken necklace from me during a test and fixing it for me. He told me to concentrate on the test and he would do what he could with the necklace. I'm sure he had better things to do. He showed me that day that my success in his class was important to him, therefore I was important to him. In a time when I thought nobody cared and I was a big nobody, he made me feel like I was somebody. It's a stupid little thing, I know, but it really had a huge impact on me. You just never know when a stupid little thing you do is going to have a huge impact and help someone. You can never help others out too much. If it's a hard thing for you to do, just try smiling at someone that looks upset. Making them smile will brighten their day just a little bit, so start there.
The end of my lecture. Now imagine me smiling at you.

Grierson Family Photos

I've been waiting for quite a while for Jeny to tell me all her favorites so I could do a post, however, she has yet to do so. Therefore I chose for her. We took these over conference weekend and I'm sad because it was raining so we had fewer spots to choose from, also there weren't very many pretty fall colors yet so that was sad too. Anyway, here are a few. (There are 3 new posts today make sure you don't miss any of them!)

New Question of the Week

OK! Not wanting to let this blog lie idle, here is my question for the month.

Of all the classes and teachers you had in high school, which do you find most useful or the one you most appreciate today.

To answer that for myself, I think that my high school typing class was the most practical for me. First there was my little portable standard typewriter. Then, it was electric typewriters -- especially at work. And, finally (at least so far) is the keyboard on my computer. I am so thankful that I learned to type. It makes it possible for me to communicate with family much more effectively than I could otherwise. And to do so many other things. Endless is the list.

Grandpa Lauritzen

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Teresa! Teresa turns 25 today! Hope you have a wonderful birthday! We love you.

The Power of Prayer

I wanted to share with everyone an experience we had this week. Alex was walking home from school with a friend a few days ago and they both decided they needed to "go". So Alex set his cello down on the sidewalk, the cello we rent from the school, and went down into the drainage ditch. While he was down there someone came driving by in a pick-up, saw the cello, and helped himself to it. Needless to say I was very angry and upset. We filed a police report but had to wait until morning to do anything else. The next day Alex asked me to call his teacher before class but I told him he was going to have to tell her himself. His teacher called me around noon and said that someone found the cello on the road about 2 miles from where Alex had stopped and called the school. How we got it back is a long story, but we got it back. The interesting thing was the conversation Alex and I had right after I told him the cello had been found.

mom- "So what do you think?"

Al- "I am so lucky!"

mom- "Really? Did you say your prayers last night?"

Al- "Yeah, and I said them this mor...Ohhhhhhhhh"

mom- "So now what do you think?"

Al- "Prayer is Awesome!"

-Amy

Just In Case You Didn't Know...

About dearelder.com

It's a really REALLY easy way to write to Spencer from your computer (Grandpa)

All you need to do is set up an account. It's free, don't worry. They you can click on write a letter. For Spencer, since he is in the MTC you just select MTC for the mission and then the only info you need is

Elder Spencer Grierson
MTC Mailbox # 317

Type something up, and they send it to him. It's great! Once he's in Brazil I think it will cost something, but even then I don't think it's too much. What I did when some of my friends were on missions was put like $10 on my account and then every time I wrote a letter it took it from that balance.... Anyway, make sure you write to him this week!

Happy Birthday!

Little miss Sara turned 3 on the 26th! Happy Birthday Sara!

Jose also had his birthday on the 26th! Happy Birthday Jose!

We hope you guys had great birthdays! We love you!

Heidi's One on One

One-on-one time with my dad in a family with 9 kids? That was a very rare thing! I do remember one night waking up in the middle of the night having had a bad dream. Dad took me down to the green chair and rocked me and sang to me. No conversation or anything, but it was really nice to have him to myself for that small amount of time and I felt very comforted and safe.

Teresa's Answers

So I'm still here, just been quite the slacker when it comes to blogging. :)

My fears- I don't remember having alot of fears when I was little. I remember having to sleep facing the wall because I was nervous about those huge Texas bugs climbing up the wall and getting in bed with me. So I guess you could say I'm "scared" of huge bugs. They really give me the creeps. Im also scared of alien movies. When I saw Signs in the theaters, I almost left in the middle of it when they watch the video of the party in Mexico and the alien shows up. Its not so much the actual movie, but the music buildup was pretty good at getting you good and scared. :)

Junk drawer- haha which one?! I have quite a few junk drawers with different junk depending on what room your in. The junkiest would probably be the drawer next to my bed... medicine, crayons, scrapbooking books (mini ones), pictures, tape, jewelry, nail polish... and thats just what I can think of off the top of my head. Thats really where I put stuff when I find Cassie has something she's not supposed to be playing with. :)

A moment with my dad- I'd have to say one of my favorites was our 2 week moment when the 2 of us went to Spain together. We made it a habit to get these lemon slushies and churros con chocolate on a regular basis. It was really nice just to be in Spain and it just be the 2 of us so there was no arguing or anything (cause that was before me and my siblings really starting getting along and playing together on purpose). That was a really fun trip and I can't wait to go back with him someday.

Holly's Junk

My junk drawer is full of the same stuff as everyone else's. Like Amy's, mine is kind of small and I have yet to organize some things, so it is quite stuffed right now. I have the typical pens, pencils, tools, batteries, scissors, picture hangers, etc. One unusual thing I have is a large lump of coal that Matt got for Christmas last year from his work. I know, I know--teachers in Utah get paid very little and hate their jobs. What can we give them for Christmas that will help boost morale? A lump of coal! Very poetic. But, I am keeping it in case we ever need it some day. Might be useful for a child's stocking.
As for this week's question, I think the most memorable one-on-one time with my dad is when I was attending Ricks College and he came up and drove me to Victor to see his old haunts. On the drive there he told me about the summers he used to spend there and some of his favorite memories. While there we saw his grandparents' house, the location of the ditch that used to be there where his cousin drowned, the cemetery (very pretty, by the way), and his cousin's house. It was a very nice trip and I got to know my dad a lot better.

New Question.

Question of the week:

Tell about a one -on-one experience with your father.

Amy's Junk and Stuff

I know I am really late but it's been crazy at my house. Anyway, my junk drawer in this house is a lot smaller than the old one so it is crammed full. I have rubber bands, pencils and crayons, picture hangers, crazy glue, balloons, a bag of miscellaneous hardware, I think that's about it. I use some of it occasionally but I keep it there because I don't want to clean it out. There are so many other things in my house that need cleaning, the junk drawer is on the bottom of the list.

Hmmmm, fears. I was always afraid of the monster under the bed at night. That's why I wet the bed so much as an older child, I was too afraid to get up. I think the only thing I am afraid of now involves my family but I try not to think about that much. I think fear is a terrible emotion and I really don't understand why people like to feel it. I am not afraid of roller coasters, I just really don't like the feeling of falling. I love to fly but hate the landing because of that feeling.

Have You?

We wrote to Spencer today. Have you?



Also, I'm starting to do the food storage blog again in hopes that people will actually start sending stuff. Send ideas and tips you have for your food storage! Even recipes for food storage items is a great idea!

Write to Him

Spencer William Grierson
MTC Mailbox # 317
BRA-BRS 1222
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793

Family DVD

Attention All Family Members!!!! If anyone would like a family video done this year like we have done in the past I will need photos NO LATER THAN November 15th! Please mail me a CD with the photos you have that you want included. If I don't get any from you I will assume you don't want to be included and or want a DVD. Totally up to you, if you want the DVD send some photos! :) TRICIA

Thanksgiving and FR 2010

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and Jeny and I were talking the other day about who's coming! Please comment and let us know whether or not you're coming. I know some of you won't be able to make it but hopefully the rest of you can!

Not much of an update for FR 2010 other than please remember to send Dad money for the FR fund. As a reminder this fund will be for our food and miscellaneous things at the reunion!

Happy Anniversary

Happy late wedding anniversary to Mindy and Jason! They celebrated their anniversary on the 15th of this month! Congratulations!

Mindy's Junk

So I actually have several junk drawers. One is full of tools that I use in the house, so it's really full. Another has different kinds of tape, some extra plastic floor protector things (you know, the things you put under metal legs or wheels to keep the carpet from rusting), thumb tacks, and other fastener type things. Another drawer has the phone book and other little phone directories for the law school students, elemenary school, ward. There are also papers in there about upcoming events, stamps, extra film for my old camera that I don't even use any more, and the sharpy. The last junk drawer has envelopes, note pads, pens, stapler and staples, glue gun and glue sticks, extra batteries, scissors, and a car charger for a cell phone that we no longer have. Hmmm. Time to clean out the junk drawers.

Heidi's Junk

My junk drawer is right under the phone, so it has the phone book taking up a lot of room. I also have spare Christmas bulbs because it's easier to get them out of the drawer than out of storage when I need one. Some pens and a pad of paper, and strangely enough even some dental floss. That gets used occasionally to cut dough, or for a quick fix after some corn on the cob. Don't worry, there's a bathroom right next to the drawer, so it' not as though we go flossing in the kitchen. There are also keys that I don't know what they open but still have a hard time throwing away, chapstick, and phone chargers. Oh, and that's where we keep our "Don't Eat Pete" game for FHE.

No Brazil Yet.

Well, we just got the word. Spencer will be entering the PROVO MTC on Wednesday, Oct 21. The Brazilian consulate just decided to change it's Visa application process, so no visa's have been received by the group that was going there next week. They are going to be in a Brazillian group in Provo until those visas are complete. This is good, I think. Now Spencer will go and figure out what he has forgotten before I have to send it to Brazil. And I get to keep him for an extra night!

Mom's Junk

My junk drawer has all the things you use when you don't have time to run get them. Pens, Pencils, Picture hangers, rubber bands, scissors, drawer protectors when baby comes, glue, white out, batteries, a couple of balloons, safety pins.

It has really been cold here. I think it was 22 on Saturday night so now all the beautiful leaves will turn brown and drop off. But the sun is feeling nice here today.

Everything is about the same. Nothing. new.

-Mom

Question of the Week

I forgot to put a question, So here it is. Name the things in your junk drawer and tell why you keep them.

-Mom

Spencer's Non-Farewell.

Apparently in Utah we have found ways to get around the "don't have a missionary farewell" counsel. The soon-to-be missionary speaks in sacrament meeting the Sunday before he leaves and that is everyone's cue that there is going to be an opened house for him. It's not a farewell, because none of the rest of the family can be part of the program. I suggested that I might not do the opened house, and was told that people are going to show up anyway. So here is the announcement to my family that Spencer is having a non-farewell next Sunday. He speaks in church on the 18th at 11am. You can sit with me and make faces at him. BBQ at my house afterward, during Sunday school. I feel guilt - a little. Come join us and we will feed you. 8 more days until he leaves.

Tiger

We finally got Tiger to let us hold... it. I still don't know, but we say him. So now you can see how big he's getting.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Emma!! I can't remember how old you are. I want to say 7 but maybe I'm wrong. Anyway we love you and hope you have a wonderful birthday! We can't wait to hear all about it!

Lori's Fear

Did I say that, Jeny? Go figure. I was probably trying to sound very wise.

Anyway, like Heidi, I was afraid of everything! Electric sockets, zucchini poisoning, not having enough of everything, Kristi's karate chops in the middle of the night, being grabbed by the "monster" as I climbed up to the top bunk (Kristi exploited that one endlessly), and of course the piano keys at night (because, you know they come alive and turn into teeth when no one is watching). I truly thought Dad was trying to kill me when he pulled me over to the kitchen in Fremont during the night to "touch" the "monster" and show me it really wasn't there. That monster had made me wet the floor in my bedroom door-frame more than once and I guess it was starting to smell. I still don't like scary movies (I do believe in ghosts and evil spirits), and I don't like the unknown very much, but for the most part I'm not such a scare-d-cat anymore. Good thing since I live alone in kind of a creepy neighborhood, right?

Holly's Fear

I, like everyone else, was afraid of the person under my bed grabbing my feet when I stood up. Did someone tell us a story that made us all afraid of that? That fear stayed with me for a long time. I was scared of a lot of things as a child, but losing Mom was probably my biggest fear. I was afraid of roller coasters and water slides for a long time. I'm not afraid of a whole lot anymore. The thought of losing a family member is scary, of course, but I am able to vacuum and shower when I'm home alone and I can sleep with my door closed.

Kristi's Fears....

Honestly I don’t remember being afraid of anything when I was a child. I know there were periods when I was afraid of the dark, afraid of someone under my bed grabbing my feet and other standard childhood fears. None of the fears have continued into my adult life though. 2 years ago during the fires I was terrified when we went to help a friend evacuate and the smoke was so thick that I could not see the cars my kids were driving right in front of me (or so I thought). By the time I got to a place where I could see I had no idea where anyone was or if they even got out. I guess that means I am afraid of losing a member of my family. Maybe someone else remembers something I was afraid of. Lori, any memories?

Jeny's Fear

"Fear is a Fool of the Devil." - Lori
I just had to put that in before Lori or Kristi got to it. Good memories. So my big fear as a child was of the hand that was going to reach out and grab my feet when I got out of bed at night. It had to be dark. Apparently the hand went away in the daylight. Now the hand has turned into the axe murderer coming up my stairs. That's why I have to sleep with the door opened. I have to be able to hear when he comes up the stairs. I also can't vacuum when nobody else is in the house. He (the axe murderer) might come up behind me when I can't hear. I'm also very afraid of going downhill fast. Roller coasters are my enemy. Skiing is not my friend. Parachuting and Paragliding are just called stupid in my home. Spencer wanted to go stupid last weekend, and wasn't able because of the wind. I am very grateful for wind that prevents stupid. I'm also afraid of driving in Utah, but it's required. Mark won't take me everywhere I want to go. Mean.
I have no real catching up to do. My world is consumed with sending Spencer to Brazil. My first missionary and my baby. No kids left at home. I am experiencing withdrawal. Right now I only cry in inappropriate situations like at restaurants and grocery stores. Maybe next week I'll cry at home in private, too. My fridge is empty because all my shopping time is spent collecting those all important missionary things like shoe polish kits and 13 pair of socks. I would guess this isn't a big thing for most people, but you just go out and try to find 13 pairs of black sock that would fit on feet the size of skis.
That's it. I really have tons of fears but I try to concentrate on other things so I don't go batty. Oh, wait. That didn't work.

-Jeny

Heidi's Fears

What wasn't I afraid of as a child? That's the real question. I was terrified of the dark, bugs, getting stuck in snow drifts and freezing to death, and thanks to Mom's story about Grandma, evil spirits. I have grown out of most of my fears, not out of maturity, but out of necessity. When Jason would go out of town for basic training, TDY's or whatever, I had to learn to overcome the fear or I got no sleep. Lots of practice has cured me of my fear of the dark. With kids now afraid of bugs, I have to be the tough one and kill them, and I now find some bugs very fascinating. I think my height has fixed my snow drift fear (either that or I haven't seen Colorado snow in way too long) and my faith has almost eliminated my fear of evil spirits. That one might still need a little work.
I'm glad to see we're getting things started again on the blog! Our basement bedroom is almost finished, so I will have our most exciting before and after pictures yet to post hopefully by November.

Mindy's Fear

I was afraid of ridicule as a child. That's the reason I never learned to roller skate or do a cartwheel, and why I didn't learn to ride a bike until I was 12. I didn't want my siblings and friends to make fun of me. It's been a hard lesson to learn, but now I'm able to take myself less seriously, try new things, and laugh at myself sometimes.

I want to do another Tiger update, but he really doesn't let anyone hold him. He bites whenever I get near him. Advice, Jeny? He's getting big. He's about 9 inches from tip to tail now. He eats a lot. Loves crickets and grasshoppers the most. He needs a bigger tank. I've been watching Craig's list and have been amazed at the amount people want for their tanks! Too much.

The kids are doing great. Jonah has started piano lessons this school year, so now all the kids are taking lessons. Good thing we have a piano and electric keyboard so they can all practice every day! Dylan's getting really good and hoping to play piano in the jazz band this year. Megan just started taking karate classes at the community center. She's enjoying that a lot. Kate plans to do ice skating lessons starting the end of this month. Jonah's already looking forward to Spring soccer.

Jason and I are doing well in school. Jason loves all his classes except one. I have staight A's so far. Anatomy is hard, but really interesting. My kids are learning it too. They quiz me with the flashcards while I make dinner or fold clothes. Jason and I do homework together at night. Oh, cute. That's my life now. No time for projects, just school, basic family and church stuff, and sewing.

Conference was wonderful. I feel so blessed to be able to watch it all at home over the internet. Technology is great sometimes! When we were kids we only ever went to one session. Now my family watches all 4 general sessions, and the kids even get excited for it and pay attention. Jonah's not quite there yet, but the other kids love Conference.

Aladdin.

Don’t get bored at the beginning. You have to keep watching -Kristi

(P.S. while I was watching this Aaron thought it was two different people. Look this guy up on YouTube he's got a few different ones. )

Mom's Answer + an Update

I was put in a basement bedroom alone. The stairs didn't have backs and I was always afraid as I was walking down them that someone would grab my ankle from behind. I still hate to go downstairs in the dark without backs on the stairs.

It's really autumn here. We got a good freeze last night--it was 30 when Dad got up this morning. The begonias are very frozen. The leaves have been falling all week and it's really beautiful. We have leaves of every color now. If you drive down Summerset a bit, you can see bright yellow, red, orange and green trees, Pikes Peak, and Garden of the Gods if the sun is shining on it. It really is an amazing sight. I think winter is close. The wooly catapillar is very wooly now.

Matt got busy today and started peeling the linoleum in the laundry room. It is really glued on good. I think it was more work than he thought it would be. Will be nice to have it look good. When he does something it really is done perfectly. He detailed Dad's truck and it looks brand new.

Please write and let us know what is going on at your house.

New Question of the Week.

Hey you guys, We need more blogs. I miss you all too much to not hear about you. So, here is a new question of the week.

What were you afraid of as a child? Did it carry over into your adulthood?

-Mom

San Antonio

As you know, Grandma and I were in San Antonio a few weekends ago for Joshua's baptism. We left on Friday the 21st and got back Tuesday morning, the 25th.

We were supposed to get home on Monday night, but as Amy was taking us to the airport, she got into a bad car accident. She hit another car in the tail end, that car hit a third car, and that car hit a fourth car. We learned some days ago that the insurance company has totaled her car. Too bad. It was a very nice car.

Nobody was seriously hurt except Grandma. The seat belt caused a deep bruise to her sternum that forced her to be taken to the hospital emergency room. They checked her out thoroughly and said that nothing was broken, but that she had a bad bruise. Or, possibly, a separation of one or more ribs from the sternum. It makes it hard for her to breathe. She has been told by two doctors that it is going to take 2-3 weeks for this to heal. She is in a lot of pain and has basically been living on pain pills. She is just now starting to realize some improvement. I have a big dark purple bruise across my chest from my seat belt, but it doesn't hurt unless I push on it. So, I hope I am smart enough to not push on it. Makes sense, eh?

So, we missed our Monday night flight, and got home Tuesday morning. Some fun, eh?

Jeny, Mark and Spencer were there for this event. Lori was there for the baptism also along with Nico. Jose came up to pick up Nico Sunday night so that he could go to school the next day. It was his first day. Jose really looked good, and we rejoiced in being able to give him a hug and tell him how much we love him. Amy's children all went to school for their first day on Monday, too.

The baptism was very nice. Spencer performed both the baptism and the confirmation. It was his first experience with both, and he did it very well. He said afterward that it was the best experience he had had in a long time and that it was perfect preparation for his mission (as you know, he is going to Brasilia, Brazil and leaves on October 20).


Otherwise, our visit to San Antonio was very nice. Neither Grandma nor I enjoyed the intense heat. It was oppressive. But, we got to see the Alamo (my first visit there, Grandma's second) and rode the boat through the River Walk. Both were impressive and enjoyable.

Christmas? Sure.

I thought since Christmas should be starting about . . . oh, today . . . that I would send the Christmas list so we all can remember who we have. I got this list off last year's blog and moved everyone down a row, so I hope it's right. Especially since I have presents for Heidi's girls already! I am confident that I will be corrected if I'm wrong. I love being in this family!!!

Lori has David
Kristi has Mindy
Jeny has Heidi
Amy has Holly
David has Matt
Mindy has Lori
Heidi has Kristi
Holly has Jeny
Matt has Amy

Merry Christmas!
-Jeny

Late Birthdays and an Anniversary!

There are a lot. We'll start from the beginning of September!

1st

Happy Birthday to Heidi and Holly!

On the 5th it was Mark and Jeny's 22 anniversary! Congratulations! I thought I had a picture but I guess I was wrong. I can't find one. Anyway, happy anniversary!

The 8th.

Happy Birthday Lydia and Katrina!

The 11th.

Happy Birthday Jeny!

And yesterday the 12th!

Happy Birthday Ashley!

We love you all and hope you had very fun-filled birthdays! Send emails to me so I can post about your birthdays ok?? Deal.

Courtney in the Marching Band.

Nico or Derek?

I have two pressed souveneir pennies now and have forgotten whether it was Nico or Derek collecting them. Someone, please let me know and they will get sent. I could have emailed Lori or Tere about this, but then there would still be nothing new on the blog, would there? Anyone have a great question for the week? Is anyone still out there?????

Caution: graphic post.

On Thursday I slaughtered chickens for the first time! I'm wishing I'd taken my camera because my family likes gross things like that. My chiropractor told me he had six roosters that he needed to get rid of, and didn't have room in his freezer for them, did we want them. So Jason and I went over (he lives just across the highway from us) Thursday night expecting to just pick them up. Well, they weren't dead yet. They were just 6 or 8 weeks old. It takes that long to tell if they're male or female, I guess, and too many roosters in one yard cause problems. His daughter caught them in a big net. Then he showed Jason how to hold it by its feet, put his foot on its head, and pull the head off. Then they just threw the body off to the side to let if flop around and bleed out, and threw the heads to the dog. Ew. They finished catching and killing (I couldn't do that part) and then he showed me how to skin them (Jason couldn't do that part, so we make a great team). It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was kind of like skinning a chicken from the store, except that the skin was covered with feathers, it was warm, and the skin actually comes off more easily. And the guts are still inside. That was gross. After we skinned them, his daughter (she's 12) did the gutting. She's been doing it her whole life, and likes that part for some weird reason. There wasn't as much blood as I thought there would be. It wasn't bad. And we took home 6 fresh tiny young chickens. I haven't cooked them yet. I've been told by lots of people that fresh young chicken is the best, and there's a noticeable difference from store chicken. It'll take 3 of them to feed us, they're so small. I'm looking forward to it!

-Mindy

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was Courtney's birthday! Happy Birthday Courtney! We hope you had a wonderful birthday! I want to say you're 14 but I could be wrong. I'm pretty sure I'm right though! Anyway, happy birthday cute girl!

Fun Trip

Jeny and family just went on a trip to Moscow, Washinton state and Vancouver. There are a bunch of new posts, so take a look. You will want to go back through the "older posts" area because there are too many for the front page of the blog. The post titled "Mindy and Jason's House" is the first blog posting, and probably the best one. Check out the giant pizza and the crooked sister!

Dragon Update and A Lost Tooth

Jonah lost his first tooth a couple of weeks ago. That's out last first tooth! Sad. He was pretty excited about it.

Also, here's Tiger at 3 1/2 weeks old. He's healthy and happy. Probably only Jeny will care, but I will put on periodic updates of his growth. You can see he's already grown a lot from the new hatchling pictures Jeny put on her blog. He's so fun! Jonah loves to hold him and he's very careful.

A Whole Lotta Birthdays!

Things have been crazy for me lately to say the least. Anyway, I have quite a few birthdays to catch up on. Sorry if you are one of them and felt left out! I promise it wasn't intentional!

On the 7th:

It was Tarquennis' Birthday!Uncle T turned 50 this year!

On the 15th:
It was Josh's Birthday!

He turned 8 and will be getting baptized this Saturday!!

Yesterday-the 18th:
It was Shannon's birthday!

She turned 3!

And finally today- the 19th:
It's Kelsey's birthday!

She turns 22 today!

Happy birthday to all of you. We hope all your birthdays were just great! We love you all and we're so glad you were all born into our family! Congrats to Josh for getting baptized this Saturday! We can't wait to hear about it!

Happy Anniversary.

Go Here!

Camping Trip