It's Christmas Time Again!!

Riding the ferry - Seattle, Washington , Thanksgiving day

I can't believe it is Christmas again!! We hope the end of 2007 finds all of our friends and family happy and healthy!! We have had an eventful and fun year. Can't wait for 2008 with elections, lots of snow for skiing, summer olympics, and some fun travel plans!! Hopefully we'll get to stop by and visit with all of our friends. For any of you travelling through Boise, we have a great guestroom waiting for you...just give us at least an hours notice!! Here is to a great New Year and a Merry Christmas to all!

For anyone so inclined to continue reading, here is a quick update on our family:

Isaiah - age 3

Isaiah is all boy....trucks, trains, planes, motorcycles....we are thinking he may have a career in the area of transportation. He started preschool this year and loves every minute of every day. A classic example of his personality is when one day we decided to ride our bikes to preschool which is about half a block and 3 or 4 minutes away. It took us almost 30 minutes because we had to first stop and investigate the ice which he saw on a car window, then we had to stop because he found a birds nest on the ground, then we had to admire the dragonfly lawn ornaments of our neighbor, then there was a tow truck and he was beside himself it was so exciting. His enthusiasm, personality, and curiosity are contagious and he has many, many friends (including some imaginary). We are so thankful he is part of our family.

Eli - age 9

Eli is a fun kid to have around. He loves reading, wrestling, playing foursquare at school, video games, and hanging out with friends. He is in the fourth grade and is having a good year at school. He is excited to ski this winter and he adopted a pet Anole (small green lizard) from his classroom which he named Xeno. Eli is a great guy to have around the house. He keeps us all getting along and always has a good joke to tell.

Ramona - age 11

Ramona started middle school this year. It has been quite the challenge because she isn't a morning person, but she is managing better than we anticipated. She likes art and plays the flute and she recently starred as "Super Locker Girl" in her class video...we always knew she was a drama queen. She is taking dance 3 days a week this year and most of the time she really enjoys it. She is a natural with kids, and we couldn't half as much done without her around to help us with Isaiah. Eleven is an interesting age, but Ramona is handling it with style!!

Alex -age 13

Alex finally passed mom up in height and shoe size this year. She also got braces which look pretty good on her. She switched from saxophone to Oboe and seems a natural at it. She really enjoys playing the piano, reading, reading, and reading, dance, and drama. (did I mention reading?) She played the lead in her class musical version of Taming of the Shrew and did a fabulous job. We are having fun with a teenager in the house!! (we can say that because she has only been a teenager for one month!)

Jon- Full time at Hewlett Packard, full time dad, part time basketball player

Brooke - Full time mom, part time advocate, trying to be a part time runner!

Send us an e-mail, mail a letter, or give us a call!! WE love to hear from all our friends!

Happy Holidays!

Summer at last!

Isaiah and cousin Eleanor hanging out!

Boating with Uncle Brad and auntie Kate

Fort Rock Park - Sunriver Oregon

Summer at last.

We were so excited for summer to come and it seems like it flew by in such a hurry. Summer found us busier than ever. In June and July the girls were on swimteam and both did very well. Mona was amazing at breaststroke, and Alex was unstoppable with her backstroke. We took a couple quick trips to Utah, spent a day at Lagoon and a few nights in Park City. In July is when the real adventures began. We had Jon's parents 50th wedding anniversary celebration and reunion in Utah which was so much fun. Right after that, Brooke and Alex headed up to Bulltrout lake for a week at our church's girls camp. (Alex went for the first time, and Brooke was the lifeguard/leader). Ramona, Eli, and Isaiah took off for Seattle while we were gone. Working on little sleep after a week camping, we joined the rest of our family (met Jon at the airport just off a business trip) and headed up to Semiahmoo resort in Northern Washington just on the border of Canada. We had the honor of standing in the wedding party for Brooke's little sister Heidi as she got married. It was a beautiful wedding and a really nice vacation.

Semiahmoo, Washington

Directly after the wedding, Jon left to Memphis for business and the rest of the family (along with Brooke's sister Kate's family) extended our vacation at Sunriver resort in Oregon. Jon joined us after hopping all over the US for work and we finally had a few days to do nothing but swim, golf, and hang out!! It was a lot of fun, but we were really happy to be home after all those adventures.

Some milestones for the summer were reading Harry Potter # 7 FINALLY!!! Isaiah learned to ride a bike. Eli got pretty good at roller blades. We painted our house - yeah!!...no more pink. Brooke did the Rexberg triathlon with friends. Most of all, we had fun with lots of friends and family!! We are now rested and ready to head into fall!!

Eleanor and Isaiah at sunriver

WINTER/SPRING HAPPENINGS 2007

Ramona and her Seattle Cousins Eleanor and Olive

Alex and Olive

Isaiah and best bud Sam braving the cold to play outside!

Well...I thought I might be a good blogger and post lots of everyday happenings. I have since discovered, that keeping up a blog requires logging in, thinking of witty things to say, posting pictures, (and therefore, taking pictures), and last but not least, remembering to do it! Since, as a family of 6 plus dog, we are short on time, I am going to give you the list version of all our latest doings:

• work




• gymnastics




• piano




• dance




• preschool




• church




• Isaiah's 3rd birthday




• tubing at Bogus




• skiing - Isaiah and Eli loved this for the first time




• more skiing




• quick visit to Seattle




• Volunteering at school




• more of the first six items listed




• National History Day Competition - Go Alex!




• Selling Girl Scout cookies




• Speed jumproping competition - Go Mona!




• Jon takes a quick trip to Moab to mountain bike




• Easter




• Race to Robie Creek 13.2 miles and straight up a mountain - We did it!




• still more of the first six items listed




• Baseball




• Softball

• track




• band concerts




• dance recitals




• piano recitals




• clogging recital




• Eli turns 9




• School is out!!

Isaiah learn to ride his bike!!

That takes us into June! I am sure that there were many fun things that happened in these first 6 months of the year, but just getting through each day was enough for us. Some of the most memorable moments were Isaiah zooming down the hill at neckbreaking speed on skis for the first time, Ramona striking out 3 in a row in softball, Eli's perfect piano recital with a perfect bow, Alex the 200 meter hurdle queen, and finsihing Robie Creek (don't ask us our times....we did it)!

We are looking forward to a nice relaxing summer...OOps!! just checked our calendar and apparently, no relaxing, but lots of summer!!

Grandpa Wayne

I wanted to remember my grandfather who passed away this past December. He was such an amazing man and I am so glad for his part in raising and helping create what I think is a pretty amazing family. I am also so grateful for the many memories. I will always remember fishing on the lake, 4th of July, the river, his singing, and his always loving and always accepting personality. My kids mentioned memories of poker chips, sourdough waffles, e-mails, Eli getting his harmonica, and his red Christmas vest!!

We miss him, but we want him to know how much we love him!!