We had a very busy month of October and it looks like November and December will be even busier…I guess that is life with 4 yungin’s.

Susie has some great news to share…she made the basketball team at school! She is very excited and of course her Mom is beyond excited!!! When she called me on the phone to tell me the good news I started shouting “Wahoo!!! Way to go Susie” She started laughing and said “Uh Mom…everyone can hear you!” So of course I had to shout even more just to embarrass her. I could hear a bunch of kids laughing in the background. It was great!

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So with this added on her schedule goes like this: school (of course), basketball each weekday for 1 and 1/2 hr., fencing on Mondays, YW on Wednesdays, and play practice 2-4 times a week. Busy girl. She asked me today if she could get a big calendar to put on her wall to keep track of it all. She is really enjoying the play they are in. It is Scrooge and she is Emily, the fiance of Fred, so she gets to wear a frilly pretty dress and hang onto a good lookin’ 15 year old boy’s arm…so she is a happy camper…can’t say the same for Daddy O who is not liking his little girl growing up! Susie has also taken on an important role at church. She has started playing the piano for YW, they haven’t had a pianist for a long time so they are happy to have Susie play for them. She does a great job. We haven’t had her in lessons since leaving Logan but I still have her practice 3 times a week and she has done great! She is such an amazing kid. She has grown up and matured so much this last year. We are very proud of her!

Becca is also pretty busy. She has chorus practice twice a week after school, they are getting ready for their Christmas Concert. She is also the newspaper editor for her school so she is staying after school sometimes for that. Then she has fencing on Mondays and art class on Fridays (she has done some great art, she is so talented) and Activity Days twice a month on Wednesday’s. Oh and also play practice 2-4 times a week. She is also in Scrooge and is playing the part of Richard and has to sing a trio…she is a little nervous about it but is doing awesome! Both she and Susie are wanting to try out for the next play the Theater is doing in the spring – Narnia. That is going to be a big one. Tryouts are in a couple of weeks so we will see how they do. Becca is still our crazy, nutso kid who keeps us laughing. She is a jokester and prankster too. She has gotten Jason more than once. Give her a couple more years and he is going to have a hard time keeping up with her…she is a smart one!!!

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Katie reached a milestone over the 3 week Fall break from school. She discovered that she loves to read! Yeah!!! I was getting worried about her. It was a fight to get her to read 20 min. a day. Her reading skills were right on but she just didn’t enjoy reading like Susie and Becca both did at this age and much earlier. But over the break something clicked and she fell in love with reading. Whenever we would go anywhere she made sure to have a book to read on the drive. I would find her on her bed reading, on the couch reading, on the floor reading. It was just so great. Way to go Katie!!! Katie started piano lessons, she has been begging for months now and we found a local teacher finally (still 15 min. away but closer than going to New Bern or Morehead City). She has a recital in December to get ready for. She is really enjoying it but not as much as she is enjoying fencing with Daddy! This kid has gone crazy for fencing. It has really motivated her to make good choices and get her stuff done so she can participate. We had a Primary Talent Night a week or so ago and for her talent she challenged her Daddy to a duel and she won. 🙂 She looks so cute in her uniform. Katie is counting down the days until her birthday (Nov. 19) and her baptism (Dec. 6).

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Xander is into Super Hero’s. He wants to be Spiderman for Halloween and has been planing it all month and wearing the costume as often as Mom will let him(which has been pretty often), practicing putting it on by himself. One day he asked if he could wear his Spiderman costume with his Batman mask and his Superman cape for Halloween! Xander still loves playing puppy. He also loves to play cowboy. He found some rope and so now he has a lasso to go along with his hat and he runs all over (outside) throwing that rope around and catching things (usually his puppy). He is so cute! He is going to start seeing a speach therapist in the next couple of weeks. He is still not able to say his C’s or K’s at all. We were in New Bern a couple of weeks ago and we drove by the Cow Cafe (fun little restaurant that is all decorated in dairy cows) and the kids asked if we could go get a ice cream. Xander got in on it too asking to go to the “tow tafe”. I told him as soon as he can say Cow Cafe right we will come and celebrate! So he kept trying to make the right sound and the girls were trying to get him to and they were having fun but after awhile he started to get frustrated and he cried out “I am never going to be able to say tow tafe right” Poor kid!

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Xander was thrilled to have the fire department come for a visit. He was excited to see the great big firetruck and spray the fire hose. There are also pictures of him at his Halloween party and parade. He really loves preschool!

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Jason and I celebrated our 15 year anniversary on the 21st of October. Jason was very sweet, he sent me flowers and took me out to a fancy dinner in Beaufort, right on the waterfront. He called and said we HAD to be there by 5:30 for our reservation. So we made it right on time…good thing he made a reservation ha ha…we were seriously the only ones there on a Tuesday evening!!! We had the place to ourselves. Our waiter was so attentive he should have just pulled up a chair and joined us! I think he filled my water at least 10 times. It was wonderful though. Jason wanted to be there by 5:30 so we could watch the sun set over the ocean. It was absolutely beautiful!

Reflecting on our 15 years together we have had a lot of joy and wonderful things happen to us but we have also had our struggles as well as heartache. It seems like we have experienced just about all life can dish out and thankfully have become stronger together. We have been blessed with beautiful children, we are healthy, we have the gospel in our lives to give us strength and direction daily, wonderful extended family who have been there for us, wonderful friends both near and far away to make each day brighter, satisfying work to support ourselves. The struggles and heartache we have suffered together have over time made us stronger. It has taken me years to find my way back to myself after loosing Olivia, I never could have made it without Jason by my side, accepting me and loving me no matter how messed up I was. I am truly blessed to have him as my Eternal Companion. We have also been through 9 years of schooling together achieving 2 bachelor’s degree’s, 1 master’s degree and a semester away from a 2nd master’s degree (that felt like an eternity), moving 7 times (the first 5 times were in the first two years of our marriage…what were we thinking??? The last, of course the most stressful, moving across the country). Lot’s of different jobs, finally settling into a real job and thinking we were joining the real world only to be laid off after 3 years. Which led to a time of unemployment and all the stress that brings (not a fun time). Church callings that have been both stressful and wonderful. Starting up a business, starving the first year and a half and then running like a chicken with it’s head cut off trying to keep up with running the business until we decided to sell. Crazy!!!

So yes, we have been through a lot together and I know life will bring more. But we will enjoy those sunsets together, we will laugh with our children and hide our tears as we watch them grow, we will enjoy our family and friends, we will be faithful and work hard and we will face whatever challenges come our way together…

This is us 15 years ago…

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Since Jason had Monday off of work we decided to leave right after church and go on a short camping trip. It was wonderful. We really love camping and don’t go often enough. We went to Goose Creek State Park near Washington NC. About an hour away. The kids had the greatest time, exploring, playing in the dirt, digging for sharks teeth, going on hikes, swimming, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows, staying up late, sleeping in a tent…the whole camping experience!!! Jason and I loved getting away from home, work, school…life… and relaxing a bit!

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This entry is about Rain, Fencing and Lizards… strange mix I know…

I wanted to share some photos of the kids playing in another rain storm. It was really coming down, it was a little cold but not too bad. The kids begged to go out in it! They have so much fun! There are a couple of pictures of Cowboy Xander too…he found Susie’s old riding boots and put them to good use!

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Now for Fencing… This has become Jason’s latest passion – besides me of course 🙂 He became interested in Fencing while watching the Olympics (does this story sound familiar…he did the same thing with Curling at the last Olympics) he found a Fencing Club through the Rec. Center in New Bern and signed up for it. Susie and Katie wanted to do it too and so he signed them up as well. They have gone several times now and the excitement rubbed off on Becca and so she just started. It is a great deal, $40.00 pays for the entire year and they provide all the equipment! Can’t beat that! These pictures are before Becca started so I don’t have any of her yet…

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Katie is still very obsessed with her creepy crawly critters… her favorites are lizards and frogs. But she also loves snails, crickets, praying mantises…what else has she caught??? We made a deal with her that she could catch them and keep them for 2 days then she has to let them go and she can catch something else. She has been really good about it and takes care of her critters. We have only had one night of trauma of her letting a frog go, the neighbors could hear her sobbing! Well recently she caught two lizards, one male and one female. She was holding one and it kept opening it’s mouth and she was telling me how no matter what you put in it’s mouth it will clamp down on it. To prove it she put a tiny bit of her shirt in it’s mouth. Sure enough it clamped down and would not let go. We were laughing about it and so she did the same thing with the other one. Katie was very proud showing off her Lizard ‘accessories’. Well when it was time to put them back in their cage she couldn’t get them to let go. Daddy had to come help! They held on tight and left small holes in her t-shirt!

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Well having two lizards in the house was just too much temptation for the cats. They knocked the cage over and got a hold of both of them. Of course it had to be Katie that came down and discovered the cage tipped over and both cats right there. She started screaming at the cats and freaking out, Daddy came in and saved the day again. Both lizards were rescued, one we really didn’t think would make it, but it did. It had two large teeth holes in it’s back. The other one’s tail was damaged but not too bad considering…

We be better. Thank you all for the warm thoughts. We both had great check-ups and visits with doctors who support our lifestyle. The neurologist Dave saw in North Carolina in January was kind of irritated with us, said we should stay in one place so we could get proper treatment. Dr. Schloesser, the neurologist Dave just saw in Bend said, “That’s eastern thinking. Do what you’re doing as long as you can, it probably keeps you younger.”

Dave did better on his cognitive testing than he did in January. Dr. S. spent three minutes looking at Dave’s brain on his monitor, and 10 minutes looking at the Bluebird web site with us. Dave likes him.

I am off insulin, taking an oral medication that mainly keeps the liver from releasing too much glucose into the blood. My blood sugar numbers are very good. I still test three or four times a day. I’ll be faxing my numbers to my doctor in Bend every month. Now that I’m off prednisone and on a diabetic diet (lost 11 lbs.), I am hoping to stop the diabetes meds before long.

We’re so grateful for our Bend friends and so sorry we could only stay a few days. We will be back in Bend in early June for a longer visit and we’ll eat with you all (small portions, no cake)!

We’re very interested in this year’s presidential campaign. We both support Obama but have doubts that he can be elected because he’s black.

When I was in high school, my mother came home from Mass one Sunday and said a colored man was at church that day. In 1957 there were few black families in Eugene, Oregon. The next Sunday she and I watched the colored man come in with a petite white, blond wife. My mother, who prides herself on not seeing color and who raised two kids with only minor biases, was, nevertheless, very tight lipped. “Well, it’s the children who suffer,” she said. And the next Sunday, sure enough, the colored man and the tiny blond wife were at Mass with a chubby, chocolate baby. I could feel me mother’s “tsk, tsk.”

But, after church we went outside to see a bright red auto with Hawaii license plates and the colored/white/chocolate family got into the car. It was Mr. Souza, the new coach at St. Francis. And in one moment of recognition, he was no longer black. He wasn’t even colored, and his wife was perfect, his baby darling.

I’ve thought a lot about this over the years and wondered what made the difference in such quick acceptance of this man. Was it because he was from Hawaii, where we think everyone is kind of mixed race? (Once you knew Mr. Souza was from Hawaii he looked slightly Asian.) Or was it because he was ours – the coach who would lead us to a championship.

It’s human nature to rationalize when we want something we don’t quite approve of. My favorite piece of laundry room wisdom comes from Moses Lake, Washington: the lady said, “Well, he’s not really black-black; his mother is Filipino or something.” Totally misinformed, still she’s trying to find a way to vote for Obama.

We are finishing up a job in Rawlins, Wyoming. While the texture of the land was very beautiful traveling east to get here, varying from crop to crop, once we arrived we were almost at a loss for words. We don’t very often end up in a place we can’t wait to leave. This might be it.

Rawlins grew from the transcontinental railroad coming through, and now has a population of around 9,000. It is surrounded by oil fields, and the little company town of Sinclair, 2 miles down I-80, is built around a huge refinery. The town is a good example of what happens without a plan and no zoning, lots of trailer parks and open spaces of blowing dust. Geologically, the area is very interesting, and part of the town is wedged under what is called “the uplift.” The lady at the museum says that the uplift shows evidence of life from the beginning of time to the present, all exposed in rough layers.

On our way to Rawlins, we stopped in Rock Springs, WY for the weekend and drove south to meet Jamie’s parents at Flaming Gorge, a Utah landmark. Jamie’s sister Lisa and her neat kids also came. It was great to see them, and we were once again, agog over the beauty of Utah. It is very hard to believe that we are here, in the armpit of the West, only 100 miles or so from Flaming Gorge. The wind blows pretty constantly, and with an annual rainfall of less than six inches, there is plenty of dirt to blow around. I guess we should be grateful it isn’t snowing, because most of that precipitation comes in the form of snow. Days are still sunny; nights are near freezing.

Rawlins is preparing for the construction of a 2,000 unit wind farm. We can attest this is a good spot for a wind farm. It’s hard to imagine the impact of a project that big. We may have to come back next year just to see what has happened.

Love to all,

Susie has been so very excited for her first time going to the temple to do baptisms for the dead. It was a beautiful day and wonderful to be in the Temple with not only Jason but Susie as well. Susie has grown so much in this last year. Not only is she becoming a beautiful young woman physically, it has been an amazing thing to watch her grow spiritually. She is truly a blessing in our family.

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Just a few photo’s of Xander and his first day of school. He is finding his name on the star. He recognizes X for his name and will cross his fingers in a X and say “X for Xander!”

And a few photo’s of Xander’s latest obsession…Spiderman and Superman. Mostly Spiderman. I got him some spiderman undies and he was so excited to wear them. I opened up the package and said “Oh no, these are huge, they are not going to fit you!”. He quickly replied, “Uh huh, they will too fit me, I have a big bum!”…he really wanted to wear them. And as the pictures show he found other uses for them too! What a character!!! The kid really likes his underwear!!!

I also threw in a couple of Becca and Katie on ‘Hat Day’ at school. They looked cute! Xander was very nice to share his cowboy hat for the day!

Just a quick update on the girls. Susie and Becca tried out for a Christmas play (Scrooge) at the community theater and made it. They are both working hard on their parts and are very excited to be a part of it all. Becca also started a art class every Friday afternoon. She has loved it and has done some great art. Becca is also doing School Chorus too, busy girl! Katie has been begging to have piano lessons again and we finally found a teacher. It was funny, one person in our ward found out about her and spread the word and within a few days all her spots were taken by Mormon kids! And last but not least all three girls are reading up a storm. I can’t keep up with them. At the library I had a huge bag of books, and the lady behind me asked how long it takes me to read all of those books. I told her most of them were for my girls and now that school is out for our 3 week break this pile will last them 1 week! It is so great, I love that they love reading…

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We went to Flander’s Beach for FHE one night and took a bunch of photo’s. There are some real nice ones. Thought we would share them with ya’all!!! The kids had a great time playing in the water, sand and rocks. Katie is in heaven with all the critters she finds. This time a fish skeleton! Xander was thrilled to be going on a hike with Daddy, wearing his hiking boots ‘like Daddy’. Becca brought her book along, she is never far from one! And Susie spent the evening trying to NOT get drug around by Roxy…no success there!

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Jason and I had the opportunity to escape for a few days together. He had a conference for work that was in Washington DC. We have some wonderful friends here who were willing to watch the kids for us. Good friends are a blessing and we have been truly blessed here in North Carolina!!!

Jason spent the days in meetings and I spent my days being extremely LAZY and loving every second of it! All I did was eat, sleep, breath and read the Twilight books…it was so great! Jason would get back from his conference and then we would go see the sights and find a fun place for dinner. He tried to talk me into a Ethiopian restaurant but I wasn’t too thrilled about the thought of eating without utensils. I have to admit that we were a little surprised by some of DC. I guess I was expecting it to be more like New York, real busy, packed with people, more touristy feeling. We were still wanting to do stuff when things started to shut down. I mean for heaven’s sake do people not need to pee after 7 pm??? Even the bathrooms are locked up!

We really enjoyed all the historical sights we were able to see, of course we couldn’t see everything in the amount of time we had. Jason’s contribution to this entry is to let all of you know that the Bush’s weren’t home when we went to see them at the White House! Thanks Jason! Our favorites were the WWII Memorial, it was absolutely beautiful, the design and symbolism used was so touching. Iwo Jima or the Marine Corp Memorial was at the top of our list to see, seeing this amazing symbol of the Marine Corp means more to us now that we know personally some of these men, women and families who serve and sacrifice for us ‘civilians’ today. All I can say is they are amazing. Another one we loved was the FDR Memorial, it has so much history, so much happened during his time as President. The Vietnam Memorial and Korean War Memorial were also touching. The Washington Monument was beautiful to see from all over the city. We spent a lot of time in Arlington Cemetery. Words can’t describe the feeling there. It is a sacred place. The changing of the guard was so amazing and again sacred, we stayed and watched it twice. Both times feeling the heaviness that war brings, the sacrifice, the death. We were only able to make it to one museum so we choose the Holocaust Museum even though we knew it would be heartbreaking, which it was, this is something everyone should experience.

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