The pictures did not post so I am trying again.

Larry and I have been home sick today. I woke up with chills and aches and Larry had nausea and stomach pains all night. We slept all day and got someone else to do the primary class and we are feeling better tonight. Erick has been busy with his ward all day so it has been pretty quiet.

I called Sara and she said that they had all been sick lately too. Some of the boys had to have antibiotic. She is busy getting ready for an enrichment night party this Thursday. She said that her mother and her and the boys went out and cut their own Chistmas tree. That is a real woman woman for you, add to that she is pregnant and her mother is fighting cancer.

We have had a somewhat stressful week this week. It has been the end of the semester at the University of Utah. Erick spent three days this week mostly at school finishing up projects but it paid off for him. His team tied for 1st in the Frisbee throwing competition that they had to build a Frisbee thrower for. So he was feeling pretty good Thursday night. He drew up the contraption in 3-d on CAD so that impressed a few people too.

Monday night I had ESL class as usual and things to finish up for school. I got home about 8:30 p.m. Larry had done the laundry and gone shopping for me again. Plus he was working on homework for his class on Tuesday night.

Tuesday Larry took the day off to work on homework and get things finalized for his class. He got home about 10:30 p.m. from class. I stayed at school and did National Academic League practice and then stayed working on my school project waiting to see if parents would come to visit for parent teacher conference. I had sent home a letter that I would be there for them because I could not be there on Wednesday because of my class. I left at 6:00 p.m. because my visiting teachers were supposed to come at 6:30 p.m. I had a good visit with them and then put some finishing touches on what I had to do on the final presentation for Wednesday and went to bed.

Wednesday went well. My classes went good and I stayed after helping a girl with her pattern layout for Clothing. I ate the Parent Teacher conference luncheon and then went to my class. Our presentation went really well and the teacher gave us alot of conpliments on it. I came home feeling good because he said that if I finish up my schooling in IDET that there are a lot of things that I could do and encouraged me to continue.

Thursday I did not feel well all day but I made myself keep working and I stayed after school again for a couple of hours for parents again. I actually had one parent come in and I spent the time calling and emailing parents who had left their name and number the night before for the conferences. I left at 5:00 p.m. and went to a class at the University of Utah about the electronic portfolio's we have to develop for the Technology endorsement. I stopped on the way home to get some laminating I had dropped off at Kinko's for a game I wanted to play in Foods the next day. They had done the order wrong so I ended up going to look for some dice for a few minutes and then waiting for the order for an hour. I ended up getting home about 9:30 p.m. But I got the order for free because they had messed up.

Friday I forgot to hand out a sheet asking for volunteers that I had gone early to type and run off. Then the game did not go over good and I had high hopes for it. We had faculty meeting and then I read my email and by then it was 5:00 p.m. and Larry and I were going to the temple. I actually made it home in time and we made it back in time for the 6:30 p.m. session with the ward. Larry and I got dinner after the session and came home to go to bed.

Larry had stayed home Friday and gone to the doctor. He is working with the doctor on an insulin pen that makes it so he can eat more of what he wants and then give himself some insulin. He also went to the foot doctor and got fitted for some orthotics and had a check for neuropothy in his feet. I was shocked that he actually went to the doctor without having to be urged to go.

Larry worked on Saturday morning. I went up to Fran Brown and Maren gave me a manicure and pedicure and we had a good talk. I like to go in just to have the chance to talk with her. Landon called while we were there and said that Brinlie had thrown-up after taking a bottle. But she seemed to feel okay later. Maren and I went to lunch and then she had to take the car home to Landon. She tried to get Brinlie to walk for me but she wanted nothing to do with walking then.

While I was getting the manicure I called the last of my brothers and sisters and everyone said that they could come to a party on the 30th of December. Because we are going to Texas and I am in charge of the party I decided to have the Presser/Christiansen party with the Jenkins party in the after noon and then our family can open presents before or after the big party.

While talking to Kathy I found out that Amy may be getting married in June. She has a boy friend who wants to marry her but it is still up in the air for some reason. Amy also bought a town home in Provo now because she works there 4 days a week.

Aunt Chris is doing well but they expect that it will be 2 to 3 months before she can go back to work. It takes about six months to completely recover. Apparently they found out the problem was worse than they thought when they got into the surgery. She said it was the most painful thing she has been through. They have moved her bed into the family room so she can be with everyone.

I took the car in to get it serviced and got gas and a car wash. By the time I got home it was 1:40 p.m. I worked on some things on the computer and then Larry decided we had better get things ready for Matthew's birthday party. Kirsten had called and wanted a ride to the party because Jon was working, but Maren had also called and asked us to take Brinlie because Landon had got tickets to a concert before they got the invitation to the party. So we took the malibu to Kirsten and then went shopping for a present for Matthew. Kirsten had gone with her mother-in-law, Ann, to a shower for someone in Jon's family earlier in the day and was not home.

We left for the birthday party at 5:15 p.m. after Maren and Landon brought Brinlie. Brinlie walked for us then because she wanted to get to Frescas. They had the party at Chuck-e-cheese most of the family was there. Jake doesn't get home until about 7:00 p.m. so he was not there and I already mentioned that Jon and Maren and Landon couldn't make it. Kristen got there after us because Kyle got a migraine on the way down and they had to stop for him to throw up. Michelle was also late because Jaron threw up on the way down and they had to go back and clean him up. So it was a good day for throwing up.

They had everything ready. Plenty of Pizza and soda for everyone. The kids were having a ball and I was having a hard time hearing everything. Lexie was excited because she had lost her first tooth so we took a picture of her that I will add. I will also add some pictures of the party. Matther seemed to be having a good time. Jeff and Michelle's grandmother Marie was there also. She has been up this week from California visiting with them.

Grandma and Grandpa have been calling us this week trying to get us to fly but I think that we are still going to drive. Nathan and Sara would also like us to fly but Larry wants to drive.

Well, hope you are all ready for Christmas we aren't but we are getting there.

It has been a busy week. All of us at home have had projects and team projects to get done for school. Usually we are home on Saturday's some but we all left by 9:00 a.m. and no one was home until about 5:30 p.m. yesterday. Then we all went to the ward Christmas party. Maren and Brinlie even came for a few minutes.

We had a great Thanksgiving at our house. Everyone was here except Jeff and Misty and their family and Nathan and Sara and their family. Michelle came about 12:30 p.m. with her family and they had a good time playing Phase 10 with Erick. Larry worked Thanksgiving morning to follow an old Presser Tradition. But he was home in time to eat and be tired the rest of the day. We ate about 3:00 p.m. and had all the good things for Thanksgiving. Turkey, Rolls, Dressing, Cranberries, Mashed potatoes and gravy,Yams, Peas, Jello Salad, Fruit salad and several pies and cheese cakes. Michelle make cranberries. Nikkie made mashed potatoes. Kirsten make pumpkin pie, Maren made three kinds of cheesecake, and I made a lemon, apple, and banana cream pie and the rest of the dinner. Most of the family had left by 7:30 p.m. to go to the spouses family but we had a good time together while they were here.

Nathan called in the morning and talked for a while. Sara and the boys had gone to the border to be with him for Thanksgiving. They were cooking dinner in his apartment and having a good time.

Jeff called in the afternoon and they had a good time with Misty's family.

Ethan and I made his seven year old quilt the day after Thanksgiving and we were acturally able to complete it in one day. We had Kirsten's kids here while she and Jon went shopping and they all helped tie it along with Larry and Erick so we were able to complete it that day. Ethan also had fun playing a computer game with his cousins that day.

Saturday morning I went to have Maren do my hair and then I went to the Kaysville Nativity display to watch Ethan and Hailee's choir perform. I had to go pick Larry up from Salt Lake because the car stalled on him and would not start after work. After a dinner with him he helped me record graded papers for school so I could get the progress reports out on Monday. It was midterm this week so getting that done last week was a big help.

Monday the 27th I got new students in TLC so I had to be at school. Tuesday I took off to work on a project that is due for school next week. It took me all day until about 11:00 p.m. that evening to get everything ready. Larry had class that night and a presentation to do. He said it went well but he was gone until about 10:30 p.m. BJ sent me a text with a picture of his Christmas tree that night about 11:00 p.m. and I was able to have a good talk with him for a few minutes. He and his roommate went out and bought a christmas tree and ornaments so they could have a tree.

Erick came home on Tuesday ready to go to bed at 4:30 p.m. so I knew he was sick. He has had a cold or flu all week with a runny nose, congestion and a cough so he was home several days right after school going to bed but he still got his 30 hours in at work so he was surprized. He is counting the days until school ends. He is working on a frisbee thrower for his class, he calls it an alternative dish washer because you can load the plates into it and launch them off and shoot them with a shotgun.

Wednesday I had school and class. Larry did some wash while he did his home work. He was able to help Michelle take the kids to a concert they had to perform and see the kids perform at a local elementary school. Daniel has been out of town all this week so she was grateful to have help with the younger kids. Larry held Jaron until he fell asleep. Erick was sick but he still went to school and work.

Thursday I stayed at school helping students finish their sewing projects for TLC until 5:30 p.m and then picked up dinner at McDonalds and met Larry at the Family History Center were we worked until 9:00 p.m Erick was just fixing his dinner when we got home after sleeping the afternoon.

Friday I had midterms due. BJ stopped in at school to see me after a meeting for work in Salt Lake. It was good to see him. He also saw Maren when he went to get his hair cut. I stayed at school until 10:00 p.m to finish my grades so they would be finished for Monday morning at 7:30 a.m. when they are due. Larry worked on homework. He was in bed when I got home. Erick said this was the first day he started feeling better. He got home about the same time I did from work and school.

Saturday as I said we were all busy. Larry went to work in the morning at 7:00 a.m. and then had a meeting with a school team to work on a project after work until about 5:30 p.m. I met my team about 10:00 at the U of U and we worked until 3:00 p.m. then I went home and ran a few errands. I called Kirsten and she sounded like Erick has so she has been sick all weekend. Erick went to work then to be a model for Maren's second practice test and get a hair cut. After that he went to the U of U to meet his team to work on the Frisbee thrower. Then he came home and rushed to the temple to meet his ward. Then we all went to the Christmas party which was a good relaxation after a long day, and dinner was already fixed.

Ethan and Hailee performed Saturday night at the Festival of the Trees in Salt Lake City. Michelle said it was the first time they had been to Festival of the Trees.

Today was fast Sunday. The choister in Primary asked the children to think of a gift they could give to Jesus. She said that it is a tradition in their home to do this for the first Family Home Evening of December and then the children work on their gift the month before Christmas. The gifts are changes they can make or commandments they try to keep better. I thought it was a good idea. I hope we can focus on the spirit of Christ for Christmas.

Larry and I and Erick and possibly BJ are going to Texas for Christmas to be with Nathan and Sara and their family. We are leaving on the 21st of December and will drive. We are hoping to visit Larry's sister Judy on the 22nd and 23rd and then go to where Nathan will be. He is hoping to get some time off and be in Houston but we do not know where he will be yet. We have to come home on the 26th so Larry and Erick can go back to work. Hopefully we will be home on the 27th.

Aunt Chris had back surgery on Thursday and was having a fever yesterday so it would be good if we could all remember her in our prayers.

I talked to Aunt Annette tonight and Amber and Nate were out for Three weeks and just went back today. Adrienne and Drayton have moved into their new house so Annette and Rex are finally empty nesters until Weston gets home.

Larry talked to Aunt Judy tonight and Mike is taking a two year course on Helpicopters with the police department that will make it possible for him to be an instructor when he gets finished.

Well I need to go to bed. If I forgot something about you then make a comment on the blog. Love to you all.

Well, what do I say tonight? It has been a fairly calm Sunday. Choir, Church and dinner after. We made brownies for our primary class and then gave the rest away because Larry and I do not need the extra sugar and Erick has decided that brownies are not his favorite.

Michelle is feeling better this week but still tired. They went up to Midway this weekend to stay in a time share that they have. They swam in the crater and had a good time as a family for Friday through Sunday. Ethan's choir group is singing at the Kaysville tabernacle at 3:00 p.m. this Saturday. They are coming at 11:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day so if anyone wants to see them they will need to come earlier.

Misty's Grandfather is recovering well and has feelings on both sides of his body and is off of the respirator so they are feeling good about his chances for recovery.

Maren and Landon both have a membership at Gold's Gym so they have been going together and taking turns watching Brinlie. Maren only has 250 more hours to get before graduation so she said that if you want something done before she leaves school you will have to come in soon. Brinlie just got her sixth tooth and has been fairly grumpy through the whole thing.

BJ has been frustrated because the car insurance is charging him double what Erick has to pay so we have been trying to find out why this week but have no answers. His roommate moved out of the apartment because because he has involved with marajuana and alcohol and didn't like everyone checking on him. Erika had two roommates move out because of the fire so it is alot quieter when I talk to him on the phone.

Erick's ward had a service auction this last Friday to raise money for "The Road home" He donated an authentic Italian dinner and had six girls buy that so he is going to have a party with him and six girls. He paid $35.00 for a cheesecake and $20.00 dollars for a dinner with two girls, so he said to tell you he paid more for a cheesecake than a dinner. I think he is looking forward to giving and receiving the services he bought and they raised $3000.00 for their charity. He is looking forward to the end of the semester for school.

Kirsten bought a Christmas Cactus yesterday because of her fond memories of my Christmas Cactus's. It is even blooming. They are both working two jobs and trying to stay sane. They raked up their leaves this weekend. Jon started his internship and is tired because they are moving something. They have the girls for Thanksgiving this year so we will get to see them.

Jake and Nikki have had all the family sick this past week. Everyone has colds. Jake worked 6 days last week so he is feeling like taking a day off to help him get rested. Lexie had her Primary Sacrament meeting today. They had the Father's sing the adult part with Lexie's class so Jake was able to sing with Lexie in the program today. He talked like he enjoyed it. Nikki had her Relief Society craft night that she has been preparing for this week so she was busy with that. Jake was helping Nikki's parents lay some tile yesterday in one of their bathrooms.

Larry did a lot of cleaning on the house this week. The office is cleaner than it has been for a year. He also did the laundry which was nice to have an automatic clothes washer, dryer and folder. He said he was going to patent the process. He bought him some new temple clothes this week and quite a few things at the church distribution center. He doesn't seem to be as stressed with school lately so I guess he is studying things that are easier for him to understand.

We went to the temple on Thursday and were able to do some names in Theo Pollock's family. Yesterday we went to see "Pirates of the Carribean 2" at the Kaysville Theatre. It was fun to have the time together.

I have been teaching sewing in TLC which is always stressful because we have to get done in two weeks and I have to trade rooms with Karen Taylor. We have a big project that is due for the Instructional Technology Class on the 6th of December and I have had to do a lot of reading to keep up with what I am doing. I have also had a lesson plan to write for the ESL class I am taking. I too am looking forward to the 6th of December.

Yesterday all my brothers and sisters and the spouses that could met at the Chuck-o-Rama in Draper for Dad's birthday. All the siblings were present except Craig who is in Iraq, but several spouses could not make it. Larry had to work so he could not go. It was fun to talk with everyone. Kathy said that Cory and Rebecca are expecting and Keith and Chris said that Erika and Craig are expecting. Aunt Annette has braces so she looks 30 years younger. Oh, and Dad predicted that BYU would lose yesterday so we know what he knows about BYU Football. Actually he was just disagreeing to be disagreeable.

Thanksgiving is at our house at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday. Have a good week.

Larry is as a Priesthood preview for our 11 year old primary boys right now. He had to give a talk. Erick went home teaching and then to Provo to see some Italian missionary friends so I am home by myself tonight for a while. It is actually good to start on the blog before 8:30 p.m.

This week was an exciting week for Michelle and Daniel. Michelle had her appendix out on Wednesday after a night of stomach pains. She came home on Thursday and was feeling good but woke up with a bruise on her stomach on Friday. Ethan had a piano recital on Friday and when Daniel got there with all the kids he said they had put her back in the hospital because they were worried about internal bleeding. We thought she might get out on Saturday but when they checked her blood it was down so they kept her in the hospital. That was when I ask everyone to pray for her and fast today if possible. She was able to come home this evening and they think that everything is going to be okay. But I hope you will keep her in your prayers.

Maren took her first test for completion of cosmetology school and passed with a 97% so she was feeling pretty good about that. She cut Landon's hair because he was the only person that needed a half inch off and they told her she would have an easier time finishing in the 30 minutes if she chose someone with straight hair next time so she has already informed Erick he has to grow is hair. She did a great job on Landon's hair though and finished in the 30 minutes. I got a free facial and manicure in the deal plus an acrylic nail that Maren was able to take off (because it was just on one finger.) It was interesting to see how they do the acrylic nail. Maren said that Brinlie is grouchy today.

BJ has mostly been busy with school and work. He helped Ericka paint her apartment yesterday. Right now they think that they may have to pay $1400.00 dollars for the fire damages to the apartment, but they don't know for sure.

Erick spent a lot of time on school this week but he spent most of the weekend working to make up for it and he took two days of vacation so he would have some money. He went shopping with me last night after Brooke's baptism and confirmation so we had a good time talking then. He went down to visit with some friends from his mission tonight in Provo.

Speaking of Provo, I am so excited about how the BYU Football team is doing this year. It seems they cannot be beat.

Kirsten and Jon had Brooke this weekend for the baptism and confirmation so they had a get together with everyone at their house after. Brooke was baptised and confirmed at her mother's ward and then we all went to Kirsten and Jon's for punch and cookies. It was fun to get together. If I can get the pictures uploaded then I will add a picture of their family after the baptism.

Misty has been in Montana with her brother and sister and the kids, visiting with her Grandfather before he had brain surgery for a tumor. He was diagnosed with a tumor about two weeks ago and so they went up to talk with him before the surgery. It is still undecided about how he will do but he could die if the surgery is not successful. They wanted to talk with him before the surgery because there was the possiblity that he would not be the same after the surgery. Jeff said that he is enjoying working graveyards because it is not quite so stressful. The kids had flu shots this week and Owen was grouchy tonight.

Jake and Nikki came up for the baptism and confirmation yesterday. Ashton would let me hold him without crying so I was excited about that. Jake said that Ashton is getting more teeth so he was grouchy today also. Ashton is learning a few words like "I don't know". Nikki has been busy with the Relief Society Enrichment board working on a craft night that is coming up. Lexie is learning to read better and having fun in school.

Hailee was excited last week because she had lost three teeth and now this week she is excited because she is getting her "grown-up teeth". She showed them to me at Ethan's piano recital.

Sara has her ultra sound tomorrow but she said that they still do not want to know what it is. David is enjoying his coop preschool that he is in on Fridays. There are 7 children so Sara only has to teach once every seven weeks. Isaac is saying some words like "I love you" and "bye, bye". He talked to me on the phone tonight while David played twister. Gail is living with Sara again while Nathan is gone and they have the room. They had some family pictures taken when Nathan was home Halloween weekend and the sent them to me to view. They were really nice. Nathan said that they had a number of activities for Veterans Day there that were fun to attend this week.

Larry went to a class this week and learned a lot about nutrition for diabeties. He has been reading some of it to me. It sounds a lot like what I have been trying to tell him for the last 5 years but what do I know. He has been frustrated that the laptop died. He took it into where we bought it and they said that it was fixed so he brought it home and it did the same thing so he took it back and got a new hard drive and brought it home and it is still doing the same thing. He needs the laptop for his school work so he was not a happy person last night when it did not work again.

I made it through another week of school work and going to school and got most of it done on time. My class at the U of U ends on December 6th and I am already counting the days.

Larry and I worked at the Family History Library on Thursday. It was Dad's birthday so I called him. We are celebrating his birthday this week sometime. We went to see Michelle in the hospital on Friday night besides the other things I have mentioned. We are busy but we are happy and relatively healthy. Have a good week.

We can't forget Owen the bumble bee!

Some Pictures of our Halloween Grandchildren

I am hoping to add the pictures of the fire BJ experienced.

Well, it is Sunday night again and we just finished playing Uno Attack with Maren and Landon and Erick and Kristen Taylor and BJ, while Brinlie chased the dog and tried to eat the cat food everytime we put her down.

We had a historic stake conference today. It was broadcast from the conference center to all of Davis and Morgan county Stake Centers. The Stake Presidency spoke at the Saturday night meetings but this morning they had talks from Merrill J. Bateman, Boyd K. Packer, and Thomas S. Monson. They reminded us of several things but the importance of prayer was one that I wanted to stress. I also Thought about the Book of Mormons that I gave my kids last year and wondered if they had read them yet. I would like to challenge them to read them again if they have.

BJ was down for the day. He had an exciting experience on Friday night. He was with a girl who lives next door and she was fixing him and another couple dinner. She put some oil on to heat and went to the other room for a minute and when she got back the oil was on fire. They didn't know what to do except look for the fire extinguisher. They couldn't find the one in her apartment and so they went to BJ's apartment. That fire extinguisher would not fire so by then they called 911 and got the fire department but they finally found a fire extinguisher in another apartment that they were able to put things out mostly before the fire engine arrived. I have a couple of pictures I will try to attach that BJ sent me from his phone.

Maren and Landon were in Las Vegas all last week for Halloween and for a convention that Landon's dad's business goes to every year. They seemed to have a good time. The bought a cute outfit for Brinlie that she had on tonight. Maren is starting her state exams on Saturday. I got to tend Brinlie last night while they went out alone.

Erick has been mostly working and going to school this week. He did take off on Tuesday early to do his home teaching. He went to the movie "Prestige" on Friday and really liked that. He was raving about it.

Kirsten's birthday was tonight. She celebrated it with her family tonight. We are celebrating her birthday and Jake's on Thanksgiving with the family. Kirsten has a job with Mervyn's for the holidays as well as her job doing medical transcription. Jon has got a second job with the Standard Examiner on weekends also so I hope they do not burn out. They went to dinner last night with Jon's parents for Kirsten and Ann's birthday's so Kyle and I went to see "Pirates of the Carribean 2" We really enjoyed that and are looking forward to movie 3. Kyle was one of the good guys from the Mummy for Halloween.

Ethan has a piano concert on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at the Piano Gallery again. Michelle and Daniel had their family pictures taken yesterday. Inkley's has a great special she said. Michelle also reminded us to vote this Tuesday if you did not vote already during early voting. Michelle brought the kids over for Halloween so we could see their costumes. Kalisse was an elephant, Hailee was a princess, Ethan was Darth Vadar and Jaron was Winne-the-pooh. I thought it was funny that Jaron took two handfuls of candy just like you would expect Winne-the-Pooh to do with honey.

Jeff and Misty brought the kids up for Halloween. Leah was Snow White, Matthew was Captain Jack Sparrow, and Owen was a bumble bee. Alana, Misty's mom always does such a professional job on their costumes. She really has a knack for sewing.

Nathan was able to go home to Houston for Halloween. They had a trunk or treat at the church on Saturday night then he went back to Brownsville on Tuesday night about 9:00 p.m. He is concerned about his spot for the Helicopter school and so he called asking everyone to fast for him that things might work out if they are supposed to so they could move on. He has a new phone number in his new apartment if anyone wants it they can call me.

I talked to Lexie on the phone today and she said that she was sick with a cold so they were not able to go to church. Jake wasn't home so I wondered if it was a Guard weekend.

Larry went to a sleep clinic on Wednesday where they tested him to see if his sleep apnea machine needed to be adjusted. He has not slept well lately. He went to a diabetes clinic on Monday where they taught him more about what he needs to do to control his diabetes. He has been been able to go into work later lately and that is a better schedule for him. He seems to be feeling better. He is busy with his business classes but seems to be enjoying them and doesn't stress as much as when it was Math.

I had end of term grades to finish last week and a big project for my class at the U of U. I am the mentor for the National Academic League and we are having to start practices for that. We have another teacher to help this year so hopfully that will ease some of the stress there. I didn't have ESL class this week because Monday was a Quality teaching day where the students don't come to school but we have to be there to figure grades and attend inservice. We attended the Olympic Caulron Park near the U of U stadium for part of our U of U class. We had to determine what Goals and Objectives they had when designing the park. It is an interesting experience that would be good to visit for a boost to your spirits.

Larry and I went to the temple on Thursday's for Ward temple night. We were supposed to work at the family history center together on Saturday but Larry had to work so he got a substitute. Larry went to pick up Maren and Landon at the airport while I took Kyle to the movie.

Well hopefully the pictures upload. A few times I couldn't get them to show even though it says they are uploaded.

I should be in bed so this is going to be a short post.
We have had a busy week. Last weekend we had a birthday party for Leah at Jeff and Misty's on Saturday that many of the family attended. Then Kirsten had a party for Jon and Brooke at her house on Sunday evening. Most of the family was to that party and it was fun to see the kids two days in a row, but we got home late so I did not post anything and after Sunday it seems that I do not have any time.

Monday I went to school and found a note in my box that I was scheduled to attend a workshop that is required for my ESL class on Tuesday and Wednesday. This was the first I knew about it and so I had to find a sub and rearrange my classes because I had labs scheduled for those days and I do not like to have most subs do labs with the students. That night I also had my ESL class so it was a late night.

Tuedsay and Wednesday I had my REACH training class all day so I was not at school so I had alot to catch up on when I got back. But, It went okay and the lesson I had planned went well. I also had my University of Utah class on Wednesday so that was another late night.

I had a second draft of a research paper that I had to write on Thursday and Friday evening. Larry was also working on a paper for his class so we studied together.

Saturday Larry had to work. I went to Herriman to watch Lexie play a soccer game. then Jake and I and the kids went to lunch at Artic Circle. I was able to go home with them for a few minutes and see the garage that Jake is working on in the back. He was able to get the shingles on the roof Friday night and he only had to put in a window and a couple of doors and he will be able to lock it up. He needs to get it stuccoed but doesn't know who to contact yet. Nikki had Relief Society Super Saturday that she was partly in charge of so I didn't get to see her.

Maren flat ironed my hair yesterday to see what it looked like. I liked it but I don't have the equipment to do it myself. Landon has gone back to working with his dad so he is going to be out of town most of this week. Maren was all excited about a witch costume that they had bought for Brinlie to wear for Halloween. Maren is working at school on Tuesday and Wednesday nights from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. so if you can go in on those nights that is available also. Maren needs 15 more scalp treatments before she graduates.

Erick went out with Kristen Taylor again this weekend and she seems to quite like him but I am not sure how he feels about her. He spends alot of time at the computer lab at school lately trying to get the programs he is writing to work. He is having a party next weekend with some of his mission companions and dates or spouses so I guess I will have to clean my house.

BJ came down from Logan last night because his phone had gone out on him and they told him he would have to come to the company headquarters in the Layton Hills Mall. He has a girl named Erika that he seems to like and she is indicating that she likes him so he was wanting to tell us about that. He is having a good time at USU. He seems to have a good relationship with the apartment of girls next door and have a lot of fun with them. I hope he is studying also.

Kirsten and Jon took the kids to a corn maze for Brooke's birthday and they also got to go on a hayride. They were able to get free pumpkins while they were there so they all have a pumpkin. All of Jon's family were at the party on Sunday as well as our family. Kirsten had Chili and cornbread. Ann her mother-in-law had made a good raspberry and blueberry ice cream dessert. Kyle came over and spent the night on Saturday so Kirsten and Jon could go out.

Jeff started his first night tonight working midnight to 7:00 p.m. Misty has quit her job so someone is home with the kids at night. Owen has started crawling just this week. Last Sunday he looked like he might take off but he wasn't moving anywhere so he has really taken off this week. Leah is in pre-school now and likes that.

Michelle is upset because it looks like they will change them into the Clearfield High boundaries with the new high school boundary changes the district is supposed to make. Yesterday was Ethan's last soccer game. Michelle and Daniel took the kids to a Sunflower Maze in Farmington this week. They also got to go on a pony ride. They had pumpkins you could buy but they had raised their own pumpkins so they didn't worry about them.

Nathan is moved into his apartment. He is happy because he has a kitchen now that he can fix his own food and save some money. He has been accepted to the flight program but he now has to wait for a slot before he can go to school. The Texas National Guard has only one slot right now and he is number 3 on the list. So he was happy that things are progressing. He is feeling busy because they have 8 Officers to work with 430 men. He said that he gets to go home for this next weekend to see Sara and the boys. He will be home for Saturday through Tuesday night. Then Sara might drive down to see him.

Larry went to the doctor this week at my insistance and they are going to do some sleep tests to see why he is not sleeping well later this month. He is also making some changes to his medications for diabetes and going to a class to help him with his diet. He spent alot of time this week shopping for food and other necessities. He was frustrated because Saturday he had to get new tires for the Infinity because they were bald on the inside.

We are going to have Thanksgiving at our house this year. It will be at 2:00p.m. If you can bring something let me know what you can bring. Maren is bringing Cheesecake and Kirsten is bringing pumpkin pie or banana cream pie. Let me know if you cannot come.

Well, have a good week. I's try to get some more pictures up soon.

Maren and Landon and Brinlie just visited and brought some pictures of Brinlie for us. Brinlie is getting another tooth. She is also crawling everywhere. Frescas was having to move every few minutes because she wants him and the cats decided they wanted to be outside while she was here. Maren is getting ready for some of her state exams and Landon is enjoying his job but thinks he needs something that is indoors for the winter. He is looking at laying tile.

Jeff and Misty went to San Francisco a week or more ago. Misty told me but I promptly forgot and so when Michelle called me to see if I knew where Jeff was I told her no, so we had a panic for a night wondering if something had happened to them because they were not answering their phones for two weeks. Anyway they finally figured out that everyone wondered where they were and called. They had a good time visiting with a brother of Misty's and they took the kids to Pier 39, went riding on the trolley and on BART. They drove down so they were brave to do that with three kids.

Daniel has been working on a project for a year that his work is releasing tomorrow. They will be sending out emails about the new project. Larry didn't find out what type of project it is but maybe if you call Daniel he can explain it. Michelle is teaching joy school this week for the first time so she will be busy.

Nathan is busy at work but he was a little down tonight because he is in Brownsville and Sara is in Houston and his computer in his room doesn't work anymore and Sara's dryer doesn't work anymore so they have to figure out solutions for those problems. Nathan is moving to an apartment next week so he will no longer be in the motel. Sounds kind of permanent.

Jake is working on his garage during his off hours. He is also investigating the possiblity of getting his degree online. He can get about 30 credits for his military experience and he has the financial help from the government too. Ashton is getting more teeth and Lexie had a soccer game and she was excited because they won.

Erick went to a dinner for his ward tonight that a girl passed out at so he said it was different. Apparently she was okay. He had fall break on Thursday and Friday this week so he had a little bit more time to work. He spent Saturday doing homework and going to the temple. He got home late from the temple so he missed his friend Brian Harris's wedding so he was frustrated. He had a barbecue that he helped work on for the Latter-Day Saint Student Engineer's Association that he says went well except that he had to haul some grills that kept wanting to tip over.

BJ was excited that Utah State finally won a football game and it was Homecoming. He had two dates this week that he enjoyed and "didn't cost him a dime" to quote BJ. He went with a friend to date his girlfriend's friend and they played board games. Then when he went to the football game a girl phoned him to find out where he was sitting and came and found him and then they went to the Homecoming celebration and to her apartment to watch a movie. He is having a lean period at work so he says you can all send money if you would like.

Kirsten had been making Halloween tablecloths to carry on a Christiansen tradition. But my machine had the handwheel so tight that she had to come twice to work on it. She is also trying to get Brinlie's quilt she started before Brinlie was born done. (Sounds like she is related to her mother) She tended Brinlie a couple of days this week for Maren because Shirley went to Hawaii. She is also tending for her tomorrow.

Larry has been busy shopping for food and running errands for himself this week. He had is class on Tuesday and had a paper to write for it that he was stressing about today. He came by school on Thursday and helped me record some papers so I could get caught up. We went to Brian Harris's wedding on Saturday. It was out on 6700 West and 7500 South in West Jordan so that is why Erick could not make it when he got out of the temple at 6:45 and the reception ended at 7:00 p.m. Then we went to the Kaysville Theatre and saw "The Devil wears Prada." It was a good movie but I didn't think it was very funny.

I had ESL on Monday and on Tuesday I went down to Orem to see my brother, Craig, who was home on R&R for a few days from Iraq. His 2nd daughter Mollie was in the school production of "Into the Woods", so some of my family met there and saw the play and were able to see Craig for a few minutes. I don't know when I have seen a better Jr. High school play and I felt like I was teaching in the ghetto after seeing their auditorium. Molly did a great job on her role as the Baker's wife. And it was good to talk to Craig and Corrinne and see my other family. There is a link to Craig's website on my blog.

Yesterday I had to meet with my team for my class at the U and we finished up a project that is due this Wednesday. It was a good experience working with them.

Well till next time have a good week.

Well General Conference this weekend was truly a feast. I learned a lot but Elder Bednar's talk on taking offense was truly for me. Not that anyone in the church has offended me but I need to apply the principles at my work with the people who purposely try to make me look bad.

Maren and Landon came over during the Sunday sessions and had dinner with us. It was good to see them and Brinlie again as we don't get to see them much during the week. Brinlie is really moving around and climbing up to things. She seems to be a very bright little girl. Maren was really proud of some things she had found at kid to kid for not much that looked so good on Brinlie.

Kirsten went to be a model for Maren yesterday and had Acrylic nails put on her toes. Larry and I tended Kyle and the girls while she went. On Friday Kirsten took me in to have a pedicure with her for my birthday and we both had a chance to talk to Maren while she worked on us. Jon is busing working a lot of overtime and trying to get his truck working so he has been busy. He has been accepted to the internship he was trying for in Ogden so he will be learning a new job with UTA.

BJ was down for the weekend. He got tickets to the priesthood session of conference and asked Landon to go with him. He didn't realize that they are serious about you have to be there a half hour early and they got there about 6:00 p.m. and the conference center was closed and they had to go into the little theatre. Apparently the T.V. was not working very good there so it was a miserable experience.

Erick had his mission reunion Friday evening so he went to Provo for that. Apparently his mission president wanted to know why he was not married. Saturday he went hiking with a girl from his ward and listened to conference that way. He has been putting in a lot of 12 hour days lately with work and school so he often comes home very late. Thursday night he got home about 9:00 p.m. from school and then went to work until about 12:30 a.m. He has fall break coming up at school so he will have a little more time starting this Thursday and Friday.

Larry has been stressing over a 1200 page paper he has to write for his Economics class on Tuesday but not like he stresses over math. He also had a final exam for his statistics class that stressed him. He is able to go into work a little later so he is liking that part of the new postion. And he did all the laundry this week.

We went to Uncle Thorpe Waddingham's funeral on Monday. Kirsten went with us and we had a good visit with her. It took most of the day because the funeral was in Delta, Utah. It was good to learn more about Uncle Thorpe. We also stopped at Mom and Dad's on the way back for a short visit.

Friday night we went to see Seth and Maryn Jenkins in the stage play of Aladdin at the Roger's Memorial Theatre in Centerville. They both did a good job on their parts. Maryn was a narrator and dancer, and Seth was the genie.

I spent most of the week playing catch up at school because I missed Monday. I also missed my class on Monday night so I will have to make that up later. Tuesday I had a book club meeting I joined for school and went visiting teaching. Wednesday was my class at the U. I also had parent teacher conferences on Wednesday and Thursday but I left a paper for them to sign on Wednesday and then I participated on Thursday. I have felt frustrated because I have a lot of homework to do and school work to do but I read a scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants on Friday morning that gave me hope that I can get this all done with the Lord's help.

Sara is feeling better and they have her some medicine for her morning sickness. She had Strep on top of the morning sickness and she had and allergic reaction to the amoxicillin they gave her. She said that she had enrichment night this last Thursday that she was in charge of but it was an easy one. She is taking David and Isaac to a play group once a week and David to a preshool group once a week.
David was having fun coloring a picture of his dad on the computer. He was coloring his face red he said.

Nathan is working 10-12 hour days on the border. He is in a motel room with a Microwave, mini refrigerator, a george foreman grill and rice cooker to fix his meals on. He is getting sick of top ramen and T.V. so he is reading a book tonight. He will probably not get to go home for Thanksgiving and Christmas but he is going to be able to go to Houston for Halloween.

Jake is back working at Envirocare this last week. He is putting in long days too. With the driving it is about a 14 hour day. Lexie had the day off from soccer this week which was nice to watch conference but it was the first week to have good weather to play soccer. They painted the kids bedrooms. Ashton's is green and Lexie's is pink with pink strips. Nikki said that Lexie said she feels like a princess now. Ashton recognizes when the door opens that it might be Jake and runs to greet him when he gets home from work.

Ethan and Hailee are starting a choir in school for Christmas. Hailee is in ballet. She is in an 8 year old class but is doing well. Daniel and Michelle tended her friend Jena's younger children while they went to conference. So they had 4 kids under two during afternoon conference.

Jeff and Misty were busy tonight doing something. I don't know if she was trying to sleep and Jeff was downstairs with the kids but we could not get through to find out what is going on in their lives.

Craig is coming home from Iraq tonight. He is surprizing his kids. Molly is in a play this week so we are going to the play and then we will get to visit with him a little on Tuesday.

I wanted to add a few more pictures of the party.

We have had a busy week. Last Sunday we had a birthday party for the September birthdays. It is Daniel's birthday today. So, Happy Birthday Daniel. Hopefully I can get some pictures to upload of the party.

We had something about everynight. I had ESL class on Monday, Larry had class on Tuesday, I have IDET class on Wednesday and we went to the temple on Thursday. Friday after I got my midterm grades in we went to see the movie "Cars"

I forgot to go get one of my medicines for my fibromyalgia on Wednesday and by the time I got home it was too late to get it from the pharmacy so I went without it on Thursday also. By Thursday afternoon I was aware that it was helping me to feel better so I went and got it before we went to the temple and by the time we got out I was feeling much better.

John's Uncle Thorpe Waddingham died this week and they are having the funeral tomorrow so I spent most of Saturday afternoon at school getting ready for a sub so we can go to the funeral tomorrow. Kirsten is going with us. She is Uncle Thorpe's daughter Dana's visiting teacher so she wanted to go for her. There was an article in the newspaper about Uncle Thorpe where he was a state senator and there was the obituary. http://www.desnews.com/cgi-bin/cqcgi_dialin/@dialin.env?CQ_SESSION_KEY=UWUDUNAHNCKE&CQ_CUR_DOCUMENT=2&CQ_TEXT_MAIN=YES

We went to Michelle and Daniel's ward this morning and saw Ethan and Hailee in the children's sacrament presentation. They both did a good job on their part. Yesterday I was able to go to Ethan's soccer game and watch him play and hold Kalisse. She is wanting to stand up a lot lately.

Maren and Landon came over tonight for awhile. Brinlie was tired and flushed so I hope she is okay. They celebrated their anniversary last night and went to the Hampton Inn in Salt Lake and spent the night. They said it was really weird not to have Brinlie with them. Landon's mom and dad tended Brinlie for them. Landon bought Maren an Anniversary ring and Maren made him a scrapbook.

Kirsten has had strep this week. I suppose she got it from Jon who had it last week and also Brooke and Kennedy. She got some antibiotic but her tongue was swollen today. She had Larry and BJ come and give her a blessing. I hope she feels good enough to go tomorrow. She is hoping that Kyle doesn't get it.

Erick has been busy with work and school. He often is not home until after 10:00 p.m. trying to juggle both. He had a date Friday that he brought to the house and made real Italian lasagna for.

BJ came down for the weekend and went to the BYU/USU game with Whitney Rose. He cheered for BYU. It was fun to have him here for a few hours and talk and see him. He decided to just be friends with his friend Julie that he likes so much but he wasn't lonely for girls. He had three girls texting him all evening at different times.

Nathan emailed and said he wanted us to come for Thanksgiving or Christmas but he didn't say if he would be in Brownsville or Houston.

Jeff and Misty are busy working nights and days at something.

I talked to Grandma Jenkins and she said that there is a possiblity that Uncle Craig will be coming home for some R&R and that we can see him on the 3rd of October if we wanted to go to Molly's play that hse is in at her school in Orem. The kids don't know though so don't call the house about it. It is still iffy but hopfully.

Grandma also said that Jenny and Wade are moving to Virginia. Wade has accepted a job at a school back there. She also said that Amber and Nate have decided to stay in Georgia for at least 4 more years instead of moving to Vernal.

Larry and I just got home from the temple and I sat down to the computer and it started to downpour outside. I couldn't believe it. It was perfectly dry when we walked in the house and now it is really storming.

I just wanted to mention that Erick could have walked with the Davis Applied Technology College Graduation today because he has earned his Associates of Applied Computer Aided Drafting. He chose not to make a big deal out of it and did not walk mainly because he had a class at the University of Utah at the same time as the Graduation. We are proud of Erick and his accomplishment.

We just finished a birthday party with the family for the September birthdays. Everyone was here except the Texas bunch and we all had a good time comparing babies and having dinner and brownies with ice cream. It was Ashton's birthday on the 7th of September and Daniel's birthday will be on the 24th. It was fun to have everyone here and everyone seemed to have a good time.

Landon has a new job framing houses and seems to like it really well. They are doubly excited because it has benefits coming soon. Maren has been learning more about doing acrylic nails at school and Kirsten was her model yesterday for learning how to do forms, I think she said. Brinlie has been getting teeth and not sleeping very well. She has been congested in her throat. I tried to tend her on Friday but after about an hour I had to call Maren because she just didn't quit crying.

Ethan and Hailee had several perfromances for the Layton commemeration of 9-11 with their choir. They performed Monday night at the Kenley Ampitheatre and Saturday night at a program at Layton High. Larry and I were able to go see them on Monday. Hailee has started dance. Michelle and Daniel were not to excited about the rain we got on Thursday and Friday because their basement flooded again. They have a leak in the window well, but hopefully it is fixed now.

Jon has been sick for about a week. He has also be working on a lot of different cars for people plus working a lot of overtime. He thought he had their truck fixed and then something else had to be done that is costing more money so they were disappointed with that. Kirsten got her shoe boot off this week so she is walking normally again. Kyle and Kennedy and Brooke came over yesterday and played at our house while Kirsten had her nails done.

We all went to Jake and Nikki's house last weekend for a birthday party for Ashton. He is one year old. Nikki says that sometimes he holds up his finger and says a sound like one. He went in for his year checkup and got his shots this week. He has a bruise from the shots to prove it. He is in the 75-100 percentile for height. His hair is really growing lately and it is curly brown locks. So cute. Lexie played soccer yesterday in the cold. It really cooled off this weekend in Utah it was down in the 40's in the morning. Nikki may start babysitting for a girls that works with Jake. She is going to try it and see how it works.

Jeff and Misty have mostly been working this week with their hectic schedule. Leah started pre-school and says that they have a playground like at McDonald's. Misty said that she is learning her letters.

Erick found new respect for Daniel this week when he had to write a computer program for one of his classes and it took him seven hours. He was a frustrated man that day. He went out with one of the single teachers at my school last week and seemed to have a good time but he has been swamped with work this week. His best friend from the mission, Jason Merrell got married this last Saturday.

BJ is finding out that life can be hectic at school when you are working full time and going to school full time. His starter cylinder gave him a lot of grief two weeks ago but he was finally able to get a locksmith to look at it and he just lubricated it and it has run ever since. He didn't even charge him for the service call. He has also had a couple of girls competing for his attention. He has had them both put their pictures on his phone and he went out with one girl and the other one showed up at 2:00 a.m. and woke him up that night to tease him about the date.

Nikki said that Sara emailed her and she is out of the hospital and feeling somewhat better. She got dehydrated from throwing up too much from her pregancy. I wasn't able to get them tonight on the phone I will try again tomorrow.

Larry has been feeling better lately. His brother Tony called for his birthday last week. He has started a new postion at Discover that should pay him a little more so he is feeling good about that. He has found a lot of genealogy on one line lately when he works at the family history center. He spent all of Friday evening a week ago recording papers for me so I could get things organized for the Clothing class I am teaching this year. He is really good to help me. I know he is the reason I am more sane lately.

I started my ESL class last Monday. It wasn't too bad. I am also taking Introduction to Instructional Design at the U. They tell me by the end of the semester I should be able to explain to my family and friends what Instructional Design and Educational Technology is. I am teaching a Clothing class this year which is diffent for me. Usually I just have the TLC and Food and Nutrition that I teach. It requires that I trade rooms seventh period which is not making the girl I teach with happy.

Friday we wanted to go to the State Fair but it rained so much that day that we decided that we didn't care if we went. It snowed a skiff in our yard on Saturday morning and snowed in the mountains also so fall is on it's way.

Last night we went to a High Priest's party at the church. It was supposed to be an outside barbecue but was moved indoors due to inclement weather.

Today in church Brad Caldwell gave a very dynamic talk on the importance of prayer in combating the temptations of Satan. He pointed out that when Joseph Smith was confronted by Satan in the grove while he has praying he continued to pray to overcome the power and was helped by God the father and Jesus Christ to overcome the power that bound him. He related that to our lives and reminded us that the best way to overcome the power of Satan is to continue praying. I have found lately that what he says is true.

I got some good pictures of Ashton's party and the party tonight but I will post them later as it is getting late. I am editing this post and adding the pictures

Well for Labor Day weekend Larry and I slept in yesterday. It was nice but you don't get as much done in the day if you sleep late. Jeff and Misty and the kids stopped by in the morning on the way to see his friend Clay. After we went shopping for food and then worked on cleaning the house and homework.

Kirsten got to put her crutches away this week but she is still in the big boot. She says that her foot feels good most of the time when she walks on it. Jon is looking like he will get an apprenticeship in Ogden but they haven't heard yet. This would be a promotion with more benefits. Kyle got a 100% on his first spelling test this week so he didn't have to retake it. All the kids are doing good in school and liking their teachers.

Erick dropped his Physics class this quarter to save his sanity. He was trying to work full time and go to school full time and was getting very stressed out and very little sleep. He is enjoying the other classes but stressing over the debt he is creating with his loans for school. He is still talking to all his girlfriends but dating them is another thing he says. He agreed to participate in a Psychology department study of dating so he is going to get paid for dating, he says. He also applied for a committe for ASUU and he has joined the Latter-Day Saints Student Engineers Association.

BJ is down for the labor day weekend. He was stressing last night because he was talking to a girl on the way down about what they could do for the weekend and then two girls texted him asking him what he was doing for the weekend. I told him to enjoy it. It never lasts until you get married. He also signed up for institute with a girl that he likes in his dorm and found out that a girl that he likes from Kaysville is in the same class. He had a confusing week getting his schedule lined up at USU because he didn't understand that he had to have his tuition paid before class began and they dropped him from all his classes. He did have a good week at work though and made several bonuses. And he finally has his schedule finalized.

Maren and Landon went to Roosevelt this weekend with Landon's family for the Labor Day weekend. They were going to a cousins baptism. I don't know what else they had planned. Michelle babysat for her one day this week because Shirley didn't get back from Nevada in time and all the other babysitters Maren has called could not take Brinlie. I bet that was fun with two babies.

Lexie had soccer practice this week. Ashton cut a tooth this week and has been a grumpy blankety blank, according to Jake, this week. Jake is trying to get together some materials to build their detached garage they are putting in the back. Then they just need to save money for the stucco. Nikki worked on things for a Relief Society Super Saturday that is this coming Saturday. Jake has guard this weekend and it is Governor's day on Saturday. Lexie also has a soccer game on Saturday. So they are having a busy weekend. Jake says that he doesn't know what he is doing on his job because they keep changing it. Sunday they are having a party for Ashton's birthday with the family, but his birthday is Thursday.

Michelle and Daniel have Ethan and Hailee in a charter school in Syracuse. They like their teachers. Michelle is a room mother. Right now she has a lot of work to do with that but they said it should lighten up. Michelle has found people to car pool with at the school so she only has to go once a day. She thought she was going to have to go twice a day because Hailee is in kindergarten but she saw a license plate that she thought she recognized so she followed it home and it was her neighbor that lives behind them. They were able to invite the kids over and Michelle was able to work things out with her for kindergarten. Ethan is starting soccer next Saturday but they haven't heard from the coach. Michelle is starting joy school, which is a co-op preschool between mothers, on the 11 of Sept. for Jaron. Kalisse rolled over from her back to her stomach this week but Michelle was in the other room and missed it. Ethan has a concert coming up on the 11th of Sept.

Larry had our home teacher and Erick give him a blessing and he got feeling better almost immediately. I have been amazed at how much better he has felt. He is starting a new job at work and should get a raise. He also applied for a job where he would be doing research that would be a step up. Larry is taking classes on Tuesdays and so I usually work late at school on that night.

I start a class about English as a Second Lanugage Training or ESL on the 11th of September that should last every Monday night until February. It will give me an ESL endorsement and help me in techniques to teach students who have problems with English. I have started my class at the U which is an Introduction to Instructional Design. So far it has been good. That is on Wednesdays.

We are working at the Family History Center on the 2nd and 4th Thursday's and on the First Saturday of the month starting in November. So I put all the things on the calendar for September and we only had two nights that we did not have something to do. But according to Reader's Digest that is how you keep your mind active.

Well, BJ went back to Logan tonight early as school starts tomorrow. Erick is at a birthday party for a girl in his University of Utah ward. Larry is comming down with something that has left him with a sore throat and coughing and some nausea today so he has gone to bed right now so I am by myself with the computer.

I started going back to school on the 14th of August to get ready for school. We had a CTE conference on the 17th, a faculty meeting on the 18th and an all day traiming on Behavior Management on the 21st. We had Back to School night on the 16th a week before school started. School started on my birthday the 23rd so I bought 200 brownies and served them to my students and the faculty. I also had my first class at the U that night so I took what was left to them. It was a fun birthday.

We had a family party last Sunday for the birthdays in July and August. The weather was great and I think that everyone had a good time. Kirsten and Jon were not able to come because Brooke was in the hospital because of a week long headache but everyone else that lives close was here. We had ham and cheese potatoes and green beans and fresh fruit salad and ice cream and cake. The grandkids had a great time on the trampoline. And we all had a good visit. The girls all have a great time getting together with their babies and comparing notes.

Maren was excited because she was able to get a $4,000.00 grant for her schooling this week from the federal student aid. With that and her scholarship she should have plenty to finish school on. Landon is still applying for jobs but hasn't found anything yet. Brinlie is crawling and has figure out that she can walk if someone holds her hands so she doesn't want to sit anymore.

BJ starts at USU tomorrow. He came down last night to attend a friends missionary farewell today and a missionary companion's wedding last night, but had to go back today. He was able to move into his apartment this weekend. He has two roommates but I do not know who they are.

Erick started at the U of U on Wednesday with me. He is already complaining about Physics. He has to spend a lot of time on campus this semester during the day so he has been working later at night.

Kirsten's foot is doing better. She is off the crutches but still has the boot. They had quite the ordeal with Brooke. She was in the hospital for three days and the hospital essentially said that it was probably a migraine but they really don't know what was going on.

Jeff and Misty have an interesting schedule since she started working. Misty goes to work from midnight until about 7:30 a.m. She come home and sleeps while Jeff takes care of the kids until about 11:30 a.m. when he has to go to work she takes care of things until about 7:00 p.m. and her mother watches the kids while Misty sleeps. Jeff gets home about 9:00 p.m. He puts the kids to bed and then Misty gets up in time to be to work at midnight again.

I went with Misty and the kids yesterday to the Children's garden's at Thanksgiving Point. They have a sculpture of Noah's ark that the kids like to play in the water in. It was a little cool yesterday but they loved it anyway. It is a beautiful garden. It was fun to see. We stopped at Mom and Dad's for a minute so they could see the kids and Leah and Matthew had fun swinging. Then we went to McDonald's and took Misty and the kids home for naps. I played a Dora the explorer game with Leah before I left. It was a fun morning.

Michelle and Dan have been busy getting the kids ready for school. They are attending the Syracuse Arts Academy this year so they so not start until tomorrow. They had an open house this week and Michelle went in a couple of days to help clean up rooms because they have a new school that was just finished. Michelle also went in to help Hailee's teacher set up her room. Hailee has morning kindergarten. Ethan is in 2nd grade. Michelle is going to start "Joy School" with Jaron in a few weeks. Daniel has been working on a new website for his business.

Nathan has set up a kitchen in his motel room with a rice cooker, George Foreman grill and the microwave and mini fridge they provide and he is cooking his own meals. Then he saves the per deim they give him for other things. He said that Sara was so sick that she didn't want to talk tonight on the phone so I guess this is not a fun pregnancy so far. Sara went down there last weekend and they went to South Padres Island to the beach and David wanted to go to Pizza Hut for bread sticks.

Larry has classes on Tuesday night right now. He is working hard at work and is going to receive a promotion in two weeks. I have been worried about him because he sleeps so much but I haven't made him go get checked on that. He went into the Dr. on Wednesday and they have ordered him an insulin pump to see if they can get his blood sugar under control. His Blood pressure has finally leveled off so we have one thing that is working. He is getting something acute today.

John's only surviving Aunt on the Michaelsen side, Virginia Young, died last week. They had the viewing in Milford where she had lived and then they had a graveside service in Mayfield. Erick and I were the only ones that were able to go. We were able to see most of the Chrsitiansen relatives for a few minutes at a dinner held at Aunt Mabel's place. We stopped on the way home and looked at the land at Indian Ridge and stopped at Erick's friend Jared McSweeney's.

We stopped at Grandma and Grandpa Jenkins's on the way home and they gave me my birthday present and Larry's. I had ask Mother to fill out a book about her and me as a baby and they had finished that for my birthday. Dad had written a short history and part of his testimony about the importance of the Gospel. Mom had been cleaning out her cedar chest and she gave me some baby clothes that she had saved that I had worn. There was a dress there that my Grandma Sylvia Jenkins had made and decorated with tatting. There were also some booties made from tatting. I was so excited. I did not know that Grandma Jenkins had done tatting. There is a kimono that mother had crocheted around and another dress and two slips like the babies used to wear. There was also a quilt that was embroidered that my mom's Aunt Ernestine had given to me. I didn't know that mother had saved any of my baby clothes. It was a great present, a real treasure.

We just finished playing Tribond with Maren and Landon. It was fun to have them over. Landon lost the first game and won the next one so it was a really up and down game.

I just talked to Nathan on the phone in Texas. He says that he should know by September when he will be going to helicoper school. He says that he will have an apartment sometime by himself because he is an officer. He will be able to have Sara and the boys visit him there. He rattled off a whole list of countries that they have caught refugees trying to go across the border. He says that a lot of the refugees are not just from Mexico.

We attended a great birthday party for Jaron on Monday, August 7th. Michelle had the party at the new Clearfield recreation center. They had a room we could have for a while where we ate pizza and fruit and cake and ice cream. Then we could all go swimming for a fee. They had some really nice water toys for the whole family and everyone had a good time except Jacob who got there just as we were all getting out because he was stuck in traffic after he got off work.

Last night we had Ethan and Hailee and Jaron and Kalisse over while Michelle and Dan went to a primary workers party. Grandpa barbecued some hamburgers and hotdogs and the kids had fun playing down stairs and on the trampoline. Kalisse is pushing herself around the floor now.

Kirsten had her foot operated on on Friday. I took her to the surgical center while Jon went to a job interview then he was back before they took her in for the surgery. They went over to Jon's parents for the afternoon and Ann, Jon's mom, took the kids to an art show and Jon helped his dad with fixing something. Kirsten's foot was pretty sore yesterday but she says that it is feeling better today. So, hopefully it will heal right.

I have been tending Brinlie for the last three weeks. It has been fun but I have to start working on school tomorrow so Friday was supposed to be my last day but then Landon had to work yesterday so I had her for the afternoon. Maren said that she crawled today. She was about ready yesterday but she kept pushing backwards. She is trying really hard to pull herself up to things. Maren is doing good in school and just has this fall to finish up her schooling. Landon has applied for a job in the oil fields in Casper but I don't know where that will go.

Some of us went to the Michealsen reunion last weekend, August 4,5,and 6th. That was one of the reasons that I could not make myself write in the blog last Sunday. It was late when we got home. Larry and I took Kyle, Kennedy and Brooke with us down as Kirsten and Jon had to work on Saturday. We all ended up sleeping in tents the first night. They had a lot of fun craft activities on Saturday for the kids, making boxes, printing on T-shirts with stamps, and decorating flip flops with tied cloth. The kids really enjoyed that. In the afternoon they put up a Blown-up waterslide and the kids had fun getting cool on that.

Larry got a room in Gunnison for Saturday night so Kirsten and Jon could sleep in the tent. We went there to shower on Saturday afternoon and a lump that Larry had the day before on his leg had doubled in size and was inflammed to I made him go to the Emergency Room in Gunnison. He had an abcessed hair folicle that they had to lance and put a tag in to help it drain. He was pretty sore on Saturday night and Sunday so we were glad he had a hotel room. Monday he had to see the doctor in Kaysville and it seems to be healing okay. They also gave him antibiotic.

Jacob got some free tickets from the Guard to go to the Tim McGraw and Faith Hill concert on Saturday night so Erick and BJ left to go North to go to the concert with them. They each had dates and Nikki and Lexie went to the concert but Jake had drill early the next morning so he did not go. Then Erick's date lived in Spanish Fork so after he dropped her off he came back to the reunion about 2:00 a.m. but BJ's date lives in Sandy so he stayed at Grandma and Grandpa Jenkins for the night and then came down in the morning.

We visited with Grandma and Grandpa on the way home from Mayfield Sunday night. They seemed to be in good spirits and were planning to visit Aunt Annette the next day. I talked to Mom on Thursday and she said they had a good trip and it was fun to talk to Annette before she got so busy with school. Annette is out of her boot with her broken ankle but it is still tender.

Erick spent two days in Coalville this week for work marking every storm drain in the town on an arial photo for a project they are doing up there. He came home pretty sunburned but at least he wasn't sitting in the office all week. He went out with a girl named Celeste on Friday and said he had a good time. He chose to do the dishes last night rather than play with the grandkids so I think mowing the lawn wore him out.

BJ has been working 12 hour days this week. He said that they have been working both at the Cache Valley Mall and the Cache County fair so they had to work double time. He is staying with Aunt Marva until the 26th because he can't get into his apartment until then and Christie's family came to stay at Steve and Christie's. He is finally accepted at USU so he is progressing but he still has to register and apply for aid.

Jeff and Misty went to Montana this weekend to take back her cousin Clay who has been babysitting for them. They just got back tonight and Misty starts her job at midnight. Jeff works from noon till nine so hopefully they can do all the babysitting.

Erick went down on Friday to have Jake help him look at his car that is stalling to see if they could figure it out. He got to the house when they were not there and when he walked in he set off the alarm. Luckily they got there soon. He said that Jake went to the University of Utah surplus place to get a laptop but he wasn't impressed with what you could get, nothing has a harddrive. Lexie just got her first homework. Erick was able to hold Ashton for 2 seconds without him crying for Nikki. And they figured out it might cost Erick about $400.00 to fix his car.

I have been finishing up a class on the Pioneer online library. When I wasn't playing with or taking care of Brinlie I was at the computer learning about the library. If you have not gone into it you should check it out at www.uen.org
then click on Pioneer Library. If you are going in from home the username is Pioneer and the password is cake. It has so many things that can be used from preschool all the way to college. I wished that I had gone in and learned about it when my kids were in school. It is a safe way for kids to do research and learn fun facts on the web.

I have also worked at the Family History Center twice this month. We have had a lot of people coming in this summer. I am starting to be able to help people more efficiently. I was able to get some information on Mary Pollock's first husband, Hazen Hatfield and his first wife and child this week so I spent the afternoon yesterday typing all of the information into PAF. It is really fun doing Family History work. It is so rewarding when you find something you have been looking for.

I have had a lot of episodes of my Fibromyalgia bothering me this summer. Yesterday I was reading a book that I got about the Martin and Willie handcart rescue when we were on Trek. It told about a girl whose father had a hard time because of his rhumatism and could hardly walk when they were trying to get through the snow. The man kept going and made it to Salt Lake only to die the day after they arrived. It made me appreciate the fact that I have a shelter and plenty of food and transportation and medicine to make me feel better when it is too hot or too cold. Although my arthritis and fibromyalgia make me feel like I am enduring a great trial sometimes, I realized it could be worse and I need to count my blessings.

We are having a birthday party on the 20th for the August and July birthdays. Jeff is July 18, Jaron is August 7, Larry is August 21, I am August 23, and Misty is August 28th. It will be here at the house at 6:00 p.m.

Well today I spent all day running around with BJ helping him work out the details for getting a phone and a car with no credit. He was able to get a cellphone through the company he works for and he had to pay $100.00 for it today but he gets a $50.00 rebate and he earned $60.00 dollars commission on the sale so when he gets his money back he will have earned $10.00. He was able to get a loan from the credit union to buy a car from Jacob. Because he was not wanting as much as a new car they were willing to lend him 80% of the price of the car and then he can pay the extra money to Jacob himself. So he was happy to get a phone and wheels.

I also had to take Kirsten to the foot doctor to check on her foot. She still has a chip in there but he wanted to wait one more week before deciding on surgery.

Larry is busy working on his homework after Family Home Evening.

Erick went to his student ward Family Home Evening. BJ decided to stay here again tonight before he goes to Logan because he has a meeting with his work early in the morning in Salt Lake City.

Last Monday was the 24th of July and a holiday in Utah. We didn't do much in the morning we did some yard work and then the boys made Gelato from the recipes in Erick's Italian cookbook. BJ made Chocolate and Erick made Cantaloupe. Then we went to Kathy and Gary's for the annual barbecue and fireworks. Erick and BJ went. BJ had a date named Whitney Rose that we all met. Michelle and Daniel and their family there. I had fun holding the new baby, Kalisse. Maren and Landon and Brinlie also went and we all had a good time together. We also had a good time visiting with Larry and Leslie and their family and Kathy and Gary and their family and friends.

Tuesday and Wednesday I took another dreamweaver class at UEN. I got a few things accomplished on my website but I basically found out what it feels like to be in a class where the teacher does not have time to help everyone. I felt a little overhelmed.

Larry started a new class on Tuesday so he is back doing homework. He has been stressing because he was supposed to work with a team on a presentation and one person took all the emails and was supposed to send it to everyone else and didn't so he didn't know how to contact the others, so he has been planning his own presentation.

I have been tending Brinlie also on the days I don't have school. She is so cute and funny it is fun to tend her. Maren had some pictures taken of her at Kiddie Kandids that are so darling but I can't show them to you because our scanner has not been working.

Michelle and Daniel invited us to dinner on Saturday night. They had invited Jeannine Cobb also and we had a good visit with her. Michelle served a wonderful dinner. It was attractive and well presented and tasted wonderful. Ethan and Hailee wanted us to play Uno with them so we did that for a while. Jeannine hadn't seen the baby and their new house so it was good that they could show her. Ethan played us a piano solo. He is doing so well. Jaron and Hailee had great fun teasing Grandpa Larry and Me. Larry was really in a good mood and had fun with them.

After dinner we left for Logan to pick up BJ to come home for the weekend. We had a nice ride up and picked BJ up at the mall then went to Steve's and got his things and came home. It has been nice to see Steve some also. This week BJ will move in with Aunt Marva until his apartment is available August 26th. I have enjoyed the rides to Logan but I am glad that BJ has a car now and can transport himself.

Erick was a little frustrated because his date for Saturday night canceled out on him about an hour before he was supposed to pick her up. He was a little discouraged but he went to the group family home evening tonight and came back in a better mood. He said they played wiffle ball in the rain.

Jeff and Misty were cooking for a company party that Chelly had this weekend so they were busy with that. Jeff's birthday was this month but we couldn't come up with a day to celebrate it so we will celebrate it with the August birthday's

Jon took the kids to Lagoon today so that is why I was taking Kirsten to the doctor. It was a good day and a little cooler so I hope they had fun. It did rain this evening though. Mom and Dad said it really rained in Lehi.

I talked to Sara on the phone and she said that Nathan is working a 3-11:00 p.m. shift on the border by Brownsville, Texas. That is about a 7 hour drive from Houston where they are. He can call them every night so that is good. He has orders to do this for a year or until he hears about helicopter school. She said it is hard but it is better than if he was in Iraq. She also let slip that they just found out that she is pregnant. She is about 7 weeks so maybe another February baby. She said I could tell everyone so I am. She need your prayers because she is really sick right now.

It was good to visit with Jake and Nikki tonight. Lexie is back in school but she had come home. She had great fun teasing BJ about poking him and saying "Jump start. BJ taught that to her last week so she was poking him this week. Ashton's nap had been disturbed so he was a little grumpy but he is really showing that he is learning. He knows how the rider moves on the horse and he can tell you what an elephant says. Jacob spent a lot of time going over the car with BJ and even included 4 snow tires with it (which I am sure BJ will need this winter in Sardine Canyon.)

The Michaelsen reunion is this weekend in Mayfield so I hope that we will see some of you there. Sweet dreams.

As usual we had a busy week. Erick left on Sunday for Wyoming with the Equipment crew from trek. Larry and I left on Monday morning about 6:00 a.m. and helped make sandwiches for the first snack of the day and then we drove with 5 other people in a suburban to Wyoming. The first night we stayed at a ranch area where the church has a campground. We had dinner ready by about 8:30 p.m. but they didn't make it in from their first trek until about 9:30 or 10:00 p.m. We stayed under a canopy that they had for the kitchen but the wind blew part of it all night long and made it hard for many to sleep.

On Tuesday the kids were bussed to Sage creek and started a trek over Rocky Ridge to Rock Creek where the cemetary is for those who died from the Willey handcart company. Some of our crew went to hike over Rocky ridge and then serve lunch to those on the trail. I wanted to go but did not feel good that morning so I stayed behind. Four of our group went to feed a second group lunch. and then we had 5 of us cleaning up the kitchen so we could move on. We had the canopy fall on us before we were ready and it spilled 5 gallon of punch all over some of the coolers. It also spilled 5 gallons of water that we had just filled. So we had a little more mess to clean up than planned. When we got everything packed and sorted Rich and Paul two of the guys with us went to Lander to buy some supplies. Then our leader David left to get the kitchen set up for dinner at the next campground. He left Larry and I and Denise Wright waiting for the others to pick us up. It got so hot that Denise and I pumped water on each other's heads to cool off. Larry just sat in the shade. David, our leader, thought that they should be back within the hour but three and a half hours later one of the surburbans came but it was full of people. However, they made room for us and took us to another van, then we started the hour and a half trip to Rock Creek. We ended up getting lost, however, and three hours later we made it to camp. Where dinner was almost over.

Wednesday we served breakfast at Rock Creek and then we drove to Lander to pick up more groceries and go to the dump with the garbage. Then we drove on to Martin's cove and got there about noon. Just in time to serve lunch. They had a really nice picnic area at Martins cove that made it easier to serve.

After lunch Carol Richens made arrangements for those on the food committe who wanted to go to Martin's cove to ride to the bottom of the hill in the missionaries golf carts. We walked up the hill to a pre cove area and they had a presentation about the Martin Handcart company and then we walked up the hill to the cove where the pioneers stayed to protect themselves from the winter weather. Then we walked past the area where they had buried the bodies of the dead in the snow. We were walking down the hill and I was going slow because I walk slow but I thought I was doing okay but a member of the Bishopric, Brother McKinnon called for me to have a golf cart ride down. I started to walk down while we waited and a group of kids and the parents of a youth that had a downs syndrome offered me his rick shaw typed wheel chair. I protested but they insisted saying he could walk. I must admit it felt good but I was embarrassed. I ask Larry if I looked like I was walking that bad and he said, "yes" so I guess I was not aware of how I looked. They took us to the golf cart and then we rode down. I realized that perhaps I could have walked down but it would have taken me most of the night and this way I made it in time to help with dinner.

Thursday we served breakfast and then made about 400 sandwiches and sack lunches for the trip home. Then we packed up and started home. It was almost 7:00 p.m. when we made it to Kaysville. It was really good to have a shower and be home. BJ took my phone to Logan with him so that was a little frustrating but we worked it out.

Friday morning we had to meet at the 2nd north church to help unload equipment and divide it up to the areas it went to at 8:30 a.m. After getting all of that done we went home and unloaded what was our equipment. Then I talked Larry into helping me in the yard for about an hour. In the afternoon I went to Fran Brown and had Maren cut and blow dry my hair, wax my eyebrows, and give me a manicure. It was great fun and gave us a chance to talk. That evening we had Maren and Landon over for Pizza and we played Pirates of the Carribean Monopoly. They got the game while they were at Disneyland when they went to Los Angles. We played for about 6 hours but still haven't finished the game.

Saturday we slept in. Larry went to work about 11:00 a.m. Erick and I started our day. We had invited Lexie over to stay and she came about 11:30 a.m. with Jake and Nikki and Ashton. Ashton let me hold him when we took them out to see the fish in Erick's pond. They Jake and Nikki and Ashton left and Erick and I played legos and Barbies with Lexie. Later we went to Cherry Hill and played minature golf. Erick went home after that because he did not want to go swimming (even though it was 103 degrees) Lexie and I went through almost all of the water attractions at Cherry Hill and then had dinner. Lexie wanted to see BJ and when she found out he was coming home from Logan that night she decided to stay for the night with Jacob and Nikki's okay.

Lexie and BJ got up early and did some things. BJ told Lexie that they better wake Grandma up so we could get her back in time for church. Lexie said, "Do, you have to do that everyday." We drove Lexie down about 9:30 a.m. When we got there Ashton had just fallen and cut his gum on a table. He had been crying for quite a while they said.


We had to wear our trek outfits to church today. They looked much better clean. We sat on the stand and sang a song called "Carry Me" which is on the trek website at www.trek2006.com it is a really beautiful song that some ladies in our stake wrote for our trek. It talks about how Christ can carry us through our trials just like the four young men that carried the handcart pioneers over the sweetwater.

We took dinner to Kirsten and Jon tonight to give Kirsten a chance to be off of her broken foot a little bit. Jon has a bad cold and has slept most of the day. Kirsten's hands are getting sore from using crutches. Larry wanted to stay there tonight because their house was cooler and he liked the feel of laying on their love sac. But we finally came home.

Erick and BJ went over to Maren's this evening to get their hair cut. Erick was invited to dinner by a girl in his U of U ward but he didn't tell me who. We got to see him at meals on the trek but that was about the only time. He was busy picking up and delivering sleeping bags and buckets (that they used for luggage) He seemed to have a good time working with Roger Tuttle who is also in our ward.

BJ had the car this week and also my phone. He decided to ask this girl out that he thought was flirting with him at different times at his work, but she looked shocked and told him, "but I am married" when he asked her. He had another girl ask him out and he has been out with her twice this week and is bringing her to the Shaw's barbeque for the 24th.

Maren and Landon had a great time in Los Angles especially when they took Brinlie to Disneyland. Evan and Shirley helped tend Brinlie when they went on rides so they had a good time. They also got to ride the roller coaster on top of New York, New York in Las Vegas.

Kirsten and Jon have no children this weekend because the girls went with their mom and Kyle is in Vernal. It is probably just as well considering how they both feel.

Jeff and Misty have been doing things with Misty's cousin Clay. They have been to several attractions in Utah that he wanted to see. Matthew fell the otherday and cut himself and had to have stitches. Clay goes home in about three weeks.

Michelle and Daniel went to Pioneer state park yesterday and had a good time. Ethan's piano teacher wants to move him to the advanced class he is doing so well. Michelle is going to help part time with Hailee's class this year at the school they are going to in Syracuse.

It is too late to call Nathan and Sara but I will post and update soon.

We have had an interesting week since I posted Tuesday. Wednesday Kathy called and said that she had some Iris starts if I still wanted some so I decided to go get them. I was also tending Brinlie so we packed up and went. I stopped at school because Mark Enomoto said he could help me get my username and password for my school website which I need for my class in two weeks. Then we went to Kathy's and picked up the Iris and I decided if we were that far we might as well go and visit Dad and Mom. Brinlie had great fun talking to all the people going down and rolling on Mom and Dad's floor and talking to them. We visited for about 2 hours and then I started home.

Wednesday night I went to Teresa and Darrell Bowman's to work on Chicken for the Trek. We were putting the chicken into Ziploc bags and puring marinade on it and then putting it back in the freezer. That took about 2 hours.

While I was at Mom and Dad's Annette had called and asked me to bring her a sweater to her hotel. She was staying in Layton for an education conference she was attending. Erick and I went to deliver the sweater and had to track her down at Sonic Drive In. We had a good time talking to her about Vernal and such.

Nathan called while I was driving to the hotel so I got a short talk with him and ment to call him back but we talked to Annette until about 10:00 p.m. our time and I didn't think he would want to be called back at 11:00 p.m. He said that he had a second chance to interview for a job in Utah so they were hoping that would come through. He also has been called up to help on the border with the National Guard so he had to go to Austin this weekend for a physical and other things. No word yet on what his job will be on the border or when he will be leaving.

Larry had class until late on Wednesday. It was a test for his math class. He came home early so I don't know if that was bad or good but this last class has been easier he said because it has been a review of an earlier class. Usually he has to start a new class the next week but this time he does not have to start for two weeks so he is off for the trek.

Thursday Larry had the day of so we worked on getting things ready for the Pioneer Trek that we are going on Monday. We worked on getting supplies found and shirt collars taken off and getting last minute supplies. I was tending Brinlie for Maren now she is back in cosmetology school and Larry helped me. We both did a lot of work on the computer. Brinlie had great fun trying to eat the cord for the internet on the laptop. Larry was not to happy about that.

In the afternoon I had to go to the family history center from 2-4:00 p.m. We couldn't find a babysitter so Larry tended Brinlie while I went.

After we went to Kirsten's to borrow a few things for the trek. Her ankle was really swollen on the opposite ankle from the one she broke. She has had to move her work upstairs so she can rest her foot while she works but she has to have one foot to pedal something so she has to have that foot down.

Friday I had to go help them get supplies at Sam's Club at 6:45 a.m. I thought Larry was on his way so I took off. I was surprized to find Larry in bed when I got home. He had thrown up and was still naseated so he had called in sick. I was quite worried about him as he has never thrown up since we got married and I have know him. He slept for a while and then when he got up his blood pressure was up to 169/121. He got on the computer and began reading again about what he needed to do to bring is blood pressure down. He got it down about 2:00 p.m. but then about 6:00 p.m. it was way up again. We went out to dinner with Jenny Tarbet and then we went to have her mom take his blood pressure at the doctor's office. It was pretty normal 140/80 so they had us bring the monitor in and check it but it was accurate so the doctor is sending Larry to some specialists when we get back. We had the home teachers and BJ gave Larry a blessing today so that things will be okay for trek.

Saturday Larry had to work. Erick and I got up and planted some plants that we have not been able to plant and I went up to get a manicure and pedicure from Maren. Erick mowed the lawn and made a new pump for the pond while I was gone. Larry came home and was testing the air mattress. We got our things packed that were supposed to be at the church early and then we went to get medicines and sunglasses.

We had to pick BJ up about 5:00 p.m. in Logan but we were late but, so was he, so we took him out to dinner in Logan and then we drove home. Everyone else went to bed but I was up until about midnight working on an assignment that needed to be submitted for my online class on the Pioneer Online library.

This morning Erick went to his ward and then he left today about 2:00 p.m. with the crew he is working with to go to Wyoming to set up for the trek. BJ had to speak in the 13th ward today but it was when we are teaching primary so we did not get to hear him. Larry woke up with his fingers hurting so he took an Indomethecin and it knocked him out so he only came for Sacrament.

Maren and Landon flew to Los Angeles to meet Landon's parents this morning. She said that they almost missed their plane because it was so slow through security. They will be there until Wednesday. Brinlie slept most of the flight so that was good. Maren needs manicures to do at school so if you have been thinking of getting a manicure go to Fran Brown and have her do it for you.

Nathan called and is in Austin tonight. The family dropped him off this evening and he has some things to do before they send him to the border. He and Sara celebrated their anniversary(which was today) on Friday and Saturday. He finished tying a quilt Saturday afternoon. Sara gave a baby shower for someone on Saturday morning.

Jacob went to girls camp as the priesthood advisor on Friday. Nikki has been getting Lexie ready for school which starts for her on the 26th of July. They also went to the acquarium. Nikki said that Ashton was really enthralled with the whole thing.

Jeff and Misty went to Cheyenne this weekend to meet Misty's grandparents and visit with them. Jeff said they had a good time and visited the Western museum they have there with all different kinds of championship saddles.

Kirsten and Jon have the girls this week but Kyle is in Vernal with his dad. But then Kyle will come back and the girls go with their Mom for the weekend. Kirsten said that their dog Cooper is getting good at stealing food. He ate Kennedy's birthday cake, and took a bite out of the roast and ate all the hamburgers Jon made one day. They are having a time trying to keep him out of things.

BJ goes back to Logan on Tuesday. He is excited because he will have a car this week while we are gone so he is going to go on a date he said. He is trying to finish up his enrollment but somewhere the ACT scores that ACT sent did not make it to the school so he has to find out about that. He found an apartment for fall but can't move in until August 26th so he will probably live with Aunt Marva until then as Steve and Christy have family coming.

I talked to Michelle on Saturday but only for a few minutes. We called Daniel and teased him about getting a free taco from Taco maker as the name on their sign for a free taco was "Daniel" this week in Kaysville and Logan.

The picture is at the Heber Cemetary by Grandma sylvia and Grandpa Junius Jenkins's grave stones. Nathan and Sara and David and Isaac are on the left. Erick and BJ are on the right.