Christmas Apron - Dressing like my Sisters

Here is my new Christmas apron - given to me by Cookie, I wore it here at the Family dinner and then at Christmas Eve. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas - I love that we gathered together and enjoyed the traditions of this time of year.

New Addresses

It's been two years since we updated the family addresses. Or at least that's the last time I saw it updated. Either we should do a whole new one or everyone that has moved since then should email me their address.

The past six months have gone by way too quickly. The biggest change in our family is we had a new addition! A little Chihuahua we call Ozzy. He is a rescue dog from Louisiana and is 1 1/2 years old. We don't really know what his past was, just that he was abandoned at an animal shelter by an owner who didn't want him anymore. We can't imagine anyone not wanting Ozzy- he's only 5lbs! But we're glad he gets to live with us now.

The other big news of ours is that Richard graduated from his program! He is now Master Richard (and would like to be addressed as that). He was getting an MA in Higher Education Administration from Boston University. He is such a hard worker, and completed his degree while working full-time at Boston University as the "Affirmative Action Officer" for faculty. At his job he helps to make sure the hiring process is fair and equal for everyone. Kristal finished classes in her program, and is currently working on finishing up her thesis film before she is officially done.

This summer we did some camping and enjoyed our time in New England. We had the opportunity to venture out to Utah for July 4th and as always love the time we spend there. We are looking forward to the Fall this year, but as usual, not really to the winter!

Love,

Richard and Kristal.

The travel log.

Hello,

I just want to start by saying how much I loved Conference!!! It was so excited when they announced the new temples. Josh was so happy they are building one where he served his mission(he was in the Independence Missouri Miss.) And we are definitely going to go when the temple is dedicated. I told him we should also make a goal to be in Rome(after visiting several other beautiful cities in Europe) when they dedicate that temple.

As for my family so much has been happening big changes and little ones. And a lot of good times to be had by all.

I'll start with Will. He turned 3 years old on June 29. He is still little but he makes up for it with a lot of energy and personality. He runs constantly and screams often. But he is finally starting to speak over the last 6 to 9 months he's Finally started to say words and talk in sentences. He loves Sunday's Nursery is his favorite thing I think ever. When we get to church he always gets upset when we pass the nursery room to go to Sac. Mtg first. He loves the leaders and the other babies. Which is wonderful, it's nice to see him grow and become more social. He brings so much joy to our family I don't know what I would do without him. Will had kind of a tough spring, as I am sure you all know. And I am so glad the string of bad luck (the sickness, hydrasil, hernia, and falling out of stuff) is behind him and me. Knock on wood. I truly believe in the power of prayer after his last accident I just sat with him praying that he would be ok for one and the other I asked for God protection. I hoped that Will would never have anymore mishaps, major illnesses or medical conditions but just in case I begged my Heavenly Father to protect him so that whatever happened to him he would bounce back.

Jacob turned 6 August 16 and started school on the 18th. Sending him to Kindergarten was so hard. It's hard to get over the fact that he's not my baby anymore. but he is doing well in his class and is learning to write really well. He's making friends and loving play time. I am so happy he doing well and am also very proud of him. Jacob is truly my biggest helper at home. He's always ready to help his mom. Also he is the best big brother in the world he loves Will and is the best and entertaining him when I need to get something done. He's very loving and protective of his family. Both Jacob and Will are getting over cold right now but thankfully they were not serious. they barely slowed either one of them down. Jacob also just did his Primary Program. He loves going to church and getting to go to his class and have singing time I am really glad he loves it.

Josh just finished his summer at the raceway. Which is so nice I am finally going to get him back Friday nights. He's going to school and working and just trying to get through it. We've been on several fun trips over the last few months back in may we went to Kansas City to see the places he served on his mission and the Church sites. We went to Independence, Adam-ondi-Ahman. Adam-ondi-Aham was so beautiful and peaceful. the whole area is so green. We got to Adam ondi Ahman kind of later in the evening and spent hours walking around we went to Spring hill where they savior with return. It was humbling to be in such a sacred place.

Also while we were there we saw Wicked. That was a highlight!!! We've listen to the show so many times it was amazing seeing it for the first time. I cried I was so happy. And the show itself was beautiful.

We also went to this beautiful memorial in Kansas City that was built to honor those who died in WWI it was a wonderful place to see we spent most of the morning there. On the large tower that it reads "In honor of those who Served in the world war, in defence of liberty and our country'. you can actually go up to the top of the Liberty tower. there's a great view of the city. Here's a fun fact, Kansas city has the more fountains then any other city in the world except Rome. They had there amazing sculptures outside that were so beautiful.

Then in August Josh took me for my birthday to the East coast we flew into Washington DC and saw the sites there. but the main event was the Six Flags in New Jersey where they have the fastest, tallest roller coaster in the world(for the moment). That trip was a blast we had so much fun. I really love those thrill Parks.

Of course Mom told you all about our girls trip to Hershey ect. That was wonderful but I missed my Boys.

Other then the traveling we've been doing our lives have been pretty ordinary. We just go from day to day getting all our work done and trying to find time to do everything we like to do, I really appreciate Pres. Monsons talk about enjoying the here and now. It reminded me of a quote by Dr. Seuss he says, "Don't cry because it's over, Smile because it happened." I am trying to live in every moment to enjoy my children while they are young be entertained instead of annoyed by there antics.

I hope all my family well and happy. I love you all

Alexis

Rowley Family Update - Fall 2008

Hello Family,

What a great General Conference we just had. I want to let you each know how grateful I am for you. I heard that message from our prophet and I thought of each of you and how you have blessed my life.

We have had a busy 6 months. We have enjoyed visits from others and visiting others.
In May we enjoyed helping other family members working in Mom's back yard. JJ has worked so hard and it is really starting to look great. Grant and I enjoyed gathering with the other family members in the traditional Memorial Day activities. I am so glad that we can remember our grandparents, who are such an important part of our eternal lives. It was our first time to include Dad's grave. I hope we will remember to tell the stories and keep all these people alive in our memory.

We have had a busy Spring/Summer. We were happy to have Ron's family here when Sara graduated. We heard that Randy and Gayle were here also to support Rachel, who also graduated. It is amazing to see how quickly time passes - weren't they just coming here as Freshman? Here they are finishing up their education as teachers.

In June we had a nice visit from Richard and Kristal - and their dog Ozzy. We were able to get some updated family pictures so I was happy about that also. They were here through the 4th of July - we were happy to have JJ, Sarah and their children to come over for 4th of July. Lexi was here also with her boys. It is fun to have the family together. Annaleesa's friend, Susette and her husband Mark came over also.

We were sad to hear about Jeff's mother dying. Carolyn and Jeff came to stay with us for a short time while Jeff's family was burying his mother.

After they left our nephew, Mark and his wife Brenda came to stay for a while. They are in dancing workshops - they have a dance studio in Texas so they were just getting some training.

Grant had a short break from the BYU ward but in mid July they started up again. He has another Freshman Ward and each year they have some great students.

We were happy to have Hokansons come for a visit in July also. We did a BYU Treasure Hunt - Crystal is coming next year for EFY so we wanted to get her acquainted with the campus before she came. Crystal had an incredible opportunity to go to Europe this year. We were so happy she shared her pictures and some stories about what she did while she was there.

Just after Hokansons left Annaleesa was hit from behind on the freeway on her way home from work. Her car was totaled and she had some neck pain (whiplash) which she has been having treated by a physical therapist. She has a Toyota Corolla now and has just purchased a ski rack for the top in anticipation of the new snow boarding season.

We were happy to have Randi Marie and Efrain and their children over for dinner while they were here visiting Utah. They have such a cute family and we enjoyed having them here even for a short time.

September 1st was Annaleesa's 30th birthday. Lexi and I along with some good friends, Susette and Lauri took her to PF Chang's for lunch. That was fun but then on Monday Susette and Lauri took her to some houses of other friends and she had quite the make over. At one house she had make up applied to her face. At another house - new hair do - then on to another house for painted toe nails and another for fingernail polish. She look like quite the glamour girl. As soon as they left she was in the shower to get it all off. I did get a picture - which I will share...

Annaleesa also made the wedding cake for her friend, Susette's daughter's wedding reception. I will share a picture of that also. She stressed about it but I thought she did a great job.

We were so happy to be able to go to Hans and Shelli's wedding. It was so nice to be there to support them and be with the family. Everything turned out so nicely. I have a couple of pictures I will share of what we saw.

Then mid September I had the privilege and going with my daughters to Pennsylvania. This was kind of an extension of Annaleesa's birthday. We flew to Washington DC and then drove to Philadephia and saw the historical sites of our country there. Kudos to Alexis for driving out of Philadelphia during rush hour traffic - she is a trooper. The next day we went to Hershey, Pennsylvania. On the way we saw some of the Amish country. The town of Hershey is an inspiring story and place. I so enjoyed being there and especially with Annaleesa and Alexis. It was a trip I will remember the rest of my life.

Our Family dinner has changed so much since Rachel and Josh and Thad and Malinda have left for their schooling. We miss them but we carry on.

Well, and here we are now in the Fall/Autumn - such a wonderful time of year. We have had an especially warm Fall but this Conference Week end it has been rainy and cooler - so cozy for watching Conference.

We send our love to all of you. I hope you have a wonderful time this Fall and into the holiday season. Take care.

Love,

Grant and Linda

Seamons Family

We have had a very interesting year!! I just told someone, I ALWAYS have tissue in my purse, but due to all the tears we have shed this year, (for the good and sad tears) I have no tissue left. After Dad died we saw Jeff's Mom slowly slip away until she died in July. Once again we gathered together and mourned the passing of a wonderful women, Mother, Grandmother, friend. Grandma Seamons was such a gracious person, I always told her I wanted to take gracious lessons from her, she would laugh and tell me I needed to go down South to learn how to be like her. Jeff and I got to go to Utah to be a part of her buriel.

Then we moved on to happier times and Hans and Shelli's wedding. We got to have all our kids there and enjoy being together.

This picture is hard to see but there are all my boys, they all looked so nice that day, they went golfing in the morning and back to the house to shower change and on to the wedding. And of course my beautiful grandchildren, CJ and Jenni looked like they could be the wedding couple, Jenni did a geat job of being the flower girl.
Isaac is making sure Isiah is saying cheese!! They had so much fun, during the wedding Isaac's tie fell off. (Gee Gee had bought them the ties for their birthday!! The easy clip on ones) As I was listening I heard "Grandma, my tie fell off!" I told him OK I'll put it on in a minute! A couple of minutes later, "Grandma it's been a minute!" They are so much fun to be around. Yesterday we were going shopping and it was Isiah's turn to go in Grandma's car (instead of going with Mom and Dad) I forgot which side the car seat was on and had to sent Isiah around to the right side of the car, he turns to me and says "Grandma, we don't have time for this!!" ( this is much more fun to hear said with a Boston accent the boys have, just like their Mom did at that age)

We feel so blessed to have our family that comes to our aid in all things good and bad. We were with Jeff's family for the funeral and then went to visit Linda and Grant, they took us out and about and made sure we had fun! We had had a sober few days but it was fun to go and visit with everyone and lighten up.

Gayle, Linda, Grant, Annaleesa, Alexis and of course Will all came from out of town to help with the wedding. We didn't do much but we really enjoyed everyone and got to visit with each other. Thanks guys!! Now we have Samantha living with Grandma, it is so fun to have her do all our family stuff with us! Samantha has discovered our crazy free movie nights. We do crazy things to enjoy our family time! I feel such gratitude that I have a family that I know comes to my aid when they are needed, it is such a comfort to feel your love for all the good and bad times!!

Hans and Shelli's Wedding

Hans and Shelli got married yesterday. It was very beautiful and they are off to Hawaii. It was such a fun day to see all our family and enjoy each other.

Hans and Shelli Wedding

Just to let everyone know Hans and Shelli will be getting married on Sept. 6, 2008. We are so excited, we love Shelli and can't wait to have her a permanet part of our family. We will be sending out invitations soon, I need a few addresses, I have all my siblings except Cindy's new address. I have all of Linda's kids and I think I have the right address for Wally and Linzi. I am not sure about Rachel and Josh??? Help? I have Jason's address.
Ron, I am sending everything to you and can you pass it on to Sara and Brandon? I know they will both be back into a new school year. Cookie and Todd the same with you, can you forward the info to Samantha? JJ and Sarah, please tell Jake, Edan and Noah we really want them there.
We have loved watching these two grow together it is a joy to be around them!! I think they have a picture I can post soon!! (Denise was taking pictures of them last week, I am trying to pry one out of her!!)

Linda and Grant

Allie took this picture of Aunt Linda and Uncle Grant on Memorial day. I think is is really cute!!

Memorial Day 2008

Grant and I really enjoyed the Family Work Day at Mom's on Memorial Day Week end. JJ had the projects ready for all of us and it was fun to work with the family and get some things accomplished. The back yard is soon to be a lovely place to gather and just enjoy. We also enjoyed being with the extended family to honor our grandparents. It was fun to hear everyone's memories of them. I especially enjoyed hearing JJ's memory of when he was visiting Grandma and Grandpa Noakes and they sat him on the couch and then danced together for him in their dining room.

Family work day at Grandma's

We had another fun day in Grandma's yard. The sidewalk is finally done. You can walk from the back gate all the way to the shed and never get your feet muddy. JJ got the big cemet mixer and all the guys lined up with the wheel barrels to haul it to the back yard. Hans, Efrain, and Brandon were first in line. With Uncle Grant, Uncle Ron,Uncle Jeff and JJ's friend Kevin right behind. The girls worked on getting a border all the way around the yard. We dug ditches and moved rocks and got all the back yard ready for the new lawn to come.

The limited space was interesting as they tried to make sure the cement went where they wanted it to.

Hans got stuck trying to smooth things out. He had to have a little help to get out, someone wanted to leave him there. (he will remain nameless!!)

The kids got to put their names in the cement so they will always remember that fun day. Some of the BIG kids wanted to put there names in the cemet also.

The kids didn't think it was the best fun! They were not allowed to move from the porch after Eden walked in the wet cement.

Wally, Lindsey, Sadie

Dudes,

Christmas

We spent Christmas with the fam in Colorado. New Grandparents, new Aunt and Uncle, and Giddy parents = more presents than a kid could ask for. Sadie got a tricycle and absolutely loved it. She loved it so much that every present had to be opened while sitting on the bike. We also got a Nintendo Wii which is one of the coolest forms of entertainment for the whole family. The first night playing, Lindsey and I stayed up till 2 in the morning and had sore arms the next morning.
We took a visit to the Denver Aquarium which was totally awesome. We also went to the children’s museum. Coolest place on Earth for a kid. I was running from….. I mean Sadie was running from one thing to the next.

Quick Vacation

We traveled over 2600 miles starting in Utah. We traveled and stayed in Las Vegas, Oceanside California, Disneyland, Universal Studios, the beach, San Francisco, Roseville, and then back home. Disneyland was just awesome. Sadie knew all the characters and loved every ride. Her favorite ride is the Buzz Lightyear ride where you get to shoot aliens with your laser (4 times in a row). We had a blast. She wasn’t even the slightest concerned on rides like the Pirates of the Caribbean or the Haunted Mansion. Anytime we see someone wearing a big hat she points and says ‘Pirate!’ We went with our friends the Littlefields. They have a little boy named Ty who is Sadie’s best friend. We stayed in a suite with a full living room, kitchen, and two big bedrooms.

Universal Studios is way awesome too. They have a new attraction for the kids – a jungle gym room full of millions of foam balls and air cannons to shoot balls around. It’s supposed to be for kids but I threw myself on the ground and refused to walk when it was time to leave. We had lunch at the beach and played in the water a bit. Sadie would laugh so hard when a wave would come and knock her over. She eventually had purple lips and shaky knees but didn’t want to leave the waves.

Then on up to a little get together to see the family in Roseville. We almost couldn't make it but glad we did. We had a great time seeing everyone. The funeral was put together very well.

2^nd Birthday party

We had a party at the house for Sadie’s second birthday. Only 24 of her friends showed up. It was crazy. We had cake and a party at the house and then went to Kangaroo Zoo which is a place full of bounce houses and air castles. It was totally awesome. I think the older people had even more fun jumping around than the kids. We have a hard time teaching her that she is two. How old are you Sadie? “am one” Now you are two. “No am one.”

The other day Sadie brought us her rubber ducky from the bathtub and was saying “IKEA”. We bought it from Ikea and she recognized the tiny label on the bottom and was pointing to it. Either she can read or we go their way too much. At Easter she learned from her friends that if you shake the egg and it doesn’t rattle (hard boiled) then it doesn’t have any candy so you just put it back. That’s what Easter is all about.

Lindsey

The house is looking more and more stylish every month. Lindsey loves decorating the house. We recently painted some walls and put up some more pictures. She saved for several months and we have now have a new dining table and table settings.
She also loves thinking of cool ways to get her Sunbeam class to have memorable classes.
Lindsey has also been a good exercise routine at the gym in our clubhouse. She does pilates and runs on the treadmill. I like to support her by sleeping in a little.
Lindsey has a friend that owns a business called "Cents of Style". They sell stylish clothes and accessories for really good prices. Lindsey got invited to be a model (I call her a poser) for the website and catalog in exchange for some free clothes. She had a great time and our closet is very cramped now.

Wally

I have been snowboarding a lot these last few years and I absolutely love it. The last day of the snowboarding season ended on a Saturday and the golf season started the next Monday. Perfect timing. I took advantage of both days. In September I joined a friend and helped develop a side business under the name ‘New Finish Technology’. We found a really unique way to repair paint damage on cars. We have setup many of the dealerships in town and now have three employees servicing these accounts. It has been very profitable and is growing like crazy. I am counting down the days until Ultimate Frisbee season starts. In the mean time we are signing up for a coed softball team. As a dad I am very proud of my daughter because when I am leaving for work she hugs my leg and asks to go skateboarding or to play basketball. That just brings a tear to my eye.

We are incredibly happy and couldn’t ask for a better time of life. We are now on the lookout for any possible adoptions. Let us know if know anyone who is adopting out their kids cause it turns out they don’t go on sale anywhere.

Wally, Lindsey, Sadie

PS: I wondered why the Frisbee was getting bigger….. and then it hit me.

Family News from the Rowleys

Hello Family,

We have such a great family! Grant just got home from helping at Mom's Backyard Project. He so enjoyed working with all the great family members who came and worked so hard. He felt good about how much was accomplished. He wants to return sometime in May and do it again and maybe the backyard can be finished up. Thanks for everyone that came out to work so hard.

We had a quiet Thanksgiving this year. Just the traditional food fare and activities. Grant and I celebrated our 36th anniversary. Christmas was so fun - right after Richard and Kristal came for a visit also. Jakie and Will make Christmas just magical. I love that they are so excited and happy with all the beauties of Christmas.

I had a very hard time facing my birthday this year. Grant remedied my concerns by arranging some flights with Lexi to go to Chicago. He took me to see Wicked there. What a great experience. We had such fun with my first glimpse of the "Windy City". We were so fortunate that even being there in January - the weather was abnormally quite warm for that time of year. We were on foot and it was cold but not unbearable so. After leaving Chicago we flew to Omaha, Nebraska where we were picked up by a driver that Grant had met, who then drove us to a remote area of Iowa, where the truck had been repaired when Grant had an accident a month previously. We picked up the truck and drove back to Utah. It was a nice time to spend together and we came home refreshed and truly entertained. We both so enjoyed Wicked and hope you can see if it comes near you.

Also, in January, Kristal came back to visit. Her film, The Other, was shown at the LDS Film Festival right here in Orem at the Scera Theater. She was one of the few women presenting their films in the festival. We are proud of Kristal and her efforts in this competitive field. Annaleesa went with her to the viewings and they saw many interesting films.

February we were so concerned when we heard about Dad's failing health and Mom having to be caring for him 24 hours continually. We were so happy to hear that Cookie and Cindy came to help. I decided to come the next week end. I was very blessed to work with Carolyn, Ron and JJ as we took turns taking care of Dad and helping Mom the best we could. I felt the blessing of a family sealed together as we gathered together and knelt in prayer around Dad's bed. It was also a blessing to gather together to honor Dad at the funeral. I am grateful for a great family!

I got the flu in March - it really makes you grateful for your health when you can get past that. We enjoyed Easter with little Jake and Will as well as Gabby with Chad and Charla joining us. We always enjoy sharing our testimonies of the resurrection and our relationship with the Savior.

We so enjoyed Conference - the best week end ever! And now we just enjoyed the monthly Family Dinner - we love those kids and enjoy our time with them.

Well, we send our love to all of you. Love, The Rowleys

Sara, Me, Myself, and I:)

First I would like to say that this family blog is a wonderful idea. I think it is so wonderful that I have started my own blog (www.sararoskelley.blogspot.com). You can come visit me there anytime and hopefully there will be new and exciting things to read about!!

OK newsletter time. Each time I sit down to write my portion of the newsletter it is as if I draw a blank to what has been going on for the last 6 months. I decided to ask an outside source for help and so I asked, "Kyle, what have I been doing for the last 6 months?" He replied "Shoot, What haven't you been doing for the last 6 months?" So there it is... that about sums it up. It seems as if it has only been 3 months the way time has been flying. All I know is one minute I am happily attending school, playing softball, and spending time with my friends and then out of nowhere I am trying to juggle going to school, student teaching, getting a job, playing softball, keeping up with friends and relationships. CRAZY!! Well it is starting to calm down a bit now and so I am able to breathe a little more easily.

It was a wonderful feeling to turn in my last big project for UVSC and know that all I have left to do is graduate!! Student teaching has ended but teaching has not. I spent my time student teaching in a first grade classroom and I came to love all of my students. As it was nearing the end and I was becoming so sad that I had to leave them, So I decided not too:). Well I was actually offered a long-term sub position for another first grade class in the same school and so that is where i spend most of my waking hours. I love my new class and I am happy to know I didn't go to school for nothing. Because of this new job softball has shifted from the forefront of my life to somewhere near the back. Although I am still on scholarship and finishing out my senior year on the team I am really only able to make it to home games. There are times where the team will leave on a Thursday to fly somewhere for a weekend tournament and I will have to fly separately on Friday night and then fly back after the weekend. It has been more then hectic but great all the same. Softball will end in the beginning of May and I will be an accomplished student-athlete who has finished out her whole career, woowee!!

As for the future, I am hoping to land a job here in Orem at the same school I am working at now. I really love it there. I have filled out applications but I haven't done much more then that yet so we will see. I no longer have a plan for my life and it is stressing me out. Before now I have always been going somewhere or headed in a certain direction. Now i am open to do anything I wish. What will I do next...

Josh & Rach- Fam Letter

Dear Fam-unit,

So our family is officially in “the-now” with our blog, I’m so proud. Life has been busy and a little crazy since October. The holidays were great. Thanksgiving was spent in Cali with Josh’s fam and Christmas was in CO. Christmas was a blast with the sweet Sadie. She was so excited for her new bike she had to open every single present while sitting on it. We also got spoiled by my parents and got an Ipod and PSP (a hand-held gaming system my mom is addicted to). In January I started student teaching in a fourth grade classroom for three months. It was the most stressful and intense three months of all of my schooling, but was enjoyable to see the cute things the kids did and said. One time Mrs. Green forgot her lunch so her sweet husband brought it to school for her. He came in to the classroom to give it to me and so I stopped and went to get my lunch and Josh was off on his way. After he left a little girl said “oooo…Mrs. Green was that your HUSBAND?!?!” and I said yep, it sure was. Another boy proceeded to make a funny face and said “that was embarrassing”. I couldn’t help but laugh at their cute little 9-year-old minds. Josh was so good to me as each day I came home from school and dropped on the couch ready for a nap and Josh was there to get a blanket for me and cook dinner. What a great husband…. J So the three months went by in a blur and now I am back to restful sleep and sanity. Joshua is still working full time and is finishing up his last undergraduate class, nutrition. I have been bombarded with nutritional facts and we now have skim milk and low fat sour cream in our fridge, both things which I have never purchased before. We are also now both counting down the days until we graduate, 18 to be exact. We will both graduate on the same day, woohoo! Besides graduation on our minds, we are also getting ready to decide where we want to go to law school in August. Joshua has gotten into a couple of schools so far including Creighton, Gonzaga and Tulsa. We are still waiting for about 6 acceptance letters, so we aren’t sure what our future is yet. Life is good though, we are enjoying the spring weather, besides the random days it decides to snow. Other than that we can’t wait for camping and baseball games this summer. We love you all and hope to see you soon!

The Andersons

Dear Family,
I love this new blog. Great way to keep in touch. We always enjoy conference weekend so much. Todd's home and we get to reconnect and watch it together. I think Elder Ballard is my new favorite.
Samantha is back at BYUI for her second year. She is loving her ward this year a lot better than last years. Last year they couldn't get their FHE brothers to even come on Monday nights. This year they hang out with their FHE brothers all the time. The ward has lots of fun activities and everyone participates. They had a 70's party which is right up Samantha's ally so it was no surprise when their apartment won 1st place in the costume contest.









Here she is with her roommates Carmen and Katie all ready for the 70's party.

Here she is with her roommate Katie. Katie is from Walla Walla and was her roommate last year too. She is very sweet and is very good to Samantha.
Garrett is a senior this year and looking forward to Graduation in a couple of months. He has kept himself busy this year. He has joined every club that might even think about going on a trip. He is on the Knowledge Bowl team and they compete against other schools answering questions to see how knowledgeable you are. He is the Vice President of the Youth in Government club. He will be making his annual trip to Olympia to present their bills and mock run the state government basically. He has joined the school newspaper as a staff writer. He is enjoying taking advanced photography and AP Psychology. I'm sure he'll have our family all figured out soon. He recently returned from a spring break trip with some of his friends to the man cabin for a mancation. I am just glad they are home safe with only minor injuries and the cabin and Mt Hood are still in one piece. I can sleep again. He was accepted to BYUI for the Summer/Fall track. This puts him and Samantha on different tracks which means they will not live together again except for breaks between semesters. If all goes as planned he will start school this fall and leave for his mission next summer. This is all happening way too fast for me.




Here is one of his senior portraits.
























And here he is going to Homecoming with his best girl Julia.





Bridget turned 16 in October and is loving dating and driving. She is on the track team and runs the 800 and the mile. She was excited to go to her first big dance, Sadie Hawkins, with a date and is looking forward to prom. She is going to EFY in Rexburg this year and then she will get to spend the next week with her sister living the life of a college coed. She became very interested in football in the fall, spent her winter being a timer for the swim team and is now a big fan of the high school varsity baseball team. Hmmm I wonder why?











Does it have something to do with this young man? Here she is with Landin at the Sadie Hawkins dance.




Dallin is still the paper boy and starting to enjoy the fruits of his labors (mostly video games and Nerf guns.) He is working his way to his eagle scout ranking and is still in the band at school. He is looking forward to golf weather right around the corner.

Lydia is still our sweetheart. She loves to help everyone and will sit and draw and color for hours. Another of her favorite activities is doing puzzles. She loved Easter and all the fun that came with it.








Here they are on Easter. Or at least all who would get in the picture.



All Elijah wanted for Easter was a tie. He loved it so much he wanted to wear it everyday after even just with tee shirts. He has changed super heroes recently. He found a piece of fabric hanging around. He ties it around him for a cape and jumps off of anything and everything with his arms stretched out in front of him yelling, "I am Spiderman Hero, I'm here to save the day!" . So if you need your day saved you know who to call.

Todd and I got to go to Hawaii last month with Randy and Gayle and Cindy.





We went to Kauai and had a great time. Here we are taking surfing lessons from an old guy named Sol. Yes I was the best. I'm not afraid to brag. Just because Randy can't see without his glasses and my surf board "accidentally" hit him in the head and he almost drowned means nothing. Don't believe anything he says.


We went to a Luau and went on an amazing

helicopter ride. We went to the beach and snorkeled and ate A LOT and mostly just hung out and laughed a lot. And the kids survived while we were gone. I was very worried about that.

This is the Luau.










Just more eating.









Christmas was fun. We got to have Cindy with us which everyone enjoys. Todd is still busy working on the shop in every spare minute. He will have been Bishop for 5 years at the end of this month. The Stake President says he doesn't have any plans for a release anytime soon but that could change so we just don't know.

It was so good to see everyone at the funeral. It is really too bad that you have to die to have that kind of a party and tribute. I couldn't believe how many people were there. I feel very blessed to have a family that we can count on. That we can laugh and cry with. I am so glad I had that time with him before he died and to feel the love and support of my family during such a difficult time.

Enjoy this beautiful season. We hope to be able to visit this summer.
Love ,
the Andersons

Seamons Family

I feel like it has been a very long time since I wrote a family letter. I had sat down after Dad's funeral and wrote several thank you notes. Then for some reason it seemed like I should write one to Dad. So here is my Thank You To Dad.

Thanks Dad For:

Thanks for always being there -- you know for coming when I called "Mom" at night, knowing Mom was taking care of the current baby in our family.

Thanks for the Sunday morning tickle sessions when I was really small.

Thanks for pushing me to do things I was really scard to do -- sing in public, talk to large groups, etc.

Thanks for giving up one of your fun nights out bowling to take me to a Daddy-Daughter dates. This was the best because they wanted us to square dance and you were the only Dad that knew how, how fun it was to have "My Dad" teach everyone else.

Thanks for loving Jeff like I do... every time Jeff was in the hospital he would ask for my Dad, long before he would think of his own.

Thanks for loving my children with such unconditional love.

Thanks for all the parent-teacher conferences you took notes at, and for yelling at principals to defend the rights of your grandchildren, for all the games and concerts that were not really entertaning but you came and sat thru them anyway, and for buying all the stuff they were selling.

Thanks for being the babysitter when Mom still worked and I needed someone to pick the kids up from school, mostly for when I asked you to take care of a 1 month old and you said "YES! and your only complaint was she slept too much.

Thanks for laughing at my dumb jokes even in the last days of your life, when we were alone and I got bored and started telling you dumb jokes, I could hear you softly chuckle and squeeze my hand.

Thanks Dad for a forever family to love and be loved

Thanks

On to the family news!

Well we had a pretty good Christmas, there is nothing like a young child in the house for Christmas morning. CJ was here and in the morning he was so excited, not for the very large package Santa had left him but for the fact that the cookies and milk he left out the night before were gone!!

We love that Christmas day is now a lot of coming and going. The kids come and go as they meet with the in-laws and then come here.

We got Hans and Shelli on Christmas eve and then again later Christmas morning. (sharing with Denise and Ray is somthing I am learning to live with) We love Shelli and really love that we get to see her often. Much more than us is the kids love Shelli, Jenni especially, just yesterday, Randi, Efrain and family were here and Hans and Shelli came in. I heard from the back bedroom a screem, "Shelli' is here" and then the pounding of feet as Jenni came running down the hall.

Poor Hans used to be the first one they ran to and now it is Shelli, they still love him and he gets all the hugs and kisses. Maybe someday we will hear wedding bells?? (I know, I know stop pushing)

Katie bought a car, a brand new car!! She is so excited. She is looking for a new job as Borders has taken a turn in management and will have 100% turnover when Katie goes. So many changes in her life!

Petra and Ed are still with us but have found the house they want. It just isn't built yet. She will tell you in her letter.

Randi and Efrain are doing the same, meeting with mortgage lenders and trying to get a house, more from them!!

Ross is working at a large apt complex doing maintenance, but is mostly excited about joining either the Roseville police dept or the CHP. He has applied for both and the process is long and hard. Ross is excited to go thru it all.

Allison had her Senior pictures taken last week, this is sooooo weird to think she will be a Senior next year. She is on the go so much these days. She has a fun group of friends that keeps her busy, she doesn't have much time for babysitting but when she does she loves to hang out with her niece and nephews and really loves to go hang out with Jake, Edan and Noah. At family events you can see Edan in her arms a lot. I asked one day why she is always holding Edan, she told me."She will not be in trouble if I am holding her" This made me laugh, poor cute Edan, she is always having a hard time.

Jeff and I are pretty much the same. We are so grateful for Jeff's good health, last year about this time he was close to dying, so we are so happy he is so healthy and well. I will post pictures as soon as I gather all the camera's and download the pictures. I love to see all the pictures you guys have posted!!

Family Dinner Pictures

hope you don't mind all the photos, but i thought you would like some of these... lots more where these came from!!