Okay, I know we aren't supposed to bad mouth our husbands but I asked him to blog for your birhtday. Now that we are down to one computer (battery/charger issues with the laptop that we have yet to figure out)it seems that the two of us only have time to get on here at the same time. Maybe he didn't hear me, maybe I was not direct enough. Whatever the case may be I remembered your b-day the whole day and hoped it was going well for you. I also thought that your birthday wish had been safely blogged. I'm sorry. If I was a bigger person I would take the blame all on myself but I'm not.

Things are going well here. Very busy. We had Ellyn's big meeting to discuss her care and therapy on Thursday. It went as well as possible for the resources they have. They have made several concessions and had some good ideas. The woman that will work with Ellyn the most is an absolutely wonderful person and I feel very blessed to have her.

We went to Mike's field day yesterday- Organizational Day. It was alot of fun. Sadie was thrilled because they had two moon walk thingies. She didn't even let the sting from the yellow jacket right below her eye stop her from having a blast. Jane got the part of Martha Cratchet (one of the children) and caroler and dancer in her school play. She's excited, I am too, just wondering how we are going to fit it all in.

Well I have to go. Lots to do on a Saturday. Take care. Love, Brooke

I guess Adina's birthday gives me a good reason to blog. I have been putting it off for a while...mainly due to not a lot of free time. It was great having Kim here last week...Her shower was a great success. Her sister-in-law, Melia, put it on and did a wonderful job. She is now all set for the baby to arrive....but not before October 9 please so we can have our trip to Newport Beach! We are leaving on Saturday to fly down. Dad will be submitting his "follow-up" letter to Willamette tomorrow. When we return from NB life might get a bit exciting. We feel actually pretty good about the whole thing so I am not too worried...just curious on how it will all play out.

Grandma is Grandma! Her birthday - 96th - is on next Wednesday while we are gone. We are going to take her out to Red Lobster (her favorite restaurant) tomorrow night before we go and get some balloons for her room. Hopefully, B and B and D and A will drop by during the week so she doesn't feel deserted. A group from the ward is going over to sing to her on Wednesday....and she will be getting lots of cards and presents!!! She changes from day to day and hour by hour. Sometimes she appears on death's door and the next visit she is quite perky....However, long conversations are sort of out of the question!
I am taking her the doctor this afternoon for her sores which is a bit of a task with all the lifting of her and the wheelchair.

This morning I spoiled myself by getting my hair colored and cut and then a manicure and a pedicure...so I guess I do need to do something for others this afternoon. I just finished Andrew's crossstitch and am getting started on Melia's. Then I'll get a break????

Love you all...I'll write more later.

Mom

Adina- We hope you have a fantastic birthday!!! I'm so glad that you bought yourself a gift in advance, it's about time we follow their lead!! I hope you enjoyed the concert!

I had a crazy dream last night that we were all at another reunion and acting really crazy and then we were pretending that the building was exploding and that we had to escape but were all running really slowly to act like it was happening in slow motion... weird....

Well, we have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that we are going to Disneworld!!! We have never been and just can't wait to go! We were able to get the airfare for free and we are staying at Shades of Green, the military resort. Our dates our Janurary 15-20. It should be fantastic. However, that leads me to the bad news which is that we are not going to make it to Vancouver for Christmas like we had hoped. Tom had been feeling like it would be nice to do Christmas here and the more we looked at airfare and the amount of time Tom and Hayden have off school, etc. it just didn't seem feasible. Then once the option of going to Disneyworld surfaced it all started to get even more complicated. I will still keep an eye on airfare and we will keep considering things, but that is our plan for now.

The BYU game is tonight, we are excited to watch! Have a great weekend!

Tracey

Just wanted to say happy birthday to Adina! We hope you have a great day and have fun at The Killers concert. Lucky!!!

Kim and Treven

Some pics of the car, Sadie's soccer game, and the neighborhood. We will take some real German photos off post soon.

Mike

So here is a picture of the lot that we chose with no neighbors in our back yard... just wetlands. We just signed papers on Friday to officially start the building process and home purchase... so exciting! Brent and I are doing great, he just got back from Florida for a work conference and had a blast. He got to play at Universal Studios while he was there, learned a lot of good leadership stuff to bring back to work, and experienced the humidity and crazy bugs in Orlando. I have been going a little crazy not having a real schedule for the past 2 weeks but I start with orientation with HR tomorrow and will probably get my temp. license tomorrow as well. That means I get to start seeing patients and for the first time not have to call myself a student... plus I'll get paid which will come in handy since we will be taking on a mortgage next year.
We had fun seeing Kim this week and can't believe the next time we will see her she'll have a baby.
Things have been great here at the Stinchfield Hilton and we are sooooo greatful that K&B are willing to let us invade their home untill we move into our new house. Hanging out with them is always fun and I feel very blessed to have such great in-laws.
Well, that's it for now. I actually have to go to bed at a decent hour since I have work tomorrow morning. Love to all.
Buffy

It's been a busy weekend - I have about 20 things I should be doing, so naturally...I'm blogging instead.

Dave ran his marathon this morning - was doing great until mile 18 when his bursitis-laden hip gave out on him. I will let him tell you all the gruesome details, but he didn't do as well as he would have liked. Looks as though he will need to lay off the running for a while, which would be a welcome release for most of us, but will be a tough thing for him. Anyway - he is due home tomorrow afternoon.

Having Kim here was fun - too bad she has to go back home. We hung out as much as our schedules allowed and went to her baby shower this morning. Melia is well stocked for a while, I think! Kim looks fabulous...

Soccer games today - Parker had bursts of actually playing the game and bursts of swinging from the goal posts and pushing down his own teammates to get at the ball. Pretty typical. Brooke - your description of Sadie playing was so vivid to me - I could just see her running down the field, arm in arm with a girl from the other team! Awesome.
Isaac's game was a different story - very talented players - and Isaac scored a goal!

I should go - but wanted to let the Brian Regan fans know that he is on tour right now. Coming to Boise on Nov. 19 - going to Cinncinati on Nov. 2 - and coming to Seattle on Dec. 8th. Dave and I have tickets to the Seattle show - hope K&B and maybe B&B can join us.

Love you all - love the news.
Adina

I just got this picture in my email. It is the one that the race people take. This is me just after I went under the castle in Fantasyland.

We've had a nice week here and have stayed really busy. We're so happy to hear from you Mike and Brooke! It sounds like things are awesome! Not much new here. I started going to Institute on Wednesday's. They have a class from 12-1:30 that has babysitting available. The topic is something about increasing your scripture study skills, we're practicing with the book of Revelations. The teacher is one of those people who has read the bible in Hebrew and is working on doing it in Greek. She knows everything and it makes my brain hurt just to listen to her. The class is really small so when she asks a question I feel like I need to answer. Which means I need to come to class prepared and I need to pay attention (not half listen while dealing with the kids)! I haven't done that in years!!! So it should be a good challenge for me.

We've been busy shoe shopping today and now the kids are taking a nap. Hayden's preschool teacher said that Hayden is doing well. I asked if there are any issues we could work on and she said it's just the normal kind of thing where he will try to take a toy from someone. When she intervenes he says "But I asked nicely and they said no." That sounds exactly like something Hayden would say! Anyway, his teacher has a good attitude about it and just said "But that's what we're here to learn!" So I am going to continue to work with him a bit on waiting his turn for things.

We went to Walmart today and at one point Hayden was on the next aisle but when I turned down that aisle he was gone. He wanted to play hide and seek but he hadn't told me that so I was panicking and yelling his name but he wouldn't answer because he was hiding. Very stressful. Needless to say I had a long talk with him after that.
He asked me to buy him a bubble blowing gun and I said no so he tried to act all okay about it and he handed it to me and said "Okay, please just put it back for me then." But his chin was quivering and he climbed in the stroller and just started to cry. It was the saddest thing you've ever seen. It was not a typical tantrum, it was a quiet, depressed cry because he was so sad he couldn't have it. We didn't get the toy but he luckily cheered up after a while!

Okay, I better go. I just wanted to say hi before the weekend! We are having dinner with our next door neighbors (they are not LDS) on Sunday so that should be fun. Tonight we are going to Cedar Point to enjoy the Halloween festivities. It will probably rain on us but it should be fun anyway! Good luck on your race Dave! The colder it gets the more I am looking at getting a treadmill... don't freeze Dave!

Tracey

forecasted for the start of the marathon which I will have started in 23 hrs. Why do I do this? When/If you ever do it, and like it, you'll know why. I just need a good weather one, San Diego?

Dave

Hi family, I hope you are well. We are finally on-line and not a moment too soon. I have missed the blog so much now that we are away. Phew that I didn't find out about Isaac's leg until after the diagnosis was made. Poor kid, give him a big hug for me. Dave, good luck on your race. I know you'll do great. I just looked up Meag's time from Chelan and it was 4:15 and she got first in her age category. I'm so proud of her. I hope you have fun. Brent and Buffy, so excited about the house- I will look it up soon. Anne and Peter- Andrew is adorable. Everyone else, we love you and miss you. Here is the novel that I wrote for both family blogs. Good luck.

Our Vonage phone #706-478-5369. We are eight or nine hours different. When it is 8 am there, it is 5 pm here. Or close to that. Meagan and I figured it out and now I can't remember. But the point is that we have a stateside number in case you ever need or want to get ahold of us.

Sadie started pre-school this week. She was so excited she wore her backpack to breakfast. She absolutely loves it and feels so grown up. She had her first soccer game yesterday. It was about the funniest thing I have ever seen. The kids, no matter what team, were kicking it to whatever goal was closest. Sadie and a little girl she didn't even know from the other team grabbed hands and started running down the field in a totally opposite direction of the action, just laughing and completely oblivious to what was going on. We yelled for her to get the ball one time and she reached down and picked it up. All the other kids were doing similar hysterical antics. The parents were all just cracking up on the sidelines. So fun.

Jane is becoming such a grown up. She wakes up totally early every morning and does her hair, which is absolutely beautiful by the way. We pick out her outfits with much care and she doesn't even argue with me about wanting to wear her favorite jeans and an ugly t-shirt every day. Her school is about a block away and every morning she leaves on time and walks with a girl that lives just up the street. She comes home from school and works on her homework right away. It's pretty amazing and very welcome. She also just started soccer and has her first game(that she has been to) on Saturday. We told her that we are not going to be here every Saturday for games. We will go to all the practices and as many games as we can but this is our good weather until spring and we want to get out and see stuff. We should hit most of them though because we just bought a hoop-d (how do you even spell that?)AND it looks like we are going to have to re-carpet and paint the Oklahoma house and rent it out again. Now they are saying there are cracks in the foundation. Is anyone interested in a bit of arson? Kill me. But...there is plenty to do just around here.

Back to Jane, she has an absolutely fabulous teacher and she is really loving school. She says she is happy because she gets to be the class clown again, I hope her teacher is okay with that. There is an outdoor adventure club and next week they are going indoor rock climbing for $5. She's so excited. She just came home from school and told me about her whole day laughing and smiling the entire time. Too cute.

Ellyn is also doing well. I really think she is trying to say words on a regular basis. She is making very similar sounds to the words and using them at the right time. The day we got our furniture and put our couch in the living room she ran over to it laughing and smiling, climbed up and buried her face in the pillows. It feels so nice to know that we have a home in one spot for three years. Besides that Ellyn has developed a lovely habit of pooping right after she's supposed to go down for nap. Today as I was listening (because I put her down earlier than usual) to see if she was going to poop or nap she stuck her hand down her diaper, evidently having pooped the second I put her down. She really loves to check it out and so I've decided that for naps she'll be wearing overalls. Don't worry, I'll still change her, it's easy to tell. If she keeps babbling and isn't quiet we know she's filled her britches. Besides that, she is beautiful and happy. I met with the woman in charge of coordinating her therapy last week and they originally only wanted to do one hour a week of therapy. I just about died. I was so mad I started tearing up but...I also felt like I was able to talk to her in a logical way about what our family would need- at least the bare minimum. I also talked to her about getting a set of training dvds for all the parents of autistic children here on post (there are three other families)and setting up a lending library of sorts. It might take alot of work but maybe, if I stay rational about this, we can get a decent program going. They called me back and they are going to order the dvds and they are getting a list together of books from all the Army libraries in Europe for resources. The woman I worked with was wonderful, it's just dealing with the Army, insurance, early intervention, etc... It's a new, huge unit coming over and they are understaffed. We'll see how it works.

Mike is out registering his new beater car. It is actually a beautiful black 1988 525i series BMW. So funny that all the old cars around here are BMWs and Mercedes. It only has 100,000 miles on it and should be reliable for some of our trips. Thus cutting down on gas consumption. The German guy he got it from has an excellent reputation around here so it should be good.

I think that covers our whole update. Oh, I did get my German driver's license yesterday. Mike and I had a friendly little wager going that I wouldn't pass my first time around, because alot of people don't and I only started studying the night before. I passed with a better score than he did, but in all fairness he helped me study and practiced the insane "right always has the right of way" picture scenarios until I finally got it. I've been to my first coffee and all the girls seems really nice. We LOVE the brats and icecream here and all I can say is that I better keep walking everywhere or I'll be in trouble. I love you all. Tristan and the girls are beautiful. Went to IKEA by the way and I could live there. Love, me

Mom and I met with an attorney on Monday of this week to get his impression of our plan to transition out of Willamette Dental Group over the next two years. I have been approached by the owner of Salmon Creek Oral Surgery about coming to work for him. This practice is 5 blocks from our home; makes a lot of sense, close to home, no Oregon Income Tax, no 30-60 minute commutes (longer in the winter). I submitted a letter about 4 August telling them that I was going to work for them on my day off (Monday) and they have not responded. I am going to submit a new letter on next Friday, just prior to our leaving for a week for an oral surgery convention in San Diego, telling them that I assume that a "no response" is a "yes, go ahead". Of note is that in my contract to them, I have to ask their permission to do this.

If they come back and say, "yes", then I will start to work for the new practice on Mondays only. This will build to two days a week and so on until I am up to 5. (9-6). If they come back and say, "no", then I will submit my resignation giving them my 90-days notice. They may drop me like a hot rock or come back and try to make a deal work that will allow me to go part-time. I don't know how they'll respond but I know they have been trying for 3 years to get another oral surgeon in the Portland-Vancouver region without any luck.

Oh well, tighten down the hatches, we're off to a new venture. More to follow as things progress.

Dad

Just kidding.

You'd think so with the number of times I have blogged in the last month. Although, now that I think about it, Mike and Brooke have blogged much more than I have and they haven't even had a computer. I have actually tried to call Mike's number several times hoping that by some crazy chance, he had hooked up his computer with his internet phone thingy. To no avail. I shall keep trying. We miss you guys. Already dreaming about our trip to come and visit you guys there. It sounds like an excellent opportunity for y'all. Fill us in with as many details as soon as possible. Oh yeah, and you are going to have to learn how to use a camera on a regular basis, because if we don't get a plethora of photos from your escapades over there, you will be put on the watch list and will not be allowed back in the country (I've got connections with Pampered Chef, and they control EVERYTHING!).

I have been tremendously busy at work, which is great, just what I want. And Dr. Davis is filling up his whole schedule next year with vacations, so that is even better. Now is crunch time for getting all the lawyer and accountants together and doing their jobs. Fun times.

The kids are back in school and loving it. Really weird that Isaac is in Middle School. I distinctly remember middle school and all of its quirkiness. At this point, I just hope that we have taught Isaac what is right and how to stand up for them and hope that he continues in that direction. So far, so good. He has made really good friends. More to come.

Adina finds herself with 2 days each week where she is alone during the day for a few hours. Really strange for her. We go out to lunch on those days when we can. One of the bennies of only working 1.5 miles from home. She still amazes me with her scrapbooking. What a family history she is creating! I could never do it like she does, she truly does have a talent.

I leave Friday for Logan, Utah for the Top of Utah Marathon. I hear it is a really good one. Very scenic and fast! And the low is supposed to be 28 degrees! Yea!! Flashback! Why can't I pick a warmer one? Next one will have to be in Arizona or something. I was worried because my hip was bothering me after the Hood to Coast and then I rolled my ankle kicking the soccer ball around at soccer practice for Parkers team, but they both seem to be doing well after a little break, alot of ice and anti-inflammatories. Good as new! We'll see how I feel at 11am on Saturday. My goal is to get under 4 hrs. Wish me luck!

Marnie, congrats on the 5K! I think that is awesome. It looked kind of crowded though? How was it for running? More of a scenic race? Keep it up, pick another to aim for, they are happening all the time and having a goal like that will keep you exercising. If you pick a 10K to train for, I will come run it with you, and we can invite anyone else that wants to also. It'd be alot of fun!

I hope all is well with everyone else, there is so much going on in everyones lives and I am so glad that we have this forum to share our everyday lives with each other.

I am tired.

Dave

The picture of him asleep, he passed out during home teachers on Sunday....he tends to pass out every once in a while and looks like that.

-Anne

Things here are really good. We had a fun time this past weekend, we to Geauga Lake Friday night. On Saturday I went to a scrapbook crop from 1-9. I enjoyed it and Tom survived with the kids. It was chaos at our house when I left for the scrapbook thing because there were tons of guys over to watch the BYU game and they had to bring their kids because their wives were at Super Saturday. I was nervous to leave Danica but they survived it and the guys even helped clean the house up before they left.

I taught Hayden our phone number yesterday and he is pretty proud of himself. We went for a walk and I just kept practicing with him and he learned it really fast. I read in a magazine that they should know their phone number at age 3, their address at 4. I figured since he already knows our address he might as well know our phone number two! Next we'll work on my cell phone number! :)

Danica had her 9 month check up yesterday. She is as healthy as can be, and although small and growing slowly she is growing! She's just 15 1/2 lbs! I swear I feed her all the time, but her hands and feet are really small compared to other babies so she is just going to be petite. She's still very cautious with her crawling but is so obsessed with standing up! She doesn't cruise around the furniture yet though so we have plenty of time before walking! I'm still working on waving and clapping but mostly she just gets excited and smiles instead of copying me! Still no teeth or hair!

They are redoing the stairs of our front porch. The cement had gotten really cracked and broken and was irreparable. So they are demolishing the current stairs today and will build new ones tomorrow! Hayden is loving watching all the construction out the window!

This week I just plan to try to get some cleaning done and some scrabooking. Friday night we plan to take the kids to Cedar Point for their Halloween festivals. Hayden LOVES Halloween so much! We figure we'll take the kids before the weather gets really cold. Hopefully we can plan a date night for a future weekend to really ride the rides. I'm also trying to figure out what to have the kids wear for Halloween... Hayden keeps changing his mind!

That's about all going on at our house. Hope all is well!

Hi family. I'm at the ACS center here on post to inform you that we are still alive. This will not be long however because Mike is watching the girls for a few minutes before he goes back to work. We were so excited because our modem came in the mail last Thursday. Mike spent quite a while trying to get it all set up, finally had to go see the tech and found out we have to have one more part that won't come in the mail until the end of this week. So sad. I was daydreaming about all the fun things I would be posting on the blog every day and dying of anticiptation for a call to Meags (I called mom already). But alas, it will be a few days yet. Just know that we are doing well. Our house is coming together nicely, the girls are making friends, etc... We spent the day Saturday in Nurenburg(sp?). It was so much fun. Alright, gotta go. I love you all. Love, Brooke

So as you know, yesterday I did the Disneyland 5K. It was SOOO much fun!! It was the first annual so I am definintely going to be back next year to do this again. :) About the race...it was themed from Pirates of the Caribbean which was awesome because that is one of my favorite movies. It started at the parking structure with a huge "Start" banner with pirates symbols on each side. About 3000 people did the race and it was a family fun run too so there were a lot of kids. I even saw a man who's son was in a wheelchair and he was pushing him through the race as he ran. And another dad was in the wheelchair himself and he was carrying his little son on his lap as they rolled through the race! Very cool. So they had a pirate and Mickey and Minnie dressed as pirates at the beginning cheering us on and they played the music from the movie to start us going (really got me ready to go!) Then we went through the tram path to Disneyland. The course went all through Disneyland and in every land the Disney character that went there were there to cheer us on, like Woody and Jessie in Frontierland and Sleeping Beauty on her castle. Then we went over to CA Adventure where they had a bunch of characters too like the cars from Cars, Flik from A Bug's Life and Lilo and Stitch. The race ended in the Hollywood section of CA Adventure and ended with Pirates music to push us to the end. I brought my camera along so I will post pictures after this. I would definitely recommend this race to anyone who loves Disneyland and will be down here in September. The sign ups for next year start November 15th. It fills up really fast and will probably be faster this year so if you want to do it let me know and I will let you know where to sign up!


Marnie

Well, Brent and are are embarking on the exciting and scary journey through new home ownership. We feel like we just started the process of getting things in order and researching real estate up in Vancouver... but we think we may have found the home for us already AHHH!
For those who know my tendencies, I like to research, research, ponder, think, and research some more. And when any big choice seems to be going too quickly, I get a bit anxious. That said, I am really excited about the builder, the location, the floorplan, and the choices of lots. Plus this builder has a lot of generous standard features not common in a starter home which we like.
Now it's the fun part of finding a lender we like with financing we feel good about (yikes) and pondering for what seems like an eternity over what upgrades to choose. If anyone has any advice or has purchased a "spec home" before, please let me know what you know about choosing options for a home because this is definitely a first for us! If you want to check out our potential first home, the website is
www.mymanorhome.com. The development is Peachtree Meadows (little cutesy but oh well), the model is 1829, and if you really want to know more the lot number will probably be 19 or 20. If for nothing else it is always fun to see what real estate costs or is like in other parts of the country because it sure varies. A home like this in LA would probably be in at least the 700's... yikes!
Anyway, I am still waiting to start working due to not having my temporary license in my hands yet but hopefully will by the end of next week. Then it's off to the working world and goodbye to long Christmas and summer breaks! Brent is leaving on Sunday morning to Orlando for a week of meetings for work and is staying at some swanky hotel. I wish I could have gone but the whole saving for a home got in the way of that.
That's pretty much it for us... we are basically obsessed right now with housing but are trying our best to attend to the rest of life. For example, I really need to study for boards so I can have peace of mind before taking the big test and I have a super fun Halloween party to plan here at the Stinchfields.
Peter, the trip to New Orleans sounds great and doesn't suprise me one bit that you would do it. And Andrew looks TOTALLY adorable and sorry to hear about the crying and throw up thing... you guys can laugh at us when it's our turn.
Greetings to all other family (Stinchfield or not) that may read this and we hope you are doing well!
Buffy

Well it is true, I will be going to New Orleans the end of October for a week. But I do need to change the tune a little bit. This trip is organized by AGC which is the Association for General Contractors. It is an organization that my company works through to get our insurance and other benefits. I proposed the idea to my boss and asked if he would allow me to miss that week of work in order to make the trip. To my surprise, he agreed but jokingly (with a hint of seriousness) said that they would just work me harder before and after. Feeling that I pushed my luck to get the time off with no pay cut, I decided not to go for the $500 expenses that I need to cover.

I went to the meeting today and the 5 others that made it to the meeting are all getting their expenses sponsored by their respective companies. In the flier they advertised the activity with they mentioned that if someone wasn't interested in actually going they would appreciate a donation to help offset expenses of those of us who are going. Being the only one in that group without the company fundage and not being able to cover them all ourselves, I'm first on the list to be covered with any donations. I'm pretty sure that will happen, but I would love to come up with all of it, or at least a large portion. I do also have to get a few other supplies to take with me. I was talking to Ken on instant messenger and he brought up the idea that I could try and get a family sponsorship. So here's the pitch, if you could help out with even $20 bucks I could go to the organizers with AGC and tell them that I need less money and maybe someone else could come that otherwise wouldn't. Ken has pledged his share and encouraged that I make this pitch. I plan on taking our video camera and documenting some of the trip to present to my boss, but I will of course share that with all of the family.

If you're wondering what we're gonna do there, I am too. I'm told that all Habitat for Humanity requires is that you are willing to work an 8 hour day each day and provide your own transportation to and from New Orleans. We will be working on the Musician's Village and staying at Camp Hope which is located in a former elementary school. So if you're interested and able to help a little, let me know.

Peter

Well I thought I would add some pics I took of Andrew yesterday before he decided to throw up all over the outfit. The pants are still too big for him and they are 0-3 month size. He is growing though, weighed him at 12.5 pounds the other day, He just has Peter's body with no hips. Anyways he has been great for us except he has now really found his lungs this morning and cried from 4 until around 9 unless he was being held by one of us. But he definitly is a great kid and I love him more and more everyday.

We can't wait to take a vacation to Newport Beach with Mom and Dad. It will be nice to be able to see friends and family since we haven't really been there in a year. Peter has decided to head to New Orleans with some people here that are going to do the Habitat for Humanity there around the end of October. He is really excited and found out he doesn't have to pay for any of it.

Things are well and we are having tons of fun with Andrew and watching him grow. Love you all!

Love,

Anne

From Dwight Schrute's blog on NBC.com...

LOST BATTLESTAR

Dwight Schrute here with a much belated addition to my ‘blog’.

‘Where the “F-“ have you been!?’, scream my (literally) hundreds of
readers.

Well, I’ll tell you. There have been some big changes at Dunder-
Mifflin and I have been busy as a beaver.

[Note: I know full well that that phrase makes no sense whatsoever.
Beavers are not busy unless their dams are continually knocked down
and destroyed by pesky neighborhood kids and/or storms]

Plus with the beet harvesting and my laser tag team (the Gandalfs!)
making it to regionals, my time has been quite limited.

There is a question that has been eating away at me like a flesh
eating bacteria or a wolverine.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE CAST OF BATTLESTAR GALACTICA CRASH LANDED ON THE ‘LOST’ ISLAND???!!!

First of all, they would have lasers. Adama would quickly secure the
hatch for his crew. The survivors of the Oceanic flight 815 would be
herded up like little children and inspected like cattle.

“Could these people actually be Cylons!” Starbuck would be thinking
to herself. Then she would think, “That one who calls himself Sawyer
is pretty hot. I wonder what he would look like swimming in just his
jeans.”

Starbuck would take Sawyer on a reconnoiter of the island and they
would visit the swimming hole and start necking. And then Kate and
Apollo would stumble upon them and they would all be getting it on
when a huge crashing would come through the jungle and one of those
huge unseen monsters would tower above them (the monsters that
disappeared after episode 8 of season 1) and they would be
screaming.

AHHHHH!!!!

Cut to commercial.

Meanwhile back at the hatch, Adama would want to imprison the “Lost”
cast in the old cave with the creek in it, but president “Roslin”
would want to reason with them and have both casts mate in order to
create more surviving humans.

Meanwhile the Cylons would have contacted the Others and they would
form an “alliance” to destroy all the good humans and especially that
annoying French woman who lives on the other side of the island.

Starbuck would shoot the unseen monster and Sawyer would say
something witty and sexy, like “Nice shot, blondie. Where’d you
learn to shoot a laser like that? From watching princess Leia?”

She would say, “Put a sock in it Sawyer” but the attraction would be
too much for them and they would have to start making out again.

MORE NEXT WEEK on THE CONTINUING SAGA OF ‘LOST BATTLESTAR™’!!!

(there wasn't any more next week -Marnie)

Barb & Buffy - Paige Schickedanz would like to know which Vancouver ladies are interested in attending Time Out in Tacoma, WA. I belive it is on Saturday, Oct. 21st - an all day event. Paige thought it would be fun to meet the night before and get a hotel room - make a weekend out of it. I don't know if I can go - we have Cirque du Soleil tickets for Friday night and Dave has all-day Scout stuff that Saturday. I will work on a sitter, but it would need to be someone who can shuttle the kids to soccer games. Regardless -if the two of you are interested, please let me or her know. I think it would be a lot of fun -I went last year with my Mom and Kim. Well worth it.

Also - on a sad note - for those of you who knew Ann McOmber of the Centerville Ward - she took her life a couple of days ago. She had battled depression for a while. If you are interested in sending your sympathies to her mother, Grace, her mailing address is: 1721 Horner Way Fremont, CA 94536. We just saw the both of them this last visit - very sad news.

Nothing else. Tracey - love the pictures. Can't wait to see those kids again! Marnie - I will vote for you, although I have no idea what Sprinkles is - and from the sound of it, I am better off not knowing. Let's just say, it's a good thing Krispy Kreme is 20 minutes away!

Love you all...
Adina

Wow, how do I get so far behind? If I would just keep up I could post little short updates instead of the novels I feel compelled write! So Buffy, is your job all worked out and official now? I hope so, how exciting!! Things here have been really exciting for the past two weeks. First of all, Hayden started preschool! He went 2 days last week and will start going the three days this week. So far he loves it! When I dropped him off today he ran in and started playing with a new friend. Before I could even say I was leaving he yelled “Bye mom, see ya later!” I’m glad he felt comfortable there! We’ve settled into a nice little routine we all seem to enjoy. The second big news is that Danica started crawling! Two weeks ago at church I did a lesson on tithing in Primary. Tom was teaching Sunday School so I had to bring Danica to my class. We were sorting pennies on the floor and the kids got worried that Danica would get the pennies. I told them not to worry because she couldn’t crawl. But sure enough, she crawled right over! Everyone started laughing, it was great! She is still pretty slow and mostly just crawls to what she can see but I’m okay with that! She also loves to pull herself up on everything! She even thinks she can stand up if she puts her hands on a book on the floor, so she just straightens her legs and puts her bum in the air. We have also started to work on waving and she waved a few times over the weekend. Very cute!

I am working this week on getting my scrapbooking stuff in order. I am going to a crop on Saturday with Lexi and I want to get a lot done. I’m trying to get 2005 started and finished… needless to say I’m a little behind! But hopefully I can get caught up before Christmas. We had a “Teddy Bear Picnic” yesterday, inspired by the classic song. We invited over a few friends and their teddy bears. We played hide and seek, wore teddy bear disguises, played games and had a picnic. It was a lot of fun.

Well we hope all is well with everyone! I’ll post again soon!

To all those out there who read this, please take action...

This is very serious. I have a love in my life that cannot be forsaken but we have been kept apart for so long that it is just becoming too much. I have struggled with it daily and gone to others for solice but it never brings the same joy.

Imagine my rejoicing when I found out yesterday that there is a chance for us after all. But I will need the help of all who read this.

You are wondering, who is this love that is worthy of this kind of joy? Well, let me introduce you to the wonder of the Sprinkles Cupcake. It is difficult to express in words the perfection that exudes from these amazing little pastries.

In the past I have been forced to take the journey to that city to the north and visit the rich folk in order to find their pleasure. But now I have a chance, a small one, but it is still there. For you see, Sprinkles is having the layman VOTE for the next location!

Now I know that you may be thinking, if they are so good why don't I vote for my own city? Remove this temptation from your mind. It is an evil selfish thought. I am pleading, do this for me...do this for your daughter, sister, sister-in-law, cousin, neice, whatever I am to you...do it for me. Do it for love.

I thank you all for your support in this difficult time and hope that we will all see better days when there is a Sprinkles in San Diego. Thank you, thank you very much.

TO VOTE CLICK HERE (at the bottom of the page click on "vote for the next Sprinkles location" then put in your email and scroll to San Diego, CA for the city :)

I have a break at work so I have decided to write in here. Great to hear from you all! I am so glad that everything is going well in Germany with Mike and Brooke and the girls! How exciting to start your lives there! I will definitely have to come visit before you all leave.

Everything is great in San Diego. I had a great weekend up in Vancouver with Mom, Dad and everyone up there. I got to see the local real estate of Vancouver and see Wicked which was amazing. I would have to say it is the best musical I have seen...meaning that I was obsessed with the music and I wasn't at all disappointed with how it actually turned out (like I was with Aida and Jekyll&Hyde). Thank you so much Mom and Dad! It was awesome!

I am now back to work and this week is turning out to be quite the busy one. I think I will definitely have a lot to do through the end of the year. We are revising an entire program that hasn't been edited at all for about 30 years (tons to do!) and in the middle of that we are doing some revisions to our money-maker program (L.E.T.) for a re-print of the materials...all pretty time consuming. Right now I have a break because I can input the changes faster than my bosses can write them so I am waiting for them to send me what they have done.

This weekend I am going to be headed up to Disneyland after work on Friday to spend the night and then run the Inaugural Disneyland 5K bright and early on Saturday morning. Should be a fun time and I am really excited to do it. You can look at the course here. I am running it with my friend Kristy and her sister. I will post pictures, I promise.

Not much else is going on. I am eagerly awaiting the new fall TV shows...The Office next Thursday and Lost on October 4th. There are a couple new shows that I think I am going to check out. One is "30 Rock" which has Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan from SNL along with Alec Baldwin and I think it is about a SNL-type show...the behind-the-scenes sorta. The other is on after that and is called "Twenty Good Years". John Lithgow and the dad from Arrested Development (i always forget his name) are in it as men that figure they have about 20 good years left in their life so they are going to make the most of it. Both shows are on NBC on Weds nights before Lost. So I think I am just going to set aside Weds as my TV night in general although my DVR does help in case I miss anything.

Can't wait to see Anne, Peter, and Andrew in a couple of weeks along with Mom and Dad! Love having any of you guys come visit me here! :) Anyway, I am back to work.

Love you all
marnie

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers that went out Isaac's way...and Tracey, don't feel bad for spelling his name wrong - how many times have we spelled your name wrong?

For those parents out there that don't want to deal with this whole bone infection thing...
Apparently children get it often, usually following some type of bone trauma, but sometimes from any bacteria that sneaks in through a scratch or cut. When the doctor asked me if Isaac had any cuts or scratches on his legs, I had to laugh. He's 11, of course he does. Countless. Anyway - that is likely the source. Kids are more prone to the infection because their bones are more porous and highly vascular - especially long bones that are growing - like his femur. It's just really important that any cuts or scratches are cleaned out. I think Isaac will be much better at this now.

The doctor called today - they were able to culture some bacteria and will likely know exactly what type tomorrow. In the meantime, Isaac takes 6 pills a day for long while. He will go back to school and soccer tomorrow...

Wicked was awesome. Hanging out with Marnie, for the short time we saw her, was awesome. All of you are awesome. Seeing Kim next week will be awesome. Later, all.

Adina

Isaac has been discharged. He is being treated for osteomyelitis - bone infection. Hopefully they will isolate the bacteria this weekend and he will be on antibiotics for a good while. He feels good, other than being tired. They will follow his progress closely. Love you all...
Adina

So good to hear from Mike & Brooke & girls...sounds like Germany is going to be an unbelievable experience for you guys - I'm a wee bit jealous - but we are so looking forward to our visit there. I think we have decided to come during your second year there - your third year already sounds busy with other family! Anyway - glad you arrived safely, glad you are finally together, and glad for your large branch - that's awesome.

For those who aren't aware, Isaac's "flu" turned out to not be the flu. He is at Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital in Portland - admitted last night. He had some leg pain start at the same time as his fever, I finally took him in on Wednesday night and a battery of tests ensued - blood work, urine, x-ray, and finally MRI, which led to his admission. Extra fluid around the hip- indicative of inflammation and infection - and 'something in the bone'. I hate that one - when they have nailed what 'something' is, I will sleep better. They have assured us that they don't think it is a tumor, but they haven't been able to say that it is bacteria, either. Cultures are growing and we are playing the waiting game. I stayed with him last night, Dave is with him now. Best case scenario: they decide it is a bone infection and send him home with a 4-6 week antibiotic regimen. This is what I am praying for - your thoughts and prayers would be appreciated.

I'm off to shower and rest. We'll keep you updated as we are.
Adina

Barb, I forgot to bring th ephone number with me to the library, but I REALLY would appreciate it if you would call Lon Parks for me at Remax in Lawton, Ok and give him my e-mail address (or Mike's). If you could ask about the house for me that would be great. I would look up the number on-line but the natives are getting restless. Thank you so much-in advance. We love you all.
Love, Brooke

Just a quick note here from the local library to let you know we have arrived safely. Our houshold goods have all arrived, and we should be in the Honda by Tuesday. We really love the house and the neighborhood. The playground is right across the street, which the girls love.

The guy chosen to be our sponsor when we arrived just happened to be LDS, with 3 girls. And that folks... has been an awesome blessing. They have been running us all over the place until we get our car. The branch has about 150 attending here so that is a huge deal.

I met my boss yesterday and I think things are going to be great. I feel real at home back in an Infantry battalion. Sounds like we are going to be freezing our butts off in the field all winter, but hey, that is what I get paid for. The area is really pretty and the architecture around here is just fantastic. We cannot wait to get out and see it all. Please let the Bennetts know we have arrived. We should be up on Internet and phone within 2 weeks.

We love and miss you all!

Mike, Brooke, Jane, Sadie, Ellyn

Here is a picture of my wonderful parking spot, the building from the street and a close up of the damage that I did to poor Remus. You can't really tell but it is not so fun. Anyway, just thought I would get these up here.

--
Marnie

Photo to follow when I get one taken. Mom decided that she needed a run-around car during the non-winter part of the year. So, she took me down to the Toyota dealer and bought herself a 2005 Toyota Corolla CE. Very nice driving (when she lets me drive it), great 31-39 mpg, 4-door, sandstone beige. It really fits her style. I seldom see it around the home anymore...she's just off and running, trying to find ways to take it for a spin. I was proud of her determination to get it at the price that she chose. The dealer said it couldn't be done; funny how he came back within 2 minutes and tossed the deal her way. "Her way or the Highway". She got the deal for the price she wanted. I'm not that good in deals like that. Anyway, when she is home sometime, I'll try to catch a picture of the car. It is difficult to catch a moving vehicle...it is seldom in park.

Take care and photo to follow..........Dad

No - it's not my birthday, at least not yet. But I have procured my gift...tickets to The Killers. I found some on craigslist - and probably paid too much for them, but I want to go. So - it is my birthday present. I thought I would take up the Stinchfield practice of purchasing my own gift in advance. I think Dave is up to his birthday in 2009 - as far as advance gifts go.

Wicked is this weekend - I have been listening to the soundtrack faithfully. Marnie will be here and we're excited to see her. Then we get a visit from Kim & Treven - it is going to be a nice September.

Boys' soccer games begin this Saturday. Isaac has been battling the flu this week, so I'm not sure if he will play or not. Morgan's first day of pre-school is tomorrow. She can hardly contain herself.

Dave was called as Scoutmaster. His life is now consumed with scout meetings and reading scout materials. Between that and coaching Parker's team and training for the marathon, he is one busy man. He is excited for the call, however, and is determined to do his best. No doubt he will.

OK, ladies. My running log. So far this week, I have run M/T/Th - and plan to run F/S. My goals at this point are simple: run without a break - no more pretending I need to stop to tie my shoe (yes - brutal honesty - I've done this) when really I just need to stop and breathe! So far, so good. Question for Tracey - I think you face the same dilemma as I do with winter approaching and children at home. Do you take them out in the cold and run anyway - or do you wait for Tom to be home, and then run? I am looking for a solution...I don't want winter to stop me in my tracks. In January, it rained solid for 29 days - I need to get around the weather.

Anne - love the pictures of Andrew. He is such a little man! I'm so happy for you guys.
Mike & Brooke - can't wait to hear from you guys - you've been constantly on our minds! Hope the trip went well.

This is getting too long and I need to start the day. Love to all.
Adina

Couldn't resist commenting on Annie's baby. Finally have discovered some genes that are stronger than the Stinchfield ones! Andrew is a darling baby (not that the Stinchfield looking ones aren't:-)) Love - Lexi

Yes I am having a baby shower when I come home this month. It will be on September 23rd, Saturday, in the morning. Treven's sister is sending out the invitations this weekend.

Kimberly

Hello there familiy! I haven't blogged for who knows how long and I have been very behind on reading blogs as well... oops!
So I echo what Adina said about the concert experience and also had a great time. As crazy as it sounds, it was a great time and I know staying for the weekend would be even more fun next year. Brent and I tagged along for the Monster House movie 3-D and loved it. I of course love Halloween so I think it is a great holiday movie... most are pretty darn cheezy for this particular holiday... but I love them all!
Some know that I accepted a job offer officially with the company I'm interning with. I was pretty stressed out for a couple days when I was agonizing over negotiating my contract since their initial offer was lower than the local market value. But I did my homework and I think I was able to negotiate in a professional and nice way so that they still like me now that they have hired me. I now have to wait for paperwork to be sent from my school so I can officially apply for licensure and to take the national board exam. So I am almost officially a PT but I have to play the waiting game and start studying again for boards.
I am having fun today at home alone refinishing our bed an antique black with a little distressed look. I'm learning as I go and recommend to anyone that does this stuff wear an apron! As I was painting wearing my only good pair of shorts and a favorite t-shirt, a spider decided to land on my shoulder so of course I reflexively brush it off with my paint covered latex gloved hand. Not so sure I have a good pair of shorts anymore.
Well, hope you all are doing well. Happy Labor Day!
Buffy

It's been a while since I have done an actual update for us. We finished up school and having a nice relaxing break from school... kind of.... Treven is trying to find jobs for the fall and BYU-I decided to tell him that he actually can't keep his job at the school for the fall on Thursday and told him that the 5th of September will be his last day. So life is a little stressful right now with trying to find jobs. He applied to Melaleuca and will be going in again on Tuesday to check up on things. Please keep us in your prayers... we definitely need it. He also might get a job at Pepsi, but we will see.

I am here in Boise this weekend for Andrew's blessing. I came in on Friday night and will be leaving tomorrow morning. Treven, unfortunatley, had to stay home because of work with the school before Fall semester starts. We are going to be heading back to Vancouver for a week (from September 17th to the 24th). I am working up to the due date. At least that is when my LOA is prepared for. They are flexible on when I leave though so if I feel like I just can't work anymore they will let me start my LOA earlier. Speaking of work, I just got another 26 cent raise for being a top performer and I get to keep that as well. So I am now getting paid 7.21 an hour which is GREAT for Rexburg. Considering they usually pay minimum wage (5.15 an hour) at jobs around Rexburg.

I am doing good. Exactly 2 months more to go. She is ALOT more active now and my back kills me now... but I can't complain. I have heard of a lot worse. I definitely want my baby though after seeing Andrew. I am really tired lately as well so work is kind of hard at times. I just went to an appointment on September 1st and he measured me at 33 and I am 31 weeks so I don't know. We will see what they say on the 15th about a possibility of being early.

Anyway, that is all that is going on with us. Melia and Andrew have already started fighting. I was holding Andrew and he kicked my stomach so Melia kicked him back. It was kinda funny.
Love you all and hope everybody is doing great. Brooke let me know what would be a good Christmas present for Ellyn.

Kimberly

What a group...