Best Costumes 

Royal Tanenbaums & Poison Ivy 

our graveyard 

Strawberry Shortcake, Huckleberry Pie, and the Evil Purple Pie Man (our next door neighbors) 

We are dorks 

I'm Dead 

For all those with children with Halloween costumes....please send pictures on the blog....

And we'd love to see pictures of Buffy and Brent's Halloween party...

We love you all...

Mom

I thought you all would enjoy what we've been able to enjoy with the what seems like a 10,000 year storm for Utah. It's snowing in October. It looks beautiful up on Mt. Timp. 

Have you ever had a truly horrible exam that you thought you would never survive? Well, I did. I have been cramming for a cardiopulmonary exam for the past few weeks and never thought I could remember all the drugs, lab values, protocals, EKG's, etc and actually be able to get through the practical exam either. But I survived my day yesterday that lasted from 8am to 7:30pm and I think I'm still in the program (we could get kicked out of the program if we get below a 75 on any exam)!
I celebrated my survival last night by going pumpkin shopping with my friend cuz what else would I do to celebrate?
Brent is still out of town (since Thursday) and I don't mind the lack of sports on all media in the home or the surprizing way things are not getting messy. But I do really miss my husband & best friend so if the Georgia Stinch's could send him home I would be greatful!
Take care everyone!

Well, what is going on here? Not too much! I am having a great opportunity to be able to have peaceful hours to get many things accomplished. One thing I have taken over is cleaning the house. My housecleaning person has been frustrating me since she spilled the coffee on the floor that summer when you were all here. I had been debating stopping when I stopped my job but then that was confirmed when she cancelled out twice on me!! So I took it over myself and, as I have plenty of time for it, it's not too bad.

I also am enjoying exercising at Curves four days a week, practicing the piano, reading scriptures regularly and working on other assorted projects. I'm trying to work on the "Big Five" Scripture reading, personal prayers, exercise, nutricious food, and doing some service to others each day. Otherwise, I am applying to opportunities that I come across that look interesting and calling the consulting company weekly to remind him that I am here. I am trying to be patient enough to wait to see what doors will be opened for me....while putting forth enough effort to do my part. The challenge is that I want an interesting job that only is Mon-Fri days...(ideally Tues through Friday days)...that will also let me take time off without pay when I want to go with Dad. Kind of a hard bill to fill!

We bought a new dining room table and hutch. It really is beautiful. It seats 10 when extended...but now we will have it down in the 6 person configuration. It is a medium oak...and is really beautiful. It was delivered last night so my project for today is to reload all of the pictures etc into it. It is a rainy day so it is kind of cozy to be inside a warm house and setting it in order. I have a pile of CD's that I haven't listen to for a while to play while I do it.

Dad has to speak in church on Sunday so he is stressing about that a bit! He'll do a good job though...he always does. He is the accordian speaker which adds a bit of challenge since you never really know how much time you will have.

We love you all...and I am impressed with how well all have come through with their blogs in the last month. I am very blessed to have such great children, in-laws and grandchildren who are doing such great things with their lives.

Mom

(Just to make sure to correct any misconceptions...Marnie just turned 23 not 24!!

Keeping up to date seems to be harder than it should be for some reason! Summer is definately over and I am trying hard not to get depressed about the impending winter and just enjoy the brilliant leaves. To say that Cleveland has a lot of trees would be a gross understatment and so the fall leaves are fantastic! They are in full swing right now with bright reds and oranges. However, it's already dropped to the 50's and has been really windy. Luckily that doesn't bother Hayden one bit and he still insisted on going on a wagon ride yesterday around the neighborhood.
We had a lot of fun with Kim here, she was a great help and kept me good company during the days. We drove out to Nauvoo and had a great time with the family there. It's amazing to see how grown up the girls are getting, especially Jane. Hayden has finally taken to saying a lot of words and they seem to get better every day. His favorite things continue to be playing baseball and football and coloring. Oh, and of course he is a Stinchfield male and loves to play football on the X-box, he now even wants to play during the day when Tom isn't home- it's getting out of control!
They realigned our ward boundaries for the second time in 6 months because there are so many students out here. Even with all the families we lost we still flow out into the overflow! Tom and I are still both working in the nursery. Kim got a good taste of the Shaker Heights nursery when she was here visiting. She agreed helping us out and I think she is sorry she did. There is nothing like a hot little room full of 14 kids ages 18-22 months old who are still adjusting to nursery and missing their naps...she was a big help.
Tonight we are dealing with the fun of living in a old Cleveland house and we are feeling really grateful we don't own a home. A pipe in the basement broke and they can't fix it until tomorrow because the stores are closed so we haven't had any water all afternoon. As you might imagine tomorrows FHE lesson will be on Emergency Preparedness and we will be filling those empty water containers we have in the basement... I can't believe we actually have them but they are empty when we need them! :) Well I have to go get started on putting Hayden to bed, it takes quite a while these days because we put the pacifiers away and now he doesn't want to lay in bed. Hopefully he'll get used to it soon! It's great to hear from everyone. We hope to see a lot of you soon!

Hello everyone,

According to my volleyball team here at UVSC, my name now is Rhonda because it is a good "bully" name. I have been dubbed the bully and the mother of the team by everyone. We are having lots of fun and I am enjoying my time here emensely(?). I just returned from TEXAS, where we had the wonderful time of beating both teams (Texas A&M-Pan American and U of Texas-Corpus Christi). I am having so much fun playing volleyball this year and am definitly glad I made the decision to play. We are now 8-8 and are doing very well for it being the 2nd year of Div 1 play.

School is going well for me...I had it kinda rough for a little bit but I am now back on track and working hard to get good grades. Peter is enjoying his last semester of his bachelor's...it isn't too demanding for him now. He got accepted into the Civil Engineering Graduate program at BYU and will be starting in January on that. He is trying to finish up by next winter when I am finished with my Senior season of volleyball and then we could end up anywhere really. I am hoping for Washington but who knows, we will go where he can get the best job.

We are having tons of fun being married and it will be 10 months for us on the 30th of this month. It is amazing how time can fly by. Wish we could have been out there for Janey's baptism but just not at the right time for the both of us. We love you all and can't wait to see you all as soon as we can. We are going to be at Mom and Dad's from December 18th to the 27th. Hope to see some of you.

Love always,

Peter and Anne(Rhonda)

Make sense? 

It seems like it has been a while since we have shared much news - but we sure do check often to hear from all of you! Things have just been "crazy-busy" and time seems to be scarce and precious...saved for things like eating, sleeping, soccer...the usual stuff.
The shirt - it belongs to a cute little Japanese girl named Hitomi that comes over ever Friday to play and work on her English with me and the kids. Think I have mentioned it before - their parents want them to learn English, so they send them to American homes here on base to practice. Anyway - she left her sweatshirt here and I thought I would give you an idea of some of the crazy phrases you find on shirts, etc, here. They sure try hard, but it usually comes out a little "off"!
Last weekend we went hiking in the Nagasaki Prefectural Forest, a State Park equivalent. It was beautiful. Waterfalls, steep drop-offs, lizards, dead animals, the kids loved it. We did have a scare, though. Morgan was standing near a drop-off, throwing rocks over the ledge and lost her balance. As I stood off about 25 feet, I watched as she wavered, her knees buckled, and she went down over the edge. It was like slow motion. Just as I am ready to sprint over there, this total stud comes sailing in out of nowhere and jumps off the ledge and halts her fall with his own body. Yes, that would be Dave. I felt like I was watching an Indiana Jones movie. He totally sacrificed himself, but he stopped her from falling and became my hero. Morgan clung to us for the rest of the day.
We went to our last soccer games of the season today. Now we will await flag football, which both Isaac and Taylor want to play. Dave has injured himself in flag football - torn or strained rotator cuff in his right shoulder - so he is bummed. They will miss him on the team. He played at the opening of our new turf field, and the commentators kept yelling, "Yeah - there's Stitchfield!". Yea - that's right - STITCHFIELD. Oh well. I stay extremely busy with Primary Prez stuff, PTO stuff, English class stuff, Reading Committee stuff, and home stuff. But I love it.
We miss you all, love you all. Wish we could have been there for Jane's baptism, but we plan to be around for the rest! We are so excited to be "coming home" in a mere 10 months, but there is a lot here that we will miss! The T-shirts, for one thing! Take care!
Adina

Well I figured since I live at home... there wasn't much excitement going on. It would have been boring for me to write on here! Anyway, I just got back from a great 2 week trip that I needed! Thanks again Tom & Tracey and Mike & Brooke! I had a blast! I love you guys and miss you all A LOT!!! We went to Niagara Falls, Cleveland Indians game, Mike's graduation, Nauvoo and much more. It was soo much fun! Once I figure out how to post pictures I will get some on from the trip. I also got a job at Old Navy for the Holiday. I had my first day on Wednesday. It was just Orientation so it was watching videos and filling out paper work for 2 hours. I get my first schedule tomorrow. The sweet thing is I get a pretty nice discount. 20% all the time at Old Navy then 30% on five items a month at GAP and Banana Republic then 40% on 4 items a month at Old Navy that I could wear to work. I am pretty excited about that!
I will be heading back to BYU Idaho around New Years Eve so Dad won't have to take days off work. I also have to be checked in at my apartments by January 3rd. I am so excited to go back! It will be tons more fun now because I am not attached to anyone anymore so it's pretty nice. Can't wait to be in the snow! I am heading to Rexburg on Halloween weekend with one of my roommates from the summer to check out apartments and to see some people. It will be fun! Hopefully!
David! I need to know what sort of things you would want for Christmas. If you could get back ASAP that would be great! Thanks!
Love you all! Hope to see you all soon!
Always,
Kim

(Matt, Michelle, and Marnie. and we all where "chanklas" (sandals, in Spanish)

Hey everybody! Thanks for the birthday wishes! I had a great time this weekend. My birthday was really fun. Now back to reality. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Hello All,
I'm guesing by the number of posts that all of our lives are just so exciting that we don't want to post and make everyone else jealous. Unfortunately that wouldn't be the case here in Santa Clarita but I thought I'd do my part to keep the blog going. Brent and I are both keeping busy with work and school. Brent unfortunately has to fire a manager tomorrow for unprofessional interraction with employees among other things. Hopefully he'll be able to get another manager to cover for him so he can still visit the Georgia Stinchfields (Brent's not worried). I have just survived another round of midterms only to cram for more in two weeks (really I do like this whole grad school thing).
Halloween is fast approaching and I can't wait to have our party. By the way Marnie, you are still invited. And I am really hoping that we can all post Halloween pics of the trick-or-treaters cuz I'd love to see them!
Brent and I really miss everyone and can't wait till the time we can be together again. By the way, I'm so excited for Dave, Adina, and the kids to move back and settle in WA. It seems so far away, but in 2 years Brent and I should definately be up there as well. With all of the family (both sides) that have moved up to WA, we couldn't concieve of settling anywhere else!
Buffy

We didn't get a card off so we just wanted you to know that we hope you have a fun birthday. I am sure you will with all of your friends down there, but we wish we could have a family shin-dig too. That'll be tough though. You are 24, right? Wow, hang in there! We love you!
Dave, Adina, Isaac, Taylor, Parker, and Morgan

Well I am graduating my 3rd class of soldiers on Friday. One more full cycle before I change command. After graduation, we will head up to Nauvoo for Jane's baptism. It will be good to see many of you there. I think Kim is having a good time here. She is atleast bearing with us. I have not been around much (like usual) but she has had a lot of quality time with the girls. I get a new group of soldiers on the 22nd of October, at least I can look forward to the 2 week break for Christmas this year. We are not planning on going anywhere this time. It will be our first Christmas in our own home, isn't that crazy? My girls are awesome, I love all their little characters, just wish I had more time to spend with them. Getting home at 2000 every night just does not cut it for family life. Jane is getting so dang old.
I have a recommendation for a good movie, best one I have seen in a long time and well worth multiple viewings. Beware, it is a mind bender by the same people that did Being John Malkovich. It is called Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
As far as any game time I get, late at night, I find myself playing Rome: Total War, Tiger Woods, Full Spectrum Warrior and Burnout 3. Would like some more football game time against the brothers but they are as busy as I am it seems. Brent and I played some Tiger Woods last night and that was very fun. Well I better get to writing my speech for tomorrow's ceremony. I love you all. Write when you can, the updates are great and I know we do all read them

Yeah Mom, I was just thinking that this blog was bogging down. I have been so busy and haven't had anything exciting happening in our lives. Well, let's see, maybe there is something that has happened.....
Morgan is resisting potty training. Any tips for girls? We got some 'pretty' underwear, but it is not enough of an incentive, plus, Parker just wants to wear them. Just kidding of course.
Speaking of Parker, he got his cast off. Only now we are dealing with the phantom cast. Still holds his arm at the same angle and plops it on the table while he eats. He also continues to refer to it as his "broken arm". I think it will be forever broken in his mind.
Taylor lost his other front tooth, so he looks toothless now. He is doing well in first grade. Thinks he is a big kid now. His is tall and skinny. It seems to be the way all of our children will go. Even Parker is headed that way, but at least he has a bottom to hold his pants up.
Isaac is an active 9 year old. Never stops moving, loves to stay up late doing whatever. His is in 4th grade now and has the same teacher that Taylor had for Kindergarten, so at least there is some continuity there, for us.
Adina is very busy as Primary Pres. and PTO treasurer (with an inept Pres. and Vice Pres. in my mind). So she is really busy with fundraising, meetings, activities, etc.. Plus, of course, maintaining the house, helping the kids with homework, running, reading, and trying to have some fun. Busy lady that I don't know what I would do without.
I am continually busy with soccer coaching, church, and work. We are going through a big integration with medical and dental in the Navy. Really a headache that I can't wait to rid myself of. Dad had it good. Tom, hope it all smooths out by the time you get in here. Again, we will be in the states the 28 Jan - 18 Feb. The whole family will be at Mom and Dad's the first week and a half at least. After that we may be in and out to Fremont. I will be job searching, so during most of the days I hope to be somewhat busy. There are constant opportunities that I see in the Wash. St. Dental Soc. listings, so that looks good. I really am not worried though, because there is always a need for dentists. We hope to get there, stay with mom and dad next August, then start looking for a home. Exciting times and we can't wait until everyone else (whoever can or wants to) gets up there. I think it'll be so fun.
Well, hope to hear from you all. Tom? Are you there? Kim?
Dave

Dad and I just flew in from CA this morning. It's nice to be at home...even if Mt St Helens may blow up. I doubt if we will get more than a little ash so I am not too concerned.

We had a great week with Carol and Pepi...they really are good friends and so fun to do things with. I have decided, however, that it is good we don't live closer to one another since we would each weigh 300 lbs or more!! They are in the enviable situation of having Mike and Kinney living in the house to the right of theirs and Katie and Chris to the left. I'd love that but don't see it in the near future. Just be nice to have any of you just in the vicinity.

Gramma enjoyed all the cards she received from you for her birthday...for those who haven't it isn't too late...she counts her cards and is delighted with the high number!! Anne and Peter have the distinction of being the first card that she received. She's been wined and dined for the past week and a half with a few more surprises this week. When you are in your nineties, birthdays get attention. In 2010....if she is still around...plan on attending a really big shindig. At the surprise party last Sunday (the 26th), she got her wish of having all her four children together. As I get older, I can appreciate the joy of that.

This afternoon we are going over to Terry and Ron's house for a barbeque (they live on the Washougal river...for any who may be confused, Terry is Buffy's mom).

This blog is bogging down....I admit I have not been writing very often...I think most of us check it regularly and are disappointed when there is nothing new...but we have to be adding ourselves to keep it going. I am going to be working on getting a newsletter together with some other things added that I have found...old family stories etc. Getting that done by the end of October is a goal of mine!!

Love to all...

Mom

I agree Marnie, that those 2 pictures are great so I submitted them. I hope that's ok with moms and dads. But boy would it be a great excuse to go to Disneyland to find pictures of our family there! Hope you all have a great week!
Buffy

Hey guys I know that you all have been to Disneyland on multiple occasions and have taken some pretty cool pictures. You may not know but May 2005 is the 50th Anniversary of Disneyland. For this they are collecting photos and making collages for really cool posters. If you go to www.disneyland.com/photos you can submit your own photos for the collage. Last time I heard not that many people had submitted photos so there is a good chance that you could get your pictures on there. I was thinking of the picture with Jane and Belle, and the one with Isaac and Captain Hook. Those would be awesome. Anyway, FYI, check it out. Looks like it will be cool.

Your Disneyland obsessed sister/daughter,
Marnie

San Diego is good. It is cooling down a bit which is a nice relief. It is making be like living here a whole lot better anyways. It was actually cool enough to wear a sweater the other day! Amazing!

School is going well. My creative class is starting to have some kind of a format. We have textbooks now and are starting to have tests. Too bad the tests have to start at the same time I have tests in all my other classes. I have a test everyday next week and I am working inventory on Monday night from 9:30pm-2:30am. Should be a rough week. Wish me luck!

All else is good. I am busy planning the logistics of my birthday celebrations with my different friends. I say "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" on Saturday. It was very entertaining, a fun movie. And Jude Law was in it so of course I was going to like it!! The Star Wars Trilogy came out on DVD yesterday but I am patiently waiting until after my exams to buy it because there is no way I will be able to resist delving into it. I also saw Garden State, again, last week. It is one of my favorites now. Really applies to my point in life now. Friends are good, Church is good. I am really enjoying my D&C institute class that I have right now. It is fun to learn new insights that I haven't thought of before. I am also trying to keep up with a Book of Mormon read that my relief society is doing. I decided against the bike for my birthday, too many logistical problems. I am getting a camera instead.

Today in class my communication theory professor came wearing full mens formal Japanese wear (this is a skinny, military looking white guy) and started the class with video of a sumo wrestling match and then lectured in Japanese for about 5 minutes. It was an object lesson for the lecture but all the same it reminded me of Japan and Dave and Adina. I guess he went to Tokyo over the weekend and he was drinking Pocari Sweat and giving out Japanese candy. He specializes in Japanese culture and communication I think. Anyway that was a fun little experience.

In my creative development class we are doing a campaign right now for Penta bottled water. So you all should go get some and try it and let me know what you think. They sell it at Ralphs and health food stores. The website is pentawater.com. Let me know if you have any ideas for advertising! :)

Well I need to study now for those tests!

love, Marnie

Thank you, Brooke, for keeping us up to date on your goings on...It sounds like things are close to what they were when I was there...except for the progress on the outdoor stuff. Your mom is a dynamo...you're fortunate to have her there...or rather Mike is very fortunate!

We had a great weekend of volleyball with Anne this weekend. It was fun to see her play again. When she got married and Kim decided not to continue in volleyball, I thought that our volleyball days were all over. It's nice to have them back. Unfortunately, they don't have a lot of weekend games since they are new in Division 1 and not yet in a conference. If any of you have any in's with volleyball, put in a good word for them so they will get invited soon! Depending on what happens with my work, I may try to get down there for some games in early November.

We also had a great time visiting with Peter. He is definitely fitting into the Stinchfield mold since Dad and he stayed up until 2:30 on Friday night playing Xbox!
The team came over Friday night for a BBQ. Dad had to barbeque in the garage since it was pouring rain outside. Our concept of a relaxing outdoor barbeque in our backyard was kind of squashed by the weather.

I have joined "Curves" and work out three times a week. It's a good program for people such as me that have a short attention span. You switch activities every 30 seconds! Dad, Kim and I are on a health...let's lose weight...kick. Let's hope that it can produce the results.

Kim is heading out to Tom's on Thursday...and Dad and I are on our way to Sacramento on Saturday. This house will be lonely for awhile.

I just got back from Enrichment Night...not as exhausted as I normally get as I have a really good Enrichment leader now. What a relief!

Love you all,

Mom

Frankly, I don't know why I'm writing. There is really not much to tell. Sadie has one more week in her cast. I've looked up the bottom of it and I think it is going to be one scary sight when that baby comes off. Jane is dealing with the extreme drama of 8 year old girls. I know it is just going to get worse and I know I am only on my first. This kind of makes me want to run away. Mike starts on his culmination exercise on Thursday so he is a stress case, when he is home, with just cause. My mom is here until Saturday so we have been working on projects that I can't do by myself- the yard, basement, porch etc... I think this is a relief for Mike because these were all "honey do's" with no time to "do." I have started walking 2 miles a day. I'm not allowed to push the stroller so mom does that. Okay Sadie is having a melt down. Bye

Well Everyone,

I type this while I lay on our couch resting from a outrageous weekend of volleyball and fun. We had a huge volleyball tourney in Portland, OR this weekend and play 4 matches in 3 days. We went 2-2 and took 2nd place in the tourney. It was tons of fun and we had a blast. We wish we could have done alot better but we did well and we are showing people what type of team UVSC really is and that they can't think that we are just going to give them an easy win. Mom and Dad and Kim were able to come and watch and it was exciting to have them there watching. Peter drove up and stayed at mom and dad's and was a very supportive loving husband while I had to spend sooo much time away from him with my team. All is going great and now it is time to get back to the real world and back to studying and tests and classes. We head to Idaho State on Tuesday to play that night then to Las Vegas on Friday to play Saturday night. I am going out of my mind trying to fit my 48 hour schedule into 24 hours a day but I guess I am doing well. So far I have received A's and high B's on all of my quizzes, I just have to wait and see my results from the tests from this last week.

Anyways, Peter and I are doing well and having so much fun. Peter flies in tonite so I have to make my way back up to the airport to pick him up. Until then...it is time for me to rest. I didn't get too much sleep last night because my roommate was on the phone with her boyfriend until like 3am and we had to wake up at 4:30 to go to the aiport at 5. I need my sleep. We love you all and are thinking of you always.

Love, Anne and Peter

Well, after almost 6 years of marriage and five years of dating before that, I finally got Brent to go to a swing dance class with me. Actually it was at our ward's mutual (my first ever mutual). Our upstairs neighbors and friends were teaching the awkward teens to swing dance so we came along to support them and finally learn a few things about couples dancing.
Brent did a great job and I only laughed out loud if I looked down at his feet... our friends have promised us private lessons later.
No big news from over here. I have my first midterms next week (3 of them!) so I guess that means I have to buckle down and study these next few days. I'm taking fun classes like cardiopulmonary rehab, orthopedic assessment and treatment (Brent is my practice patient and I get to tug on his joints alot), patient education, stats, and neurological development.
I think I'm scaring Brent because there are already Halloween decorations up in our place but what's wrong with being prepared right? I'm planning a really big Halloween party with my neighbor and can't wait... I've loved this holiday since I was a kid! I think it will get a little more fun when we have little trick-or-treaters of our own but we'll have fun anyway. I hope that everyone posts pictures of their tick-or treaters this year!
Have a good weekend!

Kumamoto 
Well, the funny story has little to do with Kumamoto Castle, but it is one of the largest castles in Japan and has been there since 1400. Amazing to think that it was standing well before the United States was even an idea. Anyway, really fun trip.
So we were done checking out the castle and we were getting ready to load up into the car. Isaac, being the curious one of the group, found something quite interesting in the bushes about 20 feet from the van. So, logic states that you must then poke it with a stick (at least Isaac logic says so). It was a beehive of course. So, all of a sudden Parker lets out this shriek. It happened when Isaac had a stick next to his leg, so we figured he had poked him. But, after a few seconds, we realized that his screams were rather shrill and more than a stick-poke. Just when we came to that conclusion...BAM!.....BAM! Isaac grabs his arm and Taylor grabs his ear, again blood curdling screams, arms flailing in the air, running in circles and Japanese tourists taking it all in. Luckily each one of them just got one sting, but they seemed quite painful. Maybe they were Japanese Kamikaze Bees or something, but we never actually saw the bees, they stung and disappeared. It was quite funny actually, and we are kicking ourselves that we didn't have the camera going, because we had it right there.
But, once again, poor Taylor and Parker suffer from Isaac's curiosity. And, Isaac suffers too.

Dave

At the top! 

One of the stations on the mountain 

Isaac totally spent 

Isaac full of energy 

Dave, Isaac & Tanner 

The 5th station, where we begin our climb 

Due to recent requests and for those of you who are interested in our Fuji climb, we are finally recording the details for all to see...
I will begin by saying that despite any setback or quirk in our trip, it was an awesome experience - one that will be remembered and treasured for life. That being said, we began our trip by finding two sitters that were willing to join us for the 14-hour drive up to Fuji and then stay with the six youngsters too small for the hike. We went with a family with 4 boys - very good friends of ours. We were very fortunate to find 2 girls up for the challenge - and they earned every penny!
The trip up was smooth - we made a few stops on the toll roads at the rest stops, where you can find just about anything you might need. We rented vans for the trip since the tolls are ridiculously expensive. Tolls are paid for with rentals from the base. Our round trip would have cost $500 per van in tolls alone, so it was a good investment. It's no wonder Japanese never travel too far from home - it's not affordable!
We stayed at Camp Fuji - a very small marine base at the base of the mountain. Our rooms were modest, but comfortable and only cost us $25 a night. We got a lot of good sleep that night and arose early in the morning for our adventure. After a good breakfast, we bid the kids farewell, and the six of us (Dave, Adina, Isaac, Margo, Rick, & Tanner) set off. We drove to the 5th station on the mountain - where most everyone begins their hike. There, we purchased walking sticks that would prove invaluable on the climb (at least for me). We officially began the hike at 8:30 am. It was cool and misty, perfect weather in my mind. I was surprised at the terrain a little - not a conventional "hike" by any means. More of a climb - found ourselves using all four limbs many times. It was very rocky - just a huge, lumpy volcanic rock. A twisted ankle waiting to happen. Very little vegetation. But it had it's own beauty - and the view (when the sky was clear) was amazing. LIke nothing I have ever seen.
We were very well prepared for the hike, for which I am grateful. We each had a Camelback - each of us carrying 2 to 3 liters of water. Plenty of healthy, high-carb food, first aid kits (which we used), warm clothes, ponchos, yen, cameras, hats, sunscreen (which we used too late), change of socks, etc. We are forever grateful to Brent for hooking us up with some awesome Vasque hiking boots - not one blister or wet foot on the hike. THANKS BRENT!
The mountain has stations that you can stop and rest at as you hike. Each station has a bathroom (but it will cost you about $2 to use it), water (which will also cost about $3-5), oxygen in a can (for altitude sickness), and some offer hot food. You also get your stick stamped at each station - they burn the altitude and a symbol into your wooden stick, so by the end of the hike, you have a really cool souvenier. Of course, that will cost you, too. Nothing is free on Fuji!
We climbed the last weekend in August, just days before the climbing season is over. As we hiked to each station, the workers were covering the stations in rocks preparing for the impending snow that will eventually blanket the mountain. No more hikers until July of 2005.
Isaac and I developed a pretty good case of altitude sickness - fatigue, pounding headache, dizziness - but we took some ibuprofen and trudged on. There was absolutely no turning back. By the last couple of stations, Isaac was beat. I felt for him - his head was really hurting. Each time we stopped to rest, he would drape himself over a rock and lay perfectly motionless. He was just completely drained. Probably for the last 2 hours, I pulled him up the mountain. But he was the first to cross through the Tori gate at the top!
Once we reached the top, the weather changed instantly. It went from clear, blue skies to total cloud cover and rain. And the temp dropped to probably about 40 degrees. We went into the station, where there was a small Buddhist temple, got our sticks stamped, changed into our ponchos, got Isaac some oxygen from a man that probably thought Isaac was going to die right there on his floor, and headed back down. There was no view to enjoy, and we wouldn't see the base of the moutain again until we reached it on foot. The clouds and rain stuck with us til we were done, which made for a very wet descent.
We stopped at a station on the way down and had some hot Udon noodles - very good. It really perked Isaac up. It felt like the Twilight Zone, though. We are sitting in this small, wooden room, eating hot Udon noodles, on the side of a mountain, and surrounded by lots of old Japanese men in their socks and slippers who are smoking and chatting, who don't look like they belong there. But we were all grateful for the hot food in our stomachs and the break.
The hike up took 5 hours - the hike down took about 2 1/2 or 3. I felt like the descent was just a controlled fall, at least for me. Isaac's altitude sickness totally disappeared as we descended. My headache remained, but it felt great to reach the bottom of that mountain!
I am very proud of Isaac and his determination to do something that not many 9-year olds could do. He is very active and full of energy and that is what got him up there - that and the promise of some Mt. Fuji dog tags he saw at the souvenier shop. Whatever works, right?!
It was an awesome experience - highly recommended if you ever get the opportunity.
Love you all...More later...my little brother is visiting and we are doing a lot of travelling and sight-seeing while he is here. Not a moment to spare, it seems.
Adina

All is well here in Ohio. We are enjoyoing great weather, I love the summer time here, it stays in the mid 70's most of the time! Tom is really busy with school, it is a lot more demanding than last year because he has a lot of lab work to do. He works really hard while he's at school so he still has a lot of time to spend with Hayden and I when he comes home. Our new fish raising hobby is going well. For those who don't know we bought a 55 gallon tank on E-bay and are raising semi-aggressive tropical fish in it. We have three different types of fish and then they will all end up being 8-12 inches long when fully grown! Each fish has a name and personality and it's been a lot of fun to share this experience as a family. Hayden frequently runs up to the tank saying "nack" "nack." He loves to feed the fish their snack. Finding Nemo continues to be his favorite movie, he wants to watch it all day so he constantly brings me the remote and says "Mimo." It reminds me a lot of Sadie when we saw her last Thanksgiving because she was really into watching Nemo back then. I can't wait for them to get a chance to play together now that they are getting older.
Hayden is picking up words left and right and gets funnier by the day. He loves the kids I baby sit, he's always giving them hugs and even cries when they have to go home! However, he doesn't want to go to nursery. He was fine the first few weeks and then he just started to cry and he cries the whole two hours. He gets so upset if Tom and I aren't around, I sure hope it's a phase! Just as we were getting desperate trying to decide what to do about his nursery blues I got called as a nusery leader to work in the same nursery as Tom. We debated putting Hayden into the other nursery his age (our ward has 8 nurseries so he has several choices) but we decided to take the chance that he won't cry as much next year when he moves into a new class because he will still be with all his church friends. We've got our fingers crossed- in the meantime he does great when he is in the class with Tom and I. He's great at folding his arms for the prayer, singing the songs and coloring. In fact, he's obsessed with coloring all the time which can be a problem when he decides to color in Tom's textbooks!! And he calls crayons "bebe's" for some reason...
For Labor Day weekend we went with some friends down to Columbus and took turns going to the temple there. On Monday we went to the beach on Lake Erie and enjoyed the sand and swimming. We've been to several Indian's games and endless softball and football games for Tom. All around it's been a great summer and we are looking forward to having Kim come in a couple of weeks. Hope all is well! Talk to you later!
Tracey

Well, I returned home from Georgia on Tuesday...and while I am enjoying the cooler, less humid weather, I do miss those little girls in GA. They are all so cute in their each individual ways....Jane is getting so old...and definitely friend-oriented! Sadie is a riot walking all over on her cast like a pirate and singing "I know you...." in a variety of voices. She calls me e-ma. The first time any of my grandchildren have been around me at that age long enough to really create their own name for me. Ellyn is sitting up and VERY close to crawling. I do miss them...as I miss my discussions with Brooke...and the more rare ones with Mike due to his busy schedule. I don't miss the humidity!

I am getting use to my non-working status. Wednesday, I was mainly catching up on everything..Thursday, I went to the temple for a session...Friday, I was still working on getting my paperwork and my desk all cleared up. Only did two ding-batty things....mailed a check I meant to deposit (thanks to Brent for his patience!!) and dropped my cell phone in the new Target parking lot (Thanks to a very nice stranger, I did get it back).

We went to see Napoleon Dynamite on Friday night...strange but very funny.

I have an interview with a consulting company tomorrow...we'll see whether my vision of intermittant work will actually develop as I have thought it would. I am still having a hard time remembering not to schedule things on Mondays!!

For those who didn't hear, Gramma was taken to the hospital on Friday night with heart pain and dizziness. She stayed overnight but they just needed to change her medicine and she is home and doing better. Her 94th birthday is on October 4. She really is amazing.

More people need to write in the blog.......I love Anne's regular bulletins on her games....need more on the rest of your lives. I am amazed at how grown-up Isaac is...and how athletic!

We love you all!

Mom

Hey Everyone! I think I am going to get a beach cruiser for my birthday so that explains the picture. I really want this one but it is a schwinn and Sport Chalet doesn't carry it so it is probably a little too much. But I just like the colors anyway, i just need to find a bike with these colors that we carry. Looks cool though, huh?

Everything is good with me. My stake had Roadshows last night and I was in my ward's. It was fun and everything went well. A little hot but fine. It is really humid and hot right now in San Diego. Today is actually a lot better though.

Last night I also went and saw Garden State. Very good. More for the younger generation, sorry Mom and Dad. I also saw Hero last weekend. Very good. If you like Chinese subtitled movies or if you just like film you would like it.

School is still going on. I am realized how ridiculously busy I am. I don't have any time to do my homework. I just need that to take priority over playing! :)

Hope you are all well. I miss you all! Have a great Sunday!

Marnie

Well we went 1-1 today. We losed to U of Oklahoma in 4 but beat U of Memphis in 3. We are now 3-2 and are doing very well. We didn't play so well in the Uof Oklahoma game but we played really well in the other game. Sam (our coach) told us that if we won the memphis game he would take us out to dinner, so we all went to TUCANOS!!! Oh it is soooooo good. I ate too much. Peter is bummed cuz he never goes out to eat with us because he would have to pay. We would be poor if he went out with us every time. We had lunch and dinner paid for today. It was great.

All is well, and we will be in Portland next Wednesday for our Tourney up there. I am very excited to see Mom and Dad and Kim. My team is coming over for dinner on Friday, and we are so stoked.

I am beat and need to rest. Love you All!

WE WON AGAIN!! We beat Central Florida in 4 games, and it was a very close match. It was very exciting to win our first home game and improve to 2-1. Volleyball is great. I got two more aces tonite and played all four games.

We play U of Oklahoma and U of Memphis tomorrow, and we are so excited to play more teams for the chance to end this weekend with a 4-1 record.

We love you all and continue to think about each one of you. I hope Grandma is doing fine now and hope that she is able to return to her normal life.

Love, Anne and Peter

WE WON! We are now 1-1 after beating University of Montana in 3 games. It was an awesome match. And so far we are looking pretty good overall and I am stoked to be able to play tomorrow night against University of Central Florida (at home...first home game) and then we play University of Memphis and University of Oklahoma on Saturday at the BYU Mizuno Classic. And no we don't play BYU until October 26th. We've play 6 games so far within the first two matches and I have been able to play in 5 out of the 6 games.

So far, school has been pretty good but I have a heavy load with taking Biology, Chemistry, Cell Biology and Physics. But so far I've been getting As on all of my quizzes. Tests start next week, so I will get back to you on how things are after that.

Peter and I have purchased a new laptop from Dell and we are very excited to finally not have to use my old desktop computer that seriously has wanted to die on us for the last couple months. Anyways, it is a great computer and we still have a printer coming with it. It is great because I will be able to take it with me on the many many roadtrips with volleyball.

All is well and we are having lots of fun. For those of you who have not seen Napoleon Dynamite yet, you must...most hilarious movie. My volleyball team quotes it every chance we get.

"Napoleon give me some of your tots"
"No go find your own!"
"Idiot!"

We love you all and miss you! Hope you all are doing well.

Love, Anne and Peter

Ready 

Swim 

Swim 

Race 

Race 

Race 

Hello everyone. Good to hear that Dad hasn't waivered in his opinions. I love it and totally agree, but maybe not with the red face and increased HR. As you can kind of see from the picture, we are getting another typhoon. However, this is different than all the others, because it is hitting just to our west, which brings us the strongest winds. The one last week went pretty much directly over us but petered (no offense Peter) out upon landfall. This one puts on the side where the winds plus the movement of the storm equals a pretty good typhoon. They say it'll be the worse winds in 60 years here. And, the howling outside is proving it. Very strong winds and gusting. Again, I am thankful that I don't live out in the cho (Japanese community), because their houses are made of cardboard and I feel there will be a lot of damage. Here, we are in reinforced concrete and can barely hear the wind. Very comforting. This typhoon was not supposed to come anywhere near us. It was supposed to go directly to China, but did a 90 degree turn and is nailing us. Another day off!
Adina's brother, Ray, is coming to visit us (At least some family is coming to visit us...Marnie excluded from that one) the day after tomorrow. He'll be here for 2 weeks and we are going to give him a good introduction into japanese culture, history, and cuisine. Should be fun. He just got home from his mission in Ecuador about a month ago or so.
Isaac ran/swam in his first Duathlon on Monday right before the storm came. It was a 50m swim with a 1.0k run. There were 8 kids in his division and he took 3rd. He is not a very strong swimmer, although he could be with some practice. He has big flippers and a slim body. His strength comes in running. He really has a long stride and some good endurance. He can run forever. Even though he is really thin, he is solid muscle, not a lick of fat on his body no matter how much crap we feed him. When I was that age, I am sure I was chunkier than he.
Marnie, good to see that you are enjoying school. I hope this advertising class gets you some exposure and hopefully a job doing what you love to do.
And just to let everyone know, we will be coming back to visit the states from 28 January - 18 February. We will mostly be with mom and dad, but we will visit the Archuleta's as well. But, my primary reason for coming is to secure employment for August 2005, since my papers are in to be released from active duty.
Hope everyone is safe, happy, and healthy!
Dave

Typhoon Songda

So, I can find my way into the writing portion of the blog....but the photo part will have to wait. I've tried to upload a couple of pics and I have no idea where they went.

Kim and I went to Seattle on Saturday; had a good drive up and back and a good time there. We went to see the Rock and Roll museum at Seattle Center, which was originally placed as a memorial to Jimi Hendrix but has expanded to include many more individuals. I would suspect it is a mini-hall of fame compared to Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall. It is tied into the Science Museum if you desire to pay the extra $$$ to view that part. We just did the R and R part; that was enough. We drove down close to Pike's Place Market and had some dinner at a "hole-in-the-wall place that she knew about??? Actually, she and Tim went there a year ago when we all went for a Pacific NW Dental Convention there. Kim is a good companion and does very well away from Bradly. She has an interview on Thursday at the GAP. I know she is excited to travel to Cleveland and Ft Benning. If she had the time off to do so, she'd be going south to Cali...but, hey....she has to get a job and make some $$ for next semester.

Work has been busy...one of my old residents is applying and interviewing for an OMS job with Willamette Dental on the 10th of September. It might help to have him in the area so my access time can improve. If you tried to get a consultation with me right now, they would book you for January 2005. And, then you'd have to wait 4-5 months after that for surgery. That is not a good thing. I told them they need to hire another OMS and have him take on some of this backload. I really don't see it hurting my income or my amount of work. Just gets things closer for patients...and I think I'll have fewer "no-shows".

Concerning the upcoming election: you know how I feel. Is there any doubt? I have absolutely no trust in Hanoi John. I can remember very well the antics of Hanoi Jane and the added cruelty given to our POWs because of her visit to Hanoi. I absolutely place Kerry at the same level as Jane as they both actively spoke out against our troops, actively joined the ranks of the garbage that worked with anit-war activists to cause a breakdown of the American will to fight to the end. He and she, were outspoken critics of the administration and the policies of the US. You have a right to be against any policy that the administration issues forth, BUT, to do it the way they did it...and by doing so, added credibility to the anti-US policies in Viet Nam and the US.....AND....contributed to the inhumane treatment of POWs and the loss of more lives of our servicemen and women who were in-country. Kerry is as low as you can go and his sleething dogs are out here again, protesting at conventions and at campaign meetings...using exactly the same tactics as were used in the 60's and 70's. Look as the low-lifes who are hired off the street to battle the administratioin. They pay the activists to go out and disrupt the general order of the public during these rituals of theirs. Throw in a few "veterans" and that makes their point appropriate. Anarchy before our eyes and the Dems don't see it. Their eyes are blurrred by images of....PEACE, LOVE, etc..... well, wake up and smell the smoke and gunpowder of the people who would like to destroy the good old USA from within and without. 911 has not gone away. Maybe we need to review the footage of the carnage of that terrible day. Just remember that on election day, Benedict in on one side of the ticket......the dark side. You vote how you may, but there is no question how my vote will be cast. I don't like our young men and women being killed and maimed by the enemy....however, that is a given in war. BUT, I really don't like our young people being killed and maimed because of the likes of John Kerry and Jane Fonda.
Has dad lost his mind? Wake up sweet peas.......smell the artificial roses for what they are.

Yeow, that was a real release. Kim really did well at calming me down when we walked by the kiosks of Bumbershoot at the Center on Saturday. There were more of the anti-Bush folks out there with very demeaning tee-shirts (hey, they are lucky this is a free country; they'd be shot in commie lands).

It'll be nice to get the election behind us. Then, we can see which way the US is turning.

So, that is my blurb for the Labor Day 04. Read it and smile. Enjoy your day. I have to go get ready for my "Professional Driving Day". Peace and Love, man.....Dad

So school has started up again. Last week was a good intro to what this semester will be like. Two of my classes will be pretty much repeats and the other three should be really interesting. I am really excited because my professor for my advertising creative development class is the head of an advertising agency in San Diego called Lambesis agency and his name is Nick Lambesis! His agency does the Skyy Vodka, BeBe, and Airwalk (when it was big) ads. He has some really cool ideas for the class, one of which is doing an ad campaign for Rubio's Baja Grill and we are going to have to present it to Paul Rubio, the owner, himself! Kind of intimidating but it should be a good experience.

It is SO hot in San Diego right now. Mostly just where I live though. San Diego State campus is probably 20 degrees hotter than anywhere else in San Diego. It is making start to dream of when I will live in Seattle or thereabouts.

So I may be moving again. My landlord at the condo I live in now is planning to buy a house in San Diego and so he wants to sell this condo. So me and my roommates are going to stick together and move most likely. We are looking at a small house right now that is very close to campus, like across the street. It is a cute little house. The yard needs some revamping but the inside is like a cabin with dark wood paneling and vaulted ceilings, pretty cool. So we may move there if we have to move. That would probably be the beginning of October so at least i can get into my routine before I have to throw that in there.

I am in the ward's roadshow right now and that is going on this Saturday. Should be a corny little show but fun nonetheless. Hopefully Kimmy will be able to come visit sometime this month (mom and dad), that would be cool. But I guess that is all from me now. Hope you are all well and not roasting like I am in heat!

-Marnie

Mike- Nothing---he had his eyes dilated today so was blind for half the day...and he beat Brent at football last night.
Brooke- went out to the backyard today and wiped off a counter
Jane- she is having a sleepover with her best friend this weekend
Sadie- has to have her cast on for FOUR MORE WEEKS!
Ellen- got fully up on her hands and knees with stomach up...crawling is not far off!

Mom- did not break her foot after all when she fell on the stairs taking the dog out...just black and blue. I got a very attractive ortho shoe (ha!ha!) but it really does make it feel better.

Georgia is hot, hot, hot!!!

Mom