So the rains have stopped and the sun has come out. I just went on a walk and, man, was I sweatin' when I got done. It is hot out there! But I am enjoying the 80 degree weather in mid-January. I love San Diego.

Things are great here. I just had a really fun weekend with Mom and Dad visiting. Dad probably could have used less travelling but I think they had fun. They met the boyfriend...dun, dun, DUN! But I got the impression that they liked Matt but who knows if they were lying, J/K! We had a nice drive up to Santa Clarita to have dinner with Brent, Buffy, Anne, and Peter on Saturday. (Anne and Peter were in LA for a wedding) Sunday we went to ole PQ3 and Mom was very happy to see all of her old friends. The Golden Globes took up Sunday night and Monday we had a nice day of breakfast and lunch before ma and pa had to catch the plane. It was fun and I am very glad that they could come down and see what my life is like down here.

I had an interview for an internship on Monday morning and I got it! I will be interning with a small (very small) company called CDF Media Inc. As I understand I will mostly be learning web design and writing some ad copy as well as recording radio commercials. It should be a great learning experience. I am really excited about it. And I only have to do it 10 hours a week. I will be busy this semester but it won't be too bad. I actually think it will be easier than last semester. I start on Monday at the internship and Tuesday classes begin. My last semester as an undergrad...weep, weep, not really. Hey everyone my graduation will be Saturday May 21st. Not that I expect you all to come but if you can that would be awesome! Who could resist a trip to sunny San Diego in May? Now you have an excuse!

Dave, I would do the marathon with you but I am already doing the Breast Cancer 3-day Walk in October and I don't think I could do both. I am trying to convince Matt to run it with you but he says he doesn't have much interest in running a whole marathon, "A half marathon is long enough to run, I need some variety". I guess he goes for the half marathon or triathlon. He is going to be doing an Olympic triathlon in July, pretty cool.

So guess what? I get to go to a taping of Will&Grace in February! I am very excited aobut it. And I might be going to a film festival up in Utah next weekend for a showing of "Ringers", a documentary about Lord of the Rings fans, and a bunch of people from the cast are going to be there! If I can find a cheap flight I am totally there.

So that is what is going on in my neck of the woods. It is good to hear from all of you. I am glad you are all doing well. Oh, and Tracey, my birthday is October 10th.

Marnie

You might think we live on Ft. Benning, but really we live in Walnut Grove. I'm Ma, Mike's Pa, Sadie is Mary (we understand this is a deviation from the original story but Jane has to be Laura), and Ellyn is Carrie. Oh yeah, Bailey is our good old bulldog Jack. Welcome to the Ingalls family. Actually Jane is much more obedient as Laura, everything is "Yes, Ma" instead of "why" or "can I do it later" so I'm game. Every meal is met with the question "Is this something pioneers ate? Is this something pioneers would wear? Can we do something pioneers used to do?" To say that Little House on the Prairie is an obsession around here is an understatement. But there are far worse things for your kids to be obsessed with. Jane and Sadie got bonnets from one of my friends for Christmas and my mom sent another so that is what they wear any chance they get. Savannah, Jane's little friend gets the extra but on Sundays it goes to Ellyn. The theme music to the series is blaring through the house after school and the book is read at bedtime. It is truly a funny situation around here. Sadie even calls me Ma now.

Ellyn had a cough this weekend which kept the two of us up to all hours. She is finally getting over it and there was no school today so we all slept in. It was fabulous. i was released as a Primary teacher and put in as the Young Women's secretary. I've never done YW before, it should be fun, and now I get to go to Mike's Sunday School class.

We are doing well here. Mike has a month left as of today. We are becoming more and more anxious to find out where we will be stationed. We are trying not to get our hopes up for Lewis but all of our planning for the future involves being there. I especially realized it just now when I was reading Dave's post and thinking "yeah, Mike and I can both do the October marathon. Mom will watch the kids, will Meagan be recovered enough from the baby to join us..." And then it suddenly occured to me that we could be in El Paso Texas, heaven forbid. My brother Adam and his wife just called tonight to tell us that they have decided to move to the area and should be moving around late March. Oh, the fun we could all have! We'll keep praying that that is what Heavenly Father wants for us. We know that's what we want for us.

Dave, as for your challenge. Mike said he would love to. I'm techinically not supposed to be running but I could walk it really quickly (for the first hour) and if this pain EVER goes away I might get the okay to run again. Sisters, I need a walking buddy. Kim, I am so happy you are having such a good time. Your pictures were great. I was at the winter clearance sale at Old Navy the other day and was thinking of you. Well we love and miss you all very much. Dave and Adina we can't wait to have you back. I'm going to try to find a way to send Mike your direction before you come home. I need to find out about MAC flights. Any guidance in that direction? Didn't you do that on your last trip over? Please let me know.

Tracey here are our birthdays Mike-Nov 28, Brooke-Aug 13, Jane-Aug 14, Sadie-May 28, Ellyn-Feb 14. For Christmas my sister in law made me a birthday folder with everyone's birthdays and anniversaries in it for both sides of my family (thank you Barb) and I love it. Hopefully I will be better at recognizing everyone's birthday (maybe even cards but let's remember who is writing this). Okay, this is really the end now. love, the Ingalls family

Hey everybody!
I am having a blast up here. I haven't been able to go snowboarding yet but that will be soon! I made my first snow angels last night! SOOO COLD! I couldn't feel my hands. I have slipped and fallen twice on the ice. One time I hit my elbow first.. and that was 2 weeks ago and it still is killing me. I always went sledding for FHE on the fields on campus... SO MUCH FUN!
My classes are great. I love my Biology class the most. My teacher is such an awesome guy. Mom will see when she comes for Mother's weekend. Treven comes up this weekend... very excited about that! There is a Rexburg Snowfest on Saturday that we are going to that has sledding, sleigh rides, snowmobile races, ice skating, snow maze... and much more. Our apartment is pretty excited for it.
Well my roommates are great! We all are the babies of our families. We have three extra "roommates" who are always over. So basically it feels like there are 8 of us in the apartment at all times. Gets kinda chaotic. I have 4 roommates, Michelle, Krystal, Anne, and Megan. We all get along great... The apartment is perfect for all of us cause we have our own room. Like I said I will take more pictures later. We all have nicknames... and mine is Mom... haha. Because I have the Durango and drive them to church and we say its like the station wagon. Explain later..I have to go cook breakfast with them and then go play volleyball. Hope everyone is doing great!
BTW, Tracey, February 18th for me!
Love you all,
Kimberly

loser is okay dad! we are taking care of him! he is loving it! 

my room... i will take more of my apartment later! 

My apartments 

Left to Right, Laura, Michelle, Megan, Me, and Alli... Michelle and Megan are two of my roommates the other ones are just always over at our house. 

Alli and I after making snow angels! 

Tracey/everyone,
These are the birthdays for our family:
Dave 23 April
Adina 28 September
Isaac 15 August, 1995
Taylor 03 April, 1998
Parker 23 January, 2000
Morgan 23 December, 2001

Hope that helps! Our trip is still on so we will be in Vancouver hopefully by this weekend!
Any takers for running a marathon in October, 2005 in Portland? Or the Cleveland Marathon in April, 2006? And no excuses like, "I don't run", "I am not fast enough", or "I'm too fat". You 'train' for it. It takes about 6-10 mos. (schedule provided) depending on whether you don't run at all or run regularly. Oh yeah, and two other excuses are "I don't have time for it" and "I am too old for it". If you have ever watched a marathon before, there are fast people, slow people, skinny people, fat people, wheelchair-bound people, people with missing limbs, old people, young people, and people with busy schedules. So, if you want to be able to say you ran a marathon, strengthened your heart, increased your stamina, and lost some weight at the same time, let me know. I will do it with you. Again, you don't have to try to run it in 3 hrs. and qualify for the Boston Marathon, you just need to finish. Some take three hours, many take more. I may not be right there next to you in the race, because you will be strides ahead of me, but I will run it at the same time with you. It's a personal goal of mine, and would welcome anyone else that has the desire to do it also. Think about it.
Dave

Hi this is Tracey. I want to make a list of everyone's birthday and could really use your help. Next time you post a blog please tell me the birthday of you and everyone in your family, or if someone already has a compiled list they just want to email to me that would be great as well. My email is tracey@dankus.com. Thank you!
By the way, we are doing well here in Cleveland and enjoying all the snow. It started to snow sometime yesterday and just hasn't stopped yet! The biggest excitement around here is that we moved Hayden out of his crib and into a twin bed. We bought sport motif bedding and he loves it! So far he is doing really well at sleeping in it so hopefully it won't be a hard transition! Now we just have to get rid of that binky!!
Hayden's current obsession is Mickey Mouse. I don't know how he fell in love with him but he just can't get enough Mickey! During one of the recent football games Mickey came on at half time and waved at the camera and Hayden started jumping up and down, waving and yelling "Mickey"- he got so excited that he didn't know what to do so he fell on the ground and did a somersault! It was hilarious!!!! I got him a CD-rom and some DVD's at the library with Mickey and he is in heaven. One of the greatest things about Hayden is his determination. When he decides to do something or that he wants something he goes all out. There is no "like" with Hayden- he either LOVES it and wants it all the time or he doesn't care about it. He's very "passionate" and "intense" about a lot of things in his life, which is great (mostly...) :)
Well we hope to hear more from all of you soon! Take care!

Hayden really is smiling and having fun, he loves the snow!!!! We went sledding up and down the sidewalk in front of the house!

Well, the holidays are officially over now that Brent and I have returned home from WA. We had a great time visiting with my mother and Ron and Kenn and Barb. My mom's home which they purchased in the summer is a dreamy vacation home complete with beautiful decor, treehouse with a jacuzzi inside, Washougal river in the backyard, wood burning stove, and a gourmet chef (that would be Ron). Brent and I loved sitting in the jacuzzi while snow covered the surroundings.
It is always nice to come back to Kenn and Barb's home to visit and look forward to the day when we will be up there for good.... thanks for letting us stay for a few nights! We also got to meet Treven who is a very nice young man. Last Thursday we drove up to Seattle and stay overnight and play tourists (my first time). It rained the whole time and was very cold (big surprize) but we had a great time nonetheless.
As for homelife: I am happy to say that Brent just got promoted to a larger store (yes, he's only been at the current one for 4 months) . I am very proud of how well he has done at every challenge that the company has given him.
As for our weather dramas: It hit close to home early this morning as we slept, we were awoken by a thunderous electrical boom and the brightest flash I've ever seen followed by a blackout. Brent and I got dressed and we went outside to see that a large electrical poll had fallen over (from all the rain) accross the street. We feel very blessed that we did go out because there was no one to stop early morning commuters from driving right into it in the pitch black. So with our flash lights we played traffic officers flagging cars down and telling them to turn around as to not drive directly into the very live electrical wires. One man almost didn't slow down in time and came within 5 feet of it. Soon the emergency vehicles came and almost ran into it themselves. Needless to say, it was a very exciting and lucky morning for many. No one was hurt. Oh, and we also have water damage in our living room carpet which should be resolved by the time family arrives on Thursday night.
As for me, I am still on vacation from school which doesn't start for a few more weeks (that's right, a 7 week break!!). So I get to relax awhile longer, read non-scholastic books or whatever strikes my fancy. Happy Tuesday!

In front of Terry and Ron's after snow 

So it does not rain in So Cal huh 

For any of you that were basing any traveling plans on our visit, put 'em on hold. They likely (50/50) will be deploying a fleet hospital from Japan to the Tsunami Zone within the next 2 weeks. That means they will take two dentists of our 4 and will cancel all leave. Hope it doesn't happen, but just wanted to give you all a heads up.

Dave

It is good to see some pictures from family. Expanding your comfort zone, that's what it's all about. Keep 'em coming! I didn't realize the girls were getting so big. Wouldn't have recognized them if I had seen them out in town.

We are doing fine over here. All the ships are gone, so it is very quiet around here. The are all either in Iraq or Tsunami Land. We were just talking last month about how nice it would be to take a trip as a family to Phuket, Thailand because it is so inexpensive. Sounds like that won't be happening anytime soon.

We miss you all,
Dave

Family,

Got around to posting some of the better pictures from recent days. I finally got around to reinstalling "Hello!" after my hard drive crashed a few months ago. We love you guys!

Mike

The Princess Fairy and Strawberry Shortcake at Halloween

Nativity Actresses

Crazy Girls

Note lonely dog in the background, that's Bailey on the sun porch.

Happy Christmas Sadie

Tradition! (Cue Fiddler on the Roof Music)

Sweet Ellyn

Sadie has been in way too many pictures lately. This was a walk during Christmas break we took at the local park

Beautiful Girls

We thought we'd add some weight to the back of the truck for a safer drive 

Not gonna ride the scooter today. 

Wyview Apartments 

This picture is from last summer (2003) but I am practicing posting pictures... the little girl is Hayden's friend Aana, in the middle is Sophia Debaltzo- we are at the zoo!

I posted this picture for practice. This is Tom and Hayden and I on our trip to Nauvoo in October.  

I understand that many of you probably would wonder who we are and why we have not written in the blog. I assure you that it is not because I am not an active participant of the blog because I read it all the time. I enjoy hearing from everybody. As of late I have been so busy with interviews about my amazing fantasy football championship. People from all around want to know how I did it, so, I tell them, and, they listen. But in all seriousness, we have had a wonderful holiday season that will end in appro. 38 hours when I will be starting up again at school and Tracey will go back to babysitting and everything else that she does somehow in a 24 hour day. On the 15th of December we flew back to Utah to be with Traceys family. On the 16th we left for a cabin in Northern Utah to celebrate our anniversary since we have not been able to as of late because of the inconvenient time of finals at BYU. We went snowmobiling while there which was fun but also had its problems. The machine was a 2 seater so it was quite heavy. We were told not to go out into the snow, just to stay on the road, but, Tracey, the deviant soul that she is, decided to embark into the side paths. Not more than 20 feet into this snow the machine tipped over and we jumped off. We were not going very fast but the whole things suprised us because there was no reason why it should have tipped. To make a long story short, we tried over and over again to start the machine and it would not. I tell you, I was so mad at that thing. Here we were stranded 15 miles from camp and we had no idea what to do. Finally it started after about 30 mins. of frustration and pulling of the cord. We did enjoy the rest of the day because we were a little more careful. I could not believe that this stupid, "snowmobile" could not go in 2 feet of packed snow, what a joke. The rest of the holidays went well. We celebrated Haydens birthday at Chuck E. Cheeses. He was a little overstimulated. We were able to spend a good amount of time with Peter and Anne which was fun. Darts......well, I did bowl a 168 when we did that, if I remember right, peter missed the century mark, unfortunate. Also, we went skiing at sundance while we were there, that was a lot of fun. Overall, it was a great time and I am very glad to be back here in Cleveland getting back into the swing of things. Hopefully all is well with you guys. We love you all and look forward to hearing from you. Thank you Marnie for the Book for Tracey, she loves it. Thanks Mom and Dad for spoiling us. Dave and Adina, thanks for the sweater for Hayden, he wore it in his Christmas picture. And Brooke, thanks for getting that gift, I will look forward to it, it is the thought that counts. Talk to yal later.
Love, Tom Tracey and Hayden

Happy New Year family! We Georgia folk have had a wonderful holiday season. Let me thank all of you for the wonderful gifts. Dave and Adina, the purses were a big hit and so thoughtful, the girls loved them. Ellie's pjs are darling. Tom and Tracey, the girls loved their books. Sadie has been loving hers since about the 17th when she opened it on the sly. Kenn and Barb, I'm sure knowing the girls you can only imagine how much Jane is loving her make-up and books and Sadie's princess dress-ups. Sadie's nightgown fits perfectly and she looks like the little angel she isn't when she wears it.

Okay now I'm going to send my apologies before I hand the computer back to Mike. Dave and Adina I want you to know that I bought the kids presents the first week of November. However, once again I will be sending next year's Christmas really early. Someday I will be as put together as my amazing sister-in-law but it hasn't happened yet. Tom and Tracey, yours was actually mailed on time but it just came back yesterday. I mailed it to Utah but somewhere I got the zip code wrong. Brent yours and your dad's is in the package that still hasn't arrived at my parents house. See now I have it all in the open and Mike can avoid making excuses for his less than organized wife.

Although I am frustrated that we were not able to get the gifts to you all, I can attest that Brooke had these presents well ahead of the holiday season.

Christmas was a quiet day here. We missed family and, in a lot of ways, wished we had gone west for the holidays. But, it has been nice to not have to wrestle through the whole airport thing. On Tuesday we went to Callaway Gardens for a Holiday lights tour which I thought was incredible and very much worth it. If we happen to be down here next year, somebody should really come down for the holidays. Actually, it has been a great year for visits, starting back last Thanksgiving when Tom and Tracey came down. This year we had Dad, Mom, Brent, Tom, Tracey, Marnie, and Kim. Wow! Thanks! It meant so much to have you guys come out. Anyway, we went to a hockey game on Thursday and spent last night playing STOP THIEF! (Anybody remember that game? I got that and SURVIVE! on ebay this year) In between we have been reading. I finished "The Kite Runner" which Mom gave me for my birthday. Excellent book and very compelling for me as it is set in Afghanistan and Fremont, CA! Funny. Most the places in the book I knew very well and had either flown over, walked or driven threw. I remember looking out the back of the Chinook as we flew through the Khyber Pass. I swear we were at about 1000 feet and the walls of the mountains still went up another 5 or 6 thousand feet more. Felt like a fly running through the Death Star trench. Anyway, amazing book that will make you cringe and happy at the same time. The rest of the time, your geek brother is trapped in The World of Warcraft, which is so addictive I set my alarm now to tell me when to get off. Best game I have ever played (Imagine Diablo in a gigantic beautiful 3D world in which thousands of other players around the world coexist, My group I was moving around with yesterday represented 5 countries, including Finland and Japan). I am probably the only one who would enjoy it, so it isn't a recommendation (although it would be nice to have family members online with me), just telling you what I am doing. I am also still awaiting phone calls inviting me to some XBOX Live action.

I love my girls. They are truly my real joy in life. The funny stories of Sadie are endless, I willl have to post some. I promise I will get all the pictures we took posted today.

We wish you all a very happy New Year and hope it brings happiness and success. There needs to be some point this year where the entire family is back together. Ideas?

I am going back to watch the Outback Bowl. Football all day! Dreamy. By the way, congrats on your Fantasy Football Mr. Champion Tom. Checks in the mail;)

Love , Mike, Brooke, Jane, Sadie, an Ellyn

Hello Everyone! I hope everyone is doing well. Things are wet but good in San Diego. It has been raining all day but I had the day off so I am just chillin'. I went and bought Napoleon Dynamite and Garden State today so I have been watching those. I still have 3 other movies from Christmas that I haven't watched yet either. I guess I need to get on that. Matt and I are just hanging out tonight playing Playstation 2 and watching movies probably. We were going to go to Disneyland but we didn't want to drive in the rain all the way up there on New Year's Eve, a little too dangerous.

I am having fun just relaxing and getting stuff done around the apartment. I need to get my resume put together so I can start searching for the perfect job that is just waiting for me! Mom and Dad are coming down in a couple weeks so I am looking forward to that and I start school the next week. The vacation is filling up fast with things to do.

It was fun to go home and see Mom and Dad and the girls and their boys. Christmas was entertaining and there was a lot of laughter. I hope everyone else had fun at their respective Christmases. Happy New Year everyone! I hope you are doing fun things this last day of 2004. I will talk to you all next year! haha!

Marnie

I thought I would add this for Dad. This is a house in Battleground...You thought that your electric bill was high! 

Looking out onto the Freeway in Seattle 

Seattle Skyline 

On the Ferry to Seattle 

Yes, Today we are celebrating our 1st wedding aniversary. It is insane how fast this last year has gone by. It has been hard at times but I wouldn't trade it for the world. Peter is a great husband and I am so glad I made the choice to marry him. We are heading up to SLC to stay at a Marriott for two nights. Tomorrow night (New Year's Eve) we will be heading to the Utah Jazz game against the Sacramento Kings. Our first ever NBA game experience and we can't wait. It should be a fun few days and then we are able to have Mom and Dad and Kim stay at our apartment this weekend.

Christmas was great and we were very happy to be able to relax and enjoy being in Washington with the family. We were able to meet Treven and he seems to be a pretty great guy. We got to go to Seattle like Mom has already mentioned. Peter was glad to be able to go see the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (Galloping Gertie). We got pictures of it but I accidently erased them all while trying to do stuff with my camera on the Ferry over to Seattle. We got our XBox finally and are very excited to be able to hook up to Live to play with all of you guys.

Before and after going to Washington, we were able to spend some time with Tom and Tracey and Hayden. He is the cutest little guy but is definitly spoiled like Tom and Tracey say he is. We were able to go to Brick Oven and go bowling with them. We also killed them in a dart game 212 to 0. It is nice to have family here to hang out with.

School starts up next week and in some ways I am very excited to because I won't be taking such a grueling schedule as I did last semester. Also it means that volleyball will be starting up again, and I most definitly need to get back into it. Peter is finally a BYU alumni and it very proud of the license plate frame we have on our car now. He will be starting up his Masters at BYU this next semester and will be finishing in the Fall of next year.

Well I should get going, I need to get ready and pack for the next couple days. We love you all and miss you. Hope to see you all soon!

Love, Anne and Peter

We had a great Christmas with Marnie, Peter and Anne and Kim and Treven. It was a lot livelier here than normal. Today is my first day with Dad at work and noone but Kim home. Kim, however, got up, took a shower and disappeared over to Treven's house so it is pretty quiet here. I have spent my morning getting the Christmas decorations put away (you know how we are!!!) and now I am getting ready to clean up my desk and work on the business plan for the practice. We are still moving that direction but have not proceeded so far that we couldn't change our mind. Our broker is negotiating with the owner of the building that we would like to go into ..if that fell through, it might give us pause for further thought...

Well, what about this last week of Christmas...Peter and Anne arrived on the 18th. That evening we went to a Christmas program at the symphony and then down to Brian's to see Martha and Dick who were up for just that day. We then stopped to eat on our way home which made a long day!! Monday, Anne, Peter, Kim and Treven went up to Seattle for the day while Dad and I met with various people regarding the practice. Wednesday, Anne, Peter and I went to the temple. Marnie came in on Wednesday night. Then I was fully inundated with three girls critiqueing my every move! Actually it wasn't that bad. They had a lot of fun together...lots of games and puzzles and movies going. On Christmas Eve afternoon, we went to see Lemony Snicket... which we really enjoyed and then came home for our usual Christmas eve festivities. Christmas morning was slightly delayed since Kim went over to the Perry's (Treven's family) for gifts at 7 am. She was back before 8, however, and none of the others were awake yet so it didn't cramp our style too much.

We appreciated all the gifts....Adina and David...we really did need the closet organizers. That is one of my projects for these next few weeks. Buffy...I am very impressed by the scarf. It is so soft and I can't believe you just started crocheting and got so much done. I love the puzzle caddy...it has really smoothed out my puzzle making. And I am digging into the Lemony Snicket books also! The puzzle that Tom and Tracy and Mike and Brooke gave me was a real doozy to do. It had multiple pieces that looked like they would fit and then later you would find that they should be somewhere else. Marnie got me a pedicure kit...which will save me a bit of money!! And we have a new BYU ornament from Anne and Peter.....All together a thoroughly satisfactory Christmas!

Of course, the best part of Christmas is not the gifts but the enjoyment of family and reflection on the significance of Christ's gift to us. This Christmas has been wonderful with more excess time to just enjoy being home and listening to Christmas music etc. Very peaceful! We are taking off on Friday after Dad gets done with work to take Kim to BYU Idaho. Then it will really be quiet!

With Dad's plan of going on his own, I really do need employment and I have one promising lead. I just was called back for a second round of interviews for a job at Northwest Evaluation Association. It is a Research Coordinator for their research department. It's a new position and sounds very interesting....in addition, the job starts with 6 weeks of vacation/sick time. Pretty attractive. My interviews are not until next week so I'll let you know how they go. The only drawback is that it is all the way down by the temple so that it would be a long commute:~(.

I just finished reading " The Kite Runner" It is really a great book---makes you understand better all that has happened in Afganistan.

Well, I'd better get to that business plan.

We love all of you! (If you haven't written to the blog for a while....do it!)
Mom

They LOOK like they get along, don't they?! 

Parker with a few of Christmas spoils 

Morgan watching one of her new "Princess" DVDs 

Christmas has come and gone for the third and final year for us here in Japan. It is official. The tree is bare again, the presents are scattered throughout the house - and I do mean throughout - and we are eating Christmas dinner leftovers. It feels great!
First of all - thanks to all of you for your wonderful gifts! Tom & Tracey - the kids loved their stuff! Parker wore his BYU jersey all day and wanted to sleep in it! He had such a great day - he kept saying, "This is so excited!"
In the news...Morgan is potty-trained! Hip, Hip, Hooray! This is the first time in 9 years that we haven't had a child in diapers! She just caught on this last week and has run with it. She even stays dry at night. It's fabulous. In other news, we are planning our trip home in a few weeks. Our plan is to fly to Seattle on the 21st of January. The kids and I will recover from jet lag, then drive down to Fremont til the 2nd. Dave has a "working interview" that week at a practice in Vancouver that the dentist wants him to purchase. He will join us in Fremont after that and drive back to Vancouver with us, where we will be until the 10th or so of February. The main reason for the trip is to secure employment, but we sure are anxious to see family! We are really excited to come home for a while!
The kids are all doing well and growing fast. They are really enjoying Christmas vacation - and so am I. I spend so much time at that school, I should probably teach there. Isaac is a good student, has a lot of friends in the "neighborhood", and is always on the move. Taylor, on the other hand, is content to do a puzzle, play a game, or create a piece of art. Both doing well in school. Parker is a crack up - I think he will be some form of brute when he is older. He breathes like a bull - you can hear him across the room (which is ironic, because when he was born, they couldn't get him to breathe). And he reminds me of that kid on Charlie Brown that always has a whirlwind of mess right behind him - that's Parker. Morgan is very much into Dora the Explorer and is Parker's shadow. I'll say, let's go upstairs and get a book, and she'll say, "Is Parker coming?".
Dave is obviously preoccupied with separating from the Navy and getting into private practice. We are really trying to be smart about everything, without it consuming our thoughts, but that is proving difficult. I know he will make the right decision, so I don't stress so much. Other than that, life continues on. The New Year promises to be interesting, to say the least, and we are ready for the challenge. We sure have loved Japan - an experience we wouldn't trade for the world. Hope all is well with all of you and hope you all had a very Merry Christmas.
Adina

Writing to you all on a wet Georgia day. As Jane says, "the Christmas eve of christmas eve" I guess this will have to count as our family letter. Pictures to follow from Christmas Eve and Christmas...
We are very much enjoying all being at home together except that the last 4 days, everyone but Brooke has been hit by the flu bug. Luckily, I think my FluMist vaccination kept mine to a low-level fever but Jane and Sadie were puking their guts out for a while there. Ellyn faired OK. I have been working half days Tuesday through Thursday so I wouldn't have to charge my leave. But, 4 hours a day compared to 14 seems like quite a day off.
Most of our days at home we are spending finally putting our room together. Also trying to get the Ford Probe I own ready for sale, which I had a blow out in the other day, luckily at 25 mph and not freeway speeds. So now getting it ready means buying 2 new tires since the other one is also showing radial wires. I guess the half full glass here would be full of happiness that I didn't die on I-185 with a blowout? Oh and then the spare tire got a flat, I can only laugh.
Recently a friend of ours was baptized who we had referred to the missionaries. We are having her and the kids over for Christmas Eve and Christmas. It has been a great experience for the family. I was just called as the Gospel Essentials teacher, which I love, so I also get to teach her more about the gospel there.
On a side note, it is official, many Mormon people are stupid. What?! you say? Here is the latest. Well, she actually lives in a different Ward boundary but the mssionaries from our Ward were about 20 times better than the missionaries in the other Ward. Also, we were there as someone that knew her well. So the mission president for ATL, GA said to go ahead and bring her up in this Ward, and our Bishop agreed. Well now the Ward Mission Leader (from the Ward she is technically supposed to be in) comes to her house with the loser missionaries a week after the baptism and tells her she is being disobedient and that she needs to either move or attend a different Ward and essentially paints her as a rebel sinner. So she tears up and asks them to leave and calls us. So I really fell like giving this "Bro. Griffin" a piece of my mind. But, instead I will just have a talk with our Bishop and see what he can do to prevent this aberrant behavior. Luckily, she truly was converted by the Spirit and I don't think this will affect her. Just a rant, but the point is the Church is true, some of its members continue to be Morons. Also, as I think about this situation, I believe one of the biggest challenges to the Church in the next century as it grows larger and larger is the encroaching bureaucracy that is inherent in controlling large numbers of people.
I am approaching the end of my time in command. I think the change of command will be some time in mid-February. From there I will attend the Captains' Career Course here at Fort Benning from March through July. Then we will most likely be moving if I do not get assigned to a local unit. I am requesting Fort Lewis's 2nd Infantry Division or 25th Infantry Division. But, the list is 20 requests long so I may get my 5th, 6th or even 20th choice. It is really all needs of the Army right now for obvious reasons.
A friend of mine from Ranger School that was in my squad was killed last week in Baghdad by small arms fire. Captain Mark Stubenhofer. This hit too close to home, please put his family in your prayers.
Now for some positive thoughts! Ellyn is an incredible baby, always happy. She burnt her finger the other day on the stove and was crying but when she looked at me she was smiling through her tears. Typical Ellyn, a true sweet spirit.
Sadie is hysterical. Very much her own personality. She reminds me of Tom in that now, when she gets tired, she will just say she is going to bed and take off and go tuck herself in and fall asleep. We recently purchased the new Disney "Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas" DVD, which is fantastic. The computer animation is on the same level as Pixar stuff. Sadie will watch it with a smile on throughout the entire show. Highly recommended to Dave and Tom.
Jane is the sweet girl she always has been. She has many friends which is great. Our neighbor Savannah and Jane ("Best Friends") are spending a lot of time at the house playing or going to hockey games. We have been reading the Lemony Snickets books (which are the best kids books out there) and we recently saw the movie. Jim Carrey was excellent, the movie was excellent standing on its own, but we felt a little let down after reading the books that so much had been left out.
The rest of this vacation we will spend playing games, reading and basically having some good family time. Brooke's back is feeling much better, and she has started going on walks at night with her friend Emily. I'm very glad to see it.
Our Golden Retriever Bailey has turned out to be a great addition to the family. She is a very sweet and gentle dog.
As far as my entertainment recommendations go:
Book: The Devil in the White City - Brooke read it all, I am in the middle of it, Mom you would love it
Movie: Man on Fire - best thriller I have seen in a long time

We wish all you a Merry Christmas. We miss you all. Wish we were all together for the holidays.

Mike

Hey Everyone,

Mike --- Brent
Brooke -- Tom
Dave --- Anne
Adina --- Buffy
Brent --- Marnie
Buffy --- Peter
Tom --- Kim
Tracey -- Brooke
Marnie -- Tracey
Anne --- Mike
Peter --- Adina
Kim --- Dave

Just thought I would post the list again so everyone knew again who they have.

-Anne

Beautiful, I know.

Well hello everyone. I just thought I would put up a picture of me and Kim from her trip to San Diego. Crazy how much we look alike huh? My friends all call her my twin now. Things are good. I am roaring into finals week tomorrow so I must go study. Just thought I would drop a line.

Marnie