All the Mormons... we called them the Mormon Ants 

View from our seats at Conference! love, Kim 

Dave-
If you would like, email me and describe the knee thing. There are a lot of common aches that go along with long distance running. Either way, write me the details so I can a get a picture and I'll try to put together some suggestions of what to do (modalities, stretches, exercises, etc).
With the shoulder, if it is a labral tear and you are still having issues, you probably need surgery but I could suggest some simple and safe exercises. Anyway, email me!
stinchpt@yahoo.com
Buffy

I have sent Lexi all of your addresses and e-mails...Brent, I am assuming you will contact her about her question. I think it is fun how both families read the other family's blog. It does help keeping us in the loop with what's going on with the Schickies and visa-versa.

Dad and I are leaving for Japan tomorrow morning. We get in to Fukuoka at about 9 pm on Sunday night. It will feel weird to lose a day! Dad keeps moaning about sitting on an airplane for 12 hours...but I am sure it will be all worth it! We will be going forward on the deck and hot tub when we return and then Kim will be coming.

A couple of corrections on David's memory... That was when we were living on Fairwood Rd not Dogwood. Dogwood was the blue house at the end of the road where we lived when we had the practice in Poulsbo. Kim already mentioned La Petite. I always will remember David calling me at work to call the patrolman. The policeman was very nice but wanted to make an impression on David. Fortunately, David couldn't find the registration so he could ticket him for that so he would have some consequence. I was impressed by his caring in this situation. He knew David was generally a good kid that just did something very stupid. He wanted to make sure that David, himself, paid the fine not us. David was lucky to have met up with a compassionate cop!!!

My Disneyland memory...was our Christmas Day visit after Brooke and Mike's wedding. Dad was somewhat taken away with the Bennett method of Disneyland..put one person in line and then bring in 20 at the last minute!!! The most dramatic moment was Ellery and Dad going "cross-country" to get up to us for the westen roller coaster...I can't remember the name of it now. Prior to being a roller-coaster it was the mine train. I was so surprised that Disneyland was actually crowded on Christmas Day. It was a great memory, though, and forged a great bond with the Bennett's.

Keep blogging...we can't use our cell phones over there in Japan so we'll be depending on the blog for communication this week. Of course, in an emergency, you could call Dave's phone.

Love,

Mom

Well everyone,

I sit here extremely wiped out for some reason and I have a tournament all day tomorrow and an anatomy lab test to take after the tournament. Daylight savings sucks when it ruins my sleeping patterns. I don't think I have been so wiped out in a while.
Dave, to answer your questions, we end volleyball tomorrow. But of course then I am on to the exercising and weightlifting for the summer workout. I am hoping to get tons of school work done with all of the extra time, and get in some extra naps in the mid-afternoon. I have to enjoy as much sleep as I can now before I start having kids and lose that luxury. Peter receives emails all the time thru BYU Civil engineering department about jobs; however, it is a tad bit too early to know exactly where. We are looking at 2 jobs in the Portland/Seattle Areas and one in Colorado Springs. Believe me, I am hoping that something good will happen and we will be able to end up there.
Memories are great, even I remember that incident and I wasn't even there. I have been reading the Schickies' blog and I thought it was cool that they asked questions like "what was your favorite zoo memory" as a result of Sean getting married at the SF zoo. I would like to pose the question:

What is your favorite memory at Disneyland?

I know it is kinda random but I thought it would be fun to be able to get more people writing more often. I swear I probably check the blog at least 30 times a day wanting to see something new.

So Disneyland, hmmmm.... My favorite memory was the first time we went over 4th of july weekend. I don't think I have ever seen it so crowded since then. I remember having to stand around waiting for the tinkerbell show to start and being so excited when I saw here flying from the Matterhorn to the Castle. I remember eating the frozen bananas and waiting for the parade in the oh so hot weather. I wish we could all go back again but I know how hard that is for all of us.

Well school is winding down and I absolutly cannot wait until it is over. I need my rest from school and volleyball even though I still must workout. Well time has come to go head out to a friend's to hangout for the evening. We love you all and are thinking about you everyday!

Love, Anne And Peter

Hey everybody!
Let’s see what is going on with me… Well Dave to answer your questions. Yes we have a date. August 6th 2005 at the Portland Temple at 11 am. Treven has not found out yet from BYU Idaho because as we just found out he is trying to get into Winter 2006 so they wouldn’t let him know until October. But they said he could put in a petition to ask them to process it now. So he did that but it takes 2 weeks to find out the answer. Long wait sucks!
Other than that… I am almost done with my winter semester! I have 13 days until I go home! So excited for that! Then start up again on May 2nd and finish Summer June 22nd. Then go home for final! Brian Schick is doing out engagement pictures when I go home at break. I found my wedding dress in Provo and I am going to go pick it up the first weekend of May. Excited for that! I get to register for the summer session in a week. I am going to sign up for an advanced volleyball class, aerobic fitness class, women’s health class, and the first half of the Book of Mormon. Hopefully I will get into all of them. I am really excited for my classes this summer.
Nothing really else is going on. Just excited to go home for 10 days. I miss home a lot! My finals should be pretty easy except for my biology test cause it is over everything! I am studying hard every night for that one!
I went to Salt Lake last weekend for Conference. I stayed at Martha’s house for 2 nights and it was great! And I am soooo grateful for her allowing us to stay there. On the Saturday night, we stayed at my roommate’s, Alli, condo which is a block away from the Conference center. We were able to get tickets for the Sunday Afternoon session, thanks to alli’s stake president who happened to be there and have three extra tickets.. So awesome! It was the greatest feeling I have ever had. Especially when the Prophet walked in. It was overwhelming. The protestors were ridiculous. I couldn’t believe it! Oh well! All together I loved the experience of being there. The conference center is beautiful. I will be posting some pics!
I have to go! Love you all! Can’t wait until August and see you all! And Dave I actually do remember when you were pulled over! And my preschool was La Petite… haha!
See you all soon!
Love, Kim

hey stinchfields - have to say that i love reading your blog! just quickly, if some kind soul from your family could email me (cmalexis@aol.com) ALL the home addresses and email addresses for the members of your family it would help with reunion prep. buffy/brent, i know i talked to buffy on the phone re: reunion deposit but i must have early onset alzheimer's as i cannot remember the ultimate decision - but i still need to get that $125 from you guys. if you DID send a check, i have not received it - and i am virtually positive i have not processed a credit card - please correct me if i am wrong. keeping you in our prayers brooke and mike especially - much love, lexi also, true confessions - lame, lame me just found an envelope with a little gift that barb meant for adina for christmas...SO adina - zip me that address and i will get it right out...duh. sorry barb!

Funny, Dave, that you should mention the back. This has been a frustrating week and I haven't posted because I just felt so frustrated and down. But here goes the week. Last Friday we had Jane's surgery. She has had a hard time. Sunday morning she had a temp of 104.7, she threw up for three days before I realized it was the codeine (they said nausea was normal, but it was lasting too long). Mike met with branch and, while nothing is for sure, they said he will most likely get Korea or Lewis. Korea would be a year unaccompanied and Lewis is filling the unit that leaves this fall for Iraq. I guess the reality of him leaving and leaving so soon really set in. Besides that my back started really hurting last week again for no apparent reason. My doctor and my PT checked everything out and they both think I have reherniated the disk in my back. My doc has put in a referral for an MRI, we are just waiting on Tri-care. This happened 2 weeks after I had been given the okay by my P.T. to try for baby number four. So, with this turn of events and no clear indicator as to why this keeps happening (Dave, it wasn't from Max-they think it is the sudden weight gain during pregnancies) besides my back being more fragile now, we have decided that our three girls will be our little family. After all those years of thinking we couldn't have anymore I feel so blessed but it is also kind of hard to take. Maybe somewhere down the road things will change. In the meantime I know what to do with my back and I'm not in nearly the pain that I was last year. I'm going to start swimming since I can't walk at a fast enough pace anymore to really get my heart rate up. I will keep doing PT and try to control it that way and put off surgery. We'll see how it goes. Besides all that, we are doing well. Sadie potty trained in two days-yeah! Mike has lots of homework but he's home and tonight we are going to the Braves home opener in Atlanta. We anticipate great amounts of joy.
I hope that covers everything. We love you all. Love, Brooke

It is a good idea, if you are adding a large post, to do it in Word then transfer over with copy/paste. Small ones don't really matter, but big ones lost make you want to SCREAM!!!
Dave

Had a dang hard time blogging this time. It kept saying 'alert, this document contains no data' whenever I tried to add a blog. Well, found the remedy. Clear all your cookies (15 years ago, that would seem like an odd thing to say), it takes care of the problem right away. On to the blogging...

Don't feel well today, and haven't for the last couple of days. Took Friday off, because it is mainly an admin day, and only had 3 or 4 patients. Might as well take the sick day now since once I get out there on my own, sick days mean a lot of lost money. I want to get better before mom and dad get here the day after tomorrow. We are excited for them to come, wish more of you were, but I understand the costs involved. Being over here and traveling back and forth a couple of times a year has made the world seem so small to me. So, I tend to think, why don't you guys just pop on over here. $1000 to 1300 doesn't seem like too much for a flight to Japan! Then I have to kick myself and remember how, when we lived in Ohio, I wanted to get the best flight from Cleveland back to California and feeling like $400 was some unreasonable amount to spend. So I completely understand, it is a lot of money. (But, if you think of it as a packaged deal, you couldn't get a deal like that for a week to Japan, especially with a Local english speaking guide, etc......sorry, had to add that).
So, there are a couple of things I want to know:
Mike - any news on where you will be going in July? I zoomed in on Ft. Benning and could see those jump towers and the runway in pretty good detail. I have concluded the pics are 3-4 years old based upon buildings in Fremont, BYU, Vancouver, and Case Western. So, anyway, want to know where you are going.
Brooke - how's the back? Is it getting any better? Are you still in physical therapy? Is it supposed to get completely better eventually? Or is it something that will linger? Didn't this all start from Max?
Anne - So, when do you finish Volleyball? And what are you going to do with your time then? Are you going to do some cookin'? Possibly bread?
Peter - Any prospects on where you guys will finally end up? Or is it too far away? It seemed to me that it was only a year away or so. I know you have to go where the job is, but....find one in the Northwest, we'd love to have you guys near.
Marnie - Are you going to be in San Diego forever? Your temperature gauge is going to be screwed up forever.
Kim - so, do we have a definite date? And did Treven get into BYU Idaho yet? Come on, it's April, we want some info!
Brent - still coming along with the running? Found those 1090's yet? I have actually not been running for the last week and a half. I injured my knee playing football in January. I attempted to keep up with the regimen, thinking that I could train through it and it would eventually go away. But, as I upped the mileage, it is really causing me some pain. I went and saw the doc about it and I really decided I should take it easy and let it recover before I do some permanent damage. We'll see.
Buffy - on that last note, I wish we had a physical therapist here. I have decided that that is the only way I am going to get through this and recover. Right now I would pay out of my pocket to have a PT get my knee and shoulder back into supreme condition. I just don't have the knowledge of what exercises are best to do to strengthen those areas, or what kind of icing/heat/stretching regimen is required. I have come to the conclusion that while here, I just need to take it easy. But, I love running and working out, and feel like I am being really lazy not doing anything. Any advice would be great. Do knee braces help any?
Tom - It was fun to reminise about the Case Western professors. Brings back a lot of fond and not-so-fond memories. But, it got me to where I am today and where I am going, so it was a good experience. I think the practice will be great, Howard (Dr. Davis) emails me all the time about how he can't wait for me to get there so he can cut back on hours. He just bought a dental laser and loves using it. Can't wait until you can see the practice. I daily daydream about how to renovate the office, and how it will be when we are there.
Tracey - don't get depressed about the blog fiasco, if the Word thing protects you, then do it, it protected me today. So, what do you do besides chasing down that crazy kid and Hayden? I know you like keeping yourself busy, so you must be doing something besides scrapbooking (Adina does that all the time too).
I will end this lengthy blog with a memory.
Kim will share some form of memory with me on this one. Mom and I were talking about it on our last visit.
When we were in Silverdale on Dogwood, I took Kim to Kindercare (I think that is what it is called) every morning before school. One morning I was running really late. So, as I turned out on the main road to the right. Those of you who remember, there was a big dip in the road (a big hill that enabled you to get much speed if going down it, and Brent and I got stuck on that hill in the snow once....now that I think of it, that hill caused a lot of problems in my life...I also had a fender bender on that hill when it snowed once and I couldn't stop and hit this Ford Bronco.....the guy was nice though.....ok this parenthesis is too long). I went down this 35 mph road at around 70 mph......stupid. Just wasn't thinking at 16/17. Well, at the other end of this dip is a bus stop and also a conveniently located patrol car watching for the likes of me. He pulled me over. As he walked up to the car I though, "ok, speeding ticket, this won't be good". That thought had just crossed my mind when he said "son, could you please get out of the car, you are under arrest". Needless to say, I almost lost control of my bowels. He then proceeded to have mercy on me, for what reason I did not know. One thing may be he said there would be no where for my little sister to go if he arrested me for reckless driving (which is what I was doing). Thanks Kim, you saved me with that one, I am forever indebted to you for being this little blonde haired, big blue eyed girl sitting in the passenger seat. So he took my information, and gave me his card. He said if he didn't get a call from my father or mother that night, he would come get me. Now that I think of it, he was a pretty nice guy and I am grateful for his forgiving nature and desire to teach me a lesson without causing serious damage to my driving record. Ahh, the memories. I'll try to add one every once in a while. They make it interesting.
Love,
Dave

I give up. I just wrote a really long blog (long because it's been so long since we wrote anything) and then Hayden bumped the plug and turned off the computer so I lost it... so I rewrote it and when I tried to save the draft (thinking I was being smart so as to not lose it again) it went to an error page and when I tried to go back it was gonet it again... I can't do it again... so here's the short version... Hayden is potty trained, I'm doing well, Tom is busy with school... maybe later I'll have the heart to fill in the details, right now I am too depressed about losing it... I'm going to write it in Word from now on and then just paste it here! I suppose then I have a sort of journal record so maybe it's a good idea anyway. Oh, how frustrating!
Tracey

Alas, my last spring break ever is over! Sad and glad. I had a lot of fun with Nicole when she came down. We pretty much just sat on the beach and cruised around downtown and on Coronado. It was great to see her. Hopefully this summer we will be meeting her in Utah to go camping or something. I would like to try to make it up to Utah and Matt loves Utah. Hopefully we will go to Bryce Canyon or something because I have never been there. I am getting back into school. Can't wait till it is over. I have about a month left because all of my classes end pretty early! I have been starting to get all of the graduation info from the school. Exciting! I continue to look for jobs. I have some leads but we will see what is best. I am also on the search for a place to live. Fun fun. Well I hope you are all well. It is birthday week here with my roommates bday today and my friend Kristy Gill's tomorrow. Very exciting. Keep blogging!

Marnie

"Superhero" as she likes to be called, NOT Supergirl..... 

This is what happens if you have 3 older brothers that play rough.

That's right I am back on line with xbox live so if any of you boys(yes I said "boys") want to play games I am on. Work is doing great. I had the #4 dollar increase of all store in my district for March $117,000 up over budget. Conference was great really enjoyed it. Buffy is doing an internship at the huspital about 1 mile from my store. I am so excited to be able to see everyone for Kim's wedding. I will be taking a week off to come up and spend some time with you guys. Love you all and we love to hear all about your lives. KEEP THE BLOG ALIVE!!!

Love Ya
Brent

Sorry, don't like to use that dang word too much, but this is Frickin' awesome.
Go to
http://maps.google.com/
And click on "satellite" in the upper right corner.
Put in an address, you can zoom down to street level. I could see your house on the court, dad.
Dave

Isaac works feverishly on his science project. 

Hey folks, what's with all the binge-blogging? Let's try to keep a steady flow. It seems like a waste to click on my "Sundry Seven" bookmark 15 times a day and see no new blogs.
Things are going ok over here. Counting down the days as usual. Everybody is busy with baseball, PTO, scouts, work, school, church, etc.. It all adds up very quickly and seems overbearing at times. But, it really isn't too bad.
Well, we haven't had conference here yet, we will have it this weekend. The day delay makes us have to postpone it one week. But, we just watch it on lds.org so we can watch it anytime after Tuesday/Wednesday (it takes them 48 hours to post the video). So you either watch it live or watch it a few days later.
Isaac has been working on his science project like a madman, you can see him in the pic above doing so. Taylor is his own individual, very inquisitive and sometimes we wonder where his ideas come from. Parker was getting his hair cut on Saturday and while this japanese lady was cutting his hair, he blurts out in his boisterous voice, "I DO DA CHA CHA LIKE A SISSY GIRL". (For those of you who have seen Bruce Almighty more than 10 times, you will remember the news man saying this when Jim Carey was speaking for him). Needless to say, the lady didn't know what he said, because she doesn't speak english very well. I think he just had the idea for some reason as he was daydreaming and decided to share it with her. No idea, again, we don't know where his thoughts come from either. That same day while we were walking through the store he asked me, "How long have you and mommy been married?". This one blows me away because I thought his concept of time was nonexistent, and I think it still is, but where did that question come from?? He has shaken the his difficulty with R's. He says them perfectly now. I guess he just figured it out himself. Morgan is very expressive with her hands, head, and facial expressions. Very funny to watch. And she picked up Parker's loud voice.
Adina continues to take care of damage control, always staying a step ahead of the kids and me. We would be lost without her.
Dave

Enjjoying Depoe Bay between Conference Sessions on Sunday

Early Saturday Morning - Lincoln City - 4-2-05

I read over the blogs a few minutes ago and mom and I sit back in amazement at the accomplishments of all of you. I could go on and on and list one after another of our children, their husbands and wives, fiance and boy friend and take note that we are proud (unlawful word) of all our family members and their friends. Little did we know when we first dated years ago 1966-69, discussing how many children we would have and how we would raise them..that you would all far exceed our wildest dreams. There isn't a day goes by that we don't read of the successes of each of you and realize how blessed we are. If mom and I were to pass on today, we'd feel like we've already lived in heaven and wonder what could possibly surpass what has happened so far. We read over and over about the love our children have for their spouses, children, friends and fiance and then read again how much love the second group of individuals have for our children. What more could we ask? Conference today has tended to put life into a more tender spot in our hearts and minds. After listening to and crying with Elder Nelson, it makes one ponder the real purpose of our lives.

There is a lot we dream of seeing and doing with each of you. The pedestal in our family is tall and very wide. It has to be wide because we place all of you on that pedestal; everyone standing side by side, no one above the other. Our love for each of you is equal. The future is bright. Keep up the promotions, slam dunking, studying long in to the night, raising great children, being safe, building stronger testimonies, being successful in your chosen professions, mothering, fathering and being great leaders. Whatever it is that you do, we watch in total amazement. We feel so fortunate...for all of you being a BIG part of our BIG family. Love, Mom and Dad

I just have to say that this family has the most incredible women! Adina, I don't know the first thing about how to play halo (let alone halo 2!) you are a cool mom! And Brooke, you have the best sense of humor, I always love your posts. Anne, you are the stud athlete that I never dreamed I'd be. In fact, I am equally impressed by every Stinchfield girl. You all have amazing talents and I feel so lucky to be part of the fam.
Ok, sorry for gloating over you all but I do mean it.
This week I get to do a one week internship at an outpatient orthopaedic clinic. Hopefully I can put my newly acquired manual skills to work and learn a ton as well... wish me luck! Nothing else is new around here. Brent just survived inventory this week and I can't wait for him to not feel so exhausted with the altered sleep schedule.
Well, I'll be thinking of you when we watch conference.
Buffy

Let me just tell you about my wife and something she did yesterday. I think the score was 27 to 23 and the University of Utah is beating the rough and tough UVSC volleyball team. Jessica Anders steps up to serve for UVSC and goes on a 6 point run before losing a point making it 29 to 28 UVSC. That's when my wife steps up to the plate as the outside hitter and knocks one to the floor through one of the toughest blocking teams I've ever seen. Ya, that's right, Anne took it to the University of Utah and they split one game to one yesterday in one of their four matches. The other three matches they won both of the games. The only game they lost all day was to a top 20 division I volleyball team. I'de say that's pretty sweet.

I'm pretty proud of Anne if you can't tell. She's been working hard during spring ball. She has a new jump serve that is more consistent then those big hitters at the bigger school up on the hill. I hate to talk bad about my own school, but when it comes to Womens volleyball I'm all green and yellow.

Well, I'm pretty impressed Adina that you finished Halo 2. I woke up this morning motivated by your accomplishment and put in some hard work at Halo 2 seeing as I don't think I'm even close to finishing yet.

I hope everyone can enjoy conference this weekend as I'm sure we will. We're both looking forward to our adventure to the South in another month. I just finished getting an apartment for us to stay in for the two months which makes me feel good to know that is taken care of. It really will be an adventure. We're leaving all of our stuff here in our Wyview apartment and looking to buy a card table and using picnic chairs and other similar furniture items to last us for two months. I can't wait to be there and listen to the Southern accent. Every time I would get off the phone with the apartment people I couldn't help but chuckle a little bit at the slow southern drawl that they have. I am a little afraid that I'll need a translator at times to understand some of the words. Well, 'till next time,

Peter

Okay, Mike has assured me that my last posting disaster was due to a few bugs left in Firefox. Sooo.... I am using Safari and if this doesn't post I will rent my clothing and smear ashes from birthday candles on my head. First of all, much too late I want to share my opinion on the Easter giving dilema. I think the cards are great, no candy. Mom eats it all while children are playing or sleeping or at school or crying and screaming "MOM, you are eating all my chocolate!" If you feel you must send something besides cards, stickers or something else small and seasonal-seeds. I think you should send to your three daughters. Having been the first married it kind of hurt my feelings when -at first, until I told my dad in no uncertain terms that I was still his daughter- my sisters were given cute little things and I was left out. When your young and poor or a mom with a busy schedule it is nice to have mom and dad send a little pampering your way, even if it just some chocolate. moms freak out. Jane was reading this and added that last sentence.

Well Jane is sitting here beside me with an ice collar wrapped around her neck. We were up in Atlanta yesterday getting her tonsils and adenoids removed. "We" being me and the girls and my friend April. I waited half a year for Mike's schedule to free up so we could do this and then they schedule Infantry branch to come and discuss future duty stations the day of Jane's surgery. Then... they reschedule it the day of. Oh how I love the Army sometimes. So for Sadie's surgery we were in pre-op for twenty minutes, surgery for half an hour and then in our own private recovery room until we were taken to another private room for her stay. With Jane, not so. We drove up to Atlanta the day before for her pre-op eval and registration. We stayed overnight and got up at 5:30 to be in on time. So they call us back and have Jane change and I'm thinking 20 minutes-an hour and a half later I ask them how much longer. They tell me her surgery will be around 11:00. Meanwhile we have all three girls in a little curtained off 6x8 cell. You can only imagine the fun. So after a few minutes of stewing I ask the nurses, quite nicely, what is the rational for having us come in four hours prior to surgery. They said the doctor was late, but fifteen minutes later they came to tell me they were ready for her. I could take the credit for being assertive but I actually think it had more to do with Sadie singing Ariel "AAH AAH AAH" around the whole pre-op area. So we had her surgery, waited 4 more hours in the curtained off cell and drove 2 hours home and got lost on the way there (Jane's addition). She did so well. I thought she would be drama, drama, drama, but she has been quite stoic. Her daddy got her roses and a card saying he's not happy when she feels crappy. Yes, and we say shut up at our house too. But only if we're kidding.

It is already so weird not to hear our girls snoring at night. You used to be able to tell from the next room whether or not they were asleep but now it is peace and quiet. It will take some getting used to, I'm so glad it's done. The girls are too. Jane just wishes it was more done. So far I think Ellyn will escape the Stinchfield curse.

So Adina, my husband thinks you rock. He sat here exclaiming over and over how cool you are. He just couldn't believe it. I am amazed as well. He hasn't finished it yet by the way. Waaay too many games to play to actually finish one. Well time to publish. Wish me luck. Brooke

Just Kidding! Happy April Fools Day!! Just wanted to drop a note and let you all know that I am having a blast on my Spring Break with Nicole visiting from Utah. We went to the beach yesterday and today. It has been really nice weather. We have seen lots of friends that I haven't seen in a while and we still have lots to do. I am so jealous that mom and dad are going to Japan next week. Wish I could go again! It is so fun! Well hope you are all well! Love you!

-Marnie

It is Saturday morning and our house is teeming with 9-year old Japanese boys. We had four of them stay the night - ate some pizza, saw a movie, played some X-box, etc. Oh - and I finally beat Halo 2 this morning. I know what you gamers are thinking - "You JUST beat it? I beat it months ago!" But I rarely play these days, so it was quite the accomplishment. Isaac and Taylor were watching and when the credits came up, Isaac looked up at me and said, "Mom - you are so awesome." It was a great mother-son moment.

Things are picking up here. Boys started baseball this week. Dave is coaching Isaac and Taylor's team. I have to peel Parker's uniform off of him - he wants to wear it every day. Cleats, too. Isaac and Tay also started art classes - a sketching class for Tay, a computer photography for Isaac, and a Sumi-E Japanese painting class for both. And Book Fair is this week, so things are hectic.

At the Book Fair yesterday, I had a mother come up to me and tell me something really funny. She said her daughter came up to her and asked, "If my Daddy doesn't come home, can the dentist daddy be my daddy? He all ready has lots of kids!" Dave is earning quite the reputation around here. I guess he is a father-figure to some of these kids - coaching them, pulling their teeth, etc. Anyway - I thought that was so great. Ships are coming in this week after a very long deployment - about 8 months - so kids are anxious to see their Dads. We are so fortunate to have Dave here all the time - I try to remind myself of how lucky we are every day.

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Kenn & Barb next week. It is Spring Break, so the kids are off and we have a lot planned: Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Miyajima, Huis Ten Bosch, Fukuoka, and a lot of eating out at our favorite Japanese restaurants. We are so excited! And Taylor will have his 7th birthday party while they are here...Incredibles theme!

Anyway - love to everyone. Love the blogs - keep it up. Take care!
Adina

Well at least until August when it all starts back up again. Well School is going well. I have tests in every single one of my 5 classes in the next week and a half. It seems like teachers like to do that sorta thing. I think it is a conspiracy against the students. Just kidding. I recieved a Degree of Resident Engineer, P.H.T. (Putting Husband Through) from BYU this last week. So I am now known as Anne Olsen, P.H.T. Funny people over at BYU!

Voleyball is going great. I am banging balls and Peter even says he's never seen me play the way I am right now. We had a tourney last weekend at the U which we ended up playing very well. Today we have a tourney at BYU where we play Dixie, Westminster, SLCC, and the U. So it should be a fun day today. We are done after next weekend and then it will be time to start on the summer workout program. I am so excited.

Other than that, not too much stuff that is exciting around here. It still doesn't feel like spring since it has snowed 3-4 times in the last week. I mean come on, the two winters I live in Utah, the weather decides to be the worst and the coldest. I think I am just cursed.

I love you all!

Love, Anne

St Martin from the ship

Mom...enjoying the warm water!

Dad...the driver on the miniboats!

Well, I have some time in the study since Dad has the Young Men here tonight downstairs. So I thought it would be a good opportunity to write something in the blog. I am recovering from the heart attack I had today when I opened up our taxes from Rex Bosen. Net what we have to pay is minimal but we owe a lot to federal and get back a little bit less from Oregon. Dad and I decided that it will pay us to get some good tax planning so we will be going back to our CPA up here to work with us on general financial planning.

I haven't told all of you my exciting news that I will be going to France and Holland with Martha in September for about 3 weeks. I've decided to go ahead and plan my life as if I will not be getting a job. I am only really applying to things that look interesting in Vancouver since one conclusion that I have come to is that I don't want to spend a lot of time commuting...and nothing looks very promising here. I am enjoying staying home more than I did initially and it does leave me free to do some of the fun stuff!!!

Monday, Dad met with Dr. Wong, the other oral surgeon that just opened up his practice by us. They were discussing possibilities of Dad going into associateship, partnership or something with him. There seems to be interest on both sides so they are planning on a dinner sometime to discuss. Right now, he is worried about just being busy enough himself but we think it will pick up fast. He built out seven operatories so there is definitely room to grow. We'll see. In the meantime, Williamette is going well. Dad is going to break his monthly record this month!

Well, back to telling about the cruise. I think I left off when we left San Juan at midnight on Monday, Feb 28. We arrived early in the morning in St Thomas. I got up at about 4 am to go to the bathroom and looked out the window as we approached the hilly island. It was really pretty with all the lights. We were set up for an afternoon excursion so in the morning we took a taxi into town and went to all the tourist shops. I bought a runner for the dining room table and a roll cloth at a linen shop and some perfume..my favorite Oscar de la Rente.. Dad even got some aftershave. We weren't into big shopping so we went back to the ship for lunch and then met the excusion at 1 pm. We were going out on some miniboats to go snorkeling. They were two person boats...inflatable type ones...I'm sure there is a technical term for it. Glenn and Jaydee McKay went with us (Ginger's son and his daughter)There were about twelve boats. We went out with a guide across the beautiful blue water to a small island off shore. We then got in the water and snorkeled. It is the first time I've done that and I really enjoyed it. It was the right temperature and calm water...warm outside...just great!!! We got back to the boat just in time to leave again for St. Martin at 5 pm. We cruised overnight and arrived in St Martin in the morning. For those who aren't familiar with it, there is a Dutch side and a French side of the island. The French side has by far the better beaches. This time we went for a full day tour in large 4 X 4's. If we were to do it again we would take the 4 person ones. We stopped at two beaches and in between stopped in a little town to have lunch. We basically just circuited the island. They took us on one patch of rough road to give us the 4 X 4 thrill...but it was pretty lame!! Otherwise, it was just on regular roads but was a good tour of the island. On Orient Beach on the French side Dad finally went into the water with me. It was a bit of a shock when I went in the water and realized that tops on the women were optional and there were quite a few without them!! I guess the other end of the beach had a totally nude section. There were a few young women but the preponderance of the topless women were in their 50's and 60's...not too attractive in my view.

We then pulled out again that evening and headed for Miami. Thursday and Friday were just relaxing on the ship...then Saturday morning we pulled into Miami. Since our flight did not leave until late afternoon, we took a tour to the Everglades. We went out on an airboat and saw some very sleepy alligators. I think what was more interesting were the birds around there. Very beautiful! The tour then took us directly to the airport so we only paid about $15 each for the Everglades tour itself since we would have had to pay for transportation to the airport anyway.

Okay, I've finally finished it. I've been printing this out to keep as a family journal so I thought it would be a good idea to get it in here.

I just finished reading Sarah and Rebekkah by Orson Scott Card. Interesting books that give a more full view of the Abraham and Isaac era but a little too modern day for me in the dialogue. I then have been reading Abraham by Bruce Feiler ( a non-LDS book). It really has made me appreciative of modern revelation and the information that we have on Abraham that the other religions are just grasping at. He is jewish and takes a very secular view of what religions are all about. I also purchased two books of the Strong Women.... series. I got Strong Women Stay Young and Strong Women Stay Slim. At this point, I'm just reading them but plan on adding some strength training and diet to my Curves workouts after we get back from Japan.

This weekend we got a room over in Lincoln City on the coast. We made sure we could get conference in the room..so we'll watch conference and then play around over there. Dad's been wanting to get over to the coast for a long time and we've never been to Lincoln City at all.

Well, you are probably all really tired of reading this so I'll stop. Martha put her Easter talk on the Superschick blog...very good talk. There are also some good pictures of Lexi's and Brian's families.

Love,

Mom

Hey everyone!

I just got moved up to the third floor for the rest of the time that I will be here. More room in the top floor apartment. So my address changed to apartment 431 instead of 411. The apartment has vaulted ceilings and there are only 2 of us in here until the summer and then my friend Alli is going to move in. It is perfect because all three of us are leaving after first block of the summer.
Mom, my contract did get sold, but we get the money when the girl pays. I am heading down to conference tomorrow night and staying at Martha's house for the weekend. Very excited.
Everything else is going well. Counting down the days until I can go home for the break! April 21st!
Love you all but that is all that is going on with me right now. Mom, I will call you to talk about the dress!

Kim

Kelly cut her hair too. All the guys at work keep calling us twins and asking if we did it together. But they are totally different haircuts just maybe the same length.

Here are the pics of the new haircut. I like it. I will maybe get it highlighted in the next couple months.

I just wrote a very long, detailed, thrilling, tintillating post and in the middle of publishing it said there was an error. So someday when I can overcome my sorrow I will post again but that time is not now.

Brooke

I choose #6. Including everyone + inlaws, fiances, and boyfriends. But in order to keep the costs down just send a card with a bit of candy. Not a lot. Just enough to show you care. You can of course send above mentioned cards to the couple instead of having a card for each person. That way no one feels left out and the Easter Bunny is still kept alive.

So my Easter was really great but somewhat exhausting. I woke up to find that the Sandy Bunny had visited us out on the dining room table with candy and a set of scriptures open to the Easter story. Then I got ready for church so that I could go straight there after my home teachers were done feeding us french toast and bacon. Yummy! Great idea. We told them that would work for every visit! After breakfast I went off to church which was good then on to the Butler's abode for Easter dinner. Most of the fam was there minus 2 brothers and 1 sister (John in Mexico and Jamie and Carole in Alaska). But almost all the neices and nephews that live in San Diego were there. It was really fun. I really like Matt's family. They are all very kind and easy to get along with. There was a little bit of drama with the dogs. Coltrane snapped at one of the little dogs Spike when Spike wouldn't leave him alone. But I would probably have done the same thing if a little wiry dog was all up in my face! Anyway so that was fun but it was a long day. Let's just say I fell asleep pretty easily that night! I worked all day today and I am thinking about taking a nap now so I can go out with my friends Matthew and Michelle later. Oh yeah, I am cutting my hair off tomorrow so I will post a picture tomorrow! Happy Easter!

Marnie

Hey, I choose an option that you have failed to provide. 'Send a card or just say Happy Easter'. Do they really need the candy? You buy the candy, then you must buy a mailing device, then you must saturate the USPS with candy, the recipient must go pick it up, they must tear it open, they must eat it, they must buy much toothpaste to counteract its effects, then finally, they must do something to remove the calories it has added.
So much easier to say 'Happy Easter', and nobody feels left out.....
(hehe)

Dave

Bunny OB 1 KBarbie

As I looked and beheld my Barbie Bunny with two bags for mailings, I inquired, "to whom do they go?". She retorted, "they go to our single daughters". Oh my gosh! This brings up some serious inquiry and polling of the rest of clan.

Please choose from the following:

1. Bunny Barbie should continue and just send Easter treats to the single girls.

2. Bunny Barbie should feel badly that she did not include her married daughter.

3. Father Bunny says you should give only to the girls because they are girls. The boys wouldn't care about getting Easter treats.

4. Bologna..all seven of us should get treats.

5. Holy smozola..all seven and inlaws should get treats.

6. Unfair, Unfair...fiances and boyfriends should be rewarded too.

Where will it go? When will it ever subside? Must we feed this sucrose addiction?

Please select your choice and report with return blogs.

We spent a fabulous Easter over at the Debaltzo's house. There was as much food as Thanksgiving, it was delicious!!! Hayden had a fabulous time playing with the kids, they love to make him laugh. He enjoyed having the Easter bunny come and was very excited to get The Incredibles movie. He is over there laying on the couch watching it right now. Whenever a new character comes on he shouts out their name, and if he sees Jack Jack he starts laughing and saying "Jack Jack funny!" over and over again...he is as entertaining as the movie! On Saturday we gave him a new shirt with a picture of Dash on it. He ended up wearing it to bed because he wouldn't take it off and then he cried all Sunday morning because we made him take it off to take a bath and put on his church clothes- needless to say he's very attached! We stupidly forgot to take pictures of him on Easter morning because we had the video camera rolling... we need to remember to do a little of both. Dave and Adina you're pictures looked great! We think Parker really looks a lot like Dave in a few of those pictures! Kim your wedding colors sound great, keep us posted on things because it is so much fun to hear about everything!
We had a great weekend, we went out on a date Friday night and Hayden went to his babysitting group. He loves to go play with his friends and always cries when we make him come home. On Saturday I had a great girls day out with 3 of my friends, we went shopping and out to lunch. In the afternoon Tom went to the driving range and then we all went to a friends house to play games. This week I am finishing up on decorating some parts of the house that I have ignored. I am making some curtains and looking for table runners and picture frames and such, it's kind of fun and hopefully will turn out looking nice. Maybe I'll have it all finished by the time we move in two years!
Hayden has decided that he is nine years old. When I ask him how old he is he says he's nine and when I try to tell him he is two he says "I not two, I nine!!" I'll keep working on him. He's getting even better at using the computer and can get on and go to his log in and then select the game he wants to play and start it and play it all my himself. We are going to start potty training this Saturday because Hayden seems really interested and ready. If any of you have advice for me I'd love to hear it. I am going to follow the plan set out in the book from the 70's called "Toilet Training in Less that a Day." Dr. Phil suggests to get an anatomically correct doll and have the child teach the doll to use the potty. I'll let you know if it works because we bought a little boy doll and are ready to try it out. I'm so excited to get this milestone over with before all the summer traveling! Talk to you later!

For those of you who don't read the Superschick blog...Lexi put this quote in this morning. Since I really liked it...and it is so appropriate for Easter, I thought I would share it with all of you...

Chieko Okasaki (a former counselor in the General Relief Society presidency) "We know that on some level Jesus experienced the totality of mortal existence in Gethsemane. It's our faith that he experienced everything - absolutely everything. Sometimes we don't think about the implication of that belief. We talk in great generalities about the suffering of the entire human family. But we don't experience pain in generalities. We experience it individually. That means Jesus knows what it felt like when your mother died of cancer - how it was for your mother, how it still is for you. He knows what it felt like to lose the student body election. He knows that moment when the brakes locked and the car started to skid. He experienced the slave ship sailing from Ghana toward Virginia. He experienced the gas chambers at Dachau. He experienced napalm in Vietnam. He knows about drug addiction and alcoholism.

There is nothing you have experienced as a woman that he does not also know and recognize. On a profound level, he understands about pregnancy and giving birth. He knows about PMS and cramps and menopause. He understands about rape and infertility and abortion.

His last recorded words to his disciples were, "And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." (Matt 28:20) What does that mean? It means he understands your mother-pain when a bully picks on your fifth-grader, when your daughter calls to say that the new baby has Down's Syndrome. He knows your mother-rage when a trusted babysitter sexually abuses your two-year old, when someone gives your 13-year old drugs, when someone seduces your seventeen-year old. He knows the pain when you come home to a quiet apartment where the only children who ever comes are visitors, when you hear that your former husband and his new wife were sealed in the temple last week, when your fiftieth anniversary rolls around and your husband has been dead for two years. He knows all that. He's been there. He's been lower than all that.

...The door to Him is always open, but the door to you can be closed and stay closed if you choose to close it. If one great constant in the universe is the unfailing love of the Savior, the other great constant is his unfailing respect for human agency. He will not override your will, even for your own good. He will not compel you to accept his help. He will not force you to accept his companionship. He leaves you free to choose."

I really enjoyed the pictures of our Japan branch in their Sunday best. It is always weird to think that they are a day ahead and are already finished with Easter. Well, we have been reminded by both Kim and Marnie that we have failed in our Easter Bunny duties!!! I guess we'll have to go for redemption tomorrow!!!

Anyway, it is fast Sunday here because of general conference next week. The choir is singing one song right after the sacrament and the closing song so I need to be at church early. We're having a couple of families from the ward over for Easter dinner tonight...the Dunfords and the Packers. Figured that it would be pretty lonely with just the two of us!! We're looking forward to next year when David's family is here.

Tomorrow, Dad is going to talk to Dr. Wong (the oral surgeon who just opened up his clinic up here) at possibilities working for him. Then in the afternoon we have two deck companies coming to give estimates for our new deck.

We love all of you and hope that you have a happy day today. When you think of Christ's sacrifice for us and His resurrection, it can't help but make us each thankful for our opportunity to repent...and be a forever family.

Love,

Mom

The spoils 

Searching....... 

The boys 

Morgan on Easter morning 

Easter morning 

The rice buckets we bought at the bazaar. 

Had to add a picture of the cream cheese brownies that I made from scratch the other day. Only 1000 calories per square. Dave 

Small streets, eh? The church building is up there past the intersection. 

Daizaifu shrine in Fukuoka 

Bridge at shrine 

Antique bazaar 

Adina at the shrine/bazaar 

Some cherry blossoms 

Adina and me at the Shrine 

Last night (Friday) we had a bunch of friends over for a game night. It was alot of fun, basically the whole branch (three families, including ours). Stayed up too late and paid for it this morning when Adina and I went out on our 'day' date.
We got a babysitter and drove up to Fukuoka, Daizaifu district, where they were having a antique bazaar near a shrine. It was a very sunny day and it was a busy place. We had a lot of fun looking at all the japanese antiques. There were many things that we wanted to get, however, thanks to the fact that we only can get yen (easily) back on the base, we had a set limit that we could not overshoot or else we wouldn't have the $30 for the tolls on the way home. We did end up buying a couple of cool wood antique rice buckets. Dad, we saw a couple of antique phonographs that we thought you would have bought, but didn't have that much dough on us. The cherry blossoms are starting to bloom, I think they will be full force when mom and dad are here. I will attach some pics of our day on the blog.
We then went out to mainbase this afternoon for Adina's football practice (which she thoroughly enjoyed) and my long Saturday run. By the time we got home, it was baths, die eggs, bed. Very long day and the kids are beat...as are we.
We miss you all and love to hear about your lives.
Dave

Is that how you even spell magenta? I'll have to do spell check at the end. Well today was a beautiful day, 76 degrees. We had play group over here so the yard was filled with about 8 kids under the age of four. They were all running around, jumping on the trampoline, drawing on the sidewalk with chalk. It was wonderful. We ate lunch and then I brought the girls in for naps. I love how hard they sleep when they are physically exhausted and warm from the sunshine.

So, as for the title. I'm Jane's soccer coach this spring and our team was assigned the hot pink jerseys. I picked them up a few days ago and I have been dreading telling the boys. I was actually worried about some of the dads. We've only had practice for a week and you never know if you'll get some macho army guy. So... we are the Thunder Sharks in hot pink. All the dads were good about it and I let the boys have the final say on the team name. They were a bit upset, but very polite.

We had Mike's Hail and Farewell tonight for the Battalion. It was really nice. What else? Oh, we received the cards from grandma Barb and some smiley face and the package of Bunnies from Brent and Buffy. Thank you all so much. The girls loved them. They love you all so much and they are always so pleased when mail comes for them. I hope you all have a wonderful Easter. Barb, I think your life sounds very fulfilling right now, actually.

Love, Brooke

Well, Dad came home last night and looked at the car and the garage door and said that actually I did almost no damage. I only broke off the windshield washer thing. What I thought were dents by the hinges is the way the car is made!!! So I called up USAA this morning and cancelled the claim. Actually quite good news...how was I supposed to know that there were wells by the hinges!

Mom

Since we have all talked about writing about the everyday happenings of our days...I thought I would share my day today. First, I went to exercise at Curves..about a 40 minute workout, Yeah!!!! Then I came home and put together an orientation packet for our new Enrichment teach. I was a little late when I was leaving, opened up the garage door...and didn't notice that it did not go ALL the way up...almost...oh for an inch of two. I heard a crunch as I started to backup. There was nothing in my rearview mirror..it just it the very top of the door hinges on the roof...Oh, well, our USAA payment was getting too small now.....The garage door doesn't look like it was affected..but Dad hasn't looked at it yet.

After that joyful beginning to my day, I went to do the orientation, went to someone's house to help clean their old house, then came home for my visiting teachers. After they left, I showered and called USAA.

This afternoon, I went to the bank to discuss the refinance and went to read to Betty Ronayne (she is in a retirement home and is about 85. We're reading "The Hearts of the Children" series). I then came home and wrote up the presidency message and enrichment announcement for our RS newsletter...developed a survey about midweeks and e-mailed all out. Then wrote this up...

Now all of you will look at the variety of your own lives with new appreciation!!!!

I love you all....

Mom

So we live in LA but could swear we were in the northwest.... I don't remember it every raining so often and for so long each time. Yesterday it rained nonstop including one tremendously loud boom of thunder. Oh well, no flooding so yah.
Though I am happily on spring break, I still have to do some homework and research. Unfortunately, the CSUN library is not the best so I get to drive to UCLA (in the middle of Beverly Hills and Bell Air), manage my way through traffic, pay $8 to park just to make photo copies of journal articles. The alternative is to pay $20 each to get them online. Fun.
Kim, I think your colors for your wedding are great. I'm sure studying is no problem with all you have on your mind!
Oh, I'm giving Brent a hard time for golfing tomorrow since it's his only day off during my spring break. I know it's selfish of me since he hasn't golfed in a while... just keeping up with my role as the nagging wife hehe.
Happy Wednesday everyone.

So it is Wednesday, and I thought I should add something to the blog.
Things are going ok here. The weather in Sasebo is finally warming up. A lot of rain but warmer, the cherry blossoms should be here soon. I just finalized our pack out and housing check out. We will be packing out the week of the 20th of June and leaving on the 25th. 4 days in Hawaii, then I have to out-process in Bremerton for "10" days. I then will likely go to the WSDA Dental Conference in Seattle with dad on the 14/15 of July. I then begin work likely the 18 of July at the new practice. Very exciting! There is finally a light at the end of the tunnel.
The kids start baseball in 1 week and then it is all craziness until we leave...with mom and dad coming, etc..
Other than that nothing real exciting except that I have found a new punishment for my kids.....make them swallow teeth. I was taking a tooth out on Isaac the other day and OOPS!, there it went. The tooth fairy won't be happy about getting a hold of that tooth! There's a first (and last) time for everything! Stupid, stupid. Oh well, we move on.....
We are anxious to be able to see everyone at Kim's wedding. Oh, and for those of you that don't follow the Schickie blog, Sean is engaged to be married.
We have a 12 yo japanese boy over tonight for dinner. I guess he is going to be attending an all english school and his mother wanted him to be immersed in an english speaking environment. So, she knew a japanese member....and the story goes from there. We ended up opening our house for him. Very nice kid. And the boys love having visitors.
Well, that's all from Japanland.
Dave

Anne I will be in Salt Lake this weekend so give me details about your tournament so I can come and watch for a little bit.
Mom came down last weekend and it was tons of fun! We went to a bunch of things together and she was able to come to two of my classes. I will be home in 4 sundays! sooo excited! Not a lot is going on with me here. We are going back to normal without the moms here. I am moving up to the third floor apartment this weekend with a friend from another apartment cause we need more room for my friend Alli to move in this summer. I will be only going to half of the summer so it will be going by pretty fast then I get to go home for final until the wedding.
My friends and I will be going to conference in two weeks. It will be pretty exciting since I have never gone before.
Oh yeah, I decided on my wedding colors everybody. White, Mint green and yellow. Anne and Marnie are going to be my bridesmaids. We are just going to have green knee length dresses with white cardigans. That is what I am thinking right now. The reception is just going to be in the backyard and oh yeah flower will just be white and yellow flowers.
That is what going on with me right now! I don't know what else to put in. Love you all!

Kim

Hey family clan,

The Incredibles is a great movie! We just watched it for the 2nd time tonight. Tom and Tracey I will have to let you know that I think of Hayden everytime I see a commercial for the movie or watch the movie. He is such a cutie! "Where's Jack Jack"

Anyways, My life is going well here in good ol' Provo/Orem. I am getting baby crazy right now. I have a baby shower for an old team manager on Friday evening and then one of the girls from the team this last year that is pregnant is due on Saturday. I can't believe that she will finally have their first kid and they haven't even celebrated their 1 year anniversary. I can't wait until it is me having the kid. Believe me I am counting down the days until I can get pregnant! HAHA!

Volleyball is better than last week. Except that today at practice, I got hit in the back of the head by another girl's knee. Let me tell you I had to lay there for a second to really realize what had happened. Now I have a headache and I was feeling a little nauseas(?) at practice. But I am fine and will be back at practice at 9am tomorrow on my first day of Spring Break. Believe me, It is not much of a spring break with having practice, athletic auction, and a vball tourney at the U on saturday.

School is going well, The PE degree finally got approved at our school. I will finally be able to get into the degree I want, even though I won't even be graduating from UVSC. I am glad because now with eligibility in school, I will be able to not have to worry about stupid Biology classes.

Anyways, I am getting a little sick and need as much rest as I need for this weekend. I love you all and miss you!

Love, Anne

I just want Mike to know how much Dad and I laughed last night and how much I have enjoyed your response!!! I also thank you for deleting the two extra that I put in...how do you do that?

Isn't it amazing what the years do? I was trying to guess how old Mike was when he wrote this. It must have been in Seattle since he doesn't mention sisters. The handwriting also jives with him being between 8 and 10. Writing personal histories does bring up some pretty interesting things. We also found a card that I wrote to Dad in one of my more depressed hours in Poulsbo right before we went to Michigan. It made me realize what a blessing in disguise that takeover by John Dugan was.

Mom