First Fill 

I know I just posted last night but had to share a tale of commuting in LA. This morning as I drove toward my clinic (which is close to an hour away with the traffic), it was the usual drive including the usual mean LA drivers UNTILL I got onto the freeway. I had not gone a mile when the entire westbound traffic slowed to a near halt "great, I will be late this morning" I thought to myself. I knew it was a bad sign when I saw a helicopter hovering over the freeway just ahead of me. Then all the cars merged to the left two lanes and as I got to what I assumed would be a car accident and saw something that I have only seen on TV. In the lane to the right of me as I passed by were 4 cop cars with lights on, a civillian car, several police with guns drawn, two men laying face down on the pavement, and one man standing with his hands up. The police were using a megaphone and dirrecting the 3 men what to do... very surreal. Wow, only in LA! Fortunately the traffic sped back up and I arrived on time to the clinic.
Anyway, that was it. Just thought I'd give you all a taste of urban life. :)
Buffy

Hey everybody!
Sorry I haven't blogged for a while, the internet isn't so good here... Somebody still has a virus in the tower that I am in so the internet goes on and off when it feels like it. It doesn't really help when all your homework is on a website for class... SO I have to come down to the computer center in the lounge to do anything!
Well I am done with the summer semester on Wednesday and Treven comes the day before that to drive home with me. But first, my roommate Alli, Treven and I will be driving down to Salt Lake and staying in Alli's condo with her mom which is like a block away from temple square. We are going to be going to the meeting with Elder Bednar on Saturday morning and so for those two days we have free, we are going to either go to Lagoon Amusement park in Lagoon or Seven Peaks. Haven't decided yet. Then on Saturday Treven and I will leave right after the Elder Bednar thing to drive home. The meeting is pretty early in the morning so it will be perfect.
Mom and Dad heads up, Alli will be coming like a week after I get home because her brother has to go to Seattle so her mom wants her to go with her brother so they are driving up here together. Her brother will be dropping her off then heading up to Seattle so we won't have to worry about him. She will just stay in my room.
Let's see, what else? Well Treven and I just realized if we are able to find an apartment in Vancouver that we could rent on a month by month for like 500 a month then we will just stay in Vancouver for the fall so that Treven will still have the job he has now and I can get a holiday job like I did last fall. Also so we can be there for the holidays. Long story short... we are looking and praying that we will find something.
So excited to get home! This weekend I am just packing and doing some final projects and cleaning. I also have a test and a paper to do so I am working hard... I also just did this family health tree for Women's Health where I had to get 4 generations back on their health and cause of death if dead. It is really interesting what is in the family! Thank you so much Mom for getting the information for me! Anyways! Love all the pictures and the stories, I CAN'T WAIT FOR AUGUST TO SEE EVERYBODY!
Still hanging in there,
Kimberly

Thought we would share a few pics from their last few games. This is one of Isaac's hits, running to first.... 

Rounding first... 

Getting a little encouragement... 

Is he gonna get me?! 

Look out! 

Tay swinging away 

Taylor at bat 

Taylor and Isaac coming in. 

Brent and I are still doing well. Just working full time. I haven't been online much since I work a full day and then try to go to the gym in the evenings along with errands and dinner. My internship is going well still. I worked with my CI in the hospital on Tuesday and was glad to brush up on my in-patient skills. The down side is that there are always sad stories involved. One older man proposed to his girlfriend 2 weeks ago and she said no. He completely broke down, stopped going to work, started drinking again (recovering alcoholic), got drunk, ran into two parked cars and had a stroke. Sometimes it's good to not read the social work reports in patient's charts! He was a very sweet man and was so frustrated that he couldn't speak very well due to the stroke.
The only exciting thing in our lives lately is finding a great deal at costco. We purchased an air conditioner for our bedroom for 50 bucks since it had a $50 instant rebate. It's supposed to be a scorcher here this summer and it's usually hot here normally. We love our apartment but it does not have central air since it was built in the 50's.
Also, we felt the earthquake today though it was less shaky where we felt it. It seems like there have been a lot of them lately all over making us think there could definitely be another.
Ok, we've blogged enough. Just one more thing... What state was Peter's job interview? We didn't cach that part. And good luck to the Stinches who are moving and getting ready to move!
Buffy & Brent

Things are winding down here. The final Honor Roll Assembly was this morning. Isaac made the A/B Honor Roll all year and this last quarter, he earned all A's. So - he gets a milkshake or something special today! I am going to pick up their school records in a few minutes to hand-carry with us back to the states. A lot of good-byes at the school. Isaac and Taylor made up some cards with their address and e-mail so their friends will hopefully write. They are handling all this change remarkably well...better than I am, I think.

We have sold our van and deliver it on Monday. Then we will officially be homeless and car-less. We are trying to get the house ready for the movers on Tuesday. Our refrigerator has become a pathetic collection of almost-gone condiments, tortillas and cheese. Our menu has become very interesting as we try to clean out the cupboards. Although, I must say, Dave made a delicious meal of Fusili Alfredo with sauteed scallops last night. Mmmmmm.

The District President comes to visit from Okinawa on Sunday to shake up the branch a bit. With only 3 or 4 priesthood holders in the branch, everyone is a bit anxious to see who the new Branch President will be. All I know is it won't be Dave! He is officially done seeing patients and is now just trying to "separate" from the Navy. He will be missed here. He has had patients rushing in to see him the last few weeks before he leaves. I hope he has the same effect on his patients in Washougal!

Mike & Brooke - have you heard anything new? When is your move date?
Brent & Buffy - are you guys still out there?
Marnie - we loved the pictures. Your apartment really looks like "home" for you. Congrats, again!
Anne - I share your longing for home! We're glad Mississippi ( that is fun to type) has been a good experience and we will keep our fingers crossed for Peter's job.
Kim - my family received your wedding announcement and loved it. Thanks for remembering them. They are so excited for you! We, ourselves, our anxious to see how they turned out!
Tom & Tracey - As our time winds down here, we are hopeful that your experience will be as great as ours has been. There hasn't been ONE day that I have regretted our decision and I hope you will feel the same way. Granted, the Navy is undergoing a lot changes, but just like life, you roll with them. We are excited for you.

Well - this has gotten long and I have a lot to do! I've become a great procrastinator!
Adina

I don't really know how to spell the rest of the phrase. Anyways, Today is the last full day living here in Mississippi. I CANNOT WAIT TO GET HOME!!! I have been itching to go home for the past week. Peter had his interview on Tuesday, and felt it went really well. They said that he would hear about it before Tuesday when we plan to get back into Provo. I have been getting so ansy about the whole thing, waiting by the phone hoping the phone will ring saying that we got the job. I guess I just want to get more settled and have been waiting for this moment for a while. Well not much else is going on here. Just packing up getting ready to go. We are stopping in Arizona to visit a buddy of Peter's from High School. Taking the long way back isn't going to be fun but I am glad we are finally getting down to Arizona to visit them. We love you all. We can't wait to see you all in August.

Love, Anne

I thought I would break up Tom's entries...although I enjoy all of them. Nothing much has happened her at all. The deck construction is incredibly slow. On Tuesday, I had to stay home all day for the plumber (to move the outside faucet out of the way) and the electrician (to wire the hot tub and two other outside electrical receptacles). The electricians showed up at 2 and worked until 4 on Tuesday. Ostensibly they were supposed to be here at 8 yesterday but did not show up until 1 pm and then left at 4 (the magic hour) still unfinished. Then, when they get finished it needs to be inspected. So that means I have another day of puttering around the house getting frustrated at seeing how few boards two men can install in a day. We had felt fairly confident that it would be done by tomorrow (the 17th) but that is definitely a pipe dream at this point. Martha is visiting Brian and Paige this weekend so we had invited all over for dinner on Sunday...thinking we could have it on the deck and enjoy the hot tub. No way! At least Martha is well acquainted with builder delays after the construction of their house. Anyhow, it does appear that it will be raining also so we'll just have to entertain them inside!

Dad is still struggling with his sore neck but the ice is helping it. The company approached him about working in Boise one day a month...AwGHH!!Hopefully they will compensate him well if he does it!!!

Love to all,

Mom

Wow, this is really pathetic! Although my posts have been short, this is the 4th straight and there are a whole lot of lookers. Anyway, it is a rainy day here in Cleveland. Not a suprise really because the last week has been on and off. Last night we went to the Indians game against the Rockies and there was a 1 hour rain delay in the 6th so we just had to stand around. The indians steadily came back from a 4 run deficit to tie the game on a HR in the ninth. So, extra innings, and we could only stay for the 10th because the people we went with needed to work early this morning. So, we left after the 10th only to hear the game winning HR the first at bat next inning. It pains my heart to stay at a game for 5 hours only to miss the pinnacle moment. But, oh well, it was a great game to go to even for the part that we saw. So, other than that not much going on. I have been assisting in Endodontics and Perio in my spare time and I am anxious to get doing something, however, the finger is sore and cannot be bent because it is just so stiff. Hopefully this will only be for a short time. Anyway, better go, class has started. TOM

Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks! 11-2 over the Rockies. Go Tribe!

Marnie, this thing is great on the dashboard. It will make it a ton easier to post. I am just sitting here in school. I got 2 of the 4 pins out yesterday and technically it could bend now but it is so stiff. I have trouble putting pressure on it because I do not want to cause any additional damage. But, the doctor told me that I should start trying to bend it. I guess I will just have to do this during this week. next monday I should get the next 2 out and then I can start on the road to recovery. We are in the dog days of summer here and just being thankful each day for the central air that we have. Even though our house is small, it is cozy and comfortable. Well, I better go. Tom

here is a test that I am performing.

Guess what? I downloaded this cool new thing to my dashboard (on my iBook, new feature on desktop). I am blogging from here! I don't even have to go to the website or anything! It is called the dashblog widget for you Apple geeks. Pretty cool.

Mom suggested I comment on my trip the the Chiro today. Acutally, it was more than that. On the suggestion by one of my patients from last week, I went to see a new DC this morning at 9:40am. I was greeted by a great staff and the appointment went on from there. I ws first taken to a back room and interviewed by a PTA about my current problems. I was then introduced to the DC and he took me in his adjustment room, interviewed me and went ahead and treated my whole body. Sort of a "tune up" after lapsing out from prior DC appointments. Then, I was sent to a PTA and put on ice for my neck and lower back coupled with trans-dermal electrical stimulation. I thought we were done and the next thing I knew was a deep relaxing massage from one of the PTAs. It was wonderful. Following the massage, I was taken to another room to meet with a PT. Yes, a PT. In practice with the PTAs and the DC. The thing that concerned me most was I could see $$$$ adding up each time a new intervention was employed. So, after PTing for a period of time; about 2 hours after the start of this journey, I was taken to the front desk to make my next appointment. After scheduling the appt. I asked for the bill. $55.00. What? Was that a mistake? I asked for a check on the cost and she asked what had been done. I read through my list and it matched her list....$55.00. Wow! That was a deal. So, back I go next Monday.. All in all, a very pleasant visit and a great referral by my patient. The beat goes on.................Dad

Just in response to your to hope that you will get a chance to know the grandkids better I thought I would relay this little story about Hayden. Maybe I already wrote this (my memory is shot when I'm pregnant, but if I did oh well.) A few weeks ago I was playing around with Hayden and I said "Hayden, who loves you? I love you!" then he said "No, I love Grandma Barb and Papa!" We hadn't even been talking about the two of you that day, he just thought of it on his own! On top of that, he loves to look at pictures on the blogg and name his cousins and aunts and uncles, it's a lot of fun! He's going to love seeing everyone in person! So will I!
Kim, we got your wedding annoucement today, it looks great!!! You and Treven are so cute, I can't wait to meet him!
By the way, I had my doctor's appointment this morning and heard the heart beat loud and strong. Everything checked out great! And I kept my date with the track this morning and had a nice easy jog to get me back in the swing of things! It was great! Tom goes to the doctor again today to get his finger checked, we're really praying he gets those pins out! I'll keep you posted!
Tracey

I am printing out the blogs by month. Just to let you know...our April blog was 75 pages. Our May one was 92 pages!!! What a great family history we are developing!!!

Mom

Short or long...I just love to read anything about your lives. It really helps me to know the grandkids better and see them grow at a distance. I am so looking forward to this summer with them all together...getting a chance to better know them and have them know us and their cousins and aunts and uncles.I feel like the blessed person on earth with all of you kids and grandchildren.

Dad is off at a chiropractor this morning. He has really been in acute pain and we've been debating between chiropracty and physical therapy. We may do both. He had an appointment to take care of the acute problem but may use physical therapy to prevent it from returning. I think both probably have a place...since we will have both in the family...we want to keep the peace!!! I know chiropractors have helped Dad a lot with his back in the past.

The deck is still proceeding along. We're hoping to get it finished by this Friday! We went to the Rose Festival Parade on Saturday. They reserve spots for us outside a Willamette Dental Office along the parade route and serve us a great lunch. This is our third year so I guess it will become a tradition. It would be fun to have the kids all along (both Mike and Dave's assuming that Brooke ends up her then). Also looking at some property up by Lake Merwin, where we went that summer to swim. We'll have to see if we can get financing!

Love you all,

Mom

Feel comforted in the fact that we love long blogs, nobody is going to complain...keep 'em coming! And all y'all too...
Yeah, dam engineer, hehehe.
Dave

It’s great to be a mom because I have the luxury of just being totally amazed by my own kid, there just never seems to be a kid as “neat” as your own! Hayden’s imagination just continues to delight me. Tonight at dinner his chicken nuggets became spaceships and flew around his plate. The other day he found a piece of tape and wrapped it around his finger. He came up to me and said “I have a broken finger, I need to go to the doctor.” I said okay so he walked out in to the hallway and started to talk to the wall. He said “Hi doctor, I have a broken finger, can you fix it please?” Then he paused and said “Okay….okay.” and came back in and announced to me that his finger was all better. Now I know this isn’t a particularly remarkable thing to do but I really thought it was clever of a 2 year old to just think of it out of the blue. Earlier today Tom and I were talking and Hayden wanted us to pay attention to him so he said very seriously, “Okay, that’s enough talking!” One more funny story, he wanted me to watch Lion King with him but I needed to go make dinner so I got up to leave. He came running after me and said "I love you mommy, don't run away from me!" He's so dramatic!! Tom loves to play on his dramatic side and constantly threatens him with pretending he sees monsters and stuff so now Hayden is very jumpy when he hears a strange noise and uses the flashlight to search for monsters in his room.

We’ve had an enjoyable week. Monday I took Hayden to the zoo and we had an okay time but it was too hot and too crowded to really enjoy it. On Tuesday we got a delivery of some new salt water fish we had ordered online. Our tank is now really active and fun to watch. We have three small fish called damsels, we have a “Nemo” clown fish, and a “Dori” blue tang, a cool yellow butterfly long nose fish, a coral banded shrimp, several crabs, 10 hermit crabs, 8 snails, a chocolate chip starfish, and a pencil tip urchin. We can sit and be mesmerized for hours! On Wednesday I took Hayden and Sophie to the beach. We had a nice time but again it was so hot we had to sit in the shade of tree quite a distance from the water because the sand was so hot in the sun it was burning them to play in it. But they enjoyed the shaded spot and then we went and threw some rocks in the water.

On Saturday we all went to Geauga Lake and enjoyed the rides. Hayden can now ride several things by himself and he thinks it’s pretty cool. We went on the log ride together and it takes your picture while you’re going down the big hill. I was really temped to buy the photo because it showed Hayden just looking terrified! But he laughed when we finally splashed down and said he liked it! We spent part of the day swimming in the wave pool and lazy river because it was so hot and humid. The large new water park opens on Saturday, we are very excited to start going to that!

Today has been a nice relaxing Sunday. After dinner we went for a walk and we passed a baseball field and had to stop and play imaginary baseball for a long time where we take turns being the pitcher, catcher and batter and running the bases. Then Hayden ran around the track for a while, he loves to run!

We are finally telling everyone that I am pregnant so that has been a lot of fun. Plus it’s a relief since I am starting to show a little bit and am in the self conscience I just look out of shape phase. I made a goal to start going to the track again tomorrow morning since I am doing better and I know I will never go in the evening because that is when I feel the most sick. I am continuing to feel quite a bit better. My life seems to center around food because I am always hungry but nothing sounds good and if I don’t eat soon enough I feel really sick and light headed but that’s all just the fun of being pregnant! I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow where I get to hear the heart beat so I am really excited for that! Well I better put this novel to rest and give Tom and chance to write something. All the pictures looked great, keep them coming! Glad to hear so many of you doing well! We certainly will keep you in our prayers. Take care!
Tracey

HAHA PETER IS GOING TO BE A DAM ENGINEER!!!

Anne came up with that sweet title.
1. I want a beach cruiser like Marnie's. That's a pretty sweet ride! Nice apartment also. It looks cozie.
2. PANERA of Columbus Georgia, I'de like to place an order for a fresh cinnamon toast crunch bagel with that honey something or other cream cheese.
3. On a more serious note. I have an interview on Tuesday afternoon for a job with the Department of Natural Resources as a Dam Engineer. Keep us in your prayers. We're excited to be getting back to Utah and back to our apartment. It's been an interesting experience to work and live here in Vicksburg.

Peter

Tell me what that is from Dave! That last one is from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, right? Fat B said it.

So I got the cord for my camera finally and there are the pictures!

Things are going well. I am mostly adjusted to living by myself now. I am really enjoying it. My job is going well. Busy, Busy, Busy. Tonight I am probably going to go see Mr. and Mrs. Smith or something. Who knows?

Well I am off to have lunch with Kelly! Love you all!

-Marnie

Sorry Anne, but it is much more pleasant clicking onto the blog and seeing the good looking Dave and Adina Stinchfield Clan than you chowing down. No offense. Maybe if you were wearing your cute sandals! Gosh, those kids are so cute.

Well everything is up in the air again. Mike's old brigade commander just found out about Mike's orders to Korea and he is trying to pull some strings. It is making us crazy but it will be worth it if it does work out. Again, we just keep praying that whatever the Lord wants for us will happen. Of course knowing that we are moving in a month and a half and we still don't know where is making me a bit senile.

We have spent the last couple of days at the pool and have had a great time. Sadie AND Ellyn have absolutely no fear. Neither does Jane of course, but she swims. The other two just go for it. It hardly makes a trip to the pool relaxing. Sadie loves to jump in from the side to ANYONE who happens to be near by and Ellyn tries to wriggle loose any time she is held. She loves doing motorboat and climbing all over the steps. Luckily it rained today. We all have a bit of a sunburn but I don't think I would have been able to keep them away if it had been sunny. Jane and Savannah and a couple of boys from their class spend their whole time diving for things and playing keep away. Ellyn is already the darkest one in the family. It's very funny.

Mike is somewhat frustrated with his class right now. He doesn't really like his new instructor and the classes haven't really been up to par lately. Hopefully it will get better. Well Mike just got home and we are going to go to our new favorite bakery- Pinera, Anne and Peter. The cinnamon crunch bagels are calling our name on this cloudy rainy day. We love you all. Brooke

The Family 

Mom and Dad 

The Kids 

The Boys 

Morgan 

As those of you who check the Schickie blog know, it is Kay-kay's birthday today. She would have been 94 today. She is almost the same age as Gramma. It is still so strange for me to think that she died five years ago this August. Martha's recollections brought back so many to me. I think my favorite is sitting on her lap in their room in the rocking chair that I now have. She would sing to me in her less than perfect voice as she rocked and we looked out at the lights of San Francisco. That must have been during the first few years there since I remember being fairly young...still lap size.

I also always remember a red electric blanket she got for me when I was in high school. I was fairly volatile and was always losing my temper. She got the blanket so that it would be a reminder to keep my cool!

She was an incredible lady in so many ways. I do miss her a lot. That is the one thing I am really looking forward to when it comes my time to leave this earth...I know Kay-kay and Wa-wa will be on the other side to greet me with a big hug and their wonderful loving ways.

Mom

Dave

Mike preparing to eat lake. 

Isaac launching off the cliff, summer 2003 to Brent and Anne waiting

Tom at the lake in summer 2003 

Ok, see if you can tell me who said that in what movie. Marnie, it's a tough one.
So, it seems everyone must be busy. We are too. All of our neighbors are moving out and all the kids use our house as the play place because all their toys and bikes are packed up. Oh fun. It'll be our turn soon. There is a huge amount of people moving out of Sasebo this summer. I am sure they will be replaced though. It is just strange because most people that we know well are leaving this summer. Navy life!
CT was clear. Symptoms disappeared, who knows....
If this deck thing doesn't teach us anything else, it is to get everything in detail before any decisions are made. Don't just assume the other party knows what they are doing or if they are honest people. 50% of the time or less, they fail at one of those traits.
Anne, I am going to miss seeing your chowing down at the table. I guess I'll just have to scroll now.
I had my last "regular" day of work yesterday. It's all downhill from here. #1 on the list is selling our van within the next 2 weeks. The difficult part about that is that we need the van until we leave. It'll be interesting.
Morgan has merged into this princess-ballerina character. She now thinks that she dances and spins like a professional dancer. I don't know where it came from, because none of us are really dancers (except for my Napoleon-ish moves). She must just have those innate girl innards. Funny to watch amidst the monster screams and bum rushing her father.
Parker has started losing teeth and feels it is a very important stage in his life. And of course, Morgan now says her teeth are falling out so that she feels 'older'.
He still loves riding his bike and is a brute. He just got up at 0730 and asked to watch Frosty the Snowman, go figure. Christmas never ends in this house.
Taylor is our quietest and most inquisitive child. He inspects and evaluates all kinds of things. He would rather sit and play a game, pick flowers, or draw than go play with all the neighborhood kids. Still trying to figure him out.
Isaac seems so old. He is becoming more responsible and more helpful without as much coaxing lately. He had his days, but absolutely loves to read. He has this crate of books in his room and he has read nearly every one. He won a book at school last Friday and finished it by Monday. Every free minute, he was reading. I think it's great, just like his mother. He has that splash-n-dash tomorrow, so we'll try to get some pics to post...if we remember the camera.
Adina continues to amaze me with her forethought of the move. I just have the attitude, "we'll deal with it when it comes", but she wants everything figured out in advance. We compliment each other to reach middle ground. However, it is nice to have someone that plans well. Without her, I'd be lost, eventually.
Well, off to my day off (Friday). We are detailing the van to sell, Adina has a Dr.'s appt, the japanese kids are coming over to play, we have to take the van for an oil change, we are looking at some family pictures we took last month, then to a branch going away party for us. I'll be a full day. Then tommorrow: race, beach for work going away picnic (if it doesn't rain), Taylor goes to a B-day party, and then some time to ourselves.
We miss you all and will see you soon!
Dave