I am sitting at Dave and Adina's table while Parker and Morgan watch Sandlot. Morgan was crawling around on her hands and knees and I asked her what she was. She said she was the "Beast"...and then wanted to watch Sandlot to see the "Beast". Dave and Adina went down to Salem to talk to their CPA about the practice. So I get to spend the day with Morgan and Parker...at least until Parker goes to kindergarten. For those who have not seen their new floors...they really look great. It is a bright sunny day. We had thought yesterday would be nice and had bark delivered for our flower beds...it was not and rained almost all day. Dad and I were putting in a bit, then had to go in while it rained...then going out again. We didn't get it all done. I'm hoping to get the rest done this afternoon.Good exercise!

We had a very good Easter weekend. Dad went on a young men's outing to a member's cabin. It was quite cold and wet but they were inside. It even snowed up there. Sounds like EASTERN Idaho. He got home about 1 pm and then had to go to a priesthood leadership meeting at 3. He came home from that feeling a bit beat up because of the new requirements for Scout training for bishoprics and young men leader. They are really cracking down but Dad needs at least a year warning to be able clear out the time. He doesn't have a very flexible schedule. The Saturday evening and Sunday meetings were a lot less threatening and guilt producing. Then we had a good dinner and egg hunt with David's family and Brent. Brooke was family reunioning with her family and Buffy's flight left in the morning.

Brooke will be bringing the girls over tonight and we will have them until the 1st of May. It is really a good opportunity to spend time with them. Brent has both Fridays off so that I can work at the temple still. I'm going to really miss them when they head off to Germany.

This morning we had a guy come over to measure the house for new carpet...He warned us that it would be pricey so we'll have to see whether we want to swing it or not. We are still waiting for our dressers and it will probably be another week before we get them. Grrr!! It will be about 10 weeks...we may go somewhere else for our next furniture purchase!

Grandma is still under lockdown due to the flu going around. She is healthy but they are trying to minimize the comings and goings so she cannot come out and we cannot go to her room. They are bringing all meals to their room so it makes for a little lonely existance. I'm trying to call her at least once a day but there isn't a whole lot to talk about when I do call! Hopefully it will be over by this weekend so that she can go to church and come over for David's birthday dinner. Daryl was here last week and they let him take her out for lunch since he was here for just a couple of days but they have begged me to follow the rules so that they can get this under control. So I am trying to be obedient!

Love you all,

Mom

Okay, I have so much to do right now it's not even funny but I had to check out the blog after an entire week of neglect and now I have my two cents to add.

Tracey, I love Paige's blogs as well. I even posted her meth one to my family blog. I haven't read them for awhile so I am excited for the experience. As far as jogging strollers... I have a Dreamer Design double jogger and to my knowledge it is the only brand that can go anywhere a wheelchair can go. When my friend and I would go to the elementary school to pick up our girls her kids would always have to stay outside buckled in while I barely slid through the door. I'm trying to think of another situation where it comes in handy, going to libraries, museums, zoos, etc... It is a very good stroller and I dearly love it.

Camping- I changed the weekend my family is going so that I could go with you all. Does that work? Is there enough room? I thought I made that clear the other day and I guess I didn't. I'm so excited for the family to come visit, Ohio and Anne and Petah, it will be fabulous.

So here's our news. I leave in about 36 hours for Korea. I'm so excited and a little worried about my kids. Not because they are staying with Kenn and Barb but because they are already crying about me leaving. I know they will have fun and be well taken care of. I just hope their grandparents still love them after 12 days.
I have so much to do between now and then that it's not even funny.

My brother Brind got home from his mission two weeks ago tomorrow. It has been non-stop fun around here ever since. Last week Geof. and Darla and their kids were here. Adam and Mindi and their girls got here Saturday and we had all six of us kids together for Easter weekend. It was so wonderful. Of course it would have been better if Mike was here. That's a given.

Well Ellyn's therapists have come to the consensus that she should be screened for autism. That has been hard to deal with this week but we know that she is an absolute angel and we will do whatever we can to help her work through this. Just the preliminary research has pretty much confirmed what they have said, now we are waiting for an appt. with OHSU.

Mike just called and I need to go call him back. However, two things. Brian and Paige if you are reading this I left my running shoes at your house and I need to arrange to get them back. Hopefully I will get a call to you tonight. I'm sorry for the inconvenience. Anne and Peter, are you still plannig on getting Dave and Adina's old headboard and footboard? If you are that is great, if not I will buy it from them and use it somewhere. Either for Jane or for Mike and me until we get a bedroom set. I don't want to get one until I see our house.

Okay, I have to go. I love you all. Love, Brooke

Kim, I will correct you in the fact that Eastern Idaho is ridiculous. We don't wake up to things like that. We may have rain and may not be in the 80s yet but hey we hit the mid-70s last week. Don't be hatin' on all of Idaho. Our little corner of Idaho is doing us quite well.

Things are going well here. I am just getting bigger and more uncomfortable. The other day a lady came into Bed Bath and Beyond with her 19 day old baby. I turned to the cashier manager and said "I want my baby now!". She just sat there and laughed. But yes I am getting more and more excited to finally have my own child (I guess I will share him with Peter every once in a while).

Peter is walking for graduation a week from thursday down at BYU. Very exciting to be able to go down and see it all happen. His parents are coming up so they can see their youngest child graduate from college.

Not much else going, I 've been cleaning the house today getting ready for the team that I coach(9 16 year olds) to come over to make smoothies and such after practice tonight. It should be fun to have Peter finally meet these girls I talk about all the time.

Well I should get going, We love you all and can't wait to see you soon!

Love,
Anne

IDAHO IS RIDICULOUS!! 

Look what we woke up to! 

Hey Marnie, thanks for offering to check into it at Sport Chalet. I checked online and Sport Chalet does carry the jogger I want. If I order it online it has free shipping. Can your discount be used with online orders? Thanks!
Tracey

Adina's comment has led me to one more question about pictures. I have wallet size photos of the two kids I am planning to send out, I have just been slow getting them in the mail. However, with getting family pictures done is there anyone who uses/needs larger size photos for any reason? (Other than K & B) They're only $3.99 a sheet so I don't mind ordering them but I don't know that anyone would need one. Thanks!

Tracey

We’ve had a fun Easter and a great week leading up to it. Hayden was able to participate in three different Easter egg hunts that he really enjoyed. We played Easter games at preschool and sang Easter songs at music class. It was a lot of fun. We talked about the silly reasons for Easter and the “special” reasons that he learned about in primary. One night we went for a walk together and he just seemed so grown up as he started to ask me about the marks in Jesus’ hands.

Today we woke up and discovered that the Easter bunny had hidden baskets for Hayden and Danica so Hayden searched them out. He also discovered a HUGE stuffed bunny!! The Easter Bunny put it with Hayden’s Easter basket so he could find them together. (I actually won the bunny in a drawing at the Children’s Museum, they called yesterday to announce I had won so I ran down there to pick it up so I could surprise Hayden with it.) Needless to say he loves it and has been wrestling with, hugging it and trying to give it piggy-back rides. It’s hilarious… but now I have to find somewhere to keep it!
We had Stake Conference today out in Kirtland and then had some friends over for Easter dinner. Tom is really anti-traditions so I have adopted some of the traditions that I grew up with and made the same meal that mom used to make. It all turned out pretty well but nothing close to as good as when my mom makes it. Oh well, I have several more years to learn it.

Last night we watched King Kong, Hayden loved it!!! He has been obsessed with King Kong since last fall but we didn’t want to take him to the theater because it’s so long and I didn’t know how violent it would be. Anyway, he loves to pretend he is King Kong!

Danica rolled over the other day. She was playing on her stomach while I did the laundry and I turned away for a minute and when I looked back she was on her back!! She hasn’t done it since but hopefully soon! She is getting pretty good at holding her toys and is giggling more often!

Tomorrow we are getting family pictures taken. We spent Saturday buying matching white polo shirts; hopefully it will turn out cute. Barb, what size should we send you? So I am starting to feel like Tom because I have gotten an idea of something that I may want to buy and now I can’t get it off my mind. I am thinking of getting a double jogger. Adina, I know I talked to about this a little bit but remind me again what kind you have what you think are the pros and cons. Brooke, what kind do you have? What should I look for? I figure I want to get a nice one or else it’s not worth it but I can’t decide if I would really run with it or if it would just be so heavy and hard to handle I won’t be motivated to get out there with it… I’d love any advice you have. Also, what are the details for camping over Memorial Day. I’m so excited but we actually on Memorial Day so I hope that doesn’t mess things up to badly.

We’d don’t have any big plans this week. The weather should be nice all week so we will hopefully get out a lot. Sounds like you’re all having a great time! I’ll post more later on! We're going to put our Easter pictures and video on the imac sight tomorrow show watch for it!

Tracey

Make sure you check out what Paige writes on the Schick blogg... they leave me laughing for days. Her latest one "helpforpaige" is great. Her entries ironically all leave me feeling very validatedingly normal. Thanks for sharing Paige, I can't wait to buy your book!

Tracey

...but I am still wired from the rousing game of Pounce we just finished, which Dave won, and the prospect of an exciting Labor Day weekend. Brent, Buffy, Dave and I just purchased tickets to see Dave Matthews Band at the Gorge Amphitheatre in September. We will go and camp out there, which should be fun. Brian & Paige - interested in joining? It's pretty close to you...

Early games tomorrow. I'm excited to see the boys play. We went to the Opening Ceremony tonight - I realized that not only do all the coaches for Isaac's team have matching jackets, but the Moms do, too! Names on the back and everything. Crazy. They all sat together and whooped and hollered when the team paraded by. I am out of the 'baseball Mom' loop - but I'm okay with it.

We are also excited to be camping over Memorial Day weekend with the Ohio Stinchfields and maybe Anne & Peter. Sites are all reserved. Tom - I enjoy the Death Cab - even heard them on the radio today.

I've got to get in bed - hope you're all well...
Adina

There were 5 of us from Camp Red Cloud that went to Camp Casey to do the EIB. Two failed out, PFC Moore and PFC Bayer were successful and are pictured here with me. A total of 346 candidates attempted and 209 received the EIB.

I will write more later. The other pic below is my good friend Captain Clifton Kyle and one of my NCOs Staff Sergeant Aurelio Sandoval.

Mike

Loved your story Anne! The picture really grabbed me though - You have major KayKay genes in your face:-) Love - Lexi

The other night, as Peter and I were getting into bed, our light went out and so we had to have the bathroom light on while we got ready for bed, prayed, etc. Anyways, I have a body pillow that Peter likes to steal from me because he loves sleeping with it too. So after we prayed and one of us had to turn off the light, Peter suggested that we turn the light off together. I knew that his plan was to turn the light off ASAP and get to the bed and steal the body pillow. So once we turned off the light, we both made a break for the bed, mind you it is very dark. I go to jump in the bed not knowing really where I was, and over shot it and rammed my face straight into the wall. I saw light flash and I fell to the floor. Peter was so worried until he knew I was okay and then he began to laugh as he went to go get me some ice. While he was off doing that, I looked up at the wall to notice that my forehead had put a small dent in the wall (it is hard to see it in the picture but it is there). Needless to say, I had to go to work the next day with a huge red dot on my forehead, and yes I still have it now and I get stares from everyone. So I thought I would just let you all know that I truely am my mother's daughter!

Love, Anne

ANNE - 0 

WALL - 1 

Me at 22 weeks (2 weeks ago) 

Thought I should post since it has been awhile since I have. Well, since I have posted other than puzzles. I am glad you guys like those. I was pretty excited when I found that website. I am at work right now and printing out what seems like a novel for a workshop to train the trainers of our leadership program that is in San Diego right now. So I can't do too much while I am making sure this prints out ok so I figured, time to blog.

Things are good down here in the sunshine. Although there hasn't been a ton of it, it was drizzly yesterday and I have yet to see how the day turned out today. My windows face a hall that is covered so it always looks pleasant out there, except for the pesty pigeons. We have a few pigeons that just won't leave us alone and we have tried just about everything. If it weren't for the animal-loving crazy people that I work with I would probably just bring a sling shot to work and get the job done right! Things at work are good. I got that raise that I was hoping for. And I didn't even have to ask for it! My new computer is awesome as well. HUGE difference.

Remus is keeping up to speed. Although I just got an email from Mini saying that they are making a special edition Mini that they are only making 2000 of and only 415 are coming to the USA! Very beautiful. But I think I am going to have to stick with Remus for now.

This Friday me, Michelle and Kristy are going to Sea World. They are running a special where if you go for one day then you get a pass for the rest of the year. So with gas prices being what they are we figured that would be a better hang out than Disneyland this summer. So that should be fun. I haven't been there in years! I remember when I was like 14 and I used to go there just about every Saturday! Ah the memories...

Well I have tons of work that is piling up so I had better go work. Love ya!

Marnie

As you may guess, I'm actually only blogging cause Kim forgot something. In fact she just keeps forgetting it. Sometime, either around Thanksgiving or our wedding, we lent someone (can't remember who) our Keane CD. Just as we forgot, we expect whoever borrowed it forgot as well. If ya'll could give a gander for Keane, Hopes and Fears, it would be appreciated.
School is good and we're totally stoked for our little one (and for Peter and Anne's--totally favorite cousins). Not much else to tell here though.... So, .. see you all soon.

(Peter/Anne-- we'll probably stop by on May 1st or 2nd on our way to Vanc.)

Treven

Well, first Taylor, we wish we could have been there and congratulations! We will be there in about 3 weeks on May 1st or 2nd.

The ultrasound last Monday went really well. The due date is November 4th. We saw the baby's heartbeat and everything. They videotaped it for us and printed out the paper. Pretty amazing to think something is growing inside you! Anyway, my next appt. is on May 1st and we will get o hear the heartbeat. I am only at 10 weeks right now, but everything is going well. We already have the girl's name picked out (a little early haha) but it is Melia Ruth Perry and a boy we are deciding between Jacob Treven, Daniel Treven and Matthew Treven. Tell us what you like best, we can't decide and we have a while so it's no big deal!

We are finishing Winter semester. We have 2 weeks left of classes, then finals week. So we are pretty busy right now with projects and tests. My last class and test for American heritage is this week so I will be done early for that class. My final is spanish is 1000 points ,worth 10 tests, because she thinks we should pass the test if we have been learning a language for 16 weeks. So she makes it worth a lot of points.

It is raining a lot here, but it is April showers I guess! Nothing else is really going on... besides school and work. Oh, treven has to wait like 2 weeks for any kind of call back from the NAPA job because the guy who owns all the shops around south eastern idaho likes to have the second interview. So we should see this week or next week! Crossing our fingers. He is still applying to some other places so we will see!

Anyway love you all! See some of you in May and we loved the videos Tom and Tracey!

Love,
Kim and Treven

What a weekend! Taylor's baptism was great - we appreciate those who participated and gave talks or said prayers...it was so nice to have so much family present. It made Taylor feel really special and we thank you all for coming - and for joining us for lunch after. I think he had a really special day. The younger two are so excited for their baptisms now - of course, I don't know if that's because of the "sacred ordinance" aspect or the "gifts and money" aspect. Either way, it's good with me.

My brother and sisters are on their way home - it was a great weekend with them. Lots of laughing and remembering - can't wait to see them again. We introduced Ray Jr. to the 360 and I almost felt bad telling him it was time to go to the airport - he was really enjoying it. I mean REALLY enjoying it.

I took Tay to the ENT this morning to solve his hearing problem. As it turns out, he had something in his ear. I tell you - there's no greater feeling than watching a man that has gone to school for 14 years pull a popcorn kernel out of your son's ear. I was so embarrassed. Then I realized that he probably has quite a collection of things that have ended up in ears. Anyway - we still need to follow up on his right ear - but I think we have it under control. Of course, Tay has no idea how a popcorn kernel got into his ear. Imagine that.

Back to our routine. We are excited to spend some time with Buffy while she is here this week. Maybe a lady lunch? Anyone interested? Isaac and Taylor have Opening Day this weekend. I think there are ceremonies on Friday night and I know Isaac has a game on Saturday morning at some unearthly hour - I think at 9am. I will get details to those interested in coming.

Keep the blogs coming and take care!
Adina

We hope your baptism was really special! We are so proud of you! We wish we could have been there but we will see you in May!

Love,
Uncle Tom, Aunt Tracey, Hayden and Danica

I left a comment on Superschick but in case it isn't checked you just have to copy and paste the code at the top of the page that generates your puzzle from the puzzle site into a new post and it will post the puzzle. Here is another one for fun...

My attempt to publish the before and after photos of Dave's big race. I'll just have to see how it came out. Dad

My parents are looking to stay at the Skamania lodge when they come up to Washington to visit in May. Does anyone know anything about that lodge or the area? Thanks! Here is the link to the website for the lodge:
http://www.skamania.com

Tracey

"Pregnant woman beaten at baby shower
Police: Fight escalated over whether woman gave 5-year-old beer

Wednesday, April 5, 2006; Posted: 6:00 p.m. EDT (22:00 GMT)

SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts (AP) -- An argument at a baby shower escalated into a brawl in which one man was shot and the pregnant guest of honor was beaten with a stick, police said.

Three people were arrested after the fight, described by police as a "baby shower gone bad."

Authorities said the shooting victim, Aristotle Garcia, got into a fight with a man who is dating his ex-girlfriend. The argument, over whether the woman let their 5-year-old daughter drink beer, escalated and drew in two other people -- Jazz Rivas and Juan Velazquez, said Police Lt. Cheryl C. Claprood.

When the baby shower's hostess tried to intervene, Rivas began hitting some of the guests, including the 22-year-old mother-to-be, with a large stick, she said.

Velazquez fired a gun in the air, then fired it into the crowd, hitting Garcia in the stomach, according to police. Garcia, 26, was in stable condition at Baystate Medical Center. The mother-to-be, who was seven months pregnant, was treated after the incident Saturday and released.

Velazquez, 19, was arrested Tuesday and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and armed assault with intent to murder. He pleaded not guilty Wednesday and was ordered held on $100,000 bail.

The man Garcia was initially fighting with, Antonio Santiago, 25, pleaded not guilty to similar charges Tuesday and was ordered held on $50,000 bail.

Rivas, 22, pleaded not guilty to three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and one count of assault and battery on a pregnant female. His bail was set at $10,000."

I would just like everyone who plans on coming to a baby shower in the future for myself, security will be provided and remember to leave your guns and "large sticks" at home. I wouldn't want to have my security to have to make their presence known.

-Anne

There are two new videos on the Ohio Stinchfield Site (link to the right). Kind of cheesy, kind of boring home movies... but I tried and they are on there none the less!

Tracey

Twas an exciting for all the family who made it to watch the end of the run. I agree that after seeing the 70 y.o. man come in for his 128th finish, I honestly wondered where he and the other mega runners go the time to do all this. Was a good day and we had a great trip to the coast to top it off. Mom and I spent Saturday through Monday on the coast, picking up two sessions of conference at the Lincoln City Ward chapel. Monday, we drove around and took many pictures of places, beach houses, where we'd like to stay next year in June or July. We have to book our request this May so we need to get some input from family as to who can be there.
That's about it; I am at work and it is approaching 1300. Dad

Hey Family,

I am sorry I have not been writing that much but I was getting so used to Buffy writing for me. But know that we are in different place, I really should right. I am really excited (that's given) to have Buffy coming up on Friday. It has been four weeks since we have seen each other. She is coming up for spring break and we should have some fun. Unfortunately I have to work but my other managers were cool enough to agree for me to not close at all next week.

I just finished de-bachelorizing my room getting ready for her. I have the potpourried the room and moved some of the furniture around. I think I am ready to met the woman of my dreams!!!

It has been awesome living up here next to family and will be even better when we have Buffy up here in June. The Biggest loser contest is still going strong and I have lost 4 1/2 lbs since the beginning 2 weeks ago. ANd Mike if you want to be involved you need to weigh in every Wednesday and give us your weight.

I love you all and can't wait to see some of you guys come and visit. I am going to convert Taylor into a Giants fan now and I very happy the Baseball season is here.

See ya ;) (that's for Brooke)
Brent

Baseball has officially begun - and I don't mean major league. Isaac is a Mudcat and Taylor is a Giant. I am discovering that baseball at Isaac's age is much more competitive than I remember. His team practices 3 times a week, 2 hours each practice. He has 4 coaches and I think all of them played college ball. The "Baseball Moms" are all devout and sit through all the practices in the wet and cold. They are getting jackets for the kids with their names on them and nobody bats an eye at the idea of Saturday practices. I, meanwhile, am racing between Isaac's and Taylor's practices, which are on the same day but in different cities, of course. Whew - it's going to be a fun spring! I really do love watching the boys play - Opening Day is April 15th, for those interested parties.

Taylor's baptism is on Saturday. My little brother, Ray and my two younger sisters are coming. My parents will not be able to make it due to my Dad's precarious health. Tay is very excited. Marnie - your gift came today and let's just say, Taylor is wearing some pretty slick Vans to bed. Thank you.

The trip to Yakima was a lot of fun. Again - thanks to the hospitality of Brian and Paige who made us feel right at home. Dave 's marathon was very exciting to watch - he did great but I know it will not be the last marathon we see him run. He has the itch now. It was hard not to feel the excitement with all those runners. And it was easy to feel like a real loser for just standing on the sidelines when they have 70-year old men coming through, having run their 130th marathon! Brooke and I felt a little lame, but I'm not sure if we felt lame enough to actually do it! Time will tell...

That's it for now. Love you all...

Adina

Happy Birthday Taylor, Hope you had a good one. Sorry we were late in wishing you a happy birthday. We love you!

Love,

Anne and Peter

OK, the rainbows we saw on Friday. The funny thing is that according to the rainbows the pot of gold was located where we were going, WalMart. It was pretty amazing. The inner one was a full rainbow and the outer one we could see on both sides, but it wasn't connected. The corvette must be a brother to Kenn's Corvette. The only difference I could see is that it is a convertible, but the rest looks exactly the same. If you havn't seen the VW commercials lately, the John Deer tractor picture might not be as funny. We snapped that shot at the Lowe's down the street from our place.

Congrats Dave on the marathon. That sounded like a tough day for a marathon.

Peter

I tried to put in a photo of David at the start of the race. It was 37 degrees with about a 20 kt wind blowing with rain. Cold....brrrrr. Then, the race started at 0800 from Ellensburg, Washington. We drove out 3.2 miles to the only place you could view the race and that's the last we saw of him. We heard the the pass between Ellensburg and Yakima had snow. We left and headed to Yakima to try to pick up on some of the conference in our hotel. Well, yes, over the 2200 ft pass, it did snow...and it stuck. We realized that David would be running through it all in about 60 mins. At that point it was 34 degrees, without the wind factor measured in. Whew! Of note is the barefooted runner we saw take on the challenge. Another was pulling a tire behind him, I asssume getting ready for a future, more challenging race. We are comfortably settled in our hotel room in Yakima; it is 0951. Dave is 1:51 into the 3 hr plus race. Our thoughts and prayers go with him to have a great run. What a rush!..I will try to include some photos if I can figure out how to upload them. Later, mom and I are headed for Lincoln City, although we found out that the cable company in LC, this year, did not sign up for the conference sessions. Bummer. We'll just go over to the church there, in our levis, and watch it there. Love you all, Dad/Kenn

Top Ten Chuck Norris Facts

1. Chuck Norris’ tears cure cancer. But he is so badass, he has never cried. Ever.
2. Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.
3. Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs.
4. The chief export of Chuck Norris is pain.
5. If you can see Chuck Norris, he can see you. If you can’t see Chuck Norris, you may be only seconds away from death.
6. Chuck Norris has counted to infinity. Twice.
7. Chuck Norris does not hunt because the word hunting infers
the probability of failure. Chuck Norris goes killing.
8. Chuck Norris doesn’t wash his clothes, he disembowels them.
9. Chuck Norris is 1/8th Cherokee. This has nothing to do with ancestry, the man ate an Indian.
10. In fine print on the last page of the Guinness Book of World Records it notes that all world records are held by Chuck Norris, and those listed in the book are simply the closest anyone else has ever gotten.
11. There is no chin behind Chuck Norris’ beard. There is only another fist.
Additional Chuck Norris Facts
* Chuck Norris once roundhouse kicked someone so hard that his foot broke the speed of light, went back in time, and killed Amelia Earhart while she was flying over the Pacific Ocean.
* Crop circles are Chuck Norris’ way of telling the world that sometimes corn needs to lie the freak down.
* Chuck Norris is ten feet tall, weighs two-tons, breathes fire, and could eat a hammer and take a shotgun blast standing.
* The Great Wall of China was originally created to keep Chuck Norris out. It failed miserably.
* If you ask Chuck Norris what time it is, he always says, “Two seconds ’til.” After you ask, “Two seconds ’til what?” he roundhouse kicks you in the face.
* Chuck Norris drives an ice cream truck covered in human skulls.
* Chuck Norris sold his soul to the devil for his rugged good looks and unparalleled martial arts ability. Shortly after the transaction was finalized, Chuck roundhouse-kicked the devil in the face and took his soul back. The devil, who appreciates irony, couldn’t stay mad and admitted he should have seen it coming. They now play poker every second Wednesday of the month.
* There is no theory of evolution, just a list of creatures Chuck Norris allows to live.
* Chuck Norris once ate three 72 oz. steaks in one hour.
* Chuck Norris is the only man to ever defeat a brick wall in a game of tennis.
* Chuck Norris doesn’t churn butter. He roundhouse kicks the cows and the butter comes straight out.
* When Chuck Norris sends in his taxes, he sends blank forms and includes only a picture of himself, crouched and ready to attack. Chuck Norris has not had to pay taxes ever.
* The quickest way to a man’s heart is with Chuck Norris’ fist.
* A Handicap parking sign does not signify that this spot is for handicapped people. It is actually in fact a warning, that the spot belongs to Chuck Norris and that you will be handicapped if you park there.
* Chuck Norris will attain statehood in 2009. His state flower will be the Magnolia.
* Nagasaki never had a bomb dropped on it. Chuck Norris jumped out of a plane and punched the ground.
* Chuck Norris originally appeared in the “Street Fighter II” video game, but was removed by Beta Testers because every button caused him to do a roundhouse kick. When asked bout this “glitch,” Norris replied, “That’s no glitch.”
* The opening scene of the movie “Saving Private Ryan” is loosely based on games of dodgeball Chuck Norris played in second grade.
* Chuck Norris once shot down a German fighter plane with his finger, by yelling, “Bang!”
* Chuck Norris once bet NASA he could survive re-entry without a spacesuit. On July 19th, 1999, a naked Chuck Norris re-entered the earth’s atmosphere, streaking over 14 states and reaching a temperature of 3000 degrees. An embarrassed NASA publicly claimed it was a meteor, and still owes him a beer.
* Chuck Norris has two speeds: Walk and Kill.
* Someone once tried to tell Chuck Norris that roundhouse kicks aren’t the best way to kick someone. This has been recorded by historians as the worst mistake anyone has ever made.
* Contrary to popular belief, America is not a democracy, it is a Chucktatorship.
* Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is based on a true story: Chuck Norris once swallowed a turtle whole, and when he crapped it out, the turtle was six feet tall and had learned karate.
* Chuck Norris is not hung like a horse… horses are hung like Chuck Norris
* Chuck Norris is the only human being to display the Heisenberg uncertainty principle — you can never know both exactly where and how quickly he will roundhouse-kick you in the face.
* Chuck Norris can drink an entire gallon of milk in forty-seven seconds.
* Rather than being birthed like a normal child, Chuck Norris instead decided to punch his way out of his mother’s womb.
* If you say Chuck Norris’ name in Mongolia, the people there will roundhouse kick you in his honor. Their kick will be followed by the REAL roundhouse delivered by none other than Norris himself.
* Time waits for no man. Unless that man is Chuck Norris.
* Chuck Norris discovered a new theory of relativity involving multiple universes in which Chuck Norris is even more badass than in this one. When it was discovered by Albert Einstein and made public, Chuck Norris roundhouse-kicked him in the face. We know Albert Einstein today as Stephen Hawking.
* The Chuck Norris military unit was not used in the game Civilization 4, because a single Chuck Norris could defeat the entire combined nations of the world in one turn.
* In an average living room there are 1,242 objects Chuck Norris could use to kill you, including the room itself.
* Chuck Norris can touch MC Hammer.
* Chuck Norris doesn’t read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.
* Chuck Norris once ate a whole cake before his friends could tell them there was a stripper in it.
* Chuck Norris always has sex on the first date. Always.
* Cars were invented to have a faster way of fleeing from Chuck Norris. Not to be outdone, Chuck Norris invented the car accident.
* As a teen Chuck Norris impregnated every nun in a convent tucked away in the hills of Tuscany. Nine months later the nuns gave birth to the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only undefeated and untied team in professional football history.
* Chuck Norris once challenged Lance Armstrong in a “Who has more testicles?” contest. Chuck Norris won by 5.

So I have to send out a question on how people want to handle spoilers for Lost...well not spoilers but posting things about the episode that was last night. I was talking to Mom and Brent and were asking me to post links to explanations to Lost things but I want to make sure that is ok...I guess I will just post the link and if you don't want to see it, don't click on it. Oh and to give recognition...Tom sent this to me this morning...this is regarding last night's episode, Lockdown:
http://www.forums.thehatchonline.com/index.php?showtopic=425&hl=

Check that out and maybe you will get some answers! But maybe just more questions!! Anyway last night's episode was awesome, I loved it. I know that some of you must be frustrated but you have to realize that this show is going to last about 7 seasons at least so they can't tell you everything that is happening or why it is happening or else the show would be over. So I know it is frustrating but you just have to work with it.

So things in San Diego are good. We just got through some rainy weather and today was really nice. My kitchen sink was broken for the last 4 days so I haven't been able to use my kitchen (which I don't use much anyway!) But I came home to it being fixed today (the plumber came). So that is nice. I had a little bit of a scare last weekend that one of my front headlights was out. It was really a scare because it turns out that ONE replacement bulb for ONE headlight for my Mini costs $200!! I know! Totally crazy! They are xenon bulbs so I guess that is latin or something for ridiculously expensive. So let's just say that I am going to be on my brakes so that I don't run into the back of someone. I guess to replace the whole light is like $800 per light. Crazy. So needless to say I was happy when it started working again. I still need to go get it checked out to see if it is a connection problem rather than the bulb.

Work is good. They just bought me a new computer which is pretty awesome. I am doing pretty much all of their design and desktop publishing now so the 14" crappy screen and 256MBs of RAM aren't quite cutting it. Especially when I am running at least 2 huge Adobe programs all the time. It will be very nice and I will be able to get a lot more done cause it should be a lot faster. And I can save my eyes. I am getting a Dell with 1GB of RAM and a 19" flat panel monitor. It will be a big help. It is also cool that they are getting that for me cause it shows that they really do recognize all that I do for them and appreciate it. Who knows maybe a raise isn't that far off? That would certainly be nice. :)

I am probably going to Disneyland this weekend so that should be fun. It is nice that all of my friends have passes so we can just decide to go and it works out. Oh and Dave, so far I am not planning on coming up there in May. I don't have a ton of vacation days and I will be using most of them for the family reunion this summer. Good luck on your marathon by the way! I can't believe you are doing that! Good for you! Well I am just about to take the Jeopardy test online so I have to go! Love you all!

--
Marnie

We went to the zoo today and had an awesome time! Perhaps the most fun I have had at the zoo here and I credit that to three things: #1 it was in the 60's which feels outstanding in the spring time! #2 Tom got off school and came with us, so it was just Tom and I and the kids #3 Hayden was very well behaved and just loved every minute of it, Danica was also in a great mood. There is just something about being outside in the spring time. It almost makes me grateful for a cold long winter because you just really enjoy a sunny day in the spring much more than you do in the summer time. Anyway, I really got on here to blogg for Mike because I have a funny story for him. On Tuesday Hayden had preschool and it was on the letter U so he needed to take something that started with that letter. We were having a hard time thinking of somehing other than an umbrella and then I found a picture of my brother and asked if he wanted to take a picture of Uncle Matt. He said "No, but I do want to take a picture of my Uncle Mike!"
Okay, and just for the record, Hayden is asleep in our bed right now because he is constantly pretending he is either me or Tom. Last night he was Tom and I was Hayden and he kept coming in and saying "Hayden, do you need a hug from daddy?" Tonight he was Tom and I was myself. When I was trying to put him to bed he said "Wait, Tracey. That's Hayden's bed. I can't sleep there. We sleep in the other bed." I got such a kick out of it (especially the fact that he was calling me Tracey) so I let him sleep on Tom's side of the bed. Funny kid... but I guess I'll go move him to Hayden's bed now so I can go to bed.
Take care!

Tracey

Whoever put that post about answers to lost must be 11 quacks short of a dozen. Not one dang answer. It was probably Tom trying to fool everyone...his favorite past time.

Had a lot of fun with 360, finally the consoles have equalled the PC. It's about time. Now if they could just figure out a way to do RTS's on the console, something like Generals or AOM. We have got to play some more. Call me if you are getting on to play, if I can't, I'll tell ya, but don't feel like you are bugging me, I'll tell you if you are. My vote is for COD2 as the best due to its ease of playing and quickness. I like GRAW too, it just seems to take longer to get going with too many options. Both good though. The choo-choo thing was fun too, I just got dogged with the last turn thing. I didn't know if it meant that was the last move I had or if it was the last pick of cards and I would be able to use them all up. Well, I thought the latter and loaded up with cards!! Yee-haw!, DANG! Oh well.....

May is looking like it is going to be a crazy month with everyone here to visit. It is nice to be close to mom and dad, so that when people come home, we get to see them too. Tom, Hayden's blessing is on a sunday that I have my Ortho course. You have family from the other side coming for that event too, eh? If that is the case, I'll just have to pass on the blessing...j/k, I meant pass on a little ortho secrets/knowledge. Looking forward to the Perry and Olsen visits as well. Marnie, are you coming up for any of May? I can't remember with all the visiting.

We got Taylor and Isaac onto baseball teams. Somehow we missed the registration deadline. Don't know how it got past us, but they had pity on us. We still use the "But we just moved here and didn't know it had started" excuse. Should be a fun season. And luckily, most or all of the fields are here in Washougal. NICE!

Work is going well. Had a surgery today that I wished I had sent to dad. Got it out though! Along with my disc at L4/L5! Gonna have a sore back tonight. Does anybody have one of those Posturpedic beds, you know, the NASA stuff? Does it really work? I've been wanting one. We are going to have to get a new matress eventually. We still have the same one we got when we got married! Brent came in today, sorry violated HIPPA, anyway, it is always nice to see family. I love having family so close. It is something that we have never really been able to enjoy until now (except for the one year in San Diego, which I don't even remember, being on call all the time at the hospital). It would be so great if everyone moved to the same area. I know dad has this dream that he could buy 100 acres and just build a big house for each family on it so that we could all be close. Don't think it's possible on earth, but maybe somewhere else??

Hey, gotta go, so nice to be able to talk to Mike like he is right here. Can't believe what communication can do these days.

Love you all, keep blogging so Mike has something to read,
Dave

This week my class had what we can "Peds week" where we all go out into pediatric physical therapy clinics to observe and learn more about the specialty. I have to admit that I loved every one of the children that I saw with the therapist I was with and had a great experience. It was in a school setting where there are special classrooms for children with different disabilities and there is a large pediatric therapy clinic in which some of those students are seen as well as kids who are brought there from outside for therapy.
Most of the kids I saw had cerebral palsy, brain injury, or spina bifida (born with a malformed spine and most likely paralyzed). It is much different to learm about all the million things that can go wrong with a kid versus actually working with them. It was amazing to see these kids so happy and well adjusted despite the many things they have gone through including multiple painful surgeries for the CP kids.

I think the biggest mistake you can make when you see a kid that may have physical disabilities is to feel sorry for them. They certanly don't feel sorry for themselves and will gladly show you everything they CAN do. That's my thought for the day! :)
I can't wait to watch Lost tonight!! (it was Tivo'd)
Buffy

Let's go people. I think I have done my part this week. You are all slacking.

Mike

finally some answers

Well everyone, not much is going on here in good ol' Rexburg. Just about a month left of school. Treven is doing great in school and so am I. This is my best semester yet! Treven put his resume in to a lady yesterday who is hiring for NAPA Auto parts to be the counter salesperson and take calls. The pay is great for Rexburg : 9-12 dollars an hour. She called today for an interview tomorrow. I guess when it is going fast it looks good. AND the NAPA place is just down the street from our apartment. Pretty good for us so please keep us in your prayers! It would be much appreciated.
David, good luck on the marathon this weekend. We wish we could be there cheering you on.
Everybody, we love you guys and miss you tons! We will be heading to washington May 2nd until May 6th or 7th. We will see depending on work!
Lost is on tonight and is supposed to be a good one, but of course I work EVERY Wednesday night so we will record it, as always. It is spring break this weekend for us so we have thursday and friday off. I am working 9am-9pm on Friday and 8am- 5pm on Saturday. The end of the month is the busiest time so we have extra long shifts. Okay by me because it just means more hours and money!
Well that's all for now! I will update tomorrow about the interview. I have my first check up on Monday!
Love you all,
Kim

You may of seen these videos already, but to those that have not, they are dang funny.

Well, since I have the night shift during an exercise in which I am playing very little part, I guess I will doubleblog stream-of-consciousness style.

I did the 12 mile footmarch last Friday. It took me 2 hours 50 minutes, which was o.k. My record is 2:35, which meant I was basically running most the time. Even this time I was running at least 1/3 of the time. It is very difficult to maintain a 15min/mile pace with that load for that far without running.

Anyway, I made the mistake of wearing my brand new gore-tex boots which are part of the new uniform we are all getting this year. I earned the worst blisters ever. They covered the whole front of my foot, minus the toes. Very weird, since I spent the last two years at Fort Benning doing roadmarches every week with no soreness whatsoever. I think it is because they are new and just don't breathe as well as my black-green jungle boots that I have always marched with. I have been nursing the poor feet all weekend, and today they are finally tolerable.

By the way Dad, Epsoms Salt does sting, at least in the concentration I put it in. The box said 2 cups per gallon. Never, ever do that. That was possibly the worst pain I have ever felt in my life when I stuck my feet in that tub of warm saltwater. Since I had only made small incisions in the side of the blisters, even when I pulled my feet out after 2 seconds, the saltwater was stuck in the blister. So here I am trying to push on these extremely painful blisters to get the "poison" out away from the red, raw skin. I seriously thought I was going to faint. Seriously...I saw stars and almost lost it.

I will say that as the skin healed over the past few days, soaking in a much lower concentration of Epsoms Salt did a lot of good and didn't hurt much at all.

So the EIB prerequisites are done.

Next week I start the EIB training/practice, with testing April 11-13. The stations are anything from throwing hand grenades at targets and trenches (the one that most people fail) to dissassembling and reassembling a machine gun within a specified amount of time. Once again, it will be nice to get out of the office. I was really never meant to sit at a desk every day. My ADD really cannot handle it.

We found a relatively cheap flight for Brooke, so she will be here on the 20th until May 1st! Thank you Mom and Dad for watching the kids! I am extremely excited to have her here. We had a blast last time, and although this time I will have to work a few days while she is here, I am sure we will have a great time. Then it will be 4 months to the light at the end of the tunnel! Probably less than 2 months before they leave to Germany!

Well, I must plug Battlestar again. Since nobody has said anything, I guess I didn't pique your interest. I promise, it is great. I also have to plug the Horatio Hornblower series again. Brooke has the set I bought but I do not think she has had time to watch it yet. I have been reading the books (by C.S. Forester) and thay are just fantastic reading. I am on this whole British Navy kick now, and have watched Master and Commander about three times since I got back. It is extremely compelling to read about the sense of honor, discipline and courage those men had. On the plane ride back, I also read a book called Seize the Fire, which is non-fiction and covers those characteristics during the Battle of Trafalgar.

On a funny note, the last Office, "Bring your daughter to work day" was pretty hysterical. I have also been watching Amazing Race, and it was cool to see them last episode in the part of Germany we will be going to.

Well, that is about all I can come up with. Hope we can get some MP games going boys! I had a blast playing Dave in Total Annhilation last week. That reminds me...there is a great card/boardgame called Ticket to Ride. There is an online version that we can all play if I host the game. It is a 4 player, so if some of you want to play some Friday night, let me know. It is very simple.

I love you all. And even if I do not comment, I read and appreciate all your interesting lives!

Mike

I still think Buffy's idea for using the BMI for the "Biggest Loser" competition is a good idea. It is a great index for that.

However, I too was very concerned about how I was being categorized. Playing around with the calculator, I saw that at 150 pounds, I was still considered in the normal zone. Could you imagine me at 150? So I found the following which makes me feel better:

"Fitness researchers have known for a long time that BMI has limitations. For a smaller segment of the nation - highly active people and those who are making good progress on their weight loss resulting from cardiovascular exercise and weight training, BMI can be an inaccurate measurement of health.

It may overestimate body fat in athletes, especially those who have a muscular build. And it may underestimate body fat in older people and others who have lost muscle mass.

To test the limitations of the BMI, I took the statistics of two Los Angeles Lakers and calculated their BMI.

Shaquille O'Neal - height: 7 feet, 1 inch. Weight: 315 pounds. His BMI: 31, which is considered obese.

Rick Fox - height: 6 feet, 7 inches. Weight: 242 pounds. His BMI: 27, which is considered overweight.

But are they really overweight and obese? Hardly. These athletes have muscle, which is heavier and more dense that fat.

Lean tissue or muscle weighs 1.1 grams per cubic centimeter; body fat weighs .9 grams per cubic centimeter. A physically active woman who has a higher BMI and a lot of muscle may be fitter and possibly healthier than a thin, sedentary woman with a lower BMI and much less muscle.

BMI has the same failings as a scale - it does not consider the amounts of muscle and fat in the body.

Although researchers say they won't discard BMI because it does have value in the study of the truly overweight and obese, here's what highly active, physically fit people with healthy eating habits and no weight problems can do about BMI: fuggedaboudit."

By the way, count me in on the contest: My current BMI is 28.2. (almost obese, lol) My goal is 24.5. (191 lbs). What is the prize anyway? And when is the end-date?

Mike

I don't know how many of you are interested but I just wanted to give my review of my latest obsession...V for Vendetta. This movie is fantastic! I have seen it twice and I know that I will see it at least two more times while it is in the theatres. It is great the first time and way better the second. If you liked the Matrix you will like it. It is definitely a thinker but it has an amazing screenplay and beautiful cinematography. The soundtrack is awesome! I purchased it the other day and have been listening to it ever since. I haven't seen a movie that I liked this much in a very long time. So if you are so inclined, you should check it out. Definitely a thumbs up from Marnie. :)



--
Marnie

Yes, it is spring break this week for Boise State and most of the schools in the Boise area. Anyways, I am not getting much of a spring break considering Peter doesn't get a spring break from work. But hey I am used to having a spring break when he hasn't. It does mean for me no volleyball practices and no classes so that is a sweet deal.

Yeah wish I could do the biggest loser along with you all but hey I can't lose weight. That is one great and not so great thing about being prego. I want to do sit ups and just basically be back in the shape I was but I guess it will all have to wait.

We hung out last night with some friends from the ward and played a great game of Cities and Knights of Cataan. So now we are officially caught up and know how to play all of the different versions. We still have to buy the games for ourselves to have but that will come eventually.

We hope to be coming to visit in Vancouver Memorial Day weekend since Peter gets his first paid day off on memorial day since he started working. I wish we could be there for the blessing but since we will be coming the next weekend, it probably will not happen.

So much for my babbling, I just thought I would blog so you could all see how we were doing. Peter, the baby and I are all doing well and I swear I wake up every day to the baby having a party in my stomach. Peter has now gotten used to the feeling of the kicks and will touch my stomach more often. Anyways, I gotta get ready for work. Love you all!

Love,

Anne

First of all, I am not going to calculate anything any time soon. Secondly, does someone have Brian and Paige's phone number? Bri, if you are reading this, I 've decided to invite myself and the girls up next weekend for Dave's race. I was way too jealous, so this is a heads up if you are reading the blog. You have a few hours to come up with excuses why we can't crash the party.

Anne and Peter, if I haven't metioned it, I'm very excited you are having a boy. Marnie, Lost was great. Tracey, where does that boy come up with those things? To everyone else. I love you all. Goodnight.

Brooke

So let’s see if I can give you an update on our lives without writing an entire novel since I need to go to bed. I am not sure exactly what has been keeping me too busy to blogg but I guess I have been. Luckily I have plenty of time to sit and read the bloggs while I am nursing. First off, we are soooo excited to come out and visit in May. Hopefully you will all have time for some more fun game nights! We are planning to bless Danica at church on May 21st and would love to have Kenn and any of the brothers and brothers-in-law who can be there. My parents have wanted to take a trip up to see the Gorge for a long time and so they are going to come up that weekend and stay in a lodge right on the river and will be able to come over for the blessing as well. It should be a really special day for Danica.

Speaking of Danica she is doing really well, as usual. She is starting to reach for things and once in a while she actually gets her hands on something but still can’t really control it. She is laughing a bit more and is just a fun as can be.

Hayden is hilarious and as sweet as always. Two funny stories: Today he was having a really hard morning and just getting upset about everything on the way to church. After being at church for a few minutes he still would not stop crying so Tom took him out to the car to drive around so he could take a nap (afternoon church is so hard on him since he likes to take a nap.) Anyway, Hayden didn’t want to leave and kept begging to stay but Tom insisted and they drove around for while until Tom finally agreed to take him back if he could be good and not cry. When they drove into the church parking lot Hayden said “Thanks for not giving up on me dad!”
Second: He is on this kick where he pretends that he is mom and I am Hayden, it’s really funny and he gets pretty elaborate in his acting. However, the other day he took it a little too far when he lifted up his shirt and tried to feed Danica!!!

I am doing well, probably the best I have been since we moved here. Finally really settled in and happy. (The not so terrible winter has helped a lot too.) Yeserday I went to an all day crop that Lexi put on with some other consultants. I have gone a couple of times and it’s nice to just have a day away to visit with other women and scrapbook. I took Danica and Tom and Hayden were able to enjoy a day at the science center.

Tom and I are excited about your biggest loser contest. We are trying to come up with some sort of exercise contest for the two of us to get us motivated to get out there doing something. I really think I’ll start running when it gets warm enough but I could exercise in the house right now if I weren’t so lazy. Oh well… The Indian’s season opens up in a week and we are so excited! We have tickets to a few games already, including opening day here on April 7th and tickets for my birthday which is Grady Sizemore bobblehead night, he’s my favorite player so I am really excited. Anyway, sorry to ramble and sorry I don’t get to comment much on all the great entries I love to read. Like I said, I read them while I am feeding Danica and then forget to come back and comment later. I am glad you all seem to be doing well! Take care!

Tracey

When I saw the published version of my post, I realize that it takes out the underlines and the spacing to make an equation look all wrong. Just Divide your weight by your height squared and then times that number by 703. There!

Ok, so here is the CORRECT way to calculate your BMI (don’t know where I got those notes from)

BMI= ( weight in pounds/ ) X 703
(height in inches X height in inches)

So my height is 63 inches and my weight is 124 which comes out to a BMI of 22.
Try to calculate mine and hopefully you’ll get 22 and then calculate yours. I double checked this equation on the Center for Disease Control website.
Sorry for the wacky equation at first!
Buffy

Just a subtle...or not so subtle...request for those who have not blogged for a while...that could be a day----to catch us up on your lives! Thanks, Buffy, for your contributions...as well as everyone else. Is the multiplier 7.5??? That seems to put me more where I would expect I would be.

We had a great evening both Friday and Saturday night. Friday night we, Dad,Brent and I, went over to Dave and Adina's, had great sandwiches and played pounce/nertz. Their floors look just fantastic. It really upgrades the house significantly! On Saturday, Dad went to his COPE training course..grumbling all the way and, as predicted, came home having had a great time. I'll let him describe it and put some pictures in. I had every good intention of doing our taxes but instead decided to clean up my desk and do the bills and ran out of time to do taxes. I guess Tuesday will have to be the day! On Saturday night, Brooke and the girls and D & A and kids came over for dinner, visiting, and another evening of pounce/nertz. You would think with all of this I would get better and win sometimes. However, I am always at the bottom, it seems!

We just took Grandma to her ward this morning. I need to go finish getting ready for church so that I can go to choir practice...then to pick her up and take her back to her place...and then go back to our ward meetings. We are then having a youth fireside here tonight.

Love you all,

Mom

I just watched part of a documentary that I thought some of you would get a kick out of. It follows a band member from a glam rock band from 1972 called The Dolls. They were really big in the UK I guess. What makes this documentary interresting is that this band member converted to the church late in life and shows him working in the LA temple grounds family history library, meeting with his home teacher and his bishop. It also follows him and his band as they prepare for a big reunion concert in London. He described the feeling he got when he prayed to know if the church was true as a really big (drug induced) high. The film was shown at the Sundance film festival and if it's not available for rental or purchase, I will try to get a copy of it to share.

Also for the biggest loser people (I need to think of a better way to reference you three)... here is a bit of info and a suggestion. You could compete by going for the biggest change in your Body Mass Index score (it might be more fair). To calculate:
BMI= (Weight X 705)/height (in inches)
Normal= 18.5-25 Overweight= 25-30 Obese= >30
FYI: A drop in weight of 10%, will drop your systolic blood pressure by 7% and your cholesterol by 11% (that can't be bad!).

Marnie, thanks again for reminding us about Lost... I just found out that it already gets Tivo'd here where I am staying which means I can catch up on some episodes I thought I had lost (hehe).
That's all folks, enjoy your weekend.
Buffy

Hey up there in Washington. So it sounds like everyone will be hangin' out in Washougal tonight. I could really use some Harry Potter magic right now so I could join in the fun (you know, a port key or some floopowder). I guess I'll have to settle for studying tonight which will be re-learning how to read EKG strips and diagnose them for the BIG test. Not sure exactly how all this info is gonna stay in my brain but what can ya do??
Marnie, thanks for the Lost updates. I never watch TV anymore but maybe I need to learn how to Tivo it so I can watch the rest of the season. Maybe Brent can tell me how to do it since we have one in our room at K&B's home now (hint, hint).
To the biggest loser trio... I am very proud of the beginnings of this contest. Sounds like you'll all be getting healthier in the process!!
Gosh, the end of school is approaching so quickly and even though I cannot wait to get up there, I think I will also be getting very sentimental about the last days spent with good friends at school and church. You never know who you will actually keep in touch with once the goodbyes are said. Maybe we need a class blog???
That's it for now, have a great weekend.
Buffy

Hey Brooke,

I close on Saturday night that is why Friday would work better.

Brent

I had already committed to play with friends Friday night and was leaving Saturday day/night open to play. I've been meaning to call all week but my schedule has been something that is beyond comprehension. Would Saturday work instead? Also, I wanted to see if the boys were starting their baseball games yet. I was thinking of bringing the girls out to watch on Saturday. Does this mess everyone up? Please let me know. Not that I'm essential or anything but I feel like I haven't seen everyone forever.

Love, Brooke

I would like to just thank Dave for not filling out his march madness bracket for the sundry seven yahoo group because that allows us to not be in last place. All I've got to say is check the scoreboard from the fantasy football league. This just goes to show that basketball brackets for march madness is all luck. If you didn't see the West Virginia and Texas game then you definately missed an intense game. I don't want to ruin it for Mike if you havn't seen it, but it was awesome.

Peter

Brent had mentioned you guys (D & A and Brooke et al) coming over Friday night. I'm hoping it is here...or at least that the old folks are invited as I am raring for a good night of games etc. I can provide dinner..nothing fancy but enough to keep us going...and the kids can finish up our chips, cookies and candy so it is not a temptation for us "Biggest Loser" folks! I am cleaning out our refrigerator and freezer to get prepared and have put all the treats up way high in the pantry...but it would be better to have them totally out of the house.

Love you all,

Mom

Well, I will keep it short anyway...

Saw Lost last night and I am still frustrated...it has been so long between episodes that I have forgotten half the people's "stories". But - being the sucker that I am, I will still watch.

We went to CATS on Tuesday night - it was awesome and I want to thank K&B for passing those tickets on to us. We had fabulous seats - 4 rows back from the front, so when the Cats came out into the audience, they were close enough to touch. Very cool - thank you! And thanks again to Brent who watched the kids for us - they also had a blast!

We finished all the parent-teacher conferences. I will sum it up. Parker: advanced student and totally obedient. Taylor: good student, quiet, and totally obedient. Isaac: good student, competitive, excellent reader, needs to slow down and listen more to instruction. None of it came as a surprise and we were really pleased with all the kids' progress.

Well - that's it. Oh - and for those interested in the goings on in my family...my brother Tony is undergoing surgery on the 30th. He is giving a kidney to a cousin of ours. Ironically, the whole family was screened as donors and Tony, my adopted brother, was a perfect match. Anyway - maybe mention him in your prayers.

Love you all! And Brent, Brooke, K&B - are we getting together on Friday night? Dave had mentioned it...

Adina

You are forcing me to blog! I can't stand looking at the same thing every time I check the site. Not that I want to now look at my own entry but maybe, just maybe it will inspire others to blog so that they don't have to look at it either.

Things are fine in San Diego. Just going through a week of "life sucks" but I will survive. I really don't have anything to blog which is why I haven't done it as of now. I don't really have anything out of the ordinary planned any time in the near future...Lost was new last night! That was cool. And it will be new for the next two weeks as well. Then I believe there will be a 2 week break and then 5 new episodes in a row to close up the season. That is what I have read anyway. Not too bad of a schedule. I am also getting into this new show "Top Chef" on Bravo. It has replaced Project Runway in the 10 o'clock spot on Bravo after Lost now that the Project Runway season is over. So I figured I would check it out and I am mildly hooked. Just normal reality show drama.

Sad when the only news is about TV shows but what are you gonna do? I hope you are all doing well...let us know!

Marnie

What happened to the links etc on the right of the blog????

How can we restore them?

Mom

Well, I am back in the routine...sort of...from my trip. I got home on Monday afternoon but had our quarterly Enrichment meeting last night so was occupied/worried about that yesterday. So today I am going to try to put order in our home again, go to the grocery store etc. Dad, Brent and I are going to start a "Biggest Loser" contest tonight...although we haven't figured out the prize yet. Any suggestions or any other interested participants? The winner, as in the TV show, will be determined by the percentage of weight lost.

I had a great trip to Boise, Ogden and Rexburg. I only had one section of snow while I was driving but it snowed in all places while I was there. I can report that Peter and Anne and Treven and Kim are all doing well. It was really great seeing their homes and a bit of their everyday life...although I do realize that when I am there it is not quite everyday. Martha and I had a good day at the temple on Wednesday and a lunch at Rainbow Gardens...very fun! We even went to Curves together after a harrowing drive over the North Ogden Divide after the snow storm. Martha drove because I was chicken but the Expedition did perform exceptionally well with our ice tires and 4 wheel drive. We even when up and down twice on the way there since we passed a young girl who was stuck and Martha was worried that no one would help her. So we turned around to go back...someone had stopped to push her (some strapping young men!) but we had to go all the way down the mountain again to turn around.

I told a few of you about a job opportunity at Nautilus that I was called on last week from a recruiter that I had talked to the last time about a year ago. It came to naught as I just heard from him that there are two other finalists that they are proceeding forward with. I didn't get an interview even... so I guess I know that it probably had more to do with my resume and experience than blowing an interview. I think I will try to start being more active in a job search. I like the flexibility of not working but if Dad and I are going to be able to get out of debt prior to retirement...and we continue our present spending habits...I really need to work.

Marnie, I really enjoyed the Bill Gates/Napoleon clip. It didn't work on my computer but did on Dad's so we got a good laugh watching it. We just have Tom and Tracey's dates finalized for their trip out here. It will be May 13 through the 29th, just in case anyone else needs to consider their schedule during that time. Grandma is doing well and enjoying "The Mall" that she lives at!

Well, I'd better go get busy on my work for today.

Love to all,

Mom

"The source of our enormous individual and family strength is no mystery. It is an endowment from God. We need not consume addicting chemicals found in drugs and alcohol to make us capable of meeting life's problems. We need only draw constantly from the divine power source through humble prayer.

"It often takes a seemingly superhuman effort to get everyone together for family home evening. You may not always feel like praying when you finally do get together, but it will pay great dividends if you persevere."

( James E. Faust, "Enriching Our Lives through Family Home Evening," Liahona, June 2003, 4)

So I figured as I sit here bored in the Student Center at BSU waiting for my next class to start that I would blog about our oh so wonderful lives. This morning I had planned to take a test for my Applied Anatomy Lab only to come to find out that I have to come to one of the other lab times this week to take the exam because the cadavers are tagged for the graduate class that has an exam today and so anyone who is in the monday lab, as I am, gets screwed and has to come at 7:40am either tuesday or wednesday to take the test. Oh well, I guess I'll just ace it on Wednesday.

Things are going well. I am just getting over a cold that I have had for the last week. Sucks being sick when you are pregnant and not being able to take nyquil. That stuff is the greatest when you are sick. Anyways, Peter thinks he is beginning to come down with it now so he isn't feeling so great.

Mom and Dad just left this morning to head back home. It was nice to have them here for a day or two. Remember anyone is welcome to stay here.

We are now starting on figuring out the decorating for Baby Andrew's room. I love knowing that he is a boy so I can start looking at stuff to buy although Peter isn't exactly stoked that we will be spending so much money but I just tell that is what happens when you have kids. He is so happy about having a boy and now laughs when we pray and we can say "him" when referring to the baby because he has been doing it the whole pregnancy and is kind of shoving in my face that he was right the whole time.

I think the funniest feeling is when he kicks all the time. It is just such a weird feeling to know there is something alive inside of me. I can't wait for Peter to feel him for the first time. Peter still hasn't really had the feeling that there is something in there except for when he sees the ultrasounds.

Well I guess I shall be going, I need to start heading to class. So Peace out and keep up the blogging!

Love,
Anne

What a funny word - but that perfectly describes the scene in the living room downstairs as I sit blissfully ignorant at the computer. The kids have got Rock Lobster playing and I just hear thumps and squeals with an occasional, short-lived cry thrown in. I'll let it go on for a bit longer, then put them all to bed.

Dave has gone to a Stake High Priest Quorum meeting or something or other. His marathon is fast approaching. He is actually tapering a lot on his running so he will be ready. We took Kenn to the airport this afternoon so he can drive back with Barb from Idaho. I was very impressed with the painted walls I saw in their bedroom...very nice. I think those white walls are finally getting to him! Anyway - it looks great. I was introduced to his new Mac set-up. Kenn will have to wipe off the drool that Dave left on the keyboard. I don't know that we will be upgrading any time soon, but we have managed to break out the 360. I've only played Call of Duty on it so far, but it seems nice. Now we just need to 'upgrade' all of our other games.
We are going to CATS on Tuesday, thanks to a Christmas gift from K&B. Uncle Brent is awesome enough to come hang with the kids while we go - our sitter is sick. Thanks, Brent!

Kids are great. Spring Break starts next week and lasts for 2 weeks. Ugh. The boys have baseball camp for one of those weeks. Isaac is really enjoying guitar and is doing really well - unless his guitar teacher just wants to guarantee her job through flattery. If so, it's working. Tay was seen by an audiologist at school and they said he has mild to moderate hearing loss. Great. Should I feel guilt for the times I've said, "Listen to me, Taylor! Open your ears!"? Don't worry - I do. We will get him fully checked out to see what the deal is. Parker is in love with a little girl named Grace in his class. He takes her little notes and steals chocolates from my stash to give to her. And Morgan continues to get her daily Phantom of the Opera fix and is known to suddenly break into song: Insolent boy, this slave of fashion...

We are well and love hearing from all of you. Take care and keep the news coming!

Adina

The link on the right side of this page that says Ohio Stinchfields will take you to the site.

There is an update on the site if you would like to see a little slide show of Danica and family.

So, the first week of prerequisite requirements for my Expert Infantryman's Badge (EIB) went successfully. This week the challenges were to shoot at least 36 of 40 targets on a pop-up (timed) target range (ranges 50 to 300 meters) , 2 day land navigation courses and 2 night land navigation courses.

The shooting may sound like fun, but it wasn't. It is too stressful to enjoy it. I didn't make the grade until my 7th time firing, and the preceding 4 times I hit 35 out of 40. If we didn't qualify, it was a matter of waiting in line for an hour for your next shot. So it was about as fun as Disneyland lines, only worse because I felt like I was only waiting to fail again. The range here is absolutely the toughest in the Army, even the Army competitive team came here and had a hard time with it. But seeing as I was one of the few to qualify by the end of the day, I feel blessed.

Yesterday was the land navigation day. Absolute insanity. I never truly appreciated the Korean war until yesterday. The terrain is nuts. Plus, it rained all day. By midday I had to crawl on all fours up any hill and slide down anytime going down (avoiding trees). And we are talking full out big, steep hills. The 2 night courses were especially interesting (you only can use a red lense flashlight) So, lots of mud, in the dark. Oh, and add the fact you are in full combat gear, with rifle, bayonet, helmet , and body armor etc.. It was so ridiculous I just laughed the whole time. I ended up passing all four courses, which I am very happy about. All the guys I went up there with did not and they are up again there today while I play games in my warm apartment. So once again, I am blessed.

I am getting more and more excited about Germany. Everyone I talk to, who has been stationed there, says that we are going to the absolute best place in Germany. I also was able to get my orders amended so that Brooke and the girls can move there with the rest of the unit this summer. So, unfortunately, it looks like they will miss the reunion.

Well, I am one tired muldoon. So I am going to hit the sack.

- Mike

Yes, the last one left in LA is still alive and well. I am now settled into my new home for the next few months and am QUITE comfortable. My room is perfect for me with a twin bed (& the nicest mattress in the house I am told... wow!) and a huge built-in desk, bookcase and dressers. I also have a very large all marble bathroom that is like a master bathroom if you ask me. It's also nice that I don't have many distractions so I can focus on the BIG exam coming up in 9 weeks... no Brent, cats, house to clean, and I am afraid to use the plasma with touch screen remote and TIVO so that lessons the amount of waisted time as well. Please don't get me wrong, Brent is not a distraction and I miss him dearly but I have to find an upside to this somehow right?
I have yet to watch my two new DVDs (Harry Potter and Pride & Prejudice) in the home theatre but maybe this weekend.
Anyway, I will be extremely busy the next few weeks preparing for the comprehensive exam which includes over 20 classes that I have taken in the last 3 years. I made a study plan and it comes out to 2 or 3 classes per week to review plus my current classes.
Adina, maybe when I watch a movie I will finish your scarf!
Congrats to A & P on the baby boy... thinking of names?
Hello to everyone else, I do enjoy the stories from all!
K & B: Please take good care of my husband... & don't overfeed him cuz his eyes are permanently bigger than his stomache (just kidding Brent). No seriously, I really miss my better half and appreciate the familial support he recieves from everyone.
Barb, thanks for putting up with our cats... I know you probably ony see one of them but she is very nice!!
Ok, that's it for me. Time to look at some anatomy!
Buffy

Well I guess that says it all,

Yes everyone, we are going to be having a little boy. Peter and I are very excited to have found out and our little boy was not shy at all about letting us know that he was a boy. We recorded the ultrasound on a videotape which I hope to have dad transfer to a dvd considering we do not own a vcr. Anyways, just thought I would let you all know grandchild #10 is a BOY!

Love,

Anne

Lost is a re-run tonight...don't get too excited. Stupid ABC...

Marnie

The funniest thing just happened at my office and I just have to tell you guys. There is a Chinese church that rents the office across the way and once or twice a week they have a bunch of the Chinese ladies come for some kind of meeting. So this morning I am just sitting at my boss' desk checking her email like I do every morning and I hear a loud sound. I wasn't sure what it was so I just ignored it. Then my other boss Michelle runs in and says that one of the Chinese ladies has run into the wall with her car. So I finished what I was doing and Michelle said that I had to see it for myself. So I made up an excuse to go to my car so I could see it. OH MY GOODNESS!! I really had a hard time not laughing until I got back in the office. The lady must have just pushed on the gas instead of the brake because she had gone up over the cement block at the head of the parking space and into the bushes up to the wall...and she had gone straight into a handicap sign that is now laying on the ground. One of the saddest parts is that the car is a really nice Lexus and now the whole front of the car is smashed. Michelle took pictures because it is on our property and well, it is funny but I am not sure if she will send me one. If she does I will post it. The best was when I was walking by and the lady was on the phone saying, "I was just trying to park and it kept going forward...??" Way too funny and matching way too many stereotypes...

--
Marnie

Guys, now we know the trick to get Brooke to post!!! Actually, we really have had a dry spell and I appreciate more news from the Battleground contigent, always! I actually liked most of the pictures...The one with Sadie's skirt up is interesting...but that is Sadie all over. Not one we'd probably hang in the front hall though!

Peter has been busy with the edits from his defense meeting (?) so that is probably why we haven't had a blog from that quarter. Hopefully we will get one today from Anne since she is getting another ultrasound today...maybe it will show the sex? I am so up on P & A because I just drove down yesterday from their house. It is a really nice house just big enough for them and probably up to two kids...so good for several years at least...in a nice neighborhood.

I drove down by myself to Ogden yesterday and was blessed with pretty good weather. This morning here it is snowing and is predicted to snow for most of today. Tomorrow is supposed to be just mostly cloudy so hopefully it will be good for my drive up to Rexburg to see Kim and Treven.

Martha and I are going down to Curves in Ogden in a few minutes. Then we are going to a session at the temple this afternoon.

Love you all,

Mom

Okay, if this is how to get our mediocre pics farther down and off the screen so be it. Marnie, thanks for your compliment. I will attempt to accept graciously.

Well, I'm less than thrilled with the pictures actually. A girl in our ward took them. For once I was not trying to find the cheap way out and thought that it would be nice having someone come to the house (Meagan's) and have a relaxed atmosphere. She workd up in Seattle doing weddings and engagement pictures etc... I guess she just wasn't used to posing family groups. I'm hoping she can work wonders with photo shop. She's for sure changing some of the backgrounds. Now if only she could reposition us.

Okay, enough of my stewing. Peter, how did your defending of the thesis thing go? Why did I read about it on the Schick blog? Did I miss something somewhere? I'm going to have to go back and reread. I hope it went well. Would love to hear the details.

There isn't much to say that I didn't cover in Little Women 2 on Sunday. Sadie was positively psycho tonight, she didn't want spaghetti for dinner she wanted yummy salmon noodles. I was at a loss until she started explaining that they were the kind her daddy made. That would be ramen noodles. Ellyn ate three plates of spaghetti and Jane ate one, just as a side note. We're watching American Idol and Sadie has informed me she doesn't like it tonight and she wants to see more pretty women sing. Well Ellyn and Sadie just simultaniously hurt themselves in two different areas of the room so I had better go. Take care. Love, Brooke

Just thought I would give the update on things down south. I had another busy weekend. My friend Matthew's birthday was on Thursday so I had to leave work a little early drive up to Disneyland again and go for a couple hours then to dinner for that. Then my old roommates Sandy and Kim came into town for spring break. Sandy is still here until Wednesday but she is staying with another friend. We had a sleepover on Saturday night after I got off of work and we took Kim to the airport Sunday morning. It was fun to see them again. Weird that it didn't feel like it had been so long since I had seen them.

I went to Bro. Turnwall's funeral on Saturday morning. It was really nice. A lot of people were there. He was a very nice man and will be missed by a lot of people. I am sending the program up to Mom and Dad's if anyone wants to see it for any reason.

Other than that I am just staying busy at work and otherwise and hopefully getting back into more of a routine after two weeks of craziness. Good to hear from you Brooke! I thought you had gone missing. :) Nice to hear from everyone. I really like the videos on the blog. Very cool. I will have to figure out how to post some. Later...

Marnie