I thought it might be good to post my mother to our children, especially to those who have not been able to come and visit her at the home where she is cared for. It is a benefit to those who live here in the Vancouver area to visit occasionally and give her some cheering up. I have to add that your mother is a saint, especially when it comes to the close scrutiny of her care. Mom, your mother, visits Esther at least 5 times a week, if not more. She is more atuned to her needs than the people who care for her. She takes her to all her medical visits, takes her all her mail (and reads it to her if she cannot, bandages her feet every other day and reminds me that, "hey, this is your mother buddy, get your body over ther to give her a visit". My mother does not crochet anymore, still jokes a lot about the people who live with her, gets people, place and times confused but still hangs in there with a strong heart. It

There has been a quick change of her physical and mental abilities over the last two years. Seeing her change from an independent, onery jokester, skilled as a seamstress and crocheter, actively involved in going to group home evenings and church................to a totally dependent, basically unhappy and one whose quality of life has diminished to that of just day to day survival.......I am sure the Lord does have plans for her as she lives here in Vancouver.....to help the rest of us grow and realize our turn is approaching.......to give family the opportunity to serve when needed.......and to prepare her for a much more worthy existence after she slides through the veil to her waiting friends and family. She is a hard charger. Led a humble life, all her life....no traveling....hated eggs and milk......would not let me and my siblings use face cards and taught us all well. I really hope and pray that the Lord gives her a release from this tired body and gives her a change to go to the head of the line so she can join my father, her son and her family. Again, my hat is off to my mother and your mother......I love them both. Dad

I have not heard from T & T, M &B and K&T....about the pictures. Can you confirm that you don't want any reprints...or let me know what you want?....Info is in between Mike's pictures....

Mom

Hey Dave, Tom and maybe Mike,

I set up the Fantasy Football league for this year. I sent the invites to the emails that I have. Please give me a current email that you guys actually check so I can invite you.

Thanks
Brent

Well, I started this blogg a week ago and then it was obviously never finished or sent out... so here is what I was going to say Last Monday: “Today Hayden had swimming lessons in the morning and then we ran some errands and came home so that Danica could take an early nap in preparation for going to the beach this afternoon. I finally got brave enough to take the kids alone and it went surprisingly well. We went to La Jolla shores with some other families in the ward and had a nice time. The other families were a bit older (their youngest kids were about Hayden’s age going on up to teenagers) but the older we get the less that seems to matter which is nice. We spent all afternoon just digging in the sand and running around. Danica loved seeing all the birds and helicopters that came by.
Yesterday we went and walked around Miramar Lake with another couple in the ward. It was beautiful and a lot of fun. Although Hayden almost got run over by a fast biker and it was really scary thinking of how badly hurt he and the biker could have been. We were really counting our blessings. The weekend was fun, Marnie came and spent Friday with us and we went swimming and hung out until we all ended up falling asleep on the couch! Saturday Tom went golfing with a guy from work and then we went to the beach with the guy from work and his family. Then in the evening Tom played on the ward softball team and then we went swimming again. We are taking full advantage of living in San Diego!”

So now it’s a week later and things are still going well. I finally had a doctor’s appointment two weeks ago and things looked good. She felt like the baby was head down, I was measuring okay and all that. I go in again tomorrow and it will be nice to begin feeling like I’ve actually got medical care and am prepared to a patient there since I am less than 4 weeks from my due date.  Well, I made the mistake in June of complaining (or really worrying) that my pregnant stomach seemed to be too small but that definitely isn't an issue anymore!!  Now every time people see me they say things like "Wow, your really getting big!"  or "Oh my, that baby must have dropped or something."  I would definitely say I am bigger now that I was when I delivered Danica and I still have a few weeks to go.  I feel "more pregnant" than I ever did with Danica and am getting anxious for my due date (August 18th).  I just can’t do the stairs very well, I can’t bend over and just get so tired! So far all signs are positive for the baby being head down and I should just be able to go into labor and everything like normal.
I am mostly past the really nervous phase of this  pregnancy (nervous because Danica is so little and I am in a new place) and I am really getting excited.  We are stumped on a name, mostly because Tom doesn't like anything and I am too indecisive to just take over and name her myself.  Today I decided I like the name April... too bad she'll be born in August.  I bought some new onsies for her because I figure that is all she will wear for a while.  Then I'll just have to see how big she is and what works seasonally from Danica's wardrobe.  I still can't get myself to believe that it isn't going to get really cold this winter.  I was telling Tom last night we need to hurry and go to the zoo more to make the most of our membership before the baby is born because I was thinking that it would start getting too cold to go after... yeah right, I am sure we'll enjoy the weather and the smaller crowds at the zoo in December even more than now!     

My parents came to visit this last weekend just because they wanted to hang out in San Diego and had some time off work. It was fun to have them and great for Danica to get a chance to warm up before they try to help out when the baby is born. When I went to Utah for the 4th of July Danica didn't want to have anything to do with either of my parents.  She wouldn't look at them or let them hold her or anything.  It was really sad (and really exhausting for me) but luckily, this past weekend she really came out of her shell and had a good time with them, it was awesome!  About two weeks ago it seems like Danica woke up and had aged a ton.  We went to church and she babbled none stop all of sacrament meeting (we were so happy to hear her talk it was hard to shush her!)  She has started running around the house chasing Hayden, giving him hugs and just being a really silly kid.  Of course that includes expressing her desires more, which is nice that she'll ask for things, but not nice when she can't have them and precedes to throw herself on the floor to cry or to simply lay there. Today she didn’t want to get out of the car and when Tom made her she simply laid down on the floor in the garage as a protest...I took her picture because it was pretty funny.  She is really trying harder to communicate and acting more like a toddler than a baby.  Nursery is still going okay, she cries sometimes and doesn't want me to leave but last week I had Tom drop her off and that seemed to work well.  

Hayden really likes it here, I know because the other day we were driving to his swim lesson and suddenly he said "Mom, you know after I die and then my spirit goes back to my skeleton, well, I want to come back to this house."  I asked him why and he said "Because I love playing x-box and I really like it here."  So I suppose to Hayden, heaven is an x-box in San Diego!  But on the flip side, today, we went to a primary pioneer activity and as we got out of the car he randomly got upset and said "It's never going to rain and it's never going to be winter here!!"  He always tells everyone he misses the snow.  The director of his preschool said he could play outside everyday the whole year because it wouldn't get cold.  He told her he was really sad about that and she assured him that they have "winter week" where they make pretend snow inside and enjoy doing "winter" activities!!  What a shift!  

Hayden is swimming really well now and can swim all over the pool and jump off the diving board himself and swim to the side.  We got some little tiny water wing floaties for Danica and she is starting to enjoy the water a lot more.  She was terrified of floating alone at first but now it just makes her giggle and giggle and she's learning to kick her feet to get around the pool.  It's quite the sight to see such a tiny girl "swimming" around the pool!  

I suppose that is the update on the kids.  Tom is liking his job more and more each day and making friends with the other new guys and feeling less nervous about doing something wrong.  He's learning a lot and able to spend a lot of time at work studying  because they constantly quiz them on what to do in different situations.  His duty shifts have slowed down a bit, it's at least once a week and then about every other weekend he has to do one day.  I'm getting more used to him being gone but I still sleep terribly without him here.  However, it's only been two months so I'm sure I'll get better at it!  I am doing really well. I've met some really nice fun girls that I get a long with really well.  It's tricky because the kids ages never seem to match up anymore but we can all enjoy meeting at the park or the pool or something.  Tom has duty tomorrow night so I am hoping to have a group of people come over.  I sent out a ward email to start a scrapbook/project group as one of the Enrichment groups.  Hopefully we can get a fun group going.  I also joined book club (we are reading Pope Joan)  and cooking club.  They also have a ladies night out once a month where you all just meet at a different restaurant and eat and talk, it was lots of fun.  

Okay, this is ridiculously long so I will stop now and will just have to blogg again soon if I have anything else to say! Thanks for all the pictures and updates!! Keep in touch!

Tracey

Well I was keeping a daily travelogue until Disney. Being that it is 2300 and I am smoked after a day of walking from Notre Dame to the Eiffel tower, to the Arc de Triomphe and back to Notre Dame via the Champs-Ellyses with Ellyn on my back....I am smoked and Brooke is unconscious. Suprisingly Sadie, the super trooper, is still in full energy mode...and she walked the whole way. Anyway, I will post my travelogue from the first 5 days of our trip and catch up during the next few nights or when we get back. We are going to London tomorrow via the Chunnel and I do not know what internet access will be like..terrific in Paris, that ius why I was able to throw up so many pictures. Anyway, this may be boring stuff, it is mainly for posterity...Mom, you are still printing the blog out right? I think it would be worth all going in on a fast color laser printer for your house, just a thought for everyone...the travelogue, no time to edit so enjoy mispellings and grammatical errors:-)

Day 1 – the drive
We left about 0900 from the house due to some unseen errands that had to be run. The trip was uneventful, thankfully. The route was quite interesting as we drove through Metz and Reims and other areas that bring to mind WWI and WWII history. We commented several times on how it looked a lot like eastern Kansas. We drove through the Argonne forest and crossed the Somme. Rain began as we left northeast of Reims. Our GPS tried to route us through Paris, but seeing how it was almost 1800, we would probably have hit some major traffic. So we went around to the north on much less trafficked “autobahns”. We arrived in Caen shortly after 2030 and checked into our hotel. The staff was very kind and stayed later than usual to make sure we were set up well. We noticed after unpacking that Ellyn had started a light fever, just as the other girls had in the last few weeks. Luckily, because of that, we know what it is. It should only last 24 hours. We were all pretty tired and went to bed early.
Day 2 – Bayeux, St. Lo, Carentan, and sleeping in…
Yes, we slept in. And it felt great…and we needed it and it was surely best for Ellyn. Taking Martha’s advice we decided today to head to Bayeux to view the tapestry that recounts the events leading up to William the Bastard becoming William the Conqueror, surely one of the best name changes in history. As a pleasant surprise, not only was the museum for the tapestry fantastic, but Bayeux is one of the few French towns in the area not leveled by Nazi occupation or Allied shelling and bombing. So it is still a town of tight streets (fun in the Pilot) and very quaint atmosphere. After the tapestry museum we decided for lunch and chose a place that looked reasonable. Well…it was reasonable until the $4 drink I ordered ended up being a can of coke! Nonetheless, the place had some great crepes and the Crepe Normande that I had was fantastic. After lunch we walked up to the cathedral to see inside only to find that mass was just getting out so we moved on. We decided to drive over to the British cemetery in Bayeux and just drove by slowly explaining to Jane about the D-Day events…which brought me to the next decision, to go see St. Lo and Carentan. I just wanted to see some of the terrain between all these areas. After reading many accounts of fighting in the bocage of Normandy, it was especially interesting for me as an infantryman to drive through these areas. I don’t think it resonated with Brooke or the girls, but they were able to get some naps while I drove and remembered experiences I had read about. We looped down to St. Lo and then to Carentan and back to Caen. We elected to drive into downtown to reserve a table at a fondue restaurant recommended by one of our travel guides. The chateau downtown was very impressive and we have elected to visit that tomorrow after we visit the D-Day beaches and before dinner.
Day 2 – D-Day beaches, fondue, overpriced museum
We woke up late and decided to visit the Caen memorial museum, or just Caen “memorial” because it was so highly recommended in all the travel guides we have. I t was a very nice museum but it also cost close to 80 bucks for the family and with Ellyn becoming a pill halfway through, it ended up being a disappointing event. However, I will say it was an amazing presentation of the causes leading up to WWII, I just wish I could have spent more time. For a couple without kids, you could really spend a day in there. We then had to find a gas station which seems quite tricky here in France because they just are not that common. Oh, and the tank took about 83 Euros of fuel – over $100 U.S. And we complain of gas prices…it is no wonder that I have yet to see an SUV in France. Too bad we cannot use our gas coupons here…it would save us over $50 U.S. a tank. We then drove out to Omaha beach, to the American cemetery at Coleville. It was a tremendously moving experience. Very nice to see how well the grounds are taken care of here. Certainly one of the most beautiful sites on earth, and a memorial well deserved for exceptionally brave men that truly saved the world. The weather was superb, partly cloudy and about 80 degrees with a cool breeze off the Channel. Jane, Sadie and I walked down to the beach while Brooke and Ellyn waited up top with the stroller. Two things that were striking to me from someone who has studied this event in history quite a bit: Omaha beach, just Omaha beach is about 4-5 miles wide, we are not talking about a specific small section as I always saw in my head, but a significant amount of beachfront. I always pictured Pont-du-Hoc right off to the side of a 500 meter wide beach. In actuality, it is almost to the horizon away and, in fact, the actual Pont-du-Hoc cannot be seen from Omaha because it is actually around the bend from another point. Then to think that Utah is even further to the west and that the Brits and Canadians were spread over 20 miles of beaches to the east…I never imagined that scale…a victim of Hollywood movies and video game replications of the day. The other thing that stuck me was the distance from beach to the hilltop was about 2-3 times further than I had supposed. We finished up at Omaha and since we had a dinner reservation for 1900, we had just enough time to go to Pont-du-Hoc. As we drove we passed all the small French villages on the way and could easily see many of the low walls and hedgerows, the “bocage” that these guys had to fight through. Pont-du-Hoc was very cool, many bunkers still in place, many blown in place, and many craters still left from the day but overgrown with grass. The Ranger memorial there was fenced off; it is right on the precipice of the cliff so I imagine it is for safety although you can still see where the path once led there…hopefully the fence isn’t a result of someone falling. After our short trip, we had to get back to Caen for our dinner reservation. We arrived on time. The place we went, called Maitre Corbeau was a fondue restaurant that was recommended in one of our guides. The girls were a huge fan of dipping things in bowls of hot cheese and the waiter was appropriately frustrated with our lack of French skills. I had to leave early to use the Internet and a local e-café to print out some car insurance documents and our Disney confirmation. We arrived home shortly before 2200 and had to find a parking place on the street because the hotel lot was full. We played a game of Caylus Magna Carta, a card game version of the respected eurogame Caylus. Then we were off to bed or beds…the double would not tolerate me and Ellyn in the same bed with Brooke so Ellyn wins, I get a small single in the corner…
Day 3 – Pegasus Bridge, Utah Beach, Sainte-Mère-Église
We elected today to hit the other beaches and some key locations I wanted to visit of the many available D-day sites. Pegasus bridge is the memorial to the British Airborne unit which seized 2 key bridges in only 10 minutes using gliders followed by an incredibly well executed paratooper and glider assault the same night…seizing and securing the eastern flank for the 6 June invasions. I wanted to see it because to me it is one of the most well executed operations in the history of war. It is just north of Caen. We then drove to Utah beach where we let the girls play around for a while. Ellyn made very short work of getting dirty in the wet sand. Certainly a nicer day at the beach than June 6, 1944… Following our visit to Utah, we decided to drive through the hedgerows so I could get a look at the areas in which the 101st (Band of Brothers) and the 82nd had so much trouble. We followed this up by a visit to the town of Sainte-Mère-Église, which was the first town seized by U.S. forces during the airborne invasion. The museum there ended up being terrific but we were a bit worried since it looks a bit cheesy from the outside. One note: many more French visitors to these memorials than by any other nationality, all respectful, very impressive. In fact the French have been amazing so far and extraordinarily kind. I heard all these horror stories, none of which seem true here. Certainly more friendly than the Germans. Our plan was to go to Mont St. Michel following the museum but our tired bodies said no. It would have been a terrific visit but we will leave that for next time.
Day 4 – Off to Disneyland Paris
We woke early this morning to drive about 3 hours to the east side of Paris for Disney. Staying at a Disney hotel gave us 3 days of tickets to the attractions, including the day of arrival so we were a little worried about getting set up and off to the park in time to enjoy it all. Well, nothing to worry about! We checked into the Davy Crockett Ranch reception area and they said our room would be ready when we got back from the park! When we got to the park (there are 2, Disney studios, like MGM in Florida, and Disneyland) we decided to go to classic Disneyland first. We stopped by guest relations to see if any accommodations could be made for Ellyn and they were more than understanding; they gave us the all-powerful blue card which basically gets us to the front of the line on every ride Ellyn can go on. Lest you think we are cheaters…try waiting in line sometime with other people and Ellyn…it would have been horrible, especially with the language barrier. So we got a bunch in. Ellyn seemed to like everything about the park, of course the other girls were in heaven. We also got in the Lion King show…Ellyn basically went from staring at the animatronics Simba to the side and the singing on the stage, all in complete wonder (it is one of her favorite movies). We decided about 1900 we had had it and wanted to go check in to our place. The Davy Crockett Ranch is very cool. It is basically a log cabin trailer park with BBQ pits but hey, it has atmosphere and it is well done. The main square had some square dance instruction going on to a bunch of kids and the pool had closed by the time we were unpacked so we plan on that for tomorrow.

I just have to say this is one of my favorite parts of those pics that Mike and Brooke just posted...hahaha...nice shot guys!

I do apologize to all that I have been so delinquent in getting copies made of the pictures that were taken at Christmas. I cleaned my desk on Sunday (looking for something else...which I didn't find!) and found the disk with the pictures and the release letters.

There is the picture of all of us, the picture of all our kids (7), the picture of us (K & B) and the pictures of each family that are on my wall. The prices at Costco to print are as follows:

4 x 6- $ .16
5 x 7- $ .39
8 x 10- $1.49

Please put in the comments how many you would like and of which pictures and I'll take care of getting them and mailing them to all....I promise within this next month!

Love,

Mom